Posts tagged: properties in dubai

What a better time to think of value in residential real estate than in the present challenging times. Most are still wondering if the projections of a turn around in the current marketplace are just fiction or truth. Five steps forward and two back, then three forward and three back. So what is really going to drive value for the buyer to buy again? What does a buyer consider in today’s economic climate for the decision to buy a home? Do they think of a home for their family in terms of how their parents looked at the purchase? Do they still think a home is the American Dream where investment returns will be offered in the 6-8% in annual growth patterns as in the past?

The current climate offers a new sales technique for mortgage and real estate companies in moving property. The “short sale” market is of value to the investor, but counter productive for future community values. So, if you want to sell a home in this market, what are your options? The appraiser will always look at recent sales, and there have been several homes foreclosed and resold as short sales in your neighborhood. The bad thing is the family that wants to move across town into a nicer home, but the short sales will affect the value of their home dramatically. Appraisers will look at the most recent sales using the cost approach to determine value. This gives you only one real option to take less for your home, and hopefully buy a short sale across town if any are available. I mean why should we take such a loose; we were always on time with our mortgage and taxes, why are we being so affected by others hard times.

So you don’t sell, because you do not want to take such a loss and there are no foreclosures in the area you want to go. What do you do to build value for the future? What do you honestly think will help your home stand out in front of the others? What do you think a buyer is thinking about today? Low utility bills? Are they considering looking into solar or energy savings? Are they curious about green building and green renovation products? Here is an idea. Put $15,000 in energy efficient upgrades in your existing home, taking advantage of the tax incentives and rebates. Now, depending on the upgrades you have chosen, the property stands out in this development. With offering up to 65% lower energy bills alone a buyer desiring your neighborhood may lean towards your home even if there is a short sale for less money. The timing couldn’t be better as most are curious on how to renovate to lower utility bills. Green renovations, can make a difference in real estate values. Using healthy materials and installing more high efficiency systems will making a difference in quality of life. While economic times are challenging those involved in the energy sector hold promise for growth. Our company, Green Real Estate Education is educating all sectors in the real estate industry to bring these points to those is there markets. Our educational programs are in demand even in these economic times.

Energy Efficient Homes and proper marketing especially if they offer the added benefit of being green certified properties are some of the most sought after residences and gaining strength daily. The entire building industry is changing towards sustainable and green techniques; it’s about time we embrace the new green revolution.

It is our opinion that a home seller should separate their property from the short sales and get green products and systems into their home as soon as possible. Some may not be thinking of selling right now, maybe in the future. But all renovations need to have energy conservation and the concepts of offering healthier indoor air quality in all they do in the future. . To investigate the best and most affordable way is to do a green renovation that will produce future value, is to hire a one of the 5,000 Green Real Estate Education has trained. A GCMP-GL is a Green Certified Mortgage Professional with a Level One Green Leadership Certification and a GCREP-GL is a Green Certified Real Estate Professional with a Green Leadership Certification. These professionals will offer options many do not even realize exist. Preparing your home for your future and the future of others will be a key to a successful sale. As a buyer, using these professionals will bring you additional information for becoming more aware of what your investment can bring in the future. This can and will support value while separating your home from others.

Buying or selling real estate is probably the most significant transaction you’ll ever make in your life. That’s why it’s important to choose the best Realtor to help you achieve this goal. But before you hire the services of a real estate agent, there are important factors to consider.

Many people have the perception that all real estate agents are the same. Some sign with the first one that comes along. Unfortunately, they realize later on that they should have been more selective before signing an agreement. To guide you in choosing the best Realtor for your needs, below are seven questions to ask your prospective real estate agent.

1) What is your experience in real estate?

The first thing you need to ask a real estate agent is how long they’ve been in the real estate business. It doesn’t mean that you cannot enlist the services of newly licensed real estate agents. Just keep in mind that those who have years of experience under their belts are probably more knowledgeable on what to do, from listing to closing. Aside from the number of years in the business, ask them what segment of real estate they focus on – residential, commercial, luxury, etc. Find out if he/she is primarily a listing agent or a buyer’s agent (or both). Familiarity with the market is also essential, so ask what geographic areas the agent usually covers. You can even dig deeper by asking if the agent has received any awards for outstanding performance.

2) How many and what types of properties have you listed and sold in the past year?

It’s one of the most important questions you should ask a real estate agent. The number of properties he or she has listed and sold in the past year is a valuable indicator how good a real estate professional is in getting the job done. Take note that this question consists of two parts: properties listed and properties sold. Agents may demonstrate their ability to list homes; however, the more important thing is the sales part – the ability to close deals. If they have many properties listed and sold in the past year, it shows that whatever strategy the agent is using, it’s certainly working.

3) What was the average sales price for the properties you’ve sold over the last year?

Asking this will give you an idea in what kind of market the agent specializes. Find out if the real estate professional has experience selling properties in the price range you’re listing at. If a majority of properties sold falls on the low-end market segment, it might take longer for the agent to sell if yours is a higher-end home. Although agents can sell any property regardless of price range, it’s likely that they will have better success in the market and price segments in which they have the most experience.

4) What is your average sale to list price ratio?

The sale to list price ratio (sometimes called the sale-to-list or list-to-sale ratio) is the final sales price divided by the listing price, expressed as a percentage. If it is 100%, it means the sales price was equal to the list price. You can view this ratio in two ways. A skilled listing agent can negotiate sales prices that are equal or close to the list price, and sometimes even greater in a very competitive market. So ideally, listing agents should have sale to list price ratios closer to 100%. On the other side of the coin, a good buyer’s agent can often negotiate a sales price that is lower than the list price. Therefore, buyer’s agent ratios ideally should be lower than 99%.

5) What marketing strategies will you use?

Deciding on what strategies to use can spell the difference between success and failure. A poor marketing strategy will diminish the chances for success. Do your own due diligence by asking how the agent will sell your property. There are lots of options – staging, open houses, joint marketing, print advertising, and of course, online marketing. Whatever approaches are used, they should be designed to bring in the highest number of qualified potential buyers. Higher end properties can also often benefit from professional staging. In any case, your agent should advise you on how to best prepare the property to make it the most attractive to potential buyers.

6) Can you give me some references?

Reputation is important in this line of business. Whether you’re buying or selling a property, you should ask for references (past clients). If possible, call a few and ask them about their experiences with the agent. Were they pleased with the service provided? Also ask if they are in any way related to the agent. A list of references made up of friends or relatives generally won’t provide an objective assessment of the agent’s qualifications.

7) Do you offer any type of guarantee, and will you let me out of my contract early if I am not satisfied with your service?

You can’t say with certainty how things will go, even if you did your due diligence. For this reason, you should ensure that you’re prepared for any eventuality. If you sign a contract and later find that you’re not satisfied with the service, will the agent allow you to cancel the agreement? If things don’t work out the way they’re supposed to, you should have the freedom to choose another agent who can deliver better results.

As you can see, there are many things to consider when choosing a real estate agent. Finding and interviewing Realtors can be a very time-consuming and laborious task. However, now armed with these seven questions, you are on your way in choosing the best Realtor for your needs.

In leasing today and particularly commercial and retail real estate, it is common to come across the word ‘amortisation’. In brief, the word explains the concept of recovery of landlord incentive costs over the duration of the lease.

In this property market we need to attract tenants to the property and encourage a decision of taking out a new lease. In the case of new tenant occupancy, the landlord may choose to provide some incentive which could be by way of rent-free, a new fit out, or reduced rental. This is common when the market is in a downturn or slump and an oversupply of vacant space exists. In today’s market this is the case and will remain so for some time. The creative provision of incentives is part of the leasing process.

Get the incentive money back!

When such incentive activity is provided by the landlord, it is common practice to recover the costs of that incentive back to the landlord plus interest on the funds provided, and such recovery is to be structured over the duration of the lease. Amortisation is the process that achieves this.

This then suggests that any incentive, rental rebate, or rent-free period is not actually free. That is certainly the case, and an experienced real estate agent or broker will support the process and the economics of the lease deal to ensure that the landlords funded incentive is recovered in some way.

What do tenants want?

When the tenants ask for a new lease and some incentive as part of it, they do not expect to hear about the amortisation process and the economics behind it. They do not want to hear that the good incentive that they are to get in the lease deal is to be paid back whilst they are in occupancy. Let’s just say that the concept is known between the agent and the landlord and the recovery of the incentive is structured (added) into the rent profile and the rent review processes during the lease.

The tenant in today’s market thinks that the market is slow and in their favor, and on that basis the landlord has to do something that attracts them to the property. That is where the incentive becomes part of the negotiation. An incentive can be anything of value to the tenant, but is normally one of the following:

• Rent free period
• Rent reduction period
• Cash paid to the tenant
• Fit out provided to the tenant

Whatever the incentive used, it is up to the real estate agent to structure the rent and incentive process in favor of the landlord as part of negotiating the deal. At the end of the day, a tenant only wants to know about the premises and the total rental which is to be outlined in the lease.

It is the job of the real estate agent to ensure that the incentive is structured so that the landlord achieves the recovery of the outlay in incentive. The tenant doesn’t always want to know the exact detail of what you are doing in the rental commerce. They just want to know what they are paying for total occupancy of the premises on a monthly or weekly basis and how that rent will increase over the term of the lease.

In a quiet market with a saturation of available vacant premises, it is common for incentives to be very active and at times they will reach a level of 30% of the total of the rent paid normally under the lease during its term. In any new property project the level of incentive will go slightly higher to approximately 37% but in doing so the developer for the project will have written that incentive cost into the project. In such case the tenants will pay an inflated rent (as a face rent) to allow the developer to recover the outlay.

So how is it done?

So the rent and incentive commerce goes something like this. If the rent for the premises with no incentive being provided is $200 per m2 pa (apologies to those of you who calculate rent by the foot), and the incentive that is to be provided to attract the tenant to sign the lease is equivalent to an amount of 10% of the rent recovered from the tenant during the term of the lease, then the starting rent should be $220 per m2 pa. This is called a ‘face rent’. The rent without any incentive paid in the lease ($200 per m2) is called an ‘effective rent’.

Whatever the start rent is to be (face or effective), it will then be escalated by a rent review structure that is practical and fair in the market. Your good market knowledge is part of this lease rent assessment and decision. The landlord needs to know what is right and fair in the prevailing market conditions to attract tenants to the property. Extended vacancies are not a real strategy here and are to be avoided; even a lease that has a low rent start or a higher level of incentive, can be shaped to a better rent level over a few years and therefore be in line with market rent at a later time.

By the way, property valuers will always find out the type and amount of incentive that was provided to a tenant to entice them to take up a lease. The valuer will then remove the incentive from the value of the property as part of their professional valuation process.

In some cases a landlord will want (or try) to ‘hide’ the incentives paid in any lease from the valuer for this very reason; this ‘hiding process’ is common when a property is being valued for mortgage loan purposes. I am not saying that this ‘hiding process’ is ‘legal’, but rather it happens, and a good property agent will know about it and understand what the real rent for a property actually is (with the incentive removed). Financiers know about the mechanisms of incentives and how they are provided and documented, and valuers of property similarly so. Importantly the level and type of lease incentive in the market is known by all parties and is not exceeded unnecessarily.

How to do this?

In handling amortization of lease incentives, it can be done in various ways. Check with a local solicitor to ensure that you are complying with standards and legislation in your area and country. Here are some examples of how incentives are handled.

1. Some landlords choose to have the incentive repayment process added to the rent that would have normally been paid should an incentive not have been provided. In this case the tenant does not always understand that the rent has been inflated to recover the incentive for the landlord. Nothing is ‘hidden’, it’s just that the tenant pays a high rent for the premises.
2. Other landlords may choose to have the amortization of the incentive separately detailed in the lease document as a separate ‘charge’. In this case it becomes a separate payment of incentive rental each week or month and the tenant knows what it is for. The incentive is clearly seen by anyone that reads the lease and all parties know what is going on.
3. Other landlords may choose to have the amortization of the incentive documented in a separate agreement between the parties well away from the actual lease itself. This is usually done by way of a ‘deed’ or separate legal agreement. Given that the tenant signs the ‘deed’ they then know that they are paying for and of its existence. It is the other people that read the lease that may not know of the existence of the incentive. If this is the case, take particular care at the time of property sale as the potential buyer of the property will want to know the full commerce of the occupancy.

The important message here is to understand that incentives are active from time to time when you lease properties in a market that has an oversupply of space. Incentives are the way in which the landlord attracts an interest in occupancy. As a professional real estate agent or broker, it is your job to ensure that the full recovery of the incentives is achieved. The landlord should be shown that you are going to get all their incentive money back from the tenant over the lease term (not the lease option), together with a rent for the premises that is fair and reasonable in the market and location in which you work.

A good lease incentive is one that attracts the tenant to the property, and then is paid back to the landlord as quickly as possible.

Basic Real Estate Statistics Explained

We are going to define some of the basic real estate statistics that get thrown around on a regular basis. To do that, we will use one real estate market, located in Hood County Texas. Even more granular, we will use the single family numbers for homes in Granbury Tx, a small town of approximately 8,000 residents which has seen substantial real estate growth in the past 12 months. It is important when reviewing real estate statistics to use a group of numbers large enough for consistency, but granular enough to tell your story.

The statistics that we will be referencing are true and accurate for the year discussed but are being used to define the real estate statistic itself.

We have chosen Granbury Tx as our example because the growth of the local real estate market there make the statics stand out.

Anytime you are evaluating statistics, especially in real estate, the source of the numbers are extremely important. In most instances, the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) provides the most accurate numbers when referring to real estate. This is because they have all listings by all local real estate brokers in their database. For the sake of explanation of the data, we will be looking at the numbers for home sales in Granbury Tx, directly from the MLS. These numbers are meant to give an example of how to read the statistics themselves. Anytime you evaluate real estate numbers, its important to pay close attention to how the numbers are gathered. In this instance, we will be using ONLY single family properties in the city of Granbury.

Basic Real Estate Statistics

• Number of Sales – This one is pretty self explanatory. It is simply the number of single family homes sold in a particular month. In January of 2015, they had 51 single family homes sold. One thing to pay attention to when looking at this statistic is are they using the Under Contract date or the day the property actually went to closing. These two dates are usually between 30 and 60 days apart, so its critical that you know which one is being referenced. In addition, many of the homes that get calculated, if you are using the “under contract” number may not actually close! In our example, we are using the number of homes that actually closed. In January of 2016 they had an increase of over 49% which brought the total to 77 from 51. Growth of that level is very seldom ever seen.
• Sales Volume – Sales Volume is simply the total amount of dollars spent on single family housing within that month. Once again, when reviewing this statistic, its important to keep the property types consistent. If you are comparing two areas to see which one has grown more and you include vacant land in the number for one area, you must include it in the other too. As previously mentioned, our examples only include single family properties. With Number of Sales looking at the units, you would expect the Sales Volume to go up appropriately, but in this instance, it went up even more than the units (by percentage). The total Sales Volume of single family homes in Granbury in January of 2016 was $15,191,500 as opposed to the January of 2015 number of $9,281,915. That is an increase of over 63%. Because the Sales Volume went up at a larger rate than the number of units, this reflects the average home sale being much larger in 2016 than 2015.
• Months of Inventory – This is a commonly referred to statistic when examining a real estate market. This statistic refers to at the current rate of sales, how long will it take to sell through the existing level of inventory. This reflects the supply and demand for the market. In our example, in January of 2015 the level of inventory was 9 months and in January of 2016 it had dropped to 6 months. That is a 33% drop in available inventory! This means if you are looking to buy a home in Granbury Tx, it will be a little tougher in 2016 as there is less inventory available to buy.
• Median Days To Sell – This stat simply refers to how long it takes for single family properties to be put under contract. Don’t let the “to sell” confuse you. To accurately show the demand for active homes, you really want to track how long it takes to go “under contract”. The process of acquiring final lender approval, insurance and getting to a closing can vary on a variety of factors. In January of 2015, the Median Days to Sell was 88. That number dropped by over 30% to 61. Once again, this tells you if you are looking for homes in Granbury TX, you better get your offers in quickly as the most desirable homes are going fast!
• Average Price – This statistic can be derived in a variety of ways. We are going to use it in its most raw form and simply be the Average Price of Homes Sold within that month. Be careful when looking at this statistic printed anywhere as how the user defines the date sold can vary. Needless to say, Average Price can be used for active homes for sale or for the homes that sold. The Average Price of ACTIVE homes for sale is generally a pretty useless number as you can list a home for any price, without any possibility of it ever selling. Many homes listed for sale are at unrealistic prices thus the Average Price of Active homes for sale can fluctuate dramatically and give little insight into the market. You will want to look at the Average Price of SOLD homes. In January of 2015, the Average Home Sale was $181,998 and it jumped to $199,888 in the same month in 2016. This is an increase of almost 10%. This is not a number that truly tells the increase in home values across the board, but simply of the homes sold in that month, what the average was.
• Median Price – The Average Home Sales Price can be skewed by a variety of factors. All it takes is one 5 million dollar home sale to throw those numbers off. To get a better view of the overall increase in value, it can be better to look at the Median Sales Price. Median Sales Price takes the number that is perfectly in the middle. For instance, if you have 11 homes that you are using in your statistic, you would take the sales price of the 6th one. This leaves 5 homes sold higher and 5 homes sold lower. In this instance, they are pretty close as the Median Sales Price increase from January 2015 to 2016 was 9.69%. This shows that we didn’t have the Average Price skewed too much because of an extremely large or extremely small sale.

There are hundreds of ways to look at the same numbers, when referencing to real estate, so be very careful to read the fine print on exactly what numbers they are using. When making comparisons, you will want to make absolutely sure that both are referencing the same property types, dates etc. It like the old saying says… there are lies, damn lies and statistics.

None can deny the necessity of mobile apps in our lives. While no business sector has remained aloof from the rage of mobile app development, it is on-demand services, food and retail, and core industry like real-estate which got more share of the pie. Yes, it’s also the retail property businesses that got more benefits in sales after the app revolution and saw their revenue growing high. In regards to this, here is a complete guide on how to make your own real-estate dealings mobile with a useful app.

Trends observed in property purchases

-Most buyers first sneak through the web or online portals to search for property searches before going for other sources like paper advertisements, referrals, etc.

-Millennials rely more on online search for nitty-gritty details or information about a property

-People like to hunt for properties online because they can see a large number of properties.

Types of Real-estate app solutions

-Online property search application

-Property booking solution

-App solution for renting apartments

-Property management solution for owners

While these are the specific apps that can help real-estate business owners as well as buyers, let’s take a look at the key features that an app meant to help rent and property seekers should have.

Direct marketing method

The app should have a direct approach to marketing to promote the properties held by the property owner. The app would list the properties in a fancy manner with location, prices, property aspects, surrounding amenities, landmark, and other related information. In short, the app should be able to showcase all properties in a complacent and clarified manner so that buyers can know every minute thing about a property and can take the decision to choose one smoothly.

Support for location-tracking

Mobile users have been so used to the aspect of GPS or Global Positioning System to navigate here and here that you need to sync your real-estate mobile app to the Google Map to help the property seekers. Integrating the app with geolocation will readily help the buyers to land on the phone’s Google map to know the exact route and convenient mode of transport to the property’s location.

Easy-to-use user interface

You need to keep in mind that a real-estate application is not about showing brilliance and classy design, but is about user-friendliness. Thus, like any other user-centric applications such as eCommerce, online cab services booking, your app should be user-friendly so that users could easily understand how to search for a property. Easy user-interface of an app means quick property search, responsive search filter, hassle-free payments and saving favourites or wishlist.

Scope for customers to place queries

Lastly, do not rule out the need for an online enquiry mechanism in the app like live chat or email integration. It is a must-have for quickly responding to customers who are interested in a property and wish to know more apart from what provided in the app. They might want to talk to the seller directly.

Real-estates is the large and flourishing industry and to get a grip over its every potential you need a mobile app too. It would help your business make more revenue and grow by making your properties more easily accessible to prospective customers. However, make sure to keep in mind the mentioned features while you have your app crafted by an app development company.

Here’s something I’ve been playing with, and my results have been pretty good, too.

A few months ago a friend was launching a big product with lots of cash prizes for the top affiliates. I knew there would be tons of affiliate competition, with every affiliate trying to out-do the others with bigger and better bonuses.

How to compete?

I decided not to.

Instead, I thought about what every affiliate’s bonus pages would look like: Highly polished, slick, professional, lots of graphics, videos, etc.

Odds are they would all start to look very much alike, right?

So I thought… what if I did something different?

What if my page looked like something you might get in the mail – black and white sales letter, using the Courier typewriter font, very old-school looking…

And what if, instead of a highly polished professional photo of myself, I used one where I just woke up? Or one where I just finished exercising, or just finished the yard work?

In other words, I looked like the guy next door and not some slick marketer.

Taking this thinking to the next level, I decided I didn’t want to spend time or money on creating a bonus. Everyone else was doing that, so why should I?

Instead, I would hold a live class. The homework would be to go over the program before class. Then in class we would implement, step-by-step, what was in the program. And I would record the whole thing, so people could just follow along.

In case you’re wondering – it worked beautifully. My sales were a very decent 5 figure number, and my commissions were half that plus bonuses.

And one more thing – I cheated, too. I had my virtual assistant run the class for me. She got to learn some great new skills, and I put less than 2 hours into the entire project.

The takeaway: When you have a lot of competition, it’s time to stop directly competing and find another way.

If they are using tons of graphics and slick videos, you go with a 1980’s black and white typewriter look.

If they are offering bonus packages filled with 5, 10 or 20 products, you offer no products (I offered hold-your-hand training, which in my opinion is worth far more anyway.)

You get the idea.

Do you know what would work even better than that?

MAILING the actual letter. Yup. Talk about old school. If you collect real addresses of your BUYERS, you might consider doing this on big ticket items.

I know marketers who do this. They are few and far between, and they are KILLING it. They only mail to buyers, which greatly improves their conversions. They use a service to send out the mailers for them. And they make more on one of these mailings than most successful marketers earn in 6 months.

Which brings me to my second idea… if you don’t already have the mailing addresses for your buyers, start collecting those now.

When you have a sizable portion of them (at least 200, preferably 500) approach a marketer with a product your list would love. Make sure there is plenty of profit in that product. Take the sales letter, adapt it to a black and white mailer (cheap to produce) and send it to your buyers.

See what happens. Tweak, rinse and repeat.

You can easily DOUBLE your income using this method.

Know why? Again, because it’s contrary. It’s different. Almost no one is doing it.

Your customer gets maybe a half dozen pieces of mail in a day. Two are bills. Two are sales flyers from local businesses. One is a catalog.

And then there’s that mysterious white envelope. Yeah, it’s going to get opened. Yes, it’s going to get read.

Wow! They’re surprised. Someone they know from ONLINE is sending them REAL MAIL.

They don’t throw it out. Instead, they open their browser, type in the URL and ORDER THE PROGRAM.

Sure, not everyone does, but… enough do. Believe me, I’ve seen this work time and time again. Which is why I’m about to start sending out sales letters via snail mail (Shhh, don’t tell anyone!)

If you are thinking about starting a real estate career in Jamaica, you have to understand that this is different from the regular 9-5 jobs. To be successful, you are required to generate good leads, which will provide you with clients in order to get paid. During your interview with any of the top companies in Jamaica, it is a must that they will ask you about your sphere of influence (SOI) or pipeline. This basically means the leads that you currently have, for instance if you want to focus on commercial properties in New Kingston, it would be necessary to have strong connections to generate good leads.

The New Kingston area in this city is considered to be the business capital and boasts head office for virtually all companies, hotels, top restaurants, foreign embassies, apartments, banks and more. So, immediately you know that the competition would be strong in this location and will require you to work harder to get paid.

If your sphere of influence is empty and you cannot get properties to sell or perhaps get investors to rent or buy, then you definitely cannot generate a solid income. A real estate agent lives from the commissions made from rentals, sales or referrals, so basically, no client equals zero dollars. The real estate market in Jamaica is currently experiencing a downturn, with high interest rates and less people able to purchase properties.

So, it might not be a good time to enter this field, especially if you are not equipped with a killer sales skill, some good leads and a lot of patience. It can be pretty difficult to break into this market, particularly in the Kingston and St Andrew areas. This is where you will find the majority of Jamaica real estate agents and brokers, so it would not be an easy play field.

However, if you really want to give it a try, by all means go ahead, as the market is likely to bounce back in the next couple of years. The best way to do this is to start off as a part time agent and have a job that can provide some additional income on the side. But, as soon as you start you should start gathering leads and learn as much as you can about this business in order to be ready when the market gets back some momentum.

You can get leads from different mediums and not just from the people in your immediate circle. Good leads can come from emails, newsletters, fliers, newspaper advertisements, referrals from past coworkers, dinner parties, grocery shopping or just about anywhere. The possibilities do exist, sometimes they might not be noticeable, but if you are proactive and eager for work it will happen sooner than you think.

One of the best places to look is in the real estate classifieds that come in the Sunday Gleaner. Most of the times the persons trying to sell on their own will gladly welcome the help and you could get 2 or 3 new clients each week. Keep in mind that some are up-to-date with the happenings in the market and will prefer to sell on their own or just simple to avoid paying commissions.

You are more likely to find this resistance for the high-end properties, such as a prime beachfront lot on the north coast which is suitable for tourist development. But, the bottom line is that they might not be knowledgeable with the entire sale process and you just might be able to convince them to give you the listing. Good luck!

In today’s financial climate, real estate continues to be a strong investment in many areas. Educated buyers will always make the most out of the real estate market. These top ten tips to buying real estate will help you enter into your next real estate transaction with confidence.

TIP #1: Hire the right Agent!

Hiring the right Real Estate Agent is invaluable. If you are unfamiliar with the area, the realtor you choose is your link to important information regarding schools, zoning, city and county regulations, neighborhood trends, building and remodeling and rental restrictions, and property values. Every city has different laws governing what can and can’t be done with a property. Sanibel is one of the most beautiful cities in the United States due in part to its strict building codes and city planning. Having experienced many aspects of real estate transactions on a personal level, I understand situations and concerns of my buyers and sellers. I have been an island property owner for many years and have walked through several local real estate transactions myself. From buying and selling lots to building new homes with local builders, to investing in rental income producing properties and utilizing 1031 Tax free exchanges, I don’t just sell island real estate; I invest in it because I believe there is no place in the world like Sanibel and Captiva. Whether you work with me or someone else, finding the right realtor is invaluable.

TIP #2: Utilize 1031 Tax Exchanges and Save Money!

1031 Tax Exchanges are tax free exchanges of investment property. Section 1031 of the Internal Revenue Code is one of the last great tax shelters. If you purchase an investment property of “like kind” within 180 days of the sale of a similar type property, and you are willing to increase the amount of debt or value of the property, your capital gains taxes can be completely deferred. Having just completed a Reverse 1031 tax exchange myself, I believe in using this powerful tax shelter. Feel free to contact me if you are considering using a current Sanibel, Captiva, or Ft. Myers property in a 1031 Tax Exchange, or want to purchase an investment property that might qualify in the future for a 1031 Tax Exchange. A Reverse 1031 Tax Exchange is the same exchange concept as a 1031 Tax Exchange except you have purchased your replacement “like kind” investment property first, before selling the property to be exchanged. Learn more about 1031 Tax Exchanges, and how to use them to your financial advantage. Keep in mind that a neutral party must have act a Qualified Intermediary. Real Estate may also be bought and sold through your self directed retirement account. Whether you utilize a traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP, or company plans such as 401 (k) plans, Keogh, or profit sharing plans, investigate your options.

TIP #3: Pre-qualify for Financing!

Pre-qualifying for a loan may not seem that important until you find your perfect paradise property at the same time as another buyer. When a property is priced to sell, it will usually attract more than one buyer. Once a seller receives an offer, the two most important things they consider are …the price, and the contingencies. For some sellers, a contract contingent on the buyer obtaining financing makes them uncomfortable with the offer. Eliminate any doubt in the mind of a seller, by pre-qualifying for the amount you may spend on the purchase of any property. This is especially important if your dream property suddenly has a price reduction. When this occurs other buyers might come into the picture, that didn’t look at that property before it went “On Sale”! Often times a seller will take a financially solid contract over a higher offer. Be ready to put a deal together!

TIP #4: Location, Location, Location!

“Location, location, location”, while overused as a real estate phrase, is still and always should be a huge consideration to you as the buyer! If something about the location of a property bothers you, be aware that the same location drawback will bother any buyer you hope to attract when and if you need to resell the property! It’s important to ask a lot of questions, but often times it is difficult to know the right questions to ask if you are unfamiliar with the community. This is why it is so valuable to choose and hire the right real estate agent to represent your interests when buying a property.

TIP #5: Get a Home Inspection!

Obtaining an inspection report performed by a licensed professional building inspector of your choice, can protect you from many defects that are hidden from view. Why gamble with such a large financial investment? Let a professional building inspector point out areas to be fixed or replaced that aren’t obvious. A good inspector will give you a lengthy report covering all systems in the home from electrical, to plumbing, to roof conditions, and structural concerns. Once you receive a report you may begin negotiations again concerning repairs. Often a seller will agree to make necessary repairs up to a specified financial amount. When a seller lists their property “as is” they are letting you know that they are not willing to fix or replace any part of the property. If you are interested in an “as is” property and aren’t going to level the structure and build new, it is still in your best interest to obtain an inspection report. Don’t rely on the building inspector to look for termites and other harmful pest problems. Although an inspector will see pest damage, it is best to have a separate termite inspection conducted by a licensed company that understands pests and can eliminate them.

TIP #6: Obtain a Survey and Title Insurance!

Surveys will show easements, encroachments, and boundary lines of a property. By surveying a home in an established neighborhood you are assured that the property boundary lines have been maintained. As homeowners add on the their properties over time with fences, sheds, docks, garages, and other structures, boundary lines can be crossed placing part of their structure on your property, or vice versa. Surveying vacant land is also important for same reasons as a home, plus a survey will help determine the size home, or amount of coverage the lot will allow.

Title Insurance will protect your investment from another party claiming ownership interest in your property. Title searches will uncover liens placed on a property by vendors, or mistakes in past transfers of the title. The last thing you want to discover when you’re in the back stretch of a transaction is that there are encumbrances on the property such as tax liens, undisclosed owners, easements, or leases. Should a claim arise after the purchase of a property, the title insurance company is there to protect your ownership interest in that property.

TIP #7: Be Realistic!

“Wants” and “Needs” are very different when is comes to real estate features. If every home you see has the upgrades you “want” but exceeds the price range that you “need”…. be realistic. Who wouldn’t love a large, oceanfront, professionally decorated home or condominium, with all the bells and whistles? Looking at properties that exceed your price range is always fun, but it can be extremely frustrating and upsetting. Be realistic by looking at listings in the price range you “need”, keeping an eye out for that special property that has the potential to evolve into the dream home you “want”. Always look beyond the furnishings, wallpaper, and floor coverings to the architecture of the home; it is then that you will find properties with potential.

TIP #8: Use Contract Contingencies Wisely!

Contingencies in a contract for the purchase of a property are designed to protect you, the buyer! This may seem silly to mention but it’s important to remember that you need to work with the seller to come to an agreed upon contract. Valid contingencies to an offer are expected by the seller. Common contingencies include building inspections, termite and pest inspections, financing, and surveys. Many deals fall apart over small details, and easy to fix issues. Remember that sellers are emotional about their property. If you can see that major repairs or replacements need to be made due to neglect or age, make allowances for this in your offering price. The old adage “Everything is negotiable” still holds true, unless you upset the seller so much that they refuse to work with you. Try to avoid listing cosmetic changes you would like the seller to make as contingencies. Cosmetic changes are subjective, be objective when writing a contract.

TIP #9: Understand Regional Health and Safety Issues!

An informed realtor will help you understand other health and safety issues that should be considered when purchasing a property. Safety and Health topics can include EIFS (Synthetic Stucco), indoor air quality, mold, radon, and lead paint. Many of these require the seller to sign a disclosure statement, while others may not apply due to the age, type of construction, or location of the property being purchased.

TIP #10: Ask for Information!

Don’t be shy. When you have hired a realtor to work for you, ask them for information. Do you want to look at all the properties in your price range, with the features you need, or just the houses a realtor wants you to see? You deserve all the information you need to make an educated decision. Can you imagine buying the home that you felt was good for your family, only to find that you never received information on a similar property that is perfect for all your needs? I provide many services to insure my buyers always have information at their fingertips.

Consider the option of going ahead with a real estate agent because he helps the buyer or the seller of the property in more ways than one. Key responsibilities of a good agent make the entire process smooth, transparent, and easy for clients. However, this proposition is fraught with risk because finding a good agent is often a momentous task. This should not discourage home buyers and property sellers from hiring a good real estate agent as he alone can make things hassle-free for you. Therefore, your focus should be to look for an agent instead of searching for properties listed on various sites. Once you have roped in a verified and accredited agent to work on your behalf, the process of buying or renting or selling a home becomes much easier for you.

Local market knowledge

Equipped with local real estate market knowledge, he provides information of relevant properties available in the area. He studies the options that suit your budget and forwards the shortlisted options to you. This saves your valuable time and money. If you are interested, he shows you the properties. He is familiar with the area you would like to live in and offers accurate information about local infrastructure, school systems, water and sewer charges, public transportation and other concerns that impact your decision to rent or buy a home.

Negotiation

He takes care of the tedious process of negotiating the best deal for you. With skill and expertise, he knows the trends prevailing within the local property market and the competitive prices for various properties. You can bank on him to ensure the best deal and save your hard-money. His commission is also negotiable in most of the cases, depending on the level of involvement and effort put in.

Representation

He acts as your representative throughout the entire buying or selling process and therefore you need a reliable person you can fully trust in matters of right price and the suitable property features you need. He follows your instructions, works tirelessly to minimise your daily involvement in the matter of sale or purchase and seeks your presence only when it is unavoidable – to screen the best options for closing the deal.

Legal assistance

His knowledge about local laws related to the buying and selling of property helps you avoid legal issues. It ensures a smooth deal without any potential conflicts. A legally binding contract is drawn up and he helps you with all the paperwork, referring you to the appropriate professionals for dealing with all the legal matters.

Network

As his up to date with current trends, he nurtures contacts and the professional network to flourish his business. This enables him to be aware of a wide range of available property in the area and suggest options to clients with the help of fellow professionals. Not having an intermediary will deprive you of this big advantage. There is a limit to searching properties online or seeking references through your contacts, but if you have an agent, then there is no limit to the options he can suggest with ease. Most of his suggestions come pretty close to what you look for.

Exposure

Having him on board ensures maximum exposure for your property. Years of experience built an exhaustive database of potential customers and he refers your listing or requirement to generate leads. Gives sound advice on the market value component to price it realistically so that it is sold faster. He provides a visual presentation of your property and suggestions to enhance its marketability and coordinates marketing and advertising of your property on various platforms. Besides, the previews and arranges a walk through each potential home, to show properties that match your requirements and answers all your queries at various stages of the engagement to keep you updated of the progress achieved and ensure your satisfaction.

When you work in commercial real estate agency, you will soon see that the industry is very competitive in many respects. In this economy and property environment, many agents are struggling with listing quality stock.

It is not unusual to have other agents chasing your listings even though they may be exclusive listings. It is also not unusual to have some buyers or tenants approach the property owner directly in an effort to get a ‘cheaper deal’. Unfortunately at the time of listing and marketing, a client will listen to anyone that has something to say; you have to control this fact.

On that basis it pays to inform your clients early in your listing processes that they will likely be approached by other agents seeking to take your listing and derail the marketing efforts. When and if that happens you should tell the client to refer all contacts from anyone to you, the exclusive agent.

When you control the property enquiry, you keep these distractions to a minimum. You control all communications and can qualify any enquiry to make sure that it is genuine.

Exclusive Agencies?

In the property industry it is always desirable for an agent to have exclusive or sole agencies. On that basis the client will commit to your services for a fixed period of time and you can control the marketing and inspections.

When you take into account the property type, the level of property enquiry, and your listed property location, it is likely that your agency term should be for a minimum of 90 to 120 days. In that time you can market the property comprehensively and capture the correct level of property enquiry through targeted marketing campaigns.

Some of the more notable problems in competitive real estate areas can best be summarised as follows:

• The signboards on your listed properties are likely to be interfered with or removed. It is not unusual to place a sign on a property and see it disappear within 24 hours. This of course is an illegal process; you still have to find the person that removed or damage the sign.
• When you place a sign on a property, the agents in competition to you are likely to approach the client directly. They will tell the client a number of things to infer that they are the best agent that can help them when the listing expires with you.
• Other agents will tell the client that they have made certain mistakes regards marketing of the property through your, and that those agents already have a source of qualified buyers ready to inspect immediately.
• The other agents will tell the client that they have some buyers that want to look through the property right now and they will simply seek approval from the client to do so. The agents infer that they always conjunct with you and will talk to you later (not true).

Given all of the above, at the time of sale the client is inclined to listen to anything and everyone when they are trying to sell or lease their property. This is a fact and problem you need to control.

Keep Control as the Exclusive Agent

Whilst it is not ethical, other agents will seek to cross over your listing or go behind your agency appointment, and get their ‘foot in the door’ when it comes to that particular property listing. As soon as you put a signboard on the property or list it on the Internet, the property becomes common knowledge to everyone. Prepare the client for the pressures that they will be under and tell them that all enquiry needs to be directed to you as their agent in the transaction.

The successful agents working in the industry provide a high level of service and market knowledge to the established clients and prospects that they work with. The best commercial agents will not adopt unfair and unprofessional business practices, knowing that the word will soon spread locally, and it will have some impact on their image and reputation in the marketplace.

Commercial real estate agents are best to cooperate with each other through an established conjunction agent relationship. When the market is slow, this level of cooperation has benefits all round, both in the sharing of information from closed deals, plus the opportunity to introduce your clients or buyers to other agent’s properties.