Real estate without groundwater drainage problems become a flight to quality
Well folks, today is a new day. Our real estate market is under seige due to many concepts all at work at the same time. Position yourself in the market as a seller that does not have a groundwater drainage problem. Lots of homes out there, few buyers.
A large portion of the former booming real estate market was enhanced by buyers who had never known a softer market for resale prior to the one we are experiencing now.Many buyers over extended themselves in terms and price due to liberal financing alternatives offered to them. Some even bought homes they knew had drainage problems, and recieved a credit from the buyer, and pocketed the cash as profit. It is time to rise above the rest of the sellers to be successful at marketing your home in a market like this.
The recent credit crisis is acknowledged by the economic down turn in sub-prime financing for homes. The credit market of the past has been quite forgiving with respect to allowing buyers with less than strong credit a place in the home buyers market. The more buyers, the higher the prices, and so on. This brings up values and promotes the pyrimid game we call the real estate market.
Recently however, even the nations largest sub-prime lenders find themselves unable to sell their secured paper to raise more money to loan. Many have gone broke in the last 30 days. Governments around the world are pumping billions into the banking systems trying to correct the lack of consumer confidence caused by a huge rate in the foreclosures of properties backed by sub-prime mortgages, and prevent a real huge problem in home lending that could stretch into the prime mortgage market as well. The U.S., France, England, Germany, and others; no one seems immune to the effects, except perhaps China which finances our wars by buying a steady stream of our government bonds. If that stopped, we would be in real deep doo-doo in the U.S. real estate market.
So, let’s cut to the chase now. If you want to succeed in the market and stand above the rest with a fair market value, and something that interests buyers in comparison to the other properties out there, make sure you are not one of the many that have deferred maintainence in the form of home drainage problems.
Drainage work is expensive, and it is not something that the buyer is likely to budget in the aquisition of the home. You are more likely to sell the home by doing a quality job with your problem and add the price of the work to the home price prior to listing it. If you wait, you will be playing the head in the sand technique, hoping to deal with it if if comes up. It is too late at that point. Buyers don’t need to buy into the old scenario any more.
You, as a seller in that case are just another fish swimming in the school with the other home drainage problem sellers. If you take that stance in marketing, you are not likely to be the one chosen by one of the few buyers out there. I have seen many similiar markets in the past 35 years as a former real estate broker, and for 12 years a drainage contractor. Just a heads up folks. The sellers market is over.