Real Estate Made Real Easy With Electronic Signatures
One of the goals I have for my clients is to make real estate transactions as easy as possible. I have recently added electronic signature services that are making transaction even easier.
In the past, when a document needed to be signed, one of three things had to happen:
a. Meet with the client in person for signatures.
b. Email the document and have the client scan and email the signed copy back.
c. Fax the document and have the client fax the signed copy back.
All three of these methods can be very inconvenient for the client depending on their circumstances. Here are just a few of the problems that can arise when something needs to be signed:
a. The client could be out of town.
b. The client might not have access to a scanner or fax machine.
c. The client's schedule just does not work to come meet for signatures.
With the new electronic signature service, clients just need the ability to get on line. Any document, from contracts to repair requests, can be sent to the clients email and electronically signed.
The electronic signature system has already saved a lot of time for my clients. One was traveling out of town and able to sign a repair request when he arrived at his hotel. One had inconvenient work hours and was able to sign when he got off of work. The best part in each instance has been that it only took a minute or two to sign and was extremely easy for the user. The signer authentication methods used by the service make it totally secure to use. Of course, if a client is not comfortable with signing electronically, I am more than happy to do it the old fashioned way.
Published on November 5, 2009 at 12:30 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
Avoiding Costly Repairs
There are almost always some repairs involved when the time comes to buy or sell. According to the sales contract, there are certain things that a seller must fix if the home is not being sold "as is." Problems with the structure, HVAC, plumbing, electric, and leaks in the roof are all examples of things that must be fixed. There are many factors that determine if a repair is required or not and I can help guide you through determining which repairs are necessary. In the mean time, here are a few tips from the National Association of Realtors that will keep that repair bill down when it does come time to sell.
Change your HVAC filters monthly. Very easy but must be done. Clogged filters decrease HVAC efficiency and can cause breakdowns.
Drain your water heater at least once a year. Sediment will drain out along with the water from the water tank. Removing sediment can prolong the heater’s useful life.
Check your circuits. Test the performance of the circuit breakers in your electrical circuit box twice a year by flipping them off and back on. If you have a circuit that keeps shutting off with normal daily electrical use, call an electrician. A faulty circuit breaker could indicate a short in the wiring inside your walls.
Watch out for drips. Check under sinks periodically to look for leaks or water stains that might indicate leaks. Catching a small problem early can prevent water damage. Use a plunger to clean out sinks and tubs whenever water doesn’t drain normally.
Be aware of life spans. Water heaters, furnaces, roofs, and other key components of your home should be replaced before they fail, based on their average useful lives. Here’s a general ballpark of the life span for key components:
o Exterior house paint: 5-10 years
o Furnace: 15-50 years
o Roof: 13-20 years
o Water heater: 7-15 years
o Wood deck staining: 4-7 years
Keep the wet out. Water is a major enemy of your house. Check each season for signs of water damage to your home. Flashing, the metal pieces used to seal the areas between roofs and chimneys, are especially vulnerable to damage by wind or age. Loose flashing can let water seep under a roof or inside walls, which in turn can cause major damage.
Source: Realtor.org
Published on September 21, 2009 at 11:23 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Comparing Price Ranges
I recently did a search on Greenville, Greer, Simpsonville, Taylors, and Travelers Rest and found that 119 homes sold between $200,000 and $300,000 in May and June of 2009. 4 of the 119 were an auction or unusual situation leaving 115 that were normal transactions. Out of the 115 normal transactions, all but 3 came down quite a bit on their price. The 3 homes that did not come down in price were all new construction and most likely had features added that made the price go up. Out of the 115 homes, the average difference from list to sales price was -$19,582. Something to keep in mind, the $19,582 average price that the 115 homes came down was taken off of the current listing when it sold. It does not include the original price that they might have started at if there was a previous expired listing. That means the total average price drop is probably much higher than $19,582.
At the same time, we seem to be seeing a surge in first time home buyer sales. The first time home buyers are starting to realize that they have to close on their home by November 30th to get the $8,000 tax cut. This has created quite a bit of movement especially in homes under $130,000 that are priced and staged right. I recently listed a home in the $120,000's that showed 15 times and had an offer by the end of the first week. The home looked great on line and the web traffic was extremely high. Homes in the $200,000's plus that are getting the same exposure are doing well to get 15 showings after months of being on the market.
We can take a few things from all of this. First, the market is not that bad if you are selling in the first time home buyer range. If you are buying in that same range, don't expect to find any great deals. There are a few great deals out there but expect them to go fast and have multiple offers. Second, if you are selling in the $200,000's plus you have to be aggressive and really stand out from the competition with pricing and staging. The good news is that the activity that we are seeing with the lower priced homes has potential to create a ripple affect. The people who are selling the lower priced homes could move up in price range after they sell and and this could increase activity in those upper price ranges.
Published on July 16, 2009 at 12:09 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
Greenville Area Home Styles
When doing a search through available homes on the Greenville market, I found that seven styles seem to be the most prominent in the Greenville area. The seven most prominent I found are Traditional, Ranch, Bungalow, Contemporary, Colonial, Victorian, and Cape Cod.
The Traditional style is used more than any other to describe homes on the Greenville market, however, it is really hard to put a definition on Traditional style. Traditional can be a label put on a mix of different classical American styles or to some people it can even be used to describe other styles like Colonial, Georgian, or Cape Cod. Traditional is a very safe label when a home does not have an obvious style.
The Ranch Style is the second most prominent used to describe homes on the Greenville market. Ranch homes were most popular in the 50's and 60's. Common features include pitched-roof, picture window, brick exterior walls, and built-in garage or car port. Ranches are one story homes that are usually not as open in floor plan as homes built today and most of the Ranch style homes in Greenville are on crawl spaces with a small number on basements.
The Bungalow style is not quite as popular as the ranch but could be used to describe a number of homes on the Greenville market. Bungalows were most popular on the East Coast in the early 1900's. They are usually one story, rectangle shaped, narrow homes that do not have an attached garage and are smaller in size. The Bungalow is considered a forerunner of the Craftsman style.
Contemporary, Colonial, Victorian, and Cape Cod styles are sprinkled throughout the Greenville market, but just remember, if you are not sure, call it Traditional.
If you ever want to see a wide range of styles in the Greenville area with historical significance, just take drive down Hampton and Pinckney Streets near Downtown. There you will find everything from Queen Anne (Victorian) and Craftsman to Gothic Revival, Colonial Revival, and Italianate. For a copy of the walking tour visit: http://www.greenvillesc.gov/neighborhoods/hamp-pinck_tour.pdf
Published on April 23, 2009 at 1:47 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
Greenville's Foreclosure Rate Stays Low
I came across a recent USA Today online article that caught my attention. It focused on foreclosures and the areas that have been hit the hardest. According to the article by Brad Heath, half of the nations foreclosures are in only 35 counties or around 1% of the nations counties. These hardest hit areas included places like Detroit, Cleveland, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Washington D.C., and worst of all Southern California and Southern Florida.
So how does the Greenville Real Estate Market look when it comes to foreclosures? In the last year, our foreclosure rate has gone up from .08% to .09%, basically no change. The nation as a whole has gone up from .5% to 1.2% with those 35 counties being the main cause of the increase. 650 counties have actually seen a decrease in the amount of foreclosures. Part of the reason that Greenville's foreclosure rate is so low is the low amount of sub prime loans in the area, 6% less than the rest of the nation. Also, our cost of living has stayed steady but affordable and we did not see extremely high prices like San Diego or Miami did. The House Price Index (HPI), that measures the price of residential housing, shows that 9 out of the 10 markets with the highest price depreciation are in California. Those 10 markets lost between 28.05% and 29.92% in home value in just one year (Source: First American Core Logic). Miami is the only other area in the top 10 not in California.
What can we learn from this information? First, don't listen to the news. The Greenville market is not flooded with foreclosures. Second, since we are not flooded with foreclosures, there are not amazing deals to be found on every street. We do have a number of foreclosed homes that are available but most of them need quite a bit of work and you cannot expect to find the deal of a lifetime. You can make money foreclosures but it takes a lot of patience for the right one as well as money for repairs. If you are in the market for a Miami condo or California suburban home, then now is your chance for an amazing deal. Why do that though when you could buy in Thornblade for the same price?
Published on March 23, 2009 at 2:27 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
The "Stimulus" & What It Means For Real Estate
As different versions of the so called stimulus package were coming through Congress, there were many different ideas batted around concerning tax credits and home buying. The Senate's original bill had a tax credit of up to $15,000 (depending on how much you pay in taxes) for ANYONE who bought a home this year. The $15,000 credit was one of the only stimulating things that the bill had going for it but unfortunately it was drastically changed in the final version.
The final version of the stimulus only gives an $8,000 credit and is restricted to first time home buyers. This could also include people who have not owned a home in the last 3 years. First time home buyers can receive the credit on their 2010 taxes and the home has to be bought sometime between January 1, 2009 and November 30, 2009.
First time home buyers that bought in 2008 are still eligible for the old $7,500 credit, however, there is a big difference in the old $7,500 and the new $8,000. The $7,500 credit is more like a loan than a tax cut. It is interest free but you still have to pay it back. The $8,000 is a true tax cut that you don't have to pay back. The only catch is that you have to stay in the home for at least 3 years.
While I am always for tax cuts, I'm afraid that this one comes with a lot of junk. The only real stimulation happening here is in stimulating the size of our government.
Published on February 17, 2009 at 11:02 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Look Back at Greenville Real Estate in 2008
The official numbers for all homes sold in the Greenville MLS in 2008 are in and the Greenville market is still doing fine overall. This is especially true when keeping things in perspective from the last 10 years and not just comparing 2008 to the two previous years. The amount of total solds for 2008 (including single family, condos, and townhomes) is 8021. This is down quite a bit from 2007 and 2006, however, it is doing good when compared with 2004 that had 8247 and 2003 that only had 7174. The 2003 and 2004 numbers were thought of as fair at that time which means that our market today would have looked pretty good in 2003.
The average days on market are were up to 96 in 2008 which is up by 9 days from the previous year, however, it is less than the average of 99 from 2004.
Average sold price is also down a little coming in at $183,816 for a drop of 1.3% from the previous year. Greenville is very fortunate compared to other major cities in the country which are experiencing up to 20% declines in average sales prices. Let's compare to 2004 again. The average sales price then was $156,916 compared to $183,816 in 2008. Pretty good increase in four years.
So you might be wondering what areas of real estate are doing well in Greenville and what are not. The average priced homes and below are doing great especially when you get below the $150,000's and even better when you get below $100,000. In fact, the market in those lowest priced homes is not even considered a buyer's market by NAR standards. On the other hand, the large custom homes are not doing well. The higher the price the worse the market is. The problem is that there is just too much supply in the area right now on the higher priced homes for what the market will allow. The good news is that any home in any price range will sell if it is priced right and staged right compared to the competition. Those higher priced homes that are at the bottom of the competition in pricing and staging can expect to be on the market for a long time.
Published on January 14, 2009 at 11:06 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Sites Like Zillow, Good For Exposure, Horrible For Determining Value
While I was listening to the news today, I heard a report that used Zillow.com as a source for home values. I was immediately shocked that they used a source like that to get their facts. I knew in the back of my head that their numbers had to be way off but I decided to run a little test on my own.
I tested a normal subdivision in Greenville with prices ranging anywhere from $150,000's to $250,000's. The subdivision currently has five homes for sale and has seen seventeen sell since the beginning of the year. One of the homes currently on the market has 4 bedrooms, 2.5 bathrooms, and over 2200 square feet and is in top shape. They have it currently listed at $210,000. After looking at the comparables from the year so far, I feel like they are at a very good listing price and right where they should be. They are also competitive in price with the other homes on the market. If they end up getting 97% of what they are asking for the home they should have a final sales price of $203,700. I even found multiple homes with a lot less square footage and one less bedroom going for right at $200,000 since the beginning of the year. Based on what the market will allow, the home should go for somewhere between $203,000 and $208,000.
So, what does Zillow say the home is worth? I put the address in Zillow's address search and the "Zestimate" gave me a price of $185,000 for the value of the home! What is interesting though is that on one that just sold a few moths ago with less square footage and one less bedroom it gave an "Zestimate" of $204,000! This shows that their estimate are not based on comparables at all but on things like tax records. They are producing these estimates without ever seeing the house to see if it would actually compare, taking into account distressed situations, or having any understanding at all of what that subdivision's local market will allow.
Bottom line, Zillow is another source for exposing a home for sale to the web but a horrible source for determining value. This is especially true when reporting a news story. Zillow should never be used as a factual source and the Greenville, SC Zillow search that I did proves this. The best way to determine a fair market price for your Greenville Area home is to use a real estate agent or appraiser that deals with the local market on a daily basis and can compare apples to apples in person.
Published on October 8, 2008 at 11:27 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Keeping Your Cool in the Midst of Fear Mongering
People always ask me "how is business?" or "how is the market?" I feel like many of them expect to hear that things are really slow when it is just the opposite. God has provided so much business for me that I have not experienced a slow down. While certain parts of the Greenville market have slowed down it is still a very healthy market to be in and actually a good market in certain areas.
I cannot emphasize enough that we must keep things in perspective. If you listen to most politicians and certain news media today, you would get the impression that our entire way of life is coming to an end and that no one is able to buy a home or get a mortgage. These fear mongers are using the problems caused by bad loans (which they caused!) to scare people and gain more power. This irresponsible behavior by media and politicians hurts the confidence of average people who think that they will not be able to get a loan because of everything that they have heard. I help people with the contract to close process every month and none of them have had trouble getting their loan to go through. I work with lenders who help many people buy homes in Greenville every week and they are ready to help anyone who is ready to buy. Some South Carolina elected officials are telling us that if certain legislation does not pass that you will not be able to get a loan beginning immediately. At the same time these politicians and media are spreading fear, the lenders that I work with are telling me to bring as many people to them as possible that want to buy a home. They are ready to go! I have seen victims of the fear mongers this week. People who thought they would not be able to get loans anymore because of what they had heard on the news but after talking to a lender found out that it would be no trouble at all! Sure, there are those who cannot get a loan who could have a few years ago but these are people who should have never been given a loan in the first place and one of the main reasons for the mess we have now.
Again, we must keep everything in perspective. If you listen to all the bad news you hear you might think that this would be a terrible time to be in real estate. Not the case. I would rather be in Greenville real estate in 2008 than in 2000! The number of single family homes sold in the Greenville area in August of 2000 was 531 with an average price of $142,206. Compare that with August of 2008 where we saw 689 homes sell with an average price of $195,153. Which market would you rather be in? I'll take 2008. I am eagerly awaiting the September numbers for the Greenville Area and interested to see how October shapes up as well.
While all of the bad loans of the last few years have created a very serious problem, we cannot loose our heads over the whole thing. We must deal with facts, not fear.
Published on October 1, 2008 at 10:18 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Greenville Homes Priced Under $150,000 Not Classified As Buyer's Market
We hear Greenville, SC real estate markets referred to as "buyer markets" or "seller markets" but what makes a market good for buyers or good for sellers. The National Association of Realtors® classifies markets based on absorption rates and inventory as follows:
0-5 months = Sellers Market, 5-7 months = Even/Split Market, 7+ months = Buyer’s Market
So what is an absorption rate and what does the 0-5, 5-7, and 7+ months mean? The number of months represents the number of months of inventory on the market. The number of months of inventory is determined by the absorption rate. The absorption rate is determined by taking the number of sold listings for any criteria (price range, city, subdivision, or a mixture) and dividing it by the amount of months (12 for a year or 9 for January to September). You can find the amount of inventory then by dividing the absorption rate number by the amount of active listings.
For instance, lets say that it is August in a local Greenville subdivision and it has 4 homes on the market and 16 have sold since January. This makes an average of 2 homes selling every month and means that there is a 2 month supply in the subdivision. When looking at absorption rates for the entire Greenville area as a whole, it reveals some interesting facts when keeping the definition of a buyer's and seller's market in mind.
Here are some recent Greenville Area real estate statistics:
•Listing Price: $0 - $150K
–Active Listings: 2639
–Sold Listings: 3083
–3083 / 8 mths = 385/mth (Absorption Rate)
–2639 / 385 = 6.85 (Months of Inventory)
–Avg DOM: 83
•$150K - $300K
–Active Listings: 2732
–Sold Listings: 2399
–2399 / 8 = 300/mth (Absorption Rate)
–2732 / 300 = 9.11 (Months of Inventory)
–Sold DOM: 95
•$300K - $500K
–Active Listings: 1123
–Sold Listings: 565
–565 / 8 = 71/mth (Absorption Rate)
–1123 / 71 = 15.82 (Months of Inventory)
Sold DOM: 110
•$500K - $1Million
–Active Listings: 638
–Sold Listings: 174
–174 / 8 = 21.5/mth (Absorption Rate)
–638 / 21.5 = 29.67 (Months of Inventory)
–Sold DOM: 125
•$1Million +
–Active Listings: 144
–Active Solds: 14
–14 / 8 = 1.75/mth (Absorption Rate)
–144 / 1.75 = 82.3 (Months of Inventory)
Sold DOM: 109
These statistics show that Greenville is in a buyer's market in every category except one. The homes priced at $150,000 and below are not in a buyer's market. According the the NAR's® definitions of markets, that price range is an "even/split market." What does this mean? Seller's under $150,000's can expect a better market than those with higher prices and buyers cannot expect the luxury of a buyer's market under $150,000. Seller's under the $150,000's still have to keep things in perspective though since they are not in a seller's market either.
Foxglove Market Watch
Just added a page to Greenville, SC home search part of homestolive.in for the Foxglove subdivision of Taylors SC. Here you can see every home currently on the market as well as a street view tour of the neighborhood. Average sales price so far in 2008 has been just over $220,000. The lowest home that has sold so far went for $180,000 with the high at $276,000. You can view the page at http://homestolive.in/home_search/foxglove
Published on September 3, 2008 at 2:17 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
Good Market? Bad Market? Keeping Things in Perspective
When you look at the numbers for the Greenville, SC Real Estate market you could make a case that the market is good or that the market is bad. It's all in how you spin it. There have been almost 20% less homes sell so far this year when compared to 2006. At the same time, there have been almost 4% more homes sell this year compared to 2004. The market must be kept in perspective to fully understand everything that is happening. The amount of Greenville area homes sold in 2006 and 2007 was very high compared to 2000 through 2005. 2008 has been one of the best years in this decade for amount of homes sold but it just does not compare to the peak of 2006 and 2007. Couple that with the fact that prices are still rising in Greenville and things don't look so bad. It is a buyer's market and there are a good amount of homes available, however, the market is stable and growing when keeping things in perspective. As the media would have you think that we haven't seen hard times like this since The Great Depression, the cold hard facts tell me that I would rather be in real estate in 2008 then 2004 or 1999 or the 1980's or any time before that.
Published on August 28, 2008 at 3:11 pm | Permalink | 0 Comments
Getting Back to Stagging Basics in the Greenville Real Estate Market
Staging is one of the three main things I focus on when selling homes in the Greenville, SC real estate market. If your staged right, priced right, and marketed right, your home will always out sell the competition. It is important to me to walk through each listing and see what can be done to help it be staged better. It is also important to understand the competition and how it is staged. Since I am constantly looking at homes in the Greenville market, it is very easy for me to walk through a home and know exactly what needs to be done to help it sell. I recently read an article by an agent in Massachusetts who is very successful at listing and selling homes. She went back to the basics on staging the home to sell and mentioned three key goals that she has for each room.
The first thing mentioned was to depersonalize the space. She does this by removing anything like family photos, collections, papers/photos/reminders on the refrigerator, and packing any posters, trophies, etc. in kids' rooms.
The next thing mentioned was clearing high-traffic areas and storing any excess furnishings. The goal here is to maximize the feelings of space and comfort. Too much stuff will make a room look small and distract from the features of the house.
The last thing mentioned was to highlight the key features in every room. This is done by making sure that there is nothing distracting from or in the way of the key feature. Key features could include things like closets, french doors, fireplaces, and windows.
Staging can be a great way to get a head start on packing but can also be one of the best ways to sell your Greenville area home!
Published on August 22, 2008 at 11:04 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Keller Williams Realty Market Share
Keller Williams Realty is taking market share nationally in more ways than just amount of real estate sold. This year has seen a good drop in the number of all Realtors® nation wide, down 8% vs. July last year. While the number of overall Realtors® is down 8% the number of Keller Williams Realtors® is down just under 5%. This shows that more Keller Williams agents are able to stay in business in areas with down markets than agents in other companies. Established agents who are running good businesses will survive through down markets while those who are not running good businesses will not make it.
We have to keep these numbers in perspective though for the market as a whole. When compared to 2005, there area still about 40,000 more Realtors® across the country now then there were then. Recent years have seen significant increases in the amount of Realtors® and although the number is down, it is not extremely low compared to recent history. Just like real estate statistics, we can't loose our heads because of down numbers but we must keep everything in perspective.
Published on August 21, 2008 at 11:51 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Parker's Place Market Report
You can now find a real estate market page for Parker's Place subdivision in Taylors, SC at homestolive.in. The link is here: Parker's Place Taylors, SC. Here you can see all of the active listings of what is for sale along with their details and compare it to other Greenville South Carolina Real Estate. The subdivision is still very new and so the sold information can be all over the place. In fact, out of the 7 homes for sale right now, only one of them is not for sale by the builder. The six that are for sale right now should be about the last to be for sale by the builder. This is good because now prices will start leveling out and not be influnced by the new construction in the near future. The average sales price since January of 2007 has been $184,000 with a high sales price of $222,490.
Published on August 6, 2008 at 11:55 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
Market Facts For Greenville SC Real Estate
The real estate market as a whole is experiencing a correction right now and coming down off of very high prices in some cities. How does this affect the Greenville, SC Real Estate Market though? Is the market bad in Greenville just because it is bad in some cities across the country. I would like to take a look at the facts and let you decided what you think. Below are numbers for single family homes for the Greenville area.
Average Sales price from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - Up 2% (Keller Williams - Up 5% and Greenville down a little from earlier this year)
Amount of Sold Homes from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - Down 12%
Average List to sales price from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - 97%
Average Days on Market from January till now vs. Last Year Same Time:
Greenville Area - Up 8% (Keller Williams DOM 22% Less Than Greenville Area Average)
Amount of Homes for Sale
Greenville Area - Up 7%
So what do these numbers tell us? Overall it is a buyers market but at the same time hardly anything to worry about. Unfortunately, I hear from people in the Greenville area who believe the media hype and think that the market is terrible and worst possible conditions. This is just not the case. It is a buyer's market overall but there are mixed signals. Prices are still going up and list to sales price is still good at 97% (of course if you put your home on the market too high, your list to sales price will be much less). At the same time, single family homes supply is up 7% from last year and amount of homes sold is down. This extra supply is what tips the scales to being a buyer's market.
We have to keep the facts of the Greenville Real Estate market in mind when looking to buy or to sell.
If I'm a buyer, I can't expect to get the home of my dreams at 20% off of the asking price. The numbers show 3% (keeping in mind that every seller and situation is unique). I also can't expect prices to be far less than last years. I can expect to have a large supply of homes as possibilities depending on my needs.
If I am a seller, my house has to stand out from the competition even more than it would have last year because of the greater supply. We do this with pricing and staging. No matter how many homes are on the market, there will always be those that sell quickly and for top dollar. These are the ones that are priced right and staged right. Case in point, this last week I represented two purchasers that made offers on homes and other buyers made offers at the same time, on the same home in both cases. Lots of supply out there but the homes that were priced right and staged right went fast and for top dollar because of the multiple offers and because they were staged better than the competition.
Pricing, Staging, and exposure is so important. Just let me know if you want to learn more about how these factors can sell your home or if you would like help in obtaining the best possible home on the market for you.
Published on July 31, 2008 at 10:15 am | Permalink | 0 Comments
