Gray, Maine Homes for Sale, Short Sale, Foreclosures

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searches continually looking for new listing that come on the market, I look at listing that have expired or were withdrawn in the past 6 months to a year.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.

Gray Maine Houses for sale , How not to sell a home?

What to do if the buyer and seller cannot or will not agree on the price? How far apart is too far to bring the two together? Is $5000 too much? What about $10,000? How about $30,000? It obviously depends some on the value of a home, but in this example lets say the price is $430,000. The buyers offer $370,000 and the seller drops to $400,000. The buyers hold firm. Is the deal dead in the water? Perhaps in most instances, but is that the case because the realtors don't work hard enough or get creative enough to keep working and find a way to bring the parties together?

Here is one way to start getting creative? Is there other properties being sold and purchased, the buyer selling a house and the seller buying a new house? There are ways to tie some of the money from those deals into this deal that may or may not help bring the two into agreement. If working with the seller who is stuck at $400,000, and they are buying a home with part of the proceeds, take a good look at the home or homes they are looking at. Can they expect to get a good reduction in price in the area they are going? For instance, if buying in some areas in Florida where the market is taking a bigger hit than homes for sale in Maine, you should be able to show your client a savings on the next transaction of $5000 to $10,000 that they did not expect. So maybe they can accept a little less knowing they can get the new home for less as well.

If I am working the buyer who is holding firm at $370,000, and they have a home to sell (although they don't have to sell in order to buy the new home) then there are a couple of options. Perhaps they rent there old home for a couple years until the market comes back and then sell and get more for their home, or the realtor could offer to sell their home for a big reduction in commission, netting them more on their home and allowing them to pay a little more on the new home.

By using these ideas and some more which I will blog about later, I was able to bring the parties together, at least for a little while (read the next blog to find out what else happens and what lengths a realtor will go for their clients).

Everyone has to remember what the parties goals are, and try to keep a positive attitude about things. The realtor(s) needs to be looking ahead for issues and try to find solutions and have answers incase problems do arise.

Houses for sale Gray Maine, selling a home in Gray ME

The most important decision you will make in the sale of your home is the REALTOR® you choose. Be sure to find someone you feel comfortable with. If you don't feel you can ask questions or go to your REALTOR®, you have the wrong person. Your REALTOR® should show you research to back up any recommendations. This includes information about recent sales, current listings, and recently expired listings in your neighborhood.

Watch out for agents who try to "buy" your listing. This is when a realtor will tell you your home is worth a lot more than it is likely to sell for. The key to catching this is being involved in the Market Analysis and making sure the comparable homes the realtor is using are sold homes and that the adjustments they make to the sold prices are reasonable and realistic. Get at least two opinions and compare the two closely, and even get a third opinion or more. You need to feel comfortable knowing what you will realistically get for you home. You can list a little higher, but you want to have realistic expectations in case you have to reduce the price.

Choose a local REALTOR®. He or she will know your area better than an outsider, will be seen as a source for people looking to relocate in your neighborhood, and will get better co-operation from other agents. It is likely that any amount you might save by having a friend or relative from outside the area serve as your REALTOR® will be lost in their lack of knowledge about your specific local market. Experience counts, and with the tightening market a lot of realtors have quit the business (full-time), and switched to a different career. Make sure your realtor is only working as an agent so they are available to talk with prospective buyers and show your home 7 days a week and not limited because they are at their other job and missed the email asking about your home.

Don't forget to ask for their references. He or she should be willing to give you names of previous clients, and you should try to contact a few. Ask the realtor to show you what will be done to market your home. Are they "Internet savy" and do they have the ability to market your home. Consider the experience they have in real estate as well as the initiative and professionalism shown by the individual.

Look for a REALTOR® who tells you what he or she knows from experience in the market, and not what they think you want to hear. Flattery may sometimes get the listing, but it doesn't sell the home!

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...

Sellers, Sins you don't want to make when selling your home.

When selling a home in Maine or anywhere else, either on your own or with a Realtor, you should read about the 10 Sins of a Seller where Clint Miller puts a humerous spin on the deadly sins.

Clint, like many buyers, found several disturbing things about potential homes he was looking into buying. It is a great read.

Enjoy and thank Clint Miller if you have time.

Current Real Estate for Sale Gray, ME: Where is the market heading?

No doubt the market is tightening as it usually does during the winter months. This does not mean you won't still find buyers searching for homes for sale, but it does mean that there will be fewer of them.

What does this mean for you?

If you are a seller, any and all offers should be given consideration. Not responding to an offer, even if it seems insulting, is a mistake in this market. One thing to remember is that this is a financial transaction, and keeping personal feelings out of it as much as possible will benefit you. If the goal is to sell your home, focus on that. Are you going to get less now than you would have 2 years ago, most likely yes, but you are also likely going to be paying a lot less for your next home.

If you are a buyer, this means you are in the drivers seat for the most part. You have the choice of a lot of inventory. First time home buyers, you have a lot to gain and very little to loose. There are some fabulous tax credits and loans for those who have good credit and reserves. The days of 110% financing are over and rightfully so.

More tips are available by visiting my website at FiveStarRealtyMaine.

Real Estate Sales down in June

SALES DOWN IN JUNE: Sales of single-family existing homes in Maine continued to decrease in June 2008. In a press release to the Maine media, MREIS reports 996 homes sold last month, a drop of 24.32% from last June’s sales figure of 1,316 homes. During the past 12 months, Maine's median sales price decreased nearly six percent to $188,000. The median sales price indicates that half of the homes were sold for more and half sold for less. NAR reports a nationwide sales drop of 14.8% in June. The national median existing single-family home price dropped 6.7% to $213,800. Regionally, sales in the Northeast fell 15.8% during the past 12 months. According to NAR, the regional median sales price decreased 12.6% to $256,700.

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.

Houses for sale Gray Maine, How not to sell a home?

So in the previous segment I explained some creative selling techniques to assist in bringing a buyer and seller together. Sometimes it just takes looking at the situation and helping the parties realize this is a business transaction, and other times it takes bringing in a more personal touch. Every situation is different.

I had brought the buyers and sellers together, until a survey issue arose. The buyers wanted the seller to pay for a full boundary survey and the buyers refused. Cost of this was $2500 and the parties walked away from the deal. Which is what I let them do for a couple days to rethink their positions. Then I addressed all concerns of the seller about putting up the money and then the deal still not working. After covering those, I found a surveyor who did the work for $1000. That saved the seller $1500 and saved the deal, again.

Having an experienced real estate broker is a great investment when selling or buying a home.

Call several realtors before deciding... this decision will make a difference.