Richmond Virginia Real Estate – Home Buyers & Sellers: Get the facts!

Don’t be afraid to buy or sell a home. With all the gloom and doom you hear from the media they are leaving out all the positive parts of Real Estate.

Fact 1- Mortgage Rates are still low as long as they remain in single digit numbers your still getting historically low rates.

Fact 2- We have seen the prices starting to level out. There is more inventory out there than we have seen in the past years for buyers. Buyers are not being rushed to make important decisions in a short amount of time. No more competing with 5-10 other buyers at the same time.

Fact 3- Sellers are still able to sell their homes in a reasonable time as long as they are priced fairly to the current market and show well.

Everybody Is Waiting For the best deal In Richmond VA. the deals available every day, just find it. and move forward.

Home sellers what is important to you in the sale of your home?

Please rank the following needs in order of importance to you in the sale of your home, 1 to 10 (1 = not important to 10 = important). e-mail me at mmekhimar@remax.net

* Home pricing.
* Net proceeds.
* Marketing and home promotion.
* Time on market.
* Security of your home.
* Communications, staying informed.
* Home enhancement advice.
* Broker’s credentials.
* Negotiation plan.
* Handling the details and paperwork.
* Convenience.
* Other

Seven steps to buying your home!

1- Define your needs. Define your needs, you may want to divide your lists into wants and needs, must have and not must items, neighborhood, Is a garage important? 1 or 2 car garage? 1 story or 2 story preferred? Are you wanting a pool? Narrow down by age of the home?

2- Get pre-approved. You need to find out what you can afford. Choosing the right lender and obtaining pre-approval or pre-qualification is absolutely the most important step in the purchase process!

3- Find your dream home. This is the fun part! You can take all the time you need to find the right home for you and your family.  

4- Make an offer. Once we find the best home, we’ll will work together to write up an offer! We’ll need to provide an earnest money check with the offer.  This is our “good faith” deposit that tells the seller you are serious about the offer.  It’s important to note that if the seller changes any aspect of the offer, it is not a binding agreement until the buyer agrees to the seller’s changes.

5- Inspection phase. This is the phase where we try to learn everything about the house that we might object to and didn’t know when we made the offer. You will want to hire a professional home inspector.  This is the best $250-350 you can spend!  The inspector will go through the house from top to bottom looking at all major systems.

6- Prepare for the closing. If you are getting a loan to purchase the house, the lender will order an appraisal, in the same time the lender finalizes your financing.  You will be required to obtain Home Owner’s Insurance in order to close on your new home, and Shop for home warranty. Remember, the real estate agent will be there to support you during this step.

7- Close the deal. This is the meeting at which all documents will be signed and home ownership is legally transferred from the seller to the buyer.. This process usually takes approximately 1 ½ hours. possession of the property is turned over to the buyers on the day of closing. Congratulations! you are home owner now!

Get Your Finances in Order: To-Do List

1. Develop a household budget. Instead of creating a budget of what you’d like to spend, use receipts to create a budget that reflects your actual spending habits over the last several months. This approach will factor in unexpected expenses, such as car repairs, as well as predictable costs such as rent, utility bills, and groceries.

2. Reduce your debt. Lenders generally look for a total debt load of no more than 36 percent of income. This figure includes your mortgage, which typically ranges between 25 and 28 percent of your net household income. So you need to get monthly payments on the rest of your installment debt — car loans, student loans, and revolving balances on credit cards — down to between 8 and 10 percent of your net monthly income.

3. Look for ways to save. You probably know how much you spend on rent and utilities, but little expenses add up, too. Try writing down everything you spend for one month. You’ll probably spot some great ways to save, whether it’s cutting out that morning trip to Starbucks or eating dinner at home more often.

4. Increase your income. Now’s the time to ask for a raise! If that’s not an option, you may want to consider taking on a second job to get your income at a level high enough to qualify for the home you want.

5. Save for a down payment. Designate a certain amount of money each month to put away in your savings account. Although it’s possible to get a mortgage with only 5 percent down, or even less, you can usually get a better rate if you put down a larger percentage of the total purchase. Aim for a 20 percent down payment.

6. Keep your job. While you don’t need to be in the same job forever to qualify for a home loan, having a job for less than two years may mean you have to pay a higher interest rate.

7. Establish a good credit history. Get a credit card and make payments by the due date. Do the same for all your other bills, too. Pay off the entire balance promptly.

Understand Agency Relationships!

It’s important to understand what legal responsibilities your real estate salesperson has to you and to other parties in the transaction. Ask what type of agency relationship your agent has with you:

Seller’s representative (also known as a listing agent or seller’s agent)
A seller’s agent is hired by and represents the seller. All fiduciary duties are owed to the seller. The agency relationship usually is created by a listing contract.

Buyer’s representative (also known as a buyer’s agent)
A buyer’s agent is hired by prospective buyers to represent them in a real estate transaction. The buyer’s rep works in the buyer’s best interest throughout the transaction and owes fiduciary duties to the buyer. The buyer can pay the licensee directly through a negotiated fee, or the buyer’s rep may be paid by the seller or through a commission split with the seller’s agent.

Subagent
A subagent owes the same fiduciary duties to the agent’s customer as the agent does. Subagency usually arises when a cooperating sales associate from another brokerage, who is not the buyer’s agent, shows property to a buyer. In such a case, the subagent works with the buyer as a customer but owes fiduciary duties to the listing broker and the seller. Although a subagent cannot assist the buyer in any way that would be detrimental to the seller, a buyer-customer can expect to be treated honestly by the subagent. It is important that subagents fully explain their duties to buyers.

Disclosed dual agent
Dual agency is a relationship in which the brokerage firm represents both the buyer and the seller in the same real estate transaction. Dual agency relationships do not carry with them all of the traditional fiduciary duties to clients. Instead, dual agents owe limited fiduciary duties. Because of the potential for conflicts of interest in a dual-agency relationship, it’s vital that all parties give their informed consent. In many states, this consent must be in writing. Disclosed dual agency, in which both the buyer and the seller are told that the agent is representing both of them, is legal in most states.

Designated agent (also called appointed agent)
This is a brokerage practice that allows the managing broker to designate which licensees in the brokerage will act as an agent of the seller and which will act as an agent of the buyer. Designated agency avoids the problem of creating a dual-agency relationship for licensees at the brokerage. The designated agents give their clients full representation, with all of the attendant fiduciary duties. The broker still has the responsibility of supervising both groups of licensees.

Nonagency relationship (called, among other things, a transaction broker or facilitator)
Some states permit a real estate licensee to have a type of nonagency relationship with a consumer. These relationships vary considerably from state to state, both as to the duties owed to the consumer and the name used to describe them. Very generally, the duties owed to the consumer in a nonagency relationship are less than the complete, traditional fiduciary duties of an agency relationship.

Questions to Ask When Choosing a REALTOR®!

Make sure you choose a REALTOR® who will provide top-notch service and meet your unique needs.

1. How long have you been in residential real estate sales? Is it your full-time job? While experience is no guarantee of skill, real estate — like many other professions — is mostly learned on the job.
2. What designations do you hold? Designations such as GRI and CRS® — which require that agents take additional, specialized real estate training — are held by only about one-quarter of real estate practitioners.
3. How many homes did you and your real estate brokerage sell last year? By asking this question, you’ll get a good idea of how much experience the practitioner has.
4. How many days did it take you to sell the average home? How did that compare to the overall market?
The REALTOR® you interview should have these facts on hand, and be able to present market statistics from the local MLS to provide a comparison.
5. How close to the initial asking prices of the homes you sold were the final sale prices? This is one indication of how skilled the REALTOR® is at pricing homes and marketing to suitable buyers. Of course, other factors also may be at play, including an exceptionally hot or cool real estate market.
6. What types of specific marketing systems and approaches will you use to sell my home? You don’t want someone who’s going to put a For Sale sign in the yard and hope for the best. Look for someone who has aggressive and innovative approaches, and knows how to market your property competitively on the Internet. Buyers today want information fast, so it’s important that your REALTOR® is responsive.
7. Will you represent me exclusively, or will you represent both the buyer and the seller in the transaction? While it’s usually legal to represent both parties in a transaction, it’s important to understand where the practitioner’s obligations lie. Your REALTOR® should explain his or her agency relationship to you and describe the rights of each party.
8. Can you recommend service providers who can help me obtain a mortgage, make home repairs, and help with other things I need done? Because REALTORS® are immersed in the industry, they’re wonderful resources as you seek lenders, home improvement companies, and other home service providers. Practitioners should generally recommend more than one provider and let you know if they have any special relationship with or receive compensation from any of the providers.
9. What type of support and supervision does your brokerage office provide to you? Having resources such as in-house support staff, access to a real estate attorney, and assistance with technology can help an agent sell your home.
10. What’s your business philosophy? While there’s no right answer to this question, the response will help you assess what’s important to the agent and determine how closely the agent’s goals and business.

Getting Top Dollar!

Buyers want the most house their money can buy. A large house with a choppy floor plan and small rooms can feel less spacious than a smaller home with an open floor plan. A clean, well-maintained, and spacious home is not only more marketable, but can often command a higher price. 

Here are some things to visually create more space:

* Position mirrors in the right places to make a room appear larger. Make sure the mirrors reflect what you want to see more of, such as a favorite painting or a lovely window.

* Choose a light color scheme to help open up a room. White, cream, pearl gray, or soft yellow seem more inviting and open because they reflect light.

* Clear out the clutter. Keep decorative objects to a minimum. Porcelain figurines are distracting and can be easily broken. Pick up newspapers and magazines. Put away–or pack away–unnecessary items from countertops in the kitchen and baths. Clutter can make rooms seem smaller than they are.

 * Minimize the amount of furniture you have in each room. Either sell it or store it away.

 Part of Mohamed’s expertise is in helping homeowners get their home ready for the market. We’d be happy to stop by and share some thoughts with you on how you can stage your home to obtain top dollar.

Consumer confidence hits 5-year low!

Consumer confidence took another hit in March, falling to a five-year low, as more Americans expect business conditions and the job market to worsen in the coming months, The Conference Board reported today.

The Consumer Confidence Index dropped to 64.5 this month from a reading of 76.4 in February, with the Expectations Index component plummeting to its lowest level since December 1973.

When’s The Right Time To Buy?

A big obstacle to purchasing a new home could be the sale of your existing home. The equity you have built in your current home could serve as a down payment on your next home.

If you currently own a home, I would be happy to provide a market valuation to help you realize the potential gain if you sell your home. All I would need is some basic information about your home to provide you with a price range. I would also be happy to briefly visit your home and provide a more detailed evaluation, if you wish.

If you are a first time buyer, there are several programs that can assist you including a first time buyer 95% loan program.

The following is an outstanding article by Duan Hymber, distributed by Inman News:

Should I Buy Now Or Wait To Save A Larger Down Payment?

Coming up with enough cash for a down payment and closing costs can be a hurdle for many buyers, particularly first-time home buyers. But there are ways you can buy a home without much cash on hand.

For example, there is a new first-time home buyer 95 percent loan program. It’s called the risk-share or 2 percent down program, and it lets you get into a house with only 2 percent cash down. The additional 3 percent cash can be a personal loan from your credit union or a relative. This 3 percent personal loan must be a fully-amortized fixed-interest rate loan with a five-year due date. An amortized loan is paid off in full during the term of the loan (five years in this case).

Many first-time buyer programs will only give loans to borrowers whose income is below a certain level. That level is often so low that many first-timers with high incomes can’t qualify. One benefit of the 2 percent down program is that it’s available to borrowers with annual incomes up to $80,000.

If you have any question about buying or selling property, don’t hesitate to call or email Mohamed!

Curb Appeal!

Today we want to share some simple ways that you can improve the curb appeal of your home. Curb appeal is something every homeowner needs!

Walk across the street and look at your overall landscape.

• Are shrubs trimmed neatly? Windows and doors should not be overshadowed by overgrown bushes.
• Clear your entry, sidewalk, and plant beds of leaves and debris.

• Add a new layer of attractive mulch to all planting areas.

• Are there bare spots or weeds in the lawn? Your local garden supplier can tell you the best way to remedy this problem.

• Hardscape (bird feeders or houses, simple water features, statuary) can add warmth and character to an otherwise drab terrain.

Don’t forget to call us with any real estate questions you may have, and remember to tell your friends about us!