Tuesday, July 20, 2010

Mobile MLS - A new Service for you!

Star One Mobile MLS

Ever drive by a home for sale in Cincinnati and wonder how much it costs, or how many bedrooms it has?  Now you can find out instantly by using my new service, The Star One Mobile MLS.  Simply dial 381-4000 for access to thousands of properties in the Cincinnati area.  You will be asked to provide the street number for the property and then will be provided with a short list of properties to choose from.  All you have to do is listen and you get all the information!

Try it now, just dial 381-4000 and when prompted type in 3333 and select the property on 3333 Chris Wood Drive, (This is a sample property I have entered).  Let me know what you think, and if you would like to use it, just let me know and I'll register you so you can use it without being hassled by agents - sometimes you just need the information on a property and you don't want to have to jump through hoops to get it.


Chris WoodREALTOR®
Mobile:  (513) 382-2474
Email:  Chris@chrisjwood.com
Web:  www.chrisjwood.com
My profiles: LinkedInTwitterFacebookYouTube

Hey, Can my computer find my next house?

Ah, the wonders of technology - How far we have all come.  Today you can search for your home, locate it on a map, get a low aerial photo, even take a tour of the home all without leaving the comfort of your computer screen.  In some instances your tour is 3-dimensional and allows you to alter the furniture, the flooring and the color of the walls!  Pretty Freaky I know.
So, all of this can obviously help you locate a home that you may be interested in, but does it locate the home you want to live in?  Probably not.  It may get you close, but as your real estate professional I would have to tell you to go drive the neighborhood as well as walk through the house!  Until they create a Scratch and Sniff real estate website where you can get a better appreciation for that carpet, perhaps you will still need to walk through the house.

We can also look at some of these auto valuation models that are out there.  You know what I'm talking about - hitting one of those websites where it tells you the approximate value of the home.  You need to be careful here, we all need to be careful here.  First of all, they all pretty much call them "estimates", and they all recommend that this value or number is not a replacement for an appropriate appraisal.  Most of these companies will even tell you that they can be off by as much as 25% in their estimates.  I believe these things can be good guides in consumers determining potential value in a home, but should not be substituted for a real estate agent.  We just have too much access to additional information that is more timely than these "estimators".  For example, our MLS will post a closing and the sales price on a property within a day or two of it closing.  An auditor has many functions and it can take several weeks before it is posted in the public forum, they're just too busy to keep up.

My recommendations for buyers or sellers today - use the internet to find out as much as you can about what is going on in your area.  But confirm your findings with your agent so that you can be confident in the value of that home.  An accurately priced home will sell faster than one trying to go for top dollar - that will be true in any market.  (Sounds obvious, I know, but worth saying). 





Chris WoodREALTOR®
Mobile:  (513) 382-2474
Email:  Chris@chrisjwood.com
Web:  www.chrisjwood.com
My profiles: LinkedInTwitterFacebookYouTube

Thursday, July 1, 2010

In a letter from Vicki Cox Golder, the current National Association of Realtors® We learn some good news coming from congress.




To: All REALTORS®

From: Vicki Cox Golder, 2010 NAR President
Date: July 1, 2010
Re: NAR Update:  Tax Credit Deadline Extended; Flood Insurance Program Reinstated
Dear fellow REALTOR®,
I am happy to report that Congress has passed a bill extending the Homebuyer Tax Credit closing deadline to September 30, 2010.  This is a huge win for REALTORS®and homebuyers, and NAR worked closely with members of Congress to make it happen.

The extension applies only to transactions that had ratified contracts in place as ofApril 30, 2010, and have not yet closed.  There will be no gap between June 30 and the date the President signs the bill into law. 

Additionally, Congress has extended the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) through September 30th.  The bill is retroactive and will cover the lapse period from June 1, 2010, to the date the law is enacted.  NAR will continue to work with Congress on the NFIP Reform bill, and we will keep you posted on those efforts.

For additional information on both the tax credit deadline and the NFIP, visitRealtor.org/Government_Affairs.

Neither of these bills would have passed without your support.  Nearly 83,000 REALTORS
® responded to our latest Call for Action, sending more than 250,000 letters to Congress asking them to extend the National Flood Insurance Program.  I know many of you also raised your voices in support of extending the tax credit deadline.

On behalf of NAR, I thank you, and I ask that you visit the RealtorActionCenter.comand make your voice heard on every issue.

Sincerely,

Cox Golder Signature
Vicki Cox Golder, CRB
2010 NAR President