About what you wonder? Your air conditioning system and mold tests! Are our preparing to put your Pelican Bay home on the market this season? Take a moment and read about how mold tests can jeopardize the sale of your home.
As Sofia Petrillo used to say, "Picture this" after being on the market you finally have a Buyer make an offer on your home. Hurray! You think you are on your way to spending the money from the sale of your home but wait; there is a contingency in the contract for a home inspection. Your buyer decides to do a home inspection with a radon and mold test. No problem you think.......until the mold test results come back from the lab.
Unlike radon levels, mold levels have no federal guidelines. If you have over 4 pico curies per liter of radon, you are over the federal guidelines and you will need to re mediate your home for radon. A typical mold test will have a home inspector take an outside sample of air and an indoor sample of air. The samples are then sent to a lab for processing. If the results come back showing a higher amount of mold spores in the indoor air in comparison to the outside air, you will have a problem. One problem could be determining the source of the mold. Do you have a water leak or moisture coming in some where in your home? Another problem could be that the Buyers may be frightened by the high mold spore count and back out of the contract. A third problem will be now that your home has been determined to have a "higher" mold spore count, you will be forced to disclose this problem to any other buyers.
Mold remediation is expensive. A search will have to be done to determine where any moisture is coming into the unit and then everything in the unit has to be cleaned and HEPA scrubbed. You can only imagine how time consuming this type of cleaning can be.
If you are preparing to place your Pelican Bay home up for sale, I would suggest that you do the following BEFORE you place your home on the market. I would hope that if you are not in your Pelican Bay home that often, you will pay particular attention to my suggestions.
Here are some things to look for before you put your home on the market. Are there any active water leaks in your unit? The water valve under your bathroom sink which has that slow leak you keep meaning to fix; has the cabinet board under the leak started to bubble up and turn black? Do you have so much "stuff" under your utility sink you can't see if you have a leak? What about the valves for your washer do they leak a "bit"? Has your ice maker or dishwasher ever leaked into surrounding cabinetry? Is your kitchen faucet lose and water dripping down onto your cabinetry. Are sprinkler heads directed
on your walls or windows? Note the mold on around the bottom of the window sill in the photo to the right. All these things and more can cause mold to form.
I remember when Don and I lived up in Downers Grove, IL and would come down rather infrequently to enjoy the condo we had purchased in Glencove. When we visited we were on vacation and did not want to involve ourselves with condo cleaning. If you are a Pelican Bay owner who rents out their unit and does not come down to stay in your unit that often you may want to do an inventory of cleaning chores. Ask yourself, when was the last time the:
Fan blades were dusted
Baseboards were dusted around and behind the furniture
Doors were dusted
Air handler door cleaned
Pictures in the unit dusted
Wire shelving racks in the closet been washed so they don't look yellow
Furniture and drapes been vacuumed for dust
Furniture pulled away from the wall and the backs of all the furniture cleaned
Tops of all your cabinetry dusted
Dust left sitting will turn into mold, especially if your air conditioning system is not working properly.
Let's talk about your air conditioning system. Do you leave your fans on in your unit when you are not in residence to circulate the air? If you are not here that often, who changes your air handler filter? Most air conditioning companies will recommended that your filter be changed monthly. When was the last time you had your air handler cleaned? How do the venting slates on the door to your air handler look? Does the door look like the photo below? Is it covered with a dust? Has the dust started turning black? If so, you will have issues with mold. Before you put your home on the market, it might be wise to have your air handler cleaned.
Today's real estate market is a Buyer's market. Sellers should understand that issues such as mold can scare a potential Buyer away from completing a sale. The old adage "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure" is certainly true in today's real estate market.
Are you a member of Facebook? Login in or sign up and join the Pelican Bay in Naples, Florida a Beach Neighborhood Group on Facebook. Feel free to posts photos, videos and experiences about Pelican Bay. Start discussions on items of importance to you about our community.
Should you be thinking of selling your home in Pelican Bay and would like a candid assessment of what it would take to sell your home in today's market, I would be happy to provide you with a free market evaluation. Feel free to give me a call at 239-594-2780 or e-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com.
Would you like to own home in our unique beach community? Search here, once at the search page, you can search by development, save your search and new listing updates will be e-mailed to you.
Care to share a comment about this blog entry? Just click on the Add Comment link at the bottom of this blog entry. Comments are always welcome.
About the author:
Lynn Wilber is a Real Estate Professional who lives in Pelican Bay. Her 31 years of real estate experience and her area expertise have been valuable resources for Pelican Bay Sellers and Buyers. For more information, please contact Lynn Wilber or call 239-594-2780.
Sell Furnished or Unfurnished: Is That The Question?
Sell Furnished or Unfurnished: Is That The Question?
Should you sell your Pelican Bay home furnished, turnkey furnished or unfurnished? What is the difference between these terms? Will selling your home furnished help you sell your home faster?
The Naples Association of Realtors® allows Realtors® to search the Multiple Listing Service for listings that might meet their clients needs with certain search fields. When an agent takes a listing, they will enter the listing into the MLS and fill out required fields. One of these fields is called FURNISHED.
An agent, who is marketing a home, has a choice to enter in the FURNISHED field one of the following terms:
Furnished – All furniture stays with the house
Partly Furnished – Only some furniture stays with the house
Unfurnished – No furniture stays with the house
Turnkey – All furniture and furnishings stay with the house
Negotiable – Some furniture may stay, all furniture could stay, everything could stay, no furniture could stay. It will depend on the price.
If any furniture is to stay, an inventory list will be drawn up and signed by both parties.
When an agent obtains a listing, they should speak with the Seller about what term they want listed in this field because the price that is placed on the listing could include all the furnishings in the house, just furniture, some furniture or no furniture at all.
Some Buyers find it easier to make an offer and ask for the unit turnkey furnished. If the Buyer offers the right price, the Buyer will get the house and all the furnishing in it which will include all the pots, pans, linens and kick-knacks. This saves the Buyer an inordinate amount of time buying furniture and decorating the unit. The Buyer, however, will have to have the same taste as the Seller.
It has been my experience that when it comes to furniture, most Sellers over estimate the value of their furniture. Should a Seller desire to sell their furniture with their home, I would advise them to total up what they originally paid for the furniture. A rule of thumb is that most furniture is only worth about a third of what was originally paid.
The market that we are currently in is a price driven market. My advice to all Sellers is to plan on a price that you would want for the furniture. A Seller’s main focus should be on getting the home sold. My philosophy is to price a home as unfurnished. Should a Buyer asked about furniture, the Seller can have a separate price that can be given to the Buyer for the furniture, part of the furniture, or turkey furnished. Sellers, please note that if furniture is sold separately from the sale of the home, tax will have to be paid.
Will selling your home furnished help you sell your home faster? The answer is maybe. More importantly, I believe it is more important to have furniture in the home while it is being sold. Let’s take a look at the following photos:
This is a living room that is unfurnished. It has been freshly painted and has new carpeting but there is no furniture in this unit.
This unit is the exact same model with furniture.
This is unit is also the exact same model as the two above.
All three of these units are the exact same floor plan but look at the difference paint and furniture can make! If you are a Pelican Bay Seller who is attempting to sell a unit that has no furniture in it, you may want to consider renting some furniture while you are selling your unit. Renting furniture and staging the furniture could help your unit sell faster. In the 31 years I have been selling real estate, I have found that most Buyers have a hard time picturing how furniture can be placed in a home. When a home is void of furniture, it is less "homey" and welcoming to a Buyer. Take a moment to look at these three photos again and think about which photo in more inviting to you.
All that being said, let's take a look at some real estate statistics in Pelican Bay.
Real Estate Activity in Pelican Bay 1/1/09-7/29/09 by Building Design
Active
Pending
Sold
UnSold
Low Rises
81
17
43
68
Mid Rises
23
1
4
26
High Rises
173
11
46
136
Attached Villas
16
0
15
14
Detached Villas
11
4
10
11
Single Family
4
7
11
30
Let's compare the numbers above with the last months stats:
Real Estate Activity in Pelican Bay 1/1/09-6/28/09 by Building Design
Active
Pending
Sold
Unsold
Low Rises
92
19
34
47
Mid Rises
27
1
4
18
High Rises
191
11
40
95
ATTACHED Villas
14
3
13
13
DETACHED Villas
15
1
9
6
Single Family
40
6
10
21
While the number of active listings seem to be decreasing, the number of unsold listings are increasing.
Thank you for visiting my Pelican Bay Blog. If you are in town during the month of August, you may want to visit Naples Tomato and use this coupon.
Should you be thinking of selling your home in Pelican Bay and would like a candid assessment of what it would take to sell your home in today's market, I would be happy to provide you with a free market evaluation. Feel free to give me a call at 239-594-2780 or e-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com.
Would you like to own home in our unique beach community? Search here, once at the search page, you can search by development, save your search and new listing updates will be e-mailed to you.
Care to share a comment about living in Pelican Bay with us? Just click on the Add Comment link at the bottom of this blog entry. Comments are always welcome.
About the author:
Lynn Wilber is a Real Estate Professional who lives in Pelican Bay. Her 31 years of real estate experience and her area expertise have been valuable resources for Pelican Bay Sellers and Buyers. For more information, please contact Lynn Wilber or call 239-594-2780.
Have you found yourself thinking, “YIKES it is April! Season is almost over and my Pelican Bay home still has not sold! What should I do?”
The first thing I would recommend is that if you really do not have to sell your Pelican Bay home – get it off the market! If you do want to sell your home, you should sit down with your Realtor® and have a frank talk. What should you discuss? I’m glad you asked!
One of the first questions you need to ask your Realtor® is if you are being realistic or out in Fantasyland with your asking price. How many showings has your home had since the beginning of the season? What has the buyer feedback been on your home? If you have had 30 showings and the buyer feedback has been, “Buyers did not care for the view.” The bottom line is that 30 buyers chose not to buy your unit because of the view. What the buyers are really saying is that the price you are asking for the unit is too high for the view. You can not change your view; you can change your price. If you really want to sell your home, you need to have a blunt talk with your Realtor® about price.
What if the buyers’ comments were “The home is too dated.”? Buyers are really saying that they price you are asking for the unit is not in accord to the work they would have to do to update it. It has been my experience that it is the rare buyer who purchases in Pelican Bay who wants to do any remodeling. Buyers would rather be down at our lovely beach, soaking up the sun and drinking Margaritas or their beverage of choice rather then waiting for contractors.
Pelican Bay Sellers, do you still have Formica countertops in your kitchen and baths? Does white builder tile still appear in your home? Do you have almond colored kitchen cabinets? When was the last time you painted? Do you still have the round white builder grade hardware on your kitchen and bath cabinets? Are your bathroom mirrors starting to erode? Do you have lots of wallpaper in your residence? When was the last time you painted the interior of your home? How old is your carpeting? If your carpeting is sea foam green or mauve, it will date your residence no matter how clean it is.
After 31 years in this business, I can not tell you how many times I have had Sellers say to me “I do not want to change anything because the new buyer can change things the way they will want them.” Yes, this is true; however, Buyer will discount your price many times more if they have to do the work themselves.
If after reading this article, you feel that your unit may be a bit dated, call your Realtor® and have them give you a frank assessment of what they think should be done to update your home or what price point you need to be to get your home sold. If you need to do some updating, now may be the time to accomplish this as there are many people in the construction industry looking for work.
The Realtor.org magazine has an excellent article that discusses the cost of an improvement vs. the value received. If your Pelican Bay home has not sold, you may want to read this article. Here is a quick list if you do not have the time to read the entire article.
“Location, location, location”, has always been a real estate mantra. Yes, we live in a fantastic community; however, with sooooooooooo many choices of homes to buy in Pelican Bay buyers also look at “Condition, condition, condition”.
Should you be thinking of selling your Pelican Bay home and would like a candid assessment of what it would take to sell your home in today’s market, I would be happy to help. Feel free to give me a call at 239-594-2780 or E-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com
Looking for a home in our unique beach community? Search here, once at the search page, you can search by development, save your search and I will send you out new listings to you daily.
Care to share a comment with us? Just click on the comment link at the bottom of this blog entry.
Getting Your Pelican Bay Home to Close Successfully
Will you be down at the Sandpiper restaurant in Pelican Bay celebrating St. Patrick's Day tonight? I know that I will be wearing green tomorrow. There is a touch of Irish in me from my Mother's side of the family. While I might not be able to celebrate tomorrow evening, my husband and I will celebrate by throwing a St. Patrick's Day party for a large number of our friends. For the last several years my darling husband, Don who does not have a shred of Irish in him, except by association, always insists on making corn beef and cabbage. He fell into becoming a corn beef and cabbage expert one year when I was working and unable to cook for a party. He has been in charge of cooking ever since that party. What can I say? Hey! St. Patrick's Day falls in the middle of my busy season!
Have you had the luck of the Irish and managed to sell your Pelican Bay home? What can happen can possible happen, you think, that your contract might not come to closing? Well, as we all are aware, time have changed. One of the largest changes have been what banks require to give a loan. The pendulum has swung from banks giving everyone a loan to banks asking for mountains of paperwork.
Is your sale is subject to a buyer getting a loan? Your contract will have a date the buyer will have to have his loan approved. Typically a lender will issue a mortgage approval will all sorts of contingencies. Your Realtor® should be working in sync with the selling Realtor® to determine what contingencies must be resolved before the closing date. Note: the key words in the above sentence arebefore closing!
Not too long ago, I had a transaction where the Buyers’ bank required a copy of the property management’s employment contract with the condo association. The property management company did not want to give the lender a copy of the contract. The other Realtor® and I managed to come up with a solution for the lender and the property did close.
Because lenders are requiring so much paperwork, Buyers may have to ask the Sellers to extend the financing contingency date. Our Naples Area Board of REALTORS’® sales contracts specify that if a Buyer fails to give the Seller a financing contingency waiver, the Seller can terminate the contract. Some of you may remember actually obtaining a loan and closing on a property in two weeks. Today, that is not the case.
Remember the real estate boom? Multiple offers were being submitted on a single property. If you were a buyer submitting an offer with a financing contingency, your offer did not stand a chance of being accepted. Buyers started writing CASH offers on properties and obtaining a loan. “What happens?” you ask, “If a home has a cash contract on it and fails to close because the buyers’ lender did not have the loan approved?”
Good questions. Our Naples Area Board of REALTORS’® sales contracts stipulate that if a Buyer does not close on the date indicated on the contract, the Seller could possible keep the earnest money. As the earnest money is the Seller’s only remedy in our contract, typically the Sellers ask for 10% of the purchase price as earnest money. It does not sound like writing a cash offer without having all your financial ducks lined up is such a good idea, does it?
What started me down this path tonight was that pending sales are up a bit from last year in Pelican Bay.
Pelican Bay Pending & Closed Sales 01/01/2009-03/16/2009
# Active Listings
#Pending Sales
#Closed Sales
Low Rises
118
19
6
Mid Rises
33
1
0
High Rises
208
15
17
Villas Attached
22
5
3
Villas Detached
17
5
1
Single Family
50
4
0
While the number of pending are up slightly, we are at day 74 for the year on this chart and look at the number of closed sales!
On this St. Patrick’s Day, I wish you the luck of the Irish and the attentions of an astute Realtor® in buying or selling a home in our lovely community.
Should you be in need of a market evaluation on your home, give me a call at 239-594-2780 or e-mail me at Lynn@NaplesBuys.com
Looking for a home in our unique beach community? Search here, once at the search page, you can search by development, save your search and I will send you out new listings to you daily.
Care to share a comment with us? Just click on the comment link at the bottom of this blog entry.
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corn beef and cabbage. He fell into becoming a corn beef and cabbage expert one year when I was working and unable to cook for a party. He has been in charge of cooking ever since that party. What can I say? Hey! St. Patrick's Day falls in the middle of my busy season!.jpg)