WHY FSBO SUCCESS is AMAZING THIS SPRING!

Listed Homes for sale inventory is LOW in our area
Buyers finding them on internet 
Seller's are Utilizing the web opportunities
Researching asking price and asking  to the market value
Seek education on paper work
Not afraid to negotiate
Selling to their renter
Family to family sales
Co-brokering with real estate agents.
Staging  homes
Rely on Gateway Title for education on closing costs estimates and procedures.
What else comes to your mind.......?

WHAT IS THE ONE THING YOU COULD DO TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE?

What is the one thing you could do 
to make a difference in people's lives? 
It probably won't be about money or gaining something personally.
 It will most likely be about giving,
 sharing,
 loving,
and helping others do better.
What Could You Do?

Will Your Kids See Your Pictures 29 Years From Now?

Pictures
Pictures of every home I've lived in -inside and out.
Family picnics, Easter outfits, Christmas morning, sitting with Grandma and Grandpa.
My babies, our pets, a new car, birthday parties, Halloween costumes, kids baseball games.
The list in my mind is endless......
I was going through a box of old pictures yesterday and letting my thoughts take me back as I
looked.
Then it hit me!
I take a lot of pictures but the prints of them do not exists -oh they are on many little cards
in my camera (which doesn't get used much now).
They are on my phone, IPad.
But they are not printed out on old fashion PAPER!
What will the next generations be looking at?
My phone?
My IPAD?
That little blue and red card with 400 pictures on it?
I wonder.
It seems I am taking pictures of everything all of the time.
Oh, I post them on facebook for the world to see.
Will future generations be looking for them there?
There is something so sweet about taking out a box or album of old pictures and
reminiscing. A smile.A tear. A rush of LOVE!
I am going to start printing.
I owe it to the future!
How about those pictures for yours?

TEN WAYS to CURE CABIN FEVER - from Gateway Title

Instead of waiting....waiting .... for spring to spring out,
Start getting busy on your plan to sell your house this year.
HOW?
1. Clean up and throw out or call a local charity to pick up your discards.
What better why to get some exercise, stay warm and get your mind off the weather?
2. Make those minor repairs you've been putting off.
You know,  loose cupboard doors, leaky faucets and slow drains - things like that.
3. Look up other homes for sale in your area.
Try Zillow , Realtor.com, and other real estate websites,compare list prices on homes similar  to yours.
4. Decide how you are going to handle your  listing -
Hire an agent or go "For Sale By Owner"?
5. Under stand the cost and what is involved in closing.
Get your free "Smart Seller's Kit" from Gateway Title - best education out there.
6. Study the information given to you in the kit.
Call or email Gatewaytitle.com with your questions and we'll help you!
7. Register for Gateway Title Seller's Workshop, February 22,2014
Learn from the experts on Paper work, Mortgage information, Marketing Real Estate and MORE!
8. SMART START your title work and save on closing costs.
By having your title examined before you have a buyer, if there is a title problem, it can be
taken care of and no delays when you sell!
9. Lean on us!
Gateway Title is valuable source of information and support!
10. After you get all of this accomplished, You will be CURED of cabin fever and
READY to Get that property SOLD!   SOLD!   SOLD!
(and we can help)
Stay Warm
Rachel



 

 

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION NO MORE!

The world has changed.
You have changed.
I have changed.
Buyers and Sellers have changed.
Real Estate Market jut Ain't What It Used To Be
A Few years Ago.
How, you say?
The favorite saying was:" Location, Location, Location"
No more!
It has changed to "Location, Condition, Price"
Buyers are a lot more demanding and picky sooooo
If you are selling and what that top $ for your location,
That probably won't happen if you haven't price your
property to the current market in according  to
the condition of the condition it is in!
Looking forward to the Spring Market

Listening IS Conversation

Gateway Title - The FSBO Specialists

Last Wednesday, I walked into a closing room to greet a seller waiting to sign final papers. I said "Good Morning" she looked at me and started crying and told me it just really hit her that she was leaving her home of the past 36 years. The place where she and her husband raised their kids and held 36 years of her life.
She is widowed and is moving in with her son. A new beginning, but also an ending.
I listened as she talked.
She then told me she was ready, signed the final papers and left the office with a smile.
Sometimes others just need someone to listen to them. Do you ever just listen?
She wasn't asking for my advice.
She just wanted to say her feelings out loud.
Listening is an important way to have a conversation.
People just want to know they Matter

OBITUARY FROM LONDON TIMES

An Obituary printed in the London Times -


Today we mourn the passing of a beloved old friend, Common Sense, who has been with us for many years. No one knows for sure how old he was, since his birth records were long ago lost in bureaucratic red tape.

He will be remembered as having cultivated such valuable lessons as:
- Knowing when to come in out of the rain;
- Why the early bird gets the worm;
- Life isn't always fair; and
- Maybe it was my fault..

Common Sense lived by simple, sound financial policies (don't spend more than you can earn) and reliable strategies (adults, not children, are in charge). His health began to deteriorate rapidly when well-intentioned but overbearing regulations were set in place. Reports of a 6-year-old boy charged with sexual harassment for kissing a classmate; teens suspended from school for using mouthwash after lunch; and a teacher fired for reprimanding an unruly student, only worsened his condition.
Common Sense lost ground when parents attacked teachers for doing the job that they themselves had failed to do in disciplining their unruly children.

It declined even further when schools were required to get parental consent to administer sun lotion or an aspirin to a student; but could not inform parents when a student became pregnant and wanted to have an abortion.

Common Sense lost the will to live as the churches became businesses; and criminals received better treatment than their victims.

Common Sense took a beating when you couldn't defend yourself from a burglar in your own home and the burglar could sue you for assault.

Common Sense finally gave up the will to live, after a woman failed to realize that a steaming cup of coffee was hot. She spilled a little in her lap, and was promptly awarded a huge settlement.

Common Sense was preceded in death, by his parents, Truth and Trust, by his wife, Discretion, by his daughter, Responsibility, and by his son, Reason.

He is survived by his 4 stepbrothers:
I Know My Rights
I Want It Now
Someone Else Is To Blame -  I'm A Victim
Not many attended his funeral because so few realized he was gone.

If you still remember him, pass this on. If not, join the majority and do nothing.

THIS IS WHY WE DO WHAT WE DO

An email from Tracy:

 Rachel and Barb,

Thanks so much for all you did to make my title work a breeze. I also appreciate all you did to accomodate my agile schedule today. Despite all the reworking and running around, I was able to arrive at home just in time to meet the carpet installers as they were ringing my doorbell.

Best regards, Tracy 

Thanks Tracy - You made our day!

SELLER A CONTROL FREAK OR JUST PLAIN NUTS!

Got this call yesterday.
They are trying to buy, for cash, a home that has been on the market since 2008.
They offered the asking price which is now at market value, splitting the fees equally..
Seller countered by adding closing cost and tax pro ration to offered price.
He thinks he shouldn't have  to pay any costs or his own real estate taxes!
Hello....This is 2013... Is this seller  nuts or what?
He needs help.

WHAT MAKES PROPERTIES HOT?

I have watched this strange phenomena for years.:
A home is on the market for months and nothing happens.
Expanded advertising is done and nothing happens.
Open houses are held and nothing happens.
The price is reduced and nothing happens.
Fliers are distributed and nothing happens.
Nothing is done -( status quo) - and nothing happens.
                    and THEN.........
A potential buyer shows interest ... and then another shows interest...
and maybe even  more show interest and something happens!
OFTEN,  even a BIDDING WAR  happens and the property is ...
SOLD!
What happened?
 Why?
 I don't know and I can't explain it.
I just know that it is something strange that hppens.
A house gets HOT and everyone seems to want it.
It seems like every house does  has it's time. I've watched this over and over.
It does happen  - if you're selling, get ready,
 This could happen to your property!
HOT! HOT! HOT!

IT happenes All the Time - I Love IT!

I had an appointment at the Cleveland Eye Clinic  for a check-up yesterday.
The assistant had my chart and was confirming /updating my personal information.
She paused... and then said "Oh, you work at Gateway Title they  did our closing when we bought our home! I still have my Gateway mug, the picture you took and the pretty pens we used to sign our papers"!
   I know I  had a  big smile on my face and  I told her Gateway Title was my company and
 she really made my day.
She Thanked me for making them feel so welcomed, and how we made it so easy for them to relax and
go through the paper work.
She said we were the "Best part of buying the home".
She was the "Best Part" of my day!
Thank You Shana.

Two Done, One To Go

Three Sellers contacted me last Friday because they found buyers for their properties and were ready to go.Two of the three have completed signing and we have started the process of closing for them.
Number three's  buyer called me yesterday, with questions on lender fees and closing costs. I worked up closing costs for her and emailed. We talked a while as I answered her questions.
This is the part I Love doing.
Most  buyers and sellers have very little knowledge of costs and just how it all comes together.
It's not every day you buy or sell a house and things do change also.
Just why in the heck do you need title insurance and what is escrow?
 How much  is all of this going to cost?
Call me - then you'll know!
PS. I Love what I do!

DO IT- DO IT- NOW!

Real Estate Sellers and Buyers Have Been Waiting For Several Years Now.
It's about time that the market is improving!
A healthy real estate market is the perfect medicine for our country's ailing economy.
From soup to nuts, everything is affected by the building and housing market.
I don't need to study statistics to see what is happening,
Everything has its time and the time to heal our sick economy is NOW!
PS. If I were looking to buy real estate,
 I'd do it now, before rates and prices rise -( and they will you know)

Okay, I VENTED - I'M FEELING BETTER NOW!

It's safe to call or email me if you need to know what it will cost
to buy or sell that piece of real estate in Ohio.
Email them to: rachel@gatewaytitle.com
Call me at Gateway Title: 440-546 9660
I really do enjoy helping you and
 answering your questions.

"For Sale By Owners" More Determined Than Ever!

We, at Gateway Title, truly are "FSBO"(For Sale By Owner) experts.
This has been our niche' for 17 years and we have seen it all!
Before 2008, sellers would put their house on the market "by owner" to try it for a couple of weeks.
They usually set the asking price too high with the thought of making a real killing in a seller's market!
After a couple of weeks, if the property is not sold, the sellers call a real estate agent and list at a true market  price,it sells and they pay a commission.
Then of course, the past 4 years have been pretty dead. They go "by owner", then list, and when it expires go back to FSBO or, in total frustration,  take it off the market completely!
Now the "For Sale By Owners" are coming back with a determination I have never seen before.
They order our "Starter Kit" and also, as never before, read every word and call to "Smart Start" the title work (saves them $$).
They are tuned in to the real market value, they refuse to have to pay comission, many times,
 they offer modest
closing credits to a buyer, and THEY ARE SUCCEEDING!
It seems like Gateway is part of the FSBO underground because we get so many request from sellers who were referred by other buyers and sellers.We are working with many "family to family" transactions like never before and it seems  like "starter" homes are back in demand!
 Folks come out of the blue to use our services and we absolutely LOVE it!
We hope this activity is an indication of an improving market for all.
Heaven knows a better economy is what we're all praying for!
PS. Don't stop praying...We think it's working!