Was There a Death In The House You Are Selling?

When most folks start out to buy a home, the least likely question on their mind is whether there was a death n the house. Most home buyers are more apt to be thinking about where their furniture will look best and whether they can afford the payments, than has anybody ever died in the house. But to some home buyers, a death in the house is a defect that cannot be overcome.

If the Sellers Died In the House Would You Buy it?

 

Many Dallas real estate buyers generally say it depends on how the seller died in the house. Some types of death carry stronger feelings and are hard to comprehend. An elderly seller vs., a murder for example.

 

• Did the seller trip and fall down the stairs, crack open his head and instantly die?
• Did a burglar break in and surprise the seller by shooting him in the middle of the living room?
• Was the seller ill for a long time and died peacefully in her sleep?
• Was the home the scene of a homicide or a suicide?

Buyers of older Plano homes should realize that in the early 1900s, many people were born and died at the same home. It is more likely than not that a death has occurred in the house over the years. Does it matter if it happened 100 years vs. 10 years ago? You can be certain that many 300+ year old homes in France could have been involved at one point to the French Revolution and its occupants murdered.

 

Must Listing Agents Disclose if Sellers Died in the House?

 

Not all states require such a disclosure. For example, in Colorado, neither the agent nor his sellers are required to disclose if a person died in the house. But in Texas, if a "unnatural" death occurred in the house it's considered a material fact and must be disclosed.

 

Sellers should use common sense. If it's a fact that you would want to know when buying a home, then you should probably disclose it. Some classes are protected, however, such as sellers who die from AIDS or AIDS related illness. Find a real estate agent to ask or check with a real estate lawyer to determine the laws that govern in your state.

 

How Does a Death in the House Affect Its Value?

 

Some of these houses end up being sold to one of those We Buy Houses companies that have a network of buyers. We can all agree that there is nothing about a death in the house that will improve its value or marketability. Most home buyers will move forward with a purchase of a house if they find that an elderly person has passed away in it. On the flip side though, if they find that a violent murder or a suicide took place in the house they will probably not move forward with the purchase and it may take a step cut in the sale price to find a buyer.

Don't Lose Your Home to a Fire

Thousands of homeowners experience devastation due to fires every year according to the US Fire Administration, more than 3,500 Americans die and another 18,000 are injured in fires every year. Some of these fires originate in the home itself while others are in the form of wildfires, which run rampant when conditions are dry and windy. Many of these fires could have been avoided if the proper safeguards were in place. Let's take a look at some of the main causes of a fire in homes and what can be done to safeguard both your home and your family.

A surprise? The leading cause of fire related deaths is from smoking. Cigarette fires kill more than 1,000 Americans each year and injure another 4,000. Moreover, cigarettes, or more accurately smokers. start a quarter of all fires each year. USA Today has reported that "cigarette fires have been the top cause of U.S. fire fatalities for decades, killing tens of thousands of people in the past 30 years, according to the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), a research group that provides data for state and federal fire codes."  These national averages apply to DFW homes and Plano homes as well.

Smoker; keep your cigarette butts in one spot and not littered them around your yard and your neighborhood.. Never throw them along roadways, or in dumpsters, trash cans or next to buildings. Another leading cause of fires is children playing with matches and lighters.  Make sure you have a serious talk with your children, no matter their age, about the dangers of fires. More than 100,000 fires are started by children each year and over 30% of those fires end up killing the same children that started them. It can take less than 30 seconds for a small flame to turn into a major fire. Make sure you carry the proper insurance in case your home is the victim of a fire. If not you may end up selling your home to one of those "We Buy Homes" companies.

Be responsible and create a no fire plan for your home.

1. Have smoke detectors on each and every level of your home
2. Never leave a fire, candle, cigarette or cigar unattended.
3. Make sure you have a fire extinguisher, as well as a garden hose at your home.
4. Never build fires or burn brush near your home or during dry and windy conditions
5. Remove dead leaves from gutters and your roof and around the base of your home.
6. If you live on top of a hill, beware that fires spread quickly as they spread uphill. Patios and stone walls can help deflect the flames.
7. Avoid the use of bark chips or mulch around your home, which are highly flammable.

FEMA gives homeowners tips that are valuable about creating a 30 foot safe zone around their DFW homes to help safeguard their property during wildfires. First, fire feeds on vegetation both live and dead. Keep your shrubs at a minimum, remove vines from the walls of your home, and consider pruning branches so that none are within 15 feet of the ground. Also, always keep your firewood stacked at least 100 feet from any building structure.

1. Use fire-resistant building materials when possible.
2. Cover your homes vents with wire mesh to keep embers from entering the home.
3. Prepare to store water and have an external water supply, such as a small pond, well, or pool.
4. Avoid flammable roofing materials and instead choose single ply membranes, slate, fiberglass shingles, metal, clay or concrete tile.

Sometimes there's no matter what you do there are times when nothing that can be done to prevent a fire.  A thoughtful and responsible homeowner takes all possible precautions to safeguard their home and loved ones in the event that a fire does occur.

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DFW Home Marketing Bloopers

When real estate markets slow down, usually the inventory of DFW homes increases and the number of home buyers decrease. These market conditions make it more difficult to sell homes, yet some homes still continue to sell. Why do some homes sell and others seemingly sit on the market forever? The answer has little to do with the home itself, although many agents will claim such. More than likely the problem lies within poor marketing. Below are some mistakes I see sellers and their agents make time and time again.

Bad Marketing

Uploading Poor Quality Photographs Online

The old cliché is true and pictures speak volumes and are noticed before the written word. Since it's the first thing a potential buyer will see, why leave a bad first impression when it comes to selling Dallas homes or Plano Homes? The job of a photo is to entice the buyer to want to see more of the home in person. It should not give the buyer a reason to cross the home off her list. Don't publish photos like these:

• Uncropped photos
• Pictures too dark with blinds closed
• Photos turned sideways
• Photos zoomed in on one item, like the kitchen sink.
• Photos of cluttered rooms
• Not submitting enough photos or uploading only one photo of the front of the house
• High resolution photos without adjusting pixels for Internet use

Withholding Important Descriptive Comments

When there are tons of homes on the market, just giving out a property address while noting the numbers of bedrooms and baths is insufficient information for today's home buyer. It doesn't tell a buyer why she should schedule a time to see the home. Good marketing tells a buyer why this particular home is better than the dozens of other homes on the market. Sellers should focus on:

Restricting Access for Showings

If an agent can't easily show your home, he is going to show another listing instead. Don't give an agent a reason to pass up your home. Any of these can hamper showings:

• By appointment only
• No lockbox on the property
• Restricted hours to show
• 24-hour notice

How can you expect to sell the home if perspective buyers can't see it?

BAD MARKETING: Offering Less Commission Than Other Listings

It's not that agents are greedy creatures who show only high-fee listings--which is against the law, although some are highly motivated solely by income--but agents tend to view lower-commissioned listings as those in which the seller isn't very motivated to sell.

• If the seller isn't motivated, it could mean the seller isn't willing to negotiate on price.
• In slow moving markets, buyers expect to negotiate.
• Agents whose buyers want to negotiate will show only listings where negotiation is possible.

Not Offering Buyer Incentives

On some million dollar listings sellers offer a car as a home buyer incentive, but it doesn't have to be anything that expensive. An incentive doesn't even need to cost the seller if the home price is structured to account for the discount. Here are some typical incentives:

• How can a negative factor be addressed that will accentuate its positive attributes?
• What makes this home unique?
• What was the motivating factor that made the seller buy this home in the first place?

BAD MARKETING: Underestimating the Importance of Broker / Agent Previews

Just like buyers, agents don't have the time to look at every home on the market. So, what can you do to entice them to come see yours? Because agents are more likely to sell a house they have toured, sellers need to attract selling agents.

Not Having a Virtual Tour

Almost all buyers today begin their home searches online. There is no better way to initially view a home than in the comfort of one's own pajamas at home in front of the computer, looking at a 360-degree tour. Some buyers won't even consider a property listing if it doesn't include a virtual tour.

GOOD MARKETING

• Catered lunches. Go beyond the ordinary sandwiches and bottled water. Food motivates, and don't let anybody kid you about this. Be creative with culinary selections.
• Offer drawings for small gifts or gift certificates.
• Give online certificatesthat can be immediately e-mailed.

• Call first, lock box
• $$ credit toward the buyer's closing costs
• Home protection plan
• Pre-paid homeowner association fees for a year
• Buy-down mortgage interest rate
• Weekend getaway for two

• Sunday classifieds in daily newspaper
• Picture classifieds, if offered during the week
• Local weekly or bi-weekly newspaper

• High resolution photos that buyers can print themselves.
• Ability to download photos so buyers can e-mail the pictures to friends and family.

Agency and the Realtor

Choosing the right Realtor to sell your home requires a completely different approach than the approach you used to find a Realtor to help you buy your home.  It would be ideal if the same Realtor can help you with both transactions, because developing a relationship with an professional Realtor can be a great benefit to you in many ways.  Your listing agent should be a full time Realtor. If buyers and other Realtors have questions about your property, they want an answers now, not when the listing agent can manage to get time away from his job. Successful listing agents are not in the business part time.

Most Agents who sell Plano homes or any DFW homes don't want you to know they work part time because they know it will reflect negatively on them. Ask the agent how many hours a week they spend working real estate and if they have another job.  Does the agent have a professional appearance? The agent you choose will be a reflection of your property. An unprofessional appearance or attitude will turn off potential buyers. How long has the agent been involved in real estate sales? It's an important question, but don't get hung up on the answer to much.  Hard working new agents can be just as effective as a well established agent.

Does the agent belong to all of the areas multiple listing services? The more places your listing shows up, the better exposure it will get. Your agent's first choice will be to sell the property herself, but promoting it to every available agent within the area is a must from the very beginning.  A single agent might be working with ten qualified buyers at any given time, but your property won't be suitable to all potential buyers.  Listing the property in the MLS brings in every licensed agent, drastically increasing your buyer pool.  Does the agent specialize in Dallas foreclosures?  If so, you probably don’t want them as the selling representative for your house.

There are many other questions you should ask the agent during your interview.  Here are some good examples:

·         What types of marketing will you do for the property?

·         How many of your recent listings have sold during their initial listing period? How many listings expired without a sale?

·         Do you have special training that goes above and beyond what's required to be licensed?

·         Will you hold an open houses?

·         Will you provide marketing materials to leave in the house for agents and buyers?

·         Will you send flyers or postcards to local agents?

·         How often will you call me with showing reports and feedback?

Ask as many questions as possible that cannot be answered with a simple yes or no response. An open ended question forces the agent to talk about her ideas for your property, and many of the responses will trigger more questions from you. Always ask an agent for referrals from satisfied seller clients. If the agent cannot provide them, something may be wrong and you should probably move on.

A Marketing Plan

The agent must be able to demonstrate to you an aggressive marketing plan. Does the agent or firm have a good internet presence? Will the agent do a virtual tour of your property? How does the firm stack up against other firms that are marketing on a local level? You should have a good feel for the answers to all of those questions based on the agent search you did when you bought the property. After you decide on an agent monitor them to make sure that the promises your agent made turn into actions. If the marketing plan isn't implemented, ask the agent to make the necessary corrections. If they make no corrections ask them to release you from the listing contract. Remember that the firm’s broker in charge is your agent and she should be notified if your listing agent does not follow through their promises.

Open Houses?

Most open houses held for buyers do not actually sell the house being held open. A better type of open house is one held for other real estate agents because these are the people who are in control of showing your property to buyers. At the very least, your agent should have a showing for all other agents within his office, but holding a second open house for all agents within the MLS is also highly recommended. They won't all attend, but everyone who does will tend to remember your property when a suitable buyer comes around.

Ask as many questions as you need to determine which agent is best fit for your needs.  Keep in mind that your final agent selection will require some gut feeling on your part. Personalities always come into play, so you should choose an agent based in part on the knowledge that you can get along with that agent during the listing period. There are plenty of good agents out there available to you. Don't choose someone who you cannot stand dealing with, because there's surely someone who can offer good services and a good working relationship. 

Plano Home Sellers Who Need to Sell Without Equity

Sometimes people who need to sell Plano homes may end bringing cash to closing to sell their house. You may be thinking, if I am selling my house, why would I need to bring in cash to closing to sell it? Isn't the buyer paying to buy my home? Unfortunately, this circumstance happens more often than you think.

Why Would a Seller Need to Pay to Sell?

· Unexpected Home Repairs

Few transaction close until the buyer has completed their home inspection. Home inspections and termite inspections can uncover undisclosed problems or deficiencies in a house that run into thousands of dollars to repair. What can begin as a simple repair job can expose other problems when walls are opened up or roof shingles are removed.

· Not Enough Equity.

If you have owned your home less than two years and you took out a mortgage that was greater than 90% of the purchase price, it is likely you don't have enough equity to pay closing and selling costs. These costs 8 to 10% of the sales price.

· Declining Real Estate Market

Maybe you have to sell in a declining market, which would mean your house might not be worth enough to generate money upon selling. Real estate market cycles can make markets move down as well as move up. Not every home will appreciate every year.

· Community Values Change

Sometimes external factors or nearby Plano Foreclosures can affect property values. When new subdivisions are built close by and the houses are offered for less, buyers will generally gravitate toward the new houses, avoiding slightly older homes. New commercial developments change the value of surrounding homes. Sometimes homes with views lose those views when high-rise buildings are constructed near existing housing.

How Do Sellers Pay to Sell DFW Homes?

· Some Sellers Access Their Retirement Accounts or Borrow From Family Members

Sellers who are on the short end of the stick must bring a check to closing. A man in Dallas used a home equity loan against his home to help make her mortgage payments. When he could no longer afford to make the mortgage payments, he bought another home with 100% financing. He then rented his condo and put it on the market. His tenant was uncooperative and made it difficult for the man's agent to show the house. The tenant had to be put out of the house. Faced with falling prices, this seller was going further into debt every month. He finally had to face the fact that if he wanted to sell his house and not lose it through a foreclosure sale, he would have to bring money to the table to close the sale.

· Some Sellers Choose to Bite the Bullet

A seller in Fort Worth contacted me recently to ask if her Realtor was telling her the truth when she suggested she bring in money to close his sale. This seller's best financial move may have been to stay put and not sell. She already owned a home; she wasn't a renter trying to become a first time home buyer. The seller insisted on selling because she no longer liked her neighborhood or any of her neighbors. Out of all the houses in his neighborhood, she was the only owner occupant left. The rest of the houses were rentals, which lowered values. She decided that it was worth it to spend $25,000 to get out of that neighborhood and into a more desirable area.

· For Some Sellers a Short Sale May be the Answer

Most lenders will agree to a short sale. Lenders have specific requirements that will persuade a lender to forgive mortgage debt. A seller in Frisco Texas had no liquid assets, no income and had refinanced his house for more than its market value. He found out that negotiating a short sale with his lender meant he could walk away from the house without getting a foreclosure on his record.

Every home selling situation is different. Sellers who find themselves in financial difficulty should first talk to a legal, financial adviser or a CPA to help them weigh the pros and cons of bringing cash to close the sale of their home.

Why Isn't My Plano Home Selling?

Many Sellers with Plano homes for sale have had their property
on the market for months with very few or no showings. Some of these sellers have had dozens of showings but not one offer to purchase. In a buyer’s market, it is especially important to pull out all the stops and make sure your home stands out among the other entire competing inventory on the market. Ask yourself why a buyer would choose your home over all the other homes for sale find the things that don’t
stand out and get to work on them.

Condition of Your Home: Be sure to study your competition. If 85% of the homes in your market are not selling, then yours needs to shine above the top 15%. Also, study the homes that are pending sales because that's your current indicator of market activity. You want to know what is happening right now, and pending sale data will tell you which homes are selling. Unfortunately, in the DFW Real Estate area MLS the Pending sales do not show how much the house is under contract for. Separate from preparing your house for sale, consider its condition. Maybe you should consider adding upgrades and doing updates and repairs before putting your house on the market. If the top 5% on houses on the market have new flooring and your flooring is worn and dated, your house is not going to sell and could become one of the many Plano foreclosures. Replace the flooring. Paint the walls a neutral color and spruce up the curb appeal.

Not Enough Photographs / Poor Photographs

Houses in the DFW MLS that have only one photo are quickly passed by. Houses with dozens of photographs get noticed. Take quality photos or hire a professional photographer. Shoot wide angles with plenty of light showcasing your home's best features. If the photos are blurry or otherwise look bad don’t use them!
·
Take many photos of the kitchen area. The kitchen is one of the most important areas to photograph.
·
Unless your bedrooms differ from one another greatly, just take photos of the master bedroom or largest bedroom.
·
Don't get yourself in the photo of the bathroom by shooting the mirror's reflection.
·
If the hallway is narrow, don't take a picture of it. Take photos of the fireplace or other nice
feature instead.
·
Living room photos should show space so take photos of it from many different angles.
·
Don’t forget to include the back yard and gardens.
·
Add descriptive text to each photo.

You Didn’t Pay For Extensive Marketing and Advertising

No single aspect of a marketing plan will sell your sell your home. It takes a comprehensive combination of marketing efforts. Print color postcards and mail them to surrounding homes in the neighborhood and to out of area buyers.
·
Get a virtual tour of your house to use in your marketing.
·
Keep marketing aggressively until your house sells.
·
Create color fliers containing several photos to distribute to potential buyers and those who view your home.
·
Hold Open Houses on the weekends that coincide with other neighborhood open houses.
·
Very important; Get feedback from buyers that have viewed your home. See what they liked and disliked about your home, and make adjustments to overcome this issues.

You May Have Hired the Wrong Listing Agent

You want to work with a professional DFW Realtor who is competent, experienced and rustworthy. There are a many ways to find Realtors but the easiest way is through referrals from friends and family. If you desire full service and want an agent to spend money marketing your house hire a full service brokerage company and interview at least three agents. To find the best listing agent don't base your decision solely on the suggested listing price or how much the agent charges for commission because there are other considerations. Discuss the listing price and commission amount last. First, find out the agent's marketing plan and experience.

You Haven't Priced Your Home Properly to Sell

Many sellers say that they don’t want to “give their house away”. To sell your house, the listing price must be right. Don't test the market at a high value because if you do, your house will probably just sit on the market and the days on market (DOM) will continue to increase. Dated listings don't usually sell for list price. To avoid overpricing your house, study the sold comparable sales. Adjust for square footage, upgrades and condition, if necessary. If your home has a bad floor plan or is located in bad location such as next to power lines, on or near a busy street, you're not going to get the same price as homes with a good layout and in a good location.
Example: if the last three homes sold at $300,000 but you feel they are not comparable to yours because they aren’t updates, but they were located on a quiet street and your street is busy your house is probably worth about the same. A plus of$25,000 adjustment for the updates could wash
out the minus $25,000 for the noisy street.

In a buyer's market, price your home a minimum of 3% less than the comparable sales. If you can't live with this amount then don't put your house on the market and set yourself up for
disappointment. Overpricing your house is the worst selling mistake a home seller can make.

Earnest Money Deposits and Your Plano Home Purchase

Home Buyers always ask how much earnest money deposit they should offer. Generally, there is no set amount. In most States, contracts must contain a consideration to be valid, but that amount can be as little as one dollar. Laws in your state may be different. Keep in mind that the amount of your earnest money deposit depends primarily on your local marketplace and customs.

What is an Earnest Money Deposit?

An earnest money deposit is a good faith deposit. When buyers execute a purchase contract the contract specifies how much money the buyer is initially putting up as earnest money to secure the contract. It will also show how much down payment the buyers are agreeing to make. The balance is usually financed as a mortgage. An earnest money deposit says to the seller that you are serious about buying their house. An earnest money deposit for Plano foreclosures also shows the bank that you are a serious purchaser.

How Much Earnest Money is Enough?

Because there is no set amount, it varies from market to market and across the country. Where I work, selling Plano homes and DFW Homes in Texas, generally this amount is between 1% and 5% of the purchase price. Buyers here do not often put down more than 5% since the sales contract contains a liquidated damages clause that awards that earnest money to the sellers should they default and not close on transition. If we were in a seller's market, with many buyers fighting over limited amount of home, it makes sense for the buyer to put down a much larger earnest money deposit to entice the seller to accept their offer. In a buyer’s market, a larger earnest money deposit might entice a seller to accept a much lower purchase price.

Who Do You Give Your Earnest Money Deposit To?

In every jurisdiction that I am aware of, the earnest money deposit should either go to the Title Company or legal firm handling the closing or to the listing brokers escrow account. Review the advice below:

· Never give an earnest money deposit to the seller.

· Verify that the third party will deposit the funds into a separately maintained trust account.

· Obtain a receipt.

· It is not advisable to authorize a release of your earnest money until your transaction closes.

Is Your Earnest Money Deposit Refundable It You Do Not Close?

Study your sales contract and addenda to see what it says about what happens to your earnest money deposit if the transaction doesn’t close. The answer will depend on why the transaction didn’t close. Were you not able to get your financing approved or maybe you couldn’t get clear title to the property. Did you or the seller simply change their mind about closing? Upon cancellation, the sellers and buyers are asked to sign mutual release agreement. If an agreement cannot be reached, the party holding the earnest money deposit will continue to hold it until an agreement is reached. If no agreement has been reached after certain period of time, title companies will send the parties a certified letter asking for mutual instructions. The letter will state that if no one responds within a certain time period, then title agent will return the money to the buyer. If the seller contests the action then the parties will have to go to arbitration or court to get the issue resolved.

Sellers Who Are In The Know Can Compete Against Dallas Foreclosures

Dallas Foreclosures Aren't Usually the Great Bargain Many Buyers Expect:

Unlike what so many home buyers think banks are not giving properties away or selling them for half price. Despite the commercials and advertisements you see about stealing Dallas foreclosure homes for pennies on the dollar. Many banks will price a foreclosure property near the true appraised value, unless the property is in need of substantial repairs. With these Dallas foreclosures properties priced at little or no discount to market value, sellers of non-foreclosure Dallas Homes can make their properties look very enticing by having them in move-in ready condition and at little or no premium to foreclosure properties owned by the banks.

It Can Take a Long Time to Close a Foreclosure Property:

You would think common sense would say that these banks would be in a hurry to get these foreclosed properties off their books, but this rarely the case. These banks can take many weeks instead of days to respond to offers and counter offers. Getting responses from these banks can take almost forever. Many astute home sellers know that their home is going to fare well in competition with these foreclosures because buyers will be able to close and move in on a realistic time schedule. Even with nearby Plano homes getting a foreclosed property to close in a timely manner is a challenge to say the least.

Disclosure of Defects / Not With Foreclosures:

Banks will not disclose anything about the condition of the foreclosure property because they have no knowledge of problems with the property. Most state laws exempt Banks from disclosure requirement. Sellers will fare well much better in competition against theses foreclosed homes with a full disclosure, plus correction of what can be fixed prior to listing. Buyers will be comparing an unknown quantity with a full disclosure and condition report.

Repairs on Foreclosure Property Can be Scary:

The bank will not want to do any pre-closing repairs, offering the property "as-is." The buyer(s) will do an inspection, and it is likely that the list of repairs could be very extensive. The buyer's lender will want some or all of the problems corrected before closing. This causes a huge dilemma for the buyer and which will usually cause them to walk away from the property. A smart Dallas home seller will have done their own pre-listing inspection and corrective repairs. They will be offering the alternative of a move-in ready home, with proof of all repairs they've done to bring it to that condition.

Professional Realtors Need to Educate Their Sellers:

As a professional Dallas Realtor being consulted about listing a home, it is best that you educate your sellers about the pitfalls of Dallas foreclosures. They may be entering the market with the fear of needing to price their home at discount to compete with local foreclosure properties. Let them know all the facts first. Show them the advantages they have over the bank foreclosures. Advise then to make the appropriate improvements and repairs in order to come on the market with all of their competitive advantages in place.