I found a new website to advertise on today. It is www.realbird.com. Free to sign up, free to post, free widgets to use. I love sites that allow me to post my listings then feed it over to other sites! The more exposure, the better.
Anyone out there already use it? Your comments would be appreciated.
We have all grown up hearing, "Dress for success!" Our society tells us business suits, nice cars, big homes and lots of plastic in our wallets is what defines us. These are all signs of success, status, "having arrived". It seems that sometimes folks forget that those things aren't what it is really all about.
What really defines our image is how we represent ourselves in every action, deed and word. Someone being ethical and moral is more important to me than how they dress, where they live or what they drive. Give me a Good Ol' Boy (or Gal) any day of the week over the polished professional. I want to know that the person in front of me is someone I can trust and rely on when I am doing business with them.
I do Real Estate in a rather small southern area. I started out wearing my suits and driving a Jag. Quickly I realized that though that was great for me, it wasn't great for my clients. I am a very down to earth person and much more comfortable in jeans and a blazer. I love walking my clients around the acerage to take a look at the property lines, or better yet, 4-wheeling to the back of the property. For this reason, I changed my mode of operation. I now drive my SUV that can fit the whole family in, keep my boots in the back so I can change to walk through the weeds and routinely take my clients to lunch at a local meat and 3 (a home cooking restaurant where you choose a meat and up to 3 of many veggies for a good ol' southern meal).
There are times when we have to dress for success. Those times/events come up and we have to conform. Overall though, showing our true colors is what really matters. What we are made of, the kind of people we are at heart and how much we really relate to our clients. The human factor is the best part of Real Estate. Often you hear agents say they are in this business because they love to help people. I know that is why I am here. I love my clients, I love my job and I love my little easy going, slow paced small town lifestyle.
On the news tonight I heard a story that I have a hard time believing. As we all know, every newscast has something bad to say about the real estate market and it just feeds the fears of the buyers and sellers. Now tonight I hear that we are, for the first time in 40 years, in a negative equity situation. The story claimed that some homeowners have houses they are paying for that are worth only 50% of the loan value they owe. Alright - so where exactly are these homes located? I am in Tennessee and it sure itsn't here. We have a market that is seeing more foreclosures, yes but we aren't flooded with them. Also, our price per square foot is holding fairly stable. We haven't seen the big bubble that other parts of the country have, therefore we aren't seeing the big burst either.
I know you are thinking this is another post on the negative media we face daily. Maybe so but this type of story is so extreme that I would love to know the source and exactly where they are talking about. These blanket statements are scaring people and not helping the overall picture for our economy in general.
When we get our licenses, we have many options. We can do residential, commercial, multi-unit or land & farms. In deciding which area we would truly like to specialize in, we do our clients a great service. Become an expert in an area. Whether it be residential or commercial, multi-family or land, get to know all the ins and outs of a particular area of your market and be an expert! When someone mentions a listing that is on the market in the area you are specializing in, know which one they are referring to and all the details about that listing. It will show potential clients that you have taken the time to study the market and understand it.
On Friday I finally got a deal closed that was the hardest deal I have ever done. You name it, it went wrong. The listing agent said there was a septic - there wasn't. The listing agent couldn't provide disclosures and in the title search we find that part of the property had been traded with the neighbor in quit claim deeds. The seller is out of state, has no phone, travels for work all the time and only gets messages when back in town between trips. This deal was a challenge and straight out of the twilight zone. The listing agent was less than helpful in getting all the obstacles removed and made me about half nuts. Silly me, I expected him to actually work with the title company and me in order to get a deal done.
Ok - so we finally sit at a closing table on Friday. The agent that wouldn't return my phone calls showed up for the closing. He was all smiles and very helpful during the closing. Now here I sit with my clients that know the story because a week late closing, there was no way to protect them from the drama from behind the scenes. Once closed we were waiting for the copies to be made and the other agent began talking to the husband while me and the wife were talking. He actually gave his card to my client and offered to provide any information they may need on the area since they have recently relocated here from another state. (Did I mention he was listening as we talked about the next deal we are going to do because they are investors?)
I managed to stay in my seat and not lunge across the table to choke him. I also managed to keep my mouth shut and not say a word. I told myself to remember that my clients were aware of what went on and how hard I had worked for them. As we were walking back to the car after the closing, my client handed me a thank you card and told me that they appreciated me very much and that no one else would have hung in there with them the way I had.
Now here it is Monday afternoon and I check the MLS. Of course Mr. Wonderful listing agent has not changed the status to closed. Of course it still shows pending. If I could lay odds on it, I would bet it is still pending on the system at the end of the week. And I am so fed up with him that I don't even want to send him an e-mail to remind him yet again to do his job.
How do agents that work like this have the audacity to try to steal a client? I understand why he may have trouble getting his own clients but going after mine was almost more than I could take. It was a true test to remain professional and not show my fangs on this one.
Over the years we have all spent thousands on advertising. If you are like me you have done newspaper ads, home magazines for the local market, ads in the brochures for local events, mass mailings, and the list goes on and on and on. On the flip side, there is internet marketing. Sites to market ourselves as Realtors, sites to advertise our listings. Some cost, some are free but if you are on AR, you obviously are internet savvy and I would bet you have done internet marketing as well.
Everywhere you look there are statistics. There are various numbers used but they all agree that internet marketing beats other forms of marketing. For me this is very true. How about you? In your local market, which is most successful in getting exposure for yourself and your listings?
There is a client I have been working with for almost a year. First I was their listing agent as well as their buyer's agent. When their listing expired, to be quite honest, I didn't want to relist the property. It was overpriced and they simply didn't want to lower the price to where it should be. In reality, I shouldn't have taken the listing to begin with but I really liked them and let my emotions get in the way of good business sense. When the listing expired, I told them they should go with another agent to relist their property. They asked if I would still work with them to buy a home because I was so familiar with what they wanted in a new home. That I agreed to.
Well - here is where the problem came in. They have finally relisted the house and the agent had them sign a Buyer's Rep even though they told her they wanted me to represent them for their home purchase. I have always operated where I don't ask for a Buyer's Rep until we are writing a contract because I feel that if someone decides I am not the agent for them, they should have the right to walk away as long as a contract hasn't hit the table. When the listing agent e-mailed me to tell me that she would be expecting a referral fee when I found them a new home, I talked to the client and they claimed there was no Buyer's Rep signed. Then I spoke with the agent who told me there was a Buyer's Rep agreement signed. Back and forth between the agent, the client and myself the whole story comes out. She had put the Buyer's Rep in with the listing packet as many agents do and they had signed without being clear on what they were signing. I told the agent and the client that I would bow out and let them go on their way. The client was adoment that they wanted me and me alone to help them purchase a home - I had shown them properties, knew what they wanted and deserved the full commission. They had the other agent come over and put things in writing to end the Buyer's Rep agreement.
All of this could have been avoided by me changing the way I do business and having them sign with me. I take responsibility for that part of this mess. But this could have been avoided in another way as well. The agent, when told they had representation for the buy side should have never slipped in an agreement. Also, why wasn't it clearly stated to the client what they were signing? I know that ethically, if someone tells me they have representation, I back off.
Ok, my fellow AR members, how off base am I? Any comments or constructive criticism is appreciated. Do I need to change the way I do business?
This beautiful home has more to offer than you can imagine! Stained glass window in the master bath. Whirlpool tub and double vanities as well as a walk in closet make the master bath a retreat!
Split bedroom floorplan gives privacy to the master suite.
Arched doorways throughout the home. Formal dining room. Kitchen Nook. Koi pond in the backyard. Tree lined driveway leads up to all of this and the 3 acres.
Two separate rooms over the garage. Use one as a TV room and have a formal living room downstairs! The other has a door so that you have a heated storage area or a place to keep your workout equipment.
A 12x10 Mud Room is a great way to enter when you come in from the garage.
Don't miss the 11x6 Utility Room where you can do your laundry. No need to have hampers sitting in bedrooms or bathrooms with a great feature like this! It even has a sink for cleaning or hand-washing items.
The Outbuilding is so charming! The roll up garage door on the back makes it convenient to store your lawn equipment. The possibilities are endless for this space! This adorable building has the potential to be a separate home office. Walk to work every morning! The electricity has already been installed for you.
And in case you were wondering - yes, DSL is available for you! The current owner has it at this time.
All of this awaits you behind the inviting red door on the rocking chair front porch. What a great place to call home!
Great home with 3 bedrooms and 3 bathrooms. 15 acres in 2 parcels and an additional perk site. Turkey and deer are your neighbors in this hunters paradise! All for only $222,000.
This beautiful home has a lot to offer Along with the convenience of a bathroom attached to each of the three bedrooms, you have a great open living area and kitchen! Entertaining is so easy in this country setting.
Handicap accessible! Ramp attached to back porch leads into this open home. Master bedroom and its private bath both have oversized doors and an open layout to accommodate a wheelchair.
The acreage has a lot to offer. Outbuildings at every turn!
2 stall barn with a tack room
1 stall barn that could easily be converted to a 2 stall
Hay barn that is 21x21 constructed of metal with a wood frame
2 car detached garage that is 26x20 with electricity
Tool room that is 14x30 with electricity
In addition to all the wonderful outbuildings, you have even more features:
2 fenced horse pastures
A creek running through the property
An additional perk site in what is now the largest pasture
5 acres of unfenced timber
City and well water
All of this and the abundance of wildlife to enjoy! What more could you want in your dream home?!
Mortgage lenders are chiefly concerned with your ability to repay the mortgage. To determine if you qualify for a loan, they will consider your credit history, your monthly gross income and how much cash you'll be able to accumulate for a down payment. So how much house can you afford? To know that, you need to understand a concept called "debt-to-income ratios."
Debt-to-income ratios The standard debt-to-income ratios are The housing expense, or front-end ratio and the total debt-to-income, or back-end ratio.
Example Take a home buyer who makes $40,000 a year. The maximum amount for monthly mortgage-related payments at 28 percent of gross income would be $933. ($40,000 times 0.28 equals $11,200, and $11,200 divided by 12 months equals $933.33.)
Furthermore, the lender says the total debt payments each month should not exceed 36 percent, which comes to $1,200. ($40,000 times 0.36 equals $14,400, and $14,400 divided by 12 months equals $1,200.)
Example The following chart shows your maximum monthly payment and maximum allowable debt load based on your gross annual income (remember, gross income is pre-tax income):
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
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