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This is a question I get asked all the time. When an owner has passed and has rental property should the heirs sell the Palo Alto probate or trust home with the tenants in place, or wait until the lease is up?

While most years I would say wait until the tenants are gone but with the uncertainty of how interest rates will affect prices and what will happen to a Palo Alto market that has already shown signs of slowing, even with very tight inventory, the answer is not clear cut.

Sell Palo Alto Probate or Trust Home With Tenant: Pros:

1.      Palo Alto school Priority 1 Registration goes from Jan 12 thru Feb 15th. That is the best chance of getting your child in the school closest to you. There is always a space in a Palo Alto school for a resident, but getting the one closest to you is best obtained if you are a resident during this period. Selling with tenants in a  Palo Alto probate rental may allow the buyer to get a leg up on school registration for the next year.
2.      Interest rates are lower now than they will be next summer, or even in March and maybe Feb. A 3 million dollar Palo Alto probate home has a very good chance of having a loan on it so the less a buyer has to pay for the mortgage the more they can afford for the home. For every 1 point increase in interest rates there is a 10 % increase in payment.
3.      The inventory is very low and the Palo Alto housing is market still active. It is unknown what will happen as the year goes on. The market could go down as interest rates go up, or if there is a natural disaster, a world event, or terrorist attack.
4.      Some people who buy Palo Alto homes in Probate or Trust early are happy to rent the house out until the end of the school year because they do not want to move until school is out if they are relocating.

http://www.marcymoyer.com/trustandprobatesaleshttp://www.marcymoyer.com/trustandprobatesales With a Tenant Cons:

1.      Harder to show house
2.      You will not be able to make interior upgrades or stage with a tenant in place so it may depress the price somewhat
3.      The tenant may be messy or say inappropriate things to potential buyers which could depress the price.
4.      If the tenant does not have beautiful furniture the professional pictures will not look as good.

Sell Palo Alto Probate or Trust Home After Tenant Lleaves Pros:

1.      You can have the interior painted, wood floors refinished, new carpet, and any other cosmetic upgrades you want that will help bring in more money.
2.      You can professionally stage the property and the photos will look much better.
3.      Much easier to show the house and have open houses which bring in more people and help bring in a better price.

Sell Palo Alto Home in Probate or Trust After tenant leaves Cons:

1.      Interest rates will be higher which will depress the price. It is unknown by how much because it also depends on how the stock market is doing, most likely for Apple, Google, Facebook, and Linkedin.
2.      If there is a trade war with China tech stocks could be hurt more than other sectors. This would make less money available for down payments for most of the buyers in the area.
3.      If the dollar continues to be strong foreign investors will be much less likely to be buying homes in Palo Alto.
4.      The best time to sell a home in Palo Alto in from Jan thru early June. The second best is the fall. If the tenants are out in June and the home is prepared in July and Aug and on the market in Sept you have missed the best time, but may get the second best time, but only by waiting until Sept to put home on market.

So as you can see the answer is not clear. No one can say for sure what will happen to the real estate market in 2017. If you are in this situation now it is probably a good idea to add your own Pros and Cons to this list to get a feel for what may work best in your situation.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate or Trust please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

Developers don’t build condos with the intention of sloppy work that they hope no one will notice. But never the less, they almost always get sued in about year 8-9.

In California, new construction comes with a 10 year warranty on latent defects on the structure. In plain terms home owners and homeowner associations have 10 years to sue a developer if they find problems with the structural components of a building such as the roof, walls, plumbing or electrical systems, garages, decks, etc.

So, around year 8, if no problems have emerged, many HOA communities will hire a company to look at the building and see if there are potential problems that can happen due to faulty construction. If there are known problems they hire someone to try to figure out the fixes to the issues.

The communities will approach the builder to fix the discovered issues, and if the builder does not feel there is a problem, or the problem is not their responsibility then a law suit may be filed.

Once the suit is filed most lenders will not make loans on the property. The few who do will charge interest rates 1 to 2 pts higher than a traditional lender.

This can put the brakes on sales in the development, and will temporarily depress the price.

If you are a cash buyer, buying a San Jose Condo in litigation for a rental property can be a good idea if you follow these steps:

1.      Look at the report that explains what the problems are that need to be addressed. If the issues are ones that do not need immediate attention that is better. If the plumbing system has failed, or there is major water intrusion into the building the homeowners may be hit with a special assessment during the multi year lawsuit. Even if the HOA of the San Jose condo in litigation wins the individual homeowners may not be reimbursed.
2.      Find out what the estimated cost to repair the issues are for the San Jose condo in litigation. Take that number and divide by the number of units, or if available the percentage of ownership the condo in question has. So if the estimate is 10 million dollars, and there are 500 units with equal shares then each unit would be responsible for about 20 thousand in repairs if all units pay condo fees equally.
3.      Find the market value of the condo you are interested in by looking at the most recent sale of that model before the San Jose condo litigation.
4.      Subtract the amount of potential assessment.
5.      If the market is slowing down overall subtract more.
6.      Explain that you are taking the risk that the HOA of the San Jose Condo in litigation will not prevail in court, and even if they do the homeowners may be assessed before then. You are taking that risk, and buying when most others are not able. You are betting that you will not be assessed.
7.      Even in a very hot market, this is a good way to get a better price on a San Jose condo in litigation than you would otherwise be able to.
8.      It is safest to do it when the builder is a very large and stable company, rather than a less well capitalized entity that is more likely to go bankrupt.

There is obviously risk involved, but since such a large percentage of builders get sued, it can be a good long term investment. For example, The Brickyard in San Jose was in litigation in 2011-2012. During 2011 one bedroom condos sold for $140,000-$180,000. The litigation was setteled and in 2016 one bedrooms condos sold for $365,000-$395,000. If you bought a condo for at The Brickyard with cash in 2011 for  you would have at least doubled your money in 5 years plus get an additional $800 to $1500 a month profit in rent over the last 5 years. And this was a building with serious problems that have now been fixed with proceeds from the successful law suit.

Most suits are settled, the deficiencies are fixed, and the San Jose condos in litigation go on to appreciate.

If you have any questions about buying a San Jose condo in litigation as a rental property please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

On Nov. 8th Mountain Voters approved Measure V, commonly known as the Rent Control Measure. If you are the Administrator of a Mountain View Probate Estate that has rental property to sell this is a huge deal. You need to know the rules in order to make sure the property is sold without breaking any new laws.

What does restricting rental price increases have to do with selling a Mountain View rental in Probateyou may ask? Well, I’ll tell you.

The reason is MOUNTAIN VIEW JUST CAUSE EVICTION.

Measure V relates to not only rent control, but also JUST CAUSE EVICTION.

Just Cause Eviction means that tenants cannot be asked to vacate just because the lease is up or they are on a month to month rental and you give 30 or 60 days notice (if they have been there a year or more).

Tenants can only be told to leave a Mountain View Rental Property under the following circumstances:

1.      Failure to pay rent or other breach of lease
2.      Continuing failure to give landlord access
3.      Repairs that will last over 30 days that are needed for code upgrades or health and safety reasons. NOTE: COSMETIC REPAIRS ARE NOT INCLUDED IN THIS EXEMPTION. This would include a kitchen or bath re-model to make the property more valuable.
4.      Owner or family member going to occupy the entire property
5.      Withdrawal from rental market with 120 day notice to tenant, unless over 62, disabled, or a tenant for 5 years or more. In these circumstances you need 1 year notice.

The good thing is that single family homes, condos, and duplexes are exempt from both rent control and Mountain View Just Cause Eviction. If you are an Administrator of a Mountain View Probate Estate that has a four- plex or more units to sell Mountain View JUST CAUSE EVICTION rules will apply to the estate.

Some things you should NOT do before selling the building are:

1.      Try to evict the tenants because they make the building look messy.
2.      Try to evict the tenants because the property is dated and you want to upgrade it before putting it on the market.
3.      Raise the rents above the allowable rent increase so the CAP rate looks better and makes the property more valuable.

Some things you can do when you are selling a Mountain View Four-Plex  or larger building in Probate.

1.      Paint the exterior
2.      Make sure the tenants do not leave personal property outside the building
3.      Upgrade the landscaping
4.      Give the tenants an incentive to keep their apartments clean and allow showings.

This law is new, and takes effect Dec 23rd. There is an emergency ordinance that was passed Nov 16th to keep landlords from evicting tenants in order to raise rents on vacant apartments before that date, so if you are reading this before Dec 23rd you are out of luck anyway.

Just remember the Mountain View rental market is strong, and even with rent control and Just Cause Eviction there will be buyers for your Mountain View Apartment in Probate so relax, hire a great real estate agent who knows Probate (like myself) and let the process work itself out.

If you have any questions about selling or buying Probate property in Santa Clara or San Mateo County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

Anyone who has looked for acreage in places like Pescadero, Gilroy, or Morgan Hill has probably come across a situation where a neighbor or friend has horses or goats or cows who graze the property. You ask to see the lease and the response you get is often, “There is no lease, they have an informal agreement that Ms X gets to keep her livestock on the property in exchange for the livestock grazing Mr Y’s land.

Mr Y does not have to pay the high cost of keeping the grasses and weeds cut and Ms X does not have to pay the high cost of boarding and feeding her livestock. It is a win win, and for decades no one has formalized the agreement.

Then, unfortunately Mr Y dies and his heirs need to sell the Probate acreage in Pescadero, or Gilroy, or Morgan Hill. There is no documentation of the agreement and no one is sure what Ms X’x rights are, or what the estate has to do to terminate the relationship. Or maybe the buyer of the Pescadero Probate acreage’s , Mr and Mrs Z’s don’t understand what their  responsibilities are if they want Ms X to continue grazing, but don’t want her to have full tenant’s rights. In other words, Mr and Ms Z still want to use the land, so they do not want to lease out a portion of the Pescadero or Gilroy, or Morgan Hill land. They just don’t want to have to pay someone to mow it.

The answer to this dilemma is for Mr and Mrs Z to grant Ms X a license for Ms X’s horses to graze on a portion of the Pescadero Probate property they are buying. The license can be terminated at any time by the owners of the property. There are no tenant’s rights for exclusive use and Mr and Mrs Z do not need to give any notice or have any cause to terminate the agreement. The right to graze horses is a personal privilege and is not tied to the property in question. The horses do not have any exclusive use and Mr and Mrs Z can use the grazed property any time they want.

If Ms X had a lease then she and her horses would have exclusive right to use the property and Mr and Mrs Z would have to give notice to enter that portion of the property and could not tell Ms X to leave whenever they want.

It is a distinction that is important to preserve the rights of Mr and Mrs Z to use their new Probate property in Pescadero, or Gilory, or Morgan Hill.

I suggest if you are going to do this you consult a lawyer before closing escrow on that gorgeous view property in Pescadero, or Gilroy, or Morgan Hill, or anywhere else you may find it.

If you have any questions about buying or selling property, especially in Probate in San Mateo, Santa Clara, or Alameda County please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

As a realtor who specializes in Probate sales I have recently been involved with a number of families were trying to sell homes they thought they inherited or had title to, but wound up in Probate instead. Since the Probate courts are backed up, this can cause delays, heartache, and tension for the families and were problems that probably could have been avoided.

I want to say firmly, I am not a lawyer. I am a Realtor who specializes in selling homes in Probate and this is not legal advice. If you are going to be involved in intra family title changes PLEASE get the advice of a lawyer. This is complicated stuff.

I just want to give you a few examples so you can see that you should not assume anything when it comes to Probate sales. To see First Example click here

3rd Example:

Mom and Daughter 1 own a home together. Both are on title as Joint Tenants and own it equally. They need cash so Daughter 1 gives her share to Mom and Mom gets reverse morgage.

Mom does not make a will leaving 1/2 the house to Daughter 1 and 1/2 the house to each of the 4 daughters including daughter 1. She plans on doing it, but never gets around to it.

Mom dies unexpectantly, with no will, no trust, and only a verbal agreeement with Daughter 1.

Reverse mortgage company tells Daughter 1 she needs to sell the house or pay back the reverse mortgage. Daughter 1 can not sell the house or do anything without Probate Court permission because she does not own the house any more and there is no will or trust.

Daughter  1 calls me and give her a referral to a Probate lawyer who will get paid through the sale of the house since there is no cash in the estate.

Daughter one will ask the court to appoint her Admistrator of the estate then ask the other 3 sisters to give up the half of the equity that was supposed to go to Daughter 1.

Hopefully the Probate Court will agree to all of this. It is not guarenteed.

As you can see, these are complicated issue, made more complicated by actions taken by owners and family members before the owners died. 

The moral, just because you think you have the right to sell a house in probate, that does not mean you do. Be sure and consult a Probate Attorney and a Realtor who understand Probate Sales before you proceed.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate or need a Probate Realtor in Half Moon Bay or anywhere else in the Bay area please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

As a realtor who specializes in Probate sales I have recently been involved with a number of families were trying to sell homes they thought they inherited or had title to, but wound up in Probate instead. Since the Probate courts are backed up, this can cause delays, heartache, and tension for the families and were problems that probably could have been avoided.

I want to say firmly, I am not a lawyer. I am a Realtor who specializes in selling homes in Probate and this is not legal advice. If you are going to be involved in intra family title changes PLEASE get the advice of a lawyer. This is complicated stuff.

I just want to give you a few examples so you can see that you should not assume anything when it comes to Probate sales. To see First Example click here

Second Example:

Mom owns home in Pacifica in a trust free and clear after Dad passes. She needs money for daily living expenses so she takes out a reverse mortgage.

Eventually she is unable to care for herself. She takes the house out of the trust and gives half to Daughter 1 as joint tenant so daughter has right of survivorship and right to sell house to pay Mom’s assisted living expenses.

Mom’s health gets worse and she needs to be moved to assisted living. Mom and Daughter 1 decide to sell the house to pay for the finest assisted living they can find.

Mom moves to assisted living and 3 days later dies.

Daughter 1 wants to sell the house which has plenty of equity that was not used to take care of Mom, so she plans on splitting it with Daughter 2 and Son 1.

Reverse mortgage company says “Hold Your Horses.” You had no right to change title of house without our knowledge. They claim:

Reverse mortgages are for senior home owners only, not their children. Daughter 1 should not have been on title because she was not given permission by Reverse Mortgage Company.

Joint Tenancy is an equal partnership between all parties. All partied must be equally responsible for any liens/mortgages on the home. Only Mom was on the loan so she should have been the only one on title. 

You can see the problem here.

I suspect this one ends up in Probate Court with Court Confirmation needed instead of a fast, clean easy sale.

Tomorrow I will give you details on other issues that have come up in my Probate sales.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate or need a Probate Realtor in Half Moon Bay or anywhere else in the Bay area please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

Recently I have been involved with a number of families were trying to sell homes they thought they inherited or had title to, but wound up in Probate instead. Since the Probate courts are backed up, this can cause delays, heartache, and tension for the families and were problems that probably could have been avoided.

I want to say firmly, I am not a lawyer. I am a Realtor who specializes in selling homes in Probate and this is not legal advice. If you are going to be involved in intra family title changes PLEASE get the advice of a lawyer. This is complicated stuff.

I just want to give you a few examples so you can see that you should not assume anything when it comes to Probate sales.

First Example:

Mom owns home in Redwood City free and clear with no mortgage. She has 4 children and wants only 2 of the children to inherit the home. She signs a deed transfer her daughter, not a lawyer, drew up saying that instead of owning the house only in her name she gives 1/3 interest to one daughter and 1/3 interest to one son.

Mom dies. Son and daughter think they inherit the house 50/50, but that did not happeb. Deed does not say all three own as Joint Tenants. That would have provided the right of survivorship. Not only that, but daughter as executor of estate can’t sell the house. The 1/3 interest of Mom now has to go through probate and since there was no will all 4 children get to split Mom’s 1/3. Daughter has to be appointed by the Probate Court as Administrator of the Estate before she can sell the home.

It gets worse. They have to go through probate, hire a lawyer, and pay court costs for 1/3 interest in a house.

The mistake here was not spending the money up front to get advice on how to accomplish Mom’s wish that only two of her children inherit the house.

Tomorrow I will give you details on other issues that have come up in my Probate sales.

If you have any questions about selling a home in Probate in Half Moon Bay or anywhere else in the Bay area please feel free to contact me.

Marcy Moyer

Keller Williams Realty

Specializing in Probate and Trust Sales

650-619-9285

marcy@marcymoyer.com

www.marcymoyer.com

Another milestone reached by the mortgage industry reform: the end of the  disclosure forms confusion! Provided to those applying for a mortgage, these forms were originally created based on two separate federal statutes: Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA). The duplicate information as well as erratic language of these two separate documents, lead to an immense amount of confusion. Apart from those two documents, there were also two sets of disclosures: one provided when applying for a mortgage, and the other provided at the closing or just prior to closing on the loan. The consumers weren’t the only ones confused -even the lenders had a difficult time completing the forms. Basically, if the lenders weren’t even able to understand the verbiage, how could they possibly explain the documents to the consumers? 

[Update: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced a proposal to delay the effective date of the TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure rule until Oct. 1.Click here to read more.]

The resolve (hopefully) . . two new, straight-forward disclosure forms. This change will apply to all consumer mortgage applications received on or after August 1, 2015. The change is currently being referred to as “TRID,” for TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure.

The changes . . In a Nutshell

♦ With TILA, lenders use a uniform system for disclosures, including the same credit terminology.

♦ The Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA) applies to any federally related mortgage loan, generally including any loan secured by a first or subordinate lien on family residential property (1-4 units).

♦ CFPB was responsible for integrating the existing disclosure requirements with the new amended requirements by combining the RESPA and TILA disclosures.

♦ The integrated mortgage disclosures use language that is designed to help consumers better understand the mortgage loan closing transaction.

♦ The new “Loan Estimate” form integrates and replaces the existing RESPA Good Faith Estimate (GFE) and the initial Truth in Lending forms.

♦ The new “Closing Disclosure” form integrates and replaces the existing RESPA HUD-1 and the final Truth in Lending forms.

♦ The integrated disclosure rule does not apply to HELs, reverse mortgages, mobile homes and dwellings not attached to real property, or for those making 5 or less mortgage loans per year.

♦ The definition of an “application” has been changed; now, an application consists of six pieces of information which are submitted.

♦  Consumers can’t be charged for fees until after they’ve been given the Loan Estimate form and consumers have agreed to proceed with the transaction.

♦ The Loan Estimate is provided to the consumer within 3 business days after submitting a mortgage loan application.

♦ There are only six legitimate reasons for revisions to a Loan Estimate form.

♦ The Closing Disclosure form integrates and replaces the existing RESPA HUD-1 and the final Truth in Lending disclosure forms.

♦ A Closing Disclosure is provided to the consumer so that they have a 3 business day waiting period before closing on the mortgage loan.

♦ There is now a three business day requirement once the consumer has received the Closing Disclosure, representing a waiting period for the consumer to review the disclosure.

♦ The lender now has all the liability for preparation and delivery of the Closing Disclosure form, even if they allow the escrow company to do it.

♦ The new Integrated Disclosures must be provided by a lender or mortgage broker that receives an applicationfrom a consumer for a closed-end credit transaction secured by real property on or after August 1, 2015.

♦ For a Loan Estimate, a “business day” is a day on which the lender’s offices are open to the public for carrying out business functions.

♦ For a Closing Disclosure, a “business day” includes all calendar days except Sundays and legal holidays.

♦ The Loan Estimate must be delivered or placed in the mail no later than the 3rd business day from receipt of the mortgage loan application.

♦ The Closing Disclosure must be placed in the mail no later than the 7thbusiness day before consummation of the loan.

♦ The “Your Home Loan Toolkit: A Step-by-Step Guide” replaces the HUD Settlement Cost Booklet.

Key Points derived from The CE Shop “RESPA/TILA Changes: Are you Ready?” course. Right now the course is completely free when you use the promotional code (respafree) at check out. No credit card info is required.

THIS IS NOT AN ADVERTISEMENT AND FSI-VAS WAS NOT PAID FOR THIS POST. WE SIMPLY JUST WANTED TO SHARE THIS AWESOME OPPORTUNITY WITH ALL OF YOU. DON’T FORGET TO FOLLOW US ACROSS ALL OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS AS WELL AS SUBSCRIBE TO OUR MONTHLY NEWSLETTER!

-Team FSI-VAS

If you fail to keep up your homeowners’ association fees or complete the annual assessments, the HOA could end up foreclosing. Its par for the course these days that when you purchase a home, condo or town house, that happens to be a communal development, then you will most likely have to pay fees to a housing association.

Now what would happen if you simply ignored these fees or failed to meet the annual assessments? The Housing Association would apply to get a lien on your home and this then leads into foreclosure (assuming you still fail to settle up with your housing association).

The Homeowners’ Associations are a body that sets up to look after the communal garden areas, essential repairs in stairwells, cleaning, lighting for communal hallways and exterior electricity bills. All this maintenance costs and it recovers its cost from the lease holder. Failure to pay up means a service is being provided to you and you are essentially not paying for it.

Other work that the housing association must carry out includes removing snow, landscape gardening, fitting new communal windows and repairing roof tiling.  Some of the more-modern condo complexes have swimming pools, gyms, clubhouses and tennis courts which can be used by the residents. All of these amenities need regular maintenance and cleaning, so the fees required by the association are likely to be higher in these luxury blocks.

The housing association also has to enforce the rules within the community; if one resident happens to be playing music loud late at night and making life a misery for all the other members of the community, the association must act and the administration work to remedy anti-social behaviour can mount up in both time and money.

HOA fees can often spring a surprise one-off fee for those complexes that need work carried out on a one-off basis. An example of this would be that a condo complex may need new exterior windows and fascia repairs following a wild storm or even hurricane; these “special assessment fees” are an unfortunate but necessary payment that will land in the lap of the resident – but not as a regular payment but as a one-off fee and comes in addition to regular payments being made.

Before taking out a homeowner association property you should read the terms and conditions on payment of fees should you default at any time, as some associations may charge interest on late payment as well as collection cost fees (if an agency was involved in the fee recovery).

Source: www.pamsvas.com

Real Estate REO and BPO Virtual Assistants

In business and commerce circles, the big news just days into October is the buy-out of Move Incorporated by the newspaper and media giant News Corporation. So who are Move Inc and why did News Corporation decide to splash out an eye-watering $950 million for the business? In the United States, Move Inc stands as the third biggest online real estate listing firm. It helps home buyers and sellers to purchase a new home by providing them with tools, guides, information and professionals from the real estate industry to make that purchase run as smooth as possible.

News Corporation is essentially a newspaper publisher which began its business from South Australia and later moved into New York to become the second-largest newspaper and media organization in the world. It now want to increase revenue and expand its business beyond just selling papers and promoting a media front and real estate is seen as a pretty good sector to get the turnover and extra revenue it now seeks.

As for Move Inc, the buy-out could see the online real estate listing agency become a real giant and a major player in the U.S. online home retail market. Robert Thomson is the Chief Executive Officer at News Corporation these days and he predicts Move Inc will soon become the United States’ biggest online real estate listing firm, thanks to News Corp’s influx of cash and support.

News Corp needs a change after the scandals of 2011 when the company was forced to close down its best-selling Sunday newspaper in the UK, News of the World. Allegations of phone hacking seriously depleted the organization’s reputation both in the United Kingdom and abroad.

Mr Thomson also believes that online home buying and internet real estate business is a growing market that has not yet taken off to the heights he believes it could reach. News Corp are convinced this sector is still in its infancy and is at the early stage of development. If it is right then the prospects for extra revenue could be huge in years to come.

There is no doubt that more and more people are now using the internet to buy their next home. Many Americans have actually purchased real estate by using self-help tools and become their very own real estate agent, just like many have booked their vacations online without using a travel agent.

Only time will tell if this was the best move for News corp and to see what direction Online Real Estate Listing Services will take.

pamsvas.com - Real Estate Virtual Assistant Services

What do Real Estate Agents do to Sell a Home?

Outside of the legal and medical professions, most industries are filled with people that work their tails off without the general public understanding their line of work. This is quite common for people that work in the real estate industry. Here are some of the many things that an agent does to sell a home for a new listing.

Extensive Photos

As the old saying goes “a picture is worth a thousand words.” Real estate agents will take lots of pictures to show off the best aspects of the home. When prospective buyers have an opportunity to see multiple pictures of a place before they view the property it helps to get the buyers more familiar with the property. It also reduces the number of people who are certain they will not buy a home based on the presence, or lack of, certain features.

Social Media Announcement

With multiple pictures of the property in hand, an agent can post to the various social media sites and alert all their friends and connections that the home is now available. With the multiple interactions found on most of the social media sites this is a great way to spread the word and let potential buyers know about the home's availability and best selling points. Good agents post to multiple sites like Facebook, Google +, Twitter and even Pinterest.

Newsletters

Many real estate agents connect with their past clients and prospects by sending out a monthly or quarterly newsletter. The newsletter can be sent via email or the old fashioned way of postal mail. This gives the agent a chance to pass along helpful information, such as home maintenance tips, energy saving advice as well as all of their new home listings. This is an easy way to reach people that may not be active on social media and still give them a chance to see the home in pictures.

Emails

Some agents aggressively market their listings by sending out emails to their prospective buyer base. These email lists are built over time from a multitude of different sources like, previous clients, internet leads and people that have signed up via their website. Since some home buyers can spend many years searching for a home, this large database of previous contacts can be a key component to selling your home.

On top of that, most agents will present any new listings to their own personal buyer clients who might be interested. Since they have in-depth knowledge of the home, it's much easier to explain the benefits. They will also share the new listing with other agents in their office/company in hopes they promote it to their buyer clients.

MLS Listing

One of the most important things an agent can do is list a home with the MLS (Multiple Listing Service). This service is accessible by local real estate agents and to Realtors® across the country via certain home search websites. When a buyer comes to an agent and asks for a list of potential homes, the agent will use the MLS service to find all available homes in the area. Agents pay yearly to have access to this database in order to be ready when either a buyer or seller is in need.

Showings

When a potential buyer wishes to see a home the real estate agent is the one that meets them at the home and gives them a tour. This is where the real estate agent can show off the home and brag about the top features of the property. Agents often make themselves available day or night for showing to accommodate the schedules of both the buyers and the sellers.

Open Houses

Agents often hold open houses on the property. These typically occur on the weekends, most commonly on Sunday. Occasionally, open houses are held on weeknights as well. An open house provides a 'no pressure' forum for people to tour the home. Many times the attendees are not actively looking to purchase at that moment and many visitors will actually be neighbors. Either way, getting your home in front of the largest audience is key. Any open house visitor could know someone 'in the market' for a home who they may tell.

An experienced real estate agent will put together a complete marketing plan for any new listing to give their client the best chance of selling the property at the anticipated price. Click the following link to see how Rock Realty can successfully market and sell your house: Rock Realty Home Marketing Plan

Investors in financial commodities such as the dollar and government bonds have been watching very closely at mortgage rate trends, primarily to see if the Fed will push interest rates up. According to Bankrate.com, a national survey firm of big lenders, the 30-year fixed rate mortgage level is down from 4.31 to 4.30 per cent. It may be a small dip but when you think a year ago (in July 2013) this figure stood at 4.56 per cent, you can start to see a downward trend.

Even the benchmark rate for fixed 15-year mortgages was down from 3.41 to 3.40 per cent in the space of just a week. The thing is rates have been in some kind of financial hibernation for what seems like ages and this might be explained by a series of unstable economic figures that have been coming out.

But experts believe rates might well start to fluctuate during August and September but they are certain to stay well below 5% for some time to come. Earlier this year, experts had predicted that the mortgage rates would start to rise and it has come as a bit of a surprise that here we are, more than half way through the year and the rates are still so low.

It seems that the prime factors that so often move the markets have a very small effect. In other words, a piece of economic news will come out and suddenly the markets move – but then, just an hour later they drop back to the very position they were in before. The pause in massive rate changes has to be down to confusion within investors; they receive economic news and act upon it but caution and fear prevents any chance-taking and opportunistic investing such as the likes we saw back in the earlier years of this century.

Take the example of the latest figures released on unemployment; this ratio of those out of work fell sharply and that means with more people in work, spending should go up. But consumers are still very cautious about spending money and if you don't spend money, the economy just can't get going. Moreover, a stagnant economy means growth cannot happen and interest rates are likely to stagnate too.

Home buyers are wary – very wary. The housing market downturn around 2007 clearly still has a long-lasting and damaging effect on us, and will do so for several years to come.

www.pamsvas.com

What makes a REO Agent different than your Typical Agent?

Our Personal Investment in Our Own Education: Most all successful REO agents are highly trained and heavily invested in their education. It’s not uncommon for a successful REO agent to have thousands of dollars every year go towards education or the maintenance of costly designations and certifications. Our clients demand that we make these costly investments to ensure they are entrusting the right kind of person with their portfolio of asset which could result in millions of dollars worth of transactions. Our investment in our education ensures our clients that we know what we are suppose to do.

Our Clients Investment in Our Education: Not only do we personally invest in our education and continuing education, our clients also invest by providing us with weekly white papers, weekly webinars, regular training / procedural updates, new regulation and statutory requirements, updates to local ordinances, etc. When our clients take us on, they expect to create a partnership where knowledge is relayed back and forth, seamlessly, without exception, protecting each other and keeping our mutual goals and interest in the forefront of our daily activity.

Performance Metrics and Standards: Unlike a typical agent, we are held to a higher standard. Our clients use measurable and calculable performance metrics to ensure that we are putting our education to good use.  Our client relationships are just about the warm and fuzzy feeling you get when you talk about listing a home or meet a client for the first time. It’s about hard numbers. A REO agent has no choice but to perform and be at the top of their game otherwise, our clients know they can find someone else.

We Don’t Just Compete for a Listing, We Constantly Compete for our Jobs: We are different from other agents in the fact that we don’t just compete with other agents for a 6 month listing agreement on a single home. We are constantly competing to keep our client on every single transaction. Our performance metrics are many times written in stone. That is, we are only as good to our clients as our last closing so, if we aren’t closing the number of properties we are told to or if we aren’t maintaining them the way the clients wants them maintained, we are out. You see, our clients are setting on thousands of applications for our jobs, they have thousands of back up names they can easily just bring on and move our listings over to the “new” guy.  Our clients attend national conferences where they meet thousands of agents who want our jobs and these agents are cut throat and will do whatever it takes to knock us out and put themselves in so, unlike other agents, we are constantly in a state of competition….for our livelihoods.

Experience Like None Other: We are much more than just a listing agent. You see, our clients don’t live or work in the area we service so, we are truly the eyes, ears, hands and will of our clients. So, we can’t just list a property and forget about it till we get an offer. We have to visit the property weekly, walk through it, check for damage, report vandalism, make repairs, document everything and enforce our clients will. We come up with detailed analysis of the home’s value, we isolate marketing problems, we come up with sales strategies, we target potential buyers. We also work with evictions; negotiate relocations work with law enforcement and in some situations, we clear out homes. In essence, we aren’t just listing agents; we are property managers for our clients.

We Experience the Tragedy of Foreclosure Daily: As a REO agent, we are keenly aware that every new assignment allows us the opportunity and privilege, even if for nothing more than the briefest moment, to touch the human tragedy of losing a home to foreclosure. In this key difference, we stand out from most because no other segment of our industry can truly relate to having to talk to a single mother of three kids, all under the age of 12, working two jobs and having to tell her she is no longer able to live in the home her children have only known. In this situation, a piece of us dies every time.

To sum it all up, what makes us different than a typical agent, well….it’s actually really simple and it’s expectation. We are expected to perform at a higher standard than our non-reo counterparts because our clients are educated and experienced themselves and therefore, know what to expect. In this, we are blessed and cursed.

Simple Ways to Get Your Home Ready to Sell

For those homeowners that have waited to sell their home, heed the advice of Nike: “Just Do It.”  Interest rates are still really low and the upcoming changes in mortgage lending may disqualify some buyers.  Now is the time to sell your home.  In order to help your home sell quickly follow the timely advice offered below.

Spend a Little Now to Get More Later

With so many homes available many buyers are seeking out a property that is move-in ready.  This means that small repairs and maintenance items will possibly turn off some buyers.  Take a walk through the home and pick out the small things that need to be fixed.  Leaking faucets, a chipped tile, a flaky bit of paint and other similar items can negatively impact the appearance of your home.

You should also consider spending a little money to get the carpets thoroughly cleaned and ask a local heating/air conditioning company to service your unit.

Put Yourself in the Shoes of the Buyer

If you are looking for a new home, what items are important to you?  The majority of people want to live in a clean home that smells nice with lots of room in the closets, cabinets and other storage areas.  Therefore, you should put a lot of time in to making your home look clean, neat and organized. Start with the cabinets and closets.  Remove as much clutter as possible and even add some shelves if it helps improve the look.  Go through all the rooms and put everything away in a nice, orderly fashion.  Finally, get a few aroma dispensers and put them throughout the house.

Make People Interested in Coming Inside

So many homeowners spend time, money and a lot of effort improving the inside of the home that they ignore the outside appearance.  It is important to have an inviting appearance.  Homeowners should trim all the bushes, clean out the gutters, make sure the driveway and walkway are clear and clean the windows.  For people that have siding, consider power washing the siding as well.  It is really important that the front door and the surrounding entrance area look clean and homey.

Two Important Rooms: Bathrooms and Kitchens

The bathroom and kitchen will usually have more influence over selling a home than any other part of the house.  It is a good idea to go through these rooms and spend extra time, and even money, to make sure they look attractive and modern.

Many types of cabinets can be painted with a little bit of planning and work.  All bathroom plumbing should be in good working order.  Make sure there is plenty of light with good looking fixtures and that the ventilation to both the kitchen and bathroom is more than adequate.  Also, make sure the counters are clean and devoid of clutter.

It may seem like a crazy idea to spend money on a home that you are planning to sell.  However, spending money in the right areas can greatly improve your chances of selling the home faster and may yield a good return on the investment.

Why list your home with Rock Realty?? Rock Realty Marketing Outline

Recent Testimonials: Rock Realty Client Testimonials

Rock Realty Client Testimonials

"We found Mike online, and, due to positive reviews, phoned him with a request to view houses in the Madison area. We gave Mike no more than one or two days notice, but he was happy to devote the whole of his weekend to us. Our entire house-hunting experience proceeded in similar fashion. We were hunting for houses long distance, so we would wait until an opportunity to travel to Madison presented itself, phone Mike, giving him one or two days to prepare, and show up to view houses. The process took roughly one year to complete. It was long and difficult, but Mike was always pleasant, never complained, made an effort to make himself immediately available, and was never pushy.

Mike is not like many real estate agents who simply want to make a sale, any sale. Instead, Mike made an effort to help us make an honest assessment of the properties we viewed, often pointing out problems himself. Mike left us with no doubt of his honesty and his dedication to his clients.

In addition, since we were shopping long-distance, Mike, with some help from his associate Bethany (who we found to be similarly pleasant and eager to be of service), even took hundreds of high definition photos of properties which he viewed in our stead, often with only a single day's notice. Mike, or one of his associates, would then promptly email the photos to us to view.

During the house-hunting process we changed our minds a number of times, imposed last minute requests, and even had some near melt-downs, but, through it all, Mike was responsive, cheerful, and level-headed. We cannot overstate how hard Mike worked on our behalf. We highly recommend him to any home buyers."

Graham S. & Janet H. (Middleton, Wisconsin 53562)
Rock Realty Home Buyer Client

Thanks for the compliments, and Congratulations on your new home Graham & Janet!

Looking to purchase a home in Wisconsin?? Contact Rock Realty! We would love to help!!

If you have your REO Systems in place and you are experiencing growth, have you considered an REO Team?

If so, what would you consider looking for as you build your team? I have just chosen three tips for this post. There are many more, but I find that these three are important to building a successful REO business.

1. Experience

2. Education

3. Integrity

Experience

How much experience does the potential member have in doing BPO’s? What asset companies have they dealt with and for how long? What about tasks such as Utility set up and ordering services from your vendors? When it comes to the closing transaction tasks, how much experience do they have in dealing with escrow/title companies, lenders and co-agents? These are just a few of the question you should consider when building your REO team.

This is important because the REO market is different for every REO agent. And it is crucial to have a good amount of experience in dealing with asset companies, asset managers, banks, title companies, lenders and other REO agents. I have found that there is a basic flow to an REO transaction, but sometimes there are exceptions. And I have found that learning from that exception, adds to my REO experience. And I can add this to my REO process to reach a successful transaction.

Education

Training is so vitally important. Would you consider adding a team member to your business who already has been trained on various REO portals or someone who you have to train? Time is critical, especially when it comes to tasks such as BPOs or determining occupation status. Do they know the criteria for searching for comps for the BPO?

And when it comes to the contract to close tasks, how much training does the team member have in using various online transaction management systems? Such as EbrokerHouse, SettlementRoom, RELAY, TransactionDesk, TAZAREO, and others? Again, your time is important and having a member who is proficient in using these systems will save you time and money.

Integrity

Enough can’t be said about this topic. Simply put, everyone needs to be honest in their business dealings with one another. I feel that this is a foundation in a truly successful business. If a member is cutting corners to try to get the job done, it will come out in the end. Just a quick example. If a bid (quote) is submitted by a vendor for a repair on the REO property, don’t change the amount when submitting it to the asset company. I have known of this to happen and the person did think they were getting away with it. And since it was just a small amount in the beginning, it was not discovered. So the person felt safe and increased their bid amounts. But when the asset company discovered this, all monies had to be refunded for all of the bids. And of course that agent lost their business with that asset company. A hard but powerful lesson.

I hope these few tips: Experience, Education and Integrity can help you in your search for a successful REO Team.

To your business success!

Roxanne