A Year in Review…

 

Since beginning my real estate career in May of this year, I have had the privilege of experiencing many different aspects of the business and I have to say…I love it!  I just wanted to share with you some of the things that I’ve been blessed with doing this year:

· I have attended countless training courses in subjects such as ethics, buyer/seller representation, real estate investing, commercial transactions, foreclosures and many other topics in order to get up to speed with my peers within the industry. 

· I have shown over 150 homes to clients throughout Bucks County, Montgomery County, Philadelphia County, Chester County and Delaware County resulting in successful sales and satisfied customers.

· I have connected out of state clients with trustworthy, local real estate professionals in South Carolina and Delaware that have resulted in closed transactions and satisfied customers.

I am hoping that with a can-do attitude and strong work ethic my business will continue to grow in 2009 in the face of a challenging market. 

I would like to personally thank those of you who have supported my transition from the US Marine Corps into real estate this year.  I continue to find this career an exciting challenge and am optimistically looking forward to serving you in 2009!

 Happy Holidays to you all and many blessings in the New Year!

Top Ten Real Estate Brokers in Bucks County

I was told once that the two most stressful things in life are buying a house and selling your house.  Now, of course, I can think of quite a few more things that might be just as stressful but this individual’s point is well spoken.  Buying or selling a home can be quite stressful because so many times it is one of the biggest financial decisions a person will be making.  So how does one combat this?  Well, I would suggest starting by working with a reputable real estate  broker.  A quick search for real estate brokers on the Yellow Pages website for zip code 19067 gave me a whopping 497 search results!  Holy cow!  With so many options how are you possibly going to find a reputable broker?  That, of course, is ultimately up to you…but to make things easier I have posted the top ten brokers doing the most business in Bucks County below to help you in your search.

*The above statistics are taken directly from Trend MLS.  Trend MLS is the database that is used by every residential real estate proffesional within the region to buy and sell real estate.

What is a REALTOR® and why should you use one?

Often times misunderstood, I would like to take a second and write about Realtors®, what it is they do and why you should use one.

A real estate agent is a Realtor when he or she is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and subscribes to its strict Code of Ethics.  Realtors are real estate professionals that guide their clients through the process of buying and selling real estate.  They are not paid by the hour.  They are not paid every time they take a client out to view houses.  They are 1099 contractors who are paid a commission at settlement.  Commissions are typically 3% of the price of the transaction at settlement.  Once Realtors are paid their commission, they typically have to give a portion of this percent back to their respective broker such as Prudential, Keller Williams, Coldwell Banker, etc.  For newer agents, this can be as much as 50% of their commission.  Let’s not forget taxes as well.

Realtors can represent buyers, sellers and renters.  If you hire a Realtor, you need to make sure you ask him or her to go over the Consumer Notice with you.  This notice defines the relationship that Realtor will have with you and it is absolutely important that you understand this relationship when buying or selling a house.  The consumer notice also outlines what you can expect from your Realtor during the buying or selling process.  It would behoove you to get familiar with this document.

Here is a copy Consumer Notice

So why should you use a Realtor?  You should use one because if you are buying or selling a home, it is probably going to be one of the biggest financial decisions of your life.  Why wouldn’t you want to use an expert?