Don’t End Up Temporally Homeless

Unfortunately, real estate transactions fall apart every day for a variety of reasons. Many times deal killer scenarios could have been avoided if the real estate agent had just educated their buyer clients as to the process before the first purchase contract was ever written. Don't be afraid of giving your buyer clients an early education on challenges that might be encountered, how they generally get resolved and your role in that process. Negative surprises in the emotionally charged, time sensitive home purchase process can be avoided in many cases by going through a checklist of instructions to buyers.

1. Don't End Up Temporarily Homeless

There are so many inter-dependent activities involved in a Collin County real estate closing, so it's not that unusual for there to be last minute delays that move a closing a few days back. Often this is due to mortgage documents, as the lender wants to see the appraisal, survey, title and other documents first. If any of these are things are delayed, then the closing may be later than expected. Though it can't always be avoided, make sure that your client doesn't arrive at closing with all their furniture with no place to live or the money to pay the movers for van storage because they can't move in for three or four days.

 

2. A Really Low First Offer Can Backfire

In the Denton County real estate market and Tarrant County real estate market with a rising inventory many times encourages buyers to make low ball offers just to test the sellers motivation. In some markets it's not very unusual and sellers come back with a high counter offer to draw the buyer higher to an acceptable price. Your buyers could pay up if they are not careful about this aggressive offer approach. With first-time sellers who've cared for and loved their home for many years, a very low offer can offend them.

 

3. If You Beat the Sellers up on Price, Don't Expect Concessions

Everybody wants a great deal and working a motivated seller into a low ball price is the goal of many buyers. Make sure to talk to your buyers about how this will influence the process in almost every aspect through to closing. Tell them that getting a seller to their rock bottom price will usually insure that they will not agree to any concessions for repairs to correct inspection problems. As long as you have educated your buyers to this, you will hopefully avoid the transaction falling apart because of sellers' remorse or inspection correction negotiations.

 

4. Do a Comparative Market Analysis for You to Prove Your Offer

When the question of "What price should I offer for this home?" comes, tossing out with a number is not the best approach. You should advise your buyers' through a comprehensive market analysis of similar recently sold properties in that area. This should give a range and your buyer can then choose an offering price based on accurate market statistics. If there are other factors that you can give to your client about seller motivation or recent market changes, definitely do that and help them to feel comfortable with the price they choose to offer.

 

4. I'm Not an Expert but I Will Help You to Locate One

Too many real estate agents get into a jam by trying to be helpful to their clients in areas that they shouldn't be. If you're not a home inspector, lawyer, appraiser or an contractor. Don't try to take on their jobs and responsibilities erroneously believing that you're providing service to your clients. Saying "I don't know" is a valid response, especially when it is followed with "but I'll help you to find out." You can actually enhance your value to your buyer by being up front and honest about your knowledge and helping them to locate the appropriate competent professional to answer their questions.

 

5. Don't Buy That New Furniture Before Closing

These days, with many of today's buyers purchasing homes at the top end of what they can afford, there isn't any room left in their debt ratio score. Deals have been lost days before closing because the lender did a final credit check and found a few thousand dollars of new furniture had just been purchased on a credit card. Advise your buyers to make no significant credit changes or purchases in this critical pre-closing phase.

Get Set, Get Ready - Go in Dallas Real Estate!

Summary: Thanks to technology, we can do things bigger, faster, and more efficiently in 2013

Is your real estate bag packed, is your laptop working right, are all your documents updated and ready to go? Are you prepared for business in 2013? Utilize the slow time to get focused and prepared for the Dallas real Estate market.

 

First, set your goals for the year and quantify them. Whatever your goal is, set reminders and due dates in your calendar. Are your goals realistic? An example would be, "I am going to sell 36 homes in the Collin County real estate or Denton County real estate market in 2013".

 

Secondly, post your goals in plain sight and track your progress. Is it on your bathroom mirror? Do you have a white board or vision board? Make daily, weekly, and monthly goals that will help you achieve your ultimate goal. Example would be, "I am going to talk to 11 prospects a day" or "I am going to call 10 of my past clients and ask for referrals".

 

Lastly make yourself accountable. Have you shared your goals with friends and family? Ask one of them to be your accountability partner. This will help you stay focused and motivated. If you don't hit a goal, don't worry just re-evaluate what you are doing and modify your daily/weekly goal.

 

Thanks to technology, we can do things bigger, faster, and more efficiently in 2013. At the same time, our clients have come to expect they can buy or sell a home as quickly as they can do a search in Google. A quick search for Tarrant County real estate will bring up a host of information in just seconds. By being ready and prepared for the unexpected, you will amaze yourself at how easy it is to do more business in 2013.

 

Here are a few simple rules I follow every day to stay focused, so I can achieve my goals.

 

1. Set a timer and stick to it

2. Schedule and put events in your calendar with reminders

3. Prioritize what is important daily

4. Tackle your most important task first

5. Setup a routine for reoccurring events

~ Jennifer Clark VIP Realty Platinum

Ways Not Lose Money When Selling Your House

Even in this recovering real estate market there are tons of homeowners who think they don’t have enough equity in their home to be able to sell it. I remember when a seller asked me to come by her home one day after she got home from work. She asked if I would list her home as a short sale. I could feel her stress, which was understandable, but her reason for wanting to sell as a short sale confused me. I asked her why she thought she had to do a short sale. She answered, because I don’t have any equity. But the reality of it was that she had plenty of equity, and the house was sold as a regular sale. Many sellers don't know how much their home is worth or even how much they owe. If they don't know these two basic pieces of information, they might not know how to save money when selling. Here are a few ways to not lose money when selling your home.

Higher A Good Listing Agent

This is the single most important factor in selling Collin County real estate or Tarrant County real estate because they will help you to get them most equity out of your home that is possible. Many times sellers want to hire a discount agent to save commission dollars, and that is very often the wrong approach. Say the difference between two agents is 1% of the final sales price. If an seasoned agent who offers you more marketing and better service charges 1% more than a competitor but brings you, say, 9% more in profit, you are further ahead. You may, in fact, lose money if you hire a discount agent who offers you less.

 

Pricing Your Home Right At The Start Can Save You Money

The longer your home sits on the market, the less it is worth in most buyer's eyes. Don't make the mistake of testing the Plano real estate market or you may very well end up losing money. If you list your home in line with the comparable sales, you will get buyers interested to see it. If you don't get them to your home, they can never buy it. Here are few things that will help you to not lose money:

 

·         Tour open houses in your neighborhood and look for trends. Note what makes one home more appealing than another. If you can drive desire in a buyer, a buyer will make an emotional decision, not necessarily a practical or affordable decision. And that may result in more money for you.

 

·         Compare the prices of sold homes within the past 3 months with homes currently on the market. Are prices holding steady, going up or down? If you were a buyer, which home would you buy? Consider prices potential buyers will see and price your home accordingly.

 

Preparing Your Home For Sale

It may cost a little bit of money to get your home ready for market, but your return should far outweigh the expense.

 

·         Set aside an amount of money you can afford for repairs and for cleaning up the home. Ask your agent to help you determine which items are the most important to handle.

·         Keep the bath rooms extremely clean and fresh. Spend $25 on some hand towels and tie ribbons around them. If the room is a dark color, paint it a lighter color.

·         Read books and articles on staging a home and study them for valuable ideas. Your real estate agent can help you with home staging ideas as well.

 

Carefully Review Closing Fees During Negotiations

Buried in the contract documents will be a list of fees that the buyers and sellers will pay. Also, the buyers may ask for additional inspections or seller concessions toward their closing costs. All of these fees are negotiable. If the buyer asks for 2% toward closing costs, consider increasing the sales price to compensate.

 

·         When it is time to respond to an offer always try to negotiate these fees. Even if it is normal and customary for the seller to pay certain fees in your area, you can always the ask buyer to pay them in your counter offer.

·         If you can get away without paying it, don't automatically agree to pay for a buyer's home warranty. If a buyer asks for certain reports such as a pest report or a roof or foundation inspection, put a cap on the repair costs because these reports may obligate you to pay a considerable amount.

To wrap things up, if you can't afford to sell your home, don't, if you don’t absolutely have to. Wait for the market appreciation kicks in and/or when your mortgage pays down

Searching For Real Estate in the County

You have decided that you want to buy real estate out in the county. Of course there are a lot of houses for sale so how hard can it be to find the right one for you and your family? For anyone who has hunted for a home before, you know what the answer is. Home hunting can be a very time consuming and a difficult process if you don't know where to begin. To get going in the right direction, it is paramount that you know what you are looking for. Make your wish list that includes everything you want from your choice of neighborhoods, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, budget and amenities.

There are buyers out there looking for Collin County real estate that aren't sure if they're in the market for a townhome, condo or a single family home. They don't know if they want to live near the center of the County or on its outskirts.  If this sounds like you, then your Realtor can be a big help to you. Your Realtor can show you different options and explaining the pros and cons of each of them. This preview session will help you make a firm decision on the direction you are headed.  Then, learn how to navigate MLS on almost any local Realtors website.  With today's technology, it's all about previewing a home online before you take the time to physically go take a look at it. Just because a home meets the criteria you've set forth for your agent doesn't mean it's a home you should go see in person.  Don’t burn up gas, time and money that you don’t have to.

 

Even if you are looking for Tarrant County real estate or Denton County real estate  Realtor.com is a great place to get started on your search. They display all the listings in the County you want to live in, searchable by square foot, bedrooms, bathrooms, price range, amenities and more.  Has your Realtor sent you listing which contain MLS numbers?  If so, you should be able to input that number on the MLS website to take you directly to that particular home listing. Even better yet, have your Realtor set you up for daily or weekly email listing updates. They will send you links to newly listed homes that fit within your search criteria. And finally, keep an open mind. Some homes look great online and they can appear to be your dream home but once you see them in person they simply don't measure up.  I assure you the home you are searching for is out there.

 

Keep in mind that the opposite can be true for homes as well. A home may look a bit ugly, smallish and run down online, maybe because of bad photos or bad decor, but in person you realize the neighborhood is just what you we looking for and the house meets all or most of your needs. All it may need is some cosmetic updates. Don't keep second guessing yourself. If you have a solid plan on what you want, you'll be more likely to make a decisive move when the time comes in a key moment. Waiting too long to take action could mean losing out on a home you really want. Being realistic about your wants, needs and budget is a great way to make the home hunting process a whole lot smoother. Keep in mind that for most folks there may not be a "perfect" home but their surely will be a home that is right for you.

 

Making an Offer to Buy a DFW Home

Be Sure to Obtain Crucial Information Before Making an offer on a DFW Home

Because your Realtor may be reluctant to give you the price you should offer when buying a home. It is always helpful to find out why the seller is selling. You may not be able to obtain this information because the listing agent may refuse to tell you. But you can gather information without relying on the listing agent. You should realize that none of the following alone is sufficient by its self, each used in conjunction with the others will help you make the decision on which price is best for you to offer on DFW Homes.

 

Determine the Market in the Area You Want to Buy in

Check the activity of the marketplace. It is it neutral, hot or cold? If you're making an offer in a buyer's market on one of many Highland Parks homes, for example, you will have less competition for the home. Sellers will be more likely to be open to any offer because there are fewer buyers. If you're buying Collin County real estate in a seller's market, sellers may not consider any offer that is less than full price. Sellers could receive multiple offers, which means your offer should be as attractive as possible to get it acceptance.

Find Out How Much the Seller Paid for the Home

While it is true that in most cases the price the seller originally paid for their house has very little bearing on its market value today. However, if the seller purchased only a few years ago in a depreciating market, the asking price should be closer to the seller's purchase price or they may not accept it. Although you may not be able to determine the condition of the house when the seller bought it, nor whether there were any extenuating circumstances, you can adjust for an increase due to appreciation and improvements the seller has made.

Determine What The Seller's Mortgage Balance is

Unless the seller is in default on their mortgage and are willing to participate in short selling their house they are unlikely to accept an offer for less the amount of their mortgage(s), plus selling cost. If the seller has a high mortgage balance, and the house is vacant, you may assume the seller is making their mortgage payments out of their pocket, probably paying on two homes. If the mortgage balance is very low, the seller might not be as motivated to sell immediately and can afford to wait to get their list price.

Examine Comparable Home Sales

When looking at comparable home sales use only the homes that are similar in square feet, age and location to the home you want to buy. Use the data from the most recently sold sales, and don't look back more than six months because appraisers won't.

Analyze List and Compare Price to Sales Price Ratios

Ask your DFW Realtor for a trending report covering the last six months. Look up the prices of the homes as they were listed and compare them to the prices that have sold. Ask how much is the spread? Are houses selling at, over or under list price? If under list price, by what percentage? If many properties are selling at 3% under the list price, for example, that percentage could indicate the price the seller will or should accept.

Check Square Foot Cost Averages

Understand that smaller homes are priced higher per square foot and larger homes are priced less per square foot. You generally cannot take the average square foot cost and multiple it by the square footage of the house you want to buy and come up with a good offer price. However, you can check the trends to determine if the square foot cost averages are rising or declining and you can use that information to your advantage.

Ask for the Home's History and Days on Market (DOM)

At times, Realtors take listings off the market and re-enter them as a new listing. Find out if the home was an expired or cancelled listing and then relisted. The DOM is important, because if properties have been on the market for more than 30 days, the sellers may be more motivated to negotiate. Don't become emotionally attached to the home before your offer is accepted. Prepare yourself for the sellers to counter your offer. Keep other homes in mind just in case your offer is not accepted by the seller.

Plano Real Estate and Buyer's Broker Agreements

Plano real estate buyers generally sign a buyer broker agreement with their Plano Realtors before writing an offer on a home. This buyer broker agreement spells out precisely that the Realtor represents the buyer only. This is also known as a “buyer representation agreement”. There are a variety of buyer broker agreements that are used throughout the United States. For example, we will review three most common types of buyer broker agreements, with most weight given to Exclusive Right to Represent because it's the preferred form for many Realtors use when selling Plano real estate and Collin County Real Estate.

Buyer Broker Agreement / Non-Exclusive

This agreement outlines the Realtors duties and obligations to the buyer, agency relationships to all parties, Realtors scope of duty and buyer obligations; it does not provide for Realtor compensation for the sale of any DFW Homes.

· Buyer has the right to single agency

· Buyer may hire more than one Realtor to locate property

· Buyer is not obligated to compensate the Realtor

Buyer Broker Agreement / Non-Exclusive Right to Represent

A non-exclusive agreement outlines the Realtors duties and obligations to the buyer, agency relationships of all parties, Realtors scope of duty and buyer obligations. This type of agreement does provide for Realtor compensation. It also removes the buyer's responsibility to pay a commission if the Realtor is paid by another party such as the seller.

· Buyer has the right to single agency

· Buyer may purchase a property through another Realtor, as long as the property is not a home the first Realtor brought to the buyer

· The Realtor can receive a higher commission than the negotiable fee stated in the agreement if the seller elects to pay more and as long as it is disclosed

Buyer Broker Agreement / Exclusive Right to Represent

This is a standard form that many Realtors prefer to use with their buyer clients. It is similar in scope to the non-exclusive form except for one major difference; the buyer has agreed to work exclusively with this particular Realtor.

· The commission is negotiable

· The buyer cannot hire more than one Realtor to represent them

· Buyer has the right to single agency

· The buyer is not responsible for the commission if another party pays it, such as the seller

· The Realtor can receive a higher commission than the negotiable fee stated in the agreement if the seller elects to pay more and it is disclosed to all parties.

A non-exclusive agreement may run for a month or two, exclusive agreement terms generally run anywhere from three months to a year. If the buyer elects to purchase any property introduced to her by the Realtor, they will owe the Realtor a commission. Exclusive representation gives the Realtor the ability to negotiate with unrepresented sellers (for sale by owners as an example) on the buyer's behalf. In these cases, the commission is typically added to the sale price and then paid by the buyer to the Realtor as part of the financing. If the buyer is able to purchase the property at a discount through the Realtors negotiating ability, the Realtor will have earned their commission. Exclusive representation means the Realtor is retained by the buyer and will work diligently on their behalf and have a fiduciary duty to that buyer client.

Termination of Buyer Broker Agreement

Ask the Realtor if they will release you from the buyer broker contract if you find that the relationship is not a good fit for you or and/or them. While Realtors are not bound to release you, if they won't agree to a termination upfront, don't sign the agreement with them find a Realtor that will agree to it. Professional Plano Realtors will give personal guarantees that the customer will be satisfied.

Plano Homes and Price Reductions

Plano home price reductions, price adjustments, price improvements, it doesn't matter what you call it, sellers don’t wants to hear that they may need to lower their price. In slow markets it's not unusual for sellers to put the blame on the real estate agent for their home not selling. They real culprit is that the seller has unrealistic expectations for the price of their Plano real estate. Many times sellers will say, "Why don't do you do more to sell my house?"

Before Reducing Your Listing Price

• Review Your Marketing and Answer The Following Questions

1. How many ads have been are running for your home in the Collin County real estate section?

2. What kind of direct mail campaign has been launched, if any?

3. How many open houses have there been?

4. Does the house show well online, are there a lots of pictures?

5. Is your for sale signage in a good visible location?

6. Do you have a virtual tour?

7. What kind of feedback have you received from DFW Realtors and prospective buyers?

8. Are you offering enough commission to selling agent to make showing your home worth their while?

9. How many showings have you had so far?

• Are You Selling in a Buyer’s Market?

1. When the market is slow, inventory is high and demand falls. If that's the case, and you don’t have to move, maybe you can take your home off the market.

2. It doesn’t make sense to put an overpriced home on the market that is not going to receive any showings.

3. If you're not motivated to sell, you may be better off renting your house or staying put until the market corrects.

Choose the Right Price from the Start

If you're price is too high, you'll need to continually reduce it until your price hits the magic number, and by then buyers will begin wondering:

1. What is wrong with your house?

2. Are you hard to deal with?

3. Are you in a distress situation?

4. How much lower will you go?

The reality of it is that you will end up with less money than you would have if you priced the home properly from the beginning. Ideally, you want one price reduction. Here are guidelines to consider:

• Realize your agent is not your adversary but is on your side; enlist his help.

• Review the pending sales and examine the market history. How many days on market were the homes before the price was reduced and how much of a price reduction was made? You won't know the sold price, but you can determine average price reduction percentages.

• Compare the sold prices with active listings. Are sold prices higher or lower?

• Compare the history on the active listings to determine how many days on market before they were before the prices were reduced.

• Run a side-by-side comparison with active listings near the price point you are considering. Price yours so it falls in the bottom two to five listings or, if you're really motivated, price it less than anything else on the market.

Is Your Plano Home Price Too Low?

• Even in distressed markets, as home prices are declining, homes that are priced below the average sold prices will receive multiple offers and sell quickly.

• With multiple offers it's common to have price wars among competing buyers, which will generally result in an accepted offer for more than list price.

The Final Word - Every House Will Sell if the Price is Right!

DFW Real Estate – Counter Offers

What Does Counter Offer mean?
Counter offers on Collin County real estate come into play by a home seller after a buyer has submitted an offer to purchase their home. Generally, a counter offer will state that the seller is interested in the buyers offer subject to the following changes. Some examples:

•• Price (generally a higher price)

•• Increasing the amount of the earnest money deposit

•• Changing service providers

•• Refusals to pay for certain fees

•• Altering closing or possession date

•• Excluding personal property from the contract

•• Modifying contingency time frames

How many Counters Should You Expect?
Just the same as a seller submitting a counter Tarrant County real estate offer to a buyer, a buyer can counter the seller's counter, which will then become counter offer #2. There is no limit to the number of counter offers that can be submitted back and forth. The offer and all subsequent counter offers are handled through you're your DFW Realtors office.

How are Counter Offers Rejected and Should you Reject it?
The seller is not required to respond to any offer. That may come to a surprise to you? Here are some of the most common ways to reject an offer:

•• Most Denton County real estate contracts provide at the bottom of the page for the seller to initial that the offer has been rejected.

•• Most offers specify a date of expiration, a "deadline clause" in the event the seller elects not to respond.

•• Sellers can also write "rejected" across the face of the contract, initial and date it.

Can There Be Multiple Counter Offers?
Depending on your specific state laws, sellers may or may not be able to issue multiple counter offers at one time. In many states sellers can counter more than one offer and each counter can be different. Even if one of the buyers accepts the seller's counter under these circumstances, the seller does not have to accept the buyer's acceptance. When Dallas foreclosures are involved many banks and mortgage companies will use this method in order to get then highest offer for one of their properties.

How are Counter Offers Accepted?
If the counter offer is issued by the seller, the buyer can simply accept the counter and deliver it back to the party designated to receive it. Time is always of the essence, meaning, counter offers contain expirations just like purchase offers, which means the seller can accept another offer while the buyer is deciding whether to sign the counter offer. When I've called Realtors to find out the availability of a home and whether any offers have been received, it's very common to hear, "We have a counter out." Some Realtors become discouraged at this news. But this is a great time to get your clients offer in. You may be pleasantly surprised when the offer is accepted by the sellers. What commonly happens in these situations is the seller accepts the second buyer's offer and then simply withdraws her counter offer from consideration, kicking out the first buyer.