What Determines the Value of Your Distressed House?

December 7, 2014

In Stockton, what determines the value of your distressed house may not be the real measure of its Market Value?

In a normal Real Estate Market it can difficult enough to try establishing a competitive market value to sell a UNIQUE or distressed house within a reasonable amount of time and keep everyone happy. In today’s Stockton Real Estate Market, that burden gets much more difficult as a normally well maintained house, in Move in Ready Condition, often gets the benefit of an increased sales price based on its great condition.

When you add in the seemingly trickling supply of Foreclosures and Short Sales the condition of your house gets more notice and actually presents a unique challenge to Stockton homeowners with distressed houses in determining the real current Market Value.

While banks with Foreclosed properties and pending short sales want to take advantage of whatever price bump they can get from the prettiest houses on the block, the numbers in Stockton Real Estate are showing that the homeowners of these well kept properties continue to get the higher prices as prices continue to tumble for everyone else.

Determining a houses value can be difficult — Real Estate Stockton Whats My House Worth?

So let’s ask the question….. What if you have a beautiful house in Stockton, Sacramento or Modesto, California (three of the worst real estate markets in the country), and you need to sell your house now?

Congratulations. Hire a “great” Real Estate Agent and take advantage of those pricing increases that banks will lend on, that home-buyers will pay for a house in Move-in Ready Condition..

Today’s Stockton Real Estate Market is very different than anything that has been experienced in the last 30 years. There are still a lot of Foreclosures and (while less than a year ago) Short Sales on the market that it is virtually impossible for anyone located in any of these areas to tell you what their house is really worth based on the conventional wisdom in determining home values. More depressing is that you are less likely to get a higher price even if your house has Minor Defects. In fact, for anyone selling a distressed or ugly house in today Stockton Real Estate market, you need to be aware that even if you get a buyer at a FAIR price, if its not cash, no bank will lend if the house needs repairs. We have seen beautiful houses with minor defects such as non permitted additions and changes denied loans because inspections uncovered defects.

With that said, if setting the sale price of a house in today’s Real Estate Market is one of the most important parts of the home selling and buying process then how does the condition of my house fit into that puzzle? The answer is it matters more today than ever and depending on where your house is located, it can matter a lot more.

Is it any wonder that pretty houses can sit for as long as 4 months without a single offer?

What Determines the Value of Your Distressed House?

If knowing your home’s value helps you determine its price then homeowners with properties that need work must be wringing their hands in frustration while home buyers continue to look for the bargains at the expense of what the house actually looks like. Can you blame them?

So now we come to the real question… what if your home is NOT NORMAL? What if your house needs thousands in repairs and maintenance and it isn’t the prettiest on the block? Do you pour thousands of dollars into it and try to sell it? What if you don’t have the money to fix it up? Will you ever get that money back if you do sell the house? Do you sell it as is?

In today’s Stockton Real Estate Market you need to answer every one of these questions while at the same time understanding that there is very little margin for error when it comes to pouring thousands of dollars into fixing a broken house. In today’s market, chances are you will NOT get that money back out.

So if the current condition of the house plays a larger role in how to price the house, then who is your best bet to Buy your house in its as is condition? If you answered a Real Estate Investor, you would be correct, because currently 35% of all homes sales in Stockton were from cash buyers/Investors.

Whats My Stockton House Worth? — We Buy Houses Stockton, In any Condition, For any Reason

Certainly there are other factors in determining home values… such as the current number of comparable listings on the market. The fewer the listings, the more valuable your home, particularly if it’s in a desirable location or has amenities hard to find in your area. Supply and demand can make your home worth more, allowing you to set a higher price when you sell. Conversely, if there are many homes similar to yours on the market, then that can lower the value, especially if there aren’t many buyers.

So as a Homeowner How do You find your homes Worth and set your price?

Thankfully, in today’s Stockton Real Estate Market there are many tools available to help you determine your homes value. The most obvious is a real estate agent or title company. Each tracks the actual sales of homes that occurred within the last 90 days and they are a good place to start. A good agent should have a good understanding of the current market in your area, allowing them to review comparable homes and estimate how your house sizes up. If you want to get an idea of your home’s value before talking with an agent, you can call me or you can use the tools of many websites such as Home Price Check SM tool, RealEstate.com, Zillow.com, and others to get an approximate value for your home.

Be aware that these sites are not very accurate because they cannot take Market Condition of houses into consideration, they set benchmarks and those estimates can be high or low by 30% in either direction. They do however base their estimates on on prices for comparable homes in your area. It might be a good idea to use this for comparison with the price that you get from a real estate agent or other local home buyer like me. Call me at (209)481-7780 for a Free Evaluation.

One final factor in determining your price is your time. If you are not in a hurry to sell, you can price your house higher because you have the luxury to wait for the right buyer. Just make sure you don’t price it too high – you don’t want to scare away prospective buyers.

However, if you are in a hurry , it may be better to price your home lower in order to sell quickly. Selling quickly may be more valuable than whatever additional money you would get from a starting at a higher price. Remember you have to factor in your holding costs for a house that doesn’t sell. By the time you pay for Insurance, Maintenance, water, electricity, garbage service, etc., maybe it would be better to sell that house in its as is condition to a Stockton Real Estate Investor.

Finally, no amount of time will correct the defects in a house that a Bank is not willing to lend on or Stockton cash home buyer is not willing to pay. You must find that happy medium and ask yourself, is a “bird in hand, worth more than two in the bush”?

We Buy Houses Stockton, The Man Behind the Sign

I Buy Houses Stockton Introduction (209) 481-7780 We buy Houses Stockton

My name is Peter Westbrook and I am a local real estate investor and the owner of We Buy Houses Stockton and Westbrook Real Estate Investments in Stockton, California. I am NOT a Real Estate Agent or Broker and for good reason. I purchase real estate and I am NOT going to ask you to pay a commission or a fee.…I pay CASH and because I do, I can close on the day that I tell you.

For those of you that already know me or have already called me you can attest that I answer my own phone and I return all phone calls. When you call me at 209-481-7780 you are calling me on the same number that my mother and my closest friends call me at.

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We WILL BUY YOUR HOUSE in ANY CONDITION! We pay CASH and you will NOT pay any commissions or fees. Fill in your information below and get an all CASH offer for your House Fast!

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What Customers Say

The City of Stockton was getting ready to tear down my old house. I was no longer able to maintain the Stockton House and after years of trying to keep up with code violations, needed repairs and vandalism, I finally called Peter

Westbrook. He came right out and told me what he could do. He contacted the city and county and even cleaned up the property before he bought it. He paid the back taxes for me and gave me an advance on the purchase of the house. Without his help I would have lost everything. I called real estate agents and other investors but no one wanted to help and no one offered to pay as much as Peter Westbrook. He completely remodeled the house and I smile every time I go by. Thank you Peter.

Leonard S

We inherited our parents house with one of our brothers living there . The property taxes had not been paid and it was in Tax default. We called Peter Westbrook and he found that the title was still in our parents name, so the Stockton House never went through probate. Peter also found that there was an old auto loan that had a lien on the

title and an old bankruptcy ruling to take care of that lien had never been filed with the courts. Peter handled everything including paying the back taxes, paying for the hiring a Probate Attorney and filing the probate and paying for and hiring a Bankruptcy Attorney to finalize the removal of the lien. He was patient, understanding and he took care of everything including evicting the tenants that were living in the house. We talked to real estate agents and other I buy house people. None of them had the answers for our situation. Without peter we would have lost everything. We got paid cash.

Steve H

We inherited my parents Stockton house with a mortgage. We decided to rent it out. The tenants destroyed the house. I didn’t know what to do, I didn’t have the money to fix it and the city had already issued code violations.. I called an “I Buy Houses Stockton Sign” on a telephone pole and Peter Westbrook answered. In 4 days he paid the bank and bought my house. We would have lost everything if it weren’t for Peter Westbrook.

Mike B

I inherited my mothers house with a mortgage. When my husband and I lost our jobs, we got behind in payments. Then the Bank posted a default with a auction date we didn’t know what to do.

We didn’t have the $15,000.00 and we only had two weeks to do something. We called Peter Westbrook and form the beginning he was confident he could stop the bank. Within 4 days he bought the house with cash, paid off the bank and stopped the Foreclosure. Without Peter we would have lost everything.

Brenda T

I saw a sign on a telephone pole and against my better judgement I called. The last thing I expected was a person answering the phone. I was surprised, Peter Westbrook answered the phone. I had a lot of questions and Peter had the right answers. My mother needed to get as much as possible out of the house and we had talked to several real estate agents and they all wanted to sell it cheap and wanted a 6% commission. They all told us unless we put thousands of dollars into it could not be sold for what we wanted. Not Peter. He made a fair cash offer and since then we have sold him another house. Peter and the title company handled everything. I couldn’t be happier and I would recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone.

Cathy W

I needed to sell my Stockton House. I called a phone number I saw on a sign and talked to Peter Westbrook. The City of Stockton said that they were going to take away my vacant Stockton house, knock it down and send me the

bill to do it. I did everything that I could to try to make them happy. A neighbor offered to buy the house and then Peter offered me twice as much. He did everything he said he would do and I just had to go to the Title Company and sign the papers. He did all of the work and now the City of Stockton is his problem. Thank you Peter.

Ann C

I inherited my Fathers Stockton house. The front porch was falling in, the walls had holes from being vacant and vandalized. The City of Stockton fined us, red tagged the property and forced us to put on a new roof so we had to get loans and we still couldn’t rent it out.

I called one of those “I Buy Houses” signs and Peter Westbrook came out and made a cash offer. The House closed escrow and we got our money for a house we though was worthless. Thanks Peter!”

Broderick R.

“Our Grandfather passed away and my brother, sister and I inherited his Stockton house. He was a junkman and hoarder. He was also 90 years old and had not made a repair to the house in years. He had garage sales almost every day. The house and the yard were full of junk. We tried to get everything out so we could just see the house. We had family and friends come over on the weekends but the cost and effort was consuming all of our time.The house was a mess.

I called Peter Westbrook and he made us a cash offer for the house and he said he would take care of all of the clean up. Thank God I called. The City had issued code violations and fines on the property and even before we closed escrow Peter and his crew had the house and yard cleaned (4 large Dumpsters later) . I recommend Peter Westbrook to anyone that has a problem house. They were fast and professional”

Connie J.

“I had tried to sell my Mothers Stockton house for two years. Realtor’s told me to tear it down. I didn’t have the money for that and my Brother and his family were living there. Peter Westbrook made me a cash offer and closed escrow with my brother still in the house. Peter Westbrook is my savior. I don’t have to worry about the house any more. If you have a Stockton house that has become a burden and you don’t have the money to fix it to sell it, call Peter Westbrook.”

Rosemary R.

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