Clues to Home’s Condition: Seller’s Financing Terms “Seller Terms: FHA, FHA Rehab 203k, DVA, Conventional, Adj. Rate/Gr Payment, Special Funding, Cash.” –MLS listing Can you spot the yellow flag in the preceding list of financing options? No rule of thumb is 100%, but the vast majority of the time, when the Seller’s financing terms include...Read More
Ruing the “Buyer That Got Away” Sometimes, the biggest hurdle to selling a home isn’t the market, or the home’s condition, or bad marketing. It’s the would-be Seller’s mindset. Herewith are the four biggest obstacles that can trip up Sellers: One. What the owner paid (historical cost). Unfortunately for Sellers, Buyers don’t care about what...Read More
Home Not Selling? Only 3 Possible Explanations “When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.” –Buddhist sayings “When a home is priced right, Buyers will appear.” –Ross Kaplan I don’t know much about Buddhism, but I do know about selling residential real estate. Many frustrated home Sellers don’t want to hear this, but here goes:...Read More
The Upside of a Home with Downside When are prospective Buyers disappointed when they view a home that’s in TOO good condition? Is there even such a thing? Yeah, there is — at least for a specific kind of Buyer. Namely, one who’s looking at a home at (or just over) the top of their price...Read More
Test: ‘Reasonableness’ To recover from their Seller for a home defect, Buyers must satisfy a two-part test. Namely, they must prove that: 1) the defect existed at the time the Seller sold them the home; and 2) the Seller either knew of the defect, or should have known. Which begs the question, “what should sellers...Read More
“Pride of Owner Builder-ship” Want to know if a home is well-built and in stellar condition? To be absolutely sure, you really need to do a professional inspection. However, the best predictor I know is this: the seller also built the home. Seller-Builder’s The reason that that’s the gold standard — especially for more expensive...Read More
