Should I Buy a New Home, or a Previously Owned Home?

This question's an easy one to answer:  It depends!  See!  Pretty easy!

Ok, all kidding aside, I'm a huge advocate for new construction.  My wife and I have owned 3 homes over the past 12 years. Two of those were new construction.  That shows my personal taste. However, there's always two sides to the story. You can't buy a new, 1907 Victorian home in Pleasanton.  You'd be hard pressed to find a brand new home in a neighborhood with 90 year old, beautiful oak trees. You probably aren't going to find a new home in Brentwood on a half acre lot.  So, who benefits from new home construction?  Who is buying them all...and why?


Here is a list of reasons that might compel you to buy a brand new home as opposed to one that is pre-owned.

• With little to no change in sales price, new home builders often offer choices as to color and styles of the features of your home. No, these aren't upgrades, but they're still choices. Carpet color, tile, vinyl, counters, cabinets, etc.  You'll often have 3 or 4 choices in each category to choose from at no extra cost.  
• Builders often use their own lenders, which gives me, as your agent, several opportunities to negotiate: 
• 1) The price of the home. 
• 2) The terms of the loan.
• 3) Closing Cost Credits
• 4) Design Center Credits
• In my family, we had little-ones crawling and rolling around on the floors. It brought us peace of mind knowing that not just the carpet was new (and in a color we loved)...but the carpet pads and sub-flooring was new as well.  No smokers, no pets, no allergies, and no spills that are going to resurface 4 months down the road.
• Competition: Typically you're not going to compete with several other buyers for the same house. You'll likely have the choice of many new homes and models, or even the same floor plan on different lots.
• When you buy a 35 year old home, you've got 35 year old...everything else...attached.  Infrastructure: In new home communities, you've typically get new sewers, streets, lights, and more.   
• Ahhh...the dreaded home inspection!  Everything is new!  What's to inspect?  With pre-owned homes, you've got those anxious days between the time you write an offer and the time you receive your pest and home inspections.  New home construction likely allows you to skip this step altogether.
• Appraisals?  Yes, your new home must appraise in order for a lender to fund, even on new construction.  That said, it behooves the builder to price their homes accordingly.  Have I seen a new home NOT appraise?  Yes...once.  In that case, the builder simply reduced the price to the appraised value.  
• Virtually all home builders will sell to FHA and VA buyers!  These buyers are typically well qualified and committed to the process.  
• Home warranty? It comes with one!  Wait...it comes with several: Foundation, Roof, Finish, Appliances...everything!
• You've got a builder's reputation at stake, and they'll stand behind you.  With pre-owned homes...the seller's likely moved on, and you'll never see or hear from them again.

I could easily create a list that's just as long and just as compelling advocating the purchase of pre-owned homes.  In fact, I'm sure I will.  However, at this point in my personal life, and with a young family in tow, I feel very peaceful living in a newly constructed home and I'm always at peace when I help a client negotiate a deal with a home builder.

Wait!  You mean...I help people negotiate deals with home builders?
Absolutely!  Countless times! Really, at this point I couldn't guess how many times. Often enough, in fact, that periodically simply accompanying my clients on their first visit to a builder's model homes pays huge dividends to the buyers. If I accompany a buyer to a builder's sales office, it often allows me the ability to negotiate on their behalf. I've negotiated upgrades, closing cost credits, appliances...even fully landscaped backyards...at no extra cost to the buyer.  But wait, do I get paid a commission?  Yes!  Well technically no. It's customary that the seller of a home pays both sides commissions.  In the case of virtually all new home communities, they aren't going to pay a commission.  They pay a marketing expense; a referral fee.  This is not a line item on your closing statement.  It doesn't come from the sale of the home.  It's paid by a different department all together.  Often the same one that pays for TV commercials, web presence, and print advertisements.  This mean that a) you do pay me, and b) I'm absolutely committed to giving you the very best service possible and negotiating aggressively and effectively on your behalf.

Tips from your listing agent: Who is the biggest influence in the home buying process?

You may think it's the bread winner.  You may say "it's the Mrs., of course"!  You may think...it's you!  So who is it really?  It's often actually the buyers' Realtor.  They are, after all, the resident expert with experience and exposure to confidently guide home buyers toward the right home!

Like many of my posts, I'm pretty certain that this post will annoy a few agents.  No disrespect or judgement intended, but it is what it is.  These are simply my thoughts. I write what I practice, and I practice what allows me to sleep peacefully, knowing that I've given my clients the very best possible representation possible.

Here's a bit of background on commissions.  In the areas I serve, since the beginning of my real estate career, 6% is the standard sales commission paid buy the seller.  This commission is typically shared equally between the cooperating brokers; 3% and 3%.  Listing Agents and Buyer's Agents both have their fair share of responsibilities, tasks, hurdles, and headaches that they encounter throughout their days, weeks, and months.  Some transactions are simple.  Some are complex.  It's my belief that, at the end of the day, it all comes out in the wash.  "But I worked so hard on this one!  I deserve more!"  Yea?  Maybe you don't?  Maybe you made bad choices when screening your client.  Maybe the property you wrote on was a money pit.  Maybe you had a cash buyer with low expectations who's buying everything in site and all those transactions are simple!  It all evens out in the end.

So looking at the question posed at the beginning of this blog, why does it even matter who is the biggest influence in the home buying process?  Because, and here comes the part that can make folks uncomfortable, it's very easy to see how (with a Realtor's personal income as a direct function of the sales price of the house and percentage commission to be received at closed) an agent might encourage their buyers to write on one home over another 'like' property, based on the commission.

Of the 85 homes sold in Brentwood in April of 2013, only 14 had the buyer's agents commission at 3%.  Most were 2.5% with a few as low as 1%.   As someone looking to sell my home, don't I want the market (buyers' agents) to be motivated to show my house as often as possible, with as much enthusiasm as possible?

Here's the cold, hard, ugly question.  If an agent is looking at like properties, one paying her 2% and another paying her 3%, which one is she likely to encourage her buyer to write an offer on?  But aren't agents supposed to have their clients best interest in mind? Absolutely!  Many, many agents do!  Some...don't.  After all, although sometimes we're not treated as such, we are actually human.

There are exceptions to this rule, as there are to most.  But it's a safe bet that a relevant percentage of homes closing with a cooperating broker commission split that is out of balance likely closed at a price lower than they might have if the buyer's agents had been sufficiently (or equally) motivated.

As someone looking to sell your home, please discuss this topic with your Realtor.  If your Realtor addresses this topic in a manner that leaves you with a comfortable understanding...game on!  If they hem and haw around the issue, press on until you have an answer that satisfies you.

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com

How many days on the market is ideal, when selling your house?: Part 6 of 8 - How To Effectively Price Your Home For Sale

DOM - Days on Market Trends in Contra Costa County

First off, I'd like to apologize for not updating more recently.  Simply put, my personal and professional life filled my days and nights.  We're back to smooth sailing and ready to hit it again. Thanks for following.   Again, if you find value in the information presented here, please forward, share, and make comments.  It helps me keep the flood gates open!

Is 45 days to get into contract too short or too long? YES! Wait, no!...Maybe!  How about 4 1/2 days? The answer to this question depends completely on the seller's willingness to price their property appropriately as well as the motivating factors behind the sale of the home.  

If the trend of DOM is decreasing, it means that buyers are snatching up houses more quickly than in the recent past, further reducing inventory and increasing demand.  How much weight should be put on this data when establishing the sales price of your home?  That is the real question.  Let's dig a little deeper.

Immediately below is the averages days on the market for single family homes in Contra Costa County for the past year.  Note the trend.  Also, keep in mind that these are averages.  One stubborn seller can skew any of this data pretty dramatically.

Graph 1 ~ Average Days on Market for all of Contra Costa County

The past year in Brentwood specifically:

Graph 2 ~ Average Days on Market for Brentwood, CA

If you've had your finger on the pulse of real estate of late then you know that home prices have been going through the roof.  Looking at the above graphs illustrates one reason why.  Although Days On Market is more of an indicator than a cause, it is an important indicator when it comes to establishing demand; a function of price. .  Again, remember mind that these are averages.  In today's market it is not uncommon for homes to go on the market and come back off in as little as "Zero Days on Market."  

Side note:  I don't know why any listing agent would advise a seller to pull their home off the market after less than one full day is beyond me.  There are reasons to do this, but few and far between.  I advise, as many ethical agents do, that leaving your home on the market for at least two full weekends (reviewing offers the Tuesday following the 2nd weekend) give adequate exposure.

Wishing you well in your real estate endeavors.  Thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises, and THANK YOU SO MUCH all the referrals.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.

Looking for a new home...or watching the Superbowl? Why not do both?: Here's your menu!

Where are you going to watch the Superbowl next year?

Active homes in Brentwood, Oakley, Walnut Creek & Alamo, CA 02.01.2013

This blog caters primarily to people interested in Real Estate Trends throughout the areas I've lived in and continue to service; Walnut Creek, Brentwood, Oakley, and Alamo, California.  However, most of the information posted on this site really applies to all markets.  If you have any questions that this content inspires, please drop me a line.  I always reply in a timely manner.  If you'd like more specific information about real property in your area, please don't hesitate to ask...

...That's why I'm here.

Yep!  It's Superbowl time, but don't let the market get away from you!  While your 'competition' may be yelling at the TV, you might just sneak in the right offer and WIN this weekend!

Below are lists of listings (homes for sale) in Brentwood, Oakley, Walnut Creek, and Alamo, CA as of 02.01.2013

Click Here for Real Estate in Brentwood, CA: 44 Listings - Same number as last week.

Click Here for Real Estate in Oakley, CA: 21 Listings - 9 fewer than last week.

Click Here for Real Estate in Walnut Creek, CA: 42 Listings - 6 fewer than last week.

Click Here for Real Estate in Alamo, CA: 32 Listings - 5 more than last week.

Enjoy browsing from the comfort of your desk, sofa, or coffee shop!!! 

If you're not already working with an agent, I'd love to sit down with you and learn more about what you're goals are.  If you are working with agent, please look at this post (and others) to make sure you're being well represented.As always, I'll leave you with little tip:

HOME-SELLERS!

Disclose, disclose, disclose! What does this mean in 'real life?'  When you're filling out your Seller's Property Questionnaire and your Transfer Disclosure Statement, think back about all of the improvements, maintenance, repairs, changes, and or problems that you've handled while living at the property and write them all down.  After that, put your forms down for a bit.  Pick them up later that day or the following day and review the list.  There's bound to be something that was overlooked.  Only sign those documents when you're certain that they've been completed comprehensively. When in doubt (Do I really need to disclose this?) the answer is YES: Disclose it!      

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.

My Bay Area Real Estate Crystal Ball: What I'm certain will happen in 2013...maybe.

So what's actually going to happen in the Bay Area Real Estate markets in 2013.  One thing is absolutely certain, and that is the fact that it will change.  The extent to which it will change depends almost entirely on government intervention.  If there was no government intervention there would have been burst in the housing bubble.  In fact, there wouldn't have been a bubble!  That said, the government will interfere, and the pulse of our market will not truly be "free."

The best predictor of future behavior is past behavior. Here is our "Past Behavior" with regard to Real Estate in Contra Coast County per TrendGraphix.  I doubt that these drastic and correlated trends are truly free.  They are, however, the facts...and that you can take to the bank.

For Sale and New Listings (Supply of homes for sale) decreased by 74% and 58% respectively. That, by itself, is meaningless.  However, nothing in business is truly 'by itself.' Average Sold Price and Average Price per Square Foot (a function of Supply and Demand) increased by 44% and 30% respectively. As supply goes down, price goes up.

Another variable that is affected by a drop in supply is how many days it takes for a home to be "sold." This is seen as Ave CDOM on the table above.  It stands for Average Cumulative Days on Market.  You can imagine that as supply goes down, the few homes remaining on the market (if priced reasonably) will go quickly!

So what is my "Prediction" for 2013?  Continued, unsustainable, increase in home prices.  

• More and more people will be out of the red and into the black, opening the door for more listings and purchases. 
• Builders continue to buy previously abandoned developments and land in an effort to increase inventory and meet demand. 
• Auction properties/flips will continue to dwindle as fewer and fewer homes are foreclosed upon.  
• Rent prices will stall or decrease as more and more home buyers re-enter the market after short-sale or foreclosure.
• Home Owners will leverage low interest rates in an effort to move 'up' in the market, opening up more homes for 1st time buyers.

Of course, all of this is subject to:

Interest Rates

Tax Consequences

The job market

Economic stability and security

The absence of catastrophic events.

Other than that...I'm CERTAIN!  ; )

As always, I'll leave you with little tip:

Garbage Disposals

• Never put hard-to-grind waste into the disposal (ex., chicken skins, egg shells, bones, celery or banana peels,...spoons!) - they will clog the drain.
• Run cold water down the drain for about 15 seconds before and after using the disposal to flush waste down the main line.  Just because it's past the disposal doesn't mean it's down the drain pipe.
• Turn on the disposal before adding food waste. Give it a fighting chance.  Let the disposal get up to speed before safely putting waste into it.
• Clean your disposal with warm water and a dozen pieces or ice or so.  It's the best "tip" I ever received from my plumber...after he pulled egg shells from my dishwasher vent tube.  Oops!

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.

Brentwood Real Estate Trends: Available homes in Brentwood and Oakley

G'day friends!  This is a simple post, sharing links to "available"  Homes for sale in Brentwood and Oakley as of 10:45AM, September 20th, 2012.  I wrote "available" in quotes in an effort to reiterate how complicated our market is right now.

Click here to see HOMES FOR SALE IN BRENTWOOD

Click here to see HOMES FOR SALE IN OAKLEY

Featured Brentwood Property 

Our stunning Tahoe Cabin styled home on 1.41 acres in the heart of Brentwood is located at 530 Saddle Creek, Ct., in Brentwood.  Offered at $399,900

I can't stress enough the hurdles that buyers face in today's market.  Here are a few key points to help you rise above them. 

*** Make sure that your Realtor is YOUR Realtor.  Many, many agents are "double-ending" deals (representing the seller and the buyer at the same time).  If true synergies are leveraged to a truly happy end, fantastic. That's a win-win.  That's just typically not what happens.  Typically, a listing agent holds an open house, buyers walk in.  He/she tells the buyer the asking price and writes it up.  Not a lot of advocating going on on behalf of the buyers!  Negotiation is not about meeting in the middle either.  Anyone with a pulse can do that.  Negotiation is about listening and learning what is truly important to each party.  More often that you'd think price is not the 1st priority, but it's the one hurdle that most deals stumble over.  Is the seller's motivation time? Is it avoiding a foreclosure? Are they being pressured somehow, or are they listing the property just hoping someone will pay top dollar with little or no motivating factor other than that? Ultimately, searching for a Realtor who will advocate solely for you before you look at your first listing ensures that regardless of the seller's status you have someone watching your back...exclusively.  Click here to learn how to find a great agent!

*** Don't be afraid of Short-Sales.  Be afraid of listing agents without experience negotiating short sales!

*** BE READY!  Being almost ready is like being almost pregnant.  In today's market, you're either ready to write a competetive offer and close it...or you're not. Bring your check book, and your "A" game.

*** Ask your Realtor if they're willing to work for you.  By work for you, I mean really work.  For most Realtors a home listed as "Active" actually means that the property is listed as:

• ACTV - Active
• BOMK - Back on Market
• AC - Contingent
• NEW - New
• PCH - Price Change

The list of properties I link to at the top of this blog also include: 

• PSB - Pending, Show for Backup
• PSLA - Pending, Subject to Lender's Approval

If that doesn't get the job done, I turn my Tall coffee into a Venti and get on the phone, calling (not to be confused with pestering) any listing agent that has a property that I KNOW would be a perfect fit for my buyers.  As long as you're agent is courteous, most listing agents aren't going to mind politely responding. 

I recently sold a home in Brentwood to a couple who's agent called me after this listing was "Pending". The agent was polite and professional. The buyers actually wrote a letter to the seller's explaining why it was important for them to get into this house.  We agreed to let his clients see the property and to write a backup offer.  The day we received his offer our buyer in contract cancelled!  We closed with the new buyers less than three weeks later.  The buyers' agent didn't find anything "Active" but was willing to do the legwork to get the job done.  This is uncommon, but in today's market, it's one more way opportunity, slim or otherwise, to get into contract.  

If, as a buyer, you choose to call the number on the sign; the agent who's property you're interested in, PLEASE ask him or her the following: "How are you going to effectively advocate for your sellers and advocate for me as well?"  If he or she stumbles over the answer...walk away...run away and call another Realtor; one who will work solely for you.  Heck...call me.  Even if you're out of the area I can almost guarantee I know a Realtor in your area; a Realtor I respect.  

All for now, but more to come!

I'll leave you with this Taste of Wisdom, 

" Place a higher priority on discovering what a win looks like for the other person." 

 ~ Harvey Robbins

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.

Available Homes in Brentwood, CA: There's no doubt we've turned around. Will it last?

East county's inventory continues to dwindle, further driving up active home prices.

Click here to see available homes in Brentwood as of September 12th, 2012.

Since January of this year there's been a 72% decrease in active homes in Brentwood, CA.  This chart clearly illustrates that trend.  What it doesn't show is that we have only 60 homes active as of today.

The table below demonstrates similar trends to what I posted last week with regard to homes for sale in Oakley.  Looking at the last row, median home prices, you can see that in January the median price of a home sold in Brentwood was $279,000 while in August that rose to $330,000.  That's averaging an increase of nearly 2.5% per month: Staggering!

What does that mean for you if you want to buy a home in Brentwood?
If you're looking to buy, it's really time to get going.  "Well, I was thinking about maybe calling a lender to see if I might qualify..." Nope!  Call!  If you'd like to buy in this market, get your pre-approval in hand, get your earnest money deposit funds into your checking account, find an excellent buyer's agent who will represent you fairly and effectively...then get in the car and go!  By the way, bring your pen.  As a buyer, the best news you can hear other than "Here are your keys!" is "Your earnest money is going to be deposited into escrow!"

What does that mean if you want to sell a home in Brentwood?
If you are thinking about selling your home in Brentwood, have someone (I'm very happy to do so) provide you with a professional CMA, or Comprehensive Market Analysis.  From this, you can get a strong understanding of what your Net Proceeds (what you can anticipate walking away with after the close of escrow) will be. 

Will this market last?
This is a simple question to answer honestly.  The answer is..."Who knows?"

What's going to happen to interest rates?  What's going to happen to the real estate market before the election?  What's going to happen afterward?  What happens when the banks release this mythical (in my opinion, there is no inventory that banks are holding on to) sea of foreclosures to be sold?  If I had a crystal ball I'd be sailing around the world looking for great surfing waves with my family rather than sitting at my desk. The market is what it is, and it always will be.

If you would like a CMA, please drop me a line; email, text, call, etc.  I just need your address and a way to reach you.  If you know someone else who'd like one done, even outside of the areas I service; Alamo, Walnut Creek, Brentwood, and Oakley, please forward on my contact information. I will put them in contact with an local area specialist form their area.

As always, I'm here for your questions, comments and concerns.

I'll leave you with this Taste of Wisdom, 

"But until a person can say deeply and honestly, "I am what I am today because of the choices I made yesterday," that person cannot say, "I choose otherwise." 

 ~ Stephen R Covey

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be wondering the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise, and love the interaction: I love this job.

Thank you always for your support.

How to find the best Realtor to sell your house! (Part 2)

More tips on how to avoid having this guy represent you in your next real estate transaction.

"What? Are you from not around here?  

Forget about it!"

This post is a continuation of "How to find the best Realtor: Questions to use when interviewing a real estate agent." If you haven't read that one, just click on the link above and it will set the tone for the responses below, if the cheesy image above doesn't do that already!

Q3. What is your best Marketing Plan or Strategy for My Needs?
A3.  Insert generic sales pitch here!
Your listing agent will probably say that his/her services include having your listing on MLS and on all of the popular real estate websites.  They'll do open houses, put up a sign post, do a brokers' tour, etc.  That's terrific! You want all of that.  However, it's almost impossible to list a property and NOT have all of those things happen automatically.  Those things mean that your house is on the market.  Better questions are: In a seller's market, how are you going to handle a multiple offer situation?  How will I know which offer is best for my unique circumstance? What is going to differentiate my listing from other listings that we're competing against? What is plan B if plan A doesn't work?

Your buyer's agent needs to provide responses to questions such as: Other than just looking on MLS like everyone else, how will you search for my home? Why is a buyer with multiple offers going to choose my offer or all of the others? Are we going to look at bank owned properties and short sales? Should I go looking on my own?  Should I look at properties from local builders?, etc.  Remember to ask "Why?" as often as is appropriate!  Why your agent selects one activity or strategy over another is as important as the strategy itself.  Also, listen and watch carefully.  The responses to these questions ought to be immediate and comfortable.  If your agent knows the answer AND knows why, then he or she ought to be quite comfortable explaining their responses to you.

Q4. Do you have references, testimonials, and/or reviews?
A4.  This answer needs to be a yes, even if your agent didn't bring any printed out.  They ought to be able to quickly provide this information.  Ask if you can call a reference.

Q5. What skills and traits differentiate you from other agents?
A5.  "I've been doing this a long time" doesn't necessarily mean "I've been effective and efficient for a long time"!  How many deals a year do you close?  How many with buyers and how many with sellers? Do you have a good relationship with lenders and title companies? etc.  All of these are important

Q6. May I have a copy of the documents and forms I'll be signing in advance?
A6.  This needs to be a resounding yes!  California Association of Realtors makes all of these forms available to agents in multiple formats.  You ought to be able to have them e-mailed to you, or handed to you in hard-copy.

Q7. What, if anything, haven't I asked you that I really ought to know?

A3.  Your agent should not reply with, "Well, that's pretty much it!" That answer means that you know the process as well as the agent.  The odds of a buyer or seller bringing exactly the right questions to a listing or buying presentation are very, very slim.  Your Realtor should provide additional points of view, should set explicit expectations, and ultimately needs to ask you if there's anything he or she didn't answer for you.

I'll leave you with this "Taste of Wisdom" from Dr. Wayne W. Dyer:

" The way people treat you is their Karma. The way you respond is yours" 

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

Email me at andy.blasquez@gmail.com
Click here to reach Macky Hensel.

Please Follow me on Twitter and Re-Tweet these blogs.
Please Add me as a friend on Facebook 
Finally, please comment or ask questions.  Other readers may be thinking the same thing.  I love the feedback, critical or otherwise.

Thank you always for your support.

How to find the best Realtor: Questions to use when interviewing a real estate agent.

OK, so at the end of each post, I share a "Taste of Wisdom";  a savory little morsel that I hope leaves my readers satiated and entertained. This time, however, I have put my Taste of Wisdom in the front.  You'll understand why soon enough.

A Taste of Wisdom:

"Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit. Wisdom is knowing that a tomato doesn't belong in a fruit salad."

~Miles Kington

Nobody wants to learn after they bought a house that their real estate agent was just another sales person looking for a commission.  When interviewing a Realtor, it's wise to have a list of questions to help you make your decision.  That said, I really do have to laugh a bit.  I was just ‘interviewed’ by a prospective client who, with great intentions, decided to grill me with a canned set of questions he pulled from About.com. I know for sure he’ll be laughing when he sees this blog. If I didn't know that for sure, I’d have the courtesy to camouflage this tongue-in-cheek posting.    

What can you take away from this post?  Remember that the answers you receive from different agents are circumstantial and are based on their unique situations.

Now this post would end up thousands of words long if I posted it in one fell swoop, so I think it’d be best to take it on a bite or two at a time!  I'll post more on this topic over the next few days.

 Sit back and enjoy!

Q1. How Long Have You Been in the Business?

A1. Virtually irrelevant.

In a seller’s market like today, a new agent might not yet be equipped to handle on the spot negotiation, nor will he or she have the reputation that gives listing agents and their sellers the security they are looking for to go into contract.  That said, this new agent's mentor/coach might! 

In a buyer’s market, anyone with a pulse could close a deal.  Effectively and ethically?  Of course not, but they’d be closing.

As a newby, I had the good fortune to be mentored by Macky Hensel who has decades of experience within the real estate industry; with builders, title, lenders, and in resale.  She had the care and the sense to stand very closely behind me several years ago to ensure that as a rookie a) my clients were optimally represented, and b) that I learned the lesson of the moment!  Really, the question ought not be “How long have you been in the business?”  It ought to be, “Could you please explain what makes you an effective buyer’s agent or seller’s agent?”

Q2. What is Your Average List-Price-to-Sales-Price Ratio?

A2. Huh? 

This one killed me!  First of all, if an agent knew that number…the client sure wouldn’t know what it meant. The fact that this was “interview question” number 2 of 10 on this popular site's list is…well…I'll bite my tongue. This ratio, by definition, is a function of the list price.  The listed price doesn't even guarantee that the sellers…nor the lender…nor the investment group behind the lender will accept an offer at this price!  This might sound ridiculous, but one could argue that a properties list price might as well be completely erroneous.  I can say however, with absolute certainty, that a given property will sell for exactly what the market will support, under that market condition and that seller’s unique circumstance.  They all do.

Example: I recently saw a property in the Shadow Lakes area of Brentwood. It was listed at $228,000 and closed nearly $100,000 over.  Obviously $228,000 wasn’t market value!  Why would a listing agent do that?  I’m speculating that the seller needed an immediate offer to keep a property out of auction. Then they received several offers, took the best one and closed.  AND...I could be wrong.

There are many, many strategies that agents use when choosing a listing price.  Personally, I tend to list Short Sales above comps.  "But it's a short sale!"  Yep!  If we get an offer above what comparable properties sold for, great!  If we don’t, we can lower the asking price and we've proven to the bank that we are ethical, and that our original asking price was too high.  That’s just me.  I’m not "right"…and “they” aren’t wrong. 

NEXT...if this actually mattered, wouldn't DOM or Days on Market matter too?   "What is the average number of days that your listings remain active?" After all, shouldn't agents sell homes as quickly as they can?  This sounds like a good question, right? But remember...we don't put tomatoes in a fruit salad!  Average number of days on the market is certainly knowledge, but by itself it's simply statistical data.

Lets look at homes that have been on the market for 100+ days!  In today's real estate market, virtually all of Contra Costa County has an Average Days on Market of +/- 21 days. Many properties go into contract on day 1, and some even have accepted offers on day 0. So if a property sits on the market for 139 days or 268 days, it must be overpriced…right?  UNLESS…the seller is in a position to wait for just the right buyer and he or she will only sell if a particular purchase price is reached.  In that case, Days on Market doesn’t matter; finding the right buyer does! The idea that somehow, some ridiculous ratio that agents ought to “ strive to achieve” flies in the face of ethics and economics.

More authentic points of view to come!

Until next time, and thank you in advance for remembering me when the topic of real estate arises.

Andy Blasquez ~ The last Realtor you'll ever need to look for.
DRE# 01826135

www.andyblasquez.com

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