Heather Oberhau, Bucks County Real Estate, e-PRO

In September, I told you about some seriously cool software that I learned that gives my clients and me some great tools to determine pricing, competition, and timing.

The following information is regarding "Months Supply of Inventory" of single family residential homes currently on the market, as of the last day of October 2008. I warn you, it's grim news.

We currently have 15.7 months of inventory on the market, up from 11.6 months in September. Over a two year period, the "Month Supply of Inventory" has increased 108%.

Shoot me an email and I'll be happy to send the report to you as a .pdf file. I can also run this report for your municipality to give you even more specific numbers for your home.

So, what's a girl (or boy) to do?

What's I've been preaching so much, even I'm sick of hearing it.

Your home has to be either a spectacular value or in spectacular condition. It has to blow the rest of that overwhelming inventory out of the water. In order: get it staged, price it right, market the hell out of it.

Here are some links to additional information on staging, pricing, and marketing:

The Quickest Fixes to Get Your Home Show Ready

Five Things Buyers DO Give a Crap About

We Don't Need No Stinkin' Internets

To put it delicately, many of the bank owned properties need...

a little work.

However, there are wonderful deals to be found for the courageous Buyer. I currently have a home under contract around $130,000 UNDER comparable properties. Now, the home needs work, and some (but not all) of that built in equity will be eaten up by rehab costs. At the end of the day, my handy Buyer got a great deal on a home.

But, here is the conundrum...

It's very difficult to get financing for a property that is in bad condition. A tarped roof, broken windows, missing appliances, etc. will make getting a mortgage difficult. Your agent should be able to give you an idea if the property is "Mortgage-able" or not.

If the property is in such disrepair that you cannot get a traditional mortgage, you can pursue what's called a rehab mortgage. In this scenario, the mortgage company will loan you the purchase price + rehab costs, up to 80% of the estimated, post-rehab appraised value. These loans are pretty involved. You'll need a signed contract with a licensed contractor who can provide a resume and references to the bank. The bank will be involved in your rehab process, and may need to inspect the work prior to releasing the contractor's payment, etc. They may require permits be secured for the work, even prior to closing on the property.

You need to assess the viability of a regular mortgage vs. a rehab mortgage BEFORE placing an offer on the property. Due to the more complicated process in securing a rehab mortgage, you'll need to build in additional time to obtain the mortgage commitment and settlement.

Are you a courageous Buyer? If so, I'm your girl. I'll find you the deals AND the financing for them.

Selling a beloved family home after the death of a parent may be one of the most emotional real estate transactions you will go through. On top of the obvious difficulty in dealing with the death of a parent, the family home is often in some disrepair and dated.

When working with estates, I counsel the family to take an honest look at the home. If the home has generally been maintained, and has been updated throughout the years with new mechanicals (heater, roof, etc) as needed, then it may make sense to do a light rehab. What's a light rehab? Paint and carpet. Perhaps a kitchen. Now you have an updated, well maintained home that should be a very sellable product (as long as you price it right).

If however, the home has been neglected, and many of the major components need repair or replacement, then it doesn't make sense to rehab the home. You would have to do a full-scale rehab at that point. It rarely makes sense for an estate to invest that significant amount of time, energy, and money. At that point, I suggest that it's better to sell the house "as-is" and let someone else invest the money, time, and energy to bring the home up to speed. It doesn't make sense to paint and carpet a home that is only going to undergo a major rehab, and you'll be throwing good money away.

How about if the home is marginal? Paint and carpet, neaten up the kitchen if possible, maybe with new flooring and countertop, and price it to sell.

Although difficult to do, you need to take an emotional step back from the home in order to see its true condition, then move forward from there in a way that makes sense: financially and emotionally.

The ultimate goal of most REALTORS is to have a referral based business; one where clients come to you by word of mouth, and you are able to run a successful business just by answering the phone and getting fabulous clients. I'm on my way there, as 78% of my business this year came from past clients or referrals. It's a fabulous way to work, and I thank each and every one of my past clients who were so kind as to entrust me with their family and friends.

There are many training programs for REALTORS that focus on getting referrals from past clients.

Wanna know how?

By begging for them. By calling people up with thinly veiled "Oh by the way, do you know anyone who might be buying or selling real estate?"

There was a rather extensive article in a trade magazine, which actually encouraged agents to group their friends, family, and past clients into Groups A and B. They go on to tell you to treat everyone you know as a Group A for one year. No referrals from you in that time? Well, then, you get demoted to Group B. I guess then you only get four "Oh by the way" calls each year, rather than the thrill of getting one each month.

Let me tell you why I think MY business is mainly referral based:

I do a good job. I work hard (and smart). I care about my clients. I care about you when you hire me, I care about you as we go through the process, and I care about you after the deal closes. (And I care even if you don't send any referrals my way).

I would never disrespect a client so much as to group them by their worthiness of my attention, based on how much business they feed me.

Yet, amazingly, I'm still running a referral based business.

No grouping necessary.

As our market dies down for the winter, now is the best time to start thinking about picking up a fix and flip investment property.

The general inactivity of the market creates a situation for very motivated sellers, particularly for vacant properties. Few people want to pay to heat a home all winter with today's oil prices. Additionally, the general fall-off of Buyers means a greater negotiating power for those who are ready, willing, and able to purchase.

The timeline for a winter purchase works out especially well for a fix and flip. Motivated Sellers are looking to unload their property before the holidays to free up some cash, and to dodge the oil heat bullet. If you settle in mid - December, and figure an eight week turnaround on the repairs, your rehab will be hitting the market mid-February. Our selling season ramps up in March/April.

Also, contractors are generally slow during the holidays, and you may be able to negotiate better pricing on the work you have done to the home.

This time of the year is a great meeting of motivated sellers, timing the market, and economic factors that make it a good time to purchase a fix and flip. Want to see some "possibilities?" Shoot me an email. I've got my eye on a few!