The Certified Advantage

“Some times the obvious eludes us all,” states Heather Dale-Barcelona. “Nothing could be truer for a real estate transaction.” This past summer, Dale-Barcelona was in the unenviable position of having to sell her home quickly and in a tough real estate market. Her husband’s job had been moved to South Carolina and the family had been given roughly three months to sell their home in Somersworth, New Hampshire and move. “It was a nightmare scenario,” says Dale-Barcelona. “And what added salt to the wound, was that we lived in a neighborhood where several comparable homes had been on the market for more than a year.”

“We went through the typical protocols of engaging a realtor, getting the market appraisal and putting the home up for sale, at the realtors suggested price. After a number of weeks, we didn’t have a nibble, not even one showing. We were getting pretty nervous,” recalls Dale-Barcelona. “We thought that the home was solid but we were unsure. We had such a tight turn around time and therefore had no tolerance for any last minute glitches. We knew we needed help. That’s when an acquaintance told us about Certified Homes. We checked it out on line and it looked like it might work for us.”

Certified Homes is the brainchild of Stephen Smith. Located in Portsmouth, NH the company is transforming, reforming and changing the rules of engagement when it comes to buying or selling a home.

Certified Homes aims to literally “certify” your home before it goes to market. The company provides home owners with an independent market appraisal and inspection of their property along with a title search before the listing process. According to Smith, Certified Homes identifies problems up front. It exposes flaws before they become negotiating points and it sets the sale.

“I’ve been in the mortgage business for fifteen years,” states Smith. “Time and time again I’ve seen real estate transactions fall through at the very last minute. I thought “there’s got to be a better way. There are definite flaws in the current real estate transaction. Procedurally it’s done backwards.”

“Every home that is sold goes through a certain process where the value, condition and ability to transfer title get analyzed extensively, usually during the final days of the transaction,” says Smith. “Think about it! It’s the biggest purchase that the average individual will ever make yet we’re asking them to conduct due diligence, a complete investigation and verification of the details on a purchase of several hundred thousand dollars, two weeks prior to closing. By “Certifying” your property we are completing this analysis before offers are entertained.”

“We contacted Steve by phone,” states Barcelona. “He ran us through the procedure and it made so much sense to us. If we had used the certified information from the beginning it would have alleviated so much stress from our lives and we would have a more realistic expectation of the problems with our home and what it was worth.”

The realtor had set a selling price for the Barcelona’s home in a range between 259 and 269 thousand dollars. Wanting to sell quickly, they decided to price the property on the low end of that range. Then the independent Certified Appraisal came in. “It assessed the value of our home between 230 to 240 thousand dollars. After the initial heart attack, we took a serious look at it. The house had been on the market with no looks, no interest….zip… zilch...nothing. At that moment we realized that our home was overpriced and that the appraiser was not that far off.”

“The house inspection looked at the bones of the house and it was such great information to have! What I loved about it was we knew the house had some pitfalls, things that we hadn’t addressed and were nervous about. The inspector gave us a wonderfully detailed report about what may be red flags and what was strictly cosmetic. It enabled us to get the problems fixed right away. Then when we had our showings, we left the Certified Homes binder out for people to review and in it was all the documentation including receipts for the repairs that we made to the home.”

“In the end, we lowered the price to 239 thousand on a Wednesday. On that Friday, we had four showings and two offers. Once we hit on the right price, that’s when it all came into place.”
And Smith says what’s good for the seller is good for the buyer. A Certified Home levels the playing field and it manages expectations up front.

“Certified Homes are the best homes to look at because you know that the seller has taken the time to properly prepare their home for sale in regard to the value, condition and transferability of title. All reports, defects, deferred maintenance and repairs etc., can be easily accessed. As a result, questions such as “will it appraise” or “does it need a new roof” in addition to any last minute title issues simply go away. Offers can be made and accepted with confidence and decisions can be made by having the proper information in hand from the start.”

“Ultimately, this process creates a win-win situation for the buyer and seller. The buyer purchases a home with no last minute surprises and the seller gets a comprehensive understanding of their home and current market value while potentially saving thousands of dollars in unnecessary last minute negotiating.”

“The buyers of our home had been looking for a long time,” said Barcelona. “ They had seen a lot of properties in that price range. When they walked into our home and saw all the Certified Homes documentation, they were stunned. The house ended up being the right match for them and it saved them some money too. They didn’t have to bear the cost of the home inspection because we’d already had it done. The whole process from the listing to the closing went so smoothly, it was a piece of cake. On the flip side, we wish we could have purchased a Certified Home in South Carolina. We’re dealing with so many unseen problems and surprises. It’s definitely become a money pit!

Certified Homes also certifies realtors and other real estate professionals. All Certified Providers go through a qualification process and are considered to be experts in their field. According to Smith, it gives homeowners a leg up knowing that “they are dealing with an accomplished professional who can get the job done right.”

For more information about Certified Homes or becoming a Certified Provider visit http://www.certifiedhome.com/