Posted by Annalisa Burgos | July 23, 2009
Ever wonder what really happens behind the scenes of an HGTV show? Now’s your chance to find out!
FrontDoor.com is giving you a virtual backstage pass to the new series “Real Estate Intervention,” through Twitter and Facebook.
During a special episode this Sunday, July 26, HGTV real estate expert Mike Aubrey will give you the inside scoop on his show LIVE through tweets and status updates. Tune in at 8:30 p.m. Eastern (7:30 p.m. Central).
But the best part is that you can join the conversation too!
Maybe you have a suggestion for the seller. Or you didn’t agree with Mike’s advice. Tweet and post your opinions and share them with other viewers. No more talking to the TV set alone! I’ll be adding my two cents too.
To join the interactive fun, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/HGTVFrontDoor or fan us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/FrontDoor.
You can also follow along through the Facebook and Twitter streams on FrontDoor.com.
Don’t you just love social media?
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | July 17, 2009
In this week’s vlog, we hear from San Diego real estate broker and blogger Kris Berg about her tips for buying and selling a home in today’s market.
Homebuying and selling resources on FrontDoor:
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | June 16, 2009
Despite its name, a short sale is by no means a “short” process. But unlike what you may have heard, getting a short sale approved by your lender is not as hard as you may think — if your real estate agent knows what they’re doing.
In order to orchestrate a successful short sale, you need a master negotiator, says Troy Huerta, short sale division leader at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in San Diego. “Many agents forgot how to negotiate. There was no negotiating in the past. You would list a home at a ridiculous price and someone would pay it.”
Those days are long gone. Home values are falling. Unemployment is at 9.4 percent. And according to RealtyTrac, there were more than 321,000 foreclosure filings in May, 18 percent higher than a year earlier. That’s expected to get worse.
But there’s a way to help ease this flood of foreclosures, Huerta says. Do more short sales.
In the past, lenders have been reluctant to do short sales. And why would they? They stand to lose a LOT of money. But the reality today is that if a lender doesn’t do a short sale, it may get stuck with a property that is harder to sell or will sell for less than it could have gotten. (A buyer is more willing to buy a short sale in good condition than a bank-owned foreclosure that needs a lot of work.) Not to mention the cost of pursuing the foreclosure process.
Even Fannie Mae felt short sales could help reduce foreclosures. It launched a pilot program pre-approving short sales for homeowners in Phoenix and Orlando.
Now, lenders should be more motivated than ever to get these deals done — as part of President Obama’s economic stimulus plan, the federal government will pay lenders up to $1,000 for each completed short sale or accepted deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.
READ HUERTA’S TIPS FOR BUYING AND SELLING A SHORT SALE…
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | June 12, 2009
With so much drama in the world, there’s no better time than now to step back and take a breath. It’s easy to get caught up with the stress and emotion of buying and selling a home. That’s why FrontDoor Insider Tara-Nicholle Nelson is sharing her solutions and strategies to deal with today’s frustrating real estate situations, like getting rejected for a mortgage or facing foreclosure after losing a job. It’s all in Tara’s Drama-Free Real Estate Guide at www.frontdoor.com/dramafree.
To spread the word about these great tips and advice, Tara and the FrontDoor team took it to the media — with the important message that now is not the time for consumers to panic (and it’s easy to with all the negative headlines), but rather they should be proactive.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | June 9, 2009
It’s no secret that listing agents typically charge a commission of about 4 percent to 6 percent of the home’s selling price. Most sellers will price that commission into their asking price so they can walk away from the sale with the profit they want.
So if you sell your home for $300K and you agree on a 5% commission, your agent will get a nice $15,000 paycheck and you get $285K minus your selling expenses.
I know what you’re thinking — $15,000 seems like a lot. Why not skip the commission and sell the house yourself? After all, your home is in good condition in a good neighborhood, you’re well connected with a marketing background, you have the time and patience — what’s the big deal about going FSBO?
Well, today’s real estate market is very different from the one a few years ago when homes practically sold themselves. And you can’t just plop a “for sale” sign on the lawn, post an ad on Craigslist and wait for buyers to show up. (Maybe if people are clamoring to get into your neighborhood or you price the home way below market value.)
Today, homes can take as long as 6-9 months to sell. Listing agents are paid a commission once they find you a “ready, able and willing buyer.” And in this market, that’s no easy feat. Sure buyers are everywhere, but a serious buyer who’s got financing? Kinda like finding a single guy at a movie screening of “The Proposal.”
Before you decide to take matters in your own hands, weigh the pros and cons. Do you really have the time to market your listing, show your home to buyers, coordinate inspections and close the deal? $15,000 may seem like a lot, but when you add up the value of the time and effort it takes to sell in this market, it may not be so unreasonable. Besides, commissions are negotiable, and many agents are willing to work with you to get your business. If you’re just wary of working with a real estate agent, try these tips for finding the right agent for you.
And to help you get a handle on the selling process, check out FrontDoor’s Guide to Selling a Home. You’ll get a better sense of what the process entails so you can decide whether you can take this on yourself or would rather leave it up to a professional.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | May 29, 2009
I’ve been looking for a place to buy in Manhattan for about three months now. Today, my real estate agent tells me that during the summer, open houses shift from the weekends to weeknights. Or you have to set up an appointment to see the place during a weekday.
What?! That means I have to dash from the office to a property crosstown or wherever during my lunch hour (which I don’t normally take). What a major inconvenience.
According to rule #57 in the home seller’s handbook, sellers should make their homes as accessible as possible to attract as many buyers as possible, especially in a buyer’s market. Okay, there’s no handbook per se, but think about all the foot traffic you’ll miss out on. Don’t sellers want to sell their properties quickly? Manhattan is so weird.
In addition to inconvenient open houses, here are a few more pet peeves I’ve had during the house hunting process (and things sellers and agents should keep in mind when marketing their properties):
1) Not posting pictures of the inside of your home online. I’m one of the more than 80 percent of buyers who search for homes for sale online and if you don’t have pictures, I move on to the next listing that does have pictures. These days, your agent should be insisting you include pictures with your listing. If he/she doesn’t, ditch the agent.
2) Posting blurry pictures or ones that are so small you need a magnifying glass to see anything. That’s almost as bad as not having pictures at all, so take clear, appealing pictures. And get rid of the clutter so buyers can see the space, not your stuff.
3) Exaggerating what your home has. One listing I saw read “HUGE terrace.” Since outdoor space is something I want in my new home, I set up an appointment to see the place. To my dismay, the “HUGE terrace” was neither huge nor a terrace! It was a railing that ran along the outside of the bedroom with barely enough room to fit one person! I refused to deal with that listing agent again.
4) Not being prepared for the home tour. I’ve toured properties where the agent doing the showing had no idea what the house or building offered. It was a case of the blind leading the blind. Each time I would ask a question, the agent would give me a blank look and say “I’m not sure about that. I’ll look into it and get back to you.”
What are your biggest pet peeves with the house hunting process? Post your comments below and share your stories with us!
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | May 19, 2009
Let’s face it. Sellers in this market need as much help as they can get. When you’re competing with foreclosures and heavily-discounted new construction, your home needs to stand out. Play up your strengths, whether it’s a great view or amazing kitchen. And if you’ve got a REALLY unique feature, FrontDoor.com is the perfect place for you to market your one-of-a-kind property!
FrontDoor’s Cool Houses Daily (www.frontdoor.com/coolhouses) highlights the coolest, kookiest and most unique homes for sale across the U.S., from a custom-built grown-up treehouse for sale in Texas to the former home of gangster Al Capone listed in Chicago.
Each day, we showcase one new property that has a great story or very unusual selling feature, chosen from our more than 3.6 million for sale real estate listings.
Each Cool House is featured for about two weeks and actively promoted through FrontDoor’s weekly newsletter sent to 400,000 engaged home lovers and via various social networks such as Facebook (www.facebook.com/FrontDoor) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/HGTVFrontDoor), plus throughout the Web site itself.
Realtors and brokers can add value to their clients’ listings with CHD. Just go to the CHD page (www.frontdoor.com/coolhouses) for details on how to submit your cool house for sale. “Our audience appreciates a good story and we are always on the look out for new and unique ways to highlight homes available through FrontDoor,” says Rich Lacy, vice president and site director of FrontDoor.com. “This feature showcases additional dimensions to a listing.”
And for home lovers like me, it’s cool just to see what’s out there.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | May 7, 2009
During the height of the real estate boom, pricing a home was more like a technicality in the selling process, a suggestion to buyers. More often than not, the home would sell for more than what it was listed for, especially in hot markets. Back in the good ‘ol days, selling a home for at least your asking price was a sure thing.
Welcome to 2009. Pricing is no longer just a technicality. It means the difference between getting multiple showings or none. A home’s price can make or break a deal and affect whether your home will sell quickly or languish on the market for months.
FrontDoor’s new Pricing Guide (www.frontdoor.com/pricing) breaks down the various pricing strategies and factors you should consider to determine what your home is worth and get it sold.
One of the most common pricing faux-pas sellers make is getting emotionally involved. Sure, you may have invested a lot of time, sweat and money into your home, but if you’re selling in this market, forget about getting any love back. Pricing it below your competition will help you get it sold quickly. Learn how to avoid six common pricing mistakes and get solutions to four pricing dilemmas.
Also, special thanks to Nancy Spearrin, a seller from Solon, Maine, who shared her selling nightmare. Read her story in “My House is Worth What?” And if you’ve got a story to share, let us know by posting a comment.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | April 16, 2009
Selling a home is a challenging job racked with potential pitfalls. Those of us who’ve experienced those pitfalls know the misery. Well people, misery loves company!
FrontDoor.com wants to hear your stories about surviving a home selling nightmare! Did your home sit on the MLS for three months without one offer? Did your real estate agent list your home too high and you had to reduce the price every week? Did the professional stager charge you an arm and a leg for some new paint and candles? Did the appraisal come back lower than your sale price? Did the home inspection reveal thousands of dollars in necessary repairs and your buyer threatened to bail?
We want to hear about it! Email your home selling nightmares to egray@scrippsnetworks.com. We could feature you on FrontDoor.com’s new Pricing Your Home Guide, due out in May!
Everyone wants to get the most money out of their home when they sell, but you can’t always get what you want. If you really have to sell now, do the research so you can price your home based on fair market value and market trends. Be realistic. You may have to do a lot of compromising to get your home sold.
Posted by Annalisa Burgos | April 8, 2009
I’m still hunting for that perfect home to buy, and my real estate agent hit a snag when trying to make our home tour appointments for this weekend — it’s Passover and Easter and no one is available! Now, I’m Catholic (albeit a non-practicing one, but still Catholic), but I’m still bummed. After all, I’m too old to dye and look for Easter eggs and my family is all on the West Coast.
That said, your friends at FrontDoor want to you wish you a wonderful Passover and Easter, whether you celebrate these holidays or not.
If you happen to be selling your home right now, go for tasteful seasonal staging! Like Thanksgiving and Christmas, holidays give you the opportunity to add warmth and create that real feeling of “home” that can be missing with standard staging. Plant bright beautiful flowers in your front yard for Easter or showcase your grill and outdoor patio around Independence Day.
Put away personal knick-knacks and tone down the religious decor so potential buyers can envision themselves in the space. You don’t want to distract them.
For instance, your favorite Easter bunny chandelier that Aunt Martha gave you may not appeal to most buyers, but a bunny statue in your garden can be a cute touch. Read more helpful staging tips for the holidays.
Staging your home right is critical to creating a great first and lasting impression for buyers. It can mean the difference between you getting an offer or none at all. Remember to clean, declutter and highlight your home’s best features. And get more expert tips and advice in FrontDoor’s Home Selling Guide.
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