Christopher and Stephanie Somers - Realtors - Philadelphia Real Estate

"The Pessimist complains about the wind. The Optimist expects it to change. The Realist adjusts the sails." - William Arthur Ward

Complex deals, frustrating Short Sales and challenging situations can threaten to break your spirit or have you going in circles seemingly moving you further and further from your goals. During the course of our professional career in the Real Estate Industry, the challenges are like storms that bring on the unpredictable wind and rain.

Perhaps what defines us in business is less about what we are (Pessimist, Optimist or Realist) and more about how you go through the process when life presents challenges ?

Perhaps it is necessary to be the Pessimist in a storm. A Pessimist can identify weakness, disorder, and has the keen ability of foresight to prepare for difficulties ahead. Pessimists are strategic in their approach to their goals.

Perhaps it is necessary to be the Optimist, who turns their collar up to the wind. The Optimist has the strength to rise above the storm, to muster the strength to see beyond the clouds that can potentially obscure the path to their goals. Optimists are long suffering and resilient and do not recognize failure.

Perhaps when we've see through eyes of both we will be able to navigate through any storm with the confidence that we can see as a Realist. A Realist adjusts in the presence of challenge and arrives at their goals even if the course and outcome is not exactly as planned. A Realist taps into the resources of the Pessimist and the Optimist and has faith that the goal has been met well before the storm.

Are you a Pessimist, Optimist, or Realist ? Who are you in the wind and in the RAIN ?

Stephanie Somers

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Philadelphia Short Sales: When a Loan Modification does not work - Short Sale Success in Mayfair !

Philadelphia Short Sales: Every short sale listing we take on is a different experience as you really will never know what will transpire. What you do know is to concentrate on what is within your control to maximize the success of your listing selling and then being approved by the bank and closing. There was a terrific featured post recently here on Active Rain called 10 Reasons Why Your Short Sale Will Not Close by Noel Padilla which is a must read.

In any event, our recent success story relates to struggling home owners in Mayfair who were almost out of options. They received Counseling Services from the City of Philadelphia in addition to paying other Loan Modification companies with no success whatsoever. Finally, they found out that a short sale was an option to them. Sadly, this was not communicated to them in the beginning from all these other great loan modification companies as they were the perfect candidate for a short sale. So they googled a few words for a Philadelphia Short Sale Expert and found us.

It was not the easiest short sale as their bank was tough to deal with and our second buyer had to switch mortgage companies for her loan to go through. The seller's bank counter-offered the first deal we had accepted and the buyer decided to pass. No big deal as we now knew what the number was that the bank was willing to accept.

Within a week we wrapped up another deal that initially appeared like a no-brainer, 20 percent down, no inspections, great buyer with fantastic credit, income and assets. The buyer was trying to do her loan through Bank of America who called for all sorts of repairs on the property and for a home inspection to be done even though the appraisal came in $4,000 above the contract price. The repairs that were called for were just ludicrous. What do you do ? I told the buyers agent to run from her mortgage company and recommended a local mortgage broker with Cardinal Financial. They still wanted to try Bank of America because "their rate was lower". Thus, the buyer paid for a home inspection, gave the report to Bank of America (very few things came up) and they still would not remove their conditions. A waste of money ! Thus, after coming close to terminating the deal and finding another buyer, they did decide to go with Cardinal Financial who got the deal closed 2 weeks later. Everyone was happy !

At settlement our sellers said, "Boy, you guys are good ! If we only knew to have called you first."

Short Sales do work ! For us, our ratio is still 100 PERCENT in the last 3 years !! How cool is that ?

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The Somers Team - Philadelphia Real Estate

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Is the Recession Over ? I Hope Not !

Some pretty big names recently have stated that the recession is over,including the likes of Ben Bernanke, Warren Buffett and most recently RE/MAX CEO Dave Liniger. I would agree that Recession is over and the "worst is behind us". The bad news is that once the economy starts to get better, that could negatively impact the future of your business.

You might say "Chris, you are crazy ! How is that possible ? " . I will explain - it is simple. No matter what business you are in right now, recessions and slow downs are the BEST TIME to grow your business and to gain market share.

In the real estate industry, Realtors stop marketing and spending money on growing their business. The marketing you see on many listings are the bare minimum. Realtors stop sending out Just Listed / Just Sold cards and basically stop doing anything that costs money. Or even better, their attitude is negative! They are stuck in the gloom and doom reading about rising foreclosures and buying into "houses will never sell" and "the deals are too hard". So, their lead generation activities come to a halt. Or better yet, Real Estate offices stop advertising and marketing all together, cutting back on costs wherever they can. For example, have you seen less real estate ads on TV (other than RE/MAX of course) ? I certainly have without mentioning names.

Folks, this is the best time that you will ever have to gain more clients NOW to grow your business. When things are going full force there will be more agents again and more competition out there. But for all the potential clients that are out there now, those are the people that a year or two or three from now will be referring business to you. It is the hard transactions that people do not forget. That is where you really become "Realtor for Life".

This is the case with any business. It is during the rough times where fortunes are made and lost, where businesses prosper and fail. The strong survive and get stronger. Below is a good interview with Dave Liniger that started RE/MAX during a depression in the early 70s.

Surviving Recession: The RE/MAX start-up story

What did I do this year ? Just so I am not blowing smoke, I became part owner of a RE/MAX office and am already gaining market share in Philadelphia !

What will you do for the rest of the year to grow your business ?

The opportunity is NOW !

Philadelphia Realtors: A Testimonial for The Somers Team

"Just want to say thank you so much to the Somers team for all of your hard work and dedication to relieving our "situation". I met Chris a few years ago at an open house in the Old Kensington area and decided to keep his card ever since, as I was impressed and thought, you never know when I would need his help. My husband and I recently decided to relocate from Philadelphia to North Carolina but we had 3 huge headaches to deal with first. Two properties in the Old Kensington area and one in the Northeast. Although the homes were all once desirable in another market, in this current market things have drastically changed when it comes to selling a home, especially tenant occupied homes with little to no equity, thus not much room to negotiate the sales price. We had friends and family tell us not to hire a Realtor since we could possibly lose a lot of money and others who told us to continue renting the properties out. We decided that since we were moving far away, we just wanted the houses sold and out of our hair in order to preserve our credit history.

Because of the many challenges we had up against us, we needed to hire not only a professional but the best there is out there. We decided to hire the Somers team! I was amazed with their work: very professional, organized, knowledgeable, and honest! Our 3 homes sold in the exact amount of time that Chris estimated, the sales prices were what he expected, and as the many challenges came about - he was right by our side to help us get through them, not to mention as we moved, handling many of the difficult challenges for us. I remember saying to Chris over the phone after the last deal went through, "Chris, I'm surprised you didn't quit". He just laughed and said, "that's what we're here for". "

Monique Benvenutti

When I received the above from Monique, I smiled. That is what it is all about...

Philadelphia Short Sales: Another Successful Short Sale in Graduate Hospital !

Philadelphia Short Sales: Yesterday we had another successful short sale settlement for 2337 Federal St in Graduate Hospital. When we first got this listing, the seller met with 7 agents ! Well, it turns out he made the right choice in choosing The Somers Team ! It was a challenging scenario as we first tried a traditional sale but after quickly realizing that it would not fly, we made an adjustment in the listing and marketed the property as a potential short sale.

The seller's bank was quite cooperative. In fact, we got the short sale approval in a little over one month ! Amazing, isn't it ? It does happen sometimes, but you cannot plan on that happening much at all with other short sales. In any event, we took a lot of pride in terms of helping out this seller wipe his hands clean of this property and move on. Outside of a hiccup at settlement in regards to a title issue that we had already worked out ahead of time, this was one of the smoothest short sale transactions that we have been involved with. The seller said afterward, "Man, I am so glad I went with you guys". That warms our heart.

The great news for us AND for our clients is that this continues our streak in that EVERY SHORT SALE PROPERTY THAT WE HAVE LISTED HAS SETTLED ! How cool is that ? How often do you hear people complain (Realtors especially) that these properties do not settle ?

Philadelphia Short Sales do work !!! You just have to plan ahead and have the right Realtors involved from the beginning ! If you are in the need of doing a short sale in Philadelphia or one of the surrounding counties, feel free to contact us.

If you are interested in additional info on Short Sales as well as all the other topics we discuss, please subscribe to our blog ! Is only a click away ! If you are in our neck of the woods, please contact us via phone or email or ask about our new office location in Northern Liberties !

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If interested in buying or selling properties in Graduate Hospital, contact Chris and Stephanie Somers at thesomersteam@yahoo.com or 215-400-2612 . You can connect with us on Facebook and Twitter . For investment properties, check out our new investor site at Philly Investor Hub and ask us about Philadelphia Foreclosures and Short Sales .

The Somers Team - Philadelphia Real Estate

Search the MLS Properties Here in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia Real Estate Blog

Click here to receive our Blog updates via email !

Areas of specialty include Northern Liberties, Old City, Center City, Fishtown, Graduate Hospital, Art Museum, Queen Village, Pennsport, Old Kensington, Port Richmond, Bridesburg, Society Hill, Loft District, Spring Garden and more !