But why?

Because otherwise I’d be slowing down before I reached the runner…I’d have no momentum and no power to stop the person breaking through the line of scrimmage.

In a nutshell the running back would have the advantage and instead of delivering a blow I’d be on the receiving end of one. Which, for obvious reasons, is no fun at all. (In case you didn’t know…)

So instead my focus was on a point past the ball carrier and I did my darnedest to get there. True, I usually didn’t reach that imaginary spot — but it did help me win more battles than I lost. 

By focusing my efforts on running through the person, the tackle would usually take care of itself. Maybe I wasn’t able to wrap my arms all the way around. Or pull their legs up into my chest. But the other person knew what just happened…

My point is — if you only aim for the runner (or at just putting your home on the market)  then you won’t make the tackle (or the sale). But if you aim past the runner (at actually selling your home) you will.

Putting your home on the market isn’t the point. It’s only the beginning.

Instead you should focus on the end result — getting an accepted offer. It’s the follow through that will get you to that point.

For example, what will you do if you have no offers the first 3 weeks your home is listed?

What if comments from showings aren’t what you expected? Will you make changes?

How will you react if your agent brings up a price reduction? Or asks you to paint a bedroom?

To often we race to the starting line and completely neglect the actual point of the race — to actually finish.

What will you do so you can finish the race?

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I’ve been thinking a lot lately about my exercise program…or my lack of an exercise program. Unfortunately, I’m not getting any younger. Like the rest of you, I’ve tried. It doesn’t work for me either. Don’t get me wrong, I like exercise. Or maybe the thought of exercise.

Back in my twenties, I was a workout fiend. You’d find my brother, my neighbor and me pumping away in a home gym we put together. But then things change. I graduate from college and find a job in Mauston. With a new job and apartment living finding a place to workout and time, for that matter, becomes difficult.

Fast forward a few years and I purchase my first place. So I buy a couch, table and chairs and a squat rack and weights. That’s what the rest of you did when you bought your first home? Why do I only hear crickets?

Now I have everything I need to stay in shape, or to even change my shape a little. Nothin’ gonna stop me now…

The first summer goes pretty well. I found Crossfit the fall before and I’m going strong in the garage gym that spring and summer. I’m in the best shape of my life. Not quite as big, but my soon to be wife says that’s ok (something about not having a neck before). I’m more athletic than I’ve ever been. I’m doing things I couldn’t do before.

Now winter arrives. The garage gym isn’t as much fun anymore. For obvious reasons. Brrrr…

I slack…or maybe more accurately, stop working out. It’s too difficult to head into the freezing garage for a workout. It’s a whole lot easier to stay in the warm house and watch CSI: Las Vegas.

Oh, spring how I love thee… I’m ready. Ugh, but starting is so difficult. I really want to fast forward a month and start from there. But I can’t, so I procrastinate…

And procrastinate…

A little more procrastinating…

But why start now? It’s been sooooo long… I’m not happy with myself… so to punish myself, I still don’t workout… WHAT? Does that sound reasonable? Apparently it does because I never really get around to starting…

Have you lived through something similar? Don’t lie. If we truly want something, we’ll start. But it’s too easy to push it off. To say you’ll start next week or next month (my wife says this is what I’m doing right now…don’t tell her but she’s right)…

And time goes by. Maybe years. Now a decade or two…

This is where I bring my story back to your home… and I’m going to hit you in the face with a little fact:

Your home is EXACTLY like your exercise program.

At some point your home will be sold. Realistically you’ll be selling it in 5-10 years. If not then, it’s when your kids move out. Or when it becomes too difficult to manage all those stairs. Or when 3000 square feet is too much.

The question is, what condition do you want your home to be in when you want to sell?

Do you want it in peak physical condition so you can get top dollar?

Or in good shape, so a little work over the course of a couple months can get you top dollar?

Or average so it looks like every other home out there? The ‘someone will buy it at some point’ condition.

Or with the bulging waistline, high cholesterol, maybe a little adult onset diabetes… The ‘better days were decades ago’ condition.

I know starting a program is difficult. I know that finding time can be difficult. I know that at times it’s going to cost more money than you may want to spend. I know that researching and finding the best program (updates) is better than blindly following anyone or thing and regretting it later.

But it’s important. Just like exercise can add years to your life, a proper program for your home can add thousands of dollars to your bottom line AND cause you significantly less stress as well.

And I know that you know that this is what the 10 years from now you really wants.

Now, I have to wrap this up and make a plan to hit the weights AND finish painting and installing the door trim I’ve been putting off.

What’s your plan?

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Now, they both were talking about what takes our attention. How WE reach others.

As a Realtor, I’m constantly with my phone. My phone rings frequently and at all hours. Emails arrive throughout the day and night. It can seem like I’m running in a circle or chasing my tail or slogging through mud…any way you slice it it can seem like I’m getting no where.

But as I picture myself chasing my tail my mind shifts from the ‘ME’ to the ‘YOU.’

I’ve been on a couple listing presentations this week and today I’m reflecting on what it is you, my client, needs and wants from the Realtor you task with selling your home. 

As a 30 something Realtor I’m fully versed in the ‘NEW’ part of selling real estate. I’m on Twitter. Wife and daughters bought me a Flip video camera for my birthday last month. So videos will be forthcoming shortly. I’ve had this blog for a couple years. I use this website when I work with owners who’s homes haven’t sold.

So I get NEW.

But you want ‘NOW.’ You want your home sold NOW. Not in a month, or six…

I have to ask myself ‘Why’ for each and everything I tell YOU when we meet that differentiates myself from the 45+ technologically illiterate Realtor down the street.

Here’s why I use:

A Single Property Website: the MLS offers only 504 characters for your home’s description. I can use an infinite amount for your home on the site I create. Plus, by purchasing a unique URL from GoDaddy I can make it easy for buyers to find it. See the latest and greatest listing for www.RapidsHome.com.

A Professional Photographer: I’m a Realtor. I sell homes. I’m a marketer. Wisconsin lets me dabble a little in legal contracts. But a photographer? No way. Every picture says a thousand words. Not when a Realtor is behind the lens… I shell the money out to get you the very best pictures possible. And the difference is amazing.

These are two (of what I feel are many) reasons why I’m different than your average agent.

Plus, First Weber offers many unique advantages than other brokerages here in the Wisconsin Rapids area. Want proof? See for yourself who sells the most real estate in Wisconsin Rapids.

All of which will help you get the ‘NOW’ that you’re looking for. 

Make sense?

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The last thing area buyers and sellers needed was a ‘slight’ delay. Any delay could have resulted in not being able to close before the June 30 deadline. Numerous title companies and lawyers were booked solid on Wednesday, June 30. Often for weeks…

But after separating the tax extension from other parts of the bill (like railway spending) the bill picked up steam and Congress nearly unanimously passed the bill.

Next the Senate passed the bill after, once again, separating it from another larger bill.

But, here’s what’s important to you:

You OFFICIALLY have until September 30, 2010 to close on the sale or purchase of your home.

Almost 200,000 homeowners can take a huge sigh of relief knowing that closing on their home just became a lot easier.

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That’s always a very popular question. It goes without saying that you want your home sold in the quickest amount of time for the highest price possible…

Right?

But can anyone or any brokerage deliver the goods? Are all Wisconsin Rapids Realtors created equal?

Can you expect the same results from First Weber, Century 21, Coldwell Banker, NorthCentral or Newlun Realty?

Wisconsin Rapids says NO.

See the results from 2009.

As you’d expect, 2010 is shaping up the same as well.

If results are not important to you, call anyone. If you want the best, call the best.

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This will be especially good news  if you’re navigating the often frustrating waters of a short sale… 

The deadline will be extended from June 30, 2010 to September 30, 2010.

Real estate activity in April was significantly higher than a normal April, heck, even a normal July. As the dust settles and all closings take place we’ll be able to see the net effect in the overall market.

As we wait, here’s a current snapshot of activity between 2009-2010:

• Number of closings from May 1, 2010 – June 16, 2010: 85
• Number of closings from May 1, 2009 – June 16, 2009: 58

After a little math that equates to a 47% increase!

Hopefully this extension will allow a few of you sleep a little easier.

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In conjunction with the National Association of Realtors, First Weber will be participating heavily in the Realtor National Open House Weekend April 10-11, 2010.

View all First Weber open houses.

This is the final push to help both home buyers and sellers qualify for the $8,000 first-time home buyer tax credit and the $6,500 home seller tax credit. Hopefully this weekend will allow numerous people gain some free money from the government. The more the better.

Why an open house? An open house allows a buyer to walk through a home at there convenience at there speed with less interference from a real estate agent. Does it get any better than that?

If you’re interested in seeing the best homes available in each price range this is the weekend to get out.

And feel free to stop by and see me.

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But then we started to talk about the MLS. No doubt if you’ve had your home listed in the past few years your agent touted the advantages of the MLS heavily.

It’s great, don’t get me wrong. But I see one inherent problem that no one wants to talk about…

Which reminded me of a post I wrote in June 2009. The post had 2 takeaways:

1. Statistics on who will probably buy your home.
2. How the MLS is like a grocery store.

The article is below. Enjoy!

——————————————————————————–

Have you met yet? Probably not…

But first, why should you care who will buy your home? As long as a buyer offers a price you can live with…what does it matter?

In the past not much because their was only so much a Wisconsin Rapids home buyer could do when purchasing their first or next home.

In the old days, you know 2004 , a home buyer would usually:

• check the Daily Tribune and Buyers’ Guide
• look through the local MLS on the internet
• find some homes that looked promising
• contact an agent
• walk through 15 homes before purchasing

Through the entire process the real estate agent was in control. How? The buyer was always given bits and pieces of information. Newspaper and Buyers’ Guide? A picture and a few lines of text, always ending with “call so and so at 423-call-now.” MLS? A few more pictures, but your listing would still contain a limited number of words. Then buyers did the only thing they could – they called an agent (You remember 2004, email still wasn’t huge, and besides an agent always wanted to get a person on the phone – remember we used to be called a “Real Estate Salesperson). I shudder just thinking about that…

And once you made contact, the agent shuffled you around from house to house showing you homes they picked out… And 15 homes later, plus more time than you could imagine, you purchased a home. But those days are long gone.

Enter 2010 and Generation Y

Lets now meet the next owner of your home.

The average home buyer is 31 years old. (Odds are, you’re around 41 and and your typical agent is in his/her 50’s) These new buyers are technology driven. The internet has empowered this new generation. This has caused these new home buyer’s to become confident and self-reliant in their decision making.

If they have questions, they “Google it.” If they want to buy something, they go online (giants EBay and Amazon to name only two). If they rent movies, they have a membership with Netflix. If it’s time to buy a new car, they go to Auto Trader to find the best deal. Are we (I’m generation Y) concerned about 1100+ auto dealerships closing? No. We’ll find the car we like online, drive to the dealership, drive it around a little, haggle and then buy it. We already knew we were going to buy it before we got there. Why? We compared multiple cars together online–mileage, amenities etc. and found the one that suited us best. Does it matter if we had to drive to Appleton to get it? Nope.

This ability to find information easily and quickly has caused buyers to need real estate agents less. There’s very little your agent can control outside of marketing it aggressively and making sure your home is where this new buyer hangs out, the internet. (When it comes to selling a home, I believe my main job is as a marketer. The real estate stuff is easy, I earn my money by marketing your home 5x better than older agents.)

Does that mean your MLS listing is enough to reach this new buyer? That’s the internet… Right?

Yes, the buyer will probably see your home. But will they REALLY see it? You know, enough to make contact to walk through your home? Does a few pictures and a 500 character description do your home justice?

Lets picture a trip to the grocery store. You only need milk, bread and some cereal for breakfast. So you head to the back of the store for milk–oh yeah, eggs too–next the cereal aisle–Kellogs is on sale so you buy two–next on to the bakery–but wait–roasts are on sale, that’ll be good in the crock pot tomorrow–ugh, you don’t want to have to make dinner tonight–good Tombstone pizzas are on sale–almost to the bakery department–made it, finally–might as well buy a couple loaves of bread. Time to check out–your total comes to 28.83.  You wanted three things–bread, cereal and milk. But you ended up with those plus meat, pizza, and eggs.

The MLS is the same way. Too many choices. When your home is alongside hundreds of other homes what are the odds that a buyer will choose your home?  If an agent promises internet marketing, and that marketing sets your home alongside every other home, how is he/she marketing YOUR home?

This is why I create a single property website for your home. When I’m marketing your home I funnel all advertising to your home’s website. You know, because you want your home sold…

Originally published June 4, 2009

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I personally detest cleaning. Well, guess what? My home has a tendency to be on the messy side. Eventually the dishes get done; it just might take an extra day. Okay, it takes more than an extra day…or two.

Maybe you have a penchant for the color purple. Or you’re into collecting things. For my parents, it’s auctions.

All of these things are important to you. But now that your home is for sale, this is the question you have to ask yourself: how important are these things to a potential buyer?

Following are 8 inexpensive ways you can help your home look more less you, and more like the person who’ll call your home ‘home.’

1) Clean it. Everything. From floors to walls to the woodwork. Make sure all floors are impeccable–carpet, tile, grout, etc. Check all caulk, especially in the bathroom. Or for less than $100, you can have a professional cleaning service come in and do the dirty work for you. Let them do the heavy lifting and all you’ll have left is a little maintenance while your home is on the market.

2) Let there be light. Dark rooms or shadows cast doubts in a buyer’s mind. Consider adding lamps and dimmers to existing lights allowing you to set moods for specific rooms.

3) Swap it out. Think about updating cabinet handles, switch plates, and any other small pieces of hardware that were more popular in days of yore than today. Your kitchen cabinets can go from typical oak cabinets to a ‘Wow’ kitchen by simply adding modern style pulls. Do your faucets have more gold than they know what to do with? Head to a local kitchen and bath department and find something in a ‘brushed’ color. I prefer brushed nickel, but that’s just me.

4) Hide it. The dent in the wall from when a lamp fell over. Or where Billy’s toy car crashed through the drywall after being launched from a Matchbox car ramp. Smooth out the wall and then do #6.

5) Organize. I’m the king of clutter. I’ve got more stuff than I know what to do with. The problem is that this tells prospective buyers that my home is too small for their stuff. So I’d need to remove a bunch of it, and possibly add a shelf or two. Maybe some hooks in the garage where I can hang things that would normally take up a bunch of floor space. If a few hooks and a shelf won’t help your situation, consider a storage unit for a few months.

6) Paint it. Paint is one of the easiest and cost effective ways to really change the way your home ‘feels.’ Neutral colors are your best bet. Have you heard that grey is the new brown? Welcome to Paint 2.0… (Have you heard of Real Estate 2.0 or Internet 2.0?) They’ll make each room feel larger. You know how you feel when you wear a brand new outfit? Buyers will also feel that same way about your home when they walk through.

7) Add some green. Bring nature into your home with some potted plants and fresh flowers. Having fresh flowers also adds to the ‘feeling’ that buyers get about your home. And in the end, it’s the buyers emotions that are going to compel them to write an offer.

8 ) Move it. Take a look at each room. What if you removed a piece of furniture or two? Would the room feel larger? What if you moved a piece from one side of the room to the other? Would the room have better flow? What if you took a piece from the living room and moved it into a bedroom? Mirrors also help rooms feel larger…

There you have it, eight low cost, easy to implement ideas that will go a long way toward creating an exciting first impression for any potential buyer. You’re trying to up the ‘Wow’ factor. Average is not what you should be shooting for in today’s real estate world. And these tips will help make your home memorable and ultimately help sell your home for more money.

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Just realized that the tax credits are ending only a wee-little bit after taxes are due… Yikes. Hopefully taking advantage of the tax credits can put a smile on  your face after the tax-man taketh away.

Corollary–we’ve already received our tax refunds AND they’re also already gone.

Poof, just like the tax credits.

What’s stopping you from getting me on the horn about a question or two? Even easier you could send me an email. Look up and to the left a little bit…

Check out the following links:

• First-time Home Buyer Info
• From IRS website
• Also from IRS website
• Recent changes to tax-credit

Stay classy Wisconsin Rapids!

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