by Neil Kearney | Oct 24, 2013 | General Real Estate Advice
An out of state client recently asked me to get a quote for the replacement of two large windows for the house he owns and rents out in Colorado. In addition to them being old and inefficient, they don’t lock correctly. He wanted new vinyl windows. I wasn’t sure where to start so I typed in “replacement windows lafayette” into Google. The first name to come up was a company out of a northern Denver suburb that I had heard advertising on radio so I thought I would give them a call first.
Company 1:
I was very up front with them about who I was and what I was looking for. After taking my information down they asked me to hold while they checked their schedule.
When they came back I was asked whether I had authority to make a decision on the windows. I said no. I was asked to hold.
They then asked if the owner would be able to come to the appointment as well. I reminded them that the owner was out of state and that they probably wouldn’t want to make a special trip back for this purpose. (tongue firmly in cheek) I was asked to hold.
When they came back they said that they wouldn’t be able to schedule an appointment with me unless I had authority to make a decision on the spot. With that my hair stood up on my neck. And to think I was so close to meeting with their highly trained salesman who would have loved to put me in a beautiful set of windows on the spot! Thanks for nothing.
Company 2:
Fresh on the heels of making the first call, I called a local glass company to try my luck. I gave them the same information and was told that the estimator was out. I left my name, number and address and in less than two minutes I was off the phone.
I received a call the next morning and I was able to very quickly schedule an appointment. The day of the appointment the estimator showed up 5 minutes early, made some measurements asked what I was looking for and then left. No pressure, no up sell. They were there to serve.
This experience gave me a great example of the difference between a company with a sales mentality and one with a service mentality. Zig Ziglar always said “that if you help enough people get what they want you will have everything in the world that you want”. This is so true!
I didn’t want to be pressured, or sold something. I certainly didn’t want the pressure of evaluating a “one night only” special deal with no chance to do my research. All I wanted was to be able to get a reasonable price on a few new windows with the least hassle possible and Company 2 was able to do that for me.
Think about your purchase transactions (cars, appliances, technology etc.) and you will agree that the ones where you felt “served” were positive and the ones where you felt “sold” were not so good.
This got me to thinking about my job. As a Realtor, my job is to help people buy and sell homes. Most people would characterize what I do as a sales job. But I see it differently. My first goal every day is to be of service. I have a long term frame of reference and I know if I can serve people today in any capacity with honest motives, that I will be rewarded for those efforts sometime down the line. For me, it’s less about karma than it is the principle of the sowing and the reaping. One comes before the other. I’m here to serve in a totally transparent, no pressure way. I think people can tell the difference.
See also Kearney Realty’s core values.
by Neil Kearney | Oct 15, 2013 | Listings
I just listed a great home in Erie. This home is situated on one of the best lots in the Kenosha Farms neighborhood. It has a quiet location at the end of a spacious cul-de-sac, overlooking farmland with views to the south and west, HOA open space and trail directly next to and behind the home. The home features three bedrooms plus a loft upstairs, a main floor study, a three car garage and an unfinished basement. Popular floor plan with vaulted ceilings and good light. Needs some cosmetic details but priced accordingly.
Here is a copy of the 1095 Cooke MLS Sheet.
by Neil Kearney | Oct 7, 2013 | Boulder County Housing Trends, Statistics
September was a very interesting month for the Boulder real estate market. Sales were strong, but the mid-month flooding definitely broke some momentum in the local home market. Sales of all residential properties increased by 18.6% over September of 2012 and this stretched our year-to-date increase to 12.5%. At the end of the month the percentage of homes that were under contract fell roughly 3 points from a month ago to 26%. This was all good and strong information.
Flooding hit the area starting September 12th and during the next week we saw very little activity in the real estate market. Many homes that had water damage that were on the market were pulled from the market and those that might have come on the market during September didn’t as owners cleaned up and fixed up as needed. The inventory of single family homes on the market in Boulder County dropped 24% from August 31st to September 30th.
As mentioned above the percentage of homes that are under contract fell just three points as compared to last month. However, the gross number of homes that went under contract during the month fell by a significant 25%. Since the number of homes on the market decreased at roughly the same pace of the fall in contracts the overall “under contract %” doesn’t jump out at you until you take a closer look.
To view all of the statistical graphs with my annotations click on the slideshow below.
by Neil Kearney | Oct 3, 2013 | For Buyers, For Sellers
Why I Love Being a Realtor
My plan coming out of college was to be a real estate agent long enough to put myself through graduate school. I did just that, and after four years of night school I had a freshly minted MBA and no desire to do anything else but to continue on my path in real estate. Sixteen years later (24 in all), I still feel the same way. I’m really lucky to love going to work every day and here is why. I get to work with great people. I get to be creative, I get to work for myself and…
On any given day and within any given day I’m a:
- CEO
- Janitor
- Customer Service Representative
- Accountant
- Web designer
- Graphic Designer
- Counselor
- Chauffeur
- IT troubleshooter
- Confidant
- Furniture Mover
- Problem Solver
- Marketing Specialist
- Blog Writer
- Public Speaker
- Video Editor
- Social Media Director
- Board Member
- Ethics Committee Chairman
- Recruiter
- Negotiator
- Decorator
- Sales Person
- Copy Writer
- Database Specialist
- Photographer
- Advisor
- Office Manager
- Transaction Coordinator
- Sign Installer
- Researcher
- Strategic Planner
- Manager
- Bathroom cleaner
- Babysitter
Each day I am responsible for putting forth a professional effort in an increasingly competitive market. The perks are many and as you can see the variety and scope of what I do are large. I’m apt to work seven days a week for weeks on end, answer work emails at 11 pm, take business calls at 7:30 in the morning. But I also get to arrange my schedule so that I can watch most of my kids games and go on vacation without asking for permission. The responsibility to my clients and my personal code of excellence are my only boss. And I wouldn’t have it any other way!
by Neil Kearney | Oct 2, 2013 | Boulder Real Estate, General Real Estate Advice
This is a follow-up on my previous post on the floods we had locally in September.
Many homes that were affected by water damage had never had any water infiltration previously. The combination of sustained rain, rising ground water and in some cases sewer backups caused a litany of water problems throughout the area. On my street about one in four houses was affected so it’s not fair to say only certain areas were hit or that others were dry. It was a regional problem with tens of thousands of homes affected.
So how will this affect a homeowner as they look to sell a home that was damaged and how will buyers view those homes. Three words come to mind: cleanup, documentation and disclosure.
In order for a buyer to feel good about a home that has had extensive water damage they will need to know what happened, how it was cleaned up and how it can be prevented from happening again. The proper cleanup should have started weeks ago by removing everything that was wet. This includes personal belongings like boxes, bedding, furniture but more importantly means carpet, baseboards, drywall and insulation. Once all porous materials are removed they must be dried out thoroughly and treated with a anti-mold solution. In addition all concrete needs to be cleaned with a bleach solution (1 cup to every 5 gallons of water). Once the cleaning and drying is complete the finishes are ready to be re-done with new materials.
While everything is fresh in your memory it would be a really good idea to document exactly what happened to your house. This should take the form of a written documents supported by photos at every stage of the process. In my experience, the more a buyer knows and the more forthright they think the seller is being the less spooked they will get during the purchase process.
Sellers are required by Colorado law to disclose every material fact of the house. Most sellers satisfy their disclosure requirement by filling out the Sellers Property Disclosure form. The second question on this form is: “Do the following conditions now exist or have they ever existed: Moisture and/or water problems”. The answer for so many of us (me included) is now a resounding YES. But if you left it at that, a check mark I think a buyer would still have many questions. So this is when your documentation comes in to tell the buyer 1) How it happened 2) How it was cleaned up 3) What was done so that it won’t happen again. Not only would you have fulfilled your statutory obligation you would have made the buyer feel more comfortable about what happened. The goal being that once everything is laid out in detail it is a non-issue.
UPDATE: Boulder County has created a form that gives a format for documentation of the water damage remediation. To view and use the form click on this link moldremediation.
