Yeah, it reads pretty stupid to me, too. Trying to multitask can get anyone in a pinch..here's ten ways to avoid getting yourself in hot water...er, hot oil...er, hot fuel...trouble.

The Top 10 Dumbest Mistakes Buyers/Sellers Make


Mistake #1:

Not knowing how much they can afford before they make an offer. The easiest way to avoid this mistake is to get pre-approved for a mortgage by a lender so you know in advance how much your can afford.

Mistake #2

Not realizing in advance who the real estate agent represents. Most people think that the agent they are working with is working for them. But unless they are working as your buyer representative, they represent the seller.

Mistake #3

Not realizing that the wrong mortgage can cost thousands of dollars in needless interest and taxes. Check with your accountant before you make your final decision on which mortgage you are going to choose. Your CPA will be able to tell you what the long-term effects will be on your income.

Mistake #4

Not discovering hidden defects before they buy a home. One of the most expensive mistakes is also one of the easiest to avoid, by having a professional home inspection.

Mistake #5

Not knowing how much credit can affect their ability to buy or refinance a home. Before you buy a home, many of the clouds on your credit history can be cleared up or even eliminated. Your mortgage professional can help you review and prepare your credit file in advance.

Mistake #6

Making their asking price on needs or emotion rather than market value. Many times, people make their pricing decisions based on how much they paid or invested into their home. This can be an expensive mistake. Over priced homes take longer to sell and eventually net the seller less money. Consult with a professional real estate agent. They can assist you in pricing your home correctly from the beginning.

Mistake #7

Falling to “showcase” their home. First impressions are the most important. Experience shows that for every $100 in repairs that your home needs, a buyer will deduct $300-$500 from their offer. Thoroughly clean and prepare your home before you put it on the market if you want top dollar.

Mistake #8

Signing a listing contract with no way out. Most traditional real estate agents want you to sign a listing contract with no way out. When you list your home with Polaris Real Estate Group, you can cancel your listing agreement at any time, no questions asked.

Mistake #9

Choosing the wrong agent or choosing them for the wrong reasons. Many homeowners list their home with the agent who works for the biggest company. You need to choose the agent with the best marketing plan and track record to sell your home.

Mistake #10

Not knowing all of their legal rights and obligations. Real estate law is complex. The contract that you will sign when selling your home is legally binding. Small items that are neglected in a contract can wind up costing you thousands of dollars. You need to consult a knowledgeable, professional who understands the ins and outs of a real estate transaction

Cheers,

Dan Baldini

If it seems obvious, I apologize. Many a Client has asked me to put this list together when they put their home on the market, so I thought it best to share.





Preparing and Showing Your Home

Don’t Panic: You come first. This is your home, you have your Life to live, do the best you can and then don’t worry.

First Impressions: An inviting exterior insures inspections of the interior. Keep your lawn trimmed and edged, flowerbeds cultivated, the yard free and clear of refuse. Winter lawn, especially in front, is a big asset.

Decorate For A Quick Sale: Faded walls and worn woodwork reduce desire. Do not tell the prospect how the place can be made to look, show them by making it look great. A quicker sale at a higher price will result.

A Clean Home Is A Happy Home: Bright, cheery windows and unmarred walls will assist your sale.

Fix That Faucet: Dripping water discolors the enamel and calls attention to faulty plumbing.

A Day With The Carpenter: Loose doorknobs, sticking drawers and warped cabinet doors are noticed by the prospect. Have them fixed.

Closet Illusions: Clothes properly hung, shoes, hats and other articles neatly placed, will make your closets appear adequate. Pack and store excess items.

For The Rest Of Your Life: Bedrooms are always important features. Arrange them to feel spacious and clean.

The Brighter The Better: Illumination is a welcome sign. For after-dark inspections, turn on our lights from the front porch in and throughout. The prospect will feel a glowing warmth; otherwise impossible to attain. Also, turn on lights in the daytime for rooms that are not so bright.

Three’s A Crowd: When a Realtor and the prospect arrive you should greet them courteously, and then disappear. Children and pets should be kept clear. Don’t volunteer any comment unless asked. Remember the prospect is there to view the home.

Shut Off The Television: The radio or TV can distract from your home. Let the agent and the buyer talk free of any disturbances.

Love Me, Love My Dog: This does not apply in house selling. Keep pets out of the way, preferably out of the house.

Be Aware of Odors: People will linger in a fresh, pleasant smelling home. Stale air, or bad odors, make them want to get out and can ruin the sale.

Be It Ever So Humble: Please don’t apologize for appearance of your home. After all, it is lived in. Let the agent answer any objections that are raised.

A Word To The Wise: Do not discuss price, terms, possession or other factors with the customers. Refer them to us. As a seller, most anything you say could compromise your position.

Dear To Her Heart Is The Kitchen: Colorful curtains in harmony with the floor and counter tops add appeal for the lady of the house. Keep oven clean-it often gets inspected.

Check And Re-Check Your Bathroom: Bright and clean bathrooms sell many homes. Keep toilet lids down.

Cheers,

Dan Baldini

If this picture doesn't raise your heartrate by 14 beats check to make sure you're still alive. Thanks to Mogul 3 for sending it to me!

Cheers,


Dan Baldini

The Blessed One

A reader of this Blog posted an intriguing question to my last posting entitled Fewer, Freer Realtors...Part II that on the innocent surface seems simple to answer. But, like this author's poems, the question contains strong undercurrent that propel you faster than you ever imagined.

The question was this: "I know I'm probably lobbing a softball, but how does one educate themselves on selecting a realtor?"

When asked this question I invariably always follow it up with the same level consistent repetitive nonretorical question. (Did I use enough redundant words yet to emphasize my consistency on this topic?)

Yes, I know it's considered rude behavior to answer a question with a question. Deal with it. Every one of my Clients deals quite well with it as soon as they understand my sincerity and depth of such a 'rude' response. Sometimes a little rudeness is needed to break through the mental shields we've erected around us...

My question? "What specifically are you expecting a REALTOR to do for you?"

How one goes about selecting a REALTOR begins with your personal answer to this question above.

It's no different than selecting any other professional who provides a service.

Does this make any sense yet?

It will.

Trust me.

"Blessed are they who expect nothing for they shall not be disappointed."
~Carl Sandburg, one of America's most celebrated poets and authors.

Cheers,

Dan Baldini

Fewer, Freer Realtors...Part II

History smiles to herself while whispering gently in your ear,"Don't worry...your government will take care of you and make things all better." Airlines. Automanufacturers. Defense contractors. Savings & Loans.

That's why I love the real estate industry. With its low barriers to entry, the world of real estate practice beckons with welcome arms those individuals willing to stand naked of product, willing to hustle and work, and most importantly, those willing to master the core service they provide to Clients and Customers: risk management.

Top-notch Realtors have a big bag of tools they bring with them to each transaction in order to mitigate a Client's risk to acceptable levels. Risk of a purchase transaction going sideways. Risk of a Seller's transaction never closing. Risk of adverse claims on title six months after a Client closes on a property. Realtors, therefore, ultimately make their livings by managing all the players and parts of the real estate game.

It is a Realtor's knowledge of risk management that sets each apart in the competitive marketplace. Therefore, "buy" the best risk manager you can find. (I implore you...read this paragraph again. For Clients, it is the most valuable part of this whole part posting.)

Knowlegde of financing (not just for Buyers and Sellers, but also investors), property taxes, local area markets, ownership interests, macroeconomic conditions and trends...you name it and the great Realtors have a firm grasp on the topics' implications for their Clients. On a business level, great Realtors have a fine understanding of business operations, human resources, corporate finance, marketing and advertising, contract and agency law, buyer behavior, and technology resources.

With such inviting low barriers to entry, this trait is also a double-edged sword. It invites top talent from all walks of life--some great and some that just don't belong (sounds like the airlines, huh?). You know the ones I'm talking about--those real estate agents that make life difficult for Clients.

So my proposition is this: In order to reduce the suffering these boils cause our market economy I suggest two simple changes:

1. Increase local Board membership dues from their current nominal amounts that permit 'archaic part-timers' to practice without notariety to a realistic amount...approximately 3 to 4 times what they currently are. If this has the immediate effect of giving those real estate agents that don't turn enough transactions to justify the expense a nudge to get more involved or leave the industry, fine. They probably aren't turning enough transactions to stay current with market conditions or continuing education (above the minimal levels for license law). Which leads us to...

2. Change the continuing education requirements into a program that actually offers value to the end-user: Our Clients. Current requirements are such that most agents go to classes every two years with stacks of magazines, laptop computers, and bills to pay just to whittle the hours away. Use the AICPA as a model to copy: Employ top-notch experts to be classroom presenters, mandate written exams after each session to ensure the participants actually listened, absorbed the material, and leave enriched and ready better serve Clients than before attending. How novel an idea. How to pay for these better requirements? See #1 above. Another novel idea.

I hope this posting provoked some thoughts about how a great Realtor can add previously unseen value to your next transaction and, just as importantly, how a not-so-great real estate agent can add multitudes of knuckle-scraping expense, too.

Cheers,


Dan Baldini
Ph: 317-714-0365
Fax: 317-334-0979

Steps 7 & 8 to Sell Your Home...

Education: First-time homebuyers are more likely to pay top dollar for your home. If your home is in the first-time homebuyer price range, make sure that your marketing program shows first-time buyers the benefits of home ownership and how affordable your home is. Design a marketing plan to get first-time home buyers to see the inside of your home.

Multiple signs: Many home buyers don't even see traditional "for sale" signs, because they aren't actively thinking of buying. They often don't realize that they can afford a much nicer home. The strategy of an additional sign in the yard shatters the "advertising protection armor" that every consumer wears. Ten years of testing by U.S. Home and Realty has proven that a second bright-yellow sign such as 'Open House this Sunday' will result in more inquiries, more showings, a quicker sale, and potentially a 3% to 5% higher price for your home.

Cheers,

Dan Baldini
Ph: 317-714-0979
Fax: 317-334-0979

Dan's Simple Steps to Selling Your Home...continued...
Steps 5 & 6:

Constant Exposure: your home won't sell unless buyers know about it. To get top dollar, be sure to have your home repeatedly exposed to qualified, ready-to-buy buyers. Some brokers charge you a discount commission, and then don't advertise your home. This is a mistake. The pitance you save in commission is more than offset by a sale price of $4,000 or $10,000 less than what you would have received if your home had been properly marketed. Remember, buyers can't know about your home unless you or your buyer has a marketing plan to ensure that your home is brought to the attention of home buyers.

Non-traditional advertising: Many first-time home buyers don't even know they can afford a home. They don't know that owning a home costs less than renting. They think that they need 20% for a down payment, plus closing costs! If your home is in the first-time homebuyer price range, a substantial portion of your marketing dollars should be aimed directly at first-time homebuyers. This means advertising and marketing in areas other than the "Homes for Sale" classifieds or Sunday Open Houses in the local newspaper.

Cheers for now,


Dan Baldini
Realtor/Broker
Ph: 317-714-0365
Fax: 317-334-0979

Needed: Fewer, Freer Realtors

Or better translated as "Fewer, more competent Realtors" .

Indulge your imagination by taking 240 seconds to read the article below discussing how you and I are effectively paying for poorly performing airlines.

Tomorrow, I'll share with you my thoughts that link this alarming and pervasive trend to how much your current home cost you to buy and how much more you'll cough up to sell it.

(Reason for this picture? Just because serendipity caught me this morning searching for a different unrelated topic and I thought it would tickle your fancy)

Needed: Fewer, Freer Airlines September 21, 2005; Page A27, Wall Street Journal

Belated kudos to the United Airlines pilots union for flooding my inbox with unprintable rejoinders after a column calling for the bankrupt carrier's liquidation. Many useful suggestions were provided regarding where I could store common office objects on my person. Not forthcoming was any cogent challenge to my main point: By keeping United alive and agreeing to relieve it of its pension costs, the government was only making it more likely that other carriers would follow suit.

Northwest and Delta, which filed for Chapter 11 last week, will end up dumping their pension obligations now too. Much pain will be borne but the happy ending -- an airline industry that investors will sustain, customers will value and the government won't have to bail out -- won't be any closer.

Traffic is strong, the economy is growing, so the mainline carriers should be accumulating the surpluses now that will see them through the next downturn. But they're not, guaranteeing a worse bloodletting a few years from now.

The answer isn't to become an industry of Southwests. Southwest Airlines may be profitable, but by its own testimony, it's a "niche player." It flies between cities that generate enough traffic to sustain direct service, yet avoids for the most part flying to hubs controlled by the majors or trying to serve the 38,000 city-pair markets that generate fewer than 50 passengers a day.
Notice, too, that Southwest's pilots are rapidly becoming some of the highest-paid in the industry, and its celebrated but temporary oil-price hedges, which reportedly saved it $196 million on its fuel bill in the second quarter, more than accounted for the second quarter's profit of $159 million. In short, not even the industry darling is guaranteed an easy life in the shakeout ahead.

It's time to talk about market power -- defined as an industry player or players having sufficient clout to set fares that will cover their costs and make them stick. Anyone who thinks all will be satisfactory once a few high-cost airlines have patched themselves up in Chapter 11 should stay tuned. The mess will just get messier.

Cover the dog's ears because we're about to utter a heresy: The industry's innately challenging economics would be a lot more manageable if airlines were freed from some of our misguided antitrust prejudice against cooperative acts by competitors. We'll leave elaboration for a future column, but a good start would be freedom to enter and exit code-sharing deals at will.
Let's revisit recent history. Not entirely accurate is the impression of the old legacy carriers simply flailing without a plan, hoping somehow to hold it together until their rivals finally vanish in bankruptcy liquidation.

Yes, that's been the plan lately, but serious managerial attempts were once made to get ahead of the curve. Five years ago, United and US Airways sought to merge but abandoned the attempt when trustbusters stood in the way. Now both airlines are in Chapter 11. Northwest and Delta have been trying, in a complicated jig, to establish a code-sharing relationship as a halfway house to a merger. That effort has been opposed by the Justice Department. Delta and Northwest are now in bankruptcy.

In addition, rougher and readier solutions to the industry's problem of excess capacity have also been tried. After flight attendants and baggage handlers at US Airways stranded thousands of passengers over Christmas with an impromptu "sick-out," Delta sought to administer the coup de grace by slashing fares, while Southwest announced plans to invade US Airways' lucrative Pittsburgh stronghold.

Most industry experts would have told you (and still would) that US Airways was destined to disappear. But despite the best efforts of its competitors, the airline clings to life. Blame a bankruptcy judge, a federal loan and federal assumption of its pension obligations. Its merger partner, America West, has received similar aid. The government will even own a sizeable stake in the merged carriers after bankruptcy.

For now, US Airways has basically been sponsored by the government to go out and undercut the fare structure of competitors that haven't availed themselves of federal favors.
Ditto United Airlines. In bankruptcy for three years, the carrier never received a bailout loan but the window was kept open as an inducement for management to hang on. A federal bankruptcy judge entertained United's silly antitrust complaint against creditors who were seeking to repossess planes just before last year's holiday travel season. Having taken over United's pensions, now the government owns an equity stake in the airline that only increases its incentive to keep United flying.

With the latest bankruptcy filings of Northwest and Delta, politicians talk bravely about how they're finished bailing out airlines. All bets will be off, however, if American Airlines opts for Chapter 11 in the months ahead.

In any case, let's not delude ourselves: Through the bankruptcy and pension insurance systems, Washington is already engaged in a bailout -- an incoherent and self-defeating one. After Sept. 11, as long as the feds were in the business of lending money to ailing airlines, we argued that the bailout board should fully embrace the merchant banker role and sponsor the necessary deals to reduce the legacy airlines to a smaller number of stronger carriers.
That opportunity was missed once, but don't be surprised if it comes around again with the greater implosion still ahead.

Gotta love Al...
{This letter was posted in today's Wall Street Journal...You go Al!}

Realtors' New Policy Gives Clients More InformationSeptember 21, 2005; Page A27

Your Sept. 14 editorial makes an excellent case for the rights of property owners to market their homes as they see fit.

The National Association of Realtors' new policy governing the Internet display of property listings will bring consumers more points of access to real estate information from multiple listing services than they have ever had before. This policy addresses the Justice Department's concerns and it resulted from our four months of negotiations. We believe it is a better policy for all concerned.

While you are right on the lawsuit, your characterization of the real estate industry is wrong. Few businesses are as competitive as real estate. Compared with most other businesses, real estate has a relatively low barrier of entry. That's one reason real estate is open to new ideas, new people and new ways of doing business. Consumers have a choice of agents in every community -- 1.2 million Americans are Realtors.

Al Mansell
President
National Association of Realtors
Washington

Dan's Top 10 Seller Tips, continued...
Step 3: Lots of light
For maximum effect, turn every light on, even on a sunny day. Open all window shades. Clean your draperies and curtains. Make sure your windows are spotlessly clean. Let the sun in and keep those lights on. Leaving all your lights on for two hours costs only 23 cents, and makes your home look larger and more spacious.

Step 4: Weekly Open Houses
You can't expect to sell a house quickly at the top price unless you get lots of buyers inside to see it. There are hundreds of homes competing with yours for attention. Your home must be exposed to Buyers regularly and repeatedly to get a fast sale at the full price. Weekly home showings are the key to the success of my Hotline Tour of Homes, giving my Clients fast, full-priced sales.

More to come...

Cheers,


Daniel J. Baldini
REALTOR/Broker
Ph: 317-714-0365
Fax:317-334-0979

Dan Baldini's
Ten Simple Steps
to Sell Your Home:
Step 1: Emotional Appeal.
Make sure your home looks, feels and smells its best. You're competing with potentially hundreds of other homes for sale. Buyers buy on emotion (and justify later with logic), so let your home be the cleanest, freshest and cheeriest, and you'll have a much faster sale...and at a higher price.

Step 2: Read my "How to Show Your Home" flyer very carefully.
If your home is logically a good value, but the Buyer doesn't feel warm and emotionally attracted to the home, it will not sell. {Re-read that first sentence again until you can repeat it from memory.} Buyers want to think to themselves, "Wow! This is nice! I would like to live here!"

Need a copy of this flyer? Send me an email at dbaldini@polarisbrokers.com with the title of the flyer in the subject line and I'll zip it right over to you!

I'll post another couple of Steps from the list soon...

Cheers,

Dan Baldini
Realtor/Broker
Ph: 317-714-0365
Fax: 317-334-0979