Tips - Real Estate, Updates, News & Tips

4 Common Home Buyer Slip-Ups

Real estate professionals see a lot of dumb reasons why home buyers ultimately end up losing out on a deal. Practitioners recently shared some of the more common mistakes with realtor.com®, including ways to correct the situation:1. Shopping outside their price range.“It sounds obvious, but some home buyers just have trouble sticking to a budget,” says Benny Kang, a real estate professional in Irvine, Calif. Shopping online may increase the

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NAR report shows staging gets homes off the market

The majority of buyer's agents say a staged listing helps their clients visualize life in the homeKey Takeaways Staging a home "greatly reduces" the amount of time a home stays on a market, according to seller's agents. Buyer's agents concur that home staging has an effect on their clients' decision and how much they're willing to spend.Inventory is low, which means most listings are selling faster than ever. But there are still some outliers

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REALTORS: Breaking a listing presentation slump

Preparation and rehearsal are the keys to success and confidenceKey Takeaways Agents should feel comfortable approaching their brokers for listing presentation advice and criticism, and brokers should make sure their feedback is constructive and practical.Agent perspective Summer is baseball season, and it is definitely fair to say that I am stuck in a slump. I have done hundreds of listing presentations over my career, but my last few have bee

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What does a home warranty cover?

How to talk to your clients about the importance of this protectionA home warranty company’s primary goal is to make your clients feel secure and protected in their new purchase. It’s scary to buy a home and not know the state of the systems and appliances inside. A home warranty can provide that peace of mind and protection.One of the complaints home warranty companies get from new homeowners is that their home warranty didn’t cover

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Agents Can Receive Closing Disclosure

Real estate professionals officially are entitled to receive a copy of the closing disclosure from lenders, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced last week. Agents traditionally have used the information in the disclosure form to advise their clients during transactions, but about two years ago, when the CFPB made sweeping changes to the settlement process, some lenders stopped making the form available due to privacy concerns.The Na

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The True Impact of Home Staging

Sixty-two percent of listing agents say professional staging decreases the amount of time a home spends on the market, while 40 percent of buyer’s agents say their clients are more willing to walk through a home that has been staged, according to the National Association of REALTORS®’ 2017 Profile of Home Staging.“REALTORS® know how important it is for buyers to be able to picture themselves living in a home, and staging a home makes t

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Renovations That Cause Neighborhood Feuds

Homeowners doing renovations can develop feuds with their neighbors if they’re not cognizant of how work on the project affects the rest of the neighborhood. After all, one homeowner’s upgrade could be another’s downgrade. Realtor.com® recently ticked off common home improvement spats.Additions that block views. Large additions that block views or cast shadows onto a neighboring lot are the most common sources of neighbor disputes involvi

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4 Things Home Inspectors Don’t Often Check

Most home inspectors carefully scrutinize a house from top to bottom, many with checklists that contain more than 1,600 features to evaluate. But some items require a specialist for a more thorough evaluation.The fireplace and chimneyInspectors often open and shut dampers to make sure they’re working properly. They may shine a flashlight up the chimney to look for any obstructions. But for anything further, buyers likely will need to hire a fi

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Alternatives to trashing junk when moving

We should keep the things that bring us joy and get rid of the restKey Takeaways When moving, most clients throw away or donate unwanted items, but you can advise them of alternatives to trashing junk that could be positive for the environment.I enjoyed contributing to Amber Taufen’s article about helping our clients downsize.She wrote: “It’s harder than ever to get rid of your stuff — and once that lamp, jewelry or antique hutch reaches

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REALTORS: 36 useful items for real estate agents to keep in the car trunk

Things you might need for listings, open houses, marketing -- or for yourselfKey Takeaways A real estate agent's day can be full of unexpected (and sometimes messy) surprises. Be prepared to tackle any situation with the right tools.Between the listing appointments, buyer showings, open house events, home inspections and office meetings, real estate agents tend to spend a lot of hours in their vehicles.And when you’re accustomed to all that win

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