How can I get my Real Estate offer accepted?

15 Strategies to getting your offer accepted!

The plight of today's buyers: "I'm just so tired of submitting offers that never get accepted!"

Are you making the wrong offer?  Are you working with an ineffective Realtor? Both?  I will stand by these words:  "If you're willing to write your very strongest offer (note that I didn't say 'highest' offer) the first time, and your Realtor is ethical, diligent, and thorough, you WILL have an offer accepted." Don't give up.

1. The most outside the box strategy used to be the ONLY strategy.  Ask your Realtor to hand deliver your offer!  It's really easy to ignore an e-mail, phone call, or text message.  It's much harder to ignore a human being; one who's gone out of his or her way to hand deliver an offer.  Make sure your agents are going above and beyond.
2. Do your best to truly understand the seller's motivation. Price isn't always king! Neither is cash; especially in short sale situations where the seller may stand to net zero out of the deal. Maybe the seller needs to find another property.  Maybe the sellers need to close immediately and are less concerned with proceeds.  Maybe the seller would like to do a three week rent-back after close of escrow to help accommodate the move?  Learn your sellers' motivating factors and you've won half of the battle.
3. Demonstrate to the seller that you are not just willing, but able to close. Include bank statements, or Proof of Funds to Close with your offer. Pre-Approval, FICO scores, etc.  Your job is to give the sellers peace of mind that the transaction will close if they go with your offer.
4. Offer the right price and back it up with Market Data. Sadly, many agents just don't have their head int he game.  Agent Bill is selling his Aunts house.  He's new.  Give him the market data necessary for him to go to the seller and show why your offer is the best offer.  "Look Aunt Mary!  See the market data?  This is a great offer.  I think you should accept it."  Done. 
5. Offer your maximum down payment.  If you're writing an FHA offer, perhaps you can put 5% down rather than the typical 3.5%.  Writing Conventional? Can you put 25 or 30% down instead of 10 or 20%?  Make each element of your offer the strongest it can be. 
6. Offer to close quickly. Ask you lender if he/she can perform quickly.  With all else the same, a buyer will typically accept the offer with the shortest time to close.  It shows your commitment and eagerness to perform. With lender laws and stipulations over disclosures getting more complicated by the week, securing an effective lender who's capable of performing on time is crucial. 
   
7. Limit Contingencies with this caveat: Protect yourself first, aggressively pursue the property second.  A contingency on a contract may make a seller nervous. However, you may be able to shorten your inspection contingency period, from 17 days, to 15...or to 10.  If your agent is proactive, he/she may be able to line up inspectors in advance, thus not necessitating the entire 17 day contingency release period.
8. Offer a Significant Earnest Money Deposit. This can be up to your entire down-payment.   Remember, it's not at risk until you release all contingencies, but it might show the seller a level of commitment that no other prospective buyers are willing to (or even thought to) show.
9. Write a personal letter. Seriously! More often than not, there is a human being on the other side of this transaction. Expressing, in writing, why it's important that your offer is accepted may be the deciding factor. This is the "get off the pot" clause.  You may be spending a half a million dollars or more on a home.  Step up!  Put in the 12 minutes it might take to draft this letter, even it you have to do it 3 or 4 times.
10. Offer a rent-back if needed. Sometimes people need time for their new escrow to close.  Sometimes their new home isn't done being built.  Communicate your willingness to be flexible if you're comfortable with it.
11. If you don't NEED a seller's credit toward closing costs, don't ask. Buyers' Agents often ask for closing costs credits as strategy to help their buyers get into a home.  However, as a listing agent, why am I going to accept an offer requiring my sellers to hand over a portion of their proceeds if I have another offer that doesn't?  "But can't we raise the offer price to cover the additional credit?" Yes. But if you don't need to...don't.  Raising the offer price might push the contract price above the appraised value of the home, leading us all back to the negotiating table. 
12. Submit an "As-Is" addendum. If you're willing to buy a property truly as is, let the sellers' know up front.  Add to your offer the fact that you're actually simply going to buy the home in its current condition, regardless of what turns up on inspection.
13. Offer to put your money into escrow prior to approval on a short-sale offer. Showing the listing agent that you're willing to put your deposit money into escrow demonstrates yet another level of commitment. Remember: your funds are not at risk until you've removed all contingencies.
14. Submit a back-up offer. Can't even find an "Active" property that suits your needs? To me, every property is active, even if it's not on the market at all.  Ask your Realtor to see if you might be able to submit a back-up offer even if MLS doesn't say you "can."  A simple call from one agent to another might plant a seed that turns into a smoothly closed escrow just weeks later.  Remember, if you don't ask...the answer is no.
15. NEVER count out negotiation with a builder. Even if you don't "feel" that a new home is right, don't leave yourself in a position where you look back a year later and think, "Wow, we could have lived here!" Another caveat: Don't go into the builder's sales office unarmed.  Although I work with builders very, very often and have huge respect for virtually all of them, it costs you nothing to have your Realtor register you and to have him or her negotiate on your behalf.  Imagine if you could have a "Professional Auto Negotiator" with you when you buy your next car...at no extra charge!  That's the circumstance with builders.  Those of us who close many deals in new construction understand the process thoroughly; know what to watch out for; know what the builders might think is ridiculous; get the deals done. A Realtor's commission from the sale of a new home typically comes from the corporations ad budget, not from the price of the house.

" It doesn't take sharp eyes to see the sun and the moon, nor does it take sharp ears to hear the thunderclap. Wisdom is not obvious. You must see the subtle and notice the hidden to be victorious"

 ~ Sun Zu

My business thrives by word of mouth.  If you appreciate the information provided on my blog, please share this post on your favorite social media sites, and with anyone you feel could use my service.

Until next time.

 

Andy Blasquez  Cell ~ 909.539.3292

BRE#01826135

Please follow and share at YucaipaRealEstateTrends on Facebook

E-mail me on Andy.Blasquez@gmail.com

Should I Buy a New Home, or a Previously Owned Home?

This question's an easy one to answer:  It depends!  See!  Pretty easy!

Ok, all kidding aside, I'm a huge advocate for new construction.  My wife and I have owned 3 homes over the past 12 years. Two of those were new construction.  That shows my personal taste. However, there's always two sides to the story. You can't buy a new, 1907 Victorian home in Redlands.  You'd be hard pressed to find a brand new home in a neighborhood with 90 year old oak trees. You probably aren't going to find a new home in Yucaipa on a half acre lot.  For me, this question points directly back the the first question you should ask yourself: "What lifestyle do I want to live, and can I do it here?"

Here is a list of reasons that might compel you to buy a brand new home as opposed to one that is pre-owned.

• Choice! With little to no change in sales price, new home builders often offer choices as to color and styles of the features of your home. No, these aren't upgrades, but they're still choices. Carpet color, tile, vinyl, counters, cabinets, etc.  You'll often have 3 or 4 choices in each category to choose from at no extra cost.  
• Flexibility! Builders often use their own lenders, which gives me, as your agent, several opportunities to negotiate: 
• 1) The price of the home. 
• 2) The terms of the loan.
• 3) Closing Cost Credits
• 4) Design Center Credits
• It's New! In my family, we had little-ones crawling and rolling around on the floors. It brought us peace of mind knowing that not just the carpet was new (and in a color we loved)...but the carpet pads and sub-flooring was new as well.  No smokers, no pets, no allergies, and no spills that are going to resurface 4 months down the road.
• Less Competition! Typically you're not going to compete with several other buyers for the same house, like you would on an existing home found on your Realtor's MLS. You'll likely have the choice of many new homes and models, or even the same floor plan on a different lot.
• Infrastructure!  When you buy a 35 year old home, you've got 35 year old...everything else...attached.  Infrastructure: In new home communities, you've typically get new sewers, streets, lights, schools, shopping, and more.  
• No Inspections! Ahhh...the dreaded home inspection!  Everything is new!  What's to inspect?  With pre-owned homes, you've got those anxious days between the time you write an offer and the time you receive your pest and home inspections.  New home construction practically allows you to skip this step altogether.
• No Appraisals!  Yes, your new home must appraise in order for a lender to fund, even on new construction.  That said, it behooves the builder to price their homes accordingly.  Have I seen a new home NOT appraise for the purchase price?  Yes...once.  In that case, the builder simply reduced the price to the appraised value.  
• FHA & VA Buyers Welcome! Virtually all home builders will sell to FHA and VA buyers!  These buyers are typically well qualified and committed to the process.  
• Don't need an additional Home Warranty! It comes with one!  Wait...it comes with several: Foundation, Roof, Finish, Appliances...everything!
• Who's standing behind your purchase? You've got a builder's reputation at stake, and they'll stand behind you.  With pre-owned homes...the seller's likely moved on, and you'll never see or hear from them again.

I could easily create a list that's just as long and just as compelling advocating the purchase of pre-owned homes.  In fact, I'm sure I will.  But at this point in my personal life, and with a young family in tow, I feel very peaceful living in a newly constructed home and I'm always at peace when I help a client negotiate a deal with a local home builder.

Wait!  You mean...I help people negotiate deals with home builders?
Absolutely!  Countless times! Really, at this point I couldn't guess how many times. Often enough, in fact, that periodically simply accompanying my clients on their first visit to a builder's model homes pays huge dividends to the buyers. If I accompany a buyer to a builder's sales office, it often allows me the ability to negotiate on their behalf. I've negotiated upgrades, closing cost credits, appliances...even fully landscaped backyards...at no extra cost to the buyer.  But wait, do I get paid a commission?  Yes!  Well technically no. It's customary that the seller of a home pays both sides commissions.  In the case of virtually all new home communities, they aren't going to pay a commission.  They pay a marketing expense; a referral fee.  This is not a line item on your closing statement.  It doesn't come from the sale of the home.  It's paid by a different department all together.  Often the same one that pays for TV commercials, web presence, and print advertisements.  This mean that a) you do pay me, and b) I'm absolutely committed to giving you the very best service possible and negotiating aggressively and effectively on your behalf.

Thanks in advance for remembering my name when the topic of Real Estate comes up in conversation.  If you're local , just remember Andy@LoisLauer.Com I'm always here to help.  

My business thrives by word of mouth.  If you appreciate the information provided on my blog, please share this post on your favorite social media sites, and with anyone you feel could use my service.

Until next time.

Andy Blasquez  Cell ~ 909.539.3292
BRE#01826135
Please follow and share at YucaipaRealEstateTrends on Facebook
E-mail me on Andy.Blasquez@gmail.com

How long after a Short Sale, Foreclosure, or Bankruptcy do I have to wait?

Did you get caught up in the housing bubble that burst?  Almost everybody did!  In the Riverside, San Bernardino, Ontario metro areas nearly 50% of all homes sold in 2012 were foreclosure related sales. That was just 2012.  Add to that, all of the other distressed homes sold between 2007 and today, and you get a pretty good idea of the scope of that bubble bursting.

Here's the good news though.  If you've survived the stresses of going through a foreclosure, a short sale, or a bankruptcy, you're probably closer than you think to getting back into the market.  How close?  Let's take a closer look.

Below I outline typical wait times for various loan programs based on which financial circumstance you went through.  

• Short Sale 
• FHA Loan - 0-3 years depending on circumstances.
• VA Loan - 2 years on loans < $417,000; 7 years on loans > $417,000
• Conventional Loan - 4 years
• USDA Loan - 3 years
• Deed in Lieu of Foreclosure
• FHA Loan - 0-3 years depending on circumstances.
• VA Loan - 2 years on loans < $417,000; 7 years on loans > $417,000
• Conventional Loan - 4 years
• USDA Loan - 3 years
• Foreclosure
• FHA Loan - 3 years. As little as 1 year if borrower qualifies"Back to Work" program. 
• VA Loan - 2 years on loans < $417,000; 7 years on loans > $417,000
• Conventional Loan - 7 years
• USDA Loan - 3 years
• Chapter 13 Bankruptcy
• FHA Loan - 1 year if payment period has elapsed. 
• VA Loan - 1 year if payment period has elapsed. 7 years on loans > $417,000
• Conventional Loan - 2 years from discharge date, 4 years from dismissal date
• USDA Loan - 1 year if payment period has elapsed. 
• Chapter 7 Bankruptcy 
• FHA Loan - 2 years from discharge date. 
• VA Loan - 2 years on loans < $417,000; 7 years on loans > $417,000
• Conventional Loan - 4 years from discharge date, 4 years from dismissal date
• USDA Loan - 3 years from discharge date. 

I often advise my clients NOT to wonder.  Don't wonder if you're ready.  Find a lender you trust and find out if you're ready.  If you're not ready, the worst thing you would walk away from this experience with is the truth and a plan.  Sounds like a win/win to me.

Thanks in advance for remembering my name when the topic of Real Estate comes up in conversation.  If you're local , just remember Andy@LoisLauer.Com I'm always here to help.  

My business thrives by word of mouth.  If you appreciate the information provided on my blog, please share this post on your favorite social media sites, and with anyone you feel could use my service.

Until next time.

Andy Blasquez  

Cell ~ 909.539.3292
BRE#01826135
Please follow and share at YucaipaRealEstateTrends on Facebook
E-mail me on Andy.Blasquez@gmail.com

How much should I list my house for?

Home is where the heart is, but it can also be where the anxiety and stress is if you're planning on selling anytime soon. 

Selling your home can be an incredibly stressful and emotional time, BUT with the right guidance and support it can (and should) be a smooth, exciting, and hopefully profitable experience. 

Probably the biggest source of anxiety and stress when selling a home is arriving at...and agreeing on...your home's list price.  Below are a number of ideas, thoughts, strategies, and points of view that will leave you best equipped to tackle this seemingly daunting task.  Let's call 'em the Dos and Don'ts of Home Pricing.

DOs

1. Consider your motivation and timeframe
• Do you have a new job that you're moving too?  How about kids starting school? Be at peace with the reality of your unique set of circumstances.  Be realistic with yourself.  Do you have times to 'test' the absolute limits of the market, or are you serious about making your move?
2. Wear 3 sets of glasses

• Consider all of three of these points of view when determining your list price. 
• You HAVE TO think from your buyer's point of view. How do they look for a home?  If you were a buyer...what would attract you? 
• More importantly, you have to think about your buyers' Realtor's point of view.  Your buyers' agent is the one that influences the actual buyer.  Think about it...most parents don't go to the store with the idea of buying Captain Crunch cereal and Sponge Bob Krabby Patties!  But kids influence parents (the buyers) actions. If you influence your buyers' agent, the buyer's will take action.  
• Anyone else?  Oh yea! You have to think about the appraiser's point of view as well! If you've overpriced your house but you're fortunate enough to find a buyer at that inflated price...the appraiser is likely going to pop your bubble, and you'll be back down to reality before you know it, so you might as well start there.
3. Rely on clearly understood "Comps."  
• Comparative Market Analysis, CMA, or "Comps." Use the following criteria to help establish a realistic starting point:
• City, town, or area: Outline your specific development on the map and use homes that are 'model matches' of your particular house.  If you can't do that, start with a half-mile radius from your home. 
• + or - 10 years from the year your home was built
• + or - 10% of the square footage of the home
• + or - 20-30% of the square footage of your lot
• # of bedrooms...until you get to 5, then simply use 4+
• This is a sound starting point. You'll want to find at least 5 properties that are very similar in kind to yours that have closed recently (within the last 90-180 days). If you don't have 5, broaden your search criteria. However, the less refined the search criteria, the less dependable your comp data will be.
4. Look at the median number of days homes are on the market; DOM:
• Look at homes that have been on the market for 90 days or more without selling!  As of the date of this post, the average DOM for local homes is 41 days. If your "Comp" is still on the market after 90...there's a good chance that it's overpriced. You might not weight that comparable home as heavily as another.
5. What time of year will you be selling?
• Ah, spring is here. Spring is considered the best season to sell a home since families are trying to get situated before the start of the next school year; however, fall is a close second since it comes right after the quiet days of summer when most people are away on vacation. Winter is usually the worst season -- especially in areas where it snows -- but also because of the Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's holidays when people's minds are on socializing, not buying or selling a home. Note: This can be an excellent time to buy!
6. Look at inventory; the number of homes for sale in your market
• This is right out of ECON 101; Supply & Demand are inversely related.  Simplified...lots of inventory means lower prices, and little inventory means more buyers bidding on each house, driving up prices.  What's your current inventory level? Is that more or less than 3 months ago? Is inventory increasing or decreasing?
7. Consider psychological price caps
• Although these numbers are arbitrary, we live in a society where they actually matter! We don't see a candy bar for sale for a dollar.  It's 99¢.  Billions; probably trillions of dollars have been spent by marketers around the world verifying that yes, we actually DO think that 99¢ is less than $1.  What does this mean for your home's list price? Don't list your home for $512,000.  List it for $499,900.  At $512,000 you'll miss ALL of the buyers who are willing and able to pay that much, but they never saw your house because their arbitrary search criteria was capped at $500,000! On the contrary, if your home is undervalued at $499,900, it will receive multiple offers and likely bid up to or even beyond your estimated value of $512,000.  If that strategy doesn't actually work...guess what...your house wasn't worth $512,000 in the first place.  
8. Look at Current Mortgage Interest rates



Interest rates change buyers' behavior

• Low rates = More Buyers = Higher Demand = Higher Prices
• Stable rates = Current market data becomes even more relevant
• High rates = Fewer Buyers = Lower Demand = Lower Prices
9. Look at expired and cancelled listings
• Almost nobody looks at these numbers, but they tell 'the rest of the story.' This is a look into the recent past.  If a home didn't sell, it's a virtual certainty that it was overpriced.  Keep that in mind when pricing your home. 
10. Look at List Price vs Sold Price
• This adds credibility to your "Comp" data.  It shows recent trends with regard to homes selling above or below their initial asking price.  For example: Over the past 90 days 144 homes sold.  Their combined list price was X and their total sold price is Y. Comparing those two numbers illustrates a trend of overpricing vs. underpricing.  It usually only varies by about 4%, but can really help guide you in terms of direction.
11. Contact a Local Area Expert
• The “art” of choosing the right price for your home comes after you've pulled the data you need to make an educated choice.  Your Realtor's experience & knowledge of your local market is not a logarithm or spreadsheet.  It's expertise.  Chef Ramsay can't tell you exactly how much salt to use, he tastes...and makes a judgement based on decades of experience.  Local experts know intimately the things home sellers probably never even thought about, like...which HOA is having financial troubles or is in litigation? Which side of the street sells for more money; the hill-side, or the golf-course side? Which neighborhoods have excessive special tax assessments or Mello Roos? Did the school boundaries change recently? What is the city doing with that empty lot on the corner? Have you seen that updated FEMA Flood Map? Are there any short-sales or bank owned homes left in your area?  ALL of this knowledge comes from your Realtor's time and commitment; it's knowledge that your iPhone app and your aunt Mable from out of town couldn't possibly know.

DON'Ts

• DON'T look at your Zillow Zestimate as anything but a generalization



Ethically, Zillow notes that Zestimates should not be used for pricing a home.

• Sure, use this figure as your starting point, but don't take it as a fact. These "Zestimates" are admittedly inaccurate.  In fact, Zillow  advertised, to Realtors, a free downloadable PDF file on how to overcome objections to their own data.  These Zestimates are always wrong, but are sometimes HORRIBLY wrong!
• DON'T consider what you paid for your home
• Maybe you still owe $400,000 on a $280,000 house. Maybe you inherited the home and paid nothing! The only thing that matters is the home's value right now.
• Ignore the News; both local & national
• Ignore the News. No matter how "local" the news says it is, it's not local enough to do anything other than create hype or scare the pants off of you.  That's what the News gets paid to do; freak you out.  What's happening within a major metropolitan area is rarely what's happening in your town...much less on your street.  Don't believe the hype; good, bad, or indifferent.
• DON'T put too much weight into what is currently on the market.  
• Sure, those homes might be your competition, but they also could have been on the market and are never going to sell!  I recently saw a listing that had been on the market for 985 days.  How relevant is that?  Remember, what your neighbor 'wants' for his house and your other neighbor 'wants' for hers is no guarantee that either of them will get it. Yes, look at the active market, but more importantly look at what has closed recently (lets call 'recently'...90 days or so).  

Let's review your offers!

I encourage my clients to list at absolutely the most competitive price possible. This creates the highest number of showings. It also creates a bit of a 'feeding frenzy' which plants a seed of urgency within your buyers. Buyers usually have lots of options, and they won't have time to look into all of them. Price is always a motivator for prospective buyers and their Realtors, so let's make the list price an intelligent and competitive one. Consider best-case and worst-case: If the offer you receive is too low, you can accept it or make a counteroffer.  If your price is too high...you'll never get an offer to accept or counter.  That idea alone illustrates the importance of not overpricing your house.

Click Here to read a very recent (current at the time of this post) real world case of exactly how this works:

Having a stale, overpriced house on the market is ineffective, inefficient, and frankly...embarrassing for the sellers and their Realtor.  When your home is priced right...it feels right, and the activity you'll see proves that it is.  THAT is when you know you hit the sweet spot.

Click here if you'd like a FREE, no drama, no spam e-mails, no phone calls Home Valuation (CMA) created for your current home, or for one you're interested in buying!

Thanks in advance for remembering my name when the topic of Real Estate comes up in conversation.  If you're local , just remember Andy@LoisLauer.Com I'm always here to help.  

My business thrives by word of mouth.  If you appreciate the information provided on my blog, please share this post on your favorite social media sites, and with anyone you feel could use my service.

Until next time.

Andy Blasquez  

Cell ~ 909.539.3292
BRE#01826135
Please follow and share at YucaipaRealEstateTrends on Facebook
E-mail me on Andy.Blasquez@gmail.com