I guess everyone who has ever sold a piece of real estate has considered trying to sell it themselves, i.e. without hiring an agent. There are quite a few venues that cater to FSBO's (For Sale by Owner), most of which have a Rush Limbaugh like tone regarding how badly the innocent home seller is taken to the cleaners by the do-nothing, grasping, real estate agents and extolling the virtues and ease of selling property without an agent.

So the sellers who fall for this line of thinking pay hundreds of dollars for low circulation publications and do-nothing web-sites so that they can get calls from unqualified buyers, waste their time showing their homes to would-be buyers who either have no intention of buying or no ability to buy. Sometimes they get as far as a contract contingent on the moon and stars, which removes their property from the market until the agreement falls apart.

Of course, not every FSBO experience is like the above, but many of them are and the above is the tone that these FSBO ad rags use to get their customers. For the records here are points to consider before you launch into selling your home unassisted:

1. Many FSBO's who actually sell their homes are successful only because they sell it for less than market value.
2. Some FSBO's run afoul of the various disclosure, fair-housing, and other regulatory requirements because they don't know about them or don't they think they apply. Unfortunately, these laws apply to all sellers and have significant penalties for those who do not abide by them.
3. Only about 15% of FSBO's actually sell their property. The rest simply waste time and money before listing with an agent.
4. Agents make their livings by knowing their jobs, knowing the laws, being part of a large network of professionals, and being familiar with a large number of local properties, not just one.
5. The logic is really simple. Would you write your own insurance policy, your own will, defend yourself in court, perform you own root canal therapy, replace your own transmission, and on and on? Probably not.  Why?? = Because you don't know how. Same thing with selling property.

Administering the purchase and sale of real estate is a big job with lots of steps, rules, conditions, and problems. In the end, it's worth every penny you pay to hire a knowledgeable agent to help out.

        

We have now pretty much entered the spring selling season full tilt and the Upper Valley real estate market seems to be very active. The first quarter of 2008 was, in fact, so much better than the fourth quarter of 2007, that it seemed like a return to the old days. Lots of properties were on the market and there were also lots of well-informed buyers out there to buy them. Rates remained low then and are still low today. So a lot of positive results in the first quarter of what many feared would be a very slow year ...<< MORE >>

e're all hearing and reading about the "mortgage meltdown" and the "foreclosure crisis", that is occurring all over the country. Happily, here in the Upper Valley, the effects have been minimal. Certainly there have been more foreclosure actions than before, but comparatively speaking, not very many. However, if you or someone you know is in foreclosure or about to be, there are a few things to think about.<< MORE >>

If Buyer Agency or Seller Agency doesn't fit the bill, there are some lesser used forms that exist in some states and not in others:<< MORE >>

The most common and well-known form of seller is seller agency. Seller agency occurs when a property owner "lists" their property with a broker for sale, lease or exchange. Entering into a listing agreement constitutes "agency representation" between the agent, his company, and the seller. This agreement, as a practical matter, opens the door for several things, among others:<< MORE >>

The newest form of agency relationship is Buyer Agency. Though it has been around for many years in the residential area and for even longer in the commercial world, it is still probably the least known and understood of the various forms. Of course, the simple definition is that Buyer Agency occurs when a buyer of real estate hires, in writing, a licensee to represent their interests in a real estate transaction. Though it seems simple, many would-be buyers don't seem to trust the process enough to really use it or even enter into it. I suspect the reason for this reticence is at least partly not knowing enough about it. So, here are a few facts to consider:<< MORE >>

One of the concepts that has become prevalent in the real estate industry over the last couple of decades is "agency". It's always been around either through its presence or its absence, but as state law has developed over the years, agency has become more complicated. There are more kinds of agency, and the laws pertaining to it are more specific.

The basic premise is, as always in regulated professions, to protect the consumer. Consequently, disclosures regarding agency are now required before a buyer looks at a property for sale, before a seller lists their property, and the same applies for rentals in some states. The idea is to help the consumer, especially the first timers, understand their rights under the law and the protections and benefits being afforded them by agency representation.

We will cover the various types of agency and their benefits in the upcoming installments, not in the legal sense, because I'm not an attorney; but from the point of view of a licensee and REALTOR. Stay tuned and see what it means to have an agent represent you in a real estate transaction.

        

I was working on my income tax return today and it occurred to me, like it does every year at tax time, that I'm sure glad that I own my home. As tax relief for the middle class continues to dwindle, about the only remaining deductions of any substance are only available to owners of real estate. In most cases, property owners can deduct mortgage interest, discount points, and real estate taxes for starters and with mortgage amounts soaring right along with home prices coupled with taxes that go nowhere but up, some significant numbers can be used as personal deductions. << MORE >>

Well, if spring is here, then it must also be the beginning of the Upper Valley rental season. Most landlords try very hard to have their leases end in the warmer months between April and October. It seems to work for the tenants as well, because who wants to move when it's ten below zero? So, as surely as the buds begin to show up on the trees, "For Rent" ads start to sprout up and calls start to come in for rental possibilities. << MORE >>

It's now one day away from April 1rst and, contrary to the predictions of many pundits and "experts", the real estate market and the rental market in the Upper Valley area, at least, is humming along as if there had been no downturn. Buyers are buying and sellers are selling. The only important difference between this spring market and spring markets past is that the properties that are selling are the ones that are priced correctly. Of course, this has always been true, only now more than ever. Multiple offer sales are quite common this spring, which you would not necessarily expect in a "down" market. Here's why.<< MORE >>