Pinetop, AZ

Good Saturday Morning Everyone,

As I was driving in to work today I saw at least 2 "For Sale by Owner" signs. It got me to thinking, what are they thinking? Why would someone who wants to sell their home take on the task of trying to do it themselves?

Oh I know all the typical answers - "I don't want to pay a commission." or "I know what I am doing, what do I need a professional for? or "I can run an ad in the newspaper myself, I don't need a professional to do that!"

Okay, so maybe they sound good on the surface but....you could be selling yourself short. For example, as a FSBO, can you expose your property to the world through 150+ websites? Do you know how to protect yourself under the Disclosure laws of the State you live in? Do you know what your responsibilities are to the Buyer? Do you have access to Home Warranties for protection after the Closing?

Also, have you considered that most buyers are wary of FSBO's because they think if the people are trying to sell themselves they are either priced too high or they have something to hide? Believe me you can't imagine the horror stories I have heard from folks who thought they would get a better deal working directly with the seller, only to find out they paid way too much for the house and it had issues besides. Issues that the seller took great care to hide and not disclose. The buyers only found out after they closed and because they were not represented in the transaction and didn't take the care with their Due Diligence that they should have, the buyers are on the hook for those issues, maybe.

FSBO's are risky because you as the seller are assuming the same risk for law suits as an agent is when they list your property. The difference is that you do not have the benefit of knowing what you need to do, what your responsibilities to a buyer are, and how to protect yourself. You do not have the benefit of a professional helping you make decisions and knowing what your should and should not be disclosing to a Buyer. You are assuming the risk of finding yourself involved in a law suit with no one covering your back.

Sound ominous? It should! Every time I go to a Real Estate Class the focus is on what can happen if something else doesn't happen. What kinds of law suits are currently being heard in Courts and how to protect myself and my clients from those dangers. Now, do you really want to assume the risk of trying to sell your property yourself with no one helping you? Does that 6% or whatever the commission amount you might have to pay sound so bad now? Maybe 6% is better than thousands or even millions that you might be found liable for in a Court of Law should a buyer sue you.

Add to that the fact that an Agent can expose your property to greatest number of people, in the shortest amount of time, to produce a buyer for you with you probably netting more in the end than you would have if you had done it yourself.

Yes, Real Estate Agents do have value. A good one will do everything in their power to produce a buyer for you through exposure on the internet, advertising, and marketing your property. They are the pros and they know how to "Git-ur'-dun!

Have a wonderful weekend. Until next time.....

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI, SFR (928) 242-0300

Your High Country Connection for Real Estate!

Thankful Thursday! There's no season I love better than Fall, maybe because it feels like the shortest season of all and it smells really good. Relief from the heat of summer and the colors...well, that's the best of all, isn't it?

One of the best places to view the fall colors in Arizona is the White Mountains, about 3 hours Northeast of Phoenix. Probably a week or so away from the peak of the Aspen's gold, but captured these scenes yesterday on the road to Hawley Lake.

Good afternoon everyone,

It is getting to be such a common theme I know what the conversation is going to be like before I even answer the call. It's is going to be the same refrain, the Seller's Lament.

Why didn't anyone come look at my house this week? I got everything ready in anticipation of a showing and no one came. Why hasn't my house sold? What are you doing to sell my house, you must not be doing enough because my house hasn't sold.

Are any of you hearing the same things? It is such a common theme here that I just don't know what to say any more.

You can talk about price, you can talk about the lack of buyers in the market, you can talk about the competition from the REO or Short Sale down the street, but it doesn't make any difference. There are over 600 agents in our market and right now there are only about 140 houses pending sale. What does that tell you? There simply aren't that many buyers in the marketplace.

Maybe it is because there aren't that many REO's left in our market. Mostly I think it is because people are just really cautious and they are reluctant to part with their money. Many of my own prospects are still out there but they are just waiting to see if prices fall more. They will, they can't help but do so when nothing is selling.

I truly feel bad for my sellers and I know everyone else who is trying to market a property in our market feels the same way. They just aren't willing to come down enough in price to sell and the buyers aren't willing to buy unless the home is listed below what the comps say. People are skittish and I can't blame them. With all the nonsense going on with lending reform and the mess with the Banks, who knows where we are going to be in another year.

I just wish the Government would quit trying to fix things. Every time they try to fix something they make it worse. It is so frustrating.

Oh well, I'll be a lot of you are hearing the same thing from your sellers but we do what we can do. Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't.

Have a good evening everyone.

Sandra Paulow

Good Morning Everyone,

Your Buyer has signed their papers, they've handed over their money, and now all you are waiting for is the lender to fund. You wait, and you wait; no one tells you anything and you feel like a mushroom. Your Buyer keeps asking if you've heard anything and there you sit, no word, no responses to your email inquiries, nothing. All you can do is say "No" I haven't heard anything and you wait some more.

It is an agonizing process. I have been sitting here all weekend waiting for a sale to finally close. It is frustrating, it is maddening, I can't even think of all the words I would like to use in this instance and even if I could I probably couldn't put them in a public post!

It really makes me angry for my buyer's sake. The lenders out there are the bain of our existance as Real Estate professionals. You can have the best relationship in the world with your local loan officers but when it comes down to it, it is up to the underwriters to sign off on the loan and release the funds.

What are they doing you wonder? Are they re-underwriting the loan looking for an excuse not to fund? Are they just busy? Maybe, maybe not, to me it speaks of arrogance. They have the power and they know it. No matter that everyone else is sitting on pins and needles waiting for them to take action. They don't care, they have the power and they are going to use it to their advantage even if it kills the deal.

I'm sure there are some good mortgage companies out there, I just haven't found them yet. If anyone knows of one who does what they say I'd love to talk to them.

Good Afternoon Everyone,

There has been a notable shift in our Buyer's market in the past month or so, those Foreclosures and Short Sales are losing their appeal. Buyers are realizing that they are no longer being sold at Give Away prices and the hassle that goes along with the purchase are just not worth it. Buyers are finding they can get just as good a deal on a retail seller's home as they can from a bank. They have a real live person to deal with who is anxious to make the deal work rather than sabotaging it the way the Banks often do. These Asset Managers who are on their little power trips are starting to shoot themselves in the foot. They make the sales so hard to do that the Buyers are getting discouraged and are starting to avoid them.

You would think that the Banks would want to get rid of these bad assets wouldn't you. Logic says that they should be so happy to get an offer from a qualified buyer that they would do back flips to make the sale happen. Well they don't! They are more concerned with their own self interests and the interests of the Bank that they don't care about the buyer at all. Never mind that the buyer is doing them a favor by taking that asset out of their book of bad debt. They don't care. If they can't have everything their way than it's no way. I'm not sure why that is, maybe it is simple arrogance! The Banks think they hold the power but guess what, that power is shifting away from them.

Buyers who have made upwards of 20 offers on either Bank Owned properties or Short Sales only to have them go no where are getting tired of the game. They feel like they are being taken advantage of by Big Banks and in truth, they are. The Buyers are disappointed, frustrated, and they are starting to get angry. They are growing tired of being preyed upon by the Banks. Those great deals they think they have found often turn out to be nightmares. They are tired of playing a High Stakes Poker game with a nameless, faceless entity, and always coming out with the losing hand.

The game is changing again, and as a Real Estate Professional, I have to say, hurray! Maybe if enough of those sales go sideways, the Banks will wake up and decide they need to work with us rather than against all of us who are trying to help bring this fire storm to an end. It certainly can't happen fast enough for me.

If you need assistance with finding your Mountain Dream Home give me a call. I'll bet I know just the one you are looking for.

Have a wonderful Memorial Day Weekend. Be safe!

Sandra Paulow, Associate Broker, GRI, SFR (928) 242-0300

Your High Country Connection for Real Estate!