Cut the commission off the top and sell FSBO!!!

WOW!!! I actually had this conversation today, with a professional man none the less. He actually said to me, "ah, if I sell I'll just do for sale by owner and cut the 6% commission of my asking price." HUH?? WH?? HOW??? ,...... huh??? Now in what universe does this make sense? (if you know please immediately dial 228 238 7138 and explain.) I was, excuse the slag here, bamboozled. (serious head scratching going on, slight brain overload) So I asked him a simple question. What would be the advantage of not hiring a Realtor then? He says, "well, I think you guys make too much money." Okay. My next question. What is your marketing plan? How would you advertise your house? "You know, probably throw a FSBO sign in the front yard, maybe run an ad in the paper." I then proceeded to explain to him how home buyers love to use Realtors, you know, because they don't actually have to pay the Realtor, the seller does. And most people have enough common sense to realize they don't know as much about real estate as they need to know in order to make an informed decision on a home purchase. Therefore, about 90% (a # I pulled out of thin air, I have no proof to back that) of buyers are working with Realtors. So by cutting your asking price in order to "cut-out" the Realtor fees, you really cut out a LARGE number of potential buyers. He then continued to try to validate his position on why he was right and I was wrong. Some battles just aren't worth fighting. So I left him with my card and told him to call me when he needs help selling his home.

This guy just didn't get it. Do you? If not, call me. Let's talk about why a Realtor is important.

Pimp the government, use Section 8 to make YOU money!!

What's that you say? You don't believe you can? I say hogwash!! I do it every month and it works GRRRRRREATTTTT!!!! But everyone said, "avoid these people like the plague!!" But I know what you're thinking, my uncle Jim said "these people will destroy your house and break your wallet." He said " avoid them like the real estate plague, don't do it!!" You probably respond with "yea, you're right. I just need to do something different." And let's face it, he is the real estate expert, I mean, shoot, he owns 8-10..... wait.... no, he doesn't own any real estate investment homes does he? Instead of acting on your "bad" idea, you do nothing, go home, eat dinner and go to bed, wake up tomorrow and go to the same old job you hated yesterday. All because the real estate expert Uncle Jim said not to take a risk. I mean, let's be honest, he know's what he's talking about doesn't he; he's 68 and in 10 yrs, if everything goes according to his paln, he can retire. So ask yourself this; why are you listening to "the expert?"

Do you know?

Now of course Section 8 is nothing but low life people who do nothing but mess up everything, especially real estate, right? Wrong!!! Just like any other tenants in the world, some are good, some are bad. You just have to screen them properly. I have a tenant right now that I wouldn't trade for any other tenant out there. She keeps the house clean, takes care of the place, and pays me (her portion) on time every month. I'll take two more of her if I can find them.

So how do we make money fly out of the governments posterior orfice and into your bank account? It's SO easy. The first step is buying a real estate investment property. Now don't think you can go buy a $300k home and think you can rent it out for $6500 a month and make mad money. Sorry, real estate isn't quit that good, not when you're dealing with single family homes anyway. But what can you expect?

Section 8 bases their numbers off of fair market rent values in the area. So in Pascagoula its around $900-950 mth; Gautier $1050-1100; Ocean Springs $1100-1200. If you buy a real estate investment at a good price, you can put a little change in your pocket every month. The best thing is it's gauranteed money!!

If you want to know more, feel free to contact me.

Biloxi and Ocean Springs Real Estate.

Ok Biloxi, pull up a chair. You too Ocean Springs, grab a chair. Let's talk about everyone's favorite subject, MONEY!! Sit back and relax while I serve you up a nice dinner of "it's ok" when it comes to Biloxi and Ocean Springs real estate. Will finish the night with a delicious side of overall market analysis. How has Katrina affected housing prices? How much are houses in demand now? Has the market cooled off? What about the "real estate bubble" that has busted? It's all over the news. Shouldn't I be worried? These are a few of the questions we will address now.

It's true that in many areas of the country the housing market has slowed dramatically. Why is this? Well, it's because the value of real estate in these areas has been increasing too fast, drastically exceeding inflation rates. But in Biloxi and Ocean Springs this just it isn't so. Our housing market isn't drastically over inflated. So what does this mean for you? It means so can breathe a breath of fresh air. It's safe to buy a home here, you don't have to worry about the real estate bubble everyone is panicking over, you're not in an over inflated market. The only time we were even close was right after Katrina, when housing was so limited and those with money were willing to pay just about anything for a house. Now supply is good, prices are fair, and homes are selling. In February, there were around 70 or so homes sold in Biloxi and Ocean Springs alone.

Now the not so good news. Has the market cooled off a little? Sure it has. Why? Well it's a couple things. First, Katrina was a factor. Right after Katrina, if you wanted a house, you better have be in your car on the way to a house the minute it hit the market; believe me, if you weren't 12 other people were. Houses were moving like crack on the corner of "Tanked Ave" and "Stone Cr." The markets cooled a bit since then. A good, fair priced home, usually will sell within 60-90 days. The next factor is the time of year. Two things happened to real estate simultaneously here in Biloxi and Ocean Springs. The first was the cooling from Katrina. The second was the same thing that happens every year, Fall and Winter. It's just a fact of life that around these times the market cools. For one, who likes to shop when it's cold and gloomy outside? I don't. Unless of course Sergeant Real Estate is your agent and you like the cold. Another thing is school? I know what you're thinking, how does school affect home sales? It all really makes perfect sense. Who is the biggest buyer of homes? Families right? And what do families usually have? Kids! And where do kids go from Fall to Spring? School. So therefore a lot of families don't like to move during these times because it affects the kids.

In short, don't be worried about buying a house here. It's ok!

Blog Done. Carry On!!

What is real estate? Real property? Personal property?

So what is Real Estate? That's a fair question to ask. Well, real estate really is the piece of land you own and everything that is physically connected to it, whether natural or artificial. I think we all kinda knew that. But did you know that it doesn't just stop there? To be specific there are 4 types of rights that can be bought, sold, leased or transferred; Surface, Air, Subsurface, and Water. When you buy a piece of real estate you own the land below, known as subsurface (mineral) rights, the air above your real estate, known as air rights, and some of the water touching your property. But sometimes you may not own these, it really depends on what the deed to your house says. Some of the reasons maybe things like; BP owns the rights to the oil under your home. And believe me, if you're thinking you can just go tell planes to stop flying over your house at 30,000 ft because you don't like the little cloud it leaves behind, think again. The government beat you to it, they say if it doesn't interfere with your bundle of legal rights (which we will discuss in a second) then it's ok for them to use the air space.

So what is real property? Well it's anything physically attached to the land? I know what you're thinking, isn't that real estate? Ah ha my fine man, you're quick. Yes often times the two words are used interchangeably. But let's be a little more specific on this one. Real property is all the things physically attached to your real estate plus your bundle of legal rights. Then naturally the next question is, what is this bundle of legal rights? Let's take a look.

1) Right of Possession- pretty much you own the property and are allowed to occupy it.

2) Right to Control the property in any manner you see fit, as long as you don't break laws. You can pretty much do anything you want to your house as long as you don't break laws; like you can't turn it into an ice cream parlor because that breaks zoning laws.

3) Right of Enjoyment- use the property in any manner which is still legal. No you can't turn your new home into this years biggest crystal meth lab. Sorry!!

4) Right of Exclusion- this means if you don't like me, you have the right to tell me to stay of your land. But you can't go shooting at me just because I knocked on your door.

5) Right of Disposition- basically this means you have the right to dispose of the property in anyway you see fit. You can sell it, will it, sell some of the rights, etc.

Okay, now let's look at some example of real property. The most obvious of these is the home itself. If you have a shed in the back, it's real property. The cabinets you put in last year, that's real property cuz it's physically attached to the home. That seems like a no brainer too, but believe me, people have tried to take their cherry oak cabinets with them. You laugh, it's true. Remember that antic crystal chandelier you got from your late grandma, you know the one hanging in the foyer, that's real property too now. So whats not real property? That fridge of yours that slides out easily, it's not real property because it's easily removable. The trees in the backyard, real estate. You're TV, not real estate, you kinda get the picture now?

So what's personal property? How does it differ from real property? It's anything that would transfer with you if you left the house. Your car, your bed, your food, anything that isn't physically attached. Remember that chandelier, the one that was real property. What happens to it if you take the down? Now it becomes personal property, pretty cool huh? What about that 100 acres of trees in the back yard. They were real property. What happens when you cut them down? Now they are personal property and you can do anything with them you want. In the real estate world we call this severance.

Let's look at the flip side. Let's imagine you've decided to put down a drive way in your yard. So first you go down to the local home supply store and buy cement to put down the drive way. By the way, as a side note, why do we park on a drive way and drive on a park way? I just don't get it. Anyway, I digress. Now I think we can all agree now that the cement is personal property but guess what it becomes when you lay the drive way down? That's right, real property. In real estate we call this annexation.

Well this concludes today's lesson.

Blog done. Carry on!!

The Marine Guide to Home Selling

Alright, listen up maggots!! Cuz I’m only gonna say this once. You say you want my advice on selling your Biloxi or Ocean Springs home? You think you’re ready for it? We’ll see. Carry on to your Real Estate selling boot camp.

You have questions? Oh, you think you’re entitled to them? You want answers? Of course not, you want the truth. YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!! Son (or daughter for those PC people) were live in a market where there are many homes! And those homes have to be sold by people with knowledge. Who’s going to sell them? You! You Mr. FSBO? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep cuz you want to save the commission and you curse the Realtors. You have that luxury. You also have the unfortunate “luxury” of not knowing what I know. Paying a commission, while tragic, probably will save you money. Using a realtor, while grotesque to you, probably saves you money! You don’t want the truth, because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want to use a Realtor, you need to use a Realtor! We use words like code, fiduciary responsibilities, and ethics. We use these words as the backbone of our lives spent learning our trade. You use them as punch lines! I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain my craft to a person (PC) who tries to save a dollar by trying to learn my craft and then complains about the manner in which I explain it. I would rather you just left a comment, said thank you for the advice and went about your way. Either way, I don’t give a darn what you think you’re entitled to. (A Few Good Men parody in case your were unsure)

While that little bit was amusing I’m sure you are seeking some true content. So hear goes. The Marine Guide to Home Selling for Biloxi and Ocean Springs Real Estate.

1) Press out your uniform- What’s the most memorable moment of any meeting? It’s the first impression. When a home buyer drives up to your nice piece of Biloxi real estate it should present an overall neat appearance. The house should be clean on the outside, if you’re house is white with hints of green, chances are those green accents aren’t a fashion statement. PRESSURE WASH YOUR HOUSE!!


2) A Fresh Hair Cut- I’ve never heard anyone, a home buyer or just personal friend, say, “you know David, I just love an overgrown yard.” Signs that it may be time to cut your grass or trim your hedges are things such as: while standing at the front door you can not accurately locate your mailbox; if you walk across your yard and the grass tickles your elbows; if it rains and your ground doesn’t get wet, these are all signs that it may be time to give the yard some TLC. Don’t forget to edge around those ears (sidewalks) also.

3) A clean shave- Take down the thirteen clocks you have on your kitchen wall. You may find it to be quite the display, others see it as an eyesore they can’t seem to look paste. And besides, are you so bad with telling time that you need 13 different birds to tell you the time every 15 minutes. Try to take you out of the house so the potential buyer can imagine themselves in the home. I know you love all the pictures of the yearly families escapades, but you want to allow the buyer to visualize they will be hanging their own memories on the walls. Not wondering what you did on your vacation. Not to say everyone will mind, but remember, we are trying to appeal to the masses.

4) Shine your boots- Let’s take a walk down the sidewalk of imagination. A business man walks up to you; he’s wearing a $1500 dollar Versace suit, I mean crisp, clean, press out, smelling good, everything. Can you picture this guy? Yea, that’s right, he’s the smooth character and all the ladies want him. That’s what you’re thinking. Then you look at his shoes and he’s got on some beat up old Nike’s. Now what are you thinking? You’re mind went straight to, what the heck is up with this guy? You just forgot about the rest of the package didn’t you? Same thing happens when a buyer walks into your house. You had them up until they saw your beat up carpet. By the way, is there even a vacuum cleaner in the same zip code as this rug? WOW!! And no, busted or broken hard wood floors doesn’t give anyone a nostalgia feeling.

5) Proper hygiene- Nothing at all is worse than talking to the guy at the office that drinks coffee all day and smokes like a chimney. You know who I’m talking about? Every office has one and he’s usually the guy that always likes to get really close so he can whisper some secret message to you. If you don’t know who this guy is ask yourself these questions? Do I smoke? Do I drink coffee? Am I that guy? If you answered yes to the first two, then the 3rd question is a yes also. Sorry man. Grab a tic tac, it’ll be fine. Anyway, let’s relate this to homes. Odors kill offers!! If it stinks like a pig, I’m sure you can fill in the rest. Make it smell good. And for my last tip today.


6) IF you’re 6’4 you don’t wear a small- In no way is a California King Size Bed ever appropriate for a 10 x 10 bedroom. On no planet, no market, no time!! Decorate and accommodate your rooms with an arrangement of furniture that makes it appear open and spacious. We’ll leave that at that.

So you wanted the truth? Well there you have it.

Blog Done. Carry On!!

Biloxi and Ocean Springs MS "For Sale By Owner" Tips.

"I just don't understand why my home won't sell!!" were the words cried out by this home owner. I say "is there a home somewhere in that yard?? Hello!!" Did you ever think to trim your bushes and possibly cut your grass? Now I know I'm a Staff Sergeant in the military but today and today only I will play the part of a Captain. Please call me Captain Obvious? Now I recently wrote an article on how to market your home. But how do you get people to submit an offer once they do make it your house? Read on!!

TIP #1- Clean your yard. Trim the hedges, cut the grass, make a flower garden around the front of the house. Basically look at what this guy did, and then do the total opposite!! Natural is so 70's. Now in the Real Estate business we have a fancy term which only those in the business know about, but I'm gonna tell you. Come closer, I don't want anyone else to hear me because I could be drawn and quartered. It's called CURB APPEAL FOLKS!! How can you get people to buy your house if they don't even want to step foot inside it? Believe me, there are FAR too many nice homes with well trimmed yards in Biloxi and Ocean Springs. Now Capt. Obvious doesn't want to discourage you, but if your home looks like the home in the picture you may want to wear bullet proof vests from now on; you will be receiving a lot of future drive-bys!! Plant some decorative plants in the yard, FYI 20ft bushes covering the entire front of the home are not what I'm talking about. I can not invasive enough how important curb appeal is and for less than $200 dollars you can give your house plenty of it. CLEAN YOUR YARD!!

TIP #2- "Dude, that was a killer party last night! I can't believe how trashed my house got." Famous last words of a lost sale. Clean and organize the inside of the house. Would you buy a car that was covered in the unused portions of a canary's diet? Then why
would you think anyone would buy your house when the kitchen looked like the picture to the right? Who in their right mind would want to buy a house that's been neglected for years and years? I beat these people don't even perform proper maintenance and up keep on the home. Believe me, that's the impression your putting in the minds of the potential buyer; well they were a potential buyer. You better hope they don't have friends looking to buy too. Guess whose home won't get a reference. That's right yours! I don't care how nice your home really is, all those buyers see, and think, is this "this house is disgusting; I would never want to live here."

TIP #3- Organize!! I'll say it again, ORGANIZE your house. Yes it's true. It does take a great deal of planning and foresight to make your 14x14 living room accommodate your 3 couches and 2 love seats. And yes I know, it was the crowning moment in your life when you made the impossible, possible by accomplishing such a feat. Guess what your potential buyer thinks? Can you guess what it is? "This house is way too small for me!!" Did you guess that was what they were thinking? I hope you did. (If you didn't, maybe you should think about hiring an expert to assist you in your sell, just a thought.)Now if you want to sell this house you need to make it look as spacious as possible. It should look lived in yes, but it shouldn't look like all 65 boys from last summers boy scout camp live there.

FINALLY!!! PRICE YOUR HOME CORRECTLY!!! If you want to sell it, you better know what it's worth. Now let us consider the facts. You're selling one house, that's it. How many homes do buyers look at before they buy? Lots!! So who do you think knows more about how much your home is worth? You guess it, probably them. (Plus they may have a buyers agent working for them. Those Realtors are pesky little creatures aren't they?)If you don't know what your home is worth, you better high someone who does. These are mythical creatures known only to exist in fairy tales, but I'll share another secret with you. Once again I must be very cautious, so please come close again? THERE CALLED REALTORS!!! ( That's 2 for Capt Obvious!!) Just because your moms, ex- husbands, younger sisters, ex-boyfriends, mom sold her house for $300, 000 in up state New York doesn't mean your Biloxi or Ocean Springs home is worth that. PRICE YOUR HOME CORRECTLY!!! Did I say that already?

Now get out there and sell your home!!

Marketing Tips for Biloxi Ocean Springs Real Estate

People always want to know what makes a Realtor worth the commission they earn? Do you wonder the same thing too? Well when it comes to helping you sell your home it all boils down to marketing. I bet you would love some free marketing tips huh? Sure you would, who wouldn't right? So here are some for you!

1) Cable TV advertising- this works really well for Biloxi and Ocean Springs Real Estate. The reason why is because many people know channel 13 shows homes for sale all day long. Its a great way to advertise your real estate for sale in Biloxi and Ocean Springs. Here's where it gets tricky though, do you know who to call? Do you know what to say to promote your home correctly? Or better yet, what not to say? Is it worth your money if it doesn't bring in the buyers? Of course it isn't!! But I bet a trained real estate professional would know what key words to use to bring buyers to your home. But hey, you want to save money buy not using a Realtor. By the way, you may get 3 of 4 calls if you're lucky. Notice I said calls, not viewing. Huge difference!!

2) Newspaper ads- These are really a great way of letting a seller know you are actively advertising their home, other than that, they are almost useless. But just because they are useless doesn't make them cheap; if memory serves me right, it's about $25 dollars a day to run an add in the Sunherald. Oh and it's an extra $100 dollars to run it online at sunherald.com. And remember, if the real estate your trying to sell is in Biloxi or Ocean Springs, you're probably just throwing your money away, atleast in the paper anyway. Oh yeah, and there's that little business about knowing what to say in your ad again. Boy, marketing can be really difficult if you don't quite know what to say, or not say for that matter. You may get 2 or so phone calls if your lucky and run it for a month straight. Think about it, did you look in the paper to find this info? Who does anymore? It's all about the Internet today. Which brings me to the more powerful marketing tips.

3) Multiple Listing Service- Now this is one of the most powerful methods of advertising. Why you ask? Well I'm glad you asked that question, here's why! Because the MLS is your link to every other Realtor in the area. All you have to do is be a Realtor with access and magically hundreds of local Realtors know you're home is for sale now. So plan your real estate sell well in advance so you can attend the necessary schooling to get qualified to take your test, that's right, you have to pass a pre-licensing course before they even allow you to take the test to get your license. And then guess where you get to go to take your test? Not Biloxi or Ocean Springs, not even near by Pascagoula, nope, you get to drive all the way to Jackson. I'm sure your asking, why is it so important other Realtors know that my house is for sale? Think about it, buyers, that's right BUYERS, love to use Realtors. That means Realtors bring you potential buyers and lots of them. Maybe you spotted a nice piece of land in Ocean Springs and you and your spouse have your master real estate design all planned out, it's the home of your dreams! But you've gotta sell that home in Biloxi first. Wow!! You just missed out on an EXTREMELY powerful tool.

4) Website exposure (aka Internet)- Now you want to hope on the technology bandwagon, you realized the paper wasn't all it was cracked up to be. But how do you market your home on the net? I can hear the pleads now, "help me Sergeant Real Estate, I want my home sold so I can carry on!!" OK, here's what you do. You spend countless hours researching websites that service residential real estate websites in the Biloxi and Ocean Springs area. Then you decide which one is best for you. You pay them a small advertising fee, I'm sure it will be minimal so don't worry too much about it. And presto, now your home is on one of the billions of website
online. Now you have a static website advertising your home for you. That's all there is to it. Now when someone who is looking exactly for your type of home happens to come across this website, which by the way they were linked to by mere chance by results from a search engine, they can call you and possibly be a potential buyer. Or.... you could use a Realtor who already knows the best sites to put your home on, that's right sites, as in the plural version of site meaning multiple. Sites which actually draw traffic to them. And your Realtor should have his own site which they advertise Biloxi and Ocean Springs real estate for sale. One of which will be your home. A place like http://www.sergeantrealestate.com/ or http://www.teamgreenerealty.com/, my brother out of Tampa Florida.

Well that's enough real estate marketing tips for today. If you're planning to sell real estate in the Biloxi or Ocean Springs area, I hope you found this article helpful.

Blog Done. Carry On!!