Esther Camarotte

If you are a first time buyer or not I have the best in the business here to help you understand what is available for you!

Agenda

 9:30 -   Registration begins - come enjoy some great coffee and breakfast

10:00 - MBH Settlement Group - Attorney Joanna Silva will discuss what happens from contract to closing and in between

10:20 - First Heritage Mortgage - Vice President Ken Byrne will discuss financing available including 100% financing.  FHA, VA and conventional financing will also be covered.  You have so many options not to be missed.

11:00 - Hulbert Home Inspections - Seth Hulbert will go over this very important part of the transaction what's wrong with the house!  In depth explanation of what goes on during the inspection of your purchase. 

12:00 - Bargain Boxes and Moving - They will talk about how to move without losing your mind!

There will be a Question and Answer session after each presentation.  So come sit enjoy and get into that dream house before the Holidays we can do it together.  Just summit your registration and I personally will save you a seat.

Sponsored by MBH Settlement Group, First Heritage Mortgage, Hulbert Home Inspections LLC, Bargain Boxes

Do I have your attention? These are words of advice to all homeowners thinking of selling please smell your home. Smell is such an important thing when selling your home.

Just recently I was showing in D.C. It was a lovely townhouse but then as the buyer and I walked up the stairs . . . THE SMELL . . . hit me . . . cat urine. That overwhelming odor of the ammonia when the box hasn't been cleaned. As we walked into the bedroom there it was the cat box and the mushy stale wet cat food. I have to give you the visual because this is how we see it when we walked in. It did not matter now how great it was we turned and left. So I felt compelled to talk about the unthinkable, the smell in your house.

Smell is a very conscience and sometimes subconscious entity that must be dealt with when selling your home. Smells can turn off buyers either because they are offensive, it can trigger good or bad memories, but more importantly it can cause the buyer to walk out the door and not even want to go back.

So when selling or thinking of selling look around and see what could cause any kind of smell. Your sweet cat, the cute dog, the rabbit and heaven help us all the weasel, can issue odors that will send even the most seasoned realtor running out the door. There are other things that cause smells. Example, we should not be able to smell what you had for dinner the night before.

The house needs to be cleaned, and in place in good order and smell free. Please also know that strategically placing deodorizers full of strawberry, flowery or any super scent will also send me running out the door. The first question that comes to my mind is what are you trying to hide? Now that I have voiced my opinion let me give you a few suggestions.

1. Get a friend or someone who will tell you the truth and have them walk through the house. Point of reference if they are not good housekeepers themselves they are not going to be a good point of reference.

2. Throw the garbage out, clean the litter box several times a day and GET RID OF THE FOOD ON THE FLOOR.

3. Give the dog a bath, clean his living area and again GET RID OF THE FOOD ON THE FLOOR.

4. Big offender is that smell in a basement after water has been there. Get a dehumidifier (make sure you empty it regularly), clean and find the source of water entry. Placing lime in crawlspaces helps to absorb the smell.

5. Call me I always give my sellers my honesty in order to sell their home and how to address smells. My cell 202-344-0045. I am a licensed Associate Broker in VA, MD, DC.

I have walked into plenty of fabulous homes to only have the buyer repelled by the smell. The other thing that occurs is you will see a low ball offer more often than not. That is if we can actually get the buyer to make an offer.

There are so many homes on the market and you must place your home in the best possible position so that you will be remembered because you have a great house and not because I remember that smell.

So I write this post and it's a little after 8 pm on December 31, 2010. Change is something most people are afraid of. I am someone who actually embraces change with a vengeance. I have never feared change. A quote that I look to many times is ""The wise man in the storm prays to God, not for safety from danger, but deliverance from fear" Ralph Waldo Emerson. Change can invoke fear. That fear can sometimes creep into my psyche. I face fear head on and work through it always. This has made me the woman I am today personally and professionally.

My career choice took me down the path of real estate, who would have guessed if you had known me 30 years ago. Real estate is an interesting and ever changing industry and if you fear change than this is not the path for you. Everything in my world is constantly changing, from how we look up property, remember the days of 10 inch listing books, to how we show property, paperless contracts and electronic signatures to now we are placing QR Codes on our signs. (If anyone wants to know what a QR code is email me)

2010 has had many endings with many changes I professionally and personally made. I made an important career move from Long and Foster Realtors to Keller Williams Realty in August. I finally closed my brokerage, City Partners Realty in Atlanta, GA in October and now I end 2010 by deciding to move my personal residence. Big changes that would normally invoke fear of the unknown - the future. I welcome the changes it makes life interesting.

I spent the evening ending toxic things in my life and disengaging from negativity so that at the strike of midnight I am bringing in the New Year on a positive note. This year will not include the clink of a champagne glass out of choice because I am ending 2010 on my terms and beginning 2011 on my terms. I am happily saying goodbye to many things and hello to a brand new year 2011 and all the changes it will bring.

I meet many incredible people on this journey I call life. Many of these people are my clients and I love each one of them. Many of these clients after spending sometimes many months with me become personal friends and I have so many of these personal friends now they have totally enriched my life and I want to take the time to thank them for being an important part of my life and for making me laugh.

So I look forward to 2011 which comes in about 3 hours and all the incredible changes it holds for me and my son. I also feel that 2011 will be the year that real estate takes hold again and moves in the right direction. I finally feel we have reach the end of the downslide (ooh a prediction I don't normally make these), but here goes I do think we will see an upward movement in the real estate world. So let's all say goodbye to 2010 and happily welcome 2011.

Happy New Year to each and every one of you who reads me today!

This business has certain practices that have been around a long time, but when the market went crazy these practices went by the wayside.

I had a great home on the market in Arlington, VA and no offers after 90 days. We had lowered the asking price but still nothing. Once we got below $600K I decided it was time for another Open House. It was a beautiful Sunday and had some nice traffic come through and then they came in. Cute couple with their child and commented on how much they loved the home, that it was perfect, but they had their condo to sell. I said not to worry I would honor their buyer's agent and they left their contact info along with the name of their agent.

After days nothing from the agent, I called the buyer, nothing, then email, nothing. Sitting at a KW conference in Austin, TX this past August the session was on how Gen Y'rs love to text so decided right there I would text him. Bingo, within 5 minutes he responds on how sorry he was for not contacting me sooner and gave me his agent's contact info. We had an offer within 48 hours.

As the story goes they had not even placed their condo on the market, and the offer came with the dreaded Contingency - Sale of the Purchaser's Property and Kick-Out. After much research on my part and discussion with the sellers I told them if the price is acceptable we should take it and allow the Contingency, and they did.

Well, the contingency after 30 days has been removed and we are closing as scheduled on the contract. My folks have found a fabulous home and will close on their home on the same day as the closing of their current home.

Moral of the story is do your due diligence and serve your client. It sometimes takes a bit of work on our part and strategy to get the home sold.

Yes, I broke the rules took the Contingency and trusted in what the data showed me. The end result a happy seller!

The last 2 weeks have been interesting, in 2 separate offer situations with the same buyer the sellers have had unrealistic expectations on what they feel their home is worth. I truly believe it is the responsibility of the listing agent to make their homeowner aware of what can and cannot affect the value of their home. It is also the listing agent's responsibility to go over comparables and what can happen at appraisal time should they find a buyer willing to overpay for the property.

In the first offer situation the seller told his agent to absolutely stop telling him that the bank determines the value of the home with an independant appraisal. The seller then countered us with removal of the appraisal contingency and the guarantee that my buyer would pay the difference between the appraisal and the contracted purchase price. I would guess the seller realized that the home would not appraise and obviously this became the deal breaker for us and we walked away from the deal. This is why buyers have appraisal contingencies and banks order appraisals.

In the second offer situation the seller is so overpriced and has been on and off the market for over 14 months. The listing agent is trying to explain to me how I am incorrect in determining value, but the fact is if it hasn't sold in the last 14 months there is a reason - PRICE!

I had an appraiser many years ago explain to me on what they do in determing value. This is also just one part of it not all of it in determining value, and there are different methods of value. Examples would be highest and best use, cost of replacement, etc. So let's begin . . .

First - like/same. What does that mean? A ranch/rambler or one level home will be compared to the same. A basement will add to the value, no basement will take away depending on whether the subject property has a basement or not. It will not be compared to a 2 story colonial or a contemporary.

Second - square footage. The appraiser compares square footage adding and subtracting value to the subject property.

Third - upgrades. Please understand if you replaced a roof, furnace, central air, water heater, etc these are not upgrades as these are necessities in a home. You can't sell a house without a roof. The biggest mistake is the homeowner over upgrades their home. I once had a listing where they laid marble floors in a $130K home, no one cared. What happens is the homeowner is disappointed or sometimes even gets angry when the buyers don't find it an important upgrade.

There are many many other factors that go into an appraisal including neighborhood values, etc. This is just a small part of the appraisal process.

Now, attracting buyers - please when painting take into consideration your colors. You may love electric blue but most buyers won't. The same goes for selection in flooring. Don't cheap out! Pergo or laminate flooring is nice but it is not a replacement for hardwood flooring. Buyers love hardwood floors. You might just be better off installing carpet if cost is a factor.

Please understand, when you price your home $80,000 over everything else in your neighborhood, even if I had a buyer who would be willing to pay for your over priced home - IT WON'T APPRAISE. Appraisers calculate based on actual 12 month sales and active listings (foreclosures and short sales included). The end result would be a reduction in price or even worse the buyers would walk due to buyers remorse given the opportunity to change their minds.

The appraiser works from what is real not what is the seller's perceived value. Mr. Seller, I as a buyer's agent know that listing agents have a trick that they withdraw the listing and then re-list the home with the new lower price. The home is then reflected as a new listing on the market. FYI, a good buyer's agent will check the history and we see everything that has occurred with the listing. We will see those 365 days you have been on and off the market. I do really want to sell your home to my buyers but no one will over pay for your house in this market.

My buyers have been heartbroken but I will find that dream home they want and at the right price!