Tag: real estate

5 Qualities to Look for When Choosing a Real Estate Agent

Posted on Glenn S. Phillips

This article was updated on August 15, 2019.

When you choose to sell your home, you will need to pick the best real estate agent available so that your house does not sit on the market for longer than it should. Choosing a real estate agent can be difficult, but these are five qualities you should look for in a real estate agent.

1. Expertise

Real estate agent Selling lake homes is very different from selling off-lake properties. Make sure the agent you choose to work with is a lake expert who knows the lake, shoreline restrictions, water levels, and nearby attractions.

2. Communication

You’d be surprised to hear of how many bad experiences buyers have had with agents who could not communicate. In addition to being knowledgeable, your agent should be an excellent communicator who keeps you up-to-date with each step of your transaction’s process.

3. Integrity

You can tell a lot about a real estate agent by reading testimonials from past clients. You may find that the agent you are interested in may not be as honest as they appear to be. So, you will also need to make sure the agent is honest with you.

You will need them to be honest and brave enough to tell you the truth about the property. You may want to sell your home for $400k, but the agent knows it will only sell for $300k you want them to be upfront with this information.

Remember, candor denotes trust.

4. Schedule

ScheduleReal estate can be an extremely demanding business. The real estate agent you choose to work with should be able to manage their schedule efficiently.

If a buyer only has a specific window of time during which they can view a property, you need to be confident that your agent will be on time to the showing.

5. Industry Knowledge

Your agent should have extensive knowledge of the local market. The agent should be intimately familiar with state and local real estate laws, the home selling process, and every aspect of the real estate game.

Such knowledge is crucial to ensuring that there are no omitted details in contracts and other aspects of the sale of your home.

It is also important that you meet your agent in person and ask for a portfolio. Do not be shy to ask questions or vet multiple real estate agents.

It is your home and your money that they are responsible for in the end. Do plenty of online research and make sure you find a qualified lake expert agent to help you through the process.

4 Things You Must Do When Looking at Lakefront Property

Posted on Glenn S. Phillips

Lake housesFinding a home on the lake is an exciting time; so exciting that one may forget to check a few important aspects out before signing the paperwork. This list will help you remember the main focuses on purchasing your new lake home other than what you plan to do once it is purchased.

Do not be blind-sided by the beauty. Make sure you are aware of the requirements and what to expect with the home. Lakefront property is very different from a normal real estate transaction, keep the following in mind:

Number 1: Find an agent that is a waterfront specialist.

Typical agents will not have the knowledge of every aspect of purchasing and owning a lakefront property. They may have enough to complete a sale, but there is more to it than just pointing then signing.

For example, one home may be cheaper due the fact that its lot doesn’t have year round water. It is important to find an agent that knows the ins and outs of your lake. They will ensure that the home you purchase is perfect for your needs.

Number 2: The property is more than just a home.

You must remember that you are not just looking at the home itself, but you need to take a look at the property, the views, and other aspects of living in this specific location.

Often times a rambunctious home buyer will buy a home that they fell in love with only to find that the view is bad, the swimming is actually mucky, and other problems they could have avoided.

Number 3: Choose your home to fit your lifestyle, not build your lifestyle around the home.

The home may be absolutely perfect, but it may not be perfect for you. If you love kayaking on calm waters, a house on a busy main channel is probably not for you.

You will need to think of key aspects of your life that you would like your home to cater to. After all, you are spending good money on it, so make sure that it fits your lifestyle instead of the other way around.

Number 4: Get to know the neighbors.

It is crucial not to be shy. Go ahead and knock on the doors of the neighbors. They have insider information about the area and other aspects of living in the neighborhood.

You do not want to purchase a home only to find out that at night it turns into a loud party area.

No matter what state you are looking for property in, this list applies to them all. Keep your list of personal requirements near by as you look at homes. Do not let your excitement blind from all aspects of the decision making process when it comes time to purchase your home.

Successful People Think Outside the Box: Sell The Experience

Posted on John Sims

This article was last updated on August 27, 2019.

The old joke goes:

In New York, a guy walks into a bank. He tells the loan officer that he needs to borrow $5000 because he is going to Europe for two weeks. The loan officer says the bank will need collateral for the loan.

The guy hands him the keys and the title papers to his new Ferrari, which is parked in front of the bank.

Obviously, a $250,000 Ferrari is more than enough collateral, so the loan officer gives the man $5000.

He leaves, and the loan officer drives the Ferrari into the bank’s underground parking garage and parks it.

think outside the box

Over the next few days, the big joke among the bank employees is all about the foolish man that put up $250,000 collateral for a measly $5000 loan. But, two weeks later, the guy returns from his trip and repays his loan – plus $26.92 in interest.

The loan officer says to the guy, “I want to thank you for your business, but I’m curious. While you were away, I checked and found out you are a multimillionaire. I don’t understand why you bothered to borrow $5000 when you have so much money.”

The guy replies, “Where else in New York can I park my Ferrari for $2.00/day and expect it to be there when I return?”

Being boxed in is limiting. There’s the space inside the box and ALL the rest. In addition to its limitations, the space inside the box is VERY crowded.

Many entities doing many of the same things means no one stands apart from the rest. Real estate brokerages who all follow the same business model, use the same tools and sell the same things overwhelm the industry. They’re just more blue M&Ms in a box full of blue M&Ms. You get the picture.

Successful people continually think outside the box. Whether in marketing or customer relations, setting yourself apart from those who are thinking inside the box is crucial to realizing business goals.

Bill Gates didn’t sell computers. He sold the experience of having personal computing power in every home.

Apple doesn’t sell tech toys. They sell cool ways to connect with the world.

Amazon doesn’t sell stuff. They sell the ability to quickly and conveniently find what you’re looking for.

At Lake Homes Realty, we sell dreams — dreams of summer afternoons on the water and fall evenings spent by the fire pit.

A client may be looking at a dock but what they’re seeing is a child’s first fish.

Lake property is a means of realizing those dreams, and when you market the dream, in all reality, you more effectively market the properties and your local brand. 

Housing Basics: What is Escrow?

Posted on Glenn S. Phillips

real estate agentMany people have heard of escrow, but do not know what it is. The reason for that is quite simple actually; it has several different meanings in estate transactions (i.e., buy/sell houses).

Escrow is something of high value such as a check, document, or precious artifact that is/are given to an impartial third party to keep until the conditions specified in the transaction are met.

Whenever the conditions are done, and everybody is paid, the escrow will close. The valued item will be returned to the person who owned it initially.

Examples of Escrow:

  • When someone makes an offer on his new home, he/she writes a money check and uses it as an escrow. The funds are given to an impartial third party while the purchase contract is still under negotiation. Real estate agents most often take care of creating and controlling the escrows.
  • The lender wants to create an escrow, where the money for taxes and home insurance will be kept. The lender will have a department that will handle this kind of escrow.
  • There are also escrow officers, people who get paid to create and control escrows between two parties. They must be impartial.

Who Is the Third Party?

Who will be your escrow creator depends on the place where you live. It could be escrow agent, attorney, title agent, or even an estate agent. They will take care of all the paperwork being thrown at you, arrange meetings, give instructions, disclose funds, and make sure of the completion of the transaction. Note that this person or group MUST be impartial; otherwise it will be regarded as illegal.

Funds Being Withheld

In some rare cases, the funds will continue to be held in the third party when the ownership gets transferred from the previous owner to the buyer. This usually happens if the agreement or part of it was not met or changes in the agreement have taken place where both parties have agreed.

Examples could be the buyer allowing the seller’s family to stay in the house for an additional week while the seller is paying a daily rate to the house. Another example is if something wrong was found within the house and a repair takes place, the cost of the repair is reimbursed by the funds in the escrow.

Enclosing Escrow

When both parties have agreed to a move-in date as well as cost and ownership having filled all the paperwork, and all funds have been transferred, the closing agent will disburse all funds and will oversee the document record within the county where the house/estate is located.

When the final step is taken, the deed is filed. That signals that the property has been transferred to the new owner. The deal is complete and escrow is finished. Both the seller and the buyer will receive final statements and documents by mail. Both of them must check the statements in case an error has gone unnoticed. If not, they must file the statement for tax purposes in their next income tax return.

Escrows are very useful in estate marketing because they make sure that no error has taken place during the transaction, both parties have agreed on buying/selling the property, and the required documents have been signed and met by them.

Real Estate Agents: Build Your Personal Brand

Posted on John Sims

Being known socially does not equate to being known professionally. This is especially true for those who concentrate on lake property as a large portion of your potential clients and do not live in the community.

Personal branding and reach is key in engaging all potential clients. Investments in personal branding highlights your experience and expertise for local clients while letting all others know you are the person to contact regarding your lake.

Protect Your Personal Brand

Register your own domain and establish your on-line presence. Notice I did not say get a really nice page on your broker’s site. A brokerage incurs the time and monetary expense of developing a website to market the brokerage…not you.

Consider the odds of a client selecting you among all other agents on the brokerage site versus selecting you on your own site.

Get Active in Social Media

You don’t have to be on every social media platform. Choose those you feel best reach your potential clients. A professional Facebook page may be a great platform for engaging local clients while a fully updated and informative LinkedIn profile will provide the professional qualification of interest to others.

Link your social media to your website and stay active and updated. Nothing says quitter like an unfinished profile or page last updated in June 2013!

Industry Sites May Be Beneficial

As with social media, you don’t need to be on each and every one. Choose those that work best for you in terms of cost vs. exposure and quality leads. A portion of your marketing budget will be spent on this. Carefully plan where you want those dollars to go.

With all that said, having a great online presence will do little in terms of bringing clients, especially those who aren’t in the area, if you’re invisible on the web. If finding you isn’t convenient, you won’t be found.

One of the best ways to ensure clients do find you is working with a brokerage that invests in a real, national reach and is laser focused on your lake properties. Unfortunately, the brokerages that have the ability to do so are few and far between. When one claims to provide this, make them prove it. If they do, jump on that platform!

director of development john sims

 John Sims is the Director of Development at Lake Homes Realty

Real Estate Agents – Never Stop Creating Value

Posted on John Sims

Great service providers never stop creating value. Wouldn’t you agree that for true professionals, service doesn’t stop when the deal is done? This is especially true in real estate as the closing table is really an open door for future client referrals.

Many lakes homes are purchased as second homes or retirement homes. These homeowners may not know who the best plumber or electrician is. Who do they call for trash collection?

Creating home valueYour knowledge of the best businesses in your market is an extremely valuable tool that provides continual value. And, with today’s technology, makes your expertise easier to share.

Refrigerator magnets with emergency contact numbers ensure your presence in the home. An occasional e-news letter providing updated contact information for the goods and services all homeowners should have can be a great way to engage clients.

How about an app that does the same? Who leaves home without a smart phone? You may even be able to get local businesses to help pay for the associated cost given the new marketing platform you provide!

If clients recognize the never-ending value you offer, they are your clients for life. Their network becomes your network. You are afforded the opportunity to earn the business and affect the lives of many more in a positive way!

director of development john sims

 John Sims is the Director of Development at Lake Homes Realty

4 Easy to Miss Items to Look for When Shopping for a Lake Home

Posted on Glenn S. Phillips

There are lots of people in the world who would simply jump at the chance to purchase a lake home, but like purchasing any piece of property, it should never be rushed.

It is advised that you should consider a home inspection for your potential lake home, before you decide to splash the cash on your dream retreat. This will ensure that you will get the maximum value from your investment and will not live to regret the decision to purchase the lake home. So if you are considering purchasing a lake home, then you should look for the following things in a home inspection for a lake home:

The Water Counts

A lot of people don’t consider checking the actual lake when they are purchasing a lake home, which is probably one of the biggest mistakes that you can make. It may seem like only water to you at first, but there are certain water lots, which you don’t want at all with your lake home. Check to see how much waterfront footage you have on your lake, which should ideally be 100 feet or more.

Unsplash: house facing waterDoor Facing the Water

If you were living in the city, you would want to have curb appeal with your home. But, when you are living on a lake, all you should care about is pier appeal.

Check to see if there is a main door facing the lake, since you are going to want to see a whole lot of lake in your lake home. This means that every room in the house should provide you with a view of the lake, whether it is the kitchen, the dining room or the bedroom. A lake home without a great view of the lake from all rooms is less than ideal.

Topography is Essential

Not many people know this, but when you are living at a lake house, you have to consider the topography of the water lot as well. If you are going to go swimming and floating, then you should have a flat lot, which means that the water in the lake will not be deep.

If, however, you want to take your boat out every day, then you would need a steeper lot, which would mean deeper water. It may seem as a simple choice, but it all counts towards the appeal of your lake home.

Docks Are Important

lake dockIt is also important to check the quality of the docks. Make sure that boards aren’t missing or loose and there are no jagged nails.

Living on the lake is a lifelong dream of most people and it is one of the best ways to spend your retirement days in comfort and relaxation as well.

Prepare Your Lake Home for an Open House

Posted on Glenn S. Phillips

If you are looking to prepare an open house for your lake home, then you need to get a lot of things in order so that the entire process goes through smoothly.

There are lots of people who end up making the wrong decisions and then have an open house for their lake home that doesn’t provide them with the results they expected. So in order to help you avoid those costly errors, here are the top things you should be doing when preparing for an open house.

Repair or Replace the Docks & Decking

lake dockIt is very important to present a good first impression on your open house and therefore you should get to work on docks & decking by replacing broken boards and decks. You should reapply paint on them, and spruce up the surrounding area to make it more presentable for buyers. It is important that you don’t have any broken boards or decks when the buyers come for the open house.

Clearing the Beach

If you have a beach area you should remove all weeds and rake the area surrounding the beach prior to the showing.

You can also add children’s toys and build a small sand castle in order to entice prospective buyers. This will add a nice touch to the property, while multiple parents are checking out the lake house. A nice clean beach near the lake house will always ensure that the entire property looks enticing to the buyers.

Clean the Boathouse

If you have a boathouse at your lake home, then you should have it cleaned and painted as well.

Make sure that there are no animals residing in the boat house. Also, remove oversized boats from the boathouse, since it will make the boathouse appear smaller and cramped. Have the boat parked outside the boathouse so that the buyers can have a good look inside of it as well.

Staging the Waterfront

Dock staged for open houseThe most important thing to do when preparing for an open house is to stage the waterfront properly. This will raise the appeal of the entire lake house.

You should place flower pots on strategic places such as shorefront decks and patios. Then carefully set up lawn furniture and try to create multiple entertainment area, since that will paint a pretty picture in the minds of the buyers. You can even set up a BBQ area. And, if possible, have the waterfront area landscaped by a professional.

Maximize the View

People are very perceptive when they are purchasing property, particularly if it is a waterfront property. Therefore, to increase the odds of having a successful open house you will have to maximize the view from the lake house. Try to remove things that may block the view. Clean all the windows that are facing the water to maximize the view.

Apply for New Permits

If you are hoping to sell your lake house home in the near future then you should apply for any additional permits for the following (if available):
• Perched beaches
• Permanent docks
• Breakwaters
• Boathouses
• Covered boat docks

This will ensure that potential buyers don’t have to face any hassles and will also add value to the listing price of the lake home as well.

Should You Consider Refinancing Your Mortgage?

Posted on Glenn S. Phillips

RefinancingThere are any number of reasons to refinance your existing mortgage or mortgages. Start by considering what you hope to get out of a refinance and whether a refinance will save you in the long run.

If the list of reasons to refinance is longer than the list of reasons not to, or if your cost savings will be significant, then it’s a good time to consider refinancing.

What are some of the reasons to refinance your current mortgage?

*  First, if it gains you a better interest rate and/or it changes the term of the mortgage, then a refinance makes good sense. No refinancing plan will ever pay off your debt; rather it modifies the current loan. Lowering the interest rate is one of the top reasons people refinance. Now that banks are more willing to lend to people again, even those who owe more than their home is worth are more likely to be eligible.

*  Debt consolidation is a second reason. Some people have a lot of credit card debt that runs them hundreds of dollars a month in minimum payments. It makes good financial sense for some to refinance their mortgage and lower the overall amount they pay each month. Also, if you have a home equity loan or line of credit as well as a mortgage, it sometimes makes good sense to put the two together. This will lower the payments each month.

*  Third, many people got into loans with attractive entry level rates that then ballooned when the adjustable rate portion kicked in. Being able to lock in their interest rate at a consistent rate for the remainder of the loan period is very appealing and should be strongly considered.

*  Another major reason is because people need some extra cash. Though it might not necessarily be a refinance, a restructuring of an existing loan can mean a substantial check sent to the homeowner. This can be used to start a business, care for an aging parent, buy investments, or do home repairs.

*  Sadly, sometimes a divorce can mean a need to refinance, if for no other reason than to remove the other spouse’s name from the title. It sometimes helps the person who will be staying in the house by giving him or her a lower monthly payment, since now there is only one income paying the bills.

Some factors to consider when refinancing include the costs of the fees and any title paperwork filings. These can sometimes eat up any savings that might otherwise be realized.

Also consider that the house will still always be the item the bank holds as collateral. This can be especially important if the refinance is being done as a way to get additional funding for something else and not just saving money each month.

For many, though, refinancing can be a good answer to a tough financial situation.