Memphis, TN and Cordova, TN Home Buyers and Sellers

Memphis Property Management Professionals, better known as MPMP, is not just in the rental home and Commercial and Residential property management business, but we are a full service Real Estate Agency!  If you are looking to purchase or sell a home, give us a call.  Here are some tips for home buyers.

As a home buyer, you need to have an advocate on your side, looking out for you.  Your buyer’s agent will not only show you houses, but will help you locate financing, negotiate on your behalf, educate you on the buying process and the real estate market, set up inspections, locate an attorney and other people who are integral to buying and will help you determine value of the homes under consideration.

A true buyer’s agent will also show you foreclosures and un-listed properties if you want them to.

Yes, You Need to Sign a Contract

In order to receive the benefit of all of these services and truly be represented by an agent, you will be asked to sign a contract.  This contract also ensures that the agent can be paid at the closing.
Note: It is against the law for an agent in some states to show a buyer another brokerage’s listings without a signed buyer agency agreement.

A savvy buyer may not want to get locked into a long buyer agency agreement with an agent they just met - understandable. A way around this is to ask for a short-term agreement or one that only covers a select few properties. A buyer and agent can look at a few properties together and the buyer can “test-drive” the agent’s approach, industry and market knowledge - something that’s difficult to gauge in a meeting.

If the agent never asks you to sign a contract, then find one who will.  If an agent isn’t willing to protect his/her own interests, then they may not be willing to protect yours. Or, that agent has too much free time on his/her hands.

Who Pays the Buyer’s Agent?

A buyer agent’s service is not free.  Although most buyers don’t pay anything out-of-pocket for the service, the home seller, through their listing agreement, pays for the buyer agent’s commission and the commission is built into the home price and paid with the proceeds of the closing.
Most of the time, a buyer’s agent only works with the home buyers in a particular real estate transaction and the home buyer can be assured that the agent is working to help you buy the home you want for the best price and terms.
However, sometimes a buyer may sign on to work with an agent who happens to also be the listing agent for a home the buyer wants to buy. When this happens, it’s called dual agency - where one agent represents both the home buyer and seller in the same transaction. Dual agency is legal in Connecticut as long as both buyer and seller are aware that the situation may occur - our standard buyer agency agreement has a clause.

How to Choose a Buyer’s Agent?

You should work with an agent who represents buyers at least 50% of the time.   Do not, and I repeat do not, assume that the person who has the most signs in an area or the most ads in a real estate book works with a lot of buyers.  Some agents specialize in taking listings and don’t work on the buyers side very often. The only way to know is to ask the agent.
A great place to find an agent is through people you trust - an attorney, an accountant, family, friends, etc.

OR YOU CAN CALL ME!  NICKIE LANGLEY-PERMENTER.  901-848-9138   nickie@mpmpllc.com

I can help buyers and sellers with:
- Buyer Representation
- Property Sales & Marketing
- Securing/Choosing Financing
- Property Condition Analysis
- Price Analysis
- Inspection Negotiation
- Negotiation
- Process Management
- Contractor Referrals
- Market Research
- Sales/Purchase Strategizing

MPMP, LLC 901-756-5776

Tough Times Ahead for Rental Market

Harvard Study Warns of Rent Bubble

By Steve Cook

RISMEDIA, June 2, 2011—For renters, the national recovery could be very bad news. That warning came from the Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies’ latest report on America’s rental housing. Rental markets are now tightening, with vacancy rates falling and rents climbing. With little new supply of multifamily units in the pipeline, rents could rise sharply as demand increases. Regardless, affordability is likely to deteriorate further over the next few years as persistently high unemployment limits renter income gains.
When job growth regains momentum, the number of renter households could climb quickly. Given the long lead times needed to develop new multifamily housing, a sharp increase in demand could quickly reduce vacancy rates and put upward pressure on rents. While this would be good news for owners and investors in rental housing, it would also fuel the intense affordability pressures, the study warns.
A variety of rental market indicators suggest that the worst repercussions from the recession may be over. While this is good news for most of us, especially property owners, the recovery may increase the rent pressures on households still struggling in an environment of sluggish job growth. The ongoing foreclosure crisis should continue to spur growth in the number of renter households as former owners switch to renting. Single-family home foreclosures will also add a steady flow of units to the rental market. The ability of renter households to occupy these homes will be an important factor in maintaining the stability of distressed neighborhoods hard hit by the foreclosure crisis.
Although there appears to be an excess supply of rental housing at present, this could change quickly as the economy recovers and household formation among younger adults returns to a more typical pace. An upsurge in demand could outstrip the available supply and push construction activity back up, the study says.
One of the most important questions going forward is whether mortgage financing will be available to fuel rental property purchases and investments. Even before the financial crisis, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were an important source of financing for both multifamily and investor-owned single family properties. And during the crisis, the GSEs—along with FHA—accounted for the vast majority of new financing. As Congress takes up debate about what, if any, role the GSEs should play in the mortgage markets, policymakers must consider the vital importance they have as a source of capital for rental housing.