Seattle Real Estate Brokerage Uses reSrch™ Seminars To Educate Consumers

PRLog (Press Release) – Mar 21, 2008 – Everyone knows selling a home is no fun, but even worse is adding up the settlement costs to find it costs nearly 10% or more when all is said and done.  The biggest of these costs is the real estate commission at 4-6%, followed by government excise or transfer costs at 1-2%, then title and escrow fees at 1%, and finally any finance fees at 1%.  Historically, the 8-12% costs have not been a widespread problem because the long-term value of housing has always been positive, covering these transactions costs. As home prices have dropped in the last 12 months, the home as an “investment” is taking on a new dimension: negative equity.  

With a fee-for-service, time‐accountable REAL estate TRANSACTION™ model, the consumer controls the cost of the purchase or sale, while at the same time keeping the benefits and security of having a fully qualified agent to consult and oversee the transaction. The more consumers know about real estate, the more consumers save. To help consumers make smart decisions and understand the transactional costs of buying and selling real estate, RT Brokerage Services has developed a set of seminar courses as part of their exclusive real estate reSrch™ curriculum.  reSrch™ courses complement today’s web-based real estate tools and services buy showing consumers how to calculate and understand the math involved in a real estate transaction well before ever making an offer on a property. While no one can guarantee how prices will move, consumers need to be prepared to respond to various market scenarios to get the most value out of their homeownership.  

“This down market, coupled with low 30-year fixed interest rates, makes it an ideal time for first-time home buyers, or for current homeowners who don’t have to sell a property to upgrade.” Says CEO Herrera.  The best values in today’s marketplace are discounted new houses, and fixer-uppers to average homes in established neighborhoods that offer superior public resources (i.e., schools, transportation access, parks).  “I look at new houses as conservative mutual funds and established neighborhoods as government bonds.  The yields on both might be minimal, but they are more likely to be positive than negative over the short-term.”  

Home ownership has always provided Americans with three benefits: 1) a roof over one’s head; 2) significant year-end tax benefits; and 3) a nest egg in the form of equity.  It is the jeopardy of the nest egg that causes consumers to seriously question the fees involved in a real estate transaction.  RT Brokerage Services CEO Louis Herrera believes it is the real estate industry’s lack of answers to this question of negative equity that has caused consumers to shy away from buying.  “No one wants to write a check to the bank at closing for the difference between the sales price and closing costs in the event of a premature sale,” says Herrera.  “It goes against the American dream of homeownership.  You are supposed to make money from the house you buy to live in, plus enjoy all the other benefits being a homeowner affords.”  

“We are excited to bring these courses to the marketplace.  Today’s consumers need to know how to evaluate the numbers as both a buyer and seller in any transaction.  And, if an RT Brokerage client is willing to learn more than the average consumer, they should reap the benefits of that knowledge.  A smart offer that results in positive equity on their investment” says Herrera.  

reSrch curriculum includes three seminar-style courses.  They areas as follows:
•   reSrch 101: Navigating the Process – emphasis on the process of making an offer on a property and the purchase and sale agreement
•   reSrch 105: Who Pays – who pays what in a real estate transaction.  The emphasis is on the settlement to be prepared at signing/closing  
•   reSrch 201: Mastering the Search – focused on the best-in-class search tools and services on the Internet