Kelly Sibilsky

Online shopping is a great way to gather information and comparison shop without driving all over town and it also allows you to purchase things from companies that do not have nearby retail outlets. Sometimes you can get a better price than you could locally as well.

There are drawbacks to buying things online, however. For one thing, you can't really get a feel for the color, fit, quality, size or condition of the item, no matter how many pictures are taken from different angles or how well written and descriptive the advertising. Then there is the difficulty (and cost) in returning something that ends up being not quite right.

Even with the plethora of information available online today about real estate listed for sale (multiple photos, descriptive ad copy, virtual tours, videos, maps, street views and community information) there is absolutely no substitute for seeing a property in person prior to purchasing it.

What is the neighborhood like? How far is the house from schools, businesses and restaurants you frequent regularly? How many cars are parked in the street? Is there a barking dog next door? Are the neighbors friendly? Is the street filled with potholes or is it well maintained? How many short sales or foreclosures are in the area? If it is evening, are there streetlights or unsavory people lurking around? Is there a landfill or industrial park one block over? Is there water damage in the basement or cracks in the foundation? Curling shingles on the roof? Is there a lingering odor of smoke or pets? Is the house clean? Do doors, drawers and windows open and close easily? Is the carpet worn? Does the floor plan fit the needs of your family? Do you like the views from the windows?

I could go on and on but you get my point. Although photos and descriptions posted on the internet aren't meant to be misleading, they are designed to showcase a house at its very best. Consider this:

The advertising efforts of a real estate agent will result in many showings of a house to potential buyers. However, despite the fact that each and every potential buyer "liked" the house when he or she viewed it online, most decide that it doesn't actually fit their wants or needs once visited in person.

Believe it or not, there are some online only real estate companies that advocate buying a house online, sometimes sight-unseen. They encourage buyers to shop for a new house online, to prepare their own market analysis and to formulate their own offer without the assistance of a real estate agent.

Please don't turn your most expensive purchase into your biggest mistake by purchasing a house online without seeing it in person. It is one online purchase that can't be returned if it ends up being not quite right.

A seller has his house on the market.

His house is exactly the same model as another house in the same neighborhood that sold for, let's say, $290,000 a month ago (it was listed for $305,000). The seller's own house, while nice, is not as updated as the house that recently sold for $290,000.

It is October in Northern Illinois, and the market is experiencing not just a seasonal lull, but an economic related housing decline as well.

The seller should:

A. List his house for $305,000, but stage it and add a few updates, such as new light fixtures, a new roof, granite countertops, and a fresh paint job; so that it more closely resembles the most recently closed comparable.

or...

B. Price his house below $290,000.

I know what I would recommend if this were my client (it's NOT). What about you?

This is not a bad thing. It may be inconvenient and a pain in the you-know-what, but it is essential to make sure that buyers can actually afford the house they want to purchase.

I hear many people (agents and buyers alike) moan and groan about the new tougher loan requirements. Are they forgetting that it was the loosey-goosey requirements of the past several years that largely caused the housing mess we are in today? While I agree that we need buyers to be able to get loans in order to reduce some of the housing inventory and therefore strengthen the overall economy, we also need buyers to get responsible loans...loans that they can afford not just now but in 3, 5 or 7 years from now.

I remember when my husband and I bought our very first house back in the early 1990's. Our financial situation was carefully scrutinized by the bank and we had to provide a lot of documentation in order to get our loan. We had to prove that we could afford it. That was just the way it was back then, and while it was inconvenient and a pain in the you-know-what, it is what you had to do if you wanted to buy a house.

Fast forward to the last time we bought a house, in 2001. It was quick, easy and painless; way too easy to be approved for far more than we knew that we would be comfortable paying every month. Had we not been financially savvy enough to know what we could truly afford and stick to our predetermined budget, we may have found ourselves in hot water right about now.

If you are a potential buyer with money saved for a down payment, good credit scores, a stable job and a few months before you need to be in your new home, now is still a good time to consider purchasing a home. One you can truly afford. Don't stretch yourself in the hopes that you will grow into the payment, as so many did in the past. Life happens: a marriage, a new baby, a divorce, a new job...and the payment you thought you could afford more easily a few years down the road could suddenly become completely unaffordable.

My advice is to buy smart and embrace the tougher loan requirements of today. A few years from now you will be glad you did.

This is one of my "classic" posts that I thought I would share with all of you who didn't know me back in the beginning of my blogging days. This post was originally written on 8/9/07 and I'm sharing it with you today because I can't think of anything else to write about! Really!

No Thanks, I'm Just Looking

Have you ever walked into a store and been asked by a salesperson, "Can I help you?"

Of course you have, and if you're like me, it can be irritating. While I appreciate the offer of assistance, it's the timing that ticks me off. It's too soon, feels too pushy. My standard response is, "No thanks, I'm just looking."

Invariably, after I've had a few minutes to browse, I find myself looking around for a salesperson because now I do need some help. I'll wander around for a while, looking for someone to help me. Where is that salesperson who so nicely greeted me with her offer of assistance? To be honest, if I can't find her relatively quickly, I may ask simply ask the next closest salesperson for her help.

Oops. Salesperson #1 has just committed a critical error. She decided that my "No thanks, I'm just looking" meant that I didn't want any help at all and she went on to assisting someone else and forgot about me. The reality is that most buyers, whether online or in person, just want the salesperson to leave us alone but be there when we need them.

Online real estate shoppers are like any other shopper. And I am, for all intents and purposes, a real estate salesperson.

Therefore, a visitor to my website, upon submitting an email address, will receive the following email from me:

"Thank you for visiting my website. I hope you will find it an easy to use and informative way to research the market.

It is my sincere desire that you feel comfortable using my website. Therefore, it is my policy to have you dictate the level of contact that you want from me. This means that unless you specifically request to be contacted by telephone, I will not call you!

Whether buying, selling, or just curious to learn more, I am here to assist you in any way possible. I hope you'll come back soon...and that you will consider me to be your REALTOR of choice when the time comes to buy or sell a home."

And I mean it! I won't forget about you and move on to the next prospective client. I will stay in touch; from time to time you will receive a short email from me containing tidbits of information or announcing a new listing that you may be interested in. Other than that, I will leave you alone to gather information at your leisure.

If you need anything at any time...more information about a particular listing, perhaps...I will respond quickly to get you the information you need. I will never be pushy or pressure you into setting up an appointment with me to look at homes. It's perfectly okay to hang out on my website and window shop.

I am ready when you are and will be delighted to assist you as you purchase your new home.

Last Monday morning brought unsettling news both regarding the overall economy and the housing market closer to home. I don't like to be the bearer of bad news or to dwell on the negative, but I do believe that the public needs to understand the reality of the situation in order to make sound financial and housing decisions and real estate agents shouldn't walk around with blinders on.

The absorption rate in Northern Illinois could rise to about 16 months by the end of this year. I was also informed that prices may need to drop approximately 7% in order to stabilize our housing market. According to many experts a stable housing market has about 6 months of inventory. All of this means that we have not yet hit bottom here in Northern Illinois.

For some time now, I have been informing my sellers and potential sellers to be very realistic about pricing and also cautioning those that do not need to sell to keep their homes off the market or consider renting them out instead. It is hard, as an agent, to basically turn away business but in many cases it is what is in the best interest of sellers who either have little equity or no real motivation. Why add to the market woes by putting more homes on the market when absorption rates are already so high?

There is some good news, however. Homes that are priced correctly (and by correctly I mean not at or above the most recently closed comparables, but priced less than those most recently sold homes - think 2003 or 2004 prices, folks) should sell in approximately 90 days. Of course, these are the best priced, best prepared and most updated homes. They don't back to busy streets, they are impeccably maintained, and they are the cream of the crop. Is your home the cream of the crop? If not, your price absolutely must reflect that.

By nature, I am a very positive person and always try to stay upbeat and look on the bright side. I keep looking for the light at the end of the tunnel and while I honestly cannot see that light yet, I do feel it is just around the corner. In the meantime, I, like many other agents, will continue to inform my clients what it will take to get a home sold in today's market and will not sugarcoat the truth. I will also continue to encourage nervous buyers to take advantage of what could be an once-in-a-lifetime housing sale.

It's not over until it's over, but this too shall pass. We just need to hang in there, stay informed, and react appropriately to the market conditions. If you are thinking about buying or selling a home, call me for honest advice and guidance. I'm here to help.