Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Discount Full Service Realtor
If you are considering a full service Realtor at a discount, find out what you get, and what you pay for. It sounds simple, and it is simple.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Should I hire a Venice, Sarasota County Realtor?
That is the bog question isn't it? Can you do it alone?
Again, your decision needs to be on what you can and cannot do with your skill set. Where are you in the sales process? Are you just thinking about it? Have you already started?
The statistics are that most For Sale by Owners nationally will eventually list their home with a Realtor. That's why you are getting all those calls from Realtors in Sarasota, Venice, or in some cases from the East Coast of Florida. Realtors know you have to sell and they will try to get the business. They are real estate SALES people.
To sell your home it needs to be priced right. The Sarasota Realtor will certainly be the best person to determine the market value of your home. It is because they have the best tools. The best tool, as we've discussed in a prior FSBO entry on this site, is access to the Venice or Sarasota MLS sold data. It is the most current most up to date sales data in your area. Using that comparative pricing, comparing your home to the homes that sold in your neighborhood at what price, gives you the best, most accurate, most up to date pricing.
You need to decide whether or not you want to hire a Realtor. You certainly need this critical information; the up to date comparable Venice or Sarasota Real Estate sales information for good, market sensitive pricing.
Again, your decision needs to be on what you can and cannot do with your skill set. Where are you in the sales process? Are you just thinking about it? Have you already started?
The statistics are that most For Sale by Owners nationally will eventually list their home with a Realtor. That's why you are getting all those calls from Realtors in Sarasota, Venice, or in some cases from the East Coast of Florida. Realtors know you have to sell and they will try to get the business. They are real estate SALES people.
To sell your home it needs to be priced right. The Sarasota Realtor will certainly be the best person to determine the market value of your home. It is because they have the best tools. The best tool, as we've discussed in a prior FSBO entry on this site, is access to the Venice or Sarasota MLS sold data. It is the most current most up to date sales data in your area. Using that comparative pricing, comparing your home to the homes that sold in your neighborhood at what price, gives you the best, most accurate, most up to date pricing.
You need to decide whether or not you want to hire a Realtor. You certainly need this critical information; the up to date comparable Venice or Sarasota Real Estate sales information for good, market sensitive pricing.
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Real Estate Attorney?
Yes, Real Estate Attorney's can help you. There are some things the can do and some things they cannot do.
Attorney's can write the contract for you. A Real Estate attorney has experience in writing and negotiating contracts. The contract a Real Estate attorney will prepare will be legally binding. The contract will most probably consider all of the things that a contract on a real estate transaction will require. They will not leave anything out.
The attorney does have to represent one party or the other. That means while you may want to have an attorney prepare a contract to the mutual understanding of the parties, there will be one party, the party who brings the attorney the deal, who may very well benefit from doing so. It may be a slight issue. It might be a major issue disguised as a minor issue. But in either case, the other party beware!
In addition, a Real Estate Attorney has the legal authority to actually close a transaction. While in " title states" (Florida is a "title state") a real estate closing is usually done at a title company.
One thing an attorney cannot help with is valuation. I have seen deals where attorney's put in there opinion of what a property is worth, and end up losing the deal for the buyer client. Also, in preparing a market price, attorneys have no access to MLS, a lockbox key, or other ways to help you with valuation.
In addition, attorney's generally are not known for marketing skills, and usually have had absolutely zero training in marketing.
So, yes, an attorney can be helpful to a FSBO seller. An attorney can be helpful to a For Sale By Owner Buyer. Do yourself a favor and know when it works best, for whom, and what specifically they will do.
Attorney's can write the contract for you. A Real Estate attorney has experience in writing and negotiating contracts. The contract a Real Estate attorney will prepare will be legally binding. The contract will most probably consider all of the things that a contract on a real estate transaction will require. They will not leave anything out.
The attorney does have to represent one party or the other. That means while you may want to have an attorney prepare a contract to the mutual understanding of the parties, there will be one party, the party who brings the attorney the deal, who may very well benefit from doing so. It may be a slight issue. It might be a major issue disguised as a minor issue. But in either case, the other party beware!
In addition, a Real Estate Attorney has the legal authority to actually close a transaction. While in " title states" (Florida is a "title state") a real estate closing is usually done at a title company.
One thing an attorney cannot help with is valuation. I have seen deals where attorney's put in there opinion of what a property is worth, and end up losing the deal for the buyer client. Also, in preparing a market price, attorneys have no access to MLS, a lockbox key, or other ways to help you with valuation.
In addition, attorney's generally are not known for marketing skills, and usually have had absolutely zero training in marketing.
So, yes, an attorney can be helpful to a FSBO seller. An attorney can be helpful to a For Sale By Owner Buyer. Do yourself a favor and know when it works best, for whom, and what specifically they will do.
Friday, July 3, 2009
Venice FSBO - Going it alone
Going it alone as a for sale by owner, or FSBO, is difficult. This will not be breaking news on the Real Estate Reports, or at the next meeting of the Venice Area Board of Realtors.
The FSBO has to deal with issues that can be handled, and some that cannot. It's a little more complicated than just making sure you have a sign, a balloon, a cookie and a candle. You must find a buyer, write a real estate contract, and close the transaction.
Let's take writing your contract. What will you do here? A contract is a legal document. I am not an attorney. However, contracts are essentially agreements between two parties, put in writing. This is the same for anywhere in the country. Contracts are an area of law studied by attorneys in law school and tested on the Florida Bar Exam. There are legal issues that make a contract valid, void, or voidable. There are items which need to be included in the contract to make it an agreement, a legally binding agreement, a valid real estate contract in Sarasota County.
Real Estate contracts can be found at Staples, Office Depot, and possibly your neighborhood Venice stationery store. They can also be found at Real Estate Attorneys and, of course, the local Venice Realtor you may be trying to avoid.
The documents at the stores come with blanks to fill in, and are generic for every state. They come with the fear that not everything is covered. And, you will not be surprised that, when putting together a generic real estate contract for every state in the United States, not every issue relevant to Florida real estate contracts is considered. You could very well be vulnerable, and at risk with your buyer down the road with a lawsuit for something that was not done right or omitted. This could happen even with the best intentions.
On the other hand, the contracts available at the Realtors office and the Real Estate Attorney's office done come with fear. They come with something else. A qualified professional who knows how to complete them.
The FSBO has to deal with issues that can be handled, and some that cannot. It's a little more complicated than just making sure you have a sign, a balloon, a cookie and a candle. You must find a buyer, write a real estate contract, and close the transaction.
Let's take writing your contract. What will you do here? A contract is a legal document. I am not an attorney. However, contracts are essentially agreements between two parties, put in writing. This is the same for anywhere in the country. Contracts are an area of law studied by attorneys in law school and tested on the Florida Bar Exam. There are legal issues that make a contract valid, void, or voidable. There are items which need to be included in the contract to make it an agreement, a legally binding agreement, a valid real estate contract in Sarasota County.
Real Estate contracts can be found at Staples, Office Depot, and possibly your neighborhood Venice stationery store. They can also be found at Real Estate Attorneys and, of course, the local Venice Realtor you may be trying to avoid.
The documents at the stores come with blanks to fill in, and are generic for every state. They come with the fear that not everything is covered. And, you will not be surprised that, when putting together a generic real estate contract for every state in the United States, not every issue relevant to Florida real estate contracts is considered. You could very well be vulnerable, and at risk with your buyer down the road with a lawsuit for something that was not done right or omitted. This could happen even with the best intentions.
On the other hand, the contracts available at the Realtors office and the Real Estate Attorney's office done come with fear. They come with something else. A qualified professional who knows how to complete them.
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