Short selling one’s home is an option more people are deciding on as home prices keep falling, and the threat of foreclosure seems very real. However, many consumers are finding it difficult to find real estate agents who are willing to take on the prospect of helping them sell their homes.

Realtors get paid commission based on how much homes sell for. With short sale homes, the worth of the houses has already decreased, which means the realtor is already in a bad position when he or she first takes on an assignment. With most homes, there’s a period of negotiating on the price. Realtors often get to start high then come down and still help sellers hit their price, or get very close to it. With a short sale, there really isn’t a high starting price, which means they start low and may end up going lower. The seller’s aren’t usually feeling like doing too much negotiating, since they’re just looking to get out from under the debt of the house. This means realtors are working harder for less money; no one particularly likes to do that. (more…)

Ever feel a little uncomfortable asking for a testimonial or wonder how you can get testimonials form your clients that are focused on things you would like to have featured? There are some great ways to get excellent testimonials from the Realtors in your mentor program that you can have fun with. All you need is a few happy clients and a little planning. Today I will talk about how to use a contest to collect a lot of great, unique testimonials fast.

Ask your existing clients to make a video, audio or old fashion written submission talking about their experience in your Realtor coaching program and how it has impacted their career. Ask them to be creative, and offer the winners access to a high level coaching program for free. You could use attendance to one of your events (if you have them) or you could provide one-on-one phone coaching or fly them in for two day of face-to-face coaching. You want to make the reward substantial enough to motivate them to take the time to make a great “entry” even though their efforts may be futile.

Make sure to tell them that if they are not making a video featuring their mug, then you will need a photo submitted with the entry. Later when you feature these entries on your website you will want to include photos of the entrants it makes them more believable, especially when you have a really over the top story.

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The Charleston, SC real estate market has slowed down considerably in the past two years. Home prices are currently down about 11 percent on average for the various metro areas compared to where they were last year. Although Charleston has become a strong buyers market, it was still listed by Forbes earlier this year as the ninth strongest real estate market in the country. So, compared to most other real estate markets in the United States, Charleston has held its own quite well.

The past few months have shown good signs for sellers, as the number of homes under contract has increased every month for the past five months. The number of showings has remained the same (or increased in some cases) for the past two months. It seems that Charleston’s real estate market is starting to play catch up at the current rates of increase. By the end of the year, Charleston is expected to have more homes under contract compared to the end of last year. (more…)

How safe is the home you are buying? This is a question that every parent should ask themselves before they close on a property. For dad, who is commonly considered the repair man, this might be a really important question. If you don’t have the time, money or desire to do a lot of unexpected repairs after you move in, then a home inspection should be on your to-do list.

If you have children you will be raising in the house, then you know the feeling of concern and worry about their well-being. You want them to be safe and to feel comfortable whenever they’re in the house. They will take their safety for granted but you shouldn’t.

The feeling of safety should not be taken for granted. The state or condition of a dwelling can vary widely and even newly constructed homes can have issues. You want your place to have a feeling of being nurtured and taken care of.

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Is selling a timeshare ideal for you? A lot of us purchase real properties as an investment in the hopes of boosting our monthly earnings. This is true for many of the worlds millionaires built their fortunes in real estate and many people desire to follow their footsteps.

Study says that those who invest in real estate have two, three properties located in different places. They rent out these properties to businesses, students, newly wed couples, young urban professionals, and tourists. Usually prime properties, those that are placed in strategic locations like urban centers and tourist destinations are the one which are in demand among those who want to rent a property. That is why no matter how high the price would be in acquiring these properties investors are still willing to shell out their money. (more…)