SMART AND HAPPY SELLERS/BUYERS!

So excited for Leslie & Jeremy Staver! They sold their Waukesha house & saved almost $5,000 in commissions! Also they used their skilled Homeowners Concept agent to buy the house of their dreams & negotiate on their behalf in Pewaukee. Have fun at your new house Staver Family!
http://www.facebook.com/Homeowners-Concept-Realtors-87984633557/

HOW SHOULD ONE USE ZESTIMATE?

   Zestimate® or Guesstimate?

Zestimate…loved by home buyers because it gives them a dollar value on a property…hated by real estate agents because it’s so inaccurate.

When used properly, a Zestimate is a useful tool; when misused for things such as contract negotiations and pricing real estate, it causes problems. Let’s look at what a Zestimate is, and how it should be used.

What is a Zestimate?
This definition of Zestimate is from Zillow’s website:

“The Zestimate® home valuation is Zillow’s estimated market value, computed using a proprietary formula. It is not an appraisal. It is a starting point in determining a home’s value. The Zestimate is calculated from public and user submitted data; your real estate agent or appraiser physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account. We encourage buyers, sellers, and homeowners to supplement Zillow’s information by doing other research such as:

• Getting a comparative market analysis (CMA) from a real estate agent
• Getting an appraisal from a professional appraiser
• Visiting the house (whenever possible)”

Let’s break Zillow’s definition down and see what it tells us:

1. It is not an appraisal; it is a starting point. This statement is telling you that Zestimates are not meant to be accurate measures of value. Rather, Zestimates are meant to give you a ball-park idea of the value.
2. (It) is calculated from public data. This informs you that Zestimates pull data from county assessor’s records. These records are used to calculate your property taxes, and are notoriously inaccurate measures of market value. Depending on the municipality and when the last re-assessment was performed, many assessments can be way off (up or down) than the sales price. Most taxpayers want the assessed value as low as possible so they pay lower taxes.
3. Get a CMA from a High Volume real estate agent. Zillow says “your real estate agent physically inspects the home and takes special features, location, and market conditions into account.” Not to mention recent sales and homes currently on the market, and the home’s condition. Zillow can’t know a house has a remodeled kitchen or smells like cat pee.

How to Use Zestimates
Use Zestimates as a starting point to determine the general price point of a neighborhood. In other words, houses in the neighborhood are mostly $250,000 or $350,000. You can also use Zestimates to compare one house to another, which will tell you if a house is generally higher priced than others around it.

How NOT to Use Zestimates
The biggest misuses of Zestimates are negotiating the purchase price of a house you want to buy, and setting the price of a house you want to sell. For these tasks, you must get a market analysis from an experienced real estate agent (as all of Homeowners Concept agents are). You need an up-to-date, accurate number based on research conducted by a qualified Realtor who is knowledgeable about pricing, not a computer program using inaccurate data.

HOMES ARE SELLING VERY FAST - FOR HEAVEN'S SAKE, WHY PAY 5% or 6% COMMISSION?

You're probably aware that homes are selling in a matter of days on the market and many homes are getting 2 or more offers and overbids. It's true, particularly in the suburbs. Our Realtors are busy and our expertise shows on how we handle the offers to maximize the price to the seller.

The question that comes to mind though is WHY do sellers continue to throw away thousands of dollars more in commissions by paying 5% or 6% AND most likely use a mediocre agent in the process?

People are not stupid but they have been BRAINWASHED to just pay 6% when programs like Homeowners Concept are EXCEPTIONALLY SUCCESSFUL (for 30+ years!). Some sellers used the slow market of the past as an excuse to pay more commission assuming that somehow paying more, those agents will "push" the home and make it more attractive to buyers. Before internet one could make that argument (although it was still a real stretch, given our great record) BUT NOW? REALLY?

These days, 96% of the buyers are on the web finding and previewing homes, especially on Zillow and Trulia (and WE'RE ON those sites unlike some 6% agencies). GONE are the days where agents would tell buyers which homes to look at. Now, buyers tell agents which properties they want to view or they go view them on their own. IT'S COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT which company a home is listed with or HOW MUCH commission the seller is paying. If the buyers like a home they'll use the agent they're working with or an agent from our company to write contracts, negotiate, etc. Agents have ABSOLUTELY NO CONTROL which home a buyer buys. Think about it: If you are the buyer, do you care how much commission a seller is paying? Of course not! As long as there is a skilled agent in the mix to handle negotiations, contracts and closing, a buyer will go forward and purchase.

With as hot as the market is today, it's even more astonishing that some sellers choose to pay more commission AND get less of an experienced agent (our agents sell 4 TIMES more homes than the average agent and have many more years in business - 19 vs 6). At closing most sellers also pay hundreds of dollars in administrative fees which WE DO NOT charge. As some of our clients have expressed: "If only people knew and TOOK THE TIME to find out more, they will NEVER, EVER pay 5% or 6%".

YOU DON'T CARE ABOUT SAVING THOUSANDS? There are plenty of great charities (or churches) one could DONATE the thousands of dollars in savings. The charity and YOU will feel good about it for years to come!

UNLIKE MOST COMPANIES, WE DO NOT CHARGE ADMINISTRATIVE FEES!

The vast majority of real estate companies charge extra fees usually as an administrative fee at closing. Homeowners Concept DOES NOT charge any extra fees (including any upfront or end fees)! The administrative fee charged by high commission brokers can run as high as $600 at closing. THIS is above and beyond the 5% or 6% commission one pays.

Unfortunately, most sellers knowingly or unknowingly pay these extra fees on top of the commission. These sellers either do not know any better or they are in a frame of mind of paying over $13,000 in commission for the average priced home in Greater Milwaukee that they figure, what's a few hundred dollars more. It's a shame that high commission brokers have imposed or increased this additional fee over the last few years. But as long as sellers blindly keep paying these fees, brokers will continue charging them.

Bottom line: a few hundred dollars on top of the thousands ONE SAVES BY USING HOMEOWNERS CONCEPT adds up to a substantial amount of money. Furthermore, one not only saves thousands in commissions and hundreds of dollars in administrative fees but they ALSO get to work with one of our many highly skilled Realtors who are top selling in Metro Milwaukee (we only employ full time agents that sell at least 4 times as many homes per year as the average agent and have been in business for at least 5 years or longer!). In the current environment of fast sales we're in, there is no excuse for sellers to pay 5 or 6% commission and having to pay an administrative fee on top of that.

"For Sale By Owner" IS A LOSING GAME.

Even though selling as a pure For Sale By Owner (FSBO) can be the cheapest way to sell, it is BY FAR the least successful method around. The last year that a national survey was performed (2013) showed that only 14% sold this way and we're sure some of them actually had to pay a Buyer's Agent (ultimately paying around 3%) to sell. Of the 32 FSBOs that we tracked in Metro Milwaukee in 2013 and 2014 only 6 did not convert to sell with a Realtor at some point and may have sold as a FSBO (7 actually converted to our program).

The very reason we exist is the result of FSBOs. It was winter of 1984 when our founder walked away from buying a For Sale By Owner (FSBO) after he realized the Buyer's legal cost and time away from work necessary to meet with a lawyer (lawyers are NOT fond of meeting after business hours). He wondered how many other buyers walk away from buying a FSBO if Realtor assisted homes are easier to make offers on. A little research at the central library consisted of surveying 100 FSBOs from the newspaper ads of 3-6 months before, showed that very few sellers were successful (at that time only 16% of FSBOs were able to sell without any Realtor help). THE SUCCESS RATE IS DISMALLY LOW. It was then that he realized that there it has to be a better way for real estate to be sold and Homeowners Concept was born as the "missing link" for FSBOs to achieve the Realtor advantages without the hefty commission.

It is the time one loses trying to sell as a FSBO (usually 9-12 weeks) that damages the home's chance of getting sold or getting sold at its highest price. It is the buyers' reluctance to enter negotiations with the seller directly and spend hundreds if not thousands of dollars in legal fees plus maneuver through the transaction on their own that dooms the FSBOs. Most buyers do not want to spend ($500+ upfront ) on a retainer to make an Offer to a seller. If the Offer does not go together the retainer is gone. If any issues come up during negotiations or inspection (and these days it seems that there is always inspection issues) or thereafter it is more money the buyers are on the hook for. Can you blame Buyers for skipping buying a FSBO?

One of the fallacies sellers have is that a buyer will use "their" lawyer to do the buyer contract, counters, amendments, etc. That is extremely rare as buyers are reluctant to go to the seller's attorney. Keep in mind that attorneys list their homes with Realtors at the same rate as any other profession (THEY know better). Over the years we have had hundreds of sellers who were trying it on their own, turn to our company and within a number of days to a few weeks get an accepted offer as a result of us being involved.

With our 1.5% commission there is absolutely no reason why anyone would want to attempt selling FSBO. If sellers knew all the facts, they would never resort to sell a property as a FSBO not as long as companies like Homeowners Concept are around.

ABSOLUTELY, POSITIVELY NO NEED TO PAY 5 OR 6% COMMISSION!

We've proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that using Homeowners Concept is an extremely successful way to sell a home and at the same time save on commissions (even our top tier of 3.9% saves a seller thousands of dollars on an average home). Just think about the stats for a minute: Homeowners Concept is celebrating its 31st year in business, we have sold upwards of 23,000 properties, saving sellers close to $75 million in commissions. All that business was handled by top notch Realtors who've been in business much longer and do many more sales per year than the average agent. AND to top it off Homeowners Concept has maintained an A+ rating with the Better Business Bureau, unlike other large real estate firms charging 5 or 6%, which have not!

Unfortunately many sellers continue to waste money paying 5 or 6% commission all the while working with mediocre agents. The REAL ESTATE INDUSTRY HAS DONE AN INCREDIBLE job BRAINWASHING people into paying high commissions. Would you buy or pay more for a home because the owner is paying more commission to an agent? Of course not. On any given week, hundreds of homes expire unsold in our local MLS that were on the market with any of the high commission companies. There is no shortage of unhappy sellers who were going to pay 6% and did not sell or sold at a much lower price (sometimes after multiple reductions) than they were told. NO REASONABLE person can argue that paying a high commission will give one an advantage over someone who's paying our 1.5% or 3.9% commission, considering the marketing and expertise we offer is at higher levels than the competition.

Speaking about marketing, not only do we offer all the real estate websites INCLUDING the top 2 sites Zillow and Trulia (which, believe it or not some 6% agencies exclude their listings from!) we also offer our own website AND our own magazine! Now that's what you call, covering ALL avenues for buyers to find your property. As one creates more demand, one has a better chance of selling and selling at a higher price.

SELECTING A TOP REALTOR IS KEY TO A SUCCESSFUL AND SMOOTH SALE.

Buying or selling a home is the single largest transaction that most consumers undertake. The process can be filled with uncertainty, emotion and pitfalls, so most buyers and sellers choose to work with a real estate agent to help them through the process. Selecting an agent is obviously an important step, and most consumers would agree that agent expertise and experience should weigh heavily in that choice. The shocking statistic is that the majority of home buyers and sellers select agents who have little or no experience closing real estate transactions.

Most Consumers Do Not Select Experienced Real Estate Agents

If one delves into the statistics one can see that the average agent sold a little over 6 properties in 2014 in metro Milwaukee. That is one every other month. Hardly enough to be an expert in this field. If one removes the number of sales from the top 200 agents (practically all of Homeowners Concept Realtors belong in this elite list) then we are left with 2,800+ agents that only did 3 to 4 deals last year. Surprised by the data? Most people are. If there is one thing that can be said for our industry, it is that there are loads of hucksters and part-timers out there who fast talk their way into a couple of deals each year. Consumers can do better.

How Many Transactions is Too Many?

A small group of agents closed a very large number of transactions in 2014. A few agents closed more than 80 transactions last year. Certainly they have significant transaction experience, but realize that the only way this is physically possible is by working with a substantial team of folks or by sacrificing service. There are only so many hours in each work week and in the high commission world an agent spends considerable time trying to get listings. If you are planning to work with a very high volume agent, recognize that you will be interacting more with their team than with the agent who is getting credit for the transaction, or you may be sacrificing service levels because your agent is assisting so many customers. You will want to understand who is on the team, and when exactly you will get to work with the main agent, along with getting clarity on the service levels that they provide to you.

Striking a Balance

Consumers should require that their agents demonstrate results. Stick with full-time agents who do this for a living and are closing at least 2 to 3 deals per month, and you’ll be using an agent in the top 5% of all agents in Greater Milwaukee. Our own agents consistently rank in the top 5% of agents (and of course, the savings in commissions is a bonus!). We are able to close more deals than a typical agent by focusing 100% of our work on selling homes and closing deals, not on trying to prospect for clients (our program sells itself). Also, we strategically do not hire too many agents.We only hire upon demand and only have full time agents that have been in business for at at least 5 years (for proof call around any of the traditional brokerages; if you're licensed they'll hire you). Consequently, our agents sell between 4 and 11 times as many homes per year as the average agent. Consumers should be more diligent when selecting their real estate agent and make sure that they select agents who have substantial experience getting deals done.

OUR LISTINGS ARE ON ZILLOW AND TRULIA, UNLIKE OTHER COMPANIES'.

Up until mid April of 2015, listings of the SE-WI MLS were automatically fed to Zillow and Trulia (the #1 and #2 real estate websites). Since then however, companies have to individually engage and pay additional money to feed their listings to Zillow and Trulia. Homeowners Concept has done so. Interestingly, most of the other large real estate firms are still absent from these very powerful websites.

Furthermore for the past two years the largest firm in Metro Milwaukee has been excluding their listings from Zillow and Trulia. The reason this local company and some of the others recently, have decided not to display their listings on the top websites is that they lose buyers to other agents who advertise alongside each property. By doing so though, they compromise their sellers' ability to get maximum exposure for their home and ultimately sell in a timely fashion and for the highest price. BOTTOM LINE, greed trumps ethics. If only sellers knew the REAL reason their home does not show up on Zillow and Trulia!

Home sellers think they're better off signing up with a couple of the largest local firms but what they don't realize is that company size is completely irrelevant to buyers. Latest data shows that almost 95% of the buyers find their eventual home on their own, primarily using these 2 real estate sites. So not having your home show up there, is definitely a disadvantage in getting top dollar.

This is a perfect example that Homeowners Concept's Full Service programs provides more marketing than having to pay 6% which ultimately results in a higher offer.

ARE YOU GUILTY OF THIS?

People say some of the craziest things.

We're sure you've heard (and perhaps even uttered) one of these phrases listed below.

And before we explore them one by one, consider why the perception of value is so often clear in one case, and yet totally ambiguous in others.

Value Is In The Eye Of The Beholder

Opinions of value versus cost will be uttered all the time, perhaps you've heard such things as:

• There’s no way I’m going to pay $8 for a beer
• I can’t justify spending $200 on a pair of shoes
• We won’t be going there for vacation, airline prices are too high
• I’ll get the T-bone, the filet is way too pricey
• I’ll wait to watch the movie when it's at the budget cinema

Most people seem to be pretty sensible on how they spend their money on daily purchases. Nobody likes to spend too much, even when it’s not a financial concern, not overspending is often an issue of pride.

The Value Of The Right Real Estate Professional

So if you’re with us up to this point, let us hit you with the “craziest thing” that we referenced at the beginning of this post … it’s something that is heard by real estate agents across the Country all the time … when talking to somebody looking to buy or sell a home. Here’s what they say:

• I hired my friend, he has a real estate license

Seriously? We’re not talking about an $8 beer or a $200 pair of shoes. We’re not even talking about a $3000 vacation. We’re talking about a decision that is likely going to cost the customer $12,000 for an average home of $200,000.

Why is it that people don’t think ahead before they hire somebody to help them sell a home? Is there a difference between a highly trained and experienced negotiator versus somebody who works in an industry part-time or has not been in business for very long? Is it worth your time to find out?

We cannot stress [strongly enough] the importance of investigating  for the job of selling a home and for the job of helping you buy a home.

There are huge differences in service and capabilities that you can discover, all you need to do is a little research. Perhaps the same amount of research you would do to find the best deal on a family vacation.

So do yourself a favor and save some money when you buy or sell your next home. Talk to multiple agents and find the one that will ensure you get the best deal. If you've been on the Homeowners Concept website for more than a couple of minutes you've probably come to the conclusion that we offer much more highly skilled Realtors than the average agency (most of our Realtors are in the top 200 agents of Greater Milwaukee - out of 3,000+) and charge less commission and no administrative fees. Making an intelligent decision is well within your reach.