This has been on my mind for a long time. I have never felt so bad for a homeowner than one in my neighborhood. In my opinion, they are being held hostage by an home that you have to drive by in order to see the subject home for sale. They share a common driveway. The subject home (a great property and excellent home) for sale is just beyond the eyesore with multiple cars parked in its driveway and yard, never mind the fact that the physical condition is very poor. If I was a buyer, I would not want to drive by this place to get to my new home.
I don’t have the answers, but maybe some creative agents can suggest some ideas. One idea I had was that the subject home for sale could possibly create a driveway that connects to the adjacent main street. This would be expensive, but the alternative is no sale.
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Back in middle school, one of my favorite math classes was geometry.Calculating the volume of cylinders, figuring out the angles of oblique triangles…now that was living!Best of all, it seemed like math that maybe I might really use someday.
Fortunately in this business there’s lot of opportunity to practice.Whether we’re helping a client to analyze a land development, or figuring out the volume of topsoil needed to resod a yard, or simply figuring the square footage of a house, we get to use some of that old fashioned geometry in the process.
It turns out that the square footage thing, though, just isn’t that simple.It’s been talked about before (like here, and here), but today we were listing a new townhome, and as I evaluated the active comparables, I found that what should be a “standard,
A special Shout Out to my Late Night Fans. I was over on my blog testing out some theories in specific areas. Comparing YTD 08 with same period 07 in King County, Kirkland and Bellevue. To my surprise, given it’s almost 1:00 a.m., I was seeing people reading them as I was posting them.
I almost didn’t post my Sunday Night Stats, given tomorrow is a holiday and I post them Sunday nights so that people have something to play with at work on Monday morning. But once you start a regular “show”, I guess you can’t miss a night. So I was pleased to see someone is watching and waiting and reading. Quite a few someones in fact. It gave me the energy to press forward, so thanks!
Before I continue with the normal weekly stats, I think I’ll go back over to my blog and do Redmond. The more time I spend in Redmond, the better I like it. I just sold a Rivertrail townhome, and have another coming on market next week. Have spent quite a bit of time in Abbey Road and English Hill recently as well. Redmond has a lot to offer and may be becoming the stronger choice than Bellevue or Kirkland. I’m going to be tracking that. As I suspected, Redmond’s doing pretty darned good relative to Kirkland and Bellevue at 30% down as to volume vs. 60% down as to volume. And the asking prices of property on market is also more in line with reality.
The market is not going up this year people! Stop adding 10% to last year’s comps to get your asking price. Unless you like sitting on market for 3 times the number of days, only to have to reduce your price and sell for less as “stale on market”. Condition and price are key! Inventory is up and volume is down and you have a lot of competion with many months of inventory in supply.
OK, let’s get to tonights weekly roundup:
King County Condos
Active Listings: 3,953 UP 36 – median price $324,950 – MPPSF $320 – DOM 58
In Escrow: 972 – UP 42 – median price $299,950 – MPPSF $302 – DOM 50
Sold YTD : 2014 – UP 128- median list price $289,950 – median sold price $285,000 – median PPSF $290 – DOM 47
(The numbers on solds on my blog tonight are different because I closed it as of 5/15/07 and 08 to do an accurate % regarding change in volume, giving enough time for all closings to be posted. Here I do the 7 day change from last Sunday.)
King County Residential
In Escrow: 2,933 – UP 229 – median asking price $449,000 – DOM 43 – MPPSF $212
(median asking price way up there on “in escrow” this week -MPPSF up too by $5)
SOLD YTD: 6,077- UP 341 – median sold price $439,990 – DOM 50 – MPPSF $221
Sold prices the same PSF. Houses are selling for about $10,000 under list price.
Actively for sale 11,579 – UP 126 – MPPSF <$800,000 is $220 – MPPSF >$800,000 is $338
No change to speak of in price per square foot. Inventory increasing by less than half as much as last week. Maybe it’s the holiday. Speaking of which…have a good one!
Stats not compiled or published by NWMLS. (Required disclosure)
I could start and end this post at, ” Just STOP taking money for referrals…unless you are providing an equivolent equivalent value.” But this practice is such a hold over from the olden days, that many will say WA??? As in what the heck are you guys smokin’ in WA?
The added “equivolent equivalent value” has to be TO THE CONSUMER by the way, and not to YOU!
‘frinstance: Had a 3 plus hour meeting with some people yesterday.
Them: How can we get referrals from you?
Me: Be on top of your game and the best source of your service for my client. And that changes from time to time and client to client.
Them: Maybe you could get an insurance license?
Me: Why?
Them: So we can legally pay you for referrals.
Me: (after going to bathroom to puke up my lunch) You repay me by giving the clients I referred to you PRIMO attention to their needs. Do the first one or two for free to give me a chance to evaluate your services and talent level.
Them: Scratching their heads, but willing to learn the new way of life I have introduced.
I don’t expect all agents to “get” this. Agents paying referral fees is as old, if not older, than the mls itself. But at least scratch your head and be willing to learn “the new way of life” and society’s elevated stance on this matter.
You refer to someone:
1) Because your client needs that service. They more and more DO NOT and can choose their own.
2) Research and give them a few GOOD and valued options that you have taken the time to investigate. DO NOT STOP AT THE FIRST AGENT WILLING TO PAY YOU A REFERRAL FEE…Yes, sad but true, the way it “was”.
3) Do not simply send them to any office in your Company’s list of other offices. If the BEST agent for them is at RE/MAX and you work at Coldwell Banker, as example, then refer them to the RE/MAX Agent. OR, give them the agent with your Company plus two others and let them choose.
Agents ask me all the time why I am or am not willing to pay or not pay or receive referral fees. Most times I don’t and sometimes I do.
1) I am willing to pay them to Galen, I think, because Estately.com is a valued service that the client has already utilized. Jury’s still a little out on that one.
2) I take a “referral fee” when the client is here and buying there, as I am the one who meets with the client at this end to do the paperwork. So I am “sharing the commission” with the referred to agent on the Coast or wherever, as the client is here in my office going over the offer. Technically a “referral fee”, but actually a fee for “added equivolent equivalent value”.
We are mostly talking about legal, agent to agent referrals here. But quid pro quo, I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine good old boy networks are so old fashioned and yesterday’s news. As I said, I don’t expect you to “get” this to the degree that I do. I don’t expect you to go puke up your lunch, like I do when the offer comes around.
But at least start to scratch your head and say WA?? Cause Seattle has it ALL OVER most of the country when it comes to using new technologies to change the world. Your client uses the internet. They can find their own referral. “The times they are a changin'” and you don’t want to “endorse your epitaph” with underhanded, yet legal, practices. AT BEST at least say to your client “can I get you a referral who will pay me 25% of the commission you are paying them?” At MINIMUM please apply full disclosure to the practice.
Thank you.
For those who never heard this song, it’s worth a listen and I still remember every word from when it came out back when I was an impressionable youth and goes with the “endorse your epitaph” line in the post.
It’s always been one of my Favorite Songs. Mr. Business Man by Ray Stevens. Maybe Dustin will turn it into a YouTube insert for me. For now, here’s the link:
So many favorite lines in there. “Do you qualify to be alive, or is the limit of your senses so as only to survive?!?” Love that song.
I think the public deserves to know what we tell those nearest and dearest to us. My girls are 20, 22 and 24. My 24 year old has a 3 year old. My 22 year old is pregnant. I don’t recommend that either of them buy real estate right now.
Tina, my 24 year old, will finish school in November or so. Then she’ll get a job in her chosen field. Where will that be? Anyone’s guess really.
Jacquie, my 22 year old is the one who wanted to buy a condo or townhouse with Peter here in Kirkland or somewhere on the Eastside. Even though she will likely continue work in Seattle, she prefers living on the Eastside. They can well afford to purchase, but I recommended against it. Told her to rent for 6 – 12 months first. Jacquie equals “Jacquie and Peter”. To the best of my knowledge, Peter has only visited Seattle and has never lived here. He has at least a year of school left in CA and is coming to spend the summer here with Jacquie, either in a rental or a place that they purchase. Where is Peter going to work when he is finished school?
If you don’t know where you are going to work, if you don’t have a good year at your current job so as to know if you are likely to stay working there, if you aren’t confident at the job you have right now and are thinking about leaving that job…don’t buy real estate. Not unless you are prepared to hold it as a rental if you decide to move on.
Would I have counseled them differently in 2004 or even 2005? Yes, I think I would have.
The Title of this post are the exact words of a Google Search for those keywords that I found in my blog stats today. When seeing it I thought it would make a good topic for a post. Hope you agree.
To some extent the words “Rights” and “Negotiating” are contradictory. If you have an actual “right” to something, you don’t NEED to negotiate it. So suffice it to say that you have no “negotiating rights” in the strict sense. You likely have a “right” to cancel the contract based on the inspection, but not a right to repairs.
If you have included an inspection contingency in your contract, then you have some rights. You have the right to hire an inspector. You have the right to gain access to the home for inspection. Personally I think you should STOP the inspection the minute you find something that causes you to not want the house. You save money usually (some inspectors; not all) and you really shouldn’t be nosing around someone’s house once you have decided not to buy it. That’s my personal opinion.
I often hear “Doesn’t the seller have to fix…?” The seller doesn’t HAVE to anything, nor does the buyer for that matter. So the buyer has the right to ASK. To answer the question literally, “what are (the) negotiating rights after Inspection…” You have the right to ASK would probably be the closest accurate response.
Most and virtually all inspections that fail, fail due to poor communication.
1) Don’t just point out a problem without being specific about the remedy requested
2) Try to give a variety of remedies, so the seller can choose one
Examples:
Inspector says: “Hot Water Tank is 14 years old and should be replaced as life expectancy of this hot water tank is 10-12 years” Remember, from the seller’s perspective there is nothing wrong with it. It heats up the water just fine, they never run out of hot water and it’s not leaking or knocking or causing any problem whatsoever. It’s just old.
Yes my friends, there is assisted suicide and genocide involving old hot water tanks. It’s age descrimination, and some are put to rest before their time has come.
Let’s use some common sense here. What is around this tank often suggests the appropriate remedy.
1) Hot water tank is in a condo on the third floor.
My suggested remedy? “Hot water tank to be replaced by seller prior to closing.”
2) Hot water tank is in the garage and much of the owners valuable belongings are stored there prior to moving. Very valuable things that used to be in the house but ended up in the garage when decluttering the house for it to go on market.
My suggested remedy? “Hot water tank to be replaced as soon as possible by seller.” Once you are aware of a potentially dangerous situation, one that could cost thousands of dollars if the tank blew and the water damaged the seller’s things, you should pass that info on to the seller. How would you feel if you asked for a credit or didn’t ask for a new tank at all, and the tank blew 3 days before closing and the seller’s stuff got ruined? Might you be liable in some way for not passing that info on to the seller?
3) Hot water tank is in garage and nothing that could be damaged by water is anywhere in the garage and the water couldn’t get into the house if the tank blew.
In this instance you can take a credit for the repair. You can ask for a 1 year home warranty just in case it goes bad in the first year. You can ask for any of the remedies above as well.
No, the seller doesn’t HAVE TO. But those are reasonable requests in my opinion, though #3 is not a given for sure.
You have the right to ASK. The seller has the right to say NO. If people would be honest and only ask for legitimate items and appropriate remedies, no one would feel like someone is trying to club them over the head. A home inspection is NOT a chance to take advantage of someone. There are reasonable requests and unreasonable requests.
Ask yourself this? Would YOU replace a 14 year old tank in that location if you bought the house 8 years ago, just because it is “past its life expectancy”. If yes, then it is reasonable for YOU to ask. If no, then maybe not. Apply that Golden Rule to all items and you will be negotiating fairly. If you are reasonable, you likely will get everything you should. Maybe not everthing you WANT, but everything you SHOULD want.
Last week my assistant, Nina, and I attended a class put on by Northwest Energy Star that frankly I was initially concerned would only cover the basics of knowing the benefits of energy efficient appliances. Thankfully, my concerns were immediately put to rest as the class began and we heard what we’d really be covering – what it means to have a truly energy efficient home and the construction methods that get you there. WHEW!!!!
A short tutorial about energy prices and how they’re impacting the sales and construction of homes was part of the beginning of the course and underscored information I’ve been reading about for years. I was pleased to see for many people that they “got it
On the run. No time for a blog post. I need an eFax like yesterday. Can anyone give me experience, cost comparisons, any info they have on this service.
The “Federal Housing Finance and Regulatory Reform Act of 2008” is out. Here’s the PDF and here is the summary of the Dodd amendment. There’s a section inside Senator Dodd’s amendment that calls for national loan originator licensing. The first stop is page 34 where the definition of an LO is provided:
LOAN ORIGINATOR
A) IN GENERAL
The term ‘‘loan originator’’
(i) means an individual who
(I) takes a residential mortgage loan application; and
(II) offers or negotiates terms of a residential mortgage loan for compensation or gain;
(ii) does not include any individual
who is not otherwise described in clause (i) and who performs purely administrative or clerical tasks on behalf of a person who is described in any such clause; and (iii) does not include a person or entity that only performs real estate brokerage activities and is licensed or registered in accordance with applicable State law, unless the person or entity is compensated by a lender, a mortgage broker, or other loan originator or by any agent of such lender, mortgage broker, or other loan originator.
(B) OTHER DEFINITIONS RELATING TO LOAN ORIGINATOR.
For purposes of this subsection, an individual ‘‘assists a consumer in obtaining or applying to obtain a residential mortgage loan’’ by, among other things, advising on loan terms (including rates, fees, other costs), preparing loan packages, or collecting information on behalf of the consumer with regard to a residential mortgage loan.
This broad definition of “loan originator” means that we’ll be licensing LOs no matter where they work: broker, banker, consumer finance company, or credit union. There will be 20 hours of required, pre-licensing education and a national test delivered by the National Mortgage Licensing System and Registry. 75% to pass.
There’s way more to this bill than Nat’l LO licensing. 387 pages more. But that’s a good start. Here’s the MBAA recap:
WASHINGTON, DC – Senator Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Senator Richard Shelby (R-AL), Chairman and Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs, today announced that the Committee passed “The Federal Housing Finance Regulatory Reform Act of 2008,
