Buying or selling real estate is an emotional process, as evidenced by the number of sellers I have led to tears simply by writing an offer below their list price on behalf of a buyer.

There are any number of things that can happen during a transaction, all of which can lead a seller to want to “throw myself in front of a bus,” as one of my homeowners put it this week. (And her home is under contract!)

What most buyers and sellers want is a real estate agent who will be as upset or elated or frustrated as they are, and visibly so. But just because this is what the buyers and sellers may want doesn’t mean it’s what they need.

One of my peers was immortalized in the Arizona Republic for having a cell phone chucked at his head as he presented an offer to his sellers. I doubt his sellers would have wanted to see that same cell phone flying back at them.

Most real estate professionals, if they have any real experience, take on a “been there, done that” kind of attitude with most situations that arise. Some of it is because we have been there and done that. And some of it is because that’s the attitude our clients are paying for, even if they don’t realize it.

Think about it. If your doctor sees a spot on one of your x-ray, which would you rather hear next?

1. “This looks a little unusual, but it’s something I’ve seen before. Here’s what we ought to do from this point.”
2. (gasp) “OH MY GOD! WHAT IN THE HELL IS THAT?!?!?!?”

Ummmm … I know my choice.

Since my branch manager has begged suggested I not write about current transactions, I’ll say only that there’s something unusual going on with one of my escrows. Unusual, but not at all unheard of and not unseen.

Granted, I’m not at a Russell Shaw-esque 400 sales per year, but my 1-2 closings a month has been steady through both the Phoenix real estate market’s hot and cold cycles. The point is there is very little that comes up that either I haven’t seen or heard about.

Empathy is one thing. And I do empathize with my clients, as I remember what it was like waiting to sell my own home years ago before I went into the business. But I’m not given to panic, especially when there’s no cause.

This isn’t to say I’m an unemotional automaton. Far from it. But the yelling, screaming and other forms of posturing are reserved for the other agent and the title company (or for my branch manager/co-workers over a hefeweizen.) Never with my clients.

So before you become exasperated because your agent doesn’t appear to have as much invested emotionally in a real estate transaction as you, take a step back and think about what you truly want from an agent … one who can coolly assess a situation and develop a quick, effective solution or one who will come to pieces at the slightest hint of adversity.

Seems like an easy choice to me.

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Rates held steady this week, not really too much change. With the Federal Reserve meeting this past Thursday, Chairman Ben Bernanke decided to hold the interest rates the same on Federal Funds. What does this mean to you and me? This fun roller coaster ride is far from over! My advice is still to protect your interest rate… this is a very expensive time to be a rate shopper trying to catch “the lowest” rate.

One of the services we offer with Century 21 Mortgage is the ability to protect your interest rate for up to 90 days while you shop for your “perfect home”. In other words, you don’t need to already have a property under contract to protect your rate. As part of the protection program, you receive a one-time float down option - if the rates go down, use the one-time float down and you’ll receive the lower rate. If rates go up, your rate already is capped. And if rates stay the same you get the current market rate.

Here are current mortgage interest rates as of today, June 29, 2007:

Conforming Mortgage Rates (loan amounts up to $417,000 for 1-unit properties).

Conforming rate quote below based on owner occupied with minimum credit scores of 680 with an 80% loan to value or lower. Rates quoted are priced based on a 30 day lock with 1 point and there are no prepayment penalties on any of the rates quoted below.

30 Year Fixed: 6.533% (APR 6.679%). Payment per $1000 = $6.33.

30 Year Fixed with 10 Year Interest Only: 6.770% (APR 6.806%). Payment per $1000 = $5.53.

40 Year Fixed: 6.80% (APR 6.851%). Payment per $1000 = $ 6.03.

7/1 ARM: 6.3380%% (APR 6.492%). Payment per $1000 = $6.24.

5/1 ARM: 6.177% (APR 6.244%). Payment per $1000 = $6.08.

5/1 ARM with 10 Year Interest Only: 6.29% (APR 6.370%). Payment per $1000 = $5.20.

JUMBO (Non-Conforming) Rates.

Pricing is based on the same criteria above, with the exception that the loan amount is $417,001-$650,000 (20% down).

30 Year Fixed: 6.625% (APR 6.782%). Payment per $1000 = $6.40.

30 Year Fixed with interest only payments: 6.750% (APR 6.920% ). Payment per $1000 = $5.63.

40 Year Fixed: 6.750% (APR 6.903%). Payment per $1000 = $6.03.

5/1 ARM: 5.96% (APR 6.174%%). Payment per $1000 = $6.00.

5/1 ARM with 10 Year interest only payments: 6.125% (APR 6.274%). Payment per $1000 = $5.10

To receive your pre-approval, call me at 602-697-4165.

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Two days ago, I closed escrow on a home in Ventana Lakes. The buyers were moving here from Michigan and had found me through my Westbrook Village Real Estate site.  That was May 12.

Two weeks after first contact they arrived in town and I showed them about a dozen different homes in Westbrook Village and, eventually, Ventana Lakes. The call of the water won out over the view of the fairway and the buyers put an offer on a beautiful home along the lake in Ventana’s newer phase. That was May 28.

Loan docs were signed and I handed them the keys on Tuesday. That was June 26.

Total elapsed time from first contact to closing: 45 days.

Shortly after giving my clients the keys to their new home, I received an e-mail from someone looking to sell his investment property near the new Westgate City Center in Glendale. This homeowner first had contacted me just over a year ago through my Dalton’s Arizona Homes site asking for automated listings that could help him keep an eye on the Executive Palms subdivision.

I sent him the market analysis this morning an expect to have the home listed and on the market within the next few days.

These are but two of the web leads I’ve received, but they help to illustrate the great grab-bag that is internet prospecting. Most real estate agents when they first start their site are looking for results along the lines of the first prospect when, in reality, most leads follow a far longer timeframe.

Instant gratification is the name of the game, but it’s also a game plan doomed to fail.

Last year I taught a series of classes inside Century 21 Arizona Foothills on building your web presence. Of the couple dozen people who attended the class, exactly one walked out the door and started a website to begin prospecting. The rest still are mulling it over, many months and many lost leads later.

Roughly half of my closings this year came from web leads (and nearly the entire other half were corporate relocations.) The same goes for my current listings. I long ago surrendered the farming postcards as their effective waned (and Tobey started to object to being dressed like a buffoon.)

It’s not that most agents lack the interest in building their business online. Rather, they lack either the time, energy or stubbornness necessary.

And this goes double for the real estate blogging world, where the multitudes have flocked without the slightest clue why. Better to set up a basic web site than reveal to potential clients that you have no opinions, nothing to say worth reading, no depth to your knowledge of real estate.

Someone asked me last week if I’d help them with their blog. Absolutely, I said. And I haven’t heard a word since, which is par for the course.

And with that, time is up for this morning … I’m off to my debut as an instructor for the Arizona real estate contract.

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In a market with slow sales and far too much inventory, it’s often tempting to take the first offer received at face value. But even in a slower market such as the one here in Phoenix, sellers maintain a modicum of leverage in their contract negotiations.

We received an offer on one of my listings in Estrella Mountain Ranch this past weekend. It was well below list price, naturally, and substantially lower than my sellers were willing to go. So they countered at full price. In the interest of fill disclosure, I had advised against a full-price counter because those usually indicate an unwillingness to negotiate. And if one homeowner isn’t willing to negotiate, there likely are a half-dozen others who will.

To my surprise, the buyers countered the counter offer. This was telling in as much as it indicated the buyers were serious not just about buying but about this house in particular. If there were viable second and third options, they would have elected to start negotiating on those instead.

Shortening the story, the sellers countered one more time, the buyers countered one time after that and after some verbal haggling the contract was completed. My sellers still were looking for a little more money, but negotiations had reached a point where it was clear the buyers would not budge another penny.

In some markets, a seller can hold firm and dare a buyer to walk. But in a market where there’s 10-month inventory across the board (and an even more substantial inventory in Estrella Mountain Ranch), at some point the fight needs to end if a sale is take place.

As an aside, I had a second couple interested in the property after the latest price change. But this offer came through before they had decided whether to make a bid themselves.

Even in a slower market, homes do sell. If you’re truly interested in a home, it’s still best to make an offer once you’ve decided the home fits your needs. Wait too long, even just a couple of days if the home’s priced particularly well, and you could find yourself spending time researching a home that someone else bought.

In Arizona, there’s a built-in 10-day inspection period during which the buyer can do all of their due diligence without worry of someone else snatching the home of the market. It’s an antsy time from a seller’s standpoint, but can serve as a 10-day grace period if you’re a buyer.

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Today I’m proud to introduce the third contributor to the Dalton’s Arizona Homes Blog. Calie Waterhouse is a Master Stager and owner of Decorated To Sell in Chandler, Arizona. Staging Phoenix and Scottsdale homes since 2002, Calie has staged over $50 million of prime Arizona real estate.

Add this to the benefits of blogging and blog-initiated networking … Calie and I both were at last week’s Southwest Blogging Conference at the Ranch House Restaurant, where the seeds of her contribution here were born.

Deciding to sell your home is not a decision that can be taken lightly. Whether you are moving up or moving on, selling your home is…well, it’s traditional. Houses have been selling for centuries. My grandparents sold homes, my parents, my in-laws, my friends and even myself. Why do we sell our houses? Is it to be part of something bigger or is it merely to keep up?

Whatever your reason for selling – in today’s real estate market, it takes proactive ingenuity; It takes a keen eye and a strong backbone to endure the process. It requires patience on your part and technological genius on the part of your REALTOR®.

The newest industry buzz word is “Home Staging”. Although it’s been in practice for many years, today’s home sellers are gaining an understanding on the benefits of intentionally preparing their property for sale.

BEFORE STAGING

AFTER STAGING

What is Home Staging, you ask? It’s the process of preparing your home for sale. It’s not the weekend before the “For Sale” goes up – it’s a process. It’s the time you invest into your property to enhance the appeal to potential buyers.

Simply put – it’s the list of would of/could of/should ofs that were suppose to be done in years gone by. Have you ever noticed that when you open your house to the public, it really has never looked better? I’ve even witnessed many an argument between husbands and wives because the things that have been on the never-ending “honey-do” list are now done. Why? Because of the threat of potential buyers walking through the house.

VACANT HOME BEFORE STAGING

VACANT HOME AFTER STAGING

Staging your home starts at the curb and continues to the back yard. It’s removing the clutter, cleaning the nooks and crannies, being creative with what you have and highlighting the home’s features. The basics of staging start with your senses. Don’t rely on your impressions – instead invite a friend over and ask them. What do they smell? What’s the first thing they see when they walk in the door? What do they hear? Do they have any suggestions?

Because we live in our homes, we become desensitized to things potential buyers will pick up on or potentially walk away from. How about the condition of the baseboards? Leaky faucets? Smoke or cat? Condition of walls? Flooring? Walk-ways? Traffic patterns?

By investing your time now in staging your home, you are:

1. Making it easier for REALTORS® to show your property
2. Shortening the amount of days your home is for sale.
3. Removing the negotiating issues in the sales offer.
4. Allowing the appraiser to see the value of a well maintained, well cared for property.
5. And ultimately, you’re allowing the home’s new owner to fall in love with the property – the same way you did, all those years ago.

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