Edwardsville and Glen Carbon Real Estate Chat: Kristina Pratt, REALTOR® - GoshenRealtyGroup.com (St. Louis' Illinois Suburbs - RE/MAX Preferred Partners)

How's the market, Nancy?  Like all Realtors, I get that question everywhere I go. 

Our region, primarily in Madison and St. Clair counties in Southwestern Illinois, didn't experience the extreme rise in home prices that affected so many places across the country.

That means the market drop in our part of the nation has not been as precipitous. Remember that all real estate is local. If you're listening to CNN's anchors talk about Florida or California, it has no bearing on Edwardsville, Glen Carbon or Maryville, Illinois. So don't let them scare you.

From January 1 through the end of March 2009, 1,107 resale homes have closed in our area, down 16 percent from the number sold during the same three month period in 2008.

About 29 percent of those sales have been priced at $49,999 and under and more than 53 percent of the homes sold in January, February and March were priced at less than $100,000.

New construction is a different story. Year to date through the end of March 2009, 94 new construction homes have sold, down 44 percent from 2008.

Three-bedroom homes were still king (or queen) in our region, outpacing the sale of both smaller and larger homes by more than two to one in the first quarter of 2009.

Forty-six percent of homebuyers here in Southwestern Illinois are closing with conventional loans. FHA loans account for 24.4 percent of home loans and cash sales accounted for 18 percent of home sales in January, February and March.

What does this research tell our customers who need to buy or sell in Madison and St. Clair counties?

Homes are selling. They may not sell as quickly as they did in boom years, but they are selling. More telling will be sales figures for the traditionally busier time of year from May through August. I will continue to update the figures on this blog.

Investors appear to have come back into the market, picking off homes priced at less than $50,000. Anecdotally, I have noticed that my investor clients who don't act quickly on the properties they identify are losing them to other buyers.

For sellers, correct pricing the day your home comes on the market is critical. Your property needs to be the best value in its price category or you need to drop the price into a range where it is the best value. Know your competition and take a hard look at what your home offers in a head-to-head comparison. Check the net sheet your Realtor has provided you and think about your bottom line. If you didn't get a net sheet calculating your expected proceeds from the sale, ask for one right now.

Buyers, the market is screaming at you. It's yelling, "What are you waiting for?"  I've covered this in more detail in other posts, but the combo of low mortgage interest rates, choice of available homes, and lower prices should be all the incentive you need. And, if you're a first-time homebuyer, don't forget the $8000 federal tax credit. Call a Realtor, talk to her about your home ownership goals, get your loan pre-approval and then pick out your new place. It really is almost that easy if you have a good real estate consultant by your side.

If you're thinking about relocating your family to St. Louis' Illinois suburbs in Madison County, you may be interested in learning more about the area's public school districts.

This is the first in a series of posts that will link you to the Illinois school report cards for the county's districts. Today's topic: Edwardsville District 7.

The Edwardsville school district is large at approximately 185 square miles, encompassing the city of Edwardsville, the village of Glen Carbon, and more rural areas including Prairietown, Dorsey, Hamel, Worden, the Holiday Shores lakeside community and Midway.

In addition to Edwardsville High School and two middle schools -- Lincoln and Liberty -- the district includes 10 elementary schools, three of which were opened in fall 2008. The elementary schools are divided into Pre-K/K through 2nd grade and 3rd grade through 5th grade. Grades 6, 7 and 8 attend Middle School. 

An impressive sports complex offers fields for football, baseball, softball, track and more, plus tennis courts and a soon-to-open wrestling center. A swimming and diving facility is on the books for future development.

The district's theater, music and fine arts programs also are highly regarded with band, orchestra, AP art studio and portfolio courses and a publicly acclaimed series of student plays and musicals performed in the high school's theater.

According to District 7, their schools consistently score well above the state average in all subject areas. Click here to link to the Edwardsville School District's profile.

Click here to see the Illinois State School Report Card for the Edwardsville District 7 schools.

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About the Author: Nancy Milton, GRI, is a Realtor with the Just Ducky Homes team at Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on real estate in the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.JustDuckyHomes.com or e-mail Nancy@JustDuckyHomes.com.

 

Steps Most Buyers Will Take To Buy Their Home.......

Buying a home can be made less stressful if we follow a few simple steps.  It is a little like baking a cake, if you don't follow the recipe or steps the cake will not be a tasty treat.  While I am thinking about it, remember what they say about too many cooks in the kitchen!!

 

So to keep you on track in the home buying process here are some helpful steps for you.

1. Look for an agent to help you through the home buying maze.  Remember you are about to spend a whole lot of money so find a REALTOR® to help you.  Get to know the agent first; don't get in a rush....
2. Interview the REALTOR®....set an appointment with an agent to find out if they have the skills, services and professional attitude you're looking for.  Meet the REALTOR® at their office.  I know you really want to see the home that you are in front of....
3. Discover if the REALTOR® is working "FOR" you OR "WITH" you.  Are you a client or a customer?  Remember you want an agent that is going to be loyal to you and will be your advocate.
4. Clarify your wants and needs to your agent...let them know your objectives and timetable.
5. Have the agent help you establish your purchasing power...this may include getting pre-approved.  I would suggest that you find out how much home you can afford before looking at homes.
6. Once you start looking for a new home you will want to use the process of elimination.  After looking at two homes discard the lesser home and continue to follow the process while looking at properties.  Only keep the best home in front of you.
7. View each property objectively.
8. Once you have found the best home for you, write the offer to purchase.  With the large selection of homes available you may be able to find one quickly. Don't forget to bring your checkbook, you will need it to write the earnest money check.
9. Once the contract has been signed by you, your agent will sent it or take it to the listing agent.  Remember time is of the essence.
10. Handle all counter offers and negotiations with a win/win attitude....Keep a big picture mentality.
11. Avoid "Second Guessing Syndrome"...also known as "Buyers Remorse".  Almost EVERYONE gets it at some point in time. 
12. Finalize any loan details to get final approval.  If you haven't been pre-approved, you need to get the ball rolling NOW! 
13. Your agent will order title work from the company of your choice.
14. Any inspections or predications that need to be addressed should be done in a timely fashion.
15. Address snags and problems as part of life.  Keep focused on YOUR goals...getting into the home of your dreams.  Stuff can happen.
16. Do a "walk-thru" prior to closing to see all items were completed from your inspection or requested in your contract.
17. Show up early to closing with all necessary items needed.  Your agent will call you the day before closing with a list of needed items.  This is a happy day don't forget to bring a smile.  Congratulations on the purchase of your new home.

Whether you are buying a home in O Fallon Missouri or Fairbanks Alaska the process is very similar if not the same.  If you call an agent to meet you in front of one of their listings don't be surprised if they want you to come to the office first.  They want to get to know you and let you get to know them.  It is not good to start at #6 first and then try to play catch-up.  Bake the cake by the recipe and you will be amazed at how good it will turn out.

Helping you achieve your next level of the American Dream.  Ready?

If you are looking for a new home and a REALTOR® that knows the St. Charles County MO marketplace and one that has call O Fallon MO home for over 15 years give me a call.  Call Don Rogers at 314-954-6775 or email me at Don@DRogersHomes.com and we can start you home buying experience today.  By the way I am never too busy for your referral, so if you know of someone that is looking to buy or sell have them give me a call, too.

Search for homes on the market in our area by visiting my new website!  Click the link below and register to get full access to unlimited listings!

Principles of negotiation.  Books have been written about it.  Speakers travel the world lecturing about it.  Millions have been spent trying to uncover the secret.  For some, it will remain an abstract principle they will sadly never master.

A few weeks ago I had the chance to speak with a fellow for whom negotiations had not been a kind mistress.  This fellow, we'll call him Stanley, set out to buy a home for his family and ended up outmaneuvered by a more skilled negotiator into a contract he now wishes he had never signed.

Stanley and his family had been renting a small house in Fairbanks for the past couple of years.  It was comfortable and the price was right but with the changes in the housing market, he hoped to make the transition from renter to owner. A yard for his children to play in... a place in which to make memories of opening presents on Christmas mornings and birthday BBQ's on the deck.  Reasons which we can no doubt all relate to.

When Stanley found 'the house' he sat down with his lender and later the seller to hammer out the details of a purchase agreement.  The seller was ready to sell... he and his wife had plans of moving to be closer to their grandchildren and were ready to take the house off the market. 

"Let's get this done and get you moved in." Motivated seller. That's good, right?

Having watched HGTV's endless parade of real estate programming and read every real estate article he saw on MSN, he had a plan.  Take the purchase price, slice 10% off the top and negotiate up from there, if necessary.  Armed with his offer strategy, Stanley and the sellers put pen to paper and in short order had a mutually agreeable contract.

"10% off the asking price and the seller agreed to pay $5,500 toward our closing costs if we would waive any contingencies and close in three weeks." The anguish was palpable as he told me the story.  He ddn't need to continue... I knew the house and where this conversaton was going.

"Earnest money was placed in escrow with the title company.  An appraisal was ordered and we were planning furniture placement."  Imagine Stanley's surprise when the lender calls to say the appraisal came in... well... a little low.  Seems as though there's a near $37,000 difference between appraised value and the contract price.

A call to the seller turns the butterflies in Stanley's stomach to catapulting, trapeze-flying monkey's trying to claw their way through his belly button.  No re-negotiations.  "You agreed to remove the contingencies for the 10% price reduction and the $5,500 in closing costs I'm paying" replied the seller.  Hmmm. Now what?  This is where Stanley begins his search for answers and where he lands on this blog and calls us for answers... guidance... absolution... something. 

Unfortunately the only truly helpful advice I could offer is a referral to a reputable real estate attorney.  Where and how did the train heading to paradise go so far off the tracks? 

Representation - Stanley had none.  No buyer-agent representation.  No legal representation.  Nothing.  Mano-a-mano as it were.  Given the complexities of contract law, finance, discovery, disclosures, etc. representation is key.  A buyers-agent is the buyers advocate in a transaction.  What a concept, huh?  Their primary responsibility is to protect and promote the buyers interests.  Most of the time said representation comes at little to no cost to the buyer.

Research - If you don't know the local real estate market, you need to hire someone who does.  A sellers asking price is simply a number.  Unrepresented sellers are notorious for having an inflated opinion of their homes worth.  What are comparable homes selling for?  How long is it taking to sell those homes... and how does that compare to the subject property?  You need detailed market information... and someone to interpret that data.

Last but not least, forget the hype.  Not even HGTV, your Uncle Bob in Poughkeepsie or Donald 'Combover' Trump will be much help in crafting a negotiation strategy in Fairbanks, Alaska... or in any market they're not well versed in.  When the time comes to buy a home for your family, and now is a pretty good time, rely on a local expert. As luck would have it, I happen to know a couple.

 

(gold man image courtesy of Guido Jansen)

Dear Buyer: 

I am so glad we've decided to work together to find your next new home. It will be a pleasure to be your buyer's agent.

But before we get started, I want to make one thing perfectly clear. I will never, ever sell you a house.

Now, before you decide I'm crazy, let me explain how this works. You and I will have a meeting to talk about your housing needs and wants. A "need" is something like the number of bedrooms in your home.  A "want" is something like a fireplace or a three-car garage. 

What kind of neighborhood do you see yourself living in? And how long a commute to your job would you like? Do you want a ranch or a two story or maybe a maintenance-free villa? Do you have kids that you want to enroll in a particular school district? The sharper we can focus your desires at this stage, the easier the entire process will be for you.

I'm a great listener, so tell me everything.

To determine the price range in which you'd be comfortable, we'll have you meet with the lender of your choice for a loan pre-approval. Once we've established what what type of home you're after and how much you can spend, I'll search through the available properties that fit your needs and we'll make appointments to see the best matches in your range.

Eventually we'll walk into a place where you'll feel right at home. It meets all your needs and it even includes some of your wants. You'll know this is the one for you. 

At that point, I'll put the contract together to get you the best possible deal on the house you've selected.  I'll handle the back-and-forth negotiations with the seller's agent at your direction and once we have an accepted contract, I'll guide you through the details during inspections, inspection responses and then finally, we'll have a deal.

On the day of closing, you'll sign a zillion papers and take possession of your new home.  You'll take the keys knowing I've been with you every step of the way, watching out for your best interests and making sure you're happy during a stressful -- yet ultimately rewarding -- time in your life.

But you know what?  Going back to my original point...I didn't sell you this house.  You decided what you needed and wanted in a home. I helped you focus and then acquire the selection at the best possible price and terms and with the least amount of disruption to your busy life.

Let's get started. Aren't we going to make a great team?

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About the Author:  Nancy Milton, GRI, is a Realtor with the Just Ducky Homes team at Coldwell Banker Brown Realtors in Edwardsville, Illinois. She and Kristina Pratt help their customers buy and sell homes and investment properties in St. Louis' Illinois suburbs of Madison and St. Clair counties with special emphasis on real estate in the communities of Edwardsville, Glen Carbon, Maryville, Collinsville and Troy. For more information, visit their web site at http://www.JustDuckyHomes.com or e-mail Nancy@JustDuckyHomes.com. Follow her on Twitter @JustDuckyHomes or "friend" us on Facebook.