Responding to the growth at Roesville over the past two years, J.S. Hovnanian & Sons just completed a new and bigger temporary Roesville Club, again at no charge to the homeowners. The builder was thrilled to recently grand open the new temporary club which is double the size of its predecessor. Offering similar amenities, this expanded club gives residents more space to continue their numerous social activities and events.

So if you are thinking about moving up, moving down or just taking advantage of ridiculously low interest rates, here are some tips to help you present a stronger application.

1. Income Documents

Most lenders want to see a full month of paystubs and the last two years complete Federal Tax returns. If you are on a pension or social security, they will also want to see the award letters. Assembling them ahead of time and holding on to every paystub you get is a good idea even before you find a home and/or submit your mortgage application because it will save you time later.

2. Asset Documents

Most lenders will scour your bank accounts for the two months prior to going to contract. They are looking for irregular deposits outside of your normal income. So if you sold a motorcycle, have a paid receipt and motor vehicle documents in place. Get a gift? You will need a gift affidavit, proof of the donor’s ability to transfer funds. You will need all pages of each bank account, even the one’s you usually throw away. If you are purchasing, they will be looking to make sure you have the down payment and closing costs funds liquid or a paper trail once you have accessed them.

3. Credit Score Optimization

Lenders have now put a price on your credit score and it can be as much as 2%-3.5% depending on your score. That means to get the same interest rate as someone with excellent credit it could cost you 2%-3.5% of your loan amount in points. Do your best to curtail the use of credit as it relates to your available credit lines. Target less than 30% of usage of available lines to get the best scores. Do NOT cancel credit cards. Do not open any 0% interest rate cards. Don’t do anything that will require having your credit run without first discussing it with a mortgage professional who knows the impact it could have. If you are unsure of your credit score, go now and get it run so if you have some cleaning up to do, you have time to get it done.

4. Appraisal Concerns

It is unlikely you will make an offer to purchase without checking out comparable home sales. It’s also likely you received that type of data from the real estate agent you are working with. Make sure your agent prepares the same information for the appraiser. Data about similar sales, similar homes currently on the market and maybe even cost estimates for any repairs or improvements anticipated can preempt future problems with appraised values and conditions.

Overall, it is recommended that you hold onto copies of everything financial. Think before allowing your credit to be run and work with an agent and mortgage professional who can use their experience to put your loan application in its best possible light… as soon as you start thinking about buying a home.

Active Adults Realty and Gail Alm are just such a team to make sure you are well positioned to having a smooth mortgage and home buying experience. If you have any questions about any of the tips above, please give me a call  at(302)260-7088 and I can explain further. It’s is a great time to buy a new home, let us help you put your best foot forward.

Gail Alm is a Certified Mortgage Planning Specialist who provides a comprehensive mortgage plan with an array of options that will allow you to determine the strategy that best helps you accomplish your goals.

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. Each designation requires additional education, passing at least one test per class (sometimes more!). There is also a cost of several hundred dollars to a few thousand, depending on the designation. Let’s break it down and find out what these letters mean for you:

Broker

Every Real Estate office in Delaware must have a Broker of Record. The Broker does not have to be the owner, but only a licensed broker can buy or sell, or negotiate the purchase, sale or exchange of real estate on behalf of a client or customer. A Real Estate Agent or Salesperson must work under the management and direction of a Broker. Before an agent can become a licensed broker, they must have completed 5 years in the business and document a minimum number of real estate transactions. Then you get to take 90 hours of classes, several tests, the State Exam and voila – you can become a Broker.

ABR

This is short for an Accredited Buyer Representative. What this means to you is that an Agent made a conscious decision to take the classes and become certified to work with Buyers and help them find the right home in the right location, regardless with whom the property is listed. It used to be that all agents represented the Seller, but now you may be represented by a Buyer Agent whose primary job is to represent you. Only a REALTOR® in good standing can become an ABR.

CRS

This stands for Certified Residential Specialist and is one of the most respected designations a REALTOR® can earn. To apply for CRS an agent must have completed 75 transactions or $25 Milliion in transactions within a 5 year period. Then there is a requirement of an additional 64 credits (hours) of education chosen from specific classes designed to really learn how to be a better REALTOR.

SRES

A Seniors Real Estate Specialist is a REALTOR® that has pursued a course of education and certification to specialize in working with clients age 50 or above (what I call Boomers and Beyond!). We help our clients research future retirement housing options, buy a second home that may become a full time residence in the future or sell the large family home and look for more appropriate housing that will provide years of comfortable living.

First, you can search all properties for sale in Sussex County, Delaware that are listed in the Multiple Listing Service. It doesn’t matter with whom the home is listed; you do not need to go to Realtor.com or Trulia.com or Zillow.com – every listed property can be found right here.

Resale homes as well as many of the model homes to-be-built in new home communities can all be found by searching right here.

Look at the home page and notice right at the top it says Search Coastal Delaware Homes. You can change the city, change the min(imum) price and max(imum) price, the min(imum) bedrooms and baths. I don’t recommend putting anything into the min sq. ft. field because many listings do not include square feet. Then click on the word Search.

To make your search more targeted, go to the top of the page and click on the word Search. That brings up a new page where you can be more specific. Try the Advanced Search with different criteria to zero in on different neighborhoods or towns that you may want to see in person. You can also do a Map Search for an overview of properties for sale in particular areas.

Quick Search Waterfront Properties

Perhaps the easiest way to begin your search is back on our home page. Below the Quick Search, you can do a general search for Oceanfront Properties, Bayfront Properties, Riverfront Properties and other waterfront homes for sale, just by clicking on the photo. On the right hand side of the page you can go to many different communities directly, for example, Communities for 55+ and for other Featured Neighborhoods. We are constantly adding more communities, information on the locations, homes available and floor plans for to-be-built homes.

Finally, if you would like more information on a community or a town or a home that has caught your attention, just Email me and I’ll research it and get back to 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.

• Hire only agents who are Active Adults themselves that have been through many of the same challenges and understand our clients’ concerns.
• Keep it simple. Provide my agents and staff with the tools they need to get their job done and have fun working together. No long meetings and wasted time.

I could keep going but I think if we can accomplish these three things, we will have a great year in 2012. While I was writing this and watching the Today Show, Barbara Corcoran talked about the good news and opportunities in real estate for the New Year.

Barbara Corcoran said:

• 1 in 3 towns have hit bottom and are now on the way back up
• Interest rates will stay low
• 2012 will be know in retrospect for “missed opportunities” by those who waited too long to make a purchase decision

Financing remains the biggest obstacle to housing sales. But, if you have a 720 credit score or better and don’t need to borrow more than 80% of the appraised value of the home you want to purchase, you are golden and your New Year’s Resolution should be to buy that future retirement home in 2012.

Happy New Year from the Agents and Staff at Active Adults Realty!

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.

I’m looking for a bargain

or asking about buying a short sale or foreclosed home, I can tell they probably just saw a segment on CNN about the housing market. Or maybe they heard that commercial on satellite radio about the thousands of foreclosed homes that can be bought for pennies on the dollar.

There are great deals on good homes that happen for various reasons:

• Job Relocation
• Growing family
• Change in family circumstance
• Death of a spouse
• Downsizing to a smaller home
• Move to Assisted Living or to be closer to family

In a competitive housing market any one of the sellers above can be very motivated to sell, resulting in a great deal for the buyers. Like the home pictured to the right, all wrapped up for the Holidays, this lovely home is a custom ranch with 3 bedrooms, 2 baths, a large 2-car garage, built-in home office and a fenced yard with an in-ground pool. This home in Millsboro, Delaware, is For Sale for only $265,000. Want to know more? Just click on the front door and take the Virtual tour.

Beware the Cheap House

Sometimes the lowest price is just a cheap house that is actually over priced. If you pay $10 for a diamond, for example, you probably just bought a diamond worth $10. I like a great deal as much as anyone but I have learned to pay just as much attention to the things I can’t see. Don’t be distracted by décor. Look at the details. Remember, the purchase price is not the total cost of ownership. You almost always get exactly what you pay for.

They’re evacuating New Jersey

So many of our Buyer Clients are coming here from New Jersey I joke that it feels like a “Permanent Class Reunion”. They are all about my age and some of them even come from a town I lived in as a child or where I went to high school. It’s fun.

New Yorkers too!

They are even coming from Manhattan, Brooklyn, Staten Island and Long Island – to Delaware! When I was born in Flushing, I doubt anyone even knew where Delaware was.

So come on down and visit this month. Tax Free Christmas Shopping, Parades, lights, camera, action … Happy Holidays begin today!

The Big Christmas Parade takes place in Lewes this Saturday, December 3rd, at 5 pm. Bill and I will be Santa’s Helpers this year getting all the floats and marchers lined up on time and in order. Guess who will be on the last float?

Holiday Incentives

Independence is one of those with a Holiday Incentive from now through December 23rd. Today I found notes I had made in February 2008 when we saw some of the first ever incentives from Schell Brothers at Independence. They were offering $15,000 in options/upgrades and a hard hat tour of the Clubhouse.

That was then and this is now –Triple Play at Independence – From now through December 23rd only, all non-contingent contracts (no home to sell before you buy) are eligible for
o    Free Gourmet Kitchen
o    Free Sunroom
o    Plus another $15,000 in upgrades/options

Interest Rates below 4% – Check today’s rates

Triple Play last year produced a record of 14 homes sold to close out the year and this year looks to be on track. Some of the most desirable lots along the tree line, even the ones with a $35,000 premium, are going first and fast.

In addition to Triply Play, a few lots are available now for delivery in 12 – 15 months. Even those are going quickly with firm contracts written now to take advantage of current incentives. If you won’t be ready to relocate until late next year, this is a chance to lock in today’s price and incentives with plenty of time to sell your current home. As of last night, only 4 of those home sites remain.

If Independence is not for you, Schell is building in other communities and each one has Holiday Incentives. The prices this year are as good as they’ll ever be based on the number of sales this year. The sound of hammers can be heard and the number of new homes under construction tells the tale. You can see the Independence homes and models and check the base model pricing and floor plans online.

Email Kathy for more details!

“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

• The gourmet kitchen
• The luxury owner’s bath
• Hardwood floors throughout the main living areas
• Gas Fireplace
• Sunroom or Morning Room
• Other upgrades that the majority of buyers are choosing in that community

Think about how people search on the Internet.

Buyers are downsizing but they still want –

• 3 bedrooms and at least 2 baths
• 2 car garage
• Storage space

Two bedrooms might be enough for you, but when you go to sell Buyers will want three.

Think about Energy Efficiency.

Years ago, I suggested that my clients seriously consider upgrading the HVAC systems if upgrades were offered by the builder. Ditto the extra insulation. If you bought a home several years ago and accepted the standard offerings and have to sell today you are suffering from functional obsolescence.

Then, when you’re ready to Sell, be prepared to compete!

Staging WORKS

If you do have to compete with the builder, your home will have to show like a MODEL.

• Choose a Listing Agent who includes Staging with their Listing Services
• Do what they tell you and do it before you list
• You only have one chance to make a first impression!

Know the competition. Is the Builder

• Offering incentives
• Paying some closing costs?
• Contributing to HOA fees?
• Covering Impact fees?

Work with your listing agent and pay a commission rate that is higher than the Builder is paying.  Any other incentives should be focused on the Buyer however, not the Buyer’s Agent in this economy.

Price it Right

Bob asked “How much under new home prices do you need to go to compete?” That depends on how well you did the above and how homes in your community are now selling. You will need to price your home at or below the most recent comparable to attract a buyer and to make sure your home will appraise at the sales price. The appraiser will make an adjustment based on the age of your home as well as its size and amenities, so price it to sell AND get to the settlement table. Check out this article “Will Your Home Appraise?”

If despite your best analysis, your home is not getting any offers, the price is too high. Get ahead of the competition and take a meaningful price reduction. Living in a model home is not fun, the idea is to get your home sold! Do not tell your selected Listing Agent to just list it as is at the price you think it should sell for and then blame it on the Agent when it doesn’t sell.