Cue Romeo and Juliet trailer.
The following is a true story. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and stupid. Correction just stupid. There are no innocent people in this story.
Over a year ago, two roommates realized they were in love with each other This was no easy feat for these two people had been involved in a tumultuous love triangle involving another party. Both roommates decided to cut ties with that party and decided to focus on each other.
According to them, the intensity of the relationship was just too much. So they decided to part ways and live in separate homes while seeing each other.
Cue dramatic music
They say that distance makes the heart grow fonder but in this case it just made them yearn for each other even more and it was decided that they would move back in together. One of the roommates had already had a place in the city and it was decided that the other roommate would join them.
Cue rain of flower petals
They eagerly displayed their love for each other online. They would post pictures of their adventures together. They publicly extolled their love of each other. The roommate who had moved in even brought the other roommate to their home to visit their family during the holidays. It was bliss. At least on the surface.
Cue Hank Williams.
One day, the roommate who had moved in received information from an anonymous source that the love of their life was cheating on them. And the acting home wrecker was the person that was the third piece from their love triangle. Someone that they thought they had cut ties with. Or at least the roommate who had been betrayed thought had cut ties with.
The roommate confronted the other who confessed to everything. To add insult to injury, the acts of betrayal took place on the same bed the two roommates shared.
Cue End of Days
Upon hearing that information, the betrayed roommate went on a rampage and began to destroy everything in site, particularly items of strong sentimental value. The betrayed roommate rage was so strong that the thought of napalming the violated bed entered their mind.
The betrayed roommate decided to pick up stakes and go back home.
Cue Kevin Bacon movie
Now with the betrayed roommate gone, the original roommate who was renting the apartment under their name was now in a bind. They were already a month behind rent and would have to move elsewhere.
Cue Which One?
Who is the loser?
The betrayed roommate?
The roommate who cheated on the other roommate?
The third party in the love triangle?
Answer: None of the above. The loser is the landlord.
The landlord is getting screwed because of the rent is not getting paid on time and eventually they will have a vacant apartment and will most likely never recover their rent. The landlord should have never rented out to this couple in the first place.
Traitor roommate is currently focused on their collegiate career which means they have no money and lots and lots of debt. Parental support is minimal at best.
Betrayed roommate has no parental support whatsoever and at the time was working not one but two entry level jobs.
These are the type of clients that landlords dread since they either have no income or very little coming in.
I have no idea how they got this far, apparently a broker was involved so it would not surprise me that broker exercised creative accounting in order to make them more presentable to the landlord.
When it comes to prospective tenants. Look at the numbers and their sources of income. Is the income stream stable or erratic? Certain types of occupations should raise red flags. As long as a landlord is aware of that, then they are able to lower their eviction rate.
Rabu, 23 Februari 2011
Rabu, 16 Februari 2011
The life of a Realtor
How to avoid real estate failure
Letters From the Home Front
By Kris Berg
Inman News™
February 16, 2011
I was first introduced to the term "cyclic failure" in college. The idea is pretty simple, even intuitive: Repeated tension and compression cause stress, and this type of stress, applied over a long enough period of time, can cause fatigue.
Enough fatigue and the result is failure, be it a slab of concrete, a bungee cord -- or a real estate agent.
Most of us have spent the better part of the past five years feeling like underpaid test subjects in an engineering science lab. In fact, in the best of markets our work is defined by compression and tension. Find a client, serve the client, then go out and find another. Lather, rinse and repeat.
One minute, we are on top of the world, flush with listings or buyer clients, reveling in the ecstasy that is positive cash flow. The next, we are wondering how we will eat in 45 days. If you have been licensed for more than two closing cycles, you know this feeling too well. If you have lived through a couple hundred or more transactions, you know it can wear you thin.
Ten years ago, it was easier to bounce back. We were tested in a fairly controlled environment. We had our highs and lows, our successes and failures, but the laws of real estate assured us that hard work would pay off, commitment would triumph, and our down time and down moments would inevitably be followed by another opportunity.
The demand side used to be a given. People would move, after all, once every five years or so. Not so today. Oh, they would if they could, but they can't. Which isn't to say that this leaves the real estate agent curled up on the couch watching "Judge Judy."
Rather, we are just as busy as we were five years ago, the difference being we used to get paid for our efforts.
My husband and I have had four listing opportunities in as many weeks. Each one involved detailed market analyses, fancy presentations -- time and money. And each one involved us playing the role of evening anchor on a night when the news sucked:
•"No, your home is not worth more than it was in 2006. Yes, I know you added those ceiling fans, but still ..."
•"No, your home isn't worth what you paid in 2005. Well, sure, you could just wait until Thursday to list. Yes, more people generally start looking in the spring, but still…"
Buyers present their own challenges, unaware of the realities of today's lending environment or unwilling to accept that the rules apply to them:
•"Yes, I know you make a lot of money, but you started your new job yesterday and ..."
•"Yes, I know you can qualify for a loan, but you have a house to sell first, so short sales and bank-owned properties are not available to you and, by the way, your current home is not worth what it was in 2005 even though you painted the walls a pleasing shade of lilac and added those ceiling fans ..."
And then, if you are a listing agent, there is the standing inventory. Communication is easy when there is something to say. Finding new ways to tell a client that market times are longer, buyers are fewer, prices are flat at best, and patience is a virtue can tax the old thesaurus.
"I don't make the news; I just report it, and you need to reduce price" tends to lose its charm toward the end of a six-month listing.
Fatigue happens. How to overcome it and avoid all-out failure is the question for all the marbles. It's our marbles at stake, and I don't profess to have the answers, but I do know that stagnation is not one of them.
It's hard sometimes to clear the cobwebs, find humor where there seemingly is little, and to feel productive while you're knee-deep in a moss-covered market. It's harder yet to find professional satisfaction when your days are spent in an echo chamber, delivering the same unwelcome rhetoric.
I've been feeling a little fatigued lately and when this happens I give myself a little time off, followed by a swift kick in the britches. In a business where the meter is always running and all days are the same, I declare it a Monday and start by just doing something -- anything.
You can't win if your head's not in the game. Catch up on your industry reading, tinker with your website, retool your listing presentation, or rewrite your business plan. Preview homes, research and study market trends, write a blog post or comment on a post. Engage in a little group therapy at the office -- or here.
Rethink how the challenges you face now might be -- if not altogether avoided -- at least mitigated in the future. Dare to lose a listing opportunity by being brutally honest, knowing that the people who respect your honesty enough to hire you will be most likely to respect you throughout the transaction and find success.
Dare to decline an opportunity to represent a buyer who isn't realistic in his expectations, recognizing that this will give you more time to dazzle and delight the more serious clients.
This market is going to be with us for a while, and what that means is that the opportunities will be fewer and more difficult. But it doesn't mean that we can't each survive and thrive -- both professionally and personally.
We need to remember that our business has cycles, as do markets. We need to be ever aware of the warning signs of too much tension and compression, and we need to be prepared to deal with the occasional fatigue lest we are threatened with catastrophic failure.
Kris Berg is broker-owner of San Diego Castles Realty. She also writes a consumer-focused real estate blog, The San Diego Home Blog.
Letters From the Home Front
By Kris Berg
Inman News™
February 16, 2011
I was first introduced to the term "cyclic failure" in college. The idea is pretty simple, even intuitive: Repeated tension and compression cause stress, and this type of stress, applied over a long enough period of time, can cause fatigue.
Enough fatigue and the result is failure, be it a slab of concrete, a bungee cord -- or a real estate agent.
Most of us have spent the better part of the past five years feeling like underpaid test subjects in an engineering science lab. In fact, in the best of markets our work is defined by compression and tension. Find a client, serve the client, then go out and find another. Lather, rinse and repeat.
One minute, we are on top of the world, flush with listings or buyer clients, reveling in the ecstasy that is positive cash flow. The next, we are wondering how we will eat in 45 days. If you have been licensed for more than two closing cycles, you know this feeling too well. If you have lived through a couple hundred or more transactions, you know it can wear you thin.
Ten years ago, it was easier to bounce back. We were tested in a fairly controlled environment. We had our highs and lows, our successes and failures, but the laws of real estate assured us that hard work would pay off, commitment would triumph, and our down time and down moments would inevitably be followed by another opportunity.
The demand side used to be a given. People would move, after all, once every five years or so. Not so today. Oh, they would if they could, but they can't. Which isn't to say that this leaves the real estate agent curled up on the couch watching "Judge Judy."
Rather, we are just as busy as we were five years ago, the difference being we used to get paid for our efforts.
My husband and I have had four listing opportunities in as many weeks. Each one involved detailed market analyses, fancy presentations -- time and money. And each one involved us playing the role of evening anchor on a night when the news sucked:
•"No, your home is not worth more than it was in 2006. Yes, I know you added those ceiling fans, but still ..."
•"No, your home isn't worth what you paid in 2005. Well, sure, you could just wait until Thursday to list. Yes, more people generally start looking in the spring, but still…"
Buyers present their own challenges, unaware of the realities of today's lending environment or unwilling to accept that the rules apply to them:
•"Yes, I know you make a lot of money, but you started your new job yesterday and ..."
•"Yes, I know you can qualify for a loan, but you have a house to sell first, so short sales and bank-owned properties are not available to you and, by the way, your current home is not worth what it was in 2005 even though you painted the walls a pleasing shade of lilac and added those ceiling fans ..."
And then, if you are a listing agent, there is the standing inventory. Communication is easy when there is something to say. Finding new ways to tell a client that market times are longer, buyers are fewer, prices are flat at best, and patience is a virtue can tax the old thesaurus.
"I don't make the news; I just report it, and you need to reduce price" tends to lose its charm toward the end of a six-month listing.
Fatigue happens. How to overcome it and avoid all-out failure is the question for all the marbles. It's our marbles at stake, and I don't profess to have the answers, but I do know that stagnation is not one of them.
It's hard sometimes to clear the cobwebs, find humor where there seemingly is little, and to feel productive while you're knee-deep in a moss-covered market. It's harder yet to find professional satisfaction when your days are spent in an echo chamber, delivering the same unwelcome rhetoric.
I've been feeling a little fatigued lately and when this happens I give myself a little time off, followed by a swift kick in the britches. In a business where the meter is always running and all days are the same, I declare it a Monday and start by just doing something -- anything.
You can't win if your head's not in the game. Catch up on your industry reading, tinker with your website, retool your listing presentation, or rewrite your business plan. Preview homes, research and study market trends, write a blog post or comment on a post. Engage in a little group therapy at the office -- or here.
Rethink how the challenges you face now might be -- if not altogether avoided -- at least mitigated in the future. Dare to lose a listing opportunity by being brutally honest, knowing that the people who respect your honesty enough to hire you will be most likely to respect you throughout the transaction and find success.
Dare to decline an opportunity to represent a buyer who isn't realistic in his expectations, recognizing that this will give you more time to dazzle and delight the more serious clients.
This market is going to be with us for a while, and what that means is that the opportunities will be fewer and more difficult. But it doesn't mean that we can't each survive and thrive -- both professionally and personally.
We need to remember that our business has cycles, as do markets. We need to be ever aware of the warning signs of too much tension and compression, and we need to be prepared to deal with the occasional fatigue lest we are threatened with catastrophic failure.
Kris Berg is broker-owner of San Diego Castles Realty. She also writes a consumer-focused real estate blog, The San Diego Home Blog.
Selasa, 15 Februari 2011
New Bern Home Sales-selected neighborhoods
Steve Tyson’s Real Estate Update
Neuse Harbour
Active homes for sale by price range
Current number of homes on the market=8
Pending sales=0
Active homes for sale by price range
$240,000-$300,000=4
$334,900-$355,000=2
$,415,000-$435,000=2
There were 2 homes that sold and closed in Neuse Harbour in the last 12 months. The most expensive was $250,000
Stately Pines
Current homes on the market=5
Pending sales=0
Active homes for sale by price range
$179,900-$200,000=3
$215,000-$274,000=2
There were 10 homes that sold and closed in Stately Pines in the last 12 months. The most expensive house sold was $262,500.
Carolina Pines
Current homes on the market=13
Pending sales=3
Active homes for sale by price range
$150,000-$200,000=7
$201,000-$260,000=6
There were 24 homes that sold and closed in Carolina Pines in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $249,000.
Tucker Creek
Current homes on the market=6
Pending sales=1
Active homes for sale by price range
$110,000-$200,000=5
$282,500=1
There were 14 homes that sold and closed in Tucker Creek in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $275,000.
Total homes sold in Jan.2010=69
During the same time frame in 2011=81 homes were sold.
There are currently 1465 homes listed for sale in our multiple listing service. We are selling homes at a rate of 88 a month so there is still a large inventory on hand. It is definitely a buyer’s market.
Feel free to call or email me if you would like to have a customized absorption rate or a Comparable Market Analysis for your property. Each neighborhood can vary by quite a bit.
Craven County News
Just like a business the county needs to operate with fiscal restraint during these tough economic times. It is my intention to vote for a balanced budget in the upcoming budget session without raising taxes on our citizens. It won’t be easy, but we can do it.
As an elected official I serve at the pleasure of the public. If I can be of service to you on any local government issue please don’t hesitate to email me. And if you have an issue that pertains to the state government and are having trouble get a response from the state I am always willing to try to help.
Any suggestions to make this article better would be welcomed. I can be reached at SteveTyson@NCmove.com And remember you can always visit me online at www.NewBern-NC.Info
Realtor Steve Tyson
The Tyson Group Realtors
Neuse Harbour
Active homes for sale by price range
Current number of homes on the market=8
Pending sales=0
Active homes for sale by price range
$240,000-$300,000=4
$334,900-$355,000=2
$,415,000-$435,000=2
There were 2 homes that sold and closed in Neuse Harbour in the last 12 months. The most expensive was $250,000
Stately Pines
Current homes on the market=5
Pending sales=0
Active homes for sale by price range
$179,900-$200,000=3
$215,000-$274,000=2
There were 10 homes that sold and closed in Stately Pines in the last 12 months. The most expensive house sold was $262,500.
Carolina Pines
Current homes on the market=13
Pending sales=3
Active homes for sale by price range
$150,000-$200,000=7
$201,000-$260,000=6
There were 24 homes that sold and closed in Carolina Pines in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $249,000.
Tucker Creek
Current homes on the market=6
Pending sales=1
Active homes for sale by price range
$110,000-$200,000=5
$282,500=1
There were 14 homes that sold and closed in Tucker Creek in the last 12 months. The highest priced home sold was $275,000.
Total homes sold in Jan.2010=69
During the same time frame in 2011=81 homes were sold.
There are currently 1465 homes listed for sale in our multiple listing service. We are selling homes at a rate of 88 a month so there is still a large inventory on hand. It is definitely a buyer’s market.
Feel free to call or email me if you would like to have a customized absorption rate or a Comparable Market Analysis for your property. Each neighborhood can vary by quite a bit.
Craven County News
Just like a business the county needs to operate with fiscal restraint during these tough economic times. It is my intention to vote for a balanced budget in the upcoming budget session without raising taxes on our citizens. It won’t be easy, but we can do it.
As an elected official I serve at the pleasure of the public. If I can be of service to you on any local government issue please don’t hesitate to email me. And if you have an issue that pertains to the state government and are having trouble get a response from the state I am always willing to try to help.
Any suggestions to make this article better would be welcomed. I can be reached at SteveTyson@NCmove.com And remember you can always visit me online at www.NewBern-NC.Info
Realtor Steve Tyson
The Tyson Group Realtors
Minggu, 13 Februari 2011
The Shack gets sacked
Have a problem with with those franchise stores taking over the city?
No problem.
Over at 866 Broadway, the Radio Shack or Shack is leaving at the end of this month.
That's right, the store with an identity problem is on its way out.
Why? Two words: Rent increase. Of about $10,000.
Which is pretty much par for the course in Manhattan.
Don't cry for the landlord. It appears that the ghost of George Steinbrenner will haunting. According to the chatter a Yankee store will take its place.
Gentrification. You have to love it.
Don't fret though.
No problem.
Over at 866 Broadway, the Radio Shack or Shack is leaving at the end of this month.
That's right, the store with an identity problem is on its way out.
Why? Two words: Rent increase. Of about $10,000.
Which is pretty much par for the course in Manhattan.
Don't cry for the landlord. It appears that the ghost of George Steinbrenner will haunting. According to the chatter a Yankee store will take its place.
Gentrification. You have to love it.
Don't fret though.
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