Casey's Take | Serving North County Real Estate Blog by Casey Cooke

Casey's Take Category

Are Home Values Going Up or Down? Its all in the Showings….

said on May 12th, 2012 filed under: Buyers, Casey's Take, Market Trends, Sellers

As showings go...so do the sales!

I came across this post/article and thought I would share it.

As a busy listing agent I am able to stay in tune with the local market by the overall buyer demand for my listings and how many showings that demand manifests into. If I list a home that I know is priced right and I get a more activity that usual it could be just that home. If that activity trends across all 8 to 10 or 12 homes I have listed across North County, well then that is indicative of something greater going on and also of what is to come. It is no secret that the current market has heated up tremendously. It started in February-March with a spike in buyer demand which manifested in more showings and multiple offers. We are now seeing that this activity has led to lower inventory as homes continue to get snatched up quickly. We are also seeing and will continue to see (for the immediate future at least) a spike prices.

I have to give credit to the team at Showing Suite for putting this data out as I have swiped the graph from them. Showing Suite provides a 3rd party product that tracks home showings and then automatically solicits feedback on the listing agent’s behalf from the agent who showed the home. The product is very slick and I highly recommend it to all listing agents. This allows Showing Suite to track the average number of showings each month across thousands of homes listed for sale.

The graph tells the story in advance. The number of showings plunged toward the end of last year, so did offers and values. But they ticked up at the start of the year and were on a near vertical climb from late December through March. It is no surprise that total number of sales have gone up and now so are values as the available inventory trends down.

So if you are curious how hot the market is, just find a busy listing agent(I mean just call me) and ask them how many showings they are generating on their current listings.

Thinking of selling your North County Home?

I earned my spot as the #1 overall agent AND the top listing agent at Coldwell Banker Vista Village for 2011 by listing more homes for sale than any other agent in my office.

My team of experienced professionals can help you whether in Carlsbad, Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos, Escondido, or elsewhere in North County. I have a very detailed, written marketing plan designed to drive more traffic to your home and get it SOLD quickly, and for top dollar with minimal stress and hassle.

Call me directly at 760-216-6604 or email me at Casey@CaseyCooke.com.

When we talk, I will explain the process in detail and answer any questions you may have.

Thank you for reading this, I hope I have been helpful!

Casey Cooke is a licensed Real Estate agent at Coldwell Banker in Vista Village and was the overall #1 agent for 2011

License#01845539

Phone (760)216-6604

Casey@CaseyCooke.com

said by Casey Cooke Leave A Comment

Am I a Real Estate Expert?

said on April 10th, 2012 filed under: Casey's Corner, Casey's Take, Sellers

I often get asked the question, am I an “expert” in Real Estate?

Or would I consider myself an “expert” in a certain field of real estate, such as listing homes or short sales? Or a certain neighborhood? I saw this post and thought I would share it.

What exactly does it mean to be an expert? Does that mean we should know everything there is to know about Real Estate? I had a client tell me last year that I was like a “Real Estate Encyclopedia”. I completed two very difficult sales for him and he had lots of questions for me.

Either way, if you are buying or selling a home in today’s market, you need a real estate expert. However, we must realize what the term ‘expert’ actually means. An expert in any area cannot give perfect advice as no one can predict the future.

But they can give excellent advice based on their insight into their field.

If you go to an attorney with a legal challenge, he/she will look over your case and give you your options. They realize they cannot guarantee the outcome of any of the options. Still, they give the best advice possible and allow you to decide the option with which you feel most comfortable. They then will put together a strategy which hopefully will bring about the most favorable conclusion.

If you go to a doctor with a serious ailment, he/she will give you your options and work with you to develop the best treatment program. They cannot guarantee any program’s success. They will, however, monitor your progress and adjust your treatments or medications. They will stand next to you until the best result is achieved.

Real estate is no different. A true real estate professional will understand your options and simply and effectively explain them to you and your family. Once you chose an option, they will strategize a plan to help you accomplish your goals. They will standby you as the process evolves and will help you make the necessary adjustments if necessary.

They cannot see the future any better than doctors or attorneys and thus their advice will never be perfect. However, just like those other professionals, an expert agent will give you excellent advice that will bring about the best possible outcome.

This post appealed to me because this is exactly how I approach my job. I have a vast amount of transactional experience to draw from which means I have experienced most scenarios before. I also have an ongoing appetite for education and I regularly attend seminars and training events. This means I can sit down with my clients, learn what they are trying to accomplish, then give them a list of possible actions and outcomes. This means I can predict with a high degree of accuracy which course of action may be the best.

Does this make me a “Real Estate Expert”? Absolutely. ;~)

Thank you very much for reading my blog! I hope you found it helpful. If you enjoyed reading this, please let me know by adding a comment below or sending me an email. If you have any additional questions please submit those as well and you may see them on a future blog post.

Here are a few additional articles you may find useful!

1. 7 Ways to get TOP value for YOUR home!

2. Using comparable values to price your home correctly

3. What is a “Strategic Default?”

Thinking of selling your North County Home? My team of experienced professionals can help you whether in Carlsbad, Vista, Oceanside, San Marcos, Escondido, or elsewhere in North County. We specialize is helping sellers sell their North County homes for top dollar with minimal stress and hassle. Call me directly at 760-216-6604 or email me at Casey@CaseyCooke.com.

When we talk, I will explain the process in detail and answer any questions you may have about the process.

Thank you for reading this, I hope I have been helpful!

Casey Cooke is a licensed Real Estate agent at Coldwell Banker in Vista Village, License#01845539.Phone (760)216-6604. Casey@CaseyCooke.com

said by Casey Cooke Leave A Comment

Top Reasons People Buy A Home…

said on April 7th, 2012 filed under: Buyers, Casey's Take, Sellers

Enough Said...

When we talk, I will explain the process in detail and answer any questions you may have about the process.

Thank you for reading this, I hope I have been helpful!

Casey Cooke is a licensed Real Estate agent at Coldwell Banker in Vista Village, License#01845539.Phone (760)216-6604 . Casey@CaseyCooke.com

said by Casey Cooke Leave A Comment

Homeseller question: Is it legal for a Realtor to represent both buyer and seller at the same time?

said on December 15th, 2010 filed under: Buyers, Casey's Take, Sellers

Dual Agency, is that legal in California?

This question came from Joseph in Oceanside, CA. My team placed Joseph in a new home in Oceanside a few short months ago and now he is selling his previous home in Escondido and this question came up.

The short answer is yes, but with proper disclosure and informed consent of both buyer and seller.

Agency Disclosure and Dual Agency Disclosure

Their are two main agency disclosures we use in a common real estate transaction. The first is the general Agency Disclosure and the second is the Dual Agency Disclosure.

Strategic Default on the rise: facts to consider before walking away

Let’s talk about single agency first. The law requires each agent “with whom you have more than a casual relationship with” to present you with the Agency Disclosure form for you to review and sign. When you enter into a discussion with a real estate agent you should from the outset understand what type of agency relationship or representation you need from the agent in the transaction. These distinctions are commonly the 1) Seller’s Agent 2) Buyer’s Agent. We will talk about Dual Agency in a minute, but most buyers or seller don’t set out to be in Dual Agency at the beginning, it just happens.

Whether acting as your Seller’s Agent or Buyer’s Agent, the agent has the following obligations to you:

A Fiduciary duty of utmost care, integrity, honesty and loyalty in dealings.
Diligent exercise of reasonable skill and care in performing the agent’s duties.
A duty of honesty and fair dealing and good faith.
A duty to disclose all facts known to the agent materially affecting the value of desirability of hte property that are known to, or within the diligent attention and observation of, the parties.

An agent is NOT obligated to reveal to either party any confidential information obtained from the other party that does not involve the affirmative duties set forth above.

Seven Selling Mistakes that will Sabotage your Home Sale

Now let’s talk about Dual Agency. Whether buying or selling it is very common that we encounter Dual Agency. As a busy listing agent I get calls all the time from buyers wanting me to go and show them my selling client’s home. As soon as I engage them beyond a “casual relationship”, meaning I start advising them on real estate, I am technically in Dual Agency. I always execute a Dual Agency Disclosurewith my seller when I take a new listing and explain what it means to my clients because their is really no way around it. Unless I am going to have the buyers call another agent, or advise them as soon as they call that I can show them the home but cannot discuss anything beyond “casual conversation” with them and if they like the home they will need to find their own agent, their is no way around Dual Agency. Now a seller could object to Dual Agency from the start, and some do, in this case we then would avoid anything beyond that casual conversation with the buyers as I described above.

We don’t commonly execute a Dual Agency Disclosure with the buyer’s unless and until they write an offer, but technically we should. Before we even start to advise them on real estate we should be making a full Agency Disclosure and then a full Dual Agency Disclosure, but we don’t commonly do that until they decide to offer. The buyer could object as well and I have had them do that. I had a buyer a while ago I showed my listing to and then a friend of his told him he should never enter into Dual Agency as he should have his own agent advocating for him and him alone, so he did just that and it all worked out fine.

You are MY Agent, where’s my OLD CAR?

Here is the problem with Dual Agency. An acronym I learned in one of my certification classes was OLD CAR. An agent owes their client an OLD CAR. That stands for Obedience, Loyalty, Disclosure, Confidentiality, proper Accounting, Reasonable care. So if you enter into a relationship with an agent, and you both execute the Agency Disclosure and go about the business of buying or selling your home, that agent becomes your Fiduciary, they are advocating for YOUR best interest before their own and owe you the OLD CAR.

How to talk to your lender when you need assistance

Dual Agency is inherently conflictual because how can the agent deliver that OLD CAR to both parties in the same transaction? If an agent has agreed to become the Fiduciary of the seller, and agrees to fight for their best interest and use all legal and ethical means to further their interest, how on earth can they do the same for the other party? A seller’s objective is commonly to get them the highest price for their home. The buyer’s objective is commonly to get the home for as little as possible. How can an agent simultaneously fight for these opposing positions?

The answer is they can’t. So when we enter into Dual Agency we become more of a “facilitator” of the transaction. When entering into Dual Agency we cannot disclose to the seller that the buyer may pay more, and we cannot disclose to the buyer that the seller may take less. We cannot truly be an advocate of the seller’s best interest because we are bound by confidentiality to the buyer, and we cannot truly be an advocate of the buyer’s because we are bound by confidentiality to the seller.

The short answer would have been yes.

So the answer to Joseph’s question is Yes, Dual Agency is legal in CA. The agent must sit down with both parties and review the CA Association of Realtors form DA(Dual Agency Disclosure). The pitfalls and benefits of Dual Agency should be explained properly to all parties. The pitfalls we have already explained above. The perceived benefit to the buyer is that they can get the home cheaper because the seller often gets a discount on the commission when the agent represents both parties so may be willing to discount the selling price. The perceived benefit to the seller is that they will NET more because they are paying less commission on the sale. Whether or not these are true is another story, but these are the perceived benefits.

Homeowner Question: I’ve missed 3 payments, am I now in foreclosure?

This bugs me

Many times I get calls from buyers and when I ask if they have an agent they will say something like “No, I know how it works, I’ll work through you so you help me get my offer accepted and you make more commission”. To me this is absurd. I can understand why a buyer may feel that way, but for me it is completely untrue. My goal is to find the best offer with the strongest price and terms for my seller. This has nothing to do with how much commission I may or may not earn. I signed up to market my clients home and advocate for their best interest before my own and it would be unethical, dishonest, and illegal for me to let anythign other than that guide my actions.

Here are a few additional articles you may find useful! Remember, one of the keys to a successful transaction is educating yourself, so if you want yours to go smoothly, read read read! If you would rather just trust me instead that is fine as well, my advice is always in my clients best interest before my own.

Thank you very much for reading my blog! I hope you found it helpful.

When we talk, I will explain the process in detail and answer any questions you may have about the process.

Thank you for reading this, I hope I have been helpful!

Casey Cooke is a licensed Real Estate agent at Weichert Realtors ELITE, License#01845539.

Phone (760)216-6604. Casey@CaseyCooke.com

As ALWAYS. Casey Cooke and Weichert Realtors ELITE want you to know that defaulting on your mortgage, going into Foreclosure and doing a Short Sale or Loan Modification can have serious tax, legal, and credit consequences. We ALWAYS recommend you seek the advice of competent tax and legal counsel and consider all of your alternatives. We can help you, but we are not attorneys or tax professionals and therefore this should not be construed as tax or legal advice at any time!

Casey Cooke specializes in helping homeowners sell their North County homes for top dollar with minimal stress and hassle. Vista realtor, vista real estate, vista home sales, sell my vista home, Shadowridge realtor, Shadowridge real estate, Shadowridge home sales, sell my Shadowridge home, Carlsbad realtor, Carlsbad real estate, Carlsbad home sales, sell my Carlsbad home.

said by Casey Cooke Leave A Comment

That’s It Face! I’m Cutting My Nose Off…

said on October 22nd, 2010 filed under: Casey's Take, Sellers, Short Sales and Foreclosure

I’ll Show You Face!!

Sound ridiculous? We have all been taught that cutting your own nose off to spite your face, or someone else’s face for that matter, makes no sense at all. Wikipedia defines this useless act as:

“Cutting off the nose to spite the face” is an expression used to describe a needlessly self-destructive over-reaction to a problem: “Don’t cut off your nose to spite your face” is a warning against acting out of pique, or against pursuing revenge in a way that would damage oneself more than the source of one’s anger.