Category: Finding Your Home

It's exciting when you put your house on the market and get an offer right away. But if it's not quite your asking price, should you take it...or wait for something better to come along? Join us to learn the best strategies for both buyers and sellers.

good morning morning peeps good morning good morning good morning good you musical theater there we go she’s pickle lady her sidekick skunk Pig we uh realtor here in Prescot Arizona and we’re coming at you live that’s right well that’s recording but we’re recorded it live yeah yeah alive now we’re not dead so not yet I would not make a good video yeah that could be interesting could be on one of those crime shows the case of the Miss Missing realtor so this is this is they get rid of you right away there you go they’d take me but they’d leave him yeah I think they would this is uh this is a video primarily for sellers primarily for sellers so uh you put your home on the market you price it kind of where you think it should be maybe a little higher than what you think it ought to be uh give you a wiggle room I’ve heard the the wiggle room a lot wiggle wiggle and then you get your first offer and the offer is not what you think it ought to be right most people think um we’re back in covid times when things were booming and then you’d get 10 offers and you were coming in way over price that’s over okay so you have to adjust your expectation yes we’re kind of back to the old-fashioned days again where maybe you might get one or two offers um but people are really not coming in over uh and some aren’t even coming ask if the house is brand new on the market uh they might come in and ask because they know you’ve barely been on the market and they want to wrap it up if it’s been on the market much longer than that um they might want to nip a little bit and then you as the seller will say well I don’t want a nip I want I want what happened in Co Let It Go yes let it go let it go that’s a song any I know that I know that so one of the uh one of the old adages of real estate and maybe you’ve heard this is that usually your first offer is your best offer yep which sounds counterintuitive uh and people have heard it but most people don’t believe it so we thought we’d talk about why that is yeah why first is probably going to be your best especially if your first offer is Cash yeah honestly Take the Money and Run yes do not quibble and go back and forth um you irritate you know the especially if you’re the buyer if you keep trying to go back and forth and renegotiate after a while the seller shuts down and says never mind so go in with your best and final the best that you can and if you want to nip them a little bit that’s fine but if it’s cash and you’re the seller you really should grab that yes seller I mean if you get an offer that’s all cash and maybe it isn’t coming in at 500,000 that you wanted but it’s coming in at 480 you’re quibbling at that point grab it um particularly now that now that our price points are getting higher and higher you know it’s it’s if you’re selling a home for $250,000 $20,000 is a lot if you’re selling a home for one and a half million $20,000 in the scheme of things is not so much let that go let that go and just especially cash is King as we all know you’ll have a faster close it’s not subject to appraisal um it it it just is a much simpler faster process so if you pass on that and say no you know uh I wanted 20,000 more you may sit in the market another four or five weeks of Hell of showing your house and keeping it clean till that next buyer comes along so if it’s within reason I would never say if they come in 100,000 less oh yeah no absolutely not I mean what’s fair is fair yes but you know yeah well the thing is too you think okay well if I turn this offer down they’re going to think about it a few days and they’re going to come back to me no they’re going to go look at other homes they will because they’ll be irritated and they’re like I gave you a great offer and it was all cash really or you know we have a good loan and we’re just we’re putting down a huge down payment this is a good offer um it kind of turns people off very rarely will they come back and circle back so our deal is if we think it’s a really fair and decent price and within reason and reasonable yes just take it and and I I mean I’ve sold many houses of my own it’s torture you know that it’s torture when you’re out there trying to sell a house and keep it clean and leave and and people know that yeah and people know that and so if you get a really reasonable good offer I I you know we always say think about this hard don’t just shoot it down and and here’s the other thing this is the reason why your first offer is usually your best first first of all particularly in presc first of all in Prescot now that CO’s over it is very rare for us to have a bidding war buyers for the most part are coming in from out of town they’re not they’re not here if you’re in a place like Phoenix and all the buyers are already in Phoenix they’re there they can fight with one another generally you know you deal with one buyer at a time as they come in town so the the bidding war thing has gotten very over so you know swallow that and digest that that’s an important piece of information the other is uh there are people out there they refuse to pay list price they’re going to nip you either a little bit or a lot they’re not going to be this just against their religion okay so think about these people for a minute if you have been on the market for one day how much are they going to nip you not much CU you just went on the market it’s a new home it’s still got a lot of showings and you’re not tired of selling yet you’ve been on the home you’ve been on the market for 90 days now they’re going to nip you harder they are that’s why the because they know you’re tired they know you’re tired they know you’re worn out that’s why y That’s why because the the chances are the buyers are not looking at the home as a seller they’re looking at as a buyer they don’t want to pay list they want to pay something less and the longer you’ve been on the market the more they’re going to nip you yeah so look long and hard at that first offer because there’s a lot of information there that is somebody who’s nipping you but the people in the future are probably going to nip you more even more even more because they know you’re you’re desperate not that you’re desperate but you might be I’ve got to move my I’m trying to buy this other house this one has to sell yes and it just creates so much more anxiety and uh fear and Desperation you don’t need all that you don’t need all that so now we’re not talking about lowball offers absolutely not that’s a different animal don’t even do that we don’t deal a lot with investors but typically when we do they they have a tendency the lowball which is really frustrating for everyone um we’re not really talking about that we’re talking about people who are making what they think is a a fair offer for home pretty close to Market yeah that might be coming in 10 or 15,000 and less it’s a respectable off respectable off um I think lowball people who deliberately lowball it’s a lack of respect and and I kind of steer away from that because it’s you know let’s not insult people I mean unless the home’s been on for a year oh yeah you know and it’s obviously there’s some issues okay that’s a different story but uh yeah the investors are you want to create goodwi and Good Karma with this future business transaction and if you come in rude and you lowball and you this and you that and you keep going back and forth and Dickering it shuts people down yeah so for buyers uh I’ll share with you my my U my um negotiating secret as buyer you want to look for the O screw it price okay that’s that’s going to be the best price you can get a home is the O screw it price yes so here’s here’s the way that works so um if you price a home respectively but kind of on the low side chances are the seller is going to counter if they counter they’re going to count counter pretty close to list price okay the best first offer you can make is what I call the O screw it price you give the seller the price not really happy with the price but it’s close enough is it really worth countering I don’t know I screw it I’ll just take it I’ll just take it that’s the the best possible price you can get we love that that little psychological we find try to find that sweet spot that people are like go a little lower than that they’re going to counter you end up paying more yeah so the best possible first offer is the O grw price that’s right so yeah that’s our yeah that’s a good tip whole bunch of tips buch we gave a whole bunch yeah if you like tips the place to go is pickle 411.com that’s our free information site whether you’re a buyer seller somewhere in between there something waiting for you that will Amaze Astound inform entertain and just overwhelm you with our generosity because it’s all free well and sometimes anger you yeah I love those angry emails angry emails angry emails yeah we get some of those it really starts my day off great people we tell it like it is if you’re not happy with that don’t shoot the messenger don’t shoot the messenger we’re just telling it as best we are truthsayers yeah truthsayers soothsayers yeah although I can say sooth soothsayers sooth I can say it but I’m not a soothsayer I’m a truthsayer or truthsayers truth truth soothsayers TR all right I give up okay hope to see you soon come visit us uh give us a call we’ll take you around we’ll have a grand old time have a great rest of your day bye bye

Older homes can have dangerous stuff in them... things like asbestos.  In this episode, we discuss common places where asbestos can lurk and what to do if you find it.

hello hello hello hello peeps this is Randall and Diane bro here coming to you live from our little town of Prescott Arizona we are here to kind of talk about some things cut them Charlie Brown yeah you know poor Charlie Brown but anyway we are here to talk about something that you know eor-ish Charlie brownish related asbestos asbestos kind of the thing about asbestos is every year there’s less and less to talk about right asbestos has been identified as a problem since I guess the early 80s yep and uh for the most part it’s been eradicated in most homes certainly all new homes yeah uh but from time to time you have a home that dates back to the 80s no not even really it’s like 1974 earlier and maybe even I think 74 to 80 is you know because they were still using asbestos yeah some of the materials yeah yeah even though they said no more asbestos they grandfathered in existing materials so yeah so the the uh yeah so there’s no hard cut off like in lead-based pain correct our cutoff is 78 anything 70 and later you’re fine yeah that’s right and it’s a big No-No there’s no hard cut off in asbestos yeah but basically the most common uh things for asbestos sometimes they would do duct insulation uh we have yet to see that the one that is most common here and probably most common around right around the country is the dreaded popcorn ceilings yeah popcorn ceilings are notorious especially if they were put in in 1974 1975. although you were sitting in high cotton when you put up those popcorn ceilings everybody thought you were you know put the glitter in there I mean the glitter was even more that was an added step but you were pretty fancy if you were doing it along with your sunken living rooms the prince Acoustics but that’s right it does it is pretty cool but however is it fine if it just stays in place sure but boy if you try to remove that you’ve got to have that abated immediately super fine particles just floating you can’t even see it yeah if you if you are if you have a home you’re trying to sell and it has popcorn okay chances are it’s gotten asbestos nobody is going to want a popcorn ceiling nobody nobody you’re going to want to pull it down yeah even you know the people talk about oh Grandma’s gonna sell her home oh my God even grandma doesn’t want popcorn nobody wants popcorn anymore I really don’t think it’s all that bad I really don’t I mean it doesn’t really offend me but I’ve seen people accept really pretty gross stuff but popcorn ceilings for whatever reason the whole body wants popcorn so if they’re gonna buy your house they’re going to want to remove it if they’re going to remove it that’s a problem if there’s asbestos so you’re gonna have to Abate it you’re gonna have to Abate it and there are companies we can help you with every step of the way uh they will come out and take three core samples from three different locations in the home it is shipped down to Phoenix it is tested and then they give you the percentage um and they will then refer you to abatement companies of which we know you know several of them here I’m sure you ask for for popcorn sealants make sure you ask them to measure the square footage oh yes of the popcorn typically to Abate that to you know have it all scraped down if you do do have asbestos it’s about 450 a square foot a square foot yeah so keep that in mind it’s it’s not a cheap Endeavor to repair that and get it all cleared and then after it’s all scratched up that is good I should say that it is as of November 2022. that’s correct yeah that price written in stone remember Stone but yeah as a a and to make the math easy you might want to do five dollars a square sure the other thing is to once it’s uh abated you’re gonna have to do air tests that’s to demonstrate that there’s no asbestos in the air still uh still correct and that’s probably going to run you another 12 1200 1500 and there’s a separate company that yeah that will come out and test the air quality yeah generally all very important steps yeah generally they’re two two types of companies there is the inspection company inspection and they’re not the same because you don’t want one right you’re a baby we swear it’s all clear now no you need to have somebody that’s why they do it that way right so we have uh all of those people in place if you fall in love with something there’s some great great you know Brady Bunch houses here in Prescott yeah built in the 70s I love them they’re darling no we we’ve actually we’ve gone through an abatement uh you know we uh we were representing the buyer uh we had the popcorn inspected sure enough there was asbestos uh we asked for the repair the seller agreed to do that and the abatement company came in they wear their little booties and a little you know they take care of business and they you know they do all these plastic tunnels you know the the with the plastic that they put up yeah everything it’s hardcore and uh yeah but I mean they come in they do the job yeah they get out that’s done and it’s done well it’s done well and we tested everything was fine yep so it’s not a deal killer but in general I think for most people you’re probably looking at about 10 right uh to Abate that and so you are a seller uh we would advise you if you’ve got popcorn test it if it’s you know chances are it’s going to be bad well even if it’s all right so if you’re gonna if you’re gonna take down the popcorn test it first don’t just take down the pop never take down the popcorn ruin your health okay absolutely you first have to have it tested and uh and if it’s um if it there’s no asbestos you could think about leaving it up and you would have the documentation and demonstrate that there’s no asbestos right uh but for the most part you want to take down popcorn take down take down the pop before you before I love to eat popcorn I think it’s delicious do I want it in my ceiling not really not really but so that is our tip of the day for asbestos it doesn’t necessarily mean end of times end of the world I have to walk away from this house there’s some fantastic homes with beautiful bones they just need to you know get a little you know up with the time so don’t necessarily rule it out but you should be aware of the cost you should be aware that it can be fixed but always test test test test it’s very important very important so that is our tip of the tip of the day we’ve got lots of tips for you lots of tips yeah our free tips you can find at pickle411.com whether you are a buyer seller or somewhere in between there is information there waiting for you that will Delight astound and inform you that’s that’s a lot to deliver but we sure try I’m cocky and it’s good yeah you’re feeling strong today I’m feeling strong he still had a big bill of goods here yeah but reach out to us we’d love to see you we’d love to take you around give you a tour of our lovely town and see some awesome homes absolutely I hope to hear from you soon take care bye

Buying and selling real estate is stressful, even under the best of circumstances.  So the last thing you need is a real estate agent using high-pressure tactics to move you forward when you're not really comfortable.  It doesn't have to be that way.  In this episode, we discuss how best to handle these people and these situations.

you stress me so much I lose my voice it’s what you do oh my gosh okay hello hello hello peeps it’s right in my ear yeah feeling good I see that I’m feeling good about the peeps that are here punch you in your throat don’t scream in my ear all right this is Diana Randall bro here coming to you live Arizona as live as it can get yeah they took the stakes out of our heart and brought us back to life that’s right we are live as you just heard we are quite live yeah here to talk about pressure selling oh yeah so real estate agents are notorious among you know used car sales people and you know and I hate to be like high pressure high pressure and a lot of people think because we are real estate agents that we we are high pressure people yeah we are not we are not and uh we come from the fashion School of uh what’s the word phrase school of thought school of living School of the philosophy of life I don’t know I don’t know having bought several homes ourselves don’t appreciate high pressure I feel like when you see a home you like when I’m representing the buyer it should hit on all cylinders if you have any doubt we the pickle team here will never pressure you yeah that’s not what it’s about well it’s it’s about counterproductive and here’s the thing I mean if we really came at you and did the high pressure thing and forced you into a transaction that wasn’t meant to be that’s right it doesn’t matter how fast you try to make it happen real estate transactions take weeks right so you’ll have second thoughts if you mean you’ll have second thoughts it’s honestly totally no point at it that’s right and it falls apart um at the end and so you end up you know buyer’s remorse you walk away no one’s happy the seller isn’t happy you’re unhappy um so the best thing you know that we believe is when you’re excited and you feel right we are there for you every step of the way we’re going to try to make it happen uh present the best offer we possibly can and keep our fingers crossed that the other agent will present the way we present you know and um absolutely and we do the same thing for our sellers absolutely uh you know sellers generally sell you know listing agreements listing contracts if you get a listing agent you’ve signed a contract and they really want to hold you to it which again we think is sort of silly uh but some will and they’ll force you to stay with them you know otherwise you can’t you can’t sell your house into your contracts up uh if someone is is pressuring you to sign a contract or buy something that you’re not sure about or just moving faster than you’re comfortable stop stop I did just don’t it shouldn’t be this high pressure there’s no huge rush we’ve been on many listing appointments and uh some of the fellow you know sellers are like I I just I felt so pressured yeah and I I didn’t like that I felt very uncomfortable but I had to sign that afternoon right after a 30 minute meeting yeah we don’t believe in that no we’re going to give it to you we’re going to give it to you straight we’re going to chat with you we’re going to be up front we’re going to be honest and we’re going to let you sit on that overnight a couple of days whatever it takes think about everything that’s been presented yeah this is the most important financial decision you will ever make yeah you shouldn’t be pressured to buy or list your home yeah under any circumstances it is not very comfortable you need to be a part of the process because the thing is right we are going to be in a little relationship whether we’re selling or whether we’re helping you buy and we will be working together closely hand in hand for up to six weeks if you don’t have a good vibe with your agent and you don’t feel comfortable or you don’t feel heard or you don’t feel um like you can chat with them about concerns they’re not responsive that’s a long time to be under contract with somebody um so you know we’re no pressure yeah we’re low pressure we just feel like you know what if we connect we connect we can assure you 100 if we decide to work with us you are going to get the best representation you can ever have we are available we answer the phone all weekend we answer the phones up to 10 o’clock at night if you’re worried you’re scared something hot happens you know catastrophic we’re here for you to walk you through it and that’s how we roll and I was what’s the point of Happiness yeah yeah that’s kind of the role that we play absolutely one thing I should point out too there’s a good reason why salespeople in general real estate agents specifically use eye pressure tactics they work sometimes at least sometimes they work the high pressure tactics high pressure tactics sure so here’s the thing it’s a little bullying to me it’s bullying don’t worry don’t reward the kind of behavior that you don’t want yes same thing with telemarketers you know if you don’t like any telemarketing calls don’t buy anything from a telemarketer right because as soon as you do the world will get out and more people will call you don’t reward the behavior that you’re looking to stop we want to work together as a team with you whether you’re listing or whether you’re buying we want to be a team we almost become a mini family uh many many of our dearest friends started out as clients yeah absolutely and we like to connect with you not just in a business level but you know let’s get to know each other let’s understand each other let’s understand how you operate under pressure and vice versa we try to keep everything calm cool and collected for you during a very stressful time there’s no doubt about it and we try to make it fun and we do so if you meet with us we are super uber Luber Luber low pressure low pressure low pressure low pressure we are never going to make a hard sell on you we’re never going to say oh my gosh you have to do this or it’s over never never if you make a con Justified decisions chances are you going to pick us absolutely we don’t you know we want you to be comfortable we want you to feel confident and you will get the 100 if not more from us so don’t put up with that stuff don’t don’t put up with that stuff high pressure down thumbs down throw them out throw them out we’re here to help you and yeah and maybe have a little fun along the way as well and get you to the finish line which is the most important part not only to the finish line but to the Finish Line in a happy relaxed confident that the job’s going to get done situation that’s right you you know lots of communication important real estate tip if you want more tips yes we have plenty of tips for you people all over the place all over the place real estate Prescott living in Prescott thanks for doing impressive good things to eat and press good the way to say Prescott I mean we’ve covered a lot of ground and it’s all waiting for you it is all absolutely free absolutely and it is outrageously entertaining and informative and all the wonderful things that I can say about ourselves low pressure low pressure uh but check us out you can find it at four pickle411.com that is our information site hope you have a nice relaxing evening and goodbye from Diana Randall here your Prescott pickle team bye

In real estate, the definition of a good photographer is someone who can make something look better than it is.  Whether it's the agent's photo on a for-sale sign or the shag carpet in the bonus room, what you see may not be what you get.  

And as a seller, if you think your home can compete these days without decent photography, guess again!  

In this episode, we share our thoughts on the magic of real estate photography and the first impressions it makes in the marketplace.

hello hello hello hello hello peeps how’s it going out there here with pickle lady Diane bro realtor yep I’m psychic skunk Pig Randall you’re supporting her in any way that I can sometimes it depends on the day it depends on what she needs help with correct yeah true uh we are here today to talk about the magic of Photography magic or real estate photography real estate Photography in general I think all of us are familiar with filters lighting Etc what you see folks is not always what you get uh as you you know not that I’ve been on those dating websites but if you are sometimes you meet up and you’re like really yeah or my favorite is just look at a real realtor’s uh business cards yeah the business card they’re the sales signs yeah yeah those photographers magic they work their magic fading and switching total baby switch and the same thing when you are selling your home selling your home if you do not have a great photographer or great pictures it’s doing a huge disservice yes it’s not representing your home in its best light no pun intended uh so you have to be really careful you have to make sure you’ve got great photos of your home represented in its best all of the best features yes sunlight sunsets backyards drone shots yes you know uh aerial shots yes you really need to have somebody the pictures selling your house is a process and one of the very first steps is enticing someone into being interested in your home and that’s what the photography does if you have bad photography they’re going to fly right through it just cancel the listing and you know what else it’s not going to happen fellow agents who are house hunting for you will be like ah this one hasn’t looked so good and they’ll pass on it yeah um that is your first first impression both to yourself as well as to fellow Realtors who were looking for their buyers and stuff so always make sure uh let’s review the photos with your listing agent make sure to say can I see them first before uh make sure it’s up to your standards make sure it shows all of the best features of your home only you know what’s the best feature you live in it that’s right you know a photographer may come in and not know at four o’clock the sunset or five is amazing yeah um so make sure you fully communicate with the photographer so we can get the best shots possible and review say may I see them before you go live yes you should you should take a look look at them just make sure that if you were a buyer these pictures would make you want to would this draw you in would you be like wow that kitchen’s beautiful I’ve got to see that house yeah just just a a point that’s important I think it’s the photography in your MLS listing is not there to give you a tour of the home it doesn’t necessarily have to be comprehensive the function of the photos is to make people interested in the house and want to see it draw you in to draw you in that looks interest you’re looking for that that’s it you don’t have to have a picture of the toilet they know you have a toilet I I can’t say hi to MLS how many pictures of toilets and especially a toilet with the seat up oh my God yeah please now I have never seen a buyer see a picture of a toilet I gotta go see that one that is I’ve never made one of those crazy Japanese boys absolutely you have a standard even if it’s a high toilet you know those toilets that powder your bottom and everything else hell yeah I’m all about it [Music] so you know try to get someone who will represent your home and and it’s in its best light and for the buyer’s side you need to understand that a lot of times pictures are not what the home doesn’t look the way the pictures do yeah and that can be a positive thing or negative thing sometimes you see uh pictures they look wonderful hey kudos to the photographer right uh but you need to get somebody in there to see it in person and give you feedback so a lot of times absolutely the homes don’t come out uh are not as good as that you would think there are a couple of photographers who are Michael very good yeah they are amazing magic they’re Wizards and and vice versa so we’ve seen a lot of MLS listings where obviously the real estate agent just pulled out a phone and snapped a few yeah a few pictures that are not well lit they haven’t been photoshopped and make them nice and bright uh they just don’t look good yep and uh we’ll go see those too yeah and if we find a home that is really beautiful and the photography is not good on it guess what we tell our buyers move fast move fast coming low and let’s get this under contract before everyone else figures out sometimes it’s just not represented and that’s a boon to you so we love to go preview first and uh like I said so always be opened and don’t sometimes you see a house here like this is it I love everything about it I love the look of this house I love this and then we go see it you need to trust that we’re going to tell you the truth yeah those were amazing photos but you don’t want to be you don’t want to do it and we’ll do a walk through video too really hard to figure a walk through video yeah you do a walk-through video and you like what you see that you’re you’re basically seeing what you say as you walked in the hallway yeah some people are like no but I really really like it I’m like that’s fine let’s go through it you need to see it in person to get a better understanding perhaps since on a busy road perhaps it’s uh backs up to something you may not want to live or look and you don’t see it in the photos so keep your mind open don’t get your heart set on but that is the perfect house based on the pictures yeah it looks like hell and the pickle lady says no this is a good one yeah watch the walk-through video watch it you’re gonna love it so that’s our little tip for you people out there who are thinking about listing uh hopefully if you list with us we will share all the photos and let you see but always ask whoever you’re working with may I see first what’s happening and if you’re not happy demand better pictures that’s right because that can be how quick or how long your house takes to sell that’s right very important and if you’re a buyer know that some of these pictures it’s a lot of magic involved and I don’t want to don’t don’t set your heart on one home just based on the photos that’s right right all right so that is our topic of the day tip of the day you want more tips and place to go is pickle411.com that is our free information site whether you are a buyer seller is somewhere in between there’s something there that’s free and waiting for you and it will astound and rock your world perhaps perhaps if you have a boring life maybe yeah it’ll be at least one thing there really something that that you’ll be like it was helpful that would be something yes all right so we look forward to hearing from you take care and have an amazing day bye