Houses and More

Plan and Envision

2008-04-26T23:38:39Z

For some rehabbers, the dirt has to be removed before the plan can be made. The space has to be felt. The home has to talk to the owner.

For other rehabbers, the record of baby steps is important so they don't lose their vision. Progress can seem very slow.

In the house from the previous post, the property is condemned and requires a code compliance inspection from the city. The expected list of required repairs includes:

Upgrade electrical service from 60 amp fuses to 100 amp circuit breakers which includes a new mast and box
Install GFCI outlets within 6 feet of a water source
Install grounded outlets as needed
Add outlets to meet today's code requirements
Clear the sewer line to the street
Upgrade plumbing to today's code which will include larger water pipes (1/4" supplies the kitchen sink), new traps, new faucets, replacement of any leaking pipes, and a new water meter (the old one froze)
New water heater
New furnace and possible duct replacement because of rust in the runs
New windows
New entry doors
New deadbolt locks as the old one do not have a thumb latch, but are double keyed
New lavatory sink (old one is cracked)
New kitchen sink and faucet (old one is permanently stained and gross)
New kitchen and lavatory faucets
New 1.5-2 gallon flush toilet as the temporary one is a 5 gallon flush
Possibly a new tub
Scrape and paint the outside
Rake and maintain the outside lawn
New tub surround and walls in bathroom
New stove
New kitchen countertop (old one is linoleum)
New kitchen flooring
Finish the wood floors or replace the carpet
Remove kitchen wallpaper and finish the walls (if they are not done before the code compliance)
Replace the laundry tub and faucet

Removal of the debris was necessary for the city to come through for their code compliance inspection. Nothing has been done in the house yet that requires a permit with the exception of replacing the toilet. Since the toilet will have to be removed to replace the bath flooring and walls, it will be covered by permit at that time. The preparation seen in the pictures below help the city to more clearly see what needs to be done without coming back a second time. Besides which, the pictures help the rehabber to see that progress truly is being made.

Cleaned and primed bedroom walls.

Clean but stained kitchen sink. A bottle of commercial liquid soap stained the left sink bowl as it sat for years. The sink will be replaced.

What a difference some elbow grease and cleaning product can make.

Tub may be salvaged if the interior cleans as well as the exterior. The stained flooring will be replaced after code compliance inspection. The new toilet was necessary for workers to use.

At this stage, others can now see the potential for this little home. The distraction of dirt and clutter are now gone. It's soon time for the code compliance inspection. After that the visionary will get to work!

So You Want to Be a Rehabber

2008-03-16T03:13:42Z

Subtitled: Do You Really Have What It Takes to Do the Zero Down Infomercial Programs?

If you want to be a rehabber and make some "easy" and quick money when you grow up, let me show you what the infomercials don't tell you! The following series of pictures was taken from a house with good bones that could be purchased very cheaply to make a killing on resale. But, do YOU really want to go here? Do you have the stomach for it? The photos on the left were taken before 2000+ pounds of debris was scooped by shovel from the house. This is the first step. The second step is to get close enough to the stove, toilet, and other fixtures to remove them without becoming contaminated or throwing up.

BEFORE DEBRIS REMOVAL AFTER DEBRIS REMOVAL

And last, but not least. I dare you to remove that toilet so a new one can be installed!

This house is not the standard, but if one can look beyond the debris to the house's potential finished state, there is money to be made here. My mantra is "The uglier, the better". Because the seller doesn't want to deal with all that gross stuff the home will usually sell at a greatly reduced price. A 40 yard box and strong muscles can deal with the worst of the mess, leaving the rehabber free to plan and envision.

Vacant Buildings in St. Paul

2008-02-18T16:14:44Z

Only a few times in my life have I gotten riled up enough to attend a public hearing about an ordinance change. This week has joined one of those occasions. One of the council members for the city of St. Paul has proposed a change to the city's current vacant housing ordinance. A change that I believe is going to really hurt the housing climate in St. Paul.

St. Paul currently requires vacant buildings to be registered with the City. There is an annual fee assessed if your house gets on the vacant building list. Two levels of vacant buildings are defined, one is "condemned" and needs a code compliance to be habitable again. This code compliance requires a $5000 bond to even get the city inspectors out to determine what has to be done to upgrade the home.

I like to give people the benefit of the doubt, so my assumption is that this vacant building ordinance was designed to help the City identify problem properties or those likely to become so. An effort is being made to keep the housing in good repair by the vacant building regulation.

The new proposal would modify the vacant building ordinance to require a certificate of occupancy or compliance be issued by the City before the title can be transferred. My mind always goes to practical application. Now this year, in our area, we are experiencing one of the highest markets of foreclosed and vacant properties ever. These homes have been abandoned by their former owners and taken over by lending companies who know nothing about property management and many times nothing about the effect of cold on St. Paul houses. Many of these properties are landing on the registered vacant buildings list. With the new proposal, the banks are stuck with the houses unless they jump through the hoops the City of St. Paul requires for the house to be given a certificate of occupancy or compliance.

Does it make sense that lenders who have already lost thousands of dollars would pour thousands of dollars back into a house to get that prized certificate? It doesn't make sense to me. If I was the lender, I wouldn't put money into fixing a house that may or may not sell in the future. Not to mention that lenders don't know the first thing about fixing a house for resale.

The traditional home buyer cannot get a mortgage on a house that is not considered "compliant" by the City or does not have a certificate of occupancy. The "rehabber" who has funding sources to buy these vacant buildings, won't be able to buy the homes either because the title cannot transfer until the repairs are done to meet the City criteria. It seems like a lose/lose scenario to me.

What is going to happen to these vacant buildings that can't be sold? Rehabbers will move on to other projects that are not vacant, but the banks will be stuck. The houses will continue to be open to vandalism, copper theft, squatting, and crime. The more time vacant with no new owner to love the houses will make the vacant buildings deteriorate.

I just don't get why the council is even considering such a change. It's a complete mystery to me.

In the event you want to attend the public hearing, it's Wednesday, February 20, at 5:30 PM on the third floor of City Hall at 15 West Kellogg, St. Paul, Minnesota.

The Minnesota Blogging Crown Has Passed to Another

2008-02-17T16:28:49Z

It happened very quietly, almost surreptitiously, but I noticed that the Minnesota blogging crown has now passed to a new owner. The Minnesota Blog Queen has been displaced by a new face, one who very much deserves the honor. Teri Eckholm of Anoka, Minnesota, Halloween Capital of the World and NOT St. Paul (we'll forgive her for all of that!) has come from behind with a slow and steady tortoise like pace to earn the first place position in Minnesota on Active Rain. Out of 1075 Active Rain bloggers in Minnesota, Teri is number 1!

Congratulations, Teri! Don't think we old "has-beens" didn't notice!

Webkinz Distractions

2008-02-15T23:23:36Z

Hi! My name is Ducky. I've been sitting patiently waiting for my friend Bonnie to get done with her real estate paperwork. She works and works and works. She sells real estate and when she goes away from our St. Paul office, I really think she's having a good time. She always comes back in a good mood, but she also always has lots of work to do at her desk when she gets back. I usually sit up here and just watch her. All those papers and all those notes and all that computer work along with phone calls. It makes me tired just watching. Today is Friday, though, and some bloggers think Fridays are for fun. Maybe I can get her to stop for the night. . . .

Yoo, hoo. Oh, Bonnie. Let's play. Can't you take just a minute and log in and come play with me? Just a few minutes. I really am getting lonely in here. Hey, remember me? Put away those files. Let's go play golf!

Okay. Drastic times call for drastic measures. Did you hear me!!!!! It's time to stop for the night! Helloooooooo!!!! I'm not moving from this spot until you come play with me!

Realistic St. Paul Area Sellers

2007-09-17T23:09:05Z

There's a change in the wind. Have we heard that before? I think so. We've heard so much about the change in the St. Paul real estate market that we're sick of it, but finally it seems that sellers in the St. Paul area are getting the message. More and more of my sellers are willing to reduce their prices. More and more are hearing the message, "You've got to be the prettiest house and the lowest priced in your area in order to sell." Too many listings means too much competition and too few sales.

Signs of the change:

A friend who's listed out of my market area called asking for advice. Her agent suggested a 20% discount from her first list price. She wasn't getting showings. Her house is well kept but not really considered within the metro area which narrows the buyer pool. "Twenty percent!" bemoaned my friend. All I could do was sympathize and point out the reality of the market. If only 25% of the house listings are selling, your house has to have something to make it stand out. That usually means it has to be the best value for the dollar. Her agent is experienced in her neighborhood. She knows what she is doing. How much will it cost you to keep two households through the winter? What about the dangers of vandalism and damage from an untended house? What about the cost? Sometimes it's better to cut your losses and sell while you can.
An investor recently cut his list price to well below his break even point. Reality for him is that holding costs cost! Selling at a reduction reduces his inventory and allows him to move on to the next project even if he loses money on this one.
A buyer just contracted for completed new construction with an 11% reduction in price! In the St. Paul market, that kind of reduction on new construction is shocking. Contractor concessions previously amounted to closing costs or an appliance allowance which was usually not more than 3% of the list price.
Another seller remodeled his house to convert it back to a single family home. The remodel was so attractive, he decided not to sell!
Short sales are popping up all over. The time lag from presentation of offer to acceptance by the committee is atrocious, but for the buyers willing and able to wait, the prices make sense.
Attendants at new construction open houses are no longer shutting out the buyer's agent from their commissions because the agent was not present at first contact. Many of these attendants are calling to inform us that our clients were through and they would be more than happy to compensate us for a completed transaction.
E-mails are arriving from builders offering a hefty commission to buyer's agents.

All of these changes are the result of too much inventory. Buyers who are aware should buy now! There is a change in the wind that's favorable to buyers!

Two Milestones at Once

2007-08-30T20:06:08Z

I joined the official Active Rain Bronze Star Hall of Fame and then removed my name when I read the directions. When all else fails read the directions. I had to be invited to join the Active Rain Bronze Star Hall of Fame. I felt like the disciples when Jesus warned them not to take a seat of honor at the head of the table unless you've been invited. Imagine how embarrassing it would be to be asked to move to a lower position! No one asked me to leave, but I figured I'd high-tail it out of the group before someone did! It wasn't to much to wait until someone did invite me to join. Obviously, they hadn't noticed my milestone some 49,000 points ago. My faux pas was disclosed to Neal the Real Deal Bloom and I was reassured that he was just too busy to make invitations anymore! So, I'll join once again with a clear conscience.

Much to my surprise the same evening one of my invitees added some points to my total and over the 100,000 point mark I jumped. Neal assured me I was invited to the silver club as well. Exclusive though it may be, I've joined others in their quest for notoriety. Is T there? Are Jay and Boomer? Both Minnesota bloggers have exceeded 100,000 points well before me. Are they, too, unaware of the Halls of Fame? I think I'll send them a message just to make sure.

The trek here has been a strange one at best. Real Talk had been my network until Maureen McCabe invited me to Active Rain. I resisted the invitation at first, but found so many familiar faces and some of the greats from RT. It was an easy slide sideways to network in a new forum. Plus, here we could see what our internet friends looked like. Not to mention the points, and the addiction, and the playground, and the professional challenge. So much information was being shared. It was better than the water cooler any day.

So, my addiction set in and I played and played. As commonly happens in groups, bullies appeared with their own agendas. The Rain was showing some fiery breath among members. Some became disenchanted. Some left to suffer withdrawal pangs in other climes. Most stayed on and continued to thrive. Like all families there were rough roads and easy paths. Active Rain was growing up and becoming a force of its own.

Today I celebrate two milestones in points. Points that really are useless to me except as they symbolize the good times shared with a network of fine professionals. I don't win a prize. I don't get any money. The stars are virtual, but the information shared is priceless.

Active Rain Groups

2007-08-29T19:31:23Z

Groups come in all shapes and sizes. Inanimate objects sometimes are grouped. Animals sometimes are grouped. People sometimes are grouped. Grouping is the basis for many sciences including math, biology, medicine, physics, and others. Actually, grouping is so common, we often don't realize we are doing it.

Grouping is the basis for comraderie, but also for prejudice. Grouping can bring people together around a common good, but also separate them as a result of stereotype. Grouping can strengthen and sometimes weaken.

Active Rain Groups hopefully fall in the category of building comraderie, creating a common good, and strengthening. Have you checked the Active Rain groups? I did today for the first time in months. At this posting there are 1,907 different groups on Active Rain. Seventy-seven pages of groups. There are a few that appear to be duplicates in their focus, but almost 2000 groups is amazing.

If you haven't scrolled through the pages of groups to see if you identify with a group's focus, you might want to take a few hours to do so. Some of the names that caught my eye were the following:

REALTORS® - Is it a surprise that this is the group with the most subscribers: 4,253 at this writing!
Active Rain Newbies - Everyone has to start somewhere. You might even find members of the 100,000 points club in this group. Afterall, 100,000 points starts with just 25 for a comment or 200 for a post!
Stage It Forward - There are tons of staging groups but this one caught my eye only because Craig Schiller is sooooo beautiful!
Listings by Address - Another marketing tool, maybe?
Meme's - How I dread meme's, however, they're a great tool for getting to know one another.
Millionaire Real Estate Agent Book Club - Oh, my. I still haven't drank the kool-aid or finished the book. What I have read is helpful, but I never dreamed of a whole club on the topic! Besides I can't even spell millionaire without thinking hard!
Point 2 Agent Sites - I've got two but didn't realize Active Rain had a group for them!
Carnival of Content - I've never entered a carnival of my own free will. Only when Teresa made me!

The list is groups that struck me in just the first few pages when sorted by number of subscribers. Imagine what awaits deeper inside. There were groups with brokerage names, focus on marketing, investing, house flipping, thinking out of the box, spiritual groups, encouragement, comedy, sexual orientation, bad things agents experience, etc. It's a whole new world out there. Plus, if you choose, you can sign up for the RSS feed for the group of your choice and not have to sort through all the other posts to find the ones of interest.

OFF MARKET - 564 Sims Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota - OFF MARKET

2007-08-25T12:04:32Z

OFF MARKET This lovely St. Paul home is centrally located near Hamline University, but easily accessible to many other St. Paul colleges including St. Thomas, St. Catherine's, Augsburg, the University of Minnesota, Macalaster and others. Public transportation and shopping are only two blocks away with access to the freeway system just blocks beyond that. Former owners gently used the house and retained the original woodwork, built-in buffet, wood columns, and stained glass for the enjoyment of future residents. Check out the virtual tour details to see if this home will be your next home!

11397 Red Fox Dr., Maple Grove, Minnesota SOLD

2007-08-24T22:14:59Z

Once upon a time there was a lovely townhouse sitting amongst the green of its grassy slice of pie. The lovely Maple Grove townhouse was filled with memories of happy family days having sheltered only one owner through times of joy and times of sadness, infancies and graduations, comings and goings. The lovely townhome had been loved and cared for throughout her life.

But a new era approached for the lovely townhome and it feared lovely would change to lonely. Its only owners were moving on in their lives and the lovely townhome could not join them. Whatever would she do? Lonely was not what she wanted. She wanted to once again shelter a family, provide an anchor for memories of little ones and grown ones, of gatherings that required her space.

"Ah," thought the lovely townhouse. "I shall proclaim to the world the wonders of my home, Red Fox Cove!"

And thus, the not to be lonely townhouse whispered in the real estate agent's ear, "There's a pool down the street all lovely and blue with inviting clean water heated just right. Across from the pool is the walking path to the lake with a fishing pier, canoe storage, and a big fire ring for toasting hot dogs and marshmallows on cool fall days."

Drawing herself up ever so straight, the lovely townhome continued, "People live a long time in our friendly townhouses because they all own us. No renters allowed. But puppies and kittens are welcome to play."

"I don't know much about these money things that seem so important to the people who live here, but they say the association takes care of all the fun stuff for just $66.00 a month."

"Oh, and don't forget the great biking paths just blocks away. I've not been there, but the family has come back bubbly every time they've gone that way. I guess there's a park . . . Eagle Lake, I think, and there's lots of biking and hiking paths for adventurous types. Even golf they say, although chasing a ball with a flat headed stick makes little sense to me!"

"Will you find a new family for me?" she asks the agent. "Lonely I don't want to be!"

Courtesy of Real Estate Snippets.

Continuing Education

2007-08-15T23:57:26Z

Teresa, Teri Eckholm (why do they spell Theresa with an "h" and the nickname Teri without?), and I joined a few hundred other St. Paul real estate agents in continuing education classes for four hours this afternoon. Teresa thought she'd be funny and get a picture of me sleeping! It didn't work out so well as the photo looks like I'm seriously studying my class material! We laughed about putting it on the "Weenie" but she said even she wouldn't be that cruel to me! So, I'll beat her to it and publish it myself!

What can I say? Four hours of chair time. I cat-napped for 15 or so minutes. Teresa paced like a caged lion in the back of the classroom for equal time. We listened as PowerPoint slide after slide of new forms info was conveyed. It droned on and on. The content was important, but long in its presentation.

What did I learn when I wasn't napping? (Real estate is local so this applies to Minnesota!)

There are no initial lines on the bottom of purchase agreement pages for a reason. If some initials are left out the agents have increased liability. Don't put initials where they are not requested.
Number all the pages . . . duh!
Personal property addenda can be considered side agreements. Sale of personal property can be done, but the items should sell for market price and not be included in the sale of the house.
The presenters thought it necessary to define the difference between cash and financing?
Disclosures should not be included in the numbered pages of the purchase agreement . . . even the lead paint and arbitration disclosures.
An offer is not accepted until it has been delivered to all parties. Another light bulb moment for some?
An addendum is part of the purchase agreement. An amendment changes the terms of a formerly accepted purchase agreement. Wasn't this part of Real Estate 101?
An "As Is" addendum means the buyer accepts the property in the condition it was in at the time of writing the offer. If the mechanicals fail prior to close, that's the buyer's problem. If the mechanicals cease to work because they have been tampered with prior to close, the seller has to correct the condition. I.e., if the copper is stolen or windows are broken, the seller has to replace them prior to close.
Contingencies (for sale of buyers' house) can now only be removed with proof of a valid non-contingent purchase agreement for the buyers' house. Proof of being able to afford both houses no longer removes a contingency. This one was new!
When counting days for contingencies, exclude the first day and include the last.
Minnesota uses counter offer addenda instead of crossing out and initialing changes. When more than one counter offer is made, the counter offers are numbered 1,2,3,4, etc. ONLY the final accepted counter-offer gets added to the purchase agreement. The accepted counter-offer addendum is then given the next consecutive number in the purchase agreement sequence. Change the total number of pages in the purchase agreement on page 1! Duh!
There is a reason for every change made to the forms. Many of those reasons are based on litigation!
The PowerPoint presentation spelled cancelled differently than the purchase agreement forms (canceled).
Some changes have not yet been litigated so they don't know how they will hold up under fire!
Four hours is a long time to sit in a chair.
If one doesn't get cookies and coffee before the first 5 minute break, one is out of luck. Without caffeine and sugar, the body takes over and cat-naps ensue.
Seventy-five women cannot use one four stall bathroom in five minutes. It's logistically impossible.

Posted courtesy of Real Estate Snippets.

Domain Mapping

2007-08-15T22:47:27Z

It's been over a week and my domain mapping has not happened. My DNS Control on GoDaddy looks just like others who have successfully mapped, so it's not there. I now get to spend a few long minutes/hours on the phone with the blog platform technicians to find out what I have done wrong! If I didn't have to wait so long for the results, I could just keep trying different options until something works, but waiting for two days for each change to happen probably will make the trial and error system less than fruitful! I must resign myself to seeking outside help!

Scary Blogging Stuff

2007-08-08T12:20:35Z

A funny thing happened on my way to "domain mapping" my Real Estate Snippets blog. I've been putting it off and putting it off, but decided yesterday that I had to do it. The domain mapping will change my "other" blog's URL so the "typepad" word will be removed. Instead of http://realestatesnippets.typepad.com it will appear as http://realestatesnippets.com. In addition, when an individual post is shown it will appear as http://realestatesnippets.com/real_estate_snippets/2007/08/saveasaurus.html instead of http://realestatesnippets.typepad.com/real_estate_snippets/2007/08/saveasaurus.html. (Only the word "typepad" is missing.)

Being a novice at such stuff, I called my domain host because this little action required changing domain name servers, disabling forward and activating default parked name servers. I was overwhelmed with all the jargon but really want my typepad blog to be MINE, just MINE!

The technician I talked with tried to convince me to "mask" my domain. That way only real estate snippets would show in the URL. I remained unconvinced because I KNEW there was a reason for not masking the URL. I couldn't remember what the reason was, but I knew there was a good reason. On my Real Estate Snippets blog I followed the directions for "mapping" to a "t" (not the same as Teresa's "T") and held my breath. Would it, or would it not, work? I hate the wait. I hate the temporary disappearance that happens when changes are made. I hate being inexperienced!

Others who have gone before, encouraged me. "It will work." "Did you back it up first?" "It'll be fine." "I did it and I only lost my blog twice!!!!!!" What!!!!!! Thanks a heap for the help! Maybe I should re-think that masking suggestion!

As distraction, I turned to Active Rain and began to write a post. Much to my surprise, as I researched another person's "other blog" entries (Let's call the blog owner Martin and the blog name HomesInJuno.) for links in my post, I found the very example of why I did not want to mask my domain. I truly was surprised. The blog had a great domain name with local keywords HomesInJuno. The keywords would help the consumer find the blog when searching for that area.

But, every time I changed the page, the URL remained the same: http://homesinjuno.com. I wanted to link to an article nearly one year old but could not get a page address specific to that entry. Every entry on the blog had the URL http://homesinjuno.com. Now that was strange. I didn't understand why. I continued my attempt to link to ANY article about the event I was seeking with no success.

Not only was Martin's blog governed by this URL but every link in Martin's story had the same URL. I clicked on the link within Martin's post which sent me to Jerry's excellent article on what I wanted to link to. I quickly checked the URL box and there was http://HomesInJuno.com AGAIN. In order to make the link I wanted to Jerry's article, I had to exit Martin's blog entirely and go to Jerry's blog through a Google search.

Hmmmm.

Today, after a bit of sleep, I was better able to problem solve finding a link to Martin's blog. I actually tried logging in under his old URL which I knew because Martin and I had both started blogging with another blog platform. Using the old platform "address", I was able to find the desired entry and it's URL which looks like this: http://martin.oldplatformblogs.com/1-help-help/. I found that every page had a different URL when I entered Martin's site under the old platform address. Even the links out showed their proper URLs now.

Hmmmm.

Wracking my brain didn't help a bit, but I'm guessing that Martin has his domain "masked". The new blog title has key words, but if the consumer would like to link or bookmark to a specific page, it's not possible because every page of the blog is hiding behind the new domain name's mask. This is the reason I had been given many long months ago as to why masking was not good. And now I remember that this is one of the reasons that I left my former blog platform. It could not be "mapped". It could only be "masked".

I Think I'll Take a Nap

2007-08-08T00:20:24Z

The Bloggodessbroker herself did it. Others have done it. I guess I can do it, too. So here goes . . . Sunday, momentous day that it was, was devoted to slothdom on my other blog. It talked about resting and visiting one of St. Paul's great parks, Como Park. What the readers of my other blog didn't know is that I was setting that post up as the brunt of the joke of this post on Active Rain. Truly, on my REAL blog I haven't been slothful, nor have I been monkeying around. Sunday, August 5, was the day my 500th post was written for Real Estate Snippets.

Since I've not been slothful or monkeying around, I thought I deserved a bit of congratulations. Congrats to me! I really truly made it to 500 posts. Of course, that's nothing compared to Ardell and Greg Swan writing 100 posts in 24 hours, but I live among the normal people who have interruptions and fatigue to contend with. I'll take my kudos where due!

Has it been easy? At first it was. At first it was all fun and games. It was new. It was creative. It was personal. Then I started to find out things I should include like key words, local content, focus, organization, SEO, and all that business stuff. My muse ran away pulling her hair out. She "just can't work under that kind of pressure". So she left me holding the bag (or blog). All that knowledge, pinging, writing, fatigue, business distractions, real estate sales, real estate problems, commissions being made came to rest solely on my shoulders. Responsibility for all that stuff was especially bad with a missing muse.

It's been 18 months, a year and a half. since I wrote my first entry. It seems like an eternity ago. Five hundred entries seems like a lot, but it's just a drop in the bucket. I've got years of this ahead of me! I think I'll go take a nap!

Locks and More Locks

2007-08-07T13:30:54Z

Not many of us have skeleton keys for our main entry door anymore. My key ring has one which fits my office door. A young whipper snapper might not recognize this funny contraption as a key were it not for cartoons.

The joke among my clients is that gaining access to the house is the hardest part of my job. The primary means of access is through keys that fit in locks. In the same vein, the assumption is that real estate agents know how to use a key in a lock!

Last week a frantic call came from one of my listings. The sellers were locked out of their house! Usually the call is just the opposite: "Would you please call the agent that went through our house this afternoon and tell him/her that they didn't lock the doors behind them?" Oh, ouch. That one's a hard one to explain away. The locked out of my house scenario is a bit different however. It was a lack of experience with different lock styles which precipitated this problem.

Most real estate agents get no training in different locks. It's one of those experience issues that come with time. The St. Paul agent that showed my listing and locked the sellers out was really trying to do her job. The careful agent could not figure out how to re-lock the front door which she had opened with a key. She had tried to re-lock the door but every time she turned the key the door opened! She did not know that the door was the old style that remains locked unless the push buttons on the face plate are changed. The key acts as a latch allowing one time access. Had she left and closed the door behind her without using the key she would have been locked out. She locked the storm door and exited out the back door using the push button on the handle (the door for which my clients do not carry a key). Her attention to the safety of my clients meant they had to climb in a window that evening.

I was remiss in assuming other agents could figure out the lock system. My new showing instructions now say in bold letters: "THE DOOR REMAINS LOCKED EVEN AFTER OPENING WITH THE KEY. JUST PULL THE DOOR SHUT BEHIND YOU AND IT WILL RE-LOCK WHEN YOU LEAVE". So far this has solved the problem.

Falling Down

2007-08-02T03:15:50Z

Last weekend I drove across the Mississippi and looked upstream. The bridges were so beautiful I thought I should take a picture. The light was right and the weather perfect for a stroll across the bridge. My schedule, however, was packed and I chose to come back another day. That day will not come now because one of the bridges in my picture no longer spans the Mississippi.

Today that bridge lies IN the Mississippi. Lying in the river is not the way bridges are supposed to be, but this one had a flaw. It was broken and couldn't do its job anymore, so it just gave up and laid down on the job.

Regrettably it took some people with it. Some have died and their loss will be felt for years by the loved ones left behind. Thankfully, most fell down with the bridge and survived. They will never forget the horror of the bridge going down. It's the stuff nightmares are made of and therapy dollars are spent to recover from.

The majority of people who survived today's collapse will never take a bridge's stability for granted again. Some may even hesitate to cross a bridge in the future. Once burned; twice shy is the old adage.

The collapse of the bridge in Minneapolis and St. Paul today is analogous to our business. When a real estate agent's job is flawed or they don't perform the tasks they should, others are drug down with them. Other professionals look bad because the public doesn't know how the jobs are separated.

The clients themselves go down with the agent who lays down on the job as well. Is it any wonder that the memory of an agent who doesn't perform as expected leaves the same kind of lasting impression that the fall of the bridge did yesterday? It's a bad memory that takes a while to recover from.

Book Tag

2007-07-30T11:48:59Z

Carole Cohen of Cleveland, Ohio, and Active Rain has started a book meme. Quite frankly I had gotten tired of the Active Rain memes that kept asking for 5 secrets that people don't know about you. Now how can they be secrets if you plaster them all over the internet? But, this meme is fun. Carole wants to know about my reading habits. She thinks she might like to read some of the books that I do! I really feel sorry for her if she follows through because she'll be reading for a long time and probably be bored to death. It will be fun to see how many of us read political book, psychological books, serious business stuff, mysteries, etc.

I've picked just a few of my favorites. I'm not sure I can keep it down to just 5 however.

Carrion Comfort by Dan Simmons. Dan Simmons is my husband's cousin and a friend of Stephen King. I felt I should be loyal and read his books. He is one of the few authors that I buy for the same reason. I started with his Hyperion series and it was like others in the science fiction/fantasy line. Carrion Comfort scared me. I don't do horror . . . well, usually never! But with family loyalty in mind (BTW, he probably has no clue who I am!), I opened the book. The first page hooked me and I couldn't put it down. It's scary, it's fantasy, it's compelling reading.
Sense & Sensibility by Jane Austen. Like most of my books, there are many strings to follow in the plot and symbolism all over the place. Some consider it boring. I found it fascinating.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Another multi-layered book with a bit of history and romance. I am always intrigued by the English.
Shakespeare, particularly the Henry's. My favorite character is Falstaff because he's funny, lecherous, and great comic relief. Macbeth ranks among my favorites as well. "Out, out damn spot!"
The Dark Tower series by Stephen King. I steered clear of the King for many years because I thought he was just a "pop" writer. I attended a workshop on the psychology of genius (another life) and they used King as one of their examples of genius. I had no clue. My son has two sets of his entire works. I asked him where to start reading King and thus began The Green Mile, one of the best I've read. But somehow the Dark Tower series has always caught my memory. I was never able to totally figure it out which in my mind is one of the signs of genius in writing.
The Thomas Covenant series by Stephen R. Donaldson. This was my intro (after the Hobbit) to modern day fantasy fiction. Thomas Covenant makes the series worth reading. His struggles and his mind games intrigued me.
Orthodoxy by G.K. Chesterton. This one is heavy reading for philosophers. I can only take it in small doses but consider Chesterton in the genius category as well. My reason for reading it was his view on pain and suffering and their importance in spiritual health.
Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. I never could figure out why she kept knitting in the corner!
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It made me cry and cry and cry.

I could list more but have already exceeded my quota. My favorite reading is anything that is well written. I seldom read pop authors or Harlequin romance type stuff. The plots bore me and I rarely finish a book that bores me.

The second half of my assignment is to tag someone else. I tag Maureen Francis (She needs to read more! She has 163,474 points!), Maureen McCabe (She has 205,512 points!), Ardell (She has 114,341!), Jeff Dowler (weighing in at 148,466!), and Lisa Dunn (the only one with less points than I!).

Invite Them and They Will Come

2007-07-30T10:22:36Z

It's been 2 weeks since I first issued the Active Rain invitation. She joined on 7/20/07 and I've been anxiously awaiting her first blog post. But it hasn't been posted yet! I've been watching for her bio to be updated with no reward. Who is this mystery woman, this closet REALTOR®, this busy lady? Not to be put off by her silence, the "net" was cast and the mystery woman has a biography despite her silence!

Let me introduce Sue Guillotte (you'll have to ask her how to pronounce it!), REALTOR® in Brooklyn, Connecticut, with Browning & Browning. Sue pops up on Google with:

a new membership in Active Rain (big surprise, right?)
a Point2 Agent website (which is under construction)
as an agent on the approved list for the Home From Work Program, a cooperative program with NAR and the Eastern Connecticut Association of REALTORS® whose goal is to aid employers in assisting their employees to purchase homes. The program offers access to housing info, comprehensive counseling and financial incentives through the workplace.
15 years of experience in real estate
a Browning & Browning webpage

From her Browning & Browning webpage I found that Sue is civic minded as she has served as VP for nursery school cooperatives, actively worked in establishing a Putnam parent teacher organization, and served as committee member on revitalization committees. She obviously likes leadership as demonstrated in her civic duties but also her political activities where she served on committee and as an alderwoman for the City of Putnam in Connecticut. Self-employment also demonstrates her leadership ability. Not only has Sue been in real estate for 15 years, but she also founded and operated Foods N' Fudge Gourmet shop in Bell Park Square, Dayville, Connecticut! Now that's a tasty bit of info! Sue has also served as director for the Northeast Board of REALTORS®, the Eastern Board of REALTORS®, and the Connecticut Association of REALTORS®.

Give a big welcome to Sue Guillotte and encourage her to start blogging!

St. Paul Stop on the Blog Tour USA

2007-07-17T02:19:09Z

What a day! Google doesn't know directions to parks. It only gives directions by street name or house number, not park name. As a result Rudy and Joe were taken on the scenic route to their destination at Cherokee Park in St. Paul. The coals were hot for the weenie roast when they arrived and typical of Minnesota hospitality, Joe was put right to work. Or maybe he was worried the weenies would get burned if someone didn't pay attention to their condition!

Active Rainers mixed with non-Rainers:

Alex Stenbeck of Behind the Mortgage
Jake Hines of Minnesota New Homes
Aaron Dickinson of Minneapolis Real Estate Market Update and new to Active Rain
Jennifer Kirby of Minneapolis Real Estate Blog
Lisa Dunn of Real Sage Advice
Teri Eckholm of MN Real Estate Update
Organizer Teresa Boardman of St. Paul Real Estate Blog
Bonnie Erickson of Real Estate Snippets
Rudy and Joe of Sellsius Real Estate Blog

Of course, there were some future bloggers present as well, but we'll keep that quiet until they start blogging!

The next stop: Denver, Colorado for a big bash!

Blog Tour USA Coming to St. Paul

2007-07-15T21:07:09Z

They're coming to Minnesota! Better yet, they're coming to St. Paul! Who would have guessed that the gentlemen from Sellsius would include our humble city on their national tour? We are excited. All who would like to meet Rudy and Joseph and see their funny looking van up close are invited to join us at 3 PM, Monday, the 16th, at Cherokee Park on the west side of the river (navigationally that means the left side as you go upstream) or in normal terms on the south side of the Smith Avenue Bridge known to St. Paulites as the "high" bridge. It's good ol' fashioned Minnesota "pot-luck" where everyone brings a dish to share. There will be "weenies" to roast, potato chip dregs gathered from the heights of Mt. Bloggious, soda or pop (depending on your state of origin) and other beverages, tableware, and condiments supplied. More details can be found here.

House Values

2007-06-29T21:58:12Z

We've all learned that it's good to be the smallest house in the neighborhood because having large homes around your home increases its value. This lovely mansion pictured at left is four blocks from my house. Do you think it will impact the value of my house? Will its historic beauty bring more value to my house? What if my house is a wreck? Won't the contrast then make my house look even worse? and decrease its value?

Well, really the "house" at left is not a good comparison because it's not a house. It's a commercial building. Okay, so doesn't being in a commercial district decrease my house's value? What about how beautiful and well kept the grounds about this building are? They are truly park-like with lovely plantings and manicured lawns. The richness of the marble in this building and the gold sculpture . . . do they impact the value of my house? What about the historic nature of the building? Does any of that matter? Does it matter that between my house and this building are only a therapy park, a small parking lot and two office buildings? Does it matter that at night I can see the lighted dome of this building framed in my living room window?

So, the ramshackle house I live in borders a residential and a commercial area. How on earth does one determine the value for resale? Most of the "rules" I've been taught don't really apply because the commercial buildings around me are all State buildings that are impeccably maintained. Or they are hospital buildings equally well maintained. I get to enjoy their park like grounds without paying for their maintenance.

The rules are tough to maintain when valuing many houses. How much is lakeshore worth? How much is a lake view worth? or lake access which can be taken away at some future date? How much is the view of the Capitol worth? How much is a park across the street worth? How close to the "hood" can you be before you devalue the property? How close to an airport? or a highway? Is close proximity to the highway a plus or a minus? What if everything looks good, but the crime rate's high and you don't research that? What if the property is stigmatized? What if it was the location for filming the Mary Tyler Moore show?

All of these questions are concerns when we try to determine the worth of a house. It's not an exacting science, but it's definitely more complicated than some would lead you to believe. It takes a lot of gut instinct combined with statistics to do a good valuation? Have you considered all the criteria when you do your comps?

Results

2007-06-25T23:59:41Z

I want to explain it away. I want to say it's just happenstance, but maybe not. Maybe the market is changing and that's why my last three prospects have come from the web. But maybe not. I've reached that 18 month break off time when the old school said you should start to get leads from your web work. Maybe 18 months truly is the magic time?

I'm more prone to think the people who are contacting me have been hanging around my web presence for a few months and this just happens to be the time that the contact has cured. That combined with the little bit of upswing in our local market is bringing me business.

Business is a novel idea after a year of desert dwelling in real estate sales. I've actually begun to wonder how I worked so many deals during the feeding frenzy. Where did I find the time? Oh, that's right, I wasn't managing a web site and blogging at the time. That explains it all.

Lychees - Follow Up

2007-06-20T20:25:30Z

Lychees were a mystery to me in the early days of Active Rain. The name kept popping up and I kept typing it in, but had no clue what they were. A little research left me only a little less enlightened that before. One can read the description, look at the pictures, and guess as to the taste.

Within two weeks, I had two exposures to lychees. The first came when an Asian tenant offered a bowl of "logans" for me to taste. I was warned of a large seed and that the leathery skin should be peeled rather than eaten. Both warnings were valuable as one determined bite on the large inner seed would have removed Dr. Tom's crown straight from its root, leaving me with yet another visit to the dentist. The whole fruit was about 1.5 inches in diameter and the seed is about 1 inch. That's not a lot of fruit left between. The skin peeled easily leaving a firm solid taupe fruit with the consistency of a grape but not so transparent. The "logans" I tried were rather bland in taste and firm in consistency . . . not at all like a plum or apricot which has fibrous fruit. I wondered about this mystery fruit, but was told they were "logans".

A week later found my husband and I at an Asian buffet where I visited the fruit bar. To my surprise, the label on the glass shield above a container of taupy colored grape looking fruit was the word "lychee"! Hooray, I will get to taste the mystery fruit without going to China! Several small round globes were added to my plate. The taste? Well, they tasted and looked like a canned version of the logans I had eaten the week before. Again, the taste was rather bland, somewhat sweet but not tangy like much of our local fruits. It did not appear that much sweetener had been added in the canning process to the original fruit. The pits had been removed leaving a large void in the middle of each eyeball of fruit. I was sure the two fruits were the same.

Ah, at last, I had tasted the mystery fruit. My food had become blogfood.

Affiliated Real Estate Businesses

2007-06-20T20:20:29Z

First American Title was hit by a wrecking ball recently and many small companies affiliated with 1st American imploded. I'm not going to stand in judgment of each little company and declare that every one of them was a sham or that they were all crooks.

What has been rattling around in my brain recently is that regulators in the St. Paul area are looking for someone to take the fall for the recent crash in the housing market. Of course the scapegoats won't be the big guys or the big companies. The target has become all the little shops in the real estate business: small lenders deemed as predators; real estate agents labeled as greedy; and the little title companies found to be shams.

I don't pretend to know all the nuances of what happened with the 1st American debacle, but the information meeting set up by the Minnesota chapter of the National Association of REALTORS® to enlighten agents on the issue was enough to make me consider changing careers. It feels like a witch hunt is being conducted in St. Paul and Minneapolis . . . read more here.

Congratulations to the Minnesota Codgers

2007-06-06T02:59:48Z

Congratulations to the Cyber Cafe crew as they took first place in Minnesota today! Methinks the Minnesota queen and the BloggoddessBroker Teresa are soon going to be serving the Minnesota kings!

Featured Real Estate - Other:
Cyber Café & Back Porch Conversations Jay Merton & Medford Ambrose-The Codgers
Score: 95688
Saint Paul, MN

Featured Real Estate Agent:
Teresa Boardman
Score: 95617
Saint Paul, MN