Pre Listing Home Inspections

When the time nears to sell your home, one extra bit of due diligence can pay off in the most meaningful way: helping you to get the best return on your investment. It’s not a requirement that every listing agent may suggest, but particularly if yours is an older home, it is one you should consider: ordering an advance inspection.

Ordering your own advance inspection, like the proverbial ‘stitch in time,’ can alert you to deferred maintenance items that might conk out just as you’re preparing a big showing. Things do have a remarkable tendency to cause trouble at the most inconvenient time. Even more likely, maintenance items that you have long accepted but which might sour a buyer will be spotlighted early. Curing them before your buyer insists upon it prevents receiving demands for overly extensive cures for simple problems. A listing agent who knows that a home that has already passed an inspection also knows that it is that much more likely to sail through closing. It becomes a marketing asset.

A home inspector will typically examine areas of your home such as the roof, HVAC, plumbing, electrical and structure. Some will even conduct radon and lead paint tests, and do a check of your crawlspace or attic. If you elect for a home inspection prior to listing your home for sale, you will be able to confirm that major elements of the home are in saleable working order -- and can market the property as such. What potential buyer doesn’t want to hear that when considering writing an offer?

But most important from a listing agent’s point of view is the ability to avoid surprises in escrow. Most listing agents will be quick to agree that the more things that go wrong in a home inspection, the more antsy a buyer can become about the wisdom of the purchase. Otherwise perfect home-to-buyer matches can be lost over minor hitches discovered at the last minute. If a list of even small problems is lengthy, it might seem daunting enough to derail a sale. And any repair becomes more costly if a rush job is required.

If you’re preparing to sell your home, talk to your listing agent about the appropriateness of an advance home inspection. Numerous professionals are available who can help you determine if your home is ready to sell. The National Association of Home Inspectors (NAHI) has over 1,500 members -- and I will be happy to offer trustworthy local referrals anytime.


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252 635 1100
Gary Barker
PO Box 513
Bridgeton, NC 28519

Why Experts Urge Their “5-Year Rule”

Even some veteran renters are looking at today’s housing market and wondering whether it’s time to start a home search. With prices and mortgage rates as low as they are while rents continue to move higher, the numbers point to home ownership as an ever more obvious choice. 

But that’s just the quick, back-of the envelope budget equation: monthly rent vs. mortgage payment less tax savings. If this June finds you at the start of your own local home search, many financial advisors recommend that you also consider another rule of thumb – you should plan to stay in your new home for at least five years. I always recommended a three year rule throughout most of my career. But recently I have told buyer clients that if their plans did not call for holding for five years perhaps purchasing is not for them. With younger clients I often explain the advantages of keeping a first time buy with the idea of using as a rental when it is time to move up. Most people spend about a third of their take home pay on housing. Having a couple of paid for homes at age 60 makes for a solid retirement supplement.

Transaction costs are only one consideration that makes this a good idea. Here are some of the others why it’s prudent to think about the 5-year planning horizon as you conduct your home search:

Financial Safety - Homeowners need to have at least some extra liquidity: funds set aside as an emergency resource in the event of unforeseen loss of income. Affording a home and its maintenance costs should never jeopardize the financial health of your household. Liz Weston of MSN.com recently asked several experts for their calculations regarding home repairs. Their answer? Plan to spend at least an additional 1% of a homes’ value on maintenance each year.

Resale Value - The significant overhang in distressed homes will likely continue to exert at least some pressure on home values for the near future. If you need to sell your home two or three years down the road, you may come up short when all the moving, transaction, and other expenses are considered. It may be at least that long before the familiar growth in residential real estate value resumes.

Sanity – Studies have shown that moving is one of the top stresses in life (up there with death, divorce and illness). Personally, I think a well-planned move is a little less dire, but it is true that a happy homeowner is a settled homeowner. When you’re starting your home search, consider the changes coming to your family in the coming years: New baby? Child to college? If you know a move is eminent in the near future, consider finding a home with long-term rental value. Buy a home that can grow with you and you’ll find yourself much more financially secure…and sane!

The current low prices and 30-year fixed mortgage interest rates aren’t likely to last forever, and that old adage remains true: buy low, sell high. If you’re looking for a reason to start your home search in the area now, call me for a serious look at this June’s market.


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252 635 1100
Gary Barker
PO Box 513
Bridgeton, NC 28519

Making the Most of Your Virtual Tour

If a picture is worth a thousand words, how many words might a video’s flood of pictures be worth? The scientists at George Washington University approached the topic a few years ago in connection with real estate virtual tours. To those of us whose profession is helping our clients buy and sell homes in our area, their findings were --to say the least-- interesting:


They arrived at this conclusion: “Adding a virtual tour decreases the expected marketing time by about 20% and increases the expected sales price by about 2%."  I've put that in bold, but you get the idea: those are some serious stats. Since today’s fast-paced world rewards being able to get information quickly, it’s small wonder that video tours are so powerful. But to be useful, video tours need to be well executed. Local homeowners who are preparing for a video shoot can keep some general guidelines in mind. 


For openers, it’s important to remember that the camera will be acting as the eyes of a first-time visitor, so prepare for virtual tour s as you would for an open house. Remove all personal effects like toothbrushes and medications from bathroom countertops, kid's artwork from refrigerator doors, and collectibles throughout. Stage furniture to look inviting, making certain that rooms are not overfilled. Just as in an open house, clutter can give buyers the impression that the house is smaller than it actually is.


Today's high-quality, 360-degree digital imaging can capture even tiny details, so be certain to thoroughly clean everywhere. Pay particular attention to reflective surfaces like mirrors, windows and appliances – the tiniest mark on these can pick up light and dominate an otherwise perfect scene. 


Homes that are bright appear inviting and lead to greater buyer interest. Before shooting a virtual tour , be sure to replace any blown or dim light bulbs, clean all the windows, and open any window coverings to let in natural light. Don’t worry about too much light blinding the lens – the camera operator will ensure that doesn’t happen.


By keeping these ideas in mind, local homeowners can help insure that their virtual tour  encourages buyer interest -- hopefully leading to the kind of shorter listing time and higher selling prices the university study indicated.  That’s why I always strive to include some form of virtual or online tour for my listings. If you are thinking of offering your property this summer or fall, call me to discuss how we can make the most of the market. 

Economists Can’t Even Agree to Disagree

We keep you abreast of the economic news because it can affect the way a fair number of home buyers think about their family’s financial planning. And sooner or later, homes sales statistics reflect those effects.

But even when homes sales are improving, every once in a while it’s hilariously clear that the experts haven’t got much to tell us, no matter how hard they look at their data. But that doesn’t necessarily keep them from trying. This last week served up some classic examples.

It was the Wall Street Journal that broke the good news: “Housing Market Crawls Back,” was the headline in both the print and online editions. Although the mental image of anything that has to go “crawling” might not seem terribly upbeat, the sub-headline explained that home prices were “Stirring Hope for Recovery.”

But wipe that smile off your face! The first sentence began, “Housing prices across the U.S. fell in March…” A paragraph later we learned why that was good news. Because it “offered fresh evidence of a real-estate (sic) market on the mend.” In case that has you puzzled, the WSJ followed up with a couple of explanations.

First, prices “fell just 0.03% in March.” That should cheer everyone up, because that’s barely falling at all. Second, we should all be happy because “after adjusting for seasonal factors, they rose 0.09%” according to the widely-followed Case-Shiller Index.

In other words, the falling prices didn’t actually fall. They rose. After that clarification, the authors went on to quote a Columbia Business School professor, a forecasting firm and a real estate investor, all more or less saying the ‘floor was in’ and the overall market was on the rebound. There were ‘more offers than last year;’ ‘right around December buying activity really picked up;’ and ‘the worst’ was over.

Further clarifying, the article quoted Yale’s Robert Shiller, whose worries about the European crisis and government mortgage guarantees led him to say, “There is too much uncertainty.” His partner, Karl Case (remember the Case-Shiller Index?) explained further: “There is nothing but good news since April,” he clarified.

# # #

When homes sales statistics rise, the economic news is a confidence booster; when homes sales statistics fall, confidence lags. But for those of us who keep track of the latest news, last week it appeared as if they were doing both at the same time. Or maybe neither. Hard to tell.

Summing up -- it was a good week to read the sports section.

Keep Your Cool (& Save Energy, Too!)

For most of us, as soon as we feel the opening blast from the first truly hotl summer day, we automatically fire up the air conditioner. While that may seem like the only way to keep our property from broiling, later -- when we open up the next electric bill – we’re reminded once more that it isn't necessarily the most efficient. 

There can be longer-range benefits to battling the heat using a more energy-conscious strategy. If you later decide to put your property on the market, I find it is now common for prospective buyers to ask to see a year or two of utility bills – and you don’t want those to cool your prospects’ enthusiasm!

Here are a few ways property owners are using to keep their cool while conserving summer energy use:

Maintain Your Windows

Make sure that your windows operate properly. When they are closed air should not flow around them.This will save energy bills both in cooling and heating seasons. Windows that open easily make letting fresh air in on cool days possible. At our house we check the hourly forecast on the web and if it is calling for temps in the mid to low 70's we open the windows and enjoy the breeze.

Make the Most of Ceiling Fans

Take advantage of the enormous difference ceiling fans can make. While central air conditioning refrigerates and circulates air throughout the whole house, ceiling fans can be effective in individual areas – while drawing a fraction of an A/C’s electricity. The comfort factor added by stirring even warm air is instantly noticeable. When used in conjunction with room or central air conditioning, ceiling fans can provide comfort at temperatures set several degrees higher.

Program Your Thermostats

Programmable thermostats give you all-day control and major energy savings during those parts of the day and week when nobody’s at home. Many newer properties already feature programmable thermostats, but you can have one installed for a fraction of the price you inevitably pay for those lapses of attention older systems allow. All thermostats shut down the A/C when your home reaches the desired temperature, but programmables let you make smart changes in what and when (and can also be big heat-savers during winter months).

Taking these few steps can help save hundreds – even thousands – of dollars over the lifetime of your property. Now that the hot weather is on the way, feel free to contact me if you need a  vendor referral or for any other property-related questions I’ll be happy to help answer. 


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252 635 1100
Gary Barker
PO Box 513
Bridgeton, NC 28519