The Doobie Brothers wrote a new song about Maui, and included Mick Fleetwood, Jake Shimabukuro, and Henry Kapono on this epic video that includes footage before and after the fire. Mick Fleetwood has lived in Maui for decades, and owns the well-known restaurant named Fleetwood’s which was lost in the fire.
This is my grandmother’s recipe that Kayla has been touting regularly. If you don’t make it for Thanksgiving, consider it for Christmas – because it is fantastic. (Kathy is my sister)
One more blog post about the coming changes to the realtor environment.
Regardless of how the commission lawsuits are resolved, there will be a push – and possibly a mandate – for buyers to pay their agent directly. Agents will want buyers to sign an agreement to that effect.
Above is a copy of the verbiage on page one of the standard agreement.
If a buyer agrees and signs this form, and then finds a home on his own, he can ‘cancel this agreement by giving written notice to the other’. But only as long as THE BOXES CIRCLED IN RED AREN’T CHECKED.
Will buyers read the agreement before signing, and be reluctant to check the two boxes?
Otherwise the form is reasonable, with the agent being covered for any properties they recommend to the buyer with analysis (paragraph B1).
All that matters is whether the agent will insist on the two red-circled boxes being checked. I think a buyer will pause at agreeing to exclusive representation, but non-exclusive should be acceptable.
I doubt that I’ll use the form at all, unless Compass requires it. Why bother if you can cancel any time?
Happy Thanksgiving!
What a great day! Delivering pies and talking real estate – what a privilege!
Talking points you might hear over Thanksgiving dinner.
– It’s too unaffordable. Prices have to adjust.
There will be the occasional seller who gets caught in a pinch and has to sell that day – and might take a 10% to 20% discount. All you have to do is be there on that day. It is why you have a realtor!
But will it be a superior home on a premium lot? Highly unlikely – those owners know what they got.
Buyers need to decide: Are you a lowballer, or are you trying to buy a high-quality property? It’s either/or.
Bottome line: Prices may adjust downward on the inferior properties. Take your chances.
– There seems to be more homes for sale – is it the big slowdown?
As time goes on and the market gets tighter, it will be natural for sellers to price too high and cause inventory to grow. It’s easier than ever to overprice and miss the market! What to do?
Spruce up the home and price attractively, which is about where the comps are….and not 5% to 10% higher.
Tip: Lately the local prices have been going up about 0.5% per month. But once a home is on the open market, the buyer expectations drop about 1% per week on price.
Once as home has been on the market for 2-3 weeks, there might be some negotiations on price!
– Are commissions negotiable now?
Yes, absolutely and agents who are desperate and have no skills will be happy to represent you for 1% or less. It’s a ripoff. Find an agent who will produce beyond expectations. The best thing to come out of these lawsuits is that consumers will investigate agents more thoroughly!
Get Good Help!
If it gets hot, just call me. I’m happy to talk to people on the phone!
A hearty thank you to all our supporters of Mama’s Kitchen! Our 160 pies is a new record for us, and today is delivery day so all of us are coming your way with pies!
This is our fifth year selling Mama’s Pies, which is their biggest fund-raiser.
Mama’s Pies is San Diego’s largest annual bake sale benefiting Mama’s Kitchen. Local bakers, restaurants and caterers donate fresh-baked pies to our organization, which in turn our volunteers sell to their friends, families, and co-workers.
Each pie sold allows Mama’s Kitchen to cook, prepare and deliver 12 meals to homebound individuals vulnerable to malnutrition due to HIV, cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes or chronic kidney disease. Together with hundreds of volunteers, businesses, and community supporters, Mama’s Kitchen strives to help our clients stay healthy, preserve their dignity, and keep their families together by providing, medically tailored home-delivered meals and nutrition education – all at no cost.
The pies have sold out, but if you’d like to donate, click here:
https://mamaspies.org/team/klinge-realty-group/
We are extremely grateful for your support – thank you!
I heard from Jeff’s wife today that he lost his long battle with cancer last night.
He was among the most dedicated of my blog followers, and regularly chimed in with words of encouragement because he appreciated what I do – he was a retired broker from LA.
Here’s the one time you saw him on video, in 2021:
Historically, when home prices went up, more people would list their house for sale to cash in.
But now it’s the opposite:
NSDCC Number of Detached-Home Listings Jan 1 to Oct 31
| Year | ||||
| 2018 | ||||
| 2019 | ||||
| 2020 | ||||
| 2021 | ||||
| 2022 | ||||
| 2023 |
If pricing flattens out here, it would really cause a tizzy because sellers keep adding extra mustard to their list price. They would be disappointed next year – and create a potential for unsold listings to stack up earlier.
But this year’s total number of listings is still 48% below those in 2018, so if there were 10% more listings lying around, would anyone notice? Probably not.
Hopefully NAR is busy in settlement talks right now, because they just don’t seem to get it, or they have trouble putting it on paper. These are their latest explanations:
https://realestatecommissionfacts.com/
However, there might be hope for settling the case:
Regarding the possibility of a settlement in the case, Katie Johnson, NAR’s chief legal officer said, “For NAR, settlement has always been an option.”
If NAR were to settle it would look for two outcomes, according to Johnson:
1. That homebuyers will continue to be able to access and afford buyer representation, and
2. That all liability from the suit’s claims is eliminated for NAR’s members, associations and MLSs.
“Settlements are always an option if we can achieve those objectives,” Johnson said.
Lesley Muchow, the NAR Deputy General Counsel & Vice President of Legal Affairs and Antitrust Compliance also advised agents to stress that commissions are negotiable. In that vein, she urged NAR members to leave compensation fields blank on forms rather than pre-filling them out — a phenomenon multiple plaintiffs emphasized in their testimony during the Sitzer | Burnett trial.
“Those are conversations you need to have with the consumer,” Muchow said.
“There’s no set amount. Sellers can decide and it’s on the Realtor to educate the seller as to why they might want to elect to make an offer of compensation and how that will work to their benefit in the transaction.”
“A Realtor should never suggest to a seller that if they do not make a certain amount of an offer of compensation that other Realtors will steer buyers away from their property,” she added.
Johnson ended by stressing that NAR’s current legal situation represents an opportunity.
“An opportunity to differentiate yourself from others – from your competitors and colleagues in your area – and an opportunity to improve your practices. An opportunity to think creatively and do things differently, using this delta, this point in time, as a launch pad for innovation.”
