I love this site. Clients and friends interested in securing home loans have found it both informative and easy to use. I believe that your first step should be to take a look HERE
And then call me to find your next home
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Tuesday, September 29, 2009
Housing Recovery?
According to the latest breakdown of sales prices and sales volumes, it is clear that the entry level sales are strong in comparison to last year, but the "moving up" sector sales are in trouble:
• Houses Priced $0-$100,000 - Sales rose by 20.9%
• Houses Priced $100,000-$250,000 - Sales roseby 4.9%
• Houses Priced $250,000-$ 500,000 - Sales fellby 9.6%
• Houses Priced $750,000-$1 million - Sales fellby 22.5%
In my opinion these figures tell us people aren't moving "up" as they leave their lower priced homes. They are either moving to renting or back to mom & dad. Until the lower end begins to feed the higher end, overall sales figures are a bit deceiving and we have a ways to go.
These are the national numbers but the general trend is true here on Long Island as well. Bottom line is that competition amongst sellers above the $4000,000 mark here is fierce and you'd better be priced well in that sector to get your house sold.
• Houses Priced $0-$100,000 - Sales rose by 20.9%
• Houses Priced $100,000-$250,000 - Sales roseby 4.9%
• Houses Priced $250,000-$ 500,000 - Sales fellby 9.6%
• Houses Priced $750,000-$1 million - Sales fellby 22.5%
In my opinion these figures tell us people aren't moving "up" as they leave their lower priced homes. They are either moving to renting or back to mom & dad. Until the lower end begins to feed the higher end, overall sales figures are a bit deceiving and we have a ways to go.
These are the national numbers but the general trend is true here on Long Island as well. Bottom line is that competition amongst sellers above the $4000,000 mark here is fierce and you'd better be priced well in that sector to get your house sold.
Top 10 Home-Selling Mistakes
HGTV’s FrontDoor.com identified what it believes to be the top 10 home-selling mistakes.
10. Waiting until spring to sell. People buy homes all year, so play up the home’s seasonal amenities and take advantage of serious buyers looking in the off-season.
9. Not understanding the real estate contract. Go over the fine print of the agreement with your real-estate agent or attorney before signing to make sure you understand your responsibilities as well as any demands the buyer has made.
8. Going it alone without researching first. Selling a home for-sale-by-owner take time, and requires you to do paperwork, marketing and showings. Make sure you’re up for the work involved in return for saving on the real-estate agent commission fee.
7. Ignoring lowball offers. If buyers submit a low offer, don’t reject it completely. Counteroffer to see if they are willing to negotiate.
6. Wasting time on an unqualified buyer. Make sure a potential buyer is prequalified for a loan before accepting an offer.
5. Skimping on marketing. Mix traditional advertising, including a sign in the yard and an ad in a homes magazine, with Web techniques, including online photos and video.
4. Sabotaging the showing. Leave the home when it is being shown to prospective buyers so they can more easily focus, and make sure the home is accessible w! ith convenient showing hours and a lockbox for agents.
3. Not prepping for the sale. Visit open houses in the neighborhood to get a sense of what the competition offers, then make fixes and updates, declutter and clean to outshine them.
2. Overimproving. Don’t make so many upgrades that you price your home out of the appropriate range for the area and fail to recoup your investment.
1. Overpricing. Your home should be priced in line with homes in the area that are of similar age, style and size.
10. Waiting until spring to sell. People buy homes all year, so play up the home’s seasonal amenities and take advantage of serious buyers looking in the off-season.
9. Not understanding the real estate contract. Go over the fine print of the agreement with your real-estate agent or attorney before signing to make sure you understand your responsibilities as well as any demands the buyer has made.
8. Going it alone without researching first. Selling a home for-sale-by-owner take time, and requires you to do paperwork, marketing and showings. Make sure you’re up for the work involved in return for saving on the real-estate agent commission fee.
7. Ignoring lowball offers. If buyers submit a low offer, don’t reject it completely. Counteroffer to see if they are willing to negotiate.
6. Wasting time on an unqualified buyer. Make sure a potential buyer is prequalified for a loan before accepting an offer.
5. Skimping on marketing. Mix traditional advertising, including a sign in the yard and an ad in a homes magazine, with Web techniques, including online photos and video.
4. Sabotaging the showing. Leave the home when it is being shown to prospective buyers so they can more easily focus, and make sure the home is accessible w! ith convenient showing hours and a lockbox for agents.
3. Not prepping for the sale. Visit open houses in the neighborhood to get a sense of what the competition offers, then make fixes and updates, declutter and clean to outshine them.
2. Overimproving. Don’t make so many upgrades that you price your home out of the appropriate range for the area and fail to recoup your investment.
1. Overpricing. Your home should be priced in line with homes in the area that are of similar age, style and size.
Friday, September 25, 2009
Kitchen and Bath renovation is the #1 value adding investment for your home
Updated, beautiful, well designed kitchens and baths are always a great way to increase the value of your home. This designer is the best on the Island.
Please visit their site by clicking HERE
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Identifying the Most Desirable Home Features
Thinking of selling your house? What are buyers looking for in today's market? Is your house ready for this market?
This video will give you an idea of what today's buyer is looking for
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Making Home Affordable
Have you discovered the new Making Home Affordable program for mortgages owned by Fannie Mae and Freddi Mac? It is a program put in place to help America's homeowners.
Click this link to visit their homepage
Click this link to visit their homepage
Monday, September 21, 2009
Suffolk Holds Drawing for Foreclosed Homes
It was a foreclosure fest last night as Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy and others dipped into a barrel of 68 names to determine the order in which house hunters could buy rehabbed foreclosures at affordable prices.
“Yay!” screamed Minnie Mitchell, 45, of East Morichesm who was picked fifth. The assistant head teller at a bank and a single mom with two boys threw up her hands when hearing her name.
“Do you know how bad I want to own a home?” said Mitchell, one of 30 people who attended the lottery at the H. Lee Dennison building in Hauppauge. “I am the happiest person in the world.”
It's the first housing lottery drawing on Long Island under the federally funded Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which funneled about $30 million to Long Island municipalities to buy, rehab and sell empty houses.
Suffolk and Nassau, which will hold its lottery Monday, have been working with nonprofits to identify eligible buyers who will have to pay up to $225,000 for houses that could be worth far more. Those payments would be dumped back into buying more foreclosures.
"We really want you to get these homes and put your heart and soul into it because you're helping the neighborhood. . . . You're helping the county," Levy told the group.
The Long Island Housing Partnership will determine which house hunters meet income, credit and other eligibility rules. Money not allocated for a house in the next three years will return to federal coffers.
Suffolk is in contract on three properties but expects to rehab at least 70 homes in four years in target areas such as Mastic, Bay Shore, North Amityville and other places hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. Nassau expects to rehab 100 homes.
Joe Sanseverino, Suffolk's director of community development, said both counties and the Partnership have prepared a proposal for $20 million in competitive grants in the second round of federal funds. In target areas, properties seized by the county for nonpayment of taxes would be repaired with federal funds and sold as affordable homes, he said. "While we have not as severe problems as some of the other areas, like Nevada and California, we think we can make a bigger impact in communities with our funding," Sanseverino said.
Mitchell had been house hunting for a year but couldn't find an affordable home. A real estate agent told her about the program.
"Finally," she said. "I got a break."
You can learn more about the program and if you may qualify at The Long Island Housing Partnership website by clicking here
“Yay!” screamed Minnie Mitchell, 45, of East Morichesm who was picked fifth. The assistant head teller at a bank and a single mom with two boys threw up her hands when hearing her name.
“Do you know how bad I want to own a home?” said Mitchell, one of 30 people who attended the lottery at the H. Lee Dennison building in Hauppauge. “I am the happiest person in the world.”
It's the first housing lottery drawing on Long Island under the federally funded Neighborhood Stabilization Program, which funneled about $30 million to Long Island municipalities to buy, rehab and sell empty houses.
Suffolk and Nassau, which will hold its lottery Monday, have been working with nonprofits to identify eligible buyers who will have to pay up to $225,000 for houses that could be worth far more. Those payments would be dumped back into buying more foreclosures.
"We really want you to get these homes and put your heart and soul into it because you're helping the neighborhood. . . . You're helping the county," Levy told the group.
The Long Island Housing Partnership will determine which house hunters meet income, credit and other eligibility rules. Money not allocated for a house in the next three years will return to federal coffers.
Suffolk is in contract on three properties but expects to rehab at least 70 homes in four years in target areas such as Mastic, Bay Shore, North Amityville and other places hit hard by the foreclosure crisis. Nassau expects to rehab 100 homes.
Joe Sanseverino, Suffolk's director of community development, said both counties and the Partnership have prepared a proposal for $20 million in competitive grants in the second round of federal funds. In target areas, properties seized by the county for nonpayment of taxes would be repaired with federal funds and sold as affordable homes, he said. "While we have not as severe problems as some of the other areas, like Nevada and California, we think we can make a bigger impact in communities with our funding," Sanseverino said.
Mitchell had been house hunting for a year but couldn't find an affordable home. A real estate agent told her about the program.
"Finally," she said. "I got a break."
You can learn more about the program and if you may qualify at The Long Island Housing Partnership website by clicking here
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