Low appraisals present a real disadvantage when paying 6%.

The article in the Milwaukee Journal of 6/29/09 for the home at 4421 N. Glenway in Wauwatosa points out how stingy appraisals of late can affect sales in today's market (http://www.jsonline.com/business/49390682.html). In the article, the subject property's appraisal came in $6,000 less than the sales price. Ultimately seller had to reduce his price in order to close. Seller was with a high commission broker paying probably around $11,500. Had the sellers been wise and used Homeowners Concept, the savings in commissions would have more than covered the deficit from the appraiser.

The National Association of Realtors recently reported that "In the past month, stories of appraisal problems have been snowballing from across the country with many contracts falling through at the last moment." Part of these deals are falling apart due to the cost of selling a property when one uses a traditional, high commission broker.

Just like when buyers decide on which home to make an offer on and for how much, appraisers decide the value of the property for the lender regardless of what the seller is paying in commission. Sellers and brokers have absolutely no control what the appraised value is going to be. If you plan to sell, BE WISE and determine from the start that paying a very low commission would only help to net you more money once the value is calculated by the appraiser (which may be less than what you have in mind).

Avoid agents that want to "buy the listing"

Yesterday we walked away from listing a home on Lannie Ct. in Elm Grove, very close to the property we have a pending sale at 13550 Wrayburn Rd. You see, the seller is already listed for $449,900 for almost 5 months with very little activity and no offer. He was also listed last year with a different agent for $479,900. Our expert agent Kati Fonte who sold the home on Wrayburn in two months and has been a top agent for the last 19 years with Homeowners Concept, told the seller the price and changes in the presentation it would take to sell but seller was reluctant to go there. Why? Because other agents have told him the price in the mid $450s is doable. And herein lies the problem. Sellers listening to inexperienced agents or agents who want to have a listing hoping they attract a buyer they then can sell them something else.

When we do a free market analysis we take the perspective of what it would take to get the property sold looking at it from the buyer's vantage and making sure we have the comparable sales to back up the appraisal. Unfortunately there are a lot of high commission agents that will take anything at any price just to get their name in the marketplace. Many sellers fall prey to the old trick high commission agents play which is "buying the listing". We refuse to participate in this game. THIS IS a total disservice to sellers who pin their hopes on a higher price than the market can support. For verification of this, one has to look at the thousands of properties that expire unsold each month in the Southeast Wisconsin MLS.

The 3 most important things a seller needs to do to sell fast and for top dollar.

What are the three most important things a seller should do to sell fast and for top dollar?

One: Price at or below the last comparable sale within a three to six month prior period. Take a look at the comparable sales in your area, find the sale that is closest to your property in scope, and list your property at or lower than what that property sold for. If you choose Homeowners Concept and pay just 1.5% commission, you can afford to price lower than the competition. Remember buyers could care less what you pay in commissions all they care for is the bottom line.

Two: Work with an agent who has a track record for selling many homes and has been in business a long time. All of the Homeowners Concept agents are carefully picked from many candidates and sell 3-4 times as many homes than the average agent and have 17+ years in business vs less than 5 yrs for the high commission agencies.

Three: Present your house in the best condition possible so potential buyers walk through the door and feel they could live there. Take the advice of a professional (again the Homeowners Concept is a great source of advice) in terms of what needs to be changed, removed, or added. In some cases, you might need a professional staging company to get the house ready for showings. After the property is ready, be sure to make it available for open houses and showings.

Now, may be the best time to buy.

With the Fed now on the sidelines from buying mortgages, the rates have crept up 1/2 to 3/4 of a percentage point from the lows. Nevertheless, the rates are still at a historical bottom. With the economy showing signs of stabilizing rates can only go but up from here.

Do you buy a home now or wait for prices to fall further.

This is a question many buyers are pondering these days. Even though there are no absolutes, we do know that with an improving economy the rates, barring another Fed intervention, are bound to go back up to the level before the recession hit (around 6.5%). As for home prices, the rate of decline has come down and prices should stabilize around this level. Clearly then, buyers that wait until next year to buy are faced with higher rates and possibly higher home prices.

What about the $8,000 tax credit for first time Homebuyers?

If you are a first time homebuyer (not owned a property for the last 3 years) you have the additional bonus of receiving up to $8,000 from Uncle Sam if you close by 12/1/09 (you do not have to pay this money back). Factor this credit in and it becomes impossible to see how one can be better off by waiting. This is the opportunity of a lifetime and we anticipate the late Summer and Fall to be strong as many of these homebuyers will scramble to get a place before December.

Our website: HomeownersMKE.com does offer the largest inventory of available properties in SE-WI so make a good use of it to find the home of your dreams.

Where is the advantage???

This property, just a few blocks from my home, at 1004 N. 70th st. Wauwatosa just sold for $329,000 BUT started at $409,900 9 months ago. This home was listed with the number one real estate company in the metro area and one of the top producers of this company. The home had dramatic reductions of $10,000, $40,000 and $30,000 respectively, before it got to a point where an offer was accepted. One has to wonder where the big company/big producer paying 6% or more commission advantage came into the picture (about $20K).

The high commission brokers have spent billions of dollars brainwashing sellers into thinking that there is an advantage spending thousands of dollars more in commissions. If one takes the time to investigate the data, one will see that there is absolutely NO advantage whatsoever. In all cases the hefty commission becomes a disadvantage as it reduces the net proceeds to the sellers. In many instances the hefty commission stands as an obstacle to the sale when sellers have limited equity or they do not want to walk away with less money after paying the big commission.