PSI FAQs

1. How do we know you can handle our specific property here in Las Vegas?
2. You sound like you may be too small to handle my needs. How small are you?
3. What do you need to start marketing our property?
4. What do we do, to help market the property?
5. How do you set the asking price for my property?
6. How do you choose to offer or not different options and terms concerning the selling of my property, like giving the buyers a second mortgage?
7. Who pays for advertising?
8. What fees do you charge compared to the competition?
9. Tell me about other tools you use that some Realtors may not use?
10. If I can’t sell I might consider renting the house out but maybe it would be cheaper to leave it vacant? Won’t I lose money? How does a rental house compare to stocks?
11. OK, I understand that rental houses can be good for my long term financial future but I don’t want to deal with the public or doing business with tenants!!! 
12. As an owner, how do you “the Management Company” decide what to do when repairs, maintenance, and other problems need attention?
13. I have heard that long-term owners make the biggest profits, but what’s the bad news in renting out the property? What can happen and how do we avoid lots of problems?
14. I understand one of your interests may be Asset Protection, Trusts and Corporations. George has other businesses that form Corporations and Limited Liability Companies for Clients.

How do we know you can handle our specific property here in Las Vegas?

Well, we currently sell over two million dollars each year of homes, condominiums and leases. We are members of the “Million Dollar Club” that other companies promote as well. A lot of our business is referral business even though we are not “famous” or as “big” as other companies. We have sold one-bedroom condominiums in the $50,000 price range to custom homes in the $500,000 price range. The Broker, George Morrissey, started out as a private property owner and landlord just out of high school under his “father’s wing” in 1975 (who was also a Real Estate Broker). We have experience with property that is in Spanish Trails, Spanish Oaks, the Las Vegas Country Club, Desert Shores, the Lakes, Sunrise Villas, University Crest, Summerlin, all of Las Vegas, Henderson, and North Las Vegas. We have dealt with problem properties, new homes, and properties that had bad financing and other strange challenging situations and conditions that needed resolving before selling.

You sound like you may be too small to handle my needs. How small are you?

We have a staff of Three Agents, One full time Assistant, and the Broker. Some of the “well known” companies in Las Vegas have over 300 agents. (George started at a big company with over 500 agents, the Americana Group Prudential Realtors (who used be with Better Homes and Gardens). We feel the person with all the experience is not necessarily one of the many agents in a large company. That is not the case with our company. George Morrissey, the Broker, with over twenty-seven years of experience will be the one ultimately responsible for your situation and property. With a team approach, one of the staff will be helping you with various items concerning your account but personal attention will be given to you from George. We try and are efficient with every transaction we are involved with instead of the other strategy of having success with only a portion (less than 100%) of clients and customers. We only work with a limited amount of buyers at one time for example, but concentrate all our efforts for that Client. When you call our company it does not take long to get to whom you want to reach! The broker answers the phone personally as well occasionally.

What do you need to start marketing our property?

Any keys garage door openers, and other loose items that go with the property. We also need a signed contract – which we discuss in advance of any signatures. We may advise you to various things that most other agents may not mention (or have the guts to mention) such as some of the following: Pest inspections, septic tank pumping, water testing, Environmental reports, Professional inspections, appraisal, various repairs or work to be done, or loan commitments – BEFORE a sale – to speed up the sales process and give other buyers have more confidence vs. the competition. Unusual marketing can be discussed including but not limited to: faxbacks, voice mail, internet, emails, digital photos, websites, brochures, signage, advertising, open houses etc. (Some usual marketing methods are not worth much with others worth every bit of effort!). We try and consider some other marketing work that other agents may not consider or know about (trade secrets).

What do we do, to help market the property?

If we do our job right we will give you some options to consider that you may not have thought of. It is our job to educate you to consider the bad and good about the marketplace, other agents, marketing methods, your property, Las Vegas, and what to expect or be surprised with. If we have educated you enough raising your choices (from say five to eight) then you will have more options to choose from, and thus make a better decision concerning your property.

How do you set the asking price for my property?

We may recommend an appraisal BEFORE THE SALE – unless the market is super hot! This is an unusual strategy but very worthwhile sometimes for hard to price property. We will do a marketing analysis using Realtor and property Tax records to see what has sold, not sold, and what is for sale in the area. We generally look at it’s condition, location, and asking price in comparison to the competition. We can look at what other property sells for in your area, and see what their current asking prices are. We can talk to you to see if you are financially strong enough to ask a higher rent risking a longer sales period, or if you would like better response (and a faster sale) by asking for a lower price (Terms may affect prices also, softer terms equal a higher price, tough terms – like all cash – can demand a lower price). We will give you our opinions (which could be mistaken) or the actions you will or will not take concerning the sale of your property.

How do you choose to offer or not different options and terms concerning the selling of my property, like giving the buyers a second mortgage?

This all depends on our client’s position at the time and where they want to be in the future. Some clients would be thrilled to receive payments over time, and others would hate it. Sometimes tax positions come into play that no one is thinking about, or liability issues have to be addressed so our clients are protected or at least understand the risks of Owner financing, creative financing, and Contract of Sales risks for example. We try and see what the market will bear and what is offering at that time. Different times of year are actually much different markets. The holiday season for example, is a tough time to sell something, as most families with kids are not moving. If everyone is giving away “bonus commissions” and we are not we may have agents skip our house to look elsewhere. Remember this is a competition! Some things the competition will do we may do also, but other things we would advise against (on a case by case basis).

Who pays for advertising?

That depends. Usually some newspaper ads fax back materials, short brochures, and photos the Agent pays for. However if specialized marketing is required (like out of state advertising, national advertising, or Television spots) – those costs should be discussed in advance with the owners and Agent. Our feeling is that an owner may pay some “extra” expenses generated by a property – but again these should be discussed. Since costs of advertising can be very high in Las Vegas without getting a guaranteed successful sale, they should be monitored and reasonable for all concerned. An agent can actually lose money marketing a property with too much money spent on things that are subject to make an owner feel good vs. actually being valuable regarding the sale of a property.

I have heard some horror stories about escrows?

What can we do about it? We can tell you in our opinions the risks of any one transaction, or if out of our expertise, we can tell you to get legal, tax, insurance, or other advice. We can tell you what is normal in our marketplace and if an offer is “common” or uncommon.

What fees do you charge compared to the competition?

Our Fees vary depending on the client’s needs and the specific property involved. The National Average is usually 6-7% of any gross sales amount collected as a sales fee. Other areas have tried flat fees, or per hour fees for specific help and support (we can do this too). This varies on a case by case situation. Our fees are important to us and of course since you will be paying them, important to you. All fees by law are negotiable, and we know that if they are not competitive we will not stay in business. Be aware that many “new” firms charge discounted fees to get you “in the door” promising the world, then over time bang on your terms and price to make them softer and lower – or more real world if they promised the world to get your business. We don’t do that – we sprinkle good information and real world strategy with reality. Sometimes we can meet resistance when giving clients new ideas that they need to consider or do to help their situation – as it might really take more time and money to accomplish what they want vs. what other limited information others have only told them. We want to tell you the “Truth” to make your property more sellable.

Tell me about other tools you use that some Realtors may not use?

We can do a Contract of Sale (very tricky and risky in Nevada), Lease-Options (which can be great if written correctly, but hazardous for amateurs), and Owner carry backs (this can be quite profitable or expensive depending on how the transaction is structured). We have done creative real estate financing in the past and continue to do so if needed by the client. We can help you do a 1031 Exchange –which allows an owner to sell his property, and buy another delaying any taxes until the future (if done correctly). Exchanges are not as tough as they sound but many Realtors and Agents don’t even discuss the possibility with their clients (thus having their clients pay more taxes in certain situations).

If I can’t sell I might consider renting the house out but maybe it would be cheaper to leave it vacant? Won’t I lose money? How does a rental house compare to stocks?

Well a good commercial NYSE company could pay dividends yearly for income (many do not). Rents are considered taxable income and usually paid monthly. Realize that many companies do not pay dividends at all such as the Mirage, Microsoft, or Intel. If your house is empty all year than no rent (dividends) will be paid! (Very unlikely- and expensive if you keep the house vacant on purpose). Dividends of stocks raised each year would be nice but which does not always occur, however rents always seem to go up over time!!!, Buying stocks with leverage requires at least 50% down. Houses only require as little as $1 down for veterans or 5% down for homeowners, to as high as 25% down for investors. So you control more value in a house with less money invested than in the stock market. Stocks can lose a big chunk of value overnight. Would you ever expect your House to go down in value 45% overnight? (I don’t think so). Growth stocks are popular now (Las Vegas has been known to be a “growth market” for property in our opinion and many others). Houses get tax shelter benefits (stocks have no tax shelter). Some Stocks can become almost worthless or “bust” very quickly (most houses never become worthless). Stocks can be sold with a phone call (believe it or not houses can also at the right “discounted” price). You can control the price you sell the house (deciding not to sell if the price is too low for example), but stocks are sold at that day’s price (you cannot control the price, probably ever!).

OK, I understand that rental houses can be good for my long term financial future but I don’t want to deal with the public or doing business with tenants!!!

That’s why you hire someone instead of having a friend watch your house!!! You can live ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD if you have the right manager (some of our clients live in Europe, about half live out of state). Over a long time if you look only at the numbers your house will make money, break even, or lose money. The longer you own the property because of the benefits (increase in value, rising rents, equity increasing, amortization, tax shelter, and leverage.) the better opportunity you have to make a substantial profit. Most people looking back over history can see that substantial wealth has been made by most LONG term owners of property not short term.

As an owner, how do you “the Management Company” decide what to do when repairs, maintenance, and other problems need attention?

We will work with you to agree in advance what limits or restrictions we have to make decisions as your agents. We will generally spend up to a certain amount without contacting you (approved by you in advance) and take care of emergencies as they occur with common sense (no air conditioning in the summer for example has to get fixed). We sometimes get discounts and better pricing than the public since we try and do business with the same people over and over giving them volume and confidence in us resulting in better service and prices we pass on to our clients. You may buy carpet one time (paying retail) but we buy carpet each year over and over thus resulting in (sometimes) -good prices.

I have heard that long-term owners make the biggest profits, but what’s the bad news in renting out the property? What can happen and how do we avoid lots of problems?

Vacancy gets expensive while you pay mortgage payments, utilities, advertising, and other expenses with no rent coming in. Tenants are unpredictable sometimes. Maintenance can be unpredictable and repairs and other problems can be random. All these problems can be helped to be offset with proper insurance, correct marketing, wise strategy, and common sense recommendations followed to do “better than the statistics” concerning rental property. Moving quickly for some problems (like a bounced check) and other “trade secrets” that are followed will keep most problems small and resolved with tried and true methods.

Sometimes getting a tenant means you get a buyer! This new tenant may like the house enough to buy it later. If so, you would get a discounted fee from us, less vacancy and probably a better deal than selling it to the public. A tenant will not see all the flaws in a house usually as he already has accepted most of them by living there. There will not be two agents involved so we give our clients a sizeable discount as well! And we can control the sale better with fewer people involved – for our client’s advantage (that’s you the seller!). This especially works sometimes for expensive house, or possibly a Lease-Option to create more activity, more interest, and more buyers to come forward. Many buyers
Want to buy later but lock it in today so they don’t have to move twice. Also, a Lease-Option most people don’t understand (we do). It can be written in favor of the Buyer (if we represent them) or in favor of the Seller. We would have to show you what we mean for the many benefits of a Lease-Option type of sale to be reviewed.

I understand one of your interests may be Asset Protection, Trusts and Corporations. George has other businesses that form Corporations and Limited Liability Companies for Clients.

If you have an existing business our business also can do the proper annual paperwork for you. Our fees are much less expensive than attorneys or CPA’s and we have other informational brochures we can send you on these subjects. Business strategy is always a good consideration to spend some time and energy on to avoid potential future problems. Remember that you cannot build a fire escape during a fire, you have to do this in advance. Having been through an extensive probate with my father’s estate, we can see the value of having different entities doing business, owning things (like rental houses in trusts), and using good business strategies to keep taxes reasonable and potential profits high along with enjoying privacy. Giving out an Entity Tax Identification Number instead of a Social Security Number can help with your privacy. Also, liability protection, and skipping probate can happen with the right strategy in place. Having a house owned in a trust, with the beneficial interest owned by another entity which is owned by a Limited Liability Corporation which you control shows what one can do. Any Sole Proprietor should really consider getting a New Corporation or LLC formed for their business. Talk to us on this subject anytime.

We have a variety of vendors, contacts, professionals and others that can get involved with our clients to provide a variety of services to help our clients Lives. We have hand picked a Mortgage Broker, a property inspector, and have attended over 100 (one hundred!) courses to make us well versed on some subjects even attorney’s and CPA’s are rusty on. We try to be and are lifelong Real Estate advisors to our clients in many areas. Thanks for your interest.

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