Monthly Archives: February 2019

Homeowners

How Real Estate Law Benefits and Protects Homeowners

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Very few things in life can make you feel safe, proud and happy at the same time. Being a homeowner gives you these and more. You may not think about it this way, but owning a home is a great achievement. With today’s real estate prices, to afford a house is no easy feat.

It doesn’t take a genius to understand the advantages of buying a house over renting, so long as your finances can handle it. With real estate value getting higher and higher by the day, homeownership is an investment that builds equity and grows with time.

The amount of money you put into that piece of real estate property is not a joke. That said, you must do everything in your power to protect it. How, you ask? Well, learning your rights as a homeowner is a pretty good place to start.

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Real Estate, Real Estate Agents, Uncategorized

Get Connected With New Realty Executives Technology

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Realty Executives strives to provide our brokers and agents with the top technology to help keep you connected to your clients and create a seamless experience. In our comprehensive suite, we have several tools that will set you up for success and enhance your productivity. Take a look below for a breakdown of each of our new technology tools.

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Homeowners

Seven Qualities of a Good Neighbor

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If you want good neighbors, you’ll first have to become one yourself. Master these seven techniques, and even you (yes, you!) can win the approval of your entire neighborhood.

1. Good neighbors bring cookies

Whether you’re new in town or haven’t kept in touch, a delivery of freshly baked goods is a perfect way to break the ice and let neighbors know that you’re thinking of them.

If cookies can keep Santa returning year after year with a bag full of loot, then surely they can train your neighbors to do your bidding. Consider the following scenario.

“Honey, somebody’s robbing the neighbor’s house again.”
“Wait, Janet. The ones who brought cookies yesterday?”
“Exactly. This time I’ll call the cops.”

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Real Estate, Real Estate Agents

What Today’s Real Estate Agents Want

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When communicating with agents, it can be hard to create the right messaging and provide the right tools for different work forces. As a brokerage looking to recruit the agents, you must keep in mind your audience, as different generations prefer varying methods of communication and work culture.

Millennials value flexibility and culture fit over commission splits, in comparison to Gen X and Baby Boomers ranking it at the top. Agents across all generations (70% avg.), feel it is important for brokerages to provide them with technology tools, as the tools continue to be a critical part of the transaction.

In today’s real estate industry, millennials have a tremendous impact. They make up the largest (56 million) workforce in the U.S. and brokerages are having to change their ways of recruiting.

All generations bring different values and needs to the real estate industry, which can be difficult and frustrating to navigate.  Check out the infographic to help break down what brokerages should focus on today to recruit the agents they want.

Originally published on dotloop.com

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Home Buyers, Home Sellers

Three Steps to Improving Your Reputation with Homebuyers and Sellers

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Originally published on dotloop.com.

In a competitive market, customers are looking for a specialist who can give them the advantage with cutting edge real estate knowledge and insight of a true industry expert.

You don’t need 15 years of real estate behind you to become a real estate expert. If you’re relatively new to the profession, you’ll certainly want to draw from the experience of more tenured agents. But time alone does not guarantee expertise.

Here are three top tips to help position yourself as an expert and gain the upper edge in the marketplace.

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Home Design

How a Danish Principle Can Change How You Sell Your Home

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Moving in the winter can be tough, but coming home to an empty or show-ready house can make short, cold days and nights even harder. Enter hygge, a Danish principle that brings comfort and contentment as the essentials to create enjoyment during winter. Pronounced “hoo-ga,” it began as a lifestyle to help make Northern European winters more enjoyable, but has evolved into a style trend in recent years. There are some simple and easy ways it can add touches of it to your space without adding more stress to the sale and moving process.

Hygge is all about creating a feeling, atmosphere and ambiance of relaxation by surrounding yourself with cozy things and doing activities you love. Beyond being a winter mindset, it is quickly becoming a trend for both self-care and interior design for good reason, since it can lift your spirits while also incorporating gorgeous seasonal decor.

Even during the stressful process of selling a house or working to settle into a new one, hygge can still help make the winter days pass a little smoother!

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Executives in the News, Press Release

Realty Executives International Takes Full Ownership of Northern Arizona Brokerage

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As part of its continued growth strategy, Realty Executives International announced today that it has acquired the remaining 50 percent of Realty Executives Northern Arizona. By fully investing in the Northern Arizona brokerage, the corporate office now has significant skin in the game, giving both management and franchisees more incentive to produce results.

Broker/Owner Don Bonnell will continue to oversee the operations of the Northern Arizona brokerage, as he has since 2005. The acquisition includes expanded support and enhanced services in order to develop a deeper business relationship with the brokerage.

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Home Sellers

Five Common Home Seller Misconceptions

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The real estate world is full of misconceptions about the home selling process. After all, selling a home can be complicated with lots of details that are easy to get wrong.

In this post, we’ll look at five common home seller misconceptions and we’ll set the record straight on each!

1. Pricing high will leave room for negotiation.

Overpricing your house is always a bad idea.

Buyer’s agents know the market, and they can spot an overpriced listing from a mile away. When buyer’s agents see an overpriced listing, they assume the seller is either 1) unreasonable, or 2) not serious about selling. Either way, agents don’t want to waste their time, or their buyers’ time, touring the house and making an offer they think will be rejected.

So an overpriced house will sit on the market until the price is reduced. And by that time, the excitement over the new listing has worn off. Even worse, buyers might see the reduction and think the price had to be reduced because of a problem with the house.

Always price your house fairly and let the market do its job.

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Home Buyers, Uncategorized

Five Common Homebuyer Misconceptions

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Buying a home is probably a lot more manageable than you think. Somewhere along the line, these crazy misconceptions have crept into the home buying conversation and made the dream of home ownership seem less attainable.  

It’s time to set the record straight. Here are five common homebuyer misconceptions and the truth about each:

1. You need to save 20 percent for the down payment before you can buy a home.

There are several ways to buy a home without a 20 percent down payment!

FHA loans are the most popular option. They allow you to buy a home with as little as 3.5 percent down.  There are also zero percent down options for special cases, like military personnel (active or veteran) or rural properties. Simply contact a lender to discuss your options. You may be closer to home ownership than you think!

Quick side note: you should also understand that your down payment won’t be your only home buying expense. You’ll need money to pay for closing costs (typically 2-5 percent of the purchase price). And you should have a little money set aside to make any urgent renovations or necessary upgrades.

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Real Estate Agents

How to Use LinkedIn to Recruit Real Estate Agents

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Originally published on dotloop.com

Every real estate broker or team lead knows that recruiting new agents is an ongoing challenge as you grow, but just getting warm bodies in the door isn’t enough. An effective long-term strategy requires the recruitment of the right kind of people — agents whose personalities and philosophies fit your brokerage’s core culture.

Brokers have many ways to identify, connect with and actively recruit ideal agents. One effective channel that’s often overlooked, however, is LinkedIn.

Although Facebook’s active participant numbers (2.23 billion) clearly overshadow the business social site’s active ranks (500 million), most LinkedIn members use the platform for one purpose: to further their careers.

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