Texsox

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jul 14, 2009 -> 09:06 AM) Jimmy Carter, I heart you. I have always been a big fan.

QUOTE (NorthSideSox72 @ Jul 14, 2009 -> 10:26 AM) Jimmy Carter is a good person who was a lousy President. The hostages say hello.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jul 14, 2009 -> 10:12 AM) Well, the other realtors I've talked to have been very specific also about what I need to do. One lady even went so far as to say, look that color mulch doesn't look good with your house. Try something else how about blah, blah, blah. Or how about if you organize your furniture your furniture this way for the photos. Let's take the pictures off the wall. All of these actual tangible ideas instead of nothing. Sure those ideas may come to nothing as well--but at least it's something. Actually, that those are why you pay the agent and far more important than how many times they themselves show the house. I remember when I last bought a home and how some just looked ready to be sold and others seemed like the owners really were not interested in selling. Some of the gimmicks (vanilla extract on the light bulbs, bread baking in the oven) annoyed me, but removing clutter, storing most of our clothes elsewhere, taking out extra furniture, all are excellent ideas.

QUOTE (Reddy @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 11:19 PM) i love shawn. she's from iowa, i'm from iowa. she's a sox fan, i'm a sox fan. it's meant to be. oh, and she's spunky. i dig that.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jul 14, 2009 -> 06:33 AM) Thanks for the help. I was able to get out of the contract. This past realtor I found out after talking to another local realtor also didn't tell me about a huge major ethics violation that the broker for the realty firm I had been using got busted for last year (he ultimately had to step down). So, I wonder if that was part of the reason that other realtors weren't calling. The house next door was getting inspected yesterday, so I am hoping it will be off the market asap. And now you will be very specific with the next agent about exactly what she/he will be doing to market your house. Good luck, I hope it sells quickly.

Dahl could really pull in a crowd. Except they weren't baseball fans, they were fans of far out.

QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 09:16 PM) Of course you can. Think "pedophile" or "rapist" or "murderer" or "Glenn Beck". you missed necrophiliac

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 06:36 PM) Nice. But the point was that whatever her reasons were, none of us have been in her high heels and know what she and her family have been dealing with. So, to condemn her for doing what she thinks is right thing to do for herself, her family and the state of Alaska is just wrong without really knowing the underlying reasons. She has asked the voters to pass judgment when she ran for Governor and on a Presidential ticker. I believe it is fair for voters to again pass judgment based on what little information she has given. And I also believe it is her right to be as secretive or as open as she wants. That is the life of a politician. She freely chose to run for office, I think CofC was spot on earlier.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 05:33 PM) So, in other words, there are acceptable reasons to quit while others are not acceptable? Yes. That seems pretty obvious. Acceptable: I have been diagnosed with cancer and would like to spend the next few months with my family. Unacceptable: Dude, surf is up in Maui and I am so outta here. I thought this job would be cool, but it is so lame. People always asking me s*** and stuff, and I am not getting half the woman that other Governors and Presidents got.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 05:01 PM) There's another way to look at this too. She's racked up $500K in legal fees defending herself against frivilous ethics charges brought on by the liberal hit squads. She couldn't effectively represent the people of Alaska while fighting all that crap. She also probably couldn't fanancially afford to remain in office because of that. She'll now get out on the speaker circuit, like Bill Clinton, and make a decent living. They seem more than frivolous, if true.

My single biggest gripe is she did not disclose she was a part timer before having Soxy sign. I keep thinking about that. While I know several part time real estate professionals, I would not use one to sell my house, only to buy a house. Ask other realtors what they think about part timers, and it usually isn't nice. Listings are the plumb commission, I wonder if this listing is being ignored.

QUOTE (CanOfCorn @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 01:27 PM) We are all skipping over an important part of this. Fine, if you want to spend more family time...but serve out your term and don't run for re-election. Then, everyone wins. She gets to spend more time doing what she wants to do and she doesn't look like a quitter, which, if she runs for president, would be the first thing I would go after her for (or anyone for that matter). If you think the scrutiny is bad as Governor of Alaska/Vice Presidential candidate, just imagine it as President. It's no wonder former President's look like they've aged 50 years in 4 or 8. Sorry, Ms. Palin, but dem or rep, I don't want someone who runs and hides in the highest office of the United States. Great post.

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 12:46 PM) That is exactly my problem. After I sent her a long detailed e-mail she said, well it's on several websites, so I don't know what else I can do. Since no one is calling I can't do anything else. Just putting it on the internet isn't enough. And another realtor actually said she was surprised by how nice my house was because the pictures the realtor took and posted were so awful. Part of the problem is that my house is not expensive--it's listed around 59K (which is probably close to the median home price in this area). So her commission won't be huge. Or that's the only thing I can think. What are other agents doing to have those homes shown and why is she not doing that? That would be a great question to ask. Walk through your experience as a buyer. What did that seller's agent do to get you to buy that house? Check out the pictures for yourself and see what you think. Retaking some pictures would seem easy enough. I would also look carefully at the description and how other similar homes are described. You may also speak with the owner of the agency and tell her of your concerns. For Realtors there are two commissions, one for listing and one for selling. They would love to get both, but that seldom happens. But most agents will take someone around to all their listings first. So a buyer may ask for a west side three bedroom, but they will show you an east side four bedroom, for some made up reason. They are hoping the buyer may either fall in love with the place or create some word of mouth advertising. Since your agent is a part timer, and probably does not have many buyers, you are missing out on that dog and pony show. And traffic is a Realtor's best friend. They will drag warm bodies through just to think they are working for you. Hell, I know of one that would buy lunch if his friends would pose as potential buyers and walk through his listings. The most common way for your home to sell will be some Realtor you do not know will pull up all the X bedroom homes, in Y neighborhood, for less than $60k, and will lead some buyer to your door. Your listing agent will not have done much at all. It's a terrible racket.

It would seem very plausible to me that she is taking a few weeks or even a month to clean up all the loose ends, then is hoping to fade back into the role of family. There does seem to be a transition time. Not saying I necessarily agree that is her intent, just saying that makes a whole lot of sense to me. There are questions to be asked and answered. Easier to answer than try to evade them. Tough to quit cold turkey. (whatever the hell that means)

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 11:13 AM) As long as you didn't mean Cubsfan, I'm cool with it. s***, that would get me suspended. I know how serious that kind of insult is around here.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 11:08 AM) I can make you a great offer! You've always been a big time *******. you know, Realtor

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 10:59 AM) I was the target of that post and I didn't find it offensive. I used 7 asterisks to describe Obama. I could have been saying he was an analyst for all anybody knows. I didn't type out the word. You selling some ocean front property in Kentucky

QUOTE (SHIPPS @ Jul 12, 2009 -> 12:00 AM) I like my nicknames to contain less than 4 syllables. William "The Refrigerator" Perry, Charles "Round Mound of Rebound" Barkley, Red "Galloping Ghost" Grange, and Ted "The Splendid Splinter" Williams all say hello.

Wearing a Cubs hat would be fun. You can really "cheer" then. Damn we Suck! What a bunch of f***ing losers "we" are! Now it's gonna be another 100 years before we win something. Bring out the f***ing goat. I can't believe the Sox are kicking our ass like we're a bunch of school girls.

QUOTE (SoxFan1 @ Jul 12, 2009 -> 06:16 PM) Ha, this is going to be funny. I can post 10 stupid facebook statuses an hour from people I know. Here's one: Person: "Had so much fun at the Cubs game." And if you play Mafia Wars, f***ing friend me... I only have 2,100 in my Mafia, have I added you?

QUOTE (hogan873 @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 09:11 AM) I was just going to post about the backstrap being the best. Otherwise, I like venison sausage. I had some with cheddar and jalapeno. I could have eaten it until I made myself sick. The sausage and jerky is where the shop really earns their pay. Almost anyone with decent butchering skills can process the prime cuts, it's handling the rest that really counts.

QUOTE (YASNY @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 10:09 AM) My 1st post in the Buster in months ... but if my family had been raked over the coals like Palin's has I'd bail out too. She has her priorities right. Family first, career a distant second. Welcome back. Great point. Is there a double standard here? Would people feel the same way if she was a guy?

QUOTE (Soxy @ Jul 13, 2009 -> 09:06 AM) It was different agents (seller and buyer agents) when I bought it. But I bought with the person I am currently listing with. The problem is that she isn't showing it--and talking to other realtors there were some problems with the way she has handled this from the start. So she gives me the contract, tells me I need to sign it BEFORE we settle on a price and after I sign it we set up a price AND she tells me that she has another full time job as a paralegal (again after I sign the contract). We haven't had any open houses because I still am living in the house. I understand that this is a slow time, but other houses seem to be shown frequently and I will go weeks (the record was 25 days) without hearing from my realtor. She's awful at returning calls and e-mails. I understand this is a slow process--my dad used to build spec houses. But the fact that she isn't showing my house is a problem. Now we have something. In kind of reverse order. Usually she would not show it if other Realtors call, at least not whenever I have sold homes. The potential buyer and their agent would arrive. Do you have a lock box or are you requiring your agent to open the home? Again, with at least dozens, perhaps hundreds of other agents in the market, you should be seeing about the same as your neighbors. Your agent, with a full time job, probably does not have that many buyers they are working with. And again, the person that will buy your house, will be much like you, they will have a different agent. When you bought, what did the seller's agent do? That would probably foreshadow what the local norms are. If you did not see the seller's agent until the closing, if at all, that is probably what to expect from your agent. Next issue, the agent not disclosing their other full time job. I believe this is how you will get out of this contract. I would check with the local Realtor board and see if this is ethical. It seems like something that should have been disclosed *before* signing. Before taking that step, ask your Realtor what marketing plan she has for your property. Besides just a MLS listing, what else is she doing? She stands to make a nice check when it is sold, make her, or any agent, earn it. Will the house be in any market ad sheets? Newspaper ads? Is she making any calls to fellow Realtors she knows? Again, I would not expect her to also find your buyer for you, but she should have some marketing plan in mind for your home.

It is not unusual for your Realtor to have far fewer showings than all the others combined. It is also rare for your Realtor to actually sell your house. Where your Realtor will earn their pay is helping to establish an asking price, evaluating offers, negotiating on your behalf with the other Realtor, at closing, etc. When you bought the house, was the buyer and seller agent the same? Many buyers are suspicious when the agent only takes them to that agent's listings. The other misconception is an Open House is designed to sell your house. It is more a chance to gather in buyers and perhaps sell them that house, but more often it is to sell other homes in their inventory. Sometimes a house is shown to set up a sale at another house. Your neighbor may be getting more showings, but that may be to set up a different sale. Bottom line, buyers are working with dozens and dozens of agents in your area. They tell the agent what they are looking for and the agents try and find a home that the buyer will buy. They want to do that quickly and efficiently. Find out why those agents prefer trying to sell your neighbor's house.