5 Question You Should Ask Your Quincy Real Estate Agent in Our Current Economy

1. Are you experienced with Short Sales? In today’s Quincy real estate market it’s essential that your real estate agent be well versed in the short sale/pay market. Since Obama’s administration has implemented so many programs that promote foreclosure avoidence the local Quincy real estate market can definitely expect more short sales in 2010.

A short sale (or short pay off) is when a home owner sells a home for less than what they currently owe their mortgage company. Often times home owners in financial trouble facing a foreclosure on their Quincy Home will request that their mortgage company take a fair market value sale in exchange for payment in full on any outstanding liens. Banks are willing to do this because foreclosing on a home can often cost an upwards of 20% of the FMV (fair market value).

In allowing the short sale lenders don’t have to pay for expensive foreclosure lawyer fees, home upkeep, and other costs associated with foreclosing on someone’s Quincy Property.

2. What do you suggest about rate locking a loan for my Quincy Home?

Although, your lender should be the one to answer this question, if the agent doesn’t know than move on. Mortgage rate locks are one of the most basic aspects of a real estate deal. A Quincy real estate agent should be able to tell you exactly how long you should request for your lock.

A Mortgage rate lock is when you literally ‘lock in’ to a certain mortgage percentage rate. For example, say Countrywide home loans is offering you a rate lock at 6% for 45 days. This means if interest rates change by +/- a % point your rate stays at 6% as long as you close your property’s contract by the 45 day limit. Asking your Quincy real estate agent this is essential because they are the ones who are very familiar with the local Real Estate market. Your agent should know if homes are closing in 30 days or if because of all the Quincy foreclosures and short sales property contracts are taking 45 days or longer.

3. Are you familiar with local area asset managers?

Since within the last 2 years (before the Obama administration) there has been so many foreclosures bank asset managers are working overtime. Banks will often liquidate hundreds and hundreds of Quincy homes to try and lighten up their financial portfolio which is heavy burdened with Quincy REOs (foreclosures). Knowing who the local popular asset managers are means that you as a home buyer will have an advantage to all those homes being liquidated.

4. Will you use the Internet to market my home?

Now-a-days the Internet is the go to place for Real Estate. There is perhaps no other industry that has changed so much with the advent of the technological age than the real estate industry. If your agent doesn’t have a dedicated plan on how to use the Internet to market your home you should be concerned. In real estate often times home selling comes down to numbers. For example, if you can get 50 people to view your open house, isn’t that better than 25?

Likewise, if you can get over 150 people to inquire about your home online isn’t that better than just 25 at an open house?

If your Quincy real estate agent says they are just going to post your home on craigslist or their own website and leaves it at that, fire them!! Unless they can tell you that they generate a significant amount of web traffic to your listing than craigslist and an agent’s website don’t go far enough in today’s market. Inquire about the web 2.0 community and how it can help sell your home.

Remember in real estate sometimes it’s all about the numbers game. Ask how much traffic their site gets. An increase in web traffic often times means more inquiries about your home.

5. Do you have buyers waiting in line to buy homes?

Any good agent will be able to show you that they have a whole stack of buyers/investors that are waiting to buy property. With so many technological avenues for buyer lead generation their is no excuse for your agent to not have willing investors on hand.

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