Home Seller Tips

Buying and Selling Homes at Auctions

2011-03-12T10:26:00.000-08:00

If you are looking to find a new home you may be having a hard time by the real estate prices you see on the market. This doesn't mean that now isn't the time to buy a home, but it does mean that you may be looking in the wrong place. Instead of visiting the online websites of realtors or flipping through their brochures, place your focus on foreclosure properties. Foreclosure properties are often considered a great buy, as they are easy to find and affordable.

One of the ways to find these properties is at a foreclosure auction.

Auctions typically takes place at a county, town, or village government office such as the clerk's department, or in some states on the property itself.

You can find these foreclosure auctions by doing some research. Often they are advertised in local newspapers. You can also search local court records, since foreclosures are public notice.

One of the few downsides to buying a home at a foreclosure auction is the property cannot be accessed for inspections and you will have to pay all the outstanding municipal liens. You may also have to close on the property with the previous property owner or their tenants still occupying the property.

Most bidders are bidding on the home as-is where-is, and if you have not viewed the interior of the property, you may get many surprises after you own it. We can never judge a book by its cover, it may look shabby outside and be a gem inside, or it may be that the interior is a disaster.

Since foreclosures are public notice, you should be able to get the address of the property you are interested in. You will want to do a drive by. The property may be listed for sale by a Realtor with the seller hoping to beat the foreclosure by selling it with a short sale. Call the Realtor and ask them to view the property. If this cannot be done, and if you have doubts, it may be best to move on and target other auctions.

If you decide to attend a foreclosure auction, the last thing you want to do is show up unless you are just there to see how an auction works. When you are serious about purchasing a foreclosed property at an auction, you need to be prepared. This preparation involves having financing lined up. Many will require that you either have the money on hand or show proof that you do have the financial resources needed to follow through with the sale. Contingency loans are generally prohibited. Check deposits are sometimes required before you can even place a bid.

As for the auction itself each State has different requirements. It is not uncommon for bids to be sealed. Once everyone has placed a bid, the highest bidder will be announced.

For bids that are not sealed, the auctioneer will start with a figure, often around $1,000 or less and the bidding will continue on. If you are the winning bidder, it is important to know that you may not be able to move into your new home right away. As stated above, the property may be occupied. Many states give current occupants a redemption period or a grace period, this is where they can still fight to keep their home. After this point has passed, you can start the eviction process if the current occupants don't leave voluntarily.
Check your State Laws and or call the Attorney that is handling the sale for the bank for guidance.
As was previously stated, you may want to attend a foreclosure auction and just sit on the sidelines. You should be allowed to do so and if you are unfamiliar with the buying and selling of real estate, foreclosures, or auctions, you can learn a lot. This knowledge is important, as many bidders will be investors looking to turn a profit, not buy their first home.

The "professional" bidders are looking to buy low and "flip" the property. If this is not your intention, you may be able to find a good deal since you will not be influenced by a large immediate profit.

My name is Jeanne Lovely and I have been in Real Estate for 30 years. I am a Licensed Real Estate Auctioneer. I have extensive experience on investing, selling, buying and auctions.

I have created a blog and a product to help guide these investors to make smart choices when looking for Real Estate. Take a look at my blog http://www.jeannelovely.com to get my free report on Real Estate Investments or for free training go to http://www.foreclosurefactsrevealed.com/training.

How Much will a Moving Truck Cost

2010-02-02T12:28:00.000-08:00

Valuation is the coverage offered by your moving company or van line for in-state moves. This coverage is designed to be a tariff level carrier liability plan that is based on the weight of your possessions. There are two different ways to buy valuation for your move, and some issues to consider that may determine whether you opt for straight valuation or bump up to full insurance through a different carrier.

Per Pound Valuation

The standard rate for interstate moving is $0.60 per pound, per article, according to the Department of Transportation's interstate moving regulations. This rate will protect the moving company from paying the actual cost on your items, allowing them to pay a minimal rate for any major damage or catastrophic loss that might occur to your possessions. This method does not consider what an item is or what it means to you. It just counts up the total weight and number of articles in your move.

Replacement Cost

You can also opt for replacement cost valuation which will provide you with coverage based on what your possessions are actually worth. There is a minimum dollar amount purchase for this type of valuation and there are some restrictions that keep it from being the full insurance you might get from a third party carrier.

Disadvantages of Valuation

Because it is not full insurance, it's important you know the disadvantages that can arise from choosing only valuation for your possessions. First off, your possessions are not covered if the carrier is not liable for the damages. That means that accidents caused by a third party and catastrophes outside anyone's control, such as an "Act of God" do not qualify you for reimbursement.

If there is a snow storm, earthquake, tornado, or anything else that might destroy your possessions, you won't be covered due to the circumstances. Additionally, when a problem does occur, the claim will be settled by the employee who has been deemed responsible for the damage. Finally, replacement cost valuation - which is the better of the two types - is more expensive than many kinds of insurance.

For some moves, valuation may be enough, but if you have a number of valuable, expensive items that you would like to ensure are kept safe and sound in the truck during the move, you may want to opt for more advanced, more inclusive insurance coverage through your insurance company.

For more helpful ideas on making your next move your best move ever, download "The Fine Art of Moving - The Ultimate Moving Guide from the Moving Experts" at http://www.fineartofmoving.com

Ron Merrill is owner of C&M Houston movers and storage and C&M Fine Art Services, service companies offering peace of mind to interior designers, art collectors and high net worth clients, nationwide. You can find more information about Ron Merrill at houston Moving Company

Pricing you home

2008-11-01T21:00:00.000-07:00

It's not a bad idea to gather information from several sources and determine the real value of your home instead of just thinking that your home is the same value as the one that sold down the street, or rather than relying on just one approach to home valuation.

Call a couple of REALTORS. Even if you're not planning to sell your home right away, many REALTORS will be willing to prepare a comparable market analysis (CMA) for you as a marketing service with the goal of getting your business whenever you decide to move. A CMA shows the prices of recently sold homes that are comparable to yours and the prices of comparable homes on the market. A market-savvy REALTOR® can give you a rough idea of what your home would be worth, given its size and condition and local market conditions.

Purchase a professional appraisal. Unlike a CMA, a professional appraisal is rarely free. However, the several hundred dollars you'll pay for an appraisal, depending on size of your home and the complexity of the work, could be money well spent if you're making a major financial decision that hinges on the value of your home. Appraisers rely on an in-person inspection of your home, recent sales of comparable homes and other data to arrive at an opinion of value. The appraiser's report is a full-blown description of your home and the criteria used to formulate the valuation.
Moving?

Go to neighborhood open houses. Open houses are a good opportunity to view comparable homes for sale in your neighborhood and chat with real estate professionals about the local real estate market. Two caveats: It's not easy to be objective about your own home and you shouldn't assume that the listing price on a for-sale necessarily reflects the home's true market value. If you keep those points in mind, information gathered at open houses can be worth considering along with data from other sources.

Do research online. A number of Web sites offer home valuation information free or for a fee. The free service at iOwn.com displays sales prices of comparable nearby homes and market activity data within three minutes. Dataquick.com charges $30 for a full home valuation estimate, while Appraisal-net.com offers a comparable sales report for $9.95. VirtualRealEstateStore.com will send a free home price analysis to your e-mail address within 72 hours or you can pay $14.95 for an immediate reply.

TIP: Price per square foot is a time-honored method of real estate valuation and not a bad rule of thumb but is not at all accurate. However, it doesn't account for a choice location, a move-in-ready home or personal criteria and you should factor in how the property was measured and whether the square footage includes the garage or other detached buildings on the property.

Home Sellers working with Realtors

2008-10-30T14:10:00.000-07:00

Here is the information on what you get by working with a realtor compared to the price that you pay. As a seller you are getting a bunch of services that a buyer does not tend to have a contract to get.

REALTORS® and buyers often work together without a written contract, but the opposite is true for REALTORS® and sellers. On the listing side, written contracts are overwhelmingly the rule, not the exception. A listing agreement is a binding legal contract that shouldn't be taken lightly. The necessity of reading the contract carefully and understanding what it means before you sign it can't be overstated. If you need legal advice, consult an attorney.

Listing contracts vary considerably from place to place. However, most REALTORS® use established listing agreement forms that are the de facto industry standard in their area or are dictated by their brokerage company. Everything on these preprinted forms is negotiable.

Here are some basic terms to consider:

1. Term of the Agreement. A longer agreement benefits the agent because it allows him or her more time to find a buyer for your home. In a weak market, that's okay, but if homes are selling quickly, you don't want to be committed to one agent for more than a few months. If the home doesn't sell within the initial period and you're satisfied with the agent's efforts, you can offer to extend the term of the agreement before it expires.
For Your Home

2. Commission. Although commissions are negotiable, most areas have a standard percentage that agents expect to receive. This amount usually is 6 percent of the sales price, but you will find agents who accept 5 percent and agents who ask for 7 percent. Whether you want to pay the percentage that's typical in your area or negotiate a lower rate is up to you. A lower commission will save you money. A higher commission will give the agent more incentive to invest in marketing your home. Other agents can find out how much commission is offered on your home through the MLS. The agent's commission technically shouldn't be renegotiated as part of the purchase agreement between the seller and the buyer, but some agents will give a little to close a price gap between the seller and buyer, consequently making the transaction viable.

3. MLS. A listing agreement typically authorizes your agent to post your home in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). Unless you're selling a very exclusive property or have serious personal privacy concerns, the MLS is a no-brainer because it helps the agent market your home to the widest possible group of potential buyers. Today, most MLS databases are accessible by consumers on the Internet. The public does not have access to commission information on the listings.

4. Lockbox. A lockbox is a tiny key-holding safe that can be inconspicuously attached to the front of your property. Any agent who has the means of accessing the lockbox (e.g., the key or combination) can retrieve the keys to your home, unlock your door and show your home to prospective buyers even when neither you nor your agent is present. If you're concerned about strangers entering your home alone, don't authorize a lockbox. If your home is vacant, located in a low-crime area or if you've removed your valuables and are willing to take the risk, a lockbox might be reasonable. The more people who see the property, the better chance you'll have of selling it for a favorable price.

Home ownership rate in america dropping

2008-01-30T11:03:00.000-08:00

The home-ownership rate continues to retreat from record highs, as the number of owner-occupied homes declined in a year when the nation added 2 million new housing units.

A new Census Bureau report shows the home-ownership rate slipped to 67.8 percent during the fourth quarter of 2007, down a full percentage point from 68.9 percent a year ago.

The home-ownership rate, which had hovered around 64 percent during the 1980s and early 1990s, began a steady upward climb in 1995. The rate broke the 69 percent threshold during three quarters in 2004 and 2005 before beginning a retreat last year.

Erosion of the home-ownership rate appeared to accelerate in the fourth quarter, falling 40 basis points from the 68.2 percent rate recorded in the second and third quarters of 2007.

At the regional level, the Midwest had the highest home-ownership rate (71.7 percent), followed by the South (70 percent), Northeast (64.6 percent) and West (62.7 percent). For the year, home-ownership rates declined in every region but the Northeast.

Home ownership was highest among whites (74.9 percent) and lowest among blacks (47.7 percent) and Hispanics (48.5 percent). At 83 percent, the rate of home ownership among families with incomes greater than the median far exceeded that for families with incomes below the median (50.9 percent).

Although the addition of 2 million new housing units in 2007 brought the nation's housing stock up to 128.6 million units, the number of owner-occupied units actually declined by about 600,000, to 75.2 million. The number of occupied rental units grew by 1.5 million, to 35.7 million.

The 2 million housing units added in 2007 included 1.1 million vacant units, and the number of vacant properties climbed from 16.7 million to 17.8 million.

Of these vacant housing units, 13.3 million were for year-round use and 4.4 million were seasonal. Approximately 3.8 million of the year-round vacant units were for rent, 2.2 million were for sale only, and the remaining 7.3 million units were vacant for other reasons

National vacancy rates of both home-ownership and rental units remained statistically unchanged from a year ago. The homeowner vacancy rate, which until 2006 had not exceeded 2 percent for more than a decade, remained at 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, statistically unchanged from a year ago.

At the regional level, homeowner vacancy rates were higher in the Midwest (3.2 percent) and South (2.9 percent), and lower in the West (2.7 percent) and Northeast (2.2 percent), although the differences in the South and West were not statistically significant.

The homeowner vacancy rate was higher in major cities (3.7 percent) and lower in the suburbs (2.4 percent).

At 9.6 percent, the national rental vacancy rate was also statistically unchanged from the 9.8 percent rate of a year ago. In the last decade, the rental vacancy rate has been as low as 7.5 percent in the first quarter of 1997, with a peak for the period of 10.4 percent in the first quarter of 2004.

At the regional level, rental vacancy rates were lower in the Northeast (6.6 percent) and West (6.8 percent), and higher in the Midwest (11.1 percent) and South (12.3 percent).

The real estate fomrs you NEED to have

2007-12-05T20:36:00.000-08:00

Anytime you spend your hard earned money to buy something, you should always have it documented. When you purchase smaller items, such as items at a convenience store, you’ll normally be given a receipt. When you purchase larger items, such as televisions and furniture, it will involve a bit more documentation. In exchange for your money, the seller will give you a receipt and in most cases a warranty that will protect your investment.

As you may already know, buying a home involves a lot more paperwork than furniture or even an automobile. Whether you are buying or selling a house, you should always have each step of the process documented. If any revisions are made, they should be recorded as well. Although buyers and sellers can prepare the documentation themselves, most choose not to due to the number of revisions that a single document can have. To help prevent consumers from these types of headaches, ready made real estate forms were introduced.

You can get a ready made form from a real estate agent or download the forms right off the Internet through a real estate website. Ready made real estate forms are easy to use, as they cover virtually all transactions you may encounter - from buying homes to selling them. There are forms that cover just the basics, which are ideal for those with no experience. If you are looking for a more legally binding form, there are also those that cover legal requirements and those that cover disclosure laws as well.

You can choose to purchase these forms on an individual basis as you need them, or buy an entire set instead. Individual forms are ideal for anyone who is involved with short term leases, such as rental property or homes that have been leased out. If you are planning to sell a home or buy a home, you are better of purchasing the entire set of ready made forms. This way, you’ll have all of the documentation you need and you won’t have to worry about purchasing more.

Unlike other types of real estate forms, ready made forms are assured for their accuracy, legality, and even their contents. Manufacturers of these forms spend a lot of time and a lot of energy verifying their documents, and making sure that they are perfect. Although these forms are normally up to date, you should still check with your local law and real estate offices to see if there are any updates. Real estate laws and regulations aren’t revised that often, and normally tend to stay the same for a long period of time.

If you aren’t sure about what forms you need, you should always ask a real estate agent. Even though ready made real estate forms are easy to understand and use, there are a few types available. If you are selling a home, you certainly wouldn’t want to use the same form as someone else who is buying a home. There are also ready made rental forms as well, which are ideal for those who are renting out property or leasing.

With ready made real estate forms, the process of real estate transactions are easier than ever before. By using these forms, you can do everything yourself - without having to forego realtors. You’ll save a lot of money as well, simply because there is no realtor involved. The next time you are buying, selling, or leasing out your property, you should look into ready made real estate forms and see just how easy they make real estate transactions.

Dealing with the movers when you move

2007-07-11T13:10:00.001-07:00

Here's 8 tips from the consumerist to help make your next move smoother, and help nip customer/company disputes in the bud, provided by Tiffany of ASAP Van Lines:

1. Read Your Order For Service. If something is listed as an additional cost, that means they can possibly charge you that the day of the move. Whatever a sales person promises, get it in writing on your order for service.

2. You can accompany your mover to the weight scale to verify your weight when they leave your pick up.

3. Movers do need to pack items safely in order to assure the same condition on delivery as from pick up. Make sure your items are packed or you know their packing charges if you choose not to pack your own.

4. Update your items list 72 hours before your move to ensure the most accurate weight....

5. You are always allowed a reweigh [ed. which you can either request with the company or contact your state weights and measures department] ...Weight is much more accurate then cubic feet and most states are not allowed to work by cubic feet.

6. Boxes add more weight, if you tell a sales person you have 20 boxes and the movers pick up 100....your weight can change considerably. Example 80 boxes at an average 20lbs are 1,600lbs.

7. Moving companies have legally 30 days to deliver you items but the general delivery spread is 7-21 business days. If you are not paying for an expedited shipment, understand they cannot always guarantee a specific day, only a delivery spread.

8. Content of boxes need to be verified for shipment if they are valued over $100. If you are moving dvd players, dvds, game systems, etc., show the movers and make sure it is labeled on the inventory.

How to ensure a quick home sale

2007-07-10T08:16:00.000-07:00

At times you find it exigent to sell a property very quickly, almost in no time. Unavoidable circumstances like divorce or separation from your partner may drive you to such an emergency. The common chemistry that united you together is not matching any more. The moral maths of the moment demands a separation. To get over with the stress and strains you are undergoing, you need a quick sale of your property.

Or it may be that you are in need of cash in a flash. With a next to zero bank balance, you may turn to friends and relatives to avail that. You try every reliable source but in vain. So, you see no other alternative than to bank upon your property. But selling a property involves some documentation which, in turn, wastes lots of time. Sometimes it takes months to receive the cash. So, how can you ensure a quick sale of your property!

Well, the answer lies in the estate agents. Under any such circumstances when you need to sell your property quickly, they can provide you with valuable service. They will buy your home, sometimes directly from you. There will be no intervention of any third party. The hassle of documentation will be very less. Most importantly, you will have the cash in your hand very quickly.

Selling a property through estate agents is really smooth and easy. Whatever your circumstances may be, they will be ready to buy your property. You may need a quick sale for bizarre reasons. Apart from divorce, separation and financial difficulties, you may want to sell your property for some other reasons. Thus, you might be lagging behind with your mortgage repayment; so much so that you are heading towards property repossession.

Or you may be going to buy a new home and want to sell out the old one. It may even be the case of going abroad all on a sudden. In all the above circumstances what you need is a quick sale of your property to be in control of your schedule. Your singular effort will not be enough to meet such an emergency. So, the help of an estate agent is a must. They will buy the property instantly, sometimes even within twenty for hours and shell out the money on time.

About The Author: The author is a real estate specialist and through his writing has given guidance to many people who are in search of buying or selling property. He is currently associated with VIP Services, the UK's Leading Real Estate Specialist. VIP Services delicately focuses on helping people selling or buying houses within a short span of time and that too in cash, for people who are in urgent need of finance.

Home sale contract forms

2007-07-09T12:26:00.000-07:00

I have written before about how important it is to have a proper contract if your are not using the services of a Realtor. Well here is a little info as to why you need that help and what to do make sure thing are done right.

A home purchase offer is a legal document presented by an interested buyer to a homeseller. This is no simple document because it actually includes all the terms and conditions of the sale which are mostly negotiable. It is just right then that homesellers focus on, not only a few, but all the terms of the sale.

The terms of a homesale cover the closing date, the specifics of how the purchase will be financed by the buyer, the closing costs and how they will be shared and paid, the items included in the sale and those that are not as well as the various contingencies of the buyer. Some of the common contingencies are for property inspection, appraisal, financing and review of the property title record. For homeowners selling their residential property on their own, real estate experts advise that they thoroughly review the purchase offer after receiving the document.

Evaluating terms

Be sure to evaluate all the terms and conditions before making a decision. Remember that every term can be negotiated so consider your options. If you are amenable to some of the terms, go ahead and accept them but you can also counter the other terms to adjust them according to your needs. It will be helpful if you list the terms and conditions on a separate sheet and make a note beside each of the term to determine if they are acceptable to you or not.

If, for instance, you don’t agree with some terms such as a low price, too long closing date and limited time to move out after closing, you can counter them with a higher price, shorter closing and more time to vacate your home. It’s just a matter of negotiating well and communicating your needs and concerns clearly to the buyer.

Here’s a tip. Read and examine a blank real estate contract to familiarize yourself to the standard and non-standard terms. Understand the special clauses normally written above the signature block as these are used by the buyer to make non-standard demands, to ask the seller to pay certain portions of his costs and to demand a specific date for the homeowner to move.

Important considerations

Before accepting the purchase offer, it’s advisable that you make sure your buyer has been pre-approved or at the least, pre-qualified for a real estate mortgage enough to buy your home. Avoid signing an offer until the buyer has been pre-qualified.

Other things to watch out for include longer time for buyer to get financing, low earnest money deposit, penalty if the seller fails to move out of the home during the specified date and requirement for the seller to pay the mortgage costs of the buyer.

After reviewing the offer, you have several choices. First, you can accept the offer as it is and sign it to become a legal sales contract or agreement. Second, you can make a counter-offer by eliminating the unacceptable terms and providing your own contract with your specific terms. Third, you can reject the offer if you are not amenable to all of the terms and conditions.

When considering the purchase price offered by the buyer, look at it as a whole. Sure the buyer may have offered a price lower than what you wanted but there may be some terms that counterbalance the low purchase price such as the buyer paying for the closing costs or a fast closing.

As for the earnest money, the minimum requirement should be at least $500. There are some homesellers who require buyers to issue an earnest money check before signing the offer. The earnest money is held by a third party such as your real estate lawyer, the buyer’s agent or whoever the two parties specify in an escrow agreement. However, if you know your buyer and trust him, an earnest money may not be needed.

You also have the freedom to accept a second or backup offer if you wish. Just make sure that your second buyer knows and understands that your house is already under contract and that he or she is only next in line.

This article is brought to you by LegalHomeForms.com. Download real estate forms

Oral agreements will not stick

2007-07-08T19:16:00.000-07:00

If you are either buying or selling a house and you have a great handshake deal, do not think that there is any guarantee. I have seen many people say "well my word is good enough" well your word MAY BE good enough but as far as money goes many people will reneg on a deal if they think that they are not getting the best one.

Always have a deal signed by both properties and really if you are not using a realtor at the very least get a real estate contract at the local Staples or Office Depot to get a good contract signed and head straight oover to a lawyer to have everything validated.

Staging your condo to sell

2007-06-17T09:20:00.000-07:00

The thing that always drives me crazy is the way that people always have articles and info on staging your home that start with "your yard must be freshly mowed" Well if you have a condo you have no yard so why not look at the condo and the buyers of a condo differently than you look at a house. The priorities for staging a condo to sell are much different than the priorities of staging a house to sell. Here are some great tips.

When staging condominiums there are fundamental principles which MUST be applied. Too often sellers believe the art of home staging and condo staging is exactly the same thing. This way of thinking will cause them to make their FIRST mistake . . . which could result in their condo sitting along side countless others . . . long after the buyers have gone home!

The following is a list of additional mistakes to avoid when staging your condo for sale:

Think Square Footage - Many condominiums have limited space. When planning your furniture layout, instead of thinking square footage . . . think square inch, and make each one count!

Size Really Does Matter - When shopping for furniture focus on scale and proportion, NOT bigger is better! Oversized furniture may look great on the showroom floor, but when you get it home it will look much different. You will swear that the "elephant in the room" is definitely not what you ordered!

Flex Areas - Condo living calls for carefully planned, creatively designed, multifunctional spaces known as flex areas. Because of the growing demand to meet the diverse needs of today's condo buyer, more and more manufacturers are offering proportionately scaled, multipurpose furniture to their lines. They include upholstered slipper chairs that fold out into guest beds, ottomans that serve as extra seating and storage, high-low tables that instantly transform from cocktail tables into dining tables for entertaining . . . just to name a few. And for the savvy targetted condo buyer, staging a multi media/home office area is always advisable.

Defining Spaces - Whether you prefer the clean, contemporary lines of ultra urban or the graceful warm feel of timeless traditional - remember to use COLOR to define your spaces and create memorable WOW effects. Too often sellers believe that by keeping the walls neutral, it will make the limited space of a condo look larger. Actually the opposite is true. By bumping out a few accent walls with well chosen COLORS you not only will add excitement to the room, but visually add depth, giving the illusion that the space is larger than it is.

Presentation Is Everything - Choose fewer, but larger, more dynamic artwork and accessories. This is one of the most frequently made mistakes by sellers who believe you should do quite the opposite. Just remember . . . scale down your furniture and scale up your artwork and accessories to successfully stage a condo with limited space. Your presentation and end result will certainly be more dramatic . . . and memorable!

Jeannene Edwards, owner of Interiors Defined, Inc. is a professional home stager and licensed interior designer in Orlando, Florida. http://idihomestaging.com/, and http://davidedwardsgc.com/

There are a few tips here to better understand why your condo is different and what to do to get it sold easier. Again, your condo is not a detached house so do not stage it that way.

What makes your home sell for more?

2007-06-16T18:27:00.000-07:00

I see this all of the time. People try to sell their home and find that they can not get as much as the neighbor did a little while ago. Why not? The marekt seems the same? Well here are a few answers.

When we try to determine property value for your home, we compare your home with old listings and active listings on the Charleston MLS. No two properties are completely alike, but some properties are similar enough to compare prices. So, we look at comparable homes that have recently sold in your area (sold listings), homes that were for sale on the market but never successfully sold (expired listings), and homes that are currently for sale (active listings). Aside from these comparisons, we also take other factors into consideration when determining a home’s value.

1. One of the most important factors that affect value is location. Homes that are closer to the beach or to downtown Charleston sell at a higher price. You can install all of the Brazilian cherry flooring and stainless appliances you want, but you cannot change the location of a home!

2. While we’re on the topic of upgrades, another major factor is what improvements the owners have made to the house. Updating kitchens, replacing flooring, repainting walls, and adding landscaping can add to the value of a home. However, sometimes homeowners can spend too much on a house and not get all of their money back when it comes time to sell the house. Before making drastic improvements to your house, be sure to talk with your real estate agent so that you use your money wisely on your investment.

3. The neighborhood or general area surrounding your home can greatly affect your home’s value. Some neighborhoods are more desirable than others. Also, some areas are avoided because of major traffic, large roads, or flooding.

4. If a seller needs to sell the house quickly, he or she may be willing to take a slightly lower asking price for the house. For this reason we talk with our clients to find out why they are selling their home and by what date they need to move.

5. The time of year also can affect a home’s current market value. People generally tend to avoid major holidays when it comes time to buying a house and moving. The most active time of the year is probably March to August. So, if you are trying to sell your house in late November, you will be in a less active market and may have to wait longer or accept a lower price for it.

So, location, improvements, general area, the seller’s time frame, and the time of year can affect property value.

Lee Keadle is a full-time real estate agent in Charleston, SC. He works with a team of three agents to give buyers and sellers the best services possible. You can search for homes and vacant land on our website at http://www.SearchForCharlestonRealEstate.com

Does this anser some of your home sales problems? Do you think that you have a better idea why you have had trouble? I hope this is good for you as I have found this info invaluable.

What to look for in a home sale contract

2007-06-15T19:57:00.000-07:00

When you go to sell your home you will have a contract that will be negotiated. After you finish the negotiations you will need to remove the subjects on the contract before you have a firm deal. Here are a bunch of things to look at in the contract.

Anyone who has ever purchased or sold a home should be familiar with the concept of contract subjects. For those who have never heard the term, I will explain in more detail. During a home sale there are a number of negotiations that happen between the concerned parties. Sometimes they are detailed on paper if they are of enough importance, these are known as subjects. Subjects occur after the initial offer for the home is made when the buyer would like certain changes made to the home. Below we will explore some of the more typical subjects involved in real estate contracts.

By far the most common subject is "subject to the home passing an inspection." This means that the buyer's offer is subject to the home's passing of a legitimate inspection. Therefore the buyer has the right to rescind the offer if the home does not pass the inspection. Although it is also true that if the home fails inspection the buyer may still want your home. IF a home does not pass the inspection then the buyer may alter their subjects to incorporate the necessary repairs to ensure that the home does eventually pass. These will typically read some thing like "subject to the necessary repairs being made to the home at the cost of the buyer." Now, usually the subject will go into more detail about the fixes that are necessary; but as we aren't making an actual offer here the preceding statement is a bit of a blanket statement. Let's use the example of a faulty roof on a home.

The buyer has an inspector come in and do their thing. The report comes back saying that there are leaks in the roof and on that basis the home does not pass. The buyer can then make the subject of "upon completion of a new roof with warranty." If the seller accepts this subject they are then responsible for the installation of the new roof and upon completion the sale can go ahead as outlined in the contract.

Sellers can also utilize subjects during the contract process to put rules or guidelines on the transaction. The most common of these is a subject to omit certain items from the sale of the home. For instance, the seller has just purchased an expensive custom range and grill and when they move they are planning to take it with them. Their subject will clearly state that in the sale of the home, the new range is not part and parcel of the deal. This kind of subject can also apply to window coverings, other appliances, or indeed anything that the seller wants to take with them, provided that it is agreed upon by both parties.

Joshua Keen is a real estate agent located in Atlanta, Georgia. The Keen Team specializes in the sale and purchase of Intown Atlanta real estate. When looking for Atlanta MLS Listings, contact Ben and Joshua for the best Atlanta realty services!

This info especially as far as home inspection subjects go is great for your to think about throughout the home selling process

Sell your home by getting rid of pet smells

2007-06-11T03:33:00.000-07:00

Have you had trouble selling your home? Well maybe there is a bit of a smell problem. Try getting rid of that smell with these tips.

It has been well established that when people are house shopping they buy what they see. What you may not have been told however, they also buy what they smell!

As a professional home stager, my primary job is to meet with Realtors and home sellers, go room by room with a critical eye, and tell them honestly and exactly what needs to be done to best prepare their home for a quick, profitable sale.

I have written many articles on the art of home staging . . . addressing demographics, and how to use them to target your broadest spectrum of buyers . . . outlining the importance of creating warm, inviting environments with emotional connections strategically positioned . . . I have talked about preparing your home as a 'product to be sold', depersonalizing and decluttering each room, as well as updating both interiors and exteriors . . . and stressed the importance of creating memory points and WOW factors. Above all I have stressed the fact that . . . there are no second chances to make a 'great' first impression!

The following are a few suggestions to help you combat offensive odors:

1. Have your carpets professionally cleaned. For extreme cases when this does not eliminate the problem, replace the carpeting, INCLUDING the padding! This is where most pet odor is absorbed. Note: Before replacing the carpeting make sure you heavily treat the affected bare cement with baking soda or the odor can reappear.

2. Bathe your pets, and change litter boxes often! Because you are desensitized to the odors in your home, you should always go the extra mile 'just in case'. You may not smell anything, but your buyer might . . . a chance you can't afford to take! And when showing your home don't forget to send the cat to grandma's house if at all possible. When people see pets, they will immediately start looking for the smells! The same rule applies for all pet dishes, toys, beds etc. Remove them. Remember the old saying, "Out of sight, out of mind . . . !"

3. Place open boxes of baking soda (inconspicuously of course) in smell-prone areas. Good old fashioned baking soda is still considered one of the best 'odor absorbers' on the market. Use in kitchens, baths, under beds, inside trash cans etc.

4. Open it up . . . Air it out! This one is a tactic that is centuries old and pretty self explanatory. Fresh air can do wonders for any home, especially one that has been closed up for the season. I am aware this is not always a possibility, but when you can . . . do!

5. Introduce pleasant smells . . . naturally! Before you show your home bring in fresh flowers, potpourri, bake a batch of chocolate chip cookies to leave for your guests, or have a large vase of eucalyptus leaves attractively displayed. I don't recommend the use of scented oils or deodorizers to mask offensive odors. First of all they don't cover them up, and secondly, many people have allergies and are sensitive to perfumes and artificial fresheners. (This is also an area where many have mistakenly applied the "more-the-merrier" rule instead of "less-is-more". Then scented deodorizers take center stage and are as offensive as the odors they were trying to mask!)

Having once again addressed all of these very important steps that will lead you to a quicker, more profitable sale . . . let me now discuss the issue that will make all of the above "to-do's" obsolete, and keep your house on the market long after the buyers have bought elsewhere. If your home SMELLS . . . nothing else you do will really matter! This is a problem that, unfortunately, rears it's ugly head . . . or should I say nose, more than I would like to admit. I am called into homes in all price categories, beautifully decorated, well manicured and maintained . . . but, they SMELL! What do I do? I tell them. Because this is a sensitive issue, (especially if it involves "Felix" or "Fido"), I am as tactful as possible, but they must be told. Usually odors caused by family pets, or just everyday family use, are not detected by family members. They have become desensitized, and are unaware of the problem. But to outsiders walking in, this is the first impression they will form, and it will linger in their mind, (and nose), long after they leave the home!

You know there are no second chances to make a great first impression, so make your first chance count by remembering . . . people not only buy what they see, they buy what they 'smell'!

Jeannene Edwards, owner of Interiors Defined, Inc. is a professional home stager and licensed interior designer in Orlando, Florida. Please contact Jeannene Edwards or David Edwards at: http://interiorsdefined.com

If you are still having trouble getting rid of those smells there is always the opportunity to paint or change carpets. The problem of course is that the future buyers of your home may not like your choice of paint and carpet so try to make sure that you pick very generic colors that no owner would have a problem with.

Lending Trees tips for new home buyers

2007-05-03T07:17:00.000-07:00

Looking forward to spring home buying season? Get some tips from LendingTree.com before you start.

Charlotte, NC (PRWeb) April 8, 2007 -- Finding the home of your dreams is exciting. Placing a bid to purchase it might be a different story. Buying a new home can often lead buyers into a major Goldilocks dilemma: is my offer too high, too low, or just right? But don't worry - the decision on how much to pay for a home can be as easy as doing a little homework.

So, how do you determine the right amount?

To get to the bottom of that question, LendingTree.com offers up the following tips.

Don't exceed your budget.
First, understand your budget. This is the most important rule to following: never offer more for a home than you can actually afford. Getting a pre-approval letter from your lender can help keep you in the ballpark of how much you have to spend, but keep in mind that letter details how much the lender is willing to lend you, not necessarily how much you can realistically afford.

Let your agent be your guide.
Real estate agents are in the business of knowing how much a particular home can and will go for in your local real estate market. He or she can guide you using information such as prices paid for other homes sold in the area, prices your market will bear, and how motivated the seller may be.

Reasons you might want to offer a lower price include a weak market and the possibility that the home needs some repair work not done by the seller in advance of listing the house.

Reasons you might want to offer a higher price for a home include: the home has the exact features you want, including some that aren't available in other area homes; time pressure; and if your market is a strong one characterized by multiple offers and strong demand.

Online home value estimate (HVE) and Competitive Market Analysis (CMA)
Automated valuation services on real estate Web sites are a popular resource for home price estimates. These tools rely heavily on historical home-sales data, but current market forces that might be affecting prices in your local area. An online home value estimate (HVE) will give you a good baseline to work from but also consider getting a Competitive Market Analysis or a CMA. A CMA will draw on your agent's experience in the area as well as recent sales data for the neighborhood you are buying. Each service is a free or inexpensive way to equip you with valuable information prior to making an offer on a home

Home information pack scams

2007-05-02T07:50:00.000-07:00

Home inspectors could make up to 250 million pounds a year on producing packs that never get used, causing huge waste for home owners trying to sell their homes, according to the Law Society. The prediction comes as leading professionals continue to call for a delay in introducing the controversial home selling scheme, which is due to start in June.

Paul Marsh, the vice-president of the Law Society, said that buyers would be forced to ask for a fresh Home Information Pack (HIP) when a property had been on the market for more than six months, leading to nearly half a million packs being pulped every year. With each one costing at least 500 pounds, the total bill would hit 250 million pounds.

He said: "Not only is it the money it is the performance of inspectors getting in their 4x4s driving around and producing all the sheets of paper. This is supposed to be eco-friendly." Nearly two million homes are put on the market every year, with a quarter going unsold after a year, it is estimated.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has also raised concerns about the system and has called for the Government to re-examine how the proposed home inspectors are trained. Senior chartered surveyors with decades' of experience have to undertake a 27-day course to learn how to undertake the inspections, which involves checking the energy efficiency of each house.

With little time before the packs become compulsory, only 100 qualified chartered surveyors have started their training. Jeremy Leaf, the housing spokesman for the RICS, said: "The fact that their skills are not being sufficiently recognised is a deterrent to many." Other organisations are credited with being able to certify inspectors and Ruth Kelly, the minister responsible for introducing the scheme, insists that there will be 3,000 qualified inspectors by June.

A spokesman at her department said yesterday that the Law Society was scaremongering. "Some HIPs providers will offer HIPs for free - others have said they will offer them on a no-sale no-fee basis - so it's possible for buyers to not make a sale without losing out. At the moment if a sale fails the buyer is often left with wasted costs."

Mr Marsh disputed that failed sales would fall after the introduction of the scheme. "Sales fall through for a whole host of reasons," he said. "Tell me why a report into energy-efficient light bulbs will make any difference."

The Government guidelines suggest that a HIP could remain valid for well over a year. On its official website it says: "Some documents can be no be more than three months old when marketing starts, but there is no obligation to update packs as long as the property remains on the market."

However, most experts believe that the packs will have to be updated at least every six months.

Mr Leaf said: "If you are moving to an area you are not familiar with, you - as a buyer - might well want to get a fresh search done after three months."

A spokesman for the Council of Mortgage Lenders agreed. "Searches more than six months old will have to be re-commissioned; and searches are the only significant component left in the pack," he said. HIPs were meant to speed up home-buying and make it cheaper for first-time buyers by shifting the cost from buyer to seller.

6 more home buyer tips

2007-05-02T07:38:00.000-07:00

While buying a home is without a doubt an exciting endeavor in some cases home buyers overlook things until after it’s too late, creating a sense of buyer’s remorse that can be time consuming and expensive to correct. By learning about the most common and biggest mistakes, other buyers have made; however, you can make sure you do not fall into an expensive trap when you set about purchasing your next home.

1. Some buyers, particularly first time home buyers, have a tendency to change their financial status prior to closing on the sale of their home. It is always important to keep in mind that just because you qualified for a mortgage several weeks ago you very well might not if you make any type of major purchase just before closing. This means you should avoid buying anything on credit after you have made your loan application. In particular, avoid purchasing expensive major items such as electronics or computers, furniture for the new home, gardening equipment, refrigerators and other appliances and especially automobiles. Even a small change in your credit ratio could cause your loan application to be denied.

2. The second most common mistake made by many home buyers is simply purchasing the wrong home. This is because home buyers can frequently get so caught up in the excitement of the buying process or the ‘look’ of a home that they may fail to get proper consideration to what they really need in a home. Overlooking critical features in a home can easily result in purchasing a home that becomes difficult to live in and with later on.

3. One of the most common mistakes buyers make is withholding information from their real estate agents and real estate lawyers. Reasons for this tend to include believing that some information simply isn’t important enough to mention as well as a fear of how they might come across to others if they do bring up concerns. It is important to keep in mind when you are purchasing a home that the professionals that you work with are just that-they are experienced professionals who have handled a number of transaction. There is a good chance that there isn’t much they haven’t already heard. Remember that their job is to represent your best interests. They cannot do that if they do not have all of the information. The best way to bring about a smooth transaction is for everyone to be up front.

4. When considering the purchase of a home it is also critically important to consider how much house you can realistically afford. Remember that just because you can qualify to purchase a home in a particular price range doesn’t necessarily mean you can really afford. Besides that mortgage payment you will also have other expenses including insurance, home maintenance and possibly home owner’s or association dues as well.

5. Buying a home without a professional inspection is also another critical mistake. If you are financing the purchase of your home a professional inspection is usually required; however, if you are not financing the purchase or if the seller has agreed to finance it you won’t be required to have a professional inspection completed. Even if this is the case, it is always recommended to have an inspection completed anyway by a professional who might spot something you overlooked. This gives you the opportunity to ask the seller to make necessary repairs as well as possibly renegotiate terms of the sale as well.

6. Buyers also frequently make the mistake of simply not looking at enough homes. This results in not knowing enough about what’s currently on the market; which can cause you to miss out on a better home. Only after you have looked at several homes should you begin narrowing it down. At that point it is important to re-visit each home at least once and view them again with fresh eyes. You may find that a home you previously thought was ideal has hidden problems. Taking a look at several homes allows you to make a much better educated decision and ultimately find a home that is best suited for you and your needs. A compulsive purchase while shopping around for a home could end up being not only one that you will regret but also extremely expensive as well.

By taking the time to learn from the mistakes of others you can avoid making some of the most common errors when you begin the home purchasing process.

Andrew owns a Home Buying Guide website that provides many home buying tips. You can visit his website at: http://www.buy-and-sell-house-fast.com/home-buying-guide.shtml

10 Buyer Turnoffs

2007-03-06T19:35:00.000-08:00

Here are a bunch of great tips for home sellers that a Realtor put together after having to show just too many houses to buyers. Take heed for a faster sale.

I show a LOT of houses. I am not one of these agents who refuse to show a client more than 3 houses and I KNOW agents that will drop a client if they have to show over 5. As a matter of fact, I'm not sure I've ever showed less than 5 to one person. I have shown as many as 125+ (I lost count around 123ish).

This brings me to our subject- What really grosses a buyer out or turns them off to buying a certain house? Let me tell you...

10. Too much STUFF. Picture 2 people with an agent or an agent team trying to bob and weave their way from room to room. Do you have more than one couch per room? 12 antique tables that you just LOVED at that flea market and HAD to have? Please do our hip bones a favor and put them in storage. We want to see your house, not your STUFF!

9. Pet distractions- I have a pet, I love my dog but not everyone feels the same way. Cat people often find dogs smelly and needy. I know because I used to be a 'cat person'. When pets of any kind are at our feet during a showing, we NEVER look at your house. We worry your cat will escape or your dog will attack but we are NOT looking at the features of your home. As a matter of fact, your house was probably forgotten 10 mins after leaving. BUT we remember how cute your pet is!

8. The weed yard- the weed yard is something that lets us know you don't take care of your grass so chances are your house is neglected as well. If we need a machete to get to the front door, the house automatically becomes unkempt in the mind of the buyer, no curb appeal means less dollars in your pocket as a seller. Hire someone to cut your grass and keep things under control if you are too busy. Unless you are about to go into or are already in foreclosure, there is no excuse for this look.

7. Nasty carpet. I have walked into houses that look like the kids eat, sleep, drink and maybe worse on the floors and there is nothing more disgusting than filthy carpet. Spend that $200 to have the carpet cleaned and restretched if it needs it. You may think a 'carpet allowance' is going to be a big bonus for a buyer but newsflash- most buyers don't have that much imagination. If I feel like I need to go home and wash my shoes, your carpet is NASTY.

6. Bad paint decisions- picture an excited buyer coming into your house, they have just bought a brand new olive green couch and loveseat and they can't wait to picture it in your living room- but wait, your living room is royal purple... not good. Resales are in direct competition with new construction. If my buyer can go down the street and get a brand new house, neutral tones, AND clean, why would they want to come in and do a ton of painting and changing to get your house like they want it?

5. That brings me to number 5 which is - Bad Wallpaper. Unless you have had some foo foo designer in your house hanging silk or grasscloth at $40 bucks a roll, your wallpaper is probably outdated and probably NOT for my buyer. I know that grapes were all the rage 10 years ago but again, new construction..... think new, think blank slate...

4. The Dirty Bathroom- Granted, the dirty bathroom is subjective but if I even see a hint of body hair of any kind, I'm already grossed out. It may sound extreme but even something as simple as a water stain in the toilet just is not a good image to have. No soap scum in the shower or tub. Flush those unused toilets and pour some pine cleaner in there. Make it smell clean! Selling a house is HARD work and Lord knows I had to clean my way out of my house every day before going to work when I was selling mine.

3. The Dank, Mildewy Basement- Many buyers go down into the basement and immediately start sniffing for mold or mildew. There is not much you can do with an unfinished basement- let's face it, they smell but if you know you have moisture issues, get a de-humidifyer and run it to take that out of the air. You can easily run a buyer off if they suspect you have 'water issues'.

2. The basement leads in to what I call general "House Whiff". That is my word for a strange unidentified smell that is inherent to every house. If you go away for a couple of days and come back home you can usually detect your own house smell. If it is too offensive, get some plug ins. don't burn a bunch of candles because candles are too conspicuous. It looks like cover up. Dust regularly and open those windows. A carpet powder will help take some of that weird smell out too. Sprinkle it before you vacuum.

1. The top buyer turn off is THE OVERPRICED HOUSE- You won't even have buyers in your house to worry about if you think your house is worth more than everyone else in the neighborhood. You may love your house and have sentimental attachment to it. However, others are viewing it as an investment and not the place where you raised 4 children. Did you know that Realtor Magazine statistics say for every $10,000 you go down in price, you increase buyer exposure by 50,000 people via the internet and other sources? That means if you are at $260k and you go down to $250k, 50,000 MORE people are checking out your listing. If you have a lifetime to wait, leave it as is but keep in mind -the house still has to appraise.

Kim Chitwood is a Realtor in Atlanta, GA. Call today to discuss your relocation 770-328-9169 or Click here for a 'no hassle' MLS search of Atlanta Real Estate, no registration required!

Buying seized properties

2007-02-13T12:13:00.000-08:00

I have always been intrigued by the money that people can make with all of those no money down type deals but as we all know they are incredibly hard to come by. The trouble with no money down is that there are not that many people out there that are willing to sell you their house far enough below market value that you are taking over the mortgage without having to put money into the deal.

One other option is to buy property that has been seized by banks and other lenders. There is an active market for seized property and one of the maxims that you need to remember is that banks and other lenders are not in the real estate sales business so they are not as savvy at selling and often lose some money on the deal just to get our of property ownership.

I have run across a website that has lots of seized real estate properties. The trouble is that there is a cost for access to the site. Seized Real Estate.com has a lifetime membership of $39.95 and if you know anything about my attitude on buying memberships then you know that I think that any way that you can automate your systems for cheap is a great investment of your time and money.

So check out this site if you are looking at finding cheap real estate and stay aware of the fact that lending institutions hate to be holing onto properties for any length of time.

A Denver Realtors home buying and home selling tips

2007-02-06T19:18:00.000-08:00

1. Pick a growing area. This is essential. Yes, it’s hard to predict economic cycles and which metropolitan areas are going to prosper over the next year or so. However, if you read the business pages regularly, you’ll have a much better idea of where to buy/invest.

2. Learn the market. This is also essential. You’ve got to know what’s out there, what houses are going for and how to spot a bargain from the overpriced. When you find your bargain, you probably won’t have much time before the competition gets wind of it. So you must be ready to make a solid offer right away.

3. Make your offer contingent upon a thorough inspection. There’s nothing worse than buying something with plenty of infrastructure problems. They’ll cost you time, money and aspirin. If you discover only a few problems, try to get the seller to lower the price to counterbalance the flaws in the property. They often will.

4. Finally, recognize that you will not likely land your first prospect. Therefore, be patient and be prepared to keep looking until you find the right house that makes good economic sense for you to purchase.

Follow the above four tips and you’ll do better with your property investment.

SELLING:

What to get the best price for your home? Just follow these six tips:

1. Everything (usually) looks better in brighter light. So let the sun shine in. Open curtains and blinds and turn on lights in all the rooms.

2. Fix up those little things. Oil or WD-40 those squeaky door and window hinges. Tighten any loose door handles. Replace broken shutters, fix leaky faucets, etc.

3. Deodorize! Nothing turns off a potential buyer than a “funny” or unpleasant smell. You’ve heard of the bake bread or cookies in the oven trick…it’s a lot easier to just use plug in deodorizers.

4. One of the easiest things to do is clean the place. Clean in the corners, clean the cabinets, re-grout the kitchen and bathroom sinks, tubs, etc. Wash the baseboards, make the place shine, especially in the entrance way.

5. Get rid of the clutter! Buyers need to envision the home as they would live in it. Anything interfering with that vision works against you in selling your home to them. So divide all your possessions into three groups:
a) things you really need to live in the house,b) things you don’t really need but want to take with you to your next home, andc) things you don’t want to take with you and should really toss.
Now, put those things your want to take with you to your next home in a rental storage facility. Hold a garage sale and/or donate everything else to charity. That’ll leave your home looking elegantly simple…the best way to present it to potential buyers.

6. Paint, paint, paint. Virtually every home has some areas that could use a fresh coat of paint. It is one of the most important (i.e., best and inexpensive) investment you can make is maximizing your sale price. Make sure you patch cracks and peeling paint first, though.

Follow the above six tips and you’ll sell your home faster and for a better price that if you didn’t.

For more information: http://www.denver-real-estate-homes-for-sale.net
By Marshall Colt, Ph.D.

8 home sellers tips from the National Association of Realtors

2007-01-25T18:07:00.000-08:00

Sure they have a vested interest in having you use a Realtor but the National Association of Realtors have these great tips to think about to get you home sold. Most of them are good tips and a few are to use a Realtor.

1. Know your home’s value.
Beware of companies offering to buy your home to save you the “hassle” of putting it on the market – these companies often profit at the seller’s expense. Ask several Realtors® in your area for a comparative market analysis, or CMA. These real estate professionals will analyze recent sales and market conditions to provide a realistic assessment of your home’s value, and can suggest strategies for the best sale.

2. Protect yourself and your home.
Don’t allow random passersby into your home unescorted. A serious buyer will be working with a real estate professional or should be willing to contact your agent to schedule an appointment. Lock valuables away before an open house – the agent on site will be monitoring traffic, but it’s impossible to be everywhere at all times.

3. Understand the purchase contract.
A Realtor can help evaluate purchase offers and advise you on counteroffers and contract acceptance. It is important to know how contingencies such as appraisal, financing and inspections will affect the transaction, and understand their implications for you as the seller. Remember, a high price offer is worthless if the buyer never makes it to the settlement table.

4. Hire the right real estate professional for the job.
Relying on the experience of a real estate agent makes financial sense. An NAR survey of recent home buyers and sellers found that the median home price for sellers who use a real estate agent is 16 percent higher than a home sold directly by an owner; $230,000 vs. $198,200.

NAR encourages innovation and competition, and recommends that home sellers interview at least three Realtors® to evaluate their qualifications and fit. Examine each professional’s level of experience and service, ask for referrals and talk to past clients. Don’t make an agent’s commission the sole deciding factor – you wouldn’t put your life in the hands of a doctor because he or she had the lowest fee; why would you want to do that with your largest financial investment?

HOW TO CHOOSE A REAL ESTATE PROFESSIONAL
The recent real estate boom has encouraged an explosion of real estate licensees. But getting a license and succeeding as a professional in the industry are two very different things. To find a true real estate professional – one who will represent your interests and provide valuable insight and advice regarding what is likely your biggest investment – follow these steps.

5. Do your research.
Drive around your neighborhood or the area you’d like to live in, and make note of the active real estate agents in the area. Call local brokerages for agent recommendations, and specify whether you are buying or selling a home.

6. Ask trusted friends and relatives for referrals.
According to the 2005 National Association of Realtors® Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, 44 percent of all recent buyers were referred to their real estate agent through a friend, neighbor, or relative.

7. Interview at least three agents.
Ask each about their business approach and philosophy (do they offer full service, or will you have to assume some responsibilities in the transaction); experience; designations and advanced training; and referral network (home inspectors, lenders, contractors, etc.). Home sellers should also ask about the number of homes sold in the past year, length of time on market, average sales price in relation to asking price, and the agent’s marketing plan.

8. Make sure your agent is a Realtor.
A Realtor is a licensed real estate professional who is a member of the National Association of Realtors and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics, which obligates Realtors® to be honest with all parties involved in a transaction, whether it is the buyer, seller, or cooperating agent.

Through membership in NAR’s affiliated institutes, societies, and councils, Realtors® devote themselves to continuous study of the most recent trends in their fields to stay abreast of industry developments in their specialized areas and better address industry issues.

A real estate licensee has passed an exam; Realtors are real professionals.

When is the best time of year to sell?

2006-12-30T07:30:00.000-08:00

Selling your home is a big decision and I have found in the past that people go from no thoughts of selling to listing their home usually in just a matter of days. Why is such a big decision so impulsive? Well I think there are a few reasons.

1. Money Problems - If there are money stresses in your housgold and you suddenly realize that you can use some equity in your home you may just go ahead and sell.

2. Move up, move down ideas - Empty nesters do not think of themselves as empty nesters until they see it one day and decide to move into a condo. This is ususally a lifestyle type decision that gets sparked by an add or a casual conversation.

3. Friends buying or selling homes - If someone at work is looking at new homes they will talk, this may get you interested as you hear what their priorities are and compare them with you own and suddenly you have a Realtor in your house and are listing it to sell.

Now that you can see some of the motivations you should also know when you should sell your home. Usually there is a drop in the number of listings on the market in December and January and the sales are still happening so by February or March you will see great conditions for a pricing uptick.

Remember that real estate is a very strict supply and demand market. When there are few buyers and lots of sellers prices drop and as there are lots of buyers and nearly no sellers then the prices will increase.

Property Condition dislosure forms

2006-10-21T10:43:00.000-07:00

I have seen this tip before and would like to let you know that it is dangerous. Some well meaning people say never to sign a property condition disclosure form about the condition of your property because it will cause a possible law suit if there is a problem with the property. I say who cares, sign it anyway.

That seems like crazy advice doesn't it. Well look at it this way. If a buyer is going throught the forms to buy your home and sees that you have declined to sign a property condition disclosure form then the first thing they are going to think is that you are hiding something. maybe you are , maybe you are not but the point is the offer will probably now come and in this market it is important to make the buying decision easier for potential home buyers.

What is this property condition disclosure form anyway? The form usually will just say that as far as you are aware there are no structural, plumbing and electrical problems with the home that you are selling. Hardly controversial. In quite a few areas of North America you have no choice as a home seller but to sign the property condition disclosure form at the time of listing your property and as a for sle buy owner not signing would make things much more difficult at the lawyers office at closing for the buyers of your home

List with an agent or as a FSBO

2006-09-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Selling your home yourself?

Your first big decision is whether to sell your home yourself or use a real estate agent. Some sellers feel more comfortable relying on the expertise of a real estate agent, while others want to avoid paying a commission.
The Klines have heard that real estate agent commissions can be as high as 7 percent and they aren't excited about paying that much to sell their house. They are thinking about selling their home themselves. Agent-free selling is what people in the real estate industry call "FSBO" (pronounced "fisbo," which stands for "for sale by owner").

If you're not under any time constraints, you might want to give selling your own home a shot. If you fail, you can always hire a real estate agent later.

Pros and Cons of Being a FSBO

The number one reason to sell your home without an agent's help is to avoid paying a real estate commission. In Minnesota, real estate commissions run as high as 7 percent of the home's sale price, although you may be able to negotiate a lower rate.
Time and expertise are also major factors in determining whether or not to sell your own home. Do you have a minimum of one hour per day to spend on advertising, screening buyers and showing your home? FSBOs need the flexibility to schedule showings at convenient times for buyers. If your home isn't shown, it won't get sold.

Business savvy also helps. When negotiating the sale, will you be able to keep your cool if a buyer wants to knock a couple of thousand off the price because the home is "obviously going to need a complete redecorating job?" Agents are used to negotiating and can be objective about the value of your home. Can you say the same about yourself?

And, as a FSBO, you won't have access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) used by real estate agents to locate homes for buyers. This computerized service lists homes for sale and homes that have sold by neighborhood, price and features. However, you may be able to list your home on the Internet with a variety of companies for a fee.

Tips For FSBOs

If you're still unsure about whether or not to sell your own home, find out more by talking to several people who have tried to sell their homes themselves and get a book from the library or bookstore. Sometimes, school districts offer adult education classes on selling your own home.

Additional Tips Include:

Keep your home clean and ready to show at all times.
Price your home according to what similar homes have sold for in your area not by how much cash you need from the sale of your home and how much you paid for improvements.
Consider selecting an agent in advance to list your home if you can't sell it in a few weeks. Get the agent's advice about pricing and repairs.
Hire professionals to help you along the way. These can include a closing agent and/or a real estate attorney. You will also need a home inspector if an inspection is required by your city.
Keep a notebook with potential buyers' names, addresses and phone numbers so you can follow up with them.
Don't stop advertising your home when you receive a bid. A buyer's offer may not survive the negotiating process.
Prepare and make copies of a fact sheet about your home to hand out to potential buyers. Have a blank purchase agreement for interested buyers to take with them.
If you're having trouble selling your home, consider offering a sales commission to a buyer's agent. Determine what commission will entice local agents. By offering a sales commission, you'll still save what you would have paid a listing agent to advertise your home.

If you want help advertising you home, consider hiring a company that specializes in sales by FSBOs. They will also assist you with legal documents and the terms of the sale. Look for them in the real estate section of your Yellow Pages, or get a referral from another FSBO.

Hiring A Real Estate Agent

If you're thinking of hiring an agent, interview several different agents. Talk with friends and family about agents they've used. Find an agent who will work on your terms. Make sure what you're asking is realistic, however. Here are some things to discuss with prospective agents:

"Have you sold homes in my neighborhood in the last year?" If the answer is yes, ask for the names, addresses and current phone numbers of the sellers, as well as the sales prices of the homes. If the agent hasn't sold homes in your area, find one who has. They'll have a better feel for the market in your area. And, if the agent won't give references, be skeptical. Don't accept excuses about why he or she can't give you the information.

"I'm not willing to pay the commission that you're asking." Many agents will give you the impression that their commission is not negotiable. However, their fees are always negotiable. For example, Ellen Bower hopes to negotiate a lower commission because she lives in a popular development. Other homes on her street have sold quickly, so she thinks her home will be easy to sell. (Of course, this is what most people think!)

"Are you willing to put your sales strategy in writing?" To make sure you get the services you're paying for, ask interested agents for their sales strategy before you hire one. When you agree to list your home with an agent, you could be forced to pay the commission even if you don't get the service promised. So when you find an agent you like, ask to make the commission contingent on the agent sticking to his or her sales strategy. Any understandings you have with the agent should be in writing in the listing agreement. (See Appendix for sample listing agreement.)

"What will you tell potential buyers when they ask whether the price is negotiable?" Make sure the agent will convey the information you want to be conveyed to buyers.

A final note about agents: Your real estate agent is obligated to get you the best possible price for your home as quickly as possible. Ask your agent to send you copies of your MLS sheet and any other marketing materials for your home. Also ask the agent to call at least twice a week to update you about potential buyers. Make sure your agent knows you are going to hold him or her accountable for getting the job done!

More bad signs about Real Estate markets

2006-09-17T09:13:00.000-07:00

This time some ideas of how Realtors can skew the markets by relisting and other tricks. This article from Columbas is by Kenneth Harney.

In cooling real-estate markets, the hottest question is: How do you value a piece of property when home sales are down 20 percent to 40 percent from last year, inventories of unsold homes have ballooned by 200 percent or more, and all the trend lines are negative?

It can be tough. Traditionally, real-estate appraisers focused heavily on sales of similar properties — "comparables" that closed in recent months — to make their valuations. But that doesn’t work well in markets that were superheated — prices rising at 1 percent to 2 percent a month — but are stalled-out or falling. It also doesn’t work well in markets where recent closed sales prices often were inflated by incentives provided by sellers to buyers — contributions to closing costs, buydowns of mortgage interest rates and other sweeteners not always on the public record.

"It’s getting pretty dicey out there," said John D. Bredemeyer, a residential appraiser and spokesman for Appraisal Institute, the industry’s largest professional group.

"Just looking at historical data can be perilous. You’ve got to open up the window and see what’s really happening now."

Some mortgage lenders and relocation companies expect appraisers to examine a range of data that they never emphasized during the boom years. Gary Crabtree, owner of Affiliated Appraisers, said that besides the traditional "recent comps," he factors in at least eight other types of data in reaching the value of a house:

• Pending sales under contract.
• Current listing prices of houses in the area.
• Market supply and demand.
• Length of time unsold on the market for current listings.
• Price reductions or increases on current listings.
• Notices of defaults and notices of trustees sales.
• Known concessions provided to buyers to facilitate sales.
• Personal interviews with real-estate agents on what they’re experiencing with sellers and buyers.

Even some of these factors can be tricky, however.

Crabtree said some realestate agents increasingly are playing what he calls "the relist game." Because multiple-listing-system data reveal how long each property has been on the market, agents with unsold houses sometimes cancel the listing — take the property off the market for a short period — and then list it again with a different price and multiplelisting code.

"Now the house no longer looks like it’s been sitting dead in the water for months on end," Crabtree said. "It looks like a new listing," and it’s reported in that misleading way in the data that appraisers use to gauge the overall market.

Crabtree said one house he tracked was first listed last October at $299,900. It sat unsold for 122 days. Then the listing agent pulled it out of the system briefly and brought it back as a new listing at $269,000. When it didn’t sell in 30 days, the agent again yanked the listing and reported it as a new one at $259,000. Now the house is on the market for $229,000 and still not selling.

Kenneth R. Harney covers housing issues on Capitol Hill for the Washington Post Writers Group. You can write to him at P.O. Box 15281, Chevy Chase, Md. 20815

Prices are high in Australia as well

2006-09-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

What we all need for a strong real estate market is new blood all of the time. You need renters moving up to home ownership and this will make sure that there are lots of buyers and sellers in the market. Right now there is also high house prices in Australia so renters are having trouble buying there as well. Here is a story that I picked up from the

There is a new registry in Australia that allows homeowners to check on the reputation of renters and this article speaks to that issue.

TENANTS who default on their rent might never escape the renting cycle as their bad debts could stop them getting a mortgage, according to a property industry expert.

Landlord insurance provider Terri Scheer says many tenants are not aware that defaulting on their rent will be recorded on a national database. Every time they apply for credit or a home loan in the future, this information could be on their record, she says.

"Defaulting on rent doesn't just leave your landlord out of pocket, it can also have a significant impact on your ability to own your own home," Ms Scheer says.

"Being a model tenant is more than just having a good relationship with your landlord, it is also about building a good credit rating for the future."

Real estate property managers report to, and access, national databases so they can screen out proposed tenants who might have a history of not paying their rent. Ms Scheer, chief executive of Terri Scheer Insurance Brokers, also said that some chronic non-payers often seek out landlords who independently manage their properties. This was because the tenants assume the owner will not have access to a credit data base, which might otherwise cause the landlord to choose someone else.

Tenants Union Victoria spokesman David Imber said the residential tenancy databases were set up because state laws do not allow real estate agents to have access to credit data, so they set up their own system to keep track of non-paying tenants. However, Mr Imber said the tenancy databases often have incorrect information and in some cases include malicious reporting by agents.

Mr Imber said real estate agents or the database managers do not have to inform tenants when they send a report about them, for things such as not paying the rent on time, property damage or violence. However, under the privacy laws, if a tenant asks to see if there are any references to them on one of these databases, they must be shown the information - but only if they ask. Tenants also have the right to challenge any information and get it corrected through the privacy commissioner but this was often a long and difficult process, Mr Imber said.

How to avoid dangerous morgage lenders

2006-09-09T07:04:00.000-07:00

What are dangerous morgage practices?

There are a lot of good morgage lenders across the country, both banks and small lending budinesses. But, There are many dangerous lenders that will try to hurt you financially buy getting you a morgage for terms and conditions that are very high and that can ruin you financially. Here are some things to watch out for and avoid when choosing a morgage lender. Bad morgage lenders will try to do the following:

Sell properties for much more than they are worth using false appraisals.

Encourage morgage borrowers to lie about their income, expenses, or cash available for downpayments in order to get a loan.

Knowingly lend more morgage money than a borrower can afford to repay.

Charge high interest rates to borrowers based on their race or national origin and not on their credit history.

Charge fees for unnecessary or nonexistent products and services.

Pressure morgage borrowers to accept higher-risk loans such as balloon loans, interest only payments, and steep pre-payment penalties.

Target vulnerable borrowers to cash-out refinances offers when they know borrowers are in need of cash due to medical, unemployment or debt problems.

"Strip" homeowners' equity from their homes by convincing them to morgage again and again when there is no benefit to the borrower.

Use high pressure sales tactics to sell home improvements and then finance them at high interest rates.

Watch out for these warning signs!

A lender or investor tells you that they are your only chance of getting a morgage or owning a home. You should be able to take your time to shop around and compare prices and houses.

The house you are buying costs a lot more than other homes in the neighborhood, but isn't any bigger or better.

You are asked to sign a sales contract or morgage documents that are blank or that contain information which is not true.

You are told that the Federal Housing Administration insurance protects you against property defects or loan fraud - it does not!!!!

The cost or morgage terms at closing are not what you agreed to.

You are told that getting a new morgage or second morgage can solve your credit or money problems.

You are told that you can only get a good deal on a home improvement if you finance it with a particular lender.

Armed with this information I hope that these lists of bad morgage practices and ways to spot bad morgage lenders will help you out and save you a lot of pain and heartache

10 tips on protecting yourself when buying a home

2006-09-09T06:51:00.000-07:00

Here are 10 great tips for making sure that you keep yourself protected when buying a home. This can be invaluable information as quite often the time between deciding to buy a home and the actual buying of the home is quite short

Interview several real estate professionals (agents), and ask for and check references before you select one to help you buy or sell a home.

Get information about the prices of other homes in the neighborhood. Don't be fooled into paying too much.

Hire a properly qualified and licensed home inspector to carefully inspect the property before you are obligated to buy. Determine whether you or the seller is going to be responsible for paying for the repairs. If you have to pay for the repairs, determine
whether or not you can afford to make them.

Shop for a lender and compare costs. Be suspicious if anyone tries to steer you to just one lender.

Do NOT let anyone persuade you to make a false statement on your loan application, such as overstating your income, the source of your downpayment, failing to disclose the nature and amount of your debts, or even how long you have been employed. When you
apply for a mortgage loan, every piece of information that you submit must be accurate and complete. Lying on a mortgage application is fraud and may result in criminal penalties.

Do NOT let anyone convince you to borrow more money than you know you can afford to repay. If you get behind on your payments, you risk losing your house and all of the money you put into your property.

Never sign a blank document or a document containing blanks. If information is inserted by someone else after you have signed, you may still be bound to the terms of the ontract. Insert "N/A" (i.e., not applicable) or cross through any blanks.

Read everything carefully and ask questions. Do not sign anything that you don't understand. Before signing, have your contract and loan agreement reviewed by an attorney skilled in real estate law, consult with a trusted real estate professional or ask for
help from a housing counselor with a HUD-approved agency. If you cannot afford an attorney, take your documents to the HUD-approved housing counseling agency near you to find out if they will review the documents or can refer you to an attorney who will help you for free or at low cost.

Be suspicious when the cost of a home improvement goes up if you don't accept the contractor's financing.

Be honest about your intention to occupy the house. Stating that you plan to live there when, in fact, you are not (because you intend to rent the house to someone else or fix it up and resell it) violates federal law and is a crime.

Just a little note about some new sites I have created

2006-08-09T13:06:00.000-07:00

I have been working feverishly to create a bunch of great sites with some content that everyone will find useful in one way or another

Car maintenance and buying tips
Everyone owns a car right? Well I ride a bike but it is nice to know what to look for when buying or maintianing your car

Dogs and dog resources site
Pets anyone? I love dogs as do millions of other people. Here is some great stuff for all you dog lovers

Fly fishing site
Fishing is one of North Americas most popular outdoor pastimes

Computer and telephone headset resource
Telephone headsets from Plantronics and a host of other companies are a great way to be hands free while working and talking

Healthy benfits of herbs site
I take some herbs but there are many people that knwo a lot more about them than I do

Nursing careers and nursing resources
Nursing is one of the real growth industries now and as baby boomers retire over the next few years. An aging population is looking for nurses and they are in short supply

Hotels in Prague Czech republic
Prague is a beautiful city with many large and very old historic hotels. Why not stay at one on your next trip to europe

Mystery shopping for fun and profit
Mystery shopping is when you go to stores as a prospective customer and help the business rate it's sales staff. Easy work but very rewarding and fun.

Filling our surveys to make money
we hjave all seen surveys on the internet. what are they and can you really make money from them?

Webtips for Internet Marketing
Internet marketing is an exciting business and a great way to make a residual income.

Soft landing in the housing market?

2006-07-13T13:02:00.000-07:00

The biggest global housing boom in three decades may end not with a bang, but with an extended whimper that will keep the economy growing.

Markets for dwellings in the United States, France, Spain, New Zealand and parts of China are slowing down as home-price inflation slows in response to higher interest rates. So far, the rise in borrowing costs has been modest, giving builders and buyers time to adjust.

"We're seeing a cooling-off of the housing market," said Raghuram Rajan, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund in Washington. "We haven't seen a bust."

Housing prices in industrial countries have doubled in real terms in a decade, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development estimates. If prices ease rather than collapse, the world economic expansion may be able to continue without sustaining too much damage.

"The global economy should remain buoyant," said Nariman Behravesh, chief economist of Global Insight. He sees world growth slowing to 3.3 percent next year from 3.8 percent in 2006.
The moderation in housing should help bring world trade back into better balance. The boom has been concentrated in countries with big trade deficits: In the United States, consumers have used the equity in their homes to finance a spending spree that included imported consumer goods. As the boom ebbs and consumers pull back, trade deficits will shrink again.

In the first quarter, the average global house price was 6.1 percent higher than a year earlier, according to an international real-estate adviser, Knight Frank. That is down from a 9.3 percent year-to-year increase in the first quarter of 2005 and a peak of 10.9 percent in the third quarter of 2004.
The odds of a debilitating price bust will rise if the Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, the European Central Bank president, Jean-Claude Trichet, and other central bankers lift rates sharply to fight inflation.
Paul van den Noord, a senior economist with the OECD, concluded in a paper last month that a 1 to 2 percentage- point increase in rates would increase to 50 percent or more the chance of a home-price collapse in the United States, France, Denmark, Ireland, New Zealand and Spain.
That is what happened in 1980, when Paul Volcker, then the Fed chairman, raised the benchmark rate to 20 percent, sending the U.S. housing market and the economy into a tailspin. The Fed, which lifted its rate to 5.25 percent last week, also indicated that it might take a break after two years of increases.

U.S. home prices were 12.5 percent higher in the first quarter of 2006 than they were a year earlier, according to data compiled by the government's Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight. That was down from 13.3 percent in last year's fourth quarter, and is the slowest rate of appreciation in more than a year.

"We're right on course for a soft landing in the housing sector," said David Lereah, chief economist at the National Association of Realtors in Washington.

Historically, just 17 percent of local housing booms in the United States go bust, according to the Federal Deposit Insurance, a government agency that regulates banks. And that typically occurs only when local regions are under severe economic stress, like Texas in the mid-1980s after oil prices plunged.

"Busts have been pretty rare," said Richard Brown, chief economist at the FDIC in Washington.

"The most common way for a boom to end is through an extended period of stagnation."
Some of the hottest housing markets in Europe are also slowing down. Annual house-price appreciation in Spain declined to 12 percent in the first quarter from 15.7 percent in the first three months of 2005. In France, prices for existing homes rose at 14.2 percent in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, down from 15.7 percent in the first quarter of last year.

Even in markets like Ireland where prices are still galloping, a slowdown is likely as tighter credit begins to bite.

A region-wide crash does not look likely. Julian Callow, chief European economist for Barclays Capital, expects euro-zone house prices to rise about 7.5 percent this year after increasing 8.5 percent in each of the last two years. He said that a long-awaited revival of Germany's economy and housing market should help offset weakness elsewhere.

Harvinder Kalirai, head of research in Sydney at State Street, said Asian housing markets would be helped as living standards rise to industrial-nation levels. "Countries are getting richer, and housing prices will rise with incomes," he said. "It's a multiyear, if not multidecade, view."

Where does the commission go?

2006-07-05T19:52:00.000-07:00

I’m amazed at the craze the last couple years regarding Realtor commissions. As you are aware, the real estate market has been quite impressive over the last few years. Record sales prices, record number of transactions and amazing new construction growth has brought everyone who is anyone into the real estate business. With so many Realtors and so little inventory, competition amongst Realtors has grown fierce. Suddenly, the traditional 6% commissions fell to 5%. Then, the 5% commissions dropped to 4% and in some cases even lower than that. Now, I am an advocate of competition. I feel it keeps a healthy market healthy. However, what many Realtors fail to explain to their selling prospects when negotiating a listing agreement and commissions is how the money is actually used and where it goes.

Where Does the Commission Go?

Despite what the general public believes, the whole commission does not go into the pockets of the Realtor. In fact, Realtors only get a small portion of the total commission. Below is a traditional breakdown of what happens to a commission when it is paid upon closing.

Let’s say you sold a $300,000 house this year and paid 5% commission. At $15,000 total commission, traditionally it is split between both the buyer’s broker and the seller’s broker. Therefore, both brokers would gross $7,500. Then, your listing agent and the buyer’s agent would each get a portion of the $7,500 each of their brokers received. The portion amount will differ for each agent depending on their split agreement with each of their brokers. Let’s just figure an average 60%. 60% of $7,500 is $4,500. Now factor in all the advertising costs including flyers, mail-outs, ads in the various papers and industry magazines, open house costs, installation of signs, virtual tour costs, etc. Suddenly of the $4,500, the agent is netting less than $3,000. Under extremely favorable conditions, the time it takes to list a home, market it to be sold and take it to the closing table is 50 days. If you do the math, and based on $3,000 take home for the Realtor, they earned $60 per day while actively selling your home.

If your Realtor is highly professional and very knowledgeable about the market and marketing homes, they are worth EVERY penny they earn. As an employee, your Realtor is responsible for the marketing and negotiations of a VERY expensive product, your home. In most cases a house will be the largest priced product you every buy or sell.

Do you really benefit from negotiating a lower commission?

I would also like to discuss Realtors that are so easily willing to reduce their commissions to get your listing. First of all, you have every right to negotiate a lower commission for Realtor services. But what are you really negotiating? As mentioned above, the Realtor commission is split up in so many ways to where nearly 4 people get a cut and another large portion goes into marketing costs. So, if you are the seller and traditionally a seller pays the commission, you are actually negotiating AWAY your marketing dollars and Realtor’s paycheck. In other words, you are negotiating away the earnings of the expert that is supposed to work hard at reaching your ultimate goal…selling your property at the highest possible price with the fewest hassles. When this occurs your Realtor has no real incentive to work hard for you and the sale of your house. In other words, a Realtor might decide not to market your property as much as they normally would if paid a higher commission.

IF A REALTOR IS SO EASILY WILLING TO GIVE UP THE MONEY THEY WORK HARD FOR OR ACCEPT A LOWER COMMISSION JUST TO GET A LISTING, HOW EASILY WILL THEY GIVE UP YOUR MONEY THAT YOU DESERVE AND WORK HARD FOR IN THE SALE OF YOUR HOUSE?

The title of this article is Realtor Commissions: Do They Really Get Paid Too Much. The value of a Realtor is really based on the level of service you expect and the results you expect your Realtor professional to deliver. If you have been disappointed in the level of service and/or results your Realtor has delivered, I would suggest you interview many Realtors before making a decision as to who will ultimately be responsible for the marketing and sale of one of your highest valued assets. If you want more information about choosing the right Realtor and what questions to ask in your interviews, you can request a FREE REPORT on my website.

Sincerely,

Sean

Passion. Focus. Dedication.

What Sean brings to his clients is a commitment and dedication to provide quality service. He does what it takes to make things happen and you always know he’s working with your best interests in mind. He offers reliable communication and follow through that will guide you in the right direction when it comes to your most important decisions. You’ll receive the one-on-one attention you deserve, with a warm and caring style that is all his own.

Most importantly, Sean knows what counts: Passion. Focus. Dedication. To Sean, these are the key elements for success and the foundation for the way he approaches all your real estate needs. You owe it to yourself to give him a call today. You’ll be glad you did.

If you have any questions about this article or any real estate related questions, please call or email me. My contact information can be found on my website at http://www.SeanLSpencer.com

First time buyers don't beware

2006-06-26T21:42:00.000-07:00

ARM loans. FHA loans. VA loans. PMI. WHEDA. Buying a house can be an exercise in muddling through alphabet soup.

And if you’re a first-time home buyer, that soup doesn’t look real appetizing.

A home is likely the largest single purchase a person or couple ever makes, and the task can be daunting. But armed (not ARMed) with the right information, a home purchase can be a reality for many.

As it is with a home, though, a home purchase is going to be better if built on a solid foundation.

"There are three things that are really important for first-time home buyers," said Greg Mc-Bride, senior financial analyst with bankrate.com. "First, months in advance buyers should check their credit reports and clear up any errors. You don’t want to let someone say something about you that isn’t true."

Clearing up errors can im-prove your credit score, and the higher your score the more likely you are to get a favorable interest rate.

"Second, you need to understand how much house you can afford and how much money you can afford to borrow," McBride said.

(Mortgage calculators are available at bankrate.com, or type "mortgage calculators" in your browser’s search engine.)

"Finally, you want to get preapproved," McBride said. "Do these things before you’ve even stepped out to start looking."

A visit to your loan officer is a wise, early course of action.

"Probably one of the biggest things is to be comfortable with your loan officer," said Dennis DeGrave, personal mortgage consultant with First Choice bank. "We can help them understand what kind of loan program is best for them, but it’s easiest to do face-to-face."

A preapproval letter also makes you more attractive to sellers who have another offer, aside from yours, to consider.

"The seller wants preliminary assurances that the buyer can afford the home," said Debbi Conrad, director of legal affairs with the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

"It’s the person who has preapproval who will have the advantage," McBride said. "It really gives you a leg-up."

Down payments

The days of a 20 percent down payment on a home are a thing of the past, mostly.

"Probably 90 percent or more of my clients have had less than 20 percent down on their home purchase," DeGrave said.

"Twenty percent just isn’t the norm anymore," Conrad said.

In fact, many lenders offer 100-percent financing to qualified individuals.

"The fact that someone doesn’t have any down payment shouldn’t deter them from looking into a home purchase," DeGrave said. "It’s nice to start with a starter home and build equity in it. Then, a few years down the line, they’ll have the equity and can use it as a down payment for their future home."

But McBride cautioned against accepting 100-percent financing blindly.

"A lot of people don’t have money in savings," he said, noting that last year, 42 percent of first-time home buyers didn’t have any down payment. "Yeah, you should try to come up with some kind of down payment, but don’t erase your savings. (Home buying) will take cash, one way or another. You need a cash cushion and the ability to squirrel away money, because you will need it."

Loan products

When deciding among the many loan products out there, experts suggest looking at the amount of time you expect to be in the home. Those who expect to set up shop for a while in one home may consider different products than those who expect to turn around and sell in the near future.

"For some people, it may be beneficial to avoid PMI (private mortgage insurance required of those whose loans exceed 80 percent of the home value)," DeGrave said. "They can do that with two loans. But keep in mind that PMI eventually can and will drop."

McBride suggests those hoping to be in their homes 10 years or longer will benefit best from a 30-year fixed mortgage, while anyone looking at less than 10 years in a home would be better off with a loan product that has a low fixed rate for a period of time - generally three, five, seven or 10 years, depending on the product - but will adjust annually after that initial time period is over. For example, a 7/1 loan will have a fixed interest rate for the first seven years, but that rate will adjust annually thereafter, depending on market conditions.

"If you plan to sell before the initial term is up, it’s tantamount to a fixed-rate loan, but the rate is less than the rate on a 30-year fixed loan," McBride said.

Other considerations

Do you need a Realtor? Conrad says yes.

"They can steer you through the legal documents and all the forms, disclosure and hazards," she pointed out.

What about an attorney?

"An attorney can be of most help once you’re ready to write the offer," Conrad said.

Is an inspection necessary?

"It’s an absolute must," Conrad said. "Even if the seller is honest on all the disclosures, they just may not be aware of all the problems. It’s also necessary for the buyer to understand that the home won’t be perfect. None are."

This story appeared in the West Bend Daily News on June 26, 2006

Finding a great Realtor

2006-06-25T09:46:00.000-07:00

Not everyone can buy or sell a home. So finding the right real estate agent to help you with your next real estate deal can make he difference between you making an OK deal or a great deal. Real estate deals are complicated, and if you’re like most home buyers, a good portion of your assets are on the line.

But all real estate agents aren’t created equal. Some Realtors get personally involved every step of the way, while some farm out a lot of the work to other associates. The amount of formal education a Realtor has is important. But so is the knowledge he has about the neighborhoods you want to buy into.

Before you get started, it’s important to understand exactly who you’re shopping for. Many people use the terms “Realtor,” “real estate agent” and “real estate broker” interchangeably, but they aren’t mutually inclusive.

A real estate agent is a person who has a real estate license from the state in which they practice. Keep in mind, though, the requirements for getting a real estate license in most states are pretty minimal. A Realtor is a real estate agent who has earned additional certification from the National Association of Realtors. And a real estate broker is a Realtor who has yet more training and a different license than either real estate agents or Realtors. Got that?

The exact title of the real estate professional you work with isn’t as nearly important as the level of commitment, energy and local knowledge he/she may have. But trying to find the real estate agent who embodies all the above can be a challenge.

The following tips for choosing a real estate partner will put you ahead of the game:

1. There are only a few types of real estate agencies out there; small ones, large ones, franchises and independent agencies. Don’t get hung up on the differences because the individual agent is more important than the real estate agency.

2. Know the type of representation you need. Most agents are seller’s agents, meaning they only represent sellers’ interests to the disadvantage of buyers. This is great if you’re a seller, but if you’re looking to buy a home inquire about buyer’s agents — brokers who represent the buyer’s interests in real estate transactions. Their fees for finding you a home are usually covered by the seller, not the buyer.

3. Finding the right agency requires some legwork. There are a lot of real estate agencies listed in the phonebook or online. If you choose one at random you’ll probably live to regret it. Explore the neighborhoods you’re interested in buying into and look for Realtors/brokers who are nearby or who already have several signs placed in yards. There’s a better chance that these Realtors are already familiar with this neighborhood.

4. Search first for a real estate partner, not individual homes or properties. You may be looking through your newspaper’s real estate section one day and fall in love with a home that a particular real estate agent is listing. However, the agent might tell you that property is taken, but they have others you’d love. Less reputable agencies will often use this bait and switch trick to lure in customers. Chances are you’re not going to get the first home you fall in love with anyway.

5. Look for experience. The real estate profession has a high rate of turnover, which means there are a great many untested agents who are constantly moving in and out of agencies. If you like the personality or appearance of an agent, the next question you should ask is how long they’ve been practicing. If it’s been less than two years, keep looking; that is unless you’re entirely comfortable with that agent.

6. Look for commitment. Many real estate agents only practice on a part-time basis and they might not have the time or drive to give you the attention you deserve. Also, many brokers are only interested in representing properties within a certain price range. If your home isn’t in it, they might not give you the attention you deserve.

7. Interview real estate agents you’re interested in working with. It’s a good idea to sit down and visit with at least three prospective Realtors. This is the best way to get a feel for them and what they can do for you. Don’t be afraid to ask how well they know your neighborhood and exactly how often you’ll hear from them. Ask for references and check them out. Your relationship with your real estate agent will be a working one, and if you don’t think you’d work well with him or her, you’re probably right.

8. Ask friends to refer you to real estate agents they’ve had good experiences with. Or if you prefer, you can start your search at the National Association of Realtors’ Web site; they have listings of Realtors in your area.

9. Select a real estate agent who can work with your schedule. If your schedule only allows you to see homes on evenings and weekends, you won’t go very far with an agent who only works days.

Ask any prospective real estate agent what they’ll do to sell your home. It sounds elementary, but not all agents work the same way. Some brokers will advertise your property and spread the word to other agents they know. Others will just add your property to the Multiple Listing Service and wait for inquiries. The bottom guiding line is, “The more proactive your Realtor, the better.”

A middleman to listing your home

2006-06-25T09:36:00.000-07:00

I have just run across an article about a strange new website called hungryagents.com. The idea behind hungry agents is that if your are looking to sell you list your home on this site and Realtors are supposed to bid on your listing. With the number of Realtors in most markets I am not sure why this service would be necessary but anyway here is an article that talks about the service.

Home sellers caught in the current ebb in real estate sales can't help getting a bit discouraged after putting up a "for sale" sign, only to see few prospects look at their property. It's a trend that has vexed Realtors who've been fighting a vicious circle that has seen interest rates go up while home sales go down. About the only way to sweeten a deal without chopping the purchase price would be to negotiate the 6 percent to 7 percent commission paid to real estate agents.
An online service, HungryAgents.com, offers home sellers the option of doing just that, often netting home sellers a commission rate as low as 3 or 4 percent.

This is in fact a new service that has not been offered online before.

"It's been good for my business," Wiszowaty said. "I think it's been great for homeowners, because they can find some competitive rates with good companies that are out there," he said.
He suggested HungryAgents has been a godsend for a lot of homeowners who are desperate to sell their home but are either unwilling or unable to pay prevailing commission rates. He scoffs at suggestions that a participating agent may unwittingly label his realty a discount broker.
Wiszowaty points out that preliminary negotiations between agent and seller are done online and are completely anonymous until the seller decides he wants to make contact with an agent. The number of agents is pared down to three, who then meet with the seller in person and bid for the listing by offering bare-bones commission rates and a description of what services will be provided.

After a home seller signs with a Realtor and the home is sold, HungryAgents collects a $795 fee from the seller, irrespective of the sale price of the home. Wiszowaty dispels any notion that Realtors working in his office — or at competing real estate agencies, for that matter — might resent participating agents for raking in sales generated by their acceptance of reduced commission rates.

"Nobody in the multiple listing service knows that a listing is taken by a HungryAgents Realtor," Wiszowaty said.

The only place the amount of the final commission appears, he said, would be on a closing statement.

Wiszowaty said there is no stigma attached to agents who accept lesser-priced commissions. He said commission rates are kept confidential to preclude other Realtors from refusing to show listings obtained through HungryAgents.

Vince Rizzo, a real estate broker and a co-founder of the St. Louis-based company, emphasizes that HungryAgents is not a real estate agency. Rather, he explained, it's sort of an online "dating service."

He expressed optimism about the future of the company after launching the company's Web site about a year ago. Even with limited advertising in Chicago, Indianapolis and Kansas City, the results, Rizzo noted, surpassed company expectations. "They really weren't expecting to be in all 50 states for a least a couple of years," he said. "They bypassed that goal in about six months."

Rizzo also brushed aside suggestions that participating Realtors jeopardize their operations by accepting bargain-basement commission rates.

"If you're an agent, you're not going to put a sign in your window that suggests you're selling homes at 3 or 4 percent" commission, Rizzo noted.

So now that you see how this system works it seems that there are people willing to let a company charge them $750 to get into the middle of a regular early part of the real estate tranaction process.

For Sale by owner pitfalls

2006-05-28T09:20:00.000-07:00

There are a few pitfalls if you try to sell your home on your own. realtor.org offers a few reasons why you should not sell your home on your own and of course they do have good reasons here.

1. FSBOs can't list their home in the MLS. FSBOs aren't permitted to put their home in the multiple listing service (MLS) because these industry membership organizations are open only to licensed real estate brokers and agents. FSBOs are also locked out of many home search engines and Web sites, including the gigantic Realtor.com. Sure, a determined FSBO can put a for-sale sign in his or her front yard and run a tiny advertisement in the local newspaper, but the home won't receive nearly as much exposure as it would through the MLS.

2. Agents won't show for sale buy owner homes. In a typical home sale, the buyer's agent receives a percentage of the commission that the seller pays the listing agent. Without a listing agreement, there's no guarantee that the buyer's agent will be compensated for his or her services, unless the buyer has signed a buyer's brokerage agreement that specifically provides for such compensation. Even if a FSBO offers to pay the buyer's side of the commission, most agents won't want to go through a transaction with an unsophisticated self-represented seller across the table. That means the pool of potential buyers for FSBO homes is limited primarily to unrepresented and probably unqualified prospects.

3. For sale buy owners usually overprice their home. Like most homeowners, most FSBOs honestly believe their own home is worth more than comparable homes in the same neighborhood. Usually, they're wrong. A real estate agent can provide an update on market conditions, an assessment of the likely selling price of the home and tips for improving the home's buyer appeal. Overpricing a for-sale home is a sure way to deter potential buyers.

4. Buyers will feel intimidated trying to buy a home from a by owner. Potential buyers will spend less time in a for-sale home if the owner is present during the showing, and they'll be shy about discussing its pluses and minuses with their own agent if the owner is within earshot. Buyers will also be less inclined to make an offer if they know they'll be negotiating directly with the seller. Having an agent on each side creates an effective emotional buffer between the seller and buyer.

5. For sale by owners are likely to stumble into legal trouble. Real estate transactions are fraught with potential liability for unwary sellers, particularly in states that have extensive disclosure requirements (e.g., California). A FSBO who overlooks even one required form or legally mandated disclosure could face a protracted and expensive buyer lawsuit after the transaction closes.

Take heed at these if you are going to try to sell your home on your own. The other thing to think about is that a buyer buying a home from a buy owner is going to discount the price by the amount of commision that you would have had to pay.

Interest rate fears

2006-05-18T20:38:00.000-07:00

I hate trying to be a real estate analyst but if you are planning to sell this year this is probably your best time. The markets around the country are hot right now and it looks like interest rates are on their way up for the rest of the year.

Actually to be really clear about it interest rates are incredible low and if your are thinking of making a move up be aware that rates could go up 3 percent over the next couple of years on fewer of the American dollar not being able to compete with international currencies as well as war and oil issues both domestically and abroad.

is there a real estate bubble. you bet, the trouble is people have been saying at least for a couple of years that the bubble is about to burst and as we all know no one has got it right yet.

When is it time to sell your home?

2006-05-06T19:02:00.000-07:00

Your friends just sold their home for an amazing profit. You are considering putting your home on the market, but how do you know if the time is right.

Whether you are simply a homeowner or a real estate investor, you may have been paying attention to the market. It has been exceptionally hot for the past few years. In many areas, price appreciation has been through the roof. And though there is a slowdown happening in the market, there are still plenty of properties that are selling quite well.

One thing that is working in many sellers' favor right now is a fear of where the market is going. In areas where appreciation has been modest, rising interest rates are causing a few homebuyers to jump on properties before they can no longer afford them. Many consumers are afraid that they will pay to much if they wait much longer.

While interest rates are on the rise, they are still at a very low point. They haven't risen enough to knock the majority of potential buyers out of the market. Add in new loan programs designed to lower the monthly payments, and you will find that there aren't a lot of people shying away from buying.

In fact, most buyers buy because they are ready, not when the market is ready.

And perhaps that is the way to sell a home. Are you ready to move on? Do you have substantial equity in your home? Is your home in good shape?

If you answered yes to all three questions, then you are probably ready to sell your home. You can get an idea of what your neighborhood market is like by watching it yourself. Look at home that are similar to yours in style, size, age and location. See how long they remain on the market.

You can also talk with a Realtor about your decision to sell. Ask how long their listed properties are staying on the market. Is this up or down from last year? Where do they see the market heading?

The market is an interesting force. The thing is that we tend to focus on what it is doing right now, instead of looking at overall trends. Is the rise in interest rates really hurting the consumer when it comes to a potential for foreclosure? Even when interest rates were declining, foreclosure rates were increasing. Maybe they aren't as tied as we think.

What should determine whether you should sell your home or not? Consider your job status, your income level, your age, your family and all the other factors that are important to your everyday life. Yes, we would all like to make a huge profit on our homes, but no matter what the market is like, chances are you will not get any more than your home is worth.

So are you ready to sell your home? Are you ready to buy a new one?

Look to yourself and your finances and not the market. The market isn't always easy to pin down. Let your timing be right, not the market's. When your focus is on your own finances, you are able to make better decisions. Good luck.

Martin Lukac, represents http://www.RateEmpire.com, a finance web-company specializing in real estate/mortgage market. We specialize in daily updates, rate predictions, mortgage rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates from hundreds of mortgage companies! Visit http://www.RateEmpire.com today

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Lukac

What to look for in your homeowners insurance

2006-05-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

Most Homeowners insurance companies will simply send out a reminder for a renewal of your home insurance policy when the end of the year is up for your insurance coverage. Many will also automatically renew your policy unless you call and let them know that you want to change or cancel that policy. This makes it easy for many homeowners to simply begin sending in the next set of payments for another year without reviewing the policy to make sure it adequately reflects their needs for the year.

Whether you have upgraded or remodeled the home, added a deck onto the back, turned the home into a rental property or realized that you may have problems with flooding in your area, there are several reasons to review your home insurance policy every year to assess whether the coverage still meets your needs.

Even if you have just begun a new home insurance coverage policy, it is important to review the policy as soon as you receive it to make sure the policy has the correct coverage amounts and coverage needs you have asked for. Remember that this policy will be in place for an entire year and will most likely cost between $300-$2000 so be sure that you are getting what you want.

If you asked for personal liability of others in the amount of $100,000 and the policy only shows $50,000 don’t be afraid to call the insurance agent back to have this problem corrected. The problem can simply be solved by issuing a new policy or a policy change.

Once the year time period has expired on your current policy and you are getting ready to renew again, it is always a safe bet to call the insurance agent and ask if the replacement cost value has gone up on your home or on anything in your home.

Remember that the financial market continues to increase and with this rates of building and replacement tools will go up, so there is no shame in calling to ask if the figures on your policy need to be changed.

If you have done any renovation of the home in the last year, such as replacing countertops or flooring, or even adding on a deck, it is important to inform the insurance company of these changes. This protects you from being underinsured in case of damage or loss.

If you have acquired any major purchases of personal property, it is also important to contact the insurance company about changing the coverage amount on your interior belongings. This could include major electronics equipment like an LCD television, a personal computer or laptop, an expensive piece of jewelry or fur coat, or even new furniture or a new piece of artwork.

It is also important to review your insurance coverage policy every year to determine if you have adequate peril coverage and liability insurance. Although some basic plans cover certain types of natural disaster and others cover personal liability, you may want to consider adding on specific insurance clauses for flooding, hurricanes, or tornados if you live in a high risk area.

If you started a plan out with little or no hurricane insurance but realized that the previous year brought major hurricanes to your area, then you may want to reconsider the amount of coverage. As well, some policies do not require homeowners to have personal liability insurance but this is a good idea if you are planning on having others in your home quite often.

This could include construction workers who are remodeling a kitchen or bathroom or even a babysitter or housekeeper. You will also want to change your policy if your children are starting to get older and invite over friends to play in the yard or to spend the night. Personal liability insurance will cover any accidents that happen while others are in your home.

One final reason to review your insurance policy each year is to assess discounts or possible price quote deductions that you may be able to receive. When you purchased the home it may not have had a security system installed, fire sprinklers or been equipped with up to date smoke and carbon monoxide detectors.

But if you have installed this equipment over the past year, it is a good idea to call and inform the insurance company to see if you this makes you eligible for a discount. You may also be able to receive a discount if you started receiving car insurance from the same company, turned a certain age, or began a membership to a certain club or organization that the insurance company recognizes and gives discounts to on a regular basis.

Credit: Ian W Anderson of homeownersinsurance.cc, the homeowners insurance information site. For more homeowners insurance information and articles like this one visit: Homeowners Insurance

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How to decide on seller financing

2006-05-03T22:01:00.000-07:00

Why offer seller financing when you sell? A higher price, a good return on your money, a faster sale and to sell a property that is otherwise difficult to sell. Some good reasons, but how do you do it safely?

1. Get a large downpayment. The most obvious way to be safe, and not always possible.

2. Get other security. If they want it with little down, and you like the return you'll get, make it safe by putting a mortgage on other property the buyer owns, to be released when they've paid down the balance to a certain level.

3. Check their credit. Have them pay for and bring you a credit report. Bad credit may be okay, but type of bad credit is important. Unpaid hospital bills they're disputing are not as relevant as unpaid loans.

4. Trust your instincts. If you are usually right about people, give some weight to your judgement of their character. I'd trust a man who felt morally obliged to pay his debts over a playboy that happens to have decent income at the moment.

5. Consider the whole picture. Suppose a bank will loan 90%, and is okay with you taking back a $5,000 second mortgage, allowing the buyer to get in with what cash he has. If you're getting $6,000 more than you expected by accomodating the buyer's needs, where's the loss? You're okay if he never pays the $5,000, right?

6. Talk to a lawyer. Maybe in your area it takes two years to get a foreclosure on a mortgage through the courts, and only six months to foreclose on a "contract for sale." Knowing these things can help you sell in the safest way.

Offering seller financing makes it easier to sell, and to get a higher price. Just be safe about it. Have a real estate lawyer review your paperwork, and use the tips here.

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, and to see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.housesunderfiftythousand.com/

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Reasons to refinance your home

2006-05-03T22:00:00.000-07:00

Many people will take whatever mortgage they can get when trying to purchase a home. Sooner or later, you will start wondering if you can get a better deal. Welcome to the world of refinance.

Reasons to Refinance Your Home

Traditional mortgages are like any other loan in one important respect. You can pay them off early, although mortgages will sometimes have prepayment penalties for the first few years of the loan. In the world of real estate, people prepay loans all the time by taking a second loan to do so, better known as refinancing. Why would someone do this? There are a variety of reasons, but here are the most common.

Purchasing a home can be a bit stressful. Between home inspections and the escrow deadline, buyers tend to feel pressure to get any financing they can. As time passes, however, they start to realize they could have obtained a better deal on their mortgage. Even a quarter point reduction in a mortgage interest rate can save thousands of dollars over the life of the loan. With this in mind, they start to look at refinancing their original mortgage to cut down on the total interest paid on the loan.

In tune with this idea, many homeowners also look to refinance to gain cash flow flexibility. Instead of looking to cut the total payments on a loan, they look to find terms that will allow them to lower the amount of the monthly payment. Saving $400 a month on payments puts an additional $4,800 in your pocket each year, which can be attractive if cash flow is a little tight on a monthly basis.

On the opposite end of the scale, many homeowners will refinance to pull cash out of the home. They have built up equity over time and wish to convert that non-liquid asset into funds that can be used for something else. Often, this can be to pay for expenses associated with an emergency situation, such as a health crisis, or to put their kids through college. The reasons vary, but the purpose is the same.

The decision to refinance a mortgage is much less stressful than originating a loan. There is no deadline to act, so you can shop for the best possible deal for your situation.

Dan Lewis is with Great Western Mortgage - San Diego home loans provided by San Diego Mortgage Brokers. Great Western Mortgage is a San Diego mortgage company providing San Diego mortgages, San Diego home equity loan and San Diego mortgage solutions.

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which mortgage - long or short

2006-05-03T21:58:00.000-07:00

Discussions of mortgages often focus on interest rates, but there is a much more basic decision to make. Should you go with a 30 year mortgage term or a 15 year mortgage term?

30 Year vs. 15 Year Mortgages

Any discussion of mortgages tends to turn on two points. How can you qualify for the most money with the lowest payment? How can you get the lowest interest rate for the mortgage? While these are two important issues, there is an addition one that people fail to consider, resulting in significant wasted money.

The term of a mortgage is extremely critical for a couple of reason. First, it sets the length of the obligation you are undertaking. Second, it defines the amount of interest you are going to pay over the life of the loan. These are huge issues when it comes to building equity.

The longer the loan, the more total interest you are going to pay. The trade off, of course, is you are going to have smaller monthly payments the farther you stretch out the obligation. While this may sound like a good goal when you first get the mortgage, it can backfire on you in the long run.

Most people focus on interest rates as a way to save money on mortgages. This is a valid approach, but playing with the length of the loan is a better way to save money. If you can cut the payments in half by going with a shorter loan, you can save huge amounts on the total interest repaid to a lender.

The decision on the term of the loan is relatively simple, but entirely dependent upon your personal situation. There is no absolutely correct choice. First, you need to determine if you can comfortably afford the higher payments that come with a shorter term loan. In general, a 15 year mortgage will have payments 20 to 25 percent higher than a 30 year loan. Of course, you will pay the loan off faster, to wit, be building equity in the home quicker.

The modern mortgage industry has a variety of different term length products. When applying for a loan, take the time to evaluate the different terms to see if you can find a loan that is perfect for your situation.

Dan Lewis is with Great Western Mortgage - San Diego home loans provided by San Diego Mortgage Brokers. Great Western Mortgage is a San Diego mortgage company providing San Diego mortgages, San Diego home equity loan and San Diego mortgage solutions.

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Make your home sell faster

2006-04-21T11:13:00.000-07:00

Every home seller wants two things: a quick sale at the highest possible price. Neither of those desires is unreasonable, but in order to achieve those goals, you'll need to do a few things to make you home more saleable and different from your competition--all the other homes for sale in your neighborhood and price range.

First, look at the outside of your home, since that's what prospective buyers will see first. If you've ever bought a home, you know that you passed up potential homes simply because they looked shabby and unkempt from the street. It's just a quirk of human nature that makes a person think that if a home looks bad from the street, it will be just as bad on the inside--so don't let your home make a negative impression on the outside.

Keep the lawn and landscaping as well-manicured as possible. Keep perennials looking good, and if possible, plant some nice-looking annual flowers to dress up the appearance of your home. Make sure your front door creates a warm, inviting feeling. If it needs a coat of paint, do it. Paint is cheap, and the rewards will be worth the effort.

The kitchen and bathrooms are crucial to making a favorable impression on potential buyers. They'll be spending a considerable amount of time in each of them, so they'll be looking at the kitchen and bathrooms with an especially critical eye. Paint can help immensely in these rooms, as well as making sure that the faucets don't leak and that everything looks fresh, livable, and odor-free.

Of course, the rest of your interior rooms need to be neat, clean, and clear of clutter to make them look bigger and more appealing. Again, if paint is needed to brighten a room, do it, using colors proven to attract your specific buyer's profile. If the buyers want to change it, that's fine, but you want every room in your home to make a favorable impression from the very beginning.

You don't have to spend a huge amount of money to make your house appealing to potential buyers. However, as the old saying goes: you only get one opportunity to make a good first impression. So walk around your house, inside and out, and try to look at it as if it's the first time you've ever seen it. What things do you see that would make a less-than-favorable impression on YOU if you were looking at them for the first time? Those are the things you want to address--long before the first potential buyers pull up in front of your home.

Copyright © 2006 Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher, interior design instructor, helps home sellers with color psychology to make their homes more saleable. Jeanette Fisher, author of interior design, real estate investing, and home staging books teaches home sellers five ways to get more money from their home sale. Home Selling Articles Free home seller's reports Sell Home Fast.

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10 mistakes in choosing a Realtor

2006-04-16T12:53:00.000-07:00

Top 10 Mistakes Sellers Make When Choosing a Realtor
By Crissie Cudd

Selling a home should be like any other business transaction, but all too often sellers make emotional or impulsive decisions that cost them money and time. Choosing the right Realtor to market a property and negotiate the sale is the most important step in the process.

“My friend (or family member) sells real estate.”
Friendship alone isn’t enough to establish a professional’s credentials. Use tough standards when selecting an agent, just as you would when hiring an attorney, a doctor, or an accountant to handle your taxes. A true friend will understand and appreciate that this is a business decision and will offer their credentials and expect to compete for the listing. Besides, if a problem or challenge develops while selling your home, do you want to risk damaging a friendship or family relationship?

“Your presentation sounds good. I’ll list right now”
Look at more than one presentation and consider the advantages and disadvantages of each. Making an impulsive decision when caught up “in the moment” could be difficult to correct later. Since you normally contract to list your house with the agent for a specific period of time, you may find yourself unable to “switch” to another if you find yourself unhappy with the service you receive.

“You’re the only agent who agrees with my selling price.”
Some agents tell you what you want to hear. In the real estate profession, this is known as “buying a listing” and is employed by shortsighted agents who are more interested in themselves than they are in you. However good it works as a short-term “sales tactic” in getting your listing, it is an extremely poor strategy in selling a home at the highest possible price.
You see, your house gets the most attention from other agents when it is a “new” listing. If priced properly, lots of agents will show it to their buyers. If you price it too high, no one will show the house and it will sit on the market for some time. When you finally drop your price to reflect its real value, your house is “old news” and buyers may think you are growing desperate. Therefore, the prices you are offered will come in lower and lower – and you may find yourself accepting a price that is below what you could have received had the house been priced properly to begin with.
Besides, pricing your home too high will only make similar houses for sale look that much better. Overpricing helps sell those houses, not yours.

“I don’t need references. I’m a good judge of character.”
A snap judgement isn’t good enough. You also need to determine if the agent is competent and the best way to do that is to check up on references. Ask for references on recent sales -- check up on references of recent customers. Find out how an agent’s customers feel about their selling experience.
Remember that how long an individual has been in real estate isn’t necessarily all you should look for. Experienced agents can grow jaded and not work as hard – newer agents sometimes make up with enthusiasm and effort what they lack in experience.

“I’m going to list with the agent who has the lowest commission.”
You get what you pay for. Paying a cut-rate commission will often get you a sign in the front yard and placement in the Multiple Listing Service, but little additional effort from your agent.
Realize that agents and real estate companies put up their own funds to market and advertise your home. Marketing and advertising costs money -- the lower the commission, the less incentive for an agent to put up his or her own money to market your home.
Incentive plays a very important role in sales. A “full service” agent earning a full commission will often “drop everything” to handle any challenges that come along – an agent earning a small commission does not have that same incentive.

Incentive is also important to the buyer’s agent. Since there are almost always two agents involved in every sale, they split the commission according to the listing agent’s instructions. One agent is your listing agent. The other agent is the buyer’s agent. When your listing agent dropped his commission, did he also reduce the commission that will be paid to the buyers’ agent? If so, you won’t find as many agents willing to show your house – they’ll be showing houses that offer a customary commission to the buyer’s agent.
Finally, negotiating ability is an important skill in a listing agent. Are you willing to put your faith in an agent who can’t even negotiate his or her own commission?

“The agent is what counts – not the company.”
Agents who work for large well-established companies with lots of agents do have some advantages. Large companies generally have longer office hours, so someone is always available to answer an ad call on your home. Large offices often have larger budgets and can spend more on advertising. The ad space for your particular home might not be huge, but because the total ad is so large it gets lots more attention.
Large real estate companies often have lots of agents. This is important because when your house is newly on the market, the company may stage an “office preview” where every agent in the office comes through and tours your home. Every agent who views your home and is impressed is another agent on your sales team.
Additionally, larger companies are often better at offering ongoing education to their agents. As a result, your agent may be better qualified and prepared to offer a quality service. Although most states require real estate agents to enroll in “ongoing education” to keep pace with changes in the real estate market, many agents only take the “bare minimum” in ongoing education courses. Sometimes, large offices are better at convincing their agents to go beyond the minimum.
There are exceptions to every rule, of course. Some very effective agents go off on their own and open private offices or “boutique” agencies.

“All realtors passed the same test so they must know the same things.”
The real estate profession is constantly changing and, as mentioned above, the best real estate professionals stay abreast of those changes by continuing their education. Some go beyond the required minimum requirements. Many agents acquire “professional designations” that show they took additional specialized courses.
For information about professional designations, click here.

“This agent will hold an open house every week.”
Open houses can and do sell homes, but usually not your home. Only a small fraction of the homes held open are sold as a direct result of the open house. More often, “open houses” are a way that real estate agents “prospect” for potential clients. If they develop a rapport with those visitors to your open house, they can find out about their housing needs and sell them the home that most closely matches those needs. Meanwhile, the person who eventually buys your home may be visiting someone else’s open house.
Good agents know better than to pin all their selling efforts on an open house. They use their time in more effective marketing methods. The most effective marketing is not directly to the public, but to other agents. By getting other agents interested in your home, your listing agent multiplies your sales force beyond just one individual.

“I want an agent who lives in my neighborhood.”
Knowledge of the local market isn’t only acquired by living in the immediate neighborhood. Sure, your agent should have intimate knowledge of recent sales, models, schools, businesses, and so on, but that is easily achieved through extensive research. Convenience shouldn’t be the primary reason for choosing an agent.

“This agent sold more homes last year than anyone else.”
That should only be the beginning. What is more valuable -- an agent who listed 32 homes and sold 25 – or an agent who listed twelve homes and sold all twelve? So you need to ask some questions. How many of their listings did not sell? How many were reduced over and over before they sold? How long were the houses on the market? How smoothly was the process handled? How accessible was the agent when there were questions or problems?
Quantity is important, but only if all of the quality questions have been answered satisfactorily.

Conclusion
The best agent is the one who will do the most effective job of marketing the property, negotiating the most favorable terms and conditions, and communicating with the seller to make the process as smooth as possible.

By Crissie Cudd - Crissie is a Realtor for Prudential WCI Realty in Naples Florida. To visit her web site, click here.

Renovate or sell

2006-03-04T18:47:00.000-08:00

Many people think about selling their home but first decide to renovate so that the house will sell for more money. This is a mistake and I would like to explain why.

When you are living in a house you do the upgrades necessary to keep your house up, things like changing windows, painting, upkeep on gutters and roofs and even sometimes a small addition for the kids to have an extra room. These changes and updates to your house are things that you have to do in the course of owning a house for years. When you go to sell your house buyers will be comparing your home to other houses in the neighborhood and hopefully it is the same because those buyers are there to buy a house in a certain price range.

Lets say as an extreme that your neighborhood has houses that are in the 150,000 -180,000 dollar range and you decided to add an extra floor to your home that costs 50,000 dollars. Now once you have put that extra floor on the house you will want to sell your house, trouble is since you just sunk 50,000 into the house and you would like to get 60,000 for your trouble then you will need to get 240,000 for the house when it is listed and sold.

The kind of buyers that buy a 150,000 dollar house and the kind of buyers that buy a 240,000 dollar house are different people that have an idea where they would like to own. No one wants to have the best home in a poorer neighborhood instead they would like to have an OK house in a better neighborhood.

In the end you will of course get your home sold but you are not likely to get what you wanted for it. I remember the days back when I was a Realtor and you would go through a fantastic house that really didn't belong in the neighborhood that it was in, Realtors would marvel at this and that in the house but in the end didn't bring offers. People looking in that price range were not interested in the neighborhood they were interested in another area altogether.

Please remember that if you are thinking of doing an addition or adding some feature to your house that is out of place with where you live that it is better to thing of it as a feature that you want to have and live with and not think about how it will affect the resale price of your home.

New Kitchen Appliances site

2006-02-20T13:16:00.000-08:00

I am always on the lookout for more sites that have to do with home purchase and home sales. I just found a new one that has articles on Kitchen Appliances as well as top sites for kitchen appliances. The Kitchen appliance site is broken up with lots of info on individual topics like GE microwaves or Amana Fridges that kind of thing

Real Estate Investment

2006-02-13T19:08:00.000-08:00

Many people are interested in becoming real estate tycoons like Donald Trump. There are many ways to make money in real estate but the very best way is to become a real estate investor. To become a real estate investor you must do the following.

1. Buy a property with low or no money down
2. Rent out the property
3. Take the extra monthly income and buy another property
4. Repeat until you have a ton of houses

The key to this process is to buy a house with as little money as possible and also to make sure that your mortgage, tax and other costs are paid for by the renter that you have put into the house or apartment. For most people to do this they need to have some seed money, this in this day and age is difficult as you will need a lot of money to get into the market. The following books will show you how to buy properties with no money down.

• Buy A House In 10 Days! Guaranteed!
Buy your 1st investment property or get a house of your own in 10 days! All with No Money Down, No Credit Check, No Job Check!

• Make Real Money Flipping Foreclosures!
Our Usa Foreclosure Manual Offers The Best Advice On How To Purchase Forclosures With No Credit Or Money Down! - #1 in Google.

• Own Real Estate With No Money Down.
Formula for building massive wealth with no money down.

• For Sale - No Money Down.
Buy your Dream House or make money for no money down!

There are a lot of scams out there to try to part you from your money so watch out.. The next thing that you have to work on is finding these properties. Often the best markets for buying investment properties are out of major cities as what you are looking for is a low purchase price so your monthly costs are low. When you have more money coming in from your renter then you have to pay out for the property then you are in a position known as positive cash flow. Positive cash flow is the holy grail of real estate investing as it allows you to go as long as you want with your property without putting money into it.

Good luck with your new real estate investment business!

Getting PreQualified for your mortgage

2006-01-14T19:49:00.000-08:00

It is important that you understand the basic difference between being "pre-qualified" or "pre-approved" by a mortgage lender as you are looking for a home to purchase. A pre-qualification is not the same as pre-approval. The buyer, seller, and agents involved in the transaction need have the same agreement regarding the buyer's ability to close the purchase.

Your realtor will want you to talk with a mortgage company as soon as possible. The reason is that the realtor needs to know the top price range you can afford and housing expense you are comfortable with. It also helps your realtor when presenting an offer to the seller's agent to show that you have taken steps to approval. It may very well help persuade the seller to accept your offer. In many housing markets the pre-qualification or pre-approval letter is accepted as part of the purchase presentation to the seller's agent.

When you are speaking with a loan officer to be pre-qualified you are giving information about your financial condition. The loan officer will also ask questions regarding your credit. There may even be a credit bureau drawn to see where you stand. Then the loan officer will give you an opinion of how much you can afford based on the information you have told that person. This is not a commitment to make the loan! You should be given a letter that states the pre-qualified mortgage amount and type of loan. It should state further that loan approval could be issued after the information you gave is verified & formally underwritten.

When you receive a pre-approval it has more weight than a pre-qualification. The pre-approval letter will give the maximum loan amount with the specific details of the total mortgage. It should have only conditions such as clear title report, underwritten appraisal, general closing conditions and no negative change in your status as a buyer.

If you are serious about buying a home, and you are satisfied with the mortgage company, you should get as solid a pre-approval as you can. You don't want any surprises along the way.

About the Author

Bill Wehr has been in home loan origination for over 25 years. He is the owner of Great Pacific Northwest Mortgage http://www.billwehr.com , a residential mortgage company serving Oregon and Washington.

Interviewing Realtors

2006-01-06T08:59:00.000-08:00

When it is time to pick a Realtor then it is also time to interview. The best way to choose a Realtor is to have a few com in and tell you what your house is worth and what they will do for you. Here is a good start.

When you are ready to select a REALTOR®, here are a few questions you can ask.

Make sure the REALTOR® presents a "listing presentation" to you. This presentation should answer many of these questions. If you will need a buyer's agent, also make sure everything is explained up front.

How long have you been a REALTOR®? Full or part time?

What professional organizations do you belong to?

Do you have a valid Department of Real Estate License?

What is your responsibility to me as your client?

Do you represent both buyers and sellers at the same time? If so, Who's best interest are you looking out for?

How will you keep me informed of new listings that I may be interested in?

What does the listing agreement entail, what are the beginning and expiration dates, and what are the fee amounts I will be paying?

Is there a charge or contract when working with buyers? (Some brokers/agents DO have contracts and fees)

What is your marketing philosophy? Ask for their complete marketing plan A-Z.

What can the Realtor's company do for you? What is their company's share of the local market? Are they part of a large or world wide referral network?

What types of things separate you from your competition and will you give me some feedback? How effectively will they advertise? Do they have 24-hour advertising capability?

What disclosure laws apply to me and what do I need to be aware of?

How does the Realtor market to other Realtors?

Are they a Realtor or a Real Estate agent? (There is a difference)

Does the Realtor have a strong internet presence? If not, why? Will your home have enough exposure for all potential buyers to view? (85% of buyers go to the internet first)

Cecilia Sherrard is a full time dedicated Realtor in Northeast Ohio. With years of experience and knowledge, she has maintained a multi-million dollar producer status.

Servicing areas such as: Westlake, Lakewood, North Olmsted, Rocky River, Cleveland, Brook Park, Parma, etc. Visit her website at http://www.youshouldown.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cecilia_Sherrard

How to sell as a FSBO

2006-01-05T14:29:00.000-08:00

This article is written by a Realtor knowing full well that most people that try to sell on their own end up using a Realtor if they have to sell. great tips for the do it your selfer.

Do you know that homeowners across the country sell their own homes every day? It is true that 80% of Fsbo’s’ end up listing with a real estate agent. But with these 7 easy steps you can save thousands of dollars for you and your family.

1.Determine Your Market Value: Some of leading edge real estate brokers offer a free over-the-net home evaluation. Online; city and county tax records, Realtor.com, bank on line home evaluation tools. Local legal business newspapers.

2.Preparing Your Home To Sell: The idea is to have the best home on the market in your price range. Hire a home inspector; get all repairs complete, spruce up landscape add fresh mulch, flowers. Clean windows, touch up painting. Move to storage all extra furniture clothes garage/basement stored items.

3.Make The Most Of Low Cost Real Estate Brokers: Discount or minimum service real estate brokers (some are internet based) offer a low cost option to place your home in the MLS at $200 to $500 it’s a steal. Pay the extra charges for additional photos and virtual tours these will place your home higher on the web page searches.

4.FSBO Marketing & Advertising: Get an 800# call capture system a pre recorded message to capture buyer information, use it on all signs and ads. Advertise in newspapers only on the major real estate ad day. Open houses piggyback on area realtor open houses.

5.FSBO Paperwork: Hire a real estate attorney. Mortgage brokers will qualify your buyers. The State Real Estate Commission has all the required forms. Title companies/closing attorneys handle all the closing paperwork.

6.Working With Real Estate Agents: Buyers Agent, the fastest way to sell is to co-operate with real estate buyers agents. Offer to co-broke, co-operate or broker protect for a quicker sale. Cost is normally 2 ½% to 3% of sale price sometimes you can get as low as 1 ½ % to 2% if the agent sees a quick easy deal. You can save this money by selling yourself, weigh the cost benefits of a quicker sale versus 2 to 3 months more on the market.

7.Close And Move On: Buyer selects closing attorney, Title Company, Mortgage Company, Survey engineer and pest control inspector. Your job is to have a marketable title be legally able to transfer the property, complete all agreed on repairs, move out (leave a clean home), sign all necessary paperwork, grab your check and move on.

There are costs to sell your home properly and quickly. In the end a savings of 3% on a $275,000.00 home is $8,250.00 in your pocket a nice prize for not a lot of effort. It’s a good start toward your daughter or sons college tuition next year.

Bill Carey with over 30 years in real estate sales, investments, and home building offers a unique perspective to the buying and selling process of residential real estate for F*R*E*E consumer information and reports log on to http://www.CharlotteNCExecutiveHomes.com and see "Insider Real Estate Secrets Revealed" ...a must-read for Home-Owners and Renters! It's a F*R*E*E 12-lesson e-course covering more than 20 topics exposing the realities behind buying and selling a home. It Could Make(or Save) You Thousands of Dollars

See http://www.BillCareyRealtor.com and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter with tips for buyers, sellers, home owners and soon to be home owners.

(Your Comments are Welcome)
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Carey

Should you use a Realtor

2006-01-05T11:43:00.000-08:00

This is the first article on choosing a Realtor. The first question you should ask yourself is whether you should choose a Realtor or sell yourself as a for sale by owner. Although I was once a Realtor I want to make sure I give balanced information. This article is why you should choose a Realtor. The next article will be why you should sell yourself.

When it comes time to sell your home, should you try to sell it on your own, or should you list it with a licensed Realtor? Consider the following factors to help you decide:

EXPOSURE
Realtors, or real estate agents, are part of an office of agents, and each of them knows of buyers that are currently in the market for a home. Their buyers are pre-qualified, that is, they have already seen a lender and have qualified for a loan so the buyer knows exactly how much they can afford, and the Realtor does too. In many areas, a realtor won’t even show homes to a buyer until they pre-qualify. The process saves a lot of wasted time on everybody’s part.

Contrast this with the prospect of you putting up a “For Sale” sign in your front yard, and having to deal with people that will be calling you to talk about your house and want to walk through it, even though they don’t have the resources to actually buy it. In the end, they are just wasting your time.

Realtors also have contact with many people from out of town who are relocating to your area. Each realtor in town gets contacted frequently through their website, by people that are looking for a home by long-distance. They may be coming to town soon to look at available homes for a few days. The Realtor lines up a number of homes for them to tour that fit their criteria. One of them could be yours. But, if you FSBO, that potential buyer won’t know your house is on the market until they get to town, if then.

EXPERIENCE
A real estate agent will be able to assist in setting the right price to list your home, according to the current market conditions.

A real estate agent is a trained professional who will spend the necessary amount of time it may take to get your home SOLD.

The agent understands and will take care of all the necessary paperwork to complete the buying process. The agent will also act as a liaison between you and the inspectors, the buyer’s agent, and between attorneys, if they are involved.

Most buyers prefer to deal with a real estate agent because the agent will give them the unbiased professional opinion on a house, and how it stacks up against other houses on the market.

Agents understand all the different types of loans and financing options. They can provide information to buyers about local lending institutions to fit their needs.

ADVERTISING
Realtors have many ways to advertise your home, not just a newspaper ad and a “For Sale” sign in the yard. They also utilize the following ways to advertise a home:
The Multiple Listing Service Open Houses Web sites like Realtor.com and Yahoo Real Estate Direct mail Newspaper inserts Regional Real Estate Magazines Cable TV Word of mouth through Realtor “Caravans” where 30 or more Realtors will tour your home and then match it to their prospective buyers.

How much of this marketing muscle will you be able to flex if you FSBO?

SHOWING YOUR HOME
Agents have expertise to help you get your home in top shape before your prospective buyers arrive. They can help you “stage” your home to look more like a model home that would appeal to a larger group of buyers. They know how to emphasize and focus on your homes good points.
If you FSBO you will be learning the process as you go, a costly education when you are trying to sell your own home.

SUMMARY
With all the time, knowledge, effort, and paperwork it takes to sell a home, you should partner with a Realtor and save yourself the headaches and frustration. Hire a Professional!

Vicki Walker is a Realtor serving clients in the Northern California towns of Davis and Woodland. You can find more great information by visiting her two websites Selling a Home in Davis or Woodland California Real Estate.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vicki_Walker

Showcasing your home to sell

2006-01-04T06:12:00.000-08:00

OK, I know we have almost kicked this one to death but I found one last article on how to get your home ready to sell. It is a short one but is a good final walk through before you choose your Realtor...or not? I will get to picking Realtors next.

by: W. Troy Swezey

One of the great challenges to selling a home can be showing all of its space, decor and natural light potential. For example, every home has crowded closets and dead space. Sellers should be aware that areas such as these are easy to spruce-up with a little elbow grease and old-fashioned innovation.

Begin by evaluating your closet/storage space, determine which areas can cut-down in clutter. Go through old clothes, shoes, etc., and get rid of anything that will not be used and in turn create more space. Consider organizing shelves and other areas to make better use of your storage space, including your garage and basement. Also, try to throw out or give away any old furniture that is no longer of use. All of the discarded items can be given to Good Will, Salvation Army or even sold at a yard sale.

Although most sellers keep their homes clean and well-decorated, it can be difficult to convince a buyer of a home's potential when clutter is noticeable. As brokers, it's our responsibility to offer any tips that will expedite the sale and make the experience more enjoyable for the seller.
Once you've eliminated the unwanted items and furniture, begin the 'renovation' process. For non-storage spaces that could use a little more decor, consider adding a small bookshelf complemented with a cozy reading chair. Always be sure you're filtering as much light into your property as possible. Open or replace curtains. For example, light from a window overlooking the backyard offers a room more color, a great view and the illusion of more space.

Always maximize the potential of existing decor; wash old curtains, re-stain old wood casings, anything that refreshes and emphasizes all the potential of the space and decor of the home.
Prospective buyers are often more drawn to homes with features that they don't have, those with clutter-free closets, open sunny rooms, and cozy little corners. To ensure you've realized all of the above characteristics the last step should be to bring in a friend and observe their reaction. Make sure it's an honest friend, who will offer suggestions as well as notice the improvements. Seeing your own home through someone else's eyes is a great way to make a home optimally attractive and more sellable to prospective buyers.

Be diligent in your efforts and be sure the renovations improve the aesthetic appeal of the home. All the hard work will be worth the reward of a successful sale.

How to get a 30 year old home sold

2006-01-03T19:58:00.000-08:00

Here are some great tips on what to do with a 30 year old home to get it to sell for top dollar.

Your home is not in great shape, 30 years old and it looks every day of it. There are some things you must do just to get rid of it, why not do a little more and make some money on the deal. 7 fix ups to help you sell fast and get top dollar.

1)Flooring – Ceramic tile if in good condition consider cleaning and staining the grout for a new fresh look. Replace carpet and padding use good quality not high end. Vinyl flooring if not newer replace. Hardwood floors scratched dull no shine refinish.

2)Curb Appeal – Dress up the landscape add mulch at all planting areas shape into curved borders, use to cover around all trees spread wide and cover bare areas. The mulch will help define the landscape, add flowers and shrubs, cut and edge lawn. Keep trim and turn mulch for fresh appearance.

3)Appliances and Mechanical Systems – If your appliances are more than 10 years old replace them they don’t work efficiently and are way out of style. No need to buy high end but they must be high style. Match all kitchen appliances pick a contemporary look. No doubt the mechanical systems are big ticket items a 30 year old a/c unit must go, air handler unit compare cost of refurbish versus replacement. Water heater should have been replaced 10 years earlier if not replace.

4)Exterior Problems – Roof is way past its life span (the buyers home inspector or Bank appraiser will require it to be replaced, so why not do it before at a cost you can negotiate) replace roof use Architectural grade shingles costs more in material but the labor is the same. Replace any damaged or rotted wood including decks and porches. Repaint exterior siding, trim, windows and shutters.

5)Doors and Windows – Make sure every one is operating properly it is well worth the cost to have a contractor come in and make everything work. New window balances, locks, replace broken and fogged glass, adjust all doors, thresholds, and locksets. Patio sliders always are misaligned replace rollers for better operation, install new screen.

6)Kitchens and Baths – Your counter tops are beat up replace or refinish. Wood cabinets can be repainted or refinished, change out hardware new door handles and drawer pulls. Replace faucets with new contemporary look. Check light fixtures there are great low cost designer fixtures at the big box stores.

7)Walls and Ceilings - Repaint every room paint walls and trim in complementary neutral 2-color. Paint ceilings white. Paint all doors both sides same as trim. Make house as fresh and new as possible.

Every item on this list will affect your listing agent their market analysis and suggested list price of your home. They each will affect the buyer and the buyer’s agent in what the offer price will be. Even if they over look some items when the home inspector comes in they will nail every one of these repairs with an estimated cost of two to three times the actual cost you can negotiate.

This home in 30 year old condition will sell at 20% below the market with these fix ups as a top condition home with warranties you can get 10% to 15% above the market. A 35% difference and a great part of that stays in your pocket.

Bill Carey offers insights to the buying and selling process of residential real estate for F*R*E*E information and reports see http://www.BillCareyRealtor.com."Insider Real Estate Secrets Revealed" ...a must-read for Home-Owners and Renters!It's a FREE 12-lesson e-course covering more than 20 topics exposing the realities behind buying and selling a home.It Could Make(or Save) You Thousands of Dollars

Getting ready to move - Mortgages

2005-12-03T18:05:00.000-08:00

If you are planning to move now or sometime in the near future then now would be a good time to visit the bank and mortgage broker.

Even though you will not have to fund your mortgage or refinance your mortgage for a few months yet it is good to get your self preapproved for a mortgage and get a good rate in case mortgage rates go up in the next few months.

Most banks and trust companies will lock your mortgage rate for a few months and this way as you shop for a new home you will know what the maximum will be for your mortgage payments

The other thing to do besides visiting the bank is to talk to a mortgage broker. Your mortgage broker can often get you a better rate for a mortgage because he or she goes through all the banks and trust companies to get the best rates and terms. A mortgage broker is paid a commission by the bank or trust company when you fund your mortage but don't worry you will still get a better rate then you would shopping on your own for a mortgage.

Home Seller Tip - Preparing your home to sell

2005-11-10T19:40:00.000-08:00

Preparing your home to sell is incrediblly important. When you have a nice uncluttered, clean and fixed up home it will sell faster and for more money. Here are some tips to get your home ready to sell:

Firstly, put your home in the best condition possible. That means taking care of any major repairs that could deter a buyer (such as replacing any broken windows or replacing a leaky roof) if you can afford it.

Next, look outside the house itself. Make sure your landscape is pristine. Mow the grass, clean up any debris and weed the garden beds. Plant a few annual flowers near the entrance or in pots to be placed by the door.

Don't spend much money on fixes to your home as a renovation will not likely pay back as much as it costs but be sure to do the following:

Clean the windows and make sure the paint is not chipped or flaking if so do a little painting.

Be sure that the doorbell works if not it is usually pretty easy to fix.

Clean and freshen up rooms, furnishings, floors, walls and ceilings. Make sure that bathrooms and kitchens are spotless.

Organize closets.

Make sure the basic appliances and fixtures work. Replace leaky faucets and frayed cords.
Eliminate the source of any bad smells, such as the kitty box. Use air freshener or bake a batch of cookies before your open house to ensure that the house smells inviting.

Invest in a couple of vases of fresh flowers to place around the house and next to any information about the house you have prepared for buyers.

Replace things that people would like to point out before buying leave no excuse. Replace the furnace filter, replace cracked windows, paint or stain the fence if it is time to, and adjust the gates so that they close properly.

New Home Seller tips

2005-11-09T21:02:00.000-08:00

I thought that I would just pump out a few tips that anyone could use to get their home sold and sold fast.

Make sure you have a good reason to sell. If you want to sell your home make sure that you are selling to move away, or closer, or to have a smaller house, or have a bigger house. Never sell just because prices have gone up or down. Also if you are selling to get money out of the house make sure you do not list until the price you are listing for is realistic in the market not just a price your friends think is right.

Just to reinterate, the reason for selling is incredibally important because when an offer comes in you want to make sure that the offer is acceptable because you are moving on, the emotion is the only thing that really kills a real estate deal. When you are offended by a price or by the terms you can then go back and realise that your reasons for selling are more important than that offence and you can get the deal finished and move on.

Links to other sites:

All Buyers and Sellers Realty of Florida - Ocala Real Estate
Search all the Ocala Marion County Florida real estate MLS listings. As Florida Realtors® and buyers agents we promise to save you time and money. We ARE fla!

All the Winter Park real estate listings you need!
We love Winter Park. And we've dedicated ourselves to mastering the Winter Park real estate market so that you'll be happy for years to come.

Bellingham Real Estate with Kathy Auerbach
I will help you buy or sell your home in Bellingham, Birch Bay, Blaine, Ferndale, Lynden, and other areas in Whatcom County, Washington.

Buy and Sell Charleston
Customer service is our top priority! Buying and selling Charleston Tri-County area real estate.

Caribbean Real Estate: Roatan Honduras Property
Real estate on Roatan Honduras. Come and find your tropical paradise!

Davis California Real Estate
Realtor serving the Davis and Sacramento region. Search the MLS, view homes, and take our exclusive virtual tour of Davis real estate where you can tour neighborhoods and see homes.

Eugene Oregon Real Estate - Eugene Real Estate
Eugene Oregon Real Estate - Springfield real estate. Also specializing in Cottage Grove, Junction City, Veneta, Creswell, Coburg, Oregon, and Lane County. Find buyer/seller tips, community information, free reports, and more

Fort Lauderdale Condo Company
The Condo Company is a highly specialized real estate agency that focuses on the Fort Lauderdale Condos market.

High Country Real Estate Services, Inc.
Taos, New Mexico real estate sales, management, home staging, interior design,landscape and window coverings services. Real estate remarkable.

Jonathan Dalton's Phoenix Arizona Homes
Providing full-service real estate in Glendale, Peoria, Surprise & Phoenix Arizona. Useful information on relocation, investment, schools and the community. Free MLS Search!

Lake Norman North Carolina Real Estate
Specializing in Lake Norman Real Estate, Mooresville, Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson, Concord & more.

Las Vegas Condos
The Condo Company is a highly specialized real estate agency that focuses on the Las Vegas condominium market.

Lisa Hall, Realtor
Serving the eastern Contra Costa region (in the San Francisco Bay Area). Working with real estate buyers and sellers in Antioch, Discovery Bay, Brentwood, and Oakley.

Memphis Real Estate - Joe Spake
Representing Buyers and Sellers of Fine Memphis Homes, specializing in Downtown, Midtown, and East Memphis - luxury homes, condos, historic properties.

Miami Condo Company
The Condo Company is a highly specialized real estate agency that focuses on the Miami condos market.

Nobody knows Ventura real estate like we do!
We provide the best real estate service in Ventura. Visit our site today!

Palm Beach Condo Company
The Condo Company is a highly specialized real estate agency that focuses on the palm beach real estate market

Seattle real estate, Everett real estate - RE/MAX
Residential and investment Seattle and Everett area real estate. King and Snohomish counties: Bellevue, Edmonds, Lynnwood, and others.

Vail Condo Company
The Condo Company is a highly specialized real estate agency that focuses on the Vail Colorado condominium market.

We Buy Houses-Sell Your Home-IBuyHouses.com
We want to buy your home. We pay Cash at closing, and can give you an offer for your home as soon as today with no hassles or headaches. With a network of homebuyers across the US and Canada, we'll have somebody in your area.

Your East Bay Real Estate Solution
Providing residential Real Estate services to the Norhtern Claifornia East Bay area. Specializing in Alameda, Oakland and San Leandro.

Going offline for a few weeks

2005-10-31T20:38:00.000-08:00

I am going to be busy with a project during the month of November, sorry. I hope to post a few times but there are no guarantees at this point.

Go back though the archives if you need motivation. I know that I have linked to some great sites and articles in the last little while and that can keep you busy.

Have a great November!

Home Buyer Pitfalls - Watch out for these

2005-10-28T13:29:00.000-07:00

1. SHOP FOR A HOME BEFORE YOU SHOP FOR A MORTGAGE. It's normal for prospective home buyers to get excited about buying a home. According to the National Association of Realtors, more than 70 percent of today's home buyers start their quest on the Internet, usually at www.realtor.com.

But that's the wrong place to start buying a home. The first step to a successful home purchase is for buyers to check their FICO (Fair, Isaac Corp.) credit scores to be certain a mortgage can be obtained.

The best spot I've found on the Internet to check my credit is www.myfico.com. It costs about $45 to review all three credit reports there from the three national credit bureaus, Equifax, Trans Union and Experian. The last time I checked, to my surprise, my FICO scores varied about 40 points among each of the three credit bureaus.

By checking credit reports at all three bureaus, there is time to correct any errors (reportedly, about 33 percent of credit reports contain mistakes) before applying for a mortgage.
Although you can now obtain your free credit reports from all three major companies at www.AnnualCreditReport.com, or 877-322-8228, those reports are virtually worthless because they don't include FICO scores, which all major mortgage lenders now use.

Armed with your credit reports and FICO scores (anything above 700 practically assures you will get the lowest mortgage interest rate), it's time to shop for written mortgage pre-approval.
Although mortgage brokers can arrange such pre-approvals, be sure your pre-approval letter or certificate comes from a bank or mortgage broker. Disregard any "pre-qualification letter," which is worthless because it isn't a lender's written promise to grant you a home mortgage, subject to an appraisal.

2. RUSH TO BUY A HOUSE OR CONDO WITHOUT CAREFULLY RESEARCHING THE LOCAL MARKET. After you have your written mortgage pre-approval 30-day or 60-day letter or certificate from an actual lender, it's time to get serious about researching the local home market in your price range.

Although you might buy the first home you spot on the Internet, or at a weekend open house, that rarely happens. Most home buyers take several months before their purchase offer is accepted by a seller.

3. BUY A HOME WITHOUT YOUR OWN BUYER'S AGENT. Too many home buyers purchase with only the help of the seller's listing agent (called a "dual agent" when that person also represents the home buyer).

It costs home buyers no more to have their own "buyer's agent" representing the buyer's best interests.

Buyer's agents, in addition to showing listings of other agents from the local MLS (multiple listing service), can show prospective buyers the local "for sale by owner" (FSBO) homes. Smart FSBO sellers are only too happy to pay buyer's agents half of a normal sales commission, typically around 3 percent. This is a major advantage of working with a buyer's agent.
Any licensed real estate agent can be your buyer's agent to look out for your best interests (unless that agent works for the same brokerage, which also listed the property for sale; then dual agency or designated agent rules apply).

However, most home buyers find it wise not to sign an exclusive buyer's agent contract, just in case the agent turns out to be a dunce.

4. BUY A HOME WITH AN INCURABLE DEFECT. No house or condo is perfect. Each one has some defect. Even brand-new houses have problems (hopefully not significant).

After I became friends with a local building inspector a few years ago, he revealed to me some of the defects he routinely discovered in new homes. Unless the problem was dangerous or in violation of building codes, he explained he had to ignore the defects, which he knew would result in problems several years later.

Fortunately, most houses and condos don't have defects that are not tolerable. Serious problems, called "economic obsolescence" by appraisers, might include a bad floor plan, poor location (such as near high-voltage power lines or adjacent to the city dump), heavy street traffic, and lack of convenient parking.

5. DON'T INSIST ON A COMPARATIVE MARKET ANALYSIS (CMA) BEFORE MAKING A PURCHASE OFFER. This is a major mistake too many home buyers make, often resulting in overpaying for a home.

The CMA is the same document that the listing agent should have presented to the home seller before the asking price was determined. It includes recent sales prices of similar nearby homes, asking prices of comparable neighborhood homes now listed for sale, and asking prices of similar homes that didn't sell (usually because they were overpriced).
Only after reviewing the CMA, and discussing it with the buyer's agent, can a reasonable purchase price be offered.

6. FORGET TO INCLUDE THE TWO KEY CONTINGENCY CLAUSES. Especially in very competitive local home sales markets, some home buyers let their buyer's agents talk them out of protecting themselves with the two key contingency clauses.

"All cash, no contingency" is what every home seller wants to hear. But it isn't realistic or very smart for most home buyers.

Instead, smart home buyers include contingency clauses for (a) a satisfactory professional appraisal of the home for at least the purchase price, and (b) the buyer's approval of a professional inspector's report.

Additional customary local inspection contingencies might include termite (pest control) inspection, building code compliance, energy efficiency, and radon test.

SUMMARY: These six home buyer mistakes to avoid help protect buyers from making major, costly errors. Home buyers who protect themselves can feel confident of making a sound purchase, which they will enjoy for many years.

(For more information on Bob Bruss publications, visit his Real Estate Center).

14 reasons not to sell your home yourself

2005-10-13T21:03:00.000-07:00

Here is a list from Alan Read Chua, a Realtor in Toronto:

14 IMPORTANT FACTS TO CONSIDER BEFORE YOU TRY TO SELL YOUR OWN HOME
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Occasionally, one can see "For Sale By Owner" signs, and some owners think that selling their own home will not only save them money, but believe they have an advantage over the sellers that have their home listed by a reputable Realtor©. Before you decide to take on this very important and legally complicated process…remember not even most Real Estate Lawyer’s recommend selling your own home yourself in today’s market. Here are a few of the reasons why:
1. You are limiting your exposure to potential buyers (less than 10% of what a good real estate broker will generate) which theoretically means your home will take ten to fifteen times longer to sell on the market.
2. The longer a home is on the market the lower the selling price is. Why? Because most buyers think that if the home has not sold after this long…there must be something wrong with the home.
3. The selling/buying process begins AFTER the buyer leaves your home. Most sellers think that all it takes is for someone to see their home, fall in love with the great decor… and the offer automatically will follow. Remember that the buying process begins after they leave your home. If a real estate agent does not represent the buyer, and they are looking on their own…they usually leave the home and start to talk themselves out of the buying process. If the buyer is represented by a real estate professional Realtors© are trained on how to overcome buyers remorse--a very common occurrence.
4. Because of the limited exposure you will very likely end up with a lower selling price. Remember, in order to generate the highest price possible for your home… selling means exposure. You need the maximum exposure possible, to generate the highest price possible.
5. Most buyers find it extremely awkward to negotiate or even to talk directly with sellers and therefore avoid FSBO properties.
6. Lack of negotiating experience and lack of pertinent information often will result in a lower selling price, or worse yet, a bungled contract and possible lawsuits.
7. The majority of qualified buyers are working with experienced real estate professionals.
8. Many serious buyers will pass by a FSBO home merely because they recognize that it is not in the real estate mainstream, this can some times make them wary.
9. As most local buyers now retain an experienced real estate sales person to represent them as their buyer-agency, you will probably be negotiating against an experienced professional.
10. Expected savings in broker's fees will also be greatly reduced if you offer a selling commission to entice real estate agents to bring potential buyers.
11. If you are planning to use a Lawyer to help you negotiate the offer, then your lawyer’s fees will be considerably higher.
12. Only real estate agents have access to the up-to-date market information. News reports cannot approach the timeliness or specificity available to agents. Further, real estate agents are involved in home sales much more frequently than the average homeowner is. This familiarity leads to a degree of expertise that provides an edge on negotiating and successful selling.
13. You only pay the commission to the real estate broker, if they successfully sell your home at the price you are happy with.
14. Accepting an offer is one thing, ensuring a safe and successful closing is quite another. Real estate transactions usually always have problems on closing. At times, expecting the Buyers and Sellers Lawyer’s to fight it out or resolve the problems, can sometimes mean the deal is lost.
This is the time that your experienced real estate professional, can be the most important. Your Realtor© can act as a great mediator. Lawyers MUST act only on their client’s instructions and are not paid to negotiate.

The Role of Your Realtor

2005-10-10T12:00:00.000-07:00

When you bought your home, you probably used the services of a real estate agent.

You found that agent through a referral from a friend or family member, or through some sort of advertising or marketing. The agent helped you in many ways and eventually you found the house of your dreams, made an offer, closed the deal, and moved in.

For whatever reason, now it is time to sell your home and you need a real estate agent again. You may have been happy with that first agent and will contact him or maybe you don't even know what happened to him. Many home sellers, especially those selling their first home, tend to think all agents are similar to the one that helped them buy their home. This is not at all true. And if you take a peek inside a real estate office business you can see that. Most Realtors spend time doing three things. Networking, serving new and old customers and market research.

Although real estate agents can (and do) work with both buyers and sellers, most tend to concentrate more on one than the other. They specialize. When you bought your home, you probably worked with a "selling agent" – an agent that works mostly with buyers. Because of the nature of real estate advertising and marketing, the public’s main image of the real estate profession is that of the selling agent (buyer's agent).

As a result, many homeowners expect their listing agent to do the same things that a selling agent does – find someone to buy their home. After all, they do the things you would expect if they were searching for buyers. A sign goes up in the front yard. Ads are placed in the local newspaper and real estate magazines. Your agent holds an open house on the weekend. Your house is proudly displayed on the Internet.

But this is only "surface" marketing. More important activity occurs behind the scenes. After the "for sale" sign goes up and flyers are printed, your agent’s main job is to market your home to other agents, not to homebuyers.

There are some stats that usually suprise many people:

Only 3% of house buyers buy a house from an open house.
only 5% of For Sale By Owners sell their own home.
Almost every house sale is sold by a Realtor through the MLS system even with so many homes on MLS making it to the interent, and flyers everywhere, and showhomes open 24/7

Great Tips on Agency and Dual Agency when Selling a Home

2005-10-03T14:42:00.000-07:00

Are you confused about who represents you in a real estate deal? Who is paying the commission? What rights do you have? Here is a great article with info that may answer all of your questions and more.

There is a relatively new and not always well understood practice in Real Estate sales; it is called Buyer Agency or Buyer's Agent. Until recently Realtors and agents usually represented the seller, in opposition to the buyer, during the real estate transaction. Even the real estate agent who drove you from home to home was not truly working on your behalf. By law, the agent was required to work on the seller's side in order to get the highest price and the best terms for the seller -- Period! Some agents still work this way.

In the last few years, first the law and now the practice of representation has changed. We have an entirely different set of options and agreements when we are buying real estate. These options were previously only available and utilized by large companies or wealthy individuals. In the past, the buyer would get a buyer's representative by paying a fee up front and usually by the hour, until the transaction was complete.

Twenty five years ago, as a personal agent for wealthy clients and companies, I charged and worked an average of 20 hours a week for $30 per hour, plus expenses, plus 10% of the transaction (or when I was the buyer's agent, a $2,000 retainer fee to start with and then $30 per hour and 10% of the amount below the listed price that I was able to obtain for my buyer. If there was financing involved I also was paid to find and obtain the best financing).

That has changed dramatically. As a buyer's agent, a signature on a buyer's agent contract from my buyer begins the transaction. Usually the same original commission fee that would have been paid by the seller is split and half goes to pay the buyer's agent. In some cases the selling agent does not set up any fee to the buyers agent, or a very reduced fee, such as those agencies that advertise 2% or 3% or 4% commissions to the sellers, etc. In that case the Buyer just picks up the missing commission and at settlement another 4% or 5% comes out of the transaction and goes to us as Buyer's Agent. In other words there is a guarantee from us that we are working ONLY for you the buyer and in exchange you guarantee us a commission of 5% - which is usually already taken care of, or at least part of it, in the seller's commission.

I can draw this division of fees out for you on paper if need be when we meet the first time. Bottom line; you don't pay any more and you get the absolute best representation.

The buyer's agency arrangement begins with the initial interview, continues through an initial selection of properties to investigate and view and then to contract negotiations. This culminates with the final settlement and transfer of funds for property. The buyer may choose to have an agent specifically committed to representing his best interests.

The great part for the buyer is that he/she gets the benefit of decades of experience and professional knowledge, all of our connections and reputation with those connections, and pays nothing until final close of transaction. Where else can you get the best possible professional service and pay nothing until it's complete and satisfactory. Will your doctor, lawyer, accountant, mason or carpenter do that... NO. We do, if you contract with us first. Otherwise we represent the seller at your expense! This is true of all Realtors by law. Which would you like?

Recently real estate laws in virtually every state are being rewritten to allow and suggest that the buyer have his own specific representative. If you are the buyer and have a buyer's agent, your agent will try to get you the best deal possible, even if that is NOT in the best interest of the seller.

Legally: "Buyer's Agency" is a relationship where the real estate agent is working FOR you with fiduciary responsibility (financial and legal responsibility). The agent is then legally bound to only the buyer and owes his entire loyalty and allegiance to the buyer alone.

In the past, and even most of the time today, all real estate agents and brokers represent the seller alone; to get the highest price for the seller. In fact seller's agents MAY NOT disclose fully all that they know about a property to the buyer as they seek the highest price. The relationship of a broker and agent is established in writing with the seller when the property is listed for sale in the "Listing Agreement".

In Delaware we are required to give each person we work with; buyer or seller; a written explanation regarding agency status. We have professionally written brochures that explain the "seller's agency" and it's opposite "buyer's agency". This agency disclosure must be explained, in writing, at the first significant contact of the agent with the buyer or seller.

Agents in our office talk with a great number of long-distance buyers over the phone. We must, when we finally meet in person, disclose and determine which position we will take with the person we are speaking with. Some agents work mostly as seller's agents; some work mostly as buyer's agents and some work as a dual agent (where we act as full representative to both buyer and seller). Regardless of the role the agent takes -- it should be fully and completely known by all agents, buyers and sellers involved -- and it should be in writing.

Let us now put this forward again:

Seller's Agent: has the full and complete and sole duty to obtain the best deal for the seller. The seller's agent is ONLY allowed to give the buyer material facts about the property. It is customary for a cooperating broker and agent to be a subagent to the seller's agency established by the brokerage that has the written contract with the seller to sell the property.
Buyer's Agent: has the full, complete and sole duty to obtain the best deal for the buyer. The buyer's agent may convey any and all information obtained in any fashion, including in depth investigations about the seller or the property.

Dual Agent: has to be legally and financially loyal to both parties. Dual agency occurs when a real estate agency is contracted to sell a home. That means they have the listing, and an agent from that same brokerage, working as a buyer's representative, shows that listing. Dual Agency must be disclosed and agreed to in writing by all parties. Some people feel that Dual Agency is potentially a conflict of interests. It can be unless the agent is fully honest to all parties and they are fully aware of and in agreement with that relationship. Here, the entire purpose of the dual agent is to get the best possible deal, in all it's components, for both the buyer and the seller.
There are, in general, two major personalities of buyer's agents. First is the agent who only and always represents buyers. The other is the agent who takes each transaction and each customer into account before making that decision. An agent who usually works as a buyer's agent, for instance, may NOT want to represent a particular buyer as that buyer's agent for one reason or another. The reason is usually one of some personality difference. As I put it, when speaking with a buyer whom I wish to represent "I will be your gladiator. I will do battle on your behalf, and at the expense of and against the interests of, the seller and the seller's agent."

The buyer's agent must still be honest, but he need not be fair. For instance, if the buyer's agent is able to find out that the seller is in big financial or personal trouble and that the seller has a small mortgage on the property or that there is some impending deadline for selling the property, then the buyer's agent will tell the buyer. Together they will use that information to get a great deal for the buyer at the seller's expense... it that is possible.

If I were a buyer, I would not even consider doing a real estate transaction without a buyer's agent to act on my behalf. I suggest that you are wise to do the same. If there are detailed and extensive negotiations that need to be done; such as unique and difficult terms that must be negotiated then (being the buyer) I'd ask that the buyer and the seller agree to have me as a dual agent. Whatever your choice, it should be in writing with your agent and must be known to all parties involved.

Copyright © 2001-2004 by www.JodyHudson.com
Source for this article is: http://www.kate-jody.com/essays/buyersagent.html
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/

9 Tips to get started in the home selling process

2005-10-01T05:52:00.000-07:00

1. Get Pre-Approved for a Home Loan
I've known sellers who signed a contract to sell their house before they knew if they were qualified to buy another. Either their financial circumstances had changed since their last purchase, and they could no longer qualify for a loan, or they weren't able to sell at a price that allowed them to buy the type of replacement house they wanted. They ended up renting or buying something that was far from ideal.

Before you decide to sell the house, get pre-approved by a lender you trust and research the housing market in the area where you wish to live so that you have a good idea how much it will take to buy a replacement.

How To Start ResearchingStart looking for two types of real estate: houses that seem to match the one you'd like to buy and houses that are similar to your current home.

Find homes in free For Sale publications, often available outside grocery and convenience stores.
Search the Internet for homes for sale in your area and read real estate ads in your local newspapers. You won't find house locations without making phone calls, but browsing the general market will get you off to a good start. And to compare for-sale homes to your own, learn how to Measure Residential Square Footage.

2. Check Your Mortgage Payoff
Call your lender to check the payoff for your current home mortgage. You'll need the figure to complete Step 6.

3. Determine How Much the House Is Worth
Determine your home's fair market value. Real estate agents will usually help you determine value as a courtesy, but you might take it a step further and order an appraisal.

4. Estimate Your Costs to Sell
Real estate commission if you use an agency to sell.
Advertising costs, signs, other fees if you plan to sell by owner. Attorney, closing agent and other professional fees.
Excise tax for the sale.
Prorated costs for your share of annual expenses, such as property taxes, home owner association fees, and fuel tank rentals. Any other fees typically paid by the seller in your area (surveys, inspections, etc.).
Real estate agents deal with transactions every day and can give you a very close estimate of seller closing costs.

5. Determine Your Costs to Acquire a New Home
Total your costs to acquire a new home: moving expenses, loan costs, downpayment, home inspections, title work and policy, paying for a new hazard insurance policy--all expenses related to buying a home. Your lender should give you a disclosure of estimated costs when you apply for pre-approval.

6. Calculate Your Estimated Proceeds
Deduct your mortgage payoff from your home's fair market value.
Deduct your costs to sell from the remainder to get an estimate of the proceeds you will be paid at closing.Will your closing proceeds cover your costs to acquire a new home? If not, do you have cash or other funding to make up the difference?

7.Make any repairsMake all needed repairs unless you want the house to be regarded as a fixer-upper. I'm not referring to cosmetic updates, but to items in need of repair. Anything that's obviously broken gives potential buyers a reason to submit a lower offer.
For a preview of several repair hot spots that worry buyers the most, read Passing Your Home Inspection.

8. Get the House Ready to Show
Most houses need at least a little spiffing up before they are shown to potential buyers. Great curb appeal, fresh paint indoors (and sometimes out), organized closets and cabinets, sparkling clean windows and appliances, and a clutter-free atmosphere are essential if you want the house to appeal to buyers.

9. Get Psyched Up to Let People In
If you're listing with a real estate agent, she'll no doubt ask you to leave when the house is shown. Why? Because lurking sellers make buyers nervous--they don't feel comfortable inspecting the house when they feel they are intruding.
Unless there's a real reason for it, don't ask your agent to be present for all showings. That's the kiss of death for showing activity. Other agents want privacy with their buyers and they don't usually have time to work around your agent's schedule.
Make the house accessible. That means it's always ready to show. Many agents won't bother showing a house that takes 24 hours to get into.

Great set of tips on what to do to get your home ready to sell

2005-09-28T11:54:00.000-07:00

what a great bunch of info from a government site:

If you've decided to sell your home, chances are you're caught up in a host of emotions. You may be looking forward to moving up to a new dream house or facing the uncertainty of a major move across country. You may be reluctant to leave your memories behind or eager to start new adventures. Whatever turbulent feelings you're experiencing right now, there are plenty of practical matters that need your attention. Keep in mind the following considerations to help the whole process go more smoothly.

Time Becomes Money

It's a good idea to place your home on the market as far in advance as possible of purchasing a new one. If you find a new home first and then try to sell your present home, you may wind up with two mortgages. If this does happen, ask your real estate agent or banker about a bridge loan to help you make the double payments. Lenders use the same criteria for offering bridge loans as they use for mortgages. Should you qualify for a bridge loan, beware of the expense; during the term of the loan you must continue to pay both mortgages. Shop around for the best terms.

Keep in mind that when people move, sell and buy, there usually is a domino effect. Closing and moving dates have to be coordinated, and the more firmly everyone commits to a window of dates and sticks to them, the better for all involved. Put all agreements about dates in writing, and protect yourself by negotiating financial penalties for failure to comply.

Check Your Curb Appeal

A home that's visually appealing and in good condition will attract potential buyers driving down the street. Use this checklist to view your property through an outsider's eyes.

Are the lawn and shrubs well maintained?
Are there cracks in the foundation or walkways?
Does the driveway need resurfacing?
Are the gutters, chimney and walls in good condition?
Do the window casings, shutters, siding or doors need painting?
Are garbage and debris stored out of sight?
Are lawn mowers and hoses preperly stored?
Is the garage door closed?

On the Inside

Strong curb appeal will lure potential buyers inside, where you have to live up to their expectations. Fortunately, there are plenty of easy improvements you can make to your home's interior without spending a lot of money. Cleaning is No. 1. Your windows, floors and bathroom tiles should sparkle. Make sure you have clean heating and air conditioning filters. Shampoo dirty carpets, clean tubs and showers, repair dripping faucets and oil squeaky doors. Keep your home neat, clean and picked-up at all times. It may not seem fair, but a peek in the oven may be the hallmark by which a buyer judges how well you have kept up your home.

Remove unnecessary clutter from the garage, basement, attic, closets and straighten stored items. Also remove any items that might make a statement that would be offensive to others who may not share your same views, beliefs or sense of humor. If your home is crowded with too much furniture, consider putting some things into storage. If a room needs a fresh coat of paint, use a neutral off-white. Think, too, about how your home smells. You may be used to the smell of a pet or cigarettes, but such odors can be a strong turn-off to others. Be certain to remove valuables such as jewelry and other items from view. It might be wise to put these items in a safe deposit box before showing your home. Finally, set a mood for the buyer. Make your house homey with live flowers and fresh guest towels in the bathroom. Place scented potpourri around the house or, on the day you're expecting a potential buyer, pop a batch of frozen cinnamon rolls into the oven for a welcoming aroma.

Remember, cosmetic changes do not have to be expensive. In fact, costly home improvements do not necessarily offer a good return on your investment when you sell. It's attention to the basics—anything that says “this home has been carefully maintained”—that will help you get the price you want.

Go It Alone

Some homeowners decide to sell their homes themselves in order to save the commission charged by a real estate agent. The commission rate may vary, depending on where you live or what agency you choose, but it is generally upwards of 5%. However, handling your own sale means you will be responsible for placing ads, answering phones and showing your home to strangers. What's more, buyers who know you are saving on an agent's commission may offer less for your home, wiping out the financial incentive to do it all yourself.

You may decide an agent's commission is a bargain the first time that a would-be buyer shows up unannounced at dinnertime. Also, be aware that a real estate agent probably knows a lot more about the business of selling a home than you do. Here are some of the advantages professional agents offer:

They will help you establish a fair asking price for your home.
They will promote your home to other agents and list your property in multiple listing services. A multiple listing service is a book or computer database that all real estate agents who subscribe to the service can access. Your home will get exposure to all those agents, one of whom may have the perfect buyer.
They will create, pay for and place advertising for you.
They will schedule appointments to show your home to prospective buyers even when you are not there.
They can weed out buyers who will not qualify for a mortgage.
They can refer you to sources for insurance, inspections, legal counsel and financing.
They will help you negotiate with the buyer.
They can make suggestions to help make your home more attractive to a potential buyer.

If you decide to sell through an agent, ask friends and neighbors for recommendations. Talk to several agents before picking the one you want to work with. Taking a walk through your home with an agent should give you a feel for how that person will handle prospective buyers. Ask prospective agents how they plan to market your home. Don't sign with an agent just because he or she suggests the highest asking price. Negotiate the broker's commission prior to listing your home, and sign for a limited period of time—usually three to six months.

Setting a Fair Price

Naturally, you want to get top dollar for your home. But, at the same time, you don't want to scare off potential buyers with a price tag that's too high. Setting an artificially high price may cause your property to languish on the market for months. Reducing your asking price later on may lead buyers to wonder if there is something wrong with your home. Here are some of the factors to consider in pricing your home.

Your location
Economic conditions
Supply and demand in the local housing market
Seasonal influences
Local schools
Average home prices in the neighborhood
Your home's extras -- pool, fireplace, central air, etc.
To determine the value of your home, you probably will want the advice of a real estate agent or appraiser. Ask an agent to prepare a market analysis for you, showing the recent selling prices of three neighborhood properties comparable to your own. The agent can help you adjust for the unique features of your own property.

Qualifying a Buyer

Either you or your agent will want to quickly weed out potential buyers who cannot really afford to purchase your home. A number of factors will help determine whether or not you are wasting your time negotiating a sale.

The buyer's debt and credit history
The buyer's current income and employment
The buyer's cash position and availability of a down payment
The length of time the buyer needs before closing on your home
How interested the buyer appears to be in your home versus others
Seek Legal Representation

When selling your home—particularly if you are selling on your own—it's a good idea to be represented by an attorney. Look for an attorney with expertise in real estate transactions. When a potential buyer puts an offer in writing and you accept it, the signed acceptance becomes the sales contract. Your attorney will be present at the actual closing to protect your interests and can assist you with the following elements of a sales contract:

The sale price
What is included in the sale price -- draperies, carpeting, light fixtures, heating oil, etc.
The amount of the down payment
The date of closing and possession date
Contingencies to the sale--inspections (e.g. structural, lead-based paint, radon), required improvements, legal review of the contract by the buyer's or seller's attorney, etc.
The amount and length of the mortgage loan, interest rate and time limits to secure the loan
Determining which closing costs are to be paid by the buyer and which by the seller
Tax Implications

Selling a home can have a major impact on your federal and state tax returns. Check with your tax consultant on the factors that may affect taxes resulting from the sale of your home. For example:

Whether you purchased the home or acquired it by gift or inheritance
Whether you used your home partly for business or rental
Costs associated with selling your home
Home improvements or additions, which may help to offset capital gains
The sale of your home. In certain cases you can exclude up to $250,000 in gain ($500,000 for married couples filing a joint return) on the sale of property that was your principle residence for at least two years. Generally, you can use this exclusion every two years.

Congratulations!

You've successfully weathered the logistics of selling your current home, and you're ready to move on to a new and exciting chapter in your life. As you prepare for the coming changes, check out the Life Advice sections Moving and Buying a Home to aid you in this transition.

20 Low-Cost Ways to Spruce Up Your Home to sell

2005-09-26T06:20:00.000-07:00

20 Low-Cost Ways to Spruce Up Your Home

Make your home more appealing for yourself and for potential buyers with these quick and easy tips:
1. Trim bushes so they don’t block windows and cut down on light.
2. Buy a new doormat.
3. Put a pot of bright flowers (or a small evergreen in winter) on your porch.
4. Put new doorknobs on your front door.5
. Put a fresh coating on your driveway.
6. Edge the grass around walks and trees.
7. Keep your garden tools out of site.
8. Be sure kids put away their toys.
9. Buy a new mailbox.
10. Upgrade your outside lighting.
11. Use warm, incandescent light bulbs for a homey feel.
12. Polish or replace your house numbers.
13. Clean your gutters.
14. Put out potpourri or burn scented candles.
15. Buy new pillows for the sofa.
16. Buy a flowering plant and put in a window you pass by frequently.
17. Make a centerpiece for your table with fruit or artificial flowers.
18. Replace heavy curtains with sheer ones that let in more light.
19. Buy new towels.
20. Put a seasonal wreath on your door.

Reprinted from REALTOR® Magazine Online by permission of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® Copyright 2005. All rights reserved. www.REALTOR.org/realtormag

Real Estate - Home Selling Articles and Advice

2005-09-21T20:48:00.000-07:00

Here is a great site that has links to lots of information and articles to do with home selling. This page is a good start to see an overview of the home selling process.

Real Estate - Home Selling Articles and Advice

Here is a good bit of information on makeing your house "anontmous. As a Realtor I saw far to many houses with a lot of emotional, familt momentos that could harm a person seeing the house as their own:

Make Your Home "Anonymous"

If there is a new home sales tract near your home, go visit. It doesn't matter what size the homes are. What you will find are some wonderfully (but sparsely) furnished homes that anyone could live in -- with the emphasis on "anyone." They are anonymous. There may be a baseball glove in the boy's room, but no family photos on the walls.

There may be "personality" - but no person.

The reason you want to make your home "anonymous" is because you want buyers to view it as their potential home. When a potential homebuyer sees your family photos hanging on the wall, it puts your own brand on the home and momentarily shatters their illusions about living in the house themselves.

Put away family photos, sports trophies, collectible items, knick-knacks, and souvenirs. Put them in a box. Rent a storage area for a few months and put the box in the storage unit.

Do not just put the box in the attic, basement, garage or a closet. Part of preparing a house for sale is to remove "clutter," and that is the next step in preparing your house for sale.

Real Estate Internet Marketing: Homebuyers sold on technology

2005-09-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

I have found this great info on how home owners love using technology when buying or selling a house

Real Estate Internet Marketing: Homebuyers sold on technology

Common Home Seller mistakes

2005-09-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes people have to be reminded that when selling their largest possesion that there are many that have gone before them on this path and there are some things that you can easily avoid. Here are the most common mistakes that home sellers make:

Basing Asking Price on needs or emotion not market value. Many sellers base their pricing on how much they paid for their home. If your home is not priced competitively, home buyers will prefer larger or better homes in the same price range, increasing your time-to-sell. When your price is later lowered, buyers may be wary because they suspect other reasons the house has remained unsold so long.

Failing to "present" the home. A property that is not clean or well maintained often suggests hidden defects that increase the total cost of ownership. Sellers should make necessary repairs, and spruce up the house inside and out, keep it clean and neat, or risk chasing away buyers brought in by realtors. Buyers will leave themselves a large margin for error for the cost of repairs, reducing their offer price.

Over-improving the home prior to selling. Sellers may spend thousands of dollars doing the wrong upgrades to their home prior selling, expecting to recoup this cost. If you are thinking of selling, ask your realtor which upgrades are cost effective.

Failure to effectively market the property. Good marketing distinguishes your home from hundreds of others on the market, selling its benefits not just its features. Open houses and print advertising (the most obvious) are only moderately effective. Only 1% of homes are sold at open houses, and just 3% of people purchased their homes after seeing a print ad! realtors use these tools to attract future prospects, not to sell your specific house. make sure realtor uses other marketing tools as well.

Choosing the wrong Realtor or choosing for the wrong reasons. Many homeowners list with the agent who tells them the highest price, and not the one who provides the best experience. More experience could mean a higher price at the negotiating table, selling in less time, and with less hassles along the way.
Failing to take the first offer seriously. Many sellers believe that the first offer received will be one of many to come, hoping to hold out for a higher price, especially if the offer comes in soon after the home is listed. Often the first offer ends up being the best buyer, and many sellers have had to accept far less money than the initial offer much later on in the selling process. Homes are most saleable early in the marketing period.

Using the "Hard Sell" during showings. Buying a home is an emotional decision, and buyers are looking to see if a house is comfortable for them. Good realtors let the buyers discover the home's features on their own, pointing out only features they are sure are important to them. Many sales are lost by overselling when buyers think they are paying for features that are not important to them.

Not knowing your rights and obligations. The contract you sign to sell your property is a complex and legally-binding document. An improperly written contract can allow the purchaser to void the sale, or cost you thousands of unnecessary dollars. Have your realtor fully explain the contract or have your lawyer review it before acceptance

Home Seller Tips

2005-09-21T09:52:00.000-07:00

Home Seller Tips

The key to selling your home is effective presentation. Like a person, first impressions and "curb appeal" are critical.

Curb Appeal. A home should be attractive as soon as visitors drive up and walk to the front door. There are ways to enhance curb appeal: keep your lawn cut, trim the edges, plant flowers and shrubs, and keep the flower beds weed-free. To make the house itself better looking, wash the windows, paint the eaves troughs and trim, keep the yard litter and leaf-free. If you are out of town while the home is listed, hire a service to maintain the garden and plants (indoor as well as out).

Keep it uncluttered. Inside the home, there are simple things that enhance a buyer's interest. "Job One" is keeping it tidy: this makes the house look more spacious and better-maintained. Clean the carpets, and wash the light fixtures, ceilings and walls (especially if you have pets). A fresh paint job will make the house feel new, especially in a smoker's home. Store any seasonal items or extra toys to reduce clutter. If you need help with repairs or renovations, your real estate agent can recommend good but affordable professionals for the tasks.

Focus on the Bathroom and kitchen. Buyers, especially women, will take a close look at the bathroom and the kitchen. These are the two rooms where women at home spend most of the time. Fix up the grout or caulking in the bathroom beforehand. Consider painting cupboards and re-tiling floors, counters, and walls in the kitchen.

Before the visit. When someone is scheduled to visit your home, turning on all the lights. Try to keep the home reasonably vacant, so the home buyer is free to comfortably look around. Bake a loaf of bread or a cake, light candles, or dab vanilla extract on light fixtures to create a pleasant scent in your home. Most buyers only take three minutes to look at a home. If you make a good first impression, and show a neat and well-maintained home, your odds for a sale improve dramatically. While some improvements may cost money up front, they may dramatically improve your selling price. Your realtor will provide you with recommendations to help improve your net selling price.

For Sale By Owner Horror Stories

2005-09-20T12:38:00.000-07:00

From Jerry Fowlers Web Site

STORY # 1 - BUYERS BACK OUT

Four years ago, Henry and Mary Langley bought their first home. They loved it and planned to live there about 10 or 15 years and then move out to the lake. But nearly a year ago Henry's employer offered him a transfer to another city. Henry wasn't given much of an option. It was either transfer now or receive no advancement in his present job. Henry's company did not offer a buy-out provision, so the Langleys would be responsible for the sale of their home.

Henry and Mary asked three agents to perform a comparative market analysis on their home. The results were discouraging. Because they had been in the home such a short time, the Langleys had not realized much appreciation in their home's value, so if they sold through a Realtor they would have to pay the commission out of their own pockets. They decided to try the For-Sale-by-Owner route.

Everything proceeded smoothly at first. Several lookers stopped by, but the seventh family to see the house fell in love with it and made an offer. The offer was lower than Henry and Mary had expected, but time was running out so they decided to accept it. In writing the offer, the purchasers had used a blank form they'd found in an office supply store. The Langleys never thought to have an attorney review it. If they had, the attorney would have advised them to add a financing contingency clause, which would have let the Langleys out of the contract if the buyers couldn't get financing within a certain number of days.

The house was to close in 90 days. When weeks passed and the Langleys hadn't heard from the purchasers, they began to worry. Henry finally called his buyers, who told him they'd been turned down by the first bank. Still the buyers were optimistic they could get the loan from their credit union. Later that same day a buyer dropped by because someone in the neighborhood had told him the house was for sale. This person offered the Langleys full price in cash for their house with closing in one week. Once again, Henry called the buyers and told them he'd received another offer, but the purchasers remained adamant that they could get financing. They refused to release the Langleys from their contract. Because there was no financing contingency, the Langleys could do nothing but wait - 60 more days to be exact. Unfortunately the second buyer needed to find a home within two weeks. The Langleys called the first purchasers almost daily but they wouldn't give up on trying to get a loan. Finally the 60 days passed, but the generic contract contained an extension clause allowing the purchasers an additional 30 days if financing had not been finalized by the original close date. Another 30 days passed and finally Henry and Mary could sell their house to the cash buyer. There was just one problem. The cash buyer had already bought a house. The Langleys had wasted four months because they wanted to save that commission. It was now time for them to move, so they were forced to list the house anyway. It's now been six months - that's six months after the four wasted months - and the Langleys still don't have a contract on their home. They're renting in their new city and waiting, waiting, waiting...

Lesson Learned
What Henry and Mary should have done was to have a Realtor or attorney review that contract before signing it. Real estate professionals will keep you out of trouble. In this case a financing contingency clause would have permitted the Langley's to move forward immediately when the buyers' loan was turned down. They could then have sold their home to the cash buyer. Please ladies and gentleman, if you're selling your own home there are more than 90 things that need to be done to get your house closed, any one of which could stop your sale cold if not performed properly. Consult a Realtor or real estate attorney before playing with the largest investment you'll ever make.

STORY # 2 - RENTER SELLS OWNER'S HOUSE

John's house had been on the market for three months and he hadn't gotten a single offer to purchase. Finally, one day Henry drove up and offered John a long-term rental agreement. Henry was a traveling salesman and needed to move to this town to be centrally located within his sales area. Henry was very nicely dressed, drove a respectable car and talked very professionally. Because Henry was on the road so much of the time, he wanted to simplify the move for his family by paying John a security deposit and six months' advance rent. He also wanted to sign a three-year rental agreement. Needless to say John was excited. He didn't really want to sell and a three-year rental agreement from such a professional was a dream come true. Henry signed the agreement, advanced the money and John headed to the bank. That is when the real estate horror story began.

As soon as Henry gained control of the house, he placed a for-sale ad in the paper, advertising the home for an unbelievably low price. In fact the price was so low Henry received hundreds of calls. Henry scheduled dozens of showings. Each time, he would give the person a real sob story about how he had lost his wife and family in an accident the previous year. Henry told everyone that he was being forced to give up thousands of dollars of equity in order to pay bills resulting from the accident. He then convinced the buyer to give him a $2,000 earnest money deposit to hold the house. The buyer's greedy nature told him he would never find another deal like this and he gladly forked over the $2,000. In fact, 30 buyers put up $2,000 each. With $60,000 in cash, Henry split, leaving behind 30 contracts for sale on John's house. Can you image the horrible situation John faced when the buyers' attorneys tracked him down? What do you do? I'm sure the title companies are having fun with this one. How could you stop this from happening to you?

Lesson Learned
If someone wants to advance you a large up-front deposit and pay the rent in advance, be very suspicious. Ask for three credit references and check them. Get referrals from the renter's previous landlord and verify that he is moving in immediately. Make sure the water and utility accounts are transferred into his name. Ride by your property often and inspect it. If you see a lot of unusual activity, investigate. Just remember that if something sounds too good to be true, it almost always is.

STORY # 3 - TITLE STOPS CLOSING

This is a true story about Mark and Rebecca. They listed their house for sale and received a contract seven weeks later. The contract specified that the buyer would take possession of the house on the day of closing. Mark and Rebecca found a new house, which they were to close on the same day as their old house. Both transactions proceeded smoothly and everything was set for closing. The first home closed without a hitch. On the new house, however, the attorney informed them when they arrived that there was a problem with the title. It seems 40 or 50 years ago a relative of a previous seller had claimed that part of the property had been stolen from her and she now wanted her property back. BIG problem! To complicate matters, the house was now being handled by a third-party relocation company. Not being able to obtain title insurance for the lender would stop this sale. The attorney called the relocation company to see if Mark and Rebecca could move into the house on a rental basis with a hold-harmless agreement. The answer was no. And thus the horror began. Mark and Rebecca were homeless. How long would it take to resolve the problem? Where would they go? What could they do? They approached the purchasers of their old home to see if they could move back in temporarily but got another no. As it turned out they kept their furniture on a truck and rented a motel room for three weeks. Luckily, they were able to resolve the title problem within that three weeks. Often, title problems will take months to solve.

Lesson Learned
What could they have done to avoid this situation? I don't understand why some attorneys wait until the last possible minute to search the title. If the attorney had done the title search as soon as the contract was signed, the horror of this story would have been greatly minimized. Before you close on your existing house, call your attorney and make sure everything is in order for your new house. Ask if he's done the title search and make sure there is nothing pending that might halt the closing.

STORY # 4 - TOO LATE FOR TERMITES

This is a story about a man here in Columbia. We'll call him Johnson. Johnson had his house on the market for nine months at a price of $12,000 more than the market value. Why? Well Johnson said that's what he needed to be able to move to his new home. Of course his house didn't sell. Johnson then contacted another company and this time was lucky. His new agent knew the market very well. She listed his house at what it was really worth. She staged the house to get it ready to show and put it on the market.

Johnson told his Realtor there was a termite bond on the house and the termite company had just re-inspected the house and there were no problems. Three weeks later an offer can in but was $5,000 below the listed price. Johnson thought about the offer very seriously and decided to accept because he really needed to move.

The buyer was pre-approved and everything looked great. Seven days from closing Johnson's agent helped him order the termite letter. Upon inspection the termite company discovered termites. Although Johnson claimed he had a termite bond, he really didn't. The bond had expired two years ago. The termite company that had just visited his house was simply one that sprayed for bugs on a monthly basis. The termites were so bad that they were in the walls and had eaten severely on the seals below the house. In addition Johnson needed French drains to get water out from underneath the house. The entire situation cost Johnson almost $10,000.

Lesson Learned
Had Johnson known about the problem beforehand, he could have held to the full price rather than accepting the lower offer. That, of course, would have helped. He also would have had more time to shop for better prices on the repairs. The pre-inspection is absolutely necessary even if you have a bond. Then if you find problems, you'll have more time to correct them.

First Post for Home Seller Tips

2005-09-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

I found this great article on how to choose a Realtor. I will make more posts about this very thing in the days and weeks to come.

Purchasing a property, either as an investor or as a prospective homeowner can be one of the most exhilarating and frightening experiences of your life. In both situations it is imperative that you find just the right property at the right price. With so many options to choose from it can quickly become overwhelming. Start with Credit Unions to help you make the most of this exciting purchasing process.

Searching for the right property can be exhausting. Not only do you have to keep a price range in mind but you also must search out the elements of neighborhoods that are important to you. Choosing the right realtor makes a difference between chaos and calm.

There are a few tips that you should keep in mind when choosing a realtor. Considering the fact that you are making a major investment, it’s important that you locate a realtor you will feel comfortable working with. You will need to find a realtor who is competent and professional, as well as knowledgeable and who respects your time and the fact that you are committing to a serious investment.

Although consumers are generally unaware of this fact; realtors are generally classified as either seller realtors or buyer realtors. This means that they must represent the best interests of one or the other. Far too often individuals who are searching for properties select a realtor and believe that person will just naturally take their best interests into consideration. This is not always the case because most realtors, unless they specify, are actually seller agents. This means that their primary goal is to obtain the best deal possible for the seller. If you are looking to purchase a home and want to choose a realtor who will represent your best interest you should look for a buyer agent. If the realtor does not specify, chances are they are a seller agent.

After determining whether a realtor is a buyer or a seller agent, your next step will be to check out the realtor’s background. Obviously, all realtors are governed by the regulations of their state and must meet certain licensing requirements but you will need to check on information above and beyond this. Look for someone who specializes in the type of property that interests you. If you are looking for commercial property, why work with a realtor who has no experience in commercial property? You may also consider working only with a realtor who has experience in the specific neighborhood or community that interests you.

How much experience should the ideal realtor possess? Well, it depends. Relatively new realtors are often hard hitting and will put in quite a bit of time and effort in order to make a sale. The downside to a new realtor is that they simply may not have the experience and knowledge necessary to find the right property for you. On the other hand, more experienced realtors are often quite busy and may not have the time to devote to all your needs.

Finally, look for a realtor that has good communication skills. It can be difficult to find the right property if you feel you cannot even communicate to your realtor the features you really need or want in a property. And above all; look for a realtor who has a trustworthy reputation. Integrity says far more about any professional than any other trait-even experience.

Nicole Soltau is the President and Founder of CreditUnionRate.com.

The Leading Credit Union Directory. Search, Find, Join. http://CreditUnionRate.com

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