This is part 3 of what to expect from a real estate broker who is representing you in the purchase of a home. I also want to provide you with information on “Why” should I buy versus rent? When you work with The Brian Maecker Team to purchase your new home you will be able to take advantage of our highly trained buyer specialists, our computerized listing tracking system, and our market experience. In an average week our buyer agents’ show over 30 homes to our buyers. This translates into market knowledge. We want to share our market knowledge with you.

There are many benefits of home ownership that I wanted to share with you. First of all, when you own a home you now have pride of ownership in your investment. As a renter, you have no investment other than making your landlord’s payment for them. You have no real financial benefit as well. You also buy a home as a good investment. Homes in Colorado Springs historically will appreciate around 3% a year and in some years much higher. At the same time you are also paying down the principle balance of your loan. You will also recognize the tax benefits of owning a home to include a mortgage interest deduction and property taxes. At the end of the day sacrifices are worth it. I would also ask you If you want to be the landlord? Once you buy a home for your family you have the ability to leave it behind as a rental and now you are the landlord. You still get the benefits of owning the property as a landlord, but now someone else if paying your mortgage payment for you. At the end of the day I call home ownership a forced savings account. Home ownership is one of the best investments you can do for yourself and your family.

In order to best serve you my buyer agents and I meet with you prior to going out and blindly looking for homes. We find out the size of your family, your search criteria, areas of interest, school district preferences, and any special must have criteria that is important to you and your family. From this point we assist you in the financing process. If you have already been pre-qualified with a lender we ask that you get a good faith estimate of settlement charges. This will allow us to review your closing costs and make sure you are getting a fair deal from your lender. If you need help finding a qualified lender we can also make suggestions of some professionals to assist with financing. Once you are pre-qualified you are now a cash buyer and have buying power.

How do you buy a home? The process of buying can be quite intimidating if you have not done this before. When I sit down with you in our initial buyer meeting, my goal is to educate you and make you comfortable with the buying process. I will filter the available homes on the market to satisfy your needs in your new home. We will begin viewing homes that are available for sale. I will also offer to show you new homes that are in the builders standing inventory. When viewing homes we will point out all of the pro’s and con’s of the home. We show so many homes that we will tell you when we see homes that are at the top of the market category. At this point we will evaluate condition, age of appliances and mechanical, windows, paint, carpet, all of the big things that could potentially cost you lots of money. If things look good we will proceed to writing an offer.

I want to get to good deal how much do I offer? Before we draw up an offer to purchase we do our homework. How long has the home been on the market? Has the seller dropped price recently? I pull the county records and share with you how much the seller paid when they bought the house. I also do my best to determine how much I think they owe on the property through a mortgage history search. Lastly, I do a market analysis to determine what comparable homes have sold for in the neighborhood. At this point we will also discuss If you would like to strictly negotiate the price of the home or If you would like to also negotiate with the seller to pay your closing costs(lender fees). I will give you my recommendation on what I think the seller might consider and we will proceed from there. If the seller does not like our offer, they also have the ability to counter our offer on what they will accept. Once we come to agreement you will be under contract on your new home.

We will also write contingencies into every offer to purchase. We require that a home inspection be done as well as an appraisal. During a home inspection the inspector checks out the house from top to bottom. We want to make sure you are getting a home that is in the best working condition possible. Following a home inspection the lender will have the appraisal done. The best thing about an appraisal is that you cannot pay too much for the property. The bank will not loan money on a home that has an appraisal less than purchase price. We make sure you are protected on the value of your home the best that we can. Once appraisal is completed the lender and title company will get involved and finish up with underwriting and transfer of title. This process is typically 30 days from contract acceptance until closing.

If you or someone you know is considering purchasing a home please have them call us. As a team we are always available and take great pride in providing you the best service in the industry. Once you are in your new home we stay in touch with you and take pride in knowing that you are a client for life and we are here for you and your family. Have a very Happy Holiday season and please call if we can be of service.

Thanks,
Brian

This is part 2 of what to expect from a real estate broker. A listing real estate broker is the agent you hire to sell your home. This agent is the one you should trust to represent your interests and do the best they can to sell your home. So what should a good real estate broker do?

First, be honest. Is your agent presenting knowledgeable facts? Do they know the market and its comparables? An agent can market a home everywhere, but if the price or condition is wrong it won’t matter. I have been selling homes for 23 years. I have sold over 3100 homes. I provide for my sellers a comprehensive market analysis. I use 3 different approaches to value to be sure we get it close. This year we have sold 142 with this method.

A good agent must also be honest with the condition. I would rather hurt your feelings now than let you down later. I do staging in 2 parts. I coach my seller on repairs, clutter, smells and issues. I also bring in a stager to finalize what I have done. Carlina Bobo is my stager and she coaches sellers about colors and furniture arrangements. Does your agent do that?

How and where is a home advertised to sell? Here at the Maecker Team, we cover the main bases. First and foremost we use the MLS system. This advertises to other realtors. 91% of our transactions are between 2 different realtors, so we want to expose the 3500 El Paso County Realtors to your home. I use the internet heavily. I have several websites (21) that funnel traffic to our main page. I also have linked to Remax.com and Realtor.com, the #5 and #1 visited sites in the country. On our signs we use a sign rider with 24 hr recorded information and a link to our website. Our flyers account for 48% of our calls. They include highlights of the home. The other remaining thing is Homes Illustrated. While it only accounts for 4% of our calls, it does account to the reading public. What does your agent do?

The biggest complaint I hear about other agents is follow-up. I constantly hear from customers that their previous agent never communicated with them. Since I work as a team, I have the time to follow up. I don’t work with buyers. My teammates Tony and Liane do that. Every Wednesday I speak and or email with all my sellers. I give them feedback and advice. Monthly, we do new market analysis to be sure we are still on the playing field. I look at my job as I am the field guy and you are the General. I report to you and advise and you make the decisions. When was the last time you heard from your agent?

In summary, not all agents are the same. We at the Brian Maecker Team believe in customer service. We also believe in truth and communication. Please call if you would like to meet us or email us at theteam@maecker.com.  

Thanks,
Brian

Last week I posted an article by Jon Gordon about trust. I trust that Colorado Springs Real Estate will be fine. I am putting on a seminar next Thursday the 6th about the State of the Market and Investing in this economy. Luke Anderson of First Bank and Robert Moyers, attorney will join me in sharing ideas to make money in this economy.

While preparing for this seminar I accessed the Pikes Peak MLS and PikesPeakfacts.com and found stats that show we are stable and starting recovery. Since June, inventory has been dropping while sales have been consistent. The average home price has been steady in the $200-210,000 range. Interest rates are low, even for investors. Kevin Bent of WR Starkey quoted a flat 6% today.

Like Warren Buffet, I believe in real estate and its future worth. I trust that values will come back. Prices over the last 20 years are up 70%. Instead of fear and hiding, invest in the local market. It will reward you.


Thanks,

Brian