St. Louis Real Estate Podcast with Sandie Hea

These 3 Inspections Could Save You a Lot of Trouble Later On

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Wed, 20 Sep 2017 08:37:00 -0700

Today I’m back talking about more home inspections I recommend you get before purchasing a property.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Today we’re back with part two of our coverage on home inspections. Like last time, I’ll be going over a few inspections I think are the most important if you’re buying a new home. Whenever you are about to make a home purchase, you need to know exactly what you’re getting into.

First of all, don’t underestimate the importance of a termite inspection. Termites can do a great deal of damage. You certainly wouldn’t want to purchase a home only to find out that you’ll be dealing with these pests.

Termites are also something homeowners should check for on an annual basis. For about $65, a termite inspection is well worth the cost. Mud tunnels or damage to the wood are two strong indicators that a home may have termites.

Secondly, I recommend a radon inspection. Radon is an odorless, colorless gas that seeps out from the Earth’s surface. This gas can come up through cracks in the basement or foundation, as well as through any holes.

You need to know exactly what you’re getting into when you purchase a home.

According to the EPA, a radon level higher than 4.0 picocuries per liter is a hazard. At this point the levels will need to be mitigated, since radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States.

Thankfully, there are ways to test for it. Certified radon inspectors can come out and set up a test that will monitor your home for two-and-a-half days. This test costs about $150 and will determine whether the radon level needs to be lowered.

The third inspection I recommend is to have an environmental inspection done. This is especially important if your family has allergies. Having a test for mold is one of the more common environmental inspections out there. Mold can be present anywhere in a home, and is especially likely if the property has taken on any water.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

5 Common Real Estate Contract Contingencies

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Wed, 13 Sep 2017 08:08:00 -0700

Which contingencies should you know about? Here are five of them.

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What is a real estate contingency? By definition, it’s a future event or circumstance that is possible but can not be predicted with certainty. There can be quite a few of them included within a real estate contract, as far as buyers are concerned. Here are five of the most common contingencies buyers include in a contract and what they mean:

1. Financing. This kind of contingency means they will buy the house if the lender gives them the mortgage at the interest rate and terms they first agreed on and which are written into the sales contract.

2. Appraisal. This contingency means they will buy the house if the appraiser says the house is worth at least what the contract price is.

3. Inspection. In this case, the contingency states that will buy the house if they are happy with the inspections or negotiated repairs.

These contingencies are standard.

4. Survey. A contingency based on a survey means buyers will buy the house if they are happy with the way the improvements fall within the boundaries of that property, as determined by a boundary survey.

5. Title exam. This contingency means they will buy the house if the title company determines that there are no liens or encumbrances against the seller on the title of that house and it comes out clear.

Real estate transactions are complicated. Leave them in the hands of a professional. If you have any questions for me or any real estate needs I can assist with, I’d love to help you navigate the real estate jungle. Just give me a call or send me an email today. I look forward to hearing from you.

Which Home Inspections Should You Order?

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Mon, 28 Aug 2017 12:22:00 -0700

What inspections should you have done on the home you’re buying? Here’s a few to get you started.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Why should you have a home inspection when buying a home? Which inspections should you order? The first answer is obvious, but the second is not.

Home inspections protect your investment as a buyer. If your home has a plumbing issue that may cost you thousands of dollars to repair down the line, wouldn’t you want to know about it before committing to purchase it? That’s the idea of home inspections.

However, there are many different kinds of home inspections, so which is right for you? I’m going to go through a few of them today and explain how the process works.

For starters, every homebuyer should have a building inspection that is completed by a certified home inspector. They will give you an overview of any problems in the house you are buying. They aren’t plumbers or electricians, but they are very knowledgable and will be able to spot a problem when they find it.The inspector will take note of any and all problems. They can then refer you to a professional who can better estimate the repairs.

The inspector will spend at least a few hours in the home (around four hours for a 2,500 sq ft. house) and it’s important that you are with them every step of the way. It will help you better understand their findings and what you can do resolve any issues.

Every buyer should have a building inspection.

Aside from the building inspection, a gas inspection is another important one to consider. In the past, they were done by the local utility company. Now you can hire your own HVAC contractor to perform tests and make sure that any gas powered appliances are following the proper code.

The last inspection I wanted to mention today is the sewer lateral inspection. If you’re not buying a brand new home, there is a possibility that the plumbing underneath your home is made of old, clay pipes. A sewer lateral inspection will alert you to any creaks, leaks, or invasive roots blocking your sewage lines.

These are just a few of the many inspections you can choose to have done on a home. Stay tuned for part two, where we’ll cover even more ground. In the meantime, if you have any questions for me at all don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email at your convenience. I look forward to hearing from you

How To Ensure a Successful Home Sale

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 17 Aug 2017 09:31:00 -0700

How do you know if you’re hiring the right agent to sell your home? I’ve got a few things you should consider when choosing your Realtor.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

As I’ve mentioned in previous videos, there are a lot of things that they don’t teach in real estate school. Interviewing two or three Realtors for the job of selling your house is critical to the success of the sale.

Even in a market as hot as this one, not all houses sell or sell at their asking price. Hiring a competent agent is your best strategy. When interviewing agents, there are a few things you should look out for.

Make sure the sure the agent doesn’t just come prepared with information from your neighborhood, but also has a wider understanding the market in your area. Do they have knowledge of the macro- and micro-markets and see the trends that are happening? Do they know the absorption rate? Anyone can compile information on listings and what’s sold and what hasn’t. Make sure that they can interpret that data.

Being a listing agent is different from being a buyer’s agent.

Make sure the agent that you choose is marketing and tech-savvy. You want them to be able to understand how to market your home across social media platforms and get it in front of the right buyers and demographics. They should be utilizing every resource that they have available to them both on and offline in order to market your house to worldwide prospective buyers.

What is their track record? What have they sold in the last three, six, and nine months? You need to make sure that the agents you interview can show you the statistics of the homes they’ve listed, not just the buyers they’ve worked with. What is the number of days that those homes spent on market? What was their list-to-sales price ratio?

Being a listing agent is different from being a buyer’s agent. The skills required for each role are different, and be sure to ask the tough questions of the Realtors you’re interviewing to determine that they have the knowledge and experience to sell your home quickly and for top dollar.

If you have any other questions or you’re thinking of selling, please give me a call. I would consider it a privilege to be interviewed by you to sell your home. I look forward to speaking with you.

Do You Know the Answers to These Common Appraisal Questions?

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Mon, 14 Aug 2017 07:56:00 -0700

Today I’m covering some of the most commonly asked questions I hear about the appraisal process.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

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Appraisals are a subject about which people often have many questions. Today, I’ll be discussing three of these common questions.

First of all, what does the appraiser look for? The appraiser first and foremost will be looking for capital improvements to the home. Additionally, the appraiser will consider how a given house compares to other comparable properties of similar size, age, and location.

The radius within which the appraiser will look is usually about a quarter of a mile to a mile, but can vary depending on the average distance between homes in your area.

Granite countertops, upgraded appliances, upgraded bathrooms, improved additions, and finished lower levels are all things that an appraiser will look for.

However, there are a few things that don’t truly matter to an appraiser. Things like window treatments, a new furnace, or a new roof won’t make a difference. These things will be more important to buyers than they will be to an appraiser.

An appraisal is never public knowledge.

The second question is: “What happens if my home doesn’t appraise?” Well if the buyer has an appraisal rider in the contract, they have the right to negotiate with you on the price. Finding a happy medium will be key here. But, if an agreeable solution cannot be reached, the deal will be terminated.

In that case, we get to our third question: “Who gets to see that appraisal?” An appraisal is never public knowledge. The only people who will get to see it will be the buyer and their lender. Technically, you could put your home back on the market without anyone else knowing that it didn’t appraise.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

3 Tips for Winning a Bidding War

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 20 Jul 2017 11:03:00 -0700

Winning a bidding war isn’t as hard as you think when you’ve got strategies like these.

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Would you like to win a bidding war in this hot market? I’m going to tell you exactly how to do it today.

Going to real estate school doesn’t teach you how to write a contract, as I’ve mentioned before. You need to hire an agent like you’d hire a lawyer, based on their track record of wins. This indicates that they can write quality offers. That’s one of the best tools an agent can have. Here are three things an agent can do with an offer to help you get the home of your dreams:

1. Remove all contingencies. Or, at least remove as many as you can. This includes financing contingencies, inspection contingencies, and home warranties.

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Remove as many contingencies as you can.

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2. Write an escalation clause. This says that you’ll beat any other offer by X number of dollars up to a certain max price. It’s very complicated, but can work like a charm in the right situation.

3. Writing a full-price offer prior to the house’s first available showing date. This would be contingent upon you being able to preview the house within 24 hours. An agent is obligated to present every written offer to their client, and one like this would certainly catch their eye.

There you have it—my top three tips. If you have any questions about them or any questions about real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

What to Look for When Buying a Home

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Wed, 5 Jul 2017 12:08:00 -0700

Today I wanted to spend some time on what to look for when buying a home.

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There are a lot of rehabs, also known as flips, in our market and although everything looks beautiful, you have to be careful about what you see on the outside of the house. I think it’s really important that you look at not just how beautiful a home is, but also at the critical components of the house.

You want to know how old the HVAC and the roof are because you don’t want to empty your pocketbook the first year that you live there. Knowing the life expectancy of those items and how old they are is important.

Walk around the exterior of the home and look for damage, cracks, offset bricks, or rotted columns on the front porch. These are all signs of neglect, so even if the house looks beautiful on the inside, a poorly-maintained exterior is a red flag.

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Not maintaining the outside of the home is a red flag.

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Open windows and doors to make sure they do so smoothly and check for tight seals on the windows. If any of the doors don’t close properly, check the top of the frame. If the doors are rubbing there, it could mean that the house is settling.

There are lots of ways to protect yourself before you spend money on inspections, like by looking for red flags that should be obvious to you and your agent. Work with an agent who has the experience of many sales and knows what to look for, because they don’t teach us that in real estate class.

If you have any other questions or you’re looking to buy or sell a home, please give me a call. I’d be happy to help!

6 Month Market Recap for the St. Louis Area

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Fri, 23 Jun 2017 08:37:00 -0700

Today I wanted to give you an update on how our market has been doing

over the last six months.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Today I wanted to give you an update on how the St. Louis area market has been doing for the last six months.

You may have been hearing that we are in a very critical time with inventory on the market. What does that mean, exactly? This means that fewer and fewer sellers are putting their homes on the market each month.

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Fewer sellers are putting their homes on the market each month.

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For March 2017, we were down 13.3% in number of listings versus March 2016. In February, it was down 22% from the prior year, so you can see that it’s been coming back up as the months go by, but it’s been difficult to find people who are ready to move, even though we have families forming who are ready to move out and buy a new house.

In March 2017, the average days a home stayed on the market was 52, which is down 7% from March 2016. In February 2017, that number was 63, which is down 13% from the previous February. So we’re looking good for this year. The number of days on market is very low, which means houses are selling very quickly and for top dollar.

Finally, the median sales price for homes has been up every month for the last six months. So now is a great time to list your home.

If you have any questions or you’re ready to buy or sell a home, please give me a call. I’d be happy to help!

How we helped Nancy Fortune get the house she wanted at the price she wanted.

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 8 Jun 2017 14:55:00 -0700

"My results were very good! She was selling my home and helping me buy a house. The first weekend we had 45 showings and multiple offers so that was good. She listened to what I said because she was advising me when the first buyer pulled out to not give them what they were asking for but she also knew I wanted to move and I wanted the other house. And she helped me get the house I wanted at the price I wanted (to pay).

I had a lot of sewer problems (on the house I was selling) and I was about to lose my mind. I would refer to her as my “counselor” because she would call to check in and give advice on what to do; she was extremely helpful during that time because it was such a stressful process.

She gave me resources of people to call to get things looked at. She called me back right away! She was great!"
Nancy Fortune, Home Buyer and Seller

BUYING A HOME? Step #1 is ...

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Tue, 30 May 2017 09:22:00 -0700

The first step of the home buying process isn’t looking at homes. It’s figuring out which homes you can actually afford.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

I know that there are many people who think you should start the home buying process by taking a look at homes online. However, that’s not what your first step should be.

The first step when buying a home should be to speak with a mortgage professional. They will look at your credit score, let you know if there is anything you need to fix, and issue that all-important pre-approval letter once they have gone through all of your financial information. You need that pre-approval letter when you make an offer on a home. Sellers likely won’t entertain an offer without one.

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Meet with a mortgage professional first.

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Give me a call or send me an email today and I can connect you with my preferred lenders to get you started. These are professionals you can count on with competitive rates and fees. I would be happy to help.

If you have any other questions about the real estate market, don’t hesitate to reach out by phone or email. I would love to hear from you.

This Tip May Save Your Life

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 27 Apr 2017 10:25:00 -0700

I’ve got some important information to share today from the American Society of Home Inspectors. It regards your smoke detectors and what you should do if they are old or outdated.

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I’ve got a very important message to share with you today about smoke detectors. When is the last time you switched yours out? I’m not talking about the batteries; I’m talking about the device itself.

I recently went to a very important meeting where the American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI) was there to give us some lesser-known facts about smoke detectors that I think you should be aware of.

They recommend you throw out the detector that utilizes ionization versus photoelectric sensor. In addition, a smoke detector older than 10 years is ineffective. Another thing they mentioned about older detectors is that they utilize ionization as opposed to photoelectric sensors. Ionization detectors are less responsive by 30 to 60 minutes, which could mean the difference between you getting your entire family out of a burning house. Those detectors are also less susceptible to go off if you just burn a roast or a pizza in the oven.

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You should change your unit every 10 years.

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Look on the front, back or inside of the unit. Check for the word "Photoelectric" (or the symbol "P") or the word "Ionization" (or the symbol "I"). Also if there’s any mention of radioactive material, like Americium 241 or Illerium 231, it’s an ionization model and should be switched out for a new photoelectric one.

If you have any questions about this or any other topic relating to your home or real estate, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you.

How we gave Lara Reid a better experience than she could've imagined.

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Sat, 25 Mar 2017 11:38:00 -0700

"Excellent. It was a better experience than I could have really ever imagined. We came out, she looked over our house and told us things we needed to do. We put it on the market and sold it the next day. She made everything go really smoothly and easily for us. My husband and I both travel a lot for work, and it was around the holidays we were traveling. There were a few different things during the inspection that we needed to get done, and she coordinated all of that to get done with a contractor. She had it all fixed while we were out of town and we didn't have to do anything. She took care of everything, literally, everything for us!"
Lara Reid, Home Seller

4 Reasons You Should Overlook Home Decor in Online Photos

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 2 Mar 2017 12:41:00 -0800

Although it can be tempting to get turned off by bad home decor, I urge you to see past it. Here are four reasons why.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

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When browsing homes online, you should look at photos with a careful eye. Just because there is some ugly decor in a home’s pictures shouldn’t make it a dealbreaker. Today I’ve got four reasons why you should overlook home decor in online photos for your benefit.

1. Bones are more important. You might not love the grandma-type house with lots of plaid and ornate furniture, but guess what? Grandma is the one who puts the new furnace and new AC in. These homes have great bones, they just might look a little unappealing from the outside. You should be able to see past that.

2. HGTV is overrated. That’s Hollywood, folks. It’s not how buyers buy houses. You don’t have to have the granite countertops and the latest furniture because those people on the show that have it are probably up to their eyeballs in debt.

3. Square footage means more than home decor. When an appraiser comes to your home, the value they give you is mostly based on your square footage. They don’t care about designer window treatments, artwork, colors, or anything else. It’s all about the square footage.

4. Home decor doesn’t come with the house. This is the most important one to remember. When you buy a home and have that final walkthrough, you will get to see a house with four walls and empty floors. That’s when you can truly get an idea of how to make the space your own.

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The decor doesn’t come with the home.

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If you have any other questions, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

How Our Buyers Gain Leverage While Also Selling

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 2 Mar 2017 12:28:00 -0800

Buying and selling at the same time can be tricky. Here’s one way we help make the process easier for our clients.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

If you plan on selling your home and buying a new one, do you have a “plan B” in place for when your home sells in the next 30 to 45 days? This is a question I recently asked a client of mine who is relocating to Chicago and needed to sell their St. Louis home.

I told them that if I listed their house and it sold quickly, they would need a place to go even if they hadn’t found their new home yet. They didn’t have an answer, so I laid out some steps for them.

The first thing I told them to do was get a home equity line of credit. On a home equity line of credit, you can’t have your current home on the market but you can take roughly 80% of its value and use it for the purchase of a new home. That gave my client leverage with the seller in Chicago because they were basically a cash buyer with no financing or sale contingencies.

It’s a win-win situation for them because it takes the pressure off of them having to sell their house in St. Louis right away. Now, my client will be able to buy their new house in Chicago and wait for the right offer to come along in St. Louis. There won’t be pressure to take the first offer that comes along like there would have been if they decided to sell before buying a new home. This is just one example of how we can find a solution for you no matter what your real estate goals are.

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It was a win-win situation for this client.

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I can help you out with buying and selling homes no matter your situation. If you have any questions for me at all, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How to Determine the Right Offer to Make

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 2 Mar 2017 12:08:00 -0800

Making an offer on a home is a delicate process. Here’s how you should go about it.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

I often get asked the same question by buyers who are unaware of what a home’s value really is. They ask me, “How much should I offer on this house?” They love the house and don’t want to lose it, but they don’t want to overpay for it, either.

One of the first things I do after going through the home a few times is finding comparable properties in the neighborhood. I take a look back at least six months to determine what similar homes have sold for in the area. I look at the house like an appraiser, comparing its features and condition with the other homes that have recently sold.

Let’s say a home is priced at $300,000. If you try to apply a percentage to that and say you’re going to offer 5% or 10% below asking price, you could end up paying more than you need to. What if the home is already 10% overpriced? You’re not really getting a deal in that case. By knowing what similar homes in the neighborhood have sold for, you will be able to make a valid comparison and a fair offer.

If you’re going to live in the house for seven or more years, don’t let the price keep you from making an offer. If you really love the house, you should go for it. In the long run, you’ll be significantly happier with the house you love than a house you had to settle on because of budget constraints.

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If you really love the house, go for it.

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If you have any questions for me about this topic or anything else related to real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

How Accurate Is Your Online Home Search?

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Tue, 14 Feb 2017 13:36:00 -0800

When it comes to searching for homes, there are a lot of online resources that can serve you well, but you can’t do better than working with an actual real estate agent.

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

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As a homebuyer, how can you be sure that you’re seeing all the available houses out there that are for sale? I know that at least one of you watching the video above or reading this article is searching sites like Homes.com, Remax.com, or Realtor.com, and thinking that if you don’t check each and every website, you will miss out on your dream home.

Today I wanted to talk about three questions that might be on your mind when it comes to browsing these websites:

1. Where does all that data come from? It comes from Realtors like me who snag appointments with sellers, go out to those listing appointments, and get a listing agreement signed. After that, we use a proprietary application called the multiple listing service—or MLS for short—to put all that information in. Remember, though—garbage in, garbage out. If the agent doesn’t put everything into the fields like they’re supposed to, there’s a good chance that some of that criteria might be overlooked in a search.

2. How do other sites acquire that data? Think of it like Amazon.com. They have an aggregate of sellers who are trying to hawk all of their products, and that’s exactly what’s happening here. Realtor.com was the first that ever came out on the market, and that was our association. After that, Zillow, Trulia, and Homes.com all decided to jump on the bandwagon and help us push our listings out to the public. We actually upload to those public websites. Keep in mind, though, that this information sometimes gets lost in translation. The data might be corrupted, there might be photos missing, and the status changes might not always be up to date. You could be looking at a listing that’s for sale on one of those public websites that, in reality, isn’t for sale anymore. It could be sold, but more than likely, it’s under contract at this time to another buyer.

3. How can you be assured that you’re getting the most up-to-date information? Work with a real estate agent. We have the latest up-to-the-minute information, and if we set you up on an automatic email campaign that sends you all the houses for sale as they come on the market, you will see those within an hour of when we submit them to the MLS. You’ll have the most current information from us, not a third-party website. Those websites are great, but they’re not the best way to find a home.

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We don’t want you to be shortchanged.

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We don’t want you to be shortchanged—we want to make your home buying experience exceptional. If this isn’t the service you’re getting currently, give me a call and I’d be happy to help. If there’s a video topic you’d like to see, feel free to send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

5 Things Real Estate Agents Are Not Taught

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 12:36:00 -0800

People seem to think that all real estate agents are the same—we train in real estate school and get our license. There are plenty of key things, however, that they don't teach in school.

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The public thinks that realtors are all alike because we get trained in real estate school, but here are five things that you don't learn in real estate school:

How to set the price of a home. That's right, nobody teaches us how to perform a comparative market analysis. If you don't have the right person setting the right price for you home, it can make or break your deal.

How to write a contract. Believe it or not, in licensing school, they don't teach you how to write a contract. They teach us federal and state law, a code of ethics, and possibly how to measure a house for square footage and how many hectares are in an acre. That's about it! But they don't teach us how to write a contract or how to negotiate an offer for a buyer or seller.

How to negotiate multiple offers. Wouldn't you like to know you're working with an agent who knows how to handle multiple offers? After all, we're getting a lot of those in the St. Louis Metro market. You need to work with someone who knows how to take two to five offers and work them to your advantage and make sure they understand all the terms—it's not just about price. Helping a home seller determine the best offer is a critical component of being a real estate agent.

How to make your house in show condition. Wouldn't you like somebody who can tell you what you need to do to get your house ready for the market? We don't learn that in licensing class, either. When I come in, I'll help you determine what needs to be done in your house and we'll hire a stager, but above all, we're going to put our best foot forward on that house to make sure you look better than the rest of the competition.

How to market a house to the public. Whether that's through websites, social media, signage, fliers, or even something as simple as chatting with buyers on the phone and learning how to set an appointment. They don't teach that in real estate school, either.

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They don't teach these things in real estate school.

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There are differences between people who have a real estate license and a Realtor. A Realtor subscribes to a code of ethics, a code of conduct, and becomes part of a larger association that has rules and regulations to follow. I personally have invested more than $100,000 in training because I think you never stop learning. When I started in this business in 1986, I was determined to be the best of the best and offer you the highest level of service.

Thanks for stopping by today. If you have any questions or comments, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to hear from you!

5 Reasons You Should Buy a Home During the Holidays

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Wed, 30 Nov 2016 14:28:00 -0800

If you’re a home buyer thinking you should pull back because the holidays are coming, don’t. The holidays are a great time to buy a home, for more reasons than you might think.

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The holidays are coming, but if you’re a home buyer, you shouldn’t pull back on securing that new home. Why? Because the holidays are a great time to buy a house. Here are the top five reasons why:

1. There is less market activity. This is because people are typically busier at the end of the year with other things like school, work, etc. Your preferred house, naturally, is going to have less competition. This will also give you as a buyer a lot more leverage to do your thing without having to finagle your way through a multiple offer situation.

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A holiday buyer has more leverage and less competition to deal with.

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2. Sellers are motivated. Perhaps they’ve had their house listed since the summer and are dying to move out of it. Perhaps they have a job transfer coming up and the clock is ticking. In any case, their incentive to sell is through the roof.

3. Potential tax advantages. You’re going to get to write off any points, any real estate taxes, and any mortgage interest that you have before the end of the year. If you itemize your deductions, that’s something else to consider.

4. Better interest rates. Historically, interest rates are much better during the slower winter months because there is more competition among lenders to offer incentives for you to buy a home before the end of the year.

5. Faster closings. Just like you, the sellers want to be in their new house before the holidays. Not only that, but lenders want to close out their books and real estate agents want to get paid before year’s end. Plus, there are less closings in general during this time, so I estimate that you would be able to be in your house in 30 days versus a typical 45-day closing.

If you need help buying or selling a home or there is a question I can answer for you in an upcoming video, please feel free to call me or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

How Do Short Sales Work?

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Sat, 1 Oct 2016 14:31:00 -0700

Short sales are a great way to get a good deal on a home purchase. However, this process doesn’t come without its own set of unique challenges.

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I get asked questions all the time about short sales. In truth, it’s a tall order to execute a short sale. However, it’s much more advantageous than a foreclosure. In a short sale, a home seller owes more on their house than what the home is worth currently.

When the market hit its highs from 2005 to 2007, home values peaked. People took out larger mortgages due to their equity, then used that money to pay off debts and buy more things. When the market crashed in 2008, they were stuck with homes that were valued much lower but still had very high mortgages. The Big Short, a movie on Netflix, will paint this historical picture perfectly.

Why would a bank allow a short sale? Although foreclosure seems more like the bank’s answer, it costs a pretty penny. They have to hire attorneys, clear the deed and hire an asset manager. Since the bank owns the property, they are in charge of paying for insurance, upkeep, utilities and more. Banks are in the business of making money - not in the business of taking “care” of houses. Most of the time, they will allow a short sale before a foreclosure.

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The bank is in the business of loaning money; they don’t want your house.

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As a buyer, a short sale does offer you a better deal than your typical home. But the question you have to ask yourself is, “Can I afford to wait three to six, maybe nine months to get the home?” The bank doesn’t hurry the short sale process along, so you could write a contract today and not have it agreed upon for up to nine months. There’s a potential bright side if you can wait - you’d probably receive 20% to 30% off of the market value of the house.

As a seller, a short sale is preferable to a foreclosure. It will ding your credit score, but not nearly as much as a foreclosure would. You could also buy another home three years removed from your short sale, but wouldn’t be able to buy for seven to 10 years after a foreclosure.

Short sales are a complex subject and something that can’t be covered in a single blog post. If you have any questions for me, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you.

Close in on the Real Truth About Open Houses

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Fri, 24 Jun 2016 09:11:00 -0700

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What most real estate agents don’t want you to know, or won't admit, is that open houses are not an effective means of selling your home. The internet is now a 24/7 virtual open house and has replaced the necessity of opening your personal residence to uninvited strangers. Many agents will use your house to find new clients rather than focus on selling the house they are standing in for three hours.

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The Internet has changed the game
of real estate.

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Open houses are also a little risky. You have strangers pouring into your home, and there is no way to make sure that those people are qualified buyers that are interested in buying your home. We’re not checking IDs at the door, and we cannot be everywhere at once. People have had things stolen at open houses, and it’s just an unfortunate fact of life.

There are more effective ways of exposing your home to multitudes of prospective buyers than an open house. We want pre-approved buyers that are looking to purchase a home within 90 days. Most buyers you find at an open house are 6 to 12 months away from purchasing a home.

The fact of the matter is that open houses simply aren’t necessary to sell your home. Internet marketing has taken over that aspect of the real estate industry. If you’d like to know how we market your home to thousands of qualified buyers, please contact me.

The Importance of Boundary Surveys in the St. Louis Metro Area

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Thu, 2 Jun 2016 10:42:00 -0700

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Do you know why you need a boundary survey in St. Louis? The reason I think boundary surveys (also known as a stake survey) are so important is because you want to know the exact boundaries of your property. You want to know who owns things like retaining walls, fences, and know where your land stops in relation to the common ground.

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You want to know the exact

boundaries of your property.

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We've all seen the little wooden stakes in the ground with an orange or pink flag on them - they mark the exact corner of your property. It's no big deal if they're moved, because below them is a boundary stone that is a permanent fixture at the corner, no matter how many corners you have on your property. If you look at your curb, you'll often see an "X" etched into the concrete, which is also a permanent boundary marker.

So let's say you find a perfect house with a great lot for you to build an in-ground pool or a gazebo. You get the boundary survey and BAM! Right through the middle of that backyard is a sewer easement. You're not allowed to build any permanent structures over an easement. I've seen it happen several times. Can you try to get out of the contract based on not being able to build a pool or a gazebo? Unfortunately, unless you wrote the contract contingent on you building these structures, you're not able to get out of the contract based on the survey.

I recently had a client sell their house, and when the buyer got a stake survey, we found out the neighbor's retaining wall just barely encroached on my client's driveway by a foot, impeding his ability to drive his big SUV down the driveway to the detached garage. When asked to move it, the neighbor became upset and claimed adverse possession, and wanted to file a lawsuit to stop the movement of the retaining wall. Instead, the title company gave the neighbors some cash and they were able to move the wall one foot. This is exactly why you buy title insurance and you get survey coverage.

Thanks for watching, I hope you found this info helpful! Please feel free to reach out to me with any questions you have.

Why Your Home Needs to Be Certified Pre-Owned

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Fri, 13 May 2016 08:32:00 -0700

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You’ve all been to car dealerships and seen certified pre-owned vehicles. It’s one thing to look beautiful on the outside and have clean carpets, new tires, belts, and hoses, but that certification makes you feel much better about purchasing that car.

I apply the same principle to my sellers’ homes. A certified pre-owned home comes with a number of benefits. You should consider the following if you’re thinking about listing soon.

1. You won’t be surprised by the home inspection. You will know everything about your property already, so you won’t have to worry about a long list of repairs from the buyer. You also won’t have to take any of the money earmarked for your new property and put it towards repairs.

2. You will save time and money if you have big-ticket repairs to make. By taking care of these items before you list the property, you can find the right contractor to fix your roof or the right electrician to get everything up to code. You won’t have to worry about paying overtime charges because you won’t have that ten-day deadline to respond to the buyer.

3. You will increase your chances of paying for top dollar. Getting your property certified pre-owned gives the buyer every reason to pay top dollar for the house. Being certified shows that a professional has inspected your home and found that all the systems are working.

I recently worked with a couple who were selling their 19-year-old house. They were the original owners and the home appeared to be in mint condition, so they decided they didn’t want the property to be certified pre-owned.

When the inspection came through from the buyer, the roof had hail damage they didn’t know about, and numerous windows had broken thermal seals. They had to get three bids on the roof, interview window replacement companies, and deal with the insurance company. Plus the inspection report said 10 windows had broken seals, but the window companies only found five to seven broken seals.

Luckily, the seller was able to stay home to meet with all of these people, but if the property had been certified pre-owned, they wouldn’t have had to deal with any of this in the first place.

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

St. Louis Real Estate Market Snapshot

SpecialAgent@Hey-Hea.com (Sandie Hea) — Mon, 25 Apr 2016 12:59:00 -0700

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Today, I’m here with a quick market update for 2016.

The number of active listings on the market has dropped significantly. During the downturn, builders stopped building and lenders stopped making loans, creating pent-up demand for housing. Buyers are out in droves looking for homes, and there are more buyers out there than there are homes on the market.

We have less than six months of inventory available, which means we are currently in a seller’s market. Right now, it would only take 3 months to absorb the active listings on the market. Sellers have an outstanding opportunity to get top dollar on their home.

The average sold price has significantly increased over the last couple years, and 2016 was no exception. A lot of sellers are getting multiple offers and gaining back quite a bit of the equity that was lost during the market downturn.

What does all of this mean for buyers? You should jump into the market right now. Interest rates are hovering around 4% or less. If you borrow $150,000, your monthly mortgage payment will be about $715. You can buy a lot of house for that!

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