Fraud lawsuit dismissed for lack of harm
A New York court has examined a sellers’ lawsuit for fraud against a real estate professional who presented them with a fabricated purchase offer.
In 2006, Stephen and Janet Alikes (“Sellers”) entered into a listing agreement to sell their home. The court noted that Stephen was a retired attorney who had practiced law for 45 years, while Janet was a retired paralegal who had specialized in real estate law and had also once held a real estate license. The real estate professional who represented the Sellers was Shari Reals (“Salesperson”), whose license was eventually held by Andy Griffith Realty (“Brokerage”). Read More.
How house hunters view your listing
Researcher Michael Seiler tracked the eye movements of 45 people viewing 10 online real estate listings with six photos in August 2011, determining that 95 percent of participants viewed the first photo—an exterior property shot—for just 20 seconds. The study is relevant because knowing how house-hunters view a listing online can help agents fine-tune their marketing approach. Read More.
Award for MLS violations upheld
A Pennsylvania court has considered whether a MLS participant was properly sanctioned for violating a stipulation agreement he entered into with a REALTOR® association.
In 2007, Thomas Wilkins (“Broker”) filed a lawsuit against the Pike/Wayne Association of REALTORS® (“Association”) after the Association removed some of the Broker’s listings from the Association’s multiple listing service (“MLS”) that were listings of non-MLS participants. The parties entered into a settlement agreement (“Stipulation”) that was filed with the court. In the Stipulation, the Broker agreed to: abide by the MLS’s rules; provide the Association with a verification form for all listing agreements; and he would only place listings into the MLS secured by him. Read More.
Win the listing before you get to the presentation
These days, there’s so much technology around that it’s easy to get caught up in it, thinking it’s the secret to real estate success. But sometimes it’s the absolute basics that can be the most powerful business tools, but they’ve become neglected or overlooked entirely.
How would you like to win the listing before you even get to the presentation?
What a great situation that would be, and it’s so simple: A prelisting kit and four to eight photo testimonials with a contact phone number (and that’s really important) can do the job for you.
In my training seminars for real estate professionals worldwide, the responses amaze me time after time when I ask these questions. Read More.
Photos can increase sales price
Adding at least one photo of your residential listing online can boost the final sales price by 3.9 percent, according to a new study of more than 4,000 homes.
Adding interior photos were found to be more effective than exterior photos in increasing the sales price. For example, adding interior photos netted buyers a 3.9 percent increase versus a 1.9 percent increase from exterior photos, the study found. Read More.
How to make a home picture-perfect
Add a photo, earn an extra few thousand dollars. In Mansion on Friday, we reported that adding at least one photo to a residential real-estate listing can up the final sale price by 3.9%.
Photos are already fairly established in listings. Roughly 85% of online listings include photos, says Ken H. Johnson, an associate professor of finance at Florida International University’s Hollo School of Real Estate and co-author of a 2011 study on photos in real estate. But the type of photo matters, he adds. Read More.
Know the purpose of your presentation
A quality listing presentation involves considerable advance planning, careful research and analysis, and highly developed presentation and sales skills. This allows you to derive maximum impact from the minimal time you have to present yourself and your recommendations, close the deal, and obtain signatures on a listing agreement.
Your advance planning takes two forms. First you need to qualify your prospects – determining not only their desires and expectations but also their ability to make the buying or selling decision and complete the purchase transaction. Read More.
Avoid these 6 errors with your open house
Listing your home for sale in this depressed real estate market is like entering a beauty pageant. The contestants are all other for-sale homes in the area. The judges are potential buyers who will ultimately choose their favorite candidate. The challenge begins at the open house.
To improve your chances of getting ahead of the other contestants, you must prepare for the big day when you show the judges why they should buy your house and not the one down the street. Read More.
Realtor.com offers free, agent branded app
Realtor.com currently has the most downloaded mobile app in real estate for iOS (iPhone and iPad) and Android.
It’s a remarkable app.
The “Area Highlighter” feature literally drops jaws.
The “Area Scout” feature reloads listings as your car drives around town.
Plus, due to the data agreement between NAR and Realtor.com, it is also the most accurate app in terms of listing quality.
Starting this fall, for free, you can offer the exact same app to your clients. Read More.
Broker considerations for listing syndication
The following list of considerations was developed to assist a broker in evaluating organizations and websites for display of the broker’s listings. Each broker should make an independent business decision where and under what terms to permit the display of the broker’s listings. Read More (realtor.org login required).
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