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THE DEBRA BURKE TEAM Is Your Real Estate Connection to Buying or Selling a Home in Northern NJ:

• Mount Olive
• Chester
• Mendham
• Tewksbury
• Long Valley 
• Randolph
• Roxbury
• And all the surrounding areas

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Home Selling Articles and Advice

To discover what your home is worth in today's market, click here!

• Introduction: Emotion vs. Reason
• De-Personalizing the House
• Removing Clutter, Though You May Not Think of it as Clutter
• Fixing Up the House Interior
• Fixing up Outside the House

• Meeting with Real Estate Professionals
• Which Real Estate Professional Do You Choose?
• What Happens Behind the Scenes
• Dropping Your Price...Too Late?

• Open Listings
• One-Time Show
• Exclusive Agency Listings
• Exclusive Right to Sell

• Price and Terms of Sale
• Lockbox - Yes or No?
• Real Estate Commission
• Multiple Listing Service
• Agency Duties of a Listing Agent
• Resolution of Disputes

• Is the Commission Negotiable?
• How and When the Commission is Earned
• "Hot" Market Under-Pricing Strategy - Commission Issues

• The "Real" Role of a Listing Agent
• Preliminary Marketing - the "For Sale" Sign
• Preliminary Marketing - Flyers and the Brochure Box

• The Multiple Listing Service
• Office Preview
• Broker Previews and Culinary Delights
• Office Flyers
• Marketing Sessions

• The Purpose of Advertising in General
• Real Estate Company Advertising
• Individual Agent Advertising
• Neighborhood Announcements
• Open Houses

• Convenience and Availability
• Why You Should Not Be Home
• Lighting, Fragrances, Pet Control and More
• Keeping the House Tidy and Neat

All articles © 2000 RealEstate ABC  No articles may be reprinted or displayed without permission.

WHAT DOES A BUYER'S AGENT DO? Home buyers have more representation in the home buying process, now that Buyer Agency is readily available through-out the greater New York area. Until recently virtually all real estate agents were working for the homeowners who wanted to sell a house. They were Seller's Agents and their legal obligation was to get the best contract for the homeowner. That was often a source of confusion for home buyers who developed close working relationships with the real estate agents driving them around and showing them houses. That confusion no longer exists. Today, Buyer Agency is standard practice in suburban New Jersey, New York and Connecticut. That means the real estate agent working with the home buyer is also working for the home buyer. The obligation of the Buyer's Agent is to work in the best interests of the home buyer, while still being fair to all parties involved.  The real estate agent who helps a homeowner sell their house is a Seller's Agent and is obliged to act in the best interests of the seller. Now, the first step in the real estate process is for the real estate agent to explain the concept of agency to the consumer and ask them to declare whether they want a Buyer's Agent or a Seller's Agent. It is important that everyone involved-real estate agents, consumer and homeowner-all understand the agency relationship and whether a given agent is representing the buyer or the seller. The availability of Buyer Agency means that real estate agents can provide their home buyers with service they could not offer as the Seller's Agent. A Buyer's Agent can tell a client if he thinks a house is overpriced, or she suspects a price reduction is imminent. She can point out deficiencies in a house a buyer might not have noticed that would effect it's resale value and can recommend one house over another. He can help the buyer negotiate a contract of sale.  In today's ever-changiing market, the Buyer Agent's knowledge about the most current sales data will assist the buyer in obtaining the house for the very best possible price.  Coldwell Banker spearheaded the change to Buyer Agency because we believe it is in the best interest of both buyer and seller.  Taking it one step forward, Debra has earned the "Accredited Buyer Representative" (ABR) designation in 2006! 

The Accredited Buyer Representative (ABR®) designation is thebenchmark of excellence in buyer representation.  This coveted designation is awarded to Real Estate Practitioners by the Real Estate BUYER'S AGENT Council (REBAC) of the National Association of REALTORS® who meet the specified educational and practical experience criteria. 

The Homebuyers Toolkit. The Homebuyers Toolkit is packed with information to help your through the home buying experience.  This kit contains easy-to-follow instructions and worksheets on everything from assessing credit, determining wants and needs in a home, selecting a vendor, all the way to packing for the move.  Available in an  5 x 8" booklet, this is an excellent tool when dealing with a possible move. Call or email Debra today for a complimentary copy of this useful booklet.    Cell- 201-230-4725. Direct Line-908-879-3344. Email- dburke7@optonline.net

  Today's Real Estate News and Advice Updated: January 5, 2010 Real Estate Outlook: 2010 Stark Contrast to 2009 Even the grumpiest, grinchiest economist would have to admit that New Year's 2010 looks a whole lot more positive for real estate and housing than things did last year at the same time. FULL STORY-> Part 1: 10 Essentials For Avoiding A Bad Real Estate Agent When Selling Your Home Realtors are easy enough to locate once you've decided to sell your home, just look across your area; at any bus bench, your daily mail, or the internet and you'll find tons of smiling real estate agents just waiting to take your listing. Trying to find one of these smiling faces that will actually "sell" your home and leave you more than satisfied is a completely different story. FULL STORY-> Compound Advantages in 2010 Why not make 2010 the year when advantages compound on advantages? PJ offers ideas of interest for the coming year. FULL STORY-> Washington Report: Treasury Policy Change The Obama administration announced a blockbuster policy change over the holidays that didn't get a lot of press attention, but will affect the housing market for years. FULL STORY-> Home Value Loss Now but Increased Pricing Expected in 2010 There’s bad news and good news coming out of the housing market. Forbes Magazine released study results by Local Market Monitor that showed the cities that lost the most value are concentrated in some areas of California, Florida, Nevada, and the Northeast. FULL STORY-> Abu Dhabi Moves From Pearl Diving To Nuclear Energy and Billion Dollar Bailouts in 50 Years If you like reasonably priced real estate in a fast growing market surrounded by wealthy neighbors, you will love Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) located on the Arabian Gulf. FULL STORY-> Abu Dhabi Moves From Pearl Diving To Nuclear Energy and Billion Dollar Bailouts in 50 Years If you like reasonably priced real estate in a fast growing market surrounded by wealthy neighbors, you will love Abu Dhabi, the capital city of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) located on the Arabian Gulf. FULL STORY-> Washington Report: Treasury Policy Change The Obama administration announced a blockbuster policy change over the holidays that didn't get a lot of press attention, but will affect the housing market for years. FULL STORY-> Home Value Loss Now but Increased Pricing Expected in 2010 There’s bad news and good news coming out of the housing market. Forbes Magazine released study results by Local Market Monitor that showed the cities that lost the most value are concentrated in some areas of California, Florida, Nevada, and the Northeast. FULL STORY-> Mortgage Modification Video Valuable for Distressed Homeowners A mortgage modification occurs when the lender reworks the terms of your existing home loan to lower payments and make the home more affordable for you. A new video walks you through the process. FULL STORY-> Generating Leads in the Online World Peter L. Mosca, host of Income Property Investment Talk dot com, shares his interview with Jason A. Kotar, President of Kotar Associates, an education and consulting firm focusing on the real estate and home building industries, and the co-author of “Homes Buyers and Mortgages: A Guide to Purchasing Real Estate in Today’s Market.” FULL STORY-> Investor Report: HUD Guidance Investors and others who expect to use FHA financing in connection with a short sale better check out the latest guidance issued by HUD last week. FULL STORY-> Herding HOA Cats At times, it can appear that trying to unify the board of a homeowner association is very much like herding cats. Freedom of expression is what America is all about, right? Well, yes and no. While it’s true each citizen is allowed freedom of thought and expression, having a group of special interests fighting over the same turf is contrary to the interests of the community at large. It is up to the Board President to build a team, a coalition that can prioritize and get the job done. FULL STORY-> New Strategic Alliance Brings Remodelers and Electronic Design Pros Together Home is where the heart is -- as are the many fine comforts that exist in today’s 21st Century playground. There’s the home theater system, alarm, lighting and HVAC systems on timers for maximum cost and usage efficiencies, and the remodeled kitchens of the future that make your coffee in the morning and cook your dinner at night, to name just a new. The home is constantly changing and the builders of today, and tomorrow, need to stay one step ahead of the consumer and her needs. FULL STORY-> Real Estate Outlook: Housing Recovery The real estate recovery continues to roll along with a big 7.4 percent jump in home resales last month, according to the National Association of Realtors.FULL STORY-> Are You Wearing Your Crash Helmet? Forecasting the Real Estate Market The recession is far from over. The biggest indicator of our economic health is how many people are unemployed. FULL STORY-> More Real Estate News and Advice...