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Category Archives: real estate

Real Estate and beer…

I’m not actually a beer drinker, but my best friend has a passion for micro-brews.  Being a good friend, as I traveled around the country, I often picked up brews for him.  He liked them more than a trinket, and there was always a cold Coke at his house for me whenever we were wrenching on Jeeps or whatever.

Back to the beer.

Obviously, I was not buying enough micro-brews for him to ALWAYS have a stash, and the ones that were good he kept around as a treat, so he also drank more “normal” beers.

Beer is divided into several types…Pat smoking some ribs

Cheap Beers – You know the brands.  They’re cheap.  That is how they sell their service beer.  It isn’t about performance quality.  It’s just about the price.

Average Beers – Again… you know which ones they are.  Massive marketing.  I can’t tell you that they are better or worse than other services beers… but they are quite effectively marketed… everywhere.  You know their logos mascots and spokespeople.

Premium Beers – They actually deliver pretty good service quality.  They don’t market as much because they are advertised by their clients fans.

Micro-Brews – Many have almost NO marketing budget.  But, the ones that are good have a dedicated fanbase.  They will go out of their way to work with their favorite agent pick up their favorite brew.

And you know… real estate companies are a lot like beer.  There are discount brands, average brands, premium brands and local brokerages.  But there is a major difference.

Every bottle in the six pack is the same…

And no two agents are alike.  Brand R in Kalamzoo (home of Third Coast Beer) will likely deliver a completely different experience than Brand R in Lilburn, GA.  Better or worse, but unlikely to be the same.  Even though there is a similar access to technology and techniques… they just aren’t delivered the same way.

And the other problem is that the local brews agents might be great… or might not be.  And it takes an inside track to know which ones are likely to deliver a great experience.  But, with beer a bad transaction will leave a bad taste in your mouth for a few minutes… with real estate it can be a lifetime.

Look for exciting news next week…  I’m moving from being a fun micro-brew from well known brand to being part of a premium brand…

Buyer’s Agency – Revisited

It has been quite a while since I wrote about Buyer’s Agency… or having a Buyer/Broker Agreement (BBA) with the agent that helps you find a home.  So, it’s time…

What is a Buyer/Broker Agreement?

Simply put, it is a contract between a buyer and their agent to clarify for whom the agent works for.  Don’t let the contract part scare you off immediately.  Truthfully, Seller’s Listing contracts are much scarier.

But, here is what you need to know.  In the absence of a BBA, the agent that has driven you around and bought you lunch and made friends with you… doesn’t work for you or in your best interests.  They want to… but they don’t. They are working for the seller.  Trust me, your agent doesn’t want to work for the seller.  They probably don’t even know the seller.  But, agency law holds that they “owe loyalty” to the seller unless there is a BBA in place.

Now, in GA, like in many other states, the laws have been changing, and aren’t as clear as they used to be.  But, the fact remains that the only way to insure that the agent you have been working with when you buy a house is working FOR you is to have it in writing.  Trust me, your agent WANTS a BBA.  But, many are scared to broach the subject.  That is a whole different post…

Should I be worried about anything?

Frankly, yes.  There are a couple of things that you do want to keep in mind.  Don’t step into it blindly just because they bought you lunch or drove you around in their spiffy car.

  • Is there an exit clause?

That may be the biggest thing.  What if this agent turns out to be a dud?  You need to make sure that there is a way out of the contract.  This isn’t a marriage (for life), it is a business arrangement.  Please note, as an agent, I want to give you service that keeps you as a client for life. but, I want you to come back for your next transaction because you want to.

You should be able to leave the relationship by giving the agent notice.  And you shouldn’t have to pay them anything to do that.  There is one reasonable exception, and that is that if you buy a property that the agent found for you, they should be paid for it… they did their job.

  • Compensation…

I’ll admit, this is what scares most buyers (and agents) looking at a BBA, but it actually isn’t that scary.  Here in GA, the VAST majority of the time, the buyer’s agent is paid by the seller at closing. So, it just shouldn’t be a huge concern.  There is still a danger zone, though.  And that revolves around how much.  As an agent, I have to tread carefully around this for a blog post because of anti-trust laws.  I can’t collude with other agents for a particular rate… so I will not quote rates.  Signing your life away....

When wandering through the MLSs, as agent we can see what the seller is offering for a buyer’s agent.  The vast majority are offering X%.  There are a few that are higher, and a few that are lower.  I know that when I write a BBA, I use the most popular commission rate.  If a particular home offers a lower rate, I have a conversation with my client about that property.  Often, the rate in the BBA can be negotiated into the deal.  If it can’t then we have another conversation to determine what we are going to do.

The bottom line is that I would not want that to get in the way of a buyer getting the property that they want.  And it hasn’t yet.  I think that most agents feel the same way.

The bottom line…

If you are buying property, you NEED a buyers agent, and you need a BBA.  You need to talk with your agent about the language in their BBA to make sure that you aren’t stuck if you get a dud.  And you need to talk with your agent about how and how much they are getting paid.  Laws and customs may vary by area… so talking to your agent is always a good idea.
Creative Commons License photo credit: Ruth L

Cha-cha-changes

There is a big change coming to GarageHomesUSA and LaneBailey.com.  We’ve been working on this a little while and we’re almost ready to go public.

What I can say right now is that I will be adding another blog (I guess the three aren’t enough) that will be focused on one area in Gwinnett County.  GarageHomesUSA will start to broaden its focus over the next few months to cover issues in more areas of the country.

I’m really looking forward to these cool new changes.

I’m expecting to take listing blogs to a whole new level as well…

New Featured Listings Page

Take a look at the top of the page and you will see the new Featured Listings category.  This will show select listings, including mapping info, pictures and links to their websites.  We will also be loading videos onto the featured listings in the next few days.

Scalability…

If you are a regular reader here, you know how I tweaked out a listing using a load of current technology.  And I am quick to admit that this has been an expensive process.  but, for a listing that is close to $1m, I think it is a worthwhile investment.  But, most homes on the market aren’t in that market.

But I still think that they deserve a higher level of exposure than they are currently getting.

So, today I negotiated a completely different type of property.  We will be utilizing some of the technologies that we brought out for 9010 Brixham Court, but doing in a way that is more applicable to a property that is affordable to most people.

Obviously, I’m not ready to roll it out in front of everyone… but I hope to have it ready to introduce late next week.

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