Deep Snow Is Making Curb Signage Difficult!

The 2011 – 2012 winter in Anchorage has had at least two high wind storms which have stripped the signs from the yard-arm posts all over town.  I can’t help but wonder where the signs actually end up, because it seems you can never find them.  There must be a big stack of wind-blown and thrashed real estate signs in China or in the bottom of sea because you never find the sign once they blow off the yard-arm post.

The other unusual obsticle has been the snow.  Many years, we get snow and a few weeks later the tempature goes up and the snow melts, only to come again in a few weeks.  This year, the snow came right on schedule in late October and kept coming, kept coming and kept coming.  The last I heard we have had over 100 inches! 

Now a real estate sign is only 48 inch tall.  Can you see the delema of trying to get a sign on the curb when the snow is higher than the yard arm? 

You need a sign, if you are going to put a advertising brochure or flyer up.  Consumers don’t like to walk up the driveway to the house, for obvious reasons.  Right now, if you put the sign at the edge of the lot, the odds are real good a snow plow will take your sign away.  If you put the sign on the lot, the snow is so deep customers can’t get through the snow to get a flyer! 

I’ve seen some signs where only the very top of the 4×4 post is visable through the deep snow! 

The good news is the days are getting longer in Anchorage over 5 minutes a day.  It’s late January as I write this so spring is only three months away in Anchorage.

Isn't this a warm inviting exterior? This is a great example of a Craftsman Home Style

Craftsman style.  It is sometimes called a  ”lodge” or “bungalow” style home.  This particular home was built in 2008 and is approximately 3,100 square feet in the home and the garage is another 800 square feet.

The home has an open floor plan, like a great room plan.  There is a lot of custom hand finished trim, built in cabinets and shelves and really attractive personal touches.’

The flooring is a commercial grade of bamboo.  Much of the lighting in the home is either recessed or unusual custom lighting.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words so a video must be worth ten thousand words, right?  Check this home out here.

The front of the house, or at least the garage and driveway side

We all know a picture is worth a thousand words.  I just had an example of the huge differance the picture can make, too.

You’ve seen those pictures of famous actors when they don’t have their make up on, right?  You’ll see this person without their “face on” and it won’t even resemble the actor!

Check this house out, same house photo’s taken with different cameras and at different angles on the the same house. 

What a differance a photo can make!

If you were looking at list of properties, which house would draw you in and look more interesting?  It’s obvious and reminds me that taking your time and thinking about your photo’s on the Internet make all the differance in marketing!

The home looks warm and inviting, doesn't is?

green grass, don’t you assume the home has been on the market a while? 

The way people look on the Internet before they ever call a Realtor or even attend an open house means real estate professionals should try to keep their photo’s current to the season.

I’ve been using a type of photography called “High Dynamic Range Images”, or HDR, when the days get short in the late fall here in Alaska.  For me it’s not practical in the summer because either it doesn’t really get dark enough, or I would have to take my photo’s at mid-night to get the contrast I’m looking for in a decent photograph.

In Anchorage in October, days are beginning to get short enough that it is dark enough to at 6:30 or 7pm to achieve the photo’s that I’m looking for.

This photo was taken the night before Halloween

To create the look I want, I take a series of photo’s, often three to five, taken at different exposures from over exposed to under exposed.  I used five exposures on the photo’s on the homes here.  I “bracketed” the photo’s with exposures like this: +2, +1, 0, -1, -2;  then with special photographic software, the photo’s are merged and “tone mapped” to create the images you see here.

The look I am searching for makes the home look “warm and cozy” inside; the viewer surely knows it’s chilly and cold outside.

When a buyer or real estate agent does a property search that may have multiple homes in the find, these evening photo’s may stand out from the rest, causing the view to click on the image to “come inside” the home and take a better look.

What do you think?  Is it worth the effort to have a unique photo?  Should the night photo be the primary photo in the multiple listing service?  I don’t know for sure….I’m still exploring!

This little device could save a house from freezing up

Honeywell, the thermostat people, has a temperature controlled device that you can put in a vacant house or cabin that will alert your neighbors, or you, if the temperature falls too low inside the house.  Hopefully, this will give you some time to call the plumber before you get a freeze-up!

You simply plug in the devise into a wall outlet. It looks similar to a thermostat but works just he reverse. The other end is plugged into a lamp.  If you commonly leave lights on already, maybe change the bulb color in this fixture so it looks unusual.

The idea is that once plugged in and activated, you can ask your neighbors to call you if they notice this lamp burning inside the house.  If its on, it means the temperature has fallen to the level

Using a colored light will make it obvious you may have a heating problem

you you preset on the “Winter Watchman” and you get a “heads up” to check out the heat in the house – quickly if it’s cold outside!

You can find these at most plumbing stores.  I found mine in Anchorage at Hasco on 6th Avenue. 

For our real estate purposes, we are already going by our vacant houses to confirm there are flyer’s on the sign at the curb and the snow is shoveled.  We can tell from the curb if the heat is on.  If we can have a friendly neighbor keep an eye it, all the better!

Do Open Houses Sell Homes?

Your first exposure to a real estate agent was probably when you bought your first home.  Based on the experiences you formed with the first agent you worked with, you formed a generalized impression about what it is that agents do to find buyers and sell homes.

When it comes time to sell your house, you probably expect your listing agent to do the same things that your agent did when you were looking to buy a home back then.

If it’s been 10 years or more since you were a buyer, you will be amazed at how much things have changed; for instance, back in 1995 only 2% of home buyers used the Internet to look for a home (according to the National Association of Realtors statistics poll).  In 2009 94% of buyers said their first exposure to the home they bought was from an Internet search.  Another staggering difference is how print advertising has changed.  Newspaper and printed monthly magazines are expensive and account for very few sales.

When it comes to open houses, less than 2% of homes sell as a result of an open house, according to the National Association of Realtors, just slightly behind print advertising.  The Internet with its targeting search, good quality photos and virtual tours is how people look today.

Open houses tend to interest tire kickers, neighbors and people who want to entertain themselves by roaming through someone else’s home. Often they are not qualified, or even know what the house is worth.  They are just trying to get an idea what kind of house they can get in the area – but that won’t help you sell your house right now.

A quality virtual tour and lots of good photos will help you sell your home and are going to give the buyer an accurate representation of what the house looks like on the inside.  Yes, Internet shopping does significantly cut down on the foot traffic for a home listing, but the ones that have gone through the virtual tour and are still interested in it are far more likely to be ready to make an offer when they see the home in person.

Do you wonder why agents do open houses?  There are several reasons, really.  In new construction homes, they are more effective than with existing houses so builders may require them when they list. Some agents do them simply to show the seller they are doing something. For newer agents without customers, it can be an opportunity to find a buyer and help them find a house they qualify for.  These agents are using the house as an office to help them find buyers.

Would a Realtor have open houses on their own home?  Most likely not; most agents agree that while you might be able to find buyers for another property, you are very unlikely to find the buyer for the house you are holding open.  Many agents now refuse to hold open houses, considering them to a waste of time and even a security threat; most sellers want to know buyers have been pre-qualified before they open their door to them.

Here are the high points of the “right to inspect” as laid out in Alaska’s commonly used “Purchase and Sales Agreement.”

* Seller agrees to maintain the property in it’s current condition, all the way through to closing. This means if the garage door opener fails once you are in contract and you are the seller, you must repair or replace it.

* Buyer has the right to inspect early, usually within 10 days, of making an offer.  The buyer can choose any qualified professional inspector(s), but must notify the seller who has the right to refuse certain inspectors, but not unreasonably.  Seller agrees to make the property available for the inspection.

The older a home is, the more code changes may affect a sale

* Buyers inspection may include, but is not limited to: square footage, school boundaries, zoning, avalanche, sex offenders, pest inspections, structural, plumbing, sewer and water, heating appliances, insulation, electrical, roofing, soils, drainage, foundation, mechanical systems, code compliances, possible environmental hazards such as asbestos, mold, illegal drug or substance manufacturing, urea-formaldehyde, radon gas, waste disposal sites, and underground tanks. (whew, did we miss anything?) 

* The buyer can inspect anything obviously.  The buyer has 72 hours to either terminate the purchase after his inspection or accept the property or request repairs from the seller. 

* If requesting repairs, buyer shall request in writing and attach a copy of his inspection or findings from his due diligence.  A time frame for sellers response is included in the request, usually under a week. 

* The seller, after being requested to make repairs, can agree to make the repair, negotiate on the repairs such as offer a credit, or simply not agree to make some repairs.

* If buyer and seller are in agreement, the work is done prior to closing and may be subject to a reinspect, at the buyers cost.  If buyer and seller ARE NOT in agreement, the transaction is terminated and both parties go their own ways.

* A repair condition or result of an inspection becomes a material amendment to the “State of Alaska Residential Real Property Transfer Disclosure Statement” and be disclosed to subsequent potential purchasers.

As you can see, the “Right to Inspect” has been well thought out and is meant to keep buyers and sellers on equally fair ground.

There is a lot of information on your as built survey

In short, an as built is usually a 8 x 11 page you receive when you buy your home. It looks like an aerial view of your house, lot lines and other improvements.

 You do not have one on a condo, but you do on single family and multifamily properties.  You often find the document at the back of your closing package you received from your lender and title company or with the seller disclosure the seller provided you.

The survey shows where the lot lines of your property are, and how the improvements on your lot are laid out.  For instance you will see how close your property sets to the lot line, where your fence is and how close your deck is to the lot line.

Title companies and lenders look at the as built to confirm the house doesn’t encroach into the lot line or into an easement.  Easements are the sections set aside that belong to you, but there are utilities above or below the land so you cannot build on top of them.  Zoning tells you how close a structure can be built from the lot line.  On older properties, possibly before zoning was enforced, sometimes an owner added on to the property and built too close to the lot line.  This means the building encroaches into utility easement or even onto the lot line.  A lender would most likely require a letter of non-objection from the Municipal office called Zoning Enforcement.  If the addition was made after the lot was zoned, and a permit was not issued, it is very possible the owner my have to bring the property back into code and zoning compliance.

When you put a fence on your lot, the fencing contractor will ask you for a copy of your as built survey.  This is because they do not want to put your fence on the neighbors lot.

An as built survey will show your home, your driveway, a well head if on a private well, the sectic pipes, retaining walls, fences, sheds and greenhouses and decks.  Most of the time there are distances shown from the house corners to the lot lines.

The cost of an as built survey is usually between $250 and $500 in populated area’s.  The reason an as built may be less expensive in a urban area is that the surveyor needs to be able to locate a known marker, called a control, to measure off of.  In rural areas a survey can cost thousands of dollars depending on how far a surveyor must go to find a set control they can measure from.

In short, when you get a survey, it would be wise to make a few copies of it and keep it in a spot you can find it again.  When I come to list your home, I’m going to ask you for a copy of your as built survey.

Treat every offer like it might be the only one you get!

What struck me as interesting is that neither offer was exactly what we were hoping for, and in both cases, the sellers said “It’s only our first offer,” insinuating that first offers are low and that later offers would get better.

I guess the truth is that you really never know what will happen later on.  I’ve seen examples where it took months to get that second offer, and it was worst than the first one.  Of course everyone agrees  at that  ”we should have taken that first offer!“  I have to resist saying the obvious “I told you so.”

I’ve taken negotiating classes where the instructor says that you never take the first offer.  I guess I understand that nearly every offer is negotiable, and than generally is true in real estate purchases.  I know I’ve pointed out to buyers who want to send a low offer in on a property that is new to the market that “this home has only been on the market a few days.”  Personally, when an offer comes in fast, I expect the sellers to be fairly conservative in their counters anyway.  The longer a home is on the market tends to soften up most sellers.

Conventional real estate wisdom from the wise gray haired Realtors, like Yoda,  would tell you “The first offer is the best offer.“  That might be because the more days a property is on the market, the more likely a buyer is going to assume the seller is getting anxious and a price reduction is in order.

In any event, my council to a seller would be to treat any written offer as serious and respond fairly. I would counter with a reasonable counter offer spelling out what you would be willing to accept to sell your property.

I gave both sellers this weekend the same advise and guess what?  Buyers and Sellers found common ground and now we have two transactions working towards closing!

Here is the basic principal “Given two otherwise identical houses, all other factors being equal, the cleaner, less

This is how most of us live in our house

cluttered house with better curb appeal will sell aster and for more money.”

For most people, it is very difficult to look objectively at your own house.  The way you LIVE every day in your house is different from the way you SELL your house.  You are busy living in it day-to-day and you don’t see it the way a stranger (or prospective buyer) would.  For example, the garbage container next to the garage may be such a fixture that you don’t even notice it when you drive up, but it could be the first thing the prospective buyer sees when he drives up.

As a real estate professionals, my team and I looked at and evaluated thousands of homes, most of which were in the process of being bought and sold.  Our experience has taught us that there are relatively easy, inexpensive things you can do so your home shows better, and you will sell your home sooner and for more money.

Less furniture, no rugs and doilies

Now, let me clarify this a bit; getting your “best foot forward” isn’t necessarily easy, and you may not enjoy the process, but in the end, you’ll be happy you took this advice.  And it doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg!

Here’s the deal; Clutter distracts prospective purchasers.  Clutter makes it difficult for them to see and appreciate your house.  It makes it almost impossible for them to visualize their own things (the buyers furnishings),  in your house.  When “Mr. buyer” looks in the closet and see your collection of board games dating back to the 1950′s and a jumble of shoes and boots , he may miss the fact that there is a spot to one side that would be ideal for storing his golf clubs.  When “Mrs. buyer” looks at the dining room, she is so overwhelmed by your “Plates from around the world” collection she completely misses the fact that her hutch would fit perfectly against the far wall.

Don’t get me wrong!  It’s your house and your stuff that you’ve worked hard to collect and pay for, its just those things probably should be stored away while your house is on the market.

This is how we live in our kitchen

Clean houses sell better for several reasons: 

A clean house smells good.  Never underestimate the sense of smell.  When a buyers smell dirty socks, a fish smell or even old cigarette smoke, it can be a turn off to them!

A clean house helps put the prospective buyer at ease so they can focus on the features of the home.  A clean house sends the message “We were expecting you.  We are glad you are looking at our home.  We hope you like it as much as we do.”

A clean house represents work the prospective buyer doesn’t have to worry ab out doing.  When they are looking at your house, they are plagued by the thought, “There sure is a lot of cleaning to do before we can move in!”

Lighting plays an important role in selling your house, too.  The interior of the house should be bright and inviting.  If your house is clean, the bright lighting won’t  illuminate any dust and grime.

clean and sparse!

Look at the *real* photo’s I used to illustrate this blog post.  None of the photo’s are necessarily bad – which do you think look the best if you were to walk into the house?

Of course, when you get down to selling your house we will bring objectivity to the process and make suggestions to you to help neutralize your home for selling.