I’m referring to an article I have from The Chicago Tribune. I was recently on vacation out in Chicago and this article caught my attention because these are the things I often tell sellers during a listing presentation and some of the most common things that are deterring buyers from making offers on their properties. I thought this was a great way to sum it up, I really like the way they did this article. These are all the things that I would recommend as your listing agent to make sure you have covered when putting your home on the market and during the listing period.

Mistake #1: Refuse to get real about the price.
When you list your home, you really should listen to the professional opinion of a real estate broker who can give you a great idea of:

• what’s happening in your neighborhood

• what prices are causing buyers to make offers

• what prices they’re actually closing at so that you can price realistically and make sure that you’re the 1st in your neighborhood to sell.

Mistake #2: Be fatally insulted by low ball offers.
Let me tell you, in this market, you’re going to get low ball offers. Regardless of where your home is, or how long it’s been on the market, buyers still think it’s a buyer’s market, and in many areas it is. If you get a low ball offer don’t get emotional about it. Let’s just counter that offer with a reasonable bottom line that you’re willing to accept. Most of the time the buyer is going to accept that. Consider the low ball offer simply, opening discussion.

Mistake #3: If your home is listed with an agent, insist on being present at the showings and chiming in with comments during those showings. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve had sellers stay home, without my knowledge sometimes, and just blow the deal. Buyers want their privacy. They want to be able to speak openly and freely and talk about the positives as well as the drawbacks and whether or not this home will work for them. So, please, leave during showings. It’s critically important!

Mistake #4: Have a spiffy condo but a scruffy lobby and other common elements.
If you’re in a condo environment, you should get involved in your HOA board. You should go to the meetings and you should encourage them to keep all the common areas in great condition.

There are 5 Other Common Mistakes that I can provide for you by visiting my website: www.SamWilsonGroup.com or contacting me directly:  Sam [at] SamWilsonGroup.com or just give me a call:  303-526-2606. I’ll be happy to provide the rest of this free report for you and even come over and talk to you about all these things, and how to get your home listed at an attractive, pricing condition so that we can get offers and get it sold fast for more money.

Until next time

While that may not sound familiar to you, I’m sure you’ve heard by now about all the problems getting Real Estate transactions closed due to appraisers and appraisals. That’s because of this new law called, ‘The Home Value Code Of Conduct.’

It is actually now a crime, literally, a crime for lenders to speak directly to appraisers. That’s because of all the problems in the past. But this pendulum has swung way too far and it’s all because of a law passed due to complaints and influenced by the New York Attorney General last year that became a law on May 1st of 2009.

While it was well-intentioned and I agree with the concept of making sure an appraisal is all about the real value with the home and not influenced by a lender like they were in the past. So many values got over-inflated, this is just absolutely ridiculous and causing a ton of problems in the industry. I have a million examples of my own, of appraisals coming in way off the true value of the property and causing all kinds of problems, if not, ultimately killing a deal.

If this is something that’s affecting you or you’re about to list your home or purchase a home, you need an agent that
understands values of properties, can help you understand the appraisal process, and is not afraid to work with an appraiser to make sure that it’s a value that reflects the purchase price and is a win-win deal.

What most people don’t know is that while lenders can’t talk to appraisers anymore, Realtors can! That’s right! We are allowed to talk to appraisers. I have done this on every single transaction since this became a law in May.

If you’d like more information about the Home Value Code Of Conduct, the problems its causing, and how to work through those problems with a good realtor, then just visit my website:  www.SamWilsonGroup.com, e-mail me: Sam [at] SamWilsonGroup.com
or just give me a phone call at: 303-526-2606

You can also search for homes and contact me through my search website. Search the entire MLS for free anytime you want  www.EasyDenverHomeSearch.com for all the new listings.

Until next time

Did you know that on May 1st there was a new regulation passed by the mortgage industry called the Home Value Code of Conduct (HVCC)? While this had good intentions, the HVCC has caused a ton of problems over the past couple of months in getting Real Estate transactions closed and approved by lenders.

What it says is that lenders can no longer talk directly to appraisers. Yes, this is a good thing, and something that should have been in place several years ago. It would have prevented a lot of the escalating values that were hard to justify in your local Real Estate market.

However, the pendulum has swung too far once again. Now this has caused a ton of problems because using this system prevents mortgage brokers and mortgage bankers from going directly to an appraisal source that they know and trust. One who knows the area where your house is selling or the area where you are buying.

What this has created is a buffer between the mortgage industry and the appraisers where now a mortgage person has to order an appraisal through a computerized website. Then appraisers pick up these work orders that may not even be familiar with your neighborhood. This is causing a ton of problems, let me give you one example.

I recently had sold a home in the Highlands area of Denver. The appraiser came from some place other than this neighborhood and turned in an appraisal $29,000 below the contracted sales price. I was able to solve it by switching the buyer to a new lender and getting a new appraisal which came in at market value.

So, you have to wonder, how can an appraisal have a $29,000 swing? Well, it’s because we’ve found a lot of problems in the first appraisal where that appraiser just didn’t understand the neighborhood and what kind of comparable properties they should have been pulling. And let me tell you, in fact, they have the wrong purchase price on the appraisal! The lender wouldn’t even deal with it. They wouldn’t agree to do a review of the appraisal. They wouldn’t do a new appraisal. We had to completely switch lenders.

I know how to get these done. I know how to solve these problems. So, if this is something you’re concerned about and you want that service, then please give me an opportunity to list and sell your home. These problems aren’t going away anytime soon with this new system.

There is legislation to put a moratorium on this process but I don’t think it’s going to happen anytime soon. Instead, you need a realtor that does understand your neighborhood values, understands how to solve these problems and if needed take drastic action to make sure that you get fair value for your home.

If this is something you want to discuss further, please contact me today, at: 303-526-2606 or just visit my website: www.HomeSam.com and click on, ‘What is My Home Worth?’