How can consumers be more proactive before the fire starts? By asking qualifying questions of realty agents to determine if they carry a fire extinguisher in their briefcase.
Under license law whom do you have a fiduciary responsibility to?
Ask this question the first time you speak with a real estate agent. In some areas all agents have a fiduciary responsibility to the seller under license law, even if they are working with a buyer.

In other areas unless you have a signed buyer representation, real estate inspector chicago
, agreement your agent under law must represent the seller. To add to the confusion, some states require agents to have a fiduciary responsibility to whom they bring to the transaction, be it the, real estate inspector chicago
, buyer or the seller.
How are you compensated?
The majority of agents are independent commissioned-based contractors of the brokerage with whom they’re affiliated.

Real estate commissions vary from one to ten percent and can’t be fixed under anti-trust laws. The broker through a listing agreement with a property seller is paid a commission, who compensates the buyer’s broker cooperatively. Require your agent to show you properties that offer lower than customary cooperative commissions. If you retain an agent under a buyers broker agreement, you will compensate your agent’s broker.

Brokers split their commissions with their agents usually, real estate inspector chicago
, keeping 5-50 percent for the brokerage and compensating the agent with the remainder on a sliding scale based on previous sales volume. This is known as the “commission split”. Agents can only be compensated by their broker and can’t receive compensation directly from attorney’s, home inspectors or any other non-broker under the Real Estate Settlement Act.

Do you show all available properties in the market I’m interested in?
Require your agent to show you all available properties listed by all companies. The problem with being shown only the agent’s or their companies listings is two fold. If you decide to purchase the agent’s listing, in most cases they will become under real estate license law a “dual agent”. State laws restrict what a dual agent can and can’t do for both sides in a transaction.

Dual agency benefits the agent by doubling their commission, and offers no benefits to either the seller or buyer. When you purchase a property that is listed with an agent in your agent’s office it is known, real estate inspector chicago
, as an “in-house sale”. If you can be confident that the two in-house, real estate inspector chicago
, agents are acting in their respective clients best interest and the agents are not being awarded a bonus for selling an in-house listing, than you could proceed.

Require your agent to disclose to you any property that they show you that they have an ownership interest in. Your agent should always show you For-Sale-By-Owner properties, isn’t it about your housing needs being met?
Are you a Realtorฎ?
Not all real estate agents are Realtorsฎ. Industry sources report that there are 2.6 million real estate agents nationally. Only 1.1 million are Realtorsฎ or members of the National Association of Realtorsฎ, who are required to have ethics training which defines their obligations to clients, customers, the public and other Realtorsฎ.

Working with a Realtorฎ adds another option for dispute resolution should you need it.
Have you been disciplined by your licensing authority?
All real estate agents are licensed in states where they sell property. Ask to see their current real estate license. Find out the name of the department in your state government who regulates, real estate inspector chicago
, real, real estate inspector chicago
, estate agents, go on-line to the website to look up information about your agent’s license status, including disciplinary actions.

Most brokerages require real estate agents to have errors and omission insurance, ask your agent if they are covered under this type of policy.
How long have you worked full-time in real estate?
Your home sale or purchase is one of the largest assets you own. Would you use a new or part-time accountant to fight the IRS? It takes an experienced full-time agent to be up-to-date on market inventory, documentation and property histories.

Using a rookie or part-time agent is the best way to fan any real estate transaction fire.
Will I be working exclusively with you during my property sale or search?
You want one person to assist you on all aspects of the sale or a purchase of a home. You should not get passed around from one half of a real estate team to another, to a personal assistant or a back-up agent when your agent is unavailable.

You are focused on your home search or sale and so should your real estate agent. Your agent should accompany you to all property showings, how else can they see your reactions to have knowledge of the property? If the personal assistant is assigned to do your final walk-through and didn’t attend the home inspection, they might not be prepared to assess the contractual repairs or changes in the property condition.

Always ask a potential agent if they are planning to go out of town during your purchase or sell timeline.
Will you answer all my questions truthfully?
The real estate market is not always hot, great or, real estate inspector chicago
, fabulous, real estate inspector chicago
, . And yes, sometimes there are better times than now to purchase a home. Real estate is like any other market that is based on supply and demand.

Verify all information on a property-listing sheet. Look for disclaimers on the bottom of property feature sheets that state all information is not guaranteed. Measure room dimensions; verify square footage, taxes and assessments. Agents in most states are allowed to promote or exaggerate but not intentionally mislead or lie. Whether buying or selling ask your agent what the absorption rate is for your home parameters.

This will give you an honest market indicator of what’s happening in like-kind properties. How to figure absorption rate: Example: Like kind by, real estate inspector chicago
, style, price, single-family, $200,000-$300,000, number of homes currently for sale: 100, sold last 12 months: 50, 25 sold in last 6 months: 25 sold in last 3 months: 25 months of inventory available.
Looking to buy or sell real estate soon?
Join the 85%* of real estate consumers nationally who will use a real estate agent in their next transaction.

The Internet has been a welcome resource to consumers in a business sector that has been dramatically impacted by the Internet similar to the travel industry. The Internet has removed agents from the front line of real estate consumer’s paths and the National Association of REALTORSฎ has the numbers to prove it. No longer the keepers of the home information, 74%* of all homebuyers start their search on the Internet before contacting a real estate agent.

The age of the consumer has belatedly arrived in residential real estate. Most agents work hard to qualify their clients, but the new reality is you should qualify your next real estate agent.
*2004 National Association of Realtorsฎ Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers
Mark Nash residential real estate author, broker and commentator in Chicago has been recognized by CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, Marshall Loeb’s Dow Jones CBS Market Watch and numerous national and regional journalists as the expert to turn to for real estate consumer advice.

Source: download

Mark Nash author of 1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home offers tips to simplify and focus while buying and looking for your first home.
-Hire a full time experienced real estate agent, that has been in the market for at least three years. Ask at the office or friends and relatives who they had a good experience with. Don’t use the same agent that is representing the seller of the home you want to buy, this is known as dual agency, and it doesn’t benefit anyone but the real estate agent.

-Get pre-qualified or pre-approved for a loan before you start your home search. Meeting with a mortgage lender will clarify how much your comfortable spending on a home. The rule of thumb is to keep your housing cost around one-third of your income.
-Think about resale when buying. Off-beat locations such as busy streets, corner lots, noisy trains and jets will be more difficult to sell to choosy buyers.

Buyers want quiet, middle of the block locations away from busy intersections and train tracks, both commuter and freight lines. You might get a discount when you buy for a second rate location, but it’s one thing you’ll never be able to improve.
-Don’t test the waters with low-ball offers, real estate inspector chicago
, . Good try, but low-ball price, real estate inspector chicago
, offers do more to set up an adverse relationship between buyer and seller, which, real estate inspector chicago
, could cost the buyer more in the end.

Don’t start below ninety on a well priced property. Determine negotiating strategy before putting a low-ball to paper.
-If your buying a condo or co-op consider the management style of your potential HOA (Home Owners Association). How you HOA is managed is important and could impact your ownership experience. The management could be a professional property management company or self managed. Smaller HOA’s find self-managing the day-to-day operations more cost effective and hands on.

Some potential buyer’s don’t like, real estate inspector chicago
, self managed associations because they feel it conflicts with why they are purchasing a property in a HOA, which is to compensate some one else to manage the day-to-day operations of the common elements.
-Acquire a blank copy of the local real estate contract and review before you sign one. Most local real estate boards have a form contract that has blanks for contract price, terms and conditions.

You will feel more confident if you review a real estate contract long before you are asked to sign one. Ask your real estate agent for a blank contract after your first meeting. If you have questions about the contract ask your attorney to review it with you. Review required disclosures too before signing them.
-Don’t skip performing a home inspection. Cracked heat exchangers, real estate inspector chicago
, on furnaces indicate that it’s a health issue and time for a new furnace.

Home builders, owners and developers can put in lower-quality and under-sized furnaces that can have prematurely cracked or damaged heat exchangers. If your home inspector finds one, you better plan on replacing the furnace, real estate inspector chicago
, . From a safety standpoint cracked heat exchangers emit dangerous gases into a home.
-Assess your situation before buying a new construction home.

New homes offer buyers the flexibility of changing floor plans, choosing finishes and defining a brand new space. Satisfied new construction buyers are everywhere, but their satisfaction comes from a reputable builder/developer, strong warranties and the knowledge that they won’t have to compete with the developer when they sell their home.
-Home buyers looking to purchase in over-heated markets should consider how much current prices have risen over the last year, two-years and, real estate inspector chicago
, five years.

Contrast, real estate inspector chicago
, those rates with the potential pool of buyers to pay future prices along the same rates in the same markets. Will the local economy and personal income increases support spiraling home prices? Here’s the bottom-line, are you willing to pay your projected appreciated sale price when you go to sell?
-Create independent lists of must-have home features and compare with whom ever you will buying a home with.

It can be difficult for newlyweds to find a starting point for joint home parameters. I suggest to my clients each list the top ten features they want in their next home and compare with their spouse. You should have at least five matches and less than five requires a discussion between you before you consider even looking at homes.
- Plan ahead for your move five weeks before moving day. Begin pricing and cleaning items for garage sale.

Register children in new school. Verify with insurance agent that your possessions will be covered during your move. Obtain new homeowners and automobile insurance in your destination community.
Mark Nash’s fourth real estate book, “1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home” (2005), and working as a real estate broker in Chicago are the foundation for his consumer-centric real estate perspective which has been featured on ABC-TV, CBS The Early Show, Bloomberg TV, CNN-TV, Chicago Sun Times & Tribune, Fidelity Investor’s Weekly, Dow Jones Market Watch, HGTVpro.

com, MSNBC.com, The New York Times, Realty Times, Universal Press Syndicate and USA Today.

Source: articleage.com