There are a lot of ways to get out a real estate contract, both as a buyer and a seller, but unfortunately, termite damage is not one of them.
Termites are wood destroying insects that damage the house and/or garage of a potential property. For a full list of pests and termites, visit Barrier Termite and Pest’s website.
Who should get a termite inspection? Anybody buying a detached/single family property, a townhouse, or a condo unit on the 4th floor or below.
The Sales Contract for Virginia (and the same applies to Washington, D.C. and Montgomery County/PG County Maryland) says that the buyer can either pay for a termite inspection and select their own company, or ask the seller to pay for an inspection and give them the right to choose the company.
Either way, if any visible evidence of active termites and other wood-destroying insects are found, repairs/extermination/treatment will all be made at the Seller’s expense.
That’s it. It does not give you the right to void solely based on the presence of termites. That’s why I recommend doing the termite inspection at the same time, or during the home inspection contingency period. It covers you in case it turns out that the termites have made more of a presence in the house than the current owners. Ick.
A townhouse enclave of just 32 units built in 1996. Located along the 2000 Buchanan Block in Arlington, VA 22207. Units have a 1 car garage. Dorsey Woods is located about 1.5 miles from the Ballston Metro along Lee Highway.
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So, a few months ago I told you guys I was done with blog redesigns. Well, I showed up to a home inspection today for a buyer who found me using my blog and was greeted with “You changed your blog again! I don’t really like it.”
Well, she’s now been upgraded from “buyer” to “Director of Blog Design.” So I am hoping this is it! Blame her!!!
So now let’s get back to talking about real estate…
So you wanna buy a foreclosure, huh? Let’s go through the process of how a home becomes a bank-owned property and then we’ll go over tactics.
First, if a homeowner decides to try and short sell a house it’s placed on the market, subject to 3rd party approval. If that home doesn’t sell as a short sale, the bank will auction the house on the courthouse steps at a Foreclosure Auction. The bank opens up the bid at whatever is owned on the loan (depending on who the foreclosing bank is, either 1st or 2nd lien holder, etc.) A trustee announces opening bids, and if no 3rd party person buys the property (say you or me also bidding at above the banks opening offer), the bank buys it for their opening/initial bid. It is now a bank-owned property (commonly mistaken as a foreclosure). It’s also referred to as “real estate owned” or REO property. It’s then assigned to a Realtor who handles bank-owned properties to place on the market at fair market value.
When the bank and the real estate agent representing that bank determine the market price, they’ve done extensive research into the market and where the pricing is. They then take that number and adjust it based on a few factors: if repairs need to be done and the bank doesn’t want to pay for them, they may get an estimate and slash the price accordingly. Another tactic would be a “fast sale” or a sale that’s 2-3 times faster than a normal property – they adjust the price accordingly, usually about 10-15% below market value for the property. So while the bank may be across the country from the actual house, they have many, many, MANY points of reference for the market and the value.
So now let’s talk tactics for making an offer:
1. The bank is not an emotional seller. They won’t be “offended” like other sellers if the offer is “too low.” However, with that in mind, making a realistic offer is more likely to get you a better deal. You’ll know when a property is priced well or even below market, and so will everyone else. Realize you won’t be the only one interested so you’re going to have to make your offer more attractive than others.
2. If you offer a low price, expect the bank to counter. (I had a client who offered $50k below list price, and the bank countered only $2k below list.) Keep in mind their negotiations are completely driven by their bottom line. Their counter will be based on that, not by your offer.
3. Bank owned properties are sold “as-is.” You can write in a period for a home inspection (and I always recommend buyers get one.) I would recommend you do it with the right to void (give yourself an out, but still get the information you need.)
4. Banks have an addendum usually about 16-20 pages of total legal mumbo jumbo about how the bank makes no representations about the condition of the property, you assume risk, etc. etc. It’s their protection – just in case. It’s important to have someone else read this addendum (a Realtor, an attorney, etc.) who knows what to look for….for example, is their a “per diem” fee if the deal closes late? is there a stipulation the buyer pays both the recordation AND transfer tax? These are questions you may not know you need to ask, but to us, it’s stuff that jumps out as a negotiable item. Also, keep in mind some of the things those addendums describe are not legally enforceable in some of our states. They’re general documents sent to anywhere they have assets.
Have more questions about the process? I’m happy to answer any questions….703.283.6120 or Contact Me.
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Washington, D.C. is in a bit of “tale of two markets” scenario with their real estate. On the one hand for Condos/Coops, you had the highest average sale price in the last 5 years, while inventory remains at an all time low. However, rowhomes and detached/single family properties had the lowest average sale price in the last 5 years, and they too have very low levels of inventory. The low levels of inventory just means being patient and waiting for the right property to present itself, and when it does, being prepared to move forward quickly with an offer.
Average Sale Price for Condos/Coops: $424,560
Average Sale Price for Townhomes/Rowhomes/Detached Properties: $480,550
Stats and information taken from the gcaar.com website.
January was a good month for the McLean real estate market, just like it was for Falls Church and Arlington. A total of 33 properties sold, and only 1 was a short sale. True for both 22101 and 22102, the average and median sales prices are UP, units sold was UP, and average days on the market was down! Things are selling faster and for more than this time last year. I’m seeing a trend for Fairfax and Arlington County!
Here are the average net sales prices and average days on the market per property type, per zip code:
22101
Single Family Home: $1,066,229 in 89 days (range: $565,000 – $2,285,000)
Townhouse: $754,917 in 97 days (range: $537,500 – $1,125,000)
22102
1 Bedroom Condos: $229,950 in 63 days
2 Bedroom Condos: $365,000 in 124 days
Single Family Home: $1,040,602 in 132 days (range: $865,000 – $1,346,109)
We all know the local headliners on today’s real estate section of every newspaper, it either says “what a great time to buy” or how lousy the market is these days. Well from a Realtors(R) perspective, the real reason your house isn’t selling may have nothing to do with the market or the house, it may just be you.
Some tips to getting your house sold that have nothing to do with price:
- Do you make it easy to show? Make reasonable accommodations to get agents and their clients in to view your property. If we have to try on 3 separate occasions to schedule an appointment, chances are the buyers will move on to something else and assume you don’t really want to sell your house.
- Did you leave when the agent came by with clients? It’s awkward enough to be opening closets and bedrooms without the sellers home, but when you’re there, watching the buyers every move you’re not allowing them to emotionally connect with the house and see their furniture in your house, because all they see is you! At least go outside if you have nowhere else to go – it’s a great opportunity to get some exercise and take a 15 minute walk.
- Did you clean before you left? Please do your dishes…and flush the toilet. ‘Nuff said.
- Please treat every negotiation with a “time is of the essence” mentality. In my opinion, it’s a reasonable expectation for some kind of move within a 24-48 hour window. If you need more time, many parties are understanding of circumstance, just please be open with communication. It makes everyone more willing to cooperate.
What a difference a month makes…Falls Church saw INCREASED sale prices (both on average and median) from 2009,total number of units increase, and days on the market decrease. A quick bounce in the other direction? Appears that way!
A total of 77 properties sold in January, of which 16 were short sales and 8 were bank-owned properties.
Below are the average net sales price and days on the market:
1 Bedroom Condos
$172,804 in 54 days (range: $82,025 – $256,800)
2 Bedroom Condos
$245,250 in 50 days (range: $220,000 – $270,000)
Townhomes
$469,268 in 32 days (range: $277,000 – $840,097)
Single Family/Detached
$508,983 in 50 days (range: $245,000 – $1,304,000)
New year, new start! We last left off looking at the 2009 end of year wrap up – low inventory levels, prices were starting to creep back up, and even the condo market was starting to rebound. So how did that translate into market activity in January 2010?
Overall, Arlington County saw an 18% decrease in days on the market (things were selling, on average, in about 66 days), but the real news comes in Average Sale Price, which is UP 6% from 2009. (insert thumbs up here! where’s my “like” button?) There were 136 properties that sold in January; 7 of those were short sales and 9 were foreclosures/bank-owned properties. In 2009, there were 121 sales, of which 5 were short sales and 10 were foreclosures.
Here are the average net sales prices and average days on the market for Arlington County:
Studio Condos
N. Arlington: $143,667 in 58 days
S. Arlington: $107,000 in 34 days
1 Bedroom Condos
N. Arlington: $343,066 in 47 days (range: $250,000 – $644,500)
S. Arlington: $203,647 in 79 days (range: $101,325 – $304,000)
1 Bedroom with Den
N. Arlington: $352,250 in 51 days (range: $291,000 – $415,000)
S. Arlington: $222,868 in 68 days (range: $114,835 – $300,000)
2 Bedroom Condos
N. Arlington: $597,929 in 72 days (range: $435,000 – $1,400,000)
S. Arlington: $360,955 in 121 days (range: $170,000 – $550,000)
Townhomes
N. Arlington: $569,986 in 10 days (range: $483,181 – $707,000)
S. Arlington: $356,961 in 37 days (range: $205,000 – $484,000)
Single Family Homes/Detached
N. Arlington: $803,440 in 74 days (range: $515,000 – $1,509,900)
S. Arlington: $405,116 in 36 days (range: $175,000 – $672,000)
Keep in mind, averages only tell part of a story. You can see on most of these categories the range is very wide. There are many factors that go into determining the market value of any individual property. If you’re curious what your place is worth, ask me!
While watching the 30+ inches of snow fall last week, I was grateful that I didn’t need to dig my car out, shovel my driveway, shovel the roof, clear snow away from my Air Condition unit, etc…the list goes on. Let me tell you - i’ve never been more grateful to be living in a condo than during the Snowmageddon last week! So if you’ve been thinking lately that it’s time to sell that house and move into something smaller – a condo or townhouse – here’s what you need to consider!
Financing the the purchase: you’ve got 2 options on how to buy your next home. If you don’t need the cash and don’t mind carrying the mortgage for 2 places, just in case it takes longer to sell your home than it takes to find you a new one, we can start looking at new properties while we put your house on the market. We can proceed with each as if it was a separate transaction. You can buy the new house you want, and sell the other whenever it sells!
Now, if you need the cash from selling your house to pay for the new one, we’ll have to do coinciding settlements. You’ll have to sell your house first, and get the proceeds from the sale, and then close on your purchase, so the attorney can apply the proceeds to your new house! We have a couple ways to protect you in either case – we have things called “Subject to Home of Choice” (meaning you can’t sell your house until you find something you want to buy), or “Contingent on Home Sale” (meaning you can’t buy the new house until you sell your current one). They give you extra protection during the process.
If you’re thinking about it, let’s talk. I can help with both sides – buying and selling, and show you how we can get you into something smaller and easier to maintain!
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