Lake & Company Real Estate

When you make the decision to sell your home, it is so much more than just putting a sign in the ground. My goal is to get you the best price and the best terms while minimizing your stress around a transition.

From effective pricing, home preparation and marketing, I can prepare you for the current trends in the marketplace so that you meet the challenge with positive results.

In order to begin the selling process one needs to do a market analysis on their property in order to set a listing price. A comparative market analysis (called a CMA for short) is a property analysis that real estate agents use to help sellers and buyers determine the market value of real estate. A CMA is not an appraisal, but it does contain some of the same types of information that you'll find in an appraisal. Before you read further about the CMA process it is important to understand the meaning of market value since that is the objective with a CMA.

Market value is the most probable price which a property should bring in a competitive and open market under all conditions requisite to a fair sale, the buyer and seller each acting prudently and knowledgeably, and assuming the price is not affected by undue stimulus.

Please note that according to this definition, market value is the most probable price (not the "highest price") that the property should bring (not "will bring"). Analysis is a matter of estimation and likelihood, not certainty.

Whereas assessing value is a little bit science and a little bit art, it is important to start with the most scientific approach based on evidence in the marketplace before one considers any other aspect of pricing.

The following are the basic criteria for property analysis:

• Construction Quality: Is the quality of the workmanship and the materials good, average or poor?
• Age of the Home: How old is the home? Is its overall condition good, average or poor?
• Size of the house (square footage): This includes the improved living area, excluding the garage, basement (if unfinished) and porches.
• Interior Layout: Is the floor plan functional and convenient? This criteria changes with standards of modern living. For example and open floor plan will be more in demand than small chopped up rooms.
• Number of Rooms: Total living space affects value as well as number of rooms. For example, some homes don’t have a dining room. Some homes have a family room as well as a living room.
• Number of Bedrooms: Number of bedrooms has a major effect on value.
• Number of bathrooms: A full bathroom has a wash basin, toilet and a bath tub (with or without a shower), a three-quarter bath has a wash basin, toilet and shower (no tub), a half bath has a wash basin and a toilet only.
• Garage/Carport: An enclosed garage is considered better than a carport. How many cars can the garage accommodate? Is there storage and work space available in addition to parking? Is it possible to enter directly into the house from the garage protecting one from weather?

read more …

Every seller wants her home to sell fast and bring top dollar. In order to meet this objective, prepping and staging a house along with proper pricing is what makes this happen. It can literally cost a seller thousands of dollars to not take this component seriously. Careful planning and knowing how to professionally spruce up your home will send home buyers scurrying for their checkbooks. Here is how to prep a house and turn it into an irresistible and marketable home. Here's the way to think of it:

A little money and elbow grease can have a big return in the final purchase price. Why wouldn't you want to maximize your return?!

I have recommendations for contractors in every category to make this easier and less stressful.

Disassociate yourself from your home. Your home has become a product.

• Say to yourself, "This is not my home; it is a house -- a product to be sold much like a box of cereal on the grocery store shelf."
• Make the mental decision to "let go" of your emotions and focus on the fact that soon this house will no longer be yours.
• Picture yourself handing over the keys and envelopes containing appliance warranties to the new owners.
• Don't look backwards -- look toward the future.

De-personalize. Your home is a showroom.

more home preparation ideas

To borrow from the American Marketing Association, marketing is "the … activity, set of institutions, and processes for

• creating,
• communicating,
• delivering, and
• exchanging offerings

... that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large."

In real estate marketing, there are many layers. Some elements are basic and foundational and others may represent a more specific strategy around a current trend in the marketplace or the uniqueness of the subject property.

Below are only a few elements of marketing in real estate:

• Price range/price increment
  What is the real difference between $499,000 and $505,000?
• Publishing/presentation
  It's not just about cleaning and creating style – it can also be about which style? And what adjustments can be made to emphasize the characteristics most desired by today's potential buyers?
  What is the best way to represent a property in the marketing remarks, the hard copy publications as well as online? What images and key words create interest or curiosity? What gets potential buyers through the door versus just looking online?
• Strategy
  Within each marketing category there are strategic elements. All strategic efforts combined forms our overall effort to fit into the competitive environment. What resources do we have toward this end? What influences are at play currently?
• Broker reputation
  How does this influence your goal to sell? How does the public respond to one Brokerage sign compared to another? What do Brokers themselves think of one Brokerage firm vs. another? It matters more than you think!
• Timing
  There can be benefits for listing in the off season and benefits for waiting for the peak season. How does a seller weigh this decision? And what is best for your property?

In addition to some of the basic principles of marketing in real estate, a property's unique features can benefit from a custom marketing plan. For example, a recent listing of mine was located in the area of a medium-sized, private school so I created a personal invitation to the school community for the open houses. Many families are often looking to be nearer to their children's school, especially when there is no transportation, as is often the case with private schools.

Every property has unique and special attributes. When we meet we will make a list of yours and begin to customize a marketing plan that maximizes exposure for your property and targets the largest pool of potential buyers. Addressing the basics – price and preparation – are always the most important and none of the other strategic efforts will matter much if you don't have these two in order. For example, a staged home inspires an emotional connection, but a buyer won’t necessarily purchase an overpriced home just because it’s staged.

When you list your property with me, it will be promoted in local, regional and national media outlets. Lake and Company's wide variety of specialized marketing provides us with all of the tools necessary to sell your home quickly and efficiently. The marketing materials we create to sell your home set the highest standards for our profession and the reputation Lake has established in the industry will give you instant credibility.

When you receive an offer, it will usually be written on the standard Purchase & Sale form and Addenda.

Every state handles their real estate transaction agreement differently, so even if you have purchased a home before, or if you have moved from another state don't assume you are familiar with this agreement.

When you see a copy of a Purchase and Sale Agreement, you will see that page one is where all the terms of the offer are. Additional terms that customize the offer further are listed in the Addenda section of page one and attached to the agreement.

The remaining pages are what we call the Boilerplate. The Boilerplate explains how the terms are to be carried out. For example, if the buyer agrees to do an inspection within ten days, exactly when would the count start? When is the deadline? And how do weekends and holidays factor in? The Computation of Time section in the Purchase and Sale Agreement explains how the timelines are counted.

Terms, boilerplate, addenda, earnest money and pre-approval letter make up the basic package that allows the potential buyer to write an offer on your property. Following is the list of the most basic and commonly negotiated terms listed on page one.

addenda (most often included)

• Finance Contingency
• Inspection Contingency
• Optional Clauses
• Utilities

the terms of the offer

• Purchase Price
• Earnest Money
• Consequences of Default
• Offer Expiration
• Closing Date
• Possession Date
• What is included in Sale
• Title Company
• Escrow Company
• Services of Closing Agent for Payment of Utilities
• Charges and Assessments due after Closing

questions about offers

Mutual Acceptance is the point when both the buyer and seller agree on the price and terms of a transaction. Both parties are signed around and the agreement has been delivered.

This establishes the timeline for all contingencies and other terms in the agreement. For example, if there is a ten-day inspection period, the ten days would begin the following day (day one) of mutual acceptance date (if it is not a legal holiday).

The computation of time has many characteristics to it that vary depending on weekends, legal holidays what term you are counting, etc. It is important to review the description of how time is computed in the Computation of Time section of the Purchase and Sale agreement.

The careful management of this calendar of events is the job of your agent. As soon as the Purchase and Sale Agreement is signed around and delivered, I create a calendar for my clients, myself and the other agent.

The escrow company is a neutral third party responsible for preparing documents necessary to transfer clear title to the buyer, recording the mortgage and making sure funds are transferred to the seller. The escrow process begins when your earnest money is deposited and the purchase and sale agreement is delivered to the escrow company and ends with the closing of the transaction.

Traditionally buyers choose the escrow company but it is often negotiated. Real estate brokers have years of experience with escrow companies and they know which ones perform well. Because of this, they often have excellent recommendations.

Escrow manages the transaction behind the scenes. They gather all the information for the selling and buying parties, review title, make contact with the lender and work closely with them to make sure the lender documents are on schedule for a signing appointment that will need to happen a few days before closing.

Escrow will send you documents in the mail; remember as your Purchase and Sale agreement states, "time is of the essence!" Do not delay opening your mail and be sure to promptly return any phone calls, forms or information they may need.

Escrow provides your settlement statement and makes it available a few days before closing. Your settlement statement (or "HUD1") is a summary of the costs of your transaction. Look it over to make sure it is what you are expecting.

You will be visiting the escrow office to sign the closing documents. Signing appointments are usually scheduled 2-3 days before closing and take 1-2 hours.

Escrow and/or your agent will call you once your transaction has been officially recorded on the day of closing.