Dec

21

How to choose a residential Realtor

Posted by wayne chamberlain under For Buyers, General Information

Part 2 Buyers side

Before you shop for an agent make sure you get pre-approved for a loan. That way if you have any credit issues you can fix them while you are looking for a home. Also why waste your time searching for a home when you don’t know how much a lender will lend you. Web Reference: http://www.floridadreamloans.com/AreYouPre-Approved

Unlike the sellers side I don’t see the need to interview a number of agents, I would suggest putting a few to work and see what happens. This way you can judge them based on actual work performed as opposed to what they say they will do.

                I would ask for referrals from friends and family along with scouting for them on the internet, visiting offices and open houses. Once you find a few that you have a connection with, ask them to set you up on some type of automated internet search that updates automatically based on your criteria(size, location, price etc). I use what’s called a client gateway Example ; it appears as a personalized website. You can save, comment or exclude properties. It is a great tool to communicate with clients but not all realtors associations provide such a tool, some just give agents sheets of properties.

In either case over the first couple of days communicate about the properties. See what type of responses you get and how fast, the agent should start narrowing down what you want even in the first couple of days. Ask a lot of questions about the neighborhoods even if you know the answers to the questions to get a feel for their knowledge of the area. The agent should check their e-mail a few times a day. They should answer their phone or respond promptly. At some point inquire about lowball offer on one of the properties, this serves a couple of points, if they immediately find a way out of doing a lowball offer get rid of them. If they try to calculate what the value is then says lets go lower it to give us some room, you might want to keep them. Each response will vary but the goal is to try to find out if the agent is willing to negotiate and how far they are willing to go. I hear a lot of agents say they don’t want to insult the seller, if the agent tells you this get rid of them.

Qualities you should find in a good agent during this process: Honesty, quick responses, availability, knowledge of market and good communication skills. They should not pressure you into buying a home, it is your job to pick a home. There job is to help you find your house, then help you get it at a good price at the right terms.

A few days of this should help you choose an agent. Once you have chosen an agent stick with them and let the other agents know that you have chosen to work with another agent exclusively and why you chose them.

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Dec

17

How to choose a Realtor

Posted by wayne chamberlain under For Sellers, General Information

This is broken into two parts because the sellers needs are different than the buyers needs. Someone could use the same agent for both sides of the transaction however, it is not necessary.

   Sellers: Your agent should be willing to do open houses, print advertising, internet advertising and should already have a list of buyers to show the property to. This agent should have good communication skills and be honest enough to tell you things you might not want to hear. They should be very critical of your house, your asking price and your motivation to sell. Before you choose your agent, you should interview 3 to 5 agents based on referrals, searching on the internet or by going to open houses. Do not pick them by walking into an office. After all, just because they are in an office does not mean they are currently active in Real Estate. Personally, I know several agents that go to the office everyday but do not do any business. 
Now, let’s break down the qualifications to sell a home. How are the agents phone&communication skills, for example: did they answer their phone when you called or return your call promptly and did they show up for your interview or appointment on time?  Printed advertising is best for open houses and can be valuable in our tourist areas. Internet advertising is critical. There is no excuse for not having a presence on the internet. Find out if they are on Trulia.com. If they are, you can actually lookup their profile and check out their answers to the consumers questions on their blog. Although this is not necessary, it does help you find out about the type of agent and person they are according to their answers and to what you are looking for. If they do not have their own website or buyers have to fill out a form to view listings on their website…do not use them. Let me explain: When they enter the data on your home into the MLS, it is syndicated to other websites, but that really is not enough. They should have it syndicated through their own website and also update the information on Craig’s list, Kijiji and a number of other websites available to them. A lot of people may not pay much attention to the list of buyers, but this could be the most valuable asset a listing agent could have. When they show one of their houses or have an open house, they have the opportunity to get information on the buyers criteria for the home they are looking for, such as price range, number of bedrooms, location etc. Than when your home is listed, your agent can go through the list of buyers and see if it matches any of their criteria.

How do they do an open house? If they pay for a $30 ad in the local paper and throw a sign out-do not use them regardless of how many open houses they are willing to do.Now, let me explain how I do my open houses. I hold an open house once a month and I spend a lot of time and money on them because they are important. I pay for the advertising in the newspaper with the map if possible. I hand out flyers to all the neighbors, I put signs on the major intersections leading to the home in advance to let the public know the date, address and times I will be holding the open house. I send post cards to neighboring communities with the same information. If the seller agrees, my wife&I supply & prepare food and beverages. On the day of the open house I handout flyers to the gas stations in the area and make sure there are enough signs out, so that from any direction they may be driving they are visible to any potential buyers. Before I became a mortgage broker, I made sure I invited one to the open house or had one available by phone to qualify the potential buyer in case they wanted to write an offer on the spot. (Speaking of offers, when interviewing your potential agent, ask to see a sales contract, if they have one this is a good sign, they are prepared as I always am)

Ask all the agents you are interviewing to bring a CMA (Comparative Market Analysis) along with them, however, do not tell them how much you hope to get for your home. When you are looking over the CMA, ask questions and ask them to explain the values. Again, do not tell them, at any point how much you want to sell your home for and do not choose your potential agent because they said your home was worth more than the other agents. Look over all the information and pick the CMA that is MOST ACCURATE, NOT THE BEST. If the most accurate CMA is lower than you want to sell your home, than do not waste yours and your agents time, just let them know you are not interested in selling. On the flip side of that, if you list with the agent that has the highest (but inaccurate) CMA, than you are setting yourself up for disappointment if your home does not sell within the time amount you allotted and you will have to drop the price at that time. Please keep in mind that with the way todays market conditions are, you will be chasing the market by lowering your price every 3months.

During the interview process of choosing your agent, ask them what they suggest to “prep” your home, that way when you do choose your agent, you will already have some input from more than one agent and even though you are not using all of the agents you can still use their ideas. Also during the interview, ask them what their marketing plan is and what will change, if the home does not sell in 30, 60 or 90 days.

And here is my last tip. Buy a new toilet seat! Cheap, but well worth it!

David Chamberlain

http://www.greatbeachagent.com

http://www.floridadreamloans.com

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Dec

14

Flat fee Vs Traditional

Posted by wayne chamberlain under For Sellers, For Realty Professionals, Listings, Saint Petersburg

0

Flat fee Vs Traditional

Why don’t agents show flat fee listings? Agents do show flat fee listings not all, but most. I try to avoid it if possible. A lot of people seem to say “but it is in the best interest of the buyer to show all homes”. No it is not, it is in the best interest of the buyer for me to find the buyer a home they like and can afford that we can close on.If we don’t close it was a waste of time for the both of us.

Example discount broker 1: I am showing a multi unit property to a buyer. The listing agent shows up 45 min late in a tank top with no bra on eating fried chicken as we walk the property. She hadn’t called any of the tenants to ask for access to there units. Buyer decided not to make an offer

Example discount broker 2: I found the home in the MLS called the company to show it. They said thats fine it is vacant on lockbox. We went to the home to find a moving truck in the driveway, they had closed two days before. I had tried to show a few of this companies properties this was the first time someone actually resonded to me.

Example discount broker 3: I was looking for a unit in a particular complex and found one on another agents website. I had showed a couple of the agents other listings. This one was a flat fee that didn’t include the mls. The agent told me that there was no compensation avalable to other agents. I let the buyer know they decided not to look at the property because the wanted me to be on their side of the transaction. They bought the next unit they looked at!

It is my opinion that it is great that buyers and sellers have many means available to them but I don’t think that you can compare flat fee vs traditional they are two totaly different business models. Its like Mcdonalds or Outback, a lot of people like Mcdonalds but that doesn’t mean it is good for you. Its your choice beef flavored meat or steak.

David Chamberlain  Realtor/Mortgage Broker

http://www.greatbeachagent.com

http://www.floridadreamloans.com

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Dec

14

Hombuying 101: An in-depth analysis of your role and the role of the mortgage broker, real estate agent, title company, sellers and all other interested parties including the mother-in-law.

Posted by wayne chamberlain under For Buyers, General Information

 

The first step once you have decided to purchase a home is to get your finances in order. If you have any bad debt, take care of that. You can find out by going to www.annualcreditreport.com from there you can get information from all three major credit agencies. If there are any inaccuracies you can dispute them with the credit agencies. At this point you should contact a mortgage broker in your state and show them your credit report. By doing this you are not having your credit pulled by a third party which could drop your score a few points. (What are points: They are a way of evaluating how much of a credit risk you are.) Your Mortgage broker could refer you to a credit counseling agency or may say lets proceed with getting you pre-approved.

You should be pre-approved for a loan before shopping for a home. It is a big mistake shopping without it unless you are paying cash. Lets say you are out shopping for a home and you think you can afford one at $250,000, you spend 8 weeks shopping have looked at 74 homes and find one you love. Then you write an offer it is accepted but you can’t get a loan. You have wasted your time along with the sellers, agents and your mother-in-laws. Only to find out you qualify for a $200,000 loan.

To get pre-approved you need to fill out an application and provide some documents to your mortgage broker which could include: home address for the past two years, social security number, landlords for the past two years, name and address of employers for the past two years, w-2 forms, tax returns past two years w/ schedules, two most recent paystubs, bank statement past 3 months, checking , savings and credit union account numbers an locations, IRA/401K information and your mother-in-laws maiden name. You might also be required to provide debt info such as car payments, student loans, divorce decree or separation agreement, divorced personal debts, payments automatically drafted from your accounts along with an explanation for any late payments, judgments, liens to name a few. While these might seem lengthy all of them might not apply to you based on your situation and the type of loan your mortgage broker is trying to get you approved for.

Why haven’t you said anything about applying at my bank? That is because I am a mortgage Broker and I am biased. A mortgage broker works to get you a loan with any number of lenders not just your bank, the mortgage broker works for YOU not the bank.

Yea but how do I chose a mortgage broker? This is very important step, Ask for referrals from friends, family and people in the real estate community. Then ask a lot of questions, interview a few of them. Don’t necessarily go with the person who looks at your credit report and says I can get you a 2.5% interest rate. They will not have enough info at that point to give an accurate quote. Go with the Broker who will work for your best interest. Ask them their qualifications, are they FHA approved, what lenders do they work with. A lot of blogs and newspaper articles on the internet tell you to ask how they get paid, It is simple in florida we are required to disclose it within 3 days of you application. This might be an important question but the bottom line is that you are paying for it in one way or another. You should not have to worry about this if spend your time finding an honest hardworking mortgage broker.

Next: Finding a Real Estate Agent

David Chamberlain Realtor/Mortgage Broker

http://www.greatbeachagent.com/myblog

http://www.floridadreamloans.com/myblog

 

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