Kathy Vaughan's (kathyvaughan) Blog

It might be funny if it wasn't so risky: Buyers and sellers playing games with home inspection items.Have you evern heard a buyer, when drafting a list of items to request of the seller on a home inspection addendum, say something like, "Let's give them a few things to say No to!"Have you ever he...

These days, many buyers think they HAVE to offer less than the seller is asking. I'm not sure exactly why. Of course, buyers can't explain it.Just a couple of years ago, buyers were regularly making offers much higher than the seller was asking. The human brain hasn't changed that much in the las...

At least once in every transaction, someone on one side or the other ALWAYS uses that phrase. The seller won't pay for a home warranty. "But, it's the principle of the thing." The buyer won't take the house "as is." The seller won't replace the worn out stove. The buyer insists on using a particu...

Buyers and sellers are constantly asking me, "How is the market?" These day, the question is often more specific: "When will the market improve?"I'm constantly amazed at the question. The real estate market, is, well, a market. It responds to the law of supply and demand just like any other marke...

I recently spoke to a prospective buyer who came to me through in Internet lead. In discussing what he had done so far in his home search, I realized that he had been not only shopping for a home, he had been shopping for an agent as well, even though he probably didn't realize it.His history inc...

As the managing broker for a real estate firm, I am constantly trying to develop services and support that will satisfy my current associates and attract new associates.Recently, I have heard through the grapevine that agents are leaving their companies because of the slow market in our area. I w...

In a recent meeting of about 15 Realtors from various firms, the issue was raised about whether working with buyers required any selling skills. In other words, is the Buyer's Agent a sales person or not?On the NOT side, the advocates pointed out that the hard sale practices would not work with b...

This coming July, a new revision to the agency law goes into effect in Virginia. This revision sanctions the "limited service agent." Up until now, Virgnia agents could work as "standard" agents or as "independent contractors." No distinction was made regarding the types of services expected of a...

Now that we have entered a strong buyers market, we are returning to marketing techniques we haven't seen in quite a few years in an effort to get our listings sold.  We're beginning to see Broker's Opens, bonuses, seller financing, and other techniques. Another creative marketing technique is th...

Pre-licensing courses required by most states don't really prepare agents for "life on the streets." Most new agents I've met (including myself), begin their careers without an practical knowledge of how to do their jobs. It's easy for them to feel "lost" and fearful that they may do or say somet...