What’s the story with ‘We buy houses’ yard signs?

Not a week goes by without somebody asking me about the signs that are popping up on the sides of roads in the neighborhoods. Most of them simply say, “We Buy Houses!” and offer a phone number to call. It seems like these signs are all over the place. Some of them look like they have been professionally printed while others are made from a piece of cardboard and a magic marker. Whenever I am asked about the signs I chuckled to myself, take a deep breath and then explain everything I know about them.

To understand the origin of the signs there are a few things you need to consider. That is, over the past five or six years we have seen historically low real estate prices. As a result, there is a huge influx of folks getting into the real estate business. Millions of people have sat back to try to think of a way to benefit from the current depressed real estate values and the excessive foreclosures in the past few years. This demand for ‘get rich quick’ knowledge has created a whole new industry. That industry consists of a few sharp guys who claim to be ‘gurus’. The realized how much money they could make if they charged others for real estate ‘knowledge’.

Listing a home with an agent? More fees…. More time….

In addition to the possibility of months on the market before an offer comes in it’s a sad reality that most homes listed on the market need one or more price reductions in order to attract the buyer. Once a buyer decides to make an offer, you must still negotiate the sale. Nobody pays sticker price for a car and nobody likes paying asking price for a house. Most of the time, even after price reductions, the buyer sill negotiates a lower sale price.

When you sell a house, the amount you get is reduced by:

Listing with an agent:

• Ongoing price reductions
• Sale contract negotiations
• Real estate agents commissions
• Realty Company transaction fees
• Seller paid buyer closing costs
• Cost of repairs required by home inspector
• Cost of repairs required by lender’s appraiser
• Cost of home warranty requested by buyer

Selling to Realty Acquisitions:

• No unnecessary fees

Let us buy your home so there are no uncertainties. All we need to do is agree on the price and the closing date. It is that simple! Call us today! To discuss our purchase of your St. Louis area home please calls Kevin Barnett at 314-282-3377. Kevin works from his home in Kirkwood. For Kansas City area houses please call Barry Hudson at 816-545-9344.

*in both scenarios sellers of home still need to pay for their portion of property taxes during the time seller owned the home and minimal title company charges.

Do not fix up your house!

 

These days it is harder for buyers to qualify for mortgage loans. Since fewer people qualify for mortgages loans than in years past there are fewer buyers in the marketplace. These buyers can be very picky because they have a lot of homes to choose from. Homes that command higher prices and sell faster have updated kitchens, updated high-efficiency heating and air-conditioning systems, updated bathrooms, updated plumbing and electrical systems and fresh, modern decorating.

Home repairs and home improvements can be very expensive. In addition to being expensive, the entire process of finding the right contractor and coordinating repairs can be a real pain. We offer home sellers the option of selling a home as-is. We buy houses in any condition — from poor to perfect condition. We do not expect you to lift a finger on anything related to home repair or improvement.

Selling a house is a big decision. It should never be made more complicated by spending days, weeks or even months getting a house ready for the open market. We are here ready to buy your house as is no matter the condition.

Kansas City Area Home Prices Still Slipping

Home prices fell by 4% last year, according to the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index that tracks 20 metro areas. Prices dropped by 1.1% for the three-month period ending in December compared with the same period ending in November.

 This latest report by Standard & Poor’s report is the latest evidence that the housing market still faces a cloudy outlook after a six-year downturn. While I am a big fan of the housing market research performed by the National Association of Realtors (an association I am a member of) I’m not so sure they are the folks to turn to for an object analysis. S&P on the other hand performs this research for huge institutional investors who use this data to determine how they invest in the market. I think the Realtor data paints a picture the Realtors want you to see. I believe they want to do everything they can to push the idea of – Buy Buy Buy!

A large potential backlog of foreclosed properties hangs over many housing markets. I know of several situations where folks are still living in their KC area homes and have not made mortgage payments for years. Why the banks have not yet flushed these homes through the system is beyond me. At some point, they will be forced to foreclose on these properties. This will put pressure on values.

Another problem is the inability for many buyers to find suitable financing. Buyers, who are more than capable of making house payments, are locked out of the market due to tight mortgage-lending standards that show few signs of easing. While credit was easy and abundant during the run up period the pendulum has swung the other direction – way too far. While loose credit was the driver of the real estate collapse, it can also save the market from further decline. I’m not proposing going back to 2006 standards. I am, however, suggestion that if we could adopt the same standards as we saw in 2003-2004 credit would be abundant enough for those who were capable of making their payments and this alone would shore up real estate values and create upward pressure.

I have seen credit standards starting to loosen. However, it is happening very slowly. If you drew a trend line of where we are headed I would bet it will take about five years for us to be at a level where there is equilibrium between supply and demand and between credit available and home buyers worthy of credit.

Prestigious Office Presence!

While small office suites of around 3,500 square feet are a dime a dozen, seldom is there an opportunity for a small space user to have building sign rights on a modern Class ‘B’ office building. Our latest office acquisition is located at Noland Road and Highway 70. This building is currently branded as TE Woods Design Gallery. TE Woods has relocated their design gallery to a new home development which has freed up roughly 3,500 square feet of space in this building. We are offering building naming and signage rights to the business who wants to relocate here. The signage faces Highway 70 which is traveled by over 130,000 cars daily. Just imagine the visibility your business will have when you relocate here. A Branded building puts a company at a new level in brand recognition and credibility. Call Melissa to see the space!

Just Topped 1,000 KC Area Houses Purchased!

I just received a solicitation in the mail from someone who stated that they are, “the largest buyer of homes in Kansas City”. Wow! This seemed impressive, especially since I have been a pretty strong buyer in KC over the last ten years. You’d think I would have heard of this guy! The truth is, I often hear others making this claim as I have over the past several years. I have heard folks out there trying to buy homes using the terms ‘premier home buyer’ and ‘fastest growing’ home buyer. The funny thing is that in order to be the fastest growing homebuyer all you need to do is buy two houses in the year after you buy one house. This would mean you business grew by 100%! That’s true but very misleading for someone looking to sell their home.

Selling a home, especially on that you have owned for years, should not come lightly. This is a big decision. In order to differentiate myself from all the ‘Johnny Come Lately’ real estate buyers I thought I’d post my list of properties purchase right here on my blog. As I was compiling the list I realized I had just surpassed over 1,000 houses purchased. Don’t believe me? Pick and address form this list and do your homework. You will find it is either owned by me or my company or had been owned by me or my company. This list consists of small one bedroom shacks to huge historic mansions — it’s a little bit of everything!

To see the list of homes purchased click here: http://realtyaq.wordpress.com/?page_id=17&preview=true

Blue Springs Medical

 

Fast, easy access for clients and patients!

What is the only segment of our economy that is growing leaps and bounds? You guessed it — Healthcare. Currently, I have a wonderful space available for a medical practice or clinic. It is located in Blue Springs off Highway 70 half way between Woods Chapel Road and Highway 7. It is available for lease at the are of $9.50 a foot, triple net. It is also being offered for sale.

No need to look for bank money on this one. I will carry the note with $50,000 down for a owner/occupant. Call me about sale terms and more information. Jeffrey Forster 816-333-7773