Author Archives: Brenda Briggs

For Sale by Owner

Did you know?  There are sites that will allow you to post your home on multiple listing service and tell you you can sell your home for a mere 200 dollars…as though just posting in MLS is all there is to selling your home.  Nothing could be farther from the truth.

First, and most importantly, your agent doesn’t get the entire commission.  The AGENCY gets the majority of it, and that’s because there’s a gargantuan amount of marketing being done, by that agency, on your behalf, about which you know nothing because you don’t see it going on.  For example….you might post your home on the internet, but does it show up on the top of the search engine page?  I’d bet not.  That costs dollars, dollars your agency spends to get your home the best marketing position going.  Would you like to have your home on the Relocation market too?  That also costs dollars, and your agency will have your home right up there for anybody not IN this area, moving TO this area also seeing your home and being put in touch with someone to bring them in to see it.  You aren’t going to get that with FSBO or for limited marketing (such as entry only agencies).  It’s not just A web site; it should be THE web site.  Fonville Morisey has a web site that other real estate agents from other companies use…because ours is the best.  Period.

Technology is key in marketing.  I’ve seen the technology other agencies use.  None can compare to Fonville Morisey.  That’s just a little side note because I’m a nerd.

Second, selling your home is not just about putting a sign in the yard or getting the home in MLS.  It’s about having professionals who know the market and real estate laws to look after your  financial AND legal interests.  Let’s talk about your buyer.  What if it was built on a drainage easement?  Do you understand the implications of that?  Are there encroachments on your property?  What if you are listing unheated square footage (or other rooms accessible THROUGH unheated square footage) as actual heated square footage and CHARGING for that space?  You are not allowed, by law, to do that.  Your buyer can come back and sue you for the dollars they spent in error because you ‘misled’ them. And…are you SURE about the square footage you’re advertising?  Square footage errors are the biggest reason for real estate lawsuits.  That’s just one example.

Did you know that 50% of FSBO sellers waste precious marketing time and end up having to hire a Realtor anyway?  True.  And the experience is often such a hassle, that 90% of FSBO sellers say they will hire a Realtor next time.  Also true.  Every market has a wax and wane aspect.  If you try to sell by owner and miss the hot market, your agent (and statistics say you’ll probably call one) now has to market in the slow market time and you might end up sitting right there for another season while the market goes through its cycle.

There’s a new contract, which includes a due diligence period.  Part of that due diligence package involves you, the seller, getting a check as compensation for having your house off of the market (limited marketability) while the buyer does their investigation and gets the loan in order.  If they walk…for any reason or for no reason…you keep that due diligence money.  That’s, by the way, the easy part of the contract.  The lastest offer to purhcase is intricate and involved.  And while your agent is FAR more than a paper handler, it sure helps that he or she IS good at that part. 

Don’t make the mistake of thinking your realtor is just a fill-in-the-blank paper pusher.  Not so.  We are professionals who know the law, have to take classes every year to stay current on the changes…and there are a lot of them…and we work while others are spending time with their families.  Realtors never really have a day off.  I think we’re one of the most misunderstood segments of business society.

Let’s talk negotiating!  That’s the real meat of the process.  Do you know what a buyer can and cannot expect you to do?  Do you know what your legal liability is if you sell a termite infested home?  Buyer?  What if you buy a gorgeous home and fall through the floor when you move in your piano because termites have eaten the floor supports?  Do you have a recourse?  Oh and let’s talk about mold and radon gas….no, let’s don’t.  But you should think about it. A big part of the realtor’s job is to protect you, buyer or seller…from down-the-road issues like this.

My personal feeling is that I wouldn’t try a for sale by owner simply because of the litigious nature of our society these days.  It doesn’t take much for someone to sue someone else.  And ignorance of the law is still no excuse.  Some ‘honest’ mistakes can be very costly…even more than the amount of commissions.  And remember…when you buy your next home, you don’t pay your realtor OR commissions. Your seller does.  So it balances. 

Some buyers automatically assume, if you are selling without an agency representing you, that you can’t afford it and they’ll target you for a lowball offer.  They will assume you are in financial trouble and treat you accordingly.  And speaking of low ball offers….did you know that most people who sell their homes as a fsbo actually net LESS than they could have with a realtor/professional, pricing their home?  I know…you think you can look at a sale price and divide by square footage of a nearby sold home, then multiply that number by the size of your home.  That’s EXACTLY why people net less.  That’s not the correct way to price a home.  If you do that, there’s a great chance you’ll either get zip for activity (very over priced) or you’ll sell way under what you could have sold for (very under priced).

So, the moral of the story is this: 1) the real estate agent does not get that whole commission; 2) the real estate agent will spend out of pocket dollars…in ADDITION towhat the agency spends…to market your home. If it doesn’t sell, we lose money; 3) the real estate agent is a trained professional with great credentials and a knowledge of the market you need to get the most for your property; 4) the real estate agent is not a paper pusher.  We are trained negotiators and we are trained in real estate law that will save you from a lot of hassle…and you won’t even know it.  With an agency representingyou, you get what you pay for and THEN some.

Oh, and let me debunk a myth that runs rampant in the homes community:  Contrary to popular belief, real estate agents are not rich.

Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls…

This is the beginning of a quote by Kahlil Gibran, philosopher.  The whole quote goes like this, “Out of suffering have emerged the strongest souls.  The most massive characters are seared with scars.”  It’s my favorite quote these days.  Actually, I think it’ll be in my top five forever.

I think it’s a safe bet that all of us have had our challenges with this economy.  Even millionaires have a lifestyle to which they’ve become accustomed and which they must also fund.  So having money doesn’t mean, necessarily, that you’re immune to economic downturns.  And we won’t even talk about the ones of us whose budget is so tight it squeals!  But even aside from the economic issues, we still also face the usual suspects in our lives: Relationship issues, job issues, trying to FIND a job and having no success, sick loved ones, sick pets, getting fat, losing too much weight (yeah right),being lonely, losing loved ones, unethical people setting out to do us deliberate harm (yeah, that happens)…the list goes on and on, doesn’t it?  We have enough in day-to-day life to keep us challenged, without putting economic woes on top of it.  So what can we do about any of this?

Well we probably want to fix the stuff we can fix, right, or at least try? There are some things we can do to stay centered, not the least of which is surrounding ourselves with people who are just plain good.  Bring people into your life who have depth of character, immutable integrity, joy and laughter in their lives, and a strong faith.  Throw the rest out on their ear!  🙂  That’s the place to start, job one.  Build a good foundation from which to venture out every day and have some friends who have your back when you feel attacked…and you will sometimes.  If you pick your friends well, they WILL have your back.  You need them there! 

Second, believe that there is a plan for you, and look for evidence that the plan is playing out.  For example….I’ve been through two years of tragedy in my life, of the kind I didn’t think I’d survive.  Sometimes I didn’t want to, really. After all, who would want to live the life I’ve lived lately?  I can smile when I say that now, but for a while, there were no smiles in me.  Today I can look back at the trail behind me and see the faces of people whose paths I crossed on this terrible journey, and I see so clearly why they were there and why I needed to encounter them.  Without this tragedy, I’d have never met them.  They are such blessings to me now and so important to my present and my future!  I don’t want to imagine my life without them in it.  Don’t get me wrong; given a choice, I’d do without the tragedy every time.  But there is a plan for me and I guess this tumultuous time was part of it.  

Third, look inward and see what you can learn from the hard times, because trust me, you will be able to pass along what you learn to someone else in need.   What goes around, really comes around.  I had a conversation with a dear friend last weekend about this:  He asked me how in the world can you ever change your deepest behaviors, even when you know they are not good ones.  Well that’s very possibly the hardest thing you’ll ever do…AND the most rewarding.  Nothing feels quite as good as throwing out the garbage.  It is hard and you will feel like giving up and… the bad stuff just gets to feeling comfortable.  Listen up: clinging to the bad stuff makes you choose bad partners!  That should motivate you if nothing else does 🙂  Oh and by the way, the job is never done.  Why?  Because your value system changes with roughly every decade of your life.  Just to keep things interesting!

Socrates said that the unexamined life is not worth living.  I whole heartedly agree with that sentiment!  But you can’t stop at examination.  Once you open the attic of your psyche, the next step is to clean it out, throw away the bad stuff and organize what you keep.  It’s a test of your diligence, your discipline and your will to improve yourself, once you step into the world of your own psyche.   If you couple this kind of self work with faith, if you succeed in the examination and purging, then bad times really can’t touch you.  Oh, they’ll still be bad, but your reaction to them will be vastly different. Can you wobble off the path and start collecting garbage again? Ohhhh yes.  Here’s a secret: Don’t do that.

We get comfortable with our tendencies and our feelings, even if they’re not necessarily good for us.  So…if you meet someone and instantly feel ‘comfortable’ with them?  Maybe that means you need to run like all get-out!  🙂  Depends on what is in that attic we talked about!  Sometimes, comfortable is merely a sign of one of those big old boxes of garbage we threw out years ago…trying to creeeeep back in!  Be careful!

The important thing is this: Life is hard enough without bringing in briars and thorns and weights to drown us in the flood of life.  The Bible says we should be equally yoked.   Well whether or not you believe the Bible…and I do…equal yoke means half the burden.  That’s irrefutable, straight scoop, can’t be denied. 

Summary: Don’t BE a knucklehead; don’t COLLECT knuckleheads; be the best you can be (examine yourself); and don’t miss the joy, even in the midst of a poop storm! 🙂  And yes there can be joy in a poop storm. Ya gotta look for it, though.

Have a wonderful, safe and happy holiday!

An amazing study of the book of Daniel

If you haven’t heard an amazing study of Daniel, you really need to come join us at Richland Creek Community Church this Sunday.  We’re in the middle of a study of Daniel, and Pastor Sims is doing a wonderful job of teaching this book.  He makes so much sense, you can’t help but learn and he injects humor into his lesson…so you remember it.

I go to the 9 o’clock service (there are three others from which to choose), which is a blended service.  The music is wonderful (almost as good as the sermon) and the people are welcoming and genuinely nice people.  Dress casually if you like, or dress up.  Your choice.  And you can get a cup of Starbucks coffee, on the house, on your way in.

If you can’t make it, catch the sermon online, at www.Richlandcreek.com .  You can listen to our Wednesday night Bible study here, too.  Would love to have you join me.  You’ll love it!

The Age of Gloom and Doom…

I have to tell you, it’s getting painful to watch the news…even the financial networks, which are my favorite places to park…are stressful.  I never feel more like jumping into bed and putting a pillow over my head, than after I listen to the news!  But here’s the truth:  It isn’t NEWS in our society unless it’s BAD NEWS.  We all should remember that when we foolishly elect  to watch a steady diet of the news.  I never thought I’d see the day we’d have to ‘talk ourselves down’ from a 15 minute break watching the news.  Does it make you hyperventilate??  It does me sometimes…so I switch to National Geographic.  God forbid there are animals killing animals when I do that..:-)

Everybody has an opinion about the economic future, and some are based more in a need to make ‘news’ than to put forth reality.  Yes, even the guys in suits on TV are giving an opinion, not gospel.  Hey, there’s a good chance they are wrong.  So why risk the pillow over the head.  Put the stock ticker on and turn down the volume.  That’s the best bet.  And remember that our market is still strong and people still need to buy homes AND sell them. 

The truth is: Interest rates are the lowest we’re likely to EVER see them again.  Folks, it’s the strongest BUYER market we’re likely to experience again in DECADES!  It’s very likely the best time to buy a home you’re ever going to see!  And real estate is still a good investment.  Did you see what happened to gold prices when George Soros dumped his shares? 

For sellers, yes, there is a lot of competition out there. But if you are willing to make your home sale worthy, you can still sell your home!  The trick is to beat out your competition with regard to price and appearance.  Remember, if you don’t do what you need to do to compete in this BUYER market, your prospects have lots of other homes from which to choose…and they’ll go there, by the way.

If you can paint, paint.  If you can replace worn carpet, do that.  If you have bad smells in the house, please fix that immediately.  If you can upgrade to granite countertops, do that.  Your realtor’s not just saying that to make noise come out of her head.  She’s telling you what the market says you have to do to compete.  Did you know that some homes in the $120,000 price range now have granite countertops and stainless appliances?  Some builders are doing that! 

I still say that you’re either going to catch or repel your buyer the minute they walk in the door.  If it FEELS good, smells good, looks good, the temperature is comfortable, you have a shot.  If not, I have seen buyers turn around in the foyer and leave.  Yep, that happens. So here are some of the most common complaints:

1) Bad smell; 2) brass fixtures date the house; 3) yard looks terrible; 4) bedrooms too small; Oh, here’s a big one, 5) too cluttered; and the grand finale: 6) price too high!  By the way, if the complaint is that the room is too small, all you can do is eliminate as much clutter/furniture as possible…as in, make the room LOOK bigger.

No, you can’t deliberately price to high and hope for a lower offer.  People won’t even come SEE your house.   Pricing is the first, most significant hurdle you face. You USED to be able to price too high; not now.

You can’t sell clutter.  There are 8 houses near you that look perfect inside.  No, you can’t offer carpet allowance; buyers can find 6 other homes where the seller has put in new carpet AND painted.  I know!  But it’s true!

We can’t all afford to do expensive upgrades, but the bottom line is this: The days of selling whatever we put out there are on hold for now.  You have to compete, and compete strongly in this market.  Want to know what to do to get started?  Let’s talk! 

Women over fifty…

You’d be surprised if you knew how many women over fifty I’ve met who find themselves alone in their later years, like me.  We didn’t choose our path, but isn’t it funny how things work out sometimes?  Well okay, funny isn’t exactly the right word.  I’ll say ‘interesting’. But I’ve enjoyed connecting with these women and putting them in contact with others like us.  It’s like weaving a hand-holding bridge across the loneliness….or like weaving a tapestry.  Every woman is different, each with her own story, each with some pain and some glory in her past.  Like our pastor said, if we look at the back of the tapestry (or from below as in his analogy), we see all of the hanging threads and crisscrossing chaos of colors.  But the whole of it, from above is beautiful:  You can see the picture, how it’s all supposed to come together.  He was talking about our perspective of our lives versus that of God; but if I apply that analogy to my golden girlfriends, it fits.  Each of us has a mess of crisscrossing threads, jumbled together and in no way resembling a picture at all. Threads of love, threads of joy, threads of pain, of fun and laughter, of tears, of life…we all have them all.  But our group picture, viewed head on, and as a whole, is quite beautiful.  This is one way to turn something painful into something wonderful: Reach out and touch others along the same journey.  I’ve been absolutely amazed at the depth of love and compassion I have encountered and isn’t that what we all seek on this earth? Isn’t that one of God’s greatest gifts to us? Each of these women has wisdom, love, spiritual gifts, knows the face of real pain, and has an idea of how to survive against all odds.  Amazing how all of us tell much the same story…with a common thread of God woven throughout.

Mothers’ Day

There are all kinds of mothers out there.  I wonder how many of us feel like we did things right.  I’d be willing to bet the thinking moms wonder…could I have done things better?

I realized one day that no baby is born with an instruction book.  I realized this when I was analyzing, maybe criticizing, my mother’s way of doing things.  Don’t we all think we’ll do things differently?  Don’t we all think we’ll make up for all of the shortcomings when we have our own children?  After a lot of prayer and meditation, I realized that my parents were raised by THEIR parents, and so on and so on, and none of my family records or stories say ANYTHING about instruction books popping out with the babies!  Parenting is largely trial and error, or going on what someone else’s mother tells us we ought to do.

In other words, our parents did the best they could, even if we don’t always approve.  And oh, by the way, OUR children have logged OUR shortcomings too.  In other words, it’s time to chill out and realize that there are NO perfect mothers, but I can pretty much guarantee that you’ll never find truer love than that of a mother toward her children…even if she’s not perfect in the expression of it.

So happy Mother’s Day, moms of the world.  I think you did a great job of being a mom…in fact, I’m pretty sure you did!

For the birds….

I found a really neat bird feeder/bird bath/planter combo thingy…well it was a COUPON for it.  It had these things you could put around the feeders, sort of like a modified cage.  It let the LITTLE birds in but kept out big birds and squirrels (yeah, right).  I felt so guilty about excluding the big birds….I gave up on the whole idea.    I know….I know….

The change we cannot see….

Change is almost never fun, unless you are a Corning, Incorporated employee.  There, change is a lifestyle; it’s expected and its full of excitement and untrodden ground to explore.  That company, where I used to once live in my cubicle, is a place where inventions and new discoveries happen every day.  There, without change, the view would be the backsides of those who raced ahead of you.  There, you’re surrounded by leaders, engineers, scientists, physicists…the best of the best…in that world.  These people expect to change direction on a dime and rush full speed ahead in a new direction…and love it and be successful with whatever fomented the change.  It’s thrilling; it’s a rush; it’s a lifestyle.

I’ve found that in other places than Corning, change is exhausting;  but it’s all in how we approach it.  Change isn’t bad…what matters is how we respond to it.  What we cannot see when we either see change coming or are in the middle of it, is where we will end up, the sights we’ll see along the way, or the people we’ll meet along our new path.  Whether we elect change or not, matters not in the grand scheme of it.  What matters is the journey, the experience, how we respond.  What matters are the seeds we sow, because, after all, what we sow, we will surely reap.  I’ve lived long enough to see that over and over.

When it seems terrible, just hang on.  Just hang on and keep putting one foot in front of the other.  You’ll get through.  You’ll be different, but you’ll be fine, too.

Once you get past the trauma of change, if it is indeed traumatic, it’s almost fun to look back and see how THAT led to THIS.  I sometimes wonder exactly what the heck happened in my life to land me here…and how I could have been so ignorant of what was happening in what I thought was my life… but of this I am sure: Here is much better than there and I wouldn’t trade the people I now have in my life BECAUSE of the change, for the ones I had before the change. I like it like it is now.  Sometimes terrible times make the good ones so much nicer. 

I have met some of the worst people of my life, and I have met some of the best, in the course of this most recent life change.  I have seen both the best and the worst of both myself and others along this journey.  What happens now is that I get to experience the excitement of a new life. I get to get back to being me, to being happy, to laughing again.  I used to laugh a lot; I find myself doing that again.  It feels pretty good!  And  I get to use my experience and the wisdom I gained to help others who find themselves on the same journey.  What better way to go through life than to reach out to others and lend a hand?  I can’t think of one.

Don’t look back unless it’s to take the hand of someone you’re helping along.  Look ahead and embrace the new life.  Have faith that it will be better and that you will have wonderful experiences and new friends with whom to share them.  Throw out the bad  memories with the other junk and look ahead to a better life!

Triangle Real Estate Associates

We are a satellite team of Fonville Morisey Realty.  Our team consists of seven agents, two marketing specialists, and our wonderful Broker-in-Charge.  We work as a team to list and sell homes. Each listing is discussed each week in our meetings and we operate as a team to get our listings sold.  We operate not only as a team, but also as a family.  We genuinely care about one another AND our clients.  If you haven’t had the benefit of a team working to help you with your real estate needs, you should consider giving us a call.  We’d love to be of service!

My first Passover Seder

I attended a Passover Seder last night; it was my first time experiencing this event.  I loved it!  Great fellowship with brand new friends.  And I learned something else about Jewish tradition.  Just a beautiful event, and a great way to get my mind and spirit in the right place for Easter.  If you haven’t attended a Passover Seder, come join us at Richland Creek Community Church next year.  You will love it.  It’s beautiful.