Pennsylvania Real Estate News, Views and Rants

Making Your Floors Showable for Potential Buyers!

John Rainville — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 17:28:00 GMT

Making Your Floors “Showable” for Potential

Quite often people forget that an integral part of their home is the flooring.

Everyone pretty much knows that a fresh coat of paint makes a big difference but second to that, or maybe even just as important, is the condition of your flooring.

The current trend in flooring is hardwood and buyers really prefer hardwood to most anything else. If you have an older home you may think that’s great because under your carpeting is good old fashioned wood but beware! In many cases older homes that have had their wooden floors covered for long periods of time find that the wood underneath is not in the best of conditions. Removing your carpeting could end up creating an extensive refurbishing project that you didn’t plan.

Many times, especially if you’re house has had pets and/or children in it, you’ll find that stains have soaked through to the wood flooring. While it would probably be worth the cost to have a professional refurbish your old wood floors it can be a project for anyone that’s handy at this type of stuff. It is hard and back breaking work and one should not expect the project to be something finished within a day or so. If you’re willing to do the work then go for it but you can also think about having a professional refurbish it or install alternative hardwood overtop in some cases.

There are basically four types of flooring you can opt for:

Hardwood Floors
Ceramic Tile
Carpeting
Linoleum/Tile

Hardwood is the most popular and most desired type of flooring at the moment; however depending upon your options you may not have the funds to do this. You will find that there are a number of faux wood products out there, some actually boast being better than the old fashioned hardwood flooring. So don’t automatically think it’s out of your price range. Ceramic tile is very expensive and actually most people don’t care of it as a flooring. One area that ceramic tile is slightly more accepted is in a foyer or entrance way where there may be mud, snow, water, and dirt tracked in. Carpeting is completely acceptable but you have to be careful to stay with neutral and not too dark of colors. Carpeting is probably the second most accepted and desired flooring buyers like.

Tiles have basically replaced the old large rolls of linoleum, mainly because it’s much easier for people to install themselves as opposed to hiring someone to do it. It can also be very economical. The biggest setback to tiles is that you have to be certain your sub-floor is in good condition or lay a new sub-floor of plywood. In any of these cases you can and should hire a professional to install the flooring if you’re not very handy. There is rarely a case where replacing old, overused and unappealing flooring isn’t worth it.

If you think about when you walk into a room the first place you look is the walls and then your eyes generally go downward to the floor. If the room has been freshly painted and looks crisp and clean and your eyes move down and hit an ugly, outdated, or well past its lifetime flooring it’s an instant turn off. It’s also something that a buyer instantly puts in the “cost of moving in” column of repairs they’ll want or need to do before moving into the place. This can actually break a deal or can become so much of an issue that, depending upon the condition of the flooring, it becomes a negotiating point for many buyers.

If you have the funds to do so have old and unattractive flooring replaced or at the least repaired so that it’s presentable. If you have a ceramic floor replace cracked tiles and make sure the grouting is clean and fresh looking. If you have shag carpeting, think about replacing it with either a different more acceptable carpet or hardwood floors. One of the biggest places hardwood is desired is in the kitchen and you may find that there are a lot of options out there that are quite inexpensive to achieve the look you want with hardwood flooring. So take the time and money if at all possible and finish off that room that you painted to look fresh and beautiful! In the end it’s well worth the costs involved.Buyer’s

How Long Your Home is On the Market Matters

John Rainville — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 21:45:00 GMT

How Long Your Home is On the Market Matters

In this Buyer’s Market it is very important to show lower numbers of “days on the market” for the home you’re selling.

Why does the number of days on the market matter? To simplify it all, it comes down to giving a sense of desperation to buyers.

A buyer who sees a home on the market for 60 days without it selling begins to wonder a couple of things; why isn’t it selling, what’s wrong with it, is it overpriced, is there something I don’t know about the property that others are finding out as they approach the buying move? Ask your agent to obtain a “Days on Market Evaluation” for you.

This is a simple procedure of taking the number of listings SOLD for the past 60 to 120 days or more and adding together the number of days the homes were on the market before it was listed as “Sale Pending”. Now divide that total by the total number of listings and you get the average days on the market for your area. It’s a simple and quick calculation that an agent can do for the area you’re looking in for any amount of time from 30 days to even up to six months; but realistically knowing the totals for the past 2-6 months is usually sufficient.

As a seller you obviously want your home to show well and come across as something everyone wants but unfortunately in today’s market you have some heavy competition. Often, a trick of the trade is to remove the listing from the market after a particular amount of days and then re-listing the home to make it look as though it’s once again new to the market. This helps keep your days on market number low and slightly more attractive to a buyer.

The only problem with this is that someone has been slightly interested in your home and has been watching it just to see what happens, they may question why it went off the market and shortly later came back in to it. Their first thought could be, “Wow, did someone buy it and think they got a real lemon so now they want to get out of it as soon as they can?” They could also think that the seller or agent is playing games and may be a little turned off with that type of seller. Then again, if the person watched the home for a number of weeks or even months and never acted perhaps they never will anyways.

Why Do Days On The Market Matter?

To a buyer days on the market matter because while you don’t necessarily care how long the “average” days on market may be, you do care how long the particular house you’re interested in has been on the market and compares to the average. If the house you’re interested in is a fairly new listing you’re probably going to want to act a little faster on it if you absolutely love it. You’re not going to put in a low-ball offer because if it’s new to the market someone else may see it and put a reasonable bid on it.

In the same sense, if the house has been on the market for a lot longer than the average you may want to figure out why. Is there something going on in the neighborhood area that you may have missed in the news; for example a new building that’s nearby that is housing inmates as a half-way house or an industrial area that’s possibly coming in nearby that people fear chemicals or heavy traffic, etc.

Could it possibly be because the seller really overpriced the home from the beginning and refuses to go lower? Are they simply not accepting any bids that are coming in because they’ve decided they don’t really want to move now? Is there a major issue with the home that comes up once the home inspection happens? So to the buyer the days on market become important because it can help you decide what price you’re going to offer and if you truly want the home after doing some homework on the surrounding area.

To a seller days on the market matter because the minute a buyer sees that your home has been on the market over the average, buyers think you’re desperate to get the home sold. They expect you to take a low bid and may nit-pick at problems with the house just because they think they can get away with it. Suddenly the roof that’s a little on the older side really needs to be replaced or that older furnace needs to be replaced before they move in or you should take that off the price of the house. That shag carpeting that may not be the most attractive look in the spare room suddenly becomes a tool for the buyer to use in order to get more for their money and should be replaced or, again take the money off the final price.

If the house was on the market new and someone found it quickly, knowing it met almost all of their criteria they would probably make a decent offer. Now that it is past the average number of days on market they feel a little less rushed to make a deal and will probably make an even lower offer than they would should you be above the average you would be approached in a whole different manner.

So Why Are Homes Sometimes On The Market Too Long?

One of the biggest reasons for a house to be on the market longer than average is simply because it has been overpriced. This generally happens when you have an agent who really doesn’t know how to value a home well or when an agent has suggest a price that the owner feels is way too low; even if the realtor has given proof and reasons for the price they’re suggesting you should ask for the home.

Many people put too much value on the heart strings, feelings, and memories attached to the home and feel it’s worth so much more. They sometimes think in terms of work they may have done themselves, recalled the back aching, time consuming work put into an update they’ve made and want compensated for updates they may have spent not only money but extensive amounts of time. In some instances it may simply be that the type of remodel that was made isn’t worthy of a large increase in the value of the home.

Many people do this with things like over-remodeling a kitchen or bathroom with expensive additions and such but no matter what the value of your home is going to be based upon those around it. You could create the Taj Mahal but if the median price of homes in your area is $150,000 and the high end is $200,00, there is no way you’re going to sell your home for $500,000 because you went overboard with additions, remodeling, and so on. Yes, the house may value at that amount if it were in another area where everyone put gourmet kitchens in and hot tubs but if your area isn’t like that, simply put, you’re homes not going to value higher and the updates and remodeling you’ve done won’t add that much value to your home.

Another reason why a home may stay on the market for longer than average is because the seller may want to test the waters to see if someone will take the bait and pay an excessively high price on their home. This is very often one of the biggest mistakes sellers can make and one of the most common ones too. They have dreams and ambitions of finding the perfect fool to pay well over what the value of the home is just because it’s a really nice house.

It’s pretty rare to find someone that’s foolish enough to fall for this “trick” and if the buyers are using a Buyer’s Agent they would have to be the world’s worst Buyer’s Agent out there to let that happen to their client.
Yet there are other times when simply put a home stays on the market for over the average time period because people are having a much harder time qualifying for a loan. Remember, in a Buyer’s Market such as the one we’re currently in, this means there’s a lot more houses available than there are buyers.

You may just be unlucky in the fact that with so many homes out there to sell the right seller simply hasn’t been there. As a buyer you may think this is a great home and just can’t figure out why the home hasn’t sold. You hold back thinking, what am I missing on this that everyone else must be seeing that’s making them not buy this house? As a buyer it can cause a little confusion and hesitancy.

Painting? Color is EVERYTHING!

John Rainville — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 15:38:00 GMT

Everybody knows that fresh paint is the simplest way to make an old house look new again. But you’re also warned when selling your home don’t go crazy with color or stick with neutrals so what should you really do?

Should you paint a room a blazé white or off white and leave it with no real personality or should you make an attempt to add some color but just do it carefully?

You have to remember that while you’re waiting for your home to sell you’re going to be living in it also; so make sure you pick colors and complimentary colors and hues that you enjoy looking at. You can keep with lighter, less flamboyant colorings and add those splashes of color with accent pieces. The nice part of that is that when you move to your new home, after your house has sold, you can take the accent pieces and work with them to create a room in the colors you want.

The pros and cons of painting with neutral colors are fairly easy:

Generally appeals to everyone
Easy to accent with colors that you can decorate the room around
Clean and crisp looking

Very plain & boring
Becomes an indifferent “color” without accents
Easy to change coloring of a room without re-painting the entire room

It’s probably best to work with neutrals if you are painting to sell your home. This way you don’t risk overwhelming a potential buyer with a color that they instantly detest. Neutrals are colors such as white, off-white, egg shell, taupe, light tan, and variable tones of whites, tan and sometimes shades of gray. These colors won’t overwhelm the potential buyers but they won’t wow them either. The wow factor has to come from how you accent and decorate around the neutrals with hues that work well together.

Often people don’t know what to do once they paint the room. Let’s use a spare bedroom as an example of the room you’re working on. Begin with painting the entire room, both the walls and the ceiling, with neutral colors. Generally sticking with a ceiling white is best when it comes to painting the ceiling. The walls can be one of hundreds of shades of whites, tans, and light grays. Once you choose the paint and have painted the room you are working with a clean slate. Now it’s time to choose your colors to decorate with. Complementary colors are generally best as they don’t tend to overwhelm the eyes and senses.

Complementary colors are any two colors that sit opposite each other on the color wheel. Look at the color wheel above to see the colors as they sit across from each other. These complementary colors are red and green, blue and orange, yellow and purple. The idea behind using complementary colors is to bring to aspects of the color wheel together to complement each other.

It’s highly recommended that when you choose which two complementary colors, the colors you pull from those complementary colors are ones that are of more natural hues. For example if you choose to utilize red and green your first thoughts are Christmas colors right? Wrong! What you want are hues of red and green that come from a more natural state. Something like sage green to go along with Venetian red (shown to the right here) would be excellent hues of complementary colors while not taking simple primary colors to create a look.

These two colors complement each other well, while not being too overwhelming against a background of a light tan or egg shell wall. You’re not stuck with just the two complementary colors but these are the main colors you’ll want to work with; adding in other colors as they seem to flow with whatever your decorations are. Another set of complementary colors to use may be an aquamarine blue with a Bohemian orange (shown left). These more natural versions of colors will help blend the room together naturally and with a flow that comes naturally also.

Again, these complementary colors are the two main colors you work with and try to have entwined with some of the other accent pieces in the room such as pictures, bedspreads, pieces of artwork, and window dressings. This helps to pull the colors all together. Remember, complementary colors don’t have to be primary colors and look more natural and inviting when they are hues from nature.

Once you’ve painted and chosen the colors you’re going to accent with, then it’s time to choose your pieces that you will use to compliment your room. Again, keeping in mind the main two complementing colors you have chosen begin to pick out small, simple pieces to pull it all together. Again, we’ll use the example of decorating a spare bedroom. You want to keep the room from being too cluttered so don’t go overboard.

Choose a complimenting bedspread, often including one that matches the walls as opposed to the accent colors you are going to be using. Instead, use pillow shams and accent pillows to bring in the colors you’ve chosen. Add a lamp with a neutral lampshade but perhaps the base of the lamp in one of the complementary colors of choice. Find a few simple wall items to hang up, first starting with above the bed. A sconce that you can choose candles in the complementary colors is an excellent choice and not too overwhelming.

You can add a neutral colored chair if you can’t find one in the complementary colors and add a blanket or throw in the colors you’ve chosen as complementary colors. If you have carpeting you can choose to add a small throw at the bottom or one side of the bed, depending upon how the room is set up; again in the complementary color choices. You don’t need much to bring a room together with a little color and make it look fresh and new.

Make it look like a room you can enjoy because while you’re house is on the market you’re going to have to look at it each day also. If you hate the colors it makes zero sense to choose them. Instead be sure to pick colors that soothe you and make you feel comfortable also. Chances are even with minimal amounts of money spent and minimal work done, you will create a room that draws the buyer in as one of their favorites.

Let the Agents go to Work!

John Rainville — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 02:31:00 GMT

Buying or investing in a new home can sometimes seem overwhelming. If you are a first time home buyer, the process can be confusing if you don’t know what steps you need to take.

The first step you should take is finding a knowledgeable real estate agent. They can help give you a better understand of the entire real estate buying and selling process.

They also have a better understanding of market trends and can review competing homes that are in the surrounding neighborhood.

The initial step in buying or investing in a home usually starts with figuring out your “buying power”. This refers to your borrowing capacity, financial reserves, assets, etc. Providing a real estate agent with basic information regarding your income, wages, or current debt can help the agent determine what lenders may be qualified to help.

After you have determined how much you want to invest, you will start working with your agent to find properties that will suit your style of living based on your budget. When you pick an agent, make sure they are licensed in the field. A simple search on Google should do the trick. You can also check a realtor data base through the National Association of Realtors or the state licensing board.

Now that you’ve hired a respected realtor, you can start searching for property. Realtors can be helpful in providing you objective information about the different properties you are considering. They are also able to help provide you with community resource information such as school information, utility information and so on. Keep in mind that you will want to know two things right away. First, does the property suit your investment or long-time home needs? Secondly, you will want to know if the property value is expected to increase, and what steps you can take to help this process.

There are a number of factors when it comes to negotiating a real estate deal. This includes, but does not limit pricing, financing, date of possession, terms, and sometimes the exclusion or inclusion of furnishings and repairs. Most purchase agreements provide a timeline for the buyer to complete certain investigations and inspections. The agent you are working with can advise you regarding which inspections or investigations are required.

After a negotiation is in place, your agent will help walk you through a property evaluation. This could include anything from termite inspections to septic tests, and much more. If you don’t feel comfortable taking on this task, your agent is also qualified in helping you find professionals who provide this type of work and also provide you with written documentation. Your agent can assist you in finding qualified responsible professionals to do most of these investigations and provide you with written reports.

Make sure you review the property’s preliminary title report, as titles to properties usually have limitations, for things such as easements, or rights for access to utilities. Your attorney, agent or title company can also help you resolve any issues that you may think can cause problems in the long run.

After you’ve found home sweet home, you will want to start thinking about your financing options. An agent can give you an overall picture of different financing options to help identify lenders you can work with. Remember, your agent is trained to understand all your financing options and will work around your needs to find you the best options.

Last but not least, the final process of the deal is known as the “closing”. Depending on your location, there are different ways to go about the closing process. In some parts of the country escrow or tittle companies deal with the part of the deal, in other parts in falls in the hands of real estate attorneys. Your real estate agent will walk you through the entire process to ensure everything is dealt with properly, so you can get inside your new property!

Should YOU Buy or Rent a Home??

John Rainville — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 22:06:00 GMT

People often wonder if owning a home is really right for them. There are a lot of pros and cons to both but the fact of the matter is, no matter how you look at it buying a home is a financial investment.

One of the biggest reasons to rent is that you aren’t planning on staying in the area for any length of time or if you’re planning on moving out of town within a short amount of time.

Generally speaking a minimum of 3 years is needed before buying a home should even be considered and even then it would have to be under extremely perfect circumstances and at great prices in order for you to come out on the plus side. However, you can buy your home and when you decide to move, rent the property out. Being a homeowner and landlord isn’t always easy but with the right guidance and mindset it can be done.

If you’re thinking of buying a home to live in for a few years and then rent that home out, be certain you look into the laws and see if there isn’t a Landlord’s Association in the town or city your home is located to help you out with legalities of being a landlord. Being a landlord is its own set of adventures in itself and we’re not going to go there now but the end result is that you will maintain ownership of a property, which will most likely be a positive investment in the end. The more properties you own the more money can be made by renting out those properties. With owning property comes certain responsibilities also but it’s always been known to be a good investment financially.

Renting is probably the best option if you don’t want to be bothered with upkeep of a residency. You need to be willing to put the time and money into keeping up the property if you’re going to own a home. Renting is also probably best for you if you are having financial issues and can’t get financed. This doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have a large down payment to buy a home but you have to be able to get financed and have somewhat of a decent credit rating. However if you’re struggling financially you probably don’t want to take on such a large burden as a mortgage and the expenses of home ownership.

Renting a home allows you to have no real “ties” to an area and you can come and go as you please. It also means no upkeep to the home you live in but that also leaves you at the mercy of the homeowner as to when and if things get fixed. This can be a good thing when a major issue arises, such as an unexpected water tank leak or a furnace that malfunctions but often can be a negative thing when it comes to getting that light switch working or non-emergency type of repair done. As a home owner you can quickly make repairs yourself or hire someone to make repairs, but either way that costs money. As a renter you’re not surprised with any sudden break downs or repairs needed but you also aren’t gaining any equity in the home you’re paying to live in either.

The Pros & Cons of Buying a Home

Eventually, your balance on the mortgage decreases and your building equity increases. Even if the value of the home doesn’t increase, you have value in the equity of the home. It’s a win-win situation. A home is yours to do what you want with it. When you rent you are limited in everything from painting to decorating and this can really make a difference in creating your own area to live in and feel comfortable. You can paint, knock out walls, build on rooms, or do whatever you’d like to make this your very own special place for you and your family.

There are often tax breaks in owning your own home. You have to consult a financial advisor to be assured of what you can and cannot take advantage of when it comes to tax breaks and home ownership. Each year is different and we’ve seen everything from first home buyers’ tax breaks to tax breaks for remodeling and making your home “green” tax breaks. There are tax free profits that can be made when the home is your proprietary residence, allowing you to make a profit of up to $250k under various circumstances. Again, consult your financial adviser for complete rules and regulations regarding tax breaks.

Stability in life comes with owning your own home. You and your family have stability and a foundation to build a life on when you own your own home. You become a part of a neighborhood and not a temporary resident, which is how many renters are viewed. You’re guaranteed a home without question of a lease being renewed or your house being sold to someone else like when renting. Borrowing power comes as your home gains equity. Home equity loans are available to you in the case of emergencies or financial needs that may come up unexpectedly.

You get stability of payments that will always be the same. Unlike paying rent, which can go up without warning as leases expire, house payments remain the same as long as you have a fixed loan interest rate. The only thing that may change are the tax payments involved with owning a home but you would be paying tax increases when renting also, only in the form of a rental increase. While owning a home is not for everyone, there’s no question that it is the best decision financially for most to put your monthly living expense into an investment instead of into someone else’s pocket.

As with everything there are pros and cons and it comes down to a personal decision as to whether or not you are meant to own a home. Using home ownership as a means of making money is also very appealing to some. You start with buying one home and continue on buying more and more properties. You become the landlord and with that you begin to not only have an income and profit but you take on more responsibility for the homes you buy and keeping them in good conditions. It’s no secret that real estate is usually a fairly stable and profitable market when investing, even with market rises and falls.

As cliché as it may sound, owning a home is part of the American Dream. Most everyone looks forward to the dream of owning their own home at some point in life. If you’re wondering if owning a home is for you contact our office. We offer professional insight and valuable experience to guide you along the way to achieving your dream of owning your own home.

How to Sell Your Home in a Static Market

John Rainville — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:42:00 GMT

Selling a home can be the most emotional decision for many home owners. Most people have put in a good deal of effort and money in designing and/or organizing their homes to answer individual aspirations.

But, these are hard times and some decisions just cannot wait for better conditions to arrive. The major hurdle in a static market is that buyers are never in any apparent hurry to close a deal.

The media plays its role encouraging buyers to wait in anticipation of lower prices and the wait and watch game goes on. Nevertheless, there are some smart ways to sell your home even in the present conditions. Use the 4 best tips below to understand how you can minimize your losses or perhaps even make a small profit in the process of selling your home.

Aggressive Pricing -vs- Intelligent Pricing – Across the nation, home prices have plummeted though some markets are showing signs of recovery at a slow pace. The first step towards selling your home quickly should therefore be to price your home intelligently instead of aggressively. Consider the home sales data nationwide and you will notice that the actual closed sales stand around 10% of homes that have recently been put on the market. Ideally, a home that is put on the market should sell in about 4 weeks. An intelligent pricing strategy would therefore be at least 1% less than the best price obtainable for a comparable home during the same period.
How the buyer likes your home is important – You have organized the home the way you like it best. However, keep in mind that this is no longer important because the emphasis shifts to what the buyer likes. Take a deep look at shortcomings, if any. And then spruce up the whole place – do a total cosmetic makeover including painting, fixing of damaged windows, leaky faucets, and anything else that can help the buyer feel that he can move in and start living right away.
Use an agent that is up to date with social media marketing – Invest a few hours to put together all the best attributes of your home and ask your agent to use social media to communicate that your home is up for sale. Be sure to cover every detail from a buyer’s point of view. For instance, if your photographs do not include a shot of the backyard or the bathroom, the buyer would potentially think that you are hiding something away. Bare everything because that is the best way to bring in buyers for a physical inspection. Encourage your agent to broadcast your listing in every way possible, including social media, video tours and mobile apps.
Willingness to be flexible – Everybody knows how unpredictable the real estate market is. Be flexible with buyers who are keen to close the deal. Home loan lending norms have changed. Most lenders today insist on a 20% down payment and, if the buyer’s credit reports are anything but healthy, that could spell further trouble. Check out the financing plans of the buyer and explore room for an all cash deal. Even if the deal falls through, have your agent reach out to any interested parties that might has sent in a previous offer or back up offer. No matter what you do, make sure you select an agent who you can communicate with on a regular basis and is responsive to your needs and ideas. With a little due diligence your home will sell in no time at all.

What is a Comparative Market Anyalysis or CMA on a Property?

John Rainville — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 14:40:00 GMT

A Comparable Market Analysis is an analysis that your qualified agent puts together for a particular locale that you are thinking of buying in.

The CMA is especially useful when it’s time to put in a bid for a home as you and your agent can see comparable houses in the area and what they went for.

The pertinent information on a typical CMA is generally as follows for each of the homes listed:

Street Address
Total Number of Rooms, number of bedrooms, and number of baths
Square Footage
Age of the Property
Listing Price of the Home
Original/Old Price if Home has been sold/closed

This information will be available for a number of various homes in the area, including the one you are interested in; on average 5-10 other homes, similar in size and type should be listed (if possible) for the area of interest.

While each CMA can have its own look they’re easy to decipher and pretty simple. Keep in mind that what they don’t tell you is the condition of the house listed; so while one house may be listed at the same square footage of another but sold at a ridiculously low amount there could be a variety of reasons. If it was a recent sale your agent may recall that particular home should they have had any reason to check it out for other clients or such but for the most part the listing will give you very good information to guide you and your agent on how to place an offer on the home you’re interested in.

While each home is different in its own way, knowing what local houses have sold for or are also on the market for and being able to compare them size for size, room for room will help you to see if the home you’re interested in is being offered at a fair price or if they’ve over-inflated the price. Your agent will work with you to explain what to look for and what differences matter and which things to compare.

Getting a general idea of what the homes around the area have gone for is not necessarily a clear cut picture because a three bedroom house listed at one price may not be even close to the same style or type of house you’re looking at with three bedrooms. One home may have sold on the high end while another at an amazingly low price; but what doesn’t show up on the CMA is that the seller who sold for thousands others in the area may have been in a position where they needed to sell and sell quickly.

What the CMA does offer is a general idea of whether your home is priced fairly and how much you can expect the seller to go down on price. Some of the most pertinent information provided by the CMA is that it offers exclusive information telling you what other homes have already recently sold for in the area.

It doesn’t matter so much what other homes are listed for because they can put any price on a home. What matters is the price homes are sold at in the area and this is going to be one of the most valuable pieces of information you can have. This tells you what others have been willing to pay in this area and what lenders are willing to finance.
One thing to keep in mind, and once again strengthens the fact that you should really use a Buyer’s Agent, is that if you find the house on your own or by visiting an open house, the agent representing the seller will most probably not pull up a CMA for you. The seller’s agent is there to accommodate the seller, not you, the buyer. They are there to help the seller get the most money possible for their home and offering up a CMA for the area could provide a conflict of interest. However, this listing is completely available to your own Buyer’s Agent and all you have to do is tell your agent that you’ve seen this house and are very interested for them to be able to pull up a CMA for the area. Chances are, if your agent is on the ball and working for you and this home meets the criteria you’ve already told them you’re looking for, they probably found it for you and you’re not wasting your time hitting up random open houses over the weekends.

You’re leaving the footwork up to your buyer’s agent. But if you found the home by chance just pick up the phone and give your agent the information. They should be back in contact with you shortly after your call and provide you with all of the information you need with the CMA.

You also have to remember that if you accidentally overpay for your house in a strong appreciating market, the market will eventually help you make up for your mistake; but if you do so in a declining or flat market you may end up holding a financial disaster that’s costly to the end.

The final solution is that paying close attention to the current market, paying close attention to the information provided on the CMA, and listening to the guidance of your Buyer’s Agent will help you from having to worry about being taken for a ride on the financial market of the Real Estate roller coaster. Be smart and utilize the CMA to its fullest potential; along with keeping your agent working hard for you to make sure you get the best deal possible. Those three little letters, C-M-A, are your ticket to offering the right price and getting the best deal possible with the help of your agent.

Buying Homes in a Sluggish Market

John Rainville — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:12:00 GMT

A slow market or a down market does offer some fine opportunities in buying homes. But, you cannot throw caution to the winds and buy into any home that is apparently cheap.

Your ground work should ideally be a tad above what you would have done in normal times.

In a distressed market, sellers are in a hurry to exit and having been in that neighborhood for long, they know why they are moving. You should find the real reasons before you start negotiating. The following tips will help you examine the finer details.

You are about to make a significant financial decision in your life and the impact will be spread over several years to come. The internet is your biggest source of all the information that you will need. Never limit your research to simply the real estate market. The heat maps for the last 6-months or one year is not just enough.

Extend your research to the general economic conditions in the neighborhood that you plan to buy into. Are there fresh investments coming into the chosen neighborhood and the city of your choice? How is the median income behaving and do you see an uptick in the median income. If the economy looks stagnant and there are no new reasons for improvement, home prices could take several years to recover.

Examine the job market to find out if more jobs are being created in the region or whether existing jobs are shrinking. Every bit of this information will impact the price of your home and help you reach an informed decision.

It is true that we have many home sellers in this distressed market. But, there are enough bargain hunters too. After identifying a home that answers your needs perfectly, it is necessary that you make quick moves to close the deal. Working simultaneously on finding an appropriate attorney to take care of the documentation, the insurance agent and more importantly a pre-approved mortgage can save substantial time when you take the final call. Get all the professionals lined up and you will be glad to see different components of the home buying process falling into place like a jigsaw puzzle when everything is systematically organized.

The seller is obviously in a hurry and possibly distressed too. There are things that do not traditionally form part of the deal. Some furniture that you like, a lawn mower or other fixtures that the seller has are carted away in normal times. But, that is during normal times and you are not buying during normal times. Why not ask if the seller will include those as e a bonus or incentive to buy. You don’t lose anything by asking and can significantly gain if they make you a deal.

There can be a number of leveraging opportunities when you are buying a home, particularly during troubled times. A sluggish economy means less business and everybody is looking to make some money. The seller pays a commission to the real estate agent to get the deal through. But, that should not prevent you from speaking to the agent to see if he would reduce the commission to help close the deal. Similarly, you can also consider using the same agent to sell your existing home if that is part of your plans.

You have studied the current market conditions, assimilated all the facts and decided to take the plunge. But, have you also taken a telescopic view of home prices over the next 2 or may be 5 years. Economies can stagnate but should not be headed south on a long haul trip. When you are buying homes in a distressed market, ensure that you don’t become a seller anytime soon. If you decide that this is a necessary step in this point of your life, make sure you speak directly to a reliable real estate agent to help you through the process.

Real Estate Marketing Trends

John Rainville — Sun, 05 Feb 2012 22:10:00 GMT

In today’s world of real estate we have to remember that real estate is a business.

Like any business this means you have to have a specific marketing structure and know what the trends in marketing are.

Selling a candy bar is, in so very many ways, almost equal to selling a home; the only difference being one is a series of small dollar transactions while the other a single transaction at a time with a value much higher individually. However marketing either candy or homes both come down to billions of dollars worth of transactions a year, if not more. What you need to do is keep up with marketing trends and what’s working; then figure out how it can work in real estate and in particular in your area of real estate.

First and foremost in marketing is the large focus towards Social Media. Today’s world consists of instant access to information at the consumer’s fingertips and often quick and immediate knowledge is exchanged. Utilizing this type of media to buy and sell homes should be a very big part of your marketing scheme but with enough emphasis remaining on the one to one personal interaction also. Utilizing sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and more will give you an upper hand not only in attracting customers but making contacts with other professionals that could potentially help you in your endeavors.

For example, having a Facebook page that you include other Realtors/Agents as friends would allow you to announce a new home you have put on the market instantly to anywhere from hundreds to thousands of both potential buyers and agents. A quick Tweet sent out on your Twitter account with a picture of a new home you’ve listed gives people in your area who are following you, again potential buyers and agents, an immediate visual of the home. Being a part of any Social Media group is exactly like being invited to one of the largest Real Estate parties possible and having the chance to make work related contacts from every avenue (buyers, sellers, other agents, builders, lenders and more).

One of the absolute biggest rules in Social Media marketing is to make sure you conduct yourself professionally. This means you don’t post on your professional site anything but professional comments and information. You don’t utilize your professional social site to play games, make any comments about anything BUT your specific work. You can comment on other agents’ posts about their homes, stating perhaps that the property may interest some of your clients or even privately send a client a message through Facebook and say, check out this link and provide them a link to the photo on the property. Do NOT ever connect your private social media to your professional media and in all honesty if you are smart you will also make sure your own private social medias all remain “private” and require you to specifically accept those who follow you.

Aside from the obvious, some of the reasons you want to keep you private and work social medias separate could include:

Possibly giving too much personal information out about yourself and your family to anyone you don’t really personally know.
Facing a client who ended up with a problem that truly was not of your doing but them being dissatisfied and using personal information to “stalk” or follow you if they’re truly upset.
The possibility of offending someone with a comment or joke or any type of message that may create a bit of “bad blood”.
On days when you spend more time on your personal site (playing games, etc.) it may seem to a client that you’re not doing your job when the truth is that perhaps you’re waiting for answers or just taking some down time.
Keeping business and pleasure separate is just “good business” for the most part, especially until a transaction is complete. If you’ve become friends with a client or other agent then you can choose on your own later how much to involve them in your personal life but for the most part it’s important to keep the two separate to be safe.

To assure that you don’t run into problems make sure you set your personal settings for your personal social media sites as high as possible so that only your friends or followers can see the and not their friends or anyone else. Your professional site doesn’t have to be as closed off to the world; actually you probably want just the opposite and have your information available to everyone so even friends of friends can see comments they may make or answer back to your professional posts.

Be aware that Social Media is one of the fastest growing ways to be in touch with thousands of people at once. You also have to remember that it’s not the only means of marketing you should rely upon. Remember that nothing is better than human to human interaction; but utilizing Social Media helps you obtain more avenues of contacting potential buyers, sellers, and other professionals that may need your assistance and utilize your services.

Last Few Days to Get Phones in for "Cell Phones for Soldiers"

John Rainville — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 09:45:00 GMT

Tyler Piatt-Rainville's Boy Scout Eagle Leadership Project is in it's final few days.

Please let Tyler know if you have any old, broken or used cell phones you can donate.

It is a great project as it helps our Troops be able to call home from duty stations around the world where the cost to call home can be as high as $8 a minute!

Soldiers can get pre-paid phone cards or even cell phones to stay in touch with loved ones.

Tyler's # is 717-943-8856 or tylerapiatt@gmail.com.

The Collection drive ends Saturday morning so the phones can be shipped out to the "Cell Phones for Soldiers" charity.

Thank you for supporting our troops and the environment by recyling your old phones,

PLEASE HELP! Collecting Cell Phones For Soldiers!

John Rainville — Thu, 24 Mar 2011 11:48:00 GMT

My son Tyler Piatt-Rainville a Life Scoout with Boy Scout Troop 284 from Lewisberry, PA is doing his Eagle Leadership Project now.

He is setting up 40+ collection sites in our area to collect used, old, broken, cell phones to be reclaimed or recyled by the "Cell Phones for Soldiers" Charity. The proceeds are used to buy our soldiers, and sailors pre-paid phone cards or cell phones so they can stay in touch with their familes.

This is a great cause. We all know how much our troops an their families sacrafice for us.

Most of us have old or broken cell phones we have thrown in junk drawers. PLEASE dig them out and get them to one of the collection centers BEFORE April 8th. Tyler is working hard to get 1000 phones.

Any questions or if you want a collection box, flyers, or more info call Tyler at (717) 943-8856.

His Facebook Page is http://www.facebook.com/pages/Cell-Phones-for-Soliders/123136271092575?v=app_112078882147346

Price Reduced on 445 2nd Street in West Fairview

John Rainville — Sat, 05 Mar 2011 17:15:00 GMT

West Fairview, Cumberland County - Announcing a price reduction on 445 2nd Street, a 1,488 sq. ft., 1 bath, 2 bdrm single story. Now MLS® $24,900 - Reduced.

Property information

Single Story For Sale in 12th Ward

John Rainville — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:22:00 GMT

• single story - MLS® $19,000

12th Ward, York City -
CLICK ON THE REQUEST MORE INFO TAB ABOVE FOR:
1. My List of HOT Deals on Foreclosure, & Government Owned Homes
2. How you may qualify for a 100% Mortgage from the Dept. Of Agriculture
3. FAQ About Buying a HUD Home
4. Or to see this HOT DEAL!
CLICK ABOVE ON THE REQUEST MORE INFO LINK!
I Specialize in "SMOKIN' HOT DEALS!"

Property information

2 Story For Sale in East York

John Rainville — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:21:00 GMT

Handyman's Delight

• 1,500 sq. ft., 1 bath, 3 bdrm 2 story - $27,450

East York, York - Solid property in need of rehab. Great opportunity for those who are handy & would like to build equity fast. Home features 1500 sq ft of living space, 3 bedrooms, garage and more. Sold as-is This is a government owned home.

Property information

3 Story For Sale in 8th Ward

John Rainville — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 20:20:00 GMT

Come check out this steal

• 2,061 sq. ft., 1 bath, 5 bdrm 3 story - MLS® $30,000

8th Ward, York City -
CLICK ON THE REQUEST MORE INFO TAB ABOVE FOR:
1. My List of HOT Deals on Foreclosure, & Government Owned Homes
2. How you may qualify for a 100% Mortgage from the Dept. Of Agriculture
3. FAQ About Buying a HUD Home
4. Or to see this HOT DEAL!
CLICK ABOVE ON THE REQUEST MORE INFO LINK!
I Specialize in "SMOKIN' HOT DEALS!"

Property information