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buyers: Zillow to Realtors: Pay Up or We'll Put Any Price We Want on Your Listing - 01/28/10 12:32 PM
About a month ago or so (it was recent but I can't remember exactly when), Zillow sent me a nice e-mail telling me that I can continue to manually update my listings on Zillow for a nominal fee (about $10, as I recall) and it would be good for six months.  Well, I was none to pleased about this and mentioned it on a couple of blogs and Twitter.  Zillow, of course, came back with the response that this was really not such a big deal and, besides, the listing data will still be syndicated by MLS and other syndicators and … (18 comments)

buyers: She said, "Jump!"...I forgot to ask "How High?" - 04/11/09 03:18 PM
This really falls under the category of "What were they thinking?"
Here's the chronology:
I get an e-mail late Friday night through Realtor.com on one of my listings. (Yay! Realtor.com seems to work).  The e-mail is short and sweet.  "Is the house [this address] still available?"  I write back and say, "Yes, it is still available.  DO you have any other questions I could answer?" Silence  -- that's OK.  Lots of people e-mail and then vaporize. Fast forward to Saturday (the next day) 3:20pm.  I get a call from a woman who says she's the one that e-mailed me last night … (12 comments)

buyers: Buyers Kicking Tires - 03/09/09 09:37 AM
In an article in the Real Estate Section of The Washington Post, a guy is described as having really, really researched the market for a long period of time.  He had spreadsheets and visited a lot of open houses, etc.  He and his lady friend eventually decided to buy a house!  Wooooo! Hoooo!
This reminds me of a recent experience where a couple contacted me through my REALTOR.com listing. They liked the house, it had a Virtual Tour so they had and idea what it looked like on the inside and they wanted to see it. 
Since I'm the Seller's rep, … (15 comments)

buyers: Working in a Micro-Niche -- Sellers with Equity and Buyers that can Document Credit Worthiness - 03/09/09 07:26 AM
This whole short sale thing has taken on a life of it's own.  Entire industries have popped up around them.  Designations, workshops, gurus of every stripe.  Everyone is getting into the act!  All hail the short seller. 
Of course, there are some who teach that working a niche can be just as rewarding.  The Condo King/Queen, waterfront properties, horse farms. You name it, there's a niche for it.  Don't forget the geographic niches. Subdivision A, Town B, On The Street Where You Live.
For me, I'm working the Sellers with Equity and Buyers that can document creditworthiness niche.  Shhhh.  Don't tell … (3 comments)

buyers: When Buyers Aren't Ready to Buy - 02/28/09 09:45 AM
Recently, one wonderful past client of mine referred my to a good, long time firend of his and another past client re-surfaced to inquire about buying a home.
Let me tell you, I was pretty excited.  It's a buyer's market and I was going to be able to help two couple's buy a house.
I asked them to connect with a lender I knew would be a straight shooter and tell both them and me what could happen.  One couple did that failrly quickly, the other has yet to provide any information at all.
Buyer 1 had an interesting scenario going … (9 comments)

buyers: How Short Sales Affect My "Plain Vanilla" Buyers - 02/12/09 07:03 AM
Here's a little bit of a confession:  my career path has led me to be mostly (not entirely) a listing agent.  Don't get me wrong.  I'll work with buyers in a heartbeat and I enjoy working with buyers.  It's just that, for whatever reason, I work mostly with sellers.  Here's another part:  I don't really work with short sales and REOs. 
I know. I know.  This niche in the market should be an integral part of my business model with so many short sales and REOs on the market.  It's just that I prefer the "other niche" -- houses being sold … (10 comments)

buyers: I [Heart] Returning Clients...or Relocating BACK to to the area. - 02/07/09 06:18 PM
It's the weirdest thing.
I got a call early in the afternoon from a great past client who had relocated from the beautiful MD Suburbs of DC to paradise (aka Hawaii) for a job. These folks had bought two homes with me and sold one.  We got along great but when they went to Hawaii I was sure that would be their final move. Not so!  They're actually relocating back to the MD Suburbs of DC and want me to help them find a place to live. What a treat!
Later in the evening I was having some dinner with friends … (6 comments)

buyers: An early Christmas present I could have done WITHOUT - 12/26/08 04:10 PM
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 … (74 comments)

buyers: Is The Media Finally Coming Around? - 12/13/08 06:33 PM
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 … (5 comments)

buyers: When do you say "Stop!" - 10/27/08 07:40 AM
I was reading a recent Lenn Harley blog post, "A New Paradigm fo Buyer's Agents, Taking Control of Your Business" and I really couldn't agree more.
My rational, intellectual mind is nodding "yes, yes, yes" all the way through.
But then the emotional side kicks in.
Business is down. Suppose this buyer really buyers something (let's assume we've qualified him/her for a mortgage).  What about "building relationships" in order to build a referral base?  Is it possible this buyer will actually buy?
To be sure, I've heard variations on Lenn's theme before: "15 and farewell" from a manager that says if … (10 comments)