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Ann Truair
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Frequently Asked Questions
I've plan on selling my house in six months, but I'm worried about the market. Should I consider selling now or should I wait? DeniseDenise - We get this question nearly every day, so thanks for writing. Here’s the blunt truth. Even the experts cannot time the market - especially the short term market. And those who try, oftentimes get burned. You must look at your motivation for selling. Why are you waiting for six months? Are you trying to time the market? If you are, we’d suggest selling now - go to Vegas to gamble, don’t gamble with a highly leveraged asset - your home. Instead, determine when you need to move and look at the current market time on our Home Page. Most importantly, just realize that the moment you decide to sell, the market is what the market is. Don’t live in yesterday when you could have sold in 3 weeks for $50,000 more than today’s value. And please don’t gamble. Some expect at 6% increase, some experts, like us, expect a 3 - 6% decrease in the next 12 months. (But my humble opinion would not stop me from buying in this market) We all base our estimates on market research, trends and the economy. However, everyone’s opinion is just that - an opinion. In fact, our opinions change from week to week, month to month based on new data. However, the one thing history has proven is that Real Estate is an excellent long term investment. And leveraged real estate investments have reaped tremendous long term returns. The key is long term - long term our market has always increased. Denise - do not time the short term market. Sell when you are ready to sell. Except the current value. Likewise, buy again when you are ready (and able) to buy. Except the current prices. Download our OC Market Update for information on today’s market. Good Success! NancyI have had my house listed for 6 months and everybody says they love my house, but I have no offers. What's wrong? Is it my agent? Tom LTom - If you have been on the market for six months and everyone says they love your house, they should be writing you offers. That would mean, there may be a problem with the home that your agent has not uncovered yet. When we do feedback calls, we look for negatives. Negatives tell us way more than vague comments about "we like it, but it's just not for us". Is the problem curable, like old carpeting or too much wallpaper? Or is the problem something we can't change like a unkempt neighborhood or busy street? If you can find out the obstacles to getting an offer, you can correct them, but if it’s an obstacle you can do nothing about, that's a price objection. The only way to "cure" that defect is to adjust the price to compensate for the problem! Your agent should be able to give you a pretty good idea. Ask him/her to be frank. Good Success! NancyWe are moving away from Orange County and are concerned about finding the right new neighborhood for us - school for the kids, routes and drive times to work. Where do we start? Steve BSteve - You have already used one of the best resources - the internet. You can find answers to questions from many sites. The problem is there are too many! So once you have collected some information, you should contact a Realtor in your new location. I'd be glad to refer you to an area expert Realtor in your new location, no charge, to get you started. Just email me at Todd@TheOCExperts.com Good Luck! ToddWe currently have our on the market and we have very expensive blue carpeting. Our agent insists that I need to replace the carpet in order to sell. Won't an allowance do the trick? AlAl, Carpet and paint are the two most important items to address when it comes to selling a home. If you have an unusual color of carpeting, you limit your market. Your buyer would need to have furniture that goes with your carpet, so they will commonly eliminate a home that needs to replace a color of carpeting. Unfortunately, buyers buy what they see, not what they might imagine. Most buyers want a "move-in" house, not one that they have to paint or carpet. Listen to your agent - he/she is right on! ToddWhy do agents charge different commissions? JoshuaJoshua - In California, real estate commissions are negotiable. Like many other professions, every agent offers a different set of services and a different level of customer care (whether they realize it or not). The fee you negotiate should be inline with the services, results and care provided. Most agents won’t tell you what they charge before they have an opportunity to tell you what they provide. And that’s okay because you must compare apples to apples. Even when we deliver our free email net proceeds estimates with our fees, we include our marketing plan and guarantees so you know what you’re getting. We value your time and your need to get information quickly and easily. Joshua - You should never hire an agent based solely on commission rate, but rather your estimate of net proceeds. For example, an agent with a superior marketing plan that drives a ton of buyers to your home will increase the odds of you receiving more offers and getting top dollar in today’s market. As such, just like an expensive attorney who saves you a bundle on a lawsuit, cheaper is not better! When we provide our free What’s The Right Price estimate, we also include our marketing plan and commission rates. Hope that helps! ToddShould I sell FSBO? JoshuaAh Joshua - there seems to be theme to your questions and that’s great. If you’re up to the challenge and have the time, you can sell your home by yourself and hopefully, for full market value. To help our FSBO clients (yes, we have them!), we offer our Free Report - For Sale By Owner - Yes, You Can! Plus, we’ll still help you along the way if you have questions. Our personal opinion? We own a home out of the area we want to sell. We found the area’s best agent and paid their full commission. We believe we’ll net more by hiring an expert and letting them do their job. We also don’t believe people should try to self-medicate when sick or represent themselves if sued. Good success! NancyShould I use a discount broker? JoshuaHello again Joshua. A discount broker typically charges 1 - 2% for their services, plus 2 - 3% being offered to the buyer’s agent. The total is usually 3.5 - 5% Services typically include a sign, entry in the MLS and some type of advertising, depending on the broker. A full service broker usually charges more and provides a complete Marketing Plan. The question becomes is it worth the extra 1 - 1.5% in commission for a professional with a proven plan for marketing your home, increasing traffic (more buyers = more offers) and providing top service and expertise throughout the transaction to protect your financial interests? We think so and would personally never consider using a discount broker.My fiance and I are engaged to be married. We each own a condo in Anaheim Hills which have appreciated about $400,000 each. My fiance has been living with me for 3 years and has rented her place out. We want to sell our condos and buy a home this year before we get married. Is that a good idea? - SteveHello Steve - Wow, are we glad you asked! While it sounds like a good plan, there's a strategy I'd like to share with you that could save you almost $180,000 in taxes. Interested?As a single person, if you sell your primary residence, you can deduct up to $250,000 assuming you have owned the home and lived there for 2 of the last 5 years. As a married couple, you can deduct up to $500,000. Since you have both lived in your home, you may qualify and be able to eliminate $150,000 in taxable gain if you wait to sell until you are married! That's about $50,000 in taxes you can probably save if you're a little more patient. Not a bad market to be patient in either!! Now, if your fiance sells her place this year, she will probably not qualify for the $250,000 exclusion since she has not lived there for the last 2 of 5 years. Ouch - that could mean a $400,000 taxable gain and about $133,000 in taxes! So if you wait until you are married to sell your place, you can probably save $50,000. Then, if you move into your fiance's place for 2 years, you can eliminate up to $500,000 in gain and save another $133,000 or more in taxes! So my advice is to give me a call to make sure you qualify (there are more rules we need to check on first), and I'll show you how to save money for a huge down payment on your dream home in two years. Congratulations! Nancy Moeller, CPA
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“I met Nancy and Todd at a down point of my first selling real estate experience – my original agent generated limited traffic and...
