I found an auctioneer for a property sale in the morning.  The house was built in the late 1800’s and is located in the historical district of town.  It hasn’t changed owners since the 1960’s.  When the last owner bought it, he had come home from the war and bought the house for his bride.  There they lived until both passed away this past year within six months of each other.

The house needs a lot of work, so that coupled with the fact that we’re expecting rain all day had me worried.  When our auctioneer walked into my office earlier I asked if the rain would be bad for our auction.  He said, “The best sales come in bad weather!”

O.o

Apparently, rainy day auctions are often the best because buyers come in droves because they don’t think anyone else will show up.  I hope our auctioneer is right.   I’m crossing my fingers and hoping for rain Saturday … at least until the auction ends.

My listing has been on the market for about three months now.  The sellers just dropped the price last week and now - after about two dozen showings - we have an offer.  Then, we got another offer.  When it rains, it pours for sure!

If you are in the real estate market, houses under $150,000 are selling quickly because of their affordability and buyers are looking to be under contract prior to April 30th.  If this is your price point, don’t be surprised if you get in a multiple offer situation and don’t be afraid to make your best offer.

Sellers want to sell and they’ll likely negotiate, but it’s not just the price that’s important.  Consider with your offer how long you’ll take to close, what seller concessions you’re asking for, and what items you want to remain with the property… every little detail counts when there is more than one buyer.

A frequently asked question from my buyers - especially from single women and families - is “How safe is the neighborhood?”  As a Realtor, I grapple with a couple of issues when asked that.  First my conscience says, “High crime! Tell them!”  I’m not being unconscionable if I don’t blurt out that the gang activity is horrific, I promise.

Realtors are bound by fair housing laws to NOT steer buyers to or from neighborhoods based on nine protected classes (race, color, national origin, religion, sex disability, familial status, age, and marital status).  We also have to remember that we’re selling a HOUSE, not a neighborhood.

Plus, what if I tell you a neighborhood is safe and two weeks, two months, two years later someone breaks into a home, robs it, kills the homeowner, your neighbor turns their home into a meth lab, or whatever other seedy crime you can imagine?  My buyer may come back to me and say, “But you said it was safe!” and I’d be sued for everything.

I still owe my buyers honesty and care, so how can I address this question fairly?  I always recommend a couple of sources … check out the registered sex offender list is first.  Second, I tell buyers to call the local police and ask them how often they’re called to certain neighborhoods.  Finally, walk around and talk to the neighbors!  They’re going to tell you exactly how it is!

A few years, I showed a house once and a neighbor actually approached my buyer and said, “You don’t belong here.”   He didn’t, we left, and he never looked back.

How to find a safe neighborhood by MSNBC.com provides more tips on discovering a potential neighborhood’s safety, including the broken window theory:

Broken windows, nearly all criminologists agree, along with dilapidated buildings, abandoned lots, missing street lights, rampant graffiti, unkempt yards — basically any signs of neglect — attract crime. The reasons are both practical — dark, lonely spots sit out of view – and psychological — would-be vandals are, ironically, less apt to mess with nice stuff.

Look around when you’re shopping for a new home. Ask questions. Make some phone calls.  Be safe!

Photo by Eva Luedin through Flickr Creative Commons.

Excluding people who do not have to sell and who worry that the value of their home has dropped so much that they’re upside down, the time to sell is now.  If you’re tossing around the idea of selling, you have plenty of equity in your home, and you want to be able to also buy a house to get the $6500 tax credit - then NOW is the time to get your house on the market.

By simply looking at the time frame before the April 30th deadline to be under contract, it makes perfect sense:

• List house first week of February
• 30-60 Days to Sell (if you price it right, if it’s show ready) - that’s first of March to first of April
• Take 30 Days  to find your new home - end of April
• Close by June 30th.

Teresa Boardman, super-agent from St. Paul, Minnesota, agrees that now is the time to sell you home.

In 2010 the best time to put a home on the market might be right now.  Sure the weather is cold and the buyers are still in hibernation but they are starting to search.  They want to take advantage of the interest rates which are now at an all time low and they wouldn’t mind getting the $8000 dollar home buyers tax credit or if they are what we call move up buyers they wouldn’t mind getting the $6500 dollars tax credit.

Looking into the crystal ball that I have next to my computer tells me that the best times to sell might be now or 2012.  In 2012 home prices will look more like they did in 2007 or 2008.

And if you’re considering putting your house on the real estate market, follow this link for some great tips on how to get the house ready - brought to you by the National Association of Realtors.

From Joseph Hill and Jed Montgomery of Montgomery-Hill Keller Williams Realty,

I don’t burn candles at home except when our power goes out which unfortunately about a once-a-month occurance since we’re on the tail end of the local power grid.  We have our fireplace serviced every couple of years to make sure a build-up of the flammable creosote is kept to a minimum … we should have it cleaned annually, but ince we don’t build regular fires we can get away with it.

When you do build fires, never use gasoline or other accelerants to fuel them, do not throw in paper or cardboard, and make sure nothing flammable is nearby that could burst into flame should a spark jump out.

If you have a gas furnace, it should also be inspected annually both for fire safety and to insure against carbon monoxide poisoning and other dangers.

Make sure you have a working smoke alarm in every room.

Never leave food cooking in the kitchen and have a fire extinguisher on hand in the event of a fire.

Keep lighters, matches, and other flame sources away from children.

And most importantly, always be cognizant of any open flame in the house.  That’s the reason for today’s post.  Because even I can have one careless moment like yesterday at the office.  I had a candle on my desk that I lit because it smells so nice.  A lovely vanilla flavor.  As I shuffled through some papers, I inadvertently put a certificate on top of my burning candle.  I was completely unaware of what I’d done until my friend (who was there working on her own project) said, “Um, Kathy?  You have a little fire there!”

I looked down and sure enough, a mini flame had erupted on my newly earned Short Sale & Foreclosure Resource certificate and congratulatory letter.  With my hands I batted out the little flame and thankfully had a bottle of water within easy reach.  I held it over my waste basket to extinguish the glowing embers.

Here’s what my nice, shiny certificate looks like now.

If it was THAT EASY for something of mine to catch fire, it could easily happen to anyone.  Always be aware of fire dangers in your home (and at your office).  Be careful, my friends.

I can’t let these go without a comment, therefore the almost Wordless Wednesday!  From the WebUrbanist, here are some verrrry interesting home decor pieces! And since I said funky, let’s funkify the type!

bEd dEsiGns

My favorite is the trap bed.  Made for human squirrels..

TabLeS

Possibly the single coolest table I’ve EVER seen!

SToragE soLutiOns

What a sensible storage solution!

I proposed at work a couple of years ago that as a fundraiser, we contact a bank or mortgage company to donate a foreclosed property that we would then auction or raffle to raise money to pay for a holiday program for our local needy children.  I suggested that so the bank wouldn’t lose everything, we put a reserve on the property and the bank would get their reserve amount. Anything in excess would go to the charity work.

Unfortunately, I was never able to rally adequate support to make the auction happen, but when I read about the sometimes success, sometimes failure of other house “giveaways” via raffles, it reminded me of the almost effort we made.  The raffles are a great way to raise money for a good charity when they work.

Home raffles, once a novelty, seem to have proliferated around the country in recent years. In California, for example, at least eight charitable groups held raffles for existing or to-be-built homes in 2009, with varying degrees of success, according to local media reports.

For example, an arts group in San Francisco netted just over $1 million after covering its raffle expenses. But ticket sales fell short for a raffle conducted by a group that fights poverty in San Jose, and the charity just broke even. Yet another group announced that it has postponed its raffle and plans to reschedule, but it promises on its Web site that it will refund ticket costs if requested.

More problems can arise when the tax man cometh. To operate a charity fundraiser like this, you’d definitely need the support of a strong management company to oversee that everything is being done correctly.  I still think it’s a great idea.  I’d love to win a house using a raffle, but the idea of an auction could also potentially be a real winner for charities, for the banks, and for any real estate company sponsoring this type of event.  Plus someone would get a new home at an auction price!

Real estate in my office seems to be hopping lately.  We are seeing all kinds of listings and - even better - homes sold on our big board at work, so it’s encouraging.  However no one will ever remember 2009 as a great year in real estate!  And to kick a dog while it was down, the final numbers have come in for the final month of the horrid year.  According to CNN Money December sales were down,

The National Association of Realtors reported that existing home sales plunged 16.7% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.45 million units, down from the revised rate of 6.54 million in November. Still, sales year-over-year were up 15%.

Realistically the slower sales in December shouldn’t be a big surprise.  The original $8000 tax credit was set to expire at the end of November, so most people eligible for the federal money would have closed prior to December.

With the tax credit now extended and existing home owners also eligible for $6500, I’m hoping we’ll see a jump in sales again these first four months of 2010 (a buyer must have a home under contract by April 30 and close by June 30 to get the credit).

A started to write a word of caution about not expecting to get your tax credit refund right away. It was awaiting to have the proper IRS documentation in place as mandated by Congress.  Fortunately, the IRS released the new form today so go for it!

I’ve seen the Christmas parties where people are supposed to “re-gift” some old something they’ve received in Christmases past but really didn’t like.  Then the crowd plays dirty Santa with the gifts - stealing involuntarily swapping from each other all in good fun and jest.

Earlier this year I gave away a Home Interior wall mirror cabinet and its matching wall shelf sconces (can a shelf also be a sconce?).  I still have stuffed in my attic another brown wicker shelf, an antique dresser with glass drawer knobs, two big rugs, and a collections of other knick-knacks.  I’m loaded and ready for a home decor swap party - or as Sarah Trover calls it on Apartment Therapy, a “Less Than Loved” party,

We’ve all come home from a day of shopping, only to to discover our choices weren’t so great. The placemats might not match the wallpaper just right, or the small birds you bought for that bookshelf… well they kinda give you the creeps (it’s not their fault their little beady eyes follow you everywhere you go).

Fabulous idea!  Happy Friday everyone!

Vase photo (which I love the vase… so it’s for illustration purposes only)
by Jolante using Flickr Creative Commons.