Quincy, IL

As I go out to talk to people about listing their home, I will give the seller suggestions on how to make their home show better. There is only one chance to make a good first impression and that impression starts with the yard.

In our area, it has rained about every other day and the grass just keep growing. I have been cutting my own yard twice a week. Yet many sellers don't think that keeping the grass cut is important. Believe me it is. The front of a house is what a potential buyer sees first. It should be in the best possible condition. That means grass cut, bushed trimmed, no visible pealing paint, and basically very tidy. It does take some time and effort on the part of the seller, but in the long run, the seller will receive more money for their house if it looks good. A house that needs the grass cut or has pealing paint, implies poor maintenance and a potential buyer will either walk away or make a much lower offer on the house.

The bottom line is that preparing a home to sell starts with what a buyer first sees as he walks up the sidewalk. A well prepared home will sell quicker and for more money than one that is not property prepared.

If you would like some suggestions on how to prepare your home, please contact me.

The national new media almost daily reports on record foreclosures in the nation. Foreclosures, like real estate is local. The Quincy area has seen some foreclosures, but not to the level that is reported nationally. There will always be some foreclosures. Perhaps the owner ran into some major health issues that put them behind in mortgage payments. Perhaps the economy has has caused a work force reduction. Perhaps the owner bought more house that what they could really afford.

Generally speaking, the Quincy lenders are conservative in nature. They did not make the risky loans that other lenders did in other parts of the country. However, when the national news media continues to hammer away at the record foreclosures, the general public will eventually believe the story to be true and will sit back and wait. If you get into a situation where you cannot make your mortgage payments, the best advice it to talk to you lender. Generally they are willing to work out different terms, just to keep you from going into foreclosure.

As a REALTOR, I can help in the discussions with the lender. Contact me if you want more information.

Mortgage rates are very good by historic standards. They may have been lower in 2005, but were over 14% in the 80's. Lower rates mean that a buyer can afford a bigger and better home and build strong long term equity. In most cases, a home is a person's biggest asset. Why not start now to built that long term value.

Lenders have a variety of products available and each lender offers different products. Some are for first time buyers and some are for buyers that have downpayments. It is best to check with you local bank. You may be surprised at the price of home you can afford.

If you are seriously thinking about buying a home or upgrading to a larger home do to a growing family or need to downsize becasue all the children have left, talk to a REALTOR and see what is available and he or she can referr you to a good lender that will be able to work with you.

Real Estate auctions seem to be very popular these days. From personal experience, auctions seem to work very well for farm ground. However, for a home in town, sometimes it works, but many times it does not.

For farm ground, there is only a fixed amount of ground that is either tillable or in timber. That seems to drive the price up and the seller benefits.

For homes in town, a buyer is out for a cheap deal and if it does not work out for that house, there is another one very similar down the street. As a REALTOR, we have heard of homes that some at auction for only a fraction of the price that it would bring if it was listed. In one recent case, a house sold at auction for $125,000. The buyer did a little painting, listed it with a REALTOR and had an offer within a couple of weeks. The house resold at $156,000. A cool $31,000 profit for the buyer.

The message is that if you are considering selling a house by auction, make very sure that you know what you are getting into and perhaps it would be to your benefit to have a REALTOR look at it and give you an estimate of what it would sell for if listed. Most REALTORS will do that with no obligation on the part of the seller.

If you are thinking about buying a home at auction, just remember that the home is generally sold "as is", which means that any repairs are up to the buyer. In addition, there are no disclosures that tell of any defects that might be present. The auction process is truly "Buyer Beware".

If you would like to discuss the pros and cons of the auction process, please give me a call.

The numbers are in for the first 4 months of 2008. All numbers are for the period of January through April of each year. Total closings in Quincy and Adams County to date for 2008 was 192 compared to 251 in 2007 and 216 in 2006. Total value of closings to date in 2008 was $19,500,000 compared to $28,200,000 for 2007 and $23,500,000 for 2006.

Now the question. Do the above number reflect a slow down in the local market? Are they somewhat weather related ( This winter was rougher than some in the past). Is a slow down the result of national news media talking daily about the housing troubles?

Probably the answer lies in a combination of all the above. Buyers are still looking, but maybe a little more picky. It seems to me that part of the problem is that there are not a lot of homes to choose from. In other words, the number of listings is down.

The Quincy/Adams county market is still good, not excellent, but good. Call me or email me and I will be glad to discuss both the positives and negatives of the current real estate market.