Talking House, Do you use it?

I have heard so much about Talking House.  Does it really work?  There is a few agents in our area that use it.  I have been nosey and drove around tuning in my radio listening to their recorded messages.  I think it would be a great idea.  I do wonder, the receiver is put on the inside of the home, do you think it would be stolen?  Most agents use them in vacant homes or new construction .

If anyone has any stories good or bad about Talking House, I would love to hear them before I take the plunge and fork out all the money. 

Thanks for you help!

Looking in my crystal ball, I see....

How many members by 7/1/07, that is the topic. 

My crystal ball tells me 42,865 member in Active Rain. 

If I win, I am going for the lottery and somebody get me to the casino before my luck runs out!

Oh, by the way, My promise to everyone in this group, if I win the lottery and become a multi-millionair, We are all going on vacation or what ever the group decides we need to do. 

Changes in TN Sales Contracts, good or bad?

This is to all agents, not just Tennessee.  Each year is seems like someone goes and updates our TAR contracts.  I agree change can be good.  BUT...that old saying you can't teach old dogs new tricks, well it applies to some agents as well. 

In 2007 TAR (TN Association of Realtors) changed our sales contract.  The biggest change was how counter offers would be handled.   In the past, one could strike out what was to be changed and have their clients sign off on it at that point on the contract and still be able to accept the contact without extra work.  Now if you strike through and change the original contract there is not a place to accept the contract if it were countered.  The agent that is countering the offer must fill out a separate form and spell out the changes.  It is more work but I really think it makes things more clear.  I have caught many agents reverting back to the old way and I politely ask that they write it up on a counter form.  Once I point out why, they don't mind and say that they have not noticed the change in the contract. 

Carmen's MEME

Talking about yourself is hard!  I am telling deep dark secrets to soon to be friends on AR.  Who would have ever thought? 

Now on to the subject:  ME

1. When someone tells me to keep a secret, I can but when they say don't tell a soul, now that is another subject.  I do have to go to my one person and tell them.  My one person is my husband.  We tell each other everything and so far I haven't let a secret slip.

2.  Remember plastic grapes?  They made their comeback in the '90's as accents in home decor.  Well as a small child, (this would be in the late 60's early 70's), my mother and I were shopping in a discount store.  I can't remember the name.  I wondered off from my mom (it was ok to do that back then, lol) and was playing with plastic grapes.  I started picking the grapes off the bunch.  I had a pocket full.  I liked them, I even put one in my mouth and was chewing it like gum.  Long story short, we were in the car going home and my mother asked what was in my mouth.  I showed her my grapes.  My mother was so disappointed in me.  She told me that I stole them from the store.  My mother turned the car around and went back to the store and made me tell the store manager what I had done.  I has stolen the grapes.  It scared me so badly that I never put anything in my pockets that didn't belong to me.  My mom was a pretty smart woman!  Lesson learned at an early age.

3.  My last cell phone bill was over $700.  The reason, teenagers.  I put 2 of my teens on m plan.  Warned them with their life that if they went over 500 minutes each in a months time, I would turn off their phone.  Cingular has roll over minutes, we all know that.  BUT, did you know they do not warn you that your 4000 rollover minutes are gone.  Needless to say, my teenagers do not have phones anylonger. They still have their lives although you would think they don't by listening to them talk.  Also, just a tip, if you call cingular and cry on their shoulder about your problem with the minutes being used up they will adjust the bill.  Mine was adjusted 50% and was given 1000 roll over minutes!

4.  Back to me... What do I say?  Oh, CARS.  I have owned 15 cars in my 27 years of driving.  That is 1 new car about every 1.8 years.  My latest vehicle, Yukon XL and I have had it for 3 years now... It is time to go! My favorite car was my Pontiac Fiero in 1984.  Does anyone remember those cars?  Mine caught on fire from a manufacture default and melted.

5.  I married my best friend and soul mate.  It took me 3 tries before it happened but, I found him.  As my husband likes to say, I had to kiss alot of frogs before I found my PRINCE.  (Our last name is Prince). 

Now it is time to tag 3 people.  Since I am new to this, and don't know anyone.  I am going to tag the next 3 people that reads my blog! 

Do you take your kids with your to show property?

I have a very busy day ahead of me, I don't want to get up, I thought, as the alarm clock buzzed.  Being busy means work, work means money, so I jumped out of bed and started my day.  Is my day like may other Realtor Moms, I thought.  This would be a good blog. 

I get up every morning and go upstairs to wake up my son.  He is a bit spoiled so it takes me 10 minutes to actually get him out of bed.  We rush around, getting dressed, eating, and most mornings even yelling to hurry we are going to be late.  Finally, we are out the door for school.  I drop off my son and rush back home.  HOME...peaceful, quite, only me at home.  This is my time for myself, my husband is gone to work, kids in school and it is just me.  I look at the clock, make mental note of all upcoming appointments for the day and sit with my coffee to open e-mails, blog a bit on AR and to check out the hot sheets on the MLS.  My work day has started.  By 8am my phone will start ringing.  I will be running here and there doing what Realtors do.  All of the sudden, my alarm rings on my cell phone, time to pick up Carter, my son, from school.  School gets out at 2pm.  That is right in the middle of my day.  I have to adjust appointments around picking up kids at school. 

The second part of my day begins.  After I pick up kids, I rush off to more appointments.  Carter is 11, he has been a child of a Realtor for almost 4 years now, He knows when my phone rings to be quite,  If I have to show property, he knows to sit in the 3rd seat in the back of the yukon.  He is very good, the reason, we have tons of movies & hand held video games to keep him busy for hours.  I have even had customers ask me if he was still back there. 

Today will be a differnet, I have a closing set for 3pm.  Normally, I have my closings set for mornings, but my client need as late as possible.  SO...what to do, what to do.  Carter will have to go to my closing with me.  I have already warned him what he needs to do.  We will see how this goes.  Wish me luck. 

I can't wait until next year. Carter will be 12.  In TN a child can stay at home alone for a short time with out an adult.  He can't wait either...that is scary!

Sellers list their homes, doesn't that mean they want to SELL?

I have an issue that I would love some help with.  I wrote an offer on the 10th of March on a home that has been on the market for 41/2 months.  It is empty and to be honest looks like it could be a forclosure or on its way away.  My buyers really like the home and are willing to make the repairs.  Sounds good, right?  WRONG! Here is the problem.  In our offer I put a time limit.  We were to have an answer by Monday the 12th of March.  The listing agent called me on the 12th and asked if they could have until the 13th at 5pm.  I called my clients and they agreed. As the deadline approached, I called the listing agent.  He then told me that he has not talked to the seller yet.  He only has a cell number for her and she will not answer his calls.  I then asked him if he had presented out offer yet.  He said yes verbal only.  The seller was to call him back with a fax number so that he could fax it to her.  At this point, I thought, who is this agent!  Does he know how to do his job?  I looked him up on our MLS and he is new, only had his licenses since Sept. 2006.  He has 1 listing (the one my clients want!) and only sold 1 home so far.  I then knew I needed help.  I called his broker, a realtor that I have dealt with before and a very good agent.  I did not "tell" on the agent, I just asked for her, the broker, help.  She returned my call and told me that I didn't have an agent problem, I have a sellers problem.  That was the help I got!  Now, what to do?  I called my clients and gave them an update.  They want to wait 1 more day.  Again, they LOVE this house.  I dail the listing agent and talk some more about this house.  I asked him to overnite the offer to his client since she has relocated to FL.  The answer, I can't I don't have an address.  All I have is a cell number.  WHAT??? 

I advised my clients that we should move on.  The seller doesn't want to sell!  What would you have done differently?  AND... Why do people list their home if they don't want to sell?

Centralized Showing Service, Does your office use them?

I recently moved to a new office.  One of the reasons...Centralized Showing Service.  What is CSS?  They are a 3rd party that sets up all of the showings for agents in other  real estate offices.  The service is awsome!  They are open 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm.  Agents can call one number to set up appointments for several different listing brokers. 

What are some of the benefits of using CSS?  My biggest would be my sellers can actually see feedback from other agents.  All I have to do is set up my seller  so that they can log into the CSS website.  They can see feedback & reports of showings.  This really helps when you have a seller that wants to know why their house is not selling.  Sometimes a 3rd person telling your client that their house is dirty will do the trick.  Also, this is a big listing tool.  Sellers love it.

Does anyone else use CSS?  If so, what do you like about the service? 

Gas Prices!

Gas prices are on the rise again!  I spend about $50.00 every 2 to 3 days on a tank of gas.  It is getting out of control!  I do have a large SUV and I know it is time to trade it in.  I have a question, what kind of car/truck or van do I need.  I love my Yukon XL.  I have room for 7 passagers and I need the extra room when showing to families that bring their kids.  I also have lots of room for all of those for sale signs, files, keyboxes and other real estate stuff.  My SUV is my rolling office.  What kind of vehicles does everyone else have?  What do you keep on hand in your car?  I only carry signs when needed but do they fit in small cars?

Memphis, Tennessee a family town!

Do you ever just sit and think about things?  I do and today is one of those days!  I was thinking about Memphis and what it has to offer people moving to our area.  What started all of this thinking was a customer that is moving here in June.  He stated that he lived here almost 15 years ago.  He really didn't want to move to Memphis but his job is bringing him and his new family home.  He wanted to know what had changed.  I immediately thought family!  What does Memphis and the surrounding area have to offer.  The answer, BASEBALL! The all-american pastime.  Memphis has a minor league baseball team, the Redbirds.  We have a state of the art facility located in the downtown area.  (Check out the great photo...I took it from the RE/MAX balloon as I was searching for my client to let them know I sold their home! just kidding!)

  Don't get me wrong, this is not the one  and only thing to do in Memphis with your family.  There are many many things to do and see.  Check back soon for other fun things!

First Time Home Buyers- Making your offer count

Spring is just around the corner and it is about that time of year that people get out and look for new homes.  I have a few pointers for first time home buyers.  First of all, you need a really good Realtor!  I am offering my services, by the way! Like my slogan says: 

                                     Let a PRINCE help you find your CASTLE! 

After you have your Realtor, ask their help in finding a mortgage company.  Your Realtor can refer you to someone that best suits your needs.   I always tell my customers that we need a price range.  We have to have a limit on our spending.  As soon as "we" know, I tell my customer that we need to go shopping!  We have a credit limit up to $.  Any woman can understand that!  All kidding aside, it is time to look for your dream home.  Don't start out looking at the top of your limit.  You might find something $5000 under your limit that needs your needs and if you have to incorperate your closing cost into your offer you will have some room to bargin with.  Lets say you found your dream home.  It is on the market for, $149,900.  The next step is writting the offer.  Your agent will or should provide you with a short CMA to see what the houses have sold for in the past in that neighborhood.  With that info you can now make an educated offer.  We decide to offer $147,000.  Remember, your closing cost in buying a home is roughly 3 to 6% of the sales price.  If your closing cost is 4%, you will need about $5880 cash money.  The question is now, do you have that much money? If not, asking the seller to pay part of that cost is very common.  In the offer we ask the seller to pay 3% or up to $4410.  Buy doing this our offer has now dropped to $142,590.  This is $7310 off the list price.  If the sellers do not take the offer, we can up the price of the house to cover that cost.  The new offer is now $151,000.  All we did was raise to cover our cost.  As long as the house will appraise, we have bought a home.