Tracy King's Blog

In my 22 years practicing the profession of real estate, I have never left one company to go to another. I have worked in companies that were merged or sold, but I have never left by my own decision. Until now. What’s important to know is that I didn’t leave Coldwell Banker because I didn’t like it or was unhappy. CB is a great company and offers many opportunities to its agents to grow and prosper. It’s also safe to belong to a large national corporation. If you work at Coldwell Banker, its long history and good reputation cloak you in respectability. If you work for such a well-known and respected company there is a certain level of professionalism that is automatically conferred upon you in many consumers’ minds. To leave all that was a big step.

Real estate is a schizophrenic business: it’s very competitive and yet we have to cooperate with each other. A client naturally wants to work with the best professional they can, but how do they determine who that is? That’s why many of us have focused on being number one in our marketplace, working for a company that has the most market share, winning the most awards, etc., so we can assure our clients that we are good enough to earn their business. But there is much more to doing a good job than working in a big company, winning awards and doing a lot of deals.

I have worked with agents from other companies and seen what they do. I’ve gone to many professional training events with excellent teachers. I’ve networked with other Realtors all over the country as part of our various professional organizations. In the last several years, I’ve coached and trained with a group that has attained the level of a virtual office although we are scattered all over Southern California. We’ve often commented how great it would be to work with each other in a physical office—to work in an office of like-minded professionals. For me, Teles Properties offered the potential for this, plus it’s a small boutique company that is focused on what I care about: providing its agents with research, technology, and marketing. It’s small enough (so far) that I know all the owners, and they know me, but that’s just a nice extra.

What’s in this for my clients? A fresh approach. A simple, elegant look. A chance to work with a company that focuses on a deep understanding of the market, on the art and practice of real estate, and on where to position the client’s needs and desires to obtain the best result. A company that puts agents in a room together every week to learn more, to share ideas on how to price and market a property for sale and how to obtain and negotiate the best possible deal for the client. This is a company that shares its knowledge and encourages its agents to share theirs so we all get better—a truly cooperative and collegial environment. These are tumultuous times in the real estate world. Making a successful business in the shadow of one of the biggest economic downturns in US history is a real challenge. Teles Properties began in 2007 and has grown from 1 to 4 offices through these chaotic years. I think that’s quite an accomplishment. This company chose to strike out in a fresh, new direction and it is working. That’s what attracted me to it.

Data released this morning by Standard & Poor’s show that the S&P/Case-Shiller national home price index declined by 4.2 percent in the first quarter of 2011, after having fallen 3.6 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010. The national reading hit a new recession low with the first quarter’s data and posted an annual decline of 5.1 percent versus the first quarter of 2010. Nationally, home prices are back to their mid-2002 levels.
...From DSNews.com, your Daily Dose of Default Servicing News, May 31, 2011.

My response is, so what? What does this have to do with your home? What does this have to do with, say, the sale at 2030 Estes Rd in Eagle Rock (closed April 21, the highest sale in Eagle Rock since September, 2009, for $176,000 over asking)? In the first place, this is first-quarter news and we have moved on (and up) from there. In the second place, once again, we have to note that national home prices have little to do with local home prices.

So why should we care at all about this depressing news?

Because the common, everyday, not-in-distress, regular, homeowner who wants to move is influenced to wait.

For what?

For prices to “get better.” For the market to “improve.”

I posit that by waiting, homeowners are creating the very problem they seek to avoid. The fewer “regular” sales there are, the more weight is given to “distress” sales, which often sell for a significant discount off market price, which lowers the average sales price, which lowers the comparables that appraisers use to value a home sale, and so on in a self-fulfilling prophesy downward spiral.

We had 15 offers on 2030 Estes. That means that 14 buyers did not buy a home and went looking for others. Other “regular” sellers missed a bet by not coming on the market right after that. But it’s not too late! Some of those buyers are still out there looking...I know, I’ve seen them at other open houses. Plus there are buyers looking in different price ranges for other kinds of homes. Many buyers know that this is an amazing time to buy. They will pay fair prices for good homes. If you own a home and want to sell it, consider doing it now. Make your own good news and thumb your nose at DSNews and Case-Shiller!

Once in a while, everything comes together and the sale of a home exceeds everyone’s expectations. How does this happen? Is there a formula that can be used to at least maximize the odds?

Some necessary components:

• A great house -- good bones, proper updates, a private, idyllic setting, a very livable floor plan, a prestigious location in the area.


• A seller who knows how to prepare his home for sale, how to present the property during the showing phase of the sale, and, of course, how to choose a Realtor who will work with him to strategize the best plan to sell the house for the most money in the least amount of time and with a minimum of hassle.


• A Realtor with the market and real estate knowledge to conceive and execute the plan.


• A team of dedicated people to carry out the plan. This team includes the seller’s willing family, neighbors, and  competent professionals (Realtor’s staff, photographer, escrow and title companies, etc.) to execute the marketing and sale.

When I first met my Success Story Sellers in February, 2011, the highest sales in Eagle Rock in the past few months had been $749,000 for a much larger house and $675,000 for a house that was a foreclosure but was bigger and a popular Mediterranean style. The house at 2030 Estes was unlike any other house that had sold in the area in years, so how were we to arrive at the probable sales price? The sellers were hoping for more than $750,000 and I truly believed it should sell for much more. But how to get such a number when sales comparables were so low? Even if we found people willing to pay our price, it would never appraise for that value in the current conservative lending environment.

Out-of-the-box thinking was required. If the house sold for a price that wouldn’t appraise, we simply would insist that in order to be considered, an offer had to remove any appraisal contingency. We listed the property for $749,000, the same as the highest sale in the past few months.

Preparing the house for sale included planning how to deal with the seller’s family which included a dedicated and fabulous wife, two young boys, a dog, and a lot of personal stuff. After packing up or selling much of the stuff, the wife packed up the boys and took them away for the 8 days we were on the market. For every showing or open house, the dog went to the neighbors. More neighbors were enlisted to move their vehicles that had been parked on the street. The house looked like a Dwell magazine cover story for all showings.

We had five open houses in eight days including brokers’ open houses and a twilight open house. By the ninth day, we had 15 offers, 14 of which had no appraisal contingency. By the time counter offers came back, we had three offers over $900,000! The highest offer was for cash, closing in 10 days. Long intense story short, we closed 11 days later for $925,000, as-is, no repairs or termite work to be done.

As I said, this was an ideal situation: great house, great sellers, great team altogether. It’s rare to have it all. But isn’t it good to know that a house can sell with multiple offers way over the last highest sales price in this uncertain market?

Here is what the seller of 2030 Estes Road had to say:


Thank you to Kendyl Young for her fabulous video shooting and editing skills!

Here is information on a benefit at Auntie Em's to help out a local resident. Please RSVP today if you can attend:

Dinner to Benefit Peter Hoffman-Kipp
RSVP: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Hello All-

I’m forwarding this message to you to help raise awareness and funds to help Peter Hoffman-Kipp who has been quietly coping with a disease process that is not well understood by the medical community and offers little to no treatment.

Peter and his family have been coming to Auntie Em's Kitchen since the day it opened and have been supporters of the restaurant to this day.  Auntie Em's Kitchen is a neighborhood restaurant and we are so grateful to our friends and neighbors for the support and patronage they have shown us.  Thus we would like in our small way to try and help Peter and his family.

The Hoffman-Kipp family have been going this alone while we have watched and wondered what we can do to help? Now we are offered the chance to do some real good, something tangible, and something that offers hope to restore Peter’s health and give him a fighting chance to win this battle.

We ask you to partake in a meal with Peter and his family on Friday May 13th from 6-9pm at Auntie Em’s Kitchen restaurant in Eagle Rock. Dinner/drinks suggested donation is $75.00 per person.
TO RESERVE & RSVP: If you can attend, please contact Genevieve Harlocker This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. no later than 5pm WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON, MAY 11th.

AUNTIE EM'S KITCHEN is located at 4616 Eagle Rock Blvd, CA 90041 / 323-255-0800

The Following is a synopsis of what is going on…

As some of you know, Peter now has a triple diagnosis – Lyme, ALS and CIDP. The addition of Lyme disease to the mix happened a few months back, and it led us to a wonderful doctor in Seattle. This doctor saw Peter in February, and is now leading us through a complex web of treatments. For example, Peter is receiving IVIG treatments with a home-health nurse twice a week, acupuncture every day, takes 25 antibiotics and supplements daily AND travels to Beverly Hills once or twice a week for specialty treatments. Did I mention that he should also be going to the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center 2-3 times a week along with a bit of qi-gong?

In terms of Peter's daily life, he books around in a wheelchair and usually stays pretty close to home. A caregiver comes each morning and evening. Peter is currently on short-term leave from his work until mid-May, in order to focus on these treatments.  It has been 3 ½ years since the symptoms started, and Peter is tired but strong.

As you may know, treatment for neuromuscular disorders is rare, often alternative, and expensive. Insurance (even the great PPO we have) does not offer much coverage of treatments (except the IV treatment Peter receives at a tab of 10k a week).  After 3 1/2 years of finding experts in the fields of neurology and neuromuscular disease, we finally found the doctor in Seattle who has agreed to treat Peter. He recommends a symphony of treatments, many of which we have begun.
ACTION ITEMS

Peter's doctor recommends stem cell treatment, which requires international travel and $25,000 per trip. Our goal is to raise the funds to make the first trip happen this summer. Peter may need 3-4 trips, if his body responds to the treatment.

Families helping families is what is going to get Peter through this and whatever you can do is much appreciated and more fundraisers between now and July will be held in order to get the family enough funds to make the trips for treatment. We'll keep you informed and you can also find us on TeamHoffman-Kipp.org

Thank you very much!

-Terri Wahl

The headlines from the Los Angeles Business Journal read:

Will L.A. home prices ever head up? Yes, but foreclosures, demographics will make it a slow march.

The article continued:

After a wrenching 6-year decline, the good news is that Los Angeles house prices are no longer in a tailspin.

“People always ask me, ‘When will I see my house worth what it was in 1989?’ I tell them, ‘It’s going to be awhile,’” said Fred Sands, president of Fred Sands Realtors.

In L.A. County overall, home prices have fallen around 30% since 1990.

Yes, folks, this was published in 1996, over 15 years ago. Did prices ever go back up to what they were in 1989? They were at a median price of $215,000 then for Los Angeles County. According to the Los Angeles Almanac, the median returned to the $215,000 number in 2000, so it took eleven years to complete that cycle.

What are they now? According to Dataquick, the comprehensive real estate database, the median price in March, 2011 was $320,000, a 43% drop from the highest median price in Los Angeles County history in 2006 when it reached $584,800. When will we complete this cycle? No one knows, but please, never say never.

We are hosting a fundraiser at Colorado Wine Company on April 28, 6-8pm to benefit the North Central Animal Shelter!

Join us for wine, raffle prizes, and saving puppies - taste some good wine for a good cause!

Our goal is to purchase sponsorship for as many kennel cages as we can, since that way the money goes directly to the care of the animals at North Central.

$20 gets you a flight of wine, cheese plate, and good karma!

If you can't make it out, you can donate by sending a check made out to LA Animal Services and sending it to us at Tracy King, 2014 Estes Road, Los Angeles, CA 90041. We will add it to the total kennel sponsorship to help us reach our goal.

If you're in Missouri and want to donate closer to home we have a great vet in Springfield that has done a lot for the family. You can call and make a donation in honor of Jeanne Spradlin: 417-865-5367, or send a check to All Creatures Pet Hospital, 902 West Kearney, Springfield MO 65803.

Please RSVP to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 626.827.9795 or on Facebook.  We look forward to seeing you there!

Thursday, April 28, 6-8pm at Colorado Wine Company
2114 Colorado Blvd., Eagle Rock 90041