Being an FSBO has its perks. When you work with a realtor, you end up paying for services that you may not need. Often times, realtors will invest funds in things that are just not needed in the end.
As an FSBO, you only pay for the services that you need to sell the house. You have control over how much you invest and how much you get in return. Undeniably, the more work you put into selling your house, the bigger your payoff.
Archive for April, 2010
Reason of the Week #5: Only Pay for Necessary Services
Wednesday, April 7th, 2010Golf Course Real Estate
Tuesday, April 6th, 2010Ah, yes. The marriage of leisure sport and refined real estate.
One of the many benefits of the housing boom of the 80s/90s was the major influx of golf course real estate. According to Golf Digest’s Chris Millard, architects and developers were trying to figure out ways to spend money building golf courses that offered green-side housing a decade ago. Now, they’re looking for a return to the “old way”.
With the recession and all of that other economic stuff the U.S. is having trouble absorbing the hundreds upon hundreds of golf courses that have sprung up. It is estimated that we were building nearly 300 courses a year in the 90s—a “country club for a day” mentality as Millard so bluntly puts it—and now projections estimate that many will now be forced to close out of necessity.
It worked out like this: A site was designated for a neighborhood of luxury homes and in between the yards, course architects squeezed in courses that lacked sustainability. They were built on unsuitable land by modern construction techniques and kept healthy through the use of chemical fertilizing. That model is likely to change as there is going to be a dramatic switch to “core golf” says architect Mike Young. No longer are golf courses going to be built as an amenity to a residential area.
It’s interesting to see the shift in ideals for this little niche of real estate. The fallout from the housing collapse extends far into the market—and now it looks like were going to feel it in our leisure time.
Online Forum of Angry Homebuyers…
Monday, April 5th, 2010Searching the blogosphere. Came across this little forum on patrick.net, a website with lots of information and opinions about the housing crash–it’s sort of an online soap box.
Anywho, I stumbled upon a forum of a bunch of angry homebuyers, sellers, and entrepreneurs going off about a common realtor sales tactic. Often times it is the case that realtors will try to indirectly pressure buyers into making an offer by eluding to the fact that the property in question already has several offers, and if they don’t put in a bid now they will lose the chance at owning.
Clearly, from the forum, a lot of people feel quite jaded about the nasty little trick-some from experience and others with a general sense of mistrust for real estate professionals. It’s definitely an interesting browse if you have a little time on your hands.
Click here to read the feeding frenzy…
The Business of Home Appraisals
Thursday, April 1st, 2010The housing industry is currently in the middle of a huge overhaul, and many of those efforts are in pursuit of a more impartial and ethical industry. Every aspect of the housing market is being scrutinized for any sort of bias that could inflate or deflate home prices, mortgages, commissions, salaries, and land value.
Recently, the giant federal thumb has come down on those who appraise homes. Speculation arose that mortgage brokers who chose their property appraisers were placing undue pressure on companies to appraise homes at higher numbers than the home’s real value. The fear was that this practice was leading to unnecessarily high home prices.
In an effort to prevent these two factions of the housing industry from compounding home prices, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae—the two government run mortgage giants, who supply the industry with 9/10ths of new home loans—have reformed their policies on obtaining appraisals. Now, anyone who can stand to make a profit from a high appraisal is left out of the process.
Brokers are now turning to third party appraisal companies to get home prices, but a problem has arisen. There seems to be a discrepancy between what brokers and realtors think the homes are worth and what appraisers are quoting. This could be because—and this is what the realtors are saying—that these third party appraisers aren’t as familiar with the area as others might be and are simply quoting too low. Banks, however, in an effort to save money are going for these typically cheaper appraisal companies and realtors are feeling the pinch.
In a quote from Leslie Sellers, president of the Appraisal Institute: “The banks chose to go to third parties to completely take over tasks. They tend to find the cheapest appraisers they can find…they’re often the least qualified.”
This means that banks are saving money by using third party appraisers, but those appraisers are being blamed by local realtors and professionals of driving down home prices by the way of regional ignorance, thus cutting their profits and reducing the financial strength of their particular markets. The third party appraisers are defending themselves saying that these low quotes are merely a result of the suffering industry.
