Caleb Yamanaka's Discussions

["What can a Realtor tell me that I all ready know"]To be honest a Buyer or Seller who thinks this way is not a client you want to pursue. I agree with what Krismer said earlier in this thread. You educate the client about what they don't know. This is the added value. If they take that and go to a discount broker or approach Seller's agent directly then you really didn't need that person's business anyway. It would have been a bigger headache in the long run.I don't do this for all prospects, but if a person comes into my office for a consultation and is just pumping me for information I only take it so far then I let them know that I charge a minimum of $100/hr consulting fee for more information. You weed out the serious buyer/seller very quickly. You are right. Your knowledge of the market is the value that you add, but if you don't ask the client to pay you for that knowledge then you have no one to blame but yourself.I think the place we go in the Web 2.0 age is to create a business model that pays a Real Estate expert for their knowledge. Attoney's don't give legal opinions for free. Why should you.

<this is the type of person who would never have used a Realtor anyway...... so if by giving out free advice to internet inquirers, I have lost the chance for some realtor (or myself), to have worked with Viking fan... I'm okay with that.>I agree with Elvis. That most possible clients with Vikings attitude towards Realtors are not someone you really want to work with anyway.But what Viking is saying is also true in a lot of ways. As the market declines I see a large reduction in agents making money in my market. These agents come and go with the market and Viking is right that in an up market most agents don't earn their 6% commission (rather 3% if there is a co-operating broker or 1.5% with your average brokerage split), because you can close your eyes throw a dart and make a good deal. Where most long time Realtors prove their value and also develop serious client loyalty is in the hard times is by adding both knowledge and insight to the process they help their clients either make money in a declining market or move their clients out of unhealthy investments.What it seems that most of the doom people are missing here or maybe its because I'm new to the sight, but actually a severely declining market is the best place for people with cash to make money.

Alpine,Your generalization of sales or what sells in a market, could be market specific. I don't know the New Jersey market so will not discount what you are saying, but I do have a solid grip on what's selling in the Hawaii market.Houses are selling, but they are selling at significantly lower prices then a year ago. The low ball offers are a reflection of the market in general. If you are a buyer out there right now why would you offer full price for a property even if it is priced correctly? There is no reason to offer full price because there is less competition (Buyers) for more like properties. The question all falls to the motivation of the Seller. The first thing I look at for my Buyer's is "when did this Seller purchase the property?" If the property was purchased in the last 2 years and is already on the market. I find out what the property sold for and assume that the Seller must be highly motivated. It doesn't matter to me as a Buyer's Agent if the property is priced correctly. My job is to get my Buyer the best possible deal on the property they want. If the Seller doesn't want to sell at the price offered they can always say no. I don't follow your reasoning on listing a property at higher then the comps, you might get lucky and find somebody that wants to buy and has no idea of what the market or comps are, but the odds are that most of your buyers should have somewhat of a clue, so in the end you will be offered what they are willing to pay not what you arbitrarily decide to list a property for.

Caliguy2699 - the idea that you wait for the rental ratio to purchase price to be equal is a good indicator. Its a much safer cue to look to purchase rather then trying to predict a bottom and to get in at that one perfect moment.A true bottom is near impossible to predict. You can be overly conservative or vice versa too positive. As an investor or future home owner its always better to aire on the conservative side. You will never make the most money but even more important you will never lose the most.Instead of predicting a bottom it would be better to look for indicators that will affect your buy or hold strategy. Although since this is a predict the bottom thread, I would say its much further then a year off. The bottom will continue to be in front of us as long as the Federal Reserve artifically keeps interest rates down trying to spur the market.

Marispel,The initial question is "what is your core motivation?"Which is more important selling the home or getting the right price?Financially what is the difference between "giving it away" and "making a comfortable profit on your sale"?Whenever I hear a Seller say "I don't want to give it away" it sounds like a bit of ego that is keeping the person from making the sale. What is "giving it away"? In certain markets "giving it away" is what will sell the property, but also "giving it away" is still more then prices 2-3 years ago so its really not "giving it away" (unless of course you bought in the past 2-3 years, and in that case you're probably going to be at a loss).Depending on your motivation you should use some of the suggestions above. Lower the price. Hold the price. Offer incentives. Hire an Agent. Offer more commission. Or any combination of those. If people in the $300's range aren't getting showings then there's a chance that those homes are overpriced. I don't know your market, but in general if nobody is selling or getting showings then it will usually boil down to price. You are all overpriced and need to readjust your pricing strategy.

I've noticed many posts from Seller's that are very well educated about their markets, but seem to have a disconnect about how to get their homes sold in relation to what/where the market is going and the true value of their home.This probably isn't much of a topic, but just an observation.I guess my question here is what is your core motivation to selling your home?

Is Selling now imperitive? What sort of time frame is there to meet the goals you mentioned?

<And you will NOT get the buyer the best deal. You work on commission. You get the buyer a good deal, and you reduce your pay. Come on, were not that stupid... >Actually you might be. As Real Estate doesn't seem to be your chosen profession you don't understand that if I don't do the best possible job for my clients I will not grow my business. No referrals and no repeat clients. I don't advertise with mailers, nor do I prospect. I have a website and the rest of my business is referral or long term clients.Also only about half of my income is commission. The other half is split up on Client consultaion fees of which is an agreed upon hourly fee (to consult on any number of Real Estate issues which include but are not limited to investment strategy, development, buying, selling, etc.) and also land and property manangement of which I manage rougly 16,000 acres of raw land.As for being a Seller's Agent in an up market and a Buyer's Agent in a down market, that is part of what a Good Agent should be doing. Knowing in what direction the market is going, you position your clients to benefit from that market shift. Over 80% of our clientele are positioned to Buy (meaning they have cash and are holding onto it in anticipation that there will be good buys in the future). <I find that interesting because most of these "buyer's agents" were listing agents just a short time ago whose job it was to get the sellr the best price and stab the buyer in the back.>I don't understand your logic here. If an agent is representing the Seller obviously its there job to get the best possible price for their client. You call it "stabbing the other in the back", but what do you expect, its the agents job to work his/his her client to the best of their ability. That means getting them the best possible sale price if they are on the Seller's side or best possible purchase price if they are on the Buyer's side. Why would you expect any differently?

AustinGirl, I think the main reason you don't have a standard staggard commission structure is that at the end of the day the Seller is the person setting the price.  The Seller sets the conditions of showing the property, etc.  I think you could negotiate a graduated scale if the Listing Agent felt that the conditons of sale from the Seller would lend itself to a quick sale.  For example if you want to list your property at market price today (which depending on your market, might not be market price tomorrow) and only wants showings during the working hours of the business day then how can you expect a Listing Agent to feel confident that a sale can be generated within your 6 week time constraint?  That being said it is a business relationship and everything is negotiable, but as Jack mentioned if you want to work with him then most times he will not negotiate his commission.  There are many agents who will, but I will guarantee that most of them will be working in another industry next year.

In r