Forclosed Homes

If you are currently in the market to buy a home you may want to consider foreclosures. These homes are either real estate owned or bank owned property because of the previous owner being unable to pay on their loan. The family was incapable of affording their home, and being able to keep up the bills. Therefore when the home is taken out of their hands and turned in to the hands of real estate agents or the bank you are able to get the home at a discounted price.

Although you are probably receiving a good deal on foreclosed homes there is little room for negotiating the price, and you must be willing to take the home as is with no repairs. Banks and real estate agents are ready to get these homes out of their hands and move them on to a family who will take care of the property.

There is money to made in this area. Many times foreclosed homes aren't in the best shape because the owners didn't have the money to spend of appliances and renovation. In this case you can pick property up at a low price point and renovate the home. After making the home look its best with updates and a little touch of TLC you can put the home for sale and make a little profit!

Price Point

When looking to purchase a home you must know your price point, whether you're a first time home buyer or have been in the market several times. This is important because you don't want to exceed the amount of money you can afford financially. With this being said, you want to be able to enjoy the home you live in and be able to afford different appealing and pleasing things outside your home. You don't want to live by every dollar worrying if you are going to be able to afford this months payment.

The first step in finding your price point is to look into your credit and see the loan amount you qualify for, from your local bank. For example if they say you qualify for a loan of $400,000 dollars you don't want to look at a house worth $500,000. This means you would need cash to put down on the house because the bank is only loaning you $400k. From a logical standpoint staying under your loan amount makes the much sense; therefore you will be able to afford monthly payments and hopefully put money down on the home.

Exceeding your price point may cause you to get behind on bills and your home to be foreclosed on. No-one wants that to happen.

What Catches Buyers Eyes?

Today home buyers are in the market for homes that are updated and move-in-ready. However, there are cases where buyers are looking to do the remolding themselves to make a profit. Popular move-in-ready homes today consist of: hardwood floors, marble counter tops, stainless steel appliances, clean paint, smooth/high vaulted ceilings, clean carpet with no odors, 2+ bathrooms, 3+bedrooms, walk in showers, Jacuzzi, decent size yard, and a shop for extra storage and space. Each of these amenities adds value to the home. If you are looking to put your house on the market it is important to do as much updating as possible to get the highest dollar out of your home. You don't want to sit on a home you are trying to sell too long.

Below is an example of a late 1930's home that was fully remolded for a sell. You will notice how the kitchen is fully updated with stainless steal appliances, wood floors, fresh paint, walk in shower, vanity, and staged well with no clutter. 

Choosing the Right Home...

When it comes to purchasing a home there are many different factors that come into play. These may be: price, loan Amount, style home, number of bedrooms and baths, square footage, average, location, age of home, different amenities you want the home to have, etc. Many people think purchasing a home will be an easy task and simple task because they know what they want and have in mind. However, this is not always the case.
When home buyers come in the office and list out their many wishes of their perfect home we try our very best to find and give that to them, but when the market doesn't have it the market doesn't have it. Sometimes people may wait awhile and be on an ongoing hunt or decide to purchase property and built their dream home themselves. A lot of time and effort goes in to the purchase of a home, but relators are here to make both the buyers and sellers happy.
In my next couple of post I will be laying out a few different examples of what the average person wants in their home. This can be helpful if you are looking to put your house on the market for sale or remodel a home to make a profit.
I hope you enjoy!

Broker Open House

Broker Open Houses are much different from a public open houses because they are just for real estate agents. It's a time for all realtors to come see property, give their opinions, mention their listings, eat food, and talk about business in a casual setting. This is a plus for all buyers agents because the home may be something one of their buyers is interested in. If that's the  case it brings showings to the home for a potential sale. In an overall nutshell a brokers open house is an additional way to market a listing. Brokers open houses are advertised through email, flyers, and one-on-one communication. Most the time they are not advertised in newspapers or magazines because they are only for realtors.

Open Houses

Open houses are open to the public for anyone who is interested to come in and have a tour of the house. Most are scheduled on the weekends for roughly 2 hours. During open houses the realtor who listed the house is always the one to host the event and show individuals around and provide facts about the home. The home owners/sellers are never present. When you list your house with a realtor you let them handle all the showings and paperwork while the sellers stay completely on the back burner. It works best that way. Realtors will always keep a record of how many families/individuals attend the open house to determine whether it was worth the time and effort put in to it. Open houses are often advertised in the local newspaper, websites, flyers and directional signs stating there will be an open house.

Building Relationships

An important characteristic of being a successful realtor and selling your property is building strong relationships with your clients. It shows you care about their situation and will try your best to sell their property. 

As a relator you have to be willing to plan things around your schedule. For example last week one of Cathy’s clients contacted us and wanted red, white, and blue balloons on their mailbox for Memorial Day, so we made that fit in our schedule to make the clients happy. If you make your clients unhappy they will drop you and move to another real estate agency. You don’t want to lose your clients, because you can’t sell property without any!