Thoughts Ideas and Giggles: January 2010

We are hearing the whispers "The housing market is recovering"!   In our area, we believe this to be particularly true.  Sacramento was one of the first to feel the meltdown, so naturally, we would be one of the first to see some hope of recovery. 

Now the question becomes, what, exactly, does the word "recovery" mean?  Evidently, the answer to this depends on your perspective and the amount of optimism you choose to insert into the equation.

Buyers see this as a possible loss of power.  As the housing market grows in strength, it may be assumed that buyers will see a loss in their ability to negotiate a "deal".  Many first time home buyers feel they have hit the mother lode with a combination of foreclosures and short sales, low interest rates and the federal tax credit.  As the housing market begins to return to normalcy, the government will no longer see the need to stimulate the market or continue lower interest rates.  There is a growing belief that the market has the ability to absorb the remaining foreclosures without the once-touted "wave".  If ever there was a time to get off of the fence to take advantage of a great market, this is certainly it!

Sellers hear "recovery" and instantly assume this translates into their equity growing once again.  While we certainly see an inventory that would appear to give sellers a stronger negotiating ability, this is not translating into an increase in equity.  The "recovery" that is being bantered about is really more of the beginning of a stable market.  Homes that are believed to be the "best house at the best price" are selling fairly quickly and at close to the asking price.  Note, however, the words "best price".  Sellers must be competitive in their pricing to appeal to the "deal" buyers are looking for.  The result is equity being put into a holding pattern for the foreseeable future.  While sellers can be relieved that they are no longer seeing their equity decrease, they should not look to the near future for equity gains. 

Recently in discussing the possibility of putting their home on the market, the seller asked, "What if I wait a year...can I expect to get $100,000 more?"  This question was raised on a $300,000 home.  Simply put, it will many years before this home can see that kind of gain.  The suggestion was to either sell now or rent the home for 5 years and then review the market value of the home.

When discussing "recovery" be certain that it is very clear what that word means.  We got to this place in the housing market through years of "if you fog a mirror, we will give you money" loans.  It will take us years to return to a normal market.  The word "recovery" just may be a term that would better be replaced with "we are at the intersection and are starting the journey towards normalcy".

I heard this on Face the Nation.  Bob Schieffer said he didn't know where it came from to give credit.  Any way you look at it though, it is so worth remembering!

If dogs could give us a few life lessons, here is what some of them would be:

Always run to greet loved ones when they come home.

Never pass the opportunity to go for a joy ride.

Recognize the ecstasy of fresh air and wind in your face.

Take naps.

Stretch before rising.

Run, romp and play daily.

Thrive on attention and let people touch you.

Avoid biting when a simple growl will do.

On warm days, lie on your back in the grass.  On hot days, drink lots of water and find the shade.

When you're happy, dance around and wag your entire body.

Enjoy long walks.

Be loyal.

Never pretend to be something you're not.

If what you want is buried, dig deep until you find it.

And, when someone is having a bad day, be silent, sit close by and nuzzle them gently.

Now, make your week a great one...it's the only second week of January 2010 that you will ever have!

Update: John added on a couple of good ones:

Live in the moment

Have a very short memory

Amber is pregnant!  Now, you might wonder who Amber is and why this is such a monumental occasion.  Amber is a Giant Anteater and her little bundle of joy will be the first anteater to be born at the Sacramento Zoo.  Look for the birth announcement coming in early April.  If you want to learn more about Amber and her little one, click on Sacramento Zoo's Amber.

The giraffe's at the Sacramento Zoo have always had a barn of sorts and enough land to wander, but it was nothing special.  Well, all that has changed with the opening of the Tall Wonders Giraffe exhibit.  Not only do the giraffes have a cutting edge new home, but now visitors can view them at eye level with the addition of a viewing deck.  The giraffes are already enjoying their new home, but the grand opening won't be until February 12th.  Now, it just doesn't get any cooler than that! 

If you have not enjoyed our little Sacramento Zoo enclave, you have missed one of the very special experiences of the region.  Take a weekend day and meander the regions of the world in an hour or two!

Land Park is nestled just south of downtown Sacramento.  It boasts a very active neighborhood association -Land Park Community Association - that has gone through some significant changes, including a board of 15, of which only 3 were returnees.  It was a sign of the hope the neighborhood had to be better represented.  I am very proud to list the successes we had in 2009.

The most significant change was a board that worked together.  While we had differing opinions, we were willing to discuss, compromise and come to a mutual understanding.  We showed respect for each other and have been very deliberate in our representation of the community.

Our ongoing events resulted in great attendance, even though both the Taste of Land Park and the Picnic in the Park was held in sweltering heat.

We brought to the neighborhood a new event - the Picnic in the Park.  It was free to the community as a thank you for all of the support they have given to LPCA.

We changed the bylaws, the most significant change being the inclusion of the local businesses in the membership.  To this date, the local businesses were asked to donate to our events, but were not allowed to be members.  It was an inexcusable stance which we were thrilled to eliminate.  We hope to include our local businesses in many of our debates and decisions.

We are working hard to make up for a loss in maintenance in William Land Park.  We are spending a significant amount of money to reinstate the Rock Garden to it's former glory.  The bureaucracy is continuing to put up road blocks, so this is still a work in progress.

We have worked diligently to encourage the development of Curtis Park Village, while voicing our concerns regarding a few of the issues.

Probably one of most successful new programs is Listserv, which is real time reports from our neighbors regarding crime in the neighborhood. It has resulted in phenomenal and immediate communication resulting in arrests and preventative measures.  It has been extremely popular with many neighbors joining LPCA just to be able to subscribe to this benefit.

The coming year promises to bring more changes and additions.  We hope to continue to be of value to our neighborhood...stay posted!

I always have to giggle just a little when people tell me that they are considering going into real estate because they "love looking at houses".  If only that is all we do...or even a majority of what we do!  So, to give some perspective, I thought I would share what a normal day for a Realtor can look like.

Hurry...get ready for work!  I can't be late today because it is the office meeting and tour! Hurry..hurry!

Whew...got to the office just in time to check e-mails before the meeting starts!  For 30 minutes or so, I learn about the latest law changes, educational opportunities offered by the office and the real estate association and the features of the new listings our office got this week...some really cool stuff!

Off we go...the whole office leaves, en mass, to tour our new office listings!  We are very PC - carpooling to economize on gas! Between homes we evaluate the features of the home and how they relate to the value.  And, of course, how our weekend was, what our families did and so on.

It is amazing how many messages a Realtor can get just in the hour or two we are gone touring homes!  How do those callers know when we are gone?  I also check e-mails. 

An agent comes in and says "Check out this!  Google Whitepages.com and put in your name.  It tells people way more than you want out there!"  I did and it does! I immediately select an option that eliminates me from their site. That was scary! They listed my home address, my age and my family's names and ages...really scary!

Lunch break...my very favorite time of day!  I get to eat and socialize a bit!

I get a call while I am at lunch...a client spotted their perfect house and wants to go see it!  I look up the property, call to arrange the showing, call the client back and off I go! 

Well, it wasn't the perfect house after all. Oh well, we'll just keep looking!  Maybe we need to consider another neighborhood.

I promised myself I would work on my farm today.  I hand address 250 envelopes (I am a big believer in humanizing things).  I want to be sure to give my farm something of value, and I think a graph showing how 2009 fared in our neighborhood would be interesting.  I'll have to work on that tomorrow, since I have too many other things I want to get done today.

I am covering for another agent, so I have to go through her file to be certain all of the disclosures are signed...nope!  I e-mail the sellers agent to let her know what is stilll needed in the file.  I also call the title company in hopes that they might have some of the documents..yea! They do!

I have to call a buyer to be sure that they put the utilities in their name, since the property recorded today.

A client calls to ask for a list of the costs he incurred preparing the house for sale and doing the requested repairs.  Here's a tough one...the actual seller isn't asking...her brother, who is inheriting some of the money, is. Hmm....talk about being in the middle of it! I hate it when this happens!  I call the seller and ask her what she wants me to do and we work it out.

I arrange for locks to be changed and meet the locksmith at a property.

One of our agents has a lender who is requiring a second bid for a roof certification. She asks for some names.  I recommend one that ends up being half the cost of the other! Yea! I love it when that happens!

I work on finding a cheaper "fax-to-e-mail" company...not too much luck.

I get a call from a family who is having some issues and needs to know what their home value is. They aren't going to sell it - they just need help.  I arrange to see them on Saturday.

An old friend comes by with an idea for a new enterprise for Realtors and want my opinion.  It might be a good idea for some venues, but I can't see Realtors using it. 

Now it is past 5, the secretary has left and I am still at the office.  Time to go, pick up what-ever-in-the-heck I am going to fix for dinner and get home to feed the dogs.

Aahhh...a day in the life of a Realtor!