Lessons Learned in Real Estate

My first year as a licensed real estate agent was
full of unexpected adventures: a homeless person
living in a vacant half-million dollar home; a house
with 30+ small dogs running free and barking;
a house with pink walls and leopard print carpet;
the list goes on. A few of the quirkier episodes
are outlined below, along with lessons learned.
Not of all these are mine; some are reprinted by
permission of other agents I have known. :)

Clients rely on agents for knowledge of neighborhoods,
mastery of sales statistics, negotiation prowess, good
help and great service, and general safety in both
contracts and environments. It's important for us
to be all things to all people, or at least that's what
the brand-new agent wants to be. Often the real
estate agent is so worried about having the right
answer at the right time, that they forget about
parking on a hill and setting the parking brake.
Lesson number 1: Clients don't want to walk home.

Sometimes we forget about the mailbox/trashcan/
recycle bin/landscaping, and back our cars right over it.
Lesson number 2: Clients like good drivers.

Once in a while, when walking property lines, an
occasional creek must be hopped over. Make sure
that your shoes are tied on tightly otherwise you
may lose one (or both) in the stream, and have to
continue walking through a thicket of briers with
one shoe on, and one shoe missing.
Lesson number 3: Clients don't want to see ugly
feet or toes while shopping for land or property.

If an agent has back-to-back appointments with
several clients, it's important to check appearance
between meetings, and not show up with spinach
between teeth, or sticks in their hair (after walking
through a forest of brambles with only one shoe),
or clumps of pet hair clinging to wool slacks.
Lesson number 4: Clients appreciate cleanliness.

Some agents are so overworked that they forget
to reset alarm clocks with the Day Light Savings
Time adjustment... and will leave a client stranded
for an extra hour.
Lesson number 5: Clients like punctuality.

Neighborhood specific agents will occasionally
be car-free, and will neglect to tell clients that
they need to bring their own bicycle/vespa to
ride to view the homes for sale.
Lesson number 6: Clients need advance warning
if they will not be riding/driving in a car.

Eating while showing property can be tricky.
It's ok if you bring snacks for the clients on long
road-trip days, but make sure the clients aren't
allergic to the food provided. If you want to be a
really awesome agent, and anticipate every need,
carry an epi-pen with you at all times.
Lesson number 7: Clients prefer to focus on real
estate, not have side-trips to the Emergency Room.

When showing investment-grade properties, the
prepared agent will bring a flashlight. Cell phone
screens are not bright enough to light up an
entire basement, and therefore the homeless
person sleeping in the roll of abandoned carpet may
come as a surprise to you when stepping on the roll.
Lesson number 8: Clients love flashlights, compasses,
maps, tax records, and safety. Lots of safety.

If the client is short on time (a weekend buyer due to
a relocation, for example), preview all the homes
before taking them out to see what's for sale.
Lesson number 9: Pictures can be deceiving, and
clients only want to see what they expect to see.

Potential: all homes have potential. The basic
equation is: Potential = time+money+more money.
Lesson number 10: Clients love a good bargain, so
have a handyman on speed dial for estimates!

Lion King at the Atlanta Civic Center

For Christmas last year, Ricky gave me tickets to the
Lion King musical at the Atlanta Civic Center, and
tonight was the night! 4th row, 'VIP' seats (it was like
sitting with Simba on Pride Rock in person!) with all
the freebies (complimentary baseball caps, fancy
programs, souvenirs, etc). I felt like a local hot shot.

The best part was driving to the Civic Center in my
pollen-covered VW, with one headlight burned out.
Hello, the Beverly Hill Billy has come to town! :)

Seriously though, the musical was fantastic! Great
costuming and choreography, good music, funny
one-liners that were different from the Broadway
version... it was wonderful! I suggest seeing it.

Gladys Knight will be there in concert in June.
Anyone?

Chateau Elan homes for sale

Today I met with a premier builder of Chateau Elan's
high-dollar homes and had a tour of one of his new
floorplans: a ranch home with bonus rooms upstairs,
and a full basement downstairs. It's fabulous!

The builders there are still breaking ground and are
building speculative homes (aka spec houses) for
future demand. Right now their inventory is fairly
large with both new and resale homes. What I really
like about Chateau Elan's development model is
that there is something for everyone. Most homes
are in the $700k- $800k range, but there are many
above and below that mark.

Built with structural integrity and very long term
enjoyability in mind, the homes range in size (11,000
sq ft is not uncommon), location (to entrance, golf
course, or sports complexes), lot shape and purpose
(views, privacy, or neighborhood), and type of buyer
(caregiver detached suites, bachelor style basements,
and executive offices). The variety and quality of
construction and level of detail gives me great
confidence in the stability of the development.

More Photos from England

Here's a few more photos for you to enjoy from

my happy trip to England.

Top Three Questions about Foreclosures in GA

Today I met a lovely couple that is interested in buying a
foreclosed townhouse at a price lower than the market average.
They asked me some really great questions, so here are a few.

1.) "What's wrong with this place? It doesn't seem that bad!"
Excellent point. Not all foreclosures are crappy junk piles with
termites and flood damage, waiting to fall down. In this market
(the Atlanta area), we have many great properties that are
nearly new, without much wear and tear, and most of the
appliances are still intact. The only way to know that it's a
foreclosure is to see the 'winterized' notices on the faucets, and
of course, to pull the tax record or history on the property.

2.) "Who owns it? Will they finish repainting, or fix anything
broken?" Usually when a property is foreclosed on, you (and
your agent) are negotiating directly with the lender/owner.
For example, Janie B Good loses the house to ABC Bank.
The bank will send in a crew to appraise the house and
winterize it (depending on the bank's policies), and then
put it on the market at a price that they think will be fair.
ABC Bank has no idea what Janie B Good did to the property
during her ownership of it, so they can't vouch for the condition
and therefore sell the property 'as-is.' They will not (usually)
fix anything, so if you want a new ceiling fan, the best way to
ask for it is to drop your offer price by $150, which is about
the price of a similar new brown ceiling fan.

3.) "How do we make an offer? What if we change our minds?"
The answer will depend on who owns the property. Sometimes
an agent will need to fill out an application online for you (as in
HUD properties), othertimes, you and the agent will fill out all
the paperwork, add a few extras (earnest money check, pre-
approval letter, etc) and fax it all to the seller, then wait 7-10
business days for them to respond. They will call the agent
directly, and the agent will call you with the details. At that
point, either you continue to negotiate, or you accept the final
terms, and move on to a home inspection. If you are not very
committed to buying the property, I would suggest NOT
writing an offer. Good agents know how to write loop holes into
the initial offer to protect the buyer, in the event that something
big pops up that affects the situation.

How to Negotiate for a House

This morning I had a conversation with another agent
that was worrying about a floundering round of
negotiations. My suggestion was to simplify the volleying
by asking a few questions.
1.) Are the buyers/sellers legitimately motivated?
2.) What specifically is their motivation?
3.) What are their priorities? (It's not always price -
some people are worried about the closing date, others
are concerned about fraud and liability)

After determining the big 'WHY,' whittle it down to
the current snag, and disregard all other concerns and
comments that are not a part of the written offer.
4.) Why is this item so important, when we've already
conceded on your biggest priority?
5.) Is the item significant enough to risk losing the sale
of entire house, yard, garage, and media center?

NOW you may start negotiation!
6.) Ok, if this is so important, we can all agree that you
may have the abc, if we can retain xyz.

What happens if that doesn't work? Go back to #1.

Turner Field area townhomes

Go Braves!
Yesterday I went to the Braves game with Dawn, Ryan, and Shannon.
It was a fantastic, beautiful, sunny day, the Braves won, and a cute
couple across the aisle from us got engaged in between the 2nd and
3rd innings. It was so much fun to watch the boyfriend get down on
a bended knee, and pull out a huge diamond in front of the 3rd baseline.
Shannon later gave them her number and offered to do a free
engagement photo shoot for them! How nice!

So, it got me to thinking... what if they wanted to buy a house very
close to Turner Field? Well - Ware Estates is directly across from
the stadium and 2 bedroom townhomes go for about $115k. Or,
there is new construction called "The Eugenia," 3 bed, 3 1/2 bath
townhomes with brick fronts, 2 car garages, and wired for MP3
players, with starting prices of around $285k.

Not bad for walking distance to their own person Field of Dreams!