THOUGHTS ON REAL ESTATE Wednesday, November 23, 2011 A stunning Steveston Sunset in NovemberTHOUGHTS ON REAL ESTATE Tuesday, July 5, 2011 Some of the nicest people I know, I have never even met!Yesterday was an exciting day for one of my clients. She took possession of her first home – a cute condo in Surrey! My buyer client has only been in Canada for about 2 years from Eastern Europe. I started to write this post about my client but it isn’t really about her – it’s about the sellers of the condo. I have never met them and chances are I never will but I think they are the kind of people I would like to know. A very simple and thoughtful act on their part made the experience for my client one of those moments of magic.
![]() When we got into the condo on possession, the sellers had left a beautiful flower arrangement and a card welcoming my buyer to her new home and they hope that she will be as happy there as they were. It’s a small act but one not seen very often. Many times the only thing left behind is garbage or mail. It was a nice "welcome home". THOUGHTS ON REAL ESTATE Monday, June 13, 2011 I didn't see that in the photos!I was out with a buyer couple the other day looking for their first starter detached home. We had picked out a few homes that seemed to have potential and arranged to view. It's not always easy to tell from the photos online what you will drive up to. The pics of the interior of one home looked very nice, clean and updated. However, when we drove up to the property the first thing we see is a neglected front yard with overgrown grass, hedges in serious need of a trim, weeds. Just so umkempt it looked like the sellers didn't want anyone to come and have a look! The difficult part is that the buyer's form an opinion about the home before they even get out of the car.
The assumptions made, whether correct or not, is that the seller hasn't taken care of the inside either. First impressions go a long, long way and can colour the rest of the experience. The house maybe perfectly fine but the curb appeal (front and/or back) is questionable.
Getting your yard ready for sale is important to improve your chances of a quicker sale and for better dollars. If you don't like yardwork or don't have time, hire a neighbour's kid or a local yard maintenance company to deal with the lawn and cut back overgrowth. The investment will be well worth it. A few baskets with a splash of colour in the spring/summer/fall are easy to come by and just require strategic placement. You don't need to do a lot - it just needs to look neat and cared for. A trim yard speaks volumes to buyers about how you care about the property you are selling.
THOUGHTS ON REAL ESTATE Thursday, June 9, 2011 It's not always goodThere are occassions more often than not in this profession where things just don't seem to pull together like they should or as they appear that they will. There is a high level of disappointment and frustration for buyers and sellers that comes with offers that fall apart, unaccepted offers, failure to remove or to not have subjects removed on a property. The stress can be enormous as the expectations and emotional investment are generally high.
So much of real estate transactions come down to time and the ability of both parties to be able to fulfill the terms and conditions set out in moving toward the purchase of a home. Contracts are intended to be written to give all parties the best protection during the process. But no one can protect what you feel and how you experience the outcome. It can be devastating to lose the house of your dreams because your current home hasn't sold or the buyer is unable to remove the subjects to complete the sale. Sometimes, as the buyer there is a failure to get financing or there are just too many issues with the home to safely make the purchase.
None of this feels good.
One of the best ways to mitigate the emotional process is to develop an open and honest relationship with your realtor. It's important from the beginning to talk about expectations, possible challenges, dreams, plans, goals etc so that your realtor understands who you are and what you want and can help you to be prepared for mulitiple outcomes. Sometimes, the unexpected happens and there is no preparation. That said, a relationship based on trust and good communication with your realtor can not only help with the rocky bits but they will be there to share the joy as well when it all comes together!
THOUGHTS ON REAL ESTATE Saturday, April 30, 2011 Say Yes to the House?Categories:buying,decisions,ladner,mortgage,property,real estate,realtor,richmond,selling,tsawwassen I didn't watch the royal wedding but I did watch 2 hours of highlights last night. By no means am I royal watcher, but the Reader's Digest version of events called my attention. Right after the program I was still suffering from wedding hangover and watched a show called, "Say Yes to the Dress" - a show about a highend bridal shop in New York. Not exactly a ripping Friday night but it was there and I was tired and couldn't bother to change the channel.
The premise is that a bride and her entourage have an appointment to meet with a consultant to discuss wants and desires of the perfect wedding gown. After a brief introduction the sales consultant asks the bride if she has an idea in mind of what she is looking for style wise and price range. In this episode, they all did and all had photos of their dream dresses. The consultant searches and finds them options that match or come close to their idealized vision of the perfect wedding dress that meets their criteria within their budget. However, when they tried them on they were unhappy to see that the styles or designs were not for them (didn't flatter them) but resisted suggestions of other types of dresses. They had their idea of want they wanted!
It made me think of home buyers. Most buyers have an idea of exactly what they want in the style/design of a home, features (bling, feathers, ruffles) where they want to live etc and often like brides to be can't or don't want to consider other options even though the consultant can see what's not working; not fitting.
Just like on the program where the brides were encouraged to look at and try on other types of dresses, buyers sometimes need to be encouraged to look at and "try on" other types of properties and are often quite surprised at what is available to them that is a much better fit. Part of the role of real estate consultant is to listen to the buyer for needs and wants. Sometimes, these things are either a little unrealistic, unattainable at this time, or just not a good choice that will serve the buyer well.
Buying a wedding dress or a home may not be the same thing, but the process is similar. Your real estate consultant can show you options and ideas that you may not have thought of that will work well for you and fit your needs better. It's about being open minded to what's available on the market and looking beyond your original ideas if they don't work. You just might say "Yes" to the house you never thought you would.
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