Search results matching tags 'First Choice Realty' and 'arkansas'

Trend Setting in Hot Springs with CARMLS....

189123 — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 04:36:00 GMT

..... Will the other Firms Copy Us?

Back in April of this year, we announced the news about our added service with First Choice Realty offering a huge benefit for our sellers! In case you missed it, we thought we would re-post the news. We're still so excited about this added benefit for our clients now with First Choice Realty!!!

First Choice Realty has joined “CARMLS” – the Cooperative Arkansas Realtors Multiple Listing Service. You’re probably wondering “what does that mean to me”? It means that we have have broadened our marketing plan for our sellers by increasing the exposure to our sellers’ properties by at least 10 times thru this system. This gives our sellers a huge advantage over the competition homes on the market that are listed with other firms in the area. Our sellers’ properties will now be marketed to about 3,500 Realtors throughout the state of Arkansas versus only about 350 Realtors in the city of Hot Springs with our Hot Springs MLS. Then if you think about how many clients each Realtor has, we may have actually increased the marketing of our sellers’ properties by much more than 10 times!

In keeping with the philosophy of placing our clients first, First Choice Realty realizes that limiting the marketing services for our sellers’ properties to only the Hot Springs Realtors thru the Hot Springs MLS is a trend of the past. In 2009, the Hot Springs MLS data reported that almost $13 million in residential sales in the Hot Springs area were sold by “non-mls residents” – or Realtors who hold Arkansas real estate licenses and are not members of the Hot Springs MLS.

While CARMLS has been a hot topic among the Hot Springs Realtors recently, we have found that many of the other real estate firms in the area have mixed feelings opposing it. Our beliefs lean strongly in favor of CARMLS, as we believe it is a huge benefit for our clients. In fact, we felt so strongly in favor that it was a key factor which prompted our recent move to First Choice Realty.

In addition, you will now be able to list property in another area of Arkansas with us at First Choice Realty and we will be able to market your property to the full state of Arkansas, and the same goes for purchasing homes in other areas of the state.

We’re really excited about this new service for our clients. If you are thinking about selling your home and would like to know more, we would be glad to visit with you and share all the details.

Websites Hits are UP! This Could be a Good Sign of Things to Come!

189123 — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:24:00 GMT

Website hits are up! The Kennedy Team's website, www.BestofHotSprings.com expects more than a 33% increase in site hits by the end of January. Historically, this website averages 35,000 hits per month. As of today, with one week remaining in the month, 42,500 hits have been calculated with an average of 1,635 hit per day! That's 470 more hits per day than the usual 1,166! If this increase in web activity continues, and it is expected that it will, The Kennedy Team should have 52,300 hits by the end of January 2009. What a great way to begin the New Year!

The Broker at the main office at Trademark Real Estate, Inc. also reports a swell in activity with increased showings on all of the office listings.

I asked Paulia Kennedy, real estate marketing guru, if she was advertising her listings any differently. Paulia's reply was, "I recently changed our print ads and focused on a professionally designed general print ad in the homes magazines which is different from the other agents' ads showing just little pictures of houses."

Paulia continued to explain, "Another reason for good hits on the site has been the attention paid to our holiday gifts that we sent out in December. We received lots of thank you's along with good referrals." The gift that keeps on giving!

Paulia and the Kennedy Team have a number of new listings this month. I've been posting virtual tours nearly every week. As a result, there are many more Kennedy Team lawn signs out there as well. Paulia said, "We're also getting more people say they see our signs everywhere... (and we've got more signs out there now)."

Along with these results Paulia is confident that the market is changing for the better. She has seen an increase in buyer confidence, and the Kennedy Team is preparing for a booming real estate market in 2009!

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

Some Buyers and Sellers Become Unrealistic In This Market

189123 — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 15:24:00 GMT

Paulia and I have been sharing ideas this week for a good blog entry. I have been asking her about behavior changes in buyers and sellers as many have had to rethink housing plans due to a shifting real estate market. I asked Paulia to check her 'send box' to see what types of email questions she has been responding to, as this is a great source of information for the here and now.

One such individual who wrote Paulia was interested in purchasing a condo on prime Lake Hamilton property in Hot Springs, AR and gave Paulia a laundry list of 'wants'; most entirely unrealistic for the $100k he wanted to spend. The list reads:

A 2 or 3 bedroom condo.
In a well run condo complex.
But, a condo that has been neglected, once a rental that had been abused, etc.
Fairly low monthly fees.
On Lake Hamilton.
Price, less than $100K if possible.

It is important to stop here and note that even at today's real estate prices a 3-bedroom condo with a good floor plan, in a well-run condo complex with fairly low monthly fees on prime lakefront lists for, on average, $300k.

So, I had to take a second look at the 'wants' of the buyer versus the 'reality' of the situation and ask myself, why IS this buyer being so very unrealistic? He wishes to pay 1/3 of what a condo in this location is priced. Not half the price… or $25k below the comparable or even $50k below, but 1/3 or approximately $200k less than the listing value. Why, that's 3 condos for the price of one! How much more did he really think the market was going to 'bottom-out'? So I reread his email a bit further to understand this thinking. The potential buyer admits, "I may be unrealistic. That's okay. If something like this does not materialize, that's okay to. I just know my retirement account has declined by 40% in the last month. That has made us alter our thinking quite a bit." He also added, "Don't really have a timeline. I've always been slow on purchases. I drive a truck with 199,000 miles on it. My wife's car is the new one and it has 113,000 miles."

I ask more questions…Why did he add all of this extraneous information about his 401k and his wife's car? I believe this man is suffering and he wanted Paulia to know this. Perhaps he was looking for a sympathetic shoulder. Since his correspondence was in the form of an email, there was little risk involved for a face-to-face potentially embarrassing conversation. I also conclude that this buyer is having grave difficulty adjusting to change. Evidently, he has the same list of 'wants' from the past such as living on a popular lakeside location; one luxury he simply cannot bear to give-up. Rather, he would much rather raise his family in a beat-up condo and succumb to the renovation expense process than to give-up the lake view. I really find this behavior to be fascinating! To me, it is like buying a beat-up 1972 Cadillac, without modern day safety improvements and gas efficiency just for the sake of owning a Cadillac.

I asked Paulia if she's noticed any other changes in buyer behavior. Paulia observes that, "It’s becoming more & more difficult for the folks with a fixed income, and the middle-class folks to purchase a home. And we’re also seeing more people, being unrealistic with their wants– they seem to want to buy cheap and sell high -- and that “ain’t gonna” work."

On the other hand, in the luxury home buying market, Paulia indicated, "We've noticed more of a shark-like tone from the upper clientele – they’re hovering around like vultures ready to pounce and snatch-up bargains from the desperate sellers that are in a financial bind."

Paulia's own responses to those who are inquiring about properties have also been revised. As The Kennedy Team of Trademark Real Estate, Inc. does not participate in property management and rentals, an unusual but practical deal has been worked out with one particular group of developers they work with, for example, who has agreed to offer the properties for lease. Paulia explains, “In the past, we would quickly refer the clients looking for lease options to the property management companies in the area. Now, we’re trying to hold onto them because there are fewer potential buyers out there, so we’re doing whatever it takes to hold on to the clients and help them out until they are in better positions to buy or sell."

For those sellers who have listed with the Kennedy Team, Paulia states, "We’ve had to change the mindset from telling them [sellers] that, It’s not good to have a home sit on the market too long - to - It’s okay to have it on the market a while, as we need to be sitting and ready for when the market shifts back and the buyers pounce.” She adds, "We are keeping our sellers posted of all activity through our online seller reports (which is a great system that most Realtors do not offer) and we are keeping sellers posted on market stats, by reviewing the comparable home sales & active listings with them much more frequently. We are making sure that they are right on-price, as we do not want to miss out on any buyers, especially due to pricing. We have very thorough pre-listing packets with tons of initial information offering the seller lots of helpful tips and information on the selling process. We often spend two hours on our initial appointment, explaining the process."

The beauty of cut-backs, downsizing, price-reductions, slow-downs, etc., is that it does compel those who are optimistic to develop creative strategies that otherwise might not have been pursued. The difficulty is watching buyer behavior change so dramatically that sensibility becomes non-existent.

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant
www.YourVirtualAssistant.com

The Kennedy Team REALLY Does Handle Every Last Real Estate Detail!

189123 — Thu, 25 Sep 2008 15:05:00 GMT

As I mentioned in prior blog entries, I often peruse other agent sites to read what services he or she offers for potential buyers and sellers. Many agent sites tout that he/she will not only find the perfect home for their buyers but will handle every last detail up to the purchasing process. What does that really mean; to 'handle every last detail up to the purchasing process'? How far do these services really go?

I see that many agents offer more now in the way of resources such as the downloading of reports but that service seems to be the 'norm' and no longer the exception. What is it that you offer that sets you apart from the rest?

Now granted, I work with Paulia Kennedy of 'The Kennedy Team' also consisting of Jeff Kennedy and Debi Jones but I have worked with many agents in the past so I can honestly state here that this Team offers clients so much more value for the money than many I have met.

The Photographs

have previously blogged about the many professional photographs Paulia personally takes for every listing; no matter what the selling price is for a particular home. No one that I have ever worked with since I've been a real estate virtual assistant takes 50-100 photos of each listing, hires an aerial photographer for some listings and has me update these listing with new and fresh photos to rejuvenate the visuals. As I mentioned, Paulia keeps me busy.

Even the actual Kennedy Team member photos are also updated a few times a year in keeping with the changing seasons and backgrounds. The same holds true for sellers. If a seller paints a room, Paulia is out there with her camera taking new pictures of the updated space. She believes in keeping the listings updated at all times.

The Professional Handyman

Recently, I learned that The Kennedy Team also offers an extra-special marketing service for both buyers and sellers as the Kennedy's have a professional handyman on staff whose name is John Watson.

John is the man behind the infamous one-of-a-kind custom 'Kennedy Team signs'. As part of their comprehensive marketing package, John custom builds each sign from scratch in their workshop. He has drafted templates for each
roof, which helps him to build each sign to perfect scale.

John Watson customizes each sign matching the roof tiles with each property sign and the home itself. He has even used clay tiles on one luxury home property sign, which perfectly matched the same clay tiles on a particular Mediterranean home.

John's work does not end there. He also uses the weed-eater & repellent around their signs on vacant land and occasionally gets the chain-saw out to cut down small trees blocking those signs. His work is meticulous!

A hard-working and trusted Kennedy Team member, John often helps with preparing the luxury homes for showings. He makes a trip to the home about 30 minutes before the tour and turns on all the lights, adjusts the thermostats, sweeps the front entrance area, blows the leaves off the driveways, decks & pool areas. He also returns after the showing to double-check every lock and make sure all the lights are turned off and that the home is secure. John assists with keeping the flyer boxes filled at the homes and makes regular checks to make sure our signs are straight, clean and neat.

John is the ultimate professional handyman for small repairs for our clients. It is extremely hard to find workers for small jobs, so they always count on John to get the small items repaired ... especially when The Kennedys are 'under the gun' to meet the small repairs item list from buyers.

It is important to note that John's services are exclusive to The Kennedy Team. His custom signs are not for sale either.

The Real Estate Virtual Assistant

Primarily, I assist Paulia with her listing photographs. She advises when a listing has been signed and uploads photographs which need to be stitched and edited. I spend practically every day creating virtual tours, updating photograph files, assisting in Point 2, blogging and host of other assorted tasks. Quite frankly, I cannot see how she managed to handle all of this work in the past in addition to her regular marketing and buyer and seller support responsibilities. With the addition of a virtual assistant, Paulia spends more time personally working with buyers and sellers to expertly market their homes.

The Kennedy Team really does offer to 'handle every last detail up to the purchasing process' from contract signing to custom sign development, to photographic and high-end brochure creation. They even offer a small repair service for their clients so that the home passes final inspection on time and at no extra cost to the buyer and sellers. Oh, and if you are looking for reports, The Kennedys offer those too!

Janine Gregor
Real Estate Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

Easy access to everywhere could really mean that the home backs up to an expressway

189123 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:51:00 GMT

Hello,

This is Janine Gregor, Paulia Kennedy's Real Estate Virtual Assistant reporting today...

I am always looking at agent listings to see how properties are described. Although I have conferred with Paulia Kennedy on only a handful of her listing descriptions, when the task has been offered to me, it is something I tackle with pleasure. Paulia makes it easy for me though, (as I have mentioned in prior blog entries) because her listing photographs are really 'so good' and so very detailed that, I can describe a property quite well without even stepping foot on the lot.

When Paulia has asked me to write a listing description, I begin by scouting the competition's listings for good words and often have a chuckle knowing that some descriptions really require 'reading between the lines'.

It isn't always what agents describe them to be.

Most agents want to accentuate the positive and downplay the negative. It's all part of getting the buyer into seeing the home. However, it is important to use the right lingo so as not to mislead a buyer into thinking, for example, that 'easy access to everywhere' could really mean that the home backs up to an expressway.

In researching this blog post, I came across a great booklet by an organization called National Association of Exclusive Buyer Agents. This organization published a report entitled "Home buyer Report 2008 Report on Home Buying Euphemisms and Lingo or, How to Read Between the Lines When You're Shopping for a Home". It's a great read here which catalogs several euphemisms from their members and the 'real' meanings of these descriptions compiled from listings throughout the country.

I've summarized a few:

Galley Kitchen - Can mean a hallway with cupboards and appliances that two people could not occupy at the same time. Deep South.

Waterfront - Sometimes means a man-made pond or lake instead of gulf access. Deep South. (I see this often living here in Florida, particularly in areas with subdivisions boasting 'waterfront' a.k.a., man-made lakes. When water levels drop, these lakes are more like dry beds or mud pits.)

Water View - Sometimes used even when you have to stand on the roof with binoculars and it must be an extremely clear day to see the water. Northeast.

Very Bright Sunny Home - Can mean there is not a tree in sight. Used everywhere.

Unique Design - Sometimes means you have to walk through a bedroom to get to a bonus room or to the exterior. This is most likely a defect in the floor plan. Southeast.

Turnkey - Can mean they want to sell the home with the 80's furniture that they (seller) doesn't want to haul away. Mountain.

Subject to Third Party Approval - Often indicates a short sale or sometimes indicates a relocation company is involved. In all cases, this means you will be negotiating with two different parties on the seller's side. Expect some additional frustrations and delays. Most areas.

Renovated Kitchen - Can mean new faucets and new knobs on the old cabinets. Midwest.

Quaint Cottage - Can mean a wood frame house from the 50's and less than 600 sq. ft. Deep South.

Period Home - Could mean a 1700's home in original condition with a summer kitchen in the basement. Northeast.

Newer Furnace and A/C - In one case they were 25 years old each (also confirmed by a home inspector). When the listing agent was asked why she was stating they were newer she stated, "Because each one of them had received a new part within the last year." Midwest.

Mechanic's Dream - It is often a real dump, but it typically has a big garage. Midwest.

Mature Landscaping - There was a 40-year old cottonwood tree that needed to be cut down before it fell on the house. Midwest.

Light and Bright - Everything was white. White ceramic tile flooring and bright white paint everywhere. It looked like a hospital. Midwest.

Grandma's house - Hasn't been improved since she moved in and it still smells like her. Midwest.

Janine Gregor
Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy

Press Release - Outstanding Month of June, 2008 for Trademark Real Estate, Inc., of Hot Springs, Arkansas

189123 — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:48:00 GMT

(Hot Springs, AR, August 2008) - The Kennedy Team - Jeff & Paulia Kennedy & Debi Jones, REALTORS with Trademark Real Estate, Inc. are pleased to mention that their sales for the month of June of this year broke several records. The Kennedy Team sold a little over $10 million in real estate transactions in June, 2008 in spite of the "slowing economy" that seems to make the headlines on a continuous basis these days. Not only did the Kennedy Team excel in sales during this month, Trademark Real Estate was very pleased to have several top performers during this month, which resulted in $23.5 million in total sales for the month of June ... breaking many records for the leading real estate firm in Hot Springs.

There's no denial that the real estate market today is much tougher than ever before, however, the Kennedy Team and Trademark Real Estate, Inc. are full-proof that it's possible to get things done.

The Kennedy Team contributes their success to a combination of factors. They are true believers in continuous education in the real estate market, and they have earned over a dozen awards and designations for their specialized training in the real estate market. They also believe in good old-fashioned "hard work". This belief is what lead them to expanding their team to a total of five members that they have today ... Jeff & Debi are the licensed Sales Consultants who are always on the ground working in person with their clients, while Paulia is also a licensed agent and does all the "behind the scenes" work with all the marketing and working with their internet clients. They have also added two other part-time non-licensed assistants to their team, who help with all the other many details of marketing the clients' homes from custom sign building to preparing virtual tours.

Not only is hard work and education key ingredients to a successful team, the Kennedy Team believes that working for the best real estate firm in Hot Springs is mandatory! Trademark Real Estate, Inc. continues to be the leader in the real estate industry year after year in Hot Springs, and also ranked Number 9 in Arkansas last year. Lorna Nobles, Broker/Owner of Trademark Real Estate seems to focus on all the right things. She made one of the best decisions a few years ago when she made the decision to purchase the ground where Trademark now sits. She chose a high-profile location right smack in the middle of the popular "7 South" area on the highly-traveled Central Avenue. She then built an upscale Mediterranean-style commercial building. Lorna has a few other philosophies that are always visible in her beliefs. She believes, "It's extremely important to give back to the community that gives to us." Lorna leads her whole team by participating in many community philanthropies and expects all of her agents to help. Trademark earned the "Small Business of the Year" award from the Hot Springs Chamber of Commerce in 2004 & 2006 for their continuous involvement with community philanthropies. Lorna makes no exceptions to another rule - "Trademark only accepts experienced top performers who work full-time or more". She also believes strongly in "hard work", and believes it's absolutely necessary to give it your all, with no distractions.

As the marketplace becomes increasingly competitive, the leading edge approach is proving vital to achieve the sales results clients expect. Always introducing innovative ways to increase the effectiveness of their service, Trademark Real Estate, Inc. is definitely your choice. For information, call 501.318.3200 or visit their website at www.TrademarkRealEstate.com

CONTACT:

Paulia Kennedy
Trademark Real Estate
Ph: 501.655.6247
Fax: 501.318-3201
Paulia@bestofhotsprings.com
www.BestofHotSprings.com

-End-

Do you have any other unique Arkansas facts to share?

189123 — Tue, 05 Aug 2008 21:20:00 GMT

If you had asked me before I began working with real estate agent Paulia Kennedy of Hot Springs, Arkansas if I really knew anything more about her home state other than the fact that former President Clinton grew up there, I’d say you were correct. I just hadn’t thought about Arkansas even though I was a good geography student and had traveled throughout the US as a software trainer in my early years. It wasn’t that I had anything against the state; rather I never had any reason to really make it a topic of conversation. Since coming on board with The Kennedy Team, I’ve learned so much about “The Natural State’ and feel foolish that I never really knew how special this place really was. But I am making progress…

From the beautiful listing photos Paulia takes I see lakes and mountains and turn of the century architecture that is prominent in travel magazines and postcard racks but is the norm on her website. I’ve been to the library and read about the state's very diverse history and the many, many famous folks who are true Arkansans. So now, when I hear the word ‘Arkansas’ my interest is piqued as I am almost certain something I hear or read will indeed surprise me. This is what happened the other evening when I was watching a PBS program called, “History Detectives”.

This show consists of 4 detectives from varying backgrounds…one is a professor of sociology, another is an appraiser, another is an auctioneer, and the last is a professor of architecture. Viewers send in artifacts that they would like the detective team to investigate and they do so primarily through traversing to archives, traveling to libraries and booking interviews with learned folks and experts. The History Detective Team digs up information on the object, which makes for outstanding and rather interesting stories. (I used to yawn at PBS programming but it has taken a 360 degree turn for the better and is now one of my ‘favorites’ on the TV remote control!)

This particular episode, 'Mystery Crystal Cross' featured the chief of the Apalachee Tribe in Florida who possessed a crystal cross that was discovered at an archeological dig at an old Spanish mission. He wanted to know if it could possibly have been made centuries ago by his own ancestors. So Tokufu, the name of one of the History Detectives (professor of sociology) takes the crystal cross to a geologist, Stephen, who places the artifact under a microscope and a light source to see if the cross would illuminate. Apparently, if the cross was real quartz, the piece would glow under light while man-made glass would not do so.

Once the experiment was completed and the cross was deemed to be true crystal, which by-the-way was a near perfect piece of rather large quartz, the mystery was eventually solved. The crystal was indeed sculpted by an Apalachee Indian.

A partial show transcript read as follows:

“Tukufu: Wow, I see it illuminating.

Stephen: You see it’s illuminated, and then it goes dark. And also notice it goes dark not exactly along the axis of the cross but at a slight angle. That means that the crystal from which this was cut was actually larger than the cross that we see. Probably, uh, much larger than a regular banana.

Tukufu: So it’s crystal quartz; what else can you tell me about it?

Stephen: Well, it’s very clear with only a few flaws. By shining a laser on this piece of quartz, we can see sparkles that represent imperfections. Not so with our cross. When I shine them through the cross, it’s very clear.

Tukufu: Wow. So this is a pretty unique piece of crystal.

Stephen: Something of this clarity and size could only come from a few locations: France, Spain, Italy, Brazil, Mexico, and the hot springs area of Arkansas.

Tukufu: But not Florida.”

Did you read that? Stephen the geologist indicated that this quality of crystal could only come from a few places and one of those places was the Hot Springs area of Arkansas. (There are other places in the US where crystal quartz can be found but this quality just cannot be matched.) And, the fact that the cross was sculpted from a piece of fine quartz the size of a banana amazed me!

It just seemed so surreal that only one place in the US could provide such a unique treasure and it was in Arkansas, my new favorite state! It’s the equivalent in my mind to the panda bears which are uniquely found only in China or going to Philadelphia and asking for a real Philly Cheesesteak sandwich (Genos or Pats?). There are no substitutes to be found. I’m interested in little known facts which make only that place unique.

Do you have any other unique Arkansas facts to share?

Here are some great Arkansas places to search for quartz:

Arrowhead Crystal Mine http://www.arrowheadcrystals.com/

Atlantis Found http://www.atlantisfound.com/

Bear Mountain Mine http://www.fiddlersridgecrystals.com/

Starfire Mines http://www.starfirecrystals.com/

Janine Gregor
Real Estate Virtual Assistant to Paulia Kennedy