Getting a real estate license is not too hard to do.
How do you find the right agent when buying or selling a home?
There are a few things to consider.
1. How many years of experience to they have?
2. Have they sold residential real estate in both good and bad markets?
3. How many homes have they sold in the last year, 2 years, 10 years?
4. Do they have the negotiating skills in home sales as well as a plan to help you get the best price/terms?
5. Do they work with both buyers and sellers and know the market from both ends?
6. Do they have active listings of their own and not just a search engine to find a home?
7. Do they advertise their honesty and intregrity and then have all sorts of disclaimers?
8. Do they have a brokers license or a salespersons?
9. Do they manage an office and get bogged down by admin details or office conflicts?
10. Are they active with their local board of Realtors?
11. Do they understand financing options?
12. Can they give you the names of people who they've helped buy or sell a home?
13. Are they FULL TIME agents or do they have another job?
14. If you are a seller, can the agent's website easily be found on the internet.
15. Do they really understand marketing a home and how do they do it?
16. What sets them apart from the others?
17. And maybe most important, do they really listen to your needs to help you when buying or selling?
You can also look and see what kind of answers they have posted right here on Trulia and get a feel for what they know and how they respond.
Don Mituzas
Licensed Associate Broker
2008 Realtor of the Year
Douglas Elliman Real Estate - New York's #1 Real Estate Broker
http://www.donmituzas.com... more
Good question. I'd ask friends and family or coworkers.
You might also start by speaking with some of the realtors in the area that have signs in the yards.
If that doesn't work, let me know and we can provide you a referral in your area.... more
Krystal,
A realtor not assisting is intended to mean not filling it out for the individual but it's acceptable to help them with issues like the one's you have pointed out. Since your agent has seen the property and has the ability to visit it, they would be the best source for accurate information.
Good luck,
Bill... more
I called RBFCU - they only do short sales for owner occupant, period. No exceptions. My 2 options are to fix it up, or let it go to foreclosure. We are going to fix it up. Thanks everyone for your responses.... more
Here on trulia your property can only be listed for sale if and when you listed your property for sale with a local real estate brokerage / Listing Agent and your home is on the local multiple listing service. As an
individual, or for sale by owner you cannot put your home for sale here on Trulia, Sorry...
Sincerely yours,
Edith YourRealtor4Life & Chicago and Northern Illinois Expert
Working always in the very BEST interest of her clients, Buyers, Sellers and Investors alike....
And always with a SMILE
Covering for @Properties the city of Chicago, all N and NW suburbs, the fine homes on the
North Shore, and many of the W and SW suburbs, and with her trusted Partner Agents all of
the US and worldwide properties. Edith speaks French, German, some Spanish and other.....
@Properties Brokerage, 30 Green Bay Road, Winnetka, Illinois 60093
EdithSellsHomes@gmail.com
Check out my website at htttp://tinyurl.com/YourRealtor4Life
HAVE THE MOST WONDERFUL DAY :)... more
The lenght of time will depend/vary by pricing, marketing, condition, etc.; therefore consider listing with a broker. As for selling/buying at the same time--it may be possible, for a personalized answer visit with any licensed loan officer; be aware that a mortgage pre-approval letter is required in order to determine your price range and for any offers to be taken seriously. If you need additional assistance feel free to contact me directly.... more
Field1477:
Let me elaborate a little on Mrs. Vellios' and Mr. Butterfield's answers:
First, when you are buying a 2nd home, you are not buying anything you are going to rent out, so projected rental income from the second home is not part of the equation.
There are two ways rental income is used in underwriting a loan.
First, there is the 25% of income is for maintenance and vacancy convention which is used in automated underwriting. This is figured by taking the total income from the rental and subtracting the total cost of debt, hazard insurance, and tax service on the property. If the answer is a positive number, then that number is multiplied by 75% to get the final estimated profit. That number is then included in the borrower's income. If the net income is negative, is less than zero, 100% of it is SUBTRACTED from the borrower's income. Whatever the final result is will be the number the automated underwriting system will use for determining loan eligibility.
Second, the schedule E is examined by a human underwriter to see if the expenses and income reported appear reasonable. Usually, the human underwriter can adjust the loan amount the borrower is eligible for downward based upon his review, but cannot adjust the loan upward. This is because the automated underwriting criteria are used as the benchmark for when the loan is sold by the originator to the investor who then plans to keep the loan till it is paid off. These transactions are done in bulk, and the underwriting that supports the automated result is used to assure that there is some actual truth to the automated result. The investor has neither time nor inclination to review the human underwriting to see if a higher amount than the automated answer is justified, so it assumes it won't be and rejects any loan that shows a higher than automated result was used to figure loan eligibility.
The exception is those rare cases where the borrower brings enough extra to the table in the form of a profitable relationship, that the originating bank does not sell the loan to an investor but keeps it in its own portfolio. In other words, if you are not the owner of a company that will bring millions of dollars in cash flow to a bank in other business, don't expect a bank to adjust the eligible amount to borrow upward based upon the numbers in the schedule E.
I would be happy to originate your second home loan for you. I work at High Tech Lending as a loan officer. You may call or write me at the contact information below.
Mitchell Pearce
mitchell@handsonrealtor.com
408-639-0211... more
What it really comes down to is "How flexible are you willing to be to sell your home?". If you have a real gem in a fast-paced market you can afford to be rigid. If the converse is true, you will likely want to be Gumby. Your agent can help you determine how flexible you should be, but only YOU know how bad you want to sell the house...best of luck!... more
Picking a Realtor®; you should interview several Realtors® before making a decision. Do not solely rely on a referral! Do the work yourself and interview several. Here’s a short check list of questions to ask & things to consider:
1) The paperwork involved in this process is extremely complicated, having stated this It is important that a Realtor be “practiced at our trade” pick a Realtor® which has completed 15+ transactions the previous year
2) Interview 3-5 full time Realtors® (very few part-time agents have the same skills as a person who works Real Estate on a full time basis)
3) Do not choose a Realtor® who proclaims themselves as “EXPERTS” because they have taken a seminar and have a designation on their business card. (CDPE, ABR, CRS and others) many of these expert classes require less than 16 hours of training and everyone who pays the fee passes. The experts are the ones who run the race not just buy the t-shirt.
4) Do a basic back ground check on your Realtor® use a site like PIPL or just goggle their name, this usually turns up items such as lawsuits, bankruptcies or other items which you feel might interfere or conflict with a Realtor® representing your best interest. Ps: this does not work for a John Smith
5) Once you have interviewed your potential Realtors® and if you are still unsure and want a “trail run” sign an exclusive buyers agency for 48 hours with the Realtor® and explain if all goes well in the beginning then you will be willing to commit for 3-6 months.
6) Work with a Realtor® which is local to your area. Meaning a 10-20 mile radius, they will know the schools, shopping and the growth potential of the area without having to go look it up!
7) Don’t worry too much about a Realtors® personal advertising program, if they are a member of the local MLS & have a National Brand their personal attempts to enhance the marketing of your home is limited at best. If they state otherwise they are just blowing hot air. The internet takes care of 98% of the advertising needs.
8) Before you sign a contract wait one week & call your choice 2-3 times, see if they answer the phone and if they call back within 4 business hours. Believe it or not answering the phone is one of the most important items on this list.
Before you even start this process consider purchasing the book by Dave Ramsey “The Total Money Makeover” this will provide valuable information in regard to having a successful financial life & make a prudent home purchase!
That’s your list! Good Luck!... more
Tell your agent to have that buyer call me. I can figure out what is going on.
I'm closing definitely in less than 30 days. There's no reason it should be taking two months! Whether I use my company's money, send the loan through our correspondent or broker channels the loans I've closed have not taken that long.
We can either close or we'll figure out why and get it fixed. If in the mean time that means you've sold to someone else... great. If not at least you weren't holding on to an option you think is there but really isn't.
Kim Lawson
Ohio Mortgage Loan Originator
T 888-659-3848
www.kimlawsonloanofficer.com
OH.LO.004495.000
NMLS: 5601
First Priority Financial
748 N Court St Ste 201
Medina, Ohio 44256
MBMB.850147.001
NMLS: 3257... more
Hi Trixie,
Prices vary greatly from one area of town to the next...even from neighborhood to neighborhood within a half mile area so there is no general answer to your question. If you are a type A personality and hell bent on listing yourself then use the county assessor to come up with recent sales prices in your area and take a stab at your home's worth.
The problem with this is that you cannot see pics and therefore cannot determine if the sales are actual comps (do you have formica and they have granite or marble in the bathrooms? has your kitchen been updated and theirs has not? etc). As Realtors, we pay a fairly hefty fee to be a part of the MLS so that we can have access to the non-public information that helps us to create a comparative market analysis based on an apples to apples comparison.
If you don't have a lot of traffic after you put it on the market, you are either priced too high or not highly visible to buyers. The benefit of using a Realtor is that we can directly market you to the 3000+ metro Realtors and their buyers who are set up to receive auto-notification immediately upon listing and we can list it at the RIGHT price which will likely net you more than you will make as a FSBO. Additionally, you will not have to worry about taking pics, marketing, running home from work to show to potential buyers, etc. Try your way for 3 weeks and if you have less than a dozen showings, do yourself a favor and research Realtors in your area or call me and I can direct you to someone who is knowledgeable in your area if I am not.
Best of luck to you!
Michelle Foy
Verbode
405-365-5320
michelle@buygreenokc.com... more
This document is required for every Real Estate transaction. The purpose of this document is to prove that the seller is a U.S. citizen, and that he/she has a social security number or corporate I.D. number to prove it. It is protect all parties... more
It would have to appraise a higher price. If an appraiser has comps to support the higher price, the bank will approve. I might be able to help with the comps. Call me 621-6448.
This ends with you moving out. Make it peaceful and healthy for you and yours. Be safe, get the showings done, get it sold and move forward. Onward and upward to better things.