Real estate blog entries tagged with seller by Lane Bailey, Realtor & Car Guy (Century 21 Results Realty)

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seller: Sign, sign, everywhere's a sign... - 05/23/09 03:27 PM

Real estate listings need a sign. They all have one, right... or at least most... But there is one problem with the ubiquitous real estate sign... it is boring!
I don't like "normal" I like EXCEPTIONAL... Real estate signs aren't an exception. I have long been tired of the same ol' signs... so I decided to do something about it.
I needed an EXCEPTIONAL sign. So... I looked for a solution. A sign that would stand out. I wanted something that would give an interested buyer a reason to stop and actually take a look.
< 1033 Constitution Way Sign 590 … (6 comments)

seller: But Zillow Says... - 05/09/09 04:23 PM

I know... most sellers at some point take a look at the 'Zestimate' that Zillow produces for their property. And there is almost always one of two reactions...
"Those people are on crack, my house is worth way more than that" (if the Zestimate is lower than expected) "Wow, I didn't know it was worth THAT much... Cool" (if the Zestimate comes in higher than expected) The bottom line is that if it is low, it must be wrong, and if it is high, then it must be right. It is pretty rare for someone to see a low valuation and … (0 comments)

seller: My House is Worth What? - 05/09/09 02:28 PM

I can't think of a question that I am asked more...
What is my home worth? And there as many answers as there are times the question is asked. There are a lot of sources for the information...
Appraisers Real Estate Agents Automated Valuation Models And the results come in many flavors...
Appraisal Comparative Market Analysis (CMA) Broker Price Opinion (BPO) Zestimates There is one thing that they all share in common. They are all opinions. And they are all flawed. That's right... all flawed. They might hit the right value... but if they do, it purely a fortuitous accident.
Keep … (0 comments)

seller: Pre-Listing Inspections for Sellers? Good Idea? - 05/01/09 12:33 PM

One morning last week I dropped by 590 Baltimore Ave in Lilburn to meet with the sellers and the inspector. They were having a pre-listing inspection performed to make sure that everything was in perfect condition.
It is obvious from just walking through that the property has been well cared for during the fifteen years since it was custom built. While I have yet to see a perfect property… even brand new construction… this one ranks pretty well.
When the results become available, we will share them with any interested buyers. Of course, I still recommend that buyers have their own … (6 comments)

seller: Can I tell my sellers it is a good idea to offer seller financing? - 04/24/09 05:34 PM

Looking at the legislative landscape, I see a new danger on the horizon. In addition to the existant dangers of financing a mortgage for a buyer such as their credit-worthiness and ability to repay, there is another risk which could soon be inserted into the pool...
Cram-Downs
If you aren't already familiar with the term, take a moment to read the definition... From the perspective of a lender, it is a scary scenario. In effect, a bankruptcy judge could force down the balance of a loan based on their view of the value of the property.
Regardless of whether the seller … (7 comments)

seller: Think you have time to mull over that house buying decision for weeks? - 03/31/09 03:09 PM

I have a really cool tool called the Client Gateway that I deploy for my buyers. It builds a web site for them with the new listings that meet their needs.
I was doing some maintenance today, checking for messages in the Gateways of a few buyers and seeing if I needed to get further information on properties for them. One of the things I check is properties that are "No Longer Available". The reasons a property will no longer be available are:
The listing has been Withdrawn. The listing has Expired. The home has Sold. The property is Pending Sale … (3 comments)

seller: 5 Great way for Sellers to tell Buyers not to consider THEIR house... - 03/30/09 03:40 AM

Spending a lot of time with buyers can teach an agent a few things that are useful when listing property...
So, here are the top 5 great ways for a seller to tell a buyer to move on and not consider their house. In no particular order:
Require 24 hours advance notice for showings. Many times... the majority of the time, actually, buyers decide on the properties the night before looking at them. Sometimes they have plenty of time to look, but there are always last minute additions to the list. In some cases, they want to look at a house … (4 comments)

seller: Premium Content? - 03/26/09 05:24 AM

I ran across this article... I think on Twitter... and it got me thinking (always dangerous).
Now, I am NOT thinking that I should charge for my content, and frankly, I'm not really concerned with what the newspapers choose to do on their website. But, I think there is still an application.
Registration...
Some agents require registration for consumers to view listings. I don't, but there are some valid reasons to do so... and one giant reason NOT to have a registration required search. Critics point out that only a small percentage of consumers will complete the registration, and a smaller … (7 comments)

seller: We need Fuel. We need Fire. - 03/12/09 03:15 PM

I need to do some chainsawing in the yard. There is brush to be cleared and trees to trim. Unfortunately, my chainsaw doesn't really want to do any work right now. It needs two basic ingredients... fuel and fire.
The real estate market is similar. There are two ingredients, fuel (sellers/listings) and fire (buyers). Unlike my chainsaw, fuel is plentiful. While we don't have the record inventories of last year, there are plenty of properties on the market.
Fire on the other hand is tougher to make. And the powers that be are trying. There are things like the incredibly low … (2 comments)

seller: Survey of New Listing pics, III - 02/20/09 05:01 PM

If you want to follow along, here are parts I and II.
12/30/2008
1/10/2009

Once again, I took a meandering walk through the new listings in Lilburn for the last 30days. As I wandered through, I was particularly looking for quantity of pictures and virtual tours. The reason I was concentrating on those items was all about research that EVERY real estate agent should be familiar with regarding buyer behavior.
Buyers largely SKIP listings without adequate pictures.
Let's mention a few basic items. Last year, FMLS changed the maximum number of pictures allowed from 8 to 12. They also … (5 comments)

seller: Atlanta, 3rd Most Vacant City? - 02/17/09 05:18 AM

I just ran across a story from Forbes and Yahoo about America’s Most Vacant Cities. The list is this…
Las Vegas, NV Detroit, MI Atlanta, GA Greensboro/High Point, NC Dayton, OH Phoenix, AZ Orlando, FL Kansas City, KS and MO Jacksonville, FL (tie) Indianapolis, IN (tie) Miami area, FL Chicago, IL Tampa area, FL Bakersfield, CA Cincinnati area, OH (tie) Charlotte, NC This is based on data from the 75 largest cities, collected in Q4 2008 and released on Feb. 3rd by the Census Bureau. It is supposed to be based on an average of the rental and homeowner vacancy rates.
… (6 comments)

seller: Another intemperate thought... real estate related... - 02/14/09 02:27 PM

I don't recall where I saw it, but I ran across a comment by a real estate agent about how prices are getting out of line... they are just crazy low. It was something to the effect of "I can't wait until these crazy prices go away and we get back to normal."
It kept picking at me
I couldn't leave it alone. That thought kept coming back into my mind. I could hear it. That thought was popping up on my computer screen while working on other stuff. I can't wait until these crazy prices go away and we get … (6 comments)

seller: What's in it for for ME??? - 02/14/09 05:52 AM

With the recently passed American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, expected to be signed as soon as it hits the President's desk, many are wondering what might be in it for them.
Well, with $790,000,000,000 there is room for a LOT of people to find a bit of cash. These are the ones that directly relate to housing:
The First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit was raised to $8,000 and the repayment has been waived unless the home is sold within three years (previously capped at $7500 and required repayment at the rate of $500/year) The time period was also … (2 comments)

seller: I turned down a listing today... because it was the right thing to do... - 02/07/09 04:49 AM

I just got back with a meeting with a potential client. We had a great time chatting about the market, her house, the area and where she wants to move back to. We shared stories about family and friends. In fact, it was less a meeting than a long awaited meeting between friends.
She was referred to me by another Active Rainer. She had contacted the other person through her blog, but had a need to sell here before moving. But she has only been here a year and a half, and she is upside-down on her property.
We talked about … (45 comments)

seller: Swimming Against the Tide - 01/30/09 06:26 AM

I am about to say something that is loaded with controversy in the real estate industry.
I do NOT think the $22,500 tax credit put forward by the NAHB and NAR is a good idea! The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the National Association of Realtors® (NAR) are both solidly behind a plan to give away a $22,500 tax credit to ALL buyers of new or existing homes. They want to do this in order to spur home buying and "restart" the stalled real estate market.
Currently, there is a $7,500 First Time Home Buyers Tax Credit (FTHB Tax … (7 comments)

seller: Daddy, can you fix this? - 01/23/09 12:37 PM

Those are words I hear from my son on an almost daily basis. He breaks stuff. He isn't doing it on purpose, but he is also just 4 years old, and he doesn't know how to take care of his stuff as much as he should.
Honestly, most of the time... I can fix it. I have soldered, welded, glued and snapped pieces back into place as required. But, sometimes that just isn't the case. Despite a garage full of tools, and the (sometimes I think innate) ability to complete a lot of different types of repairs, I just can't do … (9 comments)

seller: The best agent to use is the one that tells me the highest price... - 01/22/09 03:27 PM

This is one that really chaps my hide. I understand it from the consumer perspective, but at the same time, it is still a giant misconception.
As a consumer, it is always a good idea to talk with a couple of agents before selecting the one to list with. But the purpose of the talk isn't to see who promises the highest price... unless they are buying it themselves. The purpose is to find out about their marketing ability and how they are going to best present your home to get it sold.
But the burning question is... How much is … (27 comments)

seller: Gwinnett Town Hall - 01/21/09 02:47 PM

2008 Real Estate Report & 2009 Outlook We'll be delivering our 2008 market data report as well as a 2009 outlook with in-depth insight into specific hyper-local markets. Wanna know more about the current real estate climate? This is it!
The Diamond Dwellings crew will be talking about the Gwinnett Real Estate market and how we think it might be shaping up for 2009. If you are a seller, a buyer or investor, this would be a good event to attend.
The Gwinnett Town Hall meeting will be on February 17th at the Hamilton Mill Golf Club. It will run from … (0 comments)

seller: Misconceived Pricing Strategies? - 01/19/09 03:43 PM

These kind of stray away from blanket misconceptions and are more opinion... based, I feel, in observed circumstance... It is also a two-fer. One for sellers and one for buyers.
First, for the sellers... There is a tendency among sellers to want to "price in a little negotiation room." But there is a big problem with that... Buyers won't look at a house they perceive as over-priced. So, that little bit of "padding" on the price will move your house out of the "gotta see" column, into the "maybe we'll look if there isn't anything else that we like" column... or … (2 comments)

seller: Location, Location, Location... or so it is said. - 01/17/09 01:25 PM

(I am doing a series on the Top Ten Misconceptions among buyers and sellers of real estate. To see more of the series please visit me at LilburnDwellings.com.)
There is no older, more often stated and generally accepted "truth" in real estate than "Location, Location, Location." The say is that "the three most important things in real estate...", well, you've heard it I'm sure.
As with most misconceptions, it is based in truth.
Location certainly is one of the three most important aspects in real estate... but it isn't #1 or #3... Just #2. The reality is that location is important, … (5 comments)

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