The KCM Blog: How the Serenity Prayer Applies To Selling a Home

How the Serenity Prayer Applies To Selling a Home Posted: 22 Feb 2012 04:00 AM PST   You may believe that selling your home is impossible in today’s market. You may feel powerless to the process. What could YOU possibly do to turn this housing market around? There is no doubt that today’s real estate market is extremely difficult to navigate. However, we want you to know that thousands of homes sold yesterday, thousands will sell today and thousands will sell each and every day from now until the end of the year. It is totally within your power to guarantee that your house will sell even in the current market. How you ask? Let’s look at the simplicity of the famous Serenity Prayer and apply it to selling a home in today’s real estate market. “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.” Accept the things you cannot change The two main reasons that the housing prices have softened: the current economy the inventory of distressed properties (foreclosures and short sales) As an individual homeowner there is no way for you to impact either of those two situations. The best think-tanks in the country are struggling to discover solutions. Have the courage to change the things you can There is not a vacuum of buyers in the market. There is a vacuum of homes a buyer in today’s market will purchase. Let us explain: could you sell your home today for $1? … $1,000 … $10,000? Of course you could. There are plenty of buyers in the market for a home they consider priced correctly. You have to decide what the correct price is for your home if you truly want to sell. If you want your house sold, you must list it at a price a buyer will pay for it. Not a buyer from 2006 but today’s buyer who has plenty of homes from which to choose. It will take courage to sit with a real estate professional and honestly decipher the true value of your home. If you want to sell, you must have that courage. The wisdom to know the difference We all realize that the economic situation will take some time to correct. If we want to wait for prices to return to 2006 levels, we will probably have to wait for 5-7 years. Look at the reason you decided to sell in the first place and decide whether the extra money you would get from the sale is worth that wait. Is money more important than being with family? Is money more important than your health? Is money more important than having the freedom to go on with your life the way you think you should? This is where your wisdom must kick in. You already know the answers to the questions we just asked. You have the power to take back control of the situation by pricing your home to guarantee it sells. The time has come for you and your family to move on and start living the life you desire. That is what is truly important.

Not only has homeownership been proven to be a wise and rewarding long-term financial investment, but it also offers other, less quantifiable rewards.  For example, according to Fannie Mae’s recent National Housing Survey, the top four reasons why Americans purchase their own homes are non-financial.

According to this study, one of the top reasons Americans believe in homeownership is that it supplies families with a good environment in which to raise their children and provide them with an education.  Another top reason is that owning your own home offers you a secure, physical structure in which you and your family can feel protected, stable, and safe.  Additionally, living in your own home often gives you more space for you and your family.  The final key reason why Americans believe in buying their own homes is that it gives families the freedom to personalize their space as they wish, whether it be through renovations, building an addition, or merely painting a room.

If this is what you are looking for in a home, now is the perfect time to pursue your ideal new home.  Danielle Windus-Cook Properties can help you find the home in the Rochester area that meets all the needs of you and your family.

On one hand, in many areas of the country, it is actually more financially profitable to purchase a home than to rent one.  With the current interest rates that are exceptionally low, mortgage payments often end up being less than the average monthly rental payment.  Additionally, there is the added benefit of putting your funds toward a long-term investment when you own your own home, rather than paying rental fees to a landlord.

Furthermore, if you choose to purchase a home now, you can acquire a 30 year fixed-rate mortgage, locking in your housing expenses at an incredible value with historically low interest rates.  With renting, on the other hand, costs typically increase about 3% every year, and real estate experts are predicting rental fees to dramatically increase over the coming two years.

While only you can decide when is the ideal time to look for your new home, renting a space while you wait can potentially cost you financially.   With a current real estate market featuring homes at incredible value and low mortgage rates, there has never been a better time to pursue your dream home.

Danielle Windus-Cook Properties can answer any questions you might have about rental properties in the current real estate market, and can help you find the new home in the Rochester area that is perfect for you.

The rate of demand in the real estate market could fluctuate in many different ways in 2012.  For instance, with mortgage payments that are currently lower than rental payments, many Americans could choose to take advantage of this excellent time to buy and purchase their own home.  Real estate demand could also be influenced by whether or not investors continue to acquire the numerous distressed properties on the market, whether the large population of baby boomers will purchase the many retirement or vacation homes across the country that are now exceptionally affordable, and whether the nearly 6 million adults who still live in their parents’ home make the decision to purchase their own home.

Supply can also have an impact on prices, and the amount of supply in the market depends on a number of factors.  For example, in the coming year, builders may begin to increase the number of newly constructed homes on the market.  Or the nation’s many baby boomers could sell their primary residences to move to retirement properties.  Or the shadow inventory of the nation’s foreclosed properties could finally be introduced into the market.  Another possibility is that the government could initiate a policy to convert the many foreclosures into potential rental properties.

The factors of supply and demand, and the many influences that control them, will largely determine the direction in which home prices go in 2012.  However, as shown through these many potential circumstances, it is extremely difficult for real estate experts to determine exactly what home prices will look like this year.

Danielle Windus-Cook Properties is an expert in the Rochester area’s real estate market, and is able to answer any questions you might have about home prices in the Rochester area.

In this study, Beracha and Johnson found that renting can be the more financially profitable investment over owning your own home.  However, this was found to be true only in cases where the renters reinvested 100 percent of the funds they saved through renting, which is not necessarily typical of all Americans.  In fact, studies show that the majority of Americans only save about 5% or less of their surplus income.  Therefore, for most Americans, homeownership is actually a wiser and more financially rewarding investment than renting.

Danielle Windus-Cook Properties upholds the value of owning your own home, an aspect of the American Dream that is further validated by Beracha and Johnson’s recent study, and is committed to helping you find the home of your dreams in the Rochester area.

Open House at 63 Tay Brook Lane – Refreshments being served. If you are looking for a home in Greece or if you are an agent with buyers meeting that criteria – please visit our open house.  Listing Agent Danielle Windus-Cook will be on hand to answer your questions.

Several of the nation’s most notable newspapers have recently published articles about the improving health of America’s real estate market.  For instance, an article entitled “Housing Market and Economy Showing Encouraging Signs” recently appeared in the Washington Post.  The Wall Street Journal published an article called “From Bottom Up, Signs of Housing Recovery,” while USA Today included one predicting that “Housing Outlook Is More Upbeat.”

Other key establishments have joined these sources and agreed with their predictions.  For example, CoreLogic recently reported that “housing statistics and the duration of the downturn to date indicate 2012 may be the year the housing market begins to turn the corner.”  Additionally, Freddie Mac stated, “There are some positive signs in the job market and consumer confidence; housing is starting to raise hopes for continued gradual economic recovery.”  Even economists at Fannie Mae have claimed that “the housing sector will likely take incremental steps forward in 2012.”

With such key sources predicting that 2012 will be a year of positive growth for America’s real estate industry, you can be sure that now is an excellent time to pursue your real estate goals.  Danielle Windus-Cook Properties, with years of industry experience in the Rochester area, is ready to help you find the new home that is right for you.

One of the potential problems can arise from the appraisal.  For instance, with some home values still declining, appraised values often do not end up coming in at sale prices.  Because of this, it can be extremely beneficial to get a comparative market analysis, allowing you to have a general knowledge of your home’s estimated value.  Another complication arises when short sales fail to be approved by the current lender.  Because some sellers owe more than their home is valued at, offers made by buyers then need to be approved by the lender, who may end up receiving less than he or she is actually owed.  Loan officers can also sometimes cause real estate deals to fall short of closing.  If loan officers fail to be completely thorough in reviewing tax returns, bank statements, and other key evaluations, they may issue an inaccurate pre-approval that will only cause you difficulty later on.  Meeting with your loan officer personally, and presenting all your documents up front, can help you avoid this potential problem.

These are only a few highlighted factors that can cause real estate transactions to fall short of closing.  However, having a competent, trustworthy, and experienced real estate agent by your side as you pursue your real estate goals can help ensure that you are not affected by any of these potential problems.

Danielle Windus-Cook Properties, with its commitment to personal service and extensive Rochester real estate experience, can guide you through the process of buying or selling your home, and ensure that your real estate experience is both efficient and successful.

Home staging is imperative and the basic steps are to repair, de-clutter, stage, and moderately decorate a home. Stagers use items within the house to accentuate focal points, room sizes, and an overall balance of furnishings, color and space in each room. Often that is not enough. 

 Stagorating is an in depth version of staging. It goes further to prepare the home for sales appeal.  Those additional steps include complete decorating, professional real estate photography, virtual tours, and utilizing the power of national social media marketing.    Additional decorative accessories may be brought in to further prepare the home.

The 2011 National Association of Realtors Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers stated that 88 % of buyers use the internet to find their homes. Additional facts include 55% find homes through drive by yard signs, 45% through open houses, and only 30% through newspaper ads. The same study states that 63% of buyers walked through a home they found on line. These statistics only stress the importance of each of the Stagorating steps. The home must look better on line than its competition and showings and open houses must be prepared for carefully.

Not every house needs to be Stagorated. Some do not.  However, the fact is that if a home needs help it is far less expensive to hire a Stagorater and get the real value of the sale than to keep dropping the price until it finally sells.

Stagoraters are only available at Danielle Windus Cook Properties, LLC

John R. Talbott is a widely respected authority in the real estate industry, formerly serving as a Goldman Sachs investment banker as well as authoring two books, The Coming Crash in the Housing Market from 2003 and Sell Now!  The End of the Housing Bubble from 2006.  Talbott is noted for highlighting the dangers of the housing bubble and then accurately predicting the housing crisis that occurred in 2007 and 2008.  Potential buyers might wonder what Mr. Talbott is saying about the real estate market now.

According to his recent article entitled “Homes—Buy Now!”, Talbott believes that it is now an excellent time for potential buyers to purchase a new home.  He states, “I have been waiting for more than five years to offer this advice.  It is now time in most cities across the country to buy a new home.”  He bases this argument on a comparison of current home prices to the top prices during the real estate bubble, to current construction and replacement costs, to recent income and rent statistics, and several other evaluations.

With yet another widely notable and respected real estate professional supporting the advantages of buying now, it is becoming more and more clear that potential buyers should take full advantage of this excellent opportunity to find their new home for a great value.

Danielle Windus-Cook Properties has the knowledge and expertise necessary to help you find your ideal new home during this current window of opportunity for buyers.