Brett Pickens, Realtor

11/25/2024

Hard to put into words how much joy this kid brings into our lives. 4 years of Jaxon has been full of adventure. We are blessed !

08/18/2024

If you follow any Real Estate agents or watch the news you may see posts or headlines about “huge changes” to the Real Estate industry.

Let me break down what’s happening & what it means for you if you’re buying or selling a home in Ohio or (almost) any other state.

Simply put: The National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) was involved in a lawsuit regarding commissions that was settled. The settlement goes into effect on August 17, 2024 (yesterday!)

As a consumer, this is how it impacts you:
1️⃣ Buyers must have a signed agreement prior to touring homes with a REALTOR®. It outlines their duties to you, your duties to them, how they get paid, and what you could be responsible for financially.

2️⃣ The MLS is where Agents post property listings for other Agents (and consumers) to see. It was also used to see if the listing brokerage was offering compensation for a Broker to bring a Buyer to a property. These compensation fields have been removed from the MLS across the country. Your agent will now need to market any potential offers of compensation on a separate website, via direct communication with a buyer’s agent, or by means other than the MLS.

3️⃣ This isn’t necessarily a change (as these all existed yesterday and will still exist tomorrow)… but Sellers have 3 broad options regarding compensation in Ohio, based on our current forms & contracts:

A: Pay a Listing Brokerage to list your property with an offer to also pay Buyer Broker compensation at a specific amount.

B: Pay a Listing Brokerage to list your property and let all agents know that are showing that you’re open to potentially paying (some) buyer representation compensation based on the terms of the offer.

C: Pay a Listing Brokerage to list your property and offer no compensation to a Buyer’s broker, causing the buyer to have to pay for their own representation.

All of these options, as with most things in life, have pros and cons, and are situational, depending on your property, neighborhood, the market, and economy.

If you have questions on what this could mean for you here in Ohio shoot me a DM!

08/16/2024

Still unsure of what the new NAR changes really mean? We are all in the same boat! As the changes are now in effect, agents are pivoting from the old ways. Our clients are #1 in the process, and education is our biggest resource.
Watch this video for some clarity on the new way of business!

Residential Real Estate Consumer Awareness Executive SummaryUnderstanding the key practice changes to buying and selling real estate in the US in 2024 and be...

08/15/2024

With “inside season” approaching in Ohio, we’ll have plenty of time to think about that next home project. Use Cost to Value graphic to assist your decision making.

05/19/2023

Loved this closing!

Great work Stacy & Cara🤘🏼 on your new home!!

Antoine Stockett with North Bay Realty LLC goes over the $1 million mark with this closing! Much more to come in his career, great meeting you today you made this new homeowner very happy.

Brett Pickens, Realtor closed the listing and we were happy to get done well on time for him and his seller!

Awesome again tried and true Mary Boldman, First American Title - Firelands Area, Ohio on the closing!

07/14/2022

A few shots from downtown Cleveland and Rocket Mortgage Field House.
City flying is nothing short of nerve racking!

PS: You need to fix the “R” on top of the building JS.

04/07/2022

Spring is always a busy time in real estate! Here’s a look at how the industry is shaping up so far this year!

03/24/2022

People often think that buyers are putting 20% down, but a recent survey from NAR shows that isn't always the case- putting less than 20% down is more common than you might think! Here's what a purchase scenario looks like with 5% down vs 20% down.