Property Tax Appeal - How Pehr Black Can Help YOU!

Today I wanted to clue you in to a few tips and ideas that will assist you if you're looking to get your property tax lowered. Because of the unpredictability of the market in the last ten years, the tax people have been all over the board and we’re seeing people having 1 in 3 success rate in appealing their taxes and could possibly be higher if they were a little more patient.

One of the ways I'll help you is to perform a thorough analysis of your home, coach and guide you on where to go, and inform you on who to talk to. The tax assessor needs data and we are here to provide that and hopefully reduce your property taxes by 10-15%.

Thanks for your time and if you have any questions about tax appeal, give me a call, text or respond to this email and I look forward to answering any of your questions. Pehr out.

Is Now the Time to Sell Your Home?

Is Now the Time to Sell Your Home?

With the holidays approaching, with it comes a great time to invest in real estate. The sellers that are serious and motivated to sell are still on the market taking advantage of the low inventory. Also, interest rates have dipped a ½ point in the last 60 days. Now is the best time of year to be a buyer as there is less competition compared to the spring when everyone is out looking for homes and asking more money for them.

Thanks for your time and if you have any questions about real estate, give me a call, text or response to this email and I look forward to answering any of your questions.

3 Steps to Selling Your Home Faster

3 Steps to Selling Your Home Faster

Today I wanted to talk about where the market is heading. I get this question every day and truth be told, no one can predict where we are headed. At a time when we are dealing with government shutdowns, debt ceiling debates and fear of higher interest rates, it is nearly impossible to confidently predict what will happen.

On a lighter note, the summer market was great for real estate; we are up 160% from a year ago today. We saw more sales, slightly higher prices and in many cases buyers not being able to bring money to the closing table. I am personally optimistic about the future, but we will continue down a bumpy road. If you’re like me, you’re tired of waiting to see what will happen with our economy. No matter what happens with the market, all I can do is focus 100% on my clients.

To do this, I have devised a three-step approach. First, I will employ every marketing strategy possible to create demand for my sellers. The more showings we have, the better chance we have to find a qualified buyer. Second, I will be even stronger in my negotiations; making sure I don’t leave any money on the table. Lastly, I will communicate more than my clients expect. I will frequently update them so they are aware of everything in this volatile market.

If you have any questions about selling, please call me. Thanks for watching and I look forward to speaking with you. Pehr out.

Why Choose Me – An Expert?

Why Choose Me – An Expert?

Welcome back to my video blog! Today, I wanted to tell you the seven reasons why you should choose an expert to help you buy and list your home.

1.    I will always tell you the truth when it comes to market prices and comparables.
2.    I aggressively prospect for 2-3 hours every day.
3.    I study the market everyday and know what is going on with statistics and trends.
4.    I am dedicated to giving the best customer service and communication.
5.    I follow a defined plan of action. I have a rigorous schedule where I keep track of the progress I have made with your home.
6.    I will protect your equity by negotiating the best possible price for your home.
7.    I am in a network with the most highly trained agents in North America to attract buyers.

So when you are thinking of buying or selling, please give me a call. I’d love to help you with any of your real estate needs!

Thanks for watching!

How to Evaluate an Offer on Your Home

How to Evaluate an Offer on Your Home

Hey, guys. We are in a competitive market and sellers are getting multiple offers on their home. So, how do you know which one to pick?

A lot of sellers choose the highest offer without any research. What if that buyer doesn’t have the funds or financing to make such an offer?

Find out if your buyer is pre-approved. Remember, pre-approval is different than pre-qualification. When a buyer is pre-approved, they are have worked with a lender. Income has been verified, credit has been checked and all the proper documents have been filed.

Once you know they are pre-approved, find out what type of loan they have. How are they making their down payment? Sometimes there are contingencies where a buyer needs to sell their home first before they can buy yours.

When is the closing date? A typical closing lasts 30-45 days. Is there a reason they need a shorter or longer period?

What about a cash offer? Much like checking for pre-approval, check to see if the buyer has the funds. You can do this by simply looking at a bank statement.

Thanks for watching guys! If you have any questions, please give me a call!

August Real Estate Market at a High

 
August Real Estate Market at a High

Thanks for visiting my video blog! Can you believe summer is already coming to an end? School is back in session and that cold weather is just around the corner. Our housing market, though, is still hot.

While historically August is one of our slower months of viewing and showing traffic, the buyers that are looking are serious and of quality.

In fact, did you know the period from Labor Day to Thanksgiving is the second best time for our Idaho market? Buyers are looking to purchase and move before the holiday season starts.

So if you are thinking about selling, let us help you get your home on the market now! Give us a call 208.818.7703

Thanks for watching!

Selling Your Home in a Rising Market

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In a rising market there are two critical issues when selling your home:
         1.    Pricing the Property
         2.    Saving money in escrow

When trying to sell your home, it’s important to price properly. To find a reasonable but satisfactory price, we look at pending sales; the market is rising and pending sales give more accurate reflections of the market. We then call the agents of these pending sales and find out more: if there were multiple offers, was there a bidding war, if the price went above, etc. From there we can gage an accurate price for your home.

The second issue is saving money during escrow. A buyer has a 10-12 day contingency period where they can have inspections done and ask for things from the seller. Keep track of the dates to know when that period ends. Also, we suggest having a pre-home inspection. It will cost around $350, but it is a good investment to protect yourself from losing money to the buyer later on.

If you have any other real estate questions, please call me at 208.818.7703. I’d also like to thank you for all your referrals. Thanks to you this will be a record year!

Simple Curb Appeal Tips That Won’t Cost Much and Get You Top Dollar!

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A gorgeous first impression doesn’t have to cost you an arm and a leg and by following our three simple, easy, quick and dirty tips for getting great curb appeal – you can be on your way to getting top dollar for you home!

Clean Up, Spruce Up and Get Rid of Clutter!
Imagine driving up to a house with unkempt trees and bushes, a messy yard and unsightly stuff scattered all over from the previous season. Why would you want to set foot inside that house if you already have an impression of how this homeowner manages the outside? By just removing a few things you can easily fix the problem. Just clean up the yard, add some color and get rid of any cluttered items littering the lawn.

Put Some Things Away and Leave Others On Display
It’s important to know which items on a home’s exterior will entice buyers and which items will be a put off. Putting yourself in the buyers’ shoes, remove items that may detract from their enjoyment of the space and even hinder their ability to see the house for its positive attributes. Be sure to hide garbage cans and other lawn equipment. By the same token, set up some nice things that will pull buyers in and keep them interested. Examples are colorful flowerpots and flowers on the front porch, seasonal garden accessories (try not to overdo it) or a fresh coat of paint on the front door.

Maintain the Outside of Your Home So Buyers Want to Go Inside
There are some buyers that won’t even set foot inside a home if they get a negative impression from the outside. That is just one of the reasons you will want to make your home’s exterior as attractive as possible and then keep it maintained. If you have outdoor plants, keep them watered. Keep your lawn manicured and as inviting as possible. Extend the outdoor into an outdoor living space that buyers will want to make their own.

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You don’t have to spend large amounts of money to achieve great results. In fact, it’s just a matter of a few hours and a lot of love. Each home is different and if you’d like us to walk through your home to provide a custom consultation on how you can improve your home’s exterior – call us today!

How Hiring an Entire Real Estate Team Changes the Game, Landing YOU At the Top

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Look around anywhere and you will see just how active our real estate marketplace has been lately. You will probably see myriad “for sale” signs, news reports of our shifting market and word of how hard it has been to get into a new home these days with all the competition.

But have you considered how it might be an easier process for you if you’re looking to buy or sell a home? The truth is that so much of your experience and outcome will depend on the real estate agent you end up working with. They have the ability to make or, sadly, even break your success with your real estate goals.

When you work with a real estate team there are instant advantages over working with just an individual. The busiest time of the year for the housing market just happens also to be in the midst of spring and summer vacations. People are moving and want to get in or be out before the school year starts. So if your single, standalone real estate agent is on vacation – so is your home search or your home sale.

The Pehr Black Super Team consists of not one, not two – but THREE licensed and experienced Realtors® that are dedicated to serving you. Our full-time career is real estate and instead of holding a day job with a few sparse transactions throughout the year – we are committed to full-time excellence.

You can and will and do receive live attention to your phone calls. Your emails receive near real-time responses. If someone wants to see your home, we make sure it gets done. If a home you want to see comes on the market in a flash – we see to it that you get to view that home.

Working in unison with us, our support staff helps keep our team maintain its well-oiled perfection. As they say, 10% of our industry’s agents are producing 90% of the volume and we are no exception to that!

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We invite you to call us, visit us or meet us for coffee so we can share some more advantages you will enjoy by working on a real estate team.

Call 208-818-7703 or email sold@pehrblack.com

Four Easy Steps to Prep Your Home for Sale

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It’s a great time in real estate! Not only for professionals in the industry but also for homebuyers and sellers everywhere. Today I want to talk to you about getting your home ready for sale. With inventory selling faster than we’ve seen in years, some sellers are starting to become complacent about preparing their homes for the market, thinking that buyers will buy “whatever’s out there”.

Not true! You do still have to get your place ready and show it in its best light.

Low inventory simply means less to choose from but buyers these days are very savvy and know how to recognize a good home from a not-so-good one. Here are my favorite tips I share with sellers; tips that will help you earn top dollar in any market.

Don’t Be Strict; Flexibility Will Go a Long Way
Despite buyers competing heavily for the few homes that are on the market these days, sellers need to demonstrate some flexibility to accommodate buyers’ issues. You may have a buyer that is on a time crunch and needs to move in sooner. Consider renting a Pod for your belongings and vacate the home sooner. If there is a contingency on the contract that moves them only after they sell their own home, don’t let that get in the way of your contract. In short, try to make it easy on the buyer.

Clean Up, Clear Stuff and Show Off Your Home
It’s only understandable that after years of living in a house you will gather a LOT of stuff. But keep in mind, buyers are distracted by too much stuff because it doesn’t allow them to see past the clutter. It is important they be able to imagine their own furnishings in the space. Before you list your home, go through and purge what you don’t need or haven’t used in at least a year. If you need to, get a storage room or rent a Pod and put away all the clutter you can so you can show off the beauty, features and amenities of the home.

Get Your Sparkle On!
Having a clean, tidy and sparkling home is a great way to attract buyers and push them into the “yes!” zone. Take the time to do at least one deep cleaning, including washing windows inside and out, dusting baseboards, cleaning tops of cabinets and other hard to reach areas. Spruce up the entire space with fresh flowers and make the place shine! It might even pay off to invest in a professional cleaner to come by a day before you list the home.

Pay Attention to High-Traffic Areas; Kitchens and Bathrooms
Time and again, research shows that buyers gravitate toward kitchens and bathrooms first. They evaluate the bigger things like appliances, cabinetry, flooring and counters and fixtures – but they also notice if the place is “hot” or “not”. The simplest way to combat that is to remove all clutter so they can focus on the features of your space. Make sure the surfaces are clean, sparkling, inviting and staged in a neutral manner to allow buyers to envision their own lifestyle in the space.

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If you’re ready to seize the opportunity that today’s seller’s market presents – call me today. We’ll walk through your home and share specific insight as to what steps will make your home sell faster and for more money.

Springtime Home Buying Tips – How to Get the Home You Want In a Crazy Market

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Spring is here and a buying frenzy is happening – so where are you in the process? If you’re like most buyers these days, chances are you have spent or are spending lots of time online “scoping the market out” before venturing out to the professionals.

There’s a lot to be said about being prepared as you embark on this very important journey. Buying a home is the largest purchase of a lifetime for most people and you need to be as prepared as possible and armed with the solid backing of a great team of professionals. As a Realtor® that’s dedicated to ensuring the best experience for my clients, here are four tips that will help you to get your home in this absolutely CRAZY buying market these days.

Do a Financial Assessment

Before even looking at homes you ought to know what you can afford. Many people go to a lender and are told they can afford XYZ amount. Never mind that they may have other financial obligations or goals and never mind that what they may be able to afford on paper may not be ideal for their financial situation. By assessing your financial outlook you will be sure you know exactly what you can afford.

Get a Preapproval From Your Lender

In today’s highly competitive marketplace, it is critical that you come to the table with a preapproval letter from a good lender. At a time when sellers are getting multiple offers on one property, sometimes the only thing between you and having your offer accepted is a preapproval letter from a reputable lender. It also helps us get you a great deal on your home.

Use Professional Resources

It’s easy to rely on the Internet for information and to an extent it’s a great resource. But once things start getting serious, it’s important to align yourself with a strong professional that knows what they are doing. Professionals in the industry are very familiar with housing values, market trends, buyer and seller activity – and more. Using this knowledge we help our clients obtain the best deals and ensure the smoothest transactions while covering all the bases in the process.

Set Realistic Expectations

As you get further into the home buying process it’s easy to let your expectations get the better of you. This is particularly true for first-time homebuyers that may not realize the extent of their budget and what they will find in that budget. Study the market to see what is available in the price range you are considering. Another way to do it is to find homes that have everything you want and evaluate how much those homes are selling for. The same thing holds true for expectations of time when building a new home.

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If you’re in the market to buy a new home contact us today. We’ll gladly provide you with the professional advice you need, the guidance that will help you get the best deal and someone that is on your side, acting in your best interest and working for YOU.

Call today.

Local, Regional and National Real Estate Markets Continue to Enjoy an Upswing

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Think back to just a few short years ago when it seemed the real estate market would never dig out of the mess created after our housing market crashed. Remember when we had so much inventory that we didn’t know what to do with it? And remember how hard it was for those homes to sell? Buyers just didn’t have the drive to buy, and frankly many of them didn’t have the financial means either.

We’ve come a long way in those few years – our economy is stronger with consumer confidence finally making some great headway. Our housing market is coming back and it’s coming back strong! Here are just a few of the things that you can continue to look forward to in the coming months and hopefully years ahead.

Home Values Steadily Increasing
We are seeing home values go up in many areas – locally, regionally and nationally. This is doing great things for people on both sides of the fence. For sellers, it obviously means that they can begin to expect more money for the sale of their home. For buyers the added confidence of purchasing a property knowing that values are going in the right direction.

Ideal Time to Upgrade or Downsize
With the market ideal for both buyers and sellers alike, this is a good time to buy because prices are still low enough that properties can be bought affordably. With the promise of increasing prices continuing there is a lot of incentive for sellers to put their home on the market. In many areas we are seeing a very strong seller’s market where buyers no longer have as much of an upper hand as they did a few years ago. Yet it is a dollar for dollar market making it a good time for sellers to upgrade or downsize without breaking the bank.

Interest Rates Hold Steady for At Least a Year
The Fed has actively held interest rates down to keep the economy bustling and it’s working. The frenzy we are seeing in the marketplace where buyers are eagerly trying to get in a new home is definitely caused by the low base prime rate. We expect these historic low interest rates to stay put for at least until the end of this year and much of 2014 as well.
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If you would like to get in on some of this amazing real estate activity – we would love to help! Call or email us today so we can get started!

Brush Up the Look of Your Front Steps

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Curb appeal gets buyers in the door. If you want to spruce up the front of your home without spending a lot of money, consider painting your front steps.  Typically choose darker colors to hide wear and tear. Colors from nature and from the same family are a great choice for a craftsman-style home. With other styles of architecture choose cool gray because it compliments every color and even when it gets dirty, it maintains its look.

Pehr Black Moves to Coldwell Banker; Couer D’Alene Real Estate Activity On the Rise

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As we move further into 2013, I wanted to take a moment and thank you for your support, your referrals and your business. It’s an honor to serve you and I look forward to providing you continued great service.

Coldwell Banker Move In Time For the New Year

With this New Year, I have made the decision to join Coldwell Banker and will be as dedicated if not more to your success in real estate whether you are buying, selling or investing in Couer D’Alene and surrounding areas.

To reach me, please feel free to call me at 208-818-7703. I can also be reached via email.

Market Activity Picks Up Momentum

Right now, we are seeing a lot of activity on the market for buyers and this translates to being a great time for sellers too, with plenty of increased interest in well-priced homes that are located in desirable areas and competitively marketed.

I look forward to helping you make your real estate goals become a reality.