This week on one of my adventures I was treated by my son and daughter in law for a night of mesmerizing entertainment at the Wilkes Barre Arena. Cirque du Soleil was my very first opera, slash, trapeze act,(I'm not talking Ringling Brothers) slash, French circus. In a word UNBELIEVABLE.At 7:30 sharp the lights dimmed and the act began. The spellbinding theatrical delight kept me in awe for a full two hours. The costumes where magnificent! The performers where amazing, from climbing poles on what looked like there tippy toes and fingertips, to comedic acts with audience participation, to trapeze acts that honestly made me close my eyes for fear of them falling! I truly never saw anything like it!The name in French means "Circus of the sun". No animal acts just amazing strength of gym... 09/18/2007

That's essentially the response I got from a buyer today, and I have to agree. For this sale at least. My buyer is an investor. The building's positioned to make some money right away and has the potential to be a real earner after some upgrades are made. You can't ask for much more than that when looking for investment properties, except one with a money tree in the back yard. When I got the call to make the appointment to see the property, I did my research. Wilkes-Barre, PA is a great place for the investors these days. There is a plethora (ever since The Three Amigos came out years ago I've wanted to use that word...sorry, I digress) of properties in our area that have the potential for an immediate cash flow and are great long term investments. I always do my duty to the client and... 09/17/2007

While on vacation last week in Florida, my wife and I decided to go out for a nice steak dinner.                          We went to the front desk on our way out to ask the desk clerk about where we could go for dinner. I was very surprised when the clerk told me that she really didn't know of any nice places we could go for dinner. I was thinking to myself, "How could this person not have any idea about the restaurants around this hotel? She must get asked that question enough to have some kind of clue." I would think that a desk clerk should be pretty close to an expert in this area. If I was running a hotel, I would want my staff to be prepared to answer such questions because this would be a much better reflection on my hotel. This definitely wasn't the case here. That started me t... 09/12/2007

OK, as promised I will give a breakdown of my Florida vacation trip, which started last Saturday and ended yesterday. As with any good story, I need to start at the beginning.                                                My wife and I recently bought a used car. I just can never bring myself to buy one new, because I just can't see the value in it, so we were in the market for a car and narrowed our search down to two cars. One was a Volkswagon Passat and the other, a late entry, was an Audi A6. Both had some miles on them, both were the color my wife wanted (silver) and both had leather interior (my choice...I just love the smell of leather). The Audi, in my mind, was a much better choice and it didn't take much to help my wife see the logic in the decision. During my negotiations fo... 09/11/2007

I get this response all the time when I have potential clients call me for help in looking for a home. I get it because one of the first questions I ask (after, Are you working with now or have you worked with any other Realtors in your home search?) is "Have you spoken with a mortgage professional about a loan yet?". Almost inevitably the response is the same. "Why do I need to do that first, I just want to look at this house?". There are a few reasons why you want to have this done first. They involve the seller, the Realtor and yourself. This is the point where you need to put yourself in the seller's shoes. You are trying to sell your home and whether it's vacant or occupied, you want to be sure that the persons entering it are there for a valid reason. A good Realtor will always ma... 08/30/2007

I was just talking to my wife this week about how things have slowed down for me lately. Don't be concerned for me, I still have a few listings and I have 4 deals closing next month alone. I'll be OK! It is a bit disconcerting when the phone doesn't ring sometimes. I'm always handing out my cards and talking to new people. I network all the time and know that, at any moment, new business is waiting for me to grab it. I just have to make sure I'm positioned to grab it. A few days ago, my phone rang at the house. It was my very first client. As a matter of fact, you can read more about him in a blog I wrote not too long ago, http://activerain.com/blogsview/141936/The-Three-Muskateers. He was so excited to tell me that he had a new client for me. I mean, he was really excited!! I'd say it ... 08/30/2007

This post is a follow-up to a recent post I did, http://activerain.com/blogsview/177479/My-seller-s-out. If read that post, you'll know that I was trying to get a full price contract signed for a property, but the seller was out of town and the selling agent was using the week's wait to continue to market the property. I was anxious to see how it would pan out, since this same scenariio had occurred with my client before and she ended up losing the price war. The seller came back to Wilkes-Barre on Wednesday and sat down with his Realtor and lawyer on Thursday to discuss the offers. I say offers because the selling agent did manage to get another offer on the property, which she presented with our offer on Thursday. I knew something was up when the selling agent called me on Wednesday t... 08/26/2007

   It is no wonder we have been tagged "The Valley With A Heart"  Are you a Catholic? Are you a Presbyterian? Are you a Methodist? Are you a Baptist? None of these questions mattered when it came time to render aid to Memorial Presbyterian Church in Wilkes Barre Pennsylvania.Across from the Kings College parkade, the Presbyterian Church with its unique architecture and loads of heart warming history is a component of our regions early beginnings.A local historic church needed to raise money for hefty repairs, and local volunteers banned together, resident  Jim Martin who is not even a member of the church could not just sit by without offering help. His involvement comes in the form of spearheading a committee to save the church. He is a perfect example of what the "Good Samaritan" is a... 08/24/2007

I have always seen that there is a certain amount of distrust toward Realtors but it's grown even worse lately. This is communicated in various ways, from body language to straight forward vocalization. I expect to see this from For Sale By Owners who definitely don't see a value in what we do, but I've seen it from buyers as well. I see and hear the laments of other Realtors who are faced with mild to harsh mis-treatment from potential customers who feel that they are justified in the way they treat Realtors. Let me say that I understand, to some extent, how this has come to pass. There are plenty of Realtors out there who are mis-treating their clients and customers, bringing much of this wrath upon Realtors as a whole. There are plenty of Realtors who have purposely decided to demean... 08/22/2007

I was given a referral from a loan officer I know recently. He was a Realtor until this year, when he turned in his license to become a loan officer. We actually competed with one another at one point, as we both deal with the Hispanic community in the Greater Wilkes-Barre area. I don't know if his was the most fortuitous move, considering the shape of the mortgage industry these days, but he seems to be doing ok. I've actually sent him a couple of clients and he's done a great job of taking care of their needs, so he repaid the favors by sending me a client a couple of weeks ago. Now, let me just say that he did tell me that this client was particularly hard to deal with, that she was extremely picky and it would be some work for me to get her into a house. I like a challenge and belie... 08/20/2007

The Seller Assist is actually quite common in my market (Wilkes-Barre, PA) but is something that everyone isn't familiar with. If you are buying or selling a home, it's important to know what it is, how it's used and how it affects you as a buyer or seller. A Seller Assist is really just a way for the Buyer to get some help with paying their closing costs. This is money that the buyer borrows from the bank to buy a property and is given back to the buyer by the seller in the form of a credit on the closing statement to help pay the buyer's closing costs. This is how it works:A buyer goes to a financial institution and get's pre-qualified for a loan. The institution then tells the buyer the type of loan they are qualified for and the conditions under which they can get a loan. They will ... 08/16/2007

I am dealing with a buyer who wants to buy a duplex in Kingston, PA that has an absentee owner. I run into this occasionally, as our area has lots of owners who live outside the area, and it can cause problems for the seller if they don't know the condition of their property. With this in mond, I thought I'd offer some advice for those absentee owners who want to sell their homes. #1-----Visit your property before you put it on the market. If you can't visit the property, ask someone to take some video of your property and look at it yourself. The property I'm dealing with hasn't been lived in by the owner for over 20 years. I think the owner thinks it still looks like it did before he rented it for 20 years. This isn't realistic. Nobody cares for a home like a homeowner. By visiting yo... 08/14/2007

My wife and I were discussing the fact that I quit a very nice full-time job to sell Real Estate. This was a move that she didn't agree with at first, because of the uncertainty of getting paid and subsequently paying our bills, but she has since changed her stance a bit as my business has grown. Now, she's concerned that I am working too much. I literally am going full force from 8am to 8pm just about every day. Then I usually review my traffic on the website (www.wilkesbarrehomesales.com) after I read some blogs here while I'm in bed at night. No, I'm not insinuating that the other posts are good material to put you to sleep, in case anyone was thinking that. While we were discussing the things I have going on right now, especially since I just moved to Realty World Rubbico Real Estat... 08/12/2007

I've done it. I have officially moved on to my new broker, Realty World Rubbico Real Estate.                                             It took me quite some time, but I have gotten all new contracts written and signed, moved all of my listings, edited my website (www.wilkesbarrehomesales.com), changed my profile in the MLS, ordered new cards, sent the graphics to the ad guy for the changes and edited all of my virtual tours to reflect the correct broker. Did I miss anything? I hope not!!It's been a very long couple of days, but I'm excited about the new start with a new broker. I love change, it's like a breath of fresh air, like I'm renewed somehow and a whole new future is ahead of me. I can't wait for tomorrow and the challenges I'll face. For now, my bed and sleep's sweet embrace ... 08/10/2007

 In todays buyers market, sellers need to have findability among similar properties on the market.  A well cared for home will stand out just like an eye sore property does.A buyer who wants to become a resident of Wilkes Barre, wants to step over the threshold, move in and relax, be comfortable and cozy.Independent studies have found that an upgraded entryway can increase the perceived homes value, and doors with first impressions set the tone for what more they can expect.  I will be going on a listing appointment, and like my sellers to know the FACTS.Year to date in Wilkes Barre 366 properties where on the market. 216 have been sold.58 are in pending. The average days on the market are 106.That will leave us with 195 active listings. The average sale price is 70,412.00.64  homes hav... 08/10/2007

08/10/2007

I was talking with a client this evening, a buyer client, and the subject of FSBO's and buyer agents came up. I thought that it'd be interesting to ask a consumer of our services about why someone wouldn't want to have a buyer agent. She told me there is no good reason why someone shouldn't have a buyer's agent and this is why:It's in the best interest of the buyer to have proper representation during a transaction. The seller has representation watching out for their best interests, don't you want to even the odds?The buyer's agent provides valuable insight into the market and can guide the buyer during the process to make an informed decision. This could save the buyer a great deal of money. The buyer's agent makes the process so much smoother because they make all of the phone calls ... 08/09/2007

I have a new broker, Realty World, Rubbico Real Estate!! I know, what does this have to do with you? Nothing. I'm just excited about it and I wanted to share. If you've been following my blogs, you know that I have gone through a recent struggle because my old broker got recruited by another broker and basically shut down the shop. I was faced with the decision to go with a large office or a small office. I interviewed with a couple of brokers and took a good look at them both before deciding what I was going to do. I chose the small office and have made the switch today. It was quite a shock to look at the MLS homepage and see that I had no listings any longer. I'm in the process of changing my listings over now. Luckily for me, I was able to take all of my clients with me when I went.... 08/09/2007

I've been in negotiations over a property for the last week and it finally ended today with a termination of the contract. I'm frustrated with the whole transaction, so please forgive me if I paint it in that light. The first signs of trouble were apparent from the start, with a "problem" tenant who didn't want to allow us into the building to see her apt. The listing agent, who was a relative of the seller, was very vocal about how bad the tenant was and how she needed to be evicted. This didn't sit well with my client, causing some unease about the possibility of having to evict a tenant, which can be a lengthy process these days. We proceeded anyway and negotiated a good sales price, which was accepted and we moved forward with the inspections. During the course of getting the inspec... 08/09/2007

I've completed my Open House today and had the type of results I had expected. I had some early shoppers, the neighbors, some serious buyers, the passers-by and some people looking for a deal. This is where the real work begins. I do alot of Open Houses and I have found that the same types of people generally show up to Open Houses. Let's look at a few of them...The early shoppers. These are the people that come to the Open House about 10-15 minutes before it's supposed to start. I love this type of buyer because they have done some research, generally, and have selected your Open House as their favorite. That's why they come early, so they can see it before anyone else has a chance. I always get my visitors to sign a sign-in sheet and I pay special attention to the first names when I d... 08/05/2007