Ideas to Get Your Property SOLD in 2009

Marketing Ideas for Sellers in Challenging Markets  

1. Since buyers have multiple choices in this market, the condition of the property is critical to the sales process.  The property must be near perfect to receive offers.  The homes that sell first are priced right and are in great condition.  (We are at an all time high in listing inventory on Hilton Head; the buyers can simply pick and choose and select the best property and value for them with little pressure to purchase.)
2. In order to receive offers, we must be #1 in position within your neighborhood in terms of price, condition, and location.  If we are not #1 in all three categories, we must be #1 on price.
3. The property must be easy to show and convenient to all Buyers and Agents.
4. Creativity Counts!  Consider giving buyer concessions to trigger an offer.  These concessions could be anything from paying down interest rates, making 6 months of payments for the buyer in advance, paying down the buyer’s credit cards and /or repainting or re-carpeting the property.
5. Consider writing an offer to the buyer to see if they will consider purchasing the property.  This has been successful for a number of agents across the U.S.
6. Determine your net, net, net bottom line and let’s work towards getting the price in line with that position.
7. Consider getting a conventional appraisal on the property to support the price and value we have established for your home and adjust if necessary.  The appraisal will help to support your value and price when the buyer applies for their mortgage.  However, please note the buyer’s mortgage company will not use this appraisal and will order their own independent appraisal. 
8. Consider accepting the first offer.  Many times the first offer is the best offer.  Also in this market, the first offer might be the only offer.
9. Consider offering a 4 or 5 % commission to the selling agent so the property is more appealing to the other agents.  This will provide the agent with additional incentive to show your property.  Therefore, they will be more likely to show your property versus the competition.
10. Understand the market has changed and we must work together to get showings and offers.  Review your motivation to sell so we can get the best offer the market will bear.

Dream BIGGER!

It is my belief that we will all look back on this year and say that 2009 was the best year to buy real estate.  With housing affordability reaching record levels and pending home sales rising in the southeast by 8 ½ percent the time to buy property has never been so rewarding.

Does it get any better?  We think so.  We recently completed a few transactions for our clients that were amazing.  Although they had hoped to sell for more, they were realistic and realized the purchase of their dream saving over $150,000! 

They sold their home for less than they hoped for:                       
   $525,000.00 Purchase price                                           

+$100,000.00 in improvements

  $625,000.00 Basis                                                            

  $565,000.00 Selling Price           

  $  60,000.00 less than the HOPED for BUT…               

They Purchased their Dream Property  for:

  $899,000.00 Replacement Property                            

 -$699,000.00 Purchase Price                                          

  $200,000.00 SAVINGS                                                    

-$  60,000.00 From above cost to sell     

  $ 140,000.00 Total Savings                                       

Moving up is taking place all over the Island as one couple sells their present property to buy a foreclosure or a market bargain.   You have this present opportunity in your favor and we would love to show you how you can save money in this market.  By the way, given the historic low interest rates, payments are lower than ever before. 

Are you interested in seeing if this can work for you?  Give us a call or shoot us an email.  We know what you are looking for and have some real estate deals and steals that you will absolutely love.  Who says you cannot have your cake and eat it too!

Thank you,

 
Robbie Bunting

Sign up for the Foreclosure Bus Tour Today!

With HiltonHeadForeclosureBus.com you will see and learn all about the foreclosed properties and short sales on Hilton Head Island and Bluffton.   Our licensed agents will show you the very best properties offered and provide a list of every foreclosures and short sale available in the area. 

On hiltonheadforeclosurebus.com you can sign up for a bus ticket to view foreclosures that are currently for sale in the Hilton Head Island Area. Simply click here  and sign in under “schedule a viewing” and we will email a confirmation for your tour and send you a bus ticket via email.   

These tours* will take you into gated communities and into the homes and villas that are offered as a foreclosure or short sale.   We schedule private tours throughout the week and weekends. 

Please choose the tour number you would be interested in seeing…
Tour 1 ~ Under $400,000
Tour 2 ~ $400,000-$700,000
Tour 3 ~ $700,000-$1,000,000
Tour 4 ~ Over 1 million

Visit hiltonheadforeclosurebus.com and sign up for your bus tour today!

See you on the bus!

Robbie Bunting &
Jane Hyers

P.S.  Please sign up in advance, space is limited.   A complete list of all area foreclosures and short sales will be passed out to attendees

Dear Clients, Friends and Fellow Associates~

I credit this economy for allowing my clients to get better properties at better prices.  I credit this economy for challenging me to do things differently and become stronger.  I credit this economy for the chance to find creative solutions for my buyers and sellers.  We have listed several ideas below that can help our clients, friends and fellow associates move faster and save money in the lending process!  We hope you find these useful.

Creative Financing 101:

Call your Stock Broker!   Recently a client of mine found a great home, but alas had not yet sold his primary residence.  Deciding not to take a chance on time he bought this great home and went to work figuring out how to pay for it.  In his search for cheap money he found his Stock Broker offered a loan at 2 1/2 percent.  Needless to say, I told him he should buy another!  This portfolio loan program is offered by many brokerage houses or give me a call as we have sources we can share with you. 

Ask the seller to offer financing!  Back in the old days when we had interest rates starting at about 17% we often looked for alternative or creative financing from the seller before we ever headed to a bank.  If the seller does not have a mortgage(if they do have a mortgage see land contracts below) they should consider the benefits of offering seller financing on their Hilton Head Property.   Of course, seller financing makes sense for the second home or vacant lot owner.  The benefits can include a faster sale and a better return.  Right now, money markets are paying less than 1.5% and the seller could easily offer owner financing at 5 or 6%. 

Ask the seller to do a land contract!  Land contracts offer more attractive financing terms over the rigid qualification standards of institutional lenders right now.  This program is similar to a lease purchase or rent to own and works for sellers that have an existing mortgage in place.  A land contract wraps around the existing mortgage or is paid straigt to the existing lender.  The seller typically offers this financing with a balloon payment of  3-5 years. At the time that the buyer secures bank financing the sellers existing loan is paid off and the deed transfers to the purchaser.  And for non conforming properties, a land contract or seller financing makes the property easier to sell.

Ask the seller to carry a second mortgage!  Given the higher down payments required by the lenders in today’s market, sellers would be wise to consider a 2nd mortgage on their property.  If the seller has some equity, this is a great way to earn a higher return than investing this money in a mutual fund or CD, but the real benefit is it will help the seller position the property more attractively to a buyer.  This is a great solution for a buyer that simply cannot come up with the down payment, but can easily afford the property.

Get a home equity line to buy a lot or second home!  Although this is not a preferred financing alternative, many purchasers have used their equity to buy property in the area.  These equity lines allow homeowners the ability to borrow up to $100,000 and still deduct all of the interest when they file their tax returns.   Home-equity loans provide an easy source of cash. The interest rate on a home-equity loans although higher than that of a first mortgage – is much lower than on credit cards and other consumer loans.

Sellers and buyers both win!  The benefits of creative financing for buyers include less stringent requirements to qualify, flexible terms, lower closing costs and a faster closing.  Seller realize benefits that can  include a faster selling process,  less difficult appraisal requirements, the possibility of deferring a gain, monthly income, a better rate of return than money market accounts and a faster closing. 

Money is once again flowing.  Conventional and even Jumbo loans are now available with very attractive rates.  If however you want to speed up the sale and reduce closing costs the above alternative financing solutions can help.  With 30 year fixed rates lower than they have ever been timing is important.  We may not be at the bottom, but we are pretty darn close!

Happy August on an Island.

 
Robbie Bunting &
Jane Hyers

Big Internet Marketing Update! 

We’re continuing to spread the good news about our properties.  We have just registered with ListHub, one of the real estate industry’s premier networks for on-line listings management.  Our recent listings will be found on these additional real estate websites by the beginning of next week and the inquiries will come back to our our companies website:

Our property listings are featured on:

• RealEstate.Yahoo.com (a.k.a. Yahoo Real Estate) which is approaching Realtor.com’s traffic!
• RealEstate.aol.com (a.k.a. AOL Real Estate)
• Cyberhomes.com
• Military.com
• Backpage.com
• Walmart.com classifieds
• Local.com
• Lycos.oodle.com (a.k.a. Lycos classifieds)
• CLRSearch.com
• InvestorLoft.com
• OceanHomesUSA.com
• MyREALTY.com
• PropBot.com
• Enormo.com
• OpenHouse.com
• ResortScape.com
• Overstock.com real estate
• eRealInvsetor.com
• DotHomes.com
• Fizber.com
• Our properties are also featured on:
• robbiebunting.com
• visualtours.com
• DunesMarketing.com
• HiltonHeadMLS.com
• Realtor.com

 Last year, we were able to add our properties to the following sites:

• LeadingRE.com (a.k.a. RELOHomeSearch.com)
• FrontDoor.com (HGTV’s real estate website)

 
As of April 2009, all of our properties are also posted on the following real estate websites:

• Trulia.com
• Base.Google.com (a.k.a GoogleBase)
• Zillow.com
• Locale.com
• Oodle.com
• Homefinder.com (formerly HomeScape.com)
• Vast.com
• Hotpads.com
• Craigslist

Our goal is to get the word out about our great listings.  If you would like to visit one of these properties please visit www.robbiebunting.com right now or any of the sites above!  If you would like to recieve or review our marketing package please email or call on us anytime.

See you on the web worldwide!

Best Regards,

Robbie Bunting &
Jane Hyers

Dear Clients, Friends & Fellow Associates ~

Here are few ways for Sellers and Buyers to make a move today! We look forward to customizing a strategy for you! Robbie Bunting & Jane Hyers

1. Sell Short and Buy Short ~ For the re-buyer (if you own something already and want to move up) timing is on your side. Right now, you can save thousands of dollars by selling your current property “short”. The smart money is doing this right now! In fact, last week we had two transactions where the sellers sold short, but bought shorter. The savings were huge! Sounds strange, but look at the example below.

Seller of a property sells their existing property for less in order to facilitate a quick sale(they priced it below the others and get it sold). When they sell, they than purchase a more expensive property for approximately the same percentage* less than they sold their property fore but end up with a higher dollar amount than it costs them. Although the shorts are not always the same, the timing in this market is excellent for us to help you save money and move up!

2. Buy a foreclosure ~ If you want your share of stimulus money it makes sense right now to buy a foreclosure. Banks are being forced to sell their foreclosure inventories at reduced prices just to get them off their books. Most of the banks would rather take less today than wait another 30 days for more. We have a top ten list of the best rental or residential foreclosures on the Island we can email to you. Let us know if you want to get your share of the stimulus money.

3. Trade in Old Bessie! ~ In the present market, some sellers will consider trades and are more amenable to creative offers. I have traded timeshare units as downpayments for villas, Palmetto Dunes Homes for Hilton Head Plantation homes, a villa for a brand new waterfront home and even rare gold coins for a beach house, seriously! Trades allow you to move around without having to sell something first. We have a list of trades we would love to share with you, simply email us and mention trades.

4. Buy and rent ~ The opportunity this real estate market offers a buyer is the timing of three including historically low real estate values, the best properties and the lowest interest rates we have ever seen. But what if it does not match your timing? In the late 1980’s we had the same market that we do now. In order to help our clients take advantage of the low prices, low interest rates and availabilty we started our buy and rent program until they were ready to make a move.

One of our clients recently purchased a home and his payment was less than $1,500 a month on a beautiful home that had a rental forecaste over $2,000 per month. At this rate we told him to buy more! The benefits include getting your foot in the door, building equity and seizing a fantastic real estate opportunity! As investors and future residents buy and rent, this is helping our market turn around.

Bottom Line, the market is moving. The key is to get in the market when you can find a great property, get a great interest rates and buy at a great price. Give me a call or shoot us an email and lets evaluate what this timing can afford you. Thank you.

Positive Energy & timing to you…

Robbie Bunting & Jane Hyers
800-932-3652 or 842-0805
islandrealtor@hargray.com

P.S. – You can’t stop the boomers!

* Negotiations will vary.

www.robbiebunting.com
800-932-3652

Dear Future Buyers,

If you are thinking of buying property now or in the near future on Hilton Head Island, don’t take a chance on time. The real estate market is dishing up some fabulous properties that not only offer incredible pricing with impeccable condition and fabulous locations. That said, below is a true story about waiting to buy.

In 1986, I met Ron a potential buyer for a second home near the beach at our furnished Huntington Model. Ron was my first real contact with an IBM engineer. Ron was a pipe smoking, Volvo driving analytical. Needless to say, for the next three years we spoke on the phone or met numerous times reviewing square footages, villas for sale, homes for sale and compared price per square foot as it related to location to the beach.

I should also mention that in those years, inventories were high and prices were still adjusting as the 1986 tax laws changed the deductions allowed on multiple properties. We were in a market pretty much the same as we are today. Finally after three years Ron settled on the place we first met, a three bedroom Huntington Villa. I believe he got a furniture package included, but paid pretty much the same price he would have paid in 1986. The one thing Ron did lose while we over analyzed the market was the time he could have had with his wife and grand children enjoying it.

A few years passed by and I saw Ron again and we laughed about our search together and the formulas we developed. I asked him how the villa was working out and did he have any regrets. He told me then that the only thing he regretted was not doing this three years earlier. To finish the story, a few years ago I had a call from Ron’s wife to tell me that he had passed away.

How much time are you willing to lose waiting for a sign, or the right time or the right price? You just cannot take a chance on time and when you are finally ready, I now have all the formulas thanks to Ron!

Hilton Head Real Estate