How Much Do You Value A Free Home Warranty?

What value do we place on FREE? For the past 9 years we have placed free warranties on all the homes we list. Our team incurs the cost. In our listing presentations we highlight this feature as an added value to working with The Wells Team. We receive acknowledgment from the potential client but it does not add as much weight to their decision as we thought it would. That being said we continue to list of very high percentage of homes after giving them our marketing presentation. So here is my thought to all of the potential sellers out there: If the agent does not offer a free home warranty ask them why. If the agent offers a warranty ask about the details. Overall it is a great program as you sell your home. Looking in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier, or North Georgia area? Check out our website: www.randywellsteam.com

Questions for your real estate agent, Internet marketing.

Unless you are in a cave, with no access to technology, then you know how important the internet has become to all of us. The National Association of Realtors tells us that approximately 92% of buyers start their search on the internet. If this statistic is true then why dont potential home sellers "grill" me about my internet marketing? Here are a couple of suggestions for the home seller as you interview real estate agents. •Ask the agent how the internet marketing works. In other words when the agent inputs your home in a computer how does it appear on other websites. •What are the top websites that are being used for real estate searches? •How do I know if people are seeing my home on these top websites? •How many pictures appear on the internet? •Do you, the agent, take your own pictures or use a professional photographer? What am I doing before a listing appointment? I email one of my listings to my potential client. I send links from four major real estate websites (Trulia, zillow, realtor.com, and yahoo.com) so they can see the quality of my listings. I also email the potential client the professional virtual tour I have done on my homes. I send them links where my virtual tours are located including obeo.com and youtube.com This gives my potential clients the ability to see my product before we meet in person to discuss other details. Final word to the sellers: After you choose your real estate agent, have them send you the links to your home on the internet so you can see the finished product. I say this not to bash my fellow agents. However I am amazed on how bad some homes appear on the internet. A picture of ceiling fan, an open toilet, or a picture so dark that it is a mystery, is doing the home seller a disservice. If you find yourself in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier or North Georgia area, look us up. We are The Wells Team, www.randywellsteam.com

Sorry But You Have Closed

I write this brief blog based on my experience representing a buyer, a seller, and purchasing my own home. You close on your home, move into the home, and find a problem. What do you do? Recently I closed on a home representing the seller: The buyer had the home inspected. My seller complied with the inspection report and had items repaired. Seller provided buyer with all receipts. The buyer had concerns about the roof. My seller provided the buyer all receipts showing recent repairs. The buyer's agents did a walk through to confirm all repairs had been made. The buyers did a walk through the day of closing to check the home. Closing proceeded normally. The next day I received an email from the buyer's agent saying that the home was filthy and there appeared to be roof issues. Two weeks later I received another email from the buyer's agent showing me a roof leak in the attic. The home has closed. My seller is not under any further obligation to the buyer. My thoughts: Regardless of a proper home inspection, due diligence on the part of the buyer, and their agent, homes can still have problems. I would consider buying a warranty for the home. I would also make sure I had a very thorough home inspection. Home inspectors cannot see everything but I have seen buyers go for the lowest price inspector instead of the most experienced. My seller did not do anything to mislead the buyers. Unfortunately the buyers, and their agent, felt differently. It was a bad situation but: Sorry we have closed

IN THIS MARKET DO YOU HAVE YOUR HOME APPRAISED?

Just attended a continuing education class hosted by DS Murphy and Associates. They do appraisals, as well as, consultation appraisals. There is no doubt that the Atlanta metro market has seen a well deserving swing upwards in pricing. What that has done for homeowners is give them a sense of optimism. It has also made some homeowners revert back to unrealistic expectations. Despite the climbing prices, we are still below prices of 2007, when the market started its considerable decline. As agents we are finding ourselves in situations where the homeowners are putting our market analysis to the side. We call it yeah....but syndrome. In other words, yeah I see the market in my neighborhood BUT.....(you can fill in the blank). This might be a good time to consider having an appraisal done on your property in order to get an unbiased opinion on your homes worth. If the homeowner truly believe that his home is worth more than the market he should welcome an appraisers expert analysis. At the end of the day price still drives our North Atlanta market. If you are priced above the market, you receive less interest, and no offers. Potential buyers do not believe you are motivated to sell. The Wells Team represents our sellers to the best of our ability. That includes giving them expert market analysis. As a homeowner remember this: The real estate agents do not dictate the market If you doubt you agents price analysis then call in an appraiser. If you are in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier, or North Georgia area look us up. www.randywellsteam.com

Is There a Time Not to List Your Home???

It is that time of year when I hear the following from our clients: • Time to take my home off of the market. • Don’t want my home on the market during the holidays. • Nobody looks at homes this time of year. • I will wait until spring to relist the home. I decided to run some statistics from my home county, Dawson county. I took the two slowest back to back months and compared them to the two busiest back to back months Nov-Dec July-Aug Homes for sale Avg 267 Avg 339 Homes sold Avg 20 Avg 35 Percentage of sale/vs sold Avg 7.5% Avg 10.32% In other words a mere 3% was the difference between the busiest back to back months and the slowest back to back months. During the busiest time 3% LESS in sales would have resulted in 1.05 less homes being sold During the slowest time 3% MORE in sales would have resulted in .6 more homes being sold So what I want to convey to my clients is this: The difference between the slowest time of the year and the busiest time of the year is very small in terms of statistics. And: IF YOUR HOME IS NOT LISTED YOU HAVE A 0% CHANCE OF SELLING! If you are in the North Atlanta, Lake Lanier, North Georgia area look us up. www.randywellsteam.com

North Georgia Events for November and December

Some great local events in North Georgia. Come up and see us! www.randywellsteam.com

BACK TO OUR OLD HABITS?

My fellow real estate agents have been busy and it is a great thing to see! Unfortunately I am seeing the return of some bad habits. Specifically I refer to showing appointments and lack of feedback. My partner and I are experiencing numerous occurrences where appointments are scheduled and the agent "no shows". We understand if the agent falls behind or the buyer does not like the curb appeal of a home. However the agent needs to remember that our sellers have moved their life around in order to be out of their home for a showing. As a result my partner and I receive the honor of explaining why our sellers left their home and the home was not shown. In the past I have received mix reviews from my fellow agents regarding feedback. Some believe in it and others do not. We ask for feedback in order to give our sellers something, anything, to give them an idea on why their home is not selling. We realize that if an offer is not received the buyers are not interested. However if my sellers can make changes they are willing in order to sell. So here is what I am asking my fellow "professional" real estate agents. Communicate with sellers agents if you are not going into a home or are running excessively late Take a few minutes and give us some feedback.

PLEASE LET US SHOW THE HOME!

Too much information can be a bad thing. There are times when less is more. When it comes to the sale of your home less can be more. We have had two of our sellers learn this point the hard way. In both cases our sellers chose to stay in their home while it was being shown by a buyer’s agent. In the first case our seller spent more than two hours with the potential buyers. She earned their trust, their friendship, and probably had some influence on the buyer’s ultimate decision. Our seller told them all of the things she had done to the home, how wonderful the neighborhood was, and how happy they would be living in this home. She also said that she would offer a lot of the furniture and the golf cart as part of the negotiations. This is where the trouble began! The buyers had been interested in this home for over two years! When it appeared on the market they were ready to go. They sent us an offer. A very good price to start but......they wanted the golf cart and a lot of the furniture for free.! (Rough estimate was $15,000 in cost). Our seller was not very pleased with this initial offer. As we talked further with her she told us that their two hour meeting was productive, they had developed a friendship, and yes she had offered a lot of the items to go with the home. What she meant was that the items were for sale! Oops! In the second case our seller let the agent show their home. As he spoke with the potential buyer he mentioned that he wanted $400,000 for the home. At this time the home was listed for $469,900. The buyer interpreted this as his bottom line. However the seller meant this amount after the commissions were taken out of sale. As we received our initial offer, the buyer's agent repeated what our seller had said:"I want $400,000 out of the home". That is not exactly what our seller mean but that is how the buyer interpreted the conversation. The only thing that needs to be said in both of these incidents is the same: Please let your agents sell your home, represent you, and do the negotiating. We politely ask that you do not do our job of selling your home. In the end it opens up a lot of potential problems. Trust your agent to market your home, sell your home, and represent in the best way possible. It will be the best decision you ever make!