Luring the Right Buyers

Whether you are a real estate investor and you want to use a ‘flip’ strategy or you are a homeowner ready to sell your home fast so you can take advantage of the current market to upgrade. Luring the right buyers is critical in this type of real estate environment.

With the federal tax credit of up to $8,000 and now with HUD allowing for the issuance of short-term ‘down-payment’ loans for those that qualify for the credit, a bevy of new buyers are hitting the streets. You can sell a home and in some areas you can sell it fast if you do the right things and deploy the correct strategies.

The Finer Points of Selling

As a seller there are some critical mistakes that you don’t want to make and there are some important things you can do to make sure that your home is above the rest. Learn the psychology of today’s buyer and you’ll achieve success.

Remember that people are nervous right now. They are willing, but reluctant, players in the real estate game. Most buyers understand that they can get a great deal but are still nervous about the economy. They also are ‘novice’ buyers and many don’t want to buy a home that needs a lot of work.

Understanding how to overcome these buyer’s objections and knowing how to create excitement and buzz is critical to getting offers and receiving a contract that is close to your original asking price.

Point 1: Create an Emotional Connection
It is all about that first impression. One thing that many people forget is that the front of the house is the first thing a buyer sees. Make sure you spend a little extra time creating some flair and excitement there.

It’s kind of like staging the inside of a vacant home (which we’ll get to in a moment). You want to focus on some key areas. Take care of the simple stuff. Edge the driveway and curb, Paint the front door and shutters, cut large shrubs back and replace dead shrubs. Add some color by planting seasonal flowers and ‘limb up’ trees with low hanging limbs so the house is visible from the street.

You can even move to the backyard and create a little outdoor living space by adding some lawn furniture. Kick it up a notch by having a pitcher of lemonade and some to-go cups when ready when you know the showing is going to happen. Just before you leave, place the lemonade on a table outside and put a note on the back door inviting them out for a cup! Be creative and create an emotional tie!

Point 2: Stage and Declutter
I cannot emphasize this enough. Even if you do a great job of making a beautiful connection outside, it can all be lost once the prospect walks through the door. That is why it is critical for vacant homes to be staged and for occupied homes to be decluttered.

Staging is about making a connection with potential buyers. They want to know that they can truly ‘live’ in the home. You don’t have to stage every room and you don’t have to set up a complete room of furnishings, however, making sure that you have some nice pieces of furniture, fresh flowers and colorful vases and lots of lamps and light are a must.

Decluttering is also important. The trick is to create a showroom appeal. You want a modern, clean feel and you don’t want to make the family feel like they are living in ‘your’ home. Some experts even suggest removing all pictures of family and replacing them with pictures of scenery, flowers and other serene settings.

Lastly, staging is not only about the look of the place. Staging can include sights, sounds and smells. Pleasant music on in certain rooms can evoke a since of calmness and fresh baked chocolate chip cookies never displeases. Again be creative and get potential buyers thinking about where the furniture goes instead of looking for problems with the home.

Point 3: Don’t Be Cheap
Remember, this is a buyer’s market and buyers know it! Don’t be cheap, offer right out of the gate that you are willing to pay closing costs. This may help you get an offer that is higher right from the start.

Also make sure that you don’t snub lower offers. Remember that people are trying to find a deal and these days they can. If they make an offer on your house then that means they are probably truly interested. Every offer deserves a counter offer; it’s basically a conversation starter that could lead to a sale!

Point 4: Warranties & Protections
Some creative strategies that could get your house sale moving and attract more quality buyers to the table are the exact right incentives for today’s market place! First, offer a home warranty, even an extended home warranty. This can be a great way to get people in the door.

But don’t stop there, some lenders and many real estate firms offer policies from affiliated insurers that protect the buyer in case of job loss. Offer to pay for insurance that will make payments for the buyer if they lose their job. Many times this can get a buyer over the hump and help them make an affirmative decision to buy!

In Conclusion; Be Creative

There are many other creative ways to get your home sold. Everything is on the table these days from Life Insurance that pays off the mortgage if someone should die to paying the first year of utility bills for a full price offer.

If you are a real estate investor attempting a quick-turn strategy you should employ all of these strategies to create a sale in a short period of time for top dollar. If you are a homeowner attempting to sell, these strategies should make your home stand heads and tales above the rest!

Remember that an emotional connection, imagination and strategies to overcome buyer’s fears and concerns is the way to a successful transaction in a shorter period of time. Good luck and happy selling!

For more information and to read the article that inspired this one go to http://www.marketwatch.com/story/story/print?guid=05010834-B368-4E28-A473-A3E147D3D657

U.S Foreclosures Filings Sets New Record High

The second wave of foreclosures has arrived. Is the American economy ready?

The tide of potential foreclosures has been rising for quite some time. The U.S. economy had a brief respite while banks and lenders tried to decide which way the political winds were blowing. This may have briefly delayed many of the recent filings.

Now that the new administrations policies are clear, the cleansing of the banks balance sheets begins anew. Combined with holdover filings from last year, we are beginning to see the start of the ‘second’ wave of foreclosures.

This so-called second wave is caused by the Alt-A and Option ARM loans that are scheduled to adjust or come due between now and November of 2009. Many of the resets on these loans will cause real estate investors and laid off workers to default.

A recent article on MarketWatch.com (http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-foreclosures-reach-record-rate-in-april ) suggests that the delay was caused by the moratorium on the industry that were recommended by regulators. Some believe that the recent stabilization in overall values across the nation may hold steady even though there is this new round of repossessions hitting the books.

Opportunity abounds for real estate investors with the means or the creative drive. With multiple options available, investors can still invest in real estate and with rising rents and low prices real estate investor activity in the market place appears to be increasing again.

While many thought that greed and over zealous real estate investors were partly to blame for the bubble in the economy, some economist have argued that prudent and professional real estate investors need to be active in the market in order to truly stabilize home values.

There are many lenders that have started to lend to investors again. Cautiously these lenders have entered the market and are lending to those that can prove experience and credit worthiness. Still other real estate investors are slowly testing the markets using creative strategies that skirt the traditional lenders and allow them to access capital that allow them to build and manage large portfolios of rental properties.

The time is ripe for real estate professionals. These are the times when fortunes in residential real estate are made and many people are seeking out the abundant opportunities in this market. Is the time right? Is America ready for the second wave? Only time will tell…

You Know it is the Bottom When...

In a shocking display of just how bad the foreclosure crisis got in California, a Texas bank decided that it was more cost efficient to destroy 16 brand new homes in a development they took back through foreclosure than to try and finish and sell the homes.

This is true evidence of exactly how far prices have crashed and is the perfect indicator of what happens when a crash begins to reach the bottom. When the decisions like this can be made and are sound business decisions it can be a sign of that things have gotten about as bad as they are ever going to be.

This is called capitulation and it is what many experts have been looking for in order to 'call' a bottom. This is exciting because positive signs after this may be not be false positives. Future positive market activity may be the real thing.

Stay tuned.... Ben Bernanke speaks today, analysis tomorrow.