Huntsville MLS Photos!

Well, it’s that time again! Here is a collection of awesome photos that I found in a 20 minute period while looking for homes for a client. Keep in mind, these photos are completely unaltered. No Photoshop required!

First, we’ll start with what’s probably the least offensive of the bunch.

This one is the second best. What in the world is the purpose of this photo? What does it show to a potential buyer???

My favorite! Anytime a Realtor takes a picture and catches themselves in the reflection of a mirror, it’ll have a place on this list. When a Realtor purposefully takes a picture of a mirror that will not convey with the home AND catches themselves in the reflection WITH the camera flash? That deserves a place in the Hall of Fame!

Buying a Home? Get Paid With Level 10!

A couple of weeks ago, I posted about a potential change in our business model. I’ve always been a huge fan of the whole “Give Money Back to the Consumer” concept, and I even tried it for a short period of time a couple of years ago with great success. Well, here we go.

How Does it Work?

Simple. For any home over $100,000, I will provide 50% of Level 10 Realty’s total commission back to the consumer at closing. It can be used towards closing costs, upgrades, cash, or any other number of things as allowed by YOUR lender or mortgage company and Alabama Real Estate Law. For example, let’s say that you want to buy a $200,000 home. On most homes, 3% selling commission is very common. With that number in mind, $200K x 3% Commission = $6,000 total commission. You get $3,000. Who couldn’t use that kind of extra money on a purchase you were going to make anyway?

I don’t want to give you the impression that Level 10 Realty is becoming a “discount brokerage”. That term implies that you’ll get substandard service and that couldn’t be further from the truth. You will be getting second-to-none service and top-notch expertise.

Why is Level 10 Realty Doing This?

I’ve always been a fan of what Redfin is doing. Yeah, this is kind of biting their style, but it’s for a good cause. Think about it for a second. If I sell a $100,000 home at 3% commission, I’ll make $3,000. If I sell a $200,000 home at 3% commission, I’ll make $6,000. There is absolutely, positively NO DIFFERENCE in what is involved in selling the $100,000 home versus the $200,000 home. So, why do we get paid so much more?

That’s where I’m looking to make a change. In this economy, money is tight. You can’t walk in the door at WalMart without spending $100. Two people can’t eat fast food for under $10 anymore. Two people can’t go out and eat a good meal for under $30 anymore. Utility bills are higher than they’ve ever been. It’s time to get you more money, instead of taking it away. Real estate companies talk about how they’re different all the time. “We’re different that your normal Brokerage because we put the consumer first”, “We’re different because our agents are trained better and more often”, “We’re different because we’re different”, and so on and so forth. Bullshit. Here’s how I look at it. If a brokerage is not doing everything they can to put money back in your pocket, they are identical to every other brokerage on the planet.

With that said, do I hope that this plan of action will grow Level 10 Realty  and put more money in my pocket? Hell yes, but if I can grow Level 10 Realty while putting more money in your pocket than any other company will, doesn’t everyone win?

Ok, So What’s the Catch?

There is going to be an extended period of time to integrate this into our business model. So, until that transition is complete, there are a few things that you’ll need to do to get the money. The absolute, most important things that you HAVE TO DO to claim your money are as follows:

1. As you may think, you’ll need to purchase a home and Level 10 Realty will have to represent you in your purchase.

2. You MUST mention this special WHILE writing the offer to purchase your home. Real Estate Law prohibits any exchange of money between the purchaser and Realtor that is not written in the contract.

3. You must fill out a public customer satisfaction survey.

4. That’s it!

I look forward to working with each and every one of you!

Latest Company News and Updates

First and foremost, we have a brand new subdivision search! I’ve never really liked the old one, so I decided to make it better. It works much like the Map Home Search. It will pull all of the available subdivisions that match your price criteria and are within the map area into the list on the right. There are a TON of new features with this search. You’ll just have to try it out and see!

*StreetView Controls have been added to both the subdivision map and the Home Search Map, so now you can view a much larger StreetView of a particular home or area.

*Within the next couple of days, I’ll be publishing a link to the “Old Map Search”. Most like the new version, but some like the old one better.

*The Flyer Details page has been redesigned.

*The Final improvement I’ll be making to the website, for the near future anyway, will be on the Search Homes Page to make it a little more user friendly. After that, I’m done for a while.

Possible Changes in Our Business Model

Depending on the events of the next two weeks, there could be a significant change in the business model for Level 10 Realty. We’ll see how things play out and I should be able to make a decision by the third week of this month. I’ll keep you posted!