http://www.articletrader.com/ Articles at ArticleTrader en-us http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/the-importance-of-a-realtor.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/the-importance-of-a-realtor.html Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600
Now all you have to do is figure out a percentage to offer the buyers agent. Surely, the more that is offered to the agent, the harder the agent will push the buyer to buy your property. For example, let us say that the agent has persuaded you to make the buyers agent rate at 3%. With the 2% Listing Commission, your total listing fee is at 5%. Not much of a discount, right? Many have nicknamed this the “bait and switch” marketing plan. For all brokers, this is not true. But, the bad brokers make the good brokers look bad. Remember that the discount brokers/agents are working mainly to get listings. The whole marketing plan that they have revolves around getting the maximum number of listings that they can. One of the strategies used is to give you a low listing price so that they can get a quick sale. But really, they are doing this so that they can get paid quicker, which means less time to work hard for the sale.

There are also those who will persuade you that they will give you the highest price of your home, which is even above the market. Most of the time, they are going to make you sign a long term agreement, so later on the home will eventually sell at the market price. Remember that there is no possible way that they can market your home regularly for one whole year at only 2%. They will not spend $12,000 on the marketing cost for your home over the duration of 1 year just for a $10,000 commission. Most of the discount brokers do not even have effective marketing strategies that will get buyers. They just list your property in a bunch of ads, and hope that someone will find it and call.

The Listing Reports and Your Approval
If your broker or agent does not offer you listing reports, make sure you ask to see a copy of the listing. But, remember to ask to see how it is in the MLS, and not just the customer report, that way you are getting the full listing report. Many of the inexperienced brokers and agents will put wording in the listing without your consent, that way they can get more from buyers’ agents. Make sure you explain to the broker or agent that you must approve the language they used for your listing. Many common words and phrases that are used in marketing include: “Bring All Offers,” “Reduced for Quick Sale,” “Motivated Seller,” etc. Unless you are desperate to get your property sold, you will not need those phrases in your listing.

Contract and Commission
It is assumed that if the property includes an “Under Contract” sign on it, then the property has already been sold. Remember that just because that sign on it, that does not mean that the property as been sold. A property cannot be sold until the contract is closed. Sometimes, the homeowner still has not received anything near the offer that the homeowner wanted. As a consumer, you will not see that because you do not have direct access to MLS. This strategy is very unprofessional, and is meant to fool possible sellers into paying more than the legitimate price because they will think the property is ready to be sold.

Before you sign the listing agreement, it is important that a broker or agent provides you with a written marketing plan so that you can see there marketing plan. Another important thing to look out for is to make sure that there is no cancellation fee with the broker or agent if they do not prove to you that they are trying their very hardest to sell your property. It is important to know that you should not owe anything to the broker or agent if you do not get the results that you wanted to see. You should only pay commission after you get the desired results.

The best approach to sell your home is with an effective marketing plan backed by expertise in the market and staffs of agents to attend your specific needs.




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Joe Lane - http://www.joelane.com/real-estate-tri-city-wa.php

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/factors-and-strategies-for-pricing-your-property.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/factors-and-strategies-for-pricing-your-property.html Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600
Many other factors determine the price of your property. The factors include: the motivation for selling, the condition of the property to be sold, the improvements that have been made to the property, the items that will be included with the sale, and other factors which will be brought up during the presentation.
One of the most vital things to remember is that the price that is agreed after the information provided to you has been reviewed, and is almost always a bit higher than the prices the CMA is showing for your area. A common mistake made by most sellers is pricing the property out of the market range. Later on, they question why the buyers will not schedule meetings with them. The reason for this is because both the buyer and the realtor will recognize that the property is overpriced, and will not include the property in their tour of homes. Buyers are much more educated in the modern day than they were years ago. The buyers can use the internet and gain more knowledge buy looking up the information on the stats for the area, the original purchase price of a home, and even the appreciation rates. When all the multiplication comes out to be correct, a buyer can get a good estimate on what the price of the property is really worth. An important thing to remember is that a buyer is rarely by themselves. Usually they will have a professional with them such as a Mortgage Broker, Realtor, CPA, Financial Advisor, or another professional. They will all be giving the right advice on what is a good offer for a specific property.

Many sellers assume that the appreciation rates over the recent years will continue the recent trend. But, that assumption is incorrect. Many of the investors would hold out and wait for extremely high prices, and most of them lost everything they had invested, and also the profit that they had gained. The real estate prices will continue to rise, but not at the same trend as the recent years. That is one of the main reasons the sellers higher their price, and use that as an excuse as to why their price is so high. They will usually put a high price and test out the market and hope to catch a buyer with a fat wallet. Or, they will say that they are in no hurry to sell the home, and will wait until they get the offer they want.

Most of these strategies usually fail, and both the seller and Realtor will usually regret it. The seller will tend to miss out on a chance to get a good price for their property, and then will have to wait another round and hope a buyer will come with a good offer. Usually, the first few weeks will be the best chance to get an adequate buyer. The reason for that is because the listing will be new in the MLS, and will attract the Realtors. If you over price your property, the Realtor will recognize it and be sure not to include it for their buyer. The other situation is when a property has been on the MLS for a long period of time. The Realtor will know that there is obviously something wrong with the property, which is why it has been on the MLS for so long. They know not that if the house was alright, it would have been sold by now. Both the buyer and realtor have the same assumption, and are not interested in the house.



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Joe Lane - http://www.joelane.com/kennewick-real-estate.php

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/open-houses-will-not-get-you-homes-but-our-real-estate-team-will.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/open-houses-will-not-get-you-homes-but-our-real-estate-team-will.html Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600
The first and most important thing you need to know is: Open Houses DO NOT SELL Homes, Realtors® Do!

Nearly all of the homes that are sold in the real estate market are sold because a realtor had a meeting with the client who came to see the home. Most of the real estate agents have two main reasons for hosting the Open Houses. The first reason being because they will usually meet promising clients who will usually come back and buy a house after the Open House. This will provide great business for the real estate team, because all the buyers have seen is a classified ad. The classified ad usually will not have the details for the home posted, therefore the buyers are not getting all the facts that they should. When the buyers are not getting all the facts, it is nearly impossible that the home can be described as “perfect” for the buyer. A professional real estate team will give you a lot more than an ad. They will sit down and give you all the details for the home, and then research a home just for you based on your preferences. Doing this process is more likely to find the buyer a “perfect” match. Open Houses will just lure buyers that want to see which homes are attainable. An unprofessional realtor will just see it as an opportunity to meet a confused buyer, and is hoping to get a new client for the Realtor®.

The second reason is quite straightforward. Open Houses are hosted because some sellers will fall in love with the home at first sight. The Realtor wants to keep the slim chance that a buyer will walk in and immediately make an offer for the home. What really happens is the buyer is not ready yet, and soon they will have a home that they are not satisfied with. That is why we take the time to give the buyer all the details that are needed, and then let them purchase their homes.

Our Real Estate Team will provide you with the quality customer service you deserve. We will host Open Houses as the client wishes, but we would much rather have the buyer to be in our office so that we can give them all the details that will make them ready to buy the home. While we are having an Open House for you, we will not be in our office trying to follow leads and come up with marketing ideas to find unqualified buyers. A recent statistic shows that less than 1% of all the homes sold come from open houses. We have also learned this from our own personal experience.

Even though someone living close by is having an Open House, your property will receive just as much attention. Our Real Estate Team works diligently to provide good marketing in large amounts through the internet, personal contact with other clients, and in print. Our Real Estate Team is among the few Realtors that will find a property that is right just for you. Even if the buyer is not a client of ours, we will still show all the properties that we have to offer. The great customer service that we offer has been a big factor in our success!

If you would like more information about Open Houses or anything else we offer, do not hesitate to contact us. We would be glad you provide you with more information.


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Joe Lane - http://www.joelane.com/richland-wa-real-estate.php

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]> http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/the-process-and-factors-of-making-an-offer.html http://www.articletrader.com/finance/real-estate/the-process-and-factors-of-making-an-offer.html Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0600
The process begins with the offer. This is much more than telling the buyer that you are willing to pay a certain amount to purchase the property. You need to make sure that all your bases are covered. While there are prepared forms that are approved by the Tri Cities Association of Realtors and the Washington Association of Realtors, these forms are not couched in layman’s terms and can be quite overwhelming. We explain each term to you in a way you will understand. We also protect you in the most protected in the most important investment you will make in your lifetime.

The offer process begins with a document called the Contact for Sale. This not only sets the price you are willing to pay but also set boundaries for the sale process. The following are some of the ways we safeguard your interests in presenting your offer:

 We will assure that the legal description of the property is accurate. This is one of the most important aspects of the offer since you need to make sure that you are actually getting the piece of property that you have been shown.

 Our Market Analysts will assist you with determining the right purchase price to propose by showing you comparable prices in the area while performing a full analysis of the specific property that you are looking to purchase.

 We will protect your good faith deposit, making sure that all the rules are followed concerning this deposit. For example, in the event you are unable to secure financing, your deposit should be returned and we will see that it is.

 Although the standard time for closing is 45 days from the time the offer is accepted we can work to negotiate a reasonable time that is more comfortable for you as an individual.

 We will negotiate the time for a professional inspection of the premises to determine what, if any, repairs need to be made. Besides those repair costs which are standard, such as termites, we can work with you to negotiate on significant items of repair after the inspection is performed.

 We can also work with you to negotiate which items will be included in the sale, for example: a washer and dryer, lighting fixtures. We will also give you advice on whether the items you are seeking to be included are worth loosing your bid on the house.

 A bank simply will not lend money for a house that is appraised below the offer. Our service includes negotiating a term in the contract that will preserve your rights in the event an appraisal comes in lower than the offered price. We also will negotiate a term that will give you adequate time to obtain a professional appraisal.

 Our experience in the housing field will also assist you in determining other contingencies. Many individuals can not purchase a new home before they sell their own home. We can protect your interests by including that as an addendum to the contract.

We are happy to take the confusion out of the home buying process for you. Please feel free to contact us about any of your home buying needs.


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Joe Lane - http://www.joelane.com/pasco-real-estate.php

Source: http://www.articletrader.com ]]>