There's a lot of great information on MLS data sheets, but do you know how to TRULY read it all?
Realtors are accustomed to looking at all the data included, but when you begin to look at houses, those MLS sheets can be difficult to read- and you also need to know how to read between the lines.
There are a few things to take note of right away, and you will learn where that information is on the sheet pretty quickly, but there is also lots of information that almost seems hidden if you don't know what you are looking for, or should be looking at.
The first thing your eyes will be drawn to is the picture, of course. Then you'll see the price, and some particulars on the house, such as total number of rooms, how many bedrooms, and how many baths. Lesser known information that is on the MLS home sheet is the annual property taxes, property assessment, school information, and room features, besides the biggie, which is how long the home has been on the market. In our area, hidden in plain sight on the listing sheet is "ADOM 145", and unless your agent told you where it was, and what that meant, you probably wouldn't know. It means "Active, days on Market" that house is 145 days. Also, CDOM means "Cumulative days on market", so if the property had been listed with another agent prior to this listing, the total market time would be shown here. Hmmmm. Interesting.
Another very important thing to look at is the listing agent remarks. There are MANY subliminal messages here, and they ring true the vast majority of the time.
Just look at the remarks on that listing in a different way- think of yourself as an agent, and if you know that these remarks are THAT important to help sell the house, it would behoove you to point our the finer features of the home in this section. There are only so many alphabetic characters that an agent is allowed in this section, so its important that nothing is redundant. As a real estate agent, you would want to make sure that you have everything covered, right? Of course, you would.
So when you look at the remarks section of a listing, and there is redundancy, what should that indicate? Maybe there is not any great things to say about that house, because the agent could't even fill up a small area of advertising space with anything other than what's already on the listing. And another thing while we're on the remarks section- if all the MLS says is how great the neighborhood is,and nothing about the interior of the house, you can pretty much expect that the house may need some cosmetics.
Even the most seemingly minor details to someone else are very important to you when it comes to your biggest investment. I'm always happy to share my knowledge, and help my clients in the very best way that I know how. So when you're ready to buy or sell real estate in Fairfield County, CT , I'm honored to help you, and eager to assist. :)
"When You Deserve the Best, You Deserve Judy"
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The Featured Home of the Week is a 3 bedroom, 2 bath ranch home at 20 Hickory Drive, Westport for just $549,900. See the virtual tour HERE
.....or better yet, call Judy to schedule an appointment to see it!
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Buying or Selling a Home in Fairfield County? Contact us!
If you have a question about buying or selling Real Estate in Fairfield County, and are in need of representation, I invite you to contact me. I know the market like the back of my hand, know marketing inside and out, am a skilled negotiator- and I'd love to be on your side :) - Judy
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