realtor life: Coming Up For Air - 03/24/12 05:15 PM
I've fallen off my blog.
It wasn't painful per se, but as I look back now, realizing my last post was about a snow-storm in January I can't help but cringe.
Ok, I've been busy.
Pending sales are up almost 30% over the same time last year and I feel it.
Multiple offers, offers above list price, and sellers now wanting to get in the game are keeping my team and I hopping.
We have recently listed some great properties in South King and North Pierce Counties and continue to help local homeowners navigate the short sale process.
Today is a beautiful … (2 comments)
|
realtor life: Snow Days Aren't Just for Kids! - 01/18/12 01:45 PM
The nice thing about being snowed in these days, is technology still enables us to get so much done from home.
And today, most of the Seattle area is snowed in due to our first Winter Snow Storm.
I'll be sending off two market analysis reports to owners looking for current values on their property, reducing the price of a local short sale (and altering onling marketing accordingly), following up on two closings scheduled for the end of the month and have a 1:00 call with tech support for some software issues we're trying to resolve.
And when everything's buttoned up … (10 comments)
|
realtor life: Ben Franklin and Me-Let's Go! - 12/08/11 10:11 PM
Any type of business decision includes it's share of "what if's".
What if I make this move to a new office but it doesn't work out? What if I buy this house and the value goes down? What if I invest and the rental market goes kaput? I'm currently in the process of making a major business decision which will not only affect my family, but also my colleagues and associates who are dear friends.
The risk is huge.
The possibility for future gain, even bigger.
Change is hard.
Risk of loss is scary.
Taking a leap of faith that this … (4 comments)
|
realtor life: Unhappy Customers Happen...Fortunately Only Once in a Blue Moon - 12/06/11 11:38 PM
Several weeks ago I had the distinct pleasure (she says sarcastically) of being screamed at by the former tenant of a property we manage. It was a brief call....primarily because I ended it when he began calling me ugly names and then told me he hoped I'd kill myself.
Nice.
Do you kiss your mother with that mouth?
I'm happy to say I have no plans of "making his day" any time soon, however despite his coloring outside the lines of adult behavior, I'm not happy to have a disgruntled customer.
His complaint was that we had withheld an amount (less than $200) from the … (1 comments)
|
realtor life: Halloween Started it Off-What a Week! - 11/06/11 11:11 AM
I can't believe Halloween was less than a week ago...it seems like two or three. Maybe it's because my team and I managed to cram about 2 weeks of work into 5 days?
2 Closings 3 Short Sale approvals 2 new Short Sales to negotiate 2 offers written for buyers 3 Price reductions Two open houses 5 New "For Lease" Listings 75 (actually I stopped counting at 75 so it's more than that) resumes for our P/T Admin/Assistant position Several items in review with our attorneys (top secret, can't spill it yet, but stay tuned) A full day of Halloween … (3 comments)
|
realtor life: Summer Getaway! - 07/29/11 09:42 PM
It's tough for me to get away from my business.
It's not that my business can't survive without me, because it can (gulp). It's hard because I feel like I'm letting my clients down if I'm not here to jump on an urgent need.
I have a great support system; staff and colleagues whom I have 100% confidence in, but....well, they aren't me. (That looks REALLY bad in print, but really, my Ego isn't that big).
Right before I left, I was talking with a team member about turning some first time buyers over for a showing. I told her I felt like I … (7 comments)
|
realtor life: The Client Has 2 Faces - 06/12/11 06:48 PM
On one side she's the Seller, rolling her eyes when she receives feedback from a showing agent that his buyer is looking at another property in the area because it's a short sale and alot less money. "Yeah, but look where it is! It doesn't have this and it doesn't have that....." she justifies the listing price (again) in her mind.
On the other side she's the Buyer, wondering what in the world the listing agent and seller could be thinking. Have they viewed their competition? She rolls her eyes when she considers the listed price relative to condition, short sales, amenities and market time. She … (6 comments)
|
realtor life: I Did A Bad Bad Thing - 06/05/11 07:52 PM
In my book of real estate rules... there are rules that can be stretched, some that can be overlooked (given the right set of circumstances) and others I have kept inviolate for two decades.
I'm not talking about MLS, State or Board rules & regs, I'm talking about my personal business standards.
Example of a stretched rule? Taking the cutest dog in the world for a ride to a client's house because I knew they would get a kick out of meeting her in person. (We'd shared dog stories & pictures throughout the home selling process)
Example of an overlooked rule? Showing without a pre-approval letter in … (48 comments)
|
realtor life: Sunday Morning - 04/25/10 11:51 AM
They say the more things change the more they stay the same. I've shared before how my passion for real estate and the house-hunting process grew from spending Sunday mornings with my parents, perusing the paper for open houses. (There was a brief time my folks entertained the idea of moving to acreage so I might have my own horse, but then I blinked and that those homes were quickly removed from consideration).
Back then we'd get home from Church, have a big breakfast and then dive into the coupon-stuffed Sunday Paper. Dad would take most of it, but I'd get … (7 comments)
|
realtor life: Some Days You're Ten Feet Tall! - 03/21/10 05:22 PM
It was a gorgeous day weather-wise here in Seattle yesterday. On the first day of Spring 2010, we had temperatures near 70 degrees and sunshine all day long.
My morning consisted of reviewing an offer, presenting another offer and reaching mutual acceptance on a listing I've been marketing on and off for about 18 months. I then hit my favorite store of all time Trader Joe's, had to cancel a showing because the house sold and then headed home to clean patio furniture, watch the Huskies cream beat New Mexico and then made homemade pizza on the BBQ for dinner.
It … (29 comments)
|
realtor life: Have Office Will Travel....Almost Anywhere! - 06/26/09 07:58 PM
Unlike many people who have "normal" jobs, Realtors work odd (and long) hours. Many times 7 days a week. We are able to conduct business from just about any location....pretty much where ever we happen to be at the moment.
I have an "office" office, as well as a home office, but honestly? My "office" is with me no matter where I happen to be.
Last Friday afternoon my office was in a vacant house during a home inspection.
This afternoon my office was in a little different setting.
Both are work, but one of these locations … (17 comments)
|
realtor life: Real Estate Scars - 10/22/08 12:56 AM
The fallout from the mortgage meltdown and housing crisis across the country has not left my local market unscathed. Even though many articles, "experts" (yes, I was one of them) and prognosticators thought our local economy was too resilient to undergo a housing correction, here we are.
At first it was just a slow down in business...numbers, which were inflated in many ways. Agents jumping into the business with no experience but still managing to sell several homes a year for a better than average income. This is what the industry held for many who entered the real estate profession with stars … (59 comments)
|
realtor life: It IS a Good Day to Be Alive..... - 10/10/08 07:55 PM
It's been a hard week, no doubt. I made the mistake tonight of peeking at our 401k balance (What in the world possessed me to do that I'll never know!) and I wish I could erase that visual from my brain, but I'll likely stew on it for awhile (at least until the curiousity gets the better of me again).
I also received sad news that a wonderful man (and client) passed away this week. I knew him on a professional level, which, when you're a Realtor, means I knew him on a personal level. It's impossible to come into someone's home … (19 comments)
|
realtor life: The New Real Estate Guilt - 08/28/08 04:26 PM
Guilt is something which doesn't sit well with me. I have friends who register in the negative numbers on the guilt meter, but not me. Even if there's no concrete reason, the idea that I've done something wrong or could have done something differently with a better outcome makes makes me feel awful.
Throughout my career I've felt guilty about numerous things;
Taking the kids to daycare when they really didn't want to go or rescheduling a client appointment because I didn't have daycare
A listing took too long to sell or another one sold too fast
I wasn't able to get my client's offer through in a mulitple offer … (18 comments)
|
realtor life: You Know It's Monday When.... - 08/19/08 01:13 PM
You dress as if the weather will be what it was over the weekend, only to have it be 30 degrees cooler.
You get to the office and find your water bill is 6x higher than normal..
Because you have a broken sprinkler line.
You have 2 clients who call you that day and want to meet at exactly the same time.
The car in front of you rolls into your bumper at a stop light on your way to meet the first client. (In a neighborhood you really don't want to be getting out of your car in for a minor bumper brush)
… (14 comments)
|
realtor life: Maple Valley Thursday....Movin' in "Snow-MO" - 03/27/08 12:09 PM
I love Thursdays. They tend to be catch up days for me. Work from the previous weekend is usually taken care of and things just seems to settle into a nice lull where I can catch up on file reviews, market stats and any other projects which have been piling up. Just as I got home from the office last night, our rain showers turned into unexpected snow. Evidently some areas were hit harder than others, but this morning I woke up to about 2 inches of Spring Snow blanketing my freshly bloomed daffodils.
I don't mind though, they'll bounce back and it gives … (13 comments)
|
realtor life: Offer Here, Offer There...Who's on First? - 02/21/08 01:00 AM
Follow the green ball....
First message of the day... An offer is coming in on a listing. While driving 45 miles one way to present an offer on a different listing, I receive a message that the offer has in fact come in. Then while presenting that offer later this afternoon, I receive a message I have a second offer on the first listing (not the first message's offer but the first offer for the first listing which was presented first and subsequently countered). Follow that?
Who's on first? Sometimes I wonder if I'm in the middle of an Abbott and Costello skit, but … (26 comments)
|
;)
;)
;)
