Have you ever noticed (and you probably have) that Realtors have the same reputation as a used-car salesman? The two videos below are funny, but you know what they say, "Behind every joke is a little bit of truth."
Beacause of the shady-character Realtors of the past, the well-intentioned, honest, trustworthy, hard-working Realtors of today have to break down that wall of stereotypes.
Breaking down that wall is not that difficult once given the chance. But the hard part is actually getting that chance.
This first video is from last week's Saturday Night Live opening monologue featuring Annette Benning.
This next video is an old T-Mobile commercial you've probably seen. This character Realtor talks a mile a minute, lying to whoever it is she's talking to on the phone.
Tell me if this is true... You drive by and see a house for sale that you really like. You think, "I wonder what that house is like? How much is it?" So you go home and do research on the internet for an hour or two trying to find the listing online, rather than just picking up the phone, calling an honest Realtor, and asking that Realtor (me) to email you the property information (no questions asked). And boom, you have the property info and price in a matter of 5 minutes.
Not only do I suspect it to be true. I know it's true. Why? Beacause we Realtors have the reputation that we will jump down your throat when we see an opportunity to make a sale, and we won't let up till you buy. If that's your thinking, no matter if your Realtor is your friend or family member, you need a new Realtor.
Let me know what you think, or if you have any nightmare Realtor stories. I'd love to hear them, and with your permission, post them to this blog. Just send me an email.
Dan Hamilton
dchamilton@kw.com
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
I Told You So...
This just in from "Inman News":
Overall mortgage application volume increased 8.1 percent last week on a seasonally adjusted basis from the week before, inspired by a significant drop in interest rates, the Mortgage Bankers Association reported today.
It seems that buyers are catching on the fact that now is one of the best times to ever buy a home in the history of real estate. Rates are low, inventory is high. The choice is yours.
So don't wait till next year at this time. Contact me today and let's start looking at houses. Even if it takes us months and months to find the perfect home for you!
Dan Hamilton
dchamilton@kw.com
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
Example of Why You Need a Realtor
If I've said it once, you've heard it a million times somewhere else. Don't even try to sell your home as For Sale By Owner - use a Realtor.
I don't say this because I'm a Realtor. I say this because it is soooooo much easier for you, and you are soooooo much more protected in the end.
True Story:
I know someone who has a condo for sale in Fort Myers, Florida right now, and they are trying to sell it For Sale By Owner (FSBO). They need to sell as soon as possible due to many different circumstances. But if you know anything about Florida real estate, you know that last year if a property was worth $350,000, this year it's worth about $310,000 (for example). And buyers are taking advantage of that.
The FSBO in Florida finally found a buyer after almost a year. The buyer came in and made an extremely low offer. The sellers tried to counter offer and bring the offer back to a fair level, but the buyer was willing to budge only very little. They ended up getting into contract for probably $20,000 - $30,000 less than fair market value for the property. They buyer was happy, the sellers were not, but they had no other choice.
So, they had an attorney draw up the paperwork. Both sides signed off on everything and they were in contract. The buyer then needed to get the earnest money deposit (a good faith deposit) to the sellers.
Long story short, after the buyer agreed to the contract, but before he sent the earnest money, he read an article in the newspaper about how bad the Florida real estate market is and how property values are down from last year. He already knew this, which is why he offered so low in the first place, but now he was having second thoughts.
So, instead of honoring the contract, he said, before I send the earnest money deposit, I want $10,000 more taken off the price of the home, or the deal is finished.
WHAT? He's already signed the contract and agreed to everything. If he walks away from the deal, the sellers will win, but how much money and how much time will this cost.
Well, after talking it over with the attorney, it's not worth it at first glance. And now the seller has to make the decision to sell the condo for even less than originally stated, or void the contract and try to find another buyer (which may take another year! Who knows!).
And all of this could have been helped if there was a Realtor involved. The attorney's paperwork didn't leave time restraints to the signatures being applied. Because there was no Realtor involved, important documents were left out, giving the buyer a loophole to get out of this contract. If a Realtor was involved and a buyer did this, not only would the seller have the option to sue, but you can rest assured, the Realtor's brokerage would sue the buyer as well. If all of that was the case, the buyer would not have tried to renoegotiate the contract, because it never would have gotten this far.
I understand, sometimes there isn't the option to use a Realtor because you think you can't afford it. But statistics don't lie... when using a Realtor, properties sell for well over a 5% larger sales price than when sold FSBO.
So when you think you can't afford to use a Realtor, you should be thinking "Can you afford NOT to use a Realtor?"
Dan Hamilton
dchamilton@kw.com
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com
I don't say this because I'm a Realtor. I say this because it is soooooo much easier for you, and you are soooooo much more protected in the end.
True Story:
I know someone who has a condo for sale in Fort Myers, Florida right now, and they are trying to sell it For Sale By Owner (FSBO). They need to sell as soon as possible due to many different circumstances. But if you know anything about Florida real estate, you know that last year if a property was worth $350,000, this year it's worth about $310,000 (for example). And buyers are taking advantage of that.
The FSBO in Florida finally found a buyer after almost a year. The buyer came in and made an extremely low offer. The sellers tried to counter offer and bring the offer back to a fair level, but the buyer was willing to budge only very little. They ended up getting into contract for probably $20,000 - $30,000 less than fair market value for the property. They buyer was happy, the sellers were not, but they had no other choice.
So, they had an attorney draw up the paperwork. Both sides signed off on everything and they were in contract. The buyer then needed to get the earnest money deposit (a good faith deposit) to the sellers.
Long story short, after the buyer agreed to the contract, but before he sent the earnest money, he read an article in the newspaper about how bad the Florida real estate market is and how property values are down from last year. He already knew this, which is why he offered so low in the first place, but now he was having second thoughts.
So, instead of honoring the contract, he said, before I send the earnest money deposit, I want $10,000 more taken off the price of the home, or the deal is finished.
WHAT? He's already signed the contract and agreed to everything. If he walks away from the deal, the sellers will win, but how much money and how much time will this cost.
Well, after talking it over with the attorney, it's not worth it at first glance. And now the seller has to make the decision to sell the condo for even less than originally stated, or void the contract and try to find another buyer (which may take another year! Who knows!).
And all of this could have been helped if there was a Realtor involved. The attorney's paperwork didn't leave time restraints to the signatures being applied. Because there was no Realtor involved, important documents were left out, giving the buyer a loophole to get out of this contract. If a Realtor was involved and a buyer did this, not only would the seller have the option to sue, but you can rest assured, the Realtor's brokerage would sue the buyer as well. If all of that was the case, the buyer would not have tried to renoegotiate the contract, because it never would have gotten this far.
I understand, sometimes there isn't the option to use a Realtor because you think you can't afford it. But statistics don't lie... when using a Realtor, properties sell for well over a 5% larger sales price than when sold FSBO.
So when you think you can't afford to use a Realtor, you should be thinking "Can you afford NOT to use a Realtor?"
Dan Hamilton
dchamilton@kw.com
www.HamiltonHomesGroup.com
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