Tag Archives: advice

Addicted to Google’s Mobile Maps

Posted on by
6

[photopress:phone.png,thumb,alignright]I was just reading a post from Jim Kimmons where he gives advice for Realtors on how to better use their handheld Treo’s and it reminded me that I really should put a plug in for Google’s mobile mapping program because I’ve simply become addicted to it and many others could probably benefit from this tool.

The first thing to realize is that the mapping program is separate from your cell phone’s browser. In other words, you’re going to have to download a program to your mobile cell phone. Here is the url you’ll have to type into your cell phone’s browser to download the program: http://www.google.com/gmm/.

Obviously, this program won’t work with all phones, but Google is kind enough to give a list of supported phones. Note that they do support Blackberry phones (which is what I use!).

Why am I addicted?

The interface is simple and and clean. The main options I use are “Move to Location” and “Find Business”. The “Move to Location” option is used to locate me in a general area, while the “Find Business” option gets me to specific places.

Being in a new area, this one-two combo has been extremely powerful. For example, today I used the program to find (and get directions to) a local post office, a washington mutual branch and a coffee shop, all while out of the office and miles away from my desktop computer. Very cool indeed.

As with many google programs, the tool gets even more powerful if you learn some of the “tricks”. My most common one is to use the “3” and “1” buttons to scroll between turn movement descriptions while navigating directions. I also like that “i” zooms in while “o” zooms out. (Note that I’m using a Blackberry and other operating systems will surely use different buttons!)

If you happen to be in my situation where you have a powerful phone (and no powerful in-car navigation system), definitely consider checking out this program. It has done away with my need for hard-copy maps!

What’s a buyer to do?

Posted on by
10

[photopress:frustration.JPG,thumb,alignright] In the under $500,000 market, good properties are flying off the shelf. In the last two weeks, we were chasing properties with our client in multiple offer situations from Bellevue to Edmonds. It’s a tough market to work in and gets very discouraging to our buyers. When a market is this hot it always requires an accelerator clause if you want to be in the game.

I was thinking about how typical this chase was and want to share this little history with you. Two deals we lost, one where we bid higher and one where we bid the same and the last one that we got, we paid less than the highest bid. Here’s what we did and how we finally got a happy ending!

Offer 1:condo in Sandpoint, priced $325,000. We were the high bid on this one at $375,000. We used an accelerator clause because we knew we had to and in fact, there were 10 offers. We knew we’d have to waive inspection and form 17 and be pre-approved and we did all that, but the seller, rather than selling for the highest price, sold the condo at 5000 below our offer because the seller had met the other buyer and liked him. Our buyer, by the way, has great credentials.

Offer 2: condo in the north end priced at $330,000. we did an accelerator to 350,000 and we were beat at the same price because the other buyer was all cash. This was smart of the seller, since there’s always the problem of appraisals, which are tougher on condos than single family homes

Offer 3: condo in Roosevelt district, this one was listed at $320,000 and we put in an accelerator clause up to $365,000, no inspection, waive 17 and pre-approved. This time our buyer was in town and met with the sellers and, as usual, we found something in common with the two of them, and we got the condo for $5000 less than the highest offer.

Lesson learned: Always always try to get some connection with the seller if at all possible. It’s best, if you have a likable buyer, to have them meet and chat a bit. Even if you’re working with a sour personality, you can still coach them a bit and I’m right there with them to act as a catalyst. If the seller or buyer are out of town I write an interesting summary of how much the buyer likes the house, their strengths and I always try to find something really touching about them, some sort of volunteer, a special hobby, etc. Knowing the listing agent and/or treating them really well is a great asset, too. I’ve been known to bring a Starbucks when arriving with an offer. Sellers like to know who they’re selling to and often their home is not just a financial investment but something with soul and they want the “right” person to buy it.

So, you just never know. Selling a home is an emotional venture and there are as many reasons for who they’re going to sell to as their are people!

Capital Gains on a Primary Residence

Posted on by
32

Noah Rosenblatt brings up a timely article (timely for me anyway) on the tax benefits associated with selling a primary residence. Here’s the pertinent info:

To claim the maximum exclusion on the capitol gains on the sale of your home, you MUST first meet the Ownership and Use tests…

  • Owned the home for at least 2 years (the ownership test), and
  • Lived in the home as your main home for at least 2 years (the use test)

The general idea is that a single person can exclude $250K in capital gains while a married couple filing joint taxes can exclude $500K provided they meet some basic conditions and the meet the two tests above. (Noah includes the conditions on his post!)

Now for my question, is there a timeframe that someone needs to plow this money back into a new residential property in order to reap the capital gains benefits?

Since Noah doesn’t mention this, I’m assuming that the idea of reinvesting within a certain timeframe only applies to investment properties, but I’d sure like to be more confident of this assumption and (horror of horrors) I’d rather not try to read the tax code!

Agents and Consumers – A Perplexing Business Model

Posted on by
94

Seems to me that misinformation fuels many of the conversations regarding relationships between agents and consumers in today’s real estate marketplace. So let’s take a crack at one of Craig’s comments in #48 of Dustin’s post.

“If the mls were “open” – i.e. anyone could list – then agents will have an even harder time justifying the 3%/3% commission.”

Last I looked, every option known to man was available to sellers, with very few “having to pay” 3% to their listing agent, at least in the Seattle area. Many if not most agents do not charge 3% on the listing side, if the seller buys their next home from the same agent. There are many flat fee options available for limited service. High end often pays 1% for full service, especially on new construction homes. 2% is fast becoming the norm for the average Joe. 3% is more typical in the lowest of price ranges where 3% doesn’t amount to much and is a bargain for full service on a $120,000 condo. I have to wonder why people keep pretending that sellers by and large pay 3% to the listing agent? As this figure is not published, there must be some “hidden agenda” to the purveying of misinformation, I think.

As to why sellers offer 3% to convince more and many agents to come and show their home, I guess because it must make sense for them to do that, or they wouldn’t be doing it. That doesn’t mean the Buyer’s Agent GETS 3%, that only means that there is an allowance in the List Price, up to that amount, as far as the SELLER is concerned. Then it is up to the buyer and his agent to determine the actual fee, as they negotiate it within the target amount set by the seller.

Clearly all commissions are negotiable and always have been. Anyone who believes an agent, or attorney in this case, who pretends otherwise is mistaken. All commissions are and always have been negotiable. You just have to understand the structure, and the reasons for it, to maneuver within the system to your best advantage. If you don’t understand the system in place, you leave yourself open for someone to take advantage of your lack of knowledge, by exploiting that weakness. Know that you can, for sure, and in fact, negotiate any fee you want AND participate in the mls system in place while doing so. This is true for both buyers and for sellers, as long as the seller negotiates his side, and the buyer negotiates the other side. There is absolutely nothing in the system, as it exists, that prevents you from negotiating commissions, other than the misinformation which is keeping you from understanding the system.

As to using an attorney instead of an agent in a real estate transaction, it’s apples and oranges. No attorney purports to do, or even tries to do, what an agent does in a transaction. A great attorney is no replacement for a good agent in a real estate transaction. A monkey is a sufficient replacement to both, if they are not good, and monkeys may be more pleasant to deal with 🙂

Paying for the Privilege of Marginalization

Posted on by
114

The real estate industry is a funny place…

There is an obvious tension between the industry players who win through cooperation and the individual agents who win by differentiation. It kind of reminds me of the Tragedy of the Commons in that the actions that individual agents are taking in their best interest are slowly breaking apart the well oiled machine that is today’s real estate industry.

In particular, I’m thinking of all the agent money that is currently being poured into advertisements for companies that are building tools designed to marginalize the role of real estate agents. Joel Burslem picked up on one example when he mentioned that Topix (jointly owned and run by the newspaper publishers: Gannett, Knight Ridder and Tribune) is getting into the FSBO market. If this is not a clear enough signal of the newspaper’s intent, the fact that the Tribune recently purchased forsalebyowner.com should make it clear that the newspapers are now the competition…

While it may be in best interest of individual real estate agents to put ads in local papers, these ads are funding companies who are clearly attempting to completely disrupt their industry. (Don’t even get me started on the irony that a bunch of real estate professionals in Seattle are giving content to the PI that will likely be plastered in FSBO ads before long!).

But it is not only newspapers where agents are paying for the privilege of creating their own demise. Every time an agent buys an ad on Google, they are helping to fund a tool that is clearly meant to marginalize them.

I’ve been holding my tongue on this issue for quite a while because I’m sure a good argument could be made that I’m too biased in that I’m viewing the topic through my employer’s tinted glasses. Nonetheless, I can’t help but wonder if agents are going to get hip to the fact that they really should be using and/or creating their own media before the commons are destroyed.

[photopress:houses_on_hill.jpg,full,alignright]

“Man in the Bushes” Listing

Posted on by
22

[photopress:man_in_the_bushes.jpg,thumb,alignright]This article is in response to a reader’s request yesterday, that I describe what a “man in the bushes” listing means.

Over the years, I have used the term “man in the bushes” most often in response to the question, “Can I sell my home myself as a For Sale by Owner”. If they are ready, willing and able to do that, I tell them to try it for up to 30 days, even two weeks, to see if they have a “man in the bushes”. I once sold a home with 23 men in the bushes.

A “Man in the Bushes” property is usually a unique home that has something that no other house has, and is also one people have suspected may at some time be sold. In this case a stand out corner property in Mount Baker built at or before the turn of the last century in the late 1800’s with some Lake view. It also has an owner who for some reason, actually many reasons, never got around to moving into it. So it has been vacant on and off for some forty years.

There’s usually someone, or several someones, who drive by it on a regular basis (in this case visiting his brother who lives nearby) who has said to himself a skazillion times, “If that house ever goes up for sale, I’d like to have it”. Of course they don’t know for sure until it does go on market and they go in it. But they are already 70% sure they want it. That’s a “man in the bushes”. Not just someone who is the first one to view it when it is listed, but someone who has been waiting for that opportunity to arise for a long time.

A seller can either try a FSBO on that, or get a deeply discounted rate if the “man in the bushes” comes forward very quickly. Another option is to list it in the mls and “exclude” the man in the bushes from the listing with a timeframe. “If Mr. X arrives and makes an offer on the property within 7 days, the listing is null and void”. To do it that way, you need to know who Mr. X is in advance and put him in the contract by name.

Sometimes the Man in the Bushes is a relative who has indicated an interest in buying it over the years, but may be “all talk” and “no ability to do so”. You give them 7 days to “put up or shut up”. This way the family doesn’t have to hear for the rest of their lives that this guy would have bought it, but no one gave him the opportunity to do so. There should never be a fee connected, other than maybe a handling fee, for people to sell their home to a relative. So if you think you have a “Man in the Bushes” in your family, give them 7 – 10 days to at least put that interest on paper, with no or little fee paid if a family member buys the property in the early part of the listing.

What’s hot and what’s not in Seattle?

Posted on by
22

Where to invest next in Seattle/Eastside neighborhoods? I’ve been thinking about the list Seattle Metropolitan Magazine came up in April (see below). With gas prices up, rapid transit going in, I think the next hot spots will be along those rapid transit routes like what happened in San Francisco and Portland.

Here are 2 lists, one from last month and one from 3 years ago. My clients usually make a decision where to buy based on either the commute or schools, sometimes as specific as a certain grade school. What about home age and style. It has been suggested that buyers like the homes their grandparents lived in, not the ones they grew up in, so Will the next batch of buyers want the 50’s and 60’s houses as has been suggested and if so, should we be buying in those areas? There was supposed to be a trend away from large homes, and that’s probably the case considering home prices are so high most can’t have the size home the buyers of the 90’s did.

Here is the Seattle Metropolitan Magazine list of 15 of the hottest neighborhoods in it’s April issue.

[photopress:bill_gates_residence.jpg,full,aligncenter]
Grandes Dames: established and well rooted neighborhoods:

  1. Medina: (recognize the house above?)
  2. Madison Park
  3. Admiral

The Rock Stars: fast rising districts surging with glamour and vitality.

  1. Ballard
  2. Pike/Pine Corridor
  3. Moss Bay, Kirkland

Cinderellas: Formerly neglected areas now traipsing to the ball

  1. South Lake Union (courtesy of Paul Allen)
  2. Columbia City
  3. Georgetown
  4. Westwood

Sleeping Beauties: Location, economy and neighborliness drawing overdue attention

  1. Upper Rainier Beach
  2. North Greenwood
  3. Monroe
  4. Stadium district, Tacoma
  5. Cape George Colony, Port Townsend

This is a dramatic change from 2003, when SeattleMagazine.com had their list of hot neighborhoods

  1. Bryant
  2. Montlake
  3. Sunset Hill
  4. North Beach
  5. Blue Ridge
  6. Olympic Manor
  7. Phinney Ridge
  8. Greenwood Manor
  9. North Admiral
  10. Westwood

Almost all of these were north of the U District.

Does this mean that our citizens are fickle and don’t have favorites more than 3 years in a row? Or was it this kind of story that drove the prices up in those neighborhoods so that they are now not affordable? Is it possible in 3 years that even Georgetown will be sizzling? I’d love to tap into the collective minds of RCG bloggers and see what you think.

I think Burien is an up-and-coming area and it’s not on either list. Any other hidden gems out there?

Website Owners Not Liable for Comments

Posted on by
6

Considering this issue comes up every time Russ and I speak in front of an audience (including yesterday), I thought it would be interesting to share that the courts have been consistently ruling that blog owners are not legally responsible for the comments on their site, even if they moderate…

It happens all too often that some website owner in the US is sued with claims of libel over comments on that site in an open forum. We usually point to Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, and note that it’s pretty clear that service providers of such forums are not liable for content they didn’t write themselves. We also like to point to a 9th Circuit ruling, noting that, even when such comments are moderated or approved, the site owner or moderator isn’t responsible. While the Supreme Court later refused to hear an appeal on the case, meaning the ruling really still only covers the 9th Circuit, the ruling is so reasonable, you’d have to hope other courts would agree with the logic. It appears some already are. Tech Law Advisor points us to a few different sources covering a District Court ruling (outside of the 9th Circuit) that comes to similar conclusions (even if the article is improperly headlined). The case involves the somewhat infamous TuckerMax forums, which are known for being a bit on the… free wheeling side of things. Apparently, a bunch of anonymous commenters there were upset about a party thrown by some publicist, and posted some relatively mean comments about him in the forums. The publicist then sued Tucker Max, claiming that he was liable for the comments, even though it was clear they weren’t made by him. The actual court ruling (warning: pdf) is an enjoyable read, as the judge clearly explains why he’s throwing out the case. He even cites the ridiculous number of censors China employs to filter the internet to explain why it’s not reasonable to expect internet site owners to police their forums more carefully — even as he notes that Tucker Max clearly admits to moderating comments on his site. The ruling also refers back to an older ruling pointing out the importance of protecting free speech, even when vulgar. It’s another reasonable ruling concerning these issues. Hopefully, once enough of these pile up, most lawyers will know better than to file such lawsuits.

Rent back a recently sold home or wait to sell?

Posted on by
24

A reader asked me this great question today, and I simply don’t know the answer. Can anyone give him some advice?

As a buyer of new construction, we recently found out that the builder wasn’t going to make our late July completion date. Instead the builder estimated a mid-September completion. Ugh, we have a child who will start school in a new school district, so this will cause a hassle.

Anyways, we were planning on listing this week (with an open house on the weekend hosted by our agent) but because of the delay in construction I’m at a loss of what to do. Here are my thoughts on the numerous statistics and opinion I’ve found so far:

  • Spring, especially during the last weeks of school is generally one of the best times to list a home
  • Listing a home later in summer can increase Days on the Market slightly, but sales price is often unaffected
  • Due to the region having great job growth and numerous relocations, the school calendar, has a lesser effect on home sales than other regions.

BTW, we are selling a condo in the Klahanie – Issaquah area. So, long-winded way of asking… Do I:

  • List in mid-late June and get a high volume of traffic but have a request that we pay rent through mid-September (roughly 45 days+ if the condo sale closed near end of July)?
  • List in mid-late July hoping to close in late August, thereby having to pay rent to stay only an extra two weeks?
  • Do something else?