Pacita Dimacali - ePRO, SRES, CDPE, MBA Alain Pinel in Alameda County CA

Put that toilet lid down!

Really, how hard is it to put that lid down, especially when taking pictures for posting on the MLS?

While browsing through the MLS looking for property for my clients, I am amazed (and aghast) at how many pictures of bathrooms show that friggin’ toilet lid up. Bad, bad, bad!

Is it just me, or do other agents find it tacky to have the lid up? Simply put, an open toilet is totally unattractive.

If you observe feng shuiprinciples. then you would know that they advocate putting that lid down for a different reason:

“Keep your toilet lid closed all the time

Each time you flush your toilet, a relatively large amount of water as well as chi of your house rushes out.

If you keep your toilet lid down you help to retain valuable energy in your home and in your life.”

And what do other professionals say?

Home stagers always advise to put the lid down....so even if you can’t afford a home stager, think and act like one.

And when one browses through decorator photos of bathrooms, one almost always finds that lid down.

Manufacturers' best photos also show that lid down.

Sellers and Agents, take note: putting the lid down is such an easy and effortless thing to do. So do it! Not just for photos, but also for every showing. Make it a daily habit.

Put that toilet lid down!

Why the grimace just because I said it’s a short sale?

I held an open house today for a property that is in a good location downtown (Hayward CA) within a couple of blocks from City Hall, the library, shopping, theater, restaurants and BART.

The price is right. The location is great. The property looks nice. The condition is good
There was a steady stream of lookers -- some came with by themselves, and half came with their agents.

They all seemed very interested in this property, and gave positive feedback.

Until I mentioned that it’s a short sale. Then they grimaced. Their agents, too.

Why the pained look on your face?

As I talked with some of them, it was evident that people have heard so many horror stories about short sales that they cringed at the mere thought.

People....

Note that many short sales DO close escrow. Granted they take a little longer than regular sales or bank-owned (REO) sales, we have to know that given the right circumstances and factors,

Short sales may represent some of the best deals around.

As long as the buyers are patient, the sellers are responsive, and the agents are knowledgeable, there is a good chance the short sale transaction will be successful.

Related posts

3 out of 5 short sales in California close.....it could be better, but how do we fix the system?

Why do short sales fail?

Hayward CA housing market: boom to bust. Over 60% of sales in 2011 were bank-owned.

When advertising your listing ---- what words should you stay away from?

In a recent post on Active Rain, I noticed that the agent advertised the listing as “Walking distance to...”

It reminded me of certain rules in our MLS about certain words we should avoid.

Even Craigslist is very specific about their terms of use, their rules -- follow them or get flagged and have your post deleted, to wit:

CONDUCT You agree not to post, email, or otherwise make available Content:

d) that violates the Fair Housing Act by stating, in any notice or ad for
the sale or rental of any dwelling, a discriminatory preference based on
race, color, national origin, religion, sex, familial status or handicap
(or violates any state or local law prohibiting discrimination on the
basis of these or other characteristics);

Our local MLS is very strict about observing these rules. It helps to have transaction coordinators and assistants to keep us straight. As such, we as agents have to be very creative when describing properties and their marketable features in our advertising materials --- on the MLS, in print, online, etc.

Searching for examples, I found:

• Here's FAIR HOUSING ADVERTISING MANUAL www.fairhousingadvocates.com/advertising.pdf

• Equal Housing Opportunity Fair Housing Advertising Guidelines HERE
• SEE Housing /Rental Ads - Watch List(W) "walk to...or walking distance to.."(Close To, or (X) Blocks From)

• And Miami Valley (Ohio) Fair Housing Center provided an advertising guideline -- Click HERE
• Southern California MLS provides this guideline published in 2001
• According to this 1998 article aboutThe Growing Farce of Fair Housing "Real-estate companies in the Maryland suburbs of Washington have been prohibited from including the phrase "walking distance to the subway" in home ads because it is considered discriminatory against people in wheelchairs."
• A Manhattan blogger inUrbanDigs.com writes in 2009 "Then there becomes 'walking distance,' which we can no longer use. By saying ‘walking distance,’ I would be discriminating against those who are unable to walk. Hopefully I can still use ‘close proximity’ to public transportation."

So we err on the side of caution.

• Instead of saying “walking distance” say “near” or “close to” or even state measurable distance like “a hundred yards” or “quarter of a mile”
• We don’t say “family” but refer to them as “households”. For example, we can lavish praise on a home, but never refer to it as a home for a “family”
• Even “in-law” units are described as “au pair” quarters ("mother-in-law suite" is allowed...but we err on the side of caution. See Agent Duties: What a REALTOR can or cannot do for you)
  
• We don’t mention children or parents …. but we work around that by mentioning “playgrounds” or play areas
• We don’t mention that a property is in a specific school district (we mention the city, but not the school). Although we can mention a home is NEAR a certain school, we don’t say it’s IN that specific school boundary. To play safe, simply enter “Call School District”

UPDATE FROM OUR RISK MANAGEMENT ATTORNEY
As indicated, that phrase ("walking distance") does not violate HUD Fair Housing guidelines and HUD has indicated that they will not pursue any such use.

However, there could be a private individual who feels offended by this, and there are advocate attorneys who pursue all sorts of perceived fair housing violations.

So, while it is likely safe to use that term, as a risk management suggestion I would stay away from that phrase, and instead state something like "nearby" "4 blocks away" "convenient access to.."

There must be other examples of what to avoid and how to get around them. If so, please share :)

When advertising your listing ---- what words should you stay away from?

ZERO days on market of real estate listings in Alameda County CA

I was curious to see how many days properties stayed on the market before offers were accepted. This chart shows the cities in Alameda County, CA.

It was surprising to see how many cities had zero days on market which suggest pocket listings, and unbelievably quick action on the agents' parts to get offers accepted.

Most of the properties that stayed the longest on the market were short sales and overpriced listings --- and that’s to no one’s surprise.

The third number, Average Days on Market, more or less shows what kind of market these cities are having. Except for one, all the cities had less than 60 days average which indicates a seller’s market. This is perhaps attributable to low housing inventory, and a time when eager buyers are eager to take advantage of declining prices of homes and low interest rates.

How would you advise your friend whose tenant wants to buy her house?

Your friend says she is looking at these options ---- and asks for your opinion

• She and her tenant will work directly to complete the sale transaction, and engage a real estate attorney or title company to handle the paperwork
• She and her tenant will have you handle the sale transaction which necessitates a pocket listing
  
• She has you represent her, and her tenant gets her own agent

There's another option.....

List it, put it on the MLS, and see if there are other buyers who may be interested in buying the property at perhaps higher price with better terms than what the tenant is willing to offer.

You look for measured words, carefully chosen so that your friend can see you sincerely want to provide good information to guide her in her decision making.

If you advise her to list, you want to avoid the perception that it's only because you want the sales commission.

Problematic and riskiest option

The biggest and perhaps the most problematic and riskiest is when the seller and buyer handle the sale on their own:

• Who sets the sales price? Sellers generally think their property’s value is higher than what the market will bear. Will buyer agree to pay more?
• Does either party have negotiating experience?
• How can the seller be sure that she provides all the disclosures required in a real estate sale transaction, and protect herself from risks of errors, omission or misrepresentation?
• How will they decide who will draw up the paperwork for the sale, and will they have individual representation or adviser when completing the contract?
• How will they handle monitoring action items and deadlines, and exacting performance from either party who fails to meet them?
• Will they know how to draft the terms and conditions as they pertain to escrow period, initial deposit, buyer investigation, appraisal and loan approval, city/county transfer taxes, point of sale compliance with local/state government ordinances, etc?

This is an open question ---- what would you do?