E-Newsletter Archive

March 2004

Blowing Snow with Ease! Before blowing snow, spray nonstick cooking spray (Pam) all over the inside of the auger and the chute. This helps keep snow from clogging the machine. This works great on tractors and push behind snow blowers. I've also tried spraying my satellite dish before a snowstorm, but this didn't seem to work as well.

How can I protect myself selling a home? Here are a few guidelines for protecting yourself when you sell your home. more Tips for negotiating Some people are born negotiators. But, not everyone feels comfortable negotiating. For some, it smacks of haggling, which has a negative connotation. more Should buyers and sellers meet? Real Estate Agent®s almost always advise sellers to leave when their home is shown to prospective buyers. more

How can I protect myself selling a home?

Here are a few guidelines for protecting yourself when you sell your home.
First, pick the right agent. Your listing agent will represent you in interactions with other agents, prospective buyers, lenders, inspectors, and various professionals associated with the real estate business. Be sure to select a trustworthy agent with whom you are compatible, one who will represent you honestly and fairly in your dealings with others during the sale.

Next, be fastidious about preparing your property for sale. This will not only facilitate the sale and bring you a higher price, it could prevent after closing disputes with the buyers.

Make a list of all the elements of your home that need repair or replacement. Your agent can help you with this. If you're uncertain about the condition of a major system, like the roof or furnace, you might want to hire a professional to inspect and issue a report.

Determine how much it will cost to repair or replace defective items. If you can't afford to repair everything on the list, ask your agent to help you prioritize. Disclose any defects that you're aware of that you don't fix before selling.

HOME SELLER TIP: Sellers often fear that if they disclose defects to buyers it will impede the sale of the property. This rarely happens. In fact, buyers appreciate knowing about property defects before they buy. Problems can develop when buyers discover defects after closing that they know the sellers were aware of, but failed to disclose.

A California home seller answered no when he was asked if he had any drainage or flooding problems. He had remodeled his home to create a family room in the lower level that had previously been a basement. During the first heavy rain after the buyers moved in, the family room was flooded with water. The buyers sued the sellers in court and won.

It's natural to feel proud of your home. But, avoid over-selling your home to prospective buyers. Be particularly careful about rooms that were added without required building permits.

Let's say your home has four bedrooms, plus a room that was added without permits that could also be used as a bedroom. From a marketing and legal standpoint, you'd be better off marketing your home as a four bedroom, not a five bedroom, home. Interested buyers will discover when they look at your home that it has an extra room that could be used for a bedroom. They'll be pleasantly surprised to find more than they anticipated. If you market the home as having five bedrooms, buyers will be disappointed to find that the fifth bedroom isn't a legal bedroom. If this information isn't discovered until after closing, you could have a legal problem.

Many after-closing claims involve misrepresentation of square footage. When a property is passed from one owner to the next, the square footage is often rounded up to a higher number. For instance, a 2900 square foot home might be represented as approximately 3000 square feet. The next owner might say the house has about 3000 square feet, perhaps a little more. Never guess about square footage. Square footage claims can involve substantial monetary damages.

THE CLOSING: Check with your agent or real estate attorney if you have any questions about your disclosure obligations.

Tips for Negotiating

by Dian Hymer

Some people are born negotiators. But, not everyone feels comfortable negotiating. For some, it smacks of haggling, which has a negative connotation.

Negotiating can be particularly tricky when it involves a home purchase. Home buying has an emotional component that is lacking in other business transactions. This is understandable because it involves the place you'll call home. The trick is to keep your emotions from dictating your negotiating posture.

You'll be better able to maintain control of your emotions if you do your homework before you start the negotiation process.

First, get your finances in order. If you need a mortgage to complete the purchase, get preapproved ahead of time. A preapproved buyer is one who has been lender approved for a mortgage. You'll have more negotiating clout with the sellers if they know they're dealing with a buyer who's financially capable of completing the purchase.

The other benefit of being preapproved is that you know exactly what you can afford to pay for a home. Armed with this information, you can set a realistic upper price limit before the negotiations begin.

Next, find out as much as you can about the seller's situation. Has the seller already purchased another property? Does the seller need a quick close? You'll also want to know the market response to the property. Are there multiple buyers lining up to bid on the property? Or has the listing been on the market for months with no offers? Answers to these questions will help you to tailor your approach.

For example, if the listing has been on the market for some time, and the sellers are closing on another home within weeks, you might be able to negotiate a discounted price in exchange for a quick close. On the other hand, if you're interested in buying a well-priced, hot new listing, you may have to put forth your best offer initially in order to be competitive.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: It's critical to a successful negotiation to understand the current market conditions in your area. This will enable you to know when it's appropriate to offer under the asking price, and when you should offer full price or even over full price to get a home you want.

It usually helps the negotiations if you can put yourself in the seller's shoes. Try to understand what he's aiming to accomplish. Then figure out ways in which you can accommodate him without compromising your own goals.

Negotiation usually involves give and take on the part of both parties. The actual process is accomplished through the offer and counteroffer process, which goes like this. You make an offer, which includes the price you'll pay as well as all the terms of your purchase agreement. The seller accepts the terms he can live with and issues a counteroffer to you proposing new terms the he wants to see incorporated into the agreement.

The counter offering continues until you either reach agreement, or decide that it's time to call off the negotiations. Plan to explore every possible option before letting the negotiations die.

Buyers who don't like to negotiate often want to present the sellers with a take it or leave it offer. Some sellers might be receptive to this approach. But, unless you're offering the seller his price, you're better off coming in with less than your best offer. Most sellers will feel compelled to counter a low offer.

THE CLOSING: Good negotiators know when they've had enough. You shouldn't let a deal fall apart over petty issues. But, you also shouldn't spend more than you know you can realistically afford.

Should buyers and sellers meet?

by Dian Hymer

Real Estate Agent®s almost always advise sellers to leave when their home is shown to prospective buyers.

Buyers are also advised to conceal their excitement about the listing if they do happen to run into the sellers.

Why are Real Estate Agent®s so nervous about chance meetings between buyers and sellers? Some agents worry that the buyers could jeopardize their negotiating position if the seller becomes aware of the buyers' enthusiasm for the property. In some cases, this might be so, but such an encounter could just as easily have the opposite effect.

One couple returned to see a listing they were considering at night so they could appreciate the city lights view. The seller was home. The buyers and sellers engaged in a friendly conversation, which left the seller with a positive impression of the buyers.

The seller subsequently received three offers. The couple he met at the property offered the lowest price of the three. The seller wanted these buyers to have the house if they were willing and able to pay the highest price he was offered. So rather than accept the highest offer, he issued a counteroffer to the buyers who'd made the lowest offer. They accepted. If he hadn't had the personal connection to these buyers, they wouldn't have received preferential treatment.

HOUSE HUNTING TIP: There are many advantages to having buyers and sellers meet, but there are several issues to be aware of. Buying and selling a personal residence is unlike any other business transaction. There is an emotional component that can have an effect on the outcome of the transaction. If you were to meet the seller at the property and have an unpleasant encounter, this could hinder your chances of a smooth negotiation.

Sellers who list their homes for sale with a Real Estate Agent® often do so because they don't want to interact directly with the buyers. They want to put the marketing and negotiations in the hands of trained professionals. A buyer should respect a seller's wishes if he doesn't want to meet with you until you have completed your negotiations. This includes any negotiations that might be required to resolve inspection-related issues.

After that, it's usually beneficial for the buyers to meet with the sellers for the purpose of learning more about the property.

If the seller has lived in the property for some time, he has had time to decipher idiosyncrasies that could take you months or longer to figure out. Recently, a buyer learned that if she lowered a shade in the kitchen during warm weather, she could avoid walking into an unbearably hot house when she returned at the end of the day.

Make a list of questions you have before your meet with the seller. If you're buying a home with a garden, you might appreciate knowing what the seller recommends about ideal times to prune, or which plants will require more or less water when the season changes.

Ask the sellers if they have any service providers—like gardeners or a handyman—that they would recommend. Write down their names and phone numbers. Contact these people as soon as possible if you want them to continue working for you. It could take you months to establish relationships with new service providers using a hit and miss, trial by yellow pages approach.

THE CLOSING: If you do meet with the sellers, it's usually best to keep your redecorating and remodeling plans to yourself. The sellers may have a strong attachment to their own taste in such matters. Try to culminate your transaction on good terms.