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Soaring prices hike Auckland real estate agent commissions - 17 Nov 2015 07:58

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[[html]]Last updated05:00, November 15 2015 <br><br><img alt="Ponsonby-based real estate agent George Damiris is making better money in real estate than his previous career in the building industry." title="" src="http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/8/2/o/o/o/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.181mdu.png/1447614876957.jpg" class="photoborder"/><br><br>PETER MEECHAM/FAIRFAX NZ <br><br>Ponsonby-based real estate agent George Damiris is making better money in real estate than his previous career in the building industry.<br><br>Some Auckland estate agents are enjoying million dollar salaries thanks to a 44 per cent pay rise in five years.<br><br>The wage hike has been achieved without them having to do any extra work, official figures reveal.<br><br>Agents are cashing in because the city's house prices have soared, while the commission structure, which pays out a percentage of the property value to sales staff, has stayed the same.<br><br><img alt="Erika Blank hopes her new real estate career will pay dividends eventually." title="" src="http://www.stuff.co.nz/content/dam/images/1/8/2/o/n/4/image.related.StuffLandscapeSixteenByNine.620x349.181mdu.png/1447614876957.jpg" class="photoborder"/> <br><br>Erika Blank hopes her new real estate career will pay dividends eventually.<br><br>Real Estate Institute of New Zealand data shows that in 2010, vendors would pay around $18,000 dollars to real estate agents, based on a median selling price of $450,000.<br><br>But last month, a seller of a median-priced $750,000 house would pay $23,978 in commission if they sold with Barfoot and Thompson, the city's biggest real estate agency, or $26,767 on average if they sold with any of the other major firms - an increase of just under 50 per cent.<br><br>Commission can be split between the salesperson who lists the property and the one who sells it but in most cases, it is the same person who does both.<br><br>It means around two-dozen high-performing salespeople, mostly in Auckland, are now thought to earn more than $1.5 million a year, includingYvonne Wang, Matty Maand Gary Wallace.<br><br>Real estate agencies once published information about their top performers' sales figures but have since stopped.<br><br><img src="http://www.realestatesarasota.net/images/real_estate5.jpg" width="333" /><br><br>Wallace sold more than $800 million worth of property in 10 years, which would convert to a conservative estimate of $16 million in commission for him over that time.<br><br>Ma boasts of $500 million in sales in 13 years in the market - but that was before prices started to really heat up in Auckland.<br><br>This week she said she was not allowed to disclose her income, but she was the biggest commission-earner in Harcourts over the past year.<br><br>"I have been busy but good salespeople should be able to deal with any market," she said.<br><br>The way commission works means that a new agent who sold a median-priced house last month, would have pocketed about $12,000 for the deal, compared to $8000 five years ago.<br><br>Auckland's median selling time is 31 days.<br><br>Real estate salespeople are usually independent contractors who work on commission, contracted to a real estate office, which holds the agency.<br><br>Commission is usually set at about 4 per cent of the sale price up to about $300,000 and then 2 per cent over that..<br><br>Vendors also pay marketing fees, auctioneer's fees, and usually a fixed administration fee on top.<br><br>When a sale happens, the real estate franchise takes a cut of up to 10 per cent.<br><br>Commission is split between the salesperson and the agency. For new agents, the split is close to 50/50 but top real estate salespeople can command up to 75 per cent of the commission.<br><br>Graeme Fraser, head of agency operations at Ray White, said those who worked hard would be well-rewarded. "You can earn very good money, that would be heading towards that of a senior management person or better, but it depends what market you are in."<br><br>He said Ray White's elite sales people would bring in more than half-a-million in commission each year to their office. "But there's a hell of a lot involved in getting to that level."<br><br>Property commentator Olly Newland said the rates were now too high.<br><br>Vendors pay a greater percentage of the sale price to their salespeople in New Zealand than in many other countries.<br><br>Queensland is the only part of Australia with rates as high as New Zealand's.<br><br>Britain charges up to 2.5 per cent plus VAT and most marketing expenses are included. United States vendors pay up to 3 per cent commission although the use of buyers' agents there can make selling more expensive.<br><br>"They are getting two or three times as much as they were getting 10 years ago for the same effort. New Zealand has some of the highest commission rates in the world," Newland said.<br><br>Grant Wakelin, founder of flat-fee real estate firm 200square, agreed.<br><br>"If house prices go up, the agent gets paid more, completely independent of the effort, value or service they provide.<br><br>"The commission charged on the average Auckland property has increased 30 per cent in the past three years. nothing has changed for the agent in terms of the work required, the skills applied, technology used and value added. if anything, property has become faster and easier to sell over that time."<br><br>But Real Estate Institute chief executive Colleen Milne said it was hard to imagine a fairer system. She said vendors could discuss the details of the commission before they entered into a contract.<br><br>"At the time the listing contract, including the agreed fee structure, is signed neither the agent nor the vendor knows the timeframe in which the sale will be completed. This may occur quickly or the sale may not be achieved for weeks or months, or sometime not at all.<br><br>"If there is no sale, there is no commission fee; and if the vendor does not like the price being offered they can walk away. In such cases the agent bears the cost of work undertaken."<br><br>She said agents would offer specialist knowledge, experience, marketing skills and contacts.<br><br>It is estimated about 20 per cent of salespeople earn 80 per cent of the commission.<br><br>Even in Auckland, the 2546 sales last month was not enough for even half of the 5636 salespeople in the market to have sold a house each.<br><br>The 1257 agents operating across Canterbury and the West Coast sold 990 properties.<br><br>There are 11,683 salespeople operating around the country. Last month, 7838 homes sold in total.<br><br>Fraser said: "There's no way it's an easy job. People come in and don't make a sale and leave. They don't have the skills to build relationships <a href="http://www.simsurbanoasis-by-guocoland.com">http://www.simsurbanoasis-by-guocoland.com</a> with potential and future clients, or can't cope with the long and varied hours."<br><br>George Damiris<br><br>Ponsonby real estate salesman George Damiris has been able to make the most of a soaring inner-city market.<br><br>He traded the building industry for real estate four years ago and hasn't looked back..<br><br>"It took a year before I had to stop worrying if I was going to get paid every month," he said. "This year has been by far the best in terms, in terms of the financial year, and we are only half-way through it."<br><br>The key was getting repeat business, he said, with people seeking him out from referrals.<br><br>The flexibility fo the job suits his young family. Now it is paying so well he could not imagine going back to a salaried role.<br><br>"On a nice sunny day when I'm wearing a suit and sweating in a negotiation I'm not enjoying I think I wouldn't mind being up a scaffold, but going back to building simply would't pay me enough."<br><br><object width="400" height="241"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vOfGaWFC5Fw&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vOfGaWFC5Fw&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="241"></embed></object><br><br>Last month, he sold eight properties including apartments around Wynyard Quarter. "I haven't earnt a million dollars in a year yet but maybe I'll get there one day."<br><br>Erika Blank<br><br>Erika Blank, a salesperson for Bayleys in Whangarei, has just started as a real estate agent, but is still waiting for her first sale and hasn't yet earned a cent from the property frenzy.<br><br>After setting up a couple of months ago, she works about 30 hours a week, including evenings and weekends.<br><br>But she has recently signed up her first listings.<br><br>She said: "It's not something you cannecessarilyget into and overnight start making all this amazing money. I'm in it for thelong runand it's going really well, but it's definitely something you have to be able to look at down the track because it's about building people's trust. Reputation is created through word-of-mouth."<br><br>Blank is not worried she has had to take a pay hit to make the change. She said she <a href="http://www.longandfoster.com/">http://www.longandfoster.com/</a> hoped to soon be earning an income that was equal to what she had earnt previously as a personal banker, and then to beat it.<br><br>"Buying and selling a house is a big step in people's lives. I am working on getting them to know I am someone they can deal with, that they can trust, and who has the skills required to make the most of it for them.<br><br>"If i can do that, it is really great."<br><br>-Stuff <br><br>[[/html]] - Comments: 0

TRID Rules Prompt Changes To Mass. Standard Form Purchase and Sale Agreement - 08 Nov 2015 21:44

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[[html]]<img class="alignright wp-image-6827" src="http://massrealestatelawblog.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/9/2015/07/TRID-1.png" alt="TRID-1" width="351" height="195" />MAR and GBREB Release New TRID Addendum In Advance Of Oct. 3 Start Date<br><br>In anticipation of the upcoming October 3 start date for the new CFPB-TRID Rules (TILA-RESPA Integrated Disclosure), the Massachusetts Association of Realtorsis advocating that several changes in existing practice be adopted as part of the MAR standard form purchase and sale agreement between buyer and seller. The changes, incorporated into a new Integrated Disclosure Addendum-Mortgage(embedded below and available to all MAR members by clicking here), will account for the risk of potential delays resulting <a href="http://www.longandfoster.com/">http://www.longandfoster.com/</a> from the new TRID rules, as well as impose a requirement on all parties to expedite providinginformation necessary to generate the new Closing Disclosure. For a comprehensive review of the TRID rules, click here.<br><br>Under TRID, there will be a new settlement statement called a Closing Disclosure, whichmust be issued to the borrower at least3 days prior to closing. If that does not occur, the closing will be delayed for up to 7 days. Lenders arerequiring that the information contained in the Closing Disclosure (fees, closing costs, taxes, insurance, escrows, credits, etc.)be finalized no less than 7-14 days <a href="http://simsurbanoasis-by-guocoland.com">http://simsurbanoasis-by-guocoland.com</a> prior to closing, to give them enough time to generate the new Closing Disclosure in a timely fashion.As with any major regulatory change such as this, we can expect delays and speed bumps for closings occurring after Oct. 3.<br><br>The new MAR Addendum attempts to allocate risk and responsibility by providing that:<br><br><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Y6zD9D_xXo/Tn0L9tx7gAI/AAAAAAAADKI/HcWWOLqcmIs/s1600/RealEstate_cover+art.jpg" width="329" /><br><br>The buyer provides the seller with the name of the lenders attorney as soon as practicable and no less than 14 days prior to closingNo fewer than 7 days prior to closing, the Seller and Buyer must provide all adjustments and figures (water/sewer, condo fees, taxes, oil in tank, etc.) necessary to prepare the Closing Disclosure. *I would change this to 14-20 days prior to closing.The closing can be extended up to 3 business days in case of a TRID related delay. *I would change this to 8 days.No party can sue each other for TRID related delays<br><br>Practice Pointer: I do not think the MAR form goes far enough to account for the potential delays arising out of TRID. For example, if the lender does not use e-sign technology the Closing Disclosure would have to be mailed, and the closing would be delayed for 7 days, not 3 days. Moreover, lenders are advising me that they want all Closing Disclosure information in by 20 days pre-closing, so they can turn around the loan commitment and <a href="http://www.simsurbanoasis-by-guocoland.com">http://www.simsurbanoasis-by-guocoland.com</a> Closing Disclosure at the same time and have a buffer in case of last minute changes. Most importantly, please use some form of TRID addendum to your Offers. Do not wait for the P&amp;S.<br><br>Please click here for my customized TRID Addendum and TRID Offer Timeline<br><br><object width="400" height="241"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/jAni7SUH754&hl=en_US&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/jAni7SUH754&hl=en_US&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="400" height="241"></embed></object><br><br>Note that the Greater Boston Real Estate Board standard form purchase and sale agreement is still in wide use. The GBREBhas released their own version of the TRID rider, available here.<br><br>Integrated Disclosure Addendum (c) 2015 Watermark by Richard Vetstein<br><br>Tagged as:Mass. TRID addendum rider, Massachusetts standard form purchase and sale agreement, TRID, TRID contract rider addendum, TRID Rules<br><br>[[/html]] - Comments: 0

Real Estate Investment Analysis Software by Kim Charles Petty - 04 Nov 2015 08:59

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[[html]]Investing in Real estate is acquiring an increasingly critical profile with advancement in technology. Like other businesses all aspects of real estate investing also have become technology oriented and complicated. You may find handling day-to-day operations quite stressful and difficult to handle without obtaining expert support. The easiest way to cope with such a situation is to use real estate investment analysis software.<br><br>The software is user friendly and will prove to be the ideal option to manage your high profit ventures in real estate investing. To make it easier for you to handle the software, a detailed user manual and a CD are provided along with it. This will let <a href="http://www.highlineresidences-condo.info/">have a peek at these guys</a> you clearly comprehend the application and procedure for using the software. &#13;<br><br>The software consists of many features that are of immense use to committed real estate investors, brokers, real estate agents and developers. It allows quick and easy real estate investment analysis presentation for individual investors that help them in understanding implications of their investment moves and lets them make an informed decision on real estate investing. &#13;<br><br>There are many companies that sell real estate analysis software. Good quality software is a powerful tool that will let you determine your return on investment and analyze cash flows. It provides a near accurate estimate of future wealth/net worth and allows comparing multiple income properties through an executive summary. Using an executive summary you can run assumptions against different income generating properties and then make a comparison of the financial data derived through the executive summary to determine the property that will give the highest return. This caters to systematically building wealth through your real estate investments by making quick and better-informed decisions. &#13;<br><br>This user friendly software is available for all types of real estate like apartment buildings, single family rental housing, office buildings, industrial properties, ware houses and mini warehouses, commercial buildings etc. The software will help you generate all types of related financial reports like income statements, cash flow statement, rent roll, mortgage and equity, sensitivity analysis, executive summary, operating expenses etc. It can also let you have a breakdown of operating expenses in the form of expense item amount expressed as a percentage of total operating expenses and a percentage of effective gross income as well. &#13;<br><br>Real estate investing analysis software provides you with the flexibility of entering 2/3 mortgages on a one property to let you make a mortgage analysis of your investment real estate. It can take into account interest only mortgages, fully amortized mortgages, one future mortgage or refinancing, interest only mortgage with balloon payments, fully amortized mortgage with balloon payments etc.&#13;<br><br>You must look for real estate investing software that allows powerful sensitivity analysis by incorporating variations in purchase price, loan interest rate, appreciation growth rate, income growth rate, expense growth rate, vacancy rate and reinvestment rate of return.&#13;<br><br>In the real estate business you may come across terms that may appear to be complicated or confusing. Good real estate investment analysis software will invariably include an encyclopedia to help you out with this. It will clarify and help you understand the various real estate terms as well as its principles, concepts, practices and calculations with explanations to financial indicators like return, cap rate, IRR, GRM, DCR, DSR etc.&#13;<br><br><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0Y6zD9D_xXo/Tn0L9tx7gAI/AAAAAAAADKI/HcWWOLqcmIs/s1600/RealEstate_cover+art.jpg" width="298" /><br><br>[[/html]] - Comments: 0


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