The Sellers' Deadly Sins : How To Keep Your Home From Selling At Maximum Dollar

It's a sensational headline -- "The Sellers' Deadly Sins" -- but the message is clear. Home sellers make mistakes that not only cost themselves thousands, but sometimes cost the sale, too.

NBC's The Today Show lays it out cleanly in this 5-minute video:

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

How to respond to an "insulting offer"
How to handle the first purchase offer you receive
What do when you can't leave your home for its Open House
What room in the home should be kept the neatest
But, be aware. At the video's end, there's a piece of advice that may sound extremely self-serving coming from a real estate professional. Don't let it turn you off. The video's overall message is spot-on and the advice is real-world tested.

Selling a home is a process. Make sure to do it properly.

Should You Lock Your Mortgage Rate In Advance Of Tomorrow's Federal Reserve Announcement?

The Federal Open Market Committee starts a 2-day meeting today in Washington.

The scheduled get-together ends at 2:15 PM ET Wednesday after which the FOMC will issue a press release to the markets.

Consider locking your mortgage in advance of the press release.

The FOMC meets 8 times annually and its adjournments are among the biggest market-movers of the year.

The Fed's post-meeting press release is a direct look into the mind of the Federal Reserve and Wall Street is looking for clues anywhere it can find them.

After its August 2009 meeting, the FOMC said in its press release:

Financial markets have improved, relative
Household spending remains constrained
Although weak, the economy is "leveling off"
Since then, however, credit risks have lessened on Wall Street, consumer spending has shown signs of life and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the recession is "very likely over".

This is why tomorrow's FOMC press release is so important. Markets don't expect the Fed to raise or lower the Fed Funds Rate, but they do expect the Fed to shed light on its next series of moves.

If the Fed alludes to inflation and stronger growth ahead, mortgage rates should rise. By contrast, reference to slower growth ahead should help keep rates steady.

The FOMC is expected to leave the Fed Funds Rate within its target range of 0.000-0.250 percent -- the lowest it's been in history. However, it's what the Fed says Wednesday that will matter more than what the its does.

If you're floating a mortgage rate or wondering if the time is right to lock, the safe approach is to lock prior to 2:15 PM ET Wednesday.

Existing Home Supply Falls by Nearly a Year

As reported by the National Association of REALTORS®, the number of Existing Home Sales dipped last month, ending the metric's 5-month winning streak.

Newspaper headlines today are overwhelmingly negative on housing. You'd almost believe this year's housing recovery had ended.

That's hardly the case.

See, the other side of the Existing Home Sales story is that -- while the number of units sold did fall by 3 percent -- the existing supply fell by nearly an entire month.

To home buyers and home sellers, this is huge. Home prices are based on supply and demand and with supplies plummeting, it means that home prices are poised to rise.

Indeed, dwindling inventory isn't "news" to today's buyers. Multiple offer situations have been common since the start of the summer and, should supplies fall further, they may soon be the home-buying rule rather than the exception.

Since peaking in November 2008, existing home supplies are down 23%.

Home Prices Rise Again In July

As reported by the government, home prices are rising nationwide, up 0.3 percent in July.

Furthermore, versus November 2008, the Home Price Index has clawed back to unchanged.

The housing market appears to be holding its own.

However, we have to be careful about putting our full faith in the Federal Housing Finance Agency's data. It's somewhat flawed.

The Home Price Index is a national statistic and all real estate is local
The Home Price Index's methodology specifically excludes key housing demographics
As an obvious example, HPI only accounts for homes with Fannie Mae- or Freddie Mac-backed mortgage. Lately, the percentage of homes meeting that description is shrinking.

As FHA financing rises in popularity, Fannie and Freddie back far fewer loans than in the past. Furthermore, the HPI sample set also excludes newly-built homes and multi-unit properties.

Because of these exclusions, some analysts call the HPI incomplete. The same could be said of all home price metrics, however -- including the venerable Case-Shiller Index.

Therefore, what should be of interest to today's buyers and sellers is that all of "popular" home valuation models seem to be telling the same story -- home prices have stopped falling and look like they're beginning to rebound.

For a region-by-region breakdown of the Home Price Index, visit the FHFA website.

Regular Sales are Back!

Over the last 2 weeks, I have seen a surge in Regular or Equity Sellers. For most, this term is foreign only because Buyers are hearing about Short Sales, REOs, Foreclosures or Corporate Owned sales. The regular sale is the person that actually has equity in their home. There is no bank involved that needs to give an approval of the sale of a home. Waiting 3 months for a response on your offer is not part of the process with the regular sale. People are getting the confidence in the market and feel that its a good time to sell their home.

In the last 2 weeks, I have taken 2 regular sale listings and going on my third this afternoon. Being that prices have stablized in the OC market, for the most part, sellers feel that its time to cash out and take what they can get. As a buyer, these are the best homes to put offers. They will usually be in the best condition and as mentioned previously, dont have to wait for that lender approval. These homes usually go quickly, if priced correctly. For example, I had an Open House 2 weeks back, and had 28 people visit on Saturday and 37 people on Sunday. In turn, the home sold in 5 days of being on the market.

The resurgence of the Regular sale is definitely a good thing. Its a sign of hope for the Real Estate market that has taken a big hit over the last 2 and half years. Moreover, it gives buyers today a better quality home to chose from. A home that has been lived in and taken care of. This being in contrast to the Foreclosure and short sale property that have been neglected and in many cases, abused. Hopefully, with more Regular sales coming on the market and more confidence back in the market, we can expect a bit of more normal market for 2010. Only time will tell.

Summit Event in the Desert

For those that don't know, I have a business coach that fills me in every week with the latest trends and issues dealing with Real Estate. Well, this last week, Tom Ferry ( my coach) had his yearly event that spoke to about 2000 top agents from all over the nation. He spoke about the current Buyers Market that we are experiencing, the Foreclosures situation and most importantly, how to better communication with the public and get more involved with the conversation that is occurring between Realtors, buyers, seller, investors, etc... One of the major topics was about social media and house to get connect with this conversation that most of us don't know even exist. So, my pledge after the event is to become even more informed and connected by subscribing to twitter.com and facebook.com (twitter.com/alexanderpiana and facebook search alexander piana).

Ive always said communicaiton is the key in all things Real Estate, so Im excited to get this started.

H.E.R.A is coming...

H.E.R.A ( Housing and Economic Recovery Act) is unfortunately another obstacle that any buyer, real estate agent and most importantly, lender has to deal with. Basically, on any loan done in California, expect more costs, paperwork and delays with H.E.R.A. coming this July 30th.

In summary there are numerous fees in California that affect the APR or
Annual Percentage Rate, many of which are NOT lender related fees. Here are
some of the APR affecting fees: Points, Processing, Underwriting, Wire
Transfer, Tax and Insurance Reserves, Per Diem Interest, Escrow Fee, Escrow
Courier Fees, Escrow Loan-Tie-In Fees, any other Escrow related fees.

A few months ago we were hit with HVCC. For those that dont know what this is, basically it requires on all conventional loans, to have the appraisal ordered through a central headquarters. Lenders no longer have contact with the appraisers. This new guideline nearly cost me a deal this week, due to the fact that the appraiser decided to state on his appraisal report that the home NEEDED new paint and the woodflooring needed to be replaced. Last I checked, most REO/Foreclosure properties require one of the two.

If anyone one has their own stories on either HVCC or H.E.R.A , Id love to hear it.