Great video Audra. Can I add one more thing? Only use an agent who actually owns a home. Believe it or not, there are some agents out there who don't own anything and they are giving advice on buying a home? I think they need to have "skin in the game" to fully understand what a buyer is going through.
We just finished our 3 interviews and so glad we did. We feel confident that our agent will get the most for our house and work with us to make that happen. Bless you for all the help we have learned from you 🙏 ❤️
LOVE your videos, Audra, and thanks for sharing your expertise along with your sense of humor. I am now 70 and have bought and sold real estate beginning when I was 25 and living in San Jose which was my hometown. I am now in Albuquerque and looking to move again in the next year which was NOT planned. Your advice on interviewing THREE realtors is spot-on and when I sold my last home in San Jose, I interviewed more than three realtors and picked the best one to represent my best interests. My home was minimally staged by her and her broker and it made a HUGE difference in giving a very positive first impression to prospective buyers at the weekend open house. My home had NINE offers and eventually sold for $46K over the asking price back in June of 2013 and I was VERY happy! I also NEVER sign a contract for more than 3 months in working with a realtor. If they cannot sell the home in that time, then I will find another realtor. Keep up your great work on UA-cam and elsewhere! Cheers from New Mexico! 😎
So glad everything worked out. Glad to hear that you interviewed several agents before deciding on the right one. That was very wise. Nine offers is A LOT! Really appreciate you commenting. People need to hear this. Cheers from California!
@@AudraLambert Thanks Audra for your reply! My realtor and I had my last home in East San Jose priced right after looking at the comps. in the area and that is why it sold fast with a smooth closing, too. Glad I subscribed to your YT site. What I really like is that you tell it like it is with NO B.S. and that helps all of us. I have owned homes and vacant land since I was in my mid-20's in the 70's and I have made good decisions in real estate and bad ones, too, especially with realtors. It has been quite an experience but thanks to professionals like YOU, hopefully, people will NOT make the mistakes like I have made with homes and realtors. Take care and keep up your FINE work here on YT and with your career! 😎
What you said about your corporate background within a low bar to entry vertical resonated with me. People without a reasonably high prior corporate background don't have the same level of professionalism, organization, follow-up, nor are they competitive in the right way.
I just renovated my mother's hoarder-home in Florida after she passed and put it on the market 30 days ago. I discovered your videos after I did that. I'm learning a lot, and so far, I haven't made any big mistakes, I think. My agent has been very hands on since the beginning, even involving herself in the estate sale, and the renovation process including picking out the kitchen counter tops. We'll see how it goes from here.
Being straight forward hurts others and who care if they cry if they complain they are not professional only child like people cry about the truth sister you tell them how it's my respect for you for saying things like it is and you all learn how to make your business worthy my trust
Audra, I am selling a home I paid 550k cash for three years ago and never took occupancy. Every aspect is like new condition; incl. new carpet, appliances, new paint (inside and out), new molding throughout, windows, sills, commodes, tub jacuzzi, sinks and faucets, fridg. Now there are three old items; roof needs to be replaced, immaculate formica and great white tile island - dated. The neighborhood is highly desired, a true sellers market; however, none of the homes are in pristine condition, like mine. Doesn't the condition of the home carry any weight against the (dated) items I mentioned, as I cannot afford a new roof before I sell?
I agree decluttering is absolutely necessary. The goal is to make the house look furnished but essentially, not lived in. I've always disregarded staging ideas because you are substituting an agent's taste for your own. Sure,no one wants to buy a house with tons of taxidermy on the wall, or a snake collection or something like that, but don't think your agent necessarily has better taste than you do. Sure, they know what the interior of the houses they sell look like, but it really comes to personal preference. Unless your own taste is really bad...staging is completely unnecessary.
I use the word "staging" synonymous with house prepping. You are preparing your home for sale. Most home sellers don't need staging...they can do it themselves. Decluttering, cleaning, and tidying up make a huge difference. I hire and offer complimentary staging for home I list with professional stagers. They are pros and what they do...I do agree that a lot of agents have no design taste. They should stick to real estate...some do though.
Audra, we have been interviewing agents lately as we will be listing our home for sale soon. Our house is clean and well kept. I have some conflicting advice from two different agents. Agent one: “Remove everything off your walls, except mirrors. Keep all the mirrors in your rooms left on the walls.” Agent two: “your home is beautiful as is.” I asked if I should remove anything. (We decluttered already, removed all personal items and photos) The only recommendation which I completely agree with is I need to declutter more in our home office. I was already aware of that and will be doing that prior to listing. What is your advice on removing everything off the walls except mirrors? I currently have some artwork but not a lot. Example; I have a painting above the fireplace mantle, another hung above a tall buffet in the dining room. Thank you for any advice you can offer. PS I just downloaded your Staging Advice and I have done all of that except remove the long white runner rug in front of our shower. I will do that too now that I know. Thank you!
Also, One more question regarding your thoughts on posting an “offer period of a week” after the open house, upfront in the MLS vs taking first offer another commenter regretted. We like the idea of that so it gives potential buyers an opportunity to work on their best and final without pressure of first offer on table. Worked very well
Yes, I like making the statement that the seller will be reviewing all offers during a period of time IF the market is hot. If the market is slower, I would just review one offer at a time.
Hi Audra, I appreciate all your videos. I would love it if you would do a video on dual agency. Have you ever been in that situation? We bought our home in SoCal in 2017 and asked the seller’s agent to represent us. We are not new to buying or selling real estate and we understand the contracts well, we also have our real estate attorney look over all offers, contracts etc. It worked out great and it was a multiple offer situation. We had no contingencies (other than the inspection) we also had cash in the bank to purchase outright, although we did decide to get a loan. I believe that our offer was accepted partly because the agent helped to steer the owners to us since the brokerage made both sides of the commission. Olive is adorable!
Great topic!! I will definitely do a video on this topic...and yes, I have been in several dual agency situations. I am not in love with it...but for educated buyer/sellers working with an ethical agent it can work out. My only concern is the buyer in situations isn't being fairly represented. Just gotta be careful with that...but I will definitely do a video about this soon. Olive is my heart...love her so much. Thanks for you comment.
Hi Audra, I’m a subscriber and have listened to your videos sometimes over and over while I work on our house in Odenton, MD for the last 6mos. I wish you could be our realtor! We want to list in Mar or Apr. We don’t have any contacts for realtors that we trust. Honestly, until your videos I had a very negative view of realtors. We are doing our end of the process with house prep. Thank you for the great guidance there. We want to interview at least 3 agents. Thank you again. Would you be willing to recommend a couple of realtors if possible? We so much appreciate what you are doing to keep everyone involved on the up and up and doing their part. Thank you. Thank you.
Hi Vickie, can you send an email at audra@lambertgrouphomes.com or call me 949-697-2232? We will coordinate a few agents for you to interview. You're going to do great selling your home. Really appreciate your support...glad I could help.
I love it ! Ive always romanticized the idea of becoming a RE agent. I actually became one briefly years ago. I wish you were my mentor at that time or if I became one now. Blessings.
Great point...they are not the same. Actually, there are some not so good brokers out there also..make sure you know who you are working with..its important.
At least a month out. Its a lot of work interviewing agents. They may make suggestions you may not have thought about...good to have time to make these alterations. Really appreciate you watching my videos:)
Thank you! The PDF ‘interview questions for sellers agent’ is great, Could you please provide sample responses from proficient agents to give me a clearer understanding of what constitutes effective agent statistics?
@@EL29376 Great idea!! At a minimum, I did a video on interviewing agents. You may want to watch this: ua-cam.com/video/bQdpKgfKpe0/v-deo.htmlsi=zkGqRfszuPiYs0-f
Audra, what kind of information should go on the disclosures? For example, the area I live it is common to see snakes here and there (e.g. baby rattle snakes 1-2x in year outside of the property). Would that be something to disclose? I would consider that minor information if anything. Please let me know your thoughts.
I like to respond to the wildlife question like this: "Buyer is encouraged to check with local municipalities regarding wildlife in the area." I recommend responding this way because it covers everything. There was a lawsuit awhile back where a buyer moved into a property with her cat. The cat was killed by a coyote. Buyer sued seller for non-disclosure and won. I like using that statement above because it covers everything. Hope that helps.
In the offer, counter etc process; can the seller change their mind? After listening to your videos I made mistakes with negotiating, like buyer is getting loan but wants to move in for $75 day until closing. I haven't seen a pre approved letter though agent says they have. TIA
Oh wow...heck. no way would I let anyone move in early for $75 day. You haven't seen a pre-approval yet...you really need to see that pre-approval. I would even call the lender myself to ensure the details of the loan. You can always change your mind in a counter offer...unless it's signed. You can rescind your offer. However, once you have a fully executed offer, as a seller it is very difficult to back out. You would need agreement on both sides to back out at that point.
Well, I pay for staging for my clients. Most agent put the burden on the homeowner. You can always ask if the agent would pay for staging. Never hurts to ask. A lot of agent don't have the money or want to risk investing in staging for their clients. They will sometimes tell there client that they will pay staging through escrow. Meaning that you pay for staging and the agent will cover the staging from their commission. If they do agree to some staging arrangement, make sure you have is detailed in the listing agreement. Thanks for the question.
In California, we don't use lawyers. In some states they do. You are not required to have a lawyer look over the listing agreement in my state. Not sure about yours. The states that use attorney usually use them for processing the offer details.
You cannot cancel your contract with your agent/broker unless your agent/broker agrees to it. That's why you want to sign a contract with a shorter term. You can always extend the listing term if they are doing a good job. Never a good idea to be locked into a long contract with someone you have never worked with in the past. I hope you picked a good agent...fingers crossed for you. Best of luck.
What qualifies as a successful realtor? Closings? Anyone can underprice a home and sell it. Show me the realtor who can close sales at over list. Thats successful!!
Well, if a realtor/seller list a house below market value and get a price higher than their list price, then your criterial would have been met even though money was left on the table perhaps. I think what you're trying to say is show me a realtor who can get above market value.
Great video Audra. Can I add one more thing? Only use an agent who actually owns a home. Believe it or not, there are some agents out there who don't own anything and they are giving advice on buying a home? I think they need to have "skin in the game" to fully understand what a buyer is going through.
Great point. Very helpful. To be honest, I never thought of that. Thanks for you comment....Love your channel too.
We just finished our 3 interviews and so glad we did. We feel confident that our agent will get the most for our house and work with us to make that happen. Bless you for all the help we have learned from you 🙏 ❤️
LOVE your videos, Audra, and thanks for sharing your expertise along with your sense of humor. I am now 70 and have bought and sold real estate beginning when I was 25 and living in San Jose which was my hometown. I am now in Albuquerque and looking to move again in the next year which was NOT planned. Your advice on interviewing THREE realtors is spot-on and when I sold my last home in San Jose, I interviewed more than three realtors and picked the best one to represent my best interests. My home was minimally staged by her and her broker and it made a HUGE difference in giving a very positive first impression to prospective buyers at the weekend open house. My home had NINE offers and eventually sold for $46K over the asking price back in June of 2013 and I was VERY happy! I also NEVER sign a contract for more than 3 months in working with a realtor. If they cannot sell the home in that time, then I will find another realtor. Keep up your great work on UA-cam and elsewhere! Cheers from New Mexico! 😎
So glad everything worked out. Glad to hear that you interviewed several agents before deciding on the right one. That was very wise. Nine offers is A LOT! Really appreciate you commenting. People need to hear this. Cheers from California!
@@AudraLambert Thanks Audra for your reply! My realtor and I had my last home in East San Jose priced right after looking at the comps. in the area and that is why it sold fast with a smooth closing, too. Glad I subscribed to your YT site. What I really like is that you tell it like it is with NO B.S. and that helps all of us. I have owned homes and vacant land since I was in my mid-20's in the 70's and I have made good decisions in real estate and bad ones, too, especially with realtors. It has been quite an experience but thanks to professionals like YOU, hopefully, people will NOT make the mistakes like I have made with homes and realtors. Take care and keep up your FINE work here on YT and with your career! 😎
I hope her videos go viral so general public can really have proper expectations of a realtor!!!
Your videos are very informative, practical, and entertaining. Thank you so much for making them.
I am so glad you find value in my videos! Best of luck to you!
What you said about your corporate background within a low bar to entry vertical resonated with me. People without a reasonably high prior corporate background don't have the same level of professionalism, organization, follow-up, nor are they competitive in the right way.
You always share helpful information Audra, and never fail to make me chuckle. Olive is a cutie.
Ahhh...thanks!! I love my Olive!! Glad I make you laugh...its good for the soul:) Thanks for your support...means a lot to me.
I just renovated my mother's hoarder-home in Florida after she passed and put it on the market 30 days ago. I discovered your videos after I did that. I'm learning a lot, and so far, I haven't made any big mistakes, I think. My agent has been very hands on since the beginning, even involving herself in the estate sale, and the renovation process including picking out the kitchen counter tops. We'll see how it goes from here.
That is awesome! You'll do great!! I love hearing your agent is so helpful!!
@@AudraLambert I met her at the dog park and hired her. I know that violated at least one of your rules.
@@ontheside5942 Good agents can hang out in dog parks:)
Wonderful!! I wish you were around years ago!! I do recomend you to
everyone. Olive is a grand pup. Give her love from me.
Ahhh...thanks so much!! I will give my grand pup lots of love. Really appreciate your support❤♥♥
Being straight forward hurts others and who care if they cry if they complain they are not professional only child like people cry about the truth sister you tell them how it's my respect for you for saying things like it is and you all learn how to make your business worthy my trust
Wow...thanks so much. I try to be straight forward...I think it serves people better. Really appreciate your comment...means a lot.
Audra, I am selling a home I paid 550k cash for three years ago and never took occupancy. Every aspect is like new condition; incl. new carpet, appliances, new paint (inside and out), new molding throughout, windows, sills, commodes, tub jacuzzi, sinks and faucets, fridg. Now there are three old items; roof needs to be replaced, immaculate formica and great white tile island - dated. The neighborhood is highly desired, a true sellers market; however, none of the homes are in pristine condition, like mine. Doesn't the condition of the home carry any weight against the (dated) items I mentioned, as I cannot afford a new roof before I sell?
you paid 550 for a house and cant afford a roof?
LOOK! 50K subscribers!!!!!!! YEAH. NYC is celebrating for YOU.
🎉Thanks so much!! NYC!!
I agree decluttering is absolutely necessary. The goal is to make the house look furnished but essentially, not lived in. I've always disregarded staging ideas because you are substituting an agent's taste for your own. Sure,no one wants to buy a house with tons of taxidermy on the wall, or a snake collection or something like that, but don't think your agent necessarily has better taste than you do. Sure, they know what the interior of the houses they sell look like, but it really comes to personal preference. Unless your own taste is really bad...staging is completely unnecessary.
I use the word "staging" synonymous with house prepping. You are preparing your home for sale. Most home sellers don't need staging...they can do it themselves. Decluttering, cleaning, and tidying up make a huge difference. I hire and offer complimentary staging for home I list with professional stagers. They are pros and what they do...I do agree that a lot of agents have no design taste. They should stick to real estate...some do though.
Audra, we have been interviewing agents lately as we will be listing our home for sale soon.
Our house is clean and well kept.
I have some conflicting advice from two different agents.
Agent one: “Remove everything off your walls, except mirrors. Keep all the mirrors in your rooms left on the walls.”
Agent two: “your home is beautiful as is.” I asked if I should remove anything. (We decluttered already, removed all personal items and photos)
The only recommendation which I completely agree with is I need to declutter more in our home office. I was already aware of that and will be doing that prior to listing.
What is your advice on removing everything off the walls except mirrors?
I currently have some artwork but not a lot. Example; I have a painting above the fireplace mantle, another hung above a tall buffet in the dining room.
Thank you for any advice you can offer.
PS
I just downloaded your Staging Advice and I have done all of that except remove the long white runner rug in front of our shower. I will do that too now that I know. Thank you!
Also, One more question regarding your thoughts on posting an “offer period of a week” after the open house, upfront in the MLS vs taking first offer another commenter regretted. We like the idea of that so it gives potential buyers an opportunity to work on their best and final without pressure of first offer on table. Worked very well
Yes, I like making the statement that the seller will be reviewing all offers during a period of time IF the market is hot. If the market is slower, I would just review one offer at a time.
Solid advice once again thank you!!
You are so very welcome. Appreciate you watching my videos!!
Amazing! Where have you been lol I’ve been in real estate and design for many years as investor. All you expressed is so on point.
I appreciate that!Really appreciate your comment.
Hi Audra, I appreciate all your videos. I would love it if you would do a video on dual agency. Have you ever been in that situation?
We bought our home in SoCal in 2017 and asked the seller’s agent to represent us. We are not new to buying or selling real estate and we understand the contracts well, we also have our real estate attorney look over all offers, contracts etc. It worked out great and it was a multiple offer situation. We had no contingencies (other than the inspection) we also had cash in the bank to purchase outright, although we did decide to get a loan. I believe that our offer was accepted partly because the agent helped to steer the owners to us since the brokerage made both sides of the commission. Olive is adorable!
Great topic!! I will definitely do a video on this topic...and yes, I have been in several dual agency situations. I am not in love with it...but for educated buyer/sellers working with an ethical agent it can work out. My only concern is the buyer in situations isn't being fairly represented. Just gotta be careful with that...but I will definitely do a video about this soon. Olive is my heart...love her so much. Thanks for you comment.
Hi Audra, I’m a subscriber and have listened to your videos sometimes over and over while I work on our house in Odenton, MD for the last 6mos. I wish you could be our realtor! We want to list in Mar or Apr. We don’t have any contacts for realtors that we trust. Honestly, until your videos I had a very negative view of realtors. We are doing our end of the process with house prep. Thank you for the great guidance there. We want to interview at least 3 agents. Thank you again. Would you be willing to recommend a couple of realtors if possible? We so much appreciate what you are doing to keep everyone involved on the up and up and doing their part. Thank you. Thank you.
Hi Vickie, can you send an email at audra@lambertgrouphomes.com or call me 949-697-2232? We will coordinate a few agents for you to interview. You're going to do great selling your home. Really appreciate your support...glad I could help.
I love it ! Ive always romanticized the idea of becoming a RE agent. I actually became one briefly years ago. I wish you were my mentor at that time or if I became one now. Blessings.
Ahhh...that is so nice. Blessings to you too!!
Great video! Also, all brokers are not Realtors. There is a difference.
Great point...they are not the same. Actually, there are some not so good brokers out there also..make sure you know who you are working with..its important.
Great info.! How early(minimum)would you recommend a seller to start the process (interviewing the agents)?
At least a month out. Its a lot of work interviewing agents. They may make suggestions you may not have thought about...good to have time to make these alterations. Really appreciate you watching my videos:)
Thank you! The PDF ‘interview questions for sellers agent’ is great, Could you please provide sample responses from proficient agents to give me a clearer understanding of what constitutes effective agent statistics?
@@EL29376 Great idea!! At a minimum, I did a video on interviewing agents. You may want to watch this: ua-cam.com/video/bQdpKgfKpe0/v-deo.htmlsi=zkGqRfszuPiYs0-f
Sellers disclosure should be made available prior to putting in an offer in my opinion
Audra, what kind of information should go on the disclosures? For example, the area I live it is common to see snakes here and there (e.g. baby rattle snakes 1-2x in year outside of the property). Would that be something to disclose? I would consider that minor information if anything. Please let me know your thoughts.
Babies?? Sounds like you are a nesting ground for the adult rattlers of it happens year over year.
I like to respond to the wildlife question like this: "Buyer is encouraged to check with local municipalities regarding wildlife in the area." I recommend responding this way because it covers everything. There was a lawsuit awhile back where a buyer moved into a property with her cat. The cat was killed by a coyote. Buyer sued seller for non-disclosure and won. I like using that statement above because it covers everything. Hope that helps.
In the offer, counter etc process; can the seller change their mind? After listening to your videos I made mistakes with negotiating, like buyer is getting loan but wants to move in for $75 day until closing. I haven't seen a pre approved letter though agent says they have. TIA
Oh wow...heck. no way would I let anyone move in early for $75 day. You haven't seen a pre-approval yet...you really need to see that pre-approval. I would even call the lender myself to ensure the details of the loan. You can always change your mind in a counter offer...unless it's signed. You can rescind your offer. However, once you have a fully executed offer, as a seller it is very difficult to back out. You would need agreement on both sides to back out at that point.
Who pays for staging? Agent or homeowner?
Well, I pay for staging for my clients. Most agent put the burden on the homeowner. You can always ask if the agent would pay for staging. Never hurts to ask. A lot of agent don't have the money or want to risk investing in staging for their clients. They will sometimes tell there client that they will pay staging through escrow. Meaning that you pay for staging and the agent will cover the staging from their commission. If they do agree to some staging arrangement, make sure you have is detailed in the listing agreement. Thanks for the question.
Do you need a lawyer to look at the listing agreement and be present at closing
In California, we don't use lawyers. In some states they do. You are not required to have a lawyer look over the listing agreement in my state. Not sure about yours. The states that use attorney usually use them for processing the offer details.
I just signed for 6months..can I cancel after 3 if I just decide I no longer want to sell?
You cannot cancel your contract with your agent/broker unless your agent/broker agrees to it. That's why you want to sign a contract with a shorter term. You can always extend the listing term if they are doing a good job. Never a good idea to be locked into a long contract with someone you have never worked with in the past. I hope you picked a good agent...fingers crossed for you. Best of luck.
@@AudraLambert oops..oh well..I'll see how it goes..she seems nice enough..and thanks for your advice and response 👍
@@jayc4715 Happy to help:) Best of luck.
"Refer a Realtor" appears to be CLOSED at this time....
Your pup has the same name as mine. We must be soulmates!
Ahhh...I love the name Olive. Soulmates indeed!!
Unfortunately alot of buisnesses or realtors will have bad reviews deleted.
What qualifies as a successful realtor? Closings? Anyone can underprice a home and sell it. Show me the realtor who can close sales at over list. Thats successful!!
Well, if a realtor/seller list a house below market value and get a price higher than their list price, then your criterial would have been met even though money was left on the table perhaps. I think what you're trying to say is show me a realtor who can get above market value.
🏡 ❤
Ahhh...thanks.
I do believe in "What goes around comes around". The snake that sold me her home, is going to have IT ALL come back one day...God hear my prayer.
It usually does happen that way. You reap what you sow.
mahalo
wish I could clone you and bring to texas,if I had 1mil+ property,thanks
Ahh..Thanks Robby..that's so nice. I list homes at any price point. I am enjoy helping people, truly!! Appreciate your comment.
Their not Honest thats the problem
The only mistake is hiring a realtor in the first place.
You sound like you're in a bad mood. If you find a good one, they are worth their weight in gold. Just my opinion, of course.
Scottsdale az 4747 n Scottsdale Rd Scottsdale Arizona 85251
That looks like a nice place to live.