Real Estate Information Archive

When we put our northeast home up for sale a few years ago, I remember the day that the real estate agent caravan stopped our home on agent Open House day.  There isn't much to say here about that day, as it was an uneventful experience.  The agents came, and then they went. So last month when Paulia Kennedy asked me to flag her internet sites to indicate that one of her listing properties was to have an Open House the following week, I didn't think much of her request.  I soon learned that this was not going to be a ho-hum event.

Paulia explained that everyone on The Kennedy Team pitches in for Open House activities to create a rather tasty smorgasbord for the invitees. Paulia wrote, "Our Realtor® Open Houses are Open to all, (the public and the real estate community) but we focus on having the event when it is convenient for the Realtors to come."  Paulia found that after holding a number of Open Houses, her team noticed better attendance on Wednesdays or Thursdays at lunchtime.  She added, "Then we cater the lunch and of course the free food gets them!"

I inquired about more details on the 'free food concept' and Paulia answered, "I've got the lunches mastered with a really good spiral-cut honey glazed ham from Wal-Mart that I bake for about 2 hours - cost is $23 and it feeds about 60 people." Paulia enlightens this conversation in her endearing southern vernacular by emphasizing, "...and everybody brags on it."  The menu does not stop at a glazed ham.  "Then we get rolls from the deli to make sandwiches and sometimes pick up potato salad. Debi (Jones) buys Kroger's great chicken salad that everyone loves and adds additional items and drinks.  Jeff  takes care of loading the drink coolers and putting out the signs.  Even John Watson, our resident handyman helps out with toting and stocking the coolers and then stops in to socialize with us."

I had not heard of such attention paid to an Open House menu.  But, then Paulia explained to me that, "All of the other Realtors rely on the Title Companies and Banks to cater their own Open Houses but we felt like that was misuse of those vendors.  So we do our own catering by ourselves."  Apparently, as Paulia clarified, "It seems that after we provided all the fixings for a few Open Houses, the local banks and title companies have now put their foot down on it with the other Realtors and as a result they [banks and title companies] appreciate that our Team is not constantly calling on them for food donations."

"We also invite the vendors to bring their own clients and occasionally I send out postcards to the neighbors to come; so we do try to welcome everybody.  Normally, we don't get many of the regular folks to come (other than the curious neighbors wanting to compare to their own home).  But we offer plenty of food to everyone.  We rarely do regular public Open Houses, as we've found that they aren't very effective."

I squirreled this conversation in the back of my head until I came upon an article yesterday from Realtor Magazine entitled, "Feed Them Well and the Associates Will Sell".   The article states, "Rather than provide a dish of candies or a pot of coffee, associates are finding that omelets, salads, and pastry bars, among other treats, are necessary to generate interest. Some realty professionals are going as far as offering homemade cookies in personalized tins to draw crowds, and a menu often is advertised alongside a listing's asking price and other features on materials circulated within real estate circles.

While some real estate pros would rather shell out cash on advertising, others are willing to serve lunch if that is what it takes to sell the home."

Yet again, The Kennedy Team is ahead of the real estate game...in a tasty way!

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

Paulia and I have been sharing ideas this week for a good blog entry.  I have been asking her about behavior changes in buyers and sellers as many have had to rethink housing plans due to a shifting real estate market.  I asked Paulia to check her 'send box' to see what types of email questions she has been responding to, as this is a great source of information for the here and now.

One such individual who wrote Paulia was interested in purchasing a condo on prime Lake Hamilton property in Hot Springs, AR and gave Paulia a laundry list of 'wants'; most entirely unrealistic for the $100k he wanted to spend. The list reads: 

• A 2 or 3 bedroom condo.
• In a well run condo complex.
• But, a condo that has been neglected, once a rental that had been abused, etc. 
• Fairly low monthly fees.
• On Lake Hamilton.
• Price, less than $100K if possible.

It is important to stop here and note that even at today's real estate prices a 3-bedroom condo with a good floor plan, in a well-run condo complex with fairly low monthly fees on prime lakefront lists for, on average, $300k. 

So, I had to take a second look at the 'wants' of the buyer versus the 'reality' of the situation and ask myself, why IS this buyer being so very unrealistic? He wishes to pay 1/3 of what a condo in this location is priced.  Not half the price… or $25k below the comparable or even $50k below, but 1/3 or approximately $200k less than the listing value. Why, that's 3 condos for the price of one! How much more did he really think the market was going to 'bottom-out'?  So I reread his email a bit further to understand this thinking.  The potential buyer admits, "I may be unrealistic.  That's okay.  If something like this does not materialize, that's okay to.  I just know my retirement account has declined by 40% in the last month.  That has made us alter our thinking quite a bit." He also added, "Don't really have a timeline.  I've always been slow on purchases.  I drive a truck with 199,000 miles on it.  My wife's car is the new one and it has 113,000 miles." 

I ask more questions…Why did he add all of this extraneous information about his 401k and his wife's car?  I believe this man is suffering and he wanted Paulia to know this.  Perhaps he was looking for a sympathetic shoulder. Since his correspondence was in the form of an email, there was little risk involved for a face-to-face potentially embarrassing conversation. I also conclude that this buyer is having grave difficulty adjusting to change.  Evidently, he has the same list of 'wants' from the past such as living on a popular lakeside location; one luxury he simply cannot bear to give-up.  Rather, he would much rather raise his family in a beat-up condo and succumb to the renovation expense process than to give-up the lake view.  I really find this behavior to be fascinating!  To me, it is like buying a beat-up 1972 Cadillac, without modern day safety improvements and gas efficiency just for the sake of owning a Cadillac. 

I asked Paulia if she's noticed any other changes in buyer behavior. Paulia observes that, "It’s becoming more & more difficult for the folks with a fixed income, and the middle-class folks to purchase a home.  And we’re also seeing more people, being unrealistic with their wants– they seem to want to buy cheap and sell high -- and that “ain’t gonna” work." 

On the other hand, in the luxury home buying market, Paulia indicated, "We've noticed more of a shark-like tone from the upper clientele – they’re hovering around like vultures ready to pounce and snatch-up bargains from the desperate sellers that are in a financial bind."

Paulia's own responses to those who are inquiring about properties have also been revised.  As The Kennedy Team of Trademark Real Estate, Inc. does not participate in property management and rentals, an unusual but practical deal has been worked out with one particular group of developers they work with, for example, who has agreed to offer the properties for lease. Paulia explains, “In the past, we would quickly refer the clients looking for lease options to the property management companies in the area.  Now, we’re trying to hold onto them because there are fewer potential buyers out there, so we’re doing whatever it takes to hold on to the clients and help them out until they are in better positions to buy or sell."

For those sellers who have listed with the Kennedy Team, Paulia states, "We’ve had to change the mindset from telling them [sellers] that, It’s not good to have a home sit on the market too long - to - It’s okay to have it on the market a while, as we need to be sitting and ready for when the market shifts back and the buyers pounce.”  She adds, "We are keeping our sellers posted of all activity through our online seller reports (which is a great system that most Realtors do not offer) and we are keeping sellers posted on market stats, by reviewing the comparable home sales & active listings with them much more frequently.  We are making sure that they are right on-price, as we do not want to miss out on any buyers, especially due to pricing.  We have very thorough pre-listing packets with tons of initial information offering the seller lots of helpful tips and information on the selling process.  We often spend two hours on our initial appointment, explaining the process."

The beauty of cut-backs, downsizing, price-reductions, slow-downs, etc., is that it does compel those who are optimistic to develop creative strategies that otherwise might not have been pursued. The difficulty is watching buyer behavior change so dramatically that sensibility becomes non-existent.

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant
www.YourVirtualWizard.com

As I mentioned in prior blog entries, I often peruse other agent sites to read what services he or she offers for potential buyers and sellers. Many agent sites tout that he/she will not only find the perfect home for their buyers but will handle every last detail up to the purchasing process.  What does that really mean; to 'handle every last detail up to the purchasing process'?  How far do these services really go?

I see that many agents offer more now in the way of resources such as the downloading of reports but that service seems to be the 'norm' and no longer the exception. What is it that you offer that sets you apart from the rest?

Now granted, I work with Paulia Kennedy of 'The Kennedy Team' also consisting of Jeff Kennedy and Debi Jones but I have worked with many agents in the past so I can honestly state here that this Team offers clients so much more value for the money than many I have met. 

The Photographs

have previously blogged about the many professional photographs Paulia personally takes for every listing; no matter what the selling price is for a particular home.  No one that I have ever worked with since I've been a real estate virtual assistant takes 50-100 photos of each listing, hires an aerial photographer for some listings and has me update these listing with new and fresh photos to rejuvenate the visuals. As I mentioned, Paulia keeps me busy.

Even the actual Kennedy Team member photos are also updated a few times a year in keeping with the changing seasons and backgrounds. The same holds true for sellers. If a seller paints a room, Paulia is out there with her camera taking new pictures of the updated space.  She believes in keeping the listings updated at all times.

The Professional Handyman

Recently, I learned that The Kennedy Team also offers an extra-special marketing service for both buyers and sellers as the Kennedy's have a professional handyman on staff whose name is John Watson. 

John is the man behind the infamous one-of-a-kind custom 'Kennedy Team signs'. As part of their comprehensive marketing package, John custom builds each sign from scratch in their workshop. He has drafted templates for each
roof, which helps him to build each sign to perfect scale.

John Watson customizes each sign matching the roof tiles with each property sign and the home itself. He has even used clay tiles on one luxury home property sign, which perfectly matched the same clay tiles on a particular Mediterranean home.

John's work does not end there. He also uses the weed-eater & repellent around their signs on vacant land and occasionally gets the chain-saw out to cut down small trees blocking those signs. His work is meticulous!

A hard-working and trusted Kennedy Team member, John often helps with preparing the luxury homes for showings. He makes a trip to the home about 30 minutes before the tour and turns on all the lights, adjusts the thermostats, sweeps the front entrance area, blows the leaves off the driveways, decks & pool areas. He also returns after the showing to double-check every lock and make sure all the lights are turned off and that the home is secure. John assists with keeping the flyer boxes filled at the homes and makes regular checks to make sure our signs are straight, clean and neat.

John is the ultimate professional handyman for small repairs for our clients. It is extremely hard to find workers for small jobs, so they always count on John to get the small items repaired ... especially when The Kennedys are 'under the gun' to meet the small repairs item list from buyers.

It is important to note that John's services are exclusive to The Kennedy Team. His custom signs are not for sale either. 

The Real Estate Virtual Assistant

Primarily, I assist Paulia with her listing photographs.  She advises when a listing has been signed and uploads photographs which need to be stitched and edited.  I spend practically every day creating virtual tours, updating photograph files, assisting in Point 2, blogging and host of other assorted tasks. Quite frankly, I cannot see how she managed to handle all of this work in the past in addition to her regular marketing and buyer and seller support responsibilities.  With the addition of a virtual assistant, Paulia spends more time personally working with buyers and sellers to expertly market their homes. 

The Kennedy Team really does offer to 'handle every last detail up to the purchasing process' from contract signing to custom sign development, to photographic and high-end brochure creation.  They even offer a small repair service for their clients so that the home passes final inspection on time and at no extra cost to the buyer and sellers.  Oh, and if you are looking for reports, The Kennedys offer those too!

Janine Gregor
Real Estate Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

Hello,

This is Janine Gregor, Paulia Kennedy's Real Estate Virtual Assistant reporting today...

I am always looking at agent listings to see how properties are described.  Although I have conferred with Paulia Kennedy on only a handful of her listing descriptions, when the task has been offered to me, it is something I tackle with pleasure.  Paulia makes it easy for me though, (as I have mentioned in prior blog entries) because her listing photographs are really 'so good' and so very detailed that, I can describe a property quite well without even stepping foot on the lot.

When Paulia has asked me to write a listing description, I begin by scouting the competition's listings for good words and often have a chuckle knowing that some descriptions really require 'reading between the lines'.

It isn't always what agents describe them to be. 

Most agents want to accentuate the positive and downplay the negative.  It's all part of getting the buyer into seeing the home. However, it is important to use the right lingo so as not to mislead a buyer into thinking, for example, that 'easy access to everywhere' could really mean that the home backs up to an expressway. 

In researching this blog post, I came across a great booklet by an organization called National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. This organization published a report entitled "Home buyer Report 2008 Report on Home Buying Euphemisms and Lingo or, How to Read Between the Lines When You're Shopping for a Home". It's a great read here which catalogs several euphemisms from their members and the 'real' meanings of these descriptions compiled from listings throughout the country.

I've summarized a few:

Galley Kitchen - Can mean a hallway with cupboards and appliances that two people could not occupy at the same time. Deep South.

Waterfront - Sometimes means a man-made pond or lake instead of gulf access.  Deep South. (I see this often living here in Florida, particularly in areas with subdivisions boasting 'waterfront' a.k.a., man-made lakes. When water levels drop, these lakes are more like dry beds or mud pits.) 

Water View - Sometimes used even when you have to stand on the roof with binoculars and it must be an extremely clear day to see the water. Northeast.

Very Bright Sunny Home - Can mean there is not a tree in sight. Used everywhere.

Unique Design - Sometimes means you have to walk through a bedroom to get to a bonus room or to the exterior. This is most likely a defect in the floor plan. Southeast.

Turnkey - Can mean they want to sell the home with the 80's furniture that they (seller) doesn't want to haul away. Mountain.

Subject to Third Party Approval - Often indicates a short sale or sometimes indicates a relocation company is involved. In all cases, this means you will be negotiating with two different parties on the seller's side. Expect some additional frustrations and delays. Most areas.

Renovated Kitchen - Can mean new faucets and new knobs on the old cabinets.  Midwest.

Quaint Cottage - Can mean a wood frame house from the 50's and less than 600 sq. ft. Deep South.

Period Home - Could mean a 1700's home in original condition with a summer kitchen in the basement.  Northeast.

Newer Furnace and A/C - In one case they were 25 years old each (also confirmed by a home inspector).  When the listing agent was asked why she was stating they were newer she stated, "Because each one of them had received a new part within the last year."  Midwest.

Mechanic's Dream - It is often a real dump, but it typically has a big garage. Midwest.

Mature Landscaping - There was a 40-year old cottonwood tree that needed to be cut down before it fell on the house.  Midwest.

Light and Bright - Everything was white. White ceramic tile flooring and bright white paint everywhere. It looked like a hospital. Midwest.

Grandma's house - Hasn't been improved since she moved in and it still smells like her. Midwest.

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

• Use a good camera with a flash. Very simply, a camera phone won't work and most indoor photographs are grainy and unusable. If you can splurge on a wide lens, by all means do so. Good, wide exterior photos are hard to come by so a wide lens can be a blessing. Otherwise, I've worked with exterior photos taken from across the street, which allows the photographer to capture the width of the home but sacrifices nice exterior details. If you don't have a wide angle lens, photograph up-close in two sections and use a photo stitching program to bring the two parts together. 

• When photographing the kitchen; one of the most important rooms in any listing, remove the garbage can. I cannot tell you how many times I have to 'crop out' the unsightly garbage can and this, in kitchens which feature stainless steel appliances and granite counter tops. The garbage is quite a distraction from even the most beautiful of kitchens.

• Let the countertops shine, which means, remove the clutter. The 'one appliance rule' seems to work best, so before taking the photograph, consider taking the time to unplug the blender, coffeemaker, microwave oven and move these items temporarily to another room. A clean countertop makes for a great photo even if the countertops are not the highlight of the kitchen.

• I often view virtual tours from other agents to see what the competition is doing. I cannot tell you how many times I see the agents' binders, cell phone, flyers, business cards and car keys in the photographs, particularly on the dining room table and kitchen countertops. The same rule applies…take away the clutter, don't add to it and put these accessories in another room for the photo shoot.

• I realize some rooms will never shine in any photograph; the paint might be too bold, the wall paper might be dated, the room may be small, but removing the laundry and making the bed really helps to improve the look of any bedroom. 

• Try not to include the family pet in the shoot. I've worked with photographs where the family pet is using the cat litter box, walking on the kitchen countertops or sleeping on the living room couch. Again, this is another distraction and some buyers might be turned off just knowing that a 75 lb Labrador shares every inch of a home they might consider purchasing. If the house is being marketed as a pet-friendly home with its own doggie door, tiled floors and fenced in yard, then adding these items to the listing description is smart marketing but do leave the family pet photos out. You want to highlight the home itself and its best features. Some buyers don't appreciate pets. Good photographs should appeal to the masses.

• Bathrooms often don't photograph well because it is very difficult to get inside and position the camera at such an angle to capture the entire room. But if you are able to get a good shot of the bathroom, close the toilet seat and pull the shower curtain. The room will look much neater and a closed curtain acts as a nice background for small and under-decorated rooms. I've often suggested to my agents to carry a pleasant-looking, light shower curtain in their car if the bathroom doesn't have a nice one. It only takes a few minutes to attach but can really make a difference in an unappealing bathroom. One clean, unused bar of soap, one hand towel and a freshly folded bath towel are all that is needed to tidy up a small bathroom. I call that my 'agent bathroom staging kit'. 

• Finally, take many, many pictures….as many as you can; at least 50 per listing. Turn the lights off, turn them on, move the door, photograph from all angles and not just from the main doorways. A nice trick Paulia uses is to stand in front of something decorative such as a fountain and have this item in the foreground while the home is in the background. I've seen her use this technique when a tree or bush is in full bloom so the flowering portion borders the photograph and the home is photographed featured in the background all in one frame. Even the least desirable looking homes can really shine if photographed this way. 

Hello Bloggers,

Happy 4^th of July 2008!  It's been some time since I've been on the blog as Jeff and I have been incredibly busy despite a slowing economy this past year. We've sold a little over $14.7 million thus far this year, which is almost double our sales volume for the year of 2007.  (Last year we did a little over $9 million.) We're also thrilled to mention that we're currently the leading agents in Hot Springs and Garland County, Arkansas. 

In order to manage this huge increase in business, we added a few others to our team this year. . .  Debi Jones -  another great Sales Agent; John Watson - our very reliable runner/handyman/custom-sign maker; and then my wonderful real estate virtual assistant - Janine Gregor.  Janine has really been a god-send, and has provided so MUCH to our services with her creative talents.  She also plans to assist us in maintaining this blog so you will note that some of the entries will be from her own real estate virtual assistant perspective. 

So  you'll 'see' more of me here. Feel free to jump in with any comments or questions. 

Paulia Kennedy