How do you make your home different selling it from others and how do you make the buyers come and look?

Well, basically it comes down to one thing and that’s pictures!Also too, if the home is vacant you might want to consider staging.

Well what exactly is staging?

Well, you hire an outside firm to come in. Bring in furniture and they will actually decorate — in a simple way — the living room dining room kitchen and maybe a bedroom.

This adds so much to your home.

However, the real pro of this whole staging unit again is going back to the pictures, but it will help you sell the house that much faster.

They say anywhere from 30 days to 90 days faster than the traditional sale.

So, consider it.

Now, I want to add one more thing…

Okay, so you don’t want to pay for the staging. It’s just too expensive.

Well, they have something called ‘Virtual Staging.’

That is, they’ll come in and they’ll take pictures and at that point when the pictures are posted on the internet —- your real estate agent will make this point — that is called virtual staging.

That room will be implanted or decorated with furniture as if it’s all real.

Why is all this important ?

Again, going back to the pictures the buyer starts to look at different homes and what they’re drawn to are pictures and what appeals to him will drive him to make an appointment to see your house .

That’s my point.

Happy fourth of July!

I’m wearing my red, white and blue on this wonderful, glorious day.

We have great weather here in the northeast. It’s hot, but it is the middle of summer. S

So happy fourth of July to everybody!

You might have heard the term dual agency and what is exactly a dual agent?

Well, a dual agent is somebody that represents both the buyer and the seller.

This traditionally is frowned upon and it’s actually illegal in Florida, but the bottom line is is that when the listing agent signs with you to sell their home that agent has a fiduciary responsibility to you and to you only.

So they are responsible to get together with the buyer’s agent.

But they have to get the best deal possible in your best interest.

Now conversely if you’re talking about a buyer’s agent what exactly does that mean?

Well, a buyer’s agent once they sign with the buyer they now represent that buyer in negotiations and they have a strict fiduciary responsibility to you as the buyer.

This way both sides are equal as far as negotiation and both sides are watching out for your best interest.

That’s my point!

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Kind of enjoying my Paul Anka hat today.

I saw him last year in Florida and what a spectacular show that he put on.

And most people don’t realize that he actually wrote My Way for Frank Sinatra,

That was his final song that was given to Frank Sinatra.

He also wrote the theme song for The Johnny Carson Show, The Tonight Show.

So Paul Anka has been around a long time, but what a talent.

Get a chance to go see him.

You know, people talk about buying foreclosures or buying a short sale.

So what exactly does that mean?

Well, pretty much everyone knows what a foreclosure is.

That’s something where the banks — who held a mortgage on the property — have the ability to collect that mortgage and foreclose on the property and title now belongs to the bank.

That’s very important because when a foreclosure happens and the bank has the title that means when you buy it you get a clear title.

Now, I wanted to tell you a little bit about a short sale because that’s the complicated one and that’s something you should be aware of.

When you are thinking about looking at a home that is in a short sale situation, chances are it will be listed and programmed in the MLS as being a short sale.

What does that mean?

Well, basically it means that the home homeowner owes more than what the home is worth.

For example, the homeowner owes $400,000 when the home is only worth $300,000.

Now that may seem drastic to you, but that’s actually happens.

So how is this remedied and how can you, as a buyer, go in and get this short sale?

Well, basically the bank will make arrangements with the homeowner and come up with a number that will cover the short sale and satisfy the bank and let the homeowner walk out free.

So what can that number be?.

Well, let’s go back to our original example.

The house, they owe $400,000. The house is worth $300,000 so the bank may settle on a home price of maybe you know $280,000.

So, as long as the bank gets that amount of money then they will proceed and give the new buyer a clear title —- and that’s the essence of a short sale.

Time Is Longer To Close

Very important — but again I can’t emphasize enough that as a buyer when you go in and you make an offer on a home — that’s in a short sale situation — it’s going to take longer to close on that property.

Generally, it only takes 60 days to close on a property once you’re in contract.

Well this — the short sale — may take up to four months!

So be aware of that. Be aware of the short sale. Look it up. Do your homework.

That’s my point!

Here we are approaching July and my grandson is right in the middle of a very competitive hockey tournament.

So, I wear this Jameson hat in his honor and go hockey!

You know, recently over the last couple of years, and I’ll say since COVID, all of a sudden we’re hearing the highest and best offer.

What does the highest and best offer actually mean?

Well, to the seller, okay, they are looking for their best possible price that they can get.

And for the buyer, they’re now considering to put their best foot forward.

Whereas if you go back 20 years in the old days, you know, there was some negotiation that went on and there was trust built between the buyer agent and the selling agent.

So with this highest and best thing sometimes agents were sort of going blind.

So for example, a house is 500,000, it’s been on the market for 30 days the agent is now asking for highest and best because they have multiple offers.

So they might have offers of $498,000, $495,000, $505,000, $510,000, but the agent is now putting out there for all the people who have made offers to go the highest and best.

Okay. How do you do that?

Well you sit down with your agent the buyer would sit down with their agent and the house is selling for $500,000.

The buyer is now deciding they don’t want to go higher than $510,000.

Now, how can they make that offer even better?

So, aside from the offering price of 510 what can they do to make their offer more attractive?

And this is very, very important because it’s a whole package that the selling agent will look at, as well as., the homeowner who is selling the house…

A Time Frame

So my biggest asset is that when you can offer a time frame to the seller stating that okay, I will give you 60 days — after we’re in contract to close or I’ll give you 90 days after we’re in contract.

To close this makes your offer it separates it from the rest of the offers and that’s so important.

Take AS IS

Now something else you might add —- I’ll take it as is — nothing needs to change.

Again the seller is going to look at that and even though they might have gotten a few thousand higher — well because of the time frame and now my house as is and something else you can add.

Buy Their Stuff

You can add that there’s certain furniture there that you may want to buy as a buyer or you add that too.

I will give you X amount of dollars for this furniture, for your couch, for your armoire.

And again, it’s the complete package that makes a difference.

So when you see highest and best, make yourself a package to offer that the seller will really enjoy.

And that’s my point.

This week, I have the privilege of seeing James Taylor.

So he and I have sort of gotten together three times now.

This will be the third time that I get to see him.

And I’m going to Bethel Woods, otherwise known as Woodstock, which is absolutely fantastic.

So I’ll let you know how I make out next week.

Have a great day.

Expired listings

What exactly does that mean?

Well a seller goes into a contract with the real estate agent say for six months and at the end of six months the house is not sold.

So why isn’t it sold? What happens next?

Well let’s address why it isn’t sold… In all probability it’s overpriced.

So for example, houses you put it on the market for 550,000 hoping to get that and the house is probably worth no more than 500,000 at the top end.

What happens is that the market will recognize that — being the consumer — and they will watch the house and ,watch the house, and watch the house and see if prices are reduced.

Generally over the six months of time your real estate agent will encourage you to reduce the price in order to sell.

However, with all that being said the seller decides just to hold on to it.

So at this point, your house is expired.

What do I do?

Well, my recommendation would be to just let it expire for at least 30 days.

The reason for that is that when you go to relist your house it will come on the market as a new property and it won’t show that it’s been sitting for 180 days.

Because buyers are smart today.

They’ll look and if they see a house has been sitting for 180 days they shy away from it, number one.

Number two, adjust the price more realistically so again if your old listing was 550 let’s go with 525 or 520.

Make a difference.

Make people come and look at the house.

Create interest. Create excitement.

Listen to your agent. They know how to guide you. They’ve been through this before.

That’s My Point!

And today, I’m wearing my Men in Black hat because I had the opportunity over the weekend to go see a tribute to Johnny Cash, who was probably one of the greatest country singers ever to live.

Men in Black. Have a great day.

You know recently I was driving by and I saw a for sale by owner sign and I’m looking at the property and I’m trying to figure out why that owner decided to go and sell the property on his own.

Well he has a number of obstacles that he has to overcome and the primary obstacle is pricing the home correctly.

How do you do that?

Well, one thing that a realtor does provide, it’s called a CMA, or a Comparative Market Analysis.

And that will show the homes in the area that have sold over the last six months.

For example, you have a three bedroom, two bath house, acre property, roughly selling for about $400,000.

Well, if that homeowner in the FSBO is pricing his home at $450,000, people are going to wonder.

If they’re selling at $350,000, people are going to wonder because what’s wrong with the house?

So he’s quite in between.

So that’s why an agent can provide a CMA, extremely important.

Now, the second obstacle for a FSBO is, of course, marketing.

Well, just putting a sign up is not going to do it.

So, what the homeowner has to do — they have to advertise and go through the jumps and putting it on all the platforms on the internet so that hundreds of thousands of people see it.

Not just a thousand or five hundred you have to draw a bigger audience and perhaps the third and most damaging objection is actually negotiating the property —

Because I know myself — I sold my house and I was the listing agent for the house and it came time for negotiations — it’s sort of you know, spurred my anger a bit because what the agent was telling me was certainly justified, but I didn’t like it.

However, you have to overcome that and sell the house!

And that’s my point.

Get yourself an agent because the bottom line is they will sell it for you quicker, get you a better price and in the long run you’ll be a lot better off .

That’s my point!

And last night, The Righteous Brothers were absolutely fantastic!

Bill Medley is 85 years young and his daughter was on stage.

As long with a gentleman named Bucky Heard who is now his partner and the music was just magical.

So enjoy!

You know, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about a term that we call a seller’s concession.

And why is that important?

I’m sure you have heard about it.

But what exactly does it mean and how does it apply?

Well, for example, say the seller has a lawnmower.

It’s worth $2,000 and it’s in the shed, but they don’t want to take it.

They don’t want to sell it.

So what do they do with it?

Well, they can offer it to the buyer as a concession as part of the purchase price.

Now, this is pretty much more common than we realize, but it goes on all the time.

However, a real seller’s concession is that something called a buy-down.

And what’s a buy-down on a mortgage?

Well, when a buyer goes to apply for their mortgage, they want to reduce the interest rate by 1%.

So how do they do that?

Well, it’s called a buy-down.

So they’re agreeing to pay the bank or their mortgage lender a certain amount of money.

Let’s say $7,500, but they don’t have the $7,500. They have to use that for the down payment.

So what do they do?

Well, they turn to their real estate agent, me, who actually will negotiate with the other agent, the listing agent and ask for a seller’s concession of $7,500 to be paid to the buyer at the closing.

It’s really a win-win situation because now the buyer is getting a better break on the interest on a mortgage and the seller has a bonafide buyer and the deal will stick together 99% of the time.

So at the closing, what happens is that the seller will actually pay the buyer $7,500 to cover that mortgage buy down.

And that’s my point.

Seller’s concession, it’s very important.

Talk to your agent about it.

Talk to your mortgage broker about it because you can reduce the interest on your mortgage that you pay each month and it makes a big difference in the deal.

That’s my point.

Today, I sort of wear my Ringo Starr hat because, you know, I went to see him a couple of years ago, but recently he just came out with a new album.

And I’ll say within the last two weeks.

And how great is that?

The man’s 83 years old and he’s still putting out albums and as Ringo always says, “Peace out.”

You know, sometimes you hear the term CMA tossed around, and people don’t know what a CMA is.

Well, it’s actually called a Comparative Market Analysis, and generally it’s prepared for the seller before they sell their house.

What Goes Into That?

Well, square footage at the home, acreage, how many bedrooms, how many baths and what year it is and certainly the number of other factors, the style of the house.

Even perhaps, the condition of the house.

So, the agent for the seller, will put together these figures based on — and this is very very important — Houses Sold In The Last Six Months — It’s not houses listed for, it’s what they’re actually sold at.

So, for example, say a house is selling for $500,000 —

Well, in all probability that agent prepared what they called a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) for the seller and that will show houses similar in style and size might be $510,000, $515,000, $475,000, $490,000.

So that’s where the agent comes up with the figure $500,000.

So, as a seller don’t be surprised on that and on the flip side this is very important for the buyer…

Well, once they look at a home — and this is how I work and not all agents do the same thing — but once my client looks at a home as a buyer and they want to make an offer I will immediately make a CMA for them.

I’ll send it to them because this way they know what’s been sold in the last six months on a comparative analysis and really what to offer and whether the offer is accepted or rejected.

The buyer will now have some basis to make a good decision and that’s what the CMA is for.

So, that’s my point and today.

My Yankee Hat. Gosh, we’re on such a roll. We’re playing great baseball.

It’s great to be a Yankee fan. Not so much being a Met fan, though.

Have a great night.

You know, down through the years, probably one of the toughest decisions for a homeowner and buyer to make is when to move.

When is the best time to move and how do they coordinate it?

Well, I want to speak to the coordination of it and your alternatives.

So if you are a seller, try to find a place to live that’s month to month.

So, if your house has been on the market for three months, two months, four months, it really doesn’t matter.

But if you have a place lined up that you can rent month to month until you buy your new home, that’s generally the place to go.

Conversely, see this works for the buyer as well.

So, if you’re sitting there and you want to buy a house and you’re looking around and your lease is up May 1st, we’ll talk to your landlord, get a month to month continuation of your lease.

This way the pressure is taken off of you so that if you have to wait another three or four months to close on your new house, then you wait, but you’re renting month to month.

And by doing this again, all the pressure’s off.

So you’re not making those snap decisions.

And oddly enough, not enough people think about that where you’re pressured into making that decision and buying a house when you really don’t want to buy a house just yet.

And that’s my point.

Well, tonight I’m sort of wearing my believe hat from Ted Lasso and I’m fully expecting you know sometime in the next

year or so that on Apple TV Ted Lasso comes back thanks for listening thanks for listening.

My name is Chris Berger and it’s time for Berger Point.

You know, one of the requirements of a listing agent is to provide a disclosure form to the seller.

What’s a disclosure form?

Well, the seller has the obligation to disclose material facts of what’s wrong with the house.

OK, so what’s a material fact?

Well, it could be a broken step that’s loose in the front or broken railing.

That’s an obvious fact.

It also can be an oil burner that doesn’t work, or it could be a hot water heater that only goes to a certain temperature and really doesn’t provide enough hot water.

That’s a material fact, and that has to be brought out so that the buyer looking at it can observe it and make a decision.

Well, one of my buyers was with me, and we noticed some cracks in the foundation.

And we were kind of surprised, so we went to the disclosure fact.

Sure enough, the seller, well, they were having these cracks evaluated and one of the problems with the house is that the foundation was actually sinking.

And it was stated that over the next 10 years, it can sink up to three or four inches.

So with that in mind, my buyer decided didn’t want to get involved. Could that sinking of a foundation be remedied?

Yes, it can.

So you have to take that into consideration as a buyer.

So don’t jump to conclusions if you see something on the disclosure form that you feel that can’t be remedied because many times it can be remedied or the seller can address it with money and reducing the cost of the house to you.

Look at the disclosure.

Have your inspector or construction worker look at it, then make a decision.

That’s the point.

I’m wearing today my St. Jude’s hat. It’s a great place to donate.

I actually donate money every month and come to the end of the year.

It’s a nice tax deduction for me, too, for the business.

Have a great day.

You know, when I go around with my customers, whether they’re buyers or sellers, you really have to pay particular attention to what they’re looking for.

And today I’m going out with a special buyer and by asking her questions, then I’ll get the answers.

And that’s how I tailor the house that she wants to buy.

Because I’m not trying to sell a house.

I’m trying to facilitate the sale of the house.

And by doing that, both the buyer and the seller will always be happy.

So I’m going to introduce to you Eggnog the Bulldog. (My daughter’s Instagram Star!)

And she’s been looking for a house for a while.

She’s getting on in years.

And we’ll go from there. We’ll see how it works.

Below is a picture of Eggnog The Bulldog starring in an episode of “Fat & Jobless”

So I understand, Eggnog, the most important thing to you is finding a place with a yard. Why? Why is that?

Well, I understand you like to get around.

You don’t want steps anymore, so you want one level.

Is that right?

That’s what I thought.

So let’s look around for a house that is a ranch style, no steps, has a nice yard, and perhaps you’d like a fence.

Oh, I’m sorry.

And what did you say about a sunroom? Oh, you wanted a sunroom? Why?

Because you like to look around? Thank you.

Let’s start looking!

And of course, one of the great features about this home is the sunroom.

Now, what we’re looking for is a fenced-in yard. And yes, indeed, it is fenced.

Plenty of room to travel and keep them safe.

And of course, one thing that Eggnog mentioned in the interview is that she wanted a bed with a ramp.

So, this is what we have it. Built in, custom made, and she is a very happy camper.

And, of course, we’ll chime in with Eggnog’s sister, Igloo.

Do you enjoy living here? Tah dah! (You gotta see this…)

You know, we talk about the importance of having a sign in front of the seller’s house.

Why?

Why is that so important?

Well, once you see that sign as a buyer, you know that that listing is going in front of hundreds of thousands of people across the country.

So that’s the first big step.

And what I do as a buyer’s agent, I search the multiple listing service and look for different homes in the price range and what my client is looking for.

Now, what that sign also tells the other agents is that that seller is off limits.

They’re under contract to sell that home.

So myself as a buyer’s agent or any other listing agent is not allowed to contact that seller.

That seller is protected.

Now, when I see a for sale for owner sign All right.

Well, now I go into action and I’m going to call them because I’m in search of a listing.

And that’s what I’d like to do.

However, I was kind of mad at myself the other day because I’ve been watching this house and it’s a brand new house.

No sign, just for sale by owner.

OK, I’m getting ready to call. I go by just to get the phone number.

And sure enough, a realtor sign went up right next to it. So now it’s off limits.

And I did a disservice to myself as well as the person who owns the house because I think I can do a great job in selling your home.

So keep that in mind.

And that’s my point today.

USA had a tough time last night. Baseball team lost. And congratulations to Venezuela.

However, as in all baseball games, if you don’t hit, you don’t win.

And that’s the bottom line. Bye.

You know, I wanted to talk to you a little bit about negotiation because I found in the past it’s so important and people take it for granted.

And why do some people get the house and why other people don’t?

So let’s say I’m on the buyer’s side and this is actually equally as important to the seller as well.

So being a buyer, all right, I am now presenting an offer.

So the seller is asking for the list price, which is $500,000.

Well, I’ve done my research, and I found out that most houses in the area asking for that generally go for about 8% to 10% less.

So, I make an offer for $50,000, all right, which is roughly 10%.

So what I’m waiting for is a response from the listing agent because if the listing agent comes back and says $495,000.

I know that’s the vicinity I have to be in and that’s what the seller is asking for.

However, if say they come back at $475,000, well, the listing agent is coming down $25,000, and that tells me I still have room.

So that’s how the negotiations proceed, but that first give and take tells me, as the buying agent, just exactly what kind of room I have to deal with.

And then, of course, there are other things that come into mind as well.

Of course, time constraints. Is it an all-cash offer? Is it a mortgage?

How many people are buying the house?

You know, things like that.

And when I present that to the listing agent, she has a much better idea of how serious I am to purchase.

I’m wearing my Brian Wilson hat today because I’m kind of limited.

I’ve been traveling, kind of limited with hats.

But I did have the pleasure of meeting Brian Wilson and shaking his hand.

So I always treasure this one.

That’s my point. Have a great day.

Well, people have asked me, you know, what exactly is the whole process of buying and selling a house?

And it gets kind of convoluted, and it does have its obstacles.

However, it really starts with the seller putting their home on the market with an agent, and it will now appear in the MLS.

Now, you as a buyer actually will now sign an agreement with your buying agent to start looking at houses.

However, a buyer should be pre-qualified. That’s very important because it does two things.

It shows the buyer’s agent that you are sincere, and it shows the seller’s agent, okay, we’ll let these people come in and see our home because they’re qualified.

Okay, so what’s the next step?

Well, the next step is that people make appointments, they look at your house, and now we get to the point where there’s an offer and an acceptance.

So the buyer’s agent will talk to the seller’s agent and speak about their issues back and forth and come to an agreement.

Once that agreement is made we now have at least a confirmation to move ahead to buy the home.

What is next?

Well, within seven days or so, the buyer will actually hire a building inspector or home inspector who is licensed by New York State to inspect the home.

So now it’s contract time. What happens?

Well, the seller’s attorney sends the contract to the buyer’s attorney.

The buyer comes in, signs the contract.

It goes back to the seller’s attorney.

The seller comes in, signs the contract.

At this point, we have an executed contract.

Now, the buyer then takes that executed contract and can now start the mortgage process, which takes about three weeks normally.

So at this point, after three weeks, the buyer gets their commitment.

The attorneys set the closing date.

One more thing has to be done by the buyer.

Actually, the day of the closing, they will go in and they do something called a

walk-through.

And what they’re looking for is just generally anything that isn’t up to what they agreed to.

99% of the time, the properties are pristine and all goes well.

At this point, everything can be worked out between the two attorneys, the two agents, and the buyer and the seller.

And that’s my point.

Well, being in the middle of February, I can’t wait for baseball. Aaron Judge, one of the heroes. So bring on baseball!

Have a great day. Thank you.

You know, buyers and sellers expect the process of buying and selling a home to go smooth…

And maybe that was true 25, 30 years ago, but rarely does it go smooth anymore.

What I mean by that is that each deal is different. Each deal presents its own problems and you need an agent on both sides to solve those problems.

How do they do that the best way?

Well, the agents need to talk to each other and be in constant contact because what happens is that they'll build trust.

As time goes forward and say the deal is lagging, say it's now going into 40 days since an offer and acceptance —- both the buyer and the seller, they're going to get antsy and they're going to want answers.

It always takes approximately three weeks for that to be consummated.

So, please be aware of that because nothing is really going to really take off until the contract is signed by both parties.

I can't stress that enough and with my experience down through the years, other agents have often told me, you know, if we didn't have this communication, we would have walked.

And that's the key. That’s my point!

So today, actually, I booked tickets to see Three Day of Night and remember the song One?

One is the loneliest of numbers. Be well.

My name’s Chris Berger, and it’s time for a Berger Point.

You know, sitting here at the end of January, 24 hours of snow, two feet of snow, and up and down the northeast, it’s pretty bad.

I got to thinking about my fireplace and why a fireplace, a garage, and a pool are important to the buyer as well as the seller.

Well, let’s cover the fireplace first.

Well, you have a fireplace, you walk in, it could be in great shape, it could be not working.

But if it’s there, it’s such an advantage and it adds value to your house that you’re buying or selling.

And why do I say that?

Well, you can add a gas fireplace to it, either supplied by propane or natural gas.

You can add a pellet stove supplied to it.

Or you can put a wood-burning fireplace insert into it which will give you optimum heat supplied by wood.

And that’s the importance of a fireplace.

And many times, people will not budge on buying a house unless it has a fireplace.

So it’s a plus.

So play it up if you have it.

The second thing, of course, is a garage.

And my only advice to you, if you really love the house and it doesn’t have a garage, let’s look at the space aside from the house and see what it would cost to put a garage in.

Because chances are you’re probably looking anywhere between $50,000 and $75,000 in today’s market to put a one-car garage on.

And of course, the final caveat can be a pool.

But just keep in mind that an above-ground pool is does not add any money to the taxes.

An in-ground pool will really boost your taxes.

But if your heart is set on it, keep looking, find that in-ground pool because it does provide many, many good times for the family over the summer.

***

And today I’m wearing my Beach Boys hat because, oh, do I wish I was in warm weather.

So I’ve seen the Beach Boys many times and I look forward to seeing them one more time.

Have a great day.

You know, recently I was working with homeowners.

They were listing their home.

But her big concern was what time the buyers can come to the house.

She didn’t want somebody just showing up any time.

Well, always remember, Mrs. Seller, that you are in charge of when the buyers come.

And what I mean by that, you sit down with your listing agent and you set the times, say Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 11 to 5, and Saturday and Sunday, let’s go to 11 to 3.30, because if soccer practice or church or whatever, is involved but just remember you as the seller are in charge.

Now we as agents we schedule all the appointments through something called SHOWING TIME.

So the advantage there is that you will now know as the seller what time a buyer is coming to your house .

How do you prepare for that? Well you pick up the things around the house that provide you know clutter and you turn on the lights and you decide to leave the house.

All the buyers feel more comfortable when they come to your house with an agent and you’re not there.

Just leave for a half hour. That’s all.

If you come back and they’re still there, sit in the driveway.

And that’s my Berger Point of the day.

***

Now, keep in mind, this weekend, I’m going to see Jay and the Americans once again.

I saw him 35 years ago. I saw him five years ago.

And I’m going to see him again.

That’s my point. Have a great day.

My name is Chris Berger and it’s time for a Berger Point.

You know, one of the things that we see in the listing as is, and recently I took a client to see a home and it was listed as is.

And looking at the pictures, it looked fantastic.

But in addition to that, it just said cash only.

So, okay, the red flags go up.

What exactly is going on?

Well, I did speak to the listing agent.

And she informed me that the property itself did not have a CO, which is a certificate of occupancy.

Okay.

Well, the home can be purchased with cash.

However, if a person wants to apply for a mortgage because the home does not have a CO, it’s not going to work.

So look for that.

But don’t be so alarmed as when you see something as is that it frightens you away

from looking at the house because today in today’s environment, more and more sellers are putting up a home as is.

And generally the problems are minor.

For example, one red flag might be a buried oil tank still on the property.

Well, between the buyer, buyer’s agent and the seller’s agent, this can be negotiated.

So pursue it. Just be aware.

Have a good inspector.

Inspect the properties for buyers, and you’ll be okay.

And that’s my point.

***

Today I’m wearing my Yankee hat because absolutely nothing is going on with the

Yankees in the middle of January.

So we have a little hope and pray.

We’re just 30 days away from pitchers and catchers.

Have a great day. Thank you.

You know, when a home has been on the market for a while, it’s on the market for 519.

And typically, if you check the comparables around the area, you know, within a couple of miles, same square footage, say 2000 square feet, and they’re all selling around 500,000.

And your house at 519 is not selling.

So what do I do?

How can I make this thing sell?

Take it off the market for 30 day

And then once you put it back on the market 30 days later, it will appear as a new listing.

But in addition to that, it will give you some time to look at the comps, what happened over the past 30 days, what sold.

So you may find out that, you know, houses are selling around 510.

So that’s maybe what you should bring your house back on the market at, 510.

It makes a difference.

But don’t waste time leaving it on the market.

And that’s my point today.

***

Now I’m wearing one of my all-time favorite hats.

It’s a Ringo Starr. God bless him.

He’s 83 years old and he puts on some show and he’s still touring.

He probably does about 20 concerts a year.

And I had the privilege of seeing him a few times.

Have a great day.

You know, one of my clients had this happen to them. It was a seller.

He sold his house, and the buyers were extremely happy at the closing.

However, there was just one problem.

The seller had no place to go.

The arrangements that he made to move out just didn’t work out, so he had to stay in the home another month.

So what’s the solution?

Well, certainly that seller can stay with relatives. Didn’t want to do that.

They could rent a hotel. They didn’t want to do that either.

So they went to the people who just purchased their home, the buyers, and asked them if they could rent back their house for 30 days.

The buyers were actually renting their apartment, so they were okay with it.

And they got a little extra money for a month’s rent from the seller.

And the seller was thrilled because now all the pressure was off.

The seller could now take that 30 days to start to move out.

And the buyers, well, yes, they were a little disappointed that they couldn’t move in.

The bottom line is the seller was happy.

The buyers were happy.

The deal was consummated because the seller didn’t have a place to go, wanted to pull out of the deal.

So it was resolved. That’s a great point.

I’m wearing my Bermuda hat today because basically it’s been about 20 degrees

outside with about nine inches of snow.

And I think about Bermuda an awful lot.

Get a chance. Go to Bermuda.

It’s a great place to be. Have a great day.