Snow and Selling Your House

I've spent the last two days driving around in my truck getting driveways cleared of all the snow we just got pounded with. You would think that it would go beyond saying that in order to sell a house, people need to have access to it.  I don't know how many times I've gone to show a house in the past to a prospective home buyer and upon arriving at a home found it almost impossible to get into it because of all the snow.  

I know not everyone is physically capable of shoveling snow, but there are plenty of people out there who are.  

Sellers need to make sure that the driveway is cleared and there is a clear path the the front door. There's nothing much more frustrating than having a buyer have to plow through 6 inches of snow.  Their focus is now on how cold their feet are rather than how nice the home looks.

Here's Today's Market Stats:

Today is January 29, 2009

Defiance County Information

Active Listings: 289

New Listings: 2

Price Reductions: 1

New Pending: 0

Total Pending: 7

Solds: 0

Contingent: 15

Withdrawals: 0

Expireds: 6

Manufactured/Modular: What's the difference?

I am often asked, "What's the difference between a manufactured home and a modular one?" Today I'm going to try and point out some of the differences.

What are Modular Homes?
A modular home is a home that is built in sections at a factory and conform to all state, local or regional building codes at their point of destination. Each section is transported to the home site where they are then connected together by local contractors. Each home is has inspections along the way to make sure that the home is meeting the requirements and the work is being finished properly.

What is a Manufactured Home?
These are the homes that have been called mobile homes or trailers. The new ones are not called that anymore, because of all the different style options that are now available. These homes are also built in a factory, but built upon a non-removable steel chassis. they conform to a federal building code called the HUD code rather than building codes. Once built, they are transported to their final destination on their own wheels. These homes can come in multiple sections and then joined together at their building site. Not all of these homes are placed upon a permanent foundation thus making them a little harder to finance.

Here Are Today's Market Stats:

Today is January 27, 2009
Defiance County Information

Active Listings: 289
New Listings: 3
Price Reductions: 1
New Pending: 0
Total Pending: 7
Solds: 1
Contingent: 15
Withdrawals: 0
Expireds: 1

Real Estate Made Simple

"Real Estate Made Simple"

I started with the question: "How can I make real estate more simple?"

Here's my answer: www.ScottMWilliams.com

Here's What it Does:

• Provides Daily Market Stats including Active Listings, Solds, Price Changes, etc.
  
• Search Homes: Powerful home search engine for all MLS listings in Northwest Ohio
  
• Subcriber based Information Emailed to You: including daily market statistics
• Added a Daily Blog
• FAQ's (Frequently Asked Questions) pages
• New Links Including: Community, Schools, Mortgage Lenders, Title Companies plus more
• Easier Communication to answer your questions: Text me from the website, Email, Phone, question submit buttons
  
• Online loan application and pre-qualification in one day.
• Virtual Tours of homes listed
• Photos of homes listed
• Testimonials from satisfied clients.
• Tools and Games: Mortgage calculator, grocery coupons etc.

How does all this help You?

• Save Time and effort
• Less Stress
• Questions answered
• Convience
• Be informed quickly
• Easy communication
• Easy to remember address: Scott M Williams (All one word)
  

This is an easy to use, easy to navigate website developed with you in mind!
Take a look at it and tell me what you think. Submit suggestions, ideas and new questions to be added to the FAQ's pages.

Thanks and if you have any questions don't ever hesitate to ask!

Scott

P.S. I've tried to make "Real Estate Simple" for you. You can make it simple for your friends and family too. Pass this email along!

Scott M. Williams
Butler Mohr GMAC Real Estate
Scott@butlermohr.com
ScottMWilliams.com

When should I start looking for a home?

I'm often asked: "When should we start looking for a home?" That's a question that is easily answered. Right now! However, how you start looking for a home is a different answer. The answer is dependent upon your particular situation. For instance, if you currently have a home that you would need to sell prior to buying a new home then your time would most likely be best spent searching for homes that catch your interest on the web through a home search tool like the one I provide on my website. You can begin to get an ideal of the type of home you would like to have, as well as, the neighborhoods that you would consider living in. If the house is within a reasonable distance from you then you can even drive past it and get a feel for the neighborhood.

If you don't have to sell your home in order to buy a new one, then your search process should get a little more involved. You can begin, once again, online, but you can then begin to have me set up appointments to see the houses and tour them. The difference being, of course, you are more capable of purchasing the home in that position rather than in the other.

By waiting to tour the homes until you are actually ready to purchase, you are being courteous to the potential home sellers. Nobody likes to get their home ready to show and find a place to go while it's being shown for somebody who cannot possibly purchase the home.

So, when should you start looking for a home? Right now! You can begin right here!

Downpayment/Rehab Program and Weekly Stats

There's a terrific program available to help people buy and fix up homes. It's called the CHIP program. It helps create affordable homeownership for households with gross annual household income below 80% of area median income. By providing 5% of purchase price towards the downpayment and making necessary improvements to the home being purchased, affordable homewonership is possible!

Funds are available in The cities of Bryan, Napoleon and Defiance. The CHIP program provides: Down payment assistance of 5% of the purchase price and Rehabilitation assistance. After loan closing, repairs will be made in order to bring the home upt to Residential Rehab Standards. Eligible repairs include: plumbing, heating, electrical, roof, foundations, windows/doors, smoke alarms, whater/sewer issues, acessibility needs and lead paint issues.

You can find out more information by contacting the Maumee Valley Planning Commission at 419-784-3882.

Market Statistics for Today:
Active Listings: 288
New Listings: 1
Price Reductions: 1
New Pending: 1
Total Pending: 8
Solds: 0
Contingent: 16
Withdrawals: 0
Expireds: 3

Market Statistics for the Week:
Solds: 5
New Listings: 3
Contingent: 4
Price Changes: 9
Pendings: 5

Attorneys' Title Agency and Daily Statistics

The longer I’m involved in real estate the more I’m impressed with some of the people who make it work. One of the key players in the real estate game is the closing company and/or title company. I’ve been amazed once again by the professionalism of June at Attorneys’ Title Agency. She consistently works hard and gets the job done. I put her in a tough position this week in trying to get a closing to happen and she pulled it off like a pro.

I would highly recommend her and her company for any title work you may need in your real estate adventures!


The Market Stats for today:
Active Listings: 290
New Listings: 0
Price Reductions: 4
New Pending: 0
Total Pending: 7
Solds: 1
Contingent: 16
Withdrawls: 0
Expireds: 1

Mybackyard.tv and Daily Statistics

I don’t know if you’ve noticed or not, but Butler Mohr GMAC Real Estate has developed a new and exciting way to keep the people in our community up-to-date with helpful information about our community. We’ve added our video blog mybackyard.tv. It’s a almost daily video post, some of it funny, some informative, by different agents in our company hosted by our broker, Gary Butler. It’s a great way to find out some information about things that you may be wondering. Click on the link above and take a peek. If you like it you can subscribe to it and get a notification of when new videos are added.

Here are the stats for today:

Active Listings: 291

New Listings: 0

Price Reductions: 4

New Pending: 1

Total Pending: 7

Solds: 2

Contingent: 16

Withdrawls: 1

New Beginnings

It’s January 20th 2009 and Everything is starting new. Our new president will be sworn in this afternoon, It’s a new year and, if you didn’t notice, I’ve created a new website. I’m excited about all the new things that are going on in our country at this time. I know, I know, there are a bunch of challenges ahead of us, but I’m a bit of an optimist. I believe in the American spirit and the ability of it’s people to keep moving forward and work through the tough issues ahead.

If we’re honest, the numbers don’t look so great when it comes to the job market and other economic indicators, but we’ve been there done that in the past and we’ve still come out on top. In fact, I’ve seen it happening here in defiance. I’ve been more busy in the past month than I have been in the past 3. People are still looking to buy and sell homes, and why not? This is one of the best times to buy a home in the last 50 or so years. Our interest rates are at historical lows, our inventories are high and the prices are depressed. It’s deal season!

It’s my hope that each of you who read this post find yourself looking forward to the future and all that it has in store for us. If you know of someone who is thinking of buying or selling a home in Defiance or it’s surrounding areas, I would greatly appreciate your recommendations.

God bless you in this year of new beginnings!

scott