Archive for March, 2008
What Marcey D and tomwilliams102 Reminded Me About Being a Good Realtor
March 28th, 2008 Categories: Fun Fridays
We keep things fun around here on Fridays and only tackle the lite stuff. It’s a nice way to end the week…
Given all the hardship in the world, I should probably just shrug this one off. But I wasted an entire hour this week, a victim of one of those frustrating episodes that have become all too common in the computer age.
It all began with a bill in the mail for Internet service from a provider I don’t use, for services I never ordered. I tried phoning to clear up the mess; a recording informed me that they had a higher than usual call volume and hinted that I would probably turn into petrified old coot before they picked up. Would I prefer to try their ”easy online chat support?”
Why not? Five minutes later I was instant messaging with “Marcey D.” As best as I can recall, the conversation went like this. (You’ll just have to imagine the 2 to 3 minute delay Marcey needed to type each 10 word response.)
Me: Hi. I’ve just received a bill in the mail for services I’ve never ordered. Can you help?
Marcey D: I’m sorry to hear that. Would you please provide your password for the account? Our records show it is your pet’s name.
Me: No, you don’t get it, Marcey. I don’t have a pet and don’t know the password because I didn’t set up the account. Someone named tomwilliams102 did.
Marcey D: I’ll be happy to assist you tomwilliams102. Please provide the last 4 digits of the credit card you used to start the account.
Me: Marcy, please listen: I’m not tomwilliams. I’m Ken Haedrich and I just want to clear this up! Am I talking to a real person?
Marcey D: (Extended delay)….Yes.
Me: Then you’re dumber than dirt, Marcey, and I hope your boyfriend runs off with your best friend and empties your bank accounts, too!
Okay, maybe I didn’t really type that last one. But I sure felt like it after this went
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Buying a Home in the Annapolis Area? Don’t Let a Little Credit Repair Stand Between You and Your Dream Home
March 24th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, Real Estate News
This Free Class Will Take the Mystery out of Credit, Help You Repair Yours (If Necessary), and Raise Your Credit Score by as Much as 100 Points…in Just 45 Days!
As you’re probably aware, banks are being very careful these days with their loans, going over loan applications with a fine tooth comb. As our friend David Win of Mortgage Associates puts it, “Lenders are getting back to basics and looking at credit scores closer than ever.”
If you think marginal credit is hampering your ability to buy a home. Or, if you’re mystified by the whole credit thing - and who isn’t? - here’s help: a free class to be held at Keller Williams Select Realtors of Annapolis on April 2nd.
David and his colleague Ken Kingsbury, will be teaching the 1 1/2 hour class and they’ll be covering just about everything you ever wanted to know about credit scores and how they impact the home buying process. David deals with these issues day in and day out, so he’s well qualified to speak on the subject. Among other things, he’ll be discussing:
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If The Annapolis Real Estate Market is Really So Bad, Then Why Are These Realtors So Hoppy?
March 21st, 2008 Categories: Buyers, Sellers
8 Things You Won’t Hear About on the Evening News That Annapolis Area Homebuyers and Sellers Can Be Hoppy About
Fridays are for fun. I learned that from a fellow Realtor-blogger, Teresa Boardman, who always devotes her Friday posts to not-so-serious stuff. I think I’ll start doing the same.
For the benefit of those who haven’t met us, (and who, no doubt, will now never want to) this is a photo of myself and my wife/partner Bev, the Haedrich and Moss parts of The Moss Haedrich Team, Keller Williams Select Realtors, Annapolis. The other 4 members of our team - Kathy, Carol, Jeremiah and Nikki - suddenly had other things to do when we posed for this photo.
This was taken yesterday at a Easter Egg Hunt Broker Open House at 1006 Boucher Ave in Eastport, a gorgeous new-construction listing of ours. You wouldn’t be wrong if you suspect we had a little time on our hands. (There are still some un-found eggs there; stop by at our open house this Saturday, between 1-3, and you might find one.)
Contrary to the impression this photo may leave, we are a serious, well-established real estate team, with actual homebuyers and sellers who trust us to help them buy and sell homes. And we’re pretty good at it. Maybe we can help you, too. Call us.
Anyway, Hoppy Easter to you and yours. Here’s our list of 8 things homebuyers and home sellers in the Annapolis area can be hoppy about.
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Scarey MLS Photos #3: This Tub is Just Ducky
March 18th, 2008 Categories: Scarey MLS Photos
Our Gallery of Actual Listing Photos by Colleagues Who Point and Shoot Themselves in the Foot
We’ve seen our share of damaged bathrooms before, but this is the most serious quack in a tub that we can recall. This juxtaposition of tub and duck raises a host of perplexing questions. Is this one monstrous duck? Or one tiny tub? Hard to tell. Is it still considered a “soaking tub” if you float on the surface? And who would let a 13-year old take their listing photos?
The Solution: On the off chance that we could violate someone’s sense of modesty, we have a policy on The Moss Haedrich Team to not take listing photos of bathtubs while the owners are using them. We would suggest a retake.
On the Bright Side: Deflating the duck will instantly give the bathroom a new, roomier feel that today’s buyers are looking for.
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Diary of an Annapolis Open House: 7 Red Balloons and Other Tricks of the Real Estate Trade
March 14th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, Sellers
What’s it like being a real estate agent?
What do you DO at open houses? Say to people?
Do open houses really work?
We get these and so many other questions about open houses from so many people, that I thought a blow-by-blow account of a real one, with actual people photos and not models - like in those Geico ads - might be of interest. This open took place on Sunday, March 2nd, at a listing we have in Eastport, 1006 Boucher Ave - one of the best buys anywhere in Annapolis. We join the action 15 minutes before the scheduled 1PM start time…
12:45PM: - Pick up seven red balloons at office. Seven is my lucky number this week. Fellow agent - his lack of faith in balloons and other marketing props no secret - asks what my strategy will be if the red balloons don’t work. I tell him we’ll try white ones next week.
1:15PM: - First car pulls up, looks like BMW - always a good sign. False alarm: it’s Richard Rainford (left), a lender I know from Countrywide. I like Richard: he’s persistent, not a pest, a thin line some lenders trip over. We talk shop. He casually wonders aloud if any buyers might fall out of my sky and into his lap. I tell him you never know.
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Less You, More Them: Why Removing Buyer Distractions Makes Home-Selling Sense
March 13th, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Sellers
A Cautionary Tale, In Which We Begin at a Bungalow For Sale on the South River in Annapolis
So there we were, previewing a home for a client who wants to buy somewhere on the water in Annapolis. Walking in the front door, my attention was instantly seized by a Presidential citation on the fireplace mantle - one of many citations.
Clearly, the person who lived there was proud of the fact that his tenure in the Secret Service had been officially recognized by the Oval Office.
I was smitten, too! Had the owner flown with the Prez on Air Force One? What sort of heat did he pack when he was on duty? Did he wear those cool shades and earpieces like they do in the movies? It was fascinating to consider.
And a complete waste of my time, with respect to why we were there: to see if this home was a good match for our Annapolis waterfront buyer.
The point? If You Want to Sell Your Home, Then Depersonalize It
You want buyers looking at your house, not a museum of personal photos, collectibles, family history, stuffed animal trophies and other distracting items.
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The Realtor’s Life: Me and My Man Purse
March 11th, 2008 Categories: The Realtor's Life
Well, that’s it. This Realtor business has finally driven me over the edge.
It wasn’t the state of the market or another Annapolis area agent that finished me off, or even the long hours. It’s the sheer amount of stuff I have to lug around to conduct business. So I’m shopping for my first man purse.
I have no other choice: the stuff has simply gotten out of control.
There’s my cell phone, wallet, compact digital camera, and business card holder. I have magnetic swipe keys for my office and lockboxes, and a jumble of real keys for the many doors in a Realtor’s life.
There’s my small calendar and my reading glasses, so I can see it, and a little notepad so I can remind myself what I’m supposed to be doing. And a couple of pens. It’s gotten to the point where, if I carry it all on my person, I look like I’ve been shot with a semi-automatic bean bag gun. I need a man purse.
My Realtor-wife/partner, Bev, totally gets it: she’s got purses she puts into handbags that go into still bigger carrying bags and off she goes. So we spend Friday night, date night, shopping for a man purse at the Annapolis mall, where they’re outnumbered by woman purses 10,000 to 1. Read the rest of this entry »
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Annapolis Area Home Sellers: Are You Chasing the Cheese When You Should Be Catching a Wave?
March 10th, 2008 Categories: One Minute Realtor, Sellers
Two of our listings, in two very different prices ranges, have gone under contract in the last few weeks, one in 29 days, the other in 39. Aside from beating the average days on market handsomely, they had a couple of things in common: they were in great condition and showed beautifully.
And they were priced right on the money, where the market told us they should be.
Finding the perfect price for a home is part science, part intuition based on experience. To be sure, nobody in this business gets it right all the time.
Agents know, however, that even if we miss the bulls-eye, the market will soon tell us: by the number of showings, by feedback from other agents and their clients, by the number of days on market, and by recent sold comparables.
Sometimes The Market Speaks and The Seller Doesn’t Listen
For example: after 3 months on the market, Sally Realtor is convinced that her client’s home should be priced at $495,000 if the client really wants to sell. She tells
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Meet Victor, Our Painter
March 4th, 2008 Categories: Buyers, Faces In The Crowd
Real estate agents like us depend on a large number of specialists to help us best serve our clients - not the least of which is a good painter. Almost every house we sell in the Annapolis area - or one of our buyers buys - needs a least some touch up paint, others need much more. We often call Victor to get the job done.
Victor is from El Salvador and he’s been painting homes here in the United States for more than 30 years. For some reason he always calls me Mr. Ken - not Mr. Haedrich - and I’ve long since stopped correcting him because it’s sort of cute and has grown on me.
Victor is reliable, reasonable and does good work. That’s important, but that’s not why I like him so much. What I like is his attitude. He’s always doing great, and he’ll tell you so. He seems to love his work, and he has a wonderful smile, too, as you can see.
On 60 Minutes the other week there was a segment on the happiest countries in the world. The people of Denmark ranked highest on the happiness scale. America came in something like number 26. They should have talked to a few more people like Victor.
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Annapolis Area For Sale By Owner, Part 1: Know What You’re Getting Into
March 1st, 2008 Categories: For Sale By Owner, Sellers
A local manufacturer was in trouble. The equipment in his plant had stopped working and his production of widgets had come to a grinding halt. Try as he might, he couldn’t fix the problem on his own, so he called in an expert repairman.
The repairman went to the control panel, a dumbfounding arrangement of gauges, dials and buttons. He tapped once or twice then proceeded to push this and that. The equipment started right up and the plant owner was back in production.
“That’ll be $5,000,” said the repairman. “You must be crazy!” replied the owner. “You were only here a few minutes. And all you did was push a few buttons! You need to send me an itemized invoice!”
“Happy to,” said the repairman, pulling out a pen and paper. He scribbled a few words and handed the paper to the plant owner. It said: “Pushing a few buttons: $5.00. Knowing which buttons to push: $4,995.”
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