Beverly, MA

You already know that in most cases a Buyer's Agent won't cost you any money. You get the fact that they have much more knowledge on the market based on their day-to-day activities. Here are five examples of ways I can save a client time, money or stress during a transaction.

1. The Open House Press!: Did you ever wonder why hosting Agents pay more attention to certain OH attendees and not others. Usually the ones that they follow around asking questions and making conversation with are the ones that checked the "not working with Realtor" box. My clients get a stack of business cards to hand out as they go to OH's assuring them the opportunity to look at the house without being bothered or getting the hard sell.
2. Chasing the paper while you work: Just last week I spent a good 2 1/2 hours chasing around a form that needed to be signed for my Buyer's mortgage company.  The date to have the mortgage commitment letter was fast approaching and this had to be done that day.  The Seller's were at work and the Listing Agent wouldn't be able to get to them before the end of business.  Fortunately, I have invested in a system that allows me to send the form to all parties and have it signed electronically.  The Sellers were able to access and sign at their place of business and so were my Buyers.  It took longer for the Lender to get me the form than it took to have it signed by everyone and sent back.
3. Network of Professionals:  You will need access to many different people within a normal transaction. I always encourage my clients to use the people that they are comfortable with whenever possible. For the times that you don't have a friend or family member to call on, I have a list of trusted professionals that I know will give the quality of customer service that I expect for my clients.
4. Catching the red flags before wasting your time: We will design a profile for your property that will be used to weed through the endless inventory to get to "YOUR MARKET".   If the listing sheet is incomplete, I will call the Listing Agent to go over our needs before setting up a showing or having you go to an open house. You should not have to look at 20+ houses before finding one that meets your needs.
5. Simple Site Approach: If you are reading this you are at my blog site. MassRealEstateHunter.com. I keep this separate from my search site on purpose.  This is where I will share my expertise and opinion to give you an idea on how I like to work and approach different aspects of buying and selling property.  My search site, MassReal-E-Site.com is for 3 things. 1. searching, saving and setting up alerts on properties, 2. Requesting help pricing your home to sell and 3. getting community reports on any city/town in Massachusetts including school rankings.   That's it!!  All information is pulled directly from the MLS and is updated daily as properties come on and go off the market.

Nbo, it's not 2:00 in the morning and I don't have a book or any software to sell you that will take you from your dorm room to an ocean front estate in three weeks. I will however tell you that if you are looking to make a career change or nearing the end of your college days and don't have a clear path to employment, real estate could be something to look into.

With all of the negative press and foreclosures going on, why would I want to get into this business now??

Successful Realtors pay more attention to the big picture and not what the press pounds into your head every day. If your systems are in place and you continue to grow your client list, you will be successful in any market.

Regardless of if you start your career in a "hot" market or a "down" market, you are going to need time to get things moving. Learning the business, networking and generating leads will take up a good amount of your time as you get under way.

Learning the business: This is obviously the first thing you need to do. If you become the first agent in the world to have 4 people call you the day you get your license, you had better have the answers to their questions or you have lost the confidence of four potential clients and their future business. This will take some time and will be enhanced by using the second key to this business.

Networking: This is something that you may want to start before/during your licensing process. Having a network of professionals to turn to when you or your client have a question will be critical to establishing credibility with your clients. Not knowing an answer is not a bad thing, not taking the time to get the right answer will cost you business. You can also establish a reciprocal referral base with these professionals by giving them the opportunity to work with your clients.

Generating Leads: There are two types of leads. those that come from people you know and those that come from your various marketing strategies. While no lead is guaranteed business, one that comes in the form of a referal is usually a better bet than one that doesn't. Having a steady balance will assure steady business and help keep the cash flow constant. Getting referrals comes from doing a great job, getting cold leads to turn into future referrals is another trick.

This business is not for everyone. If you are disiplined and run it like a business, you can make a great living for years to come. If you think you are going to get your license, show some houses and make a fortune you should stay up late tonight and call the number on the informercial.

I won't call it an epidemic, but lately I have seen and heard of a few instances of buyer's missing out on homes that they really want by simply not making an offer.

Don't get me wrong, I understand this is a buyer's market and that everyone is looking for a great deal, I just don't think some people understand that there is a point where it's not worth selling a house. Each case is unique and the more you understand the specific situation of the property you have interest in the better decision you can make.

Here are some things you should think about when searching for your home.

1. Assume your new home will not be worth what you paid for it in a year! -- While this may or may not be the case, the truth is that it only matters if you plan on selling in a year. Whether we have hit the bottom or not, most agree that we are close and that within the next 2-3 years we should start to see prices start to climb. Here is a very interesting Chart showing how all Massachusetts Communities have done over the last 10 years even with the huge decline in prices.
2. The best way to get a price reduction is to make an offer! -- No buyer feels that they should pay the asking price unless there are multiple offers in. For this reason sellers are reluctant to drop prices figuring that a $10,000 drop is going to turn into a $15-20,000 drop. Make your offer! At least you will know if they are serious or not.
3. Sellers are not Banks! Seller's have a plan in place. They want to upgrade, downsize, relocate or whatever.... These plans rely heavily on what they will get for their current home. I have seen many give it the old college try to make their plan come to fruition. If they can't use the equity or absorb the loss based on the market, they stay put and wait to play another day.
4. Showing that your serious can save you a couple of bucks! Pre-approval letters don't get anyone overly exited anymore. Too many deals have been squashed once the underwriters get involved. Cash is King! Larger earnest money deposits and second deposits will show that you are serious. Showing that you are willing to come up with a larger down payment can be the difference of having a lower offer get accepted over a higher offer that has to go through the FHA guidelines.
5. Timing the interest rates can be more important than that last counter offer! Even a slight increase on interest rates can cost you more than you think. If that increase happens while you are squabbling over another $5 - 10,000 on the price, you could be hurting yourself in the long run.

There are some great deals out there and there is no excuse for an educated, qualified and willing buyer not to get one. Those that feel you can get a new Mercedes for the price of a used Saturn will remain on the sidelines looking at houses that they will never buy.

How is my agents blog or personal website going to help me buy or sell a home? We are in the midst of a large generational gap in regards to the way we find information and communicate with one another.

The fact of the matter is that depending on who you listen to, between 85 - 95% of people looking to buy a home are doing their research online. Lets focus on how they research. Most just type a word, phrase or question into a search engine box and click search. Bang! A list of destinations pop up leading the consumer to the information that they want.

The lists usually consist of a variety of websites, blogs and social media sites that have been deemed most relevant to the consumer's request. Needless to say that if your Realtor has a link on this list, the consumer is more apt to see your listing.

What is the purpose of a blog?

A blog has many purposes which is why it has become such an effective marketing strategy for all industries. The information provided builds credibility for the author while providing information to the consumer. They are also internet billboards allowing you to advertise goods(in our case listings) and services around the content for consumers to see. Links will allow a consumer to go to other internet sources the agent provides (website, MLS Search, social media sites) that will also create an opportunity for your home to be seen.

We can debate the impact it has on society another time, but the truth is that most people under 40 years of age choose to identify with someone online before contacting them in person.

The ability to attract internet navigators to themselves and to their services, will give you an indication of how well they will drive traffic to your property listing. Those who refuse to text message, blog, maintain a website and incorporate social media, are dismissing a huge amount of potential clients. They are also missing out on the chance of extending your internet presence beyond the listing sites and into the view of the tech savvy generation.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not suggesting that all traditional methods of marketing are obsolete. An online presence is not, in and of itself going to get you positive results. The numbers can not be ignored, your listing will be seen by more consumers if your Agent is using the ENTIRE internet to their advantage.

I recently came across an interesting chart in Boston Magazine comparing the average sale price of a home in all Massachusetts Cities and Towns from 2009-2010, 2005(the peak)-2010 and also from 2000-20010. The chart was complied by information provided by one of the industry leaders in real estate records and data , The Warren Group.

While the intent was to show which towns hold their value better than others, it led me to another hot topic of late "Are you better off renting than owning?". As recently as September, 2010 Time Magazine had a cover story entitled "Rethinking Homeownership".

As a Realtor, I too am guilty of tossing around the same old tired lines like "why pay your landlords mortgage" and "the tax deductions alone make it worth buying". The hard core resisters respond with the timeless "yeah, but when something breaks I can just call the landlord" and "look at all of the foreclosures going on, I don't want to get into that situation".

The fact of the matter is that it does make more financial sense to own a home, but it is not for everyone. Without getting to "deep and Zen like", the prospect of owning a home has changed along with most other aspects of society with the advancements in technology, medicine and travel.

Here are some example of why the decision is a little more difficult today than in years past.

1. As recently as 20 years ago, relocating your family to another State meant considerable more change that it seems to today. Your best chance of keeping in touch with people was an occasional phone call and maybe coming back for a visit every year or so. Now, I know more about the current events of my friends in Hawaii than I do about my next door neighbors.
2. Lets face it.... people are living longer today with all of the marvels of medicine. I have more clients than ever looking for homes with in-law apartments or trying to find 2-3 family homes to adapt to extended family situations.
3. The number of short sales and foreclosures are obviously creating a demand for rentals. As the supply and demand theory continues to kick in, the cost of buying may far out way the appeal of renting.

The decision to buy or rent needs to be a more thoughtful process taking into consideration not only your current financial situation and lifestyle, but your future goals and intentions. As the chart shows short term ownership will leave you more vulnerable to the ups and downs of the market but over time it has proven to be a good investment if you let the equity build. Simply put if you think you will be moving frequently for any number of reasons, renting is probably the best option. If those same reasons indicate you should base yourself in a specific area or community for the foreseeable future, buying seems to make more sense. It is a choice that needs to be made on a case by case basis and not dictated to you by anyone.