Real estate agents work
hard.
Well, let me rephrase that.
I work hard, and
every successful real estate agent I know works hard. I put in long hours. I juggle multiple tasks. I self-motivate. But sometimes, when you're exhausted ... sometimes when your motivator needs motivation, you have to wonder if it is all worth it?
On a day after you run into a demanding renter --- a client who really won't make you any money in the best case --- makes unreasonable demands on your time, you can feel a little worn down. Sometimes transactions blow-up. Sometimes a real estate agent ends up working late into the evening for the chance to make money ... but doesn't make anything. I remember the days when I crawled out of a warm bed on a Saturday morning, and rushed to make an early appointment and then was stood up.
But this isn't a post about poor little me.
This is a
thank you to God and to friends and family and life.
In a slowing market,
I am busier than ever. My phone rings all day long. And, I'm happy to work the long hours I do. I don't think there is any secret to my success. I just work hard and try to take care of people. And, the best part is that when I take care of people, people take care of me. Sometimes we forget that simple truth, but I was reminded of that this Sunday.
Sunday evening, I was exhausted. My wife was not feeling well. I wanted to go home, curl up and hide from the world for a few hours. But, a client of mine wanted me to come to her new home at
the Fountains condominiums. She had asked us over to share a meal and to check out the improvements she had made to the home.
I was too tired to have fun. I didn't want to go.
I called her and told her this. She wasn't very happy. She told me she had been hard at work cooking and that her efforts would be wasted. I told her my wife was not feeling well. (She wasn't.) This client is Brazilian, and she said that in Brazil she would have kept her thoughts to herself. But here in the US, she was going to blurt out her disappointment.
I groaned to myself.
My wife is a gourmet cook. I've seen her silently suffer after she worked hard at preparing a meal that guests blew off. So I had no choice. Tired or not, I had to drag myself to
the Fountains to meet my client and her husband.
Guess what?
It was one of the best dinners I've ever eaten (that my wife didn't make). It turns out my client is a wonderful cook and a generous host. Her condo was tastefully decorated with items from Brazil, her childhood, her familial roots in Austria and with interesting pieces art from around the world. The meal was well-prepared with foods that took time, love and effort to make the right way. While we enjoyed foods from her Brazilian and European heritage, her husband put a little Brazilian music on the stereo.
Then after dinner, her husband pulled out his guitar and played a few classics in Brazilian and Spanish. He was amazingly talented. While he sang, she translated. It was quite a performance. The best part was when he played an original tune.
And to think what a fool I would have been if I hadn't gone.
I was exhausted and needed some good food. The universe had carefully pre
pared me exactly what I needed and I was about to walk away from it! This only reinforces my belief that you should always do what is right.
If you do what is right, the universe, and God, will look out for you, providing exactly what you need exactly when you need it.
For more information or to set up an appointment call Nesbitt Realty at
(703)765-0300.
The majority of condos that are sold are existing condos. This is
neither an advantage or a disadvantage---simply a fact. The majority of
marketing materials and advertisements you will see for condos is for
new construction. This means that it is easier to find ads, pretty
pictures and floor plans for new condos.
One of the advantages of buying an existing condo is what you see is
what you get. There will be no surprises, good or bad. There will be no
change orders. You won't have to look at a model and a floorplan to
get an idea of what you are buying. Instead, you can tour the property
that you will actually buy.
You can move into an existing condo as soon as your loan and title
work are finished. There will be no construction delays. Construction
delays can be sizable and in today's market it is even possible for
the builder to fold-up shop before the project is completed.
All properties, condos included, have kinks. That is to say, there
are unexpected problems with the construction, lay-out or plan. In an
existing condo, the owners have already discovered, identified and
usually solved those problems. In a new condo, you never know what the
problems will be. If anyone could have predicted that unexpected
problem it wouldn't exist!
Existing condos are in established neighborhoods. The traffic
patterns are set. The views are what they will be. Established
neighborhoods have a tendency to have "enough" shopping outlets.
Established neighborhoods have very predictable values in the future.
New neighborhoods can have unexpected increases or decreases in value.
One of the disadvantages of buying an existing condo is that you
might not have some of features you want. This can be simple things
like have the cable wired on the wall where you prefer to put your TV.
You might have to compromise on your laundry room and be forced to
share a community laundry. You might find that the layout is not
exactly as you would like it. A newly built condo always has the latest
features and if it is brand new construction the builder can sometimes
tailor the unit to your demands.
Let's face, brand new buildings are often more appealing than old condos.The materials, the stylings, even the smell
of a new condo is enticing. New condos are fun and bright and designed
to appeal to the latest notion in the buying public. A new condo will
not require any special assessments or repairs. It's in perfect shape.
To weigh your options between new and previously owned condos, contact Will Nesbitt with Condo Alexandria.
About the Author --- Aubrey Nesbitt is a native of Northern Virginia who attended Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a veteran of the US Army and helps his family business by providing informational articles like this one. In addition to photography and blogging, Aubrey provides administrative support for the office.
Kim told The Wall Street Journal recently that low mortgage rates are helping to make buying more affordable than renting in many markets.
About “18 months ago, the industry was nothing much to look at: dilapidated foreclosures were flooding the market, home equity had suffered the worst retrenchment in a generation, and housing starts and sentiment were far below historic troughs levels,” Kim notes. “But after stabilizing in 2012, both new and existing home prices are now accelerating much more rapidly than in the 1990s cycle.”
Source: “
3. Will you provide three recommendations?
The goal is to find the rental that suits all of your needs, most of your wants and fits your budget. What's the most effective choice to realize that goal? You can:
Do it yourself; or
Enlist the services of a rental agent.
If do it yourself, then you are in effect your own rental agent. That means you must rely on your own personal knowledge of the area and your own contacts to find your perfect rental. Of course, you could change your own oil, put in your own stitches and you could cut your own hair, too. The only difference is that you have pay for these services and a rental agent's services are 
In some parts of the country, energy efficient and eco-friendly homes are easier to find. The real estate brokerage Redfin recently ranked cities that have the greenest homes, basing its rankings on the number of homes for sale that boast green features—such as solar panels, LEED certification, and Energy Star appliances—as well as taking into account each city’s carbon-dioxide emissions ranking.
"The residents of these cities are reducing their environmental footprint and saving money at the same time" by lowering their monthly utility bills, says Julie Jacobson, a real estate agent with Redfin.
The following cities emerged on the top of the brokerage’s list for greenest cities for homes:
