So you want me to sit Open House for your property?

Sitting Open House is a very passive form of marketing your home. They are used by real estate agents to convince sellers that they’ll be doing everything they can to sell their home, and they disrupt the lives of sellers with little or no value added to their goal of selling their home.

Aloha from Hawaii,

Biz

Watch out for the scam artists!

Be careful, there are a lot of Fast Freddies out there!
Biz

If you are a Hawaii Homeowner facing foreclosure you must read this!

This is an overview of the law from the Honolulu Board of Realtors.

Please get an lawyer if you are going to go through this process, and make sure he or she is familiar with the new law.

Tips to make your moving day easier.

Not painless, just easier!

Organizing, weeding out stuff, packing it & moving it are some of my least favorite things. So I’ve put together some tips gleaned from my many moving disasters and some successes. Learn form me, Grasshopper!

• Before you move: PURGE! Get rid of old clothes that you think you may diet down and fit again in this century. Do you really need four sets of everyday dishes? Old ratty t-shirts and shorts to do yard work in? (Oh, wait…I don’t DO yard work!) I am famous for moving these things, then throwing them out when I get to my new place, muttering to myself as to why the heck I paid to move this stuff.

• If you have hired movers, be present for the pickup and delivery.  Check the movers inventory sheets, ensuring all items are accounted for. Give the movers an inventory list with serial numbers, make, and model of your key possessions.  Make a floor plan of your new home and label the rooms to help the movers match boxes that say “Bedroom 1”, “Den”, etc. with each room.

• It’s also nice to have cold bottled water in a cooler available for the moving crew. A little kindness goes a long way on a hot day!

• The last thing you want is a child getting injured because they are in the way.  This is a good day to let kids stay with a friend or relative. Pack their belongings ahead of time with them so they feel part of the process, but having them underfoot when the movers are carrying your sofa through the door is a recipe for disaster. Make it a priority to get your child settled into their room first. This helps them feel more comfortable with their surroundings and begin to adapt.

• Pets get really stressed out with a move. I’ve moved with my pets and kept them in a spare room, but really the best thing for them is board them for a day or two. They go from one home to another with a lot less stress. My cats were boarded at the vets this last move and they did much better coming into a new place where I was relatively settled after two days rather than throwing them into chaos.

Remember the Pets don't like to move , either!

• Let  the neighbors know your dates and ask them if they would make arrangements for giving you street space.  It is a courtesy and you will need parking for the moving trucks and friends and family vehicles.  Of course, if you have friends like mine they will conveniently be out of town on your moving day and won’t be able to help, so that solves their parking issues!

• Either hand-carry or send valuables via registered and insured mail services.

• Do a last minute walk through to ensure you have not left anything behind.  Lock the doors and windows, turn off thermostat/lights and make sure the faucets and toilet are shut off (if applicable).

We likez da new place!

Well, that’s it in a nutshell, or should I say moving box… stressful, frustrating and more expensive than you thought; moving is not fun.

I made a checklist you can download here to help you keep on track.

But grit your teeth, get uber organized and “Git ‘er done”.  Once you’re finished it is a great relief to be in your new place.   Go out and explore your new neighborhood. Treat yourself to some chocolate. And you will forget all about it. Until your next move.

Aloha,

Biz

UPDATE 7/24/11

I moved to a new place on June 30th. Did everything like I said in my article. Except for one little teeny thing. Remember that part about Labeling the Boxes? You need to be specific, especially on those last minute boxes that you will be throwing stuff in as the moving van is ready to pull out of the driveway. I labeled a box “Kitchen”. Thinking it was just extra kitch stuff, I left the box unopened at the new place for a couple of weeks. Ever know what a Rubbermaid Container full of cheese smells like after it has been sitting in 89 degree heat in Hawaii, closed up for weeks? I do now! So be VERY specific…and fear the Box O’ Cheese!

Price it right from the get go, or go away!

Get it? Got it? Good…

Biz

Here are some tips to help prevent buyer’s remorse!

2. Visit the schools your kids may be attending and speak with the principal to get a tour during the school day if possible. That will give you and idea of class size, facilities and how the student body behaves.

3. Drive to and from your workplace during your regular commute. What may be a quick fifteen minutes during non rush hour can be a nightmare when everybody is going to work or home.

4. Talk with the neighbors. Take this with a grain of salt; you may get truth or nasty gossip. But you may want to know Mr. Smith mows his lawn in a Speedo, and it is not a pretty sight…

5. Check with your state sex offender registry and your local sex offender site. In Hawaii you can find this information here, each state has their own list.

7. What’s going on in the surrounding area?  Is there a busy street or highway, major long-term construction, or other issues close by? Are there major sports arenas near your neighborhood? When there is a football game people here on Oahu plan their commute around it, because traffic in that area turns into a parking lot. I learned this the hard way. I had forgotten about a Big Game and decided to go home via Aloha Stadium area. What normally took me forty-five minutes turned into a three-hour stint. Good thing I am mellow and love my Jazz radio, but there was some nasty road rage going on around me.

Chill, People!

Remember, you are not just buying a house; you are buying a lifestyle and a neighborhood.   Remember Mr. Smith and his Speedo?

Aloha,

Biz

Don’t go it alone, I can help!

Alex Charfen, co-founder and CEO of the Distressed Property Institute in Austin, Texas, said that “Agents such as Biz Kellam with the CDPE Designation have valuable perspective on the market, and training in short sales that can offer homeowners real alternatives to foreclosure, which can be devastating to credit ratings.

These experts better understand market conditions than the average agent, and can help sellers through the complications of foreclosure avoidance.”

Yes, you need to talk to your lender FIRST!

So You want to buy a Foreclosure? *BWAHAHAHA!*

The judicial process of foreclosure involves the filing a lawsuit by the holder of the mortgage or deed of trust to obtain a court order to foreclose. This is used when no power of sale is present in the mortgage or deed of trust. The court declares a foreclosure and the property is auctioned off to the highest bidder. You will go to the auction with a cashiers check for 10% of the sale price and have to cough up the balance in cash at the end of the day if you are the highest bidder. These are usually held on the Courthouse Steps and can be called “Sheriff’s Auctions” here in Honolulu.

The non-judicial process of foreclosure is used when a power of sale clause exists in a mortgage or deed of trust. This states that the borrower pre-authorizes the sale of property to pay off the balance on a loan in the event of the their default. The lender or their representative, typically referred to as the trustee, may execute the sale.

There are all sorts of notices and time frames that have to occur in a non-judicial foreclosure, I’m not going to go into that here. Speak to an Attorney, Grasshopper…

Up until three days before the sale, the borrower may stop the sale by paying the lien debt, costs and attorney’s fees. Also, even if your sale goes through and you are the proud owner of a foreclosed property, in Hawaii if the property was sold because of outstanding taxes, the seller has up to one year to get current with the taxes and they get the house back. And YOU, lovely buyer, are out of your money.

I have done quite a few “BPO”s (Broker Price Opinions) for banks looking to do a Short Sale (more on that next post) prior to  foreclosure of a property. This consists of me personally going out to the house to place an opinion of sale price on the property for the bank. The home may be in pretty good shape at the time I assess it. And then I have gone back to those same properties after the foreclosure and the occupants have been evicted.

To say these properties have been trashed would be like saying Katrina was a Spring Shower. Plumbing ripped out, copper wiring ripped out, Appliances removed or destroyed, walls smashed in and bathtubs used as toilets. And those are some of the clean ones!  Vindictive former owners will destroy a property as a “Get even” with the evil bank that talked them into a big loan they could not afford.  Yep, it’s always the Lender and the Real Estate Agents fault, no personal responsibility there! I will be the first to admit there were quite a few lenders and agents that were crooked and went into a transaction just to make money, but don’t tell me there were not any greedy buyers involved. If you believe that I have a nice Bridge in Brooklyn for sale…

I’m not going to outline the process here, if you still want to buy a foreclosure you should probably saddle up with a good Real Estate Attorney. And I’m not going to help you buy a foreclosure. I have more fun things to do like Root Canal Surgery…

“I’ll sell it myself and save the Commission!”

You still want to sell it yourself? I do admire your tenacity! Let me ask you this; are you willing to do the tasks it takes?

You will need to:

1) Promote your home for sale in local media, online and maybe pay for a limited service listing just to get your home in the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) so other agents can find your property.
2) Pay for signage.
3) Contact local agents to let them know you have a home for sale.
4) Take time off from work to be available to show the property.
5) Assess who is a legitimate buyer who has pre-approval from a lender and who is not ready, willing and able to buy.
6) Recommend lenders to buyers that need to get a loan.
7) Prepare and review contracts, negotiate contracts to a win-win acceptance of an offer.
8) Open escrow with a Title Company and keep escrow deadlines on track.
9) Carry Errors and Omissions Insurance so if there is a screw up in the contract you are covered in mediation and arbitration or worst possible case a lawsuit in court.

Hmm…so my job isn’t really as easy as you think, Mr. & Mrs. Seller. Selling a home in today’s market is a full time job, are you willing to give up yours to do mine?