I am really mad at CBH homes

I am mentoring another agent.  Her client is trying to build a new home from CBH homes.  They walked into the office and worked out the contract with the CBH agent the terms of the contract.  The sellers agent wrote the contract up with $1500 in the design studio (for upgrades).  We never had a chance to set the terms of the offer since it was complete and our clients had agreed to those terms.  Our clients signed the offer and they countered taking away this money.   This seems to me to be bait and switch.  If we had asked for this it would have been fine for them to counter but they wrote the contract not us.  I am advising that we counter with that money in.  The kids are afraid of losing the contract but they really could use the money so they can have things a house SHOULD have standard… Like a non shallow sink…. A closet door…. A 6 lb carpet pad….

Bad Real Estate Day….

OK today was not a good real estate day….  Real estate has me down today….  We had a re-inspection on my pending…. Everything on the list passed but due to the 1.5 inches of rain we got (and all the melting snow) there was 1 or 2 inches of water underneath the plastic in the crawl space….. This is the sound of Debbie beating her head against a stone wall…. My seller is way past his lower limit and the buyer will probably walk tomorrow…. I would guess my seller ought to fix the problem and try to sell at a higher price…. The market is improving so this is possible… We thought the problems were finished.  We took all sorts of actions that were un-testable due to our dry winter.   The day is gray and it matches my mood…. Just after I had this cheery news I talked to my very sick tenant… She has pulmonary embolisms in her lungs and developed a fungal pneumonia… She is at home and requested a grab bar for the shower.  I scheduled my workman to do it on Saturday.

I hope tomorrow I get it together….  I must prospect…. The serenity prayer is in order today…. I must remember my people are all well, nobody died…. Just problems…. Lots of problems….

Sometimes solo real estate is like a solo medical practice…..

Today as I try to get ready I wish I had a partner…. The only problem is I don’t take in enough for me so how can I take on another agent?   I have had a scary few weeks and my step mom is still in the hospital. Meanwhile I am preparing for my full nest to become empty.  My middle chick takes off on Thursday…. Another goes to China at the end of the month…The youngest goes to college… 

Meanwhile back at the ranch I still have a pending going slowly (buyers aren’t sure they the home.  I have a new listing and another one on the way.  I have a couple of buyers that I seem to be putting off…..  Pictures tomorrow…. Landscaping today….  My mother in law arrived last night…. I am not sure which way to turn…..

Some of my friends seem to have partners….I sort of wonder how well it works?  I have a team of lenders, title officers, inspectors and repair people.  I am wondering if I would feel less stressed if I had a team-mate who also sold houses….  Do you split the comissions 50-50?  How do people with partners work it out?

My dad used to be in a solo private practice and he almost always on duty…. Eventually he had a heart attack and became a VA doc (which he loved) because he was a flight surgeon.  The veterans liked him and he liked the veterans and he didn’t have to deal with the buisness aspect.

I wonder if two of us could follow up on leads better?  We could discuss our clients needs and listing and perhaps come up with better solutions….  These are random thoughts as I prepare for the day….

I suppose if nothing else happens my nest will be empty in 2 weeks and I will have too much time on my hands….

New LISTING 722, S Pearl St., Boise, ID 83705

New Listing 722 S. Pearl St. Boise, ID (edit/delete)

722 S. Pearl St., Boise, ID  83705 ,  MLS number 98475211

722 S. Pearl St., Boise, ID 83705

Come home to your beautiful home on the bench.  Gorgeous hardwood floors and tons of natural light.  Updated tiled bathrooms with a great shower in master bathroom.  Lots of storage and built-ins, Pella windows and newer AC.    Delightful family room to play, relax or watch TV.  Two bonus rooms downstairs.  Wonderful covered patio with park like setting with unique fence and two Stor-Mor storage sheds.  Walk to Boise State, downtown, shopping and restaurants!  Close to schools, public pool, freeway, parks and airport.  Normal sale! Make sure you find the Egyptian room in the basement.  NOT REO NOT SHORTSALE!!!  Easy close.  BTVA

This home has 1565 sq ft on the main level.  There are three bedrooms and 2 baths on the main level.  There is also 728  sq ft of basement space  This is a gem with North End charm in a charming area of the Bench.

Call Debbie to see this beautiful home at 761-2551,Email 208-761-2551

Search Boise Homes 

Working from the hospital….

In the last post my step-mom was in the ICU.  She is getting better and will finally have the surgery on her arm tomorrow… It has been a very difficult week and my step-sister in law and I took the car home this weekend.  I do not have pictures from the hospital but I will include one from a break at the beach on Thursday… I do love the ocean. I actually went in fully clothed because I left Boise in a hurry and had no time to get a swim suit.

Now as an active real estate agent I still had work to do.  I did not work on new clients but I had 2 things that I had to keep going.  I have a pending that we ran the inspection on.  I picked this bank owned house for the buyers (sort of scary) and they came up Sunday July 31 to see the home.  They liked it (phew….) and we proceeded to the inspection scheduled Wed.  I arranged for the inspector to be let in.  We got the report on Thursday and my buyer wanted to walk.  It was just a little more repairs then he wanted to deal with.  I prepared the return of earnest money form and sent it to the buyers.  I informed the loan officer.  The loan officer called the buyer and talked him into waiting.  He thought that the underwriter might call many of the items that worried the buyers.  He often works with this listing agent and I was relieved but a bit nervous.  My buyer sent the inspection report for the underwriter.  I waited and waited…. I wanted to see what the underwriter was going to pick.  Meanwhile my step mom developed a liver problem to add to all her other problems.  It was a tense day.   I was worried because Friday was the last day for the earnest money to be returned because of the inspection.  I waited some more getting more worried.   I talked to the listing agent who assured me I could get my buyer out of the contract or hope for the underwriter to pick the scary stuff up….  I had not worked with the loan officer and felt this was leaving my buyer very vulnerable.  What if the underwriter didn’t care about the same things that concerned my buyer?

I called my broker to discuss the problem and came up with a solution (poor broker I started talking told him I figured it out and went to work).  My solution was a very careful reading of the contract.  I could stop the clock by putting in the repair request.  I knew, my buyer knew and the listing agent knew that the seller would not agree to anything that didn’t prevent the underwriter from approving the loan.  But it also stopped the clock until Monday.  Today the seller agreed to wait until the appraisal was in so my buyers doesn’t have to worry about losing his earnest money.

I still don’t know if the sale will go through but my buyers will get their earnest money back if they don’t proceed with the sale.  I know the house is a good value.  I have protected the buyers!  If I had $25,000 cash I would be glad to buy it as an investment.

I did all this work from the hospital…..People (including the listing agent) were helpful when they heard about my situation.

‘The other project I worked on is a job site I hope to list in a couple of weeks.  I have been working as a sort of contractor arranging the workers at the site.  I left my handyman partner in charge of meeting the sprinkler guy (that is really the name of the company) and the heating contractor.  I got the report and talked to the owner.  Again it is amazing what you can done with a cell phone and a good internet connection….

This was a very tough week and I am very tired.  I am up $7 from gambling in Tonopah on the way home (the Ramada is very nice)…..I did my caregiving and my real estate work from the hospital room….Pray tomorrow goes well for my step mom tomorrow….

Why I sell HUD HOMES…MORE OF AN ESSAY..

Over the years I have been the buyers agent for several homes in the Treasure Valley.  The first thing you want to do is make sure your broker has signed the agency up to sell HUD homes.  The first time I sold a HUD home I had to refer my client out and lose a significant portion of my commission check.   It also makes the deal stranger since you know all the in and outs of the deal and the other agent doesn’t.  Talk to your broker or the office manager and ask for the HUD number and check to make sure it is active.  It needs to be renewed every year.  Being the government your brokerage will not get any notice when it needs to be done….

HUD  homes are government owned homes that have been foreclosed on but the government has insured them when to original loan was taken out..  OH no !  Unfortunately I just broke some rules about selling or talking about HUD homes.  We are not allowed to use the words repossessed, REO, distressed, foreclosed when describing these homes because HUD feels that these words have negative connotations  .  We now have to use the words HUD owned.  This also means that the Intermountain multiple listing service had to add a separate category called HUD homes.  This is very annoying because it one more parameter you have to search for.

Now those of you who no me know that I am a rare breed.  I am a Democrat in Idaho who has run for Congress.  If anything ever turns me into a person who thinks the government is malevolent it will be selling HUD homes.  HUD makes the rules for everyone else but does not seem to feel the need to follow them.  Someday I will blog about this….. They will not fix things (even things to inspect the property).  They set their own timelines that are difficult for the loan officers.   They make you rush for brokers signatures and make you send docs in expensive Fedex packages.  When you make a mistake they threaten to cancel the contract.  The mistake can be forgetting to get an initial.  I must admit to being paranoid by now.  To my credit the contract that I have pending was perfect the first time.  You have to be on top of things and be your buyers advocate.

So obviously I do not like HUD or selling HUD homes….  Why do I do it?  Because it gives my buyers a chance to get into the housing market with FHA loans.  Also HUD, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac all have a home owner first look programs.  That means that my buyers are only competing against fellow owner occupants and not investors.  This is a huge advantage to first time home buyers. HUD homes are also often competitively priced with FHA financing (for insurable property). HUD bidding is easy and everything else will seem harder then it needs.  I work for my buyers and not my comfort.  It is important to me that my buyers get a home that  works for them and I am willing to work hard and make my loan officers to work hard to make this happen.

I truly believe that part of the American Dream is to own your own home.  It makes us as individuals, the community and our country stronger.   Part of helping my clients achieve this dream is to offer them as many homes available in my community.

 

Hello world!

Hello this is my new blog intended for mostly Real Estate.  This will be my third blog.  My first is hosted on active rain (started in 2007)  as a Real Estate Blog.  The second is on 43ed state blues which is a political blog that I wrote while I ran for political office in 2008.  Now I am back to selling homes.   First a bit about me…

Hello, My name is Debbie Holmes, and I want to help you with all your real estate needs. My family has enjoyed living in Boise since 1991, and I know the community and neighborhoods. I will make the process of selling and/or buying real estate as simple as possible. I can handle to normal problems to the difficult. I have experience with short sales and bank negotiations. I will help you from finding the home, the loan officer, the buyer, contractors, etc… I will take it from the beginning of the process through closing. Call me at (208)761-2551 to see if buying or selling is right for you. I work in Ada and Canyon counties. As a factoid ran for Congress in the 2008 election as a Democrat in District 2.

This is me      I am married     and have 3 boys  (why I work)

We live in Boise with 2 dogs, 2 cats and a British Exchange student who is my age, Annie..

I am sometimes political but mostly sell houses…  One kid has graduated college, One is at Cambridge and the last is starting the College of Idaho in the fall.  I love what I do and want to share it with you.

Today this real estate agent needs to work on 2 pendings (deals under contract), one out of town buyer.  I also need to meet my handyman Bill at one of my rentals….. We will talk more later.