The Yukon’s Inconnue Lodge is facing foreclosure on a government loan in excess of $400,000. Claims related to an unsecured loan held by the Yukon government come to $188,000.
Guests pay over $1,000 a day to visit Inconnu Lodge, but Lefave has failed or refused to make a single payment on two government loans that [...]
Ultimate Homes Magazine: Trump Mega-Mansion Is Most Expensive Home On Market
Contact John to discover your future luxury dream home today.
Inman News reports that Donald Trump’s $125 million Palm…
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Melrose Courts South Tampa Condo Conversion Now On Market
This fantastic new condo conversion offers gate security, lushly landscaped courtyards and pool areas, brand new air conditioning systems…
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Sun Vista Development To Convert Snell Isle Apartments To Condos
Snell Isle Apartments received nearly 20 bids from developers hoping to convert the 272-unit apartment complex to brand new, upscale…
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The Sage Pre-Construction Condos Now Available In Downtown St. Petersburg
The Sage, a highrise pre-construction condominium community, with condos starting in the $300s, now has units available for…
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BREAKING NEWS: POST TO CONVERT POST HARBOUR PLACE™ APARTMENTS TO HARBOUR PLACE CITY HOMES CONDOS
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Breaking news courtesy a…
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After yesterday’s post about discount brokerage offices, I thought it worth expanding on the discount commission issue. Commissions (from every agency) are ALWAYS negotiable. Each office may have it’s own company "policy" but the fees are still negotiable and you can ask for a discount regardless of who you work with. It doesn’t mean you will get a discount from everyone, but you can ask. This being said, it makes sense to " shop" for your discount if you’re determined to get one.
In my experience, the difference in getting a fee reduction from a more "conventional" real estate office is that the listing agent generally takes the discount. This means the listing agent does not discount the commission paid to the buyers agent, but reduces his or her own fee. Therefore, all agents have equal incentive to sell your listing as compared to any other. This gives you the advantages of saving money (theoretically) and the advantage of working with an agency who cooperates fully with the entire roster of Multiple Listing Service agents.
The problem with making a decision solely on the listing and selling fee is the intangible factors involved in the marketing and sale of a home. There are a multitude of ways to lose ALL the money you "saved" (and more)… but that is a discussion for another day. Just remember, make your decision based on who you determine will do the best job of marketing your home. Balance the pros and cons the best you can.
source: More on Real Estate Selling Fees
Today I was contacted by a prospect to show her a specific property that was listed with one of the local discount real estate brokers. I searched for this particular property in the Wenatchee MLS and it was not there, which means they listed it as an exclusive listing not to be shared with the rest of us agents. I contacted the listing agent and he said I could indeed show the home, but the seller would not pay my service fee and I would have to add that into the offer. This is why I don’t like working with the discount agencies. It gives me no incentive to actually do what is best for the client.
But, being who I am, I did do what was best for the client. I told her that the home is available but I would not be able to represent her on the transaction because I wouldn’t get paid, unless she was willing to pay me. I knew this wasn’t an option because she is already on a very tight budget. I was honest and told her I could not work for free. Not only am I not willing to work for free, but it doesn’t make sense to take on the liability of a transaction without the compensation to justify it. My client understood, of course, and is NOT pursuing the purchase of that particular property.
It is experiences like these that makes me wonder if sellers understand the disadvantages of working with a discount agency. To be fair, I admit to have worked for one ofthese discount agencies (twice). I like the concept and I think it’s great when (and if) I can save sellers money. I’ve even been known to show people do a For Sale By Owner transaction if I think it best serves them!
Anyway, when I was a listing agent at the discount agency I would prep my clients upfront that it’s important to get as much exposure as possible and price the home in such a way that they can pay a selling agent fee if necessary. I never had anyone object to that approach. The plus side is the home might actually sell without paying the extra selling side fee. It’s certainly worth a try, BUT it’s also necessary to cooperate with the MLS agents to get maximum exposure. This is part of the supply and demand of economics and actually creates more demand (and therefore higher value) for any given property.
The downside, then, of listing with the discount agencies is that we "conventional" agents are suspicious that we won’t get paid for our efforts, so we don’t make any particular effort to sell those properties. I don’t mean to insinuate that we purposely avoid working with these agencies listings… but, with our limited time, we do have to make choices and it only makes sense to make the choice to put our efforts where we think we will be compensated. I admit it. You’d do the same, I suspect. The opposite approach to discounting the fee offered is to offer a bonus. That certainly gets more positive attention.
Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
Today the local North Central Washington Multiple Listing Service launched a new MLS system, called FlexMLS. This is going to be an excellent program once I figure out how to use it in my Wenatchee real estate business. After some initial glitches getting me online with the system, I spent much of the day familiarizing myself with the overall structure of this software program.
This new MLS system is quite exciting because it seems to be aptly named as it is very FLEXible for serving clients. I will be able to set up daily, weekly or monthly e-mail notifications when new listings come on the market. I can totally customize these property searches for each person. I can e-mail Photo Tours and listing reports to you on demand. All you need to do is tell me what you want in a home or investment property (price, size, age, location, blah, blah, blah) and I will set it up for you to be notified any (or every) day of the week as new listings come on the market.
My primary real estate website also has an auto notification feature but, honestly, this system is far better because it gives us more flexibility in setting up specific search criteria.
As we move into late winter and toward early Spring, there will be significantly more listings coming on the market. Now is a great time to sign up for this new automatic notification service.
Let me know how I can serve you!
Carol
Carol@TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
http://TopPropertiesWenatchee.com
source: New Wenatchee MLS System
Developers, Builders Study Baby Boomer Buying Habits
RISMedia reports:
Market analyst Tim Sullivan of San Diego charts boomer trends for developers. Sullivan said baby boomers’ buying habits are…
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