The Raleigh and Cary Metro Area Real Estate Experts

Here's Why 'Sellers Need Realtors Now More Than Ever'

Editor's Note: This interview appeared on the U.S. News & World Report Web site in late May.

The Drawbacks of Selling Your Own House
By Luke Mullins, U.S. News & World Report

MOORE

In today's feeble housing market, home sellers need the guidance of a qualified real estate agent more than ever, says Judy Moore of RE/MAX Landmark Realtors in Lexington, Mass.

"You wouldn't go to an amateur to perform an operation on someone," she says. "It just doesn't make sense."

Moore, a regional vice president of the National Association of Realtors, spoke with U.S. News about the value that real estate agents bring to property transactions and insisted that they are an indispensable part of the home-selling process.

Why would a home seller need an agent?
I've been in this for more than 22 years. So, I've worked with a lot of people who thought that they might want to do it on their own. And it's much more complicated than just putting an ad in the paper and showing your house and having someone buy it - especially in this market.

The value that a Realtor brings to the transaction is that they are able to provide services on so many different levels - things that sellers can't even anticipate in many cases - because they have that kind of professional experience. The first thing is getting the best and highest price that the market will bear.

Why would an agent be able to get a higher price on a home?
The reason for that is because all real estate is local. The Realtor is the neighborhood expert. We can walk through a property and see right away what needs to be done to [get it sold].

We can advise the seller on what to do and what not to do; how to use money wisely, how to get a return on something as simple as paint, which usually can go a long way. Or there might be some other safety things that we know will come up in an inspection that could really jeopardize that transaction.

A Realtor has access to a number of different avenues so they are able to move that property much more quickly than the homeowner would be able to on their own.

How can an agent help set an appropriate price for a home?
That's actually one of the hardest things to do. And you can go to different [Web] sites and try to figure out what the value is, but you're not comparing apples to apples. There are nuances, there are things that agents know: if the house has four bedrooms, three bedrooms, two baths, compared to another house that has the same thing.

This first house might be a busy corner, it might have a smaller lawn, it might have an untidy yard - all of those things affect what a buyer will do. And then there are subtleties as far as presenting the home properly: the staging aspects, decluttering if necessary. There are all kinds of tricks of the trade that will make the home more appealing.

What other benefits do agents bring to the home-selling process?
There are all kinds of liability issues that a seller could potentially face when they are dealing one on one with a buyer. You can make statements, for example, "There is hardwood under all of the wall-to-wall carpeting."

Now, maybe the seller thinks there is and they never really checked over the years, and then the buyer comes back to sue them. You have to be careful, at least in my part of the country, about advertising. You can't use certain words like executive neighborhoods, things that are discriminatory in any way, and for sale by owners are not aware of that.

What about security issues?
The other thing is you don't know who you are letting into your home [as an independent seller]. I've dealt with people over the years who might try for sale by owner, and then after a couple of weeks they give it up quickly. They tell me the worst thing was they would hold a public open house [and] they had no idea if the people were qualified, who they were, or if they would try to rob them later on. It's a very scary kind of thing.

How would that situation be different if you had an agent?
You have a qualified buyer looking at the property. They are accompanied by the Realtor. You are not tied to your house while selling it, which is, I know, one of the other difficult things FSBOs have told me that they would never deal with again.

What specific challenges do independent sellers face in today's slow housing market?
It's a buyer's market, and [the buyers] are tough. They've done their research, and they've done their homework. They are tough negotiators. And negotiating is not something that all sellers know how to do. That is something we are trained to do. We take classes on how to negotiate with different types of buyers, and that's a hard thing to do on your own. It's hard to do that with your own property, particularly if you are not a professional.

Have the online real estate tools now available to independent sellers made agents obsolete?
That was the theory when the Internet first came out, that it was going to replace Realtors. But if anything, it has become a major tool - and especially for someone who is relocating to different parts of the country, and also for marketing. The advantage of a Realtor is that we get the properties listed on Realtor.com, which has more far-reaching access to market that property - with over 3 million properties on it - than the for-sale-by-owner sites, which have tens of thousands. [Independent sellers do] not have access to Realtor.com.

10 Ways to Cut Energy Bills This Fall

When the leaves start falling, you know that the heating bills are about to start rising. But keeping your home warm and cozy on chilly autumn nights doesn't have to break the bank.

The U.S. Department of Energy offers these simple tips and relatively inexpensive home improvements that will help ensure cold gusts stay out and your furnace doesn't have to work harder than it should.

The goal: Conserve energy and keep more of your hard-earned dollars in your pocket.

Share these ideas with customers and use them for your own house. After all, who doesn't need to save a little money these days?

1. Plug air leaks with caulking, sealing, or weather stripping. Save 10 percent ($190 per year) or more on energy bills. Focus on windows, doors, outlets or switch plates on exterior walls.

2. Properly maintain the heating system. Heating accounts for half the average family's energy bill (approximately $950 per year). Make sure the furnace or heat pump receives professional maintenance each year. The small cost (about $75-100 for most service calls) will pay back in better performance all year long.

3. Install a programmable thermostat. Programming the thermostat from 72ºF to 65ºF for eight hours a day while no one is home, or everyone is tucked in bed, will cut the heating bill up to 10 percent ($90 per year), paying for a basic unit in less than a year.

4. Seal and insulate heating ducts. A system can lose up to 60 percent of its warmed air before it reaches the register (wasting $570 in warmed air per year) if ducts are not properly insulated in unheated areas such as attics and crawlspaces.

5. Insulate, insulate, insulate. Adequate insulation in the attic, ceilings, exterior and basement walls, floors, and crawlspaces can save up to 30 percent on home energy bills ($630 per year). Focus on the attic. (Heat rises.) Most homes should have between R-30 and R-49 insulation in the attic. Learn more at www.eere.energy.gov/consumer.

6. Close fireplace dampers when not in use. When in use, reduce heat loss by opening dampers in the bottom of the firebox (if provided) or open the nearest window about an inch, close doors to the room, and lower thermostat setting to 50-55ºF.

7. Let the sun shine in. Open curtains on south facing windows during the day to allow sunlight to naturally heat the home, and close them at night to reduce the chill from cold windows.

8. Stay out of hot water. Water heating accounts for 15 percent of household energy use. Reduce water heating costs by lowering the water heater’s thermostat setting. Each 10ºF reduction can save between 3-5 percent in energy costs. Also insulate the hot water heater and hot water pipes.

9. Install storm windows over single-pane windows or replace them with Energy Star qualified windows. Storm windows reduce heat loss by 25 to 50 percent, and storm windows with low-e coating that reflect heat back into the room during the winter months save even more energy. Look for the Energy Star label to maximize savings. Energy Star qualified windows reduce heating and cooling bills by an average of $345, but could be higher in cold and hot climates, compared with uncoated, single-pane windows. Can’t afford new windows just now? Tape clear plastic sheeting to the inside of window frames if drafts, water condensation, or frost are present.

10. Net big savings with a little label. When replacing appliances, light bulbs, electronics, or heating and cooling systems, cut energy bills by up to 30 percent ($600 per year) with Energy Star labeled products. Use compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) in place of comparable incandescent bulbs. Find retailers at www.energystar.gov.

These and other improvements that impact the energy efficiency of a home can save home owners money in the short term and serve as a selling point to potential buyers later. Be sure to save receipts, documentation, and manufacturer’s information.

Not sure where to begin? Try the Department of Energy's online energy audit tool at www.hes.lbl.gov. In the long run, a whole-house energy audit is a fool proof way to make a plan to address wasted energy and make a home operate efficiently for years to come. Visit www.natresnet.org to find a qualified auditor in your neck of the woods.