Would you like to open up a whole new income stream for your business? If so, offering real estate consulting in addition to your normal commissioned real estate business just might be the perfect ticket.I recently interviewed authors Julie Garton-Good ("Real Estate a la Carte: Selecting the Services You Need and Paying What They're Worth") and Mollie Wasserman ("The End of Six Percent: How to Get the Expertise You Want without Paying A Commission Unless You Want To") on the issue of real estate consulting.At first glance, it seems as if real estate consulting is at odds with the commission model.

The truth of the matter is that real estate consulting can help you convert more leads at a full commission.First, it's extremely important to note that like regular commissions, there is no fixed rate on consulting. Commissions and consulting fees are negotiable. Each agent has to determine the best fit for his or her business. [Read the full article]

A: Whether an estate that is selling a home needs to complete a property disclosure depends on the laws of that state. Unbeknownst to many, a number of states exempt corporate and institutional sellers from having to make disclosures to the property's buyer regarding its condition.As a result, we're increasingly seeing situations in which buyers have to fend for themselves when it comes to collecting information about the condition of a property they are considering buying.This is due to the increasing proportion of home sellers that are comprised of banks selling foreclosed homes, estates, investment companies that rehab and resell foreclosures, and even relocation companies that own the homes of employees who were unable to sell them on their own before an employer-required move.To determine whether a disclosure is required in your area, talk with a local real estate broker or attorney.A word of caution, though. [Read the full article]

This isn't 2005 and so we can't sell them all, but it isn't because we don't try -- it is because in most markets there are still more sellers than buyers.For me, the home-selling process starts with selling the homeowners on using me as their real estate agent, and for that I use a listing presentation. The presentation gets tweaked every year, or more often if needed, and it gets used the most this time of the year.Tweaking the listing presentation has to do with figuring out what the competition is doing and adding that to my listing presentation, along with some extras. There are some basics in my presentation that have not changed over the years, like communication with sellers, Internet advertising and a full flier box.The humble, low-tech, inexpensive for-sale sign and flier box are still powerful ways to market real estate, as is putting the home in the multiple listing service with as many amazing photographs are allowed. [Read the full article]