Latest blog entries

The Chance of Selling Your House in 2012

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 02:00:22 -0600

You want to sell your home and have owned it for five years. It is fixed, cleaned, decorated, and ready to go. Once your house is listed, multiple pre-approved buyers come knocking on your door to offer you full price. Seem realistic? Not in 2011, but there may be a positive outlook for 2012.

According to some analysts, 2011 was a year of large inventories of foreclosures and short sale listings. As a result, a slight decrease in nationwide home prices. With many banks holding off on listing their bad assets, and consumer confidence at its highest in years, things may start to turn around in 2012.

Freddie Mac released their 2012 outlook. Here are some of the main points.

Economic growth will likely strengthen to about 2.5 percent in 2012.
The US unemployment rate will decline slightly but remain about 8 percent.
Mortgage rates will likely remain very low through 2012.
Housing activity will be better in 2012, but no boom like some have hoped.
Expect more multi-family lending in 2012.

Struggling Homeowners Receive Relief From Getting Scammed

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:05:21 -0600

Over the past few years, home prices have softened causing homeowners strain and hardship when dealing with their own houses. Some have lost their equity due to falling prices and now owe more than what their home is worth. Others face income or job losses that have caused them to fall behind on their mortgage.

In order to cope, many homeowners are looking for anyone to help and the first place they turn to are the search engines. Because of low cost and efficient marketing, this is precisely where scammers have targeted. With these desperate times upon us, scammers have come up with many different alternatives to try and capitalize on struggling homeowners.

These scammers advertise to help homeowners modify their mortgages through affiliations with government programs like the Home Affordable Modification Program. Last month alone, the federal government and TARP(Troubled Asset Relief Program) finally shut down 85 scams that were advertising on Google and 125 that were on Yahoo and Bing. Many of these scams have used these online advertisements as an easy way to exploit desperate homeowners.

How a Drop in Unemployment Last Month Will Help Sell Your House

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:33:00 -0600

After years of high employment and businesses feeling a strain from the economy, the nation’s unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent in November. This comes in at a two and a half year low, showing evidence the nation’s economy may be heading in the right direction. So what does this mean for the real estate market or selling your house fast?

When talking about nationwide home sales and home prices, factors beyond most seller’s control will dictate what a home will sell for. Similar to the stock market, these factors fluctuate based on businesses hiring and firing or how consumers fear or feel about the economy.

When potential home buyers are looking at homes and debating whether or not to buy, hearing of reports about layoffs and high unemployment will cause them to feel uneasy about buying a home. When a qualified buyer hears a report that the economy is moving in a positive direction and businesses are hiring, this reinforces to them that buying a house is a smart decision. Because of this, buyers tend to buy your house faster and typically for more money when the economy is improving.

How to Sell Your House Using an Auction

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Sun, 27 Nov 2011 22:35:46 -0600

When you think of houses being sold at auction, most people assume the home has been foreclosed on or the home is owned by a bank. There is now a growing demand though for online auctions from home owners when is comes to selling their house fast. Many sellers are turning to this after their home has been listed on the market for a long period of time. Here are some steps to properly sell your house using an online auction.

Prepare the property for the auction. If your home is listed with a Realtor already, this step should be completed. The key is to make sure you remove all clutter from the property and perform any minor repairs that are needed prior to listing your home.

Set the sale or reserve price. This price will be your reserve price or minimum acceptable amount for the sale of your home. If the bidding goes higher than this price, it will be sold to the highest bidder. You may also choose to have an absolute action where there is no minimal acceptable price. Your house will be sold to the highest bidder no matter what happens at auction.

Hire an auctioneer to properly handle the auction. Every auction company is a little different with prices and services. You want to do your research and find out which auction companies have the best track record of producing traffic and sales to their houses. An auction company will typically host a series of open houses prior to the auction to show off the home. Once the word is out, the auction date will be set.

How To Sell Your House Using Rent-To-Own

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Tue, 22 Nov 2011 12:47:54 -0600

You take the time to fix and repair your property so it is in excellent condition. Your home sits on a great lot in a great location next to schools and parks. You and your Realtor list your house below market to sell fast. Everything is perfect and….......nothing happens.

This may seem like the worst case scenario for most homeowners in the US, but unfortunately it is the reality in today’s real estate market. Many homeowners have found themselves doing whatever it takes to sell their house whether it’s making repairs and upgrades, adding incentives, or giving buyers more house for their money. One approach to selling your house in this market is to increase the amount of buyers that can actually look at your house.

Offering your home as a rent-to-own will not only allow more buyers to qualify for your house, but it will also allow you to increase the asking price instead of taking an extreme discount. Here are some steps on how to sell your house using rent-to-own.

Step #1: What is the rent? Do some research to determine what the going rental rate for a similar home is in your area. Make sure you compare the square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, and the age of the home. Most banks that will refinance a rent-to-own buyer will ask for rental comparables to make sure that you are charging the going rent.

How To Avoid Pricing Mistakes When Selling Your House

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 21:49:06 -0600

When selling a home, one of the biggest decisions is where to set your selling price. Listing your property at the right price gives you the best chance to attract a potential buyer to view and purchase your home.

Do your research. Take the time to do research on what other homes in your area are listed for and have sold for. The more knowledge you have about the current market conditions, the better chance you have at pricing your house to sell fast.

How to Receive Multiple Offers When Selling Your Home Fast?

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Sat, 12 Nov 2011 14:21:06 -0600

According to Zillow.com, the percentage of home ownership is at its lowest level since 1998. The housing market has been hit with a high inventory of homes, underwater mortgages, and a flood of foreclosures. There may be a silver lining ahead though as houses begin to be on the market for less time, interest rates stay at historic lows, and gradual job increases bring more potential buyers to the table.

First - Your Property. To get multiple buyers wanting your house over any other home in your area, you will have to eliminate any and all objections a picky buyer may point out. Things like curb appeal, clutter, paint colors, fixtures, and any work left incomplete. You have one chance for a first impression and your goal is to get the buyer emotionally attached to the house as soon as possible.

Adding Buyer Incentives to Sell Your House Fast

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 07:10:28 -0500

When deciding to sell your house fast in today’s market, you may have a few decisions to make. What price should I list my house for? Should I fix up my house before I sell it? What can I do to add curb appeal to my house? To really stand out though, offering a buyer incentive may be the key to really push your house in front of the competition.

When a buyer looks at a home, they are looking at two factors. One factor is the house and the other is the price that will affect their monthly payments. In order to really grab a buyer’s attention, offer incentives that will address these factors and their bottom line long term.

Here are a few effective incentives to offer a buyer.

Lowering the buyer’s monthly payment. You can offer what is referred to as a loan “buy down” allowing you to buy down the buyer’s interest rate. The lender can do this by taking money you are willing to provide out of your closing proceeds. The money gets applied towards the buyer’s credits at closing and their monthly payment is lowered in return. This incentive may seem minimal, but a buyer’s monthly payment is a huge factor when deciding what house they write an offer on.

Will home prices turn around soon?

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Thu, 20 Oct 2011 03:57:44 -0500

When selling your house in today’s economy, the last thing you want to worry about are dropping real estate prices. Over the last 3 years, most Americans have had to worry about this problem and the problems that result from a high inventory of homes on the market. Some homes may be nice while others are distressed and only hurt overall prices.

According to a home price research firm, the median price of existing homes nationwide fell by 27% over the last four years. In some larger cities, median home prices plunged by as much as 68%. On average, home prices in today’s market are comparable to what homes were selling for in the late 1990’s to early 2000’s. So what are some of the factors that have decreased home prices?

Underwater Mortgages. With the drop in home prices, many home owners find themselves owing more then what they can sell their home for in today’s market. While some owners walk away, many decide to either stick it our or try and negotiate a short sale with their mortgage company.

Selling a home fixed up or as is?

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 03:01:06 -0500

In today’s market, sellers are faced with many challenges and uncertainties regarding the ability to sell their home fast and efficiently. One of the reasons has to do with the fact that buyers are looking for bargain properties at bargain prices because they watched the nightly news telling them houses are going for pennies on the dollar. Understand that the market is uncertain and making the decision to sell your house fixed up or as is may be a crucial decision.

Here are a few questions that you may want to ask yourself when deciding to fix up your house or sell it as is.

Will the cost of the proposed improvements increase the home’s market value enough to cover the repair costs? Some improvements will not increase your homes value. For example, a new roof may not do anything to a homes value when you compare it to adding an addition or more square footage. Researching your home’s top market value is critical. You should never invest more into your home than what it is worth or what it will appraise for when someone makes the purchase.

Full service Realtor or a flat fee limited service listing - Episode 41

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 13:29:22 -0500

What to do when your house listing expires - Episode 40

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:39:45 -0500

Why signing a purchase contract with an unqualified buyer is bad - Episode 39

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 15:48:26 -0500

How to find the best Realtor to sell your house fast - Episode 38

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Tue, 20 Sep 2011 15:17:12 -0500

How a bad listing agent can ruin the sale of your home - Episode 37

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 16:00:39 -0500

Why being emotionally attached to your house will hurt the sale of your home - 60 Second or Less Real Estate Tips - Episode 36

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Thu, 15 Sep 2011 16:29:39 -0500

How to price your home to sell fast? - 60 Second or Less Real Estate Tips - Episode 35

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Wed, 14 Sep 2011 15:45:35 -0500

Why spending too much money on your house will hurt you when you sell - 60 Second or Less Real Estate Tips - Episode 34

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 15:52:30 -0500

How To Avoid “We Buy Houses” Scam Companies

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 19:38:32 -0500

Today’s real estate market is full of both good and bad companies to help sellers sell their house fast. I’m sure you have seen bandit signs, billboards, or newspaper ads with “We Buy Houses” or some other sort of tag line. What are these companies? Are they legitimate and can they be trusted? Are all these companies the same?

“We buy houses” companies are becoming more and more popular in the current real estate market. They have become so popular that it is extremely hard to know which companies to trust and which companies are trying to scam you. Here is a short how-to guide on avoiding “we buy houses” scam companies.

What repairs are needed to sell your house fast? - 60 Second or Less Real Estate Tips - Episode 33

contact@realestateswap.com (Matthew Boreen) — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 15:26:04 -0500