Mark Organek - Tempe Gilbert Mesa Chandler REALTOR

Sometimes it seems that every non-short sale property that hits the market gets snatched up quick!

There are plenty of buyers, they just want deals! The bidding-up of values sometimes gets crazy.

I have a couple with a large family. They're looking to buy their first home. They can easily afford it as the payment is slightly higher than the current rent payment on their lease. They need down payment assistance and closing cost assistance. Doesn't make too strong of a looking buyer even though they will sail through underwriting. Very strong in all regards except the initial investment.

Regardless, a 6% concession is not as strong as a buyer with their own down payment. In all other regards, they are quite equal.

Since they're willing to do some work of their own on a home, they didn't search for the creme-puff, they looked for a home with some minor "problems". Preferably, broken window, peeling paint, broken stove, torn carpet in a room, damaged walls, empty pool, broken fan on A/C (they freeze up out here in AZ if you don't use them regularly.)

Then, we found it!!! Only a couple of major FHA blocking issues: The seller won't fill the pool, buyer must pay to do this for the inspection. Seller won't turn on electricity. Seller will make no repairs.

They did not care about whether or not they had to pay DPA or closing costs... They were smart enough to focus on the net. We worked all the numbers out and my clients' offer was accepted with no counter.

We picked it up LOW! It was priced low because it couldn't pass FHA inspection. Pool was drained and AC/Heater wouldn't kick on. Our target home!

As long as the home wouldn't pass inspection nobody could buy unless items were fixed. Fortunately, this bank specifically stated, "Seller will make no repairs! Buyers wishing to inspect must turn on utilities in their name!" Our perfect home!

For $790.00, Joe Caba of Mr. Kool AC/Heating and Pool came out, fixed the A/C, cleaned and set the pool, inspected the pool equipment and made everything work out.

My clients went after what nobody else thought was possible. They did know one thing was for certain:

Home ownership was always the end result they were focused on, in THEIR minds!

What do guinea pigs and the Code of Ethics have in common? Article 11.

I'll paraphrase - If you can't provide service that shall conform to the standards of practice and competence which are reasonably expected, don't hire yourself out to do the job!

DON'T MAKE YOUR CLIENT THE GUINEA PIG!

Real estate has enough twists and turns without some inexperienced agent coming in and making things worse.

I've never sold an office building before - so if I get an opportunity to sell one, I have to put my client's needs first. It doesn't mean I can't take the listing, I JUST CAN'T TAKE IT WITHOUT THE "ASSISTANCE OF ONE WHO IS COMPETENT ON SUCH TYPES OF PROPERTY OR SERVICE, OR UNLESS THE FACTS ARE FULLY DISCLOSED TO THE CLIENT"

If you've never done a short sale, don't try it on your own. You may end up inadvertently creating a foreclosure situation for your client. Other agents may be relying on your compliance with the Code of Ethics, giving you the benefit of doubt when it isn't deserved!

Instead, consider a split arrangement whereby you do all of the work and the split agent supervises.

Never listed a luxury home before? Split your listing with the most experienced luxury home specialist in your office. You do all of the work, they supervise and provide guidance. You get paid for the learning experience and they get paid for the experience you borrowed.

This will save time, and alleviate headaches not just for your clients but for you, your broker, your creditors (you have to get paid for them to get paid), etc.

At the end of the day, I would rather take a split and learn than put my client at risk. Their trust in us are the whole reason we get the learning experiences in the first place. Let's not let them down through greed.

Now is the time for each and every seller to ask themselves, "Did I choose the right agent to sell my home?"

Selling a home in a difficult market can be tough. How often are sellers getting in their own way?

Look, unrestricted lockbox access increases the likelihood that your home will be sold since agents won't have to jump through hoops to show it. Restricing access will greatly diminish the number of showings you'll have.

This morning, I just saw a listing hit a client's search parameters as a price reduction. I went and previewed this property about two weeks ago. It was on the market for $229,000. My clients didn't want to spend more than $195,000 for a home. I previewed it anyway since it had a pool and was the exact, EXACT same floor plan of a home that they didn't get when they were outbid in a three week process.

Why didn't they make an offer on it anyway? - The $229,000 price scared them. There were three other EXACT MODEL MATCHES that were priced below $200,000. All three went under contract. My clients would have easily paid $190,000 to $195,000 for this home, CASH. They really wanted to move! They were worried about whether or not the seller would settle for a price in the $190's so they didn't feel comfortable making an offer. LOSE-LOSE

EVERY EXACT COMPARABLE on the market sold for less than $200,000! It was painfully obvious that the subject listing was overpriced by $20,000 to $30,000. Sure it wasn't a short sale or REO but I doubt there was an agent that would miss the mark by that much! How do I know about every other comparable? The same way I know that there are 6 of this model in a two square mile radius that are in default! My clients liked loved the floorplan so much that I was tracking potential short sales and foreclosures for them...

They fell in love with something else!

Today, this listing sits at $190,000. THE "OWNER WANTS SOLD" comment is even in the MLS report. Maybe the owner should have wanted this sold a couple of weeks ago and had it priced accordingly. If so, my clients would have picked it up. Instead, they paid cash and closed on a home last Thursday. I can only imagine how the sellers insisted on a $229,000 price. BIG MISTAKE!

Sellers, trust the professional that you hired!

• If they tell you to keep the air on cold, trust them.
• If they think that unrestricted access is important, figure out how to do it.
• If they're willing to do an open house, let them.
• If they tell you that pricing has changed and a price cut is in order, do it or counter argue or expect your home to sell whenever the market gets around to seeing value in your house.
• If they suggest staging, get it staged.
• Needs work, get it done.
• Clean off the counters, remove family photos, clean the closet, clean the front door, plant flowers, keep the interior spotlessly clean

Do what you can to sell your home or get a lawn chair out and watch your neighbors sell their home first.

When life give you lemons, make lemonade! We've got some upcoming lemons that will be thrown at us:

Loss of down payment assistance, rising interest rates, less choices in lending programs, a tightening economy as a whole...

More inventory may start piling up?

So what if more inventory and more tightening means MORE LEMONS...

Enough lemons to make lemonade, lemon meringue pie, lemon soda, lemon pudding, lemon jello, lemon lifesavers, lemon chicken at HOUSE OF CHINA? Yes, enough lemon chicken to eradicate hunger...

The lemonade glass is now half full! Here's my perspective for the end of the year:

The slower I get, the more time I have.

The more time I have, the more I can preview.

The more I preview, the more gems I find.

The more gems I find, the more excited I get about opportunities.

The more excited I get, the more I show enthusiasm about what I do.

The more enthusiastic I get, the more enthusiastic my audience gets.

The more enthusiastic my audience gets, the more excited they get about opportunities in the housing market.

The more excited I get people about great "deals" in housing, the more prospects I have.

The more prospects I have, the more showings I go on.

The more showings I go on, the more contracts I write.

The more contracts I write, the more escrows I open.

The more escrows I open, the more deals I close.

The more deals I close, the more house-warming parties I sponsor and attend.

The more house-warming parties I sponsor and attend, the more potential new clients I meet.

What food will I bring to the parties I sponsor? From now on, lemon chicken, lemon pie, lemon jello! Anything else "lemon" anyone can think of will be appreciated!!!

When life gives you lemons...close transactions!

I hereby declare that from the 21st of August, 2008, I will move on from down payment assistance. Now, I'll focus not on bad-mouthing, I will focus on the solutions below...

Our politicians did what they did and come October 1st, things will be different.

Just like I would move on from a bad relationship - There's just no point in beating a dead horse.

Will things get bad? - If I let them. But, no more complaining from me!!! I'll let others complain while I help families buy and sell homes.

With home prices in more affordable ranges, solutions are attainable!

• Find people with savings accounts with a meager 10% of their annual earnings saved. Believe it or not, there are people that do have savings. They're just waiting for the right professional to educate them so they make the best use of their hard earned money.

• Find people that put money into 401(k) accounts or IRA's. Although you can get a loan on most 401(k)'s, even if you trigger a taxable event on the IRA, it may still be worth it. After all, we're talking about a 3.5% down payment.

• Find people that are currently renting. These renters usually have security deposits that they will be getting back. I'll just figure out what down payment is needed and subtract the deposit. Now, the number they need is smaller and it may be within reach of taking down.

• Educate parents on helping their children buy. We always talk about working with people we like, right? Let's find people that are helpful like us. Surely, they would want to help their child buy their first home; especially in a GREAT BUYER'S MARKET!

• Organize church savings pools. A congregation can do fundraising events and take special collections to have members of their church purchase homes.

• Wedding/graduation gift accounts. These accounts allow family members and friends to contribute money to a designated bank account. These monies are considered "sourced and seasoned" and can be used for down payment.

• Employer contribution. There have been times in the past where employers have paid the down payment for their employee. This could be the result of the company wanting to retain a specific employee, it could be a bonus, it could be an annual raise bonus.

• Teaching a budgeting class to those desiring to be home buyers. So many families just need to trim away some of the fat and waste in order to buy a home. The money has been there all along, they just didn't budget properly.

Some of these solutions to replace the down payment assistance programs will not yield immediate results but crying about the demise of DPA's will surely yield zero.

Let's continue to provide solutions to those that want to buy. Our code of ethics states it is our responsibility to do so.