Bob Haywood, www.BobHaywood.com

Once upon a time there was a building that had a mouse problem. They knew they had a mouse problem because they found mouse poop in the kitchen drawers. “Ick!” yelled the cook, “Something must be done!”

So the smart people got together to tackle the problem. One of them suggested getting a cat. They would let the cat live in the building and it would take care of the mouse problem for them. “The problem with that,” said one wise person, “Is that we’ll have to leave the cabinet doors open. And we’ll have to feed the cat and set up cat litter box duty. No thanks!”

Someone else suggested getting a plastic snake and putting it in the drawers where the mouse poop was found. “This will not work,” said one of the farmers. “I use plastic snakes in my garden to scare off the birds and they work well. But plastic snakes do not scare off mice. Mice are not afraid of plastic snakes. They just run right over them and ignore them.” So they scraped that idea.

Eventually they decided to use mouse traps with some peanut butter smeared on the trigger. And of course, it worked like a charm! The mouse problem was quickly eradicated and everybody was happy.

Are you looking to buy a Tulsa Oklahoma house online? Are you using sites like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com and others? If so, you’re a whole lot like those people who wanted to take care of the mouse problem using the cat and the plastic snake. You’re getting some information about Tulsa Oklahoma houses, but not necessarily the correct information.

And why is that? Because online sites like Zillow, Trulia and even Reatlor.com get their information from a database called the Multi-List System. This is where all Real Estate folks put the information about houses they have for sale. And all this information is regulated. It has to be entered correctly.

This information is released to online sites like Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com. And guess what? They are not regulated. They can do with the information anything they wish. Now, this doesn’t mean they willfully change it. I’m convinced they don’t. However, we often find that correct information does not find its’ way from the Multi-List Database to Zillow, Trulia and Realtor.com. Somehow or other, details sometimes get lost in translation.

How do we know this? Because often, when a home buyer calls about a property they found on one of those sites, the information is incorrect. The property may have already been sold. The estimate of value is off or, the agent listed by the property actually has nothing to do with the property.

That’s when we go to our Multi-List system where we find accurate and real-time information. We can tell you when the house went for sale, IF the house even IS for sale and who the listing agent is and if there has been any price reductions. We can tell you lots of other helpful information also. All you have to do is ask!

So the next time you’re looking for a property, go online if you want. But to be a smart Tulsa Oklahoma home shopper, call up your local real estate agent. They’ll get you what you need!

Real results...it's as simple as using peanut butter to catch a mouse! And everyone knows that works!

You know how it is. You're out showing houses and you come across one of those things that catches your eye. It can be an old light fixture, a retro stove, the marks on the wall showing the heights of the kids who grew up there or even...just a fence that has stood in place for a very long time.

This sign caught my eye yesterday as I was showing houses in Tulsa Oklahoma, in an older neighborhood.

The house had long since been abandoned and was in foreclosure.

But the fence has continued to stand guard through all the changes and over the course of time.

A testiment to the people who put it there.

If you read the title of this blog, you already know that this is going to be about the infamous leg lamp from one of my favorite movies of all time, "A Christmas Story."

And you would be right.

And so here is my Speechless Sunday pic!

How cool is that? Even though it isn't full sized, I now have the leg lamp from "A Christmas Story" sitting on my desk. Everytime I turn it on I can still hear Ralphie say, "There's only one thing that could've dragged me away from the soft glow of electric..."

If you don't know the rest of the line, go watch the movie!

Taking the Emotions Out of Selling Your Owasso Oklahoma Home

Everybody knows that a home is an investment. You buy it. Values go up. You sell. You make money, right? Yeah, sure. That may have been the way it was in the past, but for many Owasso Oklahoma home sellers, the world has changed. In today's Owasso Oklahoma home market, making a profit when you sell is no longer a sure thing.

I could give you all kinds of reasons why this is true, but I won't because we all already know what a mess the housing market is in across the country and here in Owasso Oklahoma. So instead, let me focus today on what continues to hold Owasso Oklahoma home sellers back from being successful in selling their home. I call these the "I'm smarter than the market brain farts".

Smarter than the market brain fart Number One: "I can't sell this house for less than I paid for it!" I hear this from so many Owasso Oklahoma people who want to sell their home, but can't. The house sits and sits and sits. Very few people come to look at it. And whose fault is it? The Real Estate Listing agent, of course! You can talk to these kinds of people until you are blue in the face. But sadly, many will never understand...or maybe...accept the reality that a house is an investment. And sometimes you lose money on investments. And the market determines how much a buyer is willing to pay for your Owasso Oklahoma home. And the market is going which direction still? Yeah...down and flat. People who think they can sell their Owasso Oklahoma home for more than they paid just a few years ago (when they paid maximum asking price in a hot market) are living in Neverland for the most part. There continue to be too many Owasso Oklahoma homes on the market. Too many foreclosures. And too many lower priced properties.

Smarter than the market brain fart Number Two: "My house isn't dirty or cluttered!" Holy cow. I'm not sure where people got the idea that dirty baseboards, nasty oil spills in the garage (under the car), animal smell, dirty walls, worn carpet, old wallpaper and/or a plethora of other not so clean features has become acceptable in Owasso Oklahoma homes that are for sale. In Owasso Oklahoma we still have lots of brand new homes to pick from. Ever climb into a new car on the car lot? It is super clean. It smells awesome. And everything works great! That's how new homes are marketed to the few potential buyers who are left in the Owasso Oklahoma home market. When your house stinks, is dirty or has other problems you instantly put yourself into a lower priced category. Dirty, smelly and clutter are dollars lost in asking price. And further, an Owasso Oklahoma home that is not in good condition is a sitter. It will not sell quickly unless the price is bargain basement priced.

Smarter than the market brain fart Number Three: "I love this house. I'm not willing to give it away because someone else will come along who will love it too!" Yeah right. I may love a certain pair of old boxer shorts, but that doesn't mean I can sell them in my garage sale for $10.00! That's what new ones go for. Old used ones don't. And sometimes old used stuff that has been well loved doesn't have much a second life. Think Toy Story movies here. Haven't seen them? Okay, let me summarize for you. Just because you loved the place, there is NO guarantee that someone else will. And there is especially no guarantee that your love translates into higher dollars for your Owasso Oklahoma home. Your experiences are not a new buyers' experiences in that home. So take your memories with you. Pack them up. Store them away. Get real with the market and get your Owasso Oklahoma home sold!

Look folks, I hate to say it, but here in Owasso Oklahoma, we are not seeing a housing market recovery yet. That having been said, our housing market didn't fall nearly has hard as other areas either. However, will our continued new construction, the mixture of existing homes for sale, foreclosures coming to market and an unsure economy and high unemployment rate, now is the time for an Owasso Oklahoma home market reality check. If you want to sell your house in today's market, you may need a counselor. Or you may need a good accountant. Or you may simply need a good Real Estate professional who will talk with you candidly about your "investment."

Either way, you have to get off high center to sell your Owasso Oklahoma home!

The longer I am in real estate, the more I begin to think that personality types and/or regions of the country (or world) from where a person was raised and how they were raised are three of the biggest factors in how a client will behave. But I'm not sure we pay much attention to those things. It is usually only after a buyer or a seller has gone off and done something stupid, heartbreaking or flat out mean that we step back and go, "Holy cow! Where did THAT come from???"

Take, for example, the buyer who went to the seller's house a couple of days prior to closing. The buyer, who was my client, didn't call me to set this up. Nope, she just went over there and knocked on the door. The seller had parents there moving her stuff and they let the buyer in because she wanted to get the refrigerator measurements and check out the washer and dryer connections. These things had already been given to her. The seller came home and walked through her front door to find the unescorted buyer standing in her house. Yeah, that was a fun one to deal with. Luckily, the seller was a licensed agent who had a level head.

I had another buyer a few years ago who got out of sorts over something that wasn't done right in the house he was having built. What did he do? Instead of keeping a cool head and working through proper channels, he went and showed up on the doorstep of the owner of the Real Estate company. Of course, the owner of the Real Estate company had no clue what was going on. And the buyer ended up looking rather foolish in the end. Duh!

Today, I have buyers (not my clients) who are threatening to sue over $200.00 curtain rods that got taken accidentally. So let's think about this. You're going to go spend way more than $200 to talk to your lawyer (which they have done) in order to get your curtain rods because they are that important. I can think of a whole lot easier way to get that little problem resolved!

I supposed people are always going to behave badly and not just in the world of Real Estate. And, at times, I will admit that I've not kept a cool head in certain situations. But as I get older, I am beginning to value being at peace with others way more than being at odds with others. And I find that keeping a cool head and looking for a workable solution for all parties involved usually tends to solve most problems.

I read somewhere that, "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." In Real Estate and especially in a tough market and tough economy, I think that's pretty good advice.