Team Greer Temecula

This post really hit a nerve with us.  What does the public really want to know or not want to know about you? 

Often I have conversations with Realtors, family and friends that involve questions about short sales or uneducated statements about short sales.  Statements like "I wouldn't buy a short sale because they take too long and then never go through" to "I avoid the short sale listings because they're a waste of time".  For some the general consensus is that they aren't selling and that is the furthest thing from the truth.  Of course with a few keystrokes in the Realtor driven MRMLS I can get a very quick synopsis of the short sale market.

If you are wondering how the short sale market is shaping up in the City of Temecula, here are some numbers to wow you. 

These numbers represent Temecula addresses (including unincorporated custom home areas) from January 1, 2010 to approximately July 31, 2010

487 Closed Sales

Ranging in price from $70,000 - $ 1,122,784

178 Sales Pending

(Presumably with bank approval)

228 Sales Accepting Back up Offers

(Presumably waiting on bank approval)

Some quick math tells me that there are nearly 900 short sales that have successfully closed and/or are in process right now since the first of the year.  That's in sharp contrast to the 467 bank owned sales that are in process or have taken place in the same period of time.  And believe it or not there are still folks out there with some equity...we've had 389 standard sales so far this year as well.

If you have questions about the Temecula Real Estate Market please feel free to call April at (951) 522-0518 or Gary at (951) 522-6308.

This is a great blog from Lane Bailey.

It is a quite frustrating situation isn't it...unless of course you never intend to  make more than $200k a year (and that is just what the government has decided for now is too much to not be punished for). 

I wonder how many people are employed by those that make more than $200k a year?

Gene has posted a great blog about a current scam going on.  We get these emails all of the time especially off of our international ads.  Agents Beware!

Is it just me or does the sight of an empty flyer box on a For Sale Sign make you crazy?

In Temecula Wine Country I pass 7 For Sale signs on my drive into town, 6 of the boxes have been empty Forever.

For some reason I take it personal.  These are my peers.  My profession.   

1 of the listings has flyers nearly every day.  I'm impressed by that agent.

And really, this should not have that kind of impact.

There is the option to leave it off the sign completely and then the Potential Buyer has to call you.

Okay, I get that.  I totally get that.  It's called a strategy.

But what I don't get is the strategy of the empty flyer box.

Nope.  Can't even come up with one.  Not one.

So if you are going to go through the trouble of putting one on there.  Fill it.

Oh yeah and check it once in awhile....in case you need to fill it again.

If you are a Seller....don't you feel anxious when you run out of flyers?

If you are a Buyer....aren't you exasperated by the empty box?

If you are an Agent....why do you or don't you use a flyer box on your For Sale signs?

Let's face it...a lot of Agents don't do them anymore.  They can be dangerous.  They can invite in trouble and they can be a waste of precious weekend time.  An in depth discussion with your Agent can determine if they are right for you and your family.

However, over the course of 12 years we've discovered the following:

Myth & Truth #1:  Neighbors are going to be in my house, nosing around.  And while initially this is true, they are also the voice of your community and since homes do sell often times to friends of friends in your neighborhood....why the heck not let them nose around?  Haven't you known someone that has been interested in living where you do?  Anything that may instigate a "showing" on your home is one step closer to a sale. 

Myth & Truth #2:  A real buyer would be pre-approved and looking with their Realtor this weekend and my home would get shown to them anyway.  True again and yet not everyone does the home buying thing in the right order.  Pre-approval first and so on and so forth.  Or maybe their Realtor is not available today and they are out just driving around.  Maybe they don't even know what they want yet and since home buying is "an emotional purchase" most of the time...well you just never know what can be accomplished when folks see the right house. 

And with all of the internet marketing available...homes are deleted from showing lists often due to misconceptions about the home based on photos or lack of information.  (Example later)

Myth & Truth #3:  Nothing ever comes of it.  Well I would beg to differ.  On our latest listing alone, 2 qualified showings resulted from open houses because the Realtors stopped by the open house and decided that the home in fact did match the criteria of the Buyer or...yep you guessed it...they had ruled the home out based on a misconception of the usability of the lot.

Myth & Truth #4:  My agent just wants to do an open house to get more business.  This may be the truest statement of all and yet it doesn't negate in any way the desire and goal to sell your home in the process.  And if number 1, 2 and 3 above hold true than isn't it worth it?

Quote from our latest open house "Well, I saw the pictures of this house when my Agent sent it to me but I thought it was somewhere else and further away from town than this and had ruled it out."  Hmmm. 

If you drive through the Temecula Valley it becomes obvious that Tarbell Realtors is the company working the hardest in the area.  We have aligned ourselves with a great company that we can be proud of.  I thought I would share with you a little about them.  Because they really are a "them".  Our company is founded and run by a family, not a corporate giant nor a franchise.  Because all of the offices are owned by the same person, we are free to utilize resources in every location. 

Mr. and Mrs. Frank Tarbell 

The company was founded in 1926 by Frank Tarbell.  That's more than 80 years of dedicated service to the real estate industry.  By constantly growing and changing (as they should) along the way, Tarbell, Realtors has positioned itself as a leader in real estate today.

   Don & Betsy Tarbell

Don Tarbell, the second generation and current owner of Tarbell, Realtors has led the company into the age of technology while keeping the emphasis on service, making the name Tarbell, Realtors synonymous with professionalism and integrity.  This man, Don Tarbell finds the time to attend our training events.  That just amazes me.  Especially when he oversees 31 offices in LA Counties, Orange County, San Bernardino County, Riverside County and the Desert areas.

He has built a great team too.  Tina Jimov is the president of the company and has a great passion for our success.  She attends all of our training events and sets the tone of positive attitude for our company.  This can be carried throughout the staff of office managers and assistants, graphic artists, advertising staff and so on.  All with something excellent to offer our personal real estate business which directly effects the Buyers and Sellers we work with in Temecula.

We feel that we chose wisely.

We live in the community of Glenoak Hills.  It is nestled in the foothills of southeast Temecula, California overlooking Temecula's Wine Country.  A pleasant rural community that is only minutes from all of the conveniences of the city.   All of the homes are on a minimum of 2.5 Acres, paved roads and city water.  Nearly every home has a fabulous view of the surrounding mountain ranges, vineyards, city lights, hot air balloon weekends and let's not forget the sunsets!     We have a resident engaged homeowners association with low quarterly fees of just $127.00 that gives us a forum for maintaining and improving our community along with amenities that few rural communities even have.  We have tennis courts, a community clubhouse, park and play equipment and a horse riding arena.  We have rules in place that restricts building to a minimum of 2500 square feet and custom homes only to ensure a consistent quality of living.

We have lived in Temecula since 1991 and could have chosen to live in any of the wonderful communities but we chose to make our home in Glenoak Hills.  There are a wide range of homes available and still a few lots here and there to build on!  Part of what we love is that every home and lot is unique.  You can see all of the homes available on our Glenoak Hills page at our website www.teamgreer.com