A Glimpse into the life of a Realtor....
Today, I will work out. Then I will go to view some homes on Broker's Tour. ( Every Thursday in Santa Cruz, realtors can make their listings available for other Brokers to view: in the north end of the county, the tour is from 9:30 to noon, and in the south end, the tour is from 12:30 to 3.) The tour provides an opportunity for Realtors to see listings without making an appointment. One can view as many as 10 or 12 houses in a morning. ( Some Realtors send their clients. Some hip clients just know about it and go.)
I have a new listing going on the market next week, in the Banana belt area of Santa Cruz. ( Go to my Website, www.aninavanalstine.com on Monday, to see the address.)It will be open Thursday, February 4. I will have food at the Brokers tour, as I usually do, as I try to make the opening of a new listing a festive event for all concerned. Also, having food at the Open House makes people feel more comfortable to linger in the home, which enables them to really appreciate the property.
I will preview a couple of houses. Then, at 11:30 I have an appointment with a client to review her options regarding the short sale we have going on for her property. At noon, I have a lunch date with another client to discuss the ideas she has about the new home she would like to buy. After that I have a hair appointment. ( VERY important part of a Realtor's life!) Then I will review a counter offer a Seller is receiving to a counter offer they made. The property in question is an estate, so my client is the Trustee, and concerned that she does the right thing for all the heirs involved. After that, I will go to a new listing to meet with the Seller and a Stager, to discuss the preparation of the property for the market. In the little pockets of time in between the appointments I will be discussing marketing with my assistant, Shelley, and having phone meetings with an attorney in SF about a rent control property a client here wants to sell and have a conversation with the business manager and realtor of an actress in NYC who is contemplating buying an apartment there.
At 6, I will go to City Hall, to participate with a group of people in a "Take Back the Night" candle lit walk to reclaim the streets of Santa Cruz for its citizens. There has been too much criminal activity in our neighborhoods lately, and we want to make a stand for the safety of our town. ( If you live in Santa Cruz, dress warmly, bring a candle or flashlight, and join us!)
These are the things I know will happen. But the wonderful thing about real estate is that there will be unexpected occurences. Every day brings surprises in my practice. I will expect the unexpected: the phone call from the parent or child of a client who wants to buy or sell, a new referral, or just a question from someone I haven't heard from. One of the really fun calls is when a client who does not live here any more, or their referral, calls for help in finding a Realtor in another City or State. I love the process of interviewing Realtors for clients and helping to find a good one. I love helping people negotiate their real estate transactions wherever they are. If YOU have any real estate questions, please feel to call me at 831-464-4439. I am familiar with 1031 tax deferred exchanges, the over 55 property tax laws in California, installment sales and other aspects of selling both commercial and residential real estate.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
January 27,2010
Thinking back to last year, I am filled with Gratitude.During the time between the Election and the Inauguration, we experienced a phenomenon I had never seen in my thirty one years in real estate. There was a sense of paralysis- " deer in the headlights" as people waited for the changing of the administration.
In the years of my practice, I have noticed that when some catastrophic event occurs, the market usually slows or stops for about three weeks. The flood of 1982, the Stock market crash of October 1987 ( or maybe it was John Lennon's death) the Loma Prieta earthquake, in October 1989, the first Gulf War ( 1990) were all occasions memorable for their shocking impact and in every case, it seemed that people who needed to sell or buy usually got started again in about three weeks. ( People who need to move do so, no matter what is going on around them.)
I sold a house three weeks after the Loma Prieta Quake. I sold a house right before the Gulf War and then none until three weeks later.
The first time I saw this phenomenon challenged was after September 11. Things came to a halt then, and, just as we were starting to get going again, the country entered the war with Afghanistan. Then we started in on Iraq... so there was about a two month freeze in the market.
The 2008-2009 slow down was the most drastic pause I have ever seen. Fortunately, with the first time home buyer credit, the decision to continue to keep interest rates low, and lower prices, Buyers have entered the market in droves. As the " bridge loan" has become a thing of the past, any one who wants to change their address who does not have the twenty percent down for the purchase of their new home, must sell first, just like in the old days, and then shop for their next home. This situation can be scary.... selling before you know where you are going. However, I have never failed to find a person their next home: I have no homeless clients.
Thinking back to last year, I am filled with Gratitude.During the time between the Election and the Inauguration, we experienced a phenomenon I had never seen in my thirty one years in real estate. There was a sense of paralysis- " deer in the headlights" as people waited for the changing of the administration.
In the years of my practice, I have noticed that when some catastrophic event occurs, the market usually slows or stops for about three weeks. The flood of 1982, the Stock market crash of October 1987 ( or maybe it was John Lennon's death) the Loma Prieta earthquake, in October 1989, the first Gulf War ( 1990) were all occasions memorable for their shocking impact and in every case, it seemed that people who needed to sell or buy usually got started again in about three weeks. ( People who need to move do so, no matter what is going on around them.)
I sold a house three weeks after the Loma Prieta Quake. I sold a house right before the Gulf War and then none until three weeks later.
The first time I saw this phenomenon challenged was after September 11. Things came to a halt then, and, just as we were starting to get going again, the country entered the war with Afghanistan. Then we started in on Iraq... so there was about a two month freeze in the market.
The 2008-2009 slow down was the most drastic pause I have ever seen. Fortunately, with the first time home buyer credit, the decision to continue to keep interest rates low, and lower prices, Buyers have entered the market in droves. As the " bridge loan" has become a thing of the past, any one who wants to change their address who does not have the twenty percent down for the purchase of their new home, must sell first, just like in the old days, and then shop for their next home. This situation can be scary.... selling before you know where you are going. However, I have never failed to find a person their next home: I have no homeless clients.
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