It’s easy to use the Internet to market and sell your Real Estate.

Be brave and set the asking price. You see the seller has always been the one to determine what their property is worth.

Don’t be afraid!  Most Sellers know exactly what their property is worth, especially the sellers of owner-occupied properties. Long before the Internet, most sellers were aware of what’s going on around the area and what’s been sold and for how much.  Sellers usually know the area property history better than most realtors.

Now with the Internet, it is so easy to pull up your area and see where your property fits into the local marketplace. Sites such as www.googlebase.com and www.trulia.com have everything most people need to use for comparable properties.

 Be careful not to use automatic price values that are available on many of the Internet sites.  Sites such Zillow publish what they refer to as a Zestimate of value but these values can range by a ridiculous amount of money, often ($200,000.) several hundred thousand dollars and more.

If you actually are unsure of where you property fits into the market, simply review the information on the Internet about what is for sale and what has recently sold in your particular area for similar properties.  Where you fit into the local market is actually the key to the pricing process.  Separate the other properties into two categories:  1) the properties that are just a little better than yours; and 2) the properties that are not quite as good as yours.  Your property is in between these two groups and so should your price.

Yes there are exceptions to this and every rule but almost always a quick look at similar properties that are for sale and similar ones that have sold recently and it will be fairly easy to figure out the pricing.

If a seller it truly baffled on pricing, an appraiser can always be hired or consider paying a local real estate agent $100.00 to perform a current market analysis. Let them know that you are self-marketing and that you want to pay for their services. They will invariably try to talk you out of self-marketing but your honesty will go far and perhaps they will be back with the buyer you are looking for.

 

 

How to use to Internet to sell your real estate and save thousands of dollars in commissions

The vast majority of buyers are searching the Internet to find the real estate they are looking for. The figure keeps changing but somewhere between 85 to 90% of all buyers use the Internet as their main tool for property search.

In these economically challenging times most professional real estate offices (including the large national franchises) have cut way back on their budgets for print advertising in the newspapers. In real estate offices this is known as a BLACKOUT on advertising and it is happening all over the country.

The other reason why real estate agents and offices heavily utilize the Internet is because it costs next to nothing and it works! Plan and simple it works.

The Internet has changed the way real estate is marketed forever and agents have accepted it. Print advertising is extremely expensive and the Internet has now made print advertising passé.

This is not a bad thing. Agents place their efforts and energy on what works and now so can you!

Right now is the perfect time for the average home seller to learn this truth and use the Internet to sell their property without the expense of a listing real estate agent.

One of the best-kept secrets around is that for peanuts and very little effort, sellers can put their property on the Internet without an agent or a real estate broker.

If you have a digital camera and have ever used or seen Ebay then you can figure out how to post your property on the Internet. It’s that easy. Fill in the blanks, download some pictures and your property is out there for the world to see.

 

Oh sure, you are comfortable with the Internet. Maybe you have sold a car on it or have bought and sold other items on Ebay or Craig’s List. Or perhaps you are quite leading edge using all the latest technology. But this is real estate and it all seems a bit complicated. What about all the other steps that are involved in the real estate transaction?

 

Relax! This is not rocket science and most professionals in the real estate business are not scientists.

 

Use of the following 12 steps and it will make your transaction very manageable.

 

THE12 PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL INTERNET REAL ESTATE SELLING is not only a guide for using the Internet to sell real estate online but also a formula for protecting and securing the seller throughout the entire transaction.

 

1. Be brave and set the price. The seller always has
2. You must perform all inspections before you market the property
3. Honestly represent the exact nature and condition of the property
4. Hire an Attorney. Do it early on in the sales process
5. Get proof of insurance from everyone
6. Anything you say can and will be used against you. So zip it!
7. You need to cooperate with and pay buyer’s brokers and agents
8. You can sell directly to buyers without an agent. If they don’t have one
9. Online advertising is cheap
10. Showings are easy
11. Be effective and follow up
12. All information concerning the property becomes the property of the property

 

If sellers will follow these principles they can sell their real estate online with the confidence that they can accomplish this important transaction from beginning to end.

For a full explanation on each of the 12 PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL ONLINE PROPERTY SELLING go to http://www.askjamesjoseph.com for your free copy.

In my new book REAL ESTATE 3G. HOW TO USE THE INTERNET TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY AND SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN COMMISSIONS I explain many of the changes and conflicts of interests that take place and have a negative impact on the sellers of real estate and how so many Realtors are actually counterproductive and harmful to the Seller’s cause.

I have more than 25 years experience in the Real Estate Industry as a Broker, Builder, Developer and Investor. I have bought and sold many, many properties directly without the use of MLS or listing Realtors. In fact I have sold entire subdivisions with very little involvement from the Realtor community and I can show you how to use the Internet to sell your property without wasting your money on a listing Realtor.

Sellers do not need the negative outdated services of listing real estate agents. I will show you how to work directly with buyers and cooperate with the type of agents that are entirely worthwhile, the buyer’s agents.

 My mission is to bring about the needed changes in this industry and reestablish control for the Sellers once more by educating sellers and coaching them on how to perform the simple steps that are involved in selling.

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the Internet Sellers do not Need Listing Realtors

Because of the equal access to most Internet sites sellers of real estate do not need the costly, conflicting and ineffective services of a listing realtor.

The posting and sharing of information about your real estate on the Internet is easy and usually free. There are so many different sites a seller can and should place their property on. Even online Internet newspaper advertising is dirt cheap and affordable by any seller.

So much has changed over the last 10 to 20 years that it is now possible for anyone to effectively sell property over the Internet. The days are long gone when Realtors had complete control over the sales process. The National Association or Realtors has struggled to maintain this stronghold over the marketplace but the free exchange of information over the Internet has made this goal completely futile. With the only exception of access to the Multiple Listing Service everything has changed as a result of the Internet and bigger and better changes are still to come that will completely change the entire sales process even more. With or with out the blessing from the Realtor community change is coming to be sure.

Gone are the days when Realtors had the only access to listing information. The Multiple Listing Service use to print weekly books that only Realtors had copies of. This assured Realtors that buyers and sellers had to seek out information from a Realtor. Now the information is just a click away.

The National Association just cost the taxpayers of this country million of dollars in their failed attempt to limit equal access to virtual real estate offices. This failure only highlights the need for an open MLS structure.

The National Association of Realtors last bastion of control remains in their control and limits they impose on the Multiple Listing Service. This too shall change. The Internet and fresh ideas for its use will enable these changes for the better.

 

 

The Internet has provided so many positive changes for our lifestyle. The way we sell real estate is one of them and this process is still in flux. Although the National Association of Realtors still limits access and controls the Multiple Listing Service, there is now so many other alternative Internet websites that a seller can use to sell that are easy and quite often free. Selling your own real estate over the Internet without using a listing Realtor is not only completely possible now, but it will get even better in the near future with fresh ideas that will change everything.

 

In my new book LISTING REALTORS ARE OBSOLETE. USE THE INTERNET TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY AND SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN COMMISSIONS I explain many of the changes and conflicts of interests that take place and have a negative impact on the sellers of real estate and how so many Realtors are actually counterproductive and harmful to the Seller’s cause.

I have more than 25 years experience in the Real Estate Industry as a Broker, Builder, Developer and Investor. I have bought and sold many, many properties directly without the use of MLS or listing Realtors. In fact I have sold entire subdivisions with very little involvement from the Realtor community and I can show you how to use the Internet to sell your property without wasting your money on a listing Realtor.

Sellers do not need the negative outdated services of listing Realtors. I will show you how to work directly with buyers and cooperate with the type of Realtors that are entirely worthwhile, the buyer’s Realtors. My 12 PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL ONLINE PROPERTY SELLING is available online for free at http://www.AskJamesJoseph.com so be sure to get your free copy.

My mission is to bring about the needed changes in this industry and reestablish control for the Sellers once more by educating sellers and property owners how to perform many of the simple steps to selling on their own.

 

 

Real Estate Sellers Should Never Negotiate a Verbal Offer

  

Under no circumstances should a real estate seller ever negotiate a verbal offer. It does not matter who is presenting the offer to purchase, a verbal offer should be avoided at all costs. If a verbal offer is passed along to a seller by the way of a Realtor, shame on the Realtor. Whether it is a buyer’s Realtor of the seller’s Realtor they should know better than to place a Seller in such a bad negotiating position. Steer clear of professionals that practice such poor behavior.

 

Included in a written Offer to Purchase should be the complete terms of the sale. Many of these items are potentially critical and all of them are entirely negotiable by the Seller.

 

Minimally an offer to purchase real estate should contain:

• Total price

• Deposit amounts
• Additional deposits and dates
• Identify holder of deposit money
• Contingencies
  • Financing amount and when obtained
  • Inspections and when preformed
  • Who pays for inspections
  • Permits or approvals
  • Who pays for permits and approvals
• Commission amounts
• Who pays for commissions
• What’s included in sale (what goes & what stays)
• Time allowed to meet contingencies
• Conflict remedies
• Special provisions
• Closing transaction date
• Location of closing
• Identification of property
• Date

 

By negotiating a verbal offer the seller is placed in two very bad situations.

First the buyer is talking (remember talk is cheap) one sidedly about the price without making an actual commitment because there does not exist deposit money from the buyer at this point to bind the outcome of the discussions. Everything that has been spoken of can change on a simple whim.

Secondly and more importantly a buyer can pick apart a seller and take extreme advantage of the seller by negotiating piece meal, one item at a time. Sellers need to see the entire proposal in order to make a good decision and prevent being taken advantage of.

By working verbally a seller could find themselves in a position where they are all excited by concentrating solely about the price only to be disappointed weeks later by any of the other sales terms. Perhaps a seller finds out much later on in the process that the buyers have a house to sell or that the buyers need the seller to carry a second mortgage in order to obtain the necessary financing. It could even be something strange like the buyers want the house to come fully furnished. With the exception of price all of the other many important terms have been left wide open because the complete sale specifications were not in print from the very beginning.

The point is the seller cannot be sure what the terms of an agreement are and they do not know what can unexpectedly appear later on because they were not spelt out early on in the negotiations. 

 

In order to have a clear meeting of the minds, there needs to be a complete understandings from both side of all the agreed upon terms. An offer to purchase needs to be in writing, contain all the necessary terms of agreement and contain a good faith binding deposit.

If you are self marketing do not fall into the verbal offer trap. Accept and discuss only what is in writing and is accompanied by a deposit. Remember that if you are unclear about what any of the terms of the sale are you need to definitely seek out legal advice before you sign.

 

 

 In my new book LISTING REALTORS ARE OBSOLETE. USE THE INTERNET TO SELL YOUR PROPERTY AND SAVE THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS IN COMMISSIONS I explain many of the changes and conflicts of interests that take place and have a negative impact on the sellers of real estate and how so many Realtors are actually counterproductive and harmful to the Seller’s cause.

I have more than 25 years experience in the Real Estate Industry as a Broker, Builder, Developer and Investor. I have bought and sold many, many properties directly without the use of MLS or listing Realtors. In fact I have sold entire subdivisions with very little involvement from the Realtor community and I can show you how to use the Internet to sell your property without wasting your money on a listing Realtor.

Sellers do not need the negative outdated services of listing Realtors. I will show you how to work directly with buyers and cooperate with the type of Realtors that are entirely worthwhile, the buyer’s agents. My 12 PRINCIPLES FOR SUCCESSFUL ONLINE PROPERTY SELLING is available online for free at http://www.AskJamesJoseph.com so be sure to get your free copy.

My mission is to bring about the needed changes in this industry and reestablish control for the Sellers once more by educating sellers and property owners how to perform many of the simple steps to selling on their own.

 

 

 

Real Estate Marketing Advice: Showing your property is really not that hard. The R/E Maven

 

 

“Do you have, and will you devote the necessary time for the marketing and showings?”

 

“Will you be available for showings at the convenience of the buyer instead of only at your convenience?”

 

These are two questions that a Realtor recently addressed to For Sale by Owners (FSBO’s) in a recent article.

 

I don’t get it!  You see most sellers already do devote the time, lots of time in the showing process. Who does this Realtor thinks puts in all the time necessary to keep the property clean and presentable? With or without a real estate agent it is and has always been the seller and not the Realtor that puts in countless hours to keep the property in showing condition.

 

Will the seller be available for showings at the convenience of the buyers? Again the seller already performs this duty. Unless the property is vacant and on a lockbox, the seller is and always has been included in the scheduling process for a showing and is inconvenienced at the agent’s direction.

Furthermore if you want to sell your property it is a quality problem to have that is created when a buyer wants to come and see the real estate. Show and sell.

 

The time it takes to self-market a property is mostly upfront. Placing the property information and pictures online does require some time and effort but after the first one is completed most people will find that it is just a simple case of repetition. What’s an evening or two in front of the computer if the effort is well rewarded with better control, better market coverage and the savings of thousands of dollars in commissions?

 

 

Realtors like to pretend that showing are complicated and can create more of a hassle than they are worth for the seller to perform themselves. The simple truth is that sellers are already involved in the showing process, heavily involved. Who puts in all the time and effort to keep the property clean and presentable? I assure you it is not the Realtor.

Real Estate Marketing Advice: Realtor sinks to new low! The R/E Maven

 

 

I was surprised by the comments a Realtor recently made in an article about FSBO’s in the question and answer section of www.trulia.com. What was particularly bothersome in the article was the Realtors use of scare tactics.

The Realtor questioned whether a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) female would be prepared to have someone else around, at a moments notice, to help with security during a showing.

This Realtor did give equal billing to the men by also questioning the comfort and security a male would feel about allowing strangers into the home?

Is this a new low point in the need for Listing Realtors to maintain or justify their necessity?

The fact is that most Realtors are in fact females. Are they so concerned about being accompanied by others during a showing that they refuse to perform showings if a suitable person cannot be found?

What about lock boxes? Realtors have relied upon these for years. The use of a lockbox almost guarantees that only strangers will enter the property and this will take place when there is not a soul to watch over the real or personal property.

Let’s face it showing your home is an imposition but a very necessary one in order to secure a buyer. There is no other alternative. Buyers need to enter and see.

So according to the Realtor/Author of the original article, he or she feels that the female Realtors do not need to worry about their security and can be unaccompanied with buyers but the female property owner is running a greater risk.

And the security of the male is also a problem.

The world is full of dangerous people and I do think everyone needs to take precautions and have a back up plan if possible. Simple steps such as requiring a buyer to register and then following up with a phone call or email to verify the information is a wise move.

Questioning where a buyer currently lives or works and if the buyer intends to bring along their partner (how is that for politically correct) or children is always appropriate.

But if you decide to list your property for sale with a Realtor just because of scare tactics like this then you might as well stop the mail, UPS or even the oil delivery from coming.

Remember showing do not have to occure on a moments notice. By appointment is a usual and customary situation for showings.

 

 

Realtor attempts to justify usefulness by using scare tactics on For Sale By Owners (FSBO). The truth is most property is shown and seen by complete strangers. Cooperating agents (buyer’s agents) in most cases have never been to a property before.

Simple measures can be taken to gain security in showing your own property.