Seth Siegler

So I’ve spent the better part of a week and a half working with a buyer who was attempting to purchase a bank owned home. This home was built just two years ago on spec and never sold. It’s been for sale for two whole years! It was a great deal and an amazing house that my buyer has had his eye on for a long time.

Once priced at over $650K, it was down near $400K now and it still had that new house smell!

We agreed on price, by submitting a standard state contract and the bank verbally agreed to it and sent us their “addendum”. This is standard practice with bank owned property. This particular addendum was 10 pages long however, and was filled with some very seller sided perks.

Of course they are written in ‘legalese” so they are very hard to interpret. My buyer made a smart decision to consult an attorney about the addendums. The attorney found some very interesting items in there that no sane person would agree to.

The only people that agree to things like this probably don’t notice them and happily sign away, pysched about getting a great deal! A few weeks down the line, they may find themselves with a compromised title, out of the contract without their earnest money or ready to head to closing only to find out that the bank has recieved a higher offer that morning and you no longer have the right to purchase it. (All that stuff can be hidden in the fine print)

The point is, that as a buyer you have a lot of choices out there and it’s easy to lose sight of that when faced with a great deal on a foreclosure.

Here’s my advice: ALWAYS CONSULT AN ATTORNEY WHEN DEALING WITH BANK DRAFTED CONTRACTS OR ADDENDUMS! Call the attorney you plan on using for closing. They will sometimes even do this service for free if you end up closing there.

Sometimes…….

In this amazing buyers market, there are a few things to consider when making an offer.

1. Ask your agent to really check the recently sold comps. You can get away with making a low offer but remember to not go too low, as you might insult the seller. It’s a business transaction but we are still talking about someones home. They can easily get insulted by a low offer.

2. Make sure you have loopholes! That’s right, contingencies will ensure that you are protected in-case something comes up in the inspection, insurance, mortgage or appraisal. Have your agent install well worded contingencies into your offer that will allow you to get out of the contract WITH your earnest money. Have the wording of these contingencies check by your agents company attorney or your own closing attorney.

3. There will most likely be somewhat of a second negotiation after your inspection. Remember, it’s unreasonable to ask for cosmetic or update-related repairs. But you are typically entitled to ask for the seller to make repairs to structural, electric, plumbing, roofing, environmental, and other potentially expensive systems. After your repair request the seller may choose to renegotiate the price or select certain repairs to undertake.

4. Get recommendations and then do your own research on vendors. Ask your agent for recommendations on Closing Attorneys, Mortgage Brokers, Inspectors and Insurance Agents but then do some of your own investigation. This is a major purchase and having faith in your selected vendors will help you sleep better at night.

For all the non video people-Here is a written version: 

Can you say competition??  These days there are so so so many houses on the market.  Getting yours sold or even shown can be a tall order.  So what can you do to help get those showings and eventually a buyer?  Here's 10 proven (by me) ideas to get you started.

 1.  Price it right- This is THE most important thing you can do.  Don't start $50K high, assuming you're going to get lowballed.  The truth is, that you probably aren't going to get your asking price, but listing too high, can completely eliminate showings.  Thinking of starting high then reducing it later? It may be too late by then as the pricing trend points lower and lower, you're competition will beat you to the punch, leaving you STILL too high, months later.  This brings us to #2

2.  Check out your competition - It's time to forget about what Joe and Mary's house down the street sold for.  Sold listings are only a starting point.  The real important comps you need to look at are the current ACTIVE listings.  That's what buyers are looking at.  They'll see yours, then they'll see the other ones down the street.  Put yourself in their shoes...  How does yours compare.  Be honest with yourself. 

3.  Declutter - This is very very important.  Head over to a mini storage facility and spend a few dollar per month on a storage unit.  Then go through your home with boxes and garbage bags.  THROW AWAY anything that you haven't used in a while and pack up anything that you can live without for the next few months.  This will make your space look much larger and help buyers imagine themselves with THEIR things in the house. 

4.  Depersonalize - All those pictures of you and your friends are awesome.  To you.  And all those trophies...  Great memories, right?  For you.  Buyers can feel a little awkward walking through your house with all those personal items staring back at them.  They feel like they are in YOUR house.  It's hard to picture it as THEIRS.  Make your house as generic as possible. 

5. Neutralize Colors-Speaking of being generic, it's time to tone down those colorful walls.  Sure that pink room is so perfect for your little one.  She loves it!  But a future buyer might not like it.  In fact they may hate it!  And that's the first thing they will think about when they enter that room.  "I hate this!"  Not the kind of emotion you want potential buyers to feel in your home...

6.  Make Those Repairs - I know you've been putting it off and cash is limited these days, but you're going to be a lot better off, making those repairs and updates before you list your home.  Buyer's are going to be looking at a lot of houses and they are going to want one that is ready to go.  Buying a house and moving is enough of a pain in the you-know-what.  The last thing they want to do, it have to make repairs or updates right after closing.  They either expect it to be turn-key or they expect it to be cheap.  You're going to be much better off spending the dough up front, and recouping it after the sale.  Those old pitted brass faucets, that hole in the wall, that loose door knob....  Get it all fixed  and updated asap.  Don't give buyers any reasons to feel like they need a discount!

7.  Open the Blinds and Turn on the Lights-Nothing makes a space feel smaller, more dated, creepier or less appealing like the dark.  Open every single blind, and turn on every single light in the house before the showing.  This can make a GIANT difference in perception. 

8.  CLEAN - This is super critical.  First impressions are extremely important and a potential buyer is going to form their first impression within three seconds of walking in to your home.  If it doesn't smell quite right, or if they can see dust everywhere or dog hair, etc, it could be over before it even starts. 

9.  Get Professional Quality Photos - Make sure that your Real Estate agent either hires a professional photographer or uses a professional 8+ Mega Pixel camera with proper lighting.  Almost everyone begins their search online now and listings with quality photos have been PROVEN to get more showings.  Also, make sure there are LOTS of detailed photos.  Don't settle for one shot of the kitchen.  Get a few great shots including close ups of the range, sink, etc.  (If they look nice) 

10.  Get a Video Tour - Virtual 360 deg tours are sooo yesterday.  A professionally produced and narrated video tour can cost in the $400+ range but is very much worth it.  With gas prices sky high, and the number of listed houses, buyers are going online and picking the listings that "jump out" at them.  A professional video tour will jump out and buyers will be more apt to come see your home.  A video tour can also be uploaded to YouTube.com, one of the worlds most popular websites.  From there you can link to it from email, Craigslist.org, your Facebook accout, etc. 

So there you have it!  Now how many of these things have you and your Real Estate agent been doing?

For those of you who are stuck in an environment where you can't watch videos, here's a plain old text version of the video.  (More or less the same message.....) 

In today's video, I discuss the common misconception held by many many real estate shoppers these days.  "It's impossible to get a mortgage."

 I get the same feeling when I watch TV.  All you hear about is doom and gloom and the "housing bubble".  Well I wont' lie... It's a tough market.  For Sellers!  Prices and rates are great for buyers though and mortgages are very much out there for the borrowing. 

 It's true that you can no longer qualify for a mortgage that's out of your reach, financially BUT if you have good credit, the right balance of debt to income and a steady job, you CAN get a mortgage if you talk to the right loan officer.  (If I were a mortgage broker I'd hate that title!)

 But there is an important key to what I said there.  "the right loan officer."  These days, as you probably know by now, different banks are enjoying different levels of liquidity and stability.  Your local bank is always a good place to start the process but if they shoot you down, DON'T panic!  Ask around and shop your request.  I'm finding these days that a savy mortgage brokerage can get the job better then almost anyone. 

Mortgage Brokerages write loans for lots of different banks around the world.  They can shop your particular circumstances around and find the right program.  Your local savings and loan bank has just one set of programs.  You either fit into their criteria or you don't. 

SO, the moral of the story is don't fret and don't buy into the negative press.  Instead, feel free to embrace it and consider taking advantage of today's low prices and low rates.