Have you done a search on the Internet for Sequim real estate agents to help you buy your retirement home?  Back in the day buyers had to walk into a brick-and-mortar and sit down with some agent, any agent, it didn’t matter who to people back then, and you would find homes to look at by paging through a book of listings.

Sequim Real Estate Agents

Can Sequim Real Estate Agents Help?

Beginning the process of finding a home has changed so much in the past 20 years (in the last 5 years), that it seems like another life time since that 300 page MLS blue book.  This cork board is what I think many buyer’s cork board might look like, if they used one.  There are a hundred unanswered questions, and trying to do it yourself, especially if you are from outside the Sequim or Port Angeles area can be daunting.  I recommend hiring an agent from among the long list of Sequim real estate agents.

Are Sequim Real Estate Agents Old School or New?

I marvel at how buyers in the ’70s and ’80s didn’t give much thought to who they hired as their real estate agent.  They just hired whoever answered the phone or whoever had floor duty.  But times have changed, and buyers are much more aware of the need to be well represented, and who hasn’t heard stories (or had a personal nightmare) with an agent who just got their license or had little professional experience to do a good job.  And we won’t even get into the heavy subject of unethical agents and self-dealing agents, and there are plenty of those stories.

My perspective on Sequim real estate agents is that they are good people but mostly old school.  I say this with a smile on my face, because I’m 55 but I think I’m new school.  There are many reasons I say that, but that’s beyond the scope of this little article.  (Just browse this blog for an hour and you’ll see why I say I’m new school.)  But I think you can understand that small towns tend to be behind the times, and business owners, including Realtors, tend to be slow to pick up on new trends or new technologies.  Sequim is an agricultural community and largely old school.  That’s not bad for the community, but when you are looking for real estate, you’ll want new school in your buyer’s agent.

Looking for the right agent out of the couple of hundred Sequim real estate agents ought to involve more than the flip of the coin, or simply hiring the person who answers the phone first, or just hiring whomever has floor duty at the front desk.

There are serious questions you need answered.  Just click on the cork board above (first and then again after a few seconds to enlarge it), and you’ll see some of the relevant questions buyers are asking of Sequim real estate agents, and as a buyer, you’re probably asking these questions, too.  Can you answer all of these questions for the Sequim and Port Angeles areas? If not, look for Sequim real estate agents that can help.  Do your due diligence on the Internet and hire the best.  I hope you hire me, but even if you don’t, the questions on the cork board are still relevant, and there are more questions you need to get answered before you finalize the purchase of your retirement home.

I recommend someone who can not only answer your questions, but a Sequim buyer’s agent who shares questions you haven’t thought of, and then helps you answer them.  Remember that the answers you get are only as good as the questions you ask.

There are many good Sequim real estate agents and I recommend you hire one to help you answer these questions.

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Selling Sequim real estate today is not the same as selling real estate was 10 or 20 years ago.  Many homeowners want to sell their homes themselves to save the real estate commission, or because they don’t have confidence in real estate agents.  Some homeowners have sold homes before, 10 or 15 years ago.  But the world has changed.  Selling Sequim real estate has changed.  The advertising methods that sold Sequim real estate 10 or 15 years ago, or even 5 years ago are not so effective anymore.

Advertising Sequim Real Estate

There was a time when FSBOs and Realtors could run an ad in the local classifieds of the print edition of a newspaper and get their Sequim real estate sold.  Buyers started their search for a home by reading the classifieds every day, or at least on Sunday.  The world has changed in the past two decades, and especially in the past five years.

“The overwhelming problem newspaper publishers face is that subscriptions are dropping as people can easily get their news free on the Internet 24/7, and businesses are cutting expensive advertising from their budgets because they cannot afford it, and because it is no longer producing the results they need.  In addition, newspapers are not able to charge as much for online advertising as they used to charge for the print version.  Online advertising rates are a fraction of print rates.  This is killing newspapers. . . . Ladies and gentlemen, you are witnesses to the slow death of the print version of the American newspaper.  How does this impact the real estate business?  Buyers are primarily searching the Internet, not print classifieds, and for sellers this becomes vital information.”  [Quoting from page 135, Buying and Selling Real Estate in the Rain Shadow by Chuck Marunde.]

Sequim Real Estate on the Internet

When I list and market Sequim real estate, my marketing campaign is very comprehensive, and it seeks to connect with buyers right where they are 24/7.  I use the Internet extensively, and syndicated sites for my listings are just the tip of the iceberg.  I keep my entire marketing plan for selling Sequim real estate confidential, at least between me and my clients.  There’s no reason to be giving my most successful techniques to Realtors who have not paid the price with years in the school of hard knocks.  The benefits of my investment accrue to my clients alone.

Sequim Real Estate Marketing

If you want to sell your home or your vacant land, realize that the world of marketing and advertising has changed.  Sequim real estate must be marketed effectively using the latest technologies to get the job done.

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What is the real estate market doing?  Are homes selling in Sequim and Port Angeles?  Yes, but it is a slow market.  Buyers are discerning and cautious, and only homes that are reasonably priced are selling in this market.

The Real Estate Market

There are homes where sellers (or their agents in whom sellers place their trust) are grossly overpriced to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars.  This real estate market is full of inconsistencies from home to home.  But the reasonably priced homes that are within the parameters of what retirees are looking for, are selling, albeit very slowly.

Real Estate Market on Bell Hill

I’ve sold two homes recently (8 this calendar year) which show up on my Market Report as red diamonds representing sold homes, and on Bell Hill I’ve sold one home recently, which turns out to be 50% of all Bell Hill homes sold this calendar year.   It’s a bit surprising that Bell Hill homes have not been selling this year, and there are many for sale, but that says more about the real estate market than it does Bell Hill.

Real Estate Market Data

Of course, the real estate market statistics around the country can be confusing.  And from week to week, we are bombarded with reports ranging from the real estate market is crashing further to the real estate market is recovering nicely.

If you want to follow the Sequim real estate market and the Port Angeles real estate market, you can access these free reports online at Sequim Real Estate Market.

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Sequim real estate MLS searches and Sequim Real Estate News are available on either the iPhone or iPod (and iPod Touch) or the larger iPad.

Another First for Sequim Real Estate

This is another first for the Sequim and Port Angeles area by Realtor Chuck Marunde.  Chuck is the broker of Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, a branch office of eXp Realty, and brings the residents of the area, as well as buyers from outside the area, apps on mobile technology with the power to search all of the real estate listings, the largest real estate blog, sequim real estate videos, real estate market reports, and much more.  Chuck is the only Realtor in the area who brings clients and prospective client this mobile technology and these great tools.

Sequim Real Estate on the iPad

To use the iPhone or iPod app, simply go to the iTunes store and download the only app for Sequim and Port Angeles.  Just type “sequim” and it will come up.  It’s called “Sequim & Port Angeles Real Estate.”  This app is a free download.  With this app you can search the entire MLS and all listings.

Sequim Real Estate on the Internet

Sequim real estate is something many buyers are searching on the Internet, so this is a powerful tool.  To use the iPad app, just go to the iTunes store on your iPad and search for “MyAgent” (without the quotes) and download it.  When you open it up, it will ask for the password, which is 3523.  This app is also a free download.  Again you can search the entire MLS and all the listings in Sequim and Port Angeles.  Of course, you can read this real estate blog and use our other sites by using your iPad Safari browser (or a great browser for the iPad called “Perfect Browser”).  See this Sequim real estate app on the iTunes store on your computer right now at Sequim Real Estate on iPad.

All of this is absolutely free with no registration requirements, making these online resources not just the most powerful for the Sequim and Port Angeles area, but the friendliest and easiest to use.  This is consistent with Chuck Marunde’s business model, which is to always and constantly place his clients at the center of all that he does.  This is one brokerage that really does put the client’s interest first, which Chuck likes to describe as “client-centric.”

“My business mission is to give my clients and my future clients all these incredible tools on the Internet so they can find their real estate, learn what they want to know about the area, and avoid traps for the unwary (having been a real estate attorney for 20 years).  These resources are available 24/7 for anyone to use.  No one offers so much and asks nothing in return.  By the way, a lot of Realtors use this site to help them learn how to market their own listings and reach buyers.  I work hard to prove myself first, and if a buyer or seller likes what they see, they can do their due diligence on me or read my resume.  I’m not afraid of being compared to other Realtors or having the services I offer being compared to the services offered by other Realtors.  Then let people decide for themselves.  But even if they don’t hire me, I’ve given them something valuable and beneficial, and that’s a good thing.”

Take advantage of these Sequim real estate and Port Angeles real estate Internet tools to find your home or land.

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In 30 years I’ve shown a lot of homes.  I have no idea how many, but I’ve recognized that there are some common thoughts that run through a buyer’s mind as they are looking at homes, and there are some common thoughts that run through a seller’s mind when they are told a buyer wants to see their home.

Seller’s often worry needlessly about things that do not matter to buyers.   If a seller knew what was important and what was unimportant to buyers, they could prepare accordingly and their stress levels could come down substantially.  So what is important to buyers?

When told by a real estate agent that a prospective buyer want to see their home, sellers often say, “Oh my, the house is a mess.  I need time to get it ready.”  Is this important to buyers?  Should the home be spotless for prospective buyers?  The simple answer is no.  Buyers tell me consistently that their order of priority of what is important goes like this:

1.  Location is the first and most important item on their checklist.  The property must be in an area that is attractive to these buyers.

2.  The floor plan is a big one.  Unconventional or weird floor plans just get checked off the list.  When buyers are looking at a home, they are primarily concerned with the home’s layout, the minimum number of bedrooms and other features they feel are essential for their comfort.

3.  Of the features that buyers rank the highest, the kitchen, the living room, the master bedroom, and the garage and/or shop are all important, and in that order.

Not one client has ever told me they did not buy a home because the kitchen counter had a wash clothe laying on the coutertop, or because a bed was unmade, or because the living room was not spotless.  In short, buyers are focused on much more important issues than whether someone keeps a super clean home.

Does it help to have a home looking good?  Of course, it cannot hurt, but apart from nice furniture and good staging, where a house ranks on the clean scale is almost irrelevant for buyers.  Could a house be so messy that it turns buyers off?  Absolutely, but that is not what we’re talking about here.  We’re talking about whether a house should be clean, super clean, or absolutely spotless.  Clean is sufficient.

If your home is not in the buyer’s idea of a great location, and if your home doesn’t have a floor plan suitable for the buyers, and if your price is unreasonably high, how spotless or how clean your home is becomes irrelevant to that buyer.  This comes not just from the inside of my head, but from hundreds of buyers looking at thousands of homes over three decades.  These rules have proven to be quite consistent.

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