You're Offended?

Sometimes it's hard to convince Sellers of the importance of keeping their listed property in "showable" condition. Actually, it's very hard. During a recent appointment, I took the homeowners outside of their property, had them lock the door and then had them open the door as if we were viewing a listing. Prior to entering the home, I said, "Let's walk through your home as if you are in the market to make a purchase. Tell me your TRUE feelings about the house and treat it as if it belonged to someone else." As we walked in the door, the Sellers paused and then immediately became embarassed and defensive. "It's hard keeping a the house clean EVERY SINGLE DAY! WE HAVE THREE FOUR KIDS, EACH ONE PLAYS SPORTS," said one of the parties. I simply stood there and stared. I explained that the purpose of the exercise was not to humiliate them, but to walk a mile in the shoes of prospective home owners. There's no point in expecting home buyers to be more concerned about your very personal situation than they are going to be about their own situations. If you don't want to purchaser a filthy home, why would someone be interested in purchasing your filthy home?  Does it really make sense to have standards of others that you don't live by yourself? Just when I thought that we were going to have a meetig of the minds, one of the parties says, "Well, if a buyer really wants the house, all THEY have to do is..."

You know how the story ends.

Do you really WANT to sell the house?

It's been a rough market for both Buyers and Sellers. Sellers have been having a difficult time selling homes, and Buyers have been having a difficult time getting financing and then finding a home.

I always try to prepare my tours the night before a client and I begin our search. I gather listings, contact the agents and gather required information. Recently, I've noticed a trend of home sellers requesting 48-hours notice prior to a home being toured or active listings in the MLS system requesting that the home not be toured during 'the holidays'. First, if a Buyer takes a day off from work to view homes, are Sellers now requiring them to take an additional day off JUST to view their listing? Second, how are prospective Buyers supposed to know what holiday you're referring and how long that holiday lasts?

The key to getting a home sold is availability. If a ready, willing and able Buyer is ready to take a look at your active listing at a reasonable time, why not make the home available? Asking a Buyer to come back at a time that works best for you could cost you an opportunity to sell your home. When opportunities like these are lost, the end result could be more days on the market for your home and a growing anxiety that the Realtor is not doing enough to sell the property.

Sellers, think back to when you were purchasing your home. The energy that you had back then, is much like the energy of today's Buyers. An active listing that a Buyer can't access wastes everyone's time.

Yahoo! - "Seattle Welfare Recipient Lives in Million Dollar Home"

 Today I received a telephone call from a friend. She said, "You have to read this article on titled, "Seattle Welfare Recipient Lives in Million Dollar Home". Upon viewing the video, I couldn't help but to be especially startled by the comment, "It's a plush address. It should raise a red flag." The focus of the newscast seemed to be more about the possibility of voucher recipient residing at a "plush" address than the possibility of someone committing fraud. In this situation, it seems that the voucher system worked as designed. It is designed to allow voucher receipients to live where they want as long as the landlord accepts the voucher. If a person qualifies for a housing voucher, what difference does it make if a landlord has an available property in what some might consider a "plush" neighborhood? The focus of this news report is all wrong. Is there a designated area where voucher recipients are supposed to live? Again, the focus of this report is all wrong.

This report is irresponsible and two words come to mind: Fair Housing. Take a look at the write-up from the link:

According to the report, the program is supposed to help low-income families move away from housing projects, yet the correspondent seems to be focused solely on the "type of home the benefits recipient is living in." The report mentions that the recipient is receiving disability income and receives foodstamps. Does receiving these benefits disqualify a person from experiencing life in a neighborhood of their choosing? There simply isn't enough information about this situation to warrant a newscast. Admittedly by King5News, no charges have been filed. As of right now, there is an appearance of wrong-doing.

King5News has definitely made one thing clear to the public: Voucher recipients should not have access to housing with a "plush" address. How shameful.

A Husband, Five Kids, A Dog And A Home...

Take a deep breath. Now read the title again. Yes, it's true. Ok... well, maybe slightly true. For all intents and purposes, my husband is still a kid, mathematically giving me six kids. Throw the three-pound beast into the mix (my teacup Yorkie), and it's a real party.

I'm not going to apologize for the dramatic entrance, but I'd like to put a few things into perspective. Real Estate is my job. My family is the air that I breathe. I'm sure that I'm not the only Realtor that feels this way, but not many will take the extra step and say out loud, what I'm about to post: I'm not available all the time.

I've had those moments when I've called a client around 6:30PM and they were not available. I've also had the same client call me after 9PM and explain that they reason that they couldn't take my call is because they were having dinner and family time. I learned a lot from that one-time experience, and I've come to the realization that if Buyers and Sellers don't sacrifice their families, neither should I.

The amount of time spent between a real estate agent and client has to be a shared sacrificed. Having this discussion early in the relationship can lead to a very successful transaction. Managing expectations can only serve to benefit all parties.

*An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.*

Some People Have No Shame...

I RARELY endorse businesses because I'm always concerned about how my good will come back to haunt me and blemish my reputation. Today, I think I'll go out on a limb and endorse Mountain Top Cookies. I'm DEFINITELY not one for sweets. As a matter of fact, I'm an absolute gym-rat. These cookies, made by Julie Feltman (owner), cause me to forget about the potential damage to my thighs and guranteed 'saggage' of the rest of my body. It's a shame and a disgrace that one can taste the butter in her chocolate chip cookies. Since misery loves company, I have ordered several pounds of cookies from Julie to share with my clients in absolute disdain for the personal consequences, all while revelling in the joys of the potential suffering of the waistlines of others. Julie and her unforgiving baked goods can be found at the Farmer's Market in Manassas every weekend. The woman has no shame. I'm not saying that you should go to the Farmer's Market and purchase a pound, or even order a batch and have theme sent to an address of your choosing (like... to your house). I am saying, however, if your mother in-law is getting on your nerves and you want to do something to get into her good graces... this may be the way to go. Otherwise, order a batch for the size ZERO chick in your office who constantly complains about needing to lose some weight. These cookies will TRULY provide her with a reason to complain and make her smile at the same time.

"RING, RING RING.... Hello, Julie? Yeah it's me again. Same credit card, same address..."

HUD Real-Estate Owned Property Portal

Did you know that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development has a mapping tool designed specifically for Real-Estate Owned (REO) Properties? The mapping tool is a portal that identifies properties from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA in targeted geographies.

Here's what HUD has to say about the tool:

"The REO Portal is a consolidated neighborhood listing and mapping tool to assist neighborhood stabilizers in identifying Real-Estate Owned (REO) properties from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA in targeted geographies. The portal supports more efficient disposition of REO properties to support the stabilization of neighborhoods and recovery of local housing markets by enabling a neighborhood-focused strategic approach to acquisition. Users employing HUD's Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP) or other resources in the targeted acquisition, rehabilitation and/or demolition of REO properties can use the REO Portal to define target geographies and receive recent listings from Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and FHA."