Mark Clemens Help for Home Sellers and Buyers MN / WI

What is one thing that I can do to make my house more salable?

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The biggest thing that you can do is to make your house appealing to the general marketplace instead of just yourself. As its been said "A Person's Home is Their Caste". That may be true but you are trying to entice another king and queen to buy your castle, not do whatever you might like within your own realm. Many find this easy to say but hard to do. That's probably because we like what we like and expect that others do as well. Nothing could be further from the truth. This is why you need the help of a professional stager (unless you will be making a full proce offer on your house.....SMILE.)

Are there really alot of foreclosures out there?

Yes, sadly. Do you want to find some? You will need to have some economic wherewithall and some persistence. If you have these already, call.

If I'm a 725 FICO, will the subprime fiasco hurt me?

If you have an excellent credit score you will probably not be too affected by the difficulties in the subprime market. But you should remeber that all banks have been hurt by this and will therefore tend to be more cautions. Thus you should allow a little extra time for your approval and not take it too personally if you are turned down Another bank will probably not have any trouble with your application in the least.

What will cause the market to turn around so that I can really buy a house?

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Two things will need to happen before "EveryPerson" can again buy a house. One is that the prices must come down and the second is that the lending parameters must become more flexible. It is tempting to say that the rates must drop lower, but stated income programs have actually made this less crucial. The difficulty is that it is much harder to do stated programs than it was just 90 days ago. These allowed people to stretch for a mortgage payment, knowing that there was unreported income to cover whatever their "real jobs" could not. When these programs come back as in deed they will, there will be more activity in the market place.

Who really determines the value of my home?

The buyers in the market place are the primary influence in what yolur home is worth. As you have heard before, your home is worth what a reasonable person is willing to pay. The key here is the word reasonable. Anyone will do anything that they must. So if there are no places to rent..........you can fill in the rest. But that is extreme. Less intense are factors of pricing, condition, and aesthetic appeal alongside affordable mortgage rates.

Would you ever make us sign a buyer's agreement?

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I have an aversion to boxing people in on anything. However, a purchase involving a sale of your home and possible assistance to your buyers along with the seller of the home you're buying requires more than most people think. Everyone has to be treated appropriately and everyone must be satisfied. That is what makes it all work and that's what win-win-win-win is all about. You of course are the most important if I am working with you to find the most affordable ideal home. But everyone in chain must be considered and that takes considerable thought and effort. So, I do expect that you will do everything in your power to make certain that I am treated fairly.

Does the seller really matter in the purchase of our new home?

Unless you are a very sophisticated investor, your seller is an important person. You will want to buy from someone you respect. It is as if their aura or spirit goes with the house. Some may find this too unscientific for their tastes, but most want to think back positively on who's life they are making better by closing on the mortgage. No one wants to make a "bad guy" richer; but everyone wants to treat a "good guy" fairly. How can you tell who is which? Look for telltale signs and then think before you offer. It just may get accepted without a counter.

I've heard "let your money work for you, but can my credit work for me instead?

You have heard "Why work for your money when your money can work for you". Now I am suggesting that  "Why work for your credit when your credit can work for you" is just as powerful. It may even be moreso. If you have an investor mentality, you need to call today. This is not about flips, but the OK way to do what sounds very much like them.

What if we're sick of the move up a notch game but still want to move up notch?

If you are a seller asking this question, then Dr Mark, that's me, diagnoses you as having used house syndrome (UHS, of course). This is a condition which many good folks get into believing that they really have to go from starter home to second home to retirment community. You don't, trust me folks. That right; there may be ahighly effective, inexpensive enough treatment program to cure your symptoms and their underlying pathology. (Yes, it IS that serious!) What you need is to start thinking "Not so big house" and there has been architectural literature on this for the last 10 years to help you do so. This is where you combine scaling down the sq footage with ramping up all the upgrades for a house on the 4th tier suburban stream--where the lot cost is cheap for trees water and quiet.But you need a realtor to help find the lot, maximize profitabilty from the sale of your too big house, optimize the numbers and a help interface with a "class act" builder to make your dream house a reality. This is why you should call Dr Mark today for his sure fire treatment program. (Hint : doing so NOW could actually extend your life and its quality by 30 years or so!!!!!!!!!!!Waiting to long invites the possibility of .........well who knows what at our age, right? Call today.)

What's one of the best ways to get more house for my money?

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Consider a bedroom community. This is one that's approximately 30 minutes from where you work. The easiest example is Hammond WI for people that work at 3M. Its an easy drive down 94. All freeway, so its not even hard on your car. In fact its even better for it than 15 minutes of daily rush hour stop and go city driving. But how much are we talking about? Maybe 20% less money for a comparable property closer in. Maybe more?