DROdio Real Estate

Here's a sample letter from a condo conversion company; this buyer was purchasing a low-income property in Washington, DC. You can also learn more about low income credits in DC.
---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: John Doe
Date: Jul 24, 2007 11:35 AM
Subject: Update 07/27/07
To: Jane Doe

Greetings Jane!

Here is the latest news regarding the purchase of your new home.

The renovation is well under way. Your unit is expected to be ready for delivery by August 20, 2007. Completion and final delivery is contingent upon the assignment of Tax ID numbers by the DC Government. While we anticipate that process to be smooth, we are dependant on it's completion in order to provide you with a firm date.

It is important that you have completed your loan application and submitted all necessary documents to your lender. This includes, Bank Statements, Pay Stubs, W2's, Tax Returns for the last two years if required, and your loan package.

If you are using HPAP, be sure that you have applied and that you are in receipt of your Notice of Eligibility. You will also need to obtain your Training Certificate from the HPAP Counseling Center.

Once the building is ready for delivery, your final inspection and settlement will be scheduled. Please review section 4 of your sales contract so that you might be prepared and know what to expect regarding settlement and Walk Thru. Sections 4a and 4c should especially be noted.

If you have not completed the activities identified above please contact me as soon as possible so that I may assist you in ensure that you loan is in process so that you can move into your brand new Condo.

Yours truly,

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DROdio.com/investor is a site that helps investors evaluate rental properties, and on that site is a cash flow analysis tool. You can visit www.DROdio.com/investor to use the tool.

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BirdsEyeSearch.com is a site that helps home buyers find homes by combining Google Maps with the MLS. After you watch the video, you can visit BirdsEyeSearch.com to use the site.

 

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TheBestHomeSearchEver.com is a site that helps home buyers find homes. After you watch the video, you can visit TheBestHomeSearchEver.com to use the site.

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Want to talk to us about your lowball offer strategy? Let's meet for coffee to chat, or feel free to contact us at right and we'll respond quickly.

Making a lowball offer often has a negative connotation, but the reality is that many sellers are happy to look at any and all offers in today's market. This tutorial offers tips & tricks on how to successfully make a lowball offer. (More information below the video).

You can see how we use electronic signatures here.

You're welcome to use our powerful search tools like www.TheBestHomeSearchEver.com, www.TheBestForeclosureSearchEver.com, and www.BirdsEyeSearch.com

You can also watch all of our other YouTube video tutorials.

We also have a page just for real estate investors with tools to help you analyze properties.

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Go "Behind the Curtain" and learn how Realtor Commissions are paid, what that means for you, and what you can do to leverage the knowledge. 

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Learn the tricks to buying a home like a professional Realtor would. 

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What are real estate auctions like? What's the difference between courthouse auctions & REO auctions? What is a good foreclosure buying strategy? We have answers! The first thing you should do is visit our blog describing process. Then, watch the videos below, on courthouse auctions & REO auctions:

We recently visited an auction held at the Hilton in McLean, VA with hundreds of REO (bank owned) properties being auctioned off:

Here is a related post where we describe the entire short sale / foreclosure / REO process.You can also learn the tricks to using our tools to find pre-foreclosure, foreclosure and bank-owned homes.

Lastly, here is a video of a 2 hour seminar we held on how to buy foreclosure, auction & REO properties:

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One of the most powerful features of www.TheBestHomeSearchEver.com is its ability to search the listing notes. Here's what that means, and why you'd want to use it.

Did you know? You can search the MLS for just foreclosure properties by checking the "Search only Foreclosure" checkbox on www.TheBestHomeSearchEver.com when you're searching for homes.

First, a bit of background on how listings are put into the MLS system, called "MRIS" in our area: A listing agent has to determine a number of things about the listing - what style it is (victorian, colonial, etc.), how many bedrooms, how many bathrooms, etc. One of the things that a listing agent has to do is mark an itsy bitsy little checkbox if the property is near the Metro. Many listing agents don't even know that the checkbox exists, because it's pretty buried in the listing form. So if you use the standard "close to Metro" search, not that many properties show up, because many listing agents neglect to checkmark the box when creating the listing.For example, of 114,793 currently active properties showing on TheBestHomeSearchEver.com (which is the entire MLS), only 2,026 properties have the "close to Metro" checkmark marked. How do we know this? Because if you go to the "bargain hunters" tab on TheBestHomeSearchEver.com and click the "Within 1 mile of a metro station" checkbox, that's how many properties show up. Here's what it looks like on the site (click to enlarge):

But what almost all listing agents do when a property is close to the metro is write "Close to Metro!" or "Walk to Metro" in the listing notes. So why not search for the word "Metro" in the listing notes? Well, that's exactly what you can do with TheBestHomeSearchEver.com! There are 2 ways to do this. The first way is just to checkmark the box on our site that says "Search for listings that have the word "metro" in the descriptions", like this:

And do you notice that now 6,482 properties show up?! We consistently see three to four times as many listings show up when we search the listing notes instead of using the listing checkbox. And if you want to play it safe, you can check both boxes on our site. Under that scenario we get 7,313 results.The other way to accomplish this same thing is to go to the "Property Details" tab where it says "Search the Listing Notes." Here's what that looks like:

And as you've probably guessed, you can search for all kinds of things with this tool! Try searching for "woods" if you want a property that backs to woods. Or try searching for "foreclosure" if you're looking for foreclosures. (Actually, foreclosures go by several names - we suggest you checkmark the "search the listing notes for foreclosures" box, which does the hard work for you and puts in all the possible terms.)Enjoy your new-found power!

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Here are our buyer representation forms. They make us your Realtor, which allows us to represent your interests. You might not even be sure why you need a Realtor. Hopefully reading through all these FAQs will show you the types of pitfalls that can confront you in the home buying process.

Here's a little known fact: Most state laws stipulate that a Realtor works for the seller unless the Realtor enters into an agreement with his buyer client. So, by signing this agreement, you're ensured that we'll be working to represent your interests, not the seller's.

When Do We Ask You to Sign This Form?

We have our clients sign this form when we start physically spending time with them. To put it another way, you are welcome to use our extensive suite of buyer tools and the way we use technology to help buyers with absolutely no obligation, such as our video tutorials, BirdsEyeSearch.com, TheBestHomeSearchEver.com, our free GPS machine, and many other tools.

Once we start spending time with you, we need a commitment from you that if you buy one of the houses we show you, the seller (not you!) will pay us a commission.

We think it's a fair trade - you use our tools as much as you'd like, and when you ask for a time commitment from us, we likewise ask for a commitment from you so we know the seller will recognize our buyer relationship and pay us a commission.

Did you know that you can cancel this agreement?  Here is an entire blog dedicated to this little-known fact.

If you have any questions please let us know. You can fax the form in to us at 1.877.329.3763.

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Virginia, DC & MD state laws surprisingly let Realtors act as "dual agents" when disclosed to all parties (also known as "dual representation").

We feel that dual agency isn't a good idea. In fact, we'd go so far as to say that it's a disservice to our clients, so we don't do it. Here's why:

The first thing is for you to understand the dual agency clause in the buyer representation agreement. Here it is (click on it to enlarge):

Do you see where it says "Dual representation occurs when a buyer and seller in one transaction are represented by the same Broker and the same Sales Associate." Hmmm... seems like a conflict there to us, doesn't it seem that way to you? The only possible way an agent could do this would be if s/he removed himself/herself from the process and just acted as a "referee" in the transaction. But then the original client to the agent loses out because the client doesn't get the agent's full representation. So we think it's a bad idea all around.

Dual agency also gets dangerous when you buy a house without a Realtor, because the listing agent now has to be very careful to be very up-front about who s/he is representing. Often times, the buyer thinks the listing agent is their "friend" and is helping them through the process, but in reality the listing agent's interests lie with the seller. We recommend that there be a separation between buyer & seller and their representatives, so we won't do dual agency. You'll notice that one of the items in our Client Bill of Rights is that we won't do dual agency.

We do feel "designated agency" (also called "designated representation") is OK. In that instance, the buyer and seller have separate agents in the same real estate firm. When this happens, we feel there is enough of a separation between the two parties that each side's interest can be represented fairly & accurately.

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A buyer of ours asked:

Can I have two kitchens in my home in Fairfax County? Is it a zoning violation?

The short answer: maybe.

The long answer: You can have two kitchens as long as there is only one burner in the home. Burners can be defined as stoves or cook tops. So if you have an in-law-suite in the basement with a refrigerator, sink, cabinets, etc., you're fine. But if you have a burner in the second kitchen, AND you're making rental income off of the space with the second kitchen, then the property is considered a multi-family dwelling, which is not allowed in a single family zoning, and will require separate certificate of occupation for that space.

So, to recap, the permitting department will frown upon your second burner but it will only become a true violation when you start to make rental income from the space with the second kitchen and burner.

Here is the permit lookup sitefor FX county by address or permit number, or you can call them at 703-222-1082.

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Absolutely. We are investors too, and we believe in the integrity & strength of the D.C. Metro real estate environment. We'll be happy to help you through this process.

Here are a few tools, tips & tricks we think you'll like:

• Watch our video tutorials on:
  • How to buy foreclosure homes (and we also have an FAQ on buying foreclosure homes)
  • How to search the listing notes of www.TheBestHomeSearchEver.com
  • How to use our Google maps search tool, www.BirdsEyeSearch.com
  • How to make lowball offers
  • How to use our investor cash flow tool.
• Use our investor cash flow tool to help you plan your cash flows on rental properties

• Learn all about 1031 exchanges and use our 1031 exchange calculator (provided through our commercial brand, Cardea Commercial Real Estate Advisors)

• Learn about Tenant-In-Common fractional interest purchases at www.CardeaCommercial.com

We also recommend InvestorsUnited, an investor school based out of Baltimore, especially if you're a new investor.

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Many of you already know about Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology. Daniel R. Odio of DROdio Real Estate, Inc. is a TJHSS&T alumnus and would be happy to share his experience at the school. Many people consider TJHSS&T to be the best high school in the US. Its average SAT score is 1482. Students must apply, and out of about 3,000 applications yearly, only 500 are accepted. To learn more about TJHSS&T, visit www.TJHSST.edu. You must be a Fairfax County resident to apply (some exceptions for Loudoun, Arlington & PW Counties).
The University of Virginia is one of the top public universities in the nation. If you have a child contemplating colleges, Daniel R. Odio of DROdio Real Estate, Inc. would be happy to discuss his experience at the school. Daniel graduated from UVA with a BS in Commerce. You can learn more about UVA at www.Virginia.edu.

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Yes, absolutely.

Here are the really easy steps to getting our GPS loaner:

• Talk to your DROdio agent and have them check the schedule to see if the unit is available on the days you want it (we loan the unit out for 3 days at a time). If you don't yet have a DROdio agent, just contact us at right.
• Then, download the loaner agreeement and bring it to our office when you come to pick the unit up. You can get directions to our office here. Please call our office manager before you come to make sure the GPS unit is here. You can reach us at 1.800.705.2782 ext 0.

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We love using technology to make the buying process easier on you.

One of the ways we do this is by enabling you to have us stamp your signatures on contracts.

The Electronic Signature Authorization Form allows us to stamp your signatures on contracts, and then send them to you to approve via email. It saves you the hassle of running to a fax machine each time we need to submit a contract or addendum, and the contracts are cleaner & more legible because we submit them electronically. We think you'll love the convenience! If you have any questions please let us know. You can fax the form in to us at 1.877.329.3763.

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A listing presentation is an opportunity for us to better understand your home and your goals in selling, and for you to get to know us and our expertise, and how we can help you.

As a firm, we are very selective in which homes we list. There are many properties on the market that will not sell because either the seller's expectations are out of line, or the property is not in good enough shape to sell.

Remember - Realtors aren't miracle workers. If you're asking $50k or $100k too much for your home, no amount of marketing is going to get it to sell.

What we do is position & brand the property in the marketplace so it has the best chance of getting an offer, and then negotiating that offer to get you the best deal.

Oftentimes the process involves staging the home, doing work to get it ready for sale, putting the home on CraigsList.org, putting the home on the MLS & Realtor.com, sending out JustListed postcards, making a custom URL with the address of the house, like this one: www.4914sammyJoe.com , among other things.

When we come to your home to do a listing presentation, we will do a custom CMA analysisof the last ~100 similar homes in your area to have been listed, so we can give you macro trends and help you value your property by pricing per square foot (PSF) and the tax assessment ratio. We'll also walk the property to give you suggestions and recommendations on what you can improve to get the house sold quickly. We may also tell you we don't think we're the right company to list your home, if we don't think we can sell it.

To have us visit your home for a compliementary listing presentation please submit an inquiry at right.

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