Monthly Archives: September 2014

Benefits of Working with a Team in Real Estate

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Benefits of Working with a Team in Real Estate

Benefits of Working with a Team in Real Estate
The Ellis Team Works as a Team
Years ago we were the first to predict top agents would form teams similar to a baseball team to take better care of their customers. We fielded a team of Realtors because just as the pitcher cannot be expected to catch a high fly ball to center field, a Realtor cannot be at a listing appointment, install a sign, write newspaper ads, take pictures, show property to buyers and present an offer all at the same time.
Brett and Sande concentrate on pricing the homes properly (comparative market analysis) for the listing. We also negotiate the offers. Perhaps this is why our listings sell faster and for more money.  We price them correctly and we negotiate well.
Buyers must see property on their time – days off,  or after work,  golf or boating.  Buyer Specialists are available for the buyer seven days a week. They are experienced, knowledgeable and fun to work with.  Thinking of buying or selling? Interview teams and single agents to see which best fits your particular needs.
We have full-time staff to help as well.  Dale Peck is our marketing manager and he corrects all our photos digitally and makes our homes look good.  We produce videos in-house, as well as our newspaper ads, yellow page ads, and more.  If we want something change, we collaborate in-house and make it happen.
Ashley Johnson is our closing coordinator.  She stays on top of our closings and coordinates with other agents, the banks, title companies, lawyers, appraisers, home inspectors, etc.  We keep our closings on track.  It’s hard enough to sell a home the first time, so we’d just as soon close it the first time too.  We don’t want details slipping through the cracks.  This can easily happen if you’re a single agent doing everything.
Vickie Frierson is our Listings Manager.  She stays on top of your listing and keeps everyone informed.  Communication is Big on the Ellis Team.  Vicki obtains feedback on showings, notifies our sellers when and where they property is advertised, and checks on the properties.  We want to make our homes show well online and in person, and Vicki keeps the process moving right along.
Hopefully after dealing with the Ellis Team you too will realize there are benefits of working with a team in real estate.

To view our Listings in Hi Definition, visit www.HomesinHD.TV or click on our playlist below

Ellis Team

Fort Myers Real Estate Agent

7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr

Fort Myers, FL 33907

Fear of Obtaining Mortgage Holding Back Some SW Florida Buyers

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Fear of Obtaining Mortgage Holding Back Some SW Florida Buyers

Headlines the past few years have painted a bleak picture for those attempting to get a mortgage, and for good reason.  After the downturn banks over-reacted and added several layers of verifications and procedures in hopes of insuring they wouldn’t face losses in the future or be forced to buy back loans from regulators.  Mistakes were made by the government and banks.  This held the recovery back, but real estate still found a way to recover.

Fear of Obtaining Mortgage Holding Back Some SW Florida Buyers

Many do not know there are new programs out there and buyers can get financing today.  For instance, persons who lost their home to foreclosure or experienced a short sale 3 or more years ago may qualify now.

There is a program for 1st time home buyers (anyone who has not owned a primary residence in last 3 years) that allows them to purchase a home for essentially $1,000 of their own money.  They need a minimum FICO score of 640 and must not make more than $66,025 for a family of two and $69,600 for a family of three.  A $10,000 2<sup>nd</sup> mortgage can be used at 0% interest for the down payment and closing costs.  The property must be located in a federally designated target area.

Jumbo Loans  Traditionally Jumbo loans in lee County were anything over about $417,000  We have a lender that now has the option of treating your loan as a jumbo loan at $250,000.  They portfolio the loan, so they can use business funds as an eligible asset for reserves and as a down payment source, which is huge.  The lender is able to take a common sense approach to the loan versus a hard and fast rules and regulations placed by the government.

While $250,000 doesn’t sound like a jumbo loan, it’s nice that a lender now has the option to lend their own money with different guidelines.  They can do so with as little as 10% down.

We also know of a program whereby the buyer can pay cash for the home and then refinance and take cash out within 6 months.  This is helpful when the buyer has cash but doesn’t really want to tie it up and is looking at a hot property.  Many homes are selling with multiple offers and the cash offer often times wins because financing and appraisal isn’t an issue.  Many homes are selling above appraised value because appraisers are looking at past sales and the market has been rising.

Credit scores are set to rise and credit agencies are treating medical debt differently than in the past.  Some people will see their scores go up.

The reason many buyers have remained on the sidelines is because of fear.  Fear of the process and fear they won’t qualify for a mortgage.  We will be setting home buyer seminars to explain the process to buyers and have lenders look at your credit and tell you if it’s possible.  Buying a home doesn’t have to be scary when you have someone holding your hand and walking you through the process.

Lastly, we have a way to lease-option a home so you can lock-in your home and move in before you own it.  We have an investor that purchases the home on your behalf and leases it to you and there is an agreement that you can buy it anytime in the next 5 years for set prices.  This is a good program for those with credit issues but know they can purchase in a year or two when their credit is better.  It creates stability for the family, especially those with children looking to get into a school zone.

The bottom line is there are more choices now.  Call us today at 239-489-4042 and see if buying a home is in your future.

To view our Listings in Hi Definition, visit www.HomesinHD.TV or click on our playlist below

Ellis Team

Fort Myers Real Estate Agent

7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr

Fort Myers, FL 33907

CyberStars 2014 Meeting in Las Vegas

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Brett Ellis attended the CyberStars 2014 Meeting in Las Vegas.

CyberStars 2014 Meeting in Las Vegas
Top Real Estate Agents Meet in Las Vegas

The CyberStars met and discussed topics affecting the future of real estate and how agents can effectively market properties for their sellers and better communicate with buyers and sellers.  The real estate industry is changing.  A big topic of discussion has been whether agents should syndicate listing data to websites like Zillow, Trulia, and realtor.com

Syndication large Issue

Agents were split on the topic.  Some agents felt agents shouldn’t be gathering the data and providing it for free to these aggregators only to have the aggregators sell leads back to agents.  Other agents felt like the ship has sailed and the aggregatros are providing value because they have consumer eyeballs and provide valuable interest for our clients listings.

Most agents agreed NAR (National Association of Realtors) has dropped the ball and hasn’t properly dealt with the issue.  Brad Korn, CEO of the CyberStars presented the latest Stephan Swanepoel Report which studies latest trends in real estate and consumer behaviors.  Interesting insights were learned.  We learned the the About page for Realtors is usually the most visited page on an agent’s website.

Bob Sokoler will be sharing later today his video strategies.  Bob dominates the Louisville Kentucky market by using videos for virtually everything.  Bob is a former news anchor for a local television station and uses those video skills in his real estate practice.

Rob Levy shared how to properly promote Facebook ads.  He blew through a lot of money and learned quickly what works and what doesn’t. Rob targets his Facebook advertising to key demographics.  For instance, he has targeted ads for sellers, so he selects only people who actually use homes, over the age of 24, and so on.

CyberStars 2014 Meeting in Las Vegas

Feel free to call our team at 239-489-4042 and let us help make your move a reality.  Good luck and Happy House Hunting!

To view our Listings in Hi Definition, visit www.HomesinHD.TV or click on our playlist below

Ellis Team

Fort Myers Real Estate Agent

7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr

Fort Myers, FL 33907

New Pending Sales Jump in Southwest Florida 8.4% Over Last Year

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New Pending Sales Jump in Southwest Florida

As I look back at our business over the last few months it seems we can’t list property fast enough because we’re selling our inventory quickly.  When you’re busy and having a good month it’s sometimes easy to lose track of the overall market.  This is one of the reasons we’ve always studied the market to spot trends. I’ve spoken with agents over the years and asked them how they thought the market was doing.  One agent would say it’s on fire when another agent would say it seemed down.  I’d then follow-up and ask how their month was going and invariably the agent who said the market was on fire was having a good month and the agent who said it seemed down was having an off month.  This tells me they weren’t studying the market but rather going by how their business was doing. It is human nature I suppose.  People tend to justify the market by how they’re doing.  If they’re having a bad month it must be the market.  It’s easier to blame the market than evaluate everything you do, where you’re spending money, etc. We’ve been really busy the last few months and we wondered if it’s due to us working extra hard or if the market is doing well.

New Pending Sales Jump in Southwest Florida
New Pending Sales

It turns out both are true.  We have been working really hard and the market is doing well.  Pending sales are up 8.4% in July over last year and they were up 8.2% in June.  Pending sales are a direct result of what inventory is available.  We’ve been saying for awhile there is limited inventory that is priced correctly.  If it is priced correctly and marketed properly, it will sell.

Inventory grows in Southwest Florida
Inventory Grew Since March

If you look at the inventory graph you’ll see that inventory rose in May 6.3% and 5.5% June.  If what we’ve been saying is true, you would expect to see rising sales following the increases in May and June.  Sure enough, June and July pending sales rose 8.4% and 8.2%.  Actually inventory levels rose just a bit in March 1.7% and April 2.2% so that helped with the increase in pending sales too. The bottom line is if you’re a seller, now really is a good time to talk to us.  The sales process has become more complex with more regulations and paperwork.  The good news is if you have an agent who can properly market your home, correctly price your home, and is astute to all the government regulations and changes in financing, you have an excellent chance at selling your home. In fact, the median days on market are down to 48 days.  Depending on your price range, your home could sell sooner than that. Last week many went to our website www.Topagent.com  to get an idea of what their home is worth online.  Sellers just love this tool.  Many times this year we’ve actually sold homes for more than what the computer said the home was worth.  The computer is an excellent way to get a ballpark idea of what your home is worth based on statistics and nearby home sales, but the computer hasn’t been inside your home so you can’t trust it completely.  That’s where we come in.  We study your home versus recent comparable sales and educate you on where your homes should sell. We then show you our marketing plan and how we’ll expose your home to the market.  This is where sellers are really impressed.  If you’re considering selling, you should talk to us.  We can sit down with you and guide you through the maze.  It really isn’t hard when you’ve got a pro guiding you.  Call us at 239-489-4042 or email me at Brett@topagent.com and we’ll be glad to meet with you. Good luck and Happy Selling!

 

Ellis Team Fort Myers Real Estate Agent 7910 Summerlin Lakes Dr Fort Myers, FL 33907