Upcoming Free (& non-promotional) Home Buyer Classes:
Saturday, April 16th, from 12pm-3pm (ish)
Vancouver YMCA, conference room
11324 NE 51st Circle, Vancouver WA (corner of SR500 & Gher Road/112th Ave)
Monday night, April 18th , from 5pm-8pm (ish)
Marshall Community Center, conference room
1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)
Saturday April 30th, from 10am-1pm (ish)
Marshall Community Center, conference room
1009 E. McLoughlin Blvd, Vancouver WA (kitty corner from Clark College)
If these class dates and/or times don’t work for you, please let us know. We understand that you have lives, and families, and work. We will work something out that works better with your schedule. Just let us know….
….we also have home seller classes available too…link on left on website
Remember…with reservation…we will throw in lunch, or dinner! 😀
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Happy end of Spring Break!
Just a quick heads up that Chris Berg & I have our Spring Client appreciation events coming up! This spring we want to try something different… so we are giving everyone an option as to what movie they want to come to… Your choices are: Captain America: Civil War on Saturday, May 7 from 3pm-6pm or Finding Dory on Saturday, June 18 from 3pm-6pm. Because we are trying out both movies, we will be in a smaller theater than previous Client Appreciation events, so please RSVP early by emailing either Chris or I. Look forward to seeing you soon!!
Now, for this weeks blog…and wow! what a gorgeous week it was…how did we get so lucky? 🙂 However, as spring break comes to an end we hit ‘Spring Selling Season’ hard, and one of the first signs of it is all the Open House signs around. One of my buyers just asked me why the seller was having an open house when homes are selling so fast, and there are already offers on the home? This is an excellent question, so let me share information with you… 🙂
In real estate a sure sign of spring is the sign of ‘Open House’ everywhere, and there are definitely a lot of them right now. An open house sounds pretty uncomplicated, right? Well, I am here to tell you that in real estate NOTHING is uncomplicated, and EVERYTHING means more than you think it does. I really think a successful real estate agent is an over-thinker….we compute, analyze, worry, multi-task, juggle, over think every scenario from every angle, and ultimately run on ADHD. 🙂 Now because I am a real estate agent you might think I am over-reacting, but really I am not… A paper is never JUST a piece of paper as it has a couple of different meanings…there is the real estate meaning, and what we are ‘taught’ to tell you about it…and just because an agent is taught a script to say doesn’t mean that they don’t believe in it…it just means that it isn’t entirely the truth…that particular agent only wants to tell you one side of the story.
Yes, and this is where I come in…the ‘other’ side of the story! 😀 I am here to de-mystify the weird world of real estate, and it is weird… we have our monsters, our ‘war’ stories, our princesses, villains, the Goliaths, and the Davids…and some agents that I am pretty sure are aliens…now, I can’t ‘prove’ it, but seriously…have YOU seen some of the real estate agent photos floating around??? 🙂
One of the biggest misconceptions in the real estate world is the thing known as an OPEN HOUSE…did you know that? An open house from the public & sellers viewpoint is ‘their’ agent holding the home open for viewing, marketing (the home), and to find a buyer, right? Remember how I said NOTHING is as it seems in real estate? Open houses are not just simple for the agent, and really has very little to do with the actual house. Now I am not saying that the agent wouldn’t love to have a buyer walk in for the house from an open house, but that doesn’t always happen. It’s like buying a lotto ticket at the store…you ‘might’ win a couple of bucks, and it does happen…but not as often as it doesn’t. Remember that “lottery is not to be played for investment purposes”. 🙂
So, for real estate what does an Open House do? Well….for starters…80% of the time it is not the listing agent holding the Open House…usually it is an assistant, or new agent. In real estate no one gets paid until keys exchange hands, and no one ‘gives’ you clients. At least half (if not more) of an experienced agents clients come from referrals from past clients (which is why I love you all for your referrals), but when you start out….there aren’t any referrals, so the best place for a new agent to meet potential clients is a) on floor calls (when you call a real estate office you will be transferred to someone working ‘the floor’), or b) by holding an open house. So, that agent really isn’t all that interested in selling that home, again, I am sure that s/he would LOVE to sell that home, but frankly, that agent sitting at the open house as TWO main goals with the first being to SELL THEMSELVES (not the house), and the second being to get YOUR information so that they can ‘hopefully’ turn you into a client of theirs. Open houses are Marketing 101, but not for the seller of that home, but mainly for the agent holding the house open. When was the last time you went to a Open House? Did the agent ask you for your information? Were you working with an agent? Did they ask you to ‘sign in’? That is how it works…. and some of the agents are VERY pushy about it too…
As everyone knows, I am mainly a buyers agent…it is what I do, and what I love to do. 🙂 I do, however, list homes occasionally as well, but I only list by referral….I list homes for my clients, for my friends, for family, and for the family/friends/co-workers of my clients…by referral. I have done (non-pushy because that isn’t the way I roll) open houses, at the request of my client, since many people think that is the way it ‘should be done’, but when working for the seller, I prefer to market the home since that is what my job, for them, is supposed to be about. When it comes to OPEN HOUSES what do YOU NEED TO KNOW?
a) you do NOT have to give the agent holding the open house your information
b) you do NOT have to ‘sign in’ at the open house
c) if the home is occupied, it IS the agents responsibility to be with you the entire time you are in the home.
d) Most Open Houses have cookies or something like that.
e) The Open House is a marketing tool for the agent to gain your information and to hopefully get new clients/buyers.
f) If the agent holding the Open House is hounding you about whether or not you have an agent….go ahead and use my name. Just because you tell the agent at the Open House you are working with someone, doesn’t mean you have to be doing so, but it does mean that they will usually leave you alone after that.
g) If the agent holding the open house is, indeed, the listing agent, or a member of the listing agents team, then this person works for the seller. This means that the agents job is to represent, and work for, the sellers best interests…not yours. Always make sure you have your OWN agent to represent you as the BUYER.
h) Do NOT sign any ‘buyer agency’ type of agreements to look at an Open House! I have actually heard recently from a couple of agents that they will hold an open house, and that if the person looking at the house seems even remotely interested, that they will whip out a buyers agency agreement, give the ‘potential’ buyer the script (or an Open House version of it), and Bingo! have them sign it right there!! To me this is crazy, underhanded, and wrong…but again…call me the Lone Ranger of the Real Estate World! Of course…does that make Chris Berg over at Vancouver Pinnacle Mortgage (503-320-0925 cell, cberg@pcmloan.com) my Tonto????
I am not saying you shouldn’t go to Open Houses….by all means, please do go! Open Houses are a great way to just check out homes you might not otherwise have seen…or to see, and check out certain neighborhoods. Go to the Open House, check out the home, eat the cookies….but just be aware that the agent at that open house is looking at you as ‘potential client material’, and they will be circling you. Again, don’t sign anything (you don’t have to), and if pressured, feel free to give the agent my name. IF you DO like the home….call your buyers agent (maybe me?), and set up a time to look at the home again. A second walk through of the home is always good before making an offer! Honestly though, in this crazy market we are currently in, that home already has a couple of offers on it If you aren’t pre-approved yet, feel free to call or email Chris Berg at Vancouver Pinnacle Mortgage….even if you aren’t working with me as your agent, Chris is a great lender and will go over ALL your loan options with you to help YOU find the best one that fits the needs of you, and your family. We are, as always, here to help!
…by the way…..all of this holds true for New Construction as well! The builders agent at the Model Home works for the BUILDER…this makes them the sellers agent. Please be sure to tell that builders (sellers) agent that you are working with another agent and give them your agents name. Again, feel free to use mine if you wish, but this will make things go much more smoothly for you. Don’t forget that I used to work for a builder about 10 years ago, so I can tell you…the builders agents are very good at circling…. 🙂
Information is power, and I hope that I am able to help you. Good luck, and as always…May the odds be ever in your favor out there…. AND If you are looking for a real estate agent, I would love to be able to help you.
As always….this is just a quick overview…. please remember that your agent, and your lender work for YOU. You drive the bus…we are merely GPS to help you get to your goals. Like the classes, this weekly blog email is to help you with your home adventure. The goal is to be informative and non-promotional. 🙂 We are, however, hoping you will call and want us to help with your adventure.
If you have any questions about this, or something you have heard…or if you would like me to help you with your home adventure, please call, email, text, or facebook me anytime. I am, as always, happy to help!
Thank you again for your business and your referrals!! …and thank you for referring these classes to your friends, family, and co-workers.
. ..disclaimer…if you have already purchased a home, or would no longer like to receive these emails, please let me know and I will be happy to remove you from any further mailings…
Upcoming Topics: Showing Homes 101… or … Septic vs Sewer
Last Week: Is there a crash coming?
Have a great day, and I will talk to you soon,
;-D
