Realtor

I am pretty candid with sellers when I go in their homes to meet with them about listing their property for sale. I tell them, “I cannot sell your home, only you can.” I know what you are saying, “But Dan, you are a Realtor, that’s what you do…you sell homes.” No, I market homes, create showings, and give you an opportunity to sell your home.

You have the final say if you are going to sell your home and at what price. If it were up to me to sell your home, I would go into the local MLS and change the price of all the homes I am listing. Moreover, I would change the price so the home sells in a week to 30 days. Now you’re saying, “But Dan, you would give away my home for nothing.” No, no, I wouldn’t. But I would price it according to the market data so it fetches an offer in a week to 30 days.

There are sellers who are sitting on homes that are overpriced anywhere from $30,000 to $900,000, and even more. Their homes will sit on the market for 3 months, 6 months, a year, two years, and over that time, the sellers begin competing against themselves. You know what I mean: they priced their home at $650K, three months later, there’s no offer and they lower it $615K, then six months later it’s $599K, a year later it’s $549K, and so on. The seller has had no offers and they are competing against themselves by reducing the price and chasing down the market. Does that sound like a strong selling strategy? I think not!

Why not just price it below the market curve and sell it right out of gate? How does carrying the home for 3 months, 6 months, a year, or two years including the time, aggravation, and expense make sense to anyone? The days of some fairy tale buyers coming off the street and overpaying for your home are long gone. Buyers are too smart these days, too savvy, and have done way too much home work.

Remember, for each day that you don’t sell your home, you buy it. I can’t sell it for you because my name is not on the deed. So price it to sell in the next week to 30 days and move on with your life.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and http://www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost

No, it’s not the Holidays unless of course you are a Realtor. Ask anyone in the real estate profession and no one is happier to see the signs of Spring than Realtors.

You see, the prime selling season in Colorado is April through July. Why? It’s simple. The nice weather brings out buyers as well as sellers. Yes, you can buy a home in January, but not a lot of people want to go trekking through the snow with boots, coats, and gloves to look at homes. Yes, you can put your home on the market in February, but let’s be honest; doesn’t your home look best in the summer when everything is green and in bloom?

Next week is the first week of April so sellers, if you have been putting off meeting with that Realtor and getting your home on the market…wait no more. You’ve got four really good months to take advantage of the Colorado selling season. Buyers, you’re still in the driver’s seat in this market for most price ranges so meet with that lender, get the finances in order, and start looking. After all, you don’t want to spend your entire summer looking at homes. Do your homework, see exactly what you are looking for, make a fair offer, close the deal and move in by mid-May. That way, you’ll have the rest of the summer to enjoy in your new home. If you are trying to take advantage of the tax credit, you have until the end of April to be under contract with a property. One other note for buyers: remember, we always see an increase in inventory from April to July so this will be the peak time for a wide range of homes for you to choose from.

Finally, if you fall outside the window of April to July, don’t fret. There is still one more good opportunity before the end of the year to sell your home. That would be from mid-September to the beginning of November.  Happy Selling and Buying To All and To All A Good Night.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost

As realtors, we are always telling people why “today or now is a good time to buy” and many times we have good reason for that. The prices are down and there are a number of foreclosures available, buyer incentives, etc, etc. Maybe the best reason of all right now to buy is the interest rate.

I know mortgage lenders are always talking about this and advertising this, but we hear it so much that we forget to pay attention to it. If you really stop and think about it, interest rates may be the biggest influence on whether we can buy or not. Let’s face it, the vast majority of the population buy based on what they can afford in a monthly mortgage payment. Nothing affects that more or greater than the interest rate. Let’s take a look at a snap shot of a few figures to see the real impact when interest rates rise and what that does to your monthly payments.

According to Metrolist, at the end of 2009 the average price for a single family home was $281K. For this example, let’s call it an even $280,000 and let’s also base all of our calculations on a 30-year-fixed. We’ll take a look at a 5% loan, a 6%, and a 7%. We are also all in agreement that it’s unlikely that interest rates will go lower and the reality is that they are only going high from here.

1. $280,000 at 5% = 1,503 P&I
2. $280,000 at 6% = 1,678 P&I
3. $280,000 at 7% = 1,862 P&I

Just the jump from 5% to 6% almost added $200 a month to your payment and we still haven’t added in taxes and insurance yet. If you have to add mortgage insurance, you could be easily looking at $2000 a month. It adds up quickly and that’s why interest rate is such an important factor. It’s also the main reason why I tell people who are on the fence about buying now or waiting not to wait any longer.

Dan Polimino is a Realtor with Fuller Sotheby’s International Realty. He can be reached at DPolimino@fullerproperties.com and www.coloradodreamhouse.com/denverpost