LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE AGENTS AND JUGGLERS A LOT IN COMMON
The best real estate agent schooling isn’t something that takes place in a classroom. That kind of school is necessary, of course, because some of the most important work every Las Vegas real estate agent does have to do with being intimately familiar with the letter of current state laws and Department of Real Estate strictures. Observing best practices—keeping on top of all the current professional guidelines and legal regulations—does form a solid foundation for building a career in the profession. But important as that is, it’s only a foundation. You have to get busy and build something on it. As every Las Vegas real estate agent soon discovers, doing the kind of effective job that sets you apart begins early in the morning, and often continues long past what is quitting time in many a 9-to-5 occupation. What’s unusual about what goes on during that day is the array of specialized activities to be attended to. Just about every day, you will be energetically juggling tasks satisfying a wide range of different needs, for instance— Pulling and reviewing activity reports from the Las Vegas Multiple Listing Service Keeping your finger on the pulse of the community yields the up-to-the-hour intelligence that’s a vital resource for sellers and buyers in our active Las Vegas market Monitoring and responding to online contacts Increasingly, as email and messaging become central to real estate activity, near- instantaneous response times are the norm Scheduling showings Arranging showings to accommodate both owners and buyers—and handling the inevitable last minute changes—calls for organizational perseverance (and an abidingly calm demeanor) Creating and executing media marketing Fashioning the kind of attractively worded and designed listings is only the start of the all-important media campaigning that translates into results for your clients Simultaneously, an accomplished real estate agent often will be keeping track of closing deadline requirements, handling negotiations between buyers and sellers, facilitating communications with home loan brokers, home inspectors, photographers, staging companies and any number of other facilitators…and fielding the dozen other details that might crop up unexpectedly in the course of the day. Being called upon to wear so many different hats is a challenge that’s not covered in the real estate licensing exams—and one that couldn’t be taught in a classroom. At the same time, I can report that at the end of a full day, it’s one of the most rewarding aspects of being a real estate agent in Las Vegas. When you give me a call, you can count on my bringing the whole of my energy and experience into play on your behalf!
7 FINANCIAL RESULTS LAS VEGAS FSBO SELLERS MAY FACE
Once you have decided to sell your Las Vegas home, one of your first action items is to recruit a top sales team. About 90% of sellers choose a licensed Realtor® to head up their effort—not just because it’s the popular thing to do, but because the alternatives are few. You could recruit a business person from some other discipline, but few do that. Most in the minority group decide to do it all themselves—to go the FSBO route: “For Sale By Owner.” The reason for settling on this choice is usually a dollars and cents one: to eliminate the real estate commissions. Any home sale in Las Vegas is a weighty transaction—so pocketing that percentage looks like a businesslike decision. It usually does have financial ramifications, but not necessarily the kind that the Town FSBO seller was hoping for: Statistics tell us that fewer than 3% of home buyers hear about their ultimate purchase directly from the seller. Missing out on 97% of prospective buyers greatly diminishes the chance that more than one party will compete to buy the property. The longer a property lingers on the market, the lower its ultimate selling price is likely to be. Interviews confirm that only 1 in 8 FSBO sellers succeed in selling within their planned length of time… …and even fewer “get what they consider the right price.” Advertising expenses have to be paid by the seller. There is $5.95 for a front yard FSBO sign, plus $2.35 for the wooden stake that holds the sign-up. If no additional advertising expenses are incurred, it means there is no advertising—with likely outcomes described in 1, 2, and 3. If the Las Vegas FSBO seller has regular job responsibilities, the time devoted to handling prospects and addressing the business and legal ramifications that accompany a residential real estate transaction can become costly distractions. High among the tasks past FSBO sellers rated most difficult was “understanding and performing the paperwork.” The average price of a FSBO sale is 75% of one carried out by a professional. Even if a sale is accomplished, the premium gained may be less than anticipated. Since the buyer is likely to be represented by a buyer’s agent, the hoped-for savings are cut in half. A financial result—the usual reason for most Las Vegas FSBOs—often comes to pass, but it’s the opposite of the one intended. You might say that the FSBO strategy should really only be attempted by those for whom money is no object. In effect, FSBOs are the champagne of real estate strategies… I’m only half kidding about that last—but not kidding at all when I suggest that you give me a call when it’s time to sell your own Las Vegas property!
HOMES LISTED IN LAS VEGAS SOMETIMES CAUSE A 5 YEAR RULE BREACH
The “5-Year Rule” as it applies to Las Vegas homes listed for sale is a pretty good one, as far as real estate rules-of-thumb go. It’s part of the family of truisms that have been around long enough that you’d figure they have to be reliable—like the rule that you should plan on maintenance costing 1% of a listed home’s selling price per year; or the one the government often quotes that housing costs should be no more than 30% of income. The 5-Year Rule has it that if you don’t know you will remain in a new home for at least 5 years, you’d be better off not buying. The reasons are the oft-cited dollars and cents issues. In addition to the closing costs, commissions, and costs of moving your household, emotional issues are often cited: as in the familiar “moving is one of the most stressful events in life.” But like most other similar guidelines, the 5-Year Rule is useful as a starting point only. If you have no overriding issues that have set you to checking out the homes listed in Las Vegas, it’s a reasonable starting point. But if other factors are nudging you into action, it’s only one way to look at the practicality of buying a home—not the final verdict. Some outside factors that might make it worth at least considering overruling the 5-Year Rule: One of the homes listed is a perfect fit AND a genuine steal. When you come across a property that is exactly what you have been looking for and the asking price is clearly below what comparable Las Vegas homes are currently commanding at market, it might make sense to reconsider the 5-Year Rule. The reason is simple: if you have to move, you have reason to believe that you will be able to sell at a price that offsets the costs of the transactions. The emotional cost of not owning your home is substantial. This is easily overlooked, but for some people (often, for those whose entire childhood was centered in one home) the feeling of being untethered—or of delaying the familial commitment that accompanies the institution of homeownership—can be emotionally disruptive. It’s impossible to put a price on this, but it can make a real difference in well-being. Knowing what you don’t know. The 5-Year Rule is based upon a certainty: that you will be moving away from Las Vegas in at most 5 years. But what if there is less certainty? What if you simply don’t know? This is a fairly common 21st-century conundrum, and it can lead to paralysis in any number of decision-making situations. Especially right now, when the homes listed in Las Vegas are qualifying for today’s incredibly low mortgage interest rates, it may be worthwhile to pencil in the cash flow tradeoff versus the renting alternative. If you still don’t know 5 years from now, that same tradeoff might look a lot less worth doing! When the 5-Year Rule isn’t at issue (or if it might give way to one of the overriding factors), you want to be sure you are being shown the listed Las Vegas homes that offer the best value in your price range. That’s where I will be certain to be your strongest asset. Call me!
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