St Joseph to the Resue!!!!??

St. Joseph Statue

Help From The Great Beyond

Saints alive, it’s true!

When the housing market slows down, sales of Saint Joseph statuettes go through the roof.

According to the Wall Street Journal, where analysts crunched data about slow housing sales and the rise in sales of statues of the patron saint of real estate, there is a correlation.

St. Joseph, in the Catholic tradition, is the patron saint of home and family, and has seen a boom to real estate sales. All you need to do is send out a little prayer as you bury a little statuette of the saint.

But this superstition has a few rules: Bury him upside down, and near the for-sale sign on the property you’re trying to sell.

If you need one of these St. Joe’s sale-booster statuettes, I've heard that  Amazon has a whole St. Joseph Home Selling Kit for less than $10. But the garden spade is not included.

It's said that the statue-burying tradition likely started with buyers, not sellers, Nuns during the Middle Ages buried St. Joseph medals on land they hoped to get for a  convent

But in these modern times, there’s still a call for them. In fact, despite the fact that real estate agents may be among some of the most practical groups of sales pros in the world, they’re more than willing to indulge sellers in whatever it takes.

Seattle area agent Ardell DellaLoggia of Sound Realty said she remembers seeing cases of the little statues under agents’ desks during downtimes in the market. As a Catholic, herself,  she’s even been known to bury them with or without the seller’s permission.

“Sometimes the seller asks me to do it, but they don’t participate because they don’t believe in it, and it’s bad juju,” she said. “It’s like a seance or something, like a Ouiji board, right?”

According to the Journal, between 2009 and 2010, when home prices were stagnant, the sales of St. Joseph figurines more than doubled at Catholic Supply of St. Louis, Inc. And then when prices rose, the sales decline

As the housing market recovers, more home-sellers are going it alone: in 2013, St. Joseph figurine statues sales fell 10.6 percent from the year prior.

But DellaLoggia thinks there is still a place for St. Joseph even in a hot market. She has a current client competing among multiple offers on a home in Seattle. It might give her client the edge if she pays the property a visit and tucks a St. Joseph statue under the grass in the front lawn, she said.

“I have a spot in mind,” she mused.

 

I've had a client of mine do this, go figure it sold in no time...

What do you think??? Good idea??

One of the worst things a Seller can do

One of the Worst things a Seller can do when listing their house is price it too high.

 

Why? Because it may sit on the MLS (Multiple Listing Service) for a longer time, and be subject to price reduction upon price reduction.  And after setting on the MLS, the buyer will then think that there is something wrong with the house.  The longer it sits, the worst they think it might be, and the first thing on their mind is to offer a really low offer.

 

When Listing a house the agent will do ‘comps’ of the houses that have sold in the area, with the same square footage and room count, to give a good idea what is selling.  Yard size and upgrades are a plus, but not always relevant enough to raise the price thousands of dollars.

 

The longer there is a “For Sale” sign in your front yard, the more your anxiety levels rise, the more the buyers wonder what is the matter with the house, and in the end unless the price is lowered to that of what is selling around your house, it will continue to sit.

 

The listing agent should take the comps of the area and along with the time frame that they have sold in, the time frame the seller wants to sell in, and come up with a price that will move the house –usually within 30-60 days.

Staging can help sell a home

 What can you do???

A home seller has about 15 seconds to make a good impression to a potential buyer.

 

Staging or styling is about the smartest move a seller can make. Styling is a little different than staging and involves minor remodeling, unlike common staging -- moving personal items to storage and adding neutral touches,

Decorating would be where the goal is to put your personality into your home.

 

This can be done by re-purposing  some of the things you already have,  Maybe the lamps you have in the living room would give the bedroom a new look without putting too much of any style into it.  Putting a rug in the room in front of the fireplace,  with a couple of throw pillows. Move a mirror to a different room.  New towels in the bathroom, with a fake plant.

 

Removing dated wallpaper, and spiffing up the floors,  clean the carpets, or refinish the floors.   Paint the brightly colored walls to a neutral color--- something that you love dearly may be the reason the buyer walks away.  Clear out personal stuff, buyers can't see themselves in YOUR house-- give them opportunity to see themselves living there. 

You may have a beautifully decorated home, but it's your identity.... keep it simple

 

Replace or paint bathroom vanities, Bathrooms need to look updated and clean.  If you can’t replace that pink bathtub,you might see about having it professionally painted or use it as an accent.

Kitchens are another important room to make sure  looks inviting,   Clear off the counter tops- make sure pantries are neat  and  everything smells wonderful.

 

This is becoming a market where the buyer has many choices, The better yours stands out the easier their choice will be.  Set a budget and be creative with it.... 

Dodd Frank

So my head is swimming from the two classes I have attended in the last two days on how this is going to affect me as a REALTOR.   And it will, but not as much as it will the loan end of buying a house.

 

I understand it is to protect the consumers, and rightfully so, but the fact that the overseeing governing group has to write and enforce some 460 new laws seems like an unattainable feat.

 With this new act, there is a box of must haves, that they, the loan originator, has to fit you into.  It is a lot like it has been in times past, proof of employment, tax records, and the like, but with a few added details that may put some harder to fit in that box.

 They have said that there will be other programs coming back, for those who don’t fit in the box to qualify for the loans.  Of course, it’s at a higher rate.  They said that those who are self employed and affordable housing would be the ones who would probably not be able to fit. (great, that would be me)

 
It will work out, usually does; it’s just the hiccups in the beginning that are hard. This is just my option--- it, and several dollars may buy coffee somewhere.....

For an overview of why this is happening you can go to:

http://www.banking.senate.gov/public/_files/070110_Dodd_Frank_Wall_Street_Reform_comprehensive_summary_Final.pdf

Pinterest

 I   LOVE   PINTEREST  ! ! !

 

I have found so many wonderful ideas and DIY's on it!

There are dinners that we have tried that are quick and easy, ---projects that are fun and handy.

Like how to make your own laundry soap http://www.pinterest.com/pin/560135272375153694/ 

And gift ideas for every occasion.  Like the one I used to give my granddaughters money for Christmas.   My youngest is still talking about it, and it wasn’t even for her.  I took a jar alittle smaller than a pint canning jar, took an empty tp roll and sliped it in inside the jar, and carefully poured M&M’s around the outside, and put money in the tp roll.    They loved the M&M’s but then when they opened it up to eat them they seen the money.   I t was a double treat for me, and them

The pictures on there of places in the world are beautiful and the animals  range from beautiful to strange--- very strange.



I would invite you to visit my site – I don’t post  or “pin” as much as I look at, if I did, I would have thousands of them.   Mostly I just look, smile, and move on.
http://www.pinterest.com/jmcglivinlarge/

New Beginings

New Beginings

This time of year is a bitter-sweet time.... Don't you think??
There are so many things I had hoped to get done this year, that are still on my "to do" list; there never seemed to be enough time or money in the same box----and time is going so fast anymore, have your noticed?? Friends and family that moved to heaven, or just moved out of "dropping by" distance.

As I gather up my list for goals of next year, I can reminisce of my grand plans I had for this year.  And happy that I did meet some of my goals, paid off a few bills, there was a broken relationship restored, books that I wanted to read, actually got read, the pond put in my garden.

And now I am planning for next year with hopes and ambitions.  Meeting new people, voluteering at a local animal shelter, helping people with buying/selling/ or renting a home, continuing to plant in my garden are just a few of the things I've got on the list.  

2014~~It's a new begining, forgetting about what didn't happen or even what did and I want to forget, A time to renew my spirit with hopes that the economy will keep improving, and others will be able to move on with their lives also.

I think the country is ready to move on too, it may be just me, but I think that the country has a real resilience for keeping on keeping on.  I am grateful that the short sales are a thing of the past here in Az, altho many other parts of the country are still going thru; and the empty houses are not as common as they were a few years ago.  But I think, hope, that we are wiser and realize that there is no free money, and that it's not the governments job to keep us.  There's nothing like the satifaction of a job well done, something that WE have accomplished.

And so this year is almost over, but I am looking forward to next year.... What are your goals???
(You know, if you don't make any--- you'll hit them every time-- but where's the fun in that???)  

   

Normal

Normal...
As we settle back into Traditional sales, I hope that we will keep tucked in the back of our minds just how quickly it can all fall apart.

There are still pockets like Buckeye, and Maricopa that are still struggling to get out of the short sale/ foreclosure mess.   But over all, Arizona is 3rd in comeback of the housing crash. 

With that comes good news..... housing prices are going up, which is great--they are leveling off but now those who were underwater in their house, will be able to sell and move up and on. --- As long as they don't over price their homes because they have heard of the shortage and think they can cash in on supply and demand (it still has to appraise if financed).  I have noticed that every week the inventory is up by at least 200 new listings, that REO's (bank owned) are down and also the short sales are down as well. 

So what is normal?  There have always been foreclosures, and there have been short sales ( one of my first listings was a short sale 12 years ago).  Maricopa usually carries about 30-35K listings, and if the interest rates stay the same it should be a great time to sell, or buy.

Normal is forming to the standard or the common type; usual; not abnormal; regular; natural; serving to establish a standard.
In my life I can't think of anything ever being normal --- We are always changing, or striving to be better---- I hope!    The housing market included