CHOICE OF AN LAS VEGAS REAL ESTATE AGENT COMES DOWN TO THIS
There is one overriding quality you must demand when you hire the Las Vegas agent who will be your partner and representative. It’s a quality you and you alone are qualified to judge. And it should be the final determinant—the last factor you consider before you make your final agent choice. Now it’s true that in many instances, this quality isn’t even one you have to think about. That’s true when you have previously worked with a Las Vegas agent who did what she or he had promised. When you’ve bought a home or sold one, been helped through successful negotiations, dealt with the unexpected snags with a minimum of disruption—and finally wrapped up the closing paperwork on schedule—you probably need search no further. It couldn’t be easier: pick up the phone, and voila! Your agent is on the job! But if you’re new to the Las Vegas; or previously had only a so-so experience with a Las Vegas agent; or if your Las Vegas agent is no longer available for some other reason, Job One before any selling or buying begins in earnest is the only part of the process that you will have to undertake completely on your own: identifying the agent who will serve you best. When you choose a lawyer or accountant to represent you, a number of factors come into play that aren’t involved in choosing a real estate agent. With other professionals, their fee structures can be crucial. Although hiring the best lawyer in Las Vegas can be out of reach for strictly financial reasons, that’s not true in real estate. If you’re buying, your agent’s fee come out of the seller’s proceeds—in other words, all Las Vegas real estate agents, from best to worst, cost you nothing! If you’re selling, most agents work on substantially similar percentages. Another factor that plays a greater role in choosing candidates in other professions is convenience—where their offices are located. With real estate, everyone who actively works in the Las Vegas Las Vegas will make your location (or the addresses of your prospective next home) the focus of activity. The agent’s own location isn’t a determining factor. So what is that final determinant? After you have interviewed the agents who seem initially qualified—what should be the decisive factor? It’s trust. In the momentous enterprise that lays before you, the overriding factor has to be the degree of trust you feel in the individual who will be your teammate. It’s why you are the only one qualified to make the choice. The process of buying or selling a home involves laying out your highest hopes and deepest reservations about home ownership—and trusting that between the two of you, the best opportunities will be uncovered, the best bargains struck, and all will be protected by properly executed documentation. Trust is the feeling you have for how the two of you interact—how the chemistry is there or is not. It’s how comfortable you feel when you are communicating because you should trust your agent’s insight into your needs and goals so that you can depend on the guidance he or she provides. I hope when your next real estate venture is close at hand, you’ll make me one of your interviews. And if we’ve worked together before—welcome back!
SELLING A HOUSE IN LAS VEGAS CAN TAKE A LITTLE PLASTIC SURGERY
Suppose you finally came to an important decision—that this fall is going to be the right time for selling your Las Vegas house. If you had been biding your time, watching other Las Vegas houses being listed and closed throughout the summer, you may also have been getting a head start on some major maintenance or remodeling projects that you knew would be needed once you put your own place up for sale. You may even have cleared away some extraneous furniture or décor items that had accumulated through the years, and made sure the landscaping was in good trim. If you had done those things—de-cluttered, spruced up, cleared the decks, etc.—you would have been just about ready to contact an agent to get the show on the road… But what if even all the prep work nonetheless left you with the feeling that the old place still wasn’t quite ready. What if something still seemed to be missing: something you couldn’t quite put your finger on, but something that you just knew was needed to pep up the showings that would soon be taking place. Selling a house to yield its maximum value can be more art than science. One of the skills that’s quite important is being able to envision what prospective buyers see. Especially with older properties, selling a house that to you seems filled with comforting familiarity might seem worn out (or just plain used) to others. Although many prospects do prefer older neighborhoods over newer ones, most folks also have a contradictory impulse: they appreciate the allure of the new. They may hanker for the mature landscaping and established community structures of older neighborhoods, yet simultaneously would prefer a place that seems freshly renewed. Fortunately, taking a few steps to make an older property ‘new again’ needn’t be hugely expensive: • Cabinets – It’s relatively easy to put a fresh face on worn cabinet doors and drawers to rejuvenate a tired-looking kitchen. You can find a wide range of reasonably priced panels that fit many cabinets. Sometimes the same effect can be achieved by re-staining—or simply changing the cabinetry hardware (go for stainless or brushed nickel to achieve the look the majority of today’s Las Vegas buyers prefer). • Appliances – Full kitchen remodels can be more expensive than is really practical, but sometimes much of the same effect can be achieved by simply replacing an old range, oven, dishwasher or refrigerator. Re-facing appliances that are perfectly serviceable (especially stainless surfaces that can’t be rescued) is another budget-wise option. • Tired-looking sinks and fixtures can all but ‘sink’ the prospects of selling your Las Vegas house. Sometimes the addition of stylish faucets and some fresh caulking can transform a kitchen or laundry room. As you close in on the time for selling your Las Vegas house, sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can help you see what still needs to be done—or, importantly, what doesn’t! It’s a very good reason to give me a call!
PRESS REPORTS US REAL ESTATE SURGES FOR LAS VEGAS READERS
If you are a Las Vegas real estate observer, last week was the time of the month when you typically look for the major data releases which detail how residential sales and prices performed in the previous month. Las Vegas observers weren’t disappointed: last Tuesday, the key National Association of REALTORS® report came in right on schedule, with national media interpretations appearing close on its heels. The NAR decreed that September’s existing-home sales numbers, which showed a 4.7% increase from the month before, indicated a resumption of the momentum that had momentarily faltered. The seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5,550,000 completed transactions was hailed as a strong rebound, marking the twelfth consecutive month of year-over-year increases. Realty Today agreed that the “more than expected” sales pace “suggests that the housing market continues to show strength compared to the rest of the economy.” In fact, the increase did contradict expectations from some observers. Their school of thought had been based on the common sense conclusion that if residential real estate price rises continue to outpace wage growth—as it has—the pace of sales would certainly slow. That prediction ran head-on into these latest figures. So much for common sense.The financial press, which views real estate news from their own perspective, had a slightly different take—one that was equally positive. “Good news abounds,” wrote CNN Money. “After years of flunking, the American housing market finally merits a B+ grade.” The financial publication’s ebullience was based on data which indicated that building activity was picking up “at the fastest pace since the recession.” That meant that the real estate sector had turned an important corner, with “the housing market…finally starting to be a real boost to the U.S. economy—and stock market—instead of a drag.” The Wall Street Journal gave Las Vegas real estate watchers an even more upbeat takeaway—going so far as to apply the rarely-invoked ‘surge’ word…twice! “U.S. Existing Home Sales Surge in September,” greeted WSJ readers on Wednesday. It was “a big increase” that put the real estate “market back on track for its strongest year since 2007.” Elsewhere, over the picture of a North Dakota roofer hard at work, another headline blared, “Home Construction Rebounds Amid Surge in Multifamily Units.” With all that ‘surging’ going on everywhere, Las Vegas readers might have begun to worry about keeping their balance… But they needn’t have worried—economic writers wouldn’t be performing as expected if they didn’t include at least some hand-wringing. The Journal didn’t disappoint on that score, either. They found one economist, Richard Moody, who complied. “I have this list of things that worry me about how we can sustain this,” he fretted. If you are a current or prospective Las Vegas homeowner, national real estate performance is of more than passing interest. I’m here to help you transform your own personal Las Vegas real estate projections into real performance!
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