Tom Loi
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Posts Tagged Agent
Real Estate Agent Training – Buyer Counseling Interview
Posted by james in Real Estate on November 8th, 2009
real estate training (for Agents) by Dirk Zeller, 6-time, best selling author and CEO of Real Estate Champions, Inc. His books include: Success as a Real Estate Agent for Dummies®, Telephone Sales …
What Your Real Estate Agent Won’t Tell You – Part I
Posted by james in Real Estate on November 5th, 2009
Buying a house - The realistic approach
This article is not about the secrets of buying a rental property for no money down and half the price of the market value of the house. I am not Tom Vu or Don Lapre and I am not in jail.
In Canada, the no money down home did use to exist, but not anymore. Some banks and/or lenders were willing to lend you the 5% down payment so that you don’t have to pay a dime out of your own pockets to purchase a home. However, given the current financial situation with tighter lending restrictions, there will be no bank or lenders who can do that in Canada.
The buying home for half price did use to exist as well. At one point, foreclosures in Canada would allow foreclosed homes to be sold at rock bottom prices. The new law, which has been in placed for many years now require the homes be sold at the highest possible price for foreclosed homes or else the lenders could be sued. Hence, sometimes foreclosed homes sell higher because Canadians have the misconception that foreclosed homes are a really good deal causing it to have a reverse affect. There have been many people buying foreclosed homes believing they got a good deal and not doing a thorough check as to the actual value of the home.
Now, clearing out the quick money maker myths of buying homes, there are still many things you need to be aware of before starting.
If there exist ever an industry with more sneaky sales tactics and money motivated people, it has got to the real estate industry. As a buyer, you could be dishing out $350 000 and everyone wants a piece. The Real Estate Agents want a piece. The lenders want a piece. The lawyers want a piece and the sellers want piece. No wonder there are so many scams in this industry.
The first thing to be aware of is the Real Estate Agent. A Real Estate Agent is suppose to act on your behalf to buy or sell the home. Both the buyer of the home and seller of the home will have their own Real Estate Agent called a Buyer’s Real Estate Agent and a Seller’s Real Estate Agent.
In Canada, each Real Estate Agent gets an average of 2.5% and sometimes 2% for the commission of selling the home. Some Real Estate Agents provide cash back rewards. Canadian Real Estate Agents gets higher commission than anywhere else. In United States, their Real Estate Agents only get 1% of the commission and their homes are actually much cheaper. Even though Real Estate Agents are the least educated of the parties involved in the buying home transaction, they seem to be getting the biggest piece of the pie.
Do not listen to mls.ca and their gimmicks on Real Estate Agents are ethical. (http://www.howrealtorshelp.ca/swf/). Where do they get the idea any Real Estate Agent off the street is ethical. Their claim is based on these tests that they pass to become a Real Estate Agent. Agents passing a test does not meant hey are ethical. It only means they can remember enough to pass the test.
One would believe it should be the Real Estate Agent’s job to help the buyer ensure the home is of value. Rightly so, many buyers depend on the Real Estate Agent to protect them and provide them advice and in my opinion, the ethical Real Estate Agent should do that. However, the true reality is that Real Estate Agents do not make money unless if the home is purchased. The reality is that the Real Estate Agent’s salary is not truly dependent on giving you advice. The Real Estate Agent’s job is to get the buyer to buy a home through them so they can get paid!
As a result of this, what ends up happening, are two types of Real Estate Agents with variations in between. The first type is the honest agent with the belief “If I work hard and treat my buyer right, the buyer will come back to buy more homes from me. The second type is the “I need to get the buyer to buy a house quickly so that I can move on to the next buyer (sucker) so that I can maximize my time for profit.” The bottom line is that you are looking for the first type and you want to avoid the second type.
We’ll call the first type, the Bad Real Estate Agent.
We’ll call the second type, the Good Real Estate Agent.
So what kind of characteristics does the Good Real Estate Agent have that the Good Real Estate Agent does not have?
1. The first characteristic is Patience.
Bad Real Estate Agents will attempt to sell you a home quickly to get the money quickly. Do not buy a house without spending a lot of time looking at several different homes. Be careful of tactics such as Real Estate Agents claiming it is the perfect and acting like a salesman rather than providing you information.
2. The second characteristic is information.
A good Real Estate Agent needs to provide you all the information to let you make the informed decision and we are not talking about their opinion. Real Estate’s opinion does not matter. Real Estate Agents have data such as the history of the house being sold at, homes being sold near the area and type. A Real Estate Agent should be able to provide you with a compilation of official documents that tells you these kinds of data to let YOU make an informed decision.
3. The third characteristic is care.
You will know this during the actual signing of the contract to purchase the home at a certain price. Once you become interested in a property and want to buy the property at a certain price set by YOU, you have to write up a contract. The contract consist atleast three conditions that will null the sale of the home and a security deposit.
The common three conditions are, buyer can get financing, the home passes inspection and the appraisal value of the home is above the price to be purchased. Generally, you will want the lenders to appraise the home so that you know the fair value of the home and the lenders would only lend of you are buying the home at fair market value.
The security deposit is an amount you will provide to lock the home from being sold to other buyers while you perform to checks to see whether these conditions have been met. If these conditions are not met, then you SHOULD get your security deposit back.
The Bad Real Estate Agents will want to you provide very few conditions and a big security deposit. Doing so ensure the home is more likely to be sold.
Do NOT go through the internet and pick the first agent you see or the agent that has the most advertisements. They are just spending marketing money which they intend to recover from you. I especially find the ones that are top ranked search engines to be the most conniving, especially the Mississauga location!!!
If you have any more questions or concerns, feel free to e-mail me at admin@freerentalads.ca
You are also certainly welcome to e-mail me your good and bad home buying experiences. I may or may not chose to post them up.
How Can I Become A Real Estate Agent?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 23rd, 2009
I am 26, live in NJ and have a 1 year old son. I’m currently working full time and am in need of a change. I’ve always been interested in real estate. Can someone please inform me on how to become a real estate agent? I am also looking for soem stories from beginner agents. Are the first couple of years rough? How fast did you get into the swing of things? Was it hard to get hired? Any information to help me make my decision will be beneficial. My husband is supportive of my goals, but I have limited time due to my current career and my son. I also should say that I don’t have a 4 year degree. I have some college under my belt. I ended up landing a good job with a great company almost 7 years ago and now work in marketing. Thank you!
The Benefits Of Choosing An Established Oahu Real Estate Agent
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 22nd, 2009
Are you in the market for a new home or piece of land in Oahu? If so, how to do intended to going about getting that new home or piece of land? While it is more than possible to find available Oahu real estate properties on your own, you may want to think about working with an Oahu real estate agent. However, when choosing an Oahu real estate agent, you won’t want just any ole real estate agent; you will want to work with one that comes highly rated and recommended.
When it comes to choosing an established Oahu real estate agent or one that comes highly rated and recommended, a large number of individuals wonder how they can tell the difference between a highly rated and recommended real estate agent and one that they may want to think about avoiding. While distinguishing between the two different types of Oahu real estate agents may seem like a long and potentially complicated process, it doesn’t have to be that way. There are a number of different ways that you can go about examining the reputation of an Oahu real estate agent without having to spend so much time doing so.
Perhaps, the easiest way to go about finding a real estate agent or company to research is by performing a standard internet search. Searching with keyword phrases, like “Oahu real estate agents,” should link you to the online websites of numerous Oahu real estate agents. When examining an Oahu real estate agent’s website, you will want to look for any important information. This information may include information on available real estate listings, the number of years in the real estate industry, and so on. While it is important to examine a real estate agent’s online website, you will want to be careful not to judge a book by its cover. A well designed website doesn’t necessarily make a real estate agent a good one.
You can also examine the reputation of Oahu real estate agents by using the internet once again. Oahu real estate agents and Oahu real estate companies appear in many online business directories. A large number of these online business directories allow internets, just like you, to rate or review a company, including a real estate company. Since a large number of internet users like rating and reviewing individuals or companies that they have had dealings with in the past, it is not uncommon for you to find a large number of Oahu real estate agents or companies that have feedback. This feedback may be able to give you an idea as to whether or not you should do business with the individual or company in question.
Although it is important to know exactly how you can go about determining whether or not a particular real estate agent is an established one, you may be wondering what the benefits of doing so are. Unfortunately, there are too many individuals who believe that all real estate agents are the same. Yes, real estate agents have the same goal; to help you buy a home, but that goal is accomplished different ways. The biggest benefit of doing business with an established Oahu real estate agent is the level of service that you should receive. To be considered highly rated and recommended, an Oahu real estate agent must provide their clients with the utmost level of service available. If poor service was regularly offered, it is almost certain that the agent in question wouldn’t be considered trustworthy or be recommended. By doing business with an established Oahu real estate agent, you are almost always guaranteed to be put first, as a top priority.
Another benefit of doing business with an established Oahu real estate agent is results. Established real estate agents are ones who have a large amount of experience in the real estate industry. This experience often makes it easier for them to offer you assistance, as they may have a good idea as to what you want or what you need. For instance, from numerous dealing in the past, many established real estate agents know that you want to spend less time talking about buying a home and more time working on the process. These types of real estate agents are the ones who are more likely to actually show you Oahu real estate listings, instead of just talking about them.
The above mentioned benefits, of doing business with an established real estate agent, are just a few of the many that exist. With it being relatively quick and easy to find highly rated and recommended Oahu real estate agents, like the agents that can be found at OahuRE.com, you are urged to do business with one of them.
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How Do You Become A Real Estate Agent With Sotheby’s International Realty?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 22nd, 2009
how do you become a real estate agent for Sotheby’s International Realty? Do you already have to have a real estate license? I am trying to become an agent what do I need to do?
How Do You Become A Real Estate Agent With Sotheby’s International Realty?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 16th, 2009
how do you become a real estate agent for Sotheby’s International Realty? Do you already have to have a real estate license? I am trying to become an agent what do I need to do?
Does A Real Estate Agent Have To Disclose A Death In A Home?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 14th, 2009
This pertains to Oklahoma real estate Law, and if they are not suppose to disclose this, and they do, are there any consequences?
Is Real Estate Possible Without An Agent?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 6th, 2009
http://live.pirillo.com – Many people in the country have been hurt by the mortgage crisis. People are getting foreclosed upon; they can’t make their payments. Because of this, we are all feeling t…
I’m A 2nd Year Real Estate Agent, How Much Is A Reasonable Amount In Business Expense Write Offs?
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 4th, 2009
I’ve made less this year than last in my real estate business because the market is really bad right now. I have much more in business expenses though. I don’t want to be audited, just wondering if anyone out there with experience knows what a reasonable amount in expenses for just having one sell.
real estate agent marketing
Posted by james in Real Estate on October 2nd, 2009
real estate Agent Marketing: Real Estate Agent Marketing Suggestions That Rock!
The real estate industry is turning ferocious. There are innumerable real estate agents in the United States, making excelling an actual challenge. Every real estate agent is different, therefore, every real estate agent marketing campaign must match its subject. It is fundamental to utilize the trial and error rule with a number of ideas until you find the right plan for you, one that serves your style, finances and aims.
Marketing can be intimidating; we show here several suggestions we hope can turn the path easier for you and are useful for attracting the correct users. We promise that one, two or all of these will be good for you once you are set to begin your real estate agent marketing adventure.
First idea. Start a blog. A blog will serve you in expanding your real estate company in many manners and is simple to manage, making it effortless to share interesting and pertinent real estate articles. A bigger amount of superior content equals stronger Internet presence that equals being found on the Internet more easily and inspiring a positive response out of users. A blog gives you the chance to talk with your customers and meet them intimately, which is an important characteristic of any real estate agent marketing campaign trying to to convey to your customers that you care for them and their wishes.
Idea number two. Increment on line presence. Your real estate agent marketing strategy wants you to gain as many future customers as you can. The web is an amazing instrument to touch persons in any corner of the globe, and once you unite a site, a blog, Internet news and writings, you can be positive users will reach you, as you are everywhere. You will pass as an authority as your business is widely covered.
Third idea. Increase your direct marketing plans. The web is a significant real estate agent marketing means, however, there are others of the same worth. Direct marketing is highly effective to fortify and establish your real estate company too. Test several direct marketing instruments and research what is efficient; offer extra value to your communications so that people are prompted to act.
Idea number four. Do public relations. Use it to boost your real estate agent marketing plan and strengthen your image. A piece in the town’s paper, a relevant press release or a free seminar in your community regarding hints to get a home, go a long way when aiming to imprint a solid image among customers.
Fifth idea. Give people something to tattle about. Your venture counts almost completely on word of mouth, thus, help people to want to talk about you and your services continuously. Give distinctiveness which will turn you irresistible and that everybody will desire to communicate to others. Nothing is invalid, simply visualize what would impress your customers and find a way to offer it to them: free interior design tips, free landscape tips or a tour around their new city. Options are infinite.
A real estate agent marketing plan is about imagination and, as any other business, about placing yourself in the customers’ place and surpassing their expectations. Go for it!