If you are considering listing your property - PLEASE do yourself a favor...use a lock box!

I have been working on a listing for a few months now. The sellers called me a while back - well before their listing expired with their last agent. The listing expired just a few days ago and we are meeting this weekend. Now, this is a great listing - good price, excellent upscale gated community, yet it had been on the market over a year! Upon picking the listing apart - I found the problems. Among them, very high starting price with many reductions down to the current price, bad pictures (angles were odd, etc.), the virtual tour was not actually a virtual tour but a photo gallery, no agent web site featuring the property (that I could find), and last but not least - NO lock box! I double checked - yup, it said, NO lock box - call listing agent. Now, I thought - this is odd. Why would the previous agent not use a lock box? In my market - we have many, many vacant properties because we are a second, third and so on home market. The norm is to put on a lock box if possible. This house is vacant with little personal belongings. When I spoke to the home owners again I asked why no lock box and they said their previous agent said they should not use a lock box but really offered no explanation why! They told me they were not against one. I explained the main benefit of using one : to get the buyers and their agents into the home quickly with little hassle. At least in my market, agents are much more likely to show a home that is on a lock box as opposed to getting the key in the listing office or waiting for the listing agent to show up and let them in. There is simply way too much to pick from - the homes that get shown are easy to get into.

So, please sellers, agree to use a lock box! It is perfectly safe and I can guarantee your home will be shown more.

Questions? E-mail me!

Woodlake at Bonita Bay...Market Update

Woodlake at Bonita Bay is a lovely, well established community of single family homes within Bonita Bay. Bonita Bay has 5 (member only) championship golf courses, social, sports, and marina club memberships, a private Gulf of Mexico beach club with free shuttle bus service, miles of walking trails, a state of the art fitness and tennis center...and so much more. All west of Route 41. Boaters can enjoy the Marina Club which offers top notch service with Gulf access.

There are currently:

5 active listings ranging in price from $764,900 (approx. 2400 sq ft) to $2,759,900 (approx 4300 sq ft).

1 pending sale (list price is $1,250,000 / 3200 sq ft).

My pick is a lovely 4 bedroom home that boasts approx 2900 sq ft of renovated living space along with tranquil lake views and a large pool and spa. Click here to view listing details. The list price is $1,100,000. Please call or e-mail me for your tour of this award winning community and this beautiful home.

Source: Sunshine MLS

Your E-mails will be answered!

I just don't get it. Why is it that I e-mail listing agents to make showing appointments or to inquire about their listing and they don't get back to me for two++ days? (The average response time is 2 days with some agents NEVER responding!?) I just think - Can you imagine how much business they are missing out on by not using or checking their e-mail?

Here are my thoughts on e-mail:

• First, and most important, CHECK YOUR MAIL at least 2x daily, morning and evening. I am always connected via laptop and PDA. Both devices alert me to new e-mail as soon as it comes in. Realtors that are not checking at least twice daily are doing themselves and their clients a huge disservice.


• 
  Respond upon opening even if all you have to say at the moment is something like, "thank you for your e-mail I will be in touch shortly"...anything to let the sender know you have received the message and you are on top of things. Then flag and respond later with more detailed information.


• 
  Upon responding - please use spell check. It is so easy and it makes you (and all of us as a whole) look well versed and intelligent. Full sentences are always nice, too.


• 
  If I am responding to a potential buyer I always add in some links. This looks professional and shows area knowledge. If the buyer has children I may link to school information. If they have told me being on the water is important, I will link to beach or boating information. Of course, this works for sellers, too.


• 
  Use a conservative signature. Please, nothing big and gaudy. It takes away from what you are actually saying. The signature should be consistent and simple. Ever see the signature that has three web sites, links to every designation, and a picture of the family dog? What did you think? The worst I have seen included LARGE, antique looking hibiscus flowers...Did I mention they were large and numerous? Our clients want the facts - they usually don't want to see flowers or your dog.


• 
  Use Outlook (or a similar mail program) to organize and save your mail in folders.


• 
  Save all mail from every client or lead and back your data up frequently...you never know when you'll need to retrieve it.

E-mail is a huge part of my business. For both my buyers and sellers it is my preferred method of communication and I find people like that. They want the information but they want it in the least intrusive way possible.