Boise Real Estate Blog

A Day In The Life Of A Boise Realtor – Part I

I am busy preparing for the arrival of buyers this week.

We have been in touch with other for several months, following their initial contact with me on my www.BoiseReal.com website.

We have exchanged countless e-mails and had numerous phone conversations about their wants, needs, likes, and dislikes.

And, they have been fully pre-approved by Countrywide (yes, they remain in business!) and are eager to sign a buyer representation agreement with me.

I haven’t pressed them to sign the buyer representation agreement because I know they would have great difficulty finding another agent who would work as hard for them. 

They are terrific, loyal clients and it is a pleasure working with them! 

So, knowing what they want, I have been busy identifying potential properties for them.

The search criteria is 2,000 sq. ft. minimum, up to 5 years old, 4 bedrooms, a 3-car garage, and $250,000 to $325,000 price range.

My initial MLS search turned up between 175 and 200 homes. 

After screening those listings, I quickly narrowed the field to 41 homes.

Since Monday, I have been out in the field previewing those homes, starting with the vacant ones first because they don’t require an appointment to get in.

Most agents won’t bother to preview homes before showing, but I think it’s the only way to do business.

Can you imagine how confused my buyers would be if I marched them through 41 homes?

Especially, when only a few were in good showing condition and properly-priced?

I believe that it’s my job to prepare for my buyers and weed out the crappy, overpriced listings without taking their valuable time! 

I am now about halfway through the 41 homes, and will knock out the rest by the end of the week.

I’m down to the owner-occupied homes now and will have to set appointments to see them. 

I never cease to be amazed at the condition of some of the homes I see on the market.

It’s like “what in the world are those sellers thinking?” with most of what I see on the market.

And, honestly, I wonder why the listing agents even took some of the listings I have seen.

Maybe they were trying to win the office listing contest? 

Overpriced, filthy dirty, six colors of interior paint, worn out carpets, cobwebs around the front door, burned up yards, etc.

That said, I am confident that I have what my buyers are looking for, but the decision will be up to them.

I don’t “close the sale”.

After educating my buyers and ensuring that their questions have been answered, I simply ask “So  .  .  . what would you like to do?”

It’s nice to be able to do business this way.

August 23rd, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

Top 10 Screwy Reasons Why Sellers Pick The Wrong Listing Agent

August 17th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

Best To Be First Born, Second Husband, and Third Listing Agent

That old saying is worth remembering in our current Boise real estate market.

I got a call, while in San Francisco at Inman Connect week before last, from a referred seller.

He didn’t know it was 6:30 a.m. in San Francisco, and that I was still half-asleep in my hotel room, but I called him right back and we had a good chat.

He was pretty fed up with his present listing agent, and for good reason.

She had told him that her office had “a list of 1,000 people who would be eager to see his home” if he would just sign on the dotted line.

He signed the listing.

Then, three weeks went by and no one looked at his home.

Gee, mebbe all 1,000 of them were busy or sumpin?

That listing followed his first listing with an agent who overpriced his home by $100,000.

So, here I am, listing agent #3 and feeling pretty good because I think this now-tenderized, motivated seller’s home is very salable at the new $399,900 asking price.

The home is in Boise’s sought-after North End, within ten minutes of Boise’s bustling, vibrant downtown with its abundance of good jobs, casual sidewalk restaurants, and lively nightlife.

It was built in 1954 when the word “quality” actually meant something, with all-brick construction, a finished basement, handcrafted cabinetry and trim, and gleaming original oak hardwood flooring in beautiful condition.

It even has many of the quaint old original features and appliances too!

Oh, I forgot to mention the 63’ long 5+ car garage (first listing agent said it was 8-car, but I’m not including the fact that three stalls are 33’ deep), enormous covered patio with outdoor fireplace, and the HUGE shade trees!

Guess we’ll see if 3^rd time’s a charm!

Sometimes it’s best to come in last.

For details, visit www.BoiseReal.com/ID2121

August 14th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

Print Media Advertising Is Declining

The newspaper business is becoming more and more challenging as the internet draws more classified ad revenue away.

In the past few years, 30% of classified employment advertising revenue has moved to the internet.

Now, real estate advertising dollars are migrating to the internet too as major firms curtail their print media advertising.

Realogy, the holding company that owns Coldwell Banker, Century 21, ERA, and Sotheby’s recently announced that they would eliminate 70% of their print media ad budget in the coming months.

In the Sacramento area, Lyon Real Estate recently announced that they would move all of their $1 million annual advertising budget to internet advertising.

That announcement surely rattled the Sacramento Bee management to the core as they contemplated who else might pull the plug on classified real estate advertising in their stagnant real estate market.

Here in the Boise area, you can’t help but wonder when Holland Realty, Selequity, and Group One will wake up and realize that 80% of home buyers use the internet to find a home.

All three firms continue to publish their own real estate tabloids despite overwhelming evidence that such advertising is not cost-effective.

Granted, print ads make sellers feel good and they are a useful listing tool for listing agents eager to impress sellers, but the real question is “do they attract potential buyers?”

Think about it ~ why would anyone pick up a newspaper when they can go online, view photos, virtual tours, and get detailed information about every home listed in MLS?

For all of those reasons, I focus 100% of my marketing efforts and dollars on my website www.BoiseReal.com, and my three blogs ~ www.BoiseBlog.com, www.EagleBlog.com, and www.OurBrookwood.com.

Those sites generate the vast majority of my business by attracting highly-qualified, serious buyers.

And, due to their relevant, useful content, they are ranked highly by the major search engines.

(Note: I received a call from a California buyer who was on www.OurBrookwood.com while writing this post, and expect to show them homes later this week)

August 13th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »

Top 10 Archaic Real Estate Practices

The real estate profession clings to many outdated business practices, but here’s my nomination for the Top 10 Archaic Real Estate Practices:

10)  Office tour
9)     MLS tour
    Itty-bitty print ads that say “Hurry, this one won’t last!”
7)     Black and white marketing materials
6)     Full graphics on an agent’s Hummer, proclaiming that they’re #1
5)     Bus bench ads
4)     Grocery store shopping cart ads
3)     Delivering pumpkins to your neighborhood at Thanksgiving
2)     Including recipes in real estate newsletters

And, my favorite: (bada boom!)

1)     Handing out note pads and refrigerator magnets to your neighborhood

(As a Realtor^®, nothing is more fun than calculating the net proceeds for one of my sellers on another agent’s scratch pad as I glance at their refrigerator magnet on the fridge!)

August 13th, 2007 Posted in Uncategorized |  Print | No Comments »