Archive for the 'Home Buying Advice' Category
Why No Newspaper Advertising?
June 24th, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice, Real Estate News
I don’t advertise my listings in newspapers or magazines anymore. I did early on in my real estate career because that was what everyone else did. And, frankly, the sellers demanded it. They wanted to see their house in the paper! I followed everyone else for several years and never got a single lead on a listing off of ANY ad. Even the larger companies will sometimes admit that newspaper or magazine ads don’t sell a particular house. What they do is drive possible buyers to that company. Which is wonderful for that company, but a waste in advertising a single house, and it really doesn’t help the seller.
Think about when you look at the house ads. Kind of makes your eyes blur with all that clutter, doesn’t it? The VAST majority of buyers go to the internet to find a home. THAT is where your house needs to be.
So, when I went off on my own I decided to stop doing stuff that doesn’t help my buyer or seller. Now I do only internet and targeted direct mailings. This is not necessarily cheaper for me, but it works. Newspaper ads are “old news”. On-line is the place to be.
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Trees - Should A Buyer Care?
June 5th, 2008 categories: Around Town, Home Buying Advice
With the temperature well over 90 degrees, I am realizing how much I love our trees in our yard. Our prior house had almost no tree coverage. When the sun was out, the house would sit there and bake. Our A/C units would run like mad to try and keep up. The bill the next month would be a disaster! Great choice, sweat in our house or sweat at bill-time.
Our current house is surrounded by huge maples and oaks. When the sun is out out our wonderful trees provide shade coverage for almost the whole day. Our A/C easily maintains our house at a very comfortable temperature. And the bill the next month puts a smile on our faces.
Plus, we can now actually use our back deck! The oaks make it a great place to sit and read a book, as well as watch our three dogs play in the back yard without fear of heatstroke.
So, when you are looking at what house to buy do not neglect the landscaping. It can come back to bite you or put that smile on your face!
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Do Gas Prices Impact Home Prices?
April 29th, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice, Real Estate Market, Real Estate News
OK. The price of gas is soaring with no end in sight. It is impacting food prices, delivery prices, you name it. It seems to negatively touch every part of your life. But does it impact the sale of your house? In a word, yes.
Think about it. You have two houses similar in size, yard, schools, etc. The only difference is one of them is 15 miles from everything. The other is 1 mile. Which do you think will sell? At $1 or even $2 a gallon, maybe no big deal. But with gas in sight of $5 a gallon you better believe buyers will take it into account.
So, what do you do? If you are the house close to everything, rejoice and play up that aspect! If you are out in the wilderness, don’t necessarily despair. There are buyers who will WANT to be far from everything. Play up the privacy, solitude, close-to-nature aspects of your home. It may take longer to find that particular buyer, but they are out there.
Commute time has always been important to buyers. Now add the COST OF COMMUTE to the list!
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Why I Don’t Practice Dual Agency
April 21st, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice, Real Estate News
As a buyer or seller you may run into the concept of dual agency. That is basically where an agent “represents” both sides of a real estate transaction. Say my company has a listing. I also have a buyer under a Buyer Agency Agreement. My buyer likes the house I have listed. Uh oh. No problem. Under Dual Agency I can say to my buyer and seller, “Don’t worry, I’ll represent both of you”. Riiiiight.
In a nutshell, I do NOT practice dual agency because I believe in keeping my promises. When I get a listing I promise to represent that seller throughout the entire process, from listing to closing. It would be wrong of me to go back to my seller and tell him I can no longer represent just him because now I have a buyer and can get both sides of the deal. Same with a buyer.
Now, dual agency can get pretty confusing with “designated agency, who is representing whom, who can and cannot be a designated agent. It just isn’t worth the liability. So, I keep it simple. If you are my buyer or seller I represent ONLY you throughout the ENTIRE transaction. Ask your “big company” agent is they can make the same claim.
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Kirkwood Neighborhood
March 10th, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Neighborhoods, Real Estate Market
The next in our list of neighborhoods is Kirkwood. This townhome community is located at the intersection of Erwin and Weaver Dairy, making it extremely convenient to everything. I know I say that about every community in the area, but it is still true. As you can see from the chart the homes sell in the low $200’s. Built in the 80’s, some of the homes have been nicely updated by their owners over the years. Some units, quite honestly, could use some renovation. But, given the size of the units, if you are at all handy with a hammer, you can do a lot of updating on your own.
If you are in the market for a home where you don’t want the hassle of outdoor care, for either the house or the yard, give Kirkwood a look. Drive through and check out the neighborhood. You will be glad you did.
As with any community I highlight, feel free to give me a call at 919-417-9753, or email me, for more information.
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Ready, Aim, BUY!
March 4th, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Mortgage Information
You’ve decided it is time to buy a house. It could be your first house, you could be downsizing, whatever. The important thing to remember is you have to get ready! You do not want to wait until you have found the house of your dreams and then scramble to get everything done. Your buyer agent can do most of the work for you, but some stuff is up to you.
The first order of business is to get all your financial papers in order, or at least find them. Tax returns for the past few years, current paystubs , investments, etc. When you have all you can lay your hands on, get in touch with a mortgage person. (If you are paying all cash, great. Make sure it is available at a moments’ notice.) You can talk to your local credit union, bank, or get names from your agent. I do recommend you deal with someone local. Those internet loans have a habit of causing hassles at the most inopportune times! Plus, a local representative will usually attend the closing, which can be a lifesaver if something goes wrong. The mortgage rep will go over your loan options and make sure you are ready financially. Big difference.
You want to have your earnest money ready so you can attach the check to the offer. A rough estimate is about 1-2% of the offer price.
Get started with the insurance company you want to use. Do NOT wait until the last minute to call an insurance agent! Your agent can also give you the names of reliable inspectors for the various inspections you will want done.
There are a bunch of other things to do, but the main two are mortgage and insurance. If you are ready to buy, give me a call at 919-417-9753 and I will make you home purchase as hassle-free as possible.
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The Springcrest Neighborhood
February 9th, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Neighborhoods, Real Estate Market
A great aspect of living in Chapel Hill is the number and variety of neighborhoods you have the opportunity to live in. In this blog I will be showcasing various neighborhoods to help the reader learn a little bit about our area. The latest neighborhood is Springcrest. Springcrest is located on the east side of Erwin Road just north of the Sage Rd. intersection. It is convenient to everything, and is within walking distance of East Chapel Hill High School. (OK, it is a long walk, but high school kids can use the exercise.) It is just a short hop to 15-501, Duke, UNC, shopping and other area services.
The chart shows the number and stats of the active homes in Springcrest, as well as the houses that have closed in the past six months. At the moment not a lot of activity, but since it is February, that is not unusual. So, if you are looking for a nice home, convenient to everything, and in the East Chapel Hill High School district, give Springcrest a look.
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Why Should You Buy in The East Chapel Hill School District?
February 4th, 2008 categories: Chapel Hill Schools, Home Buying Advice, Relocation To Chapel Hill
There are many decisions that go into deciding where to buy your next home. Commute time, shopping, traffic, etc. Well, at the top of the list should be public schools. This is true even if you have no children or have your kids in private schools. Why? In a word, resale value. Odds are you are going to be in your home about seven years. When it comes time to sell, a huge percentage of buyers will be asking about the local schools. You don’t want to be in the position of having to apologize for the schools.
In the East Chapel Hill district, we don’t have to apologize. We can brag. East Chapel Hill High School (ECHHS) is consistently among the top schools in the state for academics and sports. It also consistently shows up in the top high schools in the country. This is why housing values go up when you enter the ECHHS district. As long as a school stays excellent, so will property values relative to other areas.
There is a great resource to check out any public school in North Carolina. It is called NC School Report Cards. Use it to compare schools when you are thinking of moving in NC.
So, if you are interested in buying in the East Chapel Hill High School district, give me a call. There are a wide range of prices and types of homes in the district. If you need to sell your home in the district, give me a call, too.
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Winter Delights & Home Care
January 21st, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice
One of the joys of living in North Carolina is the occasional light snowfall. Just enough to get your camera out and prove to your relatives in northern cimes that, yes, it does snow here! It is a great time to get some wood and put that fireplace to work. And even though those gas fireplaces look wonderful, there is nothing like a real wood fire to make those lazy Sunday afternoons drift by.
However, those dancing flames in the fireplace should remind you about fireplace maintenance. When was the last time you had the chimney sweep out to clean out your chimney. Personally, I have no idea on my own house. We only moved in to it last year, so I don’t know the last time it was cleaned. Maybe never! Shame on me. I plan on having it done soon. This is also something I have no intention of “Doing-it-myself”. Let the pro do it!
If you are planning on marketing your house soon, that is all the more reason to have a thorough cleaning of the chimney flue done. The inspector WILL check it out. It is quick, doesn’t cost a lot and will help your house look, and smell, cleaner.
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Screwed Or Glued
January 14th, 2008 categories: Home Buying Advice, Home Selling Advice
The title shows two words that should be in your mind when buying OR selling a house. They refer to “fixtures“. When you are the buyer, you want to keep in mind that not everything you see stays with the house. On the other side of the sale, the seller needs to make CLEAR what is NOT staying. I guarantee that if a buyer sees your favorite chandelier in the dining room they think it is staying, even if you put a yellow stickie on it that says “Does not convey”. You want to make sure the contract shows what does not stay.
Basically, if something is glued or screwed onto the wall, ceiling, etc., it is probably required to stay. So, if you plan on talking that chandelier with you, get it down before you put the house on the market. Go to the store and get a decent replacement for it and put it up. Another example is a mirror on the wall. If the mirror is attached with screwed in brackets, it stays. If you can lift it off the wall like a picture, it can go with the seller.
The safest way for both buyer and seller to avoid potential problems is to make sure the contract is specific in the area of fixtures. Do not just speed over that paragraph. It can come back to haunt you if you don’t take the time to go over it carefully.
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