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Jennifer Kirby, the Luxury Agent

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Is it Unprofessional to Pull Your Hair Out in Front of a Client? My Aggravation with a Short Sale

12-10-08
Jennifer Kirby, the Luxury Agent

Let me tell you, working with a bank on a short sale sucks.

There, I said it.

Whew, I feel better...but I am sure it won't last long.

For the past three weeks, I have been trying to keep a deal together with a client of mine. We finally had an offer submitted and quickly sent it off to the bank. Unfortunately, it was the same week of Thanksgiving, and as you can imagine, the bank got nothing done.


  • First, we had to wait for the property to be assigned to a short sale rep in the loss mitigation department. (Some banks will not do this until an offer comes in). Sadly, this delays the process.
  • Next, we have to wait for a BPO (broker's price opinion) to be completed on the home. It follows the line of a CMA (comparative market analysis) and falls short of an appraisal.
  • Once we here from the bank regarding the offer, two weeks after the initial submission, the short sale rep decides to counter offer, reducing the buyer's requests and slashing the real estate commission. (Don't get me started on that part)
  • Next we have to negotiate back to the bank and tell them the deal will walk out the door unless they give the buyer such and such for closing costs. Not too mention that if they try and make the seller sign a promissory note at closing, the owner will just let the property go into foreclosure and the bank will lose everything.

Now, I call the bank at least two times a day, trying to push the transaction along. Christmas is just weeks away and both parties want to be in and out before then. Today I find out I have to wait until end of the week for the final approval because some other person at the bank has to sign off on the deal. Geez!

Needless to say, but the whole thing has been more aggravating than I can put in words.

People say real estate agents don't do anything and are not worth the money, but I tell you this, if you had any idea of the "behind the scenes" things we do to keep a deal from falling apart, you would change your mind. Someone once told me that real estate agents earn their money best, by keeping the deal out of trouble, and that when the deal does go south, buyers and sellers really see our true value. You can kind of equate it with insurance. You pay into it for years, and nothing happens. But finally when something does happen, you thank God for having the safety net there, even while the whole time, you didn't think you needed it.

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Lake Minnetonka Real Estate Upate

11-26-08
Jennifer Kirby, the Luxury Agent

Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis
Today I thought we could take a look at what real estate is doing out on Lake Minnetonka. Not that it is any big surprise, but things have slowed down a little in 2008 on the famous lake. High end buyers don't seem to be coming out of the woodwork anymore, either because they already bought a home in the last five years, or can no longer afford the luxury lifestyle.

Anyway, the news isn't all that great. About the only positive number coming out of the area is that closed sales for the month of September were up 9%. The not-so-good "positive" numbers show that the number of days a home is on the market has gone up to 181, almost 9% higher from this time in 2007.

The good news to buyers is that the average price of home on Lake Minnetonka has gone down 10.3%. It helps that many million dollar homes are now no longer million dollar homes, but instead priced in the $800,000 - $999,000 range. Most interesting is the fact that the list price, when compared to sale price, shows a 10% difference. That tells me sellers are pricing their homes too high from the get go. Maybe if sellers started off more realistic, their homes would sell quicker.

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Downtown Minneapolis Condo Update

11-13-08
Jennifer Kirby, the Luxury Agent

The area in Minneapolis which has the most single listings is by far downtown Minneapolis. With the inventory largely condominiums, it is easier to break down the data, separating out the houses (only six for sale currently) from the condos. Below is a break down of what has happened so far this year when compared to 2007 for downtown Minneapolis condominiums:


  • Average Days on the Market (DOM) : it is taking on average 108 days for a Minneapolis condo unit to sell, up an amazing 28% from this same time last year!
  • Inventory : the good news is that the number of condos for sale in downtown has decreased by 28%. This means there is less competition compared to 2007, and because of this inventory decrease, the Average Price for condos has increased by 5.6%. The only downside is that the number of closings so far in 2008 is pretty much the same as that in 2007.
  • Foreclosure Rate: So far this year, of the 571 closed sales, between 7-8.5% of them have been foreclosures or short sale properties. I don't know about you, but that is a pretty low portion of condo sales. When compared to the average Twin Cities real estate market, which is at 35% rate of foreclosure, it is really quite good.

So the bottom line is this, if you own a condominium in downtown Minneapolis, keep your chin up. While times are tough, if you stay positive and have patience, your condo will most likely sell. Just remember to keep your asking price realistic, and possibly ahead of the market. With current listings receiving 96% of the asking price, pricing it right from the start is imperative. Before you know it, Spring will be here and a new wave of home buying will begin!

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Photos from the Blackberry Curve

10-13-08
Jennifer Kirby, the Luxury Agent

About a month ago I bought a Blackberry Curve...finally upgrading my phone to something that can help my business get better. Sprint has a fantastic "Everything" plan for $99/month, and I would never have gotten this phone if not for this plan.

Tonight I was driving by Lake Nokomis in Minneapolis after showing some homes and decided to test out the camera for dusk shots. Here are three of the best photos I was able to capture. Not too bad if you ask me.

(the last shot of the dock came out slightly blurry, so I thought the photo would make a great candidate for the "glow" effect from Picasa...what do you think?)

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Across the Lake in Loring Park

09-17-08
Jennifer Kirby, the Luxury Agent

Two weeks ago I visited Loring Park in Minneapolis to take some photos for one of my listings that is two blocks away. It was a great afternoon, and I got some wonderful shots.

I didn't arrive until 2 pm, so I had to work around the sun. An easy way to do this, I have found, is to take photos from under trees, so that the sun is blocked out by the leaves and branches. Your own natural camera hood if you like. Each of these photos was taken under a tree...the second photo I let the tree branches become a natural border, which frames Saint Mark's in the background.

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