What You Don't See Can Drive You Buggy!

If you own a home in the Upstate, then chances are it has or will suffer a termite infestation, and you may not even know about it. Left untreated, your crawlspace, floors, walls, roofing timbers, and more can suffer huge damage in a short amount of time, which can cost you thousands and thousands of dollars. And this damage is NOT covered by your homeowners insurance! You can prevent this headache and huge expense with a simple termite inspection once a year, which will cost you about $100 - cheap at twice the price, when you consider what the consequences could be.

An Official South Carolina Wood Infestation Report, often referred to as a CL-100, is an inspection report that shows the existence (or lack of) of active or previous termite infestations in your home, as well as giving a reading for the moisture content of areas which need attention. When you purchase a home in SC, most lenders require a CL-100 (and treatment, if there is evidence of infestation) before they will give final approval for the loan. So, when you originally closed on your home, it had a CL-100 inspection, and you would have been notified of the results.

Whether your home was free of termites or had been treated when you bought it, it is important to continue scheduling CL-100 inspections over the years. In SC, it's almost a question of "when," rather than "if," your home will suffer an infestation.

One of the most common consumer complaints regarding termite pest control is that the treatment was not done properly, the termites returned, and the company is no longer in business to honor guarantees. That's why it's important to do your homework. Cheapest is not always best and may cost you more in the long run in money and health. Depending on your particular circumstances, there could be several choices of treatment, and some of the safer, more effective products cost more to use. For more information on treatment options and things to look for when choosing a company, check out www.termite.com/south-carolina. If you'd like suggestions, I have a list of companies I recommend to my clients.

So do yourself a favor and put a CL-100 on your yearly "to do" list, along with changing your smoke alarm batteries and getting your cholesterol checked. Promise yourself you won't go buggy in 2012!

Yours in smiles 
Abbey

Posted at 10:06AM Jan 30, 2012 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Secrets of a Successful Listing Agent

Contrary to what much of the public thinks, even in the best of financial times, making a living as a real estate agent is not easy. So many people enter the field, thinking, "Well, I'll do this evenings and weekends. Should be easy." Or "Well, I need to train for some other profession so that I'm earning a good salary. I think I'll be a real estate agent." Months and thousands of dollars later, they drop their license because they've discovered how long-term and difficult the building of a client base and actually making a sale really is. There's a lot of up-front expenses, with no guarantee that you'll recoup them.

When I became an agent, I worked my hiney off, just as all successful agents do. Eighty-hour weeks were not out of the norm. Being on-call 24/7 so I didn't miss a potential client or listing was part of the job. Yes, I knew a lot of people, but all that does is give you a starting place. You've got to sit down and make cold calls and not fear rejection. You've got to follow up on every possibility. You've got to have your ducks in a row: Know your facts about the locales and the markets; speak your spiel without error or hesitation; project your confidence; provide great service; have enough gas in your car to drive to every point in the county and beyond to meet potential customers; and keep your patience in the face of client backpeddling, waffling, or indecision. And then? Keep your fingers crossed that the expenses you incurred pay off in a listing or a sale.

The best decision I ever made was to form a team so that I could have complementary yins to my yang. I'm dynamite at getting my clients' homes listed and sold. I'm less effective - and happy - at taking clients around to look at homes; but my fellow team member and buyer agent is very talented at that side of the equation. I'm also less skilled at all the administrative parameters of the job - from understanding the ins and out of Web sites to keeping up with all the paperwork to marketing the listings and my team through mailings, blogs, and more; having a quick study as my right hand gets all my office issues handled efficiently - and, more importantly - the way I would handle them myself. It took some time to get the right mix of team members - and ones that I fully trusted were on my wavelength - but once it clicked, the team became a well-oiled machine. What used to be angst and agony became second-nature; I could stop fretting and concentrate on building my listings, trusting that everything else was covered.

I have a broad base of satisfied clients; in fact, that's how I get the majority of my listings. Now I can utilize that base to generate business.

I refuse to take a listing just to have my sign in the yard. There has to be a meeting of the minds between the seller and myself: an understanding that I will do my absolute best to sell their home for the most amount of money possible, in the least amount of time, with the least amount of headaches for the seller. What's the biggest warning sign for me? I first want to know that the client actually wants to sell the house, regardless of the market. Today's market, in particular, is a very difficult one for sellers; it's not for the faint of heart.

I come prepared with a well-developed sense of a home's worth, based on my study of the home sales in the area and the market in general. If a client and I cannot agree on a realistic price... if we can't agree that no showings in several weeks means the house is priced too high and needs to be adjusted... then I let them know that perhaps I am not the right agent for them. There's got to be trust on both sides, and if they're hiring me for my expertise, then they need to trust that I'm advising them correctly.

My firm belief: The only way to get an offer is to have people actually looking at the house. The only way to get showings is to have the property priced competitively. The only way to know what your home is truly worth is to get an offer or two - because a property is worth only what people are willing to pay for it. Some sellers can't accept that; they've got a number in their minds that they won't budge from, no matter how unrealistic it may be. I'd rather not pound my head against a brick wall, and so, I may recommend that they interview another agent.

Pass up business? You bet! I work hard and agressively to sell my clients' homes; I expect the sellers to work just as hard and agressively with me. Those sellers who trust in my business savvy and my advice in most cases get their homes sold in weeks, not dragging on into many months or years.

And that's why my broad base of satisfied clients keeps getting bigger. And that's why I have time for a life as well as work. And that's all the secrets I'm going to share with you today! 

In Smiles...  : )
Abbey
www.AbbeyTurner.com
www.TheTurnerTeam.com

Posted at 10:00AM Dec 08, 2011 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Getting to Know Me... Getting to Know All About Me...

Emerson once said, "Finish each day and be done with it. You have done what you could. Some blunders and absurdities no doubt crept in; forget them as soon as you can. Tomorrow is a new day; begin it well and serenely and with too high a spirit to be cumbered with your old nonsense."

Beautiful advice... sometimes very hard to live by.

I try to live as honest a life as I can. I try to always be ethical. I try to treat people as I would like to be treated. I never want to hurt people, either their feelings or their self-worth. It's important to me that others - my friends, my family, my clients, my coworkers - know they can trust me. Yes, I am sometimes brusque, extremely assertive and straight-forward, and I oft times put people off. People don't have to like me; they don't have to want to work with me; but I want them to know they can always trust me to do the right thing - not the most expedient but the most ethical - and to be truthful with them.

I also want them to be honest and truthful and straight-forward with me. Because I hate deceit - probably more than anything else.

I take people at face-value, always expecting the best of them. I (perhaps naively) think they'll treat me with the same truthfulness I treat them. If there's an issue, tell me. Let's see if we can come to some solution. I'm always willing to keep an open mind and work out something that benefits both of us. "Win/Win" is my motto... even my license plate!

So when I discover that someone has intentionally misled me - or out and out lied to me - or tried to pull the wool over my eyes to her own benefit, it's like a kick in the teeth. I'd much rather be told the truth - even if it hurts, whether my feelings or financially - I can then absorb it and get over it. But when I don't get the truth, it gives me a sick feeling that is there every time I think about that person. What had I done or said, that the person felt he needed to blindside me like that? The memory pops up at inconvenient times and brings me down. Because I just can't believe that it happened - and why hadn't I seen it coming?

I want to forgive and forget. I want to finish the day and be done with it, starting fresh with another sunrise. But sometimes the sick feelings linger, eating away at me. I need to find justifications for their actions, answers to my silent cry of "why?" I want to go back in time and make it all right.

It happened to me this week. Perhaps they had a good reason for what they did - I wish they had shared it with me. We could have ended our relationship in friendship, as it started. But they weren't up-front with that reason; instead, they resorted to half-truths and evasion. Yes, I could have legally made them "suffer" for it, but I didn't. I wouldn't do that to someone. It's enough that I am feeling the punch. I can live with that... even though it hurts.

It's a new day. I just need to forget those absurdities and be done with the nonsense.

I'm working on it...

"Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do." -Potter Stewart

Yours in Smiles  : )
Abbey

Posted at 01:12PM Aug 08, 2011 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Don't Go Huntin' Any Swamp Rabbits on This Trail!

Upstate South Carolina can carve another notch in its belt for proving once again what a desirable place it is to live! From a fantastic renovated Downtown that has something for every age group and that includes an incredible park system, professional baseball stadium, arena, theater with Broadway productions and international artists; to a land of shining lakes and flowing rivers, mountain trails and waterfalls... the list could go on and on - there are a thousand reasons why we've chosen to call it home. And now, there's still more to love about the Upstate!

If you haven't yet tried the 13.5-mile Greenville Hospital System's Swamp Rabbit Trail linking Travelers Rest with Downtown Greenville, you're missing out on a great benefit of living in the area! My husband and I try to get out at least once a week with our bikes. But whether you're a two-wheeler, a walker, or a runner - or if you're just a tired Mom wanting to give the kids a place to blow off steam - the Trail is easy to access and a great place to get some fresh air and exercise, as well as meet a variety of interesting and smiling people!

You can access the greenway just about anywhere along the trail. If you're driving in, there is even parking available at certain points. Depending on where you are on the Swamp Rabbit, you might stop for a mocha at Leopard Forest Coffee Co. (www.leopardforestcoffee.com/), meander through neighborhoods, or have a snack on the deck overlooking the Trail at The Cafe at Williams Hardware (www.cafeatwilliamshardware.com/); take a detour to enjoy Furman University's lake and trails; or stop after crossing the Reedy River for a cool drink at any one of a myriad of Downtown places. Every mile has something different and enjoyable to offer.

There are plans that include 5 major green corridors and 128 miles of greenway, of which The Swamp Rabbit Trail is just the tip of the iceberg. The other spokes will fan out from a central point in Greenville towards Greer/Spartanburg, Simpsonville/Fountain Inn, Verdae/Clemson ICAR, and Paris Mountain. They're also thinking about possibly extending the Swamp Rabbit Trail all the way to North Carolina. For more information on future plans or to check out a map of the present Trail, go to http://greenvillerec.com/2010/03/05/greenways-in-greenville-the-big-picture/. This greenway development is sure-as-shootin' going to become another selling point for why the Upstate is such a great area to live, grow, and raise a family!

While it's estimated that all trails will not be completed until 2014, you can certainly enjoy each mile as it opens. I'll be hunting for you soon on the beautiful Swamp Rabbit Trail! Healthy trails to you!

Yours in smiles  : )
Abbey

Posted at 09:42AM Jul 11, 2011 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

"If You Think Hiring a Professional Is Expensive...

...wait till you hire an amateur." - Red Adair

Being a professional Real Estate Agent is not a Las Vegas vacation, having fun in the sun while you rake in the money. It's hard mental and physical work, especially in today's market. The best of us keep ourselves educated and knowledgeable in our local market trends and best practices. We give our best professional opinions on realistic pricing and then take a beating from some sellers with preconceived notions of home values that are grossly overestimated in today's market. We serve as the middleman for buyers who unintentionally insult or frustrate sellers with their lowball offers. We support our sellers and buyers in fights with lenders in long, drawn-out short sale situations. We put our money where our mouth is, promoting properties using our own cash and then hoping for the best. It's definitely not a get-rich-quick profession.

Realtors are, in effect, gamblers. They take a listing and place a bet that the time and money they spend on promoting the property will bring in winnings; or they take on a buyer and gamble with their time and fuel that, eventually, that buyer will purchase a property. Some agents are timid or close-fisted and refuse to place much of a bet; they don't share (or don't have much) real estate advice with their sellers, and their listings don't get marketed anywhere but the MLS. Other bigger-picture or knowledgeable Realtors can spend a fortune in time - educating their sellers or buyers; and in cash - on hours of driving to showings or for online and print advertising, trying to capture not only fellow agents' attention but buyers searching for themselves. It's a delicate balance of knowing when to hold and when to fold.

Oftimes the big gambles pay off: The agents pour out blood, sweat, tears, and all their market knowledge and experience to their sellers or buyers; the transaction happens, and the Realtors get their commissions. But many times, those same Realtors get zilch return on their bet.

Every time a Realtor enters into an agreement with a buyer or a seller, it's a gamble he or she may lose.

I recently withdrew the listing to the last home in a small development that had slowly been going under, home by home, to foreclosure - homes I had been marketing and trying to sell for 2 years. The retired gentleman who originally conceived of and starting building the subdivision had unfortunately done so just as the real estate bubble burst in 2008. He put everything into the project and has watched his dreams and cash die away, month by month. We had finally - after months and months - gotten a short sale offer approved on the final home he had left, only to discover that there were so many liens against him that this one home would never get through closing.

I spent 2 years of effort and thousands of dollars putting these homes in front of consumers and other agents. They've appeared on hundreds of Websites, in TV advertising, in mailers and magazine ads and marketing newsletters. As with most agents, I got nothing up front to help pay for this exposure. And I get nothing now that they've all been foreclosed on and the contracts are dead. It's a gamble I lost.

On the flip side of the coin, one of my Team's Buyer Agents has spent months showing properties to a potential buyer, who is obviously not impatient to buy. She's spent not only days and days of her time but also a lot of fuel driving to showings. Luckily for her, the buyer finally found the home he wants. Her gamble is finally paying off.

And so the story goes. It's a story that's being played out in every city and state in this country, by Realtors everywhere.

So when you are ready to buy or sell a home, remember that Realtors are licensed professionals, and you're hiring them for their knowledge and service. We're not out to hoodwink you, cheat you, or take advantage of you. We are educated and trained to represent you in a real estate transaction.

Some Realtors are better trained and educated than others. Some are more willing to place a bigger bet than others. Just like hiring any professional - doctor, inspector, or tax preparer - do your homework and get the right agent for your needs. Then trust him or her and the professional advice they bring. It's definitely worth the gamble.

Yours in smiles  : )
Abbey

Posted at 10:37AM Jun 24, 2011 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Home Values Are in the Eye of the Beholders (aka Buyers)

All Realtors have clients who are resistant to reducing the price on their homes because they feel the property is worth much more - "I paid more than that for this house!" or "I've put in $X in remodeling /improvements since I bought it!" or "I'm not going to lose all my equity and give away my home!"

Before 2008, that thinking worked; home values were appreciating, and sellers could get a nice return on major improvements or with keeping a house for 5 years and then selling. However, it doesn't fly in today's market.

Posted at 01:44PM Jun 09, 2011 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Greenville Real Estate Takes a Licking and Keeps on Ticking

Posted at 02:07PM Mar 17, 2011 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Test-Driving a Listing Is a Bad Idea

Real estate has been hit hard in this economy. Homeowners have watched their home values plummet. If you're thinking about selling your home, you need to firmly decide that's what needs to be done: it's definitely not the time for test-driving a listing. Either put the pedal to the metal to sell it now because you have to, or decide to stay in pit row for the next few years.

If you're going to list it, then you need to list it to sell. That means:

1) ...hiring a Realtor who does the math of comparable home sales in your area and gives you realistic advice about the price. You don't want a Realtor who just wants their sign in your yard to get more leads, who goes along with your price suggestion because it's what the other homes in your neighborhood are priced at (if those homes were priced right to begin with, they would already have sold; since they haven't yet sold, they must be priced too high).

2) ...pricing it right.

3) ...hiring a Realtor who advises you to drop your price if you haven't had any potential buyers or offers in 2-3 weeks... and does it again and again until you hit the "right," saleable price and have serious buyers. The idea is to be the first one on the block to sell, not the last. Because days on the market does affect your home's salability - you want to hit that checkered flag at the finish line as quickly as possible.

4) ...forgetting what you paid for it or how much you put into it or how much you still owe on it. If you need to get out of that home by selling it, then all that thinking goes out the window.

From all the research I've done and the classes I've attended, homeowners are going to see their homes drop in price, to the tune of 10% per year, until 2012. Every month that you don't sell your listed home, you're losing .83% of its value. If you list your home right now and it is worth $185,000, it will have lost $18,500 in value by this time next year. It will lose $1,542 in value just by next month. Why?

Remember the "little" issue of the foreclosure debacle? Well, that "shadow market" of over ONE MILLION foreclosed homes are going to hit the listings. People expect to get great bargains when snapping them up. That's great for those buyers... and horrible for a seller. Every time a foreclosed home sells in your area, it drives your property values down. Your home is worth less.

No foreclosures in your area, you say? Well, you don't really know how many of your neighbors are behind in their payments or are already facing foreclosure. You don't know if a builder is going to come in and undercut present home values by developing lesser quality homes. So you really don't know how much your specific neighborhood or town will suffer in the months ahead. You can only control the here and now. You don't want to get stuck at the back of the pack. So stomp on that gas pedal and sell it with the idea of losing as little time, value, and money as possible.

If you've decided to sit tight and stay in place during this "yellow flag" period in real estate, you can know that eventually, things will right themselves. By this time in 2012, the glut on the home market will hit bottom, and we will start slowly building up speed again. By 2015, we should be cruising back at today's prices. And by 2016, we will finally start racing towards an increase in the value of our homes.

At that point, it will be safe to get back out on the track and test-drive that powerful machine called real estate.

Yours in smiles, : )

Abbey

Posted at 12:02PM Nov 23, 2010 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Don't Strike Out with Your Appraiser

It's no secret: Home values are governed by buyers, not sellers. A home is worth what a buyer will pay for it.

One of the best ways to discover what a buyer may be willing to pay for it is to have an appraisal done. Using comparable properties that have already sold, a good appraiser can give his educated opinion on what the property is worth on the market at that given time; that doesn't necessarily mean it's what a buyer will pay, but it's one of the closest ways we've got to get a reasonable price set. And no, you shouldn't be using homes presently on the market as your comparables - since they're still on the market, obviously they're not at a price point that a buyer will pay.

For many of my clients, I advise having an appraisal done on their home before we list it. Yes, it means the seller is paying out of pocket for it instead of waiting for one done for a closing. So why would I recommend this step?

1) Because an appraiser looks at comparable home sales in the area in order to come up with a value, it provides the seller a ballpark price for listing.

2) Because we provide the appraisal online for buyer agents, their clients know what a realistic offer would be and what the house is really worth, compared to similar properties in the area that have already sold.

3) Because it gives the seller backup documentation should the lender's appraiser comes back with an appraisal that totally misses the ball park.

Does #3 really happen? Oh, yes, it unfortunately does because there are idiots in every profession, including appraisers. Last evening I found out that one of my U/C listings was appraised at $60,000 less than the selling price! And $70,000 less than the appraisal done 3 months before! Had the house really depreciated so much in 3 months? I think not!

So I looked at the comparables this second appraiser used. Hmmm... nothing closer than 14 miles away! Some as far away as 30 miles away! In an area that has plenty of comparables within 2-5 miles! What was this guy thinking? Instead of a line drive, he hit a pop-up that bounced around the entire field, then he claimed a home run by filing it. So now the seller and buyer have to go through the aggravation and time to challenge the call.

Moral of the story: When you have an appraisal done on your home in order to sell it, make sure you get a heavy hitter: someone who is highly experienced, qualified and recommended. Because you never know when you'll have to use instant replay to determine who really scored at home plate.

Yours in smiles,  : )

Abbey

Posted at 01:03PM Nov 19, 2010 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Home Pricing and Stale Bread

So, here I am, flat on my back with pneumonia, and my thoughts are spinning. Too much to do, and all I can manage is a short burst of energy to make a phone call to a client before resting again. What's on my mind specifically? Pricing and stale bread.

In today's market especially, pricing is the most important thing to consider if you are really motivated to sell your home. It's not good enough to look at what you paid or how much you spent on the remodel or that you just redid your landscaping. It doesn't matter what an appraiser for your refinancing priced its value at. It's not even good enough to look at the price on your neighbor's house and price yours the same; in fact, that may even harm you!  Because people naturally compare the homes they view.

People looking to buy nowadays are looking for a "move-in ready" bargain. The price you set on your home means either people don't even bother to view it because it's priced above their limit, or they DO visit your home because the price is within their means.

But once you do get those people in the door, how is your home going to compare to all the other houses they've seen? If they can get bigger or newer or cleaner or more updated or more loaded for close to the same amount as you're asking, they're going to cross your home off their list of possibilities pretty darn fast. They naturally want the most bang for the buck.

When you put your house on the market, you should be pricing it at the level of what comparable houses have already sold for, NOT at the level of all of those presently on the market with yours. None of those have sold yet, so why do you think yours will?

Statistically, the quicker your house goes under contract after listing it, the higher the sale price is. If it hasn't gotten at least one serious offer in the first two weeks, when it's fresh, then it's probably priced too high for buyers to even want to consider an offer without offending you. And as the weeks go by, your house becomes more and more like days-old bread in the bakery, less and less attractive.

A great Realtor should watch the market closely, see what presently on the market, what sells and doesn't sell, and then should advise you on what you realistically can expect to get for your home. A great Realtor isn't going to easily let you set your price too high, and he or she certainly should advise you to reduce the price every couple of weeks, especially if you're not attracting any prospective buyers or if the feedback is negative.

Prospective buyers may say that the yard isn't large enough, or the colors in the house are not their colors, or that they want a custom-built house. But all of those comments come back to... price. If the price is attractive, they'll not be so bothered by the yard size. If the price is right, they'll think to themselves, "Well, maybe I can live with those colors." If the price is compelling, they'll overlook the fact that it isn't custom-built, because it's such a great house for the price.

Pricing is really controlled by the buyers out there, not the sellers. If you are seriously motivated to sell your home, you need to objectively consider: What is my home really worth to someone, warts and all? And price accordingly.

Yours in Smiles,
Abbey

Posted at 08:20PM Oct 08, 2010 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

A Short Sale by Any Other Name...

...would still be a long, drawn-out process. The "short" in the terminology Short Sale does not refer to the time frame it takes place in.

When a homeowner falls behind on mortgage payments, the bank has the right to try to recover the debt. If a repayment plan cannot be worked out and there are no other options, the bank can lay claim to the property by foreclosure - which means the previous owner is evicted. Once a property is foreclosed, it typically is put up for auction. If a property doesn't sell at auction, it becomes the lender's property and is marketed and sold. This means that the bank is incurring a lot of extra expense to recover its money or take a huge hit.

One answer to a foreclosure is for the owner to apply to the lender for permission to "short sell" his home. When a few mortgage payments have been missed, and it's determined that there is little chance of being able to pay off the missed payments plus resume making payments, the owner can ask to sell the property for less than is owed on the mortgage. The incentive for the bank is to recover some of the monies owed and not have to go to the bother and expense of foreclosure. If the bank approves, the property is marketed to prospective buyers as a short sale.

While you might get an incredible deal, buying property on a short sale requires a LOT of patience. There's a huge amount of red tape - paperwork galore has to make its way up the ladder in the bank, from someone gathering everything needed, to a negotiator who reviews it all and makes recommendations, through to the desk of "the buck stops here." Rarely do you get any feedback during any of these steps, other than perhaps learning where in the process your offer lies.

If you have the time and decide to pursue a home on a short sale, keep these items in mind:

1) You probably won't get to negotiate - make your best offer the first time. The lender may or may not make a counteroffer, depending on its policies. Your offer could be accepted or just declined with no explanation.

2) You're usually buying the property "as is." If the owner is already having a problem meeting his mortgage payments, he's not going to have extra cash lying around to do repairs.

3) You're going to have to wait several weeks - or perhaps months - for everything to work out. Once the offer has been accepted by the bank, you still have to go through the normal steps of buying a home: appraisal, inspections, loan approval... add another month or more to the process.

4) A stubborn and persistent Realtor can make a difference. I recently got an offer accepted on one of my short sale listings, and I provided a tremendous amount of material to back up our claims that the bank's idea of an acceptable price was not realistic in today's market. After looking at all the comparisons and lack of sales in the area, the time frame of the listing with increasingly lower prices, and the lack of buyer interest until the very end, I finally convinced them to see the reality of where we stood. They accepted the offer.

And the owner and I have a big sigh of relief. Not closed yet, but one step closer.

Yours in smiles,
Abbey   : )

Posted at 11:25AM Oct 01, 2010 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]

Thinking of Selling Your Home Without a Realtor?

In today's market, if you're thinking of selling your home without the assistance of a Realtor, you should probably think again!

The average seller doesn't realize all the headaches of trying to sell a home yourself that may pop up. Consider:

1) DO YOU WANT TO BE RESPONSIBLE for being on-call 24/7 to take calls on your house? For making appointments, being stood up, being approached by strangers knocking on your door at all hours who want to view your home?

Realtors use appointment centers to handle the calls from agents who want to show your home and then make appointments to view. Those same centers request feedback from the prospective buyer, which is forwarded to you. Many Realtors also have recorded messages describing your home, with the phone number listed on your sign.

2) DO YOU REALLY WANT TO TRUST STRANGERS IN YOUR HOME to wander around, opening your closets and drawers and cupboards and storage spaces... and more importantly, taking note of all your possessions? Are these potential buyers really buyers? Or are they scoping out if your belongings are easy pickings?

A responsible Realtor vets his or her clients. A Buyer's Agent requires that the client sign a contract. Many require that a buyer have a preapproved credit letter from a lender for buying a home. They've done some research, and they can be pretty sure that they're working with a qualified buyer.

3)  DO YOU REALLY KNOW HOW TO PRICE YOUR HOME TO ATTRACT BUYERS?  Most homeowners overestimate the value of their homes. What you originally paid, what you wish to make, what you invested in it - none of those really impact the sales price of a house. What the buyer will pay is the only important factor. Some things may make a home more attractive to a buyer; but in the end, buyers in today's market want it as inexpensive as possible, and hassle-free.

An experienced and knowledgeable Realtor knows what a buyer will pay in any given market. He can utilize a CMA to evaluate the value of your property compared to homes in the surrounding area. Her day-in, day-out exposure to the housing market makes her invaluable in correctly pricing your home. He can spot those items that might be a detriment to a quick sale: the wallpaper you absolutely love, the worn carpet you never got around to replacing, your teenager's black gloss walls... She can give you important input on easy and inexpensive changes that will make your home more attractive to a potential buyer - and how to price it accordingly.

4) HOW ARE YOU GOING TO MARKET YOUR HOME? Without a robust marketing plan, your home will not be seen by prospective buyers and can take much longer to sell. Yes, you can make a Web site... but how will people find it? Yes, you can put flyers outside on the sign... which will most likely be taken by your neighbors, who want to know how much you're selling your house for. Yes, you can list it on Craig's List... refer to #2.

Realtors utilize a myriad of marketing venues and provide great exposure on Internet sites available only to them. If they're smart, they're using tools that spread the word of their listings on hundreds of sites. They make slide shows and videos and post them on the Web. And in today's world, online listings are the way to go. But they don't stop there. They have their home photos taken by professional photographers. They use staging agents. They utilize print, from Just Listed postcards and newsletters to brochures. Some hold Realtor Open Houses, to make area agents knowledgeable about your home.

5) WOULD YOU CONSIDER BEING YOUR OWN DEFENSE ATTORNEY IN A COURT OF LAW? Probably not; you'd want a trained professional who has your best interests at heart. Well, if you sell your home on your own, you'll be dealing with contract law and addendums and disclosures and lawyers. Good luck in representing yourself.

Realtors have the training and experience to not only assist in negotiating the price and terms of a contract but also to navigate the legal intricacies of buying or selling.

If you have an effective and knowledgeable Realtor representing you, it is worth every penny you pay them in commission because of their advice and guidance in pricing, preparing and showing your home, negotiating the contract, and in the sale and closing. Why would you waste your precious time doing it any other way?

Yours in Smiles,
Abbey

Posted at 02:50PM Sep 24, 2010 by Abbey Turner in Real Estate  |  Comments[0]