HomeTraq University

When you visit a public open house and an agent asks you to sign the "sign-in sheet" what should you say?   What should you write down?  What are the rules for who can represent you if you decide that the Open House is, in fact, your future Dream House?    Many times the agent holding the open house states the seller is requiring a list of everyone who walked through the house as a measurement of interest and to get feedback on the price and condition of the property.  Some agents state that their company policy, brokerage and/or seller require the list of visitors  for security reasons in case something ends up missing from the house.   While these are legitimate reasons, if you have ever provided your real contact information at an open house, you have probably experienced being contacted for something other than the explained reason.  Most likely you were solicited to see if you wanted an agent to show you a different house or if ...

Many buyers wonder if the listing agent of a home they are interested in will show the home to them. The answer is "yes", as the listing agent is obligated to show his or her client’s home. A listing agent is hired by the seller to work 100% for the seller’s best interests.   Additionally some buyers wonder if they can save some money by going directly to that seller's agent to buy the home.   On the surface, the thought of cutting out the "middleman (a buyer's agent)" may sound like a way to save time and money.   While it may save time, the buyer will NOT save money on that specific purchase transaction.   What many potential buyers DO NOT realize is that  the buyer’s agent commission is determined by the seller.   The listing-side AND buyer-side commission i s set once a property is listed with an agent.  The seller negotiates the total commission they will pay for the home to be sold which includes the portion to be ...

Just want to share a few quick  ALERT  tips which can make your home search much more powerful. All you have to do is login to  HomeScout   and the red arrows highlighted in the screenshots below will help you unlock  these  powerful features. Make sure to refine & save your Search Criteria and then enable New Listing and Open House notifications.  Refine & Save Click on "Filters" to refine the price range, area and home features you are interested in. Click "Save" to create unlimited custom searches. Get Notified Once you have saved a custom search, choose the  alerts  you wish to receive, including New Listing and Open House notifications. Open Houses A feature to use while driving around on weekends is to click the Open House button which reveals dates & times of upcoming open houses. If you are using Zillow, Realtor.com or anot...

You can call the selling agent to setup an appointment to view a home, but not having your own representation could be tricky... Many home buyers aren’t aware of agency disclosure, nor understand the concept of a buyer’s agent and seller’s agent.  Many times the first agent a home shopper is exposed to is the "listing agent" of a home found online or the agent he/she meets at an open house. Last year, 63% of home shoppers walked through a home they were interested in after viewing it online.  When it is time to tour or inquire about a home, it seems like an easy solution to direct questions to the seller’s agent — but this presents an immediate conflict of interest.  A real estate agent’s loyalties and responsibilities change depending on who the agent is talking to.  Here’s a quick summary of roles an agent can play in any one transaction. The listing agent The listing agent or seller’s agent works for the seller and represents their interests in the sale. Th...