Huntsville MLS; property specific research

Homes for sale huntsville Huntsville Alabama Real Estate
Huntsville MLS search; Example of market / property research prior to offer to purchase.
September 8th, 2011 9:07 AM
The following data is from the Huntsville MLS, National flood maps, Google maps personal inquiry and the Madison County probate records.

XXXXXX DRIVE is listed at $83 per square foot. $217,900 It has been on the market since 05/25/11. It was originally listed at $232,900 and has had three price reductions to the present $217,900. The last price reduction was on 07/18/11. The link below is to the listing where the current owner bought the house new at $181,315 from the builder in 2009. http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=71149903847yq4 Assuming standard costs, brokers fees, a $4,000 seller contribution to purchaser closing costs and a $380 home warranty for purchaser seller's break even point on a sale will be in the $199,000 range. Unless seller has a second mortgage they should have room to negotiate. The house is occupied so seller may not have the motivation to lower the price. I called the listing agent and asked if seller could to a ~ 30 day close and fished for information. She said Seller needs to purchase another home out of state and is not sure if they have an accepted offer yet. She will call me back. Based on this information we can assume seller is transferring to another area for either personal reasons or a job. Every situation is different and we can never know that the seller is thinking but this may be an indication that seller is motivated. The link below is to the satellite image of the property. It's location within the neighborhood rather than on Taylor Road is a positive point. There may be a creek / wetland to the far right of the house. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=585903y,+35763&hl=en&ll=34.637825,-86.48022&spn=0.00102,0.002588&sll=37.160317,-95.712891&sspn=32.169344,84.814453&vpsrc=6&t=h&z=19 I have attached a copy of the flood map for the neighborhood. It's hard to locate the exact house location but the back yard may be in a flood zone. I just spoke with the listing agent again who said that the seller has a certificate showing the house is not in a flood zone. She also said seller could do a 30 day close. Please remind me to make the offer contingent on the property not requiring flood insurance. We also need to talk with the neighbors to see if there has ever actually been flooding. We also need a copy of the flood certificate for your records. XXXXX CIRCLE is listed at $229,900 / $88 psf . It has been on market since 06/02/11 and was originally listed at $249,900. There have been two price reductions with the most recent on 08/24/11. On 07/15/11 the seller name changed from Valentine to WRRI, a relocation company. We can assume as part of a job transfer that seller's employer retained a relocation company to take temporary ownership and sell the house. Our negotiations would be with the relocation company. They have their own forms. In general the forms have been acceptable to my buyers but are drafted to protect the relocation company. Negotiations can be more cumbersome than directly with sellers. The link below is to the listing where Valentine bought the house from the builder in 2007 for $252,487, $20,000 above the current list price. http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID=711475184329222najhewu The link below is to the Google image of the house. I am concerned about traffic noise from Taylor Road. As I recall Taylor Road is elevated above the level of the house so the fence does little to mute traffic noise. There is also a remote risk of a wreck coming through the fence and hitting the house. Looking at the map, I don't see a pool in the neighborhood and $125 / year for HOA with a pool is much too low. I think the listing is in error. http://maps.google.com/maps?q=tuqwpqrnCIRCLE,+OWENS+CROSS+ROADS,+AL+35763&hl=en&ll=34.635658,-86.483439&spn=0.00102,0.002588&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=32.197599,84.814453&vpsrc=6&t=h&z=19 While this house is not near a flood zone, I personally prefer the location of the first house. The first house is priced at $83 verses $88 psf and in my experience negotiation with the homeowner will be much easier than with a relocation company. The link below is to a summary of MLS activity in xxxx since 07/01/10. The average sold price was $90 psf with a range of $80 to $97 psf. The average days on market were long at 144 days but with a huge range of 6 to 311 days. The average sale was at 4% under the list price. http://nalmls.com/NALMLSReports/ListitLib/show_report.aspx?ID
There are six active listings in the neighborhood, not encouraging for sellers. Both houses are priced will within the market range and below the average sold price. At list price with seller paying most of your closing costs both houses would be more than fair buys. If we were to make an offer on xxxx DRIVE I would reccomend an offer of around $215,000 with seller paying up to $4,500 of your closing costs and pre-paid costs. (We need to get the exact estimated closing and pre-paid costs from lender.) . We will ask for a Home Warranty of America 13 month home warranty ($480 ) and make the offer contingent on inspection, radon testing, that the house doesn't require flood insurance and a copy of the flood certificate. A funding contingency is built into our standard contract.