Sherry Mills

Practical Real Estate Advise for Practical Real People

First of all, let me say this article is not for the faint of heart. This advise may not be what you want to read or hear. If you are thinking about listing your home for sale because you would like to move for whatever reason, DON"T, unless you have the perfect salable home that anyone would be interested in buying. Or, unless you truly are a practical person realizing that you can no longer make a profit on your house. I'm not saying this to be discouraging but actually to help you take heed of what is going on. S & P is predicting that unemployment is going to reach over 9% by the first quarter of 2010 and that is when things will start to turn around. How do they know this? Crystal ball I guess, but they usually aren't often too far off the mark. So, once again, I say to you that if you can stay put, do so. At least if you are determined to market your home, or if you have no other choice, please market it priced to sell, which may be break-even point for some of you. Even hot vacation homes are not selling as quickly and prices are dropping daily.

If you think you are saving money by marketing the house as an Unrepresented Seller (unrepresented by a Realtor), maybe you are, maybe you aren't. Again, that depends on the market, your area, your availablity to show your home and your knowledge of the real estate market, rule, regulations and laws. If nothing else, at least go out and hire a good attorney (not a title company) to handle all the paper work. And I say, not a tile company, because who's going to watch your back should something go wrong? How do you know they are going catch any liens against the property?

How do you price your home to sell? Do you compare it to the foreclosed homes in the neighborhood? Say your neighbor down the street sells his home at a profit right off the bat, does that make your home as valuable and salable as his? This is where you get the benefit of a Realtor doing a market analysis of the area and the homes active and sold compared to yours. You really need the benefit of being able to compare apples to apples, especially today. If you have access to that information, good for you, but my experience has taught me that most people get their information from well-meaning neighbor's talk. Also, people have a tendency to put too much emotional value on a home that far outweighs the market value. this leads to a home being overpriced and staying on the market for years rather than months. When you are ready to sell, look at it as a business transaction. Remember, you can take memories and emotions with you. The house is just an object with monetary value.

If you need or want help or more information on how to market your home yourself, give me a quick email: Sherry@SherryMills.net, no obligation on your part to committ to anything. Free advice is free advice. www.SherryMills.net

I have lived in Statesville, NC since 1992. We first came here when our children were small looking for a place to raise them where they would not have quite so much to get into. We had traveled through Statesville early on in 1985 and fell in love with it even then. Surprisingly, the city really hasn't changed that much in peoples attitudes, but wow, has it grown in neighborhoods.

Some of the more prominent neighborhoods when we first arrived were, of course, Baymount Meadows, Meadowview, Shannon Acres; better known as the Country Club, and many of the much older neighborhoods around town. But since I have seen a lot of neighborhoods pop up over time, so many in fact, I have a hard time myself keeping up with all of them.

For instance, there is Fox Den Country Club, just off I 77 between Statesville and Troutman. A wonderfully located and beautiful subdivision golfing community. This community has homes priced between $150,000 to $500,000 depending on which side of the golf course you are one, which green your home is near or on, etc. They have a wonderful new facility for their Club House, swimming pool, Restaurant and the dues are very reasonably priced. I have heard it is one of the better golf courses to play!

Another wonderful community is Fort Dobbs and Meadow Oaks. These beautiful neighborhoods are located on Chipley Ford Road and Fort Dobbs Road near the original site of Fort Dobbs. This is an absolutely beautiful place for homes with rolling hills, open fields, gorgeous homes priced from $150,000's to $600,000's, again depending on location, lot size, etc. But you definitely won't be disappointed with the rich history, close proximity to downtown and wonderful neighbors.

Then we have Seven Springs near the East Statesville Elementary School on Chestnut Grove Road. This is a neighborhood built on a road that loops around and has homes with .5 acres up to several acres. Most are all brick homes with some woods. A very pretty neighborhood located close to I40. Spring Forest is an amazing neighborhood with homes from the $200,000's and up to whatever price you are willing to put into a home. This one has a lot of custom built homes by local builders and is on the way to Cool Springs on Highway 64.

However, these are just a few neighborhoods in Statesville. There are way too many to list here and give a review on. Your best bet is to call or email me at Sherry@SherryMills.net or 704-902-7345, by business phone. I can send you information or give you limited info over the phone.

We really are located in an ideal area for winter weather or summer weather for that matter.  I say this because of the recent loss of homes, businesses, crops, etc. that the Midwest suffered through this winter.  I have two sisters and my mom who lived through that ice storm this year and they were without electricity for two weeks.  My sister in Kentucky has lost her peach trees and many of her blueberry bushes.  My sister in Missouri lost five trees in her yard and had to live at mom's house for a week before they were able to get a generator for their home.  There was so much loss in that area it is hard for me to believe how incredibly lucky we are here in this area. 

This is partly due to the Blue Ridge Mountains that protect us from the northern flow of pressure systems that sweep across the Midwest headed directly for us.  If we weren't protected by that precious mountain range we would surely be in for bad weather also.  Even the weather we get from the south isn't all that bad.  No we don't get much snow in the winter because of it, but we don't get a lot of hurricane wind damage either because of it.  The last major hurricane to hit this area was Hugo back in '89.  Even with Katrina sweeping over the states, all we got was a little rain! 

This truly is one of the best regions in the south to live. We receive less snow and cold here in Statesville, North Carolina than Charlotte does.  Why?  Look at the terrain, we are at a slightly lower elevation and we are closer to foothills that block winds.   Most of the ice, snow and really cold air concentrates north of Union Grove just up I77.  Gosh it's great to be in the south and have the opportunity to go outside in the middle of winter for winter sports without freezing your hands and feet off!  Plus we are just a short distance from the mountains and ski resorts.  We pretty much have it all here.

Yes, you read it right! What all you traveling equestrians have been waiting for. Finally, a place to stop overnight and rest your equestrian friends from that long, long haul down the Interstate. Conveniently located five miles from the interchange at Interstate 77 and Interstate 40 in Statesville, North Carolina. Either way you travel this is the perfectly located stop before heading on down the interstate.

Baymount Farm has six 12 x 12 stalls and an 80 x 60 turnout arena for your use. Rates are $25/night and availabitlity is for overlays only. There is plenty of lodging and restaurants down the road at I77 & I40 interchange and a Wal-Mart Shopping center five minutes away. Please call ahead for reservations and remember to bring your current Coggins tests, horses won't be allowed to unload without it.

For more information, visit: www.BaymountFarm.com or email info@BaymountFarm.com

I KNOW you have all read articles and heard converstations on what a real estate agent can do for you. I am sure you have all run into a real agent who is very competent at his/her job and worked very hard for you. And let's face it, we have ALL run into a real estate agent who has promised you the moon but also must have moved to the moon because we never saw them again. With so many agents representing so many homes what is a buyer to do? Who do you trust? Who do you stay loyal to?

I have noticed that many people still want to use the listing agent as their buyers agent. But most recently I have noticed buyers using one agent for days or months on end, just to buy a home from another agent. Wait a minute! Is this the best thing for you, as the buyer, to do? You have just spend quality time working with a person developing a rapport with them. They know your market area, they know what you want, they have listened to you, laughed with you, empathized with you and some may even have cried with you. Ok, so maybe after months of looking you have become frustrated and are just ready to throw your hands up and say - enough! Maybe you feel like it is the agents fault that you haven't found what you want. Or just maybe, it could be that the house you want just hasn't come on the market yet. Or could it be that the home you want is the one you have gone back to look at several times, but for one reason or another just can't quite justify making it THE home for you. Yet, you miracuously find a home driving around one day, call the listing agent on the sign and magic ...you make an offer without using your buyers agent you have worked with for days or months. Uh oh. Did you just make a mistake? First ask yourself: 1) Did you sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement with that agent you have worked with for days and months? If the answer is yes, then yeah, you made a mistake. You at least owe them an apology. 2) Is that buyer's agent owed a commission? Possibly, if they are truly a buyer's agent under a signed contract and they have shown you that home before, then yes, they are owed a commission as the procuring cause. 3) Are they owed commission if you bought a house they did not show you? Maybe, maybe not, it still depends upon your Buyer's Agency Agreement and whether or not that agent decides to pursue a commission. My point is, be careful. The Buyer's Agency Agreement is meant to protect you and get you the best service in a real estate transaction. 4) Who was representing you at the time the contract was drawn up? Not your buyer's agent, they weren't there and certainly not the listing agent. If you signed off on a dual agency agreement, who do you think is representing whom? Can a listing agent fully represent a seller and a buyer to get both the best possible deal for both clients on the home? Think about this for a minute.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT: Agents get paid commission, not a salary. Most agencies charge their agents anywhere from 50%, 40%, 30%, 20% on their side of the commission. EX: $200,000 sales price at a 6% commission will bring $12,000. 3% goes to each side. That is $6,000 each. The Agency, not the agent, may get 40% of that. That leaves $3,600 for the actual agent. The agent has to pay Federal taxes on this of about 30%. That leaves $2,160 to live on at one time. Now, most agents used to be lucky to get one or two closings a month, some get more depending on the area(city) they market. That has all changed due to the housing crisis. Some are not getting any closings per month lately. So, out of this commission comes some these expenses or more.

1) MLS dues, Realtor Association dues, licenses fees
2) Advertising; paper, internet, magazines, flyers, billboards
3) Supplies, copy paper, pens, envelopes, ink cartidges, postage, letterhead
4) Gasoline for trips spent with the buyers and for general living
5) Maintenance on the vehicle, tires, oil changes, etc.
6) Websites like Realtor.com (which is very expensive)
7) Lunches paid for by your agent, if they take you to lunch, not to mention their own lunch.
8) Houeshold expenses to run their own home: electricity, phone, gas, groceries
9) House payment, car payment,
10) Clothes for themselves, clothes for their kids
11) School supplies
12) College expenses for some

Take this for what it is and I hope it makes some sense to you. Have a great day!