Do you have access to all Listings on line?

Having Access to All Listing in the Northern VirginiaREALTORS®  MLS comes once you have designated a BUYER AGENT.

Have you signed a Exclusive Right to Represent with a REALTOR®?

Do you even know what that means?

OK so you think this is the year you want to buy or sell a home. Great you have come to the right place to get started.

An educated consumer is the best kind of consumer.

If you have been thinking about buying or selling you probably  are stalking listings day and night on the internet. Checking and rechecking, Redfin, Truilla, Realtor.com and any other real estate feed you can find to make sure you do not miss any homes.

You maybe even have visited some Open Houses or New Home Communities and done some reading on line about different areas on blogs and news reports.

And if you are getting to the very serious side of buying you may have even pulled a list of homes you will consider only to find out homes on that list keep disappearing.....UGGH!

What is a buyer to do?

Please understand the world of home shopping has changed  and for the better I might add. Years ago you could call a real estate sign and just ask to see  that home with the listing agent. Many people wanted to only work with the agent on the sign thinking they would get a better deal if they cut the buyer agent out.  Then came the down turn in the market and the horror stories we all have read about or heard from others. 

Fast forward to the years of Consumer Protection and now every buyer must sign a Buyer Agent Agreement before discussing any real estate in detail with an agent. If you want to talk about a specific property you need to sign the Exclusive Right to Represent Form  it is the law.

Did you know?

REALTORS® now must explain  Agency to you and have you sign an Exclusive Right to Represent Form before showing you any home or talking about any property specifically. If you stop by an OPEN House the agent on site must have a form on the counter stating they represent the seller while at the OPEN House. You in turn are considered a  non-represented party  unless you are under a buyer agency with another  agent when you look at the home. The agent represents the seller during the open house hours. If you like the agent you met you can of course talk with them about being your buyer agent once the Open House is over. This has changed the face of Real Estate and has put some buyers on the defensive not wanting to sign the form because they just want to look. Just remember this law was put in place for consumers and it is your best interest to understand who represents who in any transaction. It always wise and prudent to have your own representative. So be careful what you discuss about your personal circumstances as a buyer at an Open House because the duty of the Open House agent is to the SELLER not you.

This law was put into place to protect you the consumer and to make sure you know exactly who represents who you or the seller. They also protect the REALTOR®who use to run around with a buyer only to find out they purchased a home with out them. The REALTOR ®does not get paid until they have a successful closing and driving people around for days or weeks can get very expensive in both time and money. The law is good and fair for all involved everyone has a clear understanding of the rules. Some agents but not all will charge a retainer fee paid up front that will be reimbursed at closing. SO as a buyer do your home work and make sure you ask questions of the agent so you know exactly what is expected.

So How do you get Access to All Listings?

So now that we have that straight Let's talk about listings. Once you are signed up with a Buyer Agent under and Exclusive Right to Represent you will then get access to the Coming Soon Properties that are not available to the general public. They are not  syndicated to Redfin, Truilia ,Zillow ,Realtor.com or any other site other than the REALTORS®MLS. These Coming Soon Listings are just that homes that agents are working on with the sellers to bring them to market. This time period can be as long as 21 days and no showings can occur during the Coming Soon time.  Sellers can you see why you might want to talk to the agents sooner than later now that you know about Coming Soon Option.

Will having Access to Coming Soon be a Benefit to you the Buyer or Seller?

What Coming Soon is good for is to help you the consumer to be able to make a decision with a little bit of a crystal ball. Meaning you have an idea that in the next three weeks if you do not see anything better than the home you are looking at you may have found your home!  Or  if you do see a Coming Soon home that you like it may give you pause to wait before entering into a contract.

If you are thinking of selling Coming Soon gives you a peak into what your competition will be and gives you the opportunity to time your home coming to market at the optima time to net hopefully your best price. Agents are not required to use the COMING Soon Feature but it does give them a chance to get the word out early for their sellers.It allows sellers time to whip the home into showing shape knowing that they are not missing prime time that it is drumming up interest while they get ready. In some locations this can be invaluable to the seller and makes for a great first open house if timed properly.

Market Conditions Are Changing Fast 

The Spring Market has already begun here in Northern Virginia and in many price points we have started to see multiple offers and homes selling within days of coming on the market.

If you are thinking of buying or selling it is in your best interest to get the process started earlier than later. We will see prices and interest rates increase as we get closer to May and June in 2015.

Note to Buyers:

So if you are looking to buy the time is now while interests rates are low and most of the relocating buyers have not saturated the market snapping up available homes. Most important for buyers is Interest Rate concerns. A quarter percent jump can increase payments and change your buying power which in turn can change the type of home or even the neighborhood  you may untimely buy.  From  all indications we may see several jumps this year in Interest rates  based on economists predictions they have no where to go but up!  We have already seen this happen once this year already. I do believe these Interest rates we have now will be what you will tell your Grand Children about in the future!

Note to Sellers:

If you are thinking of waiting to list know the longer you wait the bigger chance interest rates may increase decreasing the amount of buyers who will qualify for your home. It is a delicate balance of inventory vs demand. Right now in most price points Inventory is low and sellers are getting their prices if priced to market and paying little to no closing costs. If more sellers decide to come on the market in your price point you may see closing costs come back or time to sell increase.

So in closing if you are thinking of buying or selling we would be honored to help you.My Twin Sister and I are identical twins and each has our own unique abilities.  I love buyers and my twin Peggy James enjoys working with sellers. This gives you our client invaluable experience on market conditions, pricing, negotiating. We are here to help if you are wanting to buy.

 
Please give me a call if you have questions 703-801-9367