Trulia Voices | Top 10 Questions of the Week

It’s been another great week on Trulia Voices. Home buyers continue to ask some really great questions and have 6 in this weeks top 10 followed by real estate agents with 2 and home sellers with 2. Real estate agents are engaging these home buyers and home sellers by providing some fantastic answers. I’ve highlighted some of the more interesting answers to these questions below. Enjoy.

1. Why not make the MLS open to the public and charge them access fee? ~ Cameron - A Home Buyer in Chicago

126 Answers and counting…. 

2. How can I find the price a house sold for in the past? ~ Todd - A home buyer from New Jersey

Got recent sales? Jack Sacktig of East Brunswick wasted no time and wrote, “Email me and I can pull the tax record and tell you what it sold for.”

3. How much cash should you have to buy a foreclosed home? ~ Linda - A home buyer from Los Angeles

Cash rules everything around me. Diane Wheatley from Rancho Cucamonga said, “It takes 100% cold hard cash in the form of a cashier’s check if you are to walk away from the sale a new property owner.”

4. Where has the Moderation gone on Trulia!!? ~ Michael J. Kelley - A Real Estate pro from Santa Rosa

On an Easter egg hunt? Elvis states, “I have to agree. I’m appalled a the Zillow-esque quality of the posts I’ve seen on today’s threads.”

5. What is the advantage to list the house with an agent? ~ Sandy - A home buyer in Ridgewood

Results matter. Mike M. from Burlington simply says, “Everything :)” Meanwhile, Marc Paolella of Northern New Jersey, submits one of the longest comments on Voices that I ever seen.

6. Buyers agent - worth it or not? ~ Desidoc - A home buyer in Philly

It helps having someone looking out for your best interests. Lynn 911 Dallas states,“1st place never purchase a new home, new condo, or a pre existing home unless you have a real estate agent representing you.”

7. Moving to Chicago: Advice please! ~ Robert - A home buyer in New York

Asking questions is a great start Robert. Jim Roth from Chicago advises, “Robert, I would start with how well do you know Chicago, just like NYC each neighborhood has is own charm, pluses and minuses.”

8. What can a seller do to better market their home in this poor real estate market? ~ Tina - A home seller from Phoenix

Having a good local Real estate agent on your side is invaluable. Linda Carroll shares her real life example where, “I once sold a house before I listed it, by knocking on the house next door!”

9. How exactly do I sell my home as a short sale? ~ Valerie - Home seller from Michigan

This seems to be a popular question. Lenny Frolov from Minneapolis says,“Every lender is different, some will deal with you before you are delinquent to spare the foreclosure and some will only work with you after you have got behind. Doing a short sale yourself is something I would not suggest.”

10. Why do some Realtors feel it’s necessary to answer questions in finance when they have no clue what they are talking about? ~ Darren Miller - A Real Estate Pro in California

Some questions and answers are universal. Ute Ferdig of the Greater Sacremento Area says, “While I understand what you are saying and I agree we should not answer questions outside our area of expertise, I think it would be alright to tell someone that they need to speak to a mortgage professional as many people are not sure which question to ask of whom. So basically, the answer is just pointing them in the right direction.”

Bonus: A Realtor Public Service Announcement - Real Estate Agent Found Dead in Home She Showed to Client Earlier in Day by Gary De Pury from Tampa

Join the Real Estate Conversation!

Thanks again to everyone for participating in Trulia Voices. If you have a real estate question, our community has answers. See you next week with our new Top 10.