Category Archives: Sellers

Are you a client or a file?

Posted on 03/08/2011 | Leave a comment

manila files As real estate agents, we usually refer to our clients as ‘clients’ in order to protect their identity. Frequently we may say ‘my buyers’ or ‘my sellers’ … again protecting their identity. Once they go into contract, we may personalize it somewhat and refer to them as ‘The Smith’s’ to the coop agent as we move through the transaction.

Recently I heard a member of a real estate team refer to their client as “that FILE” … as in, Susie is handling “that FILE” now. This team moves their “FILE” along like a conveyor belt in a factory assembly line depending on what stage of the transaction the FILE is in.

The more I thought about it, the more bothered I was. By calling their client a “FILE”, they had removed all humanness. How cold! Now, if the team member had said “Susie is handling that client’s FILE now”, that would be a more acceptable statement, but that’s not what was said. Using the term FILE, their mentality is that they are working with a ‘process’ not a person.

Do you think they care about the client’s emotions? or their anxieties? or their excitement of the new promotion? I’ll bet they’ve never given a hug in the FILE’s kitchen as the FILE packs up 30 years of memories after the death of a spouse. They probably haven’t consoled the FILE if they were having to move due to a divorce. They may not have celebrated with the FILE when able to move to a larger home due to a well-deserved promotion. In fact, it’s doubtful the team members have even been in the FILE’s home.

Real estate agents are self-employed businesses, free to set up our business as we please (as long as it meets our laws). Some choose to become the mega-agent who has FILES. Some choose to become the agent who gets hugs from past clients when shopping at Giant Eagle. Life is too short to be anything but in the latter group.

Copyright © 2011. Elaine Reese, Real Living HER. Reproduction of any portion of this blog post or the images is prohibited by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. If this post is being viewed on any site other than www.ReesesPiecesOfRealEstate.com then the material has been stolen without permission. Violators will be reported.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Home buying process, Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, what do you call your clients

Home Buyers – get your running shoes on

Posted on 02/19/2011 | Leave a comment

In the starting blocks Planning to buy a home this Spring? If so, it’s now time to start viewing homes. You’ve probably been doing the preliminary work in your jammies.

You need to finalize talks with your favorite lender. If you don’t have one yet, that step must come first. Let me know if you need a lender, as I know a couple really good ones.

I expect a rush of new listings to hit the market the first half of March. We’re already seeing some homes go into contract.

Watch this blog for a couple new homes that I’ll be listing next week. They’re really nice homes. Both are 2-stories. One is in Dublin schools. The other is south of Delaware.

Give me a call if you need help buying … or if you want to put YOUR home on the market.

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Posted in Buyers, Central Ohio, Delaware County, Elaine's Listings, Homes, Homes for sale, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, time to buy a new home

To Faux or Not To Faux … that is the question

Posted on 01/30/2011 | Leave a comment

There is something that real estate agents see all too often … and it’s not pretty!

I suspect it starts with the cable network’s home fix-up shows. Now that wallpaper is no longer in favor – because people learned how hard it was to remove – people are turning to other ways to add “interest” to their walls. Thus, the FAUX PAINTING concept was born.

We often see examples of homeowners who have taken an hour-long course at their local home improvement store to learn how to do faux painting. I think they must decide to “practice” on a kid’s room and choose Cookie Monster blue as their choice of colors. I’ve seen the Cookie Monster blue way too often in the kid’s room or their bath.

MOM: YOUR KID CAN “GO BLIND” WITH THAT!

While I’ve not tried faux painting, judging by what I see when showing homes, it must be difficult to paint in the corners and against the ceiling. Those areas are where there is usually too much paint compared to the rest of the wall.

When the painters were doing my home, out of curiosity, I asked them if they did faux painting. They don’t. If a homeowner wants it, they call in a faux professional. That should be a clue to DIY’ers that if the professional painters call a faux painting expert, it must not be that easy.

Faux painting can be quite attractive – when done properly. When selling your home, it’s not a deterrent to buyers as wallpaper is, but it must be done very well or it can be a turn-off. So practice, practice, practice until you are skilled to do an entire wall and especially the corners. That way your Realtor® won’t make you paint over it when you decide to sell your home. GOOD LUCK!

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Posted in Central Ohio, Fix-ups, Home selling process, Homes, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, faux painting

January Tips for Spring Home Sellers

Posted on 01/24/2011 | Leave a comment

It’s the end of January. People have been stuck in their homes for 2 months now with this winter. But just as gardeners are scanning through the seed catalogs dreaming of warmer weather, homeowners are thinking of getting their homes ready to put on the market when spring comes. (I’m sure it will arrive … eventually.)

I’ve had several calls from sellers this month to discuss what they need to do now while they’re stuck inside. Might as well start working on the to-do list when there isn’t much else to do except shovel snow and shiver.

Best time to put the home on the market?

I recommend having it ready to put the for-sale sign in the yard at least by the first week of March. Lest you think that sounds far away, it’s only 5-weeks from now. That’s not much time if you have much work to do.

Concerned about a buyer’s home inspection?

If you’ve not kept up with home maintenance or if you’ve done some work without getting proper building permits, you might choose to hire a home inspector to allow you to fix things in advance so they don’t become deal-killers later when you have an offer. If you didn’t get building permits that were required, you’ll have to disclose that on the Residential Property Disclosure Form that must be given to the buyer. Call me for names of some reputable home inspectors.

Is your carpet & paint in tip-top shape?

I just did this fix-up in December, so I can make recommendations if you don’t want to paint yourself. Carpet installation should NOT be a DIY project. While it’s not inexpensive to do these repairs, you’ll get the money back in price or time on the market. Call me for names of companies that will give discounts.

Do you need to de-clutter?

You know it’s got to be done, don’t you? Yes, I know it’s not fun, but … it will need to be packed for your move anyway, so start early. If you haven’t used it for 6-months, make it go away. You can consider giving it to charity or sell it to consignment shops or simply trash it. I called 1-800-GOT-JUNK to get rid of some old, old furniture that I no longer wanted. I can get you a discount.

Not sure what you need to do?

Give me a call and we can schedule an appointment to discuss further. That’s one of the services I do for my clients.

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Posted in Central Ohio, Fix-ups, Home inspections, Home selling process, Homes, Homes for sale, Sellers

Tagged central ohio real estate market news, tips for home sellers

Paint your home now & get a discount

Posted on 01/16/2011 | Leave a comment

The firm that painted the interior of my home in December (see those posts) has advised me that they are offering a Spring Special for my readers only. Schedule your paint work before March and receive a 15% discount. The discount they previously offered my readers was 10%.

The company is Dynamic Painting in Lewis Center. Call them at 614-554-5630. They do both interior and exterior; residential and commercial. They are bonded and insured; rated by Angie’s List and the BBB. Follow them on Twitter @dynamicpainting. Their website is DynamicPainting.net.

Note: I did not nor do not receive any monetary compensation for this recommendation. The company simply did a good job for me and therefore, I’m suggesting them to others.

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Posted in Central Ohio, Delaware County, Delaware Ohio, Fix-ups, Homes, Lewis Center Ohio, Sellers

Tagged lewis center home painter

10-Year Review of Average Home Prices for Central Ohio

Posted on 01/04/2011 | Leave a comment

It’s a new year and that means it’s time to take a look at how home sales – specifically average prices – did in 2010. Did they continue to slide down or have they turned the corner?

As usual, I calculate average prices by school district because that provides a more accurate review than if zip codes or cities were to be used. Zips and city boundaries sometimes cross school and county boundaries, thus, making them inaccurate.

The chart below shows average prices for Jan-Dec for single-family homes only. No condos included. You’ll notice that most districts improved their average home price for 2010. 2004-2005 still seems to be the benchmark years where people who purchased their home on or after those years may need to sell their home for less than they paid.