Beware of Home Search Sites

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Beware of Home Search Sites

Written on March 9, 2012 by Dan Schuman in General Advice, home buying, Uncategorized

Everyone knows that one of the best places to search for homes is on line. While some folks still look at the newspaper, a majority of buyers take to the net for their home search. With such easy access to homes comes numerous pitfalls, and today’s post will discuss this.

Before getting into the main problems of some home search sites, let’s start with a little history lesson. Back before the internet was in existence, most data relating to homes was only available at the local real estate office. For example, if you wanted to buy a home in Gates Mills, you would have to sit down with an agent in a Gates Mills office to see the inventory.

The Multiple Listing Service then came into play making it easy for agents to share data with each other, but consumers did not have access to this information. They still had to go through an agent to see the inventory.

Now, all listing information is readily available on line for everyone to see. In fact, sites that show home listings are among the most popular in the country, receiving millions of visitors every month. What has happened over time is that non real estate companies saw the power of having all of these visitors and wanted to “get into the game”. The main problem is that many of these companies are not giving consumers accurate information.

Some companies, like Realtor.com, do offer accurate information as they get their data feed directly from the original source. Others, however, do not. On many of these secondary sites, the information is simply wrong. Prices are getting changed, square footage is off and the status of homes is not up to date. It is not uncommon to see a home advertised that is no longer on the market. Home sellers are also getting angry when seeing their personal home being misrepresented on line. Basically, brokers have begun to lose control of their data.

Once on line, it is nearly impossible to have information corrected. That is why so many real estate companies nationwide are considering not sharing their listing information with anyone else. Until everything gets sorted out, consumers are paying the ultimate price by being subjected to bad information.

WHAT SHOULD A HOME BUYER DO?

Be careful about where you search for homes. We recommend a site that provides the most up to date information. Our personal home search tool gets its information directly from our local Multiple Listing Service and is the most accurate data you will find. You can find it by clicking the “search for homes” icon on the top right hand side of this page or go to the home page of our website, www.schumanteam.com. Here is what it looks like:

Once here, you can see current listings, create your personal home search and get homes emailed to you automatically. Or, you are welcome to contact us, let us know what you want, and we can create a personal home search for you.

Also, if you find a home on line that you really want to see, it is best to check with your agent to make sure it is still “active”. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve had buyers ask me about a home they saw somewhere on line and it was no longer available.

In the end, information will always be a valuable commodity and having a knowledgeable agent to help with your home search will definitely make a difference.

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About The Authors

The above information is compliments of The Schuman Team, Amy and Dan, of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

They can be reached at 216-346-3235 or 216-403-9189 or via email, danschuman@howardhanna.com or amyschuman@howardhanna.com.

The Schumans service the following Cleveland area suburbs: Bainbridge, Bay Village, Beachwood, Bentleyville, Chagrin Falls, Cleveland Heights, Gates Mills, Highland Heights, Hunting Valley, Lakewood, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village, Moreland Hills, Oakwood Village, Orange, Pepper Pike, Shaker Heights, Solon, South Euclid, University Heights, Westlake, Woodmere.

Beware of Home Search Sites is the property of The Schuman Team and may not be duplicated or used without their written consent.

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The Inspection Process And Why It’s So Stressful

Written on February 14, 2012 by Dan Schuman in home buying, home selling, Negotiating, Uncategorized

The home inspection process will make or break a transaction. It is by far the most important step for both buyers and sellers. The following post will explain the process and offer some advice to make it easier for you.

Here are some basics about inspections. They are done to protect the buyer by informing them about the condition of the home and to uncover any defects. A thorough inspector will also take the time to educate the buyer about the home and how to properly care for it. We highly recommend a home inspection to anyone buying a home.

Historically, inspections were meant to put heavy focus on uncovering very specific things relating to structural defects or health and safety issues. These include things like mold in an attic, radon gas, or large cracks in a basement wall. Sellers typically offered to address these items as standard protocol. It was a more simple process in the past.

Today, buyers seem to be asking for everything under the sun, even things they were aware of when they walked through the home ( broken outlet cover, rip in screen door, etc..). Now, the inspection typically results in round 2 of negotiations.

Usually, it is not what comes on the report that causes problems, but how the buyer deals with the information. Some buyers are more alarmist than others. Which brings us to our next point: emotions are at an all-time high during this phase of the process.

The inspection period occurs when buyers’ emotions are at a heightened state. Buyers are initially very exited about their new home. After a few days pass however, additional feelings creep in such as nervousness, anxiety, and sometimes even buyer’s remorse ( did we pay too much, is this really the right house…). These are natural and every buyer feels them, some just handle the emotional aspect better than others.

Buyers can become more emotional and less rational when dealing with items that appear on an inspection report. The sellers in turn become defensive upon seeing a laundry list of petty items. It then becomes a long drawn out process, often worse than the original negotiations.

THE SOLUTION

We communicate to our buyers to offer a price based upon what they see when they walk through the home and what has been disclosed by the seller. If you are aware that there is a cracked window, or a broken screen door, either address it up front or factor it into the price. If you know the roof is 24 years old, factor a new one into the price. Don’t wait until it shows up on the inspection report and then use it as a way to re-negotiate a better price. This is a little disingenuous to the negotiation process.

When it comes to addressing inspection issues, try to focus on health and safety issues or structural defects that were not previously disclosed.

Also, we believe it is best to respond to the seller as quickly as possible. Although the standard contract will typically give you a certain number of days to respond to the seller ( in Ohio it is 3 days ), waiting until the last minute and dragging the process out may do more harm than good. If you really want the sellers to do something, making them wait on pins and needles for three days is not the best way to get their cooperation.

The inspection process has become the most important phase of the buying and selling process. What happens here will often determine whether or not a transaction ends up closing. Remaining calm and focusing on the big picture will often get you through it. That, and of course the help of a good agent.

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About The Authors

The above information is compliments of The Schuman Team, Amy and Dan, of Howard Hanna Real Estate Services.

They can be reached at 216-346-3235 or 216-403-9189 or via email, danschuman@howardhanna.com or amyschuman@howardhanna.com.

The Inspection Process And Why It’s So Stressful is the property of The Schuman Team and may not be duplicated or used without their written consent. ©February,2012

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Keep Emotions In Check When Negotiating On A Home

Written on August 26, 2011 by Dan Schuman in General Advice, home buying, home selling, Uncategorized

Buying and selling a home is emotional. It is a large financial decision involving one of your largest assets and things can get pretty testy if you let it.

In this post, we are going to discuss the emotional aspects of the real estate process and offer a few tips so you can have a successful transaction.

BUYERS AND SELLERS FACE TEMPORARY INSANITY

Anyone who has ever bought or sold a home knows that the process can be an emotional roller coaster, especially when it comes to the toughest part of the process, negotiations.

We tell all of our clients during the initial consultation that the buying and selling process will at some point make them temporarily insane. While this makes them laugh and nod their heads, they get the point.

It is common and natural that emotions will be heightened and intensified during a real estate transaction. Even the most laid back people can be affected.

EMOTIONS EFFECT EVERYONE

There are a lot of people involved in a real estate transaction and they can all feel stress at one point or another. Naturally, you have the buyers and sellers, who definitely feel the bulk of the stress. Then, there are the real estate agents, who certainly will feel your pain. Friends and relatives of the participants often get sucked into all the drama ( sometimes they are the ones that cause a lot of the problems ) that takes place as well.

Even people who claim to be calm and purely business-like can be dragged down by those around them who are emotional. So what can you do about it?

FOCUS ON THE BIG PICTURE

The most important thing is to remain calm and focus on the big picture. Being educated about the steps that occur during a transaction and what to expect during each one can certainly help ease tension and anxiety.

It is also important not to get too wrapped up in the little things. Sometimes people spend too much time trying to fight with each other over petty items that they lose focus on the big picture and what they really want.

THE VALUE OF AN AGENT

Bringing buyers and sellers together has never been more difficult than it is today. Sellers feel like they are giving their homes away and buyers want the deal of a lifetime. It takes a skilled negotiator to bring parties together, especially in a tough market.

Having a great agent by your side may be the most important part of entering into a real estate transaction. This is why consumers should get a feel for an agent’s personality and style before choosing one. Experience is certainly important as well.

Personally, we believe that emotionally detaching ourselves from the transaction helps us to be the calm during the storm. We like to be the voice of reason throughout the entire process. Agents who allow themselves to get too emotional usually end up making things worse.

Buying or selling a home can at times be quite emotional. However, if you are educated, have the right attitude and a great agent by your side, the entire process can be made a whole lot easier.

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About The Author

The above information pertaining to Cleveland Real Estate News was provided by Dan Schuman of The Schuman Team Howard Hanna Real Estate Services. Dan is an Accredited Luxury Home Specialist and can be reached at 216-346-3235 or via email, danschuman@howardhanna.com.

We service the following Cleveland area suburbs: Bainbridge, Bay Village, Beachwood, Bentleyville, Chagrin Falls, Cleveland Heights, Gates Mills, Highland Heights, Hunting Valley, Lakewood, Lyndhurst, Mayfield Heights, Mayfield Village, Moreland Hills, Oakwood Village, Orange, Pepper Pike, Shaker Heights, Solon, South Euclid, University Heights, Westlake, Woodmere.

Keep Emotions In Check When Negotiating On A Home is the property of The Schuman Team and may not be duplicated or used without their written consent. ©August,2011

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