Saturday, June 29, 2013
Wednesday, June 26, 2013
Real Estate Code of Ethics 1-3
First of all, let me start out by saying I am not a lawyer, nor did I have anything to do with writing any part of the Realtor Code of Ethics. This blog, and those to follow, are simply my interpretation and opinion of the part of the code of ethics being discussed. If you want professional legal advice you should seek that elsewhere.
Section 1-3 of the Real Estate Code of Ethics is as follows, “Realtors, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value.“ We do not get very far into the Real Estate code of Ethics before we understand that there have been some unethical practices going on. Why else, after all, would a need for such a document arise?
At some point in the past a not so wise Realtor found out that he or she could obtain more listings simply by telling their potential clients that their home was worth more than it actually was. No doubt the uninformed client became very excited, especially since those “other” Realtors did not even come close to the market value that this (not so wise) Realtor had come up with. The listing agreement was signed with anticipation and joy. All was well, or at least the seller(s) thought.
Six months have now passed since that (now dark day) day of contractual signing. Funny as Mr. or Mrs. Realtor have barely been heard from since that day. Their promises of quick selling time for more money than any other Realtor could produce have now been exposed for the flat out lies that they were. Fortunately for our sellers they will soon be able to re-list their home. Hopefully this time with an honest Realtor. Unfortunately their market as been on a down swing and six months of having not sold their home has now lost them thousands of dollars. They (deep down inside) knew the words of their listing agent were to good to be true, but alas greed got the best of them. If they had only listed with one of those honest Realtors. There home most likely would have sold for more $$ than they will now be able to get and they could be in that newer home by now. Hopefully, they will not make the same mistake again.
Unfortunately, our former story is probably played out far to often. A Realtor pads the market price simply to get a potential client to list with them. Months past, the client does not want to reduce the price (After all the Realtor said it was worth “X”.) The home does not sale, the clients become frustrated, money is lost and a reputation in the neighborhood is tarnished.
If you are selling your home or planning too, please take this out of this article. A Realtor who is brutally honest is far better than one who lies to you from the start. I understand that you want more money for your home. I understand that you “need” all the money you can get. What you need to understand is that it is better to get what your home is worth than no $$ at all.
Remember the old adage, “If it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.” As a seller what you need out of your Realtor more than anything else is honesty. If they are lying to you from the start and if the only way they can obtain your listing is to lie about the facts than you may be in for a long six months. Deal with reality not dreams. You will be much happier if you do.
Looking for a Realtor? Contact Shayne at: 623-853-6644
Real Estate Code of Ethics 1-3
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Real Estate Social Media SEO and More
I will be doing a series of videos for Realtors and/or small businesses/new bloggers covering a variety of topics including Social Media, SEO and more.
Real Estate Social Media SEO and More
Wednesday, June 19, 2013
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Part # 3
How can I help you as a For Sale by Owner sell your home? Here are just a few ways.
1. Experience: I have listed and sold almost 500 homes in the West Valley. Many of them were for sale by owner or expired listing homes. Very few have been the homes that I have not sold (ya, even the best Realtors do not sell everything.) Besides that, I have had many different circumstances arise and have worked through them. How much easier will the sale of your home be with an experienced agent.
2. Knowledge: I will know the value of your home based on my research of market data 
and will be able to negotiate on your behalf with those facts in mind. I know the general “feel” of the market as well. I have a lot of Realtor friends and I keep “up” on what is going on out there.
3. Know how: I will meet with you and will walk through your home and give you straight forward advice as to what needs to be done to sell your home. This part may hurt a bit but remember so does surgery to remove a tumor. Some things I will mention here I almost guarantee you would have never thought of. If you are willing to hear me out you probably also need to start packing.
4. Focus: Keep your goal in mind (bigger home, smaller home, new neighborhood etc.) Many obstacles may need to be overcome. I am sure I have not dealt with all of them but I know I have dealt with many of them time and time again, we will get through it all.
5. Marketing: I have an extensive Internet marketing campaign that I will use to market your home. I do not use just one avenue (Craigslist) (Facebook) to market your home. I use many. Plus I have access to an office of hundreds of agents (many of whom have buyers) that will hear about your home.
6. Passion: If I did not enjoy what I do I would do something else. I am “Passionate about your move.” It is what I do, its what makes me tick, it drives me and I try to do it well. It is nothing for me to be working at 10 at night, I am just crazy like that.
NAR statistics show that only 9% of Real Estate Sales in 2012 were made by For Sale by Owners. 80% of For Sale by owners will eventually list with an agent. In 2012 the average FSBO home sold for $174,900, while the average home sold with an agent sold for $215,000. Ready to talk? 623-853-6644
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Part # 3
Wednesday, June 12, 2013
Why I don't need to live in your neighborhood to sell your home.
This is often the argument some sellers want to use for not listing their home with me or for that matter any agent that does not “live” in their neighborhood. Now, living in a seller’s neighborhood is normally not a bad thing, as one would hopefully know a bit more about the homes and the area, at least initially. However, those are things that any diligent Realtor can quickly and easily learn.
The truth of the matter is, if every Realtor were required to live in an area where he/she sold homes they would only sell 1-4 homes per year, maybe. So how do the productive agents do it? How do they manage to sell hundreds of homes each year without actually living in each and every area where they sell homes?
First off, those agents have learned to sell homes in any area and in any market. That is far more important to you as a seller than that an agent live in your neighborhood. What if an agent lives in your neighborhood but doesn’t have a clue how to sell your home? Some help that is. Top agents know how to sell and that is what you, as the seller, need.
Second, top agents know that when selling in a new area they need to be more diligent in learning the area. When I first list a home in an area that is new to me I want to learn everything about the area that I can. Why? Because I plan on selling more than just one home in the area. I want to learn the area, the floor plans and all I can about the parks, stores, restaurants etc. etc. You see I believe living in the area does help but that is almost always an impossibility for most agents, you just cannot live everywhere at once. What you can do however, is learn each and every area that you list homes in. If I can sell in many areas, which I have, what now is keeping me from selling your home in your area? Absolutely nothing. I have learned what is most important and that is how to sell homes.
Third, what is more important to you as a seller than that your agent live next door? How about, how long have they been selling homes? Have they sold in a wide variety of neighborhoods? (If so, this alone tells you they have been successful in selling in new areas.) How many homes do they sell a year on average? Are they knowledgeable when you speak with them? To me, these are better questions that should be asked of any potential agent you would list your home with.
One last thought here. If I have never sold in your area, guess what I am going to do? Put 110% effort into selling your home for the simple fact that I want to be able to say, “I have now sold in your area.” If I have never sold in your area I am now driven like a mad man to prove I can do it. That is a challenge most agents would gladly accept.
Why I don't need to live in your neighborhood to sell your home.
Sunday, June 9, 2013
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Part 2
Reason # 2.
So, What is the second reason I believe people want to sell their homes by themselves?
The Enemy! Somehow people have gotten this idea that Realtors are the enemy, you know we are salespeople. I am with you, I HATE high pressure sales people. If I am unfortunate enough to get caught by one on the phone the conversation quickly ends if they fail to understand what “NO” means. It also quickly ends if they fail to realize that I do not want or need their product or service. But every once in a while I hear them out, especially if they have what I need or want.
1. Well, first off most Realtors are not your enemy. Most of us enjoy or jobs, are actually trying to help and are really happy when we can help you meet your goals. Many of us develop long lasting friendships with our clients. We have families of our own, have kids, go to church, like to read, fish, hunt, surf, play video games, argue politics, go on hikes, watch sports, juice for lunch and eat cake after dinner. You see we are pretty much normal. We work hard, pay our bills, vote etc. etc. I have been on the phone with some people who I thought would have killed me if they could have jumped through the phone. Hey, you have a home too sell..that’s what I do for a living..just trying to help out here.
2. We get paid –Yes we do. I can honestly say that I have made some good money and have worked easily 60+ (that may be on the low side) hours per week while doing so. The facade of agents “raking” in the dough while sitting on the beach is for the most part just that…a facade. I would hope that you also get paid at your job. I would also guess that you don’t consistently have friends, family members or complete strangers asking you to do your work for less every time you turn around:) Feast or famine it is, broker fees, taxes, marketing, business expenses etc. etc. You see we are, like many of you, just trying to run a business. Unfortunately that does take $$. As was mentioned in the last post the right agent can be invaluable to you if you need to sale your home. So, please do not throw us all under the bus just for making a living.
3. Realtors can offer you years of knowledge when you need to sell. Many of us have learned through the school of hard knocks. For many starting in Real Estate was no picnic but something we have stuck with because we enjoy the work. I have been in Real Estate over 8 years, have listed and sold hundreds of homes. When I call you it really is because I can and want to help. I can assure you though most of us are not the enemy. Many agents have a wealth of knowledge, really want to help you out and are more than happy to see you meet those goals. That commission check, although necessary for us to run our businesses, is not always the reason we do what we do.
Thinking about selling yourself or already have your home on the market and are frustrated with the results. Give me a call (623-853-6644), I have helped many FSBO sellers sell their homes.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO) Part 2
Wednesday, June 5, 2013
For Sale By Owner (FSBO)--Part 1
So, I have been talking with some sellers who are trying to sell their home without the use of an agent, we call them FSBO’S or For Sale By Owners. Now, there is nothing wrong with that and certainly the idea of saving money is a good one. But the thought of selling one’s home by ones-self is not a good idea for everyone.
So let’s start here. What are some of the reasons that people want to sell their home by themselves? We will cover reason #1 is this article.
Reason # 1 –To Save Money. Hey, I am all for that. I am the type of guy that does everything I can by myself and usually if I cannot do it, I learn how (case in point, my blog (www.TheKilberGroup.com.) But even then there are times when I pay others to do work for me, like car stuff…I’m just not into changing brakes, hey it helps the economy anyway. But do you really save money by selling your home yourself? Forsalebyowner.com even has a little calculator on their site showing you how much you could potentially save, Sounds great huh?
Well, not so fast. NAR studies have shown that typically sellers are able to get 8-10% more for their homes when they use an agent. So even if you pay 6% commission you are still making 2-4% more than if you sell the home by yourself. Maybe we need a calculator to show those figures? So why is this, why are people (typically) able to get more for their home when they use an agent?
1. For starters (We are going to hope that you are using an agent who has a clue and knows what they are doing) your agent is experienced at negotiating with buyers. Your agent is there to negotiate for YOU! Most buyers of FSBO homes know you have little or no experience at this and they know you are not paying a commission. Guess what, they are going to undercut your price from the start because of these things. Sure you can stand firm and not budge, ever, no matter what…but that is really not negotiating now is it? Remember the goal is to sell. It doesn’t help if you save 10k in commissions if you loose it because you don’t know how to negotiate properly. Your agent, who has negotiated homes sales time and time again, knows when you need to stand firm, when you need to give a little and when they can get you more than you were asking. I have a CNE (Certified Negotiating Expert) designation and take the sale of your home as if it were my own. You can bet I am going to fight for your $$…that’s my job:) Although your agent may negotiate like they were selling their own home they do not have as big of an emotional investment in the home like the owner does. This can often times get in the way of thinking clearly when negotiating.
2. Your agent knows the market, they have been around the block (no pun intended) they pay attention (or they should) to what the market is doing, has done and what it may do tomorrow. They know the value of your home and how much they can or should be able to get for it. I know, I know you can find all this on the Internet, because the Internet always tells the truth…right? Your agent is still on the ground, in the trenches day in and day out selling homes. They know the general feel of buyers and sellers. This is something that most people just do not pay attention too like a Full-Time Realtor does. All of this can help you get more $$ for your home.
3. Your agent knows when you have received a “bad” offer and can convey those facts to you. You may recognize a low offer, but can you always recognize a “bad” offer? Your agent can help point out “Red Flags” in your buyers offer that you do not recognize. Even with an agent the ultimate decision to accept or reject any offer lies with the seller but an agent can at least “alert” you to some “things” that they notice with the offer. Again experience is key. If your agent has sold “hundreds” of homes do you think that just maybe they have been in a situation or two that could help save you thousands of dollars?
Is it always wrong for someone to sell their home by themselves? No, not always, but in many cases the owner just does not have the level of expertise that a seasoned agent has. That alone can be worth far more than our little calculator can show.
For Sale By Owner (FSBO)--Part 1
Tuesday, June 4, 2013
Seller Tip # 1 Make the Descision to sell.
I apologize ahead of time for the Audio/Video problem. Webcam settings were messed up.
Seller Tip # 1 Make the Descision to sell.
Sunday, June 2, 2013
Is NOW the time to sell?
Ultimately that is not a question I can answer with a blanket answer for all potential sellers. What I can do is meet with you as an individual and discuss, your plans, your needs and the current market value of your home.
Having listed and sold hundreds of homes in the valley I am prepared to offer you a reasonable idea of what it would take to sell your home within your needed time frame and what the value of your home currently is. Simply fill in the form below and I will contact you to schedule an appointment or if you would like, call me direct at: 623-853-6644 to schedule an appointment.
Thinking about selling? Then lets meet and discuss all of your options. I have an extensive history of helping sellers sell and helping them prepare for the task ahead.
Is NOW the time to sell?
Saturday, June 1, 2013
7309 W Artie Avenue, Peoria, AZ 85383 - MLS/Listing # 4907992
7309 W Artie Avenue, Peoria, AZ 85383 - MLS/Listing # 4907992