What is the best book for advice on buying and selling a home?

My wife and I want to find a new or resale home first and then offer our home for sale. I travel a lot and we have two small dogs. Realtors say it's worth the commission to use an agent, but on a $450,000 sale and 6%, that's $27,000 split between my agent and the buyer. Then there's closing costs and moving expense. I'm sure a little research can help us save a substantial amount.What is the best book for advice on buying and selling a home?
don't pay more then 2% to the listing agent! there are many agents out there willing to accept this. call their referals before hireing an agent also. we are sells people by trade so don't listen to us listen to our clients. if you want a book try


http://www.firsttuesday.us/18months.cfmWhat is the best book for advice on buying and selling a home?
You know that 6% is negotiable.


First you want to clean up the house, inside and out.


Take care of ALL repair items. Paint if you have to.


With regards to decor: A house purchase is always a little subjective. So you want to eliminate anything that is too personal from view. Take away your photos.


Have the house appear clean, well cared for and uncluttered.


That means that you will organize even your closets.


Pretend that you are a buyer and drive up to your own house.


What do you see? What needs fixing?


Now walk through your house, from the front door to the attic with the same critical eyes.


By doing that and making minor changes you might get a few extra dollars as well as sell the house in a shorter period of time.


Yes, you CAN sell it yourself. Remember that a very basic contract needs to include the following:


Cash-how much down payment


Loans-how much and at which interest rate


Agreements-anything you agree on spelled out. So if you include the dining room chandelier, write it down.


Property-street address or legal description(from tax bill)


Good luck.
You can definitely sell your home yourself. You do not have to use a real estate agent. Some of the best books are in the Dummy Series and also there is another Series of books (I always forget the name) but they are orange and blue books that roughly resemble the Dummy Series.





The other books tend to not talk in terms that new wellers would understand,they usually use real estate terms and can be confusing.
Real estate agents sell homes every day. How big of a book do you plan to read match that experience?





Who is going to show your house while you are traveling? Do you honestly want your wife opening your home to complete strangers who will very quickly know that you are not home?
OK, you're first reason for wanting to use a real estate agent is stated in your question.





In this market you will not want to find your new home before you sell your old one unless you can afford two mortgages for 3 to 6 months. Unless your home goes against the trend because it is super low priced or super gorgeous, it will take about 60 days minimum, depending on your market, for your home to sell.





If you pick out a replacement property first and ask that seller to hold it for you for 60 days, they may get a better offer than yours while they are waiting for you. They will dump you, give you back your deposit, and take the better offer instead of waiting for you.





You need a Realtor to explain all the forms to you.





You need a Realtor to help you price your property according to reality, not according to what your neighbor got for his place.





You need a Realtor to handle all the calls from the buyer's agent that need to be answered within the next 3 hours that you can't answer because you're busy working.





You need a Realtor to come up with creative negotiations and counteroffers when the buyer says he wants $5,000 credit back on the price because of this, that, or the other thing.





You need a Realtor to meet all the deadlines of the contract that can cause you to lose out on a deal or get in financial trouble if those deadlines are not met.





You need a Realtor to show you all the properties in the MLS you want to see, not just the Open Houses. You definitely need a Realtor to represent you for your new purchase because you sure don't want the seller's agent for your new place to handle both sides of the deal.





You also have to keep in mind that in this market, many Realtors are not doing well. There is a big myth out there that all real estate agents are rich. That's baloney. Yes, the $27,000 will be split in two, but if your working with an agent who has only sold two or three homes this year because the market is so slow, he ain't getting rich of that $13,000.





If a deal goes terribly wrong you could lose


$27,000 times 10.


That's the best reason to use a Realtor.
you answered it
I am just about list 9 houses with Realtor as test and try out basis. I am not afraid to pay for as long I know that what I pay for and worth my ROI.





If you don't want to sell there is always the option to trade 1031, barter, etc...





Another answer that you know out of $450K, how much is for you after.





If you can reinvest it and earn more from it, would it serve you better?





I used to own few thousand share of stocks, now I own lots of RE instead.





I buy and sell RE and and not yet use mortgage company for acquisition. I buy and sell properties across country and make good return of the ROI. Let ask more question if I can help.
I don't know of a book to help you. But, realistically, a mortgage broker can answer some of your questions for you.





You will need, especially in this market, a ';pre-qual'; letter saying you can get approved to buy the house for which you are looking to purchase. Realtors will not generally want to show you homes unless they know you can be approved beforehand, because they don't want to waste your time or theirs. They do work on straight commission and have to pay all of their own expenses to find, list, advertise, show and sell homes. I believe it is good though to have a realtor, because they look out for you! I bought a house 8 years ago and made a mistake by buying from ';Realtor Owned'; property, he looked out mostly for him. He owned, listed and sold it. I did not have a ';home inspection'; done and it was a mistake. Although I have a very handy husband so it didn't turn out too bad when we had a few issues later with the house. By the way, you NEVER HAVE TO pay 6%, that is just the standard. You can not only negotiate the price of the home, but also their commission, but they do work hard for their share of the 6%. By the time all of the expenses are paid by them to sell the house and all that goes with it, they end up realistically with 1% when they are lucky.





So, anyway, it is a good idea to be pre-approved first. A broker has several lenders from which to choose, and depending on your credit, income, debt and current mortgage, they will be able to tell you what is the best route to take. If you decided to buy the other house and you know can lease yours, you have to have a valid signed lease, the new lender looking to approve you will deduct the current debt of you current mortgage payment, in most cases.





NO I am not a real estate agent, I promise, although, I am a mortgage officer.
Google www.nolopress You will find bout any book you need on real estate.
Clark Howard has a new book on the subject. Also there is much free info on his website: clarkhoward.com
You have a couple of options. There are companies which specialize in ';FSBO'; properties and will list your home on the local multiple listing service and in some cases, even advertise it for a flat fee.


Selling your house yourself is time-consuming and difficult in a good market, much less this slow, bottom-fishing market. The best advice is to make sure your house is in tip-top condition, freshly painted, clean and smelling good. Also, price it properly. You can't expect to get top dollar right now. You might want to watch ';Sell This House'; on A %26amp; E, or any of the similar programs which give sellers advice.


De-clutter the place and rent a storage facility, if needed. Make sure the dogs are in a crate or kennel. Put away any personal photos. Freshen up those bedspreads and curtains. Remove heavy draperies and go for a light, open, modern look. Check out some of the home decor magazines and copy looks that appeal to you. Have the carpets cleaned, clear off kitchen and bathroom counters and turn on all the lights when you show the house. Walk through the house yourself and pretend you are a potential buyer. Do you like what you see?


Curb appeal is vital. Plant blooming flowers in front of the house, make sure the lawn is mowed and the bushes trimmed, have the outside painted. Lots of sales are lost because buyers don't like what they see from the street.


Remember, the first couple of weeks on the market are the most important. Make sure your house shows well!