All posts by Alysia Heun

How a Danish Principle Can Change How You Sell Your Home

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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Realty Executives International Takes Full Ownership of Northern Arizona Brokerage

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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Five Common Home Seller Misconceptions

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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Five Common Homebuyer Misconceptions

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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How to Use LinkedIn to Recruit Real Estate Agents

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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Realty Executives Leadership Strong Presence on the Arizona Association of REALTORS® 2019 Board

Realty Executives is proud to be well represented on the leadership team for the Arizona Association of Realtors® (“AAR”) with 75 percent of the team being represented by Realty Executives. The board is elected by association members and leads AAR in its goals and legislative discussion.

AAR is the largest trade organization in Arizona, representing more than 50,000 Arizona Realtors®. The association works to better the profession of real estate and is dedicated to the protection of private property rights and best interests of Arizona Realtors® in legislation. Members meet to discuss regional and national issues and to support other real estate professionals. AAR strives to provide top education and training for its members and several other benefits.

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Buy-and-Hold or Fix-and-Flip…What’s the Right Investment for You?

When it comes to real estate investing, is it better to buy-and-hold or fix-and-flip? The answer depends on your investment goals, your personal preferences, and your local market. Let’s looks at each strategy and figure out which is the better fit for you.

What is Buy-and-Hold?

Buy-and-hold is when you purchase an investment property for the long-term. Most investors start with a single-family home or small multi-family property (2-4 units).

You simply find a property where the rent will exceed all your expenses (as a general rule of thumb, investors like to see the monthly rent be more than 1% of the purchase price), then find reliable renters for the property.

The rents collected will pay down your mortgage debt, pay all your investment-related expenses (like taxes, insurance, and maintenance), and put money in your pocket every month for decades to come!

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Realty Executives Opens Brokerage Covering Florida Parishes

 

Realty Executives International is excited to announce that Sam N. DiVittorio has opened a Realty Executives brokerage in historic, downtown Hammond, LA.

The brokerage will assist residents with residential, commercial and leasing needs in the Florida Parishes, which include Tangipahoa, Livingston, St. Tammany, East Baton Rouge, Washington, East Baton Rouge, East Feliciana, St Helena and West Feliciana.

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Realty Executives Associates Celebrates Office Opening in Sweetwater, TN

 

Realty Executives Associates Main Street in Sweetwater, TN held a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony in Sweetwater on January 20. A large crowd of family, local government, business and community leaders and the Monroe County Chamber of Commerce came out for the event. Owner Scott Wilson and his wife Julia have been joined by numerous well-known local real estate professionals in this new venture. The newest Realty executives Associates office is located at 207 N. Main Street. The building was once a real estate office in the late 1800s. Continue reading

Why You Should Hire a Real Estate Coach

Originally published on dotloop.com

Real estate coaches provide objective business consulting and can even provide the catalyst for personal transformations. But who needs a coach and what’s the best way to select one?

An experienced real estate agent with a solid clientele and a steady stream of income might ask, “Why would I want to hire a real estate coach?”

Fair point. With reputable programs starting at around $500 per month and a significant time commitment, coaching is neither cheap nor always convenient. Perhaps most challenging, coaching involves giving someone else permission to scrutinize every aspect of an agent’s life and business practices.

However, both newcomers and top-earning agents who find the right coach agree that the increased business and, in some cases, the personal transformations they gain more than pay for the investment. Here’s why.

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