Given the turbulent housing market this past year or so has led to an obvious increase in the number of foreclosures across the country, and even here in our backyard in Fort Mill SC and Rock Hill SC. This means an increased inventory of homes available for purchase, which in turn means lower home prices for both those buying and selling real estate.
Well, while a foreclosure is the worst possible scenario for someone that has fallen behind on their mortgage payments and it’s something you want to avoid if all possible, there are other options. One of those options is something called a ‘short sale’.
As it relates to real estate, a short sale essentially means the lender has agreed to allow the home to be sold for LESS than what is actually owed. Now, not all homes qualify for a short sale simply because not all lenders will allow the home to be sold for less than what is owed on it.
If you’re in a situation where you feel like you’re about to lose your home, investigating the possibility of selling it via a short sale might be a good option, but as with everything in life you MUST do your own due diligence.
You certainly want to consult with your accountant and an attorney familiar with real estate short sales. You’ll find a great list of steps you could expect to have to take in order to sell your home via short sale right HERE.
On the buying side, purchasing a home via a short sale is much, much less certain a process than buying an average home listed for sale. You’d be wise to consult with a qualified real estate agent that has some experience working with real estate short sales.
If you have any questions about either selling your home via a short sale or purchasing a home via a short sale, I have experience in both so please don’t hesitate to CONTACT ME.
Filed under Buy Your Dream House, Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Sell Your Home by 
It appears as if the nationwide housing slide that we’ve experienced for the past 2 years may be coming to an end. Finally.
According to Bloomberg,
“Sales of existing U.S. homes jumped more than forecast in July to the highest level in almost two years. Purchases climbed 7.2 percent to a 5.24 million annual rate, the most since August 2007, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The gain was the biggest since records began in 1999. The median price fell 15 percent.”
As I’ve said all along, the Rock Hill SC and Fort Mill SC housing markets haven’t been hit as badly as other areas of the country, but we’ve certainly felt the reprocutions. Now with the national housing market appearing to rebound, I would expect that we’ll continue to see an increase in existing home sales.
There’s still quite a lot of homes for sale, but the pace at which homes are selling has slowly picked up the past few months. And now with the $8K tax credit coming to it’s end on November 1st many home buyers are scrambling around, trying to find their dream home in order to take advantage of this credit.
So, if you’ve been thinking about selling your home, now’s a GREAT time to put it on the market!
Filed under Buy Your Dream House, Carolina Real Estate, Fort Mill SC, Home Buyers, Home Sellers, Market Trends, News Reports, Rock Hill SC by
If you have a house on the market that you’re trying to sell, but no matter what you do it just seem to be generating the interest and action you’d expect, chances are there are few things you or your agent probably aren’t doing to get it moving.
You see, even in this challenging economy real estate is still moving. People are still buying and selling houses so there’s no reason to think your home couldn’t be one of them. Sure, it’s a little more difficult to sell a house today than it was just a few short years ago, but by making sure you do a few things correctly it’s not unreasonable to expect your home to sell.
So, here are 5 reasons why your home may not be selling:
- Your home isn’t in top condition. If you want to sell your home fast and for top dollar then it absolutely MUST be in tip top shape.
While there might be a few people looking to find a home that requires some TLC, most people in today’s marketplace are looking for homes that are move-in ready. This means no holes in the walls, freshly painted walls, floors that are in good shape, and very little ‘updating’ required.
If your home leaves buyers feeling like they’d have a lengthy list of chores to do before they moved in then chances are you’ve pinpointed a big reason why your home hasn’t sold yet.
- Not enough photos OR badly taken photos. Because more than 80% of all house searches begin online, you have just a few seconds to capture the attention of potential buyers. As a result, it’s absolutely crucial that the first photos they see show your home in it’s best light.
This means taking the photos at the right time of day so the light is at its best, removing any obstacles that could block a full view of the house, and making sure the driveway is clear of cars, bikes, or other vehicles.
You also want to make sure you have enough photos to give prospective buyers a good feel for your home, as well as what they can expect to see when they actually do come see it in person.
- You aren’t doing enough to market your home. Nowadays you simply can’t list a house on the MLS system and expect it to sell. To sell a home quickly and for top dollar in today’s marketplace you’ve got to employ as many marketing methods as possible.
This means an extensive listing in the MLS, listing it on real estate websites, sending postcards to neighbors, running ads in the newspaper, holding open houses, networking with other agents, etc. There are way too many methods available to rely on just one or two to get your home sold.
- You hired the wrong listing again OR haven’t hired a real estate agent at all. Yes, you can sell your home as a ‘for sale by owner’, but it’s not easy.
That being said, if you do decide to hire a real estate agent you definitely want to make sure you’ve hired the right one for the job. Interview a handful of agents and ask them lots of questions. What’s their plan to market your home? How many listings have they sold in the last 6 months? What have their previous clients said about their experience working with them?
If you don’t get the answers you want to hear, don’t be afraid to interview more agents. Remember, when it comes to selling your home a quality real estate agent can be more than worth their weight in gold, but you might have to do a little panning to find the right one for you.
Be sure to learn about why you should hire Sharon Salisbury to help you sell your home!
- Your home isn’t priced correctly. In most cases, this is the biggest reason why real estate doesn’t sell. A home that is priced correctly will generate a high amount of interest as well as qualified offers. If you try to price your home too high hoping to be able to negotiate a final price that’s lower than what it’s listed at, chances are you won’t have much luck. Home buyers nowadays typically look at the listing price as a starting point and if it’s outside of what they think it should be, they won’t even give it a second look.
So, price your home competitively and watch as the qualified buyers come running and chances are you’ll very soon be entertaining offers to sell!
Remember, there’s a lot that goes in to selling a home quickly and for top dollar so don’t expect it to happen overnight. However, by avoiding these 5 mistakes there’s really no reason why you shouldn’t expect to sell your home for a dollar amount you’re happy with and in a time frame that makes you jump for joy!
Filed under Hiring An Agent, Home Sellers, Sell Your Home by
