Now I know Better

You’ve all seen it.

American Idol auditions gone bad.

They are cringe-worth at best. I find myself squirming in my seat, its perplexing, strangely fascinating and downright sad.

The worst part is when the families greet the crestfallen contestant with soothing words of comfort. “Oh, sweetie, those judges don’t know a thing. You are the best signer in the world!”

This is the part that drives me insane.

Why lie to these poor peopleThey are terrible singers and NEVER should have auditioned for the show.

Telling someone the cold hard truth is sometimes very hard. You don’t want to hurt their feelings, crush their dreams or seem insensitive.

But your honesty is sometimes the most important thing they need to hear.

A couple of years ago I met with a very nice family who wanted to sell their home and move out of state. The winters were getting tough for them and they were having some health issues.

Selling was a must.

I met them at their house and noticed right away this was going to be a tough property. There was stuff everywhere, inside and out. The house was dirty, dark, and falling apart.

They gave me the grand tour and we sat down to talk. I asked them about their goals and timeline for selling their home. They needed to be out of here by September which only gave us 3 months to sell. They were short on time, money and resources to get their home ready for market.

They looked at me with hope in their eyes and asked what was next.

This was the moment for the cold hard truth.

When I first started in real estate I probably would have tried to gloss things over and ease the blow. “No, its not that bad, buyers can look past your stuff.”

Now I know better.

People hire me for my professional and honest advice. This family had a tight timeframe and a pressing need to leave the area.

So I told them the truth.

That no one would buy their home in its current condition. And because we were dealing with a very tight timeframe they were going to need to price their home much below market value to get it sold quickly.

I said all of these things with tenderness and grace, because I very much care about how my words make people feel.

At the end of our meeting they thanked me for my encouraging words.

What?

I didn’t think I sounded encouraging at all, but then I recognized it was the honesty and a thoughtful game plan that gave them feelings of encouragement.

Sometimes the truth hurts, but I believe if you really care for someone you owe them the truth and nothing but.

Feeling A Bit Bananas

The market is feeling a bit bananas lately. And sellers are not sure where to price their home. Here’s a little insight.

You have choices when pricing your home:

1. Test the market. This strategy works in a rapidly rising market because you are pricing ahead of the market with the hopes that the market will meet or surpass your list price

2. Price it right. This falls right into the range of what market comparables tell us the home is worth. Not too high, not too low.

Is this sounding a little like Goldilocks and the Three?

3. Strategically aggressive price. This is the price range that attracts multiple offers and offers over asking price.

There is no right or wrong answer but as the market continues to evolve strategy is going to be more and more effective. Please leave any questions below.

Things To Be Aware Of As A Home Buyer

Things that should raise your eyebrows as a home buyer.

1. Lots of deferred maintenance. Is the paint peelingRickey railingsStrange smells in the basementMake sure to get a thorough home inspection so you know exactly what you are in for.

2. The home is currently being used as a second home. There is nothing inherently wrong with a second home, however, second homes can have issues that arise only once they become a primary residence. Septic issues in particular tend to crop up once someone spends more than one weekend a month in a home.

3. Rental properties. If a home has been in a rental pool for years be on the lookout for major issues. Think rental cars - people don’t drive rentals like their own cars. The same can be true for rental homes.

It's Okay Not To Be okay

I am done pretending that I can change your mind with the memes I post - not that I ever really tried.

It’s sad - we are so divided.

Whether its abortion, guns, government spending, gas prices, climate change, etc we just don’t see eye to eye.

But here’s the thing - you are entitled to see the world the way you want and no amount of cajoling, whining, pleading, reasoning or screaming on my part is going to change your mind.

AND THAT IS OKAY!

I think we need to let go of the idea that we need others to think the way we do. The experiences that shaped you and your world view are not part of my story.

And we need to stop villainizing each other for our different world views.

Just stop. Please.

I saw a great quote the other day, here goes. “The loudest voices rarely represent the majority. They’re usually speaking for the extremes. You won’t understand the views of a group until you’ve invited the quieter voices into the discussion. Don’t mistake silence for disengagement it’s often a sign of deep reflection”

With gratitude.

Helping Sellers Become Buyers

You bought your first home! You were feeling like you were on Cloud 9.

You had so many great ideas on your Pinterest board to make this place your own. From the cubbies for coats and boots to the chalkboard walls in the kids rooms.

But now several years have gone by and nothing has changed.

Your space is feeling cramped and tight and you are dreaming of a new home.

But how could you swing it?

Everyone knows this market is nuts!

Your current home would be sold in a heartbeat and finding a replacement would be impossible!

Prices have gone up so much, it wouldn’t make sense to buy a new home.

Does this sound like you? If so, we need to talk.

I’ve got systems and strategies for helping sellers become buyers, even in a market as crazy as this one. Just like playing chess, each move is calculated and planned. Check mate!

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Being Grateful

If you could just get your hands on it.

The thing that eludes you.

The thing, that if you had it, everything would be better.

The thing you are missing in life.

So you grasp and cling just like this giant claw crane game.

You set it all up perfectly, push the button and pray. And as predicted the claw half-heartedly grabs at the object of your desire and lets go at the last minute.

You knew the odds, but you played anyway.

Have you ever won at this game?

I have, twice in a row believe it or not!

And I can tell you the toys are not nearly as cuddly as they look. Once in your arms they lack the quality you had hoped.

They were just shiny objects behind the glass

So back to the beginning of this post.

That thing you want so badly, is it all it’s cracked up to be?

Or is it like the stuffed flamingo at the arcade- hollow, fake and won by chance.

Focus on the things on this side of the glass. I think you might find there is just so much to be grateful for.

With gratitude.

A Story Of Patience

A hunk of clay. Soft, malleable and unassuming.

Yet, center that piece of clay on the wheel and with careful movements and patience you can create a masterpiece.

I took pottery in college, this is one of my creations.

It was probably my very favorite class…. ever.

One thing you need to know about pottery - you CANNOT be in a rush. See, if you don’t get the clay centered you have no chance of making anything but a mess.

As a twenty something I didn’t know much about “being present” or “finding inner peace”. But I do know that when I sat at the wheel with the clay swirling between my hands that I went to another place.

I would lose track of time, and the room would go dim and quiet.

Just me and the clay.

Only after many failures do you know the moment the clay is ready to become something else.

Ready to become something that is imagined in your mind and flows from your hands into the clay.

Even if you don’t consider yourself “artsy” or “creative” if you ever have a chance to give pottery a whirl I would so recommend it (pun intended).

But as I said you will have to have patience, something all of us could practice more of.

First Offer On Your Home

First offer is your best offer.

This is a phrase we hear in real estate and what I have found over 20 years is that often times it’s correct.

When I help sellers price their homes I use other homes that have sold to narrow in on pricing.

Buyers are very savvy and with the help of technology they can do their own research to see what other homes like yours have sold for.

If you get an offer on your home right away that means you priced it right.

In this market, if your home has had very few showings and/or no offers you are likely priced too high.

It’s better to get ahead of the market than chase it down with price reductions.

Skipping

A very wise man once told me...

You can’t be mad and skip at the same time.

Guess what?

It’s 100% accurate.

Go ahead give it a try. Next time you are really hot under the collar just start skipping.

I guarantee you not only won’t be mad anymore, you probably will not be able to contain your laughter.

Home Inspections

Serenity Now

Let’s face it, buying a home can be stressful. There’s a lot going on in a short amount of time and big decisions are being made.

But here’s one decision that should be easy - getting a professional home inspection.

Buyers ask me all the time if they should get an inspection and I always answer with a resounding YES!

However, I know that some buyers are capable of doing their own inspections and some want to save a little money and not hire the professional.

I can understand both of these sentiments.

However, if you think of a home inspection like to do insurance, you will see the value. If you could insure a $300,000 house for $600 would you do it? Of course!

A home inspection is your “try before you buy” insurance.

Bring some peace to your home buying experience and go with the professional home inspection.

What Are Buyers Looking For?

Low to no inventory.

Yep, that is the current state of affairs in the real estate market. We have way more buyers than we do houses.

So what are buyers looking for?

Well anything at this point because they can’t be picky, but here are the most common things I hear:

1. At least 3 bedroom

2. Under $500K

3. Something that doesn’t need a ton of work

4. Master bedroom

5. Second living room

If you are curious about selling and what your home might be worth please reach out. I will listen to your needs and goals and give you sound advice.

Life Isn't Fair

I was 9 years old when I first learned that life isn’t fair.

My third grade teacher, would have a monthly calendar contest. We were tasked with making a creative and colorful calendar on poster board to be displayed as the “official class calendar” for the month.

Oh, this was right up my alley.

I loved coming up with ideas and seeing how many items I could hot glue to a poster board before it could no longer support itself.

Conversation hearts and doilies for February and spring flowers and Lucky Charms cereal for March

And what better to glue to a calendar in October than the candy corn no one will eat.

Each month, as I poured my heart and soul into my creation, I thought surely my classmates would be awed with wonder and crown me queen of the calendar.

But alas, I never won.

Not a single time.

Now I know this was a long time ago and my memory might be a little foggy but I’m 99.8% sure my calendars were the best, at least some of the time.

But I never won.

And that’s when I was introduced to the “good ole boy (and girl)” system.

Some of these kids had been together since kindergarten! They had history! And I was the new kid in 3rd grade.

It was always the same handful of kids that would win. Were their calendars good? Meh, sometimes, but they had the votes and that’s all that mattered.

One month I had had enough and I campaigned on the playground. Disclaimer: nothing of value was exchanged for votes, but I did present a persuasive argument.

Well that didn’t go over well and ended up with a call to my parents. I wasn’t acting the the “spirit of the contest.”

At the tender age of 9 I realized that the “best girl” doesn’t always win.

It broke my heart. And truth be told, it still does.

Life isn’t fair, we all know this but it doesn’t make it any easier.

And I know there will be an occasion that I can share this story with my girls and they might realize that while life isn’t always fair, there is so much to be grateful for and if we focus on the good nothing can get in the way. 

Turning Your Hat Into The Wind

The other day I heard a cowboy say “There’s an art to turning your hat into the wind”.

And like any true cowboy his statement includes practical and enlightened advice.

No cowboy wants to loose his hat while horseback and so one learns the right angle to keep said hat upon said head.

But I think there’s something else to it.

As far as we humans have advanced and figured out how to control so many things, we still have no way to stop the wind. It’s truly an unstoppable force of nature.

So when life’s got you headlong into a stiff wind, turn your hat just so and let it pass.

Remember, the wind can’t blow forever. (Wyoming might be the exception )

And as the incomparable Henry Ford said; “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”

With gratitude.

A Trusted Professional Is The Key

Pricing your home can feel a bit squirrelly, like playing with a bowl of slime.

Having a trusted professional is key to a successful outcome.

Let me tell you a quick story.

One of my lovely seller clients was ready to sell their home. We looked at other sold homes in their area and decided on a price.

While they were getting their home ready for market another home in their neighborhood went up for sale for a little more than the price we had decided on EXCEPT it was half the size!

I reached out right away and said let's watch, wait and see.

After two weeks the neighbors house was still on the market. My clients were concerned: would buyers think something was wrong with their house because it was less money than one half the size? I assured them that another sellers expectations of the market does not change the value of their home or their timeline.

My sellers were finally ready to go live on the market. Within days of listing, they had 3 fantastic offers on their home.

This is a perfect example of why correct pricing is so important. Two hundred days later the other house still has not sold. Time IS money.

And as the pace of the market begins to change pricing has become more important than ever.

On Crap Days

Looking on the bright side.

Here’s what I do when I am having a total crap day.

Pull up those cool videos that do the zoom out of the universe. You know the ones, it starts on your street and progresses to the next solar system in the Milky Way, or something like that!

When I feel like my problems are insurmountable I like to remind myself that I am just a speck in the universe and whatever I am going through is likely transitory.

And I can always take a cue from this gal who get excited about a new backpack like she won the lottery!

Say What??

Say what?

I’m telling you, there are some days that I cannot believe the things I see in this profession.

Several years ago, I got a call from the sister of one of my clients late into the evening. We had met once, but I didn’t really know her well.

She started out saying she was so sorry to be calling but I am the only person she knows in Grand County.

Oh dear, where is this going, I thought to myself.

She followed up by saying that she needed a huge favor…. would I possibly be able to bail her son out of jail.

Huh?

He had been arrested for driving drunk over Trail Ridge Road and she just didn’t want him to spend the night in a jail cell.

Good grief, I don’t think that’s a duty that real estate agents are required to perform but some people will ask anyway!

And for those of you wondering, bail bonds are STILL not a service I offer!

Music For Your Brain

Recently I discovered a productivity hack called Binural Beats. Just google it and you will find a bunch of videos on YouTube.

It’s music for your brain!

And it works!

When I need to sit down and really get to work I will turn on my beats and my brain starts to work in overdrive.

Really dang cool if you ask me!

This is also an effective technique for stress reduction, which we all need a dose of these days.

It does work best if you can use headphones or ear buds because the sound going into each ear is intentional.

Dear Younger Me

Dear Younger Me.

I was listening to the lyrics of this song the other day and this part hit me pretty hard.

“Dear younger me. I cannot decide. Do I give some speech about how to get the most out of your life. Or do I go deep? And try to change the choices that YOU made cause they're the choices that made ME.”

Oh, how many times I’ve wished I could go back in time and dish out some really good grown up advice to Younger Me.

“Skip that, don’t miss this, go here, don’t bother with them.” You get the point.

And I think about the bad choices, miss opportunities and failed relationships. Would life have been easier with out all that “hard stuff”?

No doubt.

But every experience, encounter, relationship and decision is a stitch in the tapestry of my life.

The laughs, the tears, the arguments, the reconciliations, the failures and the victories make up the colors and textures. And without even a single one the landscape would change.

So while it sounds nice to save Younger Me from the painful moments, I know they are part of what makes me who I am today.

The good, the bad and the ugly (and the beautiful). It’s perfectly imperfect, this thing we call life.

With gratitude.

What's The Answer?

Okay I have to brag a little here.

We were playing Trivial Pursuit the other day and I got this questions. Mind you I have not read this book since my sophomore year of high school.

But there it was - the name came to me just like that! And for an old lady like me, that is impressive.

Okay, no Googling - does anyone know the answer?

You Get What You Pay For

I was about 12 years old and needed a new pair of boots. My mom was busy so my dad took me shopping.

Now I know some of you dads out there might be good at shopping with your pre-teen daughters. My dad on the other hand embraced the mentality of “what’s the quickest and cheapest” method.

Next thing I know we are pulling up in front of a large discount retailer. We quickly cruised over to the shoe aisle and before I knew it I was walking out the door with a cute but inadequate pair of boots.

Week one went great, lots of compliments and comfort was decent.

By week two the fake leather was peeling off and I had blisters on both heels.

Lesson learned - You get what you pay for

Somethings in life do not benefit from cutting corners on time or money.

Same thing goes for real estate agents. Are there agents out there that will sell your home for a discount? Sure there are, you’ve probably seen the commercials on TV.

But...you get what you pay for. This is likely your most valuable asset, not a time to cut corners and go with the cheapest option. Time to go with the BEST option whatever that might be.

Remember cheap boots make for miserable feet

***Side note - these are not said boots. They didn’t last long enough for a photo op!