Choosing a Plano Real Estate Listing Agent

Two of the biggest mistakes Plano real estate sellers make when choosing a listing agent are: selecting an agent solely based on how high they will list their home for or how low of a commission they will charge. Of course sellers want the highest possible price and to pay the least amount of commission but these two things have very little to do with hiring a competent listing agent and, in most cases, are completely irrelevant.

The Highest List Price

Agents can't tell you how much your home will sell for but they can show you comparable sales, found in the Plano MLS, and what your current competition is. But you are the one who ultimately choose the listing price and a buyer will tell you if that price is the right price.

Choosing an Agent Based on Commission

Plano Realtors are all not equal. Remember about 10% of the agents do 90% of the business in any market. Each of them has their own marketing techniques and advertising means. By choosing an agent with a large advertising budget you will gain greater exposure to the largest number of home buyers. Reaching these greater numbers of buyers means you will have a better chances of a good offer sooner rather than later.

•• Why would an agent willingly work for less than competitors?

There is a reason why a real estate agent will discount their commission. Sometimes it's the only way the agent feels it's possible to compete in this highly competitive business. Maybe they think this because the agent can't seem to stand apart from the competition on service, knowledge or skill. If the sole benefit an agent brings to a table is a cheap inexpensive fee, ask yourself why. Is the agent desperate for business or unqualified?

Sometimes a full service agent will negotiate a lower commission with you under special conditions such as if:

•• You are buying a home and selling a home at the same time with the same agent.

•• You are willing to do the legwork, marketing. advertising, and pay the cost for expenses related to the sale.

•• You are selling more than one house.

•• You don't have enough equity to pay the full commission.

•• The agent will lose the listing unless he matches a competitor's fee.

When you are interviewing real estate agents who offer similar services and you can't decide which one to higher, ask to see their track record of the each agent's original list price and final sale price. More likely than not, the agent with the lowest fee will show more price reductions and longer days on market. The difference between an agent who charges 5% and 6% is only 1%. Ask yourself how you come out ahead if your price ends up being reduced 2% because you chose a lower fee agent who could not afford to effectively market your home.

Importance of Agent Marketing

A good listing agent grows their business by marketing. Because marketing sells homes. Ask to review an agent's marketing plan. Find out what they are going to do to sell your home? Here is the bare-bones minimum you should expect:

•• Professional signage.

•• Electronic Lock Box.

•• Follow-up reports on buyer and agent feedback.

•• Incentives for broker / office previews.

•• Staging advice.

•• MLS exposure with many photographs.

•• Virtual tour.

•• Listed on major Web sites.

•• Updated CMAs after 30 days.

•• E-mail feeds of new listings that compete.

•• Updates on neighborhood facts, trends and recent sales.

Remember, no single marketing item sells homes. It's a combination of all those methods that sell homes.

Characteristics of a Good Listing Agent

Here are some of the characteristics sellers say they want in agent:

•• Education. Ask about designations and certifications.

•• Experience. Honesty. Trust your intuition.

•• Networking. This is a people business. Some homes sell because agents have contacted other agents.

•• Negotiation skills. You want an aggressive negotiator, not somebody out to make a quick sale at your expense

How to do a Plano Real Estate Search

Doing a Plano real estate search means doing some homework, but you can find out much about a property this way. A property search can turn up valuable data that you can use when writing an offer to buy. Example, I will not write a purchase contract without looking into the history of the property by conducting a variety of searches. I do not rely on the Plano MLS information alone, and you shouldn't either, because it could affect how much you will pay for the home.

Matters of Public Record

What kinds of information can you find from a property search? Example, if you knew the sellers were getting a divorce, you may decide not offer full price. Generally, in a divorce situation is a red flag that the sellers might take less because they want to get the property sold so they can get apart from each other. You can find out how long the seller has owned the home, how much they still owe on their mortgage, whether improvements or additions have been made without a permit among other important facts.

Every city has a place where its' citizens can go to search for information on any given property. Property records, sometimes referred to as Land Records, are maintained at either the county courthouse, city hall or another city or county department. You can also check the federal court records to find out if a seller has filed for bankruptcy or go through county court records to see if a seller is involved in a law suit.

These days there are easier ways to find this information. Once you find the owner of record, if you don't have an address or the person has moved, you can order reports online that can find a missing person. These companies charge a nominal fee.

Property Search on the Internet

Many counties and cities maintain records online. Search for property tax records to find:

•• Name of the owner

•• Tax ID number or parcel number

•• Amount of present taxes and whether the taxes are paid.

There are dozens of web sites that offer consumer information for free. Many Web sites let you search for property by area or sip code. Here are a few:

Title Company Property Search

Call a local title company. Many title companies will give you a free property profile in hope that you will use them when you close on your home. Some title companies will do a search for the seller's name to find out if there are liens or judgments filed against the seller.

Property Search Data Realtors Can Find

If you are working with a Realtor, you can ask them to find out more information about a property. Almost all Plano Realtors subscribe to services that provide property search information in variable formats.

•• Plano MLS data. It's not enough to just get a copy of a listing for the home you are interested in. Get your Realtor to search the history of the property in the MLS. You can find out if the property has been withdrawn from the market and relisted or if it has recently sold and may be a home being flipped. Your Plano Realtor can find out how long the property has been on the market. The amount of days on the market has an effect on pricing. Generally, if the home has been on the market for a long time you can get the home for less.

•• Online Title Company Database. I have an access code for my favorite title company's Web site. I can download deeds and search the sales and mortgage history of a property going back 20 years.

•• Tax Assessor's Data. Many Realtors have access to a tax record data base search that sjows the complete records on file at the tax assessor's office for any given property. This information can include the age of the home, square feet, type of roof, number of rooms, among other data. If the tax assessor records show different square footage than noted in the listing, either the tax assessor is wrong, the seller is wrong or the property has improvements for which a permit was not obtained. Buyers should then check with their city planning department to find out if a permit was obtained for the addition.

Buying Plano real estate can be challenging but if you do your due diligence and check all the information available, you should do just fine. Next time around you will learn about Dallas foreclosures. See you then.

Plano Home Seller Tips

Many Plano home sellers have unrealistic expectations about their property value. Many Plano home owners think they set the selling price when in fact it’s the buyers and the market who set the price. Some sellers get the idea in their head that their house should sell for say $225,000 because they bought it a few years ago for $180,000. They may have bought the house when the market was stronger, and in a softer market, their house may not be worth what they expect. If you don't price your home correctly to the market condition, you simply won't sell it.
How do you set the price of your home?
There are three tools you should use, an appraiser, a Plano Realtor, and a list of recent home selling prices in your neighborhood commonly referred to a home market analysis. If you wisely chose your Plano Realtor and they have experience in your neighborhood, they can guide you to a probable selling price and you can use a list of recent selling prices from the Plano MLS as a guide.

Nice it up before you list.
Before you turn your put your home on the market, make sure it’s in its best condition. First impressions count and the first thing buyers see is your front lawn and garden. Make sure that your lawn is in good shape, and the edging is perfect edge along the perimeter. Repair any cosmetic damage to the house that can be seen from the outside. All of this makes a world of difference. You don’t want any disappointments when the buyers drive up to look at the house. Put yourself in the buyers shoes and list the items that make a house undesirable. Think curb appeal. Spending a few dollars on some flowers can go a long way.

How To Interview And Hire A Real Estate Agent
Ask to see the Real Estate Agent’s marketing plan. By using popular Plano TX Real Estate web sites you are pitting local real estate agents against one another to compete for your business. You should ask your seller's agent specifically to outline their Internet strategy so that the largest number of potential buyers sees your house. Increasingly savvy home buyers are using online real estate web sites to search for houses and real estate agents. The big name Real estate agents tend to draw more buyers than independent agencies, although you can still get excellent service from an independent real estate agent.

Have a good Internet marketing plan to sell your home
Many people don't realize that just by adding your home listing to a regional online classifieds, it could get picked up by the major real estate portals sites like Realtor.com. Many real estate portals are constantly signing deals with MLSs and regional home listings to display their listings when users of the portals search for a house. If your house is not on any of these internet sites, you'll lose out. This is why it's very crucial to see your Plano real estate agent's internet marketing plan, and to know what sites your listing will appear on. Internet listings are crucial to get your house sold, especially to out of town buyers who are unfamiliar with your area, and your listing is the only one they know.

Plano TX Real Estate Agents

Plano Real Estate Agents are always ready when a buyer is ready to look at homes. Many times the buyer will select a handful of homes to look at and the agent will pull up the MLS listings of similarly priced homes to show. But price isn't always the buyers main concern. The challenge is that the buyer might not like any of the homes on the agent's list. Consider these two factors prior to meeting with your agent:

• Has the real estate agent previewed any of the homes you are going to view?
• Has the agent had a thorough discussion with you to find out exactly what you are looking for?
If the answer to both of those questions is no, you might be wasting your valuable time. Serious home buyers do not have unlimited amounts of time to spend looking at homes that don’t meet their wants and need. Furthermore, in a buyer’s market, because of high amount of excess inventory, it is virtually impossible to look at every home for sale.

Why Should Agents Look at Home
Professional Plano Realtors preview homes, either through the Plano MLS or broker tours or by making an appointment to preview homes on the buyer's behalf. Top agents spend some time every week previewing new listings. It's the best way for agents to stay informed about current market conditions. Agents can't effectively sell a product or inform you if it meets your criteria they haven't seen.

Before you hire a buyer’s agent ask them how many homes they tours each week. Try to determine if the agent has intimate knowledge of the neighborhood inventory and current market conditions by asking the agent to describe the current active listing inventory and recently sold inventory. If the agent doesn't know which homes have recently sold or what the new listings look like, you might want to consider hiring a more experienced buyers agent to work for you.
Using Your Buyers Agent to View Homes

There are very few reasons for your buyer’s agent to show you a home that the agent has not looked at beforehand. It will save you much time if you can get your agent to take photographs of the home and e-mail them to you. That way you can eliminate this home from your search after looking at the pictures and asking your agent questions about the homes. It makes sense that the agent should show you homes that you actually meet your needs. By passing on homes that don't fit your search criteria, you have more time to look at homes that fit your wants and needs. Isn’t it better for you to look at 10 homes that meet your needs instead of 50 homes that you can't even remember? When looking to buy Plano TX Real Estate remember that it's your agent's job to help you find the right home.

Plano TX Real Estate – Amenities and Value

Among the many Cities near Dallas, the City of Plano offers much for its residents at a great value. Plano Real Estate offers several homes with beautiful lake and golf course views at good market values for the potential home buyer who wants to live in a highly desirable area. Plano Homes are in high demand and with interest rates are near historic lows it is a great time to buy a first time home or to "trade up".

Plano Real Estate has character, is very clean, has an easy commute to Dallas and is admired by many. The City provides everything necessary for its residents daily needs. It has several schools, medical facilities and shopping centers. Plano is the 9th largest city in Texas has gained immense popularity and is liked by all the residents living there. Plano provides several employment opportunities and diversity of employees including establishment of many corporate headquarters.

Plano offers several diversions for families. There are many parks and adventurer places like skating, swimming, hiking, playground and picnics areas. It provides a variety of entertainment for people of all ages such as ball fields, golf courses. tennis courts, fine dining & restaurants keeping the values of Plano Real Estate strong.

In Plano there are many real estate agents who can help buyers to find and invest in their own homes. Several websites provide information, through the MLS and other sources, about homes for sale in Plano and their current market values. VIP Realty Platinum helps Buyers to search for homes in Plano and keeps them well informed of market conditions.

Why you should invest in your first Plano home

It is common that many first-time homebuyers get nervous about making the commitment to purchase a home. After all, your are committing to pay a large sum of money for up to 30 years. This is a big decision that leaves many first-time homebuyers wondering if they should take that leap of faith or not. I assure you it is normal to be nervous about purchasing your first home. To ease your nerves, Plano Realtors have provided a list of the benefits of homeownership. Whenever you feel nervous searching for your first home, on the Plano MLS , make sure to keep in mind the many benefits of home ownership:

1. Appreciation – Real estate, even going through a down cycle, consistently appreciates. A home is also an investment, a investment in your future.
2. Pride of Home Ownership – The main reason that first-time home buyers purchase a home is because they want to experience the pride of being homeowners. When you own your own home you have the freedom to paint the rooms any color, increase the volume of your radio without worrying, decorate any way you want and so much more. Home ownership means freedom from landlords and all their restrictive rules.
3. Deduct the Interest on your Mortgage – There are several tax benefits to home ownership that includes deducting the interest you pay on your mortgage. This is great news since interest is the biggest part of a mortgage payment.
4. As you pay on your home loan, you are building the equity in your home, which you can tap into at any time. If you ever need a loan to pay for college, expenses, credit card debt, or for other various reasons, then equity is a great financial resource to have.
5. The $8,000 tax credit is another reason to invest in your own home now. This credit is a true credit and does not have to be paid back. But hurry, this program ends November 30, 2009!
Home ownership is an incredible feeling. If you are a first-time home buyer do not be nervous about taking the invigorating plunge into home ownership. The benefits will far outweigh the risk.

Determining Your Plano Home Offering Price

Before you prepare a written offer to purchase a Plano home you already know what the asking price is. But how do you determine what a fair price you should offer for the home and how do you come up with that amount? Determining the amount of your initial offer can be done in an organized three step process.

The first step in determining the price you are willing to offer is to look at the recent sales of similar homes. These are called "comparable sales" or “comps”. Comparable sales are recent sales of homes that are similar to the one you are looking to write an offer on. Make sure you pay special attention and compare prices of homes that are similar in lot size, square footage, number of bedrooms and bathrooms, garages, type and quality of construction.

Study recent sales of similar homes in your community to determine a price range. Then analyze additional information like current market conditions, the condition of the home, improvements and upgrades made to the home and the circumstances of the seller. If seller is distressed they may take a lower price that the average seller. This will help you evaluate a fair price that you would be willing to pay for the home. Depending on your negotiating ability, adjust your fair price down a little and then determine what you want to put in your initial offer to the Seller.
The best source of this valuable information is through a professional Plano Realtor. Theses Realtors have access to the comprehensive Plano MLS and have access to Active, Pending and Sold homes. All Plano realty listings that have ever been in the MLS will be accessible you your Realtor. It is more difficult to access Plano FSBO Property because, generally, they are not listed in the MLS. Using the MLS your Realtor can create a Comparative Market Analysis “CMA” to show you the averages on the comparable homes in your market area. This is the best tool you can use to help you deterring what the value of the home is.

Plano Real Estate Disclosures

p>By law, Plano real estate agents cannot fill out a property disclosure form for a seller unless that agent is the seller or a direct party to the transaction. Unfortunately, that doesn't stop some uninformed agents from filling out these property disclosures on behalf of their seller clients and in doing so, opening themselves up for lawsuits and penalties from the State Real Estate Commission.

Federal DisclosuresEach State has its own laws regarding property disclosures, so the forms will vary depending on where you live. A federal disclosure such as the Lead Based Paint Disclosure is required for all transactions for houses built prior to 1978. This disclosure gives the buyer 10-days to conduct inspections for lead-based paint, unless that time period contingency is waived in writing.

Material FactsA material fact is anything that may affect a buyer's decision to purchase a property affect the price and terms the buyer may offer. If you have knowledge about a defect in the property, it must be disclosed, period.

External DisclosuresSome states require disclosures about items that affect or could affect the property such as:

•• Earthquakes
•• Natural Hazards
•• Zoning Changes
•• Flood Zones
•• Death
•• Crime
•• Fire Hazards
•• Noise Pollution
•• Ground Pollution

Due to the large number of lawsuits, most local Association of Realtors, publish a number of disclosure forms to help protect home buyers.

Foundation ProblemsThis is a huge issue in many areas of the country because of problems surrounding wet basements and defective slabs.

What About Rumors?Generally, when selling Plano real estate, if you have knowledge of a defect or material fact, then you must disclose it. If a neighbor repeats a rumor, and you have not verified or disproved it, you may want to consider telling the buyer about the rumor. The best thing to do is to always follow the "Golden Rule". If you would like to know something as a Plano home buyer, then your buyer probably will want to know as well. Generally, home buyers aren't upset by negative information. They get upset and call a lawyer when they feel they have been deceived or lied to. If you are utilizing the services of a Plano Realtor make sure that they disclose everything about your property to any and all potential buyers. They may even disclose some of these things in the Plano MLS so that there is written evidence of such.