From the category archives:

Food for Thought

What to do Before Buying a Luxury Home in the Twin Cities, Part 1

Luxury Home Lake HarrietHere are some good suggestions on what to do before you purchase a home.

  • Look for Lenders that cater to the affluent – A buyer looking as a $4 Million home doesn’t go to Lending Tree for a loan. You need a mortgage company with a history of upper bracket real estate.
  • Shop on the Internet, but don’t look at a home without a Realtor – The Internet is real estate’s most versatile tool and is a great way to browse for luxury homes and narrow down your choices. Look for a real estate agent that specializes in upper bracket homes and be honest with them about your purchasing power.
  • If you call on a listing, talk to the Listing Agent of the property – The best number to call is the agent’s cell phone, or better yet, email them. If you do have to call the office, leave a message for the listing agent. Often buyers who call about a home will only get the floor duty agent, who is always new.
  • Use an Agent that is an expert in the market and works the Luxury listings – Great agents are great agents, but if they don’t work specifically in your target price range in your target location they will not be as valuable a resource an agent who does.
  • Special properties need special agents – Ranches, waterfront, equestrian estates, all require specialized knowledge. Buyers will not know the zoning laws and potential problems associated with specialty properties, but your agent working in that arena will. An agent who does not normally work with Luxury homes could be a liability to you.
  • Know who handles the closing – How homes are bought and sold varies by state, county and region. Attorneys might handle the sale in some states and a title company in others.
  • Get an Estimate on Closing Costs – Closing costs vary by state. You also need to know if property taxes are prorated and if the state levies taxes off the purchase price or mortgage. These can be pricey when buying an expensive home.
  • Ask Questions about the local Luxury Market – Get to know the purchase documents before hand and it will help you make a better offer. Good agents educate you about the market, what is selling or not selling, and guide you through the buying process. Remember, there are no dumb questions!

Look for my next two installments of this series in the upcoming weeks!

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Real Estate isn’t Just About a House

Wild VioletsIn the life of a real estate agent, most transactions happen without incident. A seller and buyer come together, discuss terms, and viol`a, a house is sold.  (OK, it isn’t exactly as easy as that.)  But every now and then there comes a time when less than pleasant incidents occur, and I am reminded that life continues on through it all.

It has taken a couple of months to write about this as it greatly troubled me at the time it happened. Those who know me, including clients, know my motto is: “All things happen for a reason”. It has always been my belief that we are guided along through our lives, and that each decision we make helps shape our future. Those decisions affect those around us, no matter how minute.

I had a wonderful home listed – old, with a wrap around porch. It was waiting for that one special person who would fall in love with it and bring it back to life. Eventually, we found that buyer. Unfortunately, at the same time they presented their offer, another one came in at the exact same price and terms. Enter negotiations.

As often happens with multiple offers, I had to respond to both buyers asking them to resubmit their highest and best offer. As fortune would have it, the buyer that wanted to restore the home came in with the best offer. I knew both parties were anxiously waiting my phone call, so after the seller informed me of his decision on the “winner”, I immediately called the buyer’s agent to give the good news. To say he was ecstatic is an understatement – I was told how much his clients loved this home and how they were going to restore it to its former glory, and it made me really happy to know I was going to a part of a transaction that was about more than just a house. Having restored old homes in the past, I knew what kind of people these buyers were – passionate and loving.

The seller was out of town until the next day so we had to wait for final signatures before the deal was officially “done”. I spent the evening with my family, happy that this home was going to be loved again. When the phone rang late that evening, I answered it, which is not something I usually do. The person on the other end was the buyer’s agent, and he was clearly upset. Thoughts quickly went through my head – his clients had decided to pull out,  they wanted to change the terms, etc., but what he preceded to tell me had me in utter shock.

Immediately after we spoke earlier that afternoon, he called his clients to give them the good news. The buyers were so excited. They were so excited that Mr. Buyer decided to immediately ride over to the home to sit on the wrap around porch and dream about “his house”. What happened next seems only to happen in movies. On the way to the home, riding his motorcycle, traffic stopped suddenly. He was able to stop in time, but the driver behind him, who was not paying attention, didn’t. Mr. Buyer was hit, and even though he was wearing a helmet, was killed from the crash. The buyer’s agent was calling me from the hospital, as he was a good friend of the buyers and their family. After he finished telling me that Mrs. Buyer would have to pull their offer due to the accident, I told him I understood completely and would inform the seller that night. After I hung up, still stunned, my tears started flowing.  I called the seller, and between sobs, told him what had happened. Needless to say, he was also in utter shock.

As I said before, I believe everything happens for a reason, even if it is bad. I don’t know what the grand plan of life is, or why this happened, but what it does reaffirm is how much each decision we make, no matter how minute, can affect the lives around us. While I know I should not feel guilty about his death, apart of me wonders if the buyer would still be alive had I waited five more minutes before calling his agent. Can life’s path really be changed so quickly? My husband and family tell me it was not my fault, that is was meant to be. I know they are right. But through my eyes, it’s hard to understand how one simple phone call, that brought so much joy one minute, later caused so much heartbreak. You could go crazy trying to wrap your head around it.

So often I hear people dismiss real estate agents as vultures, only caring about making a “quick” commission. They just don’t get it.  We are so much more, and it takes a special kind of person to juggle the many hats real estate agents wear. In this case, I became a grief counselor, not only for my client, but for myself. I felt connected to the buyers through their love, excitement, and passion about restoring an old home. A house was bringing us all together.

So see, real estate isn’t just about a house, it’s about people. And even though we don’t realize it, we are all connected.

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Turning Down a Listing

Contrary to what most might think, many real estate agents aren’t desperate for listings. Yes, there are those out there that will take a listing because they really need it, no matter how overpriced the home will be, but I am not one of those agents.

Recently I turned down an expensive home simply because the home owner and I could not agree on a price. He saw it as a million dollar home, but I knew it was not worth anywhere near his dream number. I did my research, showing him what similar homes in the area had sold for. I even went so far as to take him out into the local marketplace and show him active listings, comparing those million dollar homes to his, hoping the information would sink in that his home in no way compared to those high-end homes. But alas, he still felt his unluxurious home was superior to them. We parted ways that day with a handshake, and I wished him all the best in the sale of his home.

He seemed surprised that I was turning down the listing. “Wouldn’t you like this home to be showcased on your website?”, he asked. I would have liked to have plainly said “Yes, but only if it is priced correctly”, but I was nicer than that.  Here are some reasons why I don’t take overpriced listings:

  • I was asked how much marketing it would take to get his home sold and I flat out told him that no amount of money thrown into marketing the home would make it sell if it was overpriced. See, agents don’t get paid unless a home sells, so we have to put thousands of dollars into photos, brochures, marketing, etc before we see a dime in commission. If the home doesn’t sell, then we are out all those costs. Taking an extremely overpriced listing means that the odds of that home selling are so rare that it is just not worth wasting my hard earned money. Buyers are pretty savvy in today’s tech world and know when a home is overpriced. Looking at it is just a waste of their time.
  • Telling a home owner that their home is worth more than it actual is is a Realtor Code of Ethics violation. Standard of Practice 1-3 of the Code states that “Realtors, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value”. I don’t know about you, but I really don’t want to ever be accused of an ethical violation.
  • I believe in being completely honest with home owners, even if I know they are not going to like what I tell them. They might throw me out of the house (never have had it happen), but at least I walk away knowing I gave them legitimate information and that it is truly their problem if they don’t like the data.
  • Beating up a home seller every couple of weeks for a price reduction is not something I like to do. Instead, I choose to educate sellers that pricing their listing correctly from the beginning ensures them that I won’t be calling them and getting on their nerves. While markets do change during a listing period and price reductions do happen, I would rather be able to back my advice up with real market data, then make up some random number just to make a seller happy.
  • When selling a home, many times a home owners number one “enemy” is the real estate appraiser. If he can’t find evidence to support a contract purchase price, then you won’t be selling your home anytime soon. And waiting for a cash buyer isn’t the best strategy.  While many won’t order an appraisal since no lender is involved, million dollar cash buyers are pretty smart and know when a home is overpriced. Don’t pray for a stupid cash buyer – they don’t exist.

Getting back to my recent experience. Another agent ended up taking the listing, which doesn’t surprise me. What does surprise me is the listing price, which is extremely overpriced. Not only will the home never sell at that price, I can’t imagine how the agent justifies wasting everyone’s time. At least I can sit back knowing that I made the right decision in walking away. Let that listing be someone else’s headache. I won’t take part in overpriced listings.

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Remodeling Bang for the Buck

Over the years, home trends come and go. What was once ultra cool is now outdated. Remember those lovely 70’s orange countertops, or avocado green appliances? Most buyers today would shiver at the sight of them, but a simple kitchen remodel could be a home owners saving grace to successfully selling their home and having the buyers jumping for joy. While renovations can help your home sell faster, don’t expect to get much of that money back.

Each year Remodeling magazine comes out with a Cost vs. Value Report which highlights remodeling projects across the nation and by region, comparing their cost to the value retained upon sale of the home. The Twin Cities is one such region which gets its own specific report. Lucky us!

According to the Minneapolis report for upscale homes, the project topping the charts for greatest % of return is siding replacement with fiber-cement board. The next two top projects are garage door replacement and window replacement (vinyl). In contrast, the top projects for mid-range homes are minor kitchen renovations, front door replacement, and the addition of a deck.

It’s interesting that the areas of the home always thought to be the best renovation projects are not the chart toppers. Kitchen renovations get only 57% of their original cost for high-end homes, and one of the lowest bangs for your buck is a master suite addition. Of course home owners want to “live” in their homes and therefore will always do projects that makes their lives simplier, or more luxurious, not necessarily concentrating on if the project will be a good return on their investment.

If you are planning on a future remodel, and want to get an idea on the resale value of your efforts, take a look at the report. If you want to renovate your home for yourself, then does it really matter what the return on investment it? After all, replacing that roof might only get you 39% of your money back, but I am pretty sure having a dry home would trump any desire to recoup your costs.

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Are You Backing Up Your Outlook?

So this post isn’t about real estate in general, but it does concern saving my real estate data. See, I use Microsoft Outlook for email and when I started using it a few years back, I assumed that all the emails and data inside Outlook backed up each and every time I backed up my computer to an external hard drive. Boy, was I ever wrong!

By chance one day I read on another blog post that Outlook is not backed up with computer data. So at that time, I had a years worth of emails, attachments, etc, and realized that if my computer crashed, I would lose everything. Being a real estate agent, emails are constantly going back and forth between clients, other agents, and prospects. I organize them into folders and set rules for email addresses for these folders. Saving this data is crutial because it keeps a paper trail of communications. So for instance if a client, or angry agent, tries to say something I know to be false, I simply pull up the proof via my saved emails.

Two years ago I found that Microsoft has an Outlook Backup download for personal files, including calendars and contacts. From this you are able to save the data as a .pst file, which then is saved to your harddrive, or any place you wish to save the data. Once installed, I set it up to save each time I exit Outlook.

Let me tell you, this simple download has saved me TWICE in less than two years. A year ago August, my HP Pavilion laptop had a mother board failure and the laptop was totaled. Thankfully, my hard drive was still intact, and via the .pst file, I was able to retrieve all my Outlook data and import it onto my new laptop. However I soon realized that I had not gone far enough. If my hard drive had failed, then I would have lost that Outlook file. When I bought my new laptop, I also bought a new external hard drive, which saves a second copy of all my data.

Two months ago, my “new” laptop’s cooling fan decided to die on me. I had to send it by mail to a repair shop in Texas, via the exteneded warranty program. Unfortunately, they wiped the hard drive while repairing my computer. Thankfully, I had all my data backed up on the external, and once again, was able to retrieve my Outlook data file.

Lesson learned, twice. Make sure you don’t have to learn the hard way – Back Up Your Outlook!

 

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Minnesota DNR Makes Lake Finding Easy

Lake Finder for Minnesota Lakes

Have you ever been driving around Minnesota and passed a lake who’s name you don’t know and wonder what it is? Well now the Minnesota DNR has created a phone application to help you out.

The LakeFinder contains data for more than 4,500 lakes and rivers throughout Minnesota and the application allows you to get the information on demand with an internet connection or save it to your device for off-line access. Have thousands of lake surveys, depth maps, and vegetation reports, plus water quality and clarity data literally in the palm of your hand. You can even save them as favorites.

Check it out on the DNR website, or visit your phone’s app store.

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Going Prairie in Your Yard

Swamp Milkweed in Minnesota

Recently I was reading an article in the Star Tribune that just makes you shake your head in wonder.  The City of Edina and some of its residents seem to dislike the growing natural area around the new Public Works building as it looks too “weedy”. I guess people just can’t appreciate the pink blossoms of Milkweed (which is the only thing Monarch butterflies lay their eggs on), or the beauty of yellow sunflowers swaying in the breeze. The complainants prefer manicured yards to nature and rain gardens, and want the city to start mowing the area.

Now, I really hate to go into how stupid the Mayor and Council member sound in the article, but that’s what happens when you are not educated about a subject. They need to take a class on native wildflowers, grasses, and rain gardens before they go any further on this topic and discover how beneficial this green movement can be to their town.

I first learned about Rain Gardens when I moved to Minnesota through the Blue Thumb program. I attended a class as I was curious about how they work. Simply, instead of rain water going directly off streets into sewers, the rain water first goes through the rain garden and then into the ground, thus helping keep pollutants out of our rivers and lakes. Case in point, the City of Burnsville conducted a study of the benefit of rain gardens by implementing them in a test neighborhood, and the results show how beneficial such gardens are to storm water runoff.

There is a strong push in Minnesota to go native. Prairie planting with native wildflowers is becoming much more common. Instead of bushes, home owners are planting perennial wildflowers and quite frankly, I think yards are looking better. Wildflowers offer fantastic curb appeal, not to mention low maintenance.

 Sometimes rain gardens are new to city planners, so you might have to educate your town. I requested putting in a rain garden on our property easement due to the steep slope, as rain just pours down one side of our property line, but the city member I spoke with just looked at me with dumb look on his face and asked what a rain garden was. I was then told that plants could not be put in an easement. When I explained what a rain garden does, he stuck to his guns and said no, I could not get permission to put one in. Maybe he needs to see Burnsville’s case study, and other Minnesota towns success, to get a better idea on the benefits of natural plantings.

Going prairie in Minnesota seems to be the future. The low maintenence reduces city costs while adding natural beauty to the area.  If you are interested in learning more about native plantings, the best resource I have found is the Blue Thumb program or your local county website. Here are a few other resources to check out for more information:

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Twin Cities in the Eyes of the Census

The New York Times has a great interactive map which gives insight into population growth and decline, housing trends, and ethnic/racial concentrations.  Real estate agents are not allowed to comment on neighborhood/city demographics, so this interactive tool will answer many of the questions you might have. You are even able to zoom into Twin Cities neighborhoods to get a  more detailed look on what is going on in your neck of the woods.

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Fire Your Agent …

…if your home is currently for sale and the main MLS photo shows your home in a winter wonderland. It’s June people! There are numerous homes, including multi-million dollar luxury homes, in the MLS as of today that still have snow on the ground. If your agent is too lazy, or too cheap, to take the time to re-shoot the exterior of your home, FIRE them!

Current Million Dollar Home For Sale in MLS

Here’s the thing. When a buyer sees snow on the ground in Summer, they have a pretty good idea that the home has been on the market a while. They might pass the home over, or decide to see it and offer you less. The thought might also occur to them that the seller really doesn’t care much about the marketing of their home, or better yet, that the listing agent doesn’t really care about the home either. With a down market, even the smallest things matter when marketing your home for sale. Personally, I think photos can either be your greatest asset, or your worst enemy, and it is pretty easy to figure out which one it is if you have a snow filled photo of your home in MLS.

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Helpful Hints on Home Descriptions

Properly Marketing a Home For Sale

Beautiful Flower Beds

Most real estate agents are not good writers, so it should come as no surprise that when you read through real estate listings the descriptions are lack luster. Some agents just don’t care, some just don’t know how to write well, and some agents are so “old school” that they know no other way. Sadly, home owners are the ones hurt because poorly written descriptions fail to attract buyers, so it is extremely important to choose an agent that writes well and takes the time to create a story about your home.

I continualy write on this blog about the importance of good listing photos and how they are the first things buyers look at when searching for a luxury home in the Twin Cities. Photos are the window into the soul of the home, but to make them even better, you must have a description that tells a buyer what they are looking at.

What to Do

  • Accurately describe the home. Calling it the “Best” home in the neighborhood might not be a bad thing, but you better make sure you can back it up with photos and reasons on WHY it is the “Best” home.
  • Use good adjectives that attract buyers like “Beautiful, Lovingly Maintained, Great Landscaping, Spacious”.
  • Include longer descriptions of photos that highlight great features of your home.

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What Not to Do

  • Don’t use negative adjectives to describe your home. Words like “As-Is, Motivated Seller, Small, Needs TLC, Good Value” might not sound all that negative, but they can be a “red flag” to buyers who might think the home is not worth seeing, or needs too much work.
  • Don’t put photos of your listing on the MLS without descriptions. Simple words like “living room” no longer cut it. Buyers want to know exactly what they are looking at and the best way to attract them to your home is to provide ample descriptions.
  • Don’t be lazy. Check up on your Realtor and make sure they are giving your home the marketing it deserves!

(Of course if you pick the right agent from the beginning, you probably won’t have to do much. A great agent will make your listing shine!)

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