Real Estate House Party

People Behaving Badly

With Para legal extrordinaire Kathy Holtshouser and Tony V on missing in action, attorney Rick Carter, New Fed Mortgage's John Marroni, and Developer Mike Procopio discuss what happens when people behave badly. No one is off limits this week as horror stories are shared about people who did not get the right team together before buying or selling their homes. don't miss the bonus stories shared from the panel's personal experiences...Real Estate has never been so funny!

These are the Steps To Take To Sell Your Home Faster

There is an elite group of sellers who have done their homework and often sell their homes in 11 days or less. Attorney Rick Carter and everyone's favorite Paralegal Kathy Holtshouser discus the steps you should be taking prior, during, and up to the day you close with Licenced Home Stager Extrordinaire ASP Candice Pagliarulo (Pags). Check out https://stagedhomes.com/homes/homeslist.php?asp=35719 for more information on Candice.

Proactive steps to a successful home sale
I. Check the title to your property to see if you have any title issues.
II. Check with the town hall to see what your taxes are; find out if there are any betterments on your property; check to see if any pulled permits for work performed on the property have been closed out.
III. Have you team in place; real estate attorney, realtor.
IV. Have your moving strategy lined up in plenty of time.
V. Make arrangements to stage the house.
VI. Make arrangements to photograph the house.
VII. Speak to your broker to see if it makes sense to have you property showcased by a drone and/or 3D photography.
VIII. Start marketing the property through social media.
IX. Prepare for your open house. Keep an eye on any liability concerns. Remove jewelry; medicine, firearms. Secure computers. Remember if the seller’s agent (i.e. stager) causes injury the seller may be liable.
X. Once the property is sold the offer will be signed. Make sure all key terms are included in the offer.
XI. When accepting an offer in a multiple offer situation review all items included not just the asking price.
XII. Any terms stated in the offer should be included in the purchase and sale agreement.
XIII. Get your mortgage payoff information ready. The closing attorney will need to have a mortgage payoff letter from any lenders that have a secured interest in the property.
XIV. If your property has a private septic system you need to procure a passed Title V certificate.
XV. If you want to get reimbursed for oil in the property you should get a letter from the oil company stating how much oil is left in the tank and what that value is.
XVI. Need to get receipts for municipal liens.
XVII. Need to prepare a deed.

Staging Your Home To Sell

With the right team in place you could be part of the elite group of people that sell their home in 11 days or less. Attorney Rick Carter and everyone's favorite Paralegal Kathy Holtshouser discus many of the ins and outs of staging your home with Licenced Home Stager Extrordinaire Candice Pagliarulo (Pags). Check out https://stagedhomes.com/homes/homeslist.php?asp=35719 for more information on Candice.

Staging of a house occurs where you are presenting the features of the house in it best possible light.

Introductory Facts;

1. Most brokers believe a house sells for a greater price in less amount of time if a house is staged.
2. Brokers believe it allows the buyers to visualize the property as their future home as opposed to someone’s existing home.
3. A buyer is more willing to walk through a home that they saw on line if that house is staged.

Tips on Staging your Home:

1. You need to clean and organize your home.
2. Declutter as much as possible.
3. The property should almost look like a rental in a five star hotel.
4. Have a plan for your move. Attack one room systematically at a time. Give yourself plenty of time prior to your scheduled closing date.
5. In general you might want to get rid of about 50% of your possessions.
6. Make sure the closets are not jammed with clothes. You want the closets to appear spacious.
7. Similarly you do not want bookcases filled to the brim. The less amount of books the better.
8. Sort your belongings into five groups; those that you are selling, storing, throwing away, donating, and keeping.
9. If you have not used something within the last six months remove it from the property.

• Plan on renting dumpsters and/or storage facilities.
• Depersonalize the home, the land, and the driveway. You want the buyer to envision them living there as opposed to the present owner living there.
• For the Bathroom: Make it look as clean and neutral as possible. Make it look like a bathroom you would want to see at a five-star hotel. Put away toiletries, tissue boxes, and used bar of soaps. Remove bathroom items such as scales, toilet brushes, plungers, toilet seat covers and rugs around the base of the toilet. Think of what can be done for short money. Replace old, padded or wooden toilet seats. Close the toilet lid. Remove all medicine from the cabinets.
• Bedrooms: Remove wire clothing hangers. Replace them with plastic white hangers. (The property is perceived to have more value). Again remove any personal items, photos, personalized calendars, trophies, and memorabilia. Remove those stuffed animals, Knick knacks, dolls, and/or figurines. Clothing should not be left out in conspicuous areas. Computers should be left unplugged for the open house.
• Remove distinct artwork, décor and collections.
• Kitchen: Keep surfaces and appliances (including the inside) clean. Remove unnecessary countertop and other kitchen items such as towel holders, magnets, calendars, dish drainers, drain stoppers. You should not have kitchen items within 8 square feet of other items.
• The Living Area: Again remove all personalized items and mementos. Throw rugs should be avoided as they can make the room appear uneven or fragmented.
• Remove all but a select few pieces of furniture.
• Furniture that remains should be well-chosen and usually smaller pieces of furniture.
• Can the extra sleeve in the dining room table be removed to make the room look bigger?
• Houseplants should be watered and healthy looking. Fake dusty houseplants are a huge no-no.
• Newspapers and mail should be removed.
• Remove all signs of pets.
• You might want to remove any mouse traps. Get rid of cobwebs and signs of pests, i.e. roach traps.

24. Think of what you can do for cheap money throughout the house. Think of any repainting or touch up work you can do.

• Paint with neutral colors.
• Neutralize strong odors.
• Put away items of religion, politics, and ideology.
• Play up the season at hand but not the holiday season.
• Remove signs that indicate that there is deferred maintenance.
• Maximize space that might appeal to your market buyer. Maybe turn a home office into a small bedroom.
• Use decorative and lighting techniques to draw the eye away from unappealing aspects of the house and draw the buyer to the strengths of the house
• Add finishing touches such as flowers, cushions, bowls of fruit that pop and catch your eye. Maybe add a duvet to your master bedroom.
• Your curbside appeal is very important since the buyer is seeing this even before they see the house. A buyer may make their mind within 30 seconds of seeing a home.
• The front entrance is very important.
• Driveway is important. Minimize the amount of cars.
• Spruce up your landscaping.
• Cleanout down spouts and gutters.
• You might want to talk to the neighbors to see how they can assist with the outside look of the house.
• Add an impersonal welcome mat.
• Once staged have a professional photographer take pictures of the property. But keep the pictures true to the actual look of the property. Avoid those wide angle panoramic views of a room. You don’t want the buyers disappointed with the view that they actually see in person.
• Use a lot of lighting for the home. This includes even when the house is not being shown because people will be driving by the property.
• Keep the house heated.
• Try to strategize on how a buyer should be living in a staged area.
• Welcome feedback to the home. What worked and what did not work?

Final Preparation for Your Closing

With 30-60 days to close there is a lot more to do than just move. Real Estate Attorney Rick Carter and Para Legal Kathy Holtshouser discus the many pitfalls of those final days leading up to the closing and how beneficial having a good real Estate Attorney is. Everything from a well drafted mortgage contingency and conditional approval letter to protect your deposit to what may or may not be in your bank statement for the last 6 months. Does your house need flood insurance? Who should the closing check be made out to? When should you do the final walk through? What about homesteading? All these questions and many humorous comments from one of the comedic greats, Tony V!

1. Make sure everything you have negotiated is included in the offer. The offer is a binding contract so all important terms should be included.

• Has the seller agreed to leave certain personal property?
• If there is a gray area on whether the property should remain as a fixture make sure that item is listed in the offer.
• Is your offer subject to having you get a mortgage?
• Is your offer subject to the house appraising out at the purchase price?
• Is your offer subject to you selling your present house?
• Is your offer subject to a home inspection?
• Is the offer subject to the seller making any repairs to the property?
• Is the offer subject to you getting a closing cost credit from the seller?

2. If any of these items are included in the offer make sure they also get included in the Purchase and Sale agreement.
3. If you are applying for a mortgage make sure you apply for the mortgage under the terms stated in the Purchase and Sale agreement. So if the mortgage financing paragraph says you need to apply for the loan of up to $250,000.00 by January 1^st you cannot apply for a loan above that amount and past that date. If you do and you get turned down for the loan the Seller may say you did not use diligent efforts in applying for the loan and therefore your ability to get your deposit monies back may be jeopardized.
4. Make sure you get all of the information to your lender in a timely manner. Save all documents and emails you send to the lender in case they are lost or another department is looking for these same items.
5. Please keep an eye on the mortgage financing date stated in the Purchase and Sale agreement. If you do not receive your mortgage approval letter by that date or if you receive a conditional approval letter you need to ask the seller for an extension of the financing date. If your loan gets denied after the mortgage financing date your escrow money may be at risk.
6. Make sure your lender has approved your homeowner’s insurance in a timely manner. Make sure the property does not need flood insurance. That may be a very costly expense that was not originally planned for.
7. Prior to closing your lender will be delivering to you a Closing Disclosure or what is commonly known as a CD. The lender is required to make sure that there is proper evidence that you have received that CD in a timely fashion. Accordingly, make sure you are available to receive said CD.
8. Prior to closing you will be given an amount on how much to bring to your closing. Make sure you bring that amount as a cashier’s check made payable to yourself drawn from an account verified by the lender.
9. Bring two valid forms of identification to closing.
10. Make sure at closing you make arrangements to receive the optional owner’s title insurance policy and homestead affidavit.

To Convert Or Not To Convert

 Real estate Attorney Rick Carter, paralegal Kathy Holtshouser, and comic Tony V discuss homes and what it takes to convert yours to condo:  what to look for, what not to do, and what you can expect to deal with during the process.  A must for home owners and comedy lovers!

Don't Flip Out Over Your Next House Flip

Real estate Attorney Rick Carter and paralegal Kathy Holtshouser interview Steve Gary about flipping houses. There are pitfalls to watch out for and this episode of Real Estate House Party is a must listen to BEFORE you get your team together and attempt your first flip. Do permits need to be pulled? When do you need to get a certificate of occupancy? What are some of the hidden costs associated with Flipping houses? All these questions and more are addressed in this episode of Real Estate House Party!

Top tips when buying a flip:
If you are thinking of buying a flipped house you should…
1. Find out from the seller for references on who they have sold
properties to before and contact them.
2. Check the seller had masslandrecords or NH deeds and find out
who they have sold houses to before. Contact those individuals.
3. Sometimes you don’t know the property is being flipped. That is
why it is good to have a good buyer agent who knows the local
market.
4. Be careful of the FSBO flips. They might not be giving all of
disclosures normally given when there is a seller’s agent
involved.
5. It is preferable to purchase the property from someone who is a
licensed builder or had utilized the services of a licensed builder
in the renovations.
6. Find out from the town if a certificate of occupancy was required
for the work that was done. Towns handle the requirement of a
certificate of occupancy differently. A lot of times if it is a whole
house remodel and you move out that might require a certificate
of occupancy. But if someone lives in the house while its being
remodeled some towns may not require a certificate of
occupancy.
7. Make sure you have the seller sign something at closing saying
that there are no potential mechanic liens for the property due to
sub-contractors not getting paid.
8. Find out what work was done. See if you are getting any
warranties for the products installed.
9. See if permits were pulled. What are those permits pulled for?
Are the permits closed out?
10. If you are buying a property that was foreclosed by a
lender make sure you do a mold and termite inspection. That
property might have been sitting there for a while.
11. If the buyer is procuring mortgage financing to buy a
flipped property there may be added mortgage requirements. If a
flipped property is being sold within 90 days you might have to
have a couple appraisals and inspection of the property. The
seller might have to pay for the work required by the FHA loan.
12. You might want to put some money aside for unforeseen
issues.
13. Be on the lookout for telltale signs of rushed worked such
as:
- Light switch plates that aren’t properly placed.
-Crown molding that isn’t completely matched at the
corners.
-Gaps between the countertops and the wall or with the
bathroom tile.
- Doors or cabinets that don’t close correctly
-Heating or bathroom vents that do not go anywhere
14. Remember most flippers have not lived in the property. So
even if they aren’t unscrupulous they might just not know that there are issues with the property. Do a thorough inspection of the
property.

To Disclose or Not To Disclose That Is The Question

Attorney Rick Carter and Kathy Holtshouser discuss the What, When, and Whys of disclosing when you are selling your property with Mike Procopio. That and more on this week's episode of Real Estate House Party!

Carter Law Offices Talking Real Estate With Lenny Clarke

Richard Carter and Kathy Holthouser ask "Do you have the right team?" BEFORE you start looking for that dream home? Tune in to hear who that team SHOULD be and why. Featuring special guest Lenny Carke with his very funny home buying stories and John Marroni The I.C.E. man on this week's episode of Real Estate House Party!

We recommend you put a team of people together. Who would you have on your team?

· Real Estate closing attorney

· Buyer real estate agent

· Insurance agent

· Home inspector

· Mortgage originator

If you sit down with a mortgage originator what should that originator discuss with you?

· How much of a mortgage you can borrower

· What closing costs are

· What type of programs makes sense for the borrower

· See if you are need of any credit repair

Now the borrower is prepared to fill out an offer to purchase an offer.

· How important is an offer form?

· What are some other terms needed to be included in the offer: home inspection clause; mortgage financing clause;

Next stage is the Purchase and Sale. What are any important terms listed in the purchase and sale?

· Home inspection issues

· Financing due date. Needs to be unconditional.

From the closing to the purchase and sale to the closing it is very important to address all of the questions asked of you from your lender.

Make sure you receive your Closing Disclosure in a timely manner.

Prior to closing you should make sure you do a walk-through of the property

Top Ten Reasons To Use A Real Estate Broker Before Buying A House

Rick Carter, Tony V, and Kathy Holtshouser sit with Rick Nazzaro and discuss the top ten reasons to use a real estate broker before buying a house. 

Don't Sell Your Own House Alone

Rick Carter, Tony V, and Kathy Holtshouser sit with Rick Nazzaro and discuss all of the benefits of using a broker. Don't sell your house alone!