Realtor's Advantage

December 2004
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In this Issue
Laughable Lawsuit
Success Tip of the Month
Home Inspection or Home Warranty
Improve Your Web Presence
Close Title with the Traub Law Office
Laughable Lawsuit
A woman was playing golf and hit a shot which ricocheted off railroad tracks that run through the course. The ball hit her in the nose and she won $40,000 because the golf course had a "free lift" rule (this allows golfers to toss balls that land near the rails to the other side). The woman alleged that because the course allowed a free lift, the were, in effect, acknowledging the rails to be a hazard.
About Us
Andrew Traub Attorney Lawyer Austin, Texas
The Traub Law Office is a Full Service Law Firm located at 8601 RR 2222.
Andrew Traub is my name, and I want to help you close more by making your closing experience easier. Call me at 343-2572 or email me.
In the News
Home buyers are a curious lot. They routinely ask thought-provoking questions. A common question is, "If I get a home inspection, should I still get a home warranty?" Then there's always this question, "If I get a home warranty, do I still need a home inspection?"

The choice between having a home inspection and purchasing a home warranty is a question that I frankly do not understand. Each is intended to serve a separate purpose and ideally work together to protect and reduce the risk of home ownership.

Maybe an analogy will make the matter clear. An individual has just had a complete and through physical exam. The results of the exam and all associated lab tests are that the individual appears to free of all disease or illness. They are presently the picture of health!

Would it be prudent or responsible for the doctor then to recommend to the patient, due to their fine physical condition, that it is a waste of money to continue to pay for health insurance? Of course not!

None among us would consider the doctor even sane, let alone responsible to make such a recommendation. But, is that not the same situation to someone feeling that they need not purchase a home warranty because they just had a home inspection?

And let's view this same scenario from the opposite direction. Would we expect that our life insurance carrier would recommend to us that we forego the expense of regular physical exams, because, after all, we now have life insurance! Insanity!

The life insurance companies, in fact, feel so strongly that a physical exam is such an important part of risk reduction that a physical exam is often required to secure a life insurance policy, or at least has an effect on the insurance rate.

If insurance companies want to have you "inspected" prior to assuming the risk of your passing, it certainly makes sense for the home buyer to have the home inspected prior to purchase. Doesn't it, therefore, make similar sense to warrant unforeseen failure with the home warranty?

When buyers fully understand risk and the cost-effectiveness of risk reduction tools, they almost always want all of the risk reduction tools available. It is in everyone's best interest to reduce risk by every cost effective means possible. Buyers love to be educated about understanding and reducing risk, and everyone loves a happy home buyer!
Success Tip of the Month
Your car sometimes doubles as your office. Here are some important considerations if you are a realtor:
  • Keep your car sparkling clean!
  • Keep at least three sets of blank client listing contracts and three sets of purchase agreements with you at all times in the car.
  • Keep your personal brochures and extra business cards in the glove compartment.
  • Affix a stick-on note pad and pen to the dashboard (not to be used while driving). Keep messages up front.
  • Keep your tape measure in the glove compartment.
  • Keep your personal brochure with you at all times.
  • Keep your daily minder with you at all times.
  • Keep your open house signs in the trunk.
  • Keep a recent listing book either in the car or in the trunk.
  • Have on hand children's books for ages four to ten (just some inexpensive books that you keep in the trunk in a small bag in case you are showing a property to a mom with small children that must tag along).
  • Keep a flashlight with you in your car.
  • Keep a calculator and camera in your trunk.
  • Keep your cellular phone with you at all times.
Business of the Month
WSI Internet Consulting Times have really changed in the Real Estate business in the Austin area over the past several years with the continued development of the Internet. People are going more and more to the internet to find specific information about what to expect in buying, selling and financing a home. In November of this year, it is estimated that some 1,500 searches were performed looking for the key word phrase of "House in Austin Texas". This does not include all the other combinations that Internet users could have used to find information about Austin houses. As a result, real estate professionals in the Austin area have to be able to provide potential clients with information and assistance through a web presence that not only reflects their professional image but is easy to find and to get around in once they decide to visit the site.

The most important aspect of a web site is for it to be found. This is not an easy task since there are millions of other web sites in competition with yours. Search Engine Optimization can make a monumental difference in where your web site comes up when people search for your services.

If you want your web site to be found, contact Marc Bone of WSI at 338-4054 or by email.
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This newsletter is designed for general information only. The information presented in this newsletter should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.
8601 RR 2222, Building I, Suite 104 € Austin, Texas 78730 € Phone: 512-343-2572 € Fax: 512-597-0200
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