The 2019 Broker/Owner Symposium was filled with education, discussion and valuable feedback from our attendees. The two-day conference, held at the Fontaine Hotel in downtown Kansas City, was hosted by Realty Executives International and the Regional Directors of the Mid-America Region, Steve and Nancy Summers. While recapping the event, the Summers’ said, “Realty Executives International delivered meaningful content, ideas, great takeaway and positive energy.”
Home renovations offer the perfect opportunity to upgrade the functionality of your home, in addition to modernizing the design and feel of your space.
Here are five clever features you should consider including in your next renovation to elevate your home’s functionality.
1. Smart Systems
Today’s homes are smart. They incorporate technology to make our lives safer, easier, more energy efficient, and more enjoyable.
If you’re renovating, you’d be wise to include a smart system that can handle these tasks for you:
Selling your home is a big decision that you don’t want to take lightly. When it comes to putting your home on the market, you don’t want to make a mistake that will end up costing you much more than you anticipated. And once you decide you want to sell your home, there are many things to think about before listing it, including the time of year (and time in your life) you choose to sell. Here’s what you should consider before selling your home, and whether or not there is a perfect time to do so.
Realty Executives strives to provide our brokers and agents with the top technology to help keep you connected to your clients and create a seamless experience. In our comprehensive suite, we have several tools that will set you up for success and enhance your productivity. Take a look below for a breakdown of each of our new technology tools.
Buying a home is probably a lot more manageable than you think. Somewhere along the line, these crazy misconceptions have crept into the home buying conversation and made the dream of home ownership seem less attainable.
It’s time to set the record straight. Here are five common homebuyer misconceptions and the truth about each:
1. You need to save 20 percent for the down payment before you can buy a home.
There are several ways to buy a home without a 20 percent down payment!
FHA loans are the most popular option. They allow you to buy a home with as little as 3.5 percent down. There are also zero percent down options for special cases, like military personnel (active or veteran) or rural properties. Simply contact a lender to discuss your options. You may be closer to home ownership than you think!
Quick side note: you should also understand that your down payment won’t be your only home buying expense. You’ll need money to pay for closing costs (typically 2-5 percent of the purchase price). And you should have a little money set aside to make any urgent renovations or necessary upgrades.
The world of mortgage financing can be a little overwhelming for first-time home buyers.
The good news is that there are professionals to guide you through the process of qualifying for a home loan. Lenders are happy to educate buyers on the different mortgage options. You just need to know a few basics so you can have a productive conversation with your lender.
Here are finance basics for first-time buyers:
By: Kellyn Vale, originally published in ValpoLife.com
Spirits were high as Realty Executives Premier, a real estate company based in Valparaiso, hosted their public and official grand opening of their brand new location in Crown Point.
Several locations were considered for the new office, including spaces on Broadway and areas in Winfield. However, the company hit a stroke of luck when they caught wind of the Crown Point location’s availability before it even went to market.
“We love being in downtown Crown Point,” said Pam Tezak, who runs the agency alongside her husband Mike. “We started in downtown Valpo, so we decided to continue that downtown trend in Crown Point; we could not be happier with the location,” continued Tezak.
Realty Executives International is excited to announce the recent opening and growing success of the Southeastern Michigan Regional Headquarters and training facility. The headquarters, located in Shelby Township, a northern suburb of Detroit, is used for office and training space for regional real estate professionals.
The facility is named under the Realty Executives Home Towne brand, making it Home Towne’s fourth location. It is a meeting and training space for eight brokerages and over 100 real estate professionals in the region, including Home Towne’s own team of 82 real estate broker/owners and executives.The areas serviced by these brokerages include Metro Detroit, Macomb, Oakland, St.Clair, Sanilac and Lapeer counties.
Realty Executives Premiere is excited to announce that Lisa Hoffmann has joined as Director of Agent Development, bringing her skills and passion to work with new and experienced agents across Illinois. As part of her new role, Hoffmann will offer a whole new curriculum for Executives while incorporating elements of Realty Executives’ EXEC™ University, and will conduct one-on-one classes that are focused on agents’ long-term goals.
Hoffmann will be a great asset to Realty Executives Premiere as they focus on bringing in new energy and attracting new Executives to the brand. The office takes pride in developing its Executives, providing onsite coaching to help them escalate their real estate careers and perform at the highest level.
That 30-60 day period between accepting a buyer’s offer and closing the deal is a busy time for both parties.
While the buyers are focused securing financing and making sure the house is as it appears to be, sellers are mainly concerned with 1) proving that they have the right to sell the property, and 2) making sure the buyers are aware of the true condition of the property.
Here’s an outline of what sellers can expect during the closing process.