Donations for Your School or Charity

Today, we are very pleased to announce our new program called Donation Drive. We have worked very hard to design this program to have the greatest financial impact with the least amount of work for the school or charity.

Most schools and charitable organizations struggle to have enough funds to support their various programs. Often, parents and volunteers must sit at tables, knock on doors or hold bake sales to help out. Our program allows us to help families connected with these Schools and Charities, while providing additional funds for their activities with very little effort by parents, organizers and volunteers.

Here are the three simple steps to make it work:

Talk Up The Program
On average, 1 of every 5 people is buying or selling a home or knows someone who is. Anyone that you know can mean a donation to your school or charity. When you think about how many people you know, that adds up. All you need to do is introduce us so that we may interview for the job of representing them.

We Help Them
If someone you introduce us decides to work with us, we will enroll them in the Donation Drive program. Our clients say great things about us, so rest assured they are in capable hands.

They Close and We Donate
Once the sale or purchase of their home closes, we make a donation to your selected school or charity for $150 or $200, depending on the agreement with your school or charity.

Simple, right?
The quicker you enroll your organization, the quicker you will have donations made to your school or charity. Call or email us today and we can help explain the program and get the ball rolling.


  Cornerstone Academy
We are very excited to announce that Cornerstone Academy on South St Louis County is now participating in the Donation Drive program. If you or someone you know is connected to Cornerstone, contact us and we can answer all of your questions!

Credit Crisis Easing

I just read an article about the easing of lending standards for borrowers. (http://www.dsnews.com/articles/housing-crisis-to-end-in-2012-as-banks-loosen-credit-standards-2012-01-24) I am going to stay cautiously optimistic. While I see positive signs, there are some signs that still worry me. I believe this spring will tell us quite a bit about how strong our economic recovery is and if the housing market is really on the upswing.

The flip side is that there have been lots of buyers in the market during this downturn. Maybe not as many as we would like, but savvy sellers have been able to capitalize on their strengths and engage these buyers. Even if sellers took a hit due to lower prices, they have been able to leverage those low prices when buying. Often, it has been a wash. For those on sound footing with their loan to value ratio, they have been able to move up into homes they once couldn't afford.

The lesson is, don't take the negative news at face value. You situation is unique to you and has it's own challenges and opportunities. Let's talk about how to leverage those.

Warmest regards,
Dan

Client Satisfaction

One question that you should be able to ask when interviewing a real estate agent is, "How do your customers feel about your service?" While this is a great question to ask, it is more difficult to obtain a verifiable answer. Surely there is a way to know what the agent's past clients think of him or her. Here is how we provide potential clients with usable information:


Referral Rate
Our team averages approximately a 70% referral rate. That means that 70% of our clients are referred to us by past clients. That number speaks volumes about the level of service we provide.

Client Satisfaction
Beginning in 2012, we started sending satisfaction surveys to each of our clients after the close of their purchase or sale. To date, we have been scored excellent by our clients. The comments they provide illustrate how pleased they are and that they would happily refer us to their friends and neighbors. Review our surveys here: http://www.getteamhaynes.com/ap.aspx?p=9593&page=Client-Surveys

Vintage Stock Resale Store

Robin and I just sold some books at the V Stock store. They have tons of movies, games, books, music, comics & trading cards in the old Borders space at South County mall. They buy your used stuff or pay you 50%more in store credit.

It is perfect as Robin reads lots of books. She's reading right now, in fact!

Warmest regards,
Dan

Seller Paid Closing Costs

One subject that comes up frequently is closing costs and asking the seller to pay them. Over the years, we have often asked for the seller to pay closing costs when writing offers for our buyers. I thought I would post a little information about the subject to help clear up a few things.

What are closing costs -
Closing costs are the fees associated with purchasing a home, outside of down payment. Some examples are inspections, points, title fees, lender fees, etc. These fees can add up to a hefty amount, depending on your credit score and the value of the home you are purchasing.

If you have little cash over and above your down payment, closing costs can be insurmountable. By asking the seller to pay some or all of these costs, you can reduce your out of pocket expense at the closing table.

Pros -
The benefit to seller paid closing costs is, obviously, the cash you save during closing. Being able to avoid the closing costs at closing can provide extra cash to use after closing for repairs, moving expenses or furniture.

Cons -
There are a few negatives to having the closing costs paid by the seller. The most notable is that the seller isn't paying the closing costs. What? Isn't the point of this article "seller paid" closing costs? Yes it is, but the reality is that, in the end, you are going to pay those fees. Plus interest. What is actually happening when you ask the seller to pay the costs is that the fees are rolled into your loan?

Let's say you are making an offer for $100,000 for a home. Closing costs are estimated to be $2,800. When you write the offer, you offer the $100,000 and, in the contract, ask the seller to pay that $2,800. Where do you think the seller is going to get that money? Are they going to run down and cash a check? Absolutely not. They are going to pay those costs out of their proceeds at closing. The full $100k is going to be loaned to you with $2,800 of the sellers profit going to the closing costs. You are financing those costs over the life of your 15, 20 or 30 year note. Sometimes that is the only option, but if you can pay the costs up front, you will save a tremendous amount of money in the long run.

Some items must be paid up front. Often, items such as inspections must be paid prior to the vendor providing services to you. Regardless of whether or not the home sale is completed, those vendors want to be paid. The best way to ensure that is for payment to be made up front. You will then receive credit for that pre-paid money at closing, if your agent wrote the contract correctly and the lender allows those items to be included.

Which brings us to lender limitations. Lenders, especially now, want to make certain that your as a buyer have "skin in the game" when making the purchase. Some lenders, depending on the program that you use for your loan, will dictate the amount or types of items that can be covered by seller paid closing costs. Knowing this up front is part of your agents job and why they need to work closely with your lender.

Seller ramifications -

One possible issue from asking the seller to pay closing costs is that it may irritate seller. Remember the discussion earlier about where the money comes from? Although you are basically borrowing the money that pays the closing costs, you are asking the seller to discount their sale price to offset those costs. That means that the seller is not getting $2,800 of their money.

Whether or not the seller will pay the amount you need, or anything at all, depends on what their final proceeds turn out to be. They have costs to sell their home and they are typically paying all of the commission for both the buyer's and seller's agents. The buyer asking for another large amount of money to be taken out of their proceeds doesn't usually sit well with a seller. There usually isn't an option to raise the sale price to accommodate the closing costs and you are probably trying to get a deal anyway, right?

Final thoughts - 
In the right circumstance, seller paid closing costs can be an effective tool to put you in a home with the least amount out of pocket. Just understand that is isn't like found money. It comes from somewhere and has consequences. It's up to you, your agent, the seller and their agent to structure a transaction that suits both parties so it's a win-win all around.

Warmest regards,
Dan

Home styles

The style of the home that you buy depends largely on your preference, but other factors like cost and available styles influence your decision, as well. Often, potential homeowners are confused by the terminology used to describe a homes style. Here is a quick list of the styles of homes you will find in the St Louis area.

Ranch
Ranch homes are the most common home style for non-urban homes. This style is a single floor, sometimes with a basement and sometimes on a slab floor. This style is generally the most desirable, as well. The single floor eliminates climbing stairs most of the time, so is popular with seniors, families with children and those who just dislike dealing with stairs.

Raised Ranch
This style is one of the most confused styles, but is also far less common, in our area, than other home styles. The raised ranch generally has the same floor plan as a ranch home, but the main living space is above ground level. The main entry remains at ground level with stairs mandatory to access the main floor. This style is conducive to tuck under parking utilizing a portion of the basement as the garage.

Split Level
The split level home typically is utilized for unlevel lots. It is often a less expensive option as the lot is less desirable and there is some floor space lost to the inside stairwell. The front entry is centered vertically on the home and is positioned between the upper and lower floors with access via stairs. Frequently, the basement is divided into a tuck under garage and living space. The split level style is very common in our area due to the hilly topography.

One and a Half and Two Story
These two styles are often confused. Both styles have their front entry located at the same level as the main floor. The difference is in the upper floors. The one and a half story home will have living space above at least some of the main floor, but does not extend over the entire main floor. A two story, on the other hand, will have living space over the entire main structure, including the garage. This style is very common in our area.

Tri-Level
This home style is frequently confused with the Split Level. This style home has 3 floors, although the entry level may be small which causes confusion between styles. The front enter opens to one of the floors which may have living space and there are stairs leading to slightly offset upper and lower floors. Visualizing an elevator that stops between floors gives you an idea of the design.

Bungalow
The bungalow style generally refers to a small home with rooms that branch from the main living space without hallways. This style may be a single story or more. The emphasis of this home is on efficiency and size.

Shotgun
Many city homes, especially multi-family buildings, are designed in what was called a "shotgun style." The outside profile is slender at the front and long to fit the narrow lot lines of urban living. In this style, the building is one room wide and entry leads into each living space successively. Often the order is living room, bedroom and then kitchen. This style is also tailored to the more budget conscious buyer.


While this list is certainly not exhaustive, it covers the majority of the homes you will encounter in the St Louis area. If you have questions or comments, feel free to call, text or email us.

Warmest regards,
Dan