Heather's Blog

NEW LISTING! 6018 Dixon Dr RALEIGH NC 27609

2008-03-01T19:31:39Z

Hi Everyone! I have a new listing it is MLS # 985778

6018 Dixon Dr

Raleigh NC 27609

$130,000

Townhome 2 bed/2 1/2 bath

1530SF

Well maintained, new floors and paint! Beautiful and all new appliances. Seller is offering a home warranty up to $400.

Foreclosures in NC up 143%!!!!!!!!!!!

2007-12-19T18:20:09Z

We all are aware that foreclosures are on the rise in all states, however I was really under estimating how much they have gone up! I read an article today stating that foreclosures are up 143% in the state of North Carolina! ! ! ! That averages to 1 in 976 households are a foreclosure. That's startling and shocking, again I knew that the rate was up but I never imagined it was that much!

Have you checked your area? If so, I'd love for you to share!

Developer of 3 burned homes missing......

2007-12-18T12:46:03Z

The market must be worse than I thought or this developer thinks such thoughts anyway! I was watching the news today and overheard about the developer of 3 homes that burned over the weekend is missing! He has not been seen in recent days and one neighbor to the homes says they saw the developer in a heated argument with a potential buyer last week. All 3 homes were unoccupied. The fire happened in Fayetteville NC and has been reported as intentionally set and suspious.

The developer's neighbors say he's always running up and down the road and they have not seen him since Friday night. The developer has also been sued various times over not completing work on the homes he is selling, he would apparently make promises to fix items on the list and once the home sold would not follow through.

Did this developer just go off the deep end?

Who do I listen to? The housing meeting or the housing reports!

2007-12-16T16:21:09Z

I read a great deal of articles online these days with business being very slow, the most recent being an article on YAHOO! saying that the market would continue to go down and hit "rock bottom" in 2008. The report says thorughout the nation we will see record low sales prices and a very low number of home sales during 2008, with hopes the market will turn around in 2009. With more homes for sale and for some unknown reason less buyers than ever the market seems to have just stopped.

However, we just got our local report here and it says that our area has already seen our "record low" and despite that home prices are up 6.6%. It also says our market is going to start to turn around in early 2008. That is quite a bit of a difference from the other market report. While our area has just recently seemed to get hit with the "down market" it has taken a toll on us all. Our reports along the way stated that Raleigh and Charlotte where the only two places around that actually went up in home sales earlier in the year. One at 7% and one at 11% but we all knew that wouldn't be the case long term. A great deal of our local troubles have to do with our water shortage, they have now stopped giving out building permits in 3 counties and tapped a lake to get water to Wake County. Between that water shortage, building permits down and lack of current homes selling that has really cut down on new homes being built.

So, that sounds good, but which one do I listen to? Do I get my hopes up that our local market in the Raleigh area will turn around in early 2008 like the "local experts" say or do I stay head strong that the market is just not good for selling until 2009?

It's very confusing and so I wondered if you guys wanted to share what your local markets are saying? Your feedback is greatly appreciated.

McDonald's food and real estate collide......

2007-12-10T16:01:09Z

Hey again everyone, this blog is slightly different from my typical blogging, however it has a good point. If any of you are repeats readers on my blogs you will know I get almost all of my ideas from reading articles online such as cnn.com, wral.com(our local station) and business journals.

Anyway, basically I was reading again today and came across something very interesting. It was a "Not quite perfect Mcdonalds" in IL. It was a very amusing thing to read and imagine. They actually sell basically the "deformed" food from McDonald's warehouse. They have green fries, footlong fries, orange drink that's all syrup, M shaped patties. It's horrible to imagine. I personally like McDonalds, however that just ruins my appetite for McDonalds! One lady made a remark she would never take her kids there again because they opened their happy meals and found headless toys and it scared her little ones!

But, you are saying by now, How does this relate to real estate? It reminds me of the Real Estate Professionals that halfway do things for their clients. Take the listing and charge a cheaper rate but you put it on the MLS and a sign in the yard and do nothing but sit and wait........and wait.......and wait.....then all of sudden the listing is going to expire and it's time to hussle. It's not suppose to work that way but it's a good connection if you really think of it. It's one thing if that's what the seller wants and they know they are getting nothing but the home listed online, but it's another to tell the seller you're going to "sell" their home and not do anything to sell it, no marketing, no open houses, no follow ups, absolutely nothing. I am a big believer of personalized customer service and truly making the client feel they are the only one.

I just found the article amusing and how it shows how people try to save a little money and how people tend to halfway do their jobs or run their business. I'd like to know would you eat at the "Not quite perfect McDonalds"?

Educating buyers on what is and is NOT an incentive

2007-12-09T17:22:04Z

I spend a great deal of my time educating buyers and potential buyers on home buying and mortgages. I have been offering these home buying seminars here for just over a year. It's incredible how unintelligible people really are. I guess I simply misjudged due to growing up around homes and construction. Anyhow, I read an article about people all over the country offering these "great incentives" to sell their homes including some builders offering. I was happy when the article on CNN.COM also pointed out that you're not really getting a deal after-all because I use this point in all of my seminars. I always have a few attendees say, I want new construction because they will give me.....*Whatever you choose*. I'm sure you've seen or heard them all, big screen TVs, trips, airline tickets, cars, etc. It's amazing honestly. HOWEVER, the article pointed out that if you take out a mortgage of $200,000 for 30 yr fixed and 6.5% rate and the builder "gives" you a $2500 big screen TV if you figure it up if the builder would just take off $2500 from the price of the home you would only mortgage $197500 and save yourself $3200 interest on the loan over the 30 years! So, as I keep telling my buyers NOTHING is free, again NOTHING is free. It's very true, they are ready to sell these homes but they will make up for the costs somewhere and you will pay for it in some way. Also, typically builders will give you that TV if you use their lender but there's usually a catch such as the closing fee is higher, the rate is higher or additional hidden costs.

It Always pays to shop your loan and shop your home inventory. I just believe we should all educate our buyers on what is an incentive and what is NOT an incentive. I know most of you are seeing more of these incentives your way more than mine, but it's still a nationwide controversy. If you are in the business for a sale this probably won't be worth your time to read, however if you are in the business to "serve" your clients and build a relationship this small step that takes 10-15 minutes will truly help your business succeed.

A Realtor is a salesperson, so why are so quick to cut off a salesperson

2007-12-07T14:27:15Z

If we are in the Real Estate Profession that means we are in the market of selling ourselves and homes correct? So, how come we tend to be so quick to judge or cut off other salespeople? I know we all get a ton of mail and calls and emails that we really don't want to hear about because they cost us money, however there are some people we may need to make the connections with to help ourselves. I attended the Local Board of Realtors Holiday Party last night and I brought my home inspector along because he is a close family friend that is looking to expand his areas of service, perfect opportunity, just meet people, get feedback and make connections. I admit he's very timid at times, however I was very proud of him. He did get out there and put himself in the position to market his services and himself. I would say he handed out around 35-40 cards and about 3 negative reactions, the rest were either slight blow-offs or very positive reactions. But, I got to thinking, if most of these people don't know that we came in together and there are other professionals around such as lenders why blow off the home inspector so quickly? He may have a referral he could give you or since you're one of his first in that area he may give you a discount to pass on to your buyer! I helped him get his business started in the very beginning and it has been repaid to me by listing his home with me to buy another. I couldn't ask for more! He didn't do it just because he knew me personally, he knows another Real Estate Professional too but I am the one that took the time to answer questions, give advice, give ideas and help promote his services and now the one helping to extend that area of service. It DOES repay to help others and make connections even in unrelated business fields. I just wish we would take a moment and give these folks a minute to explain their-selves especially when they are new people or free services to us as Realtors. I'm always looking for great deals for my clients and ways to save them a couple of bucks!

Are you getting a 50/50 Split wouldn't you love 70/30 or 100%? It can happen

2007-12-07T09:20:15Z

I started out working with Century 21 Realty on a 50/50 split with fees of $75/month. I interviewed with several companies including one that told me I looked too young and I was a high risk so they couldn't hire me on. I thought C21 was my only option and the 50/50 split was standard. Well, I had a very close fellow agent call me one day with great news, there was another company out there that was not only affordable for their monthly fees but they gave a higher split as well as better education! When I decided to make the change I admit I was worried and scared, but it has honestly been the greatest switch I ever made. I am posting this because I know there are many agents out there saying I know there's more but where? I would like to introduce you to Keller Williams Realty. I also get emails time to time asking what's so great about Keller Williams?

There are a ton of advantages to being with Keller Williams Realty here are a few:

Great Training Program- CAMP 443 is 16 classes that is taken over 2 months plus 6 more classes just to get things off and running. then there are continuous classes throughout the month that you can attend for free including Business Planning Clinic which I vouch is the best thing ever created!

Family Atmosphere- There's not the secretive/competitiveness that you have at other companies EVERYONE in KW is willing to help each other, we view it as if one succeeds we all succeed. We also have a social once per month, picnics throughout the year and this year a KW Charity Ball that many many attended.

Not Everyone can join- You have to be sponsored in by someone who has already talked to you about KW and you can sponsor people all over the country. So, even though I'm in NC and if you're in TX, CA or NY I can still sponsor you in and set up your appointment for you.

The things you receive- We all love to hear about what we get for what we are paying for! When you sign up you get your own voice-mail number, website and 500 business cards for free. You also get a box that includes a license plate, announcement cards, stationary and more.

So, now you are saying how much are the fees? They are $85/month and we start off on a 70/30 split. After we "cap" which is $23,000 in commission we get 100% for the rest of our agent year. So say you sign up in May then you "cap" in November, from November til May you get 100% all you pay is the 6% franchise fee! What more can you ask for?

If you would like to find out more or be sponsored in please email me ncrealtor4u@gmail.com and I will be glad to go into more details or help you out in anyway possible.

Trouble understanding buyer and I know someone out here can help!

2007-12-04T18:26:47Z

Hey everyone. I have a "tough" situation with a current buyer that not only have I not experienced before, but no one in my office has encountered before and we are a larger office around 200 real estate professionals. I have a buyer that is claiming that they are getting a lump sum of money from Social Security. They say they have paid in such a large amount plus they are sick and underage and will never return to work they feel it's owed to them. Apparently they took it to court in 2002 and around 2004 they received $30K but that's all except the regular monthly payment. Also she was adopted and never knew that until last year and her "family" had been putting in claims even now saying they were for her and they weren't. She says Social security has it under investigation and apparently knows who did it and she believes she will be getting that money back or atleasta percentage of that money.

She has to have a home in the next 60 days and we have been back and forward on what we are looking for. She is thinking she will be able to purchase a home around 550K but if she does a traditional mortgage at this time she only qualifies for a little less than 200K. I am uncertain if there really is money or how to handle the situation. She has set down on conference calls with my financial planner to see if she can get anywhere but it obviously has not worked yet. I am starting to get frustrated with the entire situation. I love the buyer she is a wonderful person overall and I enjoy working with her but I am weary of the situation. I know I can't really get involved b/c it is too legal from my standpoint, however I'm looking for a solution. If any of you out there have seen or heard of this before please let me know. I figured that with the Real Estate Professionals, Attorneys and more on activerain I could find some sort of help or direction! Thanks!

Signs Signs Signs! I'm sick of hearing about the signs!

2007-12-03T20:12:23Z

Good Evening everyone, I don't know if you're dealing with this in your area but I'd love to know. If I hear about one more sign I think I'll pull my hair out. Every few days we receive an email from the Regional Association of Realtors about signs being placed incorrectly. Is it really that hard to figure out? Yes, it is. Sadly they keep making the "sign laws" stricter and no one can keep up. Here's the latest from our local Association of Realtors.....

You are permitted to place up to 25 square feet of signage on the property that is for sale, lease or rent. You are not however, allowed to place off-site directionals, with the following exception:

You may place up to four generic (no company name or logo) directional Open House signs that do not exceed 2 square feet per sign; signs may be placed from Friday, 5pm-Sunday, 5pm. The property you place it on, must be residential and you must obtain the permission of the property owner. Lastly, signs must be placed behind the right of way. Absolutely no placement of signs in medians or on commercially zoned property.

Can I just say from a buyers view that chances of finding the open house are slim to none if you have several in the neighborhood or several listings in the neighborhood. It's beginning to get insane. One town, Cary has even stricter laws. That gets sticky when you are not use to listing or having open houses in Cary only Raleigh and you travel over to Cary and the laws are different. Then Durham isn't picky at all, you put a sign whereever you want when you want. As long as you get your signs back up why does it matter? I see the reasoning behind it but I do not see the reasoning for changing it often or having a different one for each city/town. Then there's a strong $200 fine per sign. I'm not sure if I agree with $200 for a sign that may or may not be misplaced depending on what city you are in.

A market update from my side of the world. . . .

2007-12-01T12:39:49Z

I like reading the blogs about different areas of the country so I thought there must be someone else out there that wants to know about my area. I service what is said to be the "triangle" area of North Carolina. This includes Raleigh, Durham and Chapel Hill. I have lived in the area for over 20 years and know the entire triangle very well as I drive on average 100-200 miles/day.

Currently, there are over 17,000 listings in the TriangleMLS. Over 8200 are Wake County which includes Raleigh. However the buyer rate is 42% less! The average days on the market outside the hot-spots ranges from about 90-125 days currently. There are still some hot-spots that are selling in as little as 2 days. It makes a great time to buy for buyers with the rates still being very good, the sellers getting irritated and lowering prices or offering incentives that are irresistible. But, for some reason the buyers just aren't coming. There are some subdivisions that were hot-spots and all of sudden things seem to be at a halt. My father is in the drywall business and he hasn't had much work in about a month and half. It's terrible, I guess we are starting to be affected as much of the country already has been.

I have a few buyers but nothing like I should have for what I have been marketing and prospecting for. None of my business will be closing until January either. I was shy of my goal for the year overall, which makes me a little nervous about the year to come with the NAR predicting it not to pick up for another year! I guess just cross our fingers and hope they missed it this time.

Blue collar or white collar consumer does it matter?

2007-11-30T12:50:28Z

I meet people everyday that come along with the idea, "I do not make enough money to buy a home". I don't like to hear that. I also hear some agents that won't work with buyers that are buying a $75,000 townhome, "It's not worth my time." I hate hearing both of these statements.

For myself, I will work with buyers who are looking to buy land from $15,000 to a 3 mil home. It does not matter what they can afford or they choose to buy. Also, the more people I meet the more it proves to me there are a ton of potential buyers out there floating around waiting for someone to take the time to explain what is going on to them. This is what makes me love my job as a Real Estate Professional. I have been personally offering home buyer seminars since 2006. I have recently expanded that to offer them to companies here in the triangle area of North Carolina just for that reason, some people can't get off work or away from their life to learn about this stuff. It can be overbearing for someone from the outside field. I don't want anyone who dreams of owning a home to be "left out" or feel that no one has the "time" to work with them. I believe anyone who wants to own a home should have the opportunity too. I know some people are stuck working what is stated as blue collar jobs and that's not anything to be ashamed of, they are out there actually working harder for their money and they are attempting to do what they want with their lives. It shouldn't matter where a person works or currently lives, all that should matter is they are ready to take the right steps to own their own home and we should be helping them get there.

I love my lender, that is such an understatement! My lender works hard to help anyone and everyone fix their credit and get in the position to own a home. I also work closely with a financial planner to achieve the goal of owning a home, preparing to save a little more for that down payment and get ready to make the investment. They are both people I wouldn't trade for anything. :)

I'm sure all my fellow agents out there would agree that you've come across someone who felt this way or had worked with an agent and felt unfairly treated due to it not being a larger purchase? It just gives us the opportunity to look a little better. ;)

Does the weather affect the sales of homes?

2007-11-26T18:20:09Z

Our office today felt like the tropics! The heat was acting up and it was about 57 degrees outside so our office felt like 80+!!! I started listening to people...some complaining others saying how they wished they were at a warm beautiful beach. So, I let my imagination run with that idea and came to the all mighty question could the weather ultimately affect where we choose to buy a home? I know people take that into consideration, however there is usually another more major reason for their choice, job or family.

Here in our area of North Carolina over the past years it was one: never this warm in NC this time of year and two: the drought is exceptional and we have less than 60 days of water left! If it weren't for a job or family but just for the sake of moving under those two conditions if you liked it to be cool or cold this time of year you probably wouldn't choose to live here. I personally think holidays (Nov-Jan) should be cold. I have lived in North Carolina for 20 years and I must admit that I remember when it was cold from mid-October til mid-March. Over the last 5-7 years that has changed dramatically and of course we use to get rain! :( Every year it has been a little drier and a little hotter a little longer. Our weather here has been so up and down, last week one day it was 70 (wed) and 48 (sun)! So, I wonder will some people move to "cooler" areas of the country or where it is not so dry that it is causing major problems or just somewhere alittle more stable?

Then again from another standpoint, say you hate frigid weather and want somewhere that winter doesn't seem to last forever, North Carolina could be looking really good to you right now, especially if you are living up north where you are already seeing some snow!

I just wonder how big of a role will the weather play in the choice of where to live?

Selling in a prime buyer's market

2007-11-15T10:57:42Z

I know all markets in this country are different, our market here in Raleigh North Carolina is astonishing. There is currently a 42.9% gap in sellers and buyers in our market! So, I hear agents saying, don't list your home right now, or I'm not taking listing right now, they are a waste of time and money. Well, a fellow agent of mine, listed a home this week and had it under contract in 2 days, that's right 2 days! This is in a market where there is an average of days on the market of 90-120 days, sometimes more. That just proves to me if you have the right price and right location you can get your home sold, even in the prime buyers market!

Sellers that make us think we're in a nightmare. . . .

2007-11-07T13:15:23Z

I was talking with one of my fellow agents today and we were talking about the horrors of dealing with some sellers. Granted most of the time I've had decent sellers, but I did want to share a personal experience of my nightmare seller, even worst it was my first listing! I am sure almost everyone on here could relate to this or will at some point in their career.

My last company, name not given was a lot different from Keller Williams. Okay, technically backwards. However, they had lead calls and the day that this listing call came in I was the only one in the office so I received the lead call. The company didn't have top policies on handling the leads they would set up the appointment and then hand it off to an agent with no name of the person or phone number. They would keep that private just give us the residence which was totally stupid and unsafe. So, the call comes in around 1:30 and the gentleman says I need someone here by 3 to list my land next to me. So, off I go with a packet and a sign all excited. I get there and pull in the driveway and he meets me at the car and says, "I've done this before where do I sign?" Wow, I didn't know better I just let him sign and put the sign in the yard. I told the company and they said that's great! I thought it seemed strange. About a week later a fellow agent in that office calls me fussing and yelling about how they should have been the one to list the lot. My remarks, "What?! Where is this coming from?" So my BIC calls me and says, "Oh, well she was going to buy the lot when it was up for sale by owner and the gentleman backed out day of closing and knowing she worked here he called us." Okay, again what does that have to do with me? So, another week later she quits! To make matters worse, the seller called constantly telling me there were people there wanting to buy the land and I had to hurry or he'd cut me from the deal everytime we found out there was never a person there! So, 2 months and 3 weeks had gone by one week left in this horrible listing and I started getting more eager for the listing to end. Then the "impossible" happens, one of my buyers sees the land and falls in love. Great. . . so we work through the negotiation process and they verbally agree on $24,000. The seller comes into the office to sign the paperwork and says, "Well I would like my attorney to review this before I sign." No problem, sounds logical. After 2 weeks of not picking up the phone his attorney calls and says, "The seller wants full asking price" WHAT?! We have been dealing with this almost a month at this point. "He has the right to change his mind!" is the response I get from the attorney. Okay write it on the paper and I will present back to the buyer, "No, I don't think it's legally" is the response from the attorney! I couldn't help but freak out! My company at that time was no help at all. Well, another week goes by of trying to reach the attorney and the seller no luck, I even mailed a certified letter to him saying we needed to reach him so 5 weeks into this the buyer is still hanging in there and I'm ready to bail! So, we continue this process for a total of 7 weeks, 6 weeks after it had originally expired and we still didn't close, the certified letter came back to me, the phone was ignored and I never received the contract back! I lost the buyer and the seller never closed so I wasted 4 1/2 months of my time and life on this little piece of land.

Moral: Don't let Sellers get that way, move on.

55 + Market

2007-11-04T18:35:56Z

I am surprised through my experience in the real estate field how many "seniors" are renting. I guess I just always thought all retired people had children and grandchildren and owned a home. Apparently, I was under the wrong impression. I worked as a part time property manager for a senior apartment complex and I was surprised how many tenants there were and how many people walked in needing a place to live everyday. Some of the people needed a place to live due to foreclosure on their home mostly bad mortgages, Another hand full of people needed a place to live due to lack of social security funds and section 8 was their only option. It was amazing but in a sad way. Even worse than that the owner and management company wanted to save as much money as possible by cutting costs down to nothing and in return the people received nothing. During my management there I saw tenants that desperatly needed paint or carpet and the company wouldn't do it and I saw benches out front that were broken and again no help from the company. Some of the tenants had lived there for over 14 years without having anything replaced or fixed! There were 3 aparements that had plumbing issues and no one to fix them, only temporary solutions! It was such a horrible thing to see, these people live their entire life to live in a place where no one would listen to them or keep them happy. Most with every penny going to their rent. 70 % didn't have kids or family to help them any either. I really feel strong that our 55+ market is not nearly the size it should be.

The holiday's are coming up too quickly

2007-11-02T11:43:10Z

Hello Everyone, this is my first blog on active rain and I just wanted to touch base on what is coming up that is important to me. The holidays are coming up very quickly, too quickly actually. Sadly whether we realize it or not the year is almost at it's end! From October 31st until January 1st we celebrate constantly, but we sometimes forget those that can't. If we really think about it October 31st is Halloween then 3 weeks later is Thanksgiving and one month later is Christmas and a week after that is New Years! It is a great time of the year, but not everyone feels that way.

Our local Board of Realtors has a project every year called Project Angel Tree. Last year they collected over 7000 gifts for local needy children! That's wonderful and a true blessing but there's other children out there that may not be able to come forward that may not have holiday items either. It just bothers me to think how much we overspend during the holidays and others are sitting there without a single thing!

Another thing about the holidays is that means the year is almost over which means we have to wake up and realize if we met our goals or not, from what I'm gathering around my office most didn't. It is terrible to think that lead generation takes 60-120 days to actually have your check in your hand! This means we have no time left if we haven't been lead generating most of us will not have any closings until after Jan. 1st. Which may be good or bad dependent on your tax situation.

I just wanted to reflect on how I feel the holidays are sometimes looked at differently and the year end as well.