Entries from Searchlight Crusade tagged with 'buyers'
Confusing Past Performance and the Present Situation with Future Planning
The most common mistake in real estate (and every other aspect of financial planning, for that matter) is to assume the situation now is going to continue indefinitely. In the stock market, people chase last year's returns. They "wait for...
Finding a Good Buyer's Agent (And Eliminating Bad Ones)
I hear people complain that they've never had a good buyer's agent, that they can't find one, or that they one they had hosed them (Sometimes, they're wrong about that, by the way). I also regularly get email from people...
Real Estate is More Local Than Most People Think
When I'm doing my initial automated search for properties for my buyer clients, I always pay close attention to listings represented by agents out of the immediate area. Why? Because an agent from fifteen or twenty miles away probably has...
Missing a Deadline to Counter-Offer
One of the best ways I have of telling how good a listing agent is is whether they get the counter to me before the offer has expired. Not that someone who gets the counter back to me quickly is...
Deadlines in Real Estate Transactions
Not too long ago on a property I was selling I called an agent up on the day a transaction was supposed to close. He asked me the question, "Well who says it has to close today?" "The contract that...
Transaction Coordinator: For The Agent's Benefit, Not The Consumers
The last few years, real estate agents and brokerages have begun charging a transaction coordination fee in addition to whatever their share of the sales commission was. The purpose of this is to pay a transaction coordinator, so your...
Getting A Loan In A Paranoid Lending Environment
A few years ago, underwriting standards were way too loose. Lenders were competing for loans, and the presumption was that with real estate having continued to gain in value, it was difficult to actually lose money on real estate....
Military Housing Allowance and Loan Qualification
One of the things that is really helping military families afford good properties is the military housing allowance and the way that lenders treat it, making it much easier for them to qualify with regards to debt to income...
Buying One Property While Selling Another
Most people don't stay in their first house their whole life. At some point, they want to move to a different home. There are several ways to approach the transaction, but you have to decide which way fits you. You...
Reasons Why You Want A Buyer's Agent
There's an awful lot of nonsense out there that advises people to do without an agent. Quite often, first time buyers of real estate get seduced into not having an agent by this stuff before they get into the market,...
The Division of Labor Between Buyers and Their Agents
During the initial interview with prospects, I like to cover the division of the labor that goes into a purchase that makes the buyers happy. I have to know what's important to the buyers, how important it is, and what...
Agents Refusing to Make an Offer on Real Estate
"buyers agent refuses to make offer" was a search hit I got recently. This is yet another reason not to sign exclusive buyer's agent agreements. My hypothesis - and based upon experience it's pretty strong - is that the CBB...
There Is Always A Reason For A Low Asking Price
One thing prospective home buyers need to understand and don't is that there is always a reason for a low asking price. There is always a reason for a low asking price. Sometimes that reason is something you can deal...
The Best Way To Create Problems For Yourself In Real Estate
Have a "looking for cheap" attitude, especially on services meant to protect you. It's great to have a "looking for value" attitude. If I cost more than someone else, it is in your best interest to ask why, and ask...
Do I Need A Deposit With 100% Financing Offers?
The answer is yes. Mind you, the only generally available 100% financing left is the VA loan, but few sellers are going to be willing to consider any offer that doesn't have a significant deposit. Consider the situation from the...
Privacy Concerns in Real Estate Transactions
Every once in a while I get someone who is unhappy with required paperwork for privacy reasons. There are three forms that are the driving force behind this. The first is the standard form for a mortgage loan application, known...
Termite Work, Wood Destroying Pest Agreements: Avoiding Fraud
Every purchase contract I write includes an addendum for Wood Destroying Pests. In California, this is accomplished via form WPA, a one page addendum that requires an inspection and details responsibility for who makes repairs. The work needed is separated...
Find An Agent With Enough Time To Devote To Selling YOUR Property
Not very long ago, the purchase market in many areas of San Diego went through a phase that could only be described as "piranha feeding frenzy". This sort of market reinforces several pieces of advice I have given here....
RESPA Forbids Steering - Even "Just For Prequalification"
Agents rationalize this in all sorts of interesting ways, so let's just start by quoting the cold hard federal law. It's pretty damned clear: RESPA no person shall give and no person shall accept any fee, kickback, or thing of...
Property Advertisements: Trolling for Clients and Not Very Truthful
The first thing you need to understand in reading any property advertisements is that agents write them to get people to call. They are trolling for clients, not sales. Except in the case of someone who doesn't accept dual agency...
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