Lisa Dickey

I've been away from my blogging here for awhile but re-commited to starting back up and keeping at it. I have had a nice end of summer/fall as far as sales. What I had the most of this time was listings. Listings are great for a realtor for many reasons such as name exposure on the sign (which I don't have because I'm on a team but we'll get to that on another blog) and once set up are a matter of maintenance. However two key factors still exist now or in any market. That is pricing and presentation. Pricing I feel being the most important since if there is not a whole lot you can do about the presentation, price is your only recourse. Many feel the market is still down and I don't disagree but I am finding that homes that are priced right are jumping off the MLS! During the past 3 months I've been in 4 multiple offer situations. In one I actually had to pull out the good ol' escalation clause (not sure if it had been updated since 2004!). My point here being it is important to let your buyers and sellers know that priced right, their house can go quickly! I've come to recoginze these properties now. As a matter of fact I have now made it a habbit for clients looking in that $325k and below range to pull market studies on any listings they want to see, especially for listings that have just hit the market or just had a major price reduction. This way I can let them know that if they are interested we are going to have to act fast and with their best foot forward. I've lost two and won two so 50/50 but being that it was my first two I lost I feel like I'm back in the swing with my last two and my research paid off! On the listing side a multiple offer situation is a dream and I have been working hard on my listings to realize this and price right and so far this had paid off.

Hi all- As a realtor I can't tell you how important it is to have your home priced right in this market. I know a lot of people want to price over the value thinking someone is going to come in and lowball them so to say but I think this is the wrong approach. First, no one can make you sell your home for less than what you want to sell it for. Let the price wars be worked during negotiating. If you price to high you are turning people off before they even look at the home. For example if you think your home is going to sell for $345 then don't price it at $360 antiipating a lower offer. You are losing all the people looking at $350 and below. In this market, what I have noticed from my buyers is they tend to turn their noses up at high priced listings thinking the sellers are too unrealistic and don't want to deal. If someone likes your house and you only have a few thousand in wiggle room that can be negotiated. You have to get the buyers in the door first and high pricing is not going to accomplish that.

An appraisal in this market is key! If you are thinking of selling or have a listing that you want appraised, do it! Showing a prospective buyer an appraisal done by an appraiser is a great marketing tool. It also can bring unrealistic sellers into reality since no matter what anyone agrees to on a contract, the bank is going to send out an appraiser and if the home doesn't appraise the seller can't sell it for that amount unless the buyer is willing to pay in cash over the amount of the appraisal which in this market isn't happening. It's better to just go with the realistic approach. High pricing keeps you home on the market longer than it has to and in the end you end up usually having to go lower than you ever wanted because now your home has been on the market a long time which is also a turn off. Price right from the beginning and it will save you and your clients a lot of headaches!

Central Maryland Appraisal Services is running a promotion right now. Here are the details:

$75.00 for a desktop review with owner/agent description of property

$125-150 depending on location in Maryland for a drive-by appraisal

$200-$250 depending on location for a full appraisal. (normally $400)

For more info contact Jamie at Central Maryland Appraisal Services at jamie@cmasllc.com or at 443-829-2791.

Hope this helps everyone out there!

For the second time in my career I am encountering a client that is using multiple agents. While I can understand an investor using multiple agents, when it is not an investor and someone who plans to buy and live at the home they are purchasing it creates an air of negativity at least for me. My first experience with a multiple agent client was a referral from my team leader. I was a new agent and eager to work. I ended up showing this client at least 50 homes only to have the client decide not to buy afterall. When the client changed their mind a year later, they of course used another agent who was the first agent they could reach. I now found out today that another set of clients that I wrote an offer up for in the spring but was rejected is doing the same thing. I found out through a mutual aquaintance they had put an offer in on a home recently and was of course surprised since we've been in touch and they are recieivng MLS listings from me. They told me today they have talked to multiple agents and are just trying to find a good deal so if an agent comes across one, they tell them to call them and go with that person. While my first client was very open about what they were doing, this client was not. I explained to them why they needed to disclose this to other agents and ramifications of the buyer agency agreement and how if this was their plan, they needed to make sure that when they sign these agreements to specify that it is for this house only. I am now afraid to work with this client even if I do come across a good deal. I live in a relatively close knit community and while I will let a client out of a buyer agency agreement if they don't want to work with me I have a huge fear of another agent coming after me because they didn't know this client was doing this. I feel like to protect myself I would need them to sign something stating that they had disclosed to all other agents that contracts submitted on their behalf were for that home purchase only and that the agent was aware this client is working with multiple agents. Plus for some reason I just feel like I'm being used like a little ring and puppy show. Like they are holding the possible commission as a treat for the agent that does the best trick! What stinks is that I need the money! Can't wait for the days when the market is good again!!!

I have a listing that is coming on the market tomorrow. I orginally met with the sellers in February with the intent of getting the home on the market in mid-March just in time to catch the spring selling season which is typically the best we have over the course of a year. The home had been updated but needed painting and there were some unfinished projects such as trim work in the lower level family room that needed to be done. The carpet on the main level and upper level needed to be replaced too. They had cleaned it again and again but with 3 boys and a dog, the light colored carpet just could not come clean. In addition the upstairs bathroom had some cracking tiles in the floor. The first thought was to list the house and give the buyers a $2000 credit to replace the carpet and to have the bathroom floor work done while the listing was active but just explain what was going on. As we got closer to putting this house on I changed my mind and advised them that I thought we should wait. I feel like first impresssions are the world right now in this market and with the increased inventory I find at least with my buyers, unless it was a short sale or foreclosure, a lack of tolerance for homes that needed work even if the work was minor. It seemed the attitude was if they were going on as a regular sale it better be done on the inside. My sellers replaced the bathroom tile and vanity which added new life to the bathroom! They also got rid of the carpet all together and had the hardwood floors that span the main level and upper level completely re-done. They rented an off-site storage unit and decluttered. The whole house has been painted and they hired a carpenter to come in and finish the trim work. It looks amazing and I am hoping this pays off. The market has slowed a bit where I am and seems sluggish in neighborhoods that are typically easy sales but I feel like this house might not have attracted a buyer this past spring and that it was the smart move to wait and put it on finished!