Using a Realtor

Buying a home is unlike purchasing anything else. Armed with the right information, you'll have a tremendous edge in the marketplace. If you are considering the purchase of a home, whether it's your first home, or your family's dream home, the more you know, the more money you'll save. I hope this information will be helpful to you. If there are any questions you might have after reading it, please feel free to contact me anytime. Thank you.

Many home buyers who are considering the purchase of a home are interested in three things:

• Finding the home they want
• The best possible price
• The least amount of trouble and inconvenience

Unfortunately, there is much more involved in the process. For example: timing, terms, financing options, and accessibility to the market are all important considerations.

The first thing you need is TOTAL ACCESS to the TOTAL MARKET. You wouldn't go car shopping without looking at everything on the dealer's lot, but when it comes to home shopping, you might be surprised to learn that very few people give themselves the advantage of getting total access to the market, or seeing everything that is available to them.

The first thing you'll need is a competent real estate professional to help you. Since "the seller" pays the commission, the services of your real estate agent to you as a "buyer" are completely FREE. There is no intelligent reason to shop for a home without the services of a professional agent.

Your agent has access to information on EVERY home available on the market. Every single day homes are listed for sale and your agent has instant access to the information about each one. If you wait for an ad to appear in the paper, it may be too late.

Good agents are constantly searching their computers for information on new listings. A smart buyer will take the time to sit down with an agent, tell them what they are looking for, and just as importantly, what they aren't looking for. The agent will then go to work to find the perfect house for the buyer. Again, remember, this is a FREE service.

It's also true that only a fraction of the homes available are advertised on any given day, which means that when you limit your search for a home by looking in the newspaper, you're really only seeing a tiny piece of the whole picture.

Also, consider that in many instances, the best buys are sold almost as soon as they come on the market, mostly to people who are working with a savvy real estate agent who is looking out for their best interests.

So, without question, the most important step in finding that special home at a special price, is to begin by selecting a real estate agent to work with you. If you're serious about finding a great buy on a great home, why don't we find a time when we can get together, discuss your alternatives, and let me begin looking for you. Feel free to call anytime.

Once I have a clear picture of what it is you're looking for, together with what will fit your financial needs, the next step is to actually go look at homes that fit your parameters. I believe this should be a stress-free and fun process. After all, buying a new home is a big step. Together we'll take a personal look at each and every home. I'll answer any questions you might have, and gather any other necessary information. When you find a house that meets your needs, we'll go to the next step in the process.

Once you've selected a home, I'll help you negotiate the offer to purchase. This is a particularly important step and one that requires experience. In negotiating an offer to purchase, there are many details to be covered. For example, the price you'll offer, closing dates, possession time, down payment amount, personal property to be included, and repairs to be made are just a few examples. We'll sit down and prepare an offer that is most advantageous to you, but fair to the seller. Once your offer has been presented, I will help you with any further negotiations.

This is another area of purchasing a home where a professional real estate agent can help you. In fact, for most people, finding the right financing is every bit as important as finding the right home. I work closely with many local and national lenders and can put you in touch with the right lender for your situation, saving you both time and money.

Many studies have been conducted by both independent consumer groups and real estate industry trade organizations over the years that convincingly indicate that buying a home without the services of a professional real estate agent, in the vast majority of cases, takes longer and costs more.

The choice is certainly yours, and I hope this information has been helpful. If you feel you'd like to sit down and discuss your home buying alternatives, please feel free to call me at your convenience.

SELLING?

It may surprise you to learn that even as a real estate professional, I believe there are some instances when a person can sell their home without utilizing the services of a real estate agent! I have prepared this free report to help people, who like yourself, are considering selling their home and possibly doing so without using the services of a real estate agent. In it, you'll find detailed information that will help you sell your home. Naturally, should you decide at some point to take advantage of the expertise of a professional real estate agent, I would appreciate the opportunity to talk with you. Thank you.

Most homeowners who are considering selling their home are interested in three basic things:

• Obtaining the most amount of money
• The shortest possible time
• The least amount of trouble and inconvenience

Unfortunately, there is much more involved. For example: timing, terms, condition, accessibility, advertising, marketing, and merchandising all play a roll in whether or not your home will sell at all, and for how much. Let's start with the basics.

When determining the price to ask for your home, you'll need to know how other comparable homes in your area are priced, what comparable homes have actually sold for, and what homes were on the market, but did not sell.

You may want to order an appraisal to help you obtain this information. Generally they run between $300.00 and $500.00 and will give you a good idea of what comparable homes are selling for in your area. Should you decide to list your home for sale with an agent, the agent you choose will provide you with a "Competitive Marketing Analysis" gathered from information he or she can obtain through the Multiple Listing Service and his or her own experience. Either way, you can get a reliable price structure for your home by compiling this information.

Essentially, when you put your home on the market, it becomes a "product," and like any other product, the better the condition, the more money you'll receive from a buyer. There is an old saying in real estate that paint is worth $15.00 in the can, or $1,500.00 on the wall. You should take an objective walk through your house, placing yourself in the shoes of a prospective buyer, and determine for yourself what you think needs to be upgraded, cleaned up, remodeled, refurbished, etc. I can provide you with a checklist of items you'll need to review. If you'd like one, please feel free to call.

Flexible financing is also an important factor in selling your home. Basically, the more avenues of financing you can provide, the quicker the house will sell. When showing your home to prospective buyers, you will need to qualify them to determine what kind of financing they can obtain, how much down payment they can afford, how much monthly payment they can afford, and so on. While this is often uncomfortable, it is a necessary step in the sales process and must be addressed. Failing to properly qualify your buyers could lead to your home being tied up for several months, only to have the sale fall through later.

You must understand that people selling their homes as a "For Sale By Owner" and real estate companies, both compete for buyers from the same pool. It goes without saying that real estate companies have the bigger advertising budget.

Since you will be competing with real estate companies for the attention of potential buyers, you'll need to plan on spending enough money on advertising. Should you decide to list with an agent, the advertising costs are funded by the listing agent and/or the real estate company.

Local newspaper classifieds are a good place to advertise your home. Once your ad appears in the paper, you will need to stay close to the telephone. It has been proven that many prospective buyers will not leave their name and number on a recording machine or voice mail.

You'll want your ad to be as descriptive as possible, as it will be competing with many other ads. Also be aware that many buyers who call a "For Sale By Owner" advertisement do so believing that because the house is not listed with an agent, the price will be lower. Like you, they are interested in saving the commission, so be prepared to negotiate.

To a person selling their own home "For Sale By Owner," merchandising often means simply showing the home. To an agent, it means much more, including creating feature flyers, making other agents in the area aware that your home is on the market, holding open houses, and generally doing a host of different marketing activities to help promote the sale of your home.

You might consider doing some of these things yourself. For example, create and design a feature flyer so buyers looking at your home will have something to take with them after they look. You could hold your own open house. I can give you some tips on how to hold a successful open house, as well as other ideas for successfully merchandising your home. If you'd like that information, feel free to give me a call.

Selling your home without using a real estate agent is, at least initially, an appealing proposition. Nobody wants to pay a real estate commission. And yet, it would only make sense to ask yourself, "Why do so many people use a real estate agent to sell their home?" The answer is really very simple. Selling your home "For Sale By Owner" is typically an extremely costly and laborious task. It is time consuming, frustrating, and often ineffective.

Many studies have been conducted by both independent consumer groups and real estate industry trade organizations over the years that convincingly indicate that selling a home "For Sale By Owner," in the vast majority of instances, takes longer and costs more.

The choice is certainly yours, and I hope I've been able to provide you with some ideas that will help. If you feel you would be open to discussing your alternatives in person, please feel free to contact me at your convenience.