Lilburn, GA

Changes might be coming... and they aren't good.

Buried in the 1500 page bill is a very long section on the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance program, REEP for short.

It calls for varied provisions such as "Green Guidelines" for new and existing homes, Federal Code Inspectors for those provisions, nationally cohesive building codes and a slew of programs around those items.

It doesn't seem that bad... right?

The guidelines aren't mandatory, but it only takes a stroke of the pen to make the guidelines into requirements for any home that is going to have a federal guaranteed loan. So, while a seller wouldn't HAVE to make the upgrades... they would be locked away from the majority of mortgage programs for the buyer of their home unless they did...

And nationally cohesive building codes don't sound that bad... until you start thinking about the wide variety of local conditions that building codes are specialized for... like deserts in Arizona, hurricanes along the southern coasts, the cold of Minnesota and earthquakes of California. Should homes in Hawaii be insulated like those in North Dakota or Florida? Is that a justifiable expense. What about hurricane-proofing homes in West Virginia? Earthquakes in Rhode Island?

But the biggest problem with the bill is that legislators didn't have time to read the 1500+ pages before the voted on it... most STILL don't know what is in it.

from LaneBailey.com

Ok, don't panic, it doesn't end until December 1st, 2009. But don't get complacent, either... That is sooner than you think.

If you aren't familiar with the FTHBTC (First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit), here is a little reading. The first thing to know is that not owning a home for the last 36 months qualifies one as a First Time Home Buyer for this tax credit...

So, back to the timeline...

Loans are taking a little longer to close lately... The end of November is going to be VERY busy with closing attorneys... The good deals aren't on every corner...

So, getting a home under contract 45-60 days out from the December 1st date would be a really good idea. That means that you really want to have the right house picked out by September. If there is a failure on a deal... or a short sale... it could add a month or two to the process.

Bottom line...

Don't let the time get away. If you qualify, don't leave $8,000 sitting on the table. And finally, don't think that looking for a house after Halloween gives you a great chance at getting closed by December 1st...

from LaneBailey.com

I'm beating my head on a wall...

Little did I know that I needed 100 fans in order to register a vanity page URL. And I asked a few friends that are up on things... and they didn't seem to know that little tidbit either.

So, here is the hot tip... if you don't have 100 fans, you can't register a custom URL for your Facebook page.

And... I have two pages I would love to get registered... if you haven't already, feel free to become a fan of:

Lane Bailey

Lilburn Dwellings

Thanks... and feel free to post yours here... maybe we can help you get the needed number of fans if you haven't already.

Yesterday I posted about how some companies are adding junk fees to the traditional sales fees for both buyers and sellers. I think this practice is just plain wrong... especially the way it is usually presented.

In order to give my clients options and help them save some money, I offer three different fee structures and two different levels of service for home sellers. Here is the quick rundown:

• Flat Fee - $999 listing plan. This is the plan from our discount arm, WhatIf? Realty. This puts your property on the local MLSs, and gets you a standard sign, as well as a lockbox and flyers. I have a couple of extras, as well as some available upgrades that aren't shown on the company page, for my clients through this plan, so if you are interested, please contact me directly.
• Traditional Listing. This includes all of the traditional services, like full marketing, website, video, virtual tour, interactive floor plan, interactive design tools, custom sign, blog support and more. I don't believe that tossing it in the MLS and then shooting a couple of pictures with my cell phone is a "complete marketing package"...
• The Hybrid Option. This is new and experimental, but really exciting. Many sellers want more than they get from a Flat Fee plan, but they want to save a few bucks. In effect, they are looking for a full-service marketing package with a lower overall cost... So, after looking at how we could offer something to meet this need, this is what we came up with. This includes ALL of the services of our traditional listing and adds a staging consultation. In exchange for an upfront fee, covering much of the cost of marketing, we discount the total cost.

For more information, feel free to call.

One other thing to keep in mind is that most real estate agents are actually independent contractors. While we "work for" a brokerage, we aren't employees. In some cases, we have the ability to set our own rates, services and other aspects of our businesses. So, even agents working for the same office may offer different services or fees.

In the case of Diamond Dwellings Realty, we are a small niche brokerage... we have agents that specialize in different areas or market segments. And as a smaller brokerage, we have a LOT of lattitude to deliver the best fit for a client's needs.

My goal is to get YOU the best total deal.

I’ve seen an annoying new trend.  Buyer and Seller “Broker Fees”.  It may go by various names, but amounts to the same thing…  what Clark Howard would call a Junk Fee.

These are quite different from the other fees that may be involved in a real estate transaction, and there are a LOT of fees.  The lenders have fees, the closing attorney has fees, there are state fees, county fees, insurance fees, delivery fees…  Simply put, buyers and sellers are paying plenty of fees.  Adding some BS junk fee like a paperwork fee, transaction fee, administrative fee or broker fee is just adding insult to injury.

There is already a commission or sales fee that the real estate broker and agent are sharing.  There is no reason to add another official sounding fee on top of this that is after the negotiated amounts.

And, that is how it usually works… the seller negotiates the fee for selling their home, and everyone shakes hands… and then the agent mentions that there is a $495 paperwork fee or something along those lines.  They say it is required… maybe not saying that they are the ones requiring it…

In the case of buyers, after going through the buyer’s agency agreement and telling the buyer that the commission is generally paid by the seller, they hit the buyer up for a transaction fee… again, saying it is a requirement.

There are various reasons for this…  What it mostly comes down to is that people and companies in the real estate industry are hurting for income.  But, many of our clients aren’t exactly rolling in money… and even if they were, it isn’t right to tack on junk just because we think we can… Some agents are working for companies that charge US a closing fee for closing a transaction instead of charging a split and the agents are passing it along.  It should be part of their cost of doing business.

I just say NO!

No additional fees.  You will know EXACTLY what you are paying for my services prior to delivery and prior to completing the negotiations.  I try to deliver more for EVERY client than other agents… but that doesn’t mean I need to add junk fees on top of fair fee structure.

And there are some different options available for sellers… but that is another post.