Putting your home on the Market During the Holiday Season

HI,
Today I want to talk about putting your home on the market during the holidays and winter months, some agents will say that you should wait until the beginning of the year, or pull your home off the market during the holidays etc.
Well I feel it's a great time to sell your home, I have had the biggest months of sales in my career in Nov, Dec and even January.
Although your showings will slow down during the winter months, the showings that you do get will be serious buyers, so you will not have tire kickers in your home during this time of the year, and since most people think about taking their home off the market, your home has less competition. Let's face it, who wants to move in the cold weather and one of the busiest times of the year! "Some one who has to find a home" So if you considering putting your home on the market, don't wait! but I would recommend that you have your home photographed before the holiday decoration start going up.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Years!

Blessings
Pam Schroeder


ps. and remember, If you or someone you know are considering buying or selling a home, Don't forget to ask yourself, Have you "GOT PAM" for all your real estate needs?

MLS Only Agent!

Hi Everyone,
Today I would like to talk about Sellers wanting to save money and only find an MLS listing agent. meaning that they pay a small flat fee to "STICK" it in the MLS system in hopes that another agent will show the property and write a contract. although that can work, but what happens when you do get a contract? since the agent only stuck it in the MLS and is not getting paid anymore money, more often than not, The seller is stuck with working the contract, building inspections, city inspections, Title company and so on.  So in essence no one is really working for the seller. This is not only a bad idea, but a risk!  The buyers agent works for the buyer, and does not work for the seller. so in that case, the seller is left vulnerable at best.  Trying to save money on the front end will undoubtedly cost more in the end.

its housing suicide with today's real estate to only want your home in the MLS system,  In Most cases a person's home is the biggest investment they have and It baffles me why someone would take that and risk losing money just to think they are saving???  It is better to find a qualified full service real estate agent to get your home sold for the highest amount of money in the shortest amount of time and you will be amazed at the stress, money and time you will save. anyway, that's my thoughts today

Make it a great day!

Blessings
Pam Schroeder


PS. and remember, If you or anyone you know are thinking of buying or selling a home, don't forget to ask yourself have you "GOT PAM" for all your real estate needs?

The Neighborhood Know it All

Hi Everyone,
Do you have a neighborhood know it all? You know that person that always knows whats going on, the one that tells everyone what they know, Well I have decided to turn that into a Real Estate advantage, Now when I list a home, I ask the sellers, Who is the neighborhood know it all? and then I make sure to stop by their home and personally tell them about my listing, give them flyers and invite them to the Open house, This way, they do know it all and when they are talking to everyone they know, they can give them a flyer, and talk about the house, because they are going to talk about it anyway, so why not give them the correct information and just maybe they will help sell the home.

so a neighborhood know it all is not always a bad thing!

Make it a great day!
Blessings
Pam Schroeder


ps. and remember, if you or anyone you know are thinking about buying or selling a home, don't forget to ask yourself have you "GOT PAM" for all your real estate needs?

How Big it Too Big?

Hi Everyone,
I just finished watching the news and they showcased a home being built in the Ozark Missouri area that when finished it will be 72,000 square feet. (WOW) you read that right 72,000! That is bigger than the white house, the Vanderbilt mansion and just shy of the Buckingham palace! Who needs this much space? the gentleman building it stated that he, his daughter and granddaughter will live there! I think they better put a tracking devise on the granddaughter so they can find her if necessary. The home is built primarily with concrete. My opinion is what happened to the quaint homes that we grew up in. where we all had to be together because there was not many options to escape the family. anyway, look the home up, it's called the Penmore mansion! for now, I think I am going to stick with the traditional home! and another thought, if you had that much money, couldn't you feed the homeless or house some less fortunate? Just sayin'

Make it a great day!
Blessings
Pam Schroeder

ps. and remember, If you or anyone you know are considering buying or selling a home, don't forget to ask yourself have you "GOT PAM" for all your real estate needs?

Avoid Internet Fraud

Hi Everyone
Phishing and Pharming are forms of identity theft.
PHISHING lures consumers into divulging personal financial information to fraudulent ("spoofed") websites.  These sites appear to be real and often imitate legitimate sites like bank web sites.  Once the unsuspecting customer takes the bait and gives personal information to the spoofed site, his identity is compromised and the phisher can use the information to clean out the victim's bank account or commit other forms of theft.

PHARMING is similar but more sophisticated, employing a virus to infect a victim's computer once an email message is opened.  When the consumer attempts to visit an official web site, the pharmer's software virus redirects the browser to a fake version of the web site, stealing information entered.  The latest form of pharming can attack through Microsoft Messenger, tracking a user's keystrokes on legitimate sites and stealing passwords.

Awareness is key to avoid falling prey. Ask your financial institution if they employ software safeguards to thwart identity thieves. also:

* Install anti-phishing programs on your computer
* Be suspicious of email requesting personal financial information
* Avoid email links to any web page
* Use secure web sites when submitting credit card information (look for the "s" in the "https" look for the padlock icon in the browser window)
* Consider installing protection from phishing web sites, and see that security patches are applied.
* Check bank, credit, and debit card accounts and statements.

for more on this and other financial scams to watch out for, visit
http://ago.mo.gov/ConsumerCorner/encyclopedia/phishing.htm

This information came from the Missouri House of Representatives

Make it a great day!
Blessings
Pam Schroeder

ps. and remember, If you or anyone you know are thinking of buying or selling a home, don't forget to ask yourself have you "GOT PAM" for all your real estate needs?

QR CODE TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE EXPOSURE

Hi Everyone,

Today I want to talk about QR codes, Pam Schroeder & Associates use QR Code Technology to increase Exposure of St. Charles and St. Louis homes for sale.

We now have QR (Quick response) codes for all of our homes for sale that allow consumers to scan them with their smart phones and see detailed property information for the listing such as Google Maps with street views and area information, school information and much more right from the Yard Sign, Property Flyers, Postcards and other places where it was never possible before.

Similar to bar codes, QR codes allow people standing in front of a home to use a QR reader on their smartphone to scan a QR code on the yard sign in seconds and access detailed information about the home they are standing in front of.

We are using technology that creates QR codes for all of our listings allowing us to then put them on the yard signs in front of seller's home along with all our other printed marketing materials. This greatly increases the exposure of the property while at the same time giving the consumers the information they want quickly and easily.

The real estate industry is one of the most technology intensive industries.  We are proud to have been able to offer a powerful turnkey solution that allows me to leverage this technology.

Our main goal as real estate professionals is to market our seller's properties to as many people as possible and to give buyers access to that information in as many ways as possible. Using QR codes allows us to achieve both of these goals while reducing the time needed to achieve this.  As one of the first realtors in our area to use this new technology we are also excited to share our expertise with buyers and sellers in our area.

Pam Schroeder & Associates is a leading Realtor specializing in St. Louis and St. Charles county homes for sale. Using the latest technologies and marketing programs to increase the exposure for selling homes provides unparalleled services to both home seller's and buyers.

For more information about QR codes and their use in real estate marketing or for information about our homes for sale, please contact Pam at 314-575-2255 or visit our website at www.pamschroeder.com

Make it a great day!

Blessings

Pam Schroeder

ps. and remember, If you or anyone you know are thinking of buying or selling a home, don't forget to ask yourself, have you "GOT PAM" for all your real estate needs?

Are Foreclosures a great value?

Hi Everyone,
Today I want to talk about Foreclosures, I have several buyers that call me and say, "I want to buy a Foreclosure" and I ask them is that all you want to look at? and Buyers sometimes think just because it's a foreclosure that it's the best value for their money, Don't get me wrong, some foreclosures are the best value, often times we can go into a foreclosure and find that the home has been trashed, or not maintained at all,  and the money that needs to go into these homes is far more than expected and it's not a value compared to a home that is move in ready. Home prices are at an all time low so many times you can find a move in ready home that is priced a little more than a foreclosure, but if you calculate the cost factor to get the foreclosed home up to living standards it can actually cost you more. so my advise is to find the best home for your dollars in your price range wether that is a foreclosure or not. keep an open mind to house hunting and go for the best value, however don't be married to the word "Foreclosure". If you are working with an experienced Realtor, than you can be sure he/she will know the value and find you the best home for your investment.

Make it a great day!
Blessings
Pam Schroeder

ps. and remember, If you or anyone you know are thinking of buying or selling a home, make sure to ask yourself have you "GOT PAM" for all your real estate needs?