The MD Suburbs of DC

Good Credit? Current on mortgage? No Equity?

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 20:34:09 -0600

Recently, I've been running into folks who are not "in trouble" or "underwater" with their home. The payments are current. Income is good enough to keep the payments current. Yet, they can't sell their home! Or, at least, they can't sell it and make enough money to buy something else.

Why not?

Well, it seems that some folks saw the huge run up in home prices and decided to refinance and/or take some home equity lines out so they could have some cash. Lots of reasons for cash:

vacations
remodeling
toys (of the adult and child variety)
tuition for the kids
medical bills

..all kinds of things. I go into more detail in this post about the costs of selling a home even if you decide to do For Sale By Owner. You see, contrary to popular belief, the fee to the Realtor is not the only cost associated with selling you house.

The bottom line, though, is that if you've already taken your equity out of your home, chances are very good you can't do it twice. You may not be underwater but you're not going to be able to sell you home either.

Best to sit tight. Continue to pay your mortgage. Keep your credit good. Save.

Is College Park Having a Renaissance?

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 21:27:23 -0600

A couple of posts back I wrote about a great end-of-year settlement for a nice Split Level in College Park Woods. The house hadn't been on the market that long and the previous owner had kept it in good shape.

Now, just days after that one settled an offer cam in on another listing "across town" from College Park Woods near the Town of Berwyn Heights. We're really just talking a couple of miles here. Still a great neighborhood with great access to the University of MD and major employers as well as major commuter routes and METRO.

You can read more about the experience here.

I'm beginning to wonder if College Park is not undergoing some kind of renaissance or if it just so happens that there is a kind of "perfect storm" of circumstances: low mortgage rates, low home prices, and Sellers with equity in their home.

Right now we're in the home inspection phase. We need to get past that and the appraisal. Then it should be smooth sledding.

Is Your Home Page Active Rain or Facebook?

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 11:41:21 -0600

I have to admit that when I started getting serious about Active Rain I would visit it two, three times a day. I would be eating and breathing blog post ideas. I would get up early in the morning to write a post. Then I would brush my teeth and take a shower.

Then I found Facebook. Yeah. Sure. Facebook has been around for ages. It wasn't until recently that it took on a whole new aura for "old" people. You know. Non-college students. People that are out in the work world and want to connect for business.

Yeah, I know. There is LinkedIn for "professionals" but, truth be told, Facebook is a lot more fun and it really does put the "social" into social networking. In fact, I kind of like Facebook. It doesn't take a lot of time. You can establish relationships, of a sort, by commenting on people's status updates, join affinity groups, start business pages, fan pages and all kinds of neat and groovy stuff.

It' isn't the same as Active Rain. Probably apples and oranges. But it's an interesting phenomenon.

So...what about you? What's the first page you turn to when it's time to do a little online "socializing"? Active Rain or Facebook?

Houses do sell...No Matter What You Hear on the News

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:50:56 -0600

I don't know if it's the interest rates, people getting tired of renting, a perception that home prices are pretty darn low (relative to recent home values) or what but homes are selling. At least a couple of my listings.

I serve a community near the University of MD called College Park Woods. It's a nice subdivision of single family homes built in the mid '60s. Community pool. Community park. Close to METRO and some fairly big employers (USDA, NASA, Archives, to name a few). So the location is good, the prices reasonable.

Yet, because of the "meltdown" and subsequent tightening of mortgage standards sales have slowed down pretty significantly and short sales have started to pop up.

Yet, if a Seller is not "in trouble" with their mortgage and actually have some equity they can sell their home. I went to settlement with one of my Seller clients on December 30th. It was a nice year-end gift that she was tickled to receive. The home was in good condition, the price was right and the Seller was willing to make repairs and negotiate on financial terms. I wrote a little bit more about this on this post.

The Buyer made creative use of FHA financing. It was a father/son deal where the owner occupant couldn't possibly qualify by himself but the co-signer (the father) was plenty qualified and FHA guidleines did not require him to actually live in the house. The buyers got a lot of the perks of FHA financing:

low rate
30-year fixed
low down payment (3% in 2008)
the $7,500 first time home buyer credit (the son's first home)

So it all worked out wel for all concerned.

Hey, it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings and she ain't close, yet.

Come on, 2009!

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 14:01:15 -0600

I know this is the day I'm supposed to sit down and write out all my resolutions and turn the page on the old year (2008) and look anew at 2009. I only wish I were resolute enough to make resolutions I can complete.

Yeah. I need to lose weight. I need to focus more on my business and attract more clients (of the 5 star variety). I need to clean up my office and organize my garage. There's a lot of stuff if I sit down and think about it.

This year I have one overriding resolution:

I resolve to remain committed - full time - to the real estate profession and all that entails: client service second to none, diligent research, empathetic consultation, creative marketing, and remaining civil with my fellow professionals.

OK.

Now I'm ready for a 2009 that will crush 2008!

Negotiating with my own past clients

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 10:14:43 -0600

In my previous post, "An Early Christmas present I could have done WITHOUT", I talked about getting caught unawares in a negotiation with one of my past clients over money.

I say was unaware because, truly, I didn't expect to be having a conversation two days before Christmas about a frenzied home search if I decided to rebate some of my commission and pay for a property management company to market my clients' home for a tenant and then screen them for the folks.

It seems that my past client had run across an agent from a company that does rebates (or credits toward closing costs) as part of their service package. It seems that this one particular agent also had a "friend" in the property management business that would find my clients a renter for their house FOR FREE.

While my client didn't come straight out and say it, things became pretty clear to me that he was asking me to do the same thing. He told me he had been "researching" houses and that he had narrowed the choices down to just a few. He was very qualified, financially, to purchase. Hmmmm. What to do?

My thought process (in the evening, on the spur of the moment, with a "good" past client):

"Sure, I could do something with my commission so that it would essentially have the same effect. I work for RE/MAX which gives me a lot of flexibility with my commission. Heck, I could work for free, if I wanted."
"Yeah, sure, the property management fee would be equal to one month's rent but I could probably swing that, too"
"If this is truly a quick sale and the guy has his search down to a few houses, maybe this could be quick."
"Business is slow. Something is better than nothing."

I told the guy, since he was a good client, someone on my A List and I would really want him to be represented well, I would like to work with him on those terms. "Go ahead", I said, "Send me the MLS #s of the houses you want to see."

Then I spoke with my wife who is not in real estate but who knows these clients since we've eaten with them several times. She was floored.

Then I slept on it, My thoughts changed:

"Is he working with another agent and he's pitting one against the other? What are the ethical implications for me?"
"Do I really want the liability for the rental part of the deal? I don't work with rentals. Don't want to."
"The relationship has already soured in my own mind? How would I relate to the guy after this clumsy attempt at getting me to work for a reduced fee?"

The I got the e-mail with his MLS #s. My thoughts changed again:

"27 MLS #s! I thought this guy had narrowed down his search!!"
"He noted the one he saw with the competitor who offered the sweet deal. It was listed with another Broker entirely. He was/is working with another Realtor!" (I can't prove it. He has said "no" except to talk to her about this one house which he found on her company's website. It doesn't look good.)
I am being "played" big time.

So I e-mailed him back after looking at his 27 MLS #s in the MLS. A ton were short sales. A few were outright REOs. Some were "plain vanilla". I mentioned that, if he was really in the market for a house, the short sales were probably off the list: the process takes too long. I mentioned I had re-thought the rental part of the "deal" and decided I didn't want to do it so I wouldn't be doing it.

What happened? Well, he calls me back, says he really needs to look into renting his place because he doesn't want to carry multiple mortgages, yadda, yadda, yadda He'll call when he has it more together.

Maybe. Maybe not. Maybe the competitor -- the one with the sweet talk and sweet money deal -- will reel him in. Maybe it'll work flawlessly for the guy, maybe he'll run into the "agent from hell" who will sell him a house and leave his "rental" out there hanging endlessly.

It was a real eye-opener for me. It taught me that no matter how "easy" something looks, it is never as "easy" as it looks. It taught me no matter how friendly me and my clients get that when the rubber hits the road and there is money involved, money wins. It also taught me that there are a lot of wise and thoughtful real estate professionals on Active Rain that gave me a lot fo great encouragement and support.

An early Christmas present I could have done WITHOUT

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 16:10:48 -0600

Back in the day of the Seller's market frenzy when people were writing crazy offers to buy a house, back in the day when people were taking out interest-only, 3 year ARMs just to be able to afford the house, back in the day of Escalation Clauses, waived inspections and agreements to pay CASH for any amount above the appraised value of the home I was working with a client that was, shall we say, very motivated to buy a home. They didn't like their little apartment, the neighborhood they lived in or the fact that everyone seemed to be getting rich just by owning real estate.

We worked hard together to find a house in a neighborhood they liked, in a price range they could afford. We wrote offers on 11 different houses. We commiserated and bonded over this shared experience of finding "just the right" home only to have someone else offer just $5,000 more.

We finally found a house. The offer was accepted. The settlement took place. My clients were happy to own a new home that they liked. After settlement, I kept in touch. I sent them gifts at Christmas, my wife an I shared dinner with them several times, I donated to a charity of their choosing when they called and asked for money. Time went by and they decided that the house was really a little too small and they wanted to buy a bigger place. We went and looked and looked and looked.

Of course, by this time the Seller's market had turned into a Buyer's market and the credit standards were getting tighter and tighter. It didn't look like they would be able to sell their house and buy another one. It looked like they would need to turn their house into an investment property and then buy another house. So they step back from the house hunting for a variety of reasons.

Fast forward.....I get a call on the day before Christmas Eve. It's my client - the one I send presents to, the one I share meals with -- who says they really, really want to get another, bigger place. The guy's been looking (I guess Open Houses) and ran into some lady who works for [insert well know discount brokerage that rebates buyers/sellers a portion of the commission here]. Well, he got the skinny on this commission rebate thing and, guess what? Not only is this lady going to do the rebate thing but if he buys with her she has this "friend" in the property management business who will rent his place out for him FOR FREE. Part of the deal.

It took me a few minutes to realize that this client who I thought I had a great relationship with was gaming me. He wanted me to rebate part of my commission back to him and then market his place (or have it marketed by a property management company) on my dime.

One of my weaknesses is that I like to see the good in people. I like to think that what they are telling me is true and I can take it at face value. It really took me awhile to realize I was, all of a sudden, on the day before Christmas Eve, negotiating with my own past client over money.

I'm going to try not to let this get to me. I'm going to try and remember that establishing trust and respect is key to maintaining good personal and business relationships. It'll be just a little harder. That's all.

Merry Chirstmas and a Ho! Ho! Ho!

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 08:41:35 -0600

Yes, it's Christmas morning and I'm here on Active Rain posting to my blog. You'd think I'd have something better to do. Like open all my presents! Well, like every kid, I got up bright and early to see what Santa bought and I was ecstatic!

a promise for a new iPhone so I can be cool and connected and
a GPS so I can find my way around once I find someone who wants to buy a home :-)

Whatever happened to those poor ADC map books? I still see them in stores but I have to guess they won't be around too much longer.

Anyway....Merry Christmas to all and a very Prosperous New 2009.

BTW, you can see both my Letter to Santa for the housing market and my Predictions for 2009. It'll be interesting how they turn out.

Holiday Eating Tips

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:02:05 -0600

is is one of those things passed from friend to firend and from family member to family member....and now, from Rainer to Rainer.

1. Avoid carrot sticks. Anyone who puts carrots on a holiday buffet table
knows nothing of the Christmas spirit. In fact, if you see carrots, leave
immediately. Go next door, where they're serving rum balls.

2. Drink as much eggnog as you can. And quickly. It's rare...You cannot
find it any other time of year but now. So drink up! Who cares that it has
10,000 calories in every sip? It's not as if you're going to turn into an
eggnog-alcoholic or something. It's a treat. Enjoy it. Have one for me.
Have two. It's Christmas!

3. If something comes with gravy, use it. That's the whole point of gravy.
Gravy does not stand alone. Pour it on. Make a volcano out of your mashed
potatoes. Fill it with gravy. Eat the volcano. Repeat.

4. As for mashed potatoes, always ask if they're made with skim milk or
whole milk. If it's skim, pass. Why bother? It's like buying a sports car
with an automatic transmission.

5. Do not have a snack before going to a party in an effort to control your
eating. The whole point of going to a Christmas party is to eat other
people's food for free. Lots of it. Hello?

6. Under no circumstances should you exercise between now and New Year's.
You can do that in January when you have nothing else to do. This is the
time for long naps, which you'll need after circling the buffet table while
carrying a 10-pound plate of food and that vat of eggnog.

7. If you come across something really good at a buffet table, like frosted
Christmas cookies in the shape and size of Santa, position yourself near
them and don't budge. Have as many as you can before becoming the center of
attention. They're like a beautiful pair of shoes. If you leave them behind,
you're never going to see them again.

8. Same for pies. Apple, Pumpkin, Mincemeat. Have a slice of each. Or if you
don't like mincemeat, have two apples and one pumpkin. Always have three.
When else do you get to have more than one dessert? Labor Day?

9. Did someone mention fruitcake? Granted, it's loaded with the mandatory
celebratory calories, but avoid it at all cost. I mean, have some standards.

10. One final tip: If you don't feel terrible when you leave the party or
get up from the table, you haven't been paying attention. Re-read tips;
start over, but hurry, January is just around the corner. Remember this
motto to live by:

"Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving
safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in
sideways, chocolate in one hand, wine in the other, body thoroughly used up,
totally worn out and screaming "WOO HOO what a ride!"

Yet Another AR Referral Makes It To Settlement - A Great Christmas Present

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 13:22:54 -0600

You wouldn't know that a year ago I didn't know Pat Kennedy from, er, thousands of of Realtors everywhere in the country. Then I started hanging out on Active Rain. To this day, I have no idea how I stumbled across her blog...but I'm sure glad I did.

I started reading her posts and liked what I saw. More to the point, I could tell that she knew real estate and knew what she was doing. So when I had a referral in DC for a Buyer client of mine in a neighboring jurisdiction in the MD Suburbs of DC who had a house to sell in DC itself (where I am not licensed), I knew who to call. Pat took the listing.

Meanwhile, I had a Buyer client who was selling his house in the MD Suburbs of DC and I referred again! (this particular transaction involved all kinds of Rainers either directly or through very close degrees of separation).

The buyer client who sold his house in MD went pretty quickly. After all, it's a "buyer's market" and the meltdown hadn't happened yet. The seller client went a little more slowly but, hey, it just settled! The Seller is happy, the Buyer is happy, the Realtors are happy and the referring Realtor is jumping for joy (that would be me). No lump of coal this year!

Now I might be able to buy my wife something more than a pair of socks and an umbrella!

Thank you Pat Kennedy for making it happen. Thank you Active Rain for putting us together!

If 5.5% is a good rate, why aren't people buying?

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 20:00:19 -0600

I hear all the time baout how wonderful rates are. In fact, I heard it no mater what the rates are and it's usually followed by a reminder that rates "used to be" in the double digits....twenty or so years ago. OK. House prices were in the low five digits not the high six figure category.

5% of a dollar is only five cents. I can handle it. Most people do. It's the sales tax (at least where I'm at).

5% of $100,000 is $5,000. Pretty steep but divided by 12 it's a tad over $416/month and still doable.

5% of $500,000 is $25,000 and there are still a lot of people who barely make that money in a whole year. Even if you're making decent bucks it's still a quarter to a third of your annual income....just for interest. And you still have to eat and clothe yourself, put gas in the car and maybe pay some utilities for the house.

So, what's the solution? Lower home prices or 2% mortgages.

OK, lenders. Whip out your calculators and tell me where I'm screwed up.

Is The Media Finally Coming Around?

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 18:33:37 -0600

Every Saturday in The Washington Post there is a special section called Real Estate. It's mostly ads for builders but it does have a few articles that are sometimes interesting but mostly infuriating. The regular columnists usually slam Realtors and others in the profession.

The lead article is always a little different from Saturday to Saturday. I think they try to pick a theme. Anyway, today's Real Estate section was quite interesting for two reasons:

It was razor thing. Only four pages. My guess is that all the builders decided to kill their ads for the holiday season. I suspect they don't think much of anyone will be looking at their nice models between now and the end of the ....economic meltdown??
There were some really helpful articles that were on the topic of what I would call "basic general things to know about buying a home".

One article in particular - the lead "theme" article was called, "How Much House Can You Afford: Experts Weigh In on Buying in a Bewildering Time" written by Dina ElBoghdady. It was amazing at both how basic it was and how much common sense it conveyed. It left me scratching my head.

Where were these guys when everyone was buying way beyond their means and house prices were rising faster than you could say, "Escalation Clause."

Maybe these media folks have finally taken such a bath themselves that they are now trying to counsel people to do things more prudently. You know, have a down payment, good credit, not too much debt.

Just like Grandma used to do...

Amazing.

REO Listing Agents...Let me in!!

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Sat, 06 Dec 2008 22:12:28 -0600

No, I don't want to take your business. I don't want to horn in on your REO relationship with "the bank". I just want to get into the house you're trying to sell on behalf of "the bank".

I don't like the short sale/foreclosure niche, even though it's a huge niche. I prefer to deal with Sellers who have equity and don't need "third party approval" either from the buyer's side or the seller's side. However, if I have a client who doesn't mind the foreclosure that needs lots of work in exchange for a decent neighborhood and good price, I would willingly work to make it happen for them.

Today, I tried to show a "bank owned" property with a combination lock on the front door. The showing service had the combo so I thought I was good. No such luck. The combo didn't work and I didn't have a computer "randomizer" to give me every possible combination of four digits in order to try to get in.

I called the Listing Agent -- voice mail. Not only that, voice mail that says they're only open M-F, 9-5. How cushy is that??? I called the receptionist for this particular agent's RE/MAX office. The woman tried to help but couldn't. She gave me the number of another "team member" who called me back long after I left the property with the buyer's (highly motivated and financially qualified) in tow.

I understand that REO listing agents have gazillions of listings and don't want to mess around with agents calling all the time. Hey, that's fine with me! I don't want to call you either. I'll download your addenda and disclosures from your website and fax you. if I never speak to you or see your face, I'm OK with that!

Just let me into the freakin' house!

Why I Don't Twitter...Or Is It Tweet?

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:41:09 -0600

I have to admit I might have gotten to the social netwroking party a little late. I wasn't in on the ground floor. More like the fifth floor or something. Yet, I somehow, have failed to grasp the cosmic implications of the overly vast and growing multitude of social networking sites.

Twitter, most of all, confuses me.

As I understand it, I have a max of 140 characters to quickly type into a website or smartphone letting peple in the Twittersphere know what I'm doing at that particular moment in time. "Going to Starbucks for a latte." "Getting ready to do my laundry. Yuck" "Does anyone know a good Chinese Restaurant within 2 blocks of Times Square?" I mean, what the fuh? Why does anyone really care that much?

The interesting little symbols have me going, too. @ or # and all the abbreviations that one must learn to converse in 'text". Heck, I barely passed French and Latin in High School so I could get a diploma. Why should I learn a whole new language to find out who's dating who or who has a flat tire.

Plus, I have a hard enough time keeping up with AR and FB and my Outside Blog. God help me if I ever get real busy again!!

I know, I know. I need to Twitter to be connected to the wider community and, who knows, maybe one day someone from the millions in the Twitterspshere will twet that they need a Realtor and I win the lottery.

Truth is: maybe I'll get sucked into it once I get a decent phone (my current contract ends at the end of the month) and instead of reading Field and Stream whille I'm at the barber shop I'll Tweet "Sitting waiting to get my haircut. No magazines to read."..."Walking to barber chair to get my haircut."..."Hair being cut."

Note to copyright police: I would have loved to have used a Twitter graphic and even link the graphic back to the Twitter homepage but I'm scared to death of having my wrist slapped, blog post deleted and rabid lawyers called down upon me. So graphicless post.

Negotiation May Get The Deal Done

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Sun, 30 Nov 2008 10:29:37 -0600

We all know that we are supposed to represent our client's best interest and I've been to plenty of seminars and read plenty of blog posts about how Realtors are not supposed to show their hand to the other guy. Things like "I'm sorry this offer is so low. It's what they buyer told me to put." or "Hey, I know this offer stinks but see if you can't get a counter offer."

No. We're supposed to represent exactly what's on the paper and hope the other Realtor can "read between the lines."

The fact is that even if I could read between the lines, many times the negotiation is a two-step dance. An offer comes over. A counter-offer goes back. Accept/Reject. Dance over.

Wait a minute!! Doesn't your client want the house? Didn't they at least get a little excited about the neighborhood or the number of bedrooms and baths or hardwood floor or fireplace or tons of storage or whatever? Or is there really that many houses that are in move-in condition without the need for 6 months of waiting and begging some loss mitagator to push some paperwork through?

Whatever happened to negotiation? If you're not super happy with the offer/counter offer, send me something that makes you happy. If we're $5,000 apart come back to me with something, don't just go away. There used to be a time when Realtors would go back and forth quite a bit before the Seller and Buyer agreed to all the terms. Heck, sometimes a Seller will finally say OK just to be done with it or they may think, "Gee. They must want to live here."

Of course, I understand that Buyers want to "steal" homes because the media is constantly telling them prices are declining and there are tons of short sales and foreclosures. Yes, I know Sellers don't want to "give it away" or "needs [x] dollars".

As I see it, Realtors need to have a sit down with their clients to go over the positive aspects of making a transaction work once the initial offer has been signed and delivered. After all the marketing stuff we do, negotiation is supposed to be part of the value we bring to the table. But you can't negotiate with people who have a" take it or leave it" approach.

I remember representing a buyer about 5 years ago. The guy liked the house, he was fully qualified to purchase and he had a time limitation to buy. He was one motivated buyer. He also wanted to get the best terms for himself and family. We went back and forth six times with the listing agent /Seller before arriving at the final, fully executed Contract of Sale. It worked. The Seller got what he wanted. The Buyer got what he wanted. Everybody lived happily ever after...including the Realtors. And because I didn't tell the Buyer "let's move on" or "this isn't working", he came back to me 5 years later to sell his home when he and his family relocated.

Happy Thanksgiving from The MD Suburbs of DC

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Thu, 27 Nov 2008 08:03:03 -0600

Yes, folks,it's time to sit down with family and friends to remember the good things in life. It's hard, sometimes, in the midst of economic crisis, terrorism around the globe, war and hunger to stop and be grateful for all the things that are wonderful in our personal lives.

I am reminded, though, that our forefathers endured great hardship to come and found this country and that Thanksgiving, of all our holidays, is uniquely American. Yes, I know the Canadians have their Thanksgiving as well. The American Thanksgiving, though, is rich in the history of the discovery of the North American continent and it's settling.

Some interesting links -

The First Thanksgiving Proclamation

The Presidential Thanksgiving Proclamation (by George Washington)

The National Turkey Federation

Have a great Thanksgiving...and make sure to leave room for dessert!

But You May Not Get Another Offer For Awhile...

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 17:57:09 -0600

Recently, I've been lucky (I think) to get some listings that have Sellers with equity. This means that when an offer comes through there's no waiting for a bank or other "third party approval". You would think that would mean that these Sellers would be ready to work with reasonable and even not-so-reasonable offers that come to the table.

You would be wrong.

In fact, I'm working with a Seller now that has equity and can certainly make a decision to move forward pretty quickly...if they really wanted to. Of course, they tell me they're ready to sell but, of course, they don't want to "give it away" (don't pay attention to all those short sales and foreclosures that are being "given away").

To be fair, some of the offers are pretty low and pretty insulting. However, one came in the other day which, while a little low, was entirely within the realm of reason. I'm thinking that home prices have declined since the home originally went on the market. I'm thinking there are no good, recent comps. I'm thinking that 25% of the Actives in the neighborhood are short sales or bank owned.

So I try to point out the benefits of working with this offer or even accepting it as presented. No go. My Seller client needs to have [x] number of dollars. Never mind that the possibility of getting [x] number of dollars decreases as every week passes. Never mind this Buyer actually looks like they can afford the home and pay the mortgage.

But I tell myself (and tell myself and tell myself), "It's not my home." If the Seller wants to sit on it for a few more months, that's up to the Seller.

It brings to mind a client I was working with last year. She didn't want to give it away either. She turned down pretty reasonable offers. She didn't want to "give it away". After several months of no offers and some price reductions that particular client actually sold and settled for $30,000 less than the offers she turned away because she didn't want to "give it away". You see, she eventually got to the point that she wanted to sell, needed to sell and would take virtually anything to sell the house and move on with her life.

It's just a damn shame that some people take longer to learn the lesson than others.

A Thanksgiving Present from the Fed

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:03:59 -0600

The Fed and US Treasury have finally come to grips with the fact that, oh yeah, maybe the housing industry could use a little help. While they've been busy handing out money by the truckload to banks so they can buy other banks and keep those corporate jets in the air, the ordinary person who wants to buy a house or re-finance is left out in the cold.

Today, that finally changed. Blog buddy Alan Gorss of National City Mortgage wrote a nice blog post about today's developments at Treasury and the Fed.

The lower interest rates (predicted to hit about 5.25%) will make housing that much more afffordable in the MD Suburbs of DC.

Maybe this is the breather from all the bad news we need to help get us back on track.

Why Can't You Call?

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 19:09:27 -0600

What is it with Realtors who drive around with their clients, see a yard sign and then go up and knock on the door and ask to be let in? What is it with homeowners, who open the door and let these folks in with nothing more than a business card and a "Can we see your house"?

Realtors -- You don't know the price, you don't know the status (Active, Pending, whatever), you just roll over and do tricks because your client in the car says, "I wanna see that one." Where is your common decency to make an appointment and find out a little about the house like, is this in the price range for my client? Why not just make a quick phone call to the phone number on the sign if you're too lazy to look it up in the MLS or call the showing service?

Homeowners -- Do you realize you're opening your door and letting a total stranger (possibly two or three total strangers) into your house without notice? No one knows they're in your home but you!

I tell my clients all the time that they need to get the call from me or the showing service I use. There are wackos out in the world that look for "For Sale" signs. This is also the way I can keep track of people who have seen your house so I can call them back with the price reduction you've offered or the agent bonus you've offered. It's the way I can tell you if one person or ten have seen your house.

Realtors -- Wouldn't you like to get the call that the Seller has just dropped the price $50,000??? Wouldn't your client love you? Too bad, you lose. You didn't call.

PS..Can you tell I'm a little miffed by this.....

The Book on Mind management - My Closest Book

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 07:48:57 -0600

Blog buddie, fellow Active Rainer and fellow CRS Chapter member, Rich Mielke tagged me again for on of those ever expanding MeMes that make the rounds from time to time. This time I don't really have to reveal much about myself except what you may be able to glean from what I'm reading --

Here is the way it works:

1. Grab the nearest book.

2. Open the book to page 56.

3. Find the fifth sentence.

4. Post the text of the next two to five sentences.

5. Don't dig for your favorite book, the cool book or the intellectual one. Pick the Closest.

6. Tag five people to do the same

*The one book that this can not be is the Bible*

So, here goes ---

The Book on Mind Management by Dennis R. Deaton ( Quma Learning Systems, Inc., 1994, Second Edition, 2003)

Page 56, sentence 5 to 7 (the second paragraph on the page): "Most effective courses of tretment for clinical depression combine medical support with mind management counselling. When the patient is stabilzed and they have gained control through mind management, the medical support can be withdrawn. The patients can then go on to complete independence."

(Ken's note: Believe it or not this is not a book about dpresion or psychology, per se. It's weird how one paragraph out of a book can change the context of the book. This was a big insight for me.)

Here are the next five --

The Inaugural Ticket Scams Have Started...

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 07:11:37 -0600

I got an e-mail the other day. It got caught in my spam filter which is where it belongs.

Here it is, in part...

I wanted to see if you have an interest in picking up a ticket or two (business entertaining or for personal use) for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration Swearing-In, Parade or Gala Balls. This event is projected to be one of historical proportions, so we are offering purchasing first rights of refusal to law firms (including 3 of the top 10 US firms that we service for events annually) throughout the US and Abroad and Illinois based firms, prior to Mondays release to Fortune 1000 companies and and interested donors.

It was sent to me by this guy --

Paul "Sanders" Soodoo
CEO
Ascend Worldwide
New York-Washington DC-Richmond
P 631 242-9581
E psanders@ascendww.net
W www.ascendww.net

Never heard of him or his "organization" but my guess is he wants to take your money. Preying upon people wanting to be witness to history is just as bad - maybe worse - that the Nigerian kings or ministers that want to send you the millions of dollars they have if you just give them all your bank account information.

BEWARE -- there will be lots of counterfeiters and con artists out these this year waiting to take your money. Unless you cn get a ticket from a legitimate source (like your Congressperson or other State or local political rep.) don't throw your money away. TV coverage will be better....and warmer.

Sentrilock Conversion (Almost) Complete...

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 13:53:46 -0600

I know I should have bought a camera to take in the long lines and such but I just plain forgot. Luckily, I was intuitive enough to know to get their early in order to trade in my old Supra lockboxes, old Supra key and old Sentrilock key card (it's old already???). So I had plenty of time to hang out and read the Wall Street Journal while I waited for the training to begin.

Bottom line. All went well. A little bit of a wait in line at the end to pick up my new Sentrilock lockboxes and new keycard.

Oh yeah. The serial numbers on the lockboxes probably won't be in the "system" until tomorrow. That's OK. I was able t get the lockboxes back on my listings and if anyone has been through the conversion they can get in. If not, they'll have to wait until sometime tomorrow (I hope not later) to get the infamous "one day code".

We'll all look back on this is 6 months and have a good laugh. Just like the new MRIS tokens.

The Supra to Sentrilock Conversion

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 08:59:03 -0600

Tomorrow, I walk into a hotel ballroom in Greenbelt to convert all my Supra lockboxes and key access to Sentrilock lockboxes and key access. Woo! Hooo!!!

Neighboring jurisdictions have converted long ago (and one will convert a little later this year or early next, I understand). So I went and got my Sentrilock key and card reader several months ago. I wasn't going to forgo showing property in either Anne Arundel County or Howard County just because Prince George's was running out the clock on their Supra contract.

I'm see a lot of pluses to Sentrilock, not the least of which is that they will trade me one-to-one for all the Supra lockboxes I have. Lockboxes aren't cheap and being able to maintain my personal inventory without breaking the bank is important. I'm just hoping they accept the key cards from all the neighboring jurisdictions. I guess it's that reciprocity thing.

Luckily, I only have three listings that will be lockbox-less for about 24 hours. I'll run around late this afternoon to pick up the old Supra lockboxes and then run around again tomorrow after the exchnage to install the new Sentrilock lockboxes.

Hey, I guess it'll give me something to do!

Why I Love Being A Real Estate Professional...

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 06:27:22 -0600

In the never ending line of chain blogs, I've been "tagged" by fellow CRS Chapter member and Realtor Extraordinaire, Rich Mielke to write about why I'm in this wacky business. Rich got "tagged" from fellow Rainer/Realtor Sandy Shores from Melbourne, FL (can Sandy Shores be a real name for a Realtor in Florida?? Evidently so.), who was "tagged" by Fred Chamberlin, a mortgage guy, in the Eugene, OR area.

It never ceases to amaze me at the widespread connections we tend to make on Active Rain. It just shows the awesome power of networking, writing, and experience...from a variety of different fields. It is this diversity of experience, both in terms of years and in terms of expertise or "niche", that keeps me engaged in the real estate profession and on Active Rain. Where else can you find fellow professionals so willing to share knowledge about everything from technology to marketing to the requisite "war stories" of houses and clients and everything in between.

When people ask about what I did before real estate, it's gotten to the point where it almost doesn't matter. I was in the tech field (think Intel, Apple, software companies) from the early '90s until I got my license in 1999. I wasn't a techie. I was a marketing guy but I had to know nough about it to be able to interact with the engineers and end users who would buy the stuff. All that stuff doesn't mean much today. Technology has advanced so far, so rapidly (and continues to do so) that anything I knew in 1995 is totally worthless today.

I got a little tired of it and thought I'd stick my toe in the real estate waters. I started as an unlicensed assistant to the Realtor who sold me my first condo. I thought is might be fun. I found out real estate was fun but the Realtor I was assisting was, er, not as much fun. I will say, though, that she taught me the things that the pre-licensing classes never touch - how to fill out contracts, the flow of a transaction from offer to settlement, how to keep in touch with clients.

I eventually got m license and left "assistantship" to go out on my own. My first stop was with a Coldwell Banker franchise in Bowie, MD. I had a great time, worked with a great manager and learned a lot. I eventually got a call from a Broker/Owner of a RE/MAX franchise in College Park, MD and decided that the RE/MAX system was definitely the way to go. So I transferred my license and lived happily ever after for the next 8 years until I decided that it was time to move my license, once again to another RE/MAX franchise in Fulton, MD (aka Maple Lawn) - this time a larger, multi-office franchise that has a few more bells and whistles and a very nice physical location.

Along the way, I've gotten involved in my local Realtor Associations and organizations. As Rich Mielke points out, I'm the Immediate Past President of the MD/DC Chapter of the Council of Residential Specialists (which is where we met). I'm currently the Treasurer of the Prince George's Association of Realtors, sit on their Grievance Committee and Maclin Scholarship Fund Task Force, I sit on a couple of Maryland Association of Realtors committees as well including Leadership Academy and Communications (read: magazine and website for the Association).

So, yeah, it's been a fun ride. I am never bored. I get to meet lots of interesting people. Some actually become friends. I get to see lots of different houses in all kinds of conditions from HGTV to unfit for human habitation. I've met some really neat people in the profession.

If there was ever a time when I would even entertain the thought of bailing out to try something new, this would be the time. A lot of people who had been in real estate have now left the profession.

Real Estate is a good life and a good livelihood, though. So I think I'll stick around.

I'll tag someone I met on Active Rain. I'll be getting to meet Teri Deane of RE/MAX 100 in Columbia, MD in person for the first time in a couple of weeks. Exciting stuff.

The Millennials -- The WE Generation

Ken Montville -- the MD Suburbs of DC (RE/MAX Advantage Realty) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 16:28:10 -0600

I saw this as I was floating around on Facebook and I was both inspired and impressed. I'm a more of a Boomer myself and I find myself really hopeful that the next generation is considering itself the WE Generation. This is a great little video...and only four minutes and forty five seconds.