Listing Your Home? Choose an Agent Wisely

A list of talking points can be very valuable to guide the conversation with an agent that will lead to a decision to have he or she represent you in the sale of your home.  If you haven’t been through the process before or it has been a while, the answers to these questions can reveal things about the experience and where-with-all of your candidate.
Even if you only intend to interview one agent and maybe they are a trusted friend, it is appropriate to understand how different issues will be handled.  Professionals should not feel challenged to discuss these important concerns.

1. Tell me about your experience and training.

2. Do you work real estate full-time?

3. Are you a REALTOR® and a member of MLS?

4. What is the average price of the homes you have sold and how many did you sell last year?

5. Which neighborhoods do you primarily work?

6. How many homes have you sold in my neighborhood?

7. What is your list price to sales price ratio?

8. How many buyers and sellers are you currently working with?

9. Tell me about the positives and negatives of my home?

10. Describe your marketing plan for my home and if you will use outside professionals.

11. Specifically address Internet exposure, open houses and showings.

12. Describe how you’ll keep me informed all along the way.

13. Will I work directly with you or with team members?

14. Can you provide me with three recent references?

You might have noticed that price was not in the list of talking points.  The seller sets the price but the market and the buyer determine the value.  The agent can advise you about the proper range that will insure activity and ultimately affect your final proceeds.  The advice should be based on facts that are available to all agents as well as the prospective buyers and the appraisers.
The decision to list a home with a particular agent and company should never be based on the listing price suggested by the prospective agent.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist Insurance

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorist insurance coverage protects the insured if he/she is involved in an accident with a “non insured” or “underinsured” individual.

The level of uninsured or underinsured insurance coverage a client carries is normally equal to the bodily injury liability limits carried on your primary vehicle insurance policy.  These limits are often noted as “$100,000/$300,000” on the declaration sheet of your vehicle insurance policy.

The “$100,000” coverage is the limit payable by the insurance company per person.  The “$300,000” coverage is the limit payable by the insurance company for any particular occurrence. 

Contact your favorite insurance agent (Ryan Edgington, Burton Heginger, Andrea Shearer, or Tessa Everman) at the Triplett Companies (515/232-5240) for more information on such coverage and the pricing of that coverage. 

VEHICLE LIABILITY, COLLISION, AND COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE

Vehicle liability insurance covers a person who might be liable for his/her actions that caused an accident.

Collision insurance provides funding for repairs to the insured’s property due to an accident.  Collision insurance may also cover the required repairs to the injured parties in an accident.

Comprehensive insurance provides coverage for incurred damages on property due to vandalism, fire, flood, etc.

Contact your favorite insurance agent (Mike Carter, Andrea Shearer, or Tessa Everman) at the Triplett Companies (515/232-5240) to see if you have adequate coverage in each of these areas and for several competitive price quotes on vehicle liability, collision, and/or comprehensive coverage.

Natural Disaster Insurance

Natural disasters may be defined as involving Mother Nature and her fury! Natural disasters particularly often included wind damage and flood damage. Of course, hurricanes and cyclones often cause additional damages due to power outages.

Flood Insurance is available through both private and government programs. The dollar premiums for such insurance coverage however are becoming more and more expensive as storms become increasingly prevalent.

Generally speaking homeowner insurance policies do not cover flood damage caused by a natural disaster. Flooding caused by frozen pipes may or may not be covered in a homeowner policy, but reimbursement for such damages is normally accompanied by a homeowner cost-sharing mechanism, known as the deductible!

Wind damage is normally covered by homeowner insurance policies, but wind damage caused by a hurricane or cyclone may involve deductibles based on a percent of the home's actual insured value.

Several points to remember about natural disaster insurance coverage and claims you submit for reimbursement for that damage:

1. Review your coverage with your insurance agent so you fully understand the coverage you have for flood, hail, wind, etc.
2. Review the type of deductible you have for any "natural disaster" insurance coverage.
3. Record your insurance policy number and your insurance agent information in several places other than your home.
4. Maintain an accurate record of the contents of your home detailing the type of possession, the cost of the possession, and when and where it was purchased. This record could be both a video and fact record. An online application that might help guide you in this effort is available at the Insurance Information Institute's website http://www.iii.org/software/. Search for the home inventory application.
5. Maintain an accurate, written record of your conversations with the claims adjuster who reviews the natural disaster to your home and personal property.

It pays to understand your insurance coverage and how to proceed when a disaster occurs.

Significant Problems

"The significant problems you face today cannot be solved at the same level of thinking you were at when you created them."

          - Albert Einstein

The housing market has definitely caused significant problems for some people but is also providing some amazing opportunities for others. Agents aren't like retailers who wake up one day realizing they have the wrong merchandise on the shelves.

Everyone needs a place to live and whether you rent or buy, you pay for the house you occupy. While the home for sale remains the same, the methods that produce results have to change.

Listing agents are diametrically opposed to the objectives of buyer's agents. This is not to say that there cannot be a win-win situation but each agent is trying to negotiate the best price and best terms for their client.

Financing can make listings more marketable and structure a transaction to provide the buyer with the cheapest cost of housing. Personal experience is a great teacher but a very expensive way to learn. An expert, like a Residential Finance Consultant can provide information and tools to make better decisions to be able to profit in the current market.

Declare Your Independence

With the 4th of July weekend just behind us, what better way to continue to celebrate independence than insuring your prized investments?

With Triplett, you can insure about anything you hold dear. Talk to one of our independent agents today to experience the Triplett difference and declare your independence!

Who Represents You?

In almost every state in the U.S., buyers have the option of being represented by their real estate agent. This relationship creates responsibilities that require the agent put their client's interests above their own.

The duties a buyer or seller can expect to receive (among others) are honesty, accountability, full disclosure, representation and reasonable skill and care. In a nutshell, the agent who represents you is working in your best interest.

It's a special relationship that doesn't exist with most of the other professionals involved in a real estate transaction. Mortgage and title officers are limited to their duties of honesty, accountability and specific requirements under the Real Estate Settlement and Procedures Act.

This special relationship with your real estate agent makes it advantageous to have them coordinate your efforts with the other professionals in the home buying process. Since most buyers' and sellers' transactions are infrequent, the agent can bring valuable experiences to the transaction.

At Triplett our real estate agents are trained and have special tools to help you make better decisions when you buy or sell and in between. Our goal is to help you improve and maintain the investment in your home so we can earn the right to be your lifelong real estate professional.