If nothing else, putting my house on the market will make me a much better Realtor. Why:
1. I can sympathize with the irritation of cleaning all day for a 5 minute showing.
2. With the current market, it can take a while to get things moving. It could mean going a few weeks without a showing. That can be very frustrating. Now I can say, "believe me, I know".
3. I feel the major disappointment when falling out of escrow (just happened to us). No matter how hard I try to "wait till I get the keys", it is still upsetting. And also a blow to your ego... someone doesn't like MY house!?! What?????!!!!!
4. The Contract. Every little detail in the contract is SO well know by me. Our house is on the market because we have an accpeted offer on another house. So, I am balancing both escrows (well, at one point it was two escrows). You really have to know the rules inside and out to play the game. Especially in an ever changing market. My money is protected. You can believe I'll protect my client in the same manner.
5. Having my home on the market shows that I truely believe what all Realtors keep saying, NOW is a great time to buy! I don't want to wait until it turns up again and be frustrated that I didn't move. Hindsight is 20/20. Everything is on sale, and my friends know, I'm a sale shopper!
I did it! I raised all the money I needed for the Avon Walk. Plus some! I must give a large "Thank You" to all of you who have supported me. I would never have been able to do this amazing experience without all your help. The sacrifice of money, the giving of time, the muscle aches and pains of car washing did not go unappreciated. THANK YOU!
When I registered for the Walk on Friday night I was $2 short. Can you believe that?? Naturally, they didn't take cash so I had to put it on my credit card. The next day I had another donation and I am STILL collecting money from my coffee sales!
To the walk: It was amazing. Saturday morning our taxi picked us up at 5:45am and down to the park we went. The Opening Ceremony was moving and brought everyone to tears. We reached our arms up and grabbed onto the hands around us. The symbolism of that "team"/ togetherness was deafening. And off we went, twenty-six miles on day one and 13 miles on day two.
There were over three thousand people in attendance. It took a good 3-4 miles to finally thin out a bit and walk at a decent pace. We got so far behind (note to self: next year stand near the walk path so to not be stuck in the back), that we spent the whole day chasing the pace walker so the crew wouldn't sweep us up (vans with brooms that would move you to the next stop if you were too slow).
The stories I heard and shared, the people I met and the physical pains and triumphs along the way were all amazing. As soon as the walk started people lined the streets cheering for us. Cars honked horns. Walking past restaurants resulted in food and drinks (and stares). The crew supplied the major entertainment for the weekend. The San Jose Police rode on bikes and some played music. Many people had names of people who they walked for/in memory of on the back of their shirts. Some teams had pictures and others had simply "miss you mom", "love you mom", and my favorite "for your mom, your sister, your friends... because I can". The pace walker, Julianne, is probably the most amazing person I have spent three hours with. Juliannes' story begins with her mother being diagnosed with breast cancer and leads to her present situation where she works at the Avon Foundation AND operates a non-profit that she began five years ago. Levi Strauss was a sponsor this year during the fashion portion of Juliannes' annual benefit.
I fully intended to walk the entire 39 miles. That is what was set in my mind. My body had a different plan. Side note: since I have turned 30 it seems that my body has a mind of its own. On day one the plan was to walk 26 miles. At mile 22 I just couldn't walk anymore. My knee had been bugging me from early on in the day. At mile 22 I could hardly move my leg up in order to walk. I was stressing over small changes in the road, wondering how I would get my leg over the obstacle. So, with hundreds of others, I got on the bus and got a ride to camp. I sat in line for physical therapy, iced my knee, and took Advil hoping for a speedy recovery. No such luck. Sunday morning was still a very slow moving day. I had to call it quits for walking.
It was very difficult for me to stop. Though many people only walk one mile or two, I WAS going to walk the entire thing. Not being able to do so was devastating to my morale. However, I knew that the whole reason for the event was for the many people who are unable to do things because of their bodies. People who deal with cancer are constantly being told "no" by their bodies. I was humbled by the thought of my small complaint in comparison to those dealing with much larger physical and mental obstacles.
As new homebuyers, people often go down the checklist of things to do before the close of escrow. One of these items is finding hazard insurance. I remember when buying my house, the most important thing we considered was price. How much will it cost to have hazard insurance and the insurance carrier who had the lowest premium was the winner.
Now that I am in the business of buying and selling homes, I have discovered how important it is to look further than price. Let me use an example: A fellow agent of mine was recently injured while showing property. I'm not just talking about getting a bruise or a scratch. She has endured surgery, physical therapy, time off work for herself and her husband and is looking at weeks of being unable to use her right arm, and may have further repercussions for the rest of her life. Her medical costs are astronomical already. Imagine when the big bills start arriving.
Where's the connection? She toiled with the idea of putting a claim on the owners hazard insurance. After all, isn't that what we pay for? So that if a thief were to break into our home and get injured, they couldn't turn around and sue us?
Now she is in the tangles web of the insurance claims nightmare. This agent, with one arm in a sling and Velcro-ed to her body, received a letter stating that the insurance on the home didn't cover the incident. When she further questioned, which many people would have stopped there, it appears as if not everyone is seeing things the same. Some people within the same insurance carrier are seeing that she is covered and others are saying no. This is where it is at this point... under investigation.
Moral of the story: When buying hazard insurance or anything else of major importance, be sure to research what you are paying for. Make sure that the agency supplying the service/product will actually follow through with what they promise. It will make everyone's life easier.
Welcome to 2008! I hope you have some new and exciting things planned for yourself. Every year on January 1, my friend and I get together and write down goals for the coming year. To say "resolutions" just sounds too cliché. So I looked up resolution in the Webster's and found: resolution: a resolve or determination. Maybe it is resolutions we write down. Nonetheless, we set out to achieve certain goals for work and personal life as well as to plan one new thing to try. The year 2007 saw my first half marathon, raw sushi and belly dancing. I also closed more real estate transactions than I had set for myself!
For 2008 I plan to be more reachable/ accessible via the internet for perspective buyers and sellers. This started out with a new website: kimquintal.com. Though it is a work in progress, I am online and can now give people a website when they ask! I also want to increase my blogging on activerain.com. This real estate network is phenomenal. Not only do I get great advice, tips and comradeship with the other members, but I have had a number of people contact me via activerain.
For "something new" for 2008 my friends, husband and I are going to take a surfing class in our own waters here in Humboldt. In June we are going on a week long cruise to the Caribbean and I plan to check off "learn to surf" and "surf the Caribbean" off my goals for 2008. Our local Humboldt State University offers surfing classes through Center Activities and we plan to enroll. Look for pictures in the future.
I encourage all of you to try something new this year. It could be something with work or something on a more personal level (I tend to like "pay-off credit cards"). Write it down and look at it frequently. If you want to share, I'd love to hear about it. Set out a plan to make it happen and check it off at the end of the year.
DECEMBER 1,8,15 @10am KID'S HOLIDAY MOVIES Tickets to Fortuna Theatre free for kids on these saturdays. Tickets available at several businesses around town. Call if you'd like some!
DECEMBER 6 REDWOOD VILLAGE OPEN HOUSE Redwood Village Shopping Center starting at 5:30pm. The Roadmasters will be playing, carollers, live nativity scene, refreshments and more.
DECEMBER 7 ELECTRIC LIGHTED PARADE Fortuna Blvd. and Main Street starting at 6:30pm.
DECEMBER 7 DOWNTOWN OPEN HOUSE Starting at 5pm with music from the Scotia Sax Quartet and Toddy Thomas Ensemble, refreshments and more.
DECEMBER 9 FORTUNA CHRISTMAS MUSIC FESTIVAL Free music at the River Lodge from 12:30-6:30.
DECEMBER 12 CHRISTMAS HOME TOUR $7 gets you tickets to tour four fabulously decorated homes. For more information call Fortuna Chamber at 725-3959.
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.
Kim Quintal (Cornerstone Realty)
If nothing else, putting my house on the market will make me a much better Realtor. Why:
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