Real Estate Investing

On this dreary, rainy day, I invite you to curl up in a blanket listen to this true story about why you should be careful when you select your Realtor.  Late in the summer, I went to a listing presentation for a woman I sort of knew - the neighbor of one of my friends.  The homeowner had scheduled appointments with four different agents.  Interestingly, only two of us showed up (can you believe two *didn’t* show up in this limping market?!)  In any case, my interview went very well, or so I thought.

Two days later I saw another agent had listed the home.  It was priced exactly where I told them it needed to be in order to sell quickly (but without giving it away).  The staging I suggested was done.  They listened to everything I said, yet still used the other agent.  I asked the seller for feedback so I’d know what to improve for my next listing appointment. They had absolutely no criticism of me, but said they just “clicked” more with the other agent.

Two months later, I got a phone call from the seller’s neighbor (my friend) asking for MY advice.  Apparently the other agent was nothing short of a disaster.  They closed, but just barely and at a great personal cost to the seller and the seller was in her kitchen crying uncontrollably looking for help*.  So let’s have a short pop quiz** on the situation they faced:

1.  When you’re selling your house for the first time, you interview the agent and ask:

A.  How long have you been a Realtor?
B.  How many listings have you sold?
C.  If you’re new, do you have an experienced agent helping you?
D.  All of the above.

2.  When you’re selling your house, you interview the agent and ask:

A.  Do you provide flyers for an information box in my front yard?
B.  Do you return phone calls?
C.  Do you return email?
D.  All of the above.

3.  When you’re selling your house, you interview the agent and ask:

A.  Do you know what a HUD or settlement statement is?
B.  Do you have referrals from past clients?
C.  Do you have referrals from other agents?
D.  All of the above.

4.  When you get an offer, you should:

A.  Go over the contract carefully - not just the highlights of how much and when - because you’re legally bound to it once you sign.
B.  Ask the agent what your rights are if it doesn’t close when specified.
C.  Ask that you retain possession of the home for at least two days after closing (possession with delivery of deed, funding, and two days) so that you don’t pack everything in a truck that is parked in your driveway for 14 days … forcing you to both pay $1500 extra for truck rental and sleep on the floor because your beds are loaded.
D.  All of the above.

Clearly the sale didn’t go well.  I should have felt vindicated for losing the listing when my friend told me the seller admitted they should’ve chosen me, but I didn’t.  I just felt sad for these first-time home sellers and hope that next time they move, they’ll learn from their horrible experience.

*I suggested they contact the agent’s broker if they had a serious concern.

**If you answered D. All of the above, then you get an “A” on the quiz.

Photo by RBerteig from FlickrCommons.

My house sits pretty far back from the road and the road has only about 18 to 20 houses on it.  We each live on at least one acre, so we’re spread out.  To the right side of us is an elderly lady who at 84 years old lives alone, but still mows her lawn and gets herself around.  We wave to each other, but that’s about it.  The house to the left of us has been mostly vacant for the last five years.  The man across the street bought it with the intention of moving into it so he could give the other house to his daughter.  Shockingly, she said “No thank you.”  I wasn’t surprised because the house she turned down was kind of gross.  Dirty, bad flooring, outdated.  That home owner actually moved out about three years ago so both houses have been sitting vacant.

I want to be a good neighbor, but really there’s no one to be a good neighbor with… except the elderly woman who has pointed a couple of times that her sister lives “right over there in the white house.”  But there are some really good reasons you should be good to your neighbors, and Brip Blap - one of my favorite blogs - shows why.  For example,

• Lookouts. If you go on vacation, you’re going to want someone to watch your place. I’m wouldn’t expect anyone to be a hero, but just stopping someone from backing up a truck by calling 9-1-1 would be nice.
• Saving money. You can save money borrowing a rake if you’re on good terms with your neighbor.

There are several other good reasons, but I want to add that not only are neighbors good lookouts when you’re gone, but also when you’re home.  Some additional reasons of my own on why you should be a good neighbor:

• Shopping.  If you’re car breaks down, a good neighbor won’t mind at all if you ride along with them to the grocery.  They might even pick up some milk for you when they’re out.
• Sharing.  We had a monster ice storm several years ago.  One side of the street went without power for a week.  Our side had power.  We shared heat, showers, food.  It brought us all closer and is nice to know that someone is there for you in a time of real need.
• Pets.  When you go out of town, your neighbors can feed your cats, walk your dogs.  Or if a pet gets out of the fence, they can help you recover them.

The rewards of being a good neighbor far outweigh starting or extending a silly feud.  Let there be peace on the block.

My photo. It’s Jack, another neighbor’s dog, who is friends with everyone.  At least he is now that he’s matured a bit.  He used to tear things up and steal things like rollerblades, balls, etc. 

It’s been a disturbing trend that Realtors, banks, and communities are finding.  As people lose their homes to foreclosure, they leave their pets behind - often to starve, sometimes to die.  We have two dogs at my house, though I am most assuredly NOT a dog person.  But I would never dream - even in the worst of times - to leave a pet behind to die of dehydration or starvation.  But that’s what Realtor Rebecca Strobel of Lakewood, Colorado has seen too many times, according to MSNBC.

“I’ve walked in before where there was a dead cat in the corner with no food or water,” Strobel said.

Recently, she said, a fellow agent came across a dog that languished in an empty home for two weeks with no food or water.

“You feel sick, and you wonder who could do that,” said Strobel, who said she always carries an arsenal of supplies in the trunk of her car, including dog and cat food, leashes, blankets and first-aid kits.

Even if former home owners are at a point in their lives where they can no longer care for their family pet, why wouldn’t they make the effort to deliver it to a humane society or animal shelter?  Do they think that a dog, cat, ferret, reptile that is humanely euthanized is worse off than allowing it to die the terrible slow death of starvation?

The other option people seem to latch on to is simply opening the door and letting their pets run free.  A friend of mine has experienced first-hand what it’s like to have her neighborhood full of feral cats,

There appears to be a herd of roaming cats in my neighborhood.

Nobody really knows where they came from or who they once belonged to. Lots of homes have been foreclosed in my neighborhood, and the assumption of those of us who have been discussing the cat problem is that they are probably cats left behind from people who have been foreclosed on. Unfortunately, the pet owners who left their cats behind were irresponsible by leaving their cats behind, but they were also irresponsible in not spaying and neutering.

Along with the adult cats roaming the neighborhood, she spotted a kitten.  One day later, she has a new cat.

Russel Ray, a home inspector from California, also found a cat that he adopted.  His advice is directed at the neighbors of people who are losing their homes to foreclosure,

Please, Folks, if you know there’s a foreclosure happening in your neighborhood and the owners have pets, make a quick stop to see if they need help finding the pets a new home or taking them to the animal shelter. If you know of a property that already is vacant, make a quick stop and look in the window to see if there are any signs of abandoned pets. A little kindness and thoughtfulness can go a long way in helping both people and pets.

Both Russel and my friend are heroes in my eyes because they opened their hearts and their homes to pets abandoned because of foreclosures.