Are we doing everything we can to prepare and educate our buyers for the home buying process?  Are we asking the right questions during our interview process? 

 How far should we be going in this process?  Do we really know exactly what they are looking for?  There have been agents starting with nothing more than the number of bedrooms and the price range.  How disastrous can that be?  I don't believe you can have too much information about your clients' needs and the difference between those needs and what they may want.  Sometimes needs and wants are not compatible.

Do you ask what their last home was like?  What did they like or dislike about that property? 

 Do you feel it is appropriate to delve a little deeper into their financial situation?  I can't stress this enough.  It can save you a lot of time and avoid enormous amounts of aggravation if you have a clear picture of what they can afford.

 It's a terrible situation to find yourself in when you start showing properties without having a clear picture of what they can afford.  Then later having to start showing them properties less expensive.

 Neither should they be spending themselves into a "house poor" situation.  If they do have you done your job to service your client?

 The buyers' interview could be loosely compared to a doctor asking questions to reach a diagnosis.  You have to know enough to make sure you are headed in the right direction.  Agents need to work on the questions that will make the diagnosis as sure as possible.  Even then we can be hit with surprises, but at least we will be closer to the cure than we would have been with only knowing the price range and number of bedrooms.

 YOU TOO ARE A PROFESSIONAL.  Doesn't your client deserve the best care you can possibly give?  I would love to hear how you might handle buyer interviews.

During this time of the year we all love a good story.  Much of what we hear on the news is not so good and at time downright depressing.  So as a well know Eagles song goes "GET OVER IT".

If you have a First Time Home Buyer story you would like to share I can't think of a better forum.  Just think there are hundreds of new home owners out there that will be in their first homes for their first Christmas this year, and their story needs to be told.

I think it would be great if you would share your stories with the Active Rain community.  You can changes the names if you like or even leave in the names and post a photo of their new home, but give us enough details and emotion to make it real.

Come on everyone give us some good news.  You might even inspire another First Time Buyer to make the plunge so they can be in their first home for the next holiday season.

Thank you in advance.  

Yesterday while preparing to teach a CE class on contracts I was doing a little research and took a look at our current Real Estate Board newletter VREB Speaking.

The second paragraph on the front page caught my attention.  It went on to relate that although there has been a decrease in our numbers over the past two years the number of complaints that led to disciplinary actions from the Real Estate Board has increased.

Reasoning behind this statement was that during this slow period transactions were subject to closer scrutiny by the public.  Plus some agents had become sloppy when it came to their agency relationships, and failed to make sure their clients understood what they were signing.  Or they provided out of date contracts that didn't protect their clients as they should have been.

As a managing broker I supervise over 60 agents in my office and review each transaction as it comes through.  I have been surprised at how many times I have found offers written for our listings come in on contracts that went out of circulation anywhere from one to five years ago.  Or the proper addendums were not included with the offer.

When I see this I wonder where is the supervision for these agents?  The next question that comes to mind is what kind of training are these agents getting?  Should there be more CE added to renew your license?  Are some of the online courses not thorough enough?

I am proud to be a REALTOR®,  and it distressed me when I read through the pages listing the Disciplinary Actions with names and the violations.  The vast majority stated "Unworthiness & Incompetence".  The sad part is that all of this information with the names and offenses by the individuals is easily found on the internet.  All a potential client has to do is Google any agents name and this information is out there.

I did a little experiment and searched a couple of agents that had been brought before the Real Estate Board and sure enough ususally on the first page of the search their name was listed with the violation and the fines they had to pay.

After performing this little experiment I have now decided to make this a part of my training classes.  Especially for new agents to make them aware how important it is to keep up to date on current forms and do not take short cuts when it comes to protecting your clients interest by making sure that they understand what they are signing.

My recommendation to buyers and seller is make sure you understand everything that you sign.  If you don't understand ask your agent to explain it.  Your agent is a professional and should be able to answer your questions or quickly find the answer for you.  If the explanation is still unclear consult your attorney.

Here in the Charlottesville, Virginia area we are starting to see a good response to the market.  More traffic through open houses, more buyers calling for showing, plus more contracts.  Whew....had me worried for a while.

However, a new problem is starting to present itself and I was wondering what the rest of the Active Rain community was seeing. 

Some of our agents are starting to see really low appraisals coming in.  Not close to the selling price, which we can handle, but way out of line $35,000 or more.  Of couse the agents go back to the market information and can't figure out where the appriasers are coming up with their price.  A few have even called and run into a wall.  Comments like "depressed neighborhood" or "depressed community" "to many houses on the market to support the sale price" have been used.

Are you running into this? If you are how are you responding?  How should we or can we use this information to help educate future seller when pricing?

 It looks like Bank of America is taking a different view of the economy.  I hope that more good news is forthcoming and this will brighten your day a little.  If you haven't seen the article I have supplied a link below.  This is good information that we should be sharing with our customers and clients.

 Bank of America Expects to Post Full-Year 2009 Profit (Update2)

 http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&refer=us&sid=aDwsP5FZWGXE

I don't know about the rest of Virginia, but the market here in Charlottesville seems to be picking up a little bit of steam.  The number of contracts coming into my office has shown a surprising increase in February and March is showing promise.

Buyers seem to be getting off of the fence with the low interest rates and more sellers pricing their homes properly.  In the Charlottesville, Virginia area now is the time for buyers to stop watching the national news and jump over that fence.  With interest rates in the 4% range they should take the plunge.

It is definitely a buyers market.

 

I just wanted see if anyone else read this article on Barrons.com.  The focal point was stated and I quote "This real-estate rout has been more painful than prior ones, but it may be shorter-lived.  Indeed, there are early signs of recovery."

If you haven't seen this article it might make you feel better if you took at look at the Barrons.com web site.  The entire article is over 6 pages and make a number of good observations.  It is the July 14th edition of their web newsletter.

Here are a few points that caught my attention.  "existing homes are showing tentative signs of increasing".......plunge in prices .....nearing an end" etc.

It also make comments concerning the market that the media has widely ignored.

Take a few minutes and look this article over and let me know what you think.

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