Conference 7.286::digital

I think that DEC will give you the average of the highest 2 out of 3
real estate appraisals. I.E.

		100,000
		 95,000
		105,000

DEC would do: 102,500 ... Atleast this is what a friend told me when she
relocated with DEC.

Even if it was a little less than what you expected, it may be the best 
bet considering that the real estate market seems to be quite slow.

Anyways: Ask Corporate Relocation

/Ted

    I sold my house in Clinton, Mass in 1979 to "DEC". It sure cut down
    on the worry and fuss in our move from Mass to Colorado. The price
    was about right (+/- 3k) and we where given 90% of our money very
    soon (a couple of days if I remember correctly). The other 10% was
    sent to us after the house was sold & CLOSED ON! This way we knew
    how long the house was on the market. I'm glad we sold to "DEC"
    as the time delay between getting the 90% and the additional 10%
    was about 2 months. With houses staying on the market here in Colorado
    as long as they do, I'd recommend the "DEC" way. Now if houses move
    in two days where your trying to sell, then consider the options.
    
    DEC no longer uses the same firm they did in 1979, so maybe others
    have more recent experiences. Ours went well, our house was in better
    than average condition, and each case is different.
    	Good Luck.

    My current experience of the 3rd party purchase is that the best
    they (DEC?) can do for me is about $22K >less< than I even owe on
    the house!  This is based on what the realtor has told me.  I have
    yet to learn what the appraisers say it's worth, however.
    
    I guess I can't expect them to give me anything more than what the
    market will command, considering the state of affairs in Houston,
    Texas. Therefore, I'm allowing a realtor to try to make it assumable
    with 0 (zero) equity.  This may be the only alternative for me to get
    out from under the mortgage payments honorably.
    
    If you're interested, I'll keep you posted, as I'm supposed to hear
    more this week.
    
    	Steve

    My experience on two DIGITAL relocations has been that you can get
    5 - 10% more by selling your house yourself.  Selling to DIGITAL,
    however, is far easier and risk-free since you know both when and
    how much you will receive.  How fast your house will move if you
    try and sell it yourself depends on lots of things of course, so
    it's a decision you'll have to make yourself.  Whatever you decide,
    I *highly* recommend you get the appraisals done.  It doesn't cost
    you anything, and then you know where you stand.  Also, if you decide
    later to take the house off the market and sell to DIGITAL, you
    already have an offer so things can move just that much quicker.
    
    Good luck!
    
    							Pat

    Re: .1
    
>I think that DEC will give you the average of the highest 2 out of 3
>real estate appraisals. I.E.
>
>		100,000
>		 95,000
>		105,000
>
>DEC would do: 102,500 
    
    WRONG!  It used to be that three appraisals were required and, as
    long as they agreed within 5%, then the average of ALL THREE was
    the amount of the offer.
    
    Apparently, this has now changed slightly.  On our recent move we
    had TWO appraisals and a "Market Analysis" conducted by a local
    Realtor as opposed to an appraiser.  Still, it is required that
    the three agree within 5% and I think the offer is still the average
    of all three.
    
    This is the third time we've taken advantage of the third party
    purchase program.  It has always been satisfactory as far as the
    amount is concerned.  Once we thought we'd been short-changed, but
    the market was on the brink of a nosedive and the amount offered
    is what the house would be expected to bring if sold within a certain
    time period (90 days, or 120 days -- I'm not sure).  So it was actually
    quite good (the house didn't actually sell for a year, and for $15K
    less than we'd been paid for it!).
    
    The major problem is that Homequity, the third party purchase company
    Digital uses, tends to be slow in what they do.  Everything is done in
    serial mode so you need to talk to someone who has been through it
    recently and find out what you're going to need at each step.  That way
    you can minimize delays by having ready the necessary information as
    it's required.  But don't expect them to be any quicker than they
    say they will or you *will* be disappointed.

    On the whole, I'd recommend it for the convenience.  Yes, you might
    be able to get a little more by selling yourself, but ask yourself
    whether it's worth the aggravation and the possibility of carrying
    two mortgages if you're unable to sell in the time you need to or
    perhaps even losing a house you intend to buy.
    
    -  David

    We had *very* good luck with the home company in Dec 1985 when we
    moved out of MA to NH.  I believe that I got *more* than I could
    have sold it for.  We were just leaving the peak season, and I think
    that two out of the 3 appraisors were giving summer prices rather
    than late fall.  In any case, we got a super price.
    
    In addition, the timing was critical for us; we needed the money
    to close on our new house before Xmas, but we needed to delay moving
    as long as possible because of renovations being done.  The company
    was *very* obliging about helping us make sure that the money arrived
    on exactly the right day via wire.  They also were flexible in letting
    us leave a few days late.
    
    It was a good experience for us.
    
    Burns
    

    We recently sold our house in the UK through Homeequity when we
    relocated to the US. I would recommend anyone in a similar position
    to use the third party program. The policy details in the UK may
    differ from those here. I went through the following steps:
    
 1) Two assessments are taken. If they are within a certain percentage
    (I forget the number) the average is taken. If not a third assessment
    is taken and the average of the top two is taken.
    
 2) When title is cleared Homeequity transferred the money to my lawyer
    who closed the mortgage and sent the remnant to me. Clearing title
    takes rather a long time in the UK. 
    
 3) Homeequity puts the house on the market. For a month I could set
    the asking price and accept or refuse any offers. After a month
    I had no say in the matter. If the house is sold at more than the
    assessed value I got the difference. If less then Homeequity/Digital
    eat the difference. In fact although the house was sold after the
    one month period did fetch several thousand  pounds over the estimated
    value.
    
    The person that I dealt with at Homeequity was very helpful, although
    a little over optimistic as to the length of time the process would
    take. We eventually received our money just a few days before our
    closing date here. Selling a house at long distance is a little
    harrowing in any circumstances, but I could not have done it at
    all without the third party program.
    
    Tim   

    	Just to tidy up some points from .-1:
    
� 1) Two assessments are taken. If they are within a certain percentage
�    (I forget the number) the average is taken. If not a third assessment
�    is taken and the average of the top two is taken.

    	The percentage is 5%; if a third assessment is taken, the average
    of the *closest* two is used.
    
�                                             For a month I could set
�    the asking price and accept or refuse any offers.
    
    	...as long as they are not less than the value calculated in
    step 1.
    
    	The above is just to set the record straight; I've just been
    through the process (internally to the UK), and I agree that Homequity
    are very helpful. For any UK readers, a conference discussing
    relocation is located at:
    
    		FOOT::RELOCATION_ISSUES
    
    	- the usual <KP7> or <SELECT> to add. Sorry, but this conference
    does *not* cover US internal relocations (the rules are too
    different!).
    	
    	Keith

I used the Home equity deal and I feel I made out very well on convenience
and price.    I would advise you to understand the *CURRENT* arrangement for
pricing etc. since it changes and in some cases it is subject to the 
subcontractor DEC has arranged with.  FYI, it is not DEC who buys the house
but another company DEC has an arrangement with.

What few people realize is that the purchase company gives you an offer on
your home, this is based on some fair market value etc.   At that point you
have thirty days  (typically) to accept the offer.   During that time you
can look for a better offer.   This is an amazing tool if you know how to
use it.   What I said to my realtor, in effect is, "Dont even show the home
unless they are prepared to outdo the homeequity offer, there is simply no
benefit to me in talking about a lower price."   This really cuts the crap
with realtors etc.   Suddenly you only have a highly motivated buyers and
a realtor who knows they have to perform in thirty days or lose out totally.
Be sure to add a rider to your realtor contract about them *NOT* being 
entitled to a commission on the home equity offer.

Once you have the offer from someone else, you then assign it over to home
equity.   When you move out, you get the money home equity offered.   When
the house closes with the better offer, you get the difference.   If the
deal falls through, you loose but you have the money from home equity.
This eliminates the cost of bridge loans etc. and eliminates the jitters of
not selling the house.   

I sold my house for *MORE* than I thought it was worth.   The reason is I had
the home equity offer (which was totally fair) and I was able to push an extra
5k from someone who fell in love with it.   They knew they had to come up with
that money or forget it and so did the realtor.

Geoff

    In the falling Boston market, relo firms often pay more than market.
    
    Relo estimates are based on  historical numbers.  If the trend is
    down, then the current value is less than you're likely to actually
    get, so the relo deal can be a big win.
    
    Case in point:  There's a house for sale today which has been vacant
    since August.  The relo firm paid about $260k for it, and put it
    on the market for $275k asking.  (That's breakeven after paying
    the broker.)  The asking is now down to $257k, but it's still on
    the market; they said in November that they wouldn't accept below
    the mid-250s, and they're no doubt feeling a bit stuck.
    
    The house would have sold in mid-1986 for $275k or more, in about
    a day.
         fred