The first broker I worked for in 1993, taught me to "market in the slow economy, and sell in the busy one." That is from my perspective as a real estate professional of course. Let's say you are a buyer, seller, or investor; then what do you do? The answer is "cash is king." Better yet, I call it the "three cashes...." Cash-in, Cash-Out, and Do Not Cash. Here are examples of something you might want to consider:

1. If you are a buyer and don't have a lot of cash, consider an FHA loan with little down payment and excellent interest rates, not to mention tax benefits. The most important factor here is not how much cash you have, but how good your credit score is. If you need help finding a good mortgage loan consultant, let me know!

2. If you are a seller, and you get an amazing offer on your property, this is your time to "cash-out." Unless you are emotionally attached and invested in that property, this is your time to sell. The thing you have to remember here, is to talk to your accountant about Capital Gain, Taxes, and better yet, option #3 below.

3. Investors who want to grow their real estate investments in volatile economies, have a great option called IRS Code 1031, or "Like Exchange." This is a great tool for sellers and investors to "Cash Out" but who who do not want to touch the cash. There are volumes written about this process known as "1031 Exchange," but the main thing to know is that, you cannot touch the cash. You have to find a disinterested third party, preferably a title company, to hold the money and transfer both your equity and capital gain to a what you'd hope is a better investment.

Again, real estate brokers are not licensed mortgage consultants, nor proficient in 1031 Exchange laws, but we are a good place to start with. A good broker can give you some advice and pointers, and also help you assemble a team of professional including a mortgage broker, lawyer, and escrow agent, to help you achieve your goals.

2009 is a good year to start planning for future real estate investments. I think within three years, if you do not have a solid plan, you might find yourself again in a big boom, and wondering why you did not act sooner!

Almost everyone in the real estate world has heard of Craigslist (www.craigslist.org). Prior to its popularity, many well known an established area brokers were discussing the emergence of a "Rental Multiple Listing Service." During those years, just before Craigslist took over the bulk of real estate advertising, the Massachusetts based MLSPIN, tried to push their "you can list your rentals in MLS as well..." The problem is most brokers are not willing to co-broke with four other agents, so the MLS system is rarely used for rentals, which in my opinion is unfortunate. I wish MLSPIN did a better format for their rental listings allowing agents the ease of entry and sharing of information between offices. I think the future of leasing is co-broke, co-broke, co-broke, and that is a better choice than letting the rental client walk out the door. Why is this so hard for brokers and agents to understand and apply?

Secondly, the MLS system is very difficult to use when entering rental listings - rental agents are used to simpler formats. For the average rental agent who is used to putting in a listing in five or less minutes on Craigslist, the idea of filling out pages upon pages of data sheets and uploading photos to MLSPIN, is but a painful chore.

There are alternative systems like www.bostonapartments.com which offer both a database and an advertising solution - and integrates with craiglist as well. In my opinion, this is the best system Boston has to offer as of now. It crosses between a good Multi Listing Service and a solid online advertising tool, while providing a secure databse (a place to enter all your landlords and tenants). The challenge is Craigslist is also very easy to use and many renters had become accustomed to finding a "good deal" among the thousands of "for rent by owner" listings.

Craigslist has not only changed the real estate landscape, but it also created a chaotic world of disorderly advertising by disorderly people. For example, broker Joe lists a unit on Craigslist that he got from landlord A. Landlord A also called broker Dave and give him the listing as well. Both Dave and Joe ask each of their agents to advertise the unit, and now you have sixteen advertisements that are the same. What can be worse? Landlord A calls Agent B who works for Dave, and asks him to change the listing price from $1400 to $1350. Now Agent B re-advertises the same unit for $1350, while the rest of the agents and brokers are advertising it for $1400. It gets even worse, Landlord A rents the unit and does not tell anyone. Then the flood of inquiries goes to all the rental agents working for Dave and Joe, but the unit is gone. This is Craigslist in a nutshell. You get the idea....

There are some companies in the Greater Boston Area, which offer "managed database" solutions for renters and brokers. The problem with these companies is that they are usually manned by two or three people handling thousands of listings. They are expensive, and often promise agents more than they can deliver.

I am in the midst of researching the ultimate "rental" database solution which functions like the MLS system, but offers landlord, owners, and tenants a centralized place in Massachusetts to find out accurate information on what is available. Until I find that system, I think that www.bostonapartments.com is the official Boston Area rental MLS, aside being far better than Craigslist or MLS combined.

In all my years in real estate, I have seen many changes in the way realtors conduct business and process transactions. I have written the article below to help buyers understand "what comes next" when buying a home.

Steps to Buying a Home - The Buying Process

Buying a home can be one of the most exciting and rewarding things you ever do, or it can be one of the biggest nightmares you will ever go through. How you experience the home buying process depends entirely on how well prepared you are and how knowledgeable the people helping you are. The following step-by-step explanation of The Buying Process , should clear up a lot of confusion you might have.

1. Get a pre-approval

Pre-approved home buyers get preferential treatment when negotiating home purchases. Why? Because pre-approved buyers are financially qualified to purchase the home and are considered more serious than buyers who are not. Nothing feels worse than finding the ideal home in the perfect area, and then not being able to get the financing to close the deal. A pre-approval will provide as a reality check prior to mapping out your life in a home that you cannot afford.

2. Select a Realtor

This is one of the most important steps in the process. You will, for all intents and purposes, be in partnership with your agent. You will be confiding in him or her on a business level and often on a personal level. Your realtor will be the person dealing with any problems that crop up along the way. He or she is the key to your finding what you want in the area you want for the price you want. Be selective, look for someone you feel comfortable with and with whom you're experienced and knowledgeable. It is very important that the person you're working with is representing you exclusively and is someone you can trust.

3. Meeting with your agent for a home-buyer consultation

Also a very important step in the process, this is when you and your agent prepare each other for exactly what to expect along the way. The following points should be covered and fully understood during this meeting:

Exactly what your needs are (number of bedrooms, baths, etc.), in which areas you're looking, what price range you are comfortable with, and what your time line is. It takes generally takes 30 to 60 days from purchase to closing.

How often you are available to look and what you expect from your agent in terms of availability and communication (e-mail, phone updates either daily or weekly).

Your agent should give you copies of all the paperwork you will be expected to sign throughout the process and briefly explain what each form is for.

Your agent should explain buyer brokerage vs. seller's representation, and you should sign a buyer broker agreement (optional).

Sign the Massachusetts Mandatory Agency Disclosure Form required by law. Never work with an agent without signing this form first. This is not a contract, it is a disclosure requiring the agent to disclose to you what his or her role will be in your transaction and how the firm where the agent is associated will handle your transaction.

Be open to any suggestions that your agent may give you. Your agent may suggest a different strategy or type of property that might be more suitable for your needs.

4. Looking at homes

This is the fun part. It is important to limit the number of homes you're looking at in a day. If you look at too many homes, they begin to run together, and you can't remember one from another. It's a good idea to use a checklist form to help you track the properties you have seen. It is also helpful to actually begin to narrow down the properties after each visit. Remember, communication with your agent is crucial. It's important to let your agent know which houses you like and why, as well as which houses you don't like and why. Sometimes it takes going out and looking one time before you and your agent really have a good grip on exactly what you're looking for. Call your agent, and have him/her do the research on any advertised properties that look interesting to you. That's what agents get paid for. If you should become interested in a for-sale-by- owner, ask your agent to contact the seller before you do, to see if he/she will cooperate (pay a commission) with a buyers' agent.

5. Select a home

Once you've narrowed your search down to one or two homes that you really like, your agent will do whatever research necessary to help you make your decision, but the decision will ultimately be yours. And surprisingly enough, it's going to be a pretty easy decision to make. Buyers are welcome to call the local chambers of commerce for any statistics in which they might be interested. Local zoning and planning offices are a good source for future road plans, etc. Once you've selected one home to focus on, your agents will do a comparative market analysis on that property. This involves determining "fair market value" by looking at what other buyers were willing to pay for properties similar to yours in the same neighborhood or area.

6. Making an offer & handling negotiations

When making an offer on a property, it is important to decide ahead of time how much you are willing to pay at what terms for the house. You already know what fair market value is with the information the you agent provides from accurate data in the Multiple Listing Service. Now you have to decide what price you will offer; how much deposit you will offer; what personal property you wish to have convey (everything is negotiable); when you plan to close; and what inspections you plan to have conducted.

When negotiating with any seller, it's best to remember not to take anything personally. Also, try to put yourself in the seller's shoes. Figure out what's not negotiable to you, and be willing to give a little on the things that are negotiable. A good agent should be able to give you tons of advice about how to structure your offer. Once your offer has been presented, the seller will either accept your offer outright, reject your offer outright, or counter your offer. The counter process can go back and forth many times. It's important for all parties to keep their cool and focus on the goal.

7. Get inspections & remove conditions

If, as part of your offer, you asked for time to be allowed to have inspections conducted on the property, you should have written what is called a contingency offer. Offers can be contingent upon financing, inspections, the receipt of acceptable condo documents, the sale of property, and other conditions. It is important that all deadlines be met and that all conditions are removed exactly the way the contract describes. Your agents are responsible for making sure this is done correctly and to file for extensions when needed.

8. Select an attorney & The Purchase and Sale Agreement

If you do not have an attorney already then your agent or mortgage broker can help you find one that specializes in real estate transactions at a very reasonable price. The attorney's job is to verify all the legal documents and prepare your Purchase and Sale Agreement which is your sale contract with the seller. This agreement will list all the items that are agreed on and contain special riders, conditions, and much more. At Skyline Realty, our agents do not handle the Purchase and Sale transaction. You are required to have an attorney around the time of your offer acceptance. This is an important step.

9. The final walk-through

Most sales agreements will give the buyer the right to one pre-closing inspection. This is your last chance to find any problems and have the seller correct them. Read the contract carefully, but most contracts read that all electrical systems, plumbing, appliances, heating, and air conditioning need to be in working order at the time of closing. These are the items you checking for at walk-through.

You are also checking for any other items the seller previously agreed to fix or replace. If anything is found to be defective or missing, you have several options: The seller can remedy the problem prior to closing; the seller can credit you the amount of money it would take to hire someone to remedy the problem; or the seller can promise to correct the problem and place into escrow with the attorney the amount of money you will need to pay someone else if the seller does not perform as promised.

On new-home purchases, the process is a little different. The builder will generally do a walk-through with you approximately one to two weeks prior to closing, resulting in a "punch-out list." Hopefully, they will get everything on the punch-out list completed prior to settlement. If not, most new-home contracts allow the builder to complete whatever minor items have been noted in a "reasonable" period of time. At Skyline Realty, we recommend that you conduct your walk through immediately before or 24-hours prior to the closing.

10. Closing on your home

On the closing day, you will be signing all of the mortgage documents, which can seem never-ending. The attorney conducting the settlement should be able to explain every document to you in a satisfactory manner. Do not ever feel intimidated. If you don't understand, don't sign. Your attorney will help your understand everything. If you like, you can request blank copies of the documents you will be signing in advance so that you can carefully review them. You will have to present whatever down payment and closing-cost funds you were expected to pay. This check must be certified; personal checks usually are not accepted.

11. Moving day

This is the last and probably the hardest step in the home-buying process. A little bit of planning and forethought, though, will make for a much smoother move. You will want to make arrangements with a moving company as soon as you can. Call at least two in order to get competitive quotes. They will usually ask to come to your home to get an idea of how much they will be moving and the distance they will need to travel. Be sure to change your address with the post office, your banks, and any creditors at least 30 days in advance. To avoid late payments, it's a good idea to actually call and verify receipt of the address change whenever possible. Call to order your utility hook-ups approximately 10 days prior to your move. Be aware that some utility companies will keep you on the phone for a long time.

Additional information can be found at http://www.hud.gov/buying/index.cfm

I am not an economist, but an experienced realtor. In all my research on the theory of the "real estate bubble," there is always a constant. Over extended borrowers losing their properties to foreclosures and overpaid developers buying it all up to prepare it for a boom. It seems that the only way to make real money in real estate, is to wait for these dips and turns rather than rely on a time and inflation alone.

In times like these, you cannot burst out your door and find a great deal on an investment property or a condo, but you should not wait and hope for a bubble similar to the early 90's either. In theory, bubble or no bubble, banks cannot sell all their foreclosed properties if there aren't enough buyers to buy them -- they are terrified of people knowing this simple truth. I had a wonderful opportunity to present a great foreclosure to one of my clients and he refused, for example. Just because prices may go down and foreclosure may be imminent, I don't think that there will be this purchasing frenzy that will eat up all those foreclosures.

I predict that people may end up waiting a long time for such a bubble and end up finding themselves in another real estate boom instead. If that happens, then you will not be able to buy much. The only real bubbles will be the ones in your bubble bath that you're too tense to get into. So here is my advice to you:

1. Don't let your mortgage company drive you, stay on top and demand the best rate and closing package.

2. Take at least 3-6 months to look and don't rush the process. In other words.... enjoy the bubble bath.

3. Listen to your real estate agent. Never work with a buyer's agent you don't trust. Listen to your instincts.

5. Don't trust your lawyer just because he or she is your lawyer. Lawyers are human too and sometimes just want to wrap the deal and get paid. Instead make sure you hire a lawyer who represented a family member or a friend. Get references.

6. Think team. Most successful investors and homebuyers think of their mortgage broker, agent, lawyer, property inspector as a team. You are at the center of that team and your job is to manage them.

7. Know more than just the basics. Just like cars have blind spots, humans have those too. You may think you know everything, but chances are you don't. This doesn't mean you should rush to a bookstore and buy a book on investing or real estate in bubble times, it just means that no amount of knowledge can be complete and you should always prepare for surprises on the way. The bubble might burst, the bubble might not. Only with an open mind you will be able to choose the right investment.

In summary, I think their are too many people now enjoying their bubble bath and not taking action. Eventually the water is going to get cold and all the bubbles will be gone. You eventually have to get up, out of the bath, and move on with your life. In times like these, it is important to analyze all data, but also balance it with your gut instinct.

Here are other tips:

1. Be positive. Negativity never leads to success.

2. Be realistic and watch out for false expectations.

3. If you are a buyer, don't expect the market to burst as in recent years. This bubble is predicted to be a softer one. You might lose more money by waiting and doing nothing while huge developers build skyscrapers all over the city.

4. Go for the unique. Don't do what every one is doing but at the same time, don't go buying Ikea counters and cabinets....

5. If you are a seller, offer your buyers customizations on their place and respect the power of the buyer. In some situations you may need to cater to your buyers like you would your boss. At least you know the job will get done.

6. Diversify and don't put all your money in real estate.

7. Recognize that if everyone thought like you, nothing in the world would ever happen.

To sellers considering a flat-fee listing;

As a broker, I understand that sometimes sellers need to save every penny they can to make the deal work for their buyers. Many sellers opt for what is called "Flat Fee MLS Listing," which means that the broker simply charges the seller a nominal fee let's say $300 and enters the listing in to MLS on behalf of the seller. The seller is then responsible to conduct all showings, negotiations, and open houses thereafter.

Not only do I think MLS should make this type of listing illegal, I also think that this type of listing is dangerous for the buyer, seller, and the broker alike. MLS was created for the purpose of enabling brokers to enter and manage listings in a unified system and work cooperatively to ensure a smooth transaction for the party they represent. Flat-fee listings create unfair competition and create a slew of problems from bad showings to bad representation. Every action that has been taken to diminish the role of the broker has historically proved unsuccessful.

It is documented that approximately 80% of those listings go unsold and are eventually handed over to a full time broker to handle. In addition, the sellers I have seen list this way lose thousands of dollars and time marketing the listing and dealing with buyers, lawyers, and taking time off from work.

One of my customers once told me, it is single.... If you need dental work, you see a dentist, is you need a haircut, you see a barber, etc.... Why is real estate any different. You don't go to your neighbor who is studying to be a barber and ask him to cut your hair and expect the best haircut? You don't go to an unprofessional dentist and ask him or her to remove your tooth....

There is nothing in my opinion as good as a full time dedicated broker who knows how to market and list your property. When choosing a broker, insure the following:

1. Ask your broker how many online avenues he or she uses to promote your listing.
2. Ask your broker what type of print advertising he or she does.
3. Ask your broker how many open houses will he or she conduct and where will those be advertised.
4. Ask to see a marketing plan like the one shown here.

In today's market an experienced broker is very valuable at the same time, don't be afraid to change brokers if the one you are working with is not delivering the goods.