Today at 12:30pm
This regularly scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns.
Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist.
Enjoy!
Question: Can you explain how the Earnest Money Deposit is used and what an acceptable amount is?
Answer:
What is the EMD?
I like to define Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) as an amount of money deposited by a Buyer as security for the Seller that the Buyer will perform under the obligation of the real estate contract. Assuming the Buyer completes the purchase transaction, the deposit is deducted against what they owe at closing (down payment + closing costs).
May 18, 2021 at 12:30pm
This regularly scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns.
Video summaries of some articles can be found on YouTube on the Ask Eli, Live With Jean playlist.
Enjoy!
Question: In your last article you mentioned Bright MLS a few times, can you explain what that is?
Answer: If you’re buying or selling a home, you may hear the term “MLS” or “Bright” used a lot. The simplest way I describe it to people is that the MLS, short for Multiple Listing Service, is the real estate industry’s database(s) of record for property sales. There are hundreds of regional and local MLS’s across the country.
May 11, 2021 at 12:30pm
This regularly scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!
Question: A friend of mine found a house off-market through their neighbor. Do you have any data that shows how many homes get sold before ever hitting the market?
Answer: Most people assume that there are a lot more pre-market and off-market home sales than there really are. The data I used to determine likely pre/off-market activity suggests that only about 4-5% of Arlington homes sell without being listed first.
May 4, 2021 at 11:45am
This regularly scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!
Question: What time of the year is most and least favorable for putting a property on the market for rent?
Answer: The rental market follows similar seasonal trends as the resale market in that spring tends to be the best time to list a property and the market is slowest during the winter months. For this market analysis, I looked at all rentals in Arlington from 2015 to 2019 (I kept 2020 out because it’s an anomaly) to determine how the month a property is listed for rent impacts a landlord’s negotiation leverage and the days on market. I split the data into apartment-style properties and detached/townhouse properties to see if there was much variability, but the trends are similar for all property types.
Today at 12:30pm
This regularly scheduled sponsored Q&A column is written by Eli Tucker, Arlington-based Realtor and Arlington resident. Please submit your questions to him via email for response in future columns. Enjoy!
Question: Can I get proof that there are multiple/competing offers on a property?
Answer: The short answer is no. There’s no way to get absolute proof of another offer, except when an Escalation Addendum is used (which I’ll address later), but there are strategies to help determine how legitimate a listing agent’s claim of multiple offers is.
Ask Questions
There’s a myth that agents aren’t allowed to disclose the details of an offer to another agent when, in fact, it’s perfectly legal unless the seller declines it in the listing agreement (rare). When I’m told about another offer, I usually ask questions about the competing offer’s terms, how/when the seller will make a decision and anything else that’s relevant to the offer. In most cases