Archive for Agents
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In most areas right now, real estate is a buyer’s market. Inventory is at an all-time high. There may be 20, 30, or even 40 homes in an area that could be ‘perfect’ for a buyer.
Maybe the buyer has fallen in love with your home . . . except . . . Read More→
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With more and more Americans facing the prospect of declining home values and unemployment levels not seen in quite some time, many homeowners and their lenders are facing the situation where the home is worth less than owed. This is no problem if the owner doesn’t have to move and can afford their current payment. If the owner is forced to sell for whatever reason, then the possibility of a short sale becomes a very real option.
What is a short sale? A short sale is an option you have before you reach the point of Read More→
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The Charlotte Regional Realtor Association is sponsoring Realtors Care Day in Mecklenburg and Iredell Counties, April 24th. Irv & I are putting together a team from our office to participate. Click here to find out more and to sign up – Realtors Care Day
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Utilizing current technology, we have the capability to track the amount of traffic generated by our listings on our site as well as activity on other sites where our homes for sale appear.
We had an interesting turn this week with our listing in Providence Country Club. Read More→
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Preconceived notions.
One of the most paralyzing conditions that we, as Realtors®, have to deal with every day. We must be out to make a quick buck. The lowest of the low. Scum of the earth. How can we live with ourselves? How dare we charge a fee for standing around looking pretty while someone chooses a home to buy! I can sign those forms myself without your help, thank you very much.
We understand your feelings Read More→
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I was recently contacted by Inman News with questions regarding how I felt about the future of the Real Estate Industry. Answers will be featured on inmannews.com, but I thought I’d share them here with you as well.
Q. Imagine how the real estate industry will be different when we recover from the current downturn.
A. The brokerage segment of the industry will be lean and mean. The downturn will push many brokers out of the business, with only the innovative and dedicated remaining. The dinosaurs will persist until they fade away due to attrition. Technology will be the vehicle that brokers will use to find and communicate with buyers and sellers. This is and always will be a relationship business., but the changes in the web have just begun and I wouldn’t even venture a guess as to what the business will look like in 5 years. Those that embrace the new paradigm of constant change and evolution will prosper, while those who do not will wither on the vine.
Q. How will the business model or business practices of the title, brokerage or lending industries change in the future?
A. They will continue to evolve at whatever breakneck speed the tech gurus can throw at us (brokers). The tools we have will continue to be refined and then combined in any myriad of ways with new tools. The sky is the limit here.
Q. Will the industry be regulated differently in the future? How so?
A. I do believe that regulation will increase. It is my hope that any changes to how we are regulated will be made with foresight and due diligence. I will say as a lais-sez faire kind of guy, I have overall been happy with how North & South Carolina have adjusted to how they regulate as the world changes.
Q. What must the industry do now to prepare for this new direction?
A. Get involved so that we can work with the regulating bodies to come up with solutions that are both fair and practical.
Q. What technology trends will change the industry in the future?
A. If I knew that answer I would be in Las Vegas predicting when 17 black would pop up on the roulette wheel. In all seriousness, the web is in it’s infancy and we have no idea where or how it will change.
Q. What skills will the real estate agent of the future require?
A. This answer ties to the last question as well. We must constantly be on the cutting edge of what is going on. This is a never-ending job and you can never learn too much. The agent of the future must be willing to reinvent their business model frequently to keep up.
Q. How will real estate advertising dollars be spent in the future? How will real estate marketing be different?
A. First question – the internet. Second question – advertising will have to be interactive and responsive to what the consumer wants. It will need to have value for them (the public) to take a look, if not, there are other choices out there. The advertising will be integrated within other web media.
Q. Will sales activity in your local housing market contract or expand in 2009? Will national sales activity contract of expand?
A. I expect our sales volume to expand slightly in 2009. We have been somewhat isolated from the markets in the rest of the nation. With prices settling down across the country, I see activity starting to pick up.
Q. What will drive the expansion or contraction?
A. The correction of real estate values nationwide along with our continued progress through the sub-prime inventory would help with a mild expansion. If the overall US economy remains unstable, real estate around the country will suffer as people tend to hold on to their money when uncertain. Local conditions in Charlotte should also insulate us from the bulk of a downturn.
Q. Will local home prices decrease, increase or remain stable in 2009? 2010? Will national home prices fall, rise or remain flat in 2009? In 2010?
A. Both local and national home prices will stabilize. Prices will not start going up until the current inventory has been gone through.
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In today’s market the value of a good Real Estate Agent is even more apparent as we struggle with the demands of finding that right buyer in order to sell your home for top dollar – let alone sell it at all. A recent article in The Charlotte Observer “Real Estate Today” talks about why the owner of a home hasn’t been able to sell his home. This is an exceptional article that deals with the very frustration we, as REALTORS, deal with day in and day out! This particular seller has had his home on the market since 2005. Sure the market was better then than now. However real estate is and always will be localized in how it performs. With in a week or two after placing his home on the market an offer came in. It was for 5.7% less than asking price. The owner turned down the offer convinced that they could do better. Of course they did because SELLERS KNOW IT ALL!
The seller, a house painter, knows more about selling their home than that of an experienced professional. OF COURSE HE DOES BECAUSE SELLERS KNOW IT ALL! Lets assume that their carrying cost for their mortgage is a mere $1500 per month. That equates to $54,000 of payments for this period vs. taking the offer that was $30,000 less than the asking price.
Here are some things to remember:
1. Real Estate is no longer recession proof.
2. Greed, not intelligence, is often the factor for loosing a qualified buyer.
3. Good realtors® fire their sellers when they don’t listen to them.
4. The seller may set the asking price but the MARKET SETS THE VALUE. This one bears repeating – the seller may set the asking price, but the market sets the value!
I’d like to hear your opinion on this or any related topic.
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Why are Newspapers Dying?
A recent front page article in The Charlotte Observer Real Estate section on September 14th entitled “Key to Closing” was loaded with inaccuracies for the state it was printed in. The article was a authored by Susan Diesenhouse at the Chicago Tribune.
As a Real Estate professional I was shocked to see how many statements were incorrect with regards to the common practices in the state of North Carolina. Is the Charlotte market starving for worthy articles that The Observer has to go outside of it’s local area to find content? Who checks for the accuracy or do they just slap it in?
Let me give you some examples as written:
About A Month Before closing - “The buyers lawyer can review the available documents such as title insurance policy and final survey.” I have never in my 18+ years in real estate seen a final survey 1month prior to closing.
Two Weeks in Advance – “Advisable to set up a tax reproration escrow account where the buyer and the seller deposit their share of the currents year’s taxes.” That doesn’t exist in North Carolina!
Two Days Before Closing – “Do a final walk through with a licensed home inspector, the seller or their agent so they can agree to fix any problems found.” In the Charlotte area, the time to do an inspection is not two days before closing. Usually the inspection is done 3-4 weeks before closing to identify any deficiencies, submit those items requested for repair and then conduct a final walk through the day before or the day of closing to insure that the items which have been agreed upon to be fixed have in fact been fixed.
A Day Before closing – “Usually the lenders appraiser will walk through to assure that the unit is substantially complete”. Who would close on a home that is “substantially complete”? My clients will be told to not close on the home and then it will be up to my clients to accept the home in it’s present condition or not.
Closing - “. . . with the process complete . . . Take the house keys.” According to what I have been educated to by the closing attorneys, keys are in almost all cases not given until the deed is recorded. Funds don’t disburse to the parties, including commissions to the agents, until the deed is recorded.
Picture yourself a first time buyer or an experienced buyer moving to North Carolina. When in doubt contact your Realtor and your attorney to give you proper/accurate advice.
We also have a home closing checklist pertinent to the closing process as it happens in Charlotte North Carolina on our website.
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Would you place the single most expensive investment you’ll ever make into the hands of someone you may not know or trust?
Think about this for a moment; you’re asking for advice of the very person that has a financial gain yet you don’t know them. You want them to tell you it’s o.k. to make this purchase and your probability of showing a profit is strong. Is that correct? We continue to trust people in my very own industry without knowing what they’re about.
When you select a Realtor® to represent you, you had better make sure that your well being is at the top of their list. Here’s how you can do that:
Start by asking for and working with seasoned professionals that understand the industry, and have the agents define what it takes to be successful and what is their accessibility. Do they return calls after 5pm?
Get references and check them out. Does company ranking make a difference? You bet it does. Would you want to be seen by a doctor that practices part time or someone that really knows their craft?
From my entry into this career field 17 years ago I’ve always conducted my self in a way that places my clients first at times even before my family. My job is to protect my clients by telling them what not to buy. They’ll know what to buy when the time is right. I’m here to find them they best property at the best price in the best of locations. It sounds so simple that everyone tries to be in Real Estate but the reality is that only 10% are at the top.
I continue to do business the old fashioned way, I earn it one transaction at a time. If you have a real estate question you are welcome to look around my website and learn more about me and the rest of my great team.
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The Charlotte Observer continues to publish Real Estate related articles that portray our industry as full of corrupt individuals that are only concerned about lining our own pockets. But yet they seek the very hand of those that they criticize. As a Real Estate professional with 17 years experience in residential sales I could no more influence any aspect of a loan or appraisal. Are you aware that lenders choose the appraiser by using a system that prevents problems from happening? Of course not because good news doesn’t sell copy.
Yes we have a duty to our clients to help them obtain a mortgage but not through fraudulent means. What ever happened to sensible underwriting? Have we moved away from what is logical and what makes good business sense to turning down loans at the last minute?
In every field, yes every field, you will find people that care more about their own self than those that they are charged to represent. But to condemn an entire industry because of a few is just crazy.
Instead of looking for the worst in a segment of the working population why not look at a group that does something right?
Not everyone in our industry is crooked…
