About Nottingham's Perry Hall

Buy That House: Lenders are Knocking Down My Door

What came first the credit squeeze or the severe decrease in people looking for credit?

I have a constant flow of lenders beating on my door; begging me for referrals to my Buyers.

Some tell me that they have 100% financing available; one told me that his office would buy down the rate for the first year by 1% without charging it elsewhere within the loan.

I would love to give them my business if I had more to give.

. . . but where are all of the Buyers, especially those who supposedly are having trouble getting financing? Are they waiting for the media to tell them that it is okay to get back into the game? (Fat chance of that happening.)

Closing Assistance Programs are offering $10,000 where the debt would actually be forgiven within a few short years.

I have very nice listings which are very competitively priced along with access to several others which the rest of the Realtors are aggressively marketing.

. . . so where are all of the Buyers? Are they waiting for the government to pass bailout legislation? (Right; and there truly is a Santa Claus.)

There are Sellers, including Builders, who are very anxious to put their homes on the market, but they do not see much movement of the current inventory, so they are holding back.

. . . and why are the Buyers waiting, when the market is at optimal condition for them? Are they waiting for the new Administration and legislature to pass a stimulus plan? (Don't hold your breath.)

So is there or is there not a credit crunch? With so many lenders calling on my office, I would say that there is not, but with so few people seeking credit, perhaps a problem has been created. I can see why investors are not willing to put their money into mortgage backed securities. It is not just because of a few foreclosures, but just as much and maybe more so because no one is taking out loans in the first place.

Be optimistic; my lender contacts are.

Contact Ron Trzcinski at 410-935-5844 for more information.

BRAC Relocation

Are you a part of the Defense Base Closure and Realignment (BRAC)?

If you are part of the many from Fort Monmouth, New Jersey who are being impacted by that base's closure and who are being relocated to Maryland to either Aberdeen Proving Ground or to Fort Meade, then I can assist you in your relocation efforts.

As a seasoned real estate professional, who is very familiar with the Maryland real estate market, I can provide you with valuable information regarding housing to buy or to rent, loans including VA and FHA which require very little down payment if any, neighborhoods, schools, and the many important facts that you will need to know in order to make a smooth transition.

My affiliation with one of the area's top realty firms, ExecuHome Realty, and my association with the Maryland Association of Realtors, the Greater Baltimore Board of Realtors, and the National Association of Realtors provides me with the tools necessary to help you at this major time in your life.

Contact Ron Trzcinski at 410-935-5844 for more information.

SELL THAT HOUSE : AS IS?

Home sold strictly as is; owner will make no repairs; home inspection for informational purposes only . . . CLICK . . . If I am an investor, then there is more chance that I will look at these houses, because I am expecting to need to do work and I am prepared to handle the work, however, if I am an average home buyer, then I am not necessarily looking for a home which needs work. Now, I realize that "as is" does not by itself mean that a house needs work, but it has a strong connotation that is what is meant. Perhaps you have read some of these remarks about a property:

• Everything is new; sold strictly as is;
• Home Warranty; sold strictly as is;
• Home is in good condition; owner is not capable of making repairs; sold strictly as is;
• . . .

What does this statement mean: "home inspection for informational purposes only"? For whose information? The buyer's, the seller's, the agent's, the bank's, the appraiser's, or . . .? When information exists, then it may need to be acted upon. The inspection results become known material facts that should be disclosed. Some agents will say that they do not want to know the results of an inspection, because they would need to disclose them. Too bad, you must disclose material facts that you know or should have known. When you are standing in front of the judge and he asks if a home inspection was done and you say yes and then he asks why you did not disclose what was in the report and you reply that you did not want to know what was in the report so you did not look at it, I don't think he will look upon that response too favorably. So if a buyer has a home inspection done and he does not like what he sees, then can he get out of the contract? Of course, the answer to this is in the wording of the contract, but what is the intention of the agent when they put this statement in the listing? It is important to clarify this upfront so that the buyer does not get stuck with a house that's "as is" condition is more than he can handle.

A home warranty does not cover prior damage, so this is not a legitimate excuse for selling a house "as is". Certainly, this statement alone does not mean that any given condition was a problem prior to the home warranty, but it does not help.

The owner states in his gruff voice "there aint nothin wrong with this house, I fixed everthing myself; I aint makin no repairs". Sheepishly the agent says "okay, I'll list it 'as is' " When home inspections are done on these houses, almost invariably something is found to be wrong, and perhaps surprising to the agent is that the owner will actually take care of it.

What do you mean that the owner is not capable of taking care of any repairs? If he is not a licensed contractor, then I probably do not want him to do the repairs anyway. Is it a question of money? Usually a contractor can be found who will accept payment at settlement if it is not too far away.

If you want to sell a house then use statements and remarks that will entice potential buyers to want to look at the house, rather than comments which will discourage them.

Contact Ron Trzcinski at 410-935-5844 for more information.

SELL THAT HOUSE: PICTURES ARE IMPORTANT

It used to be, and not too long ago, that getting pictures on a listing in the MLS would take a while. You would have to wait for someone to come out and take the picture. All too frequently this would be a blurry picture from a drive-by photo usually taken at the worst time of day and sometimes on the worst day, like during a snow storm, when the photographer was off from his regular job.

But now when every digital device that we own can take a photo and when we can quickly send it to the MLS, those dark days are a thing of the past . . . or are they. Now when I see a listing without a photo, I start to think that the listing agent is trying to hide something. How can you be in this business and not have the means to take a picture of your listing? You should be able to do this with your cell phone at the very least. Who hires these agents anyway?

The first two to three weeks are the most critical time in selling a house, yet there are still agents who have a listing for that time period with no photos. Much of how a person shops for a home is based upon emotion and if there is no photo then there is no emotion, but rather a click to the next listing.

On the other hand, there is the poor photo or the useless photo.

• You couldn't move the trash cans before taking the shot; well, at least, we know that they have trash pick up at this house;
• The basic bathroom shot: What are you trying to tell us? That the house has indoor plumbing?
• It might be okay to have the primary photo be an inside view of some spectacular room, but then to have no exterior photo is insufficient;
• So you are not the best photographer and your photo comes out a bit too dark, perhaps you could invest a few dollars in a photo touch-up program. I have taken photos from some listings that I have seen and used a simple program to brighten the photos enough just so that I could tell what the photo actually was.

I guess that you could just tell everyone that the house is beautiful, but I doubt that they will get to your remarks if you don't entice them with a decent photo at the start.

Contact Ron Trzcinski at 410-935-5844 for more information.

SELL THAT HOUSE: APPEARANCE IS EVERYTHING

Salability is directly related to appearance. If you want to buy a car, but it has a dented door, then you will probably pass on the car rather than pay $1000 for a new door, even if the seller discounts the price by $1,000. So a car that would be worth $20,000 suddenly becomes worth nothing if it has a defect. Likewise with a house, if it were worth $300,000 in good condition, it may suddenly be worth nothing if it needed carpet and paint that may only cost $10,000. You could suggest an allowance, but typically that is not enough. The Buyers decision has already been "emotionally" made. On the surface, this makes no sense, but in practice, believe me, this is what happens. A home that only needs carpet and paint, and hence shows poorly, will sit on the market for days, but with a couple of thousands invested in paint and carpet to spiff it up, it sells in a week. Further discounting the price may be an alternative; however the discount would generally need to include the cost of the fix-up plus another 30%. Why should the Buyer deal with your problem, if they are going to get nothing out of it?

So, if you do not want to paint and carpet your average house nor sufficiently lower the price, then get a picture of somebody else's house.

Contact Ron Trzcinski at 410-935-5844 for more information.