The Wonder Couple

I have been working with this couple who are buying a home. We have search the entire Hartford Area in Ct for the last 8 months. Are they just "tire kickers" you might ask??????????? No, they just haven't gotten lucky until recently. This couple, who are lovely I might add, have been through it all. We have looked at countless properties and driven thousands of miles doing so.

We have looked at bank owned properties, properties going through short sales, "for sale by owner" homes, probate court homes and regular sale homes. They have put in 12 offers during the last 8 months. Their offers have been rejected, out bid, pushed aside.........until recently.

They ended up putting in a third offer on the second house that I ever showed them. The first offer sat for 6 weeks without an answer. It was a short sale and the bank was involved. They got tired and wanted to find something quicker, so they had me pull out the contract and keep looking. They put a second offer on it a few months later after they got fed up with the housing inventory that was out there and figured that they could wait it out. Then their dream house came on the market, so they had me pull the offer a second time in order to place an offer on this other home. The dream house didn't work out and they revisited the home for a third time. Now, it was 8 months later and the copper had been removed from the house. The owner had vacated the property, it was still a short sale and thieves came in an stole the copper. I convinced the Buyers to stay put on this one, as the Seller's Agent was now reluctant to work with us, since we had pulled out twice already.

I got the Agent to work with us, she submitted the offer and it was approved within a month or so. The bank didn't even counter their offer! Amazing! I was relieved and so were the Buyers. We had the inspection and now we are waiting for the lender to do their thing. We are hoping to close before Christmas, as it would make everyone's holiday a lot better!

Tax Credit Extended!

tax credit extended!

Click this link above to read about the tax credit extension.

Working with Friends?

I recently represented two different friends who were both buying their first homes. One friend never brought up commission, the other friend suggested that I should hand it over to them after the closing, since they were a friend of mine and they brought me business. HMMMMMMMMM.

Needless to say, I almost lost that friend as a result of them leaving a sour taste in my mouth. I wasn't about to give up my commission, as this is what I work for. I have yearly dues and fees that need reimbursement. Unfortunately, the topic had come up immediately after our deal was accepted by the other party. We were just beginning on this real estate journey and now I was legally involved. Pulling out based on a disagreement over commissions wasn't an option. I could have asked another Agent to take over, and then risk losing my friend forever, as the other Agent would certainly not give up their commission either.

After speaking with my friend on numerous occasions about this, we agreed to disagree and I would keep the commission, as he was a Buyer and not a Seller who would have it come out of their gross profits. This conversation was a learning platform for me, as the transaction was for him. He witnessed what I have to do as an Agent to "work" for the commission, which is earned at the end. Never in a million years, had he thought of the work that was involved. My Friend, like many other non agents, think that being a Real Estate Agent merely involves filling out some paperwork and just getting paid in the end. Friends don't think about the sometimes countless hours of negotiations and appointment setting that goes into the job. They don't think about the ways that Agents market properties, or run open houses and do house showings on their weekends, while others are enjoying time with their families. Being an Agent is a 24/7 job, and I make sure to turn my ringer off at night and never give out my home phone number just so I can get some sleep so I am ready to go the next day.

The next time I represent a "friend" who is a Buyer, I will let them know up front that receiving a commission is standard and non negotiable. If the "friend" is a Seller, I will have more flexibility in setting the commission rates, which I would consider lessening.

How to Rehab Aspects of a Property using You Tube Videos

I purchased a single family ranch in my neighborhood this summer. It was UGLY, but would be a great home to rent out when it was fixed up and brought up to date. The home needed a new roof, interior and exterior paint, new windows, new interior doors, door knobs, new kitchen and bath.

I had to hire a contractor to do the roof and bath and due to the fact that my lender wouldn't close on the house unless it was painted, I had to hire a painter. But I chose to take on the kitchen and flooring all by myself. I utilized the existing cabinets some of the appliances. This is the before photo.

I painted the cabinets, installed new hardware, a new faucet, new counter top, tiled the backslash, new track lighting etc. I was determined to do the kitchen myself in the effort of saving money. I had a limited budget for the home and some of the items that were being professionally done were taking up much of the budget. My Dad, who lives in the next state over, was a phone source for many of my questions. I would call him up and ask him how to do this or that, which tool would he recommend using etc. When I needed a visual, I went directly to youtube.com, the internet site with tons of home improvement videos.

I couldn't believe how many videos were at my disposal! I learned the best way to cut the counter top, cut tile, grout and change door knobs! What a service. It gave me the visual that I needed to figure out how things worked. I left youtube with the confidence to attempt one project after another.

The Pig Almost Killed the Deal

A friend of mine is buying a condo and I am representing him. His offer was accepted and last Saturday was the inspection. After arriving at the condo, we let ourselves in and waited for the inspector to show. Upon the inspectors entry into the property, he stated "Get a load of the pig down the street".

Not sure what he meant by it, I stuck my head out the front door to see a woman in a pink bathrobe coming down her front steps. "Not the lady" the inspector added.....

I poked my head out further and saw the woman in the bathrobe walking a pet pig! Oh how i couldn't believe my eyes! My Buyer hurried to the front door and his mouth dropped open. He couldn't believe it. We laughed, but the Buyer didn't. Thoughts immediately started flying through his head about the type on condo complex he was buying into. If they allow pigs...........what else could they possibly allow? He stated that he was going to pull out! That's it, he's had enough!

After talking my Buyer down off the ledge, I convinced him to wait for the condo docs before pulling out of the deal. He was in agreement, but still not pleased about the pig. What an unusual pet for a condo.

The condo docs arrived a week later and interestingly enough, there is a "no dog" clause, but it does specify that you can have 2 pets per unit. So I guess the pig counts as one of those "pets". I am sure a tiger would also...

The "Vacationing Seller"

I seem to be putting in contracts all the time lately for my Buyers. They are getting out bid since my Buyers are on limited budgets and cannot exceed a certain price point for the home they are making an offer on. The worst scenario panned out to be true for on of my first-time-home-owner Buyers. The wife of the couple, tends to get very emotionally attached to things that are important to her. This couple fell in love with a two bedroom condo in exactly their desired area and it was within their budget. I showed it to them and they made an offer within 24 hours. She was doing everything that psyched up home buyers do. She was picturing their furniture in the space, new paint colors for the walls etc.

The next day after putting in the offer the Seller came back and negotiated and both parties ended up coming to a verbal, mutually agreed upon amount. I resubmitted the paperwork with the new terms and sat back and waited.

Well, we heard,,,,,,,,,nothing for 24hrs.

I had inquired about when we were going to hear back, to the Listing Agent. He stated that he was still trying to get in touch with her, she was in New Hampshire and didn't have cell service.

When I told my Buyer what the Agent had told me, she was crushed. She intuitively knew that something wasn't right. I convinced her to not get upset and to wait since maybe she was in fact, on vacation. She decided to that she was try to be patient and wait until we heard from the agent.....which we did the next day.

The Agent told me that the Seller went with another offer. ANOTHER OFFER? Are you kidding me? Your Seller negotiated with my BUyer and she was playing us the entire time? NOT COOL.

I, in turn, had to break the news to my super excited and emotionally attached Buyer....not a good conversation to have. She was very upset and didn't understand why weren't able to come back with an even higher offer? I had to explain to her that the Agent hadn't even communicated to me that there were other offers on the table and we couldn't have known that the Seller was two-timing us.

So the next time an Agent tells you that you have to wait for an answer since the Seller is on vacation, don't buy it!

A Certificate for a Mortgage

On a recent visit from my Mother, she told mentioned that my Brother, who is an educator in New York, has applied for a mortgage. He had called her while she was staying at my home and has asked her the whereabouts of his birth certificate.
"What does he need that for" I asked.....
"He needs it for his mortgage."
"WWHHAT?"

I was confused. Wait a minute..did she just tell me that she needed his birth certificate to apply for a mortgage? I have purchased five homes during my time and have never been asked to provide such an item. Maybe times have changed, although I just closed on my fifth home and still have to wonder.

Wait another minute? Isn't there a lot of questioning about whether out current President is a U.S. Citizen or not. Didn't he have to produce a birth certificate when running for the Presidency? NO? Are you kidding me? One of the requirements of the Presidency is that you have to be a native of the country for cryin' out loud!

How come my Brother had to provide his certificate for buying a home but the President didn't need to provide one to run our country? You know, I will never know, but it certainly gives you something to think about........