South Bay Homes and Real Estate

Selling Property in the Palos Verdes Peninsula? Here are Five Tips to Close the Deal!

A significant change has occurred in the Palos Verdes Peninsula real estate market. From a market that previously placed more emphasis on sellers, it has shifted its focus on buyers.

An example of a reason for this change is that if you wish to sell your house located in the Palos Verdes Peninsula at a certain desired price, you need to have it listed. However, when you finally take a look at the listing, you will notice a big discrepancy between the number of buyers and the number of sellers, with a higher number of the latter.

Read Also: The Top Real Estate agent in Rancho Palos Verdes and the South Bay

Although there may indeed be an adequate number of people interested in buying property in the Palos Verdes Peninsula, the number of sellers vastly outnumbers them.

Because of this difficult situation, if you want to close that sale, you need to take action. Seize the attention of a prospective buyer with the attractiveness of your listing and close the deal while it’s hot.

Tips to Close a Deal Effectively

The following are five basic tips you can do to clinch that sale and sell off your Palos Verdes Peninsula property to the buyer.

• Provide a Home Inspection when listing your home for sale. Thoroughly inspect the Palos Verdes Peninsula property prior to offering it for sale. Before getting your property listed, it’s a good idea to conduct a thorough inspection of the property. Note down the problems that may need to be addressed. If you wish, have some repair work done before prospective buyers come to visit. If you have done so, you can show them what renovations have been completed. This reassures prospective buyers that the Palos Verdes Peninsula property is in good condition. Doing this can even increase the salability of your house.
• Offer a decorating allowance. Buyers may often want to refurnish your Rolling Hills home, for instance, after purchasing the property. They may want to have new carpeting installed or the walls repainted, among other things. If this is the case, you can offer them a certain allowance to cover the cost of such expenses after the deal is closed.
• Include a home warranty. You may think that purchasing a warranty for, say a Rancho Palos Verdes house is an unnecessary additional expense, it is a good way to reassure prospective buyers that the home is prime property. It is an affordable way to add to the buyer’s peace of mind and certainly. It provides the new home owners of a Palos Verdes Peninsula property with insurance if some types of repairs need to be done. This arrangement can also help to seal the deal much more quickly.
• Cover the closing costs. There are buyers who need a little push in order to close the deal in Torrance. Others may want tot aek the time to think and deliberate on the pros and cons of buying a Palos Verdes Peninsula property. To help hasten things along, you can offer to shoulder the title and escrow fees or the prepaid interest charges. As a seller, if you pay the pits of the lan, you gain additional tax deductions.
• Obtain seller financing. Various options are available to sellers in terms of seller financing. Such options include putting the funds in escrow so the mortgage payments are covered for the coming months. Before you go with this option when selling your Palos Verdes Peninsula property, however, make sure the buyer has a good credit standing.

Ways Torrance Residents can find Poor Credit Lenders

What options are available for someone with terrible credit but dreams of purchasing their own home? There are choices available for people in that situation. Though bad credit makes home ownership tough in Torrance, it is not impossible.

Watch the Video: Credit Score Blues

The following is a list of factors one should consider when searching for a lender in Torrance California.

Ask Around

Inquire as to whether the seller is willing to take on the loan. If the seller still owes money for the home, a mortgage wraparound may be a possibility. Essentially, this mortgage allows for a consumer to pay on one mortgage every month, along with another payment for the remaining balance.

Read Also: Torrance Home Buyer / Owner Options in Today’s Market

Follow a Lease Option

By purchasing a lease option for the Torrance home, a person can set the current purchase price and apply some of each month’s rent toward a down payment. At the end of each lease term (usually between one to three years), the prices should increase, along with acquired equity.

Keep in mind that if this option is not used, the seller keeps all money received.

Read Also: Home Ownership Options in the South Bay Area

Increase Everything

It is perfectly fine to increase the price you will pay to the seller. Afterward, it is acceptable to request that the seller credit you for the money so that it may go toward the down payment.

Don’t Fear Borrowing

Receiving money from family and friends would assist with closing costs and the down payment. Additionally, taking money from your pension or savings plan can help you raise the down payment amount.

A Mortgage Broker Can Assist

Choosing the best possible mortgage for your own situation could be aided by using a broker’s services. This can be achieved by finding a list of local brokers and contacting a few. You could possibly query your real estate agent or friends for other contacts.

Basically, home purchasing is not hard if you can devote the required time necessary to explore all options and find the best deal.

Renter Troubles

In Torrance and across the South Bay, renters are starting to face issues as a direct result from the real estate crash.

This has caught many would-be Torrance renters off guard, as many assummed they were protected from the market problems, due to the fact they did not have mortgage payments. It seemed like an excellent strategy at the time; renting property until the market is more balanced and home purchases are more secure.

Renters in a growing number of markets – not just Torrance – are finding that they are not as safe from the housing crash as they previously believed. One of the largest issues is that although the renter does not have a mortgage payment; the landlord does. If the property owner has an adjustable mortgage, it is very possible that skyrocketing interest rates will make monthly payments unaffordable, which would send the rental home into foreclosure.

What if your Landlord goes into Foreclosure?

When this situation occurs, renters may find themselves searching for a new place to live. I personally seen many Torrance renters relocated – with one month notice – from the location where they had lived for several years. This can be a huge problem for renters in two ways. For one, it can be extremely tough to find affordable housing, and second, many of the renters have trouble making the necessary rental deposits.

Also, the quickly rising rental prices have affected renters. The national average for rental rates has started to rise. As it stands now, the highest rates can be found in New York and San Francisco. Cities such as San Jose, Cleveland, and Seattle are also showing the potential to have significant rate increases. San Diego and San Bernardino are also areas that may not be kind to renters in the future. Torrance investment property rental prices do not compare with these cities. But we are affected by the same phenomenon. 

Read also: How To Get Rich Slowly With Torrance Rental Property

One explanation for why rental rates are climbing in Torrance is that builders have not had the ability to erect a large number of new apartment complexes. This has caused demand to soar, while supply has remained the same. Also, a much greater number of property owners in Torrance are forced to leave their homes because of foreclosures or quickly sell their property to try and recover as much value as possible. These former homeowners need a place to stay, which raises the demands for rental properties even more.

Statistics have shown that in the past four years, rental occupancies have increased by 10%. This is a clear indication that more people are renting now than during the pinnacle of the market. In the same time, the Census Bureau reports that national rental rates have risen 14%.

A few other certain situations have resulted in higher rental rates. One of the largest factors is that consumers are buying fewer homes, as they rent and wait for the market to balance itself and create a more favorable buying climate. A high number of renters believe house prices are going to drop even farther, so purchasing property does not seem like an intelligent fiscal decision. Essentially, they want to avoid the troubles that many homeowners have faced in the past several years.

Another factor that must be taken into account is that many renters would not be able to meet the standards for a mortgage, even if they wished to purchase property. After all the problems with subprime mortgages, most lenders have greatly tightened the mortgage guidelines and require nearly spotless credit. The necessity of a larger down payment has especially made it tougher for consumers shopping for their first home to find something affordable.

The status of the rental market is being studied carefully, as the rental market affects other economic areas. For example, apartment complexes are usually only constructed after the rental market is analyzed.

If you are a Torrance resident feeling the squeeze of the rental market and want help call me immediately at 310-809-0203. We can help you determine if you could actually afford to purchase a Torrance condo or home and take advantage of today’s low home prices.

Additional Real Estate Articles of Interest:

• First Time Homebuyers Tax Credit: Torrance, Palos Verdes and Beach
  Cities
• Torrance BPO for Dummies: Understanding the home foreclosure
  process
• Torrance Home Buyer’s Delight: Torrance among real estate markets
  hit by downturn
• Carson real estate investor’s delight: Foreclosure