Susan's Blog

I have read a number of posts lately from different AR folks feeling overwhelmed by trying to keep up with technology and getting everything done that they need to do in a day.  At the risk of aging myself, I'll share a few thoughts that I have on the subject.

I remember when I first started my law practice, we typed everything and if there were changes to be made, we typed the whole thing over again.  When a client wanted something "right away" he meant to mail it to him withn a week.  We had no fax machine, no computer with memory, so that a document could just have the changes redone and the rest simply reprinted.  If I was out of the office, the caller would simply have to leave a message and I'd get back to him when I could. My real estate business operated about the same way.

Now when someone wants something prepared "right away" they sit by the fax machine or with their emailbox open and wait for me to prepare a document and send it over within minutes!  If it doesn't come in minutes, they can reach me wherever I am on my cell phone and ask why not.  I thought these were supposed to be labor-saving devices, but all they have done is make me work 24 hours a day.

I recall as a kid reading what like would be like in the 21st century, and the articles all predicted that we would have many labor-saving devices so that instead of working 40 hours, we could get 40 hours' work done in about one-fourth of the time, so we would all work 2-3 days a week and take 4-5 days off - a long weekend every week!  Instead, what happened is that we were all simply expected to get four times as much done, but still worked the same or even longer hours.

I'm not complaining about the technology.  I love my work. I have the fancy computer, fancy phone and all the other gadgets and programs, and I love them, but my challenge these days is to find "me" time.

My current project is learning to say "No", or at least "Not right now." I'm trying to take control of my time, rather than my day controlling me.  So far, I'm not doing as well as I had hoped, but I'm working on it!

And anyway, at least none of us has this poor guy's job!

Here is a quick and easy way for you to obtain some information about useful businesses and recreational facilities in Orangevale, California. Simply click on any area of the chart for which you'd like more information, and the data will appear in a separate window.

I hope you will enjoy visiting Orangevale and will consider joining our fine community!

Lovely Home in Fair Oaks With Huge Yard!

4267 Niblick Way, Fair Oaks, CA 95628

MLS# 80092781         $299,000       Thomas map 279 H-2

You must see this very special home at a great price!

On quiet street with neighborhood pride.

For more information about this or any other property in Sacramento County,

call (916) 705-8951 

      www.SusanNealFineProperties.com

Boy!  Was I glad I went to that listing presentation well prepared and with documentation!  I prepare a nice 3-ring binder with printouts of my power point presentation (about Century 21, my office and me) in the first section, the assessor's data about the property in the second section, my CMA and calculations for my pricing advice in the third section and a section for them to keep their documents about the transaction. If I get a chance to get a photo of their house, I put that on the cover of the binder, along with their names.

If it appears they are rushed or will need some time to think about it (or if I know I am in competition for the listing), I will simply skim over the power point presentation itself, pointing out the most critical parts and pages where they can find the information they need to know, then I get right to the CMA, with a price range suggested.  I tell them I can firm that up a bit when I have toured the home, which they are eager for me to do, and they will help me take measurements.  I take lots of notes. 

The bulk of the presentation part is merely my getting to know them and their getting to know me.  Then I will leave the binder with them so they can review it at their convenience.  That is theirs to keep.  People are so grateful that you have provided them with the info but aren't going to make them sit through a long boring canned speech, that I find that they like me, they really like me! 

Last night I met with the sellers for the signing of the listing papers, and their adult son was present.  He started to take issue with the price I was suggesting and wanted to check it with the chart on Zillow.  I could tell he was ready to argue the point. His mom quashed that right away, saying, "She has already done a lot of research and we have already reviewed all of the data in this book she gave us, and she is right on the money." That ended that.  We signed all the papers, smiled, and laughed, and they know that I will give them whatever information they want and need, but I will not waste their time. 

Some agents just want to get in and out as quickly as possible on one visit, and that works well for them.  I find that my way is impressive, the binder usually is more than they get from my competition, and shows a willingness to go the extra mile and provide the best customer service to my clients. It also gets me referrals!

Here is a quick and easy way to find places of interest in Fair Oaks, California.  Just click on your interest.

I hope you'll visit Fair Oaks, and come back often!

I've seen several blog posts lately about the demise of broker tours and caravans of agents to listings.  Some people dislike them, while others love them.  I am part of the latter group.  I always learn a lot and it is fun to get to know the other agents in an informal setting.

Our local Association of Realtors has a weekly caravan of Realtors for each different area of the county, and we often pile several agents into each car and drive on a prescribed route so that we can get to the houses at about the same time.  The way I like it best is the way we have done it on one of the areas, where we keep to the actual caravan and arrive together, then after seeing the home, we meet in the kitchen, fill out feedback forms about the home, its price, whether we have staging suggestions, etc.  These are given to the listing agent, who can then discuss them with the seller. 

If almost everyone says the price is too high, or they won't show it until some item is fixed, the agent can use that as ammunition to get the seller to do what he/she has been trying to talk them into.

Also, some of us might be thinking that one house looks perfect for one of our buyers, and someone will say, "Did anyone else notice the dryrot under the bathroom sink?  Which of course not everyone did.  Everyone looks for different things (usually things that have bitten them on prior transactions), and it is very helpful to have a bunch of eyes looking for all the good and bad in each home.

I say, "Hooray for caravans!"  And I attend as many as possible.

I just got 2 milestones all at once!  In 2 days I received 3 leads/referrals directly from Active Rain, and I have appointments with two of them already (one a seller and one a buyer), and at the same time I just noticed that I have over 10,000 points!

Open houses are picking up more and more, even without my dragging my backside around distributing flyers all over the place (just an ad in Craigs List), and I am beginning to feel like the tide is turning, big time!  I also last week had someone just read my website, liked what I said, and called me up to represent them.  That hadn't been happening much lately.

I hope my AR friends are starting to experience the same thing.  Do you feel like the sun is coming out after a lengthy cloudy period?

Celebrating the Chickens

If you are at all familiar with Fair Oaks Village, you know about our chickens.  Hundreds of wild and beautiful chickens roam the Village, and they have been part of the character of our town for many years.  They have even been the subject of national magazine articles.  Families come to the Plaza Park in the heart of the Village to watch them, and children of all ages laugh and enjoy their antics.  Some folks bring birdseed to feed them (please no junk food).

Finally, a few years ago, Fair Oaks decided it was time to celebrate the chickens that have brought us so much pleasure and so many visitors.  Thus was born the Fair Oaks Chicken Festival!  This is the third annual festival, and it is shaping up to be the best yet.  And there is no admission charge.  The festival and parking are free, as are shuttles to Plaza Park (see below).

Friday Night Barbeque

The celebration starts on Friday September 19 with a pre-festival barbeque in Village Park.  Yes, there will be barbequed chicken, but no Fair Oaks chickens are harmed!  There is a $15 charge for adults and $10 for children age 10 and under, but that is for the food.  You can come and enjoy the fun and music even if you do not have dinner with us.  Food will be served from 6-10 pm and the featured band will be Blues Farm Band.  You can buy the dinner tickets anytime between now and then at the Fair Oaks Recreation and Park District Office.

Big Day on Saturday

Breakfast

The big day will be on Saturday, September 20 from 8:00 am to 8:00 pm.  If you would like to join us for an Old Time Country Breakfast, come to the Fair Oaks Community Club House, in the center of the park.  All you can eat for $5.00 per person, with tickets being sold at the door.

"Music to Sooth the Savage Chickens"

Many people eat at home and then come directly to the park to just enjoy the free festival.  Beginning at 10:00 am on Saturday, there will be live music all day on the Chicken Festival Stage in the Village -featuring Lightning Hand Band, Blues Farm Band, the phenomenally popular Mumbo Gumbo, Marshall Wilkerson Band, and Jeff Watson Band.

 Vendor Booths and Special Activities for Adults and Kids

There will also be a number of food and craft vendors from 10:00 am - 8:00 pm, a barbeque cook-off competition, and from 10:00 - 3:30, lots of kids' activities and events, including crafts, hug-a-pets, gold panning, and games for kids.

Microbrewers

For those who enjoy a delicious beer, there will be microbrewery beer tasting with music to sip by provided by "J's House,"   Featuring the following microbrewers:   New Belgium Brewery - Fat Tire, Lost Coast Brewery, Killian's Irish Red, Blue Moon Brewing Company, Alaskan Brewing Company, Rubicon Brewing Company, Sierra Nevada Brewery, Sacramento Brewing Company, and Lockdown Brewing Company.

Parking and Shuttles

There is limited on-street parking around the edge of the Village, but you can also park at several local parking lots and shuttle to the festival.  Shuttles will run every 15-20 minutes from 10:00 am - 7:30 pm on Saturday, making stops at Fair Oaks Park (Fair Oaks Blvd and Madison Ave), Fair Oaks Presbyterian Church (on Fair Oaks Blvd, to the south side of Fair Oaks Park), New Life Community Church at Sunset Ave and Fair Oaks Blvd).  You can also park at Scandinavian Design (4301 Fair Oaks Blvd at Winding Way) and walk across Sunrise.  There will be handicap parking at Russ Monroe's Village Chapel (corner of Winding Way and Fair Oaks Blvd).

I'm sure that like me, many of you have been glued to the TV screen following the progress and damage reports from Hurricane Gustav.  Thankfully, it may not be as devastating as Katrina, but it still looks very bad.  And the thing that is really disturbing is that our country may be hit with 2 more hurricanes within a week!  Hanna and Ike are likely to be category 2 when they hit Florida and they are saying that Ike could possibly wind up going into the Gulf, which would be horrible for those people living along that coast.

So far it appears that the Red Cross is doing a great job of caring for the evacuees, and all government agencies are much better organized than was the case 3 years ago, but the residents will still be suffering and experiencing losses.

People have been calling TV stations and asking what they can do to help, and the Red Cross has announced that we can donate cash to them.  And of course we can pray.  We can all do that, but it seems like there must be other things we can offer as well. We in AR are a community, and there must be things we can do to help those in our community who are affected. 

Does anyone have any ideas?

If your family or home or business is injured or damaged by any of these storms, please let us know how you are doing and what you recommend for us to do.