http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EykuhVXM9zE With an investment as large as a home there are many things to consider. Market trends, area information and government programs should all play a role in the decision to buy. Watch this video to learn why RE/MAX agents are uniquely qualified to help you identify your ideal place. This is one of many RE/MAX videos available on Youtube.com

The Six Factors that Sell a Home Although they can be stated in different ways, there are only six factors that affect the sale of a home, according to blogger Karen Kruschka. The Sales Associate with RE/MAX Olympic Realty in Manassas, Va., wrote an Active Rain blog post detailing the “Big 6,” as she calls them. These factors are controlled by three main entities: the seller, the agent and the market. Sharing the blog with your own clients and educating them on their role in the process gives you a perfect entry point to demonstrate your value as a trusted advisor – especially when they’re deciding on listing price and terms. Here’s an edited excerpt of Kruschka’s post: SELLERS Control 1. Price – You determine list price for your home. However, a list price above the market for homes similar to yours will negatively impact buyer interest in making an offer. Your Realtor will review price history with you to assist you in making a list price determination. 2. Terms – Buyers have requirements just as sellers do. Your willingness to respect them and be willing to negotiate which terms will be acceptable to both parties can have a very positive impact. Price and terms will usually be negotiated at the same time. 3. Condition – How well you have maintained the home will influence both your price and the length of time it will take to sell. The pool of buyers who are willing to make major repairs is much smaller than the pool of buyers who want a home that has been well maintained. THE MARKET Controls 4. Timing – Economic conditions operate independently of price, terms and property condition. Similarly, seasons and weather factors can affect the time it takes to sell a home. 5. Competition – The number of homes on the market most certainly bears heavily on your ability to sell your home on a timely basis. REALTORS Control 6. Promotion – From entry into the Multiple Listing Service to Internet marketing and any other programs, your agent will have an impact on your home sale. RE/MAX Affiliates may share this article, provided they do not charge for it and this notice is included. All other rights reserved.

One more thing….

five most interesting posts on Steve Jobs from yesterday’s flooded interwebs.

1. Steve’s fiercest competitors and industry leaders react to the news: Ironically, Gizmodo wrote the best coverage of reactions from various leaders, so we’ve chosen their post and image as the most interesting post. http://gizmodo.com/blockquote/ Most remarkable reaction was from his lifelong rival – Bill Gates, who said “The world rarely sees someone who has had the profound impact Steve has had, the effects of which will be felt for many generations to come.”

2. Walt Mossberg’s reaction, a video comment and a classy encounter between Jobs and Gates: Walt has reviewed Apple products for over two decades. He wrote a personal and classy post about his interactions with Steve. This section from his post makes it one of the most interesting post:

“Ice Water in Hell

For our fifth D conference, both Steve and his longtime rival, the brilliant Bill Gates, surprisingly agreed to a joint appearance, their first extended onstage joint interview ever. But it almost got derailed.

Earlier in the day, before Gates arrived, I did a solo onstage interview with Jobs, and asked him what it was like to be a major Windows developer, since Apple’s iTunes program was by then installed on hundreds of millions of Windows PCs.

He quipped: “It’s like giving a glass of ice water to someone in Hell.” When Gates later arrived and heard about the comment, he was, naturally, enraged, because my partner Kara Swisher and I had assured both men that we hoped to keep the joint session on a high plane.

In a pre-interview meeting, Gates said to Jobs: “So I guess I’m the representative from Hell.” Jobs merely handed Gates a cold bottle of water he was carrying. The tension was broken, and the interview was a triumph, with both men acting like statesmen. When it was over, the audience rose in a standing ovation, some of them in tears.””

3. Steve Jobs and the reserved seat: Cult of Mac interestingly pointed out that the first seat in the first row at the Apple event was left “reserved” at yesterday’s announcement by Apple. From the post – “I don’t know for sure if that seat was left empty for Steve or not, but I can only imagine that it had to have been. In a way, that reserved seat summarizes the core of who Apple is as a company and group of people.”

4. National Public Radio calls Steve Jobs a poet of the computer world: NPR’s radio show – All Things Considered- said “Long before the MacBook and the iPad, the Apple co-founder and former CEO dreamed that computers could be used to help unleash human creativity.”

5. Bynkii compares Oct 5th, 2011 to Nov 22, 1963 (JFK’s death):John Welch goes on to say – “I kind of think I now have a grip of what folks must have felt on 22 Nov. 1963. It’s not the same of course, but it’s close. This guy who shaped an industry, shit, shaped THREE…who helped change the world not once, not twice, but three times. Four if you count the iPad. And now, between one minute and the next, he’s gone.”

It still hasn’t sunk in.

-Cupidtino founders

 

I will miss you Steve, RIP Roger  

REPUBLISHED FROM ACTIVE RAIN b y Da Pollimino from Colorado. “Many times, I would go on a listing appointment to talk with a potential seller and they would tell at the end of the presentation, “Well, I really don’t have to sell!” Which then prompts my response of, “So why are you putting your home on the market?” After all, selling a home and keeping it in constant show-ready condition is not a lot of fun and usually requires a lot of work and patience. The sellers go on to say, “If I can get my price, I would sell the home.” If you want me to translate this last sentence for you, I will. It means the following from the seller: “I am going to ignore good data about the price of my home, overprice it, and let it sit on the market until I get what I want for it.” That is a recipe for disaster for everyone involved. When I represent buyers and I submit offers to the listing agents, I often hear from the listing agent that the seller did not accept the offer. I go on to discuss with the listing agent why we think it’s a fair offer. Then lo and behold, the famous sentence comes out, “Well, my sellers really don’t have to sell.” I then say to the agent, “Well, maybe they should take their home off the market.” You see, the days of some fairy tale buyer walking off the street and overpaying for a home stopped about five years ago. Buyers know exactly what a home is worth and in some cases, put in fair offers. Sellers cannot fall back on the old “I don’t have to sell” excuse anymore because that market does not exist. If a seller really doesn’t have to sell, they should not have their home listed. By overpricing the home, it ensures that it will sit and accumulate days on the market which hurts the seller and the marketability of the home. The listing agent will be frustrated because they can’t sell it, and buying agents will stop showing it because they’ll realize that the seller will not look at a reasonable offer. The end result may be a seller chasing down the market and being forced to do a series of price drops or take the home off the market. In either case, it ends up being an exercise in futility for everyone involved. ” via I Don’t Have To Sell. By Dan Polimino..

Trump Winery Opens in Albemarle County. October 4, 2011 Real estate mogul Donald Trump marked the official public opening of his Albemarle County wine enterprise Tuesday afternoon with a reception at Trump Vineyard Estates. Trump took over from former socialite Patricia Kluge and her husband, Bill Moses, after the bank foreclosed on theirbusiness. Gov. Bob McDonnell and Trump’s son Eric, the winery’s president, and Kluge also attended the invitation-only gathering.

Impact on Sales

How will having the Trump name on the bottle help sales? Robert Harllee, owner of Market Street Wines, says the celebrity name will at least give Trump Winery a first look with buyers.

Harlee says Trump is starting with a good product, but says Kluge wine was priced a little high. “The wine has to be priced right in order for you to purchase it. If you see overpriced wine, you won’t purchase it and then re-purchase it. The quality has to be in the bottle,” he said.

In his remarks, the business tycoon said he wanted to make Gov. McDonnell, a big proponent of Virginia wines, proud. “I think I’m going to be here quite a bit,” he said. “It’s a big investment and it’s going to be an amazing winery and a great vineyard.” The elder Trump bought Kluge Estate Winery and Vineyard in April for more than $6 million. He’s confident he can make money in the wine business in part because he doesn’t have a mortgage on the land. Trump hired Kluge as vice president of operations and Moses as chief executive officer. The now bankrupt couple owes an estimated $46 million to three banks. Creditors include Farm Credit, Sonabank and even Piedmont Virginia Community College, which is still owned half of a $1.2 million donation that led to the naming of the new Kluge-Moses Science Building. Eric Trump says the focus is renovating Kluge property to make it the best winery in Charlottesville and the world. They plan on keeping most of the old staff and hiring plenty more as the operation expands. The old labels will remain on the wine bottles for now, but Kluge said there are plans in the works to create a few new Trump brands. The winery is Trump’s second major real estate investment in Virginia, the first being Trump National Golf Club in Loudoun County 

 

Jefferson Innovation Summit :: October 11-12, 2011 :: Charlottesville, VA.

	Abbott Auditorium, Darden School of Business Tuesday, October 11, 2011

 

  To encourage broad community engagement with the Jefferson Innovation Summit, there will be a number of free, public events, including a simulcast of the Rotunda Dialogue, a screening of an acclaimed documentary about America’s modern start-up economy, and a lively panel discussion featuring an eclectic array of local entrepreneurs. These events will also be open to the media.