I’m not talking about me.

I had this is my drafts folder and thought I had already posted it – oops. You’ll see why that’s an important fact in the next post.

Recently I’ve been working on a transaction with some clients and the process has been a little rough at times. Unfortunately, we’ve been using a special loan program that is frustrating and painfully slow at times. In the end, it will be a giant coup for my clients, but let’s just say we’ve jumped through more hoops than a circus performer to make things happen. But this isn’t about me, or them. It’s about the listing agent and his hard, diligent work through the process.

I’ve always been fond of saying “I’m not here to make friends,” in reference to relationships with other agents during a transaction. They have a job to do and a client to protect. I have the same. I’m not afraid to pick up the phone and tell someone what’s on my mind when necessary. Of course, I don’t approach the transaction with an adversarial tone and I’m all for two agents working together for a common goal – the sale of a home. I don’t want to fight or argue, but…if push comes to shove, my clients will always come first.

Some agents though are agents I’d love to work with again. In this case, Rick Shumake of Masterworks Real Estate Services, is that guy. When we ran into a delay caused by the lender, we immediately worked it out and came to an agreement for the clients, when we hit a second delay, it was the same friendly conversation with both of us looking out for our clients’ best interests. Problem solved. Quickly and efficiently.

Working with a good agent can mean the difference between success or failure when there are delays or any unexpected hiccups in a transaction (and despite all our best efforts, they do happen from time to time). No matter who you choose as your real estate agent, choose wisely. It can make all the difference to your sanity at the end of the day.

photo courtesy of stevendepolo

Is it hot in here?

Showing some houses recently, my clients and I came across a few homes that they really liked, but there was one problem: we were dying from the heat inside the homes. As the temperatures climb, homes heat up fast and that hot, sticky, stuffy air can destroy your home’s potential. In real estate we talk about a lot about smells, curb appeal, eliminating clutter, and depersonalizing your home when you list it for sale, but one thing we should be talking about here in San Antonio is the indoor temperature.

If you’re home is on the market, you need to keep the home at a comfortable temperature. It may cost a few extra dollars on your electricity bill, but remember, people’s immediate perceptions of a home often determine whether they buy the home or move onto the next house on their list. Can you afford to take that risk? Interestingly, I have also noticed that when I walk into a nice cool home with my clients, they often comment things such as “well, the A/C certainly works well, that’s a plus.” Already, they’re setting themselves in the home and feeling comfortable because a major system is functioning well. Now they can get down to business and because they’re not pouring sweat from every pore, they can stay longer and truly get a feel for your home.

So what’s it going to be? A steam bath and no sale or a larger electric bill and comfortable buyers who might just make you an offer?

photo courtesy of Orin Zebest

Housing Market in Bloom?

After our short bout of wintery weather, I’m feeling rather eager to see the spring (and even more so the summer). Part of what makes San Antonio so great is the fantastic weather. As the temperatures thaw and our days get warmer, I’m seeing a pick up in real estate activity. More people searching for homes, more questions being asked, more phone calls being made, and an overall increase in traffic to this website. As I shake off the final remnants of a wicked cold, I wanted to discuss a few preparations that you should all be thinking about over the next few weeks as you prepare to sell your San Antonio home.

Selling your home in San Antonio

Spring cleaning – No one loves the thought of spring cleaning, but we all know that a house that sparkles will sell faster. Think of it this way, as February and March move along, many new homes will enter the real estate market. If you had two homes to pick from that were similar in shape, size, and amenities; which would you choose – the one that looked like the homeowner’s had kept shiny and clean through the winter months or the one that didn’t? Now multiply that by the number of homes that are going to be on the market soon and you’ll see the big picture. Your home has to be better than all the rest. Get out the mop and broom, change the filters in your heater, pick up the trash that has blown into the flower beds (it’s been windy this winter), shine up the windows, and clear out the clutter. Let’s get that house sold!

Price right, price strong – You’re going to have a lot of competition in the coming months, so you’re going to want to be priced right from the start. Long gone are the days when you could test the market with a high price and hope someone would bite. Buyers are quick to dismiss a property these days if the price doesn’t suit their needs. In fact, pricing has become more important than ever because buyers are willing to wait out a seller. And once the price reductions begin, the buyers think they’re on to something and tend to wait even more, hoping the seller has only started their desperate reductions. It’s a dangerous game to play. Take a look a comparative market analysis (email me to request one), look at the current market conditions, and devise a marketing plan with your Realtor®.

Offer more than expected – Sometimes, it’s the little things that make your home stand out from the others. Offering a home warranty (I cover my seller’s under a home warranty at my own cost for the duration of their listing) or appliances (washers and dryers, media room equipment, refrigerators, etc.) as part of the listing can entice the buyer to choose your home over a similar home in the neighborhood. It’s also less you have to pack on moving day. Don’t think you’ll get a dollar for dollar value for these items though – this is a big mistake I see made quite often. Today’s buyer is being enticed to new home communities with large incentives and upgrade packages. Some of your biggest competition is going to be local builders who have the deep pockets to slash prices and give buyers more than than they expect. Although most home sellers can’t afford the kind of incentives a builder can, offering more than expected can be the deciding factor for a home buyer.

Get your home on the market!

It’s time to get that home on the market. So spruce up your home, give me a call, and let’s get that home listed! I’ll work to price the home right, get the marketing machine in gear, and get the buyers into your home. From the minute the for sale sign goes in your yard to the day you sign off on the contract and hand over your keys, I’ll be there with you every step of the way.

Free Market Analysis

photo courtesy of quinet

Client first, paycheck second.

In real estate, there comes a time when you have to look at the facts. Some agents are better suited to some transactions. Listing homes is one of my favorite parts of the business and although my marketing is something I take very seriously, there are times when it is not suited to the particular home. The marketing can be changed and molded to a particular listing, but sometimes, another agent might have a specific method or contact to a certain segment of the market that I may not have. I don’t like it when I can’t sell a home, but my policy is to put the clients first and everything else second. Not only is it part of the National Association of Realtors® Code of Ethics (Article 1), but it is part of my personal credo and determination to provide clients and San Antonio with the best I can possibly give.

When I can’t sell a home, I take it personally. I’ve done my homework and worked hard to attract the attention of potential buyers. I’ve invested time and money in that home for sale and the owners have invested their time and trust in me. On a recent listing, I have been talking with the owner about their property and have determined that in order to get them the best results, I have to look outward to another agent, this one with a particular expertise that could benefit my client. In talking with the client, I discussed this fact and we agreed that we should look to the other agent. Although I will be sad to see this listing go and won’t get a commission check when it eventually does sell, my focus is on the client and their property, not my bank account. Like every real estate agent, I don’t work in this industry for free, but losing the commission check in order to help the client has to come first in cases like this.

After talking with the client, I can tell this decision has made them happy and I will continue to work to help them get the property sold, but this time, I will be working from the buyer’s side instead of the listing side. The agent I recommended to my clients was hand picked by me and I think they will be a great agent for my client. I will help them all I can to keep some of my marketing in place so that they can continue to benefit from some of the traffic and interest I have already generated for the property. Letting go of the agent-ego and putting the client first is tantamount to making San Antonio real estate a better place and as much as I love to put a commission check in the bank, my clients will always be the primary focus.

photo courtesy of Franco Folini

Alamo Ranch at your fingertips.

If you’re looking for information on 11935 Travis Path, San Antonio 78253 or the neighborhood of The Hills at Alamo Ranch, let www.11935TravisPath.com be your guide. In addition to having the most up-to-date information on this fantastic home, the site also features info on local schools, businesses, San Antonio real estate market reports for the area, maps, and neighborhood information.

This single property website is one of the many benefits I provide for my clients as a way to maximize their exposure on the internet. By providing more data than any other source, we are able to focus the potential buyers not only on the home for sale, but also the entire neighborhood experience. If you’re thinking of selling your San Antonio home, give me a call or set up an appointment today. When we will meet, we will discuss my detailed comparative market analysis showing you the value of your home, answer your real estate questions, get to know each other, and take a look at how your how will be marketed to get the best results.

Let’s start building www.YourHomeHere.com today…

Mistakes in Bexar County tax records.

In two separate cases this week, I have found mistakes made in the Bexar County Appraisal District’s records on San Antonio homes owned by my clients. Both mistakes could lead to trouble down the road for my clients if they chose to sell their homes, so I thought I worthy to mention. In Bexar County, our property tax (also know as ad valorem tax) data is available to the public via the Bexar Appraisal District website and your San Antonio real estate agent uses it to help determine many things (one of which should not be the fair market value of your home).

Case #1: Who owns the home?

In the first mistake, the homeowner is improperly listed. Bexar County Appraisal District records show that the property transferred from the seller to the buyer (my client) and back to the seller once again a few days later. The BCAD records clearly show the seller as the owner of the home.

Solution? The homeowners will have to contact the Bexar County Appraisal District and get them to correct the owner’s information. Unfortunately, data entry is not top priority on the tax man’s list. I have seen many cases of bad data entry in the appraisal district property tax information.

On a side note, BCAD recently sent someone out to this client’s home and took some measurements. Bexar County has been increasing their research on homes recently; looking for mistakes, miscalculations, and home improvements and additions. The better their data collection, the more their tax appraised valuations will be inline with the true value of the home (ie, there are some homes that haven’t been checked in so long, their taxes are way out of line with what they should be).

Case #2: That doesn’t describe my home.

In the second mistake, the home described in the Bexar County Appraisal District does not match the home’s details. The client’s home is listed with the wrong amount of bedrooms and bathrooms, as well as being almost 1,000 square feet off the mark. As we base part of our pricing and determination of fair market value on square footage and recently sold home comparisons, this can make a huge difference. Imagine if homes in your area are selling for $80/square foot and data publicly available shows your home is 1,000 square feet less than it truly is. That’s $80,000 in value that would be missing from your home because of a data entry area.

Solution? We will use a form called a “Notice of Information From Other Sources” to show that the data is incorrect and we have supporting evidence of the correct information. We researched the problem and it looks like the builder initially entered the wrong information into the MLS and that information spread to BCAD. We will provide builder plans and other information to show that the home is indeed almost 1,000 square feet larger than the tax valuation shows it is.

Check your information on BCAD.

You should check your information and tax valuation on the Bexar County Appraisal District’s website at least once a year to be sure that the data is correct, as well as looking at any fluctuations in the tax valuation of your home. As Texas is a non-disclosure state, these fluctuations can at times seem arbitrary and flat out wrong. You have a right to protest your property taxes in San Antonio and Bexar County and it’s something a lot of homeowners don’t know (I’ll be posting about this in the near future).

photo courtesy of Corey Leopold

Your Home Here (and all over the internet too)!

Sellers in the San Antonio real estate market ask the same question every time I speak with them; what about internet marketing? We all know the internet is king when it comes to marketing a home for sale and every real estate agent in San Antonio will tell you how important it is to see and be seen across the internet. But what exactly does that mean and how should your agent be approaching their internet marketing?

San Antonio home buyers are searching the internet more than ever before. Each day, I watch traffic stats and data – not just on this site, but every San Antonio real estate website that I can collect data on (there are many sources of public data available). Whether it’s running Google searches on San Antonio real estate related keywords or watching web stats for these sites, I spend a lot of time researching traffic data. This data has proved very useful to my clients as I can show them what it means to hire me as their Realtor® and take advantage of my internet marketing campaigns. While I can’t reveal all my secrets in this blog (local agents read my blog too), I thought I’d discuss a few of the important pieces to my internet marketing for San Antonio home sellers.

Every agent (if they’re using the internet) will have your home syndicated to all the major real estate sites (and hopefully the minor ones too). Sites like Trulia, Zillow, Realtor.com, Google Base, Oodle, and Local.com get fed the listing information and appear in their San Antonio real estate listings. That’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to syndication and by the time an agent is done with syndication, your home should appear on just about every corner of the internet, including property searches on other agent’s sites. The more exposure the better.

Okay, my listing is out there, now what?

As your San Antonio real estate agent, I focus not only on the syndication of your property listing, but the neighborhood and community that surrounds it. When buyers are searching the internet, they are often thinking about schools, local businesses, builders, and communities that they want to live in. Although they do occasionally google an address, more often than not they’re googling neighborhoods, zip codes, and builders. Focusing on these potential searches through blogging (here and elsewhere), video, photos, single property websites, and social media; your home can be searchable (and findable) across multiple sites and appear higher up in the search results for the keywords that San Antonio buyers are looking for.

Strong web presence equals selling advantage.

By watching the traffic data and researching other local San Antonio real estate websites, I have been able to solidify this website as one of the premiere sites for real estate information in San Antonio. With over three thousand visitors a month to this site alone (and it’s just one of several sites I maintain), you can easily see the advantages of hiring me to push your property to the forefront of real estate related searches. Want to compare this site’s traffic to other San Antonio real estate agents and brokerages? Want to see website traffic stats? Visit Alex.com and look up RErockstar.com. I have yet to find a local San Antonio real estate site that can say they’re ranked better than this site. If you find one, let me know and I will set my sights on passing them next.

The more San Antonio buyers are able to find and view your home online, the higher the likelihood of selling the home. Not only is this site bringing viewers to my clients, but it’s only one of several sites I maintain – the advantage to my clients is obvious. As one of my sellers said to me as I was showing them my internet marketing, “Eye balls equal dollar bills.”

photo courtesy of ceris42

VIP: Access All Areas

As I have been going through my business preparing for the coming year (yeah, it’s actually not that far away), I have been focusing on continuing to improve the service and value I provide to San Antonio home buyers and sellers. One of my core focuses in the coming year will be a commitment to continue to help my clients long after they’ve completed their purchase or sale, something I feel I have not been as consistent at as I want to be in order to provide the “all access to San Antonio real estate” experience. Without my clients, I’m just a former-rockstar that knows a lot about real estate and has a blog. Although that’s a cool title to have, it’s not what I’m after. I intend to leave a mark on the real estate industry, particularly that of our local San Antonio market, and without my clients, I can not do this.

For my current and past clients…

One of the new features I will be debuting is a private email address for all former and current clients. This new email address will give those clients the quickest access to me when they have a question or need to speak with me about their home. By separating my email addresses, I can guarantee quick response to clients no matter what my inbox looks like (there are times when there’s a lot of email to sort through). These past and current clients will be given VIP Access (in the music industry we call it AAA – Access All Areas) to me no matter where I am and assures them that they will be taken care of immediately.

For non-clients and future clients…

This new VIP Access Email does not mean that you will be forgotten or ignored. It is just my way of thanking those that have gotten me this far in my real estate career and giving them my best, long after the transaction. You can easily join these VIPs – all you need to do is list your home with me or buy your next home with me as your agent. Don’t just hire me as your agent to get the nifty new email address though, obviously you want to hire me because you see value in what I do and that I will represent you to the fullest in your sale or purchase. Have questions? Want to get to know me? Need real estate advice and opinions? Ready to get started? Schedule an appointment with me and we’ll discuss your real estate needs, how agent-client relationships work in Texas, and what I can do to help you reach your real estate goals.

A final word of thanks.

It’s almost Thanksgiving, when everyone starts thanking everyone and I’m no different. I’d like to thank those of you that have put your trust and faith in me as your agent, as well as those that have become regular readers of this site. I’d like to thank those that commented, emailed, or called me with questions or thoughts based on something they read on the blog and I’d like to thank those that referenced my posts on their own sites or spread them around through social media and email. So thanks everyone – I appreciate all that you’ve done to help me build my real estate business in San Antonio. We’ve only just begun…stay tuned to watch and help it grow.

Clients: You will be receiving information on the new Client VIP Access Email in a few days, so watch your inbox and I’ll speak to you soon.

photo courtesy of AlishaV

Equal Opportunity Housing

Karen Fiddler, a Mission Veijo real estate agent, recently wrote on her ActiveRain blog about an experience with a client that wound up forcing her to make a decision to drop the client based on discrimination and fair housing laws. Typically, when you hear the words discrimination or fair housing laws it is about an agent making a comment that is deemed discriminatory or in violation of the fair housing laws. This case, however, might help shed some light on why we, as Realtors®, sometimes can’t answer your questions.

Texas Real Estate Forms

Section 18.A. of the Buyer Representation Agreement states:

Broker’s services are provided without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or familial status.

Section 21.B. of the Residential Real Estate Listing Agreement Exclusive Right to Sell states:

Fair housing laws require the Property to be shown and made available to all persons without regard to race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability, or familial status. Local ordinances may provide for additional protected classes (for example, creed, status as a student, marital status, sexual orientation, or age).

Personal thoughts

When I get to either of these two sections when signing a buyer or seller to an agency agreement, I do the same thing every time. I read the statement (they are located at the end of the documents with several other important notices) to the client and add a note about my personal feelings on discrimination. Although I am only required to satisfy the law, I simply don’t discriminate. End of story. There’s no need for it in my business practice and I don’t have any reason to discriminate. It’s a shame these laws are even needed.

Fair housing laws were designed at a time when they were very necessary and they were a great idea – pushing us towards a more democratic, egalitarian society. If you experience discrimination in housing, you have rights and you should know them. The Department of Housing and Urban Development provides an excellent fair housing fact sheet and information on how to file a complaint if you feel you’ve experienced discrimination in housing.

In Karen’s case, she was being asked to help her clients find an area for them which matched their ethnicity. Although it has been argued before that this is not discrimination, for real estate agents, it is a dangerous question which could lead to a lawsuit. Unfortunately, as with all laws, the pendulum has swung further to one side than the original law (in my opinion) probably meant to. Realtors® should not steer their clients to particular areas of town based on race, religion, etc., but if a client specifically wants to live somewhere that fits that specific demographic, they should be allowed to and (again, in my opinion), their agent should be allowed to talk to them without fear of a lawsuit. Of course, the problem then is that the agent is acknowledging that there is some sort of separation between different areas (ie. that’s the Jewish part of town or that’s the area where all the Italians live) – and in the eyes of the law, that could be negatively viewed as discrimination.

The trouble with it is that if we didn’t need discrimination laws in the first place, we could probably talk more openly on the subject. I’ve always felt that part of the reason that discrimination still exists is because we spend so much focusing on pigeon-holing everyone. The Census wants to know your racial background. Demographic information for neighborhoods is often broken down along racial lines. By continuing to break everything down by these classes (race, color, religion, national origin, sex, disability or familial status) we create our focus on the distinctions between them and allow the “differences” between us to be marked, tagged, and flagged – which can easily lead to discrimination.

I encourage everyone to be equal opportunity people and as far as my business practice goes, everyone is welcome.

As usual, I must disclose the fact that I am not a lawyer and therefore can’t give legal advice. The opinions I express about discrimination are in regards to my personal beliefs and although they follow the law, they are not necessarily one and the same as the law.

If you’re interested in reading about fair housing laws, check out this post by Patricia Kennedy, a real estate agent in Washington, DC, which opens up the question of whether the fair housing laws are unconstitutional.

photo courtesy of Seattle Municipal Archives

Please buy my listing.

Is you listing agent desperate? Do they beg and plead with other agents to buy your property? Do they reveal your own desperation to sell your property? Do they give away too much? These are questions I asked myself recently while looking for houses with a client. We’re looking in the higher end of the market, which isn’t selling like hotcakes these days, so we have lots to choose from and can take our time and make our selections carefully. After viewing quite a few homes, listing agents started to call and email me, looking for feedback from me and my client, but in the process some agents revealed much, much more than they should have.

The question that comes to mind is who is more desperate to sell the house, you or your agent? We all know it’s been a tough couple of years in the housing market and sellers want their homes sold and agents need those homes to sell in order to make money and stay in business. There are sellers out there that are in danger of losing their homes and truly are desperate to sell. Trouble is, some agents sometimes reveal that fact without even thinking about it.

What I learned from listing agents.

What amazes me most is the amount of information a listing agent will give me if I say absolutely nothing. I don’t ask for the information, they willingly give it to me. The more silence, the better. In their desperation to get that home sold, I have learned a lot about you, the seller, and if my clients decide to make an offer on your home, you can be assured that my client and I will discuss every bit of that information beforehand.

If your listing agent is revealing confidential information, they are putting you at risk. They are exposing you to buyer-agents who know how to use information like that to give their clients the advantage in price negotiations. Perhaps you are desperate to sell the home, but your agent shouldn’t be making that obvious to buyer-agents.

When you hire an agent to list and sell your home, you want them to work to sell your home, not beg other agents and their clients to buy it. When you hire me to list your home, you can rest assured – my goal is to sell your home as quickly as possible, for the highest price – all without us giving away your negotiating position or revealing confidential information that might cause a buyer to come in with a low offer. In the coming week, I’ll be discussing some of the ways I will market your San Antonio home and how my service to you can get your home sold. Stay tuned.

photo courtesy of Jim, the Photographer