New Trend: Negotiating a Real Estate Rebate with Your Local Realtor

REbates on REal estateWhen you hear through the grape vine about a great realtor, get a hold of them as soon as possible. If talking about the possibilities and pitfalls of real estate investing all the time, but the importance of a good real estate company is never stated enough. Don’t get me wrong, it is important to make the right decisions about your real estate investments. Making shrewd decisions is only part of the deal.

Having a good real estate broker is the thing that really makes or breaks the deal when you are buying and selling properties. One thing to consider is if you can negotiate a real estate rebate with them, you can buy more of a house with less cash. On a $300,000 house, you could bank $2,500 in rebate money.

Many people work with the same real estate company for years. They get involved in all kinds of real estate investment, from commercial to residential. Sometimes they buy damaged houses to fix, and resell to new homeowners. At other times, they will rent out rooms to medium income families. Still other times, they rent spaces to commercial businesses. For all these purposes, the real estate agent comes in handy. He is absolutely amazing at negotiating the best deals.

He can really find clients who will benefit from the property and show them why it is in their interest to buy or rent. Everyone comes away happy, and you can make even more money if the realtor is willing to give you a small portion of their commission.

Whenever you are looking at new property, it pays to get the opinion of an expert realtor who has been in that industry for years and has built themselves a reputation. No matter how long you are in the business, it is still hard to cultivate a truly objective perspective. Perhaps a house that might look rundown and damaged could still have a lot of potential depending on the area. The trick is to know someone who can spot those kind of possibilities and queue you in before you part with a good deal.

A real estate agent should be more of a business partner than a friend. He should encourage you to find the house of your dreams so that you are not settling for anything. The real estate commission could give you more buying power so that you don’t just jump on the first house that becomes available.

Boating Checklist Before Getting Out on the Water Today

boat buyingThe last thing that you want to happen when you are miles off shore is something go wrong and you do not have the ability to get back in or call for help. Your passengers are your top priority each time you take the boat out, whether for fishing, sightseeing, or towing behind a tube. Here is a boating checklist from Boatmo that you need to commit to memory so that you are properly prepared for anything that occurs out on the water.

1. Getting Gas – It doesn’t matter if you know where every marina and fueling station is from New Jersey to Virginia, you can never anticipate when one of the closer service stations is closed or out of fuel, and you are left powerless out on the water. Always take a few extra minutes before leaving the safety of the shore to get gas and make certain you have more than enough for where you plan on going today.

2. Safety Gear – never assume that a passenger on board your boat has the skills to swim without a life jacket. Things can go bad out at sea lightning fast, and if a rogue wave knocks everyone in the water, what happens if a passenger bangs their head on the side of the boat and is knocked out. If they slip under the water, you will never be able to find them in time. Always make certain every passenger on the boat is wearing a life jacket before you pull out to sea. If you are short, borrow one from a boat neighbor until you come back.

3. Keep in Contact – Even before you get in the boat, someone on land must be notified where you plan on going in the event you experience trouble at sea and this person has to tell authorities where to start searching. Be sure that you have a working and charged cell phone, or better yet, a satellite phone that works no matter how far out to sea you may be. These devices can connect you with authorities on shore who can follow the signal and get you the help you need before things go from bad to very bad in the blink of an eye.

This boating checklist will keep you out of harms ways and make certain your time on the water is as enjoyable as possible. It only takes a few minutes to prepare while safely on sure, so start committing these tips to habit.

The Buying and Selling of Your Home at the Same Time Issue

Buyers who are downsizing or moving up often have a dilemma. They can’t decide whether to contract to buy their new home first or to list their home for sale.

Real Estate CharlestonIf they put their home on the market, it might sell and then they might find it impossible to find what they want. Alternatively, if they find a home they’d love to buy, they realize they could lose out because their old home won’t sell quickly enough or the sellers won’t wait. What is the best approach?  Families looking for homes for sale Charleston are always asking this to the guys over at Premier One and for them they have some suggestions:

We’ve noted so many times that there is seldom a “right” answer. This is another such instance. Looking at some of the alternatives and how they could work for you might make it easier to figure out how to approach getting from where you are to where you want to be.

Let’s say you decide to put your home on the market first because you want to be sure of the amount of money you’ll have to work with.

You could apply for a home equity line of credit before putting your home on the market. If you have a significant amount of equity in your home, this can provide you with down payment and closing costs for your new home.

You can then shop for a new home and write a contract contingent on the sale of your old home. If the seller will not accept the contingency, you could choose to remove the contingency.

Let’s explore another possible scenario. Let’s say you decide to put your home for sale and get a contract before looking for another house. You (or your Realtor) begin to market it. Your home is getting lots of showings and you’re sure you’ll get a contract soon.

You decide you’ll do some preliminary shopping and “fall in love” with a house before you get a contract on your home. The seller may not accept the contingent contract. Is there any way you can avoid losing out on the purchase of this home?

It isn’t cheap, but if you have very good credit and a lot of equity in your home, you can probably get a bridge loan and buy the house. Bridge loans have a high rate of interest and are for a period approximately six months. Typically you can borrow up to eighty percent of the equity in your current house to come up with the down payment you need this way.

As always, there are many choices. We’ve only mentioned some of them here. You might want to start by meeting with a lender to determine specifically what is possible for you. Maybe you can use the ideas in this article as a starting point for the conversation. Who knows where it will lead? It could be the beginning of developing the perfect strategy for you.