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We can all agree that real estate is all about relationships.
We attempt to persuade our personal circles of family, friends and acquaintances to locate our next deal. We spend time and money working those relationships. And for most of us, I'd say it's a natural talent; We are, by and large, a group of "People-Persons." In Santa Cruz, Realtors can be found everywhere working their sphere.
Yep, take an informal poll. I'd bet big money that 80 percent of the agents are extroverts,outgoing,very public, fun and flashy -- it doesn't matter which personality profile test you use, the results are always the same.
We've never met a stranger and we love a good party. Someone once described us and the group who start dancing when it is dark and the light from the refrigerator comes on. I may make fun of the bright lipstick, big jewelry and flashy cars, but that's only because I can see the humor in my own choices.
What I was going to talk about was the fine line we have to walk when it comes to working with close family and friends. Some people seem quite able to walk the tightrope without the fear of a fall. Their fear of a friendship ruined or a family member using another Realtor is buried in the depths of their subconscious.
Take the agent who meets friends on Thursday to show property, and then is spending the next week with the same friends at a lakeside resort.
I'm pretty sure I could do one or the other of those things really well, but not both. I'll be honest. Given the same scenario, I'd have a hard time deciding when work time was over (is it ever?) and when fun time started. Would it be okay to skip the Saturday afternoon showing only to meet the same folks later at a BBQ?
Would they want to discuss the homes we while eating chips and salsa? Would we drink beer and eat popcorn out of the same bucket? Can we both turn off "work mode" at the same time? What if one of us wants to dance to that refrigerator light and the other just wanted a mid night snack, while we are at the house by the lake?
Under normal work requirements I am "on" all the time. But when the line between work and and real life is fuzzy, I can't turn off "work mode" until everything we do during a transaction is complete. When you are my client and we are together it is for one reason and one reason only.
I admit it, when I first started my career selling real estate in Santa Cruz I went through times of great stress when I found out someone I knew and loved had decided not to work with me when selling or buying their Santa Cruz home. There were hurt feelings and phone hang ups. After all I felt, if they referred me business-why would they then not use me for my professional services themselves? If I referred then business wouldn't they want to use me when the time came. Evidently not.
Now that I am a seasoned Santa Cruz Realtor, I get it, it makes sense and I understand the line between friends and business. I am okay with it, actually I am very okay with it. Call me I can refer you a great agent that will not be hanging out with you in our free time, eating chips or dancing with us to the light of the frig.
Are you interested in Santa Cruz Real Estate,Buying or Selling Homes in Santa Cruz? Feel free to email me at Contact Me and I will be happy to provide you with information,listings and a FREE market analysis.
Friday, June 17, 2011
Friday, June 3, 2011
Faster better smoother..
There's one BIG change that would make the Santa Cruz Real Estate recovery faster, smoother and more vigorous. All short sales should be at pre-approved prices. They shouldn't be allowed to go into the multiple listing service until the banks have agreed to the price, terms and conditions -- including and especially how deficiencies and seller contributions will be handled.
Why? Because we have too many willing and able buyers who get their hopes up and then are trapped in a short-sale contract, with slim chances of successfully owning the house. Unless the Santa Cruz buyer is in contract on multiple houses, they're out of the market waiting for something that probably won't happen.
Having multiple contracts hurts the sellers, as these buyers are going to drop out as soon as one of their "deals" comes together. Massive time and energy is being spent by Santa Cruz real estate agents, with little chance of success.
The strategic default problem would be reduced if the Santa Cruz sellers knew that they'd be foreclosed on quickly. They're taking advantage of the prospect of making out better by doing a short sale. They're the most likely to have the banks requesting funds from the seller, or refusal to waive deficiency judgment -- terms that the seller will probably turn down, anyway.
If we knew in advance that the seller was truly qualified for a short sale, that the bank didn't have some other agenda, and was motivated to not get the property back in foreclosure, then I'd be happy to bring my strongest Santa Cruz buyers to the short-sale deal. Meanwhile, the real buyers are fighting over the REOs (bank-owned properties), flips and equity transactions, of which there are actually too few.
Prices keep falling because the short-sale agents are listing at 5 to 10 percent below comps in order to try to get an offer, and often are accepting offers at even less. The banks come back at a higher price, and then the buyer walks. The downward momentum has been coming from the short sales, not from the REO listings.
It would be nice if the banks would just do as suggested, or the government forces them to do it. The reality is that the real estate community is going to have to tell the banks that we're not going to facilitate their craziness any longer.
We'll take the listings, we'll process the short sale to approval or denial, but we won't put it on the MLS or tie up a buyer, or spend money to advertize and promote it until we know there's actually a huge chance that a closing could take place.
That was the premise, and the promise of the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA), but HAFA has been just as big of a joke as the way we do it now.
Let's only sell houses that can actually, really, truly be bought. If the banks can dictate to us that they won't even consider a short sale till there's an offer, then we ought to be able to dictate to them that we won't look for an offer without a pre-approval of the sale.
Are you interested in Santa Cruz Real Estate,Buying or Selling Homes in Santa Cruz? Feel free to email me at Contact Me and I will be happy to provide you with information,listings and a FREE market analysis.
Why? Because we have too many willing and able buyers who get their hopes up and then are trapped in a short-sale contract, with slim chances of successfully owning the house. Unless the Santa Cruz buyer is in contract on multiple houses, they're out of the market waiting for something that probably won't happen.
Having multiple contracts hurts the sellers, as these buyers are going to drop out as soon as one of their "deals" comes together. Massive time and energy is being spent by Santa Cruz real estate agents, with little chance of success.
The strategic default problem would be reduced if the Santa Cruz sellers knew that they'd be foreclosed on quickly. They're taking advantage of the prospect of making out better by doing a short sale. They're the most likely to have the banks requesting funds from the seller, or refusal to waive deficiency judgment -- terms that the seller will probably turn down, anyway.
If we knew in advance that the seller was truly qualified for a short sale, that the bank didn't have some other agenda, and was motivated to not get the property back in foreclosure, then I'd be happy to bring my strongest Santa Cruz buyers to the short-sale deal. Meanwhile, the real buyers are fighting over the REOs (bank-owned properties), flips and equity transactions, of which there are actually too few.
Prices keep falling because the short-sale agents are listing at 5 to 10 percent below comps in order to try to get an offer, and often are accepting offers at even less. The banks come back at a higher price, and then the buyer walks. The downward momentum has been coming from the short sales, not from the REO listings.
It would be nice if the banks would just do as suggested, or the government forces them to do it. The reality is that the real estate community is going to have to tell the banks that we're not going to facilitate their craziness any longer.
We'll take the listings, we'll process the short sale to approval or denial, but we won't put it on the MLS or tie up a buyer, or spend money to advertize and promote it until we know there's actually a huge chance that a closing could take place.
That was the premise, and the promise of the Home Affordable Foreclosure Alternatives program (HAFA), but HAFA has been just as big of a joke as the way we do it now.
Let's only sell houses that can actually, really, truly be bought. If the banks can dictate to us that they won't even consider a short sale till there's an offer, then we ought to be able to dictate to them that we won't look for an offer without a pre-approval of the sale.
Are you interested in Santa Cruz Real Estate,Buying or Selling Homes in Santa Cruz? Feel free to email me at Contact Me and I will be happy to provide you with information,listings and a FREE market analysis.
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