Five Things You Might Want To Ask Me
You may be of the mindset that you only “need” a realtor if you are thinking of buying or selling a home. I guess technically, that’s true. But I believe there are so many other situations where you can benefit from a conversation with a trusted realtor. This thought has come to me on many occasions over the past month. I have all sorts of encounters from day to day when I get to talk real estate with people who aren’t my clients. They’re my friends. And notice I said “get to.” I enjoy staying in the know about our local market. It’s not “taking up my time” if you want to chat about real estate even if you have no intention of buying or selling. I consider it a part of my job and also a privilege to be available. More importantly, I enjoy talking to my friends about this stuff. So in all honesty, it doesn’t even feel like work.
So what are some of these situations? Here are five that have come up recently.
(1) “We honestly aren’t thinking of moving. At least I don’t think we are. But I see all these list prices around us and it makes me wonder what our house would go for today. Would it take you long to run the numbers for us? Just out of curiosity?”
The answer was: No it wouldn’t, and I’d be happy to do it! This home was in my own neighborhood which made the research relatively quick and easy. I watch our neighborhood like a hawk and keep up with the data regularly. My friends aren’t going to sell now, but appreciated knowing what their bottom line would be in today’s market. Knowing what your home is worth equips you to make decisions about your future, even if that decision doesn’t involve moving! Renovations and updating, refinancing, the list goes on. It never hurts to know and I never mind running a quick analysis.
(2) “We just got an appraisal back because we are getting ready to refinance. We are putting in a pool and really want to see that appraisal as high as possible to support the pool building process. The appraisal seemed a little low. Can you share some recent comps in our neighborhood that you would look at if you were pricing our home?
The answer was: Absolutely! I can easily pull comps and interpret the results based on what I know. Again, this question came from neighbors so I already had the data at my fingertips. We talked about the features of their home that would bump up the price tag, my opinion on what appraisers are looking for versus what I look for in terms of fair market value, and appreciating home prices in general. I also shared some advice that I’d recently gotten from a lender that refi appraisals are sometimes lower than an appraisal for a purchase. Apparently lenders have tightened up lending quite a bit around home equity lines this past year, so it made sense that their appraisal might have been lower than they’d hoped.
(3) “We want to list our house sometime…maybe this spring, maybe next year, maybe even after that. It just depends on a lot of things. But in the meantime, we know there are probably some things that we need to do around our house. We’d love to generate a list and work on it over time, rather than scramble when we do finally decide to list our house. Would you have time to stop by and walk through our house with us and see what kind of repairs/updates we should do before listing in the near-ish sort of future?”
The answer was: Of course I have time! We set a time to do exactly that – walk through and look at repairs, staging, etc. We talked about what is worth doing and what is not. We talked a lot about who the buyer might be for their home. I like to try to predict who might be interested in a home this size and in this neighborhood. Do these buyers expect certain upgrades? Would this feature be a pro or a con to those buyers? We had a good discussion and made a very short list of things to address. As it turns out, they might be interested in selling sooner rather than later! So I’m glad we got a head start on prepping their home so when the time comes, they’re ready!
(4) “Do you have a Virginia license? If not, do you know anybody there that could help?”
The answer was: I do not hold a Virginia license, but yes I can probably help! I am originally from Virginia. Justice Real Estate Partners is Your Partner in Coming Home…for the Carolinas. I hold North Carolina and South Carolina licenses. However I happen to have a couple of great contacts in different areas of Virginia. It’s so much better to be recommended by a friend rather than googling “realtor in Virginia.” Now, I can’t promise I can cover all 50 states…maybe I got lucky with Virginia. But I was happy to have the conversation and make a personal connection. I’ve also pointed friends to a good agent at the coast in North Carolina for a beach house (and I tried not to be too jealous!).
(5) Paint colors, cabinet hardware, light fixtures, oh my!
This one is sort of self-explanatory. If you know me or follow me on social media, you know I’m obsessed with painting and basically all things decorating. I love talking about paint colors and enjoy interior design. A lot. If talking about these things is considered work, then sign me up! Best job ever! I get to see a lot of houses just based on the nature of my work. I love watching home shows and doing stuff around my own home. It’s one of my favorite topics of conversation and I will always welcome a good chat about the perfect neutral paint color or black matte versus chrome hardware. Custom closets? Another favorite, bring it on! If we’re friends and you remodel/repaint/rearrange something in your home, I hope you know I’m expecting to see the before and after pics! I welcome the opportunity to discuss this stuff any time.
A few other topics that I’ve covered recently which didn’t make the top five include:
– my thoughts on starting a career in real estate right now
– bathroom and kitchen renovations
– recommending various vendors, like a handyman, electrician, plumber, custom closet installer, etc.
– exterior landscaping projects
– rental opportunities in our area
– ideas for creative financing to discuss with your lender, such as ways to have cash to bring to the table if an appraisal comes up short
– development in the towns of Waxhaw and Weddington
– school districts, looking at where the lines are drawn, how they moved in the past, and trying to have a crystal ball for future redistricting
I recognize that buying or selling a home isn’t something people do often. If I only got to chat with people professionally when they were ready to pull the trigger and list their home, that would be disappointing. Instead, I think being a real estate agent means part of my job is to just stay informed. I want to always be ready for a good discussion – in the driveway with neighbors, on the soccer sidelines, or at the checkout line in a store. I want to be available for questions and I want to have good answers. So while of course I want to spend a lot of time working with people who are actually buying and selling (that is how I make a living!), I also devote lots of time to just learning the business, the market and what my friends want to know. So ask me! If I don’t know, I’ll find out. You should know that I enjoy a good cup of coffee or glass of wine, so if you want to talk paint colors, be prepared to pull up a rocking chair on my porch and grab your favorite beverage! It could take a while…
