Winter Events in Northern Alabama

Winter in Northern Alabama brings breath taking pictures, snowman contests and children enjoying the fluffy white stuff. Here's what's happening around the area.

The Athens Alabama news is holding it's annual 2011 Snowman contest. Build the best snowman you can and send a picture of it to kelly@athensnews-courier.com or drop it off at the office at 410 W Green St in Athens. They will run the selections in the Sunday news. All participants muct drop off by Thursday the 13th. Keep checking the facebook page for entries and winners.

Speaking of snow, general pictures around the Huntsville, Ardmore and Athens area showing beautiful trees, buildings and houses covered in glorious white are making their debut here. Click on the link to view more captivating pictures of the season.

Starting January 29th through May 1st the US Space and Rocket center in Huntsville Alabama will be home to the CSI-The Experience. This will showcase an interactive display of simulated crime scenes, labs and testing facilities and forensic science. It's a great time to get your kids involved in the fascinating technology behind the show and the industry of CSI. Call 256-837-3400 for more information

Remember, when you are ready to buy or sell any home or property in Northern Alabama and Southern Tennessee real estate please contact us anytime. We are experts in both states and real estate is what our agents know. Ardmore is located in both Tennessee and Alabama and no one knows the market the agencies and the neighborhoods more than Butler Realty.

We would be happy to offer free listing presentations, CMA's and local, current listings of homes for sale in the area.

What? And turn down a listing? Is it possible? Depends on the situation.

What kind of seller are you dealing with? A serious seller or a fake seller? - What's the difference -

• You know you have a good listing on your hands when a homeowner is motivated, flexible and reasonable. It's just the opposite with a fake seller.

Does this mean that if a seller is serious, they will let me do whatever I want? Hardly. Ask some questions to know what kind of seller you have on your hands. Why are they moving? Job change, lifestyle or financial situation? What is their motivation? Do they want to sell no matter the cost, or are they willing to do some serious heavy lifting when it comes to staging and set up?

Feel out your client. This is where emotional intelligence (EQ) is so crucial. Try and read why they really want to sell. Are they willing to entertain low-ball offers or will they get offended and frustrated by the buyers in the today's market? Where are they going to start in their pricing? If they want to price way too high thinking "I will just lower it, if it doesn't sell", they may not be serious. The last thing you want is to deal with an irritated seller wondering why YOU are not selling their home for their price.

Also determine their flexibility. If they will only let buyers see the home on their schedule at appointment times, they will most likely turn a lot of buyers away. This is not a serious seller. Serious sellers will scatter awfully quick when you call and say there is a showing.

How reasonable are the sellers going to be? This is a hard one to judge right off the bat but you can ask some key questions ahead of time and analyze their answers. "What would happen if a buyer brought in an offer with a contingency on selling another home?" How will the seller react?

If the listing is shaping up to look as if it's not going to happen unless under the seller's specific guidelines, they may not be ready to sell at all. Kindly offer to keep them in mind and watch the market for them to see if there may be a better time to sell. There is no point in saturating the market anymore than it is already. Study your potential clients and offer them practical reasons to sell and also reasons that maybe now is not the best time.

My client in Ardmore TN real estate has more excellent selling articles with Ardmore homes listings updated every 10 minutes.