Monday, January 30, 2012

Testimonial from a satisfied customer who I recently completed 2 real estate transactions with



Throughout both the purchase of our new home and rental of our old,
Adam Bashein was there to help us every step of the way.

Adam was extremely attentive to our interests, patiently taking us to see
several homes and always listening to our opinions and concerns.

Adam was indispensable during the actual contract and closing
process--guiding us through what might have otherwise been a difficult
experience.

Most importantly, we always had the sense that Adam was
on our side, and looking out for our best interests.

Thanks to him we got the home we wanted at a price and under conditions that we were
comfortable with.

When it came time to rent our old home, Adam had a
renter lined up in a matter of days.

We were extremely pleased with our experience working with Adam, and would recommend him wholeheartedly to anyone looking to buy, sell or rent a home. Josh & Adina Obstfeld, January 2012.

If you or yours is thinking of selling, buying or renting a home, now is the perfect time with the spring market upon us. I always have time and greatly appreciate your kind referrals.

Life is good!

Adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info
Call: (301)943-4370

(301)718-4100 ask for Adam
Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Weichert Realtors

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

I am ready to sell my special and unique home.


It is fairly common for home sellers to feel their homes have special qualities and attributes, both tangible and intangible, so they can rationalize pricing their home at a higher point than other similar homes in the area that are on the market or have sold (more emphasis on the prices of homes that have actually sold).

How can home sellers prepare themselves for the market and position their homes so buyers will see the added value in their homes and want to buy their homes at or near the asking price?

Here are a couple of suggestions:

*In advance of getting your home on the market bring in a professional appraisor to see what in his/her professional opinion the home is worth. This is a good investment whether you have no idea where your home should be priced or if you and your realtor have a big difference of opinion on what the list price should be.
If he/she comes in at or near the price you think the home is worth, then you may be spot on with the pricing.

If a buyer purchases a home with a loan, then the home is going to have to appraise at the sales price otherwise the buyer won't get a loan at the purchase price and may choose not to buy the home unless the seller agrees to reduce the price to what the home appraised at. It's possible that the appraiser assigned to the buyer's loan will come in at a different price opinion than the seller's appraiser, but at least you have a basis for where to price the home and if the appraisers come in at difference price levels, the buyer and seller can agree to split the difference in price. If I listed a home where the seller got an appraisal in advance, I would note that in the listing remarks and if I was able to connect with the buyer's appraiser which isn't always possible, I would give him/her the appraisal report as well to show what another expert in his/her industry came up with. If home doesn't appraise and buyer loves home and would otherwise agree to price, offer owner-financing.

*Offer closing help to the buyer.

*As a seller, if there are homes on the market that are similar to yours, as the home seller I would look at them so I have a feel for the competition beyond and can see for myself in person, beyond the internet, newspaper and what people tell me, how the home compares to your home. Ask yourself what you would pay for that home.

*List all of the home improvements, repairs, anything that is particularly new (i.e. a new kitchen, new windows, and new roof, so buyers appreciate the extra value.) If there are short sales and foreclosures nearby that are listed for sale, often such information is not available at foreclosure and short sale listings. So in addition to appreciating how well you have kept your home, buyers may have more confidence in buying your home than foreclosures and/or short sales.

*Make sure to point important features about the neighborhood itself and if it is near the highway/beltway, public transportation, if it is particularly close to large office buildings, medical centers. Think about and list destinations near your home that add value and may be an extra selling point for buyers.

*If you bought a new home or have a new home under contract, know how long you can potentially manage the financial obligations and upkeep of both homes (mortgages - if you don't own your current home outright and/or bought your new home with a mortgage) ,utilities, condo fee/H.O.A. fee(s) if applicable, maintenance and repairs, etc). That will help you from a financial perspective determine if it is a good decision to try pricing your home at one price point and seeing what happens for a short period of time before adjusting the price to other homes in the market, if you don't get the desired results. Talk to your financial planner/advisor.

*Agree to list your home at the price you want and if the home doesn't get much buyer traffic or any offers in the first couple of weeks, agree to reduce the price closer to market. Agree to a series of price improvements if you aren't getting desired results on your home at certain time intervals (i.e. every 2/3 weeks evaluate the situation or less if other homes are going under contract!) The worst thing that can happen to a seller is deciding to test the market and seeing if he/she can get a higher price than what other homes are selling and by the time that he/she agrees to reduce the price to what other like homes were listed for, those homes also went down in price so you are still overpriced. Talk to your realtor at least weekly for a market review.

*Monitor foreclosures and/or short sales in your area and you are concerned that buyers will offer you prices based on those active foreclosures and short sales rather than based on your homes value, then wait for those homes to sell. Foreclosures tend to be priced aggressively so banks can get the homes off of their hands. The challenge is that you never know when the next foreclosure and/or short sale will come on the market. On the other hand, to reiterate what I said above, if you have good records of the improvements and repairs to your homes, then more buyers will be drawn to your home than to the short sales and foreclosures, where you often don't have records to such information.

*Consider staging your home...which could mean moving furniture around, placing a runner on your dining room table, folded towels in the bathrooms and/or hiring a professional stager to help you. A number of stagers rent out furniture that they feel will help make your home stand out to buyers and get desired results. Consider painting rooms in more neutral colors. Replacing old worn out wallpaper and painting where the wall paper was. Depersonalize the home so there aren't family pictures everywhere. Keep it to a minimum. On the one hand you want buyers to see that you loved living in the home. On the other hand you want the home to feel like it is ready for them and want them to focus on the features of the home rather than the family portraits. The home should have a warm, cozy, well kept and classy feel that will move buyers to loving your home. And make sure your home is kept neat all the time. If you are serious about selling, your home needs to look and feel pristine, special and a great value to every home buyer who comes through it.

*Make sure your home is easy to show, whether it is a Sunday afternoon or a Tuesday evening after work, rain, snow or shine. If a home is hard to show, some buyers and realtors will decide your home is not worth the effort in coordinating showings.

In summary, if you want the list price of your home to be above what other like homes have recently sold for, I suggest bringing in a professional appraiser, preview the competition and have a plan for systematic price reductions if you don't get offers by certain dates. If you reject an offer and a second offer comes in at a similar price, I suggest you take or negotiate the offer because that tells you what multiple buyers think your home is worth. If you won't work with the second offer, then you should probably take your home off the market. Before listing your home, if you have a new home purchased or under contract, review the numbers and talk with a financial planner about the costs of owning 2 homes and how long you can comfortably do so (and factor that into when you would agree to price reductions if you don't get offers on your home). Have a copy handy of all the repairs and home improvements made to your home so buyers can see what you have done in comparison to other homes that are on the market or recently sold. If there are foreclosures or short sales that may hurt the value of your home, consider listing your home after those homes go under contract. Make sure your home shows well and is staged to feel, warm and cozy. Remember, your real estate agent is working for you. If he or she doesn't deem your home to be saleable by price and/or property condition and that you won't agree to improve either of these over time if your home doesn't get a contract, then he or she may not want to list your home.

If you or someone you know is considering selling their home and is looking for a full service agent, give me a call. All appointments are personal, professional and confidential.

Life is good!

Adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info
CALL: (301)943-4370
301.718.4100 - ask for Adam
Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Weichert Realtors

Friday, January 6, 2012

Testimonial from another satisfied customer who just bought a new home


When we decided that we wanted to buy a condo near to our daughter's family, our choices were extremely limited. We were specifically hoping for a "short sale" or "foreclosure" unit in University Towers. Our daughter suggested that we call Adam Bashein, because (in her words), "He's the kind of agent who will really take care of you." How true that proved to be! Adam had endless patience with us. We had so many questions, which he answered clearly, thoroughly, and responded quickly to us, whether we were reaching out to him via email or phone.


"We had spotted a "short sale" unit on an internet listing. Adam immediately informed us that that unit was already under contract -- but from that moment on, he was on the lookout for something for us. Several days after our initial inquiry, Adam was back in touch with us: The condominium we were interested in was back on the market! He arranged his schedule so that we could see it as soon as possible, and then we gathered in his home office to fill out a contract. Unfortunately, at the same time someone else filled out a contract for more than the asking price, and thus they got the contract.


Adam started using his experience and detective skills, checking into units that he thought might be coming onto the market soon. However, before anything came of that, he again called us with exciting news: "Our" unit was back on the market! The people who had outbid us for the contract had not been able to secure financing.


Adam than helped to steer us through the minefield of rules, regulations, and necessities prior to settlement, helping us to understand the language of the settlement documents and to make changes where he or we thought it was necessary. There was great pressure on us, because the sellers wanted to settle before the end of November and we did not feel we could settle until we had had a chance to go through the condominium documents (as required by law). Adam was able to negotiate a delay of settlement into the first week of December, giving us time to receive the condominium documents and go over them.


In summary, we are extremely grateful to our daughter for having recommended that we call Adam. He is a delightful person to work with, who helped to turn what could have been a tense and miserable situation into a pleasurable experience -- and (most important of all!) made it possible for us to purchase our condominium."


Ann L. Parker
and
Theodore S. Parker

-------

If you or somebody you know is thinking of selling or buying a home,let's talk about the market. I am here to help and it would be an honor to work hard for you.

Life is good!

Adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info
CALL: (301)943-4370

o.(301)718-4100 - ask for Adam
Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Weichert Realtors

Should you be buying a home or investment property with the recent report of apartment vacancies down and rental prices up?




www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-01-05/u-s-apartment-vacancies-decline-to-a-decade-low-of-5-2-rents-increase.html - good article about the strong rental market.

Have you been renting a home/apartment? Have you noticed that the rental prices have been going up? If so, you should talk to a lender,see how much of a loan you can get approved for and if your monthly rent would come out to being more or near the same dollar amount as buying a home and having a potential mortgage (and condo fee/h.o.a. fee if applicable). If you don't plan on staying on the area for a long period of time,then maybe renting is the best scenario for you,since we can't predict what your home would be worth in a year or two. On the other hand,you should also consider buying the home and if you move to keep it as an investment property. Evaluate this option with a financial planner or somebody close to you.

Have you thought about "moving up" to a larger spacee or "downsizing" because you have 'too much house', but are uncomfortable making a move now because of the market uncertainty, concerned at what price you can sell your current home? This is a great market to move up in for sure and it also a perfect time to think of "holding onto" your current home and turning it into an investment property because of the demand for rental homes verses the availability of rental properties (based on community you live in). Consider if you would be happy with what you would net in a home sale and if a potential monthly rent would cover your current mortgage or come very close to covering your current mortgage (if you haven't paid off your mortgage). If you are not happy where you would net on a potential home sale, especially if you could lose money on a sale, then holding onto your home as an investment propety may be a good solution. If you are happy with what you would net on a home sale, then the question that also comes into play is if you want it to be a long term investor or short term investor,verses just selling the home. The risk in holding onto a home where you are happy with the potential net proceeds on a sale today is that the home may not be worth the same in a year or two. The value can go up or go down. Also consider where you would put the money from a potential sale and if you would get a good or bad return. Talk to me about your home and we can evaluate the sales and rental market

If you have thought about buying an(other) investment property>,this is a great time to get in the market. It is a good supply and demand situation for landlords. As the article above shows,apartment vacancies are down and rental prices are going up. So you could have a large pool of potential renters and command a strong rent. There are good deals out there...a good supply of homes and amazing interest rates.
Around and in the Washington, DC area is a great location to own an investment property as many people move for jobs (including gov't jobs,jobs with the embassy, jobs in political offices) internships and school. If these people are not committed to living in the area for a long period of time,then they would be great potential rental candidates for you.

It is a great opportunity to add a piece of real estate to your portfolio, as both a place to live and a place to rent our,if the timing is right for you and it also works for you financially. I urge you to talk with a lender and financial planner.

I'd love to talk with you and yours about the home buying process both as a primary residence and as an investment property. I am here to help and always have time,greatly appreciate your referrals.

Life is good!

Adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info
CALL: (301)943-4370

(o)301-718-4100 - ask for Adam
Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Weichert Realtors

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Similarities between renting your home to a friend/local person and a foreigner


I had an interesting conversation with Jody Beal, the Property Manager of Weichert Realtors in Washington, DC to discuss evaluating an out of town rental prospect for one of my listings.

One of the challenges with a potential renter who is moving to the area from out of the country is that if you run a credit check on them, they may have no credit history in the United States. So another step in evaluating whether a rental prospect is a good fit for your home financially is through verifying income. This could be challenging with someone who is not from the country. There may be some skepticism because of internet scams. So, what can you do? One thought is to tell the person you want copies of bank statements from the institutions they bank at as one mechanism to verify income. I also insist that the prospect give you a letter from the local employer he/she is moving to the area for, which verifies the person has a job and states the income. On its face you look at the ratio of the rent to the person's income to see if it the rent you are charging looks attainable for the potential renter and then you contact the employer to actually talk to a person in human resources to verify the employment, as a letter can be falsified.

As far as security deposit and upfront rent, you should either ask for cashier's checks or if you get a regular check, allow enough time to pass that you can see the
potential renter's security deposit check clear and not bounce.

Some people are skeptical of renting their homes out when they can run a credit check or know the credit rating will come up low for a potential renter. So they may not want to rent to someone who is moving to the area from out of the country. But if this is your thinking, then there may be a fair housing issue if you decide to rent your home to a friend or local who has never rented a home before, maybe just got out of college/moved out of family's house and has no credit history. Or the friend/local might have just lost his/her home to a short sale/foreclosure so the credit rating was damaged. But if you would still rent to this person but not rent to someone from out of the country due to credit issues, there maybe a fair housing issue.

If a foreigner finds out that you rented your home to a friend/local who has no credit or bad credit after you turned the foreigner down because he/she had no credit, he/she may have a claim against you. You can't simply say the person is a friend/local so I feel more comfortable. You certainly can't say that to your realtor or he/she has to tell you that might be a fair housing issue and refer you to a property manager, a real estate attorney. One solution for choosing a friend/local to rent your home when this person doesn't have credit history or has bad credit is to get a guarantor to also sign the lease (that the rent is guaranteed by another party of the renter doesn't have the money). But, then you might need to propose to a foreigner that he/she gets a local guarantor to sign the lease. You really need to ask a property manager and real estate attorney these questions.

It is a great market to own an investment property, whether it means purchasing a new investment property or buying a new home and keeping your current residence as an investment property. You just to be familiar with the local laws regarding renting houses and get a realtor who can help you find a renter in the quickest and profitable fashion. I am here to help.

Life is good!

Adam
CELL: (301)943-4370
o. 301-718-4100 - ask for adam
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info
Adam Bashein
Licensed in MD & DC
Weichert Realtors

Monday, January 2, 2012

Changes coming up on the MD/DC regional sales contract with regard to home inspections




You should never waive a home inspection even if it is "for information only", meaning that the seller will not make any repairs. A home is one of the biggest investments that one will make and one has a responsibility to who him/herself to know the property condition of a home that he/she will live in (or rent out if investment property).

***There are proposed changes to the regional sales contract in MD/DC, where the home inspection addendum will no longer have one list of "property condition" items and a second list of other inspection items you want a seller to fix. This is probably because people have different opinions as to what is a property condition issue and what is not. It causes disputes in real estate transactions when agents and attorneys have differing opinions,which may cause a contract to fall apart.

Moving forward, if buyers really wants inspection items to be be repaired by the home sellers, the most likely scenario in which we will see this happen is when inspection item(s) will prevent a mortgage lender from funding the loan. This could be the case with FHA loans and other loan programs as well. So when we write a contract on a home you want to buy,we will address this important issue.

As a home seller,you want to look at the home inspection items with your realtor and determine what seem like big issues and small issues. You may even ask your agent to talk to the buyer's lender and/or lenders that your realtor works with to find out what they see as issues that could prevent a loan from being funded. If an item would prevent the loan from being funded if not addressed,I would give a lot of pause if I was a home seller to repairing the item to keep the deal together. For other items,I would get an idea of the costs...if they are expensive repair items,a buyer may give serious thoughts to cancelling a contract. At the same time, as a seller you should not be a pushover. Just because a buyer asks you to fix an item from the home inspection,don't automatically say yes. Really analyze the full picture. Do you feel the buyer is getting a good deal/fair deal,is making reasonable/unreasonable requests and again ask your agent to consult with a lender and ascertain what if any inspection items would prevent the buyer's loan from going through.

If you or someone you know is thinking of buying or selling a home,please let me know. I always have time for your referrals and am here to help.

Life is good!

Adam
Licensed in MD & DC
CELL: (301)943-4370
adambashein@mris.com
www.basheinhomes.info

(o)301-718-4100 ask for Adam
Adam Bashein
Weichert Realtors