Well, this week there were so many really great posts here in the rain by some of my fave bloggeras well as some newbie bloggers that I’ve recently come across. First and foremost, I just want to give a shout out to one of my fellow rainers for their gold star feature that I was happy to "call the shot" on.
I Swear I am Being Tested.... by Karen Feltman
This was an excellent post that had some really great comments, which is one of the best things I love about great posts. With some posts, the comments can actually be better than the post. Check them out.
But there were some other really great posts that I suggested but the AR Gods must have missed them this week when they were bestowing those little gold stars. Check them out and see for yourself.
First there was Why Do You Need a Pre-Approval Just to See a House? by Leslie Ebersole. As Leslie and all the other smart and responsible Realtors out there know, getting pre-approved is an absolute must these days. The only reason that some buyers still don’t get this is because there are still Realtors out there not requiring this before they show a property.
As we all know, serious buyers will do whatever they have to do to make sure they are in a position to act quickly when they find a property they want to buy. Furthermore, serious buyers tend to be the kind of people who need to know what they can afford and how the loan process works before they even make the decision to buy in the first place.
Any buyer not making the pre-approval process part of the decision to buy, obviously doesn’t realize the seriousness of the home buying process and has no business wasting everyone’s (sellers & Realtors) time. Listing agents have a duty and responsibility to their sellers to make sure that the people who traipse through their home are serious buyers and buyers agents need to honor and respect that by not bringing in anyone who isn’t a serious buyer. JMHO
Then there was a double shot of Lisa Loper with her posts, Must We Trust Others? and What’s Hot/What’s Not for Homebuyers in 2012. It’s not often that I come across a double shot of posts from the same blogger in one week but these two definitely had a great message that needs to be passed on. Check them out!
For me, trust is a leap of faith and one that, for the most part, I enjoy taking. That hasn’t always been the case and once upon a time, there was a period in my life where it was really hard for me to trust anyone ever again. But fortunately for me, I eventually realized that a life of not trusting anyone was a lot harder to live than a life trusting some.
I believe that in order to be truly happy in every aspect in our lives (personally as well as professionally), we must be willing to take that leap of faith in someone in order to achieve our goals or fulfill our dreams. I loved the last line in Lisa’s post, “Our distrust is very expensive ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson”. Read the whole post though and not just the last line.
As for “Whats Hot/What’s Not”, while the “Hot” features are all really nice, these are typically features that are found in relatively newer homes and generally not the kinds of things we will see in older homes unless they have been totally rehabbed recently.
However, for the “Not” features, well these are just things that will forever beleaguer our market of older homes because so many sellers simply aren’t in a position to rid their properties of these dreadful features and quite frankly, never have been. However, on that note, I do want to say one thing - get rid of the wallpaper & scrape that nasty popcorn off the ceiling!
Next was Active, Contingent, Pending. Just Call the Damn Spade a Spade and Quit Wasting My Time by Charita Cadenhead. Having recently made the transition from mortgage loans to real estate, I have to say that this has been one of the more frustrating aspects of my job as a Realtor.
I don’t know about other areas but here in Los Angeles & Ventura counties, Realtors who are members of the Southland Regional board (SRAR) have two business days to change the status of their listings after their sellers accept an offer. However, many listing agents refuse to change the status until after the buyer removes their contingencies.
I don’t give a rat’s @$$ that you think your acting in your seller’s best interest by leaving it active and continuing to take calls and show it. When you blatantly violate the rules and regulations that you agreed to follow, you are not acting in your seller’s best interest. PERIOD!!!
When crap like this happens, we need to put a stop to it and hold these agents accountable for their actions. Rest assured listing agents, buyers agents are telling their buyers what you’re doing before they go and report you. And Realtors wonder why they have such a bad reputation with the public.
Lastly, was Debb Janes with her post, Is This Dancing with the Stars - Or Loan Approval? I just loved this post because, quite frankly, I’m am guilty of just such cheesiness.
Yeah, I know, it’s really hokey to compare the loan process to a dance contest (or a cross country flight in my case) but because the loan process is so complicated and convoluted, when explaining the nitty gritty details of the process to borrowers, we can so often lose our clients in the nonsense of it all.
Using analogies can really illustrate the loan process to a borrower so much more and in doing so, we can assure them that we are there to help them through the process. The more we do that, the better they feel about their decision to buy. Isn’t that what’s important?
As always, I love "calling the shots”. I’m pretty picky and selective about whom I suggest. I intentionally highlight my fave bloggers and then I look for new bloggers or bloggers that aren’t on the feature board every other day.
Anyone can suggest all the popular bloggers but finding the hidden treasures and gems is so much better. I hope you check them out and enjoy them as much as I did.
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