Gary and Shannon 's Blog

Being a real estate professional is never really easy. It's not really that difficult either, truth be told, but the last few years have been quite a roller coaster ride. None of this is evidenced more clearly than by how new home builders treat Realtors. Talk about feast or famine! Back in 2005/...

Recently, I got sucked in by a T.V. show called "House Hunters International" on HGTV. The concept is fairly self-explanatory and involves a family who decide to buy an additional home (although some are actually re-locating) in a country other than their own. So, we are treated to Europeans of e...

Part of the fun of being a Realtor is that you are required to attend 24 hours of continuing education in every two year period. The categories covered include legal matters, fair housing and ethics among various others. Some of the presenters on these topics can be quite dry (not always their fa...

As any Realtor will tell you, there are times when this profession can really wear you down. Times when you wonder why you bother. Truthfully, I am sure most jobs are like this, but then we remember why we decided to sell real estate, or whatever it is you do, and the moment passes. In this vein...

Part of being a good real estate professional is knowing your local market intimately. It sounds obvious, but it is imperative that you are aware of trends, subtle neighborhood differences or any other factor that can affect value. Education is key.Whilst reviewing homes for sale in my town recen...

Now, perhaps more than ever, a sensible approach to pricing is imperative in today's difficult market. With more restrictions on appraisers keeping a tight rein on their work, it is important that both buyers and sellers are reasonable in their expectations.Some weeks back I received a phone call...

Recently, I was working on a search for a client when I came across a Fannie Mae owned property, the lister of which encouraged me to click on the "documents" tab in the MLS. For those of you not in the know, this is a folder that contains any extra disclosures or forms that are required to close...

For those of us selling homes in the greater Phoenix metropolitan area, short sales are a simple fact of life. In some newer communities, homes built in 2006 for example, almost every single one has entered the re-sale market a distress sale of one kind or another.We all know how frustrating it c...

There is an old adage regarding the "Golden Rule". Them with the gold, get to make the rule. We had an irritating example of this just last month. We had listed a property for our client and it had sold within days for full price, which in and of itself was quite a shock. We later discovered that...

Recently, in the middle of April, we were working with a buyer looking to purchase a home in the $150-$160K range. With the $8000 tax credit about to expire, we thought there might be a spring in his step, but we were wrong. He was curiously detached about the credit and reasoned that prices migh...