When it comes to Real Estate Sales there is an old saying about wanting the best of both possible worlds, full service with discount prices. We’re not sure exactly where that came from, however we do know that home sellers now are able to experience that in an increasing number of markets. Simply stated, For Sale By Owners, FSBO’s, can now try to sell their homes on their own, and be allowed to enter the multiple listing service. What does this accomplish? It is a proven fact that the MLS is the most successful way to sell a home. The cooperative of agents in the MLS service interfacing with the internet gives the seller the greatest avenue to expose their home in the marketplace.

Many sellers say I would like to use that service, but I don’t want to pay 6 or 7 % to do it. Those same sellers say I am wiling to pay 3 % to someone who brings me a buyer, but I do not think the listing agent deserves 3 %. Now a number of companies offer this service. For a small flat fee of around $500, the seller gets into MLS and other local and national websites and still can advertise on their own to get a buyer. If the seller is successful on their own, a small fee or even no commission is due the listing agent depending on the agreement and services desired.

Why would an agent do this, to get more business. If they sell the home, they get the 3%. They can get other buyers from the listing to buy other properties and can get more listings. Everybody wins. The seller can have more flexibility in pricing, offer bonuses to the selling agent, or closing costs trust us, it works. Neighbors see their neighbor’s houses selling and it all generates more business, and it allows seller to have more flexibility to sell their home and make more money on their sale.

The Seller can use this savings to help the buyer with closing costs or lower their sales price or they can pocket the savings and use it as the down payment on the purchase of their next home. Bottom Line with Flat Fee Multiple Listing Services, For Sale By Owners, are give the marketing power of the MLS without paying full price for both sides of the Real Estate Commissions and allowing them to save thousands of dollars on their sale of their home.

If you have a home and you want to sell it, you may be thinking why do you have to use an estate agent to sell your property. Why can’t you just put up a for sale sign, then hey presto! Your house is gone. The technical term for a person that wants to sell there own home is FSBO, which stands for “for sale by owner”. You may have heard the success stories of people that have sold their homes, and now you are thinking about doing the same thing.

Before attempting to sell your own property ask your self if you wanted to invest some money would you ask for financial advise?

This question is relevant because most people see their home as their biggest asset.

There are a number of reasons way you should use a Realtor or estate agent to sell your home.

Contacting lenders

If you want to sell you home your self you will have to contact different lenders such as the bank and credit unions and mortgage companies. Instead of doing this the Realtor can do it. When you speak to a Realtor they will give you a better understanding as to how much you may need to take out as a loan. He will also find you the best company to finance your home.

Realtor flexibility

Using a Realtor will give you way more choices. If you have price that you have settled on for your home, a professional can use his contacts to find you the best opportunities. In a lot of cases there are a lot of unadvertised opportunities that are not advertised. It’s only your Realtor that can make them available to you.

These are just some of the reasons why it’s a good idea to use the help of a professional when selling your home. Instead of selling outright they may be able to get a swap done that is beneficial to both parties. In short the use of a professional is less stressful. If you have your own contacts you can still do it your self but that’s your choice.

A team practising Scrum has three pivotal roles – the Scrum Master, the Product Owner or PO and the Team. The Product Owner is an integral part of a Scrum team. He is the guiding force that helps the team realize the product vision. A fully engaged collaborative PO is essential for a Scrum team to be successful.

The Product Owner is the product manager who has intimate information about the product. He acts as the customer proxy and is closely associated with the product vision. At any given point of time, he should be able to point out the features that are most important for the product, and should assist the team in building these highest value features early on. One of the advantages of Scrum is that the highest value/ most important parts are built first and are ready for release. The Product Owner’s contribution is essential to realize this.

The Product Owner assumes ultimate responsibility for the success or failure of a Scrum team. He is charged with the task of realizing the maximum ROI or return on investment.

What makes a great Product Owner? Apart from detailed product knowledge, what does the Product Owner need to drive a Scrum team to success?

Here are a few traits that I feel are important to be an effective Product Owner:

Total Commitment – complete engagement with the Scrum team is essential. While it may not be possible to be physically present in a Scrum team room all the time, the PO should be available via email, social media, messenger etc. The idea is to appear approachable so that the team members do not hesitate to voice their questions.

Product Backlog owner – the PO owns the Product Backlog. This is an ordered list of all the features that are desirable in the product. The PO continuously orders this according to changing business priorities and must be on hand to answer any questions regarding the backlog.

Subject Matter Expert – As an expert who should know the business and the product inside out, the PO is the go-to person for the Scrum team to answer any product related questions. He is the sole authority on the product and must be able to explain any business logic or detailed functionality that needs to be built in, and thus should assist the team as they work on their Sprint tasks.

Collaborative – Being collaborative and a good communicator is essential for the PO. He should be able to place himself ‘at par’ with the Scrum team and be open to deal with them at a peer level. A change in mindset might be needed here! Even though the person who is the PO is much higher in the organizational hierarchy, he/she needs to blend into the team and work shoulder to shoulder to achieve the common goal.

The Product Owner might need to take a back seat at times to allow the team to self-organize. This will require patience as well as faith. A good Product Owner will foster an efficient Scrum team – one that improves with each iteration and takes on bigger challenges.

Sunreef Yachts have launched another one of their amazing catamarans on January 15th, 2007. “Mauni” is a 60 foot owner’s version catamaran launched . The construction of this vessel is immaculate in every way.

Modern and stylized, this Sunreef 62 offers a luxurious and well thought out interior. Her vast innovative fly-bridge enables control over the whole yacht providing a great sea view at the same time.

The owner’s cabin is extremely spacious considering that it occupies an entire hull! A contemporary designed theme was used throughout the catamaran.

Only top of the line materials where used to decorate the interior of the 60 foot catamaran, such as Finnish birch and light leather. The use of this material forms a spacious and bright ambiance.

Technical Specifications:

Length 60 ft

Maximum Beam 30,18 ft

Draft 5ft

Mast length 78,7 ft

Main engines 2 x 160 hp

What makes MAUNI so unique?

o Prestigious materials, like Finnish birch and light leather

o 2 powerful engines 160 hp

o 2 bow thrusters

o Wireless control for engines, bow thrusters and windlass

o Electric furlers for genoa and solent

o Enlarged bimini with windshields and wave protection covers

o TV and phone satellite antenna

o Videocamera with nightvision in the cockpit for mooring

o Diving compressor and diving bottle holder in the cockpit

o Optical fibres lights in the cockpit

o Large owner version cabin with a spacious bathroom (2 sinks, bidet and big shower column with water jets)

o Convenient pullman bed in guest cabin

o TV and DVD player in all the cabins

Sunreef Yachts is ranked among the world’s most excellent producers of catamarans from 50 to 150 feet. They design and manufactur luxury yachts for private owners as well as for charter. The shipyard of Sunreef Yachts specializes in construction using aluminum, and modern lightweight composite materials. They offer a truly comprehensive range of services from initial project design right through to the finer details of interior decoration and selecting equipment.

For more information, please visit http://www.catamarans.com

With jobs for owner operators often hard to come by, lorry drivers and haulage workers may increasingly find themselves working the less popular anti-social hours involving overnight trouble. Not only do the darker conditions make crime more likely, but exhaustion is more likely to set in, and it’s very easy to make the kind of slip up that will add you to the growing pile of haulage crime victims.

And these haulage safety lapses are reflected in the statistics. Across Europe and central Asia between 2000 and 2005, 1 in 6 lorry drivers were attacked. Of those, 30% had been the victim of repeat assaults.

The main targets of the attacks were predictably the vehicle and expensive loads they were carrying (60%), but in over a third of the cases, the driver’s personal belongings were the target of the criminals (40%). Owner operators and haulage workers should never let their guard down in truck stops, where 42% of the attacks took place – and predictably a massive 66% of all attacks occurred either in the very early morning, or late at night when poor visibility combine to create the perfect conditions for crime to thrive.

While those who have been the victims of haulage crime will find these statistics reveal no surprises, those who have managed to avoid trouble on the roads with their loads should not panic. There are various haulage safety precautions that can be undertaken to protect both you and your load.

Haulage Safety Tips To Reduce Crime:

– It sounds obvious, but equipping your haulage vehicle with a quality alarm system is the best deterrent when leaving your vehicle for any length of time. The initial outlay will be dwarfed by the damages to your reputation if your find that your load is stolen at the truck stop!

– Installing tracking devices can help the police recover your missing loads if you are the victim of crime.

– For overnight stops, make sure you only use official truck parking locations – it simply isn’t worth the risk in going unofficial.

– Try not to get into a habit on your journeys – varying your routes, favoured truck stops and times can make it difficult for a hit on your cargo to be scheduled!

– Parking up ahead of the “Just in Time” delivery window – although representing good time keeping – can make you a sitting duck for crime, as it means you have to wait around.

– Keep your haulage vehicle locked at all times, and make sure your keys are secure. Obviously “with the vehicle” never constitutes ‘secure’.

– Every time you return to your haulage vehicle, give it a once over and look for any suspicious markings (e.g: cut curtain sides) which implicate your vehicle as a target for crime. If you have any doubts, let the police know.

– Resting and refueling your haulage vehicle should be undertaken at pre-authorised stops. If unavoidable, practice extra vigilance.

– Keep the contents of your truck to yourself – you really don’t want thieves and dangerous types knowing of the riches and valuables in your lorry!

– Never pick up hitch hikers

– When taking a break, park somewhere where your lorry will be visible from the rest stop or café you’re heading to

– Ensure your load documentation tally matches your consignment

– Double and triple check the delivery addresses before you set off

– Take an inventory of your load as it enters and leaves your vehicle. Greater vigilance is required when another party is helping out.

Finally, make sure that – if you’re using a freight exchange – you can trust the people you’re doing business with. Our freight exchange allows for people to rate their business partners, so you can ensure that your future colleagues are above board and have a good reputation, before taking on new jobs for owner operators.

These haulage safety tips, alongside the usual care and vigilance you would take at night anywhere, should ensure that both you and your load don’t join the growing statistic of haulage crime victims next time you take on a freight or owner operator job.

Owning a franchise business is a great way for many people to start their own business with a lot of help and a much better chance at long term survival of the business. For those searching to be their own boss people are practically lining up to buy franchises, especially with many white collar layoffs.

Ok, a confession. I am a former franchise owner. I owned a franchise for five years, having successfully purchased a territory, built up a franchise and then sold it. The day I sold it felt like I had been freed from indentured servitude.

Owning Your Own Franchise- The Reality

My fellow franchise owners used to joke that owning a franchise is like buying yourself a job. The fact is unless you have a LOT of money and purchase a McDonald’s type franchise, you are going to work that franchise yourself for 10-12 hours a day. Vacations are a rarity because, after all, who runs your business when you are not there? An employee? Maybe.

Look, I don’t want to discourage anyone here, but the reality is this. I worked 10-12 hours a day most days and at the end of the week barely made money to pay myself. Oh, I had to pay the franchisor the royalty fee (6%), pay my employees, their unemployment, workmen’s comp, rent, advertising, utilities and cars. Yes, I worked for myself but the point in any business is to make money. Not just make some. You know that guy who owns that local Quiznos? He’s probably taking home $60K tops after his 12 hour days, six days a week. I know this because I befriended someone who owned one and he was distraught that he had to work such long hours for such lousy pay. Again, it was his own business but he sure wasn’t happy because he had left a six figure job for a $60K one.

The Business Model for This Century

The equation changes, however, when you consider an online franchise business. I say franchise and use the term loosely because they aren’t really a franchise. Most allow you to sell their product and pay you a great commission on them. They, in turn, provide websites, e-mail responders and all kinds of training. You provide the time, sweat and ad money.

Ok, so I have done both. Which do I recommend? It’s not even close – an online franchise or online business. Look at it this way. I had a franchise. I was tied to a certain geographic area where my franchise business was located. Now, I pack up the ‘ol computer and hit the road. I run my business from anywhere I happen to be. In the South in the winter and in the North in the summer. Plus, it runs 24/7 and I market to the world. On the Internet with 1.6 billion English speaking people and growing on it. If I decide to take a day off, I do. The leads keep coming in as does the money. No employee is there to screw it up.

You want to make sure you pick a company with a great reputation that has been around for a while. A company that has reasonable costs and gives you real benefits and which offers products you believe in. Plus, you want a system that will mentor you. You know, someone who has been there, done that, that you can call and talk to.

As a former franchise owner I can only say if I had known about this in 2000 I would never have invested in a brick and mortar franchise and instead picked an online business which provides me with much more time, freedom and money!

So, you have decided to sell your home by yourself! You can save many thousands of dollars if you are successful. I have written this guide to assist you. I have seen many FSBOs have unrealistic expectations, and make mistakes along the way that ultimately prevent them from being successful. Did you know that 80% of FSBOs ultimately list their home with a Realtor? I hope these ideas will help put you in the other 20%.

Am I trying to put myself out of business? No. Do I think everyone has the right to sell their home however they see fit? Yes. If your circumstances change, and you decide you want a professional to sell your home for you, please call Gold Valley Realty. We are a full service brokerage firm with a flexible commission structure that is hard to beat.

Tip 1 * Plan Your Strategy

First of all, by when must your home be sold? Is nine months from now OK? Or will you not be able to close on your new home if your current home isn’t sold in nine weeks? What are the consequences and financial impacts if your deadline is not met? Time is a FSBO’s friend.

As of October 2008, the average marketing time for an average priced home listed by a Realtor in the Tucson MLS (Multiple Listing Service) was 78 days. This time varies considerably by location and price range. Ask Gold Valley Realty what the average is for your neighborhood. As a general rule, it normally takes a FSBO about twice as long to sell their home as it does a Realtor with MLS access. In either case, add to that the normal 30 day period from contract negotiation and acceptance until the final closing of the deal.

The name of the game in selling a home is getting as many qualified buyers through the door as possible. Who is a qualified buyer? One who can afford your home! One who verifiably has either the cash or financing available to buy your home. Realtors quickly learn to qualify their buyers before spending a lot of time working for them. You should too.

Speaking of Realtors, are you going to “cooperate” with them? That is, if they bring the buyer that ultimately buys your home, are you willing to pay them? If so, how much? The vast majority of homes listed in the MLS offer compensation of three percent of the sales price to the buyer’s agent. In my experience, around 90% of FSBOs offer compensation to buyer’s agents.

How do you plan on getting qualified buyers through YOUR front door? Various methods are discussed in detail below.

What is your marketing budget? When and on what are you going to spend it?

Who is going to negotiate and prepare the contract for the sale of your home? Who is going to monitor escrow to quickly identify and resolve any potential deal breakers?

Tip 2 * Price your home correctly.

This obvious step will have the single biggest impact on the success or failure of your temporary career as a FSBO (For Sale By Owner). Yet for most FSBOs this can also be one of the most challenging actions.

The market value of your home is what a ready, willing, and able buyer is willing to pay you for it.

How much a buyer is willing to pay for your home is dependent upon his personal circumstances and motivation; available competing properties in your area; and the prices of recently sold comparable homes in your neighborhood. Information on competing properties and recently sold “comps” is available through several sources. We highly recommend getting a professional appraisal of your home. That will cost you around $300. Having an objective appraisal in hand has several advantages, not the least of which is being able to provide your buyer with a solidly defensible price established by an independent expert.

There are situations in which it may be more important for you to sell your home quickly rather than getting every last dollar out of your home. In this case, you may wish to price your home a few percent below the appraised value. However, your best bet if time is a serious consideration for you is to list your home with a Realtor. One of the extra benefits of listing with Gold Valley Realty is that we reimburse you for the appraisal at closing! Even if you had the appraisal done while FSBO.

Tip 3 * Marketing Materials

The single most effective marketing tool, by far, is the yard sign! Make yours professional looking. Look for a sign company in your city. Buy one of the information tubes that hang below your yard sign, and stuff it with flyers.

Your flyer should include at least one color photograph, and highlight the facts about your home, especially the asking price, number of bedrooms, square footage, special features, and schools.

Ask if you can post your flyers at nearby grocery stores, churches, schools, apartments, health clubs, country clubs, golf courses, travel agencies, insurance agencies, beauty salons, title companies, mortgage companies! Give some to your friends and neighbors too.

Publish your home information on the world wide web. An increasing number of homebuyers use the internet as a valuable information source.

Newspaper ads can be somewhat useful, more so if used in conjunction with open houses.

Tip 4 * Staging Your Home for Showing

As the old saying goes, you only have one chance to make a first impression! Make sure it is a good one. Make sure your front yard is looking good. Is the handle on your front door showing its age? Replace it. Make sure your home is clean and tidy. Open all drapes, blinds, and shutters. Turn on every light in the house, day or night. A sparsely furnished room shows better than a cluttered room. If you have accumulated a lot of extra stuff over the years, put it in storage! You are moving soon anyway. Does your home pass the sniff test? If you have pets, or are a smoker, it might not. In that case, either replace or professionally deodorize your carpets. If you are having an open house, bake some bread or cookies to make your home smell great.

Tip 5 * Security & Showing Your Home

You can show your home either by appointment or by holding an open house. Setting appointments can be difficult if you are not usually available to answer the phone number on your ads and flyers. You might consider using a voice mail or a live answering service (starting at about $35 per month) to field your ad calls rather than using your home telephone. This offers some security benefits as well.

It is unlikely, though unfortunately not impossible, that criminals will use this opportunity to steal your possessions or hurt your family. A little preparation can go a long way to minimize that possibility.

Consider renting a safety deposit box to store your valuable jewelry, coins, guns, stamps, and memorabilia. Make a list and videotape the contents of your home, and store them in your safe deposit box, or at work. You should also hide cash and prescription drugs in a non-obvious place prior to showing your home.

Have your spouse, friend, or neighbor with you when you show your home. If the “buyer” is making you nervous or acting suspiciously, ask them to leave.

Tip 6 * Cooperating with Buyer’s Agents

Virtually all homes offered for sale in the Tucson Multiple Listing Service (MLS) have a standing offer of cooperation for a three percent (3.0%) or more commission for the agent that ultimately procures the buyer. You might want to make the same offer to any Realtors that contact you. Why?

Most homebuyers are either already working with a real estate agent, or will be soon after their home search starts. Why? They can get professional representation at NO COST, as the buyer’s agents commission is paid for by the home seller. This means that a buyer can have an agent screen homes for him, set up appointments, accompany him on appointments, advise him as to a home’s market value, write up the offer, negotiate with the seller (or the seller’s agent), set up escrow, be there for inspections, handle any problems that arise, coordinate with the other businesses involved (mortgage company, home inspectors, escrow, title insurance), review final documents for contract compliance, and be there at the closing, all for FREE. Why then would a buyer buy a home without a Realtor working for him?

Tip 7 * Pre-qualify Potential Buyers

Failure of the buyer to qualify for a loan is the single most common cause of a FSBO’s deal falling apart.

Realtors get their buyers pre-qualified with a lender before spending much time and effort on their behalf. I personally will meet with a buyer for an initial consultation whether or not they are pre-qualified, but won’t go beyond that until I know they can either obtain financing or pay cash. I certainly recommend that you don’t enter into a contract with a buyer until you have independent confirmation of their ability to get financing or pay cash. Ask for the name and phone number of their loan officer. Call the loan officer and explain the situation; ask him or her if the buyers can qualify for a mortgage sufficient to buy your home.

Tip 8 * Use Professional Contracts

The contract in use by Realtors nationwide have evolved over time to cover almost all contingencies and disputes that have arisen in the past. I highly recommend that you use this contract, rather than a generic, do-it-yourself real estate contract. Arizona has unique laws and customs about selling real estate. A contract that is useful in another state will not be optimized for use in Arizona. If you have found a buyer, and want to write up a contract, contact a local real estate brokerage and see if you can get a copy of a blank contract.

Tip 9 * Monitor Escrow Closely

You are almost there! You found a buyer, negotiated and signed a contract, and opened escrow with a reputable title company. Actually, there is still much to be done before you sign over the deed at the title company and collect your money.

The buyer will normally have the right to perform whatever inspections he desires in the first 10 days or so after contract acceptance. If he finds problems with the house, roof, appliances, heating, cooling, plumbing, etc., he can either cancel the contract, or ask you to repair or replace the deficiencies. This can be a vexing situation. You as the seller may feel that the buyer is asking for too much. This is something that can be negotiated, but needs to be done diplomatically. Try to keep your pride and emotions from interfering with you ultimate objective of getting the house sold.

Get a written Conditional Loan Approval (CLA) from the mortgage company within the first 10 days after contract acceptance. This is much stronger than a verbal “pre-qualification”, and means your deal has a high probability of closing. Contact the mortgage company about 5 business days before you are scheduled to close; make sure that their documents will be available to the escrow company at least one day before you are due to sign the closing papers.

Tip 10 * Closing Escrow

One last note about closing. Closing on a home sale in Arizona is defined as the documents being recorded at the County Recorder’s Office. After the buyer and seller have signed, the loan package must go back to the mortgage company for final inspection. The mortgage company will then actually transfer funds to the escrow company. Only then can the escrow company send a runner down to the County Recorder’s Office and record the sale. The bottom line is, sign the paperwork the day before the actual closing.

Congratulations!

Some Plain Talk About A Simple Decision That Is Often Difficult to Make

If he had provided voluntary benefit options to his employees, he would have fostered trust and loyalty, his employees would have felt safe in the knowledge that he was looking out for them. This safe culture would have lead to stable, productive, confident teams, where everyone felt they belonged.”

They left, some for lower paying jobs that provided voluntary benefits.

The first notable defection was a talented project manager who left to take on a maintenance supervisor position at a nearby property management company. He had to leave to find better ways to protect the financial well being of his family. He went on to build his team by selectively recommending to his new boss the hiring away of his former co-workers.

Of course, the company tried to adjust by switching to a 1099 model from a W-2 model, hiring subcontractors but without a solid vetting process, the switch was not successful the company folded in 2007. The management nucleus that enabled it to grow to an 11 million dollar revenue company in 3 years was gone. The branding perception of a company that did not care about its employees had taken hold.

I believe in the value of the voluntary benefits insurance business and seek every opportunity to go in and relate this experience to business owners.”

Who benefits? Both employer and employees benefit. The employer benefits through greater employees satisfaction and retention through improved benefit programs, this, at little or no financial cost to his company. The employees benefit through the ability to custom design an affordable benefits package to protect their income from unexpected costs associated with illness or injury.

What must employers do? Provide employees the option to make informed decisions about protecting their income. For, employees are increasingly more invested in their care. In truth, many employers when asked about employees benefits their first reaction often is, “I’m all set,” but are they really? If your employees are not, as you believe you are, it is because you have not given them the choice.

Why must employers do it? Your employees want it. A 2013 study highlighted that 64 percent of employees want their employer to provide a wider array of voluntary benefits that they can choose to purchase. Some actually need it and will happily pay for it because of the peace of mind it engendered. Again, this at no cost to the employer’s operating budget.

How must employers do it? Create the environment where employees feel free to exercise this choice. Further, facilitate a welcoming and private setting for this information transfer to take place between the employee and the benefits provider.

Where should this happen? It is preferred that this takes place through the company’s group option (payroll deduction) where employees are guaranteed a cost saving of up to 35 percent, rendering the cost of most products at less than a dollar per day.

When must an employer do this? There is rarely a better time than now.

All in all, the who, what, why, how, where and when on voluntary benefits. The ball is in the employer’s hands, play it well and you will be the winner (in-a-nutshell).

You’re selling your home as a FSBO (for sale by owner) and you get annoyed when real estate brokers call you, right? That’s a reasonable response when you’re doing all the work to market your property to save thousands of dollars in broker commissions. However, when a “buyer broker” calls, you might want to listen.

Why Listen

To understand why I say that, we need to understand the functions of “listing brokers” and “buyer brokers.” Real estate brokers can and do serve both functions, though some specialize.

Some brokers who call you are interested in listing your home. They want to market your home for you. The amount of commission charged for this service varies, but where I live, most brokers list homes for a commission of 6 percent of the sales price. When the home sells, if another brokerage firm has brought the buyer to the deal, the listing broker pays the selling broker half or 3 percent.

When you’re successfully operating as a FSBO, you’re getting folks to come and look at your house, or condo, or whatever, and you don’t need a listing agent. However, what if you’ve been doing this for a while and none of the lookers has been converted to a buyer? What then?

Well, if a broker calls you and says he or she is working with buyers and they’d like to be able to show your home, maybe you should consider it. They probably only expect about half the typical listing commission. That still allows you to save serious money. Perhaps you can even negotiate down a bit from half. This is especially true if your home is appropriately priced above the average price for a home in your area. In my area where 3 percent to a selling broker is frequently acceptable, I’ve seen brokers accept 2.5 or even 2 percent. It doesn’t hurt to ask.

As a bonus in that situation, you get someone who is knowledgeable about the process with an interest in getting the deal to settlement. True, they don’t represent you. They represent the buyer, but the buyer wants your home and the broker wants a payday. In short, the buyer broker has incentive to put an oar in when problems arise.

Don’t misunderstand me. I’m not for one second suggesting that you pay more than is necessary to sell your home. At first, take names and phone numbers of “buyer brokers” who call you. Then, if you find you need to, call back the ones who impressed you.

There is a middle ground between going it alone and listing with a broker. If you find you need to, this middle ground can be worth exploring through buyer brokers.

The good ole’ days were refreshing. You could put up a sign in your yard and get fast responses from interested potential buyers, or hire a listing agent and not worry about their commissions eating up your cash. Times have changed.

Real estate has become competitive. In some areas, it’s a sellers market. In others, buyer’s take the reins. No matter what though, there are many thousands more individuals in real estate now than there were back then. With investment seminars and flipping shows becoming more mainstream, the real estate pool is growing bigger on a daily basis.

But what if you are in a hurry to sell? Does that mean you are motivated? Let’s take a look at what constitutes a motivated seller, and whether or not some of these seller techniques will work for your situation…

Motivations:

• You are facing foreclosure

Times can be tough. You may have been let go from that job and couldn’t replace the income in time. The bank sent you a letter giving you notice of a Lis Pendens (the beginning of a foreclosure, also known as a preforeclosure) You are out of options, and you don’t want the foreclosure to end up destroying your credit.

• You are behind on taxes

Just as before, this is an immediate situation that can destroy your credit. Taxes will get collected no matter what, so bad credit doesn’t need to be added to the mix. Back-taxes will not only eat up your equity, but will also be attached to your future wages.

• You have bad tenants

You are constantly receiving complaints about the tenants in one of your properties. Police are becoming a normal sight in front of the property. Perhaps the renters are turning your intended investment into a drug house. You don’t want to deal with the situation and would rather take cash out of the investment and walk away.

• You are getting divorced

Let’s face it. Not many are fair in divorce proceedings. Who is keeping the house? Neither of you? So you have no choice but to sell quickly so you can avoid your soon to be ex like the plague, and get some cash for a fresh start.

• You are retiring

Whether you are a landlord who is retiring from the business, or a couple with a home that you’ve had for years, you just want some cash for your equity so you can move to warmer climates and bingo.

• You inherited real estate

You just inherited a house or multi unit property, but would rather have cash instead. You want a quick sale, and don’t want to be bothered with upkeep.

• You are an out of state owner

You thought you could manage the investment property in California while relaxing in your home in Maine. Unfortunately, good help is hard to find and the property managers all turn out to be drunks. The grass is high and you are getting letters. It’s causing more headaches than it’s worth.

• You just want some extra cash

You don’t have a need for the property in question and you simply want to pad your bank account.

These are all valid reasons that would make you a motivated seller. The only question I have for you in this case is… are you greedy?

A number one killer of real estate sales is an owner who has too much pride to accept that the market will not support their outlandish property valuations. The fair market value may be high, but nobody is biting. How is that quick sale going for you? The first step in selling your home quickly is acknowledging that you need to be open minded. If you can be open minded about the price of the sale, or the terms, then selling fast will be a breeze.

Where are my target buyers?

You have quite a few options. Some will take longer than others. Probably the number one way of selling quickly is seeking out a wholesaler. A wholesaler is a real estate investor who looks for discounted properties, writes an offer, then assigns the contract to one of their many cash buyers. Often, the wholesaler will have hundreds, or even thousands of investors in their contact list who are ready to buy immediately. Their investment partners have been qualified by the wholesaler with proof of funds, and will have shown the wholesaler multiple deals that they have closed in the past.

There are wholesalers that buy properties in multiple states, while other wholesalers are limited to a single state. Some of them even stick to a specific city or regional area. They are known for the use of phrases such as “we buy houses, any area, any condition”. While many wholesalers stick to deeply discounted properties, others work with low equity deals where Subject2 and seller financing can be put into play. These are some of the techniques that require you to be an open-minded seller that is truly “motivated”.

Another option for a quick sale is Craigslist and other classified websites. If you are going the classifieds route, you have to be prepared for the ‘tire kicker’ responses. There can be a lot of newbie investors, and people who are just looking that will take a lot of your time to screen out before finding a true buyer. When listing a classified ad for your home, make sure you include as many details as possible in the ad. Leaving out bedrooms, bathrooms, parking, and other features will only mean that you have to spend time discussing these things when taking the multitude of calls you will receive.

If classifieds are not your thing, you will want to find buyers through a more direct route. Go to where they hang out. There are forums such as EquityPaper, and BiggerPockets that have premium subscription options for real estate listings and other networking tools. These are forums where investors get together to discuss real estate topics daily. If you list your home in these professional member areas, or marketplaces, you can get fairly quick responses from interested buyers.

Determining property value to an investor

When listing your property, there are some things that potential buyers will want to know in addition to the standard property details. ARV (after repair value) is one of them. To find your ARV, go to Zillow, Trulia, and Redfin. On each of those websites, search for your property and write down the estimated value for each of them. Add all 3 of those values, then divide the sum by 3. The result will be your ARV.

After you have your ARV, you want to determine what the new buyer will have to put into the property in repairs. If your home is in great condition, you only need to account for simple things such as paint, appliances, and other things related to the buyer’s tastes. You would multiply your square footage by $10 to get the total credit the buyer will want. If the property needs some updates such as flooring, new toilet, etc, then you will multiple the SF by $15. Broken windows, doors, etc will be $20. If the house is a disaster and a complete rehab, then the multiplier is $30. Now subtract that number from the ARV.

Whether or not the buyer is a wholesaler or a flipper, they need to make something off of the deal. This can be anywhere from $2,000 to $50,000 or more depending on the location, value, and other factors for your property. Many good wholesalers will stick to the $10,000 pricepoint or close to it however. So take your new ARV and subtract the buyer profit for an expectation on how much money you will be offered for the property.

Creative financing for a fast sale

Assuming that the final number from the calculations listed above was not even close to taking care of what you owe on the property, then you need to learn to be creative. Some wholesalers and flippers will still take on a property with little to no equity.

Subject 2 Financing

Subject 2 is a technique that allows the new buyers to take over your mortgage payments, and assume control over the property. Sub2 investors are looking for leverage so that they do not tie up their credit, but can obtain a rental property at the same time.

A seller may have a concern when dealing with a sub2 deal. For example, what if the buyer does not pay the mortgage and it ends up as a bad credit item for the seller? Well, there are protections that are in place for sellers during subject 2 existing financing deals.

• A single late payment can be a deal breaker. It can be made so that in this event, the buyer is in default and they lose the property back to the seller. This single possibility is reason #1 for it being a rare scenario. Most subject 2 investors are seasoned. They have been doing it for years, and have made millions through rentals with such deals.
• Limitation clauses such as one requiring the buyer to refinance the property in their own name within a set time period reduces the risk even further. Let’s say that in 2 years time, the buyer is required to refi. By then, they will have accumulated enough equity by paying down your loan for this to be a possibility through traditional lending methods. Even in the worse case, they can secure hard money after that time in order to leverage additional time to flip the property or get other financing.

Contract for deed, or lease option

If you aren’t in a complete hurry for a bunch of cash, you can sell on a contract for deed, or a lease option. This will ensure that the buyer is responsible for upkeep, insurance, taxes, and everything else, while giving you a monthly income stream with little risk. With either technique, you are getting a fast sale. The best part is that you retain the deed to the home until the buyer’s obligations are met. If they default, you can simply evict them and start over again with a new buyer. The best part is that you are earning interest with your equity at a rate you agreed on in the sale.

FSBO (for sale by owner) doesn’t have to be hard. It can be quite lucritive, and amazingly fast when you learn to be open-minded and creative.