selling a home: Professional Advertising & Print Materials - 10/07/07 07:50 PM
Not all agents are as adept at others when it comes to advertising. That's why it's critical for a seller to understand the capabilities of their agent. The seller should ask to see examples of an agent's work prior to enlisting their services.
Virtual agents are quick to denounce any advertising which costs money-printed advertising especially. Instead they'll post your listing on virtual message boards in the hope that everyone is internet savvy and looking in the right place.
Not all agents will provide the same level of advertising. Therefore we have decided to list some of the services we offer as an … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Intimate Local Market Knowledge - 10/02/07 06:37 PM
Intimate Local Market Knowledge
By their own admission, virtual companies cannot compete on a local level against agents specializing in a particular market. Instead they have to rely on volume in an expansive market area. This is problematic for a virtual company who does not have agents working in a specific area of expertise. It's even more problematic for a seller who is replying on local market expertise to gain a competitive edge.
Local market knowledge will benefit sellers in a challenging market. These are some of the advantages in working with a professional full service real state agent:
Having intimate local knowledge … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Networking With Local Agents - 10/02/07 06:24 PM
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selling a home: Negotiating-Part of a Series - 10/02/07 06:21 PM
Presenting Offers & Negotiating in Person
Anyone who has experience in negotiations will likely confer that to negotiate well one must know their adversary. Local real estate professionals have an upper hand in any negotiation when they have access to this information.
Having experience with how other agents may likely coach their client could be of great value in a particular negotiation.
Virtual agents and on-line companies in an effort to stream-line the process and be able to cut their overhead, have designed elaborate schemes to complete a paperless real estate transactions. And while this contribution to the industry is admirable since the … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Knowing The Competition & The Comparables - 10/02/07 06:18 PM
It's essential to price a home properly. Failing to do so could cost a seller thousands of dollars as they attempt to chase the market.
Knowing a local real estate market can only come with experience-gained by visiting homes first-hand. Weekly real estate tours are designed to allow agents to view new listings and failing to keep up on the inventory of homes can be catastrophic to an agents' career.
Real estate agents have a distinct advantage over home appraisers since agents get a first hand look at homes before they sell. An appraiser is relegated to driving around a list of sold … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Enhancing A Home's Appeal - 10/02/07 06:16 PM
Enhancing A Home's Appeal
A full-service professional agent can offer tips and advice on preparing your home for sale. Since each home is unique, a boiler plate list of recommendations is nice to have and easy to put on-line, but it can hardly replace an agent's first hand look at your home.
A professional full service agent has experience in your local market regarding which enhancements or improvements will provide an acceptable return for an investment in a particular area. An agent who specializes in a particular area will be able to determine what the profile is of the typical buyer for … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Looking After a Seller - 10/02/07 06:13 PM
The success of a full service professional real estate agent relies on repeat business and referrals from satisfied customers. In order to achieve this, agents are constantly enhancing their services. Caring about the client and their needs are of the utmost importance.
Being a local agent allows for a more hands-on approach to an industry that replies heavily on communication and advice.
Looking after a listing means being physically to show it to a prospective client with little notice. Once a buyer drives by your home, if they cannot get in they may never come back-especially if they have mentally moved on, or … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Hosting Broker Tours - 10/02/07 06:11 PM
Hosting a special tour for brokers should be part of every agent's marketing plan. That is of course if your broker knows why they are there and if of course it's a traditional part for the particular market. Sure it's fun to meet colleagues and chat about your weekend, but there are more important things to accomplish-that is if your broker is physically available to hold a broker tour.
These are some of the things you can accomplish:
Serve a catered lunch tour. Giving away food for free makes little sense if you own a restaurant so why would it makes sense for … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Hosting Open Houses-Part of a series - 10/02/07 05:29 PM
Everyone knows open houses don't sell homes, right? Isn't that what virtual brokers want you to believe? In fact they need you to believe that because they won't hold open houses; yet as matter of course they send their buyers to view open houses since they also don't show property. How can they accurately assess the success of open houses without doing them? They rely on a statistic they often quote that less than 1% of all sales resulted from a buyer seeing the home at an open house-perhaps. If a buyer finds a home on-line, but decides to buy it … (3 comments)
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selling a home: Gaining Exposure For Your Home - 10/02/07 04:57 PM
As the real estate market enters a new phase where homes will take longer to sell and sell for less, sellers will need to have an edge over their competition. Absent just having the lowest price in the neighborhood what else can a seller do?
While pricing your home correctly is fundamental to a successful sale, there are many other factors which play into selling your home.
Getting Maximum Exposure for Your Home
Your home's exposure to the market is critical. The more buyers who know about your home the better the chances are of finding the right one. Buyers have many avenues today … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Meeting Buyers At The Property - 09/29/07 08:27 PM
One of the big complaints from the buyers of on-line virtual agents they represent is they can't get in to see a home since their agent does not show property. A virtual agent's buyer's only recourse is to go to open houses or call the listing agent directly to show the home.
Many listing agents are unwilling to work with buyers who already have agent representation, and of course they are not supposed to. They can however make a home available to a buyer working with a virtual agent if they so choose. The virtual companies are quick to blame listing agents … (1 comments)
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selling a home: Full Service vs. Limited Service or Virtual Agents—Is There Room for Everyone? - 09/29/07 08:02 PM
The short answer is of course yes. Different sellers have different needs and abilities and some may choose a full service model and others limited or no service at all-the choices have been there all along. Yet the arrival of virtual Internet brokers has spawned a new ideology of it's either "us or them".
The very survival of limited service or virtual Internet brokers relies on two things: The first is they are able to convince everyone that paying a 6% compensation is the only alternative to their "discount" model, and the second is that they must convince their prospects that the … (4 comments)
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selling a home: Easy Come and Easy Go--Virtual Companies Face Tough Challenges Ahead - 09/27/07 09:53 PM
With the introduction of another new virtual real state company (see Inman News RealUmbrella seeks to shut agents out of transactions), it's appropriate to remind people that the choices they make in who to hire and what type of service they need (or can afford) has consequences.
The real estate industry has been changing for years and thanks to the Internet it is now more transparent and will become more respected as a result. Each segment of the market--whether it's a professional full service agent or a virtual company has its place in the market and will contribute to the industry. … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Bay Area Market Watch--September 24,2007 - 09/24/07 03:34 PM
Many of the real estate stories you may be hearing are dealing with national or statewide issues and do not reflect our local market. That doesn't mean that the overall housing picture doesn't affect our market-it does. The perception of a declining market is all it takes to create one. As optimistic as homeowners are about the value of their homes, we believe that somewhere in the back of their minds there's a nagging uncertainty of future valuation and a realization that at some point the run up in real estate values will come to an end. And of course it … (0 comments)
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selling a home: San Mateo County Inventory Levels 2004-August 2007 - 09/24/07 04:05 AM
Inventory levels are rising to the highest level in at least the last four years as anxious buyers put off purchasing their first home. Clearly this is an indication of a market slow down or pull back. How long it will last and how it affects the median price is yet to be seen.
Drew & Christine Morgan Morganhomes.com
Visit our Blog at BeautifulMountainBlog.org
Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate advice nor is this response in tended to be specific to your situation-consult a specialist for your specific situation.
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selling a home: Belmont Inventory Levels-August 2007 - 09/24/07 03:37 AM
Here we see Belmont's inventory levels while higher than recent times, still within acceptable levels indicating a modest economy and housing future. Inventory or the number of homes for sale directly impacts selling prices if demands is stable. Inventory can grow simply because buyers are not buying homes or more homes are coming on the market. In this case, it's a case of fewer buyers (less sales) since the number of new listings is within acceptable and customary range.
Drew & Christine Morgan Morganhomes.com
Visit our Blog at BeautifulMountain Blog.org
Disclaimer: This information is for entertainment purposes only and includes no legal, accounting or real estate … (0 comments)
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selling a home: Are You Prepared? - 09/23/07 06:47 PM
Are you prepared for a changing market?
It's no secret that home sales are down and inventories increasing. What does this mean for sellers? For the first time in years selling their home will take longer and pricing it will be critical; sellers will also be more discerning on who they hire.
Experienced agents-ones who have experienced a real estate cycle in their career -will certainly have the upper hand when it comes to dealing with a changing market. Some newer agents who entered the market when selling a home was as easy as inputting a listing in their MLS system may find the challenge frustrating … (2 comments)
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selling a home: The Writing Was On The Wall - 09/21/07 05:40 PM
The Writing was on the Wall
Addendum to Part 1 of a 2 part series--"Which End is Up" or Understanding Our Housing Market"
Historically low interest rates, low cost housing availability across the country, investors hungry to reap a return after the dot com crash all set the stage for an overactive interest in housing as an investment.
There are really three distinct factors which played into the current market conditions across the county. The first is the sub-prime market. Essentially, these are loans which are made to folks who otherwise could not qualify for an "A" paper loan-usually that means low credit … (0 comments)
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selling a home: When is the Best Time To Sell A Home (Part Five of Five) - 08/28/07 03:59 PM
When is the Best time to sell a home? (Part five of five).
If you've read parts one though four of our series, you undoubtedly know by now that there are many factors affecting the real estate market.
Understanding your particular area's local market conditions and fluctuations will assist you in finding the best time for you to sell your home.
In our home town of Belmont for example, just before spring, the winter inventory of homes for sale is typically low; but crescendos through spring into summer. Getting a jump of your competition can be rewarding. This is illustrated in the graph which shows … (2 comments)
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selling a home: When is the Best Time to Sell a Home? (part four of five parts) - 08/18/07 09:59 PM
n part four of our five part series on "When is the Best Time to Sell A Home" we examine some of the broader national issues which affect the overall atmosphere of home buying and selling.
Jobs
When people feel secure about their jobs they are willing to take on more debt. But that's not the whole story. When more jobs are being created (and filled) in an area than are exiting, and the supply of available homes can no longer keep up with demand, there's competition for housing. A good indicator of where your local housing market may be headed is watching … (0 comments)
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