Archive for the ‘Good Real Estate Agents’ Category

How to avoid your house from being foreclosed, repossessed by the Bank

Wednesday, March 5th, 2008

1. Always be in touch with the bank

The bank rather seeing you keeping your house than they do. They are in the business of loaning money, not possessing properties. If you are in difficulties making your monthly mortgage payment, talk to them, and work out something with them.

2. Always have the special arrangement in writing.

This is only good if the authorized personnel at the bank would give you this promise in writing. Verbal statement means nothing.

3. A longer pay-back period is better than loosing your home.

To spread out a longer pay-back period can ease the pain of present high monthly payment. This is good as a tool to temporarily cure the money crisis

4. Do NOT feel ashamed !

Financial crises happen to everybody. What is the big deal ? Be brave, and deal with it logically. Be positive, and deal with it with confidence.

5. Get help from the government

The United States Federal Housing Administration (FHA) gives you the latest information on what the government can help.

Go to: http://www.hud.gov/offices/hsg/fhahistory.cfm

6. Get help from people you can trust.

They could be your family members, or friends, as long as you feel comfortable talking to them about your situation.

7. Use valuable items to ask for better terms with the Bank.

They could be jewelry or antique that you have. If the bank is not interested in them, how about use them as security to borrow money from people you know ?

8. Priests used to be rich, now they pay rent. What is the big deal?

So many priests I know used to be medical doctors with big houses. They chose to become priests, and donate most of their assets to the church. They can survive, so can you !

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Frequently Ask Real Estate Questions

Sunday, January 6th, 2008

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) in Real Estate

  1. Why should I buy a home and invest in real estate ?

    2. Because in a stable political and economic country, real estate is always the best investment in one’s life in the long run, in addition to the comfort of living in your own house.

  2. Why should I buy properties as investments ?

    3. Again, it is like owning blue chips stocks, in he long run, investment and commercial properties give a secure good return.

  3. Should I not use the money to buy stock rather than properties ? I get my money back much quicker ?

    4. This is why real estate is usually a long-term investment. Quicker return also means higher risk.

  4. Do I pay capital gain tax on the house (property) I live in if I make a profit when selling ?

    5. In the United States, you do.
    In Canada, you do NOT.

  5. Does it mean that I am better off in Canada when it comes to selling my house ?

    6. Not necessarily. In the United States you can deduct the mortgage interest from your income tax in Canada you CANNOT deduct the mortgage interest.

  6. I am a first time home buyer. Is there any program that might benefit me ?

    7. Yes. Depends on whether you live in the United States, or in Canada. And also it depends on which state or province you are in, there are government incentives to help first time home buyers. Check with the realtor that you are working with. Or look under Government Regulatory Agencies in this website.

  7. What is a good area (neighborhood) to move to ?

    8. A good area usually costs more. It certainly depends on what price range you can afford. However, understand from the realtor you work with, look for good value property (area). Future government zoning change nearby might give a neighborhood great appreciation in the near future, ie. Government newly-approved mall nearby, or new freeway (highway) planned.

  8. How do I know if a neighborhood is good or bad ?

    9. Speak to your insurance agent, drive the neighborhood. Go to a local police station and find out. Ask them the crime rate statistics to compare with other neighborhood.

  9. Education is important to me as a parent. How do I know if the school in the area is good ?

    10. Look under school boards and other similar organizations from the internet or library. See how that school and teachers were ranked. See if any awards were won in the past.

  10. Should I pay down my mortgage when I have extra money ?
      1. If you live in the United States, it might not be a good idea, because mortgage interest is deductible from annual income. That means you pay less income tax for the year and you could earn more by investing your money elsewhere.
      2. If you live in Canada, mortgage interest is NOT tax deductible So, you should use the extra money to pay down your mortgage principle.

    11. 2. It depends on where you live.

  11. Between stocks and properties, which one has higher risk ?

The value of stock can go down to zero. Residential properties especially your own home will appreciate. In a slow market it may take longer to achieve any kind of appreciation. The amount of loss or appreciation will depend on when you purchased the property and if you paid fair market value or not. This is where the expertise of a professional realtor would come in handy to provide you with expert advise.

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What is a Good Real Estate Agent?

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

What is a Good Agent?

Is a heavily-advertised real estate agent a good agent ? It will depend on whether most of the real estate agent’s clients were happy with him or her. It means that the majority of the agent’s clients said “yes, it was a good experience working with the agent.”

If an real estate agent sold only a modest number of houses, but with a high percentage of clients saying “yes,” then that real estate agent is good.

If the real estate agent sold a large volume of houses, but small percentage of his or her clients said “yes,” then the real estate agent is not that good.

GoodRealEstateAgents.Com works hard to confirm the true number of houses sold by an real estate agent through his or her broker (using official trade-record sheets, and possibly even income tax returns) to determine how many houses were sold in one particular period. We interview clients (whose phone numbers, internet addresses, etc. are independently obtained by GoodRealEstateAgents.com) in order to get a solid idea of how good a real estate agent is.

The following are the qualities of good real estate agents as set out by GoodRealEstateAgents.com and agreed to by real estate agents participating on this website.

A good real estate agent is focused on customer service and demonstrates the following qualities:

  • Consistently obtains the highest prices for sellers
  • Serves the seller’s or buyer’s best interest
  • Highly professional
  • Gives excellent service
  • Works efficiently
  • Is hardworking
  • Is helpful
  • Is dedicated
  • High integrity
  • Honesty
  • Positive attitude
  • Trustworthiness
  • Good Knowledge

By pre-screening real estate agents, consumers can be assured that when they pick a GoodRealEstateAgent.com member, they truly are getting the best in the business.

Is Dedicated

When an real estate agent is totally dedicated to his/her client’s, miracle could happen. From the Testimonial from Marc and Sylvie Parent, they told the readers that even in a tough real estate market in 1998 in Toronto, when other real estate agents were recommending substantially less asking prices, their real estate agent, Alec Leung, insisted on a higher price, and then sold the property for over the asking price, and the owners were still in shock at the time of writing that Testimonial. See Testimonial

Chu Liang Chow felt the same way. He witnessed every single step that his agent did for him in order to achieve the price he wanted. For that reason, he was most happy writing the Testimonial for his agent. See Testimonial

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About Good “Real Estate Agents” .com

Thursday, October 25th, 2007

GoodRealEstateAgents.com pre-screens real estate agents on behalf of property sellers and buyers.

Finding a good “real estate agent” can be confusing. There are many questions to ask. For example, are real estate agents who advertise a lot necessarily good real estate agents? How can the public know who the good real estate agents are? How should consumers define what a “good real estate agent” is?

On this website you will read how real estate agents are screened before being admitted as Good “Real Estate Agents”. Strict rules govern their membership. If serious mistakes are made, loss of this privilege is a certainty. This may be accompanied by discipline from a local real estate board and/or government regulator, and even criminal investigation and court prosecution.

Selling or buying a property is likely the most expensive transaction most consumers will ever make. Since they do not do it often, our system helps consumers make informed choices. A system like ours helps the public.

When you select a GoodRealEstateAgent.com member, you know you’re getting a great agent — someone who has been thoroughly checked out by us. Someone who is dedicated to excellent service.

Good Knowledge

Hank Hofer in his Testimonial for Alec Leung says that it was his knowledge of the market that made the sale of his condominium possible.

Clients are paying for the expertise knowledge of their agents. If the client is dealing with an investment property, knowledge of the agent is even more paramount in the clients’ decision process.
Objectives
The main objective of the GoodRealEstateAgents.com web site is to help consumers quickly find good real estate agents.

Based on consumer recommendations, GoodRealEstateAgents.com pre-screens agents in each local area across Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia.

GoodRealEstateAgents.com selects good agents based on customer satisfaction that highlight the qualities of good agents. Agents listed on this website are screened using the following criteria:

(1) most recent sellers’ comments (whose properties were sold)
OR

(2) current sellers’ comments (whose properties are still for sale)
OR

(3) buyers’ comments (those who have purchased bought through the agent selected from GoodRealEstateAgents.com)
OR

(4) buyers’ comments (those who are still working with the agents selected from GoodRealEstateAgents.com.

Here’s what we examine to determine a potential agent’s acceptance on the GREA website:

(5) Testimonials (Letters of Recommendation) written by sellers or buyers of properties that are verifiable, or are already verified by GoodRealEstateAgents.com,

(6) Direct contact with sellers or buyers through telephone interviews, or internet/fax confirmations, whose phone numbers and internet addresses are independently verified by GoodRealEstateAgents.com

This website is also ideal for those who want to know:
(1) how to look for a good realtor/real estate agent/broker;
(2) what to look for from an agent/realtor/ broker when interviewing one;
(3) what makes a good realtor/real estate agent/broker;
(4) ways to look for a good realtor/real estate agent/broker.

GoodRealEstateAgent.com’s purpose is to link our great agents with consumers who are looking to buy or sell a property.

Honesty

Nothing is more important than seeing an agent being honest in a real estate transaction. Unfortunately, there are those who are more interested in making a quick sale, or trying to close a deal using dishonest ways.

Fortunately, a lot of time, clients can also tell, if the agent is honest or not. Even from the first meeting, clients’ common sense could tell how trustworthy is the agent from the conversation. Without honesty, there is no trust. Without trust, there won’t be any transaction. As simple as that.

Government laws and real estate board rules and regulations make sure that dishonest agents shall be penalized. It is needed. This could be in forms of suspension or revolk of the agent’s license, heavy fines, or even imprisonment.

 

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