Blog - Mike Gebhardt, Broker Associate

Buying

Why You Should Interview Me to Buy Your Next Home

First of all, you should interview three brokers or Realtors. Don’t make a distinction between brokers and Realtors. I have nothing against the Realtor label, but it’s a trade group label, not a skills or training thing. A Realtor wears a pin that says they belong to a trade group. To be clear, that trade […]
Selling

“Why You Should Hire Me to Sell Your Home: A Skilled Negotiator with a Proven Track Record”

Yes, I too want to puke when I read that title…….However, There are things us brokers know that you may not. Humor me. Selling your home can be a daunting task, but with the right real estate professional by your side, it can become a seamless and rewarding experience. If you’re looking for a […]
Mortgage Rates

With all due respect to my MLO colleagues….

The above charts are of the US Treasury ten year note, upon which all mortgage rates are based. They are a monthly, weekly, and daily chart and they are pointing to higher yields on that instrument. With all due respect to my colleagues, I’m having a hard time understanding why so many mortgage pros […]
Buying, Selling

What skills your buyer broker should possess to represent you in a competent manner

Real estate transactions can run from simple, to some with a few moving parts, to very intricate. The more moving parts there are, usually, the more personalities are involved. A well-seasoned broker is going to be adept at: Negotiation Managing personalities Legal ramifications Paperwork Logistics Financial acumen Before hitting these points, let’s start with a […]

Buying Why You Should Interview Me to Buy Your Next Home First of all, you should interview three brokers or Realtors. Don’t make a distinction between brokers and Realtors. I have nothing against the Realtor label, but it’s a trade group label, not a skills or training thing. A Realtor wears a pin that says they belong to a trade group. To be clear, that trade […]

Selling “Why You Should Hire Me to Sell Your Home: A Skilled Negotiator with a Proven Track Record” Yes, I too want to puke when I read that title…….However, There are things us brokers know that you may not. Humor me. Selling your home can be a daunting task, but with the right real estate professional by your side, it can become a seamless and rewarding experience. If you’re looking for a […]

Mortgage Rates With all due respect to my MLO colleagues…. The above charts are of the US Treasury ten year note, upon which all mortgage rates are based. They are a monthly, weekly, and daily chart and they are pointing to higher yields on that instrument. With all due respect to my colleagues, I’m having a hard time understanding why so many mortgage pros […]

Buying What skills your buyer broker should possess to represent you in a competent manner Real estate transactions can run from simple, to some with a few moving parts, to very intricate. The more moving parts there are, usually, the more personalities are involved. A well-seasoned broker is going to be adept at: Negotiation Managing personalities Legal ramifications Paperwork Logistics Financial acumen Before hitting these points, let’s start with a […]

Buying How the Market has shifted in the last two months. And how it’s helping buyers How the Market has shifted in the last two months. And how it’s helping buyers. At the risk of being that idiot that’s pounding the table and screaming “you have to buy now”, (like every other broker), I feel I have to bring this to my reader’s attention. Because, if you knew this and I […]

Real Estate This AVM site, Homebot.AI kicks Zillow’s ass I’m learning how to use Homebot.AI. I find it substantially more robust than Zillow with respect to AVM (automatic valuation model). It allows you to tweak the home’s value by parameters you add. But this tool is much more than a pricing model. Since the Homebot.AI algo also scrapes mortgage data and public records, it […]

Real Estate The art of negotiation is subtle “Striking the Right Balance: Avoid Over-Negotiating in Your Real Estate Transaction” How I Can Help You as Your Real Estate Agent Introduction: Negotiating a real estate transaction is like mastering an art form, and it can make all the difference in the world when it comes to securing your dream property. In this blog post, […]

Buying Education, and why you need to purchase a home right now I have to say that when my wife and I bought our first home, at 30 years old, we were not financially astute. Even though I had been working in finance for about five years at that point, we had wasted a solid 5 years of paying rent up till then. We kept thinking “next […]

Mortgage Rates Powell’s speech on rates 8.24.23 Fed Chair Powell’s speech here on YouTube. From Fed Chair Powell: Inflation: Progress and the Path Ahead “It is the Fed’s job to bring inflation down to our 2 percent goal, and we will do so. We have tightened policy significantly over the past year. Although inflation has moved down from its peak—a welcome development—it […]