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Author: Monty

  • Home seller finds buyer; who gets or keeps the commmission?

      Reader Question: I’m the homeowner. I listed my home with a real estate agent; however, I found an interested buyer on my own. If that buyer purchase​s​ my house with no help from the listing agent,​ “Who gets​ or keep​s​ the commission?​ ” ​Monty’s Answer: Your question is one that someone else in America…

  • Seller asks buyer to occupy early – a switcheroo

      Reader Question: ​I have signed a contract with a seller. I had ten days due diligence to have the home inspected. I did that, and the house looked like a good deal. 21 days later the closing attorney calls and says the home is in probate, and it will take a minimum 6-8 weeks…

  • Tips for testing real estate agents

    Reader Question: I envision the real estate service is delivered differently than a physical product. I can touch a product, examine it, use it according to instructions to “test” if it works. Outside of the legal documents, much of the real estate service is oral. I cannot “test” it in a traditional sense. Can you…

  • Sample Agent Deliverables

    Sample agent deliverables. Useful real estate agents are honest, knowledgeable, and efficient. Every enterprise in every field of endeavor seeks these qualities in individuals with whom they choose to associate. There are many reasons the real estate industry has set the bar low, which is why the real estate service consumer has to be alert…

  • The Impact of the New Tax Bill on Homeownership

    Reader Question: We now have the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. We are considering changing homes. This move would not job related, or created by any lifestyle changes; we just want a change. What has changed regarding homeownership as a result of the new tax bill that may affect us making this move? Monty’s Answer:…

  • Five tips for dealing with an unrealistic seller

    Question: We are dealing with an unrealistic seller. We made a good offer on a home. The seller countered with forty-thousand dollars higher than our offer. According to our agent, the house is not on the market, so they are saving about three percent with a lower commission. The house needs significant upgrades. The bathrooms and…

  • Need to buy a vacant lot to build a house?

    Reader Question: We want to buy a vacant lot. After looking for resale homes for more than a year, we have decided to build a house. We have tried to buy a pre-owned home, but the lack of choices, bidding wars, and unsatisfactory home inspections have helped us realize that paying a premium for the…

  • Nine tips for real estate investing

    Reader Question: We have spent the past two years reading for real estate investing. We have a plan laid out that we believe is achievable, and we are ready to buy our first two-to-four family fixer-upper. Once we identify what we think to be the right property, what are your best buying tips to ensure…

  • Eight Helpful Actions Homebuyers Overlook

    Reader Question: We sold our home last year to downsize and rented an apartment for a year to try the lifestyle and give us time to consider what we would do next. We are now going to buy a home, but being out of the home buying market for thirty years, what are the big…

  • Five tips to buying and sharing a personal residence

    Reader Question: My friend and I are thinking about buying and sharing a personal residence. We each have saved enough to pay twenty percent down on a $150,000 home, but by pooling our down payment, we could buy a $300,000 house. We may even invite a third person to join us. We live in a…

  • Off market listings are a bad idea

    Reader Question: Off market listings? We recently read an online article on one of the major real estate sites about off market listings. These listings were described as listings not entered into the MLS system. The gist of the article was that there are benefits to using this approach to sell your home in a hot…

  • Will the real estate market crash?

    Reader Question: Some people fear another real estate market crash. We see the real estate market has recovered in many markets. We are considering selling our current home and buying or building another house. With these conflicting opinions, it is difficult to figure out whether to go ahead. Do you think the housing market will…

  • Emotion trumps logic in home purchase dispute

    Reader Question: We have an accepted offer on a home. We learned that the floor is vinyl, not laminate as stated on the listing data sheet. Unlike laminate, vinyl adds no value to the house. We asked for a $3,000 price reduction which was less than half of a new laminate floor price. We do…

  • Eight tips for a relocation company executive

    Reader Question: I am a member of the management team of a mid-size relocation company. Our meetings cover the same topics every week; cutting costs, client retention, internal HR issues, and problem properties. I feel like we spend too much time talking with each other, and that we are stagnating as a result. My question…

  • buying with a buyer agent

    Reader Question: What are the pros vs. cons of buying with a buyer agent representing me on the buying transaction? Monty’s Answer: Buyer agency, and for that matter, seller agency, is a concept in the law. Agency law varies somewhat in the statutes from state to state, but my experience is that interpreting the meaning…