This is amazing!!!

A friend of mine posted this video on his Facebook account this morning. I saw that it was almost 5 minutes long and hesitated to watch it. I can rarely watch anything online for that length of time. Usually after a minute or so, I hit stop because there's no substance to it or it's just plain boring. This time was different. I was engrossed for a full 4 minutes and 56 seconds. Actually, I watched it twice and will most likely watch it yet again.

Although I was fascinated with the message it also made me a little sad because I won't be around long enough to really see all of this technology grow into what we see in Star Wars and Star Trek. Wouldn't it be awesome to send a prospective buyer a virtual tour of a house in the form of a hologram that they can view from within their very own holodeck? Or maybe Scotty can beam them directly into the house. It would save me tons of money on gas!

For now, I find that I must continue to educate myself on how to use the technology that's currently available to me to make my job easier and more successful. Many of my buyers actually go online and find their new home before they actually see it in person. It's a shame more real estate agents don't take the time to create virtual tours of their listings. They're not servicing their sellers and they're making it more difficult on their buyers. I also wonder why someone selling their home would pay the same commission to an agent who only takes one exterior photo of their house as opposed to an agent who takes full advantage of everything technology has to offer -- that includes multiple photos of both the interior and exterior of their property, a video and/or virtual tour, a personal website and even networking through Facebook, Myspace or my blog.

I do all of this and am continually looking for other ways to market my listings and myself. I guess it's really just a matter of combining state-of-the-art technology with good, old-fashioned service.

Home Inspection on a Rainy Day

Today I had a home inspection in Rouse Mountain Subdivision. My customers from Virginia are buying a get-away cabin on 14 acres. They have two great dogs who just loved smelling the fresh air and running through the wet leaves. (actually we enjoyed it too) It was misting most of the time we were there and the fog was rolling over the treetops across the valley. It was pretty even though you might not think so on a rainy day.

We spent two days looking at cabins and acreage the weekend before. Because they weren't sure where exactly they wanted to settle, we spent Saturday on the east side of the county and Sunday on the west side. They narrowed it down to three and ended up on the west side. The drive to the cabin is really quite beautiful.

There's a low-water bridge about half-way down the road and then the road meanders alongside the Cacapon River until we get to our turn-off. Then it's time to put the Jeep in 4-Wheel drive so we can get to the top of the Cacapon Mountain and their new vacation home. Normally it's not too bad but today with the rain, the unpaved roads where a little slippery. And my army green Jeep is splattered with mud - that's okay - people will think I've been doing some off-road exploring!

After the deal has been made and agreed to between seller and buyer, my duties include doing anything and everything required to get to the closing table. In this case, I've already had Floyd locate and pump the septic tank. The appraiser has been given instructions on how to find the cabin. I've sent the contract over to the buyer's lender. The well water will be tested on Monday as well as a routine wood-destroying organism examination. Then it's time to get the Health Department out to inspect the septic tank. In between all of this, I'm coordinating a closing date with the attorney who will be handling this transaction as well as researching the cost of having the 14 acres surveyed. I'll get the buyers two estimates.

I always feel a sense of relief when the home inspection goes well. Nobody wants to find out that the home they fell in love with has major structural problems. Our cabin was originally purchased as a shell. The current owners were finishing the interior but were forced to put the house on the market incomplete. My buyers are looking forward to finishing it. Kevin, our inspector, said the house needs some normal maintenance and obviously, needs to be completed - and that includes some plumbing issues, some electrical, flooring and the huge vaulted ceiling in the great room needs drywall. Of course, the unfinished state of the house was taken into consideration when negotiating the sale.

By the time we get to our closing day, I will have spent many, many hours with my buyers, walking them through every step of the transaction. I still have much to do and coordinate before we get to that day.