Page1, 2, 3, 4.Disclaimer: I am not a
lawyer, appraiser, builder, surveyor, structural engineer,
public accountant, home inspector, geologist nor entomologist and am
not qualified to give advice in these areas. The information is
provided for your discussion with a competent professionals. You should
not base
any decisions upon the comments
below! "A little
learning
is a
dangerous thing" Alexander Pope "Who are a little wise the best fools be" John Donne |
There are four
major sources for buyers to find homes:
- For Sale by Owner
- Non-Traditional Companies
- Multiple Listing Service
- Government Owned
Homes which are marketed solely by their owners without the use of brokerage services are called "For Sale by Owner" or FSBO (pronounced FizBo). Without the knowledge of the "real estate" community there is a good possibility this inventory maybe higher priced then the other three. Sure, you say. No, seriously one of the benefits of using a brokerage service is the market analysis which should price the home more in line with comparable inventory. Sellers usually have a very high opinion of the home which they are trying to sell and how the value is... There are three places where you can look to find a list of these homes. 1) If you are military some military members advertise their home in the Maxwell AF Base housing office. 2) Local newspapers carry home owner's classified Ads. 3) A local publication call the Bulletin Board. The Bulletin Board is free to the non-commercial advertiser and sells for about $2.00. It is available at most gas station, convenience stores, etc. The magazine is published weekly and distributed Thursday morning and is also available on-line. To further assist we have on this web site a page for the home owner who list their property FSBO.
Some companies work with the owners in marketing their homes and assisting in closing procedures but allow the owner to show their own properties with marketing as simple as advertising or placing the home into the MLS thereby offering a reduced commission in the process or simply a fee for advertising services.
The greatest number or real estate transactions take place through the use of the local Multiple Listing Service (MLS) of the Montgomery Area Association of REALTORS®or what is considered traditional real estate. The Multiple List data base has just over 43,000 entries forming a historic record of property sales in the area along with active listings. Active listings numbered over 3,000 with approximately 2,500 representing active residential (i.e. houses) listings.
For buyers desiring a logical and easy approach to finding active listings which match their criteria, I offer a personalized search of the entire data base with information provided to you by e-mail. All listings which match your requirements will be forwarded for your consideration. For more information on a personalized search just " click:" Listings Matching Your Criteria!
Our Multiple Listing Service currently is comprised of over 170 companies with just over 650 agents. All participating agents in the service have the ability to show all active properties in the data base. Information on all of the active listings are available to agents by means of an Internet connection and hand held palm pilot which is updated nightly.
REALTOR.COM , the national repository lists over 1.7 million listings in their database which is accessible to the public on-line. Just added to this web site, you can now actually access our local MLS data base in "real time" (postings to REALTOR.COM is delayed until a download has been made). This is possible by creating your own account and obtaining free local MLS data base access.
Government Owned Properties - FHA & VAThe United States Government owns and sells houses. Generally they obtain the majority of their houses from guaranteeing house sales much the same way that Private Mortgage Insurance provides the Mortgage Lender protection from owners not making their payments. The Veterans Administration provides loan guarantees to eligible military members. The program allows the VA borrowers 100% financing. When these houses are repossessed for what ever reason it usually ends up belonging to the Veterans Administration who after obtaining title, list the property for sale. The VA publishes a list of their homes and allows any registered broker (assisting a potential buyer) the opportunity to submit a bid. If the buyer's bid is accepted they are offered a VA loan with minimum down. The VA loan and the price on the property make this a desirable program. Federal Housing Administration (FHA) also insure houses with minimum down payments. Since this area has a cap on the cost of the house they will insure, these houses are generally priced under $100,000 with VA houses sometimes going over that amount
The FHA like the VA have a bid process. The detractors of the program include: 1. Houses are sold "AS IS" with difficulty in determining the exact condition of the house. Generally utilities have been shut off and the history of the house may be hard to determine. 2. The previous owner has a 1 year right of recession allowing them to obtain their house back if all payments and penalties have been paid. Although this sounds terrible, I have not known a case where this has occurred. Lists are published allowing approximately 10 day for the properties to be inspected and bids submitted. The list contains all properties within the United States and can be viewed by state or Zip Code and is available on line and e-mailed to requesting agents. Agents sign for keys to show the properties. Sometimes the sign on the house can be seen indicating a house is for sale. In the case of a HUD listing, a broker/agent is required to see the listing, and to submit the purchaser's offer to HUD. Additionally a letter from a lending institution showing a lender will finance the transaction, proof of down payment and a binder which will be maintained by the brokerage company.
CHOOSING AN AGENT
REALTOR®
Founded in 1908, National Association of REALTORs® (NAR) has grown from 120 to today's 720,000 members. NAR is composed of residential and commercial REALTORS ®, who are brokers, salespeople, property managers, appraisers, counselors and others engaged in all aspects of the real estate industry. Members belong to one or more of some 1,700 local associations or boards and 54 state and territory associations. REALTORS® are pledged to a strict Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice . Working for America's property owners, the National Association provides a facility for professional development, research and exchange of information among its members and to the public and government for the purpose of preserving the free enterprise system and the right to own real property. A well written page as a part of the NAR site gives insight into Why use a REALTOR. ® All the agents at Montgomery Metro Realty Inc. are required to be REALTORS® supporting its goals and subscribing to the Code of Ethics. Additionally the agents also belong to the Alabama Association of REALTORS® and the local board, the Montgomery Area Association REALTORS® which has an area of responsibility that includes the 4 counties of Autauga, Elmore, Lowndes, and Montgomery.
A close look at some agent's business cards reveal an number of initials after the agent's name. These initials are professional designations and may include:
- GRI - The Graduate REALTOR® Institute designation, conferred by the National Association of Realtors, is presented to Realtors who have completed a comprehensive education program in residential real estate. The program's focus in on practical real estate training.
- CRS - the Certified Residential Specialist is a professional designation awarded by the Residential Sales Council of the REALTORS®National Marketing Institute, an affiliate of the National Association of REALTORS®. It is the nationally recognized symbol of residential sales excellence.
Less than 5% of all REALTORS® have earned the CRS designation. And although representing only 5% of the agents they were involved in nearly 25% of all residential real estate transactions in the United States.Each CRS:
- has membership in a local Board, State Association, and the National Association of REALTORS®and is part of a much larger network of real estate professionals.
- has successfully completed the courses leading to the Certified Residential Specialist designation.
- is a real estate professional equipped with special expertise, thanks to advanced study in listing, selling, investment, taxes and more.
- has a history of demonstrated sales performance through the documented execution of residential sales transactions.
- ABR - Accredited Buyer representative is a professional designation established by the Real Estate Buyer's Agent Council training, testing and membership in the Buyer's Agent Council are required for membership.
- Associate Broker In this case an agent has performed all necessary state requirements to be a Broker. But, instead of opening up their own brokerage service or company elects to work for a company already with a broker. They are refereed to as an associate broker since a company can only have one broker.
An excellent article by Sylvia C. Shelnutt
"Real Estate Designations - The Up and Down Sides"
Is available on this site.
A Summary of most of "the" Initials
First recommendation would be the agent's last name should be spelled like mine. But, if I am not the one you will be selecting then I would recommend that you look for two things. If a REALTOR® is a professional then the same criteria for choosing any professional should apply. If I am choosing a doctor I would want some assurance of their success in the particular operation I am about to under go. Same for an attorney, has he won this particular case? So the first thing I would require is an agent who is already successful. Do they sell one house every other month or so? Would I ever choose a part time doctor to operate on me? Or are they selling 2-5 houses a month. Now we are talking full time agent. Second item after success would be experience. A lot of knowledge is acquired over time much the same way the doctor's expertise is improved after having performed the same operation numerous times. So I would recommend an agent who is a consistent producer over the past few years. Although training is important it is hard to argue with success. For more information on Buyer's agency and on selecting the right agent, please read my article on Exclusive Buyer's Agents.
Index of Information Pages 1 to 5
Page 1 - AGENCY, GEOGRAPHYPage 2 - INVENTORY OF HOMES, CHOOSING AN AGENT Page 3 - HOUSE PAYMENT, QUALIFYING FOR A LOAN Page 4 - CLOSING COSTS, RENTING, INSPECTIONS,
INSPECTORS, & ADVISERSPage 5 - ARTICLES AND TALKS INDEX
Copyright 1998-2007 VanErmen Real Estate Productions, All Rights Reserve
Web Master reviewed 1/28/2008