A Project Manager in Real Estate

I hold a rare designation in the world of real estate: a Project Management Professional (PMP)Ⓡ certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI)Ⓡ.

Before transitioning to my real estate career, I was an IT Project Manager and then I ran my own project management and technology strategy consulting firm for 10 years. At my core I am a planner.

I seek opportunities to bring all my PMP strengths to my real estate practice.

I lead transactions like a project. The definition of a project, according to PMI and enhanced by me, is:

• a temporary endeavor (the transaction ends at settlement)
• limited by constrained resources (budgets, specific location, often on a timeline)
• with a unique outcome (buy or sell one property)
• run by people (hello!)
• planned, executed, and controlled (if done well)

My approach, embodied in documented and continually improving best practices, helps achieve greater predictability and smoother transactions for my clients.

In for the Long Haul

I had three settlements on listings last week. Each had a unique set of circumstances and were atypical from what your standard Realtor may handle. As I reflect on those experiences, there are at least two common themes among them: longevity and expertise.

First, a brief overview of these sales:

1. A DC rowhouse, administered by an attorney as the court appointed Personal Representative of an estate for a person who died in 2006. This was also a short sale requiring bank and investor approval. I also had to appeal the sales price with the investor after ratification.

2. A split-level home in good condition in Montgomery County, Maryland, also an estate managed by two of the three adult children (all who had grown up in the home) of the deceased owner.

3. A nice sized brick Colonial in Upper NW DC with property condition challenges in FHA loan pre-foreclosure status. This one required lengthy bank approval and multiple appeals.

Next, details on staying power:

1. The attorney for the estate is one of my regular clients. By establishing a long term working relationship with her, we can work together efficiently with trust.

2. I initially had met one of the siblings in October 2016. We all kept in touch regularly. I weighed in on preparation decisions (colors, finishes, updates to do or not to do) as they made progress. Once the house was market ready, we were on the market with 3 offers and one ratified contract 6 days later and closed 32 days after that.

3. The sellers and I first met on April 7. 2017. We closed March 30, 2018. From start to finish:

• 357 days
• 84 showings
• 12 offers
• 6 inspections
• 4 contracts
• 3 foreclosure dates postponed
• 3 appraisals
• 3 walk throughs
• 1 closing

I am with clients for the long haul.... whether within one transaction or across multiple sales for a single client.

More on my areas and levels of expertise in future (and some past) posts.

Special Considerations to Sell Real Property under Guardianship or Conservatorship

A portion of my business involves helping attorneys, fiduciaries, and family members sell real property under special circumstances, such as guardianship, estates, complex family legal situations, and even short sales or foreclosures. In my experience with court-appointed guardianship (or conservatorship, depending on the jurisdiction), here is a list of unique considerations requiring proactive, experienced handling:

• These cases are often court-appointed, so the contract of sale for the real property will require review by designated "interested parties" and court approval prior to settlement. I add in time for this step through a third-party approval contingency for the seller.
• There is no historical knowledge of the property condition or improvements.
• The property will be sold in a true as-is condition, with all as-is provisions allowed in that jurisdiction; this means no repairs, no seller credit, no full property inspection.
• There is almost always a lack of records for property maintenance and even pay-off records for past deeds of trust or mortgages. Occasionally we cannot locate the note of satisfaction for a lien placed on the property; thus we like to get title attorneys involved early in the transaction (often before listing the property).
• The property is often priced below market value, due to the as-is nature of the sale; how far below market is determined by property condition and other financial considerations of the seller. The property can still be exposed to the market to substantiate the market value to the court.
• Often there are limited or non-existent funds for property preparation prior to going on the market. Note that in future blog posts, I will discuss options to address this funding gap.
• The properties are typically distressed with deferred maintenance, with poorly functioning or broken systems, and with outdated kitchens, baths, flooring, and other decorative elements.
• Often there is extensive detritus inside the home and across the yard, sometimes including abandoned pet waste or pest infestations and their associated odors.

As an attorney or fiduciary, or even family member, with responsibilities for these type of real property sales, consider the advantages of working with an agent, like Lisa LaCourse, who is familiar with these and other related challenges.

5 Things I Love About 10703 Lexington Street

I love the details, the unexpected, the unique elements of houses I am selling. Here are the 5 Things I Love about my new listing at 10703 Lexington Street, Kensington, Maryland.

1. I love that the front door is a vibrant color both inside and out. This makes the house stand out from the crowd and gives it personality and whimsy.

 2. In addition to abundant kitchen cabinets with a custom glaze, I love the use of the end space for cookbook storage and display.

3. While so many Colonial houses in our real estate market in Montgomery County, Maryland (not to mention Washington, DC, and Prince George's County, Maryland), have typical brass chandeliers in the dining room, I love that this homeowner added a modern flair of a crystal chandelier without being too trendy or gaudy.

4. Taking advantage of an 8 foot by 5 foot nook on the upper level landing, I love how these sellers tucked in a desk and bookcase, even using an applique decoration and a clear desk chair, to create a workable home office space.

5. While I truly love many aspects of this home, and I had a difficult time finding only 5 things to highlight in this post, I do love how they landscaped the gardens to create a lush, peaceful environment.

These types of details and carefully planned touches make a house into a home.

QOTD: Process

This quote of the day is from my favorite Washington Nationals announcer, FP Santangelo. On August 26, 2014, top of the 7th inning playing at the Philadelphia Phillies, one out, bases loaded, up to bat was Kevin Frandsen of the Nats. FP was talking about how, as a young hitter, you might be focusing on the result, say a grand slam, and not the process. Instead, as a veteran, he stated you let the pitch dictate the at bat:
  
Results take care of themselves if you stick with the process.

Hold a beat, then Frandsen hits an RBI single!

As a real estate agent, I believe in my processes, both in managing a transaction, leading buyer clients through their home search and contract, helping a seller with their property's preparation, presentation and pricing, as well as my client prospecting activities. It is difficult sometimes to lose sight of the process, but the results do come. They come in the form of the perfect house for a newlywed couple, the ideal inspection contingency result for a single buyer client, and the ideal house prep and presentation to the market for a seller who needed a quick sale.

More on Real

Early in my blog's life, I had written about How Real Estate is Real to me, and to others. I found some more concepts jotted down in a lovely old notebook I found on my bookshelf today. I guess I was inspired to look through some past notes and files after my back-to-school school-supplies shopping trip with my daughters.

Real estate is real due to its immobility, it indestructibility, its uniqueness. True, one could technically move a house, usually for historic preservation purposes, but it is a rare occurrence. Also, houses can be sadly destroyed by fire or another horrible natural disaster, but outside of mining operations, the land part of the real property remains and cannot be destroyed, and most homes remain in use for generations. And even in the most banal cookie-cutter subdivisions, each piece of property and all its improvements maintain a unique combination of characteristics, especially over time.

Real estate is real because you can touch it, you can see it, you can drive by and circle the block, you can knock on the door, shimmy through the scrawl space or attic, photograph it, share it. And from a pure legal and taxation perspective, real estate is real because they know where to find you and it. Real estate is an asset, an investment, not just on paper but in tangible fact because you can use it. Its value does fluctuate with market forces, sometimes painfully so in a down market like this country experienced recently.

I love helping people with real estate transactions because real estate is home, enjoyment, family, perhaps income (if an investment property), comfort, shelter. Real estate is real and I appreciate and respect that.

Staying

A phrase I use to describe my real estate business is:

Organized, creative, intelligent real estate solutions

whether you are buying, selling or staying.

So one may wonder, "Why staying?" Well, I believe I can help people with any type of real estate decision and sometimes the best decision for them is to remain in their current home for the next 6 months or 5 years, or more. And to make that decision, they may need data on the real estate market or insights from a real estate professional who keeps tabs on real estate trends including typical buyer needs.

Let me give you a few examples. A couple months ago, my friend Anne emailed me asking about a planned addition to their home in Kensington, Maryland, an area I know well, professionally and personally. She described their second floor plans as adding two bedrooms and a hallway bathroom with just a shower and not a tub. The other full baths are one in the master bedroom on that same level, with a tub, and another on the main level of the home, also with a tub. Normally I'd say 2 tubs in a house are adequate. However, knowing this market so well, I've heard many buyers lament not having a designated kids' bathtub on the same level as their bedrooms, so I suggested if she had money and space to add the tub and shower combo. She appreciated the perspective and their addition is underway with the tub.

Mid-summer, my friend Cindy asked if I had input on how much of an addition and what features would be wise investments in their neighborhood in Bethesda, Maryland. I scheduled a time to go to her house and walk through with her as she discussed their needs and wants in a renovation including an addition. I gave her detailed input and suggestions to add to her current thinking and brought comparable sales in her neighborhood that supported the addition of square footage and the allocation of more kitchen and casual dining space.

As a last example, a client who recently bought a home wants to reconfigure and renovate the existing basement and to do so, would like to take out a Home Equity Line of Credit (HELOC) loan to finance the project. Before paying the $450 for the appraisal through their lender, they wanted my Comparable Market Analysis (CMA), similar to but not officially an appraisal, with analysis of likely range of values. The good news was that with recent sales in their Kensington neighborhood, they already had built equity above their purchase price by my analysis. Of course that is not always possible nor should it be expected, but in this case, they already had data to support their purchase investment and thus the loan to add value to their home.

Contact me today with your real estate questions, even if you plan to stay in your current home for the foreseeable future.

QOTD: Building a Business

Yes, real estate is my business. I do make money when clients, who have hired me as their agent, buy and sell houses. This requires a set of skills and experiences (not to mention jurisdictional licenses) and, most of all, relationships.

Some particularly rewarding relationships that I've built over the last 2 months or so is with a small set of McEnearney Associates DC office colleagues through a group our broker Ned Rich calls Success Builders. It is extremely rewarding to freely share strategies and support each other with weekly conversations. We cheer each other's victories both big and small. By building our individual businesses one at a time, we collectively build a stronger brokerage community. We believe in our brand and in each other.

My quote of the day comes from one Success Builders colleague Brett about our meetings. It summarizes the secret to our success.

It is a weekly feast of ideas that work. 

Geography Bee

My real estate reality for today is your geography bee. See if you can picture where all these places are in your head or if you need a map.

I will leave my house in Bethesda, Montgomery County, Maryland, to drive to the McEnearney Associates office in Leesburg, Loudoun County, Virginia, to meet my clients (who live in that town now) in order to write an offer on a house in Knoxville, MD, (the Washington County part), which is listed by a brokerage in Lutherville, Baltimore County, MD.

Bonus points if you know the other county in Maryland where some Knoxville residents live.  I'm happy I drive a hybrid because afterwards, I'll head to the Eastern Shore to our house in St. Michaels, Talbot County, MD. Love living in the #dmv.

 

The Real Estate Triangle

I have a tool, adapted from my Project Management toolkit, that I use to help explain real estate choices and decisions to clients. I decided to share it in a blog post after receiving a lot of terrific feedback about it from colleagues at my brokerage, McEnearney Associates.  This is the Real Estate Triangle of Triple Constraints. Of course it is just a model, but I believe it is an important one that reflects realistic constraints and relationships between different home purchase (or sale) factors.

For any given price range, or maximum purchase price, there are three main factors at play: Location, Condition, and Size & Features.  There are physical and market forces that limit the houses available in any given location, and this triangle of factors must be in balance for a given price.  It just is not possible to want a bigger house in better condition and located in a more desirable (or popular) neighborhood for a given price, if perhaps you've seen everything in your price range in a given area.

Another way to think about this triangle is: sometimes you need to sacrifice the condition (maybe everything was not upgraded last week) of a house to get the size and features you want (number of bedrooms, size of yard, finishes in the kitchen); or vice versa (condition is key, so the house may be smaller).  Also, a buyer should share with their agent what is their driving, priority factor in their search.  Sometimes a buyer might want to stay in their current school cluster, or they want to walk to the Metro or to shopping and recreation, so Location is their priority "leg" on the triangle. To get that priority feature, they may need to sacrifice on size depending on their price range.

I also use this tool to demonstrate to sellers how potential buyers will perceive their home based on comparables in their area, price, condition or size. If their house is a larger home compared to others in the same area and in similar condition, they may sell at a higher price. But if their home's condition and features (finishes and upgrades for example) are lagging behind others on the market, the price will be affected.

I am always happy to meet with buyers and sellers for an initial consultation about their situation and this is just one example of the tools and topics I share.

QOTD: From A Charlie Brown Christmas

A Charlie Brown Christmas is a classic holiday movie. From the toe-tapping soundtrack to the iconic imagery, there are many memorable moments.  My favorite quote this year:

Lucy Van Pelt: I know how you feel about all this Christmas business, getting depressed and all that. It happens to me every year. I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that.
Charlie Brown: What is it you want?
Lucy Van Pelt: Real estate.

QOTD: More RE Love

My Quote of the Day comes from my favorite fictional Realtor colleague, Phil Dunphy from Modern Family.

Today I get to talk about the love of my life, [dramatic pause to glance at his wife, Claire]... residential real estate.

I adore how enthusiastic Phil is about real estate and appreciate his sometimes loony ideas for promotions and sales.

How Real Estate is Real

Real estate is real. That is one of the reasons I have enjoyed real estate for so many years: you can touch it, visit it, improve it, paint it, and of course, live in it.  Real estate is not some intangible investment for which you might get a paper proving ownership. Particularly for your primary residence, but even for investment properties like rentals or second homes, you don't just know about it once a month when you get a statement from your financial institution. To me, this all defines real.

It is worth understanding, I think, a few key terms with respect to real estate.

1. Land: The concept of owning land might seem obvious, but when you own land, you typically own not only the surface of the earth's crust but the soil and other minerals and materials from the outline of your land down to the center of the earth. You also own the air rights going straight up into the sky above your land. It gets a little more complicated if you or a previous owner has assigned some of the rights to those minerals or soil or the airspace above your land through an easement. But that is more Real Estate 201 than 101.  What this means generally is that, subject to local laws and regulations, you can build things upon, or improve, your land and you can grow things in that land and you can use the space above your land.

2. Real Estate: Real estate includes your land as well as any improvements or other human-made physical additions. Improvements include homes, sheds, garages, sidewalks, driveways, paths, sewer lines, and the like. Note that not all improvements allow exclusive right of use (like sidewalks and sewers), but if those are on your property, they are part of your real estate.

3. Real Property: Now it gets even more interesting, because real property includes land plus improvements plus your bundle of legal rights to the real estate. The nuances of these bundles of rights morph into Real Estate 301, but it is useful to know what they are at their core.

A. right of possession
B. right to control the property within the framework of the law (e.g., the right to forbid use of your property)
C. right of quiet enjoyment (meaning, to use it legally)
D. right of exclusion (to restrict access through installation of a fence)
E. right of disposition, to sell, will, transfer, or otherwise dispose of or encumber (restrict) your property

I am happy to explain any of these concepts in detail upon request.