February 28, 2007
- Home Appraisal versus CMA
There are different ways to figure out the value of your home. First you need to get as much information from as many sources as possible. Then be as objective as possible to figure out what your home is most likely worth. Here are different avenues to consider in your information search.
Comparative Market [...]
February 13, 2007
- How can I be sure that the buyers can afford our home?
Sellers should only accept contracts from buyers who have been pre-approved by a lender. Do not confuse pre-qualified and pre-approved. These terms mean two very different things in the mortgage world. A pre-qualified buyer has probably had a casual conversation with a loan officer and given some general verbal information regarding income, [...]
January 24, 2007
- Carbon monoxide dectecters now mandatory in Illinois
A new Illinois law requires that all dwelling units have at least one approved carbon monoxide detector within 15 feet for every room used for sleeping purposes. The alarm can be battery operated or plug into a wall. A pamplet describing the new law can be downloaded.
January 9, 2007
- Auto post to Craig’s List
There is a new service available that will post your Craig’s List ad for you on a daily basis. Go to zinglister to find out more. If you have trouble remembering to post your ad daily this service is for you.
Many of my clients have had good success with Craig’s List. [...]
January 4, 2007
- Home Description Advice
There was an interesting article posted in the Chicago Tribune this morning (a reprint of an LA Times Article) concerning real estate property descriptions. The article’s main reference was a study of 20,000 Canadian home listings from 1997 to 2000 by the Paul Anglin who teaches at the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. [...]
December 15, 2006
- Postlets offers a great home marketing tool
Lately I have been recommending Postlets to my clients looking for additional marketing exposure. Their website allows you to post properties to their website for free. The big bonus comes in that once a property is posted it is automatically picked up by other property classified ad sites like Oodle, Google Base, and Propsmart. [...]
December 14, 2006
- Where is the advantage? Sucess rate of traditional versus flat fee business model
Many times my customers ask “How successful is listing homes for a flat fee?” I have always told them that we have been very successful and cite the fact that we have closed over 100 million dollars in homes in 2006 alone. I also tell them that I would expect a full service broker [...]
December 13, 2006
- Advantages of using a flat fee broker in a buyer’s market
If you are looking to sell your home you should consider using a flat fee listing service. In this arrangement there is no listing commission except for a flat fee of $250-$500. Your property gets listed on the MLS and highly trafficed web sites like the Realtor.com, AOL, msn and Yahoo. Since [...]
December 8, 2006
- Zillow announces free postings to website
Zillow.com up to this point has been known for providing estimates for home values. Type in your address and out pops an guess at what your home is worth. In some areas the guess can be close and in others it is just a joke. Which I believe makes the site fun [...]
December 5, 2006
- Flat fee real estate listings are catching on
The National Association of Realtors®(NAR) recently conducted a survey that concluded “83 percent of sellers use a full service realtor, 9 percent limited service, and 8 percent minimum service, such as simply listing a property on the MLS.”
This data shows that discount real estate business models are finally starting to take hold. [...]
