Zillow is coming out with a new program to sell your home to an investor called "Instant Offers." It hasn't launched in the Redlands real estate market yet - right now, trial areas are Las Vegas, Nevada and Orlando, Florida. A seller will be able to submit their home for offers by answering a few questions and submitting photos. Then you will receive offers from a group of "big-name" investors, according to Zillow. You may also receive a market analysis from a Zillow agent. Zillow "encourages you to use an agent" but doesn't require it.
I work with several investors, and the way they work is this: I run comps for them on a particular property in Redlands, Highland, Yucaipa, etc. so they can determine how much it will be worth, once it has been rehabbed. Then they determine how much they will spend on getting the property read for market. They add those costs to how much it will cost them to sell it - closing costs and commission. Then they write you, the seller, an offer for 70-75% of After Repair Value ("ARV"). For the property to work for an investor, they have to get it at a deeply discounted price. The people that are receptive to these offers are typically in a difficult financial situation, and need to sell right away. I can't begin to tell you how many of these offers I write that get absolutely no response because they are so low. They are NOT for the typical home seller. I'm sure you would want top dollar for your home! Also, some investors will get a seller into escrow and then telling them, you need to fix that pipe, you need to cut down that tree, etc. And the seller, not understanding it's not a requirement, and fearing the transaction will collapse, will bear the additional, unneeded expense. These investors can be tough! For many people, buying or selling their home may be the biggest financial transaction of their lives. When I close a file, I may have roughly 50-60 documents that are required, and that doesn't include loan documents. Also, California is considered one of the most litigious states in the country, and no one wants to be sued. Before I sold real estate, I attempted to sell my own house without an agent. When I look back, I think "how naive!" This is a preview of how Instant Offers will work, once it comes to our area, and I just want you, my friends and clients, to understand. Please let me know if I can answer questions for you.
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I just received my annual tax Assessment Notice. Proposition 13 dictates that:
Please note that while your notice states that your taxes were changed to "market value," what you could actually get for your property will most likely be higher. If you would like to know what you Redlands home is really worth, please contact me. If you're thinking of selling your home, be sure to take precautions to protect your valuables. 1. Put away valuables - jewelry, money, guns, knife blocks, and even prescription medications. No mail on the counters, do not allow any of your valuables to be photographed for marketing pieces. 2. Turn on lights for buyers and their agent - make sure there are no trip hazards; 3. Put away your family photos; 4. NO ONE comes in without an agent - don't forget to tell your children; and 5. Keep the doors locked. To get daily email alerts about crimes of all levels in your Redlands CA neighborhood, sign up here. In Redlands, your chances of becoming a victim of property crime are 1 in 22. According to crime data analyzed by neighborhood scout, these are the safest Redlands neighborhoods, in order:
When you own a home, keep two files for all of your product manuals and warranty info: one for your personal items like coffee pots, and electronics, and keep a second one for the items that will stay with your home if you sell it, such as garage door openers and ranges.
Also in this second file, keep info for things that you've added to the property, like a new fence or garage door opener. And finally, keep documentation of any major repairs, so that your buyer can see it was repaired properly, such a water leak that required major repairs. That way, when you go to sell the home to move up to your next home, you'll have those items all together for your buyer, and you can take the first file with you. Short sales have a bad rap, because you have to wait longer than a typical transaction, but if you don't have to move right away, a short sale may work well for you.
During the Great Recession, there were a great number of short sales on the market, and the banks were drowning in them. Now they only comprise about 3.5% of the market. Because our inventory of homes for sale is low, it's considered a seller's market, and your competition to get your offer accepted might be a little stiff. However, if you write an offer on a short sale listing, you most likely will have less competition. Also, on short sales, the banks only want to see one offer - whichever offer will net it the most money. If the listing agent has 2 or 3 offers, and yours is best, yours will be the one that's submitted, and the listing agent will let you know that within days. Then you wait for the bank to go through its process, and you have a very good chance of getting the home, as long as your offer is reasonable. The bank won't accept a bargain basement price - they still want market value, just like any other seller. So keep an open mind to short sales if you don't have to move right away - like they say, anything worth having is worth waiting for. :-) If you are over 55 OR permanently disabled, you may be able to transfer your current property tax base year from an existing home to a new home. Of course, there are conditions. Typically, the two homes will have to be in the same county; however, there are 10 counties that allow intercounty transfers, San Bernardino and Riverside being two of them.
Also, the replacement home must be of equal or lesser value than the original home. The replacement home must be purchased or built within 2 years of the sale of the first home. Talk to your tax professional to explore this and see if you are eligible. Don't let onerous property taxes prevent you from purchasing a new home - you may be exempt!
Right now the median home price in Redlands is $369,000.
(Sold homes are recorded in median ranges. If you’re looking for the average cost of a house, the median is what you’re going to find.) There are currently five homes for sale in this range (see below). Among the things that elevate Redlands property values are that our school district has high test scores and it protects funding for arts, music and sports. We also have a vibrant symphony that performs eight concerts a season. Our recreational trails are in open space maintained by a conservancy. And we have a world famous outdoor concert series at the Redlands Bowl. Take yourself on a tour of median priced homes in Redlands |
AuthorI am Rhonda Stanton, your Inland Empire real estate expert -- the market, the history and the other people that will be part of the home-buying process. ArchivesCategories |