Huh!? Check out some of the top 10 best downtowns for 2014.  I came across this list/article on the livability.com web site and I have to say I was pretty surprised to see some of the cities they have listed and not see some of the cities that might immediately jump my head.  Take a look a the list.

1. Fort Worth, Texas
2. Providence, R.I.
3. Indianapolis, Ind.
4. Provo, Utah
5. Alexandria, Va.
6. Frederick, Md.
7. Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
8. Bellingham, Wash.
9. Eugene, Ore.
10. Birmingham, Ala.

Truth of the matter is... depending of what type criteria you use to filter the downtown cities and how many different types. You can pretty much skew these things in any direction you would like.  With that being said, It seems that they did use some pretty good ranking criteria to come up with this list.  Here are a few criteria used: Population growth, retail growth, office vacancy rates, population gains, downtown accessibility, unemployment rates etc. 
Check out the whole article @ livability.com

THE COMMISSION !!!

Maybe you’ve read about brokers who offer to cut their commission, or promise to refund money after closing. Limited Service Brokers may make those promises, but the truth is that some lenders won't close on a transaction where a broker is returning money to the buyer, and (worse!) many sellers won't reduce the list price of their home because they know that buyers represented by a Limited Services Broker might get money back after closing. Either way you look at it, it’s a lose-lose situation for buyers looking to buy a home.

But, wait, there’s more:

•   Buyers represented by Limited Service Brokers pay 101.80% of list price (on average)

•   While Buyers represented by Coldwell Banker Bain Brokers only pay 99.10% of list price (on average)

So, on a final sales price of $500,000, a Coldwell Banker Bain Broker obtains (on average) a final sales price that is $10,000 less than a Limited Service Broker.

Wow!  Not sure about you but that seems like a pretty big number to me. A Limited Services Broker may promise to give you ½ of his commission (1.5%) after closing, but on a $500,000 final sales price, that’s only $7,500, which means that you’re still underwater on the transaction, having paid much more than you should’ve, all other things being equal.

For some ideas on why some Limited Services Brokers do so poorly for their clients, it might be helpful to look at things from their perspective:

•   What if I asked you to do your job for half of what you are being paid right now?

•   Would you still be doing it?

•   And, if you decided for some strange and unexplained reason that you would work for ½ of your wages would you do it with as much enthusiasm or professionalism?

I’ll bet that you answered, “no,” to each of these questions.  

Real Estate Brokers work on commission, which means that if we don't close we don't get paid. I’m glad that I’m a Full Service Broker, because I like spending time with my clients, getting to know them and their needs, which I couldn’t do if I was a Limited Services Broker.

Some of my clients find the right home and close their transaction in a month, while others take longer; it’s all part of the job. But the biggest part of what I do for my clients involves my expertise in negotiations, time management, and dedication to making my clients happy, all of which are necessary to get to a successful closing.

Whether its banking, financing, computer tech, construction or any other business that you can think of, "Project Managers," the professionals who are responsible for implementation and coordination of all these important projects, again you know, the ones that usually command extremely high salaries. Well if you really think about it this is exactly what we do as Real Estate brokers. We earn our commissions with negotiations, overcoming transaction problems and coordinating all the service providers required to get our clients to the closing table.

We know all the Federal, state and local disclosures and requirements. They can be different for every deal we go through, and getting through them can be as tricky as walking through a minefield. But guess what, we hold your hand and walk you straight through, because we have the map!

How about all of those financing and inspection contingencies, who pays for this and who pays for that? Are there penalties? What happens if appraisal comes back less than expected? Again, just one more of the challenges that we are there to help guide you though.

Title services, escrow, attorneys, movers, stagers, photographers and all the other services involved, who takes care of all these?  We coordinate all of these services; knowing when, who, where and why, and holding everyone accountable to help make sure everything is done on time!