Maximizing Zillow Views

by | Apr 15, 2016 | Jim's Take on the Market, Listing Agent Practices, Why You Should List With Jim | 2 comments

If you want maximum exposure on Zillow, then list with a Premier agent who does video – Zillow puts listings with video at the top of the local searches.  My Stratford listing was inputted less than 24 hours ago, and already has 168 views and 9 saves!

But this also shows how buyers gravitate to the new listings:

Stratford views and saves

Stratford ranking zillow

Here is the update at the 24-hour mark. One day on Zillow and 510 views!

noon update

733 Stratford Drive

by | Apr 14, 2016 | Boomers, Bubbleinfo TV, Encinitas, Klinge Realty, Listing Agent Practices, Market Buzz, Osmo, Thinking of Buying?, Why You Should List With Jim | 3 comments

733-stratford-dr-076

I love my new Encinitas Highlands listing at 733 Stratford Drive, which is at the top of the hill and offers some of the best ocean views in EH!  This is another property that is ideally suited for the multi-generational buyers because there are bedrooms and full baths on the ground floor plus a detached 1br/1ba cottage out back.

This is my first real tour of a house with the new camera (and because I’m trying to move slower and smoother), so this is the extended full version of the whole property:

http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/733-Stratford-Dr-Encinitas-CA-92024/16718577_zpid/

Staging Is Good For Photos

by | Apr 14, 2016 | Jim's Take on the Market, Staging | 3 comments

3056-via-mariposa-007

A professionally-staged home probably makes buyers feel a twinge of misrepresentation, but all the more reason to get good help!

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/setting-the-stage-to-sell-your-home.html

Ask most real estate agents and they’ll tell you that the toughest conversations they have with their sellers are about price and presentation. But let’s put price aside and talk decor.

Everyone is his or her own Martha Stewart, and who wouldn’t want to see beautiful pictures of our loved ones on the mantel? Answer: potential buyers. They don’t want to see your babies, your knickknacks, your artwork or even those adorable macramé potholders you and your daughter made that rainy afternoon a decade ago.

Savvy real estate agents will tell sellers to clean up, clean out and put away most personal items. The idea is that house hunters should be able to picture themselves — and not you — in your house. Odd artwork, even though it’s not staying, is off-putting.

That is why, in a market where picky buyers want move-in ready real estate, staging is becoming more and more the rule.

Staged homes spend half as much time on the market than non-staged homes, according to Coldwell Banker Real Estate.. What’s more, those staged homes on average sell for more than 6 percent above asking price.

The seller “gets probably 10 times what they put into it,” according to Mary Lynn White, a real estate agent with Evers & Co. in the Washington, D.C., area. “I call it aspirational selling,” she added. “Buyers think they’re going to live the way the house is set up.”

The staging is actually more for the pictures than for the people walking through the home. That is because the vast majority of buyers search online and scan the interiors of homes they want to visit. A good set of pictures will draw more buyers, and those pictures should show pretty and pristine spaces.

Read full article here:

http://www.cnbc.com/2016/04/14/setting-the-stage-to-sell-your-home.html

Property Manager Embezzlement

by | Apr 13, 2016 | Carlsbad, Jim's Take on the Market, Real Estate Investing | 7 comments

2016-04-08 11.43.29

I know one of the victims, and she was told by the owner that she would be paid in full today.  We’ll see….

http://www.10news.com/news/team-10-homeowners-say-property-management-company-owes-them-thousands

Homeowners in the North County say a local property management company owes them thousands of dollars.

Carousel Properties is based in Carlsbad.

Martin Benowitz says he hired Carousel Properties to manage is Oceanside condo. He’s known the owner, Kelley Zaun, for about 15 years.

But the recent missing money has changed their friendship.

“I’m out $6,000. How much are we going to stay friends?” Benowitz said.

Benowitz said he recently received a lien on his property because the HOA fees were not being paid—something the property management company was supposed to take care of. He also says he’s missing the rent money owed to him from the last two months, even though his tenant has paid.

He is not alone.

“There’s no reason or excuse,” said Rinda White who lives in Texas.

She hired Carousel Properties to manage her Vista home. She is also missing thousands of dollars.

“We’re on a limited income. My husband and I are both retired,” White said.

Team 10 obtained emails, which the homeowners say are from Zaun. In the emails, she admitted she “made several errors.” She also claimed she was dealing with health issues.

When Team 10 approached her Carlsbad office, she told Team 10 to contact her lawyer and shut the door.

Some homeowners want to pursue criminal charges.

Team 10 called her attorney, but have not heard back.

Granny Pods

by | Apr 13, 2016 | Boomer Liquidations, Boomers, Interesting Houses, Jim's Take on the Market | 7 comments

Med

Hat tip to daytrip for sending in this information on granny pods, which are fully-contained housing units you can put in your backyard:

http://www.lifedaily.com/with-a-granny-pod-grandma-can-live-in-your-backyard/

The company’s website has pods as low as $39,625:

http://www.medcottage.com/products.php

These could be a viable solution for those wanting to downsize, but having trouble finding the right home, at the right price.

You wanted grandma close by, right?

med1

med2

Vacant Home Occupied by Squatters

by | Apr 12, 2016 | Jim's Take on the Market, Real Estate Investing | 8 comments

id

Hat tip to Susie for sending in this story from Potato Land!

The list price for the house was $134,900, and the photos on Zillow made it obvious that the house was vacant:

http://www.ktvb.com/news/local/couple-fights-to-evict-stranger-from-nampa-home/128686427

CALDWELL — A Canyon County couple is back to the drawing board after a judge ruled against allowing them to fast-track the eviction of a stranger who moved into their house without permission.

Brian and Renae Prindle discovered last month that someone was living inside the home at 37 South Westwood they had put up for sale.

The pair said they checked on the vacant property multiple times a month. Brian Prindle testified Monday that he stopped by the house March 25 after his wife noticed rocking chairs in front of the home had been moved.

Inside the home were several people, including a woman who told Prindle she lived there and had a lease.

(more…)

New Peak Pricing

by | Apr 12, 2016 | Jim's Take on the Market, North County Coastal, Sales and Price Check | 4 comments

peak

Today’s prices are higher than they were in 2007 around most areas of North San Diego’s coastal region, and the median sales prices in the quaint coastal towns of Cardiff, Carlsbad, and Encinitas have blown up!

But Rancho Santa Fe – facing too much competition from surrounding areas – is the only area that is still significantly behind its MSP from 2007:

NSDCC Number of MLS Sales and Median Sales Price, 1st Quarter

Town or Area
2007 Sales
Median SP
2016 Sales
Median SP
Price Diff
Cardiff
17
$925,000
15
$1,100,000
+19%
Carlsbad NW
36
$680,000
36
$865,000
+27%
Carlsbad SE
88
$848,500
78
$880,000
+4%
Carlsbad SW
47
$861,000
56
$896,500
+4%
Del Mar
31
$1,562,500
33
$1,700,000
+9%
Encinitas
97
$830,000
83
$1,095,000
+32%
La Jolla
58
$1,700,000
62
$1,857,500
+9%
RSF
36
$2,725,000
27
$2,380,000
-13%
Solana Bch
27
$1,350,000
19
$1,335,000
-1%
Carmel Vly
114
$1,000,000
100
$1,128,500
+13%
All
575
$997,000
552
$1,122,000
+13%

Price Reductions

by | Apr 11, 2016 | Jim's Take on the Market, Listing Agent Practices, Why You Should List With Jim

lower price

Most sellers are happy to wait their turn, and have no worry about selling.  It will happen some day.

But for the folks who recognize that they might have shot too high on their initial price, what do you do now?  You don’t want to give it away…..and you have time. Besides, it’s only April.

When do you lower the price? And by how much?

If you’re in an area and/or price range that is looking a bit glutty, then let’s work it backwards.  The other listings around you that aren’t selling will start lowering their price once summer approaches – call it June 1st.

However, you want to beat them to it, in case there is only one buyer left at these price points (it could be).

And you don’t know if your next price reduction will be your last.

It makes sense to lower now, and then if that wasn’t enough, then hit it again in mid-May.  You should find the next buyer before your neighbor gets around to his first price reduction.

How much lower?

My basic rule-of-thumb:

  1. If you are getting offers, your price has to be close – probably within 5%.  Call the last offer back and re-consider his best offer!
  2.  If you are getting showings but no offers, then your price is 5% to 10% too high.  Lower 5% to see if that’s enough (it might not be enough).
  3.  If you aren’t getting any showings, then your price has to be 10% too high. There aren’t enough active listings for you to not get lookers.  Lower by at least 5%, and keep doing it until you get offers.

If you are content with your price and not in a rush, then ignore the above.  But if you want a formula to get you on your way, give it a try.

Lower your price by 5%, and see what happens!

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