buyer: Do You Really Want My Business?
- 08/15/08 05:20 AM
This goes out to all those mortgage professionals who have been contacting me in droves the past few weeks. Do you really want my business? Take a Number!! Besides approving MY buyers and helping get MY buyers to the closing table, why has not a single message or email that I have received said anything about how YOU have so many buyers and you're looking for an awesome Realtor to hand YOUR business off to? Why do you just want to take take take business from me, but you're not prepared to give any back? The best way to earn MY business … (31 comments)
buyer: Can Numerology Prevent a Buyer from Buying?
- 08/08/08 01:24 PM
Today is a very special day. It is the day of August 8, 2008. It is narrowed down to 08/08/08. 8 is known to be a very lucky number. It just so happens that it is not a coincidence that the Olympics are starting today in Beijing as this is a very strong Chinese belief. This got me to thinking about numbers and their meaning. I pay attention to numbers to an extent, but I don't have all the numbers memorized. For example, my current home address is 3013. Oh no, it ends in the unlucky 13, what am I to … (24 comments)
buyer: Drama Drama Go Away, Come Again Another Day
- 04/28/08 03:14 AM
For those of you who keep up with my blogs, you know I've been waiting and waiting for a Drama-free transaction... I'm almost there, but don't want to jinx it. In the meantime, here's some more drama for you... I have a deal that should have closed March 27. I represent the seller. The seller has kindly allowed extensions, but "kindly" is going out the door. They asked for another extension on Friday stating they were taking their loan elsewhere and needed another couple of weeks for financing to go through. My seller and I came up with a counter stating tax prorations … (16 comments)
buyer: Texas has the Lowest Credit Score in the Country
- 04/24/08 07:23 AM
On average, Texas has the lowest credit score in the country. The score is a whopping 651 while the country has an average score of 692. What does this mean for Texas buyers? This means you're a higher risk and loan programs in Texas are different from other states. Look at this pretty chart. To put things into perspective, Texas ranks 41st out of 50 states in home ownership. This is because with lower scores, it's harder to obtain a mortgage. Before the subprime fiasco that we're currently going through, a buyer with a 550 credit score could probably obtain 100% … (9 comments)
buyer: Does My Seller Care what Your Buyer Can Afford?
- 04/10/08 05:20 AM
As a listing agent, when I have a listing priced at $182,000, why do I care that the buyer only wants to pay $165,000 for a house? I had a listing that closed a couple of weeks ago, but negotiations were a little difficult. We were listed at a very competitive $182k for a 2700 sqft home built in 2002. I know buyers in many parts of the country are drooling over that price! I get a call from a buyers' agent asking if my seller would take $165k. I tell her she can write up an offer and I'll present it, but … (14 comments)
buyer: Real Estate Drama in the Neighborhood- Everyone Knows Who you Are
- 04/03/08 07:34 AM
Don't you love it when you hear about Real Estate drama going on in your neighborhood? Aren't you glad it's not you?! I had lunch today with Leonard Thomas. Leonard and I met a few years ago while he had the sellers and I had the buyers. It was one of the smoothest transactions I can remember having as he met me at my buyers' hotel at 11pm at night to pick up the signed offer to take to his sellers. Though we've never worked another deal together since, we've kept in touch over the years as I've shown many of his listings. Whenever Leonard and I … (5 comments)
buyer: Real Estate Activity is Regional, not National
- 04/01/08 01:39 PM
WOW! Can you say B-U-S-Y?? I feel so sorry for other parts of the country right now, but in the past 4 weeks, I have contracted 9 properties!! Yes, 9!! Seven of them were in March, and I contracted two today. It's only April 1, and I already have 2 contracts. Granted, I don't count my chickens before they hatch, especially since one buyers' financing already fell through on one of the properties (going through Banco Popular in case anyone is familiar with them), but their agent is going to get one of her investors to buy the house and seller finance … (20 comments)
buyer: Showing your House, not your Home
- 04/01/08 03:00 AM
Look around your house. Now, take another look and count how many times your eyes move to all the photos of your family sitting on the shelves and hanging on the walls. Did you notice your college degree? I've had buyers not buy houses because they were Longhorns and they saw the Aggie diplomas on the walls, and vice verse. Sounds silly, but it's very true! I showed a house this weekend that had stuffed animals EVERYWHERE! We couldn't get a good feel for the room sizes, and it was quickly crossed off he list. I emailed the listing agent for feedback, … (21 comments)
buyer: False Advertising in a Picture
- 03/31/08 04:11 AM
I showed a house yesterday... Well, I showed 11 houses yesterday, but this one was interesting. It's hard to describe the words. Here was the picture from the MLS. There were no additional pictures either, just this one. It actually peeked my buyers' attention thinking, it's such a beautiful sunset, it must represent how beautiful the house is, right? WRONG! They drove by the neighborhood and since many of the other properties they were interested in were in the same community, they went ahead and added it to our list of homes to view yesterday. They liked the outside appearance as it was on … (58 comments)
buyer: Price Perception as Buyer vs Seller
- 03/28/08 02:01 PM
Don't you love it when you have a client that thinks unrealistically on both sides of the spectrum? I mean, when they're a seller, they think they can get X amount for their house, but if they were buying that same house, they would only pay Y for it. I have this great new listing that is priced very well. It is about 2000 sqft, built in 1996, has a POOL, and is priced at only $219,500. This is very competitive for this area. I got a call from a neighbor this afternoon asking about the house. Neighbor: How much is the … (13 comments)
buyer: Why Are you Junking up Your Signs?
- 03/13/08 04:46 AM
Why are you junking up your signs if you're not going to make sure they're portraying the image of you that puts you in the best light? If you're going to put sign riders on your signs, you should make sure they're attached securely. This sign is two doors down from me. The house has been on the market since July '07 and has not had a price adjustment of any kind. Instead, about 4 months ago, this "Special Financing" sign appeared. In today's mortgage situation, what kind of "Special Financing" are you talking about? There are no more "outside the … (21 comments)
buyer: After 3 Years in House, Buyers Sue their Realtor
- 01/25/08 05:01 AM
Did you hear this story? I saw it on The Today Show this morning. These people in California bought the house back in 2005 and have decided that they paid too much for the house. They're sueing the Realtor because he should have known they were paying too much, but they feel he just wanted the commission. They also said that they felt the Realtor worked with the Appraiser to ensure it appraising for the high amount, because another property sold in the nieghborhood 6 months earlier for much less. They had an MSNBC Analyst on the show with them to give … (18 comments)
buyer: Dallas/Ft Worth 2007 Final Numbers
- 01/18/08 01:06 AM
Here are the final numbers for the Dallas and Ft Worth areas for 2007: Number of Sales: 80,740% Change Year Ago: -7% Average Price: $202,338% Change Year Ago: +5% Median Price: $149,900% Change Year Ago: +1% Active Listings: 47,668% Change Year Ago: +7% As you can see, the number of sales might be down, but prices are NOT down. Stop watching National News statistics because we aren't following the National trends. Buyers aren't getting 70 cents on the dollar. Prices are still very competetive as an average. Remember, I work all of North Dallas County and Collin County including Richardson, Plano, Allen, Frisco, Carrollton, Garland, Rowlett, McKinney, … (4 comments)
buyer: Do You Respond to Blast Emails from Others Looking for Your Business?
- 01/10/08 06:30 AM
We all get them, probably too many in a day. I'm talking about receiving a blast email from someone looking for your business. As a Realtor, I get way too many blast emails from mortgage people with their picture and company logo and saying how they're the best best best, yadda yadda. I get so many, sometimes I'll sit there and unsubscribe from all the lists in a day, and guess what happens the next week? A new set of mortgage people are emailing me... Anyway, I have a client who is looking to start buying some investment properties to add to his … (15 comments)
buyer: HUD- Why Can't They Move into the 21st Century?
- 12/12/07 10:16 AM
Why does HUD still work in the 20th Century? In a big way, HUD is on the cutting edge with having a program allowing all offers to be done online. But then they revert backwards by only accepting original signatures in blue ink. This is absurd!! So, once a bid is accepted, you have 2 business days to get the originals to their office. Signatures, as I said, must be in blue ink. There is a spot on the contract that asks for the name of the Broker and then the agent representing the buyer and then asks for a signature. Each … (38 comments)
buyer: Alyssa's First Real Estate Appt- She Sold Her First House!
- 12/06/07 01:51 AM
Yesterday was a HUGE day for 19 day old Alyssa! She had her very first real estate appointment and turned in her first contract. It was a HUD home. She even stayed patient as she went to Bank of America with the buyer to get an updated approval letter to submit with the package. The loan officer didn't have authority to give us a new approval letter, and Alyssa kept her cool. We did get an approval letter, and then off to HUD to turn in the contract so we didn't have to Fed Ex it overnight, since it was just … (23 comments)
buyer: Four Months Later, It Finally Closes
- 12/03/07 06:28 AM
I can't believe it, but I've had a listing that went under contract in July and was supposed to close on August 15... and it just closed on Friday, November 30. Let's put that into perspective shall we? In July, I was barely in my second trimester. By the time it closed, I had a 2 week old baby girl. Yes, Alyssa is already 17 days old as of today! This deal was a nightmare, and I should have received the buyer's agent's commission along with mine since I did all the work. He set his buyer up with one of his lenders... … (11 comments)
buyer: Buyer's Agent Leaves Town After Submitting Offer
- 11/14/07 11:36 PM
I just completely one of the worst transactions EVER! I can't believe we even made it to closing on Tuesday. (Yes, this is the one with 3 pregnant women in the same room) This is a little long, and I've also cut a lot out as below isn't everything that happened... worth the read! At the beginning of October, I received a low-ball offer on a listing. I received no call or email telling me to expect this offer, and I also received no approval letter to go along with the offer. I called the buyer's agent to try to get more … (23 comments)
buyer: Docs at the Title Company 6 Days Early- Unbelievable!!
- 11/08/07 11:46 PM
This is unbelievable. I haven't seen this happen in many months, maybe even a couple of years. I have 2 deals closing on Tuesday, November 13. My buyer's loan got the clear to close on Tuesday and docs were at the title company on Wednesday and we got an approved HUD on Thursday. For them to buy, they wanted to sell their current home, though they didn't have to. I followed up with the lender for the buyer on the sale end, and he tells me on Wednesday that docs would be at the title company "tomorrow". Thursday was tomorrow, and docs … (10 comments)
buyer: If You Buy My House, You Get Full Refund When I Die!
- 10/30/07 05:39 AM
Yes, you read the title right. I just saw this story and I thought it was very unusual and unique. This couple in Pittsburgh have been trying to sell their home for a year, and the market is not that great in that area, so they had to come up with something that no one else was offering... They are asking $399,900 for the house and since they have no heirs to leave anything to, the people who agree to buy the house can have the entire purchase price refunded back to them upon their death. WAIT, it gets better!!! If the new owners … (48 comments)
This blog is to help educate Buyers, Sellers and even other Realtors across the country. Each market is different and the way Real Estate is done is different. Austin Real Estate is completely different than Dallas, California and Florida and everywhere else in between. Some times there will be other things besides real estate as I like to rant and rave as much as the next!! Come back often!
This goes out to all those mortgage professionals who have been contacting me in droves the past few weeks. Do you really want my business? Take a Number!! Besides approving MY buyers and helping get MY buyers to the closing table, why has not a single message or email that I have received said anything about how YOU have so many buyers and you're looking for an awesome Realtor to hand YOUR business off to?
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