palm springs homes for sale: How's the weather in the Palm Springs Valley??
- 09/07/14 11:37 PM
Whenever I show prospective buyers properties in the Palm Springs Valley of California, the weather is a huge topic. Palm Springs is one of our Valley cities and yes...it is a desert out here! The hottest months and often also the most humid are August and September. Those of us in the know generally schedule our summer breaks during these months. Day temperatures average somewhere around 100 and can climb to 120 easily. Sound awful?? Well, I have never heard of ANYWHERE that doesn't have some kind of weather "issue." It's pretty easy to adjust to the heat. First off..many … (0 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Riverside County property values help with the bottom line.
- 07/17/13 06:32 AM
The entire Riverside County will be reporting a more solid bottom line..after years of short sales and foreclosures turning our Palm Springs Valley real estate market on it's head, looks like our property values have recovered significantly. I would have to imagine that in most Counties in our United States, the recorders are reporting increasing property tax values. That means the amount of money going to the County tax coffers goes up and many of the programs that were hit or cut can begin to recover. Here in my Palm Springs Valley..part of Riverside County, we have seen a really strong recovery. Of … (0 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Darn..I missed the bottom! Or did I??
- 04/28/13 05:10 AM
Here in Palm Springs, CA., as with most areas of the country, we are recovering beautifully from the crash and burn of the housing market. It now appears, in hindsight, that 4th Quarter of 2012 was the absolute bottom if you base your data on price/sf. My clients are feeling like they "missed the bottom." Well, you did. But, that's ok. Many buyers did not have their finances in order, their jobs in line, perhaps enough time to recover from a Short Sale or Foreclosure to jump in the past couple of years. However..I like to point out 6 things that will … (0 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Short sale list agent… In cahoots?
- 04/24/13 01:06 AM
I have been listing, negotiating, and closing short sales here in the Palm Springs Valley area for just over four years now. I have run into many very, very poorly skilled short sale listing agents. No surprise here! When the short sale market hit its peak in 2012, there was a sudden explosion of "short sale experts"! Even though the number of short sales in 2013 has declined dramatically in my Valley, and I am happy to say that I do a much smaller number of them now, it seems the short sale scammers continue to plague the market. I am dealing … (3 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Are my clients my friends???
- 04/18/13 11:03 PM
I've been thinking about this a lot lately. When you work as closely as we all do with our clients, we establish a sort of friendship. It's driven by the service we provide as well as our own personalities. Every client is different; some are very easy to keep in the "business only" box, but I have found that most of my clients do become friends of a type.. The friends I have had in my life range from high school buddies who occupied a special place and will always be there, to people that I hung out with for awhile, … (3 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Solar energy in Palm Springs? Seems like a no-brainer!
- 03/14/13 12:32 AM
I have lived in the Palm Springs Valley for about 30 years now. Year round for the last 12 years, and summers here are hot hot hot! Why don't we have more solar? I believe the solar tide is changing. It used to be very expensive for the installation and maintenance of solar panels. Cost alone canceled the option for many many homeowners. New solar projects are being proposed, land purchased or leased, environmental studies completed, and hopefully contracts being put into place to supply solar energy for our entire desert Valley. The eastern end of our Valley is the logical … (1 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Looking for a home in Palm Springs? There are several cities to consider...
- 02/08/13 10:32 PM
When your clients first contact me, they generally say that they are looking for a home in Palm Springs. What they usually mean is a home in the Palm Springs Valley. The Palm Springs Valley has several different cities. On the western border is Palm Springs proper. The city of Palm Springs has many many different neighborhoods, often characterized by their walk ability to downtown Palm Springs. As you leave Palm Springs and travel more towards the center of the Valley, you will pass through Cathedral city, Rancho Mirage, Palm desert, Indian Wells, the more easterly city of La Quinta, all the … (0 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: What's the BEST thing that happened to you in 2012?
- 12/30/12 11:01 PM
How can a person even remember all the good stuff from 2012? Or any year for that matter..especially someone such as myself, known for memory deficiencies. Well..I definately have one thing that stands out in my life and I bet each of us does as well..I'll start. My ankle is healed! 15 months, 2 surgeries, but 2012 saw the removal of the 14 pins and a plate and off I go! The days of hopping to the trunk to pull out my leg scooter to show property with..gone! I have to admit, I quite loved my scooter, but oh it is … (1 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Appraisals aren't as scary in the Palm Springs Valley any more..
- 06/13/12 10:31 PM
I used to have heart palpitations waiting for the appraisals to come in. That was last year. The second Q of 2012, Lenders seem a bit more sane out here in the desert. Have met appraisers in Indio, La Quinta central, La Quinta North, and Desert Hot Springs in the past week. All appraisals are on target. I try very hard to price my properties at Fair Market Value. Equity Sales a bit higher/sf and Short Sales at approx. 10% below FMV due to the time frame involved. Even so, it has been a struggle to get the Appraisals to come … (2 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Squatters: Both Short Sale and Equity Sales. One of Each..Shebang!
- 10/18/11 02:23 AM
Squatters: Both Short Sale and Equity Sales. I've got one of each..Shebang! I posted a blog a few days ago that generated lots of comments.."Sometimes it's hard to remain neutral as a Realtor." Basically, the Tenant in an Equity Sale had an attorney and was fighting to stay in the home she had signed a Lease Option on. She had not performed per contract, Landlord and Tenant had been to court. Court had laid down rules for her exit and I was handed the listing. (I'd hustled it for over a year actually-nice property) We are now in Escrow on … (3 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Sometimes it's REALLY hard to remain a Neutral Realtor!
- 10/13/11 03:29 PM
Sometimes it's REALLY hard to remain a Neutral Realtor. How often do we, as Realtors, also assume the role of sounding board, pieces ofa psychologist, bits of a teacher, parents, guides, on and on... Then again, there are times, when the situation calls for complete neutrality..and that for me, is even tougher. I had a recent situation that really made me confront this dichotomy. Seller calls me, I list a property that I've been "working" for the past year. I had hoped for the call, but never truly expected it. Turns out, the woman I'd been working with had become … (31 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: My year long Listing Appointment; it finally paid off!
- 10/07/11 02:31 AM
My year long Listing Appointment; it finally paid off! A year long appointment?? What did I do..sit in their living room for a year? Set up a tent in their front yard for the past 12 months? Come on..who does this?? Well, here's my story and I suspect MANY of you AR'ers out there have similar ones to share.. One year ago this month, October of 2010, I saw a FSBO sign at a prime property for one of my polo property buyers. I contacted the Seller and it turns out she's a Realtor. We chatted for awhile and I told … (6 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Is your sign just a lawn ornament for your Sellers?
- 09/18/11 03:35 AM
When I first started in resales (about 6 years ago), the Listing Appointment sent a chill through my body. Both because I was nervous, but also because I was excited and like waiting for the Umpire to throw in the first ball, I was waiting for that Seller to "get started!" Six years later, I can confidently say to a Seller, "You have a beautiful home, but I am NOT the Agent that can get it sold this season for you." Why, Why, Why would I walk away from a Listing? Because I am not at that home, with that … (4 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: So, how long does it take YOU to prepare for a new Buyer???
- 09/12/11 02:53 AM
I have found that I don't feel truly prepared without several days of prep work before I even meet with a new Referral client and potential Buyer. I'm not talking about a potential Buyer that walks in when you're on the updesk..you only have them captive for a few minutes, or an hour or whatever. I'm talking specifically about a solid referral that was sent via a past Client that trusts me to take care of their "friend, relative, business partner, etc." Day 1: Phone, e-mail new referral to follow-up, introduce myself, try to generate some back and forth regarding what … (0 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Write up you OWN offer, Mr. Buyer's Agent!!!
- 08/06/11 02:43 AM
Are you kidding me??? I have had this happen two times in the past two days. I will qualify this statement by including the fact that the property in question is a Short Sale. Why does that make a difference??? Absolutely NO idea. I suspect because the lowball Realtors that USED to practice, are looking to steal a property, and all of a sudden, they want to submit an offer...and get their commision. I am gobsmacked by the nerve of some Realtors! Here's what happened... "I've been a Broker for 30 years, and I want to submit an offer on your … (40 comments)
1. When on a Listing Appointment: How important do I think I am, that I would have the cajones to answer a phone call in front of a living, breathing human being that is interviewing me about something as important as selling their property? If I were my Client and I saw me do this, I would mentally check me off the list of prospective Listing Agents..period! Rudeness is … (2 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: Short Sale Listing appt. today; Equity Listing Appt. tomorrow..hmmm..
- 08/03/11 02:01 AM
This afternoon I am heading across town..really out in the hills, to be interviewed and to interview my prospective Client for a potential Short Sale Listing. He found me online and I can tell from the tone of his voice is still at that tentative stage of the potential Short Sale. I am looking forward to meeting him, discussing his situation, educating him on Hardship, his two Lenders on his two notes and generally talking about the Short Sale ropes. I suspect I will nab this listing. The ONLY obstacle will be the Sellers' grasp of the fact that his property … (2 comments)
palm springs homes for sale: No Short Sales here in Vancouver, BC!
- 07/24/11 02:51 AM
The real estate market here in Vancouver, BC appears to be blazing right along. I was up here visiting last summer, and found the same thing..it's a Seller's market here in Canada. Especially in the gorgeous, highly desireable area of Vancouver. Last summer I spent some time in the Deep Cove area of North Vancouver. This summer, I am staying with Clients/friends in West Vancouver..equally stunning and if possible...even MORE desireable an area. The contrast between my Palm Springs, CA. real estate reality and the one here in Vancouver, BC is startling. There is absolutely NO wonder why so many of … (2 comments)
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