On Monday August 13, 2012, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate 360 Live radio show on The Big Talker 1580 WHFS AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

Listen to the show.

Part 1 (13:09)

Louis and Ryan discuss the possibility of QE3. Louis notes that QE2 probably won’t happen in September and will probably happen after the November election and notes that QE2 was announced in November of 2010 right after the election.

Louis notes that there are diminishing returns to QE programs and that having the Fed buy US treasuries encourages government spending. Louis notes that the Congress has delegated monetary policy to the Federal Reserve.

Louis notes that lower interest rates harm the middle class as they can’t save and are rather are encouraged to borrow and spend.

Louis notes that an economic recovery can’t happen by encouraging more spending and debt.

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Today’s real estate market can be trying for even the most eager of individuals. Many people might want to avoid the additional commissions, fees, and whatnot that are involved with realtors, yet having that ominous “for sale by owner” (FSBO) sign in their yards could lead to more problems than solutions. What makes a sale more difficult when owners attempt to do it themselves?

Tricky Sales
When you list a property “for sale by owner,” there is a limited pool of potential buyers. In most cases, the property won’t be showing up on the multiple listing service (MLS). Also, many people think that FSBO sellers are not always the most motivated to sell their properties, and are just putting a sign up to see if they can garner a high asking price. Many times, unfortunately, you see FSBO homes sitting on the market for an unusually long time.

Also, those selling FSBO might not have the experience of an agent in negotiating the best deal. The closing paperwork, if you have never sold a property, can be very complex and confusing. An investor, for example, usually makes the sale as stress-free as possible by handling all the paperwork, closing quickly, buying “as is,” and not charging realtor commissions.

Realtors versus Investors
There are many perks to listing with a realtor. It can be a good idea if the house is in good condition, you are patient, you don’t mind paying additional realtor commissions, and you are looking for a retail price. If the house needs work, however, you are looking to sell quickly, or you don’t want to pay a hefty realtor’s commission, contacting an investor might be a better option than choosing a realtor.

An investor is a great option to get your house sold if you need to sell quickly for whatever reason (including probate, inheritance, divorce, bankruptcy, or relocation, just to name a few). Usually, when investors buy houses, they can buy them in as few as seven days, in as-is condition, and without any realtor commissions. It’s up to you to decide which of these options best serves your ultimate purpose in terms of selling your house.

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Home sellers are more than twice as likely to sell their homes using a REALTOR® than going FSBO. Seventy-three percent of homeowners using a HomeGain agent had their homes sold vs. 62 percent who used a non-HomeGain agent and vs. 30 percent who went FSBO.

by Louis Cammarosano

HomeGain surveyed over 400 homeowners asking whether they used a REALTOR® to sell their home or whether they attempted to sell it themselves. Seventy-nine percent said they used a REALTOR® to sell their home and 21 percent said they tried to sell their home on their own.

Sixty-six percent of home owners that used a REALTOR® to sell their home were successful vs. 30 percent of FSBO’s, reflecting a 120 percent higher closing rate for those home sellers using a REALTOR®.

Eighty-five percent of homeowners that used a REALTOR® to try and sell their home said they would use a REALTOR® again for their real estate needs.

Eighty-nine percent of home owners who sold their home using a REALTOR® said they would use a REALTOR® again.

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Now that giving away products and services for free is a viable business model, will a profitable model of paying consumers to use products emerge?

by Louis Cammarosano

In any transaction two parties assign relative values to what they are exchanging. A purchaser of a cup of coffee at Starbucks values the coffee more than the three dollars in his pocket and Starbucks values the three dollars more than the coffee it is selling.

The pricing of goods and services has been established in this manner for centuries. Some people will not pay three dollars for a cup of coffee, but others will. Starbucks determines how much it will charge and consumers how much they will pay through the price discovery mechanism of the free market.

In recent times, a new form of exchange has emerged that the price discovery mechanism of the free market has not yet fully tested.

These new forms of exchange involve companies giving away products and services for free.

We can refer to these business practices as the freemium or freeluxe models.

Freeluxe/Freemium

Under the freemium model a company gives away a product that is either feature, time, capacity or customer service limited with the goal of eventually charging the customer for full use of the product. Examples of this model include Pandora and Flickr.

The freeluxe model, in contrast, starts with no limitations on product usage and its business model does not depend on ever charging the user. Examples of freeluxe business models include Google, Facebook, Twitter and You Tube. The user has full access to all features of the products and never pays the company in exchange for their usage.

Gmail- A Freeluxe model that works

Under the freeluxe model the company offers the product and the consumer “exchanges” his use of the product in return.

The consumer deems the value received from using Google’s Gmail sufficient to his consent to use it.

Google in turn through the consumers’ use of the Gmail product receives a plethora of information about its users that it can then employ in the individual and in the aggregate to determine user behavior and preferences to sell advertising.

The relative monetary value that consumers place on their consent to use products like Gmail is nothing. But should it be? Should the consumer ask to be paid to use products such as Gmail?

Sound ridiculous? Perhaps Google one day WILL pay consumers to use its products-especially in areas that he has not gained market share-think Google Plus or the defunct Google Buzz.

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On Monday August 6, 2012, Louis Cammarosano, General Manager of HomeGain, was a guest on the Real Estate 360 Live radio show on The Big Talker 1580 WHFS AM, hosted by Ryan Sloper.

Listen to the show.

Part 1 (14:38)

Ryan and Louis discuss the recent statements by Mario Draghi that he will “save the Euro. Louis notes the mechanism to save the Euro-printing money to bailout the sovereign states of Europe will debase the Euro and ultimately destroy it.

Louis note that the US is also printing the dollar as a way out of the debt crisis which short term will keep interest rates low but long term is a disaster for the economy.
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Poll the average person and ask them what they think of having to move to a new residence and the answer won’t be all peaches and sunshine. It’s certain that almost can agree that having to move can be a time-consuming necessity, but nonetheless it’s a necessity. Settling on a new place can be a chore in and of itself, and having to plan, pack and unpack is on deck.

And procrastinating won’t get you any further, either. In fact, having a plan in place and the motivation to see through it is what separates an easy move from a loathsome one. With that said, below are a few basic tips to making the most from your move.

The Plan Before The Plan

Right off the bat, you must decide if you have the time and energy to do the move yourself or if you should hire a professional to do the task instead. There’s probably an abundance of moving companies around your area, but if you have some spacious trucks and a few helping hands to do if for you, that’s another option. Just make sure you’ve got this one decided before doing anything else.

Lists, Lists And More Lists!

Grab the nearest legal pad and start surveying your possessions. Make a note of every one, from the most fragile to the sturdiest. What this does is allow you to see just how much clutter you have in your home and you’ll know whether or not a garage sale is in order, or better yet, you can donate them to local charities.

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