Welcome Home to 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055 Preston Lakes
MLS 1126818

Owasso Oklahoma originated as a bedroom community to Tulsa Oklahoma years ago.  However, through smart planning, Owasso has grown and become a city unto itself.  Today, Owasso Oklahoma offers beautiful neighborhoods, lots of new and newer homes and plenty of shopping and dining for you and your family.  One of our great Owasso neighborhoods is Preston Lakes, which was developed right around the year 2000 and has continued to have new homes built ever since.

This wonderful full brick home, located at 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055 in Preston Lakes was built in 2006, is a one owner home and is 1720 square foot (m/l).  The home offers three bedrooms, two bathrooms, a large living area, dining and kitchen with pantry.  Additionally, this Preston Lakes home offers a large 2 1/2 car garage.  Now that I’ve told you a bit about this great house, let’s take a look inside.

We begin with the beautiful entry.  You can see that this space is large, warm and welcoming to your family and guests.

Just off the entry of our home, located at 9001 N 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055 Preston Lakes, is the large living room.  In this picture, you can see the wonderful high, vaulted ceiling, the matching brick fireplace and the extra large nook that was built for that large flat screen television we all love so much.

Here is a view of the living room looking the other direction.  In this picture of this great home at 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055, Preston Lakes you can see the large windows that allow lots of beautiful sunlight into the room, the dining area and the kitchen bar.  The floorplan of this home invites you to spend time relaxing or hanging out with family or friends in this great living room area.

Just off the living room is the dining area of our Preston Lakes home.  Once again, you can see the kitchen bar area where you can enjoy visiting and talking as well as the dining table.  Notice also the ceramic tile flooring for easy clean up in both the kitchen and dining areas.

Now we move to the kitchen.  You’ll love how easy it is to cook in the nicely designed area.  You’ll also love the pantry and the openness to the dining area and living room.  This Preston Lakes kitchen has beautiful cabinets and a black appliance package.

Here’s another look at the kitchen of this home located at 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055 Preston Lakes.  This view is seen from the pantry looking towards the dining area.  Notice the beautiful natural gas stove and the nicely placed microwave.

Now that you’ve seen the kitchen, dining and living areas of our Preston Lakes home, let me show you the other great features of this beautiful home.

Here we see the master bedroom.  This large room accomodates any sized bed easily and has high raised ceilings.

Here’s another look at the master bedroom in this Preston Lakes home, located at 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma. Once again, you can see that the room is spacious, inviting and warm.  The master also offers a large walk-in closet.

The master bathroom of this great Preston Lakes home offers something special…raised double vanities!  No more bending over for that low sink when you’re trying to brush your teeth or make yourself beautiful in the mornings!  Notice also, the wonderful corner tub.  This is a great spot to relieve that daily stress!

Not only does this Preston Lakes master bathroom offer double raised vanities and a corner tub, it also has a separate shower.

Now, let’s check out the other two bedrooms and features of this great home at 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055 Preston Lakes. Check out this bedroom, located at the front of the house.  This room is ready to go with built in shelves and a walk in closet.

Here is the third bedroom.

And here is the hall bathroom of our Preston Lakes house.

Now that you’ve seen the bedrooms and bathrooms of this home at 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055 Preston Lakes, let me show you the backyard and extended patio.  You can see from the picture that you’ll enjoy not only the inside of this beautiful house, but the outside as well!

Here’s another look at this patio of the home located at 9001 North 156th East Place in Owasso Oklahoma 74055 Preston Lakes so you can see how big it is.  This patio has all the room you’re going to need for entertaining friends and enjoying family fun!

Welcome Home to 19010 East Woodmere Street, Owasso Oklahoma 74055, Dover Pond
MLS 1123175

Welcome Home to 19010 East Woodmere Street, Owasso Oklahoma 74055, Dover Pond.  This amazing home offers five large bedrooms, four full bathrooms, a three car garage, office with fireplace, hand scraped wood floors in the living room and get this…a completely new beautiful kitchen and master bathroom.

If you’re familiar with Owasso, Oklahoma, you already know about Dover Pond, one of our private, gated, upper-end communities.  Dover Pond typically offers homes that are 3500+ square feet on 1 acre + lots.  These homes are located in a beautiful area with heavily wooded rolling hills and shallow running creeks.  This is a unique feature in the Oklahoma plains and flatlands of Owasso.  You might say this neighborhood has character!

In fact, let me begin this blog by showing you the backyard of this great home in Dover Pond so you can see the wonderful trees.  If you think this is no big deal, come to Owasso and I’ll show you lots of new neighborhoods where there are no trees or just new, little trees!

Now that I’ve told you a little bit about the home and neighborhood, let’s take a tour of the property at 19010 East Woodmere Street, Owasso Oklahoma 74055.  We begin with the beautiful entry, which was updated and refinished when the kitchen was torn out and rebuilt in 2010.

Just off the entry is the office with a wood burning fireplace made of natural stone from the area, rich paneling and warm feel.  You’ll love working in your home office when you sit in this room!

Here you see the formal dining area with gorgeous hand scraped hardwood flooring, a second natural stone, wood burning fireplace and beautiful Pella wood windows. This room is not only comfortable, it is also large and inviting.

A great feature of this room is that the dining area and living areas are open to each other, which is also very popular in new construction.  This home, located at 19010 East Woodmere Street, Owasso Oklahoma 74055, offers beauty and functionality.

Now we move into the new kitchen.  You did catch the word “new”, didn’t you?  This kitchen of this home at 19010 East Woodmere Street, Owasso Oklahoma 74055, was totally gutted and rebuilt in 2010.  And isn’t it beautiful!  You’ll love the large island with its’ gorgeous granite, tons of storage and seating at the end.  And you’ll appreciate the built in refrigerator, the storage with plenty of cabinets, the amazing granite double sink, the large pantry and the professional series stove and double convection ovens.  This kitchen is a cook’s and entertainer’s dream!  Notice that the beautiful hand scraped wood flooring was masterfully continued into the kitchen.

Here is a view of the kitchen looking from the other end of the island.

And here you can see the beautiful double granite black sink, the stainless dishwasher, microwave and warming tray.

Just off the kitchen is the informal dining area.  You can see that this is a great space for breakfast in the morning or for that late evening cup of coffee as you sit working with your IPad or reading the paper.

Now we move to the master bedroom of our home located at 19010 East Woodmere Street, Owasso Oklahoma 74055.  This room received the makeover treatment also in 2010 when the kitchen was being rebuilt.  The room now features hand scraped wood flooring and beautiful walls.  As you can see, this room offers plenty of space for the biggest of beds, dressers and other furniture.

Not only was the master bedroom updated, but so was the master bathroom.  In fact, you might say that the master bathroom received an extreme makeover.  Check out the awesome tiled shower with multiple shower heads and a rain head.  Notice also the jetted whirlpool tub and the amazing new double sinks.  This is a bathroom you’re going to love!

Here’s a close up look at the new master shower.  Be sure to notice the double rain head shower fixtures, as well as the additional shower heads in the wall.  You’re going to love taking relaxing showers here!

And here are those beautiful double sinks with their very modern fixtures.

Now that you’ve seen the updated master bedroom and bathroom of this great house at 19010 East Woodmere Street Owasso OK 74055 in Dover Pond, let’s take a look at the other bedrooms and rooms.

We begin with the second downstairs bedroom.  You’ll find this bedroom large, inviting and comfortable for guests or perhaps a nursery.

Here’s the downstairs hall bathroom.

Now we move upstairs.  We begin with upstairs bedroom number one.

Here is bedroom number two.  Each of these bedrooms is roughly the same size and both have their own private sink and vanity in the room.

Now let me show you the third upstairs bedroom in this Dover Pond home.  This bedroom is larger than the other two.  And it doesn’t look like a bedroom because it is being used as a workout room.

Just down the hall from the bedrooms is the awesome game room!

That would be pretty cool if that was all there was upstairs, but check this out!  There is also this very cool theater room!

Here’s another view of the theater room.

And yes, that’s a dry bar!  This room is a great place to hang out with the family or to host a party for friends!

Now that you’ve seen the main rooms of the home, located at 19010 East Woodmere Street in Owasso, Oklahoma, let me show you a few of the other rooms.

Here we have the upstairs bathroom.

And here is the laundry room of this Dover Pond home.

The awesome kitchen stove

And the nicely wooded backyard

And finally, a look at the side of the house so you can see the garages of this home at 19010 East Woodmere Street Owasso OK  74055  in Dover Pond.

Now that I’ve given you a tour of this wonderful home in Dover Pond in Owasso Oklahoma, let me show you where it is located in regards to Owasso.  You will see from the map that Dover Pond is located just a little more than 3 miles east of Owasso in Rogers County Oklahoma.

Now, here’s a closer view of Dover Pond so you can see the layout of the neighborhood.  You can see that this is not an overly large neighborhood.  It is private and exclusive.

And that brings us to this…the front gate to Dover Pond.  When you live here, you live in privacy, luxery and seclusion.  Dover Pond truly is a beautiful neighborhood with large executive homes.  And the home at 19010 East Woodmere Street is just waiting for you to come and call it home!

Ever feel like you’re being watched?  Kind of creepy isn’t it?

This happened yesterday morning while I was out garage selling with my garage selling friend.

We pulled up to a house and I noticed this guy standing in his garage watching the garage sale.  When we came back to the car, the guy was still standing there.  Only he hadn’t moved an inch.  I thought, “Hey, that guy is watching us!”

Then when we pulled away, I found out why he was watching us!  Can you figure it out?

Still no?  How about a closer look…

Yep, it’s a punching dummy!  LOL

Welcome Home to 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021
MLS 1118629

This great house, located at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 has a unique feature.  It has a Collinsville Oklahoma address, but it is located within the Owasso Oklahoma school district.  But this is not unusual.  Here in the Owasso area, we have several neighborhoods on our northern boundary that share this same unique set up.

There are some other unique and wonderful things about this great home at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021. One would be the Brookfield Crossing neighborhood. Why is that unique and wonderful?  Because Brookfield Crossing is a quiet neighborhood located just off the German Corner intersection, close to the new Reasor’s Grocery store, just down the street from our newest McDonalds and Sonic and close to both Highway 169 and 75, both of which will take you towards Tulsa or north to Kansas.

Now that I’ve told you about the location of this wonderful home, located at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021, let’s take a tour of the home.

We begin with the open floorplan.  This popular floorplan offers an open dining area, kitchen and living room with a vaulted ceiling and fireplace.  Here you can see the kitchen and the dining area.  You can already begin to see the beauty of this home, located at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021.

Here you can see the living room with the fireplace and the high vaulted ceiling.

In this view of the living room, you can see the staircase that goes upstairs to the bonus room, gameroom or 4th bedroom, depending on your preference.  You can also see the doorway to two of the downstairs bedrooms.  The kitchen is just to the back of the picture on the right side, by the stools.

And here’s one more look at the kitchen, showing the openness and connectedness of the floorplan.

Now that you’ve seen the living room and the kitchen, let me show you the rest of the features in this great home at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 in Brookfield Crossing. One of the things everyone loves about this home is the front room.  This room can be used for a variety of functions, such as a bedroom, an office or a formal dining room.  I’ve even seen it set up as a second living area.

This is the master bedroom.  You can see the entry to the master bathroom in the back of the picture.  We’ll look into that room in a moment.  The large master closet is to the left of the room out of the picture.

In this view of the master bedroom, you can see the master closet and the beautiful double trayed ceiling.

Now, let’s take a look at the master bathroom.  You’ll love the jetted corner whirlpool tub, the double sinks, pantry and separate shower.  Here you can see the double vanities and the corner tub.

And here’s a look at the separate shower.

Now that you’ve seen the master bedroom and bathroom, let me show you the other bedrooms and features of this great home, located at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 in Brookfield Crossing.

Here are the bedrooms and the downstairs hall bathroom.

If you’re counting, these two bedrooms added to the front room and the master bedroom, equals four bedrooms!

Now let’s take a look upstairs.  The room you are about to see makes a great game room.  And check this out…it can be used as a 5th bedroom too!  The room has a closet and half bathroom.  Quite often, this room is one of the favorite places in the whole house!

Now that you’ve seen the inside of this great home, located at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 in Brookfield Crossing, let’s take a look at the outside.  Here’s a picture of the large backyard.

Here’s a closer look at the back of the house showing the covered back porch.

Now, let me show you where this great home at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 in Brookfield Crossing, is located.  On this map you will see that the neighborhood is just down the street from what is called German Corner.  German Corner is at the intersection of 116th and Garnet.  It is named German Corner because there is a German Mennonite church that has been located there for many years.  You will also notice on the map that I have drawn a rough box around the Owasso fence line.  This is to show you that this home is located in the Owasso school district.  You will also notice that you have quick access to highway 169, which takes you to Tulsa to the south.

Now, let’s zoom in a bit closer, so you can see a better view of the neighborhood and some of the shopping and dining options nearby.  You can also see where the home is located in the Brookfield Crossing neighborhood.

Now that you’ve seen the inside, outside and location of this great home, located at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 in Brookfield Crossing, let me share with you the details of the home.

Asking price:  $175,000
Square footage: 2142
Bedrooms:  4 or 5
Bathrooms:  2 1/2
Garage:  2 1/2
Office/Flex room can be bedroom
Open floor plan
Fireplace
Living room with vaulted ceiling
Master bathroom offers double vanities, jetted whirlpool tub and separate shower
Owasso Schools

If you’re moving to Owasso, you’ll want to be sure to check out this home, at 11740 E 117th Place North in Collinsville Oklahoma 74021 in Brookfield Crossing.  You’ll love the open floorplan, the large corner lot and the location to shopping and dining in Owasso.  For a showing of the home or for further information about the home or other homes in Owasso, be sure to call the only Realtor® who blogs all things Owasso!

One thing I enjoy about working in Real Estate is finding the hidden gems of life that lurk in each home and sometimes, in backyards.  Take, for example, this sign.  I came upon it not long ago while showing yet another foreclosed house.

If you can’t read the sign, it says, “Bridge to London.”

When I saw the sign, it made me smile because I could see in my mind a father and his daughter in the garage cutting out the sign or maybe a mom taking her to Hobby Lobby or Lowes to find a precut piece of wood that work for the entry sign that the kiddo wanted just in that spot.

And I could picture them in the garage or maybe in the kitchen, painting the background color and then making the star.  And then maybe carefully painting the lettering so it looked “just right.”

And then I thought about all the fun afternoons that little girl must have spent on her bridge to London.  What adventures did they take?  Who did they meet?  What did they imagine?

I suppose the coolest thing about this little sign is that it reminded me of some of the safe places I used to play when I was a child growing up in Tulsa.  Oh the adventures my friends and I had riding our bikes to TG&Y, hanging out at the creek, playing with our Tonka toy bulldozers and dump trucks in my backyard and spending time in the little red fort.

Of course, we all know that time marches forward and nothing ever stays the same.  And we know the pain of foreclosure and the mess our housing market is in.

To a child I suppose that the foreclosure process simply means “we are moving.”  I hope it doesn’t mean little ears listening in to a parent on the telephone begging for more time or eyes peeking around the corner and seeing a mom in tears or parents going at each other as the stress tears them apart.

I suppose we won’t know for 20 years or so what this particular period of our history has done and meant to those who are the children of today.

One thing that we can take comfort in is that children are resilient.  And they are usually way more flexible than adults.

But as we are out showing houses that once were homes, let us remember that the innocent spirit of a child can also be crushed and ruined if we aren’t careful.

The next time you’re out showing houses and the people you are with have kids, be sure to bend down on your knee, give them a high five and ask them their name.

Not only will you light up their day, but you’ll be surprised what it does for your insides!

So I’m minding my own business in the world of Real Estate one day when the phone rings.  It’s another agent from my company who doesn’t work my area and he’s got a referral for me.  Super!  We work out the details and I call the seller up to make an appointment.

Upon arriving, I discover that the previous listing agent is a friend of mine from a different company and that the house is a nice looking trailer with good curb appeal.  “Interesting”, I thought as I knocked on the door.  Upon entering, I met Mr. Seller and the former Mrs., who was also selling the place.  It seems that these grandparent aged people had gotten divorced and had a court order to sell the place and split the profits.  It had sold previously, so they wanted a fresh start with a different agent and company, yadda, yadda yadda.  So I take the listing and in the middle of filling out the paperwork he lets loose of an “F bomb” directed at his former wife.  “Hmmm.  No love lost here,” I think.  He isn’t hateful to her, just more one of those older kind of guys who now has health problems, has lost his marriage, has to sell his house and has lots of frustration in his life.  At least that’s kind of what the picture looked like to me.

Fast forward to several months later.  We have an accepted contract and a closing date.  Due to the market, the selling price isn’t great, but they’re still going to make some money, which is good.  In the meantime, Mr. seller has gone out and purchased an RV, which he plans to live in.  And, for some reason, he has to pay the thing off on the day of closing.  This is not a good idea!  If you’re selling your house, NEVER, NEVER, NEVER arrange a payment for some big purchase like another house or an RV on the day of your closing.  If you do, Karma or Murphy’s law or the Real Estate wicked witch will come along and make sure that your closing will be delayed over the weekend or for another week or just,,.indefinitely or the deal will die for some goofy reason.

When it was discovered that our closing could possibly be delayed, Mr. Seller got…uh…shall we say, a bit upset.  Okay he got a lot upset.  He had to pay for that RV that day or he would lose his big deposit for some reason.  I kept telling him to call the RV dealer and explain what was going on, but Mr. Unreasonable couldn’t or wouldn’t do that.  It was “F bomb” city and my ears began to melt off my head.  And the funny thing was, it wasn’t angry “F bomb” cussing.  It was just “I’m screwed if this doesn’t close” F bomb cussing.  It was like living a rated R movie!

Well, it all worked out in the end, but not without having my broker and the owner of the title company present for the closing just in case something went a little sideways and the “F bomb” machine fired up.  I was concerned that the little closer girl might melt in her shoes if he let loose, so having some backup was a good thing.  Especially because the owner of the title company was a lawyer.  Thankfully, all went well and there was no need to put the heavy hand on the situation.  A few days later, I got a phone call from the previous Mrs. thanking me for all I had done to help them (her) out.  I believe it was the most grateful thank you I have ever received.

This situation begs the question of helping others.  Call me odd, but I am wired in such a way that I enjoy helping buyers and sellers accomplish their goals.  Helping someone sell their home so they can move into their next phase of life is rewarding.  But occasionally you come across situations like this, where the help you offer is met with ignorance or a lack of appreciation or respect or…the “F bomb”.  When this happens, I tend to try to work through the situation rather than to just throw the towel in immediately.  However, there are times when tossing a deal is a must.

I guess it is up to each of us to figure out where that line is at.  For me, in this situation, knowing that the sell would help the poor lady and really, even the cusser, made it worth sticking to the deal.  And sensing that he wasn’t cussing at me, but rather at the situation also made me able to stay with it.

But I sure was glad when the deal was done!  Anybody know where I can buy some good wallpaper glue?

I’m not sure who decided to drag or haul what is left of this truck into the woods, but it has been there ever since at least 1997 when Diane and I moved to Owasso Oklahoma.  It sits at the intersection of 177th East Avenue and 86th Street North.

Even though the sign says “No Trespassing”, there isn’t anything to go tresspassing for.  No house.  No barn.  No anything except for the over grown woods.  There is the truck cab, of course.  But since the sign says to stay off the property, I’ve never wandered out to check out the old truck.

Sometimes I wonder if those guys on one of those “picking” shows would find value in the old truck cab.  Or why some truck collector hasn’t tried to buy it for a restoration project.  Must be that it isn’t worth much.

It’s kind of funny, but to me the old truck has a sentimental value.  It reminds me of “the good old days” and people like my
grandparents and of when gas prices were in cents instead of dollars.
It also kind of reminds me of the passing of time and of how important it is to make everyday count.I enjoy looking over and seeing it just sitting there quietly guarding someones woods each time I drive by.

Diane and I work with a small church just up the road in Collinsville, Oklahoma.  On Wednesday nights I work with the teenagers during the school year.  Besides teaching them some things about God, I try to help them see beyond themselves to a future that often many of them never thought they would have.  In the summertime, we combine all of the kids together for Wednesday night summer fun.  This gives us a chance to go outside and enjoy the warmer summer weather and to do things differently.

Yesterday my plan for the activity didn’t come together.  I needed some T shirts to freeze solid in gallon bags of water so they would become a block of solid ice.  The kids then have to melt the shirts out of the ice using only their hands.  It’s harder than it sounds and takes about an hour.  It forces them to work together, to be creative and to conquer a challenge.  And they have a good time too.  The only problem was that I didn’t get the shirts into my freezer in time for them to freeze.  So when I went to take them out, I had cold bags of water with wet shirts inside.  This would never work.

What to do?  What to do? Luckily I had a plan B in mind, just in case this happened.  I ran to WalMart real fast, picked up a bunch of supplies and we had “Relay Race” night instead.  And the kids had a blast.

Being prepared to change course in the middle of something when things are not going your way is a very important concept.  Diane and I love to watch a show called “Chopped” on Food Network or whatever channel it is.  This is where four chefs have 20-30 minutes to prepare dishes using mystery ingredients.  Often one of the chefs will try something that doesn’t work out and when it doesn’t he or she has a choice.  They can change course, make something else out of the disaster or dump it altogether and go another direction.  We love it when that person is stumped, then changes course and comes up with something totally different and awesome!

I have home sellers who find themselves in the same situation.  The house isn’t selling or we begin hear consistent feedback about wallpaper or about this or that and what do they do?  Those who are motivated take action and the next thing I know, off comes the wall paper.  They don’t just talk about it.  They do it.  I had this happen recently and when I went back to the house for the next open house, the upstairs bathroom didn’t only have the wallpaper removed, but it was painted and finished off like a brand new bathroom.  Wow!  I loved it.

Of course, you know the other side of the story too, right?  Sometimes home sellers are reluctant to change course in the middle of trying to sell their home.  They give all kinds of reasons and won’t lift a finger to make changes that can help their home to become more competitive in a tough market.  I’m not blaming these folks because the reality is that some people just are not good with change.

But let me say this.  Even if you are not good with change.  Even if you don’t know how to do any home improvements, please reconsider.  Please make yourself become a person of change…a person of creativity…a person who isn’t afraid to tackle something you’re terribly afraid to tackle.  Remember Apollo 13?  NASA and the astronauts had to adapt and change to a very tough situation.  And when they did, they made it home alive.

Changing course in the middle of trying to sell a home can mean anything from rearranging furniture or renting a storage unit to remove clutter or painting or maybe having the carpets professionally cleaned.  It usually doesn’t mean major construction projects, but hey, you never know!

I’ll pull out the frozen T shirts next week and the kids will have a blast and we’ll talk about how they accomplished their task and overcoming hard things in life.

And each time I get to put up a Sale Pending sign in a front yard, we always talk about how great it is that the family is getting to move forward with their plans and dreams.  And it is usually because they were willing to adapt, change and move forward.

How about you?

I am a garage seller.  I love going to garage sales on Saturday mornings during garage selling season.  Not only can you find amazing bargains, but you meet interesting people as well.  And you see and find some of the coolest stuff.  For example, here in Owasso, we have many guys who work or who have worked at American Airlines as mechanics.  When you come upon one of their sales, you can pick up wrenches and screwdrivers and all kinds of awesome tools at incredible low prices.  And these are good tools too, not some cheaply made mass produced second or third world piece of junk.  And being a tool collecting kind of a guy, I love that!

One thing that you find at many garage sales is the naked Barbies.  Whenever we pull up to a house and there are lots of kids kinds of things on the tables or in the driveway, you can just about bet your quarter that there will be naked Barbies somewhere in the mix of stuff.  And this is true of selling houses too.  Whenever I’m out showing houses, if there are Barbies in the house, they’ll almost always be naked.  I’m not sure why this is, but Barbie seems to have problems keeping her clothes on.

I suppose there is a child’s natural curiosity about human anatomy that makes them want to see Barbie in all her nakedness.  Or perhaps it is the reality of little fashion diva’s changing her clothes all the time and then losing them (they are mostly on the small side you know).  Or maybe it is that Barbie was in the process of getting dressed when her owner was called to dinner or went out to play or something.  I’m glad she didn’t show up naked in the movie Toy Story.  And even if she did, I can just hear Buzz and Woody saying something like, “Oh for Pete’s sake Barbie.  Put your clothes on for once in your life!”

Being a seller of Real Estate, I, of course, feel the need to make some sort of application to home selling.  So here it is…

When you’re selling your home, make sure it is dressed.  Think of it as getting ready for a date.  Sometimes I come across Barbie in her original box.  This is usually the case when someone bought her with a fancy dress of some sort and they are saving her as a collectible.  It is then that I notice how pretty Barbie is and how nice she looks all dressed up.  Of course, she is usually kept away in a closet or something, so she isn’t practical to play with as a toy.  And if a kid took her out of her box, I’m pretty sure it wouldn’t take too long for her dress to come off and for her to become just another naked Barbie.

So selling a house has to be practical too.  You don’t want it to look like an untouchable museum because you don’t live in museums.  You live in houses.  I guess what I’m saying herre is that the best Barbie is the one who is out of her box, who is dressed appropriately (for the date or the picnic or whatever) and is someone who a kid can relate to.

Is your house?

It better be in today’s market in appearance…and in price!

So here’s the scenario.  I have a nice buyer family who has sold their home in another state.  They are moving to my area and are excited to find a great home.  So we go looking at homes after scouring the MLS.  But we can’t find anything that they really like.  Day 1 finishes as a dud.  On day two we go look at a few homes then return to the office to see if there may be something we overlooked during the first go around.

Sure enough, a listing popped up in a great neighborhood.  But there were no pics in the MLS and there was no disclosure either.  Sure, the information said that the home was updated, but without the pics it would be hard to know exactly what that meant.  So we call up the seller to see about a showing.  He says we can come out, so we do.  And when we get there, we find a delightful home.  It is updated and done so nicely.  It has granite, new windows and a gorgeous master bedroom.  My buyers decide to make an offer.  We return to the office, write it up and I present the offer a bit later that day to the seller.  He tells me that they’ll look over our offer, but they may be getting another offer also.  “Okay, let me know!” I tell them.

The follow up c0nversation where we should have begun negotiating this offer blew me away.  The sellers had received that second offer.  And they took it!  And they took it without even letting me and my buyers know what was going on.  This is the mistake that possibly cost this buyer thousands of dollars.  And here is why.  A Realtor® would have guided the seller into a mulitple offer negotiation, which is the very best situation you can imagine when selling your home.  The reason this did not happen in this situation was because Mr. Seller paid someone amature a couple of hundred bucks to put his house into the MLS.  This is why there were no pictures and no disclosure.  He had sent them in, but they never made it to the listing.  Like he said, “I guess you pay for what you get!”

Do you ever!  No pics almost made us not even consider the home.  No disclosure was scary.  And not negotiating mulitiple offers was a Rookie mistake.  My buyers were ready to come up on their offer.  And I’ll bet the other people probably would have been too.

Oh well, there are lots of other homes out there and I’m sure we’ll find a wonderful one for my buyers.  Hopefully, the next seller will have professional help representing them!