Matt Fetick Keller Williams Real Estate Podcast

Guiding Your Clients Through Short Sales & Foreclosures

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Fri, 12 May 2017 13:45:00 -0700

Now that the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act has ended, here’s what you as an attorney need to know to guide your clients through a foreclosure or a short sale.

Buying a Kennett Square, PA home? Get a full home search
Selling your Kennett Square, PA home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

One of the most common questions I’ve been asked in recent weeks is, “What do we do now that the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act has ended?” This act was designed for homeowners who went through a short sale or foreclosure to avoid paying taxes on the forgiven debt.

If you’re an attorney and you have one or multiple clients who are asking themselves the same thing and looking to you for guidance, there are a couple things you need to understand.

Whether you do a short sale or a foreclosure, the canceled debt portion is considered potential income to the sellers. In a foreclosure, a short sale, and a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure, your clients will receive a 1099 form for the forgiven balance. Does that make it a taxable event, though? During the height of the market crash, the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act decided that it wasn’t.

Now that that act has ended, the question becomes whether to do a short sale or a foreclosure and what happens to the forgiven debt.

To figure this out, use publication 4681 of the IRS Circular, which is titled “Canceled Debts, Foreclosures, Repossessions, and Abandonments.” It explains how the IRS looks at the taxation on the forgiven debt.

The good news is that if the short sale occurs on the primary residence, chances are the primary residence is an exclusion to the canceled debt and will not be a taxable event. Additionally, even if they don’t qualify under that, they may qualify under insolvency. The publication has a chart that you can use where you add up all of your client’s assets and liabilities, and if they have negative equity across their entire income and they’re insolvent at the time of the short sale, then the canceled debt is a non-taxable event.

The 4681 will be your guide for your clients.

This publication will be your guide for your clients. Keep in mind that the biggest benefit between foreclosures and short sales is that when you do a short sale for one of your clients, the bank is accepting the payoff as payment in full and they give up their right to pursue the deficient balance. That is not true for foreclosures, though. The bank has the right to collect the debt on a foreclosure.

You won’t see this right away, but banks are now selling that forgiven debt off to debt collectors who—now that the economy has improved—are going after the folks for their deficient balance. The nice thing about the short sale is there is finality in it. For foreclosure, there’s a pretty big window to pursue that deficient balance.

If you’re contemplating how to advise your client on a short sale, a foreclosure, or a deed-in-lieu, or you need help interpreting the 4681 publication, give me a call so we can talk. I’m also conducting a continuing education class for the family law section next month where you can get your continuing education credits, so if you’d like more information about that, I’d be happy to provide it to you.

If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to reach out to me. I’m here to help.

Thank You For Contributing to Our Success

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 8 May 2017 13:50:00 -0700

Thank you for contributing to our success!

Buying a Kennett Square, PA home? Get a full home search
Selling your Kennett Square, PA home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

I wanted to take a moment to say thank you. Over the last several years, the Matt Fetick Team has been recognized as a leading real estate team in the region.

On average, we sell a home every 48 hours and in today’s market, it’s almost every 24 hours. With that in mind, we wanted to say thanks! Thank you so much for working with us and contributing to our success.

Our market is in a frenzy right now, so whether you’re buying or selling a home, you’re going to need our advice. We don’t want you to overpay as a buyer or get stuck with bad offers as a seller.

We don’t want you to overpay as a buyer or get stuck with bad offers as a seller.

I’m sure you’ve got questions about the market, so please feel free to give me a call or shoot me an email. If you send me a question I can answer in a video, I’ll send you a $25 Starbucks gift card so you can have some coffee on me.

Thank you so much again! We look forward to hearing from you.

How to Know if Your Buyer’s Agent Is Right for You

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Thu, 4 May 2017 07:56:00 -0700

If you’re buying a home, you should interview one or multiple agents and ask them different qualifying questions to get a sense of their capabilities and how well they match with you.

Buying a Kennett Square, PA home? Get a full home search
Selling your Kennett Square, PA home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation

If you’re a homebuyer, how can you know if a particular agent is the right fit to help you buy a home?

Our lead buyer specialist David Williams knows all about this topic. David has been part of our team for eight years, and he’s helped more than 249 people purchase a home. He’s exclusively a buyer’s agent, which is a little different than most agent’s you’ll meet.

He’s still amazed by buyers who go to open houses or stop at a new construction site and end up hiring the first agent they come across. That’s all well and good if that agent can represent them well, but if you’re considering buying a home, it’s important that you interview one or multiple agents the same way a person would if they were listing a house instead of buying one.

Your house is your biggest financial asset, so the agent you hire should know how to represent you, how to work the market you’re currently in, and know what’s important to you for the long term. We’ve even created a list of about a dozen questions a buyer should ask an agent before working with them. Some of these questions include:

Why did you get into real estate?
What are some things that can happen during the transaction that can cause problems?
How long have you worked in the area?
How many homes have you sold?

There are many different qualifying questions you can ask an agent to find out what their experience is, how actively they can solve problems that come up, and how well they can represent you in the process.

The agent you hire should know how to represent you.

Our team loves your questions so if you have one, feel free to email us any time of the day. If we choose your question as the subject of one of our videos, we’ll send you a Starbucks gift card. We look forward to hearing from you.

We’re the Key to a Successful Sale

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Thu, 13 Apr 2017 13:22:00 -0700

Getting an offer on your home is easy in this market. What’s not easy is making it all the way to the closing table without a Realtor’s assistance.

Right now, it’s a feeding frenzy in the real estate market. We are seeing near-2007 levels of sales prices and pace. You might think selling today would be easy. You’d be partly right. It is easy to get an offer, but it’s much harder to get to the closing date with the offer still intact. I want to share a few important thoughts with you today about how you can make it through your transaction with a little helping hand.

When a buyer makes an offer on your home, there are generally 10 to 20 different people involved in the transaction. You might have a few different buyers, with each of them having a loan officer, an underwriter, an appraiser, a home inspector, and more. There are a lot of expectations to manage and being able to negotiate all the way through to closing is the hard part of the transaction.

Our job is to give you the best advice possible.

Our job as Realtors is to give you the best advice possible. When we review offers with you, we will find out about the buyer’s credit, income, and probability of securing their loan on closing day. We also want to make sure you are protected throughout the inspection process by recommending which repairs to make and referring you to someone who can help you out for a fair price.

If you market your home right, stage it, and price it correctly, you’ll get an offer. However, it will be hard for you to get to the closing table without the help of an experienced professional. If you’re thinking about selling your home, give us a call and we’ll pair you up with a team member who is an expert in your area. We cover Chester County, Delaware County, Montgomery County, parts of Philadelphia County, and the entire state of Delaware. We’re ready to help you today.

If you have any other questions, we’re always here to answer them. Just give us a call or send us an email. We can’t wait to hear from you.

Our Team’s Success Is Because of You

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 3 Apr 2017 12:12:00 -0700

Today we want to say thanks. Thanks to all of our friends, families, and clients who have been supportive of our team over the years.

I just wanted to take a moment to say thank you. Over the last few years, The Matt Fetick Team has been recognized as a leading real estate team in the region.This wouldn’t be possible without the support of our friends, family, and clients who have entrusted us with the purchase or sale of their home.

On average, we sell a home every 48 hours. In today’s hot market, we’re selling one almost every 24 hours. We’re almost back to 2007 pre-recession levels. We don’t want you to overpay for a home or accept a bad offer, however. Both are still possible in this market. Our team is positioned to help keep your best interests in mind whether you’re buying or selling.

If we answer your question in the next video, we’ll send you a Starbucks gift card.

I’m sure you have a lot of questions if you’re thinking about buying or selling. Give me a call or send me an email to let me know what those questions are. If I answer them in my next video, I’ll send you a Starbucks gift card.

If you have any other questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

3 Tips to Sell Your House This Year

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 13 Mar 2017 13:45:00 -0700

If you want to sell your house this year, follow these three tips.

Selling a house isn't easy, but if you plan on selling yours in 2017, we can help you make the most of your time on the market. There are three things you can do to make sure you sell your home fast for the most money possible this year:

Find the right agent: Not all agents are the same. Sure, we all pass the same tests, but you want to hire an agent with the expertise and knowledge to help you get the most for your home. You want a consultant to help you understand what the market is saying so you get the best advice and marketing.

Your first showing actually happens online.

Hire a professional photographer: Marketing counts, and your first showing actually happens online. Your presence online is of the utmost importance.
Price your home right: You want to pick the price that will cause your home to sell. Price can be up to 80% of your marketing. If the price doesn't seem right, buyers won't make offers—it's that simple. Some people choose to price high from the start to see what they can get, but this can be a risky move that results in your house spending more time on the market and ultimately netting you a lower price. The longer your house is on the market, the more your price will go down. We're in a seller's market, and the only homes not selling here are ones that aren't priced correctly.

We want to help people realize their home selling goals this year and help make it as stress-free as possible. If you have any questions for us or you're ready to get your house on the market, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to helping you!

Why Now Is the Best Time to Sell

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 27 Feb 2017 12:24:00 -0800

If you’re thinking about selling your home, don’t wait until spring. Today I’ll go over a few benefits of beating spring sellers to the market.

Should you wait until spring to sell your home? In my opinion, no.

Real estate is a supply and demand business, which means the more homes that are on the market, the less money you will get out of your home sale.

When buyers have more options, they have more negotiating power.

It’s true we see more homes sold in April, May, June, and July. However, because there are so many more homes on the market, buyers have more options. When buyers have more options, they have more negotiating power.

If you go on the market in the winter months, you’ll have less competition and you’ll have a much better chance at getting top dollar for your home.

If you’d like an up-to-date home value or if you’d like some advice on how to add value to your home, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

How Does Our Market Currently Look?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 13:10:00 -0800

We’ve been getting asked about the market a lot lately. We’ve got some advice to share with you today whether you are thinking of buying or selling.

I often get asked about the current status of the market, so I wanted to dive deeper into that topic today. As you know, 2016 ended with a bang. Nearly every community in our region posted a higher sales volume and higher average price in 2016 than they did in 2015. The question is, “Where are they headed now?”

Keep in mind that when talking about real estate, we are always in a cycle. In 2008, we saw prices bottom out. Since then, they’ve been going up. They are still going up now, but how do we know when we’ve reached the peak? The truth is that we don’t know and we won’t know until prices start coming down. On the other hand, we don't know we’ve bottomed out until prices start going up.

We won’t know we’ve peaked until we start declining.

As you can see, it’s nearly impossible to time the market. If you’re thinking about selling your home and wondering if you should wait longer, you should know that. Even those of us that study it for a living can’t time it. The best thing you can do is find the middle ground where the market is either slightly going up or slightly going down. Those small, fractional changes won’t affect your bottom line significantly.

The question for sellers is if we can get the best price for your home. The question for buyers is if you can make sure you don’t overpay at the peak of the market. To answer these questions, you need one of our team members to sit down with you and talk about the specifics regarding your sale or purchase.

We need to look at all the things important to you, including interest rates, the condition of your home, and more so that we can determine whether now is a great time for you to buy or sell.

We are never here to push you towards buying or selling. Our goal is to give our consultation services to you and help you make the right decision. We want you to be a client for life and we don’t want you to miss any great opportunities.

If you have any questions for us or if you’re thinking about buying or selling, we would love to hear from you. Just give us a call or send us an email.

How Did Our Market Fare in 2016?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 23 Jan 2017 11:36:00 -0800

Now that the new year is underway, I wanted to give you a look at the fantastic numbers our real estate market ended with in 2016.

I’ve got some great news! Last year was fantastic for our real estate market and I’ll give you the full 2016 recap today.

In the Philadelphia suburbs, we saw these statistics related to home sales for the following counties:

Chester County is up 14% in home sales year after year, which means we sold 14% more homes in 2016 than in 2015. The average sales price also increased by 3%.

Delaware County has similar numbers as it saw a 13% increase in home sales from 5,255 homes sold in 2015 to 5,800 in 2016, and the average sales price increased by 2.5%.

Montgomery County’s numbers are up with a 12.5% increase in home sales and a 5% increase in average sales price.

Finally, New Castle County boasted the most significant home sales increase with almost 16% more homes sold in 2016 than 2015 and an increase in average sales price of just over 1.5%.

The real estate market has proven to have hit its stride in its recovery. Home prices are almost back to where they were in 2007, so if you’re thinking about selling or you need an updated market value for your home, please keep in mind that all real estate is local. The up-to-date information on your home will be based on the specific area you live in.

The real estate market has proven to hit its stride in its recovery.

If you would like to get the up-to-date value of your home, or if you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to give me call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

We Are Excited for 2017 and You Should Be Too

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 16 Jan 2017 09:39:00 -0800

We look forward to many things in 2017. One of them is the launch of our new client appreciation program.

As we begin 2017 and say so long to the previous year, we want to thank you for your support in 2016. Last year, we helped nearly 300 families buy and sell real estate. We are proud of that accomplishment, but we are even more proud of the relationships we have built.

With that in mind, we look forward to rolling out our new client appreciation program this year. We want our clients, friends, families, and raving fans to know they’re appreciated for their business and their referrals. Keep an eye out in your inbox for some cool events that are coming up.

We are rolling out our client appreciation program this year.

You’ll also be able to see some of our charitable giving. When our company is successful, we reinvest in the community. We’ll keep you updated with our efforts there as well. We hope that 2016 was good to you and your family, and we look forward to an even better 2017 for everyone.

If you have any questions or any real estate needs at all, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Our Real Estate Market Is Healthy Once Again

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Thu, 3 Nov 2016 08:21:00 -0700

We specialize in selling homes that have failed to sell in the past. If you’ve gone through a situation like that, you should reach out to us.

As your recommended listening specialists from the Matt Fetick team for Chester and Delaware Counties, Jeremy and Dana wanted to touch on something really quick today and let you know that our real estate market has finally recovered.

We are back to 2007 price points at this time, which is great news for sellers. Our team specializes in selling homes that have been on the market before and failed to sell. If you have struggled with selling your home in the past, you should reach out to us.

We sell a home every 48 hours.

As a team that sells a home every 48 hours, if you’ve had a rough run of things or haven’t gotten what you wanted out of your listing agent in the past, give us a call. We would love to come out and do a free, in-home, hassle-free consultation where we can sit down with you and help you develop strong marketing and a competitive pricing strategy so we can get you the highest price for your home in the shortest amount of time. We want all of our clients to have a 5-star experience and to be clients for life.The market has finally recovered. Now what?

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Our Real Estate Market Is Healthy Once Again

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Thu, 3 Nov 2016 08:21:00 -0700

We specialize in selling homes that have failed to sell in the past. If you’ve gone through a situation like that, you should reach out to us.

As your recommended listing specialists from the Matt Fetick Team for Chester and Delaware Counties, Jeremy and Dana wanted to touch on something really quick today and let you know that our real estate market has finally recovered.

We are back to 2007 price points at this time, which is great news for sellers. Our team specializes in selling homes that have been on the market before and failed to sell. If you have struggled with selling your home in the past, you should reach out to us.

We sell a home every 48 hours.

Our team sells a home every 48 hours. If you haven’t gotten what you wanted out of your listing agent in the past, give us a call. We would love to come out and do a free, in-home, hassle-free consultation where we can sit down with you and help you develop strong marketing and a competitive pricing strategy so we can get you the highest price for your home in the shortest amount of time. We want all of our clients to have a 5-star experience and to be clients for life.

If you have any questions for us, don’t hesitate to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you.

Come Take a Tour of 202 Whitby Dr.

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Fri, 21 Oct 2016 12:47:00 -0700

We are very excited to give you a sneak peek at one of our featured listings at 202 Whitby Dr. in Wilmington in the community of Sharpley, just off Concord Pike in North Wilmington.

This home is nestled near major routes, local businesses, great shopping, and just a couple minutes from Brandywine Creek State Park. The neighborhood is beautiful, established, quiet, and well-maintained. Located on a large corner lot, 202 Whitby Drive has four bedrooms and two and a half bathrooms.

This home has a great open floor plan.

One great feature about this home is its open floor plan. It also has a fully-updated kitchen complete with brand new stainless steel appliances, granite countertops, and great lighting.

Beautifully refinished hardwood flooring stretches through the main level dining room, den, and living room which includes a wood-burning fireplace.

The master bedroom has a full bath and walk-in closet, along with three other rooms. Other updates include a new roof, hot water heater, and security system. This is a great opportunity in a great location.

If you have any questions about this home or you would like to schedule a showing, give us a call or send us an email. We are happy to help.

How to Avoid Overpricing Your Home

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Thu, 6 Oct 2016 13:28:00 -0700

What are the pitfalls of overpricing your home?

When you make the decision to sell your home, one of the most important factors to consider is the list price. As real estate agents, our goal is to get you the most money that the market will bear.

When you consider what that list price will be, you want to examine a few factors. What are the recent sales and market history of your neighborhood, dating back at least six months? At what price point will your home show the greatest value to the largest amount of buyers?

When considering list price, there are two major factors.

If buyers can't see the value in your home through things like the marketing, it's going to result in limited showings and traffic through your home and potentially no offers. Examining these two factors can ensure that you have a competitive pricing strategy.

Statistically, we find that sellers receive the highest and best prices on their home in the first 30 days of the listing. That's important because those people shopping in your area will likely see it within the first 24 to 48 hours after it goes live. At that point, they will make a decision about whether they see value at the price you're asking and whether they want to schedule a showing.

You must pull a buyer from the pool of the first surge of buyers that come through your home in the first 10 days of the listing because that is your market. If you haven't received any offers once that surge is gone, you'll need to go back and examine whether your marketing is working, the condition of the home, and your price. The longer a property sits on the market (more than 30, 60, or even 90 days), the lesser the sense of urgency or competition on it.

When buyers see a home and like it in the first weekend, then somebody else will as well, so they need to make a strong offer to ensure they can lock up that prized property that they really want. That's the competition and urgency you lose when the property sits on the market; offers that do come in will be lower.

Which indicators can let you know you're on the right track? Well, once your listing goes live, if your home is in great condition, in a great location, and your marketing is working, you can point to price if you don't have any showings in the first 10 days. If you've had 10 showings and no offers, you also need to examine price. The market will tell you exactly what you need to do every three to four weeks.

I hope this topic was insightful for you. If you have any questions about pricing your home properly or you have questions about the Pennsylvania real estate market, give us a call or send us an email. We're here to help.

Maintaining Your Heating and Cooling Systems

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Fri, 9 Sep 2016 12:48:00 -0700

With summer nearly over, I’m sure you (like me) have been reminded just how much we use our air conditioning. Soon, in the winter, you’ll also be reminded of how often you use the furnace, too.

It’s one of the major systems in your home, and a surprise issue with one of these systems can be a nightmare if handled improperly. That’s why I wanted to share a video from Angie’s List that I recently saw about proper maintenance of your heating and cooling systems.

If either unit is having issues, did you know you can actually hire technicians who are specially trained to work on certain brands? For example, if you have a Trane system, you can find a tech who is trained specifically to work on Trane products.

Secondly, always remember to get a second opinion when someone recommends that you replace a system because oftentimes a repair will do. You want to be certain when it comes to a part of your home that should last 20 years, especially considering the cost of a replacement.

"...be proactive with service on these systems."

Unfortunately, as the video points out, there are a lot of people out there in that deal in these systems and prey on customers that don’t know any better. If you’re hiring a company, you should investigate them by checking out their web reviews or social media pages.

Also, be proactive with service on these systems. If you wait until the system is broken down and needs repair to get it checked out, you’re now at their mercy.

As always, for any real estate questions, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d be happy to answer them for you!

4 Reasons to Buy a Pennsylvania Home in 2016

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Fri, 29 Jul 2016 14:39:00 -0700

There is a wide selection of top-quality homes to choose from on the market today. If you're interested in looking at all the current homes that are listed, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering putting your home on the market, CLICK HERE to obtain a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding real estate or the value of your home, please feel free to call me at (610) 427-4420.

Today, I want to share four reasons why 2016 is the year to buy your next home. Our market looks great and there hasn’t been a more opportune year!

First of all, home prices are finally stabilizing. We’re not seeing those dramatic upward or downward spikes that are typical of a turbulent market. Right now, prices are fairly calm, fairly even, and fairly predictable, making now a great time to buy.

We also expect that there will be more homes on the market this spring than there have been in the past. Again, part of this is because home prices have calmed down and now we can predict where they are going to go. That means that any sellers who have been on the fence are now ready to put their homes on the market.

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When interest rates go up, buying power goes down.

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Additionally, inexpensive mortgages could disappear soon. Right now, interest rates are historically lows. However, everything we see in the economy indicates that we will see an increase in rates. For every 1% increase, your buying power goes down by 10% to keep the same monthly mortgage payment.

Finally, if you’re renting right now, you know that rentals are at a premium. When that happens, landlords jack up the prices. Keep in mind that when you’re renting, you are paying a mortgage; it’s just not your own.

If you have any questions, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Should I Wait to Sell My Home?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 21 Mar 2016 10:59:00 -0700

Don’t wait to sell your home! Today, I’d like to cover my top four reasons you should sell your home now, especially if you’re already thinking about listing your property.

Interest rates are historically low. Take advantage of incredibly low interest rates available right now. Not only do they benefit you, but prospective buyers of your home want them as well. Keep in mind that the Fed announced interest rates should continue to rise. If that’s true, waiting could cost you a significant amount of money.

Home prices are stable. It’s easy to predict what your home is worth in today’s marketplace, because home values are balanced and stable. We’re not experiencing swings like we have in previous years.

Buyers are anxious to purchase homes. Because of the low inventory of rental properties, monthly rent payments are rising rapidly. This influences tenants to buy a home of their own, which increases demand.

There is currently low inventory. There aren’t a lot of spectacular properties available on the MLS within our region. It could be because it’s an election year. However, if you list as soon as possible, your property has the opportunity to shine and stand out from the rest.

If you’re thinking about buying or selling in the region, reach out to me by phone or email. I’d love to chat with you and help serve your local real estate needs!

Exactly How Important Is Your Credit Score?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Tue, 8 Dec 2015 09:49:00 -0800

There is a wide selection of top-quality homes to choose from throughout Chester County and Northern Delaware. If you're interested in looking at all the current homes that are listed, GO HERE to perform a Full Home Search, or if you're considering putting your home on the market, CLICK HERE to obtain a Free Home Value Report. For any other questions you have regarding Chester County Real Estate or the value of your home, please feel free to call me at (610) 427-4420.

Unfortunately, your credit score now plays a major role in your real estate transaction. Your score can even affect your insurance premiums for homeowner's insurance.

I don't want to scare you off, but I also don't want you to think that your credit score needs to be sparkling in order to qualify for a loan. You don't have to be in the high 700's, in fact, you can qualify if you have a score in the mid-600's.

You need to keep in mind that as your credit score drops, your interest rate will go up, as well as other fees you may have to pay. This is why your credit score impacts the cost of your mortgage.

The good news is that it's not too difficult to repair your credit. I can refer you to people who can help you repair your credit and boost your affordability.

Please don't hesitate to contact me!

How Do We Know it’s a Good Time to Buy?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 19 Oct 2015 11:54:00 -0700

I am often asked by clients if it’s a good time to buy a home. The thing is, there are two important facts about home selling that you need to understand first:

1. You can’t time the market

2. There is never a bad time to buy the right home at the right price

When you try to time the market, it never works. We don’t know we’ve hit the bottom of the market in terms of pricing until prices start to go up, then we’ve missed it. The same goes for the peak of the market. We don’t know prices are going to come down, we can only react to it when they do. Timing the market is not the way you want to go about buying a home.

What we really want to do is guide you into that sweet spot. The spot where, if you need to sell in the future, your home will appreciate and have that equity. In the early 2000’s, we saw home prices go up at a rate that was simply not sustainable, and the market eventually crashed. If you look at historical home values, a good, healthy rate of appreciation is right around 2-4%.

Is it a good time to buy a home right now? Absolutely, as long as you don’t overpay. How do you avoid overpaying? You’ve got to work with a great agent. Our buyer team is great at helping you analyze the decision from a financial standpoint. We want you to fall in love with your home, but we also want to take some of that emotion out of the buying process so you can make a good financial decision with one of the biggest investments you will make in your life.

Our goal is to help you get the right home at the right price. If you only get one of those things, you aren’t going to be satisfied. If you’d like to work through the process to so you can buy the right home at the right price, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

What Are 5 Different Ways to Style A Room?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Wed, 30 Sep 2015 09:24:00 -0700

Today I wanted to take a break from talking about the real estate market and the latest numbers to give you some valuable home design advice. Whether you are trying to stage your home for sale, or just want a different feel than the same old room you’ve always had, we’ve got you covered.

In the video above, from HGTV’s YouTube channel, Brian Patrick Flynn, a very talented interior designer, goes through five different ways to style a room. The furniture never changes, just the accessories around them, and that’s the beauty of interior design. Today we will go through the 5 different ways Brian styles this room, and detail how each of them offers a different feel from the next.

1. Traditional
For a traditional look, add fresh flowers and soft coral accents. Accessorize the room with understated accents, like a stone bust, and keep the color palette soft.

2. Masculine
To create a more masculine look, utilize bold prints, and different shades of blue. Use only a few large accessories to make a bold statement.

3. Feminine
Adding bright pink, cozy, soft fabrics and curvy accents is the best way to add that feminine touch to your room.

4. Neutral
For a neutral look, adding colors like ivory, beige, and taupe and accessorizing them with patterns in varying sizes and textures will keep this neutral look interesting.

5. Coastal
Creating a coastal look in your room requires using organic accessories, as well as hints of blue. Instead of the wicker furniture that beach homes are known for, substitute with a wicker lamp to keep the feel of a beach house within the comfort of your living room.

There you have it, five great, unique ways to style any room in your home. If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

How Are You Preventing Your Home From Selling?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Thu, 16 Apr 2015 14:45:00 -0700

Chester County Real Estate Agent Matt Fetick talks about the importance of pricing your home correctly within the right range in order to sell your home at the desired price in the quickest amount of time.

When people put their home for sale on the market, their goal is to get the most money possible in the shortest amount of time. However, this often doesn't happen. There are many different reasons homes don't sell, but most often it has to do with the price of the home.

Most sellers make the mistake of thinking they need a lot of room to negotiate with the buyer, but in reality they don't. If a home buyer comes to your home and the list price doesn't match up with what other similar homes are at, they will walk away and either forget about the home or check for price reductions. During that time, your home is just sitting there, stagnant on the market, while other homes get bought up at market value.

You don't want this to happen, so when you are going to put your home on the market, listing it somewhere within 3-4% of your expected final sale price usually leaves a lot of room for negotiation. Under-pricing your home may not be a bad strategy either, although it's risky. Often buyers will bid each other up and the market will correct the under-pricing.

Aside from pricing, the other thing that really impacts your home's value is its condition. This is the one thing you can really make a difference with. Over time, your home has become your personal living space, unique to your family. Future home buyers want to see themselves living in your home, and you do too. If they can't do that because your home isn't properly staged, your home will likely linger on the market much longer than it needs to.

If you have any other questions about things that will delay the sale of your home, please give us a call or send us an email. We would love to discuss with you how to position your property for the most money in the shortest amount of time.

How Do You Get the Best First Impression?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Wed, 1 Apr 2015 12:12:00 -0700

Chester County Real Estate Agent Matt Fetick stresses the importance of professional staging in making a positive first impression with potential home buyers, emphasizing how his real estate team excels at professionally staging homes in order to leave the best possible impression for buyers who are viewing the property for the first time.

Today I want to talk to you about first impressions. You only get one chance at a first impression, that goes for homes as well. We want to talk to you about what we do to make sure our seller's homes have the best possible first impression with buyers.

Whenever we put a home on the market, we rely heavily on a professional, certified home stager to help present your home in its best light. For potential home buyers to want to pull the trigger on a purchase, they need to be able to see their family living and thriving in the home. Staging is all about helping the buyer picture themselves, and their family, living in your home. When you create this feeling, you end up getting the best offers.

When you list with us, we will send one of our stagers out to your home to let you know what you can improve in your home to have the best possible return. The best thing we can do is provide you with these resources so you don't have to do any guess work on your home sale.

85% of home buyers say the first time they saw the home they purchased was online. The online showing is the 1st showing in today's world and for your home to succeed in this showing, 3 things need to happen:

1. Staging has to be done well.
2. Outside curb appeal must also be done well.
3. You HAVE to use a professional photographer.

If you are thinking about putting your home on the market, please give us a call first. We would love to offer you a free consultation with one of our professional stagers to let you know what you need to do to get your home ready to sell for the most money possible. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

What Are Mortgage Rates Doing This Year in Chester County?

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Thu, 26 Feb 2015 11:40:00 -0800

Chester County Real Estate Agent Matt Fetick is joined by his preferred lender Mark Succarotte of New Penn Financial to discuss interest rates in 2015 and whether or not they'll remain low.

Hey everyone, welcome back, and welcome to 2015. Today we are happy to be joined by our preferred lender, Mark Succarotte with New Penn Financial. He is going to talk today about the state of the mortgage industry, and how trends we are seeing right now are going to affect mortgages going forward in 2015.

No one ever knows for sure what interest rates are going to do, but so far this year we are off to a great start. January opened the year with tremendous volume due to low rates, the easing of credit qualifying standards, and the fact that the FHA just reduced their mortgage insurance premium by half. People who are buying now with this lower premium are saving hundreds per month on their payments.

So, what does this mean for 2015 rates? With our current healthy real estate market and economy, consumer confidence is up, and rates will probably follow. The HOA is expecting a 26% increase in new loan starts in the next year. We are adding approximately $225,000 new jobs per month and the Mortgage Brokers Association is expecting a 15% increase in the number of new home loans.

With all this great news, many analysts are predicting rates to go up, but not until the end of the year.

If you have been thinking at all about buying, now is a great time. Make sure to give us or Mark a call if you have any questions or concerns, we would be glad to be of help.

Three Important Developments To Be Aware Of

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Mon, 26 Jan 2015 12:21:00 -0800

Chester County Real Estate Agent Matt Fetick discusses a vast array of different issues ranging from foreclosures to debt forgiveness and market updates.

Learn more about the extension of the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act

Check out my latest market update for real estate in Chester County

Foreclosure Notices Appear in Chester County
I'd like to take this time to elaborate on some recent events in the Chester County real estate market that may impact your clients in the near future.

Some different organizations around the country have been alerting us to the fact that many lenders over the last year have been sending deed in lieu of foreclosure packages directly to homeowners that have not been including a satisfaction of the deficient balance.

If you have clients that are considering a deed in lieu of foreclosure, I have two things you should know:

1. Carefully read the documents: Make sure it specifically states that the deficient balance will be forgiven and that they will not pursue their right to collect that deficient balance.
2. Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure is treated as a foreclosure by credit bureaus: When your clients apply for a loan in the future they'll have the same waiting and seasoning period as they would if they had a foreclosure in the past. This is why a short sale may work, but this is not always the case.

Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act
At the end of 2014, Congress extended the Mortgage Debt Forgiveness Relief Act. If you have clients that completed a deed in lieu of foreclosure, a short sale, or a foreclosure and received a 1099 for the deficient balance, then this may not be a taxable event if it was their primary residence and they settled the issue in 2014.

The good news is that we're hearing whispers from Congress that this act will also be extended into 2015. So, if you have any clients that would be impacted by this development, we urge you to inform them as soon as possible. If you have any further questions about this, please don't hesitate to contact me, I have much more information on this subject.

Quick Real Estate Market Update for Chester County
It's been a tumultuous year in real estate for the Philadelphia area, and with 2014 now on the back burner, I'd like to give you a brief recap of what happened with our local market.

Inventory Accumulation: At the end of 2014, Philadelphia had 5.7 months of inventory, indicating a balanced market. Year to year, there are more homes on the market now than in 2014.
There were 5-8% more homes under contract in 2014 in Chester County than there were in 2013.
The number of sold units was down in 2014. This could be a result of the weather from last January-March, but the third and fourth quarters of the year picked up the steam nicely and should help us in 2015.
On average, the sales price increased by 3.8% in Chester County, which is helping to stabilize the market and allow sellers to get out of their homes while the market appreciates.

It's hard to say what will happen in 2015, but a lot of it will depend on our inventory in the next 60 days. We've seen lots of activity and aggressive offers throughout the holidays, which indicates a very strong first quarter for 2015. Prices should continue to increase, days on market will decrease, and this will create a healthy and balanced market for the Philadelphia area.

As always, thank you for your referrals. We greatly appreciate doing business with you. If there is ever anything we can do to help you, or if you have any questions about any of the topics covered, be sure to contact us by phone or email.

The Future of Chester County Real Estate

clientcare@soldnotlisted.com (Matt Fetick) — Fri, 23 Jan 2015 13:22:00 -0800

Chester County Real Estate Agent Matt Fetick talks about past market trends from 2014 and how they'll affect market conditions for the upcoming year of 2015.

It's been a tumultuous year in real estate for the Philadelphia area, and with 2014 now on the back burner, I'd like to give you a recap of what happened with our local market and what you can expect to happen this year.

Inventory Accumulation: This helps us to gauge whether we're in a seller's market or a buyer's market. Zero to three months of inventory is a seller's market, four to six months of inventory is a neutral market, and anything beyond seven months indicates a buyer's market. At the end of 2014, Philadelphia had 5.7 months of inventory, indicating a balanced market for right now. This also tells us that there are more homes on the market now than in 2014.
There were 5-8% more homes under contract in 2014 in Chester County than there were in 2013.
The number of sold units was down in 2014. This could be a result of the weather from last January-March, but the third and fourth quarters of the year picked up the steam nicely.
On average, the sales price increased by 3.8% in Chester County, which is helping to stabilize the market and allow sellers to get out of their homes while the market appreciates.

It's hard to say what will happen in 2015, but a lot of it will depend on our inventory in the next 60 days. We've seen lots of activity and aggressive offers throughout the holidays, which indicates a very strong first quarter for 2015. Prices should continue to increase, days on market will decrease, and this will create a healthy and balanced market for the Philadelphia area.

If you have any questions about how the market is changing in Chester County and how it could affect your purchase or sale, please don't hesitate to call or email us. We're the number one team in Delaware and Chester Counties, so you can expect the best from us.