Steven Keefe

This morning, I got an anonymous question asking if I or anyone else who posts on Activerain actually sell anything. The question is a good one... in fact, I would be interested to hear from other Activerain participants what kind of results they are achieving.

I can speak for my team that it is a valuable tool to deliver market information and statistics about our area. I have had numerous customers tell me that they found me through search engines that delivered them back to this site as well as the stand alone blog I maintain for our company at www.mountainupdate.com.

The two most active "bloggers" in my organization are both very successful agents that do a lot of business. I can't speak for others. Many agents poo-poo blogging stating that the ones writing about real estate often are the ones not doing any business. All I can say is at Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty, that is not the case.

I consider blogging one spoke in the wheel of any successful real estate business. There are many activities that a successful agent must do to promote themselves and their business. Blogging is only a part.

I can appreciate the initial question, and can proudly refer that party to the previous blog entries that discuss what we do and how we do it.

If you want to know what a home is worth do not go to Zillow or any of the other automated valuation services. These services deliver completely useless estimates of value. The values they project are based on County Records which are known to be ridiculously inaccurate and information that is typically months old. The only way to determine value is to work diligently comparing recently sold and listed information based upon accurate data. The only way this can be accomplished is through a professional, your local Realtor.

Recent tests of 3 different online valuation systems comparing the values arrived with an actual recent sale showed a range of value provided of 26% above actual to 32% below actual. Depending on which system a seller used, they either would not have sold their property, or given up 32% of the actual sales price. A buyer depending upon which system they used to assign value and figure out what to offer either would have paid way too much for the property, or watched the property be sold to someone else at 32% more than that system said.

Don’t use these systems, they put out bad information.

With interest rates at record lows, all lenders in the US have recently seen a sharp increase in loan applications - right at the time that many lenders have cut headcount to save money in a challenging economy. This means that timeframes needed for underwriting, approvals and closing have become longer than normal. Some companies have chosen to actually raise rates just to slow down the volume to a manageable level.

Sound crazy? No crazier than when you go to buy that hot new vehicle...only to find that there is no price negotiation. In fact, you wind up lucky to just pay the sticker price, as the demand usually allows the Dealer to add a markup to the price. And you don't get the car right away; you have to wait on a list for your turn to come up.

Right now, home loans are like that hot new car - but with the timer ticking on interest rates locks, there are a few things you can do to protect yourself.

First, longer lock in time frames than might normally have been considered are a necessity, to ensure that the file has time to be processed, underwritten, approved and closed in time to protect the rate lock in this extremely volatile climate. And that longer, safer lock-in period may be a bit more costly - but it's money well spent. Overall, the mind set here should not be one of greed. Don't try to squeeze every last drop out of rates. If you are within a quarter percent of the lowest rates offered in the history of this country, you did very well. And rates always shoot up higher at a much faster pace than when then dip lower. So if the savings or opportunity make sense - grab it.

Next, responding quickly to requests for information or documentation is important - the faster the file is submitted and approved, the better off we are to keep that great interest rate protected.

Finally, be aware that it may be a smart idea to pay points to gain the best interest rate - and sometimes is even necessary in today's market. Giant mortgage buyers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac have recently imposed more "risk-based pricing adjustments", meaning that even credit scores and loan to values which in the past would have been considered very low risk, may now be subject to mandated fees by Fannie and Freddie. And based on the way lenders have changed their rate sheets over time, there is now very little "premium pricing", which used to allow options for fees like these, points or other closing costs to be covered in return for a slightly higher interest rate.

Right now is still an excellent time to act, before the great low rates of today get away from us. But let's be smart - call us for information on how we can get started right away.

Contact us at Arrowhead Home Loans, 909.336.1793 or send me an email at steve@cbskyridge.com

Some Time Ago,, I requested that our sales team give the answers to the following 5 questions. Who are we? What do we do? Whom are our customers? What makes us unique? and What value to we bring to our customers? The following are the raw un-edited answers I received back to the second question... What do we do? The following is the un-edited responses from our real estate agents

• We make dreams come true
• Through Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty and our affiliated companies Alpine Escrow and Arrowhead Home Loans, we provide a full spectrum of real estate services, including sales, escrow, and lending.
• We provide the highest quality real estate related services to our community.
• List & sell properties to the satisfaction of our clients.
• We help people with there real estate hopes and dreams by listing and selling more real estate than any other office. We represent sellers and buyers from start to finish and beyond.
• We sell Real Estate; a Mtn. living lifestyle.
• What do we do... hmmm, Seek out, obtain and build strong relationships, real estate is all about the 1st impression and making that impression positive and keeping it, more relationships will come.
• Provide FULL service to all clients
• Sell high end real estate
• We list and sale the Majority of the Real Estate in our area
• We represent buyers and/or sellers in their transactions involving residential real estate. These are major financial and emotional events in the lives of most clients. Our role is to act on their behalf in an agency relationship. We advise them in an effort to help them define their goals. Then we help them meet those goals by finding the right property for buyers or bringing qualified buyers to sellers. We assist them with the negotiations and then shepherd the transaction through the entire escrow settlement process. All of this must be done while protecting the interests of the client and the firm by minimizing the significant financial risks involved.
• Assist buyers and sellers in a professional transfer of one of their most important financial investments.
• We put buyers and sellers together. We are information sources for all things having to do with the mountain communities. We are volunteers in the community.
• We provide honest & ethical guidance and direction to our buyers & sellers.
• WHAT WE DO BEST---SELL HOMES.
• Counsel and contract with clients to list and sell real property in California.
• We easily list and sell more property than any other company on the mountain. In a changing market, we are the ONLY company to be growing ('06 vs. '07) - all others show negative numbers compared to their last year's figures. We produce results. We dominate the market share in Arrowhead Woods.
• We comprehensively represent each individual Seller by implementing both proven and cutting-edge strategies and technologies with a genuine desire to sell their resort property; and, we prospect for leads using all known methods for generating qualified Buyers with a genuine desire to respond to each individual Buyer’s needs.
• We provide unparalleled service and representation, not only to our clients but also to our community.
• Sell property
• We sell some of the most beautiful real estate in Southern California and we do it right. Each agent is held accountable to the best job possible.
• Fulfill Dreams
• We consistently put buyers and sellers together through good times and slow times to achieve their objectives. Each buyer and seller is vastly different. Kind of like children. Same rules for every child(buyers and sellers), however, they are all different and we as parents (agents) have to adapt to each child (buyer or seller), to help them get to where they should be.
• If you are buying or selling a home we provide all of the resources and services that you will need.
• We have the highest ethical and professional standards.
• Promote relationships - with our customers, clients, service providers, community members, our sphere of influence.
• We believe in customer care and service.
• We sell Paradise, dreams and Lifestyles
• The company and its agents tries to meet the needs and desires of both its clients and of the community
• Sell Residential, Commercial & Business Opps. Keep in touch with them all during the transaction with updates building confidence in us. We use our professional experience to represent buyers & sellers & assist them in buying or selling their properties.

The following chart shows all single family home sales in Lake Arrowhead from October 23, 2008 to January 21, 2009 according to Rim O' The World Association of Realtors.

Coldwell Sky Ridge Realty had more listings sell than nearly all other companies combined for this period. Sellers serious about selling and looking for results continue to choose Coldwell Banker Sky Ridge Realty for quality representation.