When preparing to sell a house, you should always consider the options of selling a home privately or listing with a real estate agent. Of course, the most cost effective option would be to sell your home privately, but what about the number of Home Buyers in the market who are not willing to consider a private sale listing?

I am a firm believer that people should be able to sell a home privately but, like a lot of people, was not the kind of person who would be comfortable buying from a Private Home Seller. What would happen if I made an appointment to view a Private Sale listing and then disliked the home? I would then be face to face with the Home Seller. I would be reluctant to say what I was really thinking. “I hate it…I’m wasting your time…You are wasting my time…You want how much for this?"

More frightening than that scenario, would be the problem of viewing the for sale by owner home and loving it. Negotiating an offer of this magnitude with the Home Seller, directly, could be intimidating and stressful. How could I be absolutely sure that I could trust a person whom I had never met before and, who obviously just wants me to buy their house? Once it was sold and I moved in, where would they be, if any pre-existing problems were discovered?

This is why I created the Virtual Agent?, which provides a For Sale by Owner solution, which facilitates an agent between the Home Buyer and Home Seller in the private sale process. With XstreamRealty.com’s Real Estate Listings, I, as a home buyer, can now drive by a beautiful for sale by owner home and, instead of calling the home seller for an appointment, I can first access the real estate web listing from the comfort and privacy of my home and be able to:

• Find out the Home Seller’s asking price;
• View the entire interior and exterior of the property for sale with a complete 360

With so many realtors competing for your business, how do you know which one to choose? Here are a few things to consider when choosing a realtor.

The most important decision you will make in the sale of your home is the Realtor you choose.

Some points to consider:

Find someone you feel comfortable with. If you don’t feel you can ask questions or go to your Realtor, you have the wrong Realtor.

Your Realtor should show you research to back up any recommendations. This includes information about recent sales, current listings and recent expired listings in your neighborhood.

Choose a local Realtor. He or she will know your area better than an outsider, will be seen as a source for people looking to relocate in your neighborhood, and will get better co-operation from other agents. It is likely that any amount you might save by having a friend or relative from outside the area serve as your Realtor, will be lost in their lack of knowledge about the very specific local market. Ask for references from the Realtor. He or she should be willing to give you names of previous clients.

Ask your friends and acquaintances for recommendations, but make your final choice based on your needs.

Ask the Realtor to show you what will be done to market your home. Consider the office and company support available to him or her as well as the initiative and professionalism shown by the individual.

Look for a Realtor who tells you what he or she knows from experience in the market, and not what they think you want to hear. Flattery may sometimes get the listing, but it doesn’t sell the home!

Leanna Meyer is a Realtor with Re/Max Cross Country and can help you find http://www.leannameyer.com. Find homes for sale and area information for Flower Mound Texas, Lantana, and http://www.leannameyer.com, TX. Free buyer and seller reports are available as well as a http://www.leannameyer.com, and other mortgage information.

Choosing Your REALTOR

Historically, real estate agents have represented the seller of a property. The seller, after all, is usually the one who pays their commission, and agents therefore have a fiduciary relationship with the seller. This in no way means that agents may operate outside the bounds of the law and ethical conduct of course. It just means that the real estate agent is just that, an authorized agent of the seller for a particular transaction.

More recent trends have introduced buyer’s agents, who usually work on a fee basis exclusively for the buyer, and dual agents. Dual agents represent both seller and buyer, particularly in cases where the agent’s company is the listing company. Dual agency is legal in most U.S. states; however, most consumer advocacy organizations recommend against using a dual agent.

This is because there is an inherit conflict of interest for the agent – they receive a commission based on the selling price of the property. The higher the price, the higher their commission, so their reasoning is that dual agents never really have the buyer’s best interests at heart.

If you’ve decided to work with a dual agent, this will need to be disclosed to both the buyer and seller, and they both have to agree, in writing. Dual agents are bound by law and ethics to treat both buyers and sellers honestly, equally, and fairly. Dual agents can be prevented from divulging confidential information about each party to the other. This could severely harm negotiating positions.

The bottom line in dealing with a dual agent is to remember that the buyer and seller have conflicting interests in the price and other terms of the sale. It’s very difficult for an agent to truly and equally represent both parties, since the conflicting interests make that inherently impossible.

If you do choose to use a dual agent, be sure the exact nature of your relationship with the dual agent is clear, know what services the agent will be performing for you during the transaction, how the agent will be paid, and how any conflicts that arise will be handled.

About The Author

Jakob Jelling is the founder of http://www.cashbazar.com” target=”_new. Visit his website for the latest on personal finance, debt elimination, budgeting, credit cards and real estate.

Dealing With Dual Real Estate Agents

Happy New Year,
Make it a better world. “Pay it Forward” as in the movie. If you haven’t seen it, do!

Welcome,

Basically, almost everyone wants to buy a house and honestly everyone of legal age and competent mind can if they have the will and knowledge. Sure you can buy all the get rich schemes on the web and off the high intensity infomercials but do they really work for everyone? Or do most of them end up on a shelf? Check Ebay when you get done here. It is unbelievable that people pay hundreds of dollars for these so called courses with dreams of making fortunes and then auction them off for 30-40 dollars. That was a terrible investment. They would have fared much better by taking legitimate courses or at least not spending their money.

You may ask, how does one buy a house without money and good or any credit? No joking around Donald Trump does it every time, using other people’s money. If you try hard enough you can find someone to sell you their property with owner financing. You just make arrangements with them for the sale price, the interest rate and term. You and they may prefer a short term loan, say ballooning it in five years. This means you make the regular payments for 60 months. This should be adequate time to get stable income and credit, even if you have filed bankruptcy. Of course there are many more ways of acquiring real estate.

Would you consider selling your own property, or does it scare you to death. It really isn’t that big a deal or a lot of dumb agents wouldn’t be doing so well. Do I sound disgusted with some agents? I am. As an appraiser and broker I have seen a lot of corruption and it enrages me. That’s one reason we decided to do this. But, if you are working with an agent, hopefully you spent some time selecting a good one with an impeccable record. In today’s market contracts are received within minutes of placing a sign in the yard. Contracts are available on-line, at the office stores and in the library. The average real estate sales commission is 6%, which most people don’t know is negotiable. By law there is not supposed to be a set amount across the board. Many times companies offer lower commissions and then some agents won’t show the property and are even bold enough to say so. They will show new construction which is typically 5% but nothing else.

If you choose to sell your property here are some starter points. Make it look good from the street. Decisions begin right there. Many times a purchaser will take one look and say no. Make your schedule very flexible so when they want to see it they can, or they’ll move on. Clean the clutter and dust. Have some coffee brewing or some bread baking. Let the people freely browse the house with you. Don’t lead them. Many times your familiarity with the house causes you to just rush through, but they need time!

Suzie is a licensed real estate broker and certified residential appraiser with 20 years of experience who hopes to improve the industry one step at a time.

http://www.freewebs.com/realestatenews/.

Real Estate News

There are several different types of listing contracts. Few of them are detailed below:

Open Listing

This type of listing is when you, the seller, don’t want to commit to any one particular agent and when you are also open to selling the home by yourself. This type of listing with an agent gives him the right to bring buyers around to view your home and should the deal go through, the agent earns a commission. This is a non-exclusive type of listing and the disadvantage of such a listing is that the agent is not going to spend too much on marketing your home or putting it in the Multiple Listing Service. The advantage of this type is that, should you find a buyer yourself, you would save on the commissions that would otherwise go to the agent.

One-Time Show

A “one-time show” is similar to an open listing and is most often used by real estate agents who are showing a FSBO (for sale by owner) to one of their clients. The home owner signs the agreement, which identifies the potential buyer and guarantees the agent a commission should that buyer purchase the home.

Exclusive Agency Listing

This type of listing would have you sign on with only one agency / agent and would ensure they get the commission if another agent brought a buyer for this place. However, if you get a buyer on your own, the agent is not entitled to any commission. This is not a popular type of listing agreement. Some unethical buyers or sellers will try to cut out the agent, even though it was an agent that brought the buyer to the home.

Exclusive Right to Sell

This type of listing involves entrusting your agent with the exclusive rights to sell your home. Regardless of who sells the home, even if you sell it yourself to a friend at work, your listing agent will earn a commission. Such listings usually give an agent to spend on marketing your house and also listing it on the MLS.

Sameer S Panjwani is the CEO and Founder of http://www.choiceofhomes.com. The website is a useful resource of Home Listings, Articles and Information related to real estate.

Types of Listings with Agents