Seattle's Urban Villages

Magnolia View home...Meeting the homeowners today.

Today I met with a couple who have a wonderful home in Magnolia with views of Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, The Space Needle , Downtown Seattle and Mt Rainier... this is their view.....

Unfortunately, the online photos of the views were of gray, overcast skies, not the sun drenched, bright, open concept rooms and their stunning views.  Their home had been listed on the market for awhile earlier this year with another real estate agent and had not sold, even with price reductions.  This house is ideal for a couple who are downsizing from a larger home, and want to live a more urban Seattle experience, but want more privacy, parking and square footage than they would find living in a high rise Seattle condo. 

Last spring I sent the listing to a couple who live out of state who were thinking of retiring and moving to Seattle where they moor their 40 foot boat.  I previewed the house and strongly encouraged my clients to see the house next time they were in town, because the view really needed to be experienced in person, and the online photos did not do it justice.  Unfortunately my clients plans have changed and are putting off moving for awhile.   

Later, when the house was no longer listed on the market, I called and left a message with the homeowners saying that I had some ideas about improving the marketing for their home.  Last week I received a call from the owners that resulted in our meeting this afternoon.  We talked for quite awhile after I toured their home.   They had questions, and we talked about my ideas for marketing their home if they decide to hire me as their real estate agent to list and market their Magnolia home next spring.

Now that we are in the slower, fall market I feel waiting until next spring will be a better time to list and present their home to potential buyers, because the views are shown off to their best advantage in the spring and summer.  Wouldn't you love to enjoy views like this?

Open Houses; a great way to "interview" agents when you are thinking about selling your home

A great way to find a good Seattle real estate agent when you are thinking about selling your Seattle home is by attending open houses in your neighborhood. 

You get to see an agent "in action" at an open house!  While you are there you can gauge their professionalism by the way they greet you, engage you in conversation and talk about the house they are hosting the open house at.  Ask questions about the neighborhood, the Seattle real estate market both in general and specifically homes in the neighborhood and comparable homes.  While talking to the agent, do you find them knowledgeable, and a good "fit" to work with you?

Check out the agents' marketing materials (flyer's etc.) are they informative and interesting to look at?   Ask the agent what they did to help their client get the house "market ready" and their philosophy for marketing and selling homes.  Later when you get home, look the house up online to see the quality of the online photos, and the marketing remarks for that house, do you find them to present the home well?

A good agent will be happy to answer all your questions, but be careful not to monopolize their time after-all, they are working to sell their clients home!  The agent is there to show their clients' house to potential buyers so they will need to greet and talk with other visitors at the open house too.

Sometimes the agent hosting the open house is not the listing agent, so that is something to find out while talking to the agent.  The hosting agent is still a good potential agent for you even if they are not the listing agent.  Sometimes a listing agent is not available to host that week's open house for one of several reasons, and another agent is hosting it.  Even if the agent you meet and talk to is not the listing agent, that hosting agent may be a good fit for you if they impress you with their professionalism, knowledge and marketing savvy.

Be sure to get the agents' business card and a flyer too so that you can follow up and call them later to talk about what they can do for you to market and sell your home.  A little time and effort spent doing this will help you to find the best Seattle agent for you when the time comes to sell your home.

When is it time to change to a different Seattle real estate agent?

Yesterday I received an update from the NWMLS for one of my searches that I have out for Buyer clients.  This was a notice for a price reduction, the 6th one for a house that has been on the market for well over 600 days - YES - over 600 days on the market.  The price has dropped almost $350,000 since it was first listed and it is still with the original Seattle listing agent.  BTW, this is not a high end , multi million dollar luxury home that would have very few buyers who could afford the property, and that you would expect to be on the market for awhile. 

The original photos are still showing on the listing, which is doubly bad since they were of poor quality to begin with.  This home has great sound views, because it is waterfront, not that you can tell from the photos.  The house is very dated and certainly could have benefited from some work being done to update and get it market ready so that it has more visual appeal, and would photograph better.  I doubt many buyers have even asked to see the house because of what they have seen online.  Unfortunately, because of the NWMLS rules no agents can approach the seller with better ideas while the house is under contract with an agent.  I can only watch  <sigh>  and hope that the seller makes a change.

I don't know the agent or his relationship (not related per listing remarks) with the seller, but I have to wonder why there has been no changes made other than price to sell the house.  I feel for the seller because there may be other options to look into to improve the house to appeal to buyers and get the best possible price.  Of course another option would be changing to a different real estate agent, which brings us back to the original question.  When is it time to change to a different Seattle real estate agent?  A Tip for Sellers; I think that this seller owes it to themselves to hire another agent who can bring a fresh approach to selling this home; 600 plus days on the market and hundreds of thousands of dollars in price reductions are clearly not getting this house  sold.

**Update October 25, 2007**

The house just had another price reduction, 4th for a total of $75,000 since July 11, 2007.  The house has now been on the market for 731 days and reduced a total of $424,950, still no changes to the marketing remarks or photos.  I really feel for the owner.

Seattle Open House Surprise....

A few weeks ago I got a call from some Buyer Clients that they were back in Seattle and wanted to see the new listing I had emailed them Friday night.  Since it was Sunday, and the house just came on the Seattle Real Estate market late Friday, there was an Open House scheduled that afternoon.  The "Agent Only" remarks had posted that the Sellers were requesting no showings until the Open House so I arranged to meet my Buyer's at the house during the Open House.

The house was showing well and had lots of traffic; neighbors and potential buyers.  While I was examining the garage with my clients I opened up a storage closet door and found...a rifle!  There it was leaning against the wall....   

After quietly telling my Clients, I immediately went to inform the Listing Agent what I had found so that he could either secure the closet or the rifle and get in touch with his Sellers.   

This was an item that should have been locked up before the Open House for the safety of the people looking at the house, and to prevent the theft of the Seller's personal property.  Seller's Agents coach their Clients when listing their home, to lock up cash, prescription drugs, valuable jewelry, important documents/papers and of course weapons.   

When a home is listed for sale, all this type of personal property must be made secure to prevent it's possible theft.  While Buyer's Agents are escorting their clients throughout the residence, they may not be able to keep an eye on everyone at all times, and the Clients may be new to the Agent.

So Tip For Sellers:  When selling your home on the Seattle Real Estate market, lock up your valuable personal property!