FIELDING A LOWBALL PURCHASE OFFER ON YOUR HOME

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  Fielding a Lowball Purchase Offer on Your Home

  Consider before you ignore or outright refuse a very low purchase offer for your home. A counteroffer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale. Read

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Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Priorities to Consider When Negotiating Repairs (For Buyers)

I always stress the importance for Buyers to attend the inspection of a home they plan to purchase. Doing so enables them to be shown specific items of importance and allows them to ask questions of the inspector. The following information is coming straight from the horse's mouth (so-to-speak), a REAL inspector...and a very thorough one I might add. Please read on....

In the words of Glenn Wharten, Texas Inspection Partners: It happens during nearly every inspection. The buyer will ask me if the seller “has to” repair a particular item or they will ask which items they should ask the seller to repair. Repair negotiations are of course, the responsibility of the buyer’s agent. The agent however, is not supposed to be making value judgments in regard to repairs. It therefore falls to the inspector to give every buyer some level of guidance as to how to set priorities among all of the items found.

I first advise buyers that much of the repair negotiation process rests on the seller’s attitude towards the process. If the seller believes he “took a bath” or is financially stressed, he may have little interest in conducting repairs. At the other end of the spectrum is the seller that thinks he did well during initial negotiations or earnestly wants to leave the home in a tidy manner. The normal scenario tends to be somewhere in the middle of these extremes.

To prepare for repair negotiations you need to accept two facts. First, a seller will not repair the entire list. The simple explanation that I use is that you have to accept that there is a normal level of wear and tear on any home. Secondly, the buyer must make a serious decision about what he is unwilling to accept and what he can do himself. Homeownership is a responsibility; it comes with an obligation to conduct upkeep. Items found by the inspector that fall into the normal upkeep category are poor choices for repair negotiations.

Finally, consideration must be given to the buyer’s personal situation. Factor in buyer skill set, the age of the new occupants and any mobility issues with the new occupants. Priorities 1 through 3 (below) can routinely become part of a negotiating process, while 4 normally does not. This is what I give to my buyers:

Priority 1: Safety - Repair any item that can be construed as harmful if not fixed. Opinions on what is a safety issue will vary. Good examples include GFCI repair or the replacement of a copper gas line.

Priority 2: Structure - Repair any item, which causes a weakening of the structure or opens the structure up to environmental damage. Rotted wood, plumbing leaks or ineffective flashing.

Priority 3. Mechanicals - Repair any mechanical or appliance needed for home comfort or functionality. AC or heat, which is not working.

Priority 4. Routine Repairs - Items that are part of a normal maintenance program but need attention now. Caulk repair around windows, trimming vegetation.

See who's coming to Dosey Doe's!

Tuesday, July 13, 2010 - EZRA CHARLES 8:00 PM $40 Dinner
He is firmly rooted in every type of music that ever came out of Texas; Boogie-Woogie, Swing, Rockabilly, and Blues. Famous for his flashy piano antics and girls in the horn section, Ezra spends the evening talking & playing with host Kyle Hutton for this recorded for radio event.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010 - MARK CHESTNUTT 8:00 PM $70 Dinner
With one of “the” voices in Country music, Mark is the heir apparent to both of
the Georges! Success came early in the ‘90s and continues as he is always on top of the charts & winning awards. Mark spends the evening talking & playing with host Kyle Hutton for this recorded for radio event.

MORE TO COME......

Looking for something FUN to do?

Crú in The Woodlands is featuring live jazz, spectacular wine country cuisine, artisan cheeses, wood-fired pizzas and nightly seasonal Chef Specials. Each night their in-house wine specialist will select and open a rare large format bottle to offer by the glass at exceptional value for your enjoyment.

There's much more here than beer!

Coming to Town Green Park on The Woodlands Waterway - 2010 Oktoberfest!

September 24th - 26th
Times: Fri: 5-9pm | Sat: 12-9pm | Sun: 12-6pm
Cost: Children under 10 - $Free | Adults and Children 10 and up - $10.00

2010 Entertainment Schedule coming soon!

Food & Drinks There will be much authentic German food to be sampled including:
•bratwurst•sauerkraut•strudel•a wide variety of other tastes

Also, two-fisted Oktoberfest pretzels will tempt the taste buds of festival goers.

Oktoberfest 2010 beer mugs and Bavarian souvenirs will also be for sale in the festival's craft vendor fair.


All proceeds will go directly to The Woodlands Rotary Club Foundation raising funds for student scholarships benefitting local students and their families.

THINKING ABOUT OWNER FINANCING?

Many of us have been very concerned about the implementation of federal legislation known as the SAFE Act that would severely limit an individual’s ability to seller finance their property in Texas.

We are working on numerous regulatory and legislative solutions to this affront to private-property owners, and have some good news to report. At our urging, the chief regulator over the SAFE Act in Texas, the commissioner of the Texas Department of Savings and Mortgage Lending, has taken significant steps to allow Texas property owners to continue to seller finance up to five transactions in a 12-month period.

More specifically, the commissioner has delayed the implementation of the SAFE Act requirement for licensure in seller-financed transactions in Texas until August 31. This will give us time to implement regulatory and legislative changes during the coming months. For now it is important for you to know that the long-standing law of allowing a Texas seller to finance up to five transactions in a consecutive 12-month period is still in effect and the Texas Association of REALTORS® will continue to work at the federal and state level to see that this is a permanent solution.

Finally, this action would not have happened if not for the thousands of Texas REALTORS® who participated in our grassroots efforts to correct this abuse to private-property owners in Texas.

Information provided by Governmental Affairs, The Texas Association of Realtors, Bill Jones, 2010 Chairman of the Board

Home Buyer Tax Credits Brought to you by the National Association of Home Builders
Special Rules for Members of the Military, the Foreign Service
and the Intelligence Community:

Congress has acknowledged the unique circumstances affecting members of the military, the foreign service and the intelligence community by making the following exceptions that apply to both the $8,000 tax credit for first-time home buyers and the $6,500 tax credit for repeat home buyers.

Exemption From Tax Credit Recapture Rules

Typically, homes that are sold or that cease to be used as a principal residence within three years of the initial purchase are subject to recapture of the tax credit. However, qualified service members who sell or move from a tax credit home within three years of the initial purchase due to official extended duty are exempt from the recapture rule.

Extension of Tax Credit Deadlines

The home buyer tax credit is available for qualified purchases with a binding sales contract in place on or before April 30, 2010 and closed by June 30, 2010. However, for qualified service members who are ordered on a period of official extended duty, these dates are extended for one year. For these home buyers, the tax credit applies to sales with a binding sales contract in place on or before April 30, 2011 and closed by June 30, 2011.

A person who is forced to return to the U.S. for medical reasons before completing an assignment of at least 90 days of qualified official extended duty outside of the United States may qualify for the one-year extension.

Definitions

“Qualified service member” means a member of the uniformed services of the U.S military, a member of the Foreign Service of the U.S., or an employee of the intelligence community.

“Official extended duty” means any period of extended duty outside of the United States for at least 90 days during the period beginning after December 31, 2008 and ending before May 1, 2010.