Seller’s Resources
Little Known Advantages of Blogging Realtors - Santa Barbara and Montecito CA.
Categories: Buyer's Resources, First-time Home Buyers, Real Estate News, Seller's Resources
A few years ago blogging was almost an unknown in the real estate business. Here and there a few Realtors and other real estate professionals were blogging, but not to the extent that is seen today. In the Santa Barbara and Montecito CA areas, there is currently very little blogging done by Realtors.
To me this is very interesting since the use of the Internet continues to expand as THE MAIN TOOL (an often the main starting point) for buyers and sellers to search for homes, gather information about areas, learn real estate tips and meet potential real estate agents.
For most buyers and sellers, I feel that working with a Realtor who blogs and blogs regularly (say 2-3 times per week) gives them many advantages.
Advantages for a buyer or seller of working with a Realtor who Blogs!!!
#1 - You as the consumer get to know the real estate agent and get to establish a rapport with them even before you meet them personally. Through their blogging, a buyer or seller will learn about an agent’s values, their style, their knowledge, their interests etc. Ultimately the consumer can then decide if they are someone they trust to help in achieving their real estate goals. There will be a definite comfort level achieved before you even begin.
#2 - You gain a definite insight into what the Realtor actually knows about their particular role in the real estate market they are in. Are they writing about short sales and foreclosures…if not, then most likely they don’t know much about them. Are they writing about oceanfront property and high-end property…if so, then most likely they do know about this market. No one knows everything about their particular business, but what they do know they tend to write about.
#3 - You will learn if the Realtor is an expert is your neighborhood of interest. If they have never written about Santa Barbara neighborhoods such as The Mesa, San Roque, Downtown, Oceanfront in Montecito, view homes and so on, then most likely they are not comfortable with those areas or markets for whatever reason. A Santa Barbara Realtor that blogs about certain areas demonstrates their knowledge of the area.
#4 - Does the Realtor cite facts and figures to support their points that they are making? Are other posts and websites they refer to in their own posts helpful as well? If this is all done clearly and of help, then the Realtor is taking their time to do their research. A definite criteria that any good Realtor should have.
#5 - The presence that a Realtor has online is extremely important these days with the Internet becoming THE MAIN TOOL in researching real estate. If you are looking for an agent to help you sell your home, make 100% sure that they have a good Internet presence and knowledge of how to market your property online. If you Google them for example, will they show up all over the place or are they hidden on the Web? If they are hidden, then most likely any online presence of your home being sold will also be hidden. If they are everywhere, then most likely your home will have a very good online presence.
#6 - Is their writing clear and precise. If so, then most likely your transaction with them will be smooth with good communication. This is obviously very important during any transaction. Through well thought out good writing you can learn how a Realtor thinks and communicates.
#7 - Lastly, a huge advantage of working with an agent that blogs is that you can learn about their character. Are they ethical and professional? Do they seem to have integrity and your interests at heart? Are they responsible, knowledgeable, likable and do they communicate clearly? You will learn about many advantages that a Realtor can bring to you as a client and into a transaction through their blogging.
As an active Real Estate Agent and Real Estate Blogger here in the Santa Barbara and Montecito CA areas, I feel that I am enabling the consumer with better transparency of information. I believe that the quality of the information is also extremely important. I also believe that by blogging I am more consumer focused and therefore a better Santa Barbara Realtor.
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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5 Ways to Increase the Chances of Selling Your Santa Barbara Home in Today’s Market
Categories: Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources
If you are in a situation where you need to think about selling your Santa Barbara home in today’s market, here are 5 rules I think that could be of help.
1) Be honest with your price. The most common mistake in a down market is to set your price based on yesterday’s market. Generally the first batch of buyers you get in the first 10 days will tend to pay the best price. If you don’t attract any of them, you are potentially in for a long haul with a slower market. If there is a lot of inventory in your area then you need to create a buzz. If you end up not getting an offer in the first 2-3 weeks and you feel that it is because of price, do a large price reduction instead of setting out on a path of baby steps in price reductions.
2) Use a qualified realtor. Doing things on your own such as a FSBO is very hard in a slower market. You will have to work a lot harder than you can imagine to market your home these days. Also, hire a Realtor with some experience and not someone who just got into the business. You should use an agent with a track record in a slower market.
3) Stage your home to sell. Get rid of clutter, pictures of grandparents and your latest trip to the sea and sand. Create glam and a focal point in each room. Paint your home with a fresh coat and choose neutral colors as well as spacious colors.
4) Offer incentives for the buyer. We know about all the issues with financing these days. There are also plenty of horror stories for well qualified people. Make your home more affordable for a first-time buyer with offering to pay all closing costs for example. A $3,000 hit at close of escrow looks a lot nicer than no one knocking on the door and then having to contemplate a $35,000 price reduction.
5) If you are under water on your mortgage, look for options. If a family issue or a job is compelling you to move, you don’t have a ton of options. If it is a job for example, then ask your new employer to help with your loan and sale. Another option is to become a landlord. Our rental market in Santa Barbara is strong and maybe the best option is to wait out the slump as a landlord.
Further Reading: Do Open Houses Work in the Santa Barbara and Montecito Areas, 5 Crucial Tips to Have Your Santa Barbara Home Ready for Sale in a Slow Market
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Is My Realtor a Santa Barbara Neighborhood Specialist in My Area?
Categories: Buyer's Resources, First-time Home Buyers, Seller's Resources
Sometimes buyers and sellers will hire a real estate agent who works outside of an area because of friendship or thinking they could save money since this Realtor will give them a “kick-back” on their commission. From my experience, working with an agent who does not have intimate knowledge of the neighborhood you are looking to buy or sell in can hurt you in many ways…financially speaking. Therefore, if you choose to want to work with someone you know who does not know your area well, have them team up with a Realtor who does know the area.
Here is a sample list of some crucial information that a Santa Barbara neighborhood specialist will undoubtedly know, whereas an out-of-area real estate agent most likely will not:
- The history of the neighborhood and the homes, who lived where, when etc.
- Which homes were previously sold outside of the MLS, FSBO etc.
- What makes certain homes on a street worth more than the other homes
- Which streets in each neighborhood are considered more desirable than others
- Neighborhood nuisances such as loud pets, traffic etc. and their influence on value
- How to accurately price certain homes to determine specific values
- Which agents tend to take listings at market and who takes overpriced listings and for what reasons
- Listing agent’s individual reputations and how to negotiate and work with these agents
- Pending legislation, assessments or neighborhood changes and regulations
- How to potentially get inside information out of a listing agent because they know how a certain agent works
- New inventory that is not yet on the market but will be coming…or sellers that would sell if an offer was brought to them
Further Reading: The 2 Major Steps in Buying a Home in Santa Barbara CA
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Do Open Houses Work in the Santa Barbara and Montecito Areas?
Categories: Seller's Resources
As a real estate agent here in the Santa Barbara and Montecito area, it is almost impossible to sell a home unless you get people in to first see the home. With this said, one of the main first questions a Realtor is asked upon listing a home for sale is…how will their property be shown.
That begs the question: Are open houses a big selling tool?
Answer: No/Not really/ Barely/It can be…
Most likely you will get some version of this answer from a seasoned real estate agent. The problem for many agents is that the majority of home sellers in the Santa Barbara area view open houses as a right. If an agent is unwilling to hold their home open for 2-4 hours on a nice sunny weekend afternoon, week after week, waiting for prospects to come rolling through the door with an offer in hand, they feel cheated.
But do open houses work for the seller. Here is what Realtors know and sellers should know about open houses if they don’t already:
1) According to the NAR’s latest profile of buyers and sellers, “only 7% of all buyers visited open houses as a first step in their safari for a new house. Most people start their hunt on the Internet.” Additionally, most all buyers use a Realtor and based on the client’s needs, they will view properties on their own schedule with their agent.
2) Open houses do work, but not necessarily for the seller’s home. Instead, open houses are mainly held open by agents as a form of branding, farming and/or to attract potential new clients in the form of buyers for other homes or possible sellers of other homes.
3) For the most part, most agents would prefer not to hold open houses except for the first few weeks of a new listing. Anything beyond this feels excessive for most agents.
For most agents, an open house is needed and should be done for the first 2-4 weeks. More important is the weekly scheduled “caravans” during the week that allows other agents to preview the home. This is key in getting initial exposure for the home. Then, if your home fits a need of a client of one of the agents, the agent can bring their client back for a much preferred private showing.
If your home is still not selling after several weeks, it is most likely a combination of some of the following factors:
1) The many different skills that your agent does or does not have for selling your home
2) Price
3) Price point…fewer buyers for more expensive homes
3) The overall market and knowledge of the market
4) The ability to show the home when needed
5) Location of home etc.
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Are Short Sales a Good Path to Santa Barbara Real Estate Ownership?
Categories: Buyer's Resources, Carpinteria, Goleta, Seller's Resources
At the beginning of 2008, I wrote a few articles about short sales and foreclosures in our local areas here in Santa Barbara, Goleta and Carpinteria. At that point, we had only seen a handful of foreclosures in our areas and most of these were in the entry level condo market from the $300,000 to $650,000 price point as well as track homes from the $590,000 to $800,000 price point. Short sales were also just starting to creep up in our local areas within the same market and price points.
Now in the last several weeks, we have started to see a definite increase in short sales with many sellers looking at short sales as a great opportunity to attempt to sell their home and many buyers looking at short sales as a great opportunity to get into the market here in the Santa Barbara area.
Here is the Catch: Not all short sales are actually going to be sold…in fact most won’t from what we are seeing. Ruth Simon and James Hagerty have written a very informative article in the Wall Street Journal talking about this fact.
I myself have now represented both buyers and sellers with short sales here in that last few months and here is what I can recommend:
1) You have to be patient. Start to finish can take 3-4 months or more and offer many headaches.
2) Look at what the seller currently owes on the property. If they currently owe a lot more than the asking price (for example $650,000 and they are trying to sell if for $550,000 and you write an offer for $500,000), most likely the investor that buys up the loan from the lender will not accept your offer.
3) There is a definite difference if the seller has only a 1st or a 1st and a 2nd on the property or has refinanced the property or owns the property as a second home / investment.
4) If you are currently an active buyer, continue to look at properties for sale and don’t just count on the one property that you have an offer in on if it is a short sale. You don’t want to pass up 6-10 weeks of properties coming on the market to then learn that your offer is not going to be accepted.
If you have any questions…I would be happy to talk and share what I know.
Further Reading: Any Great Short Sale Opportunites in Santa Barbara and Goleta CA?
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
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Search the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta CA MLS for Free
Categories: Buyer's Resources, Goleta, Montecito, Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources
Searching the Santa Barbara, Montecito and Goleta area MLS is now easy and free. 
More and more buyers and sellers are wanting to start there search for real estate on the Internet, in the own comfort and privacy of their homes. If you are looking for the MLS here in Santa Barbara, Montecito, Goleta CA and surrounding areas, you have found the right place.
SantaBarbaraRealEstateVoice provides you with all the tools you need to start your information gathering about real estate in our area for free, with no obligations or sign-ups. You can search via any of the single criteria below as well as any combination of criteria:
- price
- cities as well as neighborhoods
- style of housing (condo / single family etc.)
- beds and baths
- schools
- zip codes
If you see any homes of interest, you can request information about the particular listing(s). After searching on your own, if you would like to then be personally set up to receive listings as soon as they are listed in the MLS that meet only your specific needs, contact me as well or sign up.
Further Reading: Search the Santa Barbara MLS and More
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to contact me or comment below with any thoughts.
Subscribe to Receive Personal Listings of Santa Barbara Area Properties
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Search The Santa Barbara Area MLS…and More!!
Categories: Buyer's Resources, Real Estate News, Santa Barbara, Seller's Resources
Question- What has been the biggest change in Real Estate in the last few years (outside of the sub-prime fallout)?
Answer - The amount of real estate information that buyers and sellers can gather on their own by going online.
A few years ago, the standard features for a Realtor were to simply have a static website with contact info, some pictures of a few properties, offerings of a CMA and some links to various “resources”. Buyers had to start the early process of their search by contacting a Realtor and asking a bunch of questions…Today, buyers and sellers want to be equipped with more tools for themselves so that they can be more informed when they do contact a Realtor.
Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice is an online resource to provide you with the following tools to gather information about real estate in Santa Barbara CA, Montecito CA and the surrounding areas:
1) Search the Santa Barbara Area MLS
2) You can sign up to receive Santa Barbara Area Listings with detailed information, pictures, maps etc. The listings will be sent to your personal email address and will meet only your specific needs and criteria
3) You can sign up for RSS feeds which provide you with updated information and articles that are written about the Santa Barbara area with such topics as market statistics, market updates, neighborhood info, schools, events, things to do etc.
4) You can read about market statistics, market updates, neighborhood information and schools
5) You can read about buyer’s and seller’s resources
6) You can read about dining, shopping, community events, things to do
7) You can read about architecture, green living and more
Kevin Schmidtchen - Thank you for reading. I hope you find Santa Barbara Real Estate Voice informative. Please feel free to comment below with any thoughts.
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