Selling A Home | California Pacific Brokers

Syndicate. Zestimate. IDX Participate.

February 7, 2012 By Michael

Take a good look at this graphic.

It illustrates a simple point:

If you hire California Pacific Brokers to list and sell your home, not only will your home be marketed and advertised here, it will be blasted out to the ends of the earth (IDX).

Pretty good deal, eh?
I think so.

Amazingly, an increasing amount of real estate brokerages are pulling the plug on the syndication of ‘their’ listings. Apparently, they desire to be the sole gate-keepers of this data: the sellers’ home details.

There is quite a bit of politicking going around on this subject right now. However, my basic sense, is that it doesn’t quite serve the very people to whom these listings actually serve: the sellers.

It’s true, many of these listing aggregators jumble up information and skew real world facts and figures in favor of formulas and factoids (zillow, trulia, etc…). However, they do serve up a googolplex of information; and that’s what people seem to be in search of. Three cheers for the information age! The cat’s out of the bag now…can’t put it back in.

Bottom line: if you want your home marketed to the greatest extent possible, syndicated out to a ridiculous quantity of websites conceivable and exposed to the largest audience available, you’ve come to the right place!

Filed Under: Featured Properties, Selling A Home

Home Sellers: Is This a Welcome Sight?

February 11, 2011 By Michael

Thanks Inman for this bit of comic relief

Filed Under: Selling A Home Tagged With: cartoon, comedy, home buyers, sellers

Two Fear Mongering E-Mail Chains Debunked

November 23, 2010 By Michael

The fear mongers have struck again! As troubling as the current real estate market is for sellers, the last thing we need is artificially produced fear. People can get really worked up over politics, twisting the truths to suit their needs. Let’s bring a little sanity to the table.

Email #1:
Have you received an email with the following example content?

“Under the new health care bill – did you know that all real estate transactions are subject to a 3.8% “sales tax”? You can thank nancy, harry & barack (and your local congressman) for this one. If you sell your $400,000 home, this will be a $15,200 tax.”

Read the analysis by FACTCHECK.ORG, Summary:
THE CLAIM IS FALSE.

Let us sum up: The health bill included a provision that imposes a new 3.8 percent Medicare tax for some high-income households that have “net investment income.” Any revenue collected by the tax is dedicated to the Medicare hospital insurance program.

This new tax applies only to households with Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) of more than $200,000 for individuals or more than $250,000 for married couples. Since capital gains are included in the definition of net investment income, an additional tax obligation might result from the sale of real property.

Even if the AGI limits are met, the new tax would not be applied to capital gains that result from the sale of a home, since the existing home sale capital gains exclusion rule still applies – $250,000 (individual)/$500,000 (couple). So if the gain from the sale of the primary residence is below that amount, then NO Medicare tax will have to be paid on the gain. The new Medicare tax would apply only to a home sale gain realized in excess of the $250K/$500K that pushes the filer’s AGI over the $200K/$250K income limits.

Some other quick points:

The new Medicare tax will take effect January 1, 2013.
The legislation makes no changes to the mortgage interest deduction.

E-Mail #2:
Regarding the passed Cap and Trade Energy bill. Email in part:

“This bill prevents you from selling your home without the permission of the EPA administrator. To get this permission,you will have to have the energy efficiency of your home measured. Then the government will tell you what your new energy efficiency requirement is and you will be forced to make modifications to your home under the retrofit provisions of this Act to comply with the new energy and water efficiency requirements.

Then you will have to get your home measured again and get a license (called a “label” in the Act) that must be posted on your property to show what your efficiency rating is; sort of like the Energy Star efficiency rating label on your refrigerator or air conditioner. If you don’t get a high enough rating, you can’t sell.”

Read the analysis by FACTCHECK.ORG, Summary:
THE CLAIM IS FALSE.

The bill does set new national efficiency standards for new residential and commercial buildings. Those standards are outlined in Section 201. But only homes constructed after the bill became law would have to meet them, not currently existing homes.

Nothing in the bill requires homeowners to obtain an energy license, or retrofit their house to meet energy standards as a condition of sale. That’s something the House Committee on Energy and Commerce mentioned more than once in its summary of the legislation.

NAR (National Association of Realtors) produced a nice 2-page flyer busting these 2 email myths and can be downloaded here.

Filed Under: News, Real Estate Tips, Selling A Home

Selling One, Buying Another

March 3, 2008 By Michael Koenig

Family Pic

In a perfect world, you sell your old home and buy the new one on the same day. Given that things rarely turn out perfectly, here are some things to keep in mind as you negotiate the sale of one house with the purchase of another.

Time it right

Fall and spring are the best times for homes to move and you want to consider the season of the year when buying and selling. And if the closing dates aren’t going to coincide, a bridge loan can help…uh…bridge the gap.

Selling First

Selling your home before buying a new one minimizes financial hazards. Even if you have to find temporary housing, it’s generally cheaper than two mortgages.

Get an appraisal first thing off the bat. That way you’ll have a good idea how the sale of your home will effect your purchasing power on the new one. This will help keep you from over extending your mortgage abilities.

Get pre-approved on a loan for the new home.

Until most of your contingencies have been met, wait to put an offer on a new house. You don’t want to be left holding the bag, or in this case, the house.

If you’re ready to accept an offer on your home, but haven’t found the right new home, negotiate a long escrow or a sale/lease back. This will give you more time to look for the new home. Otherwise, look for temporary housing.

Buying First

It happens. You’re only thinking of buying, and suddenly the right home shows up. Now you have to sell your old home quickly. Here are some tips on making things work in your favor:

Negotiating a long escrow on this side of the sale works, too. You can also make the purchase contingent on your house selling. This will work better in a slow market, but it’s worth a try in any market. You never know what may also work best for the seller of your new home.

Try and schedule the closing date of your current home prior to the closing on your new home. Temporary housing is generally a better situation than two mortgages.

Take a close look at what price you’re going to ask for your home. Make sure it’s realistic in the current market.

When you get an acceptable offer, check the buyer’s credit history. You don’t want any surprises that are going to delay things. If you’ve closed on the new home, but haven’t sold the old one, consider renting it out, or taking it off the market until the next season (or until the market improves).

Same Market or Across Country

Generally, if you’re buying and selling in the same market, you can negotiate closing dates to work for you. But when you’re dealing with a cross country move, it’s a lot harder. A real estate professional really comes in handy at this point. Legal documents can be faxed or sent via overnight courier and your focus won’t be stretched to the limit. You may end up renting one home or the other, or have to consider a bridge loan. But with someone local in the market on your side, it will hopefully be less stressful.

Show Me the Money

Make sure you have a tight hold on, and a clear understanding of, your financial situation. Cash reserves are always helpful, but never more so than during the purchase of a home. Two to three months is the recommended reserve, but if you don’t have it, this is where the bridge loan comes in handy. Some lenders are more inclined to make a loan if it’s for the purchase of a home. If you’re a smart shopper/seller, you’ll accept an offer from someone who’s flexible about move-in dates. It can save you money in the long run. Too many moves with storage costs can quickly eat up any profit you may have made in the transaction.