Open houses can go one of two ways. Smooth and controlled, or chaotic and uncomfortable for everyone involved. The difference usually comes down to planning and knowing how to read the room before the first buyer even walks in. 𝗕𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗜 𝗵𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗲, 𝗜 𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗺𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘀. I look at how many…

Let’s clear something up. There is absolutely nothing wrong with hiring a real estate agent who is competitively priced. You should be thoughtful about fees. This is a business decision. But there’s a big difference between competitive and Bargain Bin Bobby. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗰𝗵𝗼𝗼𝘀𝗲 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁, 𝘆𝗼𝘂’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁…

There’s a pattern right now. Homes hit the market, sit with no real interest, and quickly go stale. Some agents miss the details that actually drive value. And in this market, those details matter. Not all properties trade the same just because they share a location. Pricing them like they’re interchangeable is a mistake. There’s…

A property isn’t truly “vacant” just because you plan for it to be. If there’s a tenant in place, your sale comes with an extra layer of risk. Not every tenant needs to be served notice immediately. Some are cooperative and helpful. But you have to be realistic. A tenant’s behavior can change quickly once…

One of the biggest misconceptions I see when pricing homes is the belief that every dollar spent on renovations automatically increases the value of the property. It doesn’t work that way. Some improvements consistently help resale value. Others were wonderful for your own enjoyment but do very little for the market. But here’s the truth-…

One of the easiest ways for a realtor to win a listing is to promise the highest price.Sometimes I simply refuse to do that. There have been many appointments where I sat down with a seller, reviewed the numbers, and told them something they did not want to hear. Occasionally that means I lose the…

I see properties mispriced all the time, and very often they’re listed by agents who don’t actually live and work in this area. There are real distinctions between Hamilton Beach, Old Howard Beach, New Howard Beach, and Lindenwood. When those differences are missed, pricing and marketing are off from day one. I’ve seen open houses…

Everyone thinks their deal will be easy.“It’s a simple purchase.”“No issues.”“Clean deal.”It almost never is. 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘄𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗿𝗻𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀 𝗼𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗲𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗶𝗹 𝗮 𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀: ➡️ 𝙍𝙚𝙖𝙡 𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙚 𝙩𝙞𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙚𝙭𝙩𝙧𝙚𝙢𝙚𝙡𝙮 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚.Contracts, rider negotiations,…

True story I wish wasn’t so common. Another agent asked to show one of my co-op listings. Their buyer has a 50% DTI. This building requires 33% or less. When I asked about it, the agent didn’t even know what DTI meant… yet had a full day planned showing co-ops the buyer cannot qualify for.…