What Should a Buyer Look for During a Final Walk-Through?
Your client has officially signed off on her first home, and she couldn't be more excited, so you hand her the keys. Unfortunately, when she moves in, you find out several damages were not in the Agreement of Sale, and the lights don't work. Final walk-throughs give you a chance to take care of any matters before the closing. Most times, if you find something after the closing, it can be challenging to resolve, so you want to take your time when going through the place. Check List Here is a checklist you should have with you set you up for success on your final walk-through: Make sure everything that was supposed to be taken or left is there or not there Make sure all of the appliances work (lights, water, outlets, etc.) Check floors, ceilings and walls for any damages Check for any issues with plumbing (toilet, sink, drain, any water damages) House is in the same condition you agreed on in the AoS Are the windows and doors in good condition? Make sure nothing new is broken Confirm that all inspections have been completed. Too many homebuyers view final walk-throughs as an option, but it is not optional. Take your time with your buyers and be diligent in the final steps before signing the paperwork. We know your clients are excited to finally move into their new home, and they are itching to get to the final stage. Both buyers and sellers need to be aware of any issues during the final walk-through to help the process go smoothly. To view the original article, visit the Rental Beast blog.

Real Estate Agents: Beware of Offer Letters as Emotional Bait
Emotions run high when you put a seller's house for sale. To them, it's not just a house, not just some brick and mortar sitting on a piece of dirt somewhere in the city or municipality. Whether your seller has lived in their house for one year or 50, it is a home filled with memories and paid for with a good portion of their annual income. So the next time you list a property for sale, consider the journey the seller has been on and how you can ease their separation anxiety. Is encouraging a buyer to write a personal home purchase offer letter to the seller a good idea? Being an agent often requires more than just great real estate marketing ideas, complete with virtual tours and interactive floor plans. You are the consumer's connection to the current market, an expert in your field, and the facilitator of the sale. Statistics show that a personal offer letter written by a potential buyer can affect the seller's decision to accept one offer to purchase in real estate over another. This type of correspondence is often referred to as a "love letter" with the intent of tugging at the owner's heartstrings in order to stand out among competing offers. The humanizing factor can help ease some of the emotional anxiety the seller experiences, but there are other ways to keep your seller's personal memories intact without endorsing what may be seen as discrimination. Separation anxiety Real estate transactions are about traversing the path alongside your seller to help with the sale and the unexpected emotions that often accompany the separation of loving homeowners and their abode. A buyer's home purchase offer letter may allow the seller a small glimpse into the life of the new owner, but it won't take the seller down memory lane. Easing the seller's separation anxiety is difficult, but a great way to help them keep those memories is by using 3D virtual tours and accurately detailed floor plans of their existing home. Not only are these prop-tech tools excellent for marketing a residence, but they can help your seller when making the decision to sign away their home to a stranger. A permanent file filled with real estate photos, virtual tours, and interactive floor plans will allow the seller to reminisce in the years to come. The buyer benefits by having accurate measurements and the tools to perform any upcoming renovations they may want to perform. Competition and multiple offers In a seemingly unstoppable real estate market, properties continue to receive multiple offers. Some homes are selling for hundreds of thousands of dollars over the asking price. Competition is high and emotions are even higher. How can you help your buyer compete when listings are seeing all the offers to purchase that real estate agents can handle? Ultimately, the seller wants to get the best price for their home and with the least amount of hassle. An almost sure way to win the bid is to submit an offer well above the listed price after thoroughly examining the virtual tours and floor plans. If you lose out to a higher bidder, you have followed procedure to the letter. Speaking of which, would an offer letter have swayed the seller to choose your purchase contract over the winning one? Perhaps, but submitting a personally written letter from the buyer along with the contract could open you up to not-so-loving letters of reprimand from your local real estate board or, worse, a discrimination lawsuit. Love, letters, liability The buyer's home purchase offer letter is a passionate attempt to grab the seller's attention. A sort of coercing the seller to "pick me" as the new owner of a property. Of course, the intent behind the letter is to introduce the buyer to the seller in hopes they will "approve" the new owner of their home. But you have to consider there is a fair amount of liability involved with these so-called "love letters." It is never a good idea for you to include a letter like this along with an offer. It can be seen as an unfair method under the Fair Housing Act that discriminates against other potential buyers. Of course, you cannot prevent the buyer from taking the matter into their own hands and submitting the story of their wanton desire for the seller's home. In any case, it is not so much buyer beware, but buyer's agent beware. Connect and protect As a real estate agent, it is up to you to perform your fiduciary duties including reasonable care, confidentiality, and loyalty to protect the interests of both the seller and buyer. These duties include offering the best possible way to get a property sold by providing accurate information included in your real estate marketing plan. Connecting with buyers can be done using the proptech tools at your disposal. 3D video tours and precise square footage measurements are a must and are some of the best ways to help a buyer form an emotional attachment to a property. When it is a connection to the seller they are seeking, there is no better way than to make a fair offer to purchase real estate based on the factual information that affects the value of the property. Homebuyers will likely still want to engage in writing personal love letters to try to win a bidding war in one of the hottest real estate markets in years. As a Realtor, playing matchmaker is your role when introducing buyers to sellers' properties—but perhaps leave the flirtatious correspondence out of negotiations.

Using RPR to Close More Deals
RPR (Realtors Property Resource) is a real estate data platform made exclusively for REALTORS as part of their NAR membership. RPR is a tool that helps REALTORS be more informed, in sync with up-to-date property data, and more efficient in delivering answers to their clients. As the nation's largest property database, RPR pools and aggregates real estate data and puts it all together under one easy-to-use roof. The data, tools and reports that RPR offers helps REALTORS "wow" their clients and close more deals. In previous articles, we've touched on what makes up an RPR "wow moment." But what about the "closing more deals" part of our new tagline/mantra?

Top 10 Closing Gifts for Your Clients During Hurricane Season
Hurricane season runs from June 1st to November 30th every year, and each year many people are unprepared when a storm heads their way. If you're tired of buying the same old closing gift or still searching for a gift that really resonates with your buyers and sellers, consider some of these closing gift ideas. They're not just perfect for new homeowners; they are a great way to help your clients get a headstart on their hurricane preparedness.

Memorable Closing Gifts Your Clients Will Love
After what seemed like an endless amount of time, you and your client have finally reached the finish line – your client's home closing day. Closing gifts are a great opportunity to show your client how much of a pleasure it has been working with them throughout the entire home purchasing process. Closing gifts are also the perfect way for your client to remember you fondly after the home closing and hopefully refer you to friends or even hire you as their Realtor again sometime in the future. Below, we've gathered a few gift ideas for you.

How to Win-Win at Real Estate Negotiations
We invited Tom Hayman and Greg Markov from the Real Estate Negotiation Institute to present on tactics for success in real estate negotiations. They shared several best practices for real estate professionals when approaching contract negotiations, including how to: Identify the three types of negotiators, so you can anticipate their behavior and respond strategically. Utilize the ACCE Negotiation Methodology to collaborate with the other party for a mutually beneficial outcome. Build a reputation as a trustworthy professional whose listings and offers go to the top of the list because other agents enjoy working with you. Corporate executives are trained to be good negotiators, but real estate agents rarely receive specialized negotiation training, even though it's a skill they employ frequently in the course of business. Numerous studies show that skilled negotiators who employ a collaborative negotiation style get consistently better results and build lasting and profitable partnerships. If that's something you would like to achieve, try employing these tactics in your next negotiation.

How to Close the Deal on Stagnant Summer Listings
The days are long as they are hot; the calendar shows that it is officially summer. However, some of your listings have been getting little to no attention since the beginning of spring. As a seasoned agent, you know that this is a frustrating experience for your clients, as well as yourself. To make matters worse, you know the longer the listing sits on the market, the lower the interest will be. This is the perfect time to focus your attention on listings that have been languishing in the sun with no one around to notice. Whether you think your client's pricing strategy is off, the house is in need of a makeover, or your marketing strategy needs to freshen up, grab a lemonade and use these four tips to help you get that listing off the market.

4 Genius Closing Scripts that Work Every Time
Closing the sale: the very last hurdle. Sometimes your prospects and clients will have a hard time making the final "yes." So how can you, as a real estate agent, help them make their decision? Coach Tom Ferry has got you covered. The second tip at 3:04 is so good, it will make you question life.

5 Steps to a Successful Negotiation
Eighty-nine percent of people who were polled in the NAR Profile of Buyers and Sellers considered negotiation skills to be very important in their real estate agent. Alexis Bolin, who was ranked as the #1 ERA agent nationwide three times and named in the top 300 real estate agents nationwide by NAR, has over 5,000 closed residential transactions and is an expert negotiator. She recently appeared in the Secrets of Top Selling Agents webinar and shared her Five Steps to Successful Negotiation. 1. Preparation Never go into a negotiation ill-prepared. By learning everything you can about buyer, seller, and agent motivations, you are able to negotiate from a position of strength. Before meeting with the other agent, research their party on Google and Facebook and look at the agent’s past sales in the MLS. Double this with the latest market information and you will be well on your way to defending your party’s interests in any situation.

4 Strategies for Effective Communication During Closings
Today’s homebuyer or seller has come to expect clear and frequent communication from their real estate agent during the closing process. Because today’s consumers are more knowledgeable about the closing process than in years past, they demand frequent updates on key points during their closing– which they may be familiar with because they’ve purchased a home before or researched the process online.  Your clients are likely no exception.  But the key isn’t just communicating with them; it’s communicating effectively. Let’s talk about several of the basic – and the more advanced – strategies and tools available to real estate agents.   The Basics First, a review of the classic, more basic forms of communication and when they’re most effective.   1) In-person meetingsIf you have bad news or a complicated concept to explain, it may be a good idea to set up an in-person meeting. This is important for relationship building.   Talking on the telephone or sending an email can limit our ability to explain concepts effectively or express emotions. It can also lead to misunderstandings of tone or meaning. If an in-person meeting isn’t possible – if, for example, your client lives elsewhere or is on vacation – the next best solution is a phone call.