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Aug
10
Posted by Jim Warner
Meadowdale, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.
Since this my post, sometimes I can just do whatever I want and this would be one of those times. My Son Riley Neff Warner plays for the Meadowdale High School Mavericks Football team. You’ll see him in the defensive secondary as soon as his broken thumb heals (Football Camp) with number 5 on his Jersey. My younger son Max will be playing for the freshman team this year and is more than a little excited about getting in the game. The Varsity season opens September 5th at the District Stadium in Edmonds with a game against long time rival Edmonds-Woodway High school and Riley expects to be ready to go. The Mavericks look to be a strong team led by coach Mark Stewart and anchored by a lot of talented Juniors as well as stellar Senior returning talent. Just to name some of the impact players to watch this year and sorry for the ones I don’t mention here, A.J. Carrol, Nasser Kyobe, Ben Shebly, Darin Dysart and QB Matt Mcdonough all Seniors, Sam Werner, Naji Moore Taylor, Connor Hamlet, and Robert Belt, Juniors. We have a very strong line this year to open up things on Offense and the Defensive Backfield and Secondary looks as good as any in the league. So much to look forward to. Stay healthy boys and have a great year. GO Mavs!
Posted by Lynnwood Realtor, JimWarner, avid Mavericks fan and very proud father
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Aug
10
Posted by Jim Warner
It’s a Jungle Out There, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.
Realty Operating and Control Services, R.O.C.S., Based in Lynnwood, WA., is a marketing & support services company now offering services to both Real Estate Professionals and direct to Homeowner’s.
Cindy Zetts of the Seattle Times posed a question last month on her blog about whether one should pay a Real Estate agent six percent to sell a home for them. Though there were many arguments both ways on the topic, It came to me that the real question should be, “If I pay six percent, exactly what do I get?”
In this market you might actually want to pay a top real estate agent more than six percent, you would want to pay a bad one, nothing.
What the homeseller has never really been able to clarify is what specifically is being promised for the commission they pay. What is negotiable and what isn’t. What is the mechanism for accountability.
Let’s start with the buyer’s agent portion of the commission. Most Sellers are willing to pay an agent to “bring” them a buyer and would agree to pay market rate for that service because it is pretty cut and dry as to what you get for your money. Currently that rate is about 3% of the sales price locally. To pay less would probably undermine all other efforts expended on your behalf since for now the guy down the street is still willing to pay 3% or more for a buyer.
Next, as we know, the listing Agent and the Brokerage involved in the transaction do have significant overhead, as does any labor intensive business, so that needs to be covered and it takes up about 1% of the Listing Commission. The agent representing you, which means givng you advice, negotiating strongly on your behalf and managing the escrow process to a successful close, needs to get paid for the three to four months they work on your project. That covers another 1%. Which leaves us the marketing expense as a point of negotiation.
In this market, your home has got to stand out. It has to be exposed to as many potential buyers and their agents as is humanly possible. You need to be everywhere on the internet, in print and networked to every possible professional and personal client base available and it needs to be done in a professional manner with precision and accountability.
Good marketing is a mix of science and art. It is way more than a pretty flyer in the box or a free ad on Craigslist. Lousy marketing is both a waste of time and money. Good marketing costs money, sometimes a lot of money. If an agent is expending $1,500 to $3,000 marketing your home, they should rightly expect not only a return of that money, but a return on that money they put at risk. Ususally the return is that last 1% of the commission. You can do the math.
That’s where ROCS fits in. ROCS provides great marketing affordably. We provide it to agents and we provide it to sellers. It costs the same either way and we are accountable to each and every thing we do to market a home. So if you want to negotiate a commission, pay the marketing costs yourself and make the return on the investment by negotiating the last 1%. If you want the agent to pay for the marketing then pay the full commission and demand accountability for exactly what is being done and when. Either way, with maximum exposure taken care of, you get your money’s worth and you and your agent can focus on the remaining issues, price and condition.
Since the market has slowed and many agents are strapped for cash, what are the odds that some might not actually be doing every possible thing that could be done to get your home sold in an effort to save money?. How would you know?
A good agent with a solid and accountable marketing plan and access to client bases that you can’t reach on your own is worth their wieght in gold right now. A gamble on a marginal agent who needs the money and promises to do their best is a pretty risky bet and there are plenty of them out there. An agent who brings in a legitimate third party to do the marketing and properly expose your home is probably heading in the right direction for this market.
You then have the right to negotiate who pays for that service and who benefits from the investment.
Welcome to the representation you deserve in a changing marketplace.
For more information call local Realtor, Jim Warner or visit
www.gorocs.com
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Aug
10
Posted by Jim Warner
Pineapple Express, originally uploaded by Jim Warner, Realtor.
If you need a good laugh, leave the kids at home and sneak out for this guilty pleasure. Saw Pineapple Express at the Regal Cinema’s Alderwood Stadium in Lynnwood last night. What A hoot. Pineapple Express is a potent form of Marijuana so you gotta know the story line is a bit risque for the younger set but Seth Rogen and James Franco are off the hook in this spoof.
For those of us who grew up in the seventies and eighties, it’s pretty funny stuff.
