Susan Walters

Today, between 4 and 5:30 PM, I showed three different properties to three different buyers, in three different townships. I dare anyone to beat that record!

Actually, I showed those properties from about 4:20 to 5:30 because as simple as it seemed to find the first one, I circled around it numerous times before finally cornering the mail truck and asking the carrier where the street was. He was apologetic as he gave iffy directions sending me through the winding, unpaved roads. I'll be writing an offer on that one tonight even though I was 20 minutes late to the showing. These buyers understand the difference between real time and "Susan time" - I hang my head in shame....

While I was pulling into the drive there, I had a call from other buyers who were at a vacant property they had stumbled upon and could they see it since they were right there now? Sure, if I could get us in, but first showings first, they'd have to wait. I arrived and called the number on the sign and three times was put through to a voicemail for showing details - that wouldn't do and the 5:30 appointment was looming. I finally got a live person and the code. In we went. Tour and discussions followed. I mentioned some additional opportunities I had learned about earlier in the day and sent them on their way.

Off I went too at breakneck speed on the expressway, legal of course, to the final showing of the day. I was unlocking the door as the buyer pulled up to the curb. I win! She'll be coming back through with her sister later in the week since the room dimensions might not accommodate her furniture. She needs a second opinion.

On the way home, as usual, there was the office mail box to empty, the grocery top-up to do (what do we need kids? and go ask dad too....), with delays, delays, delays at the prescription counter - do they do that on purpose so we shop the store and throw additional things into our cart? I figured those delays were worth about $40.00 to their bottom line. I only came in for the prescription, fruit, yoghurt, and three-way bulbs. I had 4 overflowing bags when I left, plus ten pounds of potatoes - we're part Irish....

Day done? Not quite. There's an offer to submit from a midday preview for out-of-state buyers - they trust my opinion on condition but have the inspection contingency to fall back on if I've got it horribly wrong. I had to ask the agent why the property was still there since it appears to be such a good deal; she laughed and said she didn't get it either. I hope I can say, "I win!" on this cash offer too.

There's still the offer to write from the 4:20 showing - we speak in shorthand since they are bidding on foreclosures and have been around the block a few times. Easy-peasy. Signatures tomorrow.

The highlight of my night came, however, while I was checking email I hadn't gotten to in the day. I had responded to some, walked away for a moment, and returned to find the infamous, "An Inquiry from Realtor.com(R)." It was 9:04 and the request had been made about 7 minutes prior. Still a reasonable time to call and that person was probably sitting right there thinking about my listing. I picked up the phone.

"Hello, is this Eliza Doolittle?" "Yes...." "This is Susan Walters from Keller Williams Realty in Ann Arbor." "Oh, hi. WOW!!!" "I know, I feel a bit like a stalker when I respond too quickly but a later call would have been inappropriate." She laughed, we talked about her needs and the property in question, scheduled an appointment for tomorrow, done. More lessons learned from my customers/clients. I can be disappointingly late, luckily available, just-in-time early, sometimes even dead wrong, and it is all OK. These people are working with me because of me. Quirks and all; benefits and all. I think...I'm going to keep this job.

***Names have been changed to protect the innocent. Eliza Doolittle is really a character from My Fair Lady. Susan Walters, well, that's just me.

Today I had a midday cancellation. Not to worry, it was at my daughter's orthodontist - no revenue lost, huge savings gained. I quickly came up with an important plan of action to fill this gift of time. One, go to the bank to straighten out that pesky password problem. Check. Stop for some carrot cake and tea. Check. Schedule the overdue oil change on my vehicle. Wow! My lucky day! Could I come right in?

As I pulled into the facility and parked my mud-covered SUV (I live off-road, really), full of signs and riders in the back, good shoes and paperwork in the front, I apologized to the attendant about the state of the vehicle. He laughed as he typed the service order and said they'd run it through the car wash for me. It was then that my phone rang.

I looked at the unfamiliar number and then at the service attendant and asked, "Do you mind if I take this call?" "No, go right ahead." I quickly got the individual's name and said I would call right back; I was in the midst of a transaction.

When I hung up, the service person looked at me with wonderment and said, "Thank you. NOBODY asks permission to do that anymore!" I was a little flustered by that remark and then realized all the times I was gestured at or sidelined by the ringing of a phone that must be answered RIGHT NOW. What has happened to common sense and simple manners?

Disregarding the person in the flesh for the unknown on the phone is just plain rude. If I am with a client when the phone rings, I usually just silence it. If it rings again immediately, then I ask permission to answer - it must be important. I feel the same way about call waiting. Have I lost deals because of a five minute delay or a call going to voicemail? Not that I know of. Will I lose the respect of the person I alienate by answering that ringing phone? Possibly. Just say no. Actually, don't say anything. Turn the ringer off, smile, apologize. It's going to be OK.

Yeah, I'm a newbie to this real estate blog thing. This is the last time I am going to call myself that though since I think I've got ALL of your numbers.

Some of you post your listings. Some of you post your local stats. Some of you post your industry stats. Some of you talk about rules, regulations, legalities, standards of practice. Some of you speak of real dilemmas you faced or are facing. Some of you speak from the heart. Some of you just ramble on.

I'm a rambler, who speaks from the heart, occasionally with listings, stats, etc. I've learned how to insert photos and hyperlinks but haven't done videos yet - might that be because I always have my laptop muted to sound since I hate that distraction? Yeah, could be.

I do not care if anyone comments on my posts. I may never care. I sincerely doubt I will care. I write here because I have this pressure within that demands that I let it out somewhere, and what a great resource Active Rain is! I am not going to divulge intimate details (I hope!!!) but I will talk about my life - the good, the bad/unfortunate, and the mundane. Yes, I will bore you with the sound of my written voice. Since no one else will listen about real estate and other things for very long....

Tonight, I will bore you with, "Urban Cowboy". Made in 1980, I am 27 years late in viewing it and have more in common with it than I ever could have imagined despite having no cowboy or Texas hankerings. I cruised the offerings on DirectTV and found it tonight and thought, "What the hell! I've never seen that before! And it has John Travolta who I continue to admire for his fidelity to his wife and family, and Debra Winger, who I enjoyed in "An Officer and a Gentleman" and that movie I can't remember with Jack Nicholson and was it Shirley MacLaine? Anyway, I decided to watch it and invited my husband. He tolerated it until he got a better offer from the kids - "Dune 3". I had to leave while they took the "good" TV and wrapped up on the compact in my bedroom. What a great old classic movie! So unlike my life, with so much music I recognize from my son's fiddle group.

There's "Orange Blossom Special", their signature closing piece that always brings tumultuous applause as they play it over and over again at escalating speeds, solos of random pieces interspersed within. There's the fact in the movie that the fiddlers playing fiddle are actually playing! That's a novelty and one of my pet movie peeves - how difficult is it to get extras who know how to play?! In this case, they name the "Charlie Daniels Band" and I think it was really them, you know why? Not because I know them but because the fiddler had numerous loose hairs from his bow flying in the footage - you are not faking fiddling if you have flying bow hair, I assure you. That only happens to real fiddlers. I have seen them nonchalantly rip them off at the end of the song. It is a non-event to them. Break a string on the instrument? Whole different story.

Do you get where I'm going with this rambling thing? (Come baaaaack, logical types!) This is a format to raise your google profile. Good luck with that; it will happen if you follow all the latest rules. But I am looking at this as a social and networking format. My family can only take so much. I NEED to write; I NEED to talk. Is anyone out there listening?

Tonight I took a much-needed break and watched a movie - my daughters would have liked it if they pried themselves from the computer. They were sitting next to me on the couch, laptop in lap, movie playing in the background, but they were so caught up in this new site they had discovered, "Stumble" that they didn't follow the plot at all.

My family is pretty typical for a traditional family - husband, wife, three kids, ages 20, 18, and 15. We have the usual ups and downs but are gratefully free of any problems with our children regarding drugs, alcohol, or other life-choice-limiting decisions. We are also lucky to have kids who truly enjoy each others' company. The 15 year old daughter relishes the home visits from her 20 year old sister (so far away, 7 minutes up the road at the University of Michigan these last years) and the same 15 year old daughter cherishes the relationship she shares with her 18 year old brother and worries mightily about missing him when he goes to Michigan Tech 10 hours away in the UP, September. Interests and connections bind all three together on many levels. Sibling rivalry - we have never had that. I attribute it to two things: the very early decision to not tolerate physical or verbal abuse from one child to another, and the bonding expererience they shared as foreigners when we lived in England in their elementary school years. That continued when we returned to the US. You think there is not culture shock for Americans returning to the US? Think again, we had a lot to learn/relearn. It was an opportunity, an adventure, and a blessing in disguise, all rolled into one.

Regarding technology, the point of this post, embrace it or die. The younger generation is all about technology. I was thoroughly delighted the other day when I introduced my oldest to IGoogle and showed her how to set up a home page with things she really wanted popping up on her home page. Once she got going she told me how to improve mine - WHOA - isn't it good enough that I know it exists? Her further questions were beyond me. Can I import links to this homepage from outside the ready offerings of the IGoogle site? How would I know? Tell me if you find out! My point is, as mature realtors, we cannot proceed with what we know and are comfortable with. We need to stay on the cutting edge of what is happening in technology and what the buying generation is tuned in to.

I watched my daughters from the corner of my eye while I watched the movie with the rest of my eyes and realized this IS their lives and their connection to reality. That may seem harsh but I must say that while they "stumbled" through the new site they were enjoying, there was a lot of laughter and the younger daughter was cuddled up against the older daughter. In many ways, it is the same as the 40's family surrounding the radio for the latest serial broadcast, like it was the best thing in the world to be doing at that time. It's family time, it's down time. It's time and knowledge we cannot afford to ignore. I've got my work cut out for me catching up. You can try contacting me at my wobsite and I may be able to help you. I really appreciate this blag for hooking me up. Confused about the last sentence? Talk to my 20 year old, who has informed our 18 and 15 year olds. Yeah, blags and wobsites - they're the latest thing.

First let me say that pictures don't do a property justice - it can go either way. I have listed and seen some marvelous properties whose attributes could not be adequately presented via photos or virtual tours - even the expensive virtual tours with the "you are here" vantage points.

I paid for one of those, once. The listing expired eventually and the sellers declined to relist. They had no problem with me, they just didn't need to sell. They were looking forward to downsizing to a ranch from a 2 story if they could get their price - they couldn't - and I couldn't persuade them to lower the price. They had about $680,000 in equity, at the list price. A reduction of $25-50,000 would have done it, I think. Ahhhh, motivation. They are going to wait out the market and hope for better days in Michigan. Smart move really.

Then there is the property I showed this morning. The agent warned me that most who had seen it, and it was only listed late December, called it a teardown. Well, I have some investors who are scared by nothing and I have seen their transformations. These potential buyers are not investors. They wanted the property for the setting, with river "frontage" at the rear of the property, for their own home. With a limited budget, they would deal with the house, they figured. The price was incomprehensible.

Nice country neighborhood. Good new pole barn. Slightly shabby but salvageable block foundation barn with some pretty details. The one exterior photo of the historic farmhouse looked great. So where's the problem that this should be priced so incredibly low?

Well, first inside the door, amidst the debris, were bowling balls and beer cans. Clues! Then the odor hit us. Rottweilers, was one person's guess. Further in (this was an "after you" kind of showing) someone opened the refrigerator door right before I shouted, "Don't open the refrigerator door!!!" Too late. Still looking for the bright side and trying to avoid country critters that might skitter past at any moment, we forged on. The bathroom was large and gross, the stairs to the second floor loomed, but we were all drawn to the bar/family room area. Inexplicably, in dry cleaning plastic, a band uniform hung on the wall. It was the formerly suspended ceiling that had us fascinated. With no evidence of roof leaks in the property, this entry level ceiling had fallen through at every rectangle, bringing the insulation down with it. Finally someone noted the hole in the wall and realized it was probably raccoons, nesting and soon enough falling through the flimsy support the suspended ceiling had provided. I can see it now - dozens of falling raccoons. We never went up those stairs to the second floor. I was curious but I wasn't going alone and there were no volunteers. Gosh, I wonder why there were no interior photos? Couldn't do it justice, I'm thinking. One of those places you need to see to really appreciate. I left a voicemail for the agent and confirmed what he already knew. It's a teardown. I bet even the second floor couldn't have saved it, but I'll never know. We won't be writing an offer on this one. That, I am sure of.