Time is of the Essence…

When buying or selling a home there is one thing that all parties should remember, and that is Time is of the Essence.

What does that mean exactly?  Simply put, it means that if there is a response time on an offer or counter offer then by not responding within that time frame you are out of contract.

With today’s technology, the ability to fax/email and even digitally sign documents, not being able to obtain a signature is no longer an acceptable excuse as to why one party didn’t respond within the time frame.

Buyers might perceive the inability to get a signature from a seller as the seller not really being motivated to sell.  Sellers on the other could perceive it as a buyer not as interested in making the transaction happen because they aren’t able to get a signed counter offer back.

Without signatures contracts aren’t valid. 

So the next time you are working with a Realtor and trying to buy or sell, remember that it is important to handle the negotiations in a timely manner so that you can get to your goal.

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DIY Projects gone wrong…

Every once in a while, I run across something that just makes me wonder, what in the world were they thinking:

Putting in a deck and really don’t want to dig/set posts, use concrete blocks.

 

Run out of caulk, no worries, use duct tape instead.

How about this beauty?  Gold carpet on the accent wall of the 1/2 bath?

If you are thinking about selling your home, contact me for a free no obligation consultation, in which you will receive a check list of things to do and what not to do, in order to make your home appealing to the public!

 

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It's All In The Details...

Getting your house ready to sell?  Don't overlook the little things that need to be done.  

Curb appeal will get a buyer in the door, if the neighborhood and price is right for them.  But you want to grab & keep them once they are in the door.  Sure you've repainted, had carpets cleaned, updated light fixtures etc, but what about the little things.  Those little details that the buyers pay attention to?  Once your home is on the market it is no longer your home, it is a product, and you want it to show in it's best light.

Does the bathtub/shower shine?  What about the windows, do they sparkle? Do all the outlets have covers?  What about the light switches, do you have a white switch with an almond cover or vice versa?  Are the switches clean?

Have you dusted those ceiling fan paddles? What about the tops of the door casings?  How about your sink, is it clean?

As you prepare your home for sale, think about someone coming in and doing a white glove test, and make sure you hit every area, regardless of how little. 

Hole in the drywall in the garage?  Fix it!  It may just be a garage to you & not matter, but a seller could look at it as a negative.

Typically when looking at a home a buyer is mentally calculating repairs that need to be made as they are walking through the home, pay attention to the details, and that should help eliminate a low ball offer because a buyer feels it will be $10,000.00 to bring a home up to average in their opinion.

 

 

Great Buy On Indy’s East Side

Check out More

 

Looking for a low maintenance home, look no further!  All brick home offers 3 bedrooms, 1.5 bath, 2 car garage and more.  Click on the Check Out more link above for more information

Priced at $85000.00, you can still own a home for less than renting!!!

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Is It Really For Rent?!?!

Because you just can't make this stuff up....

I had an agent try and show one of my vacant listings last week. and the storm door was locked. I went over to check and found that the front door would open, but the chain was on it so I was unable to access. Went to the back door and found that the locks had been changed. Contacted the police, who came to the property and the occupants answered the door, and were very cooperative. They provided a copy of the lease that they signed. A man had shown them the house, claimed to be the owner, rented it to them for $650.00 per month. The "landlord" took the washer/dryer claiming they were his, as well as had pulled the chandelier from the dining room, all of the register grates have been removed and ceiling fan had been removed from the master bedroom. The landlord's name is Phil Atlas, white male, 5'8"-5'9", 200 lbs, bald with brown goatee, somewhere between 40-50 years old and drove a black Yukon. This landlord ran across these people at a Homeless Shelter, they are now out a place to live and $1600.00. I felt bad telling them they had to leave, but had no choice, and they were cooperative. The “landlord” also removed my sign, sure he added it to his scrap pile from the other items he took in the property. One of the "tenants" said it just seemed to good to be true, so here's a life lesson folks, if it seems to good to be true it probably is.

If a landlord only has a key to let you in and out of a property via the back door, question it.

 

 

If you are looking to rent a home, some of the things you can do to protect yourself are:

• Work with a reputable Realtor or Property Management Company
• Never give anyone cash
• Ask for proof that the landlord or property manager actually owns the property and has the right to rent it, or is authorized by the owner to do so.  Honestly if someone refuses to provide this information I probably wouldn’t want to rent from them.
• Tax records are easily accessible online for most counties, don’t hesitate to do some research of your own.
• Ask if there is a mortgage and if they owners are current.  While they don’t have to share all of their financial information with you, it should be understandable to a landlord/property manager that you want to make sure you are moving into a place that you can stay and not get evicted due to a foreclosure when you were paying the rent.
• Don’t be afraid to talk to the neighbors and see what they have to say. Most likely they will know if the home is truly for rent/lease and if they person you have made contact with is legitimate.

Unfortunately we live in a society where I’ve had scammers pull photos and descriptions of my listings from a Real Estate Web Site, and put it on Craigs List with their contact info and try and negotiate a lease via email for 50% of the going rate, asking for potential renters to go buy, take a look if they are interested, then mail/wire the funds to this person and upon receipt they will mail the keys to the new tenant.  It’s a crazy world we live in and it is necessary to question the things that just don’t seem right!

 

Dawn Whalen, Realtor, GRI, CDPE

RE/MAX Select

dawnwhalen@remax.net

www.dawnwhalen.com

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