Seneca County, Ohio Real Estate and Auction with JIM WILSON REALTY and Steve Terry: FREE SEARCH TOOLS TO HELP BUYERS FIND THEIR DREAM HOME

Tuesday, December 30, 2008

FREE SEARCH TOOLS TO HELP BUYERS FIND THEIR DREAM HOME

Loooking for just the right property is a big Job. There are many places and as many

ways to locate properties for sale, but then you are still on your own. Often the information is not up-to-date and in some instances internet data can be as much as 2 weeks old when you read it, and any changes to it's availability won't show.
Get up-to-date facts straight from an agent. Valuable information is available to show you what a property should be worth based on it's competition. Your agent can prepare a CMA (read below for more info) based on the property you wish to purchase and see how it's value compares to others like it. Remember this is important because the bank will require an appraisal of the property to determine what they will lend toward it's purchase, so it's best to understand how it compares to others.
Free help is available along with some very useful FREE tools that will help you keep your search organized and headed in the right direction. Call 419-447-6783

Get the FREE dream book designed for buyers and current lists of available houses.
How do you get this free gift? Just go to the bank of your choice and ask to be pre-approaved, then contact me for a short appointment where we will determine just what it is you want or need in a home and you'll be on your way to an organized hunt for your own "Dream Home"

Always ask for Steve Terry when you call Wilson Realty

You can't get my help and expertise if you don't call & ask for me. Real Estate Brokerages employ numerous agents to handle the volume of transactions they encounter. Each agent works independently and is allowed floor time to answer incoming calls from sellers or buyers.
When you call the office at 419-447-5120 you need to ask to speak to Steve Terry and then I can help you in any way I can. Better yet call me directly at 419-447-6783.

They say free advice is worth just what you pay for it , but I don't agree. Educating the public about the Real Estate processes and the Auction industry is something I feel is important. I get a lot of calls from people who just have questions and know that they can get a straight answer from me. Call me at 419-447-6783 and you always get me...or I'll call you back as soon as I can.
Your Property more than likely represents the biggest investment of your lifetime and you should always have an understanding of how it will be bought or sold.

$8000.00 tax dredit for home buyers in 2009

Homebuyer Tax Breaks Now $8000 Dollars!
No Payback Provision! [you don't have to pay it back]
February, 2009: The federal government has increased the First time Homebuyer Tax Credit to $8000 dollars from the original $7500 dollars. You must purchase and close your transation on or before December 1st, 2009. This advantage is part of the new stimulus recently enacted into law in 2009. You must not exceed an income of $95,000 per year for a single person or $170,000 for couples filing jointly.
Now, you don't have to pay the money back over time. That provision has been removed from the original bill signed in September, 2008 by previous President Bush. If you have purchase your home in 2008, you can claim the full tax credit on your tax returns.

Life in Tiffin, Ohio

Welcome to Tiffin, Ohio. Tiffin is the County seat of Seneca County.
Life here is typical small town living with most of the safety you come to associate with smaller communities. Purchasing Real Estate in Tiffin has the advantage of life in a community that boast 2 colleges as well as both private and public school systems that are excellent.
Property values have been stable for most of Tiffin's history and until just recently with Market downslides we have seen an increase in value with most properties that have been properly maintained.
Some locations are more popular or desirable and therefore values in those areas are stronger. This can be seen with a market comparison of all properties; both available for purchase and those sold with in the last 12 months.

Contingencies and the Bottom Line

What usually matters to most sellers is the amount of cash they will have in hand when they leave the closing table.
Making an offer on a home can include all sorts of contingencies or "conditions" that determine if the sale will go through.
Approving inspections, being able to get financing that is suitable, sometimes making repairs, leaving personal property, or even paying for some or all of the buyer's closing costs can all be issues on which the sale of the property are contingent.
The seller must look at all of the contingencies to determine the costs and deduct them from the price offered.
Often the contingencies are necessary in order for the buyer to be able to purchase the home at all. But be careful about adding these contingencies to your offer as they cost the seller. These make it difficult for the seller to find the net price of the sale and could even cause confusion about what the Buyer is trying to achieve.
Make an offer as simple, but as close to the point as you can, this will help the seller respond in a timely manner and get your purchase agreement headed in the right direction.

Does your property look it's best?

Selling your home requires all the help you can get. One thing your home does not need when an agent is showing the home to a potential Buyer... is you . Ok, so that sounds a little harsh but experience shows that Buyers are more at ease looking when they do not feel like they are intruding on the homeowners personal space.
Leave your home neat and clean when you have a showing. Ask me for my booklet outlining many of the things home owners can tend to forget about "staging " your home.
The effort you put into cleaning and repairs really pays off. Put photos of your family away, de-clutter the whole house and remember, you no longer live there! It's now a display house on the market to SELL.

what does Full Service mean

Jim Wilson Realty is a full service Real Estate Agency that has been serving Tiffin, Ohio and all of Seneca County for half a century.
What makes the agency full service is it's complete staff of professionals who handle every aspect of Real Estate: from Building , Apprasial, Sales and Purchasing, to Auction services, if required.
As a Local developer, Jim Wilson has provided the community new residential housing, condos and other custom built projects.
From Estate appraisals and Broker Price Opinions, to certified appraisal reports, we provide a complete value comparison of residential and commercial Real Estate.
Wilson Realty represents both Buyers and Sellers.

seller financing and other strategies

When money gets harder to borrow it is often in the best interest of the buyer to purchase a property from a seller with the seller holding the loan, so to speak.

One way to purchase property from a home seller is to buy the property as a " land contract." In Ohio, the buyer can be protected by the forclosure laws by putting down the right size downpayment or by making improvements to the property that increase the purchaser's equity in the property. Although a land contract is only a promise to deliver a deed upon the completion of the contract agreement, it does require the buyer to pay the Real estate taxes on the home. Consult your attorney before entering into a land contract to see what your protection will be. Without the right amount of equity in the home, a land contractee could be evicted without forclosure rights and lose everything they have invested; if they fail to make their payments as agreed upon.
A popular way to purchase a property that is similar is called a "Buy Back Mortage." Usually some money changes hands but the seller ends up with a first mortgage owed by the purchaser at the terms agreed upon. The buyer gets a deed and the seller has all the rights of any other mortgage holder to foreclose, based on the terms of their contract.

Maybe one of the better tools a seller can use to help promote the sale of their home is a "Purchase Money Mortgage"
In this case the seller "lends the down payment" required by the bank, to the buyer. While no money changes hands, a 2nd Mortgage is filed by the seller and the bank in essence only has to lend 80% 0r whatever amount they approve. This of course is good for the bank, helps the buyer to purchase a home and leaves the seller with an investment.
Sellers must beware that they have a 2nd mortgage that is subordinate to the bank mortgage which is in first place. The risk is often offset by a better selling price, but Sellers should always seek the advice of their attorney before deciding if this is right for them.

CMA a Comparative Market Analysis

Finding out the value of your home is important.

You should feel free to have your favorite Realtor prepare an analysis of the current market from time-to-time to see how your home compares to others that might be competing in the market.
Surely all houses are not the same; some are extremely well maintained and have wonderful state-of-the-art amenities inside.
What a buyer looks for before deciding to even drive by a property is a list of amenities that Realtor's call a "Must Have" list.
This includes elements a Buyer has determined he or she would like to have in a home: such as number of bedrooms & bathrooms, formal dining room, size of the yard, a pool and extra outbuildings or more than one floor. Each home is unique to some extent, but when determining market value they must be compared to the prevailing values reflected in the market place.
By setting some guidelines, an Agent will locate homes similar to yours that are available or that have sold recently for a comparison.
Adjustments can then be made for homes with greater or lesser amenities, until an average value is ascertained.