Your real estate agent is really old... proper phone etiquette

I recently came across the following on John A Keith's bostonreb.com blog that I though worth sharing

Your Real Estate agent is really old

Interesting statistic I just read: ... the median age for agents is 51 versus 32 for the median age of first-time buyers, there is a considerable gap between how each group communicates. Only 23 percent of the brokers surveyed reported having wireless e-mail. This means that 77 percent of the agents are unable to respond to their e-mails while they are out in the field.

That's insane.

What do you think? Do you think it's important for a real estate agent to be older - does age imply "wisdom" and/or "experience"? Would you use an agent who was the same age as you, or, younger, even if the person had three or four years' of experience?

The part about the wireless email is ridiculous. Certainly, it's not true in major US cities. But I don't doubt it's true, overall.

Actually, it might be a low percentage, even in cities such as Boston (but not New York). I see a lot of agents using regular cellphones, not Palms or BlackBerrys.

I would give up a couple of toes before I'd give up my BlackBerry.

Source: Get rich in a niche - By Bernice Ross, Inman News

Comment by Glenn | 01/14/08 at 12:22 pm

On of the basics of real estate is that it more about people than actual real estate.

When I am in the field with a client, I think my time should be devoted to that client and not answering my cellphone and responding to e-mails.

Maybe the e-mailer, text messenger needs to ask themselves, "If am a customer, would I want the full attention of the real estate agent?"

BTW, I will be 60 shortly. And yes, I do use technology more than some of my younger colleagues. No I don't use a crackberry, but do use a WIFI card for communication when out in the field while waiting for a client or after working with a client.

___________________________________________________________

I would have to agree with Glenn regarding the basics of a real estate professional, or for that matter any true professional.

Imagine for a moment you were negotiating the purchase of a new car, be it a mini-van or a high end Benz. And during this every time the sales agent's personal phone rang he or she picked it up and talked for 2, 3 or even 5 minutes. Or perhaps their crackberry as some have referred to them rang and they stopped to read the message. Now I ask, who or what in the case of the phone do you think the sales agent felt was more deserving of their time? You, a ready, willing and able buyer prepared to close a transaction at that very moment, or that phone?

Top producers in this or any business are not slaves to their phones.... though I do admit that I do program my client's phone numbers into my cell phone and give them priority over unknown numbers. A professional will let the caller go to voice mail informing the them that their call is very important, that you may be on the line or with another client and will return ALL calls between a given set of hours. And do follow through with this promise.

When I meet a client for the first time I like to demonstrate to them that they are at that moment "my only client" by taking my phone and "turning it off". Though if I am expecting an important call, I might put the phone into vibrate informing the client that if a certain caller calls that I might have to take a moment of their time. One always has fires that need to be put out.

In short, you do not need to be older to show respect, but but it does appear that one does need to be at least old enough to understand the differences.

Bart

The Unultra-Modern Kitchen: Mundane by Design - Un-vented over range hoods/microwaves

Today is Thanksgiving and what a better time to discuss a topic that is near and dear to my NOSE:

The un-vented kitchen.

But before I delve too far, the following post is really aimed at the modern know-it-all builders/developers that are responsible for all the New construction and Condo conversions in and about Boston. And I ask any readers to feel free to post their agreement or disagreement with my thoughts regarding this most simple of kitchen design elements.

As a Real Estate professional now going on 5 yrs, I have noted that in almost every new construction or gut renovation property visited, that the developers have an aversion to venting the kitchen to the outside. The kitchens all boast the most sought after luxury finishes such as granite stone counter tops, stainless appliances and oak or cherry cabinets. Often the kitchens are stunning but functionally obsolete in my opinion as 9.9 out of 10 times, the range hood, which is more often than not a matching SS Microwave/vent unit is just screwed in place over the range un-vented.

Now with the passing of Thanksgiving and hours of roasting the bird, baking of pies and who knows what other artery clogging diet destruction culinary wonders, I wonder if today's buyers wished that the builder had taken the time to run a vent? Or is it that these buyers just do not cook at all? My feeling are 1) Buyers want homes that are tighter and more energy efficient, but 2) tighter homes become vessels for potentially unhealthy air, especially during the winter, and 3) the real question, would not a well vented kitchen be considered a strong selling point (healthy air, cleaner surfaces, fewer linger smells)? 

Ewww, What Smells?

Ewww, What Smells!?

Previously I posted a question to the field regarding cat spraying in the basement. And today, I read with a certain amount of interest, a recent posting to the Boston Real Estate Now blog to which I am borrowing the same title "Ewww, What Smells?"

But in my case it was a listing, with a dog and two, perhaps three cats, all being sweet, close members of the household. Problem being that the cats used a single litter box placed in the basement that just could not keep up with the fluffy fur balls daily excretions.

I am a dog lover and recently added a Basenji puppy to our home. And if readers are familiar with the bread, clean their coats like cats do. These regal canines are amazingly self cleaning. But I have to admit that at times upon entry to my own condo, can not do so without noting a hit of puppy perspiration, or spunk.

So sellers, whether it be a beloved pet, or your cooking, be aware of how your home's odors as you might your own. If you think this is a bit blunt. Just imagine for a moment you were to step into your local high school boy's locker room at the completion of a football game, Ewwww!!!!.

And while we are on the subject of house hold smells, and more specifically cooking.......... It is my layman and professional opinion that if given a choice, home owners would prefer vented hoods or microwaves over recirculation units any day. Does anyone care to confirm or deny this? I pose this because most builder/developers seam to think that vented kitchens are not needed. Is this true, or are they being lazy?

Realogy, parent company of the ERA® to Post Nationwide Property Listings on Yahoo! Real Estate

ERA® (Electronic Realty Associates) continues to live up to its name and reputation as parent company Realogy recently announces that ALL its brands including CENTURY 21®, Coldwell Banker® and Sotheby's International Realty® will each have their brand web site listings Dynamically uploaded to Yahoo! Real Estate site (realestate.yahoo.com) for the benefit of home buyers, sellers.

Though the site currently lists an 800 number most likely belonging to Prudential Real Estate as the contact, this fits well with this Realtor as it has always been our belief that a Co-Brokered sale is better than no sale at all. In fact, >90% of all listings are sold this way anyway, regardless of what certain brokerages would have home sellers believe anyway. So Bring It On Realogy, Exposure, Exposure, Exposure!

PU: Cat urine odor had buyers gasping: How to approach the seller

Here's the situation. Your seller client has a number of pets including one or more cats. The little beauties have full access to the cool damp basement where the litter box is kept. Problem is they seam to have tagged prety much every square inch down there. While taking buyers to the basement during the open house it was hard not have become overtaken by the pungent ammonia like smell from the cat's spraying.

Question is, how might one approach the seller with regards to this situation?  If left unchecked, I fear buyers will surly flee gasping for fresh air.

Multiple homes for sale on same street: increased competition or greater opportunity to sell?

Multiple homes for sale on same street: increased competition or greater opportunity to sell?

Here's a concern often encountered in a down market, should a property owner be concerned by two or more homes that beet them to the market or not?  While this situation might spell doom and gloom, the savvy seller should see this as a great opportunity. The opportunity comes in the form of leverage.  First more listings on the same street increase buyer traffic and secondly it gives the savvy seller the ability to leverage competing listings to their advantage.  The leverage comes from being able to recognize that price is often the single most important concern to buyers. If those other properties have been on the market for some time, recognize this fact now rather than later. If these other properties are "comparable" then there is no advantage with an asking price at or above those listing. The seller that prices 2~5% below the competition, leverages the competition to assist in their sale, pricing over the competition helps in their sale.  The trick is to realistically identify ones competition, price a smidge below and then to proactively maintain your competitive pricing advantage.  

So Easy Even a Caveman Could List and Sell His Home. Or so FSBO Sellers are Led to Believe

So I am watching the "booob tube" as my Mother would often refer to the TV the other day, when once again one of Geico's so easy even a Caveman can do it ads was shown and I had one of those Aha moments relating to FSBO MLS Entry Only web sites and discount brokers...

So I am thinking of a few tag lines:

"So easy even a Caveman can sell his home" or
"It's so easy even a Caveman could list your house"

And quite honestly it's true, you do not need a vast amount of frontal cranial lobe material to take a few pictures, enter some data into the mls, stick a yard sign in the yard, hold a few open houses and buy a whole bunch of news paper ads... Check out extensive "broker" services of this popular FSBO web site.

SELLERS receive high traffic Internet exposure that gets your property SOLD. You have the ability to make "real-time" changes to your ad 24/7, upload color photos, and print brochures. We also provide you with a professional Yard Sign with your Contact Number and House ID# (which takes a potential buyer directly to you property when entered on our site), an Open House Rider, a Sold Rider, a Brochure Box and 2 Directional Signs to give you additional street exposure.

Could anything be simpler than that? now all the seller has to do is sit back and wait for a buyer to come and scoop up their home. So who's at fault for this over simplified "So easy even a Caveman can do it" perception of what Real Estate professionals do? I would suggest a few ex full time real estate agents who if on a good day might be so fortunate if they could sell their own home if and only if by discounting their asking price by the portion of their own commission being paid back to them!

There is one common thread in reading most FSBO or discount agent web sites and that is the Savings. Not having to pay a commission or if any at all only half. Save save save. We have become a society that is more concerned with how much we save that we quite honestly forget how much we loose. Take for instance Credit cards. How many people rush out to buy something on sale only to charge it and pay down the credit card monthly at 10, 15, 19 and even higher APR's ultimately paying more for the item in the end? This is the same with discounting in real estate. Though a seller might Save on the commission amount, what they often fail to consider is how much they failed to net in the end. In short, Save the commission but loose on the offer amount.

Private surveys commissioned by the NAR tell a different story all together. Read here for more. Buyers buy from FSBO's for one reason only, to save. They may also have slow or difficult credit and have been down as Buyer Agent clients. Since this group of buyers know the seller is not using a Realtor, why should they pay top $$$$. This is counter to the needs and wants of the Seller. So if you are a home owner considering going it alone, please, do yourself a favor, use the gift that God gave you to research the +'s and -'s of being an Un-Represented Seller. If it is for you, buy all means go for it. If not, I encourage you to consult with a full service Realtor and for certain, ask questions.

if a real estate agent is quick to give away their money, how quick do you think they will be at giving away your money just to make a sale. Think about it.

Please help me reach my fundraising goal!

Twenty two years and still going strong...? Well that puts a different twist on things "still going strong"! In all honesty, the AIDS pandemic is one which we all wish would weaken and go away. But from the look of it, the only thing that has really changed is that we know more about how to manage it with medications etc. It is a real shame to man kind that a cure has not been found after almost a quarter a century.  I would like to encourage anybody reading this post that you open your hand and Sponsor me in this all important fund-raiser.

Bart

	Welcome to My AIDS WALK Fundraising Page Support Bart! Join Bart's Team! Bart Foster Mr. Bart Foster Achieved: $0.00 Make a gift! Fundraising Honor Roll           [Stop] [Start] Please help me reach my fundraising goal! Hi there! You might already know that I'm participating in the AIDS Walk Boston this year. I'm committed to raise money for the AIDS Action Committee by walking this year. You can help me reach my fundraising goal in one of two ways; 1st by making a donation! or 2nd if you or someone you know is looking to Buy or Sell a home this year, when you ask me to represent you in the purchase or sale, I will donate 1% of my net received commission to the AIDS Walk. Each dollar you donate can help the AIDS Action Committee stop the HIV/AIDS epidemic. You'll be supporting their vital prevention, education and direct services to people living with HIV. Private dollars also fund 100% of AAC's public policy efforts, both at the State House in Boston, as well as on Capitol Hill in Washington. Thank you for supporting me always, but especially in this challenge; you really can make a difference! How You Can Help Me You can make a donation to my fundraising campaign right here by clicking on "Make a gift", just below the thermometer. If you prefer to write a check, you can download a donation form by using the link at the bottom of the page. And if you want to participate in the Walk, you can register now on this site. It's going to be a great event! Please visit my page often. I plan to update it frequently so you can follow my progress. Again, thank you for your support!     Click here to download a donation form for personal checks. If you think this page contains objectionable content, please inform the system administrator.

The Puppy is Growing by the day

  

We have added a new member our household. His name is Sonha, Cambodian for handsome. Songa is a Basenji bread locally by Eldorado Basenji's of North Attleboro, MA. The little guy is growing like a weed, loves to cuddle, and gets along extreemly well with others in the park. Just in case you might be wondering what this post is all about, for no special reason, just thought it might be fun to share a little bit about everyday life with readers.

Time value of money: When a low offer is not really so low after all

Sellers presented with a lower than expected offer for the property they are selling, would be well advised to consider the compounded "Time Value of Money".

Say for instance you were listing a home for sale at $740K but would surely take any offer above $710K. A Buyer makes a final offer of say $680K, or approximately $30K less. Should you 1) flatly decline their last offer or 2) accept this offer?

Though there is no one right answer, how you proceed should take into consideration your short term plus long term goals plus considerations for quality of life. For instance if you are fortunate to have little or no mortgage, were under no pressure to buy again in the near future and could invest most if not all of the proceeds, I believe most money managers would likely agree on going for the sure thing and investing the net cash in high yielding money markets or other savings account. Here's some simple math, $600K of the proceeds reinvested at 5% APY for one and one-half years would net over $30K after taxes, and this is a sure thing. There is one other significant advantage to this approach, the reduction of stress associated with waiting for another equal or better offer that may not present itself for a good long time, not a sure thing... Put a $ amount on this and the net goes way up.

So if you are selling property and feel you are under no pressure take anything less than what you feel you deserve or what you think the buyer can afford, think again about what you might be putting yourself through if you walk away from a half way decent offer to purchase. The easy way might be best, especially when you can make your money work for you.