Comfort zones, the true enemy in real estate.

It's so easy in our everyday lives to get caught up in developing our businesses that we can forget to develop ourselves.

I know that I have to spend time studying listing and sales statistics. Or methods of having a better presentation or a better website but sometimes I just have to turn my computer off and put on a harness and do something crazy. For the last two years I've had the opportunity to work on the ropes crew for Over the Edge, a fund raising group that, in conjunction with a tall building helps raise money for the National Kidney Foundation. This year we rappelled off the  Baltimore Marriott Waterfront. Not only is it a great chance to get out of my comfort zone but it's a great way to give back to the community.

I also do some work as a challenge course facilitator. I get the chance to teach others how to stretch themselves individually as wall as a team. It's a great parralel between having someone afraid to act when they're 25 to 40 feet in the air and having someone making that final decision to write an offer or following our lead in pricing their property correctly to get it sold. I guess that begs the question, if we're not willing to push ourselves past what we fear, how can we ask our clients to do so?

I remember my early days as a Realtor. At that time Floyd Wickman was offering a great training program called "Sweathogs". By the way, even though he no longer has sweathogs he still has some great training materials and products. At any rate, that was before the days of the do not call list and our first order of the day was cold calling. If you ever want a way to push yourself out of your comfort zone and, of course, can do so without violating the law you should give it a try.

Finally my prayer for my fellow real estate agents and all of you who are making the decision to buy or sell that you follow the admonition of Eleanor Roosevelt. "Do one thing every day that scares you."

Should I use an individual real estate agent or a team?

What is the best choice for a buyer or seller to make?

I've been listing and selling real estate in Frederick, Washington, and Montgomery counties for over 23 years. For most of that time I was not in favor of using teams. Clearly my opinion has changed recently. About a year and a half ago I joined forces with a good friend, Darren Ahearn and became part of "The Ahearn Team". With all the technological advances, law changes and ever changing market scenarios I felt it was almost too much for one person to keep up with alone.

Unfortunately, I've seen many teams fail because of personality conflicts mostly due to the team not having clearly defined responsibilities for the team members. I also wasn't particularly in favor of large teams because I felt they lost some of the personal touch. That's why I chose to become part of a small team so we could be very efficient and specialized but still keep the personal touch.

Our team is comprised of only three agents and our assistant. Darren handles all the listing responsibilities. This is a great fit for him because he's a high energy detail oriented guy. So much so that when I was a manager I tried constantly to recruit him. He is also licensed in Pennsylvania. I handle our buyer calls. I love working with buyers because I know I can help them through the challenges of our quite unique market. I have numerous lenders I recommend to give my clients a broad spectrum of choices in loan programs. I also set each buyer up with their own listingbook account which they can also reach though my website. Our third agent is Billy Shreve. Billy handles all our commercial transactions. By having three agents, each with a specific field of expertise each transaction gets the undivided attention of their own agent. Last but certainly not least on our team is our assistant Christina. Christina takes care of all our file processing and marketing and keeps everything in order.

So what choice should a buyer or seller make? Certainly I'm in favor of using a small team but each person has their own needs and things they feel comfortable with. I would encourage each person to interview both teams and individuals and feel confident that you will be taken care of properly and that no details will fall through the cracks.

So you want to buy a short sale.

What are the pros and cons of shopping for a short sale. Can you get a "great deal"? How long will it take?

The first thing to consider is your time frame. If you're selling your home and moving in to your next purchase a short sale probably isn't the way to go. The only exception would be if you have someplace else to stay while waiting for settlement on your short sale purchase. In that situation you could try to negotiate a post settlement occupancy but that could lessen your chances of securing a buyer. Of course there is also the possibility that you could be three or four months into the transaction and suddenly find out the bank has denied the sale and you have to start over again. All things to take into account.

The second issue is financing. Although loan rates are pretty stable you can't lock your rate until you're within a certain number of days until settlement so your rate floats while you're waiting to hear from the bank. Of course if things stay the way they are you should be fairly safe in this area. Now, what are the chances things will stay the way they are? We all know what they say about the definition of "assume".

A question I often hear...Can I get a great deal? That depends. A while back I wrote an offer on a short sale for a buyer client that needed quite a bit of work. (The house, not the client) We looked at comparable sales and an estimate of work needed and made an appropriate offer. We ended up competing. The buyer who won paid almost what a house in good condition had sold for. On the other hand I found another home for a different client that needed substantial work and was priced accordingly. We made the offer at list based on comparable sales and when all the work was completed after settlement the buyer had a total of about 180K in the house and the comparable sales were in the 205K range. It's really a case by case issue.

Then there's bank approval to deal with. I've had that happen in as little as 60 days but that's unusual. Is there a normal time? I've heard from 60 days to 12 months in extreme cases. When writing an offer for a client on a short sale I usually advise a minimum of 120 days for approval from the bank. That can be extended if need be by the parties to the contract. The important thing to remember is that you need to understand the process up front so, when things seem like they will never come to a close you don't give up and walk away just before the bank says yes. One more word on bank approval. It can also depend on how many loans there are. The easiest scenario is when there is only one loan. Add a second or possibly third and things can get really complicated.

I think I would be remiss if I didn't add that the agents involved need to know what they're doing. If not the whole transaction can fall apart because the agent missed a deadline they were given by the bank. If the bank says they need such and such information by close of business Friday or they will close the file they aren't kidding.

Bottom line, a short sale can be a rewarding experience but go in with eyes wide open or rewarding is not the adjective you'll be using at the end of the day.