Newport Beach Homes – Harbor Realty

There is an old saying, nothing is for free, and this is true of the Orange County real estate industry as much as any other. Due to the relatively high value of Newport Beach real estate transactions, it may be useful for you to understand why a commission is paid and to who, when buying or selling your Newport Beach home.

Newport Beach Home Sellers

If you use the services of a professional within the real estate industry, such as a Newport Beach REALTOR®, you will be expected to pay for their services as a home seller. Your Newport Beach REALTOR® will receive a portion of the commission received by the brokerage.

Always try to remember that it is in the best interest of your Newport Beach REALTOR® to make sure your property deal is handled professionally and quickly. The cost of advertising your home during the search for a buyer is handled completely by your REALTOR®.

While some will still operate upon a flat fee the vast majority of Newport Beach REALTORS® work on a commission basis. REALTORS® paid a flat fee generally do not take care of all of the details of the selling process for you such as advertising. It is then your own responsibility to advertise your Newport Beach home for sale within your own advertising budget. This can be quite the headache for the inexperienced. What you save by using a flat fee Realtor is essentially used to advertise your home anyway. The services you receive from flat fee REALTORS® will vary from agent to agent. Whereas the services you receive from a REALTOR® paid by commission will not fluctuate. You’ll receive the full service of your REALTOR® from start to finish.

As a seller, it is generally in your best interest to utilize the services of a Newport Beach REALTOR® paid by commission because they will handle all the details of the home selling process for you.

Newport Beach Homebuyers

As a homebuyer it is always in your best interest to use the services of a REALTOR® to help you find homes in Orange County. However, it’s not a bad idea to start your search for that agent and home online. Becoming familiar with Orange County real estate markets such as Newport Beach will give you a good understanding of the current market conditions helping you find a neighborhood that is suitable for your family in price and amenities. As a buyer, the commission of your agent is paid by the home seller. This leaves no reason to not utilize the services of a professional Newport Beach REALTOR® who can properly guide you to the city and neighborhood that is most suitable for your family.

     Selling a home can be an emotional experience because most sellers have a lot more than money invested in their homes.  So, it is understandable that sellers might be reluctant to respond to an offer that is for less than the asking price.

     Most sellers have a difficult time being objective about their homes.  But, detachment is something sellers should strive for, particulaarly when themarket favors buyers.  To be a successful seller in a buyer’s market, you need to be able to put yourseld in the buyer’s shoes.  Ask yourself if you were a buyer, would you pay the price you would like to ask for your home.

     In a soft market like we are currently experiencing in many parts of the country, buyers are prone to make a low offer on any listing that doesn’t receive offers from more than one buyer.  The exception is when a listing os priced so competitively that a buyer recognizes a good deal and buys the property before others have a chance.

     Some sellers might be inclined to inflate their asking prices so that they will have room to bargain with a buyer.  This is a risky strategy for serious sellers.  In a buyer’s market where there are a lot of homes for sale, the best listings at the best prices sell.

     The listings that don’t sell usually need price reductions to get them to a marketable range.  If the market is trending downward, this could mean selling for a lower price than might have been possible if the listing has bee priced competitively to begin with.

     HOUSE HUNTING TIP:  Sellers whose homes are not competitively priced are prime targets for low offers.  Even if your home is not badly priced, you could receive a lowere-than-asking-price offer if market conditions are uncertain.  Rather than be insulted by a low offer, sellers should view it as the beginning of a dialogue that could result in a sale.

     Pay close attention to the buyer’s financial capability.  Gone are the days where buyers could buy a home with little or no cash down and without verifiable income.  Today’s buyers are subjected to far more financial scrutiny by lenders than they were a year ago.

     Ideally, buyers should be preapproved for the financing they need before they make an offer.  If they are not, make sure there is a clause in the purchase contract that requires the buyers to apply for financing within several days of acceptance.

     Find out what kind of financing the buyers are applying for and which lender they intend to use.  Some mortgage lenders recently failed to fund buyer’s loans at the last minute.  Make sure your buyer’s receive underwriting approval from a bona fide lender.  The number of days for lender approval should also be included in the purchase contract.

     Sellers who receive an offer that is unacceptable regarding any of its terms and conditions – not just the price – should have their agent draft a counteroffer.  Buyers and sellers often donb’t know in advance what price they will accept until they are in the midst of a negotiation.  For example, a seller who bought another home before selling, might accept a lower price if the house has been on the market a while and the buyer’s offer is not contingent on the sale of another property and if the transaction will close quickly.  Likewise a buyer could agree to pay more than he though he would if interest rates were to drop.

     THE CLOSING:  The counteroffer process can happen quickly or it can be long and tedious.  Be prepared to explore all options before letting a negotiation fail.