After the hurly burly of the last couple of weeks, I feeling a little blah today. It could be because I'm having an allergic reaction to something and my face looks like the main character from "Mask." I'm wondering how it's going to impact my client meetings this week. "Why yes! Of course I can help you find the house of your dreams! Please excuse the strange swelling on the left side of my face."
Actually, I went to the doctor today and got a prescription for a steroid. Not only is it swollen and red but it's itchy. Lovely. My allergies were really bad last week and I used some eye drops. The drops did wonders for my eye and the redness but not so much for the rest of my face. I love having sensitive skin. I'm truly turning into my Mom who is allergic to everything. Thanks Mom!
All kidding aside, I'm sure it'll be fine by this weekend and my client meetings. It's shaping up to be a busy weekend. Meanwhile, I'm going to lay low until the steroid takes effect and try not to scratch my face off.
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Management Companies
*WARNING* rant of epic proportions about to take place:
One of my clients is undertaking the condo document review period in their contract. That means my client has three days to review the condo docs to make sure there's no strange rules and that the condo association is in the black. The seller has ten days to deliver condo docs once the contract is ratified. Some management companies deliver them in one day and some management companies take 20 days. This management company took almost a month to deliver the docs. I've called the listing agent weekly to find out WHEN the docs were going to be delivered. Finally, this week, they were ready. Hot diggity!
After looking over the docs, my client had three questions about April's budget. The questions weren't earth shattering but they were important to my client. In two areas, a certain amount was budgeted and the association spent thousands more than budgeted. My client wanted to know why. In addition, there's some urgency in receiving a response. My client is going out of town tomorrow for 3 weeks on a work trip and will have limited access to email and phones.
The listing agent was very helpful and directed us to the association website for the association meeting minutes. Unfortunately, the minutes from April hadn't been uploaded yet.
Then I called the management company. I asked them the questions. They weren't allowed to release the info. They had "no way to verify that I was representing the buyer." They needed the current owner of the unit to verify that I was the agent. Except the current owner of the unit was out of the office for the rest of the day. I sent an email with my office phone number to verify that I work for L&F. No response. I called back. I spoke to the owner of the company. He began to yell at me when I asked why he didn't call my office to verify that I was the agent. He asked me if I had a ratified contract. I do. I emailed it to him. I called back again. He proceeded to yell more and then hung up on me. REALLY? You're the owner of the management company and you just HUNG UP ON ME? AND YELLED AT ME? That's helpful and professional behavior. I'll make sure I recommend your company in the future.
I AM LIVID. I've spent an entire day trying to find answers to three questions. I've had situations like this many times and it's never been this difficult to get answers. My client has the right to receive answers to these questions. Why is the management company being such a pain? I guess I'll find out tomorrow since the management company said they were going to get back to me and then left for the day. Unbelievable.
Side note: The management company emailed me five minutes ago with the answers. OMG. This ENTIRE episode could have been avoided if they emailed me when I called at 1pm today. It's time for a glass of wine.
One of my clients is undertaking the condo document review period in their contract. That means my client has three days to review the condo docs to make sure there's no strange rules and that the condo association is in the black. The seller has ten days to deliver condo docs once the contract is ratified. Some management companies deliver them in one day and some management companies take 20 days. This management company took almost a month to deliver the docs. I've called the listing agent weekly to find out WHEN the docs were going to be delivered. Finally, this week, they were ready. Hot diggity!
After looking over the docs, my client had three questions about April's budget. The questions weren't earth shattering but they were important to my client. In two areas, a certain amount was budgeted and the association spent thousands more than budgeted. My client wanted to know why. In addition, there's some urgency in receiving a response. My client is going out of town tomorrow for 3 weeks on a work trip and will have limited access to email and phones.
The listing agent was very helpful and directed us to the association website for the association meeting minutes. Unfortunately, the minutes from April hadn't been uploaded yet.
Then I called the management company. I asked them the questions. They weren't allowed to release the info. They had "no way to verify that I was representing the buyer." They needed the current owner of the unit to verify that I was the agent. Except the current owner of the unit was out of the office for the rest of the day. I sent an email with my office phone number to verify that I work for L&F. No response. I called back. I spoke to the owner of the company. He began to yell at me when I asked why he didn't call my office to verify that I was the agent. He asked me if I had a ratified contract. I do. I emailed it to him. I called back again. He proceeded to yell more and then hung up on me. REALLY? You're the owner of the management company and you just HUNG UP ON ME? AND YELLED AT ME? That's helpful and professional behavior. I'll make sure I recommend your company in the future.
I AM LIVID. I've spent an entire day trying to find answers to three questions. I've had situations like this many times and it's never been this difficult to get answers. My client has the right to receive answers to these questions. Why is the management company being such a pain? I guess I'll find out tomorrow since the management company said they were going to get back to me and then left for the day. Unbelievable.
Side note: The management company emailed me five minutes ago with the answers. OMG. This ENTIRE episode could have been avoided if they emailed me when I called at 1pm today. It's time for a glass of wine.
Monday, May 3, 2010
Baby Shower
Anyway, my whole "theme" evolved from the plates and napkins I found on Jonathan Adler. Then I saw the adorable lanterns and wah-la...cute baby shower decor. I am completely obsessed with all things Jonathan Adler. I would decorate my entire place with his playful furniture and accessories if I weren't such a cheapskate. I keep hoping I'll hit the lottery so being a cheapskate will no longer be a concern. A girl can dream.
The baby shower was a rousing success. The BM loved the decorations, the food and the fact a bunch of friends were able to attend. It was a lovely afternoon full of wonderful memories.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Life in the Fast Lane
Last week, I was living life in the fast lane. I made an offer, received an offer, finalized details on another offer and had a deal blow up. I showed property, did two home inspections and hosted a baby shower for a good friend at my house. (I had help..do you really think I'm that good?? PLEASE.) I also prepped our house for the installation of our new hardwood floors. It's only been nine months since the flood from a fire in our building damaged our condo but who's counting?? In addition to all that craziness, I had a friend from Holland staying with us because he got stuck in DC due to volcanic ash. Needless to say, I didn't have time to update my blog. I had a thought flit through my mind mid week and then was swamped again.
As I mentioned two weeks ago, the Spring season has started in earnest and things are moving! I'm happy to report that 1727 R St, NW went under contract. I'm also happy to report, my poor, suffering short sale buyer found something else and we ratified. Whoppee! We were under contract for SIX MONTHS for his first deal, the short sale, and it blew up because the seller didn't like the banks terms. I am unhappy to report that 4009 Cole Blvd., SE is the deal that blew up. The buyer had financing issues. That's two contracts that haven't worked out. I'm not happy. Not to mention, a lot of precious time was wasted for no good reason. I won't go into further detail or you'll get to experience a large scale rant. I'm trying desperately to stay positive. Yahoo.
I'll be more diligent about updating the blog this week. I should actually have time to form a thought or two. Maybe I'll even record them. Although living in the fast lane last week was exhausting, I'm always happy to be busy. Busy=business.
As I mentioned two weeks ago, the Spring season has started in earnest and things are moving! I'm happy to report that 1727 R St, NW went under contract. I'm also happy to report, my poor, suffering short sale buyer found something else and we ratified. Whoppee! We were under contract for SIX MONTHS for his first deal, the short sale, and it blew up because the seller didn't like the banks terms. I am unhappy to report that 4009 Cole Blvd., SE is the deal that blew up. The buyer had financing issues. That's two contracts that haven't worked out. I'm not happy. Not to mention, a lot of precious time was wasted for no good reason. I won't go into further detail or you'll get to experience a large scale rant. I'm trying desperately to stay positive. Yahoo.
I'll be more diligent about updating the blog this week. I should actually have time to form a thought or two. Maybe I'll even record them. Although living in the fast lane last week was exhausting, I'm always happy to be busy. Busy=business.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Hallelujah the AC is back!
After a week of no AC, our drainage tray has been repaired and we're living in the land of cool. We're a $1000 poorer but staying cool is very, very important to me. Thankfully the weather broke last week and it was bearable after Wednesday night. We were left with a fine coat of pollen on all of our belongings but everyone in the Bogotti household is a lot happier.
My computer also got a virus last week. Thankfully my husband is talented at all things computer and knowing when to admit he needs help. He went on Craigs List and found a computer guru who fixed it for $100. I was THRILLED. Geeksquad was going to be a minimum of $300 and that was just to diagnose that I had a virus. (No duh Geeksquad! Even I know it's a virus.) Not to mention Geeksquad said it was going to take a week to repair if we used their services.
On the real estate front, things are going swimmingly. Buyers are looking and listings are going under contract. It's intense out there.
Some of my clients were looking at a house in Chevy Chase and I felt like we were back in 2003. There were massive amounts of people viewing the property. It was really cute but it needed a new kitchen and a new bathroom upstairs. It had central AC on the top floor but none on the main floor. It was listed at 785K and they were getting multiple offers. People were doing pre-inspections because it was being sold in "as-is" condition. That also means offers were probably going to be submitted without certain contingencies. Sounds suspiciously like 2003 and definitely felt like it too. It was too much work my for my folks so they decided to pass on making an offer. Although it's encouraging that certain neighborhoods in DC are a sellers market, it stinks when you're on the buying side. April is going to be an interesting month!
My computer also got a virus last week. Thankfully my husband is talented at all things computer and knowing when to admit he needs help. He went on Craigs List and found a computer guru who fixed it for $100. I was THRILLED. Geeksquad was going to be a minimum of $300 and that was just to diagnose that I had a virus. (No duh Geeksquad! Even I know it's a virus.) Not to mention Geeksquad said it was going to take a week to repair if we used their services.
On the real estate front, things are going swimmingly. Buyers are looking and listings are going under contract. It's intense out there.
Some of my clients were looking at a house in Chevy Chase and I felt like we were back in 2003. There were massive amounts of people viewing the property. It was really cute but it needed a new kitchen and a new bathroom upstairs. It had central AC on the top floor but none on the main floor. It was listed at 785K and they were getting multiple offers. People were doing pre-inspections because it was being sold in "as-is" condition. That also means offers were probably going to be submitted without certain contingencies. Sounds suspiciously like 2003 and definitely felt like it too. It was too much work my for my folks so they decided to pass on making an offer. Although it's encouraging that certain neighborhoods in DC are a sellers market, it stinks when you're on the buying side. April is going to be an interesting month!
Wednesday, April 7, 2010
The Joys of Home Ownership
This week has been unbelievably bad and it's only Wednesday. I'm really busy at work (yea!) but my HVAC (heating and air conditioning unit) managed to spring a leak AND my washer broke. Again. Oh..did I mention it's 90 degrees in DC this week? YEP. I love my life.
I hate being hot. Nothing makes me crankier than sweating uncontrollably. We had our HVAC serviced two weeks ago. I get it serviced twice a year like everyone recommends. On Monday, my husband was washing clothes and noticed water pooling on the concrete around our HVAC. Concerned, we tried to discover what happened. The washer and the HVAC are side by side in a closet. Was the washer leaking? We pulled out the washer, checked the pipes and there were no leaks. The obvious conclusion was the HVAC. Incensed, I called the company we used to service the HVAC. They sent someone immediately to figure out the problem. They concluded our drainage tray had corroded and needed to be replaced. No AC available for 7 to 10 days because the tray is a special part and it's going to cost around $900 to fix it. Really.
Shortly thereafter, the washer stopped draining. We were anticipating the worst and were already pricing new stackable washer/dryers. Thankfully, it was only a sock blocking the drainage pipe so it was a cheap repair.
Oh the joys of home ownership!
I hate being hot. Nothing makes me crankier than sweating uncontrollably. We had our HVAC serviced two weeks ago. I get it serviced twice a year like everyone recommends. On Monday, my husband was washing clothes and noticed water pooling on the concrete around our HVAC. Concerned, we tried to discover what happened. The washer and the HVAC are side by side in a closet. Was the washer leaking? We pulled out the washer, checked the pipes and there were no leaks. The obvious conclusion was the HVAC. Incensed, I called the company we used to service the HVAC. They sent someone immediately to figure out the problem. They concluded our drainage tray had corroded and needed to be replaced. No AC available for 7 to 10 days because the tray is a special part and it's going to cost around $900 to fix it. Really.
Shortly thereafter, the washer stopped draining. We were anticipating the worst and were already pricing new stackable washer/dryers. Thankfully, it was only a sock blocking the drainage pipe so it was a cheap repair.
Oh the joys of home ownership!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
First time home buyers credit extended again!
Breaking news: the first time home buyers credit has been extended once again!!! Buyers everywhere rejoice.
HA..April Fools! No such luck people. The rush has officially started to get something under contract by the deadline of April 30th. After a slow February due to the snow and a marginal March, buyers are out in droves. I'm excited to be really busy but also wondering WHY people are such procrastinators.
I'm also happy to report that the inventory has FINALLY increased a little. Happy April 1st.
HA..April Fools! No such luck people. The rush has officially started to get something under contract by the deadline of April 30th. After a slow February due to the snow and a marginal March, buyers are out in droves. I'm excited to be really busy but also wondering WHY people are such procrastinators.
I'm also happy to report that the inventory has FINALLY increased a little. Happy April 1st.
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