What Your Commission Pays for in Real Estate

What are you paying for when you pay a commission fee in a transaction?

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Where do your commission dollars go when you hire a real estate professional to represent you as a seller? Since commission can be handled independently by agents or teams, what you pay varies. You can always ask your agent what your commission fee goes toward and how the price you pay benefits you. In our network, we usually allocate about 17% of your commission payment toward our membership fees to the Northeast Association of Realtors and the Massachusetts Association of Realtors, office fees, staff salaries, transaction coordination, and contract management. Another 17% is invested in internet exposure for our listings on the MLS, Realtor.com, Trulia, Zillow, and approximately two dozen other websites. Roughly 13% is put toward video tours, priority features, video broadcasting, TV/internet/radio ads, social media, and referral sources. 42% of your commission is allocated to go directly to the buyer agent’s company so that they get paid for their work as well. Finally, the agent you’re working with earns the last 13% of your commission. If you have further questions regarding commissions or anything else about the financial aspects of a transaction, feel free to reach out via phone or on our website. We would love to help you.

The Importance of Pricing Your Home Fairly

Pricing your home properly is critical in today’s market. Here are four reasons why.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

How important is pricing your property in today’s market?

Here in the Northeast, we are in an upward-driving seller’s market, and pricing one’s home properly is critical. Why though?

1. Today’s buyers are highly educated. With information being more available online than ever before, there are resources that buyers use that will make it difficult to pull the wool over their eyes.

2. People are able to comparatively shop more effectively. All real estate information regarding other property sales is available online as well, so they have greater and keener senses regarding the actual value of the property.

With information being more available online than ever before, there are resources that buyers use that will make it difficult to pull the wool over their eyes.

3. The market reacts fairly to a properly priced property. When a property is overpriced, the market has a tendency to reject the property.

4. Everyone who buys real estate wants a bargain.

If you have any questions regarding how to price a property, please feel free to reach out to us. I look forward to speaking with you soon.

5 Questions for Homeowners to Ask Themselves

Are you selling this year? If so, here are some questions you need to answer.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Today I’m really excited to talk to you about the prospect of what’s going to take place in 2018 and if selling a home is in your plans, you need to listen up. Here are five questions that home sellers should ask themselves as they look forward to the prospect of selling their home in 2018:

1. What is your market value? Market value is distinctly different from appraised value, which is distinctly different from sales value or other values that might show up online. These values are estimated based on information that can be distorted by not having the filter of a real estate professional who is an expert in the nuances of the market.

2. How can you spend your money in order to make money? Spending money on improving the property and selling in an efficient manner can give you a 2x or 3x return. You definitely don’t want a negative return.

3. How do you get the inspection out of the way? We can definitely help you with this too. There are a lot of options out there.

You don’t want to move twice.

4. How can you avoid moving twice? You don’t want to be in this kind of situation either. Having just one move to pay for is ideal.

5. How can you minimize the stress? There is a lot of it involved in making the transaction, but it’s definitely something we can help with.

If you have any questions, thoughts, concerns about this topic or about your situation, don’t hesitate to reach out and give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

A Few Things Massachusetts Home Sellers Should Know

How can you help your home sell for more money this fall? Here are five of our best tips.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

If you’re thinking about selling your home anytime in the near future, here are a few ways you can achieve a quicker and more profitable sale:

1. Clean the property thoroughly. When buyers come into your home, they want to see it sparkling clean. That’s going to give them the best first impression possible.

2. Investigate any potential defects with a pre-listing inspection. Any major defects in your home should be found and addressed prior to putting it on the market. Minor defects should be fixed as well, or at the very least, disclosed.

3. Establish the lead paint status of the home. If your home was built before 1978, it will need to meet the compliance laws about lead-based paint that were established by the state of Massachusetts. They are some of the strictest in the nation.

Declutter the home and stage it for success.

4. Declutter the home and stage it for success.

5. Hire an experienced agent. This should actually be the first thing on your list. When you have an experienced hand guiding you every step of the way, you’ll be able to get the best price and terms possible for your sale.

If you have any questions for me or need any help buying or selling a home in Massachusetts, give me a call or send me an email. I would love to hear from you.

Listing in Massachusetts? Make Sure You Know About This Law

Homes built before 1978 in the state of Massachusetts are actually subject to a law you may not have heard of before. Not abiding by this law could cost you thousands and could pose a massive health threat to anyone occupying the home.

Selling your Massachusetts home? Get a home value report

Buying a Massachusetts home? Click here for full MLS access

Today I want to talk about a very important process that’s involved in selling homes built before 1978 in the state of Massachusetts.

The Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program Property Transfer Lead Paint Notification (or CLPPP) is essentially a law that states you must disclose whether a home has been tested for lead paint.

As a seller, you are obligated to sign a document stating whether your home has been tested. You also have a legal obligation to disclose the results of any test that was conducted.

This is state and federal law. Penalties for not abiding by this mandate range from a $1,000 to a $10,000 penalty.

Ultimately, the law is designed to prevent lead paint from affecting children under the age of six.

The law is designed to prevent lead paint from affecting children under the age of six.

Also, buyers who come into ownership of a property which does contain lead paint are obligated to ensure the property becomes lead-free or lead-safe. The government will rebate you up to $1,500 per unit to have your property de-leaded.

Lead paint can be seriously detrimental to a person’s health. It can affect red blood cells, the kidneys, and even the brain.

If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.