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Best sales agent: individual or team?

By Bernice Ross, Tuesday, October 20, 2009.

DEAR BERNICE: We have a rental house we inherited from my Mom in 2007. Our tenants just gave us notice. The market has improved enough that we would like to sell the house. We plan to fix it up and list it after the first of the year. We see a lot of advertising for a "team" in our area that seems to do a lot of business. There is another agent who seems to get her listings sold fairly quickly. Which would be better for us? We like the idea of having a group of agents working to sell our property. Can an individual agent do as good of a job as a team? --Lucille J.

DEAR LUCILLE: There's not a simple "yes" or "no" answer to your question. Most properties sell through other agents using the multiple listing service. Nevertheless, whomever you select as your listing agent must have a strong marketing plan. more...

Social media: quantity or quality?

By Bernice Ross, Monday, October 19, 2009.

Whether you are a social networking newbie or a social media maven, one of the most important decisions you will make is "quantity vs. quality."

When it comes to Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, how you decide to manage your network of contacts can have a profound influence on your business. For real estate professionals, is it best to have a huge network of friends and followers? Or is it better to focus on establishing a smaller, quality database? more...

The atypical purchase offer

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, October 15, 2009.

DEAR BERNICE: We found a house we really like -- and saw it at an open house. The agent was busy talking to another couple, so she didn't get our name and number. Can we just write an offer without an agent and have the sellers give us a 3 percent credit? --Jill S.

DEAR JILL: There are several answers to your question, depending upon the type of listing agreement the sellers have with their agent. You can certainly write an offer with or without an agent. Whether you can get a 3 percent credit, however, is an entirely different matter. more...

Mortgage qualification dos and don'ts

By Bernice Ross, Tuesday, October 13, 2009.

DEAR BERNICE: We have been saving up to buy our first home. We have a number of credit cards, some with no balance. My brother thinks it would be smart to get rid of those cards that have no balance. He claims it will make it easier for us to qualify for our loan. Is that a good idea? --Amanda S.

DEAR AMANDA: To protect yourself and to determine how much you can qualify for in terms of a loan, order a copy of your credit report. There are three primary credit reporting bureaus: Equifax, Experian and TransUnion (AnnualCreditReport.com is a service created and sponsored by these three bureaus). The law entitles you to have a free copy of your report once per year from each credit bureau. more...

Social media: faster, better, cheaper

By Bernice Ross, Monday, October 12, 2009.

If you're feeling overwhelmed with blogging, Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and hundreds of other new sites, take a deep breath and relax. Coping with today's rapidly changing social media environment is actually easier than you may realize.

A primary reason people have challenges coping with change is that they view change as "taking away." To illustrate this point, imagine yourself taking part in the following experiment: You will be pairing up with one other person in the group. Once you have found that person, you will be asked to study their appearance carefully for about a minute. more...

Breaking down buy vs. rent

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, October 8, 2009.

Americans believe in the dream of homeownership. With all the foreclosures and bankruptcies taking place, however, is it cheaper for people to rent rather than buy?

When it comes to the decision of renting vs. buying, most people make the decision based upon a comparison of monthly payments. If their rent payment is less than the payment on a home, many decide that it's cheaper to rent than to buy. This approach, however, fails to take into account a number of other factors that influence the total costs of homeownership, rather than just the monthly payments. more...

5 reasons your home hasn't sold

By Bernice Ross, Tuesday, October 6, 2009.

Flickr image by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/clearlyambiguous/167369474/in/photostream/" target=blank>Clearly Ambiguous</a>.

You listed your house at the price that your Realtor suggested. You have staged the house and it looks like a showcase. There have been no offers and only one or two showings. What could the problem be?

Usually, when a house doesn't sell, it's due to one of five things: price, accessibility, condition, location, and/or marketing. more...

Climbing the real estate search ladder

By Bernice Ross, Monday, October 5, 2009.

How Google and other search engines determine Web rankings is a mystery. Nevertheless, there are specific steps you can take to help you obtain better search-engine placement.

In a recent article, I suggested that it was smart for agents to obtain URLs for their Web site such as WilshireHighriseCondos90024.com or AustinTexas78757LakesideHomes.com.

One of our readers commented that this couldn't possibly be a good idea since no one could remember those addresses. The point in using this approach is to capitalize on how people actually conduct searches using what is known as the "long tail" of search. more...

The jumbo loan mod 'pipe dream'

By Bernice Ross, Friday, October 2, 2009.

DEAR BERNICE: I received an unsolicited loan modification letter from my lender in December, informing me that pursuant to my lender's acceptance of TARP funds, our jumbo option adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) was eligible for modification. Our loan had NEVER been paid late and was not in danger of default. Nevertheless, based on income declines of 35 percent in our household, our hardship is real.

We filled out the mountainous paperwork and provided tax returns and every other item they requested. We sent everything to the bank the first week of January. In February, they requested two more documents that we sent the same day.

On March 12, 2009, we received a letter congratulating us on "taking the first steps to save your home." more...

Don't give up on your home

By Bernice Ross, Wednesday, September 30, 2009.

Flickr photo by <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/bixentro/1354564574/">bixentro</a>.

DEAR BERNICE: I had an interest-only jumbo loan fixed at 6.125 percent for five years. It was scheduled to readjust in 2011. I lost my job about five years ago when the company I worked for went bankrupt.

Due to my age and the nature of my job, it's highly improbable that I will be reemployed, so I started my own business. My business is growing but not yet profitable. I've been using our savings and my 401(k) to offset living and business expenses.

I would like to stay in my home but can no longer make the payments, so I applied for a loan modification directly with my lender. The lender stalled for six months and finally, after calling them repeatedly, I was told that my application was denied. The reason, I was told, is that I have too much equity in my home. more...

Bridging real estate's generational gap

By Bernice Ross, Monday, September 28, 2009.

Are you still proclaiming that you are "the local real estate expert"? If so, you may be surprised about how few people actually give a hoot.

According to the National Association of Realtors, approximately 50 percent of real estate Web leads go unanswered. The reason is twofold. First, Web leads often expect instantaneous response. Second, they may take months of intensive follow-up before they will contact you to do business. more...

Short sales, mods give investors grief

By Bernice Ross, Friday, September 25, 2009.

DEAR BERNICE: I have two investment properties in Hawaii. I paid $500,000 for them and now they're worth $725,000 ($350,000 and $375,000). I owe about $379,000 on one and $399,000 on the other. The rental income has gone way down (from $6,500 per month to $3,500 per month.) The dues are very high. Do you suggest trying to do a short sale or should I go for a loan modification? --Rich S.

DEAR RICH: To obtain a short sale, you generally have to demonstrate hardship. Since these are both investment properties, it's highly unlikely that you will get a loan modification from a lender. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, less than 3 percent of all applicants are approved for a loan modification. more...

$8,000 tax credit set to expire

By Bernice Ross, Tuesday, September 22, 2009.

Time's a ticking on the $8,000 first-time homebuyer tax credit. Don't wait -- this opportunity will pass you by if you don't close on your new property before Dec. 1, 2009.

Part 1 of this series discussed the advantages of buying now rather than waiting. One of the best reasons for buying now is the $8,000 tax credit. Here are some of the requirements to take advantage of this great program.

1. Who qualifies as a first-time homebuyer?
For the purposes of the $8,000 credit, it is a buyer who has not owned a principal residence for a three-year period prior to purchase. more...

Facebook dos and don'ts for agents

By Bernice Ross, Monday, September 21, 2009.

Are you making the most out of the new technologies in your real estate business? If not, check out these tips from Real Estate Connect San Francisco.

Parts 1 and 2 of this series outlined best practices for using the Web and the social media in your real estate business. Today's column looks specifically at best practices for Facebook.

1. The 95-5 Rule
Regardless of which social media platform you use, your ultimate goal is to engage in conversations that lead to online friendships or that produce followers for your business. more...

A real estate window of opportunity

By Bernice Ross, Thursday, September 17, 2009.

If you are a first-time buyer who has been trying to decide whether to buy your first home, this could be the right time for you. There is a window of opportunity that may be closing soon for some buyers, and here are just a few indications of how the market may be properly aligned for you right now:

1. The lowest interest rates since the 1950s
Interest rates are close to all-time lows, hovering in the mid-5 percent range. When I started in the real estate business in 1978, interest rates were 9.75 percent and soon hit 10 percent. During the 1980s downturn they jumped as high as 21 percent. In the early 1990s they reached 12 percent. more...

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