Tuesday, July 31, 2007 - Sometimes It's Hard to Say "Goodbye"

I talked to a seller the other day who just didn't want to sell his house. He figured he'd price it high, so no one would make an offer. When a buyer came through, and said "This is the one!", he said he wanted to shout "NO! It's not for sale!". It was an emotional wrench for him to sell, but health reasons had made the move inevitable.

There are a lot of reasons why sellers sell when they don't want to -- health, death in the family, money problems -- and sometimes even the seller isn't cognizant of the emotional tug-of-war going on internally. I've seen it in sellers of all ages, but particularly in the elderly, and especially if they've been in the house for decades upon decades. It may be the first home that the couple bought after getting married. Fifty, sixty years in a home is a long time to put down roots.

Many buyers can't imagine that kind of attachment to a place. Most of the buyers I work with haven't been alive 50 years, much less lived in the same place for that long.

Signs of seller reluctance? An insistence on a too-high price, along with a refusal to negotiate any terms. Foot-dragging on packing up the belongings. And just because a house is empty doesn't mean that the seller has mentally moved on. There may still be a strong attachment to overcome. Sometimes, it's important to let the seller just sit in the empty house and say goodbye.

Sometimes, when it's an estate sale, it's the children who have trouble letting go. They remember every scrape and every adventure. Today the very smell of wood chips can send me back to my childhood home -- and summer evenings sitting on top of the pile of mulch with friends, catching fireflies and whittling pieces of wood down to nothing. It's a good thing I'm not involved in selling the house I grew up in, because I might find it hard to be objective, even after all these years.

And the funny thing is, you don't even know you can't let go until it's time to do so. You think you're being so grown up and dispassionate -- until that last time you turn the key.

So don't be too impatient with reluctant sellers. They're just having trouble saying "goodbye".

(C) Susan Pruden.

Sunday, July 29, 2007 - Attaining Attic Accessability

I just love alliteration :)  But really, attic access can be a problem. If you live in a house like mine, you don't have much room for pull-down attic stairs. The hallway is just too small. And I've been in houses where the pull-down stairs are a feature of the bedroom ceiling. I've also been in houses where the pull-down stairs were sque-e-ezed into a tiny hallway and you have to stand in the bathroom to get the stairs fully extended.

Many homeowners just make-do with the attic scuttle -- a square hole in the ceiling with a hatch cover or just a piece of plywood sitting atop the opening. I've seen buyers stand on chairs, boxes or whatever is handy, trying to peer into the attic. It can be dangerous, precarious and just plain inconvenient.

So what's the solution? There's a new product -- too cutely called a Televator -- made by Werner, that really fits the bill. Go to their website and click on the videos to see how they work. The website says it's easy to install, too, but I never quite trust the guys who install them for a living when they say that. Tell me it's easy to install if you've never built anything in your life, then I might believe it!

But anyway, if you have a tiny scuttle for attic access, or just want additional attic access, this might be a good product to check out. It's nice to have an alternative to step ladders and those huge pull-down stairs.

(C) Susan Pruden.

Saturday, July 28, 2007 - Who's That At My Door?

One of the benefits of showing so many homes is that I get to see all kinds of neat stuff. This past winter I was in a townhouse up in Laurel and I noticed the little peep-hole for seeing who's at your front door. We have one at our front door and usually it's only good for letting me know that someone is there -- I can't usually tell WHO that someone is. And if they stand a little to the side, I can't see them at all.

Note: I don't open the door if you stand to the side. If I can't see you, you don't get to see me. At least until we get one of these neat do-hickeys.

Anyway, this particular peep-hole is called a Door Scope and it's like having a little color monitor on your door! It's bright and clear, you don't have to stand with your eye pressed up against it to see through it, and it's got a very nice wide-angle lens. They range in price from $14.50 to $29.50.

I'm so glad we got something good out of that particular showing, because the real estate company forgot to call their client and let her know that we were coming through. We let ourselves into the house at our appointed time (using the lockbox as instructed), set off the alarm, which got the owner out of the shower and scared her half-to-death. The buyers decided they'd seen enough at the front door and we left.

But not without noticing how cool the Door Scope was.

If I were selling my house, I'd definitely want one of these things. Okay, even though I'm not selling, I want one. Are you reading this, honey???

(C) Susan Pruden.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007 - What Does Your Pre-Approval Letter Say About You?

It's commonplace for a pre-approval letter to accompany an offer on a listing. The following are actual pre-approval letters that have been submitted along with offers on a few of my listings. As you'll see, they vary greatly in what they say.

1) The above referenced purchaser(s) has submitted a preliminary mortgage loan application to our company. Based on the information provided (i.e., income credit and debt obligations). The purchaser qualifies for the above loan amount and interest rate. Final approval is subject to verification of an appraisal and the purchase of suitable title and hazard insurance.

As you can see, this one doesn't say that they actually reviewed any documentation, and that the application is preliminary. Not sure what that means, but it sure doesn't make me feel like the lender has gone to any effort to substantiate their opinion of probable loan approval.

2) Congratulations! Double Y Mortgage Company has found you eligible for a mortgage loan towards the purchase of your primary residence in Maryland.  This approval is based on credit, income, assets and other information you have provided to us at this time. Please note that an underwriter will issue final approval at a later date after reviewing the purchase contract and other related information.

Again, no mention of actually reviewing documentation. Usually, this information is verbally provided by the applicant, then followed up with hard copies of paystubs, bank statements and W-2s. Did they do that here? Maybe, but I'm not sure.

3) Based upon our review of your credit history and additional information you provided, we are pleased to advise you that you have been pre-approved for a mortgage loan in the base amount of $180,000.  This loan approval is subject to final appraisal and a fully executed sales agreement of the property.

What additional information? For all I know, the borrowers gave the loan officer the name of his pets. Just not enough information.

4) Mr. and Mrs. Jones have been pre-approved by Double X Mortgage Services, LLC, for a mortgage loan. This is based on a tri-merge credit report, pay stubs, bank statements and conventional cash to close. Mr. and Mrs. Jones qualified for a conventional loan in the amount of $495,000. A final loan approval will be issued based on the following:

1) Conventional final underwriting
2) Contract ratification
3) Satisfactory appraisal.

All other documents are on file and the application is currently being processed.

See the difference? This last one tells me something. It still isn't perfect, but we know that his documentation has been reviewed. We know that the application is in process. All this letter tells me is that the odds are that the borrower will be approved. It's better than nothing and way better than the other 3 letters.

When an offer is submitted on one of my listings, I call the lender and ask about the borrower's qualifications. Usually the lender doesn't want to give me any details about the borrower's finances, which is the right thing to do. But my questions have more to do with the lender than with the borrower. I want to know how thoroughly the lender has screened this borrower.

This is a typical conversation between me and the lender:

Me: I'm just following up on the buyer's qualifications for this loan.

Lender: Oh, they qualify with no problems. Credit scores look great, their income is fine. No problems with this one.

Me: So you've pulled an tri-merged credit report or just an in-file credit report.

Lender: Well, an infile, but it looks great. We don't anticipate any problems on the tri-merge.

Me: And the income -- you've received copies of W-2s and paystubs and reviewed them?

Lender: I think so...wait...no, they're supposed to fax those over any time now. But they're way over qualified, so no problems there.

Me: Bank statements? They're putting 10% down. Do they have enough to close?

Lender: 10% down? We qualified them for 100% financing. I don't know if they have more cash, I'll have to check.

Me: Your letter didn't state the amount of downpayment, the interest rate or the specific type of financing, so I'm not sure if what you've approved them for matches the offer that they made on the property.

Lender: Well, I'll have to get back to you.

Buyers should be aware that cutting corners at this state of the game can have a very serious effect on getting their offers accepted. What surprises me is how few real estate agents call and interview the lenders. Many I've talked to feel that the lender won't give them any information anyway, so why bother. I feel that I learn so much about the lender and his level of competency and follow-through, that I get back every ounce of effort I put into it. 

And isn't that what the seller wants to know as well? That the lender is competent? 

Friday, July 13, 2007 - Do You Have Triskaidekaphobia???

Just silliness here -- my Dictionary.com word-of-the-day was the gargantuan one in the title.  Means fear of Friday the 13th.

Made me think back, though. I've always had good Friday the 13ths. Love black cats and run towards them when I see them. I suppose I cross their paths.

Hope they don't think I'm bad luck!

(C) Susan Pruden.