Welcome to the Liz Moore Insider!

Don’t forget to mark your calendars for our special Fair Housing class on Wednesday, May 5th.  It’s 2-5pm in the Williamsburg Office training center, followed by a Cinco de Mayo social just for us, compliments of Lytle Title, across the street from the office at the Greenleafe.

This is a great opportunity to get your CE/PL credits (Fair Housing is not taught frequently, and so it’s a great module to get out of the way early!), to enjoy a great learning opportunity with our very own Brian Lytle, and to socialize and network a little bit with both offices together.

39 agents from Liz Moore and Associates were recently awarded a Short Sale and Foreclosure Resource designation. To help REALTORS® meet the needs of home buyers and sellers who need these services, NAR has launched a new Short Sales and Foreclosure Certification Program (SFR).

We are fortunate in many parts of Hampton Roads that our foreclosure numbers are not as bleak as other parts of the country. But, for those local homeowners who are facing foreclosure, it is essential that they find experienced professionals who possess the specific skill set to advise them through this difficult time. Knowing how to help sellers maneuver the complexities of short sales, and to be able to educate on the alternatives available for foreclosure avoidance are not merely good skills to have in today’s market – they are critical.
The SFR certification program is offered by the Real Estate Buyer’s Agent Council (REBAC) of NAR . The program includes training on managing short sale, foreclosure, and real-estate owned transactions, and resources to keep current on national and state-specific information on the market for these distressed properties.

If you may need assistance with a short sale, or would just like to explore foreclosure alternatives, please give us a call or send us an e-mail, and we’ll be happy to hook you up with a qualified agent!

This week’s Roundtable in Williamsburg was one of the best yet!  Kathy Jeremiah, local real estate appraiser (and our primary pre-listing appraiser), facilitated a workshop on Appraised Values.  We took a recently closed listing in Fords Colony, and worked through the entire appraisal process together…from selecting comparables to making adjustments.

It was clear just how valuable the collaborative nature of roundtables can be as we all shared insights and experiences, and learned from each other.  We all left with our own “cheat sheets” of appraiser rules of thumb and benchmarks for common issues such as value per square foot, how to handle bonus room and basement adjustments, how to determine the “effective age of a home” and much, much more!

We are truly blessed to have Kathy on our team, and willing to share her expertise in such a valuable forum!

Have a client who may be interested in purchasing an REO listing or a bank owned property?  The details are VERY different than a typical transaction.  Join Brian Lytle and Liz as they walk you through a CASE STUDY of a recent REO transaction…including required contract changes, sample addenda, etc.

We’ll focus on the issues that you will encounter, and strategies for the best way to protect your client and get the deal done as expeditiously as possible.  We’ll answer questions such as:

• Does “as is” really mean “as is?”  How can I protect my buyer?
• Is a special warranty deed ok for my client?
• Should a buyer commit to a per diem penalty?
• What clauses should I add to the contract to protect my client?

And much, much more!  Don’t miss it!

We have a great new training session coming up on August 20th!  From 3-5 in the afternoon in our Williamsburg Office,  Brian Lytle will review “soup to nuts” of how a real estate closing comes together.  You’ll learn:

• The real reasons that everything happens in the final 72 hours!
• How to review a HUD to protect your client.
• The 5 most common issues that delay a closing, and how to avoid them!
• How to estimate prorations correctly.
• The ins and outs of title insurance…what every REALTOR ought to know!
• Insider tips to make sure your clients leave the closing table happy.

We have submitted this class for 2 hours of CE/PL credit, and Lytle Title is providing refreshments and door prizes!  Social at Bonefish to follow.  RSVP to Liz (there are extensive handouts, so we need a headcount to insure that we have enough materials for everyone).

Don’t miss this week’s Roundtable on POSITIONING YOUR LISTING TO SELL!  We’ll look at a variety of different angles to help you position your inventory to be the BEST value in its category.  If you have listings that have been on the market for more than 120 days, then come and get some fresh marketing ideas and recommendations for your seller clients!  We’re also going to discuss the pros and cons of Value Range Marketing.  9:30 Monday in Newport News, and 9:30 Thursday in Williamsburg.

Laurie Wagner, a local expert in reverse mortgages, will be the instructor for Monday’s Roundtable in Newport News at 9:30.  Did you know that your clients over 62 can purchase a NEW home with a reverse mortgage?  A great option for some SENIORS, reverse mortgages enable buyers/sellers to tap into the equity in their home and take out payments rather than making them.

Few local lenders or agents are aware of the benefits and qualifications of this program, so invest an hour, and learn a new financing program!

Brian Lytle has created a cheat sheet for us to help us remember who has the authority to contract when we our sellers are divorcing, when one has died, when there is a trust, or when they are a limited liability company or corporation.  This is posted under resources on the intranet, but you can click here to download and save your own copy.

Special thanks to Brian for always keeping us ahead of the curve!

Join us this week for a valuable roundtable that is designed to help us MAXIMIZE the potential from our sphere of influence.  Local financial planner Guy Manchester will share his secrets on how to capitalize on our personal networks.  If you’ve never had the opportunity to hear a seminar with Guy, then you should join us just for that!  An engaging speaker, and the Master of Networking, Guy is full of practical tips and suggestions that apply in any industry.

You don’t want to miss Monday’s Roundtable at 9:30 in the Training Center!! Liz and Brian will do an ARS presentation on common contract challenges (delivery and acceptance issues, missing initials, estates and much, much more!)…prizes for the most correct answers!