Yesterday this comment was left by angryPQneighbor:
Why did you list this one so cheap? The same model sold almost a year and a half ago in a bidding war over $610K!
We are listed for $639,000 in most places, and on the range $619,000- $639,000 in the MLS. He/she didn’t say what they thought the price should be, just that my price was wrong. Do we expect double-digit appreciation every year?
They haven’t been following the pricing discussion we’ve had on the blog here, or considered that, given the current market conditions, it is better to price attractively to take advantage of the urgency that a new listing enjoys – at least for the first week or two before going stale.
The attractive list price makes the listing stand out, and grabs the attention of the buyers – have you noticed that most listings aren’t priced attractively? We were on the open market for six days (including Halloween), and here’s how the market responded:
Trulia:
Redfin:
Zillow:
The frenzy died a couple of years ago. Why?
Because the prices stopped looking attractive. But using the same pricing principles, a mini-frenzy was created here.
We received six written offers!
However, they were all within the range. Is that it? Do you just select one?
No – we’re not done yet!
I carefully and respectfully caused each bidder to consider going higher on price, and we ended up over $650,000!
Tom Waits was born in Pomona and grew up in National City and Chula Vista – he attended Hilltop High School in 1965. Here he’s singing his opening track from his debut studio album released in 1972 (and was also covered by the Eagles):
Downtown Carlsbad has an allure mostly because it is next to the beach, plus a good walk around town is enjoyable. But those who want to buy a home nearby have their work cut out for them – there is very little for sale.
TM is hoping to capitalize on the lack of inventory, and sell 2,100sf condos within walking distance of the village and beach that offer ocean views and a 2-car garage – for around a million dollars:
When you buy a house, the county tax assessor sends you regular property-tax bills, which are based on what you paid for the house – usually around 1% of the purchase price per year.
But in almost all cases, the sellers paid a different amount of taxes, which were based on their purchase price.
Thus, the supplemental property tax makes up the difference.
The escrow company will pay taxes at the old rate, or give you a credit depending on the time of year. When you close a escrow during the period when taxes are due (November 1st – December 10th and February 1st – April 10th), the escrow company just pays the tax for the buyer – but at the seller’s old rate.
The county wants to collect every penny, so they pro-rate the difference between the old and new taxes due for the remainder of the tax period, and they send you a supplemental-tax bill.
We used to have to manually calculate the amount. It is hard enough trying to explain what a supplemental tax bill is, let alone come up with the right amount. Thankfully, the assessor has devised their own calculator, at this link – it is a great tool:
Generally speaking, boomers who bought homes to start families purchased what their budgets allowed and fixed them up over time. Nothing could be further from the minds of typical Millennial buyers.
For the most part, Millennials are looking for the finished product and will pay for it. They want what they see in magazines — nothing less. They don’t seem to view themselves living in any one place for a very long time, so there’s no time for gradually rolled out home improvements.
The bottom line: To capture the highest selling price, undertake some key home renovations before listing your house for sale.
When presented with multiple offers, most listing agents demand shorter contingency times, no appraisal contingencies, having to pre-qual with their lender, etc., without any thought on how that can agitate the buyers. The time will come when the buyers aren’t going to put up with that type of treatment – in fact, it might already be here.
My job is to assist them with paying as much as possible. We accommodate all showing requests, include appliances, termite, and home warranty, and deliver full transparency about the process – including price coaching. It is as close to an auction format as possible.
Thanks to Susie for sending in this story of everyday realtor fraud – committed by the third-highest-producing agent team in the country – and an agent who just couldn’t be a do-gooder and turn them in. He tried to extort $800,000 from them instead:
As well as being outspoken, Tomlinson had earned a reputation as a whiz with an online database known as the Multiple Listing Service, which can only be accessed by brokers and Realtors, and supplies the data for web services such as Realtor.com.
He alleged that when the Jills couldn’t sell a home, they would sometimes hide it from other users of the MLS. That could mean, for example, changing the address of a mansion on North Bay Road so that it would appear to be located in Allapattah, where few high-end brokers would think to look.
To the untrained eye, it looked as if the Jills were better at selling homes than their actual record suggested. And even more important: the scheme prevented other brokers from offering their services to clients whose listing were expiring on the database. Realtors only have exclusive rights to sell a home for as long as their contract with the owner lasts. Once the listing expires, the home is fair game for competitors.
In his complaint to the board, Tomlinson cited 51 instances where the Jills had hidden homes.
Esther Percal, a top broker at EWM Realty International with nearly four decades of experience, blasted the Jills’ conduct.
“The Jills broke the rules. They have a near monopoly on the top of the market because they’ve branded themselves so well,” Percal said. “They say they’re the best and they can bring the best prices, but they don’t have a magic wand. Their listings can expire like everybody else.”
In a response to Tomlinson’s complaint — now evidence in the criminal case — the duo admitted using “poor judgment,” but said they never realized “the consequences” of the data jiggering. And they denied their conduct actually broke Realtor association rules.
About five years ago, the Jills explained, they got a call from an “irate client” whose property had not sold. The client had gotten “a barrage of unsolicited calls” from other Realtors looking to snag business as his listing had just expired.
The Jills said that a staffer — unnamed in the document — overheard the call and “indicated that, in the future, a client’s property could be kept off a list known as the ‘Hot Sheet,’ ” which Realtors scoured for new business. From then on, the Jills acknowledged, they would “from time to time” keep other unsold properties off the collection of the expired listings, according to the response.
