September 2013

When you're getting ready to sell your Vancouver home, you may be tempted to overlook a few things when filling out the property condition report.   I've heard many sellers say "If I disclose (fill in the blank) buyers might shy away." And that's a valid concern. Some buyers might shy away, but the alternative is far too risky.   If you fail to disclose and that issue comes up again later, those buyers could sue you for misrepresentation. Even if it doesn't come up later, if the neighbors know about it and tell the buyers, a legal hassle could ensue.   So disclose completely. When you do, your buyers will go into the transaction with their eyes wide open. They can never come back on you for an existing problem because they will have…

With prices and interest rates still low, you may be thinking of buying a  home for investment purposes.   You may want to try your hand at "fix and flip" – buying a home in need of repairs, doing those repairs, and re-selling. You may want to purchase a home suitable for a rental and let your tenants pay the mortgage.   Both are ways to make an extra income with real estate, but do be careful. Choose the neighborhood well, and get expert help to assure that the problems that need to be fixed are cosmetic, not structural.   What kind of neighborhood should you look for?   One where the homes are well-maintained. A solid middle-income neighborhood where residents take some pride of ownership. You also want a good…

Why do some Vancouver homeowners insist on over pricing their homes?   Usually, it's for one of two reasons:

• They want to add in a little "wiggle room" because they believe buyers will offer less than the listed price and they want to have room to negotiate.
• They think that when they list high buyers will simply make an offer – and in the meantime maybe someone will come along and actually pay that higher price.

Unfortunately, the plan usually backfires.   What happens instead is:

• Buyers' agents use over-priced homes as a comparison to show their buyers that some other home is a good value.
• Buyers and their agents don't even visit the over-priced home, believing that a seller who asks an unrealistic price will

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Whether your Vancouver home is on the market or you are trying to purchase a home here in Vancouver, you need to remain available.   If your home is listed… Never go away, even for a week-end, without letting your agent know how to reach you.   Some buyers are under time constraints. They may come to Vancouver for only a few days and need to choose a home before they leave. Your home could be perfect for them, but if you're not available to authorize a showing, they won't even see it.   And, if you've authorized showings when you're not available, that buyer may move on to a different home when you don't respond to the offer within a day or two.   If you're the buyer and have submitted an offer that's not yet accepted, you also…

Are you making offers on homes here in Vancouver but repeatedly being rejected? The obvious reason would be that you're offering too low or asking for too many seller concessions, but that might NOT be the reason.   It could be that in multiple offer situations your agent is the reason for you being rejected.   This can happen for two reasons:

• Reputation / personality
• Sloppiness in writing and presenting offers

Reputation: If your agent is known for being hard to deal with, refuses to return phone calls, doesn't get tasks done on time, etc. the listing agent will guide the sellers to an offer from a different agent.   Sloppiness: A well written offer has all the blanks filled in and is accompanied by a variety of other…