When you go to your signing appointment a few days before closing, you will be signing your loan documents, some other fairly generic closing papers and the HUD 1 CLOSING STATEMENT.
Here in Washington, you only see your side of the HUD 1. On the samples you will see that one side is for the Seller's final figures and the other is for the Buyer's. But when you get your actual paperwork, you will only see your figures and not the figures of the other party in the transaction.
I always read the second page first, as that total is brought forward to the first page. So you should first review the detailed costs on Page 2 and then move to Page 1.
The Closing Statement groups costs by numbered lines. Page two starts with the 700 series of costs which pertain to the real estate commissions and is only shown to the seller. The 800 series are the buyer's loan costs which only appear to the buyer. The 900 series are the Prepaids shown to the buyer. The 1000 series are the lender impounds shown to the buyer. The 1100 series are the Title Insurance and Closing Agent Fees which are shared fees and the buyer sees his and the seller sees his.
Page 1 carries forward the total costs and prepaids from Page 2 and tells the buyer how much they need to bring to closing in the form of a Cashier's Check payable to the Closing Agent. On the Seller side it shows the amount the seller will be receiving as Net Proceeds.
If you are selling a house and buying a house on the same day, you would subtract your net proceeds from your sale from the amount due on your purchase, and bring a check for the difference.
May. 27, 2006 - Rate of Absorption of Properties on Market
A simple explanation using the above photo would be that the three arrows that made it through to the bottom of the red disk are the homes that have SOLD. At the top of the red disc you see six trying to get through, they represent the homes on market. If 3 of 6 sell, that is a 50% rate of absorption. If three sold in a month, then the six on market would reperesent a two month supply. 3 remaining on market would be a one month supply.
Rate of absorption is a tool sellers and their agents use to determine price based on SUPPLY AND DEMAND.
It is best used on much larger quantities than the rudimentary example, as those three homes not sold may have had their own specific reasons why they did not sell.
If you apply the basic example on a broader scale, it is useful. Let's say you are putting a condo on the market priced at $215,000 in 98034 today. 25 properties sold in the last six months in that price range in that zip code and 47 sold in 12 months. I used $10,000 over and $10,000 under for price "range". The figures pretty much prove out at 50 per year selling in that price range in that zip code.
There are ten in escrow today at that price range and only two for sale. If 50 sell in a year, than 4 or so sell each month, and it being high season, 4 on average can be 8 in this month, as is proven by the number currently in escrow with 80% being 30 day escrows.
So the supply is low and the demand is high. You may be able to push your price 5% above the last sale price, given these supply and demand calculations. I say 5%, because in this price range you will likely have to deal with appraisal considerations.
If you are looking at buying or selling a house in 98033 for $1.1 million, the supply and demand considerations would be dramatically different. Let's use "range" at $one million to $1.2 million if you are planning to go on market at $1.5 million. Only TWO sold in the last six months, in fact only FIVE sold in the last year and Two are for sale. So that is a six month supply!
The data is less reliable in this price range, as many properties in this price level are built and sold without passing through the mls. Some people move out of their old house temporarily, build a new house themselves on the lot, and then move back in to the new house that is now worth over a million dollars. So more homes EXIST in this price range, than are SOLD in this price range. Also, some people buy a house for $600,000 and have it torn down and a new house put on the lot before they move in. That is why you see so many homes in this price range around town, more than appear to have sold using either the mls or the tax records. But then, that's another subject altogether!
Suffice it to say that Rate of Absorption is a more useful too when applying prices UNDER a million than it is for property priced OVER a million.
It's a whole new concept. It's four blogs in one. It scrolls down like a regular blog. It indexes posts by Title for those who want to read about Earnest Money or Staging, it categories for people who want to scroll by category AND it shows posts by name, month to month in the Archives.
Now a Buyer doesn't have to scroll all the way back to January 1st to find what they are looking for. Just click on the topic in the index and WaLa!! Right to the point!
I know, it's a little odd, but then...what did you expect?
Staging your home before putting it on the market is simply one of the steps in "Positioning Your Home to Sell".
I recently acquired my Accredited Staging Professional designation, but frankly, staging homes before putting the house on the market is not a new concept. There are key areas of the home on which people base their buying decision. First is curb appeal. If they don't want to come in the house, it doesn't matter what you do with the inside of it. The entire first floor is very important as this is where the buyer will view enternaining and impressing their friends. The master suite including the bath, is next in line.
For many years, new home builders have staged their model homes with great success. Now the resale market is better able to compete with New Construction by using the same strategy of giving the buyer a better idea of what the house or condo can look like in its best condition. If you have ever been to a New Construction Model Home, you know what staging is. Your real estate professional should assist you in making your house look THAT good, or as close to that as possible, especially the first 10 days it is on market.
All homes sell. But the staged home will sell faster and at a higher price.
There is a lot of confusion these days about the Buyer Agent Fee. Is it paid by the seller and the listing agent "to procure you" for the benefit of the seller? Sounds antiquated, doesn't it? Yet that is what most insiders think is happening. Let's assume that you believe the Buyer Agent fee is paid by you as part of the sale price, for the purpose of hiring somone to represent you, the buyer, in the real estate transaction. Sounds much more civilized, doesn't it? Since you are paying it as part of the sale price and part of your mortgage payment, then let's assume you can also negotiate it, and offer some advices in that regard.
There are some limitations. Mainly there is a limit to the amount of cash you can receive in credits. This limit is set by your lender and is often different from individual borrower to individual borrower depending on your personal borrower credentials. By the end of the transaction, if you have negotiated credits in excess of the amount allowed, you cannot be paid "off the sheet" or "outside of closing" as that is Lender Fraud.
But you can, if you know the amount early enough in the transaction, take the difference against the Sale Price of the home. To effect this method of credit, you need to make the changes, with the seller's signature as well since it is not a unilateral choice, before the loan documents are drawn.
Yes, I know, you have to find someone who will treat you, the buyer, as an equal to the seller in the transaction. Sounds simple enough. Sounds like a fair way to look at it, doesn't it? I think so.
Getting your home ready for market is much easier if you have the right tools to get the job done quickly and well. The first step to Staging Your Home For Sale is to clean, clean, clean! And this product can save you both time and money. Think you need to paint the interior because of marks on the walls? Try this product first! Think those shower doors are frosted glass? Try this product and you may find that those shower doors were supposed to be clear and see through!
The Mr. Clean Eraser will give you better results than traditional cleaners, leave no fumes or tell tale odors and take you less time.
Here's an actual demonstraton by some weird girl in her bathroom that I thought was both informative and hilarious. CAUTION some offensive language.
The Beauty of Blogging is that just as "the eyes are the window to the soul", a blog is a glimpse of whether or not an agent's style will be compatible with your needs. By reading the Blog posts of various agents, you can pretty much tell if that agent is the type you want to represent you in the sale of purchase of your home. Some people want an agent who does what they are told; who follows instructions well. Some people want an agent who points out those things they may have missed, like the potential future obstruction of a view, or the inadequacies of the quality of some of the improvements.
For instance, I do some pretty weird things, like use my fingernails to ascertain the quality of the carpet. I mentally construct a "buyer profile" of the property, to determine if the buyer pool will be diminished, when and if, this buyer ever calls me back to sell the place. I always point out the resale strengths and weaknesses, before a buyer makes an offer. Some people HATE that. It gives them a headache. Some people LOVE that someone is looking out for their future value issues, so that all they have to do is decide if they like the place, or not.
Consumers finally have a great agent selection tool at their disposal, the BLOG. Use that tool wisely, and you won't find yourself in the middle of a relationship with an agent, only to find that their style is not compatible with your needs and desires.
Personally I like to go around the Lake from Kirkland on the Eastside, down Juanita Drive through Kenmore past Bastyr University hugging the Lake all the way around and down through Northgate and down to GreenLake. But most people take "the 520 Bridge" or the I-90 Bridge. The links above will give you tons of info and that last link is a cool web cam of the bridges, so you can decide by traffic conditions if you want to drive over the Bridge to the Eastside, or take the pleasant, scenic route around the Lake.
100 Years Old!! I know, Eddie Izzard would not be the least impressed, but it was a great celebration and a site worth visiting, especially for us locals.
And, of course, the City of Kirkland Website. It has just about everything you might want to know about every inch of Kirkland. See the Neighborhood Map, which is interactive. If you click on it, you can even tell who is planning to build or remodel, and where.
You might not care, but I'd like to tell you that Mary Alyce-Burleigh is an absolutely awesome woman. Kirkland is very lucky to have her as a member of City Council and I wish she was still Mayor. Jim's OK and all, I just think the former Maryor pro-tem is AWESOME, I'm sure Jim agrees as does everyone else who has ever had the privelege of seeing her in action.
I have no idea why this site is listed as a Kirkland Blog, but it has some fabulous photos of places around the world. If anyone can read, what appears to be Japanese, maybe you can tell me why it is a Kirkland site. Enjoyable in any event.
If anyone knows any other Kirkland links that I should include here, please note the site in a comment and I will add it.
ARDELL
DellaLoggia
On Seattle Real Estate including Kirkland, Bellevue, Redmond, Green Lake and most areas around Lake Washington North of Downtown Seattle.
Phone: 206-910-1000 - Mailto:Ardell@RainCityGuide.com
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as does everyone else who has ever had the privelege of seeing her in action.
