Welcome to my Tips & Industry News Page!

These are some valuable industry tips that I have gathered over time. I hope that some of the following documents will be useful to you. I will continue to add to this list, so come back and check for updates!


List of Tips & Industry News

General Information and Tips
 Simple Questions To Ask Before Selecting a Real Estate Professional
 Selecting and working with a Realtor

Buying Tips
 Buying a House
 Buying Your Home With Less Stress
 Secrets To Getting the Most House for Your Money!
 The Importance of a home inspection
 First-time buyers: finding the home that's right for you

Selling Tips
 Selling your House
 Getting Your House Ready For Sale
 Selling Mistakes Commonly Made
 The 'Whys' and 'Whens' of Selling your home
 Use the MLS to help sell your home

Home Maintenance & Improvements
 Making your Home & Pocketbook a Little GREENER!

Commercial / Investment Tips
 10 Tips to Help Any Investor!

Miscellaneous
 Buying/Selling Homes: Glossary of Terms

Simple Questions To Ask Before Selecting a Real Estate Professional

How long have you been in selling real estate in our area?
If they have not been in local real estate for several years, they may not know some of the important historical data they need to give sound advice about the area.

How do you determine my qualifications and when?
This is extremely important. Your Realtor should be interested in determining your buying power prior to showing you homes. This means he is a professional and will help you find the homes that are right for you. (Remember to get pre-approved at the bank, and not pre-qualified.)

How do you prepare information about relevant home choices for me ahead of time?
Your Realtor should have this done for you based on your specified criteria so that you have a good supply of current information.

What is your negotiation style?
You need to know how you fit in with your agent to better know if he is right for you and that the agent has the negotiation skills they need to represent you properly.

What if anything can you do to save me money on the items that regularly come up in the closing process?
Realtors know the costs involved, and a good realtor can save you money through his relationships in the industry.

Can you pre qualify me and help me with financing options?
Every situation is different. Your Realtor should be able to give you some alternatives. Banks arenÕt the only place to get this advice.

What kind of properties have you had experience selling?
Find out the detailed knowledge that the agent has of homes that will fit you.


Of course there are always other questions but we have found that these are typically questions that will help you know you are dealing with an experienced realtor. Finding the right real estate professional requires doing a little research and asking a few questions. You need to know everything about the selling process. What is the marketing strategy? What kind of advertising will be done? Is the realtor capable and willing to communicate effectively? Can the realtor effectively present and sell the less-noticeable assets of the property?

Real estate professionals also need to be knowledgeable about the community. They need to have a feel for the history of the area and the approximate price that people will be willing to pay. Also, real estate agents should know what the competition is and how much it will effect your sale.

Never choose a realtor on price alone. Remember that a realtor cannot magically raise the selling price of the house. Consider the buyer. The purchaser won't willingly pay too much; it's most likely that he or she will do research on the market and try to find the best product for the best price. The facts simply cannot be changed, no matter which realtor you select. In spite of these unchangeable factors, the realtor you select must still be diligent and knowledgeable.

If your property does not elicit attention within several weeks, the cause can most likely be attributed to one of these three factors: location, condition, and price. The location obviously cannot be changed. You should consider examining the conditioning of your property and re-evaluating the marketing strategy. Ask your realtor to offer an explanation of the competition and your pricing strategy.