Home Sellers Ask: Should I Sell My Home or Wait?

It's been a dilemma faced by homeowners who are looking to sell their homes from the dawn of time. Is there a perfect time to sell a home? Should you put your home on the market right now, or should you wait?

As the year 2006 begins, there are indications that it may be worthwhile for you to put your home on the market now. The first indicator is rising interest rates. Interest rates have been rising steadily for several months, and it appears that they are going to continue to rise.

Higher interest rates carry with them several consequences. Fewer buyers will be able to qualify for homes as interest rates increase, which in turn increase payments. All real estate markets are somewhat different, of course, but with higher interest costs, there is often a dip in real estate values to compensate, which means that you might get a lower price for your house as 2006 wears on than you would if you put it on the market right away.

With adjustable mortgages becoming more and more standard, homeowners will find their payments rising, as well. That means more people will find themselves in a financial bind, prompting them to sell their homes. As with all supply and demand situations, a glut of house on the market will mean more competition, and lower prices.

If you happen to be one of those financially-strapped sellers, you may find yourself in an increasingly difficult situation because of the combination of fewer buyers and more available houses on the market. That could translate to a longer time on the market and/or a lower sales price for your home in order to sell it quickly.

As a seller contemplating when to sell your home, it will be prudent to keep an eye on interest rates as 2006 progresses. Rising interest rates could very well be the key to how the real estate market is going to go, and to when you'll get the quickest sale and best price for your home.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

Join our FREE
Home Selling Teleseminar. Get expert advice on Redesign and Home Staging
from Design Psychology instructor Jeanette
Fisher. More home selling tips http://sellfast.info

Home Sellers: The Dangers of Overpricing Your Home

When I meet with sellers about listing their home often times I hear the strategy of setting the initial asking price high and then coming down in price if it does not sell. This is really not a good idea in a traditional real estate market.

Over the last few years sellers in Sarasota, Florida were successful using this strategy of listing their property with a high sales. They were successful because Sarasota like other parts of the country was in an extreme sellers market. Our prices were continually going above the most recent sales price. Now that the market has cooled off a little bit it is necessary to change strategies when deciding on an asking price.

If you start out with too high of a sales price, then decide to drop it later your house has lost that initial flurry of activity that new listings typically get. This strategy could hurt your chances of selling your home quickly.

I think home sellers want to try this strategy hoping to find an uneducated buyer. Our real estate markets have become very efficient. Real estate information is easy to get and it travels quickly. About 3 out of 4 buyers start their home search on the internet. Today's buyers are more savvy and are more educated. Properties are listed on the MLS and most buyers have access to these listings quickly. The chances of pricing your home very high and selling it to an uneducated buyer is slim.

Lets say you do price your home high and later lower the price. Once your home has been on the market awhile it becomes stale and is harder to get a good offer. Potential buyers always ask how long a home has been on the market. If they see it has been on the market awhile they will make lower offers. By overpricing your home in the beginning, you could actually end up settling for a lower price than you would have normally received

Marc Rasmussen is a Realtor selling Sarasota
real estate

Hosting An Open House To Sell Your Home

When selling your house “by owner” you don’t have the advantage of a real estate agent with tons of clients so you need to draw people to your house and one way is to have an open house. This will require some prep work and a bit of your time but can reel in potential buyers and get the word out about your home.

The best day for an open house is Sunday. This is the day most people spend with their families and are out and about running errands so zipping over to an open house is a nice break. It’s best to hold it during the day so people can see the house in daylight. Plan to have the open house for several hours - like noon to 4. Put an ad in the real estate section of the paper a week ahead of time and let it run all week.

Your ad should list the time for the open house, the address, some special amenities of the home like how many bedrooms or if it has a nice view, the asking price and a phone number where they can reach you.

Now you are ready to do some of the prep work to make your house irresistible to buyers. You should already have fixed up any broken or half finished projects around the house. Are there places where the paint is dingy? Then repaint. What about that half done molding in the dining room that has been like that so long that you are blind to it? Finish it, your buyers will notice anything and everything so you need to look at your house with a critical eye and remove anything that might be an obstacle to someone purchasing your home.

Go outside and look at your house from the street. Does it have curb appeal? This is the first impression your potential buyer will get so it pays to spruce up the outside. Make sure your landscaping is crisp and colorful and walkways and lighting work properly.

On the morning of the open house, you must make sure your house is spotless. Put away the dishes, make the beds, vacuum the rugs, clean the bathrooms and maybe even add some flowers and put on the coffee. Take notice of how your house smells - you want a nice aroma or fresh smell to hit buyers when they come into your home. Why not bake some cookies? It will make the house smell great and you’ll have some yummy treats to offer your guests.

For an open house, a clean home is a necessity. Although it is a good idea to stage your house or set up each room to fit its best potential, you will score more points with a spotless home. No one wants to buy a house that looks like it hasn’t been cared for.

Make sure each room has the appropriate lighting and if the showing is in the evening, turn on accents lights for ambiance. Enhane the look of each room and avoid having your guests fumble for the light switch by using table lamps. This will make your rooms look warmer than a glaring overhead light.

If you want to make your rooms look brighter and larger, try adding some mirrors. People want their homes to be bright and a mirror can reflect the light from a window or door.

Make sure you pick up all the clutter around the house. Outside, you need to store all childrens toys and bikes neatly in the garage or shed. Inside, pick up all toys and put away in cupboards remove all magnets and notes from the fridge and make sure there is no clutter around the tables or on the floors.

It’s a good idea to send the kids and pets away during the showing. You don’t want anything to distract your potential buyers from the beauty of your home.

Lee Dobbins writes for Moving
and More where you can learn more about selling
your house

Home Sellers: Three Spaces that Pay You to Redesign

Home sellers who pay close attention to the details that home buyers want will sell for more money and sell their home in record time. In fact, we sold a home in three hours, for more than asking price, by using a few redesign techniques. You don't need to redesign your entire home, but there are three areas that pay you to spend some time and money.

1. Grab the Buyer's Attention From the Curb

Before you can get a home shopper to view your home, you must first attract them with the exterior. Buyers drive around areas of interest looking for houses that "speak to them." Entice home shoppers to get out of their car to see what's behind your attractive front door.

1. Garden: pull weeds, cut overgrowth, add color or deep green foliage.

2. Access: provide walkway to front door so buyers don't have to walk around cars or over lawns. Especially during winter months, buyers won't want to track up their future home with dirty shoes.

3. Accessorize: attract the eye with colorful pots or flowers near the front door.

Increase the Value of Your Home - Redesign These Two Rooms

Of course, you want your entire home to "feel like home" to the buyer. However, your front entry and kitchen generate the largest impact on a buyer's opinion.

2. First Impressions - Your Home's Entry

Home shoppers make up their minds about a home when they first cross the threshold. They either like the home or they don't. This impression influences the rest of their home inspection.

1. Remove all clutter and extra furnishings. Allow plenty of space for people to see the home's features. Your entry isn't about YOU, so take down family photos and memorabilia.

2. Freshen up paint, if needed, in a color that attracts your buyer's profile.

3. Match the lighting intensity to the outdoor setting. This helps buyers eyes adjust from outside to inside light.

4. Add a large mirror to reflect the buyers in their new home. Seeing themselves in the setting psychologically puts them in the home.

3. Kitchen Redesign that Pays

Updated kitchens with new appliances, countertops, and attractive cabinets excite buyers. But expensive kitchen improvements may only give you back a portion of the costs. Instead, make minor cosmetic improvements and necessary repairs. Sometimes replacing ONE kitchen appliance makes a huge difference.·

1. Paint the walls and/or cabinets.

2. Add new cabinet hardware, check the hinges and catches.

3. Replace faucets.

4. Replace chipped sinks. (Restore4 works well to remove stubborn stains.)

5. Replace light fixtures, switch plates, electrical outlets and covers.

6. Learn home staging strategies to make your kitchen stand out from other kitchens in your buyer's mind.

More improvements to your home help you sell for top dollar. The key, balance between costs and payback, gives you the highest return on your time and investment. Remember, you house is not just your home; your house is your investment property. The more money you make selling your home, the more money you have for your next home and financial future.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

Join our FREE
Home Selling Teleseminar. Get expert advice on Redesign and Home Staging
from Design Psychology instructor Jeanette
Fisher. More home selling tips http://sellfast.info

Selling Your Home - 11 Tips for Proper Preparation

Selling a home an be a daunting experience, especially if it's your first time. But with the right preparation, you can easily increase the likelihood of a sale -- and possibly increase your net proceeds as well.

Here then are 11 low-cost tactics that will enhance your home, inside and out.

1. Make the entrance inviting.
A home’s entrance carries significant meaning, both symbolically and structurally. It’s where the homeowner leaves the outside world behind and enters the comfort and sanctuary of home. Treat it accordingly.

2. Remove clutter.
Clutter (too many appliances in the kitchen, too many pictures and knickknacks on the tables, etc.) makes a home seem smaller than it is. It can also put too much of a personal touch on the house. Clear away everything but a few, well-placed design elements.

3. Clean, clean and clean some more.
As a general rule, you can never clean too much before showing your house. This goes hand in hand with the clutter concept above -- the cleaner a house, the easier it is for buyers to see themselves in it. It makes the house mentally "transferable" from owner to buyer. And it just plain looks nice!

4. Freshen up the rooms.
Sunlight, fresh paint and a well-placed vase of flowers can do wonders for any room -- and for minimal cost.

5. Arrange for space.
Arrange furniture in a way that maximizes space and creates a smooth traffic flow. It might take some trial-and-error, but the spaciousness you create will be worth it.

6. Perform minor repairs as needed.
No how matter how trivial it may seem to you, an item needing repair will send a mental message to buyers. "Gosh, if they didn’t even care to fix that before showing the house, what else have they let go?"

7. Replace outdated fixtures (lights, knobs, etc.).
This falls into the "easy fixes with major impact" department. New lighting and fixtures can make an entire room seem new, even if it’s not.

8. Have the carpets professionally cleaned.
It’s quick, it doesn’t cost much, and it can give much-needed life to carpet. Even if you think your carpet is fine, give it a try. You’ll see the difference afterward!

9. Empty closets and attics to showcase their space.
Remember, prospective buyers are trying to see themselves in each house they look at. It’s a key determinant on whether they make an offer or scratch the house of their list.

Tip: Put half your clothes in a storage unit or in a friend’s house (temporarily). Your closets will seem larger with some emptiness to them.

10. Tidy up the landscaping.
Trim the bushes. Mow and water the lawn. Sweep the driveway and walkway. Plant fresh flowers. Most of these things cost you nothing but time, yet they’ll significantly enhance your overall "curb appeal."

11. "Neutralize" your paint scheme.
Colors and color preference are subjective things. One person’s favorite color can make another person gasp. To avoid putting off buyers with dominant colors, play it safe with beige, taupe and other neutrals. Remember, the goal is to help people see themselves in the home.

Don't overdo it!
It’s important not to take on too much at once. You don’t want so many projects that they postpone your ability to show your house. Start small. Develop a checklist of the projects you want to do, and prioritize them by level of importance. That way, if you run out of time or money, you’ll at least have the biggest projects out of the way first.

Learn More
Want more tips and strategies for selling your home? You'll find 20 pages of them in the author's "Home Selling Workshop." See below for website address.

About the Author
Brandon Cornett has worked as a marketing manager for a company serving the real estate industry since 1986. He prepares home-selling products for homeowners and real estate agents alike. The article above is an excerpt from his "Home Selling Workshop," available for download at: http://www.armingyourfarming.com/products/sellersguide.php

10 Quick Tips for Home Sellers

With today's changing real estate market, home sellers need to take extra care preparing their home for a top-dollar sale. Home buyers have more houses to choose from and will select the home that stands out from the other houses they preview. These tips will help you attract a buyer:

1. Start at the Street. Pretend you are a prospective buyer seeing your home for the first time. What do you see from your car? Make your home so inviting buyers will get out of their comforting cars and walk to your front door. Place fresh seasonal flowers, in pots or planted, along the front walk or by your front door.

2. Make Repairs. Lubricate squeaky door hinges, fix dripping faucets, and make sure toilets flush properly. You get used to the minor faults in your home, so ask a friend to inspect for minor defects.

3. Exterminate. One bug or spider, dead or alive, can cause some buyers to leave immediately.

4. Remove Clutter. Not only does a neat, organized house feel larger and more inviting, clutter-free homes give prospective buyers a chance to see the home’s features.

5. Deep Clean. Remove dust, spiders, and odors.

6. Depersonalize. Pack your personal mementos and photographs. Give your buyers the opportunity to visualize their personal effects in your home.

7. Lighten Up. During the winter months, use bulbs with the highest wattage recommended in light fixtures. Add small table lamps for extra lighting. If you have room on your kitchen and bathroom countertops, a small decorative lamp adds a warm glow with a designer’s touch.

8. Wash Walls or Repaint. Fresh paint gives you the best return on your money.

9. Clean Carpets or Replace. You may be accustomed to the way your carpet looks, but what do buyers see? If you're selling to first-time home buyers, they most likely won't have the money beyond the down payment to pay for new carpeting. Move-up buyers expect perfection, even if they want to tear it all out.

10. Consider having your pets taken care of by family or friends. Some home buyers are allergic to pets, while others will be turned off by pet odors. You get accustomed to your pets’ odors, but these scents drive buyers away.

With a little thought and effort, you can persuade buyers that your house exceeds their expectations-- and is worth getting out of the car.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher
teaches home sellers how to use Design Psychology for Redesign and Home Staging
for top-dollar home sales. For free
home selling tips and free ebook "Design Psychology for Selling
Houses," see http://sellfast.info

Home Seller's Tip: Persuade Your Buyer with a Simple Unique Tool

With so many choices for home buyers today, sellers must make their home seem extra special. A scrapbook or album makes any everyday event seem special, so why not use this tool to sell your home? Create a home journal or scrapbook to show your buyer the special features of your home and to help them decide that your home will bring them many happy memories of their own.

Create a notebook that presents itself like an attractive journal or scrapbook. You can use a simple three-ring binder or a store-bought scrapbook or photo album. Think beauty and functionality.

Take a photograph of your home's best feature and put it on the cover. Most of the time, the photograph is a picture of the front exterior. But if your home features a dramatic fireplace or a gorgeous garden, highlight this benefit to the buyer. Give your home a special name and include this on the cover of your journal.

Inside your journal, create some pages that highlight areas of your home that will benefit your buyers. You might label pages with pictures and phrases like "relax in the garden" or "enjoy cooking in this spacious kitchen."

Insert plastic sleeves for colorful flyers. Make the front section of your journal dramatic. Pick up flyers from your local Chamber of Commerce of nearby attractions. Add positive press articles that show positive aspects of your local community, as well as information on nearby schools.

In the middle section of your home scrapbook, gather utility bills (gas, electric, water, and any other monthly costs). Arrange these bills in folders or plastic sleeves. Make a simple spreadsheet showing your payments throughout the year. When your buyers ask about your utility bills, you have them ready to show proof. Your care makes buyers feel that you have nothing to hide and they receive comfort in knowing what to expect with your home.

You may wish to include a section with legal papers like your insurance policy and deed.

Next, make a log of repairs, home improvements, and maintenance. Include receipts in a folder or sleeve. Present "before" and "after" pictures so buyers can see the results of your work.

Complete your home journal with more color photographs of your home during the opposite season or hosting a party. Display photos of the flowers in bloom or your house decked out for the holidays. Pictures of people enjoying your home give buyers the conclusion that if they choose your home, they will have fun hosting parties, too.

Even if your buyer doesn't take time to look at your entire presentation, just the fact that you make your records available gives your buyer peace of mind. When you take the time to make your home journal beautiful to look at and present it like a scrapbook or album, you also convince your buyer that they will create their own happy moments in this special home.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher
teaches home sellers how to use Design Psychology for Redesign and Home Staging
for top-dollar home sales. For free
home selling tips and free ebook "Design Psychology for Selling
Houses," see http://sellfast.info

Eleven Great Tips for Showing Your Home

In order to sell your home quickly, and for the best price, here is a list of things to address BEFORE your agent brings that first potential buyer to look at it.

1) Make sure the lawn is mowed, the shrubs are trimmed, and the porch is clean and free of clutter. If it's fall, rake up the leaves. If it's winter, keep the walkways clear. Make sure the front door is either freshly painted or well-scrubbed. It's all part of creating a positive first impression as potential buyers approach the home.

2) Inside, clean the house thoroughly, especially the bathroom and kitchen. Make sure the woodwork is either cleaned or freshly painted. Those two areas are very important in most people's minds, and you need to pay special attention to them to create a good impression.

3) Make sure all the faucets work (without dripping) and all light bulbs come on when their switches are turned on. Little things like that can be distracting to buyers.

4) Make certain that every closet door and cabinet opens easily, and closes securely. Doors that don't open or close properly give a negative impression to buyers.

5) Don't let your kids leave out their roller skates or skateboards, and if there are slippery rugs that you've learned not to step on over the years, remove them so potential buyers don't go flying.

6) Organize closets, basements, and attics, so that they look larger. Just like you, buyers are always looking for room to store things. If you have so much stuff that you can't do that, consider having a garage sale, renting a storage space, or calling the Salvation Army truck.

7) Pay special attention to the bedrooms. Just like the kitchen and bathroom, comfortable, spacious, and well-organized bedrooms make a positive impression in home buyer's minds, because they know they'll be spending a significant amount of time in them.

8) Open your curtains during the daytime, to let in as much light as possible. It gives a positive feeling to the home and makes rooms feel more spacious.

9) If the home is being shown at night, turn on every light inside and outside of the house. You'll be brightening the mood, as well as showing off your color scheme and wallpaper designs to their best advantage.

10) Don't have a bunch of people around when the home is being shown. In fact, it's a good idea to make an excuse to leave yourself, so that potential buyers are free to speak freely about what they see as they tour the home.

11) If you have pets, keep them away from the buyers. In fact, it's worthwhile to take them with you when you excuse yourself and make your exit during the showing.

When getting ready to show your home, always point toward creating a positive impression on prospective buyers. They want what you would want, they'll notice what you'd notice, so walk through your home and try to see it from a stranger's perspective. Ask other people to walk through and tell you the negative things they notice. Then address those things. It will all help you to sell your home--quickly, and at the best possible price.

Copyright © Jeanette J. Fisher

Jeanette Fisher
teaches home sellers how to use Design Psychology for Redesign and Home Staging
for top-dollar home sales. For free
home selling tips and free ebook "Design Psychology for Selling
Houses," see http://sellfast.info

Sell A Home For Free

When selling or buying a home, the realtor commissions can take a serious bite out of your profit. Here’s a primer on how to sell a home for free without commissions.

Sell A Home For Free

When many people think of a real estate sale, they immediately groan at the thought of dealing with real estate agents. More painful, for many, is the thought of paying a six percent commission to an agent. In the last five years, the real estate market has seen a significant increase in the number of people who sell their home without using agents.

A property sold without a real estate agent is known as a FSBO, which simply means for sale by owner. If you take a look at the real estate classifieds in the Sunday edition of your local paper, you should see plenty of FSBO listings. With the increasing popularity of the Internet, there are numerous sites such as FSBOAmerica.org that provide national listings online for free viewing by potential buyers. This is giving rise to a fundamental change in the real estate industry.

Prior to the Internet exploding onto the scene, selling or buying real estate could be a major time killer. One typically signed on with a real estate agent to get listed in the multiple listing services. If you wanted to find a buyer, you needed to be in the listing and have open houses and so on.

Many buyers, however, now look to Internet listing sites to develop a list of homes they are interested in. These sites typically contain detailed information on the homes as well as numerous pictures. Put another way, the buyer no longer has to spend entire weekends looking at homes that simply don’t interest him or her. The buyer can now do all of the initial work online. If they decide to come see your property, they are already pretty serious about making an offer and typically just want to make sure the pictures and information are accurate.

For many sellers, the power of the Internet makes real estate agents an unnecessary expense. Why pay six percent of the sales price as a commission when buyers are coming from online listings of the site? As a seller, you can create these listings online and expect to pay twenty five dollars or so a month to keep your listing up. With this being the case, why would you pay a commission to an agent?

If your goal is to sell a home for free, without a real estate commission, the Internet is your best option. Real estate transactions are very straightforward and you can pick up all the forms you’ll need at the local book store.

Raynor James is with the FSBO site - http://www.fsboamerica.org
- FSBO homes for sale by owner. Visit our "sell my home" page - http://www.fsboamerica.org/seller.cfm
- to sell your house yourself with a free 1 month listing.

10 Ways Home Sellers Screw-Up Their Home Sale

Selling your home is not a science but there are some standards that should always be maintained. For some reason sellers can get in the way of their own sale and mess it all up. Some sellers can’t understand why real estate agents ask them not to be present during showings. Buyers are not too interested in hearing the gory details of how little Johnny killed the cat in the dryer or any other wonderful stories.

1.When you hire a real estate agent to market your home, you interviewed 2 or 3 agents and picked the best, now let them do their job. Of course the owner can sell the home they know every little thing that any new homeowner would want to know and they want to tell them. Please be quite or better yet go for a walk when buyers come to see your home.

2.Canceling and not allowing showings or setting rules for showing times that prevent buyers from seeing the home. No showings on weekends, 48 hour notice no exceptions or listing agent must be present for all showings. These things may be convenient for the seller but are red flags for any buyer agent they just won‘t show the home at all.

3.Holding off the photographer and visual tour photographer because you are not ready or the house is not ready. Your listing depends on pictures and visual tours to get buyers to your home. They can preview the property 24 hours 7 days a week without leaving their own home. Almost 80% of buyers start their home search on the internet with pictures, lots of pictures and visual tours.

4.Your dog and cat can stop a buyer agent in her tracks and take your home off the showing list. Remarks on your listing like “don’t let the cat out” or “the dog barks a lot so put her outside” can slow down showings. My all time favorite is “don’t go in the garage the dogs will bite and hurt you.” Kitty litter on the kitchen floor or dog stains on the furniture are not good things.

5.Odors kill a deal every time. What’s worse is using a smelly fragrant deodorizer trying to mask a bad odor. Clean and fresh smell always works with buyers. Keeping the kitchen and bathrooms clean make sure all trash cans are empty and trash moved out of the house to outside closed containers.

6.Over stuffed closets, garages full of your junk so much so that you can’t fit a car, basements full of stuff, too much furniture, all of your collections on display in every room. All of this stuff gets in the way, clean it out.

7.A dirty house won’t sell unless it is distress sales to an investor where you can expect a low ball offer, if you don’t care it will show. Buyers like to see the outside when they open the blinds it’s not a good thing that dust and dirt fall down on them. Walking around toys, pillows on the floor or a generally messy house doesn’t allow the buyers see the home they are more worried about what they will step on.

8.Uncut lawn, untrimmed shrubs, overgrown weeds do not make for good curb appeal. Trimmed and edged lawn and shrubs are a basic requirement of a good appearance that will attract buyers to your home. Buyers are always driving around neighborhoods they drive by disasters but stop and write down phone number and web addresses of well maintain homes.

9.Most home buyers are not looking for a project, the closer your home is to move in condition the quicker sale you will have. The exterior of your home must be in very good condition. No broken windows all screens in place, rain gutters clean and properly attached. Doors, shutters and trim freshly painted.

10. Turning on the kitchen faucet and it comes off in your hand is not going to get the buyer jumping to make an offer even if they like the house they maybe too embarrassed to make an offer because they broke something. Everything inside the home should work properly. Lights, doors, drawers, appliances, and kitchen and bath faucets.

It’s up to the seller to have the home ready and available for the buyers. If you are not ready don’t put up the for sale sign, don’t waste your time or your agents time and money. It does cost money to properly market a home your real estate agents money until closing.

Bill Carey with over 30 years in real estate sales, investments, and home
building offers a unique perspective to the buying and selling process of
residential real estate for F*R*E*E consumer information and reports log on to http://www.CharlotteNCExecutiveHomes.com
and see "Insider Real Estate Secrets Revealed" ...a must-read for
Home-Owners and Renters! It's a F*R*E*E 12-lesson e-course covering more than 20
topics exposing the realities behind buying and selling a home. It Could Make(or
Save) You Thousands of Dollars

See http://www.BillCareyRealtor.com
and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter with tips for buyers, sellers, home
owners and soon to be home owners.

(Your Comments are Welcome)

Thinking of Selling your Home? Don't Believe the Hype When Hiring a Realtor to Represent You

Just peruse through the Sunday newspaper, real estate books or scan various Realtor websites and you will see alot of hype.


Largest Producer!
If we don't sell your home we will buy it!
Your home sold in 39 days or we will sell it for free!
We will advertise your home until it is sold!
We guarantee to save you $5,000 on your next home purchase!
We will sell your home for 1% 2% or 3%!
#1 Real Estate Agent!

Real estate is a cutt thoat, competitive industry. Realtors are always trying to find new ways to attract home buyers and sellers. With so many to choose from Realtors are constantly trying to make themselves stand out from the crowd. With this desire to be different we naturally create alot of hype.

Let's go through a few of the more common ways Realtors try to grab your attention.

Largest Producer!

People should be impressed by any agent that is the largest producer. Right? What if that Realtor is in a 2 or 3 agent office? It is not as impressive anymore. What if the agent was the largest producer for just one week? They don't advertise that information. Again, not as quite as impressive. Most people just assume that the agent is the either the largest producer ever or for atleast a long period of time like a year.

If we don't sell your home we will buy it!

Are these Realtors so confident in their ability to sell your home that they will buy it if it does not sell? Not really. If you read through the details you will see that the chances of the Realtor buying your home are slim to none. Most of the agents who advertise this have never bought one of their client's homes. In order for the agent to purchase your home there are usually numerous requirements such as them buying your home for the appraised value minus various costs like financing and marketing (broker commissions) fees. In the end, it does not make much sense for the home owner to sell to the Realtor.

Your home sold in 30 days or we will sell it for free!

This one is similar to the above hyped program. Typically, there is a list of things the homeowner would have to do to get the Realtor to sell his house without a commission. In reality, it rarely happens. Typically, the Realtor requires that the homeowner price the property at a value given by an appraiser or by the real estate agent. Other requirements may be:

the asking price of the home needs to be dropped frequently
when the home sells the homeowner would be required to buy his next house through the same real estate agent
the home would be required to be in showing condition all of the time
the home would also be required to be easily seen on short notice.

If the homeowner does not perform on any these tasks then the Realtor would not be required to sell the home free. There are all kinds of caveats that the agent can have to get them out of selling your home for free. Some of them are very entertaining.

We will advertise your home until it is sold!

Most Realtors will do this one without too many caveats. Most agents know that advertising rarely sells a home. A very small percentage of people buy the home they originally called on. The main purpose of advertising by a Realtor is not to sell your house directly. Advertising generates phone calls and some of those people become clients of the Realtor. Over time this builds up a list of home buyers looking for property. Another reason Realtors like to advertise is to get future listings. People thinking about selling will usually interview agents that advertise heavily. So when an agent tells you how much they plan to advertise your home keep in mind that most of that advertising benefits the Realtor and not your house.

We guarantee to save you $5,000 on your next home purchase!

Most home sellers have a built in cushion in their asking price. Here in Sarasota, Florida on the average a home will sell for about 97% of list price. If I sell a home for $350,000 chances are that the home was listed for $360,000 - $365,000. In this situation it would be pretty easy for the selling agent to say he saved his buyer $10,000 - $15,000. Was the agent such a shrewd negotiator that he got the seller to drop his price? Most likely not. The seller probably just factored a 3-5% cushion into their asking price.

In many instances, especially in hot markets, homes sell at or above their asking price. Most Realtors who advertise these guarantees either give you something small such as a home warranty or a some other type of buyer credit if they do not help you negotiate a lower price.

We will sell your home for 1% 2% or 3%!

This is another hook that Realtors use to attract home sellers. Usually this 1% 2% or 3% is the listing agent's fee for selling your home but it does not include any co-broke fees.

Depending on the market, sellers will list their home anywhere from 5%-7%. What happens now is that the listing agents goes to the Realtor community via the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and offers a co-broke fee (usually 3% or half of the total commission). If the other agent brings the buyer he is paid the co-broke fee. The majority of real estate transaction involve 2 Realtors. Therfore, the 6% total commission is split between the two agents. Often times when an agent advertises 1% 2% or 3% they are only advertising their fee but the commission goes up if you want your house listed on the MLS. Most of the time it is crucial to have your home listed on the MLS.

#1 Real Estate Agent!

#1 at what? Are they the absolute best Realtor in the world? Have they sold the most real estate? Are they always the biggest producer? Did they sell the most homes last week, last month, last year?

I see Realtors throw this one around alot. Any real estate agent can #1 at something on any given day. There are so many statistics in this industry that it would be pretty hard not to find an agent to be #1 at something. I think agents use this one because it tends to grab people's attention more.

I think it is normal to see this type of marketing in a highly competitive industry. I feel it is the nature of the business and there is nothing wrong with it. Many successful agents have used or are currently using these marketing ideas. When looking to find an real estate remember not everything is as it seems.

Marc Rasmussen is a Realtor
in Sarasota, Florida. He works with mostly second home buyers for Sarasota,
Siesta Key and Longboat Key.

7 Costly Mistakes Home Buyers Make

Buying a home is a major investment for most homeowners it’s the most costly investment they will ever make. It is even more costly for some because they fall into the traps and mistakes such as; paying more than they should for a home, missing out on the home of their dreams, buying a home that doesn’t fit their needs. By watching out for the 7 costly mistakes you can take proper action to avoid them.

1.Real Estate Agent – your Buyer Agent should have in place a “VIP Buyer program”, “house-hunting service” or “buyer profile system”. These systems will match your criteria with all the available homes on the market and send you daily or weekly emails with complete descriptions and photos. This system can save weeks and months of home searching. If your Buyer Agent is not internet savvy and not incorporating one of these into their business you should move on to another agent who works in this century.

2.Paying Too Much – not knowing the market could cause you to fall for an over priced home. You should research the local market to determine the values that comparable homes have sold for, and make your offer based on that information. A professional Buyer Agent will help you with the comparables from the MLS and prepare a CMA (comparable market analysis) on the home before you make an offer.

3.Which House is Right for You – finding a home is simple, finding the right home is a lot of work. Determine your needs, schools, drive to work, shopping, recreation, neighborhood, home fix ups and maintenance. Putting in writing your needs and desires will help you and your Buyer Agent weed through the thousands of choices you will be making in your home purchase.

4.Mortgage Pre-Approval – mortgage pre-approval can be completed over the phone or online in 20 to 30 minutes it’s fast and easy. With a pre approval you know what you are working with you now have the freedom of not second guessing if you can afford a particular home. Being pre-approved when making an offer gives the seller more confidence that the loan will close.

5.Legal Issues – can delay a closing if not identified early in the process. An accurate and up to date survey is not required by some lenders or title companies but it is the way to guarantee the boundary’s of the property and will identify any encroachments that will affect your ownership. Title report will identify any past ownership issues of your property such as tax liens, undisclosed owners, easements, leases and such that could affect your ownership. Mortgage lenders require a lenders title policy to protect their interest it is well worth the cost to buy an owners policy for youself as well.

6.Undisclosed Repairs – a professional Buyer Agent will help you hire a licensed home inspector to thoroughly review the condition of your home inside and outside. They will inspect and test all mechanical systems (plumbing, heating, air-conditioning, and electrical) and provide you with a written detailed list with photos of all their findings. This inspection report will at the least help you make an informed decision whether to complete the home purchase. All items agreed to by the owner must be inspected to insure the work was complete. You and your inspector should do a final walk through before closing.

7.Closing Table Hidden Costs – there will be costs from the mortgage company, attorney, Title Company, insurance, survey, utility connections, home inspectors, pest control, taxes, escrows and possibly some old payoffs required by your lender. All of these can add up to a considerable amount. You must know in advance what these costs are and be prepared to pay them at or before closing. Review your HUD-1 statement and mortgage with your Buyer Agent before closing to insure that you know and understand all these associated costs and that they are correct.

These are some of the major issues that will affect your home buying process. Working with a professional Buyer Agent who will help you identify the traps and how to avoid them is one of the more important choices you have.

Bill Carey with over 30 years in real estate sales, investments, and home
building offers a unique perspective to the buying and selling process of
residential real estate for F*R*E*E consumer information and reports log on to http://www.CharlotteNCExecutiveHomes.com
and see "Insider Real Estate Secrets Revealed" ...a must-read for
Home-Owners and Renters! It's a F*R*E*E 12-lesson e-course covering more than 20
topics exposing the realities behind buying and selling a home. It Could Make(or
Save) You Thousands of Dollars

See http://www.BillCareyRealtor.com
and sign up for our monthly e-newsletter with tips for buyers, sellers, home
owners and soon to be home owners.

Home Sellers - Advertising Won't Directly Sell Your Home

Home owners thinking of selling often times will list their home with the Realtor who does the most advertising. Sellers want to see their property advertised in newspaper, real estate books or on the internet. There is a misconception by the public that advertising will sell your home.

We Realtors are usually happy to take your listing and advertise your property. But not for the reason you would suspect. Most of the advertising we do helps us find buyers and sellers to work with.

The main purpose of advertising is not to directly sell your home. If you have been selling homes for a long period of time you know that a small percentage of people buy the home they originally called on.

Let's say I am advertising my clients home which is a 3 bedrooms, 2 bath golf course home for $450,000. I will take calls from prospective buyers who ask me about the home. I will give them the details of the home and hopefully they will buy it. However, this does not happen often and history shows that people rarely buy the home they originally called on. So at this point I try to tell them about other homes that may fit their needs. If they decide to work with me I will then hopefully sell them another home that I have found through the multiple listing service (MLS) or some other means.

Now, let's say another Realtor is advertising his own listing which is similar to my $450,000, 3 bedroom, 2 bath golf course home for sale. He takes calls from his advertising efforts and does not sell his own listing. However, he has now found a buyer and goes to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS). The agent finds my listing, shows it and sells it. My sellers home has indirectly been sold by another agents advertising.

So, in essence, advertising creates phone calls and some of these callers become my clients. With enough advertising I can build up a pool of potential buyers. Now imagine all of the other agents and brokers in my market doing the same thing. This is the pool of buyers in the marketplace that are represented by a Realtor. The agents get together and match up their clients with the available homes for sale usually via the MLS system. That is how your home gets sold.

Marc Rasmussen is a Realtor
in Sarasota, Florida.

Defining Condos

Condominium’s may be a confusing concept to some people. Condo’s represent a housing option that takes the step between apartment dwelling and home ownership. Condo’s, like apartments or home ownership, come both their good and bad things.

Condominium’s look much like an apartment complex. There are multiple units and they can be either townhouses or one floor. The difference between apartments and condo’s is that a condo is owned. The owner gets a title to the unit. The difference between condo’s and home ownership is that with condo ownership the owner only owns the actual condo, not the land. The whole group of condominium owners in a complex owner partial title in the common areas, like hallways, swimming pools and roofs.

Condo’s are managed by a property owners’ association. This association rules many things. Condo owners must pay a fee to the association which is used to maintain common areas. The association also manages what condo owners can and can not do. For example, a condo owner can do what they like inside their unit, like paint, but the outside is ruled by the association. In most cases there are rules that forbid alterations to the outside of the units. An association provides everyone with an opportunity to speak their mind at a scheduled meeting, however, final rulings are made by the association.

Condo’s provide a way to own your own dwelling, but without the hassle of having to maintain the outside area. Like apartment living, though, condo owners are somewhat limited with their freedoms regarding the outside of their condo. You should understand what you can and can not do before signing a contract. You should also look at your other options and see if an apartment or a house might suit your needs better. Getting to know about the condominium complex before moving in is probably the best bet to ensuring you will be happy with your decision.

About the author: Stephen Kreutzer is a freelance publisher based in Cupertino, California. He publishes articles and reports in various ezines and provides condo information on Condo Central.

Selling your Home, Getting Rid of the Clutter

When a potential buyer walks into your home, they need to imagine what their furniture, and decorations will look like. Your Americana theme living room might look wonderful, but remember buyers are not there to admire your decorations or pictures. They are there to hopefully buy your home.

What do you want buyers to think about as they are walking around your home? You want them to imagine where they are going to put their furniture and pictures, etc. You want the buyer to move in mentally.

The first thing you need to do is minimize clutter. The next step is to remove as many personal items (family photo's, knickknacks, Johnny’s first painting), and decorative items as possible.

The kitchen is one of the worst spots for clutter. There are appliances on the counter, baskets of things on the table, cookbooks on the shelves. You need to get rid of all of it! The house shouldn't look lived in. All surfaces should be clear and clean. Clutter can make your home seem smaller, and may make it seem like it has less storage. Getting rid of the clutter makes your home look cleaner, and more spacious. More space for your buyers to move in their cookbooks, baskets, etc.

Tips for gettting your house ready to sell

Once you have made the decision to sell your home, the next step is getting it ready to sell. If your home is in pristine condition, getting it ready may just involve some straightening up. Most homes require minor repairs such as leaky faucets, touch up paint, etc. Repairs are a bid consideration when deciding on the price of your home. Should you fix items and take a lesser price? Should you invest money on repairs and ask a slightly higher price?

Inspecting your Home:
Grab a pen and paper and go through your home. Pretend you are a buying. Take note of everything you notice. Make sure you add any problems you see. Do not assume that since it is a tiny problem those buyers will not see it. If you notice it they will too.

Inspect all floors, are the baseboards in good shape? Do they need cleaning? Does the floor creak anywhere? Do the carpets need cleaning?

Check all walls and ceilings. Do they walls need painting? Any cracks or holes that need patching? Is the wallpaper peeling?

Check all doors and windows. Do the windows open and shut easily? Any doorknobs missing? Any loose hinges? Do any of the doors squeak? Are windows clean? Any finger prints on the doors, or scuff marks from shoes?

Inspect the bathrooms. Are tiles clean and caulked? Any missing tiles? Leaky faucets? Does the toilet flush properly? Check the water pressure, and how the water drains from the tub and sink.

Inspect the kitchen. Do all appliances work? Are they clean? Any cracks in the linoleum? Check for leaks in the sink, and for wallpaper that needs to be replaced.

After you assess what needs to be prepared decide if you can handle the repairs yourself, or if you need to hire someone.
If you decide your home needs repairs, you must then decide if you should hire someone or attempt the repairs yourself.

Should you FSBO or Use A Realtor?

When it comes time to sell your home, should you try to sell it on your own, or should you list it with a licensed Realtor? Consider the following factors to help you decide:

EXPOSURE

Realtors, or real estate agents, are part of an office of agents, and each of them knows of buyers that are currently in the market for a home. Their buyers are pre-qualified, that is, they have already seen a lender and have qualified for a loan so the buyer knows exactly how much they can afford, and the Realtor does too. In many areas, a realtor won’t even show homes to a buyer until they pre-qualify. The process saves a lot of wasted time on everybody’s part.

Contrast this with the prospect of you putting up a “For Sale” sign in your front yard, and having to deal with people that will be calling you to talk about your house and want to walk through it, even though they don’t have the resources to actually buy it. In the end, they are just wasting your time.


Realtors also have contact with many people from out of town who are relocating to your area. Each realtor in town gets contacted frequently through their website, by people that are looking for a home by long-distance. They may be coming to town soon to look at available homes for a few days. The Realtor lines up a number of homes for them to tour that fit their criteria. One of them could be yours. But, if you FSBO, that potential buyer won’t know your house is on the market until they get to town, if then.

EXPERIENCE

A real estate agent will be able to assist in setting the right price to list your home, according to the current market conditions.

A real estate agent is a trained professional who will spend the necessary amount of time it may take to get your home SOLD.

The agent understands and will take care of all the necessary paperwork to complete the buying process. The agent will also act as a liaison between you and the inspectors, the buyer’s agent, and between attorneys, if they are involved.

Most buyers prefer to deal with a real estate agent because the agent will give them the unbiased professional opinion on a house, and how it stacks up against other houses on the market.


Agents understand all the different types of loans and financing options. They can provide information to buyers about local lending institutions to fit their needs.

ADVERTISING

Realtors have many ways to advertise your home, not just a newspaper ad and a “For Sale” sign in the yard. They also utilize the following ways to advertise a home:


The Multiple Listing Service
Open Houses
Web sites like Realtor.com and Yahoo Real Estate
Direct mail
Newspaper inserts
Regional Real Estate Magazines
Cable TV
Word of mouth through Realtor “Caravans” where 30 or more
Realtors will tour your home and then match it to their prospective buyers.


How much of this marketing muscle will you be able to flex if you FSBO?





SHOWING YOUR HOME


Agents have expertise to help you get your home in top shape before your prospective buyers arrive. They can help you “stage” your home to look more like a model home that would appeal to a larger group of buyers. They know how to emphasize and focus on your homes good points.

If you FSBO you will be learning the process as you go, a costly education when you are trying to sell your own home.

SUMMARY

With all the time, knowledge, effort, and paperwork it takes to sell a home, you should partner with a Realtor and save yourself the headaches and frustration. Hire a Professional!
Vicki Walker is a Realtor serving clients in the Northern California towns of
Davis and Woodland. You can find more great information by visiting her two
websites Selling a Home in
Davis or Woodland
California Real Estate.

For Sale By Owner: How to Sell Your Home Yourself

'For sale by owner.' Four words that are becoming more and more common in the real estate market. But it selling your home yourself the right approach for you? And if so, how do you go about it?

Let's start with the first question. The "for sale by owner" approach is for anyone who doesn't want to pay estate agent fees, deal with a communication bottleneck, or give control of the marketing and selling of their property to a third party.

If that sounds like you, then follow these tips to sell your own home successfully.

Know the value of your property

Any estate agent will give you a valuation of your property, of course. But estate agents have a vested interest in raising the bar. They're hoping to convince you to choose them over their competitors, so they'll often claim to be able to sell your house for more than it's really worth.

Luckily, finding out the true worth of your property isn't too difficult. Take a look around you. Look at properties for sale in your area, and find out what their asking price is. To find out what they actually sell for (a figure which may bear no relation to the asking price), websites such as www.ourproperty.co.uk can help you out. There are also a number of websites dedicated to helping sellers market their properties themselves – www.privateseller.co.uk is just one of them.

Get your house into shape

The value of your home, of course, will depend largely on what kind of condition it's in. While there's nothing you can do to change the age or structure of your building, there are many things you can do to make it appear more inviting. You've probably heard how the smell of baking bread or freshly brewed coffee can make a property seem more welcoming, but you don't even have to go that far: just making sure your home is clean, tidy, and in a good state of repair will work wonders. Get rid of your clutter before you open the door to your first viewers – even if you have to put it in the attic – and get rid of pet smells, underwear on radiators and unwashed dishes. (You'd be surprised how many people don't!)

Manage your viewings properly

Once you have the house clean and ready to welcome viewers, don't think you can just sit back and relax. Viewings are the most crucial time of all when you come to sell your home, and it's important that you do everything you can to make sure they go smoothly. Again, make sure that pets are kept out of the way or under control; turn off that blaring TV and stereo; was the dishes, and make sure that the environment your viewers come into is one they can imagine living in. Make sure you're on hand to answer any questions they may have, but don't follow them around the house, breathing down their necks. Give your viewers the privacy to inspect the property in their own time, and to talk to each other in private about what could be the biggest purchase of their lives!

PrivateSeller.co.uk is a UK based "for sale by owner" website, helping property owners market and sell their homes themselves.

What's In, What's Out with Homebuyers in 2006

What's In, What's Out with Homebuyers in 2006
By Mark Nash

The majority of full-time real estate agents hear alot of feedback every day all year from homebuyers as they visit potential resale and new construction homes. They wonder why builders, developers and home-sellers add finishes or upgrades that say "cheap" or "soon-to-be-out-of-date", in addition to owners who think the laminate wood-grained kitchen cabinets look fine. Old stand-bys like solid oak hardwood floors might not be on the design edge, but quality and durablity out sell trendy any day in residential real estate. After a year of property showings in 2005 and eight previous years with homebuyers as well as requests from consumers after the review of "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home" in The New York Times I've complied a list of home runs and strike-outs for those looking to sell to homebuyers in 2006.

What's In

-Smaller square footage homes. After years of sprawl, new construction buyers want less space with better finishes.

-Quality kitchen cabinets. With the kitchen/greatroom the center of family living, buyers today are looking at furniture style cabinets.

-Bamboo wood floors. It could over-take maple as the favorite light-colored wood flooring in 2006.

-Wall space for flat screen TV's. Specify power and cable boxes close to locations where homebuyers want to place the latest in visual technology. The popular location for installation in new construction is over the fireplace.

-Multiple and high-powered phone lines. With modems, dsl, wi-fi moving into mainstream use, tech-savvy homebuyers want "wired" homes.

-Seperate shower stalls and bathtubs in master bathrooms. The growing divide among "soakers" and "showerers" is increasing. Not having one of each in a master bath could quelch a purchase.

-Built-in home stereo systems are a must-have for many audiophiles. Wireless hasn't quite made the pre-wired audio system home obsolete, at least not in 2006.

-Balconies and decks wider than 3 feet. Homebuyers want usable outdoor space. Big enough for a bistro table and chairs and a couple of pots for container gardening.

-Guest parking. With the rise in condominiums, lofts and zero-lot line subdivisions, homebuyers want their guests to have a hassle-free experience when they arrive at their new home. Buy or lease an extra space for family or friends.

-Dog Parks. Dogs and homeownership go hand-in-hand. The new way to meet neighbors in the hood is to intereact with them at the dog park. Before buying a home, check out the nearest one.

-Ranch or one level homes. The baby-boomers are discovering their utility in droves.

-Second Homes. The baby-boomers are also keeping this market segment strong. Demand for second homes was still on the upside in 2005, but if primary home demand weakens, the second home market will historically follow.

-Seller give-backs. With a more balanced market in most metro markets, requests by buyers to pay closing costs have increased, and some sellers are paying them.

-Carbon Monoxide detectors. Home inspectors red flag homes that have only smoke detectors. Inexpensive and life-saving, install one on every floor of a home before opening to homebuyers.

What's Out

-The real estate bubble. It's a correction with a soft decline in prices.

-Ebony-stained hardwood floors. You're better off tearing it out than trying to sand the ebony out to refinish.

-Single-rod closets. Buyers want the most storage in the least amount of space. Organizers accomplish this.

-Dark rooms with small windows. Natural light can over-rule alot of other problems in a home.

-Wallpaper. Buyers never have the same taste as decorators. Take it down (carefully) and paint.

-Builder grade light fixtures and interior fixtures used outside. The right fixtures say quality to buyers.

-Mid-century awnings on exterior windows and doors. Buyers want to let the sun shine in.

-Mirrored backsplash's in kitchens and everywhere else. Mirrored walls and ceilings say 1980's hedonism.

-Committment (strong, bold trendy) colors. They look great in magazines, but as one buyer said to me "I don't live in a magazine".

-Gas grills that need their own tank. Buyers prefer the gas piped from the house so they don't have to replace tanks.

-Dropped ceilings. It might have updated a bungalow in the 1950's, but buyers want as much vertical space as possible.

-Flipping. Increasing inventories of unsold homes is increasing, signaling weakening demand by all buyers. If you are holding properties to flip, prepare to place them on market after the holidays.

On the way out.

-Stainless steel appliances. Word-of-mouth says the cleaning requirements aren't for everyone.

-Laminate flooring that looks like hardwood. Not only can buyers tell it's not wood, the noise it makes with high-heel shoes is the deal killer during property showings.

Mark Nash, author of his recently released (2005) fourth real estate book "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home" and a real estate broker in Chicago. Mr. Nash's consumer-centric real estate perspective has been featured on CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, Fidelity Investor’s Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today.

Real Estate Financing

This is the age of creative real estate financing. Maybe you remember when financing meant you saved up enough to put 20% down on a house, and then got a mortgage loan for the other 80%? You can still do that, but there are many more options now. Here are ten of them.

1. Second mortgage loans from sellers. Many banks will allow you to have as little as 5% into a home purchase, but will then only loan you 80%. The seller can take payments on a second mortgage from you for the other 15%.

2. Manufacturer loans. Manufactured-home companies are arranging financing with 5% or less down for their buyers. This can be as little as $2,500 down if you already have a lot to put the home on.

3. State government housing programs. Most states have some sort of financing help in the form of a loan-guarantee program or outright loans for low-income buyers.

4. VA mortgage loans. If you have been in the armed services, have a decent job, and can save two or three paychecks, you can probably get a home with a VA loan.

5. Contract for sale. Called a "land contract" and other names depending on the part of the country you are in, this just means that you make payments to the seller instead of a bank. It's up to you and them to negotiate downpayment amount, interest rate, and the term of the loan.

6. Builders gifting programs. In some parts of the country, builders fund foundations that give you a portion of the downpayment, so you can get into a home with as little as 3% downpayment from your own pocket. FHA and other lenders have so far approved of or allowed this.

7. FHA mortgage loans. The Farm Home Administration doesn't actually loan the money, but guarantees your loan for the bank, so they can loan up to 97% of the purchase price, depending on the particular FHA program.

8. Friend and family loans. It may not be from charity that a brother or a friend lends you the money to buy a home. That 7% return might look awfully good if their money is sitting in the bank at 2%.

9. Bank no-doc loans. "No-doc" and "low-doc" loans, meaning no or low documentation requirements, are back, and you can find them through online banks. They are for those of you with bad credit but 20% to 30% to put down on a home. You don't even need a job.

10. Your credit cards. A risky way, but if you have a low-interest credit card, you can use it to come up with the downpayment, especially if you can pay it off soon, perhaps with a coming tax refund. The banks generally won't allow this, but you can combine this with seller financing.

So are there more ways to approach real estate financing? You bet there are. These are just some ways to buy your own home. When you start investing, you can use other techniques for really creative real estate financing.

Steve Gillman has invested in real estate for years. To learn more, get a free real estate investing course, and see a photo of a beautiful house he and his wife bought for $17,500, visit http://www.HousesUnderFiftyThousand.com

Finding Your Home With A Real Estate Business Plan

Everyone knows that the real estate market has been a very good place to be for many years now, and more and more people are looking for a way to make real estate into a business.

Whether you plan to make real estate your full time job or just a side business, it is important to have a solid real estate business plan in place before you begin.

==A Good Business Plan Can Help You Get Started==

That is because a business plan is an important cornerstone to the success of any business, and whether you are seeking startup funding to buy an office, seeking a loan to buy your first investment property, or planning the structure of your business, a good business plan can help you get started.

==There Are Many Facets To The Real Estate Business==

There are many facets to the real estate business, and a great many ways to make money in real estate. For instance, you could start your own real estate business in which you buy and sell distressed properties.

Many people have experienced great success using this strategy, and outlining this approach with a real estate business plan is a great way to drive potential investors to your door.

==Become An Independent Real Estate Agent ==

Another great way to approach the real estate business is to become an independent real estate agent. Real estate agents are able to benefit from a thriving housing market by collecting a percentage of each sale, and the startup costs of such a business can be quite low.

Even so, it is still important to have a solid business plan in place so that you will be able to raise the startup capital you do need.

==Buying Investment Properties==

Buying investment properties is an increasingly popular way to make the real estate business into a great profit generator. Here, a real estate business plan may be even more important.

That is because the real estate investor will need a good source of capital to buy the first couple of properties. After those properties are spinning cash, it may be possible to strike out on your own and pay off the loan, but it will be necessary to pay attention to the creation of the business plan.

The real estate business plan you create will be necessary in order to attract business investors, to fund your startup business, and to keep the business up and running.

Shaunta Pleasant is a professional web writer and editor on business plan topics. Visit my site to learn more about writing a business plan at http://www.business-plan-made-easy.com/real-estate-agent-business-plan.html

Home Sellers - Things to Look out for When You Receive an Offer on Your Home

Home Sellers - Things to Look out for When You Receive an Offer on Your Home
By Marc Rasmussen

You are selling your home and just received an offer from a prospective buyer. It is time to read over the purchase agreement presented to you. The agreement is a very important document because it is a legally binding contract between you, the home seller, and the home buyer. It spells out all of the details of the sale of your property. It is best to get a real estate attorney or Realtor to help you with this.

Besides the obvious price, financing terms and closing date here are a few things to look out for:

Financing Contingency

How long does your buyer have to get financing? This is very important to know because you don't want to take your property off the market for a long period of time only to find out later that the buyer could not get a mortgage. Typically, 30 days is plenty of time in a normal residential real estate transaction.

Time Periods

Real estate contracts contain alot of calculations in days - 30 days for financing, 10 days for an inspection, etc. How are the time periods computed? Some contract state that days are business days only, some contracts state that time is calculated by calendar days. This can make a big difference. Make sure you know how time is calculated in your contract.

Repairs

Who is going to pay for repairs? Are you, the seller, obligating yourself to make repairs? Some contracts require the seller to repair items up to a certain dollar amount. Tthis amount is typically quoted in terms of percentages of the purchase price. If you are obligating yourself to a 1.5% repair limit on a $1,000,000 home that can be alot of money. Make sure you know what that figure is.

Be aware of how the buyer can cancel the contract if the repairs are too much. If the contract states that the buyer can cancel the agreement if repairs exceed $100 then this allows the buyer to pretty much cancel for any reason. Just about any house can have repairs of more than $100.

In a nutshell, make sure the repair limit is high enough to prevent a buyer from canceling the agreement on tiny repair items and low enough so that you are not obligating yourself to too much money.

Inspectors

Make sure the contract spells out who can do the home inspection. Do you really want the buyers brother in law doing the home inspection? Most contracts state that the inspector has to have some sort of occupational license.

Title/Attorney Fees

Who is going to pay for title or attorney fees to close the transaction. Here in Sarasota county (Florida) the buyer customarily pays for title insurance. Know the customs in your area. These fees can add up.

Escrow Money

How much money should the buyer put in escrow? This amount depends alot on how far off the closing date is. You would obviously want more money for a buyer who plans to close in 90 days than one that wants to close in 2 weeks. Try to make it a painful enough amount of money for the buyer to lose in the event he does not show up at closing.

Can you imagine packing all of your belongings, getting a moving truck, cleaning your property and then find out at the last second the buyer is not going to buy your home? What a pain in the neck. Try to get as much money in escrow as possible.

There is much more to a typical real estate contract than this but these are a few items to definitely look out for.

Marc Rasmussen is a Realtor in Sarasota, Florida. Sarasota Real Estate

Descriptive Terms in Real Estate Ads – Even More Definitions

If you are buying or selling a home, the chances are good you struggle with the meaning of descriptive real estate terms. Here are explanations and definitions for more terms.

“Living Room” & “Family Room”

When a home has both a living room and a family room, we know which is which. It used to be that when an ad mentioned a family room, we could assume it also had a living room. Now some builders are building houses with something akin to the first use of “Great Room” above and calling it the “Family Room” on the floor plan. Thus houses and their terminology seem to be evolving. I suppose in the new builder speak we should just think of the room as an informal family living room.

“Patio” & “Terrace”

Both are outdoor living areas paved with something like slate or brick. A patio is level with the ground around it. A terrace has adjoining areas of ground which are higher, or lower, or perhaps both.

“Solarium,” “Sun Room,” “Florida Room”

These terms are used to describe rooms with lots of windows (often on three sides). Many times these areas also have skylights. The choice of what to call them seems purely personal. They tend to be charming, bright, sunny places in which to over winter plants and sit in the garden in chilly or downright cold weather.

“Jack and Jill Bath”

A bathroom with two doors into it. It is frequently situated between two bedrooms with doors to each. Sometimes the doors are into a bedroom and into a hallway.

“Waterfront” vs. “Water View”

Waterfront property actually has a common boundary with (frontage on) the water. Sometimes the property line actually goes into the water. Water view just means water can be seen from the property. Sometimes there is a beautiful view. Sometimes it means the water can be seen from one upstairs window when the leaves are off the trees! Also, many times a new structure might block the view at some time in the future unless there is a protective covenant or something to prevent it.

If you can get the verbiage down, you’ll be way ahead in the real estate game. Look for future articles on this subject or visit our site to read more terms.

Raynor James is with the FSBO site - http://www.fsboamerica.org
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