Joy Buscemi has been a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson for 17 years and currently works at Signature Premier Properties. Joy can be reached at 516-429-7958. Roberta Binder is a Licensed Real Estate Salesperson with Signature Premier Properties. She has been selling homes on Long Island for 20 years. Roberta can be reached at 516-650-1365. |
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You see ads saying "It's a great time to sell." Yet don't they say that every year? This spring is different because there are a multitude of factors that are in favor of selling. Buyers know the interest rates are expected to keep rising and they want to get into a home and lock in their rate for the next 30 years. Secondly, sellers want to downsize because, their children are grown and there is no reason to continue to pay school and general taxes on a house that is too large for them. The children of the baby boomers are looking for homes now, which is causing a glut of buyers and pushing prices up because of high demand and low inventory. New tax laws are now in place and have caused the older homeowner to think twice about keeping a home, if they may not be benefiting from a property tax deduction over ten thousand dollars. Just like Superstorm Sandy had three major factors in place which caused the water to surge so high, this spring has factors that are also creating a very strong seller's market. What are the six building blocks then for a Healthy Sale? First, you must chose a knowledgeable conscientious agent to sell your home. The most important requirements are trust, honesty, knowledge and experience. Is your agent full time or part time? This may be important because of availability and response rate for the buyers. You should have an excellent real estate attorney. At times, attorneys who specialize in other areas of law can also do your contract and closing if they have knowledge in this area. The third important factor is preparing your home for sale. So many times we hear, "we have so much to do, we are not ready", even when there is a desire to sell. The timing is important for selling. Even though houses sell all year long, there are more buyers in the spring than any other time of the year. The fourth most important thing is to ensure that your certificates of occupancies are in place, if you have had work done on your home such as finished basements with bathrooms, additions, or garage conversions to name a few. Having these in place prior to selling can be important to avoid delays. Your buyer can lose their mortgage lock in rates if they cannot close due to a delay in securing that c of o. An optional thing to do is asking your attorney to run a preliminary title search on your home. For a fee, this can be so important to possibly avoid problems prior to closing. Get ready quickly for this 'different kind of spring season' if you want to sell your home! With prices soaring and interest rates potentially on the rise, you will be glad you did! The buyers are waiting. |