An Marshall

www.palmettohomes.net

0 Comments

Where would I be without all my emails?

06-10-09

I just suffered and survived, a computer melt down. Luckily I was able to call Eddie Roberts of Jacksonville, FL who was able to respond to my needs immediately, and thank God, successfully. But itleft me to wondering, if I lost everything, what information would be most devastating.

My email folders seemed to be pretty high up there. I do have them categorized by client and listing and then some. I have 2,274 saved emails. Since, we are all about document, document, and document, I would love some ideas on what systems people use to save their emails.

An Marshall, REALTOR

Prudential Network Realty

www.eddiesPC.com

1 Comment

A Realtor Wears Many Hats

06-08-09

One day I was walking through a community where I had a listing. I was going door-to-door (the old fashioned way) inviting neighbors to an open house I was hosting later that week. One door I knocked on was that of an elderly woman whom I have since befriended. From the beginning, I knew that her time in that house was due to come to close fairly shortly.

Now that time has come. She has no family except a son, overtaken by his own problems of being laid off from the auto industry and his house going thru foreclosure in Detroit. Over the last six or eight months I have known her, I have seen her health decline. She is on constant oxygen and errands have become a chore.

Last week she called asking if I could help her find a place to move to. She needs a retirement home where light assistance, meals, and transport to medical appointments are available. She doesn't want to go to Detroit as it is too cold and it is likely that her son will be moving from there anyway. Currently in St. Augustine, Florida she would consider this area or Georgia, both because they might be in driving distance to where she projects her son might move.

So now I find myself calling retirement homes to get information sent to her. I am posting some of her valuables on Craig's list for hopeful resale. I have suggested she make a list of the things she can not part with and to start to separate those that she can. We have talked about estate sale/yard sale, the disposal of her car, and the maintenance needed to put her house on the market.

At ninety years old, to be largely alone in the world and look at uprooting yourself to some place foreign must be daunting. She came to this country in the 1940's from Germany , courageous and filled with hope. Now, she faces the task of " how will I manage?" and "what items in life after decades of accumulation are essential?" and "will I be okay?"

This scenario is not atypical, in fact we will continue to see more people faced with these same issues.

I have heard of an organization the help seniors move from one phase of their life, National Association of Senior Move Managers. They are my next call.

An Marshall, REALTOR

Prudential Network Realty

Extremely Full Service

Ranked #1 for Seller Satisfaction, by JD Power & Associates

www.stjohnscoa.com

8 Comments

Negotiating - A Powerful Skill

06-07-09

I have been reviewing my notes on negotiating. The skill of negotiating is a big role in the life of a real estate agent. Not only is the price negotiated but the terms are also very important. Terms can include what conveys with the house, closing time frame, repair costs, home warranty, etc. Whenever you can't get what you want simply by asking, negotiating is in order. In effect, we are negotiating practically every day of our life. This technique strives to bring agreement to people who may have different interests. Two strong motivators are: 1. Fear of loss and 2. Competition.

What we try to create is to lead others to a buying conclusion where all participants view the end result as successful. People don't like feeling like losers. What does it take to create this result: 1. A cooperative spirit and 2. the desire for a mutual goal. Different styles of negotiating include "soft" or "hard". There really is no right or wrong, just different styles. We must keep in mind the importance of separting the people from the problem. We are looking for the "win/win" in the situation.

My broker has taught me a valuable lesson - you don't know unless you ask. It is better to get a "no" then not know. The message here is to keep asking. And also start out asking for more than what you really want.

One fact to keep in mind is that the buying price today really doesn't matter until you go to sell it. As a matter, of fact, every decision made entails an inherent risk. Even when there is no decision made we have accepted the risk of staying in the same place. Something to keep in mind, the person with the most urgent need will usually make the most concessions.

A good quote to remember: "Negotiation in the classic diplomatic sense assumes parties more anxious to agree than to disagree." (Dean Acheson)

An Marshall, REALTOR

Prudential Network Realty

Extremely Full Service

Ranked #1 for Seller Satisfaction, by JD Power & Associates

0 Comments

WHo moved my hairdresser?

06-06-09

My hairdresser moves!

I moved to St. Augustine Florida a couple of years ago. I asked around and around to try to find a good hairstylist. I found "Mindy". She and I had a great relationship and I always trusted her with the cut and coloring of my hair for the past 2 ½ yrs.

She told me about how she had gotten into a terrible loan on her home after her divorce. Looking back on it, I think it might have been a balloon payment. Her dream was to buy an RV and go touring the country while homeschooling her son. We had an understanding that I would be listing her home when this was to happen. We talked that it might be after the 1^st of the New Year, because by then she would be past the prepayment penalty on this horrific mortgage.

In February when I saw her, I asked is THIS the year we are going to sell your home. And she said no. I said ok. Wondered why not, but let her have her privacy. I saw her in May at a social event and we talked briefly. I called one week later to make a hair appointment and the staff said she had just up and moved!

What do you mean UP AND MOVED! I was in shock. Where did she go? And what about the house!!!! Why didn't she tell me? Supposedly she didn't tell anybody. And what happened to this house!!!!! The only thing the hair salon was saying is that she went to take care of her father and took her son with her. But what about the house!!!!

I tried calling her, but the phone didn't work. I decided I would write her. I looked up on her tax records and bingo! The day of her departure exactly coincided with the day the bank took possession of her home.

Holy mackerel! All that time and she was going thru foreclosure and never said a word. Imagine, nobody knowing that your world was caving way. I don't know that I could have done anything but just blown away by the realization that she was too emotional, too embarrassed, too disappointed, too something to let anyone know what was happening.

Remember during the aids epidemic time and you were first affected by the news that someone you knew was dying of aids? That's how I felt - my first experience with someone I knew and cared about

Whose life came crashing down and she didn't breathe a word of it to anybody.

An Marshall, REALTOR

Prudential Network Realty

Extremely Full Service

Ranked #1 for Seller Satisfaction, by JD Power & Associates