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While I understand that everyone needs to make a living, I will never pay 6% real estate commission again. I sold my last three properties on Craigs List after staging the homes and taking some very nice digital photos and writing up a nice marketing presentation. Why anyone would pay 15 or 20k for that is beyond me. Almost all of my investor friends have gotten their own real estate licenses to avoid paying commissions and get 3% back on everything they purchase. And the Scottsdale realtors I do know who once sold full time are almost all looking for new careers now. Unfortunately it wasn't rocket science so many people who enjoyed sleeping until noon jumped in. (no offense to those who work hard at it). But just as the housing boom party ended, so did easy money being a realtor.
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!! I get very tired of the alarmists trying to "freak" everyone out (for lack of a better word). I've lived in the valley for all of my thirty something years and since I was a child I've watched the rise and falls. My grandfather owned a lot of prime Tempe land back when Tempe was the middle of nowhere. He owned many investment homes in the valley and and I always found his real estate discussions fascinating. The bottom line is that real estate is and always will be a good LONG TERM investment. If you're looking for a quick buck you might get burned but we've gone through these ups and downs before and it doesn't worry me a bit... but then I also didn't go and buy at the top of the market or take out tons of inflated equity on my house. I might be po'd also if I had....
Location: 5 miles from the center of the universe-The Superstition Mountains
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ILoveAZ
The sky is falling, the sky is falling!!!! I get very tired of the alarmists trying to "freak" everyone out (for lack of a better word). I've lived in the valley for all of my thirty something years and since I was a child I've watched the rise and falls. My grandfather owned a lot of prime Tempe land back when Tempe was the middle of nowhere. He owned many investment homes in the valley and and I always found his real estate discussions fascinating. The bottom line is that real estate is and always will be a good LONG TERM investment. If you're looking for a quick buck you might get burned but we've gone through these ups and downs before and it doesn't worry me a bit... but then I also didn't go and buy at the top of the market or take out tons of inflated equity on my house. I might be po'd also if I had....
Child, thirty some years ago Tempe was NOT in the middle of nowhere! But if he owned a lot of land there thirty, forty and fifty years ago and you inherited his wealth, my wife and I are up for adoption!
He bought land when he first arrived here from Kansas when my father was a child. I thank him for my interest and knowledge in the market and real estate as an investment. And NO I am not an agent
i love the fact that the phoenix area proves to everyone that it takes more than people buying homes to create an established and safe neighborhood. it takes commitment...and you all can attest to that by the neighborhoods/cities that have been and continue to be successful in maintaining their worth. it takes a total investment and participation in your community and standing up for your right to be in a safe and clean area.
i love the fact that the phoenix area proves to everyone that it takes more than people buying homes to create an established and safe neighborhood. it takes commitment...and you all can attest to that by the neighborhoods/cities that have been and continue to be successful in maintaining their worth. it takes a total investment and participation in your community and standing up for your right to be in a safe and clean area.
I wish more people had your attitude. I've been on the board of directors of my community association going on my third year. We have excellent board members who are dedicated to making the community better, and none of us have personal agendas.
We've done a lot to improve the community while at the same time cutting costs. We are in the process of repairing and slurry sealing our streets right now, and next we'll be updating our guard shack (no guard) and gate area. It's because we used our funds wisely that we're able to do that update.
We feel that by keeping our community looking good, it keeps our home values up and makes the area more desirable for those looking to buy homes for sale in the area.
Our problem is that we don't have sufficient volunteers to help us with some of the board projects. We do have professional management, but there is still a lot of work that board members have to do.
Many people are too complacent and want to leave it to someone else to do Their response is either they are "too busy" or "retired" and don't feel they should do anything. What they don't realize is that two of our members are retired, and the other 4 work full time jobs. I work on average 10 hours a day 7 days a week, and still find time to work on the board business.
If any of you live in an HOA community and want to help make it better, then volunteer to be on the board, or one of the committees that interest you. You will make a diffence, and the other board members will appreciate your help.
I realize there are many people who hate HOA's and probably with good reason. Many are very poorly run. But the are here to stay because the city governments have learned that they can tax the HOA residents the same as they tax the non HOA residents, and they don't have to provide as much service to the HOA's. We pay for our own streets, street lights, sidewalks, etc. And we still pay tax.
If one is against HOA restrictions, that's understandable, so just be sure to find a property that is not in an HOA and then you'll be more happy.
While I understand that everyone needs to make a living, I will never pay 6% real estate commission again. I sold my last three properties on Craigs List after staging the homes and taking some very nice digital photos and writing up a nice marketing presentation. Why anyone would pay 15 or 20k for that is beyond me. Almost all of my investor friends have gotten their own real estate licenses to avoid paying commissions and get 3% back on everything they purchase. And the Scottsdale realtors I do know who once sold full time are almost all looking for new careers now. Unfortunately it wasn't rocket science so many people who enjoyed sleeping until noon jumped in. (no offense to those who work hard at it). But just as the housing boom party ended, so did easy money being a realtor.
Everyone wants to save money, and if one can do it themselves, then why not. You apparently are an investor and it makes sense to want to reduce your transaction costs. Assuming you don’t have a license, so that you would have access to your brokers Errors and Omissions Insurance, you may wish to consider getting your own E&O policy. You may also wish to, if you haven't already, place your investment home(s) in an LLC.
This is a very litigious society, and realtors are always a target. As an investor handling your own transactions you are also a target, and you may be considered by a court (in the event of a legal action) to have superior knowledge, and may be held responsible for any errors that you make in the transaction that caused the legal action to be brought.
It’s for that reason that many investors prefer to work with a realtor instead of handling the transaction themselves.
The real estate industry is a tough industry in which to make a living. As you have seen, only the strongest survive. Our society is quick to jump on band wagons before doing research to learn what it’s all about. Those who became agents to “get rich quick” during 2005, quickly learned that this is a tough business, and while one year may be a banner year, the next may be a drought. Also they fail to realize that so many people will “use” a realtor and waste their time when they really intend to use their son who just got his license, to write the contract. That happens all the time. All of that wasted time is a loss of income for the working agent.
What so many people do not realize (including the new agents – until they begin working) is that they do not get the full 6% commission. Half of that goes to the buyers agent, and half to the listing agent. Of the 3% they get, about one third goes for marketing expense (marketing is a must if one wants to stay in business) approximately one third goes to the broker and for overhead expense. Of the one third remaining, the IRS and State take their share. So after getting into the business those agents hoping to make a killing soon realize that the gold mine they envisioned does not exist. And when things slow up, they don’t have enough income to market themselves, so they have to quit the business.
One large discount service provider has already gone bankrupt. All discount, or service for fee service is based on volume in order to make up for the lower fees. Without volume, discounters have a very difficult time surviving in slow markets. Discount service, which provides less service at a lower price is great for clients who are able to do part of the work for themselves. They definitely have a place in the industry, so I do not knock them.
Another thing is when an agent first gets his/her license, they really are not qualified to sell real estate. They are told that in the license school. The schools are designed to qualify them to take and pass the RE Exam.
They now have to learn all of the things that are required in order to go out into the field and be competent. In order to gain the knowledge, they should now hire a mentor, in order to get spun up quickly and kept out of legal trouble, and they should pay for and take designation classes to further their education in order to really become a competent agent that can keep themselves, and especially their clients out of legal trouble. Unfortunately, many do not do any of those things.
As an example, the AZ purchase contract is fairly even as to favoring both buyer and seller. However, it’s 9 pages is very complex and requires a lot of study. Typically a good agent will spend about 5 days in class the first year to learn that contract; plus many hours studying it over and over. They will continuously learn how to write clauses for addendums, and if the clause is written wrong, then they can cost themselves and their clients a lot of money.
I’m all for do-it-yourselfers, however, when people decide to go it alone in selling or buying real estate they are well advised to do a lot of studying, and have an attorney review the language in the contract prior to signing in order to prevent being disappointed later by finding that what they thought they meant is not what the contract language actually says.
Don't know if this helps anyone understand where the market is going, but here goes:
I bought a house in Glendale in January 2005 for $310k. In mid 2006 it was valued at $510k. It was valued again last week at $450k. Personally I think the value of $450k is pretty accurate, and I think I got a good deal in 2005. What this shows to me is that the markets will go up and down and if you can bear to hold on, then just wait it out. To me the house is not worth anything because I don't plan on selling, and I would have thought that would be the position for most people. I only had it valued so I can re-mortgage. Sometimes we tend to get into a discussion about house values when in ruth, they don't actually affect us one way or the other.
I realize there are many people who hate HOA's and probably with good reason. Many are very poorly run. But the are here to stay because the city governments have learned that they can tax the HOA residents the same as they tax the non HOA residents, and they don't have to provide as much service to the HOA's. We pay for our own streets, street lights, sidewalks, etc. And we still pay tax.
If one is against HOA restrictions, that's understandable, so just be sure to find a property that is not in an HOA and then you'll be more happy.
Bill
I'm glad our development has a HOA for a number of reasons (to ensure the area continues to look nice, the amenities, the events, etc). When we househunted, we also drove through neighborhoods without HOAs. There is an obvious difference; HOA neighborhoods look better most of the time.
I am surprised to hear your HOA fees also include streets, lights, and sidewalks since our city taxes cover that here. That's the first time I've heard of those things being included in HOA fees. I guess it goes to show that it is important for people relocating to find out what the HOA fees cover for each neighborhood they're considering.
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