Price is Right – Or is it? What ever buyer or seller should know

    I’ve done enough business now to know good from bad.  Maybe I should not use the word “bad” but that seems to best fit how some people do their jobs in real estate.  Of course this occurs in every career field.  Let me say this loud and clear – Make Sure You Hire a Good Realtor.  How do I know if he/she is a good Realtor?  Once you sign an “agency agreement” either to buy or sell your Realtor is your employee and do you want a bad employee in your business?  A bad employee costs you money and real estate is often times your biggest investment.  TiP: don’t fall prey to those agents/agencies that use gimmicks to get them to hire you. Ask yourself why do they need a gimmick to convince you?  TiP: make sure you read the fine print.  The majority of my headaches come from home inspectors, appraisers and agents that don’t understand the business or contracts.

As a listing agent (I also work with buyers) I represent my sellers and their best interest. When you sign a listing agreement with me I owe you fiduciary responsibilities (obedience, loyalty, disclosure, confidentiality, accounting and reasonable care). I purchase signs, I market your home in many, many ways, I negotiate for you, I help you understand the market and what comps are to be used, I consult with you on preparing their home for the market, I organize the closing and help you find an attorney, I create a net sheet so you have an idea how much you'll earn after closing, I am loyal to you and your best interests, etc.  There’s a lot to do and it takes a lot of time.  Most people have no idea what a good Realtor can and will do for them but it all starts with training and understanding contracts, knowledge of the local market, subdivisions, HOA, mortgages, etc. Any agent can list a home in the MLS and put a sign in your yard – what else are they willing to do? If you’d like a copy of my marketing strategy send me an email at Jason.Gregg@kw.com and you can see firsthand my 25 step marketing plan and it works. 

A buyer’s agent responsibility is to represent their buyers and get them the best deal.  But, I’m finding there are many buyer’s agents that do not understand our local buy/sell agreement (the contract).  TiP: Make sure your agent can clearly explain the contract to you because if they can’t then how can they negotiate in your best interest?  In the last 2 weeks I have had 2 buyer agents send me a repair report based on the home inspection.  TiP: if you want a perfect (no such thing so get as close as possible) home then buy new construction.  It is not the sellers job to repair every nook and cranny of a 15-year-old home and if you ask of it you are going to get a negative response. Each and every one of us has emotions and when a buyer sends a list of 15-20 items that they want upgraded, repaired, replaced, etc the sellers are most likely going to get angry and frustrated.  The buyer’s agent has not done a good job of explaining the contract and helping them understand the process.  Home inspectors seem to have one thing in mind – nitpick.  A home inspection should not include light bulbs, concrete donuts around sewer pipes, items that work just fine but a new construction code was implemented last month, etc.  Recently, I received a request of 18 items that included these things. I politely pointed out that based on the contract their buyers signed we are not required to fix such things (TiP: make sure your agent can tell you the difference between repairs and due diligence) and only 3 of the 18 were relevant.  Let’s just say this other agent was not pleased at our conversation but I was representing my client's interests. This is the same agent that missed a deadline for the buyers and then asked us for more repairs. Real Estate is all about knowledge and understanding, representing your clients, meeting deadlines and doing tasks in a timely fashion.  TiP: if you are a buyer pick out the 2-4 items that matter most to you and request those repairs.  Don’t lose a contract based on emotion.    

Appraisers have hard jobs.  Using a Realtor that understands the market is a valuable tool and you should listen to them. I’m pretty sure that 99% of sellers feel their home is worth more than it is and a good agent is going to gently communicate why it’s not based on comps and explaining home valuation process. Please do not get angry with us for doing our job?  We will be handling all the stressful tasks and responsibilities of selling your home (that’s why you are paying us) so you don’t have to worry about it.  Let's take a home valued at $200K and this is based on solid comps but you refuse to listen- you’re going to have issues.  TiP: an overpriced home does not sell.  An overpriced home will sit on the market too long, receive low offers and you'll lose money (because you'll be paying a mortgage, bills, insurance, etc on that home while you could be at your new home if you just priced it right at the beginning). Or, let’s say your agent does list your home at $225K and it does sell.  Then the buyer’s lender sends an appraiser out and values your home at $200K. You basically have 2 options: cancel the contract or sell at the appraised price. Here's where my frustration lies.  I can have a home listed for sale and if I do 5 appraisals I’ll get 5 different valuations of that home.  This is why your Realtor really needs to know the market and price it right at the beginning. Recently I had clients that listed their home too high and I kept saying to them "it's too high."  Finally, they changed the price to my recommendation and 5 days later we went under contract.  Homes sell based on location, price and condition.  I just had my home appraised 11 months ago and then again this week for a home equity loan.  In less than a year my home appraised at a $12K differential.  Somehow my home lost value in under a year and we added new floors, new HVAC, painted every room, and our local market is increasing in value yet somehow my home lost value. It makes no sense and arguing the appraisal is time well wasted because most times the realtor loses.

If you’ve ever bought or sold a home, you may understand there are many things that can go wrong and it can be very stressful. As your local Realtor I want to educate you and make sure you get what you deserve and pay for. Most people think they know how to buy and sell a home but there is much more to it than you realize.  That’s why I rarely recommend someone selling for sale by owner (FSBO) – there are so many things that can go wrong.  TiP: if you’re trying to sell your home on your own please don’t use the Zestimate (Zillow.com) to come up with a price. Call me, I'd be happy to help you price it. 

Well, I hope you found this useful.  I love what I do and what I do is get to help others get the best deal possible on a home (buying or selling). I’d be happy to help you in any phase of your real estate needs. Just give me a call or shoot me an email.  Don’t forget June 10^th is our big sweet tea world record day here in Summerville, SC.  You can also see a local calendar of events here on this site anytime.

Jason Gregg, Realtor
Keller Williams Realty

Jason.Gregg@kw.com

843.696.8627

www.Palmettodreamhomes.com

Rain Barrel in Summerville, SC

I honestly never thought I'd be posting about rain barrels - but I am. What prompted this you ask? Well, I saw that Summerville, SC is having a deal/partnership with a rain barrel company and I plan on ordering one of them. This year my wife and I decided to build a garden in our back yard. Since we both have the opposite of green thumbs (I'm not sure what color that makes our thumbs) we sought the help and expertise of my in-laws.  My father-in-law helped me build it (actually - he built and I assisted (that's code for watched).  My mother-in-law helped with it by staining, purchasing and helping us choose what to plant.  Last week we had our first edible veggies (cukes) and now we have some squash as well.

As you know when it rains here in Summerville, it rains.  I grew up in Pittsburgh, PA and when it rained there it would rain all day and we'd get an inch of rain over 12 hours.  Here, it'll rain for 6 minutes and we'll have 3 inches.  It's my amateur understanding that rainwater is much better for the garden and lawn that city water which is where the rain barrel comes into play.  I remember last year (maybe the year before) Summerville had a similar program but I figured I did not need one but now I want one. Here are some benefits of a rain barrel:

• It saves on your water bill
• Don't drink it - use it for watering indoor and outdoor plants.  40% of your water usage comes from watering yards, washing cars, watering plants and other outdoor chores. 
• It can reduce flooding in your yard and stop the grass from dying from those low areas (if that's where the downspout dumps it out).
• It also reduces the amount of sediment and other pollutants that would be washed away with the runoff into nearby Summerville storm drains and local streams.

DID YOU KNOW:  1 inch of rain on a 1000 sq ft roof yields 623 gallons of water. Calculate the yield of your roof by multiplying the square footage of your roof by 623 and divide by 1000.

You have till May 29th to order your rain barrel in Summerville.  Go to http://www.rainwatersolutions.com/products/acsec-ivy

Want information on real estate in Summerville, SC?

Go to www.Liveinsummerville.com 

For homes in other parts of Charleston go to www.Palmettodreamhomes.com

Jason Gregg

Keller Williams Realty

843.696.8627

Jason.Gregg@kw.com

Ringin' That Bell...

Tomorrow commemorates 30 days.  Of what, you ask!  Let me start at the beginning.  Around June of 2015 I noticed a lump in my left ear and figured nothing of it. After all, what is a lump after having a double lung transplant, multiple additional surgeries, near death experiences and so on, so on and so on.  I always seem to have health related things showing up so what is a lump?  Around October I went to see an ENT doc b/c it was getting worse and after a few attempts at fixing it with lotions and medications she did a biopsy of it.  Now keep in mind I am an avid sunscreen wearer and I always include my ears.  Post transplant people are way more prone to skin cancer than the normal Joe.  The biopsy results were Squamos Cell and I was immediately referred to the MUSC Head and Neck department (I bet you did not even know they had that).  Dr. Neskey would become my frenemy as he discussed the seriousness of it and treatment of it. Within a week or two I was in the OR where they "scraped" the inside of my ear pretty darn down to nothing and then took a 6 inch section of my upper leg as a skin graft.  Honest to God this was some of the worst pain I ever felt - that skin graft was brutal and being immune-suppressed, due to the transplant, it took extra long to heal.  Eventually I was back up walking and working (almost full time) and trying to get my ugly ear to heal.  What's worse - an ugly ear or no ear?  Fast forward a couple months and I felt like that ear was not only not healing but getting worse.  I was 100% sure it was just extra, extra slow to heal but I figured better be safe than sorry so back I went to see my frenemy ( I really liked him but got tired of hearing the bad news).  After one of those concerning looks (hopefully you have no idea what I mean) he said, "That's concerning - I'm going to do a biopsy."  Again, ear biopsies are not all that fun but I survived and awaited the results.  Results = Squamos Cell again.  This disturbing news came in the form of a phone call and Dr. Neskey saying this is way more aggressive and we have to be more aggressive in the treatment.  A week later I was in the OR for a 12 hour surgery. Because my middle name is "Murphy's Law" I was not waking up properly and ended up staying intubated and in the ICU for 5 days. When I finally decided to wake up I literally had no idea where I was or why I was there.  Let me tell you it's very strange to wake up 5 days later and have no clue what is going on.  Also, let me add that whatever I was given provided me some serious hallucinations. Why would anyone want to do that intentionally?  After another day in the ICU I was moved to a regular room - I'll spare you the details on having all my tubes and lines pulled out.  Yikes!  Remember my middle name?  Murphy struck again in that I had no voice or ability to swallow properly so down went the NG tube (a not so lovely tube going through my nose to my stomach where they fed me and put my medications down).  I also could not talk due to vocal cord paralysis, probably from the 5 days of a tube down my throat. Three more days and I was able to swallow a little better which allowed me to go home to start another long recovery and that brings me to the title of the - Ringin' the Bell. 

Tomorrow I complete my 30 day regimen of Radiation on my ear and facial area.  I'm ready for tomorrow to be here.  Every day for the past 6 weeks (M-F) I drive to MUSC and lay on a table with a Jason/Halloween type mask secured to a table so I am immobile while radiation waves infiltrate my cancer area, AKA my face. The first few treatments were tough because I am claustrophobic and having my head tied to a table really caused me anxiety. But, I got used to it (as used to radiation as one can) and will finish it out tomorrow.  I'm told at the end of my treatment I get to ring a bell on my way out as a sign of completion and success.  The bell must be symbolic of a new start, hopefully a cancer-free new start.  That 12 hour surgery turned out to be quite the journey, one that was very unexpected and unwelcome.  I tend to have a lot of those but thank God I'm stubborn. One of my docs once said my stubbornness was a blessed curse.  It drives him crazy but keeps me alive. I'll take stubbornness all day long as long as it keeps me around my family and friends.

I want to extend a huge thank you to Dr. Neskey, TK, Ben and Ashley, and Dr. Sharma for being so great to work with, your professionalism, honesty, work ethic, knowledge to treat this, and aggressiveness to make sure there is the best opportunity for healing and this does not return.  As grateful as I am to this group of people words cannot describe how grateful I am to my wife.  She has watched, sat, slept, worked, eaten, etc by my side for so many surgeries and hospitalizations I lost count.  I can say with 100% certainty I would not here today were it not for her and her continued commitment to me.  Somewhere in my unconscious mind I know when I finally wake up from whatever sedation I'm under she'll be there next to me and for that I am eternally grateful. 
Tomorrow, I move forward again with hesitant hope that I remain cancer free and await the side effects of radiation to go away (fatigue, very red face, loss of facial hair (miss my beard) and loss of taste) and try and get used to my new life of only having one ear and loss of hearing since they took my entire ear canal out. 

Tomorrow - I ring that bell (in more ways than one)

This is an exact replica of the mask I wore.

The plaque says, "Ring, Bell, Ring/Loud and Clear/My treatment is over/And I'm outta here