Bea's Blog

How could they?  We've worked together for over a year!  I sold them an awesome house for 20% under appraisal.  I found their parents perfect houses.  They've either bought or are under contract for several investment properties.  I even put one house under a sale contract in less than a month for full price. Do you know what they did??? 

They went to bat for ME with an online auction company!!  I found a perfect investment property for them.  The downside was I found it with three hours left to the auction.  Instructions required me to register as the buyers agent no less than 24 hours before the auction ending.  I missed the registration cutoff. 

I could have kept quiet.  No one knew about the auction except me.  But the house was perfect for what the client wanted:  price, condition, location.  But if I told my client...no commission for me. 

I immediately emailed him the information, then called him.  "Here is how you register.  I'm sorry, I can't do it for you but you can do it.  Let me know if you need help."   Low and behold, he was the high bidder!  I am genuinely happy for them.  It is a good investment opportunity as a rental, a good addition to the other properties. 

When the auction company contacted him, he told them to contact me - that I told him about the sale but couldn't register because of the cutoff.  He only knew about the property because of my efforts and to assign me to the file.  And to all of our surprise - they did!  The auction contacted me for my information and will include me on the transaction.

Now don't get all excited - this is one of those 1% commission companies.  But still...my client remembered he has an agent that takes care of him.  And he took care of me!

Thank you Mr Client.  I appreciate it.

AS-IS...you've seen the form.  We include it in many transactions - lender owned, short sales and even in regular sales particularly investor flips.  But what does it REALLY mean?

Well...Google found many references:

From Cyberhomes: said of property offered for sale in its present condition with no guarantees as to quality and no promise of repair or fix-up by the seller; property is purchased in exactly the condition in which it is found.

From Wikipedia: As is is a legal term used to disclaim some implied warranties for an item being sold. Certain types of implied warranties must be specifically disclaimed, such as the implied warranty of title.  "As is" denotes that the seller is selling, and the buyer is buying an item in whatever condition it presently exists, and that the buyer is accepting the item "with all faults", whether or not immediately apparent. This is the classic "buyer beware" situation, where the careful buyer should take the time to examine the item before accepting it, or obtain expert advice.

What does this mean for your buyer or seller?  It means...what they want it to mean at that moment!  For me, it depends on who I am representing at that time. 

When I represent the buyer, it is a form the listing agent/seller has included in the purchase contract requirements.  IF during our inspection, we find something that matters to the buyer I present it to the seller (be it a lender or private owner) for repairs.  Sometimes they will remedy it - and sometimes they come back with no, the property is sold AS-IS.  Then the decision is for the buyer to accept doing the repairs or canceling the offer.  As a buyers agent, it's worth asking.  Your buyers will love you if you get it accomplished.

When I represent the seller...I wait with baited breathe until the inspection period has passed! "WHAT DO YOU MEAN THEY WANT REPAIRS????  Didn't they sign an AS-IS???"   Uh, yes they did.  They'd like the following repairs authorized - will you do them or risk losing the sale?  Sometimes they are justified and sometimes they are just plain nit-picky.  "The door weatherstripping is worn and needs replaced or the AC filter is dirty and needs replacement"  REALLY???  Are you serious?

And sometimes, the seller needs to be reasonable and do the repairs to sell the property.  Case in point - a lender owned property with the dreaded "T" word (wood destroying organisms).  I wrote in the contract for the seller to treat.  Nope.  They countered back they would not.  Uhhh  HELLO - do you want to sell the property or not?  Depending on the type of financing, this could be a condition of the loan.  If you agree to treat, the property is no longer your responsibility, it has new owners and the neighborhood has one less vacant home.  Leave it vacant and you risk vandalism and theft.  Weigh the bottom line!

Either way, AS-IS really isn't!

And what exactly am I celebrating?  I'm celebrating the fact that I have been a REALTOR® for one whole year!  Woo Hoo and what an exciting year it's been.   In one of the worst housing markets on record, I went to real estate school, got my license and hit the ground running - and never looked back. 

In the past 363 days with Rox Real Estate, I have closed a total of 25 transactions.  Not bad for a newbie!  I'm rather proud of myself and my success so far.  I haven't decided which real estate market niche to call mine - I've done residential sales, rentals, commercial leases.  

Things I have learned along the way include in no particular order:

1.  There are no stupid questions, only stupid people who don't ask questions. 

2.  Work in an office where the other agents are there to answer your stupid questions.

3.  Work with a good broker!

4.  Not all agents have followed the first three points.  If you want to get the deal done, you have to do their jobs as well.

5.  Just when you think the deal is moving along smoothly, something WILL go wrong!

6.  Find a lender or two that share your goal of closing deals.  Working with professionals is AWESOME!

7.  Dot the "i" and cross the "t" in all your paperwork the first time.  It keeps your broker off your back!

8.  Do what you say you will, when you say you will.  People remember that.

9.  Be positive.  Things work out the way they are destined, karma and all that.  If your offer is not accepted - find another house!  There are lots of them out there.

10.  Don't be afraid to ask - you might get what you ask for.

During this past year, I've had the privilege of being part of the group working behind the scene in getting the agencies website optimized.  I now know more about SEO, key words and paid vs organic search than I ever thought possible!  It hasn't been easy, but the results are coming to fruition.

What advice would I give to another new agent?  Don't be afraid to work!  Work takes many forms - showing houses is just part of the equation.  Blogging, facebook, attending social and chamber functions - it's all part of work.  So is working weekends.  Great example - I was at the office earlier today.  The phone rang, so I answered it.  The caller was surprised (and pleased) that someone was there and answered the phone.  (Little did she know I was there cutting coupons before I went grocery shopping - but back to the story) We have emailed back and forth several times since then about a property!  I just may have a deal out of answering the phone. 

Am I bragging?  Perhaps a bit.  But the point to this post, make the best out of what you are given.  I know the economy sucks.  I know lenders have tightened lending rules.  I know housing prices are lower than a decade ago.  We can't change any of it.  So why spend my time worrying about what I can't change. Do what I'm doing - CELEBRATE each success.  Attitude is everything. 

So as a dear young girl once said - B+

I just received the latest, greatest email from Program 3648.  After watching the two minute video - I googled and came up with Elizabeth's very informative blog.  Her blog confirmed my suspicions.  So beware...they are still trying to fill those territories - so act now... 

I did... DELETE!

One Dollar... four quarters... one hundred pennies.  What can one dollar buy?  By itself, not much - a newspaper, a small burger or a bottle of water.  It takes lots of dollars to buy the bigger things in life like a car or a house.   It's the same when you make a donation.  Your single dollar doesn't do much by itself, but when you combine it with other dollars - you can accomplish your goal.   Isn't the power of compounding dollars amazing?

Meet Miss Reiley - I'm one of Reiley's Best Friends.  She is the cutest 4-year old.   She also has multiple life-challenging disorders.  Ready for a mouthful?? Reiley has Short-chain acyl-coenzyme A (CoA) dehydrogenase deficiency known by the acronym SCAD.  She is also a carrier for Mitochondrial complexes II and III.  Your bodies  mitochondria are the energy power plants in your body.  (Think gasoline for your car)  Without adequate energy stores available, your systems fail.  Her parents and her many doctors believe there is more going on within Miss Reiley than they've attached a name.  Since before her first birthday, Reiley has been 100% dependent on a g-tube inserted in her stomach to receive nutrition.  Her daily tube intake includes a veritable pharmacy of drugs.  She has had numerous surgeries and procedures done to first diagnosis and then attempt to treat her symptoms - most without success.  And through it all, her smile and personality light up the room!

Mitochondrial disease takes many forms including Diabetes, Parkinson's disease and is suspected in Autism.  It may be mild or it can be fatal. In every case, it impacts the patient and their family in so many ways - physical, emotional and financial.

I am asking 1,000 of my fellow Realtors® to donate $1 to The 1st Annual Energy for Life Walkathon.   Click on this link to go to my donation page:  Donate                 The Walkathon takes place December 19th at Kiwanis Park in Tempe Arizona. The money raised will go to funding research through the United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation.  There is no cure.  There is no treatment for all the Mito disorders.  There is only hope:  hope that one day children like Reiley are not given a death sentence at birth.

To learn more about Mitochondrial Disease, go to The United Mitochondrial Disease Foundation    It's only a dollar today...what can your dollar accomplish tomorrow?

PS:  Reiley's daddy is a C21 agent.   Here's a link the local newspaper did on Reiley and the walk.

Are auctions the new way to sell languishing lender owned inventory?  You see the ads on television for Auction.com, advertising paying pennies on the dollar for real estate.  In the next week, there are four auctions with three separate auction companies holding sales in our area.  Most are Fannie Mae properties, but not all.  Pulling the MLS listing on them shows they've been listed anywhere from 90 days to almost a year without offers.

An auction can be a daunting proposition for both buyers and their agents.  First - the big shocker for the agent...the commission.  Two of these companies (www.auction.com and www.williamsauction.com) compensate a licensed agent 1% of the transaction or $400 - whichever is greater.  WOO HOO - call an armored vehicle to take me to the bank!  The third one - www.hudsonandmarshall.com , gives an agent 2 or 2.5% depending on the property.  Each has very exact rules regarding registering your client to get paid.  If you don't do it correctly - kiss that big commission good bye!  When they say register 24 hours prior to the auction, they don't mean the day before.  They mean a MINIMUM of 24 hours and counting.  You also must accompany your client to the auction and check in with your client.  (Rules are slightly different for the on-line auctions, so read the rules!)  The good news - the auction house does all the paperwork.

Each auction house is different and reading the entire terms and conditions for each property your client is interested in bidding on is a must.  A buyer's premium is typical - the amount however varies.  Williams Auction uses either $3000 or 5% whichever is greater while Hudson and Marshall charges a straight 5%.  This is added to the highest bid.  All require earnest funds (cashiers check or cash) to be paid immediately after the auction.  All sales are as-is, where is.  And the big kicker...NO INSPECTION PERIOD after the sale.  As in, you better check things carefully during the open houses before the auction (and allow $$ for repairs after the sale) because there is no cancelling the purchase after the auction without losing your earnest funds as liquidated damages. 

The contracts I've seen call for close of escrow within 30 days and carry a per diem fee for delays.  There is no financing contingency either so you better have your money lined up prior to bidding or you will lose your earnest funds!  If you are financing - make sure there are no issues with the property that could kill your financing.  Getting an FHA or VA appraisal scheduled and closed within the 30 days may be difficult.  Go through the property and look carefully for items the appraiser would require fixed as a condition.  Remember, as-is/where is - there will be NO REPAIRS.  It might be better to pass on a property if you aren't sure.

One positive with buying a property at auction rather than trustee sale - you get a marketable title with title insurance.  All liens, HOA fees/assessments and back taxes are paid at escrow.  When you buy a trustee sale - you buy it with whatever baggage is on the title report.

My advise for anyone considering buying a property at auction - DO YOUR HOMEWORK!  Read all the terms and conditions, read the sample contracts.  Go to the open house and do the best inspection you can considering the constraints.  And pay attention to this comment:  DON'T get caught up in the excitement of the auction.  Set your top dollar price and don't go over.  Don't think "it's only $1000" because then it's 2...3...4,000 more than you should have spent.  And agents - have your comps ready!

Buyers can get a bargain buying at auction - but there are risks and you need to do your homework first!

The "Great Rock" (as in Rock Earle) sent me an email earlier that included the Swanepoel Social Media 10 Day Action Plan    ( Google it and Stefan Swanepoel)  16 pages of heavy reading on how social media is here to stay and you either learn how to use it as part of your business plan or face losing a significant part of your potential client base.   It's one of those white papers that make you think.

It's a lazy Sunday afternoon...so I responded with my satirical version of

The Cure: the Next 10 Days

Day 11: Go solo on everything you've implemented on days 1-10.                                                           The results are going to start rolling in any moment now...

Day 12 and Day 13: Spent 10 hours a day on social media.  You blog, tweet, look up friends from elementary school decades ago on Facebook.  You have 1000 friends, can you handle the anticipated volume of business?  Sit back and wait for results - the avalanche is about to start any moment now..

Day 14: Waiting for results, getting impatient...need results NOW!  You've had this FANTASTIC website for a week now...does it work?  To check it out, you create a fantasy person to spy on yourself.  It took you hours to come up with an alternative name and life history.  Your alters life is definitely more exciting than your own.

Day 15: Today you decide you need to work harder at Social Media.  You decide to spend 20 hours a day to working the Internet.  After all, according to experts all it takes is inputting comments, likes, tweets and connections on the various social media websites and the business is going to come rolling in faster than you can handle it.  

Day 16: Go to store to get Red Bull - if you are going to spend 20 hours a day in front of your computer, you need to stay awake.  You talk to the clerk at Quiktrip, get their contact info and rush home to friend them.  It's all about friends...you have to have more friends.  You start going through the white pages to see if you can find them online.  You are now up to 2000 friends, and a 1000 followers on Twitter.

Day 16: Massive power failure effects west coast.  OMG, they are predicting this to last at least a day.  A DAY??? NO COMPUTER for 24 hours - how are you to survive??  How is your business model going to survive?

Day 17: Whew.  Your computer is back - can you resurrect your missed connections?  WHAT HAPPENED TO MY FRIEND LIST?  IT'S GONE, deleted.  You contact tech support.  "We're so sorry.  Several accounts were inadvertently deleted.  You will need to start again.  Have a nice day"  You hang up and stand in the corner, staring at your computer screen until dark.

Day 19:  You wake up, sleeping on the floor.  You think to yourself "What happened to day 18?  What did I do?"  On a positive note - there is no blood on any of the sharp objects and the news is not reporting any suspicious incidents in your area.  It's a brand new day.  The sun is shining.  You take a walk and smell the flowers.  And with the new day...a new business plan - start a support group for those addicted to social media sites. Charge admission. In the back room, supply limited computer time to your junkie followers - label it "therapy". Make billions as the next best thing to Dr. Phil.

Day 20:  Oprah calls and wants you to be an adviser on her show!  You have achieved cult following.  To get your message to the masses, you need to set up a website...

We (mostly Rock) have been working for the past several months at positioning Rox Real Estate to be ready for the next phase of growth in our market area.  Websites (both overt and stealth), Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn - it's all there, both personal and professional.

We're ready for that next step.  Only - now what do we do?  Seriously - how do you move from concept to practical application in one fell swoop?  We're a veritable alphabet of knowledge:  IDX, SEO, and ftml are part of our everyday vocabulary.  The one thing we need to keep focused on - we're in this to sell real estate not design websites.  Stay tuned for the continuing saga...

  Yes, I'll admit it.  I'm a crazy couponer.  You know the type - you see them in line at the grocery store with a handful of coupons, buying several of the same item.  And it takes FOREVER for them to check out so you go to another cashier. 

I go overboard and drive people insane with coupons - especially my husband!  If it's on sale and I have a coupon for it AND IT'S FREE (or close to it) - I buy it. That's his favorite line "Why do we have 20 cans of chili?  Let me guess - it was free!"

A good example of my compulsiveness...last year, Cottonelle toilet tissue was $0.99 a 4pk, with a $0.50 coupon that our local grocery, Fry's Food & Drug, doubled, making it free.  I bought extra coupons (yes, you can do that) at www.thecouponclippers.com for $0.08 each.  Those plus what I printed from www.coupons.com - I ended up with about a hundred packages of TP for close to free!  My pantry and cabinets are stuffed with all sorts of things.  My daughter jokingly comes "shopping" at our house, knowing Mom has lots on hand. 

I get asked all the time is it worth the effort.  Do the math.  If I spend on average $100 a week on groceries and can save 10% or $10 a week - that works out to $520 a year or just over 5 free weeks of groceries!  And by buying only items on sale (exclusing perishables that you purchase each week), you get more bang for your shopping buck.

We also have a large freezer and stock up on meat, margarine and butter and other items like cheese when they are on sale.  I'd rather buy 30 pounds of chicken breast at $1.69lb than buy it one package at a time for $3.99lb.  

So the next time you show a house with a large pantry - keep us fanatics in mind!  I know lots of couponers that can fill that space in no time.

Rock and "Woman"  (she's going to kill you by the way if she reads that!) are always wonderful, convivial hosts.  I won't regal you with the tale of Christmas light celebrations (or is it libations?) at his humble abode - it didn't end well for yours truly. 

On a serious note - Rock hit it solid.  Winter visitors in general and Canadian visitors in specific are a vital part of our local economy.  Many retailers in Casa Grande are looking with much anticipation to their migration to our community. The winter visitor or "snowbird" pump a considerable amount of money into our area, ranging from the obvious restaurants and groceries to the not so obvious doctors offices and auto mechanics.

So to all Winter Visitors - Welcome back to your Southern home!

.  Do you carry a toolbox in your trunk? I do.  Not only would it come in handy on the road - I use something out of it weekly while showing homes.  The most common item - the tape measure!  How many times have you had your client say "Hmmm, how big is this room?"  My response, "just a sec and we'll find out".  It never fails to impress my buyers when I get the tape measure!

Other items I carry:  wrenches for turning on and off those stubborn water valves, assorted screw drivers, pliers, hammer and the universal fix all - duct tape! 

Two other items in my box of tricks - a flashlight (some of these houses are DARK without electricity!) and a black light flashlight.  Huh?  Why a black light?  I was showing an investor a fixer that reeked of ammonia.  Was it animal urine or a meth house?  A quick pass of the black light had that carpet glowing!  Even pulling up a corner of the carpet showed the urine had soaked the pad and concrete.  He knew to factor in new carpet and concrete sealing into the cost of rehabing the place.  No amount of carpet cleaning was going to remove that odor. 

My latest purchase - a small three step ladder!  I'm sure the longer I'm in this business, the more tools of the trade I will accumulate.  What's in your toolbox?