Lewisburg and Greenbrier County WV

Real Estate IS Local ~ Forgetting That Can Cause Numerous Problems

PRICING - When you want to know what a property is worth, do you compare it to properties 3000 miles away.. Absolutely not.  The closer comps are located to your subject property and the closer they are in condition, age, amenities, etc.. the more accurate your estimate of worth will be for that property.  

Often when I post a local property for sale in my blog.. I get comments along the line of "What a great price.. you could not buy that nice a home and acreage here for that low of a price."   Sometimes that throws a seller off.. they see those comments and think I've underpriced their property.   But if my client's property were priced based upon comps in a distant location, the price will probably be wrong.. By some wild chance it might be right if that market is similar to ours but it's probably going to be wrong.. Either my client's property wll be underpiced and they will not get the price they should have OR it'll be overpiced and sit on the market.. stagnant!  

EXPECTATIONS - Are properties selling locally.. is the economy doing well?  Are buying lining up.. are there multiple offers?  What is the Absorption Rate at the current rate of sales?  If homes are selling like hotcakes in South Florida, that doesn't mean didly for the market in Southeast Oklahoma.  LOCAL.. keep the expections right for your seller, your buyer, and for YOU.  

FRICTION - Forgetting that Real Estate Markets are local and writing blog posts as though your market and the way things are done in your area is the ONLY way and an absolute for the rest of us will get you a ton of comments but lose you some friends, associates, and some referrals, not to mention possibly some other posts slamming your post.  NOT A GOOD IDEA.

ALMOST EVERYTHING that has to do with real estate IS LOCAL.  The one exception to that may be FINANCING..  Financing, more than any other part of the real estate transaction depends upon forces outside the local area often since the money to buy a home often comes from an institution that is national or global...  But those things are taken into account at the local level when a real estate agent prepares their client for the possible scenarios within a transaction... bringing even that aspect back to the local level.  

 

Real Estate IS Local and forgetting that CAN cause Numerous Problems..  Think Local, Local, Local.. 

 

 

Looking for a home for sale in Idabel, Oklahoma?  Let me Google that for you. 

 

 

Judi Barrett, B.S. Edu.,

Broker, Integrity Real Estate Services, Office Address:  RR 5 BOX 126, IDABEL, OK 74745  580-212-5946

Our Name Says It All.
Real Estate Services You Can Trust.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Real Estate Services

Our name says it all.

 

Visit our website to view listings in Southeast Oklahoma, including both Choctaw County and McCurtain County Oklahoma

 

 

A while back I was reading about an expert on subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration I'm sure those students will never forget. After I share it with you, you'll never forget it either.

As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar.

When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?"

By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good!" Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?"

One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!" "No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all."

What are the big rocks in your life? A new project that YOU want to complete? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.

So, today as you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the "big rocks" in my life or business? Then, put those in your jar first.

All Star Coaching thought for today: Every venture starts with the first step or even an idea that we act on. Without efforts, there is no chance of success. It is better to have tried and failed than to sit back without a chance of ever succeeding.

Have a fantastic day of rock collecting.

BF

Bill Fields

http://www.billfields.com

On this wordless Wednesday I will just let this simple video do the talking, although only six words are spoken. Please take the few minutes to really watch and absorb this powerful video. Change begins with each of us!

 

I would love to assist you with the purchase or selling of your Albuquerque, Rio Rancho or surrounding NM home.  Please contact me, John McCormack, Albuquerque Homes Realtor.  I am ready to exceed your real estate needs!

Albuquerque Homes and Lifestyle Blog

www.AlbuquerqueHomes.com

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John McCormack    Owner/Managing Broker,  e-PRO

505-980-4576 / John@AlbuquerqueHomes.com

Search Albuquerque Homes For Sale *  Search Albuquerque Homes & Lifestlye

If your considering Buying, Selling or Relocating  to Albuquerque or Rio Rancho, NM and need a Professional Realtor It would be my pleasure to help you!

Be sure to visit my AlbuquerqueHomes.com website for total access to all available homes in the following New Mexico communities:  Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Los Ranchos, Placitas, Bernalillo, Tijeras, Sandia Park, Cedar Crest, Bosque Farms, Los Lunas & Belen.

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Want to Know What Home Staging Is?  Well Let Me First Tell You What It Isn't!

Home Staging is often misunderstood... what exactly does it mean?  To some it means “moving furniture around”... at least that’s what people usually say to me when I tell them I’m a Home Stager.

Others, thanks to certain cable television shows, think that a Home Stager comes in and begins ripping out, knocking down and removing everything in sight.  Not necessarily true, although there are times when we wish we could.

And some think that Home Staging is about trickery, deception and dare I say “fraud”.  

And it is this last misconception that needs some addressing.  A recent post may have left some people with the notion that Staging is something akin to the man behind the curtain in the Wizard of Oz.  I honestly do not think that the author meant to imply that Home Staging is about pulling the wool over a Buyer’s eyes.  I think/hope the point was to alert buyers to the need to see a property as it is.  

And in a sense, that is what our goal in staging is... to allow a Buyer to see ALL of the possibilities of a house.  

So, please indulge me while I address some issues mentioned in the post.  

Furniture- Stagers do not use “small furniture” to make the room appear larger.  And in fact, we are often left to deal with over-sized/over-stuffed furniture that the Seller has... furniture that they bought for their next larger home, but now makes their room appear too small.   When we do bring in furniture, it is size appropriate for the room.  

In Staging a Master Bedroom, I use nothing smaller than a queen sized bed so that a Buyer will be able to see that their bed will fit.  I’m not sure who would stage a Master Bedroom using a single bed, but if you see a room that has a single bed in it, it is most likely being shown as a child’s room or... it’s a really small master bedroom.

Camouflage or Cover Up- I tell my Sellers AND Realtors that baking cookies, simmering cinnamon sticks or lighting candles is no longer done.  Buyers are wise to this and that the best scent is the scent of CLEAN.  
         I also tell my clients to have all of the lights on and shades or drapes open.  And, what most sellers don’t want to hear but I tell them is that... Buyers will look in their closets and pantries.  This space is important to Buyers so Sellers need to pack up, donate or throw out items they don’t need.  It’s not about creating space that isn’t there... it’s allowing the space that IS there to be seen.

Activities and Props - Stagers show the possibilities of a space.  If the demographics show that Buyers for this property will more than likely have young children, we may show a bedroom as a child’s room, with toys and appropriate bedding.  If on the other hand, the Buyers may be empty nesters or retired, we may show a third bedroom as an office.  

Items that are there for Appearance Sake-  All reputable Home Stagers will not be party to or suggest covering up a flaw.    But these are items that are also addressed by the Listing Agent.   Mirrors and paintings are placed in areas that are aesthetically appealing and probably in the same places where a new home owner would place some artwork.    And, we will often use the same design principles and practices that the new owner would use when they move in.  

Yes... Buyers should take photos and take a tape measure when they’re seriously considering a property.    Yes.... drive by to get a feel for the neighborhood, but this has very little to do with staging.  Yes... go back more than once to view a house.

And yes,  we as Stagers have sometimes added to the misconception by our choice of phrases....

      “Let’s do this to make the room look larger.”

No... our goal is to show the room and all it has to offer not to deceive anyone into thinking the room is larger than it is.  After all, the size of the room is what it is.  

 

Staging is really more like Home Marketing or Home Styling.  We’re there to take what the property has and show it in its best light.  

 

 

 

Check out my about.me profile!

Room Service! Home Staging
Palm Beach County Home Stager

561-914-6224   Kathy@MrsHomeStaging.com
www.MrsHomeStaging.com