Real Estate Investing

I don’t believe 2008 will go down in history as a great year for real estate.  We saw the market continue to struggle, even as interest rates and home values shrank - usually something that would spur more interest in housing.  We’ve seen foreclosures throughout the country sink families - up close and personal.  My friend Mary is still hanging on by a thread, but a look around sees homes that used to be filled with laughter now sitting vacant. 

I started writing here at Banks.com in May of 2008, replacing our friend Hayli Morrison who continued to write on other sites for some time.  Here are some of my favorite posts since I started here.

A laughable sales tactic by one agent - block the door to prevent the buyer from leaving!

Top 10 signs of when a builder goes bad - I’ve seen even more craziness from some builders since this post. One finally put some screens in the windows of a home he sold a year ago when he needed his former buyer to sign off on an easement mistake. She refused to sign until he brought her some screens.  Now the bugs stay out when her windows are open!

Who knows what market lurks in the hearts of real estate?  The DENTIST knows! (The buyer never did buy…) (Oh! And I recently heard that Ed McMahon gets to continue living in his home).

Oops… why Realtors cannot conduct home auctions on eBay (you must have an auctioneer’s license!).

The ups and downs of living in a mobile home.  I’ll sum it up… tornadoes = bad and affordable = good.

Can you find another place to live after foreclosure?

People either love Realtors or they hate them.  Me?  I love them.

Pets are abandoned when homes are foreclosed.  This still makes me really sad.

Look out!  Spy cams and hidden mics can be anywhere!

Outgoing referrals are a good thing - when the client is just not ready to buy/sell! Or if they’re a jerk.

It’s lollipops and gum drops out there, people.

Different types of agents:  Lions and Tigers and Bears, oh my!

A Real Ghost Story … and you do have to disclose ghosts in California.

Unemployed Should Get an Automatic Stay on Mortgage Payments: An Editorial Opinion

I’m still mad about this … mortgage companies won’t sell if they only break even (but I’ll bet they’ll get some bail out money!)

At Thanksgiving, everyone gets thankful.  This post say why I am thankful to be a Realtor.

Safety Tips when Decorating for the Holidays

How One Salesman was a Real Jerk

Building Green

Happy New Year!  Again, may tomorrow’s dawn bring much joy to your life.

In a class this morning, Mimi from our auction team was asked by another agent about how to conduct an eBay auction for a house.  Mimi’s answer was very eye opening, “You don’t.”

Her colleague Dale further explained that unless you’re the actual owner of a house, real estate agents can not auction homes on eBay unless they are licensed by the state as auctioneers.  Real estate broker Tom from St. Louis, Missouri says on the Homes & Agents site that you only have to be a licensed real estate agent to sell homes through online auctions, so this points to rules varying from state to state.

I suspect you could auction a mobile home - without the land - because it’s considered personal property rather than real property.  For example, if a seller calls me who lives in a mobile home park to list their trailer, I could not because Realtors sell LAND and any house or building on it is considered an improvement that adds value to the land.

Overall, regular real estate auctions are picking up.  Douglas Heddings of True Gotham Real Estate Blog says,

They key once again to creating the perception of value is to aggressively price the property to appeal to a larger pool of buyers.  A tricky task in today’s less heated market. 

In today’s less heated market, everything is a tricky task - from finding the right marketing strategy to pricing to figuring out how to compel a buyer to offer a fair market price when they’re under the perception that sellers are giving their homes away in a buyers’ market!

Meanwhile, I visited the real estate auctions on eBay.  In one hour, 47 minutes, the bidding will be over for a home in Flint, Michigan.  Current bid: $5300.  Two bedrooms, one bath.  “Great investment property.”

We’ve talked about home auctions. We’ve talked about Internet marketing. But what about Internet home auctions? Indeed, eBay is now the marketplace where more than 4,364 properties are sold each month, the internet auction company claims.

eBay says you can offer virtual home tours around the clock and reach a much broader and more diverse audience. Plus, you can benefit from the excitement and increased prices that an auction atmosphere can generate. Anyone who has ever found themselves blindsided with a regrettable eBay purchase understands that all too well. You just want to win so badly nothing else matters. Click now, think later.

You can purchase eBay authorized real estate signs to post, telling the local public your deadline and auction web site. It sounds like a home seller’s dream, a realtor’s nightmare. The drawback - there are apparently no contractual obligations to pay for real estate on eBay, as is the case with other purchases on the site. The cost is minimal at $150 for a 30-day ad or auction listing, $300 for a 90-day ad listing and no fees or commissions on the final sale price. Hey, it worked for Bobby Cave, owner of the 13-acre town of Albert, Texas. Cave is $3.8 million richer after an Italian buyer purchased his “town” over eBay. For frustrated home sellers at their wit’s end, eBay may be just the saving grace they need.