angela adams

I've got a listing down in spring hill. Of course it's a Bank of America Short- Sale. Forget that whole "co-op" 14 day-we'll get back with you talk.... their just as screwed up interdepartments as the rest of em'!

Well- we're negotiating this thing along and yikes- (big surprise) buyers are getting anxious. It's only been not even 2 months, but their ready to CLOSE!! They want to move in early....OR ELSE....

My client doesn't want to lose the buyers and wants to make them happy, but I stop and think for a moment.... "Is this REALLY a good idea??"

Problem 1: my client is HAFA- BOA placed him in it...then back out of it....now back in it.... "segmentation" is the term they're calling this now-a-days right? So if my client moves OUT, then what happens to HAFA if he's no longer owner occupying?

Problem 2: He has to go get an apartment....this is a short sale where he's still completely current in payments- so then he'd have to go pay MORE for an apartment. What do the buyers do? Do they contribute on the mortgage, or is that deemed as extra income for my client and squashes his entire hope of an approval? Not to mention his costs of moving....

Problem 3: What if the buyer's move in and then a.) the short sale DOESN'T get approved, or b.) they just plain decide they don't like the house?? I can already tell they'renot 100% on the home anyways, and I look at early move-in's like I do lease purchases: testing driving a car before you buy is OK with cars- NOT SO GOOD with houses.... (and hey, I'm sure if they let you test drive some cars for 12 months too....they'd never sell either!!!)

I advised my client that this early move-in was a BAD IDEA and despite that we may not be able to secure another buyer (which you never know...could happen) It's listed below market value, shows like a model, and the first folks came along in the first week of it being on the market. I say, "Hold your horses buyers and be PATIENT or find another house....." We weighed the pros and cons together...I simply feel the cons outweighed the pros.

fyi: I have done one another early move-in on another short sale....believe me, i was NERVOUS the entire time...that's why I just don't know if I want to do another one....

Thoughts and suggestions are welcomed on this one....

Dear Realtor,

Do you have a particular listing right now, that is getting activity, but not the best feedback and no offers? Do you perhaps have a listing that hasn't had many showings despite that it's in a competitive area and you've priced it correctly?

As a fellow Realtor, not only do I understand these woes as a listing agent but I also go through them on a daily basis. I understand that sometimes, even if I hire the professional photographer, price the the home competitively , and do all the necessary marketing, open houses, signage, etc- sometimes, particular listings just need something more to get them to sell.

Why do we use even professional photographers? We know that over 80% of all buyers look via internet for their next home purchase, right? We also know that in order to even get them to look at our listings, they have to be drawn to them in some way (either by location, price or curb appeal/pictures). If you've got over a hundred listings in your market area and buyers can only buy one of them, do you really think their going to sit there and go through every single listing, or just the ones that POP out to them? Pictures are VERY IMPORTANT. OK, so what next? Your done right? You've got the great photos, you know you've priced it right, now what? That's it? What happens after the buyers acutally get there: after they physically go look INSIDE the home? We've all heard, "The pictures made this house look waaaaaaay better than the REAL thing." Just like we go through the costs and effort to get the purchasers to want and see the property, the same should go for getting the buyers to stay INSIDE the property after they get there. We don't want buyers to surface look: we want them to linger, imagine themselves in the home and ultimately place an offer. Having a home that is organized, color coordinated, clean, and decorated in today's style- sells: faster and for more money: Bottom Line. It is a tough market out there: how are YOUR listings going to be set apart from your competition? We've all been in these homes: where you just know that it looks "OK". The pictures look great...but the REAL thing...just ok. So do you want to wait around for 6 months for that sucker to sell, or put a little extra skin in the game and move that property- FAST.

As the owner to an interior design firm, and a Realtor myself, I have seen first hand that ALL of my homes that are staged & color coordinated sell so much faster & for more money. Even simple accessory staging- just staged one of my listings in Riverwalk, had a contract on day 2!!- yep, while everyone else's listing in there are just sitting like bumps on a log... Take a staging class- learn to help your clients get the most out of their home and turn your listings faster.

Today, I would like to offer my services to you as well. If your clients are thinking of painting their home a more neutral color scheme- we can help!

If your listing needs accessory staging or working with your client's existing furniture & simply rearranging and de-cluttering-we can help!

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Designer Picking all colors for Exterior of Home $65

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