“Estimating the After Repaired Value”  

The Manchester Real Estate Investor Association

 

$30 Must Pre Register – No Walkins

presents

A MUST Seminar for Investors and Broker

Estimating the “After Repaired Value” (ARV)

When: Saturday, March 19^th, 2011 9AM to 1PM

Where: Keller Williams Metropolitan (NEW OFFICE), 168 South River Rd, Bedford NH

What: Seminar with Lunch

Who: Anyone serious about investing or serious about representing investors.

How: Go to www.ManchREIA.com and sign up. Limited Space

Cost: $30 Must register in advance. No walk-ins

 

One of the CRUCIAL Steps in the selling a house is properly anticipating what it will eventually sell for. Jack Lavoie, a well respected appraiser, broker and investor for 23 years will share his thoughts and experiences on estimating the (ARV). Some of the topics will include:

• Selecting the right comps
• Factors & features that affect value
• Analyzing the local market/conditions
• Where to find comparables (comps)
• What to do when there are NO comps
• Unique properties
• Myths and “Rules of Thumb”
• How to adjust for differences
• Issues regarding the final bank appraisal
• FHA & Bank guidelines to be concerned with
• Pricing strategies
• The 5 biggest mistakes in anticipating a sales price

Only 40 Spots Available!!!

Last Call for Tax Abatements. March 1, 2001 Deadline to File!!!

Manchester NH and most of the other towns and cities in New Hampshire have sent out there final tax bills in early which means the clock starts for tax abatement season.  The deadline for filing abatements is March 1, 2011.  If you are a homeowner and are paying property taxes, you may be eligible for a tax abatement. Your property taxes are based on your property assessment that your town or city assigns you. Most assessor’s do a great job, but there job is very difficult. They must design a computer/statistical model that will accurately appraise thousands of parcels at the same time. Even the best of models will not fit every property, which is why in every town, nearly a 1/3 (33.3%) of the properties are over assessed and a 1/3 are under assessed. It’s the 33% of the over assessed who may be entitled t get a tax reduction.

Click for Tax Abatement Assistance

Many people look at their assessment and say to themselves “Oh, I could never sell my house for what it’s assessed for!” …lol That doesn’t mean your house is over assessed. Sounds confusing, but I will explain why.

In every town, it is the assessor’s goal to have assessments equal the true market value of the property. Every five years or so, the town does a complete revaluation of their town to do this. Each year thereafter, the assessment stays the same, but the market value could go up or down which means the assessments are higher or lower than market value. Here is the key…… As long as every property in the town is either over assessed or under assessed the same, then it is fair. You are only entitled to get a tax abatement if you are MORE over assessed than average person in the town. Here is an example.

If the “Assessment ratio” for the town is 120%, which means the average property is assessed at 120% of the actual market value, you will not be able to fight your taxes if your house is assessed at $120,000 and is only worth $100,000. The reason being is that your house is in line with the 120% assessment ratio ($120K is 120% of $100K). If your house is only worth $80,000, you may have an excellent case to get your $120,000 assessment reduced down to $96,000, since $96,000 is 120% of $80,000. If you can prove your home is worth $80,000, your assessor may reduce your assessment in this example to $96,000.

“Margin of Error” Most communities will only reduce your assessment if your “equalized assessment” is more than 10% higher than market value. This is because there is a reasonable “margin for area” due to complexity of assessing an entire community.

The State of New Hampshire Department of Revenue provides the official “Assessment Ratio” for each town in the State on an annual basis. That is one half of the equation. The other half is figuring out what your property is worth in terms of market value.

In abating your taxes, if will be necessary to provide “proof” of your market value estimate, as of April 1^st of the tax year being appealed. This can done by hiring a Certified Appraiser like myself to provide a professional opinion of value. The appraisal with be attached to an official abatement form and will need to be filed in a timely fashion.

If you would like to contact me and find out if you are a candidate for a tax abatement, feel free to contact me @ jacklavoie@comcast.net. I do residential and commercial tax abatement appraisals throughout the state of New Hampshire should you need my assistance.

Tax bills will be mailed out soon. When you receive your tax bill, get the process going and you may be one of the 33% who can get an abatement!!

Avoiding Costly Repairs – Manchester Real Estate Investor Meeting

Manchester Real Estate Investor Association February Meeting

 

What am I Buying?  Secrets of an Engineer and Home Inspector.

Don’t make big $$$ mistakes by overlooking problem items!

Find out what you have UPFRONT!

Come find out the most common mistakes investors and homebuyer make from the home inspector that  REALTORS use on their OWN homes when buying.  John  will tell you what to look for and more importantly what your buyers will look for.

Speaker:  John Turner, Criterium-Turner  Engineers, Goffstown NH

John Turner is a Multi-Discipline (Architectural and Electrical) Licensed Professional Engineer in New Hampshire, Massachussetts and Montana, specializing in building technology and construction. He is also a Board Certified Building Inspection Engineer. Further, John is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Accredited Professional. This achievement allows John to certify a building’s performance and compliance with the LEED standards, an international benchmark for design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.

As president of Criterium-Turner Engineers (CTE), he has diverse experience in all facets of construction. His specialities include residential and commercial inspection, design, energy-efficiency, renovation consulting, condominiums/association properties and forensic engineering.

Refreshments & Networking Begin @ 6:00

Meeting starts promptly @ 6:30

Cost:  FREE

Join us on Facebook  at http://www.facebook.com/ManchesterREIA

Call our office at (603) 644-1000

Freddie Mac 2011 Forecast…

 I came across the below paragraph in a publication of “Live Valuation”.  Talks about Freddie Mac’s outlook for the real estate market and mortgage rates.

“According to Freddie Mac, housing will see a “modest improvement” with a big risk of rising interest rates.  The average mortgage rate is projected to be at 5.20%.  Although quantitative easing has not kept rates from rising, it has been said that it did put a damper on the ascending rates.  Mortgage refinancings will slow as a result of higher rates and the projected 5.20% mortgage rate for 30-year fixed rates in 2011 is a full percentage point above the 2010 lows.  This will be the third lowest average since the annual began being recorded.”

Early “Detection” is key to solving your mortgage problem

I write today in my blog as a result of three phone calls I received over the last 4 days.  Each of the three calls were from friends who received notices that there home has gone into foreclosure.  Each of these people are good, honest, decent people who for different reasons are experiencing a hard time.   Each case is different, but I gave each of them advise and recommendations based on their individual situation.  To be honest, all three would have had more options had they contact me (or someone) much sooner.  I tell you this because I know that there are MANY of you reading this post who are having a tough time and need help.  Financial problems is like disease in many ways and like diseases have a much better “survival” rate if detected and treated early.   Alternatives include; loan modifications, forbearance, short sale, deed in Lieu of foreclosure or selling your home.   Solving real estate problems can be a complicated issue which requires you depend on your real estate and financial “power team”.   This team needs to include; a trusted financial advisor, an attorney experienced in workouts/bankruptcy, a real estate consultant and a close friend.    I am not an attorney or a financial guy, but I welcome all of you to seek me to be on their power team as a friend or real estate consultant.  If you are ONE payment behind PLEASE reach out to someone you trust and get the information you need to create a smart game plan for you.

Beautiful Landscaping Covered By Snow… What to do?

I just did an appraisal inspection in 2 feet of snow. The owners advised me that they have “extensive landscaping”. Do I really know what is under there. My advice to homeowners is if you have nice exterior features (Landscaping, Patios, etc) you might want to take “summer photos” to have in case you ever need them to sell your home or obtain an appraisal. For the record, these homeowners did have some pictures which they offered me and I will be includiing in my report. Jack Lavoie 603-644-1000

Finally figured out Twitter to Facebook!!

After spending 3 hours researching I now can post via twitter which means my Blog gets to my fan page too! When I get some rest I can actually write/tweet something of value! lol

Tis the Season for….Tax Abatements

I wrote this post on Tax Abatements last year, but I wanted to let you know again.. Give me a shout at 603-644-1000 if you need some guidance.

Manchester NH and most of the other towns and cities in New Hampshire have sent out there final tax bills which means the clock starts for tax abatement season. If you are a homeowner and are paying property taxes, you may be eligible for a tax abatement. Your property taxes are based on your property assessment that your town or city assigns you. Most assessor’s do a great job, but there job is very difficult. They must design a computer/statistical model that will accurately appraise thousands of parcels at the same time. Even the best of models will not fit every property, which is why in every town, nearly a 1/3 (33.3%) of the properties are over assessed and a 1/3 are under assessed. It’s the 33% of the over assessed who can get a tax break on my plan (there I go again…lol).

Click for Tax Abatement Assistance

Many people look at their assessment and say to themselves “Oh, I could never sell my house for what it’s assessed for!” …lol That doesn’t mean your house is over assessed. Sounds confusing, but I will explain why.

In every town, it is the assessor’s goal to have assessments equal the true market value of the property. Every five years or so, the town does a complete revaluation of their town to do this. Each year thereafter, the assessment stays the same, but the market value could go up or down which means the assessments are higher or lower than market value. Here is the key…… As long as every property in the town is either over assessed or under assessed the same, then it is fair. You are only entitled to get a tax abatement if you are MORE over assessed than average person in the town. Here is an example.

If the “Assessment ratio” for the town is 120%, which means the average property is assessed at 120% of the actual market value, you will not be able to fight your taxes if your house is assessed at $120,000 and is only worth $100,000. The reason being is that your house is in line with the 120% assessment ratio ($120K is 120% of $100K). If your house is only worth $80,000, you may have an excellent case to get your $120,000 assessment reduced down to $96,000, since $96,000 is 120% of $80,000. If you can prove your home is worth $80,000, your assessor may reduce your assessment in this example to $96,000.

“Margin of Error” Most communities will only reduce your assessment if your “equalized assessment” is more than 10% higher than market value. This is because there is a reasonable “margin for area” due to complexity of assessing an entire community.

The State of New Hampshire Department of Revenue provides the official “Assessment Ratio” for each town in the State on an annual basis. That is one half of the equation. The other half is figuring out what your property is worth in terms of market value.

In abating your taxes, if will be necessary to provide “proof” of your market value estimate, as of April 1st of the tax year being appealed. This can done by hiring a Certified Appraiser like myself to provide a professional opinion of value. The appraisal with be attached to an official abatement form and will need to be filed in a timely fashion.

If you would like to contact me and find out if you are a candidate for a tax abatement, feel free to contact me @ jacklavoie@comcast.net. I do residential and commercial tax abatement appraisals throughout the state of New Hampshire should you need my assistance.

Tax bills will be mailed out soon. When you receive your tax bill, get the process going and you may be one of the 33% who can get an abatement!!

Buy your next property this winter and $ave!!

If you are looking to buy a home or investment property and are NOT concerned with getting the lowest price possible, then stop reading now…If not, consider reading the following the information and take advantage of the upcoming holiday season.
One of the most ignored aspects and/or characteristics is the “Seasonal” effect on value and supply in real estate. Even in a stable market, prices do not stay level all year. The “life” of the property values is “born” in the spring and “dies” in the winter. In the springtime more buyers compete for properties and put upward pressure on pricing. The demand continues throughout the summer and stabilizes in the late summer and early fall. In the late fall, buyers “settle in” and get ready for the holidays and winters and begin to “sit on the sidelines”, which causes the marker to “die”.
This theory/model is backed my data collected throughout the northeast, New Hampshire and specifically data tracked within my appraisal office. Our office keeps statistics on Manchester single family AND multi-family properties. Additionally, we track Bedford, Nashua, Portsmouth, Concord and Laconia. In ALL sectors, we track sales volumes and prices much lower during the winter months then in the spring and summer months. Doesn’t it make sense that prices are lower in the winter? Anybody selling in the winter months KNOWS that there are only a few buyers to compete for and that their home may sit on the market until spring. As a result, they are more motivated to “take less” now then to carry the property throughout the winter. I estimate the difference in the Greater Manchester NH market to be to be nearly 10 percent from the high and lows during the year. What does that mean? It means you can buy a $200K house for the $190K in the dead of winter and it will cost $210K to buy that same $200K house during the best selling months.
The moral of the story… When you are out doing your holiday shopping, consider it the BEST time of the year to purchase your next property. KNOW that you have leverage and incredible buying power since most of the other buyers have hibernated in the winter. Let them sleep during the winter and compete against each other in the spring and summer months… and by the way….pay and Extra $20,000 using our example.
If you have any questions regarding buying, selling, appraising, pricing or any other real estate matter do not hesitate to contact me at (603) 644-1000.

A Short Lesson in Negotiations. Think “Orange”

Here is a short little lesson on Negotiations. No.. It’s not shoving your offer down someone’s throat.. To illustrate I will tell you a little story.. Here goes … Tom Brady (I used to use Tiger Woods as the example, but he is not allowed to go near other women anymore…lol) and Rachael Ray were sitting around the kitchen during the football off season and began to discuss one lonely orange that was on the table. Both Tom and Rachael wanted the orange for themselves and began “negotiating” over who should get the orange. In fact, these two friends got into a heated argument but finally reached an agreement after making “low ball” and meaningless offers to each other. The agreement was to cut the orange in half and share it.
After they cut the orange, Tom peeled his orange, threw the peels into the trash and ate his orange (his model wife wants him to eat healthy..lol). Rachael, who was working on a new cooking recipe doesn’t like to eat oranges so she threw out her half of the orange fruit part into the garbage and kept the orange peel to cook with. So here we are with a half of an orange (Peel and fruit) in the garage….hhhhhhmmmm.
Moral of the story… had Tom and Rachael taken the time to find out the needs and viewpoints of the other side they could have each essentially had the whole orange. That is called a win-win. Next time you are negotiating with someone, take the time to find out what THEY want. If you do that, you will get more of what YOU want.