CandaceC Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 (edited) Charity, I like reading from your perspective. :) Thanks for sharing! You aren't in East TN are you? :D Still trying to figure out who we will use for a realtor... ETA: the deadline might be just what my hubby needs! LOL! Edited February 13, 2012 by CandaceC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Darn it! No, I'm in the Nashville area. Please let me know if I can answer any questions for you at all. I love real estate. My email is cblackw@gmail.com and I look at it much more often than I come here. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Thanks, that is very sweet of you to offer to answer our questions! :001_smile: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Yes, I am! I own a real estate company with my husband. I'm at work now, but obviously I'm taking a little break from the Monday bookkeeping. :D I love an empty house but other realtors love it when they are staged or at least have furniture. I don't think it will kill a sale to have the furniture in it. The easiest thing to do with kids is to invest in tubs with lids and you can pack their toys and school stuff away in a matter of minutes. Maybe do a clean up every morning with spray and paper towels and be dressed and ready to run when a showing happens. The sweet, homey things we do to our homes tend to look cluttered to others. Get the throw blankets off the backs of the sofas, lose the bath mats when people are looking, no extra carpets and such, no litter box anywhere, store all the decor you might have on top of your kitchen cabinets. The tin collection is nice but it makes the kitchen look cluttered. One of my listings is a fantastic ranch house, great area, lots of space, and priced beautifully. The owners smoke heavily and have lots of decor and I cannot seem to get them to understand why their house won't sell. Yesterday I did an open house and the couple who showed up to see it looked puzzled at all the ruffled toilet seat covers and the gigantic ruffled curtains everywhere. The owners have sponge painted a wall in the bonus room with blue and included big, puffy white clouds! The display shelf in front of this wall has a ceramic Christmas tree, a few more Christmas things, a Halloween witch, a ceramic Halloween pumpkin and some more harvest type things. This couple did not bat an eye, they started telling me what a fantastic place that would be for their toothpick holder collection. To each his own...who would have thought? What upset them was the ceiling and some minor repairs I could fix in about an hour! Thanks for letting me share that, I'm still shaking my head and it has nothing to do with any of your questions. :D You were at my parents' house? :lol: Oh, wait. They don't smoke. Everything else is dead on though. Ugh. :tongue_smilie: I think you should go ahead and make that appointment with a realtor but make it 2 weeks from now. That way you and your husband have a deadline! How long from the appointment until a house is listed and available to be seen online, on average? We are waiting to carpet our house next week before we call. Also, I have not had a glowing recommendation for a realtor and could use tips on finding a good one. I want my house to be inescapable, whether a prospective buyer logs onto Zillow, Century 21, Coldwell-Banker, etc. I want my house to follow them around like a stalker. :tongue_smilie: The house across the street was for sale for months and I actively looked for it online and couldn't find it anywhere. What was that realtor even doing, for Pete's sake? :confused: I won't use her (obviously), but how do I find a good one? Thanks, that is very sweet of you to offer to answer our questions! :001_smile: :iagree: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Kristina, I agree with all your questions about a realtor!! We are having a bit of a hard time too. We want one who has a lot of experience in our specific area...obviously. :) But we live in a TINY town... That said, because it is a smaller area, there aren't as many options FOR SALE right now...we have been looking at zillow, etc a LOT. We have already ruled out a lot of homes... And why is zillow so much more comprehensive than trulia or realtor.com? I will put in the exact same search parameters and zillow is the ONLY one that has pulled up several of our favorite homes?!?! The others don't list them at all?! Strange! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChristyB in TN Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I like to recommend the busiest realtor in the area. Find the person with the most signs in yards, look up some of those address for yourself online and see if you like how he/she markets. I don't think a national company is important. Being a realtor who is keeping up with technology is very important. Don't hire someone's brother in law just because they really like him. Hire someone who does this full time and if they have a few assistants running around for them, that's even better! If that person doesn't return your phone call in an acceptable amount of time, you might need to move on. I feel strongly about a great business is a business that makes it easy to do business. Your realtor should make your life easier, have a strong sense of urgency, and have awesome communication skills. Also, look in the newspaper and see who has the most ads. Every community has their own big day for real estate ads in the paper. Someone who advertises like crazy is probably a good bet. Look closely at the contract before you sign with anyone. Are you going to have bogus transaction fees at closing? I would have them alter that or I would find someone else. The 6% (or whatever) is plenty, don't pay extra processing or transaction fees at closing. Yes, this is becoming normal in certain places but you can control it. I list for 6% and then if I list it and turn around and sell it (getting both sides of the commission) I only take 5%. This is a good thing to ask for if they don't already offer it. Again, busy people get more done. I love busy people and action seems to perpetuate itself. Find a realtor who listens to you and that you LIKE. If you like him/her, others probably will, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alte Veste Academy Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 I like to recommend the busiest realtor in the area. Find the person with the most signs in yards, look up some of those address for yourself online and see if you like how he/she markets. I don't think a national company is important. Being a realtor who is keeping up with technology is very important. Don't hire someone's brother in law just because they really like him. Hire someone who does this full time and if they have a few assistants running around for them, that's even better! If that person doesn't return your phone call in an acceptable amount of time, you might need to move on. I feel strongly about a great business is a business that makes it easy to do business. Your realtor should make your life easier, have a strong sense of urgency, and have awesome communication skills. Also, look in the newspaper and see who has the most ads. Every community has their own big day for real estate ads in the paper. Someone who advertises like crazy is probably a good bet. Look closely at the contract before you sign with anyone. Are you going to have bogus transaction fees at closing? I would have them alter that or I would find someone else. The 6% (or whatever) is plenty, don't pay extra processing or transaction fees at closing. Yes, this is becoming normal in certain places but you can control it. I list for 6% and then if I list it and turn around and sell it (getting both sides of the commission) I only take 5%. This is a good thing to ask for if they don't already offer it. Again, busy people get more done. I love busy people and action seems to perpetuate itself. Find a realtor who listens to you and that you LIKE. If you like him/her, others probably will, too. Thanks so much for this! Can I ask another question? :D To entice buyers (and to encourage them to offer full-price or close-to), we were going to offer to pay all closing costs. What percentage can I expect to pay in a situation where I'm paying for everything? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CandaceC Posted February 14, 2012 Author Share Posted February 14, 2012 I also have a question about choosing a realtor... Would you choose someone you know? I have heard opinions on both sides. We go to a fairly large church, there is a realtor that goes to our church. We know her, but not well...I mean, we would say hello in Walmart but I don't know her much beyond that. She is probably one of the top sellers in our area...And I feel like I could trust her judgement... But I have heard a few people say not to use anyone you know...what do y'all think?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker of Schole Posted February 14, 2012 Share Posted February 14, 2012 I would not use a realtor that I know (and by know, I mean beyond a casual aquiantance). On the Dave Ramsey website you can find recommendations for realtors. It lays out exactly what they have to do to qualify for a recommendation from him, so you might find some comfort in that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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