About San Leandro's Halcyon - Foothill

If a future home seller would take the time to check the credentials of potential listing agents, they could very easily weed out those who are not fitted for the job. After all, a listing agreement presently will tie up the seller to his Realtor of choice for about 4 to 6 months. If you, as a home seller, have the wrong representation, it's your fault. You, Mr. Seller did not do your homework, as simple as that.

A quick look at my MLS, here in Alameda County, on the East shores of the San Francisco Bay, shows an incredible array of listings of all types. The ones that stand a good chance of attracting a home buyer, are those that simply have the basic information, i.e. a few photograhs, a good description of the property on the remark section, and an easy to find listing agent with an office with a person who actually answers the phone during normal working hours. A few Realtors even have the audacity to write on the comment section for other Realtors: "NO calls, only emails."

The person who is going to be selling a property, should call on one of the listings of the Realtor he is thinking of giving the listing to and pose as a home buyer. Many things could come out of that conversation that could help decide whether this individual is the right person for the job. Here is a short list of the items to look for.

1. How quickly does this Realtor responds to calls?
2. Make a tentative appointment to see the house. How flexible is this person?
3. Is this Realtor eager and available to show the house within hours?
4. Ask where on the Internet you can find more information about the house
5. Compare the Realtor's web site with others. How do the listings show?
6. Is the site easy to navigate? Is information clearly presented?
7. How well does this Realtor know your neighborhood? How does he sells it?

In my area, I know there are a couple of listings that will probably never sell! One has a Realtor that works about 3 hours away. I can just imagine, how he reacts when someone calls and ask to see the house. Obviously, he just expects that putting the house on the Realtors MLS, another Realtor will sell it for him. Another moved out of state but still comes every now and then and lists homes for sale and his co-workers sort of take care of his business. If these sellers would have just made a couple of phone calls, and pretend they were home buyers, they would have seen how bad these houses were represented. Mistakes like these can costs home sellers thousands of dollars.

Do not allow YOUR HOUSE to be what I call an "Orphan Listing" Similar to REO's and some Short Sales, those are listings where it appears nobody is in charge! banks sometimes assign listings at random with agents who are not familiar with the area, and do not seem to spend any time advertising those listings. Their great marketing ploy is only to post the listing on the local MLS.

Finally, if you already have your home on the market, go find it on the Internet! Find out how it shows, is it missing important information? use the list above and see what happens. On almost any real estate site on the Internet you can simply put your zip code and a price range, your house should show in all it's glory... or not! If your Realtor have done his/her job properly and professionally, and your house has not sold... REDUCE THE PRICE!

As a Professional Realtor, I am in the front lines and play an important part, up close and very personal when representing a homeowner who is facing foreclosure. How do you stay up beat during these trying times?

Selling a house used to be a voluntary, smooth and well thought out process. Typically home sellers would be looking forward to their new place, or new destination. Asking them to prepare the house for sale was greeted with joy and anticipation, everybody in the family would get in on helping sell the house and move on to the next one.

Sadly, that is not the case now, in probably 30-40% of the cases I deal with. The entire process requires a lot more TLC, that infamous "Tender, Love & Care" is far more important now than ever before. Most people do not realize, how critical our role as Listing Agents has become. Dealing with banks and Foreclosures, we have learned where to go, who to talk to, what type of information and documentation are required, but getting all that together from a depressed individual who is short of money, low in self stem, angry with his lender, and maybe unemployed is not an easy task.

When we come to meet with these sellers to speak about listing the house for sale, we can sense the frustration, the mental anguish, the despair that some people have. The entire house is in disarray, the lawn has not been cut for months, plants have not been watered, children don't play loudly anymore, and pets get more aggressive.

You think I am making these things up? As I type these words, I am mentally reliving my own recent experiences with short sales and foreclosure clients.

I need their help, they need my help. We must work together! I need them to stay focus and mentally alert and to work together towards achieving the goal of selling the house and for them to move on with life. I often suggest to start considering these points:

• Realize that regardless of the outcome, this situation is temporary. It will change, and it will get better

• Sprucing up and cleaning the house will help get a much better price and sell a lot quicker

• If the house sells for a good price, your potential deficiency judgement will be lower

• Gathering all necessary documents is a must. Short sale approvals will depend on complete packages

• If there are young children in the house, tell them what is happening. This could be an interesting lesson. And show them how you can overcome adversity... with their help and support.

• The family will be moving, so start packing, do a garage sale, lighten up your load

• Get active! Depression will kill you! Cleaning things around the house will help you

• Get involved in the process of selling the house. There are serious deadlines, foreclosures are followed by Trustee Sales and then by Sheriff's evictions... if necessary. You need to know when and where to go.

The most important thing is to realize that you are not alone. Unfortunately, thousands of people are in the same situation you are. The sooner you get out from under this situation, the quicker you will begin the process of recovery. You have been successful in the past, that is why you become a homeowner, you can do it again... FHA loans are waiting for you just about three years from foreclosure, remember that.

Finally; Not all Realtors are created equal! Some are true Professionals, who have made an effort to educate themselves in the intricacies of dealing with short sales and foreclosures. Begin by looking for an experienced, knowledgeable and Professional Realtor. One who has done a few short sales and foreclosures, because experience and knowledge does count here. This is not a job for a beginner.

If you do not know anyone, feel free to email me, or call me, because no matter where you are in the county, I am sure I can find you the best local Realtor for your market. REMEMBER THIS: There is no cost for this service. For your information: I will get paid a small referral fee for connecting you with that person. That is why, I'll make sure WE get the very best one! Visit us at: www.listedbyantonio.com

There are many ways to get rid of a bad habit. My aunt Carmen however, found a way to interfere with someones funeral to bury her demons. This technique might not work for everybody, but here is the story just in case someone wants to try it.

While rushing to get home today, I was stopped "dead on the road" so-to-speak by... a funeral parade. It reminded me of an important funeral that gets talked about in almost all of my family reunions.

My aunt Carmen (her real name) is one of those women who can get almost everything right in life except a good man. An attractive 40 something, twice divorce, active person, Carmen one day announced to the family that she had finally found the right man, she was in love... again. Welcome Alfonzo (His real name.) And after they met they had the most wonderful time of their lives... all 3 weeks of them! That is when they had the first big fight and parted ways for a few days... only to re-connect a few days later.

For the next year & half, they fought, split and reconciled almost weekly. She would find him with other women all over town, he would tell her he will be in one place, and then she will find him in another place with a female companion.

All come to an abrupt end when she discovered he had 2 other girlfriends, a pregnant wife... and two kids! Aunt Carmen loved this guy so much, she kept coming back to him, time and time again, but this time it was different, her heart could not be mended anymore, in their last fight, she even threatened to kill him!

On a rainy Saturday afternoon aunt Carmen got dressed in all black including a veil and drove towards the cemetery. She waited for a couple of hours crying inconsolably, all alone in her car. Finally here it comes, a funeral procession entered, cars and people followed the hearse, my aunt got out of her car and joined the mourners, she cried as hard as any family member of the deceased, she even participated on throwing a handful of dirt onto the casket, she cried so hard that it moved people to gave her their condolences.

The picture we got from her was that she did look and felt miserable in that graveyard, soaking wet, with dirt all over her, swollen eyes from crying, and the family of the deceased trying in a hostile manner to find out who she was. To this day, we do not know whether the deceased was a man or a woman, and as she told us the story, we were in tears... tears of pain!

We were laughing out so hard, wondering what the grieving family thought of this stranger in their funeral. But for Aunt, she had buried her man. For all intends and purposes he was for her as dead as a doorknob, granted we all knew he was very much alive and well, frolicking perhaps with yet another woman.

The big test come just 2 weeks after that funeral when aunty Carmen and a girlfriend of hers come face to face with Alfonzo and his date at a restaurant. He come to her and asked her how she was doing, she looked at him directly in his eyes and asked him who he was.

He was horrified when she told him that she had just attended his funeral! The man of her dreams was dead and buried forever; the stranger in front of her was no one she could recognize. Her heart had finally healed. From that day on, anytime I see a funeral parade go by, I wonder if the cadaver is the only thing being buried that day.