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Change is in the air, along with some pollen. Last Friday was my last day at Southwestern Title and Escrow in Santa Fe, the market leader in title insurance locally based on accepted measuring tools. My coworkers there had a nice little soiree for me with wine and cheese and fruit; and these chile powder covered pieces of dried mango, which were interesting. So on to the big change as I am moving about 2 blocks away!
Today was my first day at Keller Williams, the newest Santa Fe real estate brokerage. I am returning to real estate sales for the first time in many years. My other gigs in real estate sales also involved management roles, so the sales segment was secondary by definition. You know you can count on more information about this change in the very near future, but for now I am looking at desks and waiting to see if I get a phone and wondering if I should bring my own table lamp… Times have changed, obviously, with the typical day of a Realtor including more time on their cell phone and their computer than anything else. Driving somewhere is always a big part of your day, so you have to be mobile and stay in touch no matter where you are. And the best part of the day is when you are talking with someone who wants to sell their home and they invite you to stay for dinner. Gluten free anyone? Forget making any personal plans between 8 am and 8 pm because you may not be able to follow thru.
What else? My future posts will go into more depth about a portion of the real estate market that I believe is woefully misunderstood. When someone hears the words “seller financing” they may have an immediate image of something that may or may not be true. There is very little good information out there on all the aspects of seller financing and there are numerous ways to structure such deals, with or without a seller having an existing mortgage. A common concern is that a seller has to wait for years to get their money out of their sale. I believe that is basically true, but that seems much preferable to not getting any money at all because the house has not sold. And how about a return on your money that might be 500% greater than anywhere else you could invest? You say you are already earning 5 or 6% on your money? Please tell us more! Will seller financing make the difference between selling and not selling a home? There is no exact answer to that, but why would you not have your home open to the largest pool of potential buyers? My future posts will get into more detail, but if you automatically eliminate a portion of possible buyers, can you really say you are doing everything you can to sell your home? And ask your Realtor if he or she is really comfortable explaining seller financing and helping you through such a transaction. Pu them to the test. Interview some of the 750 Realtors around Santa Fe, then decide I will be the last person you talk with before you sign a listing agreement.
Can’t wait to get started? Well, I don’t have a desk yet, or a phone at my new office :)) but you may contact me at AlanBall2@gmail.com and the temperamental cell phone # is 505-470-7153. Hope you have a great autumn season!
