Scott Messing

Amidst the housing market turmoil and the sheer quantity of homes listed in many markets the most popular question for those selling homes is what do I need to do to get this home sold?

If we knew 100% of the time we would both be sitting some place exotic right now sipping margaritas and enjoying a much-needed calmer lifestyle.

Of course we answer to price the property right but there are other things you could do to get the home sold and YES sometimes at a slightly higher price than your competition or perhaps higher than what an agent may have indicated. Yes it's true that you don't have to be priced at the very lowest point especially in cases where the competition isn't providing the buyers what they want. Sure pricing below the competition will hopefully attract buyers but this is just one possible thing to do.

Ok so what do buyers really want? The #1 thing is the old standby location, location, location but in today's market there maybe 10 homes in the same highly desirable location all just sitting and waiting for new homeowners. Also in this market most buyers want "the great deal" and in some cases location will take a back seat.

What can you do to set yourself apart?

To capture the most buyers it's all about creating positive, warm & inviting impressions. We want to open up your home to reach as many buyers as possible. For this purpose staging or as we like to call it presenting your home to create positive impressions is the #1 thing you can do attract buyers.

There have been numerous books and articles published dealing with staging. We want to stress that you don't have to spend several hundred dollars or thousands in hiring a professional to come in with lots of big furniture. With our marketing services we now incorporate how to attract buyers through presenting & staging your home to create a positive impact. We provide tips, examples, strategies and even props to make those positive impressions.

Our clients receive a new wealth of information to reach out and attract more buyers. Upon our initial walk through of your home we will show you how our program works. Some items we may suggest will cost a bit of money but nothing too drastic we promise! In terms of repairs while it's true that the more repairs you have to do may impact the price often you don't have to fix the major repairs and you can still make that positive impact and reach the most buyers. After all repairs can usually be negotiated or even handled out of escrow.

Presenting your home to reach the most buyers is first and foremost about clearing the clutter and cleaning the home! The problem is many sellers don't know how to define clutter and what to actually remove from their home. Having a presenting specialist enter your home and advise you on these matters will help attract the most buyers. It's our new service that's always included in our full marketing of your property and at no cost to you!

There is obvious clutter such as stacked boxes, too many dvds, books and various items spread out all over. However there are many things usually missed from the glass collection to the too many pictures or art display all over the walls. Think about the Johnsons, new buyers that are looking at 3 bedroom 2 bath homes in your town. They pull up to your home and are greeted by a lovely pathway with a few flowers and what appears to be a clean home painted in nice neutral or light colors. They walk up to the door and their agent opens the home for their viewing pleasure. The first thing they notice is a large deer head with antlers hanging from the family room wall. They can't help but focus on the deer head. Their eyes just go right for it. No matter if they are pro or anti hunting they are now occupied by that deer head. They aren't seeing your beautiful family room. Now imagine this type of item in several rooms or perhaps other items that cause the Johnsons to talk about the item but not your home. Are they being left with a positive impression? Are they seeing your home for all it is including a wonderful place to entertain? Buyers get lost too easily and making the right impression with them is the #1 thing to do in order to get your hoe sold. This is just one of many, many examples we can provide. First you must attract the buyers by having your home priced properly. Besides pricing you must have wonderful pictures that were taken post staging! Next you must keep your home in the buyer's minds as a place they can not only themselves living but enjoying too.

Tami and I have worked with so many buyers who indicate what they want initially and as we see the home this quickly changes into what they'd like to see in a home. It's about emotions, feelings and how the home speaks to them. Sellers that don't give a chance for their house to speak in positive tones to these buyers are at a real disadvantage.

We are ready to guide sellers through this presenting process. While Scott is now a Certified Home Marketing Specialist, Tami has also taken many ERA courses dealing with presenting & staging of homes. Together we provide many tips, strategies and even bring in some props that will help attract and keep buyers focused on your home.

Give us a call for a consultation and let us show you how providing buyers with what they want can get your home sold quicker and often at a higher price. We have the tools for you to use and best of all it's all included in our marketing of your home!

These are tough times all around. Families are feeling the pinch with rising utility costs, fear of job losses, layoffs, higher education, medical, dental and grocery costs. Tami and I know this first hand as we deal with the same concerns as most do. We review our family budgets; cut costs in many areas including food shopping and we hang on tightly. My son Jayden hasn't started daycare yet and frankly he may not. Luckily I have Tami's teenagers who are home schooled available to help watch him. This savings of $550 per month goes a long way. However, many families aren't so lucky and need to work several jobs and place all their children into daycare, which causes even more stress on their family and their budgets.

Whether you're buying, selling or currently a homeowner that is concerned with what's currently happening in our economy this market impacts your life. Read on to see what possibilities you have to help yourself or the people you love in their real estate needs.

Many people want to purchase a home instead of renting. This does make sense when rents can be as high as if not higher than a mortgage payment. Renting provides no tax advantages and often the apartments or homes are not too comfortable and have landlords that are not to quick with fixing or updating appliances or other items in the home. Renting is good during some situations but it's not really a place to call your own is it?

For any potential homebuyer the first step is to contact a lender and review your financial situation to hopefully become approved. People face many challenges nowadays including credit related, debt to income and down payment related issues. One key is to find a lender that will advise you on what steps to take to help resolve any issues preventing a current approval. Even when problems are found the key is to Never Say Never!

As agents we say please work with your lenders to fix the current problems. We have worked with many people that were first declined for a loan correct things and change their lives to become approved 6 months or even a year later. We've also worked with people that refused to listen saying that it will never happen and so they remain in the same situation. Never Say Never!

One great example is what is happening to a young couple we are working with today. We have been working with a couple since June and unlike most people that say they will work on the problems this couple did. They fixed many outstanding issues the past several months and now they are approved. We have identified 2 properties in their price range of $80,000 with 1 to 2 acres (outskirts Boise Mountain area) and now they are ready to write an offer and make the dream of homeownership a reality.

Many times people throw up their hands especially in today's climate where it's even more difficult to be approved. Giving up is not the solution. Sometimes clients say they will work on things but never get to it through procrastination or additional spending instead of debt consolidation and then 6 months past and they are in the same position. Often people are fearful of trusting others so they refuse to give out their personal information to correct the issues. Stepping out of your comfort zone and providing any and all documentation to your lender is part of the solution. Yes this includes your blood type and possibly your firstborn child. Of course we are just kidding here you can't get rid of your firstborn child that easily. The key is that every problem has a solution. It's all a matter of working with people to find that solution. We are not just saying for buyers to open up and provide information, seller's too need to be open and provide details on their property such as liens, personal judgments or other issues that may impact the sale of their property. Being upfront will save so much heartache and time in the end. Real estate must go back to being about people and solving their issues.

Never Say Never! Many sellers are giving up on the marketing process either pulling their homes off the market, renting them out when possible or letting it go to foreclosure. We've seen past homes whereby we indicated a price range but the owner refused to accept the reality of the current market situation. One example was where we told a client that his home should be priced in the $270,000 range, but he insisted on trying for at least $320,000, despite owing far less than the $270,000. Now it sits 8 months later at $280,000 after several price reductions. He's chasing the market, which is never a great thing to do. His home has fallen further toward $260,000 in value. If we could have obtained that $280,000 8 months ago he would have sold this home, saved thousands and been done with all this stress.

Never Say Never! Consider all options and solutions in today's market. Work on things now that need to be done. Pull your credit reports and review them for inaccuracies and issues needing to be resolved. Start consolidating debt by transferring high interest credit cards whenever possible to 0% promotional cards and then make the same if not more in payments toward the new card thus decreasing the balance. Owners currently marking your home keep the home priced ahead of the market and make sure it's clean and ready to be shown at all times. Contact agents that provide aggressive marketing campaigns and listen for solutions that agents may suggest. Remember it's always about putting people first.

We'd love to help you with your real estate needs in any way. Whether it's just to ask us some questions, for some advice or if you're ready to go now please contact us so we can see if we are a right fit for each other.

Foreclosures & short sales are accounting for almost 35% of the current housing inventory in the Treasure Valley area of Idaho. With this number expected to rise in 2009 it's creating some very upset buyers and sellers.

We just recently finished helping a client close on a short sale that took 125 days. We now have 2 additional clients that are in the middle of short sale negotiations. I say in the middle but the problem remains the negotiating really happens between the lender and the current owner or in reality it's between the lender, their loss mitigation department, the listing agent representing the owner and the agent representing the buyer's best interests. Sound confusing? It is a bit but let's explain what this all means and how it usually works. After we will look at 3 cases of recent short sales one in Boise, 1 in Nampa and 1 in Meridian to see if they were a great deal in the end.

Remember short sales happen when the owner owes more than what the home can be sold for in the market. When the listing brokerage trys to get the lender to accept less than what the owner owes it's considered a short sale. One problem is getting the lender to consider taking less. It's not a simple process. A completed short sale packet must be submitted to the lender. Many components go into making this packet complete. Just to name a few they include a Brokers Price Opinion, a Hardship Letter from the owners, Proof that the owners can't make the payments by providing bank statements & financials, market analysis and more. An incomplete packet causes further delays to this already lengthy process. Many agents new to the short sale process may not have the knowledge or training needed to represent their clients in the challenging world of short sales. We've seen agents indicate that an approval from the lender should only take a week or two only to still be waiting a month later. Frustrating you bet!

With the market continuing to trend downward at this time another problem facing sellers and buyers is that the comparables for areas continue to drop. Short sales and foreclosures contribute to this drop. Lenders want recently sold comparables and often this too can hold up the process for as they wait new comparables become available to analyze.

It's not just a case of a single decision maker behind the desk saying yes or no. Lenders have their loss mitigation departments that must review the short sale packet. The more inventory they have you would think the more likely it is for them to respond quickly and take even less. That's simply not true. More inventories equal a longer response time to review the packet. Prices aren't reduced based on volume but instead based on market analysis for the particular location along with the short sale packet and the lender's own goals.

One of the main benefits for sellers with short sales remain that they can usually move on with a smaller hit to their credit compared to having their home foreclosed.

What about the "great deal" buyers find with short sales is this usually the case? I felt the answer was probably only on occasion and so to find out I did a random sample of 3 subdivisions, 1 in Boise, 1 in Nampa and 1 in Meridian in various price ranges. Here are the results using comparables based on recently sold homes with similar square footage in most cases and with many similar features:

Rockhampton Subdivision located in SW Boise

Short sale property

3bd, 2ba 1868 sq ft

Sold $206,000 which is $110.28 per sq ft

Vs. Other Recently Sold Homes

Foreclosed Home:

4bd, 2.5ba 1802 sq ft

Sold for $192,500 which is $106.83 per sq ft

Owner Home:

3bd, 2.5ba 1891 sq ft on a bigger .25 acre

Sold for $190,000 which is $100.48 per sq ft

Blackhawk Subdivision located in NE Nampa

Short sale property

3bd, 2ba 1486 sq ft

Sold 8/29/08 for $137,000 which is $92.19 per sq ft

Vs. Other Recently Sold Homes

Owner Home:

3bd 2.5ba 1708 sq ft (Much larger I know)

Sold for $139,000 which is $81.38 per sq ft

Investor Owned Home:

4bd, 2.5ba 1545 sq ft

Sold for $139,500 which is $90.29 per sq ft

Baldwin Park Subdivision in NW Meridian

Short sale property

3bd 3ba 2137 sq ft

Sold for $203,058 which is $95.02 per sq ft

Vs. Other Recently Sold Homes

Owner Home:

4bd, 3ba 2428 sq ft

Sold for $212,000 which is $87.31 per sq ft (Short Sale Impacted?)

Other Short Sale Owned:

3bd, 2ba 1788 sq ft

Sold for $203,000 which is $113.53 per sq ft (Not a very good deal!)

The results here point out that often short sales are not the great deal savers that some believe. There are great deals to be had by both owner and foreclosed properties as shown. It's simply a myth that all short sales bring incredible deals. Seeing the comparables and having your agent negotiate on your behalf will help you reach an informed decision.

Yes short sales and foreclosures are accounting for basically 1/3 of the current properties on the market. We understand how it's benefiting the owners but it's also causing so much frustration for other sellers and for the buyers out there looking for what they perceive is a great deal but don't realize the waiting times involved and the realities when they see the recently sold homes in the same area.

Contact us to see comparables, review any property history or to provide you with excellent representation whether you're a first time homebuyer, transitioning in life to a new home or marketing your current home. Your'e the focus and we are here to help you!

We've often been asked to show a home, setup a tour to view homes or to provide automatic email so people can see homes the same day they are listed. Sometimes while showing a house our clients fall in love with the home only to find out later that the monthly payments are too much to handle. Many times this reality results in dashed hopes, dreams falling by the way side (even if for the now) or expectations gone awry. Worst yet clients are sometimes told that due to credit issues or their debt to income ratios they simply aren't able to purchase any home at this time.

We can't stress enough that the first thing any potential homebuyer should do before looking at homes at all is to get pre-approved! In today's ever changing market becoming pre-approved can be a challenge. With all the recent mess the financial institutions are still adjusting. Today 1/3 of all homes in the Treasure Valley area are subject to short sales or they are foreclosures. The process of contacting several lenders to review your financial information will save you headaches, heartaches and overall frustration. A bit of a warning here in that all lenders are not created equal! :) You've seen commercials promising this or that from national lenders and then there's the signs promising "no down payments" or "bad credit, no problem live here today." Like the old saying goes if it's too good to be true then usually it is so! We work with straightforward, local and helpful lenders so if you need a few names and numbers don't hesitate to call or email us.

Good lenders not only provide you with options but also review what monthly payments approximate based on good faith estimates. In addition if you are not in a position to purchase a home these lenders will go the extra mile for you explaining what steps to take to better your position to purchase a home whether that be 6 months, 1 year or even longer. Don't give up the dream of homeownership. We've worked with clients that had high debt to income ratios but after consolidating their loans and paying off a few items they were pre-approved. We've seen people with year old bankruptcies wait 1 more year and then purchase homes. Many people have credit related issues and it's important to review their report in detail and remove the items that have either been paid for or perhaps are not actually theirs to improve the overall score. In some cases this can take a few weeks, while other times it may take months or years. Remember credit repair is very doable and we've seen first hand clients that were pre-approved within weeks of obtaining, reviewing and correcting their reports.

We always say that when purchasing a home it must be right for you. This means that you must love the home but also you must be comfortable with the monthly payments. There's a home out there for everyone. Even if it takes weeks, months or a year plus homeownership is within your reach. The first step is to get pre-approved for financing a home through a lender that is knowledgeable, helpful, straightforward and will take the time to help guide you through the process.

This Loan Application Checklist can serve as a guide. Just as important and helpful is reviewing the Overview of The Purchase & Sale Process. If you're considering purchasing a home in the near future we strongly suggest you save money now. How much will depend on your credit scores and the type of lending program you qualify for and/or select. 100% financing is basically gone so whether it be 3%, 5%, 10% or more that is needed the key thing is to save now!

Our services are always focused on helping you. Email or contact us for more information.

There's nothing like a trip to the Bay Area of California to put things back into perspective! My family and I went to visit relatives and friends the past few days. As we drove around the crowded highways it was a challenge to remain calm. You see I tend to notice things easily and sometimes I take it to heart and it upsets me such as the overpricing of homes from the past blog entries. Well in the Bay Area there are so many people in a rush to get to who knows where. I watched many people cut each other off, zoom in and out of lanes and live what I believe to be the high stress lifestyle.

Don't get me wrong there are wonderful things about California and for me the weather usually can't be beat. But the cost of living and price for homes is still out of control! I watched the news one night and saw another negative story of the housing disaster. The news was pretty good for home buyers as they indicated that you could purchase a home for $480,000 in parts of San Jose. Amazing I thought (wink, wink). For $480,000 I could live in a 3 bedroom, 2 bath, 1500 sq ft home. Hmmmm for $200,000 I could live in a 4 bedroom, 2 bath, 1800 sq ft home in the Treasure Valley area.

I'm at the point in my life where I believe that life needs to remain relatively easy. By that I mean it's not worth the stress to be stuck in traffic each morning for 1 hour plus when the 10 miles you need to go should take 15 minutes at maximum. It's not worth the high cost of living and the wondering what will happen should the economy continue to slide. Our focus right now is on our family and providing a wonderful home for them surrounded by friends in a good, safe area. The higher the cost to have this the higher the stress.

I have friends that are paying $2800 plus monthly for their mortgage. That's not easy. They live day to day under a great deal of stress. What if one of them loses their job? How will they make their payment? These questions haunt them and they tell me so. They pay the price for the weather and life just isn't too easy.

I decided to look around for I heard that prices have decreased steadily the past year on homes in the Concord area. As I pulled up to a few homes I thought ah this one has potential in a quiet neighborhood and with a decent yard, probably .16 acres let's see the price. The sign indicated price reduced, something that you'll find just about on 90% of the signs. As I picked up the flyer I started to read the marketing points on the home. Bright and warm home with 1460 sq ft - check, larger yard - check, newer appliances - check, 3 bedrooms - check, 2 baths - check, close to everything - check and priced to go at only $500,000. Yipes! In doing some quick math even if we were able to get a FHA loan with 3% down we are looking at approximately $3000 per month and that's before the $5000 annual taxes and insurance. Woh not the lifestyle we would choose. The funny thing is that the same home would have cost $580,000 about a year ago. The stories indicate that these homes are now bargains and compared to a year ago probably but in the name of health, family and stress I still don't think so.

We love visiting with our friends and family. It's a beautiful area that's for sure and hey we used to live there. Would I trade the pretty good weather, the more relaxing lifestyle and the affordable living for it? No way! While it's true that salaries are generally 30% higher in the Bay Area the prices for homes are still 100% higher for comparables. You know I sometimes think of the Treasure Valley as a mini replica of the Bay Area but without the stress level. More on this below.

The thought of 2000 sq ft, 4 bedrooms, 3 baths, .25 acre lot for my dogs and family to enjoy for $250,000 or less is just too good to pass by. It's hard to find this for less than $800,000 and we wouldn't even qualify for the mortgage payments by today's lending standards. I'm not sure how people are getting into these homes.

Our trip is almost over and we are looking forward to returning home to a more simple, less stressful lifestyle. I suppose that's why many people do end up in the Treasure Valley area too.

Despite one of the worst winters in the past 20 years the Treasure Valley area offers families the chance of a more relaxing and affordable lifestyle. The weather by the way is pretty fantastic. Compared to Northern California it's usually just 10 degrees cooler in the winter time and it's mostly sunny and warm from May through the October months. There's so much to do and with the mountains, biking, camping, skiing all so close by that too is comparable to Northern California.

More great restaurants open weekly and for families looking to get out and meet people it's probably much easier here. Generally people are nice and approachable something that I never really felt in my years living in California. It's not that I didn't make the effort too but after saying a simple hi to hundreds of people and not getting a hi back in return I knew it just wasn't the place for us to raise our family.

Our neighbors in Meridian are great! Our kids are having so much fun meeting people and going over for play dates. There's always something going on whether in Boise, Meridian or Nampa for us to check out. There's great places to live throughout the Treasure Valley and if you are looking for a mini mansion of say 2500 sq ft the cost in Northern California of $800,000 plus will only be $300,000 in the Treasure Valley area. So click on the links such as Things To Do and let us know if you have any questions at all. We love it here and sometimes we need a little reminder in life of just how lucky we are to be here.