So You Are About to Get an Offer on Your House – Some Important Reminders/Tips

Congratulations! We have or will soon be receiving an offer on your house. We wanted to take a few moments of your time to go over some very important items that could affect the offer and keeping the potential buyer engaged in the process:

1. Time is of the Essence! At no other time in the entire selling process are accurate and fast responses required as they will be now. This is a buyer's market and as such, the buyer may very well have two or three offers out on other properties in addition to yours. If we take our time in responding, we take a very real risk of losing the potential buyer.
   
2. The buyer is probably going to ask for Closing Costs or reduce their offer by the amount of Closing Costs. What you did when you purchased your home is not relevant in 2009. The unfortunate reality is, most buyers today are asking the seller to cover their closing costs. Please expect up to 6% in closing costs to be reflected in the offer.
   
3. Responses must be in writing! While it is legal to negotiate verbally, a verbal response is NOT binding. Let's take the time to make the changes, initial and sign if you have the ability. We understand travel sometimes makes that difficult, if not impossible and for those times we'll gladly negotiate verbally. Just realize – nothing is binding until it is in writing.
   
4. Just because it is a Buyer's Market does not mean we need to give your house away. We'll be sure to include an update Market Analysis with the offer. We want you to make the most money possible.
   
5. Focus on the Bottom Line! Please do not pay too much attention to the offer amount or the amount of closing costs. Focus on the Bottom Line – the amount you will be netting in this sale. After all, isn't that what is most important! If during the time you owned this property you refinanced your property and took cash out – you will need to keep that in mind when looking at your bottom line. You may have already received your profits.
   
6. Lastly, be glad we have received or are about to receive an offer. It is a starting point that many sellers don't even see in today's market.
   

We are on your side but wanted you to remind you of some very real truths. Please do not hesitate to ask questions, etc. as we go through this process. By working together, we can make this a very smooth transaction.

A Few Home Buying Offer Tips

Congratulations! We are preparing to write an offer on a piece of property that you have found and want. We feel it is important to go over some "Offer Basics" to make the entire buying process go smoother.

1. Yes, we are in a Buyer's Market! That does not mean the seller needs to reduce the price of your home. The truth is a good agent will already have the home priced appropriately. We will share a Market Analysis with you of the neighborhood and help you determine a fair asking price.
   
2. If the House is priced correctly – Closing costs will need to be added to the asking price. Let us give you an example, let's say we are purchasing a $150,000 home and you need 3% assistance from the seller in closing costs. The market analysis shows the home should be priced around $160,000 – but the seller has reduced it to $150,000. They $4,500 in closing costs that you need will have to be added to an offer making your offer $154,500.
   
3. Sellers do NOT have to do repairs. Your home inspection is not to obtain a repair list for the seller. It is used to ensure you know what you are buying. If you have offered the seller full price for your new home, then it is possible they might be willing to do a few repairs. If you got the seller to reduce their home by thousands of dollars – you pretty well need to assume you just bought the home "as is"!
   
4. Offers and Counters - Time is Off the Essence. We might be in a buyer's market, but the good homes get multiple offers and sell quickly. You do not have days to make a decision. You literally have a few minutes or hours to decide what you are going to do. We can't tell you the number of times we have seen a buyer delay making a decision only to learn someone else bought the home.
   
5. There is no such thing as First In - First Out! While that concept applies with inventory in a warehouse – it does NOT apply to offers in the housing market. Until the contract is fully executed (meaning all parties have signed and initialed all changed and the last broker to handle has dated the contract) ANYONE can buy the home. You can have a verbal agreement to buy the home at $110,000 and find out the seller executed a contract at $111,000. Remember, Time really is of the Essence!
   

We are here to guide and help you. There are no dumb questions and by following our advice you will get the home you want to buy.

New Listing - 1019 Sherman, Cedar Hill, TX - $299,900

Country living in the city! Located close to freeway, Elementary School and shopping*Custom home with huge formal living area with fireplace* Formal dining room*Kitchen has built in hutch, lots of cabinets, breakfast bar built in microwave*Game room with fireplace*Study/hobby room, plus a bonus room that could be used as another bedroom/hobby/study* Barn with 2 stalls, tack room and hay storage, plus separate building for saddle storage*Pipe rail fencing*3 car garage, plus a garage for boat storage* Security*Sprinkler*Circle drive* Backyard with a screened gazebo* Lots of storage and more!

Click on link for additional information, pictures and virtual tours.

http://http://www.billandann.com/our-homes-for-sale.asp?listing_id=1106066496

Don't Let This Pass You By!

Just a quick note to say there has never been a better time to buy a house than right now! You are probably saying, "you guys have lost your mind", but the fact of the matter is, this is the best time to purchase a home in history. Here are some reasons why:

1. Interest Rates are at Historic Lows. On Monday of this week buyers were able to lock in their mortgages at 4.5% on a 30 year fixed rate loan.

2. Houses for Sale are Priced Right. Yes, occasionally a seller will have their home priced higher than market - and truthfully - IT WILL NOT SELL. However, there are plenty of well priced homes on the market today.

3. Tax Credits and more Tax Credits. For the next 60 days buyers have access to two types of tax credits - one provides up to a $7,500 Tax Credit and another is an annual Tax Credit of up to $2,000 for the life of the loan. Of course there are stipulations on each of these, but over 75% of the buyers will qualify for one or the other.

We felt this was important enough to send to everyone in our database and to post on our blog. In fact, if you have done business with us before you know we strive to do the very best by our clients. We know many of you are not in the market, however you may know friends and relatives who are in the market or who are renting. One of the greatest gifts that you can provide them is starting them on the road to home ownership. You can help them start that process by encouraging them to sit down with Ann or Bill to discuss their housing situation. This conversation could earn them thousands of dollars on this years tax return (yes the one they will get in the next month or two) and save them literally a hundred thousand dollars or more over the life of their loan.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and to pass it on, if approproate. We are never too busy to help you, your family and friends with your real estate needs. Please don't hesitate to call or email us if we can be of service.