Join us at 156 Bistro !

156 Bistro on Wednesday, February 9th
6:30 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.

Come in from the cold for a cocktail or local draft. Chat with me, Bobby and Elissa about weathering the winter and preparing for the spring buying and selling season!

Real Estate Resolutions Week #3

Three weeks into the new year, keep up the good work!

Buyers’ Resolution #3: Get building inspector recommendations before you purchase your new home.
Once your house is under contract for purchase, you will need to hire a building inspector. Never buy a home or condominium without an adequate inspection. Ask for recommendations from your realtor, friends and family. Once again, this is on of the largest investments you will make in your life. Let’s be sure that you know what you are buying, from the inside out, before you own it. Better to walk away from a poorly constructed home sooner rather than later.

Sellers’ Resolution #3: Ask for Realtor recommendations from friends and family.
Should you decide against navigating the wonderful world of Real Estate sales on your own, take some time to interview local agents for the job. The role of the listing agent in today’s Real Estate market is demanding and competitive. You are entrusting your biggest asset with this individual and are asking them to assist you in pricing it, preparing it for the market, and promoting it, so that you may achieve your sales goals. All agents are not equally prepared to provide you with the level of service or experience necessary to get the job done. Choose wisely and do your homework; the wrong choice could cost you thousands in lost sales value.

Real Estate Resolutions Week 2

How are you doing on your New Year’s Resolutions? If you are on a roll, consider the second installment a congratulations for and continuum of good behavior. If you have not been quite as successful with the “new you,” the below will give you a second chance! As always, questions and comments are welcome.

Buyers’ Resolution #2: Choose your own title attorney; do not let your lender do it for you.

When you buy real estate, you will need to have the title searched. Most closings in Vermont are administered in the buyers’ attorney’s office. When the lender selects the attorney, you are in effect paying the legal fees through a part of your closing costs, while the attorney represents the bank. Most banks will allow you to hire the attorney; the legal fees are still paid from the closing costs, but the attorney’s responsibility is to represent you. If the bank insists on having their own attorney, you may want to hire an attorney on your behalf, as well. I can not emphasize enough, a home purchase is a big investment, big risk, and you want to avoid big problems.

As always, do your research and ask for recommendations from friends, family and (of course)your trusted realtor.


Sellers’ Resolution #2: Order a dumpster before packing that “heirloom” from Grandma.

As you prepare your home for sale, take this opportunity to evaluate your “stuff.” Are you holding onto things that were valuable to a family member, but not to you? Are you about to move a box you packed from your last move ten years ago, but never opened?? Do yourself a favor and clean house now: if you are about to pack and move unopened boxes, open and asses their contents. If you are saving something that you intend to pass down to the next generation, pass it on now; and, if an item has neither use nor sentimental value, consider donating it to a charitable organization with a resale shop or to Goodwill or the Salvation Army. Instead of paying a mover, you can take a tax deduction for the donation and be done with it. Items that have no value for re-sale, consider throwing them in the dumpster or better yet, recycle them, but do not move that un-wanted and accumulated “stuff.”

Find a Good Will has locations in Chittenden County to donate clothing and household items at
http://locator.goodwill.org/

ReSource (formerly Recycle North) also accepts donated household items and offers pick-up services: http://www.resourcevt.org/donate-goods-to-resource

Myers Containers "The Red Can Family"is a Waste and Recycle Management company that provides trash services, weekly pick-up and roll offs for residential and commerical properities. Contact President Jeff Myers at jeff@theredcanfamily.com

The entire von Trapp team would like to invite you to our first monthly get together for 2011!

156 Bistro on Wednesday, Jan 12th
6:30 p.m. - 8:00 p.m.

We are all very excited about the prospects for the new year and we would like to share our reflections on this past season as well as try to help you look into the future and plan your next sale or purchase.

If you are planning to buy or sell in 2011, you will not want to miss this get together. Our goal is to have all of our clients and fans well positioned in the market this year before it happens.

To show our appreciation, the first Beer of 2011 is on us so come on down, share some great Trapp Dunkel Lager and get the inside Real Estate Scoop for 2011.

Real Estate Resolutions for the New Year

Now that you have had a full week to exercise your New Year’s Resolutions (or not), allow me to offer some resolutions for both home sellers and buyers. I know, I know, the last thing you need is another laundry-list of resolutions, so rather than piling them on at the start of the month, I will come at you weekly with a single resolution for each buyer and seller. Even if you choose to implement only one, I think it will make your buying or selling experience less stressful. Please feel free to comment, as that is what blogging is all about (or so I’m told).

Buyers’ Resolution:

If you are going to be a serious buyer in 2011 please consider the following.

Get pre-approved with a real live person who originates loans from your geographic location.

The dot com craze has given rise to on-line loan origination. You can do it on your own schedule, from the comfort of your own home, and best of all, you don’t have to speak with anyone. The problem, however, is that you do not speak to anyone. This will be much more important now that the banks actually screen their loan applicants to verify their ability to pay back the mortgage. There is also a huge variety of loan products that may or may not fit your individual situation. In Vermont, for example, mortgages are available through a few state sponsored programs, as well as grants from some housing trust organizations. Someone with experience can quickly evaluate your personal situation and guide you to the right product or loan underwriter. You will pay a loan origination fee for any loan you get; why not take advantage of a real “live” person who is knowledgeable and can find the loan that is best suited for you?

Sellers’ Resolution

If you are going to be selling your home in 2011, please consider the following.

Prepare, prepare, prepare!!

You get one chance at a good first impression. Before presenting your home to the market, be sure that you have taken the time to prepare it for sale. Market competition is high right now and active buyers are scarce. Your home should be free of clutter, clean as a whistle, with all finishes as refreshed as possible. Prospective buyers should be able to envision their own families and lives in the home, not yours. The purchasing process is one of elimination; you do not want to be removed in the early rounds due to lack of preparation. I am not imploring you to buy new furniture set and brand new accessories, but do ask someone objective, like your realtor, to help re-arrange, depersonalize and de-clutter your home to make it the best it can be.

An Interest in Interest Rates

As I sit by the Christmas tree, now bare of the annual gift giving, I ponder what the coming year of 2011 will bring. More importantly, what advice can I impart to the buyers who will be active in this market? If you are still on the fence about making your purchase in 2011, I have one word for you: interest rates. Ok, that is two words. But the rates will continue to creep up, as they already have. If you have a favorite house in mind and are sitting back, waiting for the price to drop, you may want to act before the rates rise significantly more. A ½-point increase in your interest rate could make the house much more expensive over the term of the loan than the potentially small price drop. In addition, a rise in the interest rates might not allow you to qualify for the home purchase at all. Be mindful of the interest rates and discuss how the change in the rate might impact your buying power with your lender.

I found this article on the KCW blog spot and, at the risk of plagiarizing, I find that this article explains the pitfalls in plain English. Do yourself a favor and read the entire article; it might save you a lot of money over the next 30 years.

How Do Rising Interest Rates Affect Affordability?
by The KCM Crew on April 8, 2010 • ( excerpts only)

“Let’s say we have a couple making $10,000 a month. Let’s also say, they are comfortable paying (and qualify for) a mortgage payment of $3,500. From that $3,500 payment, we would deduct an estimated $750/mo. for real estate taxes, $100/mo. for homeowners’ insurance, and approximately $200/mo. for mortgage insurance (assuming an FHA loan). That would leave approximately $2450/mo. for Principal & Interest.

At 5% mortgage rates, our hypothetical borrowers would qualify for (and be comfortable paying) a $446,000 base loan amount. At 6%, the same total mortgage payment of $3,500 can only give our borrowers a base loan amount of $399,000!!! A 1% increase in rates, can reduce buying power 10%!!!

What are the implications and possible outcomes of this mathematical certainty?

1. Buyers may wind up with a higher mortgage payment than they are comfortable with and their lifestyles will suffer (in our example, the payment would escalate $280/mo.)…..or worse, they may no longer qualify for their loan and deals could collapse.
2. 
   Buyers will have to “lower their sights” on lesser homes in lesser neighborhoods because their monthly carrying costs are the true determinant to buying a home.
3. 
   Buyers may choose to “wait it out”, hoping that rates will come back down (much in the same way sellers held on to the belief that prices would rebound). There is no logic behind that hope, but that won’t stop buyers from getting on the sidelines.

Forget about looking backwards. To do what’s best for your family, know this;
For Buyers, TODAY may be the lowest interest rate you will be able to get for the REST OF YOUR LIFETIME.

Remember, Buyers and Lenders want the same thing….an affordable payment. The price of the home is secondary to the monthly cost of the home. ACT QUICKLY, if you are looking to buy to get the home you want, in the neighborhood you want, for a payment you want... TIME IS NOT ON YOUR SIDE.”

'Tis the Season to Sell!

The Real Estate market enters an awkward period between Thanksgiving and New Years, and it affects Sellers and Buyers in different ways.

Prospective buyers who have not yet made their anticipated move for the year fall into one of two categories. One set of buyers must sell their current home before buying the next. This group tends to get caught up in the holiday cheer and/or chaos, and will postpone their search until the New Year. After all, they still have a place to rest their heads.

The other group of buyers is renting either an apartment or an extended-stay suite in a local motel. This group has the flexibility to move with 30 days notice and, although they too are caught up in the holiday revelry, will often still sneak in some house viewing, especially if something new comes on the market.

Consequently, the sellers are caught in this sales process. As Thanksgiving approaches each year, I hear the same question from my current listing clients: “Should I take my house off the market during the holidays???” When asked why, the response I most often get is that they will be very busy and do not want to take on the additional hassle. This question always sets me back a bit because, not a month before, these same sellers tallied the number of showings at their home and anxiously awaited feedback. Funny thing is, if a home is not under deposit by Thanksgiving, any subsequent offers will not schedule to close until after the New Year. With the contract-to-closing timeframe of 45 to 60 days (mostly due to financing) if your home has not sold by Thanksgiving, you will not be moving until the next calendar year. So would I recommend taking your house off of the market?? The only thing I can guarantee if you take your house off the market is that it definitely will NOT sell!!

Conversely, when do most homes in Vermont look and show their best?? When they are decorated for the holidays, a fresh blanket of pure white snow coats the landscape and everything is clean and crisp. And by the way, all the wonderful, warm, holiday smells from the kitchen eliminate the need to create those great aromas artificially. Chestnuts roasting on an open fire? Perfect.

And the last reason you should not take your home off the market during the holiday season is the aforementioned buyers. There is no one more motivated than a relocating buyer who is facing the prospect of spending Christmas morning in a cramped motel room by the interstate, convincing their kids that Santa’s sleighbells sound strangely like a Mack truck this year. This group of buyers remains relatively active in the market, anything to get their minds off the not-so-sweet suite. And the sooner they are settled, the better. What better gift to give your relocating spouse but a new home??

So to the sellers: string the lights, turn up the Christmas Carols and bake the sugar cookies you were going to make anyway. It is all good and you may be surprised what Santa leaves under your tree. Nothing like a freshly written offer from a Comfy Suite Christmas Client!

‘Tis the season of giving and with all this discussion about folks between homes, please consider the following. One of my favorite organizations in the Burlington area that I choose to support every year is the Committee for Temporary Shelter (COTS). COTS has a number of locations in the Burlington area that provide shelter and services to singles and families 24 hours a day 365 days a year.

MISSION STATEMENT AND CORE VALUES

The Committee on Temporary Shelter provides emergency shelter, services, and housing for people who are homeless or marginally housed in Vermont. COTS advocates for long-term solutions to end homelessness.

We believe:

• in the value and dignity of every human life.
• that housing is a fundamental human right.
• that emergency shelter is not the solution to homelessness

If you are looking for a worthy charity and have just a little more to give during the holidays, consider making a donation of your time or resources. You never know whose head you will be providing a safe place to lay for the night. Visit http://www.cotsonline.org/ for more information.

Happy Holidays!