I bet your new landlord lives on a different continent. Craigslist is a wonderful place to advertise if you are a property owner looking for a tenant. It's also a good source if you are a person looking for a rental. BUT, BE WARNED! I recently put one of my FOR SALE listings on Craigslist for additional exposure. Within 24 hours, a fraud was committed. A person stole my pictures, was able to get the name of my client (the legal owner) and had it on Craigslist as a rental. When people contacted him -- because the rent he was charging was way below market rent -- he emailed the following to several people:

Greetings! Thanks for your email. The house is still available. I decided to rent the house because we are going to spend more time here in West Africa, about 4 years... Let me start by introducing myself. I must confess that I am very very new in this landlord business.. However, My name is　(he had my client, the owner's name here), I own the house located at (the address of my listing was here). Due to my job as a missionary with the General Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church International, I am presently serving as Area Financial Executive (AFE) with the United Methodist Church in Lagos, West Africa.I am responsible for receiving distribution of funds for various UMC projects in West Africa , and all related works with other mission personnel. my current home is in the vineyard of the Lord in BENIN West Africa.I spent less time in the States so I could not get a hold on any Realtor to handle this rent issue, although it was when I knew how long we are going to stay in Africa that I decided to rent out the house. However, the initial plan was to sale out the House. which I tried, but sometimes the agents inflates the prize and it takes longer to sell. because of this reason and more we need a responsible person (With good credit) that can take very good care of it as we are not after the money , but want it to be clean and for you to take it as if it were yours.　The rent is $800 and 600 for Security Deposit For this 3Bedroom, 2 Bath Features: Air Conditioning, Dishwasher, Fireplace, Garage, Washer, Dryer, Yard.

Fortunately, when people drove by the home, they saw my For Sale sign and called me. I filled them in on the scam, got the information, and reported this person to Craigslist, the FCC and the Internet Fraud Agency. For those looking for a place to rent, there are a lot of unscrupulous people out there running scams. Here is what I suggest is to check to see if the home is For Sale by typing the address into one of the other property websites (Zillow, Trulia, Redfin, Realtor.com, etc). If it's For Sale then it's probably a scam and some jerk stole the information online and is using it for fraudulent purposes. Second, call a Realtor. They can look up the property and verify the owner and the address where the tax bill is sent. If tax records show the tax bill is sent to "Lagos, West Africa" for example, maybe the rental is legit. It doesn't hurt to call a Realtor anyway. They can verify that the home is not in default and headed for foreclosure.

If any landlord asks for your social security number,　driver's license or birthday without meeting you, I would just leave it blank and tell the landlord you're happy to give them what's necessary in person. These fraudsters are always out of the country/area and need to do everything without ever meeting in person. Most important, DO NOT SEND CASH OR USE WESTERN UNION...EVER! Good luck and happy hunting!

It happens all the time. I get a call on one of my listings from a buyer. After a few minutes of discussion, it's clear to me they did not just start looking. They have made many calls, seen many homes, met many agents, some of these callers have even written offers. Why have they not selected an agent to work with exclusively? Because they are under one of these impressions: A) that they have a better chance getting a lower price using the listing agent, B) they have a better chance of getting an offer accepted using the listing agent, and C) that the listing agent is the only one who can show that property. Buyers out there who believe these things, please allow me to share the reality of real estate buying and selling- at least in my little corner of the world.

From the three above, C is easy-- any agent can show any home. We all have the same MLS key that allows access to any home on MLS, as long as we are a member of the local MLS. If an agent isn't a member, you don't want to work with them anyway. If they can't afford to be a member of the local MLS, they are probably desperate for a paycheck and you are not a top priority-- a paycheck is.

Regarding B, you should know, on Bank Owned Homes (or REO's as they are comonly known), the listing agent is often not allowed to represent both the buyer and the seller. The listing agent will sometimes have a Buyers Agent's sign attached to their sign in front of the house. If you call this person, they will represent you and, if your offer is accepted, they will pay the listing agent a referral fee for giving them a client. Does it mean you have an advantage or you get great representation? No. These REO Buyers Agents are usually new agents with little experience who've closed very few deals and know little about the ins-and-outs of transactions. You will probably get better service and a tougher negotiator if you choose the best, most experienced agent you can and stick with them. By the way, when I say "most experienced", I don't mean they've been a Realtor for 30 years. I mean they consistently close transactions and are up to date on the market and everything that entails. On short sales, the listing agent can represent both buyer and seller but usually they won't get paid a commission for both sides. For this reason, listing agents on short sales often don't care one way or another if you use your own agent. You will certainly get better representation with your own agent as long as they are competent and ethical. Don't get me wrong, as the listing agent of a short sale you call on, I will show you all the homes that fit your criteria, not just my listing and I will happily represent you.

Regarding A, if I am the listing agent, my first duty is to the seller, after all, my agreement was with them first. If I agree to represent you as the buyer on one of my listings, I have clearly and emphatically told you that my first duty is to the seller. I promise to treat you fairly, ethically and legally as the buyer, but my fiduciary duty is first to the seller. What does this mean? Well, let me put it to you this way: if the listing wasn't mine and I didn't represent the seller too, I would negotiate for every possible thing I could to please you and still get the transaction to close. My first duty would be to you and you alone. I would not be considering how to save the seller money and get them the most money possible from the sale of their home. 

The moral of this story is, don't jump from agent to agent as you house hunt. Call, email, research many agents. You will come upon one that you instantly feel a connection with. Use your intuition and gut instinct. You can reasonably expect an agent to respond within 24-48 hours to a call or email. You can reasonably expect an agent to look up tax records on a property and share what is owed on a short sale, or which bank owns the property, if it's about to go to auction, what the taxes and assessments are. You can expect your agent to find out whether there have been any offers, if it's been pending and is back on the market, if there's been a pest inspection or home inspection, as well as other information that is commonly available.

If you are skipping from listing agent to listing agent, you cannot expect any agent to make a full investment in you if you haven't invested fully in them. You simply cannot get the best service if you are not committed. My advice is pick an agent you like and stick with them. They will be looking out for your best interest because they know you are committed to the relationship.

I am representing a buyer on new construction. In order to get the builder incentive, they planned to use the builders lender. In reviewing the break down of monthly mortgage payment, it shows the taxes and assessments as $350 per month, even though it's actually $606 per month. I sent the lender the tax disclosures that specify the mello roos, ad valorum taxes and local assessments. The lender says "we use a template that automatically calculates the taxes and assessments".

Be sure to look at the NHD closely as it specifies taxes and assessments. Make sure the lender isn't using current taxes and assessments to calculate the buyers mortgage amount. The builder is paying a significantly lower amount because it's based on a vacant parcel.

There's nothing fun about a buyer getting a notice from the lender stating that they need to increase the impound account and therefore the monthly payment because assessments were not calculated based on actual numbers.

So, I'm perusing through the MLS listings in my area of expertise, West Sacramento, and getting a little frustrated. I see listings that are grossly overpriced or underpriced. By that I mean $30k or more off the mark in either direction. I'll give agents $20k +or- leeway just to be generous. Since I'm very familiar with the West Sac housing market, it's really obvious to me when the price doesn't fit.

SELLERS: This is a mistake I've seen made all too often: sellers choose an agent who doesn't specialize in the area. If you are a seller who NEEDS to sell, like a short sale listing, for goodness sake, you cannot afford to make this mistake. What normally happens, if a home is priced too low, is it goes pending immediately. Then, months later, it's withdrawn and becomes a foreclosure. Why? Because the bank won't approve a short sale that's not in line with market value-- at least somewhat! On the other hand, if it's priced too high, no one even looks at it. If you're a seller who simply needs to sell, price it right on day one, otherwise you chase the market making reductions, and that is frustrating and disheartening. Buyers who are watching a particular area to purchase are the first to view a new listing. If your home is overpriced, they won't bother even looking... and they are serious buyers! Sellers, did you know you can ask an agent to print out their sales record? I have a client who found out that their original agent had never sold a home, ever.

AGENTS: Listing a home 50k under market value... uh, seriously? It must feel good to get a zillion offers on your new listing, but you are doing a major disservice to your sellers and the buyers who are looking at the property and writing offers. To those who are inadvertantly overpricing listings, it's not that hard to run a Comparative Market Analysis. I'm not talking about a Citywide CMA, but rather just the neighborhood. In West Sacramento, different neighborhoods have different value(s). Some neighborhoods don't have Mello Roos assessments. That's a huge value. Some subdivisions are built by the most entry-level builder and shouldn't be compared to the "top 'o the line" builder who included all the bells and whistles. We agents should be familiar with the nuances of a particular housing market before we call ourselves a local expert.

SIDENOTES: Usually, the agent who is guilty of over or under pricing, advertises as a short sale expert or local expert or area expert. The agent often doesn't know how to deal with the bank's negotiators when they come back with a BPO in line with (and sometimes over) market value. Instead of sending the bank comps with justification for the price, the underpricing agent goes to the buyer and says "the bank wants another 50k". Now that's a hard sell! The end result is, unfortunately, usually FORECLOSURE. Ever looked up the "solds" of some of the so-called short sale experts-- ONE CLOSED SHORTSALE. Wow, is that all it takes to be an expert? What about the local or area expert? Selling one or two homes in a particular area does not an expert make. Agents should be consistently selling in the area they call themselves an expert in. If they aren't selling consistently, they probably aren't tuned in to the area very well.

Now there may be some agents out there reading this and getting huffy. Take a deep breath hot stuff. Some professed experts are experts. I acknowledge that. I also understand that some short sales go to foreclosure even though the agent did everything right. I'm not talking to you. You see, I recognize that the agents that are engaged in Active Rain are all awesome real estate experts who are just reading this for entertainment purposes. Enjoy a chuckle on me...