Securing a Toilet the Right Way! How to Prevent this Common Home Inspector Concern:
Jun 17th
Every REALTOR in Vermont has a story about that wobbly toilet causing them some tweaks of their own. Whether it’s a call from an irate seller that has now sprung a leak after the inspector put a little too much english on it during a building inspection, or the last on a long laundry list of things the buyer is going to want completed or they are going to walk, I have two words for you: “wobble wedges!”
Yes, that’s right, “wobble wedges”. If you ever have struggled to secure a toilet to an uneven or just plain stinky floor, go out to the Hardware store and say: “I’m looking for some Wobble Wedges, do ya got any of those?”
And they’ll say, “Sure! Of course, Wobble Wedges. How can anybody live without these!”
Get four of them. It might cost you a dollar or two, but when you’re done, it’ll be your favorite throne in the house. You’ll be able to hang on it like a monkey, and if you have kids, well, they’ll do that anyways, wobble or no wobble. Two, one on front right and left quadrants, and two in the back. They go under the toilet and above the floor. Now, crank down on those bolts, but not too far or you’ll crack the ol’ girl. This also requires solid underpinnings for the bolts, too. Now, cut off the protruding wedges w an xacto knife, caulk around the edge of the bottom of the toilet to fill the small gap and hide the edges, and you’re good to go!
Do this right after you buy the house, or right before you sell it! Don’t do it after a home inspection, because you might end paying a plumber to do it!
Vermont Real Estate Foreclosures and Auctions
May 28th
One of the hard parts to an agents job who works in the foreclosure area of the business is simply the communication process. The following scenario is typical and happened to me just the other day:
Agent x gets seemingly well priced foreclosure listing with only a one month term. When the listing contract expires, a renewal comes, but this time from somebody different, an auction company. That same morning, the agent gets a call from somebody saying “hey, did you know your listing is getting auctioned off?” This is when things really get out of control. After filling out about 10 pages of paperwork, all new to the eyes of the agent so one needs to “re-learn” all of it including responsibilities of the agent, escrow procedures etc., you learn that these auction companies seem to be a marketing ploy and that’s about it. You see, many of these auctions are considered “non-absolute”, meaning, the seller can reject the highest bidder. But, in the typically heavy handed way, the BUYER doesn’t even have the right to revoke their offer within 14 days of the auction with this particular case!
And so the point is… what? It’s simply an open house with the chance to get into a bidding war and submit binding offers that can’t be revoked!
Anyhow, the day before the auction, this poor old agent x gets an email from the auction company saying that they have been trying to gain access for 2 weeks and that the codes and keys need to be verified by the agent personally asap. Even though the auction company is the one that hired the re-keying and new lock-box, they don’t know what the code is, or if the key works. After many phone calls it turns out that there are seven points along the communication chain: the client (bank) hires us. Then the client hires an auction company to market the property and the “previous list broker” (agent x) essentially becomes a property manager. But the auction company also hires a property management company. This property management company then hires a subcontractor to deal with securing the property. When the subcontractor wants to tell everybody that somethings been completed, they tell the property management company. If they are competent enough to pass along the information to the auction company (who is a different entity altogether than the actual auctioneer), then word may or may not pass to the foreclosure department in a real estate company. And if EVERYBODY is working on relaying messages that day, which is pretty much never, the agent, the person who is really supposed to be in the field selling this place, will get the message that the locks were changed and that the code is 1234.
Being the diligent agent that they thought they were, this agent decided to go to the auction and see it all play out. But, upon showing up, there was nobody there save for a security company. “Weren’t you ‘matt’ from the security company that I spoke with over the phone yesterday?” the agent says.
Matt replies, “No, we’re a different security company.”
Agent says: “Where is everybody?”
Matt replies: “Oh, you didn’t get the message? The auction is in White River, 1.5 hours away.”
Ha Ha Ha!
Ben Thomas,
agent x
Pricing a home the right way! VT realtor strategies for selling a home.
Mar 26th
I was just at a listing appointment with a seller client, and we were putting a price tag on his home at this meeting. It turns out that they were very interested in my approach to pricing homes.
Here is my strategy for pricing a home, and what I think is the best way to see the light: put all the comparables and the subject property on the table, and pretend you are a buyer. You are looking at all the current inventory as if you were going to spend your hard earned money on the one you were interested in. Which one would you go for, and why? Seriously! Which one is the best for the money? Why would the other listings be of interest? Do you know why somebody would buy the other ones over this one? How about the sold listings? Does the subject property seem like a good deal, kind of like when you go buy a car and you find the best deal? Do me a favor: stand outside your own home and look for all possible eyesores in the surrounding environment, on your property and your own. Pretend it was the first time you came here. Do this same thing for the competing properties and even for the ones that sold. What you will begin to get is a logical range, the size of which can vary greatly but we can’t control that. Don’t you see that pricing a home is not just about adding up the nuts and bolts? Bathrooms and half baths, hardwood vs. carpet! Adding up the nuts and bolts is a good way to fairly assess property for taxation. Granted, location and square footage are serious factors, but if you are selling a home in VT, you want to look harder than that.
This is sometimes why people hire agents to sell their home. A good buyers agent has looked at plenty of homes “through the eyes of the buyer”, and therefore already has the 20/20 hindsight that we are always talking about in life. But all this brings me to my next thought that I don’t want to forget, which is that any really good buyers agent can be a good listing agent as well. The talent exists independent of which side of the closing table you’re on.
Buying a home is just like buying anything else. It’s about product knowledge, communication, patience, perspective, and whatever else. Oh yeah, listening and asking questions is important. Even for the negotiating piece. I once had a REALTOR competitor of mine tell me that they never asked questions, but rather, told people what they needed to know! Isn’t that funny?
Don’t you wish they had buyers agents for cars? I need one, so if anybody in VT does this, please let me know.
Central VT Real Estate Listings on your phone: Now it’s time to speed up the house-hunting process with a real estate search for any cell phone
Feb 23rd
Montpelier, VT—Century 21 Jack Associates is introducing a way for clients to view all of the central vt real estate listings for sale in the area with any cell phone. www.montpelierhousing.com is providing clients with a mobile real estate search created by Smarter Agent that makes it possible to search all local property listings from their mobile device, regardless of whether it is listed by Century 21 Jack Associates or another broker or agent. Century 21 Jack Associates’ mobile real estate search is the only house-hunting tool that works on 95% of cell phones across all carriers.
With the Smarter Agent application, interested home buyers can be in any neighborhood and view detailed property information about real estate listings through the MLS at the touch of a button. The GPS technology in the mobile phone, when available, locates users and pulls up addresses and information on listings in their immediate area. Sales price, square footage, tax information, beds/baths, interior and exterior features, pictures and more become available instantly in the palm of their hand. This is part of a new trend towards “augmented reality“, where mobile devices are starting to practically replace our brains!
Consumers can also search by address, community name, city or zip code when GPS is not available, or if they want to search for real estate in an area other than their current location.
The “Call to See” feature within the mobile application will connect users to a Century 21 agent if they have questions or want to schedule a tour of the property.
The fully downloadable application is free to download on Sprint devices, BlackBerry devices, the iPhone, and Google’s Android G-1. The premium mobile web version is free to access.
Northfield Realty: New Listing, Northfield, $199,900
Feb 4th
Proximate to Norwich University, Interstate 89, this Northfield realty offering adds rural privacy to boot! The set-up consists of a 2006 built 3 bedroom ranch, sitting on 3 acres of land. To the side of the home there’s a large area of yard, with views to the west through the trees. The house itself is exquisitely clean, and feels just like a brand new home, because it practically is. Property highlights include detached 2 car garage with space above it that the current owners had envisioned to be either an accessory apartment or an at home office, top of the line mechanical systems including buderus direct vent high efficiency boiler, rinnai tankless hot water heater (only heat as much water as you’re actually going to use, but never run out either!), and a state permitted, professionally engineered 4 bedroom septic system (one extra bedroom in the event that the space above the garage becomes completed and occupied). These are items that set this property apart from the many of the older homes on the market. But there’s so much more to notice…Living in Vermont, a detached 2 car garage is the best way to go. Store your paint, car, and household chemicals in a separate structure, away from the living space. This home provides that, and more, since the space above has had significant improvement and with just a little more effort could be rental income, or accessory apartment space for family members.A quality home is the summation of so many small details crafted with competence and aesthetics in mind. And at this home, everywhere you look, you are constantly reminded of this fact. From the oak threshholds and trim, to the 100% hardwood high gloss flooring (not laminate or engineered) that runs throughout the home, to the solid porch in front, situated to take in the sunset views through the trees to the west.
Looking for Land For Sale VT? MLS in Vermont might save you some time.
Jan 15th
As you may or may NOT already know, looking for land for sale in VT can be a very rewarding process. There are some good deals out there right now! But there are some things you really want to consider before committing yourself to one place in space.
First off, assuming that you want to eventually live at your new location and build a home there, you will need to have a septic system to get rid of your plumbing waste. Some of the land for sale around here has already been surveyed, designed (well and septic), and subdivided. Note the order of wording in the previous sentence. And since all septic matters are now handled through the state, the towns have nothing to do with this anymore. However, actual subdivision approval will occur at the municipal level. Hopefully, if you have succeeded at finding a good realtor, they will be doing some investigation at the town hall to beat the bushes a little and make sure this is a viable purchase.
Our MLS in Vermont has coded features that allow us Realtors to focus only on the land that has been surveyed, designed, or even has a septic system in place. This allows us to spend more time looking at land that is worth our time!
And for buyer clients of mine, I usually recommend and advocate that state wastewater and water supply permits are to be in place prior to closing. This is because you don’t want to buy a piece of land in Vermont, only to find out that needs a 60,000 mound system after the fact when you only paid half that for the property itself.
9 things first-time home buyers shouldn’t have to deal with, and how to avoid it
Dec 18th
Here are 9 things that no first-time home buyer should have to deal with in the first couple years of homeownership:
- Frozen pipes
- Total roof replacement
- House fire
- Major construction in the areas surrounding the property for more than 2 years consecutively
- Major ice dams on the roof
- Flooding in the basement
- Unruly neighbors
- Non-disclosure of major issues by seller
- Health code violations
Here’s how to prevent situations like above (some or all) from taking over your life:
- Have an inspection!!! It is foolish not to have an inspection. Your view of the potential property will change drastically, I pretty much guarantee it. You will probably save the cost of the inspection just from the helpful tips you receive from the inspector alone. Also, make sure you are present for the inspection for this reason.
- Take your time prior to writing your offer. Make sure you have all the facts PRIOR to sitting down with your agent to write an offer. Remember how big of an investment this is, and you don’t want to have regrets.
- Drive around the property. Walk around the streets. Check it out on google maps, aerial. Talk to the town for known future development. I know you think that if there’s something major going to happen that the seller will know, but usually, folks will claim ignorance, and even if it is known that there was some serious non-disclosure, do you want to put yourself in that position to have to go after somebody?
- If it is a public building as defined by vt laws, clearly spell out in the contract that the seller is to carry out fire and safety inspections and that the property is to pass these prior to closing. Trust me on this.
Especially for somebody who has not owned a property before, try to be more prudent than you naturally are inclined. This holds especially true for folks that know how to work on things and are handy, because being one of these people myself, the COST (both in time lost with family and materials) of fixing a place up is TREMENDOUS!
Give me a call, I will keep you from being “up the creek without a paddle”!
