Terrylynn Fisher, Realtor Staging Consultant, EcoBroker, CRS, Etc.

The Central Costa County Solid Waste Authority (CCCSWA) has a drop off program for unused medication. If flushed or placed in the garbage, medication can pollute our waste water, the receiving waters of the San Francisco Bay, the leacheate from landfulls and groundwater, etc. If expired or unused medications are left in the home, there is concern about the wrong person getting into them.

The CCCSWA's drop off points are:

Walnut Creek City Hall (next to the police kiosk in the lobby), 1666 Main Street in Walnut Creek.

Contra Costa County Sherrif's Field Operations Building, 1980 Muir Road in Martinez.

Contra Costa Regional Medical Center Substation, 2500 Alhambra Avenue in Martinez.

All collected pharmaceuticals are delviered to a licensed facility for incineration.

DRE # 615420

Terrylynn Fisher, Realtor
CRS, GRI, CSP, LGLS, CP, SRES, Eco-Broker, Luxury Home Institute Member

cell 925.876.0966
fax 925.887.6614
Email Terrylynn

Owner of StagersLISTExpo.com

Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 30 years.

Buyers are speaking, are sellers listening?

Recently I did a consultation with a real estate client about what they should do to improve their home so that a few years from now when they sell, they can maximize their equity. The subject often goes to the fact that people do upgrades just to sell and they could actually be enjoying the upgrades while they live there. I happen to agree that they should enjoy their improvements themselves while they live there, but taking that a step further, to environmentally friendly upgrades and improvements this gets to be an easier answer, don't you think?

When deciding which new furnace to put in would you chose a 80% or 90% efficient furnace? What is the cost difference, a few hundred dollars? It sounds like a no brainer, right? The future costs of running the furnace and air conditioner are escalating to the point that the more efficient unit will start saving you money NOW...and often you get rebates for installing them.

But do buyers really look to that to make a decision on a house to buy? The NAR 2008 Profile of Home Buyers and Sellers gives you the answer. When asked, buyers stated that 43% feel it is VERY IMPORTANT to consider heating and cooling costs when buying a home. 26% feel it is important to have energy efficient appliances. Sellers may not think buyers actually think that far, but more and more they do because it affects their pocketbook. This economic downturn in my opinion has taught us to be concerned about where our money goes and think ahead.

I know my buyers these days are asking the hard questions about the home and how much the utility bills are. When showing a buyer recently, we saw about 7 homes on a very hot California afternoon. One home (the one they put an offer on later), was cool when we walked through the door with no air conditioning on. It had new doors and windows and it turns out R30 upgraded insulation in the attic. We could FEEL the difference. What did that do to their decision, well first off it was a stark and dramatic comparison to all the other homes and the money they would have to spend on them to bring them up to this level, second it actually told them that the owner of this home had taken care to make it nice and keep it nice for themselves. It made a difference to their feeling of confidence about what they were buying. I couldn't make this up, it actually unfolded in their thought process and decision making.

So, my advice about making energy efficient improvements, like new windows and doors, added insulation, and furnace and air conditioning units is ABSOLUTELY, it will save you money now and possibly be a determining factor for a buyer when you go to sell later on.

DRE # 615420
LGLS CP and GREEN Realtor, EcoBroker...thoughts from the field.

Should landlords make energy efficient upgrades to their investment properties?

I had a consultation with some joint owners of a rental property in a nice neighborhood nearby that generally has a good rental appeal and pretty high rents based on the neighborhood, surrounding area, and desirability. One of the parties asked me about making energy efficient improvements to the home for renting it out. The blunt question was “how much more rent will I get by putting in new windows?” The windows are probably 40 years old at present, and some don’t open. My comment was that I thought it would be a quality upgrade to their rental property and would get them a better tenant faster and more importantly keep a good tenant with the savings on their utility bills. The monthly rent, maybe $100 per month more.

In a nice way, they really didn’t think that was enough to do the upgrade and didn’t care what the utility bills would be for their tenant. I told them that buyers today and tenants are picking properties based on utility bills. Believe it. The current economic state has seen a huge move to analyze where we spend our money. Utility bills are money down the drain, no investment purpose of payoff. If we can save $100 on utilities, we can purchase a week's worth of groceries, buy gas or BART tickets to get to work. THIS is a BIG deal with people being laid off, hours cut and working two jobs to make ends meet while we dig out of this foreclosure and bank failure driven economy.

My opinion is that this has changed most people forever!!! I’ve seen a big trend this past year of people moving down in rent and size home to save money and utility bills. It hasn’t just happened once, it’s happening over and over. Once we become aware of things that can save $$$ in our budget, we will not succumb and go back to our old spending habits.

Someone I know reduced their PG&E bill by over $200 a month by just changing all of her lights to fluorescents and turning lights off that the family of 5 would normally not worry about. THAT’s a BIG deal and something the kids and parents won’t forget. So if you are a landlord thinking about an energy efficient upgrade for your rental property, trust me, it will make a difference to your tenants and the longevity of their stay. Isn’t your biggest expense in finding a new tenant my fee in finding the new tenant? I’d like to save you that and keep a good tenant. Give them a property they’ll want to stay in.

DRE 615420
LGLS CP and GREEN Realtor, EcoBroker…thoughts from the field.

Dan of Energized Seller interviewed me last week on my thoughts about using a Realtor. Having been one for 32 years, putting that experience into a 90 second clip was challenging. I realized there were three key points... let me know what you think.

Terrylynn Fisher, Realtor
925.876.0966 cell
925.887.6614 fax
Email Terrylynn
Terrylynn-n-Team.com
StagersLIST Expo
DRE # 615420

The answer might surprise most people. Most will say, "Just sell my house", but how we do that is the question. Marketing of course is a big piece of the equation. It is a given that we must be competent. Realtors with alphabet soup (those initials after their name) believe that their specialties serve their clients well because they have added specific knowledge and education that helps their clients achieve their goals.

Some of the designations and specialties are SRES Senior Real Estate Specialist, CRS Certified Residential Specialist, E-Pro, Luxury Homes, LGLS CP Live Green, Live Smart Certified Professional, EcoBroker and many more. They tell you the Realtor's values and demonstrate commitment to their profession and provide value to their clients with the added knowledge that they possess.

Primarily, the agent's job is threefold - To be a counselor, negotiator and facilitator. What does that mean? The market sets the general price for a property, but a skilled negotiator with a strategy can net you 3, 4, 5% more. Concessions and sales price can be affected favorably with a good negotiation and knowing what the goals and strategy are. Many agents have taken additional training in the area of negotiation to sharpen that skillset.

Next, a home is the largest investment most people make in a lifetime... why gamble your investment with a part timer? If you are selling your home yourself, aren't you a part-timer? Do you want a part-time doctor, lawyer, accountant? Or do you want someone who actively works in the marketplace on a daily basis? You want someone who gives full time effort to the task and treats real estate like a business so that their business is to get your home SOLD or to find you the right home and CLOSE THE SALE.

Don't forget Realtors are a great resource. The best and busiest realtors know the best and busiest home stagers, inspectors and lenders; you know, that 10% of people who do 90% of the business? It's my opinion the question is not whether to use a Realtor, but which Realtor to use.

Then think about this... You hire a Realtor primarily for what they KNOW about selling homes and secondarily for what they DO to sell homes.

Experience brings you a knowledge base for problem solving and innovative solutions that can be a huge asset when things come up in your transaction. What we do everyday becomes that body of knowledge. And it's for hire.

Terrylynn Fisher, Realtor, DRE # 615420
CRS, GRI, CSP, LGLS, CP, SRES, Eco-Broker, Luxury Home Institute Member

cell 925.876.0966
fax 925.887.6614
Email Terrylynn

Owner of StagersLISTExpo.com

Terrylynn has been a Realtor in Contra Costa County for over 30 years.