Todd's Real Estate Blog

Losing the listing because you tell the truth?  Happens all the time and I'm fine with it. Over the years I have lost several listings to a competing agent because they agreed to list an overpriced home.  When I arrive at my listing appointment, I am always fully prepared to "walk away" from a seller who is unwilling to budge from "their" price.  It seems there is always an agent willing to take an overpriced listing either from lack of experience, desperation, or they have infinite supply of marketing dollars to waste.  I do not have the time or the money to waste on an overpriced home.  Marketing a home correctly is expensive and time consuming.

It's amazing to me that in this day in age of the internet and the statistics available to sellers, that they will still pick the agent who agrees to a high price rather than listen to an experienced agent with cold, hard market FACTS.  I'm straight forward with sellers and tell them "like it is" rather than "what they want to hear".  The current market determines the value of a home, not the agent or the seller.

I have turned down more listings in the past year than any other.  My experienced sellers realize I'm watching out for their best interests and they appreciate my candid approach.  You will demand more respect in the long run by turning down business today.  Many times, the property is listed with another agent who agreed to the higher price and it sits on the market "unsold" and then I get a call from the seller later.  I love listing properties on the second go around.  Respect the experienced agent's advice and price the home correctly the first time.

Is it me or is the active rain blogs the quickest way to get yourself promoted on the web?  Google seems to "crawl" active rain blogs every minute of the day.  I can literally post a message about a listing or an open house and "Bam"; it's listed in Google within days.  After I posted my new San Diego real estate website, it only took a few days before it was listed.

I'm finding the best and quickest way to get your name established on the web is through blogging.  You can boost your website rankings this way as well. The more sites that list or "link" to your website, the better. If you promote yourself on several sites like Active Rain, Zillow, Vflyer, Craigslist and many others, always have a link to your website.  I always try to slip a link in everywhere.  This will be one of the quickest ways to get your real estate website listed in the search engines.  The best part, it does not cost you a dime! 

It still pays big dividends to have your site and yourself professionally marketed, but there are many free things you can do quickly to improve your SEO. (search engine optimization) of your site.  Another way to boost your site rankings is an easy one. It's time.  The longer you have been on the web with information rich content, the better your SEO will be.  Keep updating your site, keep it fresh and keep blogging! I even slipped a link in this blog.

Search the entire San Diego MLS by clicking HERE!

How do I get the comparables changed?

I have a home that is on a golf course and has a Puget Sound view. My house is being compared against homes that have neither. How do I get the compariables changed?

To answer your question, You cannot change sales comparables. The only way sales comparables show up is when a home sells. If there are homes that are similar to yours in number of bedrooms, baths and roughly the same square footage, then they will all count as sales comparables. However, a good real estate agent or appraiser with experience will account for your golf course frontage and view of Puget Sound and adjust the suggested sales price to reflect your added amenities. The key here is to get the sound advice from a a few EXPERIENCED agents. What your home is worth is not determined by the agent, it is determined by the market. The agent should be telling you what price your home will sell for in the current market, not what its worth. In your mind, it could be worth 5 million dollars, but if the market does not support that price, then it will never sell at that price. Hope this helps.

Finally got the new website up and running and I'm very pleased with the way it turned out.  I use all of the latest, state-of-the-art features and one of the best MLS search features I've ever seen. 

You can search every available property in San Diego for Free and with NO REGISTRATION REQUIRED.  All I ask in return is you refer everyone you know to my site and give me a call when you are ready to start looking.  Search all you want, anytime you want with no pressure from a Realtor.  Please give me a call if you have any questions. 

The new site is :  www.DwellSanDiego.com. 

If you want a quick link straight to my "Search The MLS" feature, then go to:  www.FreeHomeSearches.com

I just had to post this article I read. Can you believe this? I've given a new car away with a house, but never anything close to this. Read on.

In a sign of how difficult it is to sell new homes in Southern California right now, a San Diego developer is offering a "buy one, get one free" deal, pairing million-dollar homes with less expensive homes.

"We thought, 'Why does it just have to be on Pop Tarts and restaurants? Why not buy one home, get one free,'" Dawn Berry of Michael Crews Development told 10 News in San Diego.

More: "Michael Crews Development is offering new, 2000-square foot cityscape row-homes worth $400,000 in Escondido for free -- if you buy one Royal View Estate home in San Pasqual Valley starting at $1.6 million.  'You know it's a straight-up legit deal; no prices have been increased, there are no hidden costs. Michael is just giving away a free home for people that buy at Royal View,' said Berry."

"Adam Rossman of Michael Crews Development added, 'People have been coming in saying, 'How can you do this?' Well, it's our way of dealing with current market conditions to move some inventory.' "

NEW LISTING! 

One of a Kind Luxurious Residence! NOT IN THE MLS! You will not find a view that compares to this in Downtown or Banker's Hill. Breathtaking views from every room and over 1000 square feet of outdoor terraces.  Where else will you find this much outdoor space? There is a private terrace off the master bedroom, another off the kitchen and another massive wrap-around deck with plenty of room for outdoor dining and entertaining.

SEE IT HERE:  http://armstrong.vflyer.com/11/index.html

This Residence encompasses the entire 13th floor on the South Side.  As soon as you walk-in, you will notice the beautiful cherrywood floors, highly upgraded kitchen and plenty of island seating.  The dining area is truly a sight to see with recessed under-lit dome above your table next to a custom built-in wet bar and wine cooler. 

The highly upgraded gourmet kitchen features top of the line built-in appliances, walk-in pantry, double dishwashers and large granite countertop half-island.  Full walk-in Laundry room with sink and plenty of cabinet space. 

SEE IT HERE:  http://armstrong.vflyer.com/11/index.html

The Master Suite has tremendous views to the Prado in Balboa Park as well as downtown.  It also features a Luxurious Master bath with marble flooring, dual sinks, and massive 2 person shower.  The large walk-in closets will satisfy the largest wardrobe! The large guest bedroom also has some of the best views in the residence looking out on the terrace to Point Loma, the Ocean, bay and City Skyline.  Work from home?  You may never want to leave home when you sit down at this desk.  Plenty of parking with 4 assigned side-by-side spaces and 2 extra storage units in the parking garage. 

Alicante is one of the most sought after residences in Banker's Hill or Uptown.  Solid steel and concrete construction, 1 block to Balboa Park, 5 minutes to the Airport and downtown is even closer.  Walking distance to some of the top restaurants in San Diego.  Walk over and enjoy the beauty of Balboa Park with its numerous museums, jogging trails, Zoo, and The Prado.

SEE IT HERE:  http://armstrong.vflyer.com/11/index.html

Fires and the Real Estate Business

The effect of the fires have been devastating.   I also realize that this week's events has caused our market to slow to a crawl.   As a result, the next few weeks will be challenging.   Here is a list of what we in the industry can expect:

• Sales will be slow as people reorganize.   Over 500,000 people were evacuated this week; it will take a few weeks for households to get back to normal.
• The rental market should heat up with as many as 1,200 families may be seeking more permanent shelter after having lost their homes or suffered damage.   If you have clients whose houses are vacant and are not seeing any activity, this may be a good time for them to enter the rental market and wait out the buyer's market.   As a result, we may some prices stabilize as properties leave the sales market for the rental market particularly since the most affected properties (sub-prime mortgages) were the lesser expensive homes and would make the best rental properties.
• Finally, and perhaps most frustrating for those of you with escrows about ready to close, closings will come to a halt for the next week to 10 days.   Lenders are not going to lend and insurance companies will not be issuing policies unless they have verification that the house is still standing.   As long as the fires are burning, it will be tough to get funding.   Please let your buyers and sellers know what is going on; even though a buyer may technically be in breach for not closing, this failure to close is the direct result of an "Act of God" and no court of law is going to find the buyer in breach of contract.

Is your home worth less than what you paid for it?  In this down market, there are many homeowners upside down in their mortgages or they lost all of their equity. 

If this is the case it's a simple call to the County Tax Assessor to have your property re-assessed at the new lower appraised value.  This alone could save thousands of dollars in property taxes in San Diego.  Have a real estate agent give you a "fair market value" or pay for a professional home appraisal and simply submit to the County Tax Assessor and ask to lower your property taxes since your home is no longer worth what it was previously assessed for.  I recently completed an estimated "home value" based on SOLD comps and my client was able to lower his bill.  It works, but you have to ask.

In SAN DIEGO, the best and fasted way to get a response to see what the seller's motivation is to just "Write the Offer". 

I'm constantly bombarded with questions from buyers asking, "What do you think they will take?", "How low will they go?" or "Do you think the market has bottomed out?"  No one in this country can predict what the future holds for San Diego real estate.  We can all give our professional "best guess" but that's about it.  I try to avoid making predictions because this market is so "unpredictable".

If your Realtor is taking the time out of their busy schedules to drive around and show you properties that meet your search criteria, then you should be prepared to "Write An Offer" when you locate a home you like.  In this tough market, I wish I had a dollar for everytime I got a call from a Realtor asking me what I think the seller will take, my answer is always the same, "Write an offer and we will negotiate from there."  I think most buyers are scared of writing an offer because they are not well informed of the process. 

An offer is simply a binding contract between a buyer and seller with a contingency period or "Free Look".  Until you remove contingencies and you are completely satisfied with all your inspections, your deposit is safe.

You can change your mind any time during the contingency period and lose nothing.  Ask your Realtor about the process and do not be scared about writing an offer.

TALK IS CHEAP, PUT IT IN WRITING!