Union County Real Estate Talk

Waiting for the appraiser.  Whether your Charlotte NC home is under contract and you are waiting for the buyer's appraiser to arrive or you are refinancing your Charlotte NC home, you can get some good tips from this article.  It's written by a Minnesota appraiser who tells you how to get ready for that appraisal appointment.

Another funny video from that Tennessee home inspector...Deihl Killerz.  Lesson to be learned.  Sellers, don't make those repairs yourself unless you know what you're doing.  Buyers, some things that inspectors note on their reports have really simple fixes.

Enjoy!

2011-11-25

Don’t Ignore Your Charlotte NC Crawlspace

One of my Charlotte NC home sellers is learning this lesson the hard way.  We have his home under contract and his crawlspace is creating numerous costly problems for him. 

The reason?

He’s owned his home for ten years and has ignored the crawlspace the entire time.

The result?

Standing water in the crawlspace over those ten years created a wet atmosphere that rotted the floor substructure and allowed mold to grow throughout the space.  After adding a drain system to dry the crawlspace, he had to add additional piers and joists to strengthen the areas of the floor system that had the most deterioration.  Thousands and thousands of dollars of work.

Then, the buyer of this home tested the interior of the home for mold.  More bad news.  The heat exchanger and ductwork in the crawlspace has blown the mold into the interior of the home.  Now the home needs a full mold remediation. More work in the crawlspace and scrubbing of the indoor air of the house.  Thousands and thousands more invested by the seller.

I feel really bad for him.  Learn from my Charlotte NC home seller’s mistakes.  Pay attention to your crawlspace.

What can you do to protect your crawlspace?

• Either spend some time in the crawlspace yourself or hire a professional to check it out.
• If the ground in the crawlspace is wet, ask a waterproofer to prepare a plan to dry it out.
• Have an annual termite inspection of your house and ask the pest control person if the crawl space is wet.
• Make sure that your gutters and downspouts don’t spill water under the house.  Ensure that the ground slopes away from the outside walls of your home.
• Keep the air vents in your foundation open.  Crawlspaces need plenty of ventilation.

The photograph above shows a healthy crawlspace.  Clean joists free of mold and mildew.  A dry dirt floor with a drain system.

What if you are planning to sell your Charlotte NC home?

Have a home inspection before you put the house on the market.  And if you find problems in the crawlspace, have them addressed before you put the sign in the yard.

Thinking of selling your Charlotte NC home?  Request a free online market evaluation.

Copyright 2011.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Don’t Ignore Your Charlotte NC Crawlspace*

2011-11-09

Use The FHA 203K Program to Fix Up Your Charlotte NC Home

As a Charlotte NC home buyer, you may have heard of the FHA 203k financing program. It’s a great program to use if you want to purchase a distressed property that needs some work.  It can be used for minor renovations such as appliances, decks, roofs, siding and windows.  That’s called the Streamline Loan.  Or it can be used for major structural repairs.

If you are a Charlotte NC home buyer, click here to read more about purchasing a home with FHA 203k financing.

Charlotte NC home owners can also use the FHA 203k program to rehabilitate their current homes.  If you own a home that is in need of renovation, here are some things to know about this program.

• You can use the program to refinance your existing loan and add the cost of the improvements to the loan.  The total loan (current loan plus cost of improvements) cannot exceed the FHA loan limits.  In Charlotte and surrounding counties, the maximum FHA loan is $271,050.
• The FHA 203k loan is for owner-occupants only.
• The loan requires a 3.5% down payment of the combined total (loan plus improvements).  A down payment won’t be required if you have enough equity in your home.
• Your property must appraise for the total cost of the loan.  There may be some leeway in the appraisal.
• The interest rate for an FHA 203k loan may be about a half point higher than the market rate for a standard FHA loan.
• The process from loan application to closing may take 60 days or more.  This is because a Scope of Work will have to be created to determine the cost of the improvements.
• You won’t be able to use the FHA 203k loan to renovate your home and then immediately put it on the market for sale because of FHA restrictions on appraisals and flipping.  You may have to wait six months to a year before you can sell.

Want to know more?

Contact Carol Fox of Allen Tate Realtors at 704-905-3935.Carol recently completed training to become a Certified 203k Specialist and can provide you with more details about the program.

Copyright 2011.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors. *Use The FHA 203K Program to Fix Up Your Charlotte NC Home*

A Rant and Some Tips from the Real Estate Agent Who Tried to Show Your Home This Weekend

Dear Charlotte NC Home Seller,

I see that you have had your home on the market a long time.  I imagine that you are very frustrated with your home selling experience.

Guess what?  I’m frustrated too because I tried very hard to show your home this weekend but you made it too difficult to do. 

This is what you missed.  My buyer clients were from out-of-town on a home buying trip.  They were ready to pay cash for a home.  They had a three-day visit in which to choose a home.  That meant that we had to look at a lot of homes each day.

But we couldn’t see your home because you set so many showing restrictions that we just couldn’t fit you into the schedule.  Maybe you aren’t as motivated to sell your home as your listing agent says.

Or perhaps you are simply misinformed about how agents schedule showings and how the showing service for all Charlotte NC home sellers works.  If so, here are some tips for making your home more accessible.  Remember… the more showings you have, the more likely you are to get an offer.

1. It’s not unreasonable for an agent who is showing ten to fifteen homes in one day to request a two-hour window for the showing.  When I have out-of-town clients, we have to look at many homes each day.  If I’ve never shown homes to a set of clients before, I have no idea whether they will spend a little time or a lot of time in each home.  When you restrict me to a one-hour timeframe, you may be giving me an impossible task.  You don’t have to leave your house for this two hour time period if you want to be at home.  Just wait until I arrive, greet us at the door, and take a walk around the neighborhood.
2. When I have a full showing schedule, I have to group the properties that we will see into a geographic tour that makes sense.  Don’t reschedule my showing of your home to a different time.  If you do, you may not fit into the geography.  We will cover a lot of ground on our tour and it won’t work to backtrack because you decided to reschedule me to a time completely different from the other homes in your neighborhood.
3. Showings for Charlotte NC home sellers may be ordered online through the showing service.  This is a very easy process and my preferred way of setting appointments.  Did you know that if my online order conflicts in any way with your showing instructions, I will receive a “showing declined” without any explanation?  I am very likely to pass on “showing declined” listings.  Don’t put any restrictions on showings, if at all possible.  That includes the one-hour timeframe as well as a required 2, 12, or 24-hour notice of showings.  If I have to reschedule your appointment on the fly and you have a two-hour notice requirement, the appointment center will make me wait another two hours to show.  And please don’t make me call the appointment center when I’m 15 minutes away from your home.  That is just too easy to forget when I’m showing a lot of houses.

Thanks for listening to my rant.  If you are not getting a lot of showings, take a look in the mirror to see if you are violating the first rule of selling your Charlotte NC home:  be accessible!

Thinking of selling your Charlotte NC home?  Request a free online comparative market analysis.

Copyright 2011.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *A Rant and Some Tips from the Real Estate Agent Who Tried to Show Your Home This Weekend*

On Becoming a Landlord—Insurance for Your Charlotte NC Rental

Are you about to become an unintentional landlord?

Perhaps you need to move from your existing home for a new job. Or there’s not enough room for the new baby. Maybe your mother-in-law is coming to live with you.

But you have one tiny problem. Market prices have fallen since you purchased and you’re underwater on your mortgage. You decide that renting the home while the market recovers is your best option. You are going to join the many Charlotte NC home owners who have become landlords.

Here are some tips about how to design your homeowners insurance when your primary residence turns into a rental.

• You will need to convert your existing homeowners policy into a Dwelling Fire Insurance Policy. Why? A Dwelling Fire Insurance Policy is the only way to get liability coverage for a rental property. If someone gets hurt at your rental, you want to have liability coverage.
• You will want to require your renter to get a Renters Policy. This will cover the tenant’s personal property and liability.
• The tenant needs to list you as an “Additional Interest” on the Renters Policy. This will ensure that you are notified is the Renters Policy is cancelled. A guest who gets hurt and sues will get payment for damages from the Renters Policy rather than from you, the property owner.

Want to know if you may become an unintentional landlord? Request a free opinion of value of your Charlotte NC home.

Copyright 2011. Carol Fox. Allen Tate Realtors *On Becoming a Landlord—Insurance for Your Charlotte NC Rental*

Three Reasons Why You Should Have a Home Inspection Before You List Your Home

A home inspection before I list my Charlotte NC home?  Isn’t that something that the buyer will do? 

These are the questions I’m asked when I sit down with sellers to recommend a “pre-inspection” before putting their home on the market.  The answers that I give these Charlotte NC home sellers are “yes, you should” and “yes, they will”.  Unfortunately, I haven’t been very convincing to date as most sellers have been unwilling to do the pre-inspection.  But when home sellers have taken my advice, their home selling outcome has improved greatly.

In a few days, the way that Charlotte NC real estate is bought and sold will change dramatically.  After January 1, 2011, the the NC Offer to Purchase and Contract  will convert to a “due diligence” form where buyers will be given a period of time in which to investigate the property and then make a decision whether they want to continue with the transaction or terminate it for any reason or no reason at all.

Terminate for any reason or no reason at all.

I believe more strongly than ever that a home inspection before listing will benefit the seller in this environment.  Not convinced?  Please read these real-life stories of my sellers who did save or could have saved themselves heart-ache, time and money with a pre-inspection.

Here are three reasons why you should have a home inspection before you list your Charlotte NC home.

1. A pre-inspection will give you the information you need to negotiate a better home price with the buyer.  Recently, one of my home sellers negotiated a rock-bottom price with his buyer.  The buyer’s home inspector found extensive hail damage to the roof of the home.  Now this seller will net thousands of dollars less from his property than he anticipated.  Had he done a pre-inspection, he would have been able to negotiate this big-ticket repair into the price of the home.  And used a brand new roof as a benefit for potential buyers.
2. A pre-inspection will identify major repairs that are sure to derail a transaction.  Another of my home sellers decided to have a pre-inspection of his almost thirty year old home.  When the home inspector got to the crawl space, he discovered extensive standing water, fallen and waterlogged insulation, and fungus on the floor system.  What would most buyers do with news like this from their home inspector?  Probably back out of the transaction.  In this case, the seller was able to take his time to discover the source of the problem and complete the repairs before any buyer set foot on the property.
3. A pre-inspection may make it easier to sell your property “as is”.  A home seller who inherited her mother’s fifty year old home decided to have it inspected.  The home inspection revealed several major defects as well as some minor items that needed repair.  This home seller did not have the funds to do these repairs so she decided to disclose all the deficiencies of the property with the goal of selling the property “as is”.  She was able to find buyers who wanted to renovate the home themselves. Buyers and seller negotiated a price both thought fair for the current condition of the property.  After giving themselves a due diligence period, these buyers closed the home without the seller having to spend any time or money on repairs.

When I sit down with you to discuss how to get your property ready for the market, please think very carefully about having a home inspection done before you list.  The money you spend on that inspection may save you thousands of dollars and eliminate a lot of headaches later.  Besides, don’t you think that a home buyer will find your pre-inspected home much more appealing than competing properties that haven’t been inspected?

Learn more about the new due diligence contracts and how to be a successful home seller after the change.

Two Words Every Charlotte NC Home Buyer and Home Seller Should Know

Charlotte NC Home Sellers Have New Homeowners Association Disclosure Requirements

Want to know more about selling your Charlotte NC home?  Click here for a free online market analysis.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Three Reasons Why You Should Have a Home Inspection Before You List Your Home*

Charlotte NC Home Sellers Have New Homeowners Association Disclosure Requirements

Do you remember the last time you signed listing paperwork to sell your Charlotte NC home?

If it’s been a few years, you probably remember that the listing paperwork didn’t take much time.  Your agent filled in the list price and the listing time period.  You signed the listing agreement.  You filled out and signed a property condition disclosure form.  And that was about it.

Quick and easy is about to change.

Come January 1, 2011, the new North Carolina Offer to Purchase and Contract will bring radical changes in the buying and selling process for residential transactions.  The new form creates a “due diligence” contract.  This means that buyers will be given a certain period of time in which to investigate the contracted property.  During the due diligence period, the buyers may decide to proceed with the transaction or terminate the transaction for any reason or no reason.

Learn more about the new “due diligence” contract.

With buyers doing more investigation of all aspects of the property, Charlotte NC home sellers are going to be asked for more disclosure when the house is listed.  More disclosure in real estate means more listing paperwork.  More listing paperwork means sellers will need to do more homework before they sit down to sign a listing agreement with their agent.

One of the areas that will take the most time and preparation from home sellers is the new Owners’ Association Disclosure and Addendum.

If your single family neighborhood or condominium complex has a homeowners association, you will need to fill out this form.  Not only will you need to fill out the form but you will need to collect documents from your association that your buyer might request.  The following is a list of the homework that will prepare you to fill out the form.

Owners’ Association Disclosure and Addendum Homework

1. Collect basic information about the association that governs your property.  The form asks for the name of the association, the amount of the dues, and the name, address and telephone number of the association president or property manager, and the association website address.
2. Determine how many associations regulate your property.  If you live in a townhome within a single family neighborhood sharing common facilities, your property may be subject to more than one homeowners association.
3. Identify what services and amenities are paid for with dues from the homeowners association.
4. Disclose any proposed or confirmed special assessments that may affect the property.  A proposed special assessment is one that the association is formally considering but that won’t be approved prior to closing your property.  A confirmed special assessment has been approved prior to closing, whether payable at closing or not.
5. Ask your association whether there are any unsatisfied judgments or pending lawsuits involving the development or the homeowners association.
6. Identify whether there are any fees charged by the association or the management company in connection with the transfer of your property to a new owner. These fees must now be disclosed to the buyer, who is required to pay them.
7. Collect any documents and covenants and restrictions applicable to the development, such the face cover sheet of the master insurance policy, recorded covenants, rules and regulations, articles of incorporation, bylaws, current financial statements, and architectural guidelines.  It will be best to collect these documents in the form of PDF files so they can be forwarded to buyers upon their request.

Want to know more about selling your Charlotte NC home?  Request a free comparative market analysis.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Charlotte NC Home Sellers Have New Homeowners Association Disclosure Requirements*

Are the Three Ds Sabotaging Your Charlotte Home Sale?

Donna, one of my current home buyer clients, is very organized in her approach to finding a home.  She takes notes on each house that we view.  This helps her remember the details and pluses and minuses of each property later when she turns to the process of eliminating those that won’t work for her family.

Last week as we toured a home, Donna made the comment that she could easily rate the property.  She was going to give it three Ds.  Curious, I asked her what three Ds meant.  “Dark, dirty and dated,” she replied.

Dark, dirty and dated.

Those three Ds describe why so many Charlotte homes don’t sell.  It amazes me that some Charlotte home sellers sabotage their home sales with the three Ds when the fixes for these problems can be so simple and mostly inexpensive.  Here are some tips for ensuring that your home doesn’t get graded with three Ds.

Dark

This is so easy.  Turn all the lights on.  Every light in the house, including the lamps.  If you have a room that has dark corners, buy an inexpensive pole lamp for uplighting.  Open the blinds, shades and curtains.  The right amount of light can turn a dungeon into a delight.  Why would you let a few pennies for electricity keep you from selling your biggest investment?

Dirty

Come on.  Buyers don’t want to move into someone else’s filthy home.  They notice the ugly stained bathtubs and showers, the spotted carpets, the dusty knickknacks, the dirty windows.  They smell your cats and dogs and the fish you had for dinner last night.  If you are unable to make your home sparkle for showings, hire someone to clean it for you.  Clear out the animal dishes and kitty litter.  Remember, if it smells, it won’t sell.

Dated

Yes, updating a home can get expensive.  But there are some simple, relatively inexpensive things that you can do to make your home less dated.  Do you still have shiny brass fixtures?  Shiny brass is out!  Replace those light fixtures, faucets and kitchen hardware with something in today’s popular finishes.  Updated fixtures can change a home’s look dramatically.  You will also get a lot of bang for your buck if you paint your rooms with dark or bold colors a fresh neutral color.  Getting a little more expensive, replace that worn out carpet.  It doesn’t have to be the most expensive carpet, just new and neutral.  The kitchen is everyone’s favorite room.  Replacing old appliances and countertops will help you sell your home because buyers won’t be thinking of what they have to do to make the home livable for them.

Don’t let Donna’s three Ds sabotage your Charlotte home sale.  Take some steps to keep your home from being labeled dark, dirty and dated.  Change one of your biggest investments from DISGUSTING to DELIGHTFUL.  Donna would approve.

Thinking of selling your Charlotte NC home?  Click here to request a free market analysis.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Are the Three Ds Sabotaging Your Home Sale?*

Charlotte NC Short Sales—Get a Professional Evaluation of Your Short Sale Situation

Is your mortgage higher than your home’s value?  Do you need to move or sell your Charlotte NC home?  If so, you may be facing a short sale.

I am pleased to announce that I can offer a professional evaluation of your particular situation and services to help you navigate the short sale process through the Allen Tate Short Sale Assistance Program.

What is a short sale?  A short sale occurs when a homeowner owes a lender more money than the current market value of their home and lacks other liquid assets to satisfy liens.  This means that the home will not sell for enough money to pay off the mortgage and other property-related debt in full.  In such cases, a “short sale” may be negotiated with the lender to bridge the gap between the balance due on the mortgage and an offer for the sale of the home.  A short sale is an effort to avoid the foreclosure process.  Click here to learn more about short sales.

Allen Tate Realtors has partnered with a company that specializes in short sales to provide services to sellers who need to navigate the Charlotte NC short sale process.  This short sale assistance program provides you with the following services:

• Identifies the options available for your individual situation.
• Determines if your property is a candidate for a short sale.
• Contacts your lender and cultivates a relationship with the key contact for mediation.
• May be able to stop the foreclosure process and guides you through a short sale of your property.
• Negotiates with the lender once a purchase contract has been written.
• Negotiates with your lender regarding other property-related debt, including back taxes, HOA fees and other liens.

The Allen Tate Short Sale Assistance Program is available only to Charlotte NC sellers who list their homes with Allen Tate agents.

Contact me today at 704-814-6242 to learn more about this professional program for Charlotte NC short sales.

Copyright 2010.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Charlotte NC Short Sales—Get a Professional Evaluation of Your Short Sale Situation*