Dont Be A FSBO SellerWritten by Steve Gillman
Don't sell it yourself! Sometimes a "FSBO," or house "for sale by owner" can sell as fast, and for as much as it would have if listed with a real estate agent. Sometimes. Before you decide to give it a try though, consider following ten points. 1. Most buyers work with agents, and look through MLS listings. If you don't list with an agent, most buyers will never see or hear about your home. It's hard to find that "right" buyer or get top dollar when your invisible to most of market. 2. FSBOs get lower offers. It's only logical. The buyer thinks you'll take less because you're saving commission! Save $10,000, get $10,000 less - where's advantage in that? 3. You pay advertising. All costs real estate office normally pays are yours if you sell it yourself. How much will you spend on ads if it takes a a year to sell? 4. You don't have resources. The agent has books of sold properties to look at, for example, to determine best price for your home. You can get that information by digging through county records, but you do have to value your time too, right? 5. You may not know market. What's target market for your house? Young couples, retirees? What features are they looking for? You should know these things before you write your ads. An experienced real estate salesperson will know. 6. You may not know laws. What about written disclosures, and who pays real estate transfer tax? Just because you sell it yourself doesn't mean you get to ignore laws.
| | Banks Are More Than Just A Place To Park Your MoneyWritten by Carol Sue Blanchard
If you've been to a shopping mall lately, you've probably discovered two different banks within a few feet of each other. Go inside food store in that shopping plaza and you'll see yet another one, just waiting to offer their services to you. Now drive down road a few blocks and you'll probably see yet another bank on corner. With all banks to choose from these days, it can be too much. How do you know who is reputable and what will serve your purposes?It's actually very simple. Make a list of what you want from a bank and choose only two or three of ones you've heard good things about. Banks are often places that your friends and families will have strong opinions about- so listen to them. If they rave about one and rant about another, you will know where to stay away from. Make sure to take their advice with a grain of salt though, so you don't sign up right away. First, you need to find out all that they offer so you can make an informed decision. Enrolling with a bank may not seem like a big decision, but it is. Think about it, changing banks is not something people want to do often. And it's not something that is particularly easy or fun to do. You'll want to start with a good bank and stay with them for many years - if not for rest of your life. You'll probably be using a debit card, credit card, loan and various other services with your bank, so choose wisely.
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