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By Kathleen Chiras, on November 3rd, 2011
Proposed Legislation could help foreign nationals who want to spend $500,000 or more in the US on residential real estate. The person must be willing to spend at least $250,000 on a primary residence where they are willing to live for at least 180 days out of the year. During this time, the individual must also pay US taxes. Because those with enough cash to buy $500K worth of US real estate are spending at least 6 months in the US, they are spending money on gas, groceries and other goods and services that bolster local economies.
Financial guru Warren Buffet came up with one of the original suggestions that the US consider altering their policy for wealthy immigrants. This measure is seen as one way to boost the US real estate market and provide more incentive for foreign capital to flow into the United States. Analysts believe this measure could help east the US housing crisis. Currently, foreigners made up mostly of Canadians, Chinese, Mexicans, and folks from the UK and India spend about $80 billion on home purchases in the US annually.
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By Kathleen Chiras, on October 6th, 2011
I was very sad to hear of the death of Steve Jobs, as his visionary Macintosh computers made it possible for my small company survive and thrive for the past 17 years. Steve Jobs created a computers I could intuitively learn on my own when starting my business. Thanks to the strong advice of an old boyfriend, I bought a Mac computer when I started up my business aimed at helping buys find the best real estate buyer agents.
I was recently divorced and had two small children to raise, so I would get up at 6:00 am and read Macintosh technical manuals so I could understand thoroughly how to do word processing, spreadsheets and databases on this amazing machine. In the 17 years hence, I have never had a virus on my network of 8 Mac computers and I’ve never had to employ a technician to come in and fix my computers. It was all available to me through the amazing Apple support system that Steve Jobs created.
The days of hearing my clients say, “When are you going to stop using those toys and get a real PC?” are long past. Steve Jobs continued to innovate and make all the tools and interfaces to enable me to greatly expand my business. Sure, the computers cost a little more, but I’ve never had one fail me mechanically or with regards to applications or needed business tools. Steve Jobs was always there with a solution.
I continue to run my business on all Macs, and I’m using the iPad to communicate with workers and run my sheep & reforestation farm down in Costa Rica. Wherever you are Steve, I just want to say “thank you!”.
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By Kathleen Chiras, on June 20th, 2011
One of our wonderful buyer brokers in Costa Rica, Becky Clower, had this to say about working with agents. These are good points, so thought I’d repost some of her comments:
I want to sum up my years as a Realtor here in Costa Rica and kindly remind those out there to have courtesy and understand the following points:
Costa Rica Realtor Becky Clower
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- There is NO mandatory licensing in Costa Rica. There are, however, a few reputable organizations with voluntary licensing such as CRGAR (Costa Rica Global Association of Realtors) and CCCBR (Camara Costaricense de Corredores de Bienes Raices). Being a member of either or both of these shows that the Realtor that you are working with considers ethics, morals, networking with other agents and a future MLS system important. Very few agents in Costa Rica hold active real estate licenses in their home country. Even fewer of those worked as agents before coming to Costa Rica.
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By Kathleen Chiras, on March 25th, 2011
The status of the California real estate foreclosure market is still grim, according to one of our exclusive buyer agents located in French Valley CA. Our EBA there reports that prices seem to be stabalizing in CA, but it is still very difficult to get foreclosure deals for buyers, especially if they are short sales. He will not work short sales because efforts are futile. For example he recently lost a $234K offer on a short sale, but the bank accepted a cash offer of $186,000 after keeping them on the hook for 7 months.
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By Kathleen Chiras, on December 13th, 2010
Many real estate buyers in countries aside from the US who are English-speaking use an estate agent instead of a “real estate agent.” Estate agents provide many of the same services that US real estate agents do, but there are also some key differences.
The United States is one a small number of countries who have buyer agents. Buyer agents are licensed professionals who work in buyer’s best interest, not the seller’s. Traditional realty offices may have designated buyer agents and designated seller agents; exclusive buyer agent offices are completely comprised of buyer agents. The US also has transaction brokers who try to work a deal for the buyer and seller within the same firm.
The owner of this blog, Kathleen Chiras, is a Certified International Property Specialist. Please call our office at 303-670-0246 and ask staff to page her for a personal free consultation on the purchase of real estate within the US and how it differs from purchases in other countries.
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By Kathleen Chiras, on December 3rd, 2010
Should a real estate buyer agent point out negatives with a potential house purchase if the the buyer hasn’t already noticed them? Apparently some real estate designation classes are advising licensees to protect themselves first. Should the buyer just rely on an inspection to cover these items, or are buyers wanting more from their agents?
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By Kathleen Chiras, on August 5th, 2010
I recently asked our Exclusive Buyers Agent in Everett, WA to help out a family member who is experiencing the distress of this extremely down market in real estate.
Because this agency only helps buyers and does not take listings, she was able to provide objective advise for Dave, who is recently divorced. However, she cannot represent him in the sale of his property due her choice to represent only buyers in her firm. Dave has two homes with negative cash flow, and two “boomerang” children living at home:
“Dave is on the right track. He is going to try FSBO on his rental and see what happens from there.
I have advised him on associated costs in the sale so he is aware that even in a FSBO there are costs.
I will certainly keep him in mind if I have any Marysville clients that his homes would be a good fit for.
Thank you for contacting me and if I can be of any other assistance just let me know. It is such a bad time for Seller’s
As homes are now selling below appraised value.
Nancy”
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By Kathleen Chiras, on June 25th, 2010
The broker/owner of our SmartHomeSearch exclusive buyers agent company reported today that they recently helped their buyers save $108,000 off of one property and $62,000 off of another due to their expertise in negotiating in this market. Another recent closing is paying closer to asking price, but the buyer is happy with their purchase as this particular property fit their price and location parameters.
Apparently the market for real estate in Ann Arbor, MI is about average, but a number of real estate traditional firms are short of work. The broker/owner of this exclusive buyer agency company is also seeing a drop in traffic to his web site, but says he is working on making it more current with short videos that clearly explain the benefits that buyer agents can offer.
Select a top quality buyer agent for your own search today by getting a list of agents to consider.
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By Kathleen Chiras, on May 11th, 2010
How do buyer agents get paid? This is a question we often get, but the answer is not always a simple one. The most generic answer that is true in most cases, is that they get paid out of the transaction at closing. This is usually a commission based on the final sales price of the home.
However, with this sort of system it is understandable that some good quality buyer agents may be reluctant to work on homes valued at less than $100,000.
One of our brokers says he sets his price minimum at $3,000. Then if he is able to negotiate a $100,000 property down to a better price of say, $90,000 and save his buyers $10,000, then his agreement with them is that he gets paid $3000 instead of only $2,700. He says, “The buyers have just saved thousands of dollars due to my negotiating a great price for them, so they never mind adding back in the other $300 or so.”
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By Kathleen Chiras, on May 11th, 2010
I spoke with one of our premier exclusive buyer agents in the Dallas, TX area today and asked him about foreclosures and short sales. Are they the great bargain everyone is talking about? In this broker’s opinion, and in the Dallas-Fort Worth, TX area, the answer would be “no”. He says that in 8 out of 10 foreclosure homes, there is typically some sort of problem that would NOT make it a good deal.
This buyer agent looks very closely at not only the comps for a similar house but also the repair costs to make a below-market home a good livable home. Oftentimes, he says people at auctions who have not really done their homework will bid the price of the home over the threshold of what would make a “great deal”. Marion says that one must know how to add in the repair costs, or the overall price of the home will more than one that is well-maintained & simply sold by a motivated seller. He said, “Maybe two in ten might be a good deal, but many people would rather not be exposed to the risks of getting into something where repairs are more than anticipated. It might work well for someone who is very handy at doing the repairs themselves”.
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