Here’s how to make your offer stand out in a multiple-offer situation. Looking to buy a home? Click here to search for a home. Looking to sell a home? Click here for a FREE home valuation. If you find yourself in a multiple-offer situation as a buyer, here are three tactics you can use to strengthen your offer: 1. Shorten your contingency time frames. When you write your offer, you’ll have three contingencies: the home inspection, appraisal, and loan contingencies. The standard contingency time frame for the physical inspection, for instance, is 17 days, so we recommend shortening this to 10 days (usually the minimum number of days buyers ask for). The standard appraisal contingency time frame is 17 days, so you can shorten this to 14 days—the limit that lenders recommend because they need time to get everything ordered and make their report. The standard loan contingency time frame, meanwhile, is 21 days, so reducing this to 17 days makes a world of difference. It’s always best to ask your lender if they feel they can get you a conditional loan approval within this time frame. Put your best foot forward right away. 2. Offer your highest price in your initial offer. Many buyers hesitate to do this because they want to leave room to negotiate, but in a competitive market, sellers don’t always counter all offers. Put your best foot forward right away. This way, even if you don’t get countered, you at least know you offered the most you’re willing to pay. If you do get countered and have already offered your highest price, you can counter back with shortened contingency time frames or an added sum of a couple thousand dollars.
3. Waive the appraisal contingency altogether. Here you’re stating that even if the property appraises below the price you offer, you're still willing to pay that price. For example, let’s say you offer $950,000 on a house, the appraisal comes in at $900,000, but you decide you don’t want to pay that much over the appraised value. You still have your loan contingency in place, which allows you to cancel because you technically can’t get your loan for 20% down (or however much you plan on putting down) if the house doesn’t appraise for $950,000. This caveat allows you to back out of the offer if you decide that the appraised value is too low. If you decide you still want to buy the home for $950,000, you would then have to bring the additional $50,000 over your down payment and closing costs (based on the $900,000 loan). If you have questions about this or any real estate topic, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help you.
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Here’s what the latest numbers say about our market. Looking to buy a home? Click here to search for a home. Looking to sell a home? Click here for a FREE home valuation. If you would’ve told me when this COVID-19 pandemic first hit that, four months later, interest rates would be hovering at historic lows (2.5%) and listed properties would be receiving multiple offers, I would’ve said you were crazy. However, that’s exactly what's happening in our Ventura County real estate market. Let’s key in on four specific stats:
Conejo Valley (for homes under $1 million):
Moorpark/Simi Valley:
Ventura/Oxnard/Camarillo:
The bottom line: It’s a great time to sell your home. It’s also more important than ever to have your home professionally staged and properly marketed. If you’re a buyer, it’s a great time to lock in a historically low interest rate. The market is extremely competitive, so have your pre-approval ready and make your offer quickly. July was a solid month, and August is looking good too. Stay safe out there, and if you have any real estate questions or would like to buy or sell a home, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d love to help. Here are the three types of home financing options. Which is right for you? Looking to buy a home? Click here to search for a home. Looking to sell a home? Click here for a FREE home valuation. There are three different types of financing you can use to buy a home: 1. Conventional financing. Many people don’t know that you can use conventional financing and put down as little as 3%. With conventional financing, you’ll have a lower PMI (private mortgage insurance) rate if you put down less than 20%, but you’ll likely have a higher interest rate, so compare financing types before moving forward. It’s a bit more difficult to qualify for this type of financing, so if you have bad credit or a high debt-to-income ratio, this may not be the best option for you. However, if you have great credit and put 20% down, this is often the best financing for you. 2. FHA financing. FHA stands for Federal Housing Administration. With this loan, you can buy a home with as little as 3.5% down. This loan is easier to qualify for because you can have a lower credit score and a higher debt-to-income ratio than what you'd need for conventional financing. Typically the interest rate for FHA financing is lower than with conventional financing, but the PMI rate is often a bit higher. If you’re putting down 10% to 19%, your PMI insurance will come off the loan after 10 years. Be sure to compare financing types before settling on one. 3. VA loan. You can only qualify for this loan if you or your spouse is a veteran. You can buy a house with this loan for as little as 0% down up to any loan amount. Little known fact: You can get up to a $2 million loan, though you still have to have the income to qualify. This is a wonderful loan, easy to qualify for, they work with lower credit scores, and they allow a much higher debt-to-income ratio.
If you have any further questions about these financing options or real estate in general, reach out via phone or email. We would love to help you. I’m explaining the three ways you can buy and sell a home simultaneously. Looking to buy a home? Click here to search for a home. Looking to sell a home? Click here for a FREE home valuation. If you need to buy and sell a home at the same time, there are three ways to do it: The first way is to put your house on the market, secure a buyer, then find a new property you want to buy. This is the typical way people buy and sell simultaneously. However, you may be asking how you’ll guarantee yourself a home to move into once you sell your current house. Well, when your home goes into escrow, we will add that this contract is contingent upon you finding another house to buy. If you don’t end up finding a property you love, your buyer can either wait longer, or they can back out of the deal and you’ll find another buyer. The most competitive way to buy and sell a home is to sell first, then look for a new house afterward. The second way to buy and sell at the same time is to find a home you love and want to buy first. You’ll write an offer, and if the seller accepts, they’ll give you a certain time frame in which to sell your current house. Then you’ll put your current property on the market and secure a buyer for it. You’ll end up closing on the same day, then we give a variance for possession so you have time to move out.
The third way to buy and sell a home is to put your house on the market and sell it, then do a rent-back for 30 to 90 days, or find temporary housing. (A rent-back means you’ll live in the home a little longer, though you no longer own it.) This is one of the most competitive ways to buy and sell because you’ll have cash in hand when making an offer, rather than a seller having to worry about you finding a buyer for your current house. If you have further questions about buying and selling simultaneously or concerning real estate in general, feel free to give us a call or send an email. We would be happy to help you. Here’s what our market looks like as it slowly returns to normal. Looking to buy a home? Click here to search for a home. Looking to sell a home? Click here for a FREE home valuation. Now that things are opening up, are we back to a normal summer real estate market? The answer is yes, we certainly are! We’re starting to see multiple offers on homes. The two main types of houses we’re seeing multiple offers on are remodeled homes in good condition and houses in lesser condition but priced well. Also, inventory has been increasing. Due to the pandemic, we did not see our usual spike of inventory in the spring. However, that has shifted, and compared to this same time last year, we’re up from 2.3 months to 2.8 months of inventory. However, it’s still a very tight seller’s market. We’ve also seen an increase in showings. The initial decrease in showing activity experienced throughout the country in the early weeks of the health crisis has now given way to modest signs of stabilization. We’re only slightly below the number of showings we had at this time last year. "It’s still a very tight seller’s market." The volume of sales has also increased lately, and a huge driving factor for that has been the low interest rates. Interest rates are hovering around all-time lows, which is more incentive for buyers to enter today’s market. Rates are currently around 3.48%, which is wonderful compared to the ‘80s, with interest rates at about 12.7%!
If you have questions about how the market’s doing or anything related to real estate, feel free to reach out to us. We would love to speak with you. If you have questions about our real estate market, today we have the answers. Looking to buy a home? Click here to search for a home. Looking to sell a home? Click here for a FREE home valuation. Here are our answers to the top three questions we’ve been getting asked about our real estate market:
1. Will the real estate market crash in 2020? No, and there are two reasons why. From 2005 to 2008, the years preceding the Great Recession, homeowners refinanced a total of $824 billion in home equity. From 2017 to 2019, they only refinanced $232 billion. It seems that we’ve learned from our previous mistakes, and banks have tightened lending standards and specialized loan modifications to ensure people stay in their homes longer. Second, Americans are sitting on a tremendous amount of equity overall. 58.7% of all homeowners have at least 60% equity in their homes, which means they’ll be less likely to walk away from those homes. 2. How do we ensure your safety when buying or selling a home? There are four ways we’re protecting buyers and sellers:
Additionally, if a buyer wants to see a house in person, we provide them with masks, gloves, and booties so that they protect themselves as well as the homeowner. 3. How have sales and pricing been affected in our area? In the 30 days leading up to this video, the volume of sales decreased by 36% year over year, but prices have risen 2.5%. This tells us it’s a great time to buy and sell. For sellers, there’s low competition. For buyers, interest rates are historically low. If you have further questions about our market or are thinking of buying or selling, don’t hesitate to reach out to The Buss Lampert Team. We’d love to help you. Owning property is a great way to fix your housing expenses, maintain personal geographic stability, and build wealth through appreciation. The last decade has given these benefits to homeowners across the nation, courtesy of one of the longest continuous periods of economic growth in history. But it is important for us all to remember that there is always a potential for an economic slow down. Experts have pointed at consumer debt, student loans, federal debt loads, trade wars, and most recently the coronavirus as harbingers of the next recession. Regardless of whether they prove to be right or not, it would be wise to take stock of your real estate holdings and consider if you are in the position you want to be to weather the next economic storm. Here are a few of the questions that are good to ask yourself.
Is your current property one that is meeting all your needs both now, and for the next 3 to 5 years? You want to be in a property that meets your needs, as well as any future needs you may be considering, such as a new baby, or caring for an aging parent at home. Perhaps you are considering retiring, and are ready to downsize pocketing some of that equity you have built up over the past decade. Addressing issues like these now is much easier while you are in a stronger financial position, and your property is at its most valuable. Is your mortgage a fixed interest loan at the current market rate or lower? Staying in place during bad economic times can be easier if you make sure you have the lowest possible payment. A fixed rate means you know your payment won’t change regardless of any local or global financial instability. After a few years of incredibly low interest rates, I still occasionally encounter clients who have mortgages at 5% or higher rates. Locking in a lower rate is a great way to reduce your monthly expense and have more cash on hand in the event you need it. Are your investment properties in locations less prone to volatility? Make sure that any rental property you own is located in a location with historically low vacancy rates, and a diverse local economy. Having a long term tenant in an area like this isn’t necessarily as exciting as a vacation rental in a popular vacation spot, but during times of economic upheaval, it will be more likely to continue producing income with less effort and volatility, and will hold its value better. These are just a few examples of what to consider as a property owner, pondering the tea leaves of economic uncertainty. I encourage you to ask yourself these questions and more. If you want to go over your personal real estate position with a professional and evaluate your options, please contact me. ![]() Looking back to 2019, the year in real estate proved to be a near replica of 2018. Virtually the same number of transactions, with 2223 escrows closed, but they sold at the blistering pace of 53 days on market average, ten days lower than 2018. The median price rose again, scampering up 6% to $785,000. This push was largely due to an over 20% year over year sales increase at the $750,000 to $1,500,000 price point. We start 2020 with less than a month’s inventory at the below $750,000 price point, ensuring heavy competition among first time buyers. Mortgage rates are tumbling in the first quarter as a result of alarming news headlines both over political challenges and health pandemic scares. After three rate cuts in 2019, the Fed may be reluctant to cut further, but their willingness to do so if necessity dictates, should bode well for buyers, as well as anyone looking to refinance or take out money for home improvements. The SALT deduction cap has not served as a significant deterrent to home ownership in our market, as the statewide housing shortage, is still felt acutely in our community. Changes at the state level in how accessory dwelling units will be approved are still being sorted out both in Sacramento and at the local level. Properties with lot sizes and configurations that work well for ADUs will likely become popular sellers over the next few years, both for families with multi-generational members, as well as investors looking to maximize their investment return potential. The Conejo Valley itself continues to be a highly desirable community, and with a negligible number of new construction options available, our resale market is expected to continue to see increasing prices, growing at roughly the same rate as last year. The inventory crunch at the lower end of the market shows no sign of easing, and the pace of sales will remain brisk at lower price levels. For details on how to help you in your home ownership goals in 2020, whether buying or selling, contact us today! 2019 was an extremely strong year. During the 3rd quarter sales and valuations sagged a bit but by late December we are seeing an upsurge in both prices and sales.
![]() After dropping for seven of the last nine weeks, mortgage rates have hit their lowest point since November of 2016. International uncertainties are proving to be a benefit for consumers at home. But the real question is, how do you take advantage of this? If you are looking to relocate, this presents itself as an ideal time to list your home, lower rates give buyers greater purchasing power, which expands the number of people qualified to purchase your home than at any other time in the last two and a half years. This can translate to a quicker sale and a smoother escrow. That greater buying power is also beneficial to you if you are in the market for a home, as it increases the number of prospective properties you can afford. It also translates to the lowest possible payment after you close the deal. For those of you staying put, this is an ideal time to refinance, as it may translate to a reduction in your monthly payment if you purchased recently. If you are looking to take cash out for improvements, this is an opportune moment to look into whether that makes financial sense to do. If you have more questions on how interest rates are impacting you, or if you have additional questions about the current real estate market and how it impacts your property, your neighborhood, or even in general, please feel free to contact me at NelsonBussRE@gmail.com or call (805) 368-3419. |
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