Frustrated Seller: NO Notice for Showings... and Agent left lights on

I had a client that is selling 2 properties with us right now. One is vacant and the other has a renter in the property. He has been really frustrated with the past couple showings.

 

I wanted to share with you my response to him commenting on an agent that gave no notice for a showing and another agent that showed his vacant property and left all the lights on, and the door open.

 

Here was my response to the seller after we made some changes in our listing instructions to do our best to get agents to be more mindful and responsible:

 

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I do apologize for the inconveniences you are experiencing, and selling and buying real estate should be FUN! The thing to really keep in mind is that there is really no common sense "etiquette" taught in most (if all) real estate schools AND most agents only sell one house every month or two... so they never really get great or experienced at selling real estate. Then on top of all that, Buyers only buy a house once every 10 years, and they are just excited about seeing homes and they call ALL the time adding more houses to a list of homes to see, and they especially don't think about whether or not their request was enough time for the seller to prepare.

What you want to know as a seller is that when the buyer throws on a "last minute" showing or even if the agent does... they are probably looking at a bunch of other homes. Every showing that can't be accommodated will 70% of the time just be 'passed over' because they probably have 5-8 other homes they are going to see.

Whether they give you notice or not... you can lose them as a potential buyer. The last minute looker has probably considered your property as a possibility because they weren't finding what they really wanted, and when we can't get the showing through when THEY want to go through, they will talk themselves out of seeing it.

As for agents leaving lights on and doors unlocked... believe me, I GET that is so frustrating and for our industry as a whole, I am embarrassed that someone could go into another persons home, and not treat it like their own, or respect the fact that they are in a strangers home. AGAIN, the reality is, we want every agent to show to every buyer whenever they can get the to look even if they don't give us notice (for the reasons above). AND along with that comes making the property available to agents that sell 4-10 homes per year. In fact, the National Association of Realtors sends out stats that show the average Realtor sells 4-6 homes per year. That is truly not enough sales to understand the level of professionalism full time Realtors would LOVE to see in our industry.

So, my advice to every one of our clients is in order to make sure you get the most money and most equity for your property and to make absolutely sure you sell as fast as possible is to accommodate every showings no matter what. When you do have to cancel or change a showing, even for all the reasons above, just say to yourself "Even if this is the buyer that will buy my house right now, and pay the most money for my house, I don't want to sell my house today". I know this is a little harsh, but 24 years and over 2500 sales... it is the best advice I can give every client.

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The Korn Team has sold over 2500 properties over the past 24 years and we bring ALL the advice and professionalism to our clients to best take advantage of the current market conditions for their market. We are glad to help you understand HOW to beat the market and HOW to get the most equity possible when you are selling a home.

Reason #10 to sell your property now, and how waiting... even a few weeks, could cost you thousands of dollars in equity.

 

 

 

Have you heard someone say "we are going to wait till Spring". What they didn't know, is the winter months are the best time to get the most equity! Really...check out the numbers in the map below. There may not be as many buyers in the market as there are in the summer, however the buyers in the winter are the "serious" buyers. You are not going to find too many tire kickers going out in the cold just to look at houses. So, you have fewer showings. You can restrict some of your showings if you have to, and you can get more people through your property.

Check out the following video clips. Remember, these tips are to help you, the home owner, get the most equity possible when you do sell.

This is the

Sales just for the month of December
in Johnson County, Overland Park, Mission Hills, Leawood, Prairie Village areas

Over 2,200 homes have sold JUST during the month of December in Greater KC area. There has been over 10,000 properties sold and closed during the months of November and March this past fall season. The Korn Team is getting our seller clients 98.8% of their asking price during the holidays.

 

 





Reason #10: 

 

When you're on the market during the holidays you can actually restrict your showings during the five, six or seven days on around the holidays. Rather than miss a buyer during this time of year, just put a restriction on a few days.

Do you want to find out how much equity you may have in your property over the next few months? Get a no cost, no obligation Broker's Price Opinion from The Korn Team at http://wesellkansascity.kwrealty.com/sell/

Want to take advantage of all 12 reasons now? Watch this 6 minute video and call us to find out how much equity you can get during the Holidays. www.kornteam.com/holidays

Happy Holidays from The Korn Team

We sincerely appreciate everyone that has entrusted us with their biggest asset (their Equity).

Brad & Sonya Korn and The Korn Team

www.kornteam.com

brad@kornteam.com

(816) 224-KORN (5676)

12 days of Christmas or 12 reasons to sell during holidays Korn Team plan in the twelve days of Christmas before we're giving you that well reasons sell your home very so here's reason number

hand the 10 reason why you want to sell your house now you if you're on the market now you can actually restrict showing around for seven days around the holidays and still enjoy your time with your family be on the market not lose month market time and take them and the market leader love by so restrict your show during the holiday celebration with the family



5 Reasons to Sell Now: Reason #1: High Demand

Five Reasons You Want to List Your Property TODAY!

 

There is High Demand Right Now

 

You have seen in and heard it in the news. The real estate market is "picking up" and it is "busy out there". That is true! One thing The Korn Team discusses with their seller clients is that Real Esate is really just Economics 101. Remember when you learned about Supply & Demand? That is what Realtors like Brad Korn are sharing with his clients in the Greater Kansas City areas of Blue Springs, Lee's Summit & Independence Missouri.

 

 

 

the fact is since 2007 more and more homes have been selling at an increasing rate. In fact, in July of 2007 The Korn Team at Keller Williams Realty broke an all time record for most properties sold in their office in one month. Brad & his team sold and closed 25 transactions in just one month. That was a sign that the inventory levels of homes for sale were beginning to shrink. When we all learned about supply and demand, we learned that when supply is low and demand is high, prices will rise. From the end of 2005 through 2007 the supply of homes was increasing. It took until 2007 for buyers to realize that the interest rates were incredible low and the inventory levels were high enough that we were seeing some great "deals". What we also learned in Econ 101 in the Supply/Demand class was when you have a large supply and low demand prices begin to fall.

 

The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released the Existing Home Sales Report and they found the year end sales for 2012 had increased by 9.2% over 2011 sales. The Korn Team is are selling an average of 10 homes each month. That equates to an average of 100 properties each year for the past 10 years and over 1,500 properties in our 20+ years of selling real estate. Brad & his team have helped our clients take advantage of the current market condition by getting more exposure to a seller's home. When we get more exposure than anyone else, The Korn Team helps their home owners get their property sold faster and in some cases, when positioned properly in the market, you can get multiple offers on your property.

 

Interpreting the market is where we help you best. We can give you a no cost, no obligation Broker price opinion on you property and let you know what costs you will have as a seller to see if selling now makes sense for you. You can contacts us directly to schedule a convenient time to meet at (816) 224-KORN (5676) or send us an email at brad@kornteam.com or from our website at http://thekornteam.yourkwagent.com/atj/user/SellerFormGetAction.do

 

We look forward to working with you when you are ready to sell.

 

Brad Korn & The Korn Team

www.kornteam.com

Maximize Wealth Building Strategy thru Real Estate

Some of the strategies discussed in the book HOLD by Gary Keller on
how to get started to
maximizing your wealth building strategy
through real estate are:

• Use your 401(k) to purchase rental property
• Refinance to invest
• Ask grandparents to buy rental properties for grandchildren
• Examine and reduce your expenses
• Live on a budget below your means

Some Financing strategies include:

• Purchase properties with a 15-year mortgage
• Accelerate your debt pay down - regardless of your mortgage length (paying extra when you can)
• Use interest-only loans for cash flow
• Take advantage of self-directed IRA's and buy real estate rentals

What types of properties work best according to the book HOLD?

• Investment in single-family homes
• Buy "fixer-uppers" and make improvements
• Sell one property and buy two others
• Buy your retirement home now - have your tenant pay it off
• Exchange out-of-state investments for properties in a stronger growth area
• Use lease purchases - increase cash flow
• Buy foreclosures and short sales for instant equity

Let The Korn Team help you get started and take action. We have 13 questions you should answer before you get started on your real estate wealth building plan.

Get the 13 Questions you should ask yourself and know before you begin investing
registering is FREE, just complete your information and click "SUBMIT" and we will send you the questions

Investing in Real Estate Could Be
(even in these market conditions)
a GREAT wealth building tool.

 

Here are some strategies that are shared in the book "HOLD" written by Gary Keller

The Power of Leverage

Leverage is using other people's money (banks, mortgage companies, and owner financiers) to make money. Leverage multiplies your profit.

The Power of Leverage in real estate investments: Equity Build up

1. At the time a property is purchased you are at Market Value - little equity, little investment (20% down) and a lot of debt.
2. After some time, your Equity begins to grow. Your investment is still the same at time of purchase, and your debt is going down.
3. The equity begins to build while the debt is going down
4. eventually, when you have paid off the mortgage, your market value has gone up, your debt is gone, and all you have left is equity in a property that is worth more than it was when you bought it, and your investment never changed.

Contact The Korn Team if you would like to see the graphic of what this looks like. Remember, it is about doing it RIGHT!

• Buy it RIGHT!
• Pay it down
• Pay it off

Click Here to Find Your Propportunity (property opportunity) Now

Why is building wealth with real estate right for you?

If you are looking for financial security, retirement plans, pay for college for kids, travel fund, giving to others in need or if you want to leave a legacy to your friends, family and those who know you....real estate can be one of the best sources of wealth building in America...even in the roughest economies we have had. In fact, real estate might be the safest investment in any of the past economies we have ever seen.

Did you know:

• 58% of people have not determined their retirement needs?
• 15% of people are earning $50,000-plus in retirement?
• 17.5% of people 65 or older are delaying retirement?
• The median household income is only $50,000 per year

What does all this mean? If someone needs $80,000 a year today to maintain a lifestyle, and that person plans to retire in 15 years, and we know inflation will continue to increase on an average of 3% per year....that person would need $120,000 a year when they retire.

Other scary statistics about retirement plans:

• 87% of Americans rely on Social Security for some source of retirement
• 53% of Americans rely on income from assets for retirement
• 42% of Americans rely on public or private pensions for retirement
• 26% of Americans rely on earnings for retirement

Click Here to Find Your Propportunity (property opportunity) Now

an interview with Brad Korn of The Korn Team, Keller Williams Real Estate:
You were featured in an episode of "My House is Worth What?" On HGTV. What were the major factors you considered when deciding on the value of the home?

To determine the true market value we look at 3 different reports from the MLS. Where we are different from most Realtors, is we don’t find 3 comparable homes that are for sale, and 3 that sold. When you use that appraiser type method you are picking the 3 homes YOU feel is most like. Appraisers have a contract price in front of them when they do an appraisal. They are hired to help the bank determine if they should loan this amount to the buyer. When an appraiser finds 3 comparable homes, that average the sale price, they are letting the bank know that 3 other homes did average around this price. Where we get in trouble is if everyone is always using the 3 highest sales. Anyone can justify a price…but what are the true buying patterns of the buyers in the market place. The appraiser method isn't wrong, it just does not take into consideration ALL the supply and ALL the demand. To prove the point, if you use 10 different appraisers and give them 10 slightly different sale prices on a property, it would be rare to see all 10 use the same three comparables. They are using their opinion. The best opinion to determine the price of a property is a true buyer (not being sold by an overly aggressive sales person) that looked at 10 similar properties and see what they say the fair value is compared to all the homes they saw.

Here is another thought about why prices are different. Some agents (and even appraisers) might include a foreclosure in the neighborhood into their evaluation. Here is where that might not be a valid comp. If a homeowner is not in a distressed situation think of this scenario: If a neighborhood had 10 regular, non-distressed closed sales and 2 foreclosures sold, do you think the values are dropping in that neighborhood? It appears that a more significant number of regular sales are happening than foreclosures. If you are getting the value of your property from someone that uses the lowest price and the highest price and calculates an average price…that average is skewed and is actually lower than the true average. Can you see how IF the subject property is a regular sale and there are significantly more regular sales..why wouldn't you only use the average of the regular sales (if there were only 1 or 2 foreclosures)? The typical buyers out there in the market place right now, do not see values dropping in that neighborhood because of a couple foreclosures. The sale prices show the actual buying consumers are still paying regular price. The flip side is, if there are 10 foreclosures and 2 regular, non-distressed sales, then what buyer in the marketplace is going to want to buy in a depressed neighborhood when they are comparing that neighborhood to 10 other neighborhoods that may have more “regular” sales.

It is truly all about Supply & Demand! Remember that class in high school everyone hated…ECON 101? Guess what, that is what real estate is. If there are 10 homes on the market and a homeowner wants (or needs to be) priced at the #10 spot on that list that would make them the MOST expensive home on the market. In a FLAT or Depreciating market, that overpriced listing will make #1-#5 look like a really great deal! That is when I would advise a homeowner to not sink any more money into the property. It is already  going to sell for less than they want, so why lose more money? Each property and each day brings a new set of circumstances therefore you truly want someone knowledgeable in this aspect of valuing property to help you determine what the market will bear.

The best value for spending money on a home is adding square footage or adding a bedroom. Believe it, or not, adding a bathroom is truly not going to add more to your sale price (UNLESS you are going from one bath to get 2 baths in your property). Think about it…do you really think a buyer will pay $5,000 more for a home that has 2 ½ baths vs 3 baths? When they compare the two…they may make the offer on the home with 3 baths, but they will offer the price they would have paid for the 2 ½ bath home.

See more about our HGTV episode at www.kornteam.com

Do You Rely on a Computer
to Give You the Value of Your Home?

I recently received a request from a gentleman that would like to move. He visited some sites to see what the value of his home would be. He contacted The Korn Team because we have been endorsed by national radio personalities on their programs and we sell over 100 properties throughout the KC area in both Missouri and Kansas. We also have a team and sell in Lincoln, NE.

This property was located in a small rural community just about 30 minutes south of the Greater Kansas City area on the MO side in Cass County. One site he may have relied on lead him to believe his home could be valued at clost to $150,000. As you can see from an indepth market review through our MLS and even looking outside of his community and using data from the entire County...There are only a few homes that sold higher than 70k....and the absolute most expensive property that did sell and close in the past 8 months was for 122k.

The tax assessed value on this home is $67,840. As a professional we do not rely on computer systems, let alone the tax assessed value, by itself. We must truly evaluate what is the demand for properties in the area under the current market conditions. Once we determine what the actual sale prices have been, then we can determine how much competition we have at that price...what is currently for sale. Does that sale price postition you as one of the cheapest homes on the market? In my experience after evaluating thousands of homes...yes it does. SO, be careful!!!! You may underprice your property if your supply is low and every other seller is underpricing thier properties. In that case, you might be able to position slightly higher and get more out of the market than you are supposed to.

On the other hand, if the supply is high, and there is a 1-2+ year supply of homes on the market, and they are priced low, you must position yourself competitively...wether you like that price or not (of course that is if you must sell your property or home).

The Korn Team, Keller Williams Eastland Partners can help you determine where you should be positioned in the market to get the most money, in the shortest amount of time. Don't Take ANY chances when considering selling your home. Too many people out there may tell you want you WANT to hear. The great news is not only will The Korn Team be honest with you, but if you made a great investment, we may tell you what you want to hear as well. Remember, you have worked hard to protect your equity. You owe it to your self to make sure you get professional advice from someone that sells a lot of real estate AND can properly help you intrepret the market. Visit our site at http://www.kornteam.com/ to see how we market properties, tell us you are thinking of selling, or if you want to shop our list of over 19,000 homes currently for sale in the Greater KC area. You may also contact us directly at 816-224-KORN (5676) or email us at brad@kornteam.com

Low Interest Rates and Strong Housing Inventory Provide Opportunity and Promise for Summer Home Buyers

Mortgage rates recently dropped to all time lows with conventional 30 year fixed rates approaching the 4.99% range in April of this year. It must be working because mortgage applications rose 1.1%. The Credit Unions are jumping into the mortgage game as well. They have been able to get customers with slightly higher credit ratios into a loan. There are typically low costs to join credit unions and many times that local connection is a nice touch.

So, not only is it possible to get a loan right now, with summer here there is a lot favoring buyers right now. We have all heard the saying, more homes sell between Memorial Day and Labor Day. The reality to that statement is that the most amount of homes to chose from are available during those times. With increased competition, that can help a buyer find more homes that meet most of your needs and wants. We typically advise buyers in this market that instead of getting 5-6 of the things you want in a home (during a fast selling market with low inventory) you can get 8-9 of the things you want when there is a lot of homes for sale. There is just more to choose from.

It is important if you truly want to take advantage of this market that you do several things. First, identify your preferred area. We can help you put together a checklist of what areas to look for and how to ensure you know about properties as they become available. Second, (and probably most important) is to get your finances in order. If you truly want to take advantage of a great deal this summer we can show you how this one step can be the difference between buying your dream home AND getting a great deal OR losing out on that home. Losing the right property to another buyer can be avoided if you are pre-approved.

Just those two points validate that using an experienced agent to negotiate the best price and guide buyers through the inspection and to closing is so important when someone is dealing with one of the biggest purchases in their lifetime...a home. Plus, buying a home should be fun and exciting. This is not the transaction where you want to give that up by using an agent that only sells 4-10 homes a year. When you find an agent or team that sells 100 homes a year, there are going to have 10 times the experience and most likely have systems in place to make the home buying process and enjoyable as possible.

You can hear more about this topic by visiting our Korn Team Podcast at http://goo.gl/t9fas and if you would like to start you home buying experience visit http://www.kornteam.com/ where you can search our list of over 20,000 homes currently for sale in the greater Kansas City area. You can call us directly at 816-224-KORN (5676)

Buyers Have an Edge in this Market:

Cheif Economist from NAR (National Association of Realtors), Lawrence Yun released information stating that buyer this year have gotten great deals. He also went on to say that buyers will have an edge over sellers for the remainder of this year. Because mortgage rates are still at rock bottom, buyers affordability will be reaching all time highs. The low rates were helped partly by the Fed's very accomodative monetary policy. Contact The Korn Team if you would like a free ebook explaining why now is the prime time to buy a home. You can reach us at 816-224-KORN (5676) or visit our website at http://www.kornteam.com/ for more infomation about the Kansas City Real Estate market.

What if I am Upside Down in My Home?

In this economy, many homeowners are faced with a move and need to sell their home. Unfortunately, some banks have over-loaned on the property or they may have just bought the home in the last few years, and (in the Greater Kansas City area) there has not been any appreciation. Therefore, almost every home The Korn Team has seen for sale in this market is selling for about the same price it was selling for at the end of 2005 (as long as the homeowner didn't pay too much for it then).

The great news is that we are not seeing many neighborhoods and communities that are depreciating. Most have had their values flatten out. More good news is that means that many of the subdivisions are not depreciating either. However, if you purchased your home in the last 3-4 years, you may feel like you are losing money. That is because, typically, if you lived in the property for 3 years, your appreciation would have more than covered your cost to sell the property.

The other issue is when the boom was going on, the banks and mortgage companies were loaning money pretty freely. If you had excellenet credit, they could typically push the appraisal value on the property to give you some equity to borrow against. Doesn't mean the appraisal weren't justified...but many really may have pushed the upper limits. Understand that Banks make money on Interest charged. If you are borrower with impeccable credit, they would love for you to borrow as much as you can. They really didn't have to worry about you defaulting based on your credit history.

The biggest solution you can do is talk with The Korn Team about a true market evalutation on your property. We can bring options for you to get moved. In many cases where our clients may have borrowed more than their home is worth...and might come up a little short on sale date or not have as much equity as they thought they would, were glad they called us. Because of the current economy, we have helped many of our clients buy their next home at such a discount they are getting double the savings on what they gave up on their sale side.

One particular client absolutely had to get 5k from the sale of his home. However, the MOST his home would probably sell for was for him to break even because he had borrowed money against his home and got his equity out early. We promised him he would not be homeless and that in most cases we might be able to get his closing cost paid by seller, bank, or some other way. What ended up happening was we sold his house in less than 30 days, and even though he broke even, he purchased a home about 30-40k under market value...and it was move-in ready. You can see his testimonial video at http://www.youtube.com/user/wwwKORNTEAMcom#play/uploads/7/P8Cuyndj5UE where he talks more about his experience in the real estate process.

If you want to know what ALL your options are, don't hesitate to give us a call at 816-224-KORN (5676) or go to our website for all of our contact information at www.kornteam.com

How does the Kansas City Market Conditions compare to the rest of the Country?
As you may have heard me say in our monthly podcast at www.kornteam.com the KC market has been sheltered from the doom and gloom around the country. Did you know at after selling real estate for over 18 years, The Korn Team sold more homes in 2008 than every previous year except one (2005-the last "best" year we had in the real estate markets). This year looks to be off to a great start as well. To give you an idea of what the market conditions are like in KC...we have either listed a home, written an offer on a home or received an accepted contract on one of our listings every day since Jan 1, 2009. That is a great sign that people are taking advantage of the incredible interest rates and even though they may not quite get what they would like to get on the sale, we are helping them pick up that savings on the buy side. Over the last 6 months, The Korn Team is getting our seller clients 3-5% more equity than the national average. On almost 20 listings sold, and closed in the last 6 months, we have averaged 98% of the list price for our clients.

When you hear us say, this is a great time to buy...we aren't just saying that. If you have outgrown your home or want to move...this might be one of the best times to do it. If your payment is too much to keep up with, do not just give up. You just might have some equity in your home and don't think you do. Give us a call. We will give you an honest opinion, and help you look at all your options. Remember, it doesn't cost anything to meet with us. We always offer a free, no obligation evaluation of your property. We look forward to helping you when you do get ready to do anything with real estate.
Brad