Posts Tagged ‘Realtor’

Some people, myself included, have this funny thought process that no matter what the project is, they can do it themselves. Well, in many cases this is completely true; there are a great many projects that you can, in fact, do yourself and get fabulous results from. However, not every project is a good candidate for a do-it-yourself.

Take, for example, the job of selling your home, while there are a plethora of agents out there chomping at the bit to assist you in home sales, there are some people who consider home sales just a big DIY project. If you have experience in real estate or are a retired agent, then this might actually be a reasonable DIY project; if your only experience in real estate is buying or selling a home with an agent, this is not a good project for you to take on yourself, however.

DIY doesn’t always work out as well as you hope, after all you don’t have the expertise that a professional generally does. A professional will know what the market will bear and can price your home accordingly; an underpriced home will rob you of money that you can invest in your new home, while an overpriced home will languish on the market with very few serious prospective buyers looking at it.

Another big reason that a professional is the best choice for the job is that because a realtor’s job is selling homes, they already have all the connections to get the job done in a timely fashion. Real estate sales take a lot of time and effort for a professional, more so if you’re learning as you go and need to make all sorts of connections from scratch.

Realtors also have expertise in the realm of legalities required in the home selling and buying business and there are a lot of legalities to consider! Because a lot of paperwork is done with prospective buyers before they’re actually shown any houses, this works as security as well.

From a buyers perspective it’s also better to have a realtor on your side to sell your home; prospective buyers would prefer the neutrality of a realtor and would almost always prefer to have a realtor do the showing with the owner out of the house. This allows the prospective buyers the freedom to ask candid questions about the property and price; they’re also more likely to take a good look at the property, looking in storage areas and closets, etc.

While many homeowners may think that a for-sale-by-owner transaction will save them the money that would be paid in commission to a realtor, in fact it is generally the case that a realtor will net you at least as much more for your home as their commission will cost you, if not quite a bit more. When you factor in the cost of your own free time that you would spend marketing your own home and the stress involved, you’re far better off handing off the work to someone who’s got experience in home sales.

When you consider the current financial climate and the struggle that so many homeowners are having with getting the equity out of their homes, it has never been more vital that you use a professional in home sales to market your home and guild you through the sales process. If you want to be involved with the whole process, take some time to research realtors in your area and let them know that you’d like to be hands on with the process; but let them do what they do best, getting the best deal for you!

 Whether you are looking for a top Realtor in Maryland, an experienced Baltimore County Realtor or the best  Realtor in Harford County, other than knowledge and the ability to represent your best interest, there is one very important skill that your home listing agent must have to sell your home fast, for the most money and with the least amount of headaches.

That skill is to be an expert marketer and to be more specific an expert at marketing your home on the internet. More than 85% of home buyers search for their home on the internet (according to the National Association of REALTORS). So if the real estate agent representing you does not know how to put your home where home buyers are looking, chances are they are not going to find it.

Value of anything is determined by supply and demand. As a home selling realtor our job is to create the demand by marketing your home to as many potential home buyers as possible. If almost 9 of 10 are searching on the internet, how do we locate the ones that are motivated and qualified to buy your home.

Needless to say it is not enough to stick a sign in the yard, post an ad and put your home in the multiple list. It is also not enough to just place your home on the internet. Most mls systems automatically upload home listings to popular sites like realtor.com, zillow.com and others that are very popular and effective, but is it really enough and the best we can do?

There are a ton of great looking websites that get little or no visits. It is all about traffic, getting people to actually see your home information, pics and virtual tour. Look at it this way, if you only had enough money to put up one billboard to advertise your home, would you want it on a road that ten vehicles pass per day or a major highway with a consistent flow of vehicles 24/7.

How do we find the right location? For a billboard we would do a traffic analysis. On the internet it is a little easier to find a high traffic website. We visit alexa.com which ranks websites by the amount of visitors. Here are the top four:

Top Sites
The sites in the top sites lists are ordered by their 1 month alexa traffic rank. The 1 month rank is calculated using a combination of average daily visitors and pageviews over the past month. The site with the highest combination of visitors and pageviews is ranked #1.

1. Google

google.com
Enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Features include PageRank, caching and translation of results, and an option to find similar pages. The company’s focus is developing search technology.

2. Facebook

facebook.com
A social utility that connects people, to keep up with friends, upload photos, share links and videos.

3. YouTube – Broadcast yourself

youtube.com
YouTube is a way to get your videos to the people who matter to you. Upload, tag and share your videos worldwide!

4. Yahoo!

yahoo.com
Personalized content and search options. Chatrooms, free e-mail, clubs, and pager.

Now we know where the traffic is, but where there is more traffic, there is more competition. Therefore it takes special skills to get your message seen. If you or your agent can accomplish this, you are on your way to accomplishing your home selling goals.

To buy land from people who do not want to sell, go through the registry of deeds, available online, to find out who owns the property, draft a letter outlining intentions, interest and possibly an offer, and give the owners a call to reinforce the point. Be honest and straightforward with property owners when making an offer withinformation from a Massachusetts Realtor in this free video on real estate. Expert: Beau Sasser Contact: www.northamptonrealtor.com Bio: Beau Sasser has been at Goggins Real Estate in Northampton, Mass. for many years, previously working for Sasser Properties in Aspen, Colo. and EcoFriendly Properties in Destin, Fla. Filmmaker: David Pakman

Home Selling Made Easy just for You

Do you know anyone who has sold a home before?  Of course you know someone, your parents, neighbors, the old lady down the street or maybe you have sold a home.  Did you or they have a successful experience in doing so before?

For someone who’s never done it, home selling can be frustrating. If you think you need help selling a home, it usually means you have been frustrated from the process. So you have come to me/this article for advice. Good for you.  Most people just dive in.

So what kind of help do you need? Most home owners will stumble even on the preparation phase – when they have to understand all the legal requirements. You might have known from your experience that getting the legal stuff straight is the first step of a home selling process, so assistance on this would always be appreciated. You can get help from agents or professionals that understand difficult clauses in documents, or design the wordings in their contract forms. They are pretty simple, if you just get a realtor to explain it once.

The next step is to see if you know anyone who’s looking for a house. If you have some potential buyers, ask them what they are specifically looking for.  Think about the neighborhood, the size of the house, and the climate, and find someone who might be interested in the qualifications.

If you want to improve the home selling process, there are some independent steps you can do. Spread out the news that you’re selling your home in the neighborhood. Organize open houses to invite visitors. Provide your agent with complete information about your house, if you go with an agent/ realtor. Put up extra advertisements where your agent may not cover; a blog or personal website is excellent for this. Some people are reluctant to help their agents selling their home on the reason of “that’s what they’re paid for!”

Remember that agents have a lot more clients to handle and may not always focus their attention on your house. The home owner is the only one who’s willing to voluntarily give out complete information to potential buyers at no cost! Also keep in mind that no matter how great an agent you have, if your house has been in the market for a long time, you are going to be the person most financially damaged.

Whether you’re selling your house on your own or a realtor is selling your home, assistance in home selling is always needed. Homes are such large investments – one simply cannot sell it alone.

realestatemarketingthisweek.com – In a Short Sale make sure you hire an expert negotiator who is a full time real estate agent – Part 5 – If you’re in trouble and you think you want or need to do a loan modification, we work with a national network of attorneys that are here to help your situation, and this show were talking about short sales because a loan modification is not for everyone. A short sale is a great alternative to a loan modification, the reality is if you can do a refinance that is more than likely the best case scenario, if you cant a loan modification is a great tool, the reality the retainer for the law firm is less than a refinance, but if those arent the options for you, you need to call Jeri and Kalyn here and they are the short sale experts. Kalyn in the last segment we talked about where people should start the process and the reality of it is youre saying they should start now, right? They should start it now we dont care at this point whether you have a foreclosure date already or if you dont or if you know you need more information about this you need to call us today. Were happy to come over and give you a free consultation, no obligation we will just sit down with you and review your full situation and we will be frank with you and we will be honest and we will help you make the right choice for your financial future. Relieving you of pain or debt or whatever you have going on were the experts and we want you to call us. Nobody wants to hear …

Your home is more than just a place to keep yourself out of the rain and snow.  Your home is a place that you have made a lot of great experiences, and made a lot of great memories.  This is why selling your home can be a very emotional experience for a lot of home owners.  There are some that just want to get out and would torch the place if they could.  But selling can be an exciting time and a time to more on to new and better endeavors.

When selling your home in Billings Montana you need to try your best to transition from being an emotional seller to being a cold hearted blood thirsty tyrant.  Well maybe that’s a little much but you get what I am spitting out.  You need to not involve your emotions in the selling process, do not make decisions based on emotion and just stick with cold hard facts.  You need to know what the market is doing, how to sell your home and really have a plan of action to sell your home.

Selling a home in Billings Montana involves a lot of homework whether you are going with a Realtor, selling yourself or selling quickly to an investor.  Click here for investors in Billings Montana.  Investors can help you just get the house sold fast and you don’t have to worry about fixing a thing.

So what kind of homework will you need to be doing?  First you will need to either select the right agent for you.  There are several great agents in Billings Montana.  If you would like a good honest opinion get a hold of the author, he can give you good recommendations.  Agents are great because they can help you go over the latest market trend in Billings Montana and determine the right selling price.

Make sure you are going with an agent that is honest with you and does not just want to list the property at a high price to get the listing.  Go with someone who is going to give you his/her honest opinion.  Watch out for agents that just want to please and will not just be honest with you.

Next you will want to arrange for inspections on the property to make sure there is nothing major wrong with the house.  Sometimes you will have something wrong that you never even knew about.   Then take the inspection list and make any repairs that are needed.

I also recommend that you get your house in tip top shape.  Paint the walls, put in new carpet, update the place and just make it into a new buyers dream house.   This will really get buyers excited about your home and get it sold doubly fast.   If you don’t make your house stand out, then it will just be a hot spot for open house junkies to hang out on Sunday.

You also have to determine what you want to make on your home.  This could be determined a lot of reasons.  Maybe you are moving into a newer home, need to sell fast to pay bills, or retiring on your own island.  Whatever it is you need to figure out how much you want to make.   Some sellers just need to get out of the house quickly because they are behind on payments and are facing foreclosure.  So they need to price it aggressively to sell fast or contact an investor who can close fast and pay all cash.  Click here for investor.

Others want to make as much as they can because they are moving into their dream home and don’t have to worry about how long it will take to sell their home. Talking with a realtor is the best way I believe to get the most out of your home, but it also can be the longest if you are really trying to get the most, like I said earlier make sure your price is competitive with other houses on the market.  They can really market it well and get it out to everyone in Billings Montana.

Price it right and the home will sell.  If would like any more information about selling your home in Billings Montana contact Big Sky Property Solutions LLC.  They can help with buying your home, referring you to a good realtor or just giving you tips on getting your property sold faster.

As the U.S. real estate markets shift in favor of the buyer, it is becoming ever more necessary to know your game before purchasing a home. In years past the sellers really controlled the market and we saw rapid jumps in price, bidding wars and some buyers on their heels trying to find a home that was appropriate and affordable. As the market has become more favorable to buyers we are seeing the result of that turn, buyers who could once command almost any asking price are stumped as to why their home is not selling within a week or two. This has naturally caused sellers and many industry insiders to proclaim that the “bottom has fallen out of the real estate market!” This is not really the case as what we are seeing is more of an adjustment to reflect the current state of affairs.

One thing that is a direct result of this migration of the industry is the fact that buyers now have many more options available to them and as such, have to be a bit more intelligent and educated so they can spot the real deals when they come up. This should be a refreshing change to those who have been in the home market for some time and have yet to find that perfect home. Basically this has become the perfect time to buy a home. So how can you be ready to grab that ideal home when it comes up? Well, the first step in any home purchase is to make sure that your financial picture is in focus. find out your credit score, repair it if necessary and get pre-approved for a mortgage. Then you can work with your realtor and the amount of the mortgage approval to find the homes that suits all your needs both domestically and financially.

When you find an area that seems to suit you, try looking through all the information available on the homes there. Whether they are in your price range or not, knowing what they are offering for what price can help you to better gauge prices of homes that you can afford. Remember that homes are usually priced according to comparable homes for sale in the area so if you can evaluate the other homes that are for sale you should be better equipped to recognize the deals when they come.

Representation

Most people just do not appreciate the job of a realtor. Yes, while minimal training goes into being a realtor, it is none the less training that society at large has come to appreciate. An old law exists that underpins a primary purpose for realtors- statute of frauds. It is the adoption by nearly every state regarding this old law from England that governs real estate transactions and that it- if it is not in writing it does not exist. There are many paragraphs contained in a standard Real Estate Purchase Contract that each state has adopted peculiar to how common misdeeds and oversights have posed problems in that past. Certain situations that require addressing these things or additional items to a contract to be written up separately on an addendum underscore the importance for some training and expertise, so that people do not get exploited.

Now, many a transaction has taken place without realtors, that have gone just fine, which transactions are commonly called “for sale by owner”. But it is those that don’t go fine that sometimes lethal consequences can happen for the unrepresented and all instances do not involve the statute of frauds.

Usually, the largest body of investment of money within a person’s lifetime takes place during a real estate transaction. They can and do go wrong. Just ask all the people who bought way to high without the help of a realtor who could have warned them about the home being above market value, who are now in foreclosure and they will tell you, yes, most certainly, I should have had a realtor. Conversely, many more “for sale by owners” do not know that they have just “given their home away” for less than what is was worth. By the way, many know or have not cared and are less greedy than the rest of us, praise be to them. On a personal note as a realtor, it strikes me as how amazingly common it is, as I even myself was raised with a ‘garage-sale’ like mentality, that we expect not just a good deal when we are buying, but also when we are selling, and somehow call ourselves ethical and “All-American”. What about the the poor guy on the other side who didn’t get the good deal… how considerate have we been to them? Yet, we appear to have clear consciences all the way to singing ‘Dixie’.

The current problems we are having involving the sub-prime market and with bad lending practices came about because the institution built their projections on untried models. They are now re-mapping how they do that. Real estate bases its practice off of comparables, and on-the-ground information about supply and demand, not off models.

It is precisely because of such circumstances, both preserving an otherwise exploited public, to market value transactions and the statute of frauds, that the value of a realtor’s profession is honorary and civic in nature and not just about capitalistic salesmanship. It is like having insurance, we don’t like the co-op expense, but it protects those who need it. Only in this case, all benefit in some way.

Buyer Representation

In most areas the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) is ran by your Local County Board of Realtors that gives listing access to participating brokerages and most brokerages, if not all, participate. You’ll need to check your local area to see if this is the case. Rules governing listings in the MLS, typically specify in the listing, or have as there norm, a percentage of commission that will be split in some fashion between a buyers agent and a sellers agent. Therefore, if the existing rules that govern, have gone through considerable trouble to get the seller to “put up” enough commissions in the asking price to cover both the sellers agent AND the buyers agent, you may want to use the system because it has made your representation free.

Now given the current system, that while the seller pays both ends when selling and as a buyer they pay nothing, there is another way to look at how cost is transferred across the table. If the seller uses a realtor to sell and then uses a realtor to buy it could have been arranged that given an equal sell of home to an equal purchase price, with a total of 6% being incurred, that a 3% charge is levied for selling and 3% for buying. Only in our current system, you pay it all when selling.

This can tend to underscore the importance as a buyer, to be sure to defer to your own realtor, if you see other realtor signs or other opportunities for things you need information on. This is in the case you plan on using the free representation of a buyers agent provided you on participating realtor sold homes. That’s right free, because the Seller has already agreed to “foot” the bill for your side of representation, already represented in the asking price.

Many people will sometimes call the sign in the yard, and as the buyer may end up choosing to have the Sellers realtor represent them, in states where it is legal. Do people understand fully that, that Sellers Agent will get both commission sides, those held out for representing his seller and now those for representing you, the buyer? So, you may want to be careful when “choosing” to “go the sign in the yard” route. If you are calling for information, you may want to introduce first that you have an agent, but that you have some questions. Don’t expect the Sellers agent to direct you toward any other representation, but what he or she will gain by wooing you with the enticements you now possibly feel for a showing of that property, which if in showing it to you, you may now tend to a felt sense of obligation toward that agent. Still, only at the very end of that trail in having the Sellers agent help you, if in making an offer, will you find in bold letters, the disclosure of such Limited Agency situation, which you now find yourself in… that ‘you do not have to go that route, but are now consenting to it’ (yes, but fine, after you’ve inadvertently made that agent do all the work and he/she is holding a pen for you to sign it).

If the Seller represents both sides, this is commonly referred to as Limited Agency. Limited Agency is when the agent that represents the Seller is also going to be representing the Buyer. Limited Agency has the following possible disadvantages:

The listing or LIMITED realtor may not be inclined to:

Go after information that can be used to leverage your position as a buyer and there are all kinds of questions a buyers realtor can ask the listing realtor if they are astute to the art of negotiations that appreciates that knowledge is power.

Share with you any reasons why not to buy “this” property.

Negotiate the best price and terms for you, because that would hurt the interests of his Seller.

Include contingencies in the contract that protect YOU rather than the seller, including standard clauses.

Keep confidential any information that could hurt your bargaining position. This is where your bottom-line on price or something else that is confidential, un-be-knownst to you, may have been shared with the Seller.

Remain neutral, when taking sides is an option.  For example; a parent would never confess to admitting to having a favorite child, even if his/her siblings know who the favorite is.

Where Limited Agency is legal there is a possible advantage:

It is possible that you may have less trouble melding terms you know the Seller will accept when his/her agent is also present to help you with yours; typically when you thing you can make your case stronger than the other agent. Although it may not always happen ideally, the Limited Agent can try to depict an objective picture of value, when it comes to helping you negotiate an asking price. However, fiduciary (or ethical) duties keep the ‘Limited’ Agent from giving away the Sellers motivations, bottom line, etc. In other words, the agent is bound by fiduciary duty to become less involved in sharing or ‘going after’ otherwise tedious (research driven) or privy information. Thus, the Limited Agent acts as neutral as possible.

Remember that in most cases, having an agent, can really help you, both in your search process and in being represented well. Now may be the time, to become knowledgeable and comfortable with the choice of an agent and thereby in finding your dream home to be purchased.

The above information can depend on the area so check with local professionals deemed by local (sometimes national) governments to be the appropriate professionals for consulting and doing real estate transactions, including disclosure for appropriate professionals in all areas of expertise and confirming or denying any information held in this article.

Upgrades made before selling your house can greatly affect the final selling price. Make smart upgrades to your home before selling withtips from a licensed agent in this free video on real estate. Expert: Richard Blake Bio: Richard Blake is a licensed real estate agent that has closed more than 20 times the number of transactions per year than that of the average realtor for the last three years. Filmmaker: Christopher Rokosz

There are a multitude of reasons a Hattiesburg homeowner needs to sell their home fast. Behind on payments, a looming foreclosure, divorce, down sizing, a recent death, two mortgage payments, house needs repairs, house is listed with a realtor and won’t sell – these are all problems homeowners are facing in today’s competitive selling market.  And with the current state of the economy it’s even more difficult to sell your house here in Hattiesburg Mississippi. Many home sellers are asking themselves, “How can I sell my home in Hattiesburg, MS”. No matter the situation, if you want to sell your house in Hattiesburg fast, keep reading.

While Mississippi is more insulated from the current recession than the rest of the country, the Hattiesburg housing market, like most in the country, has slowed considerably and economic data show it is probably going to get worse before it gets better.  Mississippi foreclosures are at an all time high.  It’s becoming more and more of a challenge to get rid of burdensome homes.  And if you can find a buyer, it’s more difficult for them to find financing because of the credit and mortgage disaster.  Where houses were selling in days or weeks, they are now sitting on the market for months and months and months.  Many are not  receiving any offers at all.

So what do you do?  You’re still wondering “How do I sell my house fast?”

You get creative!  If you do the same thing everyone else is doing, then you’ll probably get the same results — NOTHING.

Here are three creative solutions that can help you sell your home fast in the Hattiesburg Mississippi area.

Sell with seller financing

Essentially you become the bank and take payments for your equity over time. Instead of the buyer getting a loan, which has become nearly impossible these days because of tightening lending standards, you’re the lender. The buyer makes payments to you, with interest. This is often hard for sellers to wrap their minds around, but in today’s market, you MUST think outside the box in order to sell your house. Think about those who may have money, but a traditional lender wont approve them. You’re their savior and they’re yours. So what’s the catch? Well if the buyer stops making the payments you could get the house back. But what options do you have at this point? Simply screen correctly and you’ll be fine. You’ll be fully protected by a hard asset (a house), not just a non-performing piece of paper. The lenders who went under can tell you all about non-performing loans that didn’t have b security. In case you’ve been under a rock, they’re no longer around.

Lease the house

A second solution is to lease instead of selling your home, and wait for the market to turn, or offer it to your prospective tenants as a lease with an option to buy sometime in the future when they are able.  Because of the tough housing market right now, the pool of quality renters is expanding because of the tightened lending standards.  Those  who were once homeowners now have to rent, which could be an opportunity for you.  And if the rent doesn’t cover the mortgage payments?  You’ll have to weigh the loss against sitting on the house for a long period of time.  Leasing or leasing with an option to purchase can be a difficult decision.

Seek out a professional investor

A third option is to locate a professional investor who specializes in solving creative real estate problems.  These are usually honest real estate investors who have been buying houses for a number of years and are able to navigate their way this turbulent and chaotic market because of their skill and experience incoming up with out-of-the-box solutions for buying houses in difficult situations.  Often these are the We Buy Houses, I Buy Houses, We Buy Ugly Houses folks.  They can pay all cash, pay some cash with terms, take over payments, lease-purchase your home, or come up with a custom solution that fits your unique selling situation.  They usually buy the house as-is with no contingencies or repairs and they even handle all the paperwork.  And they don’t charge any fees or commissions.

Of all these solutions, if you don’t want to deal with all the hassles, the investor will.  Investors are professionals and usually have a financial interest to make sure everything is handled, otherwise they won’t make any money – now or in the future.

Whether you decide to try to give it a go on your own or seek the help of a professional investor, DO SOMETHING!  Your piece of mind is at stake.  If you’re sick and tired of waiting for your house to sell in the Hattiesburg area, maybe examining some other options is a good idea.

If working with a professional ‘We Buy Houses’ investor makes sense to you, visit www.MSHomeSolutions.com and fill out our confidential questionnaire and tell us about your home and situation and one of our Hattiesburg investors will contact you about buying your house.  There’s no obligation and if we can find a solution that works for you, then you’ll have a smooth transaction, a fast close, and relief from your current stress. We work in Hattiesburg, Oak Grove, Purvis, Petal, Sumrall and throughout Mississippi and the Pinebelt.

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So you have your house for sale. It’s always best to get your old house sold before you go looking for another one. But selling an old home is sometimes very hard. A potential buyer wants his or her vision of perfection.

How can you make your house meet their expectations?

Don’t make it too complicated.

Before you put your house on the market step back and look at it as though you are a buyer. Buyers will open every door and cabinet and closet and look!

What will they see?

What they see (and smell) will dominate their reactions to your product.

What is your realtor telling you about lookers reactions to your Property?

Does it show well? Is it clean, uncluttered and fragrant?

It’s incredibly hard work to keep your house in show condition, especially if you have kids and pets. You want your house to look like a 5 star hotel suite. But guess what?

A hotel suite gets cleaned every day. There is staff to cut the grass, clean the rooms and arrange the flowers and make sure the guests are comfortable and happy.

Meanwhile you and your family are going to be miserable. It’s really great if you can do the right things to make your suffering short and effective.

In this context, potential buyers ARE your guests.

So what are they seeing?

Do you have surfaces overflowing with unfilled papers?

Do you have hobbies and collectibles everywhere?

Are the kid’s rooms a mess?

Is yours?

Is the laundry room a disaster?

All your stuff dominates the buyer’s thoughts.

He might not even be able to SEE your house because your STUFF is in the way. If your stuff is too bad you might be better off if you just move out of your house, rent a few pieces of furniture and let the realtors have at it.

If you aren’t ready for that, pack all the stuff up and store it somewhere. Make your space as impersonal as a hotel. if it seems a bit on the empty side it will look larger.

New paint, tidy spaces (including closets) and a general cleanup inside and outside could make your space far more attractive to a buyer. You might even invest in some new furniture. Remember you take it with you when you leave! It could make your place look a lot better, too.

If you have things an inspector would make you do when the house sells, go ahead and get them done before a potential buyer sees them.

Buyers who are interested in fixer uppers don’t pay top dollar. They want bargains.

Most potential buyers want a home in PERFECT CONDITION.

What does that REALLY mean for YOU when you decide to sell?

You want to make your house look as new as it possibly can.

Don’t try to do the impossible. Spend a little money on the right projects

that will make your house look as good as it can. You can clean, paint, pack up and store your junk and collectibles, do a little updating and careful editing. Serene decorating will make your home sell faster and for more money in any market, good or bad.

Why is this necessary? Mainly because most people cannot see what isn’t there.

They HAVE NO IMAGINATION! They come in the house and see what’s there. They cannot even imagine their own stuff in your house, much less the potential in your property.

They smell your pets, see your ragged furniture, walk fast through your worn family room and dirty bathrooms, stumble over your junk … and move on to another property.

That’s the worst case scenario! To avoid that disaster what you want to do is create a serene background and complete the picture that your potential buyers can’t see.

What do you want them to see? They want to impress people so you have to make them feel your home will make them look good.

Don’t fight an uphill battle. Give them what they want. Give them something that looks new and uncluttered. Think 5 star hotel suite. The elegant uncluttered background doesn’t require anything of a buyer other than getting comfy. They don’t have to have an imagination or work hard.

Most people are working too hard already. Help them relax and don’t forget to ask for the sale. You’ll get it.

May Las Vegas housing data suggests that we possibly reached the bottom of the residential recession in the 2nd quarter of this year. I haven’t seen a home buying frenzy like this since 2004, says Las Vegas real estate agent Stuart Shienfeld.

Foreclosures have dominated the housing market with more than 60 percent of the sales each month being bank-owned properties.

With sales at their highest level since June 2006 the first-time homebuyers and investors snatching up Las Vegas inventory, say realtor Stuart Shienfeld.

There were 5,276 bank-owned single-family homes listed for sale in the valley and of those 2,623 had contingent offers, Smith says. That leaves an inventory of 2,653. About half of those homes don’t have offers.

The downturn in the stock market combined with the growing affordability of purchasing a home has prompted increased interest in using IRAs and 401K’s to help fund the purchase.

The number of resale homes on the market as listed by real estate agents continues to decline. During the past year, the number has dipped 36.7 percent or 8,109 units, lowering the inventory to less than 19,000 homes. The inventory has dropped for 13 consecutive weeks with 6,700 fewer properties listed during that time. The number of vacant homes is just under 7,500, a drop of 49 percent.

The number of foreclosures in May was 1,769, a 26% decrease from last year.  This was the third month that foreclosure purchases surpassed the number of new foreclosures coming on the market.

New listings are down 18.1% from April 2009 and the number of units sold, are up 1.8% from last month.  The average days on the market for homes are hovering for less than 60 days. That is an average of almost 65%.

There are very few REO homes that are currently available without offers to buy. You really need to move quickly to get your offer in. When you do you should offer you’re highest & best offer, says Stuart Sheinfeld. Some banks will do a multiple offer sheet and some don’t, so I wouldn’t take the chance of losing the property.

So, you want to buy a house? OK, then there are a few things you should know before you sign on the dotted line. There are many factors to consider when buying a house – some small, some big. But all are important. Any many of them could be costly if you are not careful. It’s very easy to lose thousands of dollars without even knowing it. So here are 5 of the top home buying mistakes you should do your best to avoid: 1 – Not hiring your own realtor: If you start house hunting on your own, and find a house you like, it’s tempting to use the realtor showing the house to help you. That’s fine if you decide to buy another house, but it’s not if you buy the house from that realtor. The realtor selling the house should not be the realtor helping the buyers. While this is not illegal, and might turn out fine, it’s not the best situation to protect yourself. So, to make it easy, go out and find your own realtor before you start house hunting. 2 – Not shopping around for a mortgage: Once you have your realtor, it’s helpful to get recommendations from them for other services, with your mortgage being one of them. There’s nothing wrong with contact the realtor’s preferred mortgage lender. But it’s also a good idea to find one on your own (either from the internet, in your local phone book, or recommended from a friend). Shopping around and comparing your options will ensure that you get the best rate, and best mortgage for your needs. 3 – Not getting the house inspected: No matter what anyone tells you …. and no matter how nice the house looks …. always get a house inspected before you buy it! There are so many little details (and potentially major problems) that only a trained professional can find. Chances are, you are so in love with the house that you’ll overlook minor problems. That’s typical. And even if you’re willing to overlook some bigger problems, it’s better to know exactly what is wrong with the house before you move in. It does cost a few hundred dollars, and is well worth every penny! 4 – Not looking at several houses before making an offer: The worst part about house hunting is searching for weeks and weeks to find your “dream home”. But the benefit to this is that you’ll get to see quite a few houses along the way. Not only will you know exactly what you are looking for – you’ll also know exactly what you do not want, too. If you’re fortunate and find your perfect home right away, just make sure to take a quick look at a few houses in your price range to make sure you don’t miss out on any deals, and to make sure you have something to compare with. 5 – Not doing your research: There are many points to consider other than just the physical structure you are buying. Your realtor should help you with most of these, but the more you know about the house you are buying, the better off you will be in the long run. Here are a few points to research: -neighborhood -school system -surrounding area -property taxes -previous history of the house and property -recent selling price of similar homes in the area So, now you are prepared to buy your home and avoid some of the most common mistakes made by new homebuyers!

Due to the current down market, more and more people are looking for alternate, non-traditional ways to sell their home. The days of sticking a FSBO (For Sale By Owner) sign in the yard or simply listing it with the realtor that your friend at work used, just isn’t having much effect these days. Depending on your selling situation, selling your home to a professional home buyer can be the right selling decision. As with other home selling options, selling your home to a real estate investor has benefits.

Working with an experienced investor can really simplify and expedite the process. Some of the great benefits of selling your house to a professional property buyer are: you are able to sell your house fast, “as is” on the date or your choice, you do not have to pay large real estate commissions to a Realtor, you do not have to spend your time, energy and money updating and making repairs and you only have to have one showing. There are many other benefits that an honest, experienced and well trained Charleston real estate investor can provide, such as knowing exactly how to handle problem properties or situations where Low Country folks are taking the brunt of the current economy on the chin and are facing many of the more and more common financial problems like foreclosure that need short sales in order to sell their over leveraged home and avoid foreclosure.

I would recommend selling your house to a local real estate investor if you are in any of the following selling situations:

I am behind on monthly mortgage payments I need to sell my home fast I am moving out of state or out of my local area and can’t afford two mortgage payments I have been transferred by my job I am going through a Divorce and need to sell my house My home is 100% financed and I do not have enough equity to list my home with a Realtor I need to Stop Foreclosure and avoid ruining my credit I am currently in Bankruptcy Someone in our family has health problems and can not work, therefore we can not pay our bills I am tired of being a Landlord and do not want to deal with tenants anymore My home needs lots of repairs and I do not have the time or money to fix it up My home is in pre-forclosure I want to cash out of my investment property My home has been on the market with a realtor for many months and my listing agreement is now expired, I want to sell my house fast, now We recently inherited a property and want to sell it quickly and want someone familiar with an estate sale and the probate process I own my house free and clear and am willing to wait for the market to turn around but would consider taking payments for my equity if I can get my asking price now

As you can see there are many reasons why you should consider selling your home to a local home buyer, and these are not all of them. Simply put, listing your home with a Realtor or trying to sell your home FSBO cost you money and time, it also does not get you offers within just a few hours/days. If you do not have time, do not have money, or simply do not want to deal with the hassles of selling your home, then sell it to a real estate investor. You may be happily surprised by the offer you get.

Before calling some random number on the side of the road off one of those “We Buy Houses” signs, it is important to make sure you know who you are dealing with. Unfortunately, there are a few unethical investors, like in any business, and currently the real estate market is a prime target. Thanks to the Internet it is relatively easy to locate information about a legItimate business. South Carolina business owners are required to register with the South Carolina Secretary of State and you can see if they the business you are calling has bypassed even that basic requirement. The Attorney General’s office handles consumer complaints, as does the Better Business Bureau. Realtors and brokers are licensed through the Real Estate Commission. These agencies can help to ensure you are working with a licensed, legitimate, complaint-free business or real estate investor.

Charleston Home Buyers, LLC is an Accredited Member of the Better Business Bureau, a registered LLC with the South Carolina Secretary of State, and an active member of the Charleston Real Estate Investors Association. “We pride ourselves on our integrity and conduct business under strict ethical principles. We say what we mean and do what we say!” Many references and testimonials are available upon request and some of which are posted on our website. We buy houses in Charleston, Dorchester and Berkeley County and work with a group of nationwide investors. We currently are looking to buy more real estate in Summerville, Goose Creek, North Charleston, Ladson, Hanahan, West Ashley, James Island, Johns Island, Mt. Pleasant, Downtown and all other area in the tri-county area.

If you need to sell your house quick, submit your property information via the “Sell My House” form at our website today for a Free, Confidential, No-obligation offer or call our toll free 24 hour recorded message at 888-52-BUYER (888-522-8937) for more information about selling your home to a professional house buyer. You can also always call us direct 843-72-BUYER (843-722-8937), however it is usually better to take 5 minutes to fill out our property information form first so that we can save you time by having the information already and do some research so that we can get an offer to you right away.

Here’s what some of our sellers have had to say:

“I had been trying unsuccessfully to sell my house for 9 months with a realtor…tired of having the house perfect… we closed the following week” Frank P. – North Charleston

“In less than a week’s time, all of my headaches were over… I would recommend anyone who needs to sell their house to this group of caring people…” Rev L. Greene – Summerville

“My experience with Charleston Home Buyers began and ended with extreme kindness, genuine concern, and sympathetic professionalism…” Brenda M. – West Ashley

“Selling a house can be quite difficult and stressful unless you can find someone like Charleston Home Buyers …… They saved me from losing my house to foreclosure and I was able to make some money and not lose everything.” B. Harvey – West Ashley

“….selling our home to Charleston Home Buyers was the best decision we made. They handled our affairs with the utmost care and efficiency…..” The Daniels Family” – Charleston

Copyright © 2009 Charleston Home Buyers, LLC. All rights reserved.

No matter what the market condition and market location… sellers want to get the most money for their home. The Maximum Value Home Selling System® will help the seller get the most for their home…despite the market. Any Realtor using The Maximum Value Home Selling System® has a great advantage over all other Realtors.