After being in real estate for over 20 years, I think I can safely say that there isn't much in this business that I haven't seen. I've shown houses at 3:00pm in the afternoon where dishes from the dinner the night before were still on the dining room table, dirty with crusted spaghetti sauce all over the stove.
I've shown houses where my Buyers and I have walked in on shall we say...private moments between people. Don't get me
wrong, I always announce myself and make
myself known when I show property. There are just some people that don't hear in certain situations a suppose. But I digress...
After all of the time and effort that I and many of my colleagues have put into this business, there are just a few things that we Real Estate Brokers would like for Buyers and Sellers to know...so let's get to it!
1.) The longer your house sits on the market, the less you will eventually get for it.
This is so important. You may want a higher price, most people do, but if the value isn't there you are shooting yourself in the foot by pricing it higher than it is worth. Please do not tell me, "Well, Buyers can make an offer, I want some negotiating room." That's crap, and you need to know that. Price your property correctly from the beginning, and you will
make more money in the long run.
2.) Do NOT go out and buy a new car or max
out your credit cards before you go to buy 
a house.
Your debt to income ratio is what lenders look at when considering you for a loan. By spending money before you buy, you may take yourself OUT of the market all together. Think it through!
3.) Don't expect to sell your property in a week.
Does it happen? Yes, but not all the time, and even if your property does sell in a week, that doesn't mean you will CLOSE in a week. Count on the closing taking another 30 - 45 days, that is before you get your proceeds.
4.) If you are a Buyer, get pre-approved for
your loan before you start looking for your 
new home.
If a Seller gets two offers on a home that are exactly the same price, which one do you think they are going to take? The one where the Buyer provides documentation that they can obtain a loan for the amount that the home is listed for, or the one where the Buyer has to go and talk to a lender after the fact. Yes, I've heard it all before, "I'll talk to my lender when I find a house", but in this market, count on the home of your dreams already being under contract by the time you get that done.
5.) If a house smells of cat urine or is cluttered
and messy, you WILL get less...a lot less for your
property.
I once had a listing where the
owner refused to clean out his refrigerator among other things. Something died and went to heaven in that refrigerator, it reeked. The seller kept telling me that "No one looks in the refrigerator". WRONG! That was a load of crap. I gave him back the listing. If the seller had listened to me, I could have sold the property for $300,000 inside a month. It took him 6 months and he closed at $245,000. That's a $55,000 loss, not to mention his holding costs on the property as he had already moved out. Enough said...
6.) Make sure your Real Estate Agent is offering a full co-op commission to other agents.
If you do your job correctly in this
business, you make it look easy. But, many 
people assume that all we do is drive really cool cars, walk into all these really great houses and then collect big fat paychecks. REALITY CHECK! Buyers and Sellers don't often see the hours of work behind the scenes that is done on their behalf. If you do
successfully negotiate a reduced listing commission with a listing agent, then the listing agent will usually reduce the co-op commission offered to agents bringing in the Buyers. Think about it:
- You are a Buyer that want to purchase a $250,000 home.
- You have a limited time period to look at homes.
- Your agent finds 10 listings that fit your needs.
- 7 of those listings will pay your agent a full commission
- 3 of those listings will pay your agent 50-75% of
the full commission.
Which houses do you think that your agent is going to be showing you? I'm not saying that is the right way to handle things, but I assure you that dollar signs do factor into the equation. Make sure that your listing agent is offering a FULL CO-OP commission in the MLS.
If you are interested in discussing any of the above items further, or, if you have any questions about the above issues, please don't hesitate to call me. Let my expertise and 20+ years in the real estate business help you achieve your goals!
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