Dec
19
Buying a Denver Home online
Filed Under colorado, real estate | Leave a Comment
If you know what Redfin is all about, this article, Buying or selling a home? Forget the traditional realtor may intrigue you:
The Internet is increasingly taking on the duties once performed by real estate agents. And while no one - yet - is suggesting that it’s a good idea to buy a house over the Internet sight unseen, a new business model is emerging that takes advantage of the convenience of Internet shopping.
80% of all home searches start on the internet. So it’s no surprise that companies are using the internet to transform the way they buy and sell real estate.
More on online home buying:
Buyers and sellers can save thousands on sales commissions and through rebates using online real estate agencies, such as Real-a-Save:
FOR A BUYER
- Home sales price: $300,000
- Traditional 2.8% buyer’s agent commission: $8,400
- 66% Rebate Real-a-Save clients would receive: $5,400
FOR A SELLER
- Home sales price: $300,000
- Typical 3.2% sales commission: $9,600
- Real-a-Save’s standard sales commission: $2,500
- Savings: $7,100.
It’s really too soon to tell whether or not online real estate brokerages will be around or just another passing fad. If you talk to most people they love the idea but would prefer to stick to using a real estate agent no matter how much they despise agents. Why do people despise agents? Same reason people despise the government - a lot of upfront promises, not much after that. The internet won’t solve that problem.
Jan
1
There are several factors that may play into affect when you decide to sell your home.
- You will need to decide if you want to sell it on your own (For Sale By Owner) or if you would like to use a real estate professional.
- The real estate professional often times will be able to sell your home faster than what you would be able to do on your own. The agent will have access to MLS, as well as customized marketing tools for your property. Also, the agent will do the open houses, which will free up more time for you.
- The real estate agent will take care of all the paperwork that needs to be done when you sell your home. They will write the offer to purchase, any counteroffers or amendments to the offer, and order the title. Basically, they will walk you through each step to selling your home.
- A key benefit to having a listing agent is marketing of your home. When selling your home, the only way to get people to consider your home is through the effective marketing of your homes qualities. A listing agent will provide all the marketing of your home which will drive potential buyers who are looking for houses with the qualities of the home you are selling.
- When talking to a real estate agent, you must realize that they are conduits to the Multiple Listing Service or MLS. The vast majority of homes are sold using this service.
- Real estate agents have experience and training in several areas that most individuals selling their homes “For Sale By Owner” do not. These include negotiation; understanding and reading contracts; understanding titles, appraisals, surveys and inspection reports; presenting or “staging” a home for showings; marketing; valuation and sales trends; pre-qualifying prospects; and more.
- If you are an avid investor, it is important to note that many States set limits on the number of real estate transactions a person can do without the aid of a real estate agent.
- While many home owners chose to go the route of For Sale By Owner, more than half of these seller end up signing with a Realtor after finding out the work that is involved in the process.
- Real estate agents have no incentive to show sell homes that are not listed, because they only get commissions from sellers of listed home. Since most home buyers use real estate agents to find homes, those who do not hire an agent to sell may have a difficult time finding qualified buyers in a cooled-off real estate market.
- The real estate agent that will sell your home is called a listing agent. They will “list” that your home is for sale, and do everything that they can to find you a buyer.
- If you are thinking of purchasing a home right away as well, you may want to contact a mortgage professional to get pre-approved before your home goes up for sale. Besides pre-approving you, your mortgage broker can give you a list of trusted real estate agents, that can you help you.
- Another benefit to have a listing agent sell your home for you is the legal aspect. It is the agents responsibility to protect you the seller such as in the event that a buyer backs out or defaults on the contract, who will pay for things such as title, if it is in your best interest to accept or deny an offer ampersand to let you know who should pay for repairs if there are any.
- When you sell your home with the help of an agent you gain the benefit protection. The agent is there to protect you. They protect you from wasting your time. They protect you from homeowners who don’t qualify. This of course has a cost.
- Ask your real estate agent if he or she works with one or more mortgage professionals on a regular basis. Problems with a potential buyer obtaining financing are the biggest reason for real estate purchase offers not closing. Or, if you have a mortgage professional first, have him or her recommend a highly qualified and skilled real estate agent.
- The fact remains that when you list your home with a quality real estate agent your home will be exposed to the maximum number of other realtors. Since the realtors really control the buyer pools this means your home will in turn be exposed to the maximum potential qualified buyers. This usually serves to get your home sold the quickest and for the best price.
- Nine out of ten home buyers use a real estate agent in the search process. 77% of the buyers also used the internet to search for a home. Realtors have invested a lot of time and money in building information technology, and because of these efforts, more consumers are using the internet in their home search. Realtor.com was the most popular internet resource, used by 54% of buyers, followed by MLS websites and real estate company websites. The most important factor in choosing an agent was reputation, according to 41% of home buyers. In terms of desired qualities in an agent, three categories were rated as very important by more than nine out of ten buyers: Knowledge of the purchase process, responsiveness and knowledge of the market. Satisfaction with real estate agents is very high, with 85% of buyers saying they were likely to use the agent again.
- There are a lot of discount brokers that will sell your house for less then the standard 6% commission. You should be able to find one local to your area and benefit from there cheaper services.
Jan
1
For Sale By Owner Tips
Filed Under mortgage | Leave a Comment
Tips for your Open House:
- Clean up the inside of your home. Try and remove the clutter and make your home open and welcoming, people coming through will want to pen every closed and look behind every door. Turn on all the lights and replace any low watt bulbs with higher watt bulbs. You may want to consider a fresh coat of paint.
- Bake some cookies or get a sweet smelling candle (they do have cookie scented candles). Have fresh flowers in your kitchen and/or dining room.
- See if you can get some free flyers, recently sold properties in your area and the price, loan comparison forms based on your property and asking price. A mortgage broker can help you with some of these forms. Have your own flyers ready with your home’s information (look online at another home’s listing and make sure you covered all the bases). Check and see what your state required disclosures are and have them available, Home owners disclosure, lead based paint disclosure, property condition reports, etc.
- Freshen up any landscaping; a fresh layer of mulch can make a huge improvement in appearance. Sweep up walk ways and your drive way, and remove any eye sores or clutter.
- Put on your best. It is time for your best outfit, even if it is football Sunday sweat pants and your favorite team’s jersey is not appropriate. Put on your best smile and be friendly, pretend every person you meet just offered you 25% over your asking price as a cash offer.
- Ask questions. Some people will want the grand tour and some people will just want to be left alone to poke around. Be accommodating and help those who want it.
Always answer any questions honestly. If there is an ugly patch of carpet where your dog chewed up an ink pen, let the prospective buyers know. If the roof leaks in the spring, but it’s now summer and you’ve painted over the stain, tell the prospect. Anything you misrepresent can and probably will be used against you. And of course, you would want the same honesty when you purchase.
Remember to be willing to show your home a lot. In the end its well worth it.
Lots of Mortgage Brokers have a call capture number that comes along with an attention getting sign like 100 Percent Financing. Call for 24 hour Recorded Message that they can lend you to help manage and up the traffic on calls. They automatically capture the number of the caller like caller ID and can have it sent real time by email and text message to the seller and broker for quick prequalification.
Probably the most critical component to the success or failure of a For Sale By Owner is the asking price. It must be high enough so the seller doesn’t do all the work for nothing, yet pricing too high will make it hard to generate interest in the property. Many Realtors will perform a Comparative Market Analysis even though they are not going to be listing the home for sale. They do this because they feel the seller may let the Realtor represent them on the purchase of the seller’s next home. The CMA can prove very valuable in helping the seller determine a proper asking price.
One way to prevent potential litigation for a problem you were unaware of is to hire an inspector to go through your home before you list it. That way, there will be no nasty surprises years later when the new owners discover something that began while you owned it–but didn’t disclose. You don’t have necessarily have to fix the problems, but you do have to disclose their existence.
The National Association of REALTORS estimates that nationwide thirteen percent of real estate sales are done without any involvement from an agent or broker
Be sure and take a look at local and national FSBO companies. Many can get your home listed on the MLS system for a very small fee and provide you with the documents and information you need to do the job yourself. Plus you get the added bonus of also being featured on there website. You may also want to have open house attendee’s sign a guest book with there contact information so you can follow up with them at a later date.
Most important…make sure your house is CLEAN! Potential buyers don’t want to see an inch of dust on the baseboards. If your house looks dirty, who’s to say the upkeep and necessary maintenance have been done.
The kitchen is the single most important room that sells the house. Create a spacious feeling in the kitchen by putting away small appliances, such as microwave oven, toaster, and blender. Also be sure the kitchen counter is free of personal mails, magazines and newspapers.
There can be a great win-win situation created for a FSBO and Mortgage Broker working together where the Broker is taking the phone calls for you. The Broker can determine rather quickly rather a potential buyer would be waste of time for the owner of the property by pulling credit and assessing their potential for obtaining a mortgage.
A mortgage professional can often times help you sell your home faster, by providing free marketing, and even potential qualified buyers.
Disqualifying prospective buyers on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, handicap, family status, or national origin is illegal. Discrimination can get you into a heap of legal trouble and can cost you big bucks. If in doubt, check with the Equal Housing Opportunity agency in your area.
You are attempting to sell your home yourself to avoid paying several thousand dollars in commissions. Be willing to spend some of that on advertising. Remember your home is competing for attention with those listed by real estate agents and they are putting ads in homes magazines, mailing out flyers, etc. A small 4 or 5 line ad once a week will most likely not get the job done. Establish a budget that will realistically promote the sale of your home.
Check with a title company for a FSBO kit. Many of them will provide them at no cost to encourage the seller to use them to close the loan. The kit will have a purchase agreement and other helpful information.
One effective way to get a win-win is to help someone with no down payment money on a For Sale By Owner home. The seller is more likely to agree to seller concessions when they know they are saving the realtor commission. If you find a 100% loan for the buyer and the seller will agree to 6% seller concessions, the broker can get a fair commission for playing real estate agent and directing the parties to a good title company or attorney to help with contracts and closing. This is often considerably cheaper than FHA because FHA has the mandatory up front PMI of 1.5% although the interest rate may be a little higher than the FHA rate. You might also ask your mortgage broker about companies that offer to have the PMI added to the interest rate where it is tax deductible, or have them do an 80/20 loan to avoid MI altogether.
Work with a qualified mortgage professional. It cost you nothing, yet they will help you tremendously. A mortgage professional working for the seller should pre qualify anyone who shows an interest in your home - even those who say they are already pre-qualified. This can save you countless hours of frustration dealing with people who are not qualified to purchase your home.
Finding a mortgage professional to work with in your for sale by owner listing can help you a lot. They can make flyers for your home giving different payments and scenarios for potential buyers.
Remember less is more and that also means the furniture in your home, areas that have to much furniture will appear smaller in size than reality. Remove to many personal items so potential buyers can see there own stuff fitting right in. Burn a candle to make your home smell fresh and inviting.
Jan
1
Commission
Filed Under mortgage | Leave a Comment
An amount, usually a percentage of the property sales price, that is collected by a real estate professional as a fee for negotiating the transaction.
No one should be afraid or feel unwilling to pay another commissions or fees for rendering services. Any person involved in the home purchase/refinance process could be paid on commission meaning they are taking the risk in working with an individual in anticipation of being paid only when the home transaction closes and funds. What an individual should be wary of are of those that seem to constantly change their fees and quotes. The home buyer/borrower should always get the fees for the services they are soliciting in writing. If the terms of the transaction changes, such as employment or credit rating of the borrower, the home loan product, or eligibility of a borrower for a particular loan type, the home buyer/borrower should be flexible with change in the cost of fees to their broker. However, any changes in fees and services should always be forthcoming, prompt, and full disclosure.
Mortgage professionals generally earn commissions in one or both of the following two ways. First, they may charge you an amount, called a loan origination fee. Second, they may receive an amount from the lender directly. The lender will allow the broker to raise your interest rate, and the lender will then pay the broker a percentage of your loan amount. Although all mortgage professionals charge a different amount, most will charge around 2% of the loan amount. Depending on your situation, you may pay more or less.
Commissions collected by realtors and loan officers are only paid out when a house is sold and/or the loan funds.
The majority of sales people earn commissions for what they do ampersand there are a lot of sales people involved in a home purchase. Loan officers, Realtors, title representatives, attorneys, escrow representative, and representatives for pest companies, home warranty companies, home inspection companies, insurance agents, and more. The commissions are paid from the charges paid by the seller or buyer in the purchase transaction. Realtors generally earn the largest commissions, followed by lenders, then the others.
Homeowners may try sell their homes themselves, without a real estate agent in an attempt to avoid having to pay a commission. On the surface of course, this seems like a logical move, however, real estate professionals will cite statistics that show that For Sale By Owner properties are often discounted must more off the listing price than those sold by agents. Those statistics would suggest that it pays homeowners to use a real estate agent and pay a commission.
Other sites: Loan Officer | Negative Amortization | 1003 The Loan Application | Why choose a mortgage Broker | Mortgage banker | Delinquency| Pay Option Arm Calculator