Not saying I've been known to exaggerate ..or blow a little smoke ...but "cute kitchen" can be a relative term. 

Housekeeping issues can be sticky ...I sometimes feel like I have to sugar coat things.. or walk softly.  I can empathize people -- believe me!

But two things that cause me trouble if I exaggerate or sugar coat them:

(1) The price I think you will get for your house --

 (2) What I think about the market we are selling in --

It's tempting when I'm looking into my seller's sweet, puppy dog eyes.. to say "Wow, this is nice!  Start packing this will sell fast!  Where do you want to price it?  Oh definately, I agree!"  But...

My broker puts it this way "I'd rather tell you now what I really think you will get for your home than put the wrong price on it and try to explain to you later why it hasn't sold."

With that in mind... Lately I have been talking about our local housing market in a very good light.   We are improving and the future is looking good -- infact, RIGHT NOW is looking good!

Not everyone believes me... (Wha??)

The following is a conversation I had on Linkedin the other day with someone who (it appears) has not spoken with a local Realtor about our market. 

I am not "blowing smoke" with this guy.  I quote him what's actually going on at our office. I really am expecting some great sales this year!  I hope I got thru to "SF"  but he sounds pretty indoctrinated with the negative stuff we are constantly being fed from other places....

Linkedin Convo from the Linking Terre Haute Group:

Debbie Hill • I'm experiencing GOOD THINGS connected to our local housing market. What's your experience? 'Just came out of a sales meeting where Brian Conley gave us great info about our LOCAL Real Estate market. If you have a house that could be priced between 100k and 250k NOW is the time to put it on the market. Our iventory is LOW in this price range!

SF • So long as the banks keep refusing to lend, you'll have very few buyers in that price range. The rise of rent/lease to own is the only good thing happening in the Terre Haute real estate market.

Debbie Hill • Hi S! So great to get a comment on my topic! Although, I really must respectfully disagree with you and here's a couple reasons why.. Our inventory in the Terre Haute MLS is the lowest it has been in 10 years.. GREAT time for buyers to buy. I just met with lenders from Terre Haute First Fiancial and they confirmed a USDA loan that can be had by a borrower with as low as 600 credit score. I have not experienced the banks refusing to lend. It has taken a little longer to get a few loans closed but we're ok with that. Rates are LOW.. really LOW. Thankfully Terre Haute is a "Market All It's Own" and buyers can take advantage of our stability.

SF • I don't disagree that it's a buyer's market and rates are really low. But 600 is still higher than the 520 it was a few years ago for FHA, and most of Vigo County is ineligible for USDA loans at 600, making 620 the de facto score for a buyer in Terre Haute. Generation Y (aka the Millennials) are screwed and will continue to be for 20+ years unless some reform happens at the Federal level. See: http://www.mainstreet.com/article/moneyinvesting/education-planning/studen-loan-debt-bomb-threatens-us-housing-market

Debbie Hill • The mortgage business definately needed some correcting and although it does make some buyers with scores as low as you say ineligible for a mortgage, sales are not suffering. As of this moment 2:25pm on March 28th there are 68 pending sales on the board -- that's JUST AT COLDWELL BANKER! I can vouch that a good number of those are Generation Y'ers!

(This isn't me.. just a HAPPY Realtor!!!)

Check out this site: http://www.conleyappraisals.com/VigoCountyResidentialMarketStudy
This is great information about our MLS compiled by Brian Conley.. Call me and I'll go thru it with you!

If you could make your house look prettier...

I run through my neighborhood.  Got a 3 mile route mapped out and I can really enjoy myself with a some Need to Breathe and a little Daylight Savings Time.

I've been doing this for 8 years, running by the same houses. 

A week ago I noticed one house that I have looked at hundreds of times.. looked ...really pretty. 

Hmm!  What's different?

Then I figured it out!

It's something I often suggest my sellers do.

Infact NOW is a GREAT time for anybody to do it.

Matt always does it at our house.. but I may have give it a try.  Feel the power, slam some dirt.   Maybe it's a stress reliever at the same time it's a good tool for sprucing up your place!

Now you know!

They POWER WASHED their house!

This is the best way to get that GREEN MILDEW off your siding and make everything look NEW again.  If your siding is painted wood ..you might want to use soap and water with a scrub brush (not as user friendly as a power washer.)  But with brick or vinyl siding a power washer is a no brainer. 

And.. you can usually find these to rent from a local equipment rental company such as Complete Outdoor here in Terre Haute.  (They have no idea I just mentioned them here.)

The steps:

1. Grab a free afternoon (that may be the hardest part.)

2.  Plug some good tunes in your ears.

3.  Close your windows.

4.  Make sure your Christmas lights are put away.  All electrical items secured.

5.  POWER WASH!

6.  Take yourself out for a nice evening... :)

I'm reading a really good marketing book by my friend Jim Cockrum. 

Irrational Habit 2 ..from Chapter 6 reminded me of a time when I should have considered taking a referral and moving on.  If I stretch what Jim is saying just a little bit I can make it fit into this story...

(Que dream sequence sound...)

I was a new agent at Williams and Associates.  I hadn't sold a lot (maybe any?) homes in the 200k price range. 

I was intimidated by clients shopping in that price range.

And I was on the hook to help a new family about to transfer to Terre Haute and looking for a home priced around 200k. 


We met at the office, got in my car, (my 99 Buick Century) and started looking around town.  They were lovely people, I started to feel better about this...  We ate lunch together, we stopped for cokes, at the end of the day we headed back to the office to call it a night.

I was going south on 3rd Street towards the William's office and I reached for my coke, I lifted it out of the cup holder and I ...DROPPED IT ...into her purse.  The only noise you could hear above my gasp was the chug-chug-chug sound of my Diet Rootbeer pouring into her leather bag.


I barely slept that night.

We were supposed to meet again the next day to look at more houses.. Would they still want to see me?  How expensive was that bag?

Let me tell ya, it was expensive... but she was forgiving... so we were ok to continue.. I pushed thru with nervous laughter and swore off drinking in the car.

Skip ahead.. they found a house! It was a For Sale By Owner..  (Criminy!)  But I was able to get a purchase agreement together for them and we ordered our inspections.  They headed back out of state to start packing while the loan progressed and we waited on the inspection results.

Oh my goodness.. The inspector emailed the report to them.  It was Father's Day.. my sweet husband went shopping with me and the kids on that day -- can you believe that??  I was in the dressing room at JCPenneys when the buyer calls me. 

"Did you get the inspection?"  she asked.

"Yes! I did!" I answered.

"Did yours have porn on it?"  She asked.

"What?"

"Did your report have porn attached to it?"  She repeated.

"I don't think so..."  I said.

At this point the reception in the dressing room is waning.  I tried to confirm that she was actually talking about porn and in a loud voice (b/c you are supposed to talk louder when you have a bad cell phone connection) I over annunciated "PORN--A--GRAPH--EE?" ..and walked out of the dressing room (forgetting my surroundings) right into a group of women standing in the loungerie section at Penneys.

Okay... I called my broker.. he told me I was going to have to call the Inspector.. In my mind I just knew that he was better suited for the job.. but he did not agree.

So this do-what-you-have-to-do-to-avoid-confrontation girl ...called the inspector.  We worked it out.  (This really just has to be another blog about what to do when porn gets attached to your clients docs...)

Skip ahead.. we are at the appraisal.  IT DID NOT APPRAISE.   At first the seller did not want to lower her price  ..and when she finally came to her senses.. guess what the buyer said...  You probably guessed right!

And I have never heard from these people again. 

(Again -- que dream sequence sound....)

Sure you applaud my sticktuitiveness..  But in reality they were Debbie-Hill-Weary by the time that appraisal came back and I should have suggested a new strategy.  Too many things had gone wrong and I was still trying to talk them into spending more time with me! 

Thankfully, I have improved my troubleshooting abilities since then.  I am no longer intimidated by large price tags, I am more careful when drinks and clients are both in the front seats, and porn hasn't been an issue for me of late. 

I have also developed my sense for knowing when enough is enough.. or when there is no more I can do to help my client and it's time to take the referral.  In this case I wish I would have referred them for their next attempt at home buying .. rather than lost them forever.

Best day ever....

I see a lot of  "lovin' life" and "best day ever" posts on fb this weekend.  :)  Yay for us!!  Great days to be outdoors.. shed some winter fuzz.

Myself, I had a nice weekend.. nothing that would stop the presses.. but when my daughters kissed me good night and wispered "This was the best day ever..."  I knew they meant it.

Kids are like that. 

A man wrote about going fishing with his son.."Didn't catch anything.. waste of time".. His son wrote.. "Went fishing with Dad.. best day ever!"



(Insert exasperated sigh here)  ...It's not easy raising kids.. I just got mine to sleep after a very long time of trying to figure out why their covers were "not comfy".. (still don't know--  but they are sleeping now so...  ssshhhh!)

The thing is ..they're happier than I think they are in my cluttered, grown-up(?), jaded(only somewhat), trying to get stuff done, wanting-to-be-practical-but-desperate-to-be-fun ....mind. 


They are going thru these fabulous pre-summer days for the first time in their recent memories.. and THANKFULLY they aren't looking for them to be perfect in order for them to be "the best!" 

Social Media is helping me grow some CONFIDENCE!

This is my current Facebook profile pic.  (I joke that I was trying to warm up the crowd but they weren't being real receptive....)

This morning I asked a question during a sales meeting ..'wasn't quite understood.. 'could've kicked myself all day for asking a stupid question....

There was a time when I would have done that....

But!  I'M NOT KIDDING!!  Today I just thought.. Oh well, I throw things at my cyber wall on facebook.. I can throw things at the perverbial wall IRL  -- so what if it doesn't stick! 

WOW!  It was a great - move along - nothing to look at hear - don't cry over spilt milk - moment for me. 

I think social media might be helping to improve my self confidence... my ability to try something and not beat myself up if it doesn't work. 

I try to use Facebook/Twitter/Linkedin to market my Real Estate Expertise. (You have to say "my Real Estate Expertise"  with the hoytey-toytey accent I intended ;) 

But seriously, it's been trial and error...and along the way.... a great confidence booster?

Well, I just gotta say.. Thank you Facebook!

Alright! Alright!

I am going to admit what some of you already know...

There's no shame in it... look at Jennifer Hudson.. She belts it out on national tv...  and looks great doing it!

For crying out loud... I'm a Weight Watcher.

I've been married for 13 years and been weight watchin' for 12, lifetimer for (maybe) 3/4s of that time.

TODAY was a meeting just for LIFETIMERS at our "secret location" ...kidding!  (...At the Meadows.)


Upon finding my seat and hunkerin' down to listen to another immensly insightful discussion...

I, myself, am suddenly tapped to speak for 3-4 minutes. 

"About what?"

"What would you say to inactive members?"

Well... I love my leader.... but ....sometimes I can miss her ques and not know exactly which direction she's going in.... even in an ordinary meeting when I just pop-up with my two cents worth and all of a sudden realize "oops... that's not what you were talking about...sorry!"

She gave me no other idea of what we would talk about other than .."answer that question."

What do I do ..my brother is a pastor ... 3 point sermon.. do that... think of 3 points... and your on!

You may or may not believe this ...but it went over pretty well...

If you're struggling with something you know you need to get back to.. WW, exercise, devotions, continuing ed, MARKETING even... (I am going to connect it to marketing in my mind anyway.. gotta ALWAYS stay up on that)  here's my two cents on the subject:

Point 1:

I completely empathize... my journey has been up an down...  I know that when one area of my life is out of whack.. other areas tend to be as well.  And there are always excuses as to why things are topsy turvy or why I can't make a WW meeting.  But when I find that "groove" -- look out!



Point 2:

Funnily enough the successful Weight Watcher is referred to as a LIFETIMER..  There is no "6 Month Timer" that walks away with a success award.  Don't beat yourself up if over your lifetime you have ups and downs -- and don't give up what you want.. Use your lifetime to grab it if you have to!



Point 3:

Find something comforting in what you should be doing.  For instance, I find HUGE comfort in food... I can sometimes replace that [bad place to find comfort] by going to a WW meeting, listening to other people, know that they have the same problelms I have and they are finding success.  I recall their faces during the week when I am struggling and get encouragement from them. 

Lucky Gina

:) Good luck to you peeps!  ...I need a lot of it most of the time!!