Real Estate Rapture

A land contract or contract for deed may allow a buyer to obtain real estate even if he or she is not able to obtain financing through regular loan channels. A land contract may allow a seller to market a property when interest rates are high.

If a buyer with limited financial capacity purchases with a land contract, then a seller may have problems collecting monthly payments. However, since a buyer with a land contract does not have title until all conditions are met, it is often possible for the seller to get the property back with a "forfeiture" rather than a "foreclosure." The attraction of a forfeiture is that it is much quicker to obtain than a foreclosure. It is also a complex undertaking that should only be done with an attorney.

If a land contract involves the use of existing financing that cannot be assumed, that could set-off a due-on-sale clause. Both buyers and sellers could lose the property if the loan cannot be repaid.

Or, suppose Seller Jones sells a property to Buyer Smith using a land contract. Title will remain in Jones' name until Smith makes a certain number of payments. But, suppose that Jones goes bankrupt. What rights does Smith have to the property? Or, suppose Jones does not pay the property taxes? If the local government forecloses, what rights does Smith have?

Also, what happens if Seller Jones goes off to Tahiti? How does Buyer Smith get title?

Land contracts should be seen as complex arrangements. Both buyers and sellers should consult an attorney or legal clinic (separately) to assure that all aspects of the transaction are fully understood.

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings!

Usually when we go out with buyers looking at homes the sellers are not home.  This is good for the seller and it's also good for the buyer.

As the buyer, you need to feel free to look at the home from all angles to see if it fits your needs, your furniture, and your lifestyle.  If you're like most people you want to express your thoughts as they occur.  If the seller isn't there you can speak freely to whoever your with, a spouse, other family members, or even your agent.  If you love the house and want it so much you can hardly wait to make an offer you really don't want the seller to know that because it can change your negotiating power drastically.

So, if by chance the seller is home it would be best to keep things to yourself until we get back to the car.  You don't want to lose your edge in the negotiations!

God is good!

Have you ever bought a house?  Was the house as clean as you wanted it to be on the day you took possession, or did you have to go in and scrub high and low to make it just right?

Clean has a lot of meanings to different people.

My clean could be your dirty.  My dirty could be your clean.

A good rule of thumb for the day you move out so that the new owner can move in is to make it as clean as new, or as close as you can get.

There was a movie called Pay It Forward with Kevin Spacey, Helen Hunt, and Haley Joel Osment that came out in 2000.  It was very heartwarming.  Please warm the hearts of your buyers by doing the right thing and leaving your house clean!

God is good!

What is analysis paralysis?  According to Wikipedia:

Analysis paralysis can be used to describe the way that information affects workplace productivity. An overload of physical mail, email, internet websites, voicemails, telephone and cellphone calls, memos, faxes, and interpersonal communication can make it difficult or impossible for employees to make decisions.

Say what?

I think what they're trying to say is that staying busy staying busy won't bring home the bacon.  You don't have to figure it all out before you get started.  Just turn on one system and work it.  Once you've got that one going, turn on another one and work it.  You'll find out what works and what doesn't that way.  You'll find your niche.

In other words, get 'er done!  I can't believe I just typed that.  I can't believe I'm not deleting it.  Will you think less of me for leaving that in there?  Hm.  I'll follow my own advice and post it!

God is good!

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings! 

If you want to maximize the price you get when selling your home you need to maximize the appearance of your home.

Start outside.  Be extremely critical and try to see your home from a buyer's viewpoint.  Is the yard well kept?  Weeds trimmed?  Flowering plants?  Is the porch neat?  Are the windows or shutters, or trim or guttering showing signs of weathering?  Is the driveway cracked or oil-stained?  How does the mailbox look?  Are their lots of toys or bikes in the yard?  An old basketball goal?  Are their any problems you can see with the roof or chimney or attic vents?

Going inside...

Does the key work the lock easily?  Does the door open easily?  Are all the light fixtures working?  Do you have the highest wattage bulbs that are safe for your fixtures installed?  Is there too much furniture?  Are the hallways easy to pass through?  Are there spider webs or dust bunnies?  Are the appliances and windows gleaming?  Take personal items down when possible - refrigerator magnets, family photos, less is best.

We're not trying to fool anyone or hide anything, but we want them to see the house, not you.

If you want an impartial opinion about staging your home.  My number is below.

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings!

Everyone has hobbies.  Mine isn't fishing, but I think it's an analogy that everyone can understand.

When fishing, if you're catching anything, you don't change locations, you don't use a different lure, you don't cast to a different spot, you do everything the same.  If you're not catching anything you do make changes.  You might use a different lure, or move to a different spot, or go home and come back another day.

The point is, if what you're doing is building your business, keep doing it.  If your business isn't growing as quickly as you'd like, then use different lures, or farm a different area, or regroup.

To be successful, you have to keep trying.  If you quit, you can't win!

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
http://www.GreatCommissionRealty.com/permanentreferrals
We're On A Mission!
Home of Permanent Referrals
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Ph: (417) 889-3558
Fx: (888) 296-5662

In our market there are several publications to advertise your home in.

Some are very expensive, some are somewhat more reasonable.  From our experience though, none are very effective.

If you were to run a classified ad in the local paper you that read like this:

"3/2/2 in Kickapoo - Beautiful 3 bed, 2 bath, 2 car garage ranch style home with formal dining in McBride, Cherokee, Kickapoo district.  Over 1700 sq ft, large deck, privacy fenced backyard.  $159,900 - Call 889-3558 and leave a message."

It would cost you over $63 for one week.  The average home is on the market somewhere around 65 days right now.  So we're talking over $500 to keep the ad running the entire time.  What about the homes that have been on the market for more than 365 days?  Hm...52 x $63 = $3,276.

It still might be worth it if it worked!

There are also several real estate "magazines".  Some come out every two weeks, some monthly.

There are the bargain magazines (thrifty penny saver etc.).

I have tracked my results for years.  None are worth the cost.

There are two avenues of advertising that work more than 20 times better.  We have access to both and when you hire us, we'll share them with you!

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings!

July has come and gone and here's my monthly high & low report.

This home in NW2 brought in $16,000.  3 bedroom, 1 bath, no closets, and taxes of $228 per year.

Contrast this one in SE7 that sold for $1,250,000.  5 bedrooms, 4 full and 3 half baths, and taxes of $17,992 per year.

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings!

Scenario:  Listing agent has two homes listed for a builder that are under construction.  The notes on the listing say they will be completed in August.  A buyer's agent calls the listing agent and asks simple questions like, 1) How long until the homes are ready? 2) In the unfinished basement will they frame up rooms, or leave it wide open?

If you're the listing agent how would you answer?

Here are the answers I got:  1) They are nearly done and should be finished in two weeks.  2) They already have the framing done for rooms in the basement.  I like these answers as my clients want to move in about 3 weeks and they would like to be able to finish out the basement themselves easily.  So they schedule a trip to come to town.

Fast forward to today.  I get to the properties about 10 minutes early.  I find one home that is framed on the main floor, wide open in the basement, and they are just putting the decking on top of the house.  No sheetrock, no wiring, no plumbing, no heat & air.  The other home is just the concrete, you know a foundation and the basement floor.  My clients arrive and have just completed a six hour drive to see these two brand new homes that should be 8 to 9 days from completion.  They were very gracious and did not lose their temper, but they were very disappointed.

Fortunately I have two other homes in my file to show them.  They love one and like the other.  Two hours later we write up an offer on the one they love.

I love happy endings!

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
http://www.GreatCommissionRealty.com/permanentreferrals
We're On A Mission!
Home of Permanent Referrals
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Ph: (417) 889-3558

Contrary to what they keep saying on the news, there are some houses that are selling very quickly!

When you find one that is better than all the rest because it has what the others have and its price is lower, or because it has more than the others have and its price is the same, you should not give it a few days.  You should make an offer today.

The market seems to have picked up in the past 3-4 weeks, and the houses that are selling quickly are like I just described.

We've had four or five clients that made offers on homes and found themselves either an hour too late, or several thousand dollars too low on their offer and end up losing it to another buyer.

Take your REALTOR'S advice on what to offer, and don't wait.

God is good!

Randy

Just this past week we had a situation that I'd like to discuss.

Tassi was representing a couple as their buyers' agent.  They found a house, made a cash offer just 3% below asking price, and asked for an answer back from the seller within 8 hours.  So, the sellers got a great offer that was not contingent upon the buyers getting a loan.

The seller decided they did not like the pressure of having to answer within 8 hours so they said they needed more time to answer.  They had some extenuating circumstances, like a recent finding of cancer.

So, the buyers granted them another 22 hours, so that's a total of 30 hours from time of offer to answer.

The seller rejected their offer.  No counter-offer.  Nothing.  Just no.

Within a few hours the buyers decided to come back with a full price cash offer.

Unfortunately, between the seller's rejection of their offer, and the buyers' decision to improve their already impressive offer, the seller got another offer and accepted it immediately.

Our buyers were devastated.

The other offer was also full price as it turns out.  The weak spot was that these buyers still have to secure financing.  It was a 100% loan, no cash.

We're still not sure what hit us or our buyers.  All we know is that the seller interpreted our buyers request for a quick answer as too much pressure and refused to deal with them.  But to make it stranger, the other buyer's offer, which was significantly weaker, was accepted immediately.

Emotions are hard to judge or account for.  It's best as a buyer or as a seller to try to be unattached and logical about what is best for the bottom line.

I hope I follow my own advice next time I buy or sell real estate!

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings!

One of my favorite tools for mapping homes is Microsoft Streets & Trips.  It allows you to plot every home on the map, add more points (like a starting point and a stopping point), set your start time, schedule how much time you'll be at each stop, optimize routes, avoid certain areas (construction areas, or areas you'd rather not navigate at rush hour), import data from our MLS (so you don't have to type addresses manually) and more.

Then, you can print the entire route, zoom in on areas and print maps for those, and so much more.

So, let's say you're going to be showing 10 homes today.  From Rapattoni you export them to Excel in a csv file, save it as an xls file.  Then within Microsoft Streets & Trips you import the xls file which automatically plots each home on the map (if it can't find an address it asks you to help).  Next, you plan your route.  Draw a box around all the homes, include each on your route, add a start, add a finish, tell it what time to start, tell it how long you'll stop at each home, have it optimize your route, and then have it show your route.  Now, you can call each homeowner and say with relative confidence, "Hello, this is <Your Name> with <Your Company> and I would like to show your home today between 10 and 10:30, would that be alright?"

It's a real timesaver for me.

A sale agreement typically includes both a purchase price for the property as well as terms and conditions. It sometimes happens that a buyer will make an offer subject to certain terms such as "I'll buy your house but I want to keep the washer and dryer" or whatever.

One possible condition concerns "seller contributions." For example, "I'll buy your house if you will pay the first $x of my closing costs". Lenders will generally accept seller contributions as part of a transaction providing they are written into the sale agreement, fully disclosed, and only represent a limited fraction of the sale price. Different loan programs have different contribution caps. Lenders and brokers can provide specific advice.

A seller contribution can be a useful bargaining chip in slow markets such as - "buy my house and you can have a credit of $x at closing".  It's a thought that goes a long way with cash-strapped buyers.

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings!

During your home ownership, whenever you make a repair or upgrade or remodel or even do maintenance, you should do it right.  It may cost a bit more to do it right in the short term, but in the long term it will save you big.  Even if you never plan to sell your home you will get to enjoy the benefits of doing it right, such as not having to do it again, longer time before you have to do it again, and peace of mind.

Another thing to do right are the repairs that a buyer may ask you to do after a home inspection reveals a few issues.  Just yesterday we had a buyer that asked for four relatively simple repairs on the house they were buying.  The seller agreed, completed the repairs, and told us they were done.  When we went out to inspect the repairs not a single one of them was done properly, in fact one of them wasn't done at all.  So, after a few more phone calls and adding in the fact it was time to close, the sellers agreed to give our clients some money back so they could do the repairs themselves.  In this case the sellers spent some money doing the repairs shoddily, and then spent about the amount of money it would have cost to do it right the first time.

God is good!

Randy Fry - Broker/Owner
Great Commission Realty - We're On A Mission!
mailto:realtorrandy@randyfry.com
Office: (417) 889-3558
http://www.RandyFry.com - Search 9,000+ Listings!