Buying or selling a home in today’s market means being up on market pricing and trends. As noone has yet determined whether we’re at the bottom of the market, still heading down or on the way back up, it’s critical to keep up with market conditions in your area, pricing and financing options. The best way to guage the market is to take a look at the amount of inventory of available homes currently on the market and at what’s selling. After a few weeks of reviewing inventory and sales data you may quickly determine which homes are likely to sell and which are likely to sit on the market for an extended time.
In a buyer’s market, price is generally king. This seems obvious, but what many sellers may not yet understand is that pricing a home and hoping for an offer isn’t the right strategy for a quick sale. The belief that you can ‘always come down later’ will undoubtedly leave you ‘coming down later’ – again and again. On the other hand, houses that are priced at or just below market value are seeing quicker sales. With so many houses for sale buyers aren’t taking the time to look at homes that are overpriced.
Again, the key to a successful purchase or sale in this market is to be on top of the market. Check the local paper for property transfers, get on an email update froma local broker on new and competing properties for sale and be prepared to buy or sell for a price that’s in line with what similar homes in your area are selling for without regard to whether the pundits think the market is headed up or down.
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Posted in Real Estate, buy a home, buying a home, sell a home, sell home, sell house, sell my home online, sell your home, sell your house, selling a home, selling a home by owner, selling by owner
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Home buyers have gotten a real boost from the government, but you better get started soon. The tax credit of $7,500 for ‘first-time home buyers’ ends July 1, 2009. The law defines “first-time home buyer” as a buyer who has not owned a principal residence during the three-year period prior to the purchase. For the purposes of the tax credit, the purchase date is the date when closing occurs, so it’s important to find the right home at least 60-90 days in advance to ensure that you meet the deadline. Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. The tax credit works like an interest-free loan and must be repaid over a 15-year period.
Partial credits of less than $7,500 are available for some taxpayers whose income exceeds the limits. The credit becomes totally unavailable for individual taxpayers with a modified adjusted gross income of more than $95,000 and for married taxpayers filing joint returns with an AGI of more than $170,000. The credit is refundable meaning that the home buyer credit can be claimed even if the taxpayer has little or no federal income tax liability to offset. Typically this involves the government sending the taxpayer a check for a portion or even all of the amount of the refundable tax credit.
For more information about the home buying tax credit for first time home buyers visit the National Association of Home Builders website for ‘First Time Home Buyers’ or visit the IRS website ‘Tax Credit to Aid First Time Home Buyers’
If you are a first time home seller or a first time home buyer chances are someone has given you the advice to get a realtor to help you out. The first time I bought a home, I followed this advice and found myself paying a lot of money for advice and support I actually did not need. Was my experience a case of hiring the wrong agent? I do not believe so. My case was discovering exactly what a realtor does.
A realtor is a salesperson, who has the final goal of guiding you to purchase a home. A realtor can help you find possible homes to buy because they have access to the MLS database. Some realtors will offer a service where they send you emails whenever a home you would be interested in appears in the MLS database. I thought this was a great idea when I was looking for a new home, so I actually paid my realtor a weekly fee. Â
Once I became a little more knowledgeable about home buying, I was shocked to discover that I could save money in my purchasing processes by gaining direct access to the MLS system. The internet has opened up home buying and selling to anyone. We no longer need to rely on a realtor to provide the information available in the MLS database. By signing up for a flat fee home buying program, I can receive the same emails the realtor was sending and I can save money as well. Â
Saving money is important whenever I buy a new home. The money I save can be reinvested in my home or directly applied to my mortgage. Being smart and savvy about home buying means I can do it alone and know I’ve done it right.Â
When you’re buying a home, you’ve got to be prepared. That means knowing what type of a home you’re looking for, identifying how much you’ll be able to spend on a new home, getting pre-approved for a mortgage and more.
But being prepared also has other meanings. For example, you’ll want to determine whether or not you’ll be searching for a home on your own, with flat fee broker or a traditional real estate agent. And it means knowing where to look when it comes time to find the right property for you.
When you choose to buy a home with IHS Realty and their homebuyer rebate program, you can be sure that you’ll have everything that you need to buy a home. You’ll also know that you have easy access to searching for the right property for you – whether you search their listings, Realtor.com, your local online sites and more. You’ll even be able to sign up for notifications when the properties you’re interested in become available.
There’s no reason to worry about not finding the right property when you’re buying a home: having the right tools is all it takes.
Flat Fee Realty
Get the tools you need to buy a home with IHS Realty.
Internet Home Services Real Estate Blog
If you’ve been planning on buying a home for a while – or even if you’re just starting to realize that home ownership is something that interests you – you’ll know that it’s not always easy to find the property that you’re looking for.
This is part of the reason why some people choose to pay a high commission on their home purchase to a buyer’s agent: it ensures that they have someone looking for homes for them.
But what it you don’t want to pay a commission to a buyer’s agent? With flat fee home buying, you don’t have to. Instead, you’ll be able to look for properties that meet your needs through IHS Realty listings and website listings.
Even better, when you’re buying a home with IHS Realty, you’ll be able to know about those homes that meet your needs even without looking. How is that possible?
Simple: sign up for IHS Realty’s RSS feeds. This simple syndication feed will let you know about properties that you’ll be interested in, home listings, real estate news and more.
Flat Fee Realty
Buying a home? Find it sooner with IHS Realty.
Internet Home Services Real Estate Blog
You may think that buying a home is a difficult process – in part, that’s just what traditional real estate agents want you to think. The reality, however, is that buying a home is as easy or difficult as you make it.
By following these simple steps, buying a home does not need to be an ordeal – and you can save thousands by doing it yourself:
- Have a game plan. Know what you’re looking for and what you can afford.
- Choose to work with a company like IHS Realty that can help you through the process without working with a traditional buyer’s agent.
- Get pre-approved for a mortgage. It’s important to know how much you can afford to spend before falling in love with a home that you cannot afford.
- Determine which of the things that you’re looking for in a home matter the most to you.
- Negotiate the right price.
- Stay aware of what’s going on throughout the process. There are deadlines to be met, and you need to stay on top of the mortgage process so that the closing takes place on time.
- Plan ahead for the move. Remember, you’ll need to shut off utilities in your current home, set up the utility accounts for your new home, schedule movers, forward your mail and, of course, bring everything required to the closing meeting.
When you break it down, it’s easy to see that buying a home doesn’t have to be difficult – especially when you’re working with a great partner and are in control of the process.
IHS Realty
Get the right help for buying a home.
Internet Home Services Real Estate Blog
If you are planning on buying a home, especially if you are using a flat fee broker and doing a lot of the footwork yourself, it’s important to know what you are looking for.
First, think about what you need in a home:
- Among the first things to decide is this: are you looking for a single family home, a townhouse or a condominium?
- How many square feet of space do you need to have room for your family?
- How many bedrooms do you need to have in your home?
- Do you want a home that has an eat-in kitchen? Or would you prefer a functional kitchen and a dining room?
- Do you need a garage that offers room for more than one car and storage?
- What kind of storage space will you need? Do you want to store items in the basement or attic or do you want to be able to have those areas as living space?
- Do you have any special needs requirements like access for a family member with disabilities?
Then, start to consider those factors that you want your home to have. These include:
- The exterior color of the home,
- the flooring in your home – hardwood, carpeting or even ceramic tile,
- the style of windows,
- the type of lighting fixtures and appliances, and
- the view from your new home
The more you know about what you’re looking for in a home, the easier that it will be to find it.
IHS Realty
Find more tips that will help you when the time comes for buying a home
Internet Home Services Real Estate Blog
If you are buying a home – especially if you’ve just been thinking about buying a home – it’s important to recognize all of your options.
You can go it alone – search for and find properties, schedule viewings, make an offer and get through the closing without the help of any real estate professionals.
You can hire a buyer’s agent and pay a 3% commission to your agent – who will find properties, schedule showings and basically walk you through the process every step of the way.
Or you can register for savings. With IHS Realty you can register for home buyer savings – including rebates. You’ll have access to buyer tips and tools. You will have to find properties and go to showings on your own, but you will have help with making an offer and closing on the property. Rather than paying a commission, you’ll pay a flat fee – and receive the rest of that commission back.
It’s simple really: take control of buying a home, get the help you need and save thousands.
IHS Realty
Buying a home? Register for savings.
Internet Home Services Real Estate Blog
If you know you will be buying a home, you need to be sure that you’ve considered all of your options. Buying a home does not have to mean using a buyer’s agent – it just means finding the right partner.
When you partner with IHS Realty, you’ll find that you are able to take home buying into your own hands: you search for the properties, you attend open houses; we act as your buyer’s agent. We’ll work with you to submit your offer based on what you want to see – and make sure that it’s in the right format. We’ll negotiate to get you the right price.
But instead of paying a high commission, you’ll pay just a flat fee based on the price of the home, and save thousands in the process.
Why make buying a home more difficult – and expensive – than it needs to be? Choose the right partner – get the services you need from IHS Realty.
IHS Realty
Buying a home? Get the services you need and save with IHS Realty
Internet Home Services Real Estate Blog
If you’re planning on buying a home, there are a number of reasons to do so with IHS Realty.
- IHS Realty allows you to find the home that you want: you search through listings, you schedule viewings, you have the help you need when it comes to closing and you save thousands in the form of buyer rebates after your purchase.
- Not wanting to do all the work yourself? IHS Realty also offers you the chance to work with a more traditional buyer’s agent and still take advantage of savings.
- Work with IHS Realty partners to save on mortgage costs and other moving costs.
- Buying a home with IHS Realty allows you to give back: a portion of your purchase will be donated to help the homeless.
Learn more about these reasons for buying a home with IHS Realty, then take the time to see other tools offered for those who are planning on buying a home.
Flat Fee Realty
Learn more about buying a home with the help of the staff at IHS Realty.
Internet Home Services Real Estate Blog
If you are thinking about buying a home online, there are a few simple steps to follow:
- Make a list of the qualities that you are looking for in a home: how many bedrooms, how many baths, number of floors, how much land, etc.
- Get a pre-approval from a lender: it’s important to know how much you can spend when buying a home, online or with a real estate agent.
- Register with IHS Realty and begin searching for available homes that match your criteria.
- Look at your results. If your search isn’t turning up the homes that you were hoping that it would, try to find one characteristic that you could live without and try searching again. If you have too many potential homes coming up in a search, determine another characteristic that you’d like the home you buy to have and search again.
- When you have about 5 properties that match your criteria, schedule a showing.
- Let the seller or seller’s agent know that you are working with IHS Realtyand that they will be acting as your buyer’s agent.
- Find the home you want to buy, and work with your IHS Realty representative to go over the offer form and fill out a purchase agreement, and to follow through until the closing.
Buying a home online with IHS Realty seems simple, doesn’t it? Here’s the good news: it really is as simple as it seems. See for yourself.
IHS Realty
Buy a Home Online with IHS Realty
Internet Home Services Blog
Real Estate Agents using the MLS assisted over 75% of home buyers nationwide
According to the newest study of home buyer habits by the National Association of Realtors (NAR), over 75% of home buyers now find their home through real estate agents using the Multiple Listing Service. The study entitled Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers also indicated that 78% were buying a home that was previously owned.
What exactly does this mean for the average home seller? The results of this study indicate that unless your home was listed in the MLS, you would have missed out on over three quarters of the market. One could only surmise that reducing demand for your home by 75% ultimately results in a lower sales price and a longer time on market.
Why do agents tend to primarily, if not exclusively, use the MLS listing service to search for homes for sale when preparing to show homes to their buyer clients? The number one reason is that they know they will be compensated for their efforts. Each home listed in the MLS has a field indicating the amount of compensation to be paid to a buyer’s agent who sells the property. For sale by owner’s (FSBO), by contrast, have no written promise to pay the agent for their work.
Secondly, it’s just easier. The MLS represents a database of homes currently for sale. Agents know that homes published as active in the MLS are for sale and available for showings. Most MLS listed properties are provided with a key lockbox which makes showing the home more convenient for an agent with several homes to show on a tight schedule.
The NAR data indicates that the MLS is, in fact, THE market for home sales nationwide.
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