Selling or Buying Your Birkdale and Birkdale Village Home

Good Morning, Does the video below remind you of anyone? If so, please call Roby Robertson at 704 451 7051 and see what he can do for you! Marketing, Commissions and Communication are important discussions topics.
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Birkdale and Birkdale Village Real Estate, Is Everything Negotiable?

First let me start off by saying that Real Living In Style is NOT a discount brokerage. There is a difference in the service that you get. As the cliche' states, you get what you pay for.

Since I am not and never have been a discount brokerage, I can only state what I have been told so everyone has to make their own decisions. However, there is a difference in the amount of service you do and do not get.

I could make a long list of extra things I do and have done for my clients that I feel very sure that someone stating they are not full service would do.

For example, I am representing a young couple of the purchase of their first home. The negotiations have gone back and forth to the point it seems there might be a stalemate. The other agent called me and asked me if I would be willing to cut my commissions if they would to make this happen. I did not hesitate to say yes. I am open to those negotiations because I would never stand in the way of helping a client buy or sell a home.

Is that the same the same as a discount broker. Absolutely not. My service remains the same throughout the entire process. There is something called Fiduciary responsibility to my clients that I take seriously.

I will do what I need to get a home sold. So, the answer is YES the the question.

However, I also have a family to feed. I am a professional and I work hard for my clients. People would never ask their doctor to take less for what he does so why would someone think I am not deserving and should take less?

Let me do everything I can to get the best deal done but don't slight it because you think I don't work hard. Good Real Estate Brokers work their tales off for their clients and if they don't they should not be your agent.

While this might seem to be contradicting let me put it this way. Don't ask Realtors to take less money so you can make more. Let us use everything at our disposal to negotiate the best possible deal possible.

Birkdale at Lake Norman Sellers, Learn About Seller Financing

The Lake Norman Seller Financing Solution

If you are a Lake Norman or Charlotte Area home Seller, Seller financing can be a great way to get a house sold without slashing the price. By recognizing the millions of people who can't get traditional financing as potential buyers, resourceful property sellers (and their real estate agents) can minimize their time investment in getting a property sold. Even better, sellers who offer financing can usually get a higher asking price for their property, even in the slowest markets.

Most Lake Norman and Charlotte area home sellers would never consider offering financing to the buyer directly because they are not aware of the benefits and/or don't fully understand how creating a note works. Let's evaluate the advantages!

There are three advantages to Seller Financing :

1. MORE BUYERS. Seller financing is very powerful when the market is slow or when there are many similar houses on the market. Listing the house as 'offering seller financing' will make the house stand out and attract more buyers. In this tight lending market many individuals cannot get funding from a bank. Offering financing will open the doors to these prospective customers as well, essentially significantly increasing the pool of potential buyers.

2. MORE MONEY. Seller financing also brings the property seller another advantage. Offering to carry back a note will bring a unique demographic of buyers who are willing to pay more for a given property than the general population.

3: LONG TERM PROFIT. When the seller finances the buyer, they get to act as "the bank". That means they could structure the deal to collect interest. Over time, if the seller holds on to their note, this can add up to tens of thousands of dollars in additional income.

The Strategy

Even when these benefits to "carryback" lending are made clear, many Lake Norman and Charlotte area sellers are still hesitant to offer financing because they are entering unfamiliar territory. It's a natural, human response to be uncomfortable with new things and things you do not understand.

For many property sellers, considering owner financing when they've only dealt with buyers via traditional funding is definitely "new and unfamiliar". But once sellers understand the process, they are likely to choose seller financing instead of the unattractive option of cutting the listed price or waiting indefinitely for the a buyer.

A seller-financed real estate sale is simply a real estate transaction where the seller acts as "the lending institution". The seller sets the price, determines and accepts a down payment, and then finances the remaining balance. The final step is the part that may scare some sellers, but in actuality, it can be very simple.

For example, If the sales price is $100,000.00, and the buyer gives the seller $10,000.00 cash (the agent.s fee will be deducted from this down payment), the seller will finance the balance of $90,000.00. The buyer and seller would then agree to the terms, such as the interest rate and the total term, and use an attorney to create the mortgage document and close the deal. From that point on, the buyer sends the seller monthly payments for the house he/she has just purchased.

Special Circumstances

The whole process can really be that simple. But, there are some substantial differences between a seller-financed deal and one that relies on traditional bank funding.

First of all, the seller in this example does not receive a large, one-time payment at the time of the sale. In fact, they will only receive the down payment, and in some situations, most of that will go towards paying the real estate agent's fee. On the other hand, the seller will be receiving monthly payments at a decent interest rate, but this income stream can't be used as a down payment for a new house.

Since many home sellers are also looking to buy another property, the seller will need to get enough at closing to pay their own down payment. Without this payment, the seller's hands will be tied when they look to purchase another house and need to have a substantial amount of funds available. There is a common solution to this issue, however.

The Solution

In order to get the money the seller needs from the loan they just created, the seller could sell the monthly note payments to a specialist buyer for a lump sum of cash. If the seller finds someone willing to buy the payments, now they can "have their cake and eat it too".

In summary.

Step one: Use the seller finance option to find unique customers willing to buy the house at a higher price than would have been possible otherwise and complete the real estate transaction quickly.

Step two: Decide on the terms of the deal and create the note.

Step three: If the property seller needs immediate cash to buy another house or for any other reason, their new incoming payment stream can be resold. The person who buys the future payments from the seller will provide the funding to act as a down payment on a new house, and every party involved in the deal comes out smiling.

Information courtesy of Bassett, Bassett and Associates Investors

For additional information or assistance, contact your Birkdale at Lake Norman Agent at 704 451 7051 or by email.

See also:

Be The First To See Birkdale and Lake Norman Hot New Listings as soon as they become available.

What would my Birkdale at Lake Norman Home Sell For?

Birkdale at Lake Norman Sellers, Tips for showings or open houses

Your Birkdale at Lake Norman Agent supplies more tips to help you sell your home

* Attend to any potential hazards — electrical wires crossing open areas, sharp table or counter top corners, slippery stairs and walkways, fragile items that can be easily damaged.

* Lock away or remove valuables such as jewelry, cameras, compact discs, coins and currency.

* Avoid cooking food with strong odors such as fish. The scent of fresh-brewed coffee, home-made bread and cookies can be very welcoming.

* In poor weather, provide a place for overshoes, boots, umbrellas and coats.

* A warm fire on a cold day will make your home feel inviting and cozy. But be sure your Realtor is prepared to look after the fireplace while you’re not home.

A tiny hand-print on a wall or the slightest door squeak can be quite distracting to some potential buyers. Use this handy check list to assess what needs to be cleaned, repaired or changed before opening your home to potential buyers:

Kitchen and bathrooms

* Clean all surfaces, including floors.
* Organize countertops.
* Ensure all sinks and faucets work properly.

Other rooms

* Vacuum and dust all areas thoroughly.
* Collect and remove all clutter, including excess furniture.
* Neatly store books, toys and clothes in closets and on shelves.
* Clean all mirrors.
* Open drapes and pull up blinds on windows.

Floor coverings

* Remove all dirt and stains.
* Repair any damaged areas.
* If there is hardwood under old carpeting, remove the carpeting and restore the hardwood - a much desired feature in homes today.
* Walls, ceilings, baseboards
* Clean any fingerprints or stains.
* Repair any holes, cracks, chipped paint, ripped wallpaper, water damage.
* If necessary, repaint in neutral or complimentary colors.

Doors

* Fix squeaks and any other problems.
* Ensure the handles secure and work properly.
* Clean any stains.

Windows

* Clean and repair any cracks.
* Ensure they open easily.

Lighting

* Check to see there is sufficient light.
* Attend to any broken switches, exposed wiring.

Pet areas

* These should be clean, organized and odor free.

Outside the home

* Ensure all gates open easily.

* Clean all exterior surfaces, including decks, pools, walkways and driveways and make them tidy.

* Depending on the time of year, lawns should be mowed, walkways and driveway cleared of snow, leaves removed, trees pruned, gardens weeded, hedges trimmed.

Don't forget the complete list of Huntersville Homes on the right panel of this website!

For additional information or assistance, contact your Birkdale at Lake Norman Agent at 704 451 7051 or by email.

See also:

Should I make improvements to get my home sold?

Be The First To See Lake Norman Hot New Listings as soon as they become available.

What would my Lake Norman Home Sell For?

Birkdale at Lake Norman Sellers, Are you Preventing Your Home From Selling

Is your Birkdale at Lake Norman Home Not Selling?

Your must hire a good agent to sell your home. For sale by owner is less prevalent these days and statistics say that 85% of FSBO's end up listing with an agent anyway. Though credit us these motivated efforts, FSBO's must learn by trial and effort the value of a good real estate professional!

FSBO sales in 1987 (20%) … in 2006 (12%)

40% of all FSBO’s sold their home to someone they knew prior to the sale. Therefore only 7% of all home sales in 2006 were FSBO’s sold on the open market. The other 5% of FSBO’s were simply private sales without a real estate agent involved.

Homes sold with the help of a real estate agent in 2006 sold on average for 32% more than FSBO sales.
This statistic means that even if you ARE successful in selling your home on your own, you won’t necessary save any money. What if you just did all that work and netted the same amount as if you hired a real estate agent and with a lot less risk!

FSBO Methods Used to Market Home:

• Friends/neighbors (53%)
• Yard Sign (51%)
• Newspaper ad (31%)
• Open House (29%)
• Listing on the Internet (22% )

Most Difficult Tasks for FSBO Sellers:

• Preparing/fixing up home for sale (18%)
• Understanding paperwork (16%)
• Getting the right price (11%)
• Attracting potential buyers (9%)
• Having enough time to devote to all aspects of the sale (9%)

Can you tell the difference? Could you tell the difference between a reputable buyer and a scam artist? Did you know that Identity Thieves are now targeting FSBO's to get personal information? Hire an agent to prevent this and other potential hazards of going it alone!

Some Big Decisions:

• The price! This is a big decision and you have a lot to consider. Is this a smart time for me to sell? --in this market.
• How much could I possibly lose on this sale?
• Is my bottom line realistic?

Remember, buyers don't care how much you "think" your home is worth. You have to put yourself in a buyer's position. They're going to do their research by visiting homes that are similar in your neighborhood. They will research what the comparable have sold for in the past few months. Their going to hire an agent that will know trends and be able to spot an overpriced home easily.

Next, BE THE BUYER! When you walk into your home, do you have to weave in and out of the clutter like a gauntlet? Though you might like the way your home looks, not everyone has the same taste as you. You want to clear out as much junk as possible. For paint and carpet, neutral colors also help the buyer to better picture themselves in your home. Wouldn't you want to walk into a sharp looking home? Make it happen!

Lastly, there are many methods for marketing your home, but there are only a handful that are effective. Your real estate agent should help you with this step. For example, the Internet is where people go these days for information. Make sure you agent blogs and is tech savvy to make your listing has a 'viral' effect all over the Internet!



To reiterate, PRICE is the most important decision to be made. You can't base price on what you owe or what your want to make. Buyers dictate price based on the market!

Don't forget the complete list of Huntersville Homes on the right panel of this website!

Contact your Lake Norman Agent at 704 451 7051 and let him assist you with these tasks!

Be The First To See Lake Norman Hot New Listings as soon as they become available.

What would my Home Sell For?

Bottom's Up: This Real-Estate Rout May Be Short Lived

The President of Real Living recently sent this report via email to all of the agents within the Real Living Network. Just another reason why this company is awesome. Some of this information is too technical for us (especially me), however according to this writer, there is indeed light at the end of the tunnel. For all you Buyers looking at Birkdale, Cornelius or other areas within Lake Norman, let's look at the brighter side. What goes down must come up! Much of what we do is based on Consumer Confidence. So, better news is exactly what we are looking for.


BARRON'S COVER
Bottom's Up: This Real-Estate Rout May Be Short-Lived
By JONATHAN R. LAING

This real-estate rout has been more painful than prior ones, but it may be shorter-lived. Indeed, there are early signs of recovery.

A FEW YEARS AGO, AN ACQUAINTANCE SENT Wellesley College economist Karl "Chip" Case a T-shirt depicting a cartoon of a smiley-face house surrounded by soap bubbles, called "Mr. Housing Bubble." But it was the words captured in a comic-book cloud on the shirt that gave this otherwise goofy image its bite: "If I pop, you're screwed!"

The dark humor hardly was lost on Case, co-creator along with Yale economist Robert Shiller of the now-canonical S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. In pairing recent sale prices of U.S. homes with the prices those same homes fetched previously, the index is substantiating what every sentient American knows: The U.S. housing market is in a deep funk, probably the worst in 50 years, according to Harvard's respected Joint Center for Housing Studies.

Home prices are down nearly 18% from the market's peak, according to Case-Shiller, and inventories of unsold homes are at near-record levels. Foreclosures are mushrooming on "subprime" properties, or homes whose purchase was financed with subprime debt. Blowback from the crisis has left mortgage-finance giants Fannie Mae (ticker: FNM) and Freddie Mac (FRE) financially strapped, while many other lenders lack the stomach -- or money -- to offer new mortgages.

Noted market experts such as Pimco bond-fund manager Bill Gross and economist Mark Zandi of Moody's Economy.com predict the meltdown in housing will continue for many months, with home prices declining by 10% or more from today's depressed levels.

Yet, such pessimism appears overdone, based on much recent data. Sales of existing homes are showing tentative signs of increasing, while the plunge in prices likely is nearing an end. Total inventories fell in May to 4.49 million existing homes for sale, or a 10.8-month supply at the current sales pace, down from an 11.2-month supply in April, according to the National Association of Realtors, in just one statistic emblematic of the nascent trend.

YES, THE SUPPLY OVERHANG still is humongous, but at least the numbers are moving in the right direction, as even Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson noted last week. Speaking at a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. conference, Paulson declared that "we are well into the adjustment process." Inventories of new single-family homes are down 21% from a 2006 peak, he observed, while "existing-home sales appear to have flattened over the past several months, indicating that demand may be stabilizing."

Still other numbers suggest prices are close to bottoming. The S&P/Case-Shiller Index for April, released just last month, showed the biggest year-over-year price decline yet, of 15.3%. Buried in the numbers, however, and widely ignored in the media, was the news that home prices actually rose, albeit slightly, between March and April, in eight of the 20 markets covered by the index (Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Portland, Ore., and Seattle). This was in sharp contrast to the readings for March, which showed prices falling in 18 of the 20 surveyed markets. Also, the pace of monthly price declines is starting to slow in most of the markets with negative readings.

"Other than Larry Kudlow of CNBC, none of the journalists who interviewed me after the latest release seemed at all interested in any of the positive developments," says David Blitzer, chairman of the S&P Index Committee. "They seemed focused on the bad year-over-year number."

In general, transaction-based home-price indexes, including S&P/Case-Shiller, may be painting a bleaker picture of price trends than warranted. That's because subprime housing, though less than 10% of the total U.S. housing stock, accounts for a far larger share of current sales volume, owing to spiraling defaults and distress sales. In the San Francisco area, expensive homes ($721,548 and up) have suffered a peak-to-trough drop in price of only 10.7%, compared with low-priced homes ($473,711 and under), down 40.9%, and mid-range homes, down 28.3%, according to the latest Case-Shiller numbers. The surge in low- and mid-range sales has been sufficient to push average peak-to-trough prices down by 24.6%, despite the index's valuation-weighting.

Help for the housing market also may be on the way in the form of proposed congressional legislation that would allow the recasting of some $300 billion in troubled subprime mortgages through the Federal Housing Administration. The bill, which some have derided as a bailout, would demand sacrifices by both lenders and borrowers, and could help to ease conditions in the subprime market.

Of greater importance, a government takeover of loss-ridden Fannie and Freddie -- the subject of widespread speculation late last week -- would ease concerns about the continued availability of credit in the housing market. Fannie and Freddie, which buy mortgages from banks and repackage them into mortgage-backed securities, are the biggest source of financing for the U.S. mortgage market.

SURPRISINGLY, CHIP CASE, whose knowledge of the housing market goes back decades and is based on the voluminous collection of data, is among those who think home prices may be nearing a bottom. Case notes, among other things, that new housing starts fell to 975,000 in April from a peak rate of 2.27 million in January 2006, and that three declines of similar magnitude -- from more than two million to less than one million -- have occurred in the past 35 years. "Every time this has happened before, housing-market activity has rebounded within a quarter and caught experts by surprise," he says. "In many areas, particularly outside the overbuilt markets of Arizona, Florida and Nevada and the huge bubble market of California, home prices may well stabilize" and begin to recover before the end of this year.

Case acknowledges history might not repeat, as the U.S. could be on the cusp of a painful recession. Unlike the three prior dips of a million-plus starts -- in the first quarter of 1975, the second quarter of 1982 and first quarter of 1991 -- the latest slide was triggered by insensate speculation and suicidal lending practices rather than the traditional factors of rising unemployment and interest rates and slowing economic growth. Thus, he says, a protracted dip in the economy would temper his optimism, though the official measures of economic growth don't indicate a recession yet.

Jim Paulsen, chief investment strategist of Wells Fargo's primary investment unit, expects home prices to steady by year end, with the pace of foreclosures slackening shortly. Most of the subprime debt at the center of the current crisis already has been written down by financial institutions, he notes, while many subprime borrowers who lost their homes are returning to rental units. "Folks who compare this home-price cycle to the one that occurred in the early '80s obviously have short memories," Paulsen says. "In the 1980s the economy was in a deep recession, mortgage rates were at 17% or more, and unemployment [was] hitting a post-Great Depression high of nearly 12%."

THE STEEP DECLINE IN HOME prices -- Case prefers to study the ratio of sale prices to per-capita income in various locales -- already has improved affordability. The change in such ratios varies by market, with Florida, Arizona and Nevada typically tracing short boom-and-bust cycles because any surge in speculative demand quickly is followed by overbuilding, due in part to the abundance of cheap land. The ratio in Phoenix, for example, has been reverting to a more typical six times home prices to income, after soaring to nine times in 2005 and '06.

Most volatile are popular metro areas, such as Los Angeles and Boston, where housing demand is high, along with restrictions on development. Los Angeles' affordability ratio doubled from 2001 to 16 times at the height of the housing boom, before dropping back to around 11. The Boston market never grew so frenzied, perhaps because it was far from the center of the subprime-lending business in Southern California, where an array of bad business practices flourished. Boston's housing-affordability ratio peaked at 12, and since has returned to a more normal nine times prices to income.

Building a New Foundation: The U.S. housing market typically begins to improve after housing starts have fallen by a million units or more, says economist Karl "Chip" Case, co-creator of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. Case measures the affordability of homes in various markets via the ratio of home prices to per-capita income. Such ratios rose to excessive heights in recent years in many metro markets, but lately have reverted to more normal levels in cities like Boston and Phoenix.

For much of the country, particularly in the industrial Midwest, affordability never became a problem. In Detroit, for instance, a race to the bottom between home prices and per capita income left the ratio at under four times. Chicago's ratio likewise has been well-behaved, bobbing between five to seven times.

Now sales activity seems to be picking up. According to the latest report from the National Association of Realtors, sales of single-family homes, condominiums, town houses and co-ops edged up 2% in May from April's levels. That might not sound like much of a jump, but May marks only the second month in the past 10 to have seen an increase.

Much of the gain came from markets such as Sacramento, Las Vegas and California's San Fernando Valley and Monterey County, all regions where lenders were unloading large numbers of foreclosed properties. In Detroit, too, sales are soaring, albeit at median prices of under $30,000.

Cape Coral, Fla., a Gulf Coast city of some 170,000, has been depicted in the New York Times and Good Morning America as Foreclosure Central. Yet, in the past two months year-over-year sales have jumped more than 40% as a result of avid bargain-hunting. So-called 3-2-2-1s (three bedrooms, two baths, two-car garages and one swimming pool) that sold for more than $300,000 at the height of the boom now are being snatched up in bulk by investors for as much as 60% less, says local Realtor Tommy Lee. "I'm telling people to come on down and take a look, but only if you have pre-approved credit, because with gas prices where they are, I don't want to be running a taxi service," he says.

NAR economist Lawrence Yun is optimistic home prices will stabilize in the next five months and begin to recover next year, despite today's gloom and overly stringent lending standards. NAR officials typically are cheerleaders, but Yun advances some reasonable arguments to buttress his view. Home sales, he notes, currently are running at a pace of about five million a year, around the same level as a decade ago. Yet, the population has grown by 25 million in the past 10 years, and the U.S. has created 10 million new jobs. Though the rate of new-household formation requires the net addition of 1.6 million housing units a year, housing starts likely will remain below one million into next year, creating pent-up demand in the years ahead.

TODAY'S HOUSING BUST IS unique in U.S. economic history. It began in good, not bad, economic times, and has proven to be national rather than regional in scale, with markets around the country detonating like Chinese firecrackers between early 2006 and mid-2007.
With the benefit of hindsight, one can discern a concatenation of developments that made the latest cycle almost inevitable. In the aftermath of the 2000 stock-market bust and the 2001 terrorist attacks, and amid heightened fears of deflation, the Federal Reserve drove short-term interest rates to near-historic lows and flooded the nation's financial system with money. Cheap funding spurred a surge in home-buying, and drove the home-ownership rate to a peak of 69% of all U.S. households by 2004, up from 64% a decade earlier.

Prices in many areas began to go parabolic in '04, at the time the Fed began to raise rates. Affordability became a problem in some markets, and cash-out refinancings began to slow. On Wall Street, however, where the securitization of mortgages had become a huge profit center, the demand for new mortgage product was unrelenting. Mortgage brokers and other loan originators were also getting rich off the business, and thus were eager to oblige. By 2005 the mortgage industry had began churning out new "affordability" products that featured low "teaser" rates in the early years of a mortgage to keep monthly payments low. Long-sacrosanct down-payment and family debt-to-income requirements were jettisoned. Other products enabled borrowers to repay interest only in the early years of a loan, while so-called option ARMs added the unpaid portion of monthly interest to the principal balance.

Come 2006, many lenders were scraping the bottom of the barrel to find new borrowers, some of whom, by fibbing about their annual income and net worth, often with the connivance of mortgage brokers, secured "liar loans." As greed gave way to fraud, both borrowers and lenders came to believe that ever-rising home prices would cure any defects in the underwriting process.
All this helps explain the seemingly aberrant behavior of many homeowners once prices started down in 2006. Borrowers with 100% loan-to-value mortgages, particularly after including first and second mortgages and home-equity lines of credit, began defaulting, sometimes mailing their keys, or "jingle mail," to their loan servicers. Why keep paying, after all, once the value of a property has slumped below that of the debt against it? Better to live rent-free until the foreclosure notice arrives. Such behavior also was rampant in Texas in the mid-1980s, when the oil boom went bust.

Delinquencies, defaults and foreclosures hit the housing market with a rapidity and virulence unmatched in previous cycles, pushing total loans past-due and foreclosure rates to unprecedented highs. As a consequence, the current residential real-estate cycle has been front-end-loaded relative to past bear markets, which suggests the pain, though excruciating for many, may be shorter-lived than in the past. Early mortgage defaults have blunted the negative impact of subprime-mortgage-rate resets, which peaked in the spring, and are likely to curb the effect of interest-rate resets on option ARMs and other affordability products, expected to peak between 2009 and 2011. Many of these mortgages already are in the foreclosure pipeline, which will lessen the overhang of foreclosed properties in the future.

THERE ARE SIGNS THAT THE PRESSURE on home prices from foreclosures may wane in the months ahead, says Tom Brown of Bankstocks.com, who studied the performance of the dozens of subprime-mortgage securities that make up the ABX indexes. Precipitous declines in these now-infamous indexes, which track the value of the underlying securities, forced financial institutions around the globe to mark their own subprime assets to market, forcing many to write down billions of dollars, and seek new capital.

The performance of the ABX indexes covering the four crummiest subprime vintages -- those securitized from the second half of 2005 to the first half of 2007 -- shows that the rate of early-stage, or 31- to 60-day, delinquencies has been falling for the past six to eight months, says Brown, depending on the newness of the vintage. This is key, he adds, as today's early delinquencies are the raw material for tomorrow's foreclosures. Fewer delinquencies will eventually mean less of an inventory overhang in the housing market.

Likewise, Brown notes a decline in the percentage of early delinquencies that advance to later states. Both developments tell him the cumulative-loss assumptions on these mortgages made by both the credit-rating agencies and Wall Street could prove far too pessimistic.

One can draw a similar conclusion from the delinquency-inflow trends of other types of mortgages, be they loans backed by home-equity lines of credit or second-lien mortgages from the bubble years. Many have performed horribly, but the rate of inflow of new delinquencies suddenly has dropped in recent months.

An ebbing tide of new delinquencies strongly hints that the worst may soon be over for the housing market, at least in terms of burdensome supply. The pig, in other words, is well along the python's alimentary canal.

In hindsight, the housing bust hasn't been nearly as calamitous as depicted in the media, or as Wall Street's woes might suggest. Yes, people have lost their homes, but more than a few were mendacious mortgage applicants and mere speculators, who eagerly sought out 100% margin loans, only to fold just as quickly when prices turned against them.

It is important to remember, as well, that even after a steep drop in the S&P/Case-Shiller Indices, long-term buyers in the top 20 U.S. metro markets have seen their properties appreciate by 70% since 2000. Home prices often take five to 10 years to recover fully from severe declines such as this. But at least the available data suggest the scary dive in home prices soon will be over.

For all your real estate needs, please contact your Birkdale At Lake Norman agent.

See Also:

See all the Birkdale At Lake Norman Home Listings

What would my Home Sell For?

Should you make improvments to sell your Birkdale at Lake Norman Home?

Common Myths about Working with Lake Norman Real Estate Agents

A Letter To the Birkdale At Lake Norman Residents

Dear Birkdale At Lake Norman Resident:

I wanted to introduce myself to you and point you towards a couple of my blogs. The first is www.birkdaleatlakenorman.com/ (this one) and the second is www.lakenormanrealliving.com/. I feel two things are very important when trying to sell your home.

The first is that we need to promote information about the community. With so much information on the internet, buyers are more and more trying to gather as much information as possible before making a decision.

The second point is that I feel it is important to give sellers a voice in the sales process. I like to use my blogs (there are more) to allow the seller to give reasons that buyers should look at their home. It is almost like being able to speak to that buyer.

I am a real estate specialist in the Birkdale area. You will notice on my blogs that I have a link to a Birkdale video that I had made. This video has gotten tremendous viewership on Youtube.com. I try very hard to make sure that buyers get to exposure to your home in places that they are actually looking!

Real Living is one of the fastest growing real estate companies in the U.S. with offices in over 25 states. Twice winning Most Innovative Real Estate Company by Inman news, our relocation dept. and websites can help buyers from all over the U.S. If I can ever be of service to you or someone you know, please don’t hesitate to call so we can meet. We both have to agree that we can work together. Lastly, unlike some other companies, I want to tell you that commissions are negotiable!


Sincerely,



Don't forget the complete list of Huntersville Homes on the right panel of this website!

Roby Robertson Broker/Owner Real Living In Style
704 451 7051

For all your real estate needs, please contact your Birkdale At Lake Norman agent.

See Also:

See all the Birkdale At Lake Norman Home Listings

What would my Home Sell For?

Should you make improvments to sell your Birkdale at Lake Norman Home?

Common Myths about Working with Lake Norman Real Estate Agents

Should You Make Improvements Before Selling Your Birkdale Home

Even in the Birkdale at Lake Norman Area, the Answer is Yes

Two or three years ago, the Birkdale Area was so hot and homes were selling so quickly that the need to make improvements to a home prior to selling it was low. There was little pressure to make minor improvements simply to get the home sold.

However, The current market conditions have changed things significantly.\

In 2007 for the 1st six months the average days on the market was 43 days. The average days on the market for the firs six months of 2008 stands at 91!

Today's market is highly competitive. Months of Inventory and every price range has an ample selection of homes. As I tak buyers out to look at homes, the amount of inventory is causing them to be a bit more selective. No longer is there as much pressure to write a contract on a home today for fear that it is gone tomorrow. Buyers are much more willing to wait. This means that sellers must work harder to set their home apart from the rest of the market and entice the buyer to act.

Some people balk at spending a lot of money fixing-up their home just to sell it. I understand. However logic says that if you could spend $500 today in order to sell your home one month faster, would you do it? One less mortgage payment may answer that for you.

So what can you do to make your home more competitive? Most of the things are simply, and cost little more than some elbow grease:

–Do you have any doors that stick? Grab a screw driver and some WD-40 and fix them!

A sliding-glass door that doesn’t open properly can be annoying to a potential buyer. And while it may be easy to fix, they will look at it as a problem, regardless of how easy it is to remedy. The days of a buyer saying 'no big deal' are over for now.

–Any switch plates or outlet covers that are cracked? Head down to the local hardware store, spend the 75 cents a piece to buy new ones, grab the aforementioned screw driver, and get to work. Again, cracked or old switch plates and outlet covers are simple to fix. Switch hats to the buyers hat. Would you question other maintenance items if these are left this way?

Scuff marks on your walls? Re-paint. I know that no-one likes to paint. The fact of the matter is, however, that interior paint can really show the age of a house. Sometimes, in fact, it can even give buyers a mistaken impression about the age of a house. A simple coat of paint can transform a house. Oh, and when you do repaint– go neutral. I’m not saying your walls need to be stark white, but stay away from those eccentric colors you have always wanted to try. Chances are that you and the buyer will have different tastes, no need to turn them off right away. Again, I can remember the days when buyers might say, 'it's only paint, it can be changed'. No in this market! And please... if you do it yourself, don't be messy on ceilings and crown molding!

–Been thinking about replacing those dying shrubs in the front yard? Now is the time. The exterior of your house is the first thing that buyers will see. You want it to make the best possible impression. Sometimes that will mean getting some new mulch, keeping the lawn trimmed more often than usual, and finally replacing those dying shrubs. No matter what changes you make to the inside of your home, they will all be for naught if no one wants to go inside.

Those are 4 very simple things that anyone can do to make their home more competitive on the market. There are plenty of others. As I said, every home is different, and when you choose a Birkdale REALTOR to help with the sale, he or she will be happy to offer other suggestions that will give your home the best possible chance to sell.

Don’t forget that you aren’t the only one who can help put your home’s best face forward. Your Birkdale REALTOR should be doing things as well. The first of which is taking good pictures. Wouldn’t it be a shame if you made all the necessary improvements to your house, only to have buyers ignore it because the pictures didn’t show it off? Pictures will be the first introduction buyers have to your home, and they should be every bit as stellar as the home itself. Also make sure your Birkdale REALTOR is blogging about your home. He/she can take your words and say the things you would say if you could when the home sells. Also make sure he/she is talking on the blog about neighborhood and community information. This is essential with today's savvy buyers.

Remember, today’s market is highly competitive. I always try to put myself and my sellers in the shoes of the buyers. Buyers are being far more selective than they have been in the past. Your home will be competing with dozens of other similar homes. In order to give your home the best possible chance to sell, you must be willing to do whatever you can to make your home stand out from the crowd.

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Birkdale at Lake Norman Sellers, You May Not be Alone

Hey Lake Norman Sellers, Where do you fit in

I was checking some statistics today after going on a listing appointment this morning. Here are some interesting numbers.

From June 1, 2007 to June 5th 2008:

• 101 Homes were sold in Birkdale


• 41 Homes became expired Listings in Birkdale
  

From June 1, 2006 to June 5th 2007:

• 123 Homes were sold in Birkdale


• 9 Homes became expired Listings in Birkale

As you can see from the statistics, sold homes are down and expired listings are up. I realize this is very frustrating to all participants.

What made me think about this was my appointment this morning. The home I am getting ready to market is a referral. This older couple was recommended to me by their daughter after I sold her home. Interestingly it made me think about all these expired listings. Did the seller pick an agent from a book, a website or a friends recommendations. I guess, while I am glad to get repeat business, I wonder if people are taking to time to visit with multiple agents. I know I have had to go up against others. Sometimes I was asked to represent the seller and sometimes I wasn't. Each situation is different.

I do know that when I go on an appointment, I concentrate on being a good listener. My time to speak will come after I understand the sellers and let them tell me about the home etc. Agents that walk in and first thing out of the box try to justify price and/or commissions just don't get it. (in my humble opinion).

The next question I asked myself was I wondered if the expired listing was a result of bad pricing, bad luck or a home that just does not appeal to very many. My guess is that quite a few times it is pricing. There is a listing in the neighborhood I am soon to market a home, that has a listing, in my opinion, that is way overpriced. Ironically it has a conditional contract on it but the listing agent is appealing for agents to continue to show the property. My guess is that it is not a solid offer. To tell you truth, due to the recent solds, I fear the appraisal won't meet the price. After all this has become more of an issue recently. I have tried very hard to come up with comps to justify that price but I can't do it. If the home sells and appraises, then I stand corrected. However my comps come up quite a bit less. My clients and I have analyized the numbers and are going to sit an wait just a little while to see what happens. They are not in a hurry and I want to do the right thing.

Anyway, my point is that my guess is that sellers are dictating price based on net proceeds instead of actual statistics. My philosphy is that my sellers join with me to form a team and we must be on the same page. I also blog about my sellers homes this and other blogsites I maintain. I ask my sellers to tell the world about the home and area. I believe it helps bring a human element to things especially for those from out of town.

If your in the expired boat of just don't know a lot of people in the area, let me show what I do so you have something to compare to.

Also, be sure to check out the right side of my blog. I give you ways to see all the listings, all the time in Birkdale.

As always if you ever need real estate assistance please contact your Birkdale at Lake Norman Area Agent at 704 451 7051.

What would my Home Sell For?