Comps

I am slowly working through sending out sales comps to past clients. At this rate, I should be done, or giving up, in about a week. Good news though, one person I contacted wants me to sell their condo. So the hour or two each day doing this may actually pay off.

Chores

Every year I send out neighborhood comps to most of my past clients. There are a few who don't receive them. Some clients don't want them and have told me not to bother. They say they will call me when they want to move. Some I never want to represent again. Some have homes shaped like Noah's Ark or the EPCOT Ball and are in custom neighborhoods so unless they are moving, sending them comparable homes would be setting their expectations too high.

I don't know of many agents who do this. It is painstakingly tedious, especially because I want to get the numbers as close to accurate as possible. Additionally, I have been an agent for 16 years, so I have a few past clients.

Before Zillow thought they knew everything (really, they don't), comps were much simpler. Now, no matter what I send, I get at least one person telling me I am wrong, because they checked on the Internet and the house next door sold for $173,815 more than what I think their home is worth. Of course, the Internet's data was from 2005, but whatever.

In some ways, it is kind of fun to do this. I like going back and thinking of what it was like for the client when they found their house. The look on their face, whether they had bought 10 homes in the past or this was their first, is always the same: Christmas came early and they got the best present ever. I like that look, it is the fuel that keeps me going when I am dealing with the crazy folks, the unkind people or Zillow.

Stasis

Marty turned down his latest interview opportunity. He didn't feel like the location was right and wasn't convinced the company was a good fit. I am ok with that. I want him to be 100 percent sure he will be happy where ever it is he wants to land.

This job was somewhere, an hour north of civilization and smack dab in the swamp. The entire county where this job is located has about 200,000 residents.Though the idea of living somewhere rural appeals to me, the swamp never appeals to me. However, he has applied for another job in that same area. So far, nobody has called him though.

In the meantime, I am paying Buckaroo's college today and peacefully moving on with my life.

Random Adventures

In the midst of my domestic flux that seems to consume these pages in cyber space recently, there actually is a few real estate-related items going on.

________________________________

Mrs. Hufflepuff is letting me hold a property open this coming weekend. Jane isn't available so I will bring a book and chill out for a couple of hours, hoping to find a ready, willing and able buyer.

________________________________

Speaking of Jane, she has two (TWO!) listings coming up. I am as giddy about it as she is. I am so proud of her. Commission sales isn't easy in the beginning.

________________________________

Last week I got a referral from a client whose daughter is moving here from Oregon. They have a house to sell there and will be moving to the Phoenix metro area. On their behalf and with their blessing, I interviewed a couple of agents in the area and found someone I thought would work for them. He's a good guy and a real go-getter. I think they will be in good hands.

________________________________

And finally, some of you long-time readers may remember Mitch and Tonya, amazing clients and even more amazing friends of mine. Mitch was diagnosed recently with a rare cancer. He starts chemo Monday. He is only a few years older than I am. He could use a bit of positivity thrown his way, if you are the type to do so.

Part 2 of In Flux

Jane is an Army wife. Mr. Jane retired a few years ago after 25+ years of service to our country. She is used to the "are we moving?" game. I talked to her about my frustration. She moved 20 times in 18 years. Many of those moves were with small children at home and Mr. Jane in some other part of the world. She gets it.

She also gave me advice, which even she agreed was marginal: stop thinking about whether or not this was really happening. Yea, I will get right on that. Right after I decide if I want to pay my real estate dues for the year. They are non-refundable. Or, do I want to remake my business cards? Who else could use them if I don't? Do I sign Buckaroo up for another fire science college class? Do I buy plane tickets for Polly and I to go to Montana for our much anticipated girl's trip?

I mean, to what extent does this constant wondering continue? Jane understood that too.

At this point, I am just living my life like it is here, though I am hesitant to buy the plane tickets until after I find out if Marty will have a second interview.

A State of Flux

For the past several months, Marty Sunshine has been applying for jobs and receiving interviews. All of these jobs just happen to be in states that aren't Arizona. At this point, he has not been rejected because of his skills. Mainly it has been Marty turning down second and third interviews because he wasn't interested or feeling like the company would not be a viable fit. Conversely, the prospective employers and Marty have chats about salary early on and they part friends (with Marty saying "I don't want to waste your time."). One employer asked if they could contact him later about another, "high-level" position they have coming up in a few months. Sure. Fine. Whatever.

At first, it was exciting to think of the possibilities. Every interview came with a will this be, "the job?" I would spend time looking up crime stats, housing info, churches, community colleges, martial arts studios and high schools (Buck wants to go to school if we move) in the respective towns. But now, I am totally over it. The kids are too. In fact, we don't even tell Polly and Buckaroo any more when Marty is interviewing.

In truth, a move could be a multi-year project, given Marty's fantasy job requirements. He isn't desperate. It also means Marty has to be actively looking, which he hasn't been for the past couple of weeks. However, he does have another interview scheduled in a few days. This job came out of the blue and is nothing like what I expected him to want. I went so far as to look up the county it was in and where was the closest Costco and Trader Joe's in relation to the job (about an hour away). But that was as much excitement as I could muster.

I am finding it tough to focus on building a real estate business when the, "are we moving, possibly?" is looming over my head. It isn't that I don't actively seek clients, it is more that why pay for a lot of advertising and business-type stuff that may not be useful if I am closing down. For example, I thought long and hard about renewing my PO Box, but then Marty turned down interview number 3 with a particular organization last November. At that point, I threw in the towel, figuring the PO Box would survive at least six more months, if not another year.

As Marty is the main bread-winner and these talks as a family have been in the works for years, I am not against the idea of moving, I just don't want to live my life in a state of flux. For the most part, I put it out of my head until Marty says the magic words, "I have a job interview lined up." And then, I start this maddening thinking (at least for a few weeks) all over again.

A Little Too Close To Home

This story hit home in a variety of ways.

Once upon a time when I was a landlord, I was in West Georgia and I told the deadbeat tenant I would be by to pick up the rent. She said "Come on over. I am home alone." Then, I drove by her house. As I did, I watched her get into her car and four thugs walk to her front door. One was carrying a baseball bat.

The thugs walked in the front door, the tenant drove away. I called her a few moments later, not mentioning I had just drove by, and she reiterated she was home alone and would be all afternoon. Perhaps I could stay and chat for a bit when I came over?

Instead of stopping by, I went to my attorney's office and started the eviction process.




Utah real estate agent allegedly shot and killed while trying to evict tenants. 

By Paighten Harkins

Three people were arrested Saturday in connection with the death of a Utah real estate agent who police believe was shot and killed while attempting to evict tenants at a Salt Lake City apartment.

The arrests took place hours after detectives and friends searched the city for the 40-year-old victim. Police learned just before 11 p.m. Friday that David Stokoe never left the apartment near 900 East and Princeton Avenue, Salt Lake City Police spokesman Sgt. Greg Wilking said.

Police found Stokoe’s body in a semi-hidden crawl space, then shifted their focus to finding his missing Cadillac Escalade, in addition to the apartment tenants.

Wilking said Stokoe, of South Jordan, was likely killed Thursday when he visited the apartment. He was reported missing to South Jordan police about that time, and Salt Lake City police got involved after searching the apartment Friday and finding evidence that made them “very concerned” about his well-being.

The Salt Lake City SWAT team found and arrested Manuel Velasquez, 31; Jessica Reese, 38, who sometimes uses the last name Miller; and Diana Hernandez, 30, outside a South Salt Lake apartment after a short standoff around 6 a.m. Saturday.

According to court documents, Velasquez and Reese were renting the apartment from Stokoe and said they had issues with him because they felt he was “overstepping his legal rights by entering the apartment without [the renters’] permission.”

Stokoe had told Velasquez and Reese that they needed to be out of the apartment by 6 p.m. Thursday, court documents said. Velasquez told police he and Stokoe got into a fight when Stokoe arrived that evening. Velasquez said Stokoe kicked in the door, and Reese said during the ensuring struggle, Stokoe put Velasquez into a “very serious” chokehold.

Velasquez told police that while he was being subdued, he reached for a handgun inside the fannypack he was wearing and shot Stokoe multiple times, according to court documents.

Later, Reese, Velasquez and their friend Hernandez all allegedly cleaned the apartment and hid Stokoe’s body.

Yet, Stokoe’s mother, Diane, and his half-brother Dean Belov, told The Salt Lake Tribune on Saturday evening that they dispute the suspects' story. They said they believed David Stokoe was set up by a tenant who was taking advantage of their landlord.

Belov doesn’t know what happened when David Stokoe arrived at the apartment Thursday morning, except his half-brother was killed soon after. He doubts Velasquez’s story, and said David Stokoe wouldn’t instigate a fight.

“Sometimes you hear this thing, ‘No good deed goes unpunished,'” Belov said. “Well, here’s a good example of that.”

A vigil for David Stokoe is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday at 9272 South 700 East in Sandy.

Neil Stokoe, David’s brother, said Sunday morning that so far the family has been trying not to dwell on how David Stokoe died, and instead are focusing on comforting each other and remembering him. He said many of the details of the case are unclear right now, and the family is letting police do their job and worry about that side of things.

 “Honestly, the fact of the matter is we’re more concerned about our family, their wellbeing, the ongoing support of my sister-in-law Nikki and her family, and their wellbeing," Neil Stokoe said. “Frankly, police are doing a fantastic job.”

Velasquez was booked into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of murder and obstruction of justice, in addition to possession of a firearm by a restricted person and a felony-level discharge of a firearm offense. Reese and Hernandez were both booked on allegations of obstruction of justice.

Court records show Velasquez has been convicted of several felonies since 2008.

Police found Stokoe’s Escalade in West Valley City with two people inside about two hours after they arrested Velasquez, Reese and Hernandez. After interviewing the pair, Wilking said police don’t believe they’re connected to the homicide. One of them was booked into jail because of a parole violation. The other was released, he said.

Stokoe’s family released a statement Saturday night about his death.

“Our hearts are broken over the loss of Dave,” the statement read. “This situation is tragic beyond words, but we are remembering Dave the he way he deserves to be remembered, as a hero and champion.”

The statement said the family is choosing to focus on remembering Stokoe and are trying not to dwell on the how he was killed.

It ended by saying, “We are so grateful for the overwhelming love and support we’ve received through prayers, service, emails, posts, and texts. We feel your prayers and appreciate the outpouring of love and charity from friends, neighbors and strangers."

A GoFundMe account has been set up support Stokoe’s family. He leaves behind his wife, Nikki, and their four children.