Once in a while… more often than that really, I get the question. “Why don’t you work with Century 21 anymore?” or “Why did you leave Remax?”

There’s really no simple answer to either of those questions, which if you really drill down, they want to know why I’m not part of a large real estate franchise.

To be clear, for those of you reading this who don’t already know me. I’ve seen almost 17 years of Real Estate. Of those, I spent 9 almost 10 years with Century 21 and recently about 6 with Remax.

As you can see, I don’t jump around much. I like having a stable location where my clients know they can find me …. so why did I leave you ask?

Here’s the answer… in its purest form… ready… because “I” serve my clients, not Remax, Century 21 or any other franchise for that matter. I visit their homes, hold their hand through the selling or buying process, answer all their questions, review documents and explain what needs explaining.  Yes, even the hard stuff that might jeopardize the sale.

This day in age with so much information literally at your finger tips and loads of low cost advertising options online. The benefits of the big franchise brands is little to none. To the agent or the seller.

Before it was the name recognition and marketing that the large brands offered that was of value. If you notice, during the slim years there was little marketing from most of the large brands. Most of the marketing you where exposed to was yard signs and the franchise doesn’t invest into that type of marketing.

Here’s something for you to think about. Will a franchise sign on your front yard…make your home any more appealing to a buyer?

Probably not…right?

After 16 years of selling Real Estate, the key to selling your home or any other product for that matter is getting as many people to see it by creating demand. Which I can do for you without the need of a franchise.

Understanding the market, knowing the level of inventory and activity on current inventory is what’s going to sell your home for top dollar not a dark brown and yellow sign on the yard.

Not having a brand allows me the flexibility I want to have when I work with the community. It also saves, you the seller, the premium you knowingly or unknowingly pay for that brand name.

The truth is a home will sell itself to the “Correct” buyer in most cases with minimal selling by the agents. Does that mean you don’t need an agent’s services? If you believe that the only thing an agent does is show the home you’d be correct but that’s not the case.

Let me ask you this… you know where your cars engine is located but do you have the correct tools and experience to properly replace a set of head gaskets install the heads back to the engine block? In most cases, probably not right!

As your agent my job is to lend you my 16+ years of knowledge, current market experience and skills at evaluating competition to sell your home for top dollar. While at the same time making it as smooth and enjoyable a transaction as possible.

That’s what a professional agent can do for you. Writing up a contract can be done by anyone. Making sure it’s a solid contract that fair, protects your interest and the follow up and follow through needed is what I bring to your selling team. Making sure all steps are completed is the true value of an agent’s service.

For those who are considering a short sale as a way to get out of the unsurmountable debt of their home, 2012 might be the last year you can write off the forgiven debt.

Yes….you read that correctly. If you have to do a short sale and you complete it before the end of the 2012 calendar year you can still qualify for the “Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007”.

This act allows those who find that a short sale is the only option to avoid foreclosure to write off the debt that was forgiven by the lender. Meaning that you wont be liable for taxes on the fogiven debt. Which you otherwise would be liable to pay taxes on.

Here’s a short example. If you bought a property for $500,000 and after the drop in value of the home you short sell it for $250,000. The lender would have to forgive $250,000 for you to successfully close the short sale. Those $250,000 that disappeared are most likely going to re-appear via a 1099 from your lender.

Which means you will be liable for taxes on those $250,000. Heavy tag, isnt it? We’ll in order to avoid this you need to make sure you do a short sale on your qualifying principle residence before the end of 2012.

With short sales taking at an average 3 to 4 months to complete, the time to act might be upon you.

Feel free to contact me via email or phone to discuss this option. You can also read more on the subject following this link.

Looking forward to meeting you,

Ricardo