Property Tax Ripoffs: What Homeowners Need to Know

Are you paying too much in property taxes? The shocking truth is that 40.5% of homeowners across America are overpaying—often without even realizing it. This financial drain affects not just your monthly budget but can significantly impact your home's marketability when it's time to sell.

Property tax assessments, determined by local assessors who may never step foot inside your home, frequently fail to reflect current market values. Many homeowners discover their properties have incorrect square footage, outdated features, or other errors that artificially inflate their tax burden. The good news? You have recourse, and taking action could save you hundreds or even thousands of dollars annually.

The current real estate landscape reveals a tale of two markets. While Northeast regions maintain relative stability, Florida and Texas are experiencing significant shifts downward. In Florida alone, condo prices have declined in 92% of housing markets, with single-family homes falling in 66% of markets. This isn't 2008 all over again—homeowners today have record equity and fixed rates—but we're witnessing a natural market correction that demands attention if you're considering selling.

One of the most powerful strategies for today's sellers is adopting the Certified Pre-Owned approach. Just as we've paid premium prices for certified pre-owned vehicles for decades, homes that undergo pre-inspection create transparency that builds buyer confidence. With approximately one-third of conventional listings dropping out due to inspection issues, this approach helps your home stand out and sell more smoothly in an increasingly competitive market.

Recent natural disasters have further complicated the housing landscape. From Hurricanes Helene and Milton to devastating wildfires and floods, these events have strained insurance markets, shifted migration patterns, and prompted regulatory changes that affect homeowners nationwide.

Don't let inaccurate assessments drain your finances or market shifts diminish your home's value. Visit allstarhomevalue.com today to get a free estimate of your home's market value, check the accuracy of your property data, and take the first step toward ensuring you're not paying more than your fair share. Our team stands ready to guide you through these complex challenges and help you make informed decisions in today's evolving real estate market.

Chapters

• 0:00 Property Tax Overpayment Crisis
• 6:14 Understanding Property Assessments and Appeals
• 11:00 Benefits of Certified Pre-Owned Homes
• 18:15 Current Housing Market Analysis
• 27:17 Natural Disasters Impact on Real Estate
• 44:55 Preparing Your Home for Sale
• 51:12 Market Trends and Future Outlook

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

This is the Plain English Real Estate Show with your host, rowena Patton, a show that focuses on the real estate market in terms you can easily understand. Call Rowena now. The number is 240-9962 or 1-800-570-9962. Now here's the English girl in the mountains, the agent that I would trust, rowena Patton.

Speaker 2: 0:22

Welcome back to the Real Estate News Radio Show. I'm Rowena Patton, your trusted guide in the world of real estate. Today we're tackling a pressing issue that affects homeowners nationwide. Are you being ripped off on your property taxes? Recent studies reveal that a significant number of homeowners are overpaying on their property taxes. Number of homeowners are overpaying on their property taxes and very often without even realising it. So let's delve into how property taxes are assessed, why discrepancies occur and what you can do to ensure you're not overpaying. So let's look at understanding property tax assessments. Property taxes are calculated based on your home's assessed value, determined by local assessors. This value is then multiplied by the local tax rate to arrive at your annual tax bill. However, assessments may not always reflect the current market value, leading to potential overpayments. A recent report indicates that 40.5% of properties in the US may be over-assessed, with homeowners potentially overpaying by a median of $539 annually. So it doesn't just mean paying more in taxes. It can also affect your home's marketability. Of course, here we are in the season when many of you are thinking about selling your home, and a higher tax bill can deter potential buyers, making your property less competitive in the market. It's another factor in there when you're going to sell. Moreover, the burden of overpaying can strain household budgets, especially when combined with other rising costs like insurance and maintenance, and what with all the interest rates going up over what they were just a few years ago. So to assist you in evaluating your property's assessed value, we've developed allstarhomevaluecom. That's allstarhomevaluecom? It's a free tool. It provides an estimate of your home's current value, allowing you to compare it with the assessor's valuation Now for a comprehensive appeal. If you're going to do that, it's crucial you reach out to us to supplement this with. You know we've got comparable property data we can put in there and our team can provide you with recent sales of similar homes, really strengthening your case for a reassessment. Obviously, you know we can do that locally, wherever we're at in the country, if you discover a discrepancy between your home's market value and its assessed value. Many times they're doing drive-bys and you know you may have added some square footage or something else that's in there that's not tracking right. So you'll also see that at all-star home value, by the way, when you go on there. It does have a part in there. It's why I chose this particular valuation tool all-star all-star home valuecom. The reason I chose this one is because you can change the data on the backend. You can do it. So if it comes back with, you know your valuation is this based on this size. You can change the size and everything else. So go I mean it's free guys, go have a look. Allstarhomevaluecom, if you need to call us.

Speaker 2: 3:41

Maybe you're thinking about selling or you're concerned the tax value is not right or something like that. 828-333-4483. We've got people standing by 24-7. So if you do discover a discrepancy between the home's market value and its assessed value and maybe it's not the right beds or baths or the right square footage, you often see that with it being incorrect on the internet. So what you usually do is step one, gather the evidence. So get recent sales data of comparable properties. Of course we can do that for you and then you go ahead and file a petition.

Speaker 2: 4:18

You submit an appeal to your local assessment board within the designated time frame. That's important. We can help you with that as well, wherever you are and then you attend a hearing so you present your case not always. Sometimes you can mail it in. You present your case supported by the evidence that you've gathered. Many homeowners have successfully appealed their property assessments and this can result in substantial tax savings. So we have one in Texas where a realtor challenged $150,000 increase in her home's assessed value and managed to reduce her tax burden significantly by providing accurate comparables. So taking the initiative to review and, if necessary, appeal your property assessment can lead to some pretty good financial relief in there. So don't let that inaccurate property assessment drain your finances.

Speaker 2: 5:15

Visit allstarhomevaluecom today to get a free estimate of your home's market value. Of course you might want to use this if you're selling as well. Go ahead and look at your value in there. When you do that, I do go in and check them on the back end, because any of these instant valuations that are out there aren't absolutely accurate. So we need to look at it and go. Does this make sense based on all of the other pieces? You know it's that human element where we actually put our eyes on it. If you find discrepancies, reach out to us. On the back end. It does actually allow you to change the size and the beds and baths, all of that. So our team's ready to assist you with the necessary comparables and guide you through the appeal process. We can do that anywhere in the country, ensuring your property is fairly assessed not only saves you money but enhances your home's appeal for future buyers. Whether that's in 10 years or you're thinking about selling this season, same thing.

Speaker 2: 6:15

Start your journey at allstarhomevaluecom. Of course, we'd be delighted to come out and see your home 828-333-4483. We can book an appointment for you anywhere in the country to take a look. If you're sitting there going, oh yeah, but we've got to do this and we've got to do that before we get ready to sell it, let an agent come out and see it first. Please, please, please. Because many of you are spending time, money and energy you don't need to be please. Because many of you are spending time, money and energy you don't need to be spending.

Speaker 2: 6:52

We're in a flattening and in many markets in the country right now, declining market. We've seen declines in Florida, for example, of 15 and 17%. We've seen declines in Texas of even more than that so far. I know a lot of people are saying, oh, there's no declines going on. They are, and I can show you the data on that so many places in the country it's really only the Northeast, so Connecticut Mass. You know areas that they're in the Northeast. Some of them are still popping along and selling homes within 30 days, all that good stuff. They're not tending to get the multiple offers that they were getting before. And of course I'm doing a broad brush here. Real estate really is local. It's block to block, never mind town to town and city to city, or is it city to city and town to town? It's all right. You know what I mean. Go get your value at allstarhomevaluecom.

Speaker 2: 7:41

If you've just tuned in, this is Rowena Patton on the Real Estate News Radio Show and you can reach us 24-7, 828-333-4483. Wherever you're at in the country, we can help you with where you're being ripped off on your taxes. We can help you with getting your home sold. We've sold many, many thousands of homes across us all. I think we're at 3,600 or somewhere in that region now in Western North Carolina. You can only imagine how many hundreds of thousands that is across the country. We know what we're doing when we're selling a house.

Speaker 2: 8:20

If you're thinking about selling your house now because of market conditions I was just mentioning that in many places where a flat or declining market, choose someone with experience. This is not the time to you know. Give it to the realtor down the street that got their license last week. I mean, I'm not being rude, that realtor down the street, come work with me. I'll mentor you. We have mentors across the country that will help you. We have amazing programs that will get you into business fast and really train you at a high level. But right now, if you're selling what is most likely your biggest asset, choose an agent with experience.

Speaker 2: 9:07

Welcome back to the Real Estate News Radio Show. I'm Rowena Patton guiding you through the ever-evolving landscape of real estate and we're delving into the current state of the US housing market now, highlighting areas of stability. There definitely are still areas of stability, especially in the Northeast, and there's others experiencing big shifts, like Florida and Texas. So, as of May 2025, in case you're listening to this on the podcast we air live and then podcast afterwards the housing market is kind of strange. It's a nuanced transition, is what we call it, and some regions are maintaining that balanced dynamic between buyers and sellers. That's primarily in the Northeast. Others are witnessing significant changes, especially Florida and Texas, so let's talk about that for a second. And Texas so let's talk about that for a second. Let's talk about Florida's market dynamics.

Speaker 2: 10:09

So Florida was once a hotspot, all of a year ago, or certainly two years ago and for a long time before that for rapid real estate appreciation, and now it's seeing very much a calling trend. Condo prices have declined in about wait for this 92% of Florida's housing markets. Single family home prices fell in 66% of Florida markets. That's significant guys. So the good news is, if you were thinking about retiring in Florida or moving to Florida, well, that looks like we've got some home prices coming down there and particularly homes have been sitting for a long time. It really takes a long time to see those decreases.

Speaker 2: 10:53

Here's why In the market and I know I talk about this every week, but I look at price cuts. Price cuts are so important as a leading indicator. When we see price cuts now, that means the people out there that have homes are cutting the price of their homes. That was a bit of a word salad, wasn't it? Of course, and however, until that home closes might be six months, especially if you're in the markets where it's taking longer for a home to sell and maybe it's a more expensive home they tend to take longer to sell as well. So we're not going to see those comparable amounts actually land until the fall or even the winter, but the problem is, by the time you see those lower prices and I'm not talking about in Florida or Texas, because we're already seeing that in a lot of those markets now you know it's already waving the flag, guys, all over the country.

Speaker 2: 11:48

I don't say this to make you nervous. It's a natural economic shift. It's seven to 11 years. We're way overdue. And there's a lot of people out there talking about oh, there won't be a crash, and there won't be this and there won't be that. I understand, I don't think there's going to be a crash. I think there'll be a market correction, which is a normal thing to happen. Clément Juglar 1860, so until 11 years. He set it up then. Not much has changed since. Now, does the housing market exactly follow the economic cycle? No, but when you see those, I mean, think about it. It's common sense, guys.

Speaker 2: 12:26

When you see those stock market numbers, it makes people nervous and therefore not as likely to purchase a home. Pretty straightforward, right? And you've always got people that need to sell. What do I mean by that? Maybe they're getting a divorce, maybe they have a new family, maybe they're getting married, maybe somebody has passed away. There's always, you know, reasons. Maybe you want to move to be by the grandkids, or the grandkids want to move to be by the grandparents. There's always reasons people have to move.

Speaker 2: 12:57

Basically those people and that may only be 20% of the market say I'm completely making up that figure, but it's a percentage of the market. That percentage of people are going to sell the house whatever it takes, which means that they're cutting their price right. So that's going to bring down comparables for everybody else and that's how the appraisals are done and that's what people pay. So even if you've got people say, yeah, but we've got cash buyers coming in, so it doesn't matter. So even if you've got people say, yeah, but we've got cash buyers coming in, so it doesn't matter, any cash buyer that has an agent that has half a brain will advise you to have an appraisal on the home, even when you're paying cash. Why wouldn't you do that? To make an intelligent decision? Even if it appraises it less than you're paying, at least you're going armed in with the right decision at that point. That's why, since 2007, I've run CPO experts around the country. Cpo is not cash CPO that we talk about all the time.

Speaker 2: 13:58

Certified, pre-owned is where you decide to get the inspection and possibly the appraisal and offer a home warranty up front. That's the trifecta. Yes, it does cost money. You don't have to fix anything it makes. We just disclose it. Everybody goes in eyes wide open. It makes for a much more stress free sale.

Speaker 2: 14:20

Homes drop out up to a third of the time with a conventional listing. So if you've got your home listed right now and you haven't done that pre-inspection, I would urge you to do it. You don't want to find out when it's under contract. That's really not a good idea. So when you have a third of them dropping out, the primary reason is the inspection, so you don't want that to happen. Then you have a stigmatized listing. What does that mean? A stigmatized listing? What does that mean? A stigmatized listing is one where people go hey, I saw that listing of yours, I was really interested in it, and we get calls like this all the time, by the way, and we saw it went off the market. What's wrong with it? Those are the questions that are asked. Stigmatized listings generally take longer to sell and you're going to see a shift downwards in price. Take longer to sell and you're going to see a shift downwards in price.

Speaker 2: 15:07

An inspection in most parts of the country costs between $400 and $600. It really is a good investment. You may be saying, oh, I've got a new home. Even with a new home, things come back on the inspection report. The average inspection report has 40 or 50 items on it, guys. 40 or 50 items Now. A lot of them are you know a little. You could call them nitpicky things. They're often cosmetic things, but there are a lot of things that come back and remember, think about this Again, it's common sense.

Speaker 2: 15:35

I'm not telling you anything you don't already know. Here. We are in a market that's flat and declining. Even if you don't believe that and maybe you're listening in the Northeast today, by the way, if you've got any friends that should be listening to this realestatenewsradiocom, realestatenewsradiocom. It will also be broadcast after the event. You can find all the old shows on there as well. You can also listen live if it's 10 am on Saturday in May 2025, right now and you're listening to it live.

Speaker 2: 16:06

And we're talking about the market factors. What is going on? What's going on in Florida, what's going on in Texas, particularly because those are the biggest shifts right now. And you know, in Miami, in Tampa, we're seeing a big decline, obviously. So 8% is a lot. Think about that, what that means. On even a $500,000 condo or even a $200,000 condo, you know you're really seeing a decline.

Speaker 2: 16:33

Not only that, we were talking about the fact that many people have to move. When people have to move, it's more flexible in terms of what, the amount that you can buy it for. Obviously, it's just supply and demand. So now, you know, look at those markets when things are declining, because it's not going to continue forever, right? So that's really worthwhile thinking about. It could be very good for buyers out there in the market. So let's talk about Texas for a minute. So let's talk about Texas for a minute. Definitely showing signs of declines and some stabilization in different markets. But again, it depends on where you are in Texas. So go ahead. You know we mentioned earlier on allstarhomevaluecom.

Speaker 2: 17:20

Allstarhomevaluecom, go, get your values. We can do a deep dive into it if you'd like. We have people sending by 24-7. Yes, really, 828-333-4483 if you've got any questions on that. So what's driving these odd market dynamics? So economic uncertainty. We all know what's going on there. We're still not through tariffs yet. That could be another month, two months, three months. Economic you know the market's going up and down. It's led to a 5.9% drop in existing home sales in March 2025.

Speaker 2: 17:53

Now, I really don't like these national figures. You'll know that because you've been listening to me for a while. If you have been you know that I always say I don't like the national figures. Real estate is local. It really is local. So go ahead and start by getting your value. That's allstarhomevaluecom A-L-L-S-T-A-R homevaluecom.

Speaker 2: 18:15

And then mortgage rates. These are persistently high. They're averaging in the high 60s and they've deterred potential buyers. Now, remember they say that you know when you're getting a rate on a house, they're probably going to come down. You can always refi at that point If you really need to move somewhere. Don't put it off for a year or two waiting for the mortgage rates. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, right? And then we've got climate considerations, particularly in Florida, for example, increased flooding risks. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense, right. And then we've got climate considerations, particularly in Florida, for example. Increased flooding risks is really affecting by perceptions and property values.

Speaker 2: 18:53

We're going to go into another segment here in a minute, talking about the national disasters that have happened in the last year and what that's done to real estate. What I do want to talk about is 2024, because this was a big one. So the Champlain Towers in a South this is a South Condo Towers in Surfside, florida, that's North Miami it partially collapsed. It killed 98 people. It was an awful thing. So many things have happened since then. We've had so many disasters. It's almost been, you know, put in at the backs of our memories, but that killed 98 people.

Speaker 2: 19:29

That had a massive, massive ripple effect across condos in South Florida and all over Florida. In fact, it even brought a new bill around. So investigations revealed that long-term degrading of reinforced concrete in the structural support in the basement level parking garage, as by the pool deck, there was water penetration, corrosion of the reinforcing steel. All of that was a contributing factor, but it killed almost 100 people. The problem had already been reported in 2018. This is three years earlier, and then, in 2021, it was noted as much worse. There was a $15 million program of remedial work that had been approved before the collapse, but it hadn't been done, hadn't even been started. So is land subsidence, insulation, reinforcing steel, corruption during construction who knows? However, the big news here is that, in response to that tragedy, florida lawmakers enacted Senate Bill 4D in 2022. This mandates, milestone inspections and reserve studies for condominium buildings over 30 years old, and I believe that also it has to be over three floors, so the two-story buildings are not affected by this, I believe, in certain areas. But definitely check that out if you're affected by it. So it was aimed at enhancing safety. However, now we're seeing it rolling out as many of these actions lead to significant financial burdens for these condo owners throughout Florida.

Speaker 2: 21:10

Many associations have imposed substantial special assessments. I know of one in Fort Lauderdale, for example, substantial special assessments. I know of one in Fort Lauderdale, for example, that is $120,000. And because this is all new, one person, a special assessment, $120,000 for everybody in the building. Here's the problem. The HOAs are not necessarily set up to be able to manage something like this. So I know of one where they're saying oh, you can't sell your condo before you pay the assessment. Well, in most cases, what that should be is that no, you can sell it, you can put it up for sale. However, the assessment's got to be paid before it closes. Does that make sense so you can take it out of the profits?

Speaker 2: 21:50

Now, unfortunately, if somebody bought recently and they didn't put much money down, then that could actually leave them at a loss. This is what happened last time around, when prices came down, and especially in condo buildings, sometimes in townhouses and houses too, of course, we ended up in a short sale situation where people bought at the height. They didn't put much money down and then whatever happened that led up to them having to sell. When you have that small number of people, you know maybe there's medical issues or something going on they can't afford to pay the assessment or just they've got medical issues. You know they bought a new house last year. They've got medical issues. Now they can't work and they have to sell the house.

Speaker 2: 22:34

That's going to pull down comparables for everybody, and especially if they're in that situation where they bought at the height, at the height, and now they're in one of these markets where it's it's dropped. Now you're in a short sale situation. That's not good for comparables and we're going to see more of this rolling through, guys, in the next six months or so. So if you you're thinking about and it's not just going to go away in six months after that it's not how the cycle happens, at least not as history tells us. You know we're going to see three to five years of decline. Maybe something more remarkable will happen. We'll see two to three years of decline. But the point is you're going to wait, be waiting out a long time to see the kind of money that you can get now. So if you're thinking about selling and you know you don't want to hold onto your house for seven years, 10 years, until it's back at the peak again, sell it now.

Speaker 2: 23:25

Start off at All Star Home Value A-L-L-S-T-A-R. Allstarhomevaluecom. Get your value. I will go in on the backend. You know that's going to. Whether you feel like you're overpaying on taxes or you just want to start off getting your value. Either of those things will help you. We can do that for you anywhere in the USA. So, for example, for buyers, the current market offers have increased negotiating power in Florida. So many sellers are open to concessions. Many more sellers are doing seller financing now. So for sellers it's crucial to price homes competitively and consider market trends to attract potential buyers. Additionally, understanding the financial, health and reserve status of condominium associations if you're going into a condo or townhome, or even if it's an HOA with single families it's becoming increasingly important, especially in those regions like Florida where new regulations have heightened the focus on building safety and maintenance, but, guys, it's done it nationwide. When 98 people die, you only usually hear of that in a third world country, you know, so it's that's had ramifications around the country. So understanding the regional nuances and your agents can help you with that is essential for making these informed real estate decisions and, whether you're considering buying or selling, staying abreast of local market conditions will empower you to navigate this 2025 housing landscape effectively, which obviously that's so important.

Speaker 2: 25:00

So tis the season. Let's talk about getting your home ready for sale and what that looks like. So the first thing I want you to do is go to allstarhomevaluecom anywhere in the usa to kick it off, and what that will show you, if nothing else, is whether the grand old internet has got your data right. Are your beds and baths right? Um, is your square footage right? All of the other data on there is it correct? Because then you can correct it. We can even show you how to correct it on Zillow. That's another important one, not because we necessarily approve of or like their home values, but a lot of buyers out there are looking at it, so that's another important one. I had that conversation with a home seller just this week.

Speaker 2: 25:51

Here's another thing that I want you to think of. Do you have everything in place? Do you have your permits? Maybe you did some remodeling on the home? Dig out your permits. Maybe you're in an area where you have a road maintenance agreement. Maybe you know you don't have a road maintenance agreement. However, you've been thinking about putting one in place for a while. Just note occasionally you'll get it through. But note that very often you need a road maintenance agreement, especially for a government loan. Why? Because the banks say this is really our house, we're lending you the money and we've got to be able to have access to it. It's that simple.

Speaker 2: 26:31

And if there isn't a road maintenance agreement in place, who takes care of the road? Now, over the years in the mountains of Western North Carolina, I've heard things like well, jimmy with the tractor takes care of it. Here's the problem. The banks aren't really looking at that. We love the fact. Thank you, jimmy, for taking care of the road. That's a wonderful thing when neighbors pitch in together.

Speaker 2: 26:55

Some of you will know that occasionally that causes issues. What happens if Jimmy moves away? Maybe Jimmy moves away to the pearly gates. Sorry, jimmy, if your name's Jimmy today, I'm sorry, but you know what I'm saying? What if Jimmy isn't around anymore to take care of the road?

Speaker 2: 27:12

You need something in place. It's all about responsibility. By the way, it doesn't cost very much. It's a few hundred dollars and you can all do it together those of you that have rights of way, those of you that own the road. Get it done now, because it's going to affect all of you, most likely when you come to sell your house for obvious reasons, right? They want to know there's some things in there. You don't have to agree to pay an amount. People think that you have to, oh, pay $500 a year or something. You can do that and put it in an account so that when there's any issues, there's money to take care of the issue on your roads, especially if it's gravel, because obviously that can wash away and everything else. However, you don't have to do. That is the good news, right? So you can just say we all take, you know, 20% responsibility or whatever it is. Or we have a meeting once a year or once a quarter to assess the nature of the road. Talk to your attorney in your local area as to how to put this together.

Speaker 2: 28:12

The other thing I highly recommend is certified pre Pre-Owned. If you want to do a deep dive on this, I have a best-selling book called Find your Unique Value Proposition. It's written for agents. It's now free on the Listing Royalty app. The Listing Royalty app is a platform that I developed for agents around the country who've been in real estate for a long time. It's free for agents. It's something that gives back to agents those of us who've been around for a long time how we can take that experience and bottle it, if you will, and allow you know. Agents who are newer or those of us I learned from it all the time I've been in real estate since 2007. It doesn't matter. You can always be learning. You always want to be learning. That's how we serve our clients in a better way, and in a more national manner as well, because often our clients are coming in from somewhere else and we have to be able to work with those other agents.

Speaker 2: 29:09

If you want to read about certified pre-owned, you can look up in the app store Listing Royalty. It's called Listing Royalty. That's the app, and the book is called Find your Unique Value Proposition. What's that got to do with you selling your home? You say you can read the section on certified pre-owned homes. It's in the book. It's free. The next section is Cash CPO. So if you want to learn about the cash offer, it's all in there. The best selling book is now free.

Speaker 2: 29:37

On the Listing Royalty app, you have to log in. You might have to reach out to have the extra data unlocked for you. It's called Listing Royalty. If you've got any realtor friends, real estate agent friends, let them know about the Listing Royalty app. I took a hiatus over the holidays at Christmas last year and built out the app and we're getting a lot of eyeballs on it. There's a lot of CEOs on there that are talking about real estate for real estate agents CEOs of some of the biggest real estate companies in the country, such as Leo Perea, who is the CEO of eXp, the company I'm with currently. Gary Keller is on there Keller Williams, it's all.

Speaker 2: 30:23

On the listing royalty app, it is aimed at agents. However, for you as a seller, it's really worthwhile reading the portion about certified pre-owned homes. Why it's so powerful when you're selling your home. At the very least, I want you to think about getting the pre-inspection you it's so powerful when you're selling your home. At the very least, I want you to think about getting the pre-inspection.

Speaker 2: 30:39

You do not have to fix items, we can disclose them. Why would we want to disclose them? I like to send the inspection report when an offer comes in. Here's why I send the inspection report, with your permission, of course, as the seller. But I'll explain to you why. We send over the inspection report and we say to the buyer's agent or to the buyer we want you to take a look at this. We took the price of the house into account and we did the pre-inspection. So everybody goes in eyes wide open.

Speaker 2: 31:09

We explain about certified pre-owned cars. There's a reason why every dealership has certified pre-owned cars and there's a reason why we've paid for 20, 30 years, now 6% more for a $20,000 car. Why on earth wouldn't we be doing that with homes? Think about that for a minute. We take a $20,000 car and we pre-inspect it because people don't want to buy a lemon. Well, guess what? They don't want to buy a lemon in a house either, especially when it can be the biggest investment of our lifetimes for many people.

Speaker 2: 31:43

Having that inspection is really worthwhile. In all these I'm at over 3,600 transactions. I not once, as a buyer said now we've looked at the inspection, we're not going ahead. Here's why that's important. If they do the inspect, we're not going ahead. Here's why that's important If they do the inspect. If you haven't done this, if you're not certified pre-owned and I've taught this for many years around the country different real estate firms I'm agnostic in real estate firms you all know that If you're a great agent, you're a great agent. That's all that matters, doesn't matter who you work for. You know I've taught this around the country that you do not want that deal falling out. When you've listed your home, that's your home. You do not want that falling out. Here's why Around a third of them drop out and it's usually due to the inspection.

Speaker 2: 32:27

Also, appraisal issues as well. It's a great thing to get the appraisal up front. It also gives you a floor plan and all the square footage within that appraisal too. Really good idea to get an appraisal. This is how I started out in my career. I had over 100 listings in year two. A lot of them were sitting for a while because it was 2007. Oh my gosh, you guys back in 2007 when everything was happening and the market was not very happy. I don't think we're going to do that this time around. But we are seeing declines in some areas of Florida, for example, at 19% already, and same in Texas. It's happening. There is a softening of the market. The Northeast, as we've already mentioned, is somewhat protected.

Speaker 2: 33:10

Just go ahead and get your inspection, even if you are listed already. Talk to your agent, say, hey, this would be a really good idea. If you haven't listed already and you're anywhere in the country, we can set you up with our very highly trained CPO experts. You don't have to have a cash offer. The cash offer does become a CPO listing. However, if you want to pay for it yourself, that's fine too. Go read the chapter on the app at Listing Royalty. That's Listing Royalty. Or just go get your home value at All Star Home Values Allstarhomevaluecom. Allstarhomevaluecom. If you go to All Star Home Values I bought that domain too that one works as well.

Speaker 2: 33:55

Just in case it's a Saturday morning and I'm not saying it quite the right way for you, it's Rowena Patton here on the Real Estate News Radio Show, if you're just tuning in 828-333-4483. Talking about getting your home ready for sale. I think it goes without saying get the outdoors cleaned up. If there's a sign outside, people are going to do a drive-by very often right. So there are agents out there that got used to the market where they just put a sign outside and things sold very easily. And there's definitely buyers agents out there that, especially if you're coming in from another area and you go, I want to see these 20 houses, they say, well, why don't you take a drive by first? Yes, I'd say that happens over 50% of the time. So they're driving by your house and if it looks I mean I'm not talking about, you know, cars up on a house break or something but if it looks shoddy outside and it just doesn't have that, you know, welcoming appeal, it's not going to appeal as well as the other ones that are on the market. And we're seeing a lot more inventory on the market now. So you've already got your home inspection. Why you order that and you wait for that can take a minute sometimes. So go ahead and order it now. We can get that set up for you anywhere in the country 828-333-4483,. Or go ahead and get your home value at allstarhomevaluecom. Put a note in there that you would like an inspection and we'll get your local highly trained agent that's in our program to reach out to you and get that all set up for you important thing to do now.

Speaker 2: 35:33

Let's look at the outside. Maybe you can do it yourself, maybe. I was talking to a lady last week who has a chronic illness and both her parents passed in 2024, the beginning of 2024. And now she's thinking about selling the home. She was going to rent it out. She spent a bunch of money. This is one where, when I looked it up, you guys, and put it in for the cash offer I looked it up 700 square feet had been added in the basement. So all the numbers were wrong and I can tell that, and I can certainly tell that by talking to you, and we have agents who are trained to look at this before you go in and start correcting those figures. It's very, very important Because you can say, oh well, we did this and we did that and we improved it and we added this square footage. But if it doesn't say that on the national sites, people aren't looking at you in the first place or they're thinking your home is overpriced, right, because of these national big box sites that have got the value on there. So let us help you with that. Allstarhomevaluecom.

Speaker 2: 36:40

Obviously go ahead and put away as many personal things as you can. Take the stuff off the fridge. I see this all the time when I go into Lister Home. It's just plastered all over the fridge. Put as much stuff away. Buy some of these plastic tubs. The clear plastic tubs are great.

Speaker 2: 36:54

If you're on Facebook, go look at smarthomechoicescom not smarthomechoicescom, excuse me, smarthomechoices. Look that up on Facebook. I've got lots of links for you. The clear tubs are on there where you can start packing stuff away, because you know things like blenders that you don't use very often. Maybe Put it away. Put away as much as you can use very often. Maybe Put it away. Put away as much as you can. Make that kitchen look large again. Let's make kitchens look great again. Let's go ahead.

Speaker 2: 37:23

And there's also some hardware on there that you can kit out your kitchen. If you've got the old fashioned hardware, you can kit out your kitchen for about a hundred bucks. You can get the long modern hardware. If you just kind of paint your cabinets white, that makes it even easier because you can change the holes in there where you fill them. There's all kinds of things you can do to get it ready and the best thing to do is, if you're thinking about selling is get your agent out now and say what do I need to do to maximize the value of my house?

Speaker 2: 37:53

That's why many of you go oh well, we know we need to paint it or we know we need to do this. Guys, here's the thing. Time is not your friend right now. I've been saying this for over a year and now we're in this in many areas of the country declining prices. So don't wait it out. Get us in there now. We're not going to push you to sell now. I've been working with people in some cases for 17 years, yes, really.

Speaker 2: 38:17

So go ahead, give us a call 828-333-4483, anywhere in the country or start your journey at allstarhomevaluecom, which will at least kick it off. Right, you want to start your journey now. We've got the eyes where we can come in and say, okay, here's the deal, you don't need to paint it or you don't need to change your countertops, or it's not worth doing that because of the decline in price or the rapidity of the decline in price right now. You want to get out now rather than wait the month or two months that it's going to take to get your new countertop on the money it's going to take. Whatever it is, we can advise you on that. Guys, we're out those of us who are experienced, who sell a lot of houses, we're out in the market all the time. We see what's out there, we know what you need to do to improve the value of the house. The best thing to do is get us out there to take a look. 828-333-4483. We're on call 24-7. We can set you up anywhere in the country. We've got agents standing by in the network everywhere in the country. 828-333-4483. This is Rowena Patton at eXp Realty. We have agents in the network from all different real estate firms because we want the best, most highly trained agents, especially when you're selling your home.

Speaker 2: 39:42

So I want to take a turn here and talk about some of the major natural disasters that we've seen in the USA in the last 12 months. So obviously we have to talk about Helene and Milton. So, starting in September and then October just last year, helene made landfall in Florida's Big Ben region in late September 2024, causing catastrophic England flooding across North Carolina, tennessee and parts of the Midwest as well, and it resulted in over 200 fatalities. The numbers are always so woolly on those. Over half of those were in Western North Carolina and approximately 120 billion in damages, making it one of the deadly and costliest hurricanes in recent history. Milton struck just two weeks later near Siesta Key, florida, leading to extensive flooding, widespread power outages affecting over 3 million homes direct hit. And now has her daughter, son-in-law and grandson living with her in Bradenton, and you know I've heard firsthand all the changes in real estate in that area.

Speaker 2: 41:10

Then we had the Western wildfires in the summer of summer to fall of 24, with California, oregon. Really, sophie, you thought it was that good. My little doggie is in the studio today. So California, oregon and Washington unprecedented wire fires, with California's Park Fire destroying over 700 structures and burning more than 170,000 acres Amazing. These fires led to significant property losses, obviously, and strained local housing markets. And then came the Michigan ice storm. It's like it didn't stop. This year, a severe storm in northern Michigan damaged approximately three million acres, three million acres of trees, and disrupted power for hundreds of thousands of residents. The storm's aftermath has raised concerns about long-term impacts on infrastructure. Here we go and potential future wildfires due to the damaged vegetation. And then we have the Arkansas, and still nobody can tell me why. It's not Arkansas, but there you go. And then we have the Arkansas tornadoes. In March, multiple tornadoes sweeping through Arkansas, resulting in the destruction of hundreds of homes and the displacement of over 200 families. The state's request for federal disaster aid was denied, highlighting challenges in disaster response and recovery efforts. Then we had the California wildfires, of course, in 2024.

Speaker 2: 42:43

Devastating wildfires led to significant financial losses for insurance companies, with the Hartford Insurance Group reporting $325 million that's just one group alone in losses due to the events. The increasing frequency and severity of wildfires have raised concerns about the sustainability of insurance markets in high-risk areas. So insurance challenges the surge in natural disasters has led to increased insurance premiums and, in some cases, insurers withdrawing from high risk markets, making it more difficult for homeowners to take coverage. I mean, many of you have felt that. What do you think about that, sophie? Sophie? Nothing, ok, I see.

Speaker 2: 43:25

And then housing supply constraints, destruction of homes due to disasters, exacerbated housing shortages, which we've had for years. We're not building enough, probably due to what happened in the last recession, which was a heck of a mess, with a lot of builders going bust and then a lot of the contractors who are working for the builders going bust as well, which obviously did not help the situation. And then migration patterns, so some residents are relocating from disaster prone areas to regions perceived as safer, influencing demand and pricing in those markets. For example, in Western North Carolina, we had a lot of people move from California Building regulations. This is a huge one. So in response to these events, we've got local governments now implementing stricter building codes and zoning laws to enhance resilience, which may affect obviously affects construction costs and timelines. In some areas, such as Western North Carolina, they are actually relaxing some of the requirements where you can build more homes on the land that you had. So the nice thing is that you know government controls can be very, very important and relaxing them sometime, relaxing those restrictions is very, very important as well to really get the housing market going again and to serve the people of the area, which is what our government's supposed to be there to do.

Speaker 2: 44:56

Right, this is Rowena Patton on the Real Estate News Radio Show. Give us a call, 24-7-828-333-4483. You can check your home value and, most importantly, check the data on your home, because whatever we've got chances are that's what's on the internet for your home and we can help you put that right if it's wrong. I would say about 40% of the time I'm doing evaluations and pricing and cash offers and CMAs, comparable market analyses for people that are listing their homes every single day, and I see this all the time, and a large number of the data points are incorrect. So go ahead and put your home in at allstarhomevaluecom, allstarhomevaluecom, or give us a call 828-333-4483. 838-333-4483. So let's wrap it up. I can't believe the time always goes so quickly. The show's been running.

Speaker 2: 46:02

Now, guys, this is year 13. Lucky for some right. If you've been listening that long, I'm sure you started out when you were 20, right? So inventory shortage let's start off with that white spot propping up prices. We touched on this today. Despite the market slowdowns in some areas of the country, we're still seeing historically low inventory in many regions and that, I think, is going to keep prices from falling off. A cliff in the markets would reduce buyer demand. The lack of available homes continues to keep values well flat, in some cases declining a little bit, but I'm not expecting that big major drop like we had last time around.

Speaker 2: 46:43

New construction has slowed interest rates, labor costs, material shortages and that compounds the inventory crunch and again, again, that is propping up the prices in a bubble or just a correction. I don't think this is 2008. Homeowners today have record equity. That's the other thing that's happened. They've got fixed rates, they've got stricter lending standards. So, you know, price correction and a crash two very different things. And equity cushions and lending policies, which have really really gotten a lot more strict, are really important in that. So interest rates what's coming there are, you know, 6% to 7% right now.

Speaker 2: 47:22

Many experts don't expect any major cuts until late 2025. And, by the way, the 6% to 7%, that's normal 2025. And, by the way, the six to 7%, that's normal. It doesn't feel normal because of what we had a few years ago in the high twos, which was, you know, was not sustainable. It was like free money for houses. But to many of us that bought houses in that time, now it's provided this lock-in, which I don't think the government ever or the feds ever wanted to do by that. But that's what it's done. It's locking a lot of people in.

Speaker 2: 47:52

But that's kind of sad if you really need a different house, especially if you're right sizing you're going for that small house or you want to move somewhere else, because you can always switch out that interest rate and remember too, depending on what kind of loan you've got. It could be assumable. Va's are almost a symbol. We need to look at that very carefully though, because of your eligibility. If you have a VA loan, it's worth looking at that as well. So, buy downs, rate locks, arms strategies using cash offers you know there's all kinds of ways where you can do buy downs in there to get your rate down. You can get your rate down to probably not 2.8%. You can with a huge amount of money, but you know that's probably not going to fly. But you can ask the seller to buy down your rate. So therefore, you you know you wouldn't be you wouldn't be in trouble.

Speaker 2: 48:44

Let's talk about the rise of multi-generational living. We touched on Chris Marion in Bradenton. She's now housing her daughter and her daughter's family after the hurricane, and it's one of the fastest growing trends in real estate. Whether for financial reasons, caregiving or just a different lifestyle, a lot of millennials are saying you know they're going back to live with mom and dad, all their grandparents. So there's a growing appeal of homes with in-law suites. I don't think that ever went away. So there's a growing appeal of homes with in-law suites. I don't think that ever went away, frankly. So what's your home really worth. Go and take a look at allstarhomevaluecom. Allstarhomevaluecom. Or give us a call at 828-333-4483. And we will follow up with you for comparables and a deeper analysis.

Speaker 2: 49:33

It isn't just about selling guys. It's about protecting wealth, lowering property taxes or values and therefore taxes and planning smarter. And we're going to see this a lot. We saw it last time around when house prices went down and you were still paying those high property taxes. You can't always get them down, but it's got to be worthwhile, right?

Speaker 2: 49:55

You've probably heard that when people have a medical claim, they are very, very often denied. I heard this again just the other day and I can't talk about who it's from because it's somebody in the industry. I used to work in the industry, so I saw this a lot. But I had it first time the other day that a very large percentage over 50% can be denied from certain companies. When you go in and put your medical claim in, however, the vast majority on attempt two and attempt three do get passed. So if you've been denied a medical claim, I want you to put it in again and again. It is worthwhile because the vast majority I think it's 68%, something like that.

Speaker 2: 50:39

Go and do your research on it Depends on the company, depends on you know what you're putting the claim in for. Obviously, that makes sense, right? Use your common sense when you're doing this stuff, but ahead and put your claims in and obviously, check the value of your home and, most importantly, check the size is correct, because you've always got people looking at the values on the big boxes. You all know who I'm talking about and the buyers go. Well, the house on there only says it's worth four hundred and twenty thousand dollars and yet it's listed at $520,000.

Speaker 2: 51:12

And we as a listing agent have to say, well, that's because we added 800 square feet in the basement. That's fully finished. Remember, it needs that ceiling of seven feet high in most areas in the country. So make sure you've got that seven foot high and most areas of the country. The space has to be contiguous. In other words, if you finished off your basement area but didn't finish off the stairs leading down to it and you thought, oh, we'll get to that later, contiguous means the space at the top. You have to be able to walk down the stairs that are also finished and the area has to be heated as well. In most areas it's heated and not air conditioned for some unknown reason, because imagine being in some areas of the country without air conditioning. I can't. How do we live before I grew up without air conditioning? Okay, I grew up in England where it's not so hot, so I guess it kind of worked there.

Speaker 2: 52:03

Don't forget, go get the value of your home at All Star Home Value. All Star Home Value. Or give us a call, guys. 828-333-4483. We can help you anywhere in the country. We love to chat with you. Or you can start with your value online. We can reach out to you. You can put a note in there. Hey, I was just looking for my house Value. Don't call, or whatever it is. Or please call me. We're thinking about selling. And remember, get your agent out there now. We can save you a lot of money.

Speaker 2: 52:36

So many of you are thinking you've got to do this and got to do that to make your house worth more. It may be that one or two things, strategically placed, save you a lot of money. Normally we're coming out and saying, no, don't do that. We're not giving you a laundry list of things to do. So you know, just get us out there now. 828-333-4483.

Speaker 2: 52:57

You can leave a message. If you're anywhere in the country. It may come directly through to us, just depending on who's on call at that time. As you can imagine, we're probably not at five o'clock in the morning. Well, maybe some of us are actually, but we're probably not at five o'clock in the morning. Well, maybe some of us are actually, but we're probably working out at that time. Give us a call. We love to hear from you. Thank you so much for listening today. This is Rowena Patton on the Real Estate News Radio show, and you can find this podcast and all of the other topics at realestatenewsradiocom. That's realestatenewsradiocom. Look forward to seeing you next week and thanks again for listening. It's great being with you on a Saturday morning.

Speaker 1: 53:34

This has been the Plain English Real Estate Show with Rowena Patton. Visit Rowena and post your questions at radioashvillecom or call her at 828-210-1648.