Real Estate Rescue: How America Leaves Billions Behind in Residential Real Estate and How to Maximize Your Home's Value

by Tracy McLaughlin, Kevin Lake

Overview

An insider reveals how buyers and sellers can get the best price possible—by understanding how the housing market really works.

The process of buying or selling a home elicits a lot of emotions, from excitement to anxiety. Often, this can blind us to the practical realities of how the housing market works—especially since most people only enter the real estate world once a decade or less. Top residential real estate agent Tracy McLaughlin is here to change our understanding of the home sale process. Whether you’re buying your first home or an experienced seller, this book is packed with essential advice.

In nearly all real estate sales, buyers and sellers leave behind thousands—or even hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars—on the table. As shocking as this is, it continually happens because one simple decision, among the countless made during the entire process, can greatly impact the outcome of the transaction. By presenting an inside view on sales based on years of experience, McLaughlin provides a guide for maximizing the value of the sale and purchase of homes—including detailed advice as well as tips on finding the right real estate agent.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781642501964
Publisher:	Mango Media
Publication date:	04/14/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	201
File size:	14 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Raised in Marin County, Tracy McLaughlin graduated from U.C. Berkeley and went on to do graduate work in television journalism at Stanford University. Tracy worked for eight years as a reporter/anchor for various NBC affiliates around the country, proceeding to host her own international television show on travel and skiing. Tracy credits her background in journalism and communications for her ability to effectively present properties and negotiate transactions. In 2006, Tracy founded Morgan Lane, a boutique brokerage in Marin County. In 2009, she and Mark McLaughlin bought Pacific Union International. Tracy helped brand, recruit for, and grow the brokerage before selling her interest in it. Pacific Union became the fifth largest brokerage in the United States and was recently acquired by Compass. Tracy has three children and is a very active, visible member of the communities in which she lives and works.Wendy Tremont King, a classically trained narrator and stage actor, got her start in audiobook narration as a volunteer for the Lighthouse for the Blind. She is an accomplished puppeteer and puppetry director, as well as a member of the SAG Foundation BookPals program for children's literacy.

Table of Contents

Introduction 9

Wake Up America!

Trust Is Earned 11

The Bind 16

Chapter 1 There Are No Picassos in Real Estate-Valuing a Home 19

The Mechanics of Home Valuation 22

The Art of Home Valuation 24

An Appraisal of the Appraisal 37

Chapter 2 The Price Better Be Right 41

Going, Going, Gone 44

The Golden Days 48

Price Reductions-Don't Burn the Clock 49

The Anchor Bias 50

Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall: When to Sell Your Home 52

Chapter 3 Preparing a Home for Sale 54

The Times They Are a-Changin' 55

Home Sweet Home 58

Feeling Misunderstood and Depreciated 59

A Broken Clock Is Right Twice a Day: Timing the Market 61

Condition of the Home 62

Know Thy Market 63

Detailing Design Changes for a Seller 66

Time for "The Talk" 66

Staging-Showing Buyers How to Live in a Home 68

Chapter 4 Two Pictures (Before & After) Say a Thousand Words 74

Case Study 1 Get Creative 76

Case Study 2 Empty Homes Are Houses 81

Case Study 3 Shingle-Style Residence 85

Case Study 4 Waterfront Residence 89

Case Study 5 Repositioning an East Coast Home on the West Coast 93

Case Study 6 San Francisco Townhome 96

Chapter 5 Disclose, Permit, Inspect 106

In the Interest of Full Disclosure 108

Permits 110

Pre-Listing Inspections 113

Chapter 6 Marketing and Branding a Home 116

Storytelling 119

I Feel Therefore I Buy: Emotions Drive Decision-Making 122

Branding Tools 125

Social Media and Property Voyeurism 126

Chapter 7 Buyer Be Aware 129

The Neighbors, Not the Numbers, Tell the Story 132

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly 133

Yabba Dabba Don't 136

The Titanic Was "Unsinkable": Prepare for the Unexpected 137

Your Home Is Not an ATM 139

Chapter 8 Didn't Aunt Louise Just Get Licensed? Finding the Right Agent 143

Driving Away with Tears in My Eyes 144

VCRs, Pay Phones, Real Estate Agents? 147

Do Due Diligence 148

Go Local 153

I Hope the Friendship Was Worth Half a Million Dollars 154

Buying a Listing 157

A Punch List: Questions to Ask a Prospective Agent 159

Chapter 9 Buying and Selling Homes: What the Future Looks Like 161

Money Talks 162

Artificial Intelligence 163

The Millennial Mindset 163

The Traditional Brokerage-Calling a Taxi to Take You to Blockbuster 166

The Brokerage of the Future 168

About the Author 173

Endnotes 176

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

“ Real Estate Rescue might be one of the most important books you ever own. Nearly everyone who buys a home also ends up selling one. We almost always do it wrong. In this incredibly helpful book, Tracy McLaughlin takes you by the hand and guides you through every step. The result? Less stress and more income from your home. I give this book my highest recommendation!”

—Susannah Seton, author of Simple Pleasures of the Home

"This book will undoubtedly change the way America looks at buying and selling homes. Tracy has nailed all the critical check-offs for successful buying or selling. It's a game changer for our industry."

—Mauricio Umansky, founder/CEO of The Agency