We spend a lot of time here on Active Rain, and in social media seminars, talking about how to use Facebook as professionals to be found by new clients. This week, the shoe was on the other foot for me!
On Monday I hired a Realtor to sell one of my investment properties in Waukee, IA. My husbandand I reached out to this particular Realtor (I can't remember if it was thru voice mail or email), and the first time I spoke to him, he said "yeah, I saw on Facebook it looks like your husband and I have a mutual friend and what do you do at Zillow".
Here is what the Realtor knew about me before even placing the first call:
I am an actual person.
I have a job and knew where I worked.
I am married and he knows where my husband works.
We are out of town sellers.
We are into the Internet and use Facebook a lot, based on our Friend count.
What I look like, so he can guess my approximate age.
He knows a little about my interests because you can see which Fan pages I follow.
He knew who, if any, mutual friends we had. How good of conversation starter is that?
As you can imagine, the first call we had together was no cold call. We were instantly able to have a more personal conversation and he was hired minutes later. I really appreciated the fact that he took a few minutes to do a little research about me before picking up the phone and it made for a much warmer first conversation.
So yes, Facebook is a great prospecting tool and can potentially get your deals. But it is also a great tool to help work with the leads you get through other sources!
(Oh, and I bet you all are wondering where I found him? He was the only Realtor in Waukee, IA to have a completely filled out profile here on Active Rain and Zillow. Did I really have a choice who to use? Haha!)
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And, for those of you that don’t know that I recently bought a home…I recently bought a home. Here’s proof.
Although we are very happy with our home we did purchase, during this process, I happened to notice that as we viewed house after house, I kept seeing the same things happen over and over.And….not good things.Bad things.Bad things that were blatantly obvious to me.Bad things that literally turned me off.Bad things that were keeping this otherwise fine house I was standing in from selling faster.
So, as we went through the homes, I started keeping track of things that I saw that made the average buyer – ME – want to run away screaming.Here is my “Top 10 Seller Sins”:
1. Addition Addiction – Ok…exactly what were these people thinking when they added this addtion to their home??It isnt level.The door frame isnt square.And, that simulated wood-grain indoor/outdoor burber carpeting is HIDEOUS!!Wasn’t this were the garage should be anyway??I guess that explains the severely sun-faded paint job on the Sport Family Truckster in the driveway and the Christmas decorations piled floor-to-ceiling in the closet in the spare bedroom.I don’t care what anyone says…Bigger is NOT always better.
2. The “Pet-Owner Moaner” – The over-all assumption that since the seller loves their pets more than chocolate, so does everyone else.Here are a couple of quotes I heard directly from the sellers mouths: “Awwww, my cat must really like you to nestle into your neck like that.”; “I know he looks big, but he is really just a teddy bear.”; “We were able to clean up everything in the house except the cat room.”; “I cant remember if my son put away the ferrets or not, but feel free to look around downstairs.” a. Ok…first and foremost, Im allergic to cats.I don’t mean that cats make me sneeze.I mean that I quit breathing and require adrenallin shots to keep from dieing.That thing is lucky I didn’t toss it out the open window that was next to me. b. The “teddy bear” they were referring to…Yeah, that was a 158lb Rotweiller with a googlie eye and a broken tooth on the right side.His chain was tied to a cinder block that he happily drug around and tossed into the air during “playtime”. c. The “cat room”???Oh Lord in heaven!!! d. If you cant figure out if your son left out a pack of rodents in the dark rooms down the creaky stairs without a safety rail and a working light switch, you can be damn sure Im not going to find out for you.
3. Auditory Unawareness – If you cant hear that your refridgerator is making a clicking noise that can be heard from the front yard, Im fairly sure you cant hear the floorboards creaking, the doors squeaking, or the apparent family of raccoons living in the attic.You also only hear what you want to hear.Instead of “Your house is priced too high”, you hear “Your house is of a high value”.Its not the same.Pay attention!
4.Color Blind – Holy Lord!!Who decorated this place??Its like Andy Worhol threw his color pallet into a Cuisinart and hit ‘liquify’.The fuscia flower print wallpaper needs to go.And, I don’t carew what you say, it doesn’t do any justice to that wall with the fake woodgrain panelling it joins up to by the sunshine yellow couch.Worse yet…the white cabinets, white-washed walls, white countertops, and white tile is just a bit much.
5.“Take it or leave it” – Yup.Heard that come right out of a seller’s own mouth.We were discussing the possiblity of him making a necessary repair to a sliding glass door that lead out to a deck.Between the glass panes was about half an inch of standing water.Obviously, the seals on the window were compromised.When asked if he would spend the money to get the glass replaced and the seales re-done…or just replace the entire door…that was the response I got.Guess what…I left it.
6.Price-itis – The fear that your home wont sell for the price you are asking for it.I put in an offer on a home that was only $5,000 under what was being asked.The counter came back with a reduction of $1,000, but a clause to pay $4,000 in closing costs.Now, I may be bad at math…but, isnt that the same damn thing????
7.Fried Food Funk – You know what Im talking about here.If you can smell it, you won’t sell it.Bottom line here is that fried food smells, kitty litter, a back yard filled with dog crap, a nursery reaking of dirty diapers, etc…all add up to one thing – a very short showing.(Well, it also leads to gagging, shortness of breath, tears streaming down your face, and everyone skrunching up their nose and making that internationally known face that says, “Do you SMELL that???”)
8.Photog Fog – Everyone should take pride in their family photographs.I do.But, Im not trying to sell my house!I went into one home where, I kid you not, the entire living walls…every square inch…was covered in frame pics of family.There must have been 100 pictures in that room.Frames mounted together like a patchwork quilt of memories and bad matting jobs.Love the sentiment…love the family pride.But, I was COMPLETELY distracted from seeing the actual house.
9.“I collect them” – No kidding, really???Nothing would have made me realize you collect dolls were it not for the fact that Im now suddenly very aware of the fact that 226 eyes are now following me through your house like Chucky with an ax to grind.Yeah, I couldn’t tell that you collect Vegas casino ash trays since they are on every flat surface in your entire house including 4 separate 6-ft tall bookshelves, your coffee table, the top of your TV, the end-tables, and the extra two shelves that you put up encircling the entire living room.But, worse than that, you have them on your toilet tank, your dresser…and in an amazing twist, you have drilled holes in them and replaced half of the doorknobs in your house with them. In case your agent hasn’t told you this….PACK THIS CRAP UP!
10.Livin in the past – I don’t care what you think, the pea soup green shag carpeting is not coming back in style.And, regardless of how many memories are associated with it, the nine-foot long, hunter orange, faux-leather couch on the wooden legs with the sleigh-style arms on the each end is FREAKING UGLY!!Regardless of whether or not they still work, the matching avocado green stove, fridge, and counter tops are ugly…and they are ugly 24/7/365.If you want to move this house…replace this ferocious eyesore.Better yet…HIRE A HOME STAGER!
Yeah, selling a house is hard.Selling a house in the market is harder.Selling one of THESE houses with a seller that sins like this…nearly impossible.Sellers, if you are reading this…listen to your agents.Agents, if you are reading this…make sure your sellers understand that buyers – like me – will look at these like neither of you know what you are doing and act accordingly.Probably by running away quick.
If you would like more information about Real Estate Client Referrals and how we can send you more clients to work with, please contact Clint Miller at 800-977-7058.Or, follow me on twitter www.twitter.com/TheRealClint.
It ENDSDecember 01, 2009 – now unless Congress comes out and changes that here in the near future, you will need to close on your first Indiana home on December 01, 2009.
If you close on 12/02 and you don’t get it.
First Time Home Buyers only – you cannot have owned a home in the last 3 years
The Tax credit is is 10% of the homes COST not worth, but homes COST at the time of Purchase
Some simple math $80,000 home times 10% = $8000
The Maximum credit allowed is $8000
More simple math $170,000 home times 10% = $8000 (hey, our gov’t is involved here, we are lucky to have roads)
Adjusted gross income of no more than $95,000 single and $170,000 joint
Partial credit is received when you make more than the above amounts
Credit is taken when you file your tax return
Cannot be used at a part of down payment or taken as a credit at closing; you will either pay less in taxes or a get a larger refund.
Now, I am a mortgage guy, I am the Indiana FHA Expert, and I am not a tax guy. Please, consult a tax professional. A tax pro can save you headaches and can find you deductions that you may not know that you deserved. If you would like a professional referral just ask for one and I will be more than glad to give you one.
I cover the entire State of Indiana, I am not some nameless, some faceless or some body-less person that you never see or talk to. I am right here. I am in this video. I invite you into my circle of friends. I am the social part of this Social Media that we keep hearing about.
I am Dave Woodson, I work out of the Bunker, you get to know me, I show you pictures of the Girl and the Wife (inside joke no). I am not that fat little guy on the TV - Wait, I am a fat guy, but that fat guy.
I want to thank EVelyn Johnston for her super kind words and another link to her great Elkhart Blog.
I have been away for far too long, it is great to be back in the mix again.
What is the deal with this guy? They ask a legitimate question or near legitimate question and they have no logical out come in mind. It really makes you mad when you think your blog is reaching someone and it isn't.
I thought I was starting to pick up more hits from people interested in obtaining information related to the tax credit, home buying, etc, but apparently it's a new scam. The only thing is...I don't know why they are doing it.
Is it simply email harvesting so they can sell my address to a million other people that want to spam me or is it something even more sinister?
Last week I received an email from "Frank" regarding the tax credit. I thought "Mike/Frank" found my blog about the tax credit and had additional questions about how the credit works. I thought it was odd that he signed as "Frank", but the email address was "Mike"... I searched the internet for this particular address, but didn't come up with much so I responded...
Here's "Frank's" message:
From:"mike.power200@gmail.com" To:chandasellsindy Sent: Friday, July 3, 2009 10:04:24 AM Subject: How much of a tax rebate will i get for buying my first home
How much of a tax rebate will i get for buying my first home? I was thinking that your advice would be very helpful. I know you must be very busy so any pointers would be very much appreciated. Please point me in the right direction. Thank you in advance. Thanks, Frank
This morning I go to check my mail and see I have an email from "Janet". The wording of the message sounded very similar to the one I got from "Frank" last week so I thought I'd look this particular email address up. This one yielded results. Various people were saying this same email address was sending messages with inquiries related to whatever industry they were in...
Hi, Do homebuyers pay sales tax? I don`t know if you are the right person to ask, but any advice/pointers you might have would be very much appreciated. Would you consider giving me a couple pointers? Thank you for your help. Gratefully, Janet
So here I thought I was being a good Samaritan when in reality I was being scammed. ARGH! I don't know what will happen as a result of responding to "Frank" but I wanted you all to be aware in case you've received similar inquiries! DON'T RESPOND!!!
One of the most important and first question that every agent should ask is…
Are you pre-approved?
The pre-approval is, perhaps, the most important step in purchasing a home. A great place to start is here on the Mad Mortgage Machine and getting all of your ducks in a row to get pre-approved for the Indiana home loan.
Remember that…when you get the loan approved upfront will save you so much trouble. It will eliminate the need for last minute shopping around for a mortgage after you have you have found the home of your dreams only to find out that you wasted your time and the Agents time when you do not qualify because of some errant credit or debt-to-income issue.
Step 1
Look for a good lender, Wait you found one, you are on my blog. I and my team will help get you approved for your Indiana home loan. We will do this either by the phone, email or in person. We will discuss at reasonable length your income, job and wage history, living history and other pertinent financial information including a credit check.
Ultimately, we will get to know each other pretty well.
Step 2
Once we have figured out your budget and how much you can be approved for then we can get you get you set up with an Agent and do some Indiana home shopping! The really good news is that you will have far more leverage than the nonpre-approved person.
Once you know exactly how much you can afford it really does make your home searching and the whole process so much easier and painless process.
I often look for motivation and inspiration in as many places as I can. One of the best I have found is the 212 movie. www.212movie.com
(I mentioned in the comments that I have a book by this same company...and I highly recommend that anyone that likes inspirational material get a copy.)
But, aside from that, I truly believe it is impossible to watch this video and not get inspired to do more...to be more.
Today, I am still in vacation mode and taking the afternoon off to the Girl the water park here just west of Michigan City. However, the rest of the mortgage and other markets are not taking the day off. They are back in full swing for the "dog days" of summer. When is our next day off? Labor Day?
If you have any questions just let me know, my new mortgage hot-line number is (219)841-5053. I love Google Voice. I am the Indiana FHA Expert and my team and I are closing FHA Loan in about two weeks starts to finish.
Are you unhappy where you are living? Are you too old to be living with mom and dad?
With an Indiana FHA Home Loan…You can change your life.
Whether, you are a first-time home buyer, have owned a home before or have less than perfect credit FHA more than likely has a program that will best suits your needs. I am Dave Woodson and I am The Mad Mortgage Machine and I will take you through the Indiana FHA loan process step-by-step.
With an FHA Loan you can:
* Purchase a Home (really kind of a no-brainer and with the $8000 tax credit and rates the lowest they have been in years, and now you can use it as a down payment*) * Remodel Your Home * Make Home Repairs * Make Energy-Efficient Improvements, and with new tax credits out there you can save a ton as well.
FHA Loans are guaranteed loans, which means that lenders offer you a lower, more affordable rate. Even, if you have less than perfect credit or are a first time home buyer, an Indiana FHA Loan can help you save thousands of dollars on the home of your dreams.
If you are looking to buy a home or even sell your home consider using an FHA home loan with its lower down payment requirements, lower mortgage insurance rates (which is still tax deductible) and less stringent guidelines vs. Fannie Mae.
So, if you are ready for a change, download and fill out my Mortgage Planning Questionnaire that is designed to help me and your Real Estate Agent of choice find the home of your dreams.
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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