Not-So-Little Pink House

My hubby and I went down to Charlestown, South Carolina for a meeting recently.  I always love being back in that charming city.  Our hotel was close to Battery Park and a walk along the promenade at sunset can't be beat.  As part of his meeting schedule, we were able to go inside two the amazing homes right on The Battery.  One was Roper House. Wow, what an experience. 

For me, the highlight of the trip was seeing a former client. I helped her sell her townhome in Reston - an older home that she'd lived in with her 5 cats for many years.  She did all the right things to get it ready for sale - fresh paint and carpet, all repairs made, and she even moved out to make it completely ready for a new owner.  It sold quickly after multiple offers and well over list. 

This set her on the path to having a home built for her just outside of Charleston.  What a thrill to see this huge, beautiful home.  10' ceilings.  3 bedrooms.  2-car garage.  Screened in porch.  2 walk-in closets in the master including one that was the size of a bedroom.  Tons of windows with light pouring in. All on one level.  And it was pink!  (This photo isn't the house, but hers is just as charming, but much bigger.) To say that you can buy more home there for the same dollar is a colossal understatement.

I was squealing with delight at every turn because I was so thrilled for her to have this home for the rest of her life.  The very best part for me is that, while showing me her home, she hugged me about three times saying "Thank you so much.  You helped make this possible."  Awww!

Judy, I wish you many years of enjoying mint juleps on your screened porch. 

Deutsches Haus

My family spent Christmas through New Year's with my sister's family in Germany.  Cae has lived there for 30-some years.  She is a singer, recording artist, composer and jewelery artisan.  You can read more about Cae's interesting life in her blog. Her husband, Eddie, is a Kammersänger opera singer.  Between us we have 6 children, ages 17-27.  None of the siblings living together anymore, so it's something special to actual get all of these far-flung souls together.

Keeping with the real estate theme of this blog, I wanted to write about three homes I visited while there.

The first is my sister's which is truly interesting.  It's a large 3-level home next to a canal in a little village near Karlsruhe.  Like most German homes it has a tile roof, stucco exterior and is built to last.  What a pleasure to walk through a home where no floors squeak, and it is quiet from room to room.  All of the homes I visited had what appear to be, and sound like, solid wood interior doors.  The are designed with an over-lay so there is no light or noise that seeps through "the gap" as in American doors.  Another feature common to most German homes are heavy exterior metal blinds.  They are raised and lowered by a nylon strap inside the house, which is usually hidden by sheer or lace draperies.  No need for heavy interior drapes because these exterior shutters provide all the privacy and insulation you need.  When they are raised, they're virtually invisible.  When completely lowered they make the interior room pitch dark.  (Fantastic when needing to sleep at odd hours to recover from jet lag.)

My sister is an artist in every way and her home is one of her canvases.  She has created a river of stone set within her driveway pavers.  Her front door is studded with hand-painted ceramic drawer pulls which I think she got in England.  To replace cracked tiles in her floor-heated ceramic main level, she layed in smaller stone grids.  She used a small drill (I think its a Dremel) to carve a design in the stucco to frame the arched entry between her living and dining room.  She created a round tile mosaic and had it embedded in the concerete wall outsider her kitchen window.   I could go on and on.  It's a wonderland.

Right next door to Cae is a newer home that was built slowly over many years in Italianette style.  The owner is a lawyer and her father did much of the building.  It's main level has large marble floor tiles, probably 14" square, set on diagonal, and as often is done, fully heated underneath.  Italian chandeliers, a curved staircase, beautiful cream-colored kitchen cabinets.  As in my sister's house, the appliances are modern but a bit smaller than the average American size.  One of the bathroom's has a section of the ceiling above the huge soaking tub inset with hair-like strands with tiny lights at the end.  They look like stars twinkling above the tub.

The third house where we stayed overnight was in a village of only 200 people and many more horses.  This retired NATO military officer bought this 150-year old home which has a stable below and he rebuilt a two-level home above.  It is nestled right in the town and the backyard is where 3 horses hang out during the day.  The entry way is a bit aromatic as it is next to the stables, but upstairs everything is new, clean, sun-filled, open-beamed ceilings and two huge covered decks.  Another feature it has common to many Germany homes is a two-sided banquet seating area with the table and then chairs on the other two sides.  So cozy and comfortable.  While in this town we all enjoyed a 4-horse drawn sleigh ride through the snow.  Jingle bells!

I'm so grateful for the hospitality of my sister and her wonderful friends who opened their homes, their kitchens, and their hearts to all of us. Vielen vielen Dank!

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.

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!

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.