A Potential Septic Tank Issue for Iredell County Homeowners

Homebuyers are requesting septic tank inspections at a record rate. Here’s what you need to know about that as a homeowner.

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Today’s question is, “What should I know about selling my home when I have a septic tank?”

Septic tanks are very important, and there are a few things you need to know about them in regards to selling your home. Septic tanks are very traditional to our area. People are used to it here, and over the years homeowners never pumped their tanks out unless they had a problem with it. 

That’s changing for home sellers because buyers are now getting septic tank inspections. You may find that you need to make repairs to a tank or pump it out before you sell.

If you have a problem with your septic tank and Iredell County won’t issue you a repair permit, your only option is hooking up to the city sewer if it’s available.

More and more homebuyers are ordering septic tank inspections.

If a buyer is getting an FHA or a VA loan and you have a septic tank, someone will have to pay to get your home connected to the city sewer. It might be you.

Another thing that you need to know about your septic tank relates to your permit. Your tank is permitted for a number of bedrooms. If your permit is for three bedrooms but you have four, the MLS goes by the septic permit. That’s why it’s important that your permit is updated as soon as possible.That’s one of the first things a good agent will do. 

These are things that are important to you as a seller when you get ready to sell your home. If you have any other questions about septic tanks or real estate in general, give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Be Aware—My Email Was Hacked Recently

My email was hacked recently, so if you get an email with a request for a Dropbox document or a business document, do not open it.

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In this day and age of high technology, we have access to a lot of information at the touch of our fingertips. Because of this, we’re facing new kinds of crimes relating to fraud, misrepresentation, and theft. 

You may have received an unusual email from me recently asking you to open a Dropbox document or some kind of business document. The truth is, my email was hacked, and the hacker’s purpose was an elaborate scheme to steal the closing proceeds of the seller. The hacker made changes to my email address and the client’s email address. They also made changes to the signature information at the bottom of my emails—you have to hunt to find it. Another thing they changed was the last two digits of my cell phone number. 

Due to the efforts of figuring this out very quickly and the attorney and both banks cooperating, we were able to foil their scheme to steal these funds. About five days after this started, the client received all of their proceeds back. 

That’s the good news. The bad news is that you’ve been receiving a lot of strange emails from me. I know this is an aggravation and inconvenience, and I want to apologize to you for that. I also want you to be aware that if you get a request for a Dropbox document or a business document, do not open it. Delete the email.

I know this is an aggravation and inconvenience, and I want to apologize to you for that.

If you pay attention to the email address, you’ll notice that the hacker is sending everything out under an Aol.com account, which I don’t even have. Also, my real cell phone number is (704) 252-1089. The false cell phone number the hacker gave out actually belongs to another person who’s been very nice and helpful in resolving this issue. 

We’ve changed the passwords of many of our accounts multiple time since this was discovered in order to prevent these hackers from gaining any access to our information. If you receive an email from me, check the address it’s coming from—mine is angie@teamatr.com. In addition to my authentic cell phone number listed above, you can also reach me at (704) 872-6443. 

We’re working with expert technical advisors about how to handle situations like this in the future, and both banks that were involved are doing the same. We’ve been very appreciative of their help. 

In the meantime, we’re looking at other options to increase security, including possibly changing our email address, so we will notify you if we do decide to change that. Thanks once again for your patience and understanding. 

If you have any more questions, give me a call or shoot me an email. We’d be glad to help you! 

What Buyers and Sellers Need to Know About Appraisals: Part 2

We’re here with part two in our series about home appraisals. Today, we’re discussing how home appraisals affect sellers.

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We’re here with part two in our series about home appraisals. As we discussed before, an appraisal is an expert’s estimate of the value of a home. How do appraisals affect home sellers? Why would you, as a seller, decide to have an appraisal done on your property before you put it on the market and list it? 

First of all, maybe you aren’t sure what your property is worth and you want to be confident in the value of your home. You want to know what a buyer might be willing to pay for the home in the current market. That way, you can figure out if the numbers make it worth it for you to actually sell. 

If you are in an estate settlement, your real estate attorney will likely recommend that you order an appraisal. That way, you can establish a value for tax reasons and a value the heirs can all agree on and everyone is on the same page when it is time to sell the property. 

Maybe you are selling your home as a ‘For Sale By Owner’ property and you want to know how much to ask for your home. In that case, an appraisal can be very helpful. 

If an appraisal is a year old, it is no longer relevant in today’s market.

However, you should keep in mind that when you sell your home, the buyer is still required to order an appraisal, even if you have already ordered one. The lender will go with the most recent appraisal. 

You should also keep in mind that the appraisal tells you what the property is worth the day the appraiser came out to your home. If you ordered an appraisal a year ago, it won’t apply today.

This is another great reason why you want to work with a professional real estate agent. We constantly monitor the market and can help you price your home based on what is happening in real estate right now. 

The market can change in an instant. If you have any questions about appraisals or your home value, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

When Is the Best Time to Sell a Home?

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We’ve been getting a lot of questions from sellers recently, the most popular of these is probably: “Is it the right time of year to sell my home?” Today, we are going to answer that question, as well as provide you a few valuable tips about home selling, no matter when you decide to list.

As we get closer to the holidays, people get concerned that the window to sell their home is gone and it won’t bring enough money if they list now. We want you to remember these three things about home selling, which should calm your fears about “missing your opportunity to sell.”

1. It’s always about the price

When you sell your home, you’ve got to price accurately. To do this, you need a comparative market analysis done for your home that will give you an idea of where you can price your home to sell quickly. 

2. It’s always a good time to sell your home

Given that your home is in good condition, ready to be sold, and priced correctly. 

3. Buyers around the holidays are serious

Many times, they want to move before school starts for the second semester, or get into a home by the time their job transfer is complete. There are a number of reasons buyers could be out looking at this time of year, but in most cases, they are very serious about buying. 

If you have any questions for us, or are thinking about selling your home, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to help you out!

Iredell County Real Estate Market Comparison

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Today, we're going to take a quick look at the Iredell County real estate market. Specifically, we'll compare this year's market to 2014 from January through August.

In 2014 the actual number for closed residential residences was 1,494 units that closed. In 2015, we had 1,584 units close. That's 90 more units than last year, which means that the market is a bit better than last year.

The average sales price in 2014 was $268,000. In 2015, it is still $268,000. If you break this number down based on what area you are in, that number will definitely change.

As for days on market, in 2014, it took 138 days for a home to sell. This year, the number went down to 103. You would much rather have your home sold in 30 days, but on average, it's taking 103 days.

It's critical to understand that these numbers cover the entire county, and may not apply to you individually. You have to look at pricing, the condition of your home, and what things you need to do to improve your home and make it the most competitive home on the market.

If you have any questions, give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to hearing from you!

How to Get the Most Value Out of a Home Inspection

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Today is part three of our series about home inspections. Inspections are highly valuable to the buyer, and they're important to the entire process of purchasing real estate. I'm going to continue to list off ways that you can prepare for an inspection.

1. Trim the vegetation around the property: The inspector will want to walk around the home, and clearing any overgrown bushes will help the inspector and it will speed up the process.

2. Remove any wood debris: You'll need to remove debris from your deck and your crawlspace.

3. Pay attention to moisture in your crawlspace: This can lead to serious problems in the future, so be sure to thoroughly inspect that area of your home. We're seeing more and more issues arise from this, and more and more buyers are expecting homeowners to have a moisture barrier.

4. Clean mold and mildew in your bathrooms: Mold and mildew are just unsightly, and they can be removed easily. Take the extra time and get rid of it before the inspector sees it.

5. Clean your gutters: Dirty gutters don't leave a very good impression on your inspector, or on potential home buyers.

Hopefully you find these tips to be valuable. Getting ready for a home inspection is important if you want to improve your home before selling. One of the more important things that you can do before an inspection is to simply communicate with your home inspector to find out exactly what's wrong and how you can fix it.

If you have any further questions about this, or about Iredell County real estate in general, please don't hesitate to contact me!

How Do Septic Systems Work in Iredell County?

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Today we are here to talk about the basics of septic systems here in Iredell County. One of the biggest questions we get is "How do I hook onto the county sewer?" Well, there is isn't one, so you are going to find that you probably have a septic tank. Municipalities or neighborhoods will sometimes run septic systems, but what we are talking about today is septic tanks.

Over the past few years, people haven't been very worried about pumping their systems. However, maintenance has now become an issue. Confirm with a septic tank specialist what you should be doing with yours, as there may be some additional chemicals for you to add in.

Septic systems become an issue with buyers or sellers due to septic permits. Today, they are based on the number of bedrooms in your property, not the bathrooms. Your septic permit tells you how many bedrooms your home is set up for, so we have to be conscious of that and reveal to the public what the permit establishes for your bedrooms.

If you have any questions for us, feel free to give us a call or send us an email. We look forward to speaking with you soon! 

Are Home Inspections Absolutely Necessary for Buyers?

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As a buyer, you have the right to hire a home inspector for a property that you're looking to buy, and you should absolutely have an inspection done. Keep in mind that you will be paying for the inspections, but the cost is well worth it. 

You need to know the condition of the property before you buy it, and this is the best way to determine what needs to be fixed. Many times there are things about the property that not even the seller knows, so this can be helpful for the sellers in making repairs before a sale.

You always need to pick a trusted home inspector, because you don't want any surprises down the road. I always recommend a termite inspection for people living in our area, and the good thing is that it often covers more than termites. 

As always, if you ever need assistance when you're buying or selling in Iredell County, please don't hesitate to contact me. 

Thanks for tuning in, and don't forget to watch the next video in this series!