Has anyone been following that lawsuit going to trial on Monday in San Diego where a homeowner is suing her agent because she bought at the peak of the market? The homeowner, Marty Ummel, has been picketing her agent's office for more than a year. The agent, Mike Little, Re/Max, is also in the le
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01/22/2008
Should a seller require an appointment or will a lockbox inspire more showings? Some sellers are uneasy about giving agents and their buyers access to a home when the sellers are not at home. However, unless a seller is at home during the day, without a lockbox, showings might not happen at all.
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01/21/2008
When a listing expires, all of a sudden, sellers start to hear from real estate agents. They will receive letters in the mail, telephone calls and a few aggressive agents may even show up on the doorstep, ringing the bell. All this activity might make a seller think, "Hey, my property is really h
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01/21/2008
When I analyze my last year's sales -- in particular my listings -- in about 80% of the cases, I can say the homes were pursued because I networked with the selling agent. I talk about my listings to every agent I meet. After showings, I call the agents to find out what their buyers thought, and
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01/20/2008
When I take a new listing, I try to give sellers a week or two to get ready for an open house. This article outlines steps a seller can take at least a week in advance, then 72 hours before and, finally, the night before an open house. I want everything to be picture perfect. Nobody gets a sneak
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01/20/2008
Lots of real estate agents refuse to hold open a house. They say it's a waste of time -- when they could be watching football or enjoying a picnic at the lake instead. They claim the only benefit is to find other clients for the agent, and very few homes sell at a open house. While I agree that s
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01/19/2008
Whenever I write about how to sell your home by yourself, real estate agents get up in arms. They want to know why I am giving away all our secrets to you. But the thing is they aren't really secrets. It's a system. And if you follow it, your home may or may not sell, depending on the market. The
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01/19/2008
Selling your home by yourself can be a lengthy and time consuming process. However, the real joy doesn't set in until a buyer decides to make an offer. Because that's when strong negotiating can pay off in spades. When I sold one of my own homes, a buyer called me from the number on the sign in m
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01/18/2008
Once again, Forbes has released its Best of the Web Reviews and Rankings for national home buying web sites. The list includes 25 national home buying sites. At the bottom is realestate.com, ranking number 25. At the top is realtor.com, ranking as Forbes' favorite, followed by the top five Forbes
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01/17/2008
I'm seeing more sales lately in which sellers are bringing in money to close. They are paying to sell. This might seem backwards to you because sellers are supposed to make money when they sell, but in down real estate markets, the seller might not have enough equity in the home to pay costs of s
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01/16/2008