Most people pick their brokers because they are friends, relatives or by referral. It always surprises me how many people don’t use the same broker they’ve used in the past. In fact, most don’t even remember who their broker was. (Don’t worry Adrian and Geoff, I totally remember your names! And I’m sorry I never called again but obviously I do this stuff myself now!) And the common thread with being a friend, relative or referral is the built in trust. Ok, so not quite groundbreaking news but if you stop to think about who your broker was (or will be) I imagine you have a great deal of trust in them. If you used your broker through some other means, that is one lucky broker who was probably in the right place at the right time.

Anyway, during the class we narrow down some more important qualities of a broker because after the trust piece, there is still room for that broker to mess up. For example, many people want a broker to return phone calls and emails (and texts and tweets and facebook messages) promptly. They also want someone who is skilled at negotiating, smart, organized, a hardworker and knows a lot about the real estate market. They also want someone who seems to have a lot of clients yet will treat them like they are their only client. Wow, I am still definitely not breaking the ground with this information am I? But putting it all out there does help people realize what’s important in a broker which is crucial since there are lot of them out there to choose from!

The other day I was in a Windermere seminar and they were talking about this very topic. The person giving the seminar put up a quote on the screen written by Dave Ramsey, financial guru. It went something like this (sorry my handwriting is so bad that I can barely make out what I wrote so it won’t be an exact quote…but close). “When looking to make a large financial decision or investing in real estate, choose someone with the heart of a teacher, not the heart of a salesman.” Holy smokes, so that’s why they say teachers make great real estate agents! Plus as quite possibly the only former teacher in the room, I was pretty certain he was talking about me. Ok probably not but I loved this quote and of course stand behind it 110%.

If you are looking to invest in real estate and want someone with the heart of a teacher plus all those other great qualities above, I am now hiring buyers and sellers! If you want to share a fun fact about how you chose your broker, please consider leaving a comment below!

For example, you can set your requirements for the following attributes:

• Price range
• Square footage
• Lot size
• Number of bedrooms
• Number of bathrooms
• Type of structure
• Location

Most listings include photos of the home and if you are lucky views of the property as well. However, what if you wanted more intelligence about the home? What if you wanted to see the layout of the neighborhood and how your prospective home fits within that neighborhood? Well you can take advantage of a great search engine tool that can provide you with aerial views of homes.

I bet some of you are having an “a-ha” moment because I bet most of you have heard of or used the satellite feature of Google Maps. Maybe you have not thought of using that feature when you are home buying, but it is a spectacular tool in your arsenal for evaluating potential homes.

For those that have not utilized Google Maps here is a step by step guide using Google Maps to get an aerial view of a current listing.

First you must cut and paste the exact address of the home you want to buy in Google. The first search result should be a picture of a mini-map and the home address hyperlinked in blue font color. Click on the linked address.

The default view setting for Google Maps is the Map view which displays a basic map of roads, bodies of water and landmarks. You now want to click on the Satellite feature in the upper right corner of the Map view (Check out the red box in the image below).

Now you have an aerial view of the home you are thinking of buying. You can zoom in or zoom out with the slider feature on the left side of the map. The “A” pinpoint marker indicates the exact home of the address you entered as the search query. In this case the search query was 13508 95th Ave. NE Kirkland, WA 98034 which I circled in red for this post.

Hope that tip helps you with your home buying search as much as it has helped my search.

Of course there are the obvious buzz words that usually try to make the home sound better than it is. And I know because I’m guilty of some of them. For example, “charming”  most likely means the home is tiny. I’m sorry but that’s the honest truth. A 2500-3500 square foot home will almost never be referred to as charming. Also too many exclamation points may mean the agent is trying hard to make this home something its not. “Easy to maintain yard!!!!!!” might simply mean there’s a yard. And there’s some grass in that yard. And maybe a few plants. And my favorite “great floorplan” might mean the agent can no longer think of anything else to say about the home.  Oh and don’t forget “custom” which sometimes means it’s a bit of an odd feature but it was something the previous owner had done to the house and it worked for them therefore its custom.

However, when a great home comes along you will read the completely amazing description and it will match the completely amazing pictures and when you go visit you will probably see a completely amazing home. On the flip side if the pictures are terrible and the description matches, you will probably go there and not be one bit surprised that the home isn’t one bit completely amazing. And that’s ok because you were prepared.

The bottom line is that if the home is great, the pictures and description should be great. If the home is distressed or falling apart, it should be very obvious from the pictures and description (and if there is only one picture be very skeptical!) And for all the homes in between, the agent should definitely highlight the good areas but make sure the photos and description are accurate so the buyer isn’t disappointed when they visit the home in person.

Here is an actual description of a home (and no its not the home in the picture above). Despite it being pretty gloomy, you have to give the agent credit for honesty and believe it or not, this home had an offer in 5 days!

This home has been vacant for over two years without heat due to a faulty furnace. Broken water lines have caused damage to walls, floors, and appliances. Some roof repair is needed. Also some siding Damage. Home is sold “As-is”.

If you are looking to sell, I promise to do a great job marketing your home!

Fast forward a few years and somewhere along the way I decided I really, really liked real estate and enjoyed actual networking and if the topic of real estate didn’t come up I would be more than disappointed.  I stopped wanting to talk about teaching and kids (topics I was more than familiar with) and began wanting to talk real estate (a topic I was becoming more and more confident with).  Instead of dreading the question “how’s the real estate market” I found myself hoping someone would ask. So today when I stare out at the snow (who at the moment is being an awesome babysitter for my kids and not costing me a dime) I am reflecting on my networking and how to move forward with it in the new year.

The beauty of networking is that you can meet with people you like at places you like during times that work for your schedule. And depending on who it is, you may even be able to get away with wearing your Lulu Lemon pants and your Uggs. Networking is definitely on my to-do list this year and I’ve already got a good start! Text me or facebook me if you’re up for some networking. And if you need to use our networking as “networking” just to show your husband or your boss that you are out meeting with actual people, I’m cool with that!

HAVE FUN BOYS! NO NEED TO HURRY HOME!

Yes, prices have been steadily falling but the general consensus for those of us in the biz is that they may decline a bit more but most likely they will stay about the same. Foreclosures and short sales will continue to drive prices down a bit which is good and bad, depending on who you are. If you are looking to buy this year, good for you! If this is the year you plan to sell, maybe not so great. But interest rates are once again at historic lows so it will bring buyers out of the woodwork, making home sales rise and hopefully decreasing the amount of time homes will sit on the market.

Should you buy or wait? My advice is buy. If you already own a home, buy an investment home. If you are renting, take advantage of the low interest rates…you will probably save money.  Will waiting another year ensure that prices will drop even more? They might, but what if interest rates go back up? Then it won’t matter. Take advantage of low rates and pretty low home prices. As long as you don’t have to turn around and sell your home in the immediate future, it’s a smart choice.

As for me, my goal is once again to do better than I did the year before, continue to make Cara in the House a recognizable brand and improve the real estate market, one happy client at a time!

Have you been to the mall at all since Thanksgiving? If you have you probably had as much trouble as I did finding a parking spot and maneuvering around the busy stores. You probably also stood in very long lines at the food court (or if you were at Bellevue Square you stood in a very long line at either PF Changs or the Cheesecake Factory). To me this means that people are spending money and that’s a good sign.

Have you paid attention to all the vacations people are taking lately? If you haven’t been on Facebook you might be clueless but I swear every time I get on Facebook (ok, not every time because that would literally be a massive amount) I read people’s status updates talking about their vacations. To me this means people have a little extra money to spend and that’s another good sign.

Jobs are back in style. The unemployment rate (according to the Seattle Times and not my own research) has dropped to the lowest point since February of 2009. And to me, that is the most critical piece and probably the best sign of all.

So to recap, lots of people are spending money at the malls, eating out in restaurants, taking vacations and working. They are also buying houses (thank you to all my wonderful clients), donating to charities and participating in more recreational activities. Unless I’m living in some kind of weird bubble, I’m sure you have noticed the same. So let’s keep up the good spending, I mean let’s keep up the good work! I love blogging about good news.

Happy Holidays!

First we have Sonia: friend, former co-worker, and Cara in the House client. She and her sister have decided to spread holiday cheer by performing one random act of kindness a day from December 1st to Christmas Eve. Every day they post a picture and describe their random act of kindness. Here they are on Day #3 bringing gifts to the Sunrise Children’s Home in Arizona. And their good cheer is spreading…a lady overheard them talking about their random acts and gave them $10 to contribute towards the giving! I’m looking forward to seeing what these 2 lovely ladies will think of over the next few weeks.

Next we have Windermere Real Estate. Again, they have outdone themselves in only a way that a true family-owned company who truly cares about their employees and their community can do. This past Saturday, the 5 Windermere offices owned by the Deasy family met at the Factoria Target. 100 agents were paired with a child from a low income family and were given a $175 gift card to help them purchase gifts for their family. The kids arrived at 8 am with smiles and their lists. When the shopping was done, the other agents helped wrap, tag and box up their gifts while providing Christmas treats, activities and free Santa pictures. It was an experience I’ll never forget.

Next up is 180 Degrees Chiropractic in downtown Redmond. Even though their doors have been open less than a month, they are raising money for Hopelink. From now until December 23rd, they are offering $50 for a first visit (exam and x-rays) and every penny they collect will go to Hopelink to help local families in need. Call to make your appointment: (425) 636-8354.

Last but not least is Sheila: friend, Cara in the House client and co-founder of Tale of Two Elves. This facebook page was created by two ladies who are friends on facebook but have never actually met in person. This hilarious page (you should definitely like it by clicking here) shows the elf from the book “Elf on the Shelf” on various adventures in Seattle and Chicago. Thank you for giving me the gift of laughter! Here he is in one of my favorite poses!

However you are giving back this holiday season, I want to say thank you. “No act of kindness, however small, is ever wasted.” -Aesop

If you have a charity or tradition that you would llike to share, please consider leaving a comment below. Happy Holidays!

10. Repeat customers. It means you thought I was a competent agent and have trust in me to help you buy or sell a second (or third) time! Because we have done business together in the past, I know your expectations and we can get right down to business. It’s also fun for me to connect with you again and see what you’ve been up to!

9. Internet. For many reasons. Probably the one that stands out most is the ability to look up anything, anytime. You see I’m the kind of person that will torture myself if I don’t understand something or if I don’t remember something and I won’t rest until I figure it out. For example, when I couldn’t remember the actor who appeared in Season 6, Episode 4 of Psych I knew in about 7 seconds it was Joey McIntyre from NKOTB. Confused about NKOTB? That’s what internet is for. Or when my son asked what PDA stood for and after I determined he wasn’t talking about public displays of affection, I typed it in and seconds later told him it stands for personal digital assistant. Duh.

8. Everyone that helped me launch Cara in the House. From the name, to the logo, to the blog, to the website, to the Facebook fan page, I am grateful. Its well on its way to becoming the most recognizable brand in all of…Kirkland?

7. My kids play sports. If I’m going to dedicate my weekends to tournaments, at least I have some good teams to watch and some great parents to mingle with.

6. My family and friends. Let’s face it; aren’t I obligated to say that? I don’t want to be like that one actress who left her husband out of her Academy Awards acceptance speech. Who was that? Oh yea, Hillary Swank. Thank you internet (see #9). No seriously, I am one lucky gal.

5. My family is local. This means no extensive traveling for Thanksgiving either by plane, train or automobile. It also means that I don’t have to sleep on some family member’s couch and more important, that some family member isn’t sleeping on mine.

4. 360 fans and counting on my Facebook fan page. I love new fans, new comments and new likes on anything to do with Cara in the House. I love it a lot.

3. Texting, Facebook and Words with Friends. I could not live without any of you. And I am not even kidding.

2. Referrals. Thank you, thank you, thank you if you’ve given me a referral. I am DEEPLY grateful. If you haven’t, there’s still time.

1. A job that let’s me have fun, meet great people, have time with my family, exercise my passion for blogging and gives me a great excuse to be on Facebook! And above all, never having to say “Do I have to go to work today?” I hope I show how much I love my job on the outside as much as I feel it on the inside.

Happy Thanksgiving. From my house to yours.

I have met with many a seller who asks me to come to their home and help them decide what needs to be done before it goes on the market. This is sometimes easy and sometimes not. It’s especially difficult when the home needs updating but the seller is either a.) not motivated to update a home that they will soon be selling or b.) not in a financial position to do so. But regardless, there are two options: update the home or price it well enough to entice buyers to overlook the outdated-ness (probably not a real word).

Let’s take a look from the buyer’s perspective. Having shown many homes, I can tell you that buyers like updated homes. Green Formica doesn’t go over as well as granite and hardwood floors are more pleasing to the eye than shag carpeting. Also, buyer’s hate popcorn ceilings! But as much as buyer’s love these things, they are not willing to overpay for them. My advice to sellers is this: if you are going to update a home, don’t expect to get back every penny you put in. What you can most likely expect is to sell your home faster than a similar home with less updates.

Secondly, if you are going to update your home, do it in a tasteful yet neutral way. Another thing I’ve learned is that buyers have a hard time if they think they have to redo an update rather than just update it themselves. What I mean is, don’t put in blue marble countertops because you think they are the latest and greatest; it can be a hard pill for a buyer to swallow knowing they have to tear out something that is brand new. Oh, and do it correctly! Paying your uncle’s cousin’s nephew to slap it all together will be glaringly obvious. Buyers are very savvy these days!

Lastly, do you have to update everything? No. If you live in a 1970’s house that hasn’t been updated, consult with an agent. They can most likely help you decided where to start. And you never know, your house may be so out of style that it actually might be back in style! If you are a seller who needs help getting your home ready to sell, call me (or text me because we all know I love texting.) I can certainly help you decide the most cost effect route to take!

1. Only 18% of agents follow up with their clients after their transaction is complete. Say what? What are the other 82% doing? If I either sold you a home or sold your home and you haven’t heard from me since, you have my permission to egg my house. I love to follow up with my clients and see how they like their house or what they did with that one room that was painted bright pink and had green carpeting when they bought it. I truly like my clients and since you spend so much time together for the duration of the transaction I think it would be weird to just stop communicating.

2. Only 11% of buyers and sellers used the same agent on their next transaction. Say what? That seems staggeringly low to me (if staggeringly is even a word). I guess probably in large part due to number 1 but that still surprises me. I guess agents can’t always please every client and of course we should account for people moving out of the area or agents retiring but still. How many of you have used the same agent?

3. 15% of my sphere of influence (fancy way of saying people I see and talk to on a regular basis) will buy or sell this year.  If you are one of them and you want an agent who will follow up with you after your home closes and one that will work so hard that you wouldn’t dream of using another agent on your next go-around, that agent is me!

Visit me at www.carainthehouse.com or call me at 206.919.2505. Oh, you can facebook me at www.facebook.com/carainthehouse. I also love texts.