My friend is hosting a “Realtor” open house tomorrow to bring his listing to the attention of agents in our office.  It’s been on the market for just over 150 days now and is listed at just under $270,000.  The house is truly a beauty with hardwood throughout, five bedrooms, and three bathrooms.

To get agents to attend, he’s feeding them.  I’d like to say that most of us would go anyway to show support for our colleague, but sadly this isn’t true.  When there’s no food, about three agents attend (me and two others).  However when there’s food, attendance goes up.  The last Realtor open house I went to had lasagna, salad, and a dessert that is long forgotten, and about eight agents came.

The goal of the listing agent is not only get the attention of other agents, but to also satisfy the sellers that he is doing everything he can to sell.  In my years of real estate, I have seen agents bring their buyers to houses once they toured an open house - I did that for one of my own buyers.  This time, however, I’m not currently working with anyone in that price range, so can’t make any promises.  I hope other agents can help him out, though.

Do you think “Open” Houses are important if you’re selling?  If you’re buying, do you go to open houses?

One of my real estate instructors once said that people love agents to drive them around showing houses.  I heard that when I took all of my real estate classes learning the law, marketing, and salesmanship.   I was convinced that eventually people *would* buy so you might as well stay on their good side and show them a house or two.

Almost seven years and thousands of miles later, I don’t just drive anyone around anymore.  Unless they talk to a lender first (or have proof of funds if cash buyers), they stay with their feet firmly planted on Terra until I learn more.  I want to know exactly how much the lender says they can afford rather than learning they have champagne taste on a beer budget.

A buyer called earlier today to say that a house in her Mom’s neighborhood has come on the market listed at $175,000.  Another neighbor told her that the seller just wants to get rid of it and would take $80,000 for it.  Naturally I doubted the truth to this, but promised to look into it and call her back.  I learned that the “new” owner bought it for $157,000 just 10 months before and remodeled it.  I knew there would be no way they’d give the home away for $80,000.

If it sounds too good to be true, then it’s too good to be true.

Another agent told me she has been working with buyers today who want to buy, but only if the seller will come off the price $40,000 to $50,000 dollars.  That just doesn’t happen, either.  You have to put yourself in the position of the seller and ask, “Would I do that?”

Would you?  Probably not, so don’t expect a hand-out from the seller.

My friend said she wanted to call me a few nights ago because she was watching one of those house hunting shows that are so popular - at least they *were* very popular until we reached the point in our national economy where no one can afford them anymore.  Joy was upset at what a television real estate agent said to his buyers when they decided to make an offer on a home.

Now this is second-hand paraphrasing, but the gist of his statement was, “Sign here and here and here and here.”  He then handed a 200-page stack of papers and said, “You can read all this when you get home and if you want to consult an attorney to review it, you can.”

Joy said when we worked together to sell and purchase, I explained every paragraph and the implications.  We avoided potential problems because they understood the process and the rights of both the seller and the buyer.

Apparently the buyers in the TV show did encounter some major problems; problems that would have been avoided had the agent taken the time to explain the legal obligations of the contract.  In the end, never sign a document without understanding the terms of the agreement.  Never.

Photo by merfam via flickr creative commons.

I’ve lost but one sign in my years as a real estate agent.  I had a lot for sale that was inhabited by a mobile home.  The owners of he movable house were not delighted when the land seller told them they’d have to get their wheels a’rolling when the lot sold.  As a result, my expensive metal sign disappeared.

It seems like stolen signs are a plague on some agents (as if a slow market isn’t bad enough!).  Realtors pay for their own signs usually - we get the big “for sale” signs, along with open house, arrow pointers, price reduced, swimming pool, amazing home, etc.  All the signs you see to market and sell real estate are paid out-of-pocket by the agent with the listing.

This doesn’t deter neighbors who like the strong wire frames.  They’re perfect for yard sales!

If you’re ever tempted to take a real estate sign because it’s available and free, think again.  It’s like walking up to someone and taking money right from their wallet.

A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the importance of getting a second opinion when it comes to home repairs.  In that situation, my buyer’s water heater had stopped working and the warranty plumber ran out of the house screaming and tearing at his clothes.

Unfortunately, the second plumber did the same thing only he talked about carbon monoxide poisoning rather than a flash fire.  My buyer called the city codes department and the water heater failed the inspection.  She was then put on notice that she had X number of days to make the repair or she’d receive a citation for the bad install.

Apparently the sellers hired a family member to put in a new gas water heater and they got the wrong kind. Instead of it being a “side” vented heater, they installed a “ceiling” vented.  Only there was no ceiling vent to be found anywhere.  My buyer really was in danger - as was her adorable three-year old daughter.

If this case study had gone to court, the seller and the home inspector would have been responsible but as an agent I would have also been involved.  Instead, my broker negotiated a settlement so that every party involved chipped in to replace the dangerous heater.  The seller and the home inspector had to pay the most, but in the spirit of cooperation I also agreed to chip in (as did the seller’s agent).  She should have the new PROPER water heater by the end of the week.

Sometimes it’s not just the cost of doing business, it’s also the right thing to do… especially since she’s been boiling water for two weeks to give her daughter a bath.

Photo from Zimbabwe News Online.

I would never in a gazillion years advertise a home as a cockroach hotel.  But it worked for one agent and kudos I say to the flipper who had the courage to do this!

I did show a house once that was CRAWLING with these nasty nasty things.  It’s the only time I ever screamed while working with a client.  I laid my business card on the counter next to another agent’s card.  My card accidentally nudged the other card and about a thousand baby cockroaches came streaming out from under the other card.  Horrible!

When I’m driving down the road going perhaps 5 miles over the speed limit - admit it! You do to! - and someone flies by going probably 100 miles per hour, I don’t get bent out of shape.  Instead, I find myself looking several miles up the road for a car turned upside down or skid marks off the road or for blue lights parked behind the speeding car.

It’s the survival of the fittest.  That’s why I found a recent blog post at Active Rain by Ruthmarie Hicks of New York to be very interesting.  She discusses that between part-time agents and full-time agents, we are hoping to “thin the herd.”

“Part-timers are better because they aren’t so pressed to make a sale…There is nothing worse than desperate agent breath!”  Major artillary

“Full-timers are available 24/7/365 – a part-time agent means part-time service and a lack of dedication. “  Saturation bombing.

I admit that when I first started in real estate, I was met with some hostility by the oldtimers.  But I was willing to work with them, ask lots of questions, and I stumbled every now and then.  Eventually they figured out that I was in it for the long haul (though 2009 nearly did me in).  Now when people think about coming into real estate (and isn’t it amazing how few there are with this limping housing market?), I tell the truth. Chances are we won’t know the same people, so won’t have the same sphere of influence.  But they’re going to have to work really hard, they’re going to have to spend some marketing money (monthly mailings, web page), and they MUST be willing to ask lots of questions or they’ll make a fatal mistake.

It is the survival of the fittest.  And in the end, it’s the people who conduct their business like a business will be around when the dust settles.

It’s just part of the job when real estate agents pay for advertising, send in monthly fees for fancy online slide shows that “tour” the inside and outside of houses (with snappy or soothing music in the background), put in open house ads, buy balloons, and drive back and forth to update photos.

After spending perhaps less than $20 on marketing or sometimes thousands of dollars, does an agent have means to regain what they’re “out” when a seller decides to cancel the listing?  In our state contracts, we do now have that option.

Specifically the listing contract says if a seller cancels or withdraws the listing prior to the expiration date, they are liable for the costs of marketing the home.  While it is within their rights to not sell the house, if an agent has out-of-pocket expenses and no hope of regaining them through the commission compensation at closing, the seller should pay those fees incurred during the listing period.

Of course the seller can try to make a case that the agent didn’t do enough to market the home, therefore they found another agent.  However when there are advertising fees that were accrued, it seems pretty evident that the previous listing agent DID actually market the home, which ultimately we are paid to do.

I may be biased here, but I say the seller should refund the agent that money, paid to the broker.  What do you think?

Photo by lilit through Flickr Creative Commons.

Big Brother is watching us.  They are watching our advertising, they come into our offices to see how we respond, they call us.  And now they’re watching the Internet, particularly Craigslist.  What are they watching for? Why are they stalking us?

April is Fair Housing Month - a good reminder of how EVERY client should be treated fairly and equally.  What I like about this month is we have the opportunity to review “case studies” or take quizzes to see if we can answer correctly.

Let me give you an extreme example… which of these two phrases in ads is fairly written?

House perfect for bird watchers!

OR

Abundant nature surrounds house.

The first ad could be viewed as discriminatory against people who are NOT bird watchers (again this is an EXTREME example…).  Agents and sellers alike must remember that they are selling a house or property, NOT a lifestyle.

Craigslist seems to be a hub for fair housing violations because anyone can advertise any house.  Agents can sometimes forget our advertising rules.  We must always disclose that we are licensed agents in ads, must include our company name and phone number, and we have to be careful about selling the HOUSE, not the area, not the location, not that it’s a great Hispanic or Laotian community, not that it’s perfect for young families or the elderly, not that it’s near a certain denomination church.  Big Brother is watching Craigslist closely.  Just sell the real estate. Sell the house.

The National Open House weekend sponsored by the National Association of Realtors is this Saturday and Sunday, April 10-11, 2010.  There are so many agents participating that even in my own office, we are having trouble finding an agent to cover floor time (where an agent takes calls and walk-ins) during our office hours.

In my own MLS area, over 1000 open houses are scheduled this weekend.  My county alone will have 141 open houses, including my own planned for a condominium I have listed.

If you’re on the fence about buying a home before the federal tax credit expires, this is the weekend you’ll want to get out, drive around, and see what’s out there!

Some agents will have the blue Realtor balloons floating… look for them!