William James Walton, Sr. Greater Waterbury Real Estate

I've Been In Your Shoes.....

One of the things that I am eternally grateful for is the fact that I actually brought my house before I became a realtor.

For all of us who have the same experience, that can only translate into being the best possible resource for potential buyers. Why? Outside of the "inside" information that we now have as  realtors on how the housing market works, and the contacts that we have developed, we bring a unique perspective to the process for the customers and clients that we serve.

We can explain in detail what to prepare for in looking for a home, what pitfalls to avoid, what checklists to follow, the list can go on and on. Simply because we've been in their shoes.

Here's my story: at the end of September 2005, I found myself and my family without a home due to the failure of the landlord for our new apartment to have the place ready for our move-in. My wife decided that we were not going to give them any more chances to have the place ready (I had been calling and stopping by for a month to check on it), but we had already given our former landlord the required 30 day notice.

A call to one of my church members' daughter who happened to be an agent got us started on the path to buying a home. First thing I discovered, my credit was fairly shot due to some errors (my father's over-due child support for me and my sisters being the major problem), so I got to work on fixing that up.

In the meantime, we were looking at houses and condos to buy, but the next obstacle was not so easy to overcome: my wife and I had not had an earnest conversation about what we wanted -location, type of house, etc. We went about three months in that state looking at places, only for me to hear " I don't like it".

I got fed up. Most of the places that we looked at were in fairly decent shape, were in decent, respectable neighborhoods, and would not have cost us too much. At that point we were "separated" -she was staying with the kids at her father's house, and I was staying at my grandmother's (trust me, there was no room for me at her father's place). After a very heated discussion in early December that year, we finally narrowed our search to three main considerations: neighborhood, a sizeable yard, and space.

We found our new home in less than a month.

I have shared my experience with all of my buyer clients and it has helped them immensely. Of course, I don't give them all of the gory details; but what I do is I give them these practical tips:

1. Get a copy of your credit report and find out what your credit score is before you do anything else. It is a waste of your time to go looking for a house if you can't qualify for a mortgage (more true now than ever). I usually direct them to annualcreditreport.com, which not only gives them free access to their report once a year, but also allows them to make challenges to any errors on their reports online (which I strongly encourage, of course).

2. Get a realtor who will provide you with excellent service - from giving you lists of lawyers and inspectors to choose from, to sending you updated listing searches via e-mail, to getting you set up with a mortgage specialist, if you don't already have one. Just because you know them personally does not necessarily mean that they are top notch service providers, even though there is the comfort level to consider.

3. Know exactly what you want before you start looking. Especially for married couples, that is a must. Husbands and wives need to sit down and write out a list of the things that they want and don't want in a house (yes, both) -  it will help to eliminate scores of potential houses that would get the dreaded "I just don't like it" from the other party (Believe me, it is not just wives who come up with that refrain - I have a client whose husband used that - no, I take that back. He just refused to discuss with her his objections to buying a particular property, so it amounts to the same thing). Don't leave any stone unturned - from the number of bathrooms to the size of the closets, to the style of lighting fixtures - well, maybe I'm getting carried away a little bit, but you get my point.

4. Get pre-approved for a mortgage. Once you do that, you can plan your budget accordingly and narrow your list of potential homes to look at to those that will not break your budget. If you are pre-approved for, say $150k, you might decide to set your budget for a house that is only up to $120K. That will eliminate all of the houses that exceed your budget.

Now that you've heard all of this wonderful advice, it's time for you to go and buy a house!

Coming from one of the many realtors who can say "I've been in your shoes..."

At first, I thought about adding a little something to the title to take the edge off.

At first glance, it sounds like I am about to commit one of the cardinal sins of blogging on AR. After all, I know that my broker doesn't read this - he's too busy making deals, etc.

This is one of the many times that I wish he would read the blogs. Why?

Trust me, I hate sycophants, suck-ups, apple-polishers, butt-kissers, etc. WITH A PASSION. Never been one, never will be.

Nor have I EVER been anyone's "yes" man, going along with things for the sake of love, peace and harmony.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a querrulous type of fellow, I just don't see the sense in putting myself through mental torture by agreeing with people just because they have a position or title (by the way, i have a few of those myself, so I definitely despise people who try to be that way with me...they're all phonies, as Holden Caulfield would say).

I do, however, respect those who allow me to have a difference of opinion or approach and do not castigate me for it. Being treated with respect can only engender respect - as the old saying goes, you reap what you sow.

That brings me to this: over a year ago, my broker invited me onto AR. I signed up, but at the time didn't really realize the potential that it had for me, and I am just now starting to touch the edges of my talent here.

Ever since I really started using AR to its potential, I have come across so much useful info that I have started already to incorporate it into my professional life.

One of those things that I came across was the RealtySoft website package (or whatever it's called), and seeing what it had to offer intrigued me enough to subscribe to it. I decided to go with the value combo offer that included the website, prints, and IDX service (2 out of 3 are definitely correct - oh, there I go again giving too much detail....)...

Anyway, I quickly discovered that I couldn't get my MLS data into the website, so I was told by my local MLS at the time that I wopuld have to pay $200 for the data feed to RealtySoft.

So I waited.

But that wasn't the only reason why I waited. Let's just say that my broker likes to do things a certain way and use certain programs. He certainly has encouraged me to use our company's website; but after evaluating the productive potential of both, I decided that the AR website was a much better bargain.

I'll have to admit, I was afraid of what my broker would say. After all, I had recently spent about $350 on farming several neighborhoods in my area, and there is some reservation about me spending that much money on something that without the proper support and backup planning, could turn out to be a bad investment. But after I explained what my strategy was and how I planned on following through, he gave it his blessing and gave me some additional tips to help me get myself out there.

Two weeks ago, I finally got what I wanted - MLS coverage for RealtySoft in my area. Great! Now all I had to do was get my boss to sign the paperwork....UH OH!

My fears were TOTALLY UNFOUNDED.

I spoke with my broker today as he stopped by the office, and showed him the website, and I also explained to him the bargain I was getting by not going with our company website. Oh, the other thing about my broker - and its a cool thing - is that he tends to be very practical about how money is spent for real estate-related expenditures. Again, he gave it his blessing, signed the paperwork, and I am just about fit to be tied!

I wrote in an earlier post (I think it was Shooting for the Stars... ) that doing multiple things to generate business in real estate was the only way that I could truly be successful at it, and I shared that with my broker today - and he wholeheartedly agrees. Which is why, I think, he is so willing to let me venture out and try different things as a "part time" (Ha!!) agent...

I can't knock any other brokers in my area, because I don't know how they operate, but I can say one thing for sure - I am sooooo glad that I am with the broker I am with.

Am I happy with the broker I am with? I sure am!!!

Well, I finally did it.

Today, I signed up for Market Leader.

What drove me to it?

Anyone ever hear of Property Leads Now? It was advertised on Facebook, so I clicked on it and got a choice of four plans, which were essentially a pay per lead, with an overall monthly fee, with no assurances of accuracy for the leads that were purchased unless you bought the platinum level, which "guaranteed" real time exclusive leads that only you got to see. I tried it for free for about a week. The leads I got, well, most of them were not accurate, but two of them, a buyer and a seller, I have been actively working them for about a month now, and both of them seem to be sitting on the fence as far as their time to make a decision.

Next, I tried Reply! Real Estate, and this time, it was not so much a plan, but an actual pay per lead, unless the information was inaccurate. It required you to e-mail the leads first, then foillow up with a phone call. It's like a game of tag, you have to wait and see if you're it. Well, that one had several promises and three leads that were no good, so we're still waiting to see if it is worth it.

Market Leader, it seems, is something of a phenomenon in the real estate industrym because it is the only program that I have heard of that has a group dedicated to it on Active Rain. At first I balked at the price, but after having read several blogs on its suucess for other realtors, and my experiences with other programs, I figured, what can I possibly lose?

So among all of the other things that I am doing to increase my business (including blogging), here's to having a good start with Market Leader. I'll report back in about a month to give you all an update on my progress...

I feel like dancing in the rain.

Yeterday had to be one of the most positive days for me. Why?

My wife decided that she wanted to be practical and return a $145.00 Dooney and Burke purse I had bought for her earlier in the day. She ran into an old friend of hers whom she worked with in a grocery store almost 20 years ago.

What did that have to do with me? It was an opportunity for me to help someone, of course. So, luckily for me, I had my real estate cards in my pocket, so I handed her one.

We had a very pleasant and interesting conversation about the current market in our area and what hinders people from selling their houses. By the way, she mentioned that her daughter was looking to buy a house, but she was not sure if her daughter has signed a buyer broker agreement with another realtor. If she had, then it was not a problem -she could keep the card for her own future use; if not, then she could pass it along and I could help the daughter out.

We left that store and went to get my son some sneakers. I found some crocs (doctors recommendation) for $10!!! (They usually run anywhere from 30 to 50), so I bought the one pair that was there in my size and ordered two more in different colors. While the manager was processing my order, I just casually offered her one of my cards. Why did I do that? She glibly replied that she, her boyfriend, and her sister were looking to buy a multifamily in one of three different market areas! I quickly gave her some info on the market and got her e-mail address.

We left the store and headed back to the car, but on the way, I saw one of my great-uncles, so I stopped and talked with him for a bit. As we were talking, two more acquaintances walked by and, you guessed it, I handed them my cards. One of them gave me her e-mail address and some info on the type of house she was looking for, and the other one - I ran into her son, and a friend of his, who was also looking to buy a house so...one more card handed out, and another e-mail address - I got her information and e-mail address.

When I got home and settled in, the last thing I did before going to bed was set up the listings search for the three clients (yes, I am claiming them already!) who gave me detailed information. I have to send an e-mail to the last woman to get some info on what exactly she is looking for, and I will have her search set up before the week is out.

Time spent: 30 minutes. Effort spent: little. Rewards: priceless! Even my wife was enthused by my activity last night. I am definitely looking forward to helping these folks find the homes of their dreams. No sales written yet, but again, this is all about celebrating the small steps!

Meriden/Woodtick Waterbury CT Real Estate - Quarterly Market Report 1-31-09

Sellers Tip #1:

The Key to Selling Your House

The most important thing that you can do to guarantee that your home is sold is to list it at the correct price. Overpricing your home will only lead to fewer showings and no serious offers. A market analysis by a realtor who has your best interests at heart will provide you an accurate price at which to list your home to ensure a successful sale.