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Dear reader,

I will no longer be posting to this blog. From now on go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com

To move writers' careers along, is what I am saying helpful?

To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

To read my mystery, The Case of the Kearney Music School Murders (2007), for free at wwww.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com or buy it from Amazon.com more cheaply than you can print it out.

If you want info on buying or selling a home, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.

To receive Sherpa tips on entrepreneurship, go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com and for my ideas on the practice of real estate, go to www.yourstopforrealestate.blogspot.com.follow what I say in my entrepreneurship blog:www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Why Some Buyers Can't Make a Decision

I heard Dr. Israel interviewed on WHYY radio several years ago. It was when I was still practicing.

She was relating an experience told to her by an architect who'd attended one of her seminars. He'd had a client for whom he'd drawn plan after plan only to find each rejected for not being quite right. This had perplexed the architect because he had been sure he'd listened carefully to what the client had said he'd wanted.

The problem was what the client had said he wanted wasn't what the client really wanted. Once the architect started asking the kinds of questions Israel deals with in Someplace Like Home, he drew the client EXACTLY what the client REALLY wanted.

Realtors should do that--listen to what the buyer really wants. To do that, the Realtor has to hear what the buyer really wants. To do that you have to bring the what the client really wants to consciousness and shine some light on it.

The material in Dr. Israel's book gives you the way to plug that light in. Many clients look and look and look and look but nothing seems quite right even though the realtor has shown them what they said they wanted. The problem is that the Realtor is showing the buyer what they say they want not what they really want.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

Want to learn entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

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Want tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com. Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Toby Israel Extended

Extending Toby Israel's approach a bit, as it is outlined in Some Place Like Home; Using Design Psychology to Create Ideal Places (Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, 2003):

Israel "had been doing exercises for years with art, architecture and psychology students, encouraging them to explore the impact of their own past history of place. These students had been amazed by the richness of their environmental pasts which they had buried and forgotten." (p. vii)

This is very true for real estate buyers as well. Their choices are affected by things in their past that they had totally forgotten. More on this as we go.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

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More on Toby Israel's Approach

Israel, in Some Place Like Home; Using Design Psychology to Create Ideal Places (Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, 2003), p. vi, quotes a French philosopher, Gaston Bachelard:

An entire past comes to dwell in a new home...Thus the house is not experienced from day to day only, on the thread of a narrative or in the telling of our own story. Through dreams, the various dwelling-places in our lives co-penetrate and retain the treasure of former days. See The Poetics of Space (Boston: 1964) p. 5, as quoted by Israel.

Nothing more needs to be said here. Most buyers would benefit from more thought ahead of time.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

Want to learn entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

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Toby Israel's approach

Here's what Israel says about her approach in writing Some Place Like Home; Using Design Psychology to Create Ideal Places (Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, 2003). In the future I'll reference it as Israel (2003):

Each of us has a treasure chest of memories and impressions of places we have lived that includes both past homes and large scale environments (village, towns, cities, etc.) I have believed in the importance of uncovering these riches to reveal how our past environmental experiences laid the foundation for our present and future choices when selecting 'Some Place Like Home.'

Buyers should think about this before going off whole hog. They don't think about this because they're not used to thinking about this and because most Realtors haven't thought about it either.

As I said last time, this book is a little pricey but well worth it. I had to special ordered it as it's not generally carried in stock.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

Want to learn entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want to get a poem or short story published? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com. Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Some Place Like Home by Toby Israel

For a while I'm going to write about design psychology and buying a home. It's the first step in looking for a home but one most people don't articulate because it's hard.

It's easier for a buyer to say I want to find a 3-bedroom house in a suburb of Tacoma than it is to figure out what do I really want in a home.

The full bibliographic reference is Toby Israel, Some Place Like Home; Using Design Psychology to Create Ideal Places (Chichester, England: John Wiley and Sons, 2003). I'll reference it as Israel (2003).

The book is a little pricey, but it's well worth it. I had to special ordered it as it's not generally carried in stock.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

Want to learn entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want to get a poem or short story published? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com. Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Ideal Client #10: Qualified Client-the Opposite

In real estate, a qualified buyer is one whose financial position has been evaluated by a professional mortgage company and found to possess the means to buy the property he or she is wanting to buy. If Buyer is qualified to buy a $200,000 house, it means they have the ability to pay for it.

When I started as a residential Realtor, I was presented with 13 buyers in a row who were not qualified. That is, they didn't have enough money or good enough credit to become qualified.

One fellow, a young guy we'll call John, came to me and said "It's my time. I deserve a house." He was just back from Iraq and didn't have a job yet and had done a "voluntary repo" of his car to his car company. But he said not to worry, his mother was going to cosign with him.

By this time, I knew that the first thing you do when a buyer comes to you and asks you to help him look for a house, you get him to get mortgage qualified. John turned out to have terrible credit and his mother to have worse credit than his.

My mortgage consultant called John and discussed what he could do to get himself mortgage qualified and I never saw him again.

The first thing to do when looking to buy a house--Get mortgage qualified. That hasn't changed since before the bubble and isn't likely to change in the foreseeable future.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

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Want to get a poem or short story published? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com. Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Ideal Client #9: the Confident Client, the opposite.

Ideal clients are confident. They make decisions easily and don't need to run to everybody else to see what they think they should do.

Priscilla was the opposite. We went out a number of times but nothing was ever just right. Finally she found what she thought she liked and then came back with her mother. Her mother thought it was great.

Then she needed her father to see it. She came back with her father who said it would work for her with some improvements.

She still wasn't sure so she brought her boyfriend along to see it. He said it was cool. Then I never heard from her again. What can you say. Maybe she was playing me off against another agent, I don't know that or not.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

Want to learn entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want to get a poem or short story published? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com. Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Ideal Client #8--The Comfortable Client: the opposite

Ideals clients are "comfortable in their own skin." They know what they want and they go for it. You know them as you begin to work with them. They sign on with you and go with you all the way. The opposite of the comfortable client is the uncomfortable client.

Henry was never comfortable. He was referred to me through our company. We went out looking many times but nothing was ever quite right for him. It was too small. There weren't enough closets. The rooms weren't in the right places. It was not in good enough shape. The colors were wrong. Whatever. Finally we found the property that exactly fit his criteria. Everything about the place was perfect. But no, this was no good because there was a bar on the corner of the block and he couldn't live in a neighborhood where there was bar.

Finally I found him a place he wanted to bid on. I went to my the office to write up the offer. The time came for him to show up to sign it but he didn't. I waited 30 minutes then called him up. He said he couldn't get himself to sign it that day, give him 2 days. I asked him what would be different in two days. He said he just needed more time. I warned him that the thing might get sold in the meantime. He said he needed the time.

Two days came and went and I called him. His message was one to call me. He called me 8 days later and ask if the place was still available. I called the other agent--no an offer had been accepted. To my knowledge he never bought anything. He just wasn't comfortable in his own skin.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

Want to learn entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want to get a poem or short story published? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com. Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Appreciative Client: the Opposite

Ideal clients appreciate their agents for what they bring to the relationship. They say, "Thank you, Tim, for the help you're giving us. We know you're going to find something perfect for us and we're really pleased about how things are going."

George was the opposite. I met him at a networking event and later had lunch with him. We got on well it seemed. A few months later he invited me to breakfast and he said he was looking for a house and wanted to move soon. He was getting married and they were planning a family and he wanted me to be his agent. We talked about what he wanted and needed and was looking for. I sent him some properties every few days and we went looking.

I was working on setting up another showing when his soon-to-be-wife Irma called me to tell me they had found a house on their own and wanted to save me from wasting my time showing up at the appointment I'd set up and they wouldn't be needing my services anymore. She thanked me and wished me good luck and hung up. Point, set, match. The thank you was purely formulaic.

Don't treat your agent like that. Try to keep him or her in the deal if they've done good work for you.

I'm trying to create a more informed real estate customer. Is this working?

Want to learn entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want to get a poem or short story published? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com. Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Relationship-driven Client: the Opposite

The relationship-driven client acts as though he or she want you to stay with them as they move forward in their lives. Call these two characters Chuck and Sue.

When Chuck and Sue came to me she was pregnant and they needed to find a home. They were renting and disliked their landlord. Their lease was up in two months and they figured now was the time to start looking. They had friends they could stay wiith if they didn't find a home soon enough. A friend of theirs had recommended me.

We talked about what they needed and what they were looking for and went out three times. The third time, they found one that met exactly the specifications of what they said they wanted but they needed a few days to think about it.

That was fine: buyers should take all the time they need but pull the trigger right once they've decided.

I didn't hear from them for 2 weeks. I called them once and left a message. Chuck finally emailed me and said the house wasn't what they were looking for and besides another Realtor@ had found them the house of their dreams. They were sorry it didn't work out but this was what they needed to do.

And that was that.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

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Ideal Client: Relationship Driven

The relationship-driven client acts as though they want you to stay with them as they move forward. Fred called me out of the blue and asked me to help him and his wife find a house. They were moving from another city and had some definite ideas about which houses they wanted to see. I showed them the ones they had picked out. They were not thrilled.

I picked some out for them and they liked them a lot. They went for a Toll Brothers home here in Naval Square and really took over the negotiations themselves. It settled 14 months later, a really long time. But we've been friends ever since. They kept in touch with me through the whole process and we got together whenever they came to town to take care of some business. We still socialize and they ask me for advice and make a point of referring me to their friends.

This reminds me I have to call them up and go out for dinner.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

The Realistic Client: the Opposite

The opposite of the realistic client is the unrealistic client. The unrealistic seller thinks they can get much more for their house than is reasonable. The unrealistic buyer thinks they shouldn't have to pay nearly what they have to pay to get what they want. Call this one Nancy.

A buyer, call her Nancy, was referred to me by a colleague who had spent several weekends traipsing around to open houses. She had a clearly formulated laundry-list of 14 features she had to have in a home. The list included location in Center City, a garage, and a balcony high up. And she didn't want to pay more than $400,000.

I knew the search was doomed but I did it anyway. I found about 5 that met all the criteria she laid out but cost at least $700,000. I sent it to her with the caveat that this was what was what available and to get what she wanted it looked like she'd either have to modify her search criteria or decide to pay more.

I talked to here later. She said she wouldn't compromise. So, that was that.

It turned out she had reserved a unit in a new condo development and just wanted to see if there was something better. News to me. I guess she would qualified as the opposite of an open client, too. The two can go hand in hand.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

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The Realistic Client

The ideal client is realistic.

If he or she is a buyer client they know how much house they can afford. If they are buyers, and can only afford a house under $150,000, they won't ask you to show them houses worth $300,000 and up.

George was a realistic. He went online and found he qualify for a $185,000 mortgage. He was a manager in a cash checking store.

He didn't think he could afford a $185,000 mortgage, he only wanted to borrow $75,000. We found him the perfect house for him. He made an offer. It was accepted. He didn't try to reach for more than he could hold.

He ended up not getting the house, but not from being unrealistic.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

No Games: the Opposite

Fred was a middle-aged man with a number of properties here in Philadelphia. He was one of my first clients. I could write a number of things about him. Suffice it to say he said he'd been in real estate for 32 years and claimed to know what he was talking about.

The house he was selling was a 900 sq. ft., 2BR, 1BTH, home in South Philly. It had a number of defects, cheap everything, outlets with no outlet covers, holes in the vinyl siding, a front step in need of repair, and so on.

As one open house visitor said, "$139,900? Why should I pay $20,000 over market if I just gotta spend more money fixing those things up?"

I recommended he fix those things and others. He said there was no need to and put it on the market for $139,900, about $20,000 over comps. He got an offer for $119,000and countered with $159,900, "just to see what he would say."

The buyer refused to go up, and Fred wouldn't take the offer as written. It

After several more episodes like this, he fired me as a Realtor. One of my best days ever.

Don't play games with your realtor. He or she can't do their best work.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

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Ideal Client #4: No Games, part 2.

I found Sylvia several properties, but she never seemed interested in looking at them. She preferred the ones she found herself. She relied on me to get her in to see them.

She said to me once, "Tim, you don't have to pull properties for me. I can get my own." So I stopped doing that and just got her in the houses she wanted to see.

After about a month, she saw a house she loved. We made an offer, and after some not very intense negotiation, they accepted it. She did everything according to Hoyle, on time, and as promised. The house settled, she referred me to some other people, and told me, "Tim, you're the greatest."

We're still friends. What can I say.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Ideal Client #4: No Games, part 1.

Sylvia loved to look at property. She came home from work, pulled up the BRT and other Realtors' websites, and surfed. She could tell you more about property in Philadelphia than any Realtor.

Tired of where she was living, she called me with a list of houses she wanted to see. I got her in there and she went up and down with an detailed analysis of every home. When I suggested she should become an agent, she said, "No way, Man. I'm not putting up with all those games."

More next time.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Open Client: the Opposite

Betsey was the opposite of the open client. She came referred to me by CB's relocation department as a "no brainer." She said she wanted to see a property over in SW Philadelphia, make an offer on it, and buy it cash.

She said she had looked on her own for a long time and this was THE property. She was expanding her limousine business and needed a larger garage to park her limos. Okay, sounded good.

She contacted me and I made arrangements. She professed to be so thankful because, she said, I was the only agent who'd responded to her.

She showed up and we looked at the property. She acted as though it was a done deal. She said she'd call me later that afternoon and come down and write up the offer. She just had to nail down a couple of things and figure out what she wanted to offer.

I gave her my standard: "Take all the time you need to decide, but once you decide, pull the trigger right away because there's no downside to waiting."

We parted and waited. No call from done deal. I called her and left messages, but they were never returned. I never heard from her again.

So much for Ms. Done Deal. She obviously had things she wasn't open with me about.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Ideal Client #3: Open Client

The open client is transparent. You know what they're thinking and what they way because they share it with you and what they do is congruent with what they say.

Jon was from Wisconsin, so am I. Maybe that's why we clicked. He was looking for a house for cheap he could fix up. He was interested in one of my listings because it was in terrible shape. There had been a fire and there was a hole in the roof. Everything that should have been down was coming up and everything that should have been up was coming down.

He looked at it, but was too big. He asked me about others in the neighborhood. I gave him all the data I could find, which wasn't too much and kept an eye out for others coming on the market from time to time. He went back to a couple of the others but couldn't get a firm read on whether they wanted to sell them or not.

He came back to see mine, we made an offer, and it was accepted. I got both sides of that transaction, which was nice. He invited me back to see it a year later. He'd done wonderful things with it.

Next time I'll tell you about the seller, who was far from transparent.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.

Irresponsible Client, part 2

As we left part 1, I was waiting for the check. It arrived by overnight mail the next day, and I took it up to the agent.

Some days later, he told me their check had bounced. He said if they sent him a good check for the entire escrow amount (Escrow is usually paid one part with the offer and the rest of it at a later time, usually 10 days or 2 weeks) they'd be fine. I called Jim and left a message. He never returned my call. I called him several times, and finally I got Judy who gave me a litany of excuses. She said she'd tell Jim about it and they'd get a check in the mail.

Then they called my manager, and complained that I was "the worst realtor in the world." They wanted the house but didn't want to work with me. He suggested he handle it, and I said fine and gave him all the gory details. Funny thing, he was even a bigger nagger than I was. I said I'd split the commission with him.

He called them and tried to get them to live up to their responsibilities, but he never heard from them either.

No check ever arrived, despite the dedicated work of two agents. The seller finally lost patience and put the house back on the market and it sold a month or so later despite my constant nagging. Through their irresponsibility, they lost the house.

In retrospect, I don't know what their game was. They seemed like reasonable people, but it turned out, not. I took their evaluation of me as the "worst" realtor in the world a compliment. It's hard to be the best or worst at anything, because you have such a huge number of competitors.

I'm trying to create savvier real estate customer. Is this working?

Want Sherpa thoughts on entrepreneurship? Go to www.hatman2.blogspot.com.

Want Sherpa to publish your poem or short story? Go to www.byandforwriters.blogspot.com

Want Sherpa tips on writing? Go to www.timswritingblog.blogspot.com.

Or want to read my first book for free, or maybe get it? Go to www.kearneymusicschoolmurders.blogspot.com.