Nelya Calev

Check out this book!

You may know that my husband is into photography and likely do not know that he is a member of the Microsoft Photography Club. This year Photography Club Members from around the world spent five months assembling and publishing a world-class, fine art photo book. The time and talent that went into this project makes every copy of the book a gift to its owner. They even put a full book preview online (160 pages of preview!) 100% of the profit from sales goes directly to the United Way and you get a valued and timeless reminder of how you too make a difference for those in need.

You can preview the book, or order the book, from your desk. Not only does this book make a wonderful addition to any collection, and a thoughtful gift, each copy you purchase contributes directly to the ongoing, important work of United Way. This book is offered for purchase at the cost of printing plus $25.00. This additional amount is contributed directly to United Way in your name and is fully tax deductable as a charitable contribution.

Even if you don't think you'll buy a copy of the book, go take a look at the online preview anyway. It really is amazing!

BTW, my husband's photo is this one.

Recently I have seen several foreclosed homes caused by the previous owners spending too much on remodeling. The stories are all very similar. The owners decide to fix up the place and spend a great deal of time and effort making their home look perfect. In the meantime they run their cash reserves so low that they can no longer afford to make house payments. Around the time that work on their home is almost complete, the bank forecloses.

This is a really a shame and in many cases entirely avoidable. During one recent foreclosure the previous owner was almost in tears. I could see him visibly upset and he asked that I wait until he left to take pictures. He had put a great deal of time and effort into that home and never really had the chance to enjoy it.

While the case is sad, this is just another example of keeping your finances in order. Always be prepared for that rainy day and make sure you only spend what you truly have.

While I am sure that I can sell these homes very quickly given their prices and condition, I would far prefer to sell beat up old homes that I know will find a better owner.

Currently there is an agent with three properties for sale in my neighborhood. These three properties are killing the resale values in my area. The interesting thing about these properties is they are neither bank owned nor are they short sales. Property values in my city as a whole are staying roughly the same. However, if I were to sell my home today I would have to accept approximately ten percent less than a few months ago simply because this agent is a moron.

All of the homes are below market value and I'm not entirely sure why they are not selling. All of them are in poor shape. Two of them were not fixed up or staged at all and are literally pigsties. I recently took a buyer to one and he walked straight out after seeing the mess. The houses themselves are not that bad. They just need a good cleaning. The third house was remodeled but poorly. The kitchen island is about two feet tall.

Even more interesting, I have noticed that most of this agents listings are sold through dual agency. You would think that given the low prices other agents would offer, wouldn't you? I toured all three properties - one of them twice - and never received a call or e-mail about any of them. While I cannot say for sure, things certainly look suspicious.

I do not mind that other agents have listings right next to my own house. This is just how it happens in the business. What I cannot stand is when - due to a combination of greed and stupidity - an agent causes my house price to fall. If you're going to sell in my neighborhood, then please do that - sell!

Recently while driving down my street I saw something interesting. A house that had been for sale for some time at $425,000 had a "sold" sign on it. That was moderately interesting, but what I found far more interesting was that it had a new sign advertising the price now as $475,000!

I was quite stunned at this. After all, when the property was first listed it started out at $450,000 and slowly made it to $425,000 during several months on the market. I looked up the property on the MLS and it was pending inspection. Who the heck puts up a sold sign when the house still hasn't gone through the inspection!

Sure enough, the home failed inspection and went back on the market. The sign now states $425,000.

While there exists the chance that there were multiple offers on the property, the more likely case (especially given this agent has a poor reputation) is that the agent deliberately misrepresented the sold price in order to attract more listings.

I considered taking a picture of the sign and send it to the MLS, but did not have the chance before the home went on the market. However, what would have really happened here? From looking at the list of MLS fines, at the most he would have received a fine for $100 or $200. More likely he would have just received a warning.

It is no wonder people distrust agents when this is all that can happen to you for deliberately trying to mislead people! Going through the list of MLS fines is quite comical, because in many cases these fines are for completely unethical and in some cases illegal behavior. While I can see someone accidentally including a disallowed phrase such as "walking distance to Microsoft" (assumes the buyer can walk), I cannot see someone accidentally listing a home as twice the size that it actually is.

If an agent repeatedly does these things, he or she should no longer be allowed to practice real estate. Even with lawyers this is the case. If a lawyer is found to have practiced unethically, he or she can be barred from practicing law in that state. While technically this is possible with real estate, in practice it is rarely carried out.

Until we start weeding out the bad apples, public trust in real estate agents will continue to be at an all time low.