Bill the Broker Blog

There’s only one guy that ever understood credit reports…and he died 50 years ago.  So what’s a plastic wielding consumer to do?!?

Well, I’ll tell ya what: check out some of these tips.

One of my favorites:

“4. Too many inquiries hurt my score.
Once upon a time, this statement was true. But get with the times — in this millennium, the credit agencies recognize a shopping mind-set when they see one. If a batch of mortgage or car loan inquiries arrives within 30 days, it doesn’t count at all, Watts says.”

Check it out and see if any of these myths happens upon something you believed was a truth.  Thanks again to the folks at Bankrate.com

It’s days like today that make you realize we’re truely “centrally located.”

30 minute car ride and we were at Cocoa Beach at Jetty Park, the closest you can get to NASA without being on base. This sunset launch was truely spectacular. The payload of this fully loaded Delta II is THEMIS, a satellite with 5 probes which will determine the origins of the Northern Lights.

For future reference, you can always find NASA’s launch schedule here.

I’m just starting to contribute to a Real Estate investing forum called BiggerPockets.com

In one of the posts I’m commenting on, a reader writes:

“What, exactly is part of the JOB description of the real estate agent, beyond showing property, selling it, and getting the check? …. I’m not happy with him right now. What is the agent’s job beyond opening properties to show a potential buyer? ” You can view the entire post here.

I’ve covered this a bit before in a previous post. This post was a bit more specific so I thought it would be of value to post most of my reply. You can view the entire reply here.

Ofgift,

You ask, what’s a Realtors Job. It’s to make 100% certain you’re comfortable in the transaction. All your questions and concerns should be addressed to the maximum ability they’re addressable. Your Realtor should inform, educate and ensure the integrity of the transaction. In most all cases, an agent should put your needs above their own.

One of the keys to selecting a good Realtor is to put ‘em through the ringer. Think of anything and everything you could to ask them, then ask the questions before any work is done. If that’s not possible, then do it at the first possible opportunity. If you don’t like their answers or they don’t seem well informed, politely bow out. There’s plenty of fish in this sea of ours. If you need some question inspiration, Googling “questions to ask a Realtor” gave me a pretty nice list of resources.

Your Realtor should be generally knowledgeable in the area where you’re looking to rent or buy. They should be able to answer way better than half your questions. The few that are leftover should get handled quickly and thoroughly at the soonest possibility.

It’s true, there are sub-par Realtors out there, but rest assured there are plenty well informed, intelligent, hard working professionals out there. Chances are they’re not hard to find either. Just find some signs around town and start calling agents. Make 5-10 calls and someone is sure to stand out.

Best of luck!

Bill Ferrante

It’s been a long couple of weeks!

Our trip begins around the first of the month.  My Niece, Isabella, is celebrating her first birthday.  Being the great uncle that I am, I planned a trip up for the festivities.  This quickly becomes only half my trip as I plan time to spend in “The District” as the locals call it and also visiting my friend Lidnsey.  You may have seen her on Wonkette at some point…but I digress.

The birthday party was grand.  She’s the most beautiful, good spirited, happy baby I’ve ever met and I love her to bits.  My stay in DC was fantastic as well.  I saw many monuments, museums, a private viewing at the National Gallery of Art of M.C. Escher’s work, a jaunt to the West Wing of the White House and many other things I’m sure I was too cold to remember.

Too cold you say?  Well, we spent many days at 0 + wind.  For this Florida boy, that was more than difficult.  But here I am, alive.  But Bill, you haven’t posted in more like 2 weeks.  There’s one unaccounted for!  Oh, dear shrewd reader, I’ve been a little under the weather.  Apparently that kind of weather, coupled with a plane ride can really wreak some havoc on the ‘ol immune system.  Mine was no exception.

But here we are, 2 weeks later.  Not to worry, Jordan’s gettin his jump shot back.  (Did he just compare himself to MJ??)

The Federal Open Market Committee, know to many by its more common name, The Fed, held rates steady at it’s meeting this Wednesday.

Citing “tentative signs of stabilization” in the housing market. Orlando, being the super-market that it is, seems to feel market conditions in many areas faster and harder than many other markets. The report also cites “somewhat firmer economic growth.”

Stabilization and consumer confidence are what we’ve been seeing more and more of in the market over the last several months.

For additional information, check out the analysis at Bankrate.com.

This just in from Nick Pilz at Appraisal & Consultant Services, Inc.

“Well year end data is up on the ORLRealtor.com website.

Here is what is interesting:

40% of sales occurring in Orlando were between $200,000 and $300,000

Sales were down 36.43% for the Month of December (2005 vs 2006)

Year to date 2006 sales were down 12.33% (this should have been expected and honestly isn’t as bad as it could be)

Year to date 2006 % Change in median home sales price up 7.36% (this was driven by a strong 1^st quarter which we will not have in 2007)

December % change over December % change 2005 is up 4.21% which is the best in 6 months (but this is only because December 2005 fell 4% so if we adjust then there was a mere .21% change)

So we have a 7.36% growth year to date in Central Florida Real Estate with an inflation rate of about 4% or an adjusted 3.36% growth”

You can check out the entire report here.

According to Nick, over the past 2 months the average home resale, that is sale of a home that is not new construction and is listed on the MLS in Orlando, has taken on average 100 days to sell.

Lifehacker, one of my favorite sites on the net, just linked to an article on selecting a Real Estate Agent.

They highlight 3 great questions for selecting an Agent:

• How are you going to advertise my home?
• Will you be at the closing or will you send a lackey?
• How accessible are you?

All excellent questions. I’ll take them point for point.

1- How are you going to advertise my home?

If people don’t know about your property, then how are they going to buy it? Advertising is critical. At an office level, we advertise in the Orlando Sentinel, neighboorhood mailers, e-mails to agents, investors and clients, and we operate our website at www.therealtymedics.com where we place listings for the public to view. When you list with anyone who places your property in the MLS (Multiple Listings Service) it is also added to Realtor.com which is a high traffic site for new homes.

On an individual level, I run this website which is constantly evolving. Currently the plan is to write several posts a week with one feature article. Everyone I meet gets to hear about it (I’m a shameless self promoter =). I have a lot of things in the works for the site, the least of which is to include my personal listings. I typically hold open houses every weekend which enables me to meet many of the great residents, or hopeful residents, of Orlando. Building and working with these personal contacts is key to building a strong brokerage. It’s one of my biggest priorities. I have several other methods I use, some new (I’m always evolving and inventing) some old, but I prefer not to publish them for the world to see. Drop me a line if you’re looking to list and we can discuss more in person.

Lastly on advertising, consider this: If you’re reading this, I must have done something right.

2- Will you be at the closing or will you send a lackey?

I attend all my closings. I’ve even attended closings where my client wasn’t there just to ensure a smooth transaction.

3- How accessible are you?

Very. Everything I distribute has my cell phone number on it. Only I answer my cell. It’s the same phone my Mom and Dad call me on, so it never get’s turned off. The only times I don’t answer calls are when it would be incredibly rude to do so (Movies, my brothers graduation), when it’s impossible (no service at 30,000ft.) or when I’m asleep, and even then sometimes I’ll wake up and answer! Go ahead, give it a shot: 407.625.8562.

What questions have you asked a potential agent?

Around November of 2005, the “Real Estate Boom” as we all knew it, more or less came to a screeching halt. Since that date, a statement my associate Nick Pilz made plays over and over in my head on every listing appointment I take. “Get your price out in front of the market and you’ll never be the one chasing it.” The conditions we’ve been living in since that day have put his statement to the test. Was he accurate? I’d give you 2 guesses, but you’ll only need one: Nick was dead on.

The question of price is a more difficult equation than what I’ve just keyed in on. Being ahead of the market is mantra of sorts around these parts; at the very least, a guideline that comes with a fairly stern warning. But to neglect the human emotional side of the deal is always a grave error in our business. It’s more than numbers, it’s the clients home. No one enjoys leaving money on the table. What it boils down to is a balancing act. To achieve balance in a transaction is to contract and close.

So what are we balancing? Frequently it’s all situational. For instance, been in a vacant home that’s listed for sale? Chances are their situation is they’re out of the house, won’t be coming back and are making mortgage payments on an empty box. Anyone in this situation should be priced ahead of the market because just a couple of months of mortgage payments could quickly catch up to where the price should have been in the first place. If you’re currently living in the house and have an extended time frame on when you need to sell, then the variables in your equation change drastically. You may be able to afford the chance that someone may stumble in and love your home. They may be willing to pay a 5% premium or more. Now, is that 5% worth gambling with? If the market is unstable or turning downward, probably not. What’s the cost of the alternative temporary living situation? Are you moving to an area where the cost of living is much lower? Is the dollar today worth more than the possibility of a few dollars more in 3-6 months?

These are all questions that have various answers. It all depends on the seller. However, more likely than not, sellers I’ve worked with only see the price as a number unto itself. No outside factors. No equation to be balanced. Just the price and nothing else. It’s a dangerous cocktail of emotional reasoning that has tagged sellers all over. Just down the block from my home is a home for sale that has had a sign out reading “Must sell today!!!” for the previous several weekends. I’d love to hear their story, but I bet I already know it.

Find a reputable Realtor, Appraiser or both. Tell them your situation and listen to their advice. Craft an attack plan that balances your situation with your objectives while staying tuned-in to the market conditions.

This post was inspired by an article Nick Pilz sent me: Blueprint for home sales: Price it right

This, of course, is great news. We’ve been seeing the market come around more and more over the last couple of months. Just through chatting with people, it’s plain to see that consumer confidence is coming back. Earlier this week I heard a client finally say ‘hey, we can get a really good deal right now.’ He couldn’t be more right.

From Fran and Rowena out in Sunny California.

Article at MortgageBankers.org

Nick’s Take:

Don’t get your hopes up: “for the week ending December 8.”

Either a weekly fluctuation linked to Christmas bills. Realization from homeowners that they need to act before the end of the year. Or carry over from lazy brokers that didn’t want to close during Thanksgiving.

The adjusted inflation rate is low (that is minus all of the auto industry problems) and that means either we will stay at this rate or it will go up.

Until this inventory catches up all of this other stuff really doesn’t matter. We are coming down from the high and with a normal market there is an overcorrection (which ideally would be the best time to buy and the worst to sell). But with our inventory levels this overcorrection might last a few years.