Monday, April 9, 2007
Arrrggghh...
How does Matt Cain throw a 2-hitter, only give up one run, and the Giants manage not to score any runs and loose 1-0? Disgusting!
Zillow, aka "The bane of my existence"
It seems that Zillow is all the rage these days. Much to my dismay. Strike three. Boo. Hiss. Do not pass go, do not collect $200.
Zillow seems to be the new real estate magic pill for most internet-junkie, novice real estate enthusiasts. Frequently I get asked to do property CMA's (Comparative Market Analysis) by those who are thinking about listing their home for sale. My CMA process goes something like this...first I have a thorough conversation with the homeowner regarding physical condition, features, amenities, location, etc. Then I scour the MLS and tax archive data for comparable properties that are currently on the market, pending sale, and sold within the last 6 or so months that are in the same tract / neighborhood (same neighborhood is critical). I zero in on market conditions for the individual tract / neighborhood the home is in (also critical). I drive by the house. If I have not already seen the comparable properties in person (I preview and tour A LOT of property in my home areas), I drive by and if possible I tour those too. Once I have done all of these tasks, I create a detailed report for my prospective client. I narrow down a price range. This process takes a few hours. Then I present the report and price range to my client in person at their home, where I zero in on an exact suggested listing price.
"I looked up my home's value on Zillow and..." has become my least favorite phrase as of lately. Just the other day, I worked for several hours on a CMA, and presented a price range of $375k - $389k. After actually touring the home and seeing things like the master bedroom was really large for the area and type of house, that the electrical panel had been upgraded, recessed lighting in the living room, neutral decor, and new high-quality granite counters in the kitchen, I felt confident in my analysis and suggested a listing price on the high side of the range at $385k. "But Zillow says my house is worth $428k!"
Zillow.com is a site that, by using some proprietary combination of databases, algorithms, and who knows what else give a "Zestimate" of a property's value. Yep - it's the magic pill for some, and the poison pill for me. Zillow takes into account sale data, refinance data, tax assessed value, and other data stats. Sale data is great and all, but refinance data is flawed in that most people do not finance 100% of the property's value. Tax assessed value can be flawed because it (in most cases) is assessed based on the sale price when the home was purchased or refinanced. If you purchased/refinanced a home in July 2005, its assessed value is likely much higher than its value now. If you purchased/refinanced your home in 1980, its assessed value is likely much lower then its value now. You get the point.
What Zillow does not take into account: remodeling, upgrades, views, landscaping, nearby schools, unique architecture, a recent death on the property, the crack house next door, smell, traffic noise, a main/busy street, funky wallpaper, barking dogs, etc.
Doing a CMA is really an art rather than a science.
Links:
http://www.Zillow.com
http://www.916HomeValues.com
Zillow seems to be the new real estate magic pill for most internet-junkie, novice real estate enthusiasts. Frequently I get asked to do property CMA's (Comparative Market Analysis) by those who are thinking about listing their home for sale. My CMA process goes something like this...first I have a thorough conversation with the homeowner regarding physical condition, features, amenities, location, etc. Then I scour the MLS and tax archive data for comparable properties that are currently on the market, pending sale, and sold within the last 6 or so months that are in the same tract / neighborhood (same neighborhood is critical). I zero in on market conditions for the individual tract / neighborhood the home is in (also critical). I drive by the house. If I have not already seen the comparable properties in person (I preview and tour A LOT of property in my home areas), I drive by and if possible I tour those too. Once I have done all of these tasks, I create a detailed report for my prospective client. I narrow down a price range. This process takes a few hours. Then I present the report and price range to my client in person at their home, where I zero in on an exact suggested listing price.
"I looked up my home's value on Zillow and..." has become my least favorite phrase as of lately. Just the other day, I worked for several hours on a CMA, and presented a price range of $375k - $389k. After actually touring the home and seeing things like the master bedroom was really large for the area and type of house, that the electrical panel had been upgraded, recessed lighting in the living room, neutral decor, and new high-quality granite counters in the kitchen, I felt confident in my analysis and suggested a listing price on the high side of the range at $385k. "But Zillow says my house is worth $428k!"
Zillow.com is a site that, by using some proprietary combination of databases, algorithms, and who knows what else give a "Zestimate" of a property's value. Yep - it's the magic pill for some, and the poison pill for me. Zillow takes into account sale data, refinance data, tax assessed value, and other data stats. Sale data is great and all, but refinance data is flawed in that most people do not finance 100% of the property's value. Tax assessed value can be flawed because it (in most cases) is assessed based on the sale price when the home was purchased or refinanced. If you purchased/refinanced a home in July 2005, its assessed value is likely much higher than its value now. If you purchased/refinanced your home in 1980, its assessed value is likely much lower then its value now. You get the point.
What Zillow does not take into account: remodeling, upgrades, views, landscaping, nearby schools, unique architecture, a recent death on the property, the crack house next door, smell, traffic noise, a main/busy street, funky wallpaper, barking dogs, etc.
Doing a CMA is really an art rather than a science.
Links:
http://www.Zillow.com
http://www.916HomeValues.com
Friday, April 6, 2007
Thursday, April 5, 2007
Ask Erin
"Oh you are a real estate agent? How do I...blah blah blah?" I get asked all types of real estate-related questions all the time... Someone (you know who you are!) made the suggestion to me to post these Q's and A's on my blog. Thus I have decided to have a regular feature here, not-so-cleverly entitled "Ask Erin."
Preparing your home to sell...
I read a great article about how to get your home ready for sale. A good rule of thumb I tell my clients, is that if they are too comfortable in their home while it is for sale and being shown to prospective buyers, than it has not been properly staged!...buyers need to be able to envision themselves living in your home, and this is difficult to do with all of your personal belongings everywhere...
House takes the Stage
by Stephanie Earls
It had good bones, so you bought it, certain that -- with a little cash, and some time -- you could make it into your dream home. Fresh paint. New carpet. A gourmet kitchen, and master bath with heated towel rack. But intentions (even really cool ones) do not equal equity. If the time to resell comes before all your renovation plans could be seen to fruition, it's time to forget about grand dreams. It's all about getting the biggest return for your short-term effort.
Experts say a few quick, affordable updates and decorating tricks can make the difference between no offers and warring bids. Staging -- or preparing the home, both inside and out, to create the biggest impact and best impression -- can draw in buyers and up sale prices, often for minimal cost to homeowners. Stagers and real estate agents say the first step when preparing a home for sale is to clean up and clear out. "The most inexpensive things often get the biggest return," said Terry Little, a real estate agent with RealtyUSA. "People are buying space as much as structure."
You're moving out anyway, so you might as well get an early start, said Geri Kissane, who opened Above and Beyond Home Staging in Delmar in early 2006. Like other stagers in the Capital Region, Kissane will do the work for you, or just serve as a consultant with you doing the grunt work. All depends on your budget. "I suggest you get a POD. Put it in your driveway, as you're packing (inside the house), move it out" to the storage unit, she said. PODs, and storage alternatives like it, are portable units that are packed on site then moved to a facility for longer-term storage.
Remove personal items from all surfaces. Put away refrigerator magnets, and pack up collectibles into boxes that can either be removed from the home or, if they're pretty enough, artfully stacked. "We've seen (huge collections of) Hummels, teacups, salt-and-pepper shakers," said Sheila Palmer, who runs Homes Staged 2 Sell in Schenectady. "That's not what you want the buyer to see. You want them to see the walls, the beautiful view." Beverly Tracy, of Beverly Tracy Home Design in Saratoga Springs, walks through a client's house sticking Post-its to what needs to go.
If you don't have a professional stager, consider asking a friend or relative or anyone you feel can be honest with you to walk through and point out items that might be a turn-off to potential buyers. Be prepared to make some emotional decisions, and to face the fact that your (good) taste might not be universal. "It's like, 'I know you love your lime green front door, but it's really got to go,' said Kissane, adding that staging -- and a stager's job -- can be tough on a homeowner's emotions. "I had to tell one family to stop cooking. They did a lot of Indian cooking. The smell permeated the drapes and the wood. (It's) just not appealing to everybody. If you smell it, you can't sell it." Opt for lemon or vanilla scents, rather than curry or kitty litter.
Tracy cautions against overdoing it with the candles, though, as you could end up with an open house visitor who's allergic.
Fix any visible problems that might be a red flag for potential buyers -- such as stained plaster or drywall that could indicate an old leak or settling or other structural problems. Peel-and-stick vinyl floor tiles can offer a quick, clean and attractive fix for damaged kitchen or bathroom floors. Many styles cost less than a dollar apiece. Add fresh paint, in neutral colors, and focus on first floor rooms and public rooms, like the kitchen, dining room and living room. Clean up the exterior of the home, add potted plants and repair damaged walkways. "Put a fresh coat of paint on the front door -- preferably white," Tracy said.
Stagers recommend not rushing a house onto market before it's ready. Even a house that's not in dire need of renovations should be given at least two weeks' prep time. If you've got children, have them pick a few toys to keep with them in their room, and store the rest. "You get the best bang for your buck when the house is listed, because people don't generally come back again wondering if someone made an improvement," Tracy added.
On the flip side of clutter-clearing, an empty house can leave potential buyers feeling cold -- both physically and emotionally, said Kissane. "There's the echo factor. It's cold. And they'll see every single little scratch and nick and dent. People can't tell how big the rooms are" without furniture, she said.
Which brings us to a few staging tricks:
"Establish a visual reference point. Even if you have two chairs and an area rug, they'll say "Oh, it's furnished and it's huge,' Kissane said. A full-sized bed will make a room look larger than a queen. Kissane suggests a chunky bar of nice soap, with a piece of rafia (a decorative brown fiber strip) tied around it, left by the sink. Tie rafia around towels. Turn on every light in the house, and tune radios on each floor to the same classical music station (it will sound nice, and mask traffic or other potentially unflattering noises, Kissane said). "Appeal to all the senses." she said.
A California staging company, she said, has gone so far as to hire professional actors to portray a "beautiful, happy family" for the benefit of potential buyers during an open house. The message: Buy this house and you could be these beautiful people. "That's the newest thing out there," Kissane said, laughing. "I'd have to say we're not quite there yet."
For more on home staging, visit the Web site of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals at http://www.iahsp.com/.
Link:
http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=574579&Category=LIFE&LinkFrom=RSS
House takes the Stage
by Stephanie Earls
It had good bones, so you bought it, certain that -- with a little cash, and some time -- you could make it into your dream home. Fresh paint. New carpet. A gourmet kitchen, and master bath with heated towel rack. But intentions (even really cool ones) do not equal equity. If the time to resell comes before all your renovation plans could be seen to fruition, it's time to forget about grand dreams. It's all about getting the biggest return for your short-term effort.
Experts say a few quick, affordable updates and decorating tricks can make the difference between no offers and warring bids. Staging -- or preparing the home, both inside and out, to create the biggest impact and best impression -- can draw in buyers and up sale prices, often for minimal cost to homeowners. Stagers and real estate agents say the first step when preparing a home for sale is to clean up and clear out. "The most inexpensive things often get the biggest return," said Terry Little, a real estate agent with RealtyUSA. "People are buying space as much as structure."
You're moving out anyway, so you might as well get an early start, said Geri Kissane, who opened Above and Beyond Home Staging in Delmar in early 2006. Like other stagers in the Capital Region, Kissane will do the work for you, or just serve as a consultant with you doing the grunt work. All depends on your budget. "I suggest you get a POD. Put it in your driveway, as you're packing (inside the house), move it out" to the storage unit, she said. PODs, and storage alternatives like it, are portable units that are packed on site then moved to a facility for longer-term storage.
Remove personal items from all surfaces. Put away refrigerator magnets, and pack up collectibles into boxes that can either be removed from the home or, if they're pretty enough, artfully stacked. "We've seen (huge collections of) Hummels, teacups, salt-and-pepper shakers," said Sheila Palmer, who runs Homes Staged 2 Sell in Schenectady. "That's not what you want the buyer to see. You want them to see the walls, the beautiful view." Beverly Tracy, of Beverly Tracy Home Design in Saratoga Springs, walks through a client's house sticking Post-its to what needs to go.
If you don't have a professional stager, consider asking a friend or relative or anyone you feel can be honest with you to walk through and point out items that might be a turn-off to potential buyers. Be prepared to make some emotional decisions, and to face the fact that your (good) taste might not be universal. "It's like, 'I know you love your lime green front door, but it's really got to go,' said Kissane, adding that staging -- and a stager's job -- can be tough on a homeowner's emotions. "I had to tell one family to stop cooking. They did a lot of Indian cooking. The smell permeated the drapes and the wood. (It's) just not appealing to everybody. If you smell it, you can't sell it." Opt for lemon or vanilla scents, rather than curry or kitty litter.
Tracy cautions against overdoing it with the candles, though, as you could end up with an open house visitor who's allergic.
Fix any visible problems that might be a red flag for potential buyers -- such as stained plaster or drywall that could indicate an old leak or settling or other structural problems. Peel-and-stick vinyl floor tiles can offer a quick, clean and attractive fix for damaged kitchen or bathroom floors. Many styles cost less than a dollar apiece. Add fresh paint, in neutral colors, and focus on first floor rooms and public rooms, like the kitchen, dining room and living room. Clean up the exterior of the home, add potted plants and repair damaged walkways. "Put a fresh coat of paint on the front door -- preferably white," Tracy said.
Stagers recommend not rushing a house onto market before it's ready. Even a house that's not in dire need of renovations should be given at least two weeks' prep time. If you've got children, have them pick a few toys to keep with them in their room, and store the rest. "You get the best bang for your buck when the house is listed, because people don't generally come back again wondering if someone made an improvement," Tracy added.
On the flip side of clutter-clearing, an empty house can leave potential buyers feeling cold -- both physically and emotionally, said Kissane. "There's the echo factor. It's cold. And they'll see every single little scratch and nick and dent. People can't tell how big the rooms are" without furniture, she said.
Which brings us to a few staging tricks:
"Establish a visual reference point. Even if you have two chairs and an area rug, they'll say "Oh, it's furnished and it's huge,' Kissane said. A full-sized bed will make a room look larger than a queen. Kissane suggests a chunky bar of nice soap, with a piece of rafia (a decorative brown fiber strip) tied around it, left by the sink. Tie rafia around towels. Turn on every light in the house, and tune radios on each floor to the same classical music station (it will sound nice, and mask traffic or other potentially unflattering noises, Kissane said). "Appeal to all the senses." she said.
A California staging company, she said, has gone so far as to hire professional actors to portray a "beautiful, happy family" for the benefit of potential buyers during an open house. The message: Buy this house and you could be these beautiful people. "That's the newest thing out there," Kissane said, laughing. "I'd have to say we're not quite there yet."
For more on home staging, visit the Web site of the International Association of Home Staging Professionals at http://www.iahsp.com/.
Link:
http://www.timesunion.com/ASPStories/Story.asp?StoryID=574579&Category=LIFE&LinkFrom=RSS
Tuesday, April 3, 2007
Monday, April 2, 2007
How to avoid mortgage default
I read this article by Jim Wasserman in the Sacramento Bee recently... if you have missed a mortgage payment or two, he provides some valuable suggestions.
How to Avoid Mortgage Default
By Jim Wasserman
Trouble begins with a slow-motion descent toward your first missed mortgage payment. It's a queasy feeling thousands of homeowners know too well as their houses slip away. So what should you do if you're in trouble? Put off car payments to make the house payment? Max out credit cards and exhaust the savings account? Stop eating out and drop cable TV? Foreclosure? Bankruptcy? Short sale?
Increasingly, these are the questions of real. Experts say how you deal with impending loan trouble goes a long way to ending it in the best way possible. Most important: early contact with the lender and being wary of the mail and phone offers of help that follow public posting of a default notice, which usually come after a couple of months of missed payments.
Alternatives to foreclosure are many, and banks prefer working with you to taking back the house.
"Sometimes it's necessary, but it's a last resort," said Tim McGarry, spokesman for Washington Mutual Inc. "Foreclosure almost always represents a loss for the lender." Not every homeowner in trouble has an escape route. Some homeowners have mortgages that charge thousands of dollars to change the loan terms. Others with adjustable rate loans may face still higher monthly payments in the future.
But experts say that there are some key steps homeowners facing mortgage trouble can do:
- Get moving on a solution or get help before it's too late. Many people burrow their head in the sand and wait until they've missed two or three payments to start a workout plan.
- Write a hardship letter to your lender putting your situation in writing. It should be specific about what caused the delinquency with dates and a time frame. Make it detailed, but be concise.
- Don't give up and walk away from your house before trying to find some kind of solution. And don't assume a short sale - a process by which the bank agrees to sell your home for less than you owe - is your only way out.
- Be polite and work with the lender to find a solution you both agree on, whether it be extending the repayment period, suspending the need for payments for a few months, borrowing from family members or tacking the missed payments on the back end of the loan.
Derek Kirk, a real estate agent who specializes in short sales, said too many people have a misconception they'll be approved automatically for a short sale. Banks largely aren't saying yes unless the hardship is related to a lost job, bankruptcy, divorce, death, medical crisis, relocation or some other financial difficulty, he said. "It's got to be something that involuntarily happened to the person to put them into a worse financial position," he said.
That usually eliminates homeowners who have seen their interest rates adjust higher or took a loan they couldn't afford. It rules out people who didn't read their loan papers before signing and investors who bought a house expecting to flip it for a quick profit. In involuntary hardship cases, Kirk said, banks typically want "two years of tax returns, pay stubs and bank statements, the divorce decree, the bankruptcy filing. For medical hardships, they want letters from doctors."
"It all goes to the bank, and they review it and if you have a legitimate hardship, nine out of 10 times they'll move forward with the deal."
Troubled sellers should ask about potential tax implications of the deal. In some cases sellers can be taxed on the loan amount forgiven by the bank. Still, short sales usually aren't as hard on an individual's credit rating as foreclosure, experts say. Foreclosure stays on a record for seven years, and it may be four years before a buyer can use regular interest rates again. Missing up to three mortgage payments also stays on a credit record for seven years. It may be several years before a borrower can buy again without getting the higher-cost "subprime" loans given to people with spotty credit records.
Refinancing, a common option when markets are rising, is tougher when they're falling. Many borrowers don't have enough home equity to refinance, lenders say. Refinancing also could become more difficult as government regulators press lenders for tighter standards to prevent still more defaults. McGarry said Washington Mutual considers short sales, forbearances up to 12 months when conditions warrant and reworking loans into 40-year payment schedules.
If nothing works, bankruptcy protection may be the ticket to keeping your house, said Sacramento attorney Peter Macaluso. A bankruptcy specialist, Macaluso said owners who used 100 percent financing with an 80 percent first loan and 20 percent second loan for the down payment can sometimes avoid obligations to pay the second, depending on how the bankruptcy filing is structured. "In the last five years I didn't do but one or two," he said referring to home-related bankruptcies. "In the last six months I've probably done 10, and I know my fellow cohorts are doing the same."
Link:
http://dwb.sacbee.com/24hour/real_estate/story/3580441p-12834361c.html
How to Avoid Mortgage Default
By Jim Wasserman
Trouble begins with a slow-motion descent toward your first missed mortgage payment. It's a queasy feeling thousands of homeowners know too well as their houses slip away. So what should you do if you're in trouble? Put off car payments to make the house payment? Max out credit cards and exhaust the savings account? Stop eating out and drop cable TV? Foreclosure? Bankruptcy? Short sale?
Increasingly, these are the questions of real. Experts say how you deal with impending loan trouble goes a long way to ending it in the best way possible. Most important: early contact with the lender and being wary of the mail and phone offers of help that follow public posting of a default notice, which usually come after a couple of months of missed payments.
Alternatives to foreclosure are many, and banks prefer working with you to taking back the house.
"Sometimes it's necessary, but it's a last resort," said Tim McGarry, spokesman for Washington Mutual Inc. "Foreclosure almost always represents a loss for the lender." Not every homeowner in trouble has an escape route. Some homeowners have mortgages that charge thousands of dollars to change the loan terms. Others with adjustable rate loans may face still higher monthly payments in the future.
But experts say that there are some key steps homeowners facing mortgage trouble can do:
- Get moving on a solution or get help before it's too late. Many people burrow their head in the sand and wait until they've missed two or three payments to start a workout plan.
- Write a hardship letter to your lender putting your situation in writing. It should be specific about what caused the delinquency with dates and a time frame. Make it detailed, but be concise.
- Don't give up and walk away from your house before trying to find some kind of solution. And don't assume a short sale - a process by which the bank agrees to sell your home for less than you owe - is your only way out.
- Be polite and work with the lender to find a solution you both agree on, whether it be extending the repayment period, suspending the need for payments for a few months, borrowing from family members or tacking the missed payments on the back end of the loan.
Derek Kirk, a real estate agent who specializes in short sales, said too many people have a misconception they'll be approved automatically for a short sale. Banks largely aren't saying yes unless the hardship is related to a lost job, bankruptcy, divorce, death, medical crisis, relocation or some other financial difficulty, he said. "It's got to be something that involuntarily happened to the person to put them into a worse financial position," he said.
That usually eliminates homeowners who have seen their interest rates adjust higher or took a loan they couldn't afford. It rules out people who didn't read their loan papers before signing and investors who bought a house expecting to flip it for a quick profit. In involuntary hardship cases, Kirk said, banks typically want "two years of tax returns, pay stubs and bank statements, the divorce decree, the bankruptcy filing. For medical hardships, they want letters from doctors."
"It all goes to the bank, and they review it and if you have a legitimate hardship, nine out of 10 times they'll move forward with the deal."
Troubled sellers should ask about potential tax implications of the deal. In some cases sellers can be taxed on the loan amount forgiven by the bank. Still, short sales usually aren't as hard on an individual's credit rating as foreclosure, experts say. Foreclosure stays on a record for seven years, and it may be four years before a buyer can use regular interest rates again. Missing up to three mortgage payments also stays on a credit record for seven years. It may be several years before a borrower can buy again without getting the higher-cost "subprime" loans given to people with spotty credit records.
Refinancing, a common option when markets are rising, is tougher when they're falling. Many borrowers don't have enough home equity to refinance, lenders say. Refinancing also could become more difficult as government regulators press lenders for tighter standards to prevent still more defaults. McGarry said Washington Mutual considers short sales, forbearances up to 12 months when conditions warrant and reworking loans into 40-year payment schedules.
If nothing works, bankruptcy protection may be the ticket to keeping your house, said Sacramento attorney Peter Macaluso. A bankruptcy specialist, Macaluso said owners who used 100 percent financing with an 80 percent first loan and 20 percent second loan for the down payment can sometimes avoid obligations to pay the second, depending on how the bankruptcy filing is structured. "In the last five years I didn't do but one or two," he said referring to home-related bankruptcies. "In the last six months I've probably done 10, and I know my fellow cohorts are doing the same."
Link:
http://dwb.sacbee.com/24hour/real_estate/story/3580441p-12834361c.html
Sunday, April 1, 2007
New Listing - 8480 Crystal Walk Circle, Elk Grove
This is a new listing as of this weekend! Ideally located in the Lauguna area of Elk Grove, this 4 Bedroom 2.5 Bathroom condo home has everything! Built in 2006, this hardly lived in two story "end unit" home has a great open layout, a large great room, upgraded hardwood flooring, a built-in media niche, a cozy fireplace with a beautiful mantel, a gourmet kitchen with upgraded black appliances and tile counters, large master suite with 2 large closets and a private balcony, big master bathroom with dual sinks, and a separate tub and shower, inside laundry area, three large spare bedrooms, and more!! Everything is new and is under a transferable builder warranty for the next several years! Don't miss this steal of a deal!
Offered at $334,900 / HOA - $139/mo
99 S to Laguna Blvd, Right on Laguna, Left on Big Horn, Right on Crystal Walk Circle. Condo is on the right hand side at 8480.
For more detail, please visit:
Contact me for a private showing at erin@erinattardi.com
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