“Rob and I have been visiting your website regularly and are quite impressed. He has begun the preliminary work on getting our finances in order. My job is to work with the REALTOR. In order to be smart consumers, are there basic questions that we should be asking? Seriously, we are going to fiercely pursue this until it becomes unreasonable. We don’t want to make any hasty decisions.” - Cathy O.

Above all, you should enjoy your REALTOR’S personality. It makes everything else a little easier.
Negotiations can get stressful. You need to be convinced that your REALTOR is on your side.
Some “top agents” can actually get too busy to provide the level of hand holding you need.
Some “top agents” get there because they do offer exceptional service and have great systems.
Your REALTOR’S level of production is subordinate to their ability to communicate.
Your REALTOR should be highly responsive to your questions and calls, no matter what.
You don’t know what you don’t know. Your REALTOR should.
The way I work with Buyers is:
First I schedule an appointment in my office.
I have a questionnaire that I work from.
We have what I call the “Real Estate 101″ talk.
We talk about your priorities in the home you’d like to own.
We explore your affordability range – (your financial comfort zone).
We discuss what compromises you may be able or willing to make.
We explore different neighborhoods on the map and how they stack up.
We talk about how an offer is structured, and preview the contract you’ll sign.
We discuss the types of inspections you should be prepared for.
I introduce you to a loan officer that I am confident in –
(Lenders can make or break your transaction. You enter 2 contracts in your home purchase; 1 with the Seller and 1 with the lender. They’re inter-dependent, but not inter-related. It is your choice on what company you use, but having someone who is responsive to your REALTOR is valuable and can make a critical difference, particularly with the structured time frames you’ve negotiated).
When we find a home you like, I do a “CMA” (Comparative Market Analysis).
We discuss the negotiation strategy, and determine your offering price.
Some houses need to be bought at full listed price.
Others not.
A lot of how “pricing” is determined is a function of the local market.
Some of it has to do with how much you want the home, or how realistic the Seller is.
Your REALTOR should have a solid handle on the current market trends and your motivation.
I used to try and tell Buyer’s not to worry. Buying a home can be fun.
Then, I learned that, once an offer is accepted, ALL Buyers worry.
Now I just say that worry is normal, so for the next 4 to 8 weeks you might as well get used to it!
Escrow is a series of unrelated issues and processes moving simultaneously towards the closing.
While it is routine in structure, each player involved has a separate agenda and differing priorities.
There are plenty of nightmare stories out there, but I don’t believe you need to know them all.
The fact is that every real estate sale is a little different.
They all have some issue or problem. And some are bigger than others.
Your REALTOR should be able to offer you a clear perspective during those critical moments.
Your REALTOR should work with diligence, yet not be overly tied to “keeping the deal together”.
Ultimately, your REALTOR should have the experience to either solve what does occur - OR -
The insight to locate those resources you need in order to resolve the pressing issues at hand.
The most crucial task of your REALTOR’S job is to give you your options at the critical moments.
You should feel like your REALTOR has empowered you to be in control of your purchase.

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Unbelievable Cupcakes - By Kate Gilles.com!

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“Winter Wine” presents 12 original songs in a stunning example of the singer-songwriter genre: poignant lyrics and great melodies that highlight the superb harmonies for which this duo is renowned. Currently receiving airplay on 3 continents.

Listen to the CD

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It’s time for Behind the Shoji Art Show & Sale, the Portland Japanese Garden’s biggest art event of the year. This year’s show has a whole new look and feel, with amazing art by outstanding artists from around the Northwest and around the world. This spectacular annual art exhibition and sale features Asian-inspired original artwork and unique gifts—all within the setting of the beautiful Pavilion at the Portland Japanese Garden. The exhibition this year features exquisite pottery, photography, glass, jewelry, textile art, forged metal art, sumi-e paintings, stationery, and more.

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A true showplace of Northwest agriculture and artisan food, Portland Farmers Market is comprised of four distinct urban, neighborhood-based markets. Collectively, these bustling outdoor venues serve approximately 20,000 shoppers weekly, and feature more than 200 vendors from Oregon and Washington – including farmers, bakeries, nurseries, meat and seafood providers, cheese makers and specialty food producers. Learn More

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latest e-mag on sustainable trends.

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November 8, 2008 at 5pm
Click here to learn more

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Here’s to the negative campaign ads/Wall Street bailout/mortgage crisis/credit crunch/housing slump/sluggish auto sales/war on terrorism/invasive plants/rusting bridges and toxic mold…

Cheers!

Bottom’s up!

Let the good times role!

It seems easy enough for many of us to slip into the dread zone and worry that the world is slowly unraveling around us. (Okay true. Some of us think it’s happening quickly.)

What if, though, this were it? Rock Bottom. The End.

I mean, what if - all of a sudden -  we found out that the next stop was the end of the line and there was no where else to go? What if we hit the wall and were forced to turn around and go back the other way?

Where would we end up?  It’s a bit of a philisophical leap - but, well, just maybe, we’d have to be — happy?!? —

And then, at least from a real estate sales perspective, the bottom fishers could come out and play - and we could look at them with happy eyes and say “Welcome Back to the Market!” And offers could get accepted. And Sellers could finally move on. And…. Well, any number of good things might happen, right?

So - Here’s to reaching the bottom fast!

Bottom’s up!

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“There go my people. I must follow, for I am their leader.” - annonymous

As Principal Broker for our organization, I believe it is my core function to support my agents in any way possible - so long as it is ethical, legal and puts the clients’ interests first.

We have all heard in the news that “the economy is different than the stock market”.  Most forcasters warn of a further slow down ahead. More than ever, it means, that REALTORS - who are in a positon of leadership in the transcations they negotiate - need to stay calm and positive and look for solutions to the inevitable problems as they arise.

Emotions are running high today. Many sellers are irritated and feel taken advantage of by Buyers. Many Buyers don’t trust thier own intuition and  deals can fall apart over semingly insignificant issues. Many Lenders are fighting with the Underwriters who over scrutinize and question many files.

Where is the safe haven to find reassurance, support, solutions, commradarie, and a free cup of coffee?  I believe that is my job.

The old adage that “misery loves company” is not entirely true. Misery demands company. In our office, let’s decide to take a “NO TOLERANCE” to negativity. Let’s become  a Misery Free Zone.

The next step is to think about what we can offer the public beyond what we get paid to do. How about not only under-promise and over-delivering, let’s band together as an organization and help out those that need us.

Let me know what organization or group or cause you think we could work together on to assist. After all,  as we look around us, there go our people!

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Top News September 4, 2008, 1:58PM EST text size: TT

Where Homes Are Selling Fastest

But even real estate in the best Zip Codes are spending longer on the market than in 2007

by Prashant Gopal

Houses in Sunnyvale, Calif., home to companies such as Juniper Network (JNPR), AMD (AMD), and Yahoo! (YHOO), are typically on the market for 66 days, making it the fastest-selling real estate market in the country. That’s the good news. The bad news is that listings a year ago in the affluent Silicon Valley suburb normally sold after just 31 days on the market.

Even in the fastest-selling Zip Codes in the country, that trend is repeated over and over again. Nothing is selling as fast as it once did as buyers hold off, waiting for prices to drop even more. In some areas the median days on the market have extended beyond weeks into several months. In fact, after searching the nation for communities where homes were selling the fastest, it became clear that not a single Zip Code has eluded the housing slump. But some places are doing better than others. A lot better.

After Sunnyvale, Austin, Tex., another high-tech center, comes in second at 68 days. The third-fastest-selling Zip is the Scripps Ranch neighborhood of San Diego, a wealthy inland market where listings were typically 70 days old, a span that would have been unthinkable during the real estate boom.

Worst-Hit Housing Market

Yet these seem positively alacritous in comparison with Miami, one of the nation’s worst-hit housing markets, where typical listings are close to a sluggish six months, according to Altos Research, the Mountain View (Calif.) firm that helped us come up with our list of the fastest-selling markets in the U.S. “It was remarkable that it was so difficult to find markets moving very quickly at all,” said Altos Research CEO Michael Simonsen said. “These are, in general, some of the healthier markets in their area. At least, there is some consistent demand. Although, in historical terms, it’s still light.”

Even the best areas are a long way from the peak of the real estate market in 2005, when buyers had to act fast because homes were typically snatched up in four weeks, according to the National Association of Realtors. Listings in the fastest-selling markets are also taking much longer to sell than they did a year ago when the credit market was just beginning to tighten. In Sunnyvale, for example, the days on the market for a typical listing increased by 47% during the past 12 months. “Lenders have gotten more conservative after years of loose lending,” said Irvine (Calif.) real estate consultant John Burns. “This shouldn’t be surprising—every single market in the country has been negatively impacted.”

Hurting Neighborhoods

Middle-income neighborhoods are suffering the most, said Ken Gold, director of the Ohio State University Fisher College of Business Center for Real Estate Education & Research. Sellers of expensive homes can find buyers because the wealthy aren’t affected as much by the credit squeeze. And first-time home buyers are finding bargains as home prices slide.

Gold said the places where homes are selling the fastest are established, affluent communities close to jobs, restaurants, stores, and services. These days, buyers don’t want to live far from job centers, especially in an uncertain economy, he said. “Mature areas, which have higher incomes and higher-priced homes are as good as gold,” he said.

Gold might have a point. The communities on our list were relatively wealthy and close to jobs—neighborhoods such as the Circle C master-planned community in southwest Austin; Scripps Ranch in San Diego, 77094, one of Houston’s wealthiest Zips on the city’s western edge; and Venice, Calif., where the median asking price for a home is $1.399 million.

Robust Texas Zips

The communities were also in areas with relatively strong economies. With the Texas economy is booming thanks to high energy prices, three Texas Zips made the list: Houston, Austin, and Plano. Other cities with relatively strong economies also ranked high, including Portland, Ore., Seattle, and Salt Lake City.

An exception is San Diego, which has seen job losses increase and the economy weaken largely because of the housing crisis. That has damaged housing-related businesses and consumer spending. Kevin Wunderly, a Realtor with Avalar San Diego, said he isn’t surprised the Scripps Ranch Zip made the list. Sales have slowed in the past year because of tight credit. But the number of homes on the market isn’t large and hasn’t grown much. Homeowners in the affluent neighborhood don’t feel as much pressure to sell as homeowners in poorer, foreclosure-heavy neighborhoods because they have the means to ride out the downturn, he said. “A lot of people are waiting on the sidelines.”

Jay Carter, a Realtor with Livinginaustin.com, said the 78749 Zip Code in southwest Austin is one of the hottest he has seen. It’s a high-end neighborhood surrounded by scenic hills, but it’s just a 5- or 10-minute drive to downtown. “Sellers are not having nearly the heartburn that you’re seeing in a lot of areas of the country,” Carter said. “They consider themselves very fortunate.”

Click here to find out which are the fastest-selling housing markets in the U.S.

Gopal writes about real estate for BusinessWeek.com in New York.

 

 

No. 5 Portland, Ore. 97202

Days on the Market (DOM): 77 days
Median Price: $395,877
Annual Asking Price Change: -1.1%
Annual DOM Change: 27.7%

Portland, which invests heavily in public transportation and bicycle lanes, is considered by many to be the nation’s greenest city. It’s also a great place to sample beers from the city’s many microbreweries. The city’s home prices, during the boom, didn’t rise as much as they did in other Western cities, and they’re not falling as much either.

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