September 29, 2009: September 22, 2009: September 8, 2009: I thought I'd write a bit about the contract and timing. I currently have a very nice home under contract with some first time homebuyers and before we wrote the contract I was a little worried that the home might not appraise. I always make my contracts contingent upon appraisal. It's not that it's a bad home, actually it's a beautiful home and just what my buyers were looking for, big level back yard, great location, good schools, storage in the garage, etc. You get the idea. We contracted at $181,500. What worried me was the couple of foreclosures that had occurred earlier in the year. Again, this is a great neighborhood and foreclosures can occur anywhere. The seller agreed to pay some closing costs too. I told my buyers we need to be sure we get enough of an inspection period which includes a right to withdraw, so that the bank could get the appraisal done before any inspections were done. Please have a wonderful day!! September 1, 2009: State IIIIA Championship, Clemson SC August 09 Updates July 09 Updates June 09 Updates May 09 Updates April 09 Updates March 09 Updates February 09 Updates Jan 09 Updates December 08 Updates Past Real Estate Updates
Good morning. Thought I'd ask you a question then answer it tomorrow. What's the number one question I get asked before making an offer?
September 28, 2009:
Good morning! Hope you had a great weekend. I did. Sun came out yesterday and had some showings. We had some nice rain but it's always good to have the sun back in beautiful Greenville South Carolina!
Thought I'd write about the difference between good and not so good listing agents. Folks, there are plenty of really good to great listing agents out there. I've had the pleasure to work with a number of them. But like stats in other populations you'll have some great, mostly average and some poor. It's the inexperienced and poor that I have the hardest time with.
I have a very nice first time homebuyer I am working with. We found a perfect place in her price range and decided to make an offer. I looked at the comps and realized the home was high for the neighborhood. But I will give it to the seller, it is in immaculate condition, beautiful and with a great location. All the upgrades too. Read about seller upgrades here. Anywho, we make what I think is a reasonable offer based on the comps. We get a counter and from the get go the counter tells me the seller is not willing to move much. We go back and forth and finally get a contracted price that we (buyer and me) believe is above the market but it's nice enough to see what the appraisal comes in at. Now, I want to say one more thing. The only time I'll make an offer that is above the market is if based on everything else I see in the area (MLS), it's actually in the market. Some sales in neighborhoods just kill comps which is what occurred here.
So anyway we contract, hold off on inspections, had the seller pay for the appraisal (used my buyers bank of course), and waited on the appraisal. It was almost spot on where I though it should be. It was $7,000 below contract price but $5,000 above the best sale in there since January 1. Any decent Greenville SC Realtor is going to write the contract contingent on appraisal. So it doesn't appraise and we give the seller the opportunity to drop the sales price to the appraised price. The response is, he needs more out of the sale. The whole time the listing agent and broker are disagreeing with the appraisal and pointing to other sales, and get this OUT OF THE NEIGHBORHOOD! Say what? Folks, there's plenty of closed sales in the neighborhood, you don't go out of the neighborhood if there are supporting sales in the neighborhood! So we keep going back and forth and I agree to take a 0% commission (buyer paying my fee) to make this work. Folks, that's an additional $3,000+ to the seller. You know the response? "Well, he's got to think about it. Unreal and unbelievable! So the seller orders an appraisal. Guess what, comes in at what the bank FHA appraisal was.
Ok, here's the deal, the home should have never been listed at what the seller needs to get out of it. That's not the way to sell real estate and it's a disservice to the seller, to the market and most importantly to a buyer acting in good faith and trying to buy a home. Realtors are engaged in a transaction to be the experts, not yes men (or women). A good to great listing agent will not take a listing that is out of the market! If they do, they will get upfront agreement to start reducing price if minimum number of weekly showings are not met. It's good business folks. Good for everybody. The problem occurs when "wishful thinking" happens.
So in closing, we've got time and effort and much disappointment (to the buyer) based on "wishful thinking". If two appraisals confirm the price, there is nothing for the seller to "think about". The listing agent should advise the seller to sell it or take it off the market and wait for some rise in pricing.
Of course I suppose they could wait for a "dual agency" situation with a cash buyer who doesn't order an appraisal. Folks, always us an exclusive buyers agent for Greenville SC real estate! Not a buyers agent who lists too, otherwise know as a listing agent who acts as a buyers agent when it's convenient.
Have a great day!!
Wow! Has it been September 8 since I've posted?? Yep, man time flies when you're busy and I'm busy. Mainly with first time homebuyers which is great! This is an exciting time for them and the credit is the icing on the cake. $8,000 to buy a home, who can turn that down? I keep getting asked if it will be extended. I don't know but I bet if it is, it won't be till the last minute.
You know, I love what I do..... BUT, man I get a bit tweaked on occasion with listing agents and sellers. Guess what children?? It's story time... yep, Uncle Don is going to relate some interesting experiences that have occurred recently.
I'll call this one, heck no you can't change your mind. Folks, I had a very nice gentleman contract on a downtown condo. He was paying cash and he had 10 days to walk away. Now I want to tell you the terminology use in the contract. He has the UNILATERAL RIGHT to withdraw. Will somebody tell me what unilateral right means? I'm going to take a SWAG. I think it means he can withdraw without agreement. Well, he changed his mind based on a few things. You know, the seller is refusing to release the escrow. My company, Remax Foothills, is holding it in our escrow account. But in the contract, the seller and buyer have to agree as to who gets the money should the contract not work out. The contract reads "Purchaser will have the unilateral right to reject the condition of the Property and to terminate this Contract, upon written notice to the seller or seller's agent. Purchaser shall be entitled to a return of the earnest money."
Folks, we provided written notice (release of agreement) within the time frame. So why isn't the seller releasing the escrow? They talked to some "attorney friends" nuff said. Attorneys get paid how? Yep to litigate. And probably they are not familiar enough with the contract to really know. So...the seller sends me a request for the escrow money. Folks, here's where they are really screwing up, remember this is just my little ole opinion. I guess they feel like my buyer cost them time off the market and should pay for that time. Folks, I looked up the history on the property and the listing agent didn't even change the status in the MLS until AFTER we made the request. I'm going to refrain from name calling. So, again, in my opinion there was "no harm done". The property was being fully marketed up to the time my buyer wanted to withdraw! And another thing, this condo has been on the market a long with many price reductions. It's not like it was a HOT PROPERTY! The seller's contention is that we didn't have any inspections done so how could we reject the property based on condition? That's a losing argument folks. Condition can be interpreted as any number of things, it's really almost limitless.
Bottom line is, we don't have to provide a reason, just written notice, as I see it. And further more after speaking with other people who have been involved in escrow battles, the buyer wins. See I never have, because I have never had a problem getting a release of escrow to my buyer. So here we go, buyer will sue for the money and my bet is he'll win, if it gets that far. Furthermore he may be able to recover his reasonable attorney fees too. Not to mention all the time we all will have to put in it. What a huge waste of time.
All right children, Ya'll go get some water......
Time for the next bed time story. And wouldn't you know it, this one relates to the unilateral right to withdraw. This one's called Let Me Bind you Baby! Wow, I submitted a contract for a very nice lady about a week ago. Do you know the seller countered with no right to withdraw? Since the contract has had the unilateral right to withdraw in it I have never had a seller reject that term and try and bind a buyer. Folks, I'm not in to wasting people's time. If I have a buyer and they are making an offer, then they are serious about buying that property. I suppose there have been plenty of times with other agents and buyers where the buyer got cold feet, but in my situation, I usually complete the sale. I make offers with good intent.
So I ask the listing agent to get the seller to reconsider before I present the counter offer to my buyer. I don't won't to set the wrong tone. So I immediately get a call from the listing agent. Folks, I'm pretty passionate, especially when it comes to my buyers. And I insist on the right to withdraw, that's my decision. After going back and forth I think I got him convinced. I mean I just don't get it, we're not in a seller's market and yes there is maybe a 2% chance the buyer will withdraw and you won't sell but folks, know what the chance of selling is if you never get a contract because you insist on no right to withdraw? You got it, a big fat 0%!
Well, I've got to put my pen down and get back to work, I mean fun! Why wouldn't you do anything but what you enjoy? Ya'll have a great day. Here's a soccer shot from the CESA soccer tournament this past weekend. Man, we've had the rain lately.
Good morning! I hope you had a wonderful labor day! I did, took a short trip up to Asheville (55 miles from downtown Greenville) for the beach getaway at the mountains. My wife and I had a great time at the Grove Park Inn. They were having their annual beach getaway at the mountains. The Chairman of The Board and The Fabulous Kays were there. Folks, I don't know if you know Carolina beach music but The Chairman of The Board are one of the best. They've been playing to shagging crowds around the Carolinas for 30 years I'd guess. Many beach music bands still exist but not many if any, with the original members.
In other words, let' find out how much the home is worth before spending any money on inspections, termite report, etc. The seller was pushing for a very short inspection period and right to withdraw. Well, wonder why, folks where there's smoke there is fire. After a tough bout of back and forth, we got what we wanted and lo and behold the appraisal came in about $4,000 less than sales price. The seller agreed to drop the sales price to the appraised price, still pay some closing and everyone is happy. Here's the deal though, the seller originally wanted all inspections done within 5 days and buyer unilateral right to withdraw in that same time period. SAY WHAT? I mean you've got to be kidding. Had my buyers done this, the seller would have had them over a barrel with their escrow money at risk, and been leveraging them up to stay in the deal. Folks, you've got to be careful, especially in these times when foreclosures or distressed properties can show nuff screw up the comps.
Entrance to The Spa at The Grovepark Inn, Asheville NC!
Best,
Don
September 2, 2009:
Good morning! You know folks, what is it that "they" say in real estate about location. Met two very nice first time home buyers yesterday to look at a home they found on the internet. And yes, it was cute as a button, small cottage downtown is the way I believe it was described. To bad it's not in a very good location. That's why it is priced the way it is. Probably an investor bought it for next to nothing and decided to fix it and flip it. Of course you can't blame the buyers because they really don't know the area. They are just looking at the house from the internet. That's why it's so important to have an exclusive buyers agent on your side, someone neutral in the transaction to help you with those decisions.
You call a listing agent to see one of their listings and they are going to be trying their best to SELL their listing. Hey, that's what they are being paid for! Then all the sudden, you get caught up in the home and before you know it you are sitting at the table writing a contract on the biggest investment you will make in your life. Wow, how did that happen? You buy it, you move in, then six months later you are thinking, "man, I didn't notice this", or "honey did you lock all the doors?" I think you get the picture...
Anywho, let's take a look at the Greenville SC condo market and see what has happened over the past 3 months. I'll pick area 76 which is the downtown Greenville area. For an explanation of areas or zones click here. We had:
6 Sales
Average List Price $412,250
Average Sold Price $410,333
Average Days on the Market is Skewed because 164 Ridgeland took a very long time to sell
Average Sold Price per Sq. Ft. $241
Here's my interpretation. Good condos in a good location right off Main St. are selling at about $275 a sq. In the sales above you had two condos bring this down. Why? Well without naming locations, one is quit a bit off Main and the other one took a big price hit because of a number of reasons. One was on the market for a very long time. So, what's it mean? If you want to buy a good condo, right off main then expect to pay $270 or up a square. There is a huge amount of activity in downtown condos right now. Investors are dumping and buyers are getting in. But don't think you are going to steal it. Even though prices are not what they were last year, people are not taking a loss....unless the building is bad or .....the location is not the greatest. Remember.....location, location, location. Have a great day!!
Looking for a Lake House, just give me a call at 864-335-8490!
Good morning! Can you believe it's September? Wow. the year has gone by fast. I really hate I've not been able to post more because summer was really busy! Vacation took up some time too! Anyway, I'm back in the mix now and should be able to continue my regular posts on Greenville SC, Greenville SC real estate, etc.
Anything interesting or aggravating lately? You betcha, had a real nice fellow contract on a downtown Greenville SC condo. Well folks, in our contract, we have a inspection period which enables the buyer to have the unilateral right to withdraw. I usually go anywhere from 10 to 15 days to let my buyer have plenty of time to perform our inspections, due diligence, etc. Regardless, the buyer has the unilateral right to withdraw. So my buyer decides to withdraw and guess what? The seller gets p'oed and won't release the good faith money (escrow). To all you sellers and listing agents, you can't make a person buy a property! Period! Release the escrow and move on. I could understand it if harm was done, but folks this condo has sat on the market for quite a while, the listing agent never even changed the status in the MLS and they continued to fully market the property. What I'm saying folks is "no harm done". So move on. Don't try and punish people or make them buy something.
The unilateral right to withdraw has not always been in our contract but I for one welcomed the change. A lot of listing agents were up in arms about it because they felt like it would be abused. Well, in my career, I've had only two buyers (that I can remember) withdraw from a contract based on that clause. Now this could go to mediation between the buyer and seller, even to court. What a waste of time. The seller had something that they never had, an opportunity to sell. It didn't work out, get over it. You didn't lose any time on the market and it certainly wasn't a hot property.
Ok, I'm done venting. The market is really starting to pick up. Just had two more first time homebuyers contact me, trying to get in on that great tax credit before December 1! I'm seeing a tremendous interest in Downtown Greenville Condos with a couple under contract and a few more under consideration.
What else is happening around Greenville? High school football is back in full swing. Hopefully I'll be able to get out and photograph a few of those big games for you! Check out Some Greenville SC Sports Photography.
Got a fairly busy day again, so I've gotta run. Hope you have a wonderful day and I'll be back tomorrow God willing! 
