This Wednesday was Dave and Margaret's kickoff for their new program - Be Great in 2008.  I am fortunate to do business in the backyard of RE/MAX headquarters - about 40 minutes south - in Colorado Springs.  I signed up to attend this event in December and woke up Wednesday morning really pumped up to hear what they had to say.  I always enjoy listening to the two of them - they're always knowledgeable, thought-provoking, and just plain fun!

After waking up I took a peak outside to discover lots of ice and snow in my neighborhood.  I knew the drive to Denver was not going to be fun, but I didn't want to miss anything Dave had to say!  Many things were mentioned that got me thinking, but I wanted to share a few stats that they shared that I thought you might find interesting...

• The Power of RE/MAX - 164,652 internet leads per month and $1.5 BILLION spent on advertising each year.
• Out of the 1.4 million Realtors in the US, 400,000 of them didn't do any deals last year.
• RE/MAX agents have more designations company-wide than any other real estate company.
• There is currently an average of 10-months of inventory nationwide, with some areas carrying 17 months of inventory.
• Nationwide - 1/3 of all Realtors have been in business less than 2 years, 2/3 have been in business less than 5 years.  The average RE/MAX agent has been in business 12-13 years.  My point?  Many agents have not experienced a true Buyer's market, giving RE/MAX agents the chance to let our experience carry us through this challenging market!

Many ideas were shared and it all gave me quite a bit to think about how I can improve my business in 2008 - especially during this ever changing market.  If you have the opportunity to attend "Be Great in 2008" when they come to your region, don't pass it up - it's a really great presentation!

How do you keep up?  I started blogging about 10 months or so ago and absolutely fell in love.  I think the idea of sharing ideas, stories, humor, etc. with other real estate professionals and even the public is awesome.  My problem?  I get busy with other stuff and neglect my blog.

 So here's what I'm asking for...how do you keep up?  Do you schedule blogging time?  Do you have multiple blogs?  I strayed from Active Rain for no good reason other than I got sidetracked with day to day business, some stuff that makes me money, some stuff that doesn't.  I'm back and as excited as I was last year.  How do I keep from straying again in a month or so.  Any helpful tips for keeping up with bloggin would be greatly appreciated!

Happy Blogging! :)

I responded to a blog post this morning and it got me thinking.  Last summer I took 3 full days of classes to obtain my ABR designation.  I took the classes with an associate of mine and we were 2 of only 3 Realtors from our Colorado Springs real estate market.  Why?  We took the classes up in Denver.  At the time, we took the classes up there because they were available when we wanted to take them. 

Looking back - I'm glad we did!  It's changed my perspective on continuing education classes.  I consider education important, but I'll be honest.  Sometimes I have a class scheduled and I dread going to it and "wasting" a whole day of sitting in class when I could be working.

Since taking the ABR course, I've made a decision to take courses outside of my marketplace whenever possible.  During the course, I met quite a few Denver Realtors and established a wider referral base.  It made taking the classes that much more rewarding!  Now I can look at classes as not only an educational opportunity, but also a networking opportunity!

Give it some thought - the drive or flight to another area might be worth it from time to time. =)

A few years ago, one of my clients contracted  to purchase an older home in her idea of the "perfect neighborhood."  She had rented in this neighborhood for many years and was absolutely in love with the area. 

We found a fantastic looking home that was everything she was hoping to find in her price range.  On the surface (pay attention, this will be important later!), this home was perfect - original woodwork in great condition, just the right updating while keeping the character and charm of the home intact, and a beautifully manicured lot! 

A week after we contracted, we met the inspector to go through the home.  It was a gorgeous summer day - blue skies, warm temperatures, not a cloud in sight!  About an hour into the inspection we all noticed the sky was getting darker and it looked as though a storm was rolling in over the mountains (we actually get to watch this in Colorado Springs, how lucky are we?!).

Within 15 minutes, the sky opened up and it began to rain.  Not a few drops...I'm talking the cat and dog variety of rain.  As the rain continued, we went into the basement to continue the inspection.  As soon as we got down there, we noticed it.  IT was rain seeping down the walls of the basement.  It wasn't flooding the basement, but it looked as though it was headed that way if the rain were to continue. 

While the inspector tried to find out where the foundation was letting water in, my client sat with a look of horror on her face.  A little info about her might help here - she's single, works a TON of hours, and doesn't have a bunch of extra money or time to work on the house. 

I decided to turn the situation around.  Instead of being disappointed about the house, I told her that we should be thankful that it rained while we were here.  There were no telltale signs of water problems in the basement and the seller hadn't disclosed any problems.  Better to find out now than to find out a month after closing during the next big rain storm.  I told her that while it was totally up to her, my advice would be to run far, far away, very, very quickly.  She told me months later that she really appreciated that I wasn't just trying to get her to buy something...anything. 

Within 24 hours, she was out of the contract to purchase that home and we were out looking again.  She ended up in a totally different neighborhood in a much newer home and is absolutely tickled pink with her new home.

And THAT my friends, is why I LOVE rain on inspection days! =)

I recently put a new construction home under contract and was asked by my client if they should have an independent professional inspection.  His thoughts were in line with many folks when he told me that since it was brand new he thought he might be able to skip the inspection. 

He asked, "Would you inspect new construction?"  My immediate answer was, "Of course!"  I feel that even though the home may have less problems than a 20-year old resale home, it is unlikely that the property will have NO problems at all.

Fast forward two weeks.  The inspection was today and overall went really well.  Were there any problems?  There were.  Within five minutes of starting the inspection, the kitchen floor was soaked by the dishwasher.  It can be fixed and I'll address it with the builder, so I'm not overly concerned. 

That said, I am quite relieved that we found this out during the inspection and not the day after my clients moved in! 

When asked if new construction should be inspected, just say YES!

As a Realtor in the Colorado Springs area, I have watched many areas of the city develop.  I can appreciate when a premier community of luxury homes stands out among the different areas of Colorado Springs.  Stone Crossing is one of these communities.  Beginning in 2003, Acuff Homes and Vantage Homes along with The Woodmont Development Company, began building luxury homes in the master community of Stone Crossing.

Stone Crossing was designed to be a celebration of nature.  Honoring the high plateau terrain of rising slopes, gentle valleys, ponds, native gambel oak and ponderosa pine the Master Plan preserves the land's inherent character to create a singular community for living.  Elevated panoramic views of the Rampart Range and Pikes Peak abound within the 114 acres of Stone Crossing. Each luxury homesite is carefully situated on large, one-third acre, hillside lots. Limited to 242 homes, the community is designed to harmonize with the terrain and take full advantage of the region's spectacular vistas.

Outdoor activity is abundant in the Stone Crossing community.  The area features 1.28 miles of neighborhood trails, with a La Foret Trail link to the Santa Fe Trail system, the 11-acre Mary Kyer Park, and 21.9 acres of open space.

Situated at the entrance to Stone Crossing, District 20's The da Vinci Academy, offers a fantastic new elementary school.  The mission of The da Vinci Academy, a community dedicated to the inspiration of the artistic and intellectual curiosity, is to successfully educate and enrich all learners through the integration of the arts and sciences in a safe, nurturing and collaborative environment.

What's Happening in Stone Crossing?

If I sound like I think Stone Crossing is a great place, I do!  I not only keep up with the market in Stone Crossing because I'm a Realtor, but also because I live there!  I've been a resident of the Stone Crossing community since 2005 and wouldn't want to live anywhere else.  It's a fantastic community with wonderful real estate opportunities.

Currently, there are 23 homes for sale priced from the upper $400s to the upper $800s, and ranging from 3,300sf - 5,500sf.  A wide variety of floorplans can be found and all homes have 3-car garages.  If you are looking for a premier community of luxury homes in Colorado Springs, you owe it to yourself to check out Stone Crossing!  If you would like more information about the Stone Crossing community, feel free to call me at (719) 572-1270 or (800) 243-8181 x.1470.  You can also email me at MicheleWebb@remax.net.

Don't miss Stone Crossing - THE premier community of luxury homes in Colorado Springs!

I have been a Realtor since the late 90's.  Within a month of getting in the business, I got married and my husband and I purchased our first home.  We lived in it for 6.5 years and when I listed a fantastic larger home, we decided it was time to move.  

 (This was my first home.)

My clients had the home built a year before and when I was working with them, I remember thinking that I could easily live in that house.  Less than one year later, their plans changed and they listed it with me.  After having it on the market for about a month, my husband I decided to purchase it.  I was highly confident that my own home would sell quicker than my client's home, as mine was more of an "average" priced home for the city. 

I called my seller and let him know the exciting news.  We wanted his house and were willing to accept his terms provided he give me a month to get my home sold.  I promised him I would have my home on the market within 5 days.  WHAT WAS I THINKING????

We hadn't even planned on moving, so we were no where near ready to put our home on the market.  Those five days were absolutely NUTS!  Were we crazy?  APPARENTLY!  It was mid-June and all of my other clients were buying and selling.  So we decide to throw a move in of our own during this busy time?  Insanity I tell you...insanity!

There was no backing down at this point.  Not only was I trying to get my client's home sold for him, but I WANTED THAT HOUSE!!!  So we worked, and worked, and worked some more and by the following Monday we listed our home.  We made sure to price it right at $200,000 to ensure we wouldn't miss anyone looking only up to $200k.  If I hadn't wanted to sell it at warp speed, I probably would have put it about $210,000 or so, but I didn't want to miss this other house! 

As soon as we went on the market, we had showings after showing.  People were calling constantly wanting to see the home.  During this process, I decided that it was a really good thing that we were doing this.  This was the first house I had ever owned, thus it was the first time I'd ever sold my own home.  Why was it such a good thing?  Honestly, selling my own home gave me a new perspective.  It gave me a new appreciation of what we, as Realtors, put people through while their home is on the market!  I have listed homes for folks time and time again, but I'd never had firsthand experience.  I always knew what to tell a seller, but I had never felt what they feel, so I was always a little more detached.  Not anymore!  I clearly understand what they go through.

I learned quite a bit from this experience!

Don't Take Showings SO Personally.  We had SO many showings that it was hard to face the fact that someone would look at my own personal home and not want to immediately submit an offer to purchase.  How could they not love MY home?  When an offer came in (after 11 days), I was SO excited!  They liked my house!  Strange, but that's exactly how I saw it.  I didn't see it as them wanting to purchase a piece of real estate as I've normally looked at it.  I  was flattered that they wanted to live in MY home!  We negotiated and everyone got what they wanted. 

De-Cluttering and Staging Works!  After 10 days on the market, frustration had set in.  I thought the house looked good, but something wasn't clicking with all of these showings.  I invited an associate over to preview the home.  She  is a dear friend and always upfront and honest so I knew she would tell me the honest truth, even if it hurt!  She told me I had too much stuff in my basement. 

The next morning, I got up early, headed over to U-Haul and rented a storage space.  It was the last day of the month in June.  I asked the salesman if he had a small truck I could rent.  He looked at me as though I had two heads.  He said, "Umm...it IS the last day of the month, but I'll go check."  He came back shocked and amazed and said he had a tiny truck that I could take until 2pm.  I left my car there and took the U-Haul home, surprising my husband with it!  We cleared out most of our basement, only keeping the bare necessities in order to stage it nicely.  We had two showings later tat day, and the offer came in that night!  Would they have liked the home with everything in the basement?  Maybe...but why take the chance?  It took us only about 5 hours and we sold the home that night. 

It's Not Over Until Everything Is Signed!  The day before closing, my husband and I were out looking at refrigerators to have one delivered to the new house.  My cell phone rang while I was there and it was the buyer's agent.  "We have a problem."  HUH?  Why was I just now hearing of this the day before closing?  I won't bore you with the details of the problem, but it was something serious enough to put a stop to the closing if it couldn't be fixed.  My thoughts started going a mile a minute.  "I have to call my client and tell him there might be a delay...fantastic."  "The movers are already scheduled."  "I've got four closings tomorrow; I don't have time for this!"  Long story short - everything ended up working out okay, but the stress was overwhelming. 

Moving day came and we moved to our new home and closed on the sale of our first home and the purchase of our second home.  We were exhausted by the time it was over, but all in all it was a good move.  Honestly?  I really am glad that I did it so that I can really empathize with my clients who are trying to sell their homes. Selling my own home gave me a new perspective and it feels good! 

Homes aren't cheap - even the lower priced ones aren't cheap.  Sounds simple enough doesn't it?  Sure it does! 

Let's imagine that you have contracted to purchase your home and closing day has arrived!  What an exciting day!!  There are many details.  You need to get your cashier's check, make sure you have your photo id, sign the documents at closing, make sure the movers arrive, switch over utilities, and the "to do" list grows from there.  Even with all of the things that need to be done - don't skip your walk through!

I'm going to let you in on something your buyer's agent should be taking care of with you. In case they're not doing their job (and sometimes, unfortunately, they don't) make sure you protect yourself from getting burned. 

The last time you've been in your new home is most likely when you did the inspection.  You assume the sellers have moved out, cleaned the home, and made all of the repairs they agreed to after the inspection.  Should you assume these things?  NO!!!  I've had clients say to me, "The house was vacant when we contracted, so I'm sure it's in the same condition, right?"  My personal opinion is that a walk through is just as important (if not more so) with a vacant home as it is with an occupied home. 

Your purchase contract should contain a clause giving you the opportunity to walk through the property before closing to ensure the property is in the same condition you found it in.  One thing to understand about closing on a property is that immediately after signing on the dotted line, the house is YOURS and you are responsible for it.  Why is this so important to know? 

We're going to use our imagination a little more, ok?  (Some people call me paranoid - I call it being realistic.)  You close on your fantastic new VACANT home and head over to move some boxes in.  OH NO!  The home has been trashed by vandals sometime between the inspection and closing day.  Ok, so I've never had this happen, but could it?  You bet and wouldn't it just ruin the excitement of closing?  If you had found out before closing, the excitement would have been ruined also, but at least then it would still be the SELLER'S house and not YOURS yet!  Even though this is a slim possibility, it's still a possibility.  Don't skip your walk through!

A few years ago, I closed on a home that reminded me how incredibly important the walk through really is.  I represented the seller in this particular transaction.  This home was a steal of a deal as it needed quite a bit of updating and was priced accordingly.  The buyer was represented by a 30-year real estate veteran in my community.  She was a really nice lady, but didn't always have her head in the game unfortunately.  The day after the inspection was done, I was presented with an inspection notice that was stapled to the inspection report and referenced the report for requested repairs.  It is what I refer to as "lazy real estate" practice.  Instead of simply writing out what they wanted, the agent had written, "Please see page 3, item 2" as though writing a complete inspection notice was apparently too much work.  HA! 

After negotiating the inspection notice, the deal proceeded on.  One of the repairs was to a piece of siding with a hole in it.  The repair was completed by the seller's son, since the agent hadn't asked for a professional contractor to do it.  I saw the repair and honestly, it wasn't an awful repair, but it was obvious that it hadn't been professionally done.  The day of closing arrived and I never got a call to schedule a walk through.  We all went to closing and were done within an hour.  Everyone went on their way, including my seller, who moved out of state.

Three weeks (yes, 3 whole weeks!) after closing, the buyer's agent called me to complain about the repair that was made to the siding.  She said that it wasn't done properly.  I told her that if she had done a walkthrough of the home with her client and said something before closing, we could have discussed it then.  Since she didn't, in my opinion, this wasn't an issue that could or should be brought up three weeks after closing.  She proceeded to tell me that she was going to call her client and call me back. 

Surprise, surprise, she never called again.  I'm guessing she realized that she didn't have a leg to stand on.  Sound harsh on my part?  It might, but please keep in mind that I represented the seller on this deal and she represented the buyer.  I think I represented my seller's best interests.  Do you think she represented her buyer's best interests?  I don't.  It's unfortunate, but not an uncommon occurrence. 

Hopefully your agent will call you to schedule your walk through.  In case they don't, please be proactive and call them.  Don't skip your walk through!

I scheduled an inspection to include radon testing the other day while a colleague was just walking into my office.  She asked me if all of my clients spent money for the radon test.  I thought this was a strange question.  She looked surprised when I said yes, all of my clients decided on radon testing once I explained it to them.

So she asked me what I told my clients to convince them to test for radon.  I explained:

"Mr. and Mrs. Buyer - I strongly urge you to have an independent, professional inspection to include radon testing."  Why radon testing?  I explain the dangers of prolonged exposure to high radon levels and then I explain why I don't want them to buy someone else's problem.  After researching radon and speaking to various home inspectors, I'm convinced that radon levels are constant inside a home.  If you don't test for it and buy the home without knowing, what happens when you sell it?  If YOUR  buyer tests for it and finds high radon levels, you will have to have a mitigation system installed.  Why not conduct radon testing and if it's high, have the Seller take care of it?  The Seller would be required to disclose their knowledge of radon levels once it os known, so it is highly unlikely that a seller won't have it corrected and proceed with the transaction.  Does this make sense to you?"  Yes, let's have the radon testing done.

It's really that simple.  Even if you aren't worried about the health risks(which I think you should be), why buy someone else's problem?

I would absolutely hate it if one of my clients called me to list the home I sold them, only to find out they had a radon problem.  It would make me cringe to hear, "Michele, why didn't you tell us about radon testing?"  They could have spent $100, got the test, and avoided having to spend $1,000+ to have a radon mitigation system intalled.

Call me paranoid, but I'm into risk management.  I include a clause in my buyer agency agreement where the client acknowledges that I have recommended an independent, professional inspection to include radon testing. 

For more information on radon testing - check out the EPA's website.

Michele Webb, RE/MAX Properties, Inc. - Colorado Springs, CO, MicheleWebb@remax.net

We've all probably received the following call from one of our sellers:

"Hi Michele, I just wanted to let you know that Joe Schmoe never showed up for the showing."  Ugh, how rude.  You apologize to your seller on behalf of the rude agent and hope it doesn't happen again.  Most sellers are reasonable and realize this isn't you fault, but it's still a call no one wants to receive.

Let's get back to basics and work on some common courtesy.  Fortunately most Realtors that I've encountered operate with professionalism and courtesy, but there's always someone making the rest of us look bad.

Some of these ideas are so easy to implement and can really make you look good to other Realtors and your clients as well:

• If you aren't going to make it to a showing - CALL and cancel as soon as you know. 
• If you are running late to a showing - take a moment and call to let them know.  (I actually make sure my buyer hears me make the call. 9 times out of 10, they comment on how nice it is that I'm calling and not just showing up late without warning.)
• Take note of how the front door is locked and duplicate what you found upon exiting the home.  Lock only the locks that were locked when you arrived.  This can avoid a seller not being able to get into their house later.
• Leave the home EXACTLY as you found it, unless instructed to do otherwise.  If all of the lights are on, assume there will be other showings and leave them on.
• Ensure the home is locked up properly.  A seller should never arrive home and wonder who left their back door unlocked.
• DO NOT use the bathroom when showing a home. 
• If children are with you, keep them with your group.  They shouldn't be exploring on their own and playing with things in the home.
• If it is your listing, please place the lockbox in an easily accessible location.  (No one wants to walk through knee-deep snow to get to the lockbox hanging off of the back deck.)
• Be honest and thoughtful with your feedback.  The day after you've shown 15 listings, the calls for feedback can be an annoyance.  Please remember that the listing agent doesn't really enjoy making the call either, but they need to be able to tell their client something. 

Any other thoughts?  Comments?