Do you know the difference between a home warranty and homeowners insurance? I didn't until I bought my last house. A home warranty is purchased from a warranty company usually at the time of your home purchase and it covers many items in your home, such as appliances, heat and air unit, hot water tank, plumbing stoppages, etc.
AS LONG AS, the repair falls under permitted claims. These warranties usually last from 12 to 13 months, cost any where from $400 to $500 and can be very helpful to a buyer who's stove breaks down 2 weeks after he moves into his new home. I always advise my buyers to ask for a home warranty in their purchase contract and to ask the seller to pay for it. The most important thing for a buyer to read is the exceptions information in the warranty paperwork so they will have a good feel for what is and is not covered. A warranty program provides a central phone number for the client to call if a breakdown occurs. The warranty company then sends out the appropriate repair person to do the work. The client pays a set service fee of approx $75 ( it varies with each plan) and the covered repairs will be completed or if it can't be repaired the item is replaced at no further charge. I also advise my sellers to offer the home warranty up front and use it as a marketing tool figuring that any prospective buyer is going to request one anyway.
Your homeowners insurance is coverage paid on a yearly basis that protects your home from damage from wind, hail, fire, lightening etc. There are many different coverages you can get but all policies should cover both the exterior and interior of the home. At a later post I'll talk about the different coverages you can have but for now lets just say that no one should own a home without homeowners insurance and all the mortgage companies I work with require that there be homeowners coverage at the time of closing. Homeowners coverage is used to protect you from a big loss/damage to the property and also insures that your lender will be paid if the house is destroyed by fire, tornado, etc. The one thing homeowners insurance will not cover for you is if you home floods from anything other than a sudden burst of water ( such as a broken pipe in the house) or, if you have the coverage, from a sump pump back up or malfunction. Many people thought they were covered during the flooding this summer when there was 10 inches of rain and basements were filling up quickly only to find out that flood insurance was needed to cover that kind of damage.
Know the difference between the two kinds of coverage and make your choices wisely. It could be a very costly mistake not to.
Wednesday, November 12, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Tis The Selling Season
Does it make sense to deck the halls while you're trying to sell them? That is the question sellers have to address during the holiday months of November and December. Should I set out my fall harvest decorations? How about a Christmas tree and all the outdoor lights that my family loves? According to an article in The Residential Specialist, Nov/Dec 2008 issue, Most agents agree that it is OK to go ahead and embrace the holiday spirit when your home is on the market but the key is to show restraint.
The holiday season presents many challenges and opportunities for Realtors and sellers who are trying to sell properties. The National Association of Realtors research shows that from 2005 to 2007, 66 percent fewer properties sold in January and February compared with the strong selling months of July and August. Fewer people hunt for houses during November and December than at any other time of year. The upside of this fact is that those who are looking aren't just window shopping. Only serious buyers are looking this time of year. With many corporate relocation's often taking place before the New Year this provides sellers with a pool of very motivated potential customers. Add to this the fact that fewer homes are on the market during this time of year and sellers can feel good about a significantly less competitive market.
People have a good feeling when they see a house that is decorated for the holidays. Taste, however is in the eye of the beholder. Sellers should strive for a decorative theme that says "Welcome", not "Hey, look at Us". A good rule of thumb is to do what makes you happy but scale it down a notch. Greenery on the door is a festive touch but an outdoor lighting display like Clark Griswolds on Christmas Vacation is a bit over the top. If you have a collection of Menorahs or manger sets pack up all but your favorite one to leave out.
Remember, this is the best time of year to sell a house due to the law of numbers. Sellers have less competition and more visibility which gives them the best odds possible. Adding an enticing backdrop of holiday spirit can only add to the chance of a very happy new year for all.
The holiday season presents many challenges and opportunities for Realtors and sellers who are trying to sell properties. The National Association of Realtors research shows that from 2005 to 2007, 66 percent fewer properties sold in January and February compared with the strong selling months of July and August. Fewer people hunt for houses during November and December than at any other time of year. The upside of this fact is that those who are looking aren't just window shopping. Only serious buyers are looking this time of year. With many corporate relocation's often taking place before the New Year this provides sellers with a pool of very motivated potential customers. Add to this the fact that fewer homes are on the market during this time of year and sellers can feel good about a significantly less competitive market.
People have a good feeling when they see a house that is decorated for the holidays. Taste, however is in the eye of the beholder. Sellers should strive for a decorative theme that says "Welcome", not "Hey, look at Us". A good rule of thumb is to do what makes you happy but scale it down a notch. Greenery on the door is a festive touch but an outdoor lighting display like Clark Griswolds on Christmas Vacation is a bit over the top. If you have a collection of Menorahs or manger sets pack up all but your favorite one to leave out.
Remember, this is the best time of year to sell a house due to the law of numbers. Sellers have less competition and more visibility which gives them the best odds possible. Adding an enticing backdrop of holiday spirit can only add to the chance of a very happy new year for all.
Monday, June 23, 2008
Selling Nightmares and Lessons Learned
Ever have a nightmare you can't seem to wake up from? Every time you close your eyes you continue to have the same bad dream. Well, it happens in real estate too. I've just roused myself from 2 of the most trying and frustrating listings I've ever had. The first situation occurred when a vacant house I had listed for 4 months was signed over to a relocation company. The sellers turned off the electricity without telling me and the relocation company failed to notify us we needed to turn on the electricity in our company name. After receiving a phone call requesting a showing of the home one Tuesday afternoon I arrived at the house and immediately noticed an odd smell. Only it wasn't so odd once I began sniffing out the source of the smell.
After 8 inches of rain the previous week the basement had about 36" of standing water or what I like to refer to as an indoor pool. Black fungi (mold) was growing up the staircase and the prospective buyer was slowly backing up to the front door where he eventually turned and ran down the driveway. Lets just say after 5 days of pumping by a local Service Master and numerous calls to the relo company I was neither surprised or saddened when the house was re listed with a different company and I was very nicely terminated. Lesson learned: Don't trust the Relocation Company or the seller to remember to inform you when the lights are turned off and try to do vacant house checks more than once a week, especially in the rainy spring.
Bad dream #2. After a year of working with a seller to get her home sold for the price she wanted we finally had a contract that was fair but not quite the dollar amount the seller wanted as a new roof was required ( no surprise) for the house. The first time buyer hired a roofer whom my seller agreed to pay $8,000 at closing for the new roof. The roofer started removing the wood shake shingles on a Wed. afternoon and I got a phone call from the buyers agent on Thur evening telling me that the roofer had ceased working as he had not realized that there was no underlayment on the roof under the wood shingles. He was needing $3,500 more dollars to do the job. Needless to say with 1/2 of the roof removed he had us over a barrel and on Friday morning I called him to tell him that we had to have the roof finished. An agreement was reached between my seller and the buyer where as they would each pay $1,500 of the cost and the roofer would eat the other $500. That Friday evening my seller gave the roofer a check for $1,500 so he could buy the extra wood and pay his workers for working that weekend. Of course it rained that night and wonder of wonders the roofer had failed to follow thru on his promise to tarp the house that Friday night and rain soaked the ceilings of 5 of the rooms in the house. By Tue. when the roof had not had any work done on it I called the company that the roofer worked for and was informed that this company did not do roofing and that while the roofer was the owners son he did not work for them when he did roofing jobs. To make a long, sad story short the owner of the company finally had to hire another roofing company to complete the job, the roofer had to pay almost $1,000 to a contractor to fix the ceilings and the house closed almost a week late which meant that the utilities were turned off on the org. closing date and there was not electricity at this home for several day. Since both of these situations occurred during the same 2 1/2 week time frame I immediately began to think about the sump pump being turned off at house #2 and of course it was raining. Fortunately for my seller we were able to find a friend who had a generator and run the sump pump off of the generator for a few days until the buyer got the electricity turned on in his name. The house finally did close, with a new roof and after much screaming by the owner of the company who had to cover for his son the bill was paid and the ordeal over. Well, maybe over as my seller is considering going to small claims court over the whole ordeal. Lesson learned: Never let the buyer hire his own roofer and always use a company you are familiar with. If at all possible convince your seller to replace the roof before a contract is on the house so your seller is in control of who does the work and how the bill is paid.
Selling Real Estate can be a fun and rewarding career but it is also very stressful and can keep you up nights. Of course with nightmares like this going on staying up nights can be a good thing.
After 8 inches of rain the previous week the basement had about 36" of standing water or what I like to refer to as an indoor pool. Black fungi (mold) was growing up the staircase and the prospective buyer was slowly backing up to the front door where he eventually turned and ran down the driveway. Lets just say after 5 days of pumping by a local Service Master and numerous calls to the relo company I was neither surprised or saddened when the house was re listed with a different company and I was very nicely terminated. Lesson learned: Don't trust the Relocation Company or the seller to remember to inform you when the lights are turned off and try to do vacant house checks more than once a week, especially in the rainy spring.
Bad dream #2. After a year of working with a seller to get her home sold for the price she wanted we finally had a contract that was fair but not quite the dollar amount the seller wanted as a new roof was required ( no surprise) for the house. The first time buyer hired a roofer whom my seller agreed to pay $8,000 at closing for the new roof. The roofer started removing the wood shake shingles on a Wed. afternoon and I got a phone call from the buyers agent on Thur evening telling me that the roofer had ceased working as he had not realized that there was no underlayment on the roof under the wood shingles. He was needing $3,500 more dollars to do the job. Needless to say with 1/2 of the roof removed he had us over a barrel and on Friday morning I called him to tell him that we had to have the roof finished. An agreement was reached between my seller and the buyer where as they would each pay $1,500 of the cost and the roofer would eat the other $500. That Friday evening my seller gave the roofer a check for $1,500 so he could buy the extra wood and pay his workers for working that weekend. Of course it rained that night and wonder of wonders the roofer had failed to follow thru on his promise to tarp the house that Friday night and rain soaked the ceilings of 5 of the rooms in the house. By Tue. when the roof had not had any work done on it I called the company that the roofer worked for and was informed that this company did not do roofing and that while the roofer was the owners son he did not work for them when he did roofing jobs. To make a long, sad story short the owner of the company finally had to hire another roofing company to complete the job, the roofer had to pay almost $1,000 to a contractor to fix the ceilings and the house closed almost a week late which meant that the utilities were turned off on the org. closing date and there was not electricity at this home for several day. Since both of these situations occurred during the same 2 1/2 week time frame I immediately began to think about the sump pump being turned off at house #2 and of course it was raining. Fortunately for my seller we were able to find a friend who had a generator and run the sump pump off of the generator for a few days until the buyer got the electricity turned on in his name. The house finally did close, with a new roof and after much screaming by the owner of the company who had to cover for his son the bill was paid and the ordeal over. Well, maybe over as my seller is considering going to small claims court over the whole ordeal. Lesson learned: Never let the buyer hire his own roofer and always use a company you are familiar with. If at all possible convince your seller to replace the roof before a contract is on the house so your seller is in control of who does the work and how the bill is paid.
Selling Real Estate can be a fun and rewarding career but it is also very stressful and can keep you up nights. Of course with nightmares like this going on staying up nights can be a good thing.
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