Is There any Pixie Dust out there?

After seven successful years in a bad real estate market, The Wells Team has a pretty good idea of what works when it comes to marketing and selling a home. What has worked for us: •Pricing the home correctly from the start •Putting some money into the home, if needed, prior to listing the home. This includes new carpet, paint, and yard work. •Having very good pictures on the internet •Being available to show a home at any time •Flyers Those are just few of the many. However we have listings that have been sitting on the market for considerable length of time. For the most part these listings are very nice homes that are show ready. There becomes a point when our clients, in the above situation, grow incredibly frustrated with us because their home is still for sale. This is where the "pixie dust" comes into play. Our clients want us to find the "pixie dust" that will make their home sell. This is what we have tried: •Bonus to the buyer's agent •Offer to pay closing cost •Decorator allowance •golf course memberships •$5000 towards a golf cart •home warranties Unfortunately we not seen any of the above make the difference. I want to know if any of you have any "pixie dust" you can share.

Welcome to Dawson County Georgia

Welcome to Dawson County Georgia: Visual shows :: Welcome to Dawson County Georgia. Located one hour north of Atlanta,
this county has approximately 20,000 inhabitants. The county boast
great shopping with the North Georgia Premium Outlet Malls. It is also
an outdoor paradise. The Applaichan Trail starts at Amlicacola Falls,
canoe on the Etowah River, boat on Lake Lanier, or hike in the Dawson
Forest Management Area. A place where you can live a slower pace
lifestyle but have access to a city.

The Proper Use of a Home Inspection

Last week I attended a CE course given by a local home inspection company. The teacher, a home inspector, is a mechanical engineer. He has had extensive experience with large engineering firms that inspect large structures. Yes very qualified! We spent a full three hours looking at pictures of homes that were “repaired” by their owners. This included garden hose used as a gas line, welcome mats used on a home for shingles, light switches in a shower, and mdf boards used to hold up a floor joist. Very creative! I have not personally had the pleasure of seeing these type of “repairs” on homes that I have listed or sold. I hope that my streak stays alive! The main part of our class was a discussion about home inspectors and their relationship with the home buyer and the real estate agent. This relationship has become strained with the home inspection becoming a source of conflict between the seller and buyer. Specifically most home inspectors are missing “the forest through the trees”. Is a squeaky gate an item that must be put on a home inspection report? Is a reminder to change out the air condition filters an item to include on the report? Is it imperative to highlight deck rails on a 1987 home that are 3 inches too short if they are compared to a 2013 building code? Heaven forbid we do not have mention of the “lack of GFCI breaker in the Kitchen” on a home built 25 years ago. (We have a standing bet on how many times the GFCI breaker would be mentioned in an inspection report. After 7 years 100%) The problem is that our home sellers (still a buyer’s market) have dropped price to rock bottom only to be confronted with a list of items that the buyer wants repaired prior to moving into the home. The issue is that this list of items that the buyer wants repaired are not items that “have” to be repaired or cause a “major structural defect” to the home. I pushed our teacher hard to ask his inspectors to be more big picture when it comes to inspections. I ask that their inspectors take the time to give an overall assessment, from a structural point of view, of the home. The inspector needs to clarify what he or she feels has to be done vs what needs to be done. The buyer needs to keep the whole deal in perspective when putting together a “laundry list” of must need items that are really more of a like to have items. The buyer needs to look at the age of the home and the present condition of the home. Homes have a lot of moving parts, are exposed to the elements, and do age over time. Any home has maintenance that must be done on a continual basis. The perfect home does not exist.

PLEASE LET US SHOW THE HOME!

Too much information can be a bad thing. There are times when less is more. When it comes to the sale of your home less can be more. We have had two of our sellers learn this point the hard way. In both cases our sellers chose to stay in their home while it was being shown by a buyer’s agent. In the first case our seller spent more than two hours with the potential buyers. She earned their trust, their friendship, and probably had some influence on the buyer’s ultimate decision. Our seller told them all of the things she had done to the home, how wonderful the neighborhood was, and how happy they would be living in this home. She also said that she would offer a lot of the furniture and the golf cart as part of the negotiations. This is where the trouble began! The buyers had been interested in this home for over two years! When it appeared on the market they were ready to go. They sent us an offer. A very good price to start but......they wanted the golf cart and a lot of the furniture for free.! (Rough estimate was $15,000 in cost). Our seller was not very pleased with this initial offer. As we talked further with her she told us that their two hour meeting was productive, they had developed a friendship, and yes she had offered a lot of the items to go with the home. What she meant was that the items were for sale! Oops! In the second case our seller let the agent show their home. As he spoke with the potential buyer he mentioned that he wanted $400,000 for the home. At this time the home was listed for $469,900. The buyer interpreted this as his bottom line. However the seller meant this amount after the commissions were taken out of sale. As we received our initial offer, the buyer's agent repeated what our seller had said:"I want $400,000 out of the home". That is not exactly what our seller mean but that is how the buyer interpreted the conversation. The only thing that needs to be said in both of these incidents is the same: Please let your agents sell your home, represent you, and do the negotiating. We politely ask that you do not do our job of selling your home. In the end it opens up a lot of potential problems. Trust your agent to market your home, sell your home, and represent in the best way possible. It will be the best decision you ever make!

2622 Hwy 136E

2622 Hwy 136E: Visual shows :: 2622 Hwy 136E

Spend Time on the Financing!

Financing has become the make or break factor for many real estate transactions. As important as it is to the overall purchase of a home we are seeing less time spent on the actual specifics of financing. Today we had a one hour class taught by one of our mortgage brokers. She wanted to review a Pre-App Worksheet, HUD form, and various funding fees for conventional, USDA, FHA, and VA mortgages. Did you know? • On an FHA loan that the maximum contribution from a seller, for closing cost, is 6% of the purchase price? • A lender can pay mortgage insurance by putting it in the loan? • On a 90% Conventional loan the maximum contribution from a seller, for closing cost, is 3% of the purchase price? • On an FHA loan the Tax Service Fee is always $83? • The lender makes their money from the origination fee and the admin fee only? The items listed above are a few of the many factors current today and for the state of Georgia. One thing is for certain: They will change! The reason I listed the above items is to emphasize how important it is for your buyer to meet with a mortgage representative prior to starting their home search. Why? Because the mortgage representative can offer a variety of mortgage products, closing cost, rates, and terms that work to the advantage of that buyer in that environment. The Wells Team has a good relationship with many lenders in the Atlanta area. As part of our customer service we require our buyers to sit down with the lender of their choosing and work together to put in place a comprehensive financial plan. The result: A successful buyer experience!

This is not your mother's negotiations!

Everything is negotiable? The traditional way to negotiate involved going back and forth until both sides agreed on the terms. It was done void of emotion with both sides trying to feel like they have won. Real estate is supposed to be no different. Or is it? For the month past few months The Wells Team has been involved in numerous negotiations. Some turned out successful and others no so successful. Here is what all of them had in common: •Emotion came into play from both buyers and sellers •Buyers would not move off of their initial offer even after receiving a solid counteroffer. •Buyers did not tell us that this was their final offer. •Small items in the home (appliance, pool table,) became the focal point of the negotiation. •Buyers and sellers were basing their price on "what they FELT the home should sell for" and not the statistics that we provide. •Both buyers and sellers were holding their grounds based on "principle" •Both buyers and sellers were determined to be the winner. There was no concept of win-win. What are we telling our sellers? Before we receive an offer on your home ask yourself the following questions: •What is my time frame for moving? •Do I need to sell now or do I want to wait for the "perfect" offer? •What is the power of money? In other words if I sell now for a little less am I better off than continuing to pay taxes, utilities, and maintenance while waiting for the bigger offer? •What items in the home am I absolutely, at any price, unwilling to leave in the home? •Do I want to negotiate in small increments or do I want to be aggressive with any counteroffer? •Am I mentally prepared a "low ball" offer? •Has my agent provided me with enough data to give me a fair assessment of my market? It is not getting any easier. Take the time to prepare your sellers and your buyers for negotiations!