In a recent meeting with a seller I was explaining marketing strategies and how we take a Value-Driven Approach to selling homes. How we increase the value of their home by finding hidden ways to extract additional profits from their home when I got the “question.” “Eric, this sounds great, but we were looking on Zillow and our Zestimate said $X, why do you think it will sell for $Y?”
I’m thinking… “Oh no, now I have to go down this road.”
Thinking of Selling Your Home???
Should you sell yourself, or hire an Agent?
An excellent question. Frankly, I wish that I could tell you that hiring a Real Estate Agent to help sell your home is a no brainer and should be done without question. Unfortunately, this is not true. This has more to do with the business practices and professionalism of my colleagues rather than the rational argument of saving money by selling yourself.
The savings that you may incur by doing a FSBO (For Sale By Owner) and selling your home without hiring a Real Estate Agent/Brokerage is a significant amount of money and, for some, could be worth the savings. However, for most, the risk, the emotional roller-coaster, the legal liability, and the unknown are not worth selling your home yourself, and hiring a professional is well worth it.
Why Having a Buyer Agent could save you THOUSANDS when Purchasing a New Construction Home.
I’m thinking about buying a ‘New Construction’ Home, should I have a Buyer Agent?
Buying a new construction home is an exciting process. You get to pick out your flooring, your countertops, and your cabinets, as well as choose features like the layout, baths, adding a morning room etc. But what if you’ve never built a home before or, even more important, negotiated with a builder? Is this a process that should be done alone, without Buyer Agent Representation?
No….
And even if you have dealt with new construction before, it is wise to have an agent representing you and looking out for your interests.
A common misperception is that it will cost additional money out of your pocket to have an agent represent you, look out for you, review the contract and make sure that all is going smoothly with the builder. This is not true.
Loan Horror Stories…
What is true and what is Exaggerated in Today’s Mortgage Environment.
I’ve Heard Horror Stories about getting a Mortgage in Today’s Environment, What’s the Deal?
This is a great topic, and I could spend a week discussing this topic, as finance is near and dear to my heart. There is a lot of misperception about loans, rates, loan programs, and what it takes to get approved for a loan in today’s financial environment. There are 3 main questions that lenders stress to me when helping buyers find a home and get approved for a mortgage. I’m going to address each of those points individually, and hopefully by the end of this article you’ll have a clear understanding about mortgages in today’s stricter environment. When you hear someone talking about mortgages, you can chime in with some accurate data.
Many think that mortgages are next to impossible to get today, and I need 20% down before I can even think of buying a home?
This is 2 common misperceptions of people buying homes today. Yes, mortgages are tougher to get today
Eric, How’s the Real Estate Market?
The inevitable question is asked over the holidays. At the family functions, work events, and during the casual encounter. The answer to this question is something that I always struggle with. Unless I know, specifically, why the person is asking, I give the same canned response.
See, as a Real Estate Agent, I view the market much differently than some reporter on CNBC or Yahoo Finance that ‘reports’ on the housing market or the forecast for the coming year. Yes, I keep tabs on the national and local statistics and trends, but they are not something that I put total faith in. Most individuals hear data from a reporter or read trends in the newspaper or online and think that it applies to them. I’m here to tell you that is untrue. Real Estate markets and trends happen on such a local micro level that unless the data is viewed specifically for your home, they are inaccurate. 
I know that numbers can be massaged for political reasons. As an example, the latest unemployment figures for the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics were 5.8% and this is seen as progress from 7.8% just 2 years earlier. However, what these stats fail to tell you is how many individuals have just given up. Have stopped looking for work. No longer are collecting unemployment. Have started their own business. Unless you know the deeper meaning behind the statistics they are just window dressings.
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