There are risks, but if structured properly, it may be the lure you need to bring in buyers.

Before settlement, you and the buyer must agree on the terms and conditions of the note. When will it become due? What interest rate will be charged? Will this be a fixed-rate loan or an adjustable?

You should have your lawyer prepare the documents, rather than the title attorney. There are many legal protections that should be included in those loan documents. (Read More)

Source: Washington Post

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Real Estate,

The days of selling a home for higher than list price are over. Problem is, many sellers have yet to accept this new reality. The change means that agents are more frequently finding themselves at odds with sellers who still want top dollar for their homes. It’s unrealistic to expect that sellers and their agents will always agree, but how can agents and sellers come to terms? (Read More)

Source: Washington Post

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Real Estate,

At the height of the real-estate boom, people would buy houses before they were built and sell them for a profit a short time later, often before construction was even complete.

A more normal real-estate landscape boots out those speculators, said Anthony Hsieh, president of online lender LendingTree. com.

Flippers, investors who hope to profit quickly on home sales, have for the most part gone from the market, said Raymond Sierka Jr., vice president and regional sales manager with Harris Private Bank. "It’s just too risky to speculate now," Hsieh said.

People now are "buying for the right reasons," said Diana Bull, a real-estate agent in Santa Barbara, Calif., and a regional vice president for the National Association of Realtors.

Do the calculations and lay the groundwork before your house hunt begins, and don’t get caught up in the fact that mortgage rates are rising.

If you’re buying a place to live in for years, a home is still a decent investment. (Read More)

Source: The Seattle Times: Real Estate

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Real Estate,

As a renter, you can be pretty sure your housing costs will continue to rise with inflation.

But if you bought now, it’s almost certain that you’d be paying less for housing in five or 10 years than you would be if you were renting a comparable property. Also, you’d gradually pay off your mortgage, and the home’s value is likely to rise. So you’d gradually (Read More)

Source: The Seattle Times: Real Estate

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Real Estate,

While an impatient agent may drop a client after showing them 50 homes, ethical agents who are working with reasonable people should stand by their clients, she said, even if their commission is far off on the horizon.

"I’ve had clients looking for homes for 12 months or longer, and I hung in there with them," Jackson said.

Whether you’re buying or selling, you need an agent with good references and strong negotiating skills, Jackson said.

When someone agrees to be your agent, they should be in regular communication with you, Jackson said.

Although sometimes an accepted practice for some real-estate agencies, many agents say dual representation or" dual agency"— when an agent represents the buyer and seller in the same transaction— isn’t the best practice.

Be wary of agents who try to steal others’ clients.

To avoid such sticky situations, Jackson recommends working with an agent who is a member of a reputable organization, such as the National Association of Realtors.

If you’re unhappy with your agent, there’s no reason to carry on a business relationship with that person, Jackson said.

"If it’s not working, and it’s not a good match, fire the agent," she said.

A service that generally starts around $500 and usually costs thousands of dollars, Vannice sometimes brings in her own furniture and has even sewn curtains for clients’ homes.

Real-estate agent-turned-entrepreneur Jeremy Stamper founded Progressive Home Sellers( www. progressivehomesellers. com) last year in response to such concerns.

"The amount of money real-estate agents are making has always been kind of ridiculous," he said, explaining why he started the company.

Progressive Home Sellers, which works only with agents who have been in business for five years or more and are in the top 5 percent of sales nationwide, promises a full-service approach for a fraction of the price.

While the company’s participating agents won’t hold open houses or "bake cookies," Stamper said, clients benefit from having a name-brand sign outside their home.

Even in the face of new options for buyers and sellers, Jackson said the traditional real-estate business model is solid.

From negotiating the sale price to navigating the inspection process, a full-service agent gives clients the" Nordstrom experience, " Jackson said. (Read More)

Source: The Seattle Times: Real Estate

Tags: Home Buying, Home Selling, Real Estate,