Expansion of Home Buyers Tax Credit is not just for “Move-Up”

The new expanded portion of the Tax Credit for Homer buyers is being referred to a Move-up plan.

You can also downsize.

As long as you meet the other requirements such as the income limits and having lived in your current home for 5 years you can get the up-to $6500 credit even if you are downsizing.

The credit is not dependent on your new house being higher priced than your current home.

You don’t even have to sell your current home.

• If, for example your current home is on the market but it doesn’t sell for one reason or another, you can still get the tax credit.
• If, for example you want to keep your current home and rent it out and move to a new home, you can still get the tax credit.

In both of those cases the new home must become your primary residence. You cannot buy something as an investment.

Standard Disclaimer – talk to your accountant about your specific eligibility.

How To Sell Your House Without a Realtor

So you want to sell your house but do not see the value Realtor representation. Not an unusual thought – after all, lots of people do lots of things themselves like fix their cars, do handyman jobs in their house, do their own taxes, etc.   If you can do something as well as a professional does I say “Go for it!”

As a Realtor I believe strongly in my own abilities and I do think I’ll do a better job than you will – but that’s not what this article is about.  I’ve already written about the things that you should expect from a Super-Realtor like me to help you sell your home for the highest possible net value in the shortest amount of time with the least amount of inconvenience to you.

If unrepresented selling feels like the right choice for you, here are some tips to help you through.

RESEARCH

While you may not have access to your local Multiple Listing Service which provides Realtors with up to the minute market data on sold, active and withdrawn properties that are comparable to yours, there is a wealth of data out there for you pore over to help determine what your house can sell for.

If you know of a house that sold recently, your town land records should be able to find details on the sale. Some towns are putting their records on line so you won’t have to weave your way through the town hall to  look things up.

Websites like Zillow can help you also to determine the value of your house based on their algorithms which primarily use square footage and proximity of recent sales as their basis.  You will have to temper these based on the unique attributes of the sold homes balanced against your own.   Things like age, condition, type of heating/cooling, parking, water and waste specifics, flooring and many other specifics will be pluses and minuses that impact the right price for your home.

As for currently listed homes, you can get the basics of these from various websites to use as comparison.  I would also recommend going to any open houses you might see advertised in order to check out the competition.

The key in this is to be honest with yourself — check your ego and emotional attachment to your house at the door, so to speak.   Things that have personal value to you might not mean much to prospective buyers.  A wine cellar, for example might add a lot of value to you, but to someone who doesn’t collect wine, it might just be considered storage.

EXPOSURE

One of the most important things about selling anything, whether it’s a toy collection, a house or a football stadium, is that you have to somehow get your product into to the consciousness of your target audience.

First you have to determine who and where your target audience is.  Remember that, as an unrepresented seller, your buyer pool is most likely limited to the people who have decided that they want to purchase from someone who is selling on their own.  If someone has decided to engage a Realtor to help them find homes, they are most likely going to rely on that Realtor to help them find a home.  Most Realtors have user friendly interfaces for their buyer clients to peruse the houses that are available and choose which ones they would like to see.

There are, for sure, buyers who are specifically looking for For Sale By Owner houses. Here’s why.  They know that the seller isn’t paying a commission to a broker and they would like to save some money. Their logic is that they are entitled to some of the money you’ll be saving in the form of a lower purchase price.

You can find those buyers, usually via two methods.

• Online. There are a ton of individual websites where FSBO buyers and sellers can connect.  Check them all out and post the details of your house on each of them that you like.
• Signs. The second method of attraction is the FSBO sign in your front yard. Obviously this will only attract people who actually see it, so the exposure will be limited to people who drive down your street.  If you live on a really busy road, many people will drive by and a certain percentage of them will be prospects for you. If you live on a cul-de-sac or dead end street your exposure will be mostly limited to people who visit your neighbors.

If you go with a sign, don’t make the mistake of trying to advertise too much on your sign. Business 101 says that marketing should not be an attempt to sell your product – just a means of getting the prospects to contact you.  Someone I know recently sent me this photo of a FSBO sign.  I don’t know if this sign was real or a joke (probably a joke) but it shows what not to put on the sign.

What you do want to put on the sign will basically be how to contact you.  In good weather you may also want to put some brochures with some of the POSITIVE highlights of the house.

Third possible avenue (this will cost you some money) is to contact Real Estate brokers and offer them a commission if they bring a buyer.  You can set any amount you like.  Simply tell them, that you are not listing your house with a broker but you would be willing to pay a certain amount to a broker who has a buyer.

If you decide to do this, you will be paying less than you would to a listing Realtor who has to account for paying a portion to the buyer broker.  Remember, as I said above, if you are saving money, your FSBO buyer will want to share the wealth with you.

You can reach out to the Realtors by finding out individual email addresses, calling them, printing fliers and bringing them to all the offices, mass faxing – or any other method you choose.

SHOWING POLICY

Decide ahead of time how you will handle requests for showings.  If there is more than one adult living in your house, make a schedule as to who will be responsible to host visitors to your house.  Decide what times you are willing to be available.  Most buyers want to see homes in the evenings or weekends, so be sure someone is available.

One urgent safety issue. If you do have a sign in the yard and there are times when minor children will be home alone, have a family discussion and make a plan how to handle unexpected visitors knocking on the door when there is no adult at home.

QUALIFYING

OK – so people start to call you – or they just knock on your door because of the sign – what is your plan?

Is everyone welcome to tour your home or do you feel that you should find a little bit more about them before letting them into your home.

My recommendation is to prepare a little script for people who call.  Something to the effect of:

“We’d love to show you our home but I’m sure you understand that we need a little information about you first. We’ve prepared a little questionnaire which I can fax or email to you.” If they are already standing on your doorstep because they saw your sign, you’ll probably have to address this a little differently.

Some of the things you want to know include the following items:

• Name,
• Address
• Telephone #
• e-mail
• Do they own or rent now?
• Do they have to sell something before moving
• How many people in the family
• Where they commute to
• When are they looking to move

These last couple are critical unless you want to waste your time with people who love to look at houses but cannot afford one.

• Are they financially qualified to buy your home?
• Have they seen a lender yet and do they have a letter of pre-qualification or are they buying  cash.

You may want to personally connect with a local bank loan officer that you can refer people to in case they don’t know anyone.

OFFER PROCESS

So if someone does make an offer, what do you do next?

Will you require them to give you a deposit WITH the offer?

If they don’t want to give you any money until after you settle on a price, you can suggest that they give a check to their attorney for, let’s say, 1% of the offered price.  Their attorney can provide you a letter certifying that he is holding the money.  If your buyer is serious he’ll be willing to “put something in the game” before you waste your time negotiating.  An offer with nothing attached to it, is not likely to be serious.

Prepare a sheet in advance stating your terms.

• How long after the price is set do you want to allow them to perform an inspection?
• How many days after the inspection will they have to bring up any requested repairs?
• Do you want to require that the inspection be done only by a licensed home inspector – or can they just bring their cousin who has a tall ladder?
• Will you accept an offer from someone who has not sold their house yet?
• How much time will you allow them to obtain a mortgage approval?

To protect yourself on these and similar issues, you probably want to have your attorney prepped for these kinds of issues so he can prepare a contract template for you to use.

NEGOTIATING

Once you and the prospective buyer are on the same page as to the process you can begin negotiating the price.

Expect a low initial offer.   That’s what buyers do today.  They will test the waters to see what your sense of urgency or desperation is.   So decide ahead of time how you will respond.

The second reason for an expected low offer is something I mentioned above.  The buyer wants to share in the savings you will realize from not listing your house with a broker.  He’s shopping in the FSBO market for the same reason you are selling there.

Real estate fees are always completely negotiable – there is no such thing as a standard commission.  If, however your buyer has the perception, for example, that the fee you WOULD HAVE paid is 5% and your house is selling for $400,000, he has it in his head that you are saving $20,000.  That might not be accurate since there is no standard commission, but as we all know, perception becomes reality for many people.

In that scenario he is likely going to expect to pay $10,000 less for your house because you are selling it on your own. You will have a hard time convincing him otherwise.

Remember, you have three options each time an offer is presented:

• Accept the offer
• Decline the offer
• Make a counter offer

Repeat the offer/counter-offer cycle as many times as necessary to come to an agreement with the buyer on price and other terms.  If you do not agree, just hang on for the next prospective buyer and begin the process again.

END GAME

So, you’ve received and accepted an offer. Final steps:

• The buyer did an inspection and was satisified with the condition of the house.
• Your attorney and their attorney have created contracts which you both have signed.
• The buyer has applied for a mortgage.
• The lender sends an appraiser out to confirm that the sale price does not exceed the current market value.
• The buyer gets his mortgage approval.
• The sale of his house get completed.

Somewhere in this process you will look for and be negotiating the purchase of your next home.  It’s always a difficult call to know when to begin because in most cases you won’t be able to complete the purchase of your next home until your current home is sold.  It’s a bit of a juggling act – but this is not exclusive to unrepresented sellers – it’s just a part of the real estate process.

Once all of those things have been accomplished a date is set for closing and you are on the way to your next home.

Ugliest House Principle – Will it help you build equity faster?

A little background before we start on the subject of ugly houses.

Real Estate Markets are very, very local – so this article is based on recent experiences with clients who are buying homes in Danbury, buying homes in Bethel, buying homes in Brookfield and buying homes in New Milford.

Our MLS system in Greater Fairfield County, CT, showed 11 homes the other day with price increases.  There were many more than that where the prices are being reduced so I can’t conclude that we are now in an appreciating market but…. although they are a bit confusing there some signs out there that we may be climbing out of the bottom.

The challenge for sellers over the last few years has been coming to grips with the fact that their home isn’t worth what they would like it to be. Soon, the real challenge may be for buyers.

WAITING FOR THE PERFECT STORM – PERFECT PRICE, RATE AND HOUSE

The challenge for buyers recently, has been that they don’t want to buy until we are “AT THE BOTTOM”.  Many people, who need to move for a variety of reasons, don’t want to buy a house until they are sure that it will not continue to fall in value.

People are staying in their existing homes or apartments much longer they would probably like to because they only want to buy when their new house is going to appreciate.

IT ALL DEPENDS ON YOUR PRIORITIES

It’s all about individual preference, I suppose.  Shereen and I bought our condo in June of 2007.

It is now September, 2009 and the value of our home is down roughly 14%.   While we’d certainly like it if the value had gone up, we can’t even begin to express how much happier we are living where we do, than living where we were. It’s a much nicer, newer, bigger place and we are loving it.  Had we held out for the bottom, we’d still be living where we were – all stressed out, waiting to move until the market changed.

In the end, if we’d put off our move until today, more than 2 years later, we’d probably have sold for 15% less than we did, so we’d have spent 2 more years wanting to move and we wouldn’t have made out any better financially.

HOW WILL WE KNOW WHEN WE HIT BOTTOM

My loyal Blogosphere fans have heard me talk about “the bottom” before, specifically that we are not going to know where it is until we can see it in our rear-view mirrors.

Having said that there are many who are saying that homes in the Danbury, Brookfield, Bethel area, might just be at the bottom. The challenge with hitting the bottom, is that the turning of the market is not going to be clear cut.  It will be a series of little dips, climbs, more dips and then a steady, if slow climb.

SO - IF THE MARKET IS HEADED UP, WHAT IS THE FASTEST WAY TO GAIN EQUITY WHEN YOU BUY?

Finally – back to the topic at hand.

Lately, I’ve had a number of buyer clients who have asked me about the “Ugliest Home Principle”.    In Real Estate Lingo we call this the Principle of Progression.  The counter to it is the Principle of Regression. Here’s what they mean in simple terms.

The Principle of Progression says if you have the most modestly valued home in a neighborhood of higher priced homes, your value will move closer to the value of the higher priced homes.  In a down market, your home will drop more slowly and in an up market your home will rise more quickly.

The Principle of Regression says that if you have the highest valued home in a neighborhood of lower priced homes, your value will move closer to the more modestly priced homes.  In a down market your home will drop more quickly and in an up market your home will rise more slowly.

Before we talk about the actual financial wisdom of this, you first need to answer to yourself the following two questions.

1. When you find this ugly, small, low value home, willl it suit your life needs in terms of size, bathrooms, bedrooms, location etc.?
2. Will you be happy living in the ugliest, smallest, lowest value home in the neighborhood?

If you can honestly answer “YES”,  then let’s look at the principles themselves and consider if they hold true.

DO THESE PRINCIPLES ACTUALLY WORK?

The answer is that they both Progression and Regression do work – but there are a couple of caveats.

First – they work best with a new home.  If there is a neighborhood of 3000SF, 4BR 2.5 Bath Colonials on 1.5 acres and you build a 1500SF Hi-Ranch with 3BR  1.5 baths on .35 acreage, your house will likely appreciate faster than if you built the same one in a neighborhood of other modest hi-ranches.

If the neighborhood has been around for 20 years and are looking to buy that 1500SF Hi-Ranch that was built 15 years ago, you have to keep in mind  most of the Progression has already happened.  Remember, the value of the modest home gets “closer” to the value of the higher-priced homes but it they’ll never be equal. It doesn’t keep going up forever.

Secondly, let’s assume that the “ugly” home is only 5 years old and the value has gone up – here’s the catch.  The person selling the home also knows about this principle and guess what – HE wants to take the increased equity. This is not a secret plan that only you know about. So you’re not going to “trick” the seller into selling below market value and then magically gain the value from Progression.

WHY ARE YOU BUYING A NEW HOME IN THE FIRST PLACE?

As a Realtor this is the question I always ask my buyer clients to consider carefully before deciding what home to buy?

Most often, people are moving to accommodate some change in lifestyle.

• Moving up for a growing family
• Downsizing after empty nest syndrome kicks in
• New job – new commute
• Moving into a town that suits you better

or a hundred other reasons.  The thing is you have to keep those reasons in mind. If you are choosing a house for lifestyle reasons but overlay that reason with wanting to buy a house that is going to gain equity the fastest, you will have to compromise somewhere.  You can’t serve two masters and get what you want.

Pick the investment avenue or pick the lifestyle avenue and move in the direction that you think is most important to you. After narrowing down the choices, you can compare the short list in terms of the “other master” and see how close you can come.

Be true and honest with yourself about why you want to move and let your Realtor help you find the home that suits your personal needs.

Slower and Harder – Be Prepared!

I know I’m dating myself with the reference but if I’m getting old it’s fine. Better than the alternative.

Roger Miller had a hit song int he 1960s called England Swings Like a Pendulum Do.

Well most things swing like pendulums, don’t they?  Right now the ability to get a mortgage has swung as far away from a few years ago as it can.

Allegedly, not too long ago, the primary qualification for a consumer being approved for a loan, it seems, was a mirror test.  If you help a mirror up to the face of the borrow and steam formed, they got the loan.

OK – that’s a little extreme but let’s face it, getting credit was a breeze.  There was in fact, a loan known as NINA which stood for No Income No Asset.

As far as the house they were buying, there are folks claiming today, whether it’s true or not it is being said, that appraisals were, for the most part matching the negotiated selling price.

Neither of those points is meant to be a knock to lenders or appraisers.   My point is not so much whether loans should have been granted or not, but the perception.

So, given the media coverage of sub-prime loans and “over zealous” appraisals, the lending industry has swung completely in the opposite direction.

There are some folks today who will have a more difficult time getting a mortgage.  For example, in some areas, the new “rule of thumb” for minimum FICO scores on a loan up to $417,000 is 660.  It goes even higher on bigger loans.

Every possible precaution that can be taken to insure credit-worthiness is being taken.  This will, without a doubt eliminate some borrowers who might have been included a few years ago.

Same with appraisals.  Tighter requirements for “comps” are in place. Remember, an appraised value is not the same as the assessed value. Sometimes the appraisers are not finding any valid comps and have to rely on other formulations to come up with the right price.  Some houses are not appraising for the sale price.

Even if the house appraises as you hope and even if the borrower gets approved, the fact is that the typical time for completing this process is likely to be longer than we may be used to.  What once took 4 – 6 weeks might, in some cases take 8 – 10 weeks or more.  Maybe not  – sometimes the stars align and things go quickly and smoothly – but be prepared.

One of the things that causes agita in Real Estate transactions is an unexpected delay. Trust me, there’s nothing quite as aggravating for a seller or a buyer, than getting a phone call 5 weeks into the process that this or that hasn’t been done, or more information is needed or that there’s a backlog in processing.  There’s a dozen different reasons but the end result is the same -  you can’t move when you thought you could.

These factors will vary from region to region and from specific transaction to specific transaction – talk to your Realtor and your Mortgage Professional to find out how things are going in your area.

My advice is to go into a home transaction – as a buyer or a seller – with the idea that it is NOT going to be as quick or as smooth as you want it to be – or what you might have experienced the last time around.

As a Realtor, my responsibility is to to stay in close touch with all the various players on an ongoing basis until the moment that we all walk out of the closing room smiling.  The most important thing I can do for you, is to help you set accurate expectations.   Disappointment, is always caused by inaccurate expectations.

Realtor Expectations – Part Two: THE BUYER’S AGENT

Again, this article is built on the premise that the number of Realtors to choose from is staggering.  Most people have one or more acquaintances that are “in the business” – or they know someone who has a sibling, spouse or parent who sells Real Estate.  It’s great to know the Realtor’s name, but what else does your friend or relative know about them?  A name and a business card don’t tell you all that you need to know.

No matter how you come across the name of a Realtor, you owe it to yourself to do your due diligence and learn about their business practices before choosing one.  Here are some of the things that you should expect from a Realtor when they are acting as your Buyer’s agent.

A Buyer’s agent is a Realtor who you choose to represent you in your search for a new home.  In most states you will likely have to sign an agreement with that agent in order for him to represent you.   This is known as “Buyer Agency”.  While it is an overstatement to say that you’ll be “stuck” with the agent once your engage them (there are always ways to get out of most agreements), remember that you are making a commitment to work with that Realtor throughout the entire process of your home search – so choose carefully.

So – what are the things that a Buyer’s agent should be doing to make your search and transaction a great experience?

BUYER COUNSELING:   Your first meeting with your Realtor should include more than just looking at houses. This first meeting, must include you getting a clear understanding of the entire home buying process and your Realtor should be learning as much as he can about your specific needs and plans.

SEARCHING FOR LISTINGS:  There are dozens, maybe hundreds of sources to search for listings. Every day these resources are becoming more and more elegant ant sophisticated.  On my own website I offer three separate options.  The fact that there are so many resources available can make it difficult to decide which one to use.  After getting to know you, your Realtor should be able to recommend certain avenues for listing searches that will fit your needs and your style.

• Search on your own: Some home shoppers prefer to spend a great deal of time on the internet and seek out matching listings themselves.  I have one client who has logged into a particular search site 2015 times since I set up his account last fall.  He communicates with me about things that pique his interest and I dig for further data to help him make a decision about whether to look at the home.
• Realtor searches for you:  Some home shoppers don’t even own computers – or they have neither the time nor the inclination to use their computer to search for home. If this is you, then you need a Realtor who will spend time and get a very clear profile of what you want, pull listings and provide you with the details in whatever format you want.

Most folks fall somewhere in between those two extremes.  Make sure that you choose a Realtor who is comfortable and competent working the way you want to work.

QUALIFYING LISTINGS:  This is the next step after you have found prospective homes that fall within your stated search parameters. The information in a Real Estate listing can only tell you so much.

One example:

A listing, for example might say “Great access to highway”.

That might be a  plus to some buyers but it might not matter to you – however – you might be very concerned with the noise level in the neighborhood.  If noise is a very important factor for you then you probably want to know if having great highway access also means that you are going to hear traffic noise.  It might not – but you aren’t going to find out from the listing. So, your agent can research it for you.  Perhaps he knows the street already and can tell you off the bat – or perhaps he needs to call the other Realtor or take a drive by the house and check it out.

There are lots of other examples. The point here is that simply finding the listing may or may not tell you about all the things that are crucial to you.  Once your Realtor knows your likes and dislikes he can dig deeper and give you the additional information before you waste your time looking at places that aren’t going to work for you.

NEGOTIATING: I covered a lot about this in a previous post – the key here is to make sure that you are in sync with the Realtor – there should be no surprises.

Once you find a house, the Realtor should pull “comps” and go over them with you so you can have an idea if the listing price is somewhat in range of market value or if it is overpriced.

Well before you reach this point, your Realtor should sit with you and map out various scenarios and explain the options.  A few examples:

• What if a house is significantly overpriced?  Do you make a single bid that is at market value and stand with it, or are you going to make an offer well below, which may be perceived as a “lowball” by the seller?
• What if your opening bid is very reasonable and the seller refuses to make a counter offer?  Are you going to make a second offer?
• What if you go through several rounds of bidding then find that you and the seller are deadlocked a few thousand dollars apart?

It isn’t necessary that you make firm decisions on these and other scenarios in advance – but your Realtor should have laid the possibilities out for you early in the game so you can consider your options. In the heat of a negotiation you should be executing your well thought out strategy – not developing one.

POST SALE: Once you make a successful bid on a house, you will be dealing with lots of other people:  Home Inspector, Septic Inspector, Attorney, Loan Originator, and Loan Processor – to name some of them.  Your Realtor’s “official” role is ending.  Having said that, however he can and should assume the role of “expeditor”, staying in touch with everyone and keeping track of who is where in the process so that you have an advocate should there be an unexpected wrinkle.

SUMMARY: Generally speaking, you should choose someone you feel comfortable with but that comfort should come from you knowing that your Realtor has a plan to work with you from beginning to end at your pace; following your style and helping you make the most of your home shopping experience.

Realtor Expectations – Part One: THE LISTING AGENT

NOTE:  This is a pretty long post but worth reading – print it out.

With so many Realtors to choose from, this is intended to help you look at some of the things you might want to clarify with an agent when selecting the one to sell your house.  Realtors, like any group of people, have many different styles, work ethics, and philosophies.

There are a lot of homes on the market today – some sell, some don’t.   Working with the right Realtor can definitely have an impact on which group your home falls in to.

Every Realtor should have the same objective when listing your home.   The objective, put simply, is this: To help you sell for the highest possible price, in the shortest amount of time, with the least amount of inconvenience for you.

This  objective should be the basis for everything else in the Realtor’s Strategy:  Highest – Shortest – Least  or HSL.

Every plan and every action should be geared towards one of those three components.

PRICING: A Realtor’s first responsibility to you is to help you decide the right asking price.

You agent should perform a detailed analysis for you of your local market, including sold properties, active listings, properties that did not sell, as well as information on how many homes have sold in your areas recently and the pricing trends.

Once you know the right price, it is the responsibility of the Realtor to advise you not to overprice your house.   Why  you should not overprice your home is covered in THIS POST.  The subject at hand today is that your Realtor should not be telling you what you want to hear. Brutal honesty should gets high marks.

The tendency for many sellers is to ask about listing above market value for  “a while” and then lower it if doesn’t sell.  Doing this is rarely in the best interest of the seller and usually ends up with months of anxiety and ultimately nets the seller less money for their home.  Look for a Realtor who will stand by his analysis and work with you towards HSL.  It may be the path of least resistance for a Realtor to simply go along with the client on this issue – but it may not be the best thing for the client.

MARKETING: I’ve heard it said that no one “sells” a house, people look at at and choose to buy it.  If that’s true then the key to finding that buyer is to get as many people to look at the house as possible.  Not everyone that views your home is going to want to buy it – that’s OK.  You only need one buyer.  The odds of finding that buyer are greatly increased by the Realtor’s ability to generate interest.    Ask your Realtor for his Marketing Plan.  What are the specifics thing he’ll be doing.  What will be done in the first few days, the first week, the second week.  What will be done on an ongoing basis.

How will he be promoting the home to the other Realtors in the area?   Remember, it’s the other Realtors who have the buyers.  So  while advertising your home to consumers is important, it is equally important to know the specifics of how your Realtor will be communicating with the other area Realtors – or even Realtors not in your area.  Your buyer may live  down the street or thousands of miles away.  In our area of Northern Fairfield county, there are multitudes of folks who move across the state line from NY.  How will your Realtor approach the NY Realtors with information about your listing?

Part of  the marketing plan includes preparing your home for showings.  This may include staging advice, which again calls for brutal honesty.  For certain homes, it might be appropriate to bring in a professional home stager, but  even without that there will be things that your Realtor will likely notice that will make your house more appealing to buyers.  Again, what you want here is for the Realtor to look beyond saying what’s comfortable – he needs to point out anything he notices to you that will help reach the prime objective.

In addition your Realtor should make a point of preparing marketing materials for your home that will point out “the high points” to visitors.  Remember – neither you nor your Realtor will likely be present during showings and the buyer’s Realtor does not know as much about your home as you or your own Realtor.  “Call outs” which are small signs can be placed throughout the house to draw attention to certain features.  If there’s a cedar closet for example, buyers will only see it if they open and look inside – so a small sign on the outside of the closet can help.

There are a variety of other materials that can be placed in the house, co-located with the agent sign-in sheets.  Property and subdivision maps, neighborhood information and transportation options are just a few.

FEEDBACK: Ask yourself how often you want updates from your Realtor about  “what’s going on”.   Will your Realtor provide weekly written summaries of all showings and re-showings of your house?   What is the Realtor’s plan for following up with the agents who bring buyers for showings?   With today’s electronic key boxes, your Realtor can have the capability of knowing very quickly what other Realtors showed your home.  Does he have a systematic plan to get feedback and follow up with them?

NEGOTIATION: Your Realtor should have a negotiation strategy which he goes over with you before the house is ever shown.  While he will bring you all offers and you will ultimately decide,  he should be discussing likely contingencies and options with you.  When an offer comes in, it begins a series of fast paced back and forth telephone conversations that should lead you to a successful sale. If you’ve discussed the strategy in advance, you’ll be prepared for and can come up with well thought out positions on things such as:

• What will you do if you get a full priced offer on the first day of the listing – before you’ve had an open house?
• What are your options if you get multiple offers?
• How should you respond to “lowball” offers?
• What if you get an offer form someone who has a healthy down-payment but needs an extended closing date?

None of these things should be surprises if and when they come up.

POST SALE: Once an offer is accepted, the primary point of contact will likely be your attorney but that, by no means, says that your Realtor’s responsibility is over.  Your agent should be prepared to follow up with all the various parties to make sure that everyone else is doing everything they are supposed to.  There is an old adage among sales people  that applies here:   “A salesperson’s job begins when the buyer says yes”.   Everything that happened prior to your finding a buyer will mean nothing if the deal falls through.  There are many things over which you or your Realtor have no control, but he can stay informed and at least try to avert any one of the many things that can go wrong.

SUMMARY: Generally speaking, you should choose someone you feel comfortable with but that comfort should come from you knowing that your Realtor has a plan which involved more than taking the listing and waiting for the buyers to come.