Everything I Need To Know As A Realtor, I Learned In Bartending

I was once told that who you are in your first two years in your profession is who you're going to be. With recent Gallup polls showing that real estate brokers are maybe one rung above used car salesmen on the ladder of (link provided below,) what type of realtor you are matters more for your livelihood than any single transaction you bring to a close. During my real-estate course, I visited dozens of open houses, met and mingled with realtors, hoping to discover what kind of realtor I wanted to be by process of elimination: which realtors did I NOT want to be. While the majority of realtors in my path were congenial, alert and knowledgeable, there were a distinct few that seemed to get it: "It" being what's often regarded as the Bill Clinton effect (just google search those three words and you'll see what I'm writing about.) It's been widely touted by those who've met him that, when talking with Bill Clinton, he makes you feel like you're the only person in the room. Clinton in his own words in his book, In My Life, states "All my life, I've been interested in other people's stories. I wanted to know them, understand them, feel them." Like Bill Clinton, some realtors understand that human connection lies in the heart of customer service; and this is fundamental to success as a realtor.

Before real estate, I bartended at a fine steak house for years throughout college, and I knew one thing early on: that anyone can go anywhere to get a beverage and a meal. Yet, having the ability to really connect with my clientele is the difference between providing transactional service and relational service. CEO of Buffini and Company, a leading real estate coaching and development company, Brian Buffini makes this distinction between a transactional realtor and a relational realtor in many of his teachings. Customer service is not about transactions but about relationships, and my tenure as a bartender acted as a fundamental springboard for my future career in real estate. Remembering something as simple but profound as someone's name, listening, I mean, really listening when a client speaks about what's important to him/her, and treating each client as if he/she were the only client in the room led me to over 50 transactions during my first two years as a realtor. Authors of Go-Givers Sell More (a MUST read for anyone in sales, by the way,) Bob Burg and John David Mann sum it up best with the words "Selling is not at its core a business transaction; it is first and foremost the forging of a human connection." (pg. 8)

This needs not only to apply to our clients but to other realtors as well. We are each and all working towards a common goal: to do the job we were hired to do, manage and satisfy our client's expectations, and pay the bills with it. And if we're truly conscious about our roles as real estate agents, we are passionate about what we are blessed enough to do. We know that the laws of abundance apply here: there is enough business out there for everyone in the profession. We treat each other, whether we are a buyer's agent, a listing agent, or both, with respect, and we don't need to be reminded to "play well in the sandbox" with other realtors (and a great realtor shouldn't have to be reminded to do so.) This means completing feedback forms after showing a home, offering the appropriate buyer agency commission (I may have shown dozens of house by the time I got to your listing,) communicating promptly and effectively when time is of the essence (if you're a realtor who seldom gets the proper paperwork in for a deal on time, this means you,) and truly valuing the other realtor's role in the transaction. I try to make it a habit to leave everyone and everything a little better than I found them. In life and in work. And this couldn't be more significant in the real estate profession. In short (or long, sorry), if you want to be a better realtor, be a better person.


www.amybarber.elliman.com

http://www.gallup.com/poll/1654/honesty-ethics-professions.aspx

What ELSE Should the Buyer Know Before Making An Offer on the Ideal House...

Imagine sitting in the front of a classroom, raising your hand high in the air and, like Arnold Horshack from "Welcome Back Kotter," you're loudly and proudly yelling "Ooo ooh, pick me, pick ME!" Now, you might have a pretty good idea of a buyer's experience with submitting an offer on a house especially in a seller's market like we're currently in (when the number of prospective buyers outweigh the amount of available inventory of homes on the market.) Of course, dozens of reading propaganda exist to educate buyers on the basics on submitting a compelling offer package: a strong starting offer with preapproval (if acquiring a mortgage) relative to recent comp activity in the area, a suitable down payment (or earnest deposit,) an pre-contract home inspection, and often a flexible closing date appealing to the seller's own time frame. For a buyer, just getting to the point of accepted offer can be as dizzying as stepping onto solid ground after riding Space Mountain a few dozen times. But in a realm where knowledge is always power, it's important to understand what matters, what might not, and how you as a buyer can assemble the strongest offer possible.

1) Ever wonder what happens when an unstoppable force meets and immovable object? Before you try and answer, it's a trick question...because they can't both exist at the same time. The same thing goes for the notion that a seller can get the highest and best price while the buyer can pay the lowest and best price. It's the listing agent's fiduciary responsibility to get his/her seller the offer with the highest price and the best terms. On the flip side, it's the buyer's agent's responsibility to get his/her buyer the house at a reasonable price given all factors at play. Period. A house is worth what a buyer is willing to pay for it. A buyer shouldn't live in fear of overpaying for their dream home as the bank appraisal will determine the home's fair market value, thus opening up the door for renegotiation on price. I tell my buyer clients that a house is theirs to lose if they choose to nickel and dime on the offer amount and simply hope for the best.

2) Understand what's truly negotiable. A buyer may see the porcelain floors in the living area as pale in comparison to the hardwood floors they've always wanted, or the lime-green bedroom walls as a ghastly Crayola color that didn't make the final cut. However, to the seller, those porcelain floors were laid down by their favorite uncle as a homecoming gift; the lime-green paint being little Billy's perfect color he selected for his very first room. Although much of negotiation comes down to how much the seller wants to sell and how much the buyer wants it, a seller will rarely account for such cosmetic changes and give the buyer the house they envision at the seller's expense. Hopefully, the seller will heed the expert advice from his/her listing agent and price the house according to any work needed.

3) When considering how much to offer, the amount a seller owes on the mortgage is no indication of the market value of a home or what it should sell at. I've been asked by several buyers to find out this information, and I tell them that, as much as I'm here to provide any information beneficial to them, this negotiation strategy is a moot point. The main determining factor of what a house should sell at is its market value in relation to other similar houses in that specific area. Just as the amount that a buyer is preapproved for shouldn't determine, for a seller, what the buyer should pay for the house. A buyer should always ensure that the preapproval letter submitted with an offer only covers the purchase amount of the offer. This preapproval can be adjusted accordingly if the amount agreed to between seller and buyer is higher than the starting offer.

4)Guard your reputation as a buyer....because this does matter. This means knowing that you will truly move forward on a house if the seller accepts your offer. I've known buyers to peruse dozens of homes, wanting to submit multiple offers just to secure the property for themselves in case they decide to move forward on the house. A good buyer agent will advise his/her buyers against this type of behavior reason being that, if you're concentrated on one or two specific areas, you may end up dealing with the same one or two listing agents who tend to dominate the area. Once you get a reputation as a in-credible or flippant buyer, this can seriously affect how the listing agent presents your offer to the seller. Remember that you want to try to be the most compelling offer on the house.

5)Remember how homes on the market are priced when working with a For Sale By Owner. Many sellers who try to market their own property simply review the local comps to their homes and price accordingly. However, some sellers aren't taking into account that most comps were listed and sold by a licensed realtor, with the listing commission built into the sold price. A buyer won't pay the same commission that the seller is wanting to avoid. Your buyer agent should be able to handle this issue for you, of course. And this can be a good negotiating point when you offer less of the house based on this one issue alone. This is why research shows that most home sold directly by owners often sell for less than homes listed and sold with realtors.

At the end of the day, a successful home purchase should have the buyer and seller leaving the closing, both feeling that their individual needs have been met and excited about what the future holds. Be sure to work with the right buyer agent for you, one who understands your needs, will negotiate based on you and your family's best interests, and will always tell you what you need to hear at each step of the way.

Be informed, be motivated....and BE MOVED!

Until next time.....Happy house-hunting, and Happy Thanksgiving!!!

House Haunted House...Home Sweet Home?

Have you ever wanted to spend the night in a haunted house? Better yet, how about spending 30 years there with a fixed mortgage rate, a golden retriever and a white picket fence? According to Realtor.com's Haunted Housing Report (2013), 62% of potential buyers would NOT be deterred from purchasing a dream home if the house came already furnished with "things that go bump in the night."  In fact, 12% of those surveyed said that they would pay full market value for a home said to be haunted, if not more. Given that 1 out of every 3 buyers I've represented have asked me if anyone has ever died in the house they're considering to purchase, the answer to this question does matter, whether or not a welcome mat is set out for the "uninvited" or a full blown exorcism is ordered. And since each state has its own real property laws regarding disclosure of any sort of paranormal activity or even death in the house, a prospective buyer may have to do his/her "due diligence" to uncover whether their dream house today has had a nightmare of a past.

In my state of New York, the real property law, "Caveat Emptor," AKA "let the buyer beware," is in place, leaving the buyer with the responsibility of investigating a property's history for his/her own benefit. The local library, the town Historical Society (particularly if the property in question is listed on the National Register of Historic Sites,) and the assistance of your local neighborhood realtor can usually award someone any and all of the information needed on a "stigmatized property," which can refer to houses deemed to be haunted on some level. The website "Porch.com" documents certain design projects undertaken at a residence and encourages the owners to reveal a little history behind the work being done on the property as well, possibly giving a glimpse into a paranormal cause of a certain design project or renovation. For the more morbidly curious individual, websites like "DiedInHouse.com" can serve up all of the deadly details of a property for the low, low price of $11.99 per search. Personally, I find that the local neighbors and town folk tend to have the 411 on any house with a past and certainly love to dish out the information when politely asked.

Let's not forget the importance of the home inspection usually done just before the buyer signs the purchase contracts. Although, as my home inspector and friend Tom Walsh of All Aspects Home Inspections aptly puts it, the home inspector cannot go beyond the state's Standards of Practice methodology to attempt to identify any sort of paranormal presence in a home, a home inspector can help determine what structural or "age-appropriate" conditions of the home might be the cause of the eerie sounds that haunted houses are so cliché in producing. Banging on the walls, creaks in the floor boards, etc.  The more technical kind of buyer can even set a continuous radon monitor machine, if it can be acquired, on the premises in hopes of revealing any activity or "presence" in the house other than those living and breathing there on an expected basis. There are mediums in most cities and towns as well who offer services in locating and identifying a paranormal presence in the home, helping the prospective buyers discern whether or not they have a real "ghost of a chance" at turning a house, haunted house into their home, sweet home.

So, for the buyers out there who decide they are ready, willing and able to be "ghost hosts" to any transparent co-occupants of their new home, congratulations! You are likely to receive a discount off of the market value of the home, you'll probably have the most popular house on the block at Halloween, and think about the 24-hour, in-house, and completely free security system you now have for your largest investment! To boot,  the website WikiHow's article titled "How To Live In A Haunted House" is a must-read even for the sheer amusement of the step-by-step instructions on how to peacefully co-exist with the Caspers in your new home.  I don't know about you, but for me, it's always educational to learn what furniture may be more respectful of a ghost's personal space and which topics of discussion are taboo when such ghosts are present in the room.


Happy Halloween.....and BOO!


http://www.wikihow.com/Live-in-a-Haunted-House

http://www.usinspect.com/insights/blog/haunted-home-inspection-houses

How Your Buyer Attorney Should Be Protecting YOU

Bringing a successful real estate transaction to fruition is always dependent upon the expediency and fortitude of the parties involved. From the listing and buyer brokers down to the home inspector and appraiser, the diligence (or sometimes lack of) of each person involved in the process is crucial to the deal's success. And the real estate attorney often plays the biggest role in whether the deal moves forward to the handshake and handing over of the keys or whether it gets halted somewhere between accepted offer and WHAT THE HECK JUST HAPPENED HERE?!

Recently, my buyer clients signed a contract for purchase through their real estate attorney whom was referred to them; This contract included an inane stipulation strategically placed in the contracts by the seller attorney, stating that the seller did NOT have to provide insurable title with the property by closing. My buyers, the vulnerable consumers, trusted their own attorney when she assured them that this issue would be cleared up soon, allowing them to proceed with signing the contracts....five months later, we are still waiting with baited breath and cautious optimism that the title issue will finally be cleared at a town hearing next week, after months of opposition and subsequent delay by the town board....Fortunately for my buyer clients, it seems as if this house will now officially be their home soon. Yet, their signature on these contracts could've posed a much larger problem for them as they were contractually bound to a house that wouldn't have been mortgage-able for them without clear title.....due to an oversight and lack of due diligence on their entrusted attorney's behalf.

The buying (and selling) process can often be overwhelming enough, emotions flying like a bundle of balloons in a sky that can become as tumultuous as it was clear blue just the moment before. This is why it's paramount that the right real estate attorney is hired for the job. One who lives and breathes real estate transactions, one whose wheelhouse is well seasoned to tricky situations like a cloudy title issue. It is equally as important for the buyers and sellers to be able to completely trust their hired legal counsel to guide them both ethically and professionally, to help turn any question marks into periods. Especially when the contracts to most eyes can be like reading a medieval scroll for the first time. It is the attorney's role to protect their client's best interests and to guide them with the hand and heart of an educator. So the buyers know what they're signing up for when their pens grace the dotted line...With a home purchase standing as one of the most significant and expensive investments in one's lifetime, the buyer is entitled to the most professional and expert guidance by the ones whom he/she has entrusted to share this wonderful and life-changing experience with.

Stay motivated, stay informed....and Be Moved!

Top Ten Random Facts to Know Before Buying and Selling..

Top Ten Facts to Know in the World of Real Estate...(buyers and sellers, this is for you!)

1. The first 90 days is the BEST time to get the BEST price for your home on the market. So it's important to price RIGHT from the beginning. Sellers who don't HAVE to sell have the common misconception that they can wait for "the right buyer." But let me put it this way: When I bring a buyer client to a house listed on the market for three plus months, the first thing the buyer mentions is the seller's high negotiability factor bc the house has been on the market for a while. The result is lower offers. Don't you want to get multiple offers when you're still the hot new listing priced more compellingly than the other houses in the 'hood?

2)Hiring an expert home inspector is key. I understand a buyer's need to save money wherever he/she can by hiring a family friend, etc., but once you own the house, the own-ness is on the BUYER for any repairs or surprise discoveries post-sale. For example, my buyer client used a family friend for the home inspection, who advised them that the house had foundation issues based on a slanted ceiling on second floor and that the house would continue sinking well into the future. If he had simply measured the main level and seen that the house was level on that floor, other option could've been examined so the buyers could move forward on the house they loved instead of having to resume the hunt once again.  Bottom line: the $500 you spend for a qualified home inspection could save you time and money in the long run.

3)Did you know that a simple coat of paint and an attractive front door can raise the perceived value and attractiveness of one's home, giving it a fresh, current look to prospective buyers? A freshly painted door adorned with a beautiful, decorative wreath can say "Welcome Home" before the buyers have even stepped foot inside the home...

4) Did you know that, because of the Sonyma loan offered through certain mortgage lenders, can assist buyers with 3% towards the down-payment of a new home? Which may not be to be paid back if the buyers are in the new house for 10 years or more....only a handful of lenders offer this program (mine does!) so pls contact me if you have any questions at all!

5) For-Sale-By-Owners beware: Did you know that every call made to a prospective buyer after his/her visit to your open house can cost you on average about $10,000 off of a subsequent offer amount? When you hire a realtor, he/she is EXPECTED to call prospective buyers after their open house visit. However, when the seller calls directly, the buyer prospect gains the advantage. Whomever receives the call typically has the advantage.

6) Kitchen Magic...according to a recent Newsday article by Maura McDermot title "What Buyers Want: Mint Condition," the kitchen is the main cosmetic selling point for a buyer. If the kitchen is drastically in need of renovation, a buyer sees multiple $$$'s and tends to over-estimate the cost of such renovation. So....if there's one feature to invest in, the kitchen might be it. If you can't part with the funds for such renovation, a price that's right may often be the attractive component you need to sell quicker.

7)The secret power of property taxes...did you know that, for every $1,000 in property taxes above or below your recommended pre-approved amount, your purchase power for a home is affected roughly $15,000.....so if you are pre-approved for a home for $400,000 with taxes at $10,000, then a home for $400,000 with taxes at $12,000 will actually lower your buying power for that home to $370,000.

8) Always know where the realtor's allegiances lie. Naturally, many prospective buyers believe that the listing agent for a home is working for the buyer if the realtor is meeting with them to show them his/her listing. However, the listing agent's fiduciary responsibility is always to his/her client, the seller. So in matters of purchasing a new home, it's always beneficial to procure the help of a buyer broker whose utmost responsibility to negotiate for YOU, the buyer.....which can always ease the  stress of the exciting yet challenging process of buying a home.

9) Oh Lawyers....a good real estate attorney is imperative to the success of any real estate transaction. I once heard that 80% of deals that fall through are due to the ineptness of an attorney involved in the process. Communication is one factor to consider: if an attorney takes more than two business days to return your phone call, strongly reconsider employing them.  A solid, reputable real estate attorney will make it a priority to return a client's phone call even if he/she is busy. Aren't we all busy at a given time?

10) Finally, to round off my top ten list, NEVER underestimate the value of a home your considering making an offer. For example, a previous client of mine pondered over whether to make an offer of a property in badly need of renovation, assuming that no one else would ever see the value in the house. Sure enough, another couple saw the property, the value, etc., and make a compelling offer while my buyer client's decided to play the waiting game. And they lost what they later referred to as "the one that got away." Bottom line: once you find a house you can see yourself making a home, consider the factors carefully as recommended, but move on the house in a timely fashion. Know that market we are currently in. If it's a sellers market, then there's more buyers than homes available...and the time you take to ponder every aspect of the process, another buyer could be making a move on the house that you may later refer to as "the one that got away."

Okay, I hope you found this helpful....stay tuned for another blog soon. Stay motivated, be informed, and BE MOVED.....