Real Estate in Your Underwear

Mark Wisterman — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 04:48:00 +0000

Is this technology thing terrific or what.
Late last week I showed a home to a first time home buyer in the Lake Oroville real estate market. She liked the house enough to make an offer on it last Saturday evening through the online bidding process that the seller had established. No paper offer to write and no signature needed when submitting our bid. I simply discussed the offer terms with the buyer and from my desk and computer in my home office I entered the online bid.
Come Monday morning I received an e-mail, on my iPhone, at about 6:30 am informing me that the seller had responded to the offer by sending us a counter offer. I immediately called the buyer, discussed the counter offer and decided to submit a counter offer to the seller’s counter offer.
I submitted the new terms to the seller. After about an half hour I received another e-mail letting me know that the seller had accepted our new terms. I promptly called my buyer to inform her of the good news. After congratulating her and discussing the next steps in the process, I ended the call and hung up the phone.
It was then that it hit me.
I was sitting there in front of my computer screen, in the privacy of my home office, negotiating, and getting an acceptance on, a contract for my Lake Oroville real estate first time home buyer, IN MY UNDERWEAR!!!
Not only can you now do a lot of your real estate business from home, you can even do some of it in your tighty whities.
Ok, so now you think I am some kind of nut case. Heck, you might be right. It just happened to be one of those things that brought to mind how quickly this industry is evolving. Probably should not have gone off my medication!!!! LOL
Is this technology thing terrific or what.

You’ve Decided to Buy a House, Now What? Part lll

Christi Nelson — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 22:40:00 +0000

So your agent has shown you a bunch of houses and you might be getting a little frustrated if you havent found the right one. Be patient! Sometimes it takes a few showings to really fine tune what it is that you REALLY want.
Then, you finally find it! Let the flood of emotions and questions begin!
In my opinion, it is good idea to educate the buyer as to what the process is and what decisions we will have to be made when finally making the offer. However there are still little things that will need to be addressed and especially if there are going to be multiple offers on the property. Thats where you will need to really listen to what your Realtor advises you to do. They have the experience and negotiating skills that will put your offer in its strongest possible position.
Although there are many part to the purchase contract here are a couple examples of things to think about:
The purchase price. What is the amount you really want to offer? This will usually be a number you come up with according to the sold comps your agent has provided to you. Keep in mind this is probably the toughest part. There are a couple of factors to consider when finalizing the price. Is the seller being asked to give a credit for your closing costs? Are you asking for the seller to pay for all the inspections? How long is your escrow period? These are things that need to be considered and your agent will help you fine tune the numbers to make it attractive to the seller.
Escrow Period- How long of an Escrow do you need? Generally the normal time period is 30-45 days. Its a good idea to check with your lender regarding the time period they may need to complete the loan process.
Inspections- What type of inspections do you want to do? What is customary? What do you want the seller to pay for and which ones will you as the buyer pay for? Your agent will be able to advise you on what the different types of inspections you can do and the importance of them. Your lender may also require certain inspections depending on the type of loan you have.
Here is an example of what a Califonia Purchase contract will look like.

Best Realty's Lake Oroville Real Estate Blog » Contract

Real Estate in Your Underwear

You’ve Decided to Buy a House, Now What? Part lll