Action...Service...Accountability...Professionalism
AmeriSell Advantage Properties (ASAP) wants to improve your property buying or selling experience. Let us help you.
When you are ready to buy or sell property, ask yourself the following questions:
1) Do you have the time, energy, sources of information, and contacts
to effectively accomplish the task?
2) If you like to "do-it-yourself," do you have the practical
knowledge that professional assistance can provide? Do you know what legal
responsibilities you may have?
3) Would it go smoother? Would you have more personal time? Are you familiar
with real estate negotiation techniques? ASAP invites you to read the
following information and learn how a professional real estate agent can
help you understand everything you need to know about a real estate transaction.
Buying Real Estate
The Home-Buying Process
The home-buying process generally begins with determining your buying
power. A simple qualification process can confidentially assess your ability
to borrow at specific terms. ASAP's partner, AmeriSell Mortgages, has
trained specialists that can easily provide pre-qualification services
at no charge. By providing our loan specialists with some basic information
about your available savings, income, and current debt, AmeriSell can
pre-qualify you for the amount ($) of property you can afford. AmeriSell
Mortgages has many loan sources from which to choose. To best serve your
borrowing needs, AmeriSell Mortgages is not limited to "in-house"
loan programs.
Finding Suitable Properties
Once you know how much you are qualified to invest, the next step
is finding the properties that best fit your requirements. This is the
time when AmeriSell Advantage Properties (ASAP) real estate licensees
leap to action. In addition to being licensed by the California Department
of Real Estate, ASAP real estate agents are also a REALTORS®. A REALTOR®
is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS®, a real esate
trade association, and all members agree to abide by a 17 article Code
of Ethics. A REALTOR® has many resources to assist you in the search
for the best investment. Sometimes the property you are seeking is available
but not actively advertised in the market. It will take some investigation
by your agent to find all available properties.
Selecting the Best Property
Making the final property selection is when excitement and emotion
run high. Your real estate agent can assist you in the selection process
by providing objective information about each property. Agents who are
REALTORS® have access to a variety of informational resources. REALTORS®
can provide local community information on utilities, zoning, schools,
etc. You will want to understand the properties resale potential for when
you are ready to sell.
Negotiating the Deal
There are a many negotiating factors including, but not limited to, price,
financing, terms, date of possession, and often the inclusion or exclusion
of repairs or personal property. The purchase agreement should also provide
a period of time for you to complete appropriate inspections and investigations
of the property before you are bound to complete the purchase. AmeriSell
Advantage Properties can advise you as to which investigations and inspections
are recommended or required.
Due Diligence
With a negotiated agreement in hand, it is time to complete the evaluation
of the property. Depending on the area and property,this might include
inspections for termites, dry rot, asbestos, faulty structure, roof condition,
geology, septic tank, and well tests, just to name a few. Your agent can
assist you in finding qualified responsible professionals to do most of
these investigations and provide you with written reports. You will also
want to see a preliminary report on the title of the property. Title reports
describe the recorded ownership of property and can be mired in confusing
status of past owners or rights of access. The title to most properties
will have some limitations; for example, easements (access rights) for
utilities. AmeriSell, the title company, or an attorney can help you resolve
issues that might cause problems at a later date.
Financing Your Investment
When you have selected the right property for you, and since you have
already been prequalified, the financing process continues. AmeriSell
can help you understand the different financing options available and
secure the appropriate financing based on your qualifications. The financing
process can be facilitated by AmeriSell Mortgages to help ease the anxiety
sometimes associated with purchasing a property.
Closing Escrow
Finally, there is the closing, or settlement, as it is known in different
parts of the country. In California, the escrow company will handle this
process and ASAP will be an integral part of supporting the closing process.
Many tasks, and paperwork, must be completed before escrow can close.
Again, your AmeriSell agent can guide you through this process and help
everything flow together smoothly.
Selling Real Estate
Pricing the property
Pricing your property for sale generally begins with determining a
reasonable asking price. An AmeriSell real estate agent can give you up-to-date
information regarding the marketplace including the price, financing,
terms, and condition of competing properties. These are key factors in
getting your property sold at the best price, quickly, and with minimum
headache.
Marketing Your Property
A marketing plan is very important. Often, an AmeriSell agent can recommend
repairs or cosmetic work that will significantly enhance the salability
of your property. Marketing includes exposing your property to other real
estate agents and to the public. In many markets across the country, over
50% of real estate sales are cooperative sales; that is, a real estate
agent, other than your listing agent, brings in the buyer. Your agent
acts as the marketing coordinator, disbursing information about your property
to other real estate agents through a Multiple Listing Service,
other cooperative networks, open houses for agents etc. The REALTORS®
Code of Ethics requires REALTORS® to utilize these cooperative relationships
when they benefit their clients.
Advertising is part of marketing. The choice of media and frequency depends a lot on the property and specific market. For example, in some areas, newspaper advertising generates phone calls to the real estate office but statistically has minimum effectiveness in selling a specific property.
There is a misconception that advertising sells real estate. The National Association of REALTORS® studies show that 82% of real estate sales are the result of agent contacts through previous clients, referrals, friends and family, and personal contacts.
Security
When your property is marketed with AmeriSell's help, you do not have
to allow strangers into your home alone. Agents will generally pre-screen
and accompany qualified prospects through your property.
Negotiations
The negotiation process involves similar issues for both buyers and
sellers. An AmeriSell agent can help you objectively evaluate each buyer's
proposal without compromising your marketing position. Your initial purchase
agreement is only the beginning of the process of appraisals, inspections,
and financing -- a lot of possible pitfalls. Your AmeriSell agent can
help you write a legally binding, win-win agreement that will be more
likely to make it through the process.
Monitoring, Renegotiating and Closing
Between the initial sales agreement and closing, questions may arise.
For example, unexpected repairs may be required to obtain financing. Or,
a cloud in the title may be discovered. The required paperwork alone may
be overwhelming for many sellers. Your AmeriSell agent is the person to
objectively help you resolve these issues and move the transaction toward
closing.
Your Real Estate Agent
Real estate agents, or brokers, are generally paid through the sales
commission paid by the seller when a transaction closes. Agents have expenses
and financial obligations just like you, so it will be to your mutual
benefit if you choose a real estate agent and stick with that person.
Your AmeriSell agent will strive to understand your requirements and will
respect your loyalty and respond with a sincere commitment to you.
REALTORS®
All real estate licensees are not the same. Only real estate licensees
who are members of the National Association of REALTORS® are properly
called REALTORS®. They proudly display the REALTOR® "(r) "
logo on the business card or other marketing and sales literature. REALTORS®
are committed to treat all parties to a transaction honestly. REALTORS®
subscribe to a strict code of ethics and are expected to maintain a higher
level of knowledge of the process of buying and selling real estate. An
independent survey reports that 84% of home buyers would use the same
REALTOR® again.
Using a REALTOR®
Real estate transactions involve one of the biggest financial investments
mose people experience in their lifetime. Transactions today usually exceed
$100,000. If you had a $100,000 income tax problem, would you attempt to
deal with it without the help of a CPA? If you had a $100,000 legal question,
would you deal with it without the help of an attorney? Considering the
small upside cost and the large downside risk, it would be foolish to
consider a deal in real estate without the professional assistance of
a REALTOR®!