Flood Zones, Easements and Encroachments Oh My!

This post comes to you courtesy of challenging and rewarding week in Real Estate. Here’s the thing and I will get right to it. When purchasing a home the question is not whether or not you will run into any issues during the process but which issues will you run into? Here is a feature of this week’s complications ; )  The truth is I envisioned this blog to be fun and light but sometimes you need to take a good hard look at the information you are faced with. If I am to write about the practice of buying and selling Real Estate what better resource do I have then first hand experience?

Flood zones: Usually it is a no brainer. Your home is either in a flood zone or it is not. I have recently experienced confusion and conflicting information as FEMA is in the process of updating their maps. In a recent experience a client purchased a home somewhat close to water.  To ensure it was not in a flood zone and flood insurance wasn’t required we checked into Public records. Public records showed flood zone X (not in a flood zone), the mortgage and Insurance companies all said the same.  You would think this was a non issue, not in a flood zone, right? Yeah me too. Here is the thing…when you borrow money to buy a home, the lender or more specifically the underwriters will have the final say on whether or not it’s in a flood zone and if flood insurance is required. Don’t agree? You can try to appeal however the surest way is to hire a surveyor to do an elevation study. You will need an elevation certificate to provide to FEMA with a LOMA (Letter of Map Amendment) to remove the property from the flood plain. Unless of course it really is in a flood zone then you simply pay the insurance!  Normally this is always disclosed before you decide to buy but sometimes you get hit with a curveball so just try to be prepared. On a side note, while I would agree that FEMA is a wonderful and upstanding organization may I suggest they update their web site to be more user friendly?  Seriously, have you ever tried to find something on their site?  Not a lot of fun.

Easements and Encroachments: Every home has a public utility easement, but some homes could have other easements like two properties sharing a driveway or a paper streets running through your back yard!  Again, the surest way to find out is through a survey.  That survey will also serve to show you any encroachments. For instance, whether or not your fence or shed or driveway is encroaching on your neighbor’s yard or theirs on yours. It's amazing how the land surveryor can serve so many purposes! How to proceed with all of this information? Well, perhaps that’s where all the fun starts. Every situation is different.

My hopes are to have this turn into a soundboard of comments, suggestions and questions and build on it from there.  Even though I have no followers …yet J I am at least happy to see the hits (albeit half are me) but it makes me happy nonetheless. Again, I hope that I was able to provide you with some useful information!  I would like to dedicate this post to this week’s newest homeowners.  Best of luck with the new house and the new baby!

-Jessica

The Five Thousand Dollar Letter

I would like to start by talking about the simple act of writing a letter. Seems almost a lost art form but it has very practical uses, especially when writing an offer on a home in a competitive bid situation. For the first time since the end of 2008 I am seeing an increase in the amount of competitive offer situations and deem this a very good sign to the spring forecast! : )

It's a simple idea but I have seen letters perform miracles!  When a seller knows where you are coming from they will be far more receptive to your offer. I am not saying that cash isn't king but sometimes just sometimes it can be the difference between winning and losing in a competitive offer situation.

In a recent experience a buyer had an extremely profound effect on the seller through their letter. So profound, that the sellers turned down another offer five thousand dollars higher!  Crazy I know this gave me goose bumps! In this situation the sellers related to the buyers letter so strongly it was like serendipity. They wanted to help make a difference in the buyer’s life and that fact was far more valuable to them than the other offer just a little higher...amazing.

Of course this isn’t happening every time. Sometimes a letter may not be practical and most of the time it IS all about the money, but it's undeniably a simple little tool that can make a big difference.

 -So please bare with me this is the first time I have ever blogged ...watch out ; ) I had the idea for the concept of this blog on a long and dark ride home from New Hope, PA after working for 10 hours straight on a SUNDAY!  I got to thinking that because I am so enthralled in this business day in and day out that it would be easy for me to talk about the everyday practicality of buying and selling Real Estate. Share all of the little tips and tricks that I have picked up along the way. Hey, maybe even a funny story or two. I promise not to take it too seriously and have some fun with it all the while providing practical and useful information. So I hope you enjoy, that’s all for now folks!