Saturday, January 16, 2010

RELOCATION EXPERTS



Relocation Realtors Know Their Stuff!!!



If you are relocating outside of the area in which you live, and you work for a large company, it is likely that your company will offer you assistance with your relocation. That assistance often includes the referral from the Relocation Company to one or more “Relocation Experts,” that are licensed REALTORS with various real estate firms.


Not every agent gets to be on the Relocation Team at a real estate firms. Experience and client satisfaction reviews are only some of the criteria. The demands of being on a “Relocation Team” are quite high.


When we work with Relocation Clients, we really have to be on our toes. Buyers coming to the Dallas area to find a home in a relocation scenario often have only two or three days to find a home, negotiate a contract, and attend to a myriad of other important details before returning home to prepare for their move.


If you are relocating and being referred agents by your Relocation Company, here are some critical things to look for.


Whether you are listing your home for sale or seeking to find a home, an agent who is a Relocation Specialist may be just what you want and need. They typically know all of the market areas and the competition really well because they see so much property due to their showing so many clients over the entire area.


When you are listing your home for sale you need to know about the properties you will be competing against in your neighborhood as well as properties that are outside of your neighborhood but in the general area. Relocating buyers often look over a wider geographic area and therefore the Relocation Agents have the opportunity to see and be knowledgeable about many properties for sale.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Choose Your Coach Wisely!




Game Key #5 ~ Choose Your Coach Wisely



When you choose a Buyer Representative, you are making a very important decision. Selecting a Realtor to represent you is not a popularity or beauty contest. You want educated, experienced, and motivated professionals to help you with this very important project.


Choose a Realtor that will take the time to build a Game Plan with you and who has the discipline to stick to the plan and yet be flexible when things don’t go as planned. Make sure that when you choose a Realtor, you are choosing one that you are willing to listen to and then respect their opinion. Don’t rush to get in the car and start looking at houses. Give your Buyer Representative the time to understand your needs and wants.

Judi and Sonny are Realtors with Ebby Halliday, Realtors. Their Group, the O’Dea Moyers Group is an award-winning Group. Their combined experience in real estate is fifty plus years. For the 2nd Quarter of 2007, Sonny and Judi were the #3 Group of over 1600 Associates at Ebby Halliday Realtors. For the entire year of 2006, the Group finished #10 in the company. Not bad for a company that did over 4.6 Billion in real estate sales in 2006. For more information about Sonny and Judi, visit their web page at ebbyhomesdfw.com or call them at 972-261-5715.




Sonny Moyers

Due Diligence Is Required!



Game Key #4 ~ Due Diligence Is Required!



Once an offer is accepted, there is still a great deal of hard work to be done.

When an offer is agreed to by all parties, it is time to conduct the due diligence phase of the purchase. Buyers and Sellers sometimes lose perspective during this phase. It’s not unusual for a Buyer to expect that a five year old home should look and perform the same or better than a new home. This may not be realistic. Inspections should include a general home inspection, a structural inspection, and a number of other inspections depending on the construction and age of the property. When conducting inspections and reviewing inspection reports, Buyers should take into consideration the price they paid, the age of the home, and the reasons they made the offer they made.


Depend upon your agent for recommendations regarding inspectors. Get them to give you several names for each kind of inspector. Call the inspectors and interview them by telephone before you make your decision on who to use to inspect the home. Be sure as ascertain the price of the inspection and what is included prior to scheduling and paying for the inspection.

Buyers should realize that Sellers often consider inspections as an invasion of their privacy. Inspectors poke and probe, analyze and question, and often point out deficiencies that are cosmetic in nature or are code issues with the property that are grandfathered. It is not unusual for a Seller to become defensive after receiving the twenty-page inspection report.

Empathy and a clear understanding of what really are problems with the home are important here. We counsel our Buyers to keep in mind the rationale for the offer and the price when they consider repairs. Sort through the list of items the inspectors pointed out on the reports and prioritize them based upon real important deficiencies. Consider the cost of repairs when asking for repairs.


The negotiation that resulted in the offer being accepted was only the first round of negotiations between the parties. Sometimes, Buyers need to leave some goodwill on the table during this second negotiation. After the Amendment for Repairs is signed, Buyers often want to go back to the property to measure, obtain bids, or show the property to family and friends. Many times, Buyers want to know who maintains the pool, does yard work, or understand how systems work within the property.


Those $10.00 items that you didn’t ask for on the inspection report often add up to $100 values prior to or after closing. Keep the objective in mind. We want to win the game and actually buy the house. After all, it was your first choice after carefully searching the marketplace.


Sonny Moyers