Times were great, because lending practices were loose. Today, because of the relatively huge mistakes the lenders’ underwriters made (there’s more to the story, but it’s fairly boring to anyone but me), there’s been some over-correcting. We’re having a bit of trouble getting someone with a 650 credit score and a good income approved!

It is a great time to buy or refinance! Rates are at an all time low (got a client locked for 4.25% not two weeks ago) and real estate is on sale! The first stop any buyer should make is to a good loan officer that will work with you and communicate with your Realtor®. To be prepared for that first meeting, here are seven reasons a loan application is denied:

1. Poor Credit: The borrower may have a heavy down payment or excellent equity built-up in their house, but if their credit score is under a certain threshold, obtaining a new loan or refinance from a traditional bank is challenging. Even FHA (Federal Housing Administration) loans, which have traditionally catered to borrowers with lower FICO scores, have an average borrower credit score of 693, according to CNN Money, which is above the national average.

2. Insufficient Liquidity: If the borrower doesn’t have a heavy down payment (20%-30% for most banks) and strong excess liquidity, banks don’t want to take the risk on funding their loan.

3. Lack of Income: The borrower doesn’t have consistent proof of income for the last two to five years. Regardless of how good their credit score is or how much equity they have in their home, if they can’t show the bank proof of income, loan approval will be tough. This can be a big hurdle in the loan process, particularly for retired borrowers.

4. Lying on the Application: Banks have learned their lesson and are no longer putting up with borrowers stretching the truth on their applications.

5. Debt: Borrower has excessive debt and their debt-to-income ratio exceeds the bank’s guidelines.

6. Unemployment: Most lenders will like to see at least two years of stable work to issue loan approval.

7. Self Employment: Lenders are looking at self-employed applicants with a lot more scrutiny these days, making it very tough for these borrowers to get approved.

Do understand that we are still getting buyers approved every day. I have lenders I work with that will approve a 600 credit score, so don’t let that stop you! Many buyers shy from mortgage lenders because they are not quite sure what they’ll be getting into, but it’s important to know that lenders are a service to the buyer as much as a Realtor®. So approach! Obtain your approval and find the home of your dreams. It’s a great time to buy a home!

*Seven reasons from RISMEDIA.com

Not That

You’ve owned the home for 15 years. Back in 1995, forest green and burgundy were the colors and Berber carpeting throughout was a selling point. Today, neutral and warm colors are in and carpeting is acceptable in the bedrooms. As a seller in today’s market, you’ve got a choice:

Come out of pocket a couple thousand dollars and update the flooring (and repaint yourself!).

or

Offer an allowance to the very creative buyers who saw potential in your out-dated/in-need-of-repair home (hint: these buyers don’t come around too often) and managed to put together a purchase offer.

After doing improvements and updating their home to today’s standards, sellers often see: a) a quicker sale and b) a higher offer. Spending money up front  seems counter-intuitive to many sellers, but the proof is in the pudding. We see this happen on a daily basis. In today’s Fort Worth market, with so many homes to choose from, your outdated flooring may just make the buyer move away from your home and on to the house on the next block.

When choosing between updating or offering “an allowance,” updating* wins every day, all day. Just do it.

*Smart updating. For great tips, consult with a savvy Realtor® or someone else that has an objective, informed opinion.

Not That:

The pictures themselves more than describe the what I’m illustrating here.

Here’s some facts:

• Both properties are currently listed in north Fort Worth.
• They were listed within a month of each other.
• The listing agent for the bottom picture is still an active Realtor®!
• In fact, in July, the Realtor® negotiated a price reduction with these sellers.
• The same agent currently has three other listings.
• The agent representing the top home, revisited and retook exterior pictures.
• Here’s what the home in the top picture originally looked like:

In this case of Do This, Not That, there’s one person to blame: the “professional”. Before you list, find a Realtor® that knows: a) the importance of a great and memorable first impression & b) the fact that over 90% of buyers begin their home search online. These are crucial bits of knowledge that will help fuel an agent’s marketing capabilities. Our photos will always initially display the season. Pictures of the family Christmas Tree well decorated and a fireplace adorned with stockings are some things that I really enjoy about listing a property during the Holidays. Come January 15th, if the home hasn’t sold, I’m back out there again. It’s a must to keep your first impression fresh and new to the buyers out there relentlessly searching online.

Wednesday posts will continue to feature Do This, Not That. Check back next week and if you’d like to suggest a real estate topic for Wednesday’s Do This, Not That, comment below or send an email: Jordan@SheSellsFWTX.com

I thought you all would like to see a REALTOR®’s view (uncut, unedited and a bit wobbly) of a wonderful home in the Hulen Heights neighborhood of Fort Worth. Hulen Heights is a beautiful community southwest of Fort Worth in Crowley ISD. The streets are tree lined and well maintained, the residents are more than neighborly–they’re friends! It’s a great place to call home, so I thought I’d bring you along in case you’ve always wondered what it may be like. The footage is raw, but I’ve heard a lot of complaints lately about the misleading pictures that we REALTORS® post online. So here you are, down and dirty–just the house and the street. What do you think now??

For more information on this property, click here.

But it’s those that would like to move from South Hills (typically a starter neighborhood) to Ridglea Hills (an older, more charming neighborhood with larger homes and lots) just because that are the most interesting to me and the most difficult to help. One of the most luring aspects of this breed of seller/buyer: the woman heads it all. She initiates the call to the REALTOR®, sets up showings,  and starts to tidy her home to prepare for FOR SALE conditions. My close rate on in-town movers is very low and I totally understand why. What Mom has time to keep her house clean, pack for a new home that she doesn’t even know exists yet, coordinate schedules, showings, and talk her husband into doubling their mortgage payment?? It begs the question:

What Would June Cleaver Do?

The Cleaver family did one of these in-town moves in season three when they moved from Mapleton to Pine Street (according to wikipedia). Did the sitcom capture June eloquently meeting with the REALTORS®, selling her current home and effortlessly moving her two sons and hard working husband ’round the corner? Absolutely not! This is no easy task. The move was probably Ward’s decision anyway.

The June Cleavers of the new millennium should do it their own way:

1. Do what you can and delegate the rest.
2. Get on the same page as your husband when choosing whether to move forward or not.
3. When you do choose to move forward: commit.
4. Make a list of the reasons that you will move and put a time line on it (6 months to a year is a reasonable time frame–no need to be in a huge hurry).
5. Of course, find a great REALTOR® that can make the transition as smooth as possible.

Keep in mind that we help the seller/buyer combo transition on a daily basis. It is possible!

Courtesy of Rugosa Rosa

After all that hard work, Paul finally carries Amber over the threshold.

Here’s what they thought about working with me:

Jordan is an amazing real estate agent.  She went above and beyond the call of duty, not once, not twice, but every single day that she was helping us buy our first house.  Jordan is an incredibly hard worker and you should know that you are in good hands if she is working for you.  She is the only agent that we worked with that really took the time to make sure that we understood every single step of the process, relentlessly researched the houses and neighborhoods we were looking at, and was always ready for any situation.  We’ve already passed her information on to every single person that we know who is even thinking about buying or selling in the near future because in our opinion there is no one else in the DFW area that even comes close to providing the kind of service that Jordan does.  Jordan – thank you so much for helping us buy our first house!  We are so happy with our purchase and can’t wait to move in!! –Amber and Paul

Thank you both. The pleasure was all mine!

Brighten Up Your Interior with Turquoise

A close friend of mine and Austin Wedding Photographer, stood up in a meeting five months back and stated that turquoise would be the wedding color of the season! Well she was not only correct about weddings, but home interior as well. If you’re needing a little pizazz in your basic beige or black, add a turquoise vase to the accent table or a few throw pillows on the couch. The wonderful thing about turquoise is it’s ability to fit in any color scheme and decor. It just goes! Don’t take it from me–take it from interior decorators around the country:

Name: Leah J. Armstrong, House to Home ReDesigns, Vancouver, British Columbia

Where it was used: Accent pillows, vase and bowl accessories, and painting

Why I used it: “My inspiration for the color scheme was the vase on the dining room table. It felt right for the listing, the season (summer), and the target buyer. I keep up with current trends and colors and take that into account when staging, generally incorporated as splashes of color in a neutral backdrop. When selecting a color story for staging, I first think about the fixed colors in the house and color wheel principles, and then how to incorporate that to appeal to my target buyer.”

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Name: Ashley Whittenberger, Interiority Complex, Austin, Texas

Where it was used: Accent color on a kitchen wall and candle accessory on a countertop

Why I used it: “I chose the color because with the stained cabinets, we already had a lot of warmth and red in the room. This beautiful blue-green balances out the red and cools it down a bit. Also, I like to weave in unexpected bits of color to keep a property from being lost in the sea of builder ‘beige blahs’ and re-sales, which can sometimes all look alike. I love to use hues that are somewhere between neutral or too bold. I always lean toward the more colorful end of the paint deck, as I know from experience that the right color can sell a home. Kitchens don’t typically have a lot of wall space, so you can have a little more fun here and add a punch of color without being too overwhelming.”

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Name: Joan Inglis, CD Realty and Lake Wylie Home Staging, Lake Wylie, S.C.

Where it was used: Painting, pillows, throw blanket, and vase

Why I used it: “Turquoise is one of my favorite colors, and I love to use it in homes where it works. Turquoise goes great with earth tones and with orange, which is its opposite on the color wheel.”

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Name: Annie Pinsker-Brown, Stage to Sell, Los Angeles, Calif.

Where it was used: Comforter, painting, pillows

Why I used it: “I love using turquoise in my staging because it’s such a warm, rich color that appeals to both men and women. It also reminds me of the ocean. I often use colors of the sea and sand in my staging of properties close to the beach to remind buyers of a home’s proximity to the ocean.”

*Each example came from REALTOR.com Magazine.

I have a new-ish buyer who’s purchasing her very first home this year. Our hopes are to make her a homeowner by her 50th birthday! What a testimony to her strength, courage, and hard work–you see, she’s worked for over a year at cleaning up her credit, learning how to budget and manage her income, and staying stong when she really wanted to quit. Staying on a budget and crawling out of debt is hard work!

Lucky for her, she found the Fort Worth Housing Authority Home Ownership Program. They offer wonderful incentives for individuals that dream of owning a home one day and changing their family tree (as Dave Ramsey puts it!). After meeting the requirements and faithfully attending classes and fulfilling obligations, they offer down payment/closing cost assistance to their members. If you know of someone that has the dream of owning a home but may not have the means to do so yet, pass the website and info along. It’s a great program!

Thank you FWHA for helping Fort Worthians build a better life!

I cannot take credit for this idea–I actually got it from one of my home sellers. I met them last week at an open house. They were neighbors, just coming through to get an idea of what a property needs to look like to be ready to be marketed.

What?

The minute they confessed what they were doing, I heard bells ringing and angels singing.

Yes! This is it! This is the kind of thing home sellers need to be doing to really know what they’re up against.

There’s three reasons a home sells or doesn’t sell.

1. Marketing–totally your REALTOR’s job. They better do a darn good job of it. *Click here to see my personalized marketing plan.

2. Price–this is a collaboration between your home (your responsibility) and the market it’s in (your REALTOR’s responsibility).

3. Condition–totally up to you. The REALTOR most likely is not going to be doing any landscaping or deep cleaning on your behalf. *Click here to see a wonderful article for sellers by Ken Brand, a smarty-pants REALTOR in the Woodlands, complete with a check list to get your home up to “show quality” standards.

Price and condition are the two areas home sellers really need to be privy to. What are other sellers in your market doing that you’re not or haven’t thought of yet? The house down the street is the same floor plan as yours plus a pool and it’s priced $5000 less?? These are things you need to be aware of. Despite all the HGTV you watch, your REALTOR is probably not going to drag you to all the comps in efforts to convince you of a lower price/cleaner home (although that is a GREAT idea!). So hit up some Sunday open houses and see what’s going on in the market around you. Don’t reinvent the wheel when others around you already have their home listed and/or sold.