My team & I belong to each multi-list along Western PA, so we have access to details in markets all the way from West Virginia all the way up to Lake Erie. Here are the trends that we’re seeing right now in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence & Mercer counties.

Okay, Mercer County is typically the ONE place that does things a little differently than the other counties on my radar. However, this week, they aren’t alone! When it comes to average sales price, Beaver, Butler & Lawrence counties have all experienced an increase. Mercer county, however, AS WELL AS surprisingly Allegheny County have had a decrease in this average: 24% & 12% respectively.

If you want to know if the buyers or the sellers have the upper hand in negotiating, we’re going to look at my favorite number. We’ve talked about this before, & the ratio between the listing price & selling price is what you need to focus on. Looking specifically at this data answers that very important question.

At this very moment, buyers are getting homes lower than the asking price! Well… it’s still very close to the asking price, but we’re seeing that they’re able to negotiate just a little, tiny bit, wee more. We’re seeing a very miniscule amount of sales price negotiating success in Butler County – on average, homes are selling for 99.9% of the asking price (I told you that it was still close to the asking price.) Buyers in Mercer County are getting properties for a little over 85% of the asking price there.

If you’re looking for a steal on a home, gravitate away from Cranberry Township & more towards Grove City.

In general, the market has slowed a touch. I know this because the number of homes sold in each county is down from prior week. This could be because of the time of year. We typically see a temporary dip in house hunting when school starts up.

Adding to this is a rise in inventory across the board. We have more homes coming on the market… less homes being sold, so this means that inventory is evening out a touch… for the moment. We’ll see if this continues.

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter
Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020

Let’s crack open the topic that a lot of people are afraid to ask about: how Realtors get paid. Here’s how we get paid “THE BIG BUCKS.” (Insert only a very slight eye roll followed by a genuine smile.)

Starting out here are the very very very very basics: there are 2 sides of every transaction: the buying side & the selling side. Therefore, it’s typical that 2 Realtors are involved: One represents the buyer & one for the seller.

The listing agent is the Realtor that works with the sellers to market, or list, their home. At one of their first meetings, commission is going to come up. The listing agent negotiates with the seller the amount of commission associated with the entire transaction.

The seller can either pay a percentage of the sales price or sometimes a flat fee is agreed. The flat fee is typically for homes or property under about $60,000. At that price, even a reasonable commission percentage doesn’t often cover the costs of a Realtor handling the transaction. So, for homes around $60,000 or less – a flat fee is common.

The commission – regardless as to if it’s a flat fee or a percentage, typically comes out of the seller’s proceeds at closing. This commission not only pays the listing agent but also goes to paying the other side of the transaction: the buyer’s side. Essentially, the seller pays BOTH Realtors involved.

Let’s say that a seller decides that they are going to offer a 7% total commission on the sale of their home. The listing agent would likely market the property with a 3.5% commission (half of that total 7%) for the Realtor who brings the buyer. At closing, the total 7% amount will appear as a line item deducted from seller’s proceeds.

Let’s say that the listing agent actually has their own buyer who is looking for this exact home! She lists the house for the seller then shows her buyer the house. They love it & write up an offer that gets accepted. This Realtor is working as both the listing agent as well as the selling agent. She’s doing both sides of the transaction & would be due the full commission amount of 7%.

When people factor the commission off of the sales price, they don’t realize that we, the Realtors, don’t get this full amount. We have to hand that check directly to our broker. There are many many fees that get taken out. That amount gets portioned off between the broker, fees, insurance, marketing costs, multi-list fees & we then get paid the rest.

A Realtor is an independent contractor, so I have to reserve a portion of my take-home for taxes as well as health insurance. Those don’t come out of my check automatically.

The biggest fee typically deducted are referral fees. One of my Realtor friends moved out of state & still had a nice book of established business in our area that she couldn’t service. Whenever one of her former clients reaches out to her, she puts them in touch with me. I then pay a referral fee to this Realtor for the lead. Referral fees can be anywhere from 20% to more than 35% of my take-home.

Some people think that our offices, like Coldwell Banker, pays us to show properties to buyers. That’s not the case. We don’t get paid to show homes. We ONLY get paid after a closing & can ONLY be paid by our broker.

There have been many times that we will show 15, 20 or even over 30+ homes to a buyer. Then… they decide to rent. I’m supportive of whatever situation makes sense for my clients. But, there’s no compensation for the time or gas that we spend if a buyer decides not to purchase a home. That’s the risk we take in this business.

On the flip side, I’m working with some out-of-state buyers. Just this week, I showed 3 properties in the high $300,000 range via video. The first time out, they saw the home for them, submitted an offer, got it accepted, & now we’re progressing to closing. We have a lot of hurdles to go through as we move along, so my paycheck isn’t guaranteed until it actually closes. Again…that’s the risk we Realtors take in this business.

One of my recent transactions was for a $125,000 home that I listed. As always, I pull out all the stops. Yes, I hire a professional photographer even for homes that are $125,000! I had paid for photography, videography, marketing, mailers – all that fun stuff – even before we get any offers. That’s the risk we, as Realtors, take. We spend money in hopes of making our clients money.

It paid off! We got nice interest on the home, & it closed for $130,000. It sold for $5,000 above the asking price! My seller was thrilled. At this point in the transaction, however, I’m already in the red, & I have about a month & a half to go before I get paid.

If you calculate the entire commission on this $130,000 property, it’s about $8,000. Not bad right? Ah, ah, ah! Not so fast! You have to pay the other agent. We’re down to $4,000 now. Don’t forget – you hand this check to your broker & all the fees are deducted AND there was a referral fee on this listing. That means that the lead came to me from another Realtor, & I agreed to pay them for this lead when it closed. This 2-month transaction, when the check made it to my bank account, was a little over $2,000.

I save half of my check for insurance & taxes. So, $1,000 goes into my savings account so I have those funds available when those payments are due, & $1,000 made it to my checking account.

Just a little fun tidbit… this transaction took place in 2022. My notes on this client started in 2017. I had talked to them for 5 years before they listed their home.

I’m very fortunate because my closing ratio is higher than the average agent. On average, 1 of every 6 transactions falls through & never closes. Then, the Realtor is starting back at square 1.

It’s like getting to the very tippy top of the Chutes & Ladder board & landing on that darn square with the longest slide that takes you all the way to the beginning. Yeah… sorry… I’m bringing up emotional childhood trauma that you had all but forgotten. I, to this day, HATE Chutes & Ladders.

Imagine that feeling with hours upon hours of invested time, nights & weekends away from your family & thousands of dollars on the line. Something completely out of your control takes you all the way back to square one. That’s actually the best analogy I think there is for being in the real estate business! It’s a big, expensive, emotional game of Chutes & Ladders!

Imagine if at your own job, every month & a half or so after you do all your work & the paycheck just doesn’t come. That’s the risk that Realtors take.

Obviously, I wouldn’t do this job unless it was financially beneficial. I’m very fortunate that I have a job that I LOVE doing! It’s not the get rich quick career that people portray on HGTV. It’s a grind… you gotta love it… & I. DO.

To recap:

• That commission negotiated between the listing agent & the seller will pay both the buyer’s & seller’s Realtor.
• Realtors do not get paid for showing homes.
• 1 out of every 6 transactions fall through before closing.
• Commission doesn’t go directly to the Realtor. The commission check goes to the brokerage where all the fees are taken out first before an agent is paid for the transaction.
• As independent contractors, we have to be very good at reserving a healthy portion of those funds for our insurance & taxes.
• It’s very feasible that an $8,000 commission turns into $1,000 of actual spending money in your pocket.

That’s the risk that Realtors take.

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com

As a Realtor, I could write a book about all of the craziness I’ve seen in this business. Several years ago, there was a man who had moved to Florida but was selling his home here in PA. As we’re getting closer to his closing date, & I had some pressing last-minute items we needed to get wrapped up.

I tried getting in touch with him, & he wasn’t getting back to me. This was a little out of character. After more time passed something in me just didn’t feel right.

Not to get in his personal business, but I happen to know that he was estranged from his family. I did some digging trying to find a local family member. Alas… I was able to reach his niece. I explained who I was, apologized for bothering her & said that I was having a hard time reaching her uncle. I just felt that I should let someone know. She politely said that she would see what she could do.

Fast forward to 11:00 that night, I’m fast asleep, & my phone rings. It’s the niece, & she’s panicked, “I’m so sorry for calling so late, but I wanted to let you know that my uncle was found dead in his apartment this evening.”

After I called her, she rang the Florida police who went to his apartment & relayed the sad, sad news of their discovery.

Oh my goodness… I felt so bad for this man… for his family… for the situation. I felt bad for my buyer who had already sold his home & now had no home to move into. I’ve never had anyone pass away during a transaction before, so I didn’t even if there was a way forward for my buyers.

My phone rings again around 11:30. It’s the niece again.

“HE’S ALIVE!!!!” She screamed! Apparently, the police got there in the nick of time! The seller had been moments from death & was in a diabetic coma.

So, I’m credited with saving this man’s life from several hundred miles away. Just another day in the life of a Realtor!

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

My team & I belong to each multi-list along Western PA, so we have access to details in markets from Lake Erie all down to West Virginia. Here are the trends that we’re seeing right now in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence & Mercer counties.

Congratulations, Lawrence County… you’re the oddball area this week! All the other trends in the other counties are consistent with one another. You, however, are throwing the trends for a loop.

All across the board the average sales price of homes are up. Just this last week, Lawrence County experienced the largest jump with the average sales price increasing 31%. Coming in at a very distant second is Mercer County at only 9%. This could be because Lawrence County had the biggest drop in inventory. So, with fewer homes in this area, buyers are willing to pay a little more because of the lack of supply.

We talked before about the median listing price being the better number to look at when reflecting sales price. When looking at Lawrence County there, it’s still up, but only by 3%. This is an indication that there was a house or two that likely skewed the average. In Mercer, Beaver, Butler & Allegheny – we see double-digit increases in the median sales price ranging from 14 to 28%.

Here’s something I haven’t seen yet! I usually report that Mercer County has the most meager listing price versus selling price ratio. That’s NOT the case this week! It’s up 6%! In Mercer County, homes are selling for about 3% over asking price on average!

The rest of the areas I’m monitoring have all experienced a decrease in this ratio, & the average listing price vs selling price is under 100%. This means that, besides in Mercer County, buyers have been a little more successful in negotiating down off of the asking price, on average.

Are we finally seeing the beginning to the end of the seller’s market? Only time will tell!

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

My team & I belong to each multi-list along Western PA, so we have access to details in markets from Lake Erie all down to West Virginia. Here are the trends that we’re seeing right now in Allegheny, Beaver, Butler, Lawrence & Mercer counties.

All across the board, there are signs that the spring market has SPRUNG! Just last weekend, between just 2 of my team members they cinched up 5 deals in a 72-hour period. (That’s a lot of numbers in once sentence.) Basically, it means that most experienced agents are busier a hungry mosquito in a nudist colony.

Another sign of the typical spring market is a boost in inventory. Butler county’s inventory just experienced a 167% hike. Hang on tight, buyers – things just got interesting! Many of our own buyers were so frustrated by the limited options that they took a step back from house hunting. We’re reaching out to our buyers with new options & opportunities so that they can decide if it’s the right time for them to get back in the game.

In each of the counties I monitor, the average listing price vs. sales price has either remained constant or has experienced a slight dip (not much… 2-3%.) This is telling us that sellers have to negotiate a bit on their selling prices.

Gone are the days where the listing price was just the starting point. Buyers no longer have to be throwing financial fists before they even enter the ring. Buyers have more options, & sellers are needing to bend just a touch to have a chance against the increasing inventory (aka competition.)

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020

Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

In one of my recent blogs, I mentioned that I could offer SO much more information on inspections. Well… good idea, past self! Let’s do that today!

Inspections include ANY testing that you’d like to have done at a property. The buyer has a timeframe to get the property evaluated & make a decision as to if or how they’d like to proceed with their purchase.

Types
There are a lot of different types of inspections you can elect. The basic one that most people refer to is a home inspection. It’s the primary-care-physician of inspections. It’s a top to bottom physical of the house looking at basic structural & mechanical items.

My team & I strongly recommend that each of our buyers at least gets a home inspection. There’s a lot of controversy with multiple offer situations as a buyer waives their right to a home inspection in hopes of gaining the upper hand during negotiations. Ugh… this is really big decision & a conversation to have with your Realtor so that you fully understand this potentially huge risk.

If a home inspection is your general PCP, then the other inspections are like your specialists: your gastroenterologists, your ophthalmologists… For example, if the home a buyer is purchasing has a well, then you can elect a well & water inspection. I think that’s a prudent idea – let’s make sure that you’re not gulping down water laced with e. coli out of your kitchen tap. “The best part of waking up isn’t listeria in your cup…” (Credit to my husband who came up with that little diddy as I was practice reading my content.)

Septic systems can cost a homeowner tens of thousands of dollars. If you’re buying a house with a septic system, I think it’s worth the cost of the septic inspection to ensure that it’s in good working order.

I could go either way on a radon inspection. On one hand, homes in PA tend to have a higher radon concentration than other areas in our country. It’s likely due to our rocky subterrain. About 50% of radon testing results I see are higher than the 4.0 pCi/L. So, there’s a decent chance that the radon in a home may be high which is definitely something that should be addressed.

On the other hand, if you are a buyer in a competitive offer situation, your goal is to make your offer as appealing as possible. Sellers will obviously be attracted to offers without a litany of tests for their home to pass. So, if you’re looking to waive any inspection, the consequence of a high radon test can be addressed relatively easily & inexpensively. So, if my buyers wanted to waive a radon inspection, I’m pretty confident that it’s less than a $2,000 fix, & I’m not putting them in a position that they’ll have to use up Johnny’s college fund getting it resolved.

A pest inspection looks for more than just termites. In our pavilion we have the fattest, cutest & busiest wood-boring bees. They are fat & cute, but the amount of damage they do is incredible. A pest inspection pays specific attention to any wood-destroying insects in & throughout the property.

Those are just some of your options when it comes to the types of inspections that we typically see & explain on a sales agreement.

Timeline

Buyers: When you write an offer on a home, you’ll have … typically… 7-15 business days to get your inspections done – whatever is negotiated. If you’re in a competitive offer situation, get those bad boys tied up as quickly as possible – put 7 days. If inspectors are backed up, you’re getting every inspection under the sun, 15 days would give you a lot more flexibility.

Keep in mind that this timeline is when you make your response to the seller. Sooooo, if your response is due on Friday, you need to get your inspections NO LATER than Wednesday. This will allow the 24-48 hours for the report to be available.

Obviously when it comes to contractual timelines & your inspections – the sooner the better! Getting them done quickly frees up the rest of your timeframe to get quotes if you should need them.

I highly recommend that you attend the inspections otherwise you’re going to receive a 60-page report – complete with close up pictures – that is going to make your heart drop. If you went off of this report by itself, you’d think that your “dream home” is going to be falling in on itself the next time anyone sneezes within 10 feet. Be there. Listen to the inspector. Ask questions.

Prepping the Home

Sellers: Before a home inspector comes in, you may want to take a few minutes looking at your home with a different set of eyes.

Make sure that you move the bags of baby clothes away from the water heater. Your kid is 16 now… seriously just take them to Goodwill & get them out of the house. The inspector needs to have access to mechanical systems. Clear a path under the kitchen sink so that the plumbing can be easily seen.

If the house is vacant – MAKE SURE THAT ALL OF YOUR UTILITIES ARE ON! This is a biggie. That’s like my kid walking up to his math teacher & saying, “Hey… I know we’re having a math test today, but I don’t want you to ask me any addition problems. You’re just going to have to take my word for it – my addition skills are 100%.” Nope. That’s not going to fly. As a Realtor, I’m not going to be calling up an inspector & say, “Hey… I know we’re having the inspection today, but the seller didn’t turn on the main water valve. You’re just going to have to take their word for it – the pipes are 100%.” Those utilities all need to be on & ready to go.

I put together a checklist for my sellers – I give them room-by-room suggestions so that their house is ready well before that inspector pulls into the drive. There are things to look for in your kitchen… a few things to check outside… If you text me at 724-888-9020 I’m happy to share that information with you, too.

Pre-Inspection

Sellers: You don’t have to wait for a buyer to come along & for them to surprise you with this 60-page report. You can get a pre-inspection before you list your house, & I HIGHLY recommend it. Getting an inspection on your home prior to listing does 3 things for you:

1. You can address concerning items prior to putting it on the market. There may be a little mold in the attic that you never knew about. No worries – get it addressed, & you’re ready to go! If a buyer finds mold on their inspection, they’re most likely going to ask you to have it remediated anyway OR the word “MOLD” is scary enough that many buyers terminate the deal.

2. You can include the entire inspection report as part of the information you disclose to potential buyers. This means that you’ve taken this information into consideration when setting the price. The buyers cannot renegotiate on information that you’ve provided to them prior to them making the offer.
3. If you provide an inspection report to the buyers, they are less likely to get their own inspection. You’ve eliminated a lot of unknowns for the buyer, & you can progress with the transaction & circumvent negotiations on surprise repairs that show up on the report.

Inspectors

A good Realtor will never feel that an inspector is a “deal-killer.” I love a good inspector. I want an honest inspector who evaluates the condition on a home fairly so that our clients can be very well informed on what they’re buying. Plus, with good information, it gives me a chance to flex my negotiation skills so that we can approach the seller with helpful details. It’s these very details that helps to keep the deal together yet gives us the most potential to free up some resources for the buyers to address concerning issues. That’s the goal, but…

Not all inspectors are created equal.

If I was creating my own worst nightmare of an inspector, I’d make sure that he was a complete alarmist who refused to answer any questions after the fact & who would slip my clients an electrician’s business card – his nephew’s business card – on the way out. Seems oddly specific, huh?

Realtors work with inspectors all the time, & we know who is helpful & who is inflating issues in hopes of getting repeat business. My team & I have a handful of inspectors that have proven themselves over several years to be professional providers of excellent information.

We love inspectors who point out things to be aware of but who also give an idea of what is normal wear-&-tear versus an issue that needs immediate attention.

We love inspectors who patiently talk through what they’re looking at so that our buyers get an intimate introduction to the very crevasses & bowels of their soon-to-be family home.

We love inspectors who, when we get the reports, can & are happy to answer questions days later.

We love inspectors who give us thorough reports!

Reports

Speaking of reports, it’s that very document that gives buyers license to renegotiate. Verbal information doesn’t mean a thing – it has to be documented to carry any weight.

When a buyer receives a report – it’s important that it’s shared with their Realtor. Per the sales agreement, the results of any tests or inspections done on a property are shared with the seller.  If we are negotiating on any surprising information, referencing those details in the report is key.

It’s also important to know that, a house cannot “pass” or “fail” an inspection. A house may be perfectly sound & has one dripping faucet. That would not be a “fail.” There are so many different things that are evaluated, so the inspector – for each & every item – will say if it’s in great working order, may need some love soon or needs immediate attention.

Saying a house “failed the home inspection” is akin to a straight-A student failing one test & they get “failed out of school.” Just like kids are evaluated on each subject separately, items in a home inspection report are also evaluated separately. The house – in its entirety – doesn’t “pass” or “fail.”

There’s a lot more to know, but a good agent will never keep you in the dark when it comes to all of your options.

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO CONTENT ON THIS TOPIC:
Pre-inspection: benefits for sellers! – YouTube

Inspection Perfection

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

As a Realtor, I could write a book about all the craziness I’ve seen in this business. Man, am I glad that we moved the clocks. Having an extra hour of daylight is very valuable to Realtors. Otherwise, we’re oftentimes pulling up to strange homes in the pitch dark.

One day, I was meeting clients at a home late in the evening – well after dark. I get to the house a little early, & when I pull up – all the lights are off. I look ridiculous waiving my hands the entire time I’m shuffling up the driveway to the front door. I’m trying to trigger any motion sensors anywhere & have no luck.

I pull out my phone & turn on the lame flashlight & start looking for the lockbox. Nothing on the front door. I blindly make my way around the side of the house – nothing on the side door. I eye up the shadows lurking along the tree line in the backyard. I find my way into the back door & sigh some relief as I find the kitchen light switch.

I’m casually flicking on lights as I maneuver through the house, the only thing keeping me company as I make my way from room to room is my own humming of a cheerful Greatest Showman tune.

I have one more light to turn on – the one in the back bedroom. The bedroom furthest down the hall & away from the kitchen light. The same hall which, of course, offers a single burnt-out lightbulb. I have since put my phone in my pocket & just eye my way into the deepest recesses of the home.

I turn into the room & start feeling up the trim & adjacent wall on either side of the door. No switch, but I catch a glimpse of a familiar rectangle oddly on the side wall halfway back into the room.

I stride over, push the top button of the old-time light switch & a single bulb turns on. As I turn, that yellowed light highlights the half dozen nude torsos that line the corner & back wall of the bedroom.

They weren’t real people – just very realistic mannequins! I was not in any danger; however I was a good 6 seconds of my blood-curdling scream before I was able to convince myself of that fact. Good times…

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

Knowing about preapprovals are just as important for my sellers! 80% of buyers who want to see your home can’t afford it that means that 8/10 times when you prepare your home for a showing – it’s for someone who is just curious, not serious.

When I explain this to my sellers, I ask them if they would like to request that appointments are accommodated only for buyers who have shared a preapproval letter with their Realtor. I have yet to have a seller not take me up on this.

This is your personal home – you should have control over who goes traipsing in & out. You can absolutely set some standards to ensure that those coming in have the financial capability of purchasing your property. Your Realtor should support you with that & help to set those standards for other agents to follow.

Okay, seller… let’s say that you’ve mandated preapprovals for appointments, you’ve received some decent showings & now you’re getting an offer – or TWO!

The sales price is just one of 13 pages of terms on a sales agreement. They offer a pretty penny for your home – but looking at the preapproval letter will help you determine if that offer is going to stick to the closing table.

Here’s the 3 things that you need to be looking for when you’re evaluating your buyer’s mortgage:

1. You need to see that preapproval letter. It needs to accompany the sales agreement to show you that they are financially capable of the purchase. There’s no such thing as a verbal preapproval – you need the document.

2. Does the lender on the preapproval letter match the lender stated in the offer? If not – you need a preapproval letter from THAT lender. The lender needs to match & the mortgage terms need to match what’s on the preapproval.

3. If the lender is online-only OR an out-of-state lender, so those 2 red-flag lenders that I warned buyers about, you can absolutely ask the buyer to get preapproved with a lender that you or your Realtor trusts. Now, the buyer can still proceed with the lender of their choice, but at least you have some additional assurance that you got a 2^nd pair of eyes on things & a second opinion saying that they’re good to go.

Looking at these things will help to protect against an unqualified buyer taking up time that could be spent on someone more serious.

That’s why preapprovals are important for not only buyers but for sellers as well.

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO CONTENT ON THIS TOPIC:
Why Get Preapproved

2 Types of Lenders to Stay Away From! – YouTube

Your Lender’s Reputation – YouTube

The difference between a BANK & a LENDER – YouTube

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

There are 3 common real estate terms that are very commonly misunderstood & misused. Both buyers & sellers mistakenly use these terms interchangeably:

Assessment
Appraisal
Inspection

Knowing the difference is key & can save you some boucou bucks in the process.

Around March, you have to pay attention to your mail. Important tax docs are coming in & a lot of them can be confusing. My mom called me recently (HI, MOM!) Amidst her Pioneer Woman magazines & regular junk mail, was a tax-related document. She called me pretty upset because this document stated that my parent’s home was assessed for an amount that was ridiculously below what their home would sell for on the market.

She made a common mistake that many many many people make. They get their ASSESSMENT value & APPRAISAL value confused.

Here’s an easy, albeit slightly off color, way to remember that assessment is related to taxes: Paying your taxes is a pain in the ass…essment.

You pay your taxes based on a formula of your property’s ASSESSMENT value. That formula takes: Your property’s assessed value x millage for that area = property taxes

So ASSESSMENT has everything to do with TAXES & NOT the value of your home for resale.

Sellers: If your home is worth a million dollars but the assessed value is $70,000 – which number do you want your taxes based off of? A lower assessed value means lower property taxes.

Buyers: If you notice that a home is for sale & the assessed value is a fraction of that price – that’s a very good thing! Keep in mind, however, buyers that when you purchase a property, that can sometimes trigger a re-assessment of that property. It’s almost like the property tax people are hanging around the property tax office eating sour gummy worms & they get notified that someone just bought the house on Martin Ave. in Ellport. “Y’know… that reminds me, we haven’t raised the taxes on that Martin Ave. house in a while. Let’s go ahead & do that!” I think that’s how exactly how it works…

In short, ASSESSMENT value has to do with your taxes & NOT the fair market value of a property.

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO CONTENT ON THIS TOPIC:
Assessment vs. Appraisal

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com

An inspector evaluates the CONDITION of the home. They provide written information on the structural & mechanical integrity of the property. Most people when they talk about an inspection are referring to a basic home inspection. Does the air conditioning work? Are the windows functional? Are there GFCIs in the appropriate places near water in the kitchen & bathroom – all those sorts of things.

However, there is a litany of other inspection options:

Pest Inspection: looking for wood-destroying insects like termites or carpenter bees.

Water Inspection: if there’s a well, you should probably have the water tested & have the well pump evaluated.

Radon Inspection: radon is a poisonous gas that seeps up through the earth. In Western PA -about 50% of the homes that my buyers have tested test high for radon – it’s just the nature in this area. Realtors in Florida rarely test or even suggest testing for radon. It’s not something Floridians have to worry much about in that area.

Those are just a few examples, & an experienced agent can guide you on your options.

If my buyer wants to waive their inspections, that’s my trigger to have big conversation with them. Most of the time they say something like “Oh, my Uncle Ralph went to the open house, & he built a shed once. He gave it a good once-over & said that home is solid. We’re good…”

If my buyer insists on waiving their inspections – I ask them to sign something saying “My awesome Realtor, Katina, whom I trust & has never steered me wrong told me that a home inspection is important. Alas, I am deciding to go against her stellar advice & rely on the fact that my Uncle Ralph, who has been sober for 4 months now & has built a wonky shed 20 years ago, told me I don’t need one.”

Just so you know, a house cannot “pass” or “fail” an inspection. A house may be perfectly sound & there’s one dripping faucet. That would not be a “fail.” There are so many different things that are evaluated, so the inspector – for each & every item – will say if it’s in great working order, may need some attention soon or isn’t working at all or needs immediate attention.

Saying a house “failed the home inspection” is akin to a straight-A student failing one test & they get “failed out of school.” Just like kids are evaluated on each subject separately, items in a home inspection report are also evaluated separately. The house as entirety doesn’t “pass” or “fail.”

Buyers: Here’s my advice for you when it comes to your inspections:

1. Ignore Uncle Ralph. Get one. The $400 you spend on a home inspection is worth every penny for that information. This is the biggest investment you’ll make in your life, you need to know what you’re buying.

2. Be present when the inspector is there. You’re going to get a 60-page report that will make you feel that the house is coming apart at the seams. Not everything is a big deal, & a good inspector is going to be able to highlight the big concerns. These are items that an experienced Realtor is going to help you negotiate through or even may be reason enough to terminate the deal. Most items are going are usually minor items that are normal wear-&-tear of a home of that age.

Sellers: You can get a pre-inspection report before you list your house, & I HIGHLY recommend it. Getting an inspection on your home prior to listing does 3 things for you:

1. You can address concerning items prior to putting it on the market. There may be a little mold in the attic that you never knew about. No worries – get it addressed, & you’re ready to go! If a buyer finds mold on their inspection, they’re most likely going to ask you to have it remediated anyway OR the word “MOLD” is scary enough that many buyers terminate the deal.

2. You can include the entire inspection report as part of the information you disclose to potential buyers. This means that you’ve taken this information into consideration when setting the price. The buyers cannot renegotiate on information that you’ve provided to them prior to them making the offer. So, you can address concerning items before listing, you can use this information to take a lot of items off of the negotiation table later on in the middle of the transaction.

3. If you provide an inspection report to the buyers, they are less likely to get their own inspection. You’ve eliminated a lot of unknowns for the buyer & you can progress with the transaction & circumvent negotiations on surprise repairs that show up on the report.

SUPPLEMENTAL VIDEO CONTENT ON THIS TOPIC:
Pre-inspection: benefits for sellers! – YouTube

Inspection Perfection

I’m Always Here & Happy to Help!

Katina Hunter

Team Lead for the Katina Hunter Team with Coldwell Banker
724-888-9020
Katina.Hunter@PittsburghMoves.com
www.HereAndHappyToHelp.com