Your Real Estate Expert for Berkeley and Beyond
“Marilyn is exceptional. Her knowledge base, enthusiasm for her job, professional ethics, organization, sensitivity to our aesthetic requirements, loyalty and gentle perseverance set her apart.”
— Bill and Carol Seidel
Marilyn Garcia, PhD
Broker Associate, Realtor®
CA DRE LICENSE #01355514
The Grubb Company
1656 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
Direct:
(510) 390-5406
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Should I be careful not to over-disclose when I’m selling my home?
Should I be careful not to over-disclose when I’m selling my home? Completing seller disclosure forms in California can be a daunting task. A seller is legally obligated to disclose all known material information about the property to the buyer, and can be sued for hiding defects or problems. A material fact is any piece of information that would affect the buyer’s decision to purchase the property. To meet this obligation, sellers complete a series of detailed questionnaires about the current condition of the property, ongoing maintenance, past repairs and upgrades, and a whole array of other topics. Some of [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why (and how) do so many local sellers spend so much money getting their homes ready for sale?
Why (and how) do so many local sellers spend so much money getting their homes ready for sale? Sellers in our area routinely spend tens of thousands of dollars on work and staging in preparation for putting their home on the market. (The amount obviously depends on the size and condition of the home, but $50,000 is pretty common these days). Why spend so much, when there are so many buyers out there? The first part of the answer is that yes, there are lots of buyers, but there are also other homes for sale, so it’s important that your [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why should you pull a permit for work done on your home?
Why should you consider pulling a permit for work done on your home? The #1 reason you should get a permit if you’re having work done on your home that requires it is the obvious one: it’s required by law, and you can have problems with the City if they discover you don’t have a permit, either as the work is being done, or after the fact. That said, it’s definitely the case that many homes in our area have work that was done without permits. Homeowners choose to skip permits for a variety of reasons, including the cost of [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: I’m considering selling my home next year. What should I start doing now to get ready?
I’m considering selling my home next year. What should I start doing now to get ready? It’s a well-known fact that right now is not the optimal time to sell a home in our area. It is, however, the right time to start getting things in place if you’re thinking of selling next year, so that you’re ready for the very busy selling season. Here are the first things to do to get ready. (1) Think about where you’ll be when your home is on the market. Do you already have your next home set? Are you renting or buying [...]
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Should I be careful not to over-disclose when I’m selling my home?
Should I be careful not to over-disclose when I’m selling my home?
Completing seller disclosure forms in California can be a daunting task. A seller is legally obligated to disclose all known material information about the property to the buyer, and can be sued for hiding defects or problems. A material fact is any piece of information that would affect the buyer’s decision to purchase the property. To meet this obligation, sellers complete a series of detailed questionnaires about the current condition of the property, ongoing maintenance, past repairs and upgrades, and a whole array of other topics. Some of the questionnaire forms are specifically required by the state or federal government, and the others are like a guided walk down memory lane, making sure sellers think about and pass along information within many different relevant categories.
In completing these forms, it’s not uncommon for a seller to worry that they’re over-disclosing – telling the buyer too much – and that they’re going to hurt their sale. My general rule of thumb for disclosures is this: If you wonder if you should include something in the disclosures, the answer is always yes. Why? Because if it’s an item that the buyer cares about, then it’s a material fact, and you are required to disclose it. If the buyer doesn’t care, then it’s not hurting anything to have it there.
Carefully completed disclosures are important not just because of the legal requirement, but also because they set the tone for the transaction, and establish a baseline level of trust between the parties. If the seller has lived in the property for many years, but discloses next to nothing, buyers don’t feel confident that they’re getting an accurate picture of the property, which makes them worry about unknown problems. They may also think the seller is not playing fair, which affects their impression of the whole property, and their behavior in the transaction, including their willingness to be flexible when procedural things come up during escrow (and procedural and other issues often do come up!).
Disclosure forms include questions that ask you to describe all work and improvements you’ve done on the house, plus repairs needed now and those done in the past, plus ongoing maintenance. Putting together all of this information can be challenging, especially if you’ve owned the home for many years. Including a lot of detail, though, especially about more recent improvements and repairs, gives the buyer the sense that the property has been well-maintained and improved over time.
Even if you’re not thinking of selling anytime soon, it will make your life much easier when the time comes if you start a list (or a spreadsheet, or a file) now, and update it when you have a new improvement or repair. For each item, record three things: what was done, who did it, and when. For recurring maintenance items, there’s no need to keep track of every time the tree trimmer or gutter cleaner came; just keep a list of what those maintenance items are. If you start doing this now, you’ll be way ahead of the game when you do decide it’s time to sell!
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why (and how) do so many local sellers spend so much money getting their homes ready for sale?
Why (and how) do so many local sellers spend so much money getting their homes ready for sale?
Sellers in our area routinely spend tens of thousands of dollars on work and staging in preparation for putting their home on the market. (The amount obviously depends on the size and condition of the home, but $50,000 is pretty common these days). Why spend so much, when there are so many buyers out there?
The first part of the answer is that yes, there are lots of buyers, but there are also other homes for sale, so it’s important that your home compares well to the competition.
The next part of the answer is that cosmetic upgrades can significantly increase the sale price. If someone is approaching a home purchase in a very rational, logical way, they’ll look at what a reasonable price per square foot for the property would be, and use that to decide what they’re willing to pay. In contrast, someone who is in love with a property thinks about it with emotion. The properties that sell for crazy-high, top-dollar prices are not selling to buyers who are doing rational calculations. They’re selling to buyers who are in love, and what makes buyers fall in love is not square footage or room counts, but rather style and design, and the ability to see themselves blissfully living in the home. Most buyers can’t envision how much a property can be improved with basic changes. If parts of a home are not to their liking, they picture major remodeling, at high expense, requiring lots of time and attention (which many buyers don’t have to spare).
Here’s one example. If the buyers don’t like the kitchen in a listed property, they almost always factor in the cost of a complete kitchen re-do, which can reduce their willingness to pay by $100K+. Most kitchens can be radically improved in a short period of time for much less, by doing things like painting and replacing things like counters, faucets, flooring, hardware and/or appliances. If you spend $20K (to choose a round number) to refresh the kitchen, and it makes the buyer content with the space, they won’t have to subtract that $100K+ from their offer (and they’re more likely to fall in love!). To create the overall picture and get buyers to fall in love, sellers around here routinely do some combination of painting, floors, staging, gardening, and refreshing the kitchen and bath(s). If a seller ends up spending $50K and gets an extra $200K from the sale, the return from the investment is 300%. That’s why they do it!
Note though that it’s not enough just to spend money on preparation and staging. The work done needs to be well-chosen, and targeted to the buyer pool. I’ve seen far too many houses where they’ve done lots of prep work, but it’s badly chosen, so there’s little return. A good agent understands what appeals to buyers, and will guide the process to make sure the final look is one that will bring you top dollar in a sale.
How do sellers pay for the preparation work? Many sellers pay up front, but there are also ways to borrow the funds or defer payment for the work done until the close of escrow. The best option varies with the circumstances, but I’m happy to discuss the possibilities with you if you’re thinking of making a move.
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: Why should you pull a permit for work done on your home?
Why should you consider pulling a permit for work done on your home?
The #1 reason you should get a permit if you’re having work done on your home that requires it is the obvious one: it’s required by law, and you can have problems with the City if they discover you don’t have a permit, either as the work is being done, or after the fact. That said, it’s definitely the case that many homes in our area have work that was done without permits. Homeowners choose to skip permits for a variety of reasons, including the cost of a permit, the additional property taxes that might be triggered, the possibility that the work might not be allowed by the city for zoning or code reasons, etc..
Here are the top three reasons to consider getting a permit, though, beyond just that you’re supposed to do it:
(1) It’s good to have an external check on the work being done. Note that having a permit and the related inspections is not a guarantee that everything is done correctly, but at least someone with some knowledge is looking things over.
(2) If you’re adding square footage, and/or bedrooms and baths, the new space won’t have as much value in a sale if it is not permitted. An appraiser looking at a property doesn’t give full value to space if it’s not included in the public record and you can’t show that it was added with permits. Likewise, buyers may not value the space as highly because of potential issues with the appraisal, and because they may be uncertain about the quality of the work done.
(3) A permit sets the clock for the building code when the work is done. Suppose you add a bathroom without a permit, and the city discovers this at some later date. Possible outcomes could be that they require that the bathroom be removed, or that the work be inspected and brought up to current code and requirements. Even if the work was done really well, and complied with all building codes and zoning requirements at the time it was completed, those codes and requirements may have changed, and past work without a permit is not “grandfathered in” (i.e. allowed to stay because it conformed with past regulations). And, even if the codes or zoning have not changed, you still might be required to open up walls and undo things so that the underlying work can be inspected.
To permit or not to permit? I leave you to decide. One last thought though. If you are having work done with a permit, be sure to follow up with your contractor, and get a copy of the final inspection sign-off after the work is done. When I look at the online permit record for a particular property, I often see records for permits that were pulled, but never finaled. Sometimes the work was not completed, but many other times, the final city inspection was never done, or the city’s database doesn’t show that final inspection. By getting a copy of the final sign-off from your contractor, you know that the final inspection was done and passed, and you can prove it if something gets lost in the city records.
REAL ESTATE ANSWERS: I’m considering selling my home next year. What should I start doing now to get ready?
I’m considering selling my home next year. What should I start doing now to get ready?
It’s a well-known fact that right now is not the optimal time to sell a home in our area. It is, however, the right time to start getting things in place if you’re thinking of selling next year, so that you’re ready for the very busy selling season. Here are the first things to do to get ready.
(1) Think about where you’ll be when your home is on the market. Do you already have your next home set? Are you renting or buying the next place? If you’re buying, do you need to sell before you buy? (This is a question most people need to explore with a good loan professional.) If you’re going to sell before buying a new home, will you be moving to a short term rental, or will you be living in the home when it is for sale? Most sellers in our area move out before selling. It’s not required or absolutely essential, but it makes the process of preparing the home for sale, and of showing it looking its absolute best to prospective buyers, much easier.
(2) Choose your timetable. When will your home come on the market? The schedule will depend on the timing of any preparation work to be done, and should factor in the best time to hit the market. For
some homes, that’s during the busy spring season. For other properties, it may be better to be a bit earlier, when there are fewer other homes on the market.
(3) Hire the right stager (well in advance). Great staging will bring top dollar in a sale, but it needs to be the right staging for your particular home. Bad staging is a waste of money, while good staging pays for itself many times over with a higher sale price. The best stagers book far in advance, but they’re worth planning ahead for! Also, a good stager will suggest improvements to the property that will add value, and choose colors and finishes so that the final look is cohesive and attractive to buyers.
(4) Do non-cosmetic repairs now. Cosmetic improvements and painting are best done in consultation with the stager, usually just before the home hits the market. If, however, there are functional repairs that you know are needed (for example, an electrical issue, a leaking skylight, rodents in the subarea, dual pane windows that have fogged) that will affect buyers’ perception of your home, now is a great time to get those repairs done. If the repairs require choosing surfaces or fixtures (for example, replacing a light or a faucet), the stager can help choose the best reasonably-priced but stylish options.
(5) Decide what needs to be repainted, and choose a painter. Painters, like stagers, get booked up early in the months leading to the busy spring selling season.
(6) Hire a great agent who specializes in your area. Your agent can help you with steps 1 to 5 above, and also get you ready for the next steps. If you’d like to see all the steps in selling a house, email me at marilyn@marilyngarcia.com, and I’d be happy to send you the detailed list!
Your Real Estate Expert for Berkeley and Beyond
“Marilyn is exceptional. Her knowledge base, enthusiasm for her job, professional ethics, organization, sensitivity to our aesthetic requirements, loyalty and gentle perseverance set her apart.”
— Bill and Carol Seidel
Marilyn Garcia, PhD
Broker Associate, Realtor®
CA DRE LICENSE #01355514
The Grubb Company
1656 Shattuck Avenue
Berkeley, CA 94709
Direct:
(510) 390-5406