For Sale

Is  this you?  Your house has been on the market for two and one half months.  You’ve been a good member of the Clean Counter Club but it’s getting harder and harder to do it everyday.  Days get interrupted.  Dinners are interrupted.  Saturday open houses.  Sunday open houses.  Keeping the house picked up is a chore.  Keeping the toys off the floor is almost impossible now.  Keep the kids clean?  It’s summer and oh, so impossible to do!   Is the laundry done?  Forget it.   The newscasters keep saying the real estate market has slowed to a trickle but appears to be rebounding.  But where, it doesn’t appear to be happening here in Burlingame.   You’re worried you home won’t sell.   And then….

Your Agent calls you one night and says,  “We have an offer coming in.”   He calls again in the morning and says,  “We are getting a second offer.”  You’re very excited.  Two offers!  Then he tells you that he wants the offers faxed into his office so he can select the best one of the two, and then he’ll come over and show it to you.  This is a RED FLAG Warning! Stop.  Do Not Pass Go. Do not let your agent do this.  This is why.

A Buyer’s Agent has a fiduciary duty to her client to present their offer to the seller in person. That way the Agent can tell you, the seller, about her clients, about what their offer is, and to be there to negotiate the best deal possible for you and her client.  A Listing Agent who does not want to have the other agent present their offer to you in person could be trying to hide something.  It might be financial or it might be insecurity in showing you how poor they are in negotiating.  It makes no difference.  It’s bad for you. And that agent might be in violation of the National Association of Realtors ethics rules.

In our area part of our offer consists of an Agency Agreement and the Contract.  Prior to presenting the contract we present the Agency Agreement that has been signed by our Buyers and me, their agent.  At the time I present an offer I sign this agreement, date it, put the time I am presenting this offer to you, the seller and  I then ask you to sign, date, and place the time you are hearing my presentation.  Our contract also has a place for you to sign a rejection of my offer, should you do so.

If the Listing Agent either refuses to let me present my offer directly to you, or is unable to do this because you are not in the immediate area, I try to present to him in person.  I sign the Agency, date it and time it and expect to receive it back with the Seller’s signature, date and time.  I need this back whether or not we prevail with the contract.  I can not tell you how many times I have had to call and call and call and beg to receive my Agency and Contract returned to me because they refused to let me present to their clients in person.  I am required to have these two documents for my files and to show my Buyer’s that I have, indeed, presented their offer.

So, Dear Seller, don’t let your Listing Agent suggest that you don’t need to have a face-to-face presentation and listen to  any of the offers that the Buyer’s Agents bring to you.  In fact, if the prospective buyers come along, don’t be afraid to meet them and listen to their story.  You might find that they are very much like you and just the people you would like to buy your home.  And even if they are not, you will know that you’ve done the right thing.

Remember selling your house is a financial decision and you need to treat it like one.  After all, we all want the same thing for you and that’s to see a Sold sign in front of your home.

Okay, I know I am prejudiced about this but I just don’t understand why while searching for properties online that I see listings with no photo available by the listing agent.  If it bugs me does it bug you?  Do you even want to go see a property in person if you can’t inspect in online first?  I know my clients don’t like it so I must assume that other agents don’t like it and the general public doesn’t either.  Am I wrong here?

I personally think agents are just lazy when they don’t upload any pictures with their listing.  Today, digital cameras are downright cheap to buy, easy to use and a snap to upload pictures to the web.  Our local MLS has made it really simple to do, too. So why don’t agents do it?  Are they from the Old School, where they expect someone else to come out and take the picture for them? (Yes, this was a good business for someone until quite recently, in fact.)

If you are searching online for a home, how important is it for you to see pictures?

I think most people fall into the first category but occasionally I do find someone in the second category.  On the other hand, if I am working with a Senior buyer, the third category is where they often land because many of them do not use computers in their daily lives so when I take them to show prospective homes that is the first time they will have seen it.

So dear reader, where do you fall in the need to see a picture online?  Mandatory?   Important?   Or,  Who Cares?  Fill in a comment and let me know what you think.  Is a picture worth a thousand words?  And, yes these two empty pictures do come from listings.  One is off of Infolink’s reil.com and the other from realtor.com.   There is no need to say which listings these are from because you, too, can find your own set of  empty houses just for your own curiousity.  They’re out there everywhere.

One of the things I’m really noticing is listings that are Bank Owned and the agent isn’t local.  It appears that they just can’t drive to San Mateo County to snap those pictures of the house.  The other thing that’s interesting to me is when a property has been listed for a long, long, long, long time and there aren’t any pictures.  Not even one of the front of the property.  Nada, zippo, nothing.  Guess why that listing is hanging around for so long?  I’ll bet it’s the lack of pictures.  But where is the owner of that property?  Don’t they look at their listing online?  Aren’t they aware that their listing has no picture?  Maybe not. Maybe the fact that No Photo Available sits where their home’s picture should sit aren’t bothered.  Too bad.

This gets me back to A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words, or maybe a thousand dollars, or more.  I can’t help but believe that the seller isn’t losing money by having a lazy agent.  If they can’t shoot pictures I wonder what else can’t they do for their seller to protect them?  Makes me not want to do business with them!

Mistake Number 1

Over-Pricing. It’s so easy to think your home is worth more than it really is today.  The peak of the real estate market was in January 2006, not today in May 2008.  We are at the bottom of the market so pricing your home correctly is really important if you really want to  sell it.  Be flexible when an offer comes in.  Don’t take the offer personally.  This is a business transaction and the best deals allow both the seller and the buyer to feel good about it.

How do you determine a reasonable listing price?  Let your agent give you the statistics on all homes sold in your area for the past 60 to 90 days.  You need to look at how long the houses were listed (Days on Market), the list price, the actual sales price, and how long it took to sell.  You need to do some homework, too.  I like to take my clients on a field trip looking at every house for sale in the area with the eyes of a buyer, and compare what they have versus what your home has.  This is a brutal test for you, but really will help you remove yourself emotionally from your home. Remember, this is a business transaction.

Mistake Number 2

Negligent Housekeeping. Come on now, take a critical look at your home and really look at what needs to be done.  Is your shower clean, with white grout and no mold anywhere in the bathrooms?  Are the walls freshly painted?  Is your home cluttered with too much furniture, books, toys, and junk?  Time to clear it out.  I’ve written a lot about clutter and how to get rid of it.  How does your furniture look?  Is the upholstery clean?  If not, buy an inexpensive cover for your sofa and chairs, and watch how it freshens up the look of the room!  Do you need new carpet?  Buy new, neutral colored carpet for the entire house.  Anything you buy to enhance your home for sale is tax deductible.  Get to it!

Buyers need to be able to envision themselves living in your home so a good objective look at how it is today is very important.  If you can afford it, a stager can come in and help you make your home “buyer friendly”.  A stager can use your own items, moving things around from room to room, or have you clear out furniture and bring in their own. Stagers try to keep a home neutral in feeling so it will appeal to the largest number of potential buyers.

Mistake Number 3

Failing to Fix-It.  Buyers, unless they are really looking to buy a fixer-upper, prefer to move into a home that is in perfect, or near perfect condition.  If they have to fix the roof, replace the carpet, sand the hardwood floor and have it stained, or put in new appliances, they may not want to buy your home.  In fact, they may not want to even stay in it to really look at.  Fix everything that you can before it is listed.  Have a property inspection and a pest inspection before putting it on the market, and fix the problems that are mentioned in the reports.  Then have the inspectors come back a second time and give your home a clean bill of health.  Spending the money before you sell, will put more money into your pocket at the close of your escrow.  Replace appliances.  Put in new carpet, new flooring, new tile.  You will see an ROI, when you get that Return On your Investment.

Mistake Number 4

Not Identifying Exclusions.  This can be the cause of a contention just at the most critical point in the sale.  Be sure to specify all sales considerations or exclusions from the sale such as light fixtures, appliances, the flat screen TV that is on the wall in the Family Room.  Rule of thumb, anything affixed to the house stays with the house.  That includes curtain rods, light fixtures, appliances or fixtures.  If you don’t want to sell it with the house, it must be notated in the listing agreement.  Better yet, that chandelier you spent a huge amount of money for?  Take it down and replace it with another one before you list the house.  As for the flat screen?  If it means the difference between a ratified contract and the buyer walking?  You can always buy a new flat screen but you might not find a new buyer offering you the same money.

Mistake Number 5

Misunderstanding the Agent Agreement. If you do not understand the Listing Agreement, ask questions before you sign it.  Your agent is your advocate but you must understand what is expected from her and what she expects from you, too.  Take time to have your Realtor explain every document you must fill out and sign.  Question fees before you list, not after.  You are selling your home and you want the best Realtor out there who works for a quality brokerage.  Ask. Ask. Ask.  What will your agent do to market your home?  What will it cost to stage your home?  How much do those inspections cost?  Can these things be paid for out of your escrow?

Take time to ask questions.  Be satisfied with the answers.  Check references, if you dont know the agent.  A good Realtor doesn’t mind this, and will be there to answer all questions.  Finally, when you do have your home on the market, do not stay in it during showings.  Do not talk to potential buyers.  They don’t want to see you, and they sure don’t want to hear your sales pitch.

After you have a ratified agreement, if the buyer’s ask to talk with you about the little quirks of your home, show them how to turn on the sprinkler system, or what you need to do to winterize your home.  Those little tips are important to the new owner.  Some sellers even leave a list of local tradesmen who have worked on their home, along with babysitter names, and good restaurants.  Its like a welcome package to the buyer, especially if they are new to your community.

We don’t usually see too many new listings come on the MLS the final weeks of the year but there are a
few.  There are also a lot of serious buyers out there and, drum roll please, there’s a boat load of money for lending.  Stop believing the mainstream press and talk to your lender.  If your FICO score is above 670, you have cash in the bank, a good job(s), get to a lender and talk.  Believe it or not, if you fit a specific profile, they are still providing 100% loans but you must fit the criteria.

There are some really good buys and prices have definitely come down in many areas of San Mateo.  I
can’t say if this will hold for 2008, but if you want to buy a house, and not a condo or townhouse, you might very well find one right now if you  look.  I am seeing some great houses at prices we haven’t seen in a couple of years.  If you don’t have an agent of your own, give us a call.  We are here to help you throughout the buying process.

No one really knows what to expect in 2008.  We think the market will stay somewhat flat, with some
appreciation, maybe 3-5%.  We haven’t see a lot of foreclosures in San Mateo, at least so far, and if you want to wait for them to come on the market don’t expect to see dramatic reductions in price.  The banks are in the business of making and lending money and they do not want to sell their foreclosures at a dramatic loss.  If you want to try and buy one, you must have cash in the bank and be prepared to
find a house that might need a lot of work.  If you like to gamble like that, then more power to you.  If you don’t, now’s the time to buy.  The market in San Mateo will probably not drop much more.  Don’t miss this window of opportunity!

Black or White ying-yang

It is said that most people make a snap judgment about something within 10
seconds of first seeing it.  That especially goes for reactions to houses.  You either like it or you don’t.  Color choices in houses can be a real turn off to people.  I think everyone has seen rooms in bright, obnoxious colors and wondered, “what were they thinking?”  One persons love of color is another persons disdain.  Love and hate are exact opposites.

The other day I saw a child’s room painted in primary colors, red,
yellow and green on the walls with blue paint on the ceiling.  It was really cute but what I thought of immediately what how hard it will be to repaint that ceiling white, the color of choice for most
people.  How about the girl’s room painted in Barbie pink?  What happens if the next buyer only has boys?  Will your choice of color turn off prospective buyers?

Color Wheel

Can color mask things in a house or enhance them?  Is color a turn off or turn on?  It depends. Color is great but sometimes we have to moderate its intensity with shades a bit less intense.  Decorators use color to enhance a room
but the entire room isn’t all bright color there are neutrals to offset
the effect.  Sometimes color can be used as an accent only on one wall.  Sometimes its best to go neutral.  What ever you do, don’t go stark white.  Pick a soft color such as cream walls and white trim, or pale gray and white trim — very sophisticated!  Greens are very soothing on the walls and have become a neutral, too.

If you think you might consider selling your house in the near future take a long hard look at it.  What colors have you used on the walls?  If they are bright or considered outside of the norm, repaint the walls to more neutral tones.  If you’re not sure what colors to choose go out on
Sundays and look at open houses.  After a few weekends looking around you’ll get a good idea of what’s being selected and then copy that.

After all, don’t you want that first reaction, the one within the first 10 seconds, to be positive?
Don’t you want people to comment how they can see themselves in your house?  Sure you do.  Paint is an inexpensive fix to any house or room.  Within a couple of hours you can change the entire feeling of a room.  Painting can be fun, too.  Well chosen colors will sell your house.

1. The Two Year Rule.
   If you haven’t used it in the past two years it’s time to give it away, sell it or toss it.  Unless the item has significant value to you, get rid of it.
2. Be Selective In What You Keep.
   Sentimental value is subjective.  Wedding dress?  Have it professionally preserved and keep it.  High School Letterman jacket?  Really now, what do you need it for?  Toss it.  The kids toys?  If they have out grown them and you don’t plan on having more kids, out they go.  Toys take up a lot of space but if it is special and handmade by Grandpa, keep it to pass on to your children’s children.
3. One in and One out.
   Buying something new?  Toss something old.  This is especially true in the bedroom closet so when you go shopping keep in mind what your closet holds that you are replacing and replacing means
   giving the old item a new home.  Outside of yours.
4. Storage Options for More Space.
   Find items for storage that serve dual purposes like a coffee table with drawers under it, or an ottoman that opens up to hold things.  The space under most beds is sitting empty and there are
   many different kinds of storage containers designed to sit under the bed and hold out of season clothing or bedding, toys and other items you use infrequently but annually.
5. Organize in Small Increments, One Room at a Time.
   If you have a house full of stuff that needs to be removed it will seem overwhelming unless you take small bites room by room, or even area by area.  Tackle the smallest room first.  Once you’re done move on to the next room and so forth.  The garage is generally the hardest and most cluttered space in a San Mateo County home.  Tackle that last.  DO NOT move things from your house into the
   garage.  You must be brutally honest in your selection of things to toss.

The, hopefully large group of items that you want to sell, can be sold through a garage sale, Craigslist, eBay or yahoo auction.  Post it on Smalltown, a website for our local communities.

If you want to donate your items, I like to give things to PARCA, but there are many charities and non-profits in San Mateo County that need items.  You help someone in need and clean out your clutter.  What’s better?

The average home built in the US in 1970 is about 1400 square feet.  Most of the homes in Foster City
were built around then.  The homes in San Mateo built after WWII are around 1000 square feet unless added on to.  Burlingame homes were built in the early 1900′s on up and unless the house is fairly new
your square footage is about 1800 if you’re lucky.  We all need to reduce consumption and make room for our daily lives.  Won’t you join me in my effort to do this?  Let me know how you’re doing and what you are giving away.

If you need more space you need to de-clutter.  Clutter and space go hand in hand.  Today and
tomorrow I will introduce some simple tips on how to get your space issues under control.

1. Let’s pretend that you’re moving.
   If you were, you would be taking a long and hard look at your clutter and deciding what you can keep in order to move it, give away or sell, or throw out.  You must, must, must be hard core about this!
   Do you really need all of those books?  How about multiple appliances you never use?
2. Keep only what you love.
   You must sit down and ask yourself the following question,  “Do I really have to keep this?”  If the answer is “No.” get rid of it.  Sell it, give it away, or throw it out.
3. Less is More.
   Less stuff is more time.  Less to clean, less to organize, less to put away.  Less makes your house feel bigger.
4. Containers are your best friend. The easiest way to organize your house is with containers.  The Container Store is a great place to shop.  Find  boxes to store the items you love and want to keep.  Cubbies for the kids toys, clothing, art are easy to use and helpful in teaching them how to put things away. Baskets are useful and come in an assortment of sizes and shapes.  Target, Michael’s, and Jo-Anne’s are great places to find these locally and with super prices.
5. Put things away when done with them.
   Everything has its place and you must be diligent about returning itemsonce finished with them.  When you do this, you create order in your house and your life.

Tomorrow I’ll give you five additional tips to help control your life, and your space issues.  Less really is more!

The first question I have is do you have Hardwood floors?  If yes, what condition are they in or do
you even know?  If you don’t, is your home carpeted?  What’s under the carpet, hardwood,  plywood sub-flooring or cement slab?  How can you find out without yanking up the carpet?  Ah ha, that’s simple.  If you happen to have heat registers in the floor, pull up the register plate and gently lift up the carpet and pad
around the cutout.  What do you see?  If it’s plywood then you know what you have.  If you don’t have that, then pick a corner inside a closet and gently pull the carpet and pad back to see what’s there.  Often closets are left uncarpeted as a cost savings so you will know that way.

Today, people like hardwood floors and they like to see them in good condition, well cared for and shining
bright.  Refinished floors are a great sales point and a good ROI if your home is also updated in some of the ways I’ve talked about previously.  Is it worth it to install them if you don’t have them?  No, no, and no.  Refinishing floors runs in the low 4 figures.  Installing wood floors is two to three times that.  Unless your home is completely remodeled don’t consider it for the entire house.  If you really like the idea do it in the Living Room and Dining Room only.  Otherwise, what should you do?

Carpet must be clean and in good condition.  Nothing looks and makes a home appear more uncared for than dirty, worn carpeting.  Replace it with a neutral color.  Unless it’s an expensive Burber avoid that
kind of weave, as it looks cheap.  There are many place to go to for carpet from Lowes, to Home Depot, to Costco, to your local floor and carpet store, who often meets or beats the big discounters.  Shop carefully and work with you Realtor in selecting the best product for your home.

What about Kitchen flooring?  What’s there now?  Is it vinyl, tile or hardwood?  What’s the condition?  If you’ve painted and replaced appliances then follow up with a new floor.  Neutral vinyl is best and most affordable
proving the best ROI.  Bathrooms are either tile or vinyl and do show wear and tear.  Before replacing those floors make sure you have no issues with dry rot.  It’s a good time to get that pest inspection, just to be sure.  If there are issues, the sub-floor will need replacement along with the flooring materials already
there.  Replacing a tile bathroom floor is expensive so talk with your Realtor to decide the best way to go on that one.

The best ROI’s in flooring are the things that you, too, want to see in the new home you’ll be buying.  Clean floors, be they carpet or wood, tile or vinyl are immediately seen by prospective buyers.  They are one of the first things seen when someone enters your home.  By shopping carefully, you can find good solutions to your floors and enhance your property.  Do these things just prior to listing your home.  Floors scratch, carpet gets dirty, and buyers love “new”, so do your floors last.

Have you seen pictures that are out of focus?   You know, the kind where you take off your glasses with the hope the picture will look better?  Or, how about the one with the toilet seat up, or the one with a bunch of junk thrown into the bathtub and seen through the closed glass doors?  We do see those.  And how about the dirty kitchen?  Yes, dishes on the counter, food out, mess everywhere.  What are they thinking?

Then the ones with furniture as the focus of the shot.  Are we looking to buy a house or a sofa?  I sent him one of a skylight. Yes, that was the picture and it came from a local Realtor.  It’s funny.  It’s sad.  It’s really a disservice to the seller of the home.  One of the things we as Realtors are asked to do is Market the House.  Pictures are a big part of it.  What’s so hard about taking good pictures?  If you can’t hire a professional photographer!

Bad pictures go along with my complete dismay when a listing goes into the MLS and has no pictures and the agent is too lazy to provide them even weeks into the listing.  I did a survey on that one and 100% of the Realtors I checked with will not show the property and 75% of the buyers aren’t interested in looking at it.  Why should they?  If the agent can’t take pictures of the house why should we go see it?  It’s the same thing for bad pictures.  If the pictures are out of focus how can we figure out what things look like and why should be show the property?

Call Us

I received a call today from a former client. It’s the kind of all all
agents get, and don’t like.  We had gone over the hill to see him
last week because he has taken a  job in an east coast city and needs to put his house on the market.  He has one fabulous house with unobstructed views of the coast and a huge lot.  He sunk in over a half a million dollars in landscaping.  Remember my comments on ROI in updating your home for selling in my earlier post this week?  This is one ROI not likely to happen.  He spent the money because he didn’t think he was going to move from this house for many years so it seemed like a good investment at the time. Little did he know that a job offer would come that couldn’t be turned down.  So he wanted to talk about listing his property.

We presented a CMA (Competitive Marketing Analysis) on his home last week.  I had spent many hours preparing this CMA, researching what’s going on over the hill on the coast, looking a comparable homes
in person, and felt I had a very good feel of the market at the moment we were meeting.  I told him what I thought it should list at.  The price I gave hadn’t been arrived at in a vacuum, but with the help of conversations with other agents selling in that market and my experience as an agent.  He felt the price was way, way to low.  He wanted to recapture his ROI on the money he spent on landscaping.  Granted, the yard is amazing with blue flagstone patios, an outdoor kitchen, outdoor fireplace and spa area but it was
just completed last year.  He admitted that had he thought they’d be moving they might not have done such a grand job but they did what they did.  It wasn’t done with the idea of a resale in the near future it was done because it was what they wanted to live with.

We had several conversations this past week. He told me that other agents were telling him that he could get as much as $1 million more than what I had first suggested listing the home for.  He said he couldn’t believe the large spread agents were telling him and he was having a hard time grasping this spread.  I told him that we could list the house at the price he first threw out to me and see if anyone came to see it at that price.  If no showings, we lower the price.  But, there is always a danger in doing this.  The big danger in doing this is you might need to keep lowering the price i until you finally find a seller.  Then everyone wonders what’s
wrong with the property when you do this.  There is another option of course and that is to hold your price and hold it, and hold it, and hold it until the market meets it.  That can take a year or two if you’re able to hold out. But no one is likely to show an old property much.

The call this morning was to tell me he had listed his home with another agent for $1,000,000 more than I had suggested.  When this happens it is usually because an agent is able to tap into what the prospective seller wants to hear and to over promise.  I wish them both much luck in selling this home.  I told him as much.  Perhaps I am dead wrong on where this amazing property should be priced at, but something deep inside of me tells me I am not wrong and he will likely have to make months and months of payments on a home sitting empty waiting for someone to want it.

What this tale is all about is that pricing high is not always the best way to go.  Sometimes it is best to price where the market tells you to be,  not where you hope the market will be.  After all, if you are serious about selling your home for the highest ROI, listen carefully to what the agents tell you and try, try as hard as you can to be objective.  Many agents out there will tell you just what you want to hear and not what you need to hear.  Selling a home is an emotional process just like buying one is.  Selling is also very disruptive to your life but if you want to get it done in the shortest possible time, don’t over price it.  Price it right and it will sell fast.  Price it high so you might be able to recapture your ROI and you just might find it sitting on the market for a very long time.  Then you won’t think about a ROI you’ll think about getting it sold so you don’t have double payments.