Localism: Oklahoma

A Dachsund, A Golden Retriever, and A Little Perspective

Fri, 05 Dec 2008 01:54:05 -0600

Why do we always assume the worst? We have a female, AKC registered, Golden Retriever who has been impregnated TWICE by the SAME neighbor's pet, which is NOT a Golden Retriever; he is a DACHSUND (Don't ask "how did that happen?" You don't want to know).

To say the least, we were not thrilled to find our dog pregnant AGAIN by "those" people's dog.

We assumed these people must not care about their own pet or other people's pets. Obviously, they would take control of the situation if they did care, right? Wrong!

Yesterday morning, the next door lady came to my front door. My immediate reaction was to not even answer the door. I was busy and already frustrated with "those" people.

However, I did answer the door, and I am so glad I did!

It ended up that she saw we had puppies AGAIN, and thought they suspiciously looked like their dog. She wanted to check to see if "it" happened again because she felt so horrible about the situation. Long story short, she offered to do anything she could to help find homes for the puppies!

When she left, I began thinking about the whole thing. I truly thought, "Shame on me!" I should not have assumed the worst of them. They actually ended up being very nice people, and they are very concerned about their pet and ours.

Isn't that just like us? Do we not typically assume the worst, especially when things aren't going our way? I took some things from that experience that I thought I would share.

First, it's not always about me!! As hard as it is to believe, people are not always thinking about me. They don't always have me in mind when they are making decisions. Therefore, if they end up doing something that rustles my feathers a bit, it doesn't mean they were INTENDING to hurt poor, pitiful me.

Second, whatever happened to innocent until proven guilty? I sentenced these poor people to the dense pen before even considering their case! Had I taken the time to research the situation I would have found that they are actually decent people!

While taking this whole experience in, I realized how closely connected these principles are to our industry as real estate professionals.

Don't we as Realtors assume sometimes that people aren't going to respond positively to our services or suggestions? We fear the big "R": REJECTION! Sure, everyone fears being rejected, but unless we open up ourselves to the possibility of rejection, we'll never experience the opportunity of AFFIRMATION.

That old adage "honesty is the best policy" is generally accepted as "true" for a reason: because it is!! We don't need to "feel people out." Just be honest! Tell sellers why their asking price is too high (gently, of course).

I believe people will respect the fact that we're being honest with them. My experience is that people would rather me be honest with them than tell them what they want to hear, especially when "tickling their ears" will end up costing them.

It just goes to show that we never know what might be waiting for us just across the yard, around the next corner, or at the next appointment. My Golden Retriever and their Dachsund ended up making some pretty impressive offspring!

How about you? Do you have an unusual "perspective" story to share? I'd love to hear it!

Tammi Ellis

EllisTeam Keller Williams Realty Owasso/Tulsa, OK

4.5% Interest Rates Hooray

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 22:56:03 -0600

Maybe.

There is no doubt that if the government plan leaked Wednesday night becomes reality it would spur some home buying and reduce some of the inventory that is hanging out there. However, the question is, would it also cause some unintentional consequences in the long term or the short term for that matter.

I always get a little nervous when the government tries to save us. I often compare government intervention to those wonder drugs that they advertise on TV. They have super happy people doing happy things under a great tag line while they monotonously insignificantly read off the side effects that are often more harmful then the original problem.

I understand that we are now in un-chartered territory and the consequences for doing nothing could be egregious as evidenced in the slow as molasses recovery of the Japanese economy when the government acted slowly but (need a breath in the middle of this sentence gone wild) I still think it would be a worthwhile pursuit to try and understand as many of the unintended results as possible.

One immediate effect is that, knowing that a 4.5% interest rate is on the horizon, some buyers may choose to wait and see whether or not it happens. I was speaking with a lender today who said that he was inundated with calls looking for a refinance at a 4.5% rate. As I understand it the plan would likely not include refinances which would create a market of mortgages with two rates and an industry that would be trying to find a work around. Even more troubling was that he said he received calls from buyers who were currently in contract to buy a house who wondered if they should breach the deal in order to wait for the 4.5% rate.

Longer term we may find people locked into their house because it has a lower rate, causing a firmly fixed inflexible real estate market. Or, we may find that we have again artificially inflated prices causing us to move a little farther down the road, the inevitable paying of the piper.

I am not pretentious enough to believe that I am able to see the end result of these actions and I am sure there are people smarter than me attempting to understand the ramifications, but I would definitely urge them to attempt to be exhaustive in their consideration of the effects.

That all being said if you are out there planning on buying your first home I don't think you can ask for much more. You get a Tax Credit, Tax deduction, possibly bond money, a chance to buy a home at depressed prices, a buyers market, and now possibly a 4.5% interest rate. Short of a fairy slipping the key to a home under your pillow while you sleep, I do not think you are going to get a better deal.

Hooray for 4.5%

Home Maintenance Tips for the Fall

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 12:24:30 -0600

As many homeowners already know, owning a home can be a never ending job. As a homeowner myself, it seems like I finish one repair job just in time to start another. But over the years, I have also found that regular home maintenance goes a long way in repair prevention. Following a regular maintenance schedule will only take a short time and can be spread out over the fall months. And it will save you time and money in the end.

Here are some tips I find helpful:

· Change your furnace filter. If you have forced-air heat, it is simple and inexpensive to change this filter. If not changed on a regular basis, the furnace can't push warm or cool air into your homes rooms. Having a clean filter will also cut down on your energy bills. Some filters can be reused once washed, but check your filters requirements before washing it to make sure it's reusable. Also, change filters again each season.

· Reseal windows. It's a good idea to reseal your windows every fall. Check windows for cracked or missing seal. The seal is a putty that seals a bond around the window frame. Begin with adding the putting in needed areas and gently press the new putty in place. Be sure to also use a flexible blade putty knife to smooth the putty and give it a flat look. If you plan to paint around the windows, let the putty dry for at least three weeks.

· Replace door weather stripping. Check the weather stripping on every exterior door of your home. If there is any stripping torn or missing, replace it. Weather stripping is easy to install and is inexpensive.

· Clean chimney. This is more of a safety issue. It is very important to have your chimney swept out once a year, and the fall is the best time to do it.

· Clean gutters. Toward the end of fall is a great time to clear the debris from your homes gutters. Clogged gutters can cause water damage, and that can be a very expensive repair that can easily be avoided. Clean them again at the end of spring.

· Replace smoke detector batteries. It's a good idea to replace your smoke detector batteries on a regular basis. Changing them at the beginning of each season will help you remember better. Even if your smoke detectors are hardwired to your home, you still need to replace the batteries on a regular basis in case of power outages.

Simple home maintenance like this can save you so much hassle when it comes to repairs. Winter begins December 21^st, so you may want to get started now.

Oklahoma City Real Estate

More Tips and Advice for Homeowners

Oklahoma City Homes for Sale

Oklahoma City Realtor® Gordon Wynn

Should I offer a carpet allowance?

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 11:27:40 -0600

You should only do this if 1) You really want to help out the Buyers' of your home because you are going to be giving them a great deal as I will explain later or 2) You have way too much money assuming the phrase too much money describes a real situation. Now you should not feel bad if you thought this was a good idea. I hear it all the time and the idea is perpetuated by real estate professionals. The multiple listing service is full of listings that say $x,xxx.00 carpet allowance. The logic seems sound. This way they will get to pick the kind of carpet that they want. Or, they are probably going to replace the carpet anyway. Sounds good but only if you don't understand the way a Buyer chooses their home purchase. They choose it emotionally. They choose it often by the way it feels and they usually choose quickly. I usually can tell if a Buyer is going to purchase a home or not within 30 seconds of being in the house.

What you will be doing by offering a carpet allowance is giving up something for nothing. A terrible negotiation. You are giving up the cost of the carpet but it will not be reflected in your selling price. Why? Because the Buyers are going to make an offer based on how your house makes them feel and crappy carpet is not going to elicit those amorous feelings about home ownership that you need if you are to obtain a top dollar price for your home. Even worst you may get no offer at all.

The problem of bad carpet is exacerbated if you are selling a house with no furniture. I have observed over the years that when a Buyer enters a house with no furniture their eyes immediately go to the floor because there is nothing else in the room to draw their attention. This not only applies to carpet but any type of flooring. I am only using the word carpet because that is what ties into the title of this post.

So, why is this idea so prevalent?

1. Because often the Seller does not want to spend the money until they know they can sell the house. Unfortunately this is self sabotage and results in the realization of their fear, namely, the house not selling.

2. The Real Estate Professional is standing right in front of you often asking you to hire them to sell your house. So, instead of telling you that you are wrong and risk losing the listing or getting a house with nothing to offer but crappy carpet they will take the carpet allowance. The same professional might be less likely to follow this route if they were footing the cost of offering the carpet allowance. It is worth noting that people who professionally sell houses, e.g., builders, investors, Realtors will always continue working until they have a finished product. They don't stop short of installing the flooring and say they will want to pick their colors. They want the house to wow the buyer and you should too.

3. Houses do sell all the time with a carpet allowance so it seems to confirm that it was the right choice. However what is not realized is that the carpet allowance actually cost them money without benefit.

OK, OK I get it no carpet allowance. So what is a Seller to do. Install a carpet that is neutral and will have a wide appeal. Install it before you offer your house on the market so that a Buyer will fall in love with your house and pay you a premium price.

How do you pick a carpet with a wide appeal? One of the easiest ways is to ask a local flooring company what their most popular choice is or what do they often sell to builders. You will often find that it is a medium priced carpet that is less costly than what you might expect. I have found that most Sellers overestimate the cost of carpet because they remember installing carpet in their house at a higher cost. Often, this because the carpet salesman upgraded them to a carpet that is much costlier than what would be expected in even a new home.

Well hopefully that myth is put down for good and you are now armed with more knowledge you can use to go out and sell that home for a record price.

You have land - You need a Houseplan? OR You have a houseplan and You Need Land?

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 07:24:38 -0600

You’ve bought the perfect piece of land to build your new home whether it’s a lot in town, small acreage inside or just outside the city limits, 1000 acres 100 miles from no-where, a water front parcel with great views and water access for boating, fishing, and swimming, the mountain top retreat that you’ve been dreaming of, or a in development right on the golf course. You’ve acquired the land. Now what?

There are many online choices from ordering stock plans that reasonably priced to designing and building an online version that claims to allow you to virtually live in the house and check it out.

So if you’ve got the land and now you need the house – do a Google search before you spend more bucks than necessary.

What if you’re on the other side of this equation. You’ve got the house plan and now you need the land. I’ve got the answer for that one too. Call me!

Judi Barrett

Integrity Real Estate Services

Our Name Says It All.

580-212-5946

Choctaw and McCurtain Counties in the extreme southeast corner of Oklahoma