ADVANCE HOME INSPECTION A HEADSUP WHEN SELLING YOUR HOME
If you are currently selling your Las Vegas home, you may already find yourself playing the waiting game. It’s a normal course of affairs in most real estate markets—but that doesn’t make it any less frustrating. You’ve got decisions to make, moving deadlines to order, but everything goes into limbo while you await the completion of the buyer’s home inspection report (and the resulting after-inspection decisions). What did the inspector find during the investigation? Will there be significant offer and timing changes as a result of those findings? When you’re selling your home, one way to nip much of that anguish in the bud is by having already completed a home inspection of your own. You are already aware of minor problems that might or might not concern prospective buyers, but you may not be aware of more serious problems that could trigger an offer change. If you take the initiative when selling your home to order your own pre-sale inspection, you will get a useful verdict on the overall health of the property. It will help you make an informed decision on whether to spend some money to make repairs—or to lower the asking price. For instance, even if you’ve had occasion to venture onto your roof in the past, an inspection might reveal broken or missing shingles or flashing that need caulking to prevent water penetration. It might reveal minor chimney brickwork erosion—damage that’s impossible to see from below—that could also risk water entry. Or the water may already have intruded and created a mold problem in the attic. Nationally, it’s estimated that the average new roof this fall will cost more than $5200. When you are selling your home, that’s the kind of item you don’t want first to hear about from a buyer’s inspection. The ‘surprise!’ element can undermine the trust of a buyer who was formerly delighted with everything. The result can be a far greater offer reduction than the cost of repair warrants—or even a complete withdrawal. Everyone knows the kind of time pressures that often develop when you are selling your home, but by scheduling your own inspection before they arise, you give yourself the opportunity to arrange repairs on your own timetable (and at a price that doesn’t reflect emergency service). At a minimum, you’ll have given yourself some negotiating options. When it comes to selling your Las Vegas home, forewarned is forearmed. I’m able to offer the kind of experienced counsel that keeps my clients prepared in advance at every point in their home selling process–another good reason you should give me a call!
PREDICTING LAS VEGAS HOME SALES USING A FAMILIAR RULE OF THUMB
The volume of Las Vegas home sales this fall will depend on more than just a number and quality of listings—though they do seem to be stacking up fairly well. Predictions are always less than reliable, but when a major benchmark is met for real estate activity on the national scene, it can be a pretty convincing indicator. In any case, it’s useful to take into account a wide variety of sources. They help you sniff out the reasons why home sales ought to surge (like low interest rates, today’s Las Vegas situation) or why home sales ought to fall (like an economic recession, thankfully not {Your Region}’s current situation). So last week’s Wall Street Journal’s headliner about new home sales came as red meat for local would-be real estate seers. “Sales of New Homes Surge to Highest Level Since ‘08,” read the headline in a story (it was right below “Student-Loan Defaults Drop;” itself another good sign). The “surge” story was calling attention to the latest Commerce Department announcement that new home sales climbed 18% in August, “the biggest one-month jump since 1992” and “the highest level of sales since May 2008…” That last date is an eye-catcher, since the U.S. was then in a recession (actually, I think we could safely call it “THE” recession). Economists have been going back and forth for at least the past four years about whether the slow recovery was strong enough to stimulate the housing sector (Las Vegas home sales are part of that); or whether it was the other way around—or even whether the recovery was even truly a recovery. The WSJ story dealt specifically with a surge in new home activity, which, since that comprises only about 10% of the market, could be a reason to ignore its value as a gauge. But that would be to overlook some extra information buried in paragraph #3 pointing out that “home builder optimism this month reached the highest level since 2005.” That means rising new home starts. The builders are pulling out their hammers and saws. Why is that so important? Take any headline-grabbing Wall Street or political scandal as an indicator. As the scandal begins to unravel, sooner or later some pundit will intone the irrefutable rule of thumb advice for how to uncover who or what was behind all the mischief: “Follow the money!” When the big new home builders start pulling out their wallets and breaking ground, the money (smart or otherwise) is pointing in the direction that augurs well for the whole of real estate activity—in {Your Region}, as well as nationally. If you have been waiting for that kind of activity to embark on your own home selling or buying project, it means that this fall your wait may be over. Give me a call to get more specifics about where your plans could fit into today’s Las Vegas home sales picture!
3 GOOD REASONS TO AVOID FALLING IN LOVE WITH A LAS VEGAS HOUSE
Sparks are flying. Your imagination has become hot and heavy. It’s true love. You’ve fallen hard–for a Las Vegas house! Buying a Las Vegas house is serious business. It’s not only where you’ll be hanging your hat: it’s also a great investment. So when you find the one that’s the total knockout you were hoping for, the excitement can be blissfully overwhelming. But—easy there, partner! Falling in love with a house too soon is a predictably bad idea. • Love at First Sight Can Backfire Whether you drove by or saw the home on an online listing, it’s all too easy to get stuck on a home’s curb appeal. Exteriors count for a lot, and with more houses in Las Vegas than ever being listed online, wise sellers know how to make sure their property looks great from the outside. But the beauty that’s skin deep in a Las Vegas house isn’t good enough. It’s what is inside—the bones of the place—that can be the difference between a canny investment and one that never quite pans out. Takeaway: Don’t ever judge a book (or a Las Vegas house) by its cover. Wait for a clear-eyed walk-through before you get your hopes up. • Love is Blind–and that’s Not a Good Thing Okay, so you’ve gotten inside the house, and now you’re borderline obsessed. Crown moldings? Check. A gorgeously remodeled kitchen? Check. There’s one more check to make: it’s time to check your excitement. While it’s A-Okay to grow excited about a home’s features, now you have to double-check: does the property as a whole truly square with your list of must-haves? (That’s the list you were supposed to sit down and create before you started hunting). How’s the square footage? Age? How does the asking price measure up to the comparables in {Your Region}? And then, when all else is flashing green lights, how does the physical plant measure up during the inspection? Takeaway: Put the brakes on that passion so you can focus on all the unromantic details. • You Can’t Break Up With a House Buying a home is a big deal for a reason. You’re undertaking a complex legal process that will bind you to the property—with any and all warts and flaws—for the long haul. Falling in love with a home can put you at a disadvantage during the negotiating and purchasing processes. By surrendering to romance, you make yourself more vulnerable to deals you shouldn’t afford. And you’ll also be twice as devastated if it falls through. Instead of sighing over a house, practice a sense of healthy distance. This is an investment, too! Takeaway: Remind yourself as often as necessary that falling in love now can hurt you later. Don’t make excuses–you can’t make a bad purchase disappear! So when is the right time to fall in love with a house? Right after you’ve purchased it! To get started on the right track, give me a call!
Categories
Recent Posts
