Frequently Asked Questions

1. Will I get a better price by calling the firm advertising a listing?
A. Many people see a home advertised in the paper or on the internet and call the listing company. This may seem like the best way to see a property, but it is not in a buyers best interest. The Realtor that your calling is the agent for the Seller. Their goal is to sell this property at the best price they can get for the seller.

2. How is a Buyer Agent compensated?
A. Our Buyer Agents are always compensated by the Seller, commissions on properties listed
on the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) are paid by the Selling Agency. For properties listed directly by owners, we ask the owner to pay our commission.

3. Would I have a better chance of finding a home using several Realtors?
A. No. In fact it’s the opposite. Every Realtor has access to the same base of homes. When you
work with more than one Realtor, the amount of time anyone Realtor would be willing to devote to meeting your needs would be small. “I’ll be as loyal to you, as you are to me”.

4. What is Dual Agency?
A. Usually one Realtor represents both the Buyer and the Seller. If that Realtor is trusted by both parties. Both the Buyer and The Seller must sign a Dual Agency consent agreement.

5. What is the greatest danger of overpricing my home?
A. The house sits and doesn’t sell. the longer it sits, the fewer showings. Some buyers may make low ball offers because of the days your home has sat on the market.

6. If my house sells in the fist month or two, doesn’t this mean we underpriced it?
A. No, this shows it was priced perfectly. If it were underpriced, you would probably have
multiple offers in the first several weeks, possibly leading to an above market sale.

7. Why shouldn’t we put our house on the market for a short time at a high price?
A. Timing is extremely important in the Real Estate Market. A property attracts the most interest from the real estate community and from “Educated” buyers during the fist three weeks you home is listed. If you price your home high even for a couple of weeks, you will be missing most of your true market.

8. Does it really matter to a Realtor if my home sells for the right price? After all, their commissions isn’t dramatically affected if my house sells for less than it’s worth.
A It is true that the commission change is not great, but your missing the point. A Realtor’s
business comes from satisfied clients and their referrals. No one can stay in business if they do not have Clients who feel that they always had their best interests at heart and worked hard to get them the best price possible.

9. Why should I use a Realtor?
A. When you need to draft a will or replace the transmission in your car, if you want the job done right, you will more than likely seek assistance from a trained professional. Buying and Selling Real Estate is no different.

10. Why do some Realtors have all the peculiar letters and terms after their names?
A. The letters are abbreviations for various designations. For example, I have my GRI
designation, this means that I have completed a series of seminar-type training sessions to improve my overall skills and level of competence. This is above and beyond the initial Real Estate School and keeping up to date with the required classes to keep my Real Estate license in good standing.

11. What is the Multiple Listing Service (MLS)?
A. It’s probably the greatest invention to hit the real estate industry. MLS simply refers to an
information sharing system among Realtors. Years ago, Realtors would carry huge books that clients would have to read through in order to fmd their dream home. Now with the click of a few buttons we can put your dream home requirements in the data base and you will receive listings daily.

.12. What is Short Sale?
A. A Short Sales is when a Lender agrees to take less than the full loan payoff for an owner’s
property. In most cases the owner is in default and are not making the mortgage payment for whatever reason and in most circumstances to avoid foreclosure.

13. What is a Foreclosure?
A. Foreclosure is the process whereby the Lender takes possession of the property.

14. What is Capital Gains Tax?
A. Capital Gains Tax is the taxable profit derived from the sale of a capital asset. It is the
difference between the sales price and the basis of the property., after making appropriate adjustments for closing costs, capital improvements and allowable depreciation. It is recommended that you speak with a tax accountant.

15. What are Closing costs?
A. Closing costs are expenses of the sale (or loan refinancing) that must be paid in addition to
the purchase price (in the case of the buyer’s expenses) or to be deducted from the proceeds of the sale ( in the case of the seller’s expenses). Your Lender will give you the break down of closing costs.