Snow, frigid weather won’t stop most prospective home buyers

Philip A Raices

We had our first snowfall last weekend and it was kinda nice to see those snowflakes finally fluttering down to christen the beginning of our 2017-2018 winter.

Of course, I waited til the next day to shovel, since I actually had a lazy streak that night and as you get a bit older, you can pick and choose your battles, right?

Well, I decided to spend the night with my wife and enjoy! Although it wasn’t a huge snowfall, maybe three to five inches, it was almost gone by the afternoon the next day.

Do you really think that the cash and mortgage qualified purchasers took a vacation? Are you kidding? Of course not, they are lining up at open houses and grabbing what they can before the end of the year.

We’ll see what the Trump Tax plan will yield; but again, so you won’t be able to deduct more than $10,000 of real estate taxes, no interest deductions, state and federal taxes, who the heck knows what the final law will include or not include; but, I believe, homeownership will still be the best or one of the best ways to build your wealth in the future.

Some transactions, depending on whether or not they are cash or mortgage transactions, can close in less than a 14-21 days; if you have all the parties, including the home inspectors, contracts and paperwork for the buyer, seller and bank attorneys, title companies, moving companies, all on the same page and coordinated properly, it can be accomplished.

Yeah, I know, some of you are disbelievers, and I get it! It really all depends on how you approach the task in organizing the sale.

You need to be in charge and someone has to be, as they say “The Ring Master,” and if everyone agrees, you can get to the closing table in record time.

You just have to surround yourself with the professionals that know how to do it and really care to complete everything to get to the closing. You know I am always saying, “Nobody cares how much you know, until they know how much you care.”

Well to be perfectly candid, there are those of us in real estate, that still have that caring and concerned outlook in assisting our sellers, investors, purchasers, renters and leasees of residential and commercial properties to a happy ending, the closing!

It should always be a win/win situation, but we all know that is not the real world, partially due to a lack of training and knowledge as well as a lack of caring and concern.

It’s a business and not a job, as a very large percentage of licensed agents in the U.S. have jobs; if you have a real estate business as your second income and handle it properly, why do not need a job?

However, there are always some exceptions, which I will not address, to controversial and many have excuses as to why they have jobs, while also doing real estate part time.

If you look at a few famous entrepreneurs who started their companies from scratch, out of their garages or dorm rooms (Bill Gates/Microsoft, Steven Jobs/Apple, Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook, and on top of it all, they all dropped out of college while, I am sure their parents had second thoughts; and they became successful! Quitters Never Win and Winners Never Quit (I think I have said that before, right?)

Nothing is easy and given on a silver platter for the majority; it’s a bit of blood, sweat and tears for success! Maybe you won’t reach the pinnacle of success as the those guys, but you can and will be successful who you learn the methods and process by how to conduct your business.

My little rant boils down to this, that the buyers will do almost anything to seek out ownership, whether it be in a home, home owner association, condo, or co-op, if they need it bad enough and the price is within their specific budget. Yes, some are paying above asking, because they can and see the absolute long term benefits and value in the “American Dream”

Which is alive, booming and accelerating (87 million millennials and all the other purchasers); and they are in it for the long haul.

They all want to grow roots in the community and, if they have or will have children, they too will participate in gaining new and possible lifetime friends and acquaintances and having an enjoyable life.

Aging in place is a wonderful thing, as last weeks article delved into, but the question is, what are all the buyers to do without you considering putting your home on the market?

I guess they will stay where they are or just keep looking, waiting and hoping that something will pop up that “tickles their fancy” or realize that settling for a little or a lot less, will put them in an ownership position, with all that goes with it and getting them out of being a tenant or living with their parents or relatives, oh boy!

Also, the move up crowd has lots of choices in the currently, since the luxury market in and out of the New York City, is more of a buyer’s market, especially this winter, while rates are still low and there is much less competition with other buyers, that are on the sidelines waiting for next spring.

Are you waiting for rates to go up this month, maybe? The most serious purchasers are out there, snow, sleet, cold or rain, they are out looking and probably would buy your home, maybe for asking or above your asking price, if they had the opportunity for more choices. You won’t know unless you make the decision to list!

Those warmer climates are even starting to appeal to me, hmm?

Phil Raices is the owner/Broker of Turn Key Real Estate at 7 Bond St. in Great Neck. He has earned the designations as a graduate of the Realtor Institute and is a certified international property specialist. He can be reached by email: Phil@TurnKeyRealEstate.Com or by cell (516) 647-4289 to answer any of your questions or article suggestions or provide you a free comparative market analysis on your property. See what your home is worth: WWW.Li-RealEstate.Com

Share this Article