blog.MikeJaquish, REALTOR

Do I do Open Houses? 
Yes, I hold Open Houses in most of my listings, and I don’t worry about reasons given for not holding them.

Do Open Houses “work” in Cary?
I think many work well to expose the home to the market, to generate a little buzz, to get people in to visit.

“They are only for agents to get new Buyer Clients.”
No, I hold Open Houses to generate business for that listing. 

“Only a low percentage of Open Houses result in a Buyer.”
I like to say, as a listing agent, holding an Open House is better than napping at home in front of the TV, and moaning that the real estate market is dead.

So, Yes, I am holding an Open House Sunday, 10/23.  See me from 2-4PM at 501 Midenhall Way, Cary NC, 27513

QR Codes in Real Estate

QR Codes in real estate are a hot item right now.  Using QR Codes in real estate marketing is in its infancy, but beginning to gain serious traction.
QR Codes can be used to convey great amounts of information to smartphone users who scan them.

I like the use of QR Codes for offering GPS coordinates, and since most smartphones have GPS capability, that seems like an efficient use.
But one can also use QR Codes to offer purely real estate data and information.  A listing agent can connect buyers to photos, flyers, documents, and make it easy for buyers and buyers agents to gather data they need to write an offer on a listing.

So, I am seeing more QR Codes on real estate listings in Cary.

One criticism of QR Codes is their industrial/utilitarian appearance.  Some folks call them "ugly."  There is little doubt that, with some care, a real estate agent can present an appealing QR Code.  They may never be confused with seascapes by Monet, but QR Codes can look better. The video runs nearly two minutes, but “60 Seconds” just didn’t seem adequate: 

Basements in Cary NC

Cary home buyers from other regions often are shocked that many Cary homes do not have basements, and buyers agents need to do some explaining.

There are several contributing factors to that situation.

1.  Basements are not structurally necessary, so they are luxury priced.  We just don't need them.  In the north and midwest states, it is necessary to excavate footings 4 to 8 feet below grade to get below frost depth.  We only need, by code, to bury footings 15 inches below grade, so further excavation is unnecessary.  And expensive.

2.  Many Triangle areas have high water tables on site.  Water around foundation walls  is more likely to intrude into the interior of the basement. 

3.  Expansive clay soils.  Our soils will expand and contract as they get wet and dry.  This movement can stress walls, and allow more opportunity for water intrusion.

4.  Cost of finish.  It is usually more cost effective to convert attic space and finish it than to create and finish a basement.  And the home buyers benefit from being high, dry and lit by sunlight.

Yes, you can get a basement in Cary NC.  Commonly, it will be a "walk out" basement, also known as a "daylight" basement.  one or two walls will be above grade, with exit doors and windows.  And the lot will have some slope to accommodate this.  Dugout, hole in the ground, basements are extremely rare.

Cary Homes for Sale with Basements

Buyers and Dealbreakers

Buyers will often cite a "dealbreaker" when considering a home.  In Cary, NC, some of those items are steep driveways, proximity to large powerlines, proximity to busy thorofares, railroad tracks, or excessive airplane traffic.

Some buyers are willing to work with a home that has only a single negative feature, but when they add up, those buyers often lose interest.
A few years ago, I listed and sold a home with a steep driveway, powerlines and a railroad behind it.  How can that be overcome?
We have a saying in real estate, that "Price fixes all deficiencies."  In other words, when a home's price recognizes the diminished value created by excessive incurable deficiencies, and there is an affordable home with otherwise great features, there will be a buyer.

Smart home sellers and their listing agents in Cary will take negative items they cannot change into account when pricing the home for sale.

30 days of Real Estate Closing in Cary, as of August 17, 2011

Numbers are pretty stable in Cary real estate.  As of today, we closed 123 residential sales in the last 30 days.

Days on Market were 93 for those 123 listings.

Cumulative Days on Market, meaning that the property was listed more than once, were 115.

On July 17, those numbers were 87 and 114.

I pulled out three of the highest DOM properties, and the remaining 120 homes showed 86 Days on Market,
and 102 Cumulative Days on Market.
Fun with numbers…

Average selling price was 0.962 of final listing price.

How many cars can you fit into a 2 car garage?

What makes a garage a 2 car garage?  Or a 3 car garage?
How can you tell?

The big door in front won't tell you.  You can get a pretty big door on a pretty small garage.

We see Cary listing agents marketing 2 car garages, or 3 car garages, for their seller.  But, some garages are so tight, it is difficult to imagine parking two cars and being able to open their doors.

Or, as often done in Cary, the water heater is placed in the garage, in the parking space.  Or the builder adds a flight of stairs from the garage to the living area, and that flight of stairs encroaches into a parking space.

Et cetera…

So, when working as a buyers agent, I take a very close look at the garage layout, the dimensions, and other factors that can impact the utility of the space.  And sometimes I will tell my home buyers, "Well, heck.  That's a 4 car garage.  If you own 4 Smart cars."  In other words, you will work hard to park 2 cars in that garage.

Termites?  In Cary NC?  Well…. Yes.

One home inspection that home buyers always have performed on a Cary home is to have a licensed pest firm check for termites.  Termites are very common in the Cary area and a smart buyers agent will press the home buyer hard to have the property checked out during the due diligence period of the contract.

It is also common for a home owner to carry a termite protection contract, which usually includes a repair policy for any termite damage.  If the home seller has carried such a plan, the seller should let the listing agent know, and that becomes a selling point in the listing.  If the plan is transferable, it is even more affordable and valuable to the home buyer.

Some folks confuse a termite plan with quarterly pest service.  Those are two very different services, even though they are offered by nearly all pest and termite control firms in the Triangle area.

Decluttered attics, garages, and storage areas help show the auxiliary spaces in a home better. Buyers notice. A good listing agent will look past the living area and recommend decluttering of the entire property.

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If a Seller can afford to do so, replacing worn and stained carpet and repainting prior to listing are usually better showing strategies than offering allowances for Buyers to do that work after closing. Most Buyers just do not want the hassle.

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Wake County Property Tax Proration at Closing

It really isn't all that complicated.

Seller pays property tax through Closing, the date of deed recordation.

Buyer pays the balance for the year starting from the day after closing.

Wake County Property Tax year is the Calendar year, January 1 through December 31.  Your Closing Attorney will divide the tax bill by 365 days, and multiply the result, the property tax per day by the number of days for which each party is responsible.
And the total is the party's share.

If the tax bill has been paid already, Buyer will credit Seller at settlement for their share. 
If the tax bill has not been paid, Seller will credit Buyer for their share.

It seemed to be worthy of a quick breathless 60 Seconds in Real Estate Cary NC video blog: