PropertyManagementMaven: January 2011

The Reasons I like my NEW AT&T Bluetooth Cordless Phone System are growing!

The main reason I got it was because it is Bluetooth. I saw it in Walmart, saw the word Bluetooth, and then grasped what this meant. My incoming cell phone calls can now be picked up on my home phone system. In other words, the cell can be on the counter and I can hear an pick up any of the handsets in the home to converse.

Shazam!

Since I am pre ordering the iphone through Verizon on Feb 3, this got my attention and how!

The second reason I like the new AR&T phones is because they are much lighter and smaller and manageable than my old cordless phones. More reasons? I can have up to twelve handsets in the house. It is dual line. It is easy to hear and the buttons are BIG. It is intuitive. The instructions are easy to understand. I can even toss the handset in my pocket with an earphone and do walk laps around the porch and listen while I walk and talk. I even like the easy to use mute control and volume control.

I am very pleased with this new upgrade and cannot wait to experiment with receiving iPHONE calls on this house system. This is one Realtor who is counting the days until I rreceive the Verizon iPHONE in Southern Maryland.

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That's right!  It's happened to wanna be home buyers and refinancers in Montana.  The now bankrupt Hollywood Video (aka Movie Gallery) has charged National Credit with collecting overdue charges and other fees  from their  past customers.   National Credit apparently filed negative credit reports on these customers without informing them first, or even giving them an opportunity to dispute the charges. 

Now with black marks on their credit report some  Montanans  have been denied home loans and the opportunity to refinance their existing mortgages.  I suppose the moral to this story is don't pay anything late...ever...because you don't know when it will bite you in the derriere.

                                  

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I've been losing some listing opportunities lately because I won't play the overpricing game. I work hard to explain the current market to potential sellers, to analyze and position their home in that market and provide plenty of market data to justify my pricing advice. I also alert them to the dangers of finding someone who goes along with their fantasy pricing, just to get the listing; however, the lure of a good lie seems to win the day all too often.

I feel better about being honest and not going along with an ego-inflated starting price, just to get the listing; however, way too many desperate agents in my area seen to be willing to list homes at whatever price the seller wants, just to get the signage exposure. I'm sure that they have plans for talking the seller down on price over time; however, by then the market will have by-passed the house and they will be continually playing catch-up. Have they really served the best interests of the seller by doing that?

I know that the response to this post will be that it's often better to wait and be the second or third listing agent for sellers like this. By then they have worn themselves down and are usually more realistic about price. Unfortunately, they may also be deep into default by then and headed for a short sale or foreclosure. In the realm of shady practices, I suppose this ethical lapse is relatively minor, compared to some of the other things going on in real estate right now. Still it is that first "little white lie" that puts one on the slippery slope of ethical failure that leads ultimately to the types of real estate fraud that we see in real estate horror stories.

So, I'll stick to my guns on pricing to the real market and not agree to list at some imaginary market price that the seller might come up with. After all, when they are wrong on price; if I agree with them, that is just another wrong and we still don't have it right. If we can't start the relationship on an honest note of mutual agreement and trust, then it's probably not a relationship worth having. I may lose a few listings, but I sleep well at night.

No one can argue that, over the last decade, technology has made leaps and bounds. Can anyone remember having to find properties in the filing drawers on 3X5 index cards, or in those old books? We've definitely come a long way and we continue with new and remarkable improvements each year. The new trend, as of late, is going completely paperless! Tools, such as the IPad, are making this possible. Can you imagine how phenomenal this will be when every realtor, title and mortgage professional will use this technology? 

Many savvy agents are already on board with more following suit.  Going completely paperless gives these professionals a greater competitive edge while also saving them tremendous amounts of time and money!  On the other hand, it will also cause tremendous frustration, in the beginning, being forced to deal with the less-digital savvy professionals who have yet to recognize a better, more efficient, way of doing business.

Imagine being in a multiple offer situation and time is of the essence to respond to a counter offer.  Having the ability to send the counter offer digitally to the client (even if your client is on a flight across the country), have the client sign via DocuSign and then digitally sending it back.  The whole process would only take a few minutes to return to the listing agent.  Whereas the other agents having to use the older methods barely had enough time to call their clients.  It could save you the deal! Your

On another note, the most delicate aspect of any transaction is undoubtedly the PAPERWORK and its execution, an aspect commonly overlooked and undervalued by today's buyers and sellers.  We are listing homes, marketing the properties, scheduling inspections, working with lenders to discover financing for our clients, facilitating the opposing agent & client, working with transaction coordinators, dealing with stacks of paperwork... but, such efforts on behalf of our buyers and sellers are commonly overlooked.  Yet, these efforts SCREAM OUT the value of today's agent.

Personally, getting rid of the big filing cabinets that take up such a large portion of office space and storing all files in digital format, is key for me!  Many outside entities offer mass digital file storage for nominal annual fees.  From listing to closing, going paperless is the new hot trend in the real estate industry.  Join us in getting every professional in the business to simplify our lives by going paperless.  GO GREEN!

Linda Secrist - Linda Secrist and Associates - Lisa Herron-McKinney - Whatever They Touch Turns To SOLD!

 

What is up the sleeve of Google?

Inman News posted some BIG NEWS this morning, that Google will no longer support real estate listings on their classifieds listing site. On February 10th, the Google feature for real estate won't work for you! Dashed are dreams of a globetrotting strategy for advertising your home for sale, but if you find an address,

then snap! the maps will still give you directions to my house.

"Consumers will no longer be able to find for-sale, foreclosure, or rental properties through the search function on Google Maps, and real estate professionals will no longer be able to upload their listings to Google Base, the company's classifieds site, which is being replaced by Google Shopping APIs and will not support real estate listings." full story here

So what is up their sleeve?  Certainly, there's no lack of imagination--- or is there? Is this a hat trick?  You have my full attention, Google. I'm not even going to blink or sneeze. I'll be waiting, vigilantly, for whatever it is you plan to pull out of your sleeve. A big reveal for real estate? It's just too much information NOT to play with!

 

 

 

                 

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