Lori Cain - Tulsa Realty www.LoriCain.com

What I love about Tulsa!

Those who know me well know that I have an amazing husband, love dogs, sell Tulsa real estate, am a great cook and political activist.

You can pretty much be happily married anywhere, cook anywhere, walk dogs anywhere – but, I can’t imagine selling real estate anywhere other than Tulsa. We have the most impressive historical districts in midtown Tulsa and beautiful communities throughout our city and neighboring suburbs.

I’ve lived in four cities – the one in which I was born, one in which I attended high school, one in which I attended college – then Tulsa – couldn’t wait to get here.

You can get anywhere in Tulsa in fifteen minutes. It helps, of course, that we have no speed limit on Riverside Drive. (smile)

We run into someone we know everywhere we go – parks, concerts, runs, and festivals. Tulsa is a large city, but a small community – you will see your friends driving down the freeway.

Tulsa is very proud of our parks – and we have over one hundred parks. Truly rich in community spirit, Tulsa offers something for lovers of ballet, opera, theater, concerts, plays, shopping, museums, dining and more. Tulsa is one of America's ten top showcase cities for art deco architecture and the historical buildings downtown will simply amaze you.

We are revitalizing many older and historical neighborhoods, and we take great pride in supporting our local businesses. You’ll find many Farmer’s Markets and you’ll surely want to visit popular spots along Route 66.

What I love about Tulsa!

I married my true love in Tulsa, and we Greek-danced at 4th & Boston in front of the Atlas Life building that beautiful day.

Come visit Tulsa – you’ll feel like you’ve always lived here!

About the author: Lori is a residential Realtor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, specializing in historical midtown homes. Please call for an appointment if you are interested in buying or selling a home in Tulsa! 918-852-5036. Web: www.LoriCain.com

Contingent offers – how do YOU feel about them?

My $300,000 listing has been on the 2 months and continues to get a steady stream of showings. I always get positive feedback. One Realtor said her Buyer loved the property, but it was his first day shopping, so he still wanted to look. Another Realtor’s Buyer loved the property, but his wife was too ill to see it – I am still waiting for them to return. Another Realtor’s clients loved the property, but it was at the top of their price range and they were not sure if they could forgo an in-ground pool – there’s certainly room to build one, but they likely won’t have the money to do so.

I have received NO poor feedback and no complaint on price.

We received an offer Saturday contingent upon the Buyer’s out-of-town home selling. The offer is almost full price and financing seems solid. Buyers did not ask for closing costs and asked for a small amount in repairs.

The Buyer is suppose to list her property with a Realtor tomorrow. I requested a copy of the listing agreement and Realtor’s MLS data, so that I could see the selling compensation offered. I also asked for a CMA.

Before I presented the offer to my Sellers, I mulled over why I tend to not show contingent properties. I couldn’t come up with a rational reason, but the truth is, if my search brings up multiple properties, I will skip the one with a contingency.

I mentioned this to two other Realtors and they both said they do the same thing, but none of us can come up with a reason why we tend to skip over properties that have a contingency.

Fortunately, I know a Realtor in the town where the property is. As soon as I get a copy of the listing, I’m going to ask her to visit the property and let me know if she thinks it is priced to sell and get her opinion of how long it will take to sell.

Since we received the offer (which we are still negotiating), the property has been shown twice. The steady stream of showings still amazes me. It's a unique property and absolutely beautiful.

When I called my Seller today with a counter, she asked my opinion of rejecting the contingent offer and let the Buyers come back and make another offer after their property sold. I told her that we could lock the Buyers in at a known price with their contingent offer, but if their home was still on the market two months from now after the Buyer's home sold, they would most likely make a much lower offer at that time.

So, lock the almost full-price offer now with a contingency and risk missing a few showings or reject the contingent offer?

Do you have a tendency to skip over contingent listings, and if so, why?

Terwilleger Heights - Tulsa's most revered neighborhood in midtown Tulsa - 3rd Quarter Marketing Report

There's nothing like enjoying the rich history of midtown Tulsa - the beautiful architectural styles and lovely parks. And where better to do this than in Terwilleger Heights?

Boundaries of Terwilleger Heights to the west is Woodward Park, Utica Square to the east, 21st Street to the north and 26th Place to the south.

I started to put together this market report for Terwilleger Heights for the third quarter of 2009 for a client, and something stood out about this neighborhood that caught my eye -- the number of homes that have seperate quarters or rentable apartments above the detached garage.

This brought back a wonderful memory of visiting a friend in Tulsa while I was in college. He rented a detached quarters behind one of these beautiful homes, and I remember thinking that he lived in a "mini-mansion" admist all of the lush landscaping! As a young, poor college student, this beautiful neighborhood won my heart immediately!

Now to my original content - market activity in Terwilleger Heights, 3rd quarter, 2009

As of October 1, 2009, there are fifteen single family homes listed for sale in Terwilleger Heights. Prices range from $225,000 to $960,000. The median price lies somewhere around $500,000. The two homes in "pending" status are listed for $319,000 and $675,000 - we won't know what they actually sold for until they close, but it's of interest to note that both were on the market less than one month.

Terwilleger Heights - Tulsa's most revered neighborhood in midtown Tulsa - 3rd Quarter Marketing Report

Also note that the two properties listed under $300,000 have some level of damage and are selling "as-is." Three properties sold in Terwilleger Heights in the last quarter, with sales prices of $307,500; $420,000 and $1,187,500.

See my full blog post about Terwilleger Heights, including information about Utica Square, Philbrook Museum of Art, the Tulsa Historical Scoiety, Woodward Park and the Tulsa Garden Center.

About the author: Lori is a residential Realtor in Tulsa, Oklahoma, specializing in historical midtown homes. Please call for an appointment if you are interested in buying or selling a home in midtown Tulsa! 918-852-5036. Web: www.LoriCain.com

How Best to Search for Homes for Sale in Tulsa – get truly customized home search results delivered to your e-mail inbox!

My client is searching for a one-level condo under $125,000. She wants a specific area of town and needs more square footage than most condos available in her price range. Her needs are unique and specific – nothing she is willing to compromise.

Which leads me to my pitch about “custom searches” that real estate professionals can set up for you – to get truly customized home search results delivered to your e-mail in-box.

If you are searching from any real estate brokerage’s web site or the public MLS or realtor.com, you have probably already discovered the limitations of your search ability. Yes, you can search by price and zip code – even school district – but don’t you really have more specific search criteria?

You can’t search by lot size or a specific geographic area – the tool I love most about the custom searches available to Realtors. We can literally search from Lewis to Harvard, from 21st Street to 36th Street. If you don’t want to consider homes with the washing machine in the garage, you don’t have to – we can search for an inside utility also!

How Best to Search for Homes for Sale in Tulsa – get truly customized home search results delivered to your e-mail inbox!

Once your custom search is set up with all the parameters important to you, we set up a web portal to store your search results. From your web portal, you can view data on the property, photos and virtual tours.

There is a place for you to ask me questions, such as “how old is the roof,” or “how long has this property been on the market?” We can literally shop together on our computers and select homes that truly meet your needs.

Note the highlighted area in the above image where I have written a note to my client about house #1 – she wants a sprinkler system and this house has one!

You can also categorize your search results as ‘favorites,’ ‘possibilities’ and ‘not considering.’ I encourage Buyers to move properties to the ‘not considering’ category if they truly dislike the appearance of the house – once moved to that category, you will not be notified of price reductions.

Each day as new listings come in, our MLS (multiple listing service) will compare the new listings to your individual search criteria. If it’s a match, it is added to your portal and you are notified by e-mail. The entire system is automated.

So, you can search comfortably from your home or office and get a feel for what’s available in your price range with your specific needs. Each morning as I enjoy my morning coffee, I check my clients’ portals to see if there are questions to be answered. Shop at your leisure until you have selected a few homes that you’d like to make appointments to see.

And, you’re not limited to one search. My client that is searching for the perfect condo is also looking at houses in the same geographic area, but only those with small lot sizes. She knows that she would wind up paying someone to mow her yard should she move into a house, so she doesn’t want a large lot.

Even if you are not ready to buy a house for several months, it’s good to start your search right away. As you see houses come and go from your search portal, you’ll get a good feel for how quickly they are selling – very helpful information when you ARE ready to get out and look.

And one quick note to Tulsa Home Sellers -- make sure your property is listed on MULTIPLE internet sites with multiple photos and a virtual tour. Buyers are shopping on the internet today, so you must make sure your home is prominently displayed!

Let me set up a custom search for you today! Lori Cain, e-mail: lcain@tulsarealtors.com, 918-852-5036. Web: www.LoriCain.com

Ready. Willing. Able. CAIN.

Community Get-Togethers to promote healthy neighborhood associations, local businesses, community gardening and fellowship

I blogged the other day about the Crosbie Heights October 4th Block Party/Fundraiser at The Blue Jackalope in Tulsa, and today, my husband Demetrius, friend Andy, pup, Theo and I attended.

It was pot-luck, so Demetri made a huge batch of Greek potatoes to take.

I didn't plan to eat, but quickly changed my mind when I saw all the amazing food.

The first item to catch my eye was pumpkin soup with garbonzo beans. Yum. Then a guy showed up with acorn squash soup which was equally delicious. I had okra and rice, salsa and broccoli salad with nuts.

We enjoyed the music while touring the Crosbie Heights community garden. They still have a lot of tomatoes, peppers, green beans and herbs, but what caught my eye was their red okra. They are growing it for seed for next year's crop. Anxious to try that and wondering if it will taste as good as it looks.

Tidal School Vineyards was there from Drumright Oklahoma, selling tastes or bottles of wine.

Owners of Train Whistle Farm, Nick and Tonya, were there selling their local organic produce from Okmulgee Oklahoma. I bought a huge batch of okra that Deme will cook with fresh tomatoes and onions.

Community Get-Togethers to promote healthy neighborhood associations, local businesses, community gardening and fellowship

And Tulsa native, Paul Tay, was there making his bicycle soup. Paul mixes fresh and organic blueberries, kiwi, grapes, bananas, apples and yogurt in a blender powered by pedaling his bicyle. Don't ask me to explain the whole invention, but I tasted a smoothie and it was pretty awesome. Kids and adults alike enjoyed selecting fruit for their smoothie as well as powering the bicycle.

The temperature dropped and we weren't really dressed for cooler weather, so we took Theo to Joe Station Bark Park for a few minutes before returning home.

What a lovely community event to promote healthy neighborhood associations, local businesses, community gardening and fellowship. We're very glad to live around the corner and hope to be invited back again!