5 steps to picking the right agent to sell your home!

If you're selling a home, a good real-estate agent will help you set the right price, market the home professionally, qualify the buyers and expertly negotiate and finalize the deal.


A great agent has long experience with recent sales and can walk a tightrope, balancing optimism with realism and diplomacy with brutal honesty. You'll pay big bucks for an agent's service — an average of 5.3% of the sale price in 2011, according to Real Trends, a real-estate consulting company. So you owe it to yourself to interview more than one agent.

1. Round up good prospects
To identify prospective agents, you can ask for referrals from neighbors or friends or use the search tools on the websites of the National Association of Realtors or the Council of Residential Specialists.

Try to limit your search to agents with credentials that match your needs. For example, on the CRS website, you can search for agents who specialize in the sale of single-family houses, condos and luxury or resort homes, as well as short sales (selling a home for less than the owner owes on a mortgage) and assisting seniors.

Leigh Brown, an agent with Re/Max in Charlotte, N.C., says you want someone who is on his game. Although many half-hearted agents left the business after the housing bust, she says some of those who remain live under a black cloud, having lost a lot of income and confidence. Not only will you feel that lack of passion, but it may alienate prospective buyers. You want someone who will work assertively on your behalf but won't come on too aggressively, like a used-car salesman. That will turn off the buyers' agents, too.

2. Ask tough questions
You want an agent who is "intimately and passionately" familiar with your neighborhood, says agent Cotty Lowry of Keller Williams in Minneapolis. But, Lowry says, the agent with a lot of signs in your neighborhood may not be your best choice, either. "If a prospective agent has little constructive input about price and condition for you, be curious: Do they want to help you sell your house or do they just want to put a sign in your yard to bring in buyers?" he says.
Each agent you interview should offer a comparative market analysis (a comparison of recent and pending sales of homes similar to yours) and know enough about the neighborhood and recent sales to explain why you should list your home for more or less than the neighbor down the street who sold last season. Don't fall for the agent who glibly promises the quickest sale for the highest price.

3. Find out who the agent is working for
Most states require agents to disclose their "agency" relationships to you early on. But you'll benefit if you ask prospective agents whose financial interest they will serve throughout the sales process — and hire an agent who will serve as your agent only. If an agent insists on dual agency (meaning that the agent lists your home for sale but may also bring in the buyer, thus pocketing the entire commission instead of splitting it with the buyer's agent) or designated agency (your agent and the buyer's agent work for the same brokerage firm), feel free to negotiate the commission down by a point or two.
A lot of money is at stake. And the situation is an inherent conflict of interest, Brown says, because "the buyer wants the lowest price and the seller wants the highest price." She points out that an agent in that boat could "browbeat" sellers into taking a deal that's not best for them, or the agent may fail to present multiple offers equally to protect a buyer client.

4. Make sure your agent has backup
Lowry says that it's important for an agent to have at least one assistant; many agents have a team of specialists to help them. Advertising a home is "not just the Sunday paper anymore," he says. "All the various outlets — many online — require feeding and nurturing, collecting quantifiable analytics and forwarding the info to sellers." At the same time, you don't want to communicate through the assistants all the time; you want an agent with whom you can talk directly. To quell your inevitable anxiety, find out how frequently you'll receive updates from the agent.

5. Sign the right contract
Ask each agent how long the listing contract would last. The slower the market, the longer the contract an agent is likely to demand. However, three to six months is typical. For slower-selling high-end homes (say, those over $1 million), agents may want a year, says Francie House, an agent with Windermere in Seattle. Agents don't want to risk losing the listing after they've spent a few thousand dollars on marketing and staging.

Information reposted from  LinkedIN - Courtesy of Pat Mertz Esswein of Kiplingers. Retrieved on May 25 2012 from this LINK.

Realty Times - Five Musts Before You List Your Home

Deciding to list your home for sale is a momentous time. It means you will be moving on to a new stage of life, no matter if you’re moving up or sizing down. Take a moment to look over these tips for what every seller should do before they put their home on the market.

Organize Your Paperwork: Every homeowner should have a detailed list of all past repairs, updates, and upgrades they’ve made. This will help your agent know what should be mentioned on the MLS. Did you put on a new roof in 2010 or a install a new water heater in 2009? These are great selling features because they mean less work in the future for the prospective buyer.
Also included in this list should be any home warranty information. These warranties will most likely transfer with title of the home.

Get Ready to Declutter: Even before you’ve officially listed your home for sale, you should start getting rid of things you don’t need. Starting now will mean a more thorough and less rushed job of clearing things out.
Start with one closet and work your way through the entire home. Sort items to toss, keep, sell, and donate.

Having a yard sale is a wonderful way of making a little extra pocket change while reducing the amount of things you’ll have in your home during showings and that you’ll need to pack up and move. It’s a win-win!

Clean, Clean, and Clean Some More: Dirty homes are a real buyer turnoff. Now is a great time wash down walls, spruce up paint, and give your entire home a thorough cleaning. Do your carpets need refreshing? Consider renting a carpet shampoo machine or hiring a professional carpet cleaning company to come in and revamp your carpets.
Chances are buyers will ask for this anyway come closing time. You’ll beat them to the punch and have a shiny, sparkling home to show for it.

Get an Inspection: Did you think inspections were only for buyers? Having a pre-sale inspection can mean identifying problem areas. Perhaps you’re unaware that your foundation needs repaired. This will severely affect your listing price. It’s best to be prepared and realistic in today’s market.
Make Repairs or Get Estimates: Your inspection will likely leave you with a list of repairs, large and small, that need made. Keep in mind that prospective buyers will also get an inspection of your home and will find these same issues. Head them off at the pass and do some fixing up. You may wish to go ahead with large repairs. If not, be sure to at least get estimates so you are fully prepared for negotiations (you’ll know what the real cost should be) or so you can provide the estimates for buyers.
Start Staging: Staging is like prepping your home for its first date. You want to have it clean and well-dressed. This means amping up curb appeal with neat landscaping, fresh paint, and flowers. It means rearranging furniture and removing clutter.
Congratulations on deciding to list your home for sale. Be proactive about making a good first step by following these tried and true tips.

Published: May 10, 2012 By Carla Hill (Carla Hill, M.A., works on the Realty Times staff as Managing Editor for our online publication. She also is Producer for the real estate news channel, seen daily on RealtyTimes.com and on video newsletters nationwide. Retrieved from this website - click here!

Bernanke: Mortgages Still too Difficult to Get

       Even creditworthy borrowers are finding it difficult to get a mortgage nowadays and it’s unlikely banks will ease their standards anytime soon, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told a banking conference in Chicago Thursday.
     While banks have made huge strides in improving their balance sheets and overall lending (such as for credit cards and auto loans), banks continue to be extra cautious when it comes to issuing new mortgages, he said. Even borrowers coming with a 20 percent down payment on a home purchase may face hurdles unless they have stellar credit, he said.
     "A return to pre-crisis lending standards wouldn't be appropriate," Bernanke said in referencing how banks prior to the housing crisis were issuing mortgages with little or no documentation for jobs or incomes. "However, current standards may be limiting or preventing lending to many creditworthy borrowers."
     The challenges of getting a mortgage have been cited by real estate professionals and economists as one of the biggest obstacles standing in the way of a full housing recovery.
     An estimated 10 to 20 percent of creditworthy home buyers are being locked out of the housing market because of tightened credit conditions, U.S. Housing Secretary Shaun Donovan told Reuters.

REPOSTED from Daily Real Estate News on May 11, 2012 from this link: Click Here
Source: “Credit Easing in U.S., Fed Chairman Says,” The New York Times (May 10, 2012) and “Bernanke: Even Worthy Borrowers Can’t get Mortgages,” Reuters News (May 10, 2012)

Real Estate Outlook = High Affordability

Real Estate Outlook: Affordability High


Housing affordability is still at a record high, according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). It is at the highest level since record keeping began in 1970. This is based on the relationship between median home price, median family income and average mortgage interest rate.

NAR President Moe Veissi, broker-owner of Veissi & Associates Inc., in Miami, said this latest data underscores buyer opportunities in today’s market. "This is the first time the housing affordability index has broken the two hundred mark, meaning the typical family has roughly double the income needed to purchase a median-priced home," he said. "For buyers who can qualify for a mortgage, now is a very good time to become a homeowner."

Projections for the remainder of 2012 indicate that this affordability high will continue and rates will remain low. "Housing inventory levels have declined to a point where conditions are becoming much more balanced in much of the country," Veissi said. "If access to credit improves, we could see a much more meaningful increase in home sales and broader stabilization in home prices with modest gains in areas with stronger job growth."

Despite these incredible buyer opportunities, builder confidence is down. The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) reports that builder confidence for newly built, single-family homes declined for the first time in seven months.

"What we’re seeing is essentially a pause in what had been a fairly rapid build-up in builder confidence that started last September," said NAHB Chief Economist David Crowe. "This is partly because interest expressed by buyers in the past few months has yet to translate into expected sales activity, but is also reflective of the ongoing challenges that are slowing the housing recovery - particularly tight credit conditions for builders and buyers, competition from foreclosures and problems with obtaining accurate appraisals."

This has been an ongoing concern for many market activists. While housing affordability is at an all-time high, gaining access to credit is a tough road for many would-be buyers. Additionally, some would-be buyers are still wary of the market and are waiting on the sidelines for the economy to improve or market conditions to stabilize.

Regionally, results varied. The Northeast was the only region to see a gain in builder confidence, posting a 4 point gain on the HMI scale. The West remained unchanged, but both the West and South posted declines. Single-family home production held steady for the month. The multi-family sector saw a double digit decline, according to the U.S. Commerce Department.

Barry Rutenberg, chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and a home builder from Gainesville, FL, reported, "While more consumers appear to be seriously considering a new-home purchase, builders remain very cautious about starting new projects until they see more actual sales materializing.

Reposted from Carla Hill - Realty Times - via Linked IN - via Realty Times
Published: April 23, 2012

Obama Extends Foreclosure Prevention Program Aid

The Obama administration announced several changes to eligibility requirements for its Home Affordable Modification Program so that more struggling home owners can participate. Follow this link for the complete details!

Obama Extends Foreclosure Prevention Program Aid

BEDC Releases Economic Benchmarking Report

BLOOMINGTON, INDIANA (November 18, 2011) – The Bloomington Economic Development Corporation (BEDC) today announced the release of A Look Inside the 2011 Bloomington Economy, a report providing comparative data about the Bloomington economy alongside Bloomington’s peer communities across the United States. The report, completed by the Indiana Business Research Center (IBRC) at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business and funded in partnership with the City of Bloomington’s Department of Economic & Sustainable Development, provides an up-to-date look at the current economic conditions of Bloomington relative to 15 similar communities. Since 2000, the BEDC, the City and the IBRC have partnered to publish periodic reports on the state of the Bloomington area economy. The last study was produced in 2007 and the current report marks the fifth publication in this series. The benchmarking approach measures economic indicators, such as education, employment, income and innovation, among others, and compares them to other university cities of a similar size. These comparisons provide an accurate measure of how Bloomington ranks against cities of similar size and demographics. “We use the benchmarking report to help us understand the community’s strengths and weaknesses and to inform us in the planning and implementation of future economic development efforts,” said Ron Walker, President BEDC. “We want Monroe County to be in the top tier among our national peers and we now have a better idea where we do and do not meet that goal,” expressed Walker. The study produced positive results for Bloomington on a number of indicators. With unemployment rates lower than the national average and many of our peers, solid population growth, a diversifying economy, and growth in key sectors, the report shows that Bloomington has weathered the economic recession reasonably well. Bloomington also showed relatively strong numbers in affordability of housing, educational attainment, per capita income growth, and job growth in the health care and social assistance sector. IBRC director Jerry Conover observed that “Although incomes in the Bloomington area continue to lag the state and nation, we’ve experienced impressive income growth over the past several years. Employment growth in industries paying above-average wages is a welcome trend that’s helped our area weather the economic downturn relatively well.” Many of the study’s findings do show the negative impacts of the economic recession that hit the country over the past few years, and Bloomington has not been immune to its impacts. However, despite scoring low on such indicators as wages and personal income compared to national and state peers, the indicators also reveal that the Bloomington economy remains in a solid position and should return to a period of greater job growth as the nation’s economy improves. “This periodic study helps our community to view our local economy within the perspective of other cities like us, and in some cases, of cities we aspire to be like,” said Danise Alano-Martin, the city’s director of Economic & Sustainable Development. “It’s a benchmarking effort not only comparing us to peers, but it’s also a study that helps inform and guide the collaborations between the City and the BEDC and other partners.” Some key findings include: . Monroe County added an average of 800 new jobs each year between 2009 and 2011. . Employment in local life science manufacturers nearly doubled between 2001 and 2009. . In the 2007 study, Bloomington had the second-highest unemployment rate among national peers, but now ranks ahead of six of the communities. . The Bloomington area had an average wage per job of $34,145 in 2009. . Bloomington ranks 8th out of the 16-city national peer set in a county-level Innovation Index, which measures inputs and outputs to innovation (venture capital, broadband penetration, investments in R&D and educational attainment). . In 1990, manufacturing accounted for 15% of Bloomington’s total employment. This share is down to 8% as of 2009. . Housing in Bloomington was the 6th most affordable of the 15 national peers. . Forty percent of Monroe County’s adult population has a bachelor’s degree or higher, ranking in the top 3% of counties nationally. . Bloomington’s per capita personal income (PCPI) ranks as the fourth lowest in the national peer set. However, the annual PCPI growth rate ranked 8th among national peers and 1st in the Indiana set. BEDC and City Economic & Sustainable Development staff will continue to analyze the report findings to better understand where to direct limited resources that can close gaps in economic prosperity and promote the area’s strengths. A Look Inside the 2011 Bloomington Economy can be viewed at the BEDC’s website www.comparebloomington.us. Click on the “2011 Bloomington Benchmarking Report” in the Quick Facts section of the home page.

3 Red Flags when applying for a Mortgage

Daily Real Estate News | Monday, November 07, 2011

More lenders are scrutinizing mortgage applications since the financial crisis fallout, which has triggered fears of borrowers who will default or walk-away from their mortgage or mortgage fraud.

Here are the triggers that may cause the most lender scrutiny of loan applications, according to a recent article at The New York Times:

Large deposits of money: Lenders are required to account for any cash gifts for down payments, such as from relatives. So if a borrower earns $5,000 a month and suddenly deposits an extra $10,000 beyond that, lenders may question where the money came from when applying for a loan.

The home’s new address: Buyers who are purchasing a primary home three hours from where they work may also draw increased scrutiny from lenders, according to The New York Times article. Borrowers may even need a letter from their employer stating that they work from home a few times a week. That’s because lenders may want to ensure the borrower plans to be an owner-occupant and not buying the property to rent or flip, which must be disclosed.

Signing up for new credit cards: Borrowers should avoid taking on extra debt when applying for a loan — so they may want to wait to buy all the new furniture. Extra debt can be a red flag to a lender and could even jeopardize closing on a new home if the debt pushes the borrower’s total debt levels beyond lender-accepted limits.

Source: “Mortgages: Triggers of Lender Scrutiny,” The New York Times (Nov. 3, 2011)