How To Survive As A Real Estate Agent
With Terry Story, 26-year veteran Real Estate Agent with Coldwell Banker in Boca Raton, FL
As a successful real estate agent for 26 years, Terry Story has come across about every scenario possible in the world of housing and those who are either wanting to get in or get out of a home, all of which has led to her Real Estate Survival Guide.
In this week\u2019s show, Terry highlights a few things important to know for both the buyer and seller, one being \u201cthe ugly house across the street.\u201d It\u2019s the one with the lawn gone to seed, the tiles sliding off the roof, the paint peeling off the front\u2014the eyesore, so to speak, which affects the property value of all surrounding homes. Terry\u2019s advice is to investigate. The home could be in foreclosure, the occupants may be renters and the owners unaware, or they could even cooperate and spruce up the place, in which case the situation is temporary. The last resort, of course, is contacting a real estate attorney.
A common challenge for the agent is the home seekers who make appointments to view homes they are not yet in a position to buy. Often this is because their present home must first be sold, in which case the better avenue would be for them to do research in advance, such as looking at the many online tools and visiting open houses, before making appointments with a real estate agent and wasting their valuable time.
Terry also states that home equity loans are becoming easier to obtain; hence, more home improvements mean a stronger real estate environment, and that\u2019s good for everyone.
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Steve Pomeranz: It's time for Real Estate Roundup.\xa0 This is the time every single week we get together with noted real estate agent, Terry Story. Terry is a 26-year veteran with Coldwell Banker located in Boca Raton, Florida.\xa0 Welcome back to the show, Terry.
Terry Story: Thanks for having me, Steve.
Steve Pomeranz: We are going to talk about what we call your Real Estate Survival Guide.\xa0 Here's a question: "I've been trying to sell my home for a year with no luck.\xa0 My real estate agent tells me that it's because of the bad condition of the home next door.\xa0 It looks awful, I already have complained to the city, but nothing changed.\xa0 What can I do?" This is from Robert.\xa0 By the way, the answers from this are from Gary M. Singer, a Florida attorney who is writing for the Sun Sentinel.
Terry Story: Yeah, this is a common problem.\xa0 I just had it happen a couple of weeks ago.\xa0 It was an ugly house across the way.\xa0 They had\u2014I'll call it\u2014lawn ornaments out front.\xa0 Just junk all around the property.\xa0 It is a problem.\xa0 What you can do is keep going back to the city.\xa0 There are code and zoning rules against this kind of thing.\xa0 If that doesn't work, maybe politely check with the owner next door, see if he's willing to do something, or if he'll help you out.\xa0 Sometimes the owners may not even live there, they're out of state, and may not realize that the tenants aren't keeping up the property.\xa0 You need to delve into it a little bit more.\xa0 When all else fails, you can put up a fence, tall hedges.\xa0 Maybe even offer to help clean up whatever the situation may be.\xa0 This does hold back homes from selling on average.
Steve Pomeranz: How much? If a person walks up to your home and your home is just great, but next door is a mess and some are like some terrible artistic, eclectic collection of stuff, you got to do something.
Terry Story: Right. What they say is it drops your home value by about 5 percent.\xa0 It depends on the situation next door.\xa0 Maybe it's only temporary.\xa0 Maybe it's a short sale, so eventually, it's going to get picked up or foreclosure, depending on the situation. And, if all else fails, you can always turn to a local real estate attorney to see about...