Emily Link's Blog

Thanks, Margaret Rome for "Real Estate the Rome Way"

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Wed, 19 May 2010 20:15:42 -0700

When I met Margaret Rome in Washington, D.C. during the NAR meetings, she gave me her book, "Real Estate the Rome Way". I read it while there and finished it on the plane, returning to California. It's a great book and I found new ways of doing business, even though I've been a Realtor for 30 years.

Whether you are a veteran Realtor or a brand-new Realtor, I recommend that you read her book. As you may know, Margaret is an avid Active Rain blogger. She's also a giving person and I know that she is dedicated to other's success. Take advantage of her wisdom and kindness!

I love her advice. "Don't let unimportant people or unimportant things become important". Thanks, Margaret!

Here in Washington, D.C., we talked to the Legislators

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Thu, 13 May 2010 09:33:44 -0700

My Realtor colleagues and I met with our legislators yesterday to discuss housing issues with them and how they can help homeowners in their districts. It is important for them to understand the diffference in what the rules are and how they are effectively played out at home. Things sound so good in theory but sometimes don't work in the real world.

We shared our frustration with short sales and how the process is not working (usually). We have a long way to go and we wanted to make sure that they knew that the cost for buyers to obtain FHA loans is keeping buyers from being able to buy. It's interesting that legislators don't want banks to raise interest rates but the mortgage insurance premium rises (which goes to the government).

I'm very vocal about letting my clients know that Realtors fight for their private property rights! I encourage you to do the same! We must be vigilant in watching the process and being in the forefront of keeping homeowner affordable by not increasing fees. And now, since municipalities can't increase taxes (Prop. 13 in California), they call them "fees". Semantics...

Thanks to my new Active Rain friends for welcoming me into their fold and encouraging me to blog. As a 30 year real estate veteran, it's fun for me to learn from YOU. I look forward to meeting you on-line or in-person. Now it's time for me to return to responding to Requests for Repairs, looking for homes in the MLS, etc. Emjoyful!

It's great to meet Active Rain bloggers in Washington, D.C.

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Tue, 11 May 2010 12:27:17 -0700

I appreciate that my CRS buddy Jeff Dowler (Carlsbad, CA) invited me to join him and meet up with a few other Active Rain bloggers yesterday at the NAR Headquarter Hotel, the Washington Wardman Park Marriott. I met Pat Kennedy, Margaret Rome, Monika and Jay Mc Gillicudy. Margaret gave a copy of her FABULOUS book, "Real Estate the Rome Way" to me! Thanks, Margaret. I learned lots about blogging and success stories about blogging from the others. I look forward to "seeing" them online at Active Rain and meeting with in person whenever I can.

Thanks for welcoming me into your group! I will blog frequently and hopefully help other Active Rainers through my real estate experiences. We can all learn from each other. As Joeann Fossland says, "Life is too short to make all the mistakes others have made".

Blog on. Emjoyful

Dick Betts and Smart Phones

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:42:09 -0700

I had the pleasure of attending a presenation by Dick Betts on Smart Phones today in Calcary, Canada. He is a great presenter (one of my favorites) and I learned a lot about Super Phones and Smart Phones. If he will be in your area, attend his session. Go to his website - www.DickBetts.com - or become his friend on Facebook.

He does a lot of teaching/training for Associations and Affiliations for Realtors. Like most Realtors, I want to be proficient immediately when I buy new technology for my business. While it's never immediately, Dick makes it so much faster than finding out on my own. And, I love the "free" applications that he gives. Thanks, Dick!

Where, oh where, is the Buyer's agent?

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Fri, 16 Apr 2010 14:23:37 -0700

More than ever, we need to stay on top of our escrows. I've been in escrow for 2 ½ months where the buyer's agent has almost disappeared. Oh, he tells me that he's "doing everything he can" but when he's doing nothing, what is everything? All I want is for the loan to be funded and get my seller's proceeds to her. If I have to provide paperwork to the lender and escrow that should come from him, I will. When he doesn't even know the forms and he's a broker who has been in the business more than 10 years, that's scary. I see this as an opportunity to educate the public that with the changes in loan requirements, it's more important than ever to work with a Realtor that will do the work that's required to get the job done, not just sit back and wait, while nothing gets done. I'm proud to be a "doer" and not a "watcher"! Go get ‘em!

When will Bank of America fund this loan?

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 08:46:12 -0700

We are still waiting more than one month after the scheduled close of escrow. In February, after 20 days of processing the loan, they claimed they couldn't do the loan. When I met with the loan officer, she said they could. That was 2 months ago and although we have loan approval, they can't seem to get the loan documents to escrow for the buyer to sign, fund, and close. This is so unfair to all parties! My seller has paid more than an extra payment, plus writing a check for property taxes instead of taking it out of sale proceeds at the close.

If I get an offer with Bank of America as the buyer's lender, I will require the buyer to apply elsewhere. Bigger is not better! Realtors, beware! Don't put yourself and your clients through this. It's torture.

FNMA loan must be 60 days late for short-sale "review"

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Mon, 29 Mar 2010 18:00:44 -0700

In order for a file to be reviewed to see if it be approved for a short sale, a FNMA loan must be two months late. So, a buyer must harm their credit to order to find out if they can do a short sale or not. This is what my seller was told to do. She was told, "it appears that I can approve the short sale but you must miss two payments in order for me to review the file". Does this make sense? If they approve the short sale, her credit will be harmed. If they DON'T approve it, her credit will still be harmed. Plus, they are missing out on two months of payments that a borrower would make.

The process could be much easier for the seller and buyer if the banks would do what makes sense. This is a FNMA requirement so in essence, it's the government telling them to miss payments. We all pay for this in the long-run!

WCR's Great Summit - the New Rules of Real Estate - in Chicago last week-end

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:13:44 -0700

Wow! There was so much great information given regarding social media. The speakers were Dustin Luther and Amy Chorew. They gave overviews and nuts-and-bolts and inspired us to make changes to help us connect and interact with our clients and families. If you get a chance to them, sign up and go!

NAR's Chief Economist Lawrence Yun gave an Economic Update that was outstanding! Leaders from Better Homes and Garden, RE/MAX, and Keller Williams were on a panel about what to expect today and beyond in the real estate market. They covered short sales, economics, agent productivity, etc.

I am so glad that I attended the Summit because I got true value for my time and money. If you are not a member of the Women's Council of Realtors (smart men are members too!), I encourage you to check us out. The education and networking is first-class and we welcome you.

Agents who come from out of the area to do short sales

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Sun, 21 Feb 2010 09:41:05 -0800

I have an appropriately-priced condo next to one that is a short sale listed by a broker from 2 counties away. His is priced 20 % below mine and he doesn't care that he is hurting the homeowners and other sales in the complex. I have spoken with him about his hurting prices and he just said, "yeah". What happened to doing what is best for your client, even if they will not net anything at the sale? He doesn't even have it listed in the local MLS so that agents in this area know about it. That especially hurts the price. There was another one that I called too. Let's get back to working together to do what is best for everyone!

Buy now! It's cheaper to own than rent!

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 17:07:58 -0700

Buyers, don't listen to the media! With rents in our area having increased 40% in the last 5 years and home prices at 2002-2003 prices, it's truly cheaper to own than rent. There are affordable loans with low interest rates, lots of homes on the market, and unbelievable deals to be made. Even if prices drop, it doesn't take much of an interest rate increase for your payment to go up a lot. Now it the time to buy! With so many people renting that used to be homeowners, that will put an even greater pressure on rental prices to go up. More demand equals higher rent. Call or text me and let's discuss your options! 805-587-3688.

First Time Buyer Seminar

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Fri, 22 Feb 2008 11:52:05 -0800

I truly feel that this is the best time to buy a home since I began my real estate career 28 years ago. This is not what the media would have buyers believe but I know it is true. Sellers are motivated, interest rates are low and there are great loan products, and there are lots of homes for sale.

My partner and I want to educate buyers on the home-buying process and we held a seminar for first time buyers. We are collecting names for our next seminar so please call or text Emily to register (805-587-3688) or email her at Emily@EmilyLink.com. It will be held in Thousand Oaks. We will go over the contract and contingencies and a lender will discuss loan products.

If you would like to own a home sometime in your life, come and find out how to do it! Even if you have credit issues or need help setting up a budget, we're here to help you!

All the stars are aligned to buy now!

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Fri, 26 Oct 2007 10:36:34 -0700

I've been previewing vacant homes. I cannot believe the outstanding deals a buyer can make right now! I don't understand why they "want to wait for prices to go lower". Now is the time to buy!

How low do they think prices will go? I believe I can negotiate that price today. Interest rates are low and there are good loans for credit-worthy buyers. For anyone renting who wants to own a home, let's figure out what they need to do and put together a plan to help them achieve their dream. They can do it with our guidance. Perhaps they're closer than they think.

Our job is to help people buy and/or sell homes. We need to go out and help people instead of sitting back and complaining.

Let's work to help people be debt free

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Sat, 22 Sep 2007 12:38:43 -0700

Boy, has my attitude changed! I've been listening to Dave Ramsey (author of "Total Money Make-over" and talk show host) who advocates being debt free and the peace that comes from that. My personal mission will be to work with people and help them to realize that paying off all debt is attainable. Like all good things in life, it doesn't just happen. You have to work at it! I'm going to go out and find people who need my help and counsel them on putting together a plan to buy a home if they're renting. Let's work together to get people away from "things" and back to peace of mind. It will be the new self-help movement!

Thank you, Colleen Badagliacco (CA Association of Realtors' President)

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Tue, 11 Sep 2007 17:32:09 -0700

I attended a Women's Council of Realtors' meeting today where Colleen talked about Realtor 2.0. She had some great ideas that I will put into practice. I just had Marc Davison do an analysis of my website. What an eye-opener! I'll definitely be upgrading, making changes, etc. What worked a few years ago does not work now. Take the time and invest the money to do this. If you have any comments on the most important thing that you have on your site or have seen on someone's site, please share that. Let's help each other! Like my good friend Joeann Fossland says, "We don't have time to make all of the mistakes ourselves".

Let's work together to get through this real estate market

Emily Link (Team Link Realtors) — Sun, 09 Sep 2007 08:58:28 -0700

I'm so sick of hearing the media talk about not being able to get loans. If you are credit worthy, you can get a loan. People's lives change and they need to move. People relocate due to a job change, couples get divorced, people retire and move to a different area. It's a great time to buy! Even if you have to sell and feel like you're "giving your home away", you'll make it up on the purchase of your new home.

Let's work to help people stay in their homes if they have a loan coming due that needs to be refinanced. Let's counsel them instead of encouraging them to throw up their hands and walk away. I fear that they feel as though everyone else is doing it so they might as well too. This will not be good for them and will have negative effects for many others.

I truly believe that if someone wants to own a home, with credit and life-style counseling, they can do it. Now is a great time for renters to explore ownership because there are owners who really need to sell. Let's look for the positive and help each other!