FTC Guide Offers Advice for Home Sellers

As anyone who has decided to buy or sell a piece of property can tell you, the entire process can seem daunting and intimidating. Many who seek the help of a professional real estate broker spend many a sleepless night trying to decide who is taking advantage of them more: the broker or the bank? While there is no cure-all to this ages-old dilemma, there is a new pamphlet available that helps real estate newbies navigate their way through some of the red tape that comes with buying or selling real estate.

And it’s from the United States Government.

No, really.

The Federal Trade Commission has recently issued a helpful guide that helps new buyers or sellers with some frequently asked questions concerning real estate. Titled Selling Your Home? Tips for Selecting a Real Estate Professional, the guide focuses on the proper amount you should expect to pay for a real estate commission, the ins and outs of contracts as well as business models.

While the guide is a bit slim, weighing in at only four pages, it does come with some useful info. Under the section about commissions, the guide explains that while six percent is the industry standard, it is negotiable, and if your real estate agent tells you there is a local or federal law on the books that says the commission must stay at that rate, they are lying and it’s probably a good sign to find a different broker who will be honest with you.

The guide goes on to encourage prospective clients to try to negotiate for a lower commission, since the broker needs your business just as much as you need theirs.

In the next section, the guide explains the difference between full-service real estate brokers, and discount brokers and emphasizes that if you go with a discount broker, you may have to do more of the leg work yourself. The guide also says that while a full-service agent usually provides all needed services for one flat rate, the discount broker is more likely to have an “a la carte” approach, where for each additional bit of help, there is an additional cost.

The guide goes on to provide advice on negotiating contracts in your favour and not the banks, as well as info on hiring a trustworthy real estate broker.

While taking advice from the federal government on, say, invading Iraq may not be a good idea, this pamphlet may end up being a godsend for those needing basic real estate advice. The pamphlet can be picket up at the FTC’s website ftc.gov/credit.

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining
online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free
30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at
james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in
your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright
information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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Is a Second Home Right for You?

For many, wanderlust is just a part of life. You buy a beautiful home somewhere, settle down, have a family, but there is always a part of you that’s itching to get away. Vacations are part of that wanderlust; the chance to get away someplace beautiful. And then you see it. The local newspaper at your vacation destination, and lo and behold, there is a real estate section right there. Dare you even look? You can’t afford it, can you? Two homes? Is dual home ownership for you?

A second home can work for you, but you have to go into the process knowing what to expect. If you’re looking to get rich quick, don’t count on it. According to recent data, the price of real estate in areas that are deemed “Vacation Markets” has risen twice as fast as real estate in other areas. So, not only is a second home in your destination of choice going to cost you a pretty penny, it’s no longer a well-kept secret anymore and the chances of you flipping it to make a quick buck are slim.

The best piece of advice a possible vacation home buyer can heed right now is to buy for love not for money. Recent sharp downturns in vacation markets like Naples, Florida, Lake Tahoe, Nevada and Cape Cod, Massachusetts, have shown that trying to turn a profit in a vacation market is close to impossible. But there is a bright side to all of this. With the housing bubble going poof all across the country, those that are looking to sell will be doing so at lower prices. Now could be a great time to buy a place that you’re planning on keeping for a long while.

But how do you know if you have your head on straight about the whole thing? Well, take some time and evaluate the pluses and minuses of buying another home. Once you’ve decided on a area, spend some time there to make sure you like it. If it’s going to be a vacation home, you’ll want the scenery to be relaxing (if that’s what you’re looking for) or exciting (if that’s what you go on vacation to experience). A final check should be the bottom-line cost. If the price of the two houses makes up more than one third of your total income, you’ve spent too much.

Buying property is a huge investment for everyone, even the rich. Take the time to properly evaluate the pros and cons before you decide to own a second home or you could find yourself on a permanent vacation.

(c) Copyright 2008-2009 James A. Holmes. All Rights Reserved.

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James Holmes, Global Team Builder, Coach and Trainer, combining online and offline techniques to help you grow your business. To request a free 30 minute consultation contact James by phone at 303-523-9503 or email at
james@AskJamesHolmes.com

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Note: If you’d like to reprint this article on your blog or in your newsletter you have permission to do so as long as the copyright information and the resource box above remains with the article.

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