About Cherry Hill's Erlton

I was just having a conversation with an out of state investor today about selling her property. This property has been listed previously, but did not sell. After viewing the property and speaking with the tenants, it is clear why the property didn't sell. This home is in a very nice, primarily owner occupied neighborhood, but the level of finishes in the property were clearly chosen with renting in mind. There isn't anything wrong with the property, everything has just been done with economics, not aesthetics in mind. Unfortunately the previous agent priced the property using the owner occupied properties in the area as comparables. For the most part this is the right thing to do, but there was no consideration taken for the quality of the finishes, or the fact that the buyer would have tenants living in the property and could not move right in.

This is a very astute investor, and if she had been local, she probably would have quickly realized that her home was mispriced. Unforetunatly for her, she isn't local, and she has wasted the past 6 months marketing her home with little chance of selling it. As an investor, she understood immediately when I had this discussion with her, and we will be listing her home at an appropriate price. This is just a good example of why it is extremely important to select a local professional who specializes in the types of property that you are trying to sell. All single family homes are not equal, and neither are all investment properties. Always be sure to ask what type of experience your agent has before asking them to market your property.

Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERE
Realtor Associate®
R&I Realty
15 Potter Street
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Office: 856.795.3111 x268
Cell: 979.218.2286
Jcacci1@gmail.com

I was just discussing the sale of a home in Cherry Hill, NJ that has been for sale for over a year. The seller has used two different real estate companies to market the home, and both listing contracts have expired without recieving any offers. The home is a 3 bedroom 1.5 bath with a garage in a nice area.
The home needs a little work, but I believe that the asking price reflects this quite well. At first, I was baffeled. Why hadn't this home sold?

It does have tenants, but their lease is month to month so a potential buyer could move right in after settlement. The real problem, in my opinion, is that the current tenants make the property extremely difficult to show. It took my 5 days and several phone calls to finally see the inside, and while I was there, there were 6 or 7 tenants there, and I was told that more actually lived there. They haven't damaged the property any, but the shear number of people and the clutter that comes with so many people living there, made it difficult to feel comfortable as I walked through. I'm sure that many potential buyers have been turned off by this same experience. That is if they were actually able to get into the house to begin with.

My suggestion to them was that if they really were serious about selling, they should consider getting the tenants to move out prior to putting it back on the market. I realize that this may create a short term financial problem, and that decision is not mine to make, but I do believe that in the long run they will be much better off.

Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERE
Realtor Associate®
R&I Realty
15 Potter Street
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Office: 856.795.3111 x268
Cell: 979.218.2286
Jcacci1@gmail.com

If you've read any of my blog, you already know that I spend a lot of time dealing with short sales and foreclosures in South Jersey, but you may not know that I also work with a lot of sellers who are not distressed, but who have been unable to sell their homes due to the declining market. You see because there are so many foreclosures and short sales in this area, and homes in these situations typically sell for less than market value, home prices in general have fallen. This is because when a home is being appraised, the appraiser has to look at the most recent comparable homes that have sold, which are typically refered to as 'comparables'. In our area, close to half of all home sales last year were sold by distressed homeowners or banks. So, many of the comparables have sold for lower than market, which in turn lowers the overall market prices.

Many homeowners who listed their homes for sale in the last year, did so at a price that may have been right at the time, but is now higher than what the market will bear. Unless these homeowners aggresivly adjust their prices to match the market, there homes usually won't sell. Because of this several homeowners have reached the end of their listing contract and are faced with a decision: They can either relist with their current broker, find a new broker, sell by owner, or wait until prices come back up. Although many people that I speak with decide to move forward with a new agent, many more are just waiting for prices to return. I think that this is due to a false hope that prices will suddenly hit bottom and then come roaring back. I do hope this is what happens, but I believe that prices are just as likely to fall further as they are to rise anytime in the near future.

If you are facing the decision to relist or to 'wait and see', I encourage you to speak with a local professional, get a realistic idea of the current market price for your home, and then make the decision as an educated consumer.

Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERE
Realtor Associate®
R&I Realty
15 Potter Street
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Office: 856.795.3111 x268
Cell: 979.218.2286
Jcacci1@gmail.com

Okay, I know I just posted something about short sales this morning, but I was speaking with a homeowner just now, and it made it really clear to me that people really don't understand what's in it for them. This gentleman had opted to file for bankruptcy and as part of the process was able to keep his home. Now he is paying his monthly mortgage payment along with a reduced payment for his consumer debt. He is still struggling and would like to sell his home, but at this point it is unlikely that he would be approved for a short sale. This is really too bad. He owed about $50k more than the home was worth, so he is stuck. If he had done a short sale he would have unloaded that $50k in negative equity, but now he is stuck with a home that he won't be able to sell for years unless he brings a check to closing.

I think that if he had understood that he could have done this, and then within a few years qualified to buy a new home, he would have been much better off. Unfortunately nobody told him.

Joseph Cacciapaglia, MLERE
Realtor Associate®
R&I Realty
15 Potter Street
Haddonfield, NJ 08033
Office: 856.795.3111 x268
Cell: 979.218.2286
Jcacci1@gmail.com