5 no-no’s when selling your home

Sellers are understandably usually quite emotionally attached to their homes, and in being so, can often be their own worst enemy, potentially jeopardising a successful sale.

International real estate trends expert, Steve Murray, who is also the editor of REAL Trends, a trends research and publishing firm based in Colorado, will be visiting South Africain August by invitation from RE/MAX of Southern Africa, to share some of his key property insights with local agents.

Peter Gilmour, Chairman of RE/MAX of Southern Africa, says that Steve will undoubtedly enrich the working strategies of many of the agents he comes into contact with. “While we are certainly well on the road to a market recovery, current market conditions remain somewhat challenging, and any real estate professional could certainly benefit from tips and insights to better their working practices.

However, says Gilmour, estate agents are not the only ones who need to up their game. “In order to get the best price for their property in the shortest possible time, sellers need to up their game too.”

He refers to an article recently published on real trends courtesy of Brendon DeSimone, a realtor based in San Francisco, a contributor to the Zillow Blog, and collaborator on multiple real estate books, which describes five things that sellers do that could potentially jeopardise a sale.

The article notes that home sellers today are under a lot of stress. It’s a tougher market, home prices have fallen and many are trying to get as much money as possible to recoup their investment. While real estate agents feel sellers’ pain and are on their side, sellers sometimes do things that make it harder for an agent to sell a home for what it’s worth.

Here are five not-so-great things sellers do that make their real estate agents cross their fingers and hope for the best:

1. Sellers who think their property is unique, thus worth more money
Sellers consider their homes special; most likely they’ve put a lot of heart, soul, and money into fixing it up. It may be where they started a family or built a lifetime of memories. When a seller believes their home is unique, however, they also believe it is worth more. Sellers then end up fixating on an asking price that’s too high, despite the advice of an agent. If it’s priced too high, a home will sit on the market for months. Unfortunately, nine out of 10 times, the seller will end up selling for less money than they would have gotten if the home was listed at an appropriate price from the start.

2. The home is a mess
Sellers: It’s important to pick up the home before a showing. Potential buyers touring a home usually don’t appreciate stepping on a child’s toy and fail to see the charm of a dog’s discarded tennis ball. Buyers want to feel that a home is clean and well maintained. If it’s not, they’ll likely move on to the next.

3. Sellers who hang around during an open house
There’s a reason why real estate agents don’t want sellers sticking around when potential buyers arrive. While a seller may be perfectly friendly and agreeable, they can alienate buyers or make them feel uncomfortable without even knowing it.

4. Holding out for extra money at the last minute
Say a buyer made an offer that was less than what the seller wants. The agent and the buyer have gone back and forth with a series of counter offers. The seller is close to achieving their dream price but they insist on trying to squeeze more out of the buyer. In demanding more money, the seller may have created bad will, as well as stressed those involved in the purchase. When it comes down to it, extracting that extra little bit may actually cost the seller more at the end of the transaction.

5. Sellers who don’t clean up before turning over the keys
Sellers should imagine themselves as the future buyer. Would they want to walk into their new home and find twelve cans of old paint in the garage? Or an old sofa with a broken leg in the storeroom? The tip to sellers is to try to make the home as spotless as possible for the new owners. They’ll appreciate it and so will the agent.
“In the current climate, those who want to get the best price for their property are going to have to work a little harder,” says Gilmour.

“Sellers need to view their homes with a critical eye. When a person lives in a house for an extended period of time, they tend to turn a blind eye and overlook problem areas.

Learn to think like a buyer, says Gilmour, and always assume that potential buyers are going to spot the faults. “At the end of the day, sellers need to remember that a well-priced, well-maintained property will appeal far more than an over-priced, under-maintained home.”

Please contact us if you require any further information or would like to apply for finance:

Complete this short form online

011.327.4489 / 0861 1111 93

morne@mortgagepluscc.co.za

www.mortgagepluscc.co.za

The home buying and financing process

Purchasing a home and registering a home loan can be a stressful and lengthy process. It helps to know the processes and parties involved and the steps required for home loan registration.

Parties involved:

•  Seller
•  Estate Agent
•  Buyer
•  Mortgage Broker
•  Transferring Attorney (appointed by seller to transfer the property to the buyer’s name)
•  Home loan Attorney (appointed by the bank granting the home loan)
•  Cancellation Attorney (appointed by the bank cancelling the home loan of the seller)

A single attorney can perform the bottom three transactions, but often there are at least two different attorneys involved.

1. Initiating the purchase
The buyer and the seller negotiate and sign an Offer to Purchase (OTP). The OTP, or Agreement of Sale, sets out the specific terms of the agreement between the two parties including details such as purchase price, deposit, date of transfer, occupational rental, etc.

2.  Mortgage home loan application
The buyer, usually through the services of a mortgage broker, applies for a home loan with various lenders. There are four basic stages to the home loan application process:

•  Submission – the mortgage broker submits your application to various lenders
•  Approval in Principle – the bank approves the loan subject to a property valuation and sometimes with other conditions attached
•  Valuation – the valuation takes place either physically or through computer aggregates based property description and recent sales in the area
•  Final Approval – the bank officially grants the loan

The application usually takes between three and seven working days.

3.  Home loan Approval
Once all, or some, of the lenders who received the application have approved the loan, the client will choose which lender they wish to do business with. The financing bank will then instruct the relevant Home loan Attorney to proceed with the home loan registration process. This can take up to three days. The mortgage broker will cancel the application at the other lenders.

4. Property Transfer
The seller advises the Transferring Attorney to transfer the property into the buyer’s name. The title deed and cancellation figures are requested from the bank that currently has a home loan over the property (if applicable). A statement of rates and taxes is requested from the local authority.

5. Home loan Attorney contacts Transferring Attorney
The Home loan Attorney advises the Transferring Attorney of the amount available for guarantees and requests the draft deed of transfer and guarantee requirements.

6. Cancellation Attorney
The Cancellation Attorney is requested to cancel the seller’s home loan upon receipt of a guarantee for the amount owing.

7. Transferring Attorney
The transferring Attorney receives the title deed and cancellation figures and sends a copy of the deed of transfer and the guarantee requirements to the Home loan Attorney. The Transferring Attorney requests that the buyer and seller sign the transfer documents. The buyer pays the transfer costs and the Transferring Attorney then pays the rates and taxes and the transfer duty.

8. Home loan Attorney
The Home loan Attorney prepares the home loan documentation and the relevant account. The buyer signs the documents and pays the costs. The Home loan Attorney prepares and issues the necessary guarantees, forwards them to the Transferring Attorney and prepares the home loan documents for lodgement with the Deeds Office.

9. Transferring Attorney
Once the Transferring Attorney has received the guarantees, they are forwarded to the Cancellation Attorney.

10. Cancellation Attorney
The Cancellation Attorney obtains consent for home loan cancellation from the bank which holds the seller’s home loan.

11. Documents prepared for the Deeds Office
After all the documentation has been signed and the costs paid, the transfer, new home loan and home loan cancellation documents are prepared by the respective attorneys for lodgement in the deeds office.

12. Deeds Office
All the documents are lodged in the Deeds Office by arrangement with the attorneys concerned. The Deeds Office takes approximately 2 – 3 weeks to check the documents before they are ready for registration by all the attorneys on the same day.

13. Bank pays out the loan

On the day of registration, the bank pays out the loan in accordance with the guarantees issued.
Allow at least 3 months for the registration and transfer of the home loan.

Please contact us if you require any further information or would like to apply for finance:

Complete this short form online

011.327.4489 / 0861 1111 93

morne@mortgagepluscc.co.za

www.mortgagepluscc.co.za