How to successfully win a multiple offer situation

By Katie Kinney

In the Maine Real Estate market, buyers are still experiencing low inventory and multiple offer situations. A large contributing factor to this issue is the rise of investor purchases. According to Core Logic Inc., real estate investors comprised more than 11% of home purchases in 2018. The investor interest poses a huge challenge for first time homebuyers who are interested in buying starter homes or owner-occupied multi-family homes and are forced to compete with deep pocket cash buyers. Here are a few tips to help you crush the cash offers.

Make your best offer up front. Many cash buyers are looking for a bargain and will put a lower offer in to start. As a non-cash buyer, you should always put your highest and best offer in from the start. If you do need to include closing costs, you should add those on top of offer because closing costs are money out of the seller’s pocket. You should also include the highest dollar amount you are comfortable with for the earnest deposit. By doing this you will show your high-level interest in the property.

Presenting a mortgage preapproval letter from your lender when you make the offer is the traditional way to show you are a serious buyer. If you take the next step and have your underwriter start the review process of your loan, you will provide the seller more peace of mind concerning your financing.  If you can’t outbid a cash buyer, this step puts you closer to an equal playing field.

Most buyers make offers contingent on a home inspection. During this period, buyers can back out if any home issues arise. When looking at homes, bring a contractor or an inspector with you to give a general summary of the property. If you are comfortable with the information provided, you could then make your offer not contingent on a home inspection. If you are not comfortable with not having a full inspection, I recommend have the inspection period as short as possible. Have the inspection scheduled when you send the offer over.

The most important step you can take when you know you will be entering a multiple offer situation is to have your agent ask what is most important to the seller. In many situations, the seller needs to find a new place to live and may want a rent back option. A seller could be relocating out of state and want a fast closing timeframe. As a serious buyer, you should structure your offer around what is most important to the seller. By doing this, your offer will stand out above other offers.

Hopefully these tips will help you purchase your new home. Whether you are interested in a residential or owner-occupied investment property, I am happy to help you during the process. Feel free to contact me at any time. Katie Kinney, Broker at Landing Real Estate. Katie@LandingHomesMaine.com, cell: 603-205-2276.

Consider a home or year-round property in the Lakes Region

By Mel Oldakowski

For many people, creating family memories are on the top of the most important things to experience in their lives. Purchasing a home in the Maine woods or having waterfront property is the ultimate real estate experience. Perhaps more than any other type of purchase, a home with a view of the White Mountains or a waterfront property is as much about a lifestyle as it is about real estate investment.

Since both purchases can be complex, it’s important for quiet mountain view and/or waterfront

buyers to do their homework in advance with the help of their realtor.

Be sure to choose the right property or lake for your needs. Start by asking yourself why you are buying the home of your dreams. How do you intend to use the lake or mountain front getaway on an ideal weekend? Are you looking for water activities and a lake conducive to water skiing and wakeboarding? Are you looking for quiet time with family spent having bonfires, hiking the Maine woods and birdwatching?

If you’re a boater, water depths are essential elements to investigate before you purchase. Depths required for different boating preferences can vary widely.

Are you looking for a more intimate waterfront experience? If you want to go kayaking and canoeing and commune with nature, you'll dislike being on a big, busy lake with jet skis. Do you have fishing preferences? What other lifestyle needs do you have? These are the kinds of questions you want to ask and answer before you start your search.

If you are more of the exploring-nature-type, is the property near a preserve with plenty of space for wildlife, or near hiking or skiing destinations?

Are lake and mountain view properties a good investment? Location, location, location! One of the best investments you can make is either lake front or mountain view real estate. Market studies have been conducted that show these properties grow rapidly above the original purchase price. Both large and small, available lake and White Mountain view properties, rarely last in thriving real estate markets.

The annual appreciation of lake property rises each year. National average growth is around four percent compared to one or two percent with a standard property. As for the summer view of the White Mountains? You know that it is more than a view – it is an experience you become part of every day or every weekend - its ambiance is the very thing you came here for in the first place.

Are you financing a lakefront home? Whether you’re buying a waterfront primary home or a weekend lake cabin, you should connect with a good mortgage loan officer early in the process.

If you’re buying as a second property, you’ll work together to determine the best loan option available.

Another question to consider is: Can you live with an association? If the lake home you are considering is subject to an association, any potential buyer, with their realtor, should review the by-laws and regulations before making an offer.

Lastly, there is nothing more magical than spending time at a lake house or a quiet evening in the Maine woods. Living on or near the water or mountain views have more benefits than their inherent beauty. It can provide health benefits that soothe the soul and offer peace not found anywhere else. There’s nothing quite like a sunset at the lake or a bonfire, with the mountains in your backyard and memories they create.

For some reason, the colors and hues are more vibrant - redder reds, pinker pinks and bluer blues. Add in a few, puffy clouds and some pretty pines and you’ve got a gorgeous, naturally framed, postcard-perfect sunset. Lake life is the best life, whether it’s just during the summer or all year round!

If you're looking for lakefront or mountain view property, look no further! Contact me today to find out how I can help you turn your dream into a reality. Call me at 207-205-0121 or email me at Melsellsmaine@gmail.com

Three things to expect after you list your home

By Sarah Nielsen

When you list your home for sale, there is a lot that happens up front. Your REALTOR® sits with you and explains fair market value, takes photos of both the inside and outside of your home and advertises it for sale. Many people would expect the hard work to end there, but there are some inconveniences that you will have to endure as a seller before you can hand the keys off to your buyers on closing day. Below I explain three elements to the sale of your home that you may have overlooked in your excitement to get your listing out into the market.

You might feel like you live in a museum.

You have completed the work of cleaning and decluttering your home to have it looking extraordinary in your listing photos. You probably also moved some items into storage to ensure that every inch of your space is show-ready and appealing to potential buyers. What you might not have considered is how crucial maintaining that image is until the day that your home is sold to its new owners.

Your REALTOR® will likely call you at least once with a request to show your home on very little notice, and being the eager seller that you are, you will want to be accommodating; therefore, it’s critical that you maintain the cleanliness of your space at all times so that potential buyers get the best impression when they walk through your door.

Expect to hear critiques and criticism.    

Your home is a space where you have made memories, and more than likely you are proud of everything that has gone into building it to meet your needs. What you might not be prepared for is how critical potential buyers might be of aspects of your home with which you are perfectly content. To you, your space is a home, but to those mulling over whether to purchase it, it’s real estate without any sentimental value attached. While some feedback you receive may be hard to hear, remember that it’s not personal. Your REALTOR® can be a great buffer between you and potential buyers and will work to present the feedback in a way that is constructive and helpful.

There can be some additional expenses.

Once you accept an offer from someone who wants to buy your home, your initial excitement will likely cloud the reality of inspections, and the negotiations that will result from the findings. You may need to pay out of pocket to make repairs in order to get your home sold without decreasing the sale price that all parties agreed upon. Once you leap over that hurdle, you will need to wait for the appraisal that will determine your home’s value provided that your buyer is financing the purchase. If the appraisal determines that your home is worth less than the sale price, you will need to reopen negotiations.

Lastly, you will want to be mindful of your buyers’ final walk-through prior to closing. Your home should be in acceptable shape to hand over to them, and if it isn’t, you can plan to have to do some work to get it into the condition your buyers expected it to be in when they agreed to the purchase.

While listing your home is exciting, don’t make the mistake of thinking you will sail through to closing without any hurdles. Ensure that you are prepared for the inconveniences you will encounter along the way so that you don’t become overwhelmed during the process of getting your home sold.

           

Windham commercial real estate zones

By Larry Eliason, Commercial Broker

Windham has a variety of zones that can accommodate commercial real estate development and businesses. Below is a summary of the zones that offer opportunities for commercial real estate development for retail, office, manufacturing, warehousing and agricultural uses.

C1 – Commercial Zone: This zone is designed to provide general retail sales, services and business space within the town in locations capable of conveniently servicing community-wide and/or regional trade areas, with safe, well-regulated automobile access and pedestrian access where appropriate.

A sample of permitted uses include; agriculture, retail sales automotive and outdoor, private warehousing, business and professional office, light and heavy industry, child care, construction services, hotel, motel, multi-family housing and housing for older persons, restaurant, bank, drive-through, convention center and auto repair.

The C1 Commercial Zone is in many ways the Downtown of Windham. The Comprehensive Plan, 21^st Century Downtown Plan and the WEDC Strategic Plan encourage having people live and work in the downtown. As an example, a new development on Anglers Road and Rt. 302 is close to receiving final approvals for multi-family housing in the C1 Zone.

C2 – Commercial Zone:  The intent of this district is to provide for a mixed commercial and residential zone as a buffer zone between the C1 Commercial Zone and the abutting residential areas.

A sample of permitted uses include; agriculture, fitness center, theater, restaurant, medical office, housing for older persons, recreational facility, motel, hotel, club, bank, convention center and drive thru.

C3 – Commercial Zone: The intent of the C3 Commercial Zone is to provide areas for a mixture of light, low-traffic generating commercial uses and single-family housing.

The biggest news about the C3 Commercial Zone is the recent addition of Contractor Services being allowed in the zone. This recent change as approved by the Windham Town Council, will allow tradesman like electricians, plumbers, carpenters, etc., to operate their contractor services businesses in the C3 Commercial Zone.

Historically, the zone has accommodated agriculture, business and professional office, service business landscaping, private warehousing, public warehousing, childcare and many home occupations.

I – Industrial District:  The intent of the Industrial District is for manufacturing, processing, treatment, research, warehousing, storage and distribution.

This zone allows agriculture, distribution center, industry light, industry heavy, mineral extraction, warehousing private, warehousing public, truck terminal and some home occupations to name a few. The Industrial Zone appears to be good candidate for adding Contractor Services and Construction Services.

Enterprise Development Zone:  The intent of the ED Zone is to provide a unique area within the town to allow manufacturing, processing, treatment, warehousing, storage, research and distribution with safe, well regulated vehicle access located off a major street.

Some of the permitted uses in the zone include, auction house, automobile auction facility, business and professional office, construction services, convention center, hotel, motel, light and heavy industry, warehousing private and warehousing public.

One of the biggest challenges in this zone is that it is accessed from Rt. 302 via Enterprise Drive, a non-signalized intersection. Windham could certainly use help from stakeholders such as our town leaders and staff, legislators, business and real estate owners and their employees, residents and others to seek a partnership with the MDOT to make a signalized light at Enterprise Drive a reality.

 

From an economic development perspective, there could be tens of millions in investment in this massive business park site if we only had a signalized light. A light would dramatically improve ingress and egress a well as make that intersection a lot safer for all as well.  And, it seems like agriculture would be a good candidate for this zone, especially for large scale agricultural operations.

Village Commercial Zone: The intent of this zone is to serve as a primarily residential area with a mix of stores, services and commercial enterprises. Several properties in this zone actually have access to public sewer, while the rest of town is served by private septic systems.

This zone allows agricultural, artist studio, assisted living facility, business and professional office, childcare, construction services, fitness center, medical office, light industry, restaurant, retail and sales and personal and commercial service businesses.

As a commercial real estate professional, I strongly recommend talking with town staff and other industry professionals before making a decision and/or a commitment to lease or buy commercial property in Windham or anywhere else.

Larry Eliason, Commercial Broker, www.ButtsCommercialBrokers.com