Great Realtor or self absorbed windbag?

Let me pose a few questions to you.

1.  If the Realtor or Real Estate Company you choose is a choice made on them selling the most, being busier and having higher production than any other Realtor/Company....do you think there is a hazard that your home could be listed under fair market value to keep their stats on top?

2.  If the Realtor listing your home consistently runs a bigger picture of themselves than of your home, do you think they are trying to sell your home or sell other people on picking them for their next real estate transaction?

3.  If you have already heard from other professionals that your desired price is too high, but some other Realtor comes along and puts stars in your eyes that they can achieve the impossible...do you think they might just want to use your listing to get phone calls from other buyers and sellers, without any motivation to really sell your inflated priced home?

If your pick of Realtor is more about a sales pitch than about genuine, professional advice you might want to look around.  There are many great Realtors out there that treat their profession as a service industry and will not cloud the issue of your purchase or your sale with their ulterior motives.

A great Realtor makes your home sale all about you, or your home buying all about you.  However, as I tell my clients, "in two years time when you see me at the grocery store, I want you to be happy to see me, I don't want you ready to launch a dozen oranges at me because I let you make a stupid move."

"Not on my watch" might be the mantra of a true blue Realtor.  They won't let you buy an overpriced or faulty home.  They won't let you undersell your home.  They will let you go before they let you down or fill your head with pipe dreams that will ultimately lead to huge disappointment.

You owe it to yourself to spend time interviewing a few different Realtors from different offices to know who will bring you the most VALUE.  And, the most VALUE is not (and often isn't) the cheapest to use.

Be careful out there!  Your home sale or purchase is likely the biggest part of your net worth.  Take your time and find the right Realtor to do the job superbly.

Herding Cats!

Occasionally efforts in the real estate world can best be compared to herding cats!  Just when you think you're moving forward a quick change in direction occurs; or the buyer just stops looking for a spell.  Rather like when a cat is bored with the chase and chooses to nap and groom instead.  Decisions are put off, second guessed and change.  While it makes answering the phone exciting, it doesn't best serve the long term strategies of some buyers.

Over time, a good Realtor becomes more adept in not pushing the river.  Given good communication and follow though, you simply trust that when its time to resume you'll hear back.  There is always a fine line between being proactive in communication and stalking!  And, it is so true, switching animal examples:  you can lead a horse to the most amazing pool of crystal clear, cool, luscious water...but you can't make him drink! 

This autumn for some reason; the phase of the moon, the beauty of the weather, the constant uncertainty the news thrives on creating, many of my colleagues and I are wondering when the fall market will kick into gear!  We're all dressed up ready to go!

In the North Okanagan it is a great time to buy real estate!  And a fair time to sell as well.  Where's the action?

Generally people shift into gear when they see others doing so.  People buy when the prices are rising instead of times like right now where we've seen the bottom and prices and volume of sales are just starting to tick up.

I've quoted Warren Buffet before, but for those that missed it, heed this fine advice:  When people are crying you should be buying; when people are yelling you should be selling.  In other words, act when conditions are right instead of when everyone else is doing it!

Don't for a moment think anyone outgrows peer pressure.  We are all more comfortable sharing the same decisions as someone else.  But doing what everyone else does or suggests is not a formula for optimizing opportunities!  The best rewards in life are often gained when acting contrary to the masses!  Listen to that niggling voice encouraging you to move forward with your dreams and goals.

So, dear readers, in our neck of the woods, time to get off the couch and on the hunt!  Lead, don't follow!  The dozing time has passed and its time to shake a leg.