Cedar City, UT

Since reading Fred Carver's article on the tragic incident in Canada, I have been thinking of how my wife and I can do a better job at protecting ourselves. The worse thing that we can do is to begin thinking that everyone that calls on a sign to see that house is out to get one of us. That being said, there are some things that we can do. I have come up with just a couple of ideas, although there probably are many more that I haven't thought of, or that someone trained in personal safety could teach you.

We can ask the caller if they can come to the office, we may have another house that they might like even better than the one that they are parked in front of, if we knew what they were looking for. That isn't always practicle, and in our market area, there are some listings that are several miles from our office. We can always tell someone where we are going and approximately how long we intend to be there. We can even arrange the phone call check up after a period of time have another agent or the office secretary call with a pre arranged code(the entire office should have that code) if everything is okay and it really is someone looking to purchase Real Estate, you could always say to them: I need to let this buyer know that I will call them right back. Then tell whoever the code and say something then I will call you back etc.

The most important thing that we can do is to let someone know where we will be at all times, I know that this goes against the grain of most Realtors, it does me, but it is important. The other aspect is to have someone that is going to check up on you. I am not saying that the Realtor in Canada didn't do any or all of these things, when something bad happens, it does so very quickly. Years ago I heard an instructor say that if you have a gun and the person attacking you is withing 20 feet, you're in serious trouble. That seems hard to believe, but the instructor showed just how quickly an average person can cover those 20 feet, usually they were grabbing at us before we had even reacted to the movement.

I have heard that some Realtors carry their cell phones with 911 pre programmed so that they just have to push the connect button. Stay alert, and if someone scares or gives you a creepy feeling, do what you need to do. I would rather look stupid (brought the wrong key, or forgot my Supra lockbox key) than look injured or worse. I would explain that I needed to run back and get it, sorry for the inconvenience, then find someone to go with me, even if they just pretended to be someone else that wanted to look at the property.

I am in no way an expert, I just hope that each of us take care. Contact your local police department or sheriff's office to see if they have some training to help with this. Most offices would be glad to do something like that. Please be safe and have a great rest of the week.

Here in Utah whether a home is sold in as is condition, or not the seller needs to fill out property condition disclosures. If the home has never been occupied by the owner, they can fill out a non occupant addenda. This past weekend showing fixer uppers our buyers found a home that they can live in while fixing it up. They are getting a loan so they asked if they could see a property condition disclosure to see if they could qualify the house for a loan. Short of that, if they could find out what the owner knows needs to be repaired, sort of a list.

One answer we know would be to hire a home inspector, but they don't want to do that until they are sure if this is a project that is worth taking on. The other agent called back, and wasn't sure what had been done nor what needed to be done. She thought that some things had been done, but didn't know what the extent of the repairs had been done. For example, she didn't know if the heater was in working order or not, or the plumbing.

We got thinking, wouldn't it be nice if a property was being sold in as is conditions, wouldn't it be a good sales tool to have a list of what has been done, what the seller knows needs to be done, and what he or she isn't sure of? I just believe that would make the property would be much more marketable if such a list were included in the listing, that way buyers would be able to tell right away what they were actually looking at, or at least, for example, to look at the roof or foundation to make sure they are alright in case the homeowner hasn't checked those.

Another way to go would be for the seller to order an independant home inspection and offer a copy or at least a list of what needs to be repaired. That would help buyers know what is really a bargain, and what is essentially a tear down and rebuild. Just a thought, what do you think?

I will admit it, I tuned into the Superbowl expecting a blow out. I really didn't think that anyone would be able to stop the Patriots quest for perfection. Deep down I had hoped that the Giants would, simply because virtually no one gave them a chance, not because I am a fan. What a great game! Both teams played well, especially on defense. Congradulations to the New York Giants!, you earned that win!

I was a little disappointed in the commercials, normally the ads are better and much more memorable than the game. Usually, there are a number of those ads that just stick in your brain. I am not sure whether it was the game, but there are really only two ads that even stand out. One of the things that I am happy about is that the Utah Association of Realtors decided to buy one of the local broadcast commercial slots! Good for them! While the ad wasn't a new one, as a Realtor I was glad to see them. The hope that many people throughout the state saw the ad due to the competiveness of the game. I hope that it was money well spent.

Anyway, just goes to show that you have to go the distance and not give up, that and anyone if they prepare well, and execute well can win!

This past weekend, Darcy and I had the priviledge of showing a family some fixer uppers here in our market. To be honest, it has been a while since we have shown anyone any fixer uppers. Whether it has been the market conditions, or just that many sellers in our market were pricing fixer uppers as though they already been fixed up.

This weekend was an eye opener, we have a couple of great opportunities with some fixers. I don't know that there is enough margin there to fix and flip, but certainly good solid investments to someone looking to buy and fix it up for a residence. There is easily some equity to be had with them all repaired, although not quite enough to make the flippers happy. In short, it was a great weekend with a very nice, new, client, finding some real gems in our market.

It isn't the same as it was a few years ago, when there were a lot of fixer upper houses, many with great appreciation potential; but it to me, it is a good sign. The more affordable, buyer friendly (in terms of equity) homes that we have on the market, the stronger the market will become.

I got thinking that it has been several weeks since I wrote a thought blog, so here goes. Todays thought comes from Will Rogers, it says: "Even if you are on the right track, you'll get run over if you just sit there!" This is a great quote for me, I tend to let myself become lazy and need to be reminded that I need to get out and take some action.

Several years ago I worked in a truck shop with a mechanic that used to end breaks by saying, "better go and do something, even if it's wrong." I don't know how I am going to make this match the Will Rogers quote other than by saying there is a level of success that is achieved by action. Obviously, action combined with doing the right things will ultimately lead to success more quickly than just doing something even if it is wrong. I do think that getting into the habbit of taking action over not acting on something will develope positive traits and work habbits that will lead to success.

I don't know how many of you have already scrapped you New Year's Resolutions, but it may be a good time to act on them. Give them 3 weeks of actively pursuing them, if they aren't going to work, make new goals that align with what it is that you want to accomplish, by doing something, you will at least know whether or not something will work. Have a Great Week!