Selling With Sarah

Tucson Home Buyers- Different Types of Loans

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When buying a home in Tucson, Sarah Ley can help you to understand the different types of mortgages available to you. Today’s home buyer has a lot of different options available, and many of those options will depend on your credit scores, the amount of money you have for a down payment, and whether or not the home will be owner occupied.

Conventional vs. Federally Insured Mortgages

Conventional and Federally Insured are the two main type of home mortgages available to most borrowers. Within each of these two main designations, there are many variations and differences. Before committing to any type of loan, make sure to read the fine print, as you will want to select a mortgage that has no pre-payment penalty or other restrictive conditions that may limit your option to re-finance in the future, if necessary.

Conventional Loans are offered by your local bank, mortgage broker, or credit union. Depending on your lending institution, F.I.C.O. scores, and debt to income ratio, your borrowing costs and the options and interest rates available to you will vary.

Understanding Down Payments and Private Mortgage Insurance

Due to the sub-prime mortgage meltdown, for all practical purposes, there is no longer 100% financing available to borrowers, except with VA Loans. Some traditional loans will now require a substantial down payment, which ranges from ten to twenty percent of the sales price. If you put less than 20% as a down payment, you will be required to pay PMI (Private Mortgage Insurance). credit, but may not have enough funds for a substantial down payment. Another advantage of this type of loan is that the entire amount of annual interest can be written off, whereas PMI cannot be. The good news (if you have to pay PMI) is that it is tax deductible. A conventional mortgage works best for borrowers who have at least 10% to put down on the home, as well as good credit scores. Conventional mortgages are also great for non-owner occupied, investment purchases, as federally insured loans apply only to owner occupied homes.

Federally Insured Government Loans are available to individuals who qualify under certain circumstances. In this instance, you take out the loan from your local bank, mortgage broker, or other lending institution and the loan is insured by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Federally Insured loans include:

• Federal Housing Administration (FHA) insured loans: These loans allow you to buy a home with as little as 3% down. Because the government is insuring your loan, it is usually easier to qualify for FHA financing.
• Veterans Administration (VA) guaranteed loans: you must be a veteran of the US armed forces to qualify.
• Farmers Home Administration (FmHA) loans: available to farmers in rural areas.

Financing Your Tucson Home

“Sarah Ley can help recommend qualified lenders to you when financing your home.”

Your home purchase may be the largest purchase you ever make in your lifetime. When it comes to financial matters, it is important to do your homework and be sure you are comfortable with the process. There will be many people offering you advice on how to best finance your home, but make sure you shop around enough to feel confident that you are making informed decisions that are right for you. Sarah Ley can help recommend qualified lenders to you from a portfolio of experienced professionals she has worked with, in order to facilitate a seemless and worry free transaction.

In order to understand all of the closing costs charged by a lender, your lender is required to give you a Truth in Lending Disclosure Statement, which is a good faith estimate (GFE) listing all of the borrowing-related costs that you will incur by financing your home. These extra costs can include: loan origination fees, appraisal cosst, inspection fees, and an application and/or a credit report fee. These fees can total thousands of dollars, so make sure to pay attention, and don’t be afraid to ask for clarification if there is a cost or fee that you are not clear on. Some lenders are able to finance in a part of the closing costs, if you find that it is necessary, and Sarah can help you best structure this in the purchase contract so that it will be acceptable to the seller and your lender.

Sarah Ley’s website has helpful Financial Tools avaiable in order to help you make informed decisions about financing your home. Please contact Sarah to discuss in greater detail the financing of your largest asset.

$8,000 Tax Credit for Tucson Home buyer’s

Now is a great time to buy a home in Tucson! As we speak, the approved $8,000 tax credit is being offered by the federal government to help first time home buyer’s and those who have not owned a home in the last three years buy a home and get an $8,000 tax credit for their 2009 taxes.

If you qualify, an $8,000 tax credit can help you in transitioning  from renting to owning your own home. It can assist with buying furniture and appliances, making any necessary home improvements – like remodeling, landscaping and painting; or paying down consumer debt as you adjust to new monthly expenses. Homes purchased between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 qualify for this outstanding financial windfall.

The tax credit is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, and it was signed into law on February 17, 2009. This law was brought about to help stabilize the housing market, with a goal of strengthening our overall economy.

Are you eligible for the tax credit?

The tax credit is designated for first-time Tucson home buyers, as well as buyer’s who have not owned their own home in the last three years. The tax credit is equal to ten percent of the home purchase price, which is capped at $8,000. Single taxpayers with incomes up to $75,000 and married couples with incomes up to $150,000 qualify for the full tax credit. Single taxpayers with incomes between $75,000 and $95,000, and married couples with incomes between $150,000 and $170,000 qualify for partial credit.

Homes purchased between January 1, 2009 and December 1, 2009 including single-family, town homes, or condominiums qualify for the tax credit, provided that the home is used as your primary residence. This also includes new construction homes, if you close on and occupy the home prior to December 1, 2009. Sarah Ley is a professional Realtor, and she can help you to know if you qualify for this incredible $8,000 tax credit. Sarah Ley will help you locate your new home in Tucson, negotiate on your behalf, and assist you in find financing alternatives. What a great time to own your own home! What are you waiting for?

Why Over Priced Properties Don’t Sell

Sometimes, we are emotionally attached to our homes. When you have personally put your heart and soul into your beloved bungalow, and have invested many thousands of dollars on improvements, there is a tendency to think that your home sweet home is worth more than you can realistically sell it for. You want your home to be a top pick for a potential buyer’s price range. If it is overpriced, it will get resounding “no” votes when buyers see other homes available at the same cost.

Sarah Ley has many tools at her fingertips to research and price your home to sell. She will compare up-to-date prices for comparable homes that have sold in the neighborhood. She will perform a detailed market analysis of your home’s value in the current market, in order to ensure that the pricing of your home is competitive with other similar properties currently on the market. Sarah will also show you market data on home seller’s who have priced their properties too high, and why they eventually end up selling for thousands of dollars less than they would have if they had been priced correctly from the get-go. If you have an interest in selling your home, Sarah will assist you in pricing it to get the highest possible amount from your home sweet home. Sarah Ley will do her professional best to make sure that your home has a competitive advantage.

Absorption Rates and the Odds of Selling

Buyer’s Market or Seller’s Market? The rate at which property is bought and sold can vary from year to year and season to season. Understanding Absorption rates can help you determine pricing strategies and determine whether the current market is a seller’s market or a buyer’s market, which can assist you with favorable negotiations in your purchase or sale. When selling your home in a buyer’s market, if a seller wants his or her home to sell more quickly than the others- it will need to be priced aggressively relative to other homes on the market.

As a general rule of thumb, anything less than six months of inventory is a considered a sellers’ market. Anything greater than six months of inventory is a buyers’ market. The odds of selling refers to the odds that a house will sell at all. Pricing a home properly is essential to selling it. It is true that condition of the home plays a part, but without the proper price, the house will sit on the market, and only help to sell competing properties. Understanding absorption rates can help you be one step ahead of the competition when it comes to knowing what kind of a market (buyer’s or seller’s) to price your Tucson home to sell for the most money possible in the shortest time frame.

Calculating Absorption Rates: The Absorption rate is the rate at which the market absorbs the number of units for sale, or inventory. To calculate the absorption rate, take the total number of sales in a given area over 12 months (can be broken down to specific neighborhoods, or done on the market as a whole) and divide by 12. You will get an answer. Divide that answer by the number of current active listings. The result is the number of months of inventory on the market. Example:

IN XYZ NEIGHBORHOOD 80 HOMES SOLD IN 12 MONTHS. 80/12 = 6.67
THERE ARE 30 HOMES CURRENTLY LISTED FOR SALE 30/6.67 = 4.5
IN NEIGHBORHOOD XYZ, THERE IS CURRENTLY 4.5 MONTHS OF INVENTORY ON THE MARKET.
THEREFORE, IN THIS COMMUNITY, IT IS CURRENTLY A SELLERS’ MARKET.

Staging To Sell

A staged home is very appealing to buyers.

“Staging” is a term that Realtors® and accredited staging professionals use to describe the process of preparing a home to present to prospective buyers. You, the home seller, are setting the stage for your home’s debut in an ultra competitive real estate market. In order to sell quickly, and for the highest amount possible, it is essential that your home stand out from other competing properties. Sarah Ley is an experienced real estate professional, who works with each of her seller clients to ensure that their home is presented in its most favorable light, which includes staging for homes that are in need of it. As many successful Realtors® will confirm, “The parade only comes by once,” and the sellers who are prepared when ‘the parade’ comes by will reap the benefits of a quicker sale, and a higher net profit at the closing table. When you list your home with Sarah Ley, she will help you make sure your property is staged to SELL!

Tips to help your home outperform the competition and “upstage” competing properties:

• First impressions are crucial. See your home like you are seeing it for the first time. This is how the buyer will be seeing it! Get rid of any weeds in your front and backyards, re-paint the interior and exterior if the paint looks faded or worn. Replace your front door and your mailbox if they are not in good condition. Get a new doormat, and keep the front walk constantly swept and clean.
• Start packing early. Pack up and box all extraneous items, including family photos. Minimize the clutter in your home. As a general rule of thumb, put away half of what you have sitting on your counters and shelves. You may want to rent a storage room or have an early garage sale to help get rid of superfluous clutter.
• Let your home appeal to a wide range of tastes. Your cowboy paraphernalia or cabbage patch doll collection can take a vacation while you are showing your home. It is also important not to have any potentially offensive art or books displayed in plain sight. Pack these items up, and store them until your move is complete.
• Make sure your home is freshly scrubbed and immaculately clean. Since we sometimes unknowingly adapt to lower standards of cleanliness and don’t always notice the little things, it is best to hire a professional cleaning company to perform “deep cleaning” services. Don’t forget to clean the carpets (or possibly replace them if they are badly stained). Make everything gleam from the outside of the windows to the inside of the oven!
  • Kitchen - Show off your counter space by removing counter-top appliances and nick knacks. Wipe your sink, faucet, and counter-tops down daily and sweep up any crumbs. Have any damaged cabinet hinges repaired, and if your cabinets look old and worn out, have them re-stained. Fresh flowers are great way to brighten up your kitchen!
  • Dining Room - Set your table with beautiful place settings and flowers.
  • Bathrooms - make sure that no toiletries are showing- not even your toothbrush. Make a habit of wiping down your sink and shower every time you use it while your house is on the market. Put fresh towels and designer soaps out. This is the time to pretend your house is actually a hotel room!
  • Living Rooms - Remove area rugs and extra furniture that may break up space and make your room look smaller. Get rid of dying plants and use silk plants instead. Have a professional fireplace service clean your fireplace before you put your house on the market. Do not use the fireplace while your house is listed for sale. Instead, put scented votive candles in it, and burn them during showings.
  • Bedrooms - Beds must be made at all times, clothes put away, and closets shut. Get a new bedspread and toss pillows if your existing one is old and worn out. Pay special attention to kids’ rooms. Pink and green may be great for your kids- but not buyers! Think executive neutral. Repaint if necessary, and definitely remove posters or wall paper borders. Organize closets, and again- box up half of what you have and put it in storage. The goal is to make all closets appear spacious and organized.
  • Yards - Plant some new flowers, mow, and rake your gravel (or even dirt and tree wells). At all times, make sure that there are no visible pet droppings. Wetting down the grass or back patio before showings is a good idea, especially in hot summer months.
• Avoid any strong smells that may be a turn-off to potential buyers. If you are craving a fish fry, it will pay off to visit your favorite restaurant rather than bombard visitors to your home with an intolerable scent. Keep kitty litter boxes clean and pets groomed. Likewise, avoid smothering your home with air fresheners that might signal to buyers that you are trying to cover up an unsavory odor. Baking bread or cookies is a good idea, and if you feel like it, you can actually offer some to prospective buyers.
• Make repairs up front. Some buyers will find it easier to move on, rather than ask you to fix something, if they notice leaky faucets or cracked tiles. Remember, “You never get a second chance to make a first impression!”
• Fill the spaces. If your home is vacant, you can easily rent furniture to place in the wide open spaces to give your home a more appealing atmosphere. Ask Sarah, as it is important that you are putting items in your house which will increase the appeal.
• Go pro. Consider hiring a professional staging consultant to provide a temporary and tasteful collection of items to decorate your home. This may seem costly, but can actually pay huge dividends by selling more quickly, and for a higher price. Sarah can recommend staging consultants, if you desire to go that route.

Coordinating Your Home’s Showings

When your house is on the market make sure that it is always ready to be shown! That means minimizing the clutter, and being ready to show your home on a moment's notice!

When a buyer is interested in seeing your home, Sarah will help coordinate the showing procedures for you. Here are some things to expect:

• It is best if the owners are not present during showings or open houses for several reasons. Buyers may feel uncomfortable, and possibly rushed, viewing your house when you are present. It is also difficult for buyers to be open and honest about their feelings about your house with their agent when the owner is within earshot.
• You will have a secure lock box placed on your home so that Realtors® can show your home to their clients when you are not present. It is important that you let the other Realtors® use the lock box (or key safe), as this is agents preferred method of showing your home.
• Make sure pets are in a secure location or preferably away from the home entirely. Not all buyers feel comfortable around animals. Have a plan for pets, and if you need a little more time getting out of the house, let the agent who will be showing your house know that. Taking Fido on a walk around the neighborhood during showings is a great idea, and can actually work to your benefit to show off the great walking areas if the buyer is a dog lover.
• Before you leave, turn on select lights and leave your home at a comfortable temperature for the season. Also, do a quick once over to make sure that all beds are made, there is no apparent clutter, and clothing/personal items are put away. Your washer and dryer make great quick hiding places, as most people will not think to open them! You can also take items and put them into your car as you leave the house.
• Open up blinds and curtains to let in the light.
• Turn off your phone ringer and turn on some soft, inviting music.
• Do not leave valuables such as cash or jewelry easily accessible. Although Realtors® are sworn protectors of your home while you are away, they are not responsible for what their clients do at every moment. There is no reason to take unnecessary chances with your valuables.

What is Market Value?

A home’s market value is simply what a reaonable buyer is willing to pay for it and a reasonable seller (who is not under duress) is willing to accept. Having established this, how do you know if you are being a reasonable seller? Sarah Ley is an Arizona Certified Residential Specialist who not only has important pricing resources at her fingertips, but has over 10 years of experience to make them work for you in finding the true value of your home.

Some of the tools used in finding your home’s value are:

• Comparing your home to a list of homes that have recently sold in your neighborhood (Comparative Market Analysis). You can look at the square footage, the age of the home, and even drive by to take a look at the outside condition of comparable homes in your neighborhood.
• Taking the current market trends into consideration, including interest rates.
• If you are still not sure, you can get an appraisal.

You may ask yourself, but aren’t there plenty of internet sites that will tell me the market value of my home for free? Not all house valuation information that you find on the internet is viable or even credible. Many of the websites use artificial intelligence to try and “guess” through complex mathematical calculations what your home is worth. The problem with this is that the margin of error can be as much as $40,000! It is best to trust an expert who can give you personalized and up-to-date information about the price your home should be listed at.

Open Houses

Having an open house while your home is listed for sale is a great way to generate interest in your home. Because you never know where the buyer for your home will come from, open houses may attract people who were not actively looking for a home- but may become interested in your home after seeing it. Also, prospective buyers sometimes send their friends or family members to look for homes in certain areas before the actual buyer arrives. Sarah will take care of all of the details of the open house, including advertising it to the general public.

You can prepare for an open house in much the same way you will for Staging to Sell and Showings, but there are additional steps you can take to make your open house very effective.

• Bake some fresh cookies or muffins for visitors to have when they drop in. Make sure to have a pitcher of water and/or punch available to drink. It is a good idea to have paper cups and a garbage can readily accessible to avoid cluttering up your countertop or sink with used dishes.
• Place fresh-cut flowers in areas that you would like to emphasize to guests.
• Light scented candles to create a peaceful, welcoming atmosphere.
• If you have a lawn, turn on the sprinklers for a few minutes to dampen it and add sparkle.
• Make your closets look bigger by emptying out extra clothing. You can lay clothing along with the hangers across the back seat of your car to easily get them out of the way.
• Give your doorknobs an extra polish, clean fingerprints from windows and glass, and spot clean the floors one more time.
• Have relevant paperwork available in a binder for viewing, including copies of existing home warranties, sample utility bills, copies of permits for any improvements to the home.
• It is best if you are a “no show” for the open house to ensure that potential buyers feel comfortable.

Utilizing Feng Shui

One of the ruling principles of the art of Feng Shui (pronounced fung schway) is that people are deeply affected by their environments. Learning to use the rules of feng shui helps you channel the energy of your home in a positive way. Because entropy tends to take over our homes, these ideas will inspire you to proactively harmonize your decor and make your home more appealing to buyers.

Feng shui is more than decorating with flowing lines; it is learning to emanate an overall positive attitude. It is borrowed from the Chinese words, “wind and water.”

To perform a feng shui makeover on your home, try taking it one room at a time. First, clear everything out of the room, including rugs and wall hangings. Make sure the room is scrubbed clean from ceiling to floor. Next, decide on an organized color scheme. This may take some experimentation until you get the right feel. You may even need to re-paint the walls. Finally, start replacing only those objects that serve a purpose in the room. Focus on arranging items to show a sense of balance and completion. Chances are that you will have a lot of leftover items (that are considered to be channeling “negative” energy), which you should box up and store elsewhere.

Look at all objects in your home as making statements. What do your special collections of items or family pictures stacked up and down the walls announce to your home’s visitors? These extra items could be adding clutter and interfering with the feng shui of your home. Once you have re-arranged essential belongings to achieve a better flow and balance, your home will send sellers welcoming vibes of positive energy.