Granbury Area Real Estate Podcast with Greg Willis

3 Ways We Separate Ourselves From the Competition

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Fri, 24 Mar 2017 11:52:00 -0700

Most Realtors are the same, but there are three ways we separate ourselves from the competition.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

How is TexasRealEstateSavings.com different from all the other real estate companies out there? As I like to say, Realtors are a lot like gumballs. On the outside, they’re different colors but on the inside they’re the same. However, there are three primary ways we separate ourselves from other real estate companies: 1. We help sellers save money. Because real estate commissions are negotiable, we don’t charge what most companies charge. In fact, we usually charge quite a bit less. Our sellers save an average of $3,000 to $8,000 on their home when they list with us.
2. We offer a seller advantage program. On top of our discounted full service listing fee, we have a seller program. If a seller comes across a buyer, I still write the contract, represent the seller, and help the buyer. You only pay my listing side of the commission and not the other 3% that we and other companies usually charge.

3. We offer cash rebates to buyers. When a buyer works with me, we give them money back at closing. There are only three conditions. The first is that you have to use me exclusively as your buyer representative. The second is the home has to sell for over $100,000. The third is the commission has to be at least 3%.

Sellers save an average of $3,000 to $8,000 working with us

Please check out my reviews. I’m one of the very few agents who has more than 100 five-star reviews on Zillow. If you have any questions in the meantime, please feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I’d love to help you!

How Our Sales Numbers Compare

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Wed, 1 Feb 2017 10:11:00 -0800

How do we compare to some of the top teams in the area? Very well, actually.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

How do my sales numbers compare to the numbers of some of the top teams in Granbury? To demonstrate, I’ve got some numbers to share. First, some background information. The National Association of Realtors says that the average Realtor does 11 transactions per year. How do we stack up when compared to the top companies in the area? We took a look at the numbers from two of the top teams in Granbury. We’ll call them Team A and Team B. Team A had a total of 219 residential sales in 2016. With about 15 agents on their team, that gives them an average of 14.6 sales per agent. Team B did 100 sales with 10 agents on their team, giving them an average of 10 sales per agent.

My program is better and I work harder.

When you look at my numbers, last year I did 93 residential transactions as the only agent in my office who takes listings and writes contracts. This gives me a 93 sales per agent average. Why is my number so high? There are two reasons. The first is that my program is simply better than the others. I offer seller discounts and cash rebates when they don’t. It’s very simple. The second reason is that I work harder. If you call me at 9 p.m., you’ll be able to get a hold of me. With the other teams, you would be lucky to get ahold of them after 5 p.m. My program is better and I work harder. See my reviews here to learn what people are saying about me. The numbers don’t lie. If you have any questions or are looking to buy or sell a home in Granbury, don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you!

4 Reasons Listings Go Stale

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Fri, 6 Jan 2017 10:07:00 -0800

There are a few reasons your home might be growing stale on the market while others fly off. Today I’ll go over what factors could keep your home from selling.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

Why is it that some homes fly off the market and other ones grow stale? There are a few factors that contribute to a longer stay on the market.

It’s important to remember that every market is different across the state, so it really depends on where the home is. Unlike back in the 1970s when agents had to advertise their listings, now people can find any home they want to with a click of a mouse. The entire market is at their fingertips.

Some sellers want to blame the agent. However, relisting with a new agent isn’t always going to solve your problem. So why do homes sit on the market?

The first reason is the condition of a home. Your home’s condition might not be up to par. Do you need to replace the carpeting? How about repainting? Is there an odd odor in your home? There could be a hundred reasons your home isn’t ready for the market, and most if not all of them need to be taken care of to sell your home.

The biggest reason a home sits on the market is that it’s overpriced.

Secondly, location could have something to do with a home growing stale on the market. If your home is next to a train track, busy road, or is just too far outside of town, that will likely cause it to sit on the market longer.

The third reason a home may sit on the market is that the home is too unique or odd.

However, the biggest reason a home sits on the market is that it is overpriced. Even if the condition is lacking, the location leaves much to be desired, and the layout is odd, a well-priced home will sell.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help!

What Separates Good Realtors from Bad Ones?

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Thu, 22 Dec 2016 10:23:00 -0800

While it’s true that all Realtors perform the same job functions, they are each different from the other in three distinct areas that I want to discuss with you today.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

Are all Realtors the same? Yes and no. It’s true that all Realtors can show homes, write contracts, negotiate those contracts, and walk buyers and sellers through the closing process. However, aside from those job descriptions, each one is vastly different from the other in three very important areas. The first area is experience. There are many Realtors out there today who are just out of real estate school. In the real estate business, a Realtor can have as many as 50 deals under their belt and still be considered “new.” By comparison, I’ve done over 800 deals. The second area is knowledge. As you can imagine, a Realtor that’s done only a dozen or so deals probably has limited knowledge. There are some things you just can’t teach in real estate school, and you only learn those things by working a long time. When things get sticky in a transaction between the buyer and seller, knowledge matters a great deal.

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There are some things you just can’t teach in real estate school.

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The third area is programs. Most Realtors offer the same programs, so finding a Realtor that offers more or different programs is likely a sign that they offer a higher quality of service. For our buyers, for example, we offer cash rebates. For sellers, we do a full-service program in which we charge lower fees. As you can see, when you get down to it, all Realtors aren’t the same. If you have any questions or know someone interested in buying or selling real estate, don’t hesitate to reach out to us. We’d be happy to help!

Is My Realtor Really My Agent

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Wed, 7 Dec 2016 10:41:00 -0800

In Texas, the state real estate commission says that Realtors can only work with clients in one of two ways. It’s important to understand the difference as a home buyer or seller.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

Is an agent who shows you a home acting as your agent or representative?

That’s actually not always the case. The Texas Real Estate Commission says that agents can work with clients in one of only two ways:

They can assist the buyer. They can show homes, help the buyer get in and take a look around, answer general questions, and even write a contract carrying out the wishes of the buyer.
A role of advocacy. This is where the agent actually represents the buyer’s best interests. This way, you can take advantage of the agent’s knowledge, experience, and negotiation skills.

As I said, these are the only two ways agents can work with buyers. Texas has said that there are two forms that we’re required to show you, the first of which is an ‘Information About Brokerage Services Form’ and it’s actually very odd. It states that if I give you the form, I don’t represent you until we have an agreement that says I represent you. It may not sound like it makes sense, but the Texas Real Estate Commission requires us to do it.

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Agents can work with clients in one of only two ways.

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Now, if you want me to represent you, there is a five-page form that says that I will represent you and you will work exclusively with me. This form gives me the right actually represent your best interests. Every agent in Texas has to work in this way. Even if an agent takes you out to see homes, they’re not legally representing your best interests without a written agreement that says so.

On our team, the people who ask us for this representation will get cash rebates from us; I want to give you a reason to work with me. I give you cash back at closing in the form of a rebate.

If you have any other questions about the legality of representation in Texas or about our cash rebates, give me a call soon. I’d be happy to help you!

Have You Read Our Online Reviews?

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Thu, 3 Nov 2016 11:11:00 -0700

Over my 19-year career, I’ve been fortunate enough to help hundreds of clients. The kind words they have said about me are just the cherry on top.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

My wife and I have been in the real estate business for a long time, and we have had the opportunity to help many buyers and sellers in the process. Over my 19-year career, I’ve had a lot of clients say very kind words about me and my business. When they are looking for a Realtor to hire, a lot of buyers and sellers like to read reviews from past clients to help paint a better picture of what working with a particular Realtor is like. We have been fortunate enough to receive many positive reviews from our past clients, and we’ve put them all in one place. If you head to www.willisreviews.com, it will take you right to our Zillow page where we keep them all. Now, these aren’t just robots or people we paid to write over 100 5-star reviews. These are past clients of ours that have been verified by Zillow and everything they say is in their own words. Our 100 five-star reviews are double the number of what any other agent in Grandbury has. If you take a look on our site, I think you will see why we are a good choice. However, I want to take a moment to break down these reviews and talk to you about what they say about our team.

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What you see in those reviews is what you’ll get when you work with us.

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First, these reviews show that we have done a lot of business in the area and know it well. I’ve done more than 700 deals in my career. Secondly, it says that we have a lot of happy clients. Less than 5% of agents have over 100 five-star reviews, and we happen to be one of them. Our clients are happy enough to share their experiences with others about working with us. Finally, these reviews say that you can trust the service you are going to get with us. What you see in those reviews is what you’ll get when you work with us. If you have any questions or if you or someone you know is looking to buy or sell in Grandbury, give us a call or send us an email. We would love to hear from you!

4 Expert Tips for Granbury Home Buyers

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Tue, 18 Oct 2016 11:49:00 -0700

Buying a home can be an overwhelming, stressful process. Today I want to share my top four buyer tips to help you have a great home buying experience.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

There are four incredibly important tips that I want to pass along to home buyers today in order to help you all through the home buying experience. First of all, get pre-qualified. You wouldn’t believe the number of buyers I work with that haven’t even spoken to a lender yet but want to go out and see homes. You need to get pre-qualified first. All you have to do is provide basic information to a lender — you don’t even have to submit tax forms. Getting pre-qualified lets you know whether you are looking in the right price category. Secondly, you should only work with one Realtor. Many buyers click on properties online and before they know it, they get five to 10 Realtors calling and emailing them back. When you only work with one Realtor, that Realtor will work hard for you. They will get to know you, what you’re looking for, and what’s important to you. Ultimately, working with one Realtor is really to your advantage. You should also research your Realtor. Ask them how long they have been in the business and how long they have been in the area. Ask how many sales they do each year. A lot of Realtors get into the business thinking that they will make a lot of money up front, so there are a lot of first and second-year Realtors out there just hoping someone will come along so that they can get a deal. You should work with an experienced Realtor who knows which pitfalls to avoid during a real estate transaction. You should also look for past client testimonials to get an idea of what it will be like to work with your Realtor.

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Only work with one experienced Realtor when buying a home.

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Finally, use a Realtor that will give you a cash rebate at closing. It just so happens that I do that. We give back part of our commission to buyers who agree to work with us. Sometimes, that’s several hundred dollars, and sometimes that rebate can be a couple thousand dollars. It depends on the property you buy. Not many Realtors do that, but you can click here to learn more about our cash rebate program. These four tips will ensure a smooth buying process for you. If you have any other questions about buying a home, give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

How We Save Texas Home Sellers Thousands

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Mon, 3 Oct 2016 09:02:00 -0700

People often ask me what my team and I do differently than other Realtors. There are two major things we do differently, and both of them go a long way in saving our clients thousands.

Buying a Texas home? Get a full Home Search Selling your Texas home? Get a free Home Value Report

People often ask me what we do differently for home sellers that other Realtors don't do.

Before I get to that, let me just say that I personally have more than 19 years of experience and I've done more than 700 transactions, so I have a lot of experience with both buyers and sellers. This helps you when we get a deal and we're working on a tough issue. You can even see what my clients have to say about me on my review site.

So what do we do differently? There are two things. First, we provide a full-service MLS listing at a discounted price to save our sellers money. We help our clients save anywhere from $2,000 to $10,000, and even more in some cases. We offer everything that other Realtors do, we just don't charge that high 6% fee.

We also pay other Realtors the 3% that they're used to getting, but we take a discount on our side, which helps our sellers save several thousand dollars.

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It boils down to saving our clients money.

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The other program we offer that no one else offers is called an Open House Advantage. What this means is that if a seller wants to do their own open house or they want to look for a buyer themselves and a buyer comes to them, we'll still represent that seller. We walk you all the way through the contract, we do the negotiations, and we write the contract. We help the buyer, but we don't represent them; we represent you, the seller. We're still working for you.

In that case, you only pay our commission, and not the other 3% buyer commission. This helps you save quite a bit of money; I once helped a buyer save $20,000 this way.

So when you ask what we do differently, it basically boils down to saving sellers money. If you have any more questions about how we save our clients money or you have any questions at all about Texas real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

No One Else Offers a Buyer Cash Rebate Like We Do

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Mon, 19 Sep 2016 10:59:00 -0700

People often ask me what we do differently for buyers that other Realtors don't do. People know that we run a different kind of real estate company but don't understand the particulars.

One thing we do differently is help buyers save money by offering a cash rebate. I give money back to buyers at closing for using me as your buyer representative. With 19 years of experience and more than 700 sales, I've seen everything there is to see in a transaction. You want a buyer's agent who knows what they're doing, has the experience, and has been through the difficulties and turmoil of many deals.

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Nobody else gives a cash rebate at closing like we do.

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When it comes to the cash rebate, we make an agreement to work together, which gives me the permission to represent your best interests. In Texas, agents can't represent your best interests unless they have your permission to do that. When we put that in writing in a buyer representation agreement, I also put my buyer rebate in writing. At the closing table, you get a rebate out of my commission that goes directly to your expenses.

Nobody else is offering this, and we've done it many times. It's real cash and it comes right out of my commission. We do it all the time and we'd love to do it for you, so if you'd like it, be sure to ask for it. Not everyone gets the cash rebate!

If you'd like to hear more about this offer or you have any questions about real estate, give me a call or send me an email. I'd love to hear from you.

What Should You Look for in a Real Estate Agent?

cassidy@getvyral.com (Greg Willis) — Wed, 31 Aug 2016 09:19:00 -0700

Everyone knows that there is an abundance of Realtors in every city. Picking the right one can be difficult if you’re unsure about what to look for. So how do you distinguish a good Realtor from all of the others out there?

Look for certain unique incentives. For example, we provide cash rebates to buyers when they agree to work with us. We’ll give back anywhere from several hundred dollars to several thousand dollars, good on anyone’s listing as long as the seller pays our 3.5% fee. This is something that most other Realtors will not do.

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Work with a reputable local lender.

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If you’re a seller, find an agent that will provide you with a full-service MLS listing. This will ensure that your listing goes on all websites, including Realtor.com, Zillow, and Trulia. While most Realtors will charge a 6% fee for this, we do it free of charge.

If you need any help finding the Realtor that’s right for you, please feel free to reach out to me by giving me a call or sending me an email. I’d love to help you in any way I can!