Real Estate Glossary

                                                                                                                      

Listing Agreement: A contract between seller and Real Estate Broker spelling out the terms of the listing. It should include a list date and a expiration date and compensation agreement. It will also include an Agency Agreement.

Comparative Market Analysis or CMA: An examination of the prices at which similar properties in the same area recently sold. Real estate agents may prepare a comparative market analysis for their clients to help them determine a price to list when selling a home or a price to offer when buying a home. Since no two properties are identical, agents make adjustments for the differences between the sold properties and the one that is about to be purchased or listed to determine a fair offer or sale price.     
                 
Absorption Rate: The rate at which available homes are sold in a specific real estate market during a given time period. It is calculated by dividing the total number of available homes by the average number of sales per month. The figure shows how many months it will take to exhaust the supply of homes on the market. A high absorption rate may indicate that the supply of available homes will shrink rapidly, increasing the odds that a homeowner will sell a piece of property in a shorter period of time.

Average Days on Market or DOM: The number of days a listing is active in a multiple listing service before it is entered into "pending" status. Pending status is when an offer has been accepted by the seller but the transaction is not yet closed. Many agents refer to "average days on market," which is derived by adding all the days on market of each listing and dividing by the number of listings. In a buyer's market, the DOM are generally higher because inventory takes longer to sell. In a seller's market, the DOM are fewer.

Realtor Commission: This is a percentage or an amount that you and the real estate agent/broker agree on when the property is listed and that you agree to pay when your property is sold. There is no set percentage. All commissions are negotiable. Your listing agent will then share a percentage of that to a cooperating agent should another agent bring a buyer.

Binding Agreement Date:  This refers to the date when an offer to buy is accepted and all parties (Buyers and Sellers) have signed and accepted the price and terms of an offer to buy.

Buyers Representation Agreement:  This is an agreement between a buyer and an agent/broker in which the buyer is agreeing to work exclusively with a particular agent/broker. In order to have a Buyers Representation Agreement the buyer and the agent must have a written agreement. Once a buyer enters into a Buyers Rep Agreement they are agreeing to let their agent schedule all showings for them and they are agreeing to pay the agent at closing whether through the cooperating commission paid by seller or out of pocket.  Depending on what is agreed to in the agreement the buyer may owe their agent additional commission should the cooperating commission be less than that agreed upon to pay. This agreement serves both the buyer and the agent in that it obligates both buyer and agent to certain due diligence behaviors and loyalty in the transaction. If the buyer goe to an open house or calls another agent about a property other than their agent they should let other agents they come in contact with know that they are in a Buyers Rep Agreement with another agent and provide their agents name. Should a buyer use another agent when they are under a Buyers Agreement they may wind up paying their agent at closing out of their pocket as well as the agent with whom they did not have the agreement . Buyers should always be aware of what they are signing and they should always get a copy of everything they sign.
                                                    
  

You've Found The Perfect Property...Now What? Part 1

You've found that perfect home....now what? Once the offer is negotiated and you have a binding contract your next step will be to employe a good home inspector to inspect the home and tell you what you can expect as the new home owner and also let you know if there is anything going on with the home that could have an adverse affect on the value of the home. He will look at the electrical and plumbing, walls, windows, roofing, in the rafters and the crawl space areas. The reason for this is to make sure there are no major problems going on that the seller may not have disclosed and maybe not even been aware of themselves. Sometimes some of these repairs can be negotiated to be fixed prior to closing and sometimes repairs are not an option and you as a buyer have to make a decision whether to accept the home as is with the knowledge that you will have to make certain repairs yourself after closing or make he decision to withdraw from the contract and ask for your earnest money back and find something else. Keep in mind, unless required by the lender in order to fund the loan the seller is under no obligation to make the repairs. The home inspection as with all inspection are for the buyers benefit so that they are making an informed decision in the buying process. Next up...Making an Offer.

Days To Remember

Everyone has days in their life that are life altering, days that make such an impression you never forget them. It may be a happy event, a shocking event or something tragic but none he less something about it causes it to be more prominent a memory in your mind. Not an ordinary day.  November 22, 1963 was such a day. Most people can tell you about that day in their lives. What they were doing, the emotions of the day. 9/11/2001 was another such day. The day Dale Earnhardt died was another. All these days impacted so many lives as well as the closest family members in a way that they would never forget the memories. While these days are associated with tragedy not all days that we remember so vividly are. Other days that many people remember are the birth of a child, a wedding day, the day you accepted Christ as your Lord and Savior as well as others.  Sometimes it is even an otherwise seemingly ordinary day but something about it causes it to be a special memory. 

Why do some days and events leave such vivid memories? I don't think this is an question that really has an answer. The human mind is so complex one can never know what triggers these memories. 

I for example have a vivid memory from my childhood where I couldn't have been more than a toddler and it involves a house where we lived and the memory of brushing our teeth on the back porch because we did not have an indoor bathroom back then. Another memory that has molded who I am today is when I was little we went to visit our great grandparents one time and my great grandfather was ill. I did not give him a hug and kiss when we left because I was so shy and backward and that was the last time I saw him alive. I always felt sad because it would have been so easy to have given him that hug and kiss. It was my loss. Because of that situation I make it a point to always make sure the people I love know it.