Can't say I disagree... lol

Some of my Favorite Things

As the holiday season is upon us, I started thinking about what some of my favorite things are. I have a link on del.icio.us where I try to bookmark things I find interesting, but thought I would review some of those products here. Expect this post to up updated periodically... whenever I find another cool thing to add to my list!

Ingenuitea Teapot - Possibly one of my most favorite things. I am an avid tea fan, and this teapot has served me well. I get one as a gift for anyone I know that is a tea fan. I bought the original model when I first heard about it, and have since purchased a second one which has a removable mesh filter (much needed!). And at only $20, you really can't beat it. Click here for a link to their website.

Roomba - this is also quite possibly one of the coolest tech home gadgets around. I purchased the very first model when it came out, and never regretted it. Sad to say, our Roomba finally died after 5 long, and faithful years of service. I can't wait to get a new one!

This is NOT a deep cleaning vacuum. However, it will keep your home looking decent for the majority of the time. And considering all you have to do is turn it on and walk away.... that is pretty damn amazing. (I feel like I am in an infomercial! 'Just set it and forget it!!!!!')

And even though it is a robot, I can guarantee you will probably have a name for the little guy within a week. Of course there are now multiple variations; ones that wash the floors, clean your gutters, and even clean your pools. Click here for a link to their website.

Schitckers.com - this is one of the coolest things ever! Again, pretty low cost for the 'wow' factor you get out of it. It is a service that allows you to upload a picture (or use of the provided ones), and will generate a sticker that they will mail you, to put on the back of your laptop. Awesome! Especially if you have a business, or want to make a statement, or just want your laptop to have a bit of personality. And at about $25 bucks... that rocks! Click here for their website.

Oh, did I mention that their website is a snap to use?? That is always a good thing!

Wristies - Invented by a 10 yr old, featured on Oprah, and just plain cool!
I don't yet own a pair (although it is on my list!). I just love this concept. Not too much use for it down here in Texas, but really I hate being cold. I would love to have these to wear in the office to keep my wrists warm... and I also just realized they have heated ones too.... hmmm... that sounds toasty!





What are some of your favorite things? Throw up a comment and let us know!

Horror Stories

I try to ask all the new friends I meet who own homes how they found their Realtor, and how their home buying experience was. I talked to one of my Husband's coworkers who recently purchased a home, and his experience was amazing. And not in a good way.

• First off, he said his wife did the majority of the work when it came to looking for the property and even once they picked out the house they wanted, and were under contract... she did most of the legwork.

• Their agent didn't show up to closing! That is unbelievable to me!
  
• You are sending clients, to a place they haven't been before,
  
• Dealing with people they are unfamiliar with
  
• Possibly in a brand new city.
  
• They are dealing with one of the largest purchases of their life and are going to be looking at numbers that may scare them, and they many need some explanations and help
  
• They are going to be there for a while, signing a HUGE stack of paperwork. Moral support cannot be overestimated!
• There may not be a specific role for a Realtor at the closing table, but for the sake of my clients, in my books, it is a necessity to go to closing.
• As a Realtor, this is my job, and what I do. As a client, you do this a few times in your life. Being there for your special moment IS why I am in this business

• Their agent called 4 days after closing to give them a key to their house (which they had already received at closing), and had their Realtor been there, she would have known.

Wow! Most of the time I am proud to be part of the Real Estate community... but sometimes stories like this really get to me.

Have a horror story you would like to share? Post it in the comments... Keep the Realtors name out of it though! Thanks!

Client Story - Part 2

So back to the story.

I get a call from Lizzy on Monday saying she is ready to put an offer in and we talk a bit about the structure of the deal, she says she wants to wait another day to give me a yes. I indicate that this property has just been lowered in price and it is the BEST price/sqft in that subdivision... and with all the upgrades the sellers did to it... it was going to go fast. Anyway, the next day I pull up the listing and it is 'Pending' status (meaning they have an accepted contract). Sucks for both of us. She was not interested in putting in a back up offer.

As we have been spending our time together. I ask her who is negotiating on her behalf for the properties she viewed on her own... she says she is going to handle the negotiations herself. Hmmm.... red flag. She says she is going to ask the seller to reduce the price of the house 3% in order for her to be able to afford the property.

So now I realize I am about to be cut out of the deal.

I have been talking to many of my Realtor friends about the buyers agreement I have with her. They all agree that I should have an exclusive buyers agreement with her, and in their experience, deals like this will rarely work well.

In the end, she decides she is going to put in an offer on one of the properties she found on her own, and avoided giving me any info regarding the property. The few emails I have exchanged with her since then have avoided any talk of real estate whatsoever even though I have kept everything pretty friendly.

Observations:

• A buyer needs to appreciate why a buyers agreement protects THEM. And it is my job to make sure they understand why being unrepresented only leaves them vulnerable.
  
• If she knew she was going to try to reduce the price of the house by 3%, how did she expect I would be compensated for my time and market knowledge?
  
• Educate. Educate. Educate. Teaching my buyers what can happen when a contract goes awry. Making sure they are fully educated on what my job is for them. I feel like I am wasting their time by going through all that, so often I just skip it.
  
• I am trained to make sure the deal goes smoothly BUT, if it doesn't, I have the skills and expertise to quickly and effectively deal with the issues. I may not have the answers to every single situation, but I can quickly locate someone within my sphere who can get me an answer that can save my client time/money or a house.
  
• The dollar amount on what I spent on this client is probably around $100, most of it in gas costs, printing, and a few bandages for my knee *smile*. But how do I figure out the price for my expertise? The time I spend everyday looking through listings, keeping myself abreast of the market, previewing homes to make sure I am well educated, continually meeting other industry professionals to make sure I am well connected... there is no dollar amount I can put on that.

After spending a few days wallowing in self-pity, I had no choice but to pick myself up, dust off my jeans, and hobble off into the sunset.

Live and learn friends.

Client Story - Part 1

I am going to preface this story by saying this is not a story about a bad or difficult client... more just a lesson I learned about negotiations and taking a stronger approach as difficult as it may seem at the time, because I fear I may lose the client.

I have/had a client... let's call her Lizzy. She needed to purchase a home, and was on a short deadline. She indicated that she had done a bit of research on her own through open homes and looking on craigslist. We met, and I determined that I would be able to help her. When it came time to sign the buyers agreement, she indicated that she wanted a stipulation in there that she would only sign the agreement for the homes we viewed together.

I tried to negotiate with her a bit on this point, but looking back, wasn't as firm as I should have been. So we signed it for 6 months, for all of Travis and Williamson counties with the clause that it was only for homes we looked at together.

Anyway, we spend several days looking at homes (all the way in North Austin and Round Rock - think gas costs!). Which I understand is part of the job, so I am only complaining a little bit! A funny story to share that occurred on the last day we went to go look.

A slight (and somewhat humorous) detour.....
She decides she likes one of the homes we have looked at, and on a Sunday wants to go look at it. Ends up being 30 min late for the appointment. We go outside to look at the backyard, and oops! The back door closes behind us, and we are locked out! I try to check the side fences to see if we can get out, and the side gate is sturdily locked. No way out! So, I have to roll up my sleeves and do one of those jobs that they DIDN'T teach me about in Real Estate school.

I need to jump the fence. No other way around it.

Now, I am 5ft 3in. Not athletic in any capacity, and I am wearing boots with a 3 inch heel. Yikes. Of course I am trying to keep my cool, and act like this is just part of the job. Inside though, my heart is pounding out of me! So, I gather my courage and climb up to the top of the gate (which is actually pretty easy), however, once I was perched on top of the 10ft fence... I have no earthly idea how I am going to land on the ground.

Do I jump straight forward? Do I try to turn and face the fence? I have no idea, absolutely NO CLUE what I should be doing. I sit up there for a good 2 minutes, and my client asks "Are you okay?" Considering I don't have a choice, I try to calmly say "Yes, perfectly fine, just thinking about my strategy". So I decide the safest way down is to launch myself off the fence and in mid-air turn to face the fence, so I don't land with my face in the dirt. (Also, I have taken off my boots, figuring that landing on my feet is better than landing on 3 inch heels and risk cracking my ankle).

So I jump. And turn midway as was the 'plan'. I land HARD on my right ankle, my left knee slams into the fence, and my palms are scraped up from the landing.

I hear her asking me if I am okay. I get up, dust off my jeans and shout back a shaky 'Yup, everything is fine!'. I throw my boots back on, hobble back to the front door, and let them back in through the door.

Yikes, the adventures of Real Estate!

So, what happens? Does she buy the house? Look out for Part 2.

New to Austin?

I recently met a couple who is new to Austin. I started thinking about all the about things I love in the city. Especially eating out! Which restaurants should they go to first? We do love to eat out - a lot.... so to say we know a bit about Austin dining is probably a fair statement.

So, I thought a few posts with some of our top 10 lists would be a good place to start. My first list is going to be...

My Pick for the Top 10 Restaurants in Austin

Not in any particular order... just how fast they came to my mind.

1. Madam Mam's - Thai - close to home, (walking distance actually), cheap and GOOD! Our favorites include the Pad Spaghetti w/ beef... ummmm. I am hungry already!

2. 888 - Vietnamese/Chinese - a great late night asian place on the east side. Open till 2am most nights. Fulfills several of our needs: Ethnic. Late, and not far from where we live.

3. First Chinese BBQ - Chinese (what else would it be??) a favorite haunt of ours that comes from Dallas. Whenever we are in North Austin, this is one of our lunchtimes stops for sure. Our favs are the Curry Noodles (used to be called Singapore noodles, so look out on the menu for either one), Wonton Soup with noodles, and of course the BBQ pork

4. Polvos - Mexican - hands down the BEST interior mexican food in the city. Located in the south which is close to home for us. Order the Cerveza Fajitas (enough for two - trust us... after the chips and salsa... you get the point), the Puerco Adovado, or the Carne Guisada.

5. Homeslice - Pizza - Another SoCo success story. Just downright good pizza. Nothing else needs to be said

6. Alborz - Middle Eastern - A place we try to hit up when we are in North Austin. Our go-to place when it comes to some good babaganoush and make sure you try their chicken and veggie kabob plate.

7. P. Terry's - Burgers - Close to home. Naturally raised, hormone free etc burgers with a drive through and a outdoor seating area. Cheap. Good... and hey, if you are going to eat a burger, at least it makes me feel a tad bit better knowing I am not ingesting the bad stuff too.

8. Silhouette - Sushi - Not necessarily the best sushi in town, but it combines some of my favorite elements.

• Cheap sushi if you go during happy hour.
• Bubble tea
• Open late
• Central Location (they are downtown right on Congress b/w 9th and 10th
  

9. Tomo Sushi - Sushi - Probably the best sushi place in the city. We have our friend Marc to thank for introducing us to this place. They are way up north, we don't get to go very often... but we can highly recommend it!

10. Mars - Fusion - a perfect 'special night' place. Higher on the price scale, but for those few nights that call for an upscale (but not snooty) celebration for 2 or 4... one of our favs.

And one more that we HAD to include.


11. Shanghai - Chinese - DimSum! We haven't been there for anything else, but the 5 times we have been and taken friends is always a winner. Hot DimSum, friendly staff, centrally located for both our North and South friends (near the Highland Mall). Expect a wait if you go during peak time.

Couple observations about our list:

• 5 of our 10 are Asian selections - yup we do love Asian food, and are not as drawn to traditional American cuisine
• Due to where we live, most of the locations are in the south/central region
  

Have your favorites? Totally disagree with some of our selections? Have some more you think we should check out? Post a comment and let me know.