Jim Graham - REALTOR - Sumter and Shaw AFB real estate

It is time to decide if homeownership is right for you!! If you decide that it is, the market is in your favor. The advantages that homeownership offers are numerous. Rent increases on average 3% per year. Tax savings for home owners comes into play. Home values appreciate on average 4.5% per year while homeowners build more net worth.

Interest rates are great and the timing is perfect. I saw one quoted for 4.37% fixed for 30 years and the same rate quote for 15 year refinance. Boy, this is wonderful!! Home prices have adjusted across the board and are holding steady and homes are plentiful.

We have over 600 listings available in all price ranges and sellers are motivated!! Buyers are like kids in a candy store with plenty of options. First time home buyers have a tax incentive of $7,500 to realize by mid spring.

If you are thinking about buying a home, this could very well be the time to consider making this decision. Again, prices are right, interest rates are low, Tax incentives are available, and inventory is high. What more could you ask for?

As buyers, especially first time home buyers, come into the market place I feel that being prepared is parmount. Take the time to sit down and thoroughly discuss your wants and needs as it pertains to your purchase. Consider location, schools, neighborhoods, how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, size, taxes, insurance, payments, local traffic and finances. Create a pros & cons list of what you are looking for before setting appointments to preview homes. Take a strong look at your current household budget!

Contact a lender you feel comfortable with. Take the issues you discussed above with you to your lender and have a heart to heart discussion. You may want to do the same with your CPA. Make sure all of this falls with in your budgets game plan. Most buyers have a strong idea of what they can afford before establishing contact with a lender. Get an approval letter from your bank stating the optimum price range they think you should be searching in. Armed with this information, take the time to let it sink in and make sure it fits with your overall budget plan. Only you truly know how your budget works for you.

Know your local housing market by doing research and tons of it. Check tax records, talk with real estate agents, and check the news papers to gain the information you need. Research the neighborhoods your are interested in to know what homes have recently sold for in those neighborhoods. In the age of the internet there are plenty of avenues to gain the information you seek!

If you plan to choose a REALTOR to help you with this process, take the time to ask freinds, co-workers, and family if they have anyone in mind. If not, most real estate agents today have websites, so finding an agent shouldn't be hard to do. Interview them to see if they are truly a good match for you. Once you have found the agent you wish to work with, have them create CMAs on the properties you are interested in. This will give you a true pulse of your local market and will help in narrowing down your list of homes. Your agent will cover in detail all that goes into a home purchse at the appropriate time, but by taking these steps you will have prepared yourself for finding that home that is right for you.

It is a buyers market out there for sure. In our market Inventory is high, taxes are low, interest rates are holding steady, and funds are flowing to those with good credit. This is all great news unless you listen to THE NEWS. Keep in mind that each market is very different, and not every home seller is in panic mode over the sale of their home.

My concern is always making sure, as a REALTOR, that I price the homes accordingly with fair market value at the time of the listings. This means double checking my CMAs (Comparative market analysis) to make sure that I am as accurate as possible so my clients homes are not overpriced for the market causing them to experience any unnecessary delays in making a sale. Sure, in this market, homes may sit a tad longer than we would like, but it will not be because I have not done my homework.

Buyers beware!! When you have found the right home and you are ready to offer a contract, keep in mind that the market pressures have already beat you to the punch. Low balling an offer to gain the steal of the century sounds realistic enough, but may not be the best route to take. You may have just shut down all negotiations altogether, and that home you want so much could easily end up belonging to someone else. Yes I know that your response will be if it were meant to be, it will happen. Just know you play a strong role in whether or not it is meant to be.

Study your market of interest thoroughly. Ask tons of questions. Ask your agents to do CMAs for the homes your are interested in. Arm yourself fully before taking the next step. If a seller feels insulted by your offer, you may never get that second chance on that home you want so badly.Yes, the market is fully in your favor for the moment, but not a total slamdunk that any offer goes!!

How and where is your home going to be marketed? Will it only be in the MLS for other agents to see. Is it only going to appear in the newspaper? Will we only have a sign in the yard. Is your Home getting the viewings it deserves? How are buyers learning of your property? Will my agent take tons of photos? Does your agent have his/her own web site to show case these photos? Will he/she post it all over the web? Are we only going to market it to buyers that are in town? Are we aggressively marketing on the web?

These are real questions that need to be discussed as you consider marketing your home. Your agent should be willing to spend a lot of time answering these questions and others. The sale of your home will depend on the answers to these questions and how thorough the agent is in marketing your home.

What publications and how will your home be advertised depends on you and your decisions. Advertising is a very costly venture and is a very limiting factor for most agents. You will need to discuss the overall advertising scheme to determine the best route to take. Consider the budget you and your agent agree upon (commissions). Good marketing will work well for you, but a minimalistic approach is like shooting yourself in the foot! How is your home going to get the proper advertising it deserves in a market such as this, if the commission you have agreed on is too low? Discounting the commission to gain your business is not always the answer. SELLER BEWARE!! The real estate firm you choose will have their advertising set for your market, but the real question is, what is your agent doing on top of that? What are they are doing (or not) to separate themselves from the pack to sell your home? My suggestion is to consider paying more of an commission based on the publications and web sites your home will be listed on. Also, depending on how much more you are willing to pay, consider paying more in the co-brokerage fees as well. If your home is only going to be placed in your local MLS, by paying more in the co-brokerage fees, your home will gain more attention by the other agents in your area. Face it, it is a highly competitive business between agencies and agents. If you or your agent have cut deeply into their budget in way of reduced commissions then you have severely limited the advertising they can do on your behalf!

If you are only counting on the sign in the yard and an ad in the paper, you are likely to get calls from those riding around looking for something to do, or reading the Sunday afternoon paper. As a result of an extremely reduced commission, this may be all of the marketing you will receive. My experience is that the ad in the paper is only to appease the seller. See, we are doing something!! We do not get many calls from the news paper ads, but we still run them. Depending on the company, and the location of the home, we have noticed more curiosity seekers based on the sign in the yards(The nosey neighbor). We do receive calls from real buyers on sign calls, but that number is dwarfed by the just curious ones. A sign plays a role. Brand recognition and the reputation of the real estate firm plays a large role in that response. This leads to several more questions to ask. How long has your firm been in business? What is the reputation, character, and strength of a particular firm? How long has the agent been a REALTOR? I am not saying that newbie REALTORS are a bad choice, but try to find out how much help they receive from their brokers during the process. You will gain a lot of insight by asking questions.

Internet marketing has gained a lot of ground in the past few years as far as real estate is concerned. Just a year ago(2006), in South Carolina, the numbers of buyers and sellers that turned to the Internet before talking to an agent was around 54%. In 2007 those numbers have risen sharply to the 78 to 85% range. They are researching the market for several reasons. First, they want to get a finger on the pulse of the market, and secondly, they are searching for an agency and an agent with high visibility on the Internet. How did you find your last agency and agent to work with? Did they both have their own web sites where they could feature your home? Were their web sites easy to navigate? Buyers look at all of these issues to determine who they want to use as an agent. You should too! How is your agent/agency using this tool effectively? Virtual tours are on the rise in popularity, but so is the cost of this avenue. Can other choices be made that keep the cost down but keep the exposure high? We will ask you a lot of questions about what you are looking for in a home, or about your expectations concerning the sale of your home, but are you asking us all of the necessary questions about our marketing campaigns for your home?

It is my duty as your agent to make sure your home will receive the attention it deserves and to present as may buyers, near and far, to your doorstep.

Respectfully, Jim Graham (www.sumterrealestateforsale.com)

In our neck of the woods, we feel that home inspections done by reputable contractors makes for good business and sound home buying practices. You shouldn't have to rely solely on a home-sellers disclosure form when considering the purchase of your next home. Home inspectors will give the guided tour of your next home from the ground up. The practice and intent is to give you an up to date status report on the general health of the property you want to call home! The last thing you want is a money pit!!

The List can be extensive and cover up to 26 pages or so of things they will check. It is worth it to have a physical done on your future home so you do not get sick over it later! For pre-existing homes it is a must. For new constructions there is much debate but still worth the peace of mind it brings. I just had an inspection done for a buyer client and the inspection found several things you wouldn't expect from a new construction. We are hoping these issues will be addressed very soon, but are preparing to move on to the next home on the list. Reluctant builders do not add up to sold homes!

The inspection will cover all of the system checks such as plumbing, electrical, and heating and air conditioning. Attic spaces, basements, and crawl spaces will be crawled through to detect leaks, structural changes, water damage, and mold issues that are not obvious, or not disclosed because of repair costs. As I said, the list is extensive but worth every penny to be sure the home you are willing to purchase will convey as advertised.

Jim Graham