Tag Archives: sellers

Six numbers have the power to change your life…

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It’s happened again…a single ticket has won the estimated $400 million Powerball…one ticket that beat the 1 in 175,223,510 odds and drew the winning numbers: 7, 10, 22, 32, 35 and Powerball 19.

We’ve all heard the statistics.  You are more likely to die from a bee sting (one in 6.1 million) or be struck by lightning (one in 3 million), but we keep playing — most likely because the thought of winning even $1 million is much more fun than the thought of being attacked by a shark (one in 11.5 million).

We may never know the name or names of the winners. South Carolina lottery rules lets winners remain anonymous if they want.  The ticket was sold Wednesday afternoon at a Murphy gas station in that 5.8-square-mile town of Lexington, South Carolina, home to just 17,800…in a town this size, you know all the neighbors are looking at each other and thinking…it wasn’t me, was it you?  

Wednesday’s haul was the fourth largest lottery price in U.S. history.  The biggest payload was $665 million in the Mega Millions game in March 2012. The greatest Powerball jackpot was the $590.5 million won with a single ticket in Florida this past May.  But $400 million, with a cash value of $223 million, is still pretty sweet.

So why do we play?  When my Dad quit smoking decades ago, he decided to put his smoke money toward buying lottery tickets, I buy tickets because…well, you never know!  When I’m feeling particularly stressed about money, Dad tells me to make sure and get my tickets and put them under my pillow to dream on them…I did win $400 once in the Powerball and win a few dollars here and there on the Hoosier Lottery, it’s like going to the casino…only take what you are willing to lose – I’m good with losing a few bucks a week on a game of chance!

According to an article on CNN, human behavior expert Dr. Wendy Walsh said last year when the Mega Millions jackpot hit $656 million. “We have the Cinderella complex — there’s a fairy godmother who’s going to come in and save us.”  people love to have a rescue fantasy.  What do you think?  I just think it’s fun, I was raised to depend on myself for my lifestyle…my parents instilled a great work ethic in all of us, I work hard for what I have and with the pending sale of my home, I could be out of debt by the end of the year!  So looking forward to that and will talk about my future plans in a later post.

In December, during my 12 Wishes of Christmas series, I shared my thoughts on what I would do if I won…what would you do????

Hoosier Lotter Ticket

Vicki Reed

Multiple Offers on the Home of your Dreams?

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Oh No!  You’ve found the home of your dreams and so did someone else!  We are starting to see multiple offers on homes in the Indianapolis area…why you ask?  Inventory is low and homeowners are listening to their Realtor about the true Fair Market Value of their home and pricing it to sell!  What can you do to be ready to win the bidding war?   Here are a few boot camp tips to prepare you to win:

Pre-Qualify with a Lender who will be available when you need them

To compete, Buyers need to be prepared financially for the home purchase. Offering the most money might seem like the best way to win, however, Sellers don’t always choose the highest offer. Instead, they often prefer offers that are most likely to go through and that meet their conditions. You need a Lender who doesn’t work Monday through Friday and turn off the telephone and email at the end of the business day.

The Shanley Team at Inlanta Mortgage is just such a lender, take a look at my post “The Power in the Pre-Qual” to get a real understanding of their level of Customer Service AND they work when I do, which means they are available when YOU need them!  Having that pre-qualification is almost as good as cash in multiple offer situations.

Offer Higher Earnest Money 

Earnest Money in Indiana is typically .75% to 1% of list price, so if you are offering on a $200,000 home, $1,500 or $2,000 would be normal…but if you offered a $5,000 check (remember, it will be cashed!) AND you were pre-qualified this can sometimes impress the Sellers.  Just make sure you are able to fully meet all deadlines and terms of the contract so you don’t lose your deposit.

Be Flexible!

If the Sellers are building a home or waiting for the school year to end before moving and thought it would take longer to sell their home, consider offering to allow them to stay – a post closing rent back can put you ahead of the pack if you can be flexible!  I represented a Seller who was building a home and because the  Buyer was flexible with possession date (Sellers were able to close and continue to live in their home for 3 additional weeks) the Sellers agreed to a purchase price $5,000 less than they wanted because they didn’t have to move twice and find short term housing!

Listen to your Realtor!

As your Agent, I am working for you to make certain you don’t get caught up in the excitement of a bidding war and overpay for a home…let me do the best job possible for you!  Think you are ready to head out and start looking?  Let’s talk!

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Vicki Reed

We found the home of your dreams…what’s next?

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We’ve found your new home, negotiated the deal, now the real work begins!

As your Realtor, I will deliver the Earnest Money check to the Seller’s Agent – remember, this check will be cashed!  The funds you put down varies with the price of the home – good rule of thumb is 1% of the purchase price…$175,000 home = $1,750.00 Earnest Money.  Earnest Money is a deposit made to a seller showing the buyer’s good faith in a transaction.

I will notify your lender and provide them a copy of your Purchase Agreement. You will work with them to complete your loan process.  It is important that you respond to all of their requests as quickly as possible!  We cannot close on the purchase of your new home until they say we can!

It is important that you schedule a Home Inspection as soon as possible! The clock starts ticking immediately on our time to schedule, complete and request any inspection repairs, 12 – 15 days is standard for most Purchase Agreements.  I recommend Iron Gate Inspection Services, it is not necessary for you to be present for the entire inspection, but you should be there for the last hour so that the inspector can review the report and home with you, and as your Agent, I will stop by the Inspection as well just to make sure everything is going well.  We will work together to review the Inspection Report and formulate an Inspection Response. This is the second round of negotiations.  The key to Inspection Response negotiations is that we share the entire report with the Seller’s Agent and be reasonable in our repair requests.

Closing…finally! Again, until your lender provides “clear to close”, we are at their mercy!  We generally have an idea about when it will be, I will keep and eye process to make certain we are always in compliance with the Purchase Agreement.  I will notify you of when and where the closing will be scheduled and as we near the date…how much money you may need to bring to closing.

The most frequent questions I get about Closing are:

How long will it take to sign all the paperwork?
The closing itself generally takes from 30 to 60 minutes – sometimes longer depending on wire transfers and paperwork.

What do I need to bring to closing?
Buyers and Sellers both need a form of photo ID and any money you owe should be in the form of a cashier’s check – if over $10,000, funds are required to be wired.

As your Agent, it is my job to protect you, fight for you and navigate the process of purchasing a new home…and I am great at my job.  Contact me today and let’s get you a new home!

House shopping

Vicki Reed

Something to think about BEFORE you put your home on the market…

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Whether you are thinking of up-sizing or down-sizing, have you thought about how you are going to pay for your next home?  For most of us, financing is necessary, but will you qualify for that next home?  BEFORE you decide to list your home, please, please get pre-qualified for your next one!

Lesson Learned…

Home was listed for sale at the beginning of September, Buyer made an offer on December 2, a little back and forth and they were under contract on December 5 with a close date of February 1.  As part of the Buyer due diligence, they had a home inspection by Iron Gate Inspection Services, Buyer’s Agent provided Inspection Response to the Seller‘s Agent and Seller quickly agreed to fix everything on inspection response.

Fast forward to January 18, 2 weeks before closing, Buyer receives a letter from an Attorney retained by Seller, that Seller is unable to secure a mortgage and Seller no longer wishes to sell their home and asked that Buyer give them “good title” and walk away.

Buyer retained an Attorney and by January 22, Seller was told they must close on the sale of their home on February 1 as agreed to in the contract.

What would you have done?  In this case, the Buyer was my client and we won and she will be moving into her new home this weekend, BUT, I also represent Sellers and this has changed MY listing presentation and I will be asking my Sellers to pre-qualify PRIOR to their home going on the market.  My goal is to Turn your Dreams into an Address…but I can’t do that without your due diligence, know your status before making a decision to sell, you don’t want to go from owning to renting.  The Shanley Team at Inlanta Mortgage is ready and willing to work through this with you and I’ve made it easy for you with a link on my home page (as well as in the right hand column of this blog post) directly to their application.  Also check out my post “Power of the Pre-Qual“…it’s not just for Buyer’s anymore!

Not sure of the current value of your home?  Visit my website and request a Current Market Analysis of your home’s value and let’s talk!

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Vicki Reed

Do you know about Meetup.com?

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As a Realtor, I’m always looking for networking opportunities and struggle because a lot of them cost significant dollars to join and only allow one of each profession among their ranks.  Several years ago…before my move to the Real Estate biz…I found Meetup.com because I was bored with my life and looking for things to do that would shake things up a bit!

Meetup.com has groups for anything you can imagine and if you can’t find something that interests you, you are encouraged start a Meetup of your own.  Founded in NYC following 9/11 (click here to read a message from the Founder), Meetup was created to use the internet to get off the internet and actually meet and interact with others who have similar interests but that you might never have met.  There are groups for Moms, Singles over 40, Live Theater Lovers, Movie Buffs, Bikers, Hikers, Christian Women in Business, and even groups who like Beer!  I encourage you to see what is there that might interest you!

I have used it for several things over different times in my life over the last few years, now I use it to find networking opportunities and master mind groups for small business.  At Keller Williams Indy Metro NE, I created a group of Independent Agents, MAX T Agents (Maximizing Independent Agents Extreme Talents), we support each other, back each other up, share business ideas and best practices and more and more lately we’ve been talking about networking opportunities and where to find them.  I always suggest Meetup.com and am surprised how few people know about it!  Business networking is defined as “a socioeconomic activity by which groups of like-minded business people recognize, create, or act upon business opportunities.”  These are generally small groups who meet for a specific purpose, some weekly, some monthly, but always worthwhile.

So for all of you out there complaining that you do don’t have anyone to do anything with…check out the groups on Meetup.com…WordPress (the host of this blog) even has one in Indy!  I’m thinking of starting one for First Time Home Buyers…what do you think?

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Vicki Reed