Problem: No Buyers Agent Available

What client services are included when a home seller works with a Full-Service Realtor to list a home for sale?

• Agent-2-Agent Networking - Yes
• MLS Listing- YES
• Advertise Property - Yes
• Negotiate And Manage The Sale - YES
• Show property to other agents clients - ???

Showing a property to other agents clients is a hot debate among Realtor groups and real estate consumers. This extra service from the listing Agent answers the demand of home buyers who want to see a property before they buy it and then submit an offer through a Discount Broker. Before the Internets' transparent introduction of letting home buyers view MLS listings and Open Houses on their own, the Buyers Agent would accompany the buyer and show the property. Now a relationship with a Buyers Agent, is less of a requirement, to find a home.

Touring homes with Redfin participating as the home buyers agent is done through a service called Redfin Direct. The first tour, for up to three hours, is free and there is no obligation whatsoever to use Redfin as the agent. Future tours are $125 per home or $250 for a three-hour tour. Also Redfin explains:

Calling a listing agents or touring a property on your own is easy and listing agents are typically happy to show the homes they are representing to qualified buyers. For first-timers, Redfin offers an outline of what to say on the call, and a spiffy one-page Redfin introduction for you to print and show the listing agent once you do the tour.

Kevin Boer explains via his comments on the Refin Blog that there isn't an obligation to show property to other agents clients. Keep in mind - don't shoot the messenger.

...though it seems really, really, really screwy to folks outside the industry, as it stands now, the listing agent does not have an obligation to show the property, and if he/she does, it's going above and beyond...

Even though it's not a legal obligation to make oneself available to show the property on behalf of a missing Buyers Agent, I feel it should be a moral obligation. The owner and Agent have an interest to sell the house. A licensed Realtor in this situation should set an appointment to show the property and allow the home buyer(s) to tour the property by appointment.

If you're working with an Agent to sell your home make sure to ask how they will handle home buyers that choose to tour homes without a Buyers Agent.

Global Real Estate Transparency and Knowledge

Change happens fast and it's getting faster. The real estate industry boundaries are starting to give way to the advancements in technology and transparency into the Basic Steps Of A Real Estate Transaction. This openness is creating momentum towards a larger and more dynamic international market for the Internet homebuyers and global investors of residential and commercial real estate.

More info on Real Estate Transparency: (Global Transparency Index 2006).

The reasons for rapid improvement: Higher securitization levels, higher cross-border flows, and the introduction of more indices of listed (public) and unlisted (private) real estate performance.

If your looking to become more knowledgeable in the international real estate field check out the The Little Book of Real Estate Definitions authored by Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL).

Another reference tool can be found from The Global Real Estate Project for international real estate research. The information contained in these profiles has been compiled by the Burns School of Real Estate and Construction Management at the University of Denver.

Also take note of www.joneslanglasalle-dictionary.com it covers all aspects of the real estate terms discussed in the "Little Book of Real Estate Definitions" for FREE (Tools Listed Below). How very thoughtful of JLL, considering they had revenue of approximately $1.4 billion in 2005.

• Country Terms: Don't understand SEPP in Australia or first-tier city in China? Learn what real estate terms are unique to each Asia Pacific country.
• Market Practices: Find all the specific market information: lease terms, rental payments, charges, property taxes and lease disposal.
• Metric Conversion Tools: Here is your instant calculator. Just enter the value you want to convert, and select the measure you want to convert.
• Office Building Grades: This section will provide you a glimpse of the real estate scenario in each country.
• Definitions Glossary: Find out about unique real estate terms used in different countries.

Neighborhood Search Engine For Homebuyers

NeighborhoodScout provides real estate search resources for homebuyers looking to buy a home, condo, or property in the neighborhoods that meets a consumers personalized search criteria needs. This Patent protected search engine is available on a subscription basis; However ZipRealty will gladly pay for you to take advantage of the service for Free.

FREE NeighborhoodScout Tools from Zip Realty

First Time Home Buyers | Family Communities | Luxury Communities | Retirement Communities | Build A Neighborhood | Match A Neighborhood | Neighborhood Profiles | Neighborhood Appreciation Rates
NeighboorhoodScout helps answer one of the first questions most homebuyers ask when looking for a home. "So, where should we focus our house search if we want to live in a neighborhood that has [Fill In The Blank] and doesn't have [Fill In The Blank]."


Note: NeighborhoodScout Real Estate and Relocation Services

Find a Realtor | Buying a Home | Selling a Home | Real Estate Investment | Relocation Services | Real Estate Loans

This neighborhood search tool is probably the best resource for an online word-of-mouth experience of researching unfamiliar areas. Just remember that technology is not a spoken communication like you would get working with a Realtor, although web dialogue, such as "blogs, message boards and emails" are now included in the Wiki discussion. NeighborhoodScout uses nearly 200 characteristics to build a neighborhood profile for each and every neighborhood (Census Tract) in America. These profiles are created from data mined sets of information captured by the U.S. CensusBureau, the U.S. Department of Justice, the National Center for Education Statistics, and the U.S. Geological Service, etc. So what type of data does that include: school quality, housing costs, crime rates, income levels, the age, size and style of homes, the density of buildings, rental areas versus owner occupied, the proportion of families with children, the ages of persons in the neighborhood, ethnic and racial makeup, educational levels, languages spoken, types of careers of those living in the neighborhood, numbers of farms, coastal setting, and more.

If you are looking for good schools combined with reasonable home prices within 20 miles of New York City, NeighborhoodScout will uncover the best matching neighborhoods in your price range in less than five seconds using its patented search technology that reveals results to the sub-zip code level, so the best options are never missed. Want to find the neighborhoods within 30 miles of downtown Las Vegas with the highest appreciation rates, yet which are still affordable? NeighborhoodScout will instantly map your results so you know exactly where to buy from among the many hundreds of neighborhoods in the Las Vegas area.

Another service from the Location Inc. Group is HometownGuides.com a nationwide resource of local information that allows you to instantly view social and community information for the city of your choice.

New Version of The Tour Sheet Blog

Google has now completed the Beta version of its Blogger service. New features include drag-and-drop template editing, posting article labels, and more. I've been waiting to switch over to the significantly better Blogger version because I wanted to keep the same URL's and avoid broken links. The process of switching the Tour Sheet Blog to the new Blogger version is a bit of a challange because I need to go back and "label" each article post and decide on the best available layout templates for the site organization.

I want to use the labels feature to add value and simplify the online real estate consumers search for information. Im still thinking of how I can take advantage of "post labels" which are perfect for indexing the articles I have written.

Draw A House

The way you draw a house says a lot about your personality, according to DrawAHouse.com. After you draw your home answer some quesions based on your drawing - then find out what your house says about you.

Also the best looking, most imaginative houses are added to the Hall of Fame

FHA Brings the Holidays Home

What better way to celebrate the holidays than by purchasing a home of your own. To help increase homeownership opportunities during this holiday season, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development is launching the "FHA Brings the Holidays Home" sales campaign.

Homebuyers who purchase a HUD-owned home and finance the purchase with an FHA-insured loan will be entitled to valuable sales incentives including:

• $2,500 Holiday Home Improvement Allowance
  
• $500 Selling Broker Bonus
  
• Minimum Required Downpayment of Only $100

The incentives are effective for HUD homes sold between Friday, December 8, 2006 and Friday, January 5, 2007.

In addition to the special holiday sales incentives, buyers may also receive a credit for up to three percent (3%) of closing costs, a benefit HUD provides on most of its home sales.

Real Estate Auction MashUp

2RealEstateAuctions.com is a Google Map mashup built with eBay's API. It displays live eBay listings from Real Estate Auctions. One great feature is that the site allows users to view the listings next to the highest bid count - alerting the internet homebuyer of a strong demand and possible bargin. Also, U.S. Census data for housing & occupancy near the home is available.


If your wanting to view more auction inventory take a look at Realty Bid it is not a mashup filter of eBay Real Estate Listings. It is an auction site that works with real estate agents, corporations and banks to accelerate the sale of real estate. The site is for "motivated sellers, but not necessarily desperate sellers. All properties offered on RealtyBid.com are required to have discounted minimum reserve prices as compared to the list price." Note: RealtyBid.com is designed to be a tool for real estate agents only. The site is a Non-For-Sale-By-Owner (NFSBO) site.

In October, RealtyBid.coms monthly inventory of properties up for auction nationwide topped more than 1,000 for the second time in four months. Octobers inventory of 1,038 properties was an increase of 427 percent over October 2005. Source: Denver Post

What is a Building? Is it a Dwelling?

Martin Heidegger wrote an article in 1951 called "Building Dwelling Thinking". The philosophical work ponders - What is it to dwell? - it's translated by Albert Hofstadter, 1971.

We try to fill the need by providing houses, by promoting the building of houses, planning the whole architectural enterprise. However hard and bitter, ... The real dwelling plight lies in this, that mortals ever search anew for the nature of dwelling, that they must ever learn to dwell... Rightly considered and kept well in mind, it is the sole summons that calls mortals into their dwelling

Not every building is a dwelling.

"In what way does building belong to dwelling? A bridge may serve as an example ... The bridge swings over the stream with case and power. It does not just connect banks that are already there. The banks emerge as banks only as the bridge crosses the stream. The bridge designedly causes them to lie across from each other. One side is set off against the other by the bridge."

<-- The "concrete bathtub" bridge over the Elbe River in Germany. Also located in Falkirk, Scotland - A giant wheel lifts and lowers canal boats from one canal to another. The move is about 200 feet.
When you watch the Falkirk Wheel video here is what to expect.

• 1min 30sec the giant wheet starts to turn
  
• 4min 30sec Half way there
  
• 6min 30sec both boats leave the wheel

Internet Marketing Exposure

"Build your ad once. Get it on several top classifieds sites. Free."

Postlets are category-specific ads that you build just once and then they are automatically posted on several top classifieds sites quickly and easily. Postlets are currently available for cars & trucks, housing rentals and real estate. My favorite feature of Postlets is that it generates hosted HTML code that can be used (cut & paste) to post your ad on other classifieds sites such as craigslist and LiveDeal as well as on your blog or email newsletters.

The classified sites included to the automatically submit process: Oodle, Google Base, backpage.com, Propsmart, edgeio, Vast, HotPads and more.

Also make sure to review: Postlets Plus - a website dedicated to your property listing. It gives you all of the good things you've come to expect from postlets plus:

• Multi-page listing.
  
• Huge photos.
  
• Integrated mapping.
  
• School info and mortgage calculator.
  
• Virtual/video tour and external links.
  
• No advertising next to ad.

Another option to look at is the SinglePropertySites tool that allows you to make a website devoted solely to the property. SinglePropertySites is mainly used by Realtors but they also have a FSBO platform available. You can log in to your free account, create a website (no obligation, no contracts, no charge). Then you will see a FSBO option from the site build wizard. Simply choose the FSBO to build your FSBO site.

For Example:

1122 Main Street
www.1122MainStreet.com

A Technology Side Note

The Houston Association of Realtors plans to upload MLS data onto Google Base for all homes for sale.

Some are predicting that by the end of the decade at least 80 percent of home listings across the country will be available on Google or some other searchable Web site. Source: MSNBC

A side note: Technology will simply allow inventory to be more accessible to consumers using the Internet.

With this news and Zillow's move into property listings - more brokers will start sending listings to search sites such as Google Base or Zillow. For that reason - I've added Google.Base to the TourSheet Blog 'index' page for Consumer Links.

How Did My Loan Balance Increase?

Wow~! Take a look at these stats on negative amortization (or "pay option") mortgages in today's L.A. Times. This real estate stat is a bit scary - if the individual is unaware of the possible effect of just paying the minimum payment each month.

New negative amortization mortgages in California:

• 2003 -- 8 of every 1,000
  
• 2005 -- 1 in 5
  
• 2006 -- 1 in 3

Note: To all with this type of loan - Negative amortization starts when the mortgage payment is smaller than the interest due and that causes your loan balance to increase rather than decrease. Not sure if your loan has negative amortization - usually you can find an 800 number on your statement each month to call and ask questions.

Architecture From Around The World

Hey there, thanks for coming back to hang out. I found a cool site and want to share GreatBuildings.com. Here you can find pictures, 3D models, and links to structures of all kinds. A great resource to view architecture from around the world and designs from leading architects throughout history.

Great Buildings

Roman Colosseum
Fallingwater <-- (Article & Video)
World Trade Center
The Alhambra
Sagrada Familia
Great Pyramid
Chrysler Building
Notre Dame Cathedral

Great Architects

Antonio Gaudi <--Casa Batllo is incredible.
Frank Gehry
Frank Lloyd Wright
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Le Corbusier
Alvar Aalto
Tadao Ando

Inventory of Homes For Sale

As a homebuyer what are the most popular web sites to find homes for sale? I just thumbed through the 2006 Realtor Technology Survey, conducted by NAR's Center for REALTOR Technology in May 2006 - I remembered a graph and posted it below.


Obviously, the survey is dated but it shows that Agents place the majority of their listings with a local MLS site, the brokers site, Realtor.com and their own site.

"The fact is that buyers buy from the available inventory:" Gregg Swann

The MLS is an inventory. It is not universal, and a huge number of homes sold are not MLS-listed. Craigslist has an inventory. Zillow will have an inventory. Having a fairly comprehensive inventory is important to Realtors, but...

...The fact is, although there might be 45,000 homes in the Arizona Regional Multiple Listings Service right now, when I go out to show houses, I will have (those) listings with me... When buyers are ready to buy, they will buy from whatever inventory is available from the vendor they have decided to buy from. If they are convinced FSBOs are a bargain, the 29 houses on Craigslist just trumped my 45,000.

Possible Fake Zillow Ads

With Zillow's free "Post Any Home For Sale" feature, it might become a new oppurtunity for fraudulent real estate advertisers. "In a effort to separate themselves from these false advertising concerns" - The Real Estate Group NY, who is a member of REBNY, publicly states on their website a guarantee that all the properties they list "are accurate and currently available according to the information provided to us by the property owners".
(Realated REBNY Article)

The Realtor As A Wing Man

Will Smith acts as a dating coach in the 2005 movie Hitch. Who, for a fee, helps men woo the women of their dreams. This service style of a coach is nothing new to the Realtor/Client relationship and it looks to be growing in popularity with consumers. So as a consumer how do you make sure that your unique needs are going to be served? What role will you play in the processes of searching for a home, negotiating the transaction, getting financing, or handle the transfer of ownership, etc.?

As Galen Ward of Seattle's Rain City Guide explains:

We are leaving the time of the agent-"leads"-consumer model in the real estate industry and we are entering the time of the agent-"coaches"-consumer model.

If your getting ready to sell or buy real estate - here are some things you should think about before taking the next step. Remember, a good coach will provide the client with the necessary support and structure needed to help realize the participants dreams.

• Define the Communication Performance: Make sure that an expected Turn Around time is understood. Ask great questions and explain your decision-making strategies.
  
• Define Team Strategies: Alerts of new homes on the market, Neighborhood and community information for properties you find on or off the MLS, Advice while working with transaction service partners (lenders, appraisers, lawyers, escrow, fees), Access to property walk-through times/lockbox access.
  
• Talk About Barriers to Performance: Set expected availability hours, Emergency contact availability
  
• Manage each others emotional state while working together - close to the purchase agreement you might start lacking sleep. Make sure to use respect in all situations.
  
• Mentor: Work with a Realtor that can lead or coach by experience.
  

A seasoned real estate professional might be the ever so valuable "wing" on your team to help catch the home or homebuyer that you're looking for!. Bonus: Teaching you how to do it yourself along the way ~!.

Zillow Homebuyer and Seller Tools

Zillow is one of the top five most-visited real estate sites on the Web (according to Hitwise), with 3 to 4 million people visiting each month. Of these visitors, more than 85 percent are homeowners and more than half plan to buy or sell a home in the next 24 months. If you have a house for sale than why wouldn't you -the Selling Side - advertise it for free on Zillow?

Zillow has added some new features:

• Post Any Home For Sale FSBO (view it)
  
• Post Any Home For Sale Agent (view it)
  
• Make Me Move Price (view it): Once you set your Make Me Move price, potential buyers can contact you anonymously via e-mail. Then it's up to you whether or not to sell your home.
  
• Real Estate Wiki (view it): Contribute and share knowledge with others. This particular wiki is devoted to all aspects of real estate.

Update: More Real Estate Consumer Tools When You Register and get access to "My Zillow".

Use My Zillow to:

• Track your favorites — Once you find a favorite home, add it to My Zillow to keep up-to-date on its Zestimate home valuation.
  
• Create and save your own estimates — For any favorite you've saved, you can create your own estimate using My Estimator.
  
• Manage your account — Update your communication preferences, e-mail account and password.
  
• Claim Your Home — Claim ownership of your home, then customize your Home Details page and make it your own.
  

As the owner, you can:

• Update facts about your home — Since we get lots of data from public records, the facts may occasionally be outdated or wrong. Set the record straight by editing your home facts.
  
• Create your own estimate — Start with the Zestimate, but you can fine-tune it with your own estimate by adding information such as a remodel.

The Art of Entertainment

Quick press play and check out the Birdy Nam Nam crew. Its a DJ group from France whose members are Crazy-B, DJ Pone, DJ Need, and Little Mike. I listen to all types of music but saw this on YouTube and just loved the scratch - so I had to share. Is it me or do you hear some Kronos Quartet mixed into the beat?


Also if your looking to read the latest gossip - click over to TMZ.com I find the best way to navigate TMZ is the category toolbars on the left side of the website.

Manage Real Estate and Mortgage Closing Fees

LowerFees Inc. provides real estate consumers with fee transparency and reduces the confusion about the charges during a real estate transaction. The web portal is an "open marketplace" to breakdown complicated vendor fees for closing costs. In other words it provides a Good Faith Estimate for the transaction that compares fees from multiple vendors (line item by line item).

With consumers being charged as much as $55B in real estate closing costs last year, LowerFees is positioned to help save up to $21B in junk fees. Source: LowerFees Inc.

The bottom line is that LowerFees.com compares fees from local vendors, allowing consumers to make educated real estate decisions.


LowerFees.com currently offers the following products to aid the consumer:

Quick Quote:

Through the website's database of more than 10,000 real estate service providers, users simply input their property type, estimated property value/loan amount, occupancy type and zip code into the Quick Quote system and will instantly find the lowest closing costs for their transaction.

Fee Analyzer:

When consumers enter their fees in the Fee Analyzer, they receive a detailed explanation of each fee and whether that fee is common or not.

How Much Money Do You Spend Marketing A House For Sale?

If you were selling a 600,000 house, how much money would you expect to spend marketing and selling that house? What is the average price for common marketing options available to the Sell Side of the market?

Marketing: Newspaper Listings

List your property for sale or rent on NYTimes.com now and reach over 1.1 million prospective home buyers and home renters in the New York area and nationwide today!

OR
Also you can Buy a Package or a Subscription

Marketing: - Real Estate Magazines

Free real estate magazines are displayed in high traffic locations such as grocery stores, convenience stores, restaurants, fast food businesses and hardware supply stores. Homes & Land Magazine: To advertise in this publication you need to be a licensed Real Estate Agent. So Im not able to get a cost to run a property ad.

Marketing: - Neighborhood Postcards

Well-designed or timely postcards can have a very high impact. Unlike letters, postcards have no envelope hiding their message. Also be aware that a local Title Insurance company will supply you with a FARM of neighborhood residents that live in a property that is non-owner occupied indicating that they are occupied by renters. Direct mailing to renters in the local area is a great way to find a homebuyer.

Marketing: - Virtual Tours - Professional Pictures

Sellers who want to maximize the impact of their listing online and print need professional pictures and/or virtual tours. The average cost I've noticed is around $149 dollars.

Marketing: - Multiple Listing Service (MLS)

The MLS is setup for Agent to Agent communication. If you are working with a Realtor to sell your home - ask to have your home listed on the MLS. The MLS is the single greatest marketing tool a Realtor has access too. There are also Low Flat Fee MLS services available online that will include getting the house listed on REALTOR.com - but make sure that you understand what's not included with the listing. For example, I bet dollars to doughnuts that the owner is listed for the contact information and that structure is disruptive to Agent to Agent communication.

The Folks At NAHB - Play It Safe

It’s a Great Time to Buy

The housing market is experiencing a cooling-off period from the boom of several years ago, making today’s economic environment the perfect one in which to buy a home. Rates are low and inventories are up, meaning more choices for home buyers. Browse the resources gathered below to discover why in today’s market, the buyer holds all the aces.

Home > Resources > For Consumers > It’s a Great Time to Buy

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) explain that the best way to “play it safe” is to actually buy a home. But before you go out and buy - I'd suggest to ask a local Realtor for a report about the recent inventory patterns of homes for sale in the area.

And, Wow - that's bold advice from NAHB - since the National Association of Realtors (NAR) reported that the median price of a single-family house in the third quarter dropped 1.2% from 2005. Even more dramatic than the price drops was the steep drops in the number of sales.

The decline of sales volume was off the charts in Nevada, down 38 percent. Arizona, ( - 36 percent), Florida (- 34.2 percent), California (- 28.6 percent), Hawaii (- 25.8 percent) and Virginia (- 24.4 percent).

It might be time for the NAHB to take a more "middle-ground" approach to advising homeownership - especially with the growth of stalled subdivisions.

Home Alone in Stalled Subdivisions

Stalled subdivisions are starting to gain attention from the media. The housing market for single-family homes and condominiums in rural areas were builders bought land cheap threatens the quality of life for new construction homebuyers.

As builders continue to lower prices, neighbors in the new communities are coping with empty lots and crime. New home construction has fallen - most builders say its the worst market they have ever seen. Such conditions are resulting in leaving brand new homes next to empty lots and barren blocks.

I remember when home builders would throw a slick sales pitch of "Hurry up and buy now before the price increase next Monday." Im thinking that this type of sales pitch wont work now.

Chicago's Skyrocketing Property Tax

In 2003, Cook County Assessor Jim Houlihan developed the 7% Expanded Homeowner Exemption in an effort to provide immediate relief to homeowners facing skyrocketing assessment increases and the resulting increases in their property tax bills.

This property tax relief legislation was signed into law in July of 2004. The law is set to expire in the reassessments of the north and south suburbs in 2007 and 2008. Currently, a proposal to renew this provision is pending in the state legislature, but the attempt is stalled.

Barb Head, a Lakeview resident and president of the Tax Reform Action Coalition, an organization that has been lobbying hard for the 7 percent cap voices - “We’ve received assessment notices from people who have gotten 70, 80, 104 percent increases this year.”

Senate Bill 2112 "long-term goal is reducing the over-reliance on property taxes by restructuring Illinois' tax system, we must first stop the increasing tax burden that is threatening to destroy our neighborhoods," Houlihan said. "We need to take this first step and provide relief to homeowners now, and then keep the momentum going to bring substantial structural change to our property tax system in Springfield."

The Cook County Assessor's office has put together data about The Impact of the 7% Expanded Homeowner Exemption. Select either the North Suburbs or South Suburbs to view the effect that 7 percent has on your community.

Target Real Estate Marketing - Farming for Leads

Successful real estate salespeople have been farming for years. A farm is a marketing tool that organizes detailed information on properties and property owners in a format that can be used by realtors, real estate investors, home sellers, etc. for marketing purposes. A farm list is used to create a local geo-target area with detailed demographic information for real estate marketing efforts.

Farming is a excellent way to target homebuyers and home owners. The data attributes available include: geography, mortgage amount, lender, home value, financial attributes, characteristics, owner occupied, non-owner occupies, date of purchase, loan type, and demographics, to name a few. Most often a local Title Insurance company or a local Realtor can help clients develop a farm list for particular individual needs.