Nick Blog's the World!

Everytime a short sale occurs or a bank owned property is sold (most often way below market value) our economy loses;  other homes in the neighborhood lose value, a family loses equity, appraisers value regular homes for sale at the short sale value. We are creating a massive downward spiral, thanks in part to the banks that we are giving our tax dollars to, so that they can survive and grow.

We need to take this message to congress. Almost everyday I meet homeowners who are giving up their homes, not all because they can't afford them, but because their value is so much lower than their existing mortgage.

This "mess" was created by dishonest buyers and appraisers and greedy lenders and greedy real estate agents. Non of these people have been punished, in fact, I believe that they have changed their questionalble money making schemes to other ventures that take advantage of the current economic situtation.

You can either be passive about this and watch your home values go down, or you can take action and have your voice heard.

The choice is yours.

We have a unique abiblity to assume that what is happeing in one small market applys eqully to the rest of the United States. Newspapers, radio, TV and the rest of the media try to generalize all real estate happenings.

The truth is that there can be many different market situations, even within a small town. In the metro Phoenix area, we have neighborhoods that are doing very well and some that are getting worse every day. Before you list your home find out where your area fits in.

Don't let an agent quote Natgion wide statistics as to how you should price your home.Study the trends in your immediate area then make a decision.

In the last few months, I have seen homes listed so low that the seller lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in the sale. (not a bank owned or short sale property) I have also seen homes prices so high that they will never sell. Do your homework and select a knowledgeable realtor to work with.

Security has been an issue for home sellers, but in today's economy, it is even more important. The folloowing are several rules you should follow when selling your ome.

1. Don't let anyone in your home unless your real estate agent arranged the showing.
2. If someone knocks on your door, refer them to your agent. Do not let them in.
3. Make sure that your home looks occupied, even if it is vacant. There are people checking on homes that appear vacant and will try to strip the appliances and whatever else they can carry.
4. Maintain the front of your home, yard and even paint the front of the home if it needs it.
5. Don't let newpapers or other papers accumulate.
6. Tell your neighbors that your home is on the market and inform then if it is vacant. Ask them to call police if the suspect anything.

Your agent should also provide additional information at the time of listing.

During my almost 40 years in the real estate industry, I managed to obtain by Certified Fianancial Planner ( CFP) designation in 1986. It has proven very useful, especially during these hard economic times. Both sellers and buyers have to make difficult decisions when buying or selling as their homes are a critical part of their net worth.

Many home sellers (and buyers) don't have a fianancial consultant. In most cases their plans are not in writing and very little time is spend on "future what ifs".

By asking the right questions, we can help our clients make the right decisions. Should we sell or buy? is a rental an option? Is it time to downsize? Is it time ot invest in real estate?

Our dwelling place, be it direct ownership or a rental, must be worked into our overall planning process. May I suggest several book I have written, the most important one if The Be Prepared Book and software  which can be seen and purchased at www.pinetopbook.com  Go to the book section and order. Also, to learn more about the service we offer, pleae go to www.solutionsbynick.com

Friends and relatives and great to work with in buying or selling, but only if they have the experience and the proven results needed to guide you.

I have done more leasing this year than in any other of my 35 years in the industry. The short sales and forclosures have produced a new kind of renter. Credit issues have to be only a part of the criteria to rent your home to someone. Often, a person can afford to lease, but can't afford to keep their home.

Looking at past records and eliminating a low credit score due to a one time event, is important. You have to look at the character of your prospective tenant, not just a credit score. A person with a 20 year record of paying bills on time and then have a terrible fianancial year, should be listened to.

I believe that you can tell a lot about someone's character and as a landlord, you should meet your prospective tenants before you sign a lease. Have your real estate agent set up a meeting.

Making an extra effort to meet your prospective tenant shows how much you care about people and the home you are renting.

Yes, we do advocate buying investment rental homes, buy in the right area at the right price and do the right thing in selecting your tenants and you will have a good investment. 

Yes, I would like to help you!

Hope to write two contracts this coming week. In this case I will be representing buyers but I will structure my offers so that the buyer gets a good price and the seller is not offended.

I feel that part of my job is to maintain neigborhood values. Bringing down prices may result in more foreclosures as people will owe more on their home then its current value.

As prices drop so does the quality of an area. To come out of this downward spiral we as agents and along with the media, need to stop the talk about how prices will continue to drop.

Each one of us has to start with a positive outlook. True change can only occur if it start at the bottom, with us, not at the top with the government.

One sees signs and advertisments by agents, each claiming that they are the local area expert. There are radio and TV spots by agents and real estate companies, each claiming to be the number one producer in their city.

Isn't it amazing that we have hundreds of top producers and each of them are selling hundreds of homes per week/month/year. Why are we in a dpressed market whith all these sales?

An area expert is defined by the number of homes that he/she has sold in your area. A person who is a firend, but has never sold a home cannot be an expert. Most sellers, when listing a home, don't ask the right questions. Among the first questions asked is what is you commission? That questions should does not matter if the other criteria is met; lots of sales in the area, a good community and industry image, and a lot of knowledge about trends in your area.

Listing with your uncle who lives 50 miles from you because you think that the Multiple Listing Service makes all agents equal, does not show good judgement on the seller's part.

Be selective.

The power of positive thinking is huge. It motivates home owners to take pride in their properties as they know, eventually, the prices will go up again. Neighborhoods are judged by their appearance. Drive through any well kept area in this country and you will find home values are higher and homes sell faster then in an unkept neighborhood.

Positive thinking home buyers will buy the home they want, not the least expensive one. They will maintain their new home and help build pride in their area. They are buying a "home" rather than a "house" and will plan to make that an important part of their family life.

Positive thinking sellers, will put their best foot forward when presenting their home for sale. The curb appeal of their home will be great and will help raise the values of the rest of the area homes.

My message is simple, as a Buyer, Seller, or home owner, take pride in you community and it will provide you with shelter, security and value.

In my opinion, Solar and Wind energy are the wave of the future. With utility prices set to go up again, energy cost become one of the the major cost of home ownership, or just plain living.

Does solar ower add value to a home? Of course it does, but there are several factors to consider; type of solar installation, who is installing the system, where is the system placed, cost of the system, etc etc. I have been developing a list of issues to consider when installing a solar system. Like with anything else that is finally catching the public's interest, one has to be very careful of possible scams.

Education is key; that means you, as a homeowner, should learn as much as possible about solar energy. There still is a lot of "fat" in some of the prices I have seen. I truly believe that prices could be lower if there were not so many "middle men" involved.

May open a solar product store in the future.... stay tuned....

Doing what you've always done and expecting different results is never going to happen. As Real Estate Professionals, we have to realize that a new kind of marketing is needed to sell homes in this market. In addition, to new marketing concepts, we must know the trends in each neighborhood we work and become very famailiar with financing options.

A sign in front of a house; listing a property in the Multiple Listing Service, doing flyers, ordering a virtual tour, etc... all that is necessary, but that is only the basics upon which to build a truly different marketing plan. When an agent shows your house or a client comes into your home, you must be able to answer this questions:  Why is this the home I should by?

If you can't answer that question and document the answer, then you are no different than any one of the other thousands of agents trying to get lucky.

Innovative marketing not only requires an answer to that question, but also a way of getting the prospect to see your home so you can answer the question.