My friend Gina makes us a fantastic prime rib dinner every year for our family Christmas present. She spends hours preparing: searching new recipes, shopping, cooking, and cleaning. She really goes all out to make this a real treat, and we can't wait to get to her house.

If your friend went to all this trouble, would you even CONSIDER not showing up without calling? Of course not. Then why do some agents ask sellers to jump through all these hoops (OK, maybe they won't make prime rib), and then simply not show up?

When we get a showing request, my sellers rush home from work, clear out the kids, clean like mad so their home is sparkling, and pay for an unplanned dinner out. They want to sell their house, and will do whatever they can to accommodate the buyers.

Then they return to a home with all the lights still on and no agent card on the table.

I guess I thought (naively) that as the "quick buck" agents left the business, the level of professionalism would increase, not decrease. Instead, I am noticing an increase in no-shows.

I actually called an agent the other day and asked if she had come inside. She said they drove by and eliminated the house because they wanted a 3-car garage. (Hello, Ms. Agent...it says 2-car on the MLS and all postings!) Then she added, "I exactly can't force them to go inside if they don't want to."

Yeah, but you can make a flippin' phone call to let us know.

We had two big, nasty storm systems come through the Minneapolis / St. Paul area in the last week. They were pretty much expected. Our temps were over 90°F, and the humidity was just about as high. It felt more like summer in New Orleans instead of Minnesota.

Last night was the 2nd episode where I live (Lakeville, MN), and we had a full hour to get ready for a line of storms that was producing spotty tornadoes here and there.

Thankfully, we have a concrete crawlspace under the kitchen reinforced with steel beams (a 20'x40' space about 3' high). That's where we head when it gets rough outside.

Last night we were just fine. By the time it got to us, it was just heavy rain and 50 MPH winds. But what if we'd been hit, and had to walk through the wreckage after it was all clear? Here are a few things we did to get ready:

• We wore lace-up sneakers or boots with thick soles in case we had to walk over broken glass or splintered wood.
  
• We grabbed blankets, sweatshirts, and hoodies.
  
• I zipped up my purse and briefcase and stashed them in with us, and Steve put his wallet back in his pocket. We didn't want to have to dig through debris to find cash, ID, or credit cards!
  
• The crawlspace entrance was blocked with a gate to keep the dogs in with us.
  
• The cats were in their carrier -- no way was I going to run around trying to find 2 scared cats!
  
• We had water, a rechargeable lantern, matches, and a lighter -- but darned if I could find the battery-operated radio!
  
• We fully charged both cell phones.
  
• I took my notebook PC, with a full battery and wireless card.
  
• Believe it or not, I forgot food (which is odd -- I'm fairly food-motivated)!

I know one thing: from now on when I'm showing houses, I'll keep an eye out for the best place to ride out a storm. We don't always have an hour to prepare, but it's great to know exactly where to go when they pop up!

Barb

www.BarbaraCharlton.com

Every time I do an open house, the little voice in my head runs down the checklist:

• Unlock all the doors so you can get out if something happens. Check.
• Keys and phone in your pocket. Check.
• Don't go into a room in front of somebody where you can be trapped. Check.
• Shoes I can run in. Check.

I don't intend to be a sitting duck, or to become the next REALTOR® who gets stuffed in the trunk of her car. My precautions are all good, yet I was missing the most important piece: self-defense training. (Can you say "denial?") 

So this weekend I gave myself a gift: I took the 3-1/2 hour "FAST Defense" class at my friends' Apple Valley martial arts studio. 

FAST stands for Fear Adrenal Stress Training. It's taught nationwide, and provides a safe and protected environment to learn how to transform fear into a source of power and strength. When we are terrified and the adrenaline is surging, many of us tend to FREEZE. We can't break away, run, or even scream. Period.

In class I got the real, hands-on experience:  my heart rate shot up to at least 160 beats per minute, and my adrenaline was flowing like wine. All this in the span of two 10-second exercises. They were staged exercises, but they were real.

Now I know for sure how to avoid or prevent an attack, if possible. And if someone does grab me from the front or from behind, I know how to fight back and get away.  The videos of my 2 fights show me going after my attacker like a mother bear protecting her cubs. That hellcat was little old me? You bet.

And now my gift to you, I hope, is to encourage you to take this step for yourself. Just like you can't learn to swim by reading about it, you can't learn to EFFECTIVELY fight back unless you practice with someone trained to keep you safe and focused.

Go for it,
Barbara Charlton
Lakeville, MN

http://www.barbaracharlton.com/

The topic of relisting a home surfaced last night on ABC's Nightline, of all places. The agent in the story, as part of his normal listing process, said he cancels and relists his listings when they reach 70 days. 

Of course, when a buyer zeroes in on a particular house, a good buyer's agent researches as much as possible about the home, including how long the home has REALLY been on the market. It's just part of due diligence.

When my buyers get serious about a property, I research and report to my buyer:

• When was the home first listed? (sometimes it has been on and off the market for longer than a year)
• What was the starting price?
• How often are they just relisting, with or without a price change?

Why is this important? Because the history tells me lots of things:

• The longer the home has been for sale, the more motivated the seller may become
• Was the seller ever realistic about the sales price, or was it consistently priced well over market value? (speaks to their flexibility, or lack thereof)
• Have previous offers fallen through, and why?( are there issues with the house itself, or were there simply buyer financing problems)

I personally dislike the whole practice of relisting without a valid reason (such as a seller who wants to take a break for a while and wait for better market conditions). I think it purposely misleads buyers.

My buyers can search for Minneapolis/St. Paul homes at www.BarbaraCharlton.com  which gives them all the public info about the home, but they also know that I am here to uncover the rest of the story for them.

Just one more reason to find a good buyer's agent who isn't afraid to roll up their sleeves and do some digging.

My mother broke her hip the Friday before Christmas, and had surgery to replace it the next day. This was quite a shock to her....at 83 she stands tall, works out daily, prunes her own trees, lays sod (yes, really!) and you have to pry her off their Harley trike.

Mom and Dad live in Texas, and my husband and I live in Minnesota. We were planning to be in Texas for the holidays anyway, and I wasn't too worried about an avalanche of client inquiries over Christmas. I packed all my equipment and felt pretty much like I could handle things remotely.

Now that I'm going on my 3rd week here, I've had a chance to test my "road worthiness." I've been a road warrior for years -- I am fairly well set up to do business anywhere. (As REALTORS we have to be.)  Still, see if you notice what's missing from this list:

• Notebook PC with built-in wireless
• Anti-virus software and firewall for protection when using wireless "hot-spots" (like most Starbucks have)
• An all-in-one place email account
• Automatic text alerts and emails for new prospects
• Sprint Broadband wireless card (seems almost as fast as DSL)
• Wireless mouse
• Flash drive to copy files off computer for backup or portability
• A subscription to GoToMyPC.com so I can log into my office computer from anywhere at any time
• e-fax so I can send and receive faxes from my email account
• Treo 650 phone so I can call, text, and carry my Top Producer database and calendar with me (and sync to Top Producer servers)
• Adobe Acrobat Professional (to fill out and save PDF contracts on line)
• Wide angle digital camera
• Tom Tom GPS system
• A car charger for everything, AC adapters, and/or a power inverter (more universal charging in the car)

Sounds like I've got the bases covered, right? Well, there's one critical thing missing: a small printer/scanner.

While I've been here I've had to do listings and offers remotely.  The only drawback is that at some point I have to sign a few of the docs myself. That means I need to print them. And then I need to scan them into the computer to send them on.

Thank heavens for Kinko's.

Will I get a little printer? Probably. Eventually. For about $99 it would be a good investment, but they are still kind of bulky and one more thing to haul.

For now, I am content to watch Mom zip around the house with her 4-wheeled walker (complete with handbrakes) and help my folks adjust to making a few changes (that really means Dad is going to have to do a LOT more around the house). And throw in a few side trips to Kinko's.

I'll be home soon. We have in-home care set up for Mom: a physical therapist, plus a house cleaner and a sitting service (the "sitter" comes in as often as you like and helps with daily chores like showering, cooking, organizing and such).

We'll return to Texas every a few months to see how things are going (phone calls don't tell the whole picture).

And I think I'll buy that little printer and leave it here. :)

Virtually yours,
Barb

www.BarbaraCharlton.com