Pamela Pariso Real Estate

When a buyer makes an offer and it gets accepted by a seller, they sign a Purchase Contract which is legally binding. Then it’s “under contract” or “pending.” They both mean the same thing. Under Contract means a buyer has submitted an offer and the seller has accepted, but the closing is not final. Under Contract Continue to Show means an accepted offer is in place, but back-up offers are welcome. Under Contract Do Not Show means the sellers have decided their first offer is solid enough that don’t need a backup offer, and are just waiting to close.

It’s so easy! 1. Sign up at http://www.homesforheroes.com/affiliate/pam-pariso 2. Work with Pam to sell or buy a home in our community. 3. At (or shortly after) closing, you receive your reward. That’s it!

Nationally, when a heroes works with this program, they receive Hero Reward® savings of $2,400. If you buy a home, you receive a check in the mail after closing. If you sell a home, you receive a reduced real estate commission fee. I’m basically giving up part of my commission to help you as my personal way to say “thank you” for serving our community.

I’m your hyper-local Homes for Heroes real estate specialist! I serve the greater Elmira-Corning region primarily, including the entire Southern Tier and Finger Lakes region. People often ask (because it’s nearby), am I licensed in Pennsylvania, and the answer is no. I’m an upstate New Yorker. I choose to serve my true, personal home town heroes. Homes for Heroes was established shortly following the tragic events of 9/11 as a way to give back and say “Thank You” to our nation’s heroes. We’re the largest nationwide network of affiliate real estate agents to help heroes to save significant money when buying or selling a home.

Generally, well-staged homes sell for more money than empty ones. You’ll have to stop thinking of your house as the home you live in and start thinking about it as a property you’re trying to sell for the best possible price. Unless you have a super-cool lifestyle and taste, you need to wipe away your personal tastes and make it more universally appealing to the average buyer. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it in the long run. Invite me to your home so we can discuss it, and I’ll give advice based on your situation.

They want perfect homes in move-in condition for a ridiculously low price! Seriously, they do! They watch HGTV and want the “after” version, not the before one. They want no carpet, neutral colors, stainless steel matching appliances, open floor plans, 3+ bedrooms, 2 bathroom, a garage, high-speed internet and good cell reception. They want it to look and smell clean with no pet or smoking odors.

I recommend you do! Smart sellers can take a proactive approach by getting a seller’s pre-listing home inspection. I can’t stress the importance and value of this enough! Many deals that have fallen through would have been successful if the sellers had only gotten the home inspection first. Whether or not you’re confident of the condition of your home, an inspection will give us professional, third-party validation or reveal issues you should attend to before you list your property. These issues could surface later, when the buyer hires a home inspection, making those findings a part of the final price negotiation. If issues come up, they will be identified. You can then decide to make any needed repairs or improvements.Usually, it costs less if you arrange for them than when the buyer them. Or, if there are problems, we can price accordingly and disclose in advance to smooth the buying process.

A home inspection is paid for by the buyer or seller to go through and inspect the entire house for positive and negative aspects of the structure and systems. It’s usually $300-500 report with 50 some pages with photos and summaries. It’s the property of whoever ordered and paid for it. An appraisal is ordered by the bank to assure the bank or lender that the property is worth what the buyer is paying for it. This is based on extensive comparable data. An assessment is what a municipality (city, town, etc.) determines a property is worth for taxation purposes.

We generally work on 100% commission. When I’m working with a buyer, I tell them they’re basically getting my services free of charge, because — typically — the seller pays commission to my brokerage at closing. When I’m working with a seller, we agree in the Exclusive Right to Sell Contract — aka the Listing Agreement — the commission structure. I only get paid after a closing.

Days on market in the multiple listing system. The longer it sits, the more shop worn it looks. Or overpriced.

This is the first major benchmark of success for a seller and buyer under contract. Basically it means the buyer’s loan application has been officially approved, and their interest rate is locked. It’s a good sign to a seller to start packing, because the deal is successfully moving towards closing.

The word contingency simply means condition. When you get an offer on a home, I’ll present it to you along with their written Purchase Offer. They may specify certain conditions that must be met before the deal will go through – these are called contingencies. They have to be sure they can actually get the loan (a financing contingency), that the home inspection doesn’t show anything too major (inspection contingency), and that the appraised value is close to what they’re offering (appraisal contingency). These are just a few common examples.

An acre equals 4,840 square yards. If the property was a perfect square, it would be about 210 feet by 210 feet. To help you visualize it as a rectangle, it would about the size of a football field, minus one end-zone. Realtors calculate acreage on small city properties using the square footage noted in the tax records. In the country, we depend on surveys.

Earnest money is money you put down as a good-faith deposit that shows you’re serious about buying a house. Typically it’s 1-5% of the purchase price. It’s also known as the Buyer’s Deposit, or Escrow. It all means the same thing. This money is like a lay-away payment on your home, that shows the buyer is “earnest” or “sincere” about the purchase. As long as the buyer moves forward in good faith with the purchase, it counts towards the sale price. The only way a buyer could lose it is if he or she backs out at the last minute. Then the seller could get the money. Ask me for a copy of a local Purchase Contract and I’ll point out the section that spells this out in detail.

A seller’s concession is when a buyer makes an offer and then asks for money back at closing, typically 3-6%. This is so that the buyer can finance their closing costs, so in a nutshell, the buyer is borrowing more money to finance their closing costs, which will result is slightly higher mortgage payments for the buyer. There’s some risk to the seller in accepting this offer, because the house must appraise for the value the borrower is borrowing. If we get an offer with a seller’s concession, we’ll need to look at the offer carefully and do the math.

The national average for down payments is 11%. But that includes first time and repeat buyers, so that number is misleading. First-time homebuyers usually qualify for programs that only require 3-5% on a home. An FHA loan only needs 3.5% down. Some programs such as VA and USDA can be made with no money down, but they have strict conditions. You’ll still have closing costs. In the past, a typical conventional home load needed 20% down. They’re usually taken out by repeat buyers who can use equity from their existing home as a down payment. But some newer conventional loan programs are available with 3% down if the borrower carries private mortgage insurance (PMI).

Usually 620 is the lowest credit score that qualifies for a home loan. But this can vary, depending on the type of loan, the lender and other factors. For example, during Covid, qualification for some loans dipped to 580. In general, home buyers need to have a score in the high 600s or 700s. I’m a realtor, not a lender, so for more information, please talk to a local lender. I can recommend my favorite three. Email me for my list.

Download my free app here: https://app.kw.com/KW2LJOK0U This app lets you search anywhere in the United States.

When there are many people in a given area trying to sell their home, that market favors buyers buying at lower prices. The advantage is tipped towards the buyer who can shop from many competing properties, driving the prices down in the buyers’ favor. Sometimes this happens when a large employer lays off a huge number of employees, and there’s a mass exodus from a community.

When there are more qualified buyers and fewer properties for sale, obviously the sellers have the advantage. That’s called a sellers’ market. This generally allows sellers to get higher prices and optimal conditions for multiple, competing offers for their property.

In the greater Elmira-Corning region that I work in, called the Southern Tier and Finger Lakes region, the average days it takes to close is 55. I’ve written a handy guide called Pam’s Contract to Close checklist that details each step and stage of this process. Email me for a copy.

Ask around, go online, and look for local agents who are full time, experienced, have good reviews, and pay attention to their bio. Is the agent from the area, or new in town? An experienced agent who knows the community is more likely to know the local market. Does he or she have good review on Zillow and Google? Most likely, that’s the agent who can be trusted to do a good job.

Figure out your financial strategy. Most people need to get a loan, so your first step is to talk to a lender to find out how much you qualify for. Contact me for a list of top local lenders. Once you determine your budget and know your affordable price range, you’ll get a pre-qualification letter from your lender. Email that to me, your real estate professional, and we’ll start the search.

Well that depends on a lot of factors. If it’s priced right, and it’s a hot seller’s market, you could sell it in as little as two months. In theory, a cash buyer could take one month. But that’s very rare. For most local sellers, it’s a process that takes at least three to six months, and sometimes longer. Most buyers need a mortgage, and that process takes on average, about 55 days locally. I’ve written an e-book, “Pam’s Guide to Selling Your Home Fast” filled with tips on how to speed up the process.

A good first step is to start de-cluttering, cleaning, making repairs and then call me at 607-795-2910 to come take a tour of your house. I’ll go over the process of selling, the best return-on-investment repairs you could make, give my professional opinion on how to stage it, and discuss your budget, timeline and situation. I’ve written a booklet called Pam’s Guide to Selling Your Home that describes the process and lists local vendors as resources.