Paul Renton ABR e-Pro, CPDE

Dear Home Owner,

This Audit was designed by Full Time Top Producing Realtors. It is our belief that these are a minimum standard of performance required to successfully market and sell a home in today's shifting market.

The goal of this check list is to help you the homeowner set a standard for your home marketing exposure. Also to identify any marketing blind spots that could cause the home not to sell.

I am available to answer any questions you may have and would be honored if you decided to interview me for the position of being your ‘Realtor for Life'

Sincerely

Paul

•1. MARKETING COLLATERALS

•A. 1-800 IVR - Call Capture Available? 24/7

•B. Plat - Copy available? Available online 24/7?

•C. Property Disclosure - Copy available? Available online 24/7?

•D. HOA Info - Contact info & Copy of documents

•E. Summary of Improvements - Copy avail? Avail. Online 24/7?

•F. Listing Brochure - Details of Home & Pictures

•2. PHOTOGRAPHY (Think Vacation!)

•A. Exterior - Crisp Blue Sky? Green Grass?

•B. Interior - Evening lighting? Staged? No bright windows!

•C. Rooms - Taken from angles? Capturing the mood? Emphasizing the fun?

•D. Virtual Tour - Available online 24/7? Email ready?

•3. INTERNET EXPOSURE

•A. Realtor.com

•1) Listed Twice?

•a. FMLS ______

•b. GA MLS ______

( with alternate primary photo, headline, and text )

•2) Both Entries Enhanced? ______

•a. Gold Showcase Side Border? ______

•b. Best 4 photos showing? ______ ( Easy to shift around!! )

•c. 2 Headlines? ______

• i. First headline blank shows on search screen & detail

• ii. Second headline blank alternates on detail screen

•d. Repeat MOFIR

•e. Agent Special Message? _______ ( MOFIR = Call me now at ...)

•f. Max number of photos (25)? _______

"Romance" Text?

•A. Realtor.com (continued)

•2) Just missing a "Price Range" boundary?

Here are the OLD breakpoints.

Now, the user inputs the range.

300k	325k	350k	400k	450k
500k	550k	600k	650k	700k
750k	800k	850k	900k	1.0M
1.25M	1.5M	1.75M	2.0M	2.25M
2.5M	2.75M	3.0M	3.5M	4.0M

B. FMLS

•1) Crisp, compelling photos?

•2) Max number of photos?

•3) Best Photos FIRST?

•4) Right zip?

•5) Right area?

•6) Right schools?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

•C. GA MLS (Georgia MLS)

•1) Crisp, compelling photos?

•2) Max number of photos?

•3) Right zip?

•4) Right area?

•5) Right schools?

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

•2. WHY SHOULD A BUYER CARE? ( Unique Strengths)

_____________________________ _____________________________

_____________________________ _____________________________

•3. PROPERTY POSITIONING

•B. Pricing (Appraisal Proof?)

•1) Neighborhood max sale: ____________

•2) Street max sale: __ _________

•3) Any FSBO's in Tax Records? ____________

•4) Defendable with specific comparable sales? ____________

•C. Condition

•1) Was it staged? _______

•2) Observations from photos: _______________________________________

•D. Absorption

•1) Number of current competing properties....................= ______

•2) Number of comparable sales in last 6 months............= ______

•a. Real Days on Mkt & Sales Price/List Price %

•3) Number of comparable sales in last 3 months........... = ______

•a. Real Days on Mkt & Sales Price/List Price %

•4) Current absorption per month.................................= ______

•5) Current Months of Inventory...................................= ______

•4. SELLING AGENTS TO INTERVIEW (from recent sales):

•5. QUESTIONS EVERY SELLER HAS TO ANSWER

•_ Am I serious about selling? Am I open to advice?

•_ Are there any nearby Powerlines ?

•_ Am I on a Busy Road?

•_ Do I have a Steep Driveway?

•_ Do I have any Synthetic Stucco?

•_ Do I have a Split-level style home ?

•_ Is the Master Bedroom Lower than the front door?

•_ Do I have Less Than Three bedrooms on the main floors?

•_ Do I have a Finish-able Basement?

•_ How High are my Ceilings?

•_ Do I have a Garage ?

•_ Is my Garage below the main level?

•_ If I am over $1M, do I have a Three Car Garage?

•_ Is my Garage Front Entry (vs Side Entry) ?

•_ Do I have a private (non-shared) Master Bath ?

•_ Have I Only Renovated Part of my home?

•_ Do I have More that 2 sets of Stairs?

•_ How would I rate my Landscaping Versus Other Homes currently on the market?

•_ Is my Flooring Consistent throughout ? How many different materials?

•_ What Elementary School District am I in?

•_ Does my House/Neighborhood need Good Schools?

•_ Do my Furnishings Match the Price of my home?

•_ Is my Value Above my neighboring Peers ?

•_ Is the "Added Value" obvious and critical ?

•_ How many homes am I competing against?

•_ How many homes like mine are selling each month?

How do I stack up at my price point?

•6. TO-DO LIST:

Get Ahead of your Competition By using this State of the Art Market Analysis tool. See what is happening in your neighborhood or one you would like to buy in??? Latest Trend, values and area information FREE!! Just Fill in your Search Deails wether you are a buyer or a seller for your Free Report!!!

Summary

•Very difficult economic conditions have continued into 1Q 2009 resulting in lower overall sales levels and sharply lower prices. The glut of foreclosures has hampered the ability of Sellers to properly price their properties to sell in expected time periods and at expected prices. The greater availability of foreclosed properties which are acceptable to Buyers, at lower prices, has caused a sharp downturn in overall median sales prices. •Foreclosures are becoming more frequent in ever-higher price ranges, forcing Sellers at all levels to price competitively with them in order to attract Buyers, or risk not selling. Failure to adjust to this market reality has caused the rate of failed listings to remain very high, lengthening the time until a property eventually sells and reducing the final sales price relative to the original listing price. •Sellers of foreclosed properties are also having trouble adjusting their listing prices to current market values. Large price reductions are therefore being required, further reducing the percentage of their original listing price at sale and lengthening the time required to sell. •As we head into the Spring and Summer market, more properties are being offered for sale, which may add to the already very high level of inventory. Sales in March appeared to be trending a bit higher however, possibly pointing toward an increased sales level. •Buyers are still firmly in control in this market and will have unprecedented buying opportunities until the supply of houses falls back to a level more in line with demand.

Relevance to Sellers:

•Sellers of both foreclosed and non-foreclosed properties must price their properties in line with current values. Listing prices and property condition must be superior to their competition in order to sell within reasonable time periods and at high S/L ratios. The risk of missing that balance can be very great in both time to sell and in eventual selling price. •Sellers of higher-priced properties should not assume that foreclosed properties are not a problem. The more than one in five Sellers who properly priced their property were able to sell at a median of 96.2% of their asking price in a median of 29 days.

Relevance to Buyers:

•Builders are offering more attractive pricing and Buyer incentives to work off their new home inventory. •New home median sales prices have fallen less (-6.1%) than resales (-23.7%), which may make resales a better value. •Properties that have been listed multiple times may indicate more highly motivated Sellers. •Foreclosure properties and those that have been price-reduced may set up a more favorable negotiating environment for Buyers, causing anxious Sellers to negotiate away more of their listing price. •Buyers should ask their Sellers to pay some, or all, of their closing costs.

The Impact of Interest Rates

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Some potential homebuyers are sitting on the sidelines waiting for housing prices to hit bottom. It makes sense to buy a house at the lowest price possible but there are other critical considerations to keep in mind. Trying to time the bottom of any market is always difficult. Also, interest rates are at historic lows, and many homebuyers fail to consider the savings that come with low interest rates, particularly over the life of the loan, or even the partial life of the loan.

Mortgage rates are low because of the recession and foreclosures. In addition, the Federal Reserve has moved aggressively to push down mortgage rates by buying as much as $1.75 trillion of housing debt and Treasuries this year. This policy has been successful. Rates on 15-year and 30-year fixed-rate mortgages are hovering at historic lows.

What does this mean for you? On a 30-year fixed-rate loan amount of $200,000 at 5%, the interest paid over the life of the loan is $186,512. That brings the total loan payments to $386,512. At 6%, the amount of interest paid rises to $231,676, a 24% increase. At 7%, it's $279,018, a 49% increase. The lesson here: Keep in mind, what might be gained from a further drop in housing prices could easily be lost by a rise in interest rates.

With regards to the market, let's review some recent indicators. Pending home sales, a forward-looking indicator based on signed contracts, rose 6.7% in April, the biggest monthly jump since October 2001. Existing home sales rose 2.4% in May with some homes, once again, receiving multiple offers. And the most recent Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city housing price index shows the month-to-month decline in housing prices has stalled from 2.8% in January to February, 2.2% in February to March and 0.6% in March to April. This has led many industry experts to anticipate that soon the decline in housing prices will bottom out.

If you have a house in mind and the savings for a down payment, this might be a great opportunity to purchase a home. If you would like any further information about purchasing a home now, give me a call today. We can also get you preapproved, which will provide you an advantageous bargaining position.

COST OF NOT BUYING A HOME

1) Rent Lost

Rent = $1,200/MO The average person takes 30 days to buy.

If you wait 6 months, you will pay you landlord .................... $6,000

2) Rate Change

If today's rate is 5.5% on a 30 Year fixed rate mortgage, assuming a $200,000 sales price with 5% down:

Your payment will be....$1,073 per month...

The following shows what happens to your payment if your rate goes up by the time you buy (in ½% increments)

Rate Pmt Loss/mo Cost/YR Cost 7/YRs Cost 30/YRs

6.0% $1,133 $60 $720 $5,040 $21,600

6.5% $1,194 $121 $1,452 $10,164 $43,560

7.0% $1,256 $183 $2,196 $15,372 $65.880

This number you must look at from the long term picture. If you wait 6 months to buy a home, it is possible (or even likely) that the rates will be up .5%. The cost/loss to you IS NOT $60 per month. The cost is $60 per month times however many months you own the home. The average American owns a home 7 years, so that loss equals $5,040. If you keep this home as a rental property (a great idea especially for your first home and when rates are this low) then the loss is times 30 years, or $21,600. Of course if you look at it like a good financial planner would, your loss is not simply the $21,000 but it's that amount times the opportunity cost of lost interest had you invested that money yielding 5%-10% appreciation compounded annually. This of course multiplies the loss to 2 to 3 times the actual cash loss!!!!

And if you are waiting until "next year" to buy that rental property..."Hello,...McFly!?!"

3) Appreciation Lost (Assuming a $200,000 sales price)

Appreciation Per Month 6 Months 1 year

3% $500 $3,000 $6,000

5%* $833 $5,000 $10,000

6% $2,000 $6,000 $12,000

8% $1,333 $16,000 $32,000

10% $1,666 $20,000 $40,000

*Metro Atlanta typically appreciates at an average rate of 4%-5% per year. Atlanta was predicted to appreciate 24% over the next 5 years (CNN.com "Top 10 Places to buy-NOW")

4) Tax deduction/interest write off

This is the trickiest of the calculations because everybody's tax situation is different, and the tax code is a tad bit complicated. But as a general rule, you can write off 100% of the interest portion of your payment. And if you didn't know, the interest portion is MOST of the payment (for the first few years anyway)

For example: using the examples above, with a $1,073 per month payment ($190k loan @ 5.5%), the interest portion of the first payment is around $850 per month. So that's the write off that you will NOT be getting per month until you buy. Most people buying this price home are in the 28% tax bracket plus 6% state. That means the actual cash loss is the monthly payment times your tax bracket. Let's say 33%. So in this example, you are losing $280 per month CASH in tax deduction that you are not receiving. That's not even taking in to account that writing off $10,200 per year ($850 times 12 months) would probably take you in to a lower tax bracket; consequently, you would pay taxes at a lower rate...... (again, I am not an accountant nor do I ever want to be one; so, consult a CPA regarding your particular tax situation)

So,....Your "lack of deduction loss" is appx..... $250- $300 per month

SUMMARY: IF YOU WAIT 6 MONTHS TO BUY, YOU ARE LOSING BETWEEN $8,000 AND $15,000 IN THAT TIME ALONE! IF YOU MISS TODAYS RATE, IT COULD COST ANOTHER $15,000 TO $100,000 MORE OVER THE LONG HAUL.

One last point: Affordability and lifestyle

I do not recommend ANYONE BUYING A HOME that they can not afford, or that will make them ‘house-poor'. I recommend that you should be fairly conservative. This means add up your PITI (total mortgage payment with taxes and insurance added in) and your payment should NOT be above 30% of your GROSS monthly income (before taxes).

Remember this, though: If you ‘wait' to buy, that $200,000 home will most likely be $210,000 next year (5% appreciation). So the question you must ask is, "Is my income going up 5% per year?" If not then you will be able to afford LESS in a year than you can now.

**This is not intended as an earnings claim on purchasing real property. Past results are not in indication of future performance. Please consult your tax advisor. (ask about the W-4 form).