Random Adventures

Oh... and there have been adventures around here. Just not in real estate. 

The Grievance Committee meets this week. We are hearing three cases. There are 12 of us. Yet, once again, I have been given the most maddening case to peer review. My first year on the committee I didn't review any cases. The folks in the Association are making up for lost time. 

Anyway, for those of you who aren't real estate agents you may not know this. But for those of you who might be agents you should know: it is uncool to steal someone's clients. And if you wish to file a complaint against someone who does this, for the love of all that is holy and righteous DO IT IN LESS THAN 87 PAGES.  

By the way, there was a Grievance Committee meeting a couple of weeks ago that I was supposed to peer review another maddening 46-page case for. However, we had Sunshine Household drama going on and I wasn't able to make the meeting. 

Personal notes: 

Brother #1 and his New Yorker bride left on Saturday. They are both LARGER THAN LIFE extroverts with fabulous and enormous personalities that I absolutely love. However, it was an intense holiday. I haven't finished cowering in the corner yet. 

There is no work for real estate agents. I finished a documentary on Scientology and am re-watching my favorite Spanish novella. Plus, I am reading two books right now. And finally, I am half-done knitting Buckaroo's Christmas blanket. 

Job Hunting

There are bizarre decisions being made in the Sunshine home. For one thing, how can I bring in a small income to pay for a few necessities: such as airplane tickets to visit friends around the country. Generally this is done with real estate work, but there isn't a ton of that right now. 

I've started applying for freelance writing jobs. When I first started doing so, I didn't realize I actually had to submit a bit of writing to go with the application. It has been that long since I've been in the workforce, it simply didn't occur to me that would be necessary, though I can probably dig something up. 

Jane has suggested applying as a transaction coordinator. There are a few major challenges with that. First, to do so, I have to close down my brokerage and go work for whatever brokerage hires me. That isn't necessarily an issue, but I have a property in escrow and two potential listings coming up in the next few months. So, closing down takes some doing. I also have to alert the AZ Department of Real Estate and do whatever they suggest I do. 

The second major challenge with the above is that when I join a different brokerage, I get a different commission split. I like my commission split with myself. And third, transaction coordinators make about $300 a sale and have to deal with disorganized, moody and entitled salespeople. I've watched the craziness Jane went through when she worked for Mrs. Hufflepuff. Jane was a heck of a lot more patient than I would have been. 

I've also looked at mortgage and title insurance jobs. I have a few friends in the industry and I might know a few things about this kind of work. However, I have to turn my real estate license into the State if I want to do either. That means I can't sell anything--not that I'm having much luck right now anyway, but I'm not ready to let go. 

Finally, I could teach more. Possibly. So far, Beth is silent on inviting me to teach--though I haven't reached out to her either. I really hate zoom classes. And honestly, being a transaction coordinator pays more and I would be dealing with a lot more moody and entitled salespeople all at once.

I Worked-ish This Week

I had a 30 second chat with Steve earlier this week about his upcoming home. Then we talked for 30 minutes about the weather, what he is up to these days, what I'm currently reading (A Nero Wolfe book and "The Art of War."), how our 80 year old parents are doing and other innocuous current affairs. We ended with he and I wishing each other well and promising to stay in touch when there was more to tell about his home. 

The Fair Housing class I took this week made my eye twitch, as the teacher was more political than he needed to be and did not keep the class on topic. Additionally, the class monitor thought she was having a private instruction instead of watching the students to ensure they kept their camera on and continued to ask obscure questions. We have all been in those types of situations where that one person (the Monitor) tells a ten minute tale that could be summed into something like, "One time my grandfather thought he was being discriminated against because he was a Welsh kale farmer and what should he have done?" When the answer was provided the Monitor kept pressing. But the teacher didn't reel her in to let the instruction continue. I got credit for the class. Plus, I learned a lot of personal tid-bits about Welsh kale farming. 

Fair Housing

 As real estate agents, I am required to take a fair housing class every so often. Today just happens to be the day. The class is commonly the most boring of the classes we have to take, as it goes through the history of how certain groups of folks weren't treated well many years ago. Then, the required curriculum implies that as real estate professionals, we still don't know how to be professional and kind, and therefore, here is what we are to do: treat everyone the same. 

I get it, there are folks in my profession who don't know the Golden Rule. But it doesn't matter if they sell homes or not: they would be who they are. The difference is the government has set up fines for those who are accused of selling and renting homes and not judging every applicant the same way. 

A long time ago, I did a lot of business in Birmingham AL. Though I didn't see the folks I was talking to, I was often accused of being a racist. Generally, the unfounded claims were based on the fact I had three applicants for the same house. One had a recent eviction and no means of income. One had an open bankruptcy and two pet king cobras. One had spectacular credit, a great job, no pets and long-term ties to the area. The last one would get the house. The other two would cry to the Heavens it was discrimination. One time someone pulled that card and I told him, "I don't know what you look like or what religion you are. I do know you are rude and if you are this much of a pain now, I can only imagine what kind of drama I'm due for if I rent to you for the next year." It isn't illegal to say no to potential tenants who are just plain nasty. 

All that aside, I once had a billable chat with my attorney about a rare situation. She made a few bucks. I left our conversation with a pit in my stomach. You see, I had a rental home in Leeds, Alabama--the most bigoted, backwards place in all the South. I was made aware that a high-ranking member of the KKK lived next door. And I have to say, after meeting the monster, I truly believe it. 

Every time the home in Leeds came vacant, the phone rang off the hook. Many of the calls I got for this place were from folks who were probably not white (I didn't ask). However, I did not in good conscious think I could rent the house to someone of color. In this case, it was a matter of safety. I'd already had my home vandalized (several times) because I was a woman owner. And by the way, I was told when it happened, that was the reason. So, how would I in good conscious rent to a family that wasn't like these idiots? Would I be liable if there was an incident? What if a child got hurt? Even if I wasn't liable, I'm not sure I could live with myself knowing this about this neighborhood and agreed to let someone move in that might be vulnerable. 

In the end, my attorney assured me the neighborhood spoke for itself. I needn't worry. Nobody who didn't fit into the neighborhood wanted to live there anyway. She was right. It was never "officially" an issue. 

 

An Hour of Crazy

I took a class on the changes in the Multiple Listing Service happening this week. The class was forty minutes long. From the time the class started to the time the class ended, the inventory went down a net 45 homes. Generally November is a slow month in real estate. A 40 minute period on a Monday afternoon in November suggests it isn't slow at all. 

And a Happy Birthday to one of my favorite friends. I hope you have a wonderful day! Much love to you! 

Not Much Work

It's been so long since I've actually looked at MLS, I'd forgotten my password. 

Here's the latest: there are 4,832 three or more bedroom free-standing homes for sale in the greater Maricopa and Pinal Counties. That covers Phoenix, the suburbs and a few other outlier areas. If you want condos, townhomes and mobile homes, then the number is about 6,000ish. 

Kearny--which is 89.5 miles from the AZ State Capitol (downtown Phoenix), appears to be the hotbed of activity with seven properties for sale under $140,000. Call me if you want to see them. I will hook you up with an agent who specializes in Kearny homes.  

Polly's Christmas Gift
(which she is holding)

In other news: today I should finish the queen-sized blanket I am knitting for Polly. Every row takes about 15 minutes to knit. I hopefully will start Buckaroo's blanket tomorrow. I have until Dec. 24 to finish it. Given the amount of inventory out there and the number of Spanish telenovelas on Netflix, I suspect I will have plenty of time to make his. 

The garage still houses a good portion of our worldly possessions from the flooring project. There have been several trips to Goodwill, as we part with what we no longer need. However, because of work schedules (Polly), intense school schedules (Buckaroo and Polly), a bad back (Marty), a lame leg (me) and an autumn non-Covid cold (me), it is taking longer than anticipated to get our house back to normal. That's ok because the house is really clean. 

Good Will Hunting

 A friend contacted me yesterday. She wanted to know if the purchase contract expressly forbid the buyer and seller to talk to each other. 

Sigh. It doesn't. But how I wish it did. 

In almost 18 years of selling real estate, I can tell you I have yet to have a good experience where the buyer and seller decide to talk. Nope, not true. There is one exception.  One time, the seller said, "I will make no repairs. You can't make me." But then the seller insisted on being present during the buyer's home inspection. As the home inspector pointed out minor issues, the wife-seller said, "oh... that's terrible." and the husband continued to offer to fix the broken whatevers. In the end, the sellers fixed lots of extraneous things that the buyer wasn't really planning on asking for, but since the sellers offered... By the way, that was the first house I ever bought (1998). My agent was thrilled. I learned later the selling agent was furious. 

However, I have seen deals, where things didn't go very well. One time the buyers and sellers worked out the terms and conditions of the contract right in front of each other and then shook on the deal. Right after that, the seller asked the buyer what ward they belonged to. The buyer said they weren't Mormon. Then, when we submitted the offer in writing--the same offer the seller had agreed and shook on an hour earlier--it was flat-out rejected. 

Very early in my career, I was representing Mr. Ex-Partner on an investment home. He went behind my back and convinced the seller to allow his future tenants to move into the seller's home before he owned it. The owner did not pick the tenants and I doubt Mr. Ex-Partner even screened the people he picked to move into the house. Nor, did I know Mr. Ex-Partner even pulled this stunt at the time. Then the house didn't close on time. In fact, it didn't close for an additional month, and the seller was now a landlord and wanted money. Guess who was on the hook for Mr. Ex-Partner's antics? Even though I wasn't involved and didn't know at the time, I darn near lost my license over this and in the end had to forfeit part of my commission to make this all go away. 

Then there was the time another buyer of mine called the seller and asked if they would change the terms and conditions of a (very reasonable) contract. Why? Because my clients felt like they weren't getting a good deal. Actually, they were getting a fabulous deal. The seller was offended the buyers asked, suspicious if there was an ulterior motive--there wasn't. The buyer just read somewhere that agents are useless and thought they could do better (after the contact had been signed). When the buyers then asked for a few modest and necessary repairs, the seller went through the roof and all bets were off. There have been very few occasions when I have had to work for clients where I wanted the other party to prevail. That was one of them. Oh, by the way, the buyers ended up walking away from the house and the sellers got more money for their home in the end. 

One of the reasons I meet with my buyers prior to looking at homes is because I want to make sure they fully understand: this is a business deal. Contracts are for the times when things don't go well. Wanting the other party to like them is all well and good when everyone is happy. But there is no good will clause in the purchase contract. But more to the point, it is always best to just stay away and let the agents do their jobs.