Monotony, Loss, Gain, BUYERS....

My Mangrove Street listing came off the market this week. The baby is due soon and being settled is important. Look for it again in six months, maybe a year. Such a cute house.

I showed it to a couple a month or so ago. They had just started their search. They too have a baby due. This job still amazes me all the time. It's funny how things happen. And I'm truley amazed at the people I meet. These guys are just so cute and so sweet. I don't know how many agents they met before me, but we have been working together since. We went to just four other houses. Three days of showings. And what do you know! We found the house for them. It's now under agreement! In just 3 days! I have to stress the power of the internet, a good agent and an active, well prepared buyer! There really is no need for a hundred showings. Months of frustration. Well, not usually anyway. There is always the exception to every rule. But with the right guidance, a buyer really can find what they are looking for without all the mess.

How?
First, by using the power of the internet! You can get a VERY good feel for a home from what is available online. And ask questions BEFORE going all the way there. We all feel that our time is precious. Life moves faster and faster by the minute. Wasting it looking at houses you would never want is not an appealing thought. And take a drive by the houses before scheduling that showing too. You can change a house, but you can't change it's location OR the neighbors. A few simple steps can really change your buying process and save you lots of frustration. I used to be surprised at how many of my buyers would tell me "Hey, that was WAY easier than we were told it would be!". Now I understand that just a few shifts in the process can have huge effects. I want happy buyers.

I am still surprised though, at how much I end up liking my buyers! Maybe I'm just a sap and my perception is skewed, it could certainly be true, but I always find they become friends. I enjoy working with them. I find myself feeling a bit saddened when the closing date nears. Knowing it's nearly over. And as life does, things get busy and we don't see each other again for quite some time. But it's so wonderful helping people find a home AND aquiring friends in the process. I love this business.

Marco and Elisa, thank you so much for chosing me!!!

If you've been following my blog (thank you SO much) or noticed the gap in posts, you can see I have had a serious case of writer's block. Strange for me... as anyone who knows me well will tell you, when I get started it can go on for what seems like forever. There is hardly a simple email. My poor friends have to wade through paragraph after paragraph. Agents rarely get just a simple response. When I write, I write. So this block, as you can imagine has been rather painful. This was a very forced event. Let's hope something breaks soon!!

Home for the Holidays?

It’s the time of year when friends and families gather, laughter is shared and people rejoice. We all have our favorite traditions or ways to celebrate our various beliefs. Or maybe it’s just a time for you to celebrate life, family and friendship. For me the holidays are about celebrating the ones I love. Family are the people who make me happy, make me laugh. My friends are as much my family as anyone.

But what if all that wasn’t so? What if you found yourself alone. Without anyone to visit. Without family to laugh with. I have a client who spends his days alone. He is an 87 year old former Marine. He fought in the battle of Iwo Jima. And he doesn’t have anyone. We are trying to sell his property so he can move to a place where there are people to spend his days with. It’s all he wants. I have watched him shed tears over it.

I didn’t realize the situation was as severe as it is until a few days after Thanksgiving. I went to see him. Asked him how his holiday was. His response- fine. I asked if he went anywhere, only to find he spent the day alone. Just as he does every day. My heart was broken! If only I had known. I would have gladly brought my family to visit him. Brought him a proper dinner. Anything to make his day better.

Selling this property is all I want for Christmas this year! To help this man find happiness. To add people and friends to his life.

On Christmas Eve this year my mom and I are going to take this gentleman a proper dinner. Maybe a gift. And we will spend a little time with him. And I will hope that he finds joy.

This man is not alone. There are so many people out there who are lonely. If you can, go do something nice for them!

And if you know anyone looking for a private 2 acre lot in Barrington PLEASE call me!!!

Happy Holidays!

Here's a story for you...

I'm on a home inspection, it's FREEZING cold out and these buyers just happened to choose THE most long winded inspector one could find. (No pun intended- you'll see)

So there we are, shivering. I'm repeating in my head "please hurry up, please hurry up" hoping to will him into shutting up soon. Really, I want these buyers to get all the information they need, but this is going beyond anything necessary. And my toes are one step away from falling off.

Deep into conversation over the grade near the foundation..... Mom let's out the loudest, ickiest fart one has ever heard! Seriously. I thought she needed a bathroom!

What do people do under such circumstances? Pretend it never happened. Minus the slight pause, wide eyes and moment of confusion. But thank God for Mr. Talks Alot! He hardly missed a beat..... and spared some of us the emabarrassment of what could have been.

Feedback

If you’ve ever tried to sell your home you know how much of an endeavor it can be. The struggle to keep everything neat and clean while still working, chasing kids and living your hectic life. The worry of having everything just right. The wonder of when will it sell and where will you go. I feel your pain.

Showings can be daunting and worrisome. Strangers wandering through your house. Wondering what they thought. Hoping for feedback. Feedback. Everyone wants feedback. As if whatever that one person says will bring some kind of revelation. As if they know, think, feel something that will shed some light that will change everything and make it sell faster.
Or is it just comfort in hearing something? Does knowing that they “like” it but don’t want it somehow feel ok?

I agree that sometimes feedback can be welcome and maybe even helpful. Confirming your thoughts, your agent’s advice. But forcing an agent to come up with something definitely is not. I always try to offer my thoughts to fellow agents and their sellers. The price is a bit too high- but they probably knew that. The fluorescent green den is painful- surely they knew that. But sometimes there isn’t anything more than “it’s a nice house. It just isn’t right for my clients”.

Here is a revelation. If you hear “the colors threw them off” or “they liked the house but felt the price is too high” -listen. This is what you have been asking for. This is what your agent has worked hard to get for you. It’s your job to correct what you can, when you can.

The most important aspect of selling, or buying for that matter, could be- Be Realistic. Yes, you can try to get whatever you want, but you must be willing to suffer the consequences. If you want to “test the market” and price high, you must be willing for it to take much longer to sell your home. If you want to enjoy your bold colors or just don’t want to repaint, you must be able to accept that some won’t be able to see past it. And you should understand that sometimes there just isn’t anything to say.

Day Two

So, it’s day two of “A Day In The Life Of…” and I have to admit I spent some time last night wondering what the hell I just got myself in to. Typically I’m a private person. Not one to open myself up freely. It’s one of my battles with the business. Having everyone know who you are.


In my former life I could go to a restaurant or bar, have a few drinks. Laugh a little too loud. For those who know me, know it happens easily and often. Laughing is my favorite past time. My wild streak has gotten the better of me a time or two. It runs deep. Because of that, the first few years of my career I hid out. You see I had this idea that people in this business had to be prim and proper and perfect. Boy, was I about to get another lesson in life.


I soon became stressed and stuffy and wanted to take it all back. To go back to my old life. The one that was fun! To the Stephanie that laughed all the time and danced through her day. But it was too late. I had worked too hard. And there were too many people I needed to prove wrong. I could do this. If it broke my spirit and made me a cranky old woman, I would not hear “I told you so”. I would say it. Did I mention I’m stubborn?


Well, being me, that didn’t last long. I soon decided that I was going to have it my way. “Typical Stephanie” my husband would say. I wasn’t about to lose my free spirit OR everything I had worked for, cried for, fought for. Nope. I could have it all.


It didn’t happen overnight. As I said, I’m stubborn. The battle waged on. However, I soon started to see that others in my business were doing it too. I have to admit. I was a bit disappointed. I wanted to be the first. Did I also mention that my expectations are sometimes unrealistic? But here I am, nearly 5 years later and I think I’ve done it! I’ve fit the pieces of me together, lost a few of the less desirable and found a few I never knew were there. I’m weird and I’m determined. I’m sarcastic and I’m a little crazy. I’m often brutally honest yet understanding. I’ve decided that I’m not going to be everyone’s agent and I don’t want to be. Some people will like me and some will not. That’s ok. Best of all, I’ve learned that if I can’t make this fun for ME it isn’t worth it.


So bear with me people. This is going to be a bumpy, crazy ride. And I promise to go easy on the dramatic tales of my woes and won’t desperately try to continue to explain myself. I don’t know exactly what my plans are here yet. I guess we will find out together. In a world that can suck your creativity like a scene out of Twilight, I need an outlet. Writing, although I would never claim to be great at it, is my option. How I’ll ever find the time is still in question. I hope to not bore you.

It's my debut!

No one told me what to expect when entering the world of real estate. Actually, I’m quite positive my friends and family thought I had finally gone mad! How was this free spirited, fun loving, personal trainer ever going to make it in business- with deadlines and contracts and RULES! I spent my days chatting, running, throwing weights around, cleaning, gardening. I knew nothing of pushing papers or the nine to five.

Well, the thought barely crossed my mind. You see, as with most things in my life, it all happened so fast. One day I’m reading an article about an upcoming real estate class and the next, I’m sitting in front of an instructor screaming “Read the deed, read the deed, read the deed”.

Now let me just take a moment to discuss the matter of “real estate licensing class”. This is where all you agents out there chuckle and roll your eyes. For those of you who haven’t had the pleasure, here’s how it goes. I’ll be brief. Ridiculous amounts of legal descriptions, technical terms, numbers and equations are thrust at you in a whirl wind of just a few weeks. You rush to the nearest testing center in hopes of not forgetting there are 43,560 square feet in an acre or that fee simple is an estate under which the owner is entitled to unrestricted powers to dispose of the property, and which can be left- Yes, my eyes glazed over at this point once or twice as well! You put on your ear muffs, scoot up to the computer, check and re-check your answers. Then you are spit out on the street with your score card in hand thinking- “Ok, now what?” Little do you know- YOU KNOW NOTHING!

That class might have crammed a lot of information into your over worked brain, but it certainly didn’t teach you what to do with it. It taught you nothing of where to find clients or what to do with them once you did! I know this doesn’t sound good for all those agents out there trying desperately to show their worth. Fighting the battle with buyers and sellers who think they don’t need them or pay them too much. Trust me people, you need that agent! And when you find a good one, hold tight.

So, back to me. I’m a dreamer. I think big. And this time would be no different. I sought out the best office close to home and with much determination and a good amount of hounding they agreed to let me join! For an office that was not taking inexperienced agents, ever- I think I did damn good.

Now, I was lucky to have one of New Hampshire’s top agents take a liking to me. I saddled up to a desk in her office and began to learn just how little I knew. Rule number one- Do as I say, not as I do. Wait a minute? Is this grade school all over again?

The next few months were a crushing blow to my ego and my bank account. We may pay little to get our foot in the door, but our education certainly doesn’t come cheap.

Needless to say, I’ve fought my way through a recession that killed the career of many an agent, learned many lessons, some the hard way, battled stereo types and finally gained a good understanding of just what it is that I do. And here I stand, shaking my head and laughing at it all- sometimes crying. I’m not going to lie. There have been days that have made me want to run for the hills and question my sanity. And there have been days that have brought happy tears to my eyes and people I will forever cherish. I even ran from a house screaming once!

As agents, we see so much! We enter your homes AND your lives. Sometimes we go quite unwillingly, but it’s always an adventure. What better way to survive life than to share it with others? I don’t know what the future will hold, but you are sure to be entertained.

Welcome to “A Day In The Life Of A New Hampshire Real Estate Agent”