Do you think we should take the house off the market? Should we wait until spring to put our house on the market? Do houses sell over the holidays?
These are all questions which I am frequently asked. I am not sure there is a right or wrong answer to any of them, but I have observed some patterns over my many years as a Real Estate Broker.
By now, you have probably heard about TRID – – the big real estate change which occurred on October 3rd. The “TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure” was designed and implemented by the federal government in yet another over reaching attempt to “protect” consumers. TILA stands for “Truth in Lending Act” and RESPA stands for “Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act”. These two federal lending requirements are to be “Integrated” into a “Disclosure” that provides very firm rules as to the precision and advance notice to which lenders must adhere in providing information to borrowers.
When it comes to real estate, “EVERYONE IS AN EXPERT”. Trust me on this one.
I do a great deal of industry related reading and research. For the most part, this is to keep me current with trends in the industry and to assure that my company is complying with all the appropriate rules and regulations. Seldom, however, do I bother to read about what the “experts” think.
A 2014 study by the National Association of Realtors confirms that Agent-assisted home sales typically are 13% higher than For Sale by Owner sales (FSBOs). This is really impressive! Most folks choose the For Sale By Owner (FSBO) route to “save” the commission. While commissions are negotiable, they generally range in the 5-6% range. Obviously, the use of a Realtor MORE than covers the cost – – by a wide margin, actually.
As we find ourselves squarely into the traditional busy spring market, I thought I would pass along some “tid-bits” that I have taken from the numerous trade publications that I review frequently. For the most part, it remains good news:
Real Estate again named best long term investment. That is according to a recent Gallup Survey where respondents chose real estate ahead of stocks, gold, savings accounts, CD’s or bonds as the best long term investment. Real Estate also took the top spot last year.
…is always under construction”. This is another adage from my favorite baseball manager, Baltimore Orioles skipper Buck Showalter. So, what does it mean? Well, I think it speaks to the need to adapt and adjust to new and changing trends within your business or industry.
I would like to take this opportunity again to thank our many friends and clients for making 2014 one of our best years ever. We are off to a very good start and I am extremely optimistic about 2015 as well.
This will likely be my last blog for 2014. Once again, we have been very blessed with a quite profitable 2014 – – the best year that we have enjoyed since 2006. I thought I would end the year just with some quick bullet points and a quick comment on each.
I still read the newspaper every day. A recent national survey indicated less than 13% of Americans still read the newspaper – – but I do. It is the very best way to keep up on local news.
While I am not a voracious reader by any stretch, I also read business and trade publications religiously. Everything that I read lately, by all sorts of so called “experts”, is really just what I would refer to as a “mixed bag”.
Lou Gehrig ’s disease (ALS) is a terrible, terrible disease. The recent national effort to draw awareness and funding is to be lauded.
The ALS Association, the organization behind the Ice Bucket Challenge, supports embryonic stem cell research. While the Catholic Church supports stem cell research, it does not condone stem cell research which frequently involves embryos harvested from the death of an aborted fetus. For me, and likely many others, this has presented a difficult moral dilemma.
