Humboldt County Real Estate Blog

I haven't seen or heard from my brother in a little over 10 years! I have been searching for him thru many different networks. Paid for some online services and even they couldn't find him. Well I guess one day he started browsing online an since I have such a common name, it wasn't easy to sift , thru the thousands of John Fords!

The last time he knew me, I was selling cars many years ago. Also at that time he was living in the Bay Area and I moved to Humboldt County.

Somehow, he heard I made the jump to real estate. He brought up Google, plugged in my name and added, realtor at the end, and presto! I pop up thru the ActiveRain network.

He immediately sent me an e-mail and I have yet to talk to him, but we have been emailing back and forth. I am so greatful for The Rain and I know we will be seeing each other again soon He is now in Buffalo, NY. One of these days I'm going to ask him how in the world did he end up there, but for now, I'm just glad he found me.

This weekend I was driving to an appointment and noticed a motorcycle cop tailing me for a couple of blocks. Of course, in my mind I was going over my mental checklist, drivers license? check. registration? check. insurance? check.

Ok I was fine, was I speeding? possibly. I have been known to have a lead foot from time to time.

The wail of the siren woke me from my temporary daydream and I promptly pulled over, set the keys on the dash board and turned off the car. Since my drivers side window doesn't roll down, I rolled down the drivers side passenger window.

The officer gets off of his motorcycle and walks gingerly over to my side of the car and I had to strain my neck so he can hear me from the back window. he said, "window doesn't work?" I said, "no, it hasnt worked right for a long time"

He proceeds to tell me my back break light is out and I need to get it fixed right away. He also said," I noticed you're a Realtor, how's the market?" (It always pays to have a license plate frame with your Realtor info)

You have to keep in mind, I am pulled over in the middle of the day, on a highly traveled street in the heart of the city. My car is probably one of the most recognized and I am well known in our town. I tried to keep a smile on my face to make it seem like we are just chatting and not getting a ticket.

I said," Our market has really picked up over the last few months and we are getting busier by the day! rates are down, inventory is normal and homes are still selling, if priced right, within 60 days!"

To which he said, "That's great news! i am looking to sell our house because I'm getting transfered to the Bay Area this summer and I am in the middle of getting it ready, would you like to come by and give me an opinion of value?"

I said," sure! I have to get back to you because my schedule has been filling up pretty fast, what's your cell and home number? I'll call you when you're done with your shift."

He gave me his contact info and I gave him my card. He turns to walk away, and stops.

My heart sank as he handed me my "fix it ticket" and tells me to be careful when pulling into the street!

 This is way too cool!

You have to be aware of what an affluent buyer is looking for and how to guide them in the right direction when  looking to purchase a high end home.

Most affluent buyers really want a good deal. They want to be assured that whatever you're showing them, no one else can get and/or they're the first to see it. If they feel like they've "scored" on a great deal, you just may have gotten yourself a client for life!

They also love exclusivity! when i list a home close to a  million dollars, I send out exclusive invitations to my affluent clients to an exclusive open house and don't even put the home on the MLS until then. Most of the time I put on a wine and cheese tasting with one of our local wine galleries.

So far, I have sold 3 out of 5 homes over the years that I have done it this way. very simple and easy to do!

Getting back to basics.....

•Q.      We are thinking of selling our home, and heard there are four phases of the selling process we must examine with our agent.  What are those phases?

  •A. If you're selling your home, you need to be aware that there are four phases of the selling process.  A mistake in any of the phases can jeopardize a fast, top-dollar sale. 

Here are the phases: 

1) Pricing the property to ensure the likelihood of stimulating offers.  Many people try to set a high price thinking they can come down later.  That's a big mistake because above-market pricing stifles showings and discourages offers of any kind, usually netting the homeowner a lower price than they planned on getting. 

 2) Marketing the property to attain the highest number of showings from qualified buyers.  Check your agent's marketing plan carefully to ensure they have the ability to do more than just place it in MLS and hold a few open houses. 

3) Creation and Negotiation of the purchase contract.  A good agent's negotiating skills can make or break a purchase contract. Check their experience in these matters.  Ask questions about past transactions they handled. 

4) Managing the escrow process.  During this phase, your agent must be on top of all the escrow functions: inspections, appraisals, financing, contingencies, and more.  When interviewing real estate agents, make sure you address each of the four phases of the selling process.  Your dialog will be pivotal in establishing trust and a personal chemistry that is crucial between you and your agent. 

I went on a listing presentation today to view a property that I thought was going to be such a jewel, and I couldn't wait to get pictures, video and v-tours. Boy was I wrong!

I pulled up the drive way and noticed it was a really large lot (about 2 acres) and large house (about 2800 sq. ft), I also noticed as I was walking up to the door that there was about 100 cats sitting around the house and on the rails of the deck. In the distance, I heard some ducks quacking. As I got closer I was trying to identify this smell, something I have smelled before.

Then it hit me! it smelled like the city dump!! Holy bags of garbage batman! I don;t believe they have been to the dump in months!

I was met at the door by a short lady with greasy hair and a very short top with her belly hanging out. Oh I almost forgot, more cats!! At first glance, you would never imagiune someone like her to be a homeowner. But, the county records do confirm she has owned this home for 7 years.

As she was guiding me thru the clothes, bags of "stuff" and more cats, I was trying to picture what this house looked like back in the day...I guess I wasn't trying hard enough because i just couldn't see it...

Our county is definitely not known for it's pools because it deosn't get too hot, maybe close to 80 degrees, but this house had one! why? Maybe the prior owners knew something about global warming and decided to build a pool!

But, if you were to look passed those cats, you would see that, under the poop, there was about 3 feet of dirt and lots of "growth". I noticed the pool cover was still neatly rolled on the other side.

So, she signed the listing agreement, agreed to do some work to get it cleaned up, and we will see what happens next!

I did it I did it I did it!! I passed the 10,000 point mark!!!

uh huh it's my birthday....uh huh it's my birthday!!!

(doing the chicken dance)    ;-)

I'd like to thank the academy, my agent, family and friends.......

Below from Karen Monsour!!! Thanks Karen, I had no idea!

Hey, that's great...add 12 more words and you will get 200 more point's to that 10,000. as a bonus for your birthday!

Perhap's you are not aware... 50 word's for a blog is 200 point's and 10 word's gives you 25 points...maybe this info will "beem you up faster!"

Happy Birthday :-)  Karen M.

(i am now break dancing because of Karen! !!!)

I truly believe you will be able to get more deals this way than any other way if you do it this way. make sense?

me neither...if you're starting off fresh in a new area one of the best farming tools we have at our disposal is the MLS. Instead of farming a geographic area, go for the demographics instead!

Some agents waste too much time and money by throwing at dart at a map and picking their farm areas based on where it lands. they soon find out that that area doesn't have too much activity and no one has moved in that area for the last 4 years!

You should be able to contact your local title company and they will be able to provide you with names and addresses of areas where homeowners make more than 100k a year and have the nicest homes. many of them are more likely to move up to a larger home than people in the lower income bracket. Try it sometime and let me know how it goes. that's exactly how I got started in my business here in Humboldt County and never looked back!

So I'm sitting here thinking about what I can write in today's blog and still kinda nervous about doing the whole video blog thing. What if the camera adds 10 pounds to my already hulking frame? What if I start to stutter, can I edit before I send it? What if one of my kids comes out and tackles me in the middle of it? well, that part would be funny!

what it really comes down to is, I am so glad to have found The Rain. I have connected with people from the east coast to the west coast and many areas in between. I have had some web 2.o questions answered from people that didn't even hesitate in helping me get started. all I can say is "wow"!

I was actually hesitant in inviting more of my peers here because i wanted to be selfish and keep all of you to myself!

But, I can't keep this site a secret any longer.

Keep on keeping on fellow rainmakers!