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Real Estate Services by Jon Griffith

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Is it a Virus, Infection, or well what!

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There’s a certain threshold in a given area regarding how much you should upgrade your home and how much it will make a difference in the competition. It would not make sense to put a $5000.00 stove in a $200,000 condomimium, etc. That’s just one example. So, when a prospective tenant or buyer is looking for a place to buy or rent, there’s also a threshold to their perception of value, and when something seems out of place, it won’t matter to them that you have the nicest property in the area, when it comes to considering the rent or price.

Most upgrades will increase the ability to sell or rent your home over the next door neighbors, but it won’t guarantee that you’ll be able to draw a premium based solely on those upgrades, especially if the area in which you’re renting or buying doesn’t warrant such upgrades.

For potential rental properties, if you ever find yourself saying, “I can’t drop the rent that low because my mortgage is more than that,” then it’s time to think about the cost of carrying a vacant property.

Let’s say your mortgage payment is $1500/month and your home can draw $1200/month in rent. That’s a loss of $300.00/month when it’s rented. If it’s not rented, it’s costing you $1500.00/month.  If you rent it for $1200/month for one year, you’ll lose only $3600.00.  Let’s see, $3600 divided by $1500 is 2.4.

You choose.  You can be realistic about your asking price and get the property rented and lose $3600 in 12 months, or you could hope and pray you get someone to rent your house at your inflated price and lose $3600 in 2.4 months.  Hmmm… 12 months versus 2.4 months.

If this is your way of thinking, it’s just not realistic and you may need to be innoculated from the virus, infection, or well whatever it is that’s keeping you from seeing the real market conditions.

Remember, time is money and the entire nation is getting a swift lesson in loss mitigation.  Most of us are in a “collection” mindset.  We want the full payment and we want it now, and we waste all of our time trying to hunt it down.  The best method is to mitigate your loss by getting something going…anything.

What Does Escrow Mean?

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Susan Gruenling in an article entitled Open Sesame, outlined what it means to “open escrow.”  As I was reading it, I was thinking about what the word Escrow really means and where it comes from, so I did a little research.

If you ever learned Spanish, you probably remember that the verb to write is escribir.  A desk is an escritorio.  The word Escrow, according to The Online Etymology Dictionary is basically a scroll that is a deed delivered to a third person to hold until a future condition is satisfied.

In real estate transactions in Arizona, the escrow is the period during which the Title/Escrow company (the third person) holds the proceeds from the sale of a home until both the buyer and seller sign their documents at which point the funds are transferred from the buyer or buyer’s lender to the seller and/or lienholders of the property being sold.

In other businesses, escrow companies are responsible for securing the funds from the buyer and holding those funds until a future condition is satisfied.  When the conditions are met, the escrow company releases the funds to the seller.  An example would be the process of selling a vehicle or other high dollar luxury item, like a piano, over the internet.  If you have a car to sell, and someone across the country whom you do not know wants to buy it, you would most likely involve an escrow company to ensure that you get your money, and they get their car.

Experience the Fourth Advantage

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I know the market and our industry inside and out. After all that is what being an executive is all about.  Realty Executives agents average more years in the real estate profession and typically represent more buyers and sellers than the average agent.  The result?  The knowledge of what it takes to achieve the best possible results for you in the shortest period of time — whether you’re buying or selling.

 

Experience the Third Advantage

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Experience the Advantages of working with a Realty Executives agent.

No. 3:  Powerful Marketing

With me as your “Executive,” you’ll personally benefit from my strong, united marketing efforts designed to bring potential buyers and sellers together to meet your needs.  Our international, regional and local marketing programs including TV, Radio, Print, outdoor and internet advertising will help you buy or sell real estate fast, easily and at your desired price.

There is a difference between a typical agent and an “Executive,” and it shows in every single transaction.  Put these advantages at work for you today by calling!

Presenting Your Home: Photos

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80% of all buyers use the internet to shop for a home.  It takes an average of 12 to 18 months for them to actually purchase a home, from the initial thoughts of selling their home to the process of purchasing yours.  Since those people start on the internet, listing your home without photographs would be as effective as driving a car without gas.

Think about how many products you’ve been sold on because of the marketing that goes into it.  How much of that marketing contained images of people, places, the actual product?

If your house does not have a photo, people will not look at it.  They will not show it, they will not even think about it.  It’s gone, and getting them back will be difficult if the image is added too late, and here’s one reason why.  When I look for new homes on the market, I skip the properties without photos at first, then I go back to look at the ones without if I think my client would like it, based on my knowledge of the area.  If I go back at a later date and a picture has been added, it actually has a greater chance of being skipped because at that point, I’m looking for the results that don’t have photos.

The new FlexMLS allows us to search for listings based on whether or not they have photos.  This basically eliminates properties from my search if it doesn’t have a photo.

Part of my marketing plan, which is by no means an added benefit, is that I take lots of photos.  I say that it’s not an added benefit because no property should be listed without photos, period.  I don’t just take photos, I publish a property website for each listing, publicize it to as many places on the internet as I possibly can, and I create my own custom slide show for your home.

ARMLS used to offer photography services for us.  They would take a shot of the front of the property for us and we wouldn’t have to do anything, but it would only be one mediocre photo.

ARMLS announced today that they would be discontinuing this service and they offered the following reasons for the change:

  • Over half of the listings currently in TEMPO were marked “do not photograph” when they were entered into the system.
  • 80% of the half that WAS photographed by PhotoReal had their exterior photo replaced with one supplied by the listing agent within two weeks of the listing going active.
  • 90% of the current listing database has photos provided by agents rather than the PhotoReal photography service.

What’s the most important thing to note in these three points?  “WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF THE LISTING GOING ACTIVE.”

The fact that agents enter listings AT ALL WITHOUT PHOTOS is hurting the potential sale of your property.  List with me and I’ll make sure you don’t experience those gaps in service.

For an example of a website that I created for one of my listings, click here.

Experience the Second Advantage

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Experience the Advantages of working with a Realty Executives agent.

No. 2:  Peace of Mind

When you work with an “Executive” you’re working with one of the best REALTORS in the business.  Not only will you always feel like you’re my only client, you’ll feel a peace of mind that comes from doing business with a company that practices the highest standards of professionalism and integrity.  And, since I am equipped with the tools, information and support I need to make the most of our relationship — as your Executive, I will be by your side serving you throughout every step of the entire process.�