FIRST, THE BREAKING NEWS!

I just found out that I am going to be live-streaming a very exciting panel!

Here’s what y’all need to know…

Panel Name:

Powerful Women in Real Estate: Keys to Becoming a Top Female Agent, and it’s presented by Estate Media, sponsored by Homes.com.

Date:

August 6th, from 5:00pm to 6:00pm PT

Host:

Me!

My A-List Panelists:

Tracy Tutor, Rayni Williams, and Jade Mills

We will be live-streaming the panel via Estate Media’s YouTube, IG, and FB plus I will be streaming on my IG page as well. I would be so pleased if y’all would save the date, because this is sure to be an enlightening and exciting conversation!

WELCOME

Someone recently mentioned “the dog days of summer” to me and I swear, I had no idea what they meant. But if I have a question, I seek answers, so I looked it up. According to EarthSky.org, the “Dog Days” are the the period between July 3rd through August 11th, and they correlate to when Sirius (the Dog Star) rises and falls in conjunction with the sun. Apparently, it’s the twenty days prior and the twenty days after. Now, they call it the Dog Star because Sirius is the brightest start in the Canis Major constellation. These days are known to be the hottest and most humid of the summer. (But my hair could have told you that.)

According to Almanac.com, ancient Greeks and Romans believed that the Dog Days were a time of drought, bad luck, and unrest, saying this was when “dogs and men alike would be driven mad by the extreme heat.” Perhaps that’s fitting because I’m in Las Vegas at Inman this week, where it will be boiling hot and over 100 degrees every day.

I realize that info on the Dog Days may not sell you any real estate, but it might just help your team win your next pub trivia challenge, so… you’re welcome? Anyway, hopefully the rest of the newsletter will be helpful as we’re talking about seller’s strategies and builder’s contracts, so let’s dive in!

THE REALITY OF REAL ESTATE

Not everyone who reads here is a real estate agent, so this one’s especially for my Glenndarattis who are “real estate curious.” If they’re not here for the star sweaters, then they follow me because they’re about to buy or sell. If that’s you and you’re getting your home ready to put on the market, here’s the quick and dirty on the five things you must do:

• Remember that you never get a second chance to make a first impression. Curb appeal matters. In particular, take a look at your front door from a stranger’s perspective. While the agent is opening the lock box, the potential buyers are going to be sizing up the scene and inspecting the area. Is the door frame moldy, mildewy, or spider-webby? Is the paint or stain faded because the sun shines on it every day like God’s flashlight? Before you do a thing inside, stand back and take that look to ensure it’s up to snuff. People absolutely judge a book by its cover, so make their first look worth a second.

• Baseboards count. This is a small thing that makes a big impact. Maybe your mom always made a huge fuss when friends or family were coming over, saying, “Oh, my stars and stripes, we need to clean the baseboards,” and in your heart of hearts, you knew that no one who loved your family would care one bit about a little dust. Well, those potential buyers don’t love you and they will care, even if they have the dustiest baseboards on God’s green earth. So bust out the Swiffer and address every corner and crevice.

• The way you live in it is not the way you list it. Put your extraneous stuff away. No one wants to see your collection of 56 Glinda-the-Good-Witches. Nor do they want to see 47 pictures of your Uncle Bob scattered across the mantel. Your personal items are a distraction. Box it up, move it out. Buyers want to see how they’d live in that space, not how you do.

• Fix what’s broken. Maybe something little in your house has been broken so long that you’ve practically gone blind to it, like a drippy faucet or a squeaky stair. Your buyers will not be blind and obvious maintenance issues are going to make them assume the home hasn’t been cared for.

• Shine up that penny. I have never seen buyers more insistent that the home they buy be a shiny penny than of late. I do not care if you are Martha Stewart herself, I want you to bring in pros for a deep, deep clean. I’m talking oven, fridge, drawers, cabinets, etc. I promise you’ll get back far more than what you put into the cost of a thorough scouring.

Easy-peasy, lemon-squeezy. And of course you’re going to want a great buyer’s agent, and you’ll see why in my Story Time. And P.S., don’t leave money on the table.

@glenndabaker

If you’re going to sell your home for sale by owner… I’ve got news for you! #G#GlenndaBakerR#RealEstateA#AtlantaRealEstateF#FSBOB#ByOwnerR… See more

STORY TIME WITH GLENNDA

The New Construction Contract Clause

I talked about this on my Instagram Live a few days ago and y’all had such good input that I want to go over it again.

So here’s the deal: last week I saw a clause in a new construction contract that I have never in my life seen before. I’m telling you, it gave me pause. Evelyn, a member of my Diamond Squad, and I were reviewing a new construction contract. Now, here in Atlanta, the builders have their own contracts. They aren’t written on the Georgia Association paper. Most of the time it’s just a builder-specific contract.

We’re going through it and everything seems pretty normal, like the earnest money being non-refundable, and the builder having two years to finish the house. And that they can substitute something without your permission if, say, the tile is out of stock. Usual stuff.

Then, oh my stars, were we hit with a doozy that had us reading and rereading that contract. There was a little bitty clause that stated that seller (being the builder) had the right of first refusal for the first 24 months. For you non-agents, that means that for TWO YEARS if the buyer wanted to sell their home, the builder had the right to buy that home back for what the buyer originally paid for the property. Doesn’t matter if the buyer did thousands and thousands of dollars in upgrades, the builder has the right to buy it for the exact price paid for it.

I said, “Evelyn, that cannot be right.” Oh, but it was. That’s not even the spicy part! The spicy part is that if the buyer were to sell their home under the table to a third party within that 24 months, that contract would be null and void.

But wait! That’s not all!

If you want to put your house on the market, you have to give the builder a 30-day written notice. On your own damn house! Then the builder has 30 days to purchase it and 90 days to close. So they have you locked into 120 days if they buy it and you’re only getting exactly what you paid for it.

For some perspective, typically every phase a builder builds, the price goes up. The Phase One homes are, say, $500K. Phase Two would likely be $525K and so on. I want you to think about the last few years in real estate. The appreciation here in Atlanta is 17% in the past two years. That is potentially a ton of money on the table. But that doesn’t matter because the builder would get your house for whatever you paid if it’s within two years!

I have never in my life seen a contract like this. I cannot imagine why a buyer would enter into a contract like this. People might say, “But this is going to be my forever home, they’ll take me out feet first. I’m not planning on selling.” People also don’t plan for death, divorce, or disparity. Life keeps on life-ing, regardless. There’s never a problem until there’s a problem.

So I asked y’all what you thought and most agreed that this is rat-in-a-coffee can crazy.

darin_stephens said: Have not seen that in any NC contract in our market. Couldn’t advise a buyer to accept those terms.

This comment flat out made me laugh.

majasly said: Sir or Madame, you can keep your property and carry that interest until Jesus comes back.

Mostly, everyone thought this was an object lesson on why buyer’s agents are important.

jesser_ro said: Imagine the buyers that don’t have an agent to represent them going straight to that builder’s agent and having no clue what to look for in a contract or what all of that even means.

danhatchaz said: Can you imagine all the people that think they don’t need to be represented on a new build that are going to be putting their financial future in the crosshairs?

However, I did get the following counterpoints, which are also interesting and thought-provoking:

themarkobrienteam said: The builder is protecting the values of any unsold homes in that development. The clause is a good thing for the buyer, as if the market tanks and the buyer has to sell during a dip and the developer believes that values will rebound, the developer (will do the buyer a favor) and buy it, hold it, or improve it and sell it when values rebound, hence protecting their home values in that development. [Y’all know I love Mark O’Brien.]

tracybryantrealtor said: The reasoning likely stems from people buying new models and quickly reselling them. This practice aims to deter “investors” from snapping them up. Most buyers intend to live in these homes and the builder wants to avoid the competition with future phases of homes they release. Is this approach good or bad? It’s unclear, but it’s understandable why builders want to maintain their momentum and prioritize genuine homeowners over investors.

In summary, I truly hope this is not a trend and I thank everyone for chiming in because your opinions are so important to me!

GLENNDA’S GURUS

Hello, Justin Konikow!

I’m so happy to have been able to sit down and chat with Justin Konikow! He is the co-founder of Prime Real Estate Brokerage and Prime Media Productions. Justin and his wife, Shannon, have been turning the real estate industry upside down with their compelling videos, insightful podcasts, and striking visuals. Justin and Shannon understand our industry is changing how we do business and they are at the forefront of it all! I’m so excited to bring everyone our conversation—hope y’all enjoy it as much as I did!

Thank you, Justin!

GLENNDAISM

I Can’t Say This Enough

GO HOMES.COM WITH GLENNDA

Make a Splash

This week, I feel compelled to show you the back of my listing that I featured last week, what with it being the Dog Days of Summer and all.

Now that I have entered the world of pool ownership, I understand the value of having one ready to use on Day One (as does my lawn). I have already created so many core memories with my grandsons in that pool, I can’t even tell you about them all. Now as for this place, is the rest of the above home spectacular? Of course. I mean, how many spots do y’all know of with two kitchens, an onyx tub, and a garage nicer than some of the apartments where I raised my kids? Still, I guarantee when that sun is blazing and the temps are still in triple digits in September, this pool is going to be the most important part of this home for some lucky family and I could not be more excited for them.