Atlanta Real Estate | Atlanta Housing News for Real Estate

Have you ever been on a listing appointment where the home was so dusty and dirty that your eyes watered, your throat got real raspy, you start sneezing, and you just couldn't stop? They seller asks you if you are coming down with a cold, and you answer "No," but cannot stop sneezing?  You sneeze, aand sneeze again! Your contacts want to jump out of your head because the home is just so filthy, and dusty!  Perhaps it isn't the worse you've seen in a while! There are other homes that we've seen that when you walk across the floor...your feet stick to the floor like a fly on the ceiling!  Then there was the home of the the divorcing couple, you know the one where they have literally built walls inside the home.  You  step on dog poop in the yard that is in such a big pile that you look around to see if their pet is an elephant!  The seller tells you it's ok, just wipe it off on the rug inside!  Sound familiar, even if you don't want to admit it! Well you know as well as I do that it happens more than we would like to admit. 

If we have a partner or team member it is good to speak in code so as not to offend the home owner.  Our code word is "Betty Davis!"  That means thehome is so bad we are not interested in listing it. In one of Betty Davis' old movies...Bette Davis would say, "Whatta dump!" Then she would flick her cigarette ashes right on the rug! 

So sometimes the home is dusty, other times we deal with filth...so as a real estate professional, how do you seal with it?  Do you low ball the price?  Tell them you charge double commissions?  Are you blunt and tell them your not interested in listing the home in it's current condition?  Or are you subtle, and after you've taken your inhaler advise the sellers to call other agent in town for a second opinion?  Perhaps you give them the names of your competition!  What your your thoughts?  How do you deal with it?

In the last year or so we have been receiving a lot of calls from our website from web viewers that tell us their agents are inaccessible, working or on vacation and want us to show a listing that we have already identified as not being one of our listings.  We can explain Broker reciprocity, IDX etc...and that their agents should be showing the listings, or have another agent or their broker covering for them. We normally tell them to contact their agent and ask who is covering for them. 

Whenever we travel, we do make arrangements for someone to cover our business just in case something comes up. I would not leave town without having someone to look after our listings if need be.  However, nowadays we never have really needed anyone to stand in.  With the new technologies that are available today, e-Fax, http://www.gotomypc.com/, high speed Internet connections, Kinkos, call forwarding, cell phones, etc....we have not had to inconvenience anyone!  While speaking in Halifax Nova Scotia last September, we worked two contracts.  No one knew we had even left town.  Before we left Atlanta, we had scanned and placed online all client files, plats, seller's property disclosures etc.  We feel obligated to take care of our clients.

However, many times when working a deal with other agents, it is inconcevable that some jagents just make themselves totally unavailable when the go away. Out of site, out of mind!  You cannot help but wonder if they even informed their clients they were leaving town. 

Several years ago, when I was representing my clients as their buyer's agents I had the good fortune of working a deal with an agent that was away at the seashore. The home was priced wrong.  It was way below market, it was priced as if the home was on a slab and had no basement.  We wrote and offer, asked for  the seller's property diclosure several times. We left messages all over town, called her office,  No one knew where she was. At first I panicked, and then I realized that no other agent could contact her either...so I made a real low ball offer.   A couple of days later the agent finally returned my call.  At first she asked if we could wait until next week until she got back intown.  O told her that was not an option.  I had out of town relocation buyers with a limited time to buy... I persisted, and the sellers eventually accepted our offer.  In the final analysis, we sold a great brick home to my clients on the golf course with a full basement and I know it was a full 60K under market.  The agent was not smart enough to have another agent or her broker cover for her.  She went on vacation without the files, and was forced to work the only deal that could reach her.  There were loads of other agents cards at this new listing.  I know that others tried in vain and gave up trying to contact the listings agent also.  I'm sure her sellers would not be too happy if they knew they were not on the top of their agents priority list.   How do you handle your business when you are away for extended periods?  Do you have someone available to cover for you?  Who?

How accessible are you to your clients?  We live in a world of instant communication, voicemails, instant messaging, chats, paging, emails, text messages, direct numbers, toll free numbers, fax, and so much more.  Most of our clients do not abuse it!  The latest we will usually get a call is 9PM, and the earliest about 8 AM.  Once in a blue moon we get that client that really abuses the system, but we are still ok with that. The only time that we place aside our phones totally is during church! Since real estate really is a 24/7/365 day a year job, what limits do you set with your clients about contacting you?  Do you place restrictions of when you will receive their message clients, and when you'll respond!

As I search the Internet everyday looking at real estate sites, it is amazing what you can find or not find!  On most of the real estate sites I come across it is impossible to tell if the owner of the site is even a licensed real estate agent.  No names of agent / broker, no addresses of the state licensed real estate company anywhere! This isn't even including phone numbers.  They take the term BLIND SITE to a new level! An example of this is an agent that operates a FOR SALE BY OWNER SITE, and markets a mix of listings MLS and BY OWNERS, yet never mentions anywhere in site the agents or brokers name or that they are licensed-to do business under a broker licensed in the state.  That is highly illegal! Another item that is every easy to come across is high profiled branded sites that are very well placed at the tops of the search engines, and in a million years you cannot tell who the agent is licensed with!  Not very smart! It is Real Estate Branding on Steroids!  They could have a reality TV show on this one When Branding Goes Wrong!  I hope for the agents sake that their personal marketing adviser is familiar with their state real estate license law! Some may view branding as bringing out ones creative side, others view it as a violation of law, and non compliance with state real estate licenses law.

Most state real estate licensure require identification with your licensed broker, the address and city you are licensed, and the office phone number.  Brokers are ultimately for reviewing all advertising, but they have totally ignored reviewing their agent sites.  It is very easy to find out who owns a website easily, and if they are licensed in your state.  Let's use www.Godaddy.comfor the experiment because it is easy to find domain ownership. Start by copying and pasting the domain name here,  and then viewing ownership of the site!  Search for a domain name, when it says the name is not available, www.XXX.COM is not available (please click here for info) If they have not hidden their ownership, it will show the name of the website owner.

Do You Identify Your Broker, Your Licensure On Your Website? - by Jim Crawford

"Why buy the cow if you are getting the milk free?"  Have you noticed you are getting less buyer calls in the last few years requesting your services as a buyers agents.  It is not IDX nor is it the changing real estate markets!  Have you noticed your buyer showings have reduced greatly, and even though you are showing the buyers what they want...they are not committing to work with you, and there is a reluctance to sign buyer agency agreements?  Why is that? 

The real estate industry has made it that way.  MLS listings on-line will display address, maps to property, tax, MLS #'s, links to mortgage officers, calculators, what the home is worth, schools etc!  So why would they need you for anything other than opening the door?  They don't!  Too much displayed data only benefits the listing broker, agent, and home seller.  It does not assist the buyers agents with an IDX or broker reciprocity site. They already have all the information they need to know to go directly to the listing agent and negotiate a deal for themselves.  They may have just called you to fill in some small bits of information they do not have.  There regular agent may be at work or unavailable.  In other words, as an industry we have gotten so dumb, the persons making the decision on what can be displayed in our business do not understand the nature of the Internet, real estate sales, or how to convert leads.

Buyer's that will not commit to working with you are very easy to identify.  All you have to do is ask them a few questions in a professional manner...  if they are elusive or they do not want to answer ...then don't bother. If they are annoyed at the questions, or only will meet you at the property...or if they usually just want to look at one property - those are just a few of the signs. 

Before you waste your time with useless buyers calls - ask them a few questions first:

1. If a buyer calls in from your website and only wants to view only one property.
2. They ask for availability on a particular listing.
3. They do not want to waste your time and only need the address to drive by.
4. They cannot find the MLS # or the listing agents contact inforamtion.
5. They want to know is the listing is staill available or active.
6. State your policy is to give out the addresses and detailed information to your signed clients.
7. Ask the caller, have they seen similar homes with their agent?
8. Only meet prospects at real estate office.
9. If your phone call keeps being interupted - yep it's other agents.
10. Ask qualifying questions, in a lease...untile when, do you have to sell your home first, have you been pre-qualified, by whom?

Jim Crawford - http://www.atlantabesthomes.com/

Foreclosures or Real Estate Owned REO as they are priced today, are really not a buy.  Years ago in real estate when purchasing a home you had to have at least 20% down.  So on a 200K home purchase, you had to put down 40K.  So  the seller owed 160K, and perhaps paid 10 years of a 30 year mortgage. The actual amount owed, minus appreciation was probably about 140K! So a defaulting seller on a 200K home, may have 60K in equity.  A great buy at a negotiated $145K!

Today, it is quite different.  Home buyers buy with 100% financing, and then take a second!  So on the books, the 200K home in on the loan books for a combined 250K!  At what price is a good buy for a neglected home?  What price realistically will the banks let it go for?  I see them all the time.  $250K homes AS IS in a 200K neighborhood.   Why are the banks keeping the prices high?  Just like the pre-RTC times.  They are inflating he institutions worth or no worth! Lets see, what makes a bank worth more, actual value of 230K, or inflated market price of 300K! Times that by a bank inventory of 100 foreclosed homes!  50K in equity in one home, quickly becomes $5,000,000.I see a major reckoning here in loan portfolios! I advise my buyers not to buy foreclosures as they are priced today! 

It makes more sense for home buyers or investors concentrate on seller's that are carrying two mortgages/  One home is vacant, and the seller is our of state.  Owner occupied homes are usually well taken care of, and the seller will entertain offers because they are in a bit of a spot! 

Jim Crawford - http://www.atlantabesthomes.com/

Now that your home has been on the market for a while you will know that your marketing is on track if you have received an offer.  Even a bad offer is good.  It shows you that that the fish are biting, and you have used the right bait, you just have not been able to bring the fish into the boat!  You have a little bit more fine tuning to do the land the next offer.  Once you receive an offer it is very important that you realize the market is now what it once was just a short while ago.  It is important for the home seller to sit down and go over the offer to view the merits, pluses and minuses.  You then must listen to the advice and view the current market statistics before just using the broad stroke of the pen in a counteroffer.  Perhaps this offer is not so much about price, but terms.  An experienced listing agent can very quickly size up a contract and tell you what the buyer is trying to accomplish.  Make sure all offers and counteroffers are in writting and contain all needed signatures.

An experienced agent can also tell you the weak points of the contract, the contingencies, and if the contract has any merit at all.  Do they have a home to sell, is this offer contingent up on the sale of that home?  Are the buyers qualified to buy your home?  Who is their loan officer?  Are they in a lease, and until when? How much money are they putting down?  Is the earnest money they have put down sufficient given the price of y0ur home? Are the buyers requesting closing cost assistance? Can they provide a letter that they can afford to purchase your home without selling a home? If there is no merit to the contract, don't rip it up!  Save the dramatics.  On the front page of the Contract just write "SELLER REJECTS" date and signature.  No personal comments.  Then have your agent fax the buyer's agent a copy for their records, and keep one for their files.  The reason it is important not to make a personal comment, is that our experience shows us they may be back!  If the contract is about an early possession - accommodating it will ensure a better sales price.  If the offer is about price, counter back at almost full price.  A weakness here... signals more trouble later. If it is a lease purchase offer, be real leery.  These very seldom if ever work out.  Bad credit now, bad credit later.  If you do not understand all the ramifications of the contract, see a real estate Attorney to explain it to you.

Jim Crawford - http://www.atlantabesthomes.com/

Now that buyers are coming to view your home, it is important that your listing agent stay on top of the momentum.  If there are no offers, and you have had quite a bit of traffic through your home, then something is wrong.   But just what is wrong, and if you could identify what is preventing the buyers from making an offer perhaps it can be fixed or remedied.   An easy way for your agent to find out isto request feedback from other real estate professionals.  They can go online and view showing activity from your lock box, and create an email follow up to those agents to thank them for showing your homes, identify your property, and request as a professional courtesy any feed back they can share about your home.  This is a very easy thing to do, if it is email based, they can foreword to you any emails, if they are using a feedback program it is done automatically.  http://www.homefeedback.com/ is one of the best programs that were designed for this specific task!  Once all the feedback comes in your agent will have to form some type of consensus of the issues and go over that list with you.  What is preventing offers? Odors or smells, paint needed interior or exterior, pressure washing, clutter, priced too high, competition new homes or other homes that have more to offer in your neighborhood or nearby, home is too personalized with your décor, location of the home (power lines, road noise, nearby construction...), or what other issues? 

If you are not getting any shows you need to act quickly.  Is it the location of the home? Can it be the external appearance of the home, exterior paint, roof, landscaping, grass height, or the condition of neighboring properties?  If agents are calling to show your home, but they drive on and do not come it, then there is something on the exterior. If it is none of the above items, then it's price!  The agent and buyer have just decided not to bother to see your home.  Their feelings is why waste their time, your price is unrealistic.

An important note is that feedback should be just that.  Your agent should listen and make a lot of notes.  A fatal mistake that inexperienced agent make is to argue with the other agent over price appearance of the property.  This is highly unprofessional.  They called another agent that has taken time out of their day to tell your agent the truth.  They should just listen, and not turn it into a sales pitch.  If your agent knows that the paint is going to start next week, or you have a new neutral carpet being installed throughout the home, that information should be passed on as an FYI.

Jim Crawford - http://www.atlantabesthomes.com/

Now that your home is on the market, your home should start to get some home showings.  Your agent will advise you of procedures. The normal rule is courtesy call the owner, leave a message, and then show with lockbox.  There are other protocalls if an agent shows up at your front door at dinner time, but your agent will go over all scenarios with you, and instruct you on what works and what doesn't. It's very important not to have any or if you have to very few restrictions on access to your home.  The biggest mistake and home owner can request is "Appointment only, and no lockbox!"  The hot buyer will pass on it, and so will their agent.  Limited access works against the seller, and so does trying to coordinate the showing time that I acceptable to everyone's schedules.  Inexperienced agents will take "Appointment Only" listings all the time.  The one problem is they won't sell. 

The issues are easy to define, control of someone else's time. Appointment only homes have a very large percentage of Expired and Withdrawn listings.  That means they are the homes that traditionally do not sell.  If you have vicious pets that have to be accommodated, alarm codes that have to be disabled, and special showing instructions such as no lock box, these will also restrict showings.  Why?  There is too much to so, too much to see, and too little time to accomplish it all.  When a buyer's agent shows homes they will generally have 3 lists.  A, B and C!  The "A" list is the homes that meet the client's needs and are easily accessible for showing.  The "B & C" are not as accessible, or have showing access restrictions.  No showing before noon, small babies sleeping, and pets must be removed prior to showing, alarm systems, etc.  Generally the "A" list will be shown, and if the buyers have not found what they were looking for on that list, they will go in the "B & C" lists!  But guess what?  They very seldom if ever get to the other lists!  Why?  No showing?  The reason is obvious, they've run out of time.

Jim Crawford - http://www.atlantabesthomes.com/

We have just began to market your home.  We are now in just the initial stages of marketing your home. YOu can now see that there is so much more to do than signing paperwork, putting a sign in the ground, and entering the home in the MLS. Once all the paperwork for your listing agreement has been entered into the Multiple Listing Service MLS it is now time to begin the marketing.  The first place to start is the most obvious. Signs, directional signs are all in the ground.  Signs are very important for selling a home.  Signage can bring 7-8% of all home sales. No opportunity for a sale can be over looked.  Once this is done, now it is back to the MLS.  Your agent should immediately go to a section called "Reverse Prospects!"  Reverse prospecting is matching home buyers that are already in the MLS system to identify new listings that come on the market, homes that come back on the market, and price reductions that place the home inventory in the reach of other agents buyers.  It is the most overlooked and underutilized source of potential buyers for your home.  Most agents do not even know it exists. If the agent finds there are matches for your home, all they have to do is email or call the agent to see if their buyer has any interest in your home.  It is that easy!

After this, the next item to arrange if all your home photos are posted to the Internet is to get a virtual tour of your home.  Virtual tours are very important even on a condo or town home.  The reason is that most home buyers when searching on http://www.realtor.com/, or on a broker reciprocity or IDX site can filter the search.  One filter is to view homes ONLY with Virtual Tours!  The virtual tour should be ordered immediately.  Then work has to begin on the home fliers or brochures for inside the home and exterior information box.  Nothing less than full color flyers should be used both inside the home and outside.  It should be professionally done, and a proof copy sent to you for approval. The fliers should include color photos of your homes best assets.  This is also the time when your agent should have copies made of the Seller's Property Disclosure, community information made available to display in the home with your marketing materials.  This should all be done within the first 2 days on market.  This is not a week or two week project.

The listing needs to be now entered into the agent's website.  Since over 85% of all home purchases begin on the Internet this is a critical component.  It has to be entered into REALTOR.COM, company websites, agent websites with all data and photos.  There may be a lag for some posting here, because some of these sites upload the data from the MLS at predetermined times. So there can be a lag in posting, but it is not the agent responsibility.

Flyer distribution or broadcast emails to other agents is the next item to take care of.  Since other agents already have buyers, the object will be to notify the other agents in your area that you have a new listing that may suit their home buyer's needs.  This can be done either by a flier distribution service or broadcast email flier service.  Other agents have to know that your home is available for sale.  You need the broadest possible exposure of your home.

Jim Crawford - http://www.atlantabesthomes.com/