JODRealty Blog by Jerry O'Donnell

Get Top Dollar For Your House, Again

Jerry — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 19:31:19 +0000

I thought this was so good when I first published it, I figured I would post it again:

If the time has come to sell your house, you will surely want to get the highest price possible for it. Below are some suggestions, based on years of experience, that will help you get the most for your home, whatever the current market is like. Yes, you will have to spend some money up front. But better to spend it now than rush around in the weeks before closing trying to get a good plumber, electrician, etc. You will also be prepared for the buyer’s inspection.So here goes (not in any particular order):

1. Get a home inspection. Yes, pay $500 bucks or so to get a full home inspection. This will tell you all you need to know about your house. Generally I recommend you fix everything. Some will be super simple and you can do it yourself if you are handy. Some, like plumbing and electrical, will require a professional. Get a pro and keep the receipts. This might costs hundreds, or even thousands of dollars, but you will reap the rewards at closing. Advertise as pre-inspected and make the inspection available to buyers. Trying to hide problems never works.

2. Mold inspection. Get one if the home inspection recommends it or if you know there is visible mold in the crawl space. This is the new “red button” for buyers. The mere mention of mold, which is in EVERY house in the world, strikes terror in the buyer’s mind. A mold inspection by an independent inspector will cost about $300, depending on the size of the house. Fix as suggested. Yes, more money spent.

3. Clean!!!!!!Clean like never before! It is easy to become comfortable with a certain level of “mess” in our houses. Buyers want their own mess, not yours. Either break out the rubber gloves and cleaner or call in the pros and tell them you want the deepest cleaning they have. This will really help sell your house. The hard part is keeping it clean as time drags on. Don’t falter. It’s not fun but it IS necessary to keep it clean and smelling fresh. (Change your air filters a lot.) This includes the garage, decks, and any sheds!

4. Remove collections. Your frog collection is wonderful, but it is time to pack it away. You will be moving everything anyway, so get a headstart and pack up all your collections. Plus, do you want your expensive items out where children of buyers can get at them?

5. Reduce furniture. It is amazing how much can get packed into a house over the years. Now is the time to sell, store or donate some of it. You want to open up the house and let buyers see how big the rooms are. Stage furniture for maximum impact.

6. The dump is your friend. Get rid of all the garbage, broken items, etc. Be brutal. Take it to the dump and be rid of it. If it is in good shape, donate it and get the tax deduction. Or sell it and get the cash.

7. Paint. Do it yourself or hire someone, but do it. It is easy, quick and cheap. Inside and out. And it has a tremendous impact on the curb appeal of your house. This one task probably has the greatest return on time spent. Keep colors neutral.

8. Clean your yard. Mow, mulch, get rid of “yard art”. Your yard will be the first thing a buyer sees. You want it to shine. Drive around your neighborhood and see what houses stand out to you. Copy them. Power-wash your sidewalks, decks and driveway.

9. Hire me as your listing agent.

Does everyone do these things? No. Most don’t. They are reluctant to spend the money up front. They think they will just take a few bucks off the asking price if the buyers wants stuff fixed. Big mistake. The buyer will invariably demand WAY over the actual cost on any item. And you will be scrambling to fix items between the inspection and closing. Not a good thing.

The question is: Do you really want to sell your house? If so, then you should do everything possible to get it in prime condition. The above suggestion will go a long way in helping you do that. Give me a call if you want more in-depth advice.

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Still More On Where Home Prices May Be Going

Jerry — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 14:26:12 +0000

I jsut read an article on a website that gives some info on where house prices are going nationally. The answer is probably down more. The article is entitled, “Case Shiller and CAR Analysis February 2009 Release“. Not a thrilling title, but go check it out anyway. Nationally housing prices are WAY down. Based on history, they may have a lot more to go. In this Chapel Hill market we are somewhat insulated from the national market, but were are not immune.

All the more reason to get your house in tip-top shape if you have to sell.

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Almost Showtime!

Jerry — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 18:28:33 +0000

It is late February. This is the time of year people are getting ready to put their house on the market. This year should be particularly interesting given the rather horrendous state of the national housing market. Chapel Hill isn’t as bad as certain parts of the country. Still, things have slowed some, and an overpriced or improperly prepared house will SIT, for a long time!

If you are planning to put you house on the market this Spring, now if not too early to get going. In a previous post I told you how to get your house prepared. Here is the link:

Get Top Dollar For Your House

Read it and feel free to contact me for any questions. There will be no short cuts this year. If you really want to sell your house you, and your house, MUST be prepared!

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No Magic Lamps

Jerry — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 14:12:02 +0000

The real estate market of today is a great example of a classic bubble. Like the Tulip mania hundreds of years ago, people got caught up in the excitement of ever rising prices. Flip a house, make a fortune over night! A lot of people made a lot of money. Lasted a good many years, too. Then reality comes crashing down on the party. Nothing rises forever. Now, a lot of people have lost a lot of money. A lot are just treading water.

There is no magic lamp when it comes to fixing this problem. The only thing that will work is time. Excess inventory needs to be sold. It will be, eventually. And reality needs to return to the mortgage market. Frankly, a LOT of people bought houses that should not have. No money down, no income verification loans should never have been offered. A lot of the blame is on the federal government and the horrible Community Reinvestment Act. But most of the blame is on us. No one forced us to buy beyond our means. We did it willingly, and now we suffer the consequences.

Maybe, in the long run, this will be a good thing. Some of us will learn from this. We will start to save again. Start to live within a budget. Good things, all.

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Stoneridge/Sedgefield Update

Jerry — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 14:12:52 +0000

Very little activity in this neighborhood over the past six months. Only two houses closed. (One of them was MY listing, thank you very much!) There is one currently under contract. That’s it. Wow!

Here are some details:

Sold - 6012 Turkey Farm Road (my listing) - Original List price - $599,000 - Sold price - $576,000 - Days on Market - 60. Not bad!

Sold - 102 Foxridge Court - Original List Price - $439,000 (with original realtor) - Sold Price - $420,000 - Days on Market - This house shows only 15 days on market. However, it has been on the market WAY over a year, with two Realtors. You need to take days on market with a grain of salt.

Pending - 101 Ironwood Place - Original List price - $447,000 - Last list price - $369,000 - Days on market - 214.

As I said, that’s it for this neighborhood at the moment. Since I live in Stoneridge I’ll be keeping and eye on things. If you have questions, give me a call or shoot me an email.

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How Bad Is It?

Jerry — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 14:49:51 +0000

Which smiley face looks best for the current real estate market? Just looked up some numbers for November 2008, the most recent available. They are for the Triangle area. They don’t look great. Could be worse, though. For the month of November closing are down 42% from November of last year. That is amazing! This is the lowest amount of monthly closings since January 2000! (Personally, I think closings, where the house ACTUALLY changes ownership, is the best figure to look at. Pending sales can always fall through, and For Sale figures are pretty worthless.)

There is some good news. If your house happens to be in the $200,000 price range, you have a better chance of closing. Final sales prices on these house are close to their asking price. That is a good thing. It means if you have to sell you should not be hurt too much in this area. But price your house correctly! Bad news - if you house is over $400,000, be ready to sit in it for a while. These houses are not moving very well.

How about just Orange County? OK. Closings November 2007 - 97, closings November 2008 - 38. Ouch! Months of inventory Nov. 07 - 10.3, Nov. 08 - 18.2. Double ouch! If you must sell, do it right. See my Get top Dollar For Your House post below.

Why do I post bad news? Do you want the truth or warm, fuzzy feelings? As your broker, expect the truth from me, even if it is “less than pleasant”. Want more info? Email me at jjod3@earthlink.net.

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There Will Be A Tomorrow

Jerry — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 14:41:32 +0000

As bad as the real estate market seems right now, there will be a brighter tomorrow. When? No clue. Maybe in a few months. Maybe a few years. The Federal Government will inevitably make things worse before the housing market gets better. But, short of some unforeseen disaster, even the government can’t mess up the housing market for too long.

What to do if you HAVE TO SELL? Well, first list with me. Then go look below at my post “Get Top Dollar For Your House”. It will give you great advice on what to do in this market. Because if your house does not shine, or is the least bit over-priced, it will SIT!

Want to talk about selling? Give me a call at 919-417-9753.

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Where To For Home Prices?

Jerry — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 21:27:02 +0000

The Wall Street Journal had a few articles about the future of home prices in the USA. In a nutshell? It seems most people think prices will bottom out sometime in late 2009 into 2010. After that they expect a return to the historical norm where the price of houses rises about the same as inflation.

Of course, there are always market fluctuation depending on where you live. For example, I’m not real optimistic about housing prices in, say, Michigan. But the sunbelt states are a better bet. The Chapel Hill area is pretty lucky as far as real estate prices. We have Duke, UNC, their respective Medical Centers, and RTP. This helps cushion any downward pressure on prices. Still, we are not immune.

Bottom Line:

For a buyer - don’t expect to make a killing on a low-ball offer. Things aren’t that bad here.

For a seller - don’t expect to make a fortune on your sale. Price it AT THE MARKET, and it will sell in a reasonable amount of time.

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Why No Posting Recently

Jerry — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 13:14:20 +0000

As you can see I haven’t post much recently. The reason? November 4th. Yep, I am waiting to see the results of the election. Once I know who the next President is, and who controls the House and the Senate, and by how much, I can then plan accordingly. My target market will be different depending on the outcome.

So come November 5th, expect a return to more enlightening posts.

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Go Local

Jerry — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 13:51:52 +0000

The past month or so has been pretty tough on the financial markets, banks, home owners and others. Home owners wonder what their house is worth. Home buyers wonder if they can even get a mortgage. Well, despite the press, the world is not ending. The markets WILL recover, houses will sell and buyers will get mortgages. It may be a little tougher for a while, but it is very “do-able”.

With all the negative news on the big banks, now might be a great time to check out your local smaller bank or credit union. Many of them have completely avoided the mortgage meltdown and have plenty of cash to lend, and are safe places for your money. You can build a personal relationship at these banks that can pay long-term dividends.

Definitely something to think about.

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