Sequim real estate broker Chuck Marunde (yes, that’s me) is a geek of the first order who loves to write and who loves to figure out how to use effective marketing techniques to connect with clients around the country.  I’ve spent my life in real estate, including 18 years in Sequim real estate, but the key to a successful business is great marketing.  Okay, now I’m switching to first person.  I do love this stuff, and I’m very excited to share some good news.

Sequim Real Estate Resources

I am always trying to create more free resources for buyers.  I know that sounds contrary to running a profitable business, but I have operated my businesses my whole life based on first giving, then receiving.  So I give away a lot of information, articles, books, videos, checklists, tips, and a lot of my personal time to my clients at no cost.  I earn my commissions from sellers even when I am acting as a buyer’s agent.  Yea, I love that, but so do my clients.

Today I am announcing another first for Sequim real estate.  I now have two books in the Apple iBookStore, and one is about real estate.  It is entitled, Buying and Selling Real Estate in the Rain Shadow, which has been available in the Amazon bookstore as a paperback, but is now available as an eBook in the Apple store.  This means you can download this book from the Apple iBookStore directly to your iPad or other mobile apple devices, and you can also read this same format on the Sony Reader, Amazon’s Kindle, and Barnes & Nobles’ Nook.

Sequim Real Estate eBook for Buyers and Sellers

The book is all about buying and selling real estate in Sequim and Port Angeles, and includes a lot of what I call “insider tips” that Sequim real estate agents may know but do not readily share with the public.  I believe that clients should have all information at their fingertips so they can make wise decisions for themselves, and I believe that there should be no conflict of interest and that clients’ interests should be at the center of everything that is done in a real estate transaction.

The paperback version is 310 pages long, and this eBook version on eBook reader is less or more, depending on the size of the fonts you select.  One of the reasons so many of us love reading books on eBook readers is because we can chose the size of our font for easy reading.  If you want larger fonts to make reading easy, you just chose a larger font.  You can’t do this with a paperback.

Sequim Real Estate on Mobile Devices

I was also first to have an Apple App for searching Sequim real estate in our MLS.  If you do a search in the Apple App store for “Sequim” you’ll find the app called, “Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate.”  It’s a free download.  But these resources are not about me being first, even though that is newsworthy.  These resources are more about giving consumers what they want and need in the Sequim real estate market–valuable and useful information for buying and selling. 

I hope you enjoy this eBook now available for your mobile eBook readers.  Another first for Sequim real estate.

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Sequim Facebook fans are reading, commenting, and generally interacting on Chuck Marunde’s Sequim Facebook page, and I hope you will join us.  It’s easy to join Facebook, and you see photos, videos, links to articles about Sequim real estate and other Sequim events, and you can participate if you want by asking questions or leaving comments.  Click on this image below, or go to http://www.facebook.com/chuck.marunde.

Sequim Facebook

Facebook is part of the social media revolution, and Facebook now has 750 million members as the largest social media site in the world.  Interesting.  It’s a different kind of venue, and a little hard to get used to, but once you figure out the basics, it can be a lot of fun and convenient to connect with friends and family. 

On this Sequim Facebook page I share links from some of my articles as well as periodic Sequim photos and Sequim events.  The other big social media sites include LinkedIn, which is number two in size, and Twitter, which is a single sentence posting tool.  Twitter is good for sending a message to the world if you are reporting a major event that needs to get broadcast quickly.  But Facebook can do that too. 

In addition to this Sequim Facebook page, I have a Google+ account, which is Google’s next foray into the social media world.  In only three weeks, Google+ has amassed 10 million users, and it’s users are sharing more than one billion pieces of information daily.  Google has an advantage over Facebook because it can integrate its already massive online cloud with Gmail, Picasa, Google Docs, Google Calendar, YouTube, Google Search, Google Maps, and may others.  Google also owns the moble operating system called Android, and so Google+ will be integrated with an already massive number of users of the Android systems.  Google+ has a feature that makes a lot of sense and which Facebook lacks.  Google+ has “Circles” which are circles of friends or contacts that you can group together and then instead of seeing posts from everyone, you can see posts just from that circle.  They also have a feature called “hangouts,” which is a great way to meet with up to 10 other people on video camera.

Keep up with Sequim events.  I hope you’ll join the fun on this Sequim Facebook page.

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Sequim real estate agents are much better equipped to represent buyers than agents from outside the area.  That’s not a sales pitch as much as it is a very solid truth.  I’ll explain why hiring an agent from outside the area could cost buyers money or create serious problems in the due diligence process.

Sequim Real Estate Agents

I am a Sequim real estate agent, and I received a call from two couples who were driving around and wanted to get inside several homes.  They asked if I would show them some homes.  Of course, I was delighted to show them homes.  I enjoy being a buyer’s agent.  This is how I make my living, but I also love what I do.

After looking at several homes and answering questions about the homes, about the neighborhood, and about the types of inspections that would be wise to get done, as well as what we do in Clallam County on several issues, they told me they would like to make an offer on the last home we looked at.  That sounded good . . . until they asked me, “Shall we have our agent call you?”

Sequim Real Estate Agents or Agents From Outside The Area

The question took me back a little, because  I was their buyer’s agent.  At least that what I thought.  When buyers call an agent and ask to see houses, it is generally accepted that they are hiring the agent and if they buy a house, he will earn a commission.  It turns out they were being coy with me and had a relative who is licensed far away.  I noticed a week later that the sale was pending.  It doesn’t feel good to know that someone used me.  That’s life.  I can take it, but there’s a bigger lesson here for buyers.

Sequim real estate agents are better equipped to represent a buyer than agents from outside the area.  Why?

1. An agent from outside the area doesn’t know our market, which means he doesn’t know prices and how to best negotiate for his buyers.  Any offer he writes is just a guess, but he could cause his clients to overpay.
2. An agent from outside the area hasn’t looked at hundreds of other local houses (and maybe none at all), which means he is quite unprepared to make comparisons on many details.
3. An agent from outside the area doesn’t know what local issues could trap his clients.  He doesn’t know about particular neighborhoods either, and how some areas have high iron content in the wells, or where septics have common problems.  He doesn’t know local builders and the construction quality, or lack thereof, of the home.  He doesn’t know which neighborhoods has a history of stable prices and which neighborhoods are not.  He can’t answer questions about snowfall at certain elevations above Sequim, and he can’t answer questions about water levels or tides on the waterfront.  There are a thousand things a non-local agent simply does not know.
4. An agent from outside the area doesn’t know how to handle his client’s due diligence on the properties, because he doesn’t know the best home inspectors, well inspectors, or septic inspectors, and he most likely is not going to travel all the way here from Isaaquah (or wherever he is) to attend the inspections and do his follow up.

Buyers who think it is a good idea to hire that relative or good friend who is licensed from outside the Sequim or Port Angeles area are asking for trouble.  And it could cost them a lot of money or a legal nightmare later.  Whenever a client tells me they have decided to buy a property outside the area, I always tell them to hire a local real estate agent in that area.  I think it’s a matter of integrity for Sequim real estate agents like me, and I think it is in the client’s best interest.

Sequim Real Estate Agents Are Experienced With Local Issues

If you’re a buyer who has a friend or relative who is licensed, do yourself a favor and look to hire a buyer’s agent among the Sequim real estate agents.

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Sequim Real Estate eBook author Chuck Marunde is pleased to announce the publication of Buying and Selling Real Estate in the Rain Shadow of Sequim in an eBook format for the iPad and other eBook readers using the ePub format.  The book looks beautiful on an iPad.  The fonts can be changed on an iPad (and other eBook readers), and the size of the fonts can be increased to make reading easy for those of us who wear glasses.  This eBook version includes color photos that the original hard copy did not.

Sequim Real Estate eBook for iPad

This eBook is under 300 pages, but includes relevant links to hundreds of articles, videos, and audios, as well as tools to learn all about Sequim, Washington real estate. This is a treasure trove for buyers who want to avoid traps for the unwary and who want to find the ideal home, negotiate the best possible price, and do it in an efficient way using technology and the Internet. While this eBook is written with Sequim, Washington in mind, buyers all over the U.S. will find the practical tips and insider secrets that 30 year veteran real estate attorney and real estate broker Chuck Marunde shares.

Sequim Real Estate eBook for eBook Readers

The purpose of this Sequim real estate eBook is to provide buyers with the local real estate knowledge to make wise decisions searching for their Sequim home and to be better equipped to negotiate effectively to get the best possible price and terms.

I openly share what you might think of as “insider secrets,” because I want my buyers to have the advantage.  You can download this Sequim real estate eBook right now.

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This is a buyer’s market, but that doesn’t mean sellers are always going to cooperate.  More often than not in this market sellers are not wanting to cooperate.  It may be a buyer’s market, but some sellers are fighting that reality and behaving as though it is a seller’s market.  You would think all sellers would realize what a buyer’s market means, but I can tell you that some sellers are behaving as though buyers are a dime a dozen and that they can demand a higher than FMV price or any terms they want, even if it is unreasonable in this real estate market.  This article is the fourth in a series entitled Buyer Tips in a Buyer’s Market.

Buyer’s Market Reality

Buyer’s Market Not Seller’s Market

I sat with clients today talking about the value of their home and what they might be able to net if they sold it.  We looked at comparables that have sold, and we looked at active listings that are comparable.  We discussed how many days these homes have been on the market (DOM), first for the ones that have sold and then for the active listings still on the market. For the homes that sold I brought out the data sheets showing what the original listing prices were and what the final selling prices were.  All of this information is invaluable in understanding this buyer’s market, and it is important in determining a reasonable listing price in the very beginning.

Buyer’s Market – Pricing

We discussed a home just coming on the market that is comparable and the listing price.  It is listed at what I believe is several hundred thousand above fair market value (FMV).  This is a disastrous seller mistake, and it is a disastrous listing agent’s mistake.  Here’s why.

A home that is grossly overpriced when it first comes on the market will lose some buyers right in the beginning for all the months it is overpriced.  Those buyers search the MLS online based on their maximum price.  A home that is priced substantially over FMV will never capture the eyes of qualified buyers who would look at it if it were priced at or closer to FMV.  Since buyers are few and far between, loosing a single buyer could mean not selling the house for a year or longer in the higher price ranges.  Those buyers will buy other homes, so they are lost to an overpriced seller forever.

There’s another disastrous result in a buyer’s market for a home that is substantially overpriced.  It disappears from the radar for other real estate agents.  Agents who walk through a home that is clearly overpriced will mentally remove that home from their radar entirely.  They know their buyers will not pay that ridiculous price, and so they won’t waste their client’s time or their time.  If agents show an overpriced home, it is to persuade their buyer to buy the other home they are about to view with a substantially lower price.  The longer a home is on the market at a grossly overpriced home in this buyer’s market, the more stale it will be.  Like stale bread, no one wants it anymore, and no one even wants to look at it.

Here are two bits of trivia for you.  Many sellers who are getting advice from agents who overprice their listings do not understand any of these issues and have no idea that their home will suffer these disastrous consequences and grow stale on the market.  This comes from 37 years in the business and talking to hundreds of sellers over the years.  The other fascinating aspect of an overpriced listing is that the listing agent never gets paid.  Isn’t that interesting!  He or she wastes time (maybe several years) and money listing and advertising a property without ever selling it and earning a commission.  That’s just plain crazy.

My buyer tip in this buyer’s market is don’t waste your time looking at homes that are way over priced.  The sellers are not in touch with reality, and they rarely are willing to negotiate reasonably with a buyer who is in touch with reality.  This is a buyer’s market–not a seller’s market.

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I have been asked if the Sequim real estate market is picking up?  In this current market this question comes up regularly.  The answer is yes.  Let me explain.  It’s no secret that spring and summer is the best time of year to sell a home.  The winter months are traditionally much slower, and in this recession, the winter months have been slower than normal.  I still sold a home every month throughout the winter, but what about now in these spring months.  Buyers continue to come to Sequim and retire and buy Sequim real estate, and the number of buyers looking at Sequim homes has definitely picked up big time.

Sequim Real Estate Market

View more photos on this home by clicking on the photo above.

Sequim Real Estate Buyers

I’ve been very busy showing homes every week for the past month to new buyers from out of state, and I’ve been busy scheduling appointments with new buyers coming to Sequim in the weeks and months ahead.  Other Realtors area also showing more homes suddenly.  There’s no question that the buyers are here, and they are qualified serious buyers.  Almost all of my buyer clients do not need to sell an existing home in their state.  They have excellent credit, and some are paying with cash.

Sequim Real Estate Prices

While buyers are arriving and shopping aggressively, they are only buying homes that are reasonably priced.  A listing that is grossly overpriced, and there are many, may not even get any offers.  Buyers are turned off by Sequim real estate that is priced so high that it is over the top, and they often don’t bother making an offer they feel is more reasonable.  I did have a client last week who made an offer, a reasonable offer, on a home that is grossly overpriced, and the owner who is also an agent, reacted with anger and struck out at me personally as a buyer’s agent.  That’s unfortunate for that seller.  She will never sell a home that way.  My buyers make offers that are based on fair market value (FMV) and what is reasonable in the current market, not based on what a seller thinks they should get (or what a seller needs to pay off a loan).

The statistics on sales won’t indicate a pick up in sales for a couple of months when these transactions actually close and show up in our MLS statistics, but I can tell you without any doubt that buyers have arrived, and they are looking at Sequim real estate.

You can view all Sequim real estate for sale right here in the Sequim MLS.

I would add that every time I am out showing homes, some of the homes on our list have sold out from under us.  Last weekend as I showed homes on our list of eight homes to view, two of them were just sold.  How do I explain this in what is supposed to be a real estate recession?  Easy.  The best homes in the best areas that are listed at the best prices are selling to qualified retirees.  Retirees tend to look at similar homes, so the same two or three dozen homes that are in that category of the best homes will get looked at by more buyers, and these are the homes that are selling.  Sequim real estate is selling and buyers have arrived.

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