You know, I wake up every morning and the first thing that comes into my head is, "What can I Blog about today?" Trying to write 4 or 5 posts a week, is very difficult, when you are always trying to be original and also trying not to write about things that have already been written about. So every day, I start the day, worrying about it. Then the phone rings and my worries are over.

"Good morning, Tutas Towne Realty, this is the incredibly good looking and intelligent Broker Bryant speaking, how may I help your dreams come true today?"

"Hi Broker Bryant, this is your Seller over at 4321 Desperation Ave. I'm calling to let you know I have found a Buyer for my house. My neighbor, who has lots of money, wants to buy my house. I know he has lots of money and can pay cash for it, if he wants. I told him I would only take full price ($259,000) for it but at that price I would leave the appliances. He said something about putting 5% down and me giving him back a check for $15,000 at closing and he wants me to pay all his closing costs. He has lots of money though. I'm really excited about this and I told him he needed to give you a call to do the paperwork. He has lots of money and wanted to buy my house before he bought the one across the street but it wasn't for sale then. He has lots of money."

"OK, OK, Mr. Overwhelmed, the first thing we need to do is have him call me. I need to talk to him about his qualifications and make sure he is in a position to even purchase your home. Then we can get his offer in writing so we can sit down together and go over your options. By the way, you can't just give him money back a closing, that could be mortgage fraud and we can't do that. But we will worry about that after I get a written offer from him. OK?"

"OK, but I know he has lots of money. I told him I was in foreclosure and he said he could help me out. He really likes the house, since it is the best house in Poinciana, and he has lots of money."

Anyway, I received a call about an hour later from a REALTOR®, all excited, wanting to submit an offer on this listing. She asked me the price and I told her it was "Range Priced" from $239,000 to $259,000 with $259,000 being a full price offer. She didn't understand this so I took a couple of minutes to explain it to her. Her excitement seemed to escape her, at that point, as she said, "Broker Bryant my Buyer would like to offer $225,000 and wants the Seller to pay $14,000 in closing costs. He will be getting 100% financing. Do you think we have a deal? He said he has already talked about this with the Seller."

Now folks, does this offer sound anything like what the Seller had mentioned to me earlier? Of course not. They never do. Desperate Sellers hear what they want to hear and say things they shouldn't say and Buyers will and do try to take advantage of the situation. Why would you tell a potential Buyer you are in foreclosure?

This is one of the most important reasons to hire a REALTOR®. We are not emotionally involved in the deal. We are a calming force and we are trained to weed out unqualified and unrealistic Buyers. Without a REALTOR® looking out for him, who knows what kind of a deal this Seller would agree to? You can be sure it would have cost him a lot more money than what he is paying me. And he probably would have unknowingly participated in Mortgage Fraud. This assumes he wouldn't have wasted months and months of market time, while the neighbor, with lots of money, tries to sort out 100% financing on a second home.

Hiring a professional REALTOR® who has experience and market knowledge in your area, is the best investment you can make. So before hiring a REALTOR® to sell your house ask these questions.

1. How many properties do you personally have listed on the market in my area, today?
2. How many closed transactions did you have in my area last year?
3. How many pending transactions do you have in my area, today?

There are many more questions you need to ask before hiring a REALTOR® but, in my opinion, you need to have the right answers to these three, first. And make them show you their sales record from the MLS.

By the way, I never did hear back from the Buyer or his REALTOR®. I guess I need to call Mr. Overwhelmed back and let him know the neighbor has no money. Better yet, I will send him a link to this post.

I wonder who will call me tomorrow morning?