Finished puzzle

Funny, isn't it, how you can get lost in working on something - just putting one piece together after another - get to the end - discover that pieces are missing - find them - and then, when you are feeling pretty proud of yourself - you see that something is wrong.

I don't do lots of puzzles - but when I do, I enjoy them.  It's a challenge to find the pieces that match and watch the design come together.  This one I got at Big Lots - it is a 1000 piece called Twelve Days of Christmas.  It is made in the USA.  The colors are pretty.  And who doesn't like the twelve days of Christmas?  Only - get this - it is wrong!

The first eight frames in the puzzle design are right - the partridge, two turtle doves, three French  hens, four calling birds, five golden rings, six geese a-laying, seven swans a-swimming, eight maids a milking - but then the last four are mixed up!  The puzzle has nine drummers drumming - and it should be nine ladies dancing.  Then it has ten pipers piping - it should be ten lords a-leaping.  Int the puzzle it is 11 ladies waiting - what's up with that?  That's where it should be about pipers.  And last, the puzzle has the 12 leaping lords where it should be the drummers.

It's no big deal.  I still like the puzzle.  But there is something wrong somehow about putting in so much effort on a result that is off.  I don't like that.  There's a life lesson there somewhere.

Clients First

Joseph and JoAnn Callaway are in the Arizona Realtor Hall of Fame - if there is such a thing.  They are a husband and wife team doing business as Those Callaways, and they have been doing real estate business less than 20 years.  They are big - really big - huge, in fact - and have been since beginning their business in Scottsdale.  They have recently published a book entitled Clients First - and it contains the secret of their success.  Their desire is to share what they have discovered - remove the secrecy - and in so doing make the practice of real estate better for everybody.  Amen to that.

Those Callaways were about 50 years old when they started in the real estate business.  Before that, they searched yard sales for rare books and then found a deserving home (no pun) for their finds.  They loved what they did, but it is hard to think what might have been a less lucrative business.

They say that they began as terrible agents.  And their story illustrates that, okay, maybe they made a boneheaded move or three as they began.  What is so heartening is their telling of their "aha" moment - the life-changing, career-changing moment from which they never looked back.  They decided that no matter what the cost, their clients came first. 

First - not just in words but in behavior.  Not just for Joseph and JoAnn but for every member of their 30+ real estate agent team.  Puttings clients first is a mindset - the true north - and although they have known and lived it since early in their business, the challenge has been in explaining it to others.  And that's where the book comes in - the book just published in September that is now in the hands of many thousands of real estate agents hungry for their same success. 

What does putting clients first look like?  Honesty, competence and caring.

By honesty, that means being truthful with clients - trusting clients with the truth - even at the expense of a transaction.  The clients' interests come first.  Always.  No compromise.  As the Callaways have trusted their clients, their clients trust them.  Those Callaways do not prospect.  They do not ask for referrals - they never have.  Their business comes from past clients.  And it is BIG business.

Competence is about being the best in the field - knowing the real estate contract inside and out, knowing the neighborhoods, knowing the market, developing systems that guarantee that every step in a real estate transaction - and there are a lot of them - is completed perfectly and on time.  To do that, they discovered early on that as perfectly as the two of them could work transactions, they could not work IN their business and ON it while putting their clients first.  So their team was born.

As for caring, let me quote from their book:  "When you put Clients First, the conversation is all about them.  Everything about you is what you can do for them.  The client becomes your obsession.  You are the client.  When you are the client, you have strength.  When you are the client, and the client misleads him- or herself, you have the strength to say so.  When you are the client, you know what is best and you say so.  When you are the client, you fight for yourself." 

Honesty, competence and caring.  That is what we want - and need - not just in real estate transactions but in every transaction in every part of our lives. 

I want my real estate clients to come first always, and to know that they come first.  They deserve it.

It's a Puzzle

Okay - it is a puzzle with a thousand pieces, at least that is what it says on the box lid.  I won't count them.  I started on it Sunday night.  It is a picture of the twelve days of Christmas.  I need to finish it by Thanksgiving so I can have the table back for Christmas decorations ....  The picture looks blurry - but that is how it looks when you try to work it.  Good for insomnia.

Five and a Half Months!

It has been a five month long tunnel - and there is light at the end. 

There is nothing short about a short sale - at least in terms of time.  I represent a young couple - first time buyers - who found the home of their dreams in May.  It is a beautiful house in Laveen, AZ - and has everything that they want.  What we didn't know at the time we made the offer was that there were three loans on this short sale.  That's not to say that we should NOT have known, but we didn't.  We knew there was more than one, which I assumed meant two - yet another reason never to assume.

We got word this morning that the third (and last) of the seller's lenders has approved the short sale - which leaves buyers two weeks to get an appraisal and sign closing papers.  They are excited.  If all goes as planned, it'll be five and a half months from start to finish.  Worth the wait.

Quick Sale

I love listings like this one.  This is a picture of a four bedroom home near Glendale Community College.  The sellers have loved this house - and it shows.  They have made a great life there, and the care they have lavished on their home has contributed to their neighborhood holding its value - even in an economy like this one.

They have upgraded where it made sense to do so.  They have maintained their yard and their pool.  They have reroofed.  They have painted.  Their carpet looks like new.  They have been great to work with.

We priced it where we thought it would sell - got several offers.  The best offer was a little higher than the list price.  Inspection period went well.  Buyer's appraisal came in at value.  We are scheduled to close next week.

Here's what I love about this transaction:

• The sellers have taken pride in their home.  Yes, it is an investment - but it has been more than an investment - it has been home to them.
• The sellers listen.  We had an earnest conversation about the market, what had sold recently in their neighborhood, what the demand was likely to be. 
• They priced it to sell.  They appreciated that at the moment, demand exceeds supply.  But they priced where we could support the comps.
• They made a decision quickly.  We did not accept the first offer, but we did accept the first offer that met seller expectations - and in fact exceeded them.
• The buyer did not ask for the moon during inspection - a couple of things, which the sellers considered reasonable.
• It appraised!  You never know ....
• Closing is 30 days from acceptance of offer.
• It is a win-win all around.

Glendale Christian Preschool, Glendale, AZ

Does she look happy or what?!  This is a picture of Lynne Reynolds, director of Glendale Christian Preschool, just clowning around at Circus Days last spring. 

There are not enough adjectives in my vocabulary to describe what a fantastic preschool program it is.  The facility shares space with the church, and is fully licensed and accredited as one would expect.  There are teachers, assistant teachers, aides - and children from ages three to five. 

This isn't babysitting.  Not that there is anything wrong with babysitting.  This just isn't it. 

The curriculum is designed to help little ones get ready for school - and for the world - in a way that appreciates the individual child and nourishes with love, gentleness, care, safety and all those things that parents and grandparents demand for their children.

There are nature walks, and trips to the fire station, and petting zoo, and circus days, and farm days, science experiments - the list goes on and on.

Enrollment is not what it could be and not what it was.  It has become a luxury for moms to be able to stay at home with their kids.  And even more of a luxury for those stay-at-home moms to be able to take advantage of a preschool program. 

If there is a child in your life who would benefit from a Christian preschool environment, call Lynne at the church to find out more.  623.939.4610. 

Sun City Poms

Don't look for me in this picture - but you can spot my friend Sally Davis - she's the pretty one with white hair and a big smile.  Probably the youngest of the Poms - and probably the newest too.  She's just been doing the Pom routines for about a month.  If you look at the light at the top of the stairs, she's the closest to it - fourth from the left.

Sally is amazing.  We met at an open house a few years ago.  She was living in a condo at the time, had fixed it up and wanted a new project - a single family house.  So we listed her condo, eventually sold it and found a fixer.  Actually, she found it - all I did was write the contract.  Then she proceeded to fix and fix and fix.  New dual pane windows.  New carpet.  New paint.  New flooring.  New appliances.  New roof.  Where she could find a deal on Craig's List, she did.  Where she could do the labor herself, she did.  I repeat, she is amazing.  And now she is a Pom! 

She's looking for a condo now as an investment....

Alexander McCall Smith

Went shopping this afternoon - to a favorite Glendale thrift store of mine - and found six in the Alexander McCall Smith series The No. 1 Ladies Detective Agency.  I am so excited!  I've read most of them - but don't have any of them - and now I can read all I want.  I'll be a lending library if anyone is interested.

Wow - that was FAST!

Last week this Phoenix home was listed for sale on Monday afternoon - the asking price was $72k.  That is a great price - but the house is in move-in ready condition.  Three bedrooms, 1.75 baths, fenced yard - remodeled kitchen - and a nice location.  It is clearly a desirable property.

I was expecting there would be interest.  But I underestimated how much interest there might be.  By Monday midnight we had two offers - sight unseen.

Speaking of sight unseen - I was only able to take one picture of the property.  I've not seen the inside.  There is a tenant - a perfectly reasonable person but one who chose not to allow a for sale sign or a lockbox or the house to be shown when he was not present.

Long story - seller arranged with the tenant to allow the property to be shown for two hours on Friday.  By Saturday morning, we had eleven offers.  Eight of those offers were for cash.  We asked four of the eight for their highest and best offers - it is important to the seller that the tenant be allowed to remain in the property for the balance of the month.  The final offer was selected by Saturday afternoon - $14k over list price - and we are closing today, the following Friday.

Three bedrooms for less than $75k!

Just started looking for a new owner for this charming three bedroom home at I-17 and Cactus in Phoenix.  New roof, new air conditioning, dual pane windows, new water heater, gas heat - very nice buy for under $75k.  No HOA.  Not bank-owned.  Not a short sale.  This property is currently occupied by a tenant - the owner/landlord will coordinate showing schedule directly with tenant.

This is an equal housing opportunity offered by Keller Williams Realty Professional Partners.

Glenna Salisbury of Scottsdale, pictured above, was our honored guest and speaker at this weekend's Glendale Christian Church Women's Retreat.  The event was hosted by the Women's Ministry Team, led by Peggy Hershberger.  The theme was "Fill My Cup, Lord" - see Psalm  23:5-6.  Good teaching, great music, comfortable accommodations at Xona Resort in Scottsdale - even the food was good.  And being part of a group of 50 women - 50 wild and crazy Christian women - was amazing fun.  A huge thank you to the entire ministry team, especially to Elaine Tidball.  

Three Chord Strand

Here they are:  Melissa Reed, Emily Bruso and Jennifer Lopez - Three Chord Strand.  These women brought praise music to the Glendale Christian Church Women's Retreat this past weekend (Sept. 21 to 23) and blessed our socks off.  They are beautiful - and so is their music.