The Christiansen Team

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?

What do you think is the first step to selling your home in Fort Wayne? Go ahead and think about it. I'll wait.

Did you say Find a good Realtor® in the Fort Wayne area that has had recent success selling their listings? That's towards the top of the list, but not #1. (I was so tempted to insert a shameless plug there!!)

Getting your home in tip top shape and market ready? That's up there too, but not quite #1.

Still can't figure it out?

In my opinion, the first step to selling your Fort Wayne home is to make sure you can afford and qualify for a loan on your NEXT home.

In the fall of 2011 I wrote an offer with my buyers on a beautiful home in South West Fort Wayne that they were very excited about. After a few counters we got it under contract. They were SO pumped!!!

Three days later I got a call from the listing agent. It wasn't the greatest conversation.

Listing Agent: Hi Jared. I have some bad news. My seller was going to buy another home but we just found out that um... he can't qualify for a loan. We are going to need to back out of the deal. I'm really sorry.

Me: I'm sorry Mr. Listing Agent, but we are under contract and are going to move forward with the purchase. Your sellers are going to need to make other arrangements. I do feel bad for them, but this is something that should have been handled before you listed the home.

After a little back and forth, the seller realized that even though he was not able to buy another home, he was obligated to go through with the sale.

During the inspection there were some major issues that came up, so we all agreed on a mutual release and we terminated the contract. I found my buyers a different home a few days later and they are happily living there now.

Thankfully everybody ended up okay in this deal. I imagine the seller would have probably ended up in a rental if the deal hadn't fallen through. I'm sure he wouldn't have been very happy about it either.

There you have it. Step 1 is making sure you can afford and qualify for your next Fort Wayne home purchase. All it takes is a quick phone call to a lender. Thanks for stopping by and as always, if you have any questions our contact information is below.

17. List it for 200% of it's true value.

16. List it as a four bedroom instead of a three. When the buyers get there... SURPRISE! Only three!

15. Paint the entire inside bright yellow with a Sponge Bob theme throughout.

14. Get three giant angry dogs and leave them loose during showings.

13. Require one full week's notice for showings.

12. Draw three outlines of bodies with police tape across them on the living room carpet.

11. Stay home for the showings and sing show tunes to the buyers and their agent the entire time they are there. Remember to sing loudly and out of tune.

10. Boil a few dozen eggs right before the showing so the entire house smells like farts.

9. Have a bunch of friends over before the showing. Have each of them hide in a closet and scream each time a buyer opens the closet door.

8. Put the wrong keys in the lock box.

7. Stay home for the showing and follow the buyers around and tell them all the reasons you hate living there.

6. Do #7 again, but make sure you just ate something really garlicky and talk very close to them.

5. Leave a note on the table that says to be careful in bedroom four, but don't leave a reason why.

4. If it's during the summer, lay out during the showing wearing only a purple speedo and a swim cap. Oh, make sure that you have your Def Leppard CD cranked up too.

3. Put up an old spooky picture on the fridge. On a post-it note below it write: RIP Aunt Mildred. You will be missed when we finally move. We hope you enjoy haunting the new owners for the next 150 years.

2. Leave a note for the buyers asking them to "please excuse the mess" in the attic. Go on to explain just how hard it is to remove all of the black mold, but you're almost there.

1. Stay for the showing, put on your helmet made out of tin foil, and sit on the couch and stare at the TV the entire time without moving or blinking. (The blinking part is very important!)

Okay, that's all I can think of today. Hope you laughed. Time to get back to work!

That sounds so harsh doesn't it? I (Jared) said that in the nicest way possible, I promise.

The first six months of my career I would show homes to anybody that wanted to see them. I thought that was my job since I am a Realtor®. Plus it made the sellers happy to have showings right?

Wrong.

Well, the sellers were happy to have showings, but once they found out the buyer wasn't pre-approved and ready to buy, they weren't happy. At all. Boy did I hear about it too.

Imagine being the seller in that situation. They get excited to have a showing, do all the little details to make the house spotless so it shows well, and then they find out the buyer isn't even close to being ready to buy.

Not cool.

I have heard some Realtors® say that they will show one or two homes before making their buyer get pre-approved.

Not this guy. Selling real estate is a serious and full time business to me, not a hobby that I do just for fun on the weekends. I value my time. Once a buyer gets the pre-approval, they will get my full attention and as much of my time and efforts as they need.

If you are considering buying a home in the Fort Wayne area and you would like us to help you with this, please don't be offended when we require you to get a pre-approval first. We hope that after reading this you have a better understanding of why we do.