Multiple Offers: How To Get Yours Accepted

April 21, 2013 by

Multiple Offers: How To Get Yours Accepted

 

 What do I do if there are multiple offers on a home I want to buy? This is a common theme in today’s Denver and Boulder Colorado real estate market for homes under $400k because inventory is low right now. There isn’t a guaranteed way to beat out the competition, but here are some tips that will give you the best chance for success.

1. Determine The Most You Are Willing To Pay: Work with your agent to get a report of similar homes that have sold and determine the “maximum” you are willing to pay.

2. Offer Your Maximum: If there are multiple offers and you are convinced this is the home for you, present your “maximum”, often called highest and best, and that way if you get outbid you don’t have any regrets

3. Don’t Believe Your Friend Who Says to Offer 10% below list price: While some people will tell you to always offer X % below asking price, this simply is not true when buying foreclosed home in Colorado. It is competitive. Most foreclosed homes in Colorado sell for 99% of list price. Some sell higher. Your agent can give you professional advice to make a strong offer but without paying too much.

4. Tighten Up Those Dates! – When you write an offer to buy a home in Colorado, we have a date table for all kinds of “outs” for the buyer, otherwise called contingencies. These include a deadline for inspections, appraisals, final loan approval, etc. If you back out of the contract for one of those reasons (on or before the deadline for that contingency), you get your earnest money (deposit) back. If you want to give yourself the best chance of beating out another offer, take out the contingencies you are willing to waive. The ones you need, make the dates as soon as they are feasible to accomplish. This includes closing.

5. If possible, close in the CURRENT MONTH – this is self explanatory, but sellers  (if all other factors in the offers are the equal) will often choose the offer that can close soonest.

6. Show Them The Money! – If you can pay cash, do it! Next in order of preference is a conventional loan with a strong down payment. Last on the pecking order is an FHA loan because it has more hoops the buyer/seller/property need to jump through and increases the likelihood of it falling through. When given the choice, sellers prefer cash buyers and then conventional buyers.

7. Increase the Earnest Money – having a higher earnest money and/or a portion of it explicitly non refundable can help!

8. Take Out Concessions – It’s pretty common to ask the seller to pay a buyer’s closing costs, but in a multiple offer situation, take them OUT if you can afford to. It shows sellers you don’t “need” concessions and are therefore a stronger buyer. The seller ultimately wants the highest offer price that has the lowest likelihood of falling through.

Courtesy of the Taylor Realty Group

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Multiple Offers For Sellers: How to Choose

April 20, 2013 by

Multiple Offers For Sellers: How to Choose

Tips for Handling Multiple=

1. You don’t need to counter each and every offer. – This is urban legend #1. You actually don’t even need to respond to every offer (although I don’t recommend this). No response equals rejection in Colorado. In addition, the “Acceptance Deadline” is only applicable if you will be ACCEPTING that offer as written. If you will be rejecting or countering an offer, that deadline is meaningless so don’t stress about it.

2. Narrow your possibilities to those that satisfy the most important aspects of your move. – Each offer will have it’s pros and cons. Is price most important to you? Maybe it’s an earlier closing date or perhaps it is a later closing date to allow you time to find a new home. For some it’s knowing the deal is rock solid because you had a previous offer that fell through. The factors are different for everyone, but filter each offer based on what is most important to you and your situation.

3. Verify financing of your top contenders – A lender letter is a must when a buyer presents an offer, however, it honestly isn’t worth the paper it is printed on. Your listing agent needs to discuss the buyer’s ability to qualify for a loan with their lender.

  • Has income & assets been verified or is it only based on verbal information provided by the buyer.
  • Has a full credit report been obtained.
  • Has the lender already had their underwriter review the file to ensure it will get approved.

These questions need to be asked to know how solid the financing is. Gone are the days where just a lender letter will suffice.

4. If the offer is non-contingent, VERIFY. – More than one seller and their agent have been misled by this fact. Ask for the contingent offer. Verify that buyer’s ability to qualify. Have inspections been completed? Any red flags. Verify Verify!!

5. How have your agent’s dealings been with the buyer’s agent? -Someone who has been polite, professional, competent and timely during the offer stage, is apt to be that way throughout the transaction.Other agents have a reputation of being difficult to deal with or always wanting to “win”, making the deal challenging. Ask your agent about their experience with the buyer’s agent(s).

6.Treat everyone fairly. Transactions fall apart, and you may be re-visiting these offers for a back-up if things don’t work out the first time.

 

Courtesy of  the Taylor Realty Group

 

John Marcotte

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What is market value?

April 19, 2013 by

What is market value?

Ultimately, whether we like it or not, buyer’s ultimately determine market value. What someone is willing to pay IS the market value. If what someone is willing to pay is not what you “need”, the variable we need to adjust is TIME. Maybe another 6 months, or in some cases, another 6 years, but only time will eventually lead to increased market value. Just because you “need” an amount does not mean a buyer will pay it.

How To Avoid It:

Get educated on what similar homes to yours have sold for in the last 3 months. Hire an agent with intimate market knowledge of your area and have them present a market report with pricing recommendations. Price your home where it is compelling to buyers based on this data and not on your desires. If it’s too low, you might consider waiting for the market value to increase.

 

Feel free to call me anytime for a free market analysis.

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John Marcotte

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Choosing a Discount Listing Agent

April 18, 2013 by

Choosing a Discount Listing Agent

This may sound self serving and or like a solicitation, but hear me out. In these tighter economic conditions, many sellers choose their listing agent based on the commission their listing agent charges. There is no “Standard” commission and it varies greatly between companies, and even agents within the same company. However, negotiating is one of the main functions of your realtor/real estate agent. How quickly did they decide to come down in their commission?  If their job is to get you the highest price for your home and that agent is willing to give up their money that quickly, how fast would they be willing to give up YOUR money in the negotiation?  For example, if he/she went from 3% to 2% that is 33% discount – is that really who you want negotiating for you?

How to Avoid It – Hire an agent who is an expert negotiator and don’t choose your agent based on cost alone. Evaluate their entire business proposal, marketing plan, experience, etc. Often an agent can charge slightly more but you still walk away with more money because they can negotiate a higher price and terms for your home.

 

Please visit my website to see how well I will market your Boulder property for sale

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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How to handle a low ball offer on your house

April 17, 2013 by

How to handle a low ball offer on your house

How to Handle a Low Ball OfferYou just received a purchase offer from someone who wants to buy your home. You’re excited and relieved, until you realize the purchase offer is much lower than your asking price. How should you respond? Set aside your emotions, focus on the facts, and prepare a counteroffer that keeps the buyers involved in the deal.

1. Check your emotions

A purchase offer, even a very low one, means someone wants to purchase your home. Unless the offer is laughably low, it deserves a cordial response, whether that’s a counteroffer or an outright rejection. Remain calm and discuss with your real estate agent the many ways you can respond to a lowball purchase offer.

2. Counter the purchase offer

Unless you’ve received multiple purchase offers, the best response is to counter the low offer with a price and terms you’re willing to accept. Some buyers make a low offer because they think that’s customary, they’re afraid they’ll overpay, or they want to test your limits.

A counteroffer signals that you’re willing to negotiate. One strategy for your counteroffer is to lower your price, but remove any concessions such as seller assistance with closing costs, or features such as kitchen appliances that you’d like to take with you.

3. Consider the terms

Price is paramount for most buyers and sellers, but it’s not the only deal point. A low purchase offer might make sense if the contingencies are reasonable, the closing date meets your needs, and the buyer is preapproved for a mortgage. Consider what terms you might change in a counteroffer to make the deal work.

4. Review your comps

Ask your Realtor whether any homes that are comparable to yours (known as “comps”) have been sold or put on the market since your home was listed for sale. If those new comps are at lower prices, you might have to lower your price to match them if you want to sell.

5. Consider the buyer’s comps

Buyers sometimes attach comps to a low offer to try to convince the seller to accept a lower purchase offer. Take a look at those comps. Are the homes similar to yours? If so, your asking price might be unrealistic. If not, you might want to include in your counteroffer information about those homes and your own comps that justify your asking price.

If the buyers don’t include comps to justify their low purchase offer, have your real estate agent ask the buyers’ agent for those comps.

6. Get the agents together

If the purchase offer is too low to counter, but you don’t have a better option, ask your real estate agent to call the buyer’s agent and try to narrow the price gap so that a counteroffer would make sense. Also, ask your real estate agent whether the buyer (or buyer’s agent) has a reputation for lowball purchase offers. If that’s the case, you might feel freer to reject the offer.

7. Don’t signal desperation

Buyers are sensitive to signs that a seller may be receptive to a low purchase offer. If your home is vacant or your home’s listing describes you as a “motivated” seller, you’re signaling you’re open to a low offer.

Courtesy of the Taylor Realty Group

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John Marcotte

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Short Sale Secrets Most Realtors (and Banks) Will Never Tell You

April 16, 2013 by

Short Sale Secrets Most Realtors (and Banks) Will Never Tell You

 

colorado shortsale tips for buyers and sellersShort sales have become a recurring theme in my recent posts, but for good reason. Almost half of the homes for sale in the Denver Metro MLS are distressed, meaning a foreclosure or a short sale.

For Buyers

1. The List Price is Arbitrary –The list price on a new short sale is almost always based on the listing agent’s best guess at what will (1) attract an offer and (2) the bank will approve. When you see that new listing or price reduction with a price that is so low you think it’s a typo, it doesn’t mean the bank will actually approve it for that price. Often, this is done to get an offer FAST.

2. Not All Offers Get Submitted (or even presented to the seller) – You have heard of the term “gatekeeper”? Well, the Listing Agent is the gatekeeper in a short sale. Yes, legally the agent must present all offers to the seller, but not all agents do. It’s not right (and is even illegal), but some agents wait until they find their own buyer to double end the deal and then have their owner/seller accept that offer. Shady? Yes. Does it happen? Unfortunately yes. Make sure your buyer agent is barking up the right tree to confirm your offer is presented. However, at the end of the day, if the gatekeeper doesn’t want to go with your offer, it’s just not gonna happen.

3. Cash Is King – As noted above, in Colorado, the listing agent and the seller determine which offer to accept and send to the bank for short sale approval. Many times a lower cash offer will be accepted in favor or a higher financed offer. Why? Because there is a lessor chance of the deal falling out. If the seller and agent believe the offer is still within range that the bank will accept, they would prefer to go through all the hoops only once with one offer instead of a 3 month ordeal to get an offer approved, and then the buyer can’t qualify for a loan and they start all over.

For Sellers

1. The Owner Is Still The Boss (not the bank) – When an offer comes in, YOU DON”T HAVE TO ACCEPT IT! You can treat it like a normal sale and reject it, counter it, or accept it. Often, when I receive an offer on one of my short sale listings, we counter it. We take out inclusions like refrigerator, washer & dryer, etc. We move up dates for inspection, appraisal, closing, etc. Everything is still negotiable just like a normal sale and only once you and the buyer have accepted/signed a final contract or counter does it become a binding contract and get submitted to your mortgage holder for approval.  The banks are notorious for playing hardball, but you Mr & Mrs Seller still have control in what offer, terms, inclusions, etc that you will accept.

2. It’s Based on Hardship, Not Being Underwater – When a bank reviews the offer submitted above and determines if they will approve it/counter it/etc….they are really looking at the seller’s financial hardship. They want to know with certainty that the seller does not have other alternatives based on their financial situation. Just because someone is under water and owes more than it will sell for is not the main reason a bank will approve a short sale. It is based on a valid hardship as to why a short sale is necessary for the owner.

3. Your Debt Isn’t Always Forgiven – It pains me to write this one, but not all short sales forgive the amount owed. If you owe $300k and the bank gets $250k from the sale, many people assume that the bank will write off that $50k as bad debt. Well, nowadays banks are sometimes asking for the seller to bring a % of that to closing. Some are also asking the seller to sign a promissory note for the % of that deficiency and make monthly payments after closing. Does it happen a lot? No. But it does happen sometimes, and often on a non-owner occupied short sale (investment property).  These terms are not known until the short sale has been reviewed and approved by the bank. They will send an approval letter outlining the terms. If you (the seller) don’t like the terms, YES you can negotiate to get more favorable terms…and NO…you don’t have to go through with the sale if you can’t get terms that you like.

4. It’s Not Always Best To Accept The Highest Offer – Sounds silly but here’s why (from a real life example I had) We received an offer on a short sale listing, accepted it, and sent it to the bank for short sale approval. We received approval on it, but at the same time, received two other offers that were both higher than the first. We then called for a “highest and best” from all offers, meaning they all give us their best and final offer and we would determine which we would go with. One of the subsequent offers gave us a highest and best higher than the first was willing to increase to. We kicked out the first offer and submitted this new higher offer to the bank. The bank now approved that higher price. Life is good right? Wrong. We told the winning offer they are approved and those buyers got impatient and bought another home. Neither of the other offers were willing to increase their offer to the new approved price so I told the bank we need to re-issue the approval on the lower priced offer we initially had. Guess what they said? NO!

Why did this happen. Once the bank sees an offer price, they feel that is what the home is worth. If that high offer price falls out and no other buyer will pay that much, you are stuck because the bank thinks the home is worth the higher price and won’t approve a lower price until MONTHS go by and the home fails to sell at the higher price they want.

What’s the moral to this one….I may get in trouble for saying this….but sending in the highest offer is not always the best strategy for a seller. Many buyers on short sales get impatient and often the first buyers walk away before you have approval. So, the offer you submit should be at a price that, if approved, you are confident another buyer will be willing to pay too.

5. Submitting More Offers To The Bank is Not Better – There are several reasons for this. First, See#4 above. Second, the bank then feels it’s a highly competitive property and they negotiate harder with both the buyer AND seller on terms of the short sale. Third, you want the bank to focus on one offer and take it from start to finish with approval. Every time a new offer is submitted to the bank they start the 60-90 day process over and these are the stories you hear about short sales taking a year or longer for approval.

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John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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Buying a Home “As Is”– 5 Things You Must Know

April 15, 2013 by

Buying a Home “As Is”– 5 Things You Must Know

 

Sold As IsSo you want a good deal, eh? You have watched your fill of HGTV and know your local Home Depot folks by name, and are ready to buy a “fixer”! Or, perhaps you are wanting a “move in ready” house but stumble on a great listing online and it looks perfect….but that silly verbiage in the MLS listing says “AS IS”. If you are like most buyers, this brings up disturbing thoughts of the 80′s movie “The Money Pit” and you think, “What’s wrong with it then”! Well, here are a few bullet points to know when this happens.

1. AS IS Does NOT ALWAYS Mean Something is Wrong With It
What the verbiage AS IS in a sales contract means is that the seller is telling you upfront that you are buying the home in it’s current condition and they will not make any repairs or improvements if requested. That’s it.

2. Your Inspection Is For Informational Purposes Only and Not to Request Repairs
You are still able to write an inspection period in the contract and make the sale contingent on you getting an inspection unless the seller specifically states you must waive inspection. Now, after you have your pretty inspection report with digital photos (if you used a savvy inspector) and are reading it, you now must determine if you still want to buy the house. You now know (if you used a good inspector) everything that is wrong with the house and needs repair once you move in. Is it what you were expecting? Is it more? Is it less? You get to decide based on this information if you want to go forward with your offer.

3. Buyers Should Do a Pre-Inspection Prior to Offering

Since the inspection is for informational purposes only, I highly recommend doing a pre-inspection prior to making your offer. If you are doing the work yourself, then go back to the property when you are determining an offer price and you can calculate all your estimated repair costs so that you have an offer price that makes good financial sense. If you are having a contractor do the work, have him/her look at it and give you estimates so you can make an offer with these costs factored in.

4. You can Still Back Out After Inspection if It’s a “Money Pit”
You don’t have to buy the home if the inspection turns up anything you don’t want to tackle. Plain and simple. As long as you tell the seller by the inspection objection period you are covered and will get your earnest money (deposit) back.

5. If you are a “Normal Seller…Never Ever use the word AS IS” in your Marketing!
Banks will always market their homes “As Is”, but if you are a private owner and are selling your house, don’t use this verbiage! It scares buyers. They start thinking you are hiding something. Don’t do it. Let them do their inspection, if you know of ANY problems you legally have to disclose them anyway, and then be reasonable when it comes to any problems uncovered at inspection that you didn’t know about.

 

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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More Home Buyers Asking for Insurance Loss History Reports From Sellers (C.L.U.E. Reports)

April 14, 2013 by

More Home Buyers Asking for Insurance Loss History Reports From Sellers (C.L.U.E. Reports)

 

An increasing trend in Colorado real estate is home buyers requiring home sellers to provide a C.L.U.E. Home Seller’s Disclosure Report as a contingency to purchase contract. C.L.U.E. Home Seller’s Disclosure Reports provide a five-year insurance loss history for a given address, without divulging personal and private information about a property owner.

FOR BUYERS: If the report for your property indicates the owner/home has sustained an insurance loss within the past five years the availability and/or pricing of buyer’s new homeowners insurance policy can be greatly impacted. You might not be able to get a policy or it may come at much higher cost than you are expecting. In addition, if a claim is shown, you can make sure to verify the repairs have been completed, request work receipts, and even have your home inspector evaluate the repairs for you. If the repairs have not been made that raises some flags and you want to share these areas with your home inspector as well.

FOR SELLERS:   You can order this when you list your home (and not wait for the buyer to request it) By ordering the C.L.U.E. Home Seller’s Disclosure Report ahead of time you can be ready should this contingency arise when you receive an offer. In addition, providing this report to potential buyers will make them more comfortable when deciding to make an offer because the loss history is known. This may give your home an advantage over one where the insurance loss history is not known.

The seller’s insurance agent should be able to run this report, or the seller can order one directly online at Lexus Nexus

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John Marcotte

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Things to consider before buying an investment condo

April 13, 2013 by

Things to consider before buying an investment condo

Highlights:

  • House lawyer provides tips on buying investment condo.
  • Condo bylaws, declarations and house rules are crucial.
  • Beware of poor or tyrannical management.

By Harvey S. Jacobs

Special to InsideRealEstateNews.com

Buying and renting out a condo may be the way to go for people who want to invest in property but don’t want the responsibility of owning, renovating and maintaining a single-family house.

Before buying a condo, there are three things you should learn about.

First, you should have a professional home inspector examine the unit’s components and systems.

Second, you need to study the condominium’s financial statements. This examination is designed to determine if it is solvent on a day-to-day operating basis. The financial exam should also assess whether the condo’s reserve account will be sufficient to handle any scheduled and unscheduled repairs and replacements. If the condo does not have sufficient reserves, there is likelihood that you will incur a special assessment. Special assessments can seriously cut into your profits.

Third, you should carefully review the legal documents — including the declaration, bylaws and house rules— that govern your condo unit’s use and ownership.—

The declaration will detail the condo unit’s legal existence and describe the unit’s dimensions.

The declaration also will identify the common elements (such as hallways, lobby, stairway which are used by all condo-unit owners), and limited common elements (such as storage units, parking spaces and balconies, which are generally for one unit’s exclusive use). The declaration also will spell out the percentage interest each unit possesses in the condo association. The monthly condo fees are assessed in proportion to each unit’s percentage interest. The declaration also will reveal if there are any restrictions on your unit’s sale – whether the association has the right to purchase your unit.

The bylaws outline the condo association’s rules of operation for annual meetings, voting, officer elections and the board of directors.

Bylaws also specify whether a unit can be rented, and if so, under what terms. It is critical that you confirm that you are able to rent the condo unit before you buy it. Many condo associations restrict how owners can rent. These restrictions often are approved by unit owners to comply with a Fannie Mae requirement that no more than 50 percent of the units can be investor-owned for one to qualify for financing. Fannie Mae guidelines also require that, to qualify for financing, the association not have too many delinquent condo fees.

The house rules are binding on owners and tenants. They cover things like pet policies, move — in and move-out policies, penalties for noise or other nuisances. You need to become familiar with the house rules. You also need to attach the house rules to your lease and make sure your tenants agree to comply with them. It is a good idea to add a clause to your condo lease that makes your tenants responsible for any fines the condo association imposes on you for their violations.

One of the main benefits of investing in rental condos is that you are only responsible for maintaining the condo unit’s interior. All other systems and components such as the roof, basement, HVAC, commercial plumbing repair, and electrical systems are generally the condo association’s responsibility. You are still responsible for those systems that are contained within your unit.  Another advantage is that when those systems need repair, the board of directors is responsible for making them. Granted, they make those repairs using your condo fees. But you are not necessarily the one who has to find, contract and supervise the repairs.

There also are drawbacks.

When analyzing whether your investment will generate a positive cash flow each month, you have to factor your condo fee into your mortgage principal, interest and taxes and all other expenses. Another potential negative is that a distress sale in the building can negatively impact all the other units in the condo. So if only one or two owners have financial reverses and have to sell their units at a discount, they will drive your unit’s price down as well. There is always the risk that your fellow owners will vote to prohibit or severely restrict renting the condo units. If that happens, you may have to sell at a time when the market conditions may not be favorable.

Finally, condos often suffer from poor or tyrannical management. Therefore, if you decide to invest in Boulder rental condos, you should strongly consider becoming actively involved in their governance. You should get to know the other owners, consider running for the board and at a minimum, attend every condo meeting.

Harvey S. Jacobs is a real estate lawyer in the Rockville office of Joseph, Greenwald & Laake. @Harvey S. Jacobs 2013

John Marcotte

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Toll Brothers’s model sale is part of a trend

April 12, 2013 by

Toll Brothers’s model sale is part of a trend

Highlights:
  • Tolls Brothers is putting a fully furnished model home in Parker on the market.
  • The asking price is about $900,000.
  • The transaction is a microcosm of the overall market.

Toll Brothers has puts its Valmont model on the marker for just under $900,000.

Toll Brothers has puts its Valmont model on the marker for just under $900,000.

In the latest sign of how hot the high-end, new home building market has become, Toll Brothers announced it has put its fully furnished model home on the market in a community in Parker, because almost everything else has been sold at the Estates at Pine Bluffs.

The model home with almost 6,000 square feet, including the finished walkout basement, is priced at just under $900,000.

“The market is very hot and we are going to be see more models going on the market as new home subdivisions sell out,” said Denver-area housing consultant, S. Robert August.

“In 40 years in the business, the market has never been like this,” August said. “The only way to talk about the market from a few years ago was doom and gloom. Builders getting to the point of selling models was inconceivable just a couple of years ago.”

There has been a sea change in the market, he said.

“There is pent-up demand from the last seven or eight years,” August said. 
 “Consumers are now more comfortable with their jobs and consumer confidence is high,” August said. “The Denver unemployment rate is the lowest in four years. And, of course, mortgage rates are crazy low.”

Due to the lack of inventory for new homes and resale homes, the biggest problems facing builders is that they need land, he said.

“Many builders won’t be able to come out of the ground with new product for six to 12 months, as they sell out their communities,” August said.

More builders in the Denver-area will increasingly be selling their models, as they sellout subdivisions and begin searching for new land in the area, said Jeff Whiton, president and CEO of the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver.

He noted that Toll, for example, recently announced it is buying 387 lots in Anthem Ranch in Broomfield, expanding its active-adult “Active Living” brand in the Western U.S.

“The ultimate objective of every builders is to sell through their community and go out and find a replacement for it,” Whiton said.

There has been a huge demand for new homes, as prospective buyers have struggled to find resale homes, Whiton said.

There were only 6,798 unsold homes on the market at the end of February, a 32.7 percent drop from the 10,086 at the end of February 2012, according to an earlier report based on Metrolist data by independent broker Gary Bauer.

“There is nothing for sale on the market right now other than mid-rise and high-rise units,” August said.

‘The lack of resale inventory is part of,” what is driving demand for new homes, Whiton said.

“The other thing is that new homes have all the latest gadgets and technology and design,” Whiton said.

“The other advantage of new homes is they are far more energy-efficient than resales homes,” Whiton said. “The homes built today are probably 30 percent to 40 percent more energy-efficient than homes built five, 10 or 15 years ago, much less the older stock of resale homes.”

New home building permits in the metro area last year were up about 45 percent, he said.

“The market basically died after 2007,” Whiton said. “However, we are still down 35 percent or 40 percent from the peak, so we have a long way to go.”

Toll’s model home for sale is the two-story Valmont Craftsman design with 4,246 square feet of space on the first two levels, plus a 1,724-square-foot, fully finished basement.

To learn more, please visit: Estates at Pine Bluffs.

 

John Marcotte

720-771-9401

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