Every industry has its problems, and real estate is no exception. There’s a very small percentage of shady dealings. Fair enough. That’s going to happen in any sector of a free market. But I’m proud to be in this profession. I believe in the goodness of the people I work around.
Like Laura. I was up against her for a listing tonight. I told the sellers that they’d be in great hands either way—and meant it. Feels good to be able to say that, although admittedly, I did silently pump my fist high in the air later when they called to tell me they had chosen me. Ha!
Like Brad. He was the listing agent for a house my buyers made an offer on last night. It was on the market for one day. Beautiful ranch on a basement backing to a golf course. My folks wanted it badly. We ended up being in a multiple offer situation because another agent in town had buyers making an offer on it, too. Brad handled being in the middle of the deal fairly, and ended up getting his sellers top dollar for the place, though not from my buyers unfortunately. Heart-breaking for them (and me), but that’s the way it goes sometimes.
It’s been busy this month for us all. Unexpectedly so. Could be that rates are stupid-low right now. Could be that folks are climbing down from the fences, if ever so cautiously. Heck, maybe it’s the lack of snow. But whatever is going on, it’s good to be back in the saddle after a fairly quiet end of 2011.
Nite!
-shaun
When I started in real estate in 2005, I messed up. I’m confessing, so please bear with me…
I wore a suit. Slicked my hair over like I was running for office. In my mind, I just assumed that’s what people expected. I wanted to look, well, realtor-ish. No offense to those real estate professionals who rock the jacket and tie. If that’s you, then go for it. For me, though, it didn’t ring true.
My misdeeds didn’t end with fashion, though. Socially, I screwed up. I felt like I should get in touch with everyone I’d ever known and tell them that I was working in real estate—over and over again. And that they should tell everyone they know about me. Not because I had any great skills or experience at that time, but because I was constantly spamming them with postcards, emails, phonecalls. Like people were just numbers to work. If you were ever on the receiving end of this, I sincerely apologize. It wasn’t the real me. I have no idea what I thinking. Sheesh.
It didn’t take long for that approach to create a conflict deep inside me. I had two choices. I could leave the profession, or I could try doing things differently—authentically. And that’s worked out pretty well. Being me is way easier. No sales pitches, no pressure. I’m laid back and work hard to simply be helpful.
While the real estate side of things was growing, my photography business started taking off in a big way. I found myself with two jobs. People would tell me that I would eventually need to leave one for the other. I didn’t want that. Still don’t.
I like the variety, the challenge. Heck, what I really love most is not feeling like I HAVE to get a certain number of houses sold just to pay the bills. Or that I HAVE to take on a certain number of weddings per year. Takes the pressure off me and my clients. I can focus on being me and trust that word of good work will travel naturally and bring to me more clients who appreciate my approach. Win-win. 
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Shaun, if you hadnt told me you were a realtor, i would never have looked you up when we bought our home! And honestly, I’m not sure we would have made it through the proccess without you. You were, and are, genuine, caring, fun, and had our best interest at heart. I dont know how many times Chris and I talked about how great our first time home buying experience was because of you and Brad. I am so glad you were part of that experience with us!
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Love this post! Best thing is to be you! I think I’m still struggling with the fact that I should run my business as me and not some alter-ego of myself.
Oh, and I tell your name ALL the time to people looking for a stellar real estate agent! When we’re going to buy a new house (or IF), we’ll for sure use you again!
I worked as Ashlee’s buyers agent a few months ago as she was going through the home-buying process for the first time. We negotiated a heck of a deal on a house that was perfect for her. Close to work. Awesome price. Needed some cosmetic updates, but was otherwise really sound. Awesome opportunity. I’m so happy I got to be the one to help her.
She invited me over recently to see all the work she’d done to fix the place up. It looked amazing! She had put the most effort into paint and redoing the bathrooms. Always worth the effort. Those will be huge selling points in the future. I told her that I’d be posting some before and after pics on this blog, and Ashlee was nice enough to put together a bit of a summary of what her first time home-buying experience was like. Here it is!
When I started the ‘home buying’ process I wasn’t even sure I would end up buying. I casually talked to Shaun at a photoshoot that he was doing for my company and found out he was also a realtor. I had been renting a new place each year for the past four years and was looking for number five when he recommended I look into buying. I was only 22 years old at the time. I graduated from UK in May, 2009 and had only been working at my new job for about five months. Buying a house sounded WAY out of my league. Shaun pointed me in the right direction so I knew who to talk to about finding out how much I could afford and how to get a loan and all that fun financial stuff I knew nothing about.
Once I realized that I could afford to buy a small house for not much more than I was renting for, I called Shaun to ask what the next steps would be. I had no idea where to start looking or what I wanted. That same week, me and Shaun met up for a cup of the best coffee in town at Alf Alfa’s and he gave me the Clif’s Notes version of the buying process. He assured me that he would walk me through the search process and if I fell in love with something, he would walk me through the buying process but if I didn’t find anything or feel comfortable, I could always rent again – there was no pressure and no cost associated with looking.
So Shaun set me up on this client portal where I would get emails when new houses in my price range went on the market and for the next month or so I watched those closely, drove around and looked at places and asked Shaun a trillion questions. He worked with my crazy work schedule and went with me to look at multiple houses. He was totally honest with me about each one and helped me understand what kind of work I would need to put in to them so I could decide if I would be able to manage it – because I was mostly looking at ‘fixer-uppers’. I quickly realized that I knew what area of Lexington I wanted to be in and so we refocused our search and soon came across a little street off Richmond Road that I loved.
When the house I now call home went on the market, it was listed a little above my initial price range but I asked Shaun to go check it out for me and see if he thought it would be a good fit, because he knew what I wanted and what I could afford better than I did by this point and I couldn’t get away from work. He called me that day and said I HAD to see this place. The rest is history (and a bit of a blur). I was so excited when I saw the house and even though it was a little above the price I was initially looking for, I was not going to have to put much money into fixing it up so it was worth it to me. We put in an offer and went back and forth a few times with the seller. The next thing I know, I get a text from Shaun, “they accepted the offer. are you ready to be a homeowner?” (or something like that, haha)
Everything moved rather quickly after that. I honestly cant even tell you what all happened, it was so easy. Shaun walked me through everything, probably some things that a realtor should not have to remind you to do. But we had so much fun. I was not stressed about anything. I mean, we ate cupcakes at my closing when I signed on the dotted line.. Seriously! So less than a year after I graduated college, I moved into my new home! I have slowly done a little fixing up, tile floors and a fresh coat of paint, and I am LOVING it, and learning so much! I could not be happier with my place or the buying experience. There were no surprises or curveballs and it is now one of my fondest memories. Buying your first house is so crazy exciting; its a milestone in life. I feel so blessed- I even had a photographer to capture some of my memories for me
Pretty cool, right? Feel free to check out the before and after pics!
Nice! And there’s no way this story would be complete without sharing a pic of Ashlee in front of her new home—with Bruno.
I’ve gotta tell you…I have a blast helping buyers. It’s generally around a two month process from start to finish, and it’s jam-packed. Bottom line, though? My buyers really appreciate how smooth and easy the whole thing moves along. And my service to them costs them nothing. Cool, right? Here’s a quick breakdown of how things often go:
- Buyers and I meet up for coffee or whatever. I bring the laptop, and we start narrowing down what properties are available based on their preferences and budget. I give them a nice overview of the city, with recommendations on which areas seem to be the most stable and primed for growth. At this point, I also like to give them a heads-up on how the whole contract and negotiation process will work once we find a home they love. No surprises!
- Buyers get pre-approved for a home loan with a lender of their choice, though most everyone I work with ends up with Brad Farris at Peoples Exchange Bank. They all think he’s pretty awesome. Great rates, low closing costs, access to some really cool loan programs, and excellent customer service. If you’re curious about what your own financing might look at, you might wanna go ahead and shoot him an email HERE.
- Based on the pre-approval amount, we put together a list of houses to go see. This list doesn’t have to be super-focused. You’d be surprised at how seeing a a variety of places can sharpen the senses. I set all of that up so that we make really good use of time, and so the buyers can get a really good feel for what’s available in their price range. This is more-or-less a fact-finding mission. We make note of any homes the buyer really likes alot.
- The buyers and I talk about their favorite listings, then we refocus our search to include any properties that might be similar to those. We set up another day to go see those properties. During these showings, we spend more time at each house. What I like to do is pretend that I’m a buyer, too, and I openly talk to them about what’s going through my mind. This might be the most important part. I give things to them straight. No exaggerating and trying to be a salesman. For those moments, I’m pretending to be the buyer for their house when they’re future sellers. This helps them to pick a property that not only they will love, but that future buyers will love, too. Awesome, right?
- Once the buyers know which house they want, I do some research to determine what a fair price would be. Sometimes this is much different from the advertised price, sometimes it’s pretty close. Just depends on how realistically the seller priced the house to begin with. I also pull together a list of past and current problems with the house directly from the seller. Even though we’ll have a home inspection, too, it’s better to have plenty of facts going into the negotiations. If the roof, furnace and a/c are 20 years old, then that final price had better reflect it, right?
- We write up the offer and negotiate with the sellers. If final terms can be agreed upon, then we’ll move through the inspections and loan process all the way to the closing table when the buyers get their keys. I won’t bore you with all the details right now. If we meet up for a Step 1, then I’ll go through it all with you. Deal?
If you’d like to get the ball rolling, then let me know. You can connect with me HERE. I’ll look forward to grabbing that cup of coffee with you!
My listings tend to sell pretty quickly. How do I do it?
1)Excellent photography. In addition to selling real estate, I’m also a professional photographer. Works out really well for my clients! Their homes end up looking like they’re straight out of a magazine. With nearly all buyers and all of the buyers’ agents looking at listings online first, it only makes sense to make a good first impression. Before photographing each property, I go by a few days ahead of time to make suggestions to the sellers on what they might wanna do staging-wise. Probably all the same things you see on HGTV, but sometimes it’s nice for people to get an outside perspective.
2)Interesting remarks. If I see another listing that says “Cute 3BR ranch. Must see!”, I’m going to scream. When people are looking through hundreds of possible properties, it’s important to stand out. I think my marketing remarks break through the noise better.
3)Accurate pricing. The best listing price is one that’s based on comparable solds, as well competitive with other active listings. I love crunching numbers. Overpriced listings don’t get shown, because people look for homes in the price range they can afford. In the 99K-500K range during 2010 (as of today—10/3/2010), the 2300+ properties sold in Lexington went for around 97.5% of the listing price.
4)Not with print advertising or open houses…LOL. I’ve found them both to be a big waste of time and money. Most print advertising and open houses are done to benefit the agent, since it’s a great way for them to meet new clients. The best part? Since I don’t needlessly spend dollars and energy on print advertising and open houses, the listing commission I charge is really reasonable. Because I tend to sell houses really quickly AND at a reasonable commission, I get a lot of word-of-mouth referrals. Win-win.
It’s not rocket-science, but I’ve got my system down, and it works. Whether you’re looking to get your house listed ASAP, or if you’re just interested in knowing how it might stack up in the current market, give me a shout HERE. I’d love to chat with you!
There are tons of real estate agents in and around Lexington, for real. Something like 2300 last time I checked. I think that’s great, though, because we’re not one-size-fits-all.
I’m really good at what I do. I’ve got a long track record of smooth and successful sales with buyers and sellers, but that’s not the most important part of picking an agent. I think it’s really important to pick someone who looks at the world the same way as you.
Me?
I’m not a big sales-pitchy kind of guy. I run from cheesy. And I stay far away from things that are super-formal. When I’m picking someone to work with, I’m drawn to folks who keep things light, fun, positive, and real. I do the same thing with my clients.
If it sounds like we’re similar, I’d enjoy getting to know you. You can reach me HERE. Feel free to connect with me on Facebook and Twitter, too. Subscribe to my blog. Stick around. Stay in touch. Whether you’re just curious about real estate, or if you’re looking to do something soon, give me a shout. We can hook up for a coffee or something. Cool?
Thanks for stopping by! -shaun
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