Homes for sale in Gray, New Gloucester, Maine

There are some great opportunities for home buyers right now. Interest rates are still low and inventory is high. Here are some homes priced right in today's market. This is not the best news for sellers, but they should see it as a time to let their home shine. A good realtor can help with making some simple changes. The two biggest things you want to remember is to declutter everything and fix those little things you have been putting off (like painting, cracked tile, broken light switch cover, ...)

Both buyers and sellers should be expecting more from their realtor. As the market tightens more, a good realtor can easily make the difference in whether a sale closes or doesn't. Experience and creativity on bringing two sides together is not something all realtors have. One of my own recent transactions, the parties were @ $21,000 apart and the deal seemed dead. After a day to let things settle I brought both parties back to the table on good faith plans, and the deal was back on with both sides meeting in the middle. Not the last bump in the road, and we had a $2500 and an additional $3000 problem. Negotiation, and my knowledge of alternative companies who I've done business with over the past ten years, got the problems resolved for $1000 and again the deal was saved for another day.

Not many realtors would or could have saved that deal. It takes more than just experience, it takes a personal caring about the parties involved and keeping everyone focused on the main goal.

I tell this story more to make one think about their own choice of a realtor. Interview a couple realtors and ask what sets them apart from other realtors in the area. If needed, and the situation allows, will they contribute a portion of their commission to save the deal? Is the commission flexible at all? How confident are they about the market analysis they did when suggesting pricing of your home? Check out the things you need to know before listing your home for sale with a realtor.

This goes for buyers as well. I have saved buyers a lot of time, money, aggravation, but most important they have always had someone looking out for their best interest and they could rest easy knowing that I had them protected throughout the deal.

Better know this before you list your home for sale

Thinking about listing your home for sale? There are many things to consider before selecting a realtor to assist with this process. WAIT, thinking of selling your house on your own without using a realtor. Check out my blog, "For Sale By Owner- the pros and cons" of being a FSBO (For Sale By Owner).

HOME VALUES or what your home is worth, is a big part of the equation. Realtors generally use what is called a CMA, Comparative Market Analysis. Similar in some ways to getting an appraisal done, but we are not liscensed as appraisers and there are no set guidelines for us to follow. Basically, it is just an opinion of value, and like all opinions, two people can have some very different ideas. You had BETTER BE INVOLVED AND INFORMED when you have a CMA done to help determine what your property value is. There are realtors out there who, in my opinion, don't look closely enough at the homes they are using for comparibles, and therefore don't end up adjusting the selling or listing price accordingly. Example, many homes often report selling at or above the asking (list) price. Any home that is sold at or above the list price in todays market most likely gave concessions (paid the buyers closing cost, gave money for new carpet, roof, ect.) A realtor doing a CMA and using a home that sold for more than the asking price has an obligation in my opinion to call the agents involved in that transaction and find out the details of what transpired and adjust the CMA accordingly.

THAT IS ONE REASON you can get two very different opinions of values on your home. Another reason is that some realtors adjust higher or lower for certain items. A detached 2 car garage that you have, and the comparible sold property they are using to price your home doesn't have a garage, did the real estate agent add $6000 to the value of your home or did they add $16,000. Big difference for the garage that you know only cost you $4500 to build.

Change it a little, and lets say the comparible sold property does have a 2 car garage, but it is attached to the home with a small mudroom between the garage. Did the realtor adjust at all or just say, you both have 2 car garages so they are similar. The average person is willing to pay at least $10,000 more for an attached garage over a detached garage.

So through the process it is pretty easy to get a very inflated price on your home. So get involved in the process and ask questions.

THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT! You want to find the realistic price (what it will most likely sell for in 45-60 days) of your home and price your home according to goals. List your home at the price that will accomplish two things, GET YOU THE MOST MONEY and ACCOMPLISH YOUR GOALS.

Gray Maine, houses for sale that buyers don't know about.

I have been working as a Realtor in Gray Maine for over 11 years representing both buyers and sellers. I like representing both, but they are completely different many ways. Finding the right home is a process that takes a lot of work. Sometimes the houses for sale on the market are not the right home. That is when a good buyers agent will be worth every cent YOU pay them.

Yeah, I said YOU pay them. That's the truth because you are the one paying for the house and you aren't going to get it any cheaper with or without representation, so why wouldn't you want a professional helping you in your searching for homes you might like to buy. In some ways it is like going to court in a law suit, not bringing a lawyer with you, and paying for the other side's attorney to argue against you. Who would do that?

Back to having a good agent.

So you have looked at all the homes for sale on the market and you just haven't found the one you want to purchase. Here is one way I personally stand out from many other brokers. Not only do we have several searches continually looking for new listing that come on the market, I look at listing that have expired or were withdrawn in the past 6 months to a year. Sometimes people change their mind about selling or the house just wasn't marketed correctly and they still would like to sell. So I call or stop at those people's house and see if they still have an interest in selling their home. If they are then I take a few photos and send them to my clients to review. If there is interest, then we set up a private showing.

Now for the best part:

My clients will likely pay less for that home because the commission is only half of what it would be because there is not another realtor involved. Now that is what I call BUYER REPRESENTATION!

Call or email me to discuss how we can work together to take care of your Real Estate needs.

Homes for sale in Gray, New Gloucester, Maine, Help for Buyers

Should you have a realtor working for you as a Buyers Agent when buying a home for sale?

I won't give you the answer, but I will give you something very simple to think about.

Who pays the commission to the realtors involved in a transaction? The seller right?

Not if you ask me, because when everyone shows up at the closing, the buyer is the only one who brings money to the table. After all the paper work is signed, the seller and the realtor(s) walk out with checks.

The seller may set up some of the terms under which the realtor gets paid, but the buyer is the one who pays everyone.

So if you buy a house and don't have a realtor and the seller does have a realtor, then you are paying that realtor to work against you and represent the sellers best interests not your best interests. It is almost like going to court against someone and hiring a lawyer for the opposing party and not hiring a lawyer for yourself, and the amount involved in the law suit is $250,000 (or whatever the house is worth).

Still not convinced, then think about this:

You buy a house for $200,000 and don't use a realtor but the seller had a realtor and that realtor got paid a commission of 5% or $10,000 and the seller got $190,000.

If you had just walked up to the seller the day he first thought of selling his home and offered him $190,000 he most likely would have sold you the property because that is all he got in the above transaction.

So you paid $10,000 more to cover the realtor who represented the seller when you could have had someone representing you and helping you through the whole process and the realtors would have split the $10,000.

Want to know how you can possibly get part of that money ($10,000) back, call me and lets talk about how we can work together to find you a home that meets all your needs and expectations.

More real estate tipe and advice...

Real Estate, Market Change buyers sellers

Wow, sorry I have been away so long... but the market has picked up. Perhaps some of it is because there are fewer real estate agents, or perhaps it is repeat customers, but mostly it is because of the service I provide and when people have a pleasant experience they tell everyone.

To find out more about tips of the trade that can make a home buying or selling experience more pleasurable, just visit my website.

You can also find information about local resources and things to do in Gray, Windham, New Gloucester, and Raymond areas.

Housing Market makes the turn up this month

The housing market has reported growth from last month and is indicated a turn for the better. This doesn't mean we are out of the woods yet, but the has done well these past few days and oil was also dropping again this morning on the market. Interest rates are still very good, perhaps this is a real positive sign, just as it was for Bear Stearns with JPMorgan uping their bid to buy the company out to @ $10 a share from @ $2 a share.

Check out this AP Video on YouTube for more information.

Who pays? Buyers Agency Part 1

Who pays the realtors or realtor when a house sells? The seller? Not if you ask me.

Think about it. You pay $215,000 for house, the seller gets around $200,000 and the realtor(s) split the other $15,000. If you just happened to meet this seller at the moment they decided they wanted to sell, in theory he would accept the same $200,000 he got in the above scenario wouldn't he? I think so, and you would have bought the property for $200,000, not $215,000.

So who paid the realtors?

Has Real Estate Market finally turned?

Market trends are starting to indicate that perhaps the worst could be over. The market is still a buyers market. Interest rates should flexuate around 6%, although many people are hoping to see them drop closer to 5%. As of today they seem to be around 5.8%. Check your current local rates and learn about what options you may have to save yourself money.

The dollar is gaining momentum, but many strategist feel we could see a lot of volativity over the next few weeks.

The housing market has declined in the northeast region by approximately 4% in January alone. Lower rates and higher loan amounts do appear to be jump starting the spring market.

You can search for New Homes/Land for sale in Maine by visiting my website and click on the Search New Homes/Land tab located in the center of the website.