Dear Michael: My mom passed
away a few years ago and we
now have her house on the market.
It’s never been updated but
it’s in fairly good condition. It’s
been on the market for 120 days at
$775,000. My sister suggested we
lower the price by $100,000. I can’t
even imagine taking a $100,000
drop in price. The Realtor we are
using hasn’t had any open houses
or flyers made up. She said it’s
because no one does open houses
on vacant homes. I am not pleased
with her work. We haven’t had a
single offer on it. Thanks for any
advice you can give us.
Answer: Having your mom’s
home on the market for 120 days
is way too lengthily. There can be
numerous reasons as to why your
mom’s home is not selling but generally
speaking the price is the key
reason. If you feel that a $100,000
price drop is too much of a reduction,
I recommend taking it a step
at a time and reducing the price
from $775,000 to $725,000. Observe
the activity and see is it increases.
If not, you can always have an
additional price reduction. I don’t
believe in the notion of no open
house on a vacant home. The fact
that your home is vacant has nothing
to do with open house. The
purpose of Sunday open house is
to accommodate buyers who cannot
take time away from their busy
weekday schedule to visit homes
for sale. Your realtor should host
open house at least two Sundays a
month. I don’t know how long of a
listing period you signed with your
agent. Read you’re “Listing Agreement”
and if you are not satisfied
with your realtor’s work ethics,
hire someone else when your listing
agreement expires. Sometimes
a changing of the guards is all that
is needed to get it done!
Dear Michael: I purchased a
condo last month. As soon as I
moved in I had to deal with loud
neighbors who at times have
domestic disputes. I have complained
to the HOA but no-one
has responded. I don’t want to get
involved with these neighbors. I
am not sure which steps I need to
take to resolved this. Any suggestion
would be helpful.
Answer: This is an unfortunate
situation for you. Regrettably this
can be one of the draw-backs
when buying a condo, especially
when units are located close to
each other. Most HOA’s will not
get involved in civil disputes. If the
seller was aware of the situation
he/she should have disclosed this
to you during the escrow period. If
pursuing the seller for non-disclosure
is one of the recourses you
wish to take, then I suggest consulting
with a real estate attorney.
Your other options is to ask your
neighbor to keep the noise down;
if you do not wish to meet them
face to face you can send them an
anonymous letter stating that you
are one of the neighbors and the
constant noise is intolerable. If
the situation cannot be remedied
you can always file a police report.
I understand that there is no easy
way out of this terrible situation
but if you want to have a peaceful
living environment you will have
to fix the problem. Your other
option is to put the property back
on the market, but if you decide
to do so, you will need to disclose
this neighbor nuisance to the
buyer. The fact that this was not
disclosed to you does not relieve
you from your obligation as a
seller to disclose matters affecting
the property.
Dear Michael: I have been
notified to vacate my home by
next week. I am not sure if I’ll be
able to have all my things out of
the house. Am I allowed to get my
personal items after my home has
been foreclosed upon?
Answer: You should have been
served with a “Notice of Default”
(NOD). This is when the bank
starts the foreclosure procedure.
You have 90 days from the time
of NOD until the Trustee Sale
occurs. The clock starts ticking
when you receive your NOD. This
gives you plenty of time to get all
your personal belongings out of
the home. Once foreclosed upon
you no longer have ownership
interest regardless of possession.
If you are still residing in the
home after the Trustee Sale, you
will get a knock on the door asking
for your immediate vacancy
and cooperation in departing the
premises. If you cooperate with
the new owners, they will probably
be more than likely allow you
a very limited amount of time to
remove your possessions. It’s a
case by case situation, subject to
the circumstances surrounding
your occupancy and the desire of
the new owner. Best to be better
prepared and gone after the NOD,
you don’t want to have to scramble
with this at the last minute.
Michael Kayem is a Realtor with
Re/max Estate Properties serving
Culver City and the Westside since
2001. You can contact him with
your questions at (310) 390-3337
or email them to him
