The Recent Market

Our small office in the Central West End of St. Louis city, (where the flowers are always large and in full bloom, the skies are always blue and the bugs are very, very tiny,) has been averaging at least 6 closings a month. The city of St. Louis has been doing a very nice recovery over the debaucle of the past several months. Prices are rising thoughout the city, selling times are decreasing, listings are clearing out while pending contracts are staying steady...all spells a good real estate market.

The midwest, in particular St. Louis, has always been known for its centrist, common sense, mentality. Its not surprising that, should the rest of the country follow the midwest lead, the nation is being lead by the midwest back into a recovery. However, we still have a long winter season ahead of us. And so far, no word of extending the $8,000 tax credit.

I wanted to talk a bit about the last couple of closings we've experienced in this office. They both pose interesting problems that were solved.

The first closing was for a first time buyer who was getting his purchase from a grant he is being given for research at Washington University. The problem in this closing was certainly not the loan. No problems there. The problem was actually in the seller of the property, who was facing foreclosure if he didn't sell this home. The seller was a rehabber. He did nice work, but there were things that needed to be taken care of that he was or wasn't aware of when he did work on the property. One was a break in a lateral sewer line, the second was an electric box that had mixed tabs, and the third was a suspect roof. The seller, facing foreclosure, didn't have a lot of money to repair. So, the electrician was not a problem, the seller had a qualified electrician do the work. The second, the lateral sewer repair, was a little tricker. A normal repair like that will cost around $7,000 to complete. I found a small contractor who would do it for $2,800. But, the listing agent found an even smaller contractor who did the work for $1,800. Moral: bid out the work. As long as a qualified contractor does the repair and he guarantees it, your buyer should be fine. Price is always negotiable.

The third problem was the roof. The building inspector said the roof was shot and showed several photos. But the home owner said that the roof was five years old. Now what? Well, we asked for a qualified roofer to examine the roof and give an opinion. The seller had a roofer come out who simply said there was life left in the roof. To this day, that roofer has not returned a phone call inquiring how much life or addressing the six suspect spots where there were actual holes in the roof. As we did our walk thru prior to closing, we asked a local roofer to take a look at the roof. He said the roof was maybe about 10 to 15 years old and that there were indeed six spots where the "under roof" was pushing through the top roof, creating holes and that was the cause for concern because it could leak at any time.

We refused to close. And submitted a mutal release. The seller gave us $2,000 towards roof repair and we closed. (I forgot to mention that the seller also removed the stove and refrigerator which were supposed to be left behind.)

Hold your ground if you are right.

The second closing would not have happened as Wells Fargo told the buyers that there was no problem with their loan and then the day of closing denied the loan! That left our buyers in a legal lurch. Because they did not have a denial of loan by loan commitment date, they were obligated under the contract to purchase. Jumps in the hero! Heartland Bank! Who, because they are a local bank and follows FNMA guidelines instead of the stricter guidelines self-imposed by other lender, closed the loan in two weeks at a whole point lower in interest rate than Wells. Our hero...on many fronts.

Watch your lender and stay in contract.

That's all for now. Until next real estate time. I'm always happy to hear your real estate stories. Please comment and let me know what's going on in your real estate world.

Groans

Oh, why does this business have to be sooooo hard! By the way, this photo is of a very nice three bedroom condo in the Shaw neighborhood. Priced at $129,900. A steal!

Well, I had one closing this week that was like pulling teeth. Wells Fargo kept putting restrictions on the buyer -- I need this, now I need that. Oy vey. Well, after she decided that she was going to switch lenders -- after they demanded that the condo docs be rewritten to remove a first right of refusal (what condo board is going to do that for one sale, huh?), all of a sudden they close -- after they denied her the loan.

Well, Heartland Bank here in St. Louis was willing to do the loan and could have closed it in a week. But, Wells couldn't stand that thought, so they bumped out poor Evan and closed it. Yay, for the buyer in the Bankers Lofts. Boo for poor Evan who started the process and then got bumped and entirely neutral on Wells Fargo.

And then, there's the broken lateral sewer in the home on Connecticut. The seller says he doesn't have the money to fix the sewer line, the roof that was badly done and the electric box. But, my young buyer who is a research scientist in neuroscience at Washington University, doesn't have cash to put out and a lateral sewer and a roof and an electric box are all more than he can spend. So, we need 'em fixed!

Well, the other agent and I have given on commission and we've got the bids on work pretty low, so we're waiting to see where this goes. Poor Harry is out of a place to live by the 28th!

Then there's 707. Well, the buyer has decided that a foreclosed piece of property down the hall from his unit scares him and he's not sure he wants to buy the penthouse he's contracted on. Well, foks. Foreclosed properties cannot affect your value. Appraisers are not allowed to use them as comps unless the whole building is foreclosed and if they do -- then they need to adjust the value to market rate again. So, no argument there. Plus, foreclosed properties are only a reflection of the owner -- not a reflection of the property. So, that is supposed to close on the 18. We'll see. The buyer is thinking about it.

So, most days these days I go home with a headache and get up in the morning with a tight chest nervous about the days dealings. But then, you get a compliment and some business coming down the pike from an attorney in Denver and -- everything is alright again.

The nature of the business. And I love it!

Happy September! Have $8,000!

During this economic downturn some interesting things have been happening. But, I wonder if they've addressed the problems?

For years, we as Realtors have been watching prices go up and up and up. We've been amazed that a home could increase in value year after year, just by sitting on a lot, with no updates and have it increase sometimes as much as 25% in one year. We KNEW that it would have to come to an end. And, to an end it did come.

For several years we watched buyers purchase home with no money down, with stated incomes, with no documentation, with no money down, just a smile on their faces. And we said, "This is nuts!" But, they qualified under some lenders qualifications and so we got them houses. And then those same people with 400 credit scores, no jobs, and no money stopped making their mortgage payments and we found out that lenders had been packaging these loans along with excellend loans in order to sell them off to investors. A lot deceitful. And they took advantage of one thing that everyone holds in high esteem: home ownership. We all feel like we are SOMEBODY because we OWN our own home.

When I first started out in this business, home ownership was something you worked towards. It was a privilege that you earned, not a right that you should be given. This country was founded on hard work and those who worked hard were rewarded with the fruits of their labor. Time and time again we seem to never learn the lesson that if you give someone something and they don't earn it, they run the risk of losing it either through neglect or repossession. It's part of the problem of instant gratification in this country. We think we can have it right away. And when we crashed, we discovered just how wrong we were. Again.

Lending is cleaning their act up. Fewer and fewer buyers are able to buy a home. The ones who can't are being given direction by good lenders on how to clean up their credit, how much money they'll need to save, what bills to pay off. And that's a great thing. Home ownership is a privilege. And those of us who really want a home will be able to buy one again. It may take us awhile to get there, but that's alright, too. When we get the keys to that door, it'll be all the sweeter.

The $8,000 tax credit is coming to a close quickly. the credit can be applied to your taxes if you buy and move into your home by November 30 of this year. After that...it's gone. Lots of young people who have never owned a home before are taking advantage of it. You should, too. First time homeowners are considered first time if they haven't owned a home within the last three years. Take advantage of the governments' graciousness. It won't be here much longer. Keep in mind, it typically takes about six weeks to close a property. If you found a house today, it'd take you until the middle of October to close.

Enjoy!

You Never Forget Your First House

I guess you never forget any firsts. Your first date. Your first bike. Your first dog. And you remember the circumstances around all of them. Twenty-two years ago I sold my first house. And I remember to this day what it looked like, where it was located and who the couple were who purchased it.

I was excited. I had my first buyer. They were a nice young couple. She knitted and he worked at the local Venture. They couldn't afford much, but they wanted a small house ... with a yard. We looked for weeks. And weeks. And weeks. Every week we'd start out with hope and every week we'd come back to the office down-hearted. Keep in mind, the way homes were searched 22 years ago was from a large book, similar to a telephone book. Every week we'd get several books dropped off at the office. Pages and pages of black and white photos with short blurps in description. We were directed by the St. Louis Board of Realtors NOT to give those books out to the public. But, they were out there in circulation. Clients would come into the office and go through page after page in an area and price range they were interested in. When they saw some they'd like to look at, we'd make the appointments and then drive to the real estate listing office to pick up a key. Yes, there were no supra boxes or combination lockboxes. We picked up the keys for each listing we showed and then...drove the keys back again. Those were the days.

After weeks of driving around picking up keys and returning them, I started to get a feel for what I would like in a house. Not much feel for what my clients liked, though. And so, our last house of the day was a small corner home on Eichelberger in St. Louis. It was kinda cute from the outside. A nice large yard in the back and a yard in the front. I seem to remember a fence made of stones. Not a fence you would commonly see here. We went inside the home. It was only a four room home, living room, kitchen and two bedrooms. Square. Perfectly square. The kitchen had been updated. The bathroom was small and in between the two equal sized bedrooms. And...every room was panelled. Panelled. Feeling more comfortable with these folks since I'd been showing them so many houses over months and months, I made the comment that was going through my mind. Surely they didn't like THIS house. So, I said, " Looks like a fishing lodge, doesn't it? (giggle, giggle). Stuffed fish on the walls would look appropriate." They stopped, turned to me and said, "We like this one." Ooops. Lots of back tracking. Lots of saying what's really nice about this house. And supporting the buyer in their decision. Lots of removing my foot from my mouth.

Taught me a big lesson early on. You can never tell what someone else likes. You can never tell what their dream home is. I never would have guessed fishing lodge. But, there you have it. And you know what, they still live in the home to this day. Twenty two years later.

And I learned not to give my opinion of other people's homes. I believe that when a buyer purchases a home, its a major output of money. Far be it from me to steer a buyer to purchase a certain home. Your home choice is YOUR home choice. Not mine. I can guide you in your purchases where market is concerned. But style is all your decision. I'm never bold enough to believe I know what is best for you. And I don't a good Realtor should ever be that presumptive.

Met a seller this weekend who needs to sell a condo they purchased for their daughter while she was in medical school here at St. Louis University. It's just not moving. We did some planning and set some paths to walk. And...dropped the price. It's usually all about price. There is always A price that everything will sell at.

More another day.

Thank you to all of you who have put your faith in me. I don't take it lightly. And I appreciate and am humbled by your trust in me.

Until next time.

The Real Estate Personality

The real estate market is VERY busy right now, folks. Lots of home purchases going on here in the midwest. The market is very good. About 50% of what we're selling as an office right now is first time home buyers. They are looking to capture this $8,000 tax credit. It has spurred the market and I listen to commentators talking about the housing market is on the road to recovery. I chuckle a bit, because I think about "spin". Spin is good. It can help spur or spark. My only concern as a broker and business owner is December 1 of this year. That's when the $8,000 tax credit goes away and that is the middle of winter. The winter could be long and cold when folks stop buying because they won't get the tax credit anymore. There is more that needs to be done to this industry to fix it, and less than the knee jerk that is in effect which is supposed to be fixing it. Common sense is a very good thing. All of which is a great topic for another blog.

But for now, the last time I wrote I hinted about personalities that make for successful Realtors. Yep, there are those who are great and those who you wish you'd never run into. But, isn't that the case with any career? To be successful in real estate, I think it takes several qualities. And you may be surprised to hear some of them.

You have to care about people

You have to be organized

You have to be a self-starter

You have to have a sixth sense about the law

You have to try your hardest every single time

I've seen so many people fall by the wayside. They start off all enthused and then find out just how hard it is to be a Realtor. Getting business means being disciplined and organized. You need a plan..and you have to stick to it every single day. If that means giving out 5 business cards every day, then you don't go to bed at night until you have. You run your own business in real estate. You are an independent contractor, so you can do whatever you think, legally, you need to do in order to attract business.

You have to care about people. Believe it or not, I run into Realtors all the time who seem to HATE people. They care more about the money to line their pocket than they do about the People they work for. And that will backfire. You have to care about your clients first and the money will follow. You have to trust that.

There will be times you want to go home and pull a blanket over your head. Things are going so badly. But, you pull that blanket over, have a good sleep and get back up the next day and give another 150%. You do it because you care and because you can't do anything BUT give 150%. It won't get done without you.

You have to be organized. That means a system: Franklin-Covery planner, Outlook, Top Producer. Whatever it takes to remind you of what you have to do on a daily basis. In the middle of juggling 8 contracts, you'll wish you had a system to help you out. Some folks hire an assistant, but many do not. If you have an assistant, you'll have to take the time to train them to do business the way you want it done. And that's why my assistant is doing detail work for me, I know I do what I do differently than anyone else would do it for me.

Just got an accepted contract yesterday for a young man who is buying his first house. It took a little negotiating, but that's a skill you learn in this business. The longer you're in it, the better you get. And it helps to have clients who can teach you how they negotiate. I ran into a master negotiator in California several months ago. As many years as I've been in this business, he taught me even more.

Which is another thing about real estate, you are continually learning new things.

Again, I thank all of my past clients who have given me the ability to serve them and have placed their trust in me. I can't tell you how much I appreciate you all.

That's it for now. St. Louis is a lovely place this time of year. Come out and visit us! It's a season of festivals for us: Japanese Festival, Blues Festival, International Festival.

I got started in this business through a friend who thought it would be good for me to get out of the house. I was a stay at home mom, raising my two children, and had started losing myself as a person. I was spiraling downward because of life circumstances, losing confidence in myself, actaully afraid to come out of my house for fear of meeting people I'd have to talk to. Fear would grip me as I knew I'd have to leave my house. I knew I'd have to go out because of my kids' activities, but the prospect of doing it would put me in fear mode.

My turning point was watching my 3rd grade daughter place the Baby Jesus in a crib at Christmas time, dressed as an angel, and turning around without any fear, singing Silent Night all by herself to a packed church at Midnight Mass. I looked at her and knew that she had a future and I had nothing. My future was only in my children and their activities and their lives. There was nothing there for me. That realization made me decide to DO something about MY life. Not only to be there for my children, whom I love so much, and my husband, but to be there for ME, too. I'm sure many of you can relate to that feeling. And so my friends suggestion gave me something to look forward to.

When I started to take real estate classes, I felt happy. I was learning something that was relevant to the world. I could help people but also I learned the law behind real estate. Every night I came home from class feeling very good about myself...and much smarter. And that in turn, made my children happier because their mother was happier and my confidence started to grow. My fears started to subside because I could talk about a topic that was of interest to folks and people sought me out.

In those days, the real estate tests, after your classes, were written and you took the National real estate test and then the Missouri real estate test. You were sent your grades after it was tabulated. You were not allowed to go to the bathroom while you took the test and all answers were filled in with a number 2 pencil. (Times have certainly changed!) I took my Brokers test right after my salesperson's test. When I'd gotten the results back through the mail, I was surprised and proud to find out that I had a better score than anyone else in the real estate office I was joining. Both on the state and the national. That day, and everyday since, I drive or walk down the street and look at homes and businesses and multi-families with a different eye. Now I look at frontage, and think about taxes and assessments. I look at locations and exterior conditions. I think of occupancy's and market value. I am very PROUD to be a Realtor. I was the day I started to take real estate classes to get my license and have continued to be since then.

What a change in me as a person. I can talk to anyone about anything now. I'm no longer afraid of people. I can talk to rooms full of people at seminars on my favorite topic. I love to meet new folks. I've watched my children grow to be strong, independent people. I could be there for my kids when they came home from school and took them with me if I had to drop off a contract or pick up a key. So, my career allowed me to work around their schedules. My son is a strong young man who is excellent at sports. He has a very good job and owns his own home. He is soon to be married to Sarah, my beautiful soon to be daughter-in-law. My beautiful daughter is a strong young woman with a very smart business head. Very, very capable. She blows me away and I often wonder how she got to be who she is ... couldn't be from me or her dad! She is married to Mike, who is also very intelligent and athletic, and she has just returned back to her vice-president position with a large company after giving birth to my first grandbaby. I'm proud of who my children have become. And I'm sure part of who they are as people is all because of who their mother became through real estate. They might have been very differently influenced if my self-esteem had stayed so low.

I recommend real estate as a career to anyone. Certain personality traits can add to the chances of your success, but that's a topic for another day.

Thank all of you who have placed your trust in me over the years. I consider it an honor and a privilege to have served you.

Why Real Estate?

Over the past 22 years, as I think about it, the response I've received most often when I sit down with a client to find out just what they might be looking for in a home is, "I'd like a little house with a yard." And the look in their eyes is always the same. A little glaze, a little dreamy, a lot excited and a lot hopeful that we'll find just that.

A little house with a yard. Just a small statement, but loaded with hope, and dreams, and future plans, excitement and possibility of what the future can look like. For 22 years, that dream has never changed.

What is it about that house and yard that can add so much joy to a life? My hope in starting this blog is to learn from you what you all have received from it, but also, through my reminiscing and stories, to help you to see the value in that pile of bricks or shingled frame for you. To help you discover that there's nothing like real estate for an investment -- still, through good and tough economies. That "a little house with a yard" encompasses everything, not just the earth below and the air rights above. It's our dreams, our joys, our creativity, our security, our stake in the world.

I've often said, under stressful times, and this business is FULL of stress, that I should have had my head examined several years ago for staying in this career. But, just like today, when I hand over the keys to a new home -- a little house with a yard -- to a first time homebuyer in his 20's and hear "Thank you so much. I don't know how to thank you for all of your help", everything is WORTH it. I LOVE what I do for a living!

Not only will I share stories and situations with you all through this blog site, but I also welcome questions and comments from you. I hope to be of help to you. So, why real estate for me? because it's the greatest career I can think of. And for you? it's the best financial and emotional investment you can make now and into the future.

And so, right here, I want to say thank you to all of you who have placed your trust in me over the years. I consider it an honor and a privilege to have served you. And i look forward to continuing to help buyers find their own house with a yard.