Union County Real Estate Talk

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*

What Charlotte NC Home Sellers Can Learn from the 2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers

If you are considering selling your Charlotte NC home, you should be interested in the results of the annual survey conducted by the National Association of Realtors (NAR).  NAR surveys home buyers and home sellers every year to gather information about the demographics, housing characteristics and the experience of consumers in the housing market. 

In July 2009, NAR mailed an eight page questionnaire to consumers across the country.  Of responses received, 7.9 percent came from the Charlotte NC area.  The statistics that follow are specific to the Charlotte marketplace.  This profile provides important lessons for all Charlotte NC home sellers.

Who purchased Charlotte homes?

• Forty-five percent of the home buyers were first-time buyers.
• The typical first-time home buyer was 31 years old while the typical repeat buyer was 46 years old.
• The median income was $57,900 among first-time buyers and $93,500 among repeat buyers.
• Twenty-two percent of recent home buyers were single females and ten percent were single males.

Lessons for Charlotte NC home sellers:  Sellers in a price range affordable to first-time home buyers are likely to have a selling advantage in the current marketplace.  Today’s home buyers tend to be younger and about a quarter of them are female so sellers should ensure that their homes have been updated to appeal to this demographic.  Fixtures, appliances and paint colors should be chosen to appeal to these buyers.  Seller assistance with buyer closing costs will be important to many buyers.

What type of homes were purchased in Charlotte?

• New home purchases were at the lowest level in eight years.  Only 18 percent of homes purchases were new construction.
• The typical home purchased was 1900 square feet in size and was built in 1989.
• Seventy five percent of home buyers purchased a detached single-family home.
• The median price of homes purchased was $198,000.
• Commuting costs were considered very or somewhat important by 78 percent of buyers when choosing a home.

Lessons for Charlotte NC home sellers:  Resale home sellers in Charlotte have a better opportunity to sell their home than in recent years because of the slowdown in new construction.  Condominium sellers may struggle because of lower demand for attached homes.  Location and access to easy commutes may give some home sellers an advantage.

How did Charlotte home buyers find their homes?

• The first step in the home-buying process for more than one-third of home buyers was looking online for properties.
• Eighty-eight percent of home buyers used the internet to search for homes.
• The typical home buyer searched for 12 weeks and viewed 12 homes.

Lessons for Charlotte NC home sellers:  Internet marketing is a must for today’s home sellers.  The typical home buyer toured only 12 homes before making a purchase decision and used online searches to narrow the number of houses to tour.  Home sellers must ensure that their properties will be attractive in online searches.  This means that homes must be staged for good photography and that sellers should choose a real estate professional who understands and uses all the tools of internet marketing.

All Charlotte NC home sellers considering a move in 2010 should learn more about the recently enacted Home Buyer Tax Credit for repeat buyers.  Click here to see if you qualify.

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox  Allen Tate Realtors.  *What Charlotte NC Home Sellers Can Learn from the 2009 NAR Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers*

Charlotte NC Short Sales--Get Help from the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks

Are you trying to buy or sell a short sale property in Charlotte NC?  Are you waiting... and waiting... and waiting for the lender to approve your short sale?  If so, you are experiencing one of the most frustrating aspects of the short sale process:  long waits and lack of communication from mortgage lenders after a buyer and seller have agreed on a purchase contract.  If you are a short sale seller, your buyer may give up due to the long wait for an answer and you've lost the sale.  If you are a buyer, you may lose your favorable loan interest rate or your short sale purchase may not be able to close in time to meet your moving timetable.

The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association recently released helpful information for buyers and sellers of Charlotte NC short sales.  The North Carolina Commissioner of Banks (NCCOB) has an online-complaint form that may help frustrated buyers and sellers get a faster response from the banks.  When a complaint is filed with the NCCOB, banks typically have three weeks to reply to the complaint.  If "foreclosure" is checked under the "Complaint Type", the banks must respond within seven days.  If your short sale or foreclosure situation is urgent, you can also call the NCCOB.

Learn more about Charlotte NC Short Sales

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  Allen Tate Realtors.  *Charlotte NC Short Sales--Get Help from the North Carolina Commissioner of Banks*

Charlotte NC short sales may decline as a result of a new loan modification program announced this week by the federal government.  This program, called "Making Home Affordable," becomes one more option that home owners may be able to use to avoid foreclosure.

The following is a glossary of terms that describes some of the options and terms that a home owner contemplating a Charlotte NC short sale should know.

• Short Sale   A property sale where the lender accepts less than the total amount due on the mortgage or mortgages.
• Loan Modification   A loss mitigation tool that involves a permanent change in one or more of the terms of the loan so that the homeowner is able to afford the payment.
• Forbearance   An option where the lender gives the borrower time to catch up on their payments while foreclosure is delayed.
• Deed-in-lieu-of-Foreclosure   The home owner voluntarily relinquishes the home as a last ditch effort to avoid foreclosure.
• Foreclosure   The legal process by which a lender reclaims the property when the home owner has not made the mortgage payments.

Not everyone will qualify for the new loan modification program.  But it may provide a way for some Charlotte NC home owners to stay in their homes.  The various options described above should be discussed with an attorney and a tax accountant.

More information about the new federal loan modification program can be found in the link to the FDIC Loan Modification Guide below. 

FDIC Loan Modification Guide

Related Articles

Short Sale Basics in Charlotte NC

Will Short Sales Increase as Charlotte NC's Goldilocks Market Fades?

Copyright 2009.  Carol Fox.  All rights reserved.  *Charlotte NC Short Sales-New FDIC Loan Modification Program May Help*

It's official.  Long the envy of the rest of the country, the Charlotte North Carolina real estate market is now in a buyer's market.  This turn of events means that Charlotte homesellers will have to get used to a new reality in the wonderful world of agent feedback on property showings.

This is how I educate my sellers on what to expect from agent feedback reports.

Dear Mr. and Mrs. Homeseller,

You are selling your home.  We've done the listing paperwork.  You've gotten the home staged and ready for showings.  Your property is in the Multiple Listing Service and agents are starting to show it to their prospective buyers. 

Appointments are made on your listing through the appointment center, which also automatically requests that the showing agent email to the listing agent feedback on the showing.  You will be able to access this feedback yourself by logging into the appointment center website.

Mr. and Mrs. Homeseller, Are you ready for "agent feedback"?

Our marketplace currently is a "buyer's market" for most properties.  This means that there is lot of listing inventory available for buyers to view, to compare, and to consider. Buyers in this environment will tend to look at more properties before they make a decision and be more critical of condition and features.  These attitudes may be reflected in the agent feedback and sometimes these comments may sting.  Sometimes the comments will be right on the money and sometimes they will be dead wrong.  It is best to look at feedback as constructive criticism and as a way to help you make your property better than your competition.  As the showings and feedback accumulate, use it as a tool to identify trends and suggestions that appear in the feedback consistently.  These are the items to focus on during the marketing program and that will hopefully lead to a successful sale.

Yours very truly,

Carol Fox

Copyright 2008.  All rights reserved.  Carol Fox.  Mr. & Mrs. Homeseller, Are You Ready for Agent Feedback?