Jul. 23, 2007 - The Anatomy Of A Listing

If you know me personally, or if you are a faithful reader of my blog, you know that I am an Associate Broker working with Charles Rutenberg Realty of Illinois.  You also know that I am a lone wolf who prefers to micro-manage my own work product.  That's why if you are buying or selling real property I am one of the finest REALTORS® you could hope to hire.  I realize that might sound kind of egotistical but hey, facts are facts.

When I take a new listing there is no turning it over to the over worked girls in the office.  They get to file the paperwork, of course, but I do my own marketing.  That's all part of the real estate lifestyle as far as I am concerned.  Sure I could use a virtual assistant to put the listing out there, but I ENJOY doing it myself.

Let's take a look at 7914 Kingsbury Drive, in Hanover Park.  That's my newest listing.  Immediately after the sellers and I signed the listing agreement we put the sign in front of the house.  Sure I could call a sign post company and wait a couple of days for the sign to go up, but that would waste a precious couple of selling days, keeping the listing a secret from the rest of the neighborhood.  Besides, with my sellers input, I am absolutely sure that they are happy with the location and alignment of the sign.  It's my listing, but it's their home and we both need to be proud of the way it looks.

Since it was still light out when I arrived at the house, I took the outside photograph.  That way I was able to input the listing into the MLS when I got home at 9:00 that night.  I didn't take the inside pictures until the next day because I wanted daylight shining through the windows.  Once I had those, I was able to add them to the MLS and put up the listings on my web sites, feeding then to all the gazillion other sites they end up on like yahoo, msn, craigslist, realtor.com, etc. etc.

Once I was sure the house was REALLY on the market, I crafted the virtual tour.  Again, I could call a virtual tour company and wait a few days for the photographer to show up and a few more days for the tour to be posted but, but why waste marketing time?  Once I put the tour together I link it all over the place.  I have branded and unbranded versions I can use, depending on the rules.  For instance, for the MLS and IDX situations I have to use the unbranded version.  Everywhere else I get to market Charles Rutenberg Realty and myself.  That makes my ego happy.

On this particular listing I am hosting a Brokers Open tomorrow, July 24th, from 11:00 AM until 2:00 PM.  The biggest problem I will have here will be where the heck will I find a pizza place that can have pizza's ready by 11:00 AM.  I will work that out today, along with recording my Talking House broadcast.  In case you are not aware of what that is, it's a radio transmitter that I put in the home with whatever details I want the drive by public to know about the house.  They can tune in to the AM frequency I have posted on the sign and listen to me tell them about the price and the homes features.  I also direct them to my web site, where they can print out a brouchure if they need one.  That way I don't have to worry about keeping a brouchure box full or replenishing it with dry copies every time it rains.

You should also know that when someone calls the number on the sign, they will be connected to me so that they are dealing directly with the person they need to talk to regarding my listings.  The number on the sign is my virtual office number.  That's another bit of technology that allows me to be on top things and "mind my own business".  It captures the number of everyone that calls it, so even if I miss the call and they do not leave a message, I can still contact them.  Some people who call on listed properties are shy when it comes to leaving messages, but are really glad that you called them back anyway.  It's an EasyTel system and everyone who does any kind of business should have one.  My contact in that regard is David Byrd.  If you e-mail him for information on your own set of virtual office phone numbers, tell him Gene Molloy sent you. 

As always, if you have found yourself receiving my blog postings via e-mail, it is because I have either blogged about you personally, blogged about something I know is of interest to you, or I consider you to be a person of deep thinking and intellect and I would love to have you occasionally commenting on my blog. If you would like to be removed from the list simply send me an e-mail saying so.

Jul. 18, 2007 - Bang For The Buck

Someone I knew was about to do a bathroom renovation.  They asked me, "If I use a 36"or 48" shower stall instead of a 5' bath/shower combo will it effect the sale value?"

This is a pretty easy question, right?  My easy answer is, "Why yes, of course it will".  That's because any improvements you make to what I refer to as a water room, kitchens, baths and laundry rooms, always ups your resale value.  Remodeling these rooms usually give you the best bang for the buck.

If that was all there was to it, there would be nothing left to consider, however, the question begs another question.  Is this the only bathroom in the house?  If it is, then you are going to up the resale value of the house from it's present condition but you are going to limit the number of prospective purchasers if you go with the shower only.  There are many people out there who just love a nice relaxing soak in a glorious tub of hot water.  I don't know of any really young childen who are avid shower takers either, so there goes the purchasing pool of young families as well.

So, after some careful thought and consideration my answer becomes a bit more detailed.  If this not the only bathroom in the house, or if you are putting in an additional bath from scratch, then I see nothing wrong with going with a shower only.  The size of the shower should be determined by the size of the room.  Go as large as you can without crowding the space.  Add all the bells and whistles that your budget allows.  I often hear prosective buyers mentioning that a shower stall with a bench is really good thing.  Personally, if I have my way about it, my next shower will have a full body spray.

As always, if you have found yourself receiving my blog postings via e-mail, it is because I have either blogged about you personally, blogged about something I know is of interest to you, or I consider you to be a person of deep thinking and intellect and I would love to have you occasionally commenting on my blog. If you would like to be removed from the list simply send me an e-mail saying so.

Jul. 11, 2007 - When Not To Use A Home Inspector

I recently came across a question that showed me that the general public might just be confused when it comes to what the roll of a home inspector is.  " I think my house, due to age, may be suffering some structual damage. How do I pick a good house inspector? There are about 20 in my area but I am not sure what to ask or what to expect for fees and what they should be looking at".

If, in fact, a house has structural damage, you are going to need a structural engineer to make that call, not a home inspector.  A home inspector would only be able to tell you what they suspect.  They would not be able to assess the damage, tell you what caused it or what you would need to do to remedy it. 

To learn more about the roll of a home inspector you can go to The American Society Of Home Inspectors website or you can e-mail Michael Pignotti of Pignotti Property Inspections with any questions you might have.

As always, if you have found yourself receiving my blog postings via e-mail, it is because I have either blogged about you personally, blogged about something I know is of interest to you, or I consider you to be a person of deep thinking and intellect and I would love to have you occasionally commenting on my blog. If you would like to be removed from the list simply send me an e-mail saying so.