A BLOG about the funny, frustrating, and challenging day to day experiences of a real estate agent in a small Southern town. Everything is addressed, from rude clients and agents to fashion and food! It's all here, relocation, messy houses and market conditions.
Like most young ladies in my day, I had the standard dollhouse on the left to play with. Furniture, little plastic figurines. I added my own touches with odds & ends that I collected from gumball machines. My fav was the little hot dog...not exactly to scale but I didn't care.
In spite of my shoes, I'm not much taller today than I was back then. The daughter of one of my clients told her parents to send her picture to the 'little girl that looks like a big
girl'...that was a first for me. I kind of liked it. I may be on the petite side still but my dollhouses are bigger these days.
I am hoping to list one in the next week or so. Every listing isn't eligible to be a dollhouse. Not even all MY listings are dollhouses. They are unique, hard to find properties that bring out the 'little girl' in this agent. Properties that I make me feel like staying. Every square foot is utilized to it's utmost potential! The furniture and dishes are eclectic, pillows you can't help but pick up and look at, a listing to linger in.
You schedule a showing and arrive earlier than your buyer so you can walk through and look around some more. You just LIKE being there. (NO, I don't riffle through the closets and dresser drawers...not that kind of behavior - I PROMISE). A home that FITS, regardless of the size or style makes me say..."I would buy this house". They come in
all sizes just like the dollhouses of my childhood. Some are bungalows, some are mansions. Remember Barbies Dream House? I eventually upgraded from my tin version to her two story mansion with elevator. I loved them both. CLASSICS.
Dollhouses are rare finds today. Too many short sales and foreclosures on the market. Deferred maintenance on one hand or 'flipped' properties that all have the same flooring, paint colors and fixtures on the other. No creativity. Yes, I knoooow they are safe and sale-able, but they lack imagination. They don't get much more than a casual nod on the Tuesday Morning Mandatory Tour. I enjoy listings that make the wheels in Ms. So and So Agent's pea brain start turning. I can see it in her face! She is wondering how I got this listing, and who
My buyer HAD to have this DOLLHOUSE
can she sell it to so she can have a piece of my dollhouse. I understand, I am closing on one this week. I have the buyer, not my listing. But I LOVED the dollhouse - so I simply HAD TO $ELL IT! At least five different buyers heard me say..."I have the best house! You have to see it! It's a DOLLHOUSE!" Eventually, someone agreed with me. Mark it sold.
Flocking through the house like a gaggle of geese, clucking and squawking! Inevitably one will say, "I have someone for this...". Then it's...'Isn't this Mr. or Ms. So and So's house...didn't Mr. or Ms. So and So used to live here? Everyone wants to play in my dollhouse.
Of course, some will ask...'Wasn't this listed with Mr. Discount Broker?' They will make noises about the price, try to disqualify it in some way. I know the deal.
Kiss my grits.I'm getting paid on this one, and we all know it!
Real estate LEADS anyway. You have to fish for them, cast your line or net and pull up who knows what? The catch of the day - or a sorry, soggy old branch that you have tugged and pulled on for half a day. Wriggly, elusive, sly creatures, these LEADS are.
How long it been on market? Will they RENT?
Real estate companies have a fabulous tool (dubious) at their disposal called LEAD Router. The program captures the contact information of consumers from the internet as they click on listings. Presumably looking for additional info - or to request a showing. That sort of thing. Within seconds their request is forwarded by an automated message to my cell phone, an email copy is also received.
'You have a new company generated lead from LEAD Router...if this is not voice mail click 1' (and so on)
You accept the LEAD by phone, then log in to the website and follow up on their request. Time sensitive of course. We like to tell our sellers how ON TOP OF OUR LEADS we are for THEIR properties. And we are. It's just that the LEADS are very often the equivalent to a 10 year old surfing the net, searching for the newest game on the market. CAN he actually buy the game? WILL he buy the game? And the ever loving...'My parents are going to buy me the game'. The only thing we might know conclusively is that he LIKES the game. Maybe.
In the beginning LEAD Router was a unique, valuable program. The sites were reputable, reliable and consistent. As the years have progressed EVERYONE with a website is in the game. As you would expect - the capability to screen these LEADS has weakened and the quality has begun to stink.
I was all for the idea in the beginning! OH THE LEADS we would see, you and I, you and I - oh the LEADS we would see, YOOOOOU AND IIIIII! bah
Like fish, they are all out there swimming in one vast septic sea. Barracuda, starfish, eel, coral, license plates, medical waste; you get the picture. (Nosey neighbors, people looking for desperate sellers who will RENT, REAL buyers that do research on line first, Relocation clients, people looking for vacant homes to vandalise, agents from other markets wanting to set up showings). You don't know whats out there by standing on shore looking at the ocean. GOTTA fish, no way around it.
Agents have become quite savvy at sorting through the LEADS. Most click 9 (to reject this LEAD) so it will route along to the next agent on the list, sit back and laugh and shout out...'got a live one coming your way...', to the agent standing next to them by the coffee pot. I will accept or reject on a variety of personal criteria (which I shall NOT share). I am pretty good at qualifying the Cod from the chum.
My phone rang last week. The lead was regarding a home listed by another agent in our office (out of compliance-you have to UPDATE your LEADS). I accepted the lead - it was a real name with a 'question about property' request. I didn't have anything pressing so I figured I'd take it and see what I could make of it. The LEAD called me personally, within about 5 minutes of receiving my email!!
Well, helloooooo...
We talked; he later came to look at the home (from North Carolina) on the outside - alone; made an appointment to preview the INSIDE (another trip from N.C.). I began to get interested. We set a time to meet at the house. Dare I hope? Would the LEAD show? And if so, would it be because they were in town visiting relatives and killing time or were they semi-serious?
I arrived at the property at 12:45. Fifteen min early, as is my routine. They were already there! Had been there since 11:00!!! (yes, almost 2 hours EARLY?) Just walking around the 13 acres (dreaming, planning).
JOY!
The LEAD it turns out, is 77 years young. Can you say INTERNET SAVVY? He arrived with his wife and daughter (she sent me a friend request on FACEBOOK while we were going through the house). DAD loves FACEBOOK too. Has done more research online about this property than the listing agent!
CROW PIE
My LEAD has turned into a potential BUYER. They have gone back up to NC to talk with a REALTOR about selling their house, check financing options - maybe, maybe not. What motivates a 77 years young buyer? I may only end up with a new FACEBOOK friend (good enough) - but Lord willing...I will be eating a healthy serving of CROW.
Not to be confused with that other pie...
UPDATE: Ms. Agent So and So did NOT do her presentation this morning in the Tuesday Morning Mandatory Sales Meeting...
Tuesday morning = mandatory sales meeting and tour to preview our new listings. As I have blogged before agents have been assigned to do a 'presentation' at that time as well. For the past two weeks an agent in our office has neglected to show up and present hers. (remember what happened when I did mine? The 'Catty Cow" commentator?) Ms. So and So Agent proclaimed when she was selected she didn't want to do it. WOULDN'T do it. And to date, she has not. Now, she has not been excused by the managing broker, and at each session the broker announces that Ms. So and So Agent called in or sent a text she would be absent. The Broker in Charge has also stated each time that Ms. So and So Agent will be required to present next week. Ms. So and So Agent strolls in after the tour - just before lunch, happy as you please. Nothing said. By anyone. Eventually this is what will happen. She will have a new listing that she wants all of the agents to preview. She will HAVE to come in. Now, one of two things will happen. She will do her presentation or it will be 'forgotten' and the cycle will begin again. At some point the whole process will fade away and those who have not had to do it yet will not be required to. It's how the game of office manipulation is played. WHY would Ms. So and So Agent feel so adverse to something so relatively simple? She gets to pick her topic, ANY topic with no minimum time to speak. As short and simple as she please. CANNIBALISM:
Ms. So and So Agent should have faced the BEASTS today. She probably would have escaped unscathed. KWEST Mortgage visited today and brought BREAKFAST! They also brought 3 door prizes! Sweet little Valentine treats. Our motley little crew was well fed, puffed up and pampered. Mellowed out if you please.
YUP! I won
I suppose I could have sent Ms. So and So Agent a text, advised her to make her best shot while the BEASTS were sunning themselves. What can I say? I am perverse like that. I want to see how this will play out in the animal kingdom of Real Estate. I'll keep you posted.
Sounds bizzare I know. But in these challenging economic times a REALTOR has to do what a REALTOR has to do. And that is take advantage of every opportunity to work your business.
There are actually BOOKS about this
Now, how does Male Menopause fit into this? Other than sounding catchy and trendy and perhaps luring you into clicking on a link?
According to my seller he ISgoing through a change. He has gone so far as to approved my disclosure of that personal information too. Disclose it to FUTURE BUYERS! Now this is a progressive man. He embraces challenge and is confidant he can forge ahead in spite of this unavoidable change.
He was a relocation buyer a mere 18 mos ago. Incoming in a mad fervor to have his new wife and three step-children happily installed in their new home prior to the beginning of the new school year!
EVERYTHING a family wants!
It was stressful to say the least - find something in the right school district where the children could all be happy as well as a home that fit their lifestyle. WE FOUND IT! There was really only ONE that would fit. A lovely brick home, landscaped front, back and sides. In-ground pool, party house, workshop, hardwood floors - and all on FOUR ACRES! Throw in a home office, four bedrooms, large laundry room, eat-in kitchen, formal living room. What more could you want? The man even bought a four wheeler as a little house warming surprise for the kids.
Alas, three months later - the wife and her three children packed it up and headed back up North. What can you do? Life goes on. My client is in a new relationship with a lovely lady and they are very happy. The house however, no longer meets THEIR needs. No need for those extra bedrooms, they would rather live on the beach (just the 2 of them) than mow four acres. See how that works? The change?
My seller wanted to assure buyers there was nothing wrong with his home. He loved it when it worked for his family. He is selling because of a change.
So long as people are born, die, get married, divorce, there will still be real estate deals to be made. So, if YOU are looking for that ONE home in Edisto School District Four that offers it ALL...check this one out - the pool is awesome!
If you need to, you can always hide that middle age spread behind the privacy fence!
PREDATORS are scouring our community, stripping homes of plumbing, wiring, HVAC units, you name it! The deputy that responded to my recent call discussed the reality of what is going on. Apparently, this disgusting, crude, opportunistic bunch of parasites are the new 'professional'. He told me that just like he and I get up every day and go into our workplaces and perfect our skills, these creatures are hitting the gym to work out (need to keep their sorry a** strength up), forming teams (to scout out the vacant homes), developing their tech skills (snooping county records on line), and networking (gotta sell that STOLEN gain & garner LEADS)!
Foreclosed properties in rural areas have been the target for years. Having had a free reign in that arena, they have expanded to virtually every neighborhood. If it is vacant, it is up for grabs. I had one just 3 doors from an elementary school! A week before closing they gutted the HVAC unit. My elderly seller lived 2 hours away with her son. Within the City limits, neighbors very close, nice neighborhood by a SCHOOL! BUT, it was vacant.
Twice my listings were victimized while under contract. Just after the home inspection, before repairs could be completed. Repairmen, appraisers, inspectors, insurance people, take your pick. There is a revolving door through these homes as we prepare for a closing. I am sure it is a coincidence that the same buyer agent and home inspector were involved on both properties. Within 6 weeks of each other. But somewhere, someone is a common denominator here. This is just too small a community. The deputy tells me the best thing is a deer camera. Get them on tape and they are DONE! I am thinking to get one for my own home. They are cheap, easy to install and who knows how long before these creeps move on to the occupied homes? Since when did VACANT translate into belonging to no one so I can take what I want?
My buyers found a property they wanted to see, (vacant) - I asked the listing agent what issues the home had (it was priced pretty low). 'It only needs a condenser for the HVAC and some cosmetic work', she said, 'depending upon the offer it may or may not end up a short sale'. Not bad. The photos were a little rough but it was priced accordingly so off we went to have a look at a decent 'opportunity'. A good location, motivated seller, and priced at market, I anticipated a happy showing.
One day, these DIRTBAGS will be caught - and shot
We hugged and made happy when I arrived, it has been awhile since we last saw one another. "Someone has stolen the plumbing,' my client said as soon as we started toward the front door. I knew it looked shabby but assured him it was not a foreclosure but a resale and just needed HVAC repairs. 'That's gone too', he said. I stopped in my tracks then, 'How do you know? Did you walk around?" (they had been sitting in the car when I arrived. 'Yes', he laughed. I frowned.
I typically arrive before my buyers, and if the home is vacant will walk around outside just in case. I sighed and opened the front door - I could see straight through to the back of the home where the kitchen door window had been boarded up. Not a good sign. We went through the home, it needs everything, paint, flooring, fixtures, and YES...plumbing. My client proved it - he opened the cabinet under the kitchen sink, reached in and pulled UP on the pipe. It came up out of the floor - nothing attached. Completely stripped from under the house.
Not washing any dishes in this sink.
'I could tell it was gone the minute I drove into the yard and saw the water spout on the front of the house tilted to the side,' he said. (he is a plumber by trade) The crawlspace was wide open. They had gone under the home and sawed off all the copper pipes and just carted it all away. Not a clue from inside the home until you try to use something, turn on a faucet or shower.
My clients had been excited to find a home that they could work on at a realistic price. They are energetic, looking for a project, we are going to build a home together, kind of people. As I said, he is a plumber, so they were amused and not so daunted by the little surprise we discovered. It will mean something entirely different to a seller who is trying to make sense of the downturn in the market and changes in employment. Their equity is gone, and now the home is rendered unlivable and unable to obtain financing. Maybe they have paid their homeowners insurance, maybe not. When it comes to making the mortgage payment and the money doesn't quite wrap around everything, some have let theirs lapse hoping not to get caught.
Easy to gut a home by the crawlspace
Is it a buyers market? No. There are too few homes available that buyers would be willing to purchase, too few sellers that can afford to sell at market value AND make repairs/upgrades, and precious little new construction. Buyers and sellers are having to work together to get the homes BOUGHT and realize a SALE. It is a team effort, both sides must understand what it will take to achieve the desired goal.
We need PROTECTION, JUSTICE, VINDICATION from aliens sucking the very guts from houses left unguarded.
Dramatic? Maybe. But I am getting ticked off, sick of cleaning up after these animals. THEY are stealing our homes, piece by piece.
I think it's time to call ARNOLD! Bring someone in who can take these monsters DOWN!
Something we have in abundance is vintage homes! Out of 181 active residential listings - 56 were built between 1900 and 1959. If you are looking for vintage bungalow, retro ranch or elegant eclectic we have offerings from $43,000 - $499,900!
A number of these properties are (but not always) estate properties. This means the property is being sold by the heirs. Often a multitude of heirs. No issue there really, however, it can muddy the waters.
As I have said before, I am not 'from the area' originally. My grandparents came off the boat from Italy, they weren't living in the Burg back before the streets were paved. I don't have those "Old Orangeburg" ties so to speak. I am one of those 'RELOCATION' clients from years back that stayed to make a home and a living. No worries - like my grandfather - I can work for what I want.
Soooo...on a certain day my BIC (Broker in Charge) called me into to her office and said she had received call from a gentleman who wanted to list his 'family home' now that his brothers had passed. She shrugged-'interested?', I said sure. Kind of odd - most people have local ties, but not always. Sometimes everyone else has moved away and things are left flapping. So I called, sounded like I had a shot at something I don't usually have an opportunity for.
The heir that had Power of Attorney said 'they' would be in Orangeburg on Saturday at 10 and would I meet them at the house? They would be meeting an appraiser at the same time. HAPPY DANCE! An appraisal would be invaluable on this 1930'soriginal condition home! This was going enable me to ensure a sellable property! I knew we weren't going to replace the original coal furnace, tile roof, or copper screens. BUT we could position the home to sell to a buyer that could love everything this home was in it's current condition.
Old Goat Appraiser
I showed up bright eyed and bushy tailed Saturday morning to meet everyone. An appraiser (whom I had heard of by reputation only-who didn't know me from ADAM, or EVE) stood there and told them at least FOUR times that they needed to list with MS. SO AND SOfrom my very office. Right there in my face, bold and stinky as you please, TOLD them to list with another agent. Can you say awkward? For the sellers, I was just plain stunned (more than a little ticked off). The son nicely guided me by my elbow to the basement at that moment to take a look at the fascinating coal furnace.
After the VINTAGE APPRAISER had collected his 'data' and left we sat and discussed the partially filled in listing papers (assumptive). I gently told him that it would be just fine if he wanted to list with Ms. So and So, the paperwork that I brought would be the same, she would just sign her name instead of mine. He apologized, said he didn't know when he spoke to me that were with the same company. I quickly addressed my marketing strategy and beat it. I expected never to darken that doorstep again!
Nothing left to do but head to Columbia for the remainder of the day and go shopping.
Monday morning I shared my experience with another agent. Low and behold he had received the SAME property as a referral some 3 months earlier. We compared notes and it was placed by one of the other heirs. They had asked him to meet them on a Saturday as well, he was unable to and he never heard anything further. Ms. So and So came to see me, she had declined to meet them on Saturday when she learned yet another agent was coming in at 1:00! sigh (I hadn't heard about that one).
Ms. Beloved REALTOR (also known as Ms. So and So) also revealed OLD FART APPRAISER had contacted her prior to meeting with the seller requesting COMPS from her, (he didn't have access to our MLS). interesting I asked what she had given him and she said she pulled up everything that sold 'in the neighborhood' and gave them to him. I had found exactly TWO sales in the entire county that were similar in size, condition and lifestyle. None of them were located 'in the neighborhood'. I am not an appraiser, he may know something I don't know...who can say? It certainly explained WHY he felt compelled to insist they list with Ms. So and So. They obviously have a relationship (there is that word again).
I received a call some time later - I got the listing!
My vintage listing has been a JOY to work on, my sellers are as supportive as I have ever had! Everyone falls in love with the property when they go through it (whether they would consider buying it or not). I can easily visualize the buyer for this exceptional home-a purist, appreciative of everything this property stands for, willing to maintain the homes integrity! Considering a real project? Check out our community - we have lots to offer in the way of casa clásica!
¡Adoro casas más viejas! (I love older homes!) I periti di Dirtbag, non così molto. (you get the general idea)
An agent sat down with me to discuss a former listing of his the other day. He'd had it listed about 18 mos, replaced carpet, power washed the exterior, professionally cleaned the interior, yard work completed, exterior paint touched up, visual tour, video, CMA results and pricing options. You name it - he did the works. Even advised them to remove the dated, heavy dark drapes to let in some light and show off the fabulous views. Two weeks after an incredible agent luncheon the sellers transferred the listing to another agent in the same company. He wanted to know why I thought he didn't get it sold. (well shucks Sweetie - it STILL ain't sold)!
I have shown said property many, many times. More while he had it listed, less now. Qualified buyers, they could buy and did buy (something else), no issues with financing at all. Four of them were relocation buyers - absolutely buying and closing QUICKLY! They all liked the home at first blush, some put it on the list of possibilities. They all changed their minds when it came time to make the hard decision, IS THIS THE HOUSE?
Recently I had a buyer call and ask to return with her husband on a Sunday and take a second look at his former listing. They spent a good 2 hours on site (its furnished but 'vacant'). Oh how they loved it, it was THE house. In order to buy they must sell first so after a sad goodbye they went home to dream and wait. Two weeks ago they called. The Christmas holiday brought considerable interest in their current home and they thought it wise to return for a second look. Look at a DIFFERENT house, one listed approx $120,000higher.
Why, when they began to seriously consider buying did they choose another home? The location of the former property offered an excellent opportunity to live on one of the finest streets in our market - at the lowest historical price in (as Taylor Swift might say) EVER. The VALUE appears to be there, they HAD seen it! But they changed their minds when it became time to actually spend the $$$$
None of these buyers offered a definitive reason to take the home off their list. I have a theory. It goes back to that relationship issue. The original listing agent provided guidance, recommendations, and market projections. The problem was - and as a buyers agent over the course of those months I can attest as to when the sellers cooperated or 'bought into' his plan. It was NOT prior to list, but under duress, as the months went along. And it was never in it's entirety. Piece by piece, bit by bit, I would see changes as I brought one buyer after another through the home and tried to 'sell' the home. I have begun to realize that I am having to work too hard to sell that home. I am beginning to feel as though I am losing credibility with my buyers. I have fallen out of love with the listing that I had such confidence in. If that is true for me I imagine it is true for other agents. Except for the agents that pride themselves in finding just such properties. The listings that have gotten weak. They will check the history in MLS, put out feelers, sniff around.
This house is dead in the water. I truly believe that if the sellers had bought into the entire marketing plan, worked with their original agent FROM DAY ONE it would have sold in a reasonable time to achieve their goals.
I expect this to end badly. The property will sell well below market value and the original CMA price (what a traditional resale at that location would sell for). The concessions will be hard - closing costs, a roof, extensive repairs. They will tear it to shreds. It's inevitable, buyers will smell blood in the water. They will wait, circle and someone will gobble it up.
The first question that buyer will ask is...'is this a foreclosure'?
