Real Estate Snippets

Shoes

I've got to have a new marketing photo done so was reading over the directions on "what to wear".  The statement, "Make sure your shoes match your outfit" caught my eye.  I mentally checked my shoe inventory and laughed.  My shoes are "REALTOR" shoes.  They have been through rain, snow, sleet, slush, mud, sand, ice and hail!  Not to mention hundreds of times being taken off and put on!  I used to wear boots.  I used to wear heels.  But since becoming a real estate agent, my shoes don't tie; they have good tread; low heels; and primarily have to be STABLE and COMFORTABLE!  I cannot imagine showing a hobby farm in heels or an unshoveled walk in heels.  I can't imagine sliding to the front door of many homes without good shoe tread.  And the sloped sidewalks with hidden holes!  Not to mention the third step to the basement that ISN'T attached!  Or the 3 foot by 3 foot floor grate in the middle of the hallway.  The holey carpet and mounds of dirty wash in some houses!  Oh, my!  Just showing the house requires good foot gear!  And I love being told to "remove shoes" when I get a confirmation to show a home that's sooooo filthy I wouldn't DARE remove my shoes for fear of injury!  Shoes, mundane shoes.  I don't have as many as Imelda Marcos did, but every last one of them is a piece of work FOR work!

REALTOR Safety

Violent crime to individuals seems to be increasing.  Regrettably, real estate agents have become the target of personal attacks in recent years as well.  The public often doesn't think about a REALTOR'S vulnerability on the job, but WE do!  More and more security procedures are being initiated by both genders.  Safeguards include:

• Have the first meeting with a prospective client in the office.
• Copy the prospect's driver's license for identification purposes.
• Conduct open houses with a relative or colleague.
• Leave a showing itinerary and client's contact info with a trusted person when showing houses.
• Phone check in at beginning and end of appointments.
• Never show a vacant house to a prospect you haven't met unless accompanied by someone.
• Do a criminal check on the prospect.
• Trust your gut instincts!

The latest report I heard was not local to Minnesota.  It involved a male REALTOR who met a couple at a house under the guise of wanting to see the house.  The couple kidnapped him at gunpoint, stole his keypad for the electronic lockbox entry, and threatened to harm him if he didn't give them the keypad code.  He had the forethought to give a fictitious code, but was fearful they would try the code while he was still captive.  He was held for several hours during which his car was used for transportation.  Fortunately, he did eventually escape.  This agent posted a warning to other professionals to adhere to their safety procedures.  He had ignored his own rules of not meeting a "prospect" the first time at a house, and ended up suffering as a result.

Other dangers exist for real estate agents just because they are out in communities.  REALTORS are exposed to theft of material items (purses, cell phones, laptops, PDA's, money, cars, etc.), solicitation by drug dealers, attempted fraud, assault, etc.  I've even had drug dealers come to my window when I have been stopped for a red light!  More and more agents have taken personal safety classes as a protection against these threats.

So, when the agent you're interviewing asks to see ID or meet in his/her office the first time or comes accompanied by an "assistant', don't take offense.  As licensed professionals we are taking wise steps to protect ourselves from society's ills!

Groundhog's Day- My Brother's Birthday

Today is Groundhog's Day and the anniversary of the day my baby brother (who's now my BIG brother) appeared in my life!   Happy Birthday, Jerry!

Listing Safety

I listed my own house when we sold it 18 months ago.  I, being a trained/experienced/licensed professional, knew the rules of action and the things to do to protect my home and myself during the listing time.  My husband, however, is not a trained/experienced/licensed REALTOR and acted as such one afternoon!

An unrepresented couple (no agent) called from the sign and wanted to see our house at a time I could not be there.  My husband volunteered to do the showing.  The prospective buyer was evasive about contact information which made me uneasy.  I told my honey NOT to say anything to the people and give away our reasons for moving, etc.  He got the coaching I give to all sellers in the event they are accidentally home when a showing transpires.  He's a trusting man and followed my rules explicity.  He opened the door, let them in, went outside and sat waiting for them to finish looking ALONE!  I had neglected to tell him not to let them wander unattended in the house!  When I got home and found out he had sat outside I nearly had heart failure, and then started checking to make sure things of value were not missing.

Fortunately, nothing had been taken, but it was a good lesson for me.  Letting a buyer in without an agent to act as security is not a wise idea.  Small valuable items could have been stolen or the house could have been set up for later theft.  Not to mention bodily harm issues.  What if a rapist or murderer was the prospective buyer?  Professional REALTORS have become more and more aware of these safety issues in the last few years and are taking precautions to allay the dangers.  I had never thought of the risk a seller could encounter in an unrepresented position (FSBO) as they have to be home for showings and many times another agent is not present.  It leaves the seller open to a whole range of dangers that they probably haven't even considered.

Lockboxes for Security

If you haven't shopped for a house in the last 4 years, you may not be familiar with the new lockbox system that the Minneapolis and St. Paul Associations of REALTORS have put in place.  The old system comprised a very solid key box that had either an alphabetical dial or numeric push buttons for accessing the key.  Opening the box without knowing the code was nigh on to impossible.  I know this from personal experience with a sledge hammer, hack saw, and failure to get into the box whose code I had forgotten. 

But the new system is very different.  The new lock box is electronic and requires batteries as most REALTORS learned the first time the box would not open because of dead batteries.  A most embarrassing scenario when your client is standing waiting to see their "dream" house!  There are 2 parts to the system.  The box that attaches to the house and contains the key and the "keypad" which is assigned to each professional.  The keypad is registered to a specific user and when that user places the keypad in the lockbox cradle and enters his/her code number, the lockbox records that that agent entered the house.  This information can be downloaded by the listing agent to verify who gained access.

Why is this sytem important to the consumer?  Security/safety/peace of mind/paper trail . . .  The combinations for the alpha and numeric boxes could potentially be viewed over an agent's shoulder and the "client" could use the code to enter the property later for malicious reasons with no record of who was entering.  The old system's "code" could also be given out to unauthorized or non-licensed parties to allow them access.  The keypad prevents this being done surreptitiously.  Even if the code is viewed over the agent's shoulder, one would have to steal the keypad and when the keypad was used, it is tracked to the agent owner.  When agents lose their keypads, they call their association immediately to report the loss.  That keypad's access is then locked out of the entire lockbox system preventing future unauthorized entry.  There is also a scheduled update system which deactivates the keypad when it is not utilized. The system is designed with the seller's safety in mind.

Another advantage to the electronic lockboxes is that they can be programmed to only allow access during daytime hours, i.e., only between 9 AM and 9 PM.  This prevents an agent who is late for their final showing from accessing your property too late in the evening.

About 18 months ago, an agent's keypad was stolen with the "code" written on the back of the pad. (A hefty fine is charged to any agent whose code is found with their keypad.  I don't even have mine written down anywhere.  If I forget it, I'm in trouble.)  Before the media became aware of the theft, the REALTOR associations sent an emergency e-mail to all REALTORS and their brokers notifying that ALL houses with the electronic lockboxes needed to be secured from entry.  Agents were on the phones calling their clients to chain lock or otherwise secure their doors until the listing agents could retrieve the lockboxes for re-programming.  Before the media published the theft, many lockboxes were already changed out with the stolen code "locked out" of the system.  An unfortunate situation actually ended up being handled quite smoothly although there were one or two thefts that occurred before the system wide alert occurred.