Posts with tag realtors

There are two things you can learn from the video above: housing inventory is really, really tight. ... and Realtors should never rap. Of course, that's just our opinion. And we're sure not everyone will heed our warning. Anyway, Realtor Brian Block of Re/Max Allegiance -- now the Lil' Wayne of home selling -- created... Continue Reading »

By Samuel Weigley The services of real estate agents can be invaluable, but it seems that most sellers know how to sell their homes. And when it comes to home improvements before putting their houses on the market, agents and sellers mostly agree on what is the best course of action, according to a recent survey conducted... Continue Reading »

This may not come as a shock to many real estate agents, but their line of work was just named among the Top 12 overrated jobs by CareerCast.com. What makes that career and 11 others so overrated? A perception of having high salaries, power and prestige is offset by the reality of high stress, physical demands or... Continue Reading »

Real estate agents representing properties in states where they are not licensed, lying about other interested buyers or offers pending on a property, or failing to identify themselves as agents in their marketing and advertising efforts are among the practices that are most objectionable to real estate practitioners,... Continue Reading »

President Obama's imminent announcement of a troop withdrawal tonight calls to mind another issue: Thousands of soldiers will soon return home intent on buying houses. But are real estate agents prepared for the influx of veteran homebuyers and their special mortgage needs? Continue Reading »

Stopping in on open houses is a great weekend pastime, especially if there is no Sunday football to watch on TV. And the National Association of Realtors says that nearly half of all homebuyers visit open houses during their home search. So in the spirit of getting the other half out there, NAR has declared this weekend... Continue Reading »

What do home buyers expect from a real estate agent? The answers might surprise you, and go a long way to explain the reasons why buyers are ultimately disappointed with the one they pick. An interesting result from the good people at the National Association of Realtors from their survey of home buyers on what it is that... Continue Reading »

My family and I recently made a change that apparently thousands of my fellow Americans have made: We moved to Texas -- in our case, from New Jersey. As a result, I am now in the extraordinarily interesting position of being not just an industry observer, but a client. My first observation? Realtor fees matter. One thing... Continue Reading »

Real estate agents come in all different stripes, but it takes a personal experience to hammer that home. As my bio says, I'm a management consultant for institutions in the real estate industry, and have been working in the real estate space for several years. But recently, my wife accepted a tremendous opportunity for... Continue Reading »

After her home in Michigan's Upper Peninsula sat on the market for a year without an offer, Rita Gordon and her husband, Bill, were determined to hire a new real-estate agent. "The first time, our family and friends said, 'Go with this person.' We did no due diligence," says Gordon, who has since relocated to Rocky Point,... Continue Reading »

When Leah Anderson relocated from Indiana to Fort Myers, Fla. she knew that, to make her move easier, she was going to have to have a yard sale to get rid of years worth of items she had collected. Rather than throw her own yard sale, Anderson went the nontraditional route and sought the assistance of her brokers and... Continue Reading »

Virginia Realtor Lon Crow has firm ideas on how homebuyers should choose a Realtor. And they don't involve calling the agent named at the bottom of a listing. "You have to find someone who will act on your behalf. A listing agent's not going to do that. A listing agent is going to try to get the price that, in theory,... Continue Reading »

To put it bluntly, Carrie and Ryan Fitzgerald of Washington, D.C. were "clueless" about home buying when they decided to purchase a condominium. "We weren't sure where to start. A friend in Boston suggested getting a buyer's agent instead of a real estate agent, so we thought we'd give it a try," says Carrie. She... Continue Reading »

Few professions come in for more abuse than real estate agents. Maybe lawyers. And possibly politicians, but I hesitate to call that a "profession" in any sense of the term. And since housing is so much in the news these days, one can't help but pick up the animus of the general public against real estate agents. Megan... Continue Reading »

At a time when many companies are downsizing or closing, the home staging business is booming. Home staging was listed as one of seven emerging growth industries according to a 2009 CNN report. The growth is attributed to the stagnant real estate market. With homes taking longer to sell, there ends up being more homes... Continue Reading »