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NAR Expects Record Existing-Home & New-Home Sales in 2004

The National Association of Realtors® report Greater than expected sales of existing homes in the first seven months of the year will help set a record for annual existing-home sales in 2004. Existing-home sales are expected to increase about 6.5 percent this year to 6.50 million, while new homes are up 7.1 percent and expected to rise to a record level this year of 1.16 million.

Chief NAR economist David Lereah said a continued decline in mortgage interest rates is creating favorable market conditions at a time when household formation is rising.

For the complete article, click here.

Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® Raises $10,000 To Support Troops in Middle East

The Greater Las Vegas Association of REALTORS® has raised $10,000 in charitable contributions in an effort to help U.S. troops in Iraq according to association President Lee Barrett. Proceeds from the fundraiser will buy phone cards for troops stationed in the Middle East to make it easier communicate with family and friends at home.

For the complete article, click here.

Good Real Estate Practice when Buying

I am sure you have been in the real estate industry for any length of time you have experienced appliances being swapped prior to possession.

In the contract, it states that the refrigerator stays with the property, and then at time of possession the almost new stainless steel refrigerator has magically transformed into a 1940 model ice-box with the compressor on top.

Now the sellers are L-O-N-G gone, and you are facing an irate buyer, because you did not want to pull the refrigerator out and stand on your head to find the serial number so you could put it in the contact.

I have had more than one agent tell me that they could not find the serial number. I even ask a couple of them if they thought it would be on the front door.

If you can’t (or don’t want to) find the serial number, at least write the manufacture and model number on your contract. And then TAKE PICTURES!!

This will at least give your Buyer some protection and assist him/her in pursuing the Seller for contractual fraud or criminal charges (depending on your location.) It may also help keep you from buying a new refrigerator.

Wayne Griggs - He's baaaaaaak!

Well the Las Vegas real estate rumor mill was right on about Las Vegas Top Producer returning to the Valley the first week of October.

Griggs went to Atlanta in mid-spring to set up shop for a friend with a REMAX franchise.

According to Wayne, he never intended to abandon the Las Vegas real estate market in spite of some of the local competition hoping he would find greener pastures in Atlanta.

Wayne will be returning to Century 21 – Aadvantage Gold in the Henderson office. His passion appears to be Las Vegas Golf Homes, but specializes in Las Vegas Luxury Homes.

Proven to be a “Mover & Shaker” we look forward to Wayne’s return to add even more excitement to what has already been a record breaking year in the nation’s hottest real estate market.

Welcome home Wayne!

Home Inspections – Cheap Peace of Mind

Everyone wants a smooth transaction when buying or selling a home. Often as not, sellers and seller’s agents prefer not to have home inspections.

The reasoning behind this is obvious but flawed. The truth is generally speaking the sellers don’t want to know about any “unknown” defects and do not want a record of any defects they are aware of. While the law is clear about disclosing any “know” defects, sellers sometimes hope defects are not noticed by the buyers and the sell goes through without making any additional repairs.

Licensing laws for agents are very clear about full disclosure so many Agents take the position that what they don’t know can’t hurt them and are generally elated when a buyer waives their right to a home inspection.

Unfortunately, this does and has opened the doors for litigation against both seller and their agent by the buyers. Like any other law suit, there is a 50/50 chance that the seller and agent can use the waiver to win in court. However, I feel you never win in court and the best practice is to make all efforts to avoid being there in the first place.

I have a personal policy of strongly encouraging both buyers and sellers to have a Home Inspection prior to closing on a property. I do this for everyone’s protection including my own. It doesn’t matter if I am representing the buyer or the seller, I will urge all parties to get a Home Inspection Report.

Most defects will not stop the sell of a home. The sellers have the option of;
a) Repairing the defect.
b) Paying a portion of the repairs to the defect.
c) Renegotiating or lowering the selling price of the home.
d) Finding another buyer that will accept the seller’s preferred conditions to making the necessary repairs.

The condition of almost any defect will only worsen with time and become more expensive to repair. Defects that might cost a couple of hundred dollars to repair today could cost thousands in a couple of months. Problems such as leaking roofs or plumbing don’t go away, they just get worse and so does the repair bills for the damage to the home.

I have seen sellers that honestly did not know about defects in their homes be put through the ringer months after they thought the sell of their home went well and was final.

A home inspection could have easily missed this defect as well; however, if a home inspection had taken place, there would have been virtually no liability against the seller or their agent.

Often, a Home Owner Warranty policy will NOT pay for some repairs claiming them to be “pre-existing”. Once again, the Home Inspection would have circumvented this, and proved that the condition was NOT “pre-existing”.

With the cost of a Home Inspection report averaging only $300 nationwide, it is one of the cheapest and best ways to avoid trouble down the road for buyers, sellers and real estate agents alike. And the peace of mind a Home Inspection Report offers in a real estate transaction…“Priceless”.

-Mack

The Reluctant Real Estate Agent

We all become involved in real estate for our own reasons.

Some become involved in real estate with expectations of high financial rewards others for independence as their “Own Boss” and so on. There are about as many reasons as there are real estate agents.

I was basically pushed into the business. My Mother and Wife owned an Agency in rural Missouri and I was drafted to build a company website.

When “Mom” caught me talking to customers on the phone after hours while I was working on the website, she insisted that I get my real estate license to keep her from losing hers.

I eventually ended up with my Brokers License. Unlike my conversations with customers prior to licensing, the more I knew about real estate the less I really wanted to talk about it and my unlearned advice turned into cautious comments and questions.

I have noted in my nine plus years that this industry has more peaks and valleys than the Rocky Mountains and more traps than a Louisiana marsh.

Being the “Token” male in an office with eight female Agents in a rural Missouri Agency had its pitfalls. In addition to taking out the garbage on a daily basis, I routinely pulled every undesirable duty around the office and was forced to show the majority of the hunting property, rural acreage and vacant land. This included the annual showing of “the Hiker”.

One thing I could count on every summer was “the Hiker” showing up at least once. You know the one I’m talking about. While his face may have changed every year, I could recognize him by the hiking boots, huge calves and the bottle of spring water clinched tightly in one hand. He was usually between 23 and 27 years old and always wore those Khaki shorts. You know… the shorts with all the pockets.

I could always count on him to show up between noon and 2PM some time in late July or early August when the temperature hovered in the low 100s with 98% humidity. The “Hiker” always wanted to preview at least one 80 acre parcel. EVERY INCH OF IT! The Ozark foothills are just that, hills. While on top of one hill looking across to the other it may only be 100 yards away, but by the time you walked down the hill and back up the other side you have traveled 300 plus yards. Needless to say, I did not look forward to my visit from the “Hiker” or the resulting smell of Ben Gay for days on my aching body following our stroll through the woods.

While I have had some not so good times in the industry, I have also had some great experiences and have developed some extremely strong friendships.

Helping a family select and purchase that special “Dream Home” is a personal high for me. Home ownership after all is a major part of the “American Dream” and taking a small part in a family’s pursuit of this dream is an extremely gratifying experience.

This is one profession that every day is completely different from the last. While we agents may like to think we have daily routines, there is nothing routine about it. Every day offers new challenges, new learning experiences and is as unique as a snowflake. And yes, the financial rewards may have been grossly exaggerated but the experiences have been as the commercial says “Priceless”.

While the industry is constantly evolving, it offers many opportunities for continuing education to keep up with the never ending changes.

As I stated earlier, we all have our own reasons for getting involved with real estate. While I may have been drafted, it is a profession that I am proud to belong to.

Real Estate is a highly regulated profession by most states, and has additional self policing organizations such as the National Association of REALTORS® and others in an effort to protect the general public and assure professionalism. Some of the most professional individuals I have known are in the profession, and bad apples are rare.

On a closing note, since moving to the Las Vegas Valley I am ready at any given moment for a visit from “the Hiker”. I am completely prepared to show every inch of these half and quarter acre properties!

-Mack McMillan