First Quarter Bodes Well for 2010

Whenever I introduce myself as a Realtor, one of the first questions I get is, "How's business?" For a while now, that question has been puncutated with a little wince (from both of us!). No doubt, it's been a challenging 18 months or so.
However, from the word go in 2010, my response to that question has changed to, "Fabulous!" Here at 12 Bridge Street the recovery of the housing market is in full swing. Here are some of my stats in this first quarter so far:

• Buyers whom I haven't heard from in 2 years are contacting me and getting back into the market.
• Six new listings with 3 more in the works
• One of those listings already SOLD (closed yesterday) from an offer that came in 6 days after it was listed
• One more listing under agreement, from an offer that came in 2 days after it was listed

A lot of this activity is driven by the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credits. Existing homeowners stand to gain $6,500 at the closing table for buying a new primary residence. First time homebuyers can expect up to $8,000. This is not chump change!

 

May and June will be busy with closings, then we go into July, the busiest shopping month for Cape Cod real estate. Here's hoping that the activity we're seeing in the first part of the year will create enough momentum to get us back up to cruising altitude by the summer!

Complacency Kills

Holding a commission-based position in an industry whose failure charcterized the worst recession in decades was (what gratitude I feel using the past tense) painful and demoralizing. It darn near did me in. But never once did I stop working my tail off, learning, keeping my chin up. Isn't that what they tell you to do? 'When the going gets tough the tough get going.' 'Invest in your future.' 'You will reap what you sow.'
Well I'm here to tell you the same thing. I lived through one year with zero closings. Then just last year I had two small ones in January, one in June and NOTHING til middle of December. Never mind my two front teeth--all I wanted for Christmas was to keep my house!
But now...holy cow. The first two properties I listed this year each sold in 6 days or faster. In the past 3 weeks I've had 8 listing appointments. At press time I've put 2 of those live, and it appears that 5 others will follow suit. The last one, partly on my advice, has elected to hold off until next year.
The abundance is humbling and electrifying. But more importantly I realize that this is not a time to rest. How easy it would be to kick back and soak it all up. But I have to remember that tomorrow's success is the dividend of today's investment. Success is unsentimental. It doesn't care who you used to be. I used to run a sub-25 minute 5K. I don't expect the field to slow down so I can place like I did in the past. If I want to keep winning, I have to keep running fast.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Sales 3.0

Sales 3.0

A Good Problem to Have

If you wanted to buy a $500,000 house and you had the choice of paying with cash or a mortgage, what would you do? Why?
A lot of people go the cash route. After all, you worked hard for that $500,000, why give extra money to the bank if you don't have to? Plus, there's a lot of peace of mind and pride knowing that this significant asset is paid for. No monthly mortgage payment to be tied down to, all that equity to leverage.
But think about this: once you hand over that $500,000 it's gone. Yes, you have a house free and clear, but you don't have as many options as you did when you had the cash. And the old adage holds true: you can't take it with you.
These days, with interest rates at 50-year lows, taking a mortgage actually makes a lot of sense. With interest rates at or even below 5% and deductible interest, it's really only costing you somewhere around 3.75% . You might even be able to reinvest the unspent cash for a net growth.
First of all, when you take a mortgage and hang on to your money you now essentially have both a house AND money to enjoy. Ask yourself: Why did you work so hard for that money in the first place? To USE it. SHARE it. LIVE with it, ENJOY it. Also, when and if you decide to sell or refinance the house you always have the ability to shop around and negotiatiate for the best deals.
Now, I am not advocating reckless squandering of your savings. And if you lack the discipline and/or guidance to manage that wealth (think college-age heir), it might make a lot of sense for you to put every penny right into the house. However, if you have the wisdom to prudently handle your funds, you might like to keep at least some of that money available.
Consider the things you could do: travel with your spouse, friends or family; help a grandchild with college; reinvest; contribute to a favorite cause. You could even pay off that mortgage!
Ultimately, the decision how to manage your money is very personal. But before you surrender all of your savings into one place, think of what you want from your money and all of the different ways you can go about achieving that.

Do You Know Your Home’s Assessed Value?

Why does it matter?
Your home’s assessed value is the number by which your town calculates your property taxes. The assessor’s office uses a variety of objective and subjective measures to come up with that value. And it is susceptible to errors, lags and omissions. Realtors and bank appraisers know that assessed value is only one piece of information that should be used when determining the actual market value of a home.

You Mean My Assessed Value Isn't Accurate?
Your town’s assessor’s office has to keep track of every single piece of property in your town; improvements that were made, damage that was incurred, changes in use or zoning, sales that transpire, market fluctuations, etc. It’s not a perfect science. A few of the disparities I have seen:

• A 4-bedroom, 3-bath property is currently listed as having only 3 bedrooms, 1 bathroom and about 500 fewer square feet of living space than what was actually there. This homeowner has effectively enjoyed a 10-year tax break.
• An unbuildable lot was assessed as if it were buildable. For almost 3 decades this homeowner had been paying close to 10 times the amount of tax that they should have been.
• With my own home it took the assessor’s office a year to catch up with an addition and new garage that we added. That was just fine with us.
• Certain land values in part of one town recently sprang up by 40% (while most values uniformly have been declining in the past 2 years). When I checked with the town they told me that the increase was initiated by the state but couldn't explain why.

For the town, these discrepancies all probably come out to a wash. But, as you can see, for the individual homeowner the consequences can be significant.

How do I find my home’s Assessed Value?
Assessed values are public record, and most towns put their database online. Google the words ‘online assessor’s database’ and your town name. Depending on the town you can search by name, address, map and parcel number, etc.
What comes up is called the Field Card. Inspect it carefully. Check the footprint sketch and measurements that are shown, the number of rooms and bedrooms, square footage, etc. There should also be record of any improvements you made for which a permit was issued.

What if I find an error?
If you find that the town has overvalued your property and is thus overcharging you for taxes, you can apply for an abatement. You can also ask for a reassessment if the town has undervalued your property. A possible reassessment scenario would be a homeowner who is trying to justify a high asking price on their home. However, this reassessment could result in higher than expect taxes for a prospective buyer (or the homeowner if they don't sell). Most folks just let sleeping dogs lie.
Monitoring your property’s Assessed Value is a lot like monitoring your credit score. It can have a big impact on your finances. The system works pretty well most of the time, but at the end of the day it’s run by human beings just being human. Nobody is more invested in its accuracy than you so it is your responsibility to keep the records straight.

Why Cape Cod Real Estate?

Good question for both of us. What are you up to? Are you finally going to do it, get that second place by the beach? Or maybe it's time to find a beautiful, quiet place to settle down once and for all. For some of you it's a little less romantic. Perhaps you're trying to sell it before they take it away. Goodness knows Cape Codders are not immune to struggle. You might also be a lifer--the Cape has always been home to you, whether it was just summers or year round. Against all common sense you insist on living, working and raising a family here on the peninsula. Good for you. I'm doing the same thing.

My egocentric reasons for going into Cape Cod real estate came primarily from the fact that it gave me the ability to have some control over my income. Work hard and well and you will be rewarded. Slack off and go hungry. I have stayed in the field partly for that reason and partly because I've found that some of my natural talents and even quirks seem to be well-suited to a career like this, and that is very satisfying. I'm bold, intuitive, smart, and bore easily. I thrive on connecting with people and 'getting' them. And like all good salespeople, I identify real needs and fill them as quickly and thoroughly as I can.

If you want to know more about my experience and education I suppose I will find a place on this blog to publish it. However, I think you'll get to know me better just by reading my posts.