Stale searches from Yahoo.com

By Todd Anderson

Apr 10, 2008

Hitwise (a web metrics company) reported that in March, 2008 the top 4 real estate websites in terms of market share were Realtor.com, Re/max, Yahoo.com and Zillow.com. If you watch the month to month statistics that lead to these rankings, nothing seems wrong. These are big companies with large marketing budgets and many people working to make sure the sites show up when people use various search engines to find real estate. As many of the various MLS's (multiple listing services) become more transparent and the use of the internet increasingly becomes where consumers start their housing searches, web traffic to these sites seems normal. There is one glaring problem with some of these searches; stale and/or incorrect data, as well as inconsistencies. Recently while I was working with a Buyer, I was sent a list of MLS numbers that the client wished to see. There were nine numbers emailed to me which corresponded to the 2 different MLS systems available to the greater Park City, Utah area (Park City MLS and Wasatch Front MLS). Being a member of both the Park City and Salt Lake Boards City of Realtors, the numbers didn't present a problem. After searching the numbers, I found not one "active listing" in the homes my client had liked. All of the listings had sold or expired, some had new listing numbers. The sales had happened a year ago or more. All of the data that my client had searched was stale and effectively worthless. What a waste of time! I asked what search was used and the response was "Yahoo". I redirected the Buyer to my website http://www.youinparkcity.com/ which features an IDX feed from the Park City MLS and my client found current active listings and information. While the You In Park City group will never have the budget of a Yahoo or Zillow, it is somewhat comforting to know that we will always have a better ability to stay current and offer better information and service than the big dot com's.

Tags: internet, MLS, Park City, Real Estate, search, Utah, Yahoo, Zillow
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Buyers and Agency in Utah

By Todd Anderson

Feb 17, 2008

Buyers and Sellers Agency are possibly the most misunderstood portions of Utah real estate law. This may be more true in Park City real estate transactions than other portions of Utah as many of the buyers are second home buyers and their knowledge is based on another state's law. Agency is something that at first glance seems quite straightforward; that is, until the idea of dual or limited agency is introduced. Agency is defined as: The relationship created when one person, the principal, delegates to another, the agent, the right to act on his or her behalf in business transactions and to exercise some degree of discretion while so acting. An agency gives rise to a fiduciary relationship and imposes on the agent, as the fiduciary of the principal, certain duties, obligations, and high standards of good faith and loyalty. To understand this we need to further define Fiduciary as: The relationship of trust, honesty and confidence between agent and principal; the faithful relationship owed by an agent to the principal. In a straightforward real estate sale or purchase, there is an agent working for the Buyer and one working for the Seller. Things change though when the Buyer is not represented or is represented by the Seller's agent (Limited or Dual Agency in Utah). Utah law allows for these types of transactions to exist and many agents actually try to involve themselves in them. Why? Money of course! Sellers, when agreeing to allow and agent to represent them in marketing and selling their home, agree to pay the agent a commission regardless of who sells the home. The agreement allows the agent to offer a commission to a Buyers agent for bringing a Buyer and taking care of the Buyers side of the sale. If the Seller's agent can find a Buyer, the agent doesn't have to share with a Buyers' Agent. The agent doubles up their commission. The issue that presents itself here is: how can an agent act as a fiduciary in when their responsibility is to two different people with somewhat opposing interests. The Seller wants the most money for their home and the Buyer wants the home for the best price available. How can the agent work to get the most money for the Seller and the best deal for the Buyer at the same time? They can't. In fact all parties involved have to sign an agreement allowing for Limited or Dual Agency. The form effectively states that the Agent involved now works for no-one and is merely an intermediary making sure that all paperwork is understood by all parties and completed correctly. And for acting in neither party's best interest, the agent gets "both sides" of the commission the Seller agreed to pay. Unfortunately, this situation presents itself due to an innocent mistake made by the Buyer thinking that they will get a better deal by dealing with the Seller's agent rather than getting their own. We at the YouInParkCity.com group attempt to not involve ourselves in the practice of "Dual" or "Limited Agency". We encourage all of our Park City real estate clients to be represented by a Realtor that is working solely in their best interest. Feel free to contact us by phone (888) 968-4672 or email so that we can start working for you!

Tags: Agency, buyers, Park City, Real Estate, realestate, search, sellers, Utah
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Park City Home Buyers Exercise

By Todd Anderson

Feb 13, 2008

I have found that Buyers in the Park City market often share something in common. I am sure that what they share is true of not just Buyers of Park City real estate, but is true of real estate buyers everywhere. I've experienced that it is possible to show a home that seems perfect for what I was told the buyer wanted and was well within the price range we discussed, only to have no offer written. The affliction here is; not knowing what all the Buyers want. It really isn't that the Buyer doesn't know, but the fact that Buyer is rarely a singular term. Buyers can represent a couple, a family, an extended family, a group of like-minded vacationing friends, investor group and more. Each person in these groups has their own "perfect" house, condominium or property in their head. Rarely is it the same as the others in their buying group. In fact I'd say never is it exactly the same. Before going out to search for the perfect property, it is necessary to come to terms with what the perfect property is. I suggest that all members of a buying group (or all people affected by the new purchase) draw up a list (individually) of the ten most important features the new property needs to have. These should be ranked most important to least important. Once this is done, all interested parties in the Buying process should get together and come up with one list of the most important features their new property will have. This can be a very eye-opening exercise for all of the people involved. The new list will definitely be longer than the original 10 features, but it will also be much more useful when trying to narrow down what homes you spend time looking at. The new list becomes the game plan and final goal for the Buyers and their Realtor. With this game plan in hand, winning is nearly a foregone conclusion. We will find a new home or property that works for you. This same type of exercise can be used when building a new home or remodeling your current home. In the end some compromises are made and rarely are all of the wanted features met, but the time savings and understanding of what all the buyers involved will be worth the effort. Take some time and start your list. We'd be more than happy to work with you on this and become the mediator when it's time to combine the list into one. Give us a call or email and we'll get started on finding the perfect Park City property for you. Get a head start by searching Park City properties on our website http://www.youinparkcity.com/ .

Tags: Buyer, buyers, home, investor, Park City, property, Real Estate, search
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