Big Changes!

Recent visitors to this website may notice a new name in our header?   Haltness::Tutterow is NOW Haltness::Donald::Tutterow!   We are very proud of our new name and our (even better!) position to provide the highest quality service possible to our clients.

Look for Darren Donald’s blogging here in the future.   Darren will on occasion share his insight and observations in the field of Alaskan Real Estate and provide pertinent information to serve our customers.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Real Estate Sales Commissions “de-Mystified”

(An Attempt at)  A Simplified Explanation of Residential Real Estate Commissions (Brokerage Fees) in Alaska

In Alaska, residential home sales commissions (Brokerage Fees) are typically 6% of the negotiated sales price.   Meaning, at closing of the sale of a home, 6% of the final sales price is subtracted for commission, paying the seller’s agent and the buyer’s agent the negotiated split.   The standard split in the industry is 50/50 with 3% going to each agent on both sides of the transaction.

In the era of discounted real estate commissions, a seller who discounts the buyer’s agent commission needs to be aware of the potential impact this has on drawing attention to their home.   When the seller’s agent offers the buyer’s agent less than the typical 3%, there may be an effect on showing prospective buyers that home.  Understanding a listing agent can negotiate a commission split anyway they choose, are you willing to be be “discount seller”?  This can reflect in they type of buyer you attract and lose.   Can you afford to lose a good qualified buyer to save 1%?

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

The Lovin Oven

Did you know our own Cher Hampton is a master pastry and dessert artisan?   Cher loves to bake and her creations show it.   Anyone can follow a recipe and copy something they see in a magazine, but who is it coming with the ideas for original creations?   Cher is one of those rare people with an artist’s vision.   Cher does much more as well.   Cher has been lunch catering our agent opens at select listings to rave reviews.   Please check out her page and keep her in mind for your next party or special event.

 

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , | Leave a comment

introducing Darren Donald…

Haltness::Tutterow is proud to announce the arrival of Darren Donald to “the Home Team Advantage”.  Darren’s management experience, listing expertise and customer service skills offer this team even more Real Estate muscle.

Darren brings key experience as well as a proven synergistic dynamic with Sarah Haltness.  Sarah and Darren worked together previously with a high degree of success and plan to use their complimentary styles to offer their clients the highest quality service available.

Please help us welcome Darren!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged | Leave a comment

Home Energy Rebate Program

You really need to do this if you own your own home. There are no income requirements and… “The Home Energy Rebate program provides rebates up to $10,000 to homeowners who improve the energy efficiency of their homes.”   Time is of the essence because you need to get on a list for an evaluation…this is gonna take some time so go to the site and sign up now!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Appraisals Today

I found this this opinion very interesting and make no conclusions on how appraisals came to the changes we see today, but the fact that changes have been made in our market’s appraisal method is inarguable.   Most sellers are put in a position that they KNOW what they need to net from the sale of their home.   Unfortunately and often the current market does not allow for their needs.   In our market you WILL find a Realtor willing to tell you what you need to hear.    The question is “can you afford to have your house on the market an additional 90 days while you adjust the price incrementally towards reality?”   A competent Realtor will provide knowledge of market conditions, trends and provide a adequate CMA to assist providing a realistic price for the timely sale of your home.

Appraisers Values Coming in Too Low To Sell

by TOM ROYCE on JANUARY 19, 2011

If you are trying to sell your home or are in the real estate business you know one things is true these days. Finding a buyer is just the first step. Getting an appraisal to work with the offer is often a deal breaker.

According to a report in the Free Press, 40 percent of deals in Detroit are blowing up because the appraisal is coming in too low.

Appraisals, many of them inflated during themarket boom, have fallen to Earth. While appraisers argue that guidelines passed in 2009 protect home buyers and lenders by giving them a realistic value for the home, Realtors and homeowners say the appraisals are too conservative.

This further depresses the housing market because most buyers are not able to put up the extra cash if there is a huge gap between what they offer for the house and what it’s appraised for — and sellers don’t want to lower the asking price if the appraisal comes in low.

Now don’t blame the appraiser. They are the ones caught in the crossfire.

The story goes back to the mid 2000’s when appraisers were pressured by the real estate agents and the lenders to make the numbers work. If they gave an honest appraisal and blew up a deal, odds are they would not find any work again. The banks wanted to lend on anything and the agents wanted to sell anything.

So what if the homes were overvalued, it really did not matter.

So when it all blew up regulators changed the rules for appraisers.

No longer could the lender hire an appraiser directly, he had to do so through a 3rd party.

The 3rd party appraisal companies wanted to make money so they are hiring the lowest cost appraisers who may not know the local market as well as they did before the bubble popped. And they know for a fact if they come in too high they will never get work again from the 3rd party referral company.

So they are coming in low. They want to work too.

And that is why getting an appraisal is so tricky these days.

We made it that way.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Snow Tires?

By now you may have already made a decision about snow tires for this winter.   The amount of activity at our local body shops speaks volumes to those who have opted out.

I have heard people say they do not need snow tires because they have 4 wheel or all wheel drive, but I have always been curious how that assists safe braking on ice?   I believe Snow tires are a necessity in this State and current conditions drive this theory home.   Opinions vary, I have heard radio personalities make the statement that “real Alaskans do not need snow tires”.   I suspect real Alaskans know the value of safe defensive driving and utilizing the best technology available.  

Fortunately for us, there are some excellent and affordable choices out there.  Incredible advances have been made in the last decade with the “studless/siped tire” technology.   I have owned a few pairs of the Blizzaks and have found them very effective.   I currently have the Michelin Winter X-ice, which i have found affordable but maybe not as effective as the Blizzak.   According to the experts studs offer secure braking in the last 5mph over the studdless variety, but having slid through intersections in what seemed slow motion, given the choice again I might select studded tires.   My favorite snow tire currently is the Hankook i*pike (currently installed on my wife’s car) which combines the “siped” technology with a series of studs.   Muffler City seems to have very competitive prices on these tires.

Purchasing separate wheels (rims) for your winter tires offers you the option of avoiding the rush to your local shop for swapping your winter tires onto your cars stock wheels (rims) (for as much as $200 annually!).   Separate wheels offer you the option of doing the changes yourself but also having a smaller rim with a higher profile tire (with same overall wheel height) which in turn offer more advantages.   Higher profile tires typically offer (1) smoother ride on a bumpy winter surface, (2) typically better traction and (3) usually a less expensive smaller (rim) wheel.   The current trend in wheel prices is that the larger wheels are quite a bit more expensive and downgrading from a 20” rim to a 17” can mean a lot of money on tires and rims!
Muffler City can provide you with rim/tire size options for your vehicle and have a variety of steel rims to fit most cars for less than a hundred dollars apiece, I have found fantastic deals on ebay for OEM (manufacturers original) rims delivered to Alaska for as little as $600 total.

So, snow tires….I guess you may have to spend as much as $2000 dollars to do it right for your vehicle, but you may be able to do it for $1000 with an additional set of wheels.   Not having snow tires can be unnecessarily scary and very expensive.

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Heads up to internet video watchers!

This week I received a surprising bill from my internet service provider (home usage).   $90 penalty!   I had exceeded my maximum download!   Never knew I was ever even close!   “What is this new here?” you ask?   Blame Amazon Video on Demand and Netflix.   So if you are a new user to these (or others like) services be prepared if your provider has a maximum download allowance.   I am in the process of moving my business to a provider that has no maximum for downloads, so check your usage to assure you are in a safe range and enjoy!

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

QR Codes

Have you noticed the strange symbol on the back of your REI catalog?   What are these odd looking squares?    These are QR codes.   How can they help you?   Well with the right scanning application on your iphone, android or blackberry you can scan the code below and go directly to the related website…no typing in the URL or doing a google search…you scan this thing and you are there.   Trust me, you will begin to see alot more of these everywhere for user ease of access and to increase the traffic to websites.   There are several scanning applications out there…I recommend Google Goggles.   When you are ready, practice on the code below and add it to your favorites!

fellow website operators…regardless of how simple your URL is, typing “www.anch…etc” for people using handheld devices is pretty tedious compared to scanning one of these codes.

My good friend Tim Simpson is a “decal/graphics artist extraordinaire”! Tim has a artistic flaire for graphic ideas and provides the service for a very fair price. (not to mention…he is a very nice guy!)  I used him for creating my QR decals and encourage your patronage for any decal/graphic solutions you may need to promote your business.   His email address is simmo222@gmail.com.
Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment

Helpful…

6 ways to slash your energy bill!

find Anchorage schools

Posted in Uncategorized | Leave a comment