Realtors are People Too!

Realtors are people too.  We have feelings.  We laugh and cry,    

just like everyone else. We hurt and we bleed.  And we get angry too.  Usually because we’ve been hurt.  

It’s January 2016, and I’m now entering my ninth year as a Real Estate Agent.  I’ve managed to earn a decent income, and still have time to do some of the things I really love to do.  Not that I don’t love real estate.  But I’m like a lot of people:  I’d really love it if I didn’t have to work at all!  If I could just write songs, perform in theatre, film, and television as an actress, and travel the world without worrying about money, I’d be really happy.  Not that I’m not happy now.  I am.  I’m grateful for the success I’ve had with my job as a Realtor.  And I’m grateful for all of the loyal clients I’ve had, and the repeat business!  

But not all people are loyal, and sometimes I get hurt.  Some people lie and those people hurt me too (Usually the ones who aren’t loyal are also the ones who lie).  And some people are just plain mean, and they hurt me too.  Because I’m not just a “sales person” out for a commission, I have feelings!  

I’ve read all kinds of posts on-line about how people aren’t happy with their Realtor, or how their Realtor cheated them, or how their Realtor lied to them.  However, I rarely see anything about how potential buyers and sellers lie (sometimes by omission) to the real estate agent who is working faithfully on their behalf.

Case in point:  I had a tenant in one of my rental homes, we’ll call her Dee.  When Dee became my tenant two years ago, she said she would be buying a home in the future, and I said I would love to be her Realtor.  Dee said, “great.”   So, when Dee approached me last summer about the possibility of buying my rental property, I wasn’t surprised.  At the time, my rental property needed a new central heat/air unit as well as some other repairs, but Dee encouraged me to hold off, because she said she would want to buy my property “as is.”  In July, Dee made me a low-ball offer on my Inglewood rental property, and I said, "I don’t think I’m willing to sell that low; but how about if I take you and your husband out to show you a few houses?  Maybe you’ll find another home that you’ll like better?”  I ran comps for Dee to show her home values in East Nashville and I spent an afternoon taking Dee and her husband around to look at five homes in their desired neighborhood.  They fell in love with the first home I showed them.  However, they said that they would not be ready to buy for a few months.  I said, “great, just let me know when you want to start looking again.”  Dee said, “we’ll keep you posted.”  I said, “In the meantime, I’ll replace the heat/air unit on the rental property.”  I thought the rapport was great, and due to several e-mails and conversations, I thought that Dee and her husband would be buying their next home with me as their Buyer’s Agent.  

Because I don’t like to be a pushy salesperson, I waited a couple of months to address the subject again.  I actually ran into Dee in a coffee shop in early October and she told me that they were “just about ready to start looking, and they’d let me know in a couple of weeks!”  I said, “great!”

Less than two weeks later, I get an e-mail from Dee.  It says:  “Man, things move fast around here!  We went out to look at houses once, put in one offer and had it accepted, so this is our official notice that we will be ending our lease.....”

I was shocked and hurt to learn that I was obviously not their Buyer’s Agent.  Even more shocked and hurt to learn that the  home they bought in October (when they went out “to look at houses once”) was the very first home I had shown them in July!  (I found this out by searching the tax record after closing, since Dee only gave me a P.O. box as a forwarding address to get her rental security deposit back).

As a “sales person,” I’m well aware that I won’t make every sale.  I’m also aware that some buyers don’t realize that when Realtors spend time doing searches for homes on your behalf and then spend time showing you homes, they actually don’t make a dime until you close on the purchase of your home.  However, some buyers do know that they are leading you on and they lie to save face, or they lie by not communicating honestly.  As a Realtor, I pride myself on having integrity and dealing honestly with every person I come in contact with.  And, as a person, I expect honesty in return.

How Do You Know When You've Found It?

With so many homes on the market here in Nashville, Tennessee, many first-time buyers search for their "dream home" for months, even years, before finally deciding upon a home they can envision themselves living in long term. 

Here are a few signs that a particular home you’re viewing just might be “It”--And that it might be time to make an offer!

1. If you walk through a home and instantly feel possessive and leave wondering how quickly you can get your offer in, and how much you’d offer to beat someone else out, or anything else you can do to make sure no one other than you gets the home, this one just might be “It.”

2. If you find yourself liking a home with traits that you would normally find undesirable, yet you like the place so much that you instinctively compile a mental list of reasons why those traits don’t seem to matter, you just might have found “It.”

3. If you happen to find yourself falling in love with a home’s glass-block shower wall, while ignoring the dirty tub, or drooling over the the built-in cookbook stand on the kitchen countertop (even though the countertop is laminate), that’s a sign that you’re falling head over heels with a home that might just be “It.”

4. And if you find your yourself picturing your own kids and sofa in the living room, your table and chairs and favorite wall hangings in the dining room, and having your morning coffee on the deck--it’s entirely possible that the home you’re in could be “It."

When you find your "It,” continuing the house hunt you've been obsessing over for months starts to seem silly, like a waste of energy you could be using to move into your new home.  So, if you notice that you have lost interest in seeing other homes, after any of the above situations have applied, it's time to make an offer, because you have probably found "It!"

1805 Lischey Avenue in East Nashville, TN

A Sweet Renovated Starter Home

Are You Really Ready to Buy?

The housing market in Nashville, Tennessee is great for buyers right now.  Interest rates are extremely low, there are many houses on the market to choose from, and the cost of renting has increased! But just because the market’s good doesn’t mean it’s the right time for everyone to buy. So what are the big questions you should answer to determine if you’re ready to buy? Here are five of them:

1. Do I have enough money for a down payment?
And how much, exactly, is “enough?” Today’s minimum down payment requirements range from 3.5 percent on an FHA loan to 10 or even 20 percent for conventional loans. That means coming up with anywhere from $7,000 to $40,000 on a typical $200,000 house. And keep in mind there are also closing costs, which can run as high as 3-4% of your total purchase price.

2. Can I handle the not-so-glamorous aspects of homeownership?
As a home owner, you are basically your own landlord. So if your toilet won't stop running, or a pipe freezes and bursts in the middle of the night, you can't call a property manager to take care of the problem. If the idea of having a maintenance crisis is overwhelming to you, you might want to reconsider homeownership-or at the very least, buy a condo or townhome in great condition or a completely renovated home with new mechanicals: ie, plumbing, electrical, roof, HVAC; and make sure you get a home warranty! When you go from renter to owner, you'll need to account for the cost of appliances and maintaining the property’s roof, windows, landscaping, plumbing, and changing the air filters in your central heat and air unit.

3. How long do I intend to stay in the house?
If you think you might move out of the area next year, then you really shouldn’t be thinking about buying a home (unless of course, you intend to use the home as a rental property/investment after you move). You should plan to stay in the home at least 5-7 years-even longer, if you’re buying a home in a foreclosure hot spot or an area with a sluggish job market. This will give you some time to build up equity and make up for the costs of buying, selling and moving.

4. Are my job and finances stable?
Is there really such a thing as 100 percent job security in today’s economy? Probably not. But the best plan is to be confident that your finances can handle a temporary loss of income and still make your mortgage payments, before you buy. One way to do this is to have enough money in the bank to cover 4-6 months’ worth of living expenses, calculating them to include your mortgage payment - before you decide that you're ready to buy. That way, even if you lose your job with no warning at all, you’ll at least have a reasonable window of time to find a new one without digging yourself into a hole - or worse, losing your home altogether.

5. What are my real reasons for buying?
Buying a home is a long-term commitment that will have massive impacts on your lifestyle, your family and your finances. In other words, don’t do it unless you’re really sure you want and are ready for the lifestyle change. Some worthy reasons renters give for their decision to buy include some or all of the following:

**You want to build equity instead of paying a landlord. Fact is, if you get a fixed rate mortgage and make the payments for the full term of the loan, you'll eventually pay it off. That's not possible when you're renting.
**You want a place to call your own, where you can paint the walls any color you want, where you can have dogs without paying fees for the privilege, or where you can plant a garden.
**You want the tax advantages of homeownership.
**You want a stable place you and your family can live for as long as you'd like.

Ask your own questions about why you want to buy, and be honest with your answers.  It’s usually just a matter of strategically timing your purchase when your savings, your career and your lifestyle are in alignment with the implications of ownership.  Consider working closely with a real estate broker and a mortgage professional to get an action plan in place and start working your plan!