Smoke and mirrors - The Open House Illusion - 08/14/08 10:03 PM
Open houses in my opinion have to be the biggest smoke and mirrors illusion in real estate. About 80% of my listing clients at first think that open houses are the ticket to selling their home until I explain to them that less than 2% of homes are sold to someone that first viewed the home for the first time at an open house. I add...
•·          Most buyers today have seen pictures on-line and if they are qualified to purchase will have an agent show them the home when they can actually write an offer. So, why would you leave your home on a Sunday … (2 comments)

Connection with a past client - Its a small world sometimes - 08/14/08 09:55 AM
Imagine my suprise when a past real estate client found us cold on activerain and added us an associate on her activerain site. This is another example of the value of networking.
If you have a home staging need in the Greensboro NC area please give Chrissie Sutherland a call. She is located in my associates under home staging.
 
"Caring for all your real estate needs every step of the way" Karen and Wendell Hodge Greensboro NC Real Estate Agents with REMAX of Greensboro www.YourTriadRealEstateAgent.com/
Greensboro NC Real Estate* Oak Ridge NC Real Estate High Point NC Real Estate Winston-Salem NC Real Estate * … (1 comments)

Banking on Curb Appeal, You Just Need It! - 08/11/08 04:46 PM
This is good information from Jason Tolley with Backyard Realty Group LLC Northwest Atlanta GA
Via Jason Tolley:
I have been working with a few sellers and in all honesty they are just lacking curb appeal.  It is hard as a realtor to try to explain this because you do not want to hurt their feelings or offend them.  I am in the process of working with a client right now whose home is vacant.  The house is not doing so great on the market.  It is lacking curb appeal and it needs some serious landscaping.  I am meeting him soon to go … (0 comments)

In NC why should I pay more than tax value? - 08/11/08 04:26 PM
Is tax value the same as market value? No
Tax value is the Counties' assessment of property value not a licensed appraiser. Sometimes the tax value can actually be higher than a home's market value.
The County does not apprise each individual property annually and they use the square footage they have on record times a calculated rate per square foot that is derived from random checks around an area.
Real Estate agents can perform a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) and give you a range of expected value, but only an Appraiser is allowed to give an opinion of specific value.
If the tax … (0 comments)

Order up! How to hedge your buyer's possible sunk cost due to inspection failure - 08/08/08 10:06 PM
You have a contract and it is time to inspect. This is a great time in the process until ....... the inspections hit!
One way to hedge against potential sunk cost if the deal crashes due to inspections is to list all the inspections and determine which ones have the highest potential of a failure.
If the home is on well water I recommend that the buyer have a well pump test done before anything else, because if there is poor water volume and recovery this could kill the deal before any other inspections are performed.
If the home is on a … (0 comments)

Why can't I have the keys now! Closing day in NC - 08/08/08 09:04 PM
The moving truck is backed in the driveway!
The movers are being paid by the hour!
If we do not unload soon $^%#%@^^!
In NC the contract states that the transaction is not closed until the deed is recorded, so it creates an opportunity for insurance providers and lenders to dispute who owns the property if a catastrophe occurs before the deed is recorded. (Fire caused by buyer, injury on the property .......)
I once had an attorney representing the buyers of one of my listings and he was not going to be able to record the deed until Monday. It was currently 1pm on … (0 comments)

Richard Robbins International Inc. - Achievement Coaching organization - 08/08/08 08:25 PM
The last thing we feel like doing is the first thing we need to do.
Success Thought by Richard Robbins
http://www.richardrobbins.com/
If you have never treated yourself to Achievement Coaching Richard Robbins is a great organization. The skills we learned are used daily. Look for more of Richard Robbins' success thoughts in the future.
 
 
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Survey - Its more than just knowing where the corners are. - 08/06/08 11:28 PM
Lenders use to require surveys, but in NC at least the requirement has fallen by the side of the road and home owners could suffer in the future. Home owners need to understand that it is up to them to make sure they are buying what they think they are buying and a survey is the only way to make sure.
Never use an old survey. Parcels can be redrawn and recorded. Recently I had a buyer to purchase a home and the home was eight feet to close to the line. The County inspector and contractor used an old survey … (0 comments)

Inspect the crawl space for M&Ms - 08/06/08 09:02 PM
The number one repair issue that most homes on a crawl space face is moisture and mold. Remember the M&Ms when you work with buyers and sellers.
If the home owner will not do a pre-home inspection insist on a crawl space inspection. 50% of the time there will be an M&M issue that is better caught before the home goes under contract.
The good news is that even the most severe mold issue can be remediated and the cost if found early is not astronomical and may save a contract. Once a buyer is spooked by finding mold a high percentage will try … (8 comments)

 

Karen and Wendell Hodge Caring for all of your Real Estate needs

Greensboro, NC

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Re/Max of Greensboro - NC REALTORS

Office Phone: (336) 317-0128

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Greensboro Real Estate in NC - Real experience


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