What are the most powerful Sequim real estate Internet resources for buyers?  What if there was a real estate agent who took great personal pleasure in giving buyers the best and the most powerful resources online to find their retirement home in Sequim?  What if he had Internet sites and search tools specifically designed and programmed to help buyers do all this at no cost to buyers and with absolutely no requirement that buyers register or share their personal information?  This real estate agent would probably be doing a lot of things outside the box, different than traditional brokers and agents.  This Sequim real estate agent is Chuck Marunde.  There have been many firsts for Sequim real estate along the way, and here are some of them.

Sequim Real Estate

I’ve written many articles over the past several years where I would include the phrase, “another first,” because each time these new tools were onthe cutting edge and the first time Sequim had ever seen anything like these tools for buyers.  For example, one of these firsts was to create a programmed Sequim MLS search site that included the option to search either the Olympic Listing Service or the Northwest MLS.  For years other brokers had one or the other, but not both, and believe it or not, even today there are brokers who are are members of only one of the MLS’s. 

Another first was a Sequim Real Estate Blog with over 1,000 articles dedicated to Sequim and Port Angeles real estate issues, buying and selling tips, prices, negotiating, legal issues (I was a real estate atty for 20 years), and hundreds of issues that buyers want to know about before they buy their retirement home in Sequim or Port Angeles.

Sequim Real Estate

Another first was to have my MLS site optimized for the search engines.  They goal is to make it easy for buyers to find exactly what they are looking for, and connecting buyers with sellers is not only good for buyers, but sellers probably have no idea how important this is in a programmed MLS site.

Another first was to have a series of Sequim real estate videos, over 100, which include more help for buyers on many aspects of buying a home, from making offers to negotiating to inspections to buying land to hiring a builder.

Sequim Real Estate Internet Resources

Another first was to optimize a Sequim real estate blog specifically for buyers.  No one had ever done that here, but buyers wanted it, and so I gave it to them.

Another first (bear with me because there have been many firsts) was to create a large social media presence to continue to bring Sequim real estate resources to buyers wherever they may be looking or networking.

Always seeking to find new and better ways to serve buyer needs and wants, another first was to have a Sequim App (a mobile MLS search) in the Apple iTunes store available as a free download for anyone with an iPhone or iPod or iPad, which is a complete Sequim MLS search tool.

The goal has been to make it easy and convenient for buyers to search for their retirement home in Sequim, but also to give them the most powerful tools that technology has available for them today, and at the same time to allow them to search and use these various tools at their own leisure, on their own time, and without any obligation to talk with a salesman or to reveal confidential information.  The principle at the core of this business model is that clients, not the brokerage, are at the center of the Universe and everything should be designed with that in mind.

Another first was to write and publish a 310 page book just about Sequim and Port Angeles real estate.  The book is a lifetime of education and experience put to words to benefit buyers who want to make wise decisions in their home purchase.  The title of the book is, Buying and Selling Real Estate in the Rain Shadow by Chuck Marunde, J.D.  Having practiced as a real estate attorney in Sequim and now as a full time Sequim real estate broker, the book includes articles on how to avoid traps for the unwary, legal issues unique to the Sequim area, and practical tips about buying and negotiating in this local market.  It also details the challenges of working with a home builder and the checklists to avoid trouble.  The last thing a retiree needs when they move to Sequim to live their retirement dream is stress and nightmares.  This book helps make the transition as smooth as possible.

Another first, although this first is more for Realtors than it is for buyers, is the publication of a brand new book to be released within a couple of weeks, The New World of Marketing for Real Estate Agents.  This book teaches real estate agents how to effectively market real estate and serve clients today in this new paradigm of marketing.

Another first, although less significant, but still important to buyers as a valuable tool, is a video which shows buyers exactly how to get the most out of a Sequim MLS search.  This is part of the continuing Sequim real estate videos to help buyers optimize their time on the Internet and find the ideal home in the inventory.

Another first for Sequim is this new real estate market snapshot tool for buyers.  This allows you to look under the hood, so to speak, and see a lot of the data that only Realtors see on their subscription side of the MLS.  You can see active listings and the ones that sold with charts and maps and days on market, the original listing prices and the final selling prices, and much more.

And one last “first” is a live online chat took accessible through the real estate blog, so that if I am online, any client or prospective client can ask me a question live.  This is another effort to provide the highest possible customer service experience.  In addition, I have only one phone number, 360-775-5424.  This is the only phone number on my sites, on my signs, on my business card, and which I have with me all the time.  Do clients take advantage of me?  Absolutely not.  Clients respect my time as I do theirs, but I love to help my clients any day of the week, and when they have a question that they really want to get an answer for, I love to help them any time on the phone or by email.

Does all this marketing work?  Absolutely.  See proof that Chuck Marunde’s online system has sold more homes as a Sequim Buyer’s Agent than any other this year (calender year from January through September of 2011).  But the whole point of this system is that it is not about Chuck Marunde, but about every single client.  It is about serving clients’ needs and designing systems that do that exceedingly well.  That is what customer service is all about in this age of technology.  At the core of this business model is the belief that clients are looking for a professional, experienced, and trustworthy real estate agent, and that the entire marketing system is built with the purpose of creating great relationships that are mutually beneficial.

Stay tuned, because this Sequim real estate agent will continue to be on the cutting edge for buyers, and undoubtedly will be giving you many more “firsts” in the Sequim real estate market.

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If you could design a Sequim real estate site that would allow you as a buyer to search 100% of all the Sequim homes for sale and Sequim lots for sale, what would that site look like?  Here’s what my buyers have been telling me for several years.  They want to be able to go online anytime of the day or night and search the entire MLS in the Sequim and Port Angeles area, but that’s not all.  They also want all the available information and photos (and videos) while maintaining their own privacy without being forced to give a total stranger their name and email address.

Sequim Real Estate Search Options

I’ve created and programmed a Sequim real estate MLS search site with the precise features retirees have been telling me they want:

1. A Sequim real estate site that includes 100% of all the homes and land listed for sale
2. The ability to search with their own search parameters, including all the details of the home and the views, and literally over 100 possible search combinations
3. Search results that show the full listing details and all about the property
4. Search results that include all of the photos in a listing in a large photo format on a high resolution site
5. Search results that give you a map showing precisely where each listing is located
   
6. Results that give you options for more information
7. Results that give you a virtual tour option, if there is a virtual tour
8. Results that give you the ability to request a showing of the property
9. Results that let you quickly calculate the monthly mortgage payment AND
10. Freedom to search the site as often as you want without being forced to register your personal and confidential information
11. The ability to save your searches and organize the homes you want to view when you arrive in Sequim.

This second to the last item is one that hundreds of clients over many years have told me that they really want and like in a Sequim real estate MLS search.  But here’s something very few buyers know, and I bet real estate agents have never shared with you before. 

Sequim Real Estate MLS – The Dirty Secret

Sequim real estate agents and agents around the U.S. are told by salesmen for companies selling online MLS and IDX data services that we must force you, the buyer, to register on our sites in order to “capture” you as a potential client, and so we can then harass you in the following weeks and months, bombarding you with emails and phone calls.  I object to that obnoxious approach.  My buyer clients do not like being forced to register just to look at the Sequim real estate MLS and all the homes and land for sale. 

I don’t care what the salesmen and marketing experts may say about how I should “capture” you, I serve my clients, and manipulative sales techniques are not part of my business model.  Does this mean I will miss out on some clients?  Probably, but I also think it means I will pick up clients who appreciate the fact that I respect their privacy and don’t force them to register.  By the way, you can register if you want to save your searches for future reference, but you can search my MLS site anonymously forever, if you want to.  Almost all MLS search sites require you to register right away or after three searches.  I am one of the few real estate agents in the entire U.S. who gives clients the ability to do this without registering.

Sequim Real Estate Agent Gives MLS Away Free

I wanted to share this, because sometimes if you do something for clients, they do not necessarily know you have done something for them unless you tell them.  My Sequim and Port Angeles MLS search site is not only the best technologically with easy navigation, super photos, and great options, it gives you something few agents will give you–the ability to search anonymously and maintain your privacy.  This Sequim real estate MLS search was designed specifically with you and your preferences in mind.

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Sequim real estate brokerage eXp Realty, also known as Sequim and Port Angeles Real Estate, has been nominated as an Inman News 2011 Innovator Awards Finalist in the “Innovator or Brokerage” category.  The Inman News Innovator Awards, created in 1997, recognize technologies, tools and services that improve the real estate transaction process and experience for consumers and industry professionals.  I am Chuck Marunde, and I am the the eXp Realty Sequim Real Estate Managing Broker.  I am pleased, but I am not surprised.  The very reasons this Sequim Real Estate Brokerage (as a national brokerage) was nominated are the same reasons I joined eXp Realty after a great deal of due diligence myself.  Here are the reasons I joined eXp Realty.

Sequim Real Estate Company Nominated

eXp Realty is leading the way for real estate brokerages.  Here are some of the reasons:

1. eXp Realty is the first real estate brokerage built from the ground up with today’s Internet technologies.  While older companies are trying to re-tool and adapt and restructure (and bridge the gap), this Sequim Real Estate Brokerage is and has been operating with the best technologies and powerful Internet marketing from the beginning.
2. eXp Realty is a Virtual real estate brokerage that takes full advantage of the Internet superhighway.  This is a stark contrast to a traditional bricks-and-mortar brokerage that is burdened with too much of the old business model that isn’t working so well anymore.  The overhead is killing many franchises today, and many have been going bankrupt, merging, and closing their doors.  50% of Sequim real estate agents have quit since 2006.
3. eXp Virtual is an online virtual office where agents meet daily for meetings, training and seminars.  Top producers and national trainers from all over the country meet in eXp Virtual to train agents who can be anywhere in the country.
4. eXp Realty has some of the nation’s top technology and SEO experts, which translates to effectively marketing properties and connecting with buyers, and since over 90% of buyers are now using the Internet to find their next home, this is extremely important.
5. eXp Realty has gone completely digital with all transactions, which clients and agents love.
6. eXp Realty has top ranking websites and blogs, and is an early adopter of social media.
7. eXp Realty allows agents to work from home to reduce overhead, take advantage of technology, and increase net commissions.
8. eXp Realty gives agents the opportunity to recruit agents for the company and earn a revenue sharing income from the corporation

My clients love what eXp Realty has done for them, and buyers love the online resources we give them.  One Sequim client shared this:

I am impressed by the way Chuck has integrated internet services into his real estate business. He probably knows more about this process than any other Realtor in the country. In this tight market it is important to use every possible means to spread the word about available properties…to reach the few people who might be interested in a particular property.

Sequim Real Estate Brokerage Offers Powerful Online Resources

Buyers constantly tell me how much they appreciate the free online resources we give them, and this Sequim Real Estate Broker has the largest Internet presence of any agent in the county and maybe the state.  With over 970 articles on one Sequim real estate blog, it is the largest Sequim real estate resource online.  All of the articles are written by a local broker and retired real estate attorney.  We give our buyers more information about buying Sequim real estate and a wonderful programmed Sequim MLS online site to search all of Sequim’s listings.

We never stop working to give our clients more than they have ever gotten before, and we are on the cutting edge of technology and Internet marketing to make it all happen.  As the Sequim Real Estate Managing Broker I am pleased eXp Realty has received this nomination.

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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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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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If you are going to buy a Sequim home, may I suggest three keys that have taken me a lifetime to learn.  I’ve been in real estate 30 years, 20 of which were practicing real estate law.  I’ve seen many mistakes in real estate, and I have learned through clients’ mistakes all about traps for the unwary.  If you ask me what are the three most important considerations for a buyer, if I had to boil 30 years in real estate down to the three most important tips for buyers, here they are.  May I say before you read these that they may sound simple, but there is much more beneath the surface to each of these.  I could write a book about these.  Wait, I did!

1.  Find out the best way to do your research and how to find the ideal Sequim home.

This is clearly the beginning of the process in finding and buying your Sequim home.  But this is more important than some realize.  If your research tools and human resources are not the best, you can miss out on the best home and you can miss the opportunity of a lifetime.  You can also end up with an inexperienced agent, and you could end up in a nightmare scenario, instead of the happy retirement plan you have been dreaming about for so long.

There are two powerful free online resources I recommend.  They are both resources I created, but I created them to be the best two resources for buyers, and I believe they are.  One is the largest Sequim real estate blog, which you’ll find at Sequim Real Estate Blog.  This real estate blog has over 900 articles written for you as a buyer so you can make wise choices.  I’ve written about almost every conceivable issue that comes up for buyers.  This is my life’s experience given to you at absolutely no cost, no obligation, and you can read these articles anonymously without registering.  I never force myself on my clients or prospective clients.  The other resource is the easiest and most powerful MLS search site, which you’ll find at Sequim MLS.  You can do simple or advanced parameter searches for your home, and there’s a great map showing the location of all the listings.  If you want to, you can have the program keep track of the homes you want to bookmark for future reference.

2.  Find the best buyer’s agent in the area.

Why not take a lifetime of education and experience and put it to work for you at no cost.  Why risk so much money and the potential for mistakes by trying to be your own professional agent?  This is not the time to learn by trial and error.  As a buyer’s agent, my clients pay me nothing.  The sellers always pay the commissions for the buying and selling side.  Take advantage of a professional buyer’s agent’s education, experience, contract drafting knowledge, negotiating skills, and attention to inspection issues to keep you out of trouble and to reach your goal of a smooth closing.  By the way, the answers you get are only as good as the questions you ask, but what if you don’t know all the questions?  A great buyer’s agent will not only answer you questions, they will help you to raise questions that need to be raised to protect you.  Believe me, a good buyer’s agent is worth his or her weight in gold.  (Read Why You Should Never Buy From the Listing Agent)

3.  Beware of traps for the unwary in the local real estate market.

One of the keys to success in life is simply avoiding major pitfalls.  This is true in real estate.  There are a hundred mistakes a buyer can make, mistakes that could cost you a lot of money and stress.  When you buy real estate in a new area, you can bet there are unique real estate issues in each state and in each county.  Find out what those issues are, especially for the specific location of your property, and do your due diligence with the right research, the right documents (feasibilities and contingencies), and the right processes within all contract deadlines.  If you don’t know about all the local issues or traps for the unwary, this is another reason to hire a local buyer’s agent who does.

Some might say, “Yea, he’s just trying to sell his services.”  Sure I am, but I also am honest and have a valuable lifetime of experience to offer my buyers.  I work hard every day for my clients, and I work hard writing articles that are helpful to the public, whether they ever hire me or not.  These three tips are honest and true.  If you use these three tips, a lot of good will come out of your experience, and you’ll be glad you did when you buy your Sequim home.

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