Should you hire a friend or family member as your Realtor?

Once word gets out that you're looking to buy or sell a home, it's almost guaranteed that you'll get bombarded by friends and family asking you to hire them for the job. While it might sound like a good idea to hire someone you know and trust, hiring friends or family can actually turn your home buying or selling experience into a stressful and dramatic experience. Check out the short list below for advice on why hiring friends or family is not the best option for buying or selling your home. Listen to the show for Dave and Robert's advice on the topic!

4 Reasons to Think Twice Before Hiring a Friend or Family Member as Your Real Estate Agent

1. Your friend or relative has a biased perspective. Sure you want someone who is looking out for your best interest, but you also want someone who isn't afraid to tell you the truth when it's hard to hear. Telling hard truths about your home buying budget or your home's list price will be difficult for your friend because it could create tension in your personal relationship. It's much easier for someone who has a solely professional relationship with you to tell it like it is. They will care more about selling your house for top dollar than whether or not they will hurt your feelings!
2. Your friend or relative might not be an expert agent. Your home is one of your biggest financial investments. You need an experienced professional to help you with home buying or selling so that you can make the most of your investment. If your friend or family member is an inexperienced agent, let them practice on someone else! You want someone who knows the ends and outs of negotiating offers, contracts, and inspections. You also want someone who knows about upcoming listings and other homes similar to yours on that have recently sold.
3. The home buying or selling process can be tense. Negotiating repairs and closing terms can get emotional for everyone involved. A lot of times it takes an unbiased viewpoint to find a solution. And what if things get so rough that you need to fire your friend or family member? That's going to lead to some awkward family get-togethers in the future!
4. You will be revealing A LOT about your personal financial portfolio. If you don't want your friends or family to know the intimate details of your bank accounts or debt to income ratios, think twice before hiring them as your agent!

Common Emotional Mistakes Home Buyers Make

Buying a home is an emotional process, but don't let emotions get in the way of making good decisions during the home buying process. Today on the show, Dave and Robert talk about the most common emotional mistakes home buyers make and how you can avoid them yourself! See the short list below and listen to the show for more details.

1. Falling in love with a house you can't afford!
2. Not looking into all your different mortgage options that will have long-term effects.
3. Assuming that there's not a better home out there for you. If there are snags with one home, chances are you can find a similar home with a better situation!
4. Becoming desperate during the home buying process.
5. Overlooking important flaws in a home you think you love. Some things are very difficult or almost impossible to change!
6. Overestimating your handyman skills.
7. Rushing to put in your offer before you are ready.

9 Questions to Ask Before Hiring a Home Inspector

Today Dave and Chris talk about questions to ask a home inspector BEFORE hiring them. You want your home inspector to do a great job, so be sure to do your research before hiring him or her! See the short list of questions below and listen to the show for all the details.

1. Are you bonded and insured?
2. How long have you been an inspector and how many inspections have you completed?
3. Can you provide references?
4. Can we attend the end of the inspection appointment?
5. What does your inspection include?
6. Can we see a sample of your inspection reports?
7. Do you have any special expertise?
8. Do you perform just inspections? Or do you also perform repairs?
9. How much do you charge?

Post Inspection Repairs: What to Request & Not Request

When you find the home you want, it's important to pick your battles with repairs requested post home inspection. We've seen many deals go sideways post home inspection when they don't need to! While it's nice for sellers to fix every small detail before you move-in, there's only so much sellers are willing to do, especially if the market is in their favor.

The purpose of a home inspection is to find out if there are severe structural or mechanical defects that will have a negative impact on the way a buyer can use their home. It's 100% okay to request repairs on items that fall into that category. In regards to other repairs, keep the requests below off your list if you really want to close on the home you love! 

Be sure to listen to the show to hear Robert and Dave weigh in on this list!

1. Avoid requesting repairs to any minor cosmetic issues: a deck that needs stained, a small crack in one bathroom tile.
2. Skip requests that ask the home owner to fix cracks in concrete floors. Concrete naturally settles and cracks without structure ramifications. If you see cracks in the walls however, be sure to review the inspection report to see if they have significant structural impacts.
3. Don't request any repairs that cost under $100. This will just make you seem really nit picky!
4. Leave off requests for repairs on any failed window seals. Be aware of these items when you see the home and account for how much it will cost to make repairs yourself in the offer you present.
5. Skip requests for loose railings or fixtures that aren't significant issues.

What should you expect from your real estate agent?

Today we’re getting into the details! What exactly is the role of a real estate agent in helping buy or sell your home?

A lot of people really don’t know what a real estate agent should be doing for them. And because they don’t know the role of a real estate agent, they often miss out on some of the benefits of having an agent that does their job well.

Maybe you just hire any agent because you think they all do the same thing, but really you miss out on some bonuses because you simply don’t know that they should be doing certain things for you? It’s hard to ask questions if you don’t know what questions to ask!

The road to homeownership—or getting your home sold—can be bumpy, and it’s often filled with unexpected turns and detours. That’s why it makes sense to have a great real estate to help guide the way for you.

A Great Agent Should:

1. Save you time!
2. Be very knowledgeable of your area.
3. Be an expert guide for your market and for the process itself.
4. Find the right price for your home.
5. Effectively promote and market your home.
6. Have a strong network of professionals and agents around them.
7. Advocate for you as a buyer or seller.
8. Assist you with negotiations.
9. Take care of your paperwork down to the finest detail.

Tips for Finding Your Perfect Neighborhood

Figuring out which neighborhood you want to move to is probably one of the first steps in the home buying process. Today on the show we’re going to help you figure out which neighborhood is right for you!

If you’ve already started the home buying process, and found a house you think you love—we’re also going to give you some tips for figuring out if you’ll get along with the neighbors before you buy that perfect house. See the short list below and listen to the show for more details!

Questions to Ask Yourself

1. Do you have kids or are you planning on having kids anytime soon? You'll want to research schools, parks, open spaces
2. How far do you want to commute to work?
3. Do you want to be in a new neighborhood or an older neighborhood?
4. What do you want in a neighborhood? Close to restaurants, quite community, etc.
5. How much house can you afford?

Is a neighborhood right for you?

1. Remember your first impression of the neighborhood. 
2. Try to visualize your daily life in that neighborhood.
3. Check out the neighborhood at different times of the day and different days of the week.
4. Did the neighbors come out and talk to you during the showing? This can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on if you're an introvert or an extrovert.
5. Talk to the neighbors to get the skinny on the neighborhood.
6. Is the neighborhood absolutely immaculate? Maybe not a good fit if keeping your property in perfect condition is not your thing.
7. Are there a bunch of high powered flood lights? Is this a sign of crime around the area.
8. Are there no cars in sight? Probably not the best if you use your garage as a shop or extra storage. Make sure you understand the neighborhood HOA rules.

Common Real Estate Myths BUSTED!

The Grand Junction Real Estate Report

There is a lot of information out there about the real estate process, but often times it's confusing to sort through it all and understand how the process really works. On today's show, Robert and Dave clear up the myths that most people believe about buying or selling a home. See the short list of myths below and listen to the show to hear the myths BUSTED!

COMMON REAL ESTATE MYTHS

1. All agents are created the same.

2. Real estate agents are paid a salary.

3. You must have 20% for a down payment.

4. You have to have perfect credit to buy a home.

5. Agents keep all the commission on the sale of a home.

6. Typical commission is 6% of the home sale.

7. An agents mileage and operating expenses are reimbursed.

8. Marketing expenses are paid for by the brokerage, not the agent.

9. A home will "pass" or "fail" an inspection.

10. Fall and winter are a bad time to sell.

11. Only real buyers shop on the weekends.

Tips for Making a Winning Offer on Your Dream Home

The Grand Junction real estate market is hot, hot, hot right now so if you're searching for a new home be sure to listen to this show! Dave and Robert discuss some tips for making an offer that will win you your dream home. Skim the list of tips below and listen to the show for all the details.

Tips for Making a Winning Offer on Your Dream Home

1. Mentally prepare for a marathon house hunt.
2. Don't drag your feet when you find the right home.
3. Consider using a well-known, local mortgage lender.
4. Do not offer your max pre-approved amount.
5. Don't put in a low ball offer!
6. Do not offer above the property's appraisal value.
7. Attach fewer contingencies to your offer.
8. But do NOT waive the inspection contingency!
9. Do not let outsiders sway your offer.