Upcoming Free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Classes:
Tuesday night, July 14 , from 5pm-8pm
Marshall Community Center, conference room
1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)
Saturday, July 18th, from 11am-2pm
Vancouver YMCA, conference room
11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (corner of SR500 & Gher Road/112th Ave)
Saturday August 1st , from 9am-12pm
Marshall Community Center, conference room
1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)
….we also have home seller classes available too…link on left on website
…if these dates/times don’t work for you, we have others. Check out the website for more class dates, times, and locations. PLEASE always check the web sitewww.traciedemars.com ; for any changes regarding the classes!
Remember…with reservation…we will throw in lunch, or dinner! 😀
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Happy Saturday morning!
I hope you had a wonderful 4th of July Holiday weekend! I apologize for not updating this last weekend, but I took the weekend to spend with my family. 🙂 It was lovely…my husband had 3 days off, and we stayed home to get some things done around the house. Family time… I love it, but man, was it hot. Ugh….heat is not my friend as I am way too pale for it, so I am enjoying the cool down this weekend. Please let me know if you have any questions, or if there is anything I can do for you. This weekend i want to talk a bit about some things that has come up this week….
Appraisals… I know I have talked about this before, but never start packing until the appraisal comes in. Appraisers have the final say when it comes to a homes value, but it is very subjective on their moods, and how they want assess the value. I had an appraisal come back this week $12,000 low. When I am working with someone wanting to sell their home I tell them that there is a range when pricing. The homes value falls in that range depending upon what needs to be done to the home, or the area it is located in. There is a ‘sweet’ spot though….you never want to be the highest priced home because then it is more difficult for an appraiser to prove value. If a home is the lowest in the range, and it is in good condition then it is a marketing ploy by either the seller, or the agent, to sell fast and for multiple offers. If you, or someone you know, is thinking about selling….be leery of anyone who uses how fast they can sell a home as marketing. Any home will sell fast if it’s priced too low. Now, there are some price ranges that do sell fairly quickly….anything under $215,000 right now is pretty crazy, as long as the home is in good condition, and in a good neighborhood.
The MARKET HAS SLOWED DOWN! This is good news if you are a buyer. March thru June are the best months to be a seller, but the worse months to be a buyer. When June hits the market changes a bit…..with graduations, school getting out, and the weather. With the HOT weather we have been having the market kind of hit a brick wall and slowed down quite a bit more than expected. It isn’t the feeding frenzy out there that it was. Some sellers may be willing to negotiate a bit more than they had been. Still don’t look way above your price range, but if you see a home you really like….ask your buyers agent to contact the sellers agent about if the sellers might be willing to pay closing costs, or take a bit lower offer if maybe you don’t need as much closing costs. Sometimes this works, and as the market softens a bit for the home buyer, this is a good thing to do. Please remember that there are some markets,and price ranges that are still smoking and where you could see multiple offers at. The average time to sell a home is currently 78 days. If you are thinking about buying a home, you can start breathing a bit easier now.
Boomerang Buyers…
What is a boomerang buyer? This is someone who lost their home after the market crashed, and who is now eligible to buy a home again. Yep…there is a phrase for this. 🙂 These folks, in the next couple of years, are going to be the driving force in the market. Rent prices are CRAZY high, and only seem to be getting worse. Property managers, and landlords, know that the rental market demand is high so they’re going to milk it for all it’s worth. What most of them don’t know though is that a lot of people who were forced into renting when the market initially fell, and they lost their homes…..are eligible to buy a home again, and use the programs that are out there to help people buy a home! Yes, even some of the first time home buyer programs….boomerang buyers are now eligible for these too.
We are now coming into a time that is much more favorable for buyers than the first half of this year has been. This is also good for sellers because most of them want to buy a home home too. 🙂 So, if you have been thinking about buying or selling a home, please take one of the non-promotional classes that are offered. Real estate and lending is all about verbiage….and you need to know what it all really means for you with no sugar coating. Chris Berg with Pinnacle Mortgage (503-320-0925 or cberg@pcmloan.com), and I are always available for questions. It’s what we do….
Information is power, and I hope that I am able to help you. Good luck, and as always…May the odds be ever in your favor out there…. If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.
As always….this is just a quick overview…. please remember that your agent, and your lender work for YOU. You drive the bus…we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals. Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your homebuying adventure. The goal is to be informative and non-promotional. 🙂 We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.
If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard…or if you would like me to help you with your homebuying adventure, please call, email, text, or facebook me anytime. I am, as always, happy to help!
Thank you again for your business and your referrals!! …and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers.
. ..disclaimer…if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings…
Next Week: Websites to find homes, and what status’s mean
Last Week: Mortgage vs Rent ….how does that work?
Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,
;-D
