Amy Salisbury West Virginia Realtor/Jefferson/Berkeley

So its been about 2 weeks since I've written a blog post or a comment. Well, see, I had a nasty cold that kicked my a** for over a week. By the time I got back to work, things had predictably piled up on my desk. I've gotten pretty much caught up, so back to the Rain!

I have a couple of new projects: Chairing the Education Committee for our Board and taking over the helm of our homeowner's association.

Just call me Madame President.

Ok, you don't have to.

I'm honored to be involved with both organizations. I'll talk more about the Ed. Comm. in later blogs, but right now I have to brag on my neighborhood. Avon Bend on the Shenandoah is a pretty community located next to the Shenandoah River, which actually curves around our community. Its beautiful. The Blue Ridge Mountains hover over us providing a gorgeous vista throughout the year.

Last night we got some heavy, wet snow. I took these very unprofessional shots from my deck this morning:

Both of these shots are from west to east. Mr. Sunshine puts on a pretty spectacular show almost every morning.

I know this isn't really about REAL ESTATE, but who cares? And I probably should have waited to post on "Wordless Wednesday," but remaining wordless isn't my strong suit...

While commenting on a post by Todd Clark, I realized I had stumbled upon an idea for a blog post of my own.

His post : http://activerain.com/blogsview/859391/Could-my-2009-start-with-a-brokerage-move talks about a big decision he's considering: stay where he is, move to a different brokerage, or possibly jump out on his own. I've been where he is now...unsure of how to proceed with my real estate business.

I'll try to keep the background brief: About 3-ish years ago, my dear friend, Susan Williams, and I began a rather tentative discussion about whether or not we should try to open our own brokerage. Somewhat disatisfied with our current office, we started kicking ideas around about how we'd handle particular situations differently. Turns out, there were lots of ideas, which lead to even more ideas, and suddenly, 6 months later, we had a business plan, office space and another trusted Realtor who would be our broker.

Leading Edge Properties, LLC was born!

We certainly have days when we think, "if we had known then what we now know, we might not have opened up."

There are many more days when we think, "if we had known then what we now know, we still would have opened, but we'd have been a lot more frightened!"

Because, let me tell you, owning your own brokerage can be a pretty scary thing:

*No one else to turn to when you have a major problem with a client, transaction or whatever.

*No one else to turn to when there are not enough closings to meet the monthly financial obligations.

*No one else to turn to when you just want a day off!

And while the vast majority of our fellow agents and past brokers are totally supportive of us, there have been many naysayers along the way. Yes, we opened just about the time the bottom fell out of our market here in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. Yes, sales prices are dropping, meaning less commission coming in on our closings. Yes, there are expenses you don't realize you're going to have.

But -

There's no way either of us would have had the time or energy required to do this back when the market was hot. Due to limited finances, we set this company up with frugality in mind! We have been extremely careful about our marketing plan and the dollars spent there. We purchased used office furniture and equipment. We've seen other brokerages scale way back in the last 2 1/2 years by closing offices, cutting services, etc. Because we started frugally, we've been able to weather the economic storm somewhat more easily.

We have two main guiding principles that we drum into each other and into the agents who now work with us:

Set The Tone - We found that the tone being set in many of the other companies was that of a more corporate mentatlity. That type of thinking often countered what was best for the people working at those offices, but more importantly, it didn't jibe with what was best for the people we (the agents) were representing.

and

Real Estate is a PERSONAL/PEOPLE thing. When you take the people out of the equation, you're never going to do a good job. Real people buy and sell real estate for personal reasons. Real people have real needs in their purchases and sales.

A brokerage that runs like a factory doesn't do anything to encourage agent or client loyalty.

By being "People-centric," we're able to look at individual needs of our clients and also our agents. We believe this concept will allow us to succeed, even in these tough economic times. By being ready, willing and available to incorporate our clients' needs into the way we market their properties or help them complete a purchase, we believe we offer a much better fit than the "one size fits all" corporate mentality of many other brokerages.

Change is painful, scary and usually rewarding. I don't have a crystal ball: even if I did, I seriously doubt it would be working now, so only time will tell if our little company will ultimately be successful or not. What I am sure of is that we strive to work hard and smart. We believe in what we're doing. We're positive that, even if the worst happens, we know that we gave it our all.

On Friday, I attended my last closing of 2008. I worked for the buyer, who happens to be a friend from church. She'd been thinking about buying for several years, but called me out of the blue just before Thanksgiving and said she was ready, pre-approved and even knew which house she wanted to purchase!

The property she chose is a circa 1920's duplex with high ceilings, soaring windows, around 1500 square feet and had been beautifully renovated about 5 years ago. Listed just under $130,000 and located in the older section of Martinsburg, WV, it had been on the market since early 2008.

The owners had relocated out of the area because of a job transfer, but they had left some furniture staged nicely. My friend fell in love with it!

I strongly encouraged her to look at similar properties, similarly priced, before she committed to making an offer. She did, but still wanted the duplex.

Having seen the competition, we thought we could probably offer less than asking price and also for some closing cost help. We did, the sellers accepted the offer, and so it began.

Unfortunately for the sellers, they purchased the property in 2004. Prices at that time were elevated, duh, and our sales price would leave them just over $30,000 short for their payoff. But they were on it! They'd already applied for a personal loan to cover the difference and were simply waiting for closing day to bring the check to settlement.

Now let me say that in this area, we routinely are still seeing re-sales listed at crazy too-high prices. I don't want to point the finger at anyone (Lord knows, I've had my own problems with sellers who simply won't believe what the comps are saying), but unrealistic sellers and agents who won't stick to their guns on asking prices are making this tough market even tougher. This property DID NOT fall into this category. It was priced well and had many lovely features and amenities. Both the buyer and I were surprised it hadn't sold already.

And I've heard the horror stories about appraisals coming in seriously under contract price: by tens of thousands, sometimes many tens of thousands. There are plenty of neighborhoods where the only sold comps are distressed sales...it is what it is. This property was not in one of those neighborhoods.

Neither the listing agent nor I thought we'd have a problem with this listing appraising at sales price.

How wrong can you be??? Ugh, pretty wrong...

$2900 was the difference between appraised value and sales price. That's right, less than three thousand dollars. Remember the sellers are already bringing over $30,000 to closing. My side of the commission was less than $2900. My friend, a single mom working for the federal government, who had worked hard to save her down payment, clean up glitches on her credit before even looking at houses or talking to her lender, was devastated. I can only imagine the conversation the listing agent had with his clients.

We searched and searched closed comps for something to give the appraiser. And I'm not knocking the appraiser. She apologized for being so close and yet so far away...she searched and searched as well. No better comps to be found.

Having properties listed for such a lengthy time means the comps you use to price a property correctly, fall out of the window the appraiser can use once you finally have a contract on the property. In this declining market, what do you do?

The sellers called their lienholder, explaining the situation and asking forgiveness for the shortfall. They said they'd be willing to do it, but the seller must submit a FULL SHORT SALE PACKAGE for consideration. OMG...for $2900???

Ultimately, the sellers found some money (likely tucked safely under their mattress), my friend found a little bit more money and the listing agent and I split the difference.

In retrospect, I'm so thankful that this transaction was between reasonable people who could see the forest through the tress. The sellers couldn't have been more gracious. Their agent is one I had not met before, but one with whom I hope to work many times in the future. My friend kept her eyes on the prize. She said on more than one occasion that this purchase wasn't an "investment" but was going to be her "home" for a long time.

Properties are selling, albeit for way less than what they sold just a few years ago. But when you do your job diligently by pricing your listings aggressively and they still don't appraise, what do you do?

In the early 2000's, when prices started their quick climb up, I remember saying, "I don't even know how to price properties anymore." There was nothing worse than getting a listing sold, only to find out that it appraised for significantly higher than sales price. Wrong again...this is worse.

Let me set the scene:

Saturday, December 27, 2008. The relative calm before the BCS Bowl Storm that begins next week.

West Virginia Mountaineers, led by Coach Bill Stewart and WVU Quarterback Pat White, show up in Charlotte, NC to play in the Meineke Car Care Bowl against the North Carolina Tarheels.

Let's face it. Its been a tough year for the Mountaineers. Could Coach Stewart pull out a win this time? Last year, there was a lot of emotion at the bowl game. He was simply filling in as interim coach after the defection of Rich Rodriguez. But that emotion and heart, not to mention talent, were more than enough to achieve the win. With a pretty disappointing regular season behind them this year, the Mountaineer football team needed to show the world that last year wasn't just a fluke.

And more importantly, as the last bowl game Pat White would play in, the team wanted to win with him. Arguably the best player ever to wear the Blue and Gold, Pat White has made us all sit up and take notice. His running! His throwing! His leadership ability! He's simply been a joy to watch and cheer for the last 4 years. We'll be missing him for a long time to come.

Coach Stewart who was the quarterback's coach before becoming the head coach said it best. "Its bittersweet." Knowing this was the last time he would coach this special young man, he stated what we all are feeling.

The win over NC was thrilling, satisfying and, yes, bittersweet. As I've said before, Pat White will be sorely missed. Whenever you hear "Country Roads," Pat, think of us as we'll be remembering you.

But that's not all! Just after the bowl game ended, the WVU Mens Basketball team was in Columbus, Ohio. Our unranked team was ready to take on the #15 Buckeyes, who just happened to be on a 14 game winning streak. Ouch. This one might hurt a little bit.

Coach Huggins, equally loved and hated, was finally playing the Buckeyes, a place he'd wanted to be for quite a long time. And the Mountaineers showed that he was in the right place at the right time. As the disbelieving OSU fans looked on, the Mountaineers played, if not quite to perfection, well pretty darn close! A 76-48 victory over the Buckeyes in Columbus(!) was the icing on the cake, the present we'd been waiting for, the ending to a great day if you're a Mountaineer Fan!

Our small state is much maligned and the butt of many jokes, but no one can deny that we have a great state university, which besides offering quality education to students from all around the country, also produces great athletes for us to admire! Thanks WVU!

As a proud Mountaineer Fan, last night's game against South Florida was bittersweet. Yes, them 'Eers came through and finally beat the Bulls, but it was the last regular season game for our hero, Patrick White.

Wearing their white uniforms, fans waving white towels and God showing his love for the Mountaineers with snow gently falling from the sky, we West Virginians bid a fond farewell to Mr. White.

The last 4 years have been exciting, thrilling, crushing and tumultuous. Under the caring coaching of Bill Stewart, the Mountaineer athletes, students, alumni and fans have become one again after the shock and disappointment of last season's defection of Mr. Rodriguez.

You see, here in Wild, Wonderful, West Virginia, the Mountaineers are as close as we come to a professional football team. Personally, I always root for Marshall too, but WVU reigns supreme. And I've had much to be proud of the last few years.

So, thanks for the memories Pat White! You've made all of us proud and we will follow your success at the next level too!