FRANK LL0SA- Northern Virginia Broker .:. FranklyRealty.com

I am officially launching FranklyMLS.com, the World's First Wiki MLS!

Where BUYER AGENTS from multiple brokerages come together to ADD information and photo albums to listings they visit. MORE DATA & 1,000+ MORE PHOTOS!

THE "OLD 1.0 WAY" MLS: (see all 31 MLS search engines here)

1) One-Way Information. "Here are the homes for sale, as marketed by the listing agent. Take it, trust it, or leave it."

2) Photoless MLS Listings! They sell for $15,000 less but they are a pain for everyone. Oftentimes foreclosures or a listing by an underpaid or sucky agent.

3) Confusing Branding.Who is selling what? Each of the 60,000 MLS listings are plastered with one "Brought to you by" buyer agent from one brokerage. I tried to explain: "No, I am not listing 1,298 homes," but it isn't the consumer's fault, it is confusing! See my account on Homesdatabase.com/frankly a service that many agents pay $30 a month for. My annoying face on each listing.

4) Limited Data or Sign-In Required. All but a few sites have stopped the practice of requiring users to create an account and login in order to see listings. Also may sites will NOT show you all the data possible. Some even hide the addresses so you have to "call your local trusted Realtor!"

5) Slow, Fancy, & Feature Filled- Some of it might be useful, but it slows down the website. Their goal is to have such perfectly targeted results that it can take minutes to find something.

6) Small photos.As our computer resolutions get higher, the images get smaller. On my screen most MLS sites show 4 inch photos.

7) Computer based. No focus on cell-phone ready searching.

THE "NEW 2.0 WAY" MLS: FranklyMLS.com

1) Wiki it!

(Attn Buyer Agents, do you have a progressive office? Let me come and talk at your Tuesday meeting so that more Buyer Agents can get involved)

The World's First Wiki MLS. No, we can not CHANGE the listing itself (or the price!) as presented by the listing agent. What we do is ADD comments and photos to the listing and as a community flag and remove inappropriate comments. Every buyer agent with an ounce of techie-ness should be taking Buyer Agent Photo Albums. What is that? Well, the listing agent takes photos for their sellers to put the house in one light, but the buyer agent takes photos for their clients in a more realistic light. Including shots of how far it might be from a highway, or showing bathroom water damage or a roach infested place (scroll to bottom of those listing to see the comments).

The goal is to add information, and not opinions. No "this house stinks" or "this house is great," but instead factual information like "This house backs to Rt 66" or "This house is listed at 44.6% lower than the purchase price in 2006." Information not evident in the listing agent's presentation. I wish everyone was like Loudoun agents Tony and Danilo with their Blogback blogging for feedback where they list the pros and cons of their listings and ask buyer agents to leave comments. How can you find the reviewed homes? When you do a search on FranklyMLS.com, homes with a yellow highlighter, those have the comments, see an example search for 1021 Clarendon.

2) More Photos Than ALL other MLS sites.

So far, prelaunch, 10 buyer agents from 5 firms add photo albums with as many as 40 photos of 50 properties. With this, the database grows to thousands of extra photos. Consumers want PHOTOS,PHOTOS, PHOTOS and on our co-opetition website, several otherwise competing agents come together to give what the customer wants... MORE INFO and PHOTOS.

Sidenote: A year ago I bought a baseball glove from Amazon.com. It was photoless. After getting the glove, they asked if I would take a photo of it and post it on Amazon. That is what first gave me the idea for this Wiki MLS. (see post)

The site also has a point system. 1 point for comments, and 10 points for a photo album. For that, the contributor is listed underneath the listing instead of my mugshot on each listing (see above). They also get a front page link to their website. Why contact me as a buyer agent, if another agent has actually BEEN to the property, specializes in that area and has helped you get more information on it.

Buyer agents, here is a " how to add the photo albums."

3) No branding, advertising, or logins required. Other than the required link from the site owner (me) at the bottom of each page, there is no advertising or cheesy recommended buyer agent next to each listing. Only when a buyer agent contributes to a listing with comments or a photo album, do they get a link to their site. Also, you should already have a buyer's agent by the time you hit this site.

4) ALL MLS DATA(that is legally allowed to be shown) We show everything. Including BOTH the Days on the Market-M (MLS#) and Days on the Market- P (Property). Otherwise known as DOMM and DOMP We even show you the "within the industry 'you must be nuts'" listing agent's name and number. Only 1 other site does that. Don't worry agents, there is a disclaimer that says NOT to call the listing agent and why. So why have it? Well the consumer should ultimately decide.

What we can NOT legally show is: Realtor Remarks, Compensation amount (ask your agent if they take buyer agent bribes), Owner's phone number, showing instructions and lockbox codes.

5) Not Fancy, just FAST.Except for photos of houses, there is not one graphic, icon, logo on the site. No Geewhiz, just speed. With that comes fewer features, but how many features do you see on Google or Craigslist? Just give me info fast, even if it isn't 100% accurate (as in there might be a "madison manor" in both Arlington and Baltimore). FranklyMLS.com searches by keyword only. I know that looking at 400 homes can take a ton of time. The goal was to count each click and scroll in the home buying process and cut that time down by 80%.

1. "Sexy?" homes? Search the Realtor Public Remarks. Try it, search for "sexy." Only a 3 of the 33 local MLS sites will let you search the Realtor Public Remarks as part of an advanced search. Some information in these remarks can't be found in any drop down or checkbox search. For example: Lake Ridge Short Sales or Arlington Metro
2. Keyword search for ANYTHING.One box, search anything. Including, search by ZipCodes, subdivision name, school name (if the agent put it in), street name, street number, city, brokerage name, and even by agent name (nobody does that). It takes getting used to, but it works for Google and Craigslist, dso it works for FranklyMLS.com
3. Spreadsheet mode.Search like the Realtor's back end system. Text only results to quickly find what you need. Also the columns show you in a quick second the List price, Original Starting price, Tax assessment and DOMp/m. (See link above)
4. Photos only mode. Just a page full of 50 medium sized images. For the quick glance.
5. Photos and Details mode with image rollover. Most sites that have this mode have useless 1 inch images. We show in this mode the 4 inch images that other sites use for their "full size." Also you can use a rollover link to see all the other 2-30 images.

6) HUGE PHOTOS. Example. All the other sites use the 4 inch photos for each listing. Probably to leave room for mortgage calculators, frames, ads etc. We instead are the only ones that pull the high res 7 inch photos as the DEFAULT. Bigger is better.

7) Cell Phone Ready. Nobody offers this... for FREE.

With the former slogan, "So easy, a cellphone could use it," the site wasn't designed for the cellphone, but it is so simple that it still works great on most cell phones. I recommend the "photo mode." This is perfect for when you are in front of a house and want to get the details. I suggest using the house # and the zipcode.

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Other interesting features:

• FACEBOOK integration.We all have been asking ourselves if a useful tool for Facebook will come up. Well now there is one. You can "save" each listing into your Facebook account with 1 click. Then your friends can comment on what you have selected, or you can share them easily with loved ones.
• Super Short URLS. http://franklymls.com/FA6683625.htmlfor easy copy and pasting. (soon we are dropping the .html) into an email for others to share. I'm obsessed with "easy."
• Super Short Search Strings: www.franklymls.com/default.aspx?m=R&h=ALL&s=1021+Garfield (soon this will be even shorter). You can also bookmark the search string to quickly see all listings for that search.
• Find Similar Results: If you see a "more" or a ">>" click it to find similar homes or to see ALL the listings that a particular agent has (great for comparing listing agents!).
• Links to similar Craigslist FSBOs, and to Zillow for previous sale data.
• Link to that property on Google maps. Click on the "map" link.

So that pretty much wraps it up. I hope you have enjoy the site. I would love to get some feedback from current users (see Feedback contest), local agents and others on how to improve the site.

- Written by Frank Borges LLosa-Broker/Owner FranklyRealty.com

p.s. Yes I bought WikiMLS.com and I started the Wiki MLS group on Active Rain in early Nov 2007.

p.s.s. Several comments (the ones with no last names) were added by Frank. Those comments were sent in via email.

Reviews of the Wiki MLS
• A Stroke of Genius! The Epitome of Real Estate 2.0 By Matthew Rathbun Real Estate Instructor and Consultant
• Broker launches 'Wiki MLS' site Inman News

What are your thoughts on Home Sale Contingencies in this marketplace?

Frankly Definition:A Home Sale Contingency is where a purchaser has a home that they need to sell first before they can buy a home. Oftentimes these offers are written as "Under Contract with Kickout." I will explain the Kickout part later. 

I was asked about this today by somebody looking to upgrade, but she needed to sell her place first. My initial reaction was "heck no." If you approach a seller that hasn't been able to sell their place in 200 days, you are effectively telling them, "I know you haven't been able to sell your place, but I want you to accept this contract and wait for me to sell MY place." I would think they would laugh.

But then I decided to look closer into the facts and perhaps it isn't so crazy.

I looked up over 1,000 homes in Alexandria, Fairfax and Falls Church. Of those 1,000 that are under contract...

• I found 24 that had Home Sale Contingencies. Or 2.4%

So as I suspected, they are still very rare. Crazy? Maybe, maybe not. If done creatively, I think one might be able to push one through.

Pros for Home Sale Contingency BUYERS:

1. Less risk for the buyer. Their alternative has been to: a) Own two homes at once or  b) sell your place first and run out and buy a place while you are selling your place. (people usually do the "b" option, but there is a major problem if you don't like much that is out there for sale)

Cons for Home Sale Contingency BUYERS:

1. You don't get as good of a price. Sellers care about price AND terms. Similar to the carfax commercial where they illustrate with a balloon how dealers either inflate the trade in, or the new purchase. If you have bad terms, they will hold out for more money. I prefer to write CLEAN offers and be more aggressive on the price.
2. Most contingencies are written with a KICK OUT. This means that if another offer comes in, you will have 3 days to remove your contingency, or they KICK you out to the curb. Also known as Curbin'. No not really, but that would be funny. So, if you listed your house for sale and are halfway through that process and a KICK OUT situation comes up, you bare some significant risk. Do you lose your contract to buy or drop the contingency and risk not selling your house? (there are some creative solutions to fill the gaps in time including Options to extend etc)
3. Your contract can help light a fire under another buyer to finally bid on the house you have under contract, therefore you get Curbed.

Pros for Home Sale Contingency SELLERs:

1. If you are getting no offers, and your house is unique and hard to sell (near a highway or odd style), and meanwhile an offer comes in with a Home Sale Contingency but the agent can prove it will sell fast... heck what is another 60 days?

Cons for sellers:

1. The obvious. You pull your house off the market, nobody sees it and the buyer never gets around to selling their place. Or worse yet, the buyer changes their mind and they have a HUGE way to back out.

How best to do one for buyers:

1. Prove to the listing agent and seller that your house will sell FAST (as in 1-2 weeks). Show them comps, show them the track record of the agent. Even consider LOSING $10,000-$20,000 by underpricing your house to sell fast (something I don't recommend, but something to think about if you can make up that savings on the purchase, also think of it as an insurance fee and cost of making your $100,000 lower offer on your purchase look better). (I hope that wasn't confusing)
2. See if you can do one without any Kickout. A smart listing agent will say no, but you never know.
3. Try to make the provisions as long as possible. But the more you ask them to wait, the higher a price they are going to expect.

Tips for sellers considering taking a Home Sale Contingency:

1. Pretty much the same as above but in reverse. Also KEEP MARKETING the house.The MLS makes you put it under contract and few agents will touch it, but don't forget Craigslist and Open Houses. It is easier to get an offer when you have a standing offer. People love to offer on homes with others that are interested.
2. Make sure you have the ability to Kick Out the contract and take another contract. Keep the # of days to as short a number as possible. Maybe charge a daily fee for an extension.

And whatever you do, don't have the agent that is listing the place you like, become the listing agent for YOUR house. Wow, that would be a nightmare. No matter what "deal" he offers you. You would never know who he is working for and you could lose far more money and sanity than saved in lower commissions.

Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

The first task in writing this post was to look up whether "bullet holes" was 1 word or 2. Turns out it's 2 words. Learn something every day right? Or is it everyday?

Anyhow, I went to a bank owned property in Falls Church today.It was disgusting. It was infested by cockroaches (we didn't see any live ones) and a bullet hole in the window (or a run in with a Kevlar beaked crow). What a gem!

The good thing was this client was able to see it as an opportunity, instead of being freaked out. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't my thing, but this isn't about me, this is about the buyer.

It got me thinking about how bank owned properties (and other dumps) affect neighborhood pricing. I've never really believed in broad market data that say that an area has gone up or down. See my UP 14%!? No, Down 26.2%!? DATA. What Is It Good For?

Market Increase??

So when I hear that DC's median price supposedly went UP, I believe an insider that tells me, "That is because the condo market stalled out, fewer condos are selling, so if homes (which cost more) are still selling, it will look as if the average is jumping."

Or Market Decrease?

Well the flipside to the DC example is also true too. If you have a community where a 2 bedroom 1,000 ft unit sold for $400,000 and then a year later a similar 2bdr 1,000 sqft condo sells for $350,000, did the area, drop 10% or is it perhaps... a $50,000 dumpier place? Yes dumpier.

So skip the headlines and dig deeper to find the data that you want.

These "average" numbers don't cover same-home-sales. They cover apples that sold in one area to oranges that sold in the same area.

With all of these bank owned properties, which tend to be dumps (not always), I wonder what part of the "average" drop is uglier houses selling, versus an actual drop in an area.

Here is a link to a photo album (which all buyer agents should do) of the bank owned property. (viewer discretion is advised)

- Written by Frank Borges LL0SA Broker FranklyRealty.com

Please report typos.

I have wanted to post this post for a few weeks now. I want community participation on this one. I need examples and things to watch out for in Bank Addendums.

So you are buying a bank owned property, and REO or a Short Sale? You need to understand the bank addendums that accompany them, or you might miss a $3,000 hidden fee.

But first, a quick background. Agents that are members of NVAR, and are REALTORS, use a 15 page contract that was painstakingly created by lawyers and a contracts committee. They try to design it as evenly as possible and several "fill in the blanks." Local Realtors are given hours of training on these contracts. While a client might want to also have the contract reviewed by a lawyer, there is some comfort knowing that it everyone uses the same contract and was written by lawyers with a neutral bias.

But when you buy a bank owned property, you start with a standard contract, but then the bank sends the oftentimes non-negotiable "bank addendum."

They might appear innocent, but they are not. They are written 100% FOR the banks and since every bank has a separate bank addendum, there is currently no training for REALTORS so that they can fully understand them and the tricks that they sneak into them

Here are just a FEW of the things you should know about bank addendums:

1. Addendum means "Everything in the main contract is nullified if this addendum covers it. So if your main contract says you get a walk through, but the addendum says "As-is," the addendum wins.
2. Some bank addendums are written nationwide and ignore local laws. Local laws DO supersede these contracts, so sometimes there are points in them that are not enforceable.
3. Watch out for hidden fees. One of the agents that I work with had their main contract agreed to, but the addendum needed to be sign. The addendum shifted a $3,000 tax to the buyer. Hello! That is real money, don't just sign it.
4. Most addendums are more "AS-IS" than the regular contract. The bank would rather take less and be done with nickel and diming. This is fine, as long as you realize and are ok with this risk
5. Most addendums allow the bank to cancel the contract up to the sale date. Yep, they can walk, sometimes for a $1,000 fee or sometimes with no penalty. If they get a higher offer, or whatever, they can break the contract. Again, this might never happen, but you need to know what COULD happen.
6. Bonuses to use their title company. In Virginia the buyer is legally allowed to pick the closing company. But oftentimes the bank wants their company to do the closing (in part because they get kickbacks) so they offer a $1,000 incentive. On something like a bank sale, with people losing their homes, I would want MY title company to tell me everything is all clear.
7. Termite provisions are stuck. Normally the seller pays if there is termite damage. The addendum shifts the risk back to the buyer.

Does anybody else know of some tricks that are hidden into these addendums? Again, there are dozens of variations, so make sure you review it carefully and have a lawyer review it.

Written by Frank Borges LL0SA- Broker FranklyRealty.com

(please report typos)