Bill Sands

Recently at the National Association of Realtors Conference in Orlando Florida, NAR suggested that Realtors cross borders to gain referral dollars from various real estate opportunities Worldwide. I choose a French development company and chateau broker. I was surprised as to what influences the value and desirability of a Chateau to buyers in this very narrow market niche. The obvious is Location Location Location. So for example if you have a chateau in the outlying areas if Paris you will have a very desirable and pricing abode. The less obvious on the list of attributes that can increase values are:

A private Chapel in the Estate

Private Stables

Pigeon house and size

Condition

Unesco protected land

History of region and Estate. The chateau's Provenance, which comes from the French provenir, "to come from", means the origin, or the source, of something, or the history of the ownership If a King or other noble family owned the estate then there is a market for its pedigree blood line.

water and woodland on property for sportsman activities

Almost all chateau offers high level of privacy with either walls of stone or shrubs surrounding the estate with large iron entrance gates. The french government has a No fly zone law so no one can fly over a historic property or chateau without the written permission o the owner.

If you know someone that is currently renting a home or apartment who has a secure job and good credit let them in a few secrets;

If you pay rent in the Amount of $600 per month in 30 years you wull have paid a sstaggering $499,355!!!

If you are paying $1,000 per month in 30 years you will have paid in $823,259! That is figuring that there is no rent increases.

The federal Government is offer a $7,500 tax credit to fist time buyer and now this does not need to re-paid! Many homes located out in the county qualified for Rural housing 100% financing and of course FHA is only 3.5 % down and the seller can pay all of the closing cost.

Educate the young buyer who is renting and explain the benefits. The economy has created one of the best buyers markets ever! The interest rates are low, and the value are at the lowest in many areas that they will go. We have seen areas such as San Diego California sales number begin to escalate, and usually when the market begins to recover and readjust its too late and the window of opportunity is gone.

1Buyers are aware of the lengthy market exposure and usually attribute to overpricing.

2. Merchandising your property is done for results- overpricing reduces the response and ultimate, results

3. Buyers educate themselves with market comparables through various internet sites. If your home does not compare, it won't sell.

4. The proper pricing of any commodity, especially a home, results in an early sale.

5. Buyers will avoid overpriced homes and look some where else. Buyers purchase within their qualified range, so if a buyer is qualified at $100,000 and your home is worth $100,000 but it is initially marketed 20% higher at $120,000 the buyer who is Qualified at $100,000 will not be looking at it, and the buyers qualified in the $120,000 range will be feel it is overpriced and will not put and offer in onit.

6. If overpricing causes a home not to sell, the monetary loss and the many inconveniences to the owner could be overwhelming.

7. Homes usually sell at a Fair Market Value! Pricing a home realistically will bring an early sale, few inconveniences, and a greater monetary return.

When we are representing a buyer it is a good idea to share with them the secrets of what makes the seller react... their hot buttons.

When you are looking to buy a home, finding your Seller's hot bottom" could allow you to outdo rival bidders. As they say, timing is everything; here are three pointers for Sellers seeking to win through careful timing:

Think like a Seller- know Sellers time frame, its easier to build your offer that caters around the sellers need. Many times you can add a few buyer concession and get them if the seller feel like they are wining by a closing date that works for their unique schedule..

Speed up the process through pre-approval:

Buyers who are already cleared for financing are more credible in their offer to make a

A hasty move and hence have more bargaining strength, especially if the sellers are so hurried they can't risk a deal that might fall through. Put the Sellers needs before your own" Flexibility on your part has it's own psychological cost. You may be required to move midway though the school year for instance. Or if you've already sold your last house, moving on a delayed schedule could require you to move twice, perhaps taking an interim rental. Another strategy that would help sellers with a home under construction is to buy their old place now and then rent it back to them until their new place is ready. Only you can calculate the emotional and financial cost of meeting the seller's time schedule. There no simple solution- but the benefits can sometimes outweigh the cost.

In this economy sellers are eager for offers and are more flexible then ever, but the more you are willing to make your offer a Win for the Buyer and a Win for the Seller by give a little thought of the seller's hot buttons may yield big rewards for the buyer

Recently I had the opportunity to rent my condo in St Thomas to a celebrity. I was asked by the individuals management to allow the celebrity to stay there for no cost. I agreed because I thought it was a cool thing to do, but they would not allow me to use their likeness or images to promote my property so there was really very little benefit in it for me. I did however receive an autograph picture and thank you note from the celebrity which was very nice.

My principal home is in Berks County Pennsylvania. We recently had a movie actress living in our community for the past seven years or so. Her home sold in just a few days for a premium price! What is the price that someone will pay for the bragging rights of saying this was the home of________ , or a movie star lived here. In this case the buyer paid $100,000 more then i feel it was worth!

Several years ago I sold a spectacular estate owned by a famous name in the business community, I would be willing to bet that the reason why the buyer purchased the property was for the bragging rights of entertaining in the same room that hosted many notables over the years while the home was owned by the famous family.

I read in a news report that Cher purchases homes, remodels and stages them with her personality and resells them for huge profits as a business venture, a profitable one I might add. To add the publicity of a Cher owned residence can add hundreds of thousands to even millions of dollars to the price.

Most of the real estate in California is handle by a few Brokerage well connected to the entertainment industry such as Fred Sands of Beverly Hills Ca. As part of the marketing and working with celebrities is an iron clad non- disclosure confidentiality agreement is added to your buyer and seller agency paperwork. So the Brokers handling the sales can not benefit from the bragging rights just their bank accounts from the big commissions they can earn from the transactions.

One of my vacation homes is part of a condominium association where a major television personality, comedian who earns millions of dollars a year is on the delinquency list. Why do they feel that they above everything else. Probably because we put then on pestals.

At the NAR Conference in Orlando, there was a push for Realtors to cross borders and earn commissions through marketing/referral arrangements with Global partners.

I connected my firm with a development company who also is one of the largest Chateau Brokers in France. They invited me to France this past December for a World wind adventure and exploration of the Rich and Famous and the homes they own in the French countryside . I previewed a Castle owned by a royal family who felt that I should market to Tom Cruise .The property was secure and private and in France the Government prohibits anyone from flying over a Castle, Chateau or historical structure with out written permission which gives the owners the ultimate in privacy once you are behind the gates. This is probably why Brad Pitt recently purchased a Chateau in the South of France.

Now for the challenge how does one get the information in a tasteful way to Tom Cruise. Well in my case I handed it to him in person. Tom was being interviewed at the New York Times on Dec 17 in NYC. The event was open to a limited ticketed audience as part of the Times Talk which is similar to the Actors Studio that is telcasted on Television. After the event there was a meet an greet and I had the opportunity to talk with him and hand him a jump drive with power point presentation about the offering. He was very gracious and took the information and told me he would look at it when he had time. Who knows if anything will come of it, but if you don't try you will never get anywhere. It just takes one Chateau to sell, and I will make enough referral commission to own my own Castle so its better odds then the lottery.

So Celebrities are a rare breed we love them in the movies televison or sporting events. Because they are idolized they can get way with alot, which can frustrate us, but there is not one Realtor who I know who would not want to have the opportunity to work with one and earn the big comissions!