Dear JMan, I am a first time homebuyer and am  looking  to buy a home in the coming months. I have been going to some open houses here and there and have had agents ask me if I am working with an agent? I am wondering what the benefits might be to working with an exclusive buyers agent? I can find the properties myself on the internet or even using some of my m smartphone apps as I drive around. What are your thoughts?

I get this questions at least once a week. It use to be years ago that Realtors had the information and the control of all of the properties that were for sale. You had to go to them to find out what was for sale. Today, a buyer may know about a property hours after it is listed. They can even drive around in the cars and use GPS based home search apps. It is truly amazing what is possible today. That being said, You still need to use a buyers agent. Finding the property for you  is only one small part of what an agent does and now a days it is more then likely that you will find the house first. Here are some of the top reason you should use a buyer agent.

1.) IT’S FREE: You don’t have to pay them directly. The buyers agents fee for service is paid by the seller and the sellers agent. It is one of the only industry’s where you can effectively hire an expert for free. So, Why wouldn’t you?

2.) It’s convenient: Let the expert handle the details, A  buyers agent knows the neighborhood, the agents and the different showing methods. Trying to schedule a handful of showings even if they are in the same town can be a challenge. You can tell your agent when your available and what houses and he can handle the rest.

3.) Market knowledge: This is where the real expertise comes in. You don’t gain market knowledge over night. It takes time and experience. Many agents live and grew up in the neighborhoods they currently specialize in and can tell you what you need to know to establish what values might be in one area to another. Positive or negative, you need to know.

4.) Professional negotiation: The art of negotiation is truly a specialized skill that your agent does everyday. Price and terms are only the first part of what you negotiate as there is usually an inspection right after that also has to be negotiated. There is a delicate balance of being fair and reasonable and a take or leave it attitude. Your agent knows that push/pull so that he looks out for your best interests and still gets you the home of your dreams.

5.) Professional connections: Your buyers agent has invaluable industry connections that he can recommend you to. He can give you names of mortgage professionals, inspectors, insurance agents, attorneys and even home repair professionals. These are people that he knows and trusts. It is much better then doing a blind search on the internet or the phone book.

6.) Insider knowledge: Agents network with one another within the office and even with other companies. There may be time when they hear about a property that is coming on the market and can let you know about it ahead of time.

7.) Access to sales info: A buyers agent does have access to recent sales which is absolutely necessary to establish what is an accurate market value. You can’t just say,” that house isn’t worth x amount.” just because that is your opinion. Your agent will give you a number based on acts and statistics.

8.) Knowledge of industry standards & contracts: a buyer agent is familiar with what is standard in a transaction as what to ask for or what disclosures should be provided. They also know how to write the contract and contingencies to put in there to protect you from a potential lawsuit down the road or buying a property that could have some issues.

Buying a home will be one of the single most important and largest purchases of your lifetime. Don’t try to go it alone. A buyer agent is on your side and is exclusively looking out for your best interests. Let a buyers agent guide your through the process. You will be glad you did!

Home sales for the Greater Rochester and Finger Lakes region were up 5 percent in the Fourth Quarter compared to the same time last year, and down 22 percent compared to the Third Quarter sales total, according to statistics released by the Genesee Region Real Estate Information Services (GENRIS), the information subsidiary of the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS® (GRAR).

“It is encouraging, overall, to see this type of activity at this time of the year,” said Steve Babbitt, president of the Greater Rochester Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors. “The positive activity of the Fourth Quarter 2011 are the result of two factors: 1) an unseasonably warm start to our Rochester winter, and 2) continued signs of recovery from the ‘Great Recession’ within the local housing market in the 11-county region.”

Area REALTORS® sold 2,243 existing single-family homes in the Fourth Quarter, an increase of 5 percent from the 2010 Fourth Quarter total of 2,134. The median sale price for the Fourth Quarter of $124,000 reflected a 4 percent increase compared to last year at this time

“The Fourth Quarter was the second straight quarter with increased sales,” said Babbitt. “These trends are indicators of a return to a more traditional housing market and one absent of the outside influence of a Homebuyer Tax Credit. In addition, this past quarter there was a 93 percent increase in the pending sales, a forward-looking indicator of future activity, which leaves us anticipating a positive start to 2012.

GRAR Officials also noted that 2011 overall reflected a stable ‘leveling off’ and return to a more ‘normal’ market from one affected by the Federal Homebuyer Tax Credit for the better half of 2010. Overall, sales for 2011 decreased 10 percent, however homes listed for sale were also down 10 percent in comparison to 2010. Median sale price remained stable with a small increase in 2011 to $120,000 from $119,900 in 2010.

Looking at the annual history of the median sales price locally, not many markets can say they went through the national housing bust that began in 2007 and four years later have realized an average 2 percent gain on the investment in their home,” said Babbitt. “This goes to show that owning a home in our market is a wise investment and with historically low interest rates there’s no better time to buy than now.” Other good news included Livingston and Ontario counties overall realized both Fourth Quarter and Annual increases in median sale prices. Interesting note for Monroe County in 2011, the Eastside towns of Brighton, Penfield and Pittsford all realized small gains in the number of sales yet experienced minor declines in median sales prices. Conversely, the Westside towns of Clarkson, Ogden and Wheatland experienced declines in number of sales however realized increases in median sales prices.

Dear JMan, I am looking to buy a house and have heard from friends that there are a lot of good deals out there. I have been searching on the internet and found some properties that say they are a short sale and they seemed to be priced below market. What is a short sale?

It really is a great time to buy and It may be a great time to get a great bargain but it pays to know a little about the seller’s situation and a short sale before you make an offer. Sometimes a good “deal” can just be a home that meets your needs at a price you comfortable with.Ultimately, 10 years from now you won’t remember what you paid for the house but you wil know that you and your family are happy. Here is probably more information then you probably hoped for in regards to short sales.

If a home is being sold for below what the current seller owes on the property—and the seller does not have other funds to make up the difference at closing—the sale is considered a short sale. Many more home owners are finding themselves in this situation due to a number of factors, including job losses, aggressive borrowing against their home in the days of easy credit, and declining home values in a slower real estate market.

A short sale is different from a foreclosure, which is when the seller’s lender has taken title of the home and is selling it directly. Homeowners often try to accomplish a short sale in order to avoid foreclosure. But a short sale holds many potential pitfalls for buyers. Know the risks before you pursue a short-sale purchase.

You’re a good candidate for a short-sale purchase if: You’re very patient. Even after you come to agreement with the seller to buy a short-sale property, the seller’s lender (or lenders, if there is more than one mortgage) has to approve the sale before you can close. When there is only one mortgage, short-sale experts say lender approval typically takes about two months or more. If there is more than one mortgage with different lenders, it can take four months or longer for the lenders to approve the sale.

Your financing is in order. Lenders like cash offers. But even if you can’t pay all cash for a short-sale property, it’s important to show you are well qualified and your financing is set. If you’re preapproved, have a large down payment, and can close at any time, your offer will be viewed more favorably than that of a buyer whose financing is less secure.

You don’t have any contingencies. If you have a home to sell before you can close on the purchase of the short-sale property—or you need to be in your new home by a certain time—a short sale may not be for you. Lenders like no-contingency offers and flexible closing terms.

If you’re serious about purchasing a short-sale property, it’s important for you to have expert assistance. Here are some people you want to work with:

Experienced real estate attorney. Only about two out of five short sales are approved by lenders. But a good real estate attorney who’s knowledgeable about the short-sale process will increase your chances getting an approved contract. Also, if you want any provisions or very specialized language written into the purchase contract, a real estate attorney is essential throughout the negotiation.

A qualified real estate professional.* You may have a close friend or relative in real estate, but if that person doesn’t know anything about short sales, working with him or her may hurt your chances of a successful closing. Interview a few practitioners and ask them how many buyers they’ve represented in a short sale and, of those, how many have successfully closed. A qualified real estate professional will be able to show you short-sale homes, help negotiate the purchase when you find the property you want to buy, and smooth communications with the lender. (All MLSs permit, and some now require, special notations to indicate that a listing is a short sale. There also are certain phrases you can watch for, such as “lender approval required.”)

Title company. It’s a good idea to have a title company do an initial title search on a short-sale property to see all the liens attached to the property. If there are multiple lien holders (e.g., second or third mortgage or lines of credit, real estate tax lien, mechanic’s lien, homeowners association lien, etc.), it’s much tougher to get that short sale contract to the closing table. Any of the lien holders could put a kink in the process even after you’ve waited for months for lender approval. If you don’t know a title company, your real estate attorney or real estate professional should be able to recommend a few. Some attorneys here locally have in house title companies and simplify the process further.

Some of the other risks faced by buyers of short-sale properties include:

Potential for rejection. Lenders want to minimize their losses as much as possible. If you make an offer tremendously lower than the fair market value of the home, chances are that your offer will be rejected and you’ll have wasted months. Or the lender could make a counteroffer, which will lengthen the process.

Bad terms. Even when a lender approves a short sale, it could require that the sellers sign a promissory note to repay the deficient amount of the loan, which may not be acceptable to some financially desperate sellers. In that case, the sellers may refuse to go through with the short sale. Lenders also can change any of the terms of the contract that you’ve already negotiated, which may not be agreeable to you.

No repairs or repair credits. You will most likely be asked to take the property “as is.” Lenders are already taking a loss on the property and may not agree to requests for repair credits.

The risks of a short sale are considerable. But if you have the time, patience, and iron will to see it through, a short sale can be a win-win for you and the sellers.

* Not all real estate practitioners are REALTORS®. A REALTOR® is a member of the NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® and is bound by NAR’s strict code of ethics.

Note: This article provides general information only. Information is not provided as advice for a specific matter. Laws vary from state to state. For advice on a specific matter, consult your attorney or CPA.