75 % Buyer Rebate in cash at closing!

With over 2 million people licensed as real estate agents in the United States it is almost a certainty that you have a realtor friend that can help you buy and sell. Are your friends willing to give you back 75% of their commission in cash at the time of closing?
At www.homekeys.net, we do.

Lease Option may be the way for many home buyers

Often the biggest obstacle to becoming a homeowner is coming up with enough cash for a down payment. One way for cash-strapped home buyers to realize their dream is to lease a home with an option to buy.
Here's how a lease option works. The buyer (called an optionee) leases the property from the seller (called an optionor) for a period of time. The lease contract gives the optionee the right to buy the property at the end of the lease period, or earlier by mutual agreement, at a price agreed upon in the contract.
The optionee pays a sum, called option money, to the seller at the onset of the lease. This money is applied to the purchase price if the option is exercised. The option money is forfeited to the seller if the optionee doesn't go through with the purchase.
Like any contract, the terms of a lease option are negotiable: the length of the lease, the amount of the option money, the purchase price and the rent. Sometimes, a seller will agree to credit a portion of the rent toward the purchase, providing an additional incentive for the buyer to go through with the purchase.
Even though the amount of the option money is negotiable, it's usually less than the down payment amount required to purchase an equivalent property. So, for relatively little upfront cash, a lease option allows the buyer to tie up a property at today's prices, and live in it before deciding to buy it. During the lease period, the seller cannot sell the property to another buyer.
And remember, http://www.homekeys.net/ buyers receive a cash rebate of up to 75% of our commission at closing. This can be the difference. Visit http://www.homekeys.net/ for details.

Selling Direct by Owner is Increasing in Popularity

Trying to differentiate one real estate company from another, could be a difficult task. They all seem to offer the same products, for a similar price. Web based companies are starting to break the mold. Perfect examples of it can be found at Homekeys. Their theory is to offer maximum exposure and complete service; all these for a low set fee. And this seems to be the trend that real estate is moving to. Sellers are realizing that paying 6% commission is too high for the amount of actual work that is put on a listing. Companies like Homekeys have recognized that issue and are aggressively marketing their “for sale direct” program. This means you get all the benefits of a realtor, plus all the exposure of a web based company for a ¼ of the realtor’s fee.
At the end of the day, what really matters is that your property is price properly and that it receives maximum exposure. And in today's environment you do not have to pay 6 plus % to sell your property.

Technology must reduce real estate transaction costs

We don’t believe it is enough to use technology simply to generate traffic for real estate and mortgage professionals and perpetuate the role of the traditional intermediaries. This provides consumers with access to better information for decision making purposes but total transaction costs basically remain the same. It does nothing to change the agent centricity of the current real estate business model. The real estate professional remains in control of what for most people are the two most important financial decisions in their lifetime. The only thing that changes is who enjoys the lead generation revenues.

At Homekeys we develop and use technology to transform the way real estate has been transacted during the last 50 years. Homekeys redistributes the “value chain revenues” and allows consumers to significantly reduce transaction costs. They are provided with the information, tools and resources necessary to control the transaction and save significant money. The more the consumers choose to do, the more they save.

We believe that to truly be customer-centric in today’s real estate market, consumer empowerment should extend well beyond access to property value estimates, comps and county data, it means enabling consumers that take on a more active role to translate that labor into savings. The more significant the role, the more the reciprocal savings.

What do you think?

Would you foreclose? Refinace? Reverse Mortgage?

Several of our clients have asked us to provide a link to this past Sunday's 60 Minutes.
As you probably know, "60 Minutes" on Sunday produced a 15-minute segment on the housing downturn and foreclosure crisis. You can view the video segment here ("House of Cards").
In the segment (The Valdez family) -- about halfway through -- looks at the prospects of paying a higher mortgage payment on a house no longer worth the amount of the loan. The homeowners, who face a substantial monthly payment spike, consider whether it's better for them to walk away at this point. Would you foreclose? Is reverse mortage an option? Other options?
What would you do? Why?
http://www.cbsnews.com/sections/i_video/main500251.shtml?id=3756665n&channel=/sections/60minutes/videoplayer3415.shtml

Too many homes for sale, large # of buyers, few deals !

It's an irony of the current market that with all the homes offered for sale, many serious buyers can't find a home to buy. There are often certain types of homes, in certain areas, that just aren't on the market. These are usually prime properties in excellent condition that have broad-based appeal. When these listings come on the market, they are usually snapped up quickly, despite the otherwise slow housing market.

Many buyers are sitting on the fence at this point, watching the market and waiting for a better time to buy. It's impossible to time the housing market, so you won't know precisely when the market will next correct until that correction has already occurred. A market correction can be verified only through hindsight.

Although most buyers feel more comfortable buying in a hot market -- even though it may mean paying more -- there are some buyers who see a slow market as a good buying opportunity.

If you are one of these buyers and you're having difficulty finding a home to buy, we offer the following tips:


1.Get to know the inventory of homes available in your target area. Some of these listings will never work for you, either because they aren't large enough or because they have defects you might not be able to live with, like a lot of stairs to the front door. You can drop these listings from your radar.

2.Don't assume there's something wrong with the house if it's back on the market, or if it has been unsold and on the market for a long time. In a changing market, it's often difficult to select a list price that will bring about a speedy sale. Keep an open mind about listings that have had price reductions. These could have been mispriced to begin with. If the sellers are motivated, they will reduce the price until it is in line with the market.

Take a look at Homekeys Neighborhood Analysis Tool and let us know what you think. We want to make this tool as comprehensive as possible. Does it help you? What would you like to see?

Obviously, this is not an appraissal but simply an indication of value based on a number of assumptions.

It is worth it to fix your home for sale

Sellers who anticipate losing money if they sell their home may wonder why they should spend a dime fixing the place up for sale. Isn't this throwing good money after bad? Even sellers with plenty of equity in their homes often figure the way to get the most out of the sale is to cut sale costs to a minimum.
This attitude is directly contrary to the notion that the way to make the most money on the sale of a home is by pricing the property appropriately for the market, and by making cost-effective improvements that will result in a higher sale price in a shorter time.
Job applicants don't show up for an important interview in tattered old clothes if they want to make a good impression, particularly if there were plenty of other qualified applicants. Likewise, if you wanted to get top dollar from the sale of a car you would have the car detailed so that it looked its best. The same principal applies to selling single-family homes.
Today, the housing market have plenty of homes for sale and far too few buyers. For years, buyers competed with one another in order to buy a house. Now, in general, sellers are being forced to compete with other sellers in order to get their home sold.
Consider the competitive nature of the market when deciding if you're going to improve your home before selling it, and how much you'll invest. Keep in mind that the point of fixing up a home to sell is to maximize your return from the sale. Don't waste money on improvements that have little or no value to buyers.
Ask your real estate agent to walk through your home with you for the purpose of determining what fix-up projects you should ideally complete before marketing the property. For example, you might be inclined to replace worn-out carpet. Your agent, however, might advise otherwise, a buyer looking for an older home, prefer hardwood floors, your agent may recommend refinishing the hardwood floor that is hidden underneath the carpet instead of changing the carpet.
The best houses in the best condition and offered for the best price usually sell quickly. A fast sale is important to some sellers in this market. The sooner your home is sold, the sooner you stop paying mortgage payments, property taxes and various maintenance costs.