Why when I sign up on real estate web sites do I get a bunch of agents calling me right away?

Hi Rose,

It's great people are paying attention! I love to hear that !

So your on a real estate brokers web site, 85% of the people that come to the site are there to see property listings. Most sites will let you look at a min 3 property listings and then figure that you have a level of interest that may require some assistance from and expert.

The Broker has working for them, real estate agents developing their brand recognition in a given market. Different brokers focus on different aspects of services they provide their client base. You know what is important to you with someone who works with you: dependability, knowledgeable about the area of choice, experienced in real estate transaction, honest and other personalities you feel important to have predetermine criteria.

On the agent side they are interested in providing excellent service for their client in the hops of concluding a successful transaction and perhaps receiving referrals from you if they do a great job.

So in the pursuit of providing the client with a great experience there has to be a starting point in communication. Auto email responses let you know a system is functioning but we have found does not give the client an attachment to a person. A quick phone call while you are most likely on the site lets you know that there is an agent available to answer any questions you may have or just make the initial personal contact.

So some consumers are trying to avoid talking to the agent or brokers especially early on in a search process. There are several logical reasons for this. “I don’t even know if I am going to move”, “I am not moving just curious for a friend”, “I already have an agent just don’t like their web site”, “I am busy and don’t want to be bothered at work”, “My spouse doesn’t know I am looking at buying a new home”. Yes I have heard all of these responses!

The agent can tell pretty quick if it is a lead that has some sort of success in converting but the good agents are not going to call you several times a day and keep asking you the same questions or pestering you to meet in person. Once they talk to you they can make their notes and set up time for a follow up or Email/Text with contact information.

If you have several agents calling you it could well be that you have signed up for similar services on different brokerage sites and as such they each have an agent reaching out to you so it seems pretty overwhelming.

Form the clients perspective. If you just let the agents know that you have chosen to work with another agent or that you are undecided about your timing and they should call back in 3 months (you pick time line) they will call you back typically. Once you do choose a Real estate agent as your representative give them as much information as you can about reasons for a move, all criteria that is going to make you want one home over another and work with him as a partner in the process. You will get the occasional agent trying to persuade you to use their services, simply tell them you are represented by an agent and would appreciate if they took you off of active lead list.  Uses this as your initial interview period to ask agents questions you know are important about who you want to be working with.

This will help save time and effort for everyone and you will be getting a lot less calls.

Hope this information helps Rose. Don’t forget you can always contact me direct Mobile/Text @ 512-922-4922 with any questions of if your need an experienced real estate agent in the Austin area.

Regards,

bob Kenney, Realtor

I am thinking about listing my home and a friend referred me to an broker who provides limited services. What does this mean?

Hi Jennifer,

Great question.

There are some brokers that provide "limited services" for buyers and sellers of real estate. If you include the phrase “limited representation” in this description you would have a clearer picture of what they are offering.

From my experience they usually offer a seller to list the home in a locale MLS and maybe put a sign in the year. The seller is responsible for making appointments, following up on agent visits, any interaction with interested parties and all marketing and advertising expenses. In some cases they will receive an offer but consulting on the offer is an additional charge from their “services menu”.

Most of these “limited services” brokerages will offer all of the additional services from a “services menu”.These services are on a fee basis(A la caret). $$ for sign, $$ for asking agents what they thought about your property, $$ for negotiating contracts etc. There may be some advice given when an offer is received but typically the seller is relying on his or her knowledge about the real estate market to make decisions.

For this limited service they will charge you less than what a full service brokerage would charge you to list the home. Full service brokers on the other hand become your partner in the process. Running interference with buyers agents and their clients by gathering answers to questions that they know will be asked beforehand, marketing and advertising costs are paid by the agent/broker, getting the best possible exposure for your property, advising on strategies, pricing and timing of market conditions, advising on what needs to be done to get a home ready for market, doing analysis of the market so you can be competitive when you list, handling all of the paperwork that will be needed for a successful transaction. There is much more that each individual agent brings to your table that is not on a Service menu basis but part of the obligation that the real estate agent has with their client.

For buyers similar limited representation, they may get notified of listings in the area they are interested in but when it comes time for making appointments with listing agents or sellers it is all up to the buyer. They will produce an offer for the buyer at the time the buyer identifies a home they are interested in and in a lot of cases prepare offers for homes they have not even visited. I once had an out of town buyer contact me to see a home my broker had listed because his agent said if they were only in town to look at homes he did not have time to show them properties, just let him know when they found something they liked and he would write an offer!!

Everyone is entitled to their own opinion on this type of service. I had a client once mention after talking to a limited service company it felt like having to go to court with out your lawyer!

In either buyer or seller case it depends on how comfortable the client is with dealing with the whole process by themselves. Sometime the opposing agents get a little frustrated by doing the work of 2 agents but having to pay the other agent a commission for less than full service. For the full service areal estate agent at the end of the day it only matters if their clients interests are best served so you do what you have to for your client.

I would strongly suggest you meet with a full service brokerage in your community and compare the level of services and dedication you may find with a full service brokerage. Keep in mind it takes a lot of the stress off of you during the selling process when you have someone working side by side with you instead of being available just a FEE away!

Good luck in your listing. Please feel free to contact me for Full brokerage services if in the Austin, TX area or if you need a referral for anywhere else in the world!

Kind Regards,

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Reilly Realtors

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

I think there is an issue with a home I like, how can I check it out before I agree to agree to purchase the home?

Hi Vivian,

First thing you should do is have your real estate agent, Realtor®, ask the sellers agent or the seller if for sale by owner for a copy of the sellers disclosure. Read this document carefully as it should have information on any material issues that the home may have had since the current owner has owned the home. A lot of people are skeptical about the disclosure but as professional Realtor® we encourage the home owner , as listing agent, to fill out the disclosure with all the facts. The penalty in Texas for non disclosure of an issue is stiff and dates from time of discovery about a non disclosed issue.

In Texas we have what is called a Termination Option period. It gives the buyer the unrestricted right to cancel the contract with out penalty through the term of the option period.. It is negotiated with each home sale. This is the point the buyers have to inspect the property and decide if the property is right for them.

If there is something you just do not feel is right about the property and it is not on the sellers disclosure then this is the period you want to investigate. Most home owners will not let you do inspections on their property if you are not under contract because if there are unknown issues discovered they would then be obligated to disclose the issue to the next buyer if you chose not to buy the home.

Different states have different rules but most states allow for inspections of property after a home goes under contract. Please contact a real estate professional in your area for assistance and don’t let the home go to someone else if you feel it is the right one.

If you are in Texas and need assistance. Give me a call I will be glad to represent you or refer you to a Realtor® in your home town that can represent you.

Regards

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Reilly Realtors

Mobile/Text - 512-922-4922

I am buying a condo and no one can tell me exactly what the HOA fees pay for.

Hi Lori,

Hopefully you have a real estate agent representing you in the purchase. Your Realtor® needs to ask the seller and or their agent for a copy of the CC&R, The covenants, conditions & restrictions, are the governing documents that dictate how the homeowners association (HOA) operates and what rules the owners, and their tenants and guests, must obey. These documents may also be called The bylaws, The master deed, The house rules or another similar name.

These documents will spell out what dues or obligations exist between the owners of the units and the associations. Each association has a different set of operating rules regulating things such as parking, 3 of guests permitted and how long they can stay. Also such things as special assessments that may be required by the owners of all the units that comprise and association. Usually special costs that may not have funds in reserve like replacing a controlled gate access or repaving of drive way.

So there may be no one answering because they are not familiar with what is in the CC&R. These are typically provided to a prospective buyer once a property goes under contract with in a specified number of days from the executed date of the contract. However most selling (or listing ) agents should have this information available because their clients have been paying the same assessment since they have lived in the unit assuming it is a resale.

For new construction then the builder is responsible for these documents and the accounting of the dues. It is not common for a builder , especially for “pre construction”, not to have that information defined. Crazy as it seems they wait for the project to be completed to define those costs. A lot of people are caught off guard by larger than expected obligations.

Hope this helps point you I the right direction. Congratulations on your real estate purchase I hope your transaction is a successful one.

Please do not hesitate to contact me should you have additional questions.

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Reilly Realtors

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

http://www.austinhomelistings.com/agents/robert-kenney/

Do Open Houses really work to sell my home?

Thanks for the Email Jack,

There are a couple of different schools about Open Houses

A) While the additional exposure can not hurt the marketing of a home. A large percentage of the time the Open Houses benefit the Realtor® holding the home open to the public.

The agent has a chance to interact with the people coming through the doors and if this is not the right home than maybe they can help them find another one that would be a better fit.

B) Open houses are a great for the exposure of the home in any kind of market.

So you have agents that are looking for the opportunity top “pick up buyers” and agents who believe in exposing the home to as many individuals as possible hoping to generate interest in your home.

In my experience a buyer walks into an open house blind maybe less than 5% of the time. I believe open houses are a win win for the homeowner and the agent as it helps expose the property to a market (people that love to go to open houses) and to neighbors that may have friends or family wanting to move into the area.

It really comes down to the homeowner and how they feel about open houses. I have had clients prefer not to open their homes up to the public. Trouble of getting the home in “showing condition” worry about personal property etc.. I think it is a marketing tool that has to be discussed before you list the home so that everyone’s expectations are set before the home gets to market.

So to recap – Yest it can be helpful to have open houses, especially at the beginning of a listing, but it depends on homeowners feelings about preparing and opening their home to the public.

Have the discussion up front with your Realtor® They will know the locale market and how important/unimportant it may be from a locale market perspective.

Good luck with the sale of your home Jack.

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Reilly Realtors

Mobile/text: 512-922-4922

 

 

 

 

 

I have a home that is under contract to be sold and it was broken into last night! will this affect the sale of the home?

I know a real estate agent that is inquiring about what they should do about a vacant listing that is under contract that got broken into and is scheduled to close in 10 days.

First time she has encountered this and was not sure if it was going to make the sale questionable.

OK if I was in the situation 1^st thing I would do is contact the seller and advise them of the situation. Have them contact police and file a report then contact their insurance company to report the break in and request they send an adjuster to the property.

In this case the seller canceled his homeowners insurance when they moved out! Please never cancel coverage on a property you own till the property has closed! This is just one of many scenarios that could happen to a home while it is under contract and having coverage on the property for incidents such as this case or in the case of one of my clients where there was a severe water leak from water heater that resulted in $50,000 damage.

In all these scenarios there is one golden rule. Inform and disclose all issues to all parties as soon as possible. In Texas there is a clause dealing with property condition at time of sale. In the case of the break in the seller has the right to repair the damage to the same or better condition that it was in at the time the contract was effective.

There are all kinds of things that can happen to people and property during a sales contract. 1^st thing all the parties involved in the transaction have to remember is that most issues can be resolved as long as everyone is involved in the facts and have access to any information about the incident.

So 2 important lessons

A) Never cancel insurance on a property till the property closes. Talk to your insurance company explain facts. If you move out prior to sale you may be able to adjust the coverage on the home to cover structure but may not need the personal property coverage anymore. Take an experts advice!

B) disclose, disclose, disclose – honesty and a clear representation of the facts are the best remedy for all issues that may arise during a sales contract.

Regards,

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

What is the difference between a Realtor® and a buyers agent?

Good morning Marty,

Real estate agents are licensed by the state in which they offer their services, there is not a specific buyers or listing agent license only there are agents that prefer to specialize on both sides. If an agent joins NAR (National Association of Realtors®) they are eligible to use the designation Realtor®.

There are agents that are licensed in their respective states, either as agents or brokers, who choose not to belong to NAR so they do not have the right to use the designation Realtor®.

I am licensed in the state of Texas and I belong to NAR. So I am licensed real estate agent and Realtor®. If you are dealing with an agent that uses Buyers Agent and not Realtor® as part of their designation then chances are that they do not belong to NAR. They may use ABA or accredited buyers agent but in order to have that designation they need to belong to NAR as well.

All Realtors can either be buyers or sellers (listing) agents. 15+ years ago most markets had only one kind of agent. Sellers agents and all agents worked for the seller and earned their commissions by representing the sellers. In late 1990's the advent of the “Buyers Agent” came along and I think it was a good thing for the real estate industry as a whole.

In most markets throughout the US you now have agents that represent just one side of the transaction. The seller still offers compensation in the form of a commission , in most cases, the commission is always paid to the listing broker as a whole amount and the listing broker then splits the whole commission with the buyers broker.

I use the term Broker because in Texas all agents that sell real estate must hold their license under a named broker in order to legally transact business. So the agents have a independent contractors association with the brokers. All contracts , listing agreements and buyers representations are IP of the broker with the agent as the representative of the broker. Confusing yes but the broker is held to a higher count of responsibility and must represent the agents should there be any kind of legal actions or disputes with other brokers/agents.

Those agents that act as buyer agents do so for a number of reasons. It could be they are just good in dealing with people and can convert leads to clients better than they can convert someone thinking about selling their homes to a listing. Could be that a broker hires that agent specifically so the agent works with buyers only in order to hone their representation skills.

So I guess that was a long answer. Do not feel compelled to work with a agent just because they say the specialize with buyers. Although there are agents that just list homes as a business model I would guess that 85% of licensed real estate agents are excellent representatives of both sellers and buyers in any given transaction. Call me if you have any further questions!

Bob kenney, Realtor® Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

Hi Elizabeth,

I assume you mean from the Buyers prospective? Here are some basic to help understand the negotiation process.

Once a property if “Offered” for sale it is offered with specific terms such as price and condition. Time frame of the transaction is left open for negotiation unless otherwise specified (must close on or before X date).

As the buyer you have a couple of options. You can make and offer using the offered terms with no changes and add you desired day of close. I usually include time frame for response, “please respond by 5Pm of the following day or this contract may be considered null and void” this helps makes the transaction move along at a reasonable pace and helps prevents the seller from shopping your offer with other potential buyers. Once the seller receives this offer they then have 3 options

1.     Accept your offer – Offer is signed by all parties and the contract proceeds to Escrow.

2. Counter offer any of the terms including price, day of closing
3. Not respond in which case your offer has not been accepted

If you receive a counter offer you now have the same 3 options as the seller had when they received your offer (as above)

It is important at this point to realize that ANY change on the contract, even if it was something previously not changed of changed makes the contract eligible for the 3 responses. So for instance you agree to all the changes the seller has countered to you with except now you want to change the Number of days you may have for an option. This change goes back to the seller and now they have the 3 choices in their court.

So you see it is important to list out all terms early on and decide which ones are most important to you and would be worth either breaking a deal or moving on.

Now the really important part:

NO DEAL IS CONSIDERED TO BE A EAL UNTIL ALL PARTIES HAVE INITIALED AND SIGNED THE ENTIRE CONTRACT AND ALL ADDENDEM,

In regards to Texas Real estate once the parties have agreed on all terms of the contract, initialed and signed all parts of the contract and any addendum the contract is considered Executed. Then the contract (in Texas) is delivered to a title company along with the agreed upon Escrow funds the minute after the contract is executed the clock starts ticking on the various time sensitive deadlines of the contract including getting the contract delivered with escrow funds to title company.

Remember there are lots of parts to any transaction so the required addendum and number of negotiated terms may vary from transaction to transaction.

I hope you find this helpful and should you have any further questions please feel free to contact me at your convenience.

Bob Kenney, Realtor® Mobile/Text : 512-922-4922

I am ready to buy a home should I have financing arranged prior to a search?

Hi Angelia,

While there is no requirement for you to have been approved prior to a search there it is a very good idea for you to have talked to a mortgage lender and if possible get a per-approval so that you will know what price range you can afford.

He process moves astoundingly fast once you place an offer on a home. So as many things as you can do in preparation for closing on a home of your choice the smoother the transaction.

• Financing – Know what you can borrow based on your income. Debt obligations and cash reserves. A licensed professional is the best source of information. There are several ways to find a good mortgage lender.

Realtors® are a good source. They will give you the names of lenders they have worked with in the past and have proven to be good representatives of their clients best interest. Among other responsibilities your agent should be looking out for your ability to close a transaction w/in a specified time frame and knows lenders who are capable of processing and closing deals in the most efficient way. Make sure you talk to all referrals, sometimes clients can get a feel for personality fits after talking to a lender.

Banks. Your bank is also a good source. If they do not have mortgage services available they most likely have a corresponding relationship with another bank that does.

Friends that have recently closed on a home – If you have close friends who’s opinions your trust ask them about their experience with their lender of choice. A lot of clients value the opinion of people they know and trust.

• Current living situation – Regardless if you are in a lease or own a home. Have a plan in place to shift out of your current living arrangement. If you are having to break a lease make sure you know all penalties/options available to you from the management or owner of your lease unit.

Ask your Realtor® to do a CMA on your home and see what current market values are. A lot of consumers have inflated ideas on home value and the mortgage lander will need to know what you owe and what the current market value.

• Timing – A lot of people forget they have to specify a time frame on the offer contract that they intend to close on a home. There are several other time deadlines in the contract that must be met as well so make sure your agent explains all of the phases of the contract and exact deadlines that you have to perform under the contract terms. Pay close attentions to any changes that may be made during a negotiation some of these dates may be negotiable.

 

• Consumer purchases – All mortgage lenders will tell you right up front - “DO NOT MAKE ANY LARGE CONSUMER PURCHASES DURNG THE APPLICATION PERIOD”

It is tempting to buy appliances, furniture etc before moving into a new home. Any credit purchases of changes in cash positions will have an affect on the Debt to Income ratios the lenders use to help determine your ability to make mortgage payments. Hold off until after the home closes. The lending company is going to verify your credit/bank account balances and employment w/in 3 days of closing. If there are any large changes this could affect your closing date as they will need to verify the changes and possibly ask for explanations about cash deposits etc..

So best advice is to have as much of your financial information in order to help delay approval process. Be proactive in finding out reputations of the lenders your are targeting to use and listen to what your referring sources have to tell you. Seek advice only from qualified professionals. They are in the business everyday and may know some things that lenders will not tell you up front.

Hope this information assists you.

Please do not have any hesitations in contacting me direct if you have further questions.

Regards,

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

Home market status? What all the abbreviations mean..

Jeff from Fresno asked: What does Pending taking back up mean?? I am from California and not familiar with the term.

Great Question Jeff, All over the country there are different terms used in real estate transactions. I will try and out line the major ones here.

Texas area status abbreviations and definitions

A = Active – A property is active and a seller wants to sell

AC = Active contingent – A property has an accepted offer however the property is contingent on the sale of another property by the buyer.

PB = Pending taking back up – A property has an accepted and executed contract in place but there are option periods that the buyer has negotiated and the seller has reserved the right to accept back up offers on the property. Once another offer is accepted the seller notifies the buyer in position A that a back up offer has been accepted on the property.

P = Pending – After all option periods expire and the contract is still in place this status change just lets the market know that the contract is proceeding to a closing.

S = Sold – The transaction has closed and funded.

W = Withdrawn – Property has been with drawn by the seller from MLS

X = Expired – Listing contract has expired and the property is not being actively marketed on MLS

T = Temporarily withdrawn – seller has asked that the property be removed from active ststus but intends to resume marketing at some point in the future.

L = Leased – A property has been leased for a contracted period of time.

Some markets will have variations of these statuses. In California they refer to a contract as being under “Escrow” that means the funds are with tht title company or attorneys in an escrow account to be distributed on the closing date of the contract. In Texas we use title companies to transact 95% of the residential transactions. They set up escrows for each individual property as well we just do not use it in our language.

In Massachusetts and some of the New England states. Real estate transactions are closed with attorney offices that do the title work and sellers and buyers go to the attorney's offices to sign the paper work.

I hope this answers some of your questions Jeff. Please feel free to contact me directly if you need more information.

Bob Kenney, Realtor ®

Mobile/Text - 512-922-4922

Contingency offers: Good or Bad?

Most agents selling real estate in the last 10 years has received a “contingent on the sale of other property” contract at one point or another. Is it good or bad for your seller client?

Like everything else in a negotiation it just depends on what the property being sold is, How it is priced compared to the market conditions and the terms that are offering.

FACT – The majority of consumers looking to buy a new home will need to sell an existing property to access equity and reduce Loan to Value ratios in order to qualify for a new mortgage. Of course there are exceptions to that statement. Buyers with Cash, someone who may own an existing property outright but most people will need to sell one home to buy another.

So it all comes down to TIMIMG

I urge my clients to look at the offer they receive 1^st and once they address any terms that need addressing but before there is a response, then look at the contingent property.

This requires a little more cooperation from the buyer and his/her agent. Once a consumer has found a home they want to buy they tend to get pretty serious about getting their property sold. If the property is one the market and they have an offer that is past the option periods then it is still considered contingent but it is a little stronger than maybe something that is not on the market, not ready for the market and is going to be priced too high for quick contract.

Each situation is unique and I think contingency offers need to weighed just as seriously as non contingent offers. Is there risk for a seller to take a contingent offer? Yes. What if the contingent home does not close on time? You would have signaled to the market that you have a contract on the property but a contingency and it may be dismissed by some other potential buyers. Are there benefits for the seller ? Yes typically you can be a little firmer on price that with someone who may think they can discount you property if paying cash or other favorable terms.

So I would always suggest that the offer be considered as serious as any other offer and treat it was much respect. In 13 years as an Agent I have had only 1 Continent deal fall through and it was a client who was not very honest about the sale of their property. Other than that I have concluded several contingent contracts successfully and when a buyer is in that position I have learned that the presentation of the offer, terms and status of their home sale if handled correctly can be a positive for the selling client.

Let me know if you have any questions.  I appreciate your referrals!!

Send questions to Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

Regards,

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

Texas Homestead Exemption Application

If  you have purchased a home in Texas in 2013 as a primary residence you are eligible to apply for what is called a “Homestead Exemption” after January 1, 2014.

There are several companies who will advertise to you that they can file this application for you for a fee. Do not pay the fee. There is no charge for this application it is free!

The county in which you reside will have the forms available to you as a PDF (in most cases) print it out fill In the information and send it to the address on the form.

Travis County link is here: http://www.traviscad.org/pdf/Forms/Exemptions/50-114_Homestead%20Exemption%20Form.pdf

Hays County link is here : http://www.hayscad.com/forms/

Williamson County link is here http://www.wcad.org/Appraisal/PublicAccess/Forms/PublicServices/HomesteadExemptionApplication.pdf

Also here is a copy of a blank form – Whatever county you live in simply fill in the tax appraisal district information and follow instructions. You can find mailing address on your locale appraisal district web site: http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/taxforms/50-114.pdf

What is a Homestead Exemption:*window on state goverment http://www.window.state.tx.us/taxinfo/proptax/tx96_295/home.html

Savings on Home Taxes   

An exemption removes part of the value of your property from taxation and lowers your taxes. For example, if your home is valued at $50,000 and you qualify for a $15,000 exemption, you pay taxes on your home as if it was worth only $35,000. Other than exemptions for disabled veterans or survivors, these exemptions apply only for your homestead. They do not apply to other property you own.

Does your home qualify for exemptions?

You must own your home.

To qualify for a general or disabled homestead exemption, you must own your home on January 1. If you are 65 years of age or older, you need not own your home on January 1. You will qualify for the over-65 exemption as soon as you turn 65, own the home, and live in it as your principal residence.

Your homestead can be a separate structure, condominium, or a mobile home located on leased land, as long as you own it. Your homestead can include up to 20 acres if the land is used as your yard.

A residence may be owned by an individual through an interest in a qualifying beneficial trust and may be occupied by a trustor of a qualifying trust.

If you are not the sole owner of the home, you will receive only a portion of any qualified exemption, based on your percent of ownership. For example, you own a 25-percent interest in a homestead valued at $100,000, for a total value of $25,000. You will receive 25 percent of a $15,000 school homestead exemption, or $3,750.

You must use the home as your principal residence on January 1.

If you have more than one house, you can only get exemptions for your main or principal residence. You must live in this home on January 1.

If you temporarily move away from your home, you can still get an exemption if you don't establish another principal residence and you intend to return. For instance, if you enter a nursing home, your home still qualifies as your homestead if you intend to return.

Renting part of your home or using part of it for a business doesn't disqualify the rest of your home for the exemption.

Note: Texas has two distinct laws for designating a homestead. The Texas Tax Code offers homeowners a way to apply for homestead exemptions to reduce local property taxes. The Texas Property Code allows homeowners to designate their homesteads to protect them from a forced sale to satisfy creditors. This law does not protect homeowners from tax foreclosure sales of their homes for delinquent taxes.

So get your applications in and don't be fooled by the offers to make application on your behalf.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Regards,

Bob Kenney, Realtor®

VP Turnquist Partners Realtors

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

I need to lease a home, can my Realtor help me?

Hi Loni,

Thanks for the question.

In most cases your Realtor® will be very happy to assist you and very appreciative that you thought to seek their advice and assistance.

Leasing of homes and apartments is handled different all over the United States. Each market seems to have it;s own system in place. In Austin, Texas your have either a leasing company or management firm, apartment owner leasing, Listing agents (Brokers) that will list your unit in MLS for all realtors to see.

Some Realtors® prefer not to assist clients in leases. This is always an individual decision by the agent. I have found that telling a client they are no interested in assisting them but “hey don’t forget to call me when you are ready to buy”, is not a very good business policy!

If I have a client in need of assistance on any type of transaction I will do my best to handle the transaction or if not qualified find someone with the experience needed to give them the best representation.

For a Realtor® they earn a commission from the leasing transaction after the client has been approved for the lease and lease the terms are negotiated and the lease is signed and funded (security deposits and rent payments made). Typically the Realtor® will receive a % from the leasing company or listing broker between 30-50% of the 1^st months rent.

There is a lot of paperwork associated with the lease process , at least here in Austin, and it is very chaotic as every company/broker has their own sets of rules in order for an applicant to be accepted. I personally think there is a better way to handle leasing process but think until a more efficient process is introduced there is just no way to get around the pain of the leasing process.

The majority of agents will assist you in this transaction so please make that call!

I will point out that in some markets around the country the leasing market is very tight with available inventory. There are usually multiple lease applications on desirable properties and how you present your application is essential in obtaining the lease. So work with your agent and let him/her find out exactly what is required to present a strong application. Do not assume that this is any easier than buying a home! Sometimes it seems to be even more difficult to get approved for an application than a mortgage.

The main reason is that the owner of the unit is trying to get his monthly cost of carrying the property covered by the rent. Any disruption in the rent payments could be costly for them so they want to make sure they are not having to re list the property every couple of months and gamble that they might loose income for any period of time.

So emotions run high in these transactions. Don’t be put off bu being rejected, a lot of lease negotiations fall off prior to the finale leases being signed so it is good practice to keep in touch with leasing agent for the next 5 days or so after they have decided to go with another applicant. Don’t stop looking just keep it in play until it becomes more finale.

What to have prepared for a lease application:

1.You will need to approve the leasing entity access to your credit and criminal history. This is usually included in the “application fee”. They will access an on line service that costs between $30-$50 per applicant (You will need separate applications for each adult that will be named on the lease) It is usually required that this application fee be paid with application in certified funds (money order or cashiers check) and made out to the leasing entity. This fee varies but runs between 40-75 depending on the company. Yes more than the costs of the reports!

They will send you an Online approval from the credit checking service asking for permission to access your records. Be prepared to check spam box if you do not get anything w/in 24 hours

2. You are sometimes required to also submit security deposit (typically 1 months rent) by either cashiers check or money order. It is usually made out the owner of the property but some leasing companies have escrow accounts so from time to time you make these out the leasing company. You really need to know this info up front so make sure your agent asks!

I know – "WHAT!  I have to give them security deposit before I know that I am approved? " What happens if I am not approved? This is one of the broken features of the leasing process in Austin market. I cant tell you the number of times I have had to fight with the listing entity to get these funds back. Some will just hand you back the cashiers check/money order and your client can return to where they purchased it to convert it back into dollars. Some will actually cash the check and then wait 7-15 days for the funds to clear then issue you a refund check, some very unscrupulous companies will tell you you lost the funds and you need to get very argumentative to get funds returned. If nothing else this is a great reason to have a Realtor® involved.

  
3. Read the lease carefully (as with any legally binding document) and make sure you know the terms of the lease. Make a copy of it and keep it handy because after the term of the lease there are certain time deadlines you will be responsible for and you will want to have a quick reference

Hope this answers your question Loni. Please feel free to contact me if you have any firther questions or need a referral!

Regards,

Bob kenney, Realtor®

VP Turnquist Partners Realtors

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922

Is There A Difference Between An REO And A Bank-Owned Foreclosure?

Hi Andrea, Great question.

There is usually a lot of confusion about these types of properties.

Real Estate Owned (also known as an REO) is the same as a “Bank Owned Foreclosure”. Sometimes there are several names for the same situation, but basically there are 2 main types of “foreclosure” situations

Short Sale – which means the mortgage holder is the owner and cannot sell the home for enough to cover what is owned on the mortgage or mortgages and other liens. Usually somewhere in the listing you will see the terms “Short Sale, “subject to 3rd party approval”, “subject to lender approval” or some similar phrase. In these cases, the owner is involved and must sign as the seller, but the offer is not accepted until the lender(s) agree to a settlement to allow the home to be sold with them taking a loss. These transactions can be very time consuming as there are sometime multiple parties that have to sign off selling the existing mortgage for less than what is owed. If you do not have the ability to wait out delays, and put up with bureaucratic demands than this might not be the best avenue.

However if you are not tied into a timing issue and have the ability to walk through the many approval processes than sometime this is a great avenue to aguire a property on favorable terms. Many times there are expenses that a buyer has to participate on in these deals that are customarily sellers expenses in normal real estate transactions so your Realtor® will need to make sure what expenses will be allowed and what expenses will be for your account when making an offer. It will effect the finale price you will purchase the property for. I.E. – survey costs, title/attorny costs, HOA/tax/mechanics leins may all be expenses that the selling entity will not pay.

Many short sales do not sell except through the county auction process where the bank becomes the owner.

2. REO – These are the homes that have completed the foreclosure process and are purchased at auction by the bank (or the owner has agreed to give them to the bank). These generally take less time and will sell. The bank is the owner now, and they usually hire an agent specializes is selling REO homes.

The key difference is who actually owns the home. The county tax records do not always show the bank as the owner, so you or your Realtor® need to get the details from the listing agent.


We get a lot of inquiries from consumers looking for good deals and these are the type of properties they usually have in mind. Sometime they can be considered a good deal depending on the market where they are selling but sometimes if a market is strong you may not get as good a deal because the bank owning the properties are aware of the values in the market place and may try and get a better return on their investment.

Both of these types of transactions are cumbersome and full of potential pit falls so you really need a professional Realtor® to help navigate the process. In 95% of the cases the Realtor® fee is assumed by the selling entity (bank, investment or private owner) and is calculated into the finale selling price by the seller. However there are cases where this may not be the case so make sure your Realtor® has had some experience with these types of sales.

If you have any further questions please Email me @ rkenney51@gmail.com or Text me : 512-922-4922

Have a great New Year and thank you for your question!

Regards,

Robert Kenney, Realtor®

VP Turnquist Partners Realtors

Mobile/Text: 512-922-4922