10. Your agent doesn't bother to post pictures on your listing.
9. Your agent has taken pictures but your house is being featured on Bad MLS pictures. Yes, this is a real website.
8. Your agent has decided to call your circa 1953 Ranch a Tudor just because it has a brick exterior.
7. Your agent tells you "You don't need to paint (your dingy faded walls). The buyers will want to pick their own colors. You don't need to re-carpet (even though it smells). We'll (you'll) just give them a carpet allowance. What they don't tell you is that you're going to lose up to 10 times the cost of these simple improvements and you're going to gain days, weeks or months on the market. 
6. Your agent tells you "It's okay for you not to have a sign if you don't want one. A serious buyer will find it." Believe me, when it comes to real estate, anonymity is a dirty word.
5. When you say you don't want to have a lockbox your agent weenies out and tells you what you want to hear instead of the truth. "You don't really need a lockbox if you don't want one. I'm sure the agents won't mind making a special appointment to see your home." Not!
4. No driving directions on your listing.
3. Worse yet, driving directions that lead agents in the exact opposite direction. My favorite is turn left or right with no point of reference. Sometimes your best offer will come from an out-of-area agent. Why make it hard for them to find your house?
2. An agent is standing at your door with their buyers and, try though they may, they can't get the key to work. After tracking down your agent they get the following instructions: "Insert the key half way in, take a deep breath, lean to the left while pushing the key in and turning it to the right at the same time." For pete's sake get a new lockset installed before you list!
Drumrolllllllll!!!!
1. Your agent neglects to mention in the listing, "You'll be greeted by Sally the friendly pitbull. Don't worry about about the fact that she'll charge you with teeth bared- she's actually very friendly." I'm not making this up, it happened to me just last month. Can you spell lawsuit?
I don't know what the rules and regulations are in other parts of the country but the MLS in Washington State will not allow agents to include any information regarding open houses in their marketing remarks. Now the marketing remarks consist of 500 characters that are swept by all other web sites. So essentially we cannot use the MLS to notify buyers of an open house!
Their reasoning is the multiple is not supposed to be used to promote an agent. They act as if the agents are going to include in their marketing remarks "come meet the fantastic Susan Peters who by chance will be hosting an open house at xxx this Sunday" as opposed to a simple "open Sunday 1 - 4".
I don't know if this makes any sense to you, but to me it certainly doesn't serve the best interest of the seller, the agents, or buyers! It definitely helps the dominate brokerages who contract significant ad space on a weekly basis. By forcing their agents (and consequently all other agents) to advertise and pay for it in print it certainly cuts down on the broker's budget. It's also a huge boon to print media.
As we've discussed on Active Rain almost ad nasuem, the print media is the least effective way for us to advertise. A simple "OPEN SUNDAY 1-4" in the marketing remarks is infinitely more efficient and impactful.
My final question is ... who does the MLS really serve?
If you'd like to try a restaurant that's totally different, for Valentine's Day or for any other occasion, check out Joule in Wallingford . It's only three months old but I'm highly impressed the atmosphere, execution, and service. Their French-Korean Fusion menu features unique combinations that somehow taste as if they were always meant to be. Try it - you'll like it!
This entry was posted on Monday 4th of February, 2008 at 11:45 am | Posted in Susan's Favorites
We had everything from appetizers to dessert plus drinks for four people and the total was under $100! Each plate was better than the last! Fun, delicious, and local.
"Black Bottle is a casual tavern committed to good eating and great drinks, offered at fair prices. Every dish is made fresh-to-order in sharable portions. We have a full bar and hard-working wines, priced to sell. The atmosphere is convivial and uncluttered; a modern design in a century old building. Our service standard is efficient and informal. Come with a largish group or for an intimate evening for two. Cheers!"
206.441.1500
2600 1st avenue + vine
belltown
seattle
21 years of age and older
LINK: Black Bottle
This entry was posted on Tuesday 27th of February, 2007 at 12:00 am | Posted in Susan's Favorites
Seattle Realtor Causes 100 Car Pile-up on I-75.
This was the headline that was flashing before my eyes as I was spinning out of control, across two lanes of traffic, while driving through a classic Michigan blizzard. It was almost 5pm and I was just north of Flint so it was pretty much a sure bet that I was going to hit another car or be hit, thus causing a chain reaction.
How exactly did I get myself in this situation? It started a month ago with a call from my mom who lives alone in the upper part of the lower peninsula. Her niece got a hold of her credit and debit cards (with the pin number) and had gone on a spending spree in the Detroit area.
In order for the charges to be removed Mom would have to press charges against Mallory (I'm changing her name to protect the guilty) in the jurisdiction where the fraud had occurred. I volunteered to go home and help her with this for two reasons. Number one it was just the right thing to do and number two I thought that I could use my 20 years of experience in the power of persuasion to finally convince her that it was time to give up her remote house on the river and move to Seattle where her three daughters live.
So we set out in my Mom's LaSabre on Ash Wednesday at around 2pm. I wanted to leave in the morning but it is impossible to get my mom out of the house before 2pm. The weather wasn't bad but it started snowing about an hour out and by the time we got to Birch Run it was icy and the visibility was getting worse by the minute. With the exception of a few intrepid souls traffic had slowed to about 35-40 mph. I thought that I was doing just fine, slow and steady, when out of the blue the car spun out of control and we slammed into the guard rail facing on coming traffic.
Miraculously we didn't hit another car or get hit. Nobody was injured and since there was a nice cushion of snow the car came out without a scratch. With-in 10 minutes the state police showed up and got us turned around and headed in the right direction. By that time the weather was even worse. As much as I wanted to get off the freeway I was even more afraid of getting stuck on a side street in an unfamiliar area. So with my hands clenched around the steering wheel we soldiered on to Waterford in first gear. Mom said to shift down into PosiTraction which I did only to find out later PosiTraction comes on automatically.
The next day we got up early and made the rounds to the 3 police precincts involved. The blizzard was over but the roads were still slippery when we headed back up north. Seeing other cars in the ditch did nothing to boost my confidence but when we came across a snow plow that was "ass end over tea kettle" in the median I was just about ready to call it quits. My Dad had always told me that I have more guts than brains and I guess he was right because we continued on. About ten miles north of the snow plow debacle the sun came out and the roads dried up making the last part of the trip bearable. Actually, the sun shinning on the snow drifts made the farmlands look as if they had been covered in white satin.
The lesson learned from this story is...actually there are 4 lessons:
I am the Seattle Realtor who stages, redecorates and re-designs every home that I put on the market, at no additional charge. My motto is "The Better it Looks ... the Better it Sells!"
20 years ago I moved to Seattle and bought an old house that suffered from a "charmectomy". I rolled up my sleeves, opened my checkbook and undertook my first renovation project. By the time I finished, I had the home of my dreams and I found my career as a real estate agent. I've been actively involved in the Seattle market practicing real estate "by design" ever since.
"The better it looks...the better it sells" is more than just my tag line. In real estate as well as in life , you only get one chance to make a first impression. By staging my listings I have consistently been able to get top dollar for my clients in a matter of days instead of weeks or months.
Best of all I don't charge an additional fee for staging. My buyers also benefit greatly from my design experience. Go to http://www.susanpeters.com/ for hundreds of ideas for your own home.
Susan Peters
"The Better it Looks ... The Better it Sells"
206.781.1724 direct
206.781.1855 fax
http://www.susanpeters.com/
http://mailto:susan@susanpeters.com
**By the way, if you need a referral to a good trade or professional service, let me know. I have many excellent resources in the area.**
In the last 20 years I have remodeled, redecorated and redesigned five properties of my own in addition to staging and listing 100s of properties for my clients. Making window treatments, retrofitting light fixtures, upholstering furniture and creating custom artwork are just a few of the skills I've mastered in the process. I've taken classes in color design, Feng Shui, furniture placement, landscaping, and interior design trends. When you hire me you get the expertise of a Realtor, staging specialist, designer, photo stylist and a copy writer. It's like hiring a small advertising agency. I live, eat and breath real estate design.
Letter of Reference
Susan Peters/Tim O’Connor
Re/Max Mutual Realty
Although this letter may be lengthy, it will be worth your time to read it. The difference that was made in the sale of my condo and the purchase of my new home was nothing short of amazing, due simply by letting my Realtors do what they love to do and what they do best.
To start off, having Susan and Tim as my Realtors netted me far more money than I would have made if I had tried to sell by myself. I’m not exaggerating here – I made at least $40,000 more on the sale of my condo than I expected to – and that was after paying their commission.
Before I spoke with Susan about pricing, I thought I would list my condo for $225,000 and I would have felt I’d done well if I had sold it for $215,000 since the comps for the type of condo in my complex showed a maximum sales price of $235,000 for a totally updated unit, which mine wasn’t. With Susan and Tim’s expertise, my condo ended up selling for $269,990 – far beyond my expectations. And the purchase of my new home was as smooth and profitable as I could have wished for. Here’s my story:
I had found a house on my own that was perfect, but it was already “sold subject to inspection”. Although I had let go, Susan started watching the market continually and when the offer fell through a week later, she was on the phone to me with in hours of it reappearing on her active search. Due to her focus and fast action I got my offer accepted without having to compete with anyone else.
Next came the inspection period and that’s where Tim’s expertise was invaluable. He had the best inspectors go through my house-not one but two, and they went through it with a fine tooth comb. Tim was just as involved as they were, making lists of items he came across; right up to climbing up on the roof to check the chimney and the roof himself. Meanwhile, Susan offered her insight as to how I could make decorating changes for very little money. In addition to making the whole purchase process an easy one, their win-win negotiating style motivated the seller to complete many repairs and make a generous financial concession as well.
However, with the closing of escrow, it meant I had to get moved into my new house and have my condo ready to put on the market in 2 weeks. I couldn’t see how this was going to happen as I hadn’t packed a thing and I had done nothing to get my property ready for sale.
This is where Susan and Tim became worth their weight in gold. First, my condo needed some repair work, new carpeting and repainting. Susan selected the perfect paint color and Tim had a crew out to my house, working 12 hours each day over that weekend and had the entire condo finished with everything completed, including the installation of new drapes throughout. Tim managed all of the renovation and repairs efficiently and economically. Susan and Tim knew exactly how to advise me as to what issues I needed to address and what I could leave alone, thus saving me thousands of dollars in repair and updating. My town house was now in top shape and looked brand new…a perfect blank canvas.
The next step was the staging. This was particularly important since I have very specific taste in antiques and Victorian accents, which appeals to a fairly narrow group of people. Two days later, after I was settled into my new house, Tim arrived at my condo with a moving van chocked full of furniture, artwork and accessories. Susan then transformed this empty space into a beautifully decorated home. Susan’s innate skill for being able to bring out the best in a home and make it appeal to a broad sector of the market is phenomenal. I couldn’t believe I had ever lived there or that it could look so stylish!
To complete the picture, they hired a professional photographer to shoot the listing photos. The virtual tour was amazing. This was the final touch that made all the difference between how my condo was presented on a real estate search.
There was just no comparison to my competition with their amateur photos and either no staging or little guidance in how to present their properties in the best light.
Susan and Tim had both pushed me a little to get my condo on the market before Memorial Day weekend, not because it would be a big weekend for traffic, but because of their experience they knew that after that weekend many more properties would be listed and they wanted mine to be one of the first to be considered. It worked! Exactly 10 days after I closed on my new house, my condo hit the market and within a week and a half I had received 3 offers. At the time my property was listed, there were 2 others in the complex which had been on the market for several weeks. Both were much larger units than mine and both had just dropped their asking price. My condo sold for more than either one and closed way before theirs did, thus saving me months of double house payments. I ended up netting so much more than I had dreamt of. As a result, I have been able to complete projects in my new home that I thought would be put off for years.
When it came to follow through, these two were always available, no matter what. If I called and one was busy, the other would call me right back. I never felt ignored or like I was “just another commission”. I was given the very best service I’ve ever had through these types of transactions and I’ve been through several of them with different agents.
To sum up my rather long-winded story, I cannot emphasize enough what a huge difference it made to use Susan and Tim rather than going it alone. It was tempting to check out the “Do it Yourself” or “Discount Broker” route and save what seemed like thousands of dollars in commission. I could not have been more incorrect. After all was said and done, I wouldn’t be living in my dream house and I would have lost far more money than I paid in commission. And believe me; they more than earned every penny of it, along with my deepest gratitude and appreciation. If you want to get the best result for your purchase and/or sale, I cannot recommend this team more highly. If you wish to speak with me in person regarding Susan and Tim, please do not hesitate to call me – you’ll get a glowing and well-earned review!
Sincerely,
Lise Van Deusen
425-252-8096
"Susan's new program Instant Interiors is transformational! I now feel like I'm staying at my very own Four Seasons Resort! In just an afternoon Susan came in and quickly assessed my interior design style, current situation, and budget, and used that to create a space that supports my lifestyle.
She rolled up her sleeves and helped me to move existing furniture and curios, hang pictures, and re-arrange the built-in bookcase to get the most impact. Susan taught me how placement, location and color of the interior effects my life, using the principles of Feng Shui. She staged my home for living, to where our greatest assets were showcased, and the impact of a sofa waiting-for-reupholstering is minimized. At the end of the session I had a do-able list of projects complete with color palate, dimensions and model numbers for further improvements, everything from "drop this picture off for framing" to "I'll let you know when I see slipper chairs on sale".
She introduced me to types of furniture and lighting that would serve to create distinct spaces with harmonizing transitions where a thoughtless jumble of furniture existed before. The transformation so inspired me, I accomplished some long-dormant projects like wall-paper removal and interior painting! Now I'm excited to entertain, and to just come home to an oasis of pleasing comforts in a designerly composition at the end of the day." - Dr. Tolle Murphy
"Thank you so much for helping us with our house. I thoroughly enjoyed our work together. You're creative and practical and so much fun to have around! You give me confidence that I'm spending money on the right things in our house - not only things that I'll enjoy but will add value to the house. You have definitely found your calling!" -Susan Youngsman
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