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I Issue: June 2004 I Editor: Berry Everitt I |
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Your Area Specialist:
Chas Everitt International
sales agents have all the latest market information
regarding local property values at their fingertips
– and are committed to the highest standards of
personal service when it comes to selling your home.
In addition, the Chas Everitt International property
group offers you, the homeowner, the best possible exposure
for your property in both national and international
markets. So if you are thinking of selling your home,
call your nearest Chas Everitt International office
today for the name of your local area specialist - or
visit www.chaseveritt.com
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Every month the Property
Signpost Newsletter will be issued to all our
subscribers, filled with real estate information to
help you make an informed decision, whether you are
buying or selling a property.
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Contents
1. Welcome By Publisher
2. When - and why - to sell the family
home
3. What is a
CMA, really?
4. Finding an area that's just right for
you
5. The pros and cons of home
improvement
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1.
Welcome By Publisher
We start this month's newsletter
with wonderful news! Charles Everitt, the founder
and chairman of our group, has just become the first-ever
recipient of the Property Professional Lifetime Achiever
Award.
The award was presented by the
Property Professional Club, the South Africa real
estate industry's only independent quality evaluator,
and honours Charles not only for his achievement in
building our group from single agency into one of
the country's most prominent real estate organisations,
but also for his contribution to the development of
the industry as a whole and his dedication to improving
service levels over the past 25 years.
This is indeed a proud tradition
to build on, and although times - and technologies
- have changed since Charles opened the first office
in 1980, I'm happy to say that it continues to set
the tone for the whole Chas Everitt International
group. Our current management team is as committed
as our founder has always been to "keep doing better"
for those we serve.
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2.
When - and why - to sell the family home
With their children grown and leaving for university,
jobs abroad or homes of their own, many couples in
their fifties and sixties find themselves grappling
with a decision that they are just not ready to make
- the decision to sell their family home.
Even when they had a plan to "one day" sell the big
house, pocket the profit, and scale down, empty-nesters
often can't face the prospect of actually doing so
- sometimes because they don't want to acknowledge
that they have reached the "someday" stage, but more
often because their family home holds many emotional
ties. Empty-nesters may also fear that downscaling
will entail a drastic change in lifestyle, and then
there is the daunting thought of the move itself,
especially if it will mean having to sort through
20 or 30 years' worth of possessions to decide what
to pack and take and what to sell, give away or discard.
But there are also quite a number of positive aspects
that should make the sale - and the change - much
easier to contemplate. First, there will be relief
from the high costs of maintaining a large establishment
and keeping it in good order, and less risk of having
to replace or repair expensive components such as
the roof, wiring or plumbing. Your home isn't getting
any younger either, and a property that gets run down
because you no longer have the energy or the agility
to keep up maintenance will be harder to sell when
you do eventually decide to move.
Secondly, a smaller, more modern home will free up
time and money for other endeavours, such as hobbies
or travel - or for some of those luxury features you
promised yourself you'd have "one day". You'll also
have the opportunity to choose a home with greater
security if you wish, or one without stairs, perhaps.
Thirdly, the younger you are when you make the move
the easier the transition will be. There is much less
chance that you will have to make a forced sale due
to changed circumstances (such as ill health), and
a much greater chance that you will make new friends
and develop new interests in a new location. And lastly,
if you control the timing of the sale, you should
be able, with the help of a knowledgeable local estate
agent, to make your move in a "sellers' market". Although
you'll pay more for your new home then than you would
in a softer market, you'll also be selling a more
expensive home in the same market, so you should come
out well-ahead financially.
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3.
What is a CMA, really?
Quite simply, a CMA (short for Comparative
Market Analysis) is a record of recent market activity
in a particular street or suburb. Estate agents will
often offer to prepare such a report for prospective
sellers to help them set a market-related asking price
for their property and sell it easily and quickly. CMAs
can also be helpful to buyers, and to homeowners who
are contemplating additions or alterations. However,
a CMA needs to be properly prepared by an agent knowledgeable
about your specific area to be of any real use, and
you need to know what information to extract from it.
If you're a seller, the first step
in compiling an accurate CMA is for the agent to walk
through your property. This needn't take long, and your
home does not need to be prepared as for showing. However,
the overall condition will affect the estimated price,
so you should tell the agent if you're planning some
repairs or improvements prior to selling.
The second step is for the agent to
consult Deeds Office and agency records for information
about similar properties in your area that have recently
been sold; pending sales (where offers have been made
but the property has not yet been transferred); active
listings and expired listings.
Sold and pending listings will give
you a reliable indication of the current market price
range in your area. But you also need to know the asking
prices of active listings (properties still for sale)
so you can gauge the competition your property will
have in the marketplace. And it is useful to know about
expired listings because these are often properties
that failed to sell because they were overpriced for
the market. If you are a buyer, you can request a CMA
on a property you are considering buying - and would
be well advised to do so if you are unfamiliar with
the area or have not had a chance to view many listings.
Homeowners contemplating major renovations can also
make good use of CMAs to discover how much they can
spend without over-capitalising for the area. The agency
that sold you your home should be happy to draw up a
CMA for you.
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4.
Finding an area that's just right for you
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So you've found your dream house
- but is it in a dream neighbourhood? Some homebuyers
are so impressed by the property they've found that
they "tune out" negative factors such as traffic congestion
in the area, the distance from work, or the lack of
local schools, shops and other essential facilities.
But you need to remember that while much can be done
to improve the layout and appearance of a house or
townhouse, the wrong location will limit your ability
to make changes, and can even mean taking a loss when
the time comes to sell.
And although it is unlikely that any
location will be perfect, you can narrow down your
search and cut the likelihood of an expensive mistake
by making a checklist of factors they rate as "essential"
(must haves) and "desirable" (nice to have).
Some of the factors which should be
considered are:
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Distance from work, schools, shops and other amenities you would like to
use regularly, as well as the traffic on access
routes at different times of the day and week
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Access
to public transport, and the availability of services
after hours and over weekends
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The
provision of municipal services in the area and
the rates and taxes applicable;
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The
proximity of any "seedy" hangouts nearby which
may affect the crime rate, as well as the existence
of restaurants, clubs or sports venues that might
cause noise or traffic problems.
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The
overall condition and appearance of homes in the
area, and the number of homes for sale.
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5. The pros and cons
of home improvement
Rapidly rising prices
don't always prompt homeowners to upgrade to bigger
and better properties. For many, a big differential
between what they paid for their home and what it would
fetch if they were to sell it is a signal to make major
improvements. That way, they reason, they can have a
bigger and better home without having to go to the trouble
and expense of moving.
But there are other
factors to be taken into account before owners make
a final "move or improve" decision - the most important
being the fact that, the overall growth in prices notwithstanding,
most neighbourhoods will only support prices up to a
certain level. After that, potential buyers with more
money will be looking in a different area, so if your
home is already at the upper end of the price range
for its area, you would probably do better to move -
even if you do owe much less on the property now than
you can get for it.
Secondly, possible improvements
need to be evaluated in terms of the age, size, and
floorplan of the existing property. You wouldn't install
an expensive new sound system in a dilapidated car,
and making alterations to a house that's full of functional
obsolescence would make just as little financial sense.
Third, you need to be sure that planned changes will
comply with municipal regulations, that improvements
will match the style and décor of the original building
and that any additions make sense.
You don't want to end
up with a five-bedroomed house with just one bathroom,
or spacious living rooms contrasting with a cramped
galley of a kitchen. And lastly, you must take into
account the inconvenience and discomfort of living in
a home while remodelling is under way. It is really
only worth putting up with this if you plan to stay
on in your home long enough after the work is finished
to enjoy the improvements you've made.
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