“Buyers are the happy side of the transaction,” said Baylies, owner of Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. in Wilmington. “Buying a house usually represents a personal milestone: a promotion, that first home, retirement. Sellers are ready to move on, and the listing agent stands between them and the next phase of their life.”

Although Baylies’ professional background is in marketing, she’s had plenty of experience in real estate – as a buyer herself — since her husband’s career took them all over the country.

“I have lived in six different states, and in each move I made the decision as to what house to purchase,” she said. “My experience taught me the importance of having an agent who listens. I also had a few negative experiences buying a home from the listing firm. It’s like asking a lawyer to represent both the husband and wife in a divorce case.

”Baylies entered real estate after she and her husband moved to Kure Beach 11-½ years ago. When the value of their home doubled in a very short time, she decided to develop a small real estate portfolio as an investment, and earned her real estate license.

“Pretty soon, friends started asking me to show them properties, then they began asking me to negotiate contracts and collect checks for them,” she recalled. “I realized it was a lot of fun and exceptionally rewarding to guide people through an expensive and complicated process to find the right place.”

Baylies named her venture Myrtle Realty and worked out of her home at first, but moved to the Cotton Exchange as her business grew. Soon she realized she needed a name that would better communicate the aim of her business and help differentiate her from the other 1,400 members of the Wilmington Region Association of Realtors.

With its new name, Just for Buyers Realty, and an additional agent, the agency continued to grow. Then, three years ago, Baylies’ husband was killed in an accident. She realized that her income, which had always paid for the couple’s “extras,” was going to have to sustain her.

“I had to rethink my life,” she said. “I realized I was doing what I wanted but not as effectively as I might. One thing I needed was a more visible location, so I purchased office space just off Carolina Beach Road and added agents.”

She looked for people who were good listeners and understood the importance of customer service. The team currently includes agents Linda Mehner and Dave Chiprut, and operations director Carol Adams.

Typically, 70 to 80 percent of the firm’s clients are folks new to the Cape Fear area or planning a move here. They learn about Just For Buyers through friends in the area, or through exclusive buyer’s agents elsewhere, or they go online.

“We invest a lot of time on our online presence, because that’s where the buyers are,” Baylies said. “As people become more educated about the buying process, they see the value of having an exclusive buyers’ agent. Once they see that, they are ours to lose.”

According to the Core-Logic Home Price Index, which includes New Hanover, Brunswick and Pender Counties, prices in this area have actually increased 3.75% from a year ago. (April 2011 vs. April 2010)

Does that mean local prices are on a strong upward trend?  No.  The number of foreclosures continuing to enter the market are bound to moderate any near-term price increases.  However, it does mean that buyers who believe they understand the greater Wilmington, NC market based on what they’re hearing and seeing in the national media will be disappointed when their “low ball” offers are rejected.

That’s not to say there aren’t some excellent deals here.  There are.  If you’d like to work with a buyers’ broker who understands the local market and can help you identify the best buying opportunities contact us at 910-202-4813 or info@JustForBuyersRealty.com.

“Would you like to sell your home QUICKLY and maximize your chances of getting the HIGHEST PRICE?? I’m a full-time licensed professional Real Estate Broker who can effectively market and sell your home and/or help you find your next dream home.” - name withheld

This is typically the challenge for home buyers… finding an agent who is NOT trying to get the highest price possible for the sellers.  (HINT: listing agents and on-site agents are contractually obligated to seek the best terms for the seller and/or builder-developer.)  That’s why it’s important to find an exclusive buyers agent.  If you want to pay less rather than more for a house in the greater Wilmington, NC area, call Just For Buyers Realty at 910-202-4813 or email info@JustForBuyersRealty.com.

For more information about exclusive buyer agents: http://www.justforbuyersrealty.com/why-use-an-exclusive-buyers-agent/

It’s critical, because these are the people who will be joining our current brokers to handle YOUR real estate transaction.

The criteria is simple.  All Just For Buyers Realty brokers must:

*LOVE working with buyers.

*work in real estate full-time.  You’re expecting your agent to be at the top of his/her game.  That means s/he must be a full-time player.

*have the highest ethics.

*have the willingness to walk away from deals that would compromise a buyer.

*have formal negotiating training.  Research says you think this is the most important skill a broker can bring to a transaction.  We agree!

*have the courage to stand up for buyers if the going gets tough.

*know, in the long run, the best way to build business is by helping clients get the best price and terms possible.  It’s all about referrals!

If you know someone who meets that description, please send them our way.

If you’d prefer to work with a broker like that on your next real estate purchase, please contact us.  info@JustForBuyersRealty.com or call us at 910-202-4813.

Overall, I’d say Wilmington is somewhat unique because our population has been growing at a fast enough clip that it’s actually easier to identify the areas you’d probably want to avoid.
 
Compared to the rest of New Hanover county, I think the area around and to the north/northeast of the airport as well as the east side of downtown (10th – 20th Streets) wouldn’t provide the same opportunities as most other sections of town.  At the risk of sounding like a typical Realtor, there really are few areas of Wilmington with little potential.  That having been said, there are isolated neighborhoods that don’t appear to show much promise, but they are generally small subdivisions and they are scattered throughout the county.
 
If “hot” is defined as a transitional area, I think the most promising area is 7th to 10th Streets in the downtown area.  The closer to Market Street, the better.  There was a lot of action in this area at the height of the market.  It has since cooled, but it offers the most affordable opportunities to be near downtown.
 
If “hot” is defined by the “place everyone wants to live,” that would have to be Wrightsville Beach and the historic district of downtown.
 
If “hot” is where most of the new sales are occurring, we’re talking Leland (across the river from Wilmington in Brunswick County.)  New developments such as Brunswick Forest and Compass Pointe continue to attract mostly older, upper middle class buyers from the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states at an above average clip.
 
If “hot” is the exclusive neighborhoods, Figure Eight Island, Landfall, Bald Head Island and several pocket neighborhoods near Wrightsville Beach are on that list.
 
I suppose, by definition, a “sleeper” isn’t “hot,” but my favorite area (witnessed by the fact I live there) is the Kure Beach area.  It’s a small residential beach town with lots of charm and rarely visited by the college-age beach-goer.  (You’ll find them at Wrightsville Beach.)

Time after time, I talk to people who thought nothing of calling the listing agent to get information on the house.  Next thing they know, they’ve bought a property and they did it without anyone advocating for their best interest. 

Sometimes it works out fine.  Most often, if works out OK, meaning they may have save more money or negotiated more repairs or upgrades if they had the help of an expert, but nothing terrible happens because they didn’t.  But, sometimes it’s bad and it didn’t have to be.

I’ve seen people discover all sorts of problems after the fact.  Problems ranging from environmental hazards, substantial water damage, costly financing decisions, unstable developments, to exceptionally high neighborhood fees and under-funded home owners associations that could have been spotted before they became the buyer’s responsibility.

It seems so obvious that the seller’s agent has one duty: to get the property sold at the best terms possible for the seller.  Perhaps that why I’m still so surprised when buyers decide to pass on having their own expert work on their behalf and, instead, deal directly with the listing agent.

Kathleen Baylies, Broker/Owner of Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. has been awarded the Certified Negotiation Expert (CNE) designation, achieved by real estate professionals who have successfully completed formal training in the art of negotiation. Fewer than 1% of all real estate brokers and/or agents in the nation hold this designation.

Baylies traveled to Tucson, AZ for the training. “I’ve taken several negotiation classes locally. While valuable, none of those classes provided the in-depth knowledge that resulted in an professional designation. Most surveys indicate buyers expect their real estate representative to have advanced negotiating skills. This designation enhances the skills I already had and definitely gives me an edge in the marketplace.”

With professional negotiation skills, brokers typically obtain better results for their clients. CNE brokers have an advantage because of their ability to uncover information effectively, get more and give less during purchase negotiations, and retain control over desired outcomes.

The certification training is provided by Negotiation Expertise, LLC, a national negotiation training and coaching company based in Peoria, AZ. Negotiation Expertise owner, Tom Hayman, says, “Any buyer who hires a CNE broker can feel confident they will get superior results and have better resolution of any issues when purchasing real estate.”

Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. is a different breed of real estate company. As the name implies, Just For Buyers Realty works only with buyers and never accepts listings nor represents sellers. This means buyers can have confidence their real estate agent is always advocating for their best interests and never trying to serve both sides of the deal. Just for Buyers Realty agents are committed to handling their clients’ transactions as if they were their own, often resulting in savings of several thousands dollars for buyers.

The certification is awarded to real estate agents who complete sixteen hours of specialized education. Certified agents are well equipped to assist low-and moderate-income buyers with purchasing affordable homes. Agents who have earned the Workforce Housing Specialist (WHS) designation have expert knowledge on the federal, state and local housing programs and resources available to serve these buyers.

Less than 35 agents (of almost 1800) in the Wilmington region have earned the WHS designation.

The Workforce Housing Specialist Designation is awarded through the North Carolina Housing Finance Agency.

Just For Buyers Realty, Inc. is an exclusive buyers’ agency. Neither the agency nor any of its agents accept listings or work with sellers, which means they represent only buyers, giving buyers confidence their agent is always advocating on their behalf.