Hi Everyone:

It's the start of the spring market in 2010 and home-owners are well advised to begin looking at 'listing' their home. Buyers are looking, and there are NOT a lot of homes on the market right now.

For example, in the Meadowood area of St Vital, which has 1784 houses, there are currently only 2 homes for sale. Which is why, RIGHT NOW is an excellent time to put your home on the market.

Here are a few of the most common questions home-owners have, and answers to them:

Q: What kind of questions should we ask a prospective Listing Agent?

A: Here is a guide to some of the important points to ask a Listing Agent. Please see the video in this post.

Q: How do we create a ‘bidding war’ for our house or condo?

A: There are several ingredients to creating a bidding war, including: Setting a realistic Asking Price, generating lots of Buyer Interest and also the status of the current market. For a video explanation, see this post.

Q: If we receive a full-price offer on our home, are we obligated to accept it?

A: No. If you were a store-owner, advertising a quart of milk for $1.00, you WOULD be obligated to sell at that price (or issue rainchecks), however home-owners are exempt from the laws that govern this issue. However, while no one can force a home-owner to sell at an advertised price, the question remains: “If he/she was not going to accept $220,000 for the home, WHY did we LIST it at that price?” For more indepth explanation, please watch the video in this post.

Q: We’ve just received a letter from a Real Estate agent claiming that he has “several buyers for our house”. What should we do?

A: Call me direct, at 333-2202, anytime. By listing your home with me, we will find ALL the agents who have buyers for your home, thereby assuring you complete exposure and the best possible chance at getting multiple offers. For a further explanation, please check out the video in this post.

Q: What about these Free Over-the-Internet Home Evaluations? How do they work?

A: In this fast market, where the values of homes change on a weekly basis, you need to know precisely what your home is worth. The ONLY way this can be established is by having an agent come into your home. These “over-the-net” evaluations are a hook to get the home-owners to call these companies, which then sell your information back to a REALTOR® who ends up having to come to your house anyway. For a personal market evaluation, call me anytime. For more info, watch the video in this post.

Q: Since this market is so hot, can’t I sell my home by myself?

A: In many cases you CAN sell your own home. It’s not secret that there are many buyers looking at houses, so simply by placing a “For Sale” sign on your property, you may indeed have strangers come to your door or call you up, showing interest in your home. But here is the key: In a HOT market, there may be MANY people interested in your home. Private Sales have, traditionally, made up between 5% and 10% of the entire market…. always have, and probably always will. Since you are looking for the BEST BUYER for your home, what are the chances that this elusive person is in that 5-10% portion of the market? Add to this the fact that the most serious Buyers are working with Real Estate Agents, and you quickly come to the realization that by trying to sell privately, the home-owner is missing out on a huge, and very important part of the market.

Q: Is there a difference between REALTORS®? I mean, they all provide the same service, don’t they?

A: We are all called REALTORS®, we all place homes on the M.L.S.®, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. Just as no 2 lawyers are the same, no 2 doctors are the same, so we can quickly see the differences between Real Estate professionals. I always say: You hire a REALTOR® for one reason: To do the marketing and advertising for your home, and this is where a huge difference becomes apparent. To see my marketing plan, click on the video at the top right side of this page, I think it tells the whole story.

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I update this Blog on a regular basis, adding new listings, market updates, news and interesting (well, at least I think they’re interesting) pieces of information. You can make sure that you receive the posts by two ways: Subscribe to the RSS (check the toolbar along the bottom of the screen) or fill in this form and you’ll get the latest blog posts via e-mail, once a week.

Bo Kauffmann of Remax Performance Realty is the recipient of the 2009 Silver Medallion Award from Winnipeg REALTORS®, the Platinum Club Award from Remax, and is one of Winnipeg's top-producing Real Estate Agents.  Check out his website at WinnipegHomeFinder, follow him on Twitter or email him at boknowshomes@gmail.com

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