Tag Archives: charlottesville buyer’s agent
Charlottesville Realtor Productivity Update
There are plenty of caveats to this post; I will be overlaying these numbers, which are based on the Charlottesville Extended MSA, with total transaction volume. Continue reading
Why Use a Buyer-Broker Agreement?
I tend to use buyer broker agreements with all of my buyer clients fairly early on in our buyer client realtor relationships and this reason is this: first and foremost it lays out my fiduciary duties to my buyer clients. … I approach it as something that I will be asking for, but the first couple of meetings is sort of a time of dating of us feeling each other out and seeing if we are good matches, if we want to work with each other. Buyers and Realtors tend to spend a lot of time with each other, anywhere from six to 1,000 hours together looking for houses and home inspections and just time in the car and meeting the kids. … So pretty much if you need a page to explain the perils of why dual agency is bad, really, you might want to get rid of it altogether, but I write in all my buyer broker agreements that I will not do single agent dual agency. Continue reading
Buying a house in 2011 – What Advice do you have now?
Help Jeannine get educated on how to buy a house … Never one to put off day dreaming today about something that won’t be reality until tomorrow, I’ve already started to casually glance at real estate listings. I used to have some house characteristics in mind, but this browsing has me thinking about very specific locations, down to the actual street. … She may be buying in 2011, but she’s preparing now … Continue reading
Radio this Weekend – WNRN Sunday Morning Wakeup
We’ll be discussing year-end statistics about the Charlottesville region’s real estate market, prognostications for 2010, real estate and technology trends that consumers need to pay attention to and probably quite a bit more. … Maybe a little plug for Nest Realty – Charlottesville’s newest real estate brokerage If you’re going to buy a home in Charlottesville in 2010, when should you start looking? … ) ( now ) (Same if you’re looking to sell a home in Charlottesville ) … … (have you noticed the Meebo bar at the bottom? … I love doing radio for some of the same reasons I love writing this blog – one of the foremost reasons is that live radio forces me to prepare … Continue reading
Prepping to Buy a House in Charlottesville
Now is the time when people really start to talk about these things in earnest, so here is the thing: if you’re thinking about buying a house, it’s a great time to buy! … But if you’re thinking about buying in the Spring: – now is the time to start researching. – Drive through neighborhoods, see how they’re decorated if that interests you or if it disinterests you. It’s good to know what you might be getting yourself into. – Start scouting things out, ask questions, search for homes and find a realtor (I am one) and start looking for vacant houses so you have a feel for what you’re going to see come Spring when houses come on the market. – Prices now are starting to moderate even more. … Start interviewing buyers agents , ask questions, because when you’re talking about interviewing buyers agents , you’re really talking about spending a lot of time with somebody who is hopefully going to be someone you like, trust, and is a professional who is experienced. Continue reading
Thanks Albemarle Family Readers
The readers of Albemarle Family magazine (truly one of the best resources for families in the Charlottesville and Albemarle area) voted recently in all sorts of categories. Their inaugural ” Winning Picks for Family-Friendly Fun and Services ” selections covered virtually every segment of the Charlottesville/Albemarle area and economy. … For Favorite Real Estate Company, Nest Realty Group (the firm in which I am one of three partners ) got the nod as #3 . 1 and 2 were Roy Wheeler and Real Estate III respectively. … At the time of voting, we were a six-person firm ( now 8 ) versus 96 and 221 .* 
I was further surprised to have been voted the #3 Realtor by their readers. Continue reading
Dropping prices, new construction and the inherent risk in a changing market
What do you do?A few things come to mind that I am wondering whether builders will consider:1) Put a contingency in the offer that the offer is contingent on an appraisal two weeks prior to closing of at least the contract price.2) A contingency that should the developer drop the price on other homes between contract and closing, the purchaser’s contract price will be reduced the same amount.3) From the Washington Post story: “The buyer should ensure that the deposit is put into an interest-earning escrow account, perhaps with a settlement company, and is not being used by the developer as working capital, Antonoplos said…. That will make it easier to recoup the money if the project hits a snag.”4) Put down a smaller earnest money deposit.5) Make sure that you have done your due diligence and that you love your soon-to-be new home.One aspect of this new environment that I have been wrestling with is how to ensure the soundness of developers…. How does one effectively represent buyers in the face of an unknown – that unknown being the fiscal ability of the developer/builder?Calculated Risk covered this story as well as Phil’s excellent analysis of a related story (h/t: Dustin)From Inman (behind a subscriber wall) in response to a question of what to do should the price go down on other, competing homes between your contract and closing:One common thread that runs through real estate law is that real estate values are unpredictable and that no one can guarantee escalation of prices…. Similarly, if values go down, why should the developer be required to pay you any money?The builders’ and the buyers’ choices may be reduced to renegotiate or lose the deal – both sides lose if they don’t negotiate.
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