Real Estate Karma

Win-Win or Win-Lose?

Old-school real estate often prescribes to the "win-lose" philosophy - meaning one side of the transaction wins while the other side loses.  One of the aspects of Keller Williams Realty that I appreciate the most is their "win-win" philosophy - their belief that no side in a real estate transaction need be the loser.


Opportunities Abound

In any real estate transaction, whether the agent is representing the buyer or the seller, there are multiple opportunities.  Unfortunately, many agents with that old-school mentality look at these opportunities as a time to "put the screws" to the opponent and gain some perceived advantage for their client.

I prefer to look at these opportunities as a time to do the right thing.

"In business, as in life, the most important thing is to build strong relationships and to try to do right by others.  If this is accomplished, then the money, in business, and the karma, in life, will take care of itself."

-Keith Smith, Realtor®

Yes, that's my quote and I'm sticking to it.  I'm a huge believer in the Golden Rule and always have that time-tested adage in mind when working with clients and customers - clients being the people you're representing and customers being the folks on the other side of the table.  A good agent should possess the same qualities in business as a good person does in life - applying the Golden Rule equally to all concerned parties, and not only to the parties in which the agent sees some financial gain.


Find a Good Agent (Person)

If you feel that an agent that you may potentially work with is a good person, then chances are they will probably prove to be a good agent as well.  It can be hard for clients who are not well-versed in the business of real estate to judge who the good agents are.  However, we all have a strong sense of intuition or our "gut feeling" - trust it.

If you work with a qualified agent who has a "win-win" philosophy, then you're bound to either buy or sell at a fair market value, enjoy an experience that is as stress-free as possible, and feel good about how you were represented in the transaction.

At the end of the day, we all want to sit at the closing table and be able to look the other side in the eye and extend an honest handshake, knowing that we did the right thing.  That's what the "win-win" philosophy is all about.


-Keith Smith, Realtor®

Atlanta East Metro Real Estate Stats For May

Strong market indicators continued in May with home values trending slightly upwards as anticipated.  Market inventory is low, particularly for homes valued at $150,000 and less. Interest rates remain low.  Now is a great time to buy or sell.

The American Dream 2.0

The American Dream

The image of the American Dream that was prevalent 50 years ago may not bear much resemblance to the modern version of the concept.  Certainly for the Baby Boomers and the earliest Generation X arrivals, the idea of the American Dream was of a more traditional nature.

-Graduate high school
-Attend college to earn a bachelor’s degree
-Get a good job with a company that offered a solid pension plan
-Get married
-Buy a house
-Raise a family
-Pay off your mortgage
-Retire on your pension, supplemented by Social Security

In this version of the American Dream there may very well have only been one major real estate purchase involved in the plan – the purchase of the primary home. People stayed in that home their entire lives, eventually paying off a 30-year mortgage, at which time they would have a “mortgage burning party”.  The mortgage was burned either in the fireplace or over a trash can – a symbolic end to the greatest monetary commitment of their lives, and a reason to rejoice.

The concept of the mortgage burning, representing a life-long investment in one piece of real estate, has probably become something very unfamiliar to the younger American generations.

The American Dream 2.0

The landscape of the American Dream offers a different view for later Generation X arrivals and Generation Y/Millennials.

-Graduate high school
-Attend a college, perhaps a two-year school to obtain an associate’s degree,
followed by a transfer to a 4-year university for a bachelor’s degree, often followed
immediately by a transfer to yet another university in order to obtain a master’s
degree
-Get a a job that will serve as spring-board for your career
-Live at home with your parents or rent an apartment
-Move to a new city in order to take a position with a different company
-Move again – new city, new job, new apartment
-Get married
-Start a family
-Finally buy your first home
-Up size to a larger home to accommodate your growing family
-Sell that house and buy a new one in another city when you take a position
with another company
-Attempt to gain financial ground on each real estate transaction to fund your
retirement account (that pension plan doesn’t exist anymore)
-Down size after the kids are grown and out of the house (the kids are 30 years
old when this happens)
-Move to a smaller home (perhaps the third or fourth you’ve owned in you life)
-Retire on your investments/savings supplemented by Social Security

The end goal of American Dream 1.0 and 2.0 has remained the same – to be able to retire comfortably.  However, the path to that goal has changed substantially.

When people hear the phrase “real estate investor”, they often conjure an image of a fast-talking “wheeler-dealer”.  In reality, all of us who have ever bought and then sold a home are in fact real estate investors.  With the ever increasing strain on Americans to be able to retire at a reasonable age, the benefits of wise real estate investments can mean the difference between retirement and the need to continue working past the age that you envisioned yourself sipping a cool one next to the shuffle board court.

The path to the American Dream has certainly changed over the past 50 years, but the destination has remained the same – comfort and security.  Whether that represents a mortgage-free retirement in the home you’ve always known or leveraging your real estate investments in order to secure your future, wise real estate investment is an important part of the journey.

-Richard Keith Smith
Realtor®

The Five Senses of a Well-listed Home

Getting your home ready for listing can seem like a daunting task.  However, the job can be made easier if you just keep in mind the five senses.

Sight

Lighting is one of the most important aspects of preparing your home either for pictures or to be viewed by potential buyers.  Make sure to replace burnt out light bulbs. Dim lighting in familiar spaces, such as our own homes, can set an intimate or romantic mood.  Dim lighting in unfamiliar spaces often makes people feel ill at ease, and can give your rooms a dreary appearance.  Proper lighting is also essential to insure that online photos of your home look their best.  Compact fluorescent light bulbs may be great for the environment, but they can cast a harsh light, especially when used in ceiling fan light fixtures with open globes.  Traditional soft-white incandescent bulbs will cast your home in a warmer light.

Cast your home in its best light.

Smell

Our sense of smell, or olfactory sense, is the strongest memory inducer of all of the five senses.  Your home should smell clean and fresh, but not overpowered by candles or air fresheners.  I recently spoke with an agent who had one of her listings shown.  The feedback from the buyer’s agent stated that they had counted 27 Yankee candles burning in the house during the showing.  That’s olfactory overload!  A better strategy is to make sure your home has been thoroughly cleaned using products that have a pleasant yet mild aroma.  Avoid general cleaners that contain bleach or pine odors.  There’s a ton of cleaning products on the market now that use the smell of a laundry detergent such as Gain.  Opt for these instead – the smell of fresh laundry is appealing to many people.

Sound

One of the greatest draws for a property is a quiet neighborhood.  Inside your home, make sure the TV and stereo are turned off during showings.  If you have a dog who insists on alerting you if a stranger comes within 100 yards of your home (like I do), consider taking him for a ride while potential buyers are viewing your home.  A barking dog can not only be a negative for a showing, it can actually cause distress for some people who may have a fear of dogs.  Noise intrusion from outside your home is harder to control, but do what you can.  If you know that your neighbor tinkers on his hot rod and revs the engine every Saturday morning between breakfast and lunch (true story from one of my former homes), then have your agent avoid scheduling showings during those times.

My alarm system.  Bless his heart.

Feel

We’ll take this one in two ways.  First, surfaces in your home that a potential buyer might actually touch should be clean, such has kitchen counter tops and bathroom vanities. Also, hard surface flooring like hardwood, tile, and laminate should be clean and not sticky. The home should also be dust-free.  I’m not saying potential buyers will bring the proverbial white glove, but you never know.  In a broader sense, your home should make people feel “at home”.  Following the advice in this article will go along way toward accomplishing that goal.

Taste

No, potential buyers will not lick your walls unless you have wallpaper like Willy Wonka.

So, we’ll take this meaning as “tasteful”, rather than “taste”.  It’s important for your home to present with a neutral color palette.  Bold color choices may be appealing to you, but a neutral color scheme better enables the buyer to see themselves living in the space.  Be cautious of white walls, however.  They can give your home an institutional feel.  Warm-tone taupe or beige is a better choice.  Use a couple of different shades to give variety to the rooms in your house.

I hope these “sensible” ideas will be helpful to you when preparing your home for the real estate market.  The market can be unpredictable, however there are always some advantages that are completely within our control.

-Keith Smith, Realtor®

Real Estate and the Human Experience

Hello All!

I’m glad you’ve found your way here.  My name is Keith Smith and I’m a Realtor® from Conyers, GA (Atlanta east metro).  I’ve started this blog to share some of my thoughts and ideas with anyone who might be interested.  There will be tips and insights that should be beneficial to both buyers and sellers, as well as anyone interested in real estate or considering a career as an agent.

There will also be some insights into the human experience (don’t worry, nothing too heavy!) and how we interact with each other.  Since a large part of real estate sales concerns how people perceive and react to their immediate environment, a lot of what’s discussed here will relate directly to buying and selling homes.  However, if you’re not immediately in the market to buy or sell, but still get some enjoyment from the topics discussed here, than all the better.

I'll also throw in a little home improvement and fun home hacks that you might find useful.  And I would be lying if I said I don't love a good celebrity home tour.

Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you’ll check in again soon.

-Keith