Sheri Ann Johnson, Realtor-Associate Spring Hill, Florida Real Estate Market

It's Still a Buyer's Market in Spring Hill, Florida

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 19:16:48 -0500

We have been in a Buyer's Market in all areas of Hernando County, Florida (including Spring Hill, Brooksville, Weeki Wachee & Hernando Beach) for almost 2 yaers now. Interest rates are still historically low and local Realtors are starting to notice Buyers coming out & getting their feet wet. For two months in a row I have had multiple offers fighting for my listings, which is a great sign! I think the prices have finally come back down to where they should have been before they rose to all time highs back in 2001 through 2005.

Hernando County's local builders have been scrambling with incentives, Realtor bonuses & other extras (like plasma TVs, washers & dryers, etc) luring Buyers to their doors. This is a great strategy for builders but it hurts the homeowner trying to sell their older home. Offering Real Estate incentives are a great way to attract Realtors & Buyers to a home, but when it comes right down to it a home priced realistically, on today's market, will bring the most amount of attention. This has been a relatively hard concept to get a Seller to understand.

Homes in Hernando County priced accurately will continue to sell quickly. Yet many Sellers in Hernando County do not believe their Real Estate professionals when it comes to price suggestions & have their homes priced too high. A Realtor suggests a listing price, but a homeowner has the last word on it. Too many homeowners think they can still get 2004/2005 prices for their homes & they create their own price, which is typically much higher than a Realtor's suggestion. When the home lingers on the market for months without a showing the Realtor usually gets a hard time from the Seller, who wonders what the Realtor is doing to market their home. Well no amount of marketing will sell an over-priced home! I myself do not take over-priced listings, it is a waste of a Seller's time, my time & my marketing dollar, plus it sends a message to the neighbors that I can't sell a house.

Homes are selling in Spring Hill. If you're considering selling your home in the next year your Real Estate professional should be offering you a detailed marketing plan on how your home will be marketed, a virtual tour, considerable web coverage/marketing & a detailed comparable market analysis (CMA) backing up their listing price suggestion. The listing priced should be looked at every 30 days & adjusted, if necessary. My advice to Sellers is to work with a Real Estate professional that you trust, let them do their job & you will get the results you're looking for!

Visit my website to search ALL available homes in Florida & to find more information on our beautiful Nature Coast! Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI, REALTOR-Associate, Keller Williams Realty of the Florida West Coast, Spring Hill Florida

Creating a Buyer's Presentation

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:52:23 -0500

For the most part I think that each & every one of us has a good idea of how to create a listing presentation for a Seller. But do you know how to create a Buyer presentation for the Buyer? As soon as my Buyer gets in the car I hand them their folder. In the folder I have a customer copy of each of the MLS pages of the homes we're about to see, stapled together, in the order that we're going to see them. I also include a map of Hernando County, a couple of Nature Coast books, a calendar of events, a visitor's guide, a newcomer's guide, a list of utility companies in the area, my own list of important web links to get them familiar with the area & a blank copy of the purchase contract. I encourage note taking by including a pen in their folder.

When a Buyer gives me their commitment by signing the Buyer Broker Agreement, I go all out. I want them to feel value in their decision to work with me & only me, and I am confident they do.

Give them something they can USE!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 21:31:54 -0500

When I show a home I don't leave my business card behind, I leave a customized book marker behind! I have had my box of 1000 book markers for 2 years now & I have left them on many different countertops. I think I paid $45 for the box of them.

Today I got a phone call from a woman who has one of my book marks from when her home was on the market over a year ago. She's been holding on to it (using it actually) & now needs to sell & move up North. She wants me to meet with her on Thursday for a listing presentation... I'm the only real estate agent interviewing for the position. Yippee!

Rest assured your business cards will be thrown away. Leave the Seller something they can use & chances are they will! You can go to QuantumCopy.com & either order a standard design or upload your own photos & create a custom one!

You know your deal is going South when the escrow check bounces!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Mon, 09 Oct 2006 20:53:17 -0500

A fellow real estate agent friend of mine got a call this afternoon that the escrow check the Buyer put down to secure her Seller's listing, had just bounced! Can you believe it? It was a $5000 check! She quickly called the Buyer's agent, who had already heard the news & had called her customers. The Buyers seemed mildly surprised, but really weren't all that concerned, actually they laughed. The Buyer's agent advised that when she told her customers how serious this was they were a bit more concerned.

My friend asked the Buyer's agent to secure a bank check from them as soon as possible. My friend is trying to act cool around her Sellers during this whole situation. I only hope for her sake that this is not a glimpse into the future of this transaction! The title company wasn't phased by this at all... Does this happen a lot?

Microsoft Updates & More

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 16:19:01 -0500

If I'm not out & about I am at home, and most likely spending a good part of my day on the computer. I use PowerPoint, Word, Outlook & Excel on a daily basis. I have had extensive training on all of them, but I find myself still learning everyday. I use the Microsoft website to download new templates for Excel, PowerPoint & Word, like list making templates, new clip art. There are also many other free downloads, business managment information & various training classes to help anyone better organize their business.While you're looking around

While you're looking around you can also check for updates to keep your Microsoft software working its best. There is so much these programs can do to make our businesses run simpler, we just need to dive in & take advantage of what's right at our fingertips everyday.

What does your Phone Number Spell?

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sun, 08 Oct 2006 15:27:51 -0500

I was messing around on the internet today and found a fun little website. You can plug in your phone number and this website will come up with different word & number combinations your phone number spells, or you can put in a word and this website will quickly tell you the phone number for the word.

My cellular phone number is 263-8838 and that spells cod-tuft, among other things! I don't think I'll have that posted on my business cards or anything else for that matter. But it's still a fun site.

Fair Housing Law Disclaimer: I Use it ALL the Time! Do you?

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sat, 07 Oct 2006 10:38:41 -0500

Disclaimer: "I can't answer that question, nor can any licensee. It would place you in violation of Fair Housing Laws and would place me in violation of Fair Housing Laws."

We went over & over this in real estate class & I remember thinking to myself, "I'll never have to pull that card out & read it to anyone." Boy was I wrong! I cannot count on two hands how many times I've been in the compromising position of having to pull out "the card" & read it to Buyers (and very rarely to Sellers). It's amazing to me how many people (who don't even know me) feel comfortable having inappropriate conversations with me.

I hate being put in the position of pulling out "the card" and reading it to them, because I feel like a parent scolding a disobedient child. But that's my job! Many of my peers will just ignore comment in hopes that their non-response will send a message to the customer that they are not interested in the conversation. Please be warned that NAR takes this issue seriously. NAR sends out testers into the market place to check real estate agents. No one should ever put their job in jeopardy for a customer's inappropriateness.

Pick me! Pick me!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 22:48:56 -0500

Want to attract more search engines to your website the easy way? I get confused on all the SEO & RSS talk, but I have no problem understanding the use of keywords in hyperlinks on the content pages of my website. This is easy enough & will attract search engines! When search engines see words hyperlinked in my content they think the words are important. To emphasize this even more make sure the page you're linking to has a page name with the keyword in it!

Unique Gimmick or Just Plain Stupid?

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 22:16:29 -0500

In a city full of real estate agents what makes each one of us stand out? Do we need gimmicks or hooks to be remembered? Maybe being involved in the community, clubs or a local organization would be enough.

I remember a few years ago, when I lived in St. Pete, FL, a local real estate agent made the evening news several days in a row because when he listed a home he put another sign in the yard that said, "List with me & you'll get a FREE pizza!". A pizza! No homeowner's warranty, no discounted listing fees, nothing more than a free pizza! People thought this was so funny that he became an overnight success for this idea. While being interviewed on the news he mentioned how busy he had been listing homes as a result of this pizza stunt.

There's another real estate agent that put those dirty looking bubba teeth in his mouth & had professional closeup pictures of himself for his marketing! I mean he's got on a nice suit & tie & his hair is done, but then he'd got those jagged teeth sticking out from his lips. Again, people loved this guy's sense of humor & his ability to laugh at himself. He had people calling him to send them his business card or something else they could tack up on their refrigerator. It wasn't long after that stunt that his phone started to ring!

Not many real estate professionals would be able to throw themselves under the bus like that & take a chance they totally flop & don't make the news. But what if it worked?

Homeowner's Insurance Shocker!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Fri, 06 Oct 2006 21:40:03 -0500

Last month I got a letter from StateFarm, my homeowner's insurance carrier. I called my husband & told him about it & he wanted to know what it was. I told hime that I didn't know because I hadn't opened it yet. I was calling him because I was afraid of the news the letter would bring. Having worked in insurance for over 11 years I know that you don't get envelopes 3 months prior to your scheduled renewal. I opened the letter, with my husband on the line, only to find StateFarm's updated privacy policy. Phew! We dodged another bullet!

My husband & I laughed & he told me not to worry about it. We had been very lucky with our insurance coverage & maybe we were flying under the radar because we had never filed a claim. I've had some form of Statefarm property insurance for the last 17 years, from my very first renter's policy & the homeowner's policy on both of the homes I have owned, never once filing a claim.

Well today I received another envelope from Statefarm. I confidently opened it only to find that my homeowner insurance premiums have gone from $1340 to $2953 a year!!! A $1613 increase, can you believe it? So between my property taxes of $4300 & my new insurance premium we're paying $7253 a year or $604 a month to live in Florida. I made myself a cosmopolitan & then I called my husband.

I guess this is why so many Floridians are running to Tennessee. If you live in Florida & your policy renewal date was prior to July 06 you will not be affected until next year. Brace yourself.

Mr. Seller: Put Your Money Were Your Mouth Is!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 19:37:29 -0500

Everyone thinks their dog is the smartest (actually my dog is pretty darn smart), their kid is the brightest & their home is worth more than the real estate professional says it is! This is a fact that is difficult to overcome, even with the most detailed market analysis & graphs.

Why not make the Seller an offer they can't refuse? Request that the Seller get a real estate appraisal on their home.

Tell the Seller you will PAY for the appraisal if the appraisal comes in closer to their desired listing price than to your suggested listing price! If the Seller is so confident that you're price is wrong, there's nothing for them to lose, right?

Hold On To That Closing!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 18:32:55 -0500

I remember my first real estate contract & how excited I was when it was accepted. A seasoned agent in my office made a passing comment to me not to "get too excited, anything can happen to squash your deal!" I remember thinking that she was a downer! Well, that closing went very well & the many after it followed suit.

But my luck soon ran out. I now realize how important it is to stay on top of every aspect of the closing, making myself available for everyone involved. The smallest issue can set a closing back a few days or a week & if you're dealing with a reluctant Buyer or Seller this can spell T R O U B L E !

Always remember that anything could happen prior to closing & remind you customers of this too, then work your hardest to ensure everything is done accurately. Some common closing problems which cause delays are:

Buyer information submitted to the lender was incorrect
Buyer's down payment source changes
Title company fails to notify parties on missing documents
Buyer or Seller leaves town without signing all necessary papers
Property defects are discovered
Property liens are discovered
Cloud on title
Seller or Buyer move out date changes
Lender decides not to approve the borrower or the property
Interest rates are raised by the lender
Last minute repairs are required by the lender
Lender's appraisal comes in low

Customized M&M's: Just 4 U!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Thu, 05 Oct 2006 18:07:24 -0500

Now I have seen everything! You can to to the "My M&M web site" (Mars candies) & choose 3 different colors and have the candies printed up with your logo and any other messages you choose, like your name & number! You can purchase a 10 pound bag of the printed M&M's for $230 and break them up into smaller bags, or better yet a small candy dish full of the candies tied up with a bow and then pass the candy gifts out to past customers at the holidays!

If you go with the candy dish idea you can rest assured your colorful candies will be displayed for all to see! The back of each message displays the famous "m" that we're all too familiar with. What a great conversation starter, since everyone has guests at the holidays!

Necessary Links

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:30:32 -0500

I created a pretty detailed email about Hernando County that I store in an Outlook folder. When I meet new Buyers I forward the 'Hernando County Area' email to them. It is loaded with helpful links to the property appraiser's website, the sexual predators site, Hernando County courthouse, school information & local parks system and so much more. I also include pictures of the area showing them why this area is so great!

This way, when I'm out with Buyers and they ask about sexual predators or property taxes or the school system I refer them to the email I sent them earlier. It keeps me from commenting & saying something that could get me in hot water later & gives them the tools they need to reseach the area for themselves.

Don't Touch that Painted Mural!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Wed, 04 Oct 2006 21:10:43 -0500

I just found out about a funny little federal law called the Visual Artists' Rights Act of 1990 (VARA for short). This law provides that any intentional distortion, mutilation or modification of a visual artists work violates the Act. In plain terms if a home has a professionally painted mural on the wall (especially a model home) it is protected from being painted over or removed. Since this information is material to the purchase contract it needs to be disclosed to potential Buyers!

The artist can actually recover damages for the intentional distortion, mutilation, modification, or destruction of a visual artists work. Can you believe it? Now I've heard everything!

Everything is NOT Always as it Seems...

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:44:44 -0500

As I pulled up to the beautiful home I felt a tingle. The curb appeal is everything a real estate agent would or could ever home for! I instantly knew this house would be special on the inside & I wasn't disappointed!

The Sellers showed me around their beautiful home, sharing all of their remodeling tips with me. A listing that looks like this is a most exciting time for a real estate agent. I'm quickly taking notes on the kitchen, granite counters, glazed maple cabinets, imported wrought iron hardware, upscale appliances, and wow, a brand new bedroom & Travertine tiled bathroom addition added onto the home! I'm humming the, "I can't wait to get this listed!" song in my head & find myself getting more & more excited as I walk from glorious room to glorious room! Every room in this home looks like the well planned set of a home magazine.

We sit down at the dining room table & start going over the listing presentation & CMA. Everything is wonderful. Then the Seller mentions that they just finished the bedroom/bathroom a few weeks earlier in anticipation of my visit. How considerate of them to finish just for me... Wait... YOU did the bedroom/bathroom addition? Did you have a permit? Oh No!!! No permit... Plumbing, electrical, poured slabs & no permit??

I am having serious second thoughts on listing this home as I do not know how to proceed. I am meeting with my broker tomorrow to discuss, as I have never crossed this bridge before. What choices does the Seller have when selling his home with an unpermitted addition (including electrical & plumbing work)? I think he should be asking the "Permitting Gods" for forgiveness & take his licks (fines or possibly worse). But he is not wanting to go this route. Anyone been in these shoes before?

The Well-Stocked Office

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Tue, 03 Oct 2006 19:15:59 -0500

I shop in bulk for all of my office supplies. I keep extra print cartridges, staples, paperclips, pens, envelopes, stationery, postage, etc on hand always. My desk has built-in overhead cabinets where I store thousands of sheets of printer paper, card stock, colored & marbelized papers, presentation folders, file folders, hanging folders, etc. I never let anything run out. It's important to always have a well-stocked and fully functional office at home.

Think of this supply as if they were kitchen staples like milk, eggs & bread. Or if you're a baker, flour, sugar & cocoa. You always have the staples on hand so you're not constantly distracted with having to run to the store. I use my label maker to label each shelf what goes where. I find that labeling each shelf keeps me from cluttering it up with stuff that doesn't belong there, and it works!

When I get on a roll I work on a project until I'm finished. When a distraction like running out of card stock occurs, I get off task & side tracked by the thought of running to the store. Keep overstock readily available & always replace it when you break into it.

Test Your Bias...

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Mon, 02 Oct 2006 15:52:44 -0500

MY GRI instructor gave the class an interesting website to check out today. It's called Implicit & it is referred to as a hands-on science project that allows web visitors to test their tendencies to be prejudice or bias towards other groups of people based on race, age, disability & so on.

Since 1998 over 15,000 tests a week have been performed, totalling 4.5 million tests overall! There are no right or wrong answers or pass or fail test scores, this is just an eye opening experiment done by Harvard on how your mind works. Check it out, it only takes 5 minutes.

The Perfect Multi-Taskers Tool!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 12:18:17 -0500

I purchased a voice recorder for my husband who drives all around the state of Florida all day long & is talking on the phone just as much. He loved it, went on & on at how wonderful it was to be able to just get thoughts out of his head so quickly with the touch of a button while driving or busy in the office. A couple of his friends at work give him a hard time about it, but two of them just bought one for themselves now & love it!

Well last week I got tired of hearing how wonderful it was & purchased one for myself. I have used it so much in the last week, it's not even funny! I especially use it a lot while I'm driving & remember something I need to do. I am a self-admitted list maker, but I get too distracted trying to add things to a Post-It while driving. If this sounds like you, then you've got to try a voice recorder too!

How'd They Do That??

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 11:58:38 -0500

Ever read a blog & wonder how they found the picture they decided to use? It's absolutely the perfect picture for the message they were trying to convey! How is this possible?

I always wonder if someone found the picture first & then let the picture guide them on what to write. Think about it the next time you see a really different picture & it fits perfectly to the message conveyed! The next time you're "blog blocked" on what to write about scan through online pictures, maybe a picture will trigger a great story inside of you too!

www... What??

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sun, 01 Oct 2006 09:41:23 -0500

Okay, you've been hearing since day one how important it is to purchase your own domain name for your website, and this is very important. But the way you position that domain in the market place is also very important. While you know what your domain says, most people don't. You should make it easy for them to read by capitalizing the first letter of each word when you use it in your marketing materials. My domain is yourhernandohome.com, which just looks like one big word when written without capitals, but look at YourHernandoHome.com. It's much easier to read quickly & to remember.

Domain names ARE NOT case sensitive, so it doesn't matter if you use capital letters or not, they will still end up at your website. Mixing up lower & upper case letters give your domain a better appearance that is much easier on the eyes. The only exception is not to capitalize anything after the dot... like YourHernandoHome.com/Search, the word "search" should not be capitalized, this will not be a valid web address. It should be YourHernandoHome.com/search.

Use this idea on business cards, postcards, signs, and any other marketing you do. Your domain should always have capital letters in it, making it easier for everyone to quickly read.

Selling in a Buyer's Market

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 14:48:56 -0500

You're either in a Buyer's Market on your area is quickly becoming one. Interest rates are still great, but all this talk of a bubble bursting has caused many to throw their homes on the market in a panic, the result is too many homes flooding the MLS systems. If you want a home to stand out you must follow a few simple guidelines.

Price the home according to what today's market will pay for it
Make the home turn key, with little or no repairs needed
Know & keep a close eye on the competition
Offer incentives for Buyers & real estate agents
Be realistic in your time frame to sell

Real estate professionals should keep their Sellers in the "know" about what is happening in real estate locally. This is where a drip email campaign comes in very handy. We can't be afraid to ask for price adjustments from our Sellers.

Sources: National Association of Realtors, U.S. Census Bureau

Want More Referrals? Get a Drip Email Marketing Campaign!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Sat, 30 Sep 2006 14:31:11 -0500

If you fail to stay in touch with your past Buyers and Sellers the first agent to come to mind when they're ready to buy or sell again will most likely not be you! Invest in a marketing email drip campaign. Don't try to mimic one yourself, it can be very tedious & time consuming. Invest in a good program & it will work for you while you're busy generating other leads. Keys to successful drip marketing campaign:

Don't try to do it yourself
Subscribe to an automated system set up for the real estate professional
Customize your content to target the specific neighborhood, type of home (condo, waterfront), etc
Track you results

Use this link to get relevent content for your drip email marketing campaign & get started today. This is an especially good program for the new agent who is uncomfortable "asking" for business. There are several different companies that offer drip campaigns for $30-$50 a month.

Everyone Needs a Sabatical!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 22:30:24 -0500

Macy's gingerbread house ~ Sak's 5th Ave decorations ~ Manhattan's 34th Street decorated (all taken by me in NYC December, 2005)

I just planned our vacation on Expedia tonight (apologies in advance to all my travel agent/real estate agent friends)! My husband, while surfing the internet found a lodge in the Adirondacks called White Face Lodge. Last Christmas we took a week & stayed in Manhattan, at the New York Palace. If ever your find yourself in Manhattan this hotel is the best we've experienced, bar none & it's a 5 minute walk from Rockefeller Center, Saks 5th Avenue & Radio City Music Hall (we saw the Rockettes Christmas Spectacular & it was GREAT) & just minutes from Central Park (see my photo of our "first snow" in Central Park, NY)! While Manhattan was heavenly during the holidays I want to try something different this year. I suggested Chicago, but gave that idea up the moment my husband emailed me the link for the White Face Lodge, on White Face Mountain. Next year we will go to Chicago!

I think it is so important to take time away from work & play. December happens to be the best month for both my husband & myself to get away since we're both in sales & everything is slow during the holidays, plus it's just such a great time of year to plan special trips to snowy areas!

Use December to Clean, Organize & Update!

Mrs. Sheri Ann Johnson, GRI (Tropic Shores Realty) — Fri, 29 Sep 2006 21:27:57 -0500

As the holidays approach I start planning my new year in real estate! Real estate is typically very slow in the month of December. For me it has been a great time to plan out the next year's business. I get serious about creating new goals, updating my marketing plan & adjusting my budget. When the big stuff is done & I tear my office apart by going through my hanging files & discarding duplicate copies of stuff I just do not need, cleaning out my Outlook database, organizing my desk, drawers, real estate magazines, everything.

I'm a fanatic during the holidays. I decorate the house inside & out. I open all the windows & get the fireplace armed up! I get energized cleaning my office & getting prepared for the new year. I get excited about having a clean, fresh office & I am ready to take on anything that comes my way!