Either Way, You’re Still Paying a Mortgage

Either Way, You’re Still Paying a Mortgage

Gems Discovered along Lake Michigan's West Shore in Wisconsin

What calls you to the coast?  The yearnings -- the hunger that can only be satisfied along the water's edge -- is solitude for some, sport, excitement, family, refreshment, peace, quest, discovery, adventure, tranquility, festive, fun and frolic for others.  Do the sound of waves rushing the shoreline . . . the feel of crisp air kissing your cheeks, tousling your hair . . . the vision of blue horizons speckled with moonbeams and sun . . . the taste of  today's fresh catch . . . the breath of possibilities and beauty . . . beckon you?

Many are the callings.  Be it a day-trip, vacation home, or primary residence, you will find what you seek along Wisconsin's spectacular Lake Michigan shoreline.  One of Wisconsin's charming harbor towns should satisfy that hunger.

 

First Time Home-Buyer Secrets

1st Time Home-Buyer Secrets

 “Spoiled,” “unrealistic,” and “demanding” proceed “first time home-buyer” in the daily banter of many Realtors.  You’ll find them commiserating around water-coolers and coffee-stations from coast to coast, mourning the good old days of real estate before the internet and HGTV.  I say today's first time home-buyers are Sacrificial.  Wait . . .   What?

 

No generation is immune from sacrifice.  Like their parents and grandparents, the vast majority of millennials want the American Dream of steady employment, a loving family, a Home of their own  -- and they routinely make sacrifices to achieve their goals.  

It appears every generation receives access to something new that’s designed to make lives “easier” and as each new advance emerges so do greater expectations of what we can accomplish, what we should know, and how long it should take us to reach our goals.  Perhaps these generational changes make it difficult for older generations to truly see and understand the very real sacrifices today’s first time home-buyers make in pursuit of their dreams. 

 

Contrary to what popular myths, today's millennial generation isn't waiting for easy-fixes and get-rich-quick schemes.  Like other generations, they work hard for what they have.  An overwhelming majority use financing to buy their homes.  The majority of their down-payments come from good old-fashioned saving.

As professionals, it is our duty to understand our home buyer clients so we can help them in their pursuits.

The tools and information available to Realtors in 2014, when shared with first time home-buyers and utilized to help them reach their real estate goals, produces transactions with less stress and provides home-buyers the opportunity to have a great home on great terms.   Anticipating a first time or repeat home-buyer of any age to expect less of me as a Realtor is “unrealistic” and I'd be a “spoiled . . . demanding” Realtor expecting today’s home buyers to be satisfied with the norms of the past. 

  

How Will Your Property be Represented, Marketed...For Sale?

How Will Your Property be Represented, Marketed...For Sale?

HOW your Home is Presented to the Public Depends on:

1. Your Realtor's Personal Standards
2. Tools Readily Available to Your Realtor
3. the Tools Your Realtor Actually Uses
4. Your Realtor's Level of Skill-Knowledge-Ability to Utilize the Tools at hand to Produce Quality Marketing Materials

because Realtors are Independent Contractors. 

 

The image at the left is the first interior view online buyer-prospects see as they click photo #3, titled "Entry."  This is part of an actual marketing campaign for a rural property I found today while helping a buyer-client search for a home.

An economy-size box of d-CON rodent poison is front and center with what appears to be bleach tucked behind it.  Besides presenting a far-from-welcoming image of the home, it's not the "Entry."

 

This Sheboygan County Home is currently listed For Sale with a highly regarded Real Estate professional.

Days on Market with Same Realtor/Broker:  547 (2.27.14)

WHY does a seller allow their home to be represented like this for 547 days?  (The other marketing photos are horrible too; this one with dCON pictured takes extra special bad marketing to an even lower level.)  

•  Perhaps Seller doesn't have access to the internet; if not computer savvy, it's possible Seller doesn't know where buyer-prospects look for homes online and if no one has demonstrated the active marketing campaign to them they may never know how they are being represented.
• A slick-talking sales-person could be servicing the listing, who Sells the Seller, convincing Seller they are working hard and doing everything imaginable to procure a buyer but it is just a really tough market right now . . . they're lucky to have him/her . . . can you imagine how rough it would be with a less competent Realtor/Broker?
• Sometimes a seller is too busy or too tired or too ill or too disconnected with the property to devote time into finding another Realtor. 
• There are those who stick with whomever first listed the property for sale, thinking all Realtors are the same.

WHY would a real estate professional present poor quality images to the public or highlight subject matter that repels home-buyers?

• "Horrible" might be the Realtor's skill level.  (sad . . . but seriously)
• Perhaps the Realtor doesn't think today's home-buyers are influenced by online marketing materials so he/she posts photos taken while walking quickly through the property, not really caring how they look. 
• There are those who focus on perpetually listing new properties for sale, leaving little time to devote to "new" or "improved" marketing efforts to sell those already listed for sale and launched into public circulation with all the company "minimums" in place last week, last month, last year, or 547 days ago.  It's about numbers for Realtors/Brokers adhering to this philosophy -- list as many as possible and some will sell.  
• The Real Estate Professional must believe marketing materials like the photo above to be satisfactory.  When one's professional reputation, a sale, and client satisfaction are all on the line only that which meets or exceeds the Realtor's personal standards become part of the marketing package.

Seller is okay with the 547 day marketing plan of action or it would have been halted some 400 - 500 days ago.  Realtor is okay with the 547 day marketing plan and more of the same continues...  HOW will the house sell now, after 547 days on the market utilizing the same old plan?

If Marketing Skills critical to attracting home buyers to the property are lacking, the property sits without buyer interest, gathers more “market age” and eventually a bad reputation because Buyers assume extensive time on the market means hidden defects.  Sometimes, in cases like this, it’s “what” we see that is as much of a problem as “how” it is displayed.    The “how” and “what” a Realtor or Broker market can conjure powerful negative associations that inadvertently label a property like the one above, “rat house.”

A property becomes publicly known by how it's represented using professional marketing materials.

How will Your Home be Represented, Marketed . . . For Sale?