Norma Toering's Q&A

Does the agent:1.  Know your neighborhood?2.  Know what is for sale and what has sold in the past 6 months in the area?3.  Have a marketing plan for your property?4.  Have references and testimonials from past clients?5.  Disclose and discuss his fee (commission rate)?6.  Provide weekly (or more frequent ) updates on showings, calls etc.7.  Provide his/her real estate license number?8.  Have a personality and work ethic you are comfortable with?9.  Work full-time in real estate?10. Allow you to terminate the contact if your plans change or the agent does not live up to your expectations?These questions should get a lively discussion started. Good luck with your search for an agent.

Home ownership is a matter of public record.  You may be able to access the records for your county online, or your agent may be able to provide the information for you.  The county tax assessor's office is a wonderful source of information when verifying square footage of record, purchase date and trust deeds of record as well as the current owner.

Sellers are in a short sale situation when the amount owed (loan) on the house exceeds the value of the property.  In order to sell the property at its current market value the owner will need the lender's approval to accept an offer that is insufficient to pay off the loans.  The lender will be short funds to pay off the loan debt.  Thus, the name short sale.The lender's approval of the sale can take several weeks, if not months to obtain.  The sellers must provide financial statements and a letter of explanation before the bank will consider approving an offer for less than the existing loan amounts. Short sales are common in a falling market.  They are especially prevalant today due to the many properties financed with 100% loans a few years ago.

In my MLS the red arrow indicates the orginal list price was reduced.  Thus the red arrow points downward. If the arrow is green and pointing upward the pirce was increased.In today's market you will see many more red arrows than green ones.  However, if a property was off the market then relisted at a lower price, that information can be found under history (H) or by clicking on the numeral indicating days on market. Not all this information may be available to a consumer, but your local agent can provide you with the historical information on listings of interest to you.

Connie,Is this property still available? I have clients it may be a match for--please let me know the status ASAP.

Homes on the hill are leasing in the $1.50 per sq. ft. range, but that is just a ballpark number. Does it have a view? Is it remodeled? These factors play an important role in determining the rental value.