Do you ever wonder what all those initials are about? You know that long list of three and four letter abbreviations after Realtor’s names? If you were to look at mine, you would see Kathy Sperl-Bell, Broker, ABR, CRS, SRES. Most consumers do know what a Broker is, but don’t know and probably don’t really care about the others.

As a Broker, I do care because it tells me a lot about the REALTOR® that I may be thinking of hiring or to whom I may be sending a Referral. (more…)

2011 Ended with a flurry of activity and the opening of our own Brokerage – Active Adults Realty. After years of planning, education, finding just the right location, renovating that building, hiring the right team – an experienced Office Manager and a couple of great agents, we are ready to start 2012 with enthusiasm and lots of positive energy. This Tuesday, the Lewes Chamber of Commerce and representatives of the local business community will be here with the “Ribbon”, the big scissors and the local press to officially open our doors for business. I’ll be sure to post the photos to share this experience with all of you.

If you have opened your own business or been a part of a new venture, you know that it is exciting and scary all at the same time. As the Broker-Owner, the buck now stops with me!

So, here are my personal resolutions

• Stay Focused and continue to work with the people we know and understand – Boomers and Beyond or what the real estate world calls “Active Adults”. I firmly believe it is not possible to be all things to all people. (more…)

There are certain truths in every business, things you just know to be true. After 10 years in Real Estate, I have learned that some things never change. These truths are undeniable:

1. Your first offer is usually your best buyer
2. On a resale, no one wants the middle unit
3. No one searches the Internet for a 2 bedroom home
4. Pricing your home at $299,999 misses all the people searching for homes $300,000 – $350,000
5. Empty homes look smaller
6. It takes both sides – buyer and seller – to make a good deal
7. If it seems to be good to be true, it probably is
8. All Real Estate is Local – What happens in Lewes is different than what happens in Las Vegas
9. Staging works – Typically a staged home sells in 50% less time for 5% more
10. Homes listed with a REALTOR sell for more money than a For Sale By Owner!

Can I prove all of these? Maybe not, but I can share 10 years worth of stories that illustrate these Realities.

What a great question Bob –

“How do you price a home a few years old in a community that is still selling brand new homes?”

First, think about SELLING when you BUY!

None of us knows what tomorrow will bring so when you are buying in a new home community, here are a few tips:

Do not scrimp on upgrades.

Buyers will not consider your home if you do not have (more…)

I am not an Appraiser, but I just completed 99 hours of Broker training and we spent days studying the methods an Appraiser will use to verify the market value of your home.  In today’s market Buyers are buying the way Appraisers are appraising and very few are willing to pay more than appraised value for your home.

How do you price your home to sell in this market?

First, you sit down with your Listing Agent and review recent sales of comparable homes. Then, you have to be willing to listen and price your home properly. What is your choice? Either price your home to sell or decide to stay where you are for now.
In a slow market, what do you do when there have been no comparable sales in your neighborhood or surrounding area? That’s the challenge facing many sellers and their listing agents today. Learning more about how Appraisers do their job can be useful. (more…)

Not sure where you want to live yet?  Need time to get familiar with the area and take your time finding the right home? Why not lease a place for the first year and see how you like it?

Pictured here is a great condo on the water in Millsboro, Delaware. A large 2 bedroom, 2 bath home with an oversized 2-car garage, it is available for rent immediately for only $1,100/month. Over 65? The rent is only $1,000/month. It is partially furnished and that can stay or go – it’s up to you.

You can have a boat right outside the back door or just relax on the large deck watch the boats float by. You can also walk into the town of Millsboro. No maintenance to worry about and the condo fee is included in the rent.

Interested? You can learn more by looking at the listing information – CLICK HERE

The Pep Rally and the Benefit Concert took place last night at the Cape Henlopen High School. The auditorium was packed and the crowd was enthusiastically in support of the Extreme Makeover about to take place in Sussex County, Delaware.

Schell Brothers is scheduled to build a home for the selected family beginning Monday, August 22nd, when Ty Pennington knocks on their door to tell them the good news. Donations filled the barrels for the Food Bank of Delaware. Governor Jack Markell joined the celebration and along with the Schell Brothers family led the Pep Rally.

Take the tour of the fabulous clubhouse at Independence, one of Delaware’s most popular active adult communities. This is what you expect in a top-rated community, with an indoor pool and an outdoor pool, a state-of-the-art Fitness Center, entertaining space in the ballroom and cafe area, game rooms to rival the best resort. Why take a risk on a community that promises a clubhouse will be built some time in the future? Watch the tour and then go look at the to-be-built models – SEE MODELS HERE.

“As of September 1, 2011 appraisals will change drastically. We now must complete appraisals in what is defined as UAD or Uniform Appraisal Dataset format. This is a GSE Fannie, Freddie requirement.”  I saw this blog just this morning posted by Bobbie Smith, a Realtor up in the Poconos. An appraiser in her area, Mary Thompson, was giving her a “heads up” about new appraisal rules coming this September that will make all our lives even more challenging. As a result of the difficult housing market of the past few years, appraisals are the most difficult part of every real estate transaction.

“What does this mean for you? The new reports will look foreign to you and your clients with all the codes we have to use in the reports, so you will have to be versed on what the codes mean. Instead of the old days where we described a property as being Good in condition or Good in Quality of Construction, we will now be using codes such as Q=3 and C-2, etc. It will be far less user friendly to read and more automated system friendly. Fannie and Freddie want consistency across the board for all appraisals nationwide and the codes are the way they are trying to get this accomplished. They have clearly defined what Fair, Poor, Average, Good, Very Good and Excellent Quality and Condition should entail. No more leeway in how appraisers determine this on their own. Lenders are also gearing up for uniform delivery of their loan packages and the UAD is part of this whole process.” READ MORE

Gail Alm

Houses are selling.

National Association of Realtors’ (NAR) annualized numbers from the Existing Sales Report says 14,000 homes sell every day in this country.  That means 14,000 yesterday, 14,000 today and 14,000 tomorrow!
Most of the country is still showing sales below last year.  This year’s sales are compared against the expiring home buyer tax credit last year which pulled sales from later in the year into the first quarter. But guess what?  Here in Sussex County Delaware for the 1st Quarter of 2011 we are up 8% in units against last year in the sales of single family homes. And that too is up against numbers where people were buying early in the year to take advantage of the tax credit. (more…)