Pacita Dimacali - e-PRO, SRES, CDPE, MBA East Bay, North CA real estate

We can't tell people enough times the value we bring to the table. Buyers and Sellers alike don't really know what we do for them. And if they don't know, how can they appreciate us or refer us?

In advertising, there is a saying, "REPETITION, REPETITION, REPETITION"

Here's a question to all: How much is your time worth? Can you afford not to get paid for service you provide?

We, realtors, don't just provide transportation and open doors. I can only speak for myself, but this is a sampling of the service I provide for my Sellers:

BEFORE MEETING THE CLIENT

• I prepare a comparative market analysis and put together a marketing presentation (not a cookie-cutter presentation. There's a lot of thought, research and effort in this presentation.
• REALTORS will know that putting together a comparative market analysis is not just about looking at what sold, are active or pending. One has to determine other factors to qualify specific properties to be in the comps.

DURING THE MEETING

Because of the mountain of paperwork involved, it is critically important to review and explain the various documents and disclosures requiring the Seller's signature. This is also when we discuss a calendar of action items on what the seller and I should do to prepare the property for sale

ACTION ITEMS. These are the various activities I undertake:

• Services
  • Scheduling inspections (home inspections, pest inspections, etc)
  • Helping and guiding sellers on staging their house.
  • If they don't have the right stuff, or don't have enough, I augment the staging by using a few of my things. Or, I will recommend a professional stager to consult with the client.
  • Providing resources for sellers, and letting in the service personnel in the house (e.g. Wood floor refinishers, painters, plumbers, electricians, housecleaners, landscapers, inspectors)
• Marketing Materials Preparation
  • Taking pictures (a lot of pictures!) - Selecting, editing, cropping, re-sizing, compressing, photo-stitching
  • Creating visual tours
  • Writing and designing flyers
  • Advertising in print (newspapers, postcards, flyers)
  • Putting together a Property Binder to include information about the property, copies of inspections, demographics, permit history, etc. that I provide at the house so that agents and prospective buyers can consult this information while they are at the property. Nothing like having info at your fingertips when you want it.
• Marketing Activities
  • Holding brokers' tours (during which I serve refreshments to entice more agents to come see the property)
  • Holding open houses as needed
  • Showing the property to prospective buyers

• Online and target marketing to reach the biggest audience: THE WORLD!
  • Uploading the posting on the MLS.
  • Showcasing the listing on REALTOR.com, uploading as many as 25 pictures, customizing the descriptions and scrolling headline for the showcase. This is critically important since this serves as the primary source of information that other realty websites pick up. So by the time I activate a listing, it is complete with pictures and visual tour.
  • Creating electronic flyers using Postlets, Vflyers
  • Customizing uploads on Zillow, ActiveRain, Trulia
  • Posting regularly on Craigslist
  • Uploading and creating website information about the property (this is posted on my website on Point2 which is networked with other Point2 members.
  • Uploading the information on our company website
  • Uploading disclosures online.

INFORMATION

• Following up with agents and prospective buyers who saw the property -- I send notes, email, and make phone calls
• Updating my sellers frequently on the activity on their house. I do this by sending them copies of the reports on REALTOR.com and Trulia on how many times it's been viewed. I include other reports that are available (how many times it's been viewed on Zillow, my website, et). I include a list of all the realtors who have shown the property, provide numbers of people who came to the open house, etc.
• Having continuous conversations with my Seller on the market, and if we should make some adjustments

OFFER NEGOTIATION

• Negotiate offers--- my first question to the other agent is if the offer is the BEST and HIGHEST offer from the buyer. That may give them pause, and then they ask me to counter rather than reject the offer.
• If there is more than one offer, I prepare an Excel spreadsheet comparing the terms and the estimated seller proceeds
• Upon presenting the offer to the Seller, we go through an intensive discussion. Sometimes, we go back and forth, and may even have more than one counteroffer.
• I call the buyer's lender and the buyer's agent to get a more complete sense of the financial wherewithal and motivation of the prospective buyers to close escrow
• During the escrow period, there is continuing negotiation that may involve request for repairs, credits for closing costs, etc.
• Coordinate with the buyer's agent the inspections and appraisal appointments

TRANSACTION COORDINATION

• When we go into contract, I remain the point of contact among all parties
• I engage, and pay for a transaction coordinator to make sure our paperwork is in order
• Through it all, it's follow up, follow up, follow up!

These action items take hours, days, and weeks. I don't get paid until or unless I close escrow.

OUT OF POCKET EXPENSES
Remember, that I pay for all the advertising and marketing expenses that include membership in the Multiple Listing Service (MLS), REALTOR.com, website and visual tour hosting, newspaper advertising, color flyers and postcards, signage, etc.

If the property doesn't sell, I am not reimbursed for any of my out-of-pocket expenses

PUTTING THINGS INTO PERSPECTIVE: How much is your time worth? Can you afford not to get paid for service you provide?

It was an escrow that wasn't to be....

Inspite of all the hard work, where both the buyer's agent and I were struggling to bring both sides to a reasonable agreement, the seller accused me of working for the buyer! The buyer's agent, on the other hand, said that his buyers think he's working for the seller.

Yes, I know that in our business, there's no such thing as low-hanging fruit. And that we have to prepare ourselves for every problem, every rejection.

But still....

REALITY CHECK

I guess I should have known this listing would be difficult. The signs were there....but foolish me, I thought I could do it.

1. Seller refused to believe that his property isn't worth as much as he thinks. So I recommended that he get an appraisal so he'll know how much lenders will value this property.

2. Seller refused to accept own appraisal report, which he said was bogus. He asked me to pay for half of the appraisal which he thought was an unnecessary expense.

3. Seller turned down great offer considering how much the house is listed for.The buyer walked. But after nearly a month of no activity, and after I chased after two parties who were interested, seller accepted the next offer that was the same as the first offer a month ago!

4. Seller thought the buyer's inspections were invasive. Had to explain to that the buyers have the right to do their due diligence. We tried to group all the inspections together, but had to have other professionals come to give estimates on repairs based on the inspections.

5. Seller disputed inspector's report that the furnace is at the end of its life. The buyers requested credits towards repairs for items considered as safety and hazard issues. Seller refused to give them a dime. The buyer's agent, his broker, my broker and I agreed to pitch in a little bit of money to keep the deal together.

6. Seller didn't respect expertise of professionals. When the buyer's appraisal came in, it was $5K LESS than the first independent appraisal.

The buyer, who had already spent over $1,000 in inspections and appraisals, still wanted the property. So the buyer revised the offer to be $15,000 OVER the appraised value. But the seller refused! He canceled the escrow and the listing.

NOTE: The seller would have netted $42K, but he said that's too small a profit after living there for only 5 years. Guess he conveniently forgot that he had refinanced a couple of times and already took out, and lived on substantial equity from the house!

After all the hard work, the expense, and the extensive marketing of the property, what hurt the most is Seller telling me that he thought I was working for the buyer because he didn't get what he wants. The reality of it ---- a reality he won't accept ---- is that his property IS NOT WORTH what he wants for it.

Then less than a month later, he re-lists the property with another agent, at a reduced price that is still WAY HIGHER than what the two recent appraisals said it's worth.

Yes, I know. No whining allowed. But geez....

>SIGH<

SAN LEANDRO

When folks from San Francisco come to the East Bay, they only know a few cities based on the weather map they see in the San Francisco Chronicle. Most of them know about Oakland and Berkeley. But very few are aware of some gems of neighborhoods in the cities of Alameda, San Leandro, Castro Valley, Hayward and others.

Perhaps that is changing. As people find out about the more affordable housing in the East Bay (as compared to San Francisco, Marin, Santa Clara counties, etc), we are seeing increased interest in real estate in our neck of the woods.

And perhaps that explains the movement in our markets.

Like San Leandro. Here's what it looks like the past two years, Sept 2007 through Sept 2009, for detached single family homes.

• Supply and demand ....are we approaching equalization, perhaps a "normal" market?
  

• If the months' inventory level is any indicator, homes are selling at a brisk pace. Since we're at below 2 months' inventory, is this a signal that it's turned into a seller's market?
  

• Median price is below what they were in 2007, but it seems to be on the upswing
  

• Number of properties sold also inching upwards

OAKLAND

A picture certainly paints a thousand words. These charts show the trends for detached single family homes over a two year period from September 2007 to end of September 2009. Perhaps this illustrates why buyers are finding themselves in multiple offer situations on attractively priced properties that seem to sell in less than a week!

• The trend for inventory of detached single family homes for sale is startling . The high level of nearly 16 months inventory in December of 2008 steadily declined to its lowest point of 1.5 months in September 2009 in a 2-year period

• Number of homes sold appeared to have peaked in July 2009. Summer is typically when sales are brisk.

• The lowest median price was in March 2009 where it remained at that range for about three months. Then it slowly inched upwards for a noticeable increase in September 2009 at the same time that the inventory level was at its lowest the past two years. Could this be a sign of recovery?

• Supply and demand --- another indicator that perhaps we're returning to "normal" as opposed to the "irrarional exuberance" of years ago.

ALAMEDA

A picture says a thousand words.

These charts compare the market activities for a two-year period from September 2007 to end of September 2009.

• One of the key indicators we look at to determine whether it's a buyer's or a seller's market is the inventory of homes for sale. If there are few properties on the market (low inventory), it signals a potential seller's market. As of September 2009, it appears we have just a little over a month's worth of inventory before the properties are sold.

• Number of homes sold (unit sales) appears to pick up. For example, there were only 18 homes sold in September 2007, same number in September 2008, but it increased to 32 sales in September 2009. This report says that's an increase of 78% comparing Sept 07 to Sept 09.

• But median prices are still comparatively low, from the low $700k in Sept 2007, to the high $500K in Sept 2009 for a decrease of 20%.
  

• Supply and demand chart seems to support the oft-repeated phrase that Alameda is "holding its own" since there doesn't seem to be a drastic change in the market activity although the median price did go through quite a transition.

Could it be that the market is getting back to "normal" as opposed to the "irrational exuberance" and frenzy of the early 2000s?