Winter Real Estate Competition in Lane County

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Some people are under the misconception it’s not wise to sell during the holidays. However, there are plenty of benefits to listing your home during the winter. Here’s why.

There is less competition. Around October, people begin feeling overwhelmed by preparing their homes for the holidays. They don’t want people walking through it when they’re decorating or spending quality time with family. However, there are serious buyers out there and that could be a huge advantage you don’t want to miss out on. When competition decreases, you have a better chance of selling quickly and for top dollar. This adds money to your pocket.

There are dedicated buyers. They’re not window shopping like those prancing around in the summer. In fact, they may even be more motivated to move in before Christmas comes around!

If you have any real estate needs, please reach out by phone or email. Happy holidays!

The Importance of Home Inspections

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Today, I'd like to talk about the importance of home inspections. Home inspections can be mutually beneficial to both buyers and sellers.

From the seller's standpoint, a pre-listing inspection can be very valuable. That way, you know about the issues with the property and you can get a lot of them taken care of up front. A buyer might misinterpret some minor issues as major issues, and having that pre-listing inspection can save you a lot of money.

From a buyer's standpoint, buying a home is one of the biggest investments you will make in your life. Having an inspection done will let you know what issues you might run into, and you can have the seller make some of those repairs. If you want to make the repairs yourself, the home inspection can help you create a maintenance plan.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to call me or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

What Are the Best Ways to Prepare Your Home for Sale?

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Today we are going to talk about how to get your home ready for sale in Oregon. The old cliche, “You never get a second chance at a first impression” is very true when it comes to selling your home. In the first 1-2 weeks your home is on the market, that’s when you’re going to get the most activity.  

During this timeframe, you want to make sure you get your house in tip-top shape. Don’t put things off until later, that rarely works out. When people show up, they want the home to be move-in ready, so that’s what you’ve got to give them. They want to have their socks knocked off.

 

Now let’s talk about some specific ways to get your home ready. Your first step should be making sure your landscaping is pristine, to increase your curb appeal. When buyers first pull up to the home, they are going to look at the yard right away. Impressing them outside is your first step.

However, you want that feeling to continue as they walk through your house. When they do come through the door, you want to have the entire place deep cleaned and decluttered, with family pictures put away and little knick knacks and other decorations in storage. Buyers are looking for that turnkey home, and properly preparing yours ensures it will stand out. This is how to get multiple offers and offers over asking price.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call. We can’t wait to hear from you!

Why Does Buying Make More Sense than Renting?

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Today we are talking about renting vs. buying, a fun topic that I enjoy talking about. Our rental market is getting incredibly hot right now. As a landlord renting my house out, I’ve seen prices going through the roof and I can’t believe how high they are getting. For example, a house that rented at $1200 a month last year is renting for $1500 a month this year.

If you can buy a house, you should. You get many tax benefits, including your interest and mortgage insurance being tax deductible. In a rental situation, you will spend equal to or more than your mortgage payments, and you don’t get any of those tax benefits and aren’t able to do home improvements.

The clear answer is if you have the capability, you definitely want to buy. It provides huge financial benefits and incentives, and it doesn’t make sense not to if you are able to.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Don't Ignore the Selling Power an Open House Brings

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For many, many years I didn't really believe in open houses as a selling tool. I primarily believed that they were simply for agents to recruit potential buyers. The likelihood of someone coming in and deciding to buy a home during an open house is not super high.

However, there are some factors that can make an open house worthwhile. If your home is in a desirable and high-traffic location, I think an open house can work very well.

I recently did an open house on a property that had 20 showings but received no offers. When I conducted an open house I got 3-5 people to come through, but 2 of those people absolutely loved the home and we got multiple offers and were able to sell the home above list price.

Given the right circumstances, open houses can help. If you live far away from town or are in a place that's not convenient, I would suggest going another route. People like the convenience that comes from an open house which is why it works in high-traffic areas.

If you have any questions or concerns about this issue, or if you'd like to learn more about Lane County real estate, please don't hesitate to contact me!

Lane County Borrowing Tips

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Is there a difference between having no credit and having bad credit? Many people are unaware, but there is a significant difference between the two.

When you have bad credit, it's likely because you stopped making mortgage, credit card, or car payments at some point. When you haven't made a payment, you begin to get derogatories (30 days late, 60 days late, 90 days late, etc.). You also may have had a bankruptcy in the past, which will negatively affect your credit.

If you have failed to make payments, or if your credit is just bad, it will take some time to improve your score. The longer you get away from your last negative derogatory, the better your credit will become. In other words, if you start making payments regularly, you can get your credit back on track.

If you have no credit, it means you need to apply for some and start making payments on time. This is a better situation than having bad credit because you can earn good credit much faster than you can recuperate it!

If you have any questions about this topic, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Why Should You Take Zillow's Values with a Grain of Salt?

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How does Zillow affect buyers and sellers in the Lane County area? Today, we'll explain that while Zillow is a useful tool, you need to be careful about trusting everything you find there.

Often, I meet with sellers who tell me how much their home is worth according to Zillow and buyers who question the price of homes I show them because of what Zillow told them. What many people don't realize is that there are a lot of things Zillow can't do. It uses a database-structured algorithm to come up with home prices, so there are a lot of things it cannot take into consideration.

Zillow has no way of taking into account a home's curb appeal. They have no way of separating a dream yard from a dumpy one. A home with a pristine yard and one with grass ten feet tall, given the same statistics, will be valued the same on Zillow. In some aspects Zillow can be pretty accurate, but it's best to take all the information you get there with a grain of salt. More often than not, Zillow's values are either low or high.

If you have questions about the best way to find the most accurate and up to date real estate information, don't hesitate to give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to assist you in any way possible!

The Benefits of a Pre-List Inspection

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Buying a Lane County Home? Search all homes for sale

Today, I want to explain what a pre-list inspection is and whether you should get one before you put your home on the market!

A pre-list inspection is a full home inspection that is done before the home is put on the market. The inspector will go through the whole home and disclose any issues that are found. This gives the seller the ability to fix all the problems with the home before any potential buyers even see it. Instead of having an interested buyer discover a bunch of potential deal-breakers, a pre-list inspection will allow you to present the house at its fullest potential!

I'm a huge proponent of pre-list inspections! Nipping any problems in the bud is the best way to ensure a smooth and successful sale. A pre-list inspection will save you a lot of time, money, and headaches when listing your home!

If you have any questions about this process, please give me a call or shoot me an email. I'm always here to answer your questions and assist you in all things real estate!

The Perks of Professional Photography

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In a crowded market, you need to take advantage of all the marketing strategies you can if you want to have a successful home sale. Today, we discuss the importance of professional photography when trying to get top dollar for your home!

Having high-quality photographs of your home is incredibly important. Statistically, 9 out of every 10 buyers begin their home search online. Often, by the time the buyer physically walks into a house, all they are doing is confirming the research they did about the house online. In other words, many buyers have already made up their mind based solely on information found online, and photographs play a crucial role in the decision-making process!

If you have questions about what we do to get homes sold for top dollar, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, please don't hesitate to reach out to us. We would love to hear from you!

Looking for New Construction in Lane County?

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If you've been looking for new construction in Lane County, you might be having a tough time because there really isn't a whole lot of it around. The primary reason for this is that there is very little land to build homes on.

When we do see land that can be built on, it's usually awkwardly shaped lots or sloping land. That makes it undesirable, and it's also hard to build on, so building your home on a sloping lot may cost the same as one on a level lot.

However, when you do find a new construction home, you should keep in mind that demand is high and that these homes are going for a bit of a premium. If you would like a list of potential new construction properties that are becoming available, I would be more than happy to send them to you.

If you need any assistance buying or selling in Lane County, please don't hesitate to contact me.

The Best Time to Put Your Home on the Market

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A lot of people believe that the springtime is the best time to put your home on the market. I would tend to disagree with this notion, because I believe anytime is a good time to sell your home.

Because of this, the importance of pricing your home properly cannot be understated. Timing is not as important compared to pricing, because whenever you price your home properly, you have a good chance to sell it for top dollar.

It's true that we sell a lot of homes in the spring and summer, but we also sell a lot of homes in late fall and early winter. There is always something happening in the real estate market. However, the only time when the market is truly slow is from Thanksgiving up until New Years. The holiday season is definitely not a time to list your home, but it would be a good time to prepare it for sale.

If you have any real estate needs, please don't hesitate to give me a call. I hope this information has been helpful!

How Do Banks Entice Short Sale Sellers

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Today I'm back with my short sale series to discuss how a bank will 'reward' you for cooperating in a short sale situation. This is a great question, because there are some incentives for you to cooperate with the bank in a situation like this.

At least 80-90% of the time, a bank will pay sellers anywhere from $1,000 to $3,000 to provide relocation assistance. This incentive is meant to help them move elsewhere, and it's also an incentive to prevent the seller from being destructive to the home prior to moving out.

This will often entice the former owner to cooperate and leave the property in good condition, and in most cases I believe the bank will give you $3,000, unless the home is a HUD home.
 
Hopefully this information has been useful to you, and I hope that you contact me with any questions regarding short sales or real estate here in Lane County.

I'm always happy to speak with you!

What Is a Deficiency in a Short Sale?

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Today I'll be answering more questions about short sales. I'll be answering this question in particular:

What will happen to the difference of what I owe on my property and what the bank will receive once my property is sold?
 
This difference is known as the deficiency in a short sale. Almost 99% of the time, this difference is completely forgiven. It's hard to believe, but banks will just let that money go.

However, if this is not the case, then you'll need to speak with a qualified mortgage professional and possibly an attorney. If you find yourself in this unfortunate circumstance, then please contact me and I would be happy to refer you to some of my preferred vendors that could offer you assistance.

As always, if you're in need of a good real estate professional in Lane County, please consider me your #1 option!

Protecting Your Credit in the Short Sale Process

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Hello and welcome to part five of my short sale series! Today, I discuss one of the biggest concerns people have when it comes time to have a short sale: their credit. 

Most short sales are the result of missed mortgage payments. After 30 days, 60 days, and 90 days, your creditor starts reporting to the Credit Bureau about how late you are on your payments. The short sale itself doesn't dramatically hurt your credit - rather, it's what you've done leading up to the short sale. 

In reality, once a short sale is complete, you can begin the process of repairing your credit. The day your short sale closes is the first day of the credit repair process. Credit seasoning means that the further you get away from the short sale completion date, the less it affects your credit! 

If you have any questions about short sales, or if you would like real estate assistance of any kind, give me a call or shoot me an email. I would love to hear from you!

Can The Length of a Short Sale Vary?

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Hello, and welcome back! For part four of my short sale series, I answer the question, "How long does it take to complete a short sale?"

Really, the length of a short sale is dependent upon many factors. It depends on your lender, the number of loans, whether there are complicated liens or IRS taxes attached to the property, among many other things.

We typically tell our clients the short sale process will take between three and six months. Somewhere in that window, we can take care of about 80%-90% of short sales in that time frame. However, on rarer occasions, we've done short sales that last years, as well as some that are wrapped up in a week's time. In other words, the process varies greatly depending on the particular situation!

If you have any questions about the process, or if you would like real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to help you out!

Working With Your Lender On a Short Sale

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 Hello, and thanks for joining us for part 3 of my short sales series. Today we answer the question, "Will a lender allow me to do a short sale?" This is something many homeowners wonder about, so we're happy to answer it here.

About 99% of the time, your lender will allow you to have a short sale. There are a lot of reasons a lender might allow you to go ahead with your short sale - such as loss of job or income, divorce, and other significant reasons. However, most lenders aren't too terribly concerned about what the reason is - in other words, they are not too particular about what the exact reason is for your short sale. 

The bottom line is this: if you're likely to become delinquent on your mortgage payment, lenders are usually lenient about you having a short sale. This is because they have two options: they can either foreclose on the property or cooperate with you by allowing a short sale. At the end of the day, lenders save a lot of money by allowing you to have a short sale, instead of foreclosing. In other words, it benefits them as much as it benefits you.

Thanks for joining me today, I enjoy keeping you informed about our market! If you have any questions, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to reach out to me. I would love to hear from you!

What Exactly Is a Short Sale?

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Welcome to the second edition of our short sale series. Today, we explain what a short sale is and why it's sometimes the best option for homeowners.

A short sale is when you owe more than what your property is worth and you negotiate with the bank an acceptable price when you go to sell. For example, let's say you have a house that you owe $200,000 on. If the market shifts and your home's value falls to $150,000, you end up selling it for that much. Once various selling fees are deducted, the net selling price may actually be only around $135,000. Obviously, that amount isn't enough to pay off the $200,000 you owe.

In this situation, we negotiate with the bank to allow us to sell your property and forgive the difference between what they receive once the house is sold and what you still owe on the property. While a short sale does damage your credit, it's not nearly as harmful as a foreclosure and can even prove beneficial if you are in a bind.

If you have any questions about the short sale process, or if you need real estate assistance of any kind, don't hesitate to give us a call or shoot us a quick email. We're always available to chat!

Is a Short Sale Right for You?

 

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Today I will be starting a 10-part series on short sales. Almost all of our business comes from these types of sales, and we always get a lot of different questions about them. There are a few things to consider when thinking about if a short sale is right for you.

1. Can you afford your mortgage payment? 
2. Is your property under water? If it is, how far under water is it? 

If your property is significantly under water is it that wise for you to spend the next 5-10 holding onto it? It may be better to just cut it loose and start fresh with a different property.

If you ask yourself these two questions, you will probably find yourself in a better position to answer the question above. If you have any more questions, please feel free to contact me via phone or email.

Be sure to stay tuned next week when we will be discussing what the short sale process looks like. 

As always, if you're thinking of buying or selling in Lane County, please get in contact with me.