Andy Parker

How many buyers that you know would live in a house that a MURDER was committed in? Actually, it is manslaughter, but this was arrived at via a plea bargain. The fact is a Husband ended his wife's life on the property, had her buried there and eventually dug her body up and re-buried it in a subdivision.

Wow! That guy ruined the value of his house and likely made a disclosure for the developer of the subdivision, but I digress...

The question is, "What would you tell your buyer?" Of Course you have to disclose this, but if they asked you if you'd live in the house, what would you say?

Here's the account of the murder from our local newspaper:

http://www.times-standard.com/ci_14155836?IADID=Search-www.times-standard.com-www.times-standard.com

And here's the house:

http://www.flexmls.com/share/JRV/3875-Dows-Prairie-Road-Dows-Prairie-CA-95519

Also, I'd love to hear some suggestions for "Cleansing the house."

Looks kinda creepy...

Thanks for commenting.

Yes, I said it sneaky realtor! I don't mean sneaky in a bad way, more like making sure that you aren't wasting time. In this day and age of social networking and readily available information, it helps to put the internet to good use. A bit confused? Well, let me explain what I mean. Many times I will receive email from prospective buyers through various lead generation methods that I have employed. I have a habit of scanning the person's email through the various social networking sites to see who this person is. Myspace offers much more information (usually) than facebook, but you can type in the email address with both sites and find out a little more about the person. It satisfies my curiosity and (usually) gives me a face to go with a name.

If the person can't be found in either site you can try Zabasearch.com. This could very well give you an address for the lead.

Try it next time you get an internet lead. You might be able to tell if that email is a big waste of time...

Find me on FACEBOOK: http://www.facebook.com/humboldtrealtor

In keeping with the learning experiences theme from yesterday's blog, "Has this ever happened to you..." I wanted to tell you all about a big learning experience for me,

Two years ago, REO's were starting to pop up in our market. I had a Short Sale at the time that I showed to some prospective buyers. It wasn't quite for them, so I kept in contact and sent them a few listings. One caught their eye, it was an REO. We looked at it and then my buyers called and said, "Let's write an offer!"

So we did, but it was a long process because in addition to the 8 page Purchase Agreement, the bank provided a 16 page addendum that basically took away or limited many buyer protections found in the contract. We submitted the offer, along with 5 other offers. As with many multiple offer situations on REO's the bank came back and said highest and best, and they wanted all offers submitted by 5 P.M. that night, atleast that's what the agent said. We submitted our highest and best and in the morning the agent called me up and said, "The asset manager has accepted your offer."

So what did I do? I called my clients to tell them the good news! Whoops, bad idea because one of the other agents that hadn't responded by the dead line came back and upped the price $5000 above our best offer. I had to call my clients and tell them, that they accepted another offer.

The lesson I learned was don't say a thing until there is ink on paper and it's sitting on your desk!

I felt horrible and what's worse, I lost those clients to another agent. She wrote an offer for them on another home and they closed on it. They said it wasn't me, but that transaction clearly left a bad taste in their mouths.

Although it was my fault, I still owe that agent for pulling that maneuver. Without jeopardizing my ethics or putting one of my clients in a bad position, how could I get back at that agent? Or should I just drop it? Dropping it is probably the best way to go: Take the high road, but any suggestions for retaliation would be fun.

You have a listing and an agent shows it, all very normal, you call the agent for some feedback and they say, "My buyers love it, it's great, I'm writing an offer for them!"

It only takes one time to learn that you NEVER say ANYTHING to you Sellers about the offer that is coming in. You can give them feedback, but I never say a word about an offer until I have it in my hands.

Well, this happened recently, I received assurances from the agent that an offer was coming. Now, I'm an upbeat, optimistic person, but I wasn't holding my breath.

Two days later I called saying, "Where's that offer you were writing?"

"Oh, yeah, I meant to call you, they changed their minds..."

I guess the Realtor couldn't read her clients too well.

When I show a property that my client really likes and they tell me they want to write an offer, I don't tell the other agent until they have signed the paper. There's nothing that a threat of an offer can do to help a buyer get into contract on a home. It doesn't do anyone any good...

I realize that buyers change their minds all of the time, buying a home is a scary thing for people, the largest purchase many will make in their lives. That's why I believe that the "Big Promise" should be avoided at all costs.

If you're like me, you find that craigslist is a wonderful tool for marketing listings. Craigslist was founded by Craig Newmark in a effort to let friends know about events in the Bay Area, friends began to visit and before long were making suggestions. Hey! You could sell stuff on here, or find a ride, buy a ticket to a concert or get a date!

However, as with all good things, some will choose to use them for ill. That's what we have seen in Humboldt County. Realtors that post homes for sale have seen a scam become more and more prevalent. Many have experienced someone taking listings for sale and posting them in listings for rent. The scam begins when a renter contacts the creator of the bogus rental ad. The story varies, but a recent story went like this: The seller had taken a job in Africa and wanted to rent his house in a local town. He said that he could get the renter in if the renter sent money. This story sent up red flags and the renter was able to find out who the Realtor was and let her know.

The object, it seems, is to either get money or a credit card number. Last year an agent told a story of a renter that actually paid a deposit and MOVED INTO a local foreclosure. This was discovered after they had began to move in. The Realtor selling the foreclosure went in to pick up cards and found the scammed renters bringing in furniture. Wow!

Needless to say, it's a good idea to check the rental section of craigslist. You might might be surprised at what you find.

Good luck to those of you in large metropolitan areas, this might take awhile.