Buying

Theresa Gage
October 10, 2017

The Most Expensive Garage Sale Item

If there’s one thing the Geeks like to do it’s talk. So it was no surprise that we went out to lunch at one of our favorite local pizza places (huge shout out to Ole Piper pizza!) and got to chatting about houses and neighborhoods. Pretty soon the conversation turned to garage sales.

Property Geek Theresa Gage mentioned she’d bought a pretty pricey item she’d found at a garage sale one time so we made her dish up the whole story…

In 2008 she stopped by a garage sale at a house down the street. She started looking at a filing cabinet–not even a very attractive filing cabinet–and the gentleman holding the sale started to make small talk. He asked why she’d need such a big cabinet and Theresa responded that she and her husband owned some rental properties and needed to keep their paperwork organized.

Turns out the neighbor owned some rental properties he was about to lose in foreclosure, including the home where he was holding the garage sale. He wondered if she and her husband might be interested in talking about them. Theresa ended up leaving the filing cabinet but buying a refrigerator for one of their rental homes. She said she’d send her husband down later to pick it up and chat.

One chat led to another and another until Theresa and John found themselves negotiating multiple short sales with separate banks. It took several months, hours of phone calls, and many inches of paperwork but they were able to secure financing and buy out most of the properties, including the original home where the garage sale had been held.

Theresa remembers it being a win-win-win situation. She and John had been looking for some additional properties to add to their portfolio and were thrilled to acquire some investment units so close to home. The gentleman was ecstatic to be able to walk away without tarnishing his credit, and since the properties were under lease contracts, all of the renters were able to stay in their homes. To this day, Theresa still can’t believe the way the transaction happened.

But The Property Geeks aren’t surprised. We know savvy investors have to keep their eyes and ears open if they’re in the market for real estate deals. Opportunities are sometimes as close as just down the street!

By The Property Geeks
Why Fall Is Best to Buy
September 26, 2017

Why Fall Might Be The Best Time To Buy A Home

A lot of people think the best time to buy a house is during the Spring market.

And, it is…

…in the sense that more houses are listed for sale in the Spring. But, there’s also a heck of a lot more buyers trying to buy those listings.

The thing is, some of the houses listed back in the Spring don’t end up selling. (Usually just because they were overpriced.)

Now, it isn’t like new listings don’t happen in the Fall. There are always new listings coming on the market. But it’s not like, just because it’s Fall and not Spring, prices are necessarily going to fall. In other words, new listings aren’t likely to list for a lot lower than you would have seen in the Spring.

However, the homeowners who did list back in the Spring are much more likely to be anxious (perhaps even desperate) to sell their home. They’ve created their own problem…they missed the boat by pricing too high.

Which is great news for you, if you’re looking to buy a home:

  • Less competition. (Many buyers stop looking at this time of year…for no good reason.)
  • Motivated sellers. (They’re sick of being on the market, and wondering why nobody bought their house.)

But it isn’t always easy to find those listings. They don’t wave a white flag or lower their price to some ridiculous amount everyone would notice. If only it were that easy…

Just because someone listed their home back in the Spring doesn’t mean they’ll be all that negotiable.

There are certain things a great real estate agent will know to look for.

And we love rolling up our sleeves and finding the ones we can most likely negotiate the best deals on.

So, do you have anything you want us to roll up our sleeves and look for? Real estate deals won’t just fall in your lap, but we can certainly help you find one this Fall.

Bonus
Want another reason to buy a home in the Fall?

You can take advantage of year-end sales to outfit your home!

Hardly anybody buys a home who doesn’t want (or need) to make improvements, however small. So why not coordinate your purchase with sales on items you’ll need? According to Consumer Reports, September is an ideal time for buying carpet and paint. In October lawn mowers go on sale, and the same goes for appliances and cookware in November.

By The Property Geeks
Independence Day, Real Estate
June 27, 2017

What Do Real Estate & Independence Day Have In Common?

What’s the first thing you think of when you think 4th of July?

Probably fireworks, right?

Okay, maybe you think about barbeques, pool parties, or parades first.

The point is, the first thought for most people isn’t about the nitty-gritty that we’re actually celebrating — our independence as a nation.

Deep down, we all know that’s what it’s all about. And we respect it. But, we’re also human. Who can blame us for enjoying our freedom watching fireworks, without giving all that much thought about everything our founding fathers did to get us here?

So it is in real estate…

There’s a lot of focus on the “fireworks” in real estate. The big, glorious, flashy, exciting moments. Like…

  • The moment your house first hits the market.
  • Seeing the pictures of your house all over the Internet.
  • Throngs of people walking through your first open house.
  • Receiving offers from buyers…maybe even multiple offers.
  • Going under contract.
  • Walking into “the” house, and falling in love with it.
  • Making an offer on the house you love, and having it accepted.
  • Closing on the sale or purchase of your home.

All really exciting “firework” moments.

But they’re not the full story. There’s a lot of stuff behind the scenes in order to get to those fun, celebratory moments. A lot of thought, knowledge, skill, and work… Not necessarily fun, or exciting stuff. But it’s all important. It’s all necessary to get to those spectacular “fireworks” moments.

Not that the behind the scenes stuff should be something you think about. As a consumer, you should enjoy the glorious moments. Leave the nitty-gritty to your agent.

Just know that there’s more to it than the “fireworks” you want to see when you buy or sell a house.

By The Property Geeks