iTexas Realty Co. Blog: iTexas Realty Co.

I think the "media" is determined to ruin the housing market- all over again! 

In San Antonio, Texas we're 'blessed' with an excellent economy and a pretty darn-good real estate market too.  We're very grateful.

But we get calls almost daily from potential out-of-state buyers (and concerned relatives) wondering how we're surviving in the real estate cesspool every Realtor must be in. 

They ask if the lenders are lending- they've heard they are not. 

They ask if our homes here have 'hit bottom'--- they were never 'inflated', so there has not been a crisis here...

They saw it on the news that sales in _____________(fill in the blank) have never been worse (never in Texas)- and they assume Sara and I are:

in a breadline

taking our calls on our cells while

getting our last meal served by the Red Cross.

They saw it on 'the news'. 

Or they have an aunt, who has a friend who was a Realtor who starved to death and was eaten by alligators (once again, not here)...film at eleven.

Maybe it's time for them to unplug the TV? 

---Steve

When I wrote this, it was midnight and I had just closed my real estate office and was at "lunch".  I wrote it up on my Blackberry while waiting for my food.

With this schedule, you may be curious what time my day started:

8am

Today, Steve and I have written offers, negotiated offers, done walk-throughs, attended inspections, listed properties, done a little social networking, answered inquiries on our listings and met with a Seller.

Full-service. it's a state of Being.

The only item that I was unable to complete was a look at recent sales in an out-of-the way neighborhood, for someone who I know wants me to discount my commission, yet offer them full service and all of the marketing and professional effort that entails.  Unfortunately they left me a voice mail late in the day and I was unable to address it at the time.

All I can say after a day like today: If you want discount service, I wish that I could call you in November when I don't have so many serious Buyers and Sellers to take care of!  Before then, I won't have much time to explain to you why I won't do the full job, for less compensation. 

Wait!

You already know why!  At your office, no one expects you to work for less money, while working the same hours and producing the same result.  What would you say to your boss if you were asked to do this?

I thought so.

I won't say that, but I will call you tomorrow.

LIGHTING! 

Don't underestimate the importance of lighting!

We all know that it's a good idea to leave lights on for showing.  But what about the kind of lighting? 

Typically, you might have converted to low-voltage or energy-saving lamps in table lamps and chandeliers and exterior lighting like porch lamps. 

When showing your home, consider changing as many as possible of your incandescent or energy-saving screw-in lamps to CLEAR, incandescent lamps, and possibly even higher wattage (don't exceed the fixture's recommended maximum- most lamps and fixtures are limited to 60 watts). 

Clear incandescents will give off more 'sparkle' and brighten the area- even the porch light in the middle of the day - especially if you use a little glass cleaner on the glass or on the bulbs! 

And that's another point-

if you are leaving your home for an hour or the whole day, leave your lights ON!  The extra cost in electricity will be MINIMAL compared to

Getting Your Sale!

#2 tip for Sellers

#1 Tip for Sellers

One of the things that I enjoy the most about Summer is the summer-blooming flowers.  One of my personal favorite varieties are Hydrangeas.  Being an old-fashioned girl at heart, I can't get enough of the mounds of white flowers, faintly tinted in green at first, then in lavendar while viewed in the morning light under some trees.

Doesn't that just say

Summer in the Shade, to you?

Steve and I were in Sofa Mart  at Ingram and 1604, In SanAntonio, today, and saw a fabulous cream-colored leather furniture set.  It reminded me of the old Hollywood movies with Jean Harlow.  You know, when they had the all white living rooms and bedroom suites?  Of course, I'd probably have to forgo the long dressing gowns with maribu trim...

The rug was not my taste, but the cream seating pieces would look gorgeous in our new family room against the dark tile floors and the latte-colored walls.

Steve and I haven't had white furniture for years (right now we have red love seats),  but maybe it's time again.

I don't think that it's much of a secret that here in in San Antonio, Texas we don't have many cold winter days.  In fact, statistically speaking, I think that there are five per year!

Which brings me to question, why so many Buyers are looking for a home with a fireplace in the Family Room?

As for me, I would much rather enjoy a beautiful fire in the best possible environment.  Outside.  Fireplaces are a wonderful patio option and you will get far more use out of it there - unless you want to run your air conditioning every hot winter night in January!

Take a look at this charming covered patio (complete with a flat screen), and re-think where that fireplace would be the most useful and versatile, as well as a wonderful new place to entertain throughout the year.

--Sara

A few days ago, I posted about the #1 Tip for Sellers and a friend suggested that I should continue the theme, so here is the #2 tip and it costs even less!

Most Sellers think that their house looks really good, is reasonably clean and has decent curb appeal.  That may be true, but it's probably not enough to really excite Buyers in San Antonio, Texas about the "move-in ready" status of your home.  To do that, the house has to look fresh. 

In the time that you have lived in the home, you may have painted it a great decor latte color (it's never too late to stat...), but when was the last time that the baseboard was painted? 

Hmmm? Got you on that one.

Even if you think that it looks good; it doesn't look as good as it would with fresh paint.

Go get a gallon of new paint for your baseboards in a color that is a close match for your doors (if they are a white).  Start first in your entry hall as it is the first room that people will see and it sets the tone for the rest of the home.

I know that you are thinking that you don't have time for this, but remember that you only have to do one wall at a time.

Listen to a Realtor®:  30 minutes of painting can make a world of difference.  In a week of odd times (20-30 minutes at a time), you could have most of the house done.

You do want to get it sold, don't you?

As a real estate Broker and Realtor, here in San Antonio, Texas, when I meet with Sellers to discuss putting their homes on the market, there is a consistent oddity that I notice. They have not recently serviced their air conditioning or heating systems! 

OK, so we only use the heat for a month here, but the A/C does get a bit of a work-out!

During the Option Period (unrestricted right to cancel), when the Buyer gets their inspection, your lack of maintenance is nearly sure to come up.  The Buyer may then ask you to have the unit serviced and repaired to good working order before they purchase.  "That's it?", you ask.

Well, not really... As the unit hasn't been serviced, that one item has just called into question the maintenance of your home and may make your Buyer question the purchase.  They're looking at the bigger picture:

No Buyer wants to feel that the home's vital systems have been unmaintained.

Do yourself a favor. Have a licensed serviceperson out to do a maintenance inspection of your home and get legible copy of the receipt that they provide to you. Be sure to give a copy to your Realtor to be included in your listing documents. 

That one piece of paper can really can go a long way toward making your Buyer feel secure about their purchase. 

You want them to close escrow, don't you?

I hope that all you Dads had a wonderful Father's Day!

We often talk about what a hard job it is to be a Mom, but sometimes forget the other side of the equation: Dads.

It's a tough job here in the brave, new world as Dads struggle to find time with their kids and keep their work-life moving forward to that the family is provided for.  Not to mention those scary questions that the kids start to ask about 7 years old these days! 

Our hats are off to all the Dads today, and all of the other days, too!

Sometimes, it's hard to get your home shown.

One day this past week, we had granite counters installed in our San Antonio home that we are selling.  The process was made inconvenient by Sara's illness and the fact that she had to vacate the house for a showing, right after I managed an appointment with the contractor.

Suddenly, we had a Realtor come to the door to ask if they could show our home 40 minutes early!  I politely explained that I had workmen at the home for a short appointment and that my wife was ill and we would not be able to show prior to the designated appointment time - Sorry!

35 minutes later, Sara dragged out of be so that the home could be shown. We returned an hour later.

Imagine our surprise when we received the following showing feedback:

"We arrived 40 min early and when I asked if we could view early the homeowner said no; my client thought he would be difficult to deal with and didn't want to go back. ."

You may roll your eyes. I know that I did, but my further question is:  If you decided not to show the home, why did you not have the courtesy to call the Centralized Showing Service to cancel the showing - especially when you knew that the ill homeowner was vacating just for your client?"

I believe that I'll be calling her Broker on Monday to ask him or her to provide more training on Realtor courtesy!

--Steve