My New Blog

Well many agents say they are the best or that you can do the best job to find or sell the home. Truth is there are many hard working agents out there willing to work hard for the money. How much patience they have with you is another question. I have worked with many clients that almost seem like no matter what I show them it just is not good enough. That is when you just have to work harder that is what I say. Then again there is that old saying you cant please everyone. It is a matter of who you feel comfortable with, because you want to be able to speak your mind and feel confident is another important feature. Your going to want to ask some qualifying questions.

• how long have you been a realtor?

Now even if they are new that might not be a bad deal because they work harder in some cases. They might also take a lower commission because they want that listing. They might seem nervous but have some pity on them every one has to start some where.

• What as your realtor will they do to get your property sold?

You are going to want a strategy and a plan of action not just I am going to put it on the MLS and put a sign out in front of your house. Are they going to put it in multiple publications, what is there track record.

• What as your realtor will they do in order to help you find that house with your requirements?

Will they notify you of new listings hitting the market, and are they going to show you every possible house or just the ones they feel like showing. Sometimes there might be a selling bonus or a low commission on a house that will either entice or detour a realtor in showing it. Fact is that its not their decision.

So if you have any questions about choosing a realtor feel free to call me or email to set up an appointment to discuss your real estate needs.

There are many home warranties out there, which one to go with?

Well your agent might have a company they work with on all transactions but it is up to you to research and decide on which home warranty company to use.

Things to research are coverage, deductibles, premium, liabilities, and loop holes. Most home warranties have loop holes that will prevent them having to honor the policy.

As a working agent I see times when a client is eager to blame me or another agent they previously worked with for not letting them know about certain properties, or numerous reasons.

So when is it ok to blame your Realtor?

Well when that that Realtor does not live up to their fiduciary responsibility.

what is Fiduciary responsibility? see below for a complete description.

A buyer might find a property and make an offer way to low and it not be accepted, or a buyer might make an offer and somehow find out they could of offered less and been accepted, is it right to blame your agent? No, as your agent I cannot tell you what and what not to offer, I can merely offer suggestions and advice based on my professional experience on how to proceed in your offer.

A seller sells their house for less then the asking price and later finds out if they would of waited a little longer there was a buyer willing to pay that asking price? No again as your agent I will present an offer that has been made on your property. You will have the choice of accepting or rejecting the offer or countering with different terms.

A buyer buys a house and finds out that the neighbors are difficult to get along with. Can they blame the agent for showing them a house where there were difficult neighbors? No again, as an agent I am not a private investigator to determine the temperament of a neighborhood. When seriously considering a house you can ask the neighbors what the neighborhood is like and possibly make a fair judgement on what the neighborhood might be like.

FIDUCIARY: In real estate, securities and, I submit, in insurance as well, your agent owes you a fiduciary obligation in performing their duties for you. The duties include:

1. Utmost Care- The agent is bound to the higher standard of a professional in the field which extends the standard of duty to investigate within the means of the profession, to ensure the maximum protection and information be provided the principal.

2. Integrity- Defined as the soundness of moral principle and character. It means the agent must act with fidelity and honesty

3. "Honesty and Duty of Full Disclosure" of all material facts, either known, within the knowledge of or reasonably discoverable by the agent which could influence in any way the principal's decisions, actions or willingness to enter into a transaction

4. Loyalty- An obligation to refrain from acquiring any interest adverse to that of a principal without full and complete disclosure of all material facts and obtaining the principal's informed consent. This precludes the agent from personally benefitting from secret profits, competing with the principal or obtaining an advantage from the agency for personal benefit of any kind.

5. Duty of Good Faith- includes total truthfulness, absolute integrity and total fidelity to the principal's interest. The duty of good faith prohibits any advantage over the principal obtained by the slightest misrepresentation, concealment, threat or adverse pressure of any kind.

At that point if the agent has not performed any of these actions it is rightful to point a finger and blame, but better yet find yourself a new agent.

In todays ever changing market you can see that prices fluctuate dramatically. A person might be trying to sell their house for what his neighbor sold theirs 3 years ago. I had a client once who was buying a house for his daughter and he wanted a house 76k or less and she wanted 3 beds with 1.5 bath plus good square footage. First house they found was 13 k less then asking and had everything they had wanted plus a fireplace but needed 2k worth of repairs that was negotiated to be paid by sellers and lender, since it was a short sale.

My buyer did not like the idea however that he would have to pay for it up front and be reinburst at closing and who could blame him. Contractors very rarely will do work and then get paid at a later date in time. They want their money upon completion of a job. Who can blame them if the deal falls through they have to go after the seller.

The second house we found they offered 14k less then asking price with no repairs. Very quickly I think my buyer realized for the kind of house that he was wanting they were all going to need some type of repairs. Home inspections are not cheap and he was already out 300$ since this was the second contract. Proceeding with the appraisal puts him out another 375$ so far the anty has gone up considerably. this house has less square footage, and only one bath with no fireplace not to mention very outdated interior.

The moral of this story is to be patient but know a good deal when you see one. Sometimes its good to be stubborn and there are times when it can kill you too. Since you might be the buyer it really is up to you what you can and cannot afford or finance at the time.