Unit IV: appraising the property

What can the buyer expect from a real estate agent who is employed by the seller?

(Three are not correct)

- The real estate agent must be licensed by the Real Estate and Business Agents Supervisory Board.

- The real estate agent must have a written contract with the owner/s to sell the property.

- The real estate agent is required to tell the buyer why the seller has decided to put the property on the market.

- If a buyer makes a written offer on the property, the real estate agent must present this offer to the seller.

- The real estate agent should be appropriately qualified to give his/her client financial advice, such as tax advice or investment advice.

- The real estate agent must obtain a copy of the certificate of title for the property.

- The real estate agent should try to find out and tell the buyer important information about the property, such as whether there are any restrictions about the use of the property.

- Where an extension is obviously badly built, real estate agents should make enquiries with the local authority about the legality of the extension.

- The real estate agent’s job is to get the buyer the “best deal” (the best prices and conditions) when this agent is employed by the seller.

Text a: how to value a house

to value – оценивать

fair – справедливый; сносный

to advertise – выделять, подчеркивать

feature – особенность, характерная черта

amenities – удобства

a starting point – исходная (отправная) точка

to figure out – вычислять, подсчитывать

estimate – оценка

stack up – соответствовать, быть сравнимым

mortgage – залог, ссуда под залог недвижимого имущества

lender – кредитор, ссудодатель

appraiser – оценщик, оценочная фирма

to be after the loan – собираться взять кредит

binder – редактор связей (программа)

to bear relation (to) – иметь отношение (к чему-либо)

in fact – на самом деле, в действительности

accurate – точный, правильный

busy – оживленный

reasonable – приемлемый, подходящий

segment – часть, сегмент (рыночный); участок, район города

high-end – находящийся в начале списка (по какому-либо показателю), лидирующий

to sell like hotcakes – продаваться нарасхват

an owner – владелец

to stay put – оставаться на месте, не двигаться

vice versa – наоборот

circumstances – обстоятельства, условия, положение дел

to be tucked away – быть скрытым

mid-rise – средней высоты

dilemma – затруднительное или безвыходное положение

comparable – сопоставимый, соизмеримый

siblings – родные братья и сестры

to househunt – искать, подыскивать квартиру (дом)

neighborhood – район, квартал; округа

to make allowance – делать скидку

a number of – ряд

to place a value – оценить

appraised value – оценочная стоимость

critical – важный

farther afield – подальше (от данного района)

the more…the better – чем больше, тем лучше

familiar – хорошо знакомый (с чем-л), знающий (что-л)

to distinguish – отличать, различать

state – состояние

to judge – составлять мнение (о чем-л), оценивать (что-л)

amenities – комфорт, комфортабельность; коммунальные удобства

pool – бассейн

extra – дополнительный

in-laws –родня со стороны мужа или жены

suite – комната

total square footage – общий метраж (в квадратных футах)

lot – участок (земли)

to remodel – реконструировать

to skew – искажать; зд. изменять, влиять на что-л

to get over (with) – закончить, разделаться (с чем-л)

beyond – выше, сверх, вне

Federal Reserve Board – Совет (управляющих) Федеральной резервной системы (США)

in a matter of weeks – в течение нескольких недель

worth – имеющий значение

to experience – испытывать

wall-to-wall carpet – ковер на весь пол

point – главное, суть, смысл

for one thing – прежде всего

to negotiate – вести переговоры; обсуждать условия, договариваться; торговаться

to appreciate – ценить, высоко ставить

feature – особенность, характерная черта

power – возможность; право

listing – перечень, реестр

to promise – обещать

to question – спрашивать, задавать вопросы, расспрашивать

to match – соответствовать

records –учетно-отчетные документы; данные

Two things to consider in valuing а home are, first, how does it compare to similar homes that have been sold recently? Is the asking price fair? And second, what value do you place on the advertised features and amenities? Yes, other people might value them highly, but do you?

Zestimate home valuation, RealestateABC.com, Reply.com are among the many algorithmic (generated by a computer model) starting points in figuring out the value of a home. It shows you how the home is relative to other homes in the area, but you need to add in all the things that only someone who has seen the house knows. You can do that using My Estimator, and then you create your own estimate and see how it stacks up against the asking price.

Looking at “Comps”.

Knowing whether an asking price is fair will be important when you’re ready to make an offer on a house. It will be even more important when your mortgage lender hires an appraiser to determine whether the house is worth the loan you’re after.

Check on with your agent, Zillow.com, propertyshark.com, or other websites to see recent sales of homes in the area that are similar, or comparable, to what you’re looking for. Print them out and keep these “comps” in your three-ring binder.

Note that “recent sales” usually means within the last six months. A sales price from a year ago may bear little or no relation to what is going on in your area right now. In fact, some lenders will not accept comps older than three months.

Market activity also determines how easy or difficult it is to find accurate comps. In a “hot” or busy market, with sales happening all the time, you’re likely to have lots of cоmps to choose from. In a less active market finding reasonable comps becomes harder. Аnd if thе home you’re looking at has special design features, finding a comparable property is harder still. It’s also necessary to know what’s going on in a given sub-segment. Maybe large, high-end homes are selling like hotcakes, but owners of smaller houses are staying put, or vice versa.