A REALTOR® Working Hard for Anoka County First Time Home Buyers to always have that “Little Extra”

Yesterday, I had the opportunity to speak about real estate to a room full of first time home buyers in Anoka County. They were attending a Home Stretch workshop given by the Anoka County Community Action Program (ACCAP) and I was fortunate enough to be the guest REALTOR®. I had somewhat of a free rein on what to speak about. I could follow the outline in their manual or share information on what I thought first time home buyers need to know.

It was an easy decision for me; for one hour I explained what agency is and why a first time home buyer needs to sign a buyer’s agency agreement with a REALTOR® early on in their hunt for a home. I did wrap up the discussion with an update on the local market and what they might expect if they decide they want to purchase a foreclosure (multiple offers) or a short sale (a very long wait for bank approval).

But I learned a few things from the questions these Anoka County home buyers had too…I learned that it is hard to know how to interview for an agent. The first time buyer (or any home buyer) can have a hard time distinguishing who is going to be the best person to help them on their home buying journey. I stressed to these home buyers how important it is to TRUST your agent. Interview agents until you find the one you want to partner with in search to find a home. You need to find someone who will work with you, for you and at your pace.

On the first page of information of every comparative market analysis that I present to potential sellers I have the following quote. This short statement gives insight into who I am and how I work. It is a quote I am going to incorporate into my Home Buyer Success Packet as well.

 “The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is that little extra.”

~Barbara Jordan

As your REALTOR®, it is my job to understand your needs and respond to them promptly, professionally and with integrity. It is my pledge to provide you with sound real estate advice, helping you understand the wisdom of the decisions you make.

By being your REALTOR®, our relationship is built on trust. Value and service will be provided before, during and after the transaction, so that your changing needs are always addressed and satisfied.

It is not only my business philosophy, but also a commitment to provide you with exemplary personalized service beyond your expectations. My practice is to listen, hear and truly understand your needs; a quality of business conduct that often seems to have been forgotten in today’s fast paced, highly automated society.

Whether you are considering buying your first home or selling the home you have lived in for years, it is important to realize that not every REALTOR® works in the same way. While other agents may pay lip service to statements such as these, making promises that cannot always be delivered, I take an honest approach and work with you to find the best way to get the job done. I take time to explain the real estate market and if things change, work with you to adapt to the situation in a way that will work best for you. This is truly how I work; anyone who knows me can tell you this is who I am.  If you want to work with me to sell or buy a home, I will be your partner in the process from start to finish.

CLICK HERE to Request a FREE Market Analysis for your home

CLICK HERE to Request a FREE Homebuyer’s Success Guide

If you are interested in signing up for the next Anoka County HOME STRETCH class, CLICK HERE for additional information. My part of the workshop was on real estate but the one day class provided a ton of information for the first time homebuyer including information to help you understand the mortgage approval and closing process.  The workshop is also HUD Approved and those who complete the workshop will earn the certification necessary to meet eligibility requirements for a variety of affordable loans.

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of RE/MAX Specialists, a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet or Homebuyers Success Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2011 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

REALTOR® Selection 101—How to Choose the BEST REALTOR® for YOU! (Part Two of Two)

How does the average home buyer or seller find their REALTOR®? Did they  meet a friendly person hosting an open house? Call their best friend's  brother who just got licensed? Answer an ad on Craigslist? I don't know  the percentages but I am certain that most home buyers don't spend any  more time researching their real estate agent than they do their  groceries. But a home is not an everyday purchase; it is too big of a  decision to not have sound advice. So how does one select a good REALTOR® to work with?

The average American will buy or sell property only 2-3 times during  their lifetime. It is imperative to have a logical process to select a  real estate agent. Purchasing and selling a home for your family is a  very emotional situation. If you chose an agent wisely, you will be  confident that your REALTOR® is on your side through the entire purchase  and/or sale even when your emotions are running high.

As a REALTOR® working in the Twin Cities north metro, I love assisting  people to find the perfect home. Many of my clients come from the  referrals of past clients but I also meet home buyers at open houses and  through various marketing avenues. When I meet a potential client, I  expect questions about myself and my business. I answer additional  questions about living on acreage, wetlands and lakeshore. I field  questions on properties in Anoka, Washington and Ramsey Counties.  Sometime the questions are about specifics of homes the buyer is  interested in and often the questions are about the real estate market  in general. But unfortunately not all of these potential clients ask  pertinent questions. Some are already be caught up in the emotional  buying process of a major life change.

Here is a great step-by-step approach to selecting the perfect REALTOR®  for you. This is Part two of a two part article. In Part One, I discussed how to mentally prepare yourself  for your meeting with potential real estate agents. (To read Part One, CLICK HERE.) in Part two I am going to outline specific questions you can ask of potential  agents to help you make a better decision on which one will be the best partner in your home search.

Six questions to ask a potential agent:

Do you have an introductory flyer or personal resume that you could send me prior to our meeting?The way an agent promotes him/herself will give you a good idea of their professionalism. If you receive high quality, well thought out marketing materials in the mail within the next day or two (or immediately via email), the agent is on the ball. A well written, professional personal brochure should be part of a REALTOR®’s marketing materials. If you receive something of less quality or nothing at all, the agent might not be able to pay attention to detail throughout the transaction.

Do you work independently or as part of a team?

And, if the agent is part of a team, ask for more specifics, (i.e. If you are part of a team, who will I be working with most often?)

If you prefer to have someone who can immediately answer the phone and track down an answer, you might like working with an agent that is part of a team. But it is important to understand how the team operates. Some teams will operate with the agents being interchangeable where you will have one agent showing you homes to buy, one agent handling listing your home, and another holding the open houses. Often teams will have unlicensed assistance handling the incoming phone calls. An unlicensed assistant, while often friendly can't always answer specifics on a property or show a house.

If you want to work with the same person throughout the transaction, you may prefer an agent that works independently. Often when you call their office, the agent will pick up the phone. They handle all the details throughout the transaction and can answer your questions directly without waiting to contact another source.

Can you give me the names of past clients?

An experienced REALTOR® will have worked with any number of clients and will be able to provide you with a list of previous clients that you can contact as references. When talking with the references, it would be a good idea to ask if they had any problems during the transaction. If they did, ask how quickly and professionally they were resolved. Also ask how they met their agent. If the agent gives you only a list family members, a list of best friends from high school or no list at all, it may be concerning.

(For Buyers) Can You Help Me Understand My Financing Options?

If you are pre-approved for a mortgage but do not understand the financing paperwork after meeting with your loan officer, a good real estate agent should be able to peruse the documents to note any fees that do not seem correct. Sometimes a phone call by a REALTOR® to the loan officer on your behalf can resolve the issue. If not, most real estate agents have several good mortgage professionals that they have developed professional relationships with they can call upon. It could be in your best interest to visit with another loan officer to verify that all fees charged are necessary and that you are in the best type of loan program for your situation. Any real estate agent unable or unwilling to assist you in finding the tools to understanding your financing options might not be the best choice.

(For Sellers) What is your listings-to-sales ratio?

Some agents seem to have every house on the block or every house in a neighborhood listed. You see their signs in yards throughout the town. Their ads are in your local newspaper and in your mailbox. This is may be an indication of a successful REALTOR®. But the big question is “Did the homes sell?” In this slower buyer’s market, there are many more homes on the market than buyers. Do you want an agent that can successfully get you to list your home or one who will actually help you price and market it properly to get the home sold? If the agent is unsure of their ratio, you can figure it out for them. Ask how many homes they listed last year. Then ask how many listings they sold. (Make sure that the agent doesn’t include sales of homes where they represented the buyers.) Divide the listings sold by the total number of listings to get the ratio. If the ratio of listings-to-sales is less than 30-40%, you might want to select a different agent. Successful agents won’t sell every home they list, but their success ratio will be over 50%, even in a slow year.

(For Sellers) How will you market my home?

A comprehensive marketing plan should be prepared for your specific home prior to signing any contract. Good agents establish a marketing plan for each home they list. Your REALTOR® should provide you with a list of how they intend to market your home. They should outline what websites your home will be promoted on and the timing schedule of updated online ads. If there is going to be a sign in your yard, your agent should tell you whether their will be a brochure box with flyers for potential buyers driving by. Anything from the number of pictures in the MLS or whether there will be a virtual tour, open house or print advertising should be discussed and outlined.

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of RE/MAX Specialists, a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet or Homebuyers Success Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2011 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

REALTOR® Selection 101—How to Choose the BEST REALTOR® for YOU! (Part One of Two)

How does the average home buyer or seller find their REALTOR®? Did they meet a friendly person hosting an open house? Call their best friend's brother who just got licensed? Answer an ad on Craigslist? I don't know the percentages but I am certain that most home buyers don't spend any more time researching their real estate agent than they do their groceries. But a home is not an everyday purchase; it is too big of a decision to not have sound advice. So how does one select a good REALTOR® to work with?

The average American will buy or sell property only 2-3 times during their lifetime. It is imperative to have a logical process to select a real estate agent. Purchasing and selling a home for your family is a very emotional situation. If you chose an agent wisely, you will be confident that your REALTOR® is on your side through the entire purchase and/or sale even when your emotions are running high.

As a REALTOR® working in the Twin Cities north metro, I love assisting people to find the perfect home. Many of my clients come from the referrals of past clients but I also meet home buyers at open houses and through various marketing avenues. When I meet a potential client, I expect questions about myself and my business. I answer additional questions about living on acreage, wetlands and lakeshore. I field questions on properties in Anoka, Washington and Ramsey Counties. Sometime the questions are about specifics of homes the buyer is interested in and often the questions are about the real estate market in general. But unfortunately not all of these potential clients ask pertinent questions. Some are already be caught up in the emotional buying process of a major life change.

Here is a great step-by-step approach to selecting the perfect REALTOR® for you. Part one of this article outlines how you can prepare yourself to set up meetings with potential REALTORS®. Part two (which I will post tomorrow) will give you specific questions you can ask of potential agents so that you can make a good decision.

Step ONE
Ask YOURSELF these few questions


1. Who do you trust for advice?

Is it a parent or grandparent? Maybe a close friend or uncle? Or is it your sibling or boss? Think about the qualities that person possesses and why you look at them as an advisor. If your trusted advisor is your grandfather, you might prefer working with someone older. If you tend to bring your problems to your best friend, you might want a REALTOR® with similar characteristics to your friend.

2. How demanding are you?

If you are an impatient person who needs answers as soon as you think of a question, you will need a REALTOR® that is available to you. If you are more laid back, you might prefer a REALTOR® with a similar style.

3. Do you prefer to use email, text or the phone as your main source of information?

Some REALTORS® are very computer savvy and will answer an email within a few minutes. Some love to text with their clients to provide an immediate answer. Others answer emails once a week and don't even know how to send a text There are REALTORS® who return calls only one time a day or week. There are others that always answer their own phone and others that have an assistant to field calls and answer basic questions.

4. Are you into gadgets?

If you are listening to your Ipod while you surf the net on your wireless tablet, you might prefer working with an agent who presents your market analysis in a Powerpoint presentation or emails it to you in a pdf file. If you prefer a paper document to refer back to and make notes on, a REALTOR® with more a more traditional style might be what you need.

5. Do you have expensive tastes and exclusive brands or do you live more modestly?

If you like the finer things in life, you might have more in common with a REALTOR® who drives a BMW and signs contracts with a Mont Blanc pen. If you have a more relaxed style, a REALTOR® in a Ford or Toyota Sedan that uses personalized ballpoints might be more your style.

Step TWO
Research

Even if you have just made mental notes on your preferences as you read the above questions, you now have a good idea of what type of person you prefer working with. Armed with this information, it is time for the second step. RESEARCH Check out websites of potential agents BEFORE you meet them. Read their blogs and review their profiles to determine what their style is. If you cannot ascertain their style from their site, move to the next agent. There are hundreds of good agents out there. But if they cannot market themselves, how will they be able to market your home? Come up with a list of 4 or 5 potential agents and visit your state’s department of commerce website to check for violations on each potential agent’s record.

Now you are ready to interview potential agents. Get some great questions ready so that you can find the best REALTOR® for you. Having trouble coming up with great questions? REALTOR® Selection 101—How to Choose the BEST REALTOR® for YOU! (Part Two of Two) will provide you with some tools to help with the interview process.

If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of RE/MAX Specialists, a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet or Homebuyers Success Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2011 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/

The Art of the LOWBALL offer on Real Estate—How Low is it Safe for a Home Buyer to Go?

2011 is the year you have decided to buy that first home! Those attractively low interest rates have gotten you, Mr. Homebuyer,  off of the proverbial fence. After scouring the internet for the perfect home for months, you think you have finally found IT! But it is tens of thousands overpriced compared to similar homes. Is there an art to submitting a lowball offer in this changed real estate market? Where do you start? 10% less? 20% less? 50% less? And is it the percentage less than the original list price or the current asking price?

Welcome to the reality of the real estate market today! There is no one-size-fits-all answer on this one. What your starting offer should be really just depends on a number of factors.

As a REALTOR® working in the north and east Twin Cities metro for several years, I have seen my share of sellers who were insulted by a buyer’s offer. And not just in a market where buyers have the upper hand either. A decade ago, anything but a full priced offer was insulting. Buyers were afraid to request a few thousand toward closing costs lest the sellers would balk and accept the next offer in line. So buyers would skip inspections and write offers thousands more than asking just to get into their "dream" home.

Those days are but a memory now...Sellers throughout Anoka, Washington and Chisago Counties are anxious to sell. They know that they are competing with short sale sellers (those who have to sell and owe much more than their home is currently worth) and foreclosed homes. Few traditional home owners with “for sale” signs in the yard are naive enough to expect a full priced offer in this changed market.

The problem is that there are naive buyers who believe sellers are desperate to take ANY offer. But in reality most sellers can't or won't accept just “ANY” offer. An offensive lowball offer could put the buyers’ dream home purchase in jeopardy.

How to Coming up with an Acceptable Starting Point:

• Ask Your REALTOR® to do a Market Analysis for the Home. In this market, I always pull the comparables to see what has sold recently in the neighborhood before my buyers decide what to offer on a home. Many sellers are listing homes at or below current market value. If the home is properly priced, anything less than 15% of the current asking price could be considered an insult. Currently, in the Twin Cities market, most homes are selling for about 990-95% of asking price. This percentage does not include seller paid closing costs either which does reduce the net offer. By looking at the neighborhood comparables, my buyers better understand what offer will be considered reasonable. Keep in mind that if you are working directly with the listing agent who is under contract with the seller, they cannot ethically prepare a market analysis for a buyer. As a dual agent (working for the buyer and the seller) they must remain neutral regarding price negotiations.

• Consider the Original List Price. If someone has come down 25-30% or more from when they originally put their home on the market, they have made improvements since listing to the condition and now the market analysis shows the home is priced fairly, writing an offer over 10-15% less could be insulting. If this truly is THE home for my buyers, we discuss whether it makes sense to offer closer to the asking price rather than hitting the seller with a lowball offer.
  

• The Overpriced Home. If the market analysis shows the home to be significantly overpriced and the offer will be more than 20-25% less than current the current asking price. I provide the comparables to the seller. Sometimes when the offer is accompanied by documentation to back up the offer, the seller is less offender especially when it is explained that these are the same comparables that will be used by an appraiser. If the home doesn't appraise, the offer will have to be renegotiated in most circumstances.
• Buyer’s Plans to Remodel and Update. Be careful when using documentation for changes that reflect cosmetic and personal taste. Many sellers will be insulted when a buyer’s offer indicates that they are offering tens of thousands less due to paint, carpet and other cosmetic changes that a buyer wants to make. If the updates are necessary due to age or wear, make note of the fact and consider whether the home is currently priced to reflect the condition or not. Slamming a well maintained and updated home to justify a low offer is insulting.
• Avoid Considering Price Paid for Home. Many buyers think that if someone purchased a home a decade ago they mus have tons of equity. This could be true but it is not a hard and fast rule. Many sellers have taken the equity out of their home for improvements or for other reasons. Keep the negotiations focused on the fair market value of the home.
  

Most sellers are in waiting impatiently for that non-contingent buyer to write an offer on their home. In most cases, they understand the market and have worked hard to prepare their properties to entice an offer. But buyers must think through their offers; the perfect starting point for negotiations must contemplated thoroughly. Discussions can go south very quickly between buyer and seller when the initial offer is deemed rude. If you want to try a lower offer to see how low a seller will go but are prepared to pay more, make sure a note or letter accompanies the offer saying this is a starting point for negotiating on the beautiful home and property...a little kindness often goes a very long way. 


Are you a first time homebuyer that needs help coming up with that perfect starting point for your home offer? If you are buying, selling or relocating to Minnesota and need help from a professional REALTOR®, give me, Teri Eckholm of RE/MAX Specialists, a call or visit my website for a FREE Relocation Packet or Homebuyers Success Packet. I specialize in acreage and lakeshore properties in the north and east Twin Cities metro area including Ham Lake, Lino Lakes and all communities in the Forest Lake School District! Serving Anoka, Chisago, Ramsey and Washington Counties in Minnesota.

Copyright 2011 Teri Eckholm http://www.terieckholm.com/