Lori Cain - Tulsa Realty www.LoriCain.com

For Sale by Owner properties in Tulsa Oklahoma – what Buyers should do if they see one they’re interested in

So you’re casually house-shopping. You’re searching on the internet and driving around in neighborhoods that interest you. And, you’re dropping by an Open House from time to time.

Do get in touch with a licensed Realtor and let him/her help you with your search. We are able to set up much more refined searches than you can do on your own. Even if you don’t plan to purchase for another six or nine months, connect with a Realtor now to make this experience much more enjoyable.

A Realtor’s representation to a Buyer is free, as the Seller pays the commission. We are here to guide you and look out for your best interest. Take advantage of that.

For Sale by Owner properties in Tulsa Oklahoma

I tell my Buyers that if they see a home that is “For Sale by Owner” (FSBO), please jot down the address and phone number. It’s my responsibility to call the Seller and ask them to pay my commission. FSBO Sellers are generally happy to pay a commission to the Realtor that brings them a Buyer and who will also guide them through the legal forms and negotiations “from contract to closing.”

If you are house-shopping in the greater Tulsa area, please give me a call. 918-852-5036 or visit my web site!

Save the date for the 49th Annual Greek Festival, September 24-26 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Holy Trinity’s annual festival is held in late September and is the oldest ethnic festival in Tulsa. It is known to many Tulsans as Greek Holiday, Glendi, or simply “the festival.” We proudly serve and entertain more than 5,000 Tulsans and other visitors each year.

At the festival, patrons enjoy authentic Greek cuisine, including calamari, lamb kabobs, charbroiled shish kabobs & mouthwatering, homemade Greek pastries. Available for purchase are imported Greek souvenirs, gifts and fine jewelry. Everyone enjoys the fabulous Greek music and festive folk dancing! We also offer tours of our Parish and films about our Orthodox faith.

Festival Preparation

Everyone in our Parish works together as a community and family to prepare for our annual festival. Planning, ordering supplies, scheduling and some baking begin in early June. The order, which includes 500 pounds of butter, 16 cases of filo dough and 350 pounds of nuts, must be placed early so the ladies (and a few men) can prepare the pastries in our church hall. The older youth help with the food preparation and multiple tasks before we invite the Tulsa Community to spend time in little "Greece."

Flyers and dinner tickets are designed and printed. Advertising is scheduled. Dinner tickets are distributed to the parishioners to sell. Items selected to sell in the "Marketa" are ordered. Long hours of dance practice are scheduled. Children and adults dust off their Greek costumes and begin dance practice. Church tours are organized. School groups and senior groups are scheduled for lunch, dance lessons, a church tour and a brief visit to little "Greece."

Baking and fellowship

Early baking and freezing of our pastries ensure that we have enough to serve and sell at our festival. The traditional Greek pastries available are koulourakia, finikia, baklava, kourambiedes and galatobouriko. Prepared at the festival are our famous "honey puffs," or loukoumades. Ladies of all ages gather to prepare the pastries throughout the summer. The young women, under the age of twenty, learn the art of making the sweets from the Yiayias (Grandmothers).

While the ladies are making pastries under Freda's supervision on one side of the church hall, the children are in dance class with Renee in the opposite side. As one Yiayia said, "it is a blessing to see the young children in the same room learning our traditions."

The Easter cookie we bake is the koulouraki. This traditional sweet butter cookie is found in every Greek home at Easter time. They are given to friends in gift baskets and usually served year round with Greek coffee, Ellinikos Kafes.

Preparing baklava

The preparation of baklava for the festival takes many days. During the first week nuts are chopped, the dry ingredients measured and the butter clarified. When this is completed, we measure and mix the nuts with the dry ingredients. When we gather to assemble the baklava we work in teams of two. This is important because the filo dough dries quickly. Every layer of filo dough must be buttered. The filo layers are scored before they are frozen, so that cutting is easier after baking. Lastly, the honey syrup is poured over baked baklava.

September 24-26, 49th annual Greek festival in Tulsa Oklahoma!

The baking is done. Now it is time to practice our dances, ensure the delivery schedule of all the food we will cook and serve during the festival, advertise and recruit volunteers.

At our festival, you can build your own Greek dinner, buy a Greek cookbook with an area flavor, and imagine the sights, sounds, and smells of Mediterranean life at Greek Holiday, the 49th Greek festival, Sept. 24-26, 1206 South Guthrie, Tulsa (south of the Broken Arrow Expressway, between Denver and Houston Streets).

Greek Holiday, Tulsa’s oldest ethnic festival, will be open Sept. 24, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. and Sept. 25 and 26, 11 a.m. - 11 p.m. Admission is free before 4 p.m. daily or at anytime for anyone with a Greek Holiday food ticket purchased in advanced. Children 12 and under will be admitted free throughout the festival when accompanied by parents.

Sponsored by Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (Holy Trinity), Greek Holiday features a wide variety of activities--dining from a menu full of delicious home-cooked Greek foods, ethnic dancing, shopping for home-made Greek pastries, Greek jewelry and gifts, and imported foods.

“The people of Holy Trinity have hosted a Greek festival for more than 48 years and we are truly grateful for the support we annually receive from the Tulsa area,” said Demetrius Bereolos, general chairperson.

“For a few days each year, we invite Tulsa and the surrounding cities to our ‘house’ to share our faith and culture. Our parishioners and their friends have a great time hosting the festival.”

Greek Holiday organizers expect 4,000 to 5,000 guests to enjoy the new a la carte food line, which replaces the traditional Greek festival dinner. Greek holiday guests can build their own Greek dinner from 10 home-cooked items such as chargrilled chicken or meat shish kabob, gyros sandwich, lamb wrap sandwich [slices of baked lamb on pita bread with a fresh, creamy lemon-cucumber sauce (tsatsiki)], calamari, Greek-style potatoes, Greek salad with feta cheese and Kalamata olives, rice pilaf, and pita bread. The new a la carte menu also offers a Greek appetizer plate--dolmathes (grape leaves stuffed with rice), tiropiita (cheese pie), keftethes (Greek meatballs), spanakopita (spinach pie), feta cheese and Kalamata olives.

What’s new this year?

In 2009, we are adding pastitsio, a layered, baked Greek lasagna. It’s different than lasagna that you’re use to having in restaurants, as one of the many layers is an egg-based custard and nutmeg is sprinkled on top. It’s very rich and delicious – I encourage you to try it.

To rinse the taste of garlic and oregano that accents many Greek foods at Greek Holiday, there will be beverages and Greek coffee. Wine and beer can be purchased in the Taverna.

A meal of Greek food and beverages would not be complete without tempting Greek desserts such as the famous baklava (layers of philo dough filled with cinnamon and nuts and covered with honey). Also available is galatoburko (a custard pastry), kourambiedes (a butter cookie covered with powdered sugar), koulourakia and finikia (baked cookies best served with coffee), and loukoumades (honey puffs).

In addition to a new, official Greek Holiday tee-shirt, a cookbook of favorite recipes from Tulsa-area Greeks, "Cooking Greek for Tulsa," is on sale in the marketa (marketplace).

Ancient traditions will come to life on stage, as dancers in authentic ethnic costumes, age 5 to 55, perform dances that are hundreds of years old and that tell stories of harvest, wars, love, and passion for Greece.

To learn more about the role Greek Orthodox religion and traditions play in our culture, tours of Holy Trinity will be conducted throughout Greek Holiday, under the direction of Father William Christ.

Portions of Greek Holiday proceeds will be donated to Tulsa-based charities. In the past, American Red Cross, Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, Emergency Infant Services, Habitat for Humanity, John 3:16 Mission, Make-a-Wish Foundation (Oklahoma Chapter), and Resonance have received donations from Greek Holiday.

For more information about Greek Holiday or to buy advanced tickets (including free admission to Greek Holiday), call 583-2082. Visit the Greek Holiday website.”

I married long-time friend, Demetrius Bereolos, in June 2005. He is chairing our festival for the fourth time, and we are preparing for our 50th annual Greek Holiday. We, along with our parish, invite you to our home for food and entertainment and a wonderful "taste of Greece."

Get your Greek on!

I made a trip last month to Red Oak Oklahoma to attend my friend's bridal shower.

She insisted that we drive off the beaten path to Tamaha, Oklahoma, where I saw the most HUGE pin oak tree EVER.

My friend Kalyn had campaigned in this area years earlier and saw this HUGE tree by the Senior Citizen Center in Tamaha, Oklahoma - she was AMAZED at the size, but the locals thought nothing of it, as "it had always been there."

So, after the bridal shower, Kalyn, Janie and I met Kalyn's mother and aunt in Tamaha. According to Wikipedia, Tamaha had 198 residents after the 2000 census. According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 6.4 square miles (16.7 km²), of which, 6.4 square miles (16.6 km²) of it is land and 0.16% is water.

The largest oak tree in Oklahoma - maybe the world?

These four adult women (see photo) stretched to hold hands in an attempt to encircle the tree trunk while I snapped a photo. The four were unable to encircle it - a fifth adult was needed.

My friend Janie is a bit of a tree expert and estimated the tree's age to be over 300 years.I had to walk about a football field length away to snap the photo of the full tree.

Oklahoma - it's not the barren land you might think!

Now, if you've seen an oak tree larger than this, I would like to hear about it!

Selling Your Home in Tulsa, Oklahoma - Going to the Closing Table: Saying Goodbye

We’ve been through a lot together by now. We arm-wrestled over price, and we painted your favorite purple room a neutral color after two Buyers said they didn’t like it. You let the home stager cart away your favorite recliner, and you made your beds every morning.

We agreed to pay some of the Buyer’s closing costs and in turn, they cut us some slack when we found wood rot that they decided they could fix later. We made necessary repairs and the Buyer’s financing is solid. No blemishes were found on your title and the attorneys gave us the green light to head to the closing table.

So, now it’s time to say goodbye to the home you raised your children in. As you pack up your belongings and schedule your utilities to be turned on in your new home, you are a bit sad to leave this home with so many memories.

You made my job so much easier because you were realistic about the price and what the market would bring. You focused on seeing your home as a commodity for the short time it was on the market and set your emotions aside.

You did all that I asked you to do to prepare your home for market and you invested in home staging in trade for a higher yield and fewer days on market. You left your home at a moment’s notice when a cooperating Realtor wished to show it to her Buyers and you compromised on a few things when negotiating your offer.

I’m proud of you, and am going to miss the produce from your garden that I always seemed to leave with. I’ll bring you a gift at closing, because I know you personally by now and know just what you will enjoy.

I’ll also bring you a CD-ROM of all the photos I took of your home – not the professional photos taken after painting and staging, but the photos I took before your favorite recliner was hauled off and before the purple room was painted beige. And, we’ll pop some champagne to celebrate a job well done together.

Selling Your Home in Tulsa, Oklahoma - Going to the Closing Table: Saying Goodbye

Following the steps to sell your home is really hard work and requires much patience and compromise – but it’s your ability to work with your Realtor as a team that is truly “priceless.”

I hope that you were pleased with my guidance and prompt communication throughout the selling process. As you and I say goodbye for now, I hope that you will write a heart-felt testimonial for me, and I ask that you refer your friends and family to me.

Tell them about my great listing services, and I’ll sell their home in Tulsa, Oklahoma!

Selling Your Home in Tulsa, Oklahoma Repairs - we're still not through negotiating - You’ve chosen your Listing Realtor, agreed on a list price and have prepared your home for sale. You’ve received feedback and have finally negotiated your first offer and are under contract.

Now that we're under contract and everybody is happy, the clock begins to tick for the Buyer to finalize his financing arrangements and inspect your home. Typical home inspections include termite, structural, EMP (electrical, mechanical, plumbing) and roof. If you’ve taken care of your home with stern attention towards pro-active maintenance, you’re probably not in for too many surprises.

In the Oklahoma state real estate contract, a Seller agrees to a capped amount he will spend on repairs BEFORE inspections are done. If the inspections turn up defects that the Buyer wants treated, repaired or replaced that exceed the repair cap, the Seller can back out of the contract. Also, if anything comes up in inspections that alarms the Buyer, he can also back out of the contract.

But, let’s assume that the Buyer still wants to buy your home, and you still want to sell it.

Often, it is more difficult negotiating repairs than it is negotiating the general terms of the contract, including the sales price.

Selling Your Home in Tulsa, Oklahoma Repairs - we're still not through negotiating

I have a listing now where termite damage was found in the crawl space and the required repair is going to tear up the new bathroom flooring that the Seller just purchased and installed. So, in addition to paying for termite treatment and wood repair, the Buyer wants new bathroom flooring. Of course, we exceeded the repair cap agreed to in the contract, but luckily, all parties of the transaction still want to make this work. So, the Seller agreed to pay a portion of the repair cost and the Buyer agreed to pay a portion also.

We really continue to negotiate all the way to the closing table. Whether single-party or transaction Broker, the best Realtors will look for solutions and compromise to keep a deal together.

You’ve already taken your home off the market and are ready to move on with your life. The last thing you want to do is put your home back on the market and start from scratch.

Some Realtors encourage their Sellers to conduct their own inspections prior to putting their home on the market, and I agree that’s a good precautionary step. The Seller must be prepared, however, that when the Buyer conducts their inspections, different things may turn up. So, that initial inspection is not necessarily a clean bill of health, so to speak, and the Seller needs to respect that the Buyer wants the home as worry-free as possible when moving in.

Negotiating repairs, replacement and treatments and other factors that make come up between the execution and closing of your contract requires patience and compromise – but it’s your ability to compromise that’s truly “priceless.”

Please visit my site today to learn more about my listing services!