After weeks of studying, I now have my broker's license.

I was working on my Sales Associate post licensing education and when I passed it, I decided to jump right back in and get my broker's license while everything was fresh in my mind.

So today, I took the exam at Promissor and I passed, so I officially have a broker's license.

For the time being, I intend to continue with my current employer and work as a Broker Associate.

Now, time for a celabratory dinner and maybe a nap!

One thing I hear over and over is that we have no seasons in Florida.

I want to make an observation and point out to all of the imported folks that we also have four seasons.

They are:

1. Early Summer
2. Summer
3. Late Summer
4. and those two weeks in January

Additionally, I would like to point out that I have never had to:

• Shovel my driveway
• Scrape ice off my car
• Put snow chains on my tires
• Carry a bag of sand in my trunk
• Plug my car in at night to keep it from freezing
• Shovel my roof
• Get bundled up to get the mail
• Attach a flag to a fiberglass rod on my car so people can see me coming around the snow drifts
• Wait till spring to play with my Christmas present

If Florida sounds like a place you would like to live, give me a call at (813) 494-2640.  There's always room for one more!

Geek 1: Did you two hit it off?

Geek 2: Define "Hit it off".

Geek 1: Did she continue talking to you, after you fixed her computer?

Did you know that if you have a bad credit score there are companies that can repair your credit?

Like most things in life, there is only so much that can be repaired, but if you have been turned down for a mortgage due to your credit history, give me a call and I will hook you up with a company.  They can explain how they charge and whether they can help you in your specific case or not.

Once your credit has been repaired, I would like to help you BUY A HOUSE!!!

Right now, the deals the builders are offering are so good, buyers who start out looking at resales, ultimately buy a new home.

What this means to you as a seller is that you need to lower your price if you need to sell now.  Or, if you can wait, maybe the prices will go back up.  But in the mean time, homes are selling.  New ones, and those that have dropped their price.

Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning!

Another NAR handout for consumers.

What Not to Overlook on a Final Walk-Through

Be sure that:

• repairs you’ve requested have been made. Obtain copies of paid bills and any related warranties.
• all items that were included in the sale price—draperies, lighting fixtures—are still there.
• screens and storm windows are in place or stored.
• all appliances are operating.
• intercom, doorbell, and alarm are operational.
• hot water heater is working.
• HVAC is working.
• no plants or shrubs have been removed from the yard.
• garage door opener and other remotes are available.
• instruction books and warranties on appliances and fixtures are there.
• all personal items of the sellers and all debris have been removed.

How many Microsoft engineers does it take to change a light-bulb?

None - they just declare darkness to be industry standard.

The list of tips below come from the National Association of Realtors.  I view these as a starting point.  For more suggestions, give me a call and I will help you any way I can.  All I ask is that if your house fails to sell, you give me the opportunity.

Open House Tips for FSBOs

Advertise your open house. Ideally you should advertise both the weekend before and the weekend of the open house. Check with the local paper to see when their ad closing deadlines are.

Create a property summary sheet. This sheet gives prospective buyers an overview of your home. Include dimensions for each room, copies of a property survey, summaries of utility costs and property taxes, and a list of when capital items such as roofs and furnace were added.

Develop a sign-in form for prospects’ addresses. You’ll ideally want both phone numbers and e-mail addresses to follow up with prospective buyers.

Put up signs. One or two days before the open house, place directional signs at major intersections within three to four blocks of your house. Be sure you check on anti-sign regulations in your area.

Get your house ready. Remove clutter, clean your house, wash your windows, add flowers, turn on lights, open draperies and blinds, remove valuables and breakables, confine pets, turn on soft music, and set up a table for your property fact sheet near the entrance.

Develop a follow-up sheet. Getting feedback on your home from prospects who attended your open house will give you a better understanding of how to make your home more appealing to buyers.

A truck driver hauling a tractor-trailer load of computers stops for a beer. As he approaches the bar he sees a big sign on the door saying "GEEKS NOT ALLOWED--ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK!" He goes in and sits down.

The bartender comes over to him, sniffs, says he smells kind of geeky, asks him what he does for a living.

The truck driver says he drives a truck, and the smell is just from the computers he is hauling. The bartender says OK, truck drivers are not geeks, and serves him a beer.

As he is sipping his beer, a skinny guy walks in with tape around his glasses, a pocket protector with twelve kinds of pens and pencils, and a belt at least a foot too long.

The bartender, without saying a word, pulls out a shotgun and blows the guy away. The truck driver asks him why he did that.

The bartender said not to worry, the geeks are over-populating the Silicon Valley, and are in season now. You don't even need a license, he said.

So the truck driver finishes his beer, gets back in his truck, and heads back onto the freeway. Suddenly he veers to avoid an accident, and the load shifts. The back door breaks open and computers spill out all over the freeway.

He jumps out and sees a crowd already forming, grabbing up the computers. They are all engineers, accountants and programmers wearing the geekiest clothes he has ever seen.

He can't let them steal his whole load. So remembering what happened in the bar, he pulls out his gun and starts blasting away, felling several of them instantly.

A highway patrol officer comes zooming up and jumps out of the car screaming at him to stop. The truck driver said, "What's wrong? I thought geeks were in season."

"Well, sure." said the patrolman, "But it's illegal to bait 'em."

What do you get when you call most anyone in business and ask a question?  Usually a dry monotone answer.

That's what you get when you call most real estate agents and ask about a home you see advertised.  Dry, monotone, the house is 3500 sf with 4 bedrooms and 3 baths, a two car garage on a large lot with fruit trees and established landscaping.  All this for only $279,900.

As a seller, is that how you want your house described?  I think not.  I think you want a Realtor who likes what he or she does and is passionate about it!

And the poor buyer prospect who called for the information!  Some thoughts the prospect may have had:  What, does the Realtor think I can't read?  Most of that information was in the ad!  I told him I was looking at the ad.  I want to know something new, something that will help me decide if this is a home I am interested in actually going to see.

I think a Realtor should make your home search or the selling of your home, his or her passion!  Get passionate about advertising.  Get passionate about staging.  Get passionte about getting the price right.  Get passionate about searching the MLS and other listings every day.  Get passionate about the home search!  Get passionate about selling that home!

Don't just sit back and wait for things to happen.  Make getting results for your customers YOUR PASSION!!!

Sometimes a geek joke is not about geeks.  Some jokes are geek jokes just because they are funny to geeks.

I find this joke to be hilarious!

A man walks in the doctor's office with a carrot hanging out of his ear, green beans hanging out of the other and a banana hanging out of his mouth and say, "Doctor, I don't feel well."

The doctor takes one look at him and says, "I see your problem, you're not eating right!"

If you are buying a home in Florida, as soon as you are under contract you should purchase or bind your homeowners insurance policy.

If you don't and a hurricane or even a lesser tropical storm comes into the "box", you will not be able to purchase insurance until it passes.  In the meantime, your closing will be delayed until you can get insurance.  As we all know, sometimes these storms come one after the other and there is the potential that a closing could be delayed for many days or weeks.

I also recommend that sellers inquire with their agent or broker to make sure the buyers are aware of this detail.

 The following map and table shows the area that is designated as the box and the dates for recent years where there was a restriction/moratorium on writing and binding policies.

The "Box"

2006 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Tropical Storm Ernesto	8/27/2006 5:00 PM EDT	8/31/2006 11:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Alberto	6/11/2006 5:00PM EDT	6/13/2006 8:00PM EDT	No
2005 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Hurricane Wilma	10/22/2005 11:00 AM EDT	10/24/2005 5:00 PM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Tammy	10/5/2005 7:30 AM EDT	10/6/2005 5:00 AM EDT	No
Hurricane Rita	9/18/2005 11:00 AM EDT	9/21/2005 11:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Ophelia	9/6/2005 11:00 am	9/9/2005 11:00 am	No
Hurricane Katrina	8/23/2005 11:00 PM EDT	8/29/2005 5:00 PM EDT	No
Hurricane Dennis	7/7/2005 11:00 AM EDT	7/10/2005 11:00 PM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Cindy	7/5/2005 7:00 AM EDT	7/6/2005 11:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Arlene	6/9/2005 11:55 AM EDT	6/11/2005 8:00 PM EDT	No
2004 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Hurricane Jeanne	9/24/2004 5:35 AM EDT	9/27/2004 2:00 PM EDT	No
Hurricane Ivan	9/12/2004 11:00 AM EDT	9/16/2004 5:00 PM EDT	No
Hurricane Frances	9/1/2004 11:00 PM EDT	9/6/2004 11:00 PM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Gaston	8/27/2004 5:00 PM EDT	8/29/2004 5:00 AM EDT	No
Hurricane Charley	8/11/2004 5:00 AM EDT	8/14/2004 5:00 AM EDT	No
Tropical Storm Bonnie	8/10/2004 11:00 PM EDT	8/12/2004 5:00 PM EDT	No
2003 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Tropical Storm Henri	9/3/2003 5:00PM	9/6/2003 6:00AM	No
2002 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Kyle	10/11/2002 5:00am EDT	10/12/2002 11:00 am EDT	No
Lili	9/29/2002 8:00 PM EDT	10/4/2002 5:00 AM EDT	No
Lili	9/29/2002 5:00 AM EDT	9/29/2002 8:00 AM EDT	No
Isidore	9/18/2002 5:00 PM EDT	9/26/2002 5:00pm EDT	Yes
Hanna	9/13/2002 5:00 AM EDT	9/14/2002 2:00 PM EDT	Yes
Gustav	9/8/2002 11:00 PM EDT	9/10/2002 11:00 AM EDT	No
Edouard	9/2/2002 2:00 AM EDT	9/4/2002 11:00 PM EDT	Yes
Cristobal	8/6/2002 7:30 PM EDT	8/8/2002 5:00 PM EDT	No
2001 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Michelle	11/1/2001 8:15am EST	11/6/2001 8:15am EST	No
Iris	10/8/2001 8:15am EDT	10/9/2001 11:00am EDT	No
Gabrielle	9/13/2001 11:00am EDT	9/17/2001 8:15am EDT	No
Chantal	8/20/2001 8:15am EDT	8/22/2001 8:15am EDT	No
Barry	8/2/2001 3:00pm EDT	8/6/2001 11:00am EDT	No
Allison	6/5/2001 3:00pm EDT	6/6/2001 8:15am EDT	No
2000 Storm Restrictions
Storm Name	Start of Restriction Date and Time	End of Restriction Date and Time	48 hr. Reinspection Required?
Leslie	10/5/2000 11:00am EDT	10/6/2000 11:00am EDT	No
Keith	10/4/2000 11:00am EDT	10/5/2000 11:00am EDT	No
Keith	10/4/2000 2:00pm EDT	10/5/2000 8:15am EDT	No
Helene	9/21/2000 11:00am EDT	9/22/2000 2:00pm EDT	No

Two rather geeky engineering students were walking across campus when one said, "Where did you get such a great bike?"

The second geek replied, "Well, I was walking along yesterday minding my own business when a beautiful woman rode up on this bike. She threw the bike to the ground, took off all her clothes and said, 'Take what you want.'"

The first geek nodded approvingly, "Good choice. The clothes probably wouldn't have fit."

Sometimes a prospective buyer will notice their Realtor seems to have lost interest in them.  I am going to outline a few reasons why this might happen below.

As a Realtor, I naturally like people and want to serve their needs in their quest to buy or sell real estate.  But as a provider and productive member of society, I also need to generate business to put food on the table.

The most logical way to do this is to spend my time wisely.  This means that as soon as I recognize certain signals, I should try to move to greener pastures.

A few signals:

(1) A buyer who seems overly concerned with signing a Transaction Broker Notice.  Wanting to understand it is one thing, but every time I have been asked if it obligates them to anything, I have later found out they were already working with another Realtor, even though they may have told me they were not.

(2) A buyer who is reluctant to pre-qualify for a mortgage or produce the proof of a mortgage they claim to have already qualified for.

(3) A buyer who is looking in several widely dispersed neighborhoods for a home.  This may be a red flag that they are indecisive.  If they insist on using different Realtors for other neighborhoods, even though you offer to show them homes in them, this may be a flag that they have a preferred Realtor.  A friend maybe, and they plan to have this other Realtor step in once they have narrowed their search.  See item (1) above.

Sometimes it is just a gut feeling.  It may be the way the husband looks at his wife when asked a question.  Or an overheard whisper about consulting with "Jim" about some item or feature or question.  If said aloud in front of me, I assume that this is probably dad or an uncle or some other trusted advisor.  But when it is whispered, I am concerned that "Jim" is a Realtor friend who will be the one actually writing the contract.  This has happened to me after a whole weekend of showing properties.

My defense mechanism is to try to do the best job I can upfront to qualify my buyers.  And the majority of the people I deal with are honest and upfront with their intentions.  But, if I see these or any other actions that trip my "suspicion-o-meter", I may become more aggressive in my pursuit of a committment.  If I can't get it, I will find another buyer to work with.  I am someone that will look you in the eye and shake your hand and make you a promise and you will know you have a promise.  I have no hidden agenda and my word is my bond.  I am the kind of person I want to do business with.  I am the kind of person I want my buyers (and sellers) to be.

What kind of person are you?

Many agents hate questions about their commissions.

Not me, I love them!  I suppose that if you felt like you were not worth what you are being paid, you would not relish justifying them to your clients.

Commissions are driven by two main factors.  Competition and cost of doing business.

To be successful, every agent has to realize that their business is not operating in a vacuum.  If they charge a commission that is significantly higher than the competition, getting business will be difficult.  If they charge a rate that is too low, they will lose money.  No matter how hard you try, if you are losing money on every deal, you can't make up for it with volume.

Every customer should ask the agent about the commission and what the agent is doing to earn it. 

On the listing side, there are many obvious expenses associated with listing and marketing a house.  Things like signs, advertisements, open houses, flyers, direct mail, etc...  If the list price of the home is competitive with the market and the commission rate is high enough that I can make a profit, I will take the listing and market the heck out of it.  Otherwise, I don't want the listing.

Buyers should question the commission too.  The agent is likely to reply that the seller is paying the commission.  This is false.  The transaction is paying the commission.  If it were not for the commission, it is likely that the seller would have accepted less for the property.  If I were the agent representing a buyer who came to me knowing exactly what they wanted and my effort expended was less than normal, I would be inclined to make a concession on the commission, as long as I could do it without violating any lending laws.  But, if I have been driving the buyers all over town for three months, I would feel justified in accepting the entire commission.  You never know if you don't ask!

At the end of the day, the buyer, the seller, the listing agent and the selling agent all have to get what they want and need or the deal is not a success.  Agents who realize this fact prosper while those who do not, do not.

As a Realtor I hear what buyers say almost every day.  Sometimes what they say makes sense and sometimes not.

But, whether it makes sense to me or not, to the buyer, it definitely will influence their buying decision.

For example, you would not believe how many buyers will rule out a home because they don't like the color of a wall,  the style of curtains, a bedspread in the master bedroom, etc...

None of these items should cause a buyer to rule out a particular home, but many times, these are the kind of objectiions they raise when asked about a home.  As a Realtor and trusted advisor I have to tactfully point out that most of these items will not even be left with the house and the others can be easily changed.  Sometimes they volunteer these comments during the showing and other times, these objections only come out at a post showing discussion.

What does this mean to a home seller?

Well, first of all, paying attention to staging and cleanliness is of prime importance.  Obviously, you cannot stage a home so that everyone will like the colors or the drapes or floors or whatever.  But you can certainly try to make the home as appealing as possible to the largest audience possible.  This is where I can help.  My exposure to many homes on a daily basis has given me a kind of "eye" for what works and what doesn't.  I can give you many tips on things to do to make the house appeal to as many people as possible.  In fact, whether you are listing with me or not, you can email and ask for my "Geek Staging Tips" and I will send them right out to you.

The second thing this shows to potential sellers is the value of having an experienced agent showing their home to potential buyers.  If these buyers were looking at your home and they objected to your choice of drapes, do you think they would tell you this is the reason they are ruling out your home?  Probably not, that would be rude.  So they just make some excuse about needing to think about it and then they never call again.  You are never given the opportunity to point out that the drapes are not staying anyway, or maybe even offering a drapery allowance to them to sweeten the deal.  An experienced and creative agent would be able to hear the objections and come up with many different ways to handle them, depending on the situation.

I mentioned above that I have an "eye" for staging.  As an after thought, I want to add that sometimes a "nose" for staging is what is needed.  Offensive and/or unidentifiable odors will turn a buyer off as quickly as anything else.  The lesson here is to scrub and clean the home to a state I like to call white glove and toothbrush clean.  If possible, move pets somewhere else during the selling phase.  Definitely remove them for the showing.  Smoking, same thing.  Get rid of the odor and stop smoing in the house to keep from reintroducing the odor.  If you have pets and/or smoke in your home and you feel like there is no odor, find someone you trust who has no pets and does not smoke to come into your home and give you their opinions.  This could make the difference between another showing with no result and an offer leading to a contract and ultimately the sale!

Today, the National Association of Realtors and the local board of Realtors published the latest numbers for the area.

An example of what was published is shown below:

Zip Code:33558

Average Price:$423,700

Price Change:-5.49%

Total # Homes Sold (Quarter):43

% Change in # homes sold:-34.85%

Average Days on Market:67

% of Asking Price:96.2%

If you would like to know the statistics for your zip code, call or email me and I will look it up for you.

In the same report, they have declared that the market for Hillsborough County is a Buyer's Market.  No surprise there!

On a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being a buyer's market and a 5 being a seller's market, they have placed the Hillsborough County market at a 1.  My interpretation is that this means we are in a full fledged buyer's market!  What do you think?