Monthly Archives: May 2022

Pending or Contingent?

Each home listing has a status that’s updated by information that the listing agent feeds into the multiple listing service (MLS). A home listed contingent or pending are under contract, but there’s still a chance for you to buy it.

Most purchase offers for the buyer to back out if they can’t get financing, the home doesn’t pass inspection, or the home price doesn’t meet appraisal. In some cases, the listing agent will update the listing with showing instructions, according to Rocketmortgage.com, such as:

Contingent – continue to show (CCS), the seller wants to pivot to a backup offer is the buyer can’t perform.
Contingent – no show, the seller believes the buyer will have no problem removing the contingency.
Contingent – with kick out, the buyer has a limited time to remove the contingency or risk the contract being voided.
Contingent – probate, a deceased homeowner’s assets are going through the probate process, so the home may not be available for purchase for some time.

When a listing is pending, the contract is closer to closing, but there are exceptions:

Pending- taking backups, the seller is accepting backup offers in case the buyer can’t perform.
Pending- short sale, the mortgage holder has been asked to take less money than the seller owes on their mortgage.

Your Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices franchise network professional can advise you about your chances. In a hot market with low inventory, shopping contingent or pending homes could be a great way to make offers with less competition.

Enter the Pawfect Home Sweepstakes!

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Have you ever looked at your pet – your adorable, loyal, put-a-smile-on-your-face, there-for-you-always pet – and just thought, ‘What can I possibly do for you?’ Sure, you could buy them toss-worthy toys or trick-worthy treats but wouldn’t it be better to give them something that matches the magnitude of the pet-tacular love you share?

Well, now there’s a way to do just that, and it’s so perfectly awesome, we actually had to invent a new word to describe it:pawfect.

The Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Pawfect Home Sweepstakes is your chance to win a pet-sized, custom-built home for your dog, cat, rabbit, turtle, goat, hamster… that any pet would love it. Imagine little Luna or big Moose spending some quality time in a house that’s yours, except it’s also 100% theirs.

The Pawfect Home Sweepstakes runs now through June 6! Visit www.BHHSPawfectHome.com for your chance to win. And please, don’t submit an entry because we’re telling you to, submit an entry to give your pet the dream home they deserve, the one that’s just like them – absolutely pawfect.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Enter contest at www.BHHSPawfectHome.com between April 11, 2022 at 12:00 p.m. Eastern Time (“ET”) U.S. and June 6, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. ET U.S.. Open to legal residents of the 50 U.S. & D.C., Canada and Mexico who are 18+ at time of entry. Limit 1 base entry per person per day. There are 3 prizes of custom made pet homes available to be won (Estimated Value: U.S. $5,000 each). Visit www.BHHSPawfectHome.com for full details on how to enter, eligibility requirements, prize description and limitations. Sponsor: BHH Affiliates, LLC, 18500 Von Karman, #400, Irvine, California 92612 U.S.A.

House Flipping 101

Home improvement television makes flipping homes look so easy anyone can do it. But the reality is much different. You can make a lot of money or lose money to problems that slow down your timetable and increase your risk.

There’s a reason why flipped homes are only a small percentage, about 6.2%, of the market. As an investor, you’re buying a property to sell quickly at a profit. You have to know the market and adhere to a strict acquisition formula to meet your estimated after repair value (ARV). The ARV informs your asking price that will both attract homebuyers and meet bank appraisals.

A hot market, with a low supply of homes and rapidly escalating home values, is ideal for flipping because buyer demand and price appreciation are “built-in.” But if homes to buy are hard to find, you may have trouble staying within your budget. 

The flippers who make the most money are full-time professionals who use cash to buy homes, do all the repair work themselves, and sell the home themselves. They know the market well enough to negotiate the right purchase price and have the skills and experience to estimate improvement costs accurately and do the improvements that appeal most to homebuyers. They know how to minimize out-of-pocket expenditures such as mortgage payments, utilities, property taxes, insurance and other costs of home ownership.

Can you do the same? If not, then buying and holding a home may be a better idea for you than flipping.