Real Estate Reality – How Real Estate should work in your best interest

       

      Many people believe the job of a Realtor is to list, sell and market homes.  While this is true, a Realtor is hired to work for YOU.  If you are a homeowner looking to list your home, more than likely you are looking to sell for the highest price that the market can bare.  The Agent that you choose to hire has to tackle the job of marketing your home, but more importantly they are hired to represent you, and it is their job to see to it that their fiduciary responsibility to you is first and foremost.

      If your Realtor requests that your home listing remain exclusive with their firm, what does this mean?  Well, for starters, if you are looking to have less traffic in your home, and keep it rather quiet and private, this may be the way you want to go.  However, if you are looking to get the best price for your home, this alternative is more than likely not the best choice.

      The Multiple Listing Service has approximately 17,000 realtors, which enables us to share our listings with one another, allow for showings and hopefully offers.  Having your home exposed to this many Agents means each Agent can tap into their individual data base of buyers and share your home with them.  Chances are, one of them may be the perfect match for your home.  If you are not able to reach these buyers, how can you be sure that you are getting the right price for your home?

      Some agents like the comfort of dealing with one agent, and if that is the case, ask that agent to accompany showings, but don’t exclusively limit yourself to one agency when the best chance of getting the best price is to open it to all others.  If you were looking for a job, would you interview with only one firm, or would you send your resume’ out to many to increase your chances that the best opportunity would present itself?

      Selling your home is no different.  In being completely honest, the only person that is benefiting by your exclusive listing is the agency you hired.  The chances of their firm gaining the full commission compensation rather than having to share it is in their best interest…but is it in yours?

      To truly understand the difference in listing your home as an Exclusive or as a Multiple Listing Property – stop in and speak with one of our associates. Let us explain the difference! 631-647-7013. 
Visit our New Website www.MegSmithandAssociates.com.  Like Us on Facebook www.Facebook.com/MegSmithAndAssociatesRealEstate.

Why Selling in the Winter is a Wonderful Idea!

So often we hear that homeowners want to wait until the spring to sell their homes.  After all, in the spring  the grass is greener, the flowers are blooming, the curb appeal is prettier and the weather is the most comfortable for home shopping, so surely this is the best time to sell, right? Well, while this is all true, it is also true is that so many others are thinking just like you.

  What sellers don't realize when they want to wait until the spring is that their neighbor is contemplating the same strategy.  In the spring the market becomes saturated, and a saturated market often becomes a buyers market.  The more competition you have, the more likely you are to have to negotiate more aggressively to beat the competition, often resulting in a lower sales price.  The more homes on the market, the less traffic there is coming to view yours.

  The spring is often not enough lead time for those that wish to be out by summer.  It takes several weeks or months to find the right buyer.  This coupled with the process of the mortgage application, new funding guidelines, title searches and all of the necessary items needed to close the transaction, summer may very well have passed you by.

The goal of many to move in the summer is due in part to the fact that those with children would like to be settled into new school districts, which starts early September.  It is also a great time for teachers and others whose careers allow them more flexibility in the summer months to make this move.

According to successful Realtors, the advice is to give yourself enough lead time to make this transaction as comfortable as possible.  List your home in the winter, when others are waiting until spring.  The most serious of shoppers will come out when the weather is at its worst, and after all, isn't it the serious shoppers we want?  Listing this winter will give you the extra needed time to market, find the right buyer and prepare to move in the summer months ahead.

My Love/Hate Relationship With HGTV by a Realtor!

So I have a blog for my Office but I don't generally blog....... I have People that blog....and they do a much better job than I think I can..... But as I prepare to put my house up on the market this weekend- a blog has formulated in my head (over and over for the past few weeks......) Should I entitle it- Why every Realtor should put their house on the market every few years? OR  My Love/Hate Relationship with HGTV..... I decided on the love/hate thing. The content and message are pretty much the same- but I think maybe the Love/Hate thing might get a bit more attention. People generally love HGTV..... not so much Realtors! (weewoo- sorry staff and fellow Realtors- but you know this to be true.....)
So my husband and I decided it was time to put our house on the market. We love our house! There are so many wonderful things about it.....from the outside porch overlooking Manatuck Lake (lots of Heron sightings and ice skating Norman Rockwell type moments- to all the wonderful nooks and crannies inside.  We feel it is time..... But now- we have to PREPARE to put our house on the market. I have to do all the things I casually say to my clients that they should do to make their houses more marketable.....things like "you need to declutter.... bathrooms should be spotless, personal photos to a minimum, landscaping spruced up...... things like that! In fact- I have a fabulous list of suggestions written in bullet points I hand to my clients when we meet for the first time! I can rattle these things off like nobody's business! As I rattle these things off to my husband and prepare new lists each day - the sideways looks he first gave me are turning to arched eyebrows to a low whistle to a resounding "are you crazy?" How did this come to be- you might wonder? ahhhhhhhhh here comes the tie in: My Love/Hate relationship with HGTV (and Realtor Internet sites too!) Before the Internet and HGTV (yes I have been a REALTOR that long!) people relied on their Realtor to take them to houses they thought were good houses.  The houses looked like people lived in them. They didn't have perfectly straightened closets with their clothes in color order! Personal photos were all over the place- and houses with kids actually had toys strewn about!!!!! Stagers didn't need to be hired- because people actually let people see what it was like to live in these houses!!! Ahhhhhhh I miss the good old days! As I work to make my house look like we are an Episode to be featured on HGTV- I encourage you to come see my work of art this Sunday 9/13/2015 from 12-2 pm at 9 Lawrence Lane, Bay Shore, N.Y. 11706. You won't be disappointed- my closets are not only in size order- they have bins labeled inside!

Take a Long Island Stay-cation!

So many of us are sick and tired of this cold weather and need to get away, but not many of us have time or funds to put an entire vacation together. But do not fret! We have some fun, exciting ideas for a stay-cation- a vacation right in your area- to escape the cold, dreary weather.

          Inside 97-acre Hidden Pond Park in Hauppauge, The Rinx has two indoor ice rinks. The venue provides figure skating and hockey lessons as well as daily public skate sessions, including “Rock & Roll” night every Friday 8:15p-10:15p. Admission varies depending on the day and time of your visit so check out therinx.com for details about prices, times and events. Ice skating is an enjoyable winter activity the whole family will love!

          If you’re not in the mood to move around, then the movies is the place to be! There are so many movie theatres on Long Island to choose from, like the Deer Park Regal Cinemas at the Tanger Outlets. This theatre has a large selection of movies for all ages.

          If you really aren’t into bearing the cold, then baking is a fun, crafty thing for everyone in the house to take part in! Stay in and stay warm by the oven and make yummy treats all day long! Another in-home activity would be arts and crafts- paper snowflakes, gingerbread houses, and anything winter! This is great to keep kids busy and parents happy.

          Use these tips of the trade to keep busy and out of the cold this winter! No matter your time or budget, these activities will fit any family and make your stay-cation one for the books!

Martin Luther King, Jr

Martin Luther King Jr. 

      Martin Luther King Jr. was the biggest face during the Civil rights movement in the 1960s. Many attribute this man with the social freedom of blacks everywhere. Although the Emancipation Proclamation was signed more than 100 years before, blacks were still being targeted by the Klu Klux Klan and were subject to segregation because of the Jim Crow Laws. Martin Luther King Jr. took steps to end the struggle of absolute freedom for blacks throughout the United States.

        Every third Monday of January, Americans take a day to reflect and remember what King accomplished to better our society and the people within it. Because of his achievements, every person has equal opportunity to do anything they want. Children of all different ethnicities go to school and play together. The world and its acceptance has grown drastically since King’s time, and it continues to grow because of thinkers like him. We can all learn from the trials and triumphs that he overcame to become one of the greatest Americans leaders ever. Because of him, schools, restaurants, bathrooms, and basically every public facility are desegregated. There were many other Civil rights movement contributors, yet King was the most effective in that he was a fearless and great leader that gave freedom to every person after him. On this Martin Luther King Day, let us all take it as a time of observance and remembrance for this incredible man and all he has done to improve and inspire our nation.

In The Spirit of Thanksgiving

     In the Spirit of Thanksgiving we join together around a table and show gratitude for our food, our families, our friends, our homes, our blessings.

While we are grateful every day for so many things in our lives, we don't often share that every day, and so this holiday is one that is very special.  This gives us a day to actually reach out and remember those that have made a difference in our lives.  For some it may be their family, it may be friends, it may be a teacher, a pastor, a neighbor, our military.  For us here at Meg Smith and Associates it is all of the above, and our customers and clients too.

This is the one day of the year that we don't only think about our gratitude but we have the opportunity to express it.  We can reach out and say "I'm thankful for you" by sending a card, making a call, stopping by with a gesture of some kind.  It's the one day, all year long, that nobody is going to question our over zealous appreciation and expression of thankfulness.

A career in real estate means meeting new people all the time.  Some are just beginning their journey and searching for their first home.  Others are scaling down and looking for life a little less stressful, and some are taking big strides and moving up with their growing families.  Allowing us to be a part of these very monumental moments in your life is truly rewarding.  Our referrals are the heart of our business, and as you thank us by speaking of our services to others, our business grows, and for that we are forever grateful.  

So while we sit around the table with our families this holiday we will be thankful for all around us, our family, our food, our friends, our God and our military, and you - our faithful and loyal clients and customers.  Happy Thanksgiving all year through!

Falling for the Children...We hope you will join us

At Meg Smith and Associates our community is so very important to us. Each year we combine our efforts to help in some way.  This year we have chosen to focus on children with Autism and are proud to announce our  "Fall Festival to Fight the Mystery"!

All of the proceeds of this fundraiser will go directly to the EJ Autism Foundation to help those in need.

The fabulous fun fall event will be held on October 18th from 10:00 a.m. - 3:00 p.m. at St. Luke's Lutheran Church, 3 Lawrence Lane (corner of Montauk Highway) in Bay Shore.

There is fun for the whole family!!!  We will have pumpkin picking, Face Painting, Carnival Games, Bounce House, Mums and Fall Decor, and Chinese Auction Raffle Baskets, plus snacks and drinks, caramel apples and cider all in one great location.


We hope to see many of you there as we enjoy the beautiful fall festival and help families that are fighting the mystery of the Autism.