Archive for the 'AZ home selling' Category
Is It Really Active?
July 24th, 2008 Categories: AZ home selling
So I don’t do it much but last week I took out some buyers, being primarily a listing agent I don’t get out much, but, it is good to get in the trenches to see the inventory and trends for the present buyers.
The market is is fruitful right now, I know this from my listings receiving multiple offers in days, but it is also highly competitive as well. Most homes claim they are available but technically they are not. If you were to put a buyer tour together of 10 homes in the west valley and called the listing agent, maybe only 3 would be available to put an offer on if your client was interested. (this is of course, the agent answered the phone). Why?
Short sale and lender owned.
First lender owned. It typically takes about 5 days to fully solidify an offer between seller and buyer and go “pending”. In between that time there is a contract in review with the lender to accept. Most of the time they do accept verbally but it takes up to 5 days just to process and get back to the buyer. So, during that time, it remains active and available for anyone to come in and bid higher. Just the way it is.
Now Short Sales: This is a mess considering a majority of the listings are short sales. The AZ department of real estate, local associations, and local MLS need to refine this chaos. Most short sales will remain “active” until it has received an agreement letter from the lender to sale the home. This could take up to 4 months (Wells Fargo). So if a buyer agent calls on a short sale home, there is most likely 6-7 offers already in review of that home. Agents need to tell the consumers this…. When it shows active on a real estate website, it does not mean it is.
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Arizona Foreclosure Bus Tours
March 31st, 2008 Categories: AZ home selling
In the past week, I have seen and read media reports on bus tours for foreclosure homes in Arizona. May be you have seen them on the news yourself… An agent rents a bus and books it full of people interested in buying a bank-owned home and they drive around looking at a dozen or so homes.
Now as a realtor myself, when I first started seeing this about 2 years ago in California, I thought..”what a great idea”. And it is a wonderful way to get exposure and gain business, but when I saw the news broadcast of people getting out of the bus like cattle and following the realtor like a flock of ducklings I realized it was not such a bright idea. Here’s why:
Right now there is a high level of competition for bank-owned homes. Multiple offers, bidding wars, sold in hours. So even without a bus full of buyers there would be competition. Saying that, why would you go to the same homes as 11 other people to bid on it?
Also, why would you use the same realtor as the other people on the bus? Which, hopefully that agent has all the bus riders sign a disclaimer, for the ethics on writing a contract for the same home with different buyers is very shady. How would that agent best represent you in a bidding war? Think about it.
And lastly, this is coming from a consumer point of view, if you were interested in buying a bank-owned home, why would you want to go with a herd of other people in a bus? Could you not just call one of the thousands of agents in the valley for a private tour? A nicer car? And a 100% fiduciary commitment? There are plenty of starving agents right now that would be honored to bring you out and look for a foreclosure property.
Call one now!!
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“…But I don’t want to give my Surprise, AZ home away”
January 2nd, 2008 Categories: AZ home selling
Ah yes. The ol’ “I don’t want to give it away” objection. I have heard this more times than I would like to admit. It is a common comeback to an aggressive plan in this declining market. 
Price adjustments, or price reductions are a necessity in a downward sliding market. They are a part of the home-sale process. I have yet to meet someone that volunteered to lower their price, this is not something somebody wants to do. Give up thousands of dollars in big chunks. But it is necessary!!!
First let’s talk about the initial market price at the very beginning of the listing. Your realtor consults with you and explains that you have one chance to make a first impression in the very beginning. He/She explains that together the agent and you must plan ahead and prep the home to sell to get the maximum price for your home in the least amount of time. Prepping the home includes touch-up painting, repairing that doorknob that has been broken for 16 months, deep-deep cleaning and most importantly pricing your home correctly. I guess you would need to “prep” yourself for the shock when I tell you what the going value of your home is.
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