lake zurich...and beyond

Well, folks, more snow is on the way for the Lake Zurich area...another 1-4 inches this afternoon/evening. On top of the 6 or so inches we had earlier this week. Since I'm more of a sit-by-the-fire-drinking-hot-cocoa girl than an outdoor winter sports enthusiast, this is not welcome news. Even if it is pretty!

It also affects showings. Each new snowfall usually results in less showings on my listings until the snow and slush are cleared away and the sun comes out again. In addition, who wants to climb through a foot or more of snow to get to the brochure box?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The above information is courtesy of the National Weather Service. For more information on this year's snowfall records, click here.

 

 

If you are a seller in the Lake Zurich area, the only thing to do is hang in there and wait it out.

Only 22 more days until Spring!

 

 

 

 

 

I got my new puppy last week and thought I'd share a few photos of her. As proud new puppy parents, we just think she is not only the most adorable but also the smartest puppy out there! She is 11 weeks old, 3.5 lbs and is a Shichon (Shihtzu/Bichon mix).

Say hello to my new sidekick and blogging buddy...Zoey the Wonder Puppy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cute puppy with her tongue out! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoey at 10 weeks old - she loves to hang out in her "house"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Zoey playing fetch...her favorite game

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Awwww.....sleepy puppy

 

Have a great day!

 

 

 

Some people take issue with commission as a form of payment for real estate agents, requesting real estate agents to account for every penny spent on marketing and advertising, and to put a dollar value on actual hours worked as well performing miscellaneous tasks related to assisting buyers and sellers in the sale or purchase of a home. Many real estate agents will in turn try to justify the amount of money they earn by listing all of their actual costs of doing business, detailing the services and hours spent working, pointing out the training and expertise that we bring to the table, explaining broker splits, etc. Others will take the L'Oreal approach and simply say "I'm worth it" while showing statistics of past successes and lists of happy clients. At any rate, if you refuse to get drawn into the commission debate, you are either a wimp or incapable of defending your value. Thus begins a back and forth argument, debate or discourse between opposing viewpoints, until one party or the other either resorts to an emotional or personal attack (you're just an idiot!) or gets tired of the endless, repetitive back and forth and just quits. The last person to speak proudly declares "See, I'm right! So-and-so won't discuss or defend his or her position!" It's really quite childish, when you think about it.

So what is value, anyway? Value, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder.

To illustrate, I can buy a McDonald's double cheeseburger for $1 or I can go to Portillos (in Chicagoland) and buy a cheeseburger for $3. Both have a bun, meat and cheese. Why go to Portillos instead of McDonalds?

I can buy a leather handbag designed by Isaac Mizrahi from Target for $45 or I can go to the Coach Store and buy a leather handbag for $300. Both have a handle, zipper, lining and are made of leather. Why go to Coach instead of Target?

I can paint my own living room for the $25 cost of a gallon of paint or I can hire a professional painter to paint my living room for $250. Why hire the professional painter?

In the case of the cheeseburger, the Portillos burger just tastes better [to me]. In the case of the handbag, [I feel] the Coach bag is of better quality and will therefore last longer. In the case of the painter, I hire him because [in my opinion] he can do it better, faster and I don't have the time to do it myself.

I could use this comparison for nearly every good or service known to mankind. There are always more and less expensive versions of the "same" good or service. And yet, time and time again people make choices for themselves to purchase one or the other. Are the more expensive things more valuable? It depends on how each independent person defines value. Value can be real, or perceived. What I may value, you may not. The value of a service is even more nebulous. Overall, value is determined by the person who is seeking the good or service that is being purchased. It's a free market where prices for goods and services are determined completely by the mutual consent of buyers and sellers (or service providers).

I'm not sure who decided that real estate agents should be paid on a commission basis, but it was probably because the first seller was only willing to pay the first real estate agent for results; a successful outcome. Many professionals in various industries are paid on a commission basis. Stockbrokers, financial planners and various sales professions...even one of my favorite furniture stores compensates solely on commission, solely for results. When I utilize their services or buy their products, I may not know exactly how much commission the salesperson is being paid, but you can bet I know that the good or service I am purchasing costs more because the salesperson is being paid a commission to sell it to me. Why is it difficult to grasp the same concept for real estate agents?

At any rate, I will no longer defend being paid on commission or engage in the great commission debate. I honestly don't feel that I need to because in reality, the public defends it for me by continuing to seek out my service and hire me and "traditional" real estate agents like me. In fact, "72% choose to hire a "traditional" real estate agent to help them navigate this process", according to Steve Murray, the editor of research firm Real Trends. Does the public really want to pay an agent an upfront fee with no guarantee of results? Well, when faced with multiple choices and options, from selling their home themselves for free, hiring a lower cost real estate company to assist them for a flat fee, to rebates and hourly billing, most sellers still choose to hire a "traditional" real estate agent and pay that real estate agent a negotiated commission percentage upon the successful sale of the property. Sellers (and buyers for that matter) are not uninformed or stupid about the choices that exist. Through radio talk shows, blogs, newspapers, online articles, etc. the public is well aware of the many options available to them. They should also be well aware that commission is negotiable, since for more than 10 years now, some "experts" have been predicting the demise of the "traditional" full service real estate agent.

This compensation system may not be perfect; indeed I don't think anyone would argue that it is a perfect system. The commission-only system also means that agents must accept the risk of never being paid at all if a seller withdraws their home from the market for any reason, or a buyer decides not to buy after all. The future may bring about more or different ways of compensating real estate agents, or maybe not. Only time will tell.

(I was inspired to write this article because last week I wrote this post: Listing Agreements ~ What Would You Do Differently, which went off topic in a negative comment stream by a certain individual. I decided to delete some of the less-than-polite comments and disable the comment stream, which resulted in this individual writing this post, Have We Reached the End of Discourse with Realtors, in which he used my name repeatedly in retaliation. Feel free to read both posts, and draw your own conclusions.) 

 

 

If you could write your own listing agreement ~ or have input in what a listing agreement should contain ~ what would you add or delete? What do you like or dislike about the listing agreement you are required to use by your company?

Would you add/delete language regarding automatic price reductions?

Would you add/delete a cancellation fee?

Would you add/delete an administration fee?

Would you include the disclosures as part of the listing agreement (as attachments) so you aren't having to deal with so many different pieces of paper?

One of the things that I am always frustrated by is that the listing agreement I use is confusing to sellers, it's very small print, and it doesn't contain enough space for writing in personal property inclusions/exclusions.

What about you?

 

 

Real estate agents routinely offer advice and guidance to our clients throughout the entire buying and selling process. This is an extremely important function of our job; after all, one of the main reasons that we are hired is because we are experts at what we do!

On the selling side, this advice includes assisting our clients in preparing their house for sale and proper pricing. On the buying side, we assist our clients in differentiating between properties and structuring offers. All of our clients benefit from our guidance strategizing, negotiating, and coordinating the transaction to ensure that both buyer and seller make it to the closing table on time and prepared.

But we shouldn't comment or offer advice on anything outside of our area of expertise.

We are, after all, real estate professionals, and not attorneys, tax advisors, appraisers, mortgage professionals, surveyors, structural engineers, home inspectors, environmental consultants, architects or contractors.

Even though we want to be helpful, we simply can't be an expert at everything.

That's why it is important to have a list of professional service providers who can render an expert opinion to our clients if necessary. Not only will this keep us out of legal hot water, but we will also be providing our clients with the very best service and the very best advice possible. And that's a win-win for everyone involved.

 

 

You might be ready for condo living if...

...your snow-shoveling and lawn-mowing progeny have left the nest

...your precious BMW risks damage from flying baseballs when left in the driveway

...your idea of yard work is watering the flower-filled container on your front porch

...you have a busy lifestyle with little time for home maintenance

...you realize that the only person who goes into your living room, dining room, finished basement and three of your four bedrooms - is the cleaning person (every other week!)

 

These are all signs that you might be ready for condo living!

As with all housing options, there are pros and cons to living in a condominium. While turning over all of the yard work, snow shoveling and exterior maintenance to an association is probably one of the biggest benefits to condo living, you must also be prepared to live by the rules and requirements of that association. Are you willing to live in close proximity to other people? Can you live in a smaller space with less storage? Are pets allowed? What if you want to have a party? Will your condo retain its value? Do you need permission to renovate your unit?

As with all home purchases, you need to do your research about this style of living. Living in a condominium it is quite different from owning a typical single family home. Before you write an offer, you should ask to see a copy of the governing rules, regulations, bylaws and budget of the association. You should also research any and all additional information that may be important to you in the decision making process, such as school districts, location, crime statistics, neighborhood demographics, noise level, etc. I also recommend talking to neighbors in the condo complex being considered, as they can be your best source of information about how responsive the association is to the needs of the unit-owners and if they are happy living there.

Whether you are just starting out...or an empty nester, you might want to explore the possibilities of condo living. It may open the door to a whole new way of life you hadn't considered!

 

 

I've been asked to come up with an elevator speech. In case you don't already know what an elevator speech is, it's a supposedly crafty little pitch about who you are and what you do for a living that you could deliver in the average elevator ride.

Anyway, since Lake Zurich has few elevators, let's imagine that I'm at a networking event instead. Great. Now I'm stuck in a room with a bunch of people all trying out their canned elevator speeches on me in hopes of getting me to understand what they do for a living, as if I'm not smart enough to know what a doctor does, what a loan officer does, what an insurance agent does. Instead, I get treated to:

"Hi, I'm so-and-so and I help keep people healthy by diagnosing and treating disease."

"Hi, I'm so-and-so and I help buyers with bad credit get into a home with no money down and low rates."

"Hi, I'm so-and-so and I make sure the money keeps flowing when your income stops."

What is the problem with these little speeches? In my opinion they are manipulative, silly and insult my intelligence. Anyone who knows me knows that I am not one for practiced scripts and memorized lines. Now, I know that there are many business coaches, books and sales trainers out there that argue that having a good elevator speech is incredibly important. I just don't agree. In fact, the minute someone tries using scripted or memorized dialog on me I get that feeling that I'm being sold. And I hate being sold.

In my opinion, most of the time when people ask what you do for a living, it is simply "small talk" meant to break the ice and start a conversation. So why not answer, "I'm a real estate agent" (gee, there's a novel idea) and then show genuine interest in the other person by engaging in an actual conversation with him or her?

The truth is, people need to decide whether or not they like you BEFORE

they ever would consider doing business with you.

When you jump in with your rehearsed elevator speech the minute you meet someone, you are doing things in the wrong order by putting business first, relationship building second. It's a turn off to me, and I'm pretty sure it's a turn off to other people as well. Simply put, if people want to know more about you and what you do, they'll ask. And they'll probably appreciate the fact that you are not playing silly word games with them.

I'm Kelly Sibilsky. I'm a real estate agent. What do you do for a living?

 

 

 

 

I wanted to take a minute to applaud Dell for the outstanding customer service I recently received.

I've had my Dell Latitude laptop since 2005 and have been very happy with it. I had a defective DVD drive early on but they replaced that with no problem at all and I haven't had any other issues, other than having to replace the blue touch stick when it wore down. Truth be told, one of the main reasons I bought the Dell Latitude in the first place was because it has a touch stick. I love the touch stick, hate the touch pad.

Anyway, few months ago, the "H" key popped off my keyboard. It took a few tries but I finally figured out how to pop it back on. Lately it was popping off more often and late on Friday afternoon, it came off for good. Like many of you, I use my laptop constantly. Do you have any idea how often you use your "H" key? A blogger's nightmare!

I briefly contemplated using a little superglue but quickly thought the better of that plan and called Dell's customer service support number. Not only did they offer to send me an entirely new keyboard, but they also offered to send me a new plastic surround, which included new clickers (is that the technical term?), all of which I received early this morning! Free of charge! Yay!

Thanks, Dell.

BTW, I counted 52 "H's" above...if you counted more, or less, then you have WAY too much time on your hands!

 

 

I'm pork chop challenged.

I looked up a recipe online today for pork chops and scalloped potatoes and decided to give it a whirl. Wouldn't you think that a pork chop that has been cooked in potatoes and sauce would turn out tender and yummy? Not so in my household! The potatoes were delicious, but the pork chops tough and chewy. Yuk.

I've tried several pork chop recipes. I've tried bone-in, boneless, tenderloin. I've barbequed, shake-and-baked, roasted, baked, stir-fried...you name it and I've tried it.

I know when I'm beat. The pork chop has won.

Sooooo, next time I want pork...I'm heading over to Stoney River. There, I can get a delicious pork tenderloin served with garlic mashed potatoes and sauteed spinach. Mmm. It's perfect every time.

Stoney River is located at 20504 N. Rand Road, Deer Park, Illinois at Deer Park Town Center. Next time you're in town, head on over and enjoy one of their legendary steaks (or a little pork tenderloin).

As for me, I'm sticking with what I'm good at...selling real estate. (Can you hear my family applauding?)

 

 

I've been away from blogging this week while attending a course of advanced education for professional real estate agents. I completed Course II of the Graduate REALTOR(R) Institute of Illinois, which was held January 28 - 31 at the Westin Hotel in Lombard, Illinois.

Attendance of the Institute is voluntary, and successful completion of the three undergraduate courses leads to the professional designation of GRI, Graduate REALTOR(R) Institute.  Each course covers different aspects of the real estate industry, and goes into more detail than is required by the State of Illinois' real estate licensing law. The courses include advanced material about subjects such as contract law, professional standards, sales and marketing, tax, finance and risk reduction. In Illinois, fewer than 10 percent of IAR members have earned this designation.

I routinely attend educational courses and seminars covering all areas of my real estate practice, which enables me to better serve my clients by offering the best and most professional service and representation possible.

As a side note...thank goodness I don't have to attend classes today...Northern Illinois has been hit by a large snow storm making my commute home after class last night (approx. 30 miles) take 2 1/2 hours!