Linda Davis

This tale of a Connecticut Landlord ends well and there is a lesson to be learned. Many landlord tales don't end happily because the authorities will tell you there is nothing you can do when your home is trashed by tenants or you lose thousands of dollars in rent. This tale was written by a client of mine who rented out his home In Ledyard. He really is a very nice man.

June 17, 2010

Once upon a time a young girl rented a nice house in Ledyard from a nice man. She had a boyfriend and two young children. She seemed so nice.

But the young girl had trouble paying her rent, and paying her utilities. The nice man kept the utilities current so they didn't get turned off, and he gave the young girl plenty of leeway in paying her back rent.

After a few months the young girl decided she didn't want to catch up on her back rent. She quit talking to the nice man. He had no choice but to begin an eviction process. After almost two months the young girl, her boyfriend, and her two young children were forced to seek refuge somewhere other than his nice house.

But his house was no longer nice, it was a pig sty. There was trash everywhere. The carpets were soiled, the doors were broken, there were holes in the walls, the cupboards were broken, it was as if a tornado had hit his nice house. The nice man called the police and they filled out a report. The District Attorney filed charges and ordered the girl arrested. Unfortunately no one knew where she had gone.

Fortunately, she and her boyfriend had a habit of beating each other up. So one day when they were having a dispute the police were called. When they took her name and looked it up, found the previous charge and they arrested her. Unfortunately the young girl made her $1000 bail and went back into hiding. She missed her next court appointment, and the next one, and the next one, and finally a judge ordered her bail revoked and signed a new arrest warrant. Once again the young girl was found and arrested. This time the court required a $2500 professional bond (bail bondsman money). This time the young girl showed up for her court appearance.

When the young girl came to court she asked the judge to let her attend "pretrial rehabilitation". This is a program that would allow the young girl to be given a period of probation during which she would complete a rehabilitation course. Then, if she completed the course satisfactorily, the charges against her would be dropped.

Unfortunately for the young girl, the process allows the nice man the opportunity to tell the court what he thinks of this process. The nice man is invited to the court to tell the judge "if (he) think(s) the Defendant should be given accelerated pretrial rehabilitation."

The nice man will attend the next hearing and he will tell the judge exactly what he thinks of granting pretrial rehabilitation to this young girl.

As a side note, the nice man looked up the recent court records of the young girl and her boyfriend. It turns out that her boyfriend was arrested last Friday for possession and sale of controlled substances (two felonies). He's in jail under $50,000 bail that he has not met. His next court date is next week. The nice man is considering attending the hearing just to see who shows up and what happens to the young man.

In all of this there are two innocent young children. Who cares for the children? The nice man will request the court to place the children in a proper home environment. These people should not be raising children.

_________________________________

Update July 13, 2010

The little girl didn't show up for her court appearance on 7/2/2010. The nice man did show up. The nice man talked to the court investigator and had her felony charges entered into her record along with several photographs of the damages done to his property. Then the nice man was permitted an opportunity to talk to the judge. The judge listened politely and then revoked the $2500 bail, ordered the little girl re-arrested, and set her next bail at $1,000 cash only.

The little girl probably knew she had made a mistake not appearing in court on 7/2, so she went voluntarily to court on 7/6. She threw herself on the mercy of the court and the nice judge decided to sentence her to:

24 months of probation

Court supervised rehabilitation (whatever that is)

PLUS

Pay the nice man $8,450 for damages. Payments to be made $100 / month.

Now these payments are part of the terms of her probation. To successfully complete her 24 months of probation she must comply. The nice man is very happy with this judgment.

The nice man went to court on 7/13/2010 and was given a copy of the courts judgment against the little girl. This paperwork gives the little girls address. With this information the nice man will be able to get the Department of Children and Families to investigate the living conditions of the two young children living with the little girl and her boyfriend. He will also be able to file a small claims case against the little girl and against her boyfriend for back rent and utilities.

The boyfriend has made his $50,000 bail. His next court appearance will be 7/19/2010. The nice man will go and observe the proceedings of this case.

Sometimes a landlord can get justice.

To be continued.....

Linda Davis has been selling real estate in Ledyard CT for 33 years. You'll find Linda's complete profile on her Online Business Card.

Tough love with a bite of reality for sellers in New London County serious about getting their home sold.

I've told this story a few times over the past year but finally my story has an ending. Not a happy one.

A year and a half ago, I completed a market analysis for a relocation company for a transferring client who owned a home in Ledyard. My suggested list price of $325,000 was significantly lower than that of the agent I was competing against. The homeowner, thinking his home was worth much more than my recommended price, listed his home at $389,000. The infuriating part of the story is that this home was located in a subdivision of similar homes and not one of them had sold anywhere near that price. To suggest a list price of $389,000 was just crazy. I was so incensed that I sent an email to the relocation contact saying I would have considered it a violation of the code of ethics to suggest listing the property at that price.

Last week the home closed at $210,000. This is not a typo.

Prices continued to drop by about 1% a month in 2009. By listing so far over market value, the relocation company, ended up chasing the market down with a series of price reductions that were too little and too late. In hindsight, my $325,000 estimate was probably a bit high, but had the home been listed at $325,000 in July 2008, I suspect the end result would have been a sales price of about $300,000, a $90,000 difference. It would be unprofessional of me to send an "I told you so" email but I admit I feel vindicated.

The best chance of selling a home close to asking price is within the first 30 days. Sellers would do themselves a favor by pricing their home lower than the competition and lower than recently sold comparable homes. Chasing the market down is never pretty.

Straight Talk on Tuesday Morning is an ongoing series for sellers in New London County who are willing to listen, roll up their sleeves, and do what they need to do to get their home sold. If you aren't serious about selling your home, then move along. There is nothing to see here.

Linda Davis has been selling real estate in Ledyard CT for 33 years. You'll find Linda's complete profile on her Online Business Card.

Tough love with a bite of reality for Sellers in New London County serious about getting their home sold.

Back in the old days, sellers used to turn on all the lights prior to a showing. It helped their home show off it's best features and made it look light and bright for the potential buyer. I suppose it is the idea of saving energy costs that put an end to that staging idea. In fact, I've had more than one seller complain that a showing agent left on a light or two.

I'm all for saving energy but not when it might slow down your home sale. My advice is to turn on at least one light in every room prior to a showing and maybe more if your home has dark woodwork, wood paneling or is surrounded by trees that block out the natural sunlight. Finished basement areas especially should be well lit so buyers can appreciate that extra space. Plan to waste a bit of energy and assume your electric bill will be a little higher while your home is on the market. You can resume trying to save the planet once the sold sign is firmly planted.

Straight Talk on Tuesday Morning is an ongoing series for sellers in New London County who are willing to listen, roll up their sleeves, and do what they need to do to get their home sold. If your aren't serious about selling your home, then move along. There is nothing to see here.

Linda Davis has been selling real estate in Ledyard CT for 32 years. You'll find Linda's profile on her Online Buesiness Card.

Tough love with a bite of reality for Sellers in New London County serious about getting their home sold.

It happened again this week. An agent listed a home in Ledyard and gave it a Mystic price. I hate when that happens but unfortunately it happens quite often when agents from higher priced areas like Mystic or East Lyme don't make the price adjustment necessary when evaluating Ledyard properties.

Over the years, I've lost listings to agents who swoop into Ledyard with little knowledge of the area and list homes at grandiose prices that have little chance of selling. I'm not sure what bugs me more, agents who pull this stunt or sellers who list with the highest bidder.

Here's the typical scenario in 2009: Experienced Ledyard agent suggests a listing price of $275,000. An agent who needs map quest to find the listing, suggests a price of $300,000 and obtains the listing from the seller, who is thrilled at the potential selling price.

And the winner is... no one. Experienced Ledyard agent loses the listing. Map quest agent never sells the overpriced listing. And worst of all, duped seller doesn't sell their home that has now fallen in value to $260,000.

Sellers Beware! Be sure to consider the experience of the agents you interview. List your home with an agent that knows your neighborhood.

Here comes the straight talk: You might not like the price I give you, but I'd rather disappoint you now than let you down later.

Straight Talk on Tuesday Morning is an ongoing series for sellers in New London County who are willing to listen, roll up their sleeves, and do what they need to do to get their home sold. If your aren't serious about selling your home, then move along. There is nothing to see here.

Linda Davis has been selling real estate in Ledyard CT for 32 years. You'll find Linda's profile on her Online Business Card.