I received a call recently from a frustrated buyer.  It seems she made an offer on a house eight days previously and still had not received an answer back from the seller.  She believed that since a deadline was placed on her offer the seller was obligated to answer her within that deadline.

That is a common misconception.  In fact many Realtors also believe the same myth. 

The only thing the deadline on your offer does is limit the time for which the offer is good.  If the seller wants to accept your offer just like you wrote it he must do so before the deadline.  If he accepts your offer after the deadline, then it still isn’t a contract unless you agree in writing to the extension.

It is common courtesy for the seller to respond within a reasonable time frame, but there is no legal reason why they need to respond at all.  If they completely ignore your offer, then your offer expires after your deadline and you are free to offer on another house or make a second offer on this one.

There are a couple of caveats to the above comments. 

• First, the seller’s Realtor is obligated by law to present the offer to the seller as soon as is reasonably possible. There are times that it isn’t possible to contact the seller.  If this is the case, the seller’s Realtor needs to communicate this situation to the other party.
• Second, If the offer is for the full price and terms as stated on the Valley Board of Realtors listing agreement, the seller IS obligated for something.  The seller is obligated to pay a commission even if the offer is not accepted.  This particular fact is usually not communicated effectively, if at all, to sellers. 

If you have more questions about this, leave a comment.

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If you need to move from Anchorage to Wasilla, or from Wasilla to Anchorage, you face a catch-22 situation. You need to sell your current?home before you can buy the other one.

You basically have three options.

• 1. You can sell your home and move into a rental while you look for your next home.? This option entails a double move.? You need to move into your rental after you sell your home and then you will move into your new home when you eventually find it.? But?this is the best choice if you are easily frazzled.? You will avoid all the hair-raising scenarios in the next two options.? And, you will most likely be able to sell your home for more money and buy the next home for less. You will sell your home for more because you won?t be pressured to accept any old offer that comes in.? You can wait until an acceptable offer arrives and negotiate without any time constraints.? Then when you go to purchase your new home you will be a very strong buyer who can negotiate for a lower price.? You will have the cash from the sale of your home, you won?t have the contingency of selling your home, and you won?t be under pressure to move because you are in a rental.
• 2. You can put your home on the market, and when you finally get a buyer under contract you can go out and find your next home as quickly as possible.? This has the advantage of knowing that you have a sale on your home.? In addition, your offer on the purchased home will be stronger because you will be able to show them an accepted contract and closing date.? A stronger offer means you can negotiate a lower sales price.? The BIG downer to this is that you are under extreme pressure to find a home to purchase if you want to avoid the double move of option one. So you may settle for less of a home than you wanted and you may pay more for it to boot.
• 3. You can take the scariest?and most common option.? You can put your home on the market, and then go shopping for a new one.? You can go into contract on the next home contingent on the sale of your present one.? Then you go back and spruce up your current home, lower the price, hold open houses, and practically beg your realtor to get your house sold.?? You will most likely have to pay through the nose for your next home because sellers generally don?t like contingent offers unless they are VERY attractive.? You will have to get your house sold in a hurry so that you can meet the contract date of the newer home.?

There are so many nightmare scenarios in option three that I could write a book about them, in fact, that?s a good idea!? I think I?ve seen most of them by now.? I expect to see the seller/buyer break down and cry, or throw a fit of rage at some time in the transaction.? You pay more in cold hard cash and in frayed nerves by taking this option.? But?most people go this way because they want to find the right house before they sell their own, and they want to avoid the double move.? I say, think again.

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I did some research last August to see how many unsold new homes were on the market. At that time there were 254 new homes in the Mat-Su area that at least had a foundation in the ground and were waiting for a buyer.

That was a lot of homes. Just a year before it was very difficult to find a new home for a buyer. They always had to wait for one to be built. It was obvious that the builders had gotten a little ahead of the buyers.

Just yesterday I attended a closing on a new home built by Ron Kuzina. What a fantastic home! The price was $242,000 for a 1,550 square foot ranch on a 1 1/2 acre lot and it had upgrades and quality galore. To find this home, the buyers and I looked at between 25-30, (I lost track), brand new homes in this price range. These homes were all finished or close to finished and most of them were one story ranches. That really drove home the point that there were a lot of new homes on the market. It also really drove home the value of the one the buyers chose. It was obvious when we walked in. That’s the house still under construction in the upper left…click on it to expand.

So, what’s it like today? As of today there are 154 new homes on the market. We have bitten off a 100 home chunk. That’s better, and going into spring I expect we will erase most of the remaining unsold inventory. But it does point out a quandary for builders and home sellers alike. You have to compete with those unsold homes already on the market. I’ve looked at a lot of them and there are some real nice homes for real nice prices on the market.

If a builder does not currently have a model he is competing with all the unsold brand new homes already on the market with “pie in the sky”.  It’s still possible to sell that way, but much more difficult.  Buyers have a hard enough time looking past the bare studs of an unfinished home, let alone one that is only builder’s mind.  It’s really hard to sell a home with only photos and plans.

And home sellers also have to compete with those new homes.  Even though buyers realize they will have to plant a lawn, pave the driveway etc., the allure of a new home is tough competition.  Existing homes need to be priced significantly under the new home market in order to complete. 

Drop me a line for more info.

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I am working with someone looking for land on Lazy Mountain.?I have a beautiful log home listed there, but no land. ?Land is always hard to come by in that area.? Most of the folks who live there know a good thing and hold it tight.? I was searching last night on the Valley MLS system in the PA06 area and found only two active listings in the area.? These two parcels were?listed by Cindy Ziegler, found here and here.

You will notice that she has a nice view photo and that there is some good detail on the listing about how to find the parcels.? I knew exactly where these parcels were from her description.

Since those were the only two active listings and my party was looking for?a larger parcel I searched for expired and cancelled listings on the hopes that these owners may still want to sell.? There were a few listings there but the most recently expired listing caught my eye.? This was a 20 acre parcel listed for $890,000.? That is a pretty phenomenal price and I wondered which parcel it might be so I clicked on the detail.? The detail says that this 20 acre parcel is in Palmer, on map PA06 in fact, which puts it on Lazy Mountain.? It goes on to say that the high school area is Colony High and the elementary school is Fire Lake.? There?were no detailed remarks at all about the parcel except that it said there were no utilities and no road access.? The tax number was listed, however, so I looked it up.? Turns out, this is a prime commercial property only a stone?s throw from the Cottonwood Creek Mall in Wasilla and it actually sold and closed in April of 2006.? Apparently the licensee already had a buyer before the parcel was put into the MLS system so?he didn?t care about the details.??He further didn?t close out the listing and let it run until it expired in Jan of 2007.

So, back to square one. ?I got on the phone to some people I knew on Lazy Mountain.? They in turn gave me other numbers and I finally?did turn up a 2 acre parcel that the out-of-state owners may sell, but it?s not much different than the?land Cindy Ziegler has listed.? I?m still on the hunt.? So far I think I have spent at least 10 hours looking for land for this couple I have only met on the internet. I really have no idea if I can find a suitable parcel, and if I do, whether the couple will even move here.?

Like I have told many prospective clients in the past when they ask me what I charge.? I don?t charge anything, I work for free.? I only get paid if I help the client meet their real estate goal.?

If you know of anything on Lazy Mountain, help me out!? Drop me a note, or give me a call, (907) 232?7900.?

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I took this photo just this morning from my house. Pioneer Peak stands out from Palmer to Wasilla and is a premier landmark for the Valley. This view is worth something to me, and it would be worth something to a buyer of my home.  But exactly how much is it worth?

When you price your home there are so many different and sometimes opposing values to add and subtract from the price it can be confusing.  So which ones are important enough to take into account?  Curb appeal is important, light is important, cleanliness and maintenance are important.  All those will help a home sell faster than it’s competition.  But you can actually add some value for a view. 

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In a previous post I encouraged sellers to have their homes inspected in preparation for a sale.

To drive the point home let me tell you about two sellers right here in Wasilla who just today found out about problems in their home that each wish they had known beforehand. In each case the buyer was having the home inspected as part of their due diligence period before they closed on the home.

In the first case, the inspector found a problem with the foundation.  The buyer and seller were both in tears because it now seems obvious that the transaction will not close.  The buyer made plans to move into the home by the end of February and the seller desperately needs to sell the home to move out of state with her family.  Now it’s back to square one.  If a pre-inspection had been completed the seller would have been able to disclose the problem and perhaps fix it before marketing, or built it into the deal to be repaired during escrow.  It is such a large issue at this stage of the transaction that it is likely the transaction will not close.

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Wells in the Mat-Su Valley run the gamut from artesian water that is so pure it should be bottled and sold,?to?mucky stink holes that a dog won?t drink.? Many new-comers to the valley assume that since the water in their home comes out of a tap, it must be good.? This article will be the first in a series of articles discussing how to find out more about the water you drink.

The cities of?Palmer and Wasilla each have their own water systems, but these only serve people inside the city limits of each.? In fact, the Wasilla system only serves some of the city residents.? In addition, many of the?developments in the Mat-Su Valley have their own community water systems.? These city and community systems are regulated and required to test the water on a regular basis.

Most homes in the valley are served by private wells that serve only one house.? There are no regulations requiring these wells to be monitored.? The only time any testing is done is when the home changes hands, and that is usually a minimal test looking for bacteria contamination.?? There are many other contaminants that can be in your water that could affect your health.? Arsenic and other metals can be?found in valley wells. Nitrates and nitrites are sometimes there as well.

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It is very rare for a seller to purchase a home inspection.  Although it only costs $300 and potentially saves them from future liablity, home sellers seem reluctant to pay for this expense.  I recommend that sellers hire a home inspector when they begin to market their property.  When I sold my own home I took my own advice…that in itself is unusual.  I kept quiet about known problems and the inspector found most of those , he also found some problems about which I was unaware.  He then gave me a written report of the issues I needed to address. 

This gave me time to complete the repairs on my own and hire competent professionals for electrical and plumbing work.  I went through the report and decided that some of the problems were minor and I just wasn’t going to do anything about them.  I then made notes on the inspectors report noting the repairs I completed, planned to complete or planned to just leave as is.  Then I attached this report to the Alaska Property Disclosure Form on which I noted all the other issues with the home. 

A seller inspection accomplishes at least two things. First, it lends credibility to your disclosure which gives potential buyers a level of comfort.  Buyers always wonder whether the seller is hiding anything about their home and sometimes back away from a home partly because of a sparsley complete sellers disclosure form.  To see the seller actually hired a professional to inspect their home and then made it available gives them confidence that the seller is telling them as much as possible about the home.

Second, it speeds up the transaction.  Most of the required repairs will be completed by the time a buyer looks at a home so that they will not need to be done after you are in contract.  It is possible that the buyer may feel confident enough with the provided inspection that they will not get one on the home themselves.  You can cut at least ten days off of the transaction time by completing an inspection up front.

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Selling a home in Alaska is risky.  This is especially true if the home has some major defects which you are hiding. I’ll never forget looking at a home for a seller who wanted to know what I thought his home was worth.  As we walked in the front yard he mentioned in an off-hand way that a fuel tank was buried under the lawn but he had cut the pipe off about a foot down.  He said he didn’t think it was important to tell anyone about it.  As you can imagine, that is not a listing I pursued.  That seller was just asking for trouble.

If the buyer knows about all the defects in your home and buys it anyway, you will incur very little risk.  The important thing is to disclose as much as possible.  The Alaska Property Disclosure Form is required for all residential properties in Alaska. You should complete it as thoroughly as you can.  Answer all the questions for which you know the answer.  Some questions may require a little research, so if you can find the answer, write it down. 

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