The several years of "loose lending" by mortgage lenders helped bring a surge of bad loan programs with borrowers that were either overextended from Day One or should have been unqualified to begin with. This surge has now become a tsunami of foreclosures and short sales, which Jeff Allen and I have lumped together as the term: "Lender Mediated Sales." Now that lenders, banks, retirement funds, investment bankers, average investors and everyone else have all been bitten by the fallout from this housecological … [Read more...]
Agents Disrespecting Vacant Houses
April 21, 2008 by 2 Comments
I have a listing that is vacant. The house is not a foreclosure and it is not a short sale. The house is clean, freshly painted, and has all utilities on. Apparently because it is vacant, agents/their buyers feel that they do not need to afford the same respect they would to an occupied home. When I arrived for an open house this past weekend, I find: All the blinds in the house pulled up (most were down & partially turned open) The back sliding door left unlocked & without the security arm down … [Read more...]
So Much to Say, No Time to Say It
April 16, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I've got mountains of thoughts to share with you all but have simply not had the time to write about it. Blogging takes concentration & clarity of thought... two things I have had very little of lately with this busy market. I'm working with some great buyers & sellers and having a great time but it seems like there is never enough time in the day and on days you think you will have the time, something happens that wasn't supposed to. Today it was a bad person who decided to break into my car with a … [Read more...]
Efficiency Furniture in a Box
March 15, 2008 by 1 Comment
Imagine taking a whole bedroom set with you in a box! … [Read more...]
Star Tribune Prints the Wrong Story
March 15, 2008 by 2 Comments
I just read the most recent "the sky is falling" real estate article from the Star Tribune. The Star Tribune profiles a family (the Floyds) that are losing to foreclosure their house in North Minneapolis that they've lived in for 23 years. Today they owe 4X the amount they originally paid for the house! Instead of this being an article about how important money management is and how crucial it is to live within your means, the newspaper made it into another example of all the bad things happening because of … [Read more...]
Beyond Brochures, Stamps, & Gas
February 5, 2008 by 1 Comment
Many agents try to explain the reasons why they deserve their commissions by mentioning that we're self employed, which means we not only split our commission with our broker but also pay all our own supplies, gas, health insurance, marketing materials, etc. They then go through and explain how their knowledge and experience can save their clients time and money, which makes them that much more valuable. This is all true (and I use many of those arguments myself) but there's another big reason that many agents … [Read more...]
Bought a New dSLR Camera
December 31, 2007 by Leave a Comment
I'm quite excited... I recently purchased a new Canon Digital Rebel XTi camera, a 10-20mm lens, a 28-70mm lens, a 70-300mm lens, and a high-powered flash. This was quite an expensive upgrade but so far I am very pleased with the results. I hope that this will further improve the quality of my photographs for my listings, which I already thought were pretty good. The wide angle lens will allow me to get better shots of rooms... especially small rooms... while the longer lenses will get helpful for taking … [Read more...]
UPS (or Amazon) Calls You For a Delivery
November 15, 2007 by Leave a Comment
So I got a call from Virginia today... which in of itself isn't terribly unusual since I get lots of out-of-state calls from my web site. This call was an automated message from UPS telling me that they were delivering a package to me on Friday from Amazon.com between 8am and 7pm and that it requires a signature at time of delivery. I laughed at the 11 hour delivery window but was impressed with the fact they made the call... it is about $700 in new camera equipment so I can understand the request for the … [Read more...]
Worthless MLS Listing
November 4, 2007 by 5 Comments
An agent just posted a listing for nearly $500,000 with no interior photos and both Agent and Public Remarks that read: "sold as-is." There are room dimensions, but nothing else go from. How worthless! In this market of record levels of inventory and weak buyer demand, not including additional photos or any agent remarks is simply unforgivable. In my opinion it isn't much better than putting a plastic sign in the yard saying "for sale." The Buyer and their agent have very little to work with that would … [Read more...]
The Dangers of Unmoderated User-Contributed Content
So the reason I moderate blog comments prior to posting is because some people are not very polite and write things that are inappropriate. I'm not talking about dissension, I'm talking about things that just shouldn't be said on a public forum. I have no problem with people who want to sound like idiots or provide criticism... it all adds spice to the forum. While I appreciate that the Star Tribune is trying to get more interactive with their stories, I believe they need better oversight of their "Featured … [Read more...]