Price per Square foot question - 05/31/07 11:45 PM
  Today I had an agent ask me what’s up with “Price per Square Foot”, she was confused why two houses on the same street could have such a large difference in the “price per square foot”.  I was at a lose on how to explain it to her, deep down I get why a smaller house has a larger “price per square foot” however for the life of me I just could not voice it.  So I turn to the Rainers, how would you explain “price per square foot”?
 
www.bethbastian.com 
 
… (9 comments)

I am a buyers agent!!!!! - 05/27/07 08:30 PM
Most books tell you to form a team, and hire buyer’s agents to work for you.  The books say you don’t want to take your time driving buyers all around town, to find the perfect home.  Some would say “buyers are liars”, well not me I say bring on the buyers.
 
I am a buyer’s agent; I only dealt with buyers for the last several years, in truth I have only sold one listing in my career.  It take two parties to sell a house, a buyer and a seller, well with all the agents only wanting sellers, I found … (8 comments)

To upgrade or not to upgrade - 05/26/07 09:03 PM
Simi Valley California in the late 60’s and early 70’s we had some what of a building boom.  As a Realtor I have been in just about every model of home in my town.  I am convinced that the builders had one supplier for the bathroom; we all have the same counters, cabinets, and light fixtures.  So with all of these old bathrooms, first you still see this bathroom in over half the homes in Simi, should my client update there bathroom before listing the house? 
 
Well my first reaction is yes, but then I start to think what … (4 comments)

Listing budget - 05/25/07 09:15 PM
            So this week I was training three new agents, and we were working on listing presentations.  As some of you might know that a listing presentation is my Achilles heal.  So the conversations turned to how are you going to market a home…..how much are you going to spend on each listing?
 
            As part of the listing presentation it would be a good idea to list all the marketing you are going to do for your client. This seems easy enough right?  Well first, you have to start with a budget, next you have to know what you … (8 comments)

Meme who me? - 05/23/07 12:24 AM
So Dan the Running Man Memed me, well five things you would never know about me:
I married an Irish man a long time ago, that was still the smartest decision of my life, and have three children 6, 10 & 12.  The eldest was born at one lbs. 12 oz. and is proof that miracles do happen.  
My family came to America in 1630, and I have had a family member fight in every war from the Revolutionary War to Vietnam. I am also fourth generation Californian.  
I am a true sports fan, and I truly believe the … (5 comments)

I get the coaching thing, but how do you...... - 05/19/07 01:14 AM
I have been an Angel Fan my whole life; really I am third generation Angel fan.  One of my favorite people is Mike Scioscia.  As most of you know, he took my beloved Angels and coached them to perfection.  He has a fundamental understanding of baseball, and how to bring the best out in his players.
 
I have been told by many people that I need to get a coach.  However I do not know what to look for in a coach.  I am co-owner of a real estate company, a mortgage company, and I am the mother of three … (11 comments)

Did your rate just adjust?? Read this. - 05/16/07 11:54 PM
Today I spoke to First Franklins “Prevention” department.  The prevention department works with clients who mortgages have adjusted and they can not handle the change. 
 
I called and “interviewed” a “prevention” department lady, who explained to me that if the borrower’s loan has adjusted, and this is the sole cause of their woes, First Franklin will work with the client about lowering their interest rate.  First Franklin will review with the client, how much they bring home, and they will need to prove it with bank statements or pay stubs. They will go over there out going bills, and … (6 comments)

Listing presentation blues - 05/15/07 09:49 PM
So here I am again prepping for a listing presentation,   once again I feel a bit inadequate in my listing presentation.  Now I am turning to the Active Rain, I am confident in my CMA, so what else should I put in the presentation?  Who has the awesome tips for me to help take my listing presentation from drab to fab? 
 
www.bethbastian.com 
… (21 comments)

A Typical Realtor - 05/12/07 03:24 PM
NAR released a news article this week on what the typical Realtor looks like.  It shows that real estate can be fruitful if you are in it for the long haul.  This article talks about what Realtors really earn, how old they are, and how long the average Realtor is had their license.  I highly recommend clicking on the link and reading what NAR has to say.
 
 Click Here! Part Two
It has been brought to my attention that the link may or may not be working so here is the link old school style.
http://www.realtor.org/press_room/news_releases/2007/nar_member_survey_shows_patience.html 
www.bethbastian.com 
… (12 comments)

Walter Sanford is the man - 05/12/07 02:12 PM
Yesterday I had the privilege of hearing Walter Sanford speak.  I am a real estate education junky.  I will go hear anyone speak.  When Walter was introduced, it was mentioned that he had sold a house a day for 17 years, so of course that got my attention.  Walter came out and I think the whole audience fell in love with him, he is a GREAT speaker, and he makes you hang on to his every word. 
 
This man had two things to say that sparked my interest.  First if you are going to close a lot of transactions … (6 comments)

Exit So Cal - 05/12/07 01:42 PM
My business partner Dan and I just got back from a two day event, an Exit Regional Meeting. Are region is now up to 57 franchises so we had a very good size group.  As most regional meetings it started out with the regional owners telling us all the latest and greatest news about Exit. Then for the last part of the day we broker into several groups about 6-10 and talked about different topics. Despite that fact that are franchises are spread out all over southern California, we each had ideas, and were able to admit mistakes we had made.  … (2 comments)

Print Media Is Dead. - 05/12/07 01:20 PM
Is print media dead?  Or is that too bold of a statement?  Are is it just newspaper print dead, or are we only still working with print to make our sellers happy?  I can personally tell you that I have spent thousands of dollars in newspaper print, in the last 18 months, and the only people who seem to be satisfied are the sellers. 
 
So now in my listing presentation I explain to my seller that the majority of buyers start there search online, and that I will make there online presence huge.  This has gone over well so … (15 comments)

What advise would you give yourself? - 05/08/07 11:57 PM
I know this is a bit off the wall, but if you had a time machine and you where able to go back to the day you received your real estate license.  What advise would you give yourself? 
 
Would you tell yourself about the marketing idea that really did not work?  Or would you tell yourself about that client you should have stayed away from?
 
I would tell myself that follow up is everything…everything you will sell nothing if you do not follow up!!
 
www.bethbastian.com 
… (9 comments)

Calling all Virtual Assistants!! - 05/08/07 11:38 PM
When I have a question about anything Real Estate, I go to the Active Rain.  So lately I have been on a kick about hiring another assistant.  I am leaning toward a virtual assistant; I think this concept would work well with my lifestyle.  I would like to know from all the Virtual Assistants out their, what should I look for in a Virtual Assistant, and how do I know what is a good price to pay for the services?
 
 
… (6 comments)

Goverment Bailout - 05/07/07 10:21 AM
Sen. Charles Schumer has introduced legislation proposing a minimum of $300 million in federal funds to help with the foreclosure mess looming over America.  Sen. Schumer is hoping to see the lenders come up with the same kind of foreclosure prevention measures of there own. 
 
Although it is not known at this time how the money will be used to help, and if the lenders will be able to do there part, it is the first time that Sen. Schumer has put a dollar figure to fixing this epidemic.
 
A foot note that comes to mind, in California … (1 comments)

Vendors are not slaves!! - 05/02/07 09:24 PM
Not to long ago, I had the opportunity to take 6 of my agents, on a vendor sponsored event.  This event was host by a Home Warranty Company and a Natural Hazard Report company.  This was a great way for my new agents to learn what these companies had to offer, and to receive a DRE credit.
 
There were about 30 agents; most were not from my office.  As the Home Warranty Vendor started to go into all that her company can do for us, she started to tell us about her marketing material, a Realtor from another company spoke … (7 comments)

What do you want from your broker? - 05/02/07 08:33 PM
Alright agents talk to me, let me hear it; do not hold back…what do you want out of your broker?  Do you want better training?  Do you want a better advertising system?  Do you want the broker to be there for you??? 
 
I have been a broker owner for about five years now, I still feel like I am missing something.  Now I know I can not be all things to all people, but what would you like out of your broker?  Your office would be perfect if only …………
 
How about it loan officers?  What do you … (12 comments)

How do you keep up with the changes in real estate laws? - 05/02/07 08:14 PM
As a Realtor do you attend any of the training that your board has to offer?  Or do you expect your office manager to attend all the training and get you the information?  Today the Women’s Counsel of Realtors hosted and event, the person in charge of California Association of Realtors legal department, came to talk about the new forms, the DRE, laws and ways to avoid being sued.  In all
 
We have around 600 agents in our local board; I would guess less than 60 showed up for this event.  The person giving the speech had some very valuable … (5 comments)

Good intentions turn bad - 05/01/07 10:38 PM
Today I had a purchase that almost fell apart. 
 
A single lady went to buy a home.  She has a good score 750+, 5% down, and 4 months payments in the bank.  This seemed like a dream transaction right? Wrong, the buyer’s father wanted to help his daughter out, so he deposited have of the down payment into escrow, and a check written from his account. 
 
Sounds innocent enough; however Fannie Mae does not allow gift funds if the borrower is not putting down at least 5% of there own funds.  This could have been avoided, if … (3 comments)

 

Beth Bastian Simi Valley Real Estate

Simi Valley, CA

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Rosemont Financial Inc

Cell Phone: (805) 857-0484

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A place where I talk about all that is real estate, from selling homes to refinancing them.


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