Spring must be here, buyers are calling, sellers have tough decisions

It's been an amazingly mild winter here in Del Norte County and that translates into phone calls from buyers out and about looking at properties. Or can it be that we've turned the corner on the real estate market?

With properties listed at lows not seen in a decade, buyers don't even ask me to find "a deal", they assume that everything is priced low. And those that are not? I don't even recommend them knowing that they won't appraise.

And sellers who had been holding out about lowering their sales price, have finally realized that if they don't, they might as well take it off the market. And that is what I recommended to several of them this past year. None did.

Now it is 2012, and I won't take on overpriced listings. It's just too hard for everyone, the seller trying to be optimistic, the buyer being disappointed when he falls in love with a property that won't appraise.

And when a buyer show up with cash, another dynamic comes into play. The buyer is looking for a deal! That can be tough if the property he wants has a loan, because the "short sale" aspect is pretty much the only option. And, in every case, I can't make that decision for the seller, or even attempt to sway him. PLEASE TALK TO YOUR LAWYER MR. SELLER.

Much easier to negotiate, obviously, is for a property that has a low or no loan on it. Then the seller has to make the decision to accept, usually, a very low offer and just get out from under. This seller usually has already moved somewhere else and the property is empty or rented. It sounds easy to say "well, it's paid for so keep it until etc...". But when you consider property taxes, insurance, problem tenants, repairs, etc. is it really such a good idea to keep it. Maybe get your cash out and invest in other opportunities.

Whether buying or selling, let me help you navigate the rocky waters of the real estate market this spring.