The Beeler Group

Hiring a real estate agent to help you sell your home is a smart decision, but there are many pitfalls to avoid in order to ensure you are hiring the best qualified professional for you.  By understanding what an agent does for their client, why they do it, and what their systems are, it is possible to not only successfully sell your home, but have a pleasant experience as well.

In essence, real estate agents work for themselves, developing their own way of marketing and selling homes, so every real estate agent is different.  These differences may be slight, or they may vary greatly, but the only way to discover what services each one provides is to interview the agent.  Interview at least three real estate agents at your home, well before you must put the home on the market if possible.  The interviews should focus on several aspects that you may not be aware of yet.  Let’s take a look at what a proper real estate agent interview should involve:

The Interview

It is important to understand that the interview process is not to find out which agent claims to be able to get the most money for your home.  In fact, pricing should not even be discussed at the initial interview.  The object of the interview is to discover what services each agent provides, learn what type of marketing plan they have in place, how that marketing plan applies to your situation, and what systems are in place to manage the paperwork generated by a pending contract.

However, as important as these details are, it is just as important to learn whether or not you are comfortable communicating with the agent.  Many sellers make the mistake of simply hiring an agent who promises to sell the house for the most money, even when they do not feel comfortable with the agent.  A real estate transaction can be extremely strenuous and emotional; that is why open, clear, comfortable lines of communication are critical to a successful sale.

Questions to ask each agent should be written out and utilized during each interview.  Asking the same questions of each agent will provide you with a standard way to compare them after the interview process is completed.  Below are some of the most critical questions to ask a potential real estate agent:

How many active clients do you generally assist at any given time?

What is your marketing plan?

Describe how my home will be presented on the internet as over 80% of buyers seek homes there.

How do you manage a contract?  With all of the paperwork, the numerous service providers involved, and the buyer’s side of the transaction, it must be difficult.  How do you keep everything straight?

Are you a full time real estate agent?

Do you have any vacations planned?  If yes, how will you manage my business during your absence?  How will you be able to handle an offer or showing?

Be sure to take plenty of notes during the interviews. Once the interviews are over, go over your notes thoroughly.  It is a good idea to schedule a second interview with the realtor you’ve chosen, this time requesting that the agent provide you with statistical information and recommended pricing on your home.  You may even want to have each agent provide this information in a second interview as well, just to be sure of your final decision.  Although this adds to your time-line, it is critical to make the best possible choice in an agent in order to avoid the all-too-familiar pitfalls.

The Seller And Real Estate Agent Relationship – What The Homeowner Should Expect

We all want the sale of our house to go smoothly.  We know that somewhere between sticking that sign in the front yard and packing up the moving van, there are a lot of details that need to be handled.  With these details comes stress, all bundled up in emotion.  Selling our home means more than signing on the bottom line.  That’s where hiring the right real estate professional can be invaluable.

Listing with a trustworthy real estate agent that you feel comfortable with can save a lot of money and time, but also a great many headaches and heartbreaks.  A knowledgeable, experienced agent understands the nuances of the real estate transaction as well as the emotions of the sale of one’s home.  It takes a special understanding of what happens between the seller, or sellers, and potential buyers to keep everyone on track during potentially difficult times.

Contacting a real estate agent early in the process will help alleviate many of the problems that could arise in those first discussions about selling a house.  Once the right agent has been chosen by the seller, it’s time to get to work finding out how to build a good relationship with their client.  This starts with learning about their clients and what motivates them.

A homeowner may be highly motivated to sell their home quickly.  For this type of imminent sale,  the time-frame may be tight.  Perhaps a job transfer is coming soon, or a new school year starts, or any number of reasons; some pleasant and some unpleasant.  A good agent wants to know the motivation in order to better serve you.  Be open and honest with the agent you choose.  There is no need to beat around the bush, your agent will soon know more about your personal life and finances than you would believe.  That is why choosing an agent with experience and integrity is so important.

Sometimes, a move is not imminent.  A homeowner may want to test the market for future decisions. Instead of guessing, homeowners should use a real estate agent’s expertise to find out the true value of their home.  It prepares them better for making decisions for the future.  In other words, guessing what your home is worth is no way to prepare for a future sale of your home, or purchase of another. Your agent will want to know if this is the case so he or she can do some projecting into the future markets for you.  There is no reason to ‘fool’ an agent into thinking you’re ready to list your home when you’re not.  A good agent wants to help you determine the value of your home whether or not you’re ready to list.

Whether the sale of your home is planned soon or in the future, it is best to contact a qualified agent early in the process.  An experienced agent will help by getting the information straight right from the beginning in order to avoid mistakes early on.  The right agent will assist the seller in defining what is important during the process, provide a sounding board for ideas, and then help customize a plan of action.

Once you have interviewed several agents, asked all your questions, and finally chosen the one that’s right for you, it’s time for the agent to turn the tables and ask you a few questions.  Any good agent will be sure to ask a potential client these simple questions:

• Do you need to sell your home soon?
• What is the reason you’re selling your home now?
• Will you be open to negotiation with a buyer?
• Are you prepared financially to repair items that show up on the home inspection?
• Are you listing your home now in order to sell at a future date?
• Are you pricing your house as a way to test the market for a future sale?
• Have you tried to sell your house by yourself? If so, what have you tried?
• Are there back taxes owed?
• Are there liens on the property other than a mortgage?
• Are there any reasons that would prevent you from accepting an offer, other than price?

Of course some of this information will be discovered as the paperwork is prepared, but hearing it from the seller first matters.  If these questions seem intrusive, they are only designed to avoid an embarrassing, or worse, situation down the road.  Be prepared to share your story; this is only a short list of the questions you will expect a good real estate agent to ask a client.

There is much more to selling a house than getting the paperwork done.  An agent needs to learn first about the homeowner’s reason for selling, how desperately they want to sell, and how much they are willing to sacrifice in order to sell.  All these questions may feel very personal, but a good agent will help their client understand that this confidential information is necessary in order to get their home sold as smoothly as possible.

What is a real estate trade? I think the best way to put it is “the real estate I have for the real estate I want”.

In many cases a seller who is interested in moving up to a different home or condo is not in a position to do so until they sell the existing property they have due to the strict underwriting guidelines of lenders today.

So, lets assume I am interested in moving from my condo to a single family home, but I need to sell my condo first before I can qualify with my lender to purchase my new home. This is where trades can work magnificently well……..we will advertise that we have a condo seller interested in trading for a single family home, price not to exceed $XXXXXX and about 2100 square feet, 3 bedrooms/2baths.

We then are looking for a seller that is interested in selling his single family home and buying a condo. Assuming then we find willing and able buyers/sellers we negotiate the selling price of the respective properties and enter into a real estate purchase contract.

Because the seller of property 1 will be selling and buying simultaneously the lender will approve the loan for property 2, thus we have a property exchange. Each property owner is responsible for securing their own financing and paying their respective closing costs.

If I didn’t answer  “What is a Real Estate Trade”, please comment with your questions.

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Again, we’re pleased to present a summary of the Lake of the Ozarks MLS real estate transactions for the quarter ending 9/30/2010.  This report shows how the market performed compared to 2009 and a chart showing YTD transactions by price range and real estate category.

There have been 3 predictions we have made that appear to be taking place … 1) A decline in lakefront home inventory  2) A decline in condo inventory  3) An increase in lakefront lot sales.  The inventory of LF homes has declined by 136 homes or 11% since June 30, 2010 and condo inventory has declined by 124 or 11.5%.

We believe that lakefront lots will soon start to move for 3 reasons … 1) There have been a very limited amount of new homes built the last 3.5 years 2) In some cases, it will be cheaper to build than buy what is currently on the market 3) As the inventory of lakefront homes declines, prices will firm up and make building a more attractive alternative.

When you review the luxury home market stats (price ranges from $1,000,000 and up) the inventory has increased since June by 7 homes, and the number of $1,000,000 + homes that have sold this year are only 7.  So the luxury home market is not recovering as quickly as the other market segments.

The handwritten numbers to the right of the LF and Condo stat sheets show sales by price category, represents the decline in inventory for that price range.  Although the active numbers by area and price range appear to be high, keep in mind those numbers represent 1,200 miles of LF shoreline, so the supply may not be as abundant as one may first think.

I will look forward to your email or calls with questions about the mls lake of the ozarks real estate statistics (linked to in this sentence).  We are in an interesting time and I firmly believe that we will see a continued decline in inventory that will result in a sellers market within 6 to 12 months.

One last thing…the jump in LF home sales in September 2010 compared to 09 is a 41% jump!!!

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Lake of the Ozarks realtors are backing a ‘yes’ on Amendment 3 next month, referring to the measure as a pre-emptive strike to prevent additional taxation.

About Amendment 3

Amendment 3 is a citizen initiative appearon the November 2 general election ballot. it would amend the Missouri constitution to prevent double taxation on homes and real estate transactions.

Because Missourians already pay property taxes on real estate, a new transfer tax would amount to unfair double taxation, according to the Missouri Realtors Association.

The Vote YES to STOP Double Taxation campaign is under way to remove the temptation of imposing a transfer tax from  politicians seeking new revenues.

Realtor Mac McNally said lake area realtors are 100 percent behind the campaign.

“A transfer tax adds costs for the homeowner”, McNally said. “We are hoping to relieve the burden of an additional tax by supporting to move to pass Amendment 3. It is a preemptive measure to prevent future taxes”.

The elimination of the possibility of a transfer tax is especially important in  the Lake of the Ozarks area where many buyers from other states where the tax is in place are looking at property.

In many other states including Illinois, Arkansas, Kansas and Iowa, a transfer tax between 1 and 4 percent is imposed on the sale of every home.

What voters need to remember, according to Kathy Beeler, a Lake of the Ozarks Realtor and member of the Board of Realtors, is that a “yes” vote is  what is needed in order to pass Amendment 3 to prevent impostion of a transfer tax.

“Voters need to understand that the state has the power to enact a transfer tax without a vote of the people, ” she said. “Amendment 3 puts the control back in the hands of the people.”

Several hundred realtors are gathered at the lake this week and plan to hold a rally on Thursday, Sept. 30 at the Lodge of Four Seasons.

The Missouri Association of Realtors sponsored the amendment and circulated the petitions, saying that “as state, county and city revenues decline, politicians are tempted to impose new transfer taxes.”

Because Missouri had no such ban on the tax, the association believe the state was at risk for lawmakers to make the move as state revenues declined.

(as printed in the Lake Sun Leader, October 1 2010)
Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri
Lake Sun
newsroom@lakesunonline.com

Why Choose Remax as your Realtor? Lake of the Ozarks gives you so many choices.

The Leadership Team

“The Beeler Group” was recognized for “Outstanding Sales Achievement”, a high accolade for a Realtor. Lake of the Ozarks has served both Kathy and Mark well, as they are both active in the Bagnell Dam Board of Realtors where Kathy is serving her second term as a State Director and Mark is Vice Chairman of the Membership Committee.

Customer Satisfaction

When you choose us to sell your home or help you in the home buying process, you”ll experience an exemplary level of service. The proof of quality service is in repeat customers and in customers who refer RE/MAX Lake of the Ozarks to friends. We pride ourselves on our referral rate as it is consistently our main source of new clients.

Education

At Remax, advanced education is a priority. We are always looking for new ways to market properties, negotiate with sellers and find new ways to bring value to our clients. Kathy recently received her GRI designation putting us in the top echelon of Remax offices nationwide.

Advertising

This is something you may not know, but Remax has built an incredible reputation over the years. part of that branding is in the national television advertising and broad Internet exposure. From that both buyers and sellers seek out Remax like no other. When you list your home with a Remax agent, it will receive wide exposure.

The real estate network with the greatest market share has the most to offer buyers and sellers. Remax has achieved 30-percent-and-higher market share in area after area across North America and is growing in market share around the world. Remax Lake of the Ozarks is no stranger to that.

The Logo

When you are selling your house, you want nothing more than people to see it. Well, the red, white and blue RE/MAX Balloon, with its “Above the Crowd®” slogan, is one of the most recognizable business logos in the world. RE/MAX boasts a global fleet of more than 100 Hot Air Balloons, which make more than 6,000 appearances around the world each year.

The red-over-white-over-blue RE/MAX yard sign and your Remax agent lead you to properties in areas in which you’ll want to live and work. If you want to sell your property, the RE/MAX yard sign attracts those in the homebuying process. Nobody sells more real estate than RE/MAX.

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