Sellers around the country are finding it increasingly difficult to sell their homes. Two years ago sellers could put their homes on the MLS and slap a for sale sign in the yard, and buyers would inevitably come. You could even do a For Sale By Owner, and your chances were pretty good for success. As a Realtor in Charleston, SC, I feel very fortunate to live in a city with a good real estate market compared to most other markets around the country. But, even in Charleston’s market, sellers are becoming frustrated with not being able to sell their homes. If you’ve listed your home with no success, you may want to consider taking it off the market, even if it’s just for a short time. I’ve included some questions below that may help you make this decision.

How long has your home been listed? The time it takes to sell a home (sometimes called DOM, or Days on Market) depends on your local real estate market. But, in any market, if it’s been listed for 9 or more months without any success, you should consider your options: take it off the market for a while, find another listing agent, or make a considerable price reduction.

How many showings per week does your home receive? Showings are also a market sensitive number. In Charleston, a showing every week or two is average for our market. Generally when homes get fewer than average showings, it’s due to price or to marketing. Be sure to look over your MLS report (and flyers, etc. if you use them) and make sure they show off your home’s best features. Sometimes replacing dark pictures or rewriting your remarks section can be an easy fix for getting more showings. Since there are so many homes on the market, buyers are having to do a lot of shopping (and eliminating) on the internet. So, make sure your home gets on buyers’ lists of homes to see!

Have you received any offers from buyers? Again, this depends on the market. But, a safe rule is if your home has been on the market for 9 months with no offers, it’s going to take some drastic changes to get an offer. After a home has sat on the market for a while, buyers often think there is something wrong with the home and won’t put in an offer to buy it. If you have received offers on your home and decided not to take them, then you may have learned that buyers are making low ball offers left and right in this market. There are a lot of unrealistic buyers who think they can negotiate 20% off a listing. As a seller, you have no control of the offers that you get. But, be reasonable. There are a lot of unrealistic sellers, too, who think they can get more for their homes than the statistics show. In most markets, there is no such thing as a full price offer (or even close to that) anymore. If you’re not willing to bend on your price, it would be better to save the time and headache by taking your property off the market.

How badly do you need to sell? Of course you wouldn’t have listed your home if you didn’t need or want to sell it. But, do you absolutely need to sell or move right now? If so, and if you haven’t gotten any offers, you may want to consider renting out your home. A lot of sellers are choosing to rent their home out instead. It’s a lot easier to rent a home right now than it is to sell one. So, at least consider this option.

Is your home priced competitively? If you’ve reached the lowest point you want to go in your asking price with no success, you may want to list again later when the market has balanced out. If you look at the statistics, in most neighborhoods the very lowest priced homes are the ones that are being sold. Of course it depends on the neighborhood, but buyers are wanting a good deal in this market. Homes are going under contract everyday – but, they are only the homes that are priced competitively.

All of these factors depend on your real estate market. So, be sure to ask your listing agent how your home is doing compared to other homes for sale in the same price range and area. He or she should be able to provide you with statistics for recent sales and showings. This will give you a good idea of where you stand in the competition. And, if your home isn’t fairing well, it would probably be better to take it off the market for a while. Most real estate analysts think the market will show a significant change around the spring of 2009. So, don’t feel like you’d be taking your home off the market forever. But, if you can wait to list again in the next 8 to 12 months, real estate markets in most places are expected to pick up significantly by then. After all, this strong buyers’ market won’t last forever!

A home typically comes up for auction when the owner – who may be an individual or a builder – has been unable to sell the property and the property has been taken back by the lender in foreclosure. Once the lender owns the property, it can choose to sell it with the help of a real estate broker – or through an auction company.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderate

Things You’ll Need:

• Calculators
• Black Ink Pen
• Pads Of Paper
• Calculators

Step1

Research the property being auctioned. If it is a single property that went into foreclosure, get the specifics about the property: its size, its amenities, how much is owed against it, and what the opening bid is. Check with the county recorder or local title company for a list of properties currently in foreclosure.

Step2

Compare the sales prices of similar properties in the area so you have a good idea of what the subject property is worth. Properties within 3 miles of the subject property are the most reliable predictors of value. Compare sales of properties with the same number of bedrooms, bathrooms, and square footage if possible. Add or subtract for differences and amenities such as pools, decks and fireplaces.

Step3

Get financing. Typically, homes at auction require a deposit of from $1,000 to $5,000 for an accepted bid, and the remainder of the financing must be in place within a specified period of time.

Step4

Know your price limit. Auctions work on creating an atmosphere of agitation and excitedness. The more frenzied the auctioneers can get a crowd, the more likely the prices will be bid up. Don’t get swept up in the moment. Know how much you are willing to spend and stick to it.

Step5

Be prepared to walk away. Don’t feel as if you have to buy something just because you are ready. If the deal isn’t right for you, it’s not a deal.

Tips & Warnings

• A price for an auction property is based on the amount of loan owing against the property plus any fees or expenses that have been incurred during the foreclosure process. Typically, this amount is less than market value. If you do your homework and are prepared, the auction can be the ideal place to get a deal on a piece of real estate.
• Each auction has different time requirements for financing. Typically, you have to have the money or the loan in hand, ready to fund. Check the financing requirements prior to bidding.
• Stay out of a bidding war. If there are several people bidding on one property, stay quiet. Adding your bid will only escalate the tension. Once most of the people have dropped out and bidding has slowed, then you can step in. No sense in bidding up your own price. Wait.
• If there are a number of properties being auctioned off one after another, the properties at the front of the list – typically the first and second properties – go the cheapest. People usually wait to see what everyone else is going to do before they bid, and it takes a couple of good deals to go by before they realize they better get in on the action.
• Buying a home at an auction can be risky. Most of the time, if the property isn’t new, you won’t have the option of getting inspections and may not see the can of worms until you’ve bought it.
• Most homes bought at auction are purchased in “as-is” condition, with no warranties, guarantees or disclosures. Caveat Emptor – buyer beware!
• A block of properties in a subdivision may be auctioned off piece by piece, and there may or may not be models that you can preview to see what the property looks like on the inside.
• Consider all the added costs. Sometimes the auctioneer’s fee is added to the price of the property, or there are taxes owed against the property; if you forget to add that in, you could be paying too much.
• The time and effort you put into researching a property for auction may be wasted if the borrower cures the default and reinstates the loan.

The article “How to Buy a Home at an Auction”, which is shown above, was written by the eHow Personal Finance Editor and appeared on the eHow website.  We most gratefully thank the author and eHow for the courtesy of permitting RentaVenta.com to republish this work.

“Foreclosures are the top subject in the economic news today. Will it affect my condominium association too? What can be done?”

Foreclosures stalk condo owners like a predator looking for his prey. They are at an all time high in over 20 years, especially in the big cities.  They are evenly split between builders going out of business and buyers that bite off more than they can chew. With owners’ financial houses in complete disarray due to general economic conditions or loss of income, condo foreclosures are becoming a fact of life. This is more common than most would have you believe.

Foreclosures on condominiums occur when the current homeowner fails to make his mortgage payment, and the unit is being sold by the bank or lending institution at below market value. It is a devastating situation if you are in the position of having a condo repossessed or foreclosed upon. There is no choice for the bank or mortgage lender to get some money back through foreclosure because of the lack of payment by the owner. In some situations, the bank or lender will allow someone else to make the payments, which gives that person the right to move into the condominium.

When too many condominium owners lose their units to foreclosure, condo associations feel the financial pain. That is bad news for homeowners who depend on them to take care of building maintenance, property insurance, utilities, landscaping, and other amenities that are shared in common.

Condominium associations do have options, but most of them are not that palatable to the owners. Boards of Directors can borrow money from a bank, borrow money from the association’s reserve, reduce contributions to reserves, cut back on amenities, reassess costs, renegotiate service contracts, delay capital expenditures, increase monthly assessments, and levy special assessments. They can offer payment plans or loans to the owners. They can waive late fees or penalties to help owners catch up on delinquencies. Some condominium associations are assessing anywhere from $10,000 to $30,000 per unit to make up for the shortfall.

There are some actions an association cannot take. They cannot abandon their fiduciary responsibility just because the funds are inadequate, and they cannot abandon the effort to collect delinquencies.

Once the condominium association forecloses, the owner typically will stop paying the mortgage and the bank or lender may be willing to accept a deed to the property from the association in lieu of a bank foreclosure. That could result in a faster sale of the unit to a new owner. Obviously, the number one priority is to get someone in the unit who has the money to pay the assessments.
Times have changed. Foreclosure stalkers (politely called investors) are not showing up in bunches at foreclosure auctions to snap up great bargains. We always used to hear about the great times when condominium properties were sold with profit to interested buyers and the associations recovered all their money, plus making a profit that financed the new landscaping at the front gate. Those times are gone!

Home foreclosures are the repossession of the owner’s properties when they default in making timely payments of mortgage installments to the banks and financial institutions even after frequent reminders. Thereafter banks and financial institutions take the stern step of foreclosing the real estate property in order to resell them and recover their due loan payments.

Home foreclosures have become an instant hit among investors and buyers as these repossessed homes are generally available at big discounts. In precise terms, these properties are sold at huge discounts of about 30-50%. That is why interested parties always keep a close watch on the arrival of these properties in the sale purchase market of real estate so that they can buy them instantly and make huge profits.

Bidding plays a role of paramount importance in the home foreclosures as these properties are generally sold through this process. That is why it is necessary to do homework of extensive research before partaking in the auctions so that you can make a profitable purchase and ensure high profits in your pockets.

Some of the key areas that require your meticulous attention are:

• Location: the foremost segment to look for is the location of the foreclosed property you are interested in. this is because through market trends it has been depicted that locations of the prospective properties largely influence the price factor and draw demand. So, it is always a wise decision to work on this key area as conveniently located properties are always in great demand. Also, make sure that the property you are interested in is proximic to schools, your work place, hospitals, market and banks so that you can have a comfortable stay there.

• Home property: the next thing to take meticulous look of the home property you are considering to buy. This is due to the fact that in the past records, major vandalisms have been located in the repossessed properties that tend to reduce the price of the property. So, it is always wise to get the property professionally inspected so that you can estimate the approximate value of the home property.

• Liens and liabilities: liens and liabilities are those unwanted additions that are generally attached with the foreclosed properties. The owners have unpaid tax liens and liabilities connected with the properties that create problems at the time of transfer of the property rights. So, it is always better to go for those repossessed properties that are free from this parasite.

• Bidding: once you are through with the above mentioned attributes, you can proceed further and participate in the bidding process. But act intelligently at that time and do not bid price of the property that exceed its estimated price so that you do not run into loss.

So, follow the above mentioned mantras diligently and gift yourself a profit making entity of foreclosed home that drive huge profits into your pockets and you can enjoy good living at the conveniently located home.

Today’s real estate professionals face challenges that the industry hasn’t seen in years, perhaps in the entire history of selling real estate. New housing starts are down as builders struggle with their own issues of rising costs, and a lack of interested or capable buyers. Homeowners, flush with cash from the sale of overpriced homes a few years back, bought houses that they really couldn’t afford using variable rate mortgages. These mortgages, of course, were issued when interest rates were low. As the rates began to rise, mortgage payments became untenable and these expensive homes were put on the market. As the law of supply and demand dictates, the glut of homes on the market drove prices down drastically, forcing homeowners to sell at less than what they paid, and in some cases, less than what they owed.

Compounding all of this of course is the meltdown of the sub-prime mortgage market. Greedy lenders, in their pursuit of massive financial gain, granted loans to people who really didn’t qualify for them. As these people began to default on their loans, the lending institutions were in turn forced to default on their own obligations. The result – today’s economic morass that is being called the worst global calamity since the Great Depression, if not in the entire history of mankind.

In short, it’s not a good time to be selling real estate. So what’s a real estate professional to do? How do you go about finding success in a downturned market? The short answer is easy – sell something else.

Increasingly, people who make their living selling real estate are seeking alternative careers. In some cases, they seek to supplement their declining incomes as they wait for the market to come back. Others, perhaps the more pragmatic, are moving on altogether. Real estate training notwithstanding, these people realize that they are in fact sales professionals, and that there has to be a better way. Earning an income in real estate is no longer a realistic profession.

As these professionals evaluate career alternatives, many are looking at internet based direct marketing opportunities for a number of reasons. Apart from the huge potential that the internet represents, a home-based direct marketing business can be started while still continuing with current employment. So someone who realizes that change is necessary but isn’t quite ready to make the leap can simply ease into it. However, once these individuals see the success that awaits them in their new endeavor, many simply give up real estate and become full time internet network marketers.

Changing any career is not easy. But if you are trying to eke out a living today in real estate, now might be the time to consider it.