Foundation problems rise with heat

Posted by on Aug 23, 2011 in Real Estate | Comments Off

               Texas’ unforgiving drought has meant a sharp increase in home foundation problems in the state.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                    Dry weather causes soil to dry out and shrink, and some parts of Texas have seen up to 13 inches of shrinkage, said Jim Dutton, co-owner of Du-West Foundation Repair. That movement causes shifts in home foundation. 
           ”The middle of the house normally stays fairly moist because it’s protected from the sun,” he said. “But you get   edge drop”.

             The first tell-tale signs of trouble include cracks in the drywall and freeze boards pulling away from the brick, Dutton said.

               Repairs, which typically call for installing supporting piers below the home cost several thousand dollars in most cases.
 
               Every foundation will have cracks while the problem should be addressed however it’s not the end of the world.

              ”The key is stabilization, you want to get the home to where it’s as level as possible. Stabilize it” According to   Trey Ganem of Coastal Bend Foundation Repair.

                Tips from experts for maintaining the foundation during hot weather:

                -Watering the area about 18 to 20 inches from the foundation can help keep the soil moist and secure.

                -Trees can sometimes cause foundation problem. For trees near the foundation, water the side that sits away from the house, to urge the roots to go in that direction.

Victoria Advocate

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Featured Listings

Posted by on Jun 17, 2011 in Real Estate | Comments Off

Holly Tree

Holly Tree

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Dallas Short Sales

Posted by on Jun 12, 2011 in Real Estate | Comments Off

Short Sales meaning the owner is attempting to sell their home for less than they owe on their loan (s) – they are “under the water” on their mortgage.

In other words, short sales aren’t going away any time soon.

The decision to short sell your home is not an easy one – there is a lot, a WHOLE lot, to consider.

And the considerations can be overwhelming.

This four page document is chocked full of information, and links for even more in-depth short sale information. It is broken down into three sections that includes:

Before Proceeding with a Short Sale

  • Understand a Lender’s Options upon Loan Default
  • Be Aware of Predatory “Rescue” Scams & Short Sale Fraud
  • Contact a free HUD?approved housing counselor or contact your lender directly
  • Utilize free services available to Texas residents
  • Obtain Legal Advice
  • Obtain Tax Advice
  • Be Aware of the Consequences of Committing “Waste”

Options Other than Short Sales

  • Consider all Options
  • Loan Workout
  • Loan Modification
  • Refinance
  • Deed?in?Lieu of Foreclosure
  • Work Out Sale
  • Bankruptcy
  • Foreclosure

Short Sale Considerations

  • Contact a qualified real estate professional
  • Investigate documentation and eligibility
  • Determine the amount owed on the property
  • Determine the estimated fair market value of the property
  • Consult legal counsel
  • Understand that a short sale may not discharge the debt
  • Obtain tax advice
  • Be aware of the impact on your credit score
  • Understand that there may be a waiting period before you can buy another home
  • Review the Texas Association of REALTORS® short sale forms

Yeah, that is a lot of stuff to pack into four pages.

If you are considering short selling your home, you’d be well advised to understand the short sales process. And anything else you can find. Keep in mind of course, that you can not believe everything you see on the Internet. Be particularly leery of any person, group or “company” that claims to offer you an easy way out. The sheer number of folks that are in or near a potential short sale situation means the scammers and crooks are out in force. Remember the old adage, if it sounds to good to be true, it probably is.

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Does the Real Estate Brokerage Matter to the Home Buyer / Seller?

Posted by on Jun 12, 2011 in Real Estate | Comments Off

Here is a question that often stirs debate in real estate circles:

Does the Real Estate Brokerage Matter to the Home Buyer / Seller?

Some folks think Brokerage doesn’t matter 2 the public. I disagree. If it didn’t this letter would NOT have been written

That Tweet links to this great letter from a real estate client to a broker at Avery-Hess Realtors in Maryland, Virginia, Metro DC and West Virginia – What Really Matters in Real Estate.

And Avery-Hess is absolutely right – this letter from a very satisfied client exemplifies what really matters in real estate.

I don’t know anyone at Avery-Hess, but I would love to meet them as they appear to share a philosophy with Thompson’s Realty – that being hire the right agents who live and breathe the right values and will provide superior customer service to their clients. This probably sounds stunningly obvious to the real estate buyer or seller out there. After all, real estate sales is a service-based business so isn’t customer service of paramount importance?

Of course it is. Yet the traditional real estate brokerage has a propensity to hire anyone that walks in the door. I call it the “hire anyone with a license and a pulse” brokerage model.

And it’s a ridiculous practice that is killing the real estate sales industry.

We’ve turned down “top producing” real estate agents that have inquired about working at our brokerage. One even argued extensively with me that, “I had to hire him”.

Uhm, no. I don’t. I hire people that share my passion for customer service and real estate. Period, end of story. Treat clients like a number, focus on nothing but “closing the deal” and you can go work somewhere else, no matter how much revenue you generate.

The above mini-rant about brokerage models has a purpose

Someone has read this far and said, “For the love of Pete man, answer the freaking question already!” Does the real estate brokerage matter to the real estate “consumer” – the home buyer and/or seller?

My short answer is no, the brokerage doesn’t matter to the vast majority of home buyers and sellers.

Don’t get me wrong, the brokerage matters. It’s the brokerage that does (or more often does not) the upfront leg work in hiring the right kind of agents. It’s the brokerage that makes sure their agents have what they need to ensure a great client experience. Or at least that’s what the brokerage should be doing. Avery-Hess is doing it. We are doing it. We are not alone, though sadly it seems like we are in the minority.

But the consumer (generally) doesn’t care what brokerage their agent works for. Heck, often they don’t even know what the brokerage is, or understand the broker’s and brokerages role in the process. It is my contention that the vast majority of real estate buyers and sellers chose the agent, not the agent’s brokerage, to represent them. That belief is substantiated in many ways…

Cases in point:

  • Countless times in my past as an agent in a Century 21 franchise office, I would meet a client (note, a client, not a prospect) for the first time face-to-face and I’d hand them a business card only to be met with, “Oh, you’re with Century 21?”What does that tell you? It tells me the client didn’t care who I worked for.
  • In just over two years as an independent brokerage we’ve had a grand total of 2 clients ask if they would be at a disadvantage because we are a small independent as opposed to a large national franchise brokerage. Once we explained our value proposition, both were more than satisfied. (Of note, there is no way to know how many, if any, have never called on us because we are small and independent.)
  • The National Association of Realtors (NAR) recently released their 2009 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers. Michael McClure wrote a great piece on this which included a graphic from the NAR report that showed only 3% of home buyers and sellers chose an agent based on the brokerage they were associated with.
  • Keller Williams, themselves one of the largest national real estate brands published an (undated) white paper that stated:
    Nevertheless, the largest real estate firms continue to hold to their position that brand will influence the customer “at the kitchen table.” That is, when presented with the choice between one agent or another, the customer will choose the agent representing the better-known company. NAR’s research directly contradicts this claim (my emphasis).

Let’s look closer at the very letter to the broker that Marc Davison and Avery-Hess themselves claim demonstrates it is the brokerage that matters:

Sheila, upon first meeting, was professional and approachable.  She understood our situation and did an exceptional job of nurturing a well balanced relationship with us throughout the term of our lease.

Sheila’s professionalism continued through out the house search…

Sheila gets all of the credit for us finding a solid move-in-ready home…

I didn’t even think about writing to you, Mr. Hess, until at closing one of the seller’s agents said in jest that I should write you…

Shelia was professional and approachable, not Avery-Hess Realtors. She, not her broker, understood the client’s situation. Shelia, not the brokerage, gets all the credit. The client “didn’t even think about writing” to the broker.

Don’t get me wrong here. Shelia sounds like a wonderful agent. If she ever relocates to Phoenix, she’s got a job here. Avery-Hess sounds like a great brokerage. They vet their agents and obviously don’t subscribe to the hire anyone with a license and pulse brokerage model. Kudo’s to them for having the vision, sticking to it, and hiring the kind of agent that helps spread that vision. They helped deliver the agent to the client, but they had little to do with the clientselecting that agent.

You see, this client, like the vast majority of real estate buyers and sellers out there, didn’t pick Avery-Hess the brokerage to represent them. They didn’t pick David Hess, the Vice-president to represent them. They picked Shelia Carney. And they loved her. I’ll bet you any amount of money you’d like that should Shelia Carney change brokerages, the client that wrote that letter will call Shelia, not the brokerage, to represent her again. I bet you she will tell her family and friends that ask for an agent reference, “Use Shelia Carney, she’s amazing!” not, “Call Avery-Hess” – no matter how amazing they are.

That client could give a flip who Shelia works for. They chose an amazing agent, not an amazing brokerage, to represent them.

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On Open Houses

Posted by on Jun 11, 2011 in Real Estate | Comments Off

The ink was barely dry on my real estate license. I needed business and no clue how to secure it. Figuring I’d tap into my broker’s 30+ years of experience, I said to him, “Yo! How do I get clients?”

“Here’s a printout of all our listings. Hold open houses.  It’s the single best way to pick up buyers.”

“Do people actually buy homes they visit at open houses?”

“Hardly ever.  But that’s not the point. You’re looking for buyer clients – clients who will buysomething.”

That’s. Not. The. Point.

Really? Something tells me that if you are trying to sell a home and you tell the sellers that you want to hold their home open, not to sell it but to get yourself some new clients, that they will tell you to… take a hike.

Is this how that conversation goes?

“Hi there dear client. I’d like to hold an open house in your home this weekend!”

“Great! Do you think that will get it sold?”

“Oh, that hardly ever happens. According to the National Association of Realtors 2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, only 2% of home buyers between the ages of 25 and 64 say the first step they take in finding a home is visiting an open house. And only 11% say they found their home by the yard sign and/or an open house. Most agents say the odds of actually selling the home held open are extremely remote, on the order of 1 – 2%…”

“Well, then what is the point in holding my home open?”

“It’s a great way for me to pick up new buyer clients!”

Yessir, I want you to leave your house for several hours on the weekend (make sure to clean it first), lock up all your valuables and prescription medications, and let complete strangers into your home (hopefully none are criminals scoping out what to come back and steal) – all so I can build my base of clients.

What a deal!

More likely the conversation with the seller goes like this:

“Hi there dear client, I’d like to hold an open house in your home this weekend!

“Great! Do you think that will get it sold?”

“Oh, that hardly ever happens. According to the National Association of Realtors 2010 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers, only 2% of home buyers between the ages of 25 and 64 say the first step they take in finding a home is visiting an open house. And only 11% say they found their home by the yard sign and/or an open house. Most agents say the odds of actually selling the home held open are extremely remote, on the order of 1 – 2%…”

“Well, then what is the point in holding my home open?”

“It’s a great way for me to pick up new buyer clients!”

Yessir, I want you to leave your house for several hours on the weekend (make sure to clean it first), lock up all your valuables and prescription medications, and let complete strangers into your home (hopefully none are criminals scoping out what to come back and steal) – all so I can build my base of clients.

What a deal!

More likely the conversation with the seller goes like this:

It will provide a ton of exposure to your home, create buzz, and get buyers really excited about your home! I’ll carpet bomb the neighborhood with invitations, bake some cookies so the home smells great, and buyers will flock here in droves. It’ll go viral! It’ll be awesome!!”

And there will be no mention what-so-ever of the true purpose of holding the open house — so the agent can get exposure to potential buyers and work their magic converting them into clients.

That lack of disclosure is just plain wrong, in my opinion. Well, not just mine. Read Michael McClure’s insightful article, The Ethics of Open Houses. I linked to this article on my Facebook profile earlier this week and an excellent 112 comment discussion ensued. There is some great conversation in that thread, both pro and con over open houses (and like any “electronic conversation” it sometimes wanders off topic).

That conversation is really the reason I’m writing this post. Facebook discussions are very transient which makes them difficult to find and I wanted to be able to reference that conversation, and the shared links, in the future. Putting a link to the conversation on this blog makes that possible.

I did not write this post to demean anyone who believes in open houses. Hey, if they work for you, knock yourself out. Hopefully if you are using open houses to acquire new clients you are disclosing that information to your sellers. If you aren’t disclosing that, well… shame on you.

Can open houses actually sell the specific home being held open? Of course they can. Are they the most efficient marketing method for selling a home? Not even remotely according to numerous reports from agents as well as the National Association of Realtors. I’m sure that local conditions and customs play a large part in the true success of open houses. (And I’m defining “true success” of an open house as actually selling THAT house.)

Another thing that seems to escape most of the agent-to-agent conversations about open houses are that if an unrepresented buyer does happen to come along and decide to purchase the home, then the listing agent is probably going to wind up representing both the buyer and the seller. Now we’ve entered into the dark and ugly world of single-agent dual agency – where one agent represents both buyer and seller in the same transaction. You don’t want to get me started on that. See On Dual Agency, for my general thoughts on that matter if you are so inclined.

Here’s a little video I made during that Facebook conversation. It’s just a quick and fun look at what agents might actually be doing at open houses. Don’t be a hater, it was supposed to be funny.

ome sellers, buyers, agents and brokers, what are your experiences with open houses? Do they “work” – however you chose to define “work”? Do sellers “expect” their agents to hold open houses? How do you react to that? Personally, I think the time spent marketing and sitting in an open house is far better spent working on activities that are proven to reach more buyers – that being primarily the Internet.

But maybe that’s just me…

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