Held hostage............

This post goes out to all of the frustrated buyers and sellers! This one is for you!

I currently have a potential client that is in a listing agreement with another company. Before any of the Realtor® police come after me - they contacted me! Let's make that very clear!

They have had their home listed with the other company for about 4 months and are very, very unhappy with the service that they have received. No communication, no advertising, no open houses, no feed-back, no return phone calls and the list goes on. The sellers contacted them last week and stated that they wanted to terminate their listing agreement. At first thought, the company said they would email the release papers. Four days later, the company emailed again and said that they would NOT release the seller unless the seller paid them $600.00. FOR WHAT? They didn't advertise the home, their level of service was way less than stellar and they never even returned a communication until the seller wanted to terminate the contract.

Now, I ask you.......why would you want to make an already unpleasant relationship volatile? Had they simply released the sellers it would have been said and done. Now, however, the seller is contacting the Real Estate Commission and lodging a complaint among other actions.

For you fellow Realtors® I pose this question........if the marriage isn't working between you and a client, whether it be a buyer or a seller, why continue? Why turn this into a circus? Wow, just gives us all a bad image. Remember, word of mouth travels fast. Negative word of mouth travels at the speed of light..................

Curious shucking...............

Active Rain (Isn't that a little redundant?)

I have a great community that I would like to share with you. Remember, knowledge is POWER!! Take a minute and visit Active Rain. It is a great site with a Q&A section for anyone to pose a question. Some great reading and research available on the site and I highly recommend it!

Just passing on a pearl............

20/20 Equates To Perfect Vision?

I think not! On the heels of the much maligned piece by 60 Minutes, 20/20 has decided to create their own mis-informed, poorly collaborated and inaccurate description of the Real Estate industry. I was not so shocked by 60 Minutes due to some of their one-sided and atagonistic reporting in the past. However, I had high hope for 20/20 last night.

A few items to rebutt some of the comments coming from my perspective:

1. Is a Broker Worth It? You're darn right I am! 20/20 illustrated how a commission is split. THEY chose to use a 6% commission. Not me and certainly not the industry standard. However, using their suggestion of 6% and how they broke it down I beg to go a few steps further. From the sale of a home there is a 6% commission paid out. (Again, THEIR figure!) 3% is paid to the seller's agent and 3% is paid to the buyer's agent. Let's say that I am the Seller's Agent. I take my 3% and then split it with my broker-in-charge which leaves me with 1.5%. Out of my 1.5% I have to pay monthly dues to belong to the local MLS board, dues to the Association of Realtors, health insurance, dental insurance, vision insurance, taxes (no folks, that commision is not taxed) and, oh, do I have a 401K? No, I do not. On top of those items, I have to recoup the money that I spent on advertising the home I just sold. There are website fees, 800# fees, newspaper ads, signs created for the yard and open houses, printing costs for flyers and post cards, and the list goes on. It is unfair to start reporting a story and stop short!


2. "No real estate agent can walk into the house and show it with the zeal that I can show it," she said. Taken directly from the story. Zeal? Hhmmm, okay, what about desperation, lack of sales skills and giving up leverage? Once that buyer walks in the door and you are selling on your own, do you know what to say? It's called leverage folks. Also, as we all know, our homes are well, our homes! What is that smell? Did you cook fish last night? Yep, still smells the next day. Oh, what is that fuzzy thing running around the house? Your beloved cat which the potential buyers are distracted by or even worse, allergic to. The potential buyer asks why you are moving - what do you say? Can't say too much! Remember, LEVERAGE!

All I know is that when my tooth hurts I go to a dentist. When I have a medical problem I go to a doctor. When my car needs repaired I go to a mechanic. So, where will you go when you want to buy or sell a home?

Shuck on..............

Top Seller's Markets?

Lists, lists and more lists! There are "Most Expensive Homes", "Best Cities", and more. Now? The Best Seller's Market and Raleigh makes the grade. Check it out....

This scenario is also playing out in Raleigh, N.C., the No. 1 city on our list. Moderate growth and disciplined building over the last five years prevented the market from developing a significant glut. Additionally, a strong local economy has helped contribute to the city's healthy 1.6% vacancy rate.

What's more, the rate of home sales against
home inventory was healthy in Raleigh; in this category, it ranked fifth best of big cities, according to Moody's metrics. Even though the market has low vacancy to begin with and displayed strong construction restraint during the housing boom, Raleigh still has the eighth best rate of tightening.

To view the article in it's full context please click here.