Why Use a REALTOR® When Selling?

A real estate agent helps you understand everything you need to know about selling
By Ron Schmeadick



The selling process generally begins with a determination of a reasonable asking price. Your real estate agent or REALTOR® can give you up-to-date information on what is happening in the marketplace and the price, financing, terms and condition of competing properties. These are key factors in getting your property sold at the best price, quickly and with minimum hassle.


Marketing


The next step is a marketing plan. Often, your agent can recommend repairs or cosmetic work that will significantly enhance the salability of the property. Marketing includes the exposure of your property to other real estate agents and the public. In many markets across the country, more than 50 percent of real estate sales are cooperative sales; that is, a real estate agent other than yours brings in the buyer.

Your agent acts as the marketing coordinator, disbursing information about your property to other real estate agents through a Multiple Listing Service or other cooperative marketing networks, open houses for agents, etc. The REALTOR® Code of Ethics requires REALTORS® to utilize these cooperative relationships when they benefit their clients.

Advertising is part of marketing. The choice of media and frequency of advertising depends a lot on the property and specific market. For example, in some areas, newspaper advertising generates phone calls to the real estate office but statistically has minimum effectiveness in selling a specific property. Overexposure of a property in any media may give a buyer the impression the property is distressed or the seller is desperate. Your real estate agent will know when, where and how to advertise your property. There is a misconception that advertising sells real estate. The NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® studies show that 82 percent of real estate sales are the result of agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends, family and personal contacts.

Security

When a property is marketed with an agent's help, you do not have to allow strangers into your home. Agents will generally pre-screen and accompany qualified prospects through your property.

Negotiating

The negotiation process deals with much the same issues for both buyers and sellers, as noted above under the buying process. Your agent can help you objectively evaluate every buyer's proposal without compromising your marketing position. This initial agreement is only the beginning of a process of appraisals, inspections and financing -- a lot of possible pitfalls. Your agent can help you write a legally binding, win-win agreement that will be more likely to make it through the process.

Monitoring, renegotiating and closing

Between the initial sales agreement and closing (or settlement), questions may arise. For example, unexpected repairs are required to obtain financing or a cloud in the title is discovered. The required paperwork alone is overwhelming for most sellers. Your agent is the best person to objectively help you resolve these issues and move the transaction to closing (or settlement).

Why use a REALTOR®?

All real estate licensees are not the same. Only real estate licensees who are members of the National Association of REALTORS® are propertly called REALTORS®. They proudly display the REALTOR® logo on the business card or other marketing and sales literature. REALTORS® are committed to treat all parties to a transaction honestly. REALTORS® subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain a higher level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling real estate. An independent survey reports that almost 85 percent of home buyers would use the same REALTOR® again.

You be the judge

Real estate transactions involve one of the biggest financial investments most people experience in their lifetime. Transactions today usually exceed $100,000. If you had a $100,000 income tax problem, would you attempt to deal with it without the help of a CPA? If you had a $100,000 legal question, would you deal with it without the help of an attorney? Considering the small upside cost and the large downside risk, it would be foolish to consider a deal in real estate without the professional assistance of a REALTOR®.


Copyright © by Move, Inc.

What Do Buyers Want? Sprinkles or Filling?

Most folks used to be content with a nice slice of yellow cake on a special occasion. Now people want elaborately flavored and decorated cupcakes every day of the week.

Some home buyers have also seen one too many cupcake shows on HGTV and think more about the sprinkles than is good for them. But even these buyers may not be willing to pay for for everything they say they want.

An over-improved house -- if over-priced to match -- can be harder to sell than the more modest home. Very few buyers will pay for extravagant personal choices that the previous owner made.

So what do buyers really want when they are choosing a home?

1) Buyers want a deal: only a few buyers say "steal" a house but they do want to know that they are getting the most value for the money.

2) Buyers want a clean house. Not just a tidied-up house, but a house with clean baseboards, windows, siding, refrigerator and cabinets. Clean carpets are essential, no one needs to know you got a new puppy last year.

3) Buyers want a house with a neutral palette to make it easy for to imagine their unique decorating plans.

4) Buyers want current light fixtures and hardware. Light fixtures are essential to showing how nice a room can look -- or not. Buyers prefer brushed nickle, stainless or bronze finish hardware.

5) Buyers want updated kitchens and baths. You may not be able to completely remodel your kitchen, but some freshening up can make a big difference.

6) Buyers want a garage that looks big enough for their cars. A 2 car garage needs to look large enough to hold 2 cars, not 1 car and piles of stuff. Rent a storage locker for excess.

7) Buyers want rooms that look like their intended purpose. A dining room needs to look like it's for eating and entertaining, not a sports locker or data center.

8) Buyers want a house with reasonable energy costs. While most buyers in our area won't pay substantially more for "green" and "energy efficient" improvements, they do want to know what it will cost to heat and cool the house.

9) Buyers want a house that fits their stage of life and activities. Don't be discouraged if your house isn't a perfect fit for all buyers but you should market aggressively to your target.

10) Buyers want a place to make their own. Make your home into a house that the next owner can easily envision himself living in.


Compliments of Leslie Ebersole

Freddie and Fannie are at it again!

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are at it once again! While I understand the need for some of the changes (very few actually) made over the last several years many have become a hinderance to a housing recovery. The pendulum has swung from very little to way too much. Ok! OK! I'll get to the point.....

I am talking about the changes to "Risk Based Pricing." RBP for short. RBP has been around for quite some time now. I am not opposed to this. Basically what RBP does is reward those who are deemed less risky borrowers and charge a premium for those who are deemd more credit risky. Think of the difference between a 640 credit score and a 740 credit score. I remember when I was a Broker many years ago, one of my lenders sent out a matrix that showed the statistical likelyhood of someone defaulting for every 20 points up or down in credit score. Credit score is just one part of RBP.

Few people know that just about every bank out there gets their money to lend from these two government agencies so they set the guidelines, parameters, and matrixes. What they are proposing now to the RBP scenario could put a big damper on any momentum or recovery in the housing market. Basically what they are proposing is that anyone who is getting a loan is a RISK!!!!

For example: You have a buyer with an 800 credit score who is going to put 25% down. Great credit, good money down. Seems like a low risk borrower. Well not according to what may come out. This borrower would be charged what is called a .25% hit or add on thereby increasing their interest rate.

Another example: If you have a borrower who has a 679 credit score and is going to put down the same amount? They will be charged a 2.25% add on/ hit!!!!!

Condo? .75% hit/add on Adverse Market? .25% hit.

If this happens it could push good buyers into rentals. Stay aware of what is happening and stay active. What happens in the lending arena could not only affect my livelyhood and the service I provide to my clients but it will trickle down in to the Realtor arena as well.

• 

  Fielding a Lowball Purchase Offer on Your Home

  Consider before you ignore or outright refuse a very low purchase offer for your home. A counteroffer and negotiation could turn that low purchase offer into a sale. Read
• 

  Keep Your Home Sale from Falling Apart

  After finding a buyer, all you have to do to make it to closing is to avoid these five traps. Read
• 

  6 Reasons to Reduce Your Home Price

  While you’d like to get the best price for your home, consider our six reasons to reduce your home price. Read
• 

  6 Tips for Choosing the Best Offer for Your Home

  Have a plan for reviewing purchase offers so you don’t let the best slip through your fingers. Read
• 

  7 Tips for a Profitable Home Closing

  Be sure you’re walking away with all the money you’re entitled to from the sale of your home. Read

Visit houselogic.com for more articles like this.

Copyright 2010 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®

Real Estate Radio

Check out the "Real Estate Today Radio"....Its the CNN of Real Estate

http://retradio.com/mp3/retplayer.swf

I couldn't be more excited about this announcement!!!!

News Release

NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS
The Voice For Real Estate®
500 New Jersey Avenue, NW
Washington DC 20001
PUBLIC AFFAIRS
For Further Information Contact:
Mary Trupo, 202/383-1007
mtrupo@realtors.org
Uniform Process for Short Sales Will Help Struggling Homeowners, Say RealtorsÒ
WASHINGTON (May 14, 2008) – Help is on the way for many homeowners who are facing foreclosure, thanks to new details under the Making Home Affordable Program announced today by the U.S. Treasury and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
The Making Home Affordable Program is designed to help homeowners obtain modifications to their loan so they can afford to stay in their home. Where a modification is not possible, new incentives encourage the “quick private sale or voluntary transfer of property, which will save homeowners money and protect their financial future,” according to U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. The National Association of Realtors® expects that a uniform process for handling short sales and financial incentives will facilitate this process.
“NAR is pleased that the government is stepping in to help prevent foreclosures by streamlining the short-sale and deeds-in-lieu process,” said NAR President Charles McMillan, a broker with Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Dallas-Fort Worth. “NAR has been calling for uniform short sales procedures and other initiatives that will help today’s homeowners in challenging economy.”
Short sales occur when a bank agrees to let homeowners who have fallen behind on their mortgage to sell their home for less than they owe on their mortgage. Visit www.treasury.gov for detailed information on the program changes.
“Many families are finding themselves with a mortgage that is higher than their current home value, and they are struggling,” said McMillan. “As Secretary Geithner noted, and as NAR has been advocating for many months, stemming the foreclosure crisis and stabilizing the housing market are critical to our economic recovery.”
“We have heard from Realtors® that the extensive delay in the short sale process had caused many buyers to go elsewhere and have left many would-be sellers with no option but foreclosure. We are all pleased that the government has stepped in to help homeowners and those wishing to buy a home,” McMillan said.
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Uniform Process for Short Sales will Help Struggling Homeowners, say RealtorsÒ – add 1
The National Association of Realtors®, “The Voice for Real Estate,” is America’s largest trade association, representing 1.2 million members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries.
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Information about NAR is available at www.realtor.org. This and other news releases are posted in the Web site’s “News Media” section in the NAR Media Center.

Make your home affordable

This is full of valuable information. Find out if you are eligible to make your home more affordable.

BE CAUTIOUS of sites or Foreclosure programs that ask you to give them money or sign your deed over to them for a certain amount of time.


http://www.makinghomeaffordable.gov/