OCTOBER 11, 2017 • Volume 12 • Issue 41
RE WEEKLY RESIDENTIAL • ACREAGE • FARM • COMMERCIAL • AREA DEVELOPMENT 515-233-3299 • 317 5th Street, Ames • All REALTOR® ads within are REALTORS® licensed in the State of Iowa
Online at www.AmesTrib.com/realestateweekly
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Then contact a Realtor® today, because you are missing out on over 37,000+ potential buyers seeing your property for sale.
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Don’t see your home in the
RE WEEKLY Then contact a Realtor® today, because you are missing out on over 39,000+ potential buyers seeing your property for sale. STORY TY COUN
PMENT ERCIAL • AREA DEVELO GE • FARM • COMM RESIDENTIAL • ACREA Street, Ames 99 • 317 5th ® licensed in the State of Iowa 515-233-32 are REALTORS ® within All REALTOR ads
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JANUARY 11, 2017 Volume 12 • Issue 2
JANUARY 4, 2017 1 Volume 12 • Issue
RE WEEKLY
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REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, October 11, 2017 • Page RE3
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DEAR MONTY
Tips to resurrect a failed negotiation The seller has not responded. Can the listing agent put this property back on the market at a price lower than the price agreed to with this buyer?
RICHARD MONTGOMERY
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eader auestion: A buyer has an accepted offer on a home, and a home inspection has revealed several items that are defects. The buyer’s attorney delivered a letter to the seller’s attorney stating that all work discovered in the inspection has to be completed by the seller.
Monty’s answer: In most negotiations, “expiration” or “drop-dead” dates are standard. Assuming that date has passed and there are no conflicting statements or contingencies that would override the expiration date in the attorney’s letter, the seller can reduce, or raise, the price to whatever price they choose. There may be additional steps to consider before taking action on the price reduction. Here are questions to consider before acting on the urge. • Can one assume that the buyer
is now out of the game? Has the agent who wrote the offer spoken with this customer? When there are additional advisors injected into the conversation, the chances for a miscommunication increase. Even if the agent working with the buyer did speak with them earlier, this is a period when, with new information, participants will change their minds. Make certain this customer has lost all interest before reducing the price. • Have two competent contractors in each of the specialty services required to make the repairs (examples; electrician, plumber, roofers) rendered a cost estimate after viewing the property? It is easy to overestimate what these repairs will cost. The estimates
may also serve to demonstrate to any new customers (and the rejected buyer) what the repairs will cost. • Does the seller understand they cannot ignore the discovery of these defects? Does the seller know there is no such thing as an “as is” sale? An article about offering a home for sale “As is” can be found at https://dearmonty.com/5as-is-myths-selling-buying-home/. • Update the original market analysis of the property. Contact Richard Montgomery at DearMonty.com.
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Try microwave drying for year-round flowers
Fast facts about LED bulbs
As your summer garden winds down, you may be wondering how to dry blooms for wintertime enjoyment. Proflowers.com suggests trying microwave drying for more structural species of flowers. Cover the bottom of a microwave container not used for food with an inch or two of silica gel. Add flowers blossom-side up and gently cover with additional gel. Microwave uncovered at a low temperature for at least 2 minutes, continually checking for dryness. Cover with a sliver of breathing room for 24 hours before cleaning gel from petals with a fine brush and applying acrylic spray.
What’s all the fuss about LED light bulbs? Here are some facts about LEDs from the U.S. Department of Energy. • LED bulbs can be six to seven times more energy efficient than conventional incandescent lights and cut energy use by more than 80 percent. • Good-quality LED bulbs can have a useful life of 25,000 hours or more. That’s more than 25 times longer than traditional light bulbs. • Unlike incandescent bulbs which release 90 percent of their energy as heat, LEDs use energy far more efficiently with little wasted heat.
)$// 72 '2¶6 Home to-do’s for fall that will help you save money Readying for winter keeps you cozy, protects your property and helps you save money on utilities. Here are some must-do steps according to Travelers.com: • Get your heating system cleaned and inspected annually by a qualified technician. • Replace your furnace filter in accordance with manufacturer’s instructions. • Insulate water pipes in areas exposed to freezing temperatures. • Clean gutters and downspouts to keep debris from accumulating. • Check and repair caulking around doors and windows that show signs of deterioration. • Have your chimney cleaned by a professional.
— Brandpoint
(1(5*< 86( One step to $180-a-year savings on your utility bill The average household spends more than $2,000 a year on energy bills, according to EnergyStar.gov. Nearly half of that bill is attributed to heating and cooling. Homeowners can save about $180 a year by properly setting their programmable thermostats and maintaining those settings. If you don’t currently have a programmable thermostat, consider investing in one. It’s not very expensive plus many local governments offer programs that subsidize the cost.
REAL ESTATE WEEKLY • Wednesday, Oct ober 11, 2017 • Page RE7
Market savvy Careful preparation can only help first-time homebuyers By Jim Weiker More Content Now
S
hopping for your first home? Good luck. Sellers hold almost all the cards in this housing market. But there is good news. You have a few advantages over veteran buyers, including access to programs designed to help you secure keys to your first home. Sarah Young, a 35-year-old Columbus, Ohio, schools counselor, understands what it takes to win a home in this crazy market. After being outbid on two condominiums over the past two years, Young landed one this spring, helped by the Ohio Heroes Program, which lowered her loan’s interest rate, and a clear knowledge of the market. “I was not anticipating the market would be so competitive,” Young says now. For more tips, we turned to: Mark Hamrick, a senior economic analyst with Bankrate.com, the financial-services website; Felicia Hence, a Coldwell Banker King Thompson agent in Pickerington; John Igoe, president of the Columbus Mortgage Bankers Association and chief operating officer with First Ohio Home Finance in Westerville; Tracey Shell, director of marketing with Down Payment Resource; and Darryl Threat, a HER Realtors agent in Clintonville. Their advice to first-time buyers: Check your credit Several services — including the federally approved website annualcreditreport.com — allow you to receive at least one free credit report per year. If your credit score is below 580, devote your attention to improving your credit instead of buying a home. A score above 660 should give you access to most loans and programs. Pick a lender First-time buyers can use any lender, but try to find those that specifically deal with first-time buyers. “Finding a lender and, more importantly, the individual loan officer is very important,” Igoe said. Save a down payment While a 20 percent down payment is still ideal to
get the best loan terms, few buyers can pony up that much money. In fact, Federal Housing Administration loans allow down payments as low as 3.5 percent, and conventional loans can be secured with as little as 5 percent down, or even 3 percent for certain buyers. In addition, a long menu of federal, state and local programs can help with down payments or provide a tax credit for firsttime buyers. Most programs are restricted in some way — such as by income, background (members of the military or recent college graduates, for example), location of home or job — but they are worth exploring for any firsttimer. To find such programs, visit DownPaymentResource.com. In addition to government Realtor Felicia Hence, left, and her client and first-time homebuyer Sarah Young programs, it’s worth asking your sit in Young’s new condominium in Pickering, Ohio. [FRED SQUILLANTE/DISPATCH] employer if they offer any homebuying help for workers, Shell said. Navigating today’s housing landscape is tricky for even seasoned buyers, so first-timers should Get pre-approved not attempt to go it alone. And there’s no reason Before visiting homes, it’s essential in this marto because buyers don’t pay their agent’s commisket to secure a pre-approval letter from a lender. sion; sellers do. Interview agents before choosing Sellers who can choose from a half-dozen offers one. Are they used to working with first-timers? will bypass those who can’t demonstrate an abilFamiliar with the area you’re looking in? Accusity to close the deal. Also keep in mind that sellers tomed to dealing with someone in your price range? will often choose a shopper approved for a convenHamrick likes agents who exclusively represent tional loan over one planning to finance through buyers, but at the very least, be sure your agent FHA. That’s because an FHA loan may take longer is familiar with the buyer side of the equation. to close and require a more stringent appraisal. Relax Don’t stretch yourself Buyers can get discouraged when they show Just because you qualify for a $200,000 home up at a home only to find two dozen other shopdoesn’t mean that’s where you should focus pers already there. But worse than missing out your search. In addition, as Hence points out, on your dream home is buying the wrong home. many homes sell above their asking price, so if Homes will continue to come on the market, and you’re approved for $200,000, look at homes if you don’t buy one this summer or fall, keep this at $190,000 or less to allow some cushion. in mind: Buyers get better deals in the winter. Hamrick suggests not spending more than 25 percent of your monthly gross income on housing, Jim Weiker writes about real estate for even if most lenders will approve far more than that. The Columbus (Ohio) Dispatch. He can be reached at jweiker@dispatch.com. Pick a real-estate agent
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