Updated: Tuesday, December 1, 2020
Five Questions for a Fresh Seller Perspective
In this time of supreme uncertainty, how can sellers decide whats the best thing to do now or next with their real estate?
Real estate sellers are trying to guess what the future holds as much as everyone else:
When they are wrong, sellers may put their home and other real estate at risk.
When they are right, sellers may add wealth and security.
Talking to local real estate professionals has always been a great way for sellers to start when charting plans for the future. This is still a good launching pad, even when no one, including professionals, currently knows what is coming next. However:
Real estate professionals have the facts about what has happened locally since March 2020 and what was going on before that.
Choose the right real estate professional and youve found someone who is well-connected locally and through the industry to ensure you learn about current key trends in time to take advantage of them.
Real estate professionals are committed to filtering pressures and impact of the pandemic and other social and economic changes through their real estate lens to make sense for each individual property owner-client.
Five Questions for a Fresh Seller Perspective on NOW amp; NEXT
Aim to achieve clarity about what you can live with and without.
1.nbsp; What can you see ahead?
Project and expect the worstWhat exactly would that mean to you?or project and expect the bestHow could that materialize for you? Your choice.
In your world, you control some things and not others. Direct your future where you have more control and the outcome may involve more of what youd favor, but it may also be more of the same. Select a path less traveled, with a move outside your comfort zone, and risks may increase, but benefits may also take a giant step forward.
Your attitude and stage of life determine what the future holds for you. Glass-half-full thinkers may look for some good to come out of the pandemics interruption of life and career; glass-half-empty thinkers may concentrate on what has been lost or disrupted so looking forward may mean settling for less. Couples have the potential to complement each other with their attitudes and recovery strategies. What would you like to see ahead? What steps can you take in that direction?
2. How will you emerge financially from the pandemic?
Even if youve managed to hold onto status quo through the pandemic, theres no guarantee that will continue. Those whove had a tough haul so far may find things leveling off. Regardless of your path to date, it may be too soon to forecast how youll emerge financially. If pressures mount, ask your real estate professional and your financial advisor how selling nowbefore the pandemic is overmight improve your financial situation and life>
Your biggest financial asset may be your earning ability. Post-pandemic job security and business sustainability may not yet be evident. Dramatic change is to be expected in some areas and industries. The restaurant, hospitality, and travel industries were hard-hit by the pandemic while other sectors thrived or at least chugged on. Which industries does your earning power revolve around? Can online learning top-up your earning credentials?
Select your own track. Sellers who chose to live near their workplace and, thanks to telecommuting, will no longer need to, may consider a move. Those who are making a life>
You may repeatedly change your mind about the next step as the nature of the pandemic alters in your area. Taking time to see where things are headed before you plunge into the market may be wise. Reversing real estate decisions is much more difficult than making them in the first place.
3. How will you stay safe in the meantime?
One great way to get a fresh look at your real estate, is to try and get out of your home in less than 2 minutes. Have you planned a fire-escape route lately? Do you know at least two ways out of each room and from each level? In planning a 2-minute fire-escape route, youll see how well spaces work and dont. This intimate exploration will help you decide whether this is the ideal place to live or not.
Cooking, a popular Covid activity, is also the number one cause of home fires. As the holiday season approaches with its candles and inflammables, and colder weather drives us inside, fire safety becomes an even more significant issue.
With a safety overview in mind, take a long hard look at your home and what needs to be done to ensure it is safe and comfortable. Even if your last renovation was fairly recent, there can be things that need attention or repair.
nbsp;House Fires: Less Than Two Minutes To Survivenbsp;
nbsp;Is a Silent Killer Lurking?nbsp;
How your community manages Covid-19 outbreaks is vital to your safety. How well do available medical and hospital capacities serve the population?
4. Will your pre-Covid home suit your post-Covid life>
What issues does that question bring to mind? Covid-19 has irreversibly changed some lives, but not others. The pandemic has altered many aspects of life temporarily and just as many permanently. Normal is being redefined.nbsp;
What do you want to return to and what would you like to improve on? As you flesh out this exploration to see if a move makes sense, consider the full cost of owning and maintaining your current property and the complete cost of moving not me>
5. How quickly can you react?
If you suddenly had a good reason to selllike a red-hot market or a distant job offerhow quickly could you get your home listed and on the market to earn top dollar? If there is a dramatic market change due to the pandemic, sellers may have to react quickly or be left behind.
Do you have a real estate professional who you continue to work with or will you have to interview to find a compatible match?
How ready is your home? Is it a cosmetic do-over or major make-over that will be required to earn top dollar?
Do you understand what you would net from the sale of your property? Would it be enough to acquire your desired next home or to finance your next venture?
Have you researched the practicality of purchasing or renting your next desired home? Low listing inventories are common in this stay-at-home time.
Talk to your real estate professional to determine who will buy your home. Whos the target buyer for your neighborhood and type of property? Once you learn how your real estate would fare in the current local market, take an equally-detailed look at what choices you have for your next home.
Keep in mind that an ideal market for selling may not be an ideal market for buying the particular type and value of real estate youre interested in. For instance, low inventory of listings may inflate your sale price, but when youre the buyer there may not be much to choose from.
Your home may sell very quickly, so make sure you have all the choice you need for your next purchase before you sell.
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Can You Negotiate a Real Estate Commission?
In a real estate transaction, there are typically three main parties involved. There are the real estate agent, the buyer and the seller. The takeaway for the agent is a commission, but many people experience confusion about things like how much it is and how its paid. They also wonder if they can negotiate a commission.
What is a Typical Commission?
Most people think theres a standard percentage across real estate for commissions. There isnt a fixed price. There is an average prevailing fee in most states thats around 6 of the final sales price of a home, however. If an agent sells land, they may get a higher commission of anywhere from 10 to 20 because it takes more time and a larger marketing budget to sell land.
The seller of a property is typically the one who pays a commission. It goes to the listing agent, and then the listing agent gives a portion to the agent representing the buyer. The home buyer doesnt pay anything.
Most real estate agents only work on commission and dont earn a base salary.
So what it might look like if you were to sell a 200,000 home is that the listing agent would charge a 12,000 fee. That would be a 6 commission. Then, they would split that with the buyers agent, so the agent representing the buyer gets 6,000, and the listing agent gets 6,000.
Then the agent has to share part of that 3 with their brokerage office. Sometimes that amount could be as high as 40 of the 3.
Agents also pay for a lot out of the fee, including their marketing and insurance costs. Commissions are paid at the time the title transfers for the home.
Can a Seller Negotiate?
Legally, a commission is negotiable. However, sellers have to be careful here. While an agent might be willing to negotiate in certain circumstancesfor example, the property is high-end or it may help them break into a great neighborhood, in many cases, they wouldnt be.
If a real estate agent is too willing to settle for a lower commission for seemingly no reason, you have to think about how their negotiation skills will look later on when theyre working on a deal for you.
The entire goal of hiring a real estate agent is to get the best price for your home, along with the best terms. A real estate agent who quickly agrees to take a lower commission may not achieve those goals. Also, the marketing costs will come from that commission, so in taking a lower fee, will the agent be cutting corners on their efforts to advertise your home?
Its not unusual for an agent to be unwilling to negotiate their commission simply because they dont have to. They may be so busy that theres no reason for them to take a lower commission. They can simply move onto other sellers.
What if the Same Agent is Handling Selling and Buying?
If youre going to sell your home and then the same agent will help you buy another one, they earn both commissions. Its possible that you could get a discount in this situation, but again, maybe not. Both transactions are separate from one another, and both require their own work. It doesnt matter to the agent if the seller and buyer are the same people because the workload would be the same as if they were different people.
What if the same agent represents you and the buyer?
This is a situation known as dual agency, but not all states allow this.
In this case, if its legal, an agent could earn the listing and selling fees. You might ask a listing agent if they will lower their commission fees, although again, theres no obligation on the part of the agent.
While negotiating is possible for real estate commissions, its not always the best idea nor will it always result in a discount for you as a seller.
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6 Reasons to Adopt a Green Lifestyle
According to the United Nations, a whirlwind of issues, many of which are likely caused by man, threaten to harm our precious Earth in irreversible ways. From greenhouse gas emissions to air pollution, deforestation, and issues with water and waste, the human impact on our planet has become real. And if we dont change, we face both unintended and potentially permanent consequences.
According to most experts, the biggest issue we face is climate change. Although the Earths temperature has ebbed and flowed throughout the course of history, some evidence suggests human activity is altering its natural path.
While some environmental changes can be easily explained, much of the evidence for climate change is compelling. According to NASA, global sea levels are rising faster than in recorded history and global temperatures are surging, with 15 of the 16 hottest years in history taking place since 2001. Ocean temperatures continue to rise while artic sea ice retreats. Decreased snow cover, ocean acidification, and global weather events provide even more proof our planet is changing.
Fortunately, there is plenty anyone can do to change the course of history. If youre losing sleep over environmental issues, you can do more than worry you can act. With the introduction of new technologies and new, Earth-friendly products, its easier to go green than ever before.
You cant change the planet on your own, but you can take steps to reduce your environmental footprint, limit waste, and create a sustainable life>
Why Go Green?
When you think of going green or adopting an Earth-friendly life>
Those ideas probably make you chuckle, and thats okay. The good news is, you dont have to be a radical or drastically change your life to help the planet or reduce your impact. When it comes to going green this is one of the biggest misconceptions we face. Many families assume they must uproot their lives or make huge changes to reduce their impact on the planet.
And even once you get past the stigma, youll also find that far too many people overestimate the costs of caring for the environment. Maybe they read how expensive going green can be in the past. Or, perhaps they just wrongly assume any potential changes they could make would be expensive.
Regardless of what youve read or heard, taking steps to help our planet doesnt have to break the bank. For every costly change you make, there are several Earth-friendly alternatives that are 100 percent free
Well get to some of those steps in a minute. But first, lets talk about why. Why should you care about the Earth? Why should you take steps to change? Further, why should you spend your own money going green?
Believe it or not, embracing a greener life>
Here are six of the most important reasons you should adopt a green life>
Reason 1: This is the only planet well ever have.
The top reason to go green is an obvious one; planet Earth is our only home. If we spoil our planet, we cant move to Jupiter or Mars and start over.
Reason 2: Real food is better for you.
The big benefit here is that most Earth-friendly foods are also foods that are good for you. Fresh vegetables and fruits farmed locally are some of the best foods you can find, for example.
Reason 3: Some green technologies can help you save money.
While its commonly believed that going green is crazy-expensive, this is no longer the case. Even energy-efficient LED lightbulbs, which are somewhat expensive upfront, will help you save money on your home energy bills over time. Meanwhile, the price of newer technologies like solar panels continues to decrease every year.
Reason 4: Going green can increase your homes value.
Adding energy-efficient appliances or upgrades to your home will help you save money over the long run. And since buyers love the idea of saving on utilities and energy, you can increase your homes value and fetch a higher sales price, too.
Reason 5: We need water to live.
If you dont care about the health of our water, youre forgetting one crucial detail: We need water to live. As humans, we cannot afford to ignore the health of our water supply.
Reason 6: Green living is often more humane
As the scientific journal Nature noted earlier this year, human diets are directly linked to the health of our planet. More than anything else, a vegetarian or mostly-vegetarian diet is the best way for humans to reduce carbon emissions and stop global warming.
For more great tips on green living, check out "The Ultimate Guide to Cheap Green Living" on couponchief.com.
Michael Tamez is a certified eco-consultant who shares tips, tools and strategies for green living on his website, MichaelTamez.com.
Jeff Wilson has hosted over 200 television episodes on environmental topics for HGTV, The DIY Network, and public television. He currently writes over at The Greenhouse Effect and you can find him on Twitter tgheffect.
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