Jeff Pearl

If you're in the Loudoun County area the weekend of Sept 23-25th, you might want to check out the Lovettsville VA Oktoberfest. German Food and Beer, Arts and Crafts, Music and Dance, Etc.

http://www.lovettsvilleva.gov/default.asp?ContentID=26

Jeff Pearl / RE/MAX Distinctive / Lic in VA, MD, DC / Equal Housing Opportunity Provider / &703) 727-4876 / jeffpearlhomes@gmail.com / Visit Jeff Pearl Homes on Facebook and receive a FREE list of 12 Property Marketing Ideas that will help get your house sold faster.

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Pearl-Homes/169383243142261

Home Sellers- If you think you are going to be in a Short sale situation, contact Jeff Pearl with RE/MAX Distinctive to explore your options, get you questions answered accurately, and understand the Short Sale process. Each lender is different, and the Short Sale process is different for VA, FHA, and Conventional loans.

If I can help you keep your house, I will. But if default is imminent, you should plan early and be ready to proceed with the Short Sale process when the time comes. To review some of the marketing stategies I use to get your home sold faster, whether by short sale or a regular sale, please visit Jeff Pearl Homes on Facebook at :

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Pearl-Homes/169383243142261

Note: As a general rule, in a Short Sale the HUD-1 should net to zero for the Seller (line 603 of the HUD-1). There is one exception to this rule. If you are doing a HAFA Short Sale, the Seller receives a $3000 Seller Incentive which should be reflected on line 603 as Cash to Seller.

Jeff Pearl / REALTOR / CDRS Certified Default Resolution Specialist / RE/MAX Distinctive is Lic in VA, MD, and DC. / Equal Housing Opportunity Provider / (703) 727-4876 / jeffpearlhomes@gmail.com

You can find Jeff Pearl Homes on Facebook. The link below should take you directly to the my page where you'll find the 12 Marketing Ideas. I use these to help sell all of my listings, as well as using several additional marketing ideas, from old style hands on marketing to the latest internet technology and strategies. If you're thinking of selling, whether you're planning on trying to sell yourself, or hiring an agent like me that provides all of these services and more, these 12 marketing ideas will get your property showing up all over the internet and continuously attract a lot of interest from buyers!

Jeff Pearl is a REALTOR with RE/MAX Distinctive. We are an Equal Housing Opportunity Provider. If you are planning on selling, we can provide you with the superior service that you expect. Just contact Jeff Pearl at (703) 727-4876 or jeffpearlhomes@gmail.com See our current listings at jeffpearlhomes.com Homes / Land / Farms We currently have several ready to build well priced lots in Loudoun County. Sizes range from 2.6 to 75 acres

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Jeff-Pearl-Homes/169383243142261

I've been working with some customers looking at condos from Leesburg VA to Alexandria VA. There are quite a variety of condos available, from one level 55 and over communities in Ashburn VA to Hi Rises like Skyline Towers in Baileys X Roads. Many are old but are very appealing in several ways. ( Low condo fees, close to Metro, etc) But one thing I keep noticing is that many potential buyers want me to drive around the parking lot before deciding to go in. One man said " I don't want my mother living here." We didn't even go in. Him, and many others like to look at age and condition of the cars parked in the lot. If there are lots of well maintained newer cars, and plenty of parking, they're more likely to want to go inside. But if there are a bunch of older run down Toyotas and pick ups parked in the lot, and cars parked up and down the street indicating there is not sufficient parking, they usually just pass on looking at the units. I wonder if some Condo Associations realize that "Curb Appeal" is just as important in Condo Complexes as it is with selling any other property? Even if the sellers unit inside is immaculate and priced well, many potential buyers might never see it if outside around the building and the parking lot look bad enough to cause people to pass on the showing and go on to the next place.

I've been meaning to write this post and Suzanne McLaughlin's post today about silouetted photos motivated me to get busy on it. I would say that the majority of agents and general public prefer to see a picture of the person they are communicating with. Suzanne was wondering why so many agents just have a silouette on their blogs, cards, and/or web sites. These silouettes were somewthing our parents did back in the 60s. We had them hanging on the wall going up the stairs when we were kids. My mom had 7 kids. I think she still has those silouettes, but I also think they went out of style in the late 60s or early 70s. Only your friends and family would recognize you from a silouette. The picture below is my Grandmother. She wa s an agent back in the 60s in the Vienna, Falls Church VA areas and beyond. She was with more than one broker, I remember her being with Shannon and Luchs, and Brown and Brown I think to name a couple? She had her picture on her card then and agents since then have had their pictures on their cards, so there must be something to it! Back then there were no cell phones, no voice mail, no computers, no faxes, no email, no web sites or virtual tours, (were there even pics on the mls Lenn?) I don't think so, yet she made a living selling $30,000.00+- houses. I remember the only tools I saw her use were:(1) Her office- People called her office and went to her office. People actually expected her to meet them at her office! People just scheduled things back then, then did them. (2) She always had a clean car! I remember her last car was a Pontiac LeMans (3)She had a notebook, calender, pens, and I believe a book of listings to show (4)She had yard signs with her Brokers name, Her Name, & # on them. and (5) She carried this little book called " Pathfinder". You looked up a street by name, and there would be directions street by street to find the street you're looking for.

I believe an agent today could make it in real estate using those same 5 tools. (1) Today- We still meet people at the office and schedule showings (2) Agents still should have a clean car (3) We still have notebooks and calenders, and our listings are on our laptops or pads (4) We have signs with our brokers name, our name, and #s on them. and (5) Our " Pathfinder" is an ADC map or GPS.

Has real estate really changed that much in the last 40-50 years? Why do agents chase after every bit of new technology that someone tries to sell us? Do we really need SMS, text messaging, cell phones w cameras, smart phones, single property web sites, qr codes, 24 hour 800 hotlines, videos, pictures on 500 different web sites, 20 different URLs, automated feedback,etc ?

I think just focusing on the basics, and doing the basics better and more efficiently, combined with all the training that we do these days, an agent could do fairly well in this business today without all of the excess technology that's available to us. And despite all the stories that many agents are removing their pictures from their web sites and cards because it's suposedly costing them business, I think we live in the " Digital Age" where everyone expects to see a picture, and expects us to have a camera and know how to use it! I really don't care if someone judges me by my picture. I've worked with both buyers and sellers from El Salvador, Guatemala, France, India, Iran, Romania, Great Britain, Iceland, etc and none of them chose me to be their agent based on my picture. I have no way of knowing if someone chose not to contact me based on my picture, but if they did, I probably wouldn't have wanted to work with them anyway. ( I do understand some female agents being reluctant to post their picture for safety reasons, but they could just post a logo, a sunsrise or sunset, a house, etc, to take the place of their silouette.)