Here is a selection of recent posts by Kathy Wall:
Environmental Issues When Buying A Home
I recently had to renew my real estate license for another 4 years and, as part of that process, had to take 45 hours of continuing education. I’ve been selling real estate for 16 years and, after all of that time, you start to think you know it all. Clearly, I was wrong, because I learned a lot from taking these courses.
The course that covers environmental issues in homes was of particular interest. I thought that some of the things I learned might be of help to my readers, so my next few articles will cover some of the environmental issues people need to be aware of. Today, I’ll talk a little about asbestos. Read more
Tenant Occupied Properties
For whatever reason, over the course of almost 16 years in real estate, I have very seldom sold homes that were occupied by tenants. Right now, I am involved with 3 properties that are occupied by tenants. Wow! Is it ever tough.
These transactions are so complicated with items that you would never think of. In the last couple of weeks I have dealt with:
1) Having the key to a tenant’s unit get stuck in the lock. The tenant was out and I have no phone number for him. I couldn’t reach the property management company and I, certainly, couldn’t leave this man’s home with the door unlocked. Fortunately, one of the people I had been showing the home to stayed with me, had a tool kit and, literally, took the lock out and solved the problem. Read more
A Few Bad Pennies….
About 3 weeks ago, I wrote an offer on a bank owned property in Hayward for a client of mine. I tried contacting the agent representing the seller to let her know that I was sending an offer, but wasn’t able to reach her. So, I emailed the offer and, also, faxed it to make absolutely sure that she received it by the deadline.
Over the course of the next 3 weeks, I tried diligently to reach this agent. I tried both calling and emailing. Sometimes when I called, I would get her voice mail. Other times, I got her husband who was listed as the co-lister, but knew nothing about the property. He indicated that he had “taken the phone away from her, because if she kept taking calls, she would never get anything done.” Read more
Real Estate Jargon…What Do All of These Terms Mean?
We Realtors often bandy about tons of real estate jargon. We talk to our clients and friends about short sales, REO’s, contingency periods, etc. I have come to realize, however, that just because we know what all of this stuff means, not everyone does, so I thought it would be helpful to describe some of the terms we use. Hopefully, this will give you some idea of what we’re talking about as we rattle on and on and your eyes are going bleary! Here goes:
Contingency Periods: We, generally, refer to these when doing our contracts. As an example, we tell you that you will have a 10 day period to “remove your property condition contingency” or 20 days to remove loan and appraisal contingencies. What this really boils down to, is that these are the time frames during which you will have the right to get your deposit back if you cancel the contract. Once you “remove these contingencies,” you are no longer entitled to get your deposit back, unless you can prove some sort of fraud. Read more
More Housing Help from the Government
In previous posts, fellow bloggers, Annie Chang and Michael Monozon, have talked about the many benefits of the new federal government stimulus package. Over the weekend, I learned about yet another program that will greatly help potential home buyers and will also help the many home builders who are sinking under the weight of their new homes not selling .
At our office meeting this morning, our in house lender, Guarantee Mortgage, filled us in on the details, as follows. It seems that the State of California has now instituted yet another tax credit. This one will apply only to people who purchase a brand new home, condo or townhome. Read more
Neither Snow nor Rain nor Heat of Day….
It is about 3:30 p.m. and I’m doing an open house in a lovely, although freezing, townhome in Pacifica. The rain is pouring down in sheets. The door is open, hoping to encourage someone to come in. I’m bundled up, including wearing long johns under my slacks, and am suddenly reminded of the postal service motto: “Neither snow nor rain nor heat of day nor gloom of night shall stay these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.” It occurs to me that, to a great degree, professional Realtors follow the same creed. An example of this would be my day today. Read more
Judging a Book by it’s Cover….Always a Mistake
At our office meeting this morning we discussed the fact that a large chain restaurant plans to offer free breakfasts to anyone who comes to their restaurant tomorrow. I won’t be going, because I have been boycotting them for more years than I can remember, after reading (on many occasions and in several locations) that their corporate culture allowed employees to discriminate again African Americans. I’ve never gone back since.
This made me think about how important our public image is and how one wrong move can cost us a customer for life. We need to be extremely conscious all the time about what we say and how we say it, both with our voices our physical gestures, and our written words. A silly joke that someone finds offensive or the way we discuss a neighborhood at an open house…almost anything can have the potential to lose a client or hurt someone’s feelings. Read more
Where Should We Work?
Over the years, one of the big controversies in the real estate world has been where we should work…what territories should we cover? Should we stick only to the areas near our office or home or should we branch out and sell properties in other areas? After all, our real estate license is for the entire State of California.
When my office was in Pacifica, there were many agents who would, literally, refer out any listings or sales that weren’t on the Coast. They wouldn’t “go over the hill.” I know that this is true for many agents in other areas, as well. Personally, I have always been of the mindset that “have license, will travel.” Read more
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