A couple of days ago I talked about why a real estate professional is more important now than ever. I’m a big fan of the website “It’s Lovely, I’ll Take It!“. She gets bad MLS pictures from all over the country. There are a lot of not great “professionals” out there. If, as a professional, you can’t make the home look attractive to a potential purchaser, you really need to rethink your vocation. But there are things that a professional will see that an owner won’t even notice that will put the owner in the position of leaving money on the table.

First, they didn’t get the picture level. This cheapens the property in the eye of a potential purchaser. (Actually, it’s so off kilter it makes my website appear lopsided) Then the photographs of THEIR children are front and center. A potential purchaser can’t visualize their children in a home when they’re busy looking at your children. The television is left on. Is that a tupperware container full of bon bons on the end table? No, no and no. While we love to goof on the internet, this FSBO is leaving a lot on the table. They highlight the Berber carpet in the ad. Nice you think, but then you see the picture of the four kids and you just imagine what the Berber looks like. They even say “Willing to Negotiate” in the ad. Translation “Desperate”. They’re going to become more and more desperate as the market moves against them and no one looks at this home because they can’t see themselves living in it. The home itself is lovely, the pictures they posted make it difficult for the untrained eye to see. Their “Willing to Negotiate” tag line will get all the sharks circling. Not a great position to be in. I doubt this couple saved any money by not going with a professional.

Friday afternoon, I fell asleep on the BART train, missed my stop and ended up at the end of the line in Pittsburg.  While it messed up my Friday plans, it allowed me to see the mountain from out there on Highway 4.  The view coming back from that side is amazing.  It it was a mistake worth making.  I hope the weather continues to hold, it’s just been gorgeous in Contra Costa County.

My latest favorite website to play with is Map My Run.   You plot out your course, in my case, I plot it from the house, and then off you go on a measured run.  You can keep track of the distance you cover and save your courses on the website.  It also works for cycling courses.  Although the big problem around here is the lack of bicycle lanes.  Ygnacio Valley is downright deadly for cyclists.  Concord Blvd ain’t much better.  I just bought the cycling coalitions map of East of the Hills where has all the bicycling lanes mapped out and also has the more dangerous roads pointed out.  Ygnacio Valley certainly falls in the latter category.

Looks like we’ve got some decent weather today, I’m going to run the dogs and work in the garden.