Fort Wayne Real Estate Gina Zimmerman

Having your home fail to sell can be a discouraging experience. But if you are committed to moving forward and changing direction, you can be assured that this experience will be nothing more than a small bump in the road.

If your home did not sell during the listing period, you may be wondering what to do. Was your home positioned properly, priced with the market, and promoted aggressively by your agent? There are three possible reasons why your home did not sell: marketing strategy, your home's condition, and your home's market value or price.

• MARKETING: Your home must be exposed to all prospects who are ready, willing and financially qualified to buy your home. You had a FOR SALE sign with creative brochures and hopefully some open houses. Your home was on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Did you also know that through the MLS, it is possible for an agent to initiate contact with every buyer's agent who has searched for a home with your specific qualities through reverse prospecting? Also, today 90 percent of buyers first view their home on the internet. There are dozens of widely-viewed housing websites that must be an integral part of your agent's marketing efforts.

• CONDITION: Look carefully at the condition of the kitchen, the living room and the bathrooms. For maximum return, the property must be properly prepped before it goes on the market. Remember the 3 C's: neutral COLORS, no CLUTTER, and Q-tip CLEAN. Our team is convinced that the condition of the home can make or break a deal. An Accredited Staging Professional (ASP) on our team provides a complimentary staging consultation as part of our services. A staged home will present itself better than a more expensive unprepared home. Buyers must be able to see your space - not your stuff! And they must be able to imagine themselves living in your space.

• LISTING PRICE: is based on what buyers say your home in worth! When you put your home back on the market, you will start with a clean slate. The home will be staged (prepared for the market) and the new photos and photo angles will now represent your home at its very best. Your home's new price should now be based on what other buyers/sellers have recently agreed that a property like yours is worth. The listing price must be determined by what other comparable homes in your neighborhood have recently sold for - not on how much you have put into the home.

To be competitive in Fort Wayne, Indiana, your home must be priced, staged and marketed correctly. And working in close partnership with your agent, the next sign you will see in your yard will be SOLD!

$4.92 BILLION is now being distributed to local neighborhoods across the USA through the Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP). WOW! Locally, the City of Fort Wayne will be distributing $7 Million beginning on March 21, 2009. These funds are part of the recently passed Housing and Economic Recovery Act.

Mortgage foreclosures in the City of Fort Wayne are continuing to rise. From 2006 through the end of 2008, a total of 3,665 properties have been foreclosed upon by the mortgage lender or servicing agent. In 2006, lenders foreclosed upon 1,156 mortgages in Allen County. In 2008, the number will likely exceed 1,450, a 25% percent change from 2006 to 2008.

Locally, the purpose of the NSP is to take vacant, foreclosed homes, have developers renovate them, and then sell them on the local market. Homes that qualify must have been foreclosed on after October 1, 2008. If an investor owns the property, it does NOT qualify. There are also income qualifications for the buyers.

The contigencies on the NSP program that must be included on any standard purchase agreement are as follows: 1) Purchase price must be 85% of appraised value. 2) Contract is subject to approval of NSP funds. 3) Property must have clear/free title and 4) All lead-based paint issues have been resolved. The Construction issues that must be addressed for the homei nclude: 1) Must meet health/safety issues 2) Must be energy efficent 3) All improvements must be marketable.

All buyers interested in working with renovated foreclosures that benefit from NSP funds must be involved in eight hours of housing-related counseling. The program will be implemented under the direction of the Mayor's Division on Community Development.

There is a lot of information AND a lot of confusion as the Mayor and local realtors attempt to sort out all fo the details. If you are interested in seeing if you qualify for this program, please let me know. I will get you all of the information and details that you will need to begin the process.

In these days of high inventory and buyers seeking bargains, I love to give the sellers every possible tool. Recently I showed a great home, uncluttered, clean with incredible karma. And to finish the deal, the agent had left a binder on the kitchen counter with great information including a personal note from the homeowner talking about how her home had been so fun to decorate and furnish, how she had had her wedding on the balcony, and how the neighbors always watched out for each other. Wow, my buyer signed the contract there and then.

Here are some other usual AND out of the box ideas for the home book:

1/ MLS description and stats

2/ Lots of great photos

3/ List of homeowner updates and expenses

4/ Information on area public/private schools

5/ Homeowner Association covenants

6/ Map of area and amenities

7/ Survey of Home

8/ Neighborhood Information

9/ Tax Information

10/ House plans

11/ Utility bill averages

12/ Photographs for home in all seasons

13/ Sellers Disclosure Form

14/ Personal Note from Homeowner(s)

15/ Google Earth maps

16/ Zoning Information

17/ Significant area News Articles

18/ Area Comparables

20/ Purchase Agreement (in case the Buyer wants to sign up right now!)

Neither the National Association of Realtors (NAR), RE/MAX International or my local RE/MAX Results broker could not tell you when the market will turn around. But one thing is apparent -- there is an incredible amount of pent up demand for home buyers and sellers that will manifest itself -- hopefully soon! Realtors must know the local housing market trends -- because buying and selling strategy will be based on the fine points of the local housing industry.

So here is just a taste of what happened last year as far as real estate market trends for Allen County, Indiana. The most significant trend is the downturn in new construction inventory and sales. Since last year, new construction inventory is down 17.9% and pending units are down a whopping 31.6%.

Overall, there is less inventory in existing housing -- which accounts for less pending units in this area. Actually, that is good for home sellers because they have less competition!

Also, all mortgage rates are down from last year. My most recent buyer secured a 30-year rate of 4.75% -- WOW! Now that should get buyers off of the couch:-)

In 2008, the average home was on the market for about 4 months. In 2007, that same home would have been on the market for 98 days. Not a significant difference, but it means that the home must be priced right with the market so that it does not become "shop worn."

Also, of note, there are about 100 less realtors locally this year than last year. With the hundreds of new realtors that are licensed every year, this number is significant. It is expensive to be a realtor -- especially in a slower market. So any agent that makes it now as an independent contractor deserves an "atta boy!"

For further information on the Allen County Market, feel free to view further information on real estate in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

I REALLY love working with buyers -- especially first time buyers or those commonly referred to as "property virgins." They are so trusting and exciting and fresh and a blast to be with. So to help them ease the journey into one of the most major decisions they will ever make, I have come up with a few guidelines for them to consider before they take that leap!

1) LOCATION --Best to be close to work, close to schools, close to good shopping. Unless (of course) you don't work, go to school or shop. Make sure it isn't on a busy intersection. Noisy neighbors, dogs, jacked up cars, machinery -- run the other way.

2) CONDITION--Okay home in a 100K neighborhood. Priced at about 90K but needs 60K worth of work. How much work do you want to do on that home and will you EVER get your investment back -- or do you care? Look beyond the "staging" and below the surface to ensure that there are no long-term issues lurking.

3) FUNCTION--How does the home flow. Do you need a first floor bath because you can't (or won't) climb stairs? Are the rooms out of proportion to what you need? Can the home grow with your family? Do you have to walk through a bedroom to get to the home's only bathroom?

4) RESALE -- Now this is the one I feel a bit self-serving about. But I want you to know that when you want to sell your home 4-7 years from now and you call me, I don't want to sell something that will be "unloadable." So please, don't buy a home with the kitchen window that looks at a water tower, railroad tracks, a concrete wall, or a major interstate. Don't buy a weird floor plan with a great room the size of a football field or a dining room which doubles as a third bedroom, laundry room and mudroom!

5) PRICE -- The price is based on the comparable homes that have SOLD! So the listing price is just a guideline and I will give you all of the information that you need to make a decision about what that house is REALLY worth. Because, if you buy it at the right price, you will be telling all of your friends about how incredible, awesome and gorgeous I am. And it will be a wonderful, relaxing, fun experience for all involved.

Have a Happy Home Hunt!