Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Friday, November 25, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
10 Ways to Make a BAD First Impression on Home Inspection Day
It's inspection day! The last last thing you want to do is leave the buyer or their inspector with questions about how the home has been maintained and cared for over the years. It's time to put your home's best brick forward, so here are 10 things you'll definitely want to avoid!
The Top 10 Ways to Make a Bad First Impression on Inspection Day
The front door is in need of repair; weather stripping is loose, exposed, or dragging on the floor.- The doorbell is not intact and/or does not work.
- What's that smell?! The house smells musty, moldy, or tired. (Dirty carpet plays a big part in this impression).
- The home is cluttered. (You want the buyers and their inspector to be able to access all areas of the home. An obstacle course will not be welcomed with too many smiles).
- There are water stains at the ceiling, around the windows, within the sink cabinets, or beneath the shower/bath areas.
- Windows are inoperable or do not open and close easily. (You'll want to address any cracked glass or missing hardware as well).
- Kitchen appliances are not in working order or surface lights and/or fans are inoperable.
- There are loose, uncovered, or painted electrical outlets and non-working switches.
- There are no visible smoke and CO detectors. Or they are not working.
- There is damaged drywall from door knobs, picture frames, etc.
Maintaining and repairing the above items (and anything else on your to-do list) before the inspection will always be to a seller's advantage. And who doesn't want to make a great first impression on buyers during the selling process anyway? But do remember to call in a professional when necessary. A repair done improperly could end up being more of a headache than the original condition!
Ever had a ‘short’ short sale?
We contracted a property to buy not too long ago which was short sale approved. Not just approved but approved and fell through three times prior. Lucky us? Well we got it under contract and the warm and fuzzy start began. Six weeks pass and bank approval was in. Not bad and time to close was two weeks. All parties would be happy! The sun looked like it was going to rise calmly as if we were at a beach staring at the ocean…
A ‘short’ short sale that will close smoothly. It sounded so good. Almost…
Because of how the deal was structured, we had to go to two offices to close, one for the funding and one for the Seller. A little odd but workable. I sat down to close at closing ‘A’ when my attorney stated how we had a small glitch in the paperwork. Insurance was in my business name instead of mine so we had to change it to my name. Insert Massive RED FLAG! Long story short, the Seller attorney had me personally down as the buyer. We have no idea where she got this idea as my name was nowhere to be found anywhere except in one place where it showed me signing as manager. Upon bringing this up to the Sellers attorney on an immediate phone call, the silence was so long that I think I could have taken a power nap…
Finally I was told I would have to move forward as is. My refusal brought forth an unpleasant response and how there was no way we could close if I did not do it the Sellers attorneys way. Frustration by all built but I held my ground. We would not close in my personal name. The Sellers attorney was going to have to decide if it would close today or not and we put it on them. A company was buying from day one and we were not about to change that. The short sale letter expired today so up to them I said.
Amazingly, the Sellers attorney pulled it off! She got all of the paperwork fixed, had a new short sale approval sent over from the bank, got all the Seller docs resigned and in a span of three hours we went from ‘may have no deal’ to ‘the world is rosy’. Awesome!
And so the ‘short’ short sale happened. With ‘speed’, we got some last minute drama as a trade off but we can handle that if it means not wondering for months if the deal is gonna happen. Eight weeks from offer to closing! The listing agent thought it would never close so she was happy too!
Monday, November 21, 2011
1972 S COMANCHE DR Chandler, AZ 85286
Exquisite TW Lewis stone front, split floorplan home now available. Large island kitchen opens to family room with fireplace. 42'' maple cabinets, granite counters, gas range, island with sink, built-in desk plus 12'' ceilings that gives the home a grand feeling. Spacious master suite features a walk in closet plus has private door to patio & beautiful with Pebble Tech Pool. Bring your toothbrush and a towel, this home is move in ready!