Recently I've been helping a family that doesn't speak good English. Under normal circumstances you would think its a big pain in the rear. Well it could be but, I've had a very unique situation.

Everyone involved in the transaction is from one of the same towns my dad is from. (We are Armenian but, my dad is from a small town in Lebanon) So right off the bat, I have been looked as one of them which is great when it comes to building trust.

Every time we go to see properties or anyone has questions I've been talking through 5 different people. In other cultures things are done differently. When we would go to showings, the whole family would caravan around with us. At one group of showing we had 4 cars and at least 15 people with us. (talk about a crowd) But, I thought to myself.... This is great, if I do a great job for them. I could be the whole families Realtor!

So I guess what I am trying to say is that even though it may be a difficult transaction dealing with a friend or family member interpreting disclosures, forms, the process, questions, etc, etc.... If you look at the positive side. This one deal could be 10X's the amount of possible opportunities in getting a referral! At the end of the day people want someone they know, like, and trust. When people like this can become your advocate you never know what good will come out of it!

About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via Email Me or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

I see it all the time, agents stating they are the number #1 REALTOR® in the area. It does often make me wonder why someone would list their property or buy with a REALTOR® that has so much on their plate.

For arguments sake, lets assume we are talking about someone that has 20 or more listings. Selling a home takes time and effort. If you're among one of 20 sellers, (we are not even talking about buyers either), how much physical time do you think that "top" REALTOR® is going to spend on your home? I know of many agents that send others to do their open houses and have also heard from clients that have strayed that when the property doesn't sell in the first few weeks, it's left to collect dust.

Granted, this isn't a 100% fair analysis on all top REALTOR®. I too would never turn down business but, like anything else once someone has reached that pinnacle point, is everyone really treated on the same level? Is every sale the same? Its an interesting question I ask myself when looking at my peers and what they're doing.

Obviously, this would be a good problem to have. Its something most of us strive for. But, I feel that hungry agents may bring more to the table for their customers! You could use this type of analogy in anything; sports, other lines of professions, businesses. Everyone likes an underdog, no? Look at this years Stanley Cup Champions, The Boston Bruins. They didn't win because they were the most talented group of individuals, they won because they played with heart! Not saying that if you're super busy you don't give it your all but, motivation works in weird ways and sometimes that's the determining factor!

What do you think? Would you rather work with an agent who has 20 listings or an agent that has 3 of less listing? Let me know if the comments below.

About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via Email Me or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

You ever look a listing and wonder who would post pictures like that, why are their only 2 pictures, why is this person only offering a 1% co-broke, and then you find out its being offered through a entry only listing service. Dealing with a seller directly in most cases while your representing a buyer is difficult. Doing the work for 2 agents and not getting paid isn't fun either!

Some seller don't put any value into the fact of what you have to bring to the table. A buyer, an valid contract, professional representation.... We aren't selling a used pair of shoe's here. I've seen many FSBO listings that have, NO Seller Disclosure, NO Lead Paint Disclosure, NO Attorney representing them. HELLO? Can you say lawsuit? I mean seriously, selling a home isn't something that you just put a listing into the local MLS, slap on a for-sale sign and see the offers coming in. These are the same people that don't want to do open houses and don't have any understanding that the Real Estate Community (I would have to say a majority of Realtor's) don't want to deal with any seller directly. It states in the listing "showing will be accompanied by the seller". HUH? That's not uncomfortable at all. All this said, then you have some sellers that don't want to pay us a fee either. Do you go to work just to pass the time out of the goodness of your heart? Okay... You get my point.

Don't get me wrong, some people can try to do it themselves. Go ahead, its not as easy as you may think. (We've all heard or buyer beware well....) Seller beware, you will probably over price your home because of emotional feelings. (every ones house is better / worth more than we all think) Then you'll find yourself with a house that's been on the market for way to long and your initial thought to save a 4% / 5% commission will end up costing alot more than that. Do what you want, but when you do come to grips with reality Mr. & Mrs. Seller, you can give me a call.

About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via email or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

I resently closed two transactions from a referral of another AR users from California! It was hard work but, definatley paid off. I received an AR message that my fellow Realtor Rob Magnotta had a client that needed to sell her home in North Andover . Rob had said he was looking for a top AR Realtor in the area and found my blog and reached out to me. A few days later I got the listing and, sold the house a few months later. It was really rewarding that I was able to get business from the ActiveRain platform. I tell many people that AR's Community is great and if your not on it your missing out! Later on that month I also found my customers son a place to rent so it was really a win, win situation! Thanks ActiveRain! You guys ROCK!

About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via email or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

You always hear Real Estate Professionals talk about it all being about location when it comes to a great property. Recently, I feel as though that theory should be thrown out the door. Here is my reason. I have a listing which is in a phenomenal area. Its a big colonial, in its own subdivision set aside from all the hustle and bustle of drive through traffic. Its close to everything... Downtown, highways, shopping center, and schools. For that family looking for a nice place, it has a walking path to the Franklin Elementary School. (no need to worry about your kid falling subject to those horrible bus rides all over town) It boasts 4 bedrooms, 2 1/2 baths, a 24 x 20 fire-placed family room, living and dining room, large kitchen, finished basement and a heated gunite pool with whirlpool.

But, there is a catch.... The house needs some personal cosmetic touches. It's not like anyone buys a home these days without expecting to do anything but move in right? But, according to this article from NAR and the Washington Post 87% of 1st time buyers want a move in ready place. The article continues to say that they could be losing out on great opportunities! http://www.realtor.org/RMODaily.nsf/pages/News2011030804?OpenDocument

I really think this is true. Out of all the people I have talked to looking to buy over the last few months, I would have to say at least 80% of them don't want to fix up a place. What ever happened to sweat equity? I feel like our whole country has gotten lazy! No matter what you buy, there is always gonna be something you are going to want to do and make your own personal touches to make it feel like your own. In this houses case, if nothing needed to be done you would have to spend $600,000 to get into this neighborhood. I personally like the challenge and would rather build my equity than having to pay for it up front! Give me your thoughts... Come by my open house and let me know what you think.....

Open House Sunday 3/27 1:00pm to 3:00pm 156 Berkeley St. North Andover, MA 01845 Offered at $480,000

Open House Sunday from 1-3pm on 156 Berkeley St., North Andover, MA

Great Neighborhood! 156 Berkeley St., North Andover, MA 01845

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About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via email or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

The other day a buyers of mine wanted to see a listing in town. So I gathered the info and sent it on over to them and we made an appointment to see the listing. I noticed that the property was in close proximity to power-lines and told the buyer but, I figured we'd see it anyways...The buyer needed to reschedule, so I called the listing office and canceled.

I figured I would go see the property anyways because now the suspense was killing me to see exactly where those power-lines go through the area. (if you know how power-lines run, you'll know what I am talking about)

I am located in downtown so the drive is a good 15 minute. On arrival I was surprised to see a long driveway (at least 100 feet) that was unplowed from the 20 inch mini-blizzard we had a few days prior. I wasn't overly upset. I did think to myself, Hmmmm. That's odd, a big fancy Real Estate Company and they have no knowledge that this house is vacant (which it is) and would need maintenance? (we do live in New England) So then I thought, Well it is the sellers responsibility? (I emailed the Realtor and never heard back from them)

It would have been a big waste of time if I took my buyer to see the place but, I learned a few valuable lessons....

1. Just because you sign up your listing with someone from a big fancy Real Estate office that says they are working in / for your best interests, (i.e. make sure your house is presentable for showing) doesn't mean they'll do whatever they can to help sell your place.

2. Don't second guess yourself, if you know power-lines could be a problem just forget it! Doesn't even matter...

3. Moving on to the next listing... If a Realtor doesn't get back to you this day and age to apologize or thank you for the heads up on helping them out. Do you think you'd like to work with them? Plain and simple, No!

Not trying to make anyone look bad, just saying in this type of Real Estate Market you have to go above and beyond to help your clients and this person obvious doesn't care. What would you think?

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About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via email or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

156 Berkeley St. North Andover, MA 01845 Open House Sunday 11/21, 1-3pm

Located in one of North Andover’s most desirable neighborhoods, w/ walking path to Franklin School. This large colonial boast an enormous fire-placed FR, large eat-in KIT, LR , formal DR with wainscoting. 4 bedrooms located on the 2nd floor, Master w/ full bath. Other features include heated gunite pool w/ hot tub, security system, in ground sprinkler system, and 5 year old roof. Close to all highways & bonus 3/4 finished basement w/ an additional full bath with in-law potential. A true GEM!

Offered at $499,900.00

The worst thing a seller can do is over price a home especially in a buyers market. Everyone believes there house is unique and better than their neighbors but, pricing a home isn’t rocket science. Many things come into play when determining a price however there’s only a few that really matter. Location, condition, square footage, and resent sales of comparable homes. The advantage of pricing your house right is that the fewer times you reduce the price, the less time its on the market, the lesser of a possibility of a stigma won’t be placed on the house as to “what’s wrong with that place".

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About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via email or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

Inflation, Deflation, Jobs, and the Consumer. Where is the economy heading? Thursday's jobless claims rose 19,000 to 479,000 week ending July 31st and people filing for continuing claims dipped slightly to 4.537 Million vs. last weeks 4.571 Million. All eyes will be on tomorrow's unemployment report which will likely be a determining factor in the direction of the market.

The Bank of England leaves rates unchanged at .5%. This was good news and shows they are on the same page as the Federal Reserve and monitoring the financial situation closely.

The $64,000 question is who will win the fight of Inflation VS. Deflation? Both are a pretty bad situation to be hoping for. Higher inflation means higher prices on goods and services but deflation means prices on goods and services are going down which typically may suggest a recession. When prices don't go up that means companies aren't generating higher profits which is bad for the stock market.

Another key question is if the consumer is slowing down? The health of the consumer is on everyones mind. Companies like Proctor & Gamble, Dean Foods, and Clorox all guided lower earnings going forward. The consumer and spending is what we need to stay ahead of the curve in order not to fall back into a recession.

30 Year Fixed Rate Average hit another record low at 4.60% and the 15 Year Fixed Rate Average is at 4.03%

Oil is at $82.21 a barrel and gold is at $1,197 an ounce. The DOW was up 209 point through Thursday so far this week and the jobs number tomorrow will sure be a guide to what happens.

About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via email or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.

Greg Afarian's Market Report week of April 4th through the 9th. This week we saw testimony on Capitol Hill regarding the mortgage crisis as committee members questioned former Fed Chairman Allen Greenspan, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Robert Runin, Ex Citigroup CEO Chick Prince. It is upsetting to still be talking about this issue. The problem was that greed / corruption got the better part of alot of people and we are all now paying the price.

Oil hit $87 a barrel this week settling to $84.89 and Gold has been up as well reaching $1,161. These are two key inflationary signs but, the Fed will probably have the blinders on regarding rates due to the higher risk of slower
growth. The Stock Market is doing quite well as it approaches 11,000 and could be seen as a Bullish sign. Many people on Wall Street are calling for the end of the recession. Last weeks Jobless Claims Number might be a strong argument. But, if you look at the numbers closely you would see that out of the 162,000 jobs added nearly 60,000 of them are temporary jobs added for the census. Economist bragging over this figure (the biggest gain in 3 years) really should look deeper into the numbers. The Unemployment Rate in the United Sates is still 9.7%.

30 Year Fixed Rate Mortgage Rates rose dramatically this week due to an auction of 10 Year Treasury Notes. The 30 Year Fixed Rate average rose to 5.31% up from 5.04% last week. The 15 Year Fixed Rate was up as well to 4.54% from last weeks 4.34%

Existing Home Sales last week fell for the 3rd straight month as inventories grew 9.5% to 3.59 Million Units and a 8.6 month supply. What is surprising is that 27% of all purchases are cash transactions. New Home Sales in February were down 2.2%, it was expected to go up 1.9% and in January New Home Sales (new construction) was down 8.9%.

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About the Me: The above Real Estate information was provided by Greg Afarian, l can be reached via email or send me a message on Twiter

Have a home to sell on the NorthShore in Mass? I'll help you with my social media skills for a quick transaction to help save you time and money.

I service the following towns in Boston and the Greater Boston Area. Andover, North Andover, Lawrence, Methuen, Haverhill, Boxford, Bradford, Dracut, Reading, North Reading, and beyond.