Seven Real Estate Truths

1.  Having an agent represent you has its advantages:

Professional representation...We are your personal representative and we are required by law to represent your best interests to the best of our ability.

Personal specialists… it’s similar to hiring an accountant to help you file income taxes or a mechanic to fix your car.  If you had the time to master those specialties, you would be doing your own taxes and fixing your car.  But who has that sort of time?  Besides, most people will sell only two homes in their lifetime – two real estate transactions in a lifetime will not turn anyone into a real estate specialist.

Objectivity… our job is to point out all the pros and cons for all the decisions you will be making throughout the home-selling process.  We will even tell you things you may not want to hear because as your agent, we want you to make informed decisions, not emotionally-based decisions.

Convenience… these days, it’s nearly impossible to sell a home all by yourself without it turning into a part-time job.

2.  Not all real estate professionals are REALTORS^®. Only licensed real estate agents who are members of the National Association of REALTORS can call themselves REALTORS^®.  REALTORS^® are committed to treat all parties honestly – they subscribe to a strict code of conduct and are required to maintain a high level of real estate standards.  It is to your advantage to work with a REALTOR^® because of the training and standards this professional designation requires.

3.  The price of your home should be based on the price of sold properties in your area rather than the list price of properties now on the market - this is how we establish your home's fair market value.

If it's priced OVER its fair market value it will...

Not attract many buyers because they'll think it's out of their price range. Take longer to sell. Make competing properties look good. Become "shopworn". Be overpriced in everyone's mind (agents and buyers) and they tend to forget. Cause you to lose valuable time and miss out on buying your dream home. Cause advertising dollars and marketing efforts to be wasted. Cause negotiations to stall. Cause appraisal problems. End up selling below market value in order to make up for all of the above.

4.  Research conducted by the National Association of Realtors shows that more buyers purchase their properties at fair market value - not above it.  The percentage of buyers increases even more when the price drops below fair market value.

5.  The fair market value of your home is determined by the market - that is, what today's buyers are willing to pay.  Buyers are comparing your home to other homes now on the market.  They don't care about:

6.  Your home generates the most interest in the real estate community and among potential buyers during the first 30 days it is on the market.  If it is not properly placed during this time, we miss out on this peak level of interest.

7.  Ads are not very effective for selling real estate.  Data compiled in 2003 by the National Association of Realtors showed that buyers first learned about the home they purchased from:

Real Estate Agent	41%	Builder	7%
Yard Sign	16%	Knew the Seller	4%
Internet	11%	Home book or magazine	1%
Newspaper Ad	7%	Other	6%
Friend, relative or neighbor	7%