Real Estate Information Archive

Recently, the National Association of Realtors (NAR) surveyed 2,000 households that bought a home between 2010 and 2012 to find out what they valued in a home and how it affected their purchase. From that, NAR was able to pick out the most popular home features that buyers are looking for. 24/7 Wall St. furthered the study of those results and determined which features buyers are willing to pay more for and, on average, how much more.

Before I move on to share the results, I believe a study like this needs a disclaimer. All real estate is LOCAL. No matter what the national news reports about the real estate market, results are dependent on what buyers need and want in a particular region and city. The features buyers in Wilmington want doesn't necessarily match up with what buyers want in the Midwest, because they have different living needs. Also, the sum cost that buyers are willing to spend extra doesn’t necessarily cover the cost of a feature. However, studies like this can give an overview of how needs and desires are shifting, and may help home owners decide which home improvement projects they take on. Saying that, let me move on…

Here is the list of features that home buyers are willing to pay more for (according to the NAR):

1. Fireplace
   Home buyers who purchased a home with a fireplace: 57%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $1,400
2. Eat-in Kitchen
   Home buyers who purchased a home with an eat-in kitchen: 40%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $1,770
3. Home Less Than 5 Years Old
   Home buyers who purchased a newer home: 40%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $5,020
   **NAR found that single males were more likely to purchase a home less than 5 years old. Singlewomen and first-time buyers tended to be big purchasers of older homes.
4. Kitchen Island
   Home buyers who purchased a kitchen island: 48%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $1,370
5. Ensuite Master
   BathHome buyers who purchased an ensuite master bath: 49%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $2,030
6. Hardwood Floors
   Home buyers who purchased hardwood floors: 54%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $2,080
7. Granite Countertops
   Home buyers who purchased granite countertops: 55%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $1,620
8. Walk-in Closet in Master Bedroom
   Home buyers who purchased a walk-in closet: 60%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $1,350
9. New Kitchen Appliances
   Home buyers who purchased new kitchen appliances: 69%
   Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $1,840
   **Stainless steel appliances were the most sought-after. Single men and married couples placed the most significance on new appliances.
10. Central Air Conditioning
    Home buyers who purchased central air conditioning: 69%
    Amount buyers are willing to pay extra: $2,520

Other important tidbits from the survey:

1. Buyers over the age of 55 (most of all) and single women desired single-level homes more than others.
2. Single men were more likely to buy high/cathedral ceilings.
3. 53% of buyers completed a renovation project shortly after buying. Most of those projects were centered on the kitchen and the average cost was $4,550. 41% replaced lighting and 53% replaced or added new appliances.
4. In-law suites and basements captured the most extra dollars. In Wilmington, basements aren’t common features, because many homes are at sea level. However, bonus rooms or FROGs (finished room over garage) have taken their place.
5. 47% of home buyers thought laundry rooms were important. 89% of them bought a laundry room.
6. 78% chose a house with a garage.
7. 32% of buyers were willing to pay more for waterfront property; however, the median amount they would pay extra was only $5,420. In the Wilmington Real Estate Market, this wouldn’t fly, because the difference can be hundreds of thousands of dollars depending on if it’s oceanfront, riverfront, pond front, canal front, etc.

As you can see, a lot of the features desired center on the kitchen. This is not a surprise as increasingly more buyers are looking for open floor plans that allow the kitchen to overlook a family or entertainment room, so they can socialize or monitor children while they cook. They’ve even started adding televisions and computers to the kitchen, to increase the room's diversity.

Interestingly, some of the desired features also varied according to age.  Features important to couples, like new appliances and eat-in kitchens, weren’t necessarily of interest to younger, single individuals. This may be attributed to changing values as people age. For many, life becomes more home-centered as they grow older, so the extra features that improve the experience of living in a home become more important.

Despite what features a home has, location still wins out as the most important factor in choosing home. Buyers will pay more for a home with fewer of the features they desire if it's in a great location. Schools, water access, community amenities, nearby conveniences, public transportation, and more are location features that buyers will often choose over other home features.

If you have any questions about how these results apply to Wilmington area homes, please feel free to give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message through our Contact form. We’re always happy to answer questions!

Meghan Riley

Meghan Riley

Wilmington Realtors® are often asked what’s required to be disclosed at the sale of a home. This is different from state-to-state, even city-to-city, because each has their own real estate commission that decides what is or isn’t important. A Realtor or real estate attorney can tell you what’s required where you live or are looking to buy. In North Carolina, there are 8 issues that you must disclose when selling your home. They include:

1. Oil & Gas Rights

After a major builder decided to retain oil and gas rights upon sale of his property and not properly informing the buyers, it became mandatory in North Carolina for home sellers too disclose A) if a previous seller has severed any rights, B) the current seller has already severed the oil and gas rights, or C) they intend to sever them upon sale.

2. Health & Safety Issues

Home sellers must disclose anything that may be a risk to the buyer’s health and safety. The most common issue disclosed is lead-based paint. A Lead-based Paint Disclosure is required for homes built in or before 1978, the year that lead-based paint was banned. Sellers must also disclose asbestos, toxic mold, radon, and if a home was formerly used as a meth lab.

3. Natural Hazards

If a home is located in a flood zone, fire zone, earthquake zone, or along any other area considered moderate to high-risk for natural disaster, it must be disclosed.

4. Future Construction Projects or Pending Community Litigation

Proposed roadways and developments, and community litigations are all situations that could affect buyers through increased fees, property loss, and lifestyle changes. So, if any exist in the immediate vicinity, they must be disclosed.

5. Known Defects, Seen & Unseen
   If there are any defects or malfunctions in the home’s foundation, slab, fireplace, chimney, floors, windows, doors, ceilings, walls, garage, patio, deck, electrical system, plumbing system, heating and cooling system, sewage disposal system, TV cable wiring, ceiling fans, exhaust fans, irrigation system, garage door opener, pools, spa, etc., they must be disclosed. If there are any standing water or pest issues (termites), these must also be disclosed.
    
6. Homeowners Association Assessments & Covenants

If there is a homeowners association that covers the neighborhood in which the home is located, all information about the HOA needs to be disclosed, including contact information, annual assessments (dues), amenities included, restrictions, and what all fees cover.

7. Items Not Included in Sale

The rule of thumb is that anything bolted down stays with the home (that includes the 60” mounted television in the living room). If a seller is expecting to take a permanent part of the home, like a light fixture or window covering, with them after sale, they need to disclose it. A Realtor® can clear up any confusion on what’s required to stay.

8. Anything Else That Will Hurt Resale Value

A death in a home does not need to be disclosed. Neither do ghosts. HOWEVER, if the home comes with a notoriety that was large enough to warrant home tours or t-shirt sales, it really needs to be disclosed, because it could affect the privacy of the future owners and may hurt resale value.

Wilmington home sellers that withhold information included in these 8 disclosure topics risk being sued after their home sells. Sellers sometimes try to hide defects thinking that they’ll hurt the sale of the home and lose them money. Depending on the severity of the issue, they very well could, but it’s a guaranteed it will cost the seller even more money if the issue comes to light after ownership passes to the buyers. If there are any known issues, the sellers should discuss it with their Realtor®. A solution may be less costly than they assume. Better safe than sorry!

If you have any questions about selling your Wilmington home and disclosures, give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message through our Contact page.

Meghan Riley

In the Wilmington MLS, Realtors® are required to put a picture of the front of the property being listed for sale. The quality of said picture and the decision to add additional photographs is up to them. So, when I see a listing with only one or two pictures, and/or pictures of poor quality, I cringe. Humans are a visual species. With 90% of buyers starting their home search online, pictures are probably the most important element of an online listing (NAR). To add even more weight to the importance of pictures, Generation Y, the newest group of home buyers, shows an overall shorter attention span than previous buyers. They want information and they want it now. They are the technology generation and they’re used to the instant availability of information on the internet: sellers really only have one chance to impress them. So, those pictures need to be good.

But what makes a good picture?

First, it needs to show the meat of the home. Home buyers want to see the size of a home and its fixtures, because that’s what they’re buying, not your furniture and belongings. So, to prepare your home for pictures, you should de-clutter, remove extra furniture, open up shower curtains, and taking down oversized decorations that may prevent buyers from seeing walls, windows, and ceilings.

Second, it should be depersonalized and there should definitely not be any pets or humans (including reflections) in the photo. Most Realtors® will warn you to remove family photos, personalized art, and anything of a similar nature from your home before taking pictures and, if possible, limit personalization through out your home’s time on the market. This prevents buyers from putting a face and personality to a home, which implies ownership, and helps buyers to view themselves living in the home.

Third, the picture is clear and angled flatteringly for the room or exterior of the home. For most people, getting the clearest picture possible would be a given. However, ever since cell phones started coming with cameras, they’ve also become a tool for capturing listing photos. Some phones have pretty decent cameras, especially the higher-end iPhone, but many don’t. So, the picture turns out grainy and small, which the MLS software then tries to stretch to fit the standard viewing size making it even blurrier and room sizes hard to determine. This is not good for first impressions.

I’ve also seen pictures where the agent did not bother to get out of their vehicle to take a photo of the front of the property. Not only do you get a bad angle of the home, but you also get a nice view of the automobile’s side mirror. This implies to potential buyers that the home isn’t even worth stopping for.

Fourth, there is plenty of light in the photo. The best exterior photos are taken on a sunny day, especially when the home is getting the most sunlight. Interior pictures should be taken during the day and all of the lights should be turned on to reflect as much light as possible. Gray skies and dark pictures do not create a warm feeling and can make it hard to see all of the home’s great features.

See some terrible listing photos on AOL Real Estate.

We, The Cameron Team, believe good pictures can drive showings, so we invest in professional photography, which brings out the colors and views that are special to each home.

If you're thinking of selling your Wilmington area home and are interested in learning more about our custom marketing plan, give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message through our Contact page.

Meghan Riley

Bank of America has made an important change to their Cooperative short sale Program. If you are unfamiliar with the program, it offers an opportunity to short sale your home if you owe more on your mortgage than your home is worth and do not qualify for the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives (HAFA) short sale program. You must also be experiencing a hardship (such as a job loss, divorce or medical emergency) and are no longer able to make payments on your home loan. If you apply and qualify, Bank of America will approve the listing price of the home and provide you with relocation assistance (a monetary value starting from $2,500) once the home sells. However, they have just altered one very important detail – they’re no longer halting the foreclosure process.

“As of January 15, 2013, there will no longer be a temporary foreclosure hold during the Cooperative Short Sale property marketing phase. We may begin or continue the foreclosure process up until a submitted offer to purchase the property is approved by all relevant parties. Any existing short sale will not be impacted by this change.”

See the official announcement on their web site.

This now puts home owners under a potential time crunch from the day they list their home on the market until they have an approved offer (not just a submitted one). If an offer is not received in time, they may foreclose on the home. If you are selling your home under the Bank of America Cooperative Short Sale Program, it is very important that you discuss with your Wilmington short sale specialist what this may mean for you.

If you are in need of a Wilmington short sale specialist, please give us a call at 910.202.2546. Melanie Cameron would be happy to answer any questions you may have about short selling your home.

If you’re buying a home, you may have heard of Building Inspections and Home Inspections. It’s important to know the difference, because some people mistakenly believe that one can take the place of the other. Both Building Inspectors and Home Inspectors do important work involved with the condition of a home, but each have a different job and purpose. Matter-of-fact, building inspectors and home inspectors have two separate licenses and cannot technically do the job of the other.

So, what are the differences?

Building Inspectors check for compliance with building codes. They look at how every piece has been installed to make sure it’s following the codes developed by the International Code Council. Building Inspectors do not test what has been installed. It’s a visual inspection and utilities are usually not turned on until after the Building Inspector has approved them. Just because a home is built to code, doesn’t mean that the home is well-crafted, because codes only focus on the minimum needed for the health, safety, and welfare of residences. Doors can be hung crooked and tile can be poorly grouted, but the home will still pass code, because cosmetic issues are not code issues.

Home Inspectors test all of the systems of the home. They test water fixtures, light switches, cooking appliances, garage door openers, water heaters, etc. They also crawl under the house and into the attic, and look at the roof. A good rule of thumb – if they can see it, they will inspect it. So, they can inspect the condition of drywall, but nothing that’s in the wall (they’d have to damage the wall to do that).  Exceptions include anything that may require someone specialized, like a chimney or a gas log fireplace operating incorrectly, and areas showing signs of pests, like termites or rodents.

Building Inspections take about 30 minutes. The inspector walks through the home and makes note of the visual appearance of installed pieces. They do not crawl under the home or into the attic, they don’t walk on the roof, and they’re often very limited on the time they can spend at each property.

Home Inspections take 2.5-4 hours depending on the size of the home. A lot more is looked at and tested in a Home Inspection, and that takes time.

Building Inspections are completed during construction. Home Inspections are executed well after construction is completed. That’s after utilities have been turned on and, oftentimes, after the home has already been lived in. So, Home Inspectors are able to tell you more about the home than a Building Inspector.

Finally, Building Inspectors usually work for a local government agency. A Home Inspector works for you. At the end of the Home Inspection, you will be provided a thorough report of the condition of each system and all major features.

If you’re buying a home, make sure that you have a Home Inspection. Not only does it point out issues that may be wrong with the home, but can often forecast potential future issues. When you buy a home, you’re making a long-term investment and you want to be thoroughly educated about the home you are buying. Plus, sellers are often willing to make repairs in order to get the home sold and a Home Inspection will bring to light any needed repairs.

Do you have a question about Home Inspections? Would you like us to refer you to a reliable and friendly Home Inspector we’ve worked with in the past? Just let us know! Give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message through our Contact page.

Meghan Riley

Short answer? Yes.

Long answer? Many Wilmington home sellers believe that the end of the year is the time to either take their home off the market or put off selling until the spring, but that’s not entirely the case. True, there are usually less buyers during the holidays and winter, but that doesn’t mean their home won’t sell. It also doesn’t mean they’ll get more money if they sell during the spring either. In fact, right now may be one of the most opportune times to list a home.

At this moment, inventory is low. Since August, the number of homes on the market and the monthly supply of the Wilmington real estate market have shrunk drastically. This means there is less for buyers to choose from. When a real estate agent in our company has shown everything in the MLS and still hasn’t found a home for their buyers, they send out a company-wide email requesting information on soon-to-be-listed homes and pocket listings. These alone have risen in frequency since the end of summer; so, there are buyers out there looking for homes that aren’t on the market to buy.

In addition to low inventory, buyers shopping right now are more serious, because most of them need to buy. The number of “window shoppers”, buyers who can wait months to buy, increases during the busier months, but are low now. Additionally, interest rates remain low making it a great time for buyers to borrow. Each of these factors increase the opportunity for a solid offer.

Serious buyers combined with low inventory and aggressive pricing makes this a favorable time to sell. If you’re interested in learning more about selling your Wilmington home and would like to see our marketing plan, give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message. We’re happy to answer all of your questions about selling!

Meghan Riley

Some Wilmington home sellers don’t quite realize that more goes into showing a home than setting an appointment. It requires presenting the home in a way that will make Wilmington home buyers look beyond the current state of the home, i.e. furniture that might not fit their tastes or empty rooms lacking vision, to see what it would be like for them to live in the home. This means paying attention to the details and staying on top of house chores, because one never knows when they'll have enough time to clean up.

Realtor.com surveyed buyer’s agents to find out what the worse offenses were that they’ve seen made by sellers presenting their homes. Here are the top 10:

1. Lingering Home Owners. Agents have walked-in on sellers sleeping, showering, eating, etc., which can be extremely awkward for buyers. There are also cases of home owners following the agents and buyers around as they view the home. While we understand that some sellers may be afraid of having something stolen or are eager to hear what the buyers think, it’s better to give them space to talk and take precautionary steps before the showing, like putting away valuables, than leave the buyer with a bad feeling. 
2. Dirt and Clutter. Offensives include: dirty laundry left laying around, dirty dishes in the sink, old food on the counters, un-flushed toilets, mildewy shower, stained carpets, unmade beds, full trash cans, etc. Pick up and clean up before the showing.
3. Personal Items Left Out. Never leave your bills out during a showing. You don’t want to leave a credit card number, payment info, account info, etc. where it can be taken, copied, or read. Not only can your identity be stolen, but some of that info could affect an offer being made on your home.
4. Pets and Their Messes. First thing, never assume your pet is “friendly” when they are home alone and facing strangers. A number of agents have reported being told that a dog is friendly only to be kept from entering a home by a growling, defensive pooch. If you can, either put them in the garage or a room (with a warning in the showing instructions), or remove them entirely. Also, make sure their messes – of the lawn variety or the toy and food variety – are cleaned up. You don’t want anyone stepping in feces or tripping over bowls.
5. Wild Animals Roaming Around. Anything in the animal (or insect) category should be removed. If you need to, call an exterminator. You don’t want buyers walking in on bats in the attic and skunks living under your porch, because they won’t want to deal with any sort of infestation.
6. Bad Smells. Lingering cooking smells, cigarette smoke, and pet odors can leave a buyer with a bad impression. It’s important to make sure your home smells fresh. Realize that we grow immune to the smells of our own house; so, have a friend, who doesn’t live in the house, do a smell test before you show it.
7. Poor or Strange Improvement Projects. I must reiterate that buyers have a difficult time looking past the current state of a home to see a potential future in it. Bad paint jobs, incorrectly installed cabinets, mismatched or missing hardware, incomplete flooring, botched plumbing jobs, and even rooms being used for something other than their intended purposes can leave a less-than-favorable impression on a buyer.
8. Distracting Decorating. Two words, “nude art”. I just blushed while typing that, but it happens more often than you think. While you may have a certain outlook on this subject, others may not. It’s important to remove sensitive displays like this to avoid alienating any buyers. Also, leopard print walls should be painted over, collectibles should be put away, and replica rooms (did you see the one made to look like the Star Trek Enterprise?) should be deconstructed.  
9. Dark Homes. This is especially true during autumn and winter. You don’t want your home to appear bleak. Buyers like warm and inviting. So, turn on the lights and open the shades before your home shows.
10. Poor Accessibility. This ranges from no key in the lockbox to strange instructions for accessing the house to being too inflexible on scheduling. You want to make showing the home as easy as possible for anyone who may want to buy your home, so make sure buyers are able to view it.

If you have any questions about preparing your Wilmington area home for showings, feel free to give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message through our Contact page.

Meghan Riley

During Autumn and Winter, it’s normal to see fewer Wilmington home buyers. The colder weather can be a drag on showings and many people choose to focus their energy on the holidays or managing their kids through the school year. However, this is also the time when we see the most serious buyers. So, it’s important make sure you’re presenting your home in the best way possible. Here are 5 tips to help you sell your home in the Autumn and Winter.

1. Don’t overdo it on the decorations. The first thing Wilmington home stagers will tell you to do when preparing your home for sale is to de-clutter. Decorations often add clutter to a room. If you can, remove items that you already have on your shelves – vases, books, picture frames, candles, or art – and replace them with decorations. A vase filled with leaves can add a nice fall touch and replace a current possession.

A second tip that stagers will often tell you is to remove family pictures. They make it difficult for buyers to picture themselves in the home. Decorations can also have the same effect, especially when a family of one religion views a home decorated for another. While we would never ask you to change your holiday traditions, keep in mind that showings may be affected by that. So, try to make it up in another way, like putting a little extra effort into the other tips on this list and, as soon as the holiday is over, take those decorations down. It’s a big turn-off to see Christmas lights up in February.

2. Trim back dead plants and rake the yard. It’s getting cold out, and plants are starting to go dormant leaving behind ugly brown leaves and stems. After the first wave of cold, wet weather, walk around your house and look at which plants are the most affected. These are the ones you’ll have to keep an eye on as the landscape around the home transitions. Trim off any dead leaves and hide away potted plants that have died back. Rake all the leaves off the lawn and remove dead limbs. If your budget allows, freshen up your beds and walkways with mums and pansies, both of which are cold hardy in the Wilmington area. Avoid using poinsettias outside, because they are poisonous to dogs and cats.
3. Brighten up your rooms. Daylight hours are shorter at this time of year and rooms start to look a little gloomy. Before showings, turn on all the lights. Make sure the bulbs cast a warm glow (some of the energy saving ones look more blue than yellow). Clean all your windows inside and out, and, during the day, open all the shades to let in that extra light.
4. Add a scent. Human beings often associate scents with locations and this time of year is great for taking advantage of that, because there are a lot of nice, warm scents on the market. The most popular ones are from baking – sugar cookie, apple pie, cinnamon, etc. We don’t recommend leaving a burning candle, but a wickless air freshener or spraying the house before you leave is sufficient.
5. Don’t forget to mention you’re selling! With the holidays come holiday letters and many functions for school, work, and church. You never know who might be looking for a new house or know someone who is, like a neighbor who has children wanting to move to the community. So, don’t hesitate to mention it.

If you have any questions about selling your Wilmington area home, give us a call at 910.202.2546 or send us a message through our Contact page.

Meghan Riley

Working with Wilmington sellers, who are underwater on their homes, we often find there are some misconceptions about short sales. They have the potential to prevent home owners from taking the needed steps for protecting their best interests; so, we wanted to take a moment to clear up some of those myths…

Myth #1. Short Sales Have the Same Closing Timeline as a Normal Sale. Contracts on non-distressed homes, where there are no liens and the buyer is preapproved, take about a month to close. Short Sales used to take anywhere from 6 months to two years, but crackdowns on banks have forced them to shorten the process considerably. Still, most buyers will have to wait 2-6 months depending on the bank and type of loan.

Myth #2. Short Sales Don’t Close. They do. It just takes longer (see Myth #1). According to the National Association of Realtors, 10% of homes sold nation wide in August 2012 were short sales. In New Hanover, Pender, and Brunswick County, 7% of homes sold were short sales. These numbers are down considerably from 2011.

Myth #3. You Must Have Missed Payments to Qualify for a short sale. Banks will consider anyone who is able to provide proof that they are facing a financial hardship. Hardships they will consider include: unemployment, reduction in income, divorce, death of a borrower, medical bills, disability, natural disaster, employment relocation, and an increase in living expenses outside of the owner’s control.

Myth #4. Banks Would Rather Just Foreclose on a Home. In the great scheme of things, foreclosing on a home is much more costly for banks than completing a short sale. Not only does it cost money for them to take the legal actions to reclaim the home, but they also risk losing even more money on the house once they relist it. An approved short sale guarantees a bank will recoup at least part of the home’s value.

Myth #5. Homeowners Must Be Pre-approved by the Lender. A homeowner can go ahead and list their home as a short sale without speaking to the bank first. When agreeing to a price, banks consider basically the same factors that set a home’s listing price – how other homes in the neighborhood are selling and the condition of the property. When you receive an offer, you submit it with all backup documentation (comparables, showing feedback, property history, etc.) to the bank. That’s when they approve the short sale. However, some lenders do have a program where you can get a preapproved price they are willing to accept, which can expedite the entire process.

Finally, home owners shouldn’t try to do a short sale alone or hire just any Realtor® to sell their underwater home. Dealing with the bank can be extremely difficult. There is a LOT of document shuffling and weekly calls to be made. A certified short sale specialist, a Realtor® trained and experienced in the short sale process, can relieve a lot of the stress. They know what banks require and keep up with the changing rules of short sales.

Melanie Cameron of The Cameron Team is a Certified Short Sale Specialist. If you’re considering selling your home and suspect you’ll need to sell it for less than owed, give Melanie a call at 910.202.2546. She can answer any questions you might have about short sales and explain the steps she takes to assure your situation gets all the attention it needs.

Meghan Riley