FIRM FOUNDATIONS REALTY

A House Divided Against Itself Will Fall

This 'saying' applies to many area of our lives. Two cannot walk together unless they agree. Take time and ponder on this.

When making an important decision to invest money in real estate, it takes agreement. Whether you are agreeing with a partner or your lender it won't happen unless you communicate openly and honestly. Finding that common ground and making wise decisions is a must. Every player involved in a transaction must be ethical and upfront so everyone knows what is going on. Asking questions and getting answers you understand is crucial in making a wise choice.

Make sure you are working with the right group of people. Stop and ask yourself if the decisions are in agreement or are they divided. Division will cause a 'fall'.

REAL ESTATE 101

Why should you be represented by a Professional REALTOR® when shopping for property?

Why would you spend the kind of money you are going to spend on property and NOT be with a Realtor® to protect your investment? Doing it alone can cause many unexpected things to happen.

Price ~ is it right? More often than not a For Sale By Owner property is not priced like an Appraiser has to put value on property. A Realtor® will look up comparable property that has sold within a certain time frame, just like the Appraiser will do, and find as many that are required to do their figuring on what the value is. More often than not a For Sale By Owner will price it in line with what they 'need' out of it.

Inspections ~ why get them? Why wouldn't you want to know if there are 'hidden' things wrong that could not only cost you more money, but be a safety issue or health issue? A Realtor® will make sure you get an inspection that protects you from these hidden things which will give you the right to walk away and get any Earnest Money you have put down.

Negotiations ~ Why worry about negotiating? Negotiations are not only about the price to pay, but about your rights all along the way. What if you want questions answered that the Owner does not want to be honest about? You need protected every step of the way.

Lender ~ Why would you not want to get best rates and clear concise care when borrowing money? A Realtor® has access to many Lenders and Loan programs, why not let them shop around for you? After all, they have the experience that you don't have.

Did you know that if timelines are not met in a Contract to Purchase that the Seller can say they are not going to sell to you now and sell to someone else? But, I'm using an Attorney, you say. Hmmm... let's think about that. An Attorney gets paid for what ~ solving problems. So, do you think this Attorney will avoid problems for you? Hmmm... don't they get paid by the hour? Ask an Attorney how much Real Estate he/she learned in Law School. THAT should answer your question. A Buyer Agent is the one that will find you property and write up your contract. Buyers do NOT pay this Buyer Agent ~ rather the Seller pays them. WHAT? You didn't know that. Well, there is alot to learn about Real Estate transactions ~ so ~ LET ME DO THE WORK FOR YOU!

REAL ESTATE 101

When searching for properties for sale do NOT think you can go to an individual website 'of an office' and find EVERYTHING that is for sale there even if that site is linked INTO their Multiple Listing database. Why will some addresses you put in say 'OFF MARKET' when you search? Because THAT listed property is NOT in the same Multiple Listing the office is in that you are searching on.
I know it doesn't make sense but that's the way it works. You need to be searching for properties for sale on www.realtor.com or sites like this.

Just another 'piece of understanding' from:

FIRM FOUNDATIONS REALTY
Brenda S. Allen, Managing Broker/Owner
CARLINVILLE,IL. 217-899-7136

TODAY’S WORD from Joel and Victoria~ There was a report about children who had been bullied in school. It talked about how years later, those negative words were still having an effect on many of them.

They interviewed this one man. He was in his 40’s. He looked to be a bright, intelligent man, but he had not been able to hold down a good job, struggled in his relationships, and couldn’t seem to get on course. He said as a child, he was overweight. He was chubby, and some of the other children made fun of him and called him names like “loser” and “failure.” He made the mistake of letting those words take root. Now they were keeping him in mediocrity.

When somebody calls you something, either good or bad, that seed is planted in your soil. Now you get to determine whether or not that seed takes root and grows. When you dwell on what was said, you are watering the seed. You’re giving it a right to become a reality. That’s why it’s so important that we’re disciplined in our thought life.

It’s great when people tell you, “You’re blessed. You’re talented. You’re going to do great things.” Meditate on those throughout the day. Water those seeds and watch His truth become your reality!

A PRAYER FOR TODAY Father, thank You for depositing seeds of greatness inside of me. I choose to uproot every negative word spoken over me by accepting Your truth that will set me free! In Jesus’ name. Amen.

— taken from Joel & Victoria Osteen

NAVIGATION

~ ENCOURAGEMENT AND TIDBITS ~