Dale Bledsoe

A short time ago I wrote a blog called "War Has Been Declared". It was about a young couple that was divorcing and the struggle I was having getting their property on the market and beginning the short sale process. I am not telling you the Hatfields and McCoys have apologized to each other or that the Yankees and Red Sox are exchanging Christmas cards, but I will tell you there is peace in the valley (that's the Central Valley here in California) or at least a temporary truce.

I explained to each side that not getting the short sale completed would have a devastating effect on their credit as not selling would result in a foreclosure(I tried to sound threatening). I told them you don't have to like each to do business with each other and this is a business agreement. It worked. We sat down and signed a listing agreement, filled out the short sale package, and the sign goes in the front yard this afternoon.

We haven't completed the transaction and there is still a long way to go, but for now there is peace in the valley.

My name is Dale E. Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and as always I may be reached at 209-481-6031. You may also visit me on the web at www.dalebledsoe.com.

I received a call from a friend asking for help selling their condo. It is a short sale and the hardship is DIVORCE! Shouldn't have answered the phone. Both husband and wife want to sell, but they have declared war on anything that is mutual. They won't sit down together or apart to sign documents.

She is friendly enough and will sign docs but refuses to do a financial unless he does first. He will sign docs separate from her, but only if I (yes me) pay his divorce lawyer to be present.

Shouldn't have answered the phone, but I am sure one of you have been able to overcome a situation like this before. HELP, Suggestion Box is open and waiting!

My name is Dale Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and as always I may be reached at 209-48106031. You may also visit me on the web at www.dalebledsoe.com

Not long ago I received an emal from a good friend. The email include the name and phone number of a person looking for an agent to list his home. Nothing better than starting the day with a referral.

I called and made an appointment to meet with the home owner and see the home. The owner told me not to bother bringing comps because he knew how much the property was worth (red flag). He also told me the home could only be shown when he was there and no lock box would be permitted (red flag). He also said he would prefer that no sign be posted but he was willing to discuss the matter (red flag).

I decided to meet with him and did the comps anyway. I knew what he had paid for the property and knew its current value was less than half of what he had paid.

When I arrived he greeted me warmly and introduced me to his wife. I guessed him to be over 60 (turned out to be 64). They offered me coffee, and we sat at the kitchen table. He gave a history lesson about him, his years in Tracy, and his relationship with various city offices and officials. The history lesson included some not so positive information.

Finally he took me on a tour of the property. It was a nice house and fit in well with the neighborhood. He told me about the upgrades he had chosen and how his home was unique in the neighborhood (red flag), although I didn't agree with his assessment. Now the moment of truth. He told me he wanted tp list the property for a little over what he had paid for it at the top of the market. I calmly explained that its current market value was substantially lower and the home would be ignored on the market at his suggested price. He said he had purchased the property so he could make money when he retired and that was he planned to do. Really!

The short of it is that he believed that if every home owner refused to sell at today's prices and demanded a price in line with what they had paid the housing crisis would be instantly over. His logic against the reality of the day.

I didn't take the listing, but a few weeks later a letter to the editor appeared in our local paper from him. He explained the four agents from four major companies had refused his listing. He wrote he had a right to list his home at his price and those Realtors and their respective companies should be banned from doing business. He wrote that a law should be passed that mandates an agent to list a property as the home owner demands, with no right of refusal. He explained that it was the agents that wanted to keep the market suppressed. Really!

A few weeks later I received a call from my friend that had made the referral. He apologized and said he had no idea what his friend had been up to. He said he realized now that his real goal was to be turned down so he could rant at Realtors because he believed a Realtor had misled him when he made the purchase.

Next time I will hang up politely after the third red flag.

My name is Dale E. Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and as always I may be reached at 209-481-6031. You may also visit me on the web at www.dalebledsoe.com

Like most of you when I started my RE career I was told by everyone, "its all about relationships".

I am in my sixth year now and I have long since been convinced that all of those well minded people were and are correct. I would like to speak briefly about some of the strongest relationships that I have formed.

First my relationship with my smart phone. Its not a perfect relationship, but most relationships most are not. If I am outside, of course I must find shade or shield the screen to read anything. Not that smart. I remember once about 10 years ago when I lost my son in a Target store for about 3 minutes. I panicked, a little, but at the same time I knew he was just down an isle I had yet to check. But, loose my smart phone for three minutes and I start to sweat and become convinced that the other agent was finally calling me back and I was missing the call. Now I talk on my phone at least an hour each day while my soon to be sixteen year old son gives me about 15 seconds each day. Am I closer to my phone than my son? just not sure.

Next is old number 3. Gas pump number 3 that is. I buy gas at the same place two or three times each week. Same pump each time. Each time I stand there and think about how the pump, like my son has just drained another 30 -50 dollars from my ATM card.

Finally there is my Laser Jet color printer. Works great every time, and even warns me when an outrageously expensive color cartridge is about to run dry. Seems to happen every month or so, probably because I use it everyday. Of course then, like old number 3 and my son, my ATM card gets drained again. Very thoroghly I might add.

There are other relationships of course. My battery challenged Lock Box key, my lap top which thinks it has a right to stop working just because I drop it and of course my GPS whose favorite word is Recalculating. Yes, no doubt it is a relationship business.

In a day or two I will tell you about some of the human relationships I have formed in this business and how they to look to further drain my ATM card

My name is Dale Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and as always I may be reached at 209-481-6031. Or, you may visit me on the web at www.dalebledsoe.com

What Susan didn't say is that while she works hard at her own Real Estate business, she also works very hard to help others to find path ways to success. Susan, is the inspiration behind Crown Key Realty, the broker and by default the team leader. She is a great friend, a terrific mom, and a baseball fan. She inspires agents like me, to work harder, smarter and do so with an ethical standard unsurpassed in our business. Thanks Susan, my being a Rain Maker is just one more of your long list of accomplishments.

What you have just read above is a comment I left on a blog by Susan Goulding. Susan is my broker at Crown Key Realty. She is also the founder and owner. Before Crown Key Realty I worked with Susan at a large nationally know Real Estate company. The first four members of Crown Key all worked there together. For a number of reasons it just wasn't working. It just didn't feel good. So, not one to sit around (read as: Activist) Susan became a broker, and immediately set the wheel in motion to start Crown Key. I asked to join and was immediately accepted. My numbers have doubled and while I can't say my hair grew back, I can say my beard has no more gray after a year.

Susan leads first by example, she leads with humor when appropriate, with kindness and caring, but make no mistake, she can get rough when the situation calls for it.

The original blog I commented on was about why she recommends Active Rain to other agents. Mostly she wrote about me. Reading between the lines the blog said "Dale, if you blog more you'll be more successful and you enjoy writing anyway". She knows I read her blogs, and she knew how I would react. I did, and I am blogging more.

Again, thanks Susan, for who you are and what you do.

As always my name is Dale E. Bledsoe with Crown Key Realty and I may be reached at 209-481-6031. Also you may visit me on the web at www.dalebledsoe.com Thanks for reading.