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Transaction Brokers!!!!! vs Full Service Brokers (written by Audrey Dooley)

Transaction Brokers!!!!! vs Full Service Brokers

We would like to explain the difference of the above two brokers. At the moment there is an outfit actually, many outfits that encourage you the homeowner to list your home for a certain fee (paid up front) in order for your details to be posted on the Multiple Listing Service of your area. This practice is so out of touch with the realities of sales that it is a shame that using a transaction broker you the seller are hoodwinked into thinking you have the same chance of selling as your neighbor that listed with a full service broker.Selling your home is a very complicated thing!!!First, you would hope that everyone looking at your home is actually being represented by an agent, if not just for the fact of qualifying that buyer. The agent showing the home will have already spoken to the listing agent and got some feedback as to how motivated you the seller are. The full service agent can talk to the buyer, spend some time with the buyer and ask questions of the buyer so as to determine if you the seller will ever get to the closing table with this buyer. Using a full service broker cuts out all the time wasters, the bargain hunters,the low ballers and the buyers that can tie you up for weeks with an uncertain contract, with uncertain terms. What about the deposit? Who is going to hold the money and who is going to walk through the inspections with the buyer and negotiate or broker the repair list. Research has proven that most buyers begin their search on the internet but the majority of buyers end their search and use a Realtor for their offer and purchase. The full service Realtor can ensure that the seller is getting fair market value, not by using towns assessments but under contract prices and recent sales. The full service Realtor can also prepare the buyer for unseen problems/help and negotiate certain items for repair and ensure that repairs are completed before closing/or obtain a fair credit at closing.Afte you have seen a home in your desired neghborhood, WHO ARE YOU GOING TO CALL, A REALTOR OF COURSE!!!

Staging or making enemies????

I am an artist at heart. So I'm more drawn to "decorating" rather then staging. However, I understand and have been professionally taught how to reach a homes maximum potential for price and sale by staging appropriately. And I must admit that I am amazing at it. You can say anything bad about me that you want as I tell others in a joking way -but you can never say I'm not fabulous cook, artist and I can really, really, really stage a home....

Thanks to shows like HGTV, many sellers are now aware of the concept and its important to know that it originated in California- and if you are selling there, you wouldn't consider not staging(both selling and staging go hand in hand).

What makes me good at staging? First and foremost I am an artist. My hobbies are painting , sculpting, refinishing furniture and creating. It actually goes as far back as my days as a dorm student at Niagara University. An artist needs to wake and surround herself to beauty. So needless to say I had a challenge as a broke college student. But I met that challenge with desire and creativity. I would "garbage shop"(rummage through people's garbage), paint, recreate and next thing I knew people were actually offering to buy my recreations.

Fortunately I have created a great lifestyle now and can actually buy my art and furniture at my discretion, but I have to admit I love to estate sale shop (Kottage to Castle-NJ a great find!) and find "pet projects" although my husband gets quite upset when I buy anything "used" or damaged". My reply is beauty is in the eye of the beholder - my eyes....and I can make anything beautiful. Which brings me back to the point of this blog.

Staging is NOT about decorating. I just staged a home this past Saturday. Because it requires me to remove emotional items from the owners eye it becomes challenging. I'm not there to insult your taste in design. As a matter of fact the home that I staged this Saturday did not need to be decorated and if they were selling it with furnishings, we could have left it as is. The point of staging is to create a visual palette for others to imagine the placement of their own furnishings. We are selling a house, not a home and its square footage. Do do so we need to "empty" all unnecessary items. And this scares many folks. I try to convince them that this just gives them a head start on the packing process, but regardless its personal to see someone attack their style and belongings and hard on the stager many times.

So now I've taken on a new job. Virtual staging. Id like to say its easier, but its not. Graphic design requires time and patience. To make a photo "perfectly enhanced" you are talking hours of labor. But I've gotten it to where I can highlight and draw attention within a reasonable time. You can see some examples at http://njtopbroker.com/virtualstaging.html. But unless I'm being paid by the hour rather then doing this in good faith and as a courtesy , you wont see perfection - but you will see results; and that's what this is all about!

A few tips on staging yourself....

remove anything that insinuates illness (diabetes reminders on kitchen fridge e.g., needle boxes) - people insinuate this as a taboo or actually feel guilty about taking a home from a sick person

remove religious items - another taboo to some unfortunately

remove any and all signs of pets

empty all surface and clear corners- this makes rooms look larger

remove dying, dead and artificial plants

find focal points of each room and highlight them by removing competing objects

In closing as boring as this may sound - Keep it plain, boring and bland. Many buyers don't have imaginations so we need to create a bland surrounding to help them out. Your style will only compete with their intentions!

For your kids...Good Stuff, written by a teacher (friend)

Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it! Rule 2: The world doesn't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself. Rule 3: You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both. Rule 4: If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss. Rule 5: Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity. Rule 6: If you mess up,it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them. Rule 7: Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room. Rule 8: Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life. Rule 9: Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time. Rule 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs. Rule 11: Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one. If you agree, pass it on. If you can read this -Thank a teacher!