It's Friday night. If you're anything like me, Friday Nights are nights when you let down your hair and relax a little...perhaps dinner, a movie, or a show.  This past Friday is no exception.  We've still got a teenager at home who doesn't drive, so Friday night involves playing part-time taxicab driver too. 

As we're preparing to go out, I notice that he's busy at the computer.  I'm a "quasi hip" mom, so I presume he's checking out Facebook to see where everyone will be hanging out.  Imagine my surprise when he tells me he's downloading music because he's going to be the DJ!  I can barely contain my surprise..."You're downloading music for the dance onto your iPod?"  He barely gives me a sideways glance...continues tapping the keyboard and says..."Ya."

Now, you've got to understand, I can still remember the days of vinyl records.  The DJ's table was exactly that...a sturdy looking structure with various turntables, speakers, gadgets and microphones.  By the time things went totally digital...I'd started having kids and sleep was far more important than dancing into the wee hours of the night. So...for the me the trajectory was turntables, to CD's and then things dropped off.

Until they resumed this Friday night with my iPod DJ downloading songs for the party at school onto  a device that fit neatly into his back pocket.  I asked him how they would hear the songs.  He replied in mock disbelief.."We'll hook the iPod up to the speakers and if they don't like my selections, we'll hook up someone elses."  Wow...talk about feeling old fashioned! This type of DJ experience is not even on my radar...

So, it seems that while I have been sleeping, the world of dance music and entertainment has become much more portable.  Music travels hipster style to where the party is...not the other way.  It's a fluid movement of exchange and interaction which allows anyone with the right mix at the moment to step up to the turntable, hook in and share what they've got playing on their iPod.

It occurs to me that in a sense, this is not unlike what is happening in the real estate industry today.  The conversation online about real estate moves with fluid grace and sometimes jolting jerks...either way, it's a continuum of moving parts which includes websites, news feeds, blogs, video casts, podcasts, social networks and the mainstay of the real estate genre...MLS systems. 

Today, real estate buyers are surfing for the hottest offerings online.  The average buyer is visiting numerous websites to sample what's out there. 

Recently, I looked up a certain price range for homes in our local area online.  The results were interesting.  In the top 8 Search Results, the number of listings in "a particular search area" ranged from 1 home  to 32!  No wonder buyers feel they must look at all options...landing on the wrong site means that you may not be seeing 90% of what's available for Sale. 

That's one reason why connecting with a good real estate who is pluged in to one or more MLS systems as well as many of the other frequently visited sites which feature Homes for Sale is so critically important.  This is a partnership...a dance which requires coordination and synergy.  As a home buyer, you should move in perfect sync by:

1.  Clearly thinking and writing down what you would like to find in a home

2.  Choosing a real estate agent to assist you...preferably one who is connected online

3.  Link up with a good mortgage specialist to make sure your finances are in order

4.  Create your own Playlist...Surf online, take virtual tours, research various blogs and sites

5.  Be prepared to sync up with your agent on a regular basis, learn from them and create winning solutions.

What's wonderful about this new emerging conversation is that it is so portable.  You can find listings everywhere.  You can download them to a number of devices.  You can search for homes by Street Name through the  Search Engines.  Don't snooze now or you loose.  The best deals won't wait...they'll just twirl around to the next available player!

Vector photo courtesy of Sabrina Campagna's photostream on flickr.com

Dance photo courtesy of firutin's photostream on flickr.com

Copyright 2008  Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved

11 Quirky Questions to Ask Your Realtor ® Before You Hire Them for the Job!

Hiring a real estate agent to sell your home is an important task.  Most of us are far more skilled at answering questions when searching for employment than thinking of creative ways to interview a real estate agent to help us to sell our home.  Since standard questions are often anticipated, they will provide limited insight into how a person thinks and functions. Because the sale or purchase of a home is the largest investment that most Americans will make, it might be prudent to go beyond the "standard" when evaluating who you select to provide service in this area.

Many home owners have limited experience with hiring real estate agents.  The average home owner will only interview one or two agents within a 3-5 year period. The questions they are often advised to ask are fairly simplistic & usually flow along these lines: 

While these questions listed above may address the nuts and bolts of the transaction, they will do little to give you insight into the nature of the individual you are hiring.  Statistics can be manipulated and may not tell the whole story.  For instance, a well trained newer agent with enthusiasm and passion may actually do a better job in marketing and selling a home than a cynical, jaded long time real estate agent who has collected a slew of accolades.  Since you will be working with a real estate agent for a few months or considerably longer, it might be important to understand more about an individual than their statistics.

Sometimes, going off-track in your questions will yield an entirely different perspective of the real estate process and give a new dimension to your understanding of the service level you can anticipate during the duration of your contract.  It may be helpful to intersperse quirky questions with commonly asked questions to truly enhance the experience of getting to know and rate any real estate professionals that you are considering.  So, here are some "quirky questions" to spice up your next real estate interview and add a little more fun into the process too!

 1.  What aspect of your job makes it Fun to get out of Bed in the morning?

2.   Describe Your Oddest Experience on the job to date.

3.  What Would you like to be doing 5 years from now?

4.  What's your source of Inspiration?

5.  Define your idea of the "Perfect Real Estate Transaction."

6.  Describe your idea of the "Perfect Client."

7.  If you had the commission from the Sale of My house in your hand right now...what would you do with it?

8.  What's the most important thing you've learned, heard or read about in the last month?

9.  What aspect of your career has challnged you the most?

10.  How has your real estate career impacted your life?

11.  What are you doing to do to make sure that I don't have to ask anyone else these questions with regards to selling my home?

Before you ask these questions...think about the responses you anticipate and what is important to you in selecting a real estate agent. Remember that a good agent will be evaluating you as well.  This can be a fun and unusual way to conduct an interview. Be courteous and polite.  Not every single question will be appropriate for every agent, but every question is sure to add a different dimension to the interview process!

Copyright 2007 Audu Real Estate  All Rights Reserved

 Click Here to Read More about Grand Rapids, Michigan

If Life Throws You a Lemon...Squeeze Out the Lemonade!

Earlier this year, Grand Rapids, Mi was in the national spotlight.  A native son, the former President of the United States, Gerald Ford came home to rest.  The harsh cold wintry conditions were no deterrent for thousands who waited patiently in line for up to 8 hours to pay their respects.  The next morning, the crowds had thinned out & our real estate team headed downtown.  The line for the viewing extended out the Gerald Ford Presidential Museum,across the bridge over the Grand River & snaked through the DeVos Hall several times before exiting at the door.  When we arrived at 10:30, a secret service agent informed us that the viewing was concluding at 11:15 a.m. and the line was now a 2 hour wait.  He suggested we simply sign the guest book & make our departure.  I decided that we would stay in line. 

As the line inched forward & then began to move a little more rapidly, we anxiously looked at our watches...11:15 was rapidly approaching.  Although all seemed lost, I kept on repeating to my team..."We are on the viewing line!  I don't know what those who are turning around came to do, but we came for a Viewing & we will remain on the Viewing Line." 

11:15 came & went.  We remained in line, crossing the bridge & finally had clear sites of the museum door.  Although no more people were joining the line, those who were in line were allowed to continue to move forward.  When we reached the door, to our surprise, we were greeted by the children of President Ford.  Steven Ford shook my hand & when I told him that I was praying for him, he said, "You don't know how much that means to us."

We payed our respects that day in tremendous gratitude for the life of a great leader & Our President.  We later heard that the line had remained OPEN at the Special Request of the Ford Family.  This experience really showed me the power of perservering & not giving up!   We also learned another important lesson that has stuck with our team to this day.  Whenever anyone repeats dire statistics about the real estate market in Grand Rapids, Michigan, we recall the lesson we learned from being on the Viewing Line. We've decided that we are on the Selling Team.  We've decided that the houses we represent will be in the Homes Sold Statistics.  Yes, this is our choice & it's a Quality Decision.  Regardless of how long the line looks or how slim the chance, we know that all things are possible to those who believe & work hard.  So if you're a home owner who has determined to SELL your home, call us...We're the Selling Team.  In preparation for your impending success, here are a few tips to Get You Started.

Remember LESS is Sometimes MORE

Obtain a well researched Market Analysis (10-15 pages) from Audu Real Estate.  This invaluable guide to pricing your home is an Excellent Starting Point.  We will advise you on strategically positioning your home to create optimum interest & generate showings.  Over-pricing NEVER works in this type of market.  Rather, let us tell you  about a tactic has brought many sellers multiple offers THIS year.  One happy seller went to the bank with $14,000 ABOVE asking price & paid NO Concessions.  Contact us to learn about our comprehensive strategy for marketing your home.

Set the Stage for Success!

Get your house ready & then Stay in Ready Mode!  Audu Real Estate offers FREE staging consultations to our clients to make your home look & show it's best.  Most of the items we'll use...you already own.  We also provide a written list of all our recommendations.  Our website & our Blogs generate thousands of hits every month & multiple pictures of your home will highlight it's best features. Selling your home demands that you give yourself every advantage.  Audu Real Estate specializes in Selling homes & Presenting them well. Several homes in our inventory have recently closed or received offers.  We're ready to help you be the Next Home to Sell in Grand Rapids, Michigan!

Promote Profusely!

Times have changed, you've got to mix it up!  Today's buyer is looking in places on-line that you may not have considered.  Most of them start looking 6-12 months before they buy.  Real estate blogging has become on of the most important new promotional tools in the emerging marketplace.  I say emerging because we frankly cannot accurately determine the enormity of the impact of Web 2.0...but we know that some of these developments are going to change business as we know it forever. 

Along with blogs have come a number of important New sites to be aware of when promoting your home.  You may want to consider utilizing these to enhance a traditional MLS listing.  At Audu Real Estate, we have experienced results & leads through our Blogs and can also discuss the pros & cons of supplementing your listing with other listing portals like trulia.com or Craigslist.  You don't have to be the expert when you can simply call one!  Call Audu Real Estate...We're the Selling Team!

So we say, Down Market...No Problem,  Lots of Houses for Sale...No Problem,  Home Expired...No Problem,  Home Needing a Short Sale...No Problem.  We believe that when Life throws you a Lemon, the very best thing you can do is Determine to Squeeze Out the  Lemonade!

Why Shifting Into Neutral Can Fast Forward Your Advancement!

 There's an oft repeated tale about how certain hunters in Africa catch monkeys.  It can be very difficult to corral these intelligent creatures, so hunters have used a more inventive method...trapping a monkey by enticing him.  A small jar is placed at the base of a tree with nuts or other items which may attract the monkey's curiosity. 

The opening of the jar allows the monkey to place his hand in, but when he tries to withdraw it, he is unable to do so without letting go of the contents of the jar.  Believe it or not, some monkeys will stay there with their hand in the jar until the hunter comes back to trap them!  They are trapped because they are unwilling to let go of something they are doing which is working against them.

It's not just monkeys who get trapped by what we are unwilling to release.  While, most of us would not be tempted by peanuts or sweets in a jar, it's amazing the things we will hang onto rather than release them so we can move on.  As a Realtor, I witness this phenomenon all the time.  The peanuts are quite conventional; I've got to obtain this Price for my house...irregardless of the market or I must have this home even though I can't really afford the payments. There may be variations on these themes, but in the end they're still peanuts...unrealistic expectations held on to at the expense of moving forward and achieving our goals & desires.

The real estate process often involves the 3 main components of this story; the Hunter, the Monkey & the Jar of Peanuts.  Buyers & Sellers are the significant players in the real estate process.  Sometimes, there is a tendency to behave like the monkey with the hand stuck in the jar for a few peanuts.  Instead of drawing back, taking the hand out of the jar to reconsider options and listen to sound counsel, so many get trapped by the peanuts. 

Peanuts are the misguided rewards that we think we desperately need.  Peanuts are symbolized by the Price that the Property must be worth because so much has been put into improvements.  Peanuts talk to the monkey even though they have no audible voice.  They convince the monkey that if you hold on to this for long enough, you will get what you want.  Peanuts lie!  Letting go of false assumptions is what will bring fulfillment to the desire & this can only be done by stopping the action of holding on to those peanuts. 

Holding on to an Artificially Inflated Price which the current market cannot support is listening to the Peanuts Lie.  Refusing to let go of clutter that serves no useful purpose and is hindering the sale of your home traps the hand in the peanut jar.  Looking for the , perfect home, in the perfect neighborhood, with  the perfect neighbors at the perfect price etc. ad nauseum ensures that your dream will never become a reality because...I tell you truth...Those peanuts will lie to you & then trap you! Once you move into the perfect neighborhood, you can rest assured, it will no longer be perfect.

The Hunter represents market forces.  The market needs players so it offers attractive opportunities. The number of financing vehicles, housing choices & selling tools  available to home buyers and home sellers has created many options &  provided a diverse variety of peanut jars. The market doesn't really care which monkey is snared by the contents of the jar.  It knows that some monkeys will pass by it's offers & simply decide that peanuts just aren't' an attractive choice on the menu at the moment. 

The Hunter also figures that a certain percentage of monkeys will recognize a trap when they see one & won't fall for the ruse.  But, it gambles that enough monkeys will not figure out a very simply solution to the dilemma.  Simply, let go of the peanuts, release your hand from the trap, turn the jar upside down & then you can have your peanuts & not get trapped!  The monkeys who have their Freedom & Eat Their Peanuts as well are those who realize that sometimes you have to let go of an outdated or incorrect assumption or ideals in order to move forward.  Sometimes, the action you take to STOP doing the wrong thing is the most important action you take because it allows you to see more clearly the best solution & option available to you.

Instead of demanding the highest price, simply stop being unrealistic.  Instead of taking several jobs to support a lifestyle we cannot afford, simply stop spending more money than you make or sell your house & move to something more affordable. We would be so much further ahead. if we concentrated on simply stopping doing a few of the things that we are doing which impede our progress  Instead of thinking like the monkey who is committed to getting a few peanuts out of a jar at the expense of his life & freedom, we can stop and  let go of the peanuts  & choose intelligent solutions.  This technique works for real estate & for life!

© 2007 Audu Real Estate  All rights reserved

In my previous post, I discussed how to determine if a home was a good choice for an Open House.  Now, we will focus on the right reasons to hold a home open.  This is something to take seriously.  We are asking homeowners to leave their home & let it be canvassed by members of the general public, for whom we cannot vouch their authentic interest, in the hopes that this will create a viable prospect for the sale of their home.  If we have not done our homework & prepared properly, at the very least, the effort has been a huge waste of everyone's time. 

Some of the reasons commonly given for holding an Open House are:  "The Seller's asked me to",   "I'm not getting any activity, so I need to hold an Open House,"My clients expect me to advertise their house, so I need to do an Open House," or "I'm not very busy so I have some time to do Open Houses."

Not!  None of the above is an optimal reason to conduct an Open House.  The Seller's asked me to - No, the Seller's hired you to give professional counsel & direction in the marketing and sale of their home.  Can you imagine this reasoning used in the following scenario - Patient to Doctor, "I need you to perform an operation because I've determined that this is the best solution to cure my condition."  No MD would acquiesce to a request like that simply because they were asked.  Professionals are hired to provide solutions and create options.  They are hired FOR their expertise.  Determining the viability of an Open House should be the responsibility of the real estate agent as one part of an extensive marketing strategy.

Reasons #2 - I'm not getting any activity on this listing, so I need to hold an Open House.  Holding an Open House will not magically transform a home with limited traffic into a hot portal of activity.  If a home is not getting showing requests, it's usually one of 2 things - a pricing problem or a staging problem.  No amount of increased exposure from a Open House will correct either of these 2 defects.  The solution is to discuss the limitations that an over-priced, improperly stage listing is creating for the Seller due to decreased showings, delayed offers and rapidly diminishing sale prospects.  Emphasize the fact that a well priced listing can NEVER be kept a secret!  Well Presented, Attractively Priced Homes are always Winners .  Successful Open Houses affirm this fact.

Reason #3 - I'm not busy and/or I need to show that I'm doing some advertising of my services. Not being busy is the very worst reason for an agent to hold an Open House which will not be successful.  New Agents and/or non-busy agents badly need to work in Open Houses that will guarantee them a good return on the investment of their time & energy.  One of the most debilitating things to do when your career is in a downward slide is to sit at multiple open houses which no one visits which guarantees that you will not be selling anything today.  There are methods to turn this particular scenario around...but we'll discuss that in a follow-up blog post.

Here are some right reasons to hold an Open House.

• Hold a home open to get buyers for the home you are Holding Open!  This is not counter-intuitive.  So, many times, I hear agents say, I'm holding this house open even though it's not a very good listing to get buyers.  Huh???  If it's not a good listing, why would buyers want to visit you there?
• Hold a home open to get buyers for YOUR other listings.  This demands that you choose very wisely the home that you are holding open.  You want people to be sufficiently wowed by your Open House that if they do not find this house to be the perfect fit, they are willing to trust your recommendations about what else they may want to preview. (This also holds true for other listings on your local MLS...the issue is building credibility & trust!
• Hold a home open to present potential future Sellers with a good pre-view of how you conduct your business.  An open house should feature examples of your marketing efforts.  These can include flyers & brochures that you have created.  This is a great opportunity to give visitors the opportunity to pre-view virtual tours or a real estate shows presentation.  Articles that you have written or blogged about should be attached to the Listing fact sheet along with other suggested homes to preview.  This can also be a great opportunity to highlight your local knowledge by creating virtual shows of the area in which the home you are located is in.
• Hold a home open to Talk with the Neighbors.  Statistics indicate that once a home is placed on the market, within 6-12 months, someone on the same street will be considering a move.  Don't know why this is...it just seems to happen.  Don't wait for the day of the Open House to call & introduce yourself.  Call a week before the Big event to Invite People in the Neighborhood to your Open House Party.  You know, they want to see the inside of the great home, extend an invitation!  Then while you're at the Open House, call again to remind them to stop by for coffee & donuts & get FREE information about what homes are selling for in their neighborhood.

Holding an Open House for the reasons above will dramatically increase the goodwill you generate with your current Seller Clients & will significantly increase your chances of getting many, many more Listings for your Open House Efforts.

Click here to read the previous Post:  Creating Captivating Open Houses

© 2007 Audu Real Estate  All rights reserved