Photos from Margaret Hokkanen → Carlsbad Real Estate
Winter view of the ocean, the Carlsbad windmill, and the flowerfields from Cottage Row.Located in: Carlsbad, CA
Our practice has been hectic here in San Diego which is why I haven't posted for a while. Anyway, I wanted to share some of our latest pole photography and high dynamic range blending photos. The home is a little beach cottage across from the library, and not far from the ocean. However, it doesn't have ocean view. So, it was important that we show how close the home was to the water (walk to beach). We also need to present the home in a nice way since it is an Encinitas beach cottage.
First, the front view of the home. We put our Canon 5d with 24mm tilt/shift lens on our pole rig, and it was up about 12 ft off the ground. But the street was also a few feet higher than the front door, so the camera was actually up a bit higher. This is a nice pole shot because it leads into the back yard photo (later in the brochure) of the large back yard. For this photo, it's just important to see the trees and the depth behind the house of where the trees are. Also, this is the cover of the brochure. I wanted to show you the cover so that you could see the fun little map that I created so that we could present how close the home was to all the action and the water.
As we turn to the interior, we have a blended HDR photo of the living room. Two sets of images were taken to create this photo. A color-balanced strobe image which gave a great backdrop, and an HDR image with some local contrast and saturation amped up to really make the picture pop and give it a 3d effect.
Next we have another interior shot (I picked one of the kid's bedrooms). The technique is similar to the living room.
Finally, I wanted to show another pole photo. This is the library just a few doors away. The back patio of the library has ocean view, and I really cranked up the camera pretty high (25 ft) to get this photo. But, it really does show you how close you are to the ocean.
Anyway, I hope those are some fun photos. Feel free to post any questions and I will try to reply quickly.
Margaret, Encinitas/Carlsbad Real Estate
You may have heard of Aviara Oaks Elementary and Middle Schools. They're in the heart of Aviara, off Ambrosia, across from the gated community of Sanderling and the non-gated, but a bit more expensive, community of Serenata. If you live in either of these communities, the schools are an easy walk, though there is also the community at the end of Ambrosia that's an easy walk too.
Here's my recent picture of the schools.
The middle school is to the left (you can see the writing on the entrance), and the elementary school is to the right with the playground. Both schools are campus-style schools. The elementary, in particular, has strong scores. If you need info about the schools or the area, just contact me. We moved to Aviara when we first moved to the area years ago.
Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate
(760) 942-4242
We've been working on our HDR capabilities. I went out and bought a shutter release so that I don't touch the camera to fire it. That has seemed to help on avoiding the ghosting of some of my past attempts. Here are some photos from the newest attempts to master this new technology.
I think I'm beginning to get the knack of this stuff. For the above image, I merged only two images (spaced a number of F stops away) to get this image. Pretty nice, I think.
The next one is a combination shot. The interior is a single image shot with artificial flashes. The windows are a high dynamic range image. What do you think? Something's not perfect yet...still need to work on it, but it's looking pretty good, I think. Maybe just a tad cartoony.
The last one is really cool. It is also an interior shot with a flash, overlaid with a semi-transparent HDR image to give the furniture that ethereal kind of look. The windows are also HDR.
The last one has just the photo, but it has that sort of cartoony illustrative quality that adds a lot of punch. I think it causes some cognitive dissonance in me...the picture of the room is super-sharp, photo realistic, but the view to the outside is somehow otherworldy. Very fun.
Last one is a completely high dynamic range photo looking down the stairs. What do you think? Sort of of like a painting. Do you think it works? I did do a little touchup work on it to make it the final image.
These were created with photomatix to do the HDR work, then photoshop to assemble.
Magaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate
As you know, my husband John and I practice real estate in Southern California, and we had distributed a flyer with recent sales activity in an Aviara, Carlsbad neighborhood. I ended up getting subpoenaed for a trial relating to a sale in that neighborhood. A NY Times writer contacted us and spoke with John and me about different aspects to the story, and the link to the story, whose title accurately describes the issue, is below. John, an attorney, has told me not to discuss the matter since I am a witness.
NY Times: Feeling Misled on Home Price, Buyers Sue Agent
It's a very interesting story, and it made it to the front page of the paper. (We're referenced on the second page of the piece.)
Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad Real Estate
We got a call from one of the writers over at the San Diego Union Tribune today who was writing a story about foreclosures in San Diego County. He needed some numbers about what percentage of homes in the MLS were REOs. That got my husband John (some of us refer to him as MR. Metadata) to thinking, and, lo and behold he publishes our first ever foreclosures-in-the-mls map! Very cool! Here's an example of the detached map of Encinitas.
As you can see, there aren't so many bank-owned properties in Encinitas. There are also a few in Carlsbad. Most of the REOs are more inland, but what's really cool about these maps is that now the users who are shopping for value can look at just the foreclosures (John decided to make this data field generally available and not restrict it). Anyway, for the interactive maps, just visit our site.
Margaret Hokkanen, Carlsbad and Encinitas Real Estate
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I head up the SurfTheTurf.com Team, but practice in Carlsbad and Encinitas, representing both sellers and buyers. To see my comprehensive Carlsbad/Encinitas website, visit www.EncinitasCarlsbad.com.
Home Sellers - Sell High & Sell Quickly - The home sales market rises and falls. In any market, selling a home for the highest possible price within a reasonable timeframe means finding the one buyer who loves the house. In addition, a listing agent must work with buyers' agents with professionalism and integrity to conclude transactions succssfully. Home sellers must know their agent has the personnel, experience and tools to minimize delays and get the job done on time.
Home Buyers - Locate the Ideal Purchase, Negotiate the Price, and Avoid Pitfalls - With so much money on the line, home buyers want and need to avoid any mistakes. They need to find the home that meets their specific needs so they are happy and do not have to move. They need to negotiate the right price to minimize loss if the market falls. They need to make sure that they know what they are buying and are well-represented so they are not surprised once they move in. Home buyers must know that their agent has the knowledge and experience to be their advisor and advocate.
Successful real estate teams proactively find ways to sell homes at higher prices for sellers and to locate and negotiate ideal purchases for buyers. Agents who passively watch the market without strengthening their internal resources fall behind. The key is a comprehensive approach that weaves skills, technologies, and resources to respond to an evolving sales market. As one of the strongest real estate teams in San Diego County, the Surf The Turf Team continually positions itself to meet the needs of today's and tomorrow's home sellers and buyers. Our array of core competencies and breadth of professional services are among the most comprehensive in the United States.
A good example of how we provide exceptional value to our clients are our brochures. Typically, we print 5,000 brochures for every listing that we take. Some people ask, "What in the world do you do with 5,000 brochures?" The answer is simple: Get them into the community! Selling a home is about maximum exposure of the property to as many potential buyers as possible.
Click here to see some other samples.
Our Experts
We have built our team around area expertise, and that is why we do not let just any agent join our ranks. Just as law firms have partners who are experts in corporate, tax, or family law, we have experts who specialize by location and each of us represents both sellers and buyers. Thus, you work with an agent who knows your area of interest. Because we are a team, you get the expertise needed even when selling in one area and buying in another.
Standard Listing
Commission: 5%, shared 50/50 with buyer's agent
Marketing Package
Professional architectural photo shoot
Aerial photographs of front of home and community features (pools, greenspaces, etc.)
5,000 four-page, full-color brochures
1,000 home tour DVD videos
2,500 door hangers (for delivering brochures into
target areas and move-up neighborhoods)
Aggressive web site marketing - We spend
thousands of dollars on advertising
Virtual Tours (360° photo views)
Video streaming of entire guided home tour video
Prominent positioning at SurfTheTurf web sites
Craigslist and other web site postings
Property presented at broker caravan "pitch"
session and held open for agents to preview
Open houses as often as is practicable
Other marketing as determined
Enhanced Listing
Commission: (based on scope of enhancements)
Additional Marketing Options
Additional home tour DVDs
Custom mailing campaign
Custom print advertising campaign
Custom Internet advertising optimized for
specific search terms
Custom-labeled water bottles for events
Other agents charge 5%, 6%, or even 7%. Only our team offers these services, and we do so for a modest 5% commission....
Call us today--We will be happy to meet, answer your questions and evaluate your home’s value.
No Pressure - No Obligation
Example of one of our aerial photos:
Click here to see a sample DVD video
Our clients love our team-based approach because it means that someone is always available to see property, hold an open house, or answer questions. Plus, our clients get to draw upon the collective knowledge of the entire team. For example, when one of Chris’s clients wants to shop in Encinitas or Carlsbad, the client is welcome to speak directly with Margaret and draw upon her deep area knowledge. While most clients prefer to work with just one agent and draw upon another team members’ expertise, clients also have the option of working with different agents for different areas!
Our web sites have tools for buyers that are unrivaled by other sites. See my Carlsbad and Encinitas web site as an example. We understand that buyers want great tools for shopping on-line, and our web sites have the best tools anywhere. For example, our homes-by-school-boundary maps allows parents to compare schools and the homes within their boundaries at the same time! Here are some other tools that buyers like:
- Fixer Upper Lists - Motivated Seller Homes
- No HOA Fee Homes - Golf Course Properties
- 55+ Community Maps - Not-on-Internet Homes
- West-of-I-5 Homes - Value-Pick Listings
and our exclusive Crystal Ball Home Search
Here is a small example of one of our maps. The push-pins are color-coded by price. The number on the push pin tells you how many bedrooms. One need only click on a pushpin to get all the details.
People have asked about our DVDs and video technologies. We have been producing DVD home tours of our listings for years, and our innovation in this area has shown us that DVDs are instrumental in many ways:
More Previews
Since the DVD is placed on every brochure, each person who drives by may preview the home in the comfort of his or her living room.
Easier Access
Accessibility of the home is important, and DVD video makes a difference when a home is less accessible due to pets, sickness or other reasons.
Compelling Stories
Because the story told through the video is entirely under our control, we can present a home in the most compelling way. This can even involve the filming of local features, like parks and community pools, or interviewing of neighbors.
Involving Others
DVD video allows a potential buyer to share the home with others whose opinions matter (e.g., parents, friends, etc.) and allows the buyer to revisit the home again and again. This helps buyers share and maintain their excitement for a home.
My husband and I had a lot of fear about picking a realtor out of the blue in a market like Southern California. When you are so far away, you have a lot less control during the process of buying a house. In a market like this one, you can't afford to sit around and waste time on someone who isn't really serving you well. And you definitely don't want to be pressured into buying something you don't want because houses are selling so fast. Margaret really listened to our needs; she always responded immediately to emails and phone calls. When we came out for a marathon house-hunting visit, Margaret gave us her full attention the entire time. She did not pressure us in any way, and she was willing to put in as much time as we needed, and during negociations, she was our advocate and stood up for our interests.
Rosanne
Returning to live in San Diego County after 15 yrs absence required some readjustment. We located EncinitasCarlsbad.com through the Web and found it an invaluable tool for optimizing our SD home search from the LA Area. We were able to select homes which fit our criteria, to explore the areas we were interested in, and to make best use our visits to San Diego. Margaret & Barbara provided great service in all aspects of the home search, negociations and purchase (not to mention recommendations on local restaurants & other amenities) and John provided excellent service as well as a more-than-competitive loan. I cannot imagine a more effective way for folks outside of the area to locate and purchase a San Diego home.
Gene
A long distance purchase from the other side of the globe? No problem for Margaret Hokkanen. We were originally drawn to Margaret through her comprehensive web site. She responded immediately to our emails, which was a good indicator of the responsive service we would subsequently experience from ten time zones away. We visited Encinitas during our home leave from US Government service posted to Egypt, where Margaret and her partner Barbara spent the day giving us a flavor of the area. Once back in Egypt, Margaret made good use of technology: responses to our emails were fast, lots of digital pictures arrived for houses of interest, and documents were exchanged as email attachments, pdf files and scans, and, when necessary, old fashioned FAX. Margaret quickly got a feel for what we wanted, and within a hour of hitting the MLS we had data sheets on houses of interest. Margaret provided comprehensive answers to our questions, carefully explaining the unique features of the California real estate market and her approach and negotiating strategy. She provided resource information about the 1031 exchange process and linked us with a 1031 facilitator. Margaret knows the neighborhoods well and could easily point out plusses and minuses of a property, including the tone of the neighborhood. She understood the challenges that a ten hour time difference introduced and ensured that the sellers also appreciated this.
Robert
We shopped around for different agents, and I can say that until we met Margaret and heard about Margaret and heard about the kind of marketing that she does that we were generally quite disappointed [in agents]. So, when we heard what she did and we saw the marketing material, we decided that was a good approach...Everything from the preparation of the house to the preparation of the marketing, the open houses all worked out extremely well. Margaret made herself available at any time, she answers the
phone, and we had open houses whenever we felt that it was appropriate. And so I would recommend her and her services and the services of her team members to anyone who wants to sell a house[.]”
Thomas
The result of using [the SurfTheTurf team] was an infinite amount more of exposure on the market due to the DVD house tour that they made for us....The pictures on the brochure were superb. It was not just the one little picture to show what the house
looked like. It was a big splashy thing that made it look like one of the very expensive million and a half dollar houses being sold somewhere. Just the feedback and continual contact with them as a team. It was regular and we were never left wondering what was going on....What we realized as we went through [the selling] process was that the support that they gave us and the help they gave us they made things very easy for us....They let us know what to expect along the way and they delivered on all of that. For us, it was very easy. The best part for us is that they sold our house very quickly. Maybe we paid a little bit more over a discount broker but we got the result that we wanted. We're very happy.
Jo & Richard
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