Random Act of Kindness

I just read the post, "Do You Commit Random Acts of Kindness?" by Darleen McCullen, and want to encourage all the wonderful agents on AR with something that happened to me the other day.

I was at the real estate office all morning and was getting rather hungry, so I jumped in my car and went through the drive-through at Jadd's to grab a chicken finger sandwich combo for lunch. The woman that handed me my food said how much she loved my earrings and that she had a belt that matched them perfectly. I immediately felt a quickening in my Spirit to give them to her, but decided not to because I needed them for the day. However, over the next few days I kept hearing that still, small voice that told me to take her the earrings.

Since I am a person of Faith, I listened to that voice, cleaned the earrings up, put them in an envelope with a few of my business cards, and took them with me to give to her at lunch, if she was working. Well, she was. I asked her if she remembered me and she said, "Yes! You are the lady with the pretty earrings!" I handed her the envelope and she opened it right then like a kid at Christmas. I told her that I'd appreciate it if she would give my card to people that she knew that might be wanting to buy or sell a house. She just grinned at me and said, "You're looking at them!"

It turns out that she and her husband are looking for up to 5-acres with a new house or good land to build on, and they want me to be their realtor and represent them as an exclusive buyer's agent!

It's so awesome to know that God cares even about the small things in our lives and is not too busy to speak to us about all manner of things. He cared about whether my new friend/client had earrings to match her belt, and He cared about my business. We just have to be receptive and listen for Him.

YaY! I love my "job"!

House Hunting in Florence on Saturday

My kids people are grown and have left the nest & my husband is out of town. I love them dearly, but was so happy that I was free to show houses this Saturday to a charming young lady who is attending college here in Florence.

Does anyone remember being 21? I do. It was 1975 (anyone love "That 70's Show"?) and my mindset was scattered. Yesterday, I was with a 21-year old who was focused. Focused on her studies, her boyfriend, and her future. As a matter of fact, before she met with me, she had done something that most of my older cllients don't think to do. She had already been preapproved for a loan. She is a treasure and a joy to be with. Before we even went to preview the first home, she asked me to be her exclusive buyer's agent.

We spent the day looking at houses listed for $35,000 to $60,000. She has family that does construction so she was looking for a fixer-upper to live in for a couple of years and then sell as her investment property. Normally, I don't get calls to see houses in this price range and was not optimistic about the potential homes we might find. As a matter of fact the first home we looked at had a celler straight out of a first-class horror movie. Neither one of us was adventurous enough to venture down the stairs. I could seriously envision someone reaching from between the stairs and grabbing my ankle!

Admittedly, about half of the houses we looked at were rambling, leaking, and moldy; but, there were a few that were absolute surprises in the rough! Some had great hardwood floors that had been painted with "groovy" designs, pocket doors, decks that overlooked creeks or golf courses, arched doorways - a few even had new tilt-in easy-clean windows! We were like two kids in a candy shop!

Admittedly, my commission won't be much when this sale is made, but what fun the journey will be!

 

NW Alabama Residential Housing Market

Did you hear the news? It's raining in California so people in Alabama better take their umbrellas with them when they go outside!

That's rather ridiculous, I know, but the news media is applying that same principle to the real estate markets nationwide. As a REALTOR® this sort of news casting concerns me very much. In reality, the real estate market in NW Alabama is prospering! 

Don't just take my word for it. The numbers are in! Below, you will see how this year's market compares to last year's:

NW Alabama	1/1/2007 - 5/2/2007	1/1/2008 - 5/2/2008
Total Homes Listed	1221	1249
Total Homes Sold	500	509
Average Sale Price	$108,558	$133,376
Average Days on Market	76	80

The national media would have you believe that it's all gloom and doom in the real estate market, but it's not. Many people have been postponing buying or selling their homes because of the national news; however, this is a wonderful time for anyone in NW Alabama who is considering buying or selling a home to jump off the fence, find a REALTOR® that you can relate to and, as my grandmother always said, "Just put your ears back and do it!" There are many wonderful, qualified REALTORS® in this area. I recommend that you talk to several so that your comfort level will be high with the one you ultimately ask to serve you. 

You have a trusted doctor, dentist, banker, and maybe even a lawyer to whom you direct questions about your health and investments. Whether you are a buyer or a seller, you do not want to be unrepresented when it comes to the intricacies of such an important transaction. You really do need to sign up with a licensed REALTOR® that is going to look after your best interests as you buy or sell real estate.

If you believe you might be interested in purchasing property in the near future, I strongly urge you to speak to several mortgage finance companies so you can be preapproved and you will be able to limit your search to what you can afford. Currently, interest rates are low and there are many programs available for financing. This will prevent you from driving all over the country looking at houses that are not financially feasible, which is a real plus with gasoline prices rising every day! As a preapproved buyer, you have power and greater leverage when it comes to negotiating the price of the property you will eventually purchase.

Many people do not realize that REALTORS® are bound by a strict code of ethics. As such, we are required to always and in all ways to put our client's interests above our own. If you ever deal with a licensed REALTOR® that you believe is not acting in your best interest or is behaving in a dishonest manner, never hesitate to contact the broker at the company where they work immediately. 

775 Bluff Dr Rogersville AL 35652

Beautiful Log Home near Elk River and Joe Wheeler State Park and Golf Course. Enjoy mornings on the deck outside the master bedroom with the first cup of coffee of the day, or lounge there in the evenings as you just watch the beautiful night sky. During the day enjoy the deck with friends or during inclement weather, gather in the sunroom or in front of the fireplace in the great-room. You'll love walking on the grounds of this beautiful property. The really large workshop has open bays as well as enclosed areas and is situated away from the main house separated by a grove of mature trees and a walking path. Rogersville is a beautiful, quiet, small town that is situated between Huntsville and Florence. You will love living in this charming community!

712 CR 493 Lexington AL 35648

What would YOU do with 36 beautiful acres and a 10-stall cinder barn?

At one time, there was an older home on the property, but it burned down. Power lines, septic tank, and water are all available.

Last year the owner said he sold $33,000 in chert from a small area of the property. There are timberland, pasture, and a creek on this beautiful site. Do you like to see wildlife? Deer, turkey, quail, and other animals are frequently seen here.

Lexington is a charming small town with a relaxing atmosphere and very friendly people. If you are looking for a community that will welcome you and make you feel at home look no further than this property to put a home on!

2450 New High School St Leighton AL 35646

This is a perfect home for you if you are looking for a well maintained older home. The air conditioning and heater unit have been inspected twice a year since it was installed and there is paperwork to verify it! The galley kitchen is modern and has lots of cabinets! There is also a nifty pull-down, hidden tray to put notepads, pens, clips, etc. in. There are three bedrooms. One of the extra bedrooms have a built in desk and bookshelves. The screened-in patio is very spacious and the perfect place to sit and look over the undeveloped land that adjoins the back of this property. If you like workshops, you'll really enjoy the detached one on the back of this property. It has an adjoining single vehicle garage. The shed, to store your lawnmower and other tools in, has a concrete floor and is out of sight located behind the workshop.

35 CR 319 Florence AL 35633

There is plenty of privacy and room to breathe in this roomy 3 bedroom 2 bath home in the rural community of Central, a suburb of Florence. There is a nice screened-in patio off of the kitchen where you will enjoy the view of the Natchez Trace woodlands, which border the back of this property. There is a workshop in the basement which also has an outside entrance and a single vehicle garage; also, three rooms have been framed-in around the workshop, but they do not have drywall on them. There is also a double attached garage on the upper level. If you have been looking for a beautiful rural home in NW Alabama, call me to see this one!

Loosing Sight of Great Sites!

People are using the internet to find homes at increasing rates. Why not? Many first-time buyers do most of their social networking online and have never met some of their "friends" in person. They are comfortable using the internet in every aspect of their lives.

The people I'm impressed with are the older generation. There are a few hold-outs, but for the most part, they embrace the internet even if it's just to check their email for news from their family!

Today, I've spent an embarrasing number of minutes, ok HOURS, looking at a plethora of sites that promise millions of people will view my listings if I post on their pages or put up a webpage on their site. Some offer flyers, maximized exposure, dedicated pages for each listing, widgets, optimizers, syndications, and notifications. In short, they offer everything except cooking my dinner.

I know what I'm looking for, but then I get distracted by the information overload that I try to absorb, and chase all kinds of rabbits and other wild animals down so many diverse paths that I find my eyes glassing over, my breathing shallow, my wrists cramping, and eventually, my brain just says ....static.

I'm trying Trulia, but sadly am very underimpressed with them. Even though they seem to rank fairly high, every single listing I've posted with them gives me the status of "error," and my listings don't show up in their searches. They have been very nice and say they are aware of the bug and are working on it; but, my clients just don't understand why their property isn't showing up there. I like Postlets, but they have to be put on sites.

Reckon I just want an inexpensive one stop super-shop where I can post my listings on a very visible search site (that the majority of customers/clients use) one time & don't feel like I'm chasing my tail all over the internet.

Has anyone tried homes.com? If so, have you had any hits on it? What are it's drawbacks? I'd really like to hear what is THE site that you like the best.

I don't like what I'm becoming:   

UPDATE ON TRULIA

The engineers at Trulia have fixed the bug that kept my listings from displaying correctly. I was very impressed with the way they kept me informed along the way of their progress as they worked on it. If you have not tried this wonderful site, I highly recommend it!

 

 

Great Freebie!

OMGOMGOMG!!!! Everybody needs to ck out postlets.com!!! It's so EZ to use and automatically syndicates my listings on Google Base, Oodle/backpage, Zillow, Vast, Kijiji, HotPads, Trulia, Others PLUS gives really easy access & code to post on Craigslist! Not only that, but it gives short easy code to post the listings with a link to a separate page for that listing: Like this. (Have you ever seen a "two-seater" like this? HA!) Or it gives you code to post a widget that showcases your property!

Like this:

All that & it's FREE! Hey, what could be easier or better??

OK. It's late early and I'm really going to logout now. I just wanted to let you know about this before I forgot!

Why REcycle When You Can FREEcycle?

Springtime is not the only "green" thing in town! It seems like everyone is jumping on the environmental wagon. Some people would like to join in this movement, but they aren't sure what they can do.

We have become a disposable society. Our landfills are filling up at astronomical rates. Recycling is good; but, why settle for "good" when you can do what is great?!

Build relationships, a sense of community, and have a great time doing it! How can you go from "good" to "great"? Do more than recycle. Freecycle!

When you freecycle you simply post items that you no longer need or post a request for items that you would like to have at Freecycle.org! This is a really fun way to give your belongings new life and locate items that you'd like to have without spending one red cent! During this time of financial instability in our world, FREE is a very valuable commodity!

Freecycle.org is a great community. If you decide to join, I'd really like to know. Just click here to send me an email & tell me. I look forward to seeing you there!