Shawn Russell

I must confess ... sometimes I wonder what I might have done to spoil the relationship with my buyers ...

You know the drill ... You have a prequal letter in hand ... you show them exactly what they want ... they are all excited about the place ... you go over the paperwork ... and then BAM! LOST IN SPACE ....

Could it be that I wasn't listening to their wants and needs closely enough? If you have been in the biz long enough you think you know when a buyer is ready and excited about a home ... you go through the steps leading them down the path to true happiness ... Home ownership ... But wait! What happens when all of a sudden they disappear on you without any explanation ...

Does this sound familiar to you? OK ... so you lost another potential client ... better luck next time you say ... Buyers are liars right?

I beg to differ ... maybe just maybe I have it all wrong ... maybe these folks just aren't ready yet ... maybe there is something that has happened that has changed their minds ... maybe you have bad breath and nobody has told you ... whatever the reason your clients without telling you are really telling you something afterall ...

Is there some magic device that can tell me if I'm working with a buyer who is serious?

Let's introduce some reality here ... I like to think of Winston Churchill in these moments, he was famous for saying "Never Give Up!" Hopefully you have built a good relationship with these folks ... they trust you ... they like you because you listen to them ... and you are a value to them ... while it's true that you need to qualify folks ... sometimes it just takes time to make the impossible ... possible ...

Although your clients are not ready yet to buy ... they are afterall your clients ... give them some time and Never Give Up!

Ok, I have to admit ... Yes I've done it ... however I recognize when texting is appropriate while in the car ... How about when you have pulled into a parking space or pulled into a residential area where you can park in front of a home and text safely ...

These are really the only times I can think of when its safe to text in a car. Just this morning I saw someone at a green light ... head down (texting I'm sure) without a care in the world ... only after someone honked his horn ... did said person wake up to the fact he was in a car sitting in front of a green light ... for who knows how long ...

Needless to say ... this might be considered dangerous driving behavior ... or non-driving behavior depending on how you look at it ... with all of the accidents that have been reported lately due to texting ... it gives one a minute to reflect just how important texting needs to be handled and when its ok and not ok to text ...

They say that talking while driving ... even hands free (blue tooth) conversation is likened to driving while intoxicated ... some of my coworkers tell me they simply cannot drive and talk at the same time ...

For me ... I've recognized that driving while talking to a client is strained at best ... in sales we all know 100% attention should be given to our clients and customers ... how can we achieve this when we are too busy avoiding a myriad of driving hazards. Driving can be stressful at times and that stress can transfer to your client/customer without you even knowing it ... WOW that's not good!

Anyhow, I've learned to be even more careful on the road ... knowing there are folks out there who probably havent put too much thought into how their driving is being affected by texting at the same time ...

Drive safe ...

Yesterday I met a lovely couple who are moving to Houston to be closer to their family ....

During our conversation the need for an elevator became the hot topic ... what I understood from our conversation was that after years of fussing with the yard, pool, trees, shrubs, sprinkler systems, weeding, fertilizing, painting and all of the other multitude of duties performed during home and yard upkeep ... the upshot was "This House was Killing Us!" ... no doubt cleaning and pruning can be a lot of fun and at times therapeutic ... but at a certain time in life ... who cares ... this couple understood the value of their time ... time better spent with family and friends ... and maybe more golfing too ...

What am I getting at here ... this couple wanted freedom ... to them ... paying a couple hundred dollars a month for someone else to do all the work is well worth the money ... they are in the market for a townhome ... easy gated access ... and no yard work ...

To my surprise there are little choices for these folks ... a town-home with an elevator is a stretch to find in Houston ... however some builders are starting to recognize this need ... at least some builders are thinking ahead by making a home "Elevator Ready" ...

As our society becomes more ready for "Elevator Ready" ... it's the builder who provides this valuable feature who wins the day ...

Thinking Ahead ...

Imagine you are showing your client a duplex ... you are trying to see one unit that is already occupied ... you show up and all of a sudden a pit bull comes out from around the corner?

That's what happened to me yesterday ... luckily nothing happened ... But what if me or god forbid my client was attacked ... what to do?

I like to think of myself as a pet person ... I like dogs and cats and all animals in general ... but lets face it ... we could have been put in a horrifying position ... I don't know about you but had either or both of us been attacked ... I would not have had the slightest clue what to do besides run, fend off the dog, or who knows what ...

Worse yet ... pit bulls have a tendency to lock their jaws (so I've been told) onto their victims ... how in the world do you solve this problem ... not to mention all the drama associated with it ...

Next time ... I'll be prepared ... I googled what to do in case of an attack ... please read it ... I was shocked at what can happen ...

The $8,000 Tax Credit has really sparked home buying ...

At the beginning of the year the underwriters were swamped with refinanced home ... now with the rates being so low ... underwriters are swamped with new and existing home purchases ... My lender just informed me that they can do Bridge Loans that don't cost a thing for the Home buyer ...

This is great news!

Now Home buyers can use the Tax Credit when it's needed the most ... At Closing!

Keep you posted and happy home buying ...

Shawn