SHANTEE HAYNES

So, yesterday I had a pretty interesting and somewhat productive day on the open house front. I had a little time to kill before meeting a colleague at his open house (he was helping another agent), so I followed the signs to a FSBO open house. I've visited quite a few open houses in the last year or so, and this was the first time I have been to a FSBO. The property was really nice and had great space, not sure if was priced properly for the area where it was, but if it wasn't, I doubt it was priced outrageously!

Well, in my limited experience, I knew right away said homeowner/seller had run out of feet to shoot himself in! Aside from his reluctance to come down in the price (I could tell it in his voice when he answered my question of how much he was asking), he mentioned that he has held and open house EVERY Sunday with no offers since it's been on the market...it's been on the market since MARCH! Now I first shook hands with the gentleman before handing him my card, to let him know I came in peace and not to shake up his harmonious open house he had going on! His next question pretty much informed me what his goal was and why he had the home on the market with no offers..."What about your fees?" Instantly I felt a panic, what word vomit was I going to throw out as to make my first rookie mistake? Well, at this point, I had looked through the property and was pretty much on my way out the door, so knowing this, I chilled and simply smiled. I told him what I could in my limited power and experience. "Well Mr homeowner/seller, it will take looking at some comps among other important elements, but the fees are always negotiable, these can be discussed in a listing presentation where I can also offer you a way better alternative than an open house so we can get QUALIFIED buyers to the property and get people bidding right away...does that sound like something you possibly would be interested in?"

I wasn't met with any resistance as he hadn't been given the "hard pitch" (what do you think?) and I wasn't pushy so as to insist "Gimmie the listing when you FIANLLY wanna sell this house buddy!!"...I offered a solution with a possible alternative...we both ended the 10 minutes with a smile, and my business card had been passed to somone with a need

Ok, so on to the open house with my colleague!! I got a chance to assist a colleague yesterday at an open house. Nothing big, just buzzing in guests and making sure they signed in, that's pretty much it. Of course I was more than happy to observe while my colleague engaged potential clients and interested buyers at the property. Well, when I first walked in, I was greeted by a VERY distinctive smell. Considering this was an open house, you might think that smell was fresh baked cookies? No. Perhaps some potpourri warming on the stove or a scented candle? No sir!

Pet odor!

Yes, both the agent and I had the displeasure of smelling this odor along with doing our best to contain our displeasure that the place wasn't furnished either. This by the way, again, was my colleague doing a favor for another colleague who was not informed by the seller that the place was not furnished, and of course the smell was probably lost on the seller since they lived there with the pets and unfortunately were probably used to the smell. Now, had we not had this experience, I doubt my notion to let potential sellers know what I expect of them would have been solidified...I am now determined more than ever, to ensure potential sellers do their "homework"...even if people coming through to the open house don't buy your property, it should be noted...MR/MISS HOME SELLER YOU'RE BEING GRADED BY WHAT WE CALL WORD OF MOUTH!!! NASTY ODOR=FAIL!!! NO FURNITURE (AND NOT TELLING THE AGENT)=FAIL!!

Someone...anyone...PLEASE tell me you have something a bit less shameful and more interesting from an open house experience!!!

....Please!?

The catch is...you gotta be a blackberry user!!!

I found a cool tool in the Blackberry application store. It's called "Homes for Sale by Smarter Agent". You can search listings and homes for sale by Broker/zipcode...basically like MLS. First you have to have a blackberry (LOL), then you download Blackberry Application World to your phone, go to:

http://uk.blackberry.com/services/appworld/download.jsp#tab_tab_download

Follow the directions to download and install. Once you have done so, go ahead into the icon/app on your phone and go to the search option and type in "Homes For Sale"...it will take you right to the application and give you step by step insturctions to download and install.

I am sure there may be something similar for those who use Iphones (they have meebo for Iphone and not blackberry...darnit!!!) but this is of course for those of us who are loyal to good old blackberry!!

Enjoy!!

Today's blog post, though a bit off topic, I think can be appreciated by all.

I just got over the flu, FINALLY feeling human and 100% again! I hadn't been cursed with the flu since age 11 I think? Anyhow, I must say, I am glad I have yet to attain a client roster as of yet, because I don't know how I would be able to work with the flu! I am assuming alot of you more established agents have an assistant, are on sales teams, or somehow have someone who you can count on to back you up should something like this keep you out of commission for a bit (in my case 8 whole days).

Needless to say, this has inspired me to encourage all of us to take care of ourselves when we are well. Such a line of work is going to need us to be as healthy as ready when the time calls for us to go above and beyond for our clients. I am going to share a recipe I found which is to help maintain your immune system. I HIGHLY encourage all of you to research and google various natural remedies and other things that will help keep you well so that you are not u attacked with something that keeps you in bed for several days...

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RECIPE FOR IMMUNE-BOOSTING SMOOTHIE:

2 cups of milk (soy or rice beverage)

1 cup of plain non-fat yogurt

1 serving of a multinutrient suppliment

1 frozen banana cut up

1/2 cup of frozen blueberries

1/2 each of your favorite fruit, frozen (eg. organic strawberries, papaya, mango)

1 tbsp of flax oil or 2 tbsp of flaxseedmeal (because fiber steadies the absorption of carbs and therefore contributes to a steadier blood sugar, it's suggested using rich sources of fiber, such as flaxseed meal-ground flaxseeds containing the oil and the fiber)

3 ounces of tofu

10 mg of zinc

100 mcg. selenium

50-100 iu of vitamin E

1 serving soy isolate powder (optional)

2 tbsp peanutbutter (optional)

Combine all ingredients until smooth, serve immediately while the mixture still has a bubbly milkshake like consistency

...And assuming these agents have buyers, which of you ahead of time makes a little portfolio of YOUR listings to hand to them should they have buyers that qualify for them? No?....Well consider that your tip of the day!!

Later! :)

So just how open are any of you to networking and marketing yourselves/brands to RE professionals ASIDE from other agents/Realtors??

You mean you don't have a separate set of business cards to hand out to a title agent, or occasionally take lunch to a small mortgage office? What are you in this business for?!!? It takes a village to put a family in a home! (LOL) Often, I hear and read from agents and Realtors how important it is to network and get your name out there, etc...Well who better to network with than others who are instrumental in the home buying/selling process as well as yourselves?

The same process we come up with to get tactics to sell homes and get listings are some of the same things we can gather to attract others in the RE community, getting on a first name basis with these people is just as important as getting that contract signed with the potential buyer or seller. Has your day to day activity changed or lessened since we are experiencing a slightly different market at the moment? By all means, go steal a bit of an office's time! Go on Vista Print and print up a batch of "Networking cards" (cheap and free right now if you hurry on over there), take the time to run by Domino's, Subway, or Mrs. Field's and steal 15 minutes of time at least one Title, Mortgage and notary office a week...introduce yourself and point out your Active Rain link on the card tell them all about it and how it works, chances are they know nothing about it, A LOT of RE professionals still don't! They'll never forget it, and you'll never regret it!! Happy Real "Estating" :)