Hat tip to Ryan the appraiser for his great tips on how to use comps today. It's a real problem when we have a hot 1st quarter and then sellers and listing agents want to use those comps for the rest of the year like they are hard facts on what a home is worth today:...
The somewhat-stagnant marketplace should get interesting in the second half of the year. Buyers will sense an opportunity to make aggressive offers, and they might waive all contingencies to help offset their lower price. Can they still cancel the deal later? Q. If a...
These were my notes that expand on the previous blog post. This is the Market Lull. It’ll go for at least another month or two and for many it might last until January. Hardly anyone knows what to do. Buyers don’t mind waiting longer - they keep hoping that something...
Every year, there are new laws/rules plus other changes that realtors need to know. Yesterday was the annual review by Gov Hutchinson, the assistant general counsel for the California Association of Realtors. Gov has been with C.A.R. since 1985 and manages C.A.R.'s...
A reader asked about my thoughts on becoming a realtor today - my response: I'll start with the basics to see what you think. Being a real estate licensee is one thing. Being a successful salesperson is something different, and what I'll address here. Sales has its...
The California Association of Realtors had to re-write a few of their new forms in order to comply with the DOJ critique. These revised forms get released tomorrow, and they will probably help chart the final path for buyer-agents. There are two noteworthy points in...
Hat tip to Carl Streicher, mortgage broker, for sending over this handy chart on allowable concessions, also known as seller contributions. This is how the buyer-agent commission can be included as a part buyer's mortgage package, even if the seller didn't sign the...
This business used to be civil. It was probably obvious that the contracts were drawn up by the realtor attorneys to protect realtors, but there were adequate protections for buyers and sellers too. This commission lawsuit has changed everything, and now they only...
Due to expected scrutiny from the DOJ, the California Association of Realtors has abandoned buyers, and the buyer-agents. If a listing agent wants to include paying an incentive to buyer-agents, not only do they have to convince a seller that it's a good idea, but...
