Don Spera, Serving York and Adams County, PA

Did You Cast Your Vote?

This past Tuesday we had our Primary Election in Pennsylvania with some key positions and incumbents coming up for re-election. We seen the fall of Arlen Specter. According to the news media, his demise came from changing his party affiliation just to get re-elected on his last term.

What I did see was a major shift in peoples attitudes and their way of thinking. Our local polling place said they were running out of forms for people wanting to change their party affilliation and either wanting to vote independent or no affilliation at all. Our state requires you to vote your party line at the Primary election. My understanding is that not all states require this. I wholeheartedly agree with not having to vote a straight party ticket at the Primary.

There are too many politicians that are intimidated by not voting their conscience, but voting their party line, as they have tremendous peer pressure. If a bill is introduced from their party, they better go along with it, as when that particular member comes up with a bill, you cannot expect the others to go along with his or hers.

We need to get rid of career politicians. I am hopeful that anything to do with Real Estate decisions, RPAC is hard at work. We need to have more input on what is happening out there in our industry. There is not enough bounced off of us. It is the lawmakers on any given day, coming up with different strategies without talking to our profession. We are the people out there beating the pavements to keep our industry strong. Let our voice be heard. So if you did cast your vote, did you do it in good conscience, I know I did and I picked up the change in affiliation form as well. To change your party affilliation or to register click here (PA only)

Social Networking Do's & Don'ts

DO Remember that you're in public - When you're having fun, its easy to forget that almost anyone can find what you've written on your social networks. Make sure you don't say anything that can damage your professional reputation. "Unless your profile is private, which defeats the purpose, Google sees everything. The means your boss or that "high maintenance client" you just complained about can find it, too".

DON'T forget that its a two-way street - Online networking, like in-person networking, requires give and take. To build a bond with your friends on Facebook and other sites, take time every now and then to read and comment on other people's posts.

DO make social connections - Discuss your interests. This may well include topics related to real estate, but it should be a genuine pursuit, and not a lead-in to a sales pitch. That doesn't mean it can't help you stay in front of the mind of your friends.

DON'T dwell on your work- Although it's tempting to view Facebook and other sites as a free-for-all promotional platform, using it only to market yourself and your listings will alienate the friends you have on the network.

Be true to yourself and your job, be consistent, honest, trustworthy, and ethical, then everything else we fall right into place. I am sure there are many more Social Networking Do's and Don'ts that we can all come up with to add to this blog.

No one likes to hear that the have to "Shed a Few Pounds". I don't mean personally, I mean the house you are about to list needs to have the clutter and debris removed before even thinking about marketing their home.

Beauty is in the eyes of the beholder. We have to be tactful but honest about what needs to be done for them to maximize the value they will receive for their home.

If someone rents a reasonably sized storage shed in our area, it will cost them about $150 per month. Even if their house takes 6 months to sell that equals $900.00. Do to this small effort, the Seller in most cases will increase their return on money by 1,000% by opening up the house, organizing and being more practical. I am sure you would agree, by doing this, the Seller will increase their value tremendously.

Where else can you get that kind of return on your money, by shedding a few pounds and placing your clutter items in a storage unit. You will have achieved your ultimate goal of selling the home and entering into your database another happy family.

Deal Killers are out there, Realtor beware

We put so much time and energy from day one with our clients, and then we have someone that has no attachment to our client throw a monkey wrench in and kills the deal, without any use of professionalism whatsoever. The following are a list of past deal killers and potential deal killers in the future.

1. All Inspectors
2. Appraisers
3. Lenders
4. Sellers
5. Buyers
6. Other Realtors
7. Title Companies
8. Insurance Companies
9. Government Regulations
10. Relatives
11. Friends
12. Neighbors where you are leaving from
13. Neighbors where you are moving too

Open communication is the name of the game. It is like a marriage as we need to be a team to reach the ultimate goal.

This post is not to come down on all of the groups listed above as the majority fully care about what they do and have great communication skills. A wise instructor told his class, "it is not what you say, it is how you say it". Full disclosure is the name of the game, and if there are any issues, all of this should be known or done up front before everyone gets their hopes built up. Most objections can be overcame and remedied.

The goal is not to work with any previous "deal killers", as it is a reflection on you and our entire profession. Lets communicate and we will be in a win-win situation.

Do you go above and beyond the call of duty?

Doesn't it seem sometimes that we become super heroes? The reason I say do you go above and beyond the call of duty is that in order to get a sale to closing we do what it takes to get it there.

Today I experienced that again. I went out with the home inspector and pumper to do a septic certification. No sooner than we got started we quickly found out there was some issues. Supposedly the Seller was unaware of an additional tank. So normally it is the Sellers responsibility to uncover this. Well since they were not aware of it being another tank, do I send the inspector back home and the pumper or just go ahead and find the other tank.

I decided to go ahead and find it. So we followed the lines and the inspector probed until he hit the lid. It was buried about 1 1/2 feet under the ground with plenty of rock and soil on top of it. Well as a Realtor, I don't carry that type of equipment. Fortunately the Seller had a digging iron, shovel, pick and rake in his basement. So between the inspector, the two guys from the pumping company, and myself, we had at it. After about an hour of digging, we got to the lid.

Well low and behold after lifting the lid, it was packed with what we would have anticipated, and very solid. The homeowner was not happy he was not aware of the other tank and had to pay an additional charge for the pumping and exposure of the lid, but it got the job done. There were some other issues, but that is for an expert in the field.

So what it boils down to as their Realtor, we do what it takes to get our clients to the closing table. What have you done above and beyond your call of duty?