Whatever It Takes

I'm trying to help my client close on a home before the end of the year.  That means fitting in a home inspection Christmas week, soon after our record December blizzard.  The homeowners are out of town, so the 20" of snow on the driveway wasn't shoveled.

I didn't even attempt to get my Lexus in the driveway. It still got stuck just turning around on the somewhat-plowed street.  The inspector had to rock my car out of that one - and that was even before the clients and the rest of the gang (see below) showed up.

Because the homeowners were gone, the listing agent had to unarm the security system. Unfortunately they gave her the wrong code, so after 5 minutes of the alarm blaring, they finally remembered the right numbers.  She just stayed with us (not customary, but she's great) to be there for appraiser who also showed, and the radon inspector.  The school system of the buyers closed because of the storm, so they showed up with the 3 kids and a mother-in-law in tow.  We had a house full!

After a five-hours long inspection we are finally ready to leave.  The listing agent is the last to pull out and immediately gets stuck in the snow.  Inspector had already left.  Thank goodness my client has a big SUV and had a tow line.  (He's a very competent guy in so many ways.)  Success!

Just another example of doing whatever it takes to meet deadlines and help clients buy and sell homes!  Happy Holidays to all my wonderful clients who've made this such a great year.  Wishing you joy and peace in 2010!

Get Lucky - or Get Smart

After being buried in 18 inches of snow, and spending waaaay to much time watching FIOS On Demand TV, I had one of those nights where I stayed awake thinking of random things.  Last night I was wondering how many people there are per Realtor in Virginia.  There are so many times when I tell people I'm a Realtor and they reply, "So am I".  But they say that when their sitting across from me as a customer service rep at a bank, or helping me in a store.  They may have their license, but it clearly isn't their every-week, this-is-how-I-pay-more-mortgage profession.

I searched statistics on the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the Census Bureau, and Wikipedia.  I took the number of Real Estate Sales Agents and Broker, divided by the population of Virginia, and found there are 635 people for every Realtor.  16.3% of every person over 16 in Virginia moved in 2006.  68.9% of Americans were homeowners in 2005, and the average household size in 2000 was 2.59 people.  That gave me an estimate of the count of Virginia households who are homeowners who moved.  Divide that by the count of Real Estate Agents and Brokers and there are 28 Virginia households moving each year for every Realtor.  That sounds about right.

As intimidating as it is for me to think about competing to find my theoretical 28 households that are moving each year, it should be way more intimidating for the householder that is moving that doesn't know the business reputation of a Realtor.  To simply choose someone because they are your sister-in-law, cousin, or the lady that teaches Sunday school at your church is really scary.

What should you look for in a Realtor?  It's best to find someone with local knowledge of the area where you need to sell or want to buy. Experience is super important.  It isn't how long they've been in the business but rather how many transactions they are handling a year.  If someone does this as a hobby it's impossible for them to keep up with all the movement that happens every single month in the market place, changes within the standardized contracts, and the lending and legal developments.

Character counts.  There are so many opportunities for someone to cut corners and fudge about what is said and done, and this can, at the least, lead to messing things up so that you don't get the house you want to buy or sell the house you need to sell. At the worst it can lead to expensive mistakes and even legal consequences.

Negotiation skills matter.  Negotiating is not being a brow-beater, and pressing the other side until they feel abused.  It only starts with getting to an agreement for the sales price.  Negotiations continue through the many contingencies most contracts have that must be navigated on your way to the settlement table.

And that leads me to temperament.  It's great to work with someone that has a sparkling personality, but what happens to that personality when the stress sets in?  And it will.  It's invaluable to work with someone who keeps a level-head when those about them are losing theirs.  Someone who can sympathize with your emotions, but stays the steady course to come up with common-sense solutions to get you to your goal of buying or selling a home.

I love our slogan:  Smart Connections Between Heart and Home.  You might get lucky, but your odds are better if you start out smart.  Choose wisely.

Love or Business

One time I loved a house too much - and it almost got in the way of a sale.  

The home was a center hall colonial in north Reston.  The minute I walked in the door it had "great vibes" - a traditional home with transitional style.  It was beautifully decorated in a consistent color theme from room to room - taupe and eggplant - without being over bearing like a model home.  It was immaculately clean and perfectly maintained.  I was thrilled to represent such a beautiful home.  And I loved the personalities of the clients.  I knew instantly we would become friends, and we are. 

The challenge we faced is that it was January, the market was declining and there were very few sales happening at all.  The sellers were realistic so we set an aggressive price.

Here's the hiccup.  Whenever I met with my clients, it was in their home.  They would greet me warmly at the door, and I'd walk through the lovely rooms, to the sun-filled breakfast area and look over their large wooded backyard.  And then I'd say "I love this house."   They would reply with their own affirmatives, "We do, too.  It's a hard decision to leave, but we know its the right thing to do."   Then we'd proceed to talk about showings, open houses, competition and the declining market.

When they received an offer it was, of course, much lower than we hoped to get.  They were having trouble coming to terms with accepting a negotiated price and moving on.  After a couple of visits, I realized I was part of the problem.  It was my "I love this house" each time I was there that was reminding them how much they loved the house.  And it was reinforcing a perception of value that the current market was not going to support.

I often meet clients in their home, but I needed to get this couple out of the house and in front of a computer so that they could see the facts: a spreadsheet I had put together of comps data and a study of other listings so they could understand where they stood.  When we removed the emotion that was there when we were in the home, they were quickly able to see the writing on the wall and come to a mutually agreeable selling price for the home.

My friends are now living happily in a new home in Potomac Green, an over-55 community with facilities like a high-end resort. They have decorated their new home with the same good taste as their colonial.  They now have a low-maintenance home and a lifestyle they'll enjoy for years to come.

My now friends have thanked me repeatedly for getting their home sold before the market continued to deteriorate.  They feel fortunate compared to the subsequent sales prices of some of their former neighbors' homes.

I learned a valuable lesson.  When it is time let go of emotional attachments and perceptions, get out of the home and into the office.  Business decisions are best made in business settings.

Model Home, Strange Life

Yesterday I saw something I've never seen before. I was showing homes and came across a listing that said it was a former model home and all of the furnishing were for sale.  The tax records said it was purchased a year ago by an individual, and now only 15 months later they are selling.  

This house is still completely furnished as the model home.  The towels in the bathrooms still have the ribbons around them.  There is fake wine - plastic - in the wine glasses on the dining room table. There is foamy beer - plastic - in mugs in the family room.  The hard plastic loaf of bread is on the kitchen counter.  The house is packed with decorator tschotskes - model cars, books, wall art, silk flowers.  Even the flat screen TV above the fireplace is cardboard!  

Everything is dusty.   The kitchen is being used - the cooktop is dirty.  Only 2 of the bathrooms, one bedroom, the garage and the storage room are used.  The other 13 rooms in the house have not been touched!  (By the way, there is a junk yard in the lot behind the house. They don't show that in the pictures.)  What a strange way to live.

Short Sale Hostage

Oh, the cruel vagaries of short sales.  Not every buyer can handle the experience.  You have to be flexible about when you are able to move.  Absolutely no deadlines for when you have to be out of your current home.  You must have the patience of Job to wait wait wait as tidbits of information on the progress of the short sale drip slowly through the system, like Chinese water torture.  You might need to pay more for the home than you offered because the lender's appraisal says it's worth more.  If you don't pony up, they'll kick you out of the transaction.  Runner up for the worst outcome for buyers:  The lender doesn't approve the short sale and reworks the loan with the current owner - no sale.  Winner of the worst outcome for all parties: The lender forecloses on the property in the midst of the short sale. No deal.  No house.  Return to GO and collect your earnest money back.

I recently had a client who bought a townhome in Reston - regular sale, totally and beautifully renovated, great price.  Contract was accepted in 3rd week in May.  He had to be out of his current home by end of July.   Sounds like plenty of time.  The one contingency was "Home of Choice" - that means the seller had to find a home they wanted to buy within the specified time frame.  Only problem was that there weren't (and still aren't) very many homes for sale.  She couldn't find anything she wanted to buy.

Finally she chose - oh dear -  a home being sold short sale.  So now my buyer, who bought a home as a regular transaction, had to wait through the whole excrutiating and uncertain short sale process.  He had to move four times between the end of July and when it finally closed the end of October! I won't even go into the details of how we had to adjust the offer price three times to keep the deal alive.

Interesting that the transactions (and the lives of approximately 12 people) didn't depend so much on the short sale being approved as it did on my client's willingness to wait out the whole nightmare. If he pulled, out the whole chain of transactions broke.

I'll gladly share credit with Carole Burnett, also with Long and Foster, for coming up with creative solutions to keep the transaction alive and our clients focused on the outcomes that they wanted- their new homes.  I love happy endings!

Cleanliness is Next . . . . - On Your To-Do List

If you've been a renter of a private home - and sometimes for apartment complexes - you've experienced the strict lease clause requiring the property and the carpet to be professionally cleaned in order to get your security deposit back.  It can come as a shock that the standards aren't nearly as strict when you are buying a home.  The Sales Contract states only that the home has to be broom swept and trash and debris removed. That leaves room for a lot of dirt and grime to be left behind. (As a Realtor, I always point this out to my clients when they are signing the contract, but it can be an easy thing to forget when there are so many other important steps in the sales process.)

When you're buying the home, most likely the owners have it in the best and cleanest condition it has been in since they bought it.  That's all part of having the house on the market for sale.  Some home sellers take a lot of pride in leaving the home spotlessly clean for the new owners.

Yet, often in the chaos and stress of moving, cleaning is the last thing a home seller has time to do.  In the rush of getting that last box out the door, they just may not have time to clean.

Home buyers may consider having the home professionally cleaned, or schedule time themselves to don the yellow-rubber-gloves before they move in.  That way they know they are starting life in their new home with a clean slate.

Behind Door # 1 . . . .

A Realtor never knows what will be on the other side of a door.  I always hope for an up-to-date, Q-Tip clean, and tastefully decorated home.  And I also hope that if the homeowner is home - they have their clothes on!

Here's my routine when showing a home:  Follow the showing instructions in the listing, such as calling the owner and/or the listing agent. If owner doesn't answer, leave my phone number in a voice mail so they can call me if the showing time I propose doesn't work for them.  When arriving at the home, ring the doorbell and wait, ring it again and wait, knock loudly on the door and wait.  Open the door and yell "REALTOR" to alert I'm entering the home.

In spite of these best efforts, I still catch people unaware.  There was the man sitting on his couch, no shirt, beer belly, refilling his belly with beer.  There were the three little boys alone in the living room watching cartoons who were dressed - from the waist up.  There was the woman who, after we had already entered the house, finally came upstairs from the family room, flushed and disheveled.  As we toured the home and went down to the family room, there was a man, also flushed and disheveled.  They were both pretty happy though.

One time I had made an appointment, the wife answered the door and invited us in, chatted with us, etc. When we went upstairs, the husband was standing in the master bedroom with only a towel on - yelling at us for being in his house . Gosh, I assumed he wanted to sell his house considering it was in the multiple listing service.  This was when the market was dead and he was lucky to even get a showing.

One particularly memorable incident occurred in Reston with my client, his little son, and both of his parents.  We had an appointment.  The lights in the house were all on.  I went through my routine before entering.  We toured the main floor, went downstairs and outside.  They really liked the house so they were spending a lot of time looking at everything and talking about it. Back up to the main floor, sounding like a herd of elephants.  Just as we were about to go upstairs, the homeowner starts screaming at us from up there.  She had been in the shower the whole time and hadn't heard us.  We profusely apologized and hurried out - everyone's nerves rattled.  Thank goodness we hadn't made it upstairs and opened the bathroom door while she was still in the shower! She was m-a-d,  until we bought the house.

My advice to Sellers is not to include the deadbolt key in the lockbox, so that you can lock that during the time you need privacy while at home.  And in general, people - keep your clothes on!

Money Happens

If you haven't already heard the news from every Realtor, lender and title company you've ever done business with, the $8,000 tax credit for first time home buyers has been extended.  Even better, current home owners can get a tax credit of $6,500.  Even better, the income limits to be eligible are significantly raised from $75k for single filers and $150k for joint filers to a whopping $150k and $225k. One catch:  You have to be under contract by April 30, 2010 and close in 60 days.  Read the details here.

Here's why this is such a great program:  Economist predict that job growth should kick in by the 2nd quarter next year.  This program will spur economic activity during the 1st quarter.  Although these tax credits are big amounts for individual payers, the tax revenue that buying a home generates will cause it to pay for itself, plus, plus.

Just think about all of the businesses that make money, and pay taxes, when you buy a house starting with, yours truly, your Realtor.  There are also the loan officer's commission, the banks and their admin staff, appraisers, title companies, home and radon inspectors, termite inspectors, and home warranty issuers.

Think about the trades that get business either when a home owner is fixing up their house to sell, or when an inspection reveals work that needs to be done, or after the home is purchased and the buyer is making it their own.  That includes plumbers, electricians, roofers, painters,  flooring companies and installers, appliance manufacturers and their stores, handymen and home improvement stores.

Speaking of getting your house ready for sale, you'll need to be on the market by March 1st at the absolute latest to have a ratified contract by April 30th.  It isn't too early to start thinking about what you need to do to get your home ready.

The last couple of winters I've been able to stay inside and toasty warm most days because there weren't a lot of people buying and selling.  I expect this year I'll be breaking out the hat, mittens and snow boots.  I'm ready!

From Boardrooms to Bathrooms

I love being a Realtor.  There are so many hats I get to wear:  business owner, marketer, administrator, quasi-lawyer, financial analyst, psychologist, strategist, negotiator, interior decorator, community expert, inspector, architect, handyman.  Now our client Agreements say that I'm none of those things, but in real life, to help my clients reach their goals, I need to have some knowledge of all of those roles.

In a training class I took when first launching my career as a Realtor, all of us newbies were intimidated about competing against more experienced agents to find clients.  How do we answer the question, "How long have you been a Realtor?"  The trainer suggested, "It feels like my whole life!"  In many ways, I have been training my whole life in the areas of expertise needed to succeed.

Part of that training is the fact that I've moved 27 times in my life.  I've also bought and lived in 13 homes across the country.  That's a lot of moving trucks, redecorating, and finding new doctors, preschools and my way around town.  When I found Reston, Virginia, I knew I had found my home.  I moved here in 1996 and I've never wanted to live anywhere else since.

Prior to becoming a Realtor, I worked for Mosaic Sales Solutions for 11 years.  During that time, it grew from a $2million boutique field marketing company located on Madison Avenue to a $200million business in Dallas.  I ended my career there as Senior Vice President of Business Development, reporting to the then president, Bill Lee - an amazingly creative and inspiring leader.  During those years I was involved in every aspect of the business from account management, budgeting, hiring, training, reporting, technology implementation and business development. 

I also had the privilege to work for clients that included American Express, AT&T Wireless, Best Buy, Disney, all of the major film studios, Microsoft's Xbox, and many others.  After countless boardroom presentations and a million miles on American Airlines, it was time for a change.

That change began when I married my wonderful husband, Stephen Clark.  Now I had a reason to stay off airplanes and stay home!  While in Reston I had sold a townhome and bought a condo through my Realtor, Claudia Weintraub.  Claudia has been a Realtor in northern Virginia for 32 years.  While working together, we became friends.  Claudia wanted a partner to join her in business so that she could transition to semi-retirement and some day full retirement.  When I was ready to leave the boardrooms, I asked her, "How about me?"  It's been a perfect partnership ever since.

Now for the bathrooms.  During my first week of showing homes, I was standing in a master bathroom with a husband and wife who were discussing the merits of double vanities.  I thought to myself, "Dorothy, you're not in Kansas anymore!"  I'd moved from writing $20million program proposals and discussing performance metrics with clients to discussing the morning grooming routines of clients.

And I wouldn't go back for the world.  I love the intimacy of really getting to know people and guiding them safely through the process of finding a home that suits their life styles and their budgets. (Our slogan says it perfectly:  Smart Connections Between Hearts and Home)

So, without violating any client-confidentiality, I'll be sharing some of my experiences and insights - both entertaining and informative ones.  I hope you'll learn something helpful for your journey of buying or selling a home.