Johnnie's Blog

Before we get bombarded with Christmas let's not forget Thanksgiving.

I can't say it any better then George Washington said it so I'll let you read his words.

General Thanksgiving

By the PRESIDENT of the United States Of America
A PROCLAMATION

WHEREAS it is the duty of all nations to acknowledge the providence of Almighty God, to obey His will, to be grateful for His benefits, and humbly to implore His protection and favor; and Whereas both Houses of Congress have, by their joint committee, requested me "to recommend to the people of the United States a DAY OF PUBLICK THANSGIVING and PRAYER, to be observed by acknowledging with grateful hearts the many and signal favors of Almighty God, especially by affording them an opportunity peaceably to establish a form of government for their safety and happiness:"

NOW THEREFORE, I do recommend and assign THURSDAY, the TWENTY-SIXTH DAY of NOVEMBER next, to be devoted by the people of these States to the service of that great and glorious Being who is the beneficent author of all the good that was, that is, or that will be; that we may then all unite in rendering unto Him our sincere and humble thanks for His kind care and protection of the people of this country previous to their becoming a nation; for the signal and manifold mercies and the favorable interpositions of His providence in the course and conclusion of the late war; for the great degree of tranquility, union, and plenty which we have since enjoyed;-- for the peaceable and rational manner in which we have been enable to establish Constitutions of government for our safety and happiness, and particularly the national one now lately instituted;-- for the civil and religious liberty with which we are blessed, and the means we have of acquiring and diffusing useful knowledge;-- and, in general, for all the great and various favors which He has been pleased to confer upon us.

And also, that we may then unite in most humbly offering our prayers and supplications to the great Lord and Ruler of Nations and beseech Him to pardon our national and other transgressions;-- to enable us all, whether in public or private stations, to perform our several and relative duties properly and punctually; to render our National Government a blessing to all the people by constantly being a Government of wife, just, and constitutional laws, discreetly and faithfully executed and obeyed; to protect and guide all sovereigns and nations (especially such as have shown kindness unto us); and to bless them with good governments, peace, and concord; to promote the knowledge and practice of true religion and virtue, and the increase of science among them and us; and, generally to grant unto all mankind such a degree of temporal prosperity as he alone knows to be best.

GIVEN under my hand, at the city of New-York, the third day of October, in the year of our Lord, one thousand seven hundred and eighty-nine.

(signed) G. Washington

Source: The Massachusetts Centinel, Wednesday, October 14, 1789

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving.

Yesterday Marchel Peterson vented hear frustration with some sellers in her post, Mr. and Mrs. Seller you need to make your home available for showings!  and I vented a little about buyers that waste your time in my post, There is a lot of frustration as a Realtor

I would like to know some of the things that frustrate you about the real estate profession, and what you do to deal with them. 

Thanks

I was reading Marchel Peterson's post Mr. and Mrs. Seller you need to make your home available for showings! about her frustration with sellers and I wanted to share a similar frustration with a buyer.

This house is about a 2 hour trip from where she lives. On Sat. she called and wanted to see it. We set to meet Monday morning at 11:30. At 11:15 she called and said she was running a little late and should be here around 12:30. No worries I told her. I can understand running a little late. When she still had not shown up at 1:00 I called her. They had stopped to get lunch and would be there shortly she told me. Finally at 1:45 they arrived.

We spent nearly 2 hours walking around the house and the barn, measuring the property and taking tons of pictures. She asked lots of questions about the zoning and if she could run a small business out of the house. I thought she would buy for sure.

After we had been there for a while she told me she would like to write up an offer. I was thinking I don't mind hanging out here for a half the day if it means selling this house. We decided it would be best to go back to my office to write the offer. It takes about 30 minutes to get back to the office. I got there before they did and got all the paper work in order. I waited for a little while and when they hadn't shown I gave her a call to make sure they knew how to get here.

That is when she kick me in the teeth.

After waiting around for her for over 2 hours, spending 2 hours at the house and then driving back to the office she told me that they had decided that it was not in their price range (when I had talked to her about the house the first time she told what she was looking for and what she could afford it was within her range).

I couldn't believe how much of my time they waisted and they could care less. Of course I was very nice and told her I would keep my eyes out for something that might fit into there price range, but I had to fake it.

Why would you drive 4 hours to see a house that you can't buy. They knew the asking price and that the seller was firm on the price. Couldn't they have done the math before they left, or maybe on the way to the house.

I could not believe how inconsiderate of other people time some people are.

           I was looking at the number of homes for sale around the Logan, Utah this moning and was surprised to see how many of them were built in 2007. Some of the area like Logan and Smithfield aren't bad, but in Nibley, Wellsville, and Hyde Park over half of the homes are new builds. I don't think this can be sustained. If builders don't slow down the number of spec. homes they are building some of them are going to belly up. Cache Valley is growing, but not this fast.

           If you are looking to buy a new home in Cache Valley now is a great time.

                                          Information as of Nov. 12, 2007                                                    

                       Active   U/C      Sold in last 90 days      Active built in 2007       % of Active homes  built in 2007

Logan               167      45        144                                   28                                  16.77%

Providence       62        9          23                                     15                                   24.19%

N. Logan          38        6          17                                     14                                   36.84%

Smithfield         45        17        23                                      7                                    15.56%

Hyrum              36        11        18                                      6                                    16.67%

Hyde Park        39        4          9                                       20                                   51.28%

Nibley              54        6          15                                     31                                   57.41%

Wellsville          26        4          9                                       17                                   65.38%

Others               79       16        44                                      11                                   13.92%

Cache Co.        546      118      302                                   149                                   27.29%

I don't know how this compares to other parts of the county, but I was very surpised.

I have a newer site http://www.uthomelist.com that just changed from a pagerank of 0 to a 1. Can anyone tell me what I can do to continue to improve my pagerank and what the highest pagerank is? Is Google the only search engine that looks at your page rank? Thanks for you help.

Johnnie

I posted a blog about what agents are getting paid in my area and the concern I have about the buyers side in my area. It was general questions wanting to know if my market is unique or if other areas have similar issues and how other agents handle them. I gave some details of my area to get better feed back. Wow, I didn't know the rage that would cause. If you didn't see the post sorry but it got yanked.  

I guess I'll start asking simply questions like how's the weather in Houston this time of year and leaving cute little posts to get a laugh rather then trying to get help with a problem. If my posts have nothing to do with real estate but funny maybe I'll get featured http://activerain.com/blogsview/153479/CARNAC-CARNAC-CARNAC  

Oh wait I this site is for real estate agents to help each other out. I guess I'll keep asking my questions and if they need to delete a post every now and then so be it.

Johnnie

 I finished my list, so here it is. If you saw my list last week some are the same, I did make a few changes, thanks for the input.

                                    10 things you should know when buying a house

1. Get pre-approved for your mortgage. One of the very first things you should do when you are thinking about purchasing a home is to meet with a lender to get pre-approved. They will let you know what you can do to improve your credit score and debt to income ratios. There is nothing worse then finding the perfect home only to find out you can't qualify for it.
2. Remember the extra money it will cost to own a home. When you are figuring out how much you can afford each month remember you'll have to maintain your home as well as pay taxes, insurance, and if applicable HOA fees.
3. Define your search parameters. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need, how large of a lot, do you need a garage? With the internet you can search hundreds of homes in your area to make sure what you would like to buy is what you can afford to buy.  Depending on how much you can qualify for you may need to adjust your parameters.
4. Find a Realtor to represent you. A Realtor does more then just showing you homes. They will guide you though the process from finding the home to closing the deal. Your agent will help you know how the house is priced and what to offer. It is always your decision, but they will give you suggestions. They will make sure your offer and other paper work is done correctly and legally, and that you are completing everything within the contract dates. They will coordinate the closing between the selling agent, the title company, the lender, and you.
5. Don't over negotiate. If you try to hard to get a killer deal you may loose the home you want to someone with a better offer. Your agent will help you know if what you're offering is a "low ball" and what to expect as a response from the seller.
6. Get a professional home inspection.  Your lender will require you to get an appraisal, but that is only to make sure the home is worth what the bank is lending on it. Separately you should hire a professional home inspector. This should be someone familiar with the building codes in your area. His job is to point out potential problems that could require costly repairs in the future.
7. Remember that no home is perfect. Don't let minor problems kill your deal. Every home, especially older ones will have a few repairs that will need to be made. Some can be repaired by the seller, some they will expect you to fix. Talk with your agent about your options.
8. Choose carefully between points and rates.  When choose a mortgage, you have the option of buying down points, a portion of the interest you pay at closing, in exchange for a lower interest rate. Many buyers only look at their rate and not what the rate will cost them. If you plan on selling or refinancing within 5 to 7 years you are better off with a little high rate and less closing costs. If you will be in the home without refinancing for longer you will save a lot of money by buying down the rate at closing. A honest lender will explain this to you and let you make the decision.
9. Choose a home you love and worry about appreciation later. Unless you are an investor you are buying a home to live in. Buy one you feel safe and comfortable in. Don't get caught up in what it will be worth when you sell it. You don't know what the market will be like, but overall real estate does appreciate.
10. Don't ask for to many opinions. Although you may want to know what friends and family think about your new home, they won't be living in it. Too many opinions can make the chose much harder. You can't please everyone.    

I've been putting this together for a buyers guide and thought I would share it with you. Any suggestions would be great. You can see all 10 in my buyers section on my web site. http://www.uthomelist.com.preview.z57.com/buyers_page.shtml

1.  Get pre-approved for your mortgage. One of the very first things you should do when you are thinking about purchasing a home is to meet with a lender to get pre-approved. They will let you know what you can do to improve your credit score and debt to income ratios. There is nothing worse then finding the perfect home only to find out you can't qualify for it.
2. Remember the extra money it will cost to own a home. When you are figuring out how much you can afford each month remember you'll have to maintain your home as well as pay taxes, insurance, and if applicable HOA fees.
3. Define your search parameters. How many bedrooms and bathrooms do you need, how large of a lot, do you need a garage? With the internet you can search hundreds of homes in your area to make sure what you would like to buy is what you can afford to buy.  Depending on how much you can qualify for you may need to adjust your parameters.
4. Find a Realtor to represent you. A Realtor does more then just showing you homes. They will guide you though the process from finding the home to closing the deal. Your agent will help you know how the house is priced and what to offer. It is always your decision, but they will give you suggestions. They will make sure your offer and other paper work is done correctly and legally, and that you are completing everything within the contract dates. They will coordinate the closing between the selling agent, the title company, the lender, and you.
5. Don't over negotiate. If you try to hard to get a killer deal you may loose the home you want to someone with a better offer. Your agent will help you know if what you're offering is a "low ball" and what to expect as a response from the seller.

I've been putting this together for a buyers guide and thought I would share it with you. Any suggestions would be great. You can see all 10 in my buyers section on my web site. http://www.uthomelist.com.preview.z57.com/buyers_page.shtml