You’ve heard me stress how important decluttering is when preparing your home for sale.  Get rid of the old magazines, free up some kitchen counter space, take down the wall of photos documenting every family member’s life from birth to high school graduation.  Standard agent advice.

As we toured through this week’s selection of open houses, however, I saw decluttering and depersonalization taken to new levels that were so extreme the homes no longer felt welcoming and might as well have been vacant.

Bedrooms with nothing except a bed and night stand.  No artwork.  No pillows.  No flowers.  No nothing to make it feel inviting.

Dining rooms with just a table and chairs.  Bare walls.  No candles.  No decorations.  Just a cold room with a hunk of wood stuck in the middle.

While we certainly advocate clearing the clutter before your home goes on the market, taken to the extreme, the result can be the opposite of what you are trying to achieve.

Think warm.  Think inviting.  Think what the room will look like in photos.  If you overdo it, you might be left with something like this:

It doesn’t exactly make you want to whip out your checkbook, does it?

If you need some expert guidance, we can refer you to a local home stager that can help you find that balance between too personal and way too stark. Give us a call at 504-327-5303 and we’ll point you in the right direction.

Invariably, during these conversations, we ask the question “are you working with an agent“.  Most of the time, folks say no.  And they usually are not, at least in their minds.

But there are those times when a home buyer or seller is deliberately cheating on their agent and using us.

They might be doing a little checking behind their own agent’s back, looking to find out if another agent will give them a different answer than their own agent did.  This is a trust issue.  If you don’t trust your agent, please don’t cheat on them.  Just break it off and find a new one.

Their agent might not have answered the phone.  Contrary to popular belief and the proliferation of social networks and smart phones, none of us are connected 24/7.  Your agent might be with another client, might be on the phone with a potential buyer for your home, might even (horrors!) have taken a break to grab a bite to eat or go to the bathroom.  Please.  Leave them a message, send them a text or fire off an email.  If they are habitually unresponsive, see the advice above…break it off and find a new agent.

Those callers might be under the mistaken notion that we have their best interests at heart, when we don’t know them from Adam.  There’s a reason that you should work with your own agents.  Actually, there are about 572 reasons.  But the number 1 reason is that they are charged with protecting your interests.  We don’t have that obligation when you call to pump us for information.  In fact, anything you say outside of an agency relationship can be used against you during negotiations if you happen to write an offer on one of our listings.  Call your own agent, who is doing everything they can to protect and represent you.

If they aren’t…well, you know the drill by now.

Start your New Orleans home search here

We received an email from one of our clients that purchased a West Bank home last year.  She’s been getting repeated notices that she should request a copy of her deed and property profile and decided to ask us if this was something she was supposed to do.

Thank goodness she did, because this is nothing more than a scam targeting new home owners that might not know any better.  If you just glanced at this, you might assume that it’s a legitimate deal.  We know better.

How do we know it’s a scam?

• There is no official State Record Regulation Department in Louisiana
• We don’t have Grant Deeds in Louisiana
• The information they offer to provide in their “Property Profile” is already contained in the documents received by the home owner at the act of sale
• If it was an official state organization, they would know that we have parishes, not counties

Reading a little further, you’ll see that they eventually admit that it’s a solicitation for services.  Services in the amount of $87 for a copy of your address and legal description?  C’mon, man.

This should be a crime.

If you ever receive something after purchasing a home that just doesn’t feel quite right, contact your agent immediately.  Our service at Crescent City Living doesn’t end after you move in.

• They complained when they had to start putting their listings online
• They complained when legal descriptions became mandatory
• They complained when they were required to upload disclosures to the MLS so agents didn’t have to chase them down for the information
• They complained when they were required to add a single photo to all listings

With so much resistance to change, you can only imagine the uproar that they are in with the newest requirements put out by the real estate board last week.

• Properties listed in Excellent condition now must have a minimum of 10 photos, including the front and back of the house, living room, kitchen, bedrooms and bathrooms.
• Properties in less than Excellent condition now require a minimum of 5 photos, with similar mandates for what must be displayed.

What’s the big honking deal?

Well, if you are to believe the loudest naysayers, the sky is falling as the real estate board tries to tell professionals how they should run their business and how to market their listings.  There’s even a petition circulating that calls on the MLS to get rid of the changes.  Yeah.  That’s in the best interests of buyers and sellers <insert eye roll here> and will help sell a house.

I think what each of them is forgetting is that home buyers are no dummies.

Most buyers skip past listings with just one or two photos, eliminating them from consideration during their home search.  Or, they call and ask for someone to provide them with more photos so they can decide whether or not to add a house to their list of must-sees.  We really don’t have time to run all over town taking pictures of houses when the listing agent should have done that already.

In an informal poll (completely non-scientific since I just asked some of my friends), consumers said that if there is only a picture of the outside of a house, they assume there is something wrong with it and wouldn’t schedule an appointment.  This negates the common agent impression that buyers are willing to waste time on the unknown or that photos are not a critical part of marketing a home.

Agents are screaming that you can’t take good bathroom pictures.  Um….yes, you can.  Maybe not with an old cell phone and certainly not with the toilet lid open, but it’s possible.  I don’t believe that home buyers are necessarily looking for works of art in photography, but knowing that a master bath has a shower and no tub might be the deciding factor in whether or not a house works for them.  Hiding that is not going to result in a sale.

However, there’s an out for agents with no camera skills or access to a professional photographer.  With the seller’s written permission, they don’t have to supply the required number of photos.

I’d love to be a fly on the wall for that conversation.

Dear Homeowner,

Our records indicate that you have successfully applied for and received a 2012 Homestead Exemption.  This letter is to notify you that this Exemption is now permanent as long as your current address remains your home in Orleans Parish….

No more filling out those little cards annually and making sure they are mailed or returned to the Assessor in a timely manner.  This should help eliminate the lines of folks who insist on bringing their exemptions in person, freeing up staff to focus on other tasks.

Of course, the standard rules still apply to homestead exemptions:

• You may claim only one exemption
• Your exemption applies to your domicile only – your permanent, personally owned residence
• Assessment freezes are available for those with a gross income of less than $67,670 AND are 65 years or older or have a permanent disability or a military disability greater than 50%

For more information about how the homestead exemption works in New Orleans, visit the assessor website.

START YOUR NEW ORLEANS HOME SEARCH with Crescent City Living

• I can send an entire package to a buyer or seller for electronic signature and have it routed directly back to the other agent and myself in minutes instead of the hours it can take to coordinate schedules for live signings.
• I can text clients and other agents for an almost immediate response
• I can reduce the number of trees we kill each year by using electronic files instead of paper, and believe me, real estate can create a LOT of paper

Several recent studies conclude that nearly  80% of consumers first turn to the internet for  information on real estate. More alarming is the fact over 80% of the information consumers find on the internet is wrong! The marketing prowess of Google, Trulia, Zillow, and others, continues to trump the traditional efforts of real estate professionals to educate consumers.The conclusion reached by these studies center on the fact that the majority of real estate professionals practicing real estate, and the regulators charged with protecting the public interest in real estate transactions, are significantly older than the average age of the consumers they serve.

It is believed that the reluctance of more mature real estate practitioners and regulators to embrace and utilize cutting edge technology in their respective roles, has left a huge void in the marketplace, a technology deficit happily filled by Internet entrepreneurs.  The demographics of Louisiana licensees confirm we fit the national pattern. Our LREC age demographic of brokers and agents…revealed less than 20% of Pelican State real estate professionals are under the age of 35, the age group proven to be most technically savvy.

Now, I’m no spring chicken and I left the under 35 age group behind over a decade ago.  But I’m left shaking my head when I realize that while agents are moaning and groaning about the proliferation of sites like Trulia and Zillow getting in between agents and consumers, they are, at the same time, getting their butts handed to them by those companies because they aren’t keeping up with either the technology or the demands of today’s home buyers and sellers.

Here’s a newsflash….using the internet is no longer optional.  It’s no longer reserved for the “tech savvy” or the geek 2 cubes over in the real estate office.  It’s a mainstream, everybody uses it, get with the program or be left behind kinda thing.  Even toddler are using iPads, so there’s no excuse for a REALTOR® to refuse to leave the Jurassic Age.

It’s not a matter of keeping up with the cool kids or the latest and greatest in tech tools.  It’s a matter of providing information and service in the way that consumers want it.

Need some help buying or selling real estate in New Orleans?  Contact us today.  We would be honored to earn your business and show off our tech skills at the same time

While they might seem to be the best source of homes for sale, in reality each of them exist to provide advertising – not of homes, but of agents, lenders and insurance companies.  Before you put all of your eggs into one home search basket, here’s a break down on how they work.

Realtor.com

The biggest name in real estate websites, Realtor.com is not actually owned by the National Association of Realtors, despite the name.  Their listing information comes directly from participating Multiple Listing Services (MLS) across the country, although there are a handful of areas that they don’t provide coverage for.

The pros:

• Because the data comes from the MLS, it’s typically accurate and timely
• They have an excellent app for the iPhone and iPad
• You can register to receive new listings as they become available

The cons:

• Unless an agent chooses to advertise with them, you won’t find more than 4 photos of any property nor will you see any virtual tours, even though they may be available via the MLS
• Their business is not selling homes, it’s selling placement of agents and other service providers on a rotating basis.  Have you ever noticed that each time you visit, the featured properties or agents are different?
• If you register for listings, your name is then provided to one of their advertisers who may or may not be an expert in the area you are searching for a home

Trulia

Trulia provides listing data that is gathered from brokerages, from participating MLSs and from 3rd party syndication providers that get their data from listing agents.

The pros:

• An easy to use site
• A mobile app for when you are on the go
• A question and answer section

The cons:

• Not all MLSs partner with Trulia (the New Orleans MLS does not) to provide listing information
• If a listing agent uses a 3rd party provider to get their listings on Trulia and doesn’t go back and update when the property is sold or taken off the market, the information on Trulia will be inaccurate
• The answers to questions are sometimes often provided by agents or brokers who work in a completely different state that has different laws and rules for real estate sales.

Zillow

Zillow provides not just homes for sale, but also values estimates of properties that they call Zestimates.  In addition to properties listed with an agent, there are some For Sale by Owners along with some “Make Me Move” homes, where the owner has not put their house up for sale, but would consider an offer at the listed price.

The pros:

• The site is easy to navigate
• There’s an app for home searches on mobile devices
• For Sale by Owners can submit their own listings

The cons:

• Some of the foreclosure listings on Zillow are not actually available for sale.  Instead, they are pre-foreclosures, which simply means that the home owner has missed one or more payments.  These properties may or may not end up owned by the mortgage company, but they certainly are not for sale.
• Zestimates are horrendously inaccurate in the New Orleans metro area, since they rely on public records.  Our records are only updated when a property is sold or the tax assessment is changed, so it could have been years since new information was received on a particular house.  Check your own home and you’ll see what I mean.
• As with the other sites, the ability to connect with an agent is not based on their expertise in an area, but in their ability to write a check in order to receive contact information on a particular zip code

So what should New Orleans home buyers do?

Do a little research.  Google agents in the areas and neighborhoods you are most interested in.  Check them out and see who provides solid information on the home buying process.  Find one that gives current listings without asking for your first born in return for photos of houses.  Pick the person who matches your communication style, your personality and gives you a warm and fuzzy that they are the right agent to entrust with your home search.

Take control of the process of selecting an agent rather than letting a website choose for you.

Need more information about buying or selling New Orleans homes?  Contact us today.  It would be our pleasure to earn your business.

Some random thoughts that I had to share with someone, so it might as well be you

Believe it or not, multiple real estate offers DO still exist.  They might not be common, but it still happens.  If your agent tells you that there are other offers on the table and it’s a house that you really want, don’t waste time with a low ball offer.  Go in with your highest and best.  We had multiple offers on one of our listings last week and the difference between the buyer who was successful and the one who was not was a mere $5,000.

If you get stung by one of those nasty buckmoth caterpillars, scotch tape will pull out the spines and toothpaste will help reduce the sting.  Don’t ask how I know this, just go with it.

Home staging is not just for high end houses.  For less than $100, you can have a home staging professional come in and give you a list of fixes that will make your interior and exterior shine.  We know people, so just ask.

When you find a buyer’s agent to work with, make sure they actually plan to attend showings and inspections with you.  That is their job, after all.

Wishing all of our readers a very Happy Easter!

Take advantage of all of this wet stuff and you might save yourself from making a mistake in choosing a neighborhood.

Drive through the subdivisions that interest you and see if the streets are holding a large amount of water.  During a deluge, there will always be water in the streets, because the pumps can only handle so many inches per hour.  But if it’s just a steady rain and streets are starting to flood, it might be worth taking a second look at the history of that neighborhood.

Check out the drainage of the lots in a neighborhood.  The street may be a little low, but if the lots themselves sit a little higher and are draining quickly, that’s good information to know.  If there is a drainage servitude on the property, during the rain is the best time to see how that really works.  At the back of my lot, we have a utility and drainage servitude.  The way the street was designed, drainage occurs at the back of the lots and flows from one end of the block to the other.  The closer you are to the end, the more water that might back up into your yard during a heavy storm.  It’s not always a bad thing, but it’s something you want to know.

Drive by a few of the houses you like and look for red flags.  Standing water can be an indicator of low spots in driveways, yards and walkways.

Are you actually out looking at houses today?  The rain is your friend when you can get up close and personal with how the gutters are working.  Climb the stairs and check for leaks in the attic.  One commonly overlooked item is a carport – often you don’t realize that they leak until you get that first storm after you’ve moved in.

So, while it might make for a bit of a messy day, take advantage of this rain and use it to help you make a smarter home buying decision.

The last item on your to-do list before the act of sale is the final walk through.

The final walk through is the time to be sure that all agreed upon repairs have been completed and that no damage has been done to the property.  Essentially, you are inspecting to be sure the property is in the same or better condition as when the contract to purchase was signed.

What are you checking for?

• Holes in walls that may have been hidden behind furniture
• Any damages caused by movers
• Missing appliances that were to be included
• Missing light fixtures or mirrors or anything else that the contract said was to be included
• Missing window coverings that were a part of the contract <<< This is a big source of issues during a sale.  Our Louisiana purchase agreements automatically include all window coverings, blinds, drapes and curtain rods unless they are specifically excluded by mutual agreement.