Shuttle from New Fairfield CT to Southeast (NY) Metro North Station

HART (Housatonic Area Rapid Transit) has recently added a commute shuttle bus to the Metro North Station in Southeast (formerly known as Brewster North Station) from two locations in New Fairfield CT.

This is part of a continuing effort to make commuting to points along the Metro North Harlem line to Grand Central Terminal easier for Connecticut residents.  Enlarge the doc below to see the schedule and other info.

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Filed under: Local Info, NEWS , commuting from fairfield county, Grand Central Terminal, Homes for Sale New Fairfield CT, linkedin, Metro North Railroad, Moving to CT from New York, new fairfield ct, Rick Schwartz Realtor, Southeast Rail Station

Spring Market in February?

I know it’s still winter – in fact, just 50 miles or so south of here they’re at the tail end of a huge snowstorm – but it sure seems like the spring real estate market is revving up. I’m sitting here taking my shift at the William Raveis office in Danbury and the level of activity is definitely higher than its been in a while.

People are calling with questions about our listings, one of my colleagues just took a “walk-in” for someone who is looking to buy a home in the area, and Realtors from other brokerages are calling to set up showings for their clients.

I know this isn’t scientific but it has a good feel to it – as if the economy just might be back on track. Can I get an AMEN?

Filed under: Buying a home, NEWS, Selling a home , Bethel CT homes for sale, Brookfield CT homes for sale, Buying a home, Danbury CT Real Estate, Fairfield County CT homes for sale, housing market, linkedin, Newtown CT homes for sale, Rick Schwartz Realtor, Selling a home, Spring Housing market, Supply and Demand, William Raveis Real Estate

The Risks of Killer Negotiation

I’ve written before on this subject and this may or may not be my final word on the topic of negotiation (you never know what’s going to pop into my addled, old brain at any moment) covers the subject of why it may be in your own best interest not to approach a home negotiation with the tactics of your character in Mafia Wars.

What is KILLER NEGOTIATION?

In a nutshell it means putting the other party in vice until they crack. Pushing them to do what you want not by vigorous “give and take haggling” to make the best deal you can, but by testing the limits at which they will “break” and bend to your will.

This can apply to either side – the buyer or the seller.  In a depreciating (buyer’s) market the seller will typically be the target and in an appreciating (seller’s) market it will most often be the buyer.  Not always – it is sometimes about the market and sometimes it’s just about exploiting the other party’s sense of desperation.

KEEP YOUR EYE ON THE GOAL.

I’m in no way urging that you should pay more or take less for a house than the market or your individual situation dictates.  This isn’t about the results of bargaining – it’s about the tactics. Remember what your objective is and why you put yourself into this position in the first place.  The goal is the same for each side: To make the best financial transaction you can in the best time frame with the least amount of risk.

The part of that statement that everyone always zooms in on is the first part – the price!  The goal, however has more than just that.  It’s about your optimum time frame and minimizing your risk.

RISK?? WHATCHOO TALKIN ABOUT?

I JUST WANT TO BUY (SELL) A HOUSE!

BUYER RISK

Unless you are paying cash for a house and are not selling another house, there are pieces of the transaction that you simply have no control over.

Most moves are part of a chain.  The number of links in the chain can vary. If you must complete the sale of your own home in order complete your purchase then you must rely on the success of your buyer.  If that buyer is also selling something then you must rely on the success of your buyer’s buyer.  And so on. The more links the more places something can go wrong.

The old adage about a chain only being as strong as its weakest link doesn’t have a better example than in a chain of home sales that rely on each other.

In addition, if you are acquiring a mortgage for your purchase there are a million things that can go wrong between the time you and the seller agree on transaction terms and the closing. The work flow of a mortgage is dependent on a number of laws that have specific intervals between critical dates as well as being dependent on the speed, work-ethic and efficiency of any number of employees and third party vendors that the bank may employ.

SELLER RISK

Unless you are selling your home with the idea of renting your next home, staying in a hotel while you travel for a while, or moving in with relatives and you do not need the net proceeds from the sale for living expenses, there are parts of the transaction that you have no control over.

The chain affects you as well – on both ends. In order to close successfully you are dependent on your buyer’s success and his buyer’s success. And so on.  In addition, if you are purchasing another home where  you plan to live, you cannot complete that transaction unless the people you are buying from close successfully – and they are dependent on the people they are buying from. And so on.

THE ULTIMATE DYSFUNCTIONAL FAMILY

Sellers, buyers, downstream buyers and upstream sellers are interdependent on each other for a successful move.   You start out as adversaries and then you all need each other to be successful. I’m not a mathematician so I can’t calculate the degree of risk but let’s just say that the more links in the chain the higher the odds that it will break somewhere along the line.

You cannot control anything that happens upstream or downstream.  You can’t even control much that happens with the two closest links, who are your buyer and your seller.  There is one thing that you can do to lessen some of the risk – at least at the closest point to you. You can control the level of goodwill between you and your buyer or seller.

SOME EXAMPLES

Work with your Realtor and come up with a price range that falls in within market value. Negotiate by making offers and counter offers. Try and learn what you can about the other parties sense of urgency and stick to numbers that you think will be accepted.  Wait them out if you have to.  Don’t go to a number that you don’t think is acceptable.  Go as many rounds as you have to, working with your Realtor’s guidance.

The key is to do it with respect.  (The following items are true – names changed to protect innocent).

• Unless there is a valid reason – don’t tell your Realtor to inform the other party that if they don’t respond to a counter offer within a few hours, you are pulling out.
• If you are the buyer and in your initial offer you ask for some item that was not in the listing – don’t press the issue if the seller replies that it’s an important item to them and they need to take it when they move.
• If you are the seller and you settle on price around the time of a holiday weekend and the buyer can’t get an inspector to come out within 3 or 5 days as detailed in the offer – don’t inform him that his inspection contingency is gone
• If you’ve gone through several rounds of offer/counter offer and you are now $800 apart on a $400,000 home, and the other party offers to move another $400 if you’ll do the same  – do it! Don’t come back and say you’ll do $350 if he’ll do $450

You certainly have the right to do any or all of the above.  As a Realtor, my job is to advise, but ultimately present any and all offers and demands my client makes.

The odds are, whatever side you are on, there is going to be SOMETHING you’ll need from the other party after the negotiation before the closing (These are all true)

• A buyer is going to ask the seller to extend the mortgage commitment date in the contract by a week
• A seller is going to ask a buyer if they can rent the house back after closing for 48 hour
• Either side might need an extra day to execute the sales contract because their attorney was sick

There are a dozen other examples but you get the idea.  The bottom line is that if you put the other party in a box and squeeze the life out of him at the beginning of a transaction – I can assure you that he will remember.

As with most of things I write or talk to clients about – the operative phrase is “Accurate Expectations”.

The funny part of it is, very few strong arm tactics actually change the outcome of your transaction.  It’s almost never about the original goal (see above). It’s about winning.  As I’ve said before a truly successful negotiation doesn’t have to have a winner and a loser.

Filed under: Buying a home, Selling a home, Supply and Demand , Buying a home, declining market, depreciating market, how to get the most out of negotiation, killer negotiation, linkedin, negotiation, negotiation of house prices, Selling a home, selling your home, strategic negotiation

Should you make a verbal offer when buying a house?

This, as most of my posts, originates from conversations with real clients.  This one comes up with some degree of regularity.

We’re going to start with my favorite, fictitious, $100,000 house.

You’ve been looking for a while and have settled on this house is your first choice – or it would be your first choice except that you can’t or won’t pay the asking price – or anywhere near it.

You and your significant other have decided that you would love to purchase this house IF you can buy it for $80,000.

So you talk to your Realtor and he says “OK, let’s make the offer.”

You reply  -“Well, we were thinking that  since it’s pretty low, perhaps you could just do a verbal offer – you know, just ask if the seller would be willing to sell for that amount before we go through all the trouble of doing paperwork, etc.”

My advice to clients at this point is simply that if you want to make an offer, we should do it formally in writing since a verbal offer isn’t really an offer.

A verbal offer is not an offer – it’s an inquiry.

A written offer is a statement: Mr Seller, I would like to buy your house. Here’s what I’m willing to pay. Here’s my signature. I’ve given my Realtor a good faith deposit, which he is holding.

A verbal offer is a question:  Mr Seller, would you be willing to accept an offer for this price?

A written offer tells the seller that you actually want to buy the house.  A verbal inquiry tells the seller that you might consider buying the house. Which do you think holds more weight?

When you proffer an inquiry, you are putting the seller in the following position. By saying yes, he knows that you might then come back and offer an even lower price, in order to test his “bottom line”.  So while it is possible that he’d be wiling to take the $80,000 offer, he has no reason whatsoever to let you know that when you haven’t made any commitment.

Making a commitment gets you a better price

Suppose you were having a yard sale. One item is an armchair which is in good shape but it has torn upholstery.  You put a price tag on it for $30.

Harry comes up to you at the sale and says “Would you take $25?” I just have to drive home and get my check book.  I’ll be back in 30 minutes.

Joe comes up and says “I’ll give you $20″.  He pulls out a 10 and two fives.

Who are you going go sell to?

You know darn well than Harry hasn’t really made a commitment.  If he does come back at all, he’d be foolish not to try an even lower price, like $15 or $20.  He already knows you’ll take $25, so why wouldn’t he want to try for an even better deal?

Pretty simple when you think about it.

MORAL: If you want to make an offer – make an offer.

Filed under: Buying a home, Supply and Demand , Buying a home, buying a house, home prices, housing market, linkedin, negotiation of house prices

Are Free Credit Reports Actually Free

I’ve posted previously about what goes into a credit report – or more specifically what makes up your FICO Score.  Now, the question is, how can you see actually what the credit reporting agencies are saying about you?  Your credit file is more than just the FICO score. It is a physical list of your debt history, your payment history, if you have left any loans unpaid or made late payments.

If you watch television for just a few hours you will likely see commercials for companies that will offer to provide you with a copy of your current Credit File for FREE.

Are they really providing you something for free?

Here’s the thing -  it’s kind of a paradox.   The three national credit reporting agencies, EQUIFAX, EXPERIAN and TRANSUNION are required to provide consumers with a copy of their credit file once per year.  It’s part of their trade-off for being in the business.

Obviously there is a cost to them to provide this free report to you so while they must provide it when asked, TV advertising is very expensive – so why would they spend “beaucoup d’argent” to solicit people from whom they earn no revenue?

I can’t generalize and say all the ads have a catch but here’s the thing that you have to keep in mind – the companies that are offering your report may or may not be the actual credit reporting agencies.  They may be a third party providing you with the means to get your report – for free – if you sign up for something else that they sell.

Sometimes they may be offering a monthly service to “monitor” your credit report and alert you to any changes or activity.  This may or may not be something you want to purchase.  So make sure if you contact any of these companies that you are clear in what you are signing up for.

If they require you to give them a credit card number in order to get a free report, I would probably be wary – or at least I’d ask questions.

Is there are way to get the reports with no strings?

Yup! There is!

To meet their obligations to provide free reports the three agencies all participate in a website called  ANNUALCREDITREPORT.COM

By going to that link you will see a clear explanation of how it works and what you can get.  You can order – once a year – your credit file from EACH of the three agencies.  You can do them all at once, or stagger them throughout the year.

Now – please be aware, that when you are on this website, you WILL be offered other services.  The key here is that you don’t have to take them in order to get your free report.

The difference in this site and some others is that you do not have  to sign up for anything with a credit card as a tria basis with the promise that you can cancel later.

Repeat – you do not have to sign up for ANYTHING other than your free report.

The process is pretty simple.   When you get to the main site, you’ll be asked to fill out basic information about yourself.  Some of this will include personal information such as your birth date and Social Security number.   The site claims to be secure but if you are uncomfortable entering your data, they will also offer you the option of printing a form, which you can fill out and send it in via snail mail.  You can also order via telephone – whatever you are comfortable with.

You will be asked if you want one report or all three.   Since you can get this once a year, some folks choose to select one report then do another one in a few months, and the last one a few months later.  Then you’re back to the first one a year later.

Based on how many you want, you will then be brought to individual sites for each of the credit agencies.

Here you’ll be asked some identity verification questions.  They will be in the form of multiple choice questions containing data that only might know. The answers are all drawn from your credit report for example:

In approximately 2002 you opened a loan with the following lender

1. Bank #1
2. Bank #2
3. Bank #3
4. None of the above

They will ask you a few questions such as this.  If you can’t answer them, the system assumes it is no you and they will direct you to order your report via mail or phone.

Once you answer the questions, you’ll be brought to a screen where you can opt to print the report.   You can either print as a PDF file for later use, or just send it to a printer.

The whole thing should take you less than 10 minutes.  Painless, simple and it will cost you nothing.

TWEET THIS

Filed under: Buying a home, Mortgages, Selling a home , Are free credit reports actually free, Credit Reports, Equifax, Experian, FICO, Free Credit Reports, linkedin, should you check your credit report, Transunion

A Real Estate Carol: Ghosts of Prices Past, Present and Yet May Be!

THE FOLLOWING IS BASICALLY TRUE, EXCEPT FOR THE PART THAT DIDN’T HAPPEN YET

THE NAMES HAVE BEEN CHANGED

THE NUMBERS ARE ALL ACCURATE

REALITY

John and Mary decided in the fall of 2006 to move.  The house they were in was old, and had too many steps for John’s aging knees.  They did some fixin’ up and put the place on the market in early 2007.

One of their neighbors who had a similar house two doors down had sold in the summer of 2006 and received $430K.

Their Realtor told them that prices had dropped a little in their market and they should list it at $425 and be prepared to come down a bit.  Mary and John were concerned by this.  They felt that their house was at least as nice as the neighbor’s and that they did not think they should take “a loss”.

The Realtor, who knew that they had bought the house about 10 years earlier for $325, didn’t seem to agree that if they sold for $420 it should be counted as a loss.  In fact, she said, if you sold for $420, you’d be making a considerable profit.

Mary said “But if we had sold last summer we would have gotten more!”

The Realtor said “But you didn’t sell last summer?”

Mary: “Well, should we wait until prices come back up?”

Realtor: “I can only answer that if you can tell me when they will go up?”

Mary and John:  “HMMMmmmmmm“

So Mary and John listed the house for $425 and in about 45 days sold it for $415.

They bought a new house in a different town about 20 miles away.  It was actually a bigger place but because it was a little farther out from the big city, the market was priced lower.  They bought it for $375.

With only a very small mortgage left on their original house, they were able to put $300 down on the new house and mortgage $75

As we move into 2010, home prices have NOT rebounded, in fact, they’ve continued to drop.  The home they bought in 2007 is now valued at $300 based on recent sales in their new neighborhood.

———–

ALTERNATE REALITY

Mary said “But if we had sold last summer we would have gotten more!”

The Realtor said “But you didn’t sell last summer?”

Mary: “Well, should we wait until prices come back up?”

Realtor: “I can only answer that if you can tell me when they will go up?”

Mary and John: “HMMMmmmmmm”

So Mary and John held on to their house, waiting until the market came back.  As of the beginning of 2010 it had not, in fact, prices continued to drop.

In January of 2010 John had had it with the stairs.  He told Mary they needed to sell now – even if they had to give the place away.

So they called their Realtor who, after doing a Market Analysis, told them that their home should bring between $330 and $340.

They listed it at $349 and after 45 days sold it for $340

After looking around they found a new home in another town (the same home in the first part of the story).  They purchased it for $305.

Since they had a very small mortgage on the house they sold, they were able to put $235 down and had a mortgage of $70.

——————————

So – if you put aside unimportant things like sale price and market value – at the end of the day,  in both scenarios John and Mary leveraged the equity in their home to buy another home that they liked better – and they ended up with virtually the same situation – with one exception. In the second scenario, they stayed in the house they didn’t like for three additional years.

WHAT IF…….

The whole thing was just starting now.

• What if you have a home that no longer fits your needs?
• What if you decide not to sell it because you are waiting for prices to come back up?
• What if prices don’t rise, and you stay where you are for years?
• What if, after that time, you make a move and end up with essentially the same financial situation?

Of course, as in any good space-time continuum story, the future is unwritten. Just ask good old Ebeneezer and he’ll tell you  The Ghost of What Will Be, is actually The Ghost of What MAY Be. Prices could go up or down dramatically in the next three years.

The point, I guess, of my little fable is that if prices go up or down on the house you want to sell, they will likely go up or down proportionately on the house you want to buy – so if you want to make a move, what is it you gain by waiting?

Just some food for thought.

God Bless Us Everyone!

Filed under: Buying a home, Selling a home, Supply and Demand , buyer's market, Buying a home, depreciating market, falling home prices, falling housing prices, home prices, linkedin, market analysis, Pricing your home, Selling a home, selling your home, tumbling home prices