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…)

What is the difference between condo living and one of the new planned communities with a homeowners association? Until I became a Realtor, I always thought that a condo was an apartment-style home. Well I learned differently. Condo refers to the method of ownership, not the style of home. Not all condos share common walls.

For example, I currently have three distinctly different types of properties listed myself that are condominiums.

One of them is an elegant fully furnished second floor 2 bedroom, 2 bath flat with a one-car garage in the community of Paynter’s Mill, listed for $200,000. This community also offers single family homes and townhomes that are not part of the condo ownership, but a group of single family homes that are part of their own condo association. All belong to the same community or homeowners association and membership in the community center with a Fitness Center, entertaining space and a wonderful outdoor pool is shared by all.

Another new listing of ours is a two story single family home with a full basement in the gated community of Nassau Grove. With 3 bedrooms and 3 full baths, this home is listed for $350,000. This entire community of single family homes are all part of a condominium association. In this case, the clubhouse, pool and other amenities are covered by the one condo fee. (more…)

Kathy has asked me once again to contribute an article for her newsletter. Some of you may remember previous articles about financing homes for retirement and a myriad of options to choose from. My name is Gail Alm, Fairway Independent Mortgage, and I could write about forecasting the housing market turnaround or what rates will do for the near term. But instead, I decided to tell you why I love working with Kathy.

Most of you are receiving her newsletter because someone either already told you why you should be working with Kathy or you found her online via one of the many pillars of her marketing strategy. If you came to her as the result of a referral, you will soon see how hard she works for you. It will validate what the person who referred her has said to you to make you want to call her. She will make sure that she can clearly HEAR what you are looking for and then efficiently take you to see those properties that meet your specific needs. Because she knows the area extensively, she knows the developments and she has relationships with the builders, she can get you to properties you really want to see. Your time is valuable and so is hers. She recognizes that and concentrates to make sure your time is not wasted. But showing property is only the beginning. She will advocate for you in the negotiation process with the listing agent or builder to secure the very best terms for your contract. And she is good at it! And she will follow through on the details to make sure you get the home of your dreams. (more…)

I was working with a wonderful couple that was looking for a retirement home here in Coastal Delaware. They had just retired, their family home was for sale, and Kathy was working with them to find a new home. Well, they found the perfect home and applied for a mortgage. Everything had been planned out very carefully and they had no doubt their small loan would be approved. They had perfect credit, their credit scores were excellent but their loan was denied! What went wrong? Before they retired, they had co-signed for car loans for each of their three children. That made it impossible for them to obtain mortgage financing. The banks treated the guarantee of their childrens’ auto loans as if they were actual debt.

Don’t co-sign a loan if you will soon need to go out and borrow money for yourself. If your co-borrower misses payments or defaults, the loan will negatively impact your credit rating by showing up on your credit record as an unpaid debt just as you’re trying to negotiate your own loan. This according to Lending Tree.

But today, even though their children were not delinquent on payments, the banks still considered their retirement income insufficient to cover those debts and their new mortgage. So, plan ahead and consider the impact of any financial decisions on your own future.

Is a new home on your holiday list this year? Conventional wisdom will tell you -

The holidays are a bad time of year to go house hunting!

Wrong!

Why is now the best time to hunt for a new home?

1. Interest Rates are low but they are beginning to creep up again.
2. Home prices are low and there are deals on both new and inventory homes.
3. Experts say: “If you don’t own a home, buy one.” It is the best investment bar none today.
4. Builders still have a few inventory homes and the savings are tremendous.
5. We have a file of deals in several active adult communities that are $50,000 or more below comparable homes in the same community.
6. New sections are being released and prime locations are available.
7. Many builders are selling their models and leasing them back at rents that would cover your mortgage.
8. This is your chance to buy at the bottom – if there is anything left!
9. Some builders will even agree to extended deliveries, ask us about those deals.
10. They’re not making any more dirt (or sand) at the beach in Delaware.

Seriously, I have the charts and graphs to prove it – If you’re going to buy a home in the next year, now is the time to do it.

Ask me to send you the chart which shows that even if prices were to go down by 2.5% and rates were to increase by only a ¼ point, you would lose!  If you’re planning to pay cash and money is no object, no worries. We will always have homes for sale in Coastal Delaware.  Just Sayin!

In Delaware, the Buyer chooses the settlement attorney and the attorney represents the Buyer, not the Seller. If the Seller wishes to retain their own counsel, they may do so, but you should not give up your right to representation by your own attorney
In new construction, it has become common practice for some builders to form a relationship with one specific law firm. They try to get anyone buying one of their homes to use that law firm for their settlements. Occasionally, there appears to be a somewhat lower rate for some services, but at what cost?
What is it worth to be represented by someone with loyalty to only one party – you, the Buyer? If you plan to live in this new home for 20 or 30 years, what is the impact of a few hundred dollars on your future?
The same is true of mortgage companies, but that can be a more costly proposition until the government finally changes the laws. The large national builders have their own mortgage company divisions and many require you to use their in-house lender in order to take advantage of any special pricing or incentives. For example, if the builder is offering “50% off upgrades”, you can only receive that discount if you either pay cash or use the builder’s own lender to finance your purchase. Guess that tells you how much profit there is in mortgage lending, even at today’s low rates. With typical 30 year financing on new homes, even a small profit on a community full of financed homes adds up over time. (more…)

Meet Real Estate’s ‘Interventionist’

HARD TRUTH: Mike Aubrey discusses pricing and market conditions with sellers during an episode of HGTV’s “Real Estate Intervention.” The show airs Tuesdays beginning June 29 at 9:30 p.m. ET.

By Deborah Ball Kearns, RE/MAX Times Online Associate Editor

Interventionist

Many of today’s sellers need a reality check on pricing. Mike Aubrey provides one each week on HGTV’s “Real Estate Intervention.”

The popular TV show follows sellers who are either thinking of listing their property or have had their homes on the market without a successful sale. Aubrey, a Hall of Fame and Chairman’s Club member with RE/MAX Metropolitan Realty in North Potomac, Md., takes sellers through two comparables – a home that recently sold and one that’s still on the market – to show them how their property stacks up to the competition. Then he sits them down for “the talk,” which entails a rundown of the numbers and his suggestion for pricing.

Most of the time, the truth hurts.

“Sellers can get extremely upset or offended when I tell them my opinion on what their house is worth given the market conditions,” says Aubrey, who remains remarkably patient with difficult sellers in several of the episodes. “Part of this business is telling people things they don’t want to hear, but you can’t get emotional about it. You have to control the situation and trust your work and the numbers. Having their best interest at heart means being honest.” (more…)

Buying or selling a home? How do you choose the right real estate agent? What qualities are important to you and how are you going to make that important decision?
Let’s talk today about choosing a Listing Agent to help sell your home. You don’t have to be a total news junkie to know that we have been through the worst housing market for sellers in a very long time. It started back in 2007 and prices declined through 2008 and 2009. Foreclosures in all price ranges and all neighborhoods have also had a negative impact on pricing and appraisals.
How do you choose? What questions might you ask?

• How long have you been in real estate?
• Is real estate your full time job?
• Will you work weekends?
• Do you answer your cell phone in the evening and on weekends?
• What is your Internet Marketing strategy? Do you have your own web site and blog site?
• How are you using Social Media to market your listings?
• Do you have a Facebook Business Page, a Twitter account?
• How do you use digital photography and video to promote your listings online?

In a challenging real estate market, will you choose a listing agent who tells you the truth or tells you what you want to hear? As I was writing this, I turned on HGTV and one of my favorite shows was on – Real Estate Intervention. Mike Aubrey consults with sellers whose homes have been on the market for a while without success. He takes them to see similar homes in an effort to find the right price. On this show, the seller is a woman who has lived in her DC home for many years but she has lost her job and has to sell. She feels her home is priced right even when Mike shows her others in the neighborhood that prove it is overpriced. His concern is that if she hangs on too long, she may not sell at all and could end up in default. Later in the show we learn that she did get a contract for the exact price that Mike told her it would sell for. Was she happy? She was certainly relieved and commented that she had “learned a lot from Mike”.  Even though she had a hard time accepting his expert opinion, she agreed that he was being straight with her. She decided to accept the lower price and move on with her life.
Mike Aubrey is the kind of agent sellers need to choose. He doesn’t tell them what they want to hear, but he does tell them the truth. He also does it in a way that is thoroughly researched.
The agent you choose needs to be current with today’s Internet technology.  According to research conducted by the National Association of Realtors:

• 87% of buyers used the Internet in 2008 to search for a home; a dramatic increase from only 2 percent in 1995. That means the largest number of buyers for your home in Coastal Delaware probably do not live here!
• 32% of recent buyers reported that they first found the home they purchased on the Internet.
• 89% of all Realtors® belong to firms that have a Web site, and 60 percent of Realtor® sales agents have a Web site for business use.
• 82% of all Realtors® now use a cell phone daily or nearly every day; 92 % use e-mail and 89 % use laptop or desktop computers to communicate with clients.
• 39% of Realtors® use Smartphones with wireless e-mail and Internet capabilities. A small but growing segment of Realtors® use newer forms of communication, such as blogs and podcasts (3 % or less).

How will you choose an agent to get your house sold? If you live in Sussex County, Delaware, and your home appeals to active adults, contact us today.

Every home purchase today usually involves a “Home Inspection”. Before going to settlement, it’s a good idea to make sure that the home is in good operating condition and that it will stay that way for a reasonable period of time.

As more and more Boomers enter their 60s, another type of home inspection is highly recommended. This inspection will evaluate every aspect of the home, inside and outside, to determine how well the home will accommodate your needs as long as you live there. By now, most people understand the value of a first floor master bedroom and bath and some even consider the option of total first floor living. Beyond that, most of us have no idea what belongs on our checklist.

AARP and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) came to this realization several years ago. The Remodelers™ Council  in collaboration with the NAHB Research Center,  and AARP developed the Certified Aging-In-Place Specialist (CAPS) program to address the growing number of consumers that have a strong desire to remain independent and to live in their own homes regardless of age.

What does this have to do with the purchase of a new home? Making sure a home will be able to accommodate you in the future is up to you. A CAPS professional is trained to help you evaluate a home and make specific recommendations for improving the home’s livability. For about the same cost as that of a traditional home inspection, the CAPS evaluation will focus on areas of the home that may require modification to remain livable as you age.

New construction is popular with the relocating Boomer who doesn’t want to bother with updating an older home. Many new homes being built today, however, would not rate high on the “livability” scale. Some popular floor plans do have more open space in the main living areas, but they often fail when it comes to bathroom design, width of doorways and number of steps.

When you consider that even a new home will require some modification to age along with you, it makes sense to look at existing homes that may need some work but that are in desirable areas. For example, you might be able to buy a home that needs updating close to town. In addition to location, this option will allow you to remodel a home to your exact taste. An older home may be better built and there is little difference between ripping out and replacing an old bathroom or a new one that just doesn’t meet your needs.

Imagine that you have just purchased a new home – your dream house with expensive upgrades. Then imagine that you or your spouse has an accident that puts you in a wheelchair for the next 6 months. When you arrive home from the hospital, it hits you – you cannot get into the house. Even worse, you realize you cannot access the bathroom!

If you bought a home 40 years ago there was no such thing as a home inspection. Today, no one would think of purchasing a home without one. CAPS professionals believe that the same will be true of a CAPS Evaluation in the future. In Delaware, Bill Bell of Gotcha Covered! has been CAPS certified since 2003.

Don’t put off till tomorrow what you can plan for today. Add a CAPS Evaluation to your new home purchase checklist. To learn more about what a CAPS Professional can do for you and to locate one in your area, visit this page of the National Association of Home Builders web site.  

What’s better than a new car, new clothes or new shoes? A shiny, brand spanking new house! Not just any new house, but a new house in a brand new community with all kinds of awesome amenities and special features! But beware:  It’s easy to be so dazzled by the decorating that the important questions never get asked.

If you are seriously shopping for a new house in a new community, be prepared to ask the questions that will help you make the right decision, especially if you are interested in a 55+ or Active Adult Community. Write out your questions before you go so you can be sure you get the answers you need, even if you find yourself getting caught up in the beautifully decorated models, the Clubhouse, the Golf Course, the pools and tennis courts, and other community amenities.

For example, in new construction we know that there are generally options and upgrades available. If you ask the salesperson, what options and upgrades do you offer?” you will likely hear about the optional sunroom or bonus room, the optional deck or fireplace. For upgrades, you will generally be offered different kitchen cabinets or counter tops, higher grade appliance packages or a more luxurious master bathroom. Some communities have pages of possible options and upgrades.

But if you are shopping for a home to live in the rest of your life, whether or not that home is in an Active Adult Community or other age restricted community, you may want to add this question: “Do you offer a Universal Design Package?” or “What Universal Design features do you offer in this house/community?”

Forward-thinking builders will not only have an answer but they will provide a comprehensive list of features that can be incorporated into their homes. The best builders will be able to point out Universal Design features that are already standard items and tell you about others that can be substituted or made available as upgrades.

Standard items might include:

• Rocker Light Switches at 42” instead of 48”
• Electrical Outlets that are 18” high instead of 12”
• Lever door handles
• Task lighting
• Reinforced bathroom walls for later installation of grab bars
• Decorator towel bars that work as grab bars

Options or Upgrades that should be available today include:

• 36” wide doorways with off-set hinges
• Showers with a low or zero threshold
• Variety in both bathroom and kitchen counter height to allow for seated use or wheelchair access
• Appliances with front controls for less reaching
• Washers, Dryers and Dishwashers installed on raised platforms for less bending

Why be concerned about buying a Universal Design home today? Even if you don’t plan on living in your new home for the rest of your years, over 37% of Eastern Sussex County is already over the age of 50. How old will the average buyer be when you’re ready to sell? In less than a decade, even the youngest Baby Boomer will be over 55.