Virginia Beach Real Estate Podcast with Robbie McCarty Robbie McCarty

How do my team and I help buyers find homes, given the low inventory in today’s market? Today, I’d like to tell you about our strategy. Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search  Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation With the low level of inventory in our current market, how can buyers find a home? Today, I’d like to explain how my team and I help buyers find properties that aren’t even on the market. One strategy we use is calling around neighborhoods that a buyer may be interested in. We’re able to do this thanks to our database of phone numbers and addresses. By calling around our database, we’re able to find out whether anyone in that neighborhood is thinking of selling their home. Since they aren’t listed on the market, these properties will see much less competition. This helps our buyers identify additional options on the market. Also, these properties will see much less competition since they aren’t listed on the market. If you have any other questions, would like more information, or want help finding a home, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Our five-day listing program is designed to get you the most money and best terms for your home in the least amount of time. Here’s how it works. Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search  Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation The market is very hot right now and a lot of homes are receiving multiple offers. What are we doing to create higher offers for our listings in the current market? We’ve come up with a tactic that I call the five-day listing. We start by listing your home on a Thursday, after we’ve gotten it ready and had it properly staged for the market. Then, we schedule an open house for that Sunday. Realtors and buyers see the property hit the MLS and all of the other real estate websites on Thursday, so they call to schedule showings on Friday or Saturday. When they call, we tell them that the seller has an open house scheduled that Sunday, and that the seller has asked to wait until after the open house to accept offers. This way, we create urgency and scarcity in the mind of the buyers and the agents. If they make an offer before the open house, they will make the highest offer possible. We advertise the open house on every real estate website out there, including Zillow, Realtor.com, Trulia, and the MLS. That way, buyers know about the open house. We also put out 30 to 50 open house signs to create a huge event. We make a spectacle out of the open house to create a sense of urgency for the buyers. We really want to make a spectacle out of your open house so that any buyers who are interested in your property will be scared that someone else might buy it. A lot of the time, we never even have to have the open house. Since the buyers who have showings on Friday or Saturday are scared of losing the house, their offers are usually very good. In that case, you can just go ahead and accept an offer. If we do have the open house, you will likely have multiple offers on the home by Monday. Those offers can drive the sales price up and help you get the best terms. Our five-day listing strategy helps you sell for the most money in the least amount of time and without any hassle. If you have any questions about selling your home in today’s market, just give me a call or send me an email. My team and I would be happy to help you!

It’s hard to find the right home in today’s hot market. Here are a few ways I go above and beyond to help you do just that. Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search  Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation How do we go above and beyond to find the right property for buyers? This is especially difficult right now in today’s hot market. Offers come in fast and homes move quickly off the market. For this reason, there are a few extra steps we take to ensure we’re doing the most we can for our clients. First of all, we search sources outside of just the MLS. This includes looking at Zillow, Craigslist, foreclosure and off-market properties, and For Sale By Owner properties, as well. By looking in these places, we’re able to find homes outside of the ones everyone else on the market is already seeing. Additionally, we preview properties for buyers. Listing photos are meant to look good. However, not every home out there is as good as it appears. I’d say between half to ¾ of all homes on the market simply aren’t what they may seem. My goal is to help you find the right home. To avoid wasting time on homes like these, I will preview properties that fit your criteria and select the ones I think will be the best fits for you. This way, we can find the right property and make an offer before it’s too late. My goal is to help you find the right home. If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Should your agent hold open houses in order to sell your home? I’ll explore a few reasons why that may not be the best use of your agent’s time. Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search  Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation If you are trying to sell your home, should your agent be doing open houses? The question isn’t whether or not open houses work—it’s whether or not they are a good use of your agent’s time. According to the National Association of Realtors, less than 1% of homes sell via open house. So, why do agents still bother with them? There are two reasons why your agent might have an open house: They want to show you that they are doing something that looks like work. The agent wants to get future business from the open house rather than sell your home. If your home is in a lower price range, you should also know that buyers who look at open houses often end up buying a home close to 30% less than the price of that home.   Is it efficient for your agent to do open houses? Let’s say you hire someone to frame a house. Are you going to pay one carpenter more because they will use a hammer instead of a nail gun? Of course not. Less than 1% of homes sell via open house. Everything works sometimes, so every now and then an open house will sell a home. That said, your agent really shouldn’t be wasting your time on open houses. They are not going to find a quality buyer who can afford your house that way. If you have any other questions about open houses or about selling your home, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

Are you thinking of purchasing a home? Make sure that it’s something you truly want. Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search  Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation Today I wanted to answer the question, “Should I buy a home?” The question that I first want to ask you if you’re thinking about purchasing a home is why do you want to buy a home? There’s a lot of propaganda coming out of the real estate industry telling you that everyone should buy a home, and buying a home is better than renting. The truth is that all of that is designed to get you to buy more houses, so you need to make sure that you’re buying a home for the right reasons. Are you doing it because you think you should do it, or because you’re truly looking for an enjoyable place to live and a better place for your family? When you buy a home, you need to have an exit strategy or plan on owning it for a long time. You also need to understand that your primary residence is not an investment, but rather a luxury item that you’re buying because you want it. You will typically only break even on the home that you live in, and never really make a profit from it. If you're thinking of buying a home, make sure that's what you truly want. If you're thinking of buying a home, make sure that's what you truly want. You need to think of the long-term benefits of owning a home because you’ll be obligating yourself to a 30-year mortgage with monthly payments. It needs to be a smart investment for you, not just monetarily but for your own life. If you have any additional questions about this topic or you’re thinking of buying or selling a home, please give me a call. I would be happy to help!

Why is the Hampton Roads real estate market so competitive this summer? I’ll explain today. Buying a Hampton Roads home? Get a full home search  Selling your Hampton Roads home? Get a free Home Price Evaluation What’s happening in the Hampton Roads real estate market this summer?  There are a few main points to pay attention to.  First of all, interest rates are still very low. Right now, they’re hovering around 4%, which is great news for any buyers in the market.  Inventory levels are also extremely low.  If you are thinking of selling your home, the market is on fire. Now is a great time to put your home on the market.  Low inventory does make things a little more difficult for buyers, as there are fewer options available on the market. Plus, great deals and awesome properties are being snatched up quickly.  Remember, markets can change at any time. If you’re thinking of selling your home, don’t get too cocky. Remember, markets can change at any time. What goes up eventually must come down, so take advantage of the increased prices in the market now.  If you’re buying a home, I recommend working with a top agent who’s looking at properties every day. That way, you’ll know the minute a home you’re interested in hits the market.  If you have any questions or would like to learn more about the market in your specific neighborhood, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!