Tag Archive: For Sellers

Trick Or Treat: October Real Estate Promotions!

Trick Or Treat, Scottsdale

Times were a buyer could reasonably anticipate that a seller would provide a one year home warranty policy with the sale of a home. Given the equity crunch that many are experiencing, and the prevalence of short sales and bank owned homes in the current market (which typically do not provide such policies), home warranties…

Listing Price Reductions: Go Big or Go Home

Note:  The following is the opinion of Paul Slaybaugh only, and, therefore, patently correct. Unless you are trying to get under a specific price barrier, you are better off leaving your asking price alone than making a minuscule reduction. Sounds contrary to logic, doesn’t it? And contrary to the groveling we agents typically employ to…

Selling a Home in Scottsdale? Keep the Agent Bonus in Your Shorts.

Thanks, but no thanks.  Therein lie my in-depth feelings regarding buyer agent bonus compensation. It’s a tricky business, this whole trust-building endeavor.  From the initial consultation with a prospective client, to the signing of the closing documents and all stops in between, a certain rapport and mutual belief in the positive intentions of each party…

What’s Mean and Grey and Stupid All Over?

There are dragons lurking in the dark recesses of your property listing.  Mean dragons.  Scaly, grey, mean dragons that might rise up out of their lairs and go all Godzilla on your potential showings if left unchecked. And what, pray tell, is the name of these marauding reptiles? “REALTOR Remarks” Ah yes, that hobgoblin of…

You Want to Preview My Home? Buzz off, Ebert.

MP900177897[1]

I have seen my share of thumbs down houses over the years.  It’s a sad truth, but for every summer blockbuster, there is a Real Estate Gigli.  Properties that look so promising in the MLS trailer fall flat despite the star-studded cast.  Granite counter tops, stainless steel appliances, new carpet, manicured back yard … a…

2010: The Year of the Niche in Scottsdale Real Estate

Tunnel Vision

2010 is the Year of the Niche. It’s true, feel free to consult the Chinese calendar to verify.  Scottsdale Real Estate practitioners, in self-defense, have turned to new and interesting means of keeping their businesses relevant in these inexplicable times.  Today’s homework assignment for a Real Estate adventurer?  Finding a profitable, niche specialty.  Thus, the…

The Interest Rate Boogeyman: Today’s Buyer Must Think Like Tomorrow’s Seller

So you have 20% to put down for a single family home in Scottsdale AZ.  Your FICO scores are higher than Willie Nelson on Bob Marley Day in Montego Bay.  You have been gainfully employed in the same W2 position with the same company for years.  The American Express card with a $124 balance and…

An Equitable Life-Line? What an Improving Rental Market Means to Scottsdale Real Estate Combatants

Emergency Real Estate Flotation Device

Among the interesting turnabouts that abound in the Scottsdale Real Estate market as of late, the rental market has demonstrated surprising new strength.  Where there was formerly a preponderance of housing options for prospective tenants over the last couple of years, what with all the struggling homeowners out there eager to find someone else to…

Real Estate Agent or Social Media Icon? Choose Wisely When Selling Your Scottsdale Home.

Social Media Prophet

The collection of hats in a Scottsdale Real Estate listing agent’s closet grows at an exponential rate.  We alternately don the garb of property evaluator, pitchman, marketing pro, receptionist / showing coordinator, contract prep specialist, home inspection consultant, appraisal jouster, loan oversight committee (of one), repair foreman, closing editor, schedule contortionist, marriage counselor, dime store…

When Less Is More: Why Listings Agents Should NOT Attend All Showings

Spying Realtor, Delayed Home Sale

By now, nearly every prospective seller in Scottsdale and the greater Phoenix area has been inundated with the well-worn advice that it is wise to make oneself scarce during showings.  If HGTV and its fleet of “Real Estate experts” haven’t gotten to you yet, your relatives have.  Or maybe you heard it from the co-worker…