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Archive for November 7th, 2007

R/E Agent vs. FSBO: How Will You Market Your Home?

November 7th, 2007 by Matthew C. Keegan | 11 Comments | Filed in Home Selling

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If you are planning to sell your home, will you be using the services of a real estate agent or will you be going the for sale by owner (FSBO) route? Selling a home has gotten very interesting over the past decade as surging home prices, price wars, and real estate fees have caused many home sellers to take a good, hard look at selling their home themselves.

Well, we’re not about to tell you which home selling method to choose but we will share with you the good, the bad, and the ugly of the home selling process.

Question: Our home’s price has gone way up since we bought our house, why should we pay a 6% commission to a realtor who will take a bigger chunk of my home’s profits?
Answer: Your home’s value is strong and reaping the financial benefits of selling your home should be a priority.

A professional real estate agent has the experience to set your home’s price; provide marketing; screen buyers; negotiate the selling price; work with other realtors, mortgage brokers, and attorneys; arrange home inspection; and make sure that everything related to the home selling process is handled smoothly so that your home closes on time.

Question: The agent’s fee is still too high. I expect my home to sell immediately, therefore won’t only a limited amount of marketing be necessary?

Answer: A realtor’s fee is negotiable. Some agents will accept a lower fee, but keep in mind that as much as half of the fee could be split with another broker. If you are able to get the lower fee, make sure that you still receive the full services promised by your agent.

Question: I’ve decided to go ahead and sell my home myself. What steps should I take to prepare for a sale?

Answer: You’ll want to make sure that your home is ready to be seen. Assuming that all exterior and interior preparations have been made, then preparing a marketing plan is the next step. An FSBO listing with a recognized online site is a popular way to go. You’ll pay a fee to have you home featured on the site and, in some cases, you can pay an extra fee for listing home via MLS in order to extend your marketing base.

A sign on your front lawn, notices in the newspaper, posting your listing on Craigslist, and word of mouth advertising are some other options worth considering.

Finally, you’ll want to make sure that you have reasonable times available to show your home to visitors. Expect to spend plenty of time fielding phone calls, answering questions, having people stop by to see your home and negotiating directly with prospective buyers.

Question: When selling my home via an agent I know that they screen potential buyers. What is involved in the screening process?

Answer: Real estate agents want to make sure that buyers can afford the types of homes they want the agent to show to them. Almost always, agents will ask the buyer about their annual income. Typically, this is a verbal exchange with no proof given. With FSBO you can do the same thing, but you risk wasting precious time showing your home to someone who doesn’t have the resources (or the interest) to buy a home from you.

On the other hand, if someone walks into your home with a qualifying letter from their mortgage broker you can contact the broker directly to verify their eligibility.

Question: What if I change my mind and decide FSBO isn’t right for me?
Answer: That’s easy — you can always choose to list your home with a realtor and forego the FSBO route. Lots of home sellers underestimate the work that goes into the home selling process and abandon FSBO if their home doesn’t sell as quickly as planned.

Another option is to keep your home FSBO but entertain agents who bring to you their customers. You’ll agree to pay them no more than 3% commission while saving time and money by going with a method that straddles your two options.

Going With What Works For You

In summation, selling a home does take a lot of work perhaps much more work than what you had expected. The agent’s fee is negotiable, so finding a happy middle ground could bring a suitable buyer to you without you feeling ripped off and the real estate feeling short changed.


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A Success Building BLOG (part II.e)

November 7th, 2007 by Krayton M Davis | 1 Comment | Filed in Achieving Success

continuation: (link to Achieving Success BLOG for all parts)

Last time: we look at forces of motivation and how motivation can be used to help our progress to for success. The following is our concluding remarks for this part series.

How to Become . . . Say . . .

The President of the United States


Part II: Concluding Remarks

Nothing we discussed in this BLOG is earth-shattering. Success comes from hope, motivation, and lots of hard work (and perhaps a little luck in some cases). But where analysts on behavioral studies will differ is the approach you should use to achieve success. Some analysts might argue that some forms of the “unknown phenomenon” are the secrets of success. They will have you turn to astrology, the mapping of the stars, crystals and other phenomena. I emphasize caution. Like the traveling medicine peddlers in the 19th century, advocates of the strange phenomena seek to entangle you in the unknown mysteries for profit.

There is no secret, psychological antidote for success. It’s true that luck can propel many people to success. But luck can also be planned and worked for by placing yourself in the right place at the right time. Most accomplishments in life, including those we consider lucky accomplishments, develop from the following layout:

First: You need an objective. What are you seeking to accomplish?

Second: You need to tap the energetic forces of hope and motivation. Hope prompts you to act — it is the force that gets your engine going. Motivation prompts you to continue your action — it is the force the keeps your engine going.

Third: You will need to analyze and design a plan of benchmarks and goals that will achieve your objective.

Fourth: You need to develop the physical and mental disciplines to execute the plan.

Fifth: You execute the plan.

We can summarize these concepts by using three ingredients — planning . . . discipline . . . execution.

When Dave Mansfield stepped on the road to the White House, he began a million-mile journey with little strategic thinking. First, he began his journey without a plan. He figured that the passing of time alone would educate him on where he should go and what he should pursue. Second, Dave lacked the discipline to carry out the tasks required to make the journey. He had too many character flaws that frustrated his attempts. And third, Dave didn’t know how to execute his plan. He haphazardly executed many different plans without much reward and success. Consistent failures took away his hope. Lack of success stole his motivation. Dave Mansfield was bound to fail.

The road to success leads with three directional signs: planning, discipline, and execution (PDE). PDE will help you achieve the goals and objectives you seek for yourself and your family.

End of chapter exercise . . .

Take a few minutes where you can be alone to complete Appendix Form-A illustrated below. Use this form to define your life objective.

You begin by listing up to four personal talents that set you apart from everyone else. These may include musical, creative, analytical or physical talents. List these talents in the spaces provided.

Move to Step 2 and define your life objective. The objective may be a career-oriented objective, a status-oriented objective, or a physical achievement objective. It’s your decision. Try to identify a life objective that uses your talents. Don’t analyze how you will achieve the objective at this time, this will come later.

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You can print this diagram by clicking here: Form A: Objective Planning

You are now ready to begin your journey. We will demonstrate how in the next BLOG entry.
 

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