Want a Competitive Edge Over Your Competition? Let the AmeriSpec® Seller's Assistance Program (ASAP) Help!

With many more homes on the market today than ever before, buyers’ expectations are high and sellers are more eager to sell their home. Coupled with tougher credit requirements, deals can be hard to come by...(More)

Helping Clients Who Want a Condo

If you’re not already a specialist in the condominium market, check out these pointers that can help you and your clients...(More)

Keeping Safe on the Job

Safety issues should be of concern to every realtor, particularly at open houses and vacant properties. However, there are important steps you can take to protect yourself from accidents and unfortunate incidents...(More)

Organize Your Workspace to Save Time and Make Money

Of course you know that clutter slows you down. But do you realize just how much? Get organized and watch your efficiency soar...(More)

Want a Competitive Edge Over Your Competition? Let the AmeriSpec Seller's Assistance Program (ASAP) Help!

In today’s market, pre-listing inspections have become a valuable tool for the seller. The seller can help avoid surprises that may arise at closing since everyone involved will likely be more familiar with the condition of the property.

The AmeriSpec ASAP program includes a pre-listing inspection, along with marketing materials for the homeowner, to assist them in the sale of their home. Homeowners will receive the detailed inspection report in the attractive, easy-to-reference AmeriSpec Report Binder, which also contains a seasonal maintenance checklist, an innovative home repair manual, and other valuable items.

The homeowner can also receive highly visible “Pre-Inspected” sign riders or yard signs, as well as brochures to provide to potential buyers explaining the benefits of purchasing a pre-inspected home. These brochures let buyers know the home has been pre-inspected by AmeriSpec and they also let buyers know they can purchase a discounted re-inspection to verify the current condition of the home, allowing them to buy with peace of mind.

The ASAP program is a win, win, win for agents, sellers and buyers:

• Can be used as a tool to identify motivated sellers.

• Help sellers receive offers closer to the asking price*.

• No significant surprises should another inspection occur*.

• Less contract fallouts – everyone is familiar with the property’s condition.

• Provides the opportunity to correct defects while allowing time to shop for the best price*.

• Creates a good faith atmosphere for all parties involved.

• Provides an opportunity for a discounted re-inspection for the buyer.

• Helps alleviate buyer’s remorse.

Call today for more information on AmeriSpec and the ASAP Program. Visit www.amerispec.com to find an AmeriSpec office near you!

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Ask about their lifestyle.

Find out why they are interested in condos or similar housing instead of traditional single-family homes. Condos are usually best for people who lead busy lifestyles, with little time for regular home and yard maintenance tasks. Single people and empty nesters may be more likely to find advantages to condos. Families with small, active children may need different facilities that not all multi-unit housing developments offer. Once you know what your clients want, you can guide them to the housing developments that match best.

Make sure they understand dues or maintenance fees.

While more and more single-family neighborhoods are introducing annual or monthly fees, virtually every multi-family development has them. Make sure your clients understand how much these fees are, what they cover, and how likely they are to increase. It could impact the affordability of the home they’re interested in.

Assess and compare all services and facilities available.

See how access to any gyms, guest parking, recreational facilities, storage or other areas is handled, and if there are any extra fees for their use. Compare access to these facilities to other developments to make sure you have the best match for your clients. Be sure your clients know exactly which services are provided and which are not.

Do research to avoid potential disappointments.

Make sure your clients understand all covenants, conditions, and restrictions they would be subject to; these could impact anything from pets, to holiday decorations, to parking limitations.

Ask for the minutes from the most recent homeowners association meetings to see if there are problems that aren’t being addressed. A complex with unhappy homeowners should immediately send up red flags.

Find out how large the reserve fund is. Large funds could reduce the chance of additional payment requests (assessments) to pay for unexpected expenses. Also, get a history of any assessments the development may have made for five years or longer. Poorly managed developments may make more unexpected assessments, causing unexpected financial burdens as well as indicating other management problems.

Evaluate the development’s investment value.

While there are no guarantees, there are specific things you can check to increase your client’s comfort level. If more than 5% of the units in a mature development are for sale that could indicate problems with the development. A thorough market analysis will let you and your clients know if the condos in question are increasing in value at an acceptable rate.

Don’t skip the inspection.

A professional home inspection is just as important for a multi-family building as it is for other homes. A thorough inspection of the unit inside and out, as well as any common walls or systems, is an important part of any home transaction.

With your help, your clients will find the perfect condominium home, while avoiding those that may not be a good match. Their satisfaction could lead to further references and bring a whole new area of expertise to your business.

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As a real estate professional, you meet hundreds of people in all types of situations every month. On a rare occasion, one of those encounters could be troublesome. In fact, a survey by the National Association of Realtors shows that over half of all realtors have experienced some sort of incident. Rural and urban, big city and small town – safe habits are important. Follow these suggestions to help protect yourself on the job.

Establish Safety-Minded Office Habits

• Keep your cell phone charged and handy.

• Make sure someone in the office always knows where you are going and the name and phone number of any client or repair person you may be meeting.

• Arrange for someone in the office to call you at designated times (every hour or half hour) just to check in. Have a prearranged code word you can use if you feel at risk.

• Don’t put home information on business cards.

Be Prepared on the Road

• Take a personal safety class. Check with your local police, YMCA, schools and other organizations about classes.

• Carry a protective device, such as pepper spray. Even a loud whistle can make a difference.

• Keep your cell phone with you at all times. If you are inspecting a vacant property alone and encounter an accident, the car may be out of reach.

• Keep a flashlight and a pair of sturdy shoes in the car. These can be lifesavers at homes under construction.

Don’t Take Chances

• Don’t meet a new prospect for the first time at a property. Meet in the office or a public place. Get their phone number and address and verify that information before showing them any properties.

• At open houses or when showing properties, let prospects tour bedrooms, basements, second floors, etc. alone. Stay in the main living rooms where exits are close.

• If repair workers you don’t know are at a vacant property, verify their right to be there before entering.

• Try to avoid showing properties after dark; when that is unavoidable, bring an associate.

Most importantly, pay attention to your intuition. When you have a feeling something isn’t as it should be, don’t take unnecessary risks. Remember, your prospect may be just as worried about going to isolated places with you. With safe work habits, you put everyone at ease.

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Organize Your Workspace to Save Time and Make Money

Most of us spend far too much time looking for that important piece of paper, trying to remember where that crucial phone number was written down, or jut sifting through mounds of paper to figure out what needs to be done next.

In the real estate business, time is money. And time spent struggling to do business in an unorganized office, is time not spent getting and showing listings.

Whether you work alone or in a large company, organization is a key element of success. If you can’t get your whole company to set aside a day to organize for success, set aside some time to make it happen for yourself.

Here are some suggestions to get you started and keep you on the path to organized success.

• Pick a time with no distractions. Avoid the regular workday. You will want at least several hours – possibly much longer if your desk is a major paper storage area. Put on some fun, energetic music, have some goodies on hand, and approach the task with a positive attitude – every hour you invest now will save you hours of frustration later.

• Clear your desk of everything, inside and out. Start with that blank slate and think about what is vital to have within reach and what isn’t. Of course you want a family picture or two, task lighting, a pen and notepad, and your computer; everything else could be questionable.

• Go through the pile of dislocated papers and items one at a time – dealing with each one completely as you come to it. When in doubt, throw it out. If it needs filing, do it right away with a proper label and put it in the proper place. Avoid creating new stacks to deal with later.

• Create an action file or list; this is a summary of tasks that must be done – a type of “to do list” for your workday. This should be prominently displayed to remind you of tasks at hand.

• Start a communications log. A simple spiral notebook will do. Write down the important aspects of every conversation you have, including who you talked to, the subject matter and next steps. Writing it down not only plants the information more securely in your memory, it also gives you a reference of when requests were made or which tasks were assigned. Keep a highlighter handy to mark items in the log of particular importance.

• Eliminate the “to file” tray. This is the beginning of future chaos. If something is ready to be filed, do it immediately. Don’t put it off, because “doing it later” has a way of never happening.

• Beware of drawers. In modern offices, desk drawers have turned into office versions of the proverbial kitchen junk drawer. Try to make yours the exception by assigning particular functions to each drawer – handy office supplies, personal needs, etc.

• Pick one information system and stick to it. Love your Palm Pilot? Then record all your phone numbers, lists, appointments, and notes there. Prefer hard copies? Then do the same with some type of day planner. If you use electronic files, be sure to back them up a minimum of once a week.

• Take pride in your accomplishment. Once you’ve gone through all the effort to get organized, stay that way. Just seeing your organized workspace will make every day feel a little brighter and make every day a little more productive.

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