Blog / FAQ
Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure!
5/18/200910:04:54 AM Link | | Add comment
Mayor Will Wynn and the Austin City Council created the ECAD ordinance or Energy Conservation Audit and Disclosure Ordinance to "improve the energy efficiency of Austin homes and buildings that receive electricity from Austin Energy". Additionally, it states that "the ordinance helps meet one of the goals of the Austin Climate Protection Plan - offsetting 700 megawatts of peak energy demand by 2020 and to reduce Austin's carbon footprint".
This goes into affect on 1 June 2009. As a Realtor, if you have a listing - active or pending - and that home is serviced by Austin Energy, you will need an audit from an approved Auditor.
As a homeowner contemplating listing your home - how do you know if your home fits the audit criteria? There is an Exemption List on Austin Energy's web site that states exactly who needs one.How much will an energy audit cost you if you meet the requirements? I called a few auditors off Austin Energy's list and the range is between $200 - $300. Specifications includes square footage as well as number of AC units. The auditor will perform a Duct Blast Test which detects duct leakage. There are other steps involved, but the auditor will give you an estimate prior to arriving on your front door.
How can you be proactive? Examine your attic and look at the duct work. If you see any tears, then fix or replace them. Insulation needs to be uniform as well, so think about topping yours up if it looks uneven and burrowed or add new R-38. Solar screens are a huge way to be more energy efficient and it's fairly easy to do your own screens and make them solar. You can purchase the solar screen material at Home Depot or Lowe's as well as the tool used to stretch the fabric. I did it... and if I can do it, you can too!
Above all, don't be nervous or scared about these audits. The information and report must be disclosed, but fixing them is not a mandatory task. However, when it comes time to negotiate a contract, the information on the audit could be brought into play! Be prepared!
I want to thank Scott Young with Accountable Energy and James Davis with Energy Audit Masters for taking time out of their schedules to answer all my questions. To find a Certified Auditor for your inspection, see the list provided by Austin Energy.
Close your eyes and SMELL!
10/25/20077:38:26 AM Link | | Add comment
You have to consider the senses when putting your home on the market, as it isn't just about how the house looks. Step outside and take a few deep breaths then open your front door and step inside. Close your eyes and inhale and think about what you smell? Do you have pets? More than likely you will smell them? Did you fry something last night? That smell can linger for days. If you're serious about selling your home, you do need to consider how it smells.
My answer to any house odor is the Lampe Berger. Created in France over 100 years ago to combat the smell of cigar smoke in Smoking Rooms, this clever devise actually destroys the odors in the air before releasing the scented oil. It's increible that a small jar can fragrance a house up to 3000 square feet. The jars are available in many different sizes, shapes and colors and there is a wide variety of fragrances too. A few of my favorites are Ocean and New Orleans. For more information - see their website at:Selling your home - Business vs. Emotional
4/13/20079:19:37 AM Link | | Add comment
Business Hat vs. Emotional Hat
In selling your home one of the biggest hurdles to jump is the emotional one. Don’t feel bad, every seller goes thru it, whether your doing a For Sale by Owner or selling it thru a real estate agent.
You’ve lived in your home for years, put a lot of blood, sweat and tears into it. Now it’s time to sell and by golly you’re gonna get top dollar for it because it took you hours to install that new kitchen faucet and let’s not even talk about the days and weeks of working out in the yard getting the landscape to look nice.
A buyer comes along, loves the curb appeal, impressed beyond belief how well the kitchen faucet looks and makes an offer 10% below your list price. The reason for the “low ball” offer? All the comps in the neighborhood support his offer price but don’t support your list price. You are now insulted and counter with a high price. You go back and forth and never make a deal because you’re too far apart in the price.
Here’s the deal. The best thing you can do when you first list the property, or when you put it on the market as a For Sale by Owner, is mentally move out of the house. You have just become a real estate investor! You now own “rental” property and want to sell because you don’t like the tenants. They’ve done all this nice work on the house but they’re becoming irritable and it’s time to sell. You call your real estate agent, look at the market data, listen to the agents advice and then FOLLOW the agents advice … even if it’s not what you want to hear. Remember, your agent is the professional and looks at property from an unbiased point of view. Why would they lowball you when they are representing you? There is no incentive for them to do that because it can also affect their commission and there is a strong code of ethics that Realtors must follow.
The bottom line …. You are now in a business environment. Treat the sale of your property that way and the result will be a faster sale for more money.The True Value of a Realtor
4/6/20079:04:38 AM Link | | Add comment
TRUE VALUE OF A REALTOR
Ok, I know that much of the world perceives the real estate agent as making all sorts of money and not doing much to earn it except putting a sign in the yard and then collecting a commission check at closing. I wish it was that easy … I’d buy a bunch more signs.
Well, for many of you who have tried to FSBO (For Sale by Owner) you know it’s not that easy. If it was, there wouldn’t be a need for the industry at all now would there? How many Austin real estate and Williamson county real estate agents are there? Over 7500!
So where is the value for all that commission?
1) MARKETING - Honestly, marketing is PERCEIVED as all, or most, of what a home seller hires an agent to do. REALITY … it’s probably about 20% of the value of the commission. Why 20% ? Because of the hard dollars involved. Ever priced out a small 1” x 2” ONE-TIME display ad in the Austin American Statesman? CHA-CHING!!! The cost to be a member of the MLS and Board of Realtors? The cost of fliers? The cost of Magazine Ads? The cost of Internet Marketing? Virtual Tours? TV ads? Don’t forget all the time it takes to put these together … taking pictures, writing ads, submitting by deadlines, etc. And if the agent has an assistant doing this then the assistant needs to be paid also. “ADS” is the key word because it all ADDS up!
2) NEGOTIATION - Here’s the meat. This is worth at least 2/3’s of the commission. This is where you are paying your agent to guide you, give you advice, forsee pitfalls that can hurt you. This is where you are paying for their knowledge and expertise. Have you ever lost a deal just a few days before the closing because of something that could have been prevented during negotiations? If you haven’t then hopefully it never happens to you. If it has, then you well know the value of a GOOD agent who could have forseen the potential problem. Losing a deal at the end can be devastating and when you lose it, paying the commission if the deal would have closed would have seemed cheap.
3) PAPERWORK - Shuffling the papers may seem like no big deal but you better know what each paragraph in the contracts and addendums mean. This overlaps with the negotiation process, in my opinion, and represents the detailed portion of the sales process. DETAILS … are extremely important. Missing one detail can cost you thousands of dollars.
So, when it’s all said and done … do you know how you had a GREAT real estate agent? When your sale went so smooth you think they didn’t earn their commission. THAT’S THE MARK OF A PROFESSIONAL … It’s like pulling a tooth without hurting and all you got was a placebo!
For Sale by Owner
4/1/20075:24:47 PM Link | | Add comment
For Sale by Owner
(First … in an effort to help you sell your home as a For Sale by Owner, you may post your home on our website for FREE! Just go to the FSBO tab.)
Ok, a lot of folks want to sell their home on their own in order to do the obvious … SAVE MONEY! Well, I don’t blame you because the commission can take a bite out of the math when you put it on paper.
I like to save money too and often times will tackle projects around the house in order to do so. A friend of mine a long time ago told me “any project around the house … whatever you estimate on time and money … triple the time and double the money”. Over time I realized he was right. Why? I didn’t have all the “know how” or all the tools. Did I muddle thru it … yes. But on a percentage basis, I sure didn’t save what the numbers on paper would have made me believe.
Real estate … selling a home, is the same thing. Can you sell your home on your own? Sure. Will you save as much as you think? No. Heres’ why.
First, your savvy enough to understand that about 95% of the buyers out there use real estate agents. Thus, you are willing to work with agents and offer a 3% commission to a buyers agent (who by the way will look out after the buyers best interests when they negotiate with you and not your interests). You are perceptually saving a 3% listing commission, which IS a lot of savings. No argument.
Essentially, here’s what the process looks like in a nutshell: Writing on all of these will take too long so I just made some quick notes. If you want any clarification or discussion then just post your comment at www.mitzkatrealty.com.
When you’re done reading these, print this out and assign some values to each. See what you come up with.
Marketing your Home - Yard signs, color brochures, print ads, internet marketing. Check out the cost of the print ads. Not cheap.
Showing your Home - You alwasy need to be present to show your home. You can lose a deal by taking the family to Six Flags over the weekend.
Safety Issues - If a prospect doesn’t have an agent, who are you really showing the home to?
Qualifying the Buyer - Is the buyer or buyer’s agent going to give you names and numbers of their lender and if they are selling their home to buy yours, will they give you theirbuyer’s information?
Negotiating - It's not just about price. What are the terms of the offer? Is it a contingency? Have they sold and CLOSED on their home? If the buyers have an agent, keep in mind the Agent is representing the buyers interest only.
Paperwork - What do all the paragraphs in the contract really mean? What are the timelines for inspections, appraisals, title commitment, survey, loan docs, etc?
Getting is CLOSED! - Often times deals fall apart a couple of days before closing. Why? Because the above items weren't taken care of properly.
If it does fall apart, now what has it cost you?
Pricing a Home Right
3/22/200710:49:07 AM Link | | Add comment
Pricing a Home Right
This is one of the toughest decisions to make when you first put your home on the market. Of course you want … and the key word is “WANT” … the most for your home. Hey, so do I. But what are you going to GET ???
There are TWO ways to play the game.
1) Price it right from the beginning
2) Play the “Hey, they can always make me an offer” Game
Simply put, I recommend option #2 ONLY in a sellers market. What’s a sellers market? When homes are selling like hot cakes, no matter what the condition of the home.
Option #1 – Without a doubt this is the way to go. Why? Here’s why:
1) Every home sells within 97% - 100% of the CORRECT LIST PRICE. The correct list price is the price which reflects fair value or better and generates lots of traffic from the real estate community. Realtors know a well priced home.
If you don't believe me about the percentages, call or email me with your challenge. For example, we can simply pull up your neighborhood and it will show that the sold price of the homes will be at 97% - 100% of the LAST list price... this means that there will have been price reductions from the original list price. So why not price it right in the first place?
2) The longer the home stays on the market, the more it's going to cost you. Consider your timing for the next move, potential interset rate increases, seasonality, etc.
3) The Slow Death - Gradually reducing your list price. If you wait 3 months and then do a 3% price reduction when it's 10% overpriced, it won't help. You will continue to do small price reductions until you finally hit the market and by that time the home is tired and the offer you get is probably lower than one you would have gotten if it was priced correctly out of the gate.
Comments? Feel free to send them our way!
Offers - the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
3/12/20076:48:43 AM Link | | Add comment
When is an offer a GOOD offer? Of course, the first thing that comes to mind is PRICE. Yes, price is important but you can get your asking price and still have a bad offer.
Your asking $230,000 for your home. Your receive TWO offers:
Offer #1 - You receive a full price offer … Woo hooooo !!! What a deal … where do I sign! They want to do 100% financing, interest only payments. They ask for a 45 day escrow so they can do their inspections, get loan approval, title commitment, survey, etc. They live in town, have their home under contract due to close in 35 days.
Offer #2 - $220,000 with 20% down, close in 30 days. They are firm with this offer … take it or leave it. No contingencies, they’ve sold their home in