Buyers determine Price, no matter how awesome your property!
Sellers do NOT determine Price; Buyers DO! What?? This is the one Listing appointment principle that is the most difficult for my Sellers to really accept. Each one of us, when we put on our Sellers’ shoes, thinks of all the money invested and time spent on our property. The Reality of the Market at the time of your Listing MUST over ride these numbers and personal feelings. IT DOES NOT MATTER. What matters is very simply “What will a Buyer pay for your property?”
Working with a local Realtor who can show you exactly what the past SOLD properties have included, and how they compare to your own is critical to determining your Listing Price. Your Upgrades List is very important, as is your Lot orientation, architectural style, actual floor plan, quality of upgrades etc. Do NOT start adding the dollar amounts of these upgrades together and coming to a “number you HAVE to have to sell.” Again..ultimately, that does not matter to your potential buyer. Put on your Buyers’ shoes now. When you are looking for a property, there are certain things on your “Drop Dead Must Have list”. There are also amenities that you “Would Love to Have, but can Live Without.” But, you as a Buyer, do not want to feel that you are paying the highest price for that home in that Neighborhood.
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The guard gated entrance to The Hideaway..
Hideaway Golf Club; La Quinta Neighborhood of the week. The Hideaway Golf Club in La Quinta is nicknamed “the social golf club” for good reason. Every Holiday, (and excuse), is celebrated at the beautiful Clubhouse. Children and relatives are welcome..just fun times for everybody. Gated, with 24 hour security for a very reasonable $600/mo. HOA, the impressive gatehouse swings open to Citrus lined streets. The Hideaway Clubhouse is the heartbeat of the club and this is where all the Parties begin..and often end!! The Hideaway Club is situated on 600 acres that are surrounded by Exceptional mountain Views. Why the superior Views? Our Eastern city of La Quinta is VERY close to the Santa Rosa Mountain foothills, which makes you feel like you are RIGHT at the mountain base.
The Hideaway is being developed by The Discovery Group. Homes are still under construction by them, and custom homes are being built by buyers on their own personal lots. There are four different property types being built at The Hideaway in La Quinta. The Discovery Group is also responsible for the neighboring very exclusive Golf Club, The Madison Club.
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Indian Wells offers location and views!
Indian Wells Market Update. The City of Indian Wells is located in the middle of our Valley floor. It’s Eastern border is the city of La Quinta, and it’s Western border is the City of Palm Desert, and Rancho Mirage. People choose Indian Wells for several reasons. If you love Tennis, there’s the Indian Wells Tennis Gardens, host to the BNP Tennis Tournament. If you’re someone that simply likes being in the Center of things, what a great choice. You’re close to everything, including El Paseo with it’s shops, a short drive to La Quinta’s Old Town, Palm Deserts’ Museum, hiking, bike trails and of course, the stellar golfing. Indian Wells is known for it’s amazing Resident discounts on a myriad of local restaurants and amenities, including Golf at the Indian Wells Country Club.
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THINKING OF SELLING YOUR LA QUINTA HOME YOURSELF?
Selling your own home may not be the best choice for you
For Sale By Owner – A friend of mine recently told me that her brother is thinking of selling his home… and doing it himself, without employing a real estate agent. This opened up a discussion between us about all the reasons why selling your own home is not the best option. Her brother’s home is big and beautiful. He and his wife have lived there for nearly twenty years, and have invested a lot of money and a lot of themselves into making it a picture perfect showplace. They’re emotionally attached and that’s understandable. But life circumstances change over time and their home has become too much house for them now… they are retired, there are health problems, etc. The time has come to make a move into something more congruent with their current life situation.
Making a big decision like this can be overwhelming. Every person’s home is comfortably familiar and their safe haven, filled with a lifetime’s worth of memories. Things with sentimental value have to be sorted through, and dealt with by selling, donating, giving away to the children, etc. At this stage, some people have the thought, “who better to sell my own home but me, since I am most intimately familiar with it?”
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THE FIFTEEN SECOND RULE
How to Get Your Home Ready for Sale
La Quinta home sellers: let’s prepare your home properly. Fall is approaching and you feel like it’s time to take the big step of putting your home on the market. Where do you begin? It is a known fact among the real estate industry that you’ve got about fifteen seconds to capture a prospective home buyer’s interest and ensure they get a good feeling about your house. In order to get the best price for your home, there are things that must be tended to in order for that to happen.
To begin with, common sense tells you that cleaning your home and fixing things which are broken or incomplete is a must. You want to make it as move-in ready as possible since about 95% of buyers are looking for just that . . . not a fixer-upper or a house that needs carpeting replaced or walls repainted or a yard landscaped. These tasks may seem like a big expense or too time consuming to you as the seller, but in the long run it can bring you a better price in negotiations and is definitely worth it.
POINTERS TO HELP YOU GET STARTED SELLING YOUR LA QUINTA HOME
Remove as much clutter as possible, such as clothing, toys, magazines, etc. You’ll also want to pack away many of your knick-knacks (statuary, vases, personal photos) so they won’t be a distraction for those who come to view. You’ll want them to be able to envision their own belongings in your home. Create as much available space as possible – as you are selling square footage, and the larger the space appears, the better.
Should you decide to paint, it’s better to stick with neutral colors like sand or soft gray, even though bright, rich colors are in style. If you think color would enhance a room, perhaps confine it to just an accent wall or use accessories like artwork or pillows to bring color in.
A CLEAN HOME IS PARAMOUNT
Clean your home thoroughly, inside and out, as the desert dust settles easily in our La Quinta homes. On the inside, this means floors, windows, appliances, faucets, etc. Everything should shine. The outside of your home is extremely important, since buyers may initially do a drive by to determine if yours is a home they want to preview. Powerwash the walls and hardscape, knock down cobwebs, and touch up paint where needed. Trim hedges, prune plants, clean up debris, pull weeds. A fresh new welcome mat at the front door is a nice touch . . . and maybe some pots with colorful flowers can be placed there for a festive look.
For more ideas, here is a video to help you get an even better idea of what you can do to make your home its most attractive to the next potential owner. A little elbow grease will go far in helping you maximize your sale income . . . so roll up your sleeves and get started.
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Arriving at a Sales Price for your Palm Springs Valley property involves careful evaluation of many things..mostly moving parts. Your Sales Price may be a bit different than your Listing Price. The short video is pretty right on as far as basic considerations in arriving at a number…There are several other factors to think about when you are deciding what you will accept in terms of a “Sale Price” on your property. Here in the Palm Springs Valley, it is important to consider Location of your property within the community itself. How many hours of sun are on your outdoor area on average/day? What are your views? And one factor that is often over looked is “What is your back story?”
If you have a home to sell in The Hideaway Golf Club, for example, you would of course go over the SOLD comps very carefully with your Realtor. But it’s also critical for your Realtor to know “the back story” of those closed homes. Why did that particular home sell for that price/sf? What was the owners’ motivation? Were there issues with the condition of the property? Did the Sellers credit the Buyers’ some money at close? Many things can influence the reasons why a Seller accepts a particular price.
What WERE those amenities??
Be sure you are working with an Agent that knows the location, the community, the type of property, and the recent comparables. Then consider your OWN back story when thinking about how much you will need to sell your property.
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HAFA short sales are MORE attractive!
If you are thinking of Short Selling your primary Residence and have a hardship that qualifies you, the HAFA short Sale process just got much more attractive! The Banks WANT you to stay in your home and to keep it up! That means keeping the utilities and HOA dues, if any, paid up and in good standing. Keep the property in decent condition, including pools and landscaping.
The BEST NEWS is that the Relocation fee to YOU, the Seller, has been increased from $3,000 to $10,000!! That’s HUGE! And if you have a 2nd lien against your property, the first is now able to pay the 2nd as much as $12,000 to get that lien released!
Think you may qualify for a La Quinta or Desert Area HAFA SHORT SALE? Check out the HAFA GUIDELINES here.
If you think you may need help with a Short Sale, give me a call for your FREE consultation!
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If you’re trying to sell your Indian Wells real estate or plan to in the future, you probably want to know what features buyers are looking for in the present market. This helpful in planning upgrades, repairs and choosing what you want to do to maximize your property’s marketability. A recent report from The Demand Institute, a non-profit organization run by the Conference Board and Nielsen, provides some very helpful information as to what homeowners look for in a home and what keeps them happy living there. Read on for five of the top desires Americans have for their homes.
1. Energy efficiency. Since going green and reducing energy costs has become a universal trend, this has become a huge consideration for homeowners and those in the market for a new home. In addition to growing concern for the environment, homeowners want to reduce the cost of energy in their households.
2. Renovations. Sixty-seven percent of those surveyed in the study indicated that they preferred a home that requires little to no renovations. It make sense that buyers would want to move into something requiring little work. The most popular renovations buyers look for are freshly painted walls, new flooring, new windows or a remodeled bathroom.
3. An updated kitchen. One of the most popular features buyers look for is an updated kitchen with new appliances and fixtures.
4. A safe community. Eighty-three percent of the respondents indicated that living in a low-crime area is important.
5. Age-in-place features. Many people like to carefully plan for their retirement, and even if it is off in the future, buyers want a home that they can stay in as they grow older.
This information should be helpful in determining what upgrades you would like to make and help you plan for optimizing your home’s appeal, no matter how far in the future you plan to sell it. If you’re interested in buying, click here to view some of our incredible listings of Indian Wells real estate and homes in the other desert cities.
image: awelldressedhome.com
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Get your vacation home ready to rent!
If you are lucky enough to own Palm Desert real estate or a property in another desert city as a second home and it sits empty for most of the year, you may want to consider renting it out for additional income. If that sounds like a good option for you, here are some tips for protecting and making the most out of your investment.
1. Get your property in good condition for renting out. Whether you own something in an amazing area, such as Indio or one of the many beautiful homes in La Quinta, you want it to look great and have everything in stellar working condition. However, you may not want to keep expensive items in there that will cost a lot if they get damaged or broken. For example, you may want to avoid expensive furnishings, window treatments, fixtures, chandeliers and appliances.
2. Will you shoot for short or long rental terms? There are many factors to consider when making this decision. When you own property in desirable locations, such as Indian Wells, La Quinta or Palm Desert real estate, you can bring in a significant amount of income with short-term renters and vacationers. However, your risk factor for potential damage increases somewhat, so you may want to use a property management company to handle the day-to-day operations, which cuts into your profits a little bit. Likewise, if you contract a long-term renter, you will only be dealing with them, though you will need to charge less than you would to short-term renters. While equestrian homes can bring in a lot of extra income, long-term may be a better bet, as there typically be a lot more buildings included and animals tend to cause more damage than humans.
3. Determine pricing and deposit amounts. If you’re not working with a property manager to rent out your property, you’ll need to compare your home to other similar properties. For example, if you are looking to rent out real estate in Indio, look at other homes in the area and compare your square footage and features to determine your price points and deposit requirements.
4. Establish policies. Will you allow the renters to sublet the property? Will you allow pets? If so, how much will you increase your deposit?
5. Screen renters. Once you place an ad or determine which property management company you’ll be working with, your next step is to ensure that renters are thoroughly screened. You can use a service or do it yourself by contacting references, previous landlords, running credit checks and confirming employment.
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Many people find themselves in unfortunate circumstances where they are having trouble making payments on their property. If you find yourself in this situation, you may consider short selling your property as a last resort in order to avoid foreclosure. Whether you are planning to list a short sale or are considering buying one, it’s essential to work with a certified expert in short sale investments—you don’t want to make mistakes due to misunderstanding these often complex transactions.
Recently, Fannie Mae changed its regulations regarding the waiting period in a clause that is important to understand. Starting August 16, 2014, the waiting period for someone who short sells their home or goes into foreclosure has increased from two to four years. At present, the waiting period is two years, if the buyer’s credit is clean and they can come up with a down payment of 20 percent.
If you recently went through a foreclosure or executed a short sale of your property, four years may seem like a long time period to wait. However, there is a caveat that benefits such prospective buyers—those interested in buying after four years from the date of their short sale or foreclosure will be able to follow standard Fannie Mae guidelines. This means if their credit stays clean, they only need to make a five percent down payment on the purchase of a new home. Additionally, if a buyer can provide certified documentation that proves that their short sale or foreclosure was the result of extenuating circumstances such as lost wages or unemployment, the waiting period may be reduced to two years.
No matter whether you’re a buyer, seller or both, it really helps to have a certified expert in short sale investments in your corner to help you navigate such a complicated transaction. As you can see, regulations change and the process can take a lot of work, so you need to work with an expert to minimize risk and execute a successful transaction.
image: advantagelegalgroup.com
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