Seller Tip—Be Accommodating For Showings

When I was a kid, my parents planned the whole week’s worth of menus and activities in advance, and then put it up on the refrigerator. I know other people whose schedules make it hard for them to even talk to each other before weekends.

Short Notice? Make It Work!

Different folks plan differently.
As someone selling a house in Central Vermont, it can be to your advantage to be accommodating to as many showings as possible. Even with short notice. Usually buyers will be able to give a day’s notice…but not always.

And sometimes, even while buyers are out with their Realtors looking at other houses, the conversation will turn to your house, and they’ll want to schedule a showing. Do you have to accept the showing? No, but if it’s at all possible, you should.

You just never know when that buyer is going to make their decision, and you want to be in the mix.

True confessions: If your house is anything like mine, it’s not exactly “stage-ready” most of the time. Buyers understand that too. So run around really quickly, put the clothes and dishes away, make the beds, clear the table. Maybe run a vacuum.

Buyers will appreciate that you’ve done everything you could to make the house ready for a showing. When they come back for the second showing (optimism!), you’ll get more notice and you can really dazzle them.

It’s not uncommon at all for buyers to make offers that include some sort of seller contribution at closing.

Seller Contribution Can Keep a Deal Together

This is done for a number of reasons. Sometimes buyers just need a little extra cash to help cover the closing costs or part of the down payment. Sometimes they have some improvements in mind and want to preserve their capital to pay for those projects.

Whatever the reason, as someone selling a house, what really matters is the net sale price.

As an example, if an offer is made for $205,000 with $5000 contribution to the buyers’ closing costs, the way to think about the offer is that it’s for $200,000. The property will have to appraise for at least $205,000 because the loan is going to be made based on a percentage of the purchase price. But the net sale price is $200,000.

During any negotiations, just keep that net sale price in mind.  $202,000 with $2000 back to purchasers at closing is the same thing.  So is $204,500 with $4500 back at closing. You can see where this is going.

Again, it’s fairly common. Especially in times of low interest rates. Adding a little extra to the principal of a loan may seem worth it to protect a little additional cash for closing costs or improvements. It’s essentially the same thing as borrowing some of the closing costs.

Talking this through with an experienced, professional local Realtor can be very helpful. Just call or email.

–Ray Mikus

We have a wide audience of readers for our Montpelier/Barre real estate blog. Some of you are locals, some of you are far-flung (yes, we consider Australia to be far-flung).

The updates and commentary that are making you a genius are only part of what’s available. Check out our Facebook page. You’ll find the fastest updates on new listings, price changes, and all sorts of information you’ll want to know regarding the Montpelier and Barre real estate markets.

But it’s also fun. There are contests, prizes, quizzes, the popular “Day in the Life” updates, “Market Slices” (come on, you know you’re curious about that!), community information, and more.

Let’s make it official. You know you like us. Go to Facebook.com/heneyrealtors and really like us.

–Ray Mikus

Today was the Montpelier Realtors’ Caravan. It’s a great chance to highlight the new listings in Montpelier. Selfishly, it’s an opportunity for Realtors to preview the new listings, so that we can deepen our market knowledge.

Today’s caravan featured five new listings…and four of them were those of Heney Realtors.

So…here are the picks:

15 North Park: This unassuming 1991 house surprised the crowd with its high end touches. Quartz countertop, tile floors, corain bathroom vanities, and a custom fireplace. Just plain beautiful. There’s a direct entry two car garage, and the fenced yard backs right up to Hubbard Park. At $289,000, we were impressed.

295 Pine Hill Road–East Montpelier.  Built in 2004, this house has the layout that today’s buyers want. Big, open rooms, nice natural light, and an efficient heating system. It’s at the end of a cul de sac, and close to U32 high school, Montpelier, and Barre. Great location. Solid house. And hence, a top pick.

How Long Does it Take to Buy a House in the Montpelier/Barre Area?

Counting Down the Days

From the time an offer is accepted, how long does it take for the transaction to complete? Most of the time when people ask that they’re using a lender and getting a mortgage. If you’re buying a house in the Montpelier or Barre area, it’s helpful to know how long it’s going to take.

If that’s the case, then you can expect 6-8 weeks of “escrow” in the Montpelier real estate market. It seems like a long time, and it might be different in other parts of the country, but, well, we’re in this part of the country.

Initially, it can take time to work through a home inspection and other contingencies. There are some water tests that take two weeks to get results. Those tests are determined by the lender (and the type of loan), so it’s important that when you’re trying to figure the timeframe you’ve talked openly with your Realtor about what kind of loan/financing you’re using.

After the inspection contingencies, the biggest chunk of time is in the loan underwriting. It can take 2-3 weeks just to get the appraisal completed and the report to the bank.

When that’s all done, then you should be able to get a finance commitment letter—which is typically the last contingency.  There’s got to be some time between the issuance of the commitment letter and the actual closing too.

So…add it all up, and you’re looking at 6-8 weeks. I’ve seen closings happen in as little as four weeks, but that was something of a miracle. I seem to remember hearing choirs of angels…

–Ray Mikus

Once upon a time buyers could get loans for pretty much however much they wanted, and could buy pretty much whatever they wanted. Those times have long since passed. Thankfully.

What’s important now for folks buying homes in the Montpelier/Barre real estate market is knowing what you can afford. Not just in terms of the total amount of a mortgage, but also in terms of the monthly payment.

Having a pre-approval letter from a lender makes you a very powerful buyer. You know what you can afford. You know what you can look at. You might also find out that if you pay off that car loan (or even just a little more of it), you can qualify for a different amount. Hey, it’s be worth a shot!

Also, when you find the right house, you’re going to be in a perfect position to make a solid offer.

Sellers want to see that buyers have actually talked with a lender. And while it is possible to make an offer without having a pre-approval letter, savvy sellers will want to see one before they make any sort of counteroffer.

The beauty is that in the Montpelier/Barre market, there are several very good lenders. If you haven’t connected with one of them, let us know, and we can make several solid recommendations.

Now get out there and get pre-approved!

Barre Caravan
This week’s Barre Caravan featured nine new listings in Barre Town and Barre City. Talk about a range of property! Everything from a $39,000 fixer upper on Summer Street to a gorgeous house with an indoor pool up on Tree Top View.

Here are the picks of the caravan:

21 Wildersburg Common in Barre Town.

Wildersburg Common Barre Town Condo

It’s been beautifully done, with custom floors. The overall impression was CLEAN. Plus, it’s single floor living…which is important to some people. Three bedrooms, two and a half baths, and the convenience of condo living. These Wildersburg units don’t come up very often.

 
Actually, condos in Barre don’t come on the market that often. Right now, the other great condo pick is 122 Batchelder Street in Barre City.It’s the perfect, manageable size, and it’s tucked away in a quiet area not far from Spaulding High School. Plus…it’s super affordable at $127,800.

Batchelder Condo--Top Pick

63 Terrace Street in Montpelieris the kind of house that people dream of getting. Three bedrooms, 1.5 bathrooms, an attached garage, and hardwood floors. But that’s just the start of what makes it great.

By Ray Mikus

63 Terrace Street Montpelier

It’s got flexibility.

Two bedrooms are upstairs, and one downstairs, along with the full bathroom. That means that whoever lives at 63 Terrace Street in Montpelier has the option of having one-floor living. You don’t have to live all on the first floor, but you can.

Or you could in a few years.

Or your guests/relatives/friends who are staying for a visit could.  You have that flexibility.

There’s also the recently finished basement, with nice detail work, including a gas-fireplace insert for heat and ambiance.  The basement space works as a tv room, a teen hangout, an office, and more.

The living room features a solid brick hearth surrounding a wood fireplace. The combination of appealing Craftsman building style, the
fireplace, and the efficiency of a new System 2000 boiler make this an easy house to heat, and an easy house to maintain.

All this, and walking distance to downtown Montpelier. Anyone thinking of buying a house in Montpelier could find inner peace with this.

Curious as to what Montpelier Realtors does during the day?

It’s impossible to spell out a “typical” day.

On a recent sunny (but freezing cold) day, I spent the afternoon driving around Barre, Northfield, Roxbury, and Montpelier taking updated photos of listings.  Bright blue sky and bright white snow made for great pictures.

And yes, that was me traipsing through a 10 acre piece of land for sale in Northfield, wearing a tie and snowboots, taking pictures.

Another day last week, I met with buyers in a vacant house. No power, no heat.  But they knew exactly

Cold Enough Fer Ya?

what they wanted, and were ready to write up an offer.  So there we were, in the waning hours of
daylight, in a freezing cold house for sale in Barre Town, filling out paperwork.

But I’ve been in their shoes before, and I recognized their excitement. They didn’t want to wait a day to put in an offer. And while my
handwriting was a little sloppier than usual due to the cold, we got everything together and submitted a good, solid offer.

Lastly, Friday afternoon was a fairly slow day in the office, and I was trying to catch up on paperwork, and put some finishing
touches on a couple of negotiations. A client came in with a bottle of champagne (presumably for my wife and me) and a bottle of

Dramatic Re-Enactment!

sparkling apple juice (presumably for our daughters). We caught up and reconnected—and did NOT pop the champagne!

It was a powerful reminder of one of the great parts of being a Realtor in Central Vermont.

242 Elm Street in Montpelier is one of the most easily recognizable, and beautiful buildings in town. It’s the house with the big white columns. It’s the house with the great double lot (a half acre!). It stands out, and in a good way.

242 Elm Street in Montpelier

It’s also a rock solid investment. Four units, including one of the nicest owner-occupied units around. This main unit, with three bedrooms, has hardwood floors, an upgraded kitchen, and sumptuously preserved historic detail, including a marble hearth and woodwork.

The second floor two-bedroom unit has bright hardwood floors, and gets lots of natural light. It’s a classy unit, and, like the main unit, gets above market rents (as it should).

The remaining two units (one bedroom and two bedroom) allow more opportunity for the next owner to put a personal touch. Don’t get me wrong, they’re in perfectly good condition, they just aren’t at the level of the first two units. I haven’t seen very many apartments in Montpelier that are.

242 Elm Street in Montpelier has one of the keys to investment property in Montpelier—parking. There’s a five bay garage that’s in great condition, plus a sizeable parking area that allows for snow removal. Housing with off-street parking? What a concept!

The back of the building is what would be called a shed. It’s attached to the house, but is unfinished space. Two stories of unfinished space with an existing footprint. Could it be a fifth unit? Could it be studio space? Could it be amazing storage? There are lots of options that are worth pursuing.

The list of improvements and updates is extensive. Standing seam metal roof and architectural asphalt shingle roof. Updated electric (no knob and tube wiring in this one). Hardwired smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. But one of the best features of the building is something that was done at construction—it’s made of solid wood.

That’s right, it’s built like a boat. Wood stacked on top of wood, not framed in. Want to know how such a grand property stays so straight? Solid construction. You’ve got to see it to really appreciate it.

Great rental history, great rents (call or email for details), and great tenants. All four units are currently rented, showing it works as a Montpelier investment property, but imagine the opportunity for growing net worth if you were to move in and make it owner-occupied…