HOW AN EXTENDED GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WILL AFFECT REAL ESTATE BUSINESS

HOW AN EXTENDED GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN WILL AFFECT THE REAL ESTATE BUSINESS

One may ask, how is this possible? The government shutdown occurs when the Congress or the President fails to pass bills and appropriations for funding government operations and agencies. This is what has happened in the United States in the last two days. It's over now, and the government workers are supposed to return to work as usual and continue to deliver to the citizens. Many businesses would have been affected if the shutdown had continued for a longer period. Real estate business is one of the sectors which would have been largely affected.

Mortgage Approval

One of the effects of the shutdown is that mortgage approval will be delayed until the government resumes normal operations. This, in turn, will mean those in mortgage business and other home buyers who apply for housing securities in government agencies (of which most are) will have to hold their horses till then. The business will go down, and so will the sales.

The government shutdown will result in the delay of closings while most transactions will be terminated as a result of this. In other cases, home sellers will lose bids because their clients are no longer sure of the fate of their business.

The shutdown will also lead to losses because home buyers will reduce their offers due to the uncertainty. FHA or VA mortgage applicants may also face delays if and when departmental workers will be sent home, and there is no one to process their loan requests. Also, the delay could occur when a lender needs to verify a Social Security number and there is no one to answer the phone on the other end. The borrower may be delayed due to such.

The Internal Revenue Service will have a few workers in the office. The workers will help to ensure that records are well maintained and updated as required and that systems are working as usual to record payment of taxes. Verifying information and processing mortgage requests is not essential, so the workers will have to go home. This means no mortgages will go through, thus affecting home buyers as well as home sellers.

Application for a mortgage requires clearance from the Internal Revenue Service which documents and passes the information to the lender about the borrower's financial capabilities. This service will come to a halt because government offices won't be operational.

Businesses in St. Louis, Missouri will also be largely affected. People who visit St. Louis for family outings and historical tours will not be able to do so because most housing businesses will be shut down, and government agencies for clearance and giving access will be closed.

The Visitor Center at the Arch and the Old Courthouse could remain closed because they are government-sponsored agencies.

This means that buying a home at St. Louis will be hard and may take a long time hence causing inconvenience to most of the clients. When many government agencies stop their operations it is not one sector that is affected since they are interconnected in a way. Actually when a few are shutdown many more or all government agencies will be closed.

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Repair Demands: Par for the Course for Selling an Imperial, MO Home

If you have taken good care of your property, you rightfully expect that selling your Imperial, Mo home will result in its fetching a good price when it hits the market. That’s the right mindset for success, but it serves sellers best when it’s only a starting point. Dealing with flesh-and-blood buyers can require some judicious flexibility—for one reason, there is usually an inconspicuous (somewhat annoying) fly in the ointment. The metaphoric fly is the fact that no property is without its flaws; and its metaphoric buzzing is likely to get louder as your sale’s closing grows nearer.
Structural elements of a house have varying life spans since wear and tear is inevitable in any space where people live. Many of a home’s features eventually require repair, and if it’s very soon, given that most informed buyers expect to take over a property with as few problems as possible, post-inspection demands can result. Especially if you’ve put a good deal of effort into getting everything shipshape, it can be maddening.
Nevertheless, plan to ignore any impulse to scrap the sale and tell the buyer to take a hike. Since some post-inspection requests are par for the course, you should know your options when you’re selling a home in Imperial, Missouri and your buyer requests repairs.
Repair Obligation for the Seller
As the seller of the property, you are not required to fix anything in the home inspection report. Any repairs cited are points of negotiation: just because an inspector cites flaws, that doesn’t mean repairs have to take place before the sale can be completed. If you don’t want to accept a purchase agreement that is conditioned on the completion of repairs, that is your option.
Purchasing a Home Warranty for the Buyer
Buyers sometimes request that you as seller pay for a home warranty. A home warranty generally covers the buyer’s outlay for major defects for a year following purchase. Such a warranty will typically cost no more than $600, and again, the decision to purchase one is up to the party selling a home.
Major Repairs
In many cases, requested repairs will be relatively minor, so it’s often preferable to have them made to proceed without further wrangling. But (you can almost hear that fly buzzing louder) should requested repairs be more extensive, you’ll have to evaluate the cost against the sale price.
Whether to Complete a Repair
Your home might be your pride and joy, but it is important not to take requests for repairs personally. Selling an Imperial, Missouri home is most successful when the seller first carefully examines the request, then makes a rational assessment based on what will produce the optimal outcome. If a next-best offer is on the table, its terms should be reexamined. You can also offer to proceed with the original purchase agreement but not agree to complete the repairs as requested. If the buyer likes your home and believes the price is reasonable, he or she may agree to proceed with the purchase as-is.
Whether or not you are concerned about potential repairs, if you are thinking of selling your home in Imperial, MO this summer, CONTACT ME today for a complimentary evaluation.
The Helderle Team 2013 © All Rights Reserved

St Louis Association of Realtors Update

Pending Home Sales Show Healthy Gain
Reprint from SLAR News You Can Use

Pending home sales increased as more buyers took advantage of improved affordability conditions, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Big gains in the South and Midwest offset modest declines in other regions. The Pending Home Sales Index rose 6.3 percent to 87.7 from an upwardly revised reading of 82.5 in November, and is 2.1 percent higher than December 2007 when it was 85.9. Lawrence Yun, NAR chief economist, said the index shows a modest rebound. "The monthly gain in pending home sales, spurred by buyers responding to lower home prices and mortgage interest rates, more than offset an index decline in the previous month," he said. "The biggest gains were in areas with the biggest improvements in affordability."

To begin your search for your new home or to sell your current home contact The H Team today.