12 Tips for Selling Your Home in a Down Market

Great tips and advice from businessinsider.com.  Below are just a few of the tips gleaned from the article.  Click here or on any of the bullets below to read the entire article and get more in depth information and advice!

• “Price it right from the get-go!” – Comps! Comps! Comps!  Comparable sales (not unsold listings), of homes that have actually sold in your neighborhood (that are similar to yours) are truly the best indicator of what your home’s current value is at this point.  The National Association of Realtors has reported that nearly half of all sellers accepted offers that were less than 90% of the asking price.

• “Put your best foot forward” – Some of the most impactful actions you can take when it comes to selling are often times just addressing the little things.  Which also means that these efforts are generally some of the most cost effective methods of making your home stand out.  Try paying extra attention to the details of your home.  Replacing that worn or missing caulking, sharpen up the landscaping with more timely trimmings or making sure the windows truly shine can all help your house chirp ”buy me!” just a little bit louder.

• “Be flexible” – Today’s real estate market is clearly a buyers market so be prepared to flex in all directions when it comes to attracting and keeping buyers on the line.  Offering incentives such as paying the buyer’s closing costs or leaving behind those beautifully matched appliances are a great start!

• “Don’t fall victim!” – Scams abound in these distressed times of ours.  Always proceed with caution when approached by “investors” seeking out desperate homeowners.

• “Finance 101″ – Realize that it’s harder for a buyer to obtain financing these days due to more stringent borrowing standards and intensified scrutiny from lenders.  It is also important to always take the time to consider cash offers even if they are lower than you had hoped to receive.  No one wants to just “give it away” but you also don’t want the bank to come and take it away either!  Counter offers are always an option!

As always if you or anyone you know has any questions regarding buying or selling real estate in the Portland or Wilsonville metro areas then please feel free to contact us at anytime!

- The Kennedy Team
RE/MAX equity group
503-981-9146
kennedyteamhomes@gmail.com

Affordability is Up!

Here are two great reasons to buy a home right now:  Affordability is up and interest rates are at historical lows.  Just in case you have not been paying attention, there is a proverbial clearance sale happening in real estate right now.  Additionally interest rates are still close to their lowest level in years, creating an opportunity that may be the best chance ever of owning the home you have always wanted.

Fantastic deals abound in both entry level housing as well as in upper end homes.  So whether you are looking to buy your first house or move up to that dream home, now is a great time!

Interest rates have been inching up lately and are predicted to climb higher this year.  This means that if you are using a mortgage to buy a house, your purchasing power will be reduced.

Does this mean that it is a bad time to sell?  Not necessarily.  There is quite a bit of activity going on in the housing market.  So depending on your personal circumstances, this may be the best time to sell also.

As always, if you or any of your friends or family members need any real estate advice or are ready to buy or sell, we are happy to help!

The Kennedy Team
RE/MAX equity group

The Home That Started it All – Frozen Foreclosures & Beyond

DENMARK, Me. — The house that set off the national furor over faulty foreclosures is blue-gray and weathered. The porch is piled with furniture and knickknacks awaiting the next yard sale. In the driveway is a busted pickup truck. No one who lives there is going anywhere anytime soon.

Nicolle Bradbury bought this house seven years ago for $75,000, a major step up from the trailer she had been living in with her family. But she lost her job and the $474 monthly mortgage payment became difficult, then impossible.

It should have been a routine foreclosure, with Mrs. Bradbury joining the anonymous millions quietly dispossessed since the recession began. But she was savvy enough to contact a nonprofit group, Pine Tree Legal Assistance, where for once in her 38 years, she caught a break.

Her file was pulled, more or less at random, by Thomas A. Cox, a retired lawyer who volunteers at Pine Tree. He happened to know something about foreclosures because when he worked for a bank he did them all the time. Twenty years later, he had switched sides and, he says, was trying to make amends.

Suddenly, there is a frenzy over foreclosures. Every attorney general in the country is participating in an investigation into the flawed paperwork and questionable methods behind many of them. A Senate hearing is scheduled, and federal inquiries have begun. The housing market, which runs on foreclosure sales, is in turmoil. Bank stocks fell on Thursday as analysts tried to gauge the impact on lenders’ bottom lines.

No-Interest Mortgages?

No-Interest Mortgages? No Chance
Still, 0% Is Thought-Provoking as Housing Slump Goes On Despite Low Rates

Imagine financing a home purchase with a no-interest mortgage. You probably never would want to move again.

Granted, it is doubtful that you will ever have that luxury. But if rates continue to drop, as some in the mortgage industry suggest they may, mortgage rates could inch in the direction of 0%. The Federal Reserve’s recent indication that it is willing to take extraordinary steps to keep the economy growing and continued concerns of deflation may also put pressure on mortgage rates.

No-interest mortgages, while a remote dream at best, could stoke a home-buying binge. Here, a home for sale in Springfield, Ill., earlier this year.  “So long as the Fed allows the word ‘deflation’ to get bandied about, mortgage rates will ease lower,” said Dan Green, a loan officer with Waterstone Mortgage in Cincinnati.

How much lower?