Sunday, September 23, 2007

The $100K Flip and other Fairy Tale Creatures

You know a lot of the numbers thrown around on these shows are a bunch of garbage, right?

I really like that some of the shows are doing "re-visit" episodes where the homeowners admit that after carrying costs, Realtor's fees, etc. they walked away with very little (if anything).

There is a way to do it right, and market volatility doesn't mean the death of the flip. The basic concept doesn't change with the depressed market:

Figure out your Budget.
Buy Right.
Work Smart.
Price Right on the Back End.

The key to a successful flip is to be generous with your expenses and timelines (and make sure to figure in carrying costs, realtor fees, money to get in and out), and conservative with your re-sale price.

If you've considered flipping a home, the touted foreclosure epidemic might give you a wonderful opportunity to get into the game.

Want to talk further? I've successfully flipped 3 properties and work with several investors. Shoot me an email and we'll talk junker houses!

Sunday, September 9, 2007

Tough Love from Heather

Here is some plain speak regarding pricing. Now, I know no homeowner is going to want to hear this, especially one who is chasing down the market, always priced a bit too high to sell. But these things need to be said:

1. Buyers' first question when looking at a house is "How long has it been on the market?" followed quickly with either "Let's wait until they reduce." or "Wow! That long? Let's lowball them. They must be desperate." Your best bet is to price it right so that educated Buyers know it's a good deal and move on it immediately.

2. Mortgage companies are becoming brutally stringent with their appraisals. If the appraisal doesn't come in at contract price, you'll lose the deal or be forced to lower the price. There is no "stretching the market" anymore because banks are no longer flexible on their lending.

3. The ideal is to generate multiple offers. Sellers have true leverage when they have multiple offers on the house and can counter price, settlement, financing - whatever is most important to them.

4. In this vein, it's nearly impossible to UNDER-price a home, since you'll see a correction via multiple offers.

And finally...

In today's market, PRICING is going to make or break your home sale. All the good marketing, advertising, staging, or dark magic and voodoo in the world is not going to convince a Buyer to pay more for a home. It will simply sell your well priced home faster (although the dark magic and voodoo are suspect at this point.)

Don't despair homeowner - we can still sell your home for you and make you happy! Be reasonable. Be realistic. Be flexible. We'll get it done.

Need some more tough love? I'm always ready to dish it out. Shoot me an email!