Just in time for Halloween, we have a recall.  It involves the Pirate's Gold Chocolate Coins.  An email was going around that the candy.

With Halloween fast approaching comes a warning to parents and children regarding Sherwood brand Pirate's Gold milk chocolate coins imported from China.

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning the public not to eat, distribute or sell the candy.

It is sold across Canada by Costco and may have also been sold in bulk packages or as individual pieces at various dollar and bulk stores.

The Chocolate containes melamine which is the same chemical responsible for killing several babies in China, and sickening thousands.

You can read more about this recall here.

 

So, you made your fliers, put your directional signs out, emailed all the Agents you could find to come to this wonderful home that you are trying to sell.

Everything is put out just right. Your Seller vacuumed and spent the morning hours cleaning to make this home look spotless for the Agents in your town.

But what is this???? Only 2 or 3 show up.  What could you have done wrong? What could you have done better?

Here is the Top 20 ways on how NOT to get Agents to your Open House:

 

 

 

 

 

 

1. Forget to put the date on your flier!
2. Offer Starbucks and Dessert instead of a full lunch
3. YOU fill in the rest and let's keep this going!!!!! Can't wait to see what you went through!
4. ....
5. ....
6. ....
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10. ....

I've talked on my personal blog about pre-listing home inspections before, but I think this is such an important subject that unfortunately doesn't get the attention it deserves when a house gets listed.  I feel so strongly about it that I'd rather someone had the inspection and fixed the issues found in the inspection than have me stage a house.  Granted, my husband is an inspector so it stays in the family but no matter how clean, spacious and appealing I can make a house - if major problems show up on a home inspection - not only is there a risk of having the deal fall through, but everyone is scrambling to re-negotiate and fix everything requested by the buyer. 

To clarify:  A Pre-Listing Inspection is one that is preferably done PRIOR to listing the home.  It's full inspection, just as if a buyer were doing it.  Do this step with enough lead time to make any needed corrections on the home. 

Your best bet as a stager or as an agent is to recommend a pre-listing inspection.  Generally they run $300 to $400 depending on the size of the house (most charge by the square foot - how much per square foot may vary by area but here in Tennessee it's generally 11 - 12 cents, and older houses usually get additional fees added on for the extra work involved).  This may be the best investment a seller can make. 

At a recent pre-listing inspection, Bill found the following:

• structural damage in the foundation that was causing the master bedroom to drop by about 1-2"
• mold in the crawl space
• snake skins in the crawl space
• roof damage in several areas
• a major leak under the dishwasher
• a significant gap in the ductwork in the crawl space that was not only wasting energy but sucking crawl space air into the house and circulating it through the HVAC system (maybe this is where the funky smell was coming from?)

This is along with all of the maintenance and other minor issues that were found.  Can you imagine a buyer's reaction (well, you've probably seen it) to this stuff?  The mold alone . . . yeesh.

The client is taking care of all of these things BEFORE staging the house.  She was a bit freaked out when she got the report- but quickly realized that's it is better to know now, than after the house sells.  Of course, no inspector can see everything and things can change over time.  But this step can reduce the chances of the deal collapsing after the inspection.  In my personal experience, houses that had the inspection and made repairs up front glided through the inspection process.  Things were found but were minor and easily resolved. 

So, while it can be a bigger up front investment than some sellers may want to make, it will usually save them a lot of money in the long run.  A combination of the pre-listing inspection, necessary repairs and a great staging job can make the difference between a house selling - selling quickly - selling for more money - and staying SOLD.

What an awesome day in Nashville, TN at the Sommet Center. It was a day filled with so many guest speakers that had so much to say. I would like to share some of my notes, so....

I would like to talk about one of our guest speakers Gen.(Ret) Colin Powell!

Everyone knows that he is the former Secretary of State and is one of the most distinguished leaders of the 21st Century.  It was really eye opening to see this man as one of us.  He breaths, eats and yes, drinks hot tea, just like the rest of us. His wife says, when are you going to work again? Just like we do when the TDY trips couldn't come any sooner. (You know who you are) Down to earth and making everyone laugh, he taught me alot in his, what I believe to be, 30 minute time frame.

Here are some of my notes from todays Business Seminar with Gen. (Ret) Powell:

• Always look thru the windshield and not the rear view mirror.  Let your past be the past and look to what is ahead.  You can't change the past.
• Leadership is about followership.  In Ft. Benning, GA they all say "Follow Me"  Are you a leader?
• Communicate a purpose to the followers; make sure everyone gets it
• Instead of using the word "motivate", use the word "inspire"
• A leader is important. One thing that is hard is to look at someone who isn't being a follower in the work place and telling them you will either move them if they don't change or fire them.  It is important to do this and not let it continue, you must be a leader!
• Selfless not Selfish servers are who leaders are looking for
• Following you out of curiousity is the sign of a good leader.  When you, the leader, are trying something different, the ones who follow you and do so out of curiousity, tells you, you are a good leader.
• Face reality and make a change. 

One thing that really stuck out was when he said that he would call the Spouses of the men he worked with and wanted to just let them know he appreciated their Soldier.  If my husband's boss called me to let me know he appreciated my husband, that would make me have a bigger smile on my face when he walked in the door, heck, I might even bake him a special meal because today I found out he is appreciated at work! This would put a positive light on the spouse and probably make things just a little better in the home. We get through this life working and working and looking straight ahead with sometimes little or no acknowledgement. Your spouse might come home and need a beer because of their day or just come home and not want to talk about it. But know that EVERYONE wants to hear they are appreciated! That made an impact on me. It is definitely out of the norm. Being out of the norm is what sticks out and makes you stand out among the rest.