How The Ryan and Brian Team Helped First Time Home Buyers Find The Perfect Home

“Everything was excellent. My wife and I had been looking for a house and we realized there was no way to be able to do it without a realtor. So we reached out and I’ve known Ryan and Brian for a lot of years. I don’t like to normally do business with friends because sometimes it ruins friendships, but in this case it actually helped further our friendship I believe. Her and I were not going to be able to do it ourselves. We got in touch with Ryan and he assigned us Kathleen. Immediately Kathleen met with us. We both have busy schedules and she was able to meet with us on a Saturday evening at 5:45. She was willing to work around us. Right there, that was a great sign. After that she interviewed us, we interviewed her. We had a lot of questions as first time home-buyers. She answered a lot of our questions and made us feel really comfortable. We told her what were looking for. From there we started scheduling viewings. The next day we went and saw two or three homes. She works fast."

"She had seen what we wanted and before that home came on the market she told us she had something she knew we both were going to like. She sent us a picture of it. We saw it on a Friday and we were ready to give an offer by Sunday. It was that fast. Kathleen met with us after hours and was ready to do anything. I had a lot of questions so I was calling her a lot and she was always very personable, very professional. I look forward to looking with you guys. I told Kathleen about it as well, and I want to work with her. I had such a great experience that I recommended two or three friends of mine”  

A Quick Process with The Ryan and Brian Team

“It was wonderful everything was really smooth and quick.  Everybody got on top of things really quickly. As soon as I said the house was ready, BAM, it was so quick.” 

5 Mistakes Buyers Make in a Seller’s Market

As you may have seen from one of our monthly market reports, the greater McAllen area currently favors sellers for homes listed under $200,000. Buyers in a seller’s market can get what they want, but they need to bring their A-game. Here are five common mistakes buyers make that you need to avoid:

1. Not making your best offer. The drive to buy what we want for as little money as possible is practically in our DNA. When most people see the listing price of a home, they naturally wonder what they can really get the house for. Making an offer lower than the asking price is a perfectly reasonable strategy in some instances, such as when the house is overpriced in comparison with similar homes in the area, or it’s a buyer’s market with a glut of available inventory. Trying to “cut a deal” in a seller’s market, though, might not be the best idea.
2. Waiting too long to make an offer. Just as impulse buying a home is risky, analyzing a home purchase to death in a seller’s market is inadvisable too. When you wait too long, you’re at risk of losing the home you’ve fallen in love with. Once you’ve determined the location you desire, your preferred price range, and you’ve found a home, just make the offer!
3. Not being pre-qualified (or better yet, pre-approved) for a loan. You might know that you’ll be approved based on your steady income, your low debt-to-income ratio, and your high credit score, but the seller doesn’t know that. The only way to prove to them that you’re a qualified buyer is to be pre-qualified through a lender. Pre-qualification is absolutely paramount. A buyer has zero advantage if they do not have the cash to purchase without a mortgage and haven’t taken the time to speak to a lender. Not getting pre-qualified sends a message to the seller that you don’t have your ducks in order.
4. Not learning from your mistakes. There’s no shame in learning that your offer has been declined, but it’s easy to get frustrated if your offers fail over and over again. Learn from your last transaction and come back with serious intent to lock up your next great opportunity.
5. Not working with a serious agent. In a seller’s market, it benefits buyers to get all the help they can. If you have a seasoned agent on your side, you’ll have a better chance of getting the home you want. In most cases, buyers don’t even pay the real estate agents—sellers do. When you’re competing against other buyers in a fast-paced market, it’s vital to be offer-ready. Working with a real estate professional saves tons of time and stress, as they know the ins and outs of the process and can provide tremendous insight regarding upcoming inventory.

You need a plan in place to avoid making mistakes.

If you have any questions about buying a home or about real estate in general, give us a call or send us an email. We would be happy to help you!

Our Threefold Approach to Selling Homes

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

Here at the Ryan and Brian Team, one of our specialties is working with sellers who have failed to sell in the past. There is nothing more frustrating than seeing your property sit stale on the market and eventually expire. Here are some of the most common reasons homes don’t sell, and what we do differently to get our homes sold.

Let’s start with marketing. It provides exposure to your property, and brings more buyers to the table. Most agents don’t know that when they are in the business of selling real estate, they are in the business of marketing as well. The average agent spends only around $500 a year on marketing. Our team spends thousands each month to get our listings out there. We have a full-time marketing coordinator dedicated to getting your home the most exposure possible.

At any given time, we have a large pool of buyers who are actively seeking a home. When we acquire a listing, we immediately look at this list and see if any would be a good fit. There are over 800 Realtors in the greater McAllen area; it’s our job to highlight your property to these agents so they can match up their buyers to your home as well.

Your home won’t sell if the price isn’t right.

A lot of agents won’t tell you the hard truth if your home’s condition simply isn’t up to par for a quick and profitable sale. If you have put off maintenance or repair issues, it could end up costing you and turn buyers off to your home. An untidy home is also likely to keep buyers away. Treat your house like a product when you’re selling, and realize that it’s not going to sell itself. We will give you a plan to help your home become more appealing. We can uncover hidden issues before you go on the market and determine which upgrades are most cost-effective and will drive the highest number of buyers to your home before you get on the market.

Even if your home is in good condition, it won’t sell if the price isn’t right. If you overprice your home, it may end up sitting on the market for months and result in you getting a lower offer. Pricing right from the beginning is smart. We can help determine where your home will sell quickly and for the most money possible by looking at market statistics as well as comparable homes and current trends.

If you want to learn more about how our team can help your home sell for more, give us a call or send us an email today for a free consultation. We would be happy to answer any questions you may have.

3 Ways Using a CRM Helps You in Real Estate

Buying a home? Click here to perform a full home search

Selling a home? Click here for a FREE Home Price Evaluation

If you’re new to real estate, you may have heard of the acronym CRM. This stands for “customer relationship management.” A CRM platform can help you maintain contact with your current leads and former clients. A really good CRM platform can even help you automate communication such as mailouts and email campaigns. Today we’ll discuss the three main benefits of a CRM.

1. It organizes all your information into one place. Smart real estate agents know that they need multiple lead sources. A good CRM will help you compile all these in one place, in addition to your phone numbers, email addresses, notes, and other useful information. Many CRMs allow you to track all your past texts, emails, and phone calls with clients.
2. It facilitates automation. A CRM can help you automate a lot of your work, whether it’s helping you complete your 33 Touch Program, sorting email, or tracking closings. Having to manually remember and contact every lead and client will eventually become impossible as you grow. The CRM can take this mental pressure off you by helping you stay organized and in front of your clients.
3. It helps you keep in touch. Keeping in touch with old clients is important for your pipeline. Statistics from NAR (National Association of Realtors) show that 88% of customers said that they would use their past agent again. The trick to keeping your clients is to stay in touch. CRMs will help you track things like birthdays and anniversaries so you can let your past clients know that you’re thinking about them.

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A CRM can help you build
 your brand without losing your mind.

By doing all three of these things, you can stay on top of your business. A CRM can help you build your brand without losing your mind. Don’t just take our word for it - a recent ActiveRain survey showed that top-earning agents (those earning $100,000 per year or more) spent 22% more on their CRM solution than agents who earned less than $35,000.

These top-earning agents might be onto something. At the Ryan & Brian Team, we provide all our agents with a state-of-the-art CRM and can teach you the best ways to use and manage it. If you’re interested in what we have to offer, call us today (956)-307-4544 and schedule an appointment. I look forward to hearing from you.