Team Work

In real estate, it is vital to have a great team of professionals to assist you.  There are many facets to purchasing/selling a home.  It's much more than finding a home and saying you want it, or putting a sign on the front lawn that says "For Sale"  

The real estate industry is going through some dramatic changes, changes that were mandated by the collapse of the mortgage industry and financial institutions.  If you are in the market to purchase or sell a home, you need to affiliate yourself with someone who was a "team" of top quality professionals to insure yourself of a "SMOOTH real estate experience"

If you are a Buyer looking for a home, it is vital to have a Realtor that can refer you to a lender who can: 1)accurately prequalify you, 2)explain the different programs that you may qualify for, 3)can get the loan funded, 4)is price competitive, and 5)is working in the best interest of you, the Buyer.  The Buyer will also want to have access to a home inspector, a pool inspector (if applicable), a licensed roofer, a chimney inspector, an electrician, a general contractor, and a plumber.  These tradesmen are important, for you the Buyer, may want to do some remodeling, some upgrading, and/or some room additions and it's important to get an idea if your plans work with the home you are contemplating.

Home Sellers, we are not in a market, where we put a sign out and snap our fingers and ten buyers make an offer on the home.  Your agent needs to be creative, understand the current market, price the home correctly, know the different ways to finance the home, know how to work with lenders in the event of a short sale, have comparable market information for appraisers, and have honest inspectors to call on.  In today's market, a vacant home may not show as well as one that is occupied, so agents may have to "stage" the home.  Staging consists of hiring a company to come out and furnish the home, similar to model homes at subdivisions, to best show the home and its features.

I don't want to ramble on and on about the importance of these factors in real estate, but it is vital to make sure that you align yourself with an agent who has a network of professionals behind him/her.  Team work is so critical in consummating a real estate transaction in this market.  Team work can be the difference in having your offer accepted, selling your home, or more importantly, closing the deal you have in contract.  Team up with a "connected" Realtor, your home depends on it!

July 21, 2009

David Ohara

I am bullish on Sacramento, CA 

@dwo34