My Weston Blog

For Rent: 2BR/2BA Condo in Coral Springs, FL, $850/month

2009-11-23T16:26:00.000-08:00

For Rent: 2BR/2BA Condo in Coral Springs, FL, $850/month

Buyer's Agent

2008-11-11T01:31:00.000-08:00

OK, so I got interesting response the other day from a client. We get a call in from a person who wants to see one of our listings. I called him back and told him I was a buyer's agent and how can I help you. He immediately responded with " I want to speak with the listing agent. I do not want to pay a buyer's fee" I tried to explain the him that he would not pay my fee, and basically I work for the listing agent, he did not get it.

Anyway, I know now that people really do not understand how real estate and agency representation really works. The buyer does not pay a fee to the agent. The listing agent pays the fee out of their commission.

Do I buy Now or Wait For the Market to Come Back!

2008-10-23T19:51:00.000-07:00

Well, here is a good one. I just got a call tonight from a young couple who want to sell their town home and buy a house. They are interested in purchasing a house, because they know they will not be able to afford want they want once prices start going up,or mortgage rates increase. They where not happy knowing they won't make as much on the sale of their townhouse, but I explained to them that the house they buy the seller also will be taken less for that home. I also asked what they thought would increase in value when the market comes back, the 4-5 bedroom home with a pool or the town home, they agreed the house would appreciate more.

I know many people who argued the point that it is better to wait, but do you really think you can time the bottom of the housing market? Once you realized the market has bottomed out, it will be too late, because it will have already started climbing back up. We can not time Wall street. Why do people think they can time the housing market. You know there is a reason they call it a buyers market. Interest rates are low, there is plenty of inventory to choose from, sellers are flexible. If you have the financial ability to buy a house now you are in a great position. Well I would like to hear some comments on this topic. I know it can be pretty controversial, but lets keep it civil.

JohnP

Check Out Matt Rains Website. Great Tech For Realtors

2008-10-23T05:39:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone,

I had taken a course at my Realtor Board(RAMB) given by Matt Rains a Keller Williams agent in Georgia. Matt is about 25 years old, and I was really impressed with his teaching ability. He was speaking to a room of about 60 agents, where the average age of the people in the room, was around 50 years old. I know I would have been biting my nails at that age, giving a presentation to a group of older Realtors. Matt's course was great. He taught us that technology does not have to be difficult or expensive, everything he showed us was available free from the Internet. I think one of the most important aspects of the course is that he opened up your mind, on how to incorporate technology into your real estate business.

You know, like many agents you read about technology but you ask yourself how can I use this in my business. Matt's course shows you some ways you can use applications available to you, on the web for free. The course teaches you how to incorporate Google Earth and Google Street Maps into your business. How to make your own virtual tours for free, and he host them for you for free, if you have taken his course. One of the best aspects of the course was how to use video. Now, I come from the film and television business, so you would think this was a no brainier for me, but Matt shows you how to use your digital still camera to record and edit video with software you already have on your PC.

He is also has a great blog http://www.retechblog.com/ with videos on different technology. He also does a show on Sunday evenings at 8pm.
I recommend that everyone check out his site at:http://www.realestatetechnologyonline.com, and if you get the opportunity to take his course I highly recommend it.

Well that's it for now. I hope this is useful.

Should I sign a Buyer's Agency Agreement

2008-10-22T19:15:00.000-07:00

I see this question many times on different sites like Trulia.com. Well, I think most home buyer's do not understand that all real estate agents are working for the seller, even if it is not their listing. Buyer's without an agreement you are not being represented by that agent. In Florida for example all agents are considered Transaction Brokers, unless their is a specific agreement signed between the client and agent. So what this mean? Well as a transaction broker I only put the two parties together, I can't pull comparables for a buyer. Strategize with the buyer on what type of offer to make. Buyers should not disclose personal information to the agent, like they would pay more for the property, but lets see if they will take the lower offer etc... I had read that their is a movement in Florida that all buyers must sign an agreement with an agent before they can show property to the client. My belief is that will work well, because the buyer will benefit knowing that they have an agent who has their best interest in mind, and the agent benefits, because they know they are working with a serious buyer. Currently it is to easy for a buyer to walk away from an agent after the agent puts in time and money in searching for a home for the buyer. If anyone has any comments on buyers agency, I would love to hear them.

Renters Beware!

2008-10-22T13:36:00.000-07:00

OK, there is not much talk about this issue in the news, so I would like to address it here on my Blog. Renters, you need to be careful who you are renting from. I am finding new clients who are being evicted from their rental homes, due to the fact that the landlord is not paying the mortgage. I had one client paid 6 months rent in advance, the landlord disappeared and it looks like the home is going to be foreclosed on.

If you are not finding a rental through a real estate professional, there are some things you can do to make sure you are not going to be evicted by the bank. When working with clients as prospective tenants, and we find a home they want to rent. I go to the county's public records and in the records division I call up the mortgage. You will search for this information by the owners name, so you can see if they ever had an issue with the home, as far as liens, or prior foreclosures. I recently did this for a client and we saw the owner did a loan modification at one point, but now had a adjustable rate mortgage. We where than able to question the homeowner, as far as, the status of their mortgage payments. I will go as far as to ask for proof that the mortgage is up to date, if I am uncomfortable with the owners answers. They are not always happy about this, but better that the landlord is mad, then my client losing their money. So here are some basic things you should watch out for when renting by owner.

1) The rental rate is low for the area.
2) Deferred maintenance.
3) The landlord does not require 1st, 2ND, and security deposit. They make it easy to get into the property
4) The purchase price of the home is higher than 1% of the rental rate.

Now you may come across some of the above situations, but it does not mean the landlord is having an issue. I would be careful if I saw one or more of the above warnings.

You can always go to the public appraiser's office to see when some one purchased the home, and that they are actually the owners. You can also go to the records division and call up the recording of the mortgage. This will tell you what type of mortgage they have and for how much. If some one has a $350,000 mortgage and the rental rate is $1,800 per month. I would investigate this further. I hope this helps, and if you have any questions feel free to contact me.

John Palmisano
Keller Williams Properties
Weston, Fl 33326
www.myfloridaagentonline.com