Page 178 - South Mississippi Living - March, 2016

THEFINALSAY STEPHANIE
SHAW
Broker/Owner
Latter & Blum Shaw Properties
photo courtesy of Stephanie Shaw
Anyone with property to sell may wonder if it’s beneficial to hire a professional realtor.
When you hire a professional, not only do you have access to the education and expertise of that person, you are
also borrowing the influence the agent has in his or her community and their network of vendors and peers. A good agent lists buyers through an agency agreement just like they list homes, making your agent as well as their peers a great source of buyers!
Safety and convenience are also benefits. Without a professional, you don’t know who you’re running home or changing weekend plans to let into your home. Are they pre qualified? Will they show up? Agents access safety first for their sake as well as yours. Their time is money and they do not show houses to folks who do not qualify to buy.
Add exposure and marketing expertise to the list of benefits. A REALTOR® has unique resources available through membership in local, state and national associations. The Multiple Listing Service — where we share active, pending and sold data — is just a piece of the pie. We have educational opportunities allowing us
to exceed state requirements, to help us stay on top of ever-changing industry regulations, as well as networking events which foster relationships with our peers; after all, there is a 50 percent (chance) one of them will bring the buyer.
As a third party an agent remains objective. Buyers do not care if a seller bought high and owes more than fair market value at the time of the sell. Sellers are often emotionally invested in their home. A professional has objectivity and perspective to help bring parties together for a successful transaction.
In the state of Mississippi, REALTORS® are the most
accurate
source of information. While the huge players such as Zillow are useful if purchasing property in other states, Mississippi is different. Here tax assessors are responsible for collecting data to access value in order to calculate a property tax. In many cases square footage is incorrect on tax records and the value they determine is not “market” value. Another source of data used by value estimators is collected off of warranty deeds. In the state of Mississippi all warranty deeds read in the sum and consideration of ten dollars. Therefore, Zillow and other value estimators cannot mine the data to come up with accurate property values.
Ways of leaving money on the table:
1.) Overpricing extends the time on the market and may
stigmatize the property. Buyers may question “is there something wrong with this property” and eventually make a low ball offer. Are you calculating your holding costs while the home sits? Remember, money saved is money earned.
2.) Underpricing leaves money on the table. Navigating the home selling process from listing to
closing can be a juggling act. Care and diligence are required to follow the progress of inspections, appraisals and other contingencies because after all, time is of the essence!
178 SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living • March 2016
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