Main Line Real Estate | Jennifer LeBow, Realtor

Helping You Relocate to Philadelphia's Main Line

Phone: (610) 308-5973 // Text: (610) 308-5973 // Email: jen@jenniferlebow.com

Schedule Call

Jennifer LeBow

How to market your neighborhood, not just your house

by Leave a Comment

Market the neighborhood, not just the property
Make sure your agent focuses on marketing the community and neighborhood features, not just the house and the property.

Sell more than just the house.

When you look at houses for sale online, you will find a detailed description and lots of pictures of the house itself. There are usually a few pictures of the exterior and, if the lot offers in-demand features like a patio, lots of privacy, mature perennials, etc., a good listing agent highlights them as well. However, what many agents don’t do is take a step back to consider what advantages the neighborhood or larger community offers. No house exists in a vacuum. My advice to home sellers is: make sure your agent is marketing the hyper local-aspects of your neighborhood that are likely to appeal to buyers.

What does your neighborhood offer?

  • Access–does your location make it especially easy to get to the local schools, highways, shopping areas, parks or public transportation? Be sure to point out how nearby everything is.
  • Are there neighborhood activities like a Halloween block party? Book club? Babysitting group? While they might not appeal to everyone, for those who would take advantage of them, they could be an important selling point.
  • Is there particularly low turnover on your block? Make sure to emphasize how rarely homes on your street become available. Scarcity breeds demand.
  • Is your neighborhood quiet, while surrounding ones are sandwiched between noisy highways? Make sure that’s mentioned in the write up.
  • Does your neighborhood offer easy street parking (vs others which don’t permit street parking or have poor parking availability)? This “extra” is often important to prospective buyers, so be sure it’s mentioned!

Create marketing to draw attention to neighborhood features.

  • Print out a points-of-interest map so people can see exactly what is nearby.
  • Consider offering gift certificates to nearby shops or restaurants to the lucky buyer, or to entice attendance at an open house.
  • Make a video of nearby attractions and have it running during showings and at the open house.
  • Ask your sellers to put together a “Why we’ve loved living here” sheet that focuses on the neighborhood.
  • If homes have increased in value, supply market information statistics demonstrating that purchasing in the neighborhood is a wise investment.
  • Have your agent design a social media campaign to market your property that focuses the best aspects of the community/neighborhood.

Remember: home is not just your house and property.

Think about this: if your house/lot were located elsewhere, you might never have bought it. Whether you are conscious of it or not, there were location/community/neighborhood features that contributed to the appeal of the property. Because you don’t just live in your house–you need to commute to work/school, shop, have access to entertainment, etc. Just as certain characteristics drew you to the property when you bought it, the same holds true for prospective buyers (especially those less familiar with the area), so be sure to highlight them!

 

 

When can a buyer delay settlement?

by Leave a Comment

Main Line Philly Relocation
In certain circumstances, a buyer has the right to delay settlement, but it is rarely definitively clear.

Can a buyer hold up settlement if….?

With all the documentation required to purchase a property, including (in PA) a 14-page Agreement of Sale in 9 pt. font, you’d think every possibly eventuality would be addressed. You’d be wrong. There are unlimited scenarios that can arise when a property is being sold and no way to detail what should happen in every event. So how do you know whether a certain situation merits a buyer delaying settlement? It’s not always easy and the listing and buying sides often disagree.

Be sure to read the Agreement of Sale

Free of debris, broom-clean

Now that I’ve thoroughly bashed the incompleteness of the Agreement of Sale, I am going to seemingly contradict myself by encouraging you to read it carefully. Why? Because it does, indeed, specify certain requirements.  For example, the document says:

Possession is to be delivered by deed, existing keys and physical possession to a vacant Property free of debris, with all structures broom-clean, at day and time of settlement…

For example, many buyers think the seller needs to have cleaned the house, including wiping out the oven and the (empty) refrigerator. Sorry buyers–as long as there are no dishes/food/pots and pans left in the oven or the refrigerator, it is considered “free of debris”.

Inclusions/exclusions

The section that describes what is included/excluded deserves careful reading.The majority of issues surrounding buyers wanting to (and thinking they have the right to) delay settlement revolve around this topic.

  • Some sellers leave paint cans and leftover renovation/building materials, assuming the buyers may want them. Unless the buyers have asked for them to be left, sellers are responsible for removing them. Nothing that is not attached to the property (like trampolines,  free-standing workbenches in basements, kitchen bar stools, etc.) should remain in the house. Things like shelving, light fixtures, mirrors that are glued to the bathroom wall and built-in microwaves stay. A big point of contention (which has now been spelled-out in the Agreement of Sale) is the fact that, unless otherwise agreed upon, tv mounts that are attached to the wall remain (as they’d leave a mess if removed). However, the tv itself, which is hung on the mount, is NOT attached, so that goes with the seller.
  • Heating fuel (oil) must be left. Some sellers who have recently filled oil tanks don’t want to leave the oil for the buyer but the Agreement of Sale stipulates it must remain with the house.
  • Shrubs, trees and other plantings: unless something is in a free-standing pot, it conveys with the property–that means sellers cannot dig up their prize rose bushes and take them when they leave.

So, while buyers and sellers often don’t pay attention to the details of the document, it does, indeed address many of these points.

Condition

Another area of contention involves this language:

Seller will maintain the Property (including, but not limited to, structures, grounds, fixtures, appliances, and personal property)
specifically listed in this Agreement in its present condition, normal wear and tear excepted.

While the previous examples are actually fairly clearly explained in the Agreement of Sale, interpretation of condition is more open to interpretation. Here are some common issues that fall under this category that suggest a buyer could delay settlement:

  • a window lock is (newly) broken on second floor.
  • an area of the floor that was previously under a rug is heavily stained and wasn’t disclosed in Seller’s Disclosure (which expressly asks about stains or other problems with flooring or floor coverings).
  • the seller’s movers scraped the wall bringing furniture down the stairs.

Is the buyer within her rights to delay settlement until repairs have been made? Should she only expect to delay until she and the seller agree on how the repair will be done/paid for? Remember, from a legal perspective, nothing in the Agreement of Sale survives settlement. What that means is that once buyer and seller go to settlement and the property has legally changed ownership, the buyer relinquishes any leverage over the seller. Settlement effectively ends any further negotiations or interactions between the parties and terminates any responsibilities the seller has to the buyer. This finality is why buyers often want to delay settlement–until they pay the seller, they still have leverage over him. That leverage disappears once closing is completed.

Inspection items

If there has been an inspection and the parties have agreed that the seller will make repairs prior to settlement, what happens if those repairs have not been made? Well, then the buyer has a strong case for delaying settlement. But, what if they have been made, but the buyer isn’t satisfied with the repair? Or what if the seller cannot provide documentation that all repairs were done “in a workmanlike manner”, as stipulated on the Reply to Inspection document? And what, exactly, does that mean? Could the buyer hold up settlement in any/all of these situations?

What can/can’t the buyer do?

Now you may understand why it’s not always clear whether a buyer does or doesn’t have the right to delay settlement. So what should a buyer do when there’s an issue like some of the ones mentioned above? The first line of defense is to read the Agreement and any Reply to Inspection/Addenda forms as some of the questions might be answered there. For less defined questions, I’d advise discussing with your agent the best course of action. Sometimes, even though the sales paperwork doesn’t survive closing, people can have an attorney draw up some kind of agreement stipulating who is responsible for what. Sometimes, buyer and seller may agree to a monetary remedy–the seller writes the buyer a check for an amount both agree to and the matter is considered closed. Sometimes, settlement is delayed a day or two to allow time for a repair or correction to be made.

If the parties can’t come to an agreement, they may have to get lawyers involved, which is the least desirable outcome as it costs everyone money and sours what should be a positive transaction. However, a home purchase is a significant investment and if you need to go that route, so be it. On the positive side, rarely do things escalate to that point. Usually, both parties want to find a way to figure it out and go to closing.

If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973

 

Home value: why it’s a range

by Leave a Comment

What is my home worth?
No home is worth a specific amount, as the unique characteristics of the house, property, neighborhood as well as inidvidual buyer circumstances all influence what someone is willing to pay for a home.

What is the value of my property?

The first question prospective home sellers usually ask me is “What is my home worth?” The answer to that question is never a specific number, but rather a range. And that range reflects this truth: value is in the eye of the beholder. The value of certain features of the property may be of more or less value depending on the buyer.

Specific property characteristics

Certain buyers may place more emphasis than others on aspects including square footage, layout, number beds and baths, convertibility/flexibility of space, storage, parking, size/shape/privacy of the lot and more. Someone with four kids who wants a guest room might be willing to bid higher on a 6-bedroom house than a family of four people. Those extra bedrooms carry less value to the second buyer than the first. Similarly, someone who wants a swimming pool will pay much more for a house with a pool than a buyer who either doesn’t want one or could take it or leave it.

Condition

Many buyers are looking for a turnkey property that requires no remodeling nor replacement of systems (like a roof, windows, or HVAC system). Others don’t mind some updating  (particularly if money doesn’t need to be spent inmmediately and a kitchen or bath renovation could wait a few years). For people in the first group (who from either a financial or time perspective can’t easily buy a house and update it in the near future), a turnkey house is worth more than it would be to someone who is hoping to put their personal stamp on the house.

Location

Location affects several important facets of a property

  • What the neigborhood is like–if it’s very family-friendly with a babysitting coop, a book club, July 4th block party, someone with young kids might put a higher value on it than a single 50 year-old.
  • The quality of the school district–see above!
  • The work commute–what if an interested buyer happens to work around the corner in an office 2/10 of a mile from the house? That home’s value just went up significantly to that particular buyer.
  • Access to preferred services/destinations–if your favorite shops, restaurants and services are a stone’s throw away, you might pay more for that house than if they weren’t.

Wildcards

“Wildcards” is the term I use to describe this situation: “My best friend lives in the house next door!” or “My grandmother used to live in this house.” or “This is the same street name and number of the house I lived in as a kid in another state.” Believe it or not, I’ve heard comments like these and for “wildcard” buyers, the value of the property very likely exceeds what a typical buyer might pay for the house.

Buyer profile

Another crucial factor in how high someone will bid for a house is what I call the buyer desperation quotient. To illustrate this idea, consider these two buyers: Buyer #1 has just begun looking for a house and has the luxury of being able to move any time in the next 15 months. They don’t have to sell to buy and have flexibility as far as staying with relatives if they do sell before they find a place. Buyer #2 is a family of seven, with two rottweilers. They are moving here to start a job and need to move in somewhere within 60 days. No one will rent to them because of the dogs, and, besides, they haven’t seen a single rental with five or more bedrooms. They  have already bid on and lost four houses. Buyer #2 is much more likely to bid higher on a six bedroom house in good condition and in a nice neighborhood than buyer #1.

Property appeal is a continuum

While every property has certain characteristics which help determine its value, that value will always be a range, because various buyers will care more about specific aspects of that property than other. From the size to the commutability, condition and school district, there will be buyers who ascribe more or less value to each of those features. Throw in less tangible property traits like “neighborhood feel” or one of the wildcards and you can easily see why there is a range. Now add in the fact that different buyers are in different situations and that idea of a range of value makes even more sense.

For additional information on this topic, click here.

If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973

Parsnip Fry Recipe

by Leave a Comment

If you like French fries, you'll love these!
Parsnip fries are so easy to make and they are truly delicious!

Parnsip Fry Recipe

 

Preheat oven (or air fryer) to 400°

Place in resealable plastic bag and shake/combine:

3 parsnips, cut into ¼” thick fries

1 T EVOO

1 ½ t cardamom

1 t rosemary

½ t paprika

¼ t Kosher salt

Line cookie sheet/baking pan with foil sprayed lightly with cooking spray.

Spread parsnip fries out in single layer on cookie sheet.

Cook 15 minutes.

Stir/flip.

Cook 10-15 minutes longer, or until deeply browned.

 

Value is in the eye of the beholder

by Leave a Comment

Main Line Philadelphia relocation home values
Home values differ depending on the specific buyer’s needs, unique characteristics and situation.

Using the comps to determine property value

If you are considering putting an offer on a house, you need to determine what it is worth to you. Any property usually has a market value within a range–for example, you may be looking at a house, which, based on comparable sales, is worth between $600,000 and $675,000. Those “comps” are the primary basis for determining value. You and your agent will compare similar properties in the same neighborhood, if possible and try to add and subtract for their differences. The idea is to compensate for variables like square footage, property condition, amenities like a garage, air conditioning or a finished basement. Evaluating the subject property in relation to the comps is the first step in assessing that property’s value.

What do comps NOT take into account?

Comps are a great place to start when you are establishing value. However, they cannot take into account individual situations. They can’t reflect differences in people’s specific needs, whatmight be meaningful or important to them or their specific situations.

Consider the value of the home’s features

What some buyers might describe as “must have” features, others might call “bonuses”. I had a buyer who had looked at several homes, some three bedroom (all she really needed) and some four bedroom. Across the board, they all had at least some bedrooms that were quite small. When I took her to see a property that had four truly enormous bedrooms, we absolutely noticed and appreciated that feature. It also had a finished basement. This particular buyer is a single woman whose kids are out of college and living on their own, though they do visit sometimes. When we were discussing an offer, seated in my car outside the house, several other interested buyers arrived for showings. Clearly, there was a great deal of interest. When she told me what she was comfortable bidding, I explained to her that I respected her decision, but thought it would go for more. When she asked why, here is what I said:

The bedroom sizes and the fact that there are four that big? That finished basement? While you see them as bonuses, for many families, those are necessities. Furthermore, we have looked a lot of houses and haven’t seen bedrooms the size of these. If you have a guest, their room doesn’t really need to accommodate much more than a bed, a night stand or two and a small dresser. For a larger family, with kids who have desks and dressers and other furniture, the number of bedrooms and their large size is more valuable to them than it is to you. If you had three kids living at home and were looking in this price range that we’ve been looking in, is there a home that we’ve seen that you’d buy before this one?

When I posed the question that way, she understood why a different buyer might consider some of the homes features more valuable than she would and, therefore, offer a higher price. The age-old concept of “supply and demand” for a scarce commodity cannot be ignored!

Consider location, but on a personal level

When I say to consider location on a personal level, I mean that there are certain characteristics of a street or locaiton that will be more valuable to one buyer than another. I had a client who was used to walking her three high-energy kids to school every morning. It was time spent together that was important to them and help the kids shed some of their excess “sillies” to be ready for school. That buyer said that being able to walk to school was crucial. Well, in our area, we have few sidewalks. Therefore, they were willing to spend more than other buyers might on a home that met their families other needs AND allowed for them to safely walk to school.

Location can also affect value when it has a bearing on your social life and/or your work life. What if a house you are looking at would allow you to have a 7 minute walk to commute to work? Or what if your best friend lives three doors down? Suddenly, that property is worth more to you than to another buyer.

Consider how desperate you are

When a buyer client asks, “How much should I bid on this; what do I need to do to get it?”, I respond that those are not the same questions. How much you should bid depends on its value to you. Then I explain what I call the “desperation factor” If there are other buyers out there who are more desperate than you to own it, they are likely to present stronger offers.

What do I mean by desperate? Let me paint a picture for you. Imagine a buyer who is moving to the area and whose house is under contract and settling in six weeks. It is July and the buyer has two children whom she needs to register for public school. This family has three dogs.

  • They have to move out of their home because it is going to settlement soon, so they do not have the luxury of taking their time to find something; they have to get something under contract so they have a place to live.
  • They can’t register their kids for school without an address and the school district the kids attend is tied to the location of the property. So they to find something fast to finalize the school piece of the puzzle.
  • With three dogs, renting is not a viable option, so they have to find a house to buy.

That is an example of a desperate buyer. Beyond the value of the house itself, there is value to that buyer to securing a property. Any property. So that buyer is going to write a more competitive offer than you might.

Value is in the eye of the beholder

Obviously, the comps provide a solid starting point for evaluation what a property is worth. However, specific features may hold more value for certain buyers than others. A first floor office may be a nice extra for you, but a necessity for someone else. The location may be considered generally convenient and a nice neighborhood by anyone’s standards, but if it borders the nature trail that you love to walk on every week, you might be willing to pay more for the house. Finally, your level of desperation comes into play as well. If you don’t have to move, but will for a property that meets your needs and fits your budget, you might not bid as aggressively as someone who feels that their back is against the wall as far as getting a home under contract ASAP.  For all of these reasons, the value of any property varies depending on who is looking at it; it’s in the eye of the beholder.

For more on this topic, click here.

If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973

What can days on market tell you?

by Leave a Comment

Main Line Philadelphia relocation
The number of days a house has been on the market impacts how you might structure an offer and more.

What are days on market?

If you are house shopping, you may already be looking at DOM (days on market) when researching listings. Why is that data important? Well, if it’s new to the market, it means the seller is not likely to take a low bid. It hasn’t been available long enough to be “sitting”. Alternatively, if a house has been on the market for 48 days, the assumption is that the public is not valuing that property at its list price. That is why it hasn’t sold. If the seller is realistic and actually wants to sell the property, he or she should be prepared to accept a lower offer. As a rule, old listings are more likely to sell below list price than at or above it.

How do days on market translate to buyer urgency?

Another piece of information you can learn from days on market is how quickly you, as a home buyer, need to get in to see the property. If it has been on the market for a while, it probably means the intitial buzz has died down and it’s unlikely there are lots of showings. If it’s brand new to the market, it’s bound to have lots of showings, so if you think it might be a good fit for you, be sure to make an appointment as soon as possible so it’s not gone before you’ve had a chance to see it.

What is CDOM?

Another MLS entry you might see is CDOM. It represents cumulative days on market. Here’s what it means: sometimes, a property is for sale and then it’s taken off the market and relisted. If fewer than 60 days have elapsed since it was removed and relisted, the number of days it had previously been on the market are added to the current days on market so buyers can see it is not exactly “brand new” to the market. Then your agent can help you learn about the pricing history, when it was originally listed and other specifics that can help you obtain a clearer picture of the scenario. This information may enable you to make a more strategic offer.

Days on market takeaway

The moral of the story is that people often pay no attention to the number of days a property has been on the market, but that metric can provide valuable insight into how competitive an offer needs to be. In a perfect world, your real estate agent should not only be monitoring days on market as well as other ancillary entries for any MLS listings you are considering, but also explaining to you how and why they matter and what they can tell you.

 

If you are relocating to the Philadelphia/Main Line area, please go to my blog page and search for posts using the relocation tag. Contact me to discuss your Philadelphia area relocation! jen@jenniferlebow.com/610 308-5973

Home seller net proceeds

by Leave a Comment

How much does a home seller walk away with
Home sellers should be more focused on their net proceeds than their list price, sale price, commission fee or any other number.

Sellers tend to focus on the sales price of their homes, but what they should really be concerned about is their net proceeds. That figure is the amount they actually walk away with, once all fees are paid and all reimbursements have been made. Please talk to your listing agent for a full list of fees. I can tell you that, in PA, they include (but are not limited to):

  • Listing commission as well as flat fees that some brokers are now charging
  • Any staging or other marketing fees your agent is not covering
  • Use and Occupancy certificate from the township (and any required repairs)
  • Title fees including wire fee, mortgage payoff fee, transfer tax, sewer and tax certifications
  • Reimbursements to or from the buyer for taxes that are due or that the seller has prepaid
  • Return of any tax or home owner’s insurance escrows the lender has been holding in order to pay those bills when they come
  • Paying off the mortgage and any other fees your lender charges

So when you are discussing the list price, or when you are negotiating an offer, be sure to ask your agent to estimate your net proceeds, since that is the number you should care most about.

 

What is a home buyer escrow or earnest money?

by Leave a Comment

Escrow or deposit on a home
Confused about what a home buyer’s escrow deposit is?

Buyers don’t always fully understand what an escrow deposit is. It is also often referred to as earnest money. To clear up the mystery, it’s a deposit that becomes part of the buyer’s down payment on the house at closing. Usually, the listing brokerage holds the escrow, though some buyers choose to have their title company hold it. Either way, just prior to settlement, the title company ends up with that escrow. The listing brokerage wires it to them if the title company wasn’t where it was initially sent.

Sometimes there is a single deposit and sometimes there are multiple deposits. If there is a single deposit, it is typically around 5-10% of the total purchase price. Note though, there is no standard–obviously, if someone is only putting down a total of 3%, their deposit can’t exceed that amount. When there are two deposits (usually when the second is due once inspections have been negotiated), the first is usually around $5,000, but, of course, it depends on the purchase price of the house and what buyer and seller agree to. The reason the first deposit is fairly small is that, in the event the deal falls through, the buyer doesn’t have to wait for the return of a substantial amount of money, nor move things from one account to another. In this scenario, the first and second deposit combined usually equal between 5 and 10 % of the total purchase price.

If you terminate within the terms and conditions stipulated by the contract (e.g. terminating due to inspections within the prescribed time period, terminating if you don’t get your mortgage or if the best rate available to you exceeds the maximum rate you indicated in the contract) your escrow will be returned to you, though it can take a few weeks. It is possible the seller could dispute that your are entitled to its return depending on the circumstances, but that situation is rare. It’s best to think of your escrow as a deposit that is refundable within the framework of the contract and will be counted toward your downpayment on the purchase.

Looking for our Main Line Neighborhood Guide?

View Here

Call Jennifer Now