The latest Realtor.ca Insights Report was just released & inspired the topic for today's post.
First, let’s start with some messages I’ve received recently:
Thought you'd send cheaper places, I see all these on realtor.ca
Where is the rest of the information about this house
Where are the photos?
Maybe you’ve had similar thoughts & questions, so let’s talk about how the MLS® works:
Seriously!
A colleague recently posted in our realtor group about something that happened to their client who just purchased their home this summer...
Someone stole their central air conditioning unit! Cut the wires & hauled it away from the side of their house!
And they don't know exactly when it happened, because who's checking the air conditioning unit outside once it's turned off for the season?! Not me, that's for sure!
The more you know, the more you can protect yourself - share what you know & help protect others too!
Here's what I learned from the 55 responses in that thread that made me think that this was a good PSA to share:
I'm keeping today's post short & sweet, but it couldn't be a more important message!
Prices have come down since we hit the peak of the market earlier this year & when you're investing you want to take your advantages when & where you can get them. A "down" market is certainly one of those times. And on the face of it, some of the lower prices look very attractive, BUT now more than ever it's important to know your numbers!
This summer for example, a client of mine was looking for an investment property with very specific parameters & after each showing we stood at my car, with my laptop on the hood of it, & plugged the numbers into a spreadsheet I designed for him, to see if the numbers made sense - FOR HIM & what he was trying to accomplish. In the end, none of them did. And that was an important exercise because there was more than 1 occasion where he was ready to move forward on a property until we really broke down the numbers.
Analyzing an investment property is more than just the purchase price & interest rate.
This is the 3rd installment in my series on What Happens When A House Doesn't Close - Part 1 detailed what happens when a Buyer breaches their contract & doesn't close & Part 2 is about how my Buyer clients benefitted from another Buyer's breached contract. Click through to catch up if you missed them!
As I was researching & writing those first 2 posts in the series, I discovered that as the market was accelerating rapidly in 2020, 2021 & early 2022, some sellers were balking at closing because prices had risen so dramatically between the time that they sold their homes & when they were due to close...and they wanted in on that action - in other words, more money! None of my clients encountered that so it wasn't really on my radar screen...apparently it was happening back in 2017 as well, but again, not on my radar!
So what happens when a seller won't close?
In real estate speak this refers to a “condition” in an offer that makes the offer conditional on the Sale of the Purchaser’s Property (SPP) or Sale of Buyer's Property (SBP) which is the same thing.
In a balanced
or Buyers’ market this is a completely normal condition to include if you
already own a home that you will need to sell before closing on a new property.
Normal but not necessarily easy…
In a
Sellers’ market, this kind of condition – or really including any kind of
condition, can mean the kiss of death for your offer if you’re competing
against an offer that doesn’t include that or other conditions…
When you’re
including conditions in your offer, you’re writing them to YOUR benefit. The
Seller is looking for an offer that benefits THEM. And that’s what negotiations are for, to find terms that
everyone can agree to…
So let’s break it down!
Is your HOME under-insured?
The price per square foot of a new build has increased dramatically over the past couple of years & often our insurance policies are not keeping up!
Regardless of where you are in the real estate space, this is an important topic to understand & take action on if needed.
First-Time Home Buyers – as you are arranging insurance coverage for your new purchase, ensure that you understand & ask how “replacement cost” is determined, “adequate limits” & “co-insurance penalties”
Homeowners Who Have Renovated – if you have “forced” appreciation on your home due to renovations then your replacement costs may have changed, depending on how your policy is written
Homeowners Who Have Re-financed to Pull Equity Out – make sure you don’t owe more than you are insured for
Homeowners/Investors Who Have Owned Their Home for a Long Time – has your “replacement cost” kept in step with market appreciation of your home
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| -Local Matters- |
Wow! I guess that will be impacting our sale too!
And my answer was as follows:
This post was inspired by a home in Oshawa that sold firm in May of this year & was due to close in August - but didn't. In September it sold for $85,000 less than it had sold for in May.
In Part 1 I wrote about what happened when a client of mine breached his Agreement of Purchase & Sale back in 2017 as well as a rundown of all the things that COULD happen when a contract is breached - in case you missed it, go back & read Part 1 HERE
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| Thalia & Melpomene Comedy & Tragedy/Happy & Sad (Sums up the 2 different client experiences I've written about in 1 handy dandy picture!) |
I also mentioned how I had another client who benefitted from a breached contract, so we're going to use that as an example to show how a bad situation can turn into a good one for both a seller & a new buyer when that happens!
This post was inspired by a home in Oshawa that sold firm in May of this year & was due to close in August - but didn’t. In September it resold for $85,000 less than what it had sold for in May.
I'm passionate about educating buyers & sellers so that they're successful in reaching their goals, regardless of what the real estate market is doing! #educate #empower #athomeindurham
