Realtors: We ARE The App

Many would consider this the heyday of real estate, but necessarily for real estate professionals.

As consumers, there are tons of real estate sites out there with the singular goal of connecting you to whatever facet of real estate you need to find.  Things you may not even have considered to be part of real estate — like finding a place to rent, or a moving company — are all easily accessible via the internet, and many have customized search engines and can send notifications right to your phone.  It truly is real estate in real time.

Credit: http://www.mom-psych.com

There are many benefits to being able to leverage technology.  For example, if you’re looking for a home, you can tell Trulia or Zillow to show you any property in any price range in any location, and ask it to send any properties with these criteria to your email.  (Trulia is owned by Zillow, by the way.)  You can look to rent.com (owned by eBay) to find rentals exactly the same way, and finding a place to rent on Craigslist is becoming a more and more popular option.  But as a Realtor, I hold myself to a higher standard, and I want to help you to have an accurate picture of what to expect.

First, it’s important to know who you are dealing with.  I have customers all of the time who ask me to help them find a place to rent, and they will often supplement their search by surfing Craigslist ads (which are commonly not listed on the MLS, since it costs money).  The challenge is finding out if the person who owns the property you want to rent is a legitimate landlord, or if you will end up giving your rent deposit and social security number to a total thief who has extra copies of the house keys.  That’s a pretty risky move if you have no way to verify who they are.

Second, it’s important to recognize that Zillow and Trulia, as helpful as they can be, are generally outdated.  Often, I have clients who shoot me great properties they’ve found on Zillow, only to find out they’ve been under contract for a week or two already.  Also, Zillow provides a property estimate called a “Zestimate,” and they are very hit-or-miss when it comes to accuracy because the algorithms they use often do not take everything necessary into account to produce a proper valuation.

Luckily for you, that’s a large part of why Realtors are still so valuable — we have the resources to augment the tools you have at your fingertips.  We have access to a tool that is better than Zillow — we call it the Multiple Listing Service.  In fact, do you know where all of those bright, shiny pictures that pop up on a Zillow property came from?  Yep, Zillow took them straight from our MLS.  If you’re looking at my listing on Zillow, I took those photos myself.  Also, we can set our MLS up to deliver the best new listings with all of your criteria — it goes straight to your email, the day the listing hits the market.

How about after you’ve bought a home, or you’ve owned one for a long time and want to see what it’s worth on the market today?  Setting your house at the right price is a critical determinant of whether your home sells or sits.  That’s a fair bit of knowledge to want, and Realtors are the only professionals with access to programs like RPR, which can help us show you all of the on-target data you’ll need to make the right decision for you.   You can do it.  I can help.

If you can use my help renting, buying, or selling a home, don’t hesitate to contact me at jeff.grana@gmail.com, or check us out at www.thehardmanteam.com.  Have a great week!

Newbie Homebuyer? Have No Fear.

When you are a first-time homebuyer, it’s easy to get worried about things.  You’ll be thinking things like, “It’s a LOT of money.  What if the house has termites and we don’t know it?  What if the roof has holes in it?  What if the seller is hiding something major from me, and I get screwed later, after the sale?  What if MY Realtor is like those other horror stories I’ve heard?  WHAT IF?”

We Have You Covered.

Well, that’s what I’m here for.  I’m here to tell you that I’m not like the Realtors you’ve heard horror stories about.  My team and I have a combined 31 years in the business.  The Hardman Team Realty’s ethos is never about chasing the dollar, but rather providing an uncommonly high level of service so that everyone in a transaction wins.  Heck, if you allow me to help you buy or sell your home, I’ll give you a 20% rebate (that is, 20% of my own commission at closing) if you are a Federal employee.  I’m not greedy, and I have your best interest at heart at all times.  I am not shy in negotiations, and have some pretty great successes under my belt.

Also, there are more than a few precautions we take to make sure that you won’t be “duped” into a home you aren’t expecting when you buy it.  I have no fewer than three trusted home inspectors, all of whom carry various certifications in construction, carpentry, electrical and plumbing.  These guys know what they’re looking at, and can tell you what to expect and what to steer clear of.  We have an inspection to determine termite damage before you close on the house, so you will have the opportunity to discuss any findings with the seller.  Also, my lenders are amazing, constantly finding ways to save you money while coming up with creative solutions to difficult problems.  And my Title companies have constantly proven to fix headaches before you even know they were headaches.

So let me put your worries at ease.  My mom raised an honest, ambitious man of high morals, and I can’t bear the thought of you being any less thrilled with your house than I am with mine.  Once you (or I) find a place that fits your needs, I have you covered.  

Contact me at Jeff.Grana@gmail.com, or on my cell at 630.306.3537, whenever you are ready.  Talk to you soon!

Commence Experting.

So.  Back in January, I mentioned that my wife and I finally found a home we liked.  We bought it, moved in, and began to paint and unpack.  Please forgive me for not having blogged since then — having new projects for every spare moment we have has overwhelmed me the past few months!

Credit: http://www.cyberwarzone.com

We care very much about our community now that we have a place we can call our home, and I am working diligently to become an absolute expert on the market in Falls Church, VA and her surrounding areas.  In the future, you will see posts specific to Falls Church, and specific to the Northern Virginia area.  So, my friends, here is a starter taste of what the market is doing out here:

Falls Church, VA is a unique little market.  In March, it carried just about seven weeks of inventory (remember, inventory is the length of time it would take to sell all existing homes on the market, if no new homes were listed).  This is about a week longer than the 5-year average for March, and right about equal to last March’s, if memory serves.  The average amount of time it took to sell a home was about 40 days, with a median sales price of $476,000 (19.3% lower than last year, and 13% lower than last month).  I’m not sure yet why home values dropped, but I am working to figure out why.  There were 21 homes sold in our zip code in March 2015, which is nearly 62% more than last year.

The good news for buyers is that a slight dip in home values (combined with easing conventional and FHA loan down payment requirements) can allow first-timers to get into an area that is highly sought after in the region without paying as high a premium for it as in years’ past.  (Heck, it worked for us.)  I’ll be watching our market very closely in the future to keep you posted!

Now this is just my opinion, but if you are getting ready to buy or sell your home, you need to ask your Realtor (only Realtors can use the trademarked Realtor logo, by the way) what area he or she covers.  If they tell you they will cover anywhere, or an overly broad area in your market, turn the other way.  If they have never sold homes in the area you are looking to buy, they will be nearly as blind as you about the specifics (like local laws and ordinances, being up to date on ongoing news and events, crime rates, and population trends).  All of these things will affect the purchase price of your home, as well as your home’s value once you live there.  Didn’t know they were planning on putting a nuclear power plant behind your house two years after you bought it?  In many states, it is your responsibility to have all pertinent knowledge at the time of the purchase, not your Realtor’s.  But wouldn’t it be nice to have a Realtor who does?

Thanks for your time, and we will talk again soon!

Go Forth, My Son: How To Buy Your First House

How many of you out there have very little idea what actually goes on during a real estate transaction?  I’m sure there are a hundred questions you must have, but never thought to ask.  Let me try to shed some light on things.  (Afterward, my inbox is your inbox for questions — just hit “comment” or “reply” with anything you’d like an answer to.  If you’d like to not-so-publicly discuss a particular topic, feel free to email me at jeff.grana@gmail.com, or just call me up at 630.306.3537.)

Step 1 is pretty simple:  Pick out a real estate agent to guide you through the process.  You’ll sign a little bit of paperwork initially (which basically says legally, “You’re hired!”), they’ll ask you about your needs for the home, what you like, etc etc, and it’s on to Step 2. (Click this link for a related post about how to find one you’ll work well with from the get-go.)  /

Step 2 is also easy:  Any Realtor worth their salt will have you contact your lender (or suggest a lender you can use, if you haven’t given it any thought) to do a pre qualification.  The reason it pays to be pre qualified is best described as a “built-in safety” for you:  What sense would it make for you to find the absolute most perfect home, only to find out you can’t afford it?  Getting a pre-qual letter (also referred to as a lender letter) is a simple, quick process in most cases.  (Ultimately, of course, it is up to your lender how quickly things happen.)

Step 3:  Now the fun begins.  Time to go shopping!  Just about the time you are getting your Prequal letter from your lender, your agent will have a comprehensive list of properties for you to review.  You’ll “window shop” at first, then pick a few of your favorites to go and see in person.  If you like one enough to want to buy it, you get to move to Step 4.

Step 4 is the next logical progression of the process:  You want to buy a property, now it’s time to tell the owners.  You will sit down for a short time (between thirty and sixty minutes) with your agent, and discuss the ins and outs of submitting an offer (effectively, the one where you win).  (Click this link for a post on how to craft a successful offer.) You’ll decide the terms, the price, contingencies, and the amount you have to put down as a down payment (also referred to as an initial investment).  You’ll also let the sellers know how soon you can move in by picking a settlement date.  The settlement date is the day when both you and the seller will sit across the table from each other, and officially transfer the property’s ownership.  (Typical settlement date timelines generally run between 3o and 60 days.)

Step 5 happens once your offer is accepted.  Effectively what happens here is that the contract which you and the sellers have both signed, gets executed.  The terms dictated within the contract will begin to be satisfied, one by one.

Step 6:  Once the contract’s terms have been executed to the satisfaction of both parties (and according to the region’s laws), Settlement Day arrives shortly after.  Settlement day can be overwhelming at times, but I want you to focus on two things here.  First, much of the paperwork you will sign is copies of the same paperwork in duplicate or triplicate, which must be original and sent to the places that need them.  Second, at the end of it, you’ll walk out with the keys to your new home.  It’s really not much different than signing an apartment lease.

So, in a nutshell, that’s it.  That’s all there is to it.  The whole process, right there.  I hope you have found this to be informative, and again, feel free to contact me at any time with questions, concerns, or if you are in need of my services.  I am happy to help you any way I can.  Have a great week!

Homebuyer Blues: How To Avoid A Terrible Realtor Experience

Credit: bigworldofbeauty.blogspot.com

About a month ago, my wife called me up while she was at work asking me for some business cards and contact info.  A coworker of hers, Jenny* (*all names are changed), wanted to pass my information along to another person in the office because she heard them mention that they would be looking into buying a home soon.  (In the Interest of full disclosure, Jenny and her husband Jim* have been friends of ours for a few years now.)  Geesh–it’s like the Six Degrees Of Kevin Bacon over here!  “So, how’d you meet Jeff?”  “Well, it’s kind of a weird thing…”  Heh.

Flattered as I was, Jenny later told me when we next met that she and Jim had a really terrible experience with their Realtor, and since she couldn’t refer theirs, she wanted to refer me instead.  Always wanting to learn and grow in this business, I asked her why their realtor hadn’t been up to snuff.  These are hard-won lessons sometimes, and I wanted to make sure I was providing the level of service that was opposite of what their guy had been.

“Oh man,” she said, “he didn’t listen to us at all.  It was like we were taking up his time when we had questions, or any time we weren’t out looking at homes.”

Jim chimed in, “He kept taking us to places that were either out of our price range by sixty or eighty grand or dumps that were way under, the places we did like were already under contract when we got there, and it seemed like he could care less about us.  I almost punched him once, I was so angry at him.”

Woah.  At first I thought, “This guy really makes us look bad,” but that was quickly followed by, “This guy makes my job really easy!”  

As we’ve covered before, it’s generally in your best interest to hire a Realtor like me, but there is an easy way to avoid service like this.  Choosing a Realtor is not as roll-of-the-dice as you would expect, where you have to just hope you’ll “get a good one”…it really comes down to three simple things:

First, when you are getting into the process, I want you to treat your Realtor as someone whom you are hiring.  The truth is, you are hiring them as an independent contractor for their services.  Find someone who wants to earn your business, not the commission.  Interview at least three — preferably five — before making your final decision.

Second, make sure the Realtor you pick is either independently experienced, or backed by a mentor or support team if new.  That’s what I did.  I want to give every one of my clients the most stress-free experience possible.  Being new in the industry, I knew that couldn’t happen until I had a couple of transactions under my belt, but I wasn’t willing to let my first few clients be guinea pigs.  I hired a mentor to help me handle the things I didn’t know or wasn’t prepared for, and it has served me all the better for it.

And finally, pick someone you like.  Pick someone you get good vibes from during the consultation.  Everybody’s personality is different.  It is entirely possible, for example, that two Realtors are equally likable and equally qualified, but their personalities and approaches are different.  One agent might be trying to give you the speediest transaction for the least (or most, if he’s a listing agent) amount of money, and has a plan to do so.  The other agent might spend more time learning the story of how your oldest dog (three dogs ago) lost its hind legs, and that’s how you came to have Fluffy III.  If your personality lends itself to wanting a more intimate Realtor/client relationship, choose number two.  If you are someone who is more focused on wanting results, number one is your best bet.

As a short fourth point, I’ll mention that you can always choose to fire your Realtor if he or she is not performing.  I’ll cover the ins and outs of this in a later post, but just keep in mind that no part of your relationship with this person is forever, unless you want it to be.

I hope this helps ease your mind.  Have a great weekend, and Happy Home Hunting! 

 

Mythbusting, Real Estate-Style.

Hey All!  Thanks for being with me on this glorious day in late-April.  Today I am coming to you from the sunny front porch of my home, with a cup of coffee next to me, and the dog basking in the sun.  It’s a fantastic day today.  

I thought I’d do a little post that would be helpful — you know, give you a little insight into some common myths and misconceptions, and I’ll clarify or debunk a couple of them today.

Misconception Numero Uno:  I don’t need a Realtor to find me a home.  These days, with websites everywhere, apps, and infinite research-capabilities thanks to the internet, it may seem like you don’t need a Realtor to find you a great home.  The truth is, you don’t.  But what happens after you’ve found your dream home?

The sheer amount of paperwork involved is staggering.  My last clients bought a typical townhome in the Franconia/Springfield area.  All told, after the contract had been executed fully and completely, there are no fewer than 40 pages in their file.  (There are actually about twice that number, including the homes we’ve seen, the comps we’ve shown, and the other associated representative paperwork involved.  Now, we’re up to 80 pages.)  Not only that, from the time that your offer is accepted until closing, I will make somewhere in the neighborhood of 100-150 phone calls as I guide the contract through its proper execution.  As your (a buyer’s) representative, I have to coordinate the schedules of the listing agent, the sellers, the home inspector, the title company representative(s), the lender(s), and the termite inspection guy — and there’s still no guarantee that all contingencies will have been met by the time we get to the closing table.  This also discounts including your schedules and mine.  And by the way, there’s a good chance you aren’t my only clients.

Misconception Numero Dos:  Listing agents aren’t worth three percent anymore.  Ooh boy, if you believe this, you’re in for a world of hurt.  The fact is, listing agents (great ones, anyway) earn every penny of that three percent, and here’s why.  First and foremost, it costs us money to advertise your home in the right places to get it sold.  It costs us real, out-of-pocket money, and we aren’t just talking about a couple of hundred bucks.  The smartest Realtors already know how much they’ll spend to market your home, where it will be best used, and what kind of return-on-investment they’ll get from it.

This brings me to another point.  Please keep in mind that we don’t actually get to keep all of that three percent.  A smart Realtor runs her business like a business, and that means every commission she earns gets broken up three ways — one third in an account to sit until the tax-man cometh, one third into the account where all of the business’ operating costs come from (the continuing education and subscriptions we keep aren’t cheap), and finally, the last third to our own personal accounts, as a paycheck.  At the end of the day, she really only gets to keep one percent.

My last clarification on Numero Dos is simple:  Between 85 and 90 percent of all For-Sale-By-Owners (or FSBOs) will end up listing their home with a Realtor — and they’ll end up getting less money for it than if they had ponied up and hired him for three percent to start with.  The reasons are several.  First, you don’t know what the market is doing at the same level that a Realtor does.  This will lead you probably price your home improperly, and the longer your home sits on the market, the less money you will get for it.  The buyers who come around will see that you are unrepresented, and expect to negotiate a real “steal-of-a-deal” with you (which, of course, you will not be open to).  Or, people will watch what you do with your home’s price, and simply wait you out until you drop it again out of desperation to make your life’s deadlines.  If you do a simple cost/benefit analysis, in the great majority of cases, you will walk away from the table with more money after hiring a Realtor than by not hiring one, and it’ll have taken significantly less of your time.  It’s really as simple as that.

Now, every market has its challenges, and a great Realtor has the experience and resources to get the job done.  Choose yours carefully.  Do not shy away from inexperienced agents, but do shy away from inexperienced agents who aren’t well-supported in their office.  I paid a goodly portion of my very first commission (40%) for the right and confidence to tell my clients that I would not steer them wrong.  (And I didn’t.)

Whew, this post went a little longer than I’d anticipated…and now my coffee’s cold again!  Anyway, I hope this is helpful information; after all, the truth is that there is still great value in one of the world’s oldest professions.

Have a great week, and by the way:  If you meet someone who needs my help buying or selling their home, please get out your cell phone and call me at 630.306.3537 right then and there, and we can discuss how you can introduce us.  Don’t keep me a secret! 

March Numbers Are In!

Nice Uptick In Closings, Inventory Is Lagging

Another crazy month in real estate here in the Northern Virginia area.  We are still seeing depressed inventory levels — between six and seven weeks — and it’s getting so bad that I’m hearing now that buyers are dropping typical “CYA” contingencies (such as the Home Inspection and Financing contingencies) in order to make their offer more attractive than the next seven.  For clarity, let me explain what that means.

Any good contract will contain some ways to release both the buyer and seller from the transaction as protection against certain pitfalls, and this is typically done by way of contingencies.  The Home Inspection Contingency, for example, does what it sounds like it would do:  Makes full execution of the contract contingent upon a successful home inspection.  This is a way for the buyers to “test drive” the home before they buy it, and the items that come up during the inspection can be used as negotiation tools by the buyers to try and lower the purchase price of the home.  But that is only true in a fair or buyer’s market.  

In a seller’s market like the one we have, the buyers don’t have much leverage against the seller even if big items come up during inspection (like an old roof, water heater or heat pump) because for the seller, the odds are good that another buyer will come along soon even if he doesn’t negotiate on the price.  If the seller decides not to, and the two parties cannot come to an agreement, the contract can be dissolved because the Home Inspection contingency will not have been fully fulfilled.  

What is happening increasingly, however, is that buyers who find themselves in very competitive situations (a well-priced, nicely-showing home will go in a week, easily) are choosing to waive the Home Inspection Contingency to show the sellers that they want the home badly, and will deal with inspection items on their own.  (This translates into a smooth, issue-free transaction for the sellers, and is highly desirable.)

You may notice on the graph that inventories are typically the lowest they’ll be all year, coming out of Christmas and through the Spring, but I also find it fascinating that this particular winter has seen the lowest amount of inventory since winter of 2010.

You can check out the full report for yourself, and compare and contrast Fairfax County with Arlington and Alexandria — both markets which are similarly as crazy as ours.  In the meantime, stay tuned, and Happy Home Hunting! 

February 2013 Numbers Are In!

Hey All, I know it’s been a while but holy cow, have things been busy over here!

February numbers are in for the Northern Virginia real estate market (yes, I know it’s already April, but there’s a lag because April’s business is happening as we speak, and March’s numbers aren’t released for two and a half more weeks).  

The market is cookin’ out here!  We had an average sold price in the NoVA area of $436,000, and we if you’ll notice on the graph, follow the grey line to the right-hand edge of the border:  We are still below two months of inventory.  Average inventory in the area runs between six and seven months, and we are at about seven weeks.

 

This makes for a pretty solid seller’s market, with buyers rarely being able to secure closing costs, and multiple offers on nicely-presented, well-priced properties.  (And I’m talking 4 to 9 solid offers, here in the Arlington/Alexandria/Fairfax areas.)  One property in DC took in 168 offers, and eventually sold for $430K more than the asking price.

Supply and demand is crazy.  Simple economics, right?

One reason people are reluctant to put their home up for sale in this area is the sequestration:  Many folks are waiting to see how badly it affects them, if at all.  Others are waiting to see what the latest house on the block sells for–if that home sells for above what all of the others have sold for in the past five years, it automatically sets a new high “comp” for the area, and does everyone in the neighborhood a big favor.

Check it out here to see the whole report.  I hope that you, like me, will have a fantastic and bountiful April!

 

Now THIS Should Be Fun.

You may know me from my blog over at The Pen IS Mightier, and if you have followed me here, I can’t thank you enough for your support.

I’ve started this new blog up because as time goes on, and the market changes, so too has my business.  While I still enjoy writing for fun, this blog is dedicated specifically to real estate-related information:  You’ll see me throw out videos, get to know Google Earth’s “guided tours” capabilities, and stay up-to-date on the northern Virginia (DC Metro) market with reports from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors and the Dulles Area Association of Realtors, as well as from the boots-on-the-ground folks in the field (myself and many of my friends in the industry).  I plan to provide timely, relevant information for everyone in some form or another–buyers, sellers, FSBOs, first-time homebuyers…with a little luck, I’ll deliver what you want to see, and it will convince you to give me, a licensed Realtor, the chance to earn your business.

Yep, let’s go!

In a former life, I made a living working on private jets.  There was always one phrase which we used to govern our every-day work-lives:  “Work on the plane as though your own family would fly on it.”

I just want you to know that even though selling or purchasing real estate can be one of the biggest transactions you’ll ever make in your life, I will look after your goals as though they were my own family’s.

Thanks again for joining me, and Happy Home Hunting!