The Christiansen Team

When a buyer asks us if the neighborhood is "good or bad", we always tell them to go online and check the crime stats, or to go ahead a do a drive-by. (Pun intended.)

Amanda has been working with a younger couple that is struggling to find the right home on their budget. They sent Amanda a list of five houses that they wanted to see today. One of them is in a very well known high crime area. The buyers were aware of this, so they drove by it...

As they pulled in the alley they saw a group of about twenty angry looking men. These men were all dressed the same. These men all stared at them and gave them mean looks. Uh oh.

The couple quickly knew they needed to get out of there. They turned the car around and pulled away. They noticed that another car started following them. They accelerated and the car started chasing them...

Okay. I have to run. I'll come back and finish this tomorrow.

Just kidding. It turns out that the car following them was the DEA. Drug Enforcement Agency for those of you that don't know what DEA stands for. The house next door to the one they wanted to see is a known drug house, and the agents thought that my buyers were there to buy drugs, saw their car, and took off.

The agents asked them to get out of their car, frisked them, asked them 20 questions, and even took a drink out of the can the buyer was drinking to make sure there wasn't alcohol in it. After a few minutes they let the frightened couple go on their way. Now THAT'S scary!

Needless to say, they did not view that house today. Whether you are buying a house in Fort Wayne or in Dallas, Texas... if you aren't sure of the neighborhood, do your homework and maybe take a quick trip through the area. Preferably on a Saturday night. Did I tell you this happened mid day?? Be careful out there kids!

There is a local agent that does the same thing every time we show one of his listings. (And usually within MINUTES of setting up the showing.)

Agent XYZ: "Hey Jared. Agent XYZ here. Listen... I saw that you are showing my listing over there on 123 Main St. Well here's the deal. I have another listing over at 127 Main St. that is similar in size and just a few houses down. I really think that you should go ahead and show that one as well. What do you say??"

Me: "Well Agent XYZ... I'm very aware that you have another listing at 127 Main St. because I am a Realtor® that has MLS access and knows how to search for homes. The reason we didn't want to see that one is because the bedroom sizes are way too small, and the backyard isn't fenced in. Thanks for your unnecessary call and I look forward to another one next time I schedule a showing on one of your other listings."

If I sound a bit snippy, it's because he ALWAYS does this and we have had this conversation about FIVE times. (Not kidding.)

After we hung up I started thinking about it. Is he hurting his seller on home #1 by asking me to show a different home that is it's competition? Even if it's his listing? What are your thoughts?

I just read a blog over on Trulia where a Realtor was excited to start door knocking for business again. He said he hadn't done it in over five years, but was anxious to get out there and get to work!

I cringed.

If I'm sitting in my dining room having dinner with my lovely bride, and I see somebody approaching my door... I know this person is either:

1. Selling something.

2. Selling something.

Nobody has ever knocked on my front door to say hi, to introduce themselves, or to give me money. I don't have any young kids at home, so it's never the neighbor kids asking if Mike can come out and play either.

Wait. I take that back. My neighbor Robin has knocked on my door to drop off cookies. Bless her heart.

I'm not saying that door knocking won't work for this guy, and I wish him all the luck in the world. It's just not my style. Here is my door knocking experience:

Back in 2009 Amanda and I were holding an open house. We decided to print out 100 fliers and drop them off to all of the families in the neighborhood. We practiced our script, made sure we didn't have anything in our teeth, and away we went.

House 1: Hi! We are Jared and Amanda with The Christiansen Team at RE/MAX Home Connection. We are holding an open house this Sunday over at 123 Main St, right down the road from you! Feel free to stop by and see the home, and bring anybody you can think of. There will be snacks and drinks. Hope to see you there!

House 1: Yeah. Great. Thanks. Can't wait. (He took the flier!!)

House 2: Hi! We are... Home owner: Slams door.

House 3: Hi! We are... Home owner: Not interested. Thanks.

House 4: Hi! We are... Home owner: Are you selling vacuum cleaners? Ha! GO AWAY!!

House 5: We didn't even start talking because the owner answered the door in a very skimpy night gown that almost revealed everything. She was probably approaching 80, so it wasn't even a good thing.

I could go on, but I won't. We spent the next few hours getting rejection after rejection. None of the neighbors showed up to the open house. None of the neighbors ever called us. I'm not saying this style doesn't work anymore, I'm just saying it's not for us.

What are your thoughts? Realtors: Do you still do this? Home Owners: Would door knocking work with you?

After getting Deb pre-approved I showed her some homes in South West Fort Wayne. After four showings we found "the one". She asked if we could see it again the following day, and asked me to bring a purchase agreement because she was ready to make an offer.

I ran my comps and found that the home was priced pretty well for the area. Since we were asking the seller to pay for Deb's closing costs, a survey, and a home warranty, I recommended offering around 92% of list price. I thought that if we offered that we could come to an agreement around 96% of list price and everybody wins. What she said next threw me for a loop.

"I hear what you are saying Jared, but my hairdresser said I should offer 60% of list price. You know. Cause it's a buyer's market."

"What the WHAT?" was my response.

Deb went on to tell me that her hairdresser got a great deal on a home a few years ago. She said that she bought it for around 60% of list price. Yeah, it was listed for $20,000 and she got it for $12,000. It was also in the highest crime rate area in Fort Wayne, it was a HUD home, and it needed work.

I told Deb that if she wanted to get a deal like that we needed to start looking in the same place her hairdresser lives. I also told her that if she was going to take real estate advice from her hairdresser that she should start taking hair style advice from me, and that next time she needed her hair did to CALL ME! I'll do it! I have a set of clippers!! Plus I'd probably be a lot cheaper. :)

We shared a laugh, and she came to her senses. We ended up getting the home for a little less than I expected and everybody ended up happy. Oh, and her hair LOOKED GREAT AT CLOSING!

If you are in the market to buy a home in ANY area (not just Fort Wayne), please do yourself a favor and trust your Realtor®. It's our job to know the market inside and out, and it's our job to get our buyers a home at the best possible price... but probably not for 60% of list price in most cases. Thanks for stopping by!

I saw this question posted over on the Trulia Q & A forum by a client. It was interesting to see what other agents had to say about this issue. Some said it was okay to call them anytime, and that if they were awake, they would answer, even if it wasn't urgent.

What? Really?

Others said that if it was after 10:00 pm they wouldn't respond unless it was an emergency. The only real estate emergency I can think of is if we are in the middle of negotiations and are approaching a deadline. Then again, I try not to let 10:00 pm become a deadline for anything.

Last year I remember a conversation I had with another agent in my office. He told me that his phone rang at 11:30 pm one night. He was awake and wasn't doing anything, so he answered it.

He said that the buyer was thrilled that somebody finally answered one of her calls. She said that she had been calling agents for a few hours and couldn't get anybody to answer. She then made some remark about how most agents are lazy and she was glad to find one that was HUNGRY and READY TO WORK! Yeah. Okay.

I was curious to see how this transaction would go, so I followed up with the agent throughout the process. He said it was a nightmare. This buyer called and texted day and night. She was impatient, unrealistic, incredibly demanding, and was the worst client he ever had. (Um.. you didn't see that coming??) This agent worked his tail off and the deal never closed. The buyer blamed and fired him and went on to call on other agents. Probably at 11:30 at night again.

Don't get me wrong. Amanda and I work our butts off and will do whatever it takes for our clients, but we lay out expectations up front. If it's 11:30 pm and you think of a question for us, email us. We will get back with you first thing that next day.

If we are in the middle of negotiations and it runs late into the night, so be it. We will work through the night if that is what is called for. But... if it's 11:30 pm and you are calling multiple agents to see who will jump through hoops to earn the honor of being your agent... keep on calling.

In my opinion, it's a simple matter of respect. It goes both ways.

Agents: How late do you take calls?

Clients: Do you expect your agent to be available 24/7? What are your thoughts on this?