Mike's Dyersburg Real Estate Blog

 A few days ago, a home owner called and said she has been reading one of my outside blogs for her particular neighborhood. I asked her if she has been following the pricing and what is selling and what is not. It just so happens that she has been reading this blog for quite some time.

I made an appointment to view the house and I had prepared a market analysis in advance of my visit. These people were finishing up putting in new carpet and paint. It is a beautiful house. Right after viewing the house, the husband came home and we discussed the heated sq footage as the original building plans and the courthouse were not in agreement. Part of the basement was unfinished but heated and cooled and I told them the appraiser would not value that as much as the rest of the finished area. Also part of the upstairs had some area with the ceiling sloping down to about 3 feet. I explained that the appraiser would only consider the area from about 5' up to the normal 8' ceilings.

I got my calculator out and ran the numbers and at the same time gave the owners MLS sheets for the last 3 or 4 sales in the neighborhood and 2-3 current listings in the neighborhood. I then told the owners what the house is worth today(gave them a range value). However, the husband thinks it is worth much more than that because of the remodelling and the fact that they custom built the house themselves several years ago.

There is a house just up the street that has been on the market for about 500 days. I went on a listing appointment for that house but they gave the listing to a Realtor that gave them a higher value. This agent  had only been in the business for 6 weeks. I have only been in the business since 1992.

The husband then told me thank-you and they would be in touch. I looked in the MLS 3 days ago and saw this house listed at a higher value than the husband told me he wanted. I guess they liked what they heard when this other Realtor came out.

Does this bother me? Absolutely not! I feel liberated from listing properties too high! I wrote a post a few days ago about apologizing to a homeowner whose house I listed too high!

For all of you Realtors out there reading this, do not take an overpriced listing. When the property does not sell, the homeowner will blame you and others will think you just are not a good agent and really you are not if you take an overpriced listing!

Copyright © 2008 By Mike Frazier, All Rights Reserved. *I am so excited-I lost out on getting a listing the other day*

Some months ago, I wrote a post about God sending some special people into the lives of myself, my wife and my daughters. Donna Wright is now my personal assistant and a great help to me(great blessing from God).

Then, a little over a year ago, the number one agent in Dyersburg decided to shut down his very successful  Coldwell Banker franchise and come to work for me. I told Jackie Keeling right after he came on board that God had sent him and he said he knew that was the case(great blessing from God).

Psalms 5:12 says, "For thou wilt bless the righteous, O Jehovah, thou wilt compass him with favor as with a shield". That is what God has done for me, compass me with favor and blessed me beyond measure!

About 3 months ago, I heard about the owner of 2 apartment complexes wanting to sell out. I talked to Jackie and he called the guy and got a one day listing on both. I had a client (Joey)that I called about the 44 unit complex down the street from my office. He wanted the property but the bank would not loan him the money. I then showed him the other complex(36 units) and he tried to buy those but bank turned him down again. At that point it hit me that I need to buy the complex down the street from my office and I need to find my client a partner to buy the other complex.  I asked my client if he would mind me trying to buy the complex down from me and he said he thought it was a great idea. I told him I would try to find him a partner to purchase the other complex and he got excited. Joey is a strong christian and he had great faith we could get everything worked out! My wife and I purchased that 44 unit complex with it almost at 100% occupancy(great blessing from God)

My wife was talking to a doctor friend(just one day after last bank turned Joey down for a loan) and that doctor mentioned to my wife that she had always wanted to purchase some rental property. Guess what? This doctor and her doctor husband are now partners in the 36 unti apartment complex with Joey and his dad Roy. Joey Markham has since gotten his real estate license and is now working for me part-time(praying for a way to go full time with me).(more great blessings from God).

Jackie negotiated with the seller for a very good commission rate for the sale of both complexes. The sales price for both deals was $2.8 million. Needless to say, Jackie made quite a bit of commission as listing agent and I made quite a bit of commission as selling agent.(great blessing from God) 

Our real estate sales have slowed considerable but rental market is red hot. Thank-you Lord for taking care of me and my family. We are truly blessed by you everyday!

About 5 months ago I listed a house for a lady. I did the market analysis and showed her the numbers. She chose to list it with me at about 10% above the current value. I normally will not take a listing overpriced but did get her to agree to automatic price reductions. We started out at $94,500 and are now down to $89,900.

We have had several lookers but no offers. One thing that the owner and I failed to take into account is the foreclosures that keep popping up. Every time we think we have a serious prospect, they end up buying a "new" foreclosure in the neighborhood.

I sent my seller an e-mail yesterday apologizing for not predicting all these foreclosures that keep popping up and for obviously listing her property too high. I also asked for a further price reduction and she just wants to hold tight for now.

If I could offer some advice for potential house sellers and their agents, do a market analysis for the neighborhood and if the owner really wants to sell the property, list  the house at what houses are currently selling for in the neighborhood. That's what these banks are doing; pricing their properties to sell! Forget what houses are currently listed for, price at what they are selling for.

I had a discussion with my number one agent in the office this morning. We both decided that we would not take any more over priced listings!

I just wanted to go on record to say that I believe our government's decision to stimulate the economy by giving all tax payers a one time stimulus check is a fantastic idea!

My wife and I own several rental properties here in the Dyersburg area and because of the government one time checks, many are able to rent apartments that normally could not. Please let me explain! These families can afford the monthly payment but are unable to come up with the amount charged by the utility companies and the rental deposit charged by the landlords(mine is typically $300).

Because of the checks from this month and again in July, families have moved or will move out of the marginal areas of town and into better areas and properties(including mine). Normally, I try to get these people to purchase but now with the credit standards for loans tightening, a nice rental unit is what is best for most of them until their credit improves.

Here is the IRS website where you can check to see when your incentive check arrives in the mail!

I live in the mid south and every year about this time I see black clouds billowing in the sky. These black clouds are from fires intentionally set to just harvested wheat fields.

Not only are the black clouds polluting the atmosphere but soot is coming down all over everything(if you are down wind). I see the soot in my pool, on my truck, on freshly cleaned outside air conditioner condensers, on my driveway,etc.

I was headed home from work yesterday and saw another wheat field just harvested and my farmer friend had just cut the stubble down and was no tilling beans into the ground (did not burn the wheat stubble). It would appear that these "burning farmers" could also no till the next crop in and leave our air alone!

There should be a law against all these fires polluting the air. I am not a tree hugger but I will have to say that enough is enough!

This is a value priced house in a great neighborhood and has a fenced in backyard!

Mike Frazier | Carousel Realty | mike@dyersburgrealestate.com | 731-589-7841 299 Village Street, Dyersburg, TN THDA bank foreclosure 3BR/2BA Single Family House offered at $76,950 Year Built 1998 Sq Footage 1,262 Bedrooms 3 Bathrooms 2 full, 0 partial Floors 1 Parking 1 Covered spaces Lot Size 11,280 sqft HOA/Maint $0 per month DESCRIPTION Very nice area see additional photos below PROPERTY FEATURES Central A/C Central heat Walk-in closet Living room Dishwasher Laundry area - inside Balcony, Deck, or Patio Yard COMMUNITY FEATURES Covered parking OTHER SPECIAL FEATURES Fenced in backyard ADDITIONAL PHOTOS Seller contact info: Mike Frazier Carousel Realty mike@dyersburgrealestate.com 731-589-7841 For sale by agent/broker Equal Opportunity Housing Posted: Jun 20, 2008, 6:08am PDT

The book of Joshua discusses Joshua replacing Moses and leading the remnant of the Israelites into the promised land. Right after Joshua sent the "two spies" into Jerico(and Rahab the Harlot hid them) Joshua led the people into promised land and they marched around the walls of Jerico.

I shot this video last night of the skit about the walls of Jerico. It is pretty lengthy but also lots of lessons for us today! I attend the West Dyersburg Church of Christ in Dyersburg,Tennessee.

Just wanted to share with my brothers and sisters the two short videos I shot last night with my flip! The vacation bible school started Sunday night and ended last night. Of course I had my two children there and they had some guests there.

I shot one other video last night of a skit about walls of Jerico coming down! It is kind of lengthy but will try to post it later today.

Having you been thinking about an exciting career in real estate? What do you have to do to get your affiliate broker real estate license in Tennessee? One of the training schools has this webpage that explains what it takes to become an agent!

After you get your license you then have to go to work with a local real estate company. Carousel Realty is interested in helping you fulfill your dream of becoming a 1st class real estate agent. Over a year ago, one of the best agents in Dyersburg closed his own real estate office and came to work for me as an agent and as a trainer.

Jackie Keeling is(in my opinion) the best Realtor in the Dyersburg,Tn area and that is why I hired him as my trainer. We have weekly staff meetings which includes a training session on how to become a better Realtor and actually how to be in the top percentage of real estate professionals in Dyersburg.

Not only does Jackie cover the basics but we also discuss marketing techniques that includes internet marketing! We also cover ethics and always putting your clients interest ahead of your own.

If you live in the Dyersburg area or are planning a move to our area and are interested in becoming a real estate agent, please come by our office for a personal interview and let us talk to you about starting your real estate career! You can also visit us online at our company website.

I have recorded a short video(down below) of our last training session here at Carousel Realty.

Most of my posts have been addressed mainly toward potential buyers in the Dyersburg Tn area. Today, I want to address everyone considering selling their Dyersburg home or property in the upcoming months.

I would like to suggest some questions you should ask before employing a Realtor to market your home!

1. When did you get your license to sell real estate?
2. How many homes did you sell as the listing agent last year?
3. How many homes have you sold as the listing agent this year?
4. How many agents do you have working with you at your company?
5. Do you have a personal assistant to help you with all the details?
6. How will you market my home?
7. What is "your" website exposure on the internet?
8. How many of your buyers come from internet marketing?
9. Do you have a blog or blogs about real estate in this area? How many?
10. How long have you been blogging and do your blogs show up on the internet on first 2 pages of Google?
11. Do you prequalify the buyer before you bring them to my property?
12. Will you stay in touch with me concerning marketing my property?
13. Can you give me a marketing analysis to show me what homes like mine are worth in my neighborhood?
14. Can you give me the names and phone numbers of 3 recent homesellers you helped?
15. Will you allow me to withdraw my contract if I decide not to sell?

My staff and I at Carousel Realty are ready to assist you with your home sale. As you may have noticed, we are very internet savvy and we work very hard to help you sell your house or property. If you like, visit us online or call us today at 285-2277. We look forward to hearing from you!