Ronda Myers-Waters's Blog

The Buyer's in the Market Place and the Agents that don't know how to deal with them.

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Thu, 21 May 2009 18:13:03 -0700

I have a lovely home for sale in Hessville. It was built in 1964. It has harwood floors and a finished basement. I have received 3 offers on the property and two that have been accepted. One had the financing fall through. The other one should not have fell through.

The buyer had a home inspection done. Which is a good idea, all buyers should do it. I also like that the home inspector tells the buyer about maintenance items that come with home ownership. Which is also a good thing for first time home buyers to know about.

After the inspection I received a response from the buyer stating that they wanted the following items fixed or replaced or $10,425 off the purchase price. The items were the hot water heater because it had a recall, electrical issues there were 4 outlets with open grounds, the gutters replaced, the roof replaced, the trim on the house and garage replaced, the driveway and walkways replaced and the crack in the garage foundation replaced.

According to the pages of the home inspection that I received. The "necessary pages" most of these were maintenance items. I called the agent asking him since when are trim, gutters, and a non leaking 12 year old roof, driveway and walkway MAJOR DEFECTS. He told me that the contract says anything that would bring the value of the house down is a major defect. I next called an inspector that some of my clients have used on their transactions and asked him what he thought of the home inspection response. He stated just as I suspected the only items that were MAJOR DEFECTS were the recall on the hot water heater and the electrical. The home inspector asked what the summary page stated. I told him I did not know since that wasn't one of the "necessary pages" that was attached.

Next consulting with my seller, she agreed to fix the electrical and the hot water heater. We responded to the home inspection. Stating that the seller would fix the electrical and the recall on the hot water heater. The rest were maintenance items and would not be fixed by the seller.

Of course the buyer rejected the response and wanted their earnest money back. I wanted to fight this since the buyer agent refused to show us the summary page. He said that we didn't pay for the inspection so we did not need that page. My seller signed the mutual release to let it go back on the market. She was upset that the seller wanted her to fix all those items and get house for less than $100,000

For my own curiosity I called IAR. I explained to them what had happened and asked what was considered major defects. Not to my surprise the person I talked to said that the driveway, walkway, gutters, trim and non leaking roof are not major defects. I did let that agent know what I had found out.

If I ever have an issue like this again now I can back it up. It just goes to show that agents need to not only educate themselves they need to educate their buyers along the way.

A Very Happy Client

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Thu, 21 May 2009 16:36:09 -0700

I just received a call from a client of mine that closed on his first house on March 13th.

Going back to the first time that I showed him the house. He really liked it. It was an REO that had been gutted by vandals. The house had a remodelled kitchen. The bathroom had to be completely replaced thanks to the vandals. The kitchen needed a sink basin, faucet and new plumbing. The bac bedroom window needed to be replaced. The house also needed a furnace, air conditioner and water heater.

Needless to say it was a handyman's dream.

We wrote the offer. I had it expire 2 months after because the county had lost the deed once. During all of this the county lost the deed a second time and the deal had to be extended another 15 days. We thought the nightmare would never end. On March 13th the deal finally closed.

This was his first home ever he was really excited to finally close the deal.

I told him that it was important to file for homestead exemption on his property since it was a cash deal. He called me today to tell me that he had filed for exemptions and since he was a veteran he did not have to pay any property taxes on the house.

After all that he even gave me a referral. Now I have another client to find a house for.

This kind of news makes me happy to be a real estate broker to help clients with one of the biggest decisions that they will make.

1210 Orchard Dr. Merrillville, IN 46410

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 15:56:45 -0700

This lovely 2 bedroom 1 1/2 barh brick ranch has a main floor laundry room. A finished basement with 2 more possible bedrooms down stairs and a 3/4 bath. It has an enclosed patio, above ground pool, 2 car garage, new roof, updated electrical and has been freshly painted.

7685 Hudson Blvd New Carlisle, IN 46552

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Wed, 28 May 2008 21:43:37 -0700

Do you love to fish, boat, water ski, or tube? This home is for you. The lovely home is located 2 blocks from Hudson Lake. Can be either a great home or a summer home perfect for entertaining. Updated 4 bedroom 2 baths. Dry bar. 2 covered porches one on the lower level and one on the upper level. This home is a must see. Only $124,900. If you are interested feel free to give me a call. 219-789-1153

Presented by Ronda Myers-Waters Willems Realtors

Lower End Priced Homes Selling in Northwest Indiana

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Thu, 24 Apr 2008 09:42:56 -0700

Whenever someone asks what I do for a living and I say I'm a REALTOR they always ask isn't the market slow. I tell them that I have actually been busier than I ever have been. If you know the price range that most buyers are looking in then you can stay busy and have money coming in.

In my area Northwest Indiana the homes under $200,000 are moving. Especially under $150,000. I know that isn't a whole lot of commission but when you can close a few a month then it's not so bad. I figure I sell thise first time home buyers a home they will eventually want to buy a larger home. Plus some of their friends might me looking for homes soon. Great way to get referrals.

My last three deals were first time home buyers. Knowing that this is their first big purchase. I try to go over with them the advantages of owning a home. The deductions on income tax. That the equity that they build while owning a home. I also make sure that I call them about 5 weeks after the closing to remind them to file their property tax exemptions. Most people forget to do that.

I actually had a client lose their house because the taxes went up and they couldn't pay the payment increase. I felt bad. I even tried to sell their home using a short sale but the lender wouldn't go for it. Now it has expired on the market three times and is listed for less than the short sale offer was.

I know a lot of the top producers in my area are hurting. I know that some of them only like to sell higher end home $300,000+ . That could be why they are hurting.

There is not a lot of buyers in that price range. Especially those that bought their homes in the last two years are upside down and would take a loss selling their home in this market. But what if they need to relocate for their job what do they do. A division of the real estate company I work for has helped those owners find tenants to rent their home. We have been pretty busy with that. We have more tenants wanting homes then we have home right now. We are helping them find homes to rent.

Referrals: The Best Compliment a Past Client can Give

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 10:48:53 -0700

I have been in the real estate business for 2 years. I know at first you rely heavily on family and friends to help get you clients. You spend a lot of time in the office doing floor duty to get more clients off the signs of the listings the office have. You may even reap the benefit of a walk-in buyer or seller. My first closed deal was a seller that walked in.

I enjoy what I do. I believe it shows. I have had now a few of my clients give me referrals. I will be closing with one of the referrals probably the end of this week or early next week.

I did personally call my past clients and thank them for the referral. They told me that they gave the friend my name and information. He told them that I would look out for their best interests and not convince them to buy a home that was not for them.

I also believe that the blogs from fellow rainers has helped me grow. I have also referred people moving to other areas of the country by using active rain to find an agent for them.

530 Cambridge Ct. #1C Munster, IN 46321

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:48:11 -0800

Looking foward to SPRING, but not all the yard work. Just the place for you! 2 bedroom 2 bath first floor condo in Munster. Neutral colors, Ready to move in. Close to expressways. Enjoy your weekends with your family and friends.

2 bedroom/2 bath 1st floor condo with garage. 1300 square feet.

$170,000

A deal closed with a fellow Rainer!!!

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 18:39:18 -0800

How many of you have closed deals with fellow AR members?

I'm happy to say Active Rain helped me close a deal with a client and a fellow Active Rainer, Steve Dalton. I was excited today to actually meet Steve in person for the first time. We have had several communications through active rain but this was the first meeting. I can say if it wasn't for talking to him through AR this deal may not have happened. My client was getting ready to look at a FSBO when Steve and I had negotiated a deal. My client was thrilled with the results of the negotiations and now is a proud owner of a brand new Condo.

I know Steve and his contractors worked hard to make this deal happen. Thanks for your hard work and dedication. I hope to do another deal with you soon.

Slow market......means Family and Friends assume you have nothing better to do...

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 14:25:05 -0800

Why is it that because the media says it's a slow real estate market that other family members and friends think that us Realtors have nothing to do so they dump their responsibility on us? Just because they have jobs in factories, or offices and I tend to work from home a lot doesn't mean that I don't work. Yes, I like the flexibility of being a Realtor. I now get to spend more time with my son and get to watch him participate in activites I didn't get to when I worked shift work at the local steel mill. But that doesn't mean that I don't get work at all. I pride myself on giving personal service to my clients. I don't have an assistant. I show my clients homes when they are available. I have a listing, a buyer in contract due to close the end of the month or early next month, two clients getting ready to list their homes and start looking for other homes. I have a client looking for 3 homes as rentals and another client looking for a home. I just finished a closing last week with a client also.

I am excited all of this is going on in my career. I also became the managing broker of my office. I was really excited about that.

I finally had to tell those family members and friends that I do have clients that I'm working with and I can't do all of this and take care of my responsibility and my clients needs. The media may say it's a slow market but this is the busiest I have been since I started in real estate back in 2006. After explaining that to some of the family and friends they now are starting to take care of some of the responsibilities that they tried to dump on me.

Trying to Find comparables on the MLS......

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 11:52:33 -0700

Have any of you had trouble finding comps on your mls because each agent puts the listing in differently? I even call the association to see if I was doing something wrong. They did not get any properties either. I know that there have been listings down the street from the new listing that I am going to have since I drive down the street every day. I put in the address number the direction the street name the postal direction since it is a county road the city, state and zip and the system tells me it can't validate the address. It would be so much easier if everyone put their listings in the same way. I had to map the area to get some listings to show up.

Yoder's Shopping Center-Shipshewanna, Indiana

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 13:01:57 -0700

YODER'S SHOPPING CENTER

Yoder's shopping center has been around for nearly 40 years. The department store has a wide assortment of Amish fabric, linens hats and other items. If you are looking for something and can't find it the staff is always willing to help you find what you are looking for. When you are finished there go across the hall to the hardware store for some unique items. There is also a grocery store to pick up a few items on your way out. Again it is hard to walk out empty handed.

Blue Gate Restaurant & Theater, Shipshewana, Indiana

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:59:53 -0700

BLUE GATE RESTAURANT & THEATER

Located in the middle of Shipshewana the Blue Gate Restaurant & Theater is a place to visit. The restaurant has both menu and family style available. Enjoy a Amish meal and make sure if you are too full for dessert you visit their bakery for a take home treat. To see what is playing at the theater go to http://www.bluegatetheater.com/. It will give you the list of events and prices. Top off the evening with a buggy ride or horse-drawn carriage ride available right outside the restaurant.

Shipshewana Flea Market, Shipshewana, Indiana

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Fri, 08 Jun 2007 12:57:16 -0700

SHIPSHEWANA FLEA MARKET

We spent the day at the flea market in Shipshewana today. There is something for everyone there. Whether you are into T-shirts or jewelry, plants or veggies, hardware or houseware you will find something at the flea market. The fleas market is open Tuesdays from 7:00am to 5:00pm. Wednesday from 7:00am to 3:00pm. It is open from May1st thru October 31^st. Plan to do a lot of walking. Get there early before the crowds get there. We found enough bargins to send my dad back to the car to unload twice. Then mom found enough plants to fill up any available space left in the back of the truck. There is no admission charge, but there is a charge for parking.

Salad, Salad, Salad

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 08 May 2007 10:13:52 -0700

SALAD, SALAD, SALAD

Next time you are looking for something to do, have a salad dinner party. Start with a green salad, go on to a main course salad, (chicken, crab, salmon or tuna) Have a few different side salads.( pasta, potato, macaroni etc) . There are many desert salads to finish the meal with. You can be creative and have a lot of fun doing this. Some churches, and ladies' organizations do this as a fun raiser. Have an express line if you do it for a fun raiser it will attract the lunch crowd. One of the churches in Munster, Indiana had this a couple of years ago. Since we moved to Chesterton, I haven't been up with things in Munster. It was a good idea to get some new ideas for salads too.

Duneland Resale Shop - Chesterton Indiana 46304

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 08 May 2007 10:10:16 -0700

Duneland Resale Shop

Located on Broadway in Chesterton is the Duneland Resale Shop. It is run by the local churches and all the profits are given back to the local communities. Volunteers tag and stock the store. They are always friendly and willing to help you. Whether it is to browse the many racks of clothes or other items or to donate some of the things you no longer want or need, it is a place to think about when cleaning out your house of unwanted items. From bikes to furniture, clothes to household items it is someplace to visit. One little girl was excited to get a few new items to play dress up. Her mom said it was better that some of these video games that are full of violence. She even looked at some of the jewelry for her collection.

How Low Can You Stoop

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 08 May 2007 10:07:52 -0700

How Low Can You Stoop

Chesterton, Indiana police are seeking a man who is stealing air-conditioning parts. The person stealing these parts are even stealing from local churches. Described as a white male with thinner build and longer brown hair driving a white F-150 pick-up truck . With the price of scrap cooper, it is a way to makequick extra bucks. Just remember when you get to those pearly gates. It's the BIG MAN upstairs that you have to answer to. You may be enjoying the money now but you may not be laughing when you get caught. $25,000.00 lost is a lot for any church to endure. Fr. Meade did ask the parishioners to prayer for the person behind the thefts. God knows he does need someone to pray for him.

There is a picture of the truck and the individual in the Monday, May 7, 2007 addition of the Chesterton Tribune.

Pine Township Arboretum

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 08 May 2007 10:04:06 -0700

PINE TOWNSHIP ARBORETUM.

The Porter County Parks have acquired a 22-acre site in Pine Township. Described as a meticulously designed arboretum bursting with unique plant life, history, and whimsy. 15 acres of the arboretum are botanical gardens that boast 60 different varieties of hybrid hostas. Other plant life include six to ten foot tall rhododendron, azaleas ,hybrid day-lilies, weeping junipers and variety of hollies. The property includes a-turn-of-the-century English American barn and a house with an attached greenhouse. There is a garden called the "tickle garden" consisting of tall grasses. For you gardeners it a nice relaxing place for you to enjoy

Jackson County, Michigan

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 08 May 2007 10:01:03 -0700

Jackson County, Michigan

Located at the crossroads of I-94 and US-127 it is easy to get to. There are many golf courses, hundreds of lakes, festivals, acres of city and county parks for you to enjoy. Some of the most beautiful scenery in the Midwest is in Jackson County. With year around festivals no matter what time of the year you visit there, you will find something to do. If hunting or fishing is your thing , there are plenty of award winning bucks and lakes around for you pleasure. There are bicycling and walking trailing animals birds and wildlife if you want to get back to nature. Shopper have nothing to fear, there are some unique shops and dining there for you to try. Try some of the fun places for a weekend or week of fun.

Red Cup Cafe and Deli - Chesterton, Indiana 46304

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Tue, 08 May 2007 09:58:51 -0700

CHESTERTON

Next time you are in Chesterton browsing around and need a nice lunch stop into the Red Cup Café & Deli. Located at 520 Broadway next to Duneland Pizza. From deli sandwiches of roast beef and cheddar, veggies and hummus, blts to peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. There are also grilled sandwiches to choose from. They have a cup or bowl of soup for those chilly days. Salads are also on the menu for those that want a lite lunch .Or a slice of quiche might be what you want. They have a variety of cold and hot drinks to choose from. Organic coffee, spiced chai, café au lait, espresso, latte, cappuccino, mocha, numi organic tea, hot chocolate and steamer. All the drinks are available iced too. They have fresh baked sweets for you to choose from that make a perfect ending to you meal.

Compost-Helps grow bigger plants

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Sat, 05 May 2007 10:53:41 -0700

Compost.

Now that Spring is here it's time to clean the yard of all the leaves you used to cover your plant and the dead leaves left behind from last year. All the material is a good way to start a compost pile. Add egg shells, hair clippings, even vegetable and fruit peelings. We have a compost tumbler. It is a way to help your garden and use the natural waste you have already there. Add a little of the compost to the bulbs you plant in the fall and you will see the difference. I used the first batch last year in one of the tomato pots to see if there was any difference . The plant was about a foot taller than the others and the tomatoes were about one and a half times the size. No chemicals for the plant to absorb.

Birdhouses-Great family craft activity

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Thu, 03 May 2007 12:03:04 -0700

Birdhouses

With Spring here it time to check out the birdhouses. I don't know who likes the birdhouses better, my son or my mom. Living so close to the Rookery we have a large population of birds. Each year we paint a couple of new birdhouse to hang on the Sheppard Poles in the back year. Grandpa and Uncle Shawn make some for us to paint and decorate. Last year my PURDUE TRAIN was the best one. I bought at Michael's and had fun painting it. My son did an outhouse. G.G. did a church and mom did a castle. It was a time we all spent together and the birds took them over in no time at all. Don't forget to put some nesting material out to help them build their nest too.

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:44:46 -0700

Grand Rapids, Michigan

Tingle your taste buds with a few of the local restaurants. Bistro Bella Vista and Bostwick Lake Inn use the local produce for the dishes. Stop in at Robinette's Apple Haus & Gift Barn to taste the local wines and hard cider. Make sure you visit the Grand Rapids Fulton Street Farmers Market The Fruit Ridge County Market Guide (http://www.fruitridgemarket.com/) will direct you to 35 family farms and markets. From the first vegetables of the season to the pumpkins in the fall, you will find it all. They have U-Pick to already picked for you to choose.

Help Support Our Troops

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:39:26 -0700

Help Support Our Troops

This summer if your kids and their friend have nothing to do try raising some money to send our troops some much needed items. You can call your local VFW or American Legion for a list of items needed. Since 9/11 packages just can't be mailed without a name. Ask around for neighbors, friend or even your local churches for some local service men or women that might be serving abroad. Even just a letter from home will make a difference. Organize a letter writing afternoon. For the little ones that can't write but still want to participate type out some sentences for them to paste on a piece of paper. Some ideas are: THANK YOU FOR PROTECTING OUR FREEDOM. THANK YOU FOR THE SACRIFICE YOU ARE MAKING FOR US ETC. This might be an idea for a vacation bible school too. Include a few pictures of the kids writing the letters with a return address. Include paper, envelopes and some stamps and the kids might even get a note back.

The Gift of Giving

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Thu, 03 May 2007 11:36:16 -0700

Gift of Giving

Most children have a lot more than they need. I am borrowing this idea from one of my son's friend. Last year at his birthday party they asked you to bring a can good or two for the local food pantry. Gifts were optional for the Birthday Boy. The children had fun picking out the special items donated. Since our pantry is always full, my son went shopping in there as well as the local grocery store for his items. The local food pantry was thrilled to get the extra items since during the summer the need for food increases with the kids home from school. It teaches the kids that everyone might not be as fortunate as they are.

The year my husband passed away the whole living room was filled with toys for him. There was no room to walk. I wish I thought of that idea that year. Instead of donating some of the duplicate toys to local charities, we could have donated food to help feed them.

Congrats to LaPorte Hospital

Ronda Myers-Waters (Willems Realtors, Principal Broker) — Wed, 02 May 2007 14:25:08 -0700

LaPorte Hospital Located in downtown LaPorte has received a Gold Hospital Award for their commitment to enhancing organ and tissue donations throughout Indiana. The award was given by the Indiana Organ Procurement Organization (IOPO).

For information on Organ and Tissue Donation visit www.iopo.org , www.donatelifeindiana.com or www.tbionline.org

For more information on LaPorte Hospital visit www.laportehealth.org

The Times had a daily brief about the award in the Wednesday, May 2nd issue.

Again congrats to LaPorte Hospital. Keep up the Great Work.