Discount MLS Listing

Posted on September 3, 2010 by
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While sellers often realize that the MLS is the most effective marketing tool available to them, few are aware that it does not have to cost an arm and leg to get on the MLS. Any broker in the local association of Realtors has access to list a property in the MLS. While many of these individuals are traditional agents with traditional price structures, there are a handful of others that list a property for a greatly discounted flat fee. Some charge as little as a few hundred dollars to list a property, and instead of trying to make a large amount of money on each sale, they go after volume – listing as many properties as possible. It is a somewhat new business model; however, it is a way of doing business that has been very well-received among homeowners.

The way that a discount MLS listing works is simple. The seller contacts a flat fee broker and requests listing paperwork. They fill out an MLS listing agreement along with a profile sheet which describes their home in great detail – number of bedrooms, square footage, pool or no pool, directions from major cross streets, etc. Additionally the seller emails or sends one or more photos of the property so that agents or potential buyers can have a visual idea of what the home has to offer prior to actually viewing it. Once the broker receives the paperwork signed by the seller, they upload the information to the MLS and it is disseminated to hundreds or thousands of other brokers, not to mention to many websites including some of the highest traffic real estate sites like Realtor.com. From there, agents or buyers can arrange to see the home. When they are ready to make an offer, they make it directly to the seller. The seller can accept, reject, or counter offer any offer that they receive. Once there is a signed, accepted contract by both parties, the property is ‘in escrow’ and the closing oftentimes is agreed to and scheduled within 30 to 45 days. Most properties do close, although some fall out of escrow with the home being returned to market.

The benefits of a discount MLS listing are simple: maximum marketing exposure without paying a steep price to get it. While a flat fee listing broker is compensated with just a pre-paid flat fee, most sellers continue to offer a buyer’s agent a commission, often two to three percent, in the event that their buyer purchases the home. This is no different than what occurs when the property is listed by a traditional agent not offering a discount. The seller is free to sell the home to an unrepresented buyer. Most flat fee brokers focus their advertising online and via word-of-mouth; they avoid expensive newspaper and TV ads and pass the savings on to the customer. So although you may not have been aware that a discount MLS listing even existed, there very well may be a flat fee broker offering service in your local area.

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Arizona Real Estate Law – Using a Partition Action to Resolve an Ownership Dispute

Posted on September 3, 2010 by
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It is a frequent occurrence that people who jointly own Arizona real estate find themselves unable to agree about whether to sell and/or how to manage the property. When that happens the Arizona Revised Statutes provide a mechanism whereby one of the owners of the property may compel the sale of the property and distribution of the resulting proceeds.

The partition statute, set forth at A.R.S. Section 12-1211 et seq., provides for the appointment of one or more “commissioners” who are charged with selling the property. If the property can be physically partitioned by dividing it into equitable portions, an owner who wishes to retain ownership of his or her share may be able to do so. In most cases involving single family homes or other properties that are generally not divisible, however, the property will have to be sold and the proceeds distributed.

The commissioner(s) appointed to manage this process will usually be Arizona real estate brokers or other similar professionals who are uniquely qualified to prepare the property for partition and/or sale. Although the court can make whatever order is deemed fair and necessary, the commissioner(s) are usually compensated by receiving a sales commission.

In most cases partition actions do not involve defenses allowing on or more owners to block the sale (unless they want to buy out the other owner(s)). That being the case, partition actions that do not involve other related issues can be handled fairly quickly without excessive expense. Nonetheless, because an Arizona partition action must be filed in the Arizona Superior Court and must strictly comply with the statutory guidelines, a party seeking to force partition of a property or facing a partition complaint filed against him or her should seek professional advice.

An experienced Arizona real estate lawyer should be able to help guide you through a partition action. If you’d like to force a partition a lawyer can help make sure your partition complaint meets the statutory requirement and that the order compelling the partition provides the relief you seek. If a partition action has been filed against you an experienced Arizona real estate attorney can help make sure you receive an equitable hearing and distribution of any partition proceeds.

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Investing in Keystone Colorado Real Estate – No Bubbles in This Market!

Posted on September 3, 2010 by
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If you haven’t been paying attention to ski resort real estate in recent years, you could be missing a exceptional and unique investment opportunity. With all the recent talk of a housing bubble, the case does not hold true for most resort areas…especially ones that are not affected by hurricanes. While no solid statistics are available from any government entity, the second home market is booming all across the US and especially in Colorado. Particularly in Keystone Colorado.

Just prior to September 11th, 2001, the real estate appreciation in Keystone and Summit County Colorado was clipping along at a 17% per year rate for condominiums…both slope side and further away near golf courses. The market sustained that growth for 7 years prior to 9/11. A few months after 9/11, things started slowing down, but it never went turned negative. Appreciation rates slowed to ~4-6% for most properties in the condominium category. In the years following, things stayed at that same rate, then in 2005, the market started to move again at a eye brow raising 12%. So far this year in 2006, we have seen the appreciation rates in Keystone exceed 12% year to date and there is no sign of slowing.

Why is Keystone such a great place to buy real estate? In recent years, the big ski resort companies have been putting millions upon millions of dollars into upgrading ski resorts to be first class since that is what the demand is. Copper Mountain for example just went through a huge expansion since Intrawest bought the resort a few years ago. Along with it came massive real estate development along with development of an entire base area and alpine village. Today, the construction is done even done, and price have climbed to amazing levels. If you got in on the base floor, you made a killing on your investment. The same holds true again for Vail Colorado. Sure…Vail is expensive, but Vail Resorts, Inc is just putting the finishing touches on the latest expansion of Vail’s village that cost right around 1 Billion dollars. Breckenridge, under the control of Vail Resorts, Inc just added the highest ski lift in the world to attract more visitors.

The answer to investing in Keystone Colorado is easy. While many parts of Keystone are new from the latest expansion in the late 1990′s in Keystone’s River Run Village, there are many vacant lots owned by Vail Resorts Incorporated still in the area and you can bet that those lots will not go for parking lots! The time has come for Keystone to catch up to the rest of the ski resorts in Colorado.

The great thing about investing in ski resort real estate especially in Keystone Colorado is that it is an investment that isn’t boring like a stock or bond. It’s a fun investment that you can use for yourself and your family. Take a week and go skiing, or go in the summertime to go hiking or sailing in Lake Dillon. Best of all, you can have peace of mind knowing that it is growing at a rate that is far better than any stock or bond, and if the growth rate isn’t enough for you, you can rent your property to vacationers and bring in some extra income to offset any homeowners association dues or mortgages you may have with your property.

This is NOT a “Own your vacation” timeshare spiel. This is primarily a investment opportunity to make some serious money for yourself, while the secondary benefit is your personal use. Other possible benefits are tax savings, rental income, and just the downright coolness of owning a resort property in general. Not exactly boring, now is it?

Usually when you see investment articles on CNN or in newspapers about a certain stock to buy it’s too late to get in. In fact, how many times have you read the headline and bought a stock right away only to have it tank a week or two down the road? It’s definitely not too late to take advantage and buy an investment property in Keystone Colorado. Right now there is little new construction going on, yet the demand for real estate speaks for itself in the sales numbers of the local MLS. Plans are on the table for a new Marriot and Hyatt hotel that are ski-in ski-out at Keystone. The biggest news to hit is the possible expansion of the already popular River Run Gondola across the Snake River and into the nearby Hunky Dori parking lot. It’s not often that a ski lift moves closer to existing condos which were “walk to slopes” and making them “ski-in ski-out”. Remember the 12% appreciation mentioned earlier? Any idea what moving a lift will do for nearby real estate prices? Quite a lot, but it’s only our speculation at the moment.

Probably the most convincing evidence of a great investment opportunity is not in the actual appreciation of the property, but in the rental income potential and the massive demand for rental properties. Go take a look on Travelocity, Orbitz, or any other high-traffic travel website. Which destination in Colorado do you see lined up right along with the Caribbean, Hawaii, and any other destination? Breckenridge Colorado. Vail Resorts spends the majority of it’s advertising dollars on Breckenridge. As a result, they pull in over 1.4 million skier visits per year to Breckenridge alone as of the 2004-05 ski season. Breckenridge is a huge place and at any given time can sleep approximately 30,000 people in its own rooms. Now consider this: Keystone is only 13 miles away from Breckenridge. People know that Breckenridge is crowded during the prime ski season and they want a little less of the hustle and bustle, so they choose to stay and ski at Keystone. With little advertising, Keystone reaps in just under 1 million skier visits per year as of the 2004-05 ski season. Not a whole lot less than Breckenridge. While, at the same time, Keystone only has the capacity to sleep about 10,000 people on any given night. What does that say about the rental potential? It says that Keystone offers a far better investment opportunity and a much better chance of bringing in enough rental income to significantly lower your cost. Depending on your financial situation, and how much money you put down on your real estate investment in Keystone, it is not too uncommon to have your property pay for itself with rental income…even AFTER the property manager takes his fee.

If none of this is convincing to you, we’ll be happy to show you our rental income number for our current property owners to prove to you what the investment opportunity is in Keystone Colorado. If you are looking at the possibility of buying a second come or vacation investment property, take a careful look at Keystone and decide whether it makes sense for you. We are truly convinced that the best investment in ski resort real estate right now is in Keystone.

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Las Vegas Flat Fee MLS Listing

Posted on September 2, 2010 by
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There are approximately 1700 local associations or boards of Realtors. Las Vegas is home to one of the larger organizations out there: the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors (GLVAR). The group has about 15,000 members and has been around for over sixty years. One of the most valuable resources that the GLVAR provides is the Las Vegas MLS. The MLS is a database of homes available for sale, as well as those that are already under contract, and information about comparable sales. Beyond that, it is a means for brokers to market their listings to one another. This marketing allows an agent working with a buyer to browse thousands of listings and zero in on the ones that best meet their clients’ needs. For instance, they can search on a particular price range such as $450,000 to $500,000, a particular city such as Henderson, and a particular sized home such as a home with a minimum of 4 bedrooms and 2800 square feet. Once they have a list of homes in mind, they can access and view them, and write an offer knowing that if they do successfully close the sale, they will receive a stated compensation being offered by the listing broker and paid by the seller. The system has been highly effective and has fueled massive numbers of transactions in the Las Vegas Valley for many years.

In recent years, certain discount brokers have moved away from commission-based pricing and have offered flat fee listing services. These services are often customized to meet the seller’s needs. For many sellers, their main goal is to get their property listed in the MLS for a flat fee. They want the maximum exposure available to their property and realize that that is only possible by being listed in the Las Vegas MLS. During the booming period of 2004-2005, some sellers would buy properties and flat fee list them for sale a few months later. As the market turned into a buyer’s market and potential profits decreased, the emphasis on saving money was even greater and flat fee MLS listings became an even more critical component to selling one’s home without forking over enormous listing commissions. Since homeowners move frequently into and out of the Valley and from one section of the Valley to another, for instance from Southern Highlands to Summerlin, flat fee listings will probably play an even greater role in the future. A few years ago, very few homeowners knew this option was available to them, however, today many have already listed 3-4 homes and investment properties in this fashion and are extremely comfortable with it.

Some of the things homeowners look for when selecting a flat fee MLS listing are first and foremost finding a licensed Nevada broker that is a member of the Greater Las Vegas Association of Realtors. Secondly, most sellers seek someone who is somewhat knowledgeable of Las Vegas Valley real estate. This is helpful in obtaining comparables and being able to know about past and present trends in the market. Many sellers seek a flat fee listing company that has experience selling hundreds of properties in the Valley. Other sellers specifically seek out a flat fee MLS company that can offer electronic lockboxes and has an enhanced Realtor.com account. A flat fee MLS listing in Las Vegas is not for everyone. However, all Las Vegas home sellers would be well-advised to at least consider this option when listing their home for sale.

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Arizona Real Estate Contracts and the Statute of Frauds

Posted on September 2, 2010 by
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General principles of Arizona contract law simply require the existence of an offer, acceptance, consideration, and sufficient specificity of the terms in order to have an enforceable contract. This is true whether or not the parties write out the terms and/or sign a written document.

This is not the case when the contract concerns the sale of real property. There, the Statute of Frauds as codified in Arizona (ARS 44-101(6)) demands that contracts for the sale of real property be written and signed in order to be enforceable.

It is important to note, however, that the Arizona courts have consistently held that only the signature of the “party to be charged” is required. In other words, the contract must be signed by the party against whom enforcement is sought but does not necessarily have to be signed by the charging party. For example, a seller of real estate who never signed the sales contract may successfully maintain an action against a buyer who did sign the contract.

The parties to an Arizona real estate contract should also remember that any amendments to the contract must also be written and signed to be enforceable. Because of the requirements of the Statute of Frauds, parties buying or selling real estate in Arizona are advised to demand written confirmation of all the terms and conditions of the real estate transaction. Frequently, agents and brokers may make representations and assurances to buyers and sellers and suggest that a written modification is unnecessary. Buyers and sellers should avoid the temptation to rely upon such assurances and ensure that all important matters are reduced to writing and signed by the other party.

Unfortunately, many Arizona real estate contracts are not written and/or signed and one or more parties find themselves with a need to seek relief from another party. If you find yourself facing such a situation you should consult with an experienced Arizona real estate lawyer as soon as possible to determine whether an exception to the Statute of Frauds might apply, or if some other legal recourse is available.

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