April 1, 2009 Through May 26, 2009 Cayuga County Real Estate Sales Statistics

Here are the Real Estate Sales statistics for Cayuga County, New York from April 1, 2009 Through May 26, 2009. These statistics are for all of Cayuga County including the City of Auburn, Aurelius, Fleming, Owasco, Sennett, Weedsport, Cato, Port Byron, Aurora, Union Springs, Locke, Genoa, Moravia, Fair Haven, Locke, Scipio, Ira etc.

April 1 - May 26, 2009 Real Estate Sales Statistics(Single Family Residential)

There were 43 Closed Sales Between April 1 and May 26, 2009

Average Listing Price: $117,647.00 High List Price: $515,000 Low List Price: $13,000

Average Sales Price: $111,380.00 High Sales Price: $477,500 Low Sales Price: $15,000

Average Days on the Market: 86 Maximum Days: 275 Minimum Days: 3


There were 58 Closed Sales between April 1 - May 26, 2008

There were 115 Properties that went Pending From April 1 through May 26, 2009 with an average listing price of $123,104.00.

* These sales statistics were gathered from the multiple listing service and only include single family residential homes in Cayuga County. The statistics do not factor in any properties that sold privately. Click here to read previously posted sales statistics: http://www.yourauburnrealtor.com/2009/04/cayuga-county-real-estate-sales.html
If you have any questions or would like more in depth information on Cayuga County Real Estate Sales and Statistics please call me anytime at 315-515-8348

MOTIVATED BUYER LOOKING FOR PROPERTY AROUND AUBURN, NEW YORK

ATTENTION HOME SELLERS

If you are considering selling your property in Auburn, New York, I am currently working with a motivated buyer. He is looking for a ranch or raised ranch style home in the outlying area's of Auburn, NY. He likes the following areas: Throop, Port Byron, Aurelius, Fleming, Sennett, Weedsport and Elbridge.
My client is a pre qualified buyer and is looking to spend up to $180,000.00.
He would like a ranch or raised ranch style home with a basement and a garage. He will look at other styles as well. If your property matches what he is looking for please call me as soon as possible at 315-515-8348!

The Real Estate Closing Process- Central New York

I am currently in the middle of a Real Estate transaction with an out of state lender. I have tread very carefully into these water's and I have anticipated issue's with this real estate transaction.
I am working with a couple who has relocated to Auburn, New York from Washington State. After my initial meeting with my clients they told me they will be using a mortgage broker from Washington. Immediately a red flag went up not because I don't think the broker is good but because the New York State Closing process is very different than a closing in Washington State.
We close with attorney's in New York. The seller has their own attorney, the buyer has their own attorney and the bank will have their attorney. Many other states close with Title Companies. I am going to explain the New York State closing process in depth in this post.

The Real Estate Contract

• The Cayuga County Contract is a 13 page document that needs to be signed by both the seller and the buyer AND approved by both parties attorney's.
• If the contract does not have attorney approval by both parties it is not considered a valid contract.
• The Cayuga County Real Estate Contract authorizes the seller's attorney to start title work immediately and if something falls through the buyer's deposit goes towards covering any costs incurred.

Title Documents/Role of the Seller's Attorney

In New York the seller's attorney needs to provide the buyer's attorney with title documents. These documents include an original updated abstract of title, an updated property survey, A copy of the proposed deed, a smoke/alarm carbon monoxide affidavit, the RP-5217 and the TP-584, and the statement of taxes and copies of the tax and water bills.

*If the property is located in Cayuga County and has a septic system and a well a septic die test and a water test needs to be done by the seller and their attorney needs to provide a discharge permit issued by the County Health Department.

• It can take up to 30 days to get these title documents back.
• The attorney is depending on the title company and the surveyor- If a brand new abstract is needed it can be a lengthy process. Normally the survey will take about 3 weeks to get back.
• Once the attorney has all of these documents in place and has reviewed the Abstract for any potential issues with title they are sent to the buyer's attorney.
• How quickly the seller's attorney can get these documents in order will set the pace for the closing. - so be sure to choose a competent Real Estate Attorney-

Title Commitment/Role of the Buyer's Attorney

Once the Buyer's Attorney receives all of the documents from the seller's attorney they will review the documents and begin the process of getting the commitment for title insurance. Most banks will not issue the mortgage with out title insurance. This is the buyer's responsibility and is included in your closing cost estimates that your loan officer gives you when you apply for your mortgage.

* If you are paying cash for the property you do not need title insurance but it is recommended in order to protect you from future claims to the title.

It should take the buyer's attorney about 7-10 days to review all of the title documents and get the commitment for title insurance. If the buyer's attorney or the title company finds any problems with the abstract that the seller's attorney missed it will need to be remedied at this time.

The Bank Attorney and Scheduling the Closing

• Once the Buyer's Attorney has received the commitment for title insurance they will forward everything to the bank attorney for final review.
• At this point 2 attorney's have reviewed the documents and there should not be any issues.
• The bank attorney will review the commitment for title insurance. In addition to the other documents they will also want to see the buyer's Home Owner's Insurance Binder w/ paid receipt.
• The bank attorney will then look to underwriting to see if the loan has been cleared to close.
• Once they receive the clear to close from the bank they will prepare the HUD-1 settlement statement which will break down all of the buyer's closing costs and show how much is needed for closing and then we can now SCHEDULE THE CLOSING!

The Closing

• Expect the closing to take about 2 hours. Most likely the buyer, the seller and the attorney's will be at the closing. Sometimes there may be a closer from the title company and the real estate agents.
• If you are the seller you can pre sign documents and just have your attorney at the closing so you do not have to attend. Some seller's choose to do this if they are out of town or if there is any tension with the buyers.
• The buyer has to sign all of the bank documents at the closing and usually has to do this in person. The buyer will have the most documents to sign at the closing.
• Once everything has been signed one of the attorney's will file all of the necessary documents with the County Clerk's office.

Congratulations you have now sold or own a new home!

Expect the closing process in New York to take 45-60 days. Also note that the closing date in the Cayuga County Real Estate Contract is considered on or about this is not a time is of the essence date and should not be depended on as the actual closing date.

If you have any questions in regards to the Real Estate Closing process or if you need a real estate closing Attorney please contact Daniel Testa, Esq. at 315-255-3368.

As always for immediate answers to any real estate questions please feel free to call me anytime at 315-515-8348.

Sell Your Property Fast and For all it is Worth in the Finger Lakes!

If you are considering selling your house in the Upstate New York region check out my marketing plan before listing with another Realtor!

1. I will do a complete Comparable Market Analysis for your property which will help determine the market dictated price you could expect to sell your property for.
2. I will give your property its own unique website. Check out http://www.5879breedrd.com for an example
3. I will have your property professionally photographed to enhance each unique detail of your property
4. Extensive print advertising will be created for you property. Such as custom brochures and flyers.
5. You property will be featured on multiple websites and can be found in over 25 different search engines.
6. I will conduct multiple open houses until your property is SOLD.
7. A Brokers Open House will be conducted to introduce your property to local Realtors who may have a buyer looking for what you are offering.

I will customize this marketing plan to your unique property needs and preferences. As you can see I offer things that other local real estate agents do not currently offer.

To many real estate agents just enter your property into the MLS and wait for someone to call on it. With today's real estate market that is simply not enough. You need an aggressive agent with a solid marketing plan if you want your property to sell quickly and for all that its worth. So don't settle!

Feel free to contact me anytime at 315.515.8348 if you have any questions or would like to speak further!

Sincerely,

Amy M. Testa

Guaranteed Results

What Does A Real Estate Agent Do?

What exactly does a Real Estate Agent do? It is a very valid question that a lot of buyer's and seller's really don't know the full answer to.
This post is going to answer what a Real Estate Agent does for a home buyer. A Real Estate Agent has to be licensed by his/her state and has to work under the supervision of a Broker.
A Real Estate Agent is often a Realtor as well. A Realtor is an agent who belongs to the National Association of Realtors. You can be an agent and not a Realtor but I would tread carefully with anyone who has not invested enough in their career to at least hold the Realtor title.

1. So first and foremost if you are considering purchasing a home you should have your own Agent and not multiple agents. You should not just walk into an Open House and write a purchase offer with the on duty agent as they are representing... guess who? The Seller!
2. Here in the Auburn New York/ Finger Lakes area the seller pays the agent's commission. Most of the time there will be a listing agent and a selling agent. The listing agent acts as the seller's agent and are working in their best interests, the selling agent works for the buyer and is representing the buyer's best interests. The great thing about buying real estate is that you get you own exclusive agent to represent you and help meet your needs and the seller pays for it. If it is a 7% commission on the house the seller will pay out 3.5% to the list agent and 3.5% to the buyer's agent.
   In essence as a buyer you are basically receiving a free personal real estate assistant.
3. You should choose an agent who knows the local market well and who you feel comfortable with. I always recommend interviewing (not looking at houses with) a few different agents to find who will be the best fit for you.
4. Once you have chosen the right agent the house hunting can begin. The agent's main responsibility is to connect you with a seller and broker the deal. When I begin to work with a new client I like to have an initial meeting to go over what their real estate needs are. At the initial meeting I will also recommend lender's if they do not already have one in place.
5. I will then do a property search to pull up properties that meet what you are looking for and show you those properties.
   At this beginning phase the agent should be in constant contact updating you on new properties and showing you properties.
6. Once you have found a property you are interested in the real estate negotiating process will begin.
7. After the agent has negotiated the selling price for you, you will then sign the contract, order any inspections and the closing process will begin
   

I stay in touch with my clients throughout the entire closing process. Their are a lot of parties involved in a closing and I like to make sure every party communicates with the other and the process goes smoothly.
Every client is unique so I customize my strategies to fit each client and their needs. If you do not have a lot of time I am more than happy to preview houses before the initial showing. For our of town clients I create virtual tours of properties they are interested in so they can be viewed online.
Remember in essence the agent is you employee. If you have an agent who does not want to show you properties or does not send you prospects in a timely fashion by all means get another agent!

For up to date real estate information and if you have any questions please feel free to call me anytime at 315-515-8348.

Cayuga County Real Estate Sales Statistics March 2009

Here are the March 2009 Real Estate Sales statistics for Cayuga County, New York. These statistics are for all of Cayuga County including the City of Auburn, Aurelius, Fleming, Owasco, Sennett, Weedsport, Cato, Port Byron, Aurora, Union Springs, Locke, Genoa, Moravia, Fair Haven etc.

March 2009 Closed Sales (Single Family Residential)

There were 23 Closed Sales for the month of March

Average Listing Price: $125,213.00 High List Price: $525,000 Low List Price: $15,500

Average Sales Price: $113,617 High Sales Price: $485,000 Low Sales Price: $19,500

Average Days on the Market: 109 Maximum Days: 875 Minimum Days: 0

There were 78 Properties that went Pending in the month of March 2009 with an average listing price of $126,299. There were 130 Pending properties for March 2008 with an average listing price of 161,553.00.

* These sales statistics were gathered from the multiple listing service and only include single family residential homes in Cayuga County. The statistics do not factor in any properties that sold privately.

Click here to read previously posted sales statistics:
http://www.yourauburnrealtor.com/2009/02/cayuga-county-real-estate-sales.html

If you have any questions or would like more in depth information on Cayuga County Real Estate Sales and Statistics please call me anytime at 315-515-8348.

Buyer Negotiating Strategies: Part 2

So are you ready to buy a house? Here in the Finger Lakes area it has never been a better time to buy. The inventory of houses for sale is high, prices are competitive and there are great interest rates.
So in this buyer's market how do you go about negotiating the best price for the house that you want?
My last blog post touched on the first negotiating scenario http://www.yourauburnrealtor.com/2009/04/buyers-tipss-how-to-negotiate-best.html

Sellers want to get the highest price possible for their property and the buyer wants to buy the property for the lowest possible price. Obviously this puts both parties at an impasse. Right now in Auburn New York home buyer's have the advantage as it is a buyer's market. There is a lot of inventory on the market and properties are taking longer to sell.
When I work as a Buyer's Agent I have different negotiating strategies based on each particular property. Lets look at a couple more scenario's.

Scenario 1: The subject property has been on the market for 10 months the current asking price is $129,900.00. The original list price was $139,900. The buyer likes the property and is ready to place a bid.
After doing a comparative market analysis I am coming out with a value of $119,000.00. After speaking to the seller's agent I learn that the seller is relocating and needs to sell the property.
Based on all of this information and the fact that it is a buyer's market my recommendation would be to put in an offer for $109,900.00. It is $20,000 below the asking price but the house is overpriced to begin with and we now know the seller needs to sell asap.

Most Likely the seller will counter offer at $124,900, I would then bring up the market analysis putting the value at $119,000.00 and advise my clients to counter at $115,000.00. We will probably come to terms between $115,000 and $120,000 after all of the countering has been finalized. The bottom line is if that this seller really needs to sell they are going to make a deal with the buyer.


Scenario 2: The subject property has just came on the market at $124,900.00. The assessed value of the property is $139,900 and is in a very desirable location. After completing a market analysis I am coming out with a value of $130,000.00. The agent has said that there has been a lot of interest and many showings since she put it on the market.
In this situation I would recommend that if my client really want the house they offer as close to asking price as they can. I would have them put in and offer of $119,900.00 the seller still may counter closer to their asking price. We know that even if we pay full price for the property we are still getting it for less than market value and it is in a desirable location. Stalling and offering to low on a property like this will result in someone else winning the bid.

My next post will feature advice on how to bid on foreclosures and HUD homes.

If you need immediate real estate advice or have any questions please call me anytime at 315-515-8348.