Christine's Arlington Real Estate Blog

Are we living in a Blade Runner World?

Christine Rich (Long and Foster) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 08:21:32 -0700

At the gas station today I watched a news update while filling up my car with premium gas. Suddenly, I felt like it was the streets of some urban environment where I would soon see Harrison Ford rounding up Replicants. More and more we are having data streamed to us 24/7, whether we like it or not. I guess I'm old enough to be impressed by this, but hopefully still young enough to adapt.

In my training session the other week I overhead an agent talking about how "rude" some people are when they send an email without a perfunctory greeting asking about their well-being, or some similar sort of kind word before launching into business. Now, I do think that kind words are very important, but I believe I take such communication as it is intended, as a means to have a quick chat. No need to always say "dear so-and-so" -- certainly not if you already have a stream of messages going back and forth with each other. Quick messages work for me, so I can get on to the next thing. My days are pretty busy.

So, it's a brand new world of 24/7 info-streaming and electronic communication. I for one love it, though it is sometimes hard to keep up!

And by the way, filling up my gas tank costs roughly $60 a week....that's a lot of cash.

Do agents really stand up people?

Christine Rich (Long and Foster) — Wed, 26 Mar 2008 07:09:01 -0700

I recently heard a story from a buyer -- or at least that's what I wish it were. Unfortunately I suppose it is true. She told me that she had a real estate agent say she would meet her at a property in order to show it .... not once ... not twice ... yes, three times. After that this buyer gave up on the agent. She probably gave up on all of us.

Now I can come up with a few different reasons why this agent might have blown off these appointments as I'm sure most agents could, but none of them excuse the agent's behavior. So I say if a buyer wants an agent to take him or her seriously, there are a few things they can do to signal that they are serious --

1. meet with the agent their office, at least initially, to go over things

2. be willing to at least look at the Buyers Broker agreement form, and listen to what the agent has to say about it (or even sign it, that would be radical)

3. be prequalified and be able to talk budget.

And if agent's don't ask for these things, then buyers won't know what's expected and/or may still be inclined to abuse you. Without those three things, I would doubt the seriousness of a buyer. And that's ok. Maybe theyre not prepared to buy for awhile yet, maybe theyre still in the process of determining which agent to hire. That's cool. Just say so, and I can figure out a way to help a buyer with their search that doesn't waste anyone's time but still provides value.

Certainly promising to meet someone and standing them up is NOT the solution.

Just like anyone, we only have so much time in our days. Preferably we'd like to spend it with people whom we respect and -- dare I say it -- respect us.

Another Newbie Joins the Group

Christine Rich (Long and Foster) — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 08:59:11 -0700

I must confess that I've been stalking you all for awhile.

Although I've been building and maintaining my own independent blog now for almost a year, it's taken me this long to chime in to the Active Rain blogosphere. Why? It's so intimidating! You all have such great posts, and I just don't know, how do I break into this??

So, much like how I adopted this profession, I'll just have to jump right in. Now seems like the right time.

I've already learned so much from so many of the contributors here. Sometime soon I hope to offer up a contribution or two that offers more substance than this one. But for now, I'll leave it at this.

Please be kind.