calusa

Does Size Matter Among Real Estate Companies?

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

 

kendall shopping

Who to choose in the event of selling is a million dollar question for many homeowners?

The quick answer is: it doesn’t matter.

The real answer: companies don’t sell homes. Agents do.

So I recently listed a client’s home for sale by the Calusa area in Kendall. This is a prospect that simply went online and found three real estate agents. Appointments were made with each, and I was the lucky chosen one to represent the seller.

According to the seller, I was competing against an agent from Remax and an agent from Coldwell Banker. During the interview, the seller asks me; “Who the heck are you? Never heard of your company name.” And I replied; “K&A Realty…family business.”

His next question was; “why should I hire you if you are unknown?”. I replied; “all you need to feel is convinced that the agent you hire will sell your home for the highest possible price within your time expectations. As for branding, logos, company names, the car I drive, cologne I wear…all that might as well go down the drain”.

There are a few other compelling reasons I provided to the seller as to why it does not matter if you hire a big or small company, but I’ll leave that for our appointment (yes…you reading this).

Am sure most of us have seen big realty companies advertise on TV during prime time. Ever seen your home address included in those ads? Nooo!

See, what big companies do want you to “feel” is that you are hiring a corporation with bells and whistles to handle the sale. And real estate agents from big companies drill this “feeling” at appointments with one goal in mind. Get the listing.

Watch out. Don’t be fooled by this. You may be hiring a part time Realtor that sold two listings in the past twelve months. And one of them was their own home 🙂

Lastly, half of the top agents nation wide run their own show under their own name. And I am one of them. Why would that be?

Make Or Break. Home Price

Mario AvalosLeave a comment

the falls single family homeHome price. Like the concept of “truth”, its mainly in eye of the beholder.

So a gentleman from Amaretto, a Kendall community composed of single family homes, phoned me a few days ago asking for the value of his house. And I gave it to him…and it caught him off guard. What a surprise 😛

I told him that homes in Amaretto (as of 10/30/13) are more less going for in the low to mid $200,000(s) depending on the interior condition of the property and several other factors.

Then he asked, “how come other homes like in Westchester or Calusa are going for well over $300,000?”. I replied, “it’s mainly due to three factors:

  1. the garage
  2. lot size
  3. HOA or association

Believe it or not, in the area of Kendall as of 10/30/13, what makes or breaks the $250,000 (approximate) price mark for single family homes are these three factors.

In other words, if you home is located in a community that has an association. In a community where lot sizes are relatively small at less than 6,000 square feet. And such homes do not have a garage…then expect prices to be under $250,000.

Now…say you start adding a garage…that one item alone can put you in the mid $200,00s.  Add a larger lot…automatically you’re in the high $200,000s. No association? Starting ballpark price? $300,000. Off-course…adding these factors do not have to be in that order…but you get the point.

Who’s the lesser of the three evils…I would say the lot size. Most buyers I work with prefer to give up a larger lot size in order to find a home with at least a 1-car garage and preferably with no home owner’s association. What’s your preference?

Disclaimer. Disclaimer. Disclaimer. The above is a rule of thumb or a good approximation of how prices are looking in today’s Kendall market. Am not an attorney so I won’t complicate this. Want to know the precise value of your home?

Contact me.

Want to have a ballpark idea of your home’s value…re-read this post or you can also Contact me.