I Want To Be On TV Too!

I for one can’t stand reality TV but I know it is still very popular; especially those makeover-type shows. For those of you out there who love reality TV and home makeover shows, this post is for you.

Recently I happened across a link on MSN Real Estate’s front page about how to get on a home makeover show. The article is by Heather Greenwood Davis and is on the Style At Home website. So how do you win a home makeover:

1. Target a show;
2. Sell yourself;
3. Take great photos;
4. Keep trying; and
5. Be patient.

Check the full article by clicking the Style At Home logo.

///…CP

 

 

I’m At The ‘FrontDoor’ — Now Let Me In

My wife and I were recently state-side for a couple of weeks and while there my better half spent some (okay, a lot) of her free time watching every one (I swear it felt like it was every one) of those annoying ‘reality’ shows about homes and/ or real estate. If the channel wasn’t set to TLC then it was set to HGTV. Now I have no idea if we even get HGTV at home (we’re on Shaw), but I have never even heard of the shows she was watching. There were programs on flipping houses, home make-overs, home building, home buying, home wrecking, interior design, exterior design — you name it, she found a show on it. Arrggghhh. And of course, every one of them was hosted by some more-annoying-than-nails-on-a-chalkboard ‘expert’ in real estate.

So where is this post going? No it is not a rant about inane television programming — I will save that for another day.

This post is to tell you about HGTV’s online real estate resource called FrontDoor. It appears to have been online since December of 2007 so maybe you already know about it — but for those of you who don’t, I’ll tell you about it…

I spent some time on their site and I have to say I found it to be a fantastic online resource — for everyone. Of course there are the usual suspects: mortgage calculators, staging ideas, home-selling tips, home-buying tips, etcetera. Some of the many other resources on this site include: moving planners, renting-versus-owning calculators, financial advice, and so on…it is a fairly exhaustive everything-related-to-homes resource — and I like it.

A big fat ***NOTE*** — this is a resource based in and for consumers in the United States and you should be aware there are distinct differences between real estate in the two countries. What do I mean? For example, the mortgage calculator will produce different results than a Canadian mortgage calculator because interest on Canadian mortgages is compounded semi-annually versus annually in the American system. In other words, use the site at your own risk!

Knock, knock…

///…CP

Hey Bill, Where’s The Balance?!

This kind of reporting really fries my ass!
It is misleading to say the least and is a perfect example of everything that is wrong with reporting real estate statistics in a vacuum and without context. It is also representative of the type of ‘balanced’ article that I complain about and that usually appears in ‘the other Edmonton paper’. Much to my surprise however, it appeared in today’s Edmonton Journal. In fairness to Bill Mah, his article is based upon a report released by a reputable canadian brokerage.

If I were a regular consumer (i.e. not an industry member) and were to read this article by itself I would think the sky was falling — again. It’s no wonder nobody knows what to make of our economy, Edmonton-area real estate, or their real estate investment(s).

Here are some statistics to ponder and to read in conjunction with the aforementioned article:

• Average SFD selling price down 5.06% for the quarter (i.e. over June);
• Average residential selling price down 4.82% for the quarter (i.e. over June);
• Average SFD selling price down 9.37% over September 2007 (i.e. versus the same period for 2007);
• Average residential selling price was down 1.31% over September 2007 (i.e. versus the same period for 2007);
• At the end of September there were a total of 8,807 homes listed for sale (versus 10,817 homes listed in June); and
• Total residential sales reached 71.2% of the total sales for calendar year 2007.

Need more convincing about the condition of Edmonton’s skies? Here are some more statistics I threw together:

	2008	2007	2006
RESIDENTIAL LISTINGS (SEP)	3,140	3,952	2,604
RESIDENTIAL SALES (SEP)	1,729	1,042	1,844
YEAR-TO-DATE
LISTINGS	33,702	33,168	20,170
SALES	14,621	17,188	17,446
AVERAGE PRICES
SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING	$362,097	$399,555	$322,077
CONDOMINIUM	$252,234	$270,745	$212,403
DUPLEX/ROWHOUSE	$315,690	$310,110	$279,038

[SFD means single-family dwelling. Residential prices include SFD, condos and duplex/ row houses. Average prices indicate market trends only. They do not reflect actual prices, which vary from house to house and area to area. The statistics compiled and presented herein were adapted from the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton Monthly MLS® Report and Quarterly Report, both of which are available online at www.ereb.com.]

 

 

The fact is, the sky is not falling. Read my post from last week regarding the most recent MLS® statistics  and make sure you check out the simple graphic I produced (at right).

It clearly illustrates just how the sky has been falling this year…

By the way, if you sensed some sarcasm you were right.

 

///…CP

Is Your REALTOR® Licensed?

Back in March I wrote a post about the Real Estate Council of Alberta (RECA) and its role in the real estate industry in Alberta. Among the many resources available on their site, I mentioned that you could search for your REALTOR® to be sure he or she is currently licensed. You can read the full post here.

So why do I bring this up again today? All industry members were required by RECA to complete their mandatory Re-Licensing Education Program courses by September 30. If the courses have not been completed by your REALTOR® then he or she will not have their license to trade in real estate renewed on October 1.

So, is your REALTOR® licensed to trade in real estate?

///…CP

Does Your Condo Have a Leaky Neighbour?

As is usually the case for me, I require an event, circumstance,  and/ or occurrence in my business to spawn an idea for a blog post. If something out of the ordinary does not happen then my mind is typically as dry as a desert (literarily speaking) and chunks of time go by without a post.

Last week I read an article that reminded me of something that happened earlier this year. I was slated to list a condo for some Clients when (just prior to listing) their ceiling began to form a nice yellow/ brown stain consistent with a water leak from above… <fast-forward> …turns out it actually wasn’t a leak but an overflowing A/C unit catch tray. The tenants above left their A/C unit running unattended while away for the weekend…you know the rest.

To make a long story short, my Clients are still struggling with the owners of the condo unit above to get the appropriate repairs made to their ceiling.

The article that reminded me of this event is included in it’s entirety below. The author is Stan Galbraith of Galbraith Law  and he has graciously granted me permission to re-publish his article here on my blog.

When someone buys a condominium, they take on potential liability that extends far beyond their particular unit. Both under the Condominium Property Act and the bylaws of the condominium, an owner can become liable for matters well beyond their particular unit. For example, if they do not maintain their plumbing and this leads to water damage to surrounding units, the condominium owner will be facing a bill for the entire cost of repairs to adjoining units. Obviously, this can amount to a substantial amount of money.

The Condominium Corporation can enforce payment of this money by filing a Lien against the title to the property. This Lien must be addressed when the unit is sold. If the Lien is not paid, the Condominium Corporation can actually institute proceedings against the unit to force a sale.

In most cases, a unit owner will have insurance to cover this potential liability. This is where proper insurance coverage is vitally important. Sometimes, condominium owners, especially those just moving from the world of rental, will take their tenant’s coverage and believe they have adequate coverage. This type of policy only covers their personal contents and public liability coverage that would apply to a tenant. Every condominium unit owner must ensure they obtain insurance coverage specifically designed for condominium unit owners. This type of policy will cover inadvertent damage to adjoining units or common property.

{Legal stuff: The comments expressed in this article are for information purposes only and serve to highlight general principles. Each situation is different and you should seek legal counsel before pursuing any particular course of action. This article does not create a client/ lawyer relationship and does not constitute legal advice.}

Thanks for letting me re-publish your article Stan!

///…CP

You Can Always Do More.

I am more than a little perplexed and have no explanation for why this just dawned on me today…especially since the Cominghome Real Estate Blog has been up and running for almost a year now.

All along I have been adding my Clients’ homes and properties to my blog (look to the right) as soon as I finished broker-loading the listing on MLS®. The problem is I have only been posting an image of the listing with a link back to my home page where interested parties would then have to click one or two more times to get to the good stuff. Dumb.

From this point forward, each and every one of my listings will become a blog post of its own. Every new listing will be immortalized in a devoted category entitled ‘Come Home’ — as soon as I complete and load the listing — and the images at right will redirect visitors to the blog post for that home or property.

In the meantime, I’ve got some catching up to do…

///…CP

UPDATE: MLS.ca is Moving

There has been yet another change to the launch date of the new REALTOR.ca website. The new launch date is Wednesday, July 2, 2008.

This latest revision is due to the Canada Day holiday on Tuesday, July 1. The Canadian Real Estate Association has decided to wait until after the holiday to ensure ample technical support is available to us dummies if needed (REALTORS® and technology – yikes).

///…CP

Say “Cheese”…And Nothing Else.

Last week the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton reported to its members that some home sellers are employing nanny-cams, web cams, etcetera to record REALTOR®/ prospective buyer activity in their homes – including during open house visits and scheduled REALTOR® showings.

Why would sellers do this you ask? Giving human nature the benefit of the doubt, likely because they either have genuine security concerns about their home and/ or its contents or they are simply seeking some candid, unfiltered feedback on their home — kind of like you see on those ‘flip’ TV shows. Having given most people the benefit of the doubt, one still can’t help but wonder if a few are doing it simply with the intent of gaining some competitive edge on negotiations when an offer does come in on their home.

When I first heard about this I had to laugh (perhaps a little nervously) because I have often been in homes with Clients and said to myself “what if”. What if people were recording the showing activities and comments of my buyers and I while we were in their homes. Would we seem funny? Would we be considered rude? Would some people find us offensive if they heard what we said? Would we be embarassed if some TV show host popped out of a closet and played the recording back for us? The answer: ’yes’.

To be clear, neither I nor my Clients go out of our way to be rude or disrespectful when we are in other peoples’ homes — but when we are there we believe we can speak freely. In fact, I have always encouraged my Clients to speak freely and say whatever pops into their heads as we proceed through a home. This level of candor and trust allows me to gain insight into my Clients likes and dislikes and allows me to better serve them in all facets of their home purchase going forward. On a more comedic note, who hasn’t gone into a ‘below-average condition’ home and thought “Who lives like this?”, or gone into a ‘unique’ home and thought “What were they thinking?”. Everybody is different.

So what’s the problem? Well for starters you have to ask yourself “Could anything I say to my REALTOR® have the potential to come back and bite me in the butt during negotiations if I proceedwith an offer?”. If you find a home you absolutely love and its ‘the one’ then you will probably be excited — and because you believe you are alone in the home with your REALTOR® you will likely be doing a lot of oooing and awwwing. Your level of enthusiasm for the home will be fairly obvious to the proverbial fly on the wall. If there are certain unattached goods (i.e. chattels) you wish to have as part of the deal, if you begin to discuss your negotiating strategy with your REALTOR® in terms of an initital offer, if you tell your REALTOR® how much you would be willing to pay for the home…you get the picture. So much for your negotiating position. Talk about your unfair advantages.

If you are concerned about being recorded or if you suspect you are being recorded then try to remain tight-lipped during your visit. Make comments as you would normally but try to remain emotionally detached and act as though its ‘just a house’ — despite the fact you want it to be your new home. Leave any and all discussions about offers, strategy, negotiations, etcetera for when you have exited the home.  Remember, its up to you and your REALTOR® to make sure your position is protected at all times. Shop safely!

Back to the act of recording. Is it legal? Can they do that? I don’t know – I’m not a lawyer. I do know the REALTORS® Association of Edmonton is seeking a legal opinion on this practice as I sit here writing and I will share it once it becomes available. Is it fair? I don’t think so personally and I don’t think I would work with a home seller that employed those types of tactics.

///…CP

UPDATE: MLS.ca is Moving

The CREA Technology Council approved a revised launch plan for the new REALTOR.ca website and the interactive mapping feature in response to concerns raised by a number of real estate Boards and Associations.

The new launch date has been set for June 30, 2008. They have also decided that the existing sites – mls.ca and sia.ca – will continue to operate after that date. This means consumers can use either the new site with interactive mapping, or the old site(s) with existing mapping. A message will be added to the front page of the existing sites inviting consumers to try the search features and interactive mapping of the new site. There will be no automatic redirect  of visitors during this “parallel” period.

At some later date, the system will begin automatically redirecting users from the existing sites to the new REALTOR.ca site.

///…CP