Sheila Reeves

My granddaughter moved into her college dorm (Presbyterian College) about 2 weeks ago on Friday and it is with mixed emotions I write this. I'm so proud of her and where she is in her life. My son has done a wonderful job raising her as a single parent who remarried 5 years ago. He is as good a momma/daddy as you will ever meet. When she was little, he could put her hair up in a ponytail better than I could. He & wife Tracy both have a child going off to college this week, he will also be gone (Clemson University). Talk about empty nest, they are in for a very quiet house except for the weekends they come home. It will be a huge adjustment for all of them. Tracy's oldest, a daughter is getting married in October, so the children are all three mostly grown. They are all three awesome young people. I feel as if I have known Tracy's two for lots longer and have grown to love them also. I've met one of their grandmothers and gotten to know her and they come from good stock.

There are many Active Rainers getting young people off to college or back to college this last week or two. Wow, doesn't time fly.

Here's to the next generation of leaders who are going off to school to begin their education that will enable them to find their place in our world. How much fun they will have (sometimes too much) but they will learn balance.

You've done a good job, now it is up to them to finish it.

A very well known Realtor blogged recently defending Realtors as not being the fault of the mortgage industry woes and loans that should have never been made. Last count, there were about 278+ comments and counting (the hornets nest had been disturbed). It appeared to me that a lot of frustration and anger was shown by bloggers on all fronts. Blame was spread around like peanut butter on a sandwich.

Since I have been on Active Rain I have not seen any post that caught that much attention. Kudos to Lenn for knowing how to do a great post that hit the hot buttons and was obviously successful. She did a great job of bringing out a subject that has been simmering for awhile and did it courageously.

Maybe now we can all move forward and help get the collateral damage left in the wake of the Mortgage Meltdown cleaned up. It will be like Hurricane Katrina, massive damage, many officials dropping the ball, lots of lenders going under and years of clean up left in the wake of "Hurricane Mortgagina" but it can be done. At least we don't have any levies to break and bring a flood of new problems.

There is always a silver lining somewhere.

Over the years, I've always found it best to slow down a bit and get all the facts before approaching a situation that can have legal and/or ethical ramifications. No "deal" is worth jeopardizing your license or violating ethics laws for, either knowingly or unknowingly. I know many people do it because they do not understand all the ramifications of the entire situation. I would ask you to stop and think about how your new client (seller or buyer) will perceive your actions when you don't know what all the ramifications of certain behaviors are? They will feel let down and probably lose trust in what you say.

If I cannot conduct my business in an ethical and legal manner, how can I do a good job for the Buyer or Seller? When they work with an agent, they need to be able to rely on his or her advice in all matters pertaining to the sale or purchase of a home, and his/her judgment in potentially problematic situations. A good Realtor will not give legal advice, but will instead; know when the client needs to seek legal advice.

That is why it is so critical that we look at all issues in any situation that might prove to be a problem and make sure we follow the letter of the law and ethics codes. I'm not saying you cannot work and negotiate hard for your seller/buyer, as that is what you must do. You can do that and negotiate as hard as necessary, without giving anything away for your client or without breaking any laws. It can be done and is done every day.

Some of the licensed trainers in SC that teach courses for Continuing Education Units have some really great courses that can both provide you with the continuing education units needed every two years, and with some great information that reinforces those rules. In fact, one is "Rules of The Road", "Risk Management Trifecta" and other appropriately named courses. Diana Brothers is one of my favorite instructors and you're well informed when you leave the class and never bored. When she tells the true story of an older agent who violated the law by exhanging money with a client outside of closing (not on the HUD) for something as simple as a home warranty and was actually sent to prison for it, you know you do not want to be one of those case studies. Remember, 1) if it is the law, don't break it . . . 2) if it is in the Code of Ethics, abide by it. Follow these two simple rules and you are much less likely to have any legal issues in your business, at least any created by your actions or inactions.

Late yesterday evening, I received a phone call from my hair stylists' daughter telling me she had a mishap and would not be able to do my hair at my monthly appointment today. It was pretty clear she must have had an incident with the new motorcycle she rides. When I called the salon today, I learned she had broken her right wrist. OUCH, that must have hurt, and OUCH that is also going to hurt her pocketbook for the next 5-6 weeks. I'm sorry it happened to her but ever since she bought it a couple of months ago, I have been expecting something like this; I'm just glad that was her most severe injury. When I learned she was buying one, I told her I had too much time invested in her to loose her; that she would be too hard to replace, and she would. Apparently, every client she had was saying the same thing. Motorcycles are just dangerous, regardless of how good a driver you may be. There is just not enough between you and the asphalt to suit me, nor is there enough protection from other vehicles, plus just tooooooo many bad drivers out there. You are so "out there" and vulnerable on a cycle. Even though I white water rafted and rode in a hot air balloon race way back when, I have no desire to own or ride a motorcycle.

Meanwhile, she has about 5 or 6 other stylists so I will get squeezed in with them and hope she gets well really soon. She is a great stylist and person and I've sent many new buyers who moved here to her. This may be what I'm going to look like for awhile . . .

No photo could be found that was bad enough or was not copyrighted . . . use your imagination. :)

One of my best years ever in Real Estate was 2005 after having a lumpectomy in late 2004 and recovering from radiation for breast cancer. I was so grateful to have missed that bullet as it was found very early, that every day was wonderful. My attitude was one of gratitude for being given a 2nd chance and I truly believe that is why it was such a good year (combined with market conditions of course) for me. Business literally fell into my lap. Every day was a day to be grateful just to be here, to be healthy and happy and to have the opportunity to sell real estate for sellers and help buyers find homes. My grandchildren became even more precious as did my sons, their wives and my friends.

Sometimes, it takes things like that to give us a wake-up call in life. We take so much for granted, especially our health. My sons & wives also noticed a change in me and it is one I want to keep. The old "Be kinder than necessary" for someone is always facing an unknown burden really applies. We never know what the other person has on their plate.

Sometimes after a period of time has passed, we fall back into old patterns and forget to have that feeling of gratitude. That will be on my to-do list for the next 21 days (takes that long to establish a habit); to regain my attitude of gratitude.

My response to a local Mortgage Lender's blog on housing starts being down is good news for the resale home market. Our market has been saturated with new homes for years now, and in my opinion, it was just a matter of time before that happened.

Supply and Demand . . . every time I think of those three words my mind begins to dig up scenarios where the Supply and Demand is a factor. That drives every thing and as demand for new homes went down, the supply is going down, leading to the drop in new home starts. There is sometimes a Catch-22 in all this as it seems when one thing is good for one group of people, it is not so good for other groups of people. . . . such is life.

Again, Supply and Demand, the machine that drives an economy. This same factor also drives many other factors in life, beginning (don't laugh) with the supply of young people who are "marriage material" and the demand from the other group of young people for "marriage material". When those young people get married and start a family, the supply of babies is higher, driving the demand for goods and services (disposable diapers and formula) for the babies and todlers. It extends to medical services for the babies, larger homes to raise those babies in and or just a larger home for the two dogs of the couple who may not choose to have children.

Supply and Demand for Churches and spiritual growth, etc etc. It continues as we get older and the geractric crowd has many health issues and the demand is higher for specialists in all fields, specifically those who specalize in Geractric Medicine, or care of the elderly. I cannot think of one thing that is not supply or demand driven. It is the Engine and Transmission of our Economy. Next time you buy something, think about those components in your purchase.

The following price ranges are those in which the highest numbers of homes have sold YTD through July as of August 10, 2008. Please contact me for SOLDS in other price ranges; these just happen to be the price ranges that are selling the best this year. They are:

Price Range Units Sold Average Price Median Price DOM

$60,000-$80,000 268 $70,218 $70,000 81

$80,000-$90,000 398 $89,813 $89,950 79

$100,000-$120,000 462 $111,045 $112,000 80

$120,000-$140,000 578 $129,607 $129,500 88

$140,000-$160,000 555 $149,684 $150,000 93

$160,000-$180,000 485 $169,651 $169,900 98

$180,000-$200,000 372 $188,851 $189,000 93

$200,000-$230,000 257 $209,780 $210,000 99

$220,000-$240,000 226 $229,607 $229,950 81

$240,000-$260,000 203 $249,300 $249,900 84

After $260,000 the numbers drop to 138 in the next range and continue downward the higher the price goes. Although that is not too uncommon, in the past higher price ranges sold well also. While still selling, the numbers drop to single digits at $580,000 & up.

Years ago when showing homes to a buyer way out in the country of Pickens County, I ran into an unusual situation. We were unable to find the lock box anywhere around the home. If I remember correctly, we tried to reach the agent and were not successful at doing so. The next day I called her to ask where she had hidden the lock box. She said it was in the tree in the front yard. Now why didn't I look there?

Lock boxes are not supposed to be hung in trees; if they were, we might be calling them monkeys, not lock boxes. Perhaps that was her way of keepng the house safe, who knows. It sure worked,we couldn't get in. That is without a doubt, the worst place I've ever seen an agent place a lock box.

Sometimes, agents place them on a water faucet usually on the front side of the home. I've actually had a buyer refuse to let me go through wet bushes to open a lock box as it had been raining. A phone call to the agent to inform her that diving into wet bushes, filled with spider webs was not something that was going to get the house shown resulted in it being moved to a more convenient location.

Another place I've seen them placed was on a GAS METER. When I find one there, I do not even try to open it as the electronic key entry system might set off an electrical spark. I'm not sure it would, but don't want to be the first agent ever "blown to smitherines" while opening a lockbox. I will leave that distinctive honor to someone else.

Another time, again out in the country, there were two lockboxes on the gate at the driveway up to the house. Guess what, neither set of keys worked; my buyer just thought all agents were stupid because of this fiasco and on that score, I don't blame her. That is another story I will tell you at some other point in time.

Sellers and agents, make it easy for the showing agents to find and use the lock box to gain entry for the showings. It is only good business to do so.

Two blogs written and saved instead of posted later, I am still having a hard time with this. Do any of the AR Community think we should have a public voice in the upcoming election and "other than voting them all out", where do you think the venue to do this is?

I've written two blogs (and saved them instead of posting) about something one of the Presidential Candidates said (or didn't say) and am having a hard time not posting it. However, out of respect for my fellow agents and Active Rainers and the Active Rain site, I am posting this instead. Normally, I avoid most things political and don't try to discuss either political or religious issues with buyer and seller clients, going by the old rule of thumb that you don't talk about those two subjects, primarily because they are hot buttons.

Maybe we are not doing enough discussing of the hot button issues and maybe our lack of doing that is part of what is wrong with our economy and our country right now. Yes, I do believe we have more right than wrong in our Country; I LOVE my Country and know we are one of the Greatest Nations in the World, and there is no other place I would want to live, but this continues to nag at me.

There is a quotation that goes something like this . . . "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men (and women) do nothing." (Edmund Burke). This quotation was written when it was only socially acceptable for men to do things or to be given credit for doing them. Aren't you glad that has changed.

Your thoughts please, my question yesterday was similar but not in depth.

Real Estate related issues are what this site is all about, however, I have been guilty of posting other stuff, some of which might be considered political. It may just be that we're all so sick and tired of all the politics this year and the last year, and the year before that. There are those things that concern us so much, we bring it to a public forum. Maybe there should be (I'm sure there are now) blog sites and forums just for that purpose. Primarily, one through which we can send our opinions to our leaders in Washington. I know there is the RNP and the DNP sites but are there others that are not trying to get donations constantly? Is there a place for "The Voice of America"? Are there good ones where our actual opinions might be funneled to the people we elected? If you know of some, please let me know. It could be a great venue for the voting public to provide feedback to their elected leaders. I just received a U-Tube video about that very subject and it makes you think there should be a common place for this to take place. Know of any?