Now is a Good time!

2014 - Now is a good time for people to put their home up for sale!

Patience seems to have paid off for those who’ve postponed putting their home on the market until this year.  They stand to pocket the kind of profits not seen since the housing boom.  We recently sold a Canterra model for $240,000. A year and a half ago they were selling in the $200-215,000 range.

Some prices surged more than 10% in many markets last year and once again we saw some multiple offers. Now is a good time for people to put their home up for sale.  Fueling this seller’s market are several factors that have unexpectedly converged: For-Sale listings are limited, which is pushing prices up at the same time that mortgage rates are rising.  That has created a sense of urgency among buyers, many of whom fear that the door to affordable real estate in their market may be closing.  Homes were selling 11% faster in 2013 than a year previously.

It’s expected that the number of for-sale homes will rise this year, with much of the extra supply coming from home builders.  This event alone could stall price gains this year.  The level of price appreciation will likely be nowhere near what we witnessed in 2013 but will probably level off.  Now is a good time for people to put their home up for sale.

Selling your house is a big decision and one that requires careful planning and attention to detail.  You’ve hired the right Realtor®, taken their advice for repairs, updates and staging.  The marketing has driven buyers through the door and you get an offer.  It’s not full price but, it’s a solid offer and one that warrants a counter.  Now is not the time to start thinking about the family dinners where you’ve laughed til you cried, or any sentimental memory you have from living in your home.  Now is the time to remember you’re selling a house, not your home.  Getting emotional during negotiations can kill a deal before it even gets started.

Other mistakes home sellers make that keep them on the market longer and ultimately cost them money is having too much furniture.  Too much, as in both quantity and size.  Just because it fits... doesn’t mean it’s flattering.  Its worth the time and expense to minimize the larger and unnecessary furniture.

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A QUALITY AGENT & A HIGH FLYER R E AGENT/GROUP

Whats the difference between a QUALITY real estate agent and a HIGH FLYER real estate agent?

The QUALITY agent will take a personal interest in your home, treating your home like it was their own.  

The QUALITY agent makes sure that they communicate with the you on a regular basis and reports back to the you after each showing as to the feedback from the agent who showed their home and what comments were significant. 

The QUALITY agent makes sure that your home is presented in the best light possible that shades are open, lights are on and all clutter has been removed.

The QUALITY agent does not encourage low offers & then pressure the seller to accept the offer that is way too low just to gain a commission check for themselves.

The QUALITY agent does not list more homes than they can service effectively themselves, without bringing in less experienced agents to do their job.

The QUALITY agent does not lie to their client but maintains an honest rapport with their client at all times and keeps their client advised of changes in the market place.

HIGH FLYER's seem to impress the uninformed... but they ultimately disappoint half of the sellers who list with them and fail to meet the seller's expectations.

By David Lang

Have been on Jury Duty! 


After a week and a half of being on jury my life schedule has changed. The last 2 weeks have taken a tole on my life, not only day or night life, but dreams & nightmares, etc.  Something very important is that I now realize our regular juries are made up with mostly those who do not know how to focus on the facts.   

Every jury needs some common sense people who know how to listen to the facts and who will not try to make their own story.   I could say more but I'm tired and will catch you later!   Want to say thank you to you great jurists who understood the basics.   I wish I had your names, but we were not suppose to go there…If you read this you were the 2 young men to my left in the deliberation room, and jurors #1, 2, 4, 5, 6. And Juror #6 God bless you! You took it all in and made the only decision you could.

Holiday Safety Tips To Prevent Kitchen Mishaps during Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving is all about food and family and friends coming together for – turkey, stuffing, giblet gravy, cranberries, sweet potatoes, pumpkin pie and family fun time. Many home cooks get busy preparing large holiday meals for family and friends and often fail to abide by a few safety tips. With an increase of cooking fires during Thanksgiving it’s easily prevented by following a few safety tips listed below.

• Don’t drink alcohol or take medicine that can make you drowsy while cooking.
• Never hold a child or pet while cooking.
• Multipurpose dry chemical extinguisher is a must have to keep in one's kitchen.
• Throwing baking soda or salt on a grease fire works but never use water or flour which can explode, if you have a cover use pot holder and try sliding lid over the pan and turn off burner.
• Keep fires controlled if they should happen, never open the oven or microwave door if there’s a fire, opening the door fuels the fire with oxygen and will cause it to burn faster and hotter.   Turn off the oven or microwave.
  
• Usually our kitchens don’t have enough plugs especially in older homes so overloading outlets can blow fuses and cause electrical fires, avoid extension cords.
  
• Appliances with plugs should never be near heat/water source, electrical currents travel to the nearest conductor and our human bodies, technically speaking, are actually a good conductor however our bodies don’t respond well to being in the path of electricity with high voltages and we should always keep hands dry.
  
• Number One: Never leave cooking unattended, this is one of the leading causes of kitchen fires.
  
• Cooks should start by not wearing loose clothing or dangling sleeves while cooking.
  
• Always check the kitchen before going to bed or leaving the home to make sure all stoves, ovens, and small appliances are turned off.

Happy Holidays!

Technology Is Great But Can’t Replace The Human Touch. 

This is a time we can have almost any information, or most anything we want at the click of a button.  Technology helps us run our business faster and more efficiently through computer automation. But no matter how sophisticated computers and technology get, they cannot eliminate what still is desired most, human contact.  

Technology Is Great But Can’t Replace The Human Touch.

In the Real Estate Industry we have Winforms which make it possible for us to produce documents quickly.   Computers have also made it possible for us to stay in front of our clients through e-mail, electronic news letters, and e-blasts.  

But even with all this, people are people, and people want human contact.  That means as much as technology can simplify our lives, speed up our business, and make us more efficient, technology is not us.  

Technology Is Great But Can’t Replace The Human Touch.

No matter how great technology is, in sales people still want human contact in the process.  Computers may make it easier and faster for people to get information, and in a large part the answers they are looking for, but when it comes to major life decisions like purchasing a house, people want people to help them arrive at the final decision and hold their hand through the process.

Loyalty equals trust, and trust is the backbone of any successful business.  Computers and all technology in the world cannot in my opinion do the most important part of our business.  Computers and technology cannot produce the trust which leads to loyalty, which leads to repeat business and referrals.  I love technology and computers, and everything they enable me to do quickly and more efficiently, but technology and computers cannot replace the ME component in the process.  

Technology Is Great But Can’t Replace The Human Touch. 

People still want human contact. 

TO PROSPECTIVE BUYERS:  WHEN LOOKING ON LINE FOR A HOME FOCUS ON HOMES THAT SHOW "ACTIVE STATUS"

When shopping for a home in today’s Coachella Valley market, it is most productive for buyers to focus on houses in Active status. 

When a home listing status is Active, this is where the seller is still looking for a qualified buyer.  They usually have no offers in hand, or if they do have an offer, they have not reached an agreement with the buyer and therefore another buyer has a chance to make an offer.  You’d just have to hurry.

When a home listing status is Back Up Offer, this is a different animal.  Back Up Offer status means the seller has a signed contract with a buyer.  The seller will consider additional offers, and if an agreement can be reached, that contract is put in Back Up position, contingent on the cancellation of the existing contract.

Why in the world would a buyer in today’s market even spend an ounce of energy on looking at, considering an offer, making an offer and negotiating an offer only to be placed on hold with the outcome of your home purchase resting in the hands of another buyer?  Someone you don’t know and who you certainly cannot influence.  Well, in most California residential real estate transactions, the buyer has 17 days from the date a signed agreement has been reached between the buyer and the seller.  During that 17 days a lot of things can happen.  So that’s really the bottom line in pursuing house in Back Up Offer status – you are betting on the buyer to cancel.

Oh, don’t get me wrong.  This is truly a low percentage strategy.  But in some cases, it might make sense.  Consider these top four reasons buyers cancel purchase agreements today and consider your willingness to take a gamble.

• They no longer qualify for financing.  Interest rates have been bobbing up and down and there’s further speculation about what the future will bring.  An increase in interest rates can push the payments outside of the buyer’s affordability zone and therefore disqualify him from the purchase.  The buyer has to cancel their agreement.
• Finding something unacceptable during the home inspection.  Mold, slab leak, previous water damage, zoning, unpermitted additions – these and other discoveries have been known to cause buyers to cancel their agreement.
• Finding something unacceptable on the Natural Hazard report.  Soil liquefaction, earthquake fault lines, high fire hazard areas and flood zones have been known to make buyers uncomfortable enough to cancel their agreement.
• Finding something unacceptable on the Termite Report.  Dry wood termites don’t appeal to many people.  The thought of fumigation is distasteful to some.  These have been known to cause buyers to cancel their agreement.
• Purchasing another home.  In the case of a Short Sale, the buyer may have lost patience waiting for the bank to reply and may have entered a contract to purchase another home.  Despite the shaky legality of such behavior, it has been known to cause a buyer to cancel their agreement.

Of course, if your Back Up Offer becomes the accepted offer, you have 17 days to decide if you’re comfortable with the facts concerning the property and see if you want to stay in the deal.  Oh, it might be helpful to know that some lucky Back Up buyers do request a price reduction based on the information received concerning the condition of the home.  Which home listing status will command your concentration?

Re-Post of Active Rain blog by Melissa Zavala.  Thank you Melissa for the information!  Bonnie Hart & David Lang

Mortgage Debt Relief in the State of California

The California Senate passed the California Association of Realtors®-sponsored tax relief bill without a single “no” vote on June 20, 2013. SB 30 protects homeowners from paying income tax on a short sale. As you may remember, one of the major successes Congress reached in the “fiscal cliff" negotiations late last year was the extension of the Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act for another year. The measure will continue to exempt taxation of mortgage debt that is forgiven when homeowners and their mortgage lenders negotiate a short sale, loan modification (including any principal reduction), or foreclosure.

Although debt relief was extended at the federal level, the state exemption for California expired at the end of 2012, so forgiven mortgage debt is still considered taxable state income in California. In order make state and federal law confirm, the California Association of Realtors® sponsored Senate Bill 30, so California homeowners on the brink of foreclosure could get much-needed debt relief. 

In the Senate Appropriations Committee, SB 30 was linked to SB 391 meaning that it cannot become law unless SB 391 is enacted. C.A.R. strongly opposes “linking” these two measures and will continue efforts to delink them. SB 30 is a “two year” bill and can be signed into law as late as April 14th of next year to protect taxpayers on their 2013 tax returns, which must be filed by April 15, 2014. Unfortunately, because of this link between SB 391 and SB 30, SB 30 has not yet become law. So, any seller that participates in short sale in California may be liable for state taxes on the forgiven debt. As such, short sale sellers should consult their accountant or CPA before preparing their taxes for 2013.

Melissa Zavala BROKER/REALTOR® ● CA BRE #01324959