Lessons learned from my first real estate transaction as an agent

Broker's advice proves invaluable in keeping legal trouble away

 

By Tarris Rogers, broker at Becky Breeze & Company Real Estate in Bend, Oregon.  May 2, 2014

 

My first experience as a real estate agent came when I received a call in my office from a gentleman who had a gruff, smoky voice. He said he wanted to take a look at a lot that our office had listed. The parcel was located about 30 miles from my office in an area that I was not familiar with. I agreed to meet him at the property and answer his questions.

 

When I arrived, I was greeted by an older gentleman whose appearance I can only describe as a cross between Santa Claus and a mountain man. He was good-natured and had lots of questions about easements, setbacks, water source, electricity hookup and homeowners association (HOA) fees.

Don’t answer questions you don’t know the answer to

I realized I was ill-prepared to answer his questions and felt stupid that I couldn’t. Thank goodness my principal broker had advised me not to answer any questions I was not reasonably sure on. When you are showing your first property, you don’t realize just how little you know about real estate until you’re thrown into the mix. It is so tempting to try to answer questions with your “best guess.”

I had my trusty pen and paper and I began writing his questions down like my broker told me to do, with the promise that I would get him answers. Honestly, there were only a few of his questions I was able to answer at that moment. I’m grateful that the man seemed to realize that I was a newbie, but still allowed me to work at getting answers to his questions.

Disclose! Disclose! Disclose!

In the process of getting answers to the man’s questions, I learned that that particular area had issues with high water tables and that some of the lots in that area experienced trouble getting approval for a home site because of it. This, of course, was a big negative that could potentially derail my chance at getting my first real estate sale. However, I’ve always tried to live my life by the golden rule, which is to treat others the way you would want to be treated. I told him about the risk of the high water table and the possibility of running into issues with getting permits to build a residence. He took the news in stride, and decided to move forward with writing an offer using me as his agent.

He closed on the sale and began working on getting building permits. During the course of construction, he found out that his lot was affected by the high water table and he was forced to spend thousands more dollars to reinforce the foundation against settling. He called me to tell me about his misfortune and the additional cost of building his home.

Lessons learned from my first real estate transaction

Right then and there I was so grateful that I had disclosed what I had learned about the water tables in that area. If I hadn’t, my first real estate transaction might likely have ended up with a complaint being filed against me, and/or a lawsuit. The lesson I learned from that experience besides treating others the way you want to be treated is: Disclose, disclose, disclose anything that may be important for a buyer or seller to know that you have knowledge of.

The second point that was reinforced to me, which I’ve carried with me these 18 years later, is never answer questions you are unsure of. Had I answered his questions “off the cuff,” I likely would not have gone back to get sound answers to his questions and learned about the issue. In the end, I still came off as the expert, by getting him solid answers to his questions, and in doing so, protected myself from potential liability.

I’m glad to say that year’s later Mr. Santa Claus mountain man sold the property for well over what he had invested in it, so everything turned out good in the end.

 

 

Another beautiful day

It’s another beautiful day here in the Pacific Northwest.  It’s a great day to listen in to what our Brokers are saying about Homes & Equity Real Estate Group.  Here is what Verna has to say:

 

Homes & Equity is the most hospitable real estate firm I have worked with. The support is A+ and the owner & staff who are there to answer & help, Do Help and are available. Great experience for the last 4 years. 

 

Verna Metzger

 

 

Your only costs with Homes & Equity Real Estate Group is $59 per month and a $195 per transaction fee.  With Homes & Equity Real Estate Group you can compete on a whole new level.  

Although we are a discount broker, we do provide a lot of services to our Brokers.  For our listings we provide:

• Yard signs
• Lock boxes
• Free flyers
• A Boards for your open houses. 

For your business, we provide: 

• Free business cards
• Free web site with IDX feed to the MLS
• Free continuing education
• Free brainstorming sessions to increase your business
• A Managing Broker that is willing to talk with you

You can learn more at our website at: http://www.joinhomesandequity.com/

Call Max Nasab at: 206-719-2694

Mortgage Rates Drop to 3-Month Lows Ahead of Important Data

by: Matthew Graham

May 1 2014, 3:12PM

 

Mortgage rates fell at the fastest pace in over a month today bringing them to their lowest levels since early February.  The motivation for a move of this size isn't readily apparent, but tomorrow's Employment Situation Report is likely a factor.  The underlying reasons for that are complex, but the gist of it can be explained with an analogy. 

The financial market participants that trade the securities that end up affecting mortgage rates are like attendees at a sporting event.  They may be out of their seats, moving around the stadium, getting a drink or what have you in the time leading up to the start of the game, but there's some sense of urgency to take one's seat and pay attention to the opening pitch, kick-off, jump-ball, etc... 

In this metaphorical stadium, there are no assigned seats either, so there can be jockeying for position right at the start of the game and the moments leading up to it.  The same is true for the jockeying of trading positions in financial markets.  Simply put, everyone is trying to find their best seat before the game starts--their best balance of trading positions before the big employment data.

This frequently leads to the sort of faster-paced movement we're seeing in bond markets today.  Unfortunately, that's tended to go against us on most instances of the big jobs report, but this time, it's been in our favor.  The important thing to understand about it is that it's NOT necessarily indicative of where rates want to go tomorrow.  It just happens to be the easiest spot from which to approach and digest the first play of the big game.  With no assigned seats in this stadium, if that play moves to the other end of the stadium, traders will follow in an even more frantic manner.

What does that mean for you?  Essentially, "lock if you got em."  It could be the case that the jobs data is much weaker than expected and rates continue to improve.  But the fact remains that we have the best rates in 3 months today and a report tomorrow that is more than capable of causing this welcome move lower to turn around and head higher.  To be clear, tomorrow is ultimately all about how the jobs report comes in, but from a risk/reward standpoint, there are few clearer locking opportunities.  In fact the riskiest aspect of locking today is that it seems like such an obvious choice.

The most prevalently quoted conforming 30yr fixed rate for best-case scenarios (best-execution) moved down to 4.25% in most cases, but 4.375% is still close.

Read the whole article at: http://www.mortgagenewsdaily.com/consumer_rates/360309.aspx

Q&A: Solving Spring's Garden Problems

By Bart Ziegler

With spring finally here, people are spending more time outdoors. And that raises issues about how to get lawns, shrubs and flower beds ready for summer after what was a long, harsh winter in much of the U.S.

We put out a call on Twitter for gardening questions. Below is a sample of the responses we received along with my advice:

Q: "By the end of the fall, my 'grass' was nothing more than a succession of browning, unidentifiable low growth. Now what," asked Louise Schiavione @LouiseSchiavone.

WSJ: Give it some time. While the grass may be brown, its roots—the key part—likely survived fall and winter. With springtime rain and warmer weather, the roots should push out green blades again. But as a precaution, you could spread some grass seed, rake it in lightly and keep it moist for a week or so until the seeds sprout.

Q: Melissa Davis @macmamava wrote: "weeds, weeds, & more weeds are my issue! They have taken over my flower bed...help!"

WSJ: Ah, the scourge of gardeners everywhere. First, you've got to rip them out by their roots. There's no way around that. Then, cover the entire surface with a few inches of mulch, and please, don't use the screaming-red-dyed version, unless you're trying to imitate a gas station flower bed. Mulch not only helps prevent new weeds from sprouting but holds in moisture. And any weeds that do appear should be easier to remove from mulch than from dirt.

Q: "Preventing the neighbor's ivy from invading my yard," tweeted Daren Heidgerken @DarenHeidgerken.

WSJ: That's a tough one. Ivy can spread rampantly and seems to have nine lives—one reason I pulled out mine. Still, I find some of it comes back each spring. One potential solution is to install metal or plastic landscape edging strips along your property line (ask for advice at a garden center), but even with those in place you'll need to cut off any vines that make their way over the strips' top.

Q: "trying to downsize garden to make life easier, but still want color thru summer. Strategies and plants, please," asked BJ Roche @BJ_Roche.

WSJ: Sounds like you need no-fuss, clump-forming bulbs and perennials—as opposed to plants that spread out of bounds or need lots of care.

For spring blooms, plant daffodils and crocuses. Surround them with salvia such as Salvia 'May Night' and yarrow such as Achillea 'Coronation Gold,' which will bloom after the bulbs and disguise their dying foliage.

For later-season color, try some of the many newer varieties of coneflowers, such as Echinacea 'Coconut Lime,' along with old faithfuls Rudbeckia 'Goldsturm' and Sedum 'Autumn Joy.'

 

Read the entire article at: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304734304579515913037922076?mod=residential_real_estate&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702304734304579515913037922076.html%3Fmod%3Dresidential_real_estate

 

Invitation to connect on LinkedIn

From Max Nasab Owner, Designated Broker at Homes and Equity Real Estate Group Greater Seattle Area Post, I'd like to add you to my professional network on LinkedIn. - Max Confirm that you know Max You are receiving Invitation to Connect emails. Unsubscribe © 2014, LinkedIn Corporation. 2029 Stierlin Ct. Mountain View, CA 94043, USA

I do not want to buy a house in this economy?

Now you have the perfect answer to this objection.  When your buyer gets their mortgage from Mortgage Money Store we will sign them up for the Mortgage Assurance Program.  The house payment will be made if the buyer has a job loss in the first two years of home ownership.  With this peace of mind, many people that have been putting off buying a house, will now buy from you.

Program Overview

All qualified, enrolled homeowners that are protected by the Mortgage Assurance Program (MAP).  This program provides financial assistance that assists homeowners in staying current with mortgage payments in the case of unexpected job loss. 

 

Within 30 days after full enrollment in the MAP Program, an informational packet will arrive to the borrower, explaining the program and how to file for assistance in the event of involuntary job loss. 

 

Program Benefits

·         Up to six months of Payments

·         Coverage up to $1,500 per month

·         Easy enrollment process

·         No cost to the borrower

 

Eligibility Requirements

·         Employed full time (minimum 30 hours per week) at time of Mortgage closing

·         Vesting period is 60 days

·         Cannot be more than 10% self-employed, an independent contractor or active military

·         Must be between the ages of 18 and 66

 

You can download a flyer about the Mortgage Assurance Program at: http://realestatebrokerconnection.com/sales-materials/

For complete information about the Mortgage Assurance Program call,

 

 

Sincerely, Max Nasab

Direct Phone:    206-719-2694

Fax:                     425-449-4909

12207 NE 8th Street Bellevue WA 98005

Website:              www.mortgagemoneystore.com

 

 

 

Strategies for getting hesitant homeowners off the fence and on the market

Wendy English Contributor Apr 29, 2014

 

Are homeowners hesitant to enter the market? Real estate agents are finding that they seem to be, and there are two big reasons.

The first being that the news of low inventory of homes for sale is making headlines, and many sellers wonder where they will go once they sell. The low inventory makes it hard for them to find that next property. These sellers have ventured out to look and they are not finding what they want, or they see how competitive the market is and don’t want to jump into the fray. Often they don’t have to. They have a house. It may not be ideal, but it is the path of least resistance.

Another group of property owners have been in a holding pattern. Right or wrong, they think they are underwater or that they have little to no equity, making it costly to make a move. The market in most of the country has improved, and those underwater homeowners and low-equity homeowners may be in a better position than they think they are, and moving is an option for them.

As a real estate agent, there are strategies you can use to turn property owners into sellers, and the goal of each of the strategies is educating the buying and selling public about the local market today.

Real estate news tends to lag behind, and getting the word out about the improved market will coax some who are hesitating to enter the market now instead of later.

Social media – This is a very effective tool for telling the story of the market in your area. Did your new listing sell immediately with many interested buyers? Tell the story on Facebook. Boost the post. For little money spent you can target a very specific audience when boosting a post on Facebook. A story of a wildly popular house with a photo will generate lots of conversation and interest. Social media is the great cocktail party on the Net, and a favorite topic at the party is real estate! One word of caution: Be very careful not to give away any confidential information.

 

Postcard campaigns – The news in many markets is that desirable areas are appreciating quickly and the houses are selling in less time than they did last year. Let homeowners know by sending them a statistic-filled card with the data for their area. Use a catchy headline to grab attention.

There is less junk mail in our postal mailboxes these days and much more in our email inbox. This has created what I call “email immunity.” The average email user (and let’s face it, almost everyone has email today) gets 125 emails per day. It is easy for your email message to get lost in an inbox. Postcards are proving to be more effective, but they have to contain excellent information. Recipe cards will not cut it.

Check out the U.S. Postal Service’s Every Door Direct Mail program. It is an affordable way to send cards to a whole postal route. The cards are huge (6.5 inches by 9 inches) and make quite an impact for a reasonable price.

Door-to-door canvassing – A great way to meet future sellers is to canvass neighborhoods. When hosting an open house, invite the neighbors. They are curious and will likely come anyway, and if you are in need of more inventory in their area bring them an invitation to your open house. You will have an opportunity to have a face-to-face conversation with homeowners to share the good news that their house is likely worth more than they think and that there are buyers for their property. The other topic you can bring up with them is how you help sellers secure their next home with your proactive approach to doing business.

The reality of the market we are in is that if we do not take these proactive steps to find listings and to find homes to sell buyers, they will take these tasks into their own hands in an effort to secure a home. It is happening already in many markets — my market in the Northeast included. Buyers are panicked about finding a house and will go to great lengths to find one, including prospecting for themselves.

What is needed to balance out the buyer-heavy market? More listings, of course.

Let’s say a downsizing seller takes the step of entering the market. He creates inventory for the buyers out there who are ready to buy. Let’s say those buyers also have a property to sell; perhaps that property is a condo that the downsizer would be interested in buying. Voila! We have a match.

This market is truly a “Which came first: the chicken or the egg?” market. Sellers are the chickens and buyers the eggs who may also be chickens, and we need chickens and we need eggs to balance out the out-of-balance real estate market we are currently experiencing.

Wendy English is the vice president and sales manager at Century 21 Commonwealth in Medfield, Mass.