Tulsa, OK

Don’t be discouraged – it’s possible AND probable that you can sell your home quickly and painlessly if you follow a few guidelines.

If you are interviewing more than one Realtor, seriously question the Realtor that suggests (or agrees to) the highest list price and tells you that you don’t need to do a thing to get your home ready.

I have three properties almost ready to list. Each are in a stage of painting, re-carpeting, cleaning or staging. Because the inventory of homes is high, Buyers will not give your home a chance if it doesn’t sparkle and impress them the moment they see it from the curb and entry. Buyers today have much from which to choose and have little patience. They truly want a home that is “move-in” ready.

And, Buyers need to see themselves living in your home. They need to see that their furniture will fit and that they will feel comfortable in your home. You love your home and the way your furniture is arranged – it suits your lifestyle and taste.

But it may not be arranged in such a way to accent your home’s best features or detract from your home’s possible flaws. Get it right before you list your property. Follow you Realtor’s advice and paint the scuffed or out-dated rooms; replace the worn or slightly stained carpet; hire a cleaning crew to clean baseboards and ceiling fans and clear the cobwebs. Hire a home-stager to look at your home through a Buyer’s eyes. Don't be offended by your stager's advice. Do you want to be comfortable in your home while it's on the market OR do you want to SELL your home? Sometimes, even both can be achieved.

There are three criteria to selling a home: price, condition and marketing. Throughout the ebbs and flow of our real estate market, these three criteria have never changed. If your property is in the best possible condition, priced correctly and marketed aggressively, it will sell.

What you DON’T want to do is put your home on the market before it is top-notch condition. The traffic you receive in the first three weeks of your listing will not return if you make improvements later – they’ve already formed an impression of your home. And you DON’T want to over-price your home, thinking you can drop the price later – while price reductions are sometimes inevitable, competitive and realistic pricing from day one will increase your chances of getting top dollar for your property.

Your Realtor will study what is and is not selling in your area and paint a clear picture of estimated time to sell. You should work with your Realtor as a team to sell your home. Make sure that your Realtor is internet-savvy and will advertise your listing multiple places on the internet.

I recently did a market analysis for a property that I hope to list, and boy did that market analysis tell a story. Of the five homes sold in that subdivision in the last six months, four homes had been on the market less than three weeks and sold very close to list price. All three of the pending properties had been on the market less than a month. Of the twelve properties currently listed on the market, many had been on the market in excess of two, three, even four months. How could this be? Obviously the homes that sold quickly and for the amount they were listed had followed the three criteria strategy: correct price; immaculate condition and aggressive marketing.

When you consider personal frustration, extended mortgage payments and utility costs, it makes sense to “get it right” before you list. Please call me if you are interested in truly SELLING your home!

Have you heard the news?

There's a new law in town and it's aimed at making America more Green and Eco environmentally friendly. Okay, that's all fine and good. I like the earth. I'm good with us being more friendly towards the planet. Fine.

But many are worried that this new bill is going to change real estate in big ways.

For example, home owners might be required to put on a new, more environmentally friendly roof or upgrade their heat and air systems according to government standards before being allowed to sell their home.

Or how about this?

A government inspection might be required before the house could be sold. If the house doesn't pass the government standards, the home owner will have to pay to fix, change, repair or replace whatever is required. That kind of reminds me of the old standards FHA used in the past. We had to put splash blocks under our gutter drains once because of an FHA requirement.

Now, the good news is that this is all speculation...at least at this point.

The bad news is that the things mentioned above, could become reality for homeowners.

I've been following the development of this from Jamie Dupree. Jamie is a reporter in Washington D.C. who reports regularly on the Neal Boortz show and on our morning news. He writes a blog and has commented on this new cap and trade situation.

To read what he has to say, click here.

So, keep your eye's peeled and your ears open folks. We may be looking at some serious changes in the way people buy and sell real estate. And that will means changes in the way we real estate professionals do our jobs for our clients!

Tulsa's largest fireworks display will be at the River Parks near the 21st Street Bridge on Saturday, July 4th, and entertainment can be found at two locations on the east side of the river and one location on the west bank. Entertainment and street closings begin at 5:00 and the fireworks launch at 9:30. Crowds in excess of 80,000 are anticipated to attend and enjoy this Tulsa Community Celebration.

As you know, Demetrius and I have the closest residence to the 21st Street Bridge. Drop by for homemade ice cream, Greek chicken, American burgers and a beer. Bring lawn chairs and bug spray. The high for the day is expected to be 105, and chance of rain is only ten percent!

West bank: Kids can enjoy free inflatables, a rock climbing wall and other activities at the River West Festival Park. Vendors will offer food and beverages for sale. There will be live music from about 6 to 9 pm which will continue immediately after the fireworks display. Paid parking will be available for $5 per vehicle.

East Bank: Live music will begin around 6 pm on the east bank of the Arkansas at 1924 S. Riverside Drive, the former home of the River's Edge Bistro. Concessions will be available for purchase. Bring your own lawn chairs and blankets, as seating is not provided.

Veteran's Park: Tulsa Parks will host their annual American Salute, an old-fashioned family picnic and concert at Veteran's Park, 1875 S Boulder Avenue. Live entertainment will begin around 6 pm with performances by Cindy Cain and Jennifer & Pete Marriott. Vendors will offer food and beverages for sale.

Street closings: The entire 21st Street Bridge will be TOTALLY CLOSED from 11 am to midnight to prepare for the fireworks. Other streets closing from 5 pm to 10:30 pm are:
Residential streets from Jackson to Southwest Blvd. between 17th and 23rd Streets. (Jackson Avenue will remain open.)
Riverside Drive, from Southwest Boulevard to 31st Streets.

No parking permits are issued to residents this year. Residents are told that we (and our guests) will be able to access our residences by approaching from the east. Please provide the guards at the barricades your address and they will let you through.

For more information, visit the event's web site: www.tulsafreedomfest.com or call 596-2001.

At Tuesday night's public meeting, city officials unveiled their new ideas of a master plan for the City of Tulsa. The new plan will include many exciting proposals along with urban housing of many kinds and a train that will travel through downtown Tulsa and connect to all nearby suburbs.

Everyone in Tulsa knows that from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., downtown Tulsa is the place to be. However, after 5 p.m., it's a virtual ghost town. Therefore, there is a need for change in the city and the new master plan will be a huge help with that.

In the downtown Tulsa area, there are currently around 300 residential units that are ready to be built with hundreds more on the way. This will allow for thousands of Tulsa residents to work and live in the downtown area.

Downtown Tulsa will soon be transformed, making it easier for the next generation to come in and do their own thing in Tulsa.

More of the master plan includes changes to the East Village. It will soon include an art museum, an outdoor amphitheater, green buildings and tons of green space. Everyone has been talking "green", and the City of Tulsa is going all out.

The city now has a wonderful plan ahead of it and what could be a great future for many years to come. We can't wait to see some of these great changes start to take place.

Realtors® Tom & Bev Herring ~ Tulsa Oklahoma Real Estate

Search Homes for Sale in Tulsa, Oklahoma Real Estate

I'm reading a book right now called, "Leading Change." It was written back in 1996, so it is kind of funny to read about the business culture back then in light of the recession we live in today.

The first chapter talks about establishing a sense of urgency in a failing or complacent corporation. It gives 9 reasons why corporations become complacent. As I was reading through the chapter, I came across reason number 7. The author states that when young employees would go out of their way to get outside feedback in regards to how the company was performing, they would be treated like "lepers."

Quote, "In that corporate culture, such behavior was seen as inapproprate because it might hurt someone, reduce morale, or lead to arguments (that is, honest discussions)."

Hmmmm. Lead to arguments...honest discussions. That's interesting.

When I argue with my wife, it doesn't feel like an honest disucssion. It feels like an argument. The reason is because, typically when you argue with your spouse you are fighting for different things. You believe it should be this way. They believe it should be that way. And you might not be working for the same thing - a good solution. That's because, in marriage we often "dig in" instead of hammering out the underlying issues.

The same thing happens in real estate. Sometimes we find ourselves at odds with the other party. And when the discussion becomes an argument, we usually "dig in" to defend our position. It is only when we focus on working towards a good resolution that we are able to use an argument as an honest discussion.

And that's the tricky part.

Too often we lose sight of the goal - selling the house. But when we keep that in mind and use it as our guiding principle, then we can have those tough discussions and find good solutions. That's because working through a tough issue with a larger guiding principle is different than just arguing with someone.

I've had many an argument where the turning point happened when someone said, "Hey, lets find a way to make this work. I know everyone is positioned right now, but what can we do to bring the two sides back together and work this out?"

Powerful words.

That's the kind of talk that solves problems and saves marriages, stops wars and sells houses.