Stephanie's Blog

Property in Keene, NH are selling rather quick these days, under 31 days is quite common for property under $200,000.  But what are buyers getting for the price in this market?

Below is a list of what I've discovered about property in this price range

from working with several first time buyers recently:

1. Between $139,900 and $149,900 you can get a decent little home in average to very good condition typically with 2 bedrooms and one bathroom.  What's the catch? Small rooms, small yard, or poor location.  For a single buyer this is often a great value if they are able to wait for the right one to come along and, yes, make a near full price offer.  These properties are very affordable for a large pool of buyers right now so it's important to find out if there are other offers on the table before making yours.

2. Between $170,000 and $189,900 you can often find a home that is much larger and offers 3 bedrooms and possibly 2+ bathrooms.  Often you'll find a home whose condition has been left to deteriorate over several years. When set in a great neighborhood and offering room to grow into, this is an ideal starter home in Keene, NH- in my opinion.  If you work with your lender to qualify for an FHA 503K loan (to pay for any necessary repairs) this could really help you get into a decent home for your family. You might even have a garage and a large enough yard for a garden and the pets at this price.  A smaller sized home in this price range may be found in very good condition, whereas a larger home in this price range will typically have more deferred mainanance.

3. Between $200,000 and $219,900 you often find homes that are very desirable for a small family and would have sold for significantly more 3 1/2 years ago. Now's your time to move into a desirable neighborhood if it's in your future plans.  With interest rates as low as they were at the peak of the market 3-4 years ago, this is the best of the best time to buy in all of the 8 years I've been in real estate.  At this price you can expect 2 bathrooms and usually a garage and three + bedrooms.  The quality of the home is typically greater and it's likely to have been remodelled more recently. 

**Sellers in distress: If you are viewing a home that is likely to be a short sale or pre-foreclosure property, there are other factors to consider which could alter the offer officially accepted.  It is important to speak with an agent to help you navigate through the complexities of todays market challenges, and there are many!

www.stephaniejacques.com

I recently had to deal with a bank on a foreclosure sale and the red tape and duct tape and rules and restrictions imposed by that "seller" made my buyers' first home purchase a roller coaster event. 

Everyone knew ahead of time it could be rocky and that the risk is high when purchasing a foreclosure.  I know myself from when I purchased my first foreclosure in 2002.  However...in all fairness to my buyers, the "seller" took a very long time to respond and created such impossibly tight deadlines that my buyers were unable to meet, that we were unable to close on time. To make matters worse, the "sellers" wanted to impose late fees for not closing on time.

This is what happens when we deal with a third party who is not a living, breathing entity.  Someone with a heart would understand that the buyers have shown due diligence and would take into consideration the effects imposed upon the buyers, the lender, the inspector, the appraiser, the title company from requesting such tight deadlines.  Meanwhile we try our best and it appears it is still not good enough because unfair fees are threatened upon the buyers.

I showed 9 properties last week to one set of buyers.  In the end, only one was not a short sale or foreclosure, though it was still a distressed seller.  I look forward to returning to a market where sellers are true owners and where the heart is involved in the transaction.

Today we are faced with challenges not normally faced in traditional real estate transactions.  We as agents strive to do our best but so many unexpected turns and twists arise.  My hope is that my buyers will not look at this experience as a sole reflection of my service commitment to them, but that they will look at the entire picture and realize that we did the best we could with each given scenario. I wish them well, they WILL get to closing and I know it in my heart. 

We're almost there!