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 Several times a week I will have someone ask me the difference between assessed and appraised value? Should they be the same or should one be higher or lower then the other? How does that affect me? These two words are commonly mistaken for each other and both are used frequently when relating to a homes value. As a homeowner, or soon to be owner, please make sure you understand the difference because it does affect you financially. The assessed value of a home is the valuation placed on a property by a public tax assessor and is the basis for property taxes. If you would like to keep the property taxes low, you would want your assessed value to be as little as possible. There are many cases where the assessed value of the home is higher then what the home could actually sell for. If you find this is true, please petition the assessor for a revised evaluation to lower your taxes. The assessed value of a home is not related to the fair market value of a property. The appraised value of the home is determined by the purpose of the appraisal. When purchasing real estate, the lender will want to make sure the amount you paid for the property is fair and current with market trends. The bank will hire an independent appraiser to protect themselves and the buyer from paying too much for the home. Buyers would typically like the appraised value to be what they offered for the home or higher. This new home purchase appraisal is related to the fair market value of the property. Buyer and seller beware however, if you have a refinance appraisal, this was not to determine fair market value. The re-finance appraisal is to determine the available amount of your new loan. Most owners of real estate want the assessed value low and the appraised value high. It is a good financial decision to know the value of your home and if you are taxed properly. A professional real estate agent can help you with questions you have about the fair market value of your property or the taxable assessment.  I just keep thinking, who is buying all these condos? The new construction condominium is outperforming single family home sales and driving a strong portion of our local economy. What does a condo buyer look like and what do they do? Three demographic driving forces increasing sales are the e-life, security, and luxury buyers. The e-life, a convenient no hassle lifestyle for our on the go employee. The workforce of today is expected to travel to do their job. What about the lawn, the snow storm, the maintenance the house needs? The condominium lifestyle makes this convenient and cost effective by eliminating all of these concerns with a monthly “take care of it” fee. What about security buyers? Perhaps living on your own is not as comforting as you would like. Safety may be a concern and having someone a step away could ease your mind and help you sleep a little easier. Many buyers who have medical concerns also feel more secure knowing they have someone close if there is an emergency or a need. Condominium living may be a resource that is tax exempt instead of a nursing care facility. Luxury is a word that is rarely used in the same sentence as condominium. Today’s single family home market is tough! Homes need repairs, they are not efficient, and in may price ranges have environmental concerns that are expensive to remedy. New construction condominiums are energy efficient, the latest building materials, functional to today’s lifestyles, and have real estate taxes in arrears. You can see why they may be considered “luxury.” These demographic changes in the way people live today broaden the functionality of today’s condominium demand. This trend is here to stay.
Did you ever wonder why some homes sell faster and for more money then yours? One factor might be the other home was “staged” properly. Homes that have been prepared to sell often have more buyer demand regardless of the market conditions. Home staging has become more popular with owners, Realtors, and an increasing segment of television media. Staging a house to sell maximizes the emotional and décor sense of the largest buyer segment in the real estate market. As a homeowner, you may consider a few options and levels of staging. The least expensive, free, is to ask a non-biased friend or co-worker to walk through the house as if they were a potential buyer. They can give you their opinion and point out ideas to de-clutter. Professional real estate agents are very familiar with the staging concept and can provide references for painters, plumbers, fix it vendors, and potential buyers concerns. Realtors know the market and the condition of the homes currently for sale. Home staging vendors are also available for a consulting fee or hourly rate. The amount spent in hiring a professional home stage company is well spent when you arrive at the closing table! The luxury service of hiring an interior designer to vignette your home is the highest level of staging. An interior designer may suggest wall colors or replacing or moving furniture to create a more emotional appeal to buyers. A few tips when preparing your house for sale is to neutralize wall and flooring colors. De-clutter all kitchen counters, bath vanities, dressers, and remove the hall of fame from your refrigerator. We want the buyer to picture themselves there, not you. Ask someone who does not live in the house if there are any smells or dirty items they may see that you may not. Storage bins, closet organizers, and shelves create more sense of space. Remember, buyers are buying SPACE! Since you are moving anyway, start packing. One third less personal property and open closet space will make your house seem larger. For a quick sale and more money, consider the level of home staging that best suits you. References are available upon request. Heather Morris, CRS Certified Residential Specialist On line shopping saves you time and allows you to price compare in your convenience. Should your home mortgage be any different? Local buyers are finding the traditional safeguards are not applicable when shopping on-line. When shopping on line for your new home loan, research the following questions before making your decision. Is there a pre-payment penalty? The state of Iowa allows a consumer to pre-pay principle or payoff a loan without charges or cash-out fees. What if your internet mortgage is originated outside of Iowa? Many homeowners have their down payment or equity lost by these “surprise” fees when selling down the road. Does the good faith estimate include title insurance or the abstract extension fees? Iowa is the only state to have an abstract requiring an attorney’s opinion for clear title and title insurance. Make sure the closing cost fees quoted are all-inclusive for your area. Another traditionally undisclosed fee is the e-closing fee. Your internet mortgage lender will need a third party to receive and present all of your closing documents for you to sign. Would this internet mortgage meet Fannie Mae guidelines or is it Sub-prime lending? Sub-prime lending has created a new buzz word in the real estate industry, the ultra stretched consumer. Stretching your mortgage has become easier with forty year mortgages, adjustable rate mortgages (aka ARM loan or teaser rate) and stretched debt to income ratios. Compare your good faith estimate with a local lender that you can trust. Referrals by a professional real estate agent or closing company are excellent sources for lenders. Heather Morris Just in case you didn’t know, it’s a great time to buy a house! Whether you are renting, refinancing, trading up, or building, many factors are in your favor. Recent changes in home financing, tax benefits, and investment opportunities are keeping the real estate momentum moving forward. “Free Money” is one incentive for purchasing your first home. As a first time buyer you may qualify for local or state grants that assist with down payment and closing costs. With good credit, a down payment is not even needed to buy a home. Times are changing and the benefits to owning real estate keep getting better and easier. The stretch loan mortgages such as the interest only and the forty year loan are lending tools for a diverse buyer demographic. Need I mention that only a handful of times in the last thirty years had the fixed rate mortgage been this low? Great financial news for new and current home owners is the recent change in private mortgage insurance. For the first time in history, you may qualify to deduct your monthly mortgage insurance from your taxable income. When applying for your new home loan, ask your lender to prepare at least two Good Faith Estimates for your financing options so you can make the best financial choice for you. Have you ever considered a second home? If you qualify, the gain you would have from a second residence is tax exempt as long as you reside in it for two out of a five years. With many “snow bird” markets experiencing a pull back in pricing, this might be your time. In 2006, the National Association of Realtors reported that for the first time in history, the median sales price for a condominium was higher then the single family home. From first time buyers to secondary residences, it is your time to buy real estate. Lending options, home loan rates, and tax benefits are all in your favor. Make sure to review all of your financial options in your next real estate transaction. It may be easier then you think! “I’m so relieved, “says the seller, “no open houses!” So many times, we clean the house, pack up the kids and pets, and leave for the day to find that nobody came to the open house other then our neighbors and co-workers. Technology continues to change the way buyers research, educate, and buy real estate. Homes being sold today are found on multiple web sites with buyer benefit links to answer every and all questions buyers may have. An average of three out of four buyers view homes on line before calling a real estate agent or lender. The virtual open house is an amazing web marketing tool benefiting both buyers and sellers. One of the benefits sellers receive from an IPIX virtual tour is results based marketing. Realtors using this tool provide seller service reports with the number of “hits” compared to “ghost” buyers touring their home. Hits represent the amount of buyers who matched their personal wish list to your home. Ghost buyers are the buyers who download your virtual home tour and viewed links offered on your home. These buyer prospects can run a monthly payment, view your property disclosure, compare school statistics, and map quest options. As a seller, this is a hassle free way for buyers to view your home. Safety has also become an issue and hosting virtual open houses protects your family and assets. Non-qualified buyers can be eliminated and qualified and motivated buyers can view your house with a professional real estate agent. Buying real estate has also been made easier and faster because of the virtual tour. You can now search for a home on YOUR time and have your privacy respected. You receive immediate information with no down time. Buyers are now in the driver seat searching their price window, areas, and features they want in their home. Buyers can email or call the real estate agent for any questions they may have and schedule a home viewing. Being able to qualify themselves and the homes they want to tour saves buyers, sellers, and realtor’s time. With virtual tours, highly qualified real estate agents are meeting the needs of buyers and sellers more efficiently then ever before. Isn’t it frustrating when you are looking for answers and you can’t find them? I’m sure many of you have drove past a home for sale and wondered how much it was? Should you go look at it? What do you do? Back in the “day,” you would call the Realtor, the keeper of the keys. Today’s buyers and sellers are changing the real estate industry in how they search for homes and answers. Searching the internet has become the preferred shopping guide for real estate. The internet does not always answer your questions and can still be frustrating. What web site do you search first? Is the home still for sale? What if there was a superstore for home sales? This is IDX! The Internet Data Exchange link allows Multiple Listing Service home data to be shared publicly. Each real estate broker who chooses to participate must sign an IDX agreement with their local Board of Realtors. The IDX opens the door for consumers to search one site, all homes. Just a few years ago, when the MLS offered to share listing data with members, many Realtors and Brokers worked diligently to keep the Multiple Listing Service home data from being posted illegally on-line. Look how we’ve progressed form those days! The main advantage of the IDX is to provide buyers and sellers a chance to see all properties available in the market on one web site. You may ask about Realtor.com? Not all homes are posted to this website because there is a fee to the real estate broker and agents. Many agents choose not to spend the money to feature homes and the level of exposure on-line must be purchased by the agent. The IDX link for the Cedar Rapids Association allows people searching the internet to have up to date information with a direct link into the Multiple Listing Service Realtors use. A web page can be created by a professional real estate agent for you to view all the homes that match your search criteria and new listings as they hit the “hot sheets” with a property disclosure download. This link is your ability to have accurate and up to date home data when YOU want it. Skogman Realty has signed the IDX agreement and will share their entire home inventory publicly. For an IDX example, you may visit HeatherAhrensRealEstateTeam.com and click the Search the MLS tab. Homeowners and Radon So, if you can’t see it, taste it, or smell it, why do I care if my house has radon? Homeowners today are wondering why there is so much concern with radon testing. In 1998, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) released a report that 12% of all lung cancer deaths are linked to radon. Radon has been determined the second leading cause of death due to lung cancer.Radon is a cancer causing radioactive gas in the air created from the natural break down of uranium in the soil, rock, and water. Radon can seep from the ground into your home through floor drains, sump pits, concrete cracks and other small spaces. These radioactive particles can attach to your lungs when inhaled causing health problems. I recommend you know the radon level in the home you live in. The EPA suggests reducing radon levels in your home to less then four picocuries per liter (pCi/L). The age of your home is not relative A radon test kit can be purchased for about twenty dollars or a radon specialist can be hired to test. Once radon has been detected, a mitigation system can be installed to lower the radon level to recommended EPA standards. When buying or selling real estate, a discussion of radon testing is recommended and an option on most real estate purchase contracts. Feel free to email me at hahrens@skogman.com with questions or concerns you may have about radon and your home. You can also research additional information at www.epa.gov. Heather Morris CRS, GRI. ABR, CLHMS Skogman Realty The choice is yours. How do you want to be represented in your next real estate transaction? Before committing to a real estate relationship, make sure you understand and approve in writing the type of agency that you want. As a customer, the Realtor that you are working with will assist with the sale but not represent you. The Realtor must be honest, disclose material defects in the home, and use care in preparing your documents. As a customer you should not disclose personal confidences, negotiating strategy, or any financial information that may harm you when speaking with a Realtor. At the point you decide to move from customer to client, an agency form must be signed to protect you. As a client, the Realtor represents your best financial interest, works for you in confidence, and places your interests ahead of all others. Your private conversations and motivations in the sale are now protected. An example of specific performance that a Realtor can provide to you is any information that may help your decision to buy or sell, list to sale price ratios, absorption rates, history of the property, buyer and seller market analysis to negotiate the best price for you. Do not assume you are a client; this agreement needs to be in writing. There are many forms of agency relationships in the state of Iowa. Each real estate broker will need to disclose in writing how they will represent you. Before disclosing anything that may harm your negotiations, make sure to you know if you are a customer or a client. Best wishes in your next real estate transaction. Heather Morris CRS, GRI, ABR, CLHMS If you’ve been sitting on the fence waiting for the right time to get into the real estate market, now is your time! There are many factors in your favor that get your more house, cheaper payments, and more tax deductions. This sounds too good to be true, let me explain. Have you looked outside lately? In our real estate market, temperatures can range from freezing cold to a high summer humidity with temps in the ninety’s. A maintenance free exterior is a key factor in the appreciation of your home’s value. An age old question in the real estate business is “If I remodel to meet my needs, will I get my money back?” The answer to the question is case by case. Home-owner motivators to remodeling usually include lot characteristics, school district, work commute, and family. Home-owner motivations to relocating are diminishing returns, functional obsolesce in the home, and construction and energy efficiency updates. Winter thaw and spring rains have caused home-owners grief with water entering their homes. I have a few recommendations for protecting your home and valuables from water.
 NUMBER1EXPERT™ © Best Image Marketing and/or its clients. All rights reserved. All information deemed reliable but not guaranteed. |
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