Realty Times

New Head of Mortgage Bankers Trade Group Takes Over

Home Not Selling? Sweeten the Deal.

With the housing market in a downward spiral, sellers need to get creative. Sweeten the deal and buyers will take a second look at your home. By this, I mean adding something to the deal or adding something to your home that will push it over the top. This real estate market is, without any doubt, a buyer’s market. That means that if you want to sell your home, you are going to need to do something to make it a better buy than the competition’s home.

What makes one house sell faster than the dozen others for sale in the same neighborhood? A little work and ingenuity can go a long way in any real estate transaction. These four tips will help you sell your house without taking a huge hit to your profit. These are things that you can do for yourself without having to go out and hire a big crew to do the work for you. If you are willing to put in a little bit of work and get your hands a little bit dirty, then you will find that success is in the offing.

Sweeten the Deal. A simple incentive can sway the buyer to choose your home instead of the property for sale up the street. Consider offering to pay weekly lawn-mowing or housecleaning services for their first six months. Agree to cover 25 percent of the buyer’s closing costs or their attorney’s fees. A potential buyer comments on your patio furniture? Offer to throw it in as part of the sale.

Paint and Plant. Visual appeal is key to locking in a sale. First, paint all the interior rooms appealing neutral colors. You might be fond of the purple bedroom but it could instantly turn off a potential purchaser. Outside, only paint the exterior if it is in poor condition. Otherwise, touch up trim, shutters and flower boxes. Add a cute birdhouse or two to the yard, and in season, plant some bright flowers, particularly near the main entrance.

De-Clutter. Clutter, knickknacks and rooms crowded with furniture are a turnoff for many buyers. Box up everything you don’t need and leave every room with plenty of open space. Buyers want to envision their own furniture and belongings in the rooms. If the house is completely empty, hire a staging company to set up temporary furniture and tasteful decorations that will give the house a “homey” feel. This is key to today’s home buyers, who are more and more inclined to go after a home that they feel comfortable in.

Remember the Senses. Smell is an important detail; open some windows before you show the home, bake if you have the time. Never light a floral scented candle; many people have allergies or are irritated by candle smells and they will rush through the showing to get back outside. Play mellow music at a low volume, especially if there is highway noise or construction going on nearby. Classical music is relaxing and a good choice.

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Shopping for a home mortgage loan can be very confusing. There are many different types of loans available from many different types of home mortgage lenders. The type of loan you ultimately choose should fit your individual needs and the type of property you are purchasing. How do you know which type of home mortgage loan is best for you? The answer to that question requires a bit of research.

The conventional home mortgage loan is the best known type of loan. The rates on these loans are usually attractive and may have the lowest monthly payment of other kinds of loans. The reason for this is that a fairly high down payment of ten to twenty percent is usually required. The down payment provides security for the lender because the amount loaned will be less than the value of the property.

Potential home buyers who cannot qualify for a conventional mortgage because of the down payment requirement may want to check into some other options. Home loans are made available from the Federal Government through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA). FHA loans are not issued by the Federal Government. Instead, FHA approved lenders make the loans to individuals. The loans are then guaranteed by the FHA. Both the borrower and the home being considered must adhere to certain standards laid down by the FHA. Interest rates on these types of loans are usually very competitive and the down payment requirements are much lower than for a conventional home mortgage loan.

Veterans of the United States Military have another option. The Department of Veteran Affairs offers a program to veterans of the Armed Forces which is very similar to the FHA loan program. Veterans, and the unmarried spouses of service members who died as a result of their military service, are eligible for these loans. The standards for these loans are a bit less restrictive than FHA loans and there is no limit to the amount of money the VA approved lending institution may loan.

Another type of home mortgage loan which has become popular in recent years is called an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM). These loans have an interest rate which may change over the lifetime of the loan. The changing interest rate will cause the monthly payment to change, also. These loans usually have some protections built in. A periodic cap will limit the amount that an interest rate may change at one time. A defined adjustment period governs how often the interest rate may change. An aggregate cap limits the total amount the interest rate may change over the life of the loan. Some ARMS may also include a payment cap, which places a restriction on the total payment amount. Because payments may not move over a specified amount, this cap may result in a situation called negative amortization. A negative amortization occurs when the payment does not cover the entire increased interest due, so a portion of the interest is added to the loan balance.

A construction loan may be used to purchase vacant land and commence construction of a new home on the land. These loans are considered temporary loans and are usually advanced for several months. The loan amount is set at the beginning of the loan. It functions similar to a line of credit. The borrower takes funds as needed for the construction of the home. This is a great option for those who have the homesite, but need the starting cash.

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One of the biggest problems for the real estate market today is that individuals are stopping their real estate transactions because they lack cash flow. Even in a down market when cash is a little bit tight, deals can still get done. It is just a matter of getting out there and making it happen.

The best people in the real estate business will tell you that cash is not the end-all factor in real estate transactions. They look at a whole host of things, including assets and benefits. Liquidity is a nice thing to have, but it isn’t the thing that will stop real estate transactions if you want to make them happen. Certified real estate agents and other professionals can tell you, without reservation, that there are ways to get around a cash flow problem.

There is quite an incentive for real estate professionals to find new, exciting ways to market their properties to folks without a great deal of cash flow. As the market gets tight and crunches down on individuals, it is absolutely essential that agents find new ways to get the deal done. Here are some ways to make that happen.

Though cash is the standard form of barter payment that we see in today’s market, it is essentially a means of exchanging good, promises, or types of services. In real estate, you are basically trading different benefits between two different parties. Simply put, real estate selling and buying are essentially a barter trade.

For whatever reason, real estate investors haven’t seemed to grasp this concept, though. They have limited thinking, which causes them to miss out on valuable opportunities that might have otherwise presented themselves.

When the cash is tight, you need to look for other ways to get a real estate deal done. Experienced real estate investors have been using these creative measures for a while now. Some will only sell a piece of land, thus making it a less expensive transaction. Others will just sell the building on a property. In addition, lots of real estate investors sell property with the prevailing option of buying back.

Some of the other ways to make a real estate sale when the money is low is through a wrap-around mortgage. These mortgages give buyers more options, even though it is a bad deal financially in the long term. This type of mortgage, along with pyramid financing, is the two chief ways that folks are circumventing their cash flow problem at the moment. Depending upon a person’s credit history and their ability to secure appropriate financing, these can be excellent options to pursue.

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There are some tricks that home buyers use when they are looking for the best properties. Often times, using these methods will help a person find a property that they would not have otherwise been able to locate. The funny thing about real estate is that, more times than not, the best properties are hidden. They are the homes that you might not expect to be valuable investment opportunities. Here are some excellent ways to find properties on the rise.

The Worst Home in the Best Neighborhood

Lots of people like to find great homes in average neighborhoods, but this is no way to invest in real estate. Though it probably shouldn’t be this way, your home’s value will be very dependent upon the area around you. In fact, a poor neighborhood will bring your home down quicker than almost anything else. With this in mind, you need to be looking for the worst home in the best neighborhood. When you do this, you will be finding a home with a lot of potential, which is always a great thing when the time comes to re-sell your property. If you can find this type of deal, then make improvements to the home, you will be sitting on a gold mine when it comes time to re-sell your property.

Location, Location, Location

The location is the single most important aspect of your home. You need to be aware of what is going on in your surroundings. Perhaps a new development is about to be built near the home? Perhaps there is going to be expansion and new commerce is coming into the area? These are things that will cause your home’s value to rise dramatically. The great thing about these factors is that they will cost you nothing. You won’t have to spend a penny in order to reap the benefits of what is happening all around you. In order to find out this type of information, check with the Chamber of Commerce in your area and figure out what they have planned. If there is something in the works, they may give you a heads up on it.

Properties that Require Little Work

Some properties are more of a project than others. Your job is to find those homes that do not require a whole lot of work in order to become valuable. You shouldn’t be looking for properties that need to be gutted and completely re-finished. You can find plenty of houses that just need some cosmetic work or some landscaping in order to improve dramatically in value. You will see these properties immediately and you should be able to spot the changes that must be made in order to increase the value. These homes have values that are ready to shoot through the roof if some slight modifications are made. Often times, you will just need to arrange the home in a way that is suitable for upper-end buyers.

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Technorati Tags: finding a home, investment opportunities, location location location, property location, real estate transactions