Sunday, December 14, 2014

Save BIG... Hire a Realtor BY THE HOUR




Selling Real Estate BY THE HOUR sure beats doing things the old fashioned way which is also the more expensive way....


We have always been a little different and marched to the beat of a drummer that many say they can't hear.  But that's okay, because being different, trying to invent a better mousetrap, irreverence for the status quo, thinking outside of the box, being told you can't do it, even failure (think of Thomas Edison) are all hallmarks of every great American success story. 


Well our most recent innovation and attempt to spit in the eye of the status quo establishment real estate sales model is to strip away the traditional 6% sales commission that nearly every agent expects home sellers to blindly agree to... only because that's the way it has always been done.   WHAT IF, a home seller was given the choice between paying the old fashioned 6% sale commission (based on California's current median sales price that would be approximately $29,400) OR  paying a licensed Realtor BY THE HOUR for only what they needed and for only the time actually worked??? Nothing more and nothing less??? 


Our little upstart real estate division On The Clock Realty is doing just that.  We  are listing and selling homes for our clients, charging them $99 per hour, billing them for only the hours and work they actually need (average listing takes between 35 - 45 total hours), and letting our sellers keep the difference. 


Saving the average median priced California home seller nearly $25,000 IS HUGE!!!  That savings is college tuition for the kids, a new car for mom, a head start on retirement for dad, debt elimination, or a much needed family vacation.  The point is, why pay the extra money in commission to the tired old status quo agent and let that money go to his or her vacation, kids college tuition, retirement savings, etc???  I can't think of one good reason!   


I am not asking you to believe that hiring On The Clock Realty as your Realtor BY THE HOUR is best for everyone.  Every situation is different.  The point of this blog is just to alert you to the fact that there is an alternative route that most home sellers don't even know exists. So when in the market to sell property, why not look into the road less traveled?  You may find that it is the road best traveled.  There is a lot of info on our website; www.OnTheClockRealty.com, we have live agents available 24 hours at 760-321-6569, or contact James Udall directly at 760-250-1986 by phone or text.  We will gladly explain our program in greater detail and answer any questions that you have. 


We truly believe that if given the choice that you too will decide that hourly based real estate sales (although new sounding) really makes perfect sense and is worth being given the opportunity to earn your current and future business.  This concept may outrage some status quo dinosaurs out there... but that's okay. I am sure that Thomas Edison outraged his share of candle makers too and...
that put's me in good company indeed.  Thank you for your time.                 

Friday, May 17, 2013

When You Can't Fight City Hall... Then Call Madame Mayor!

When You Can't Fight City Hall... Call Madame Mayor!
I had the occasion to be dealing with Cathedral City FD on a code compliance issue on one of my shortsale listings. Long story short... CCFD was going prevent me from closing a Shortsale today because the property had non compliant smoke detectors. CCFD was less than sympathetic even when it was explained to them that the Shortsale Bank took 6 ...months to approve the sale and then gave us only 11 days to close the transaction. In this case, 11 days was not sufficient time to have the old smoke detectors replaced and to get a compliance certificate from CCFD. (Due to budget constraints the city only performs these inspections once per week and only has a limited number of time slots available on that one day). So we begged CCFD for an exception to close... they said no. Told them we could have the new detectors in by this coming Monday... They said no. Told them that we had collected money in escrow to cover the cost of the new detectors installation... They still said no. Told them that if we don't close the Shortsale by the deadline today that there would be another foreclosed property in Cathedral City... Another vacant eyesore creating blight in an otherwise nice neighborhood... CCFD still said no! With nothing to lose and feeling a bit discouraged, I contacted Cathedral City Mayor Kathy DeRosa. I explained my plight and she immediately got me in touch with the City Manager, Andy Hall. The bottomline is that we got authorization from the City Manager to close the transaction and a needless foreclosure was averted. I am very impressed with the speed that this was handled. I am also impressed that Mayor Kathy DeRosa took the time to respond to my needs as a constituent and local business owner even though she was a few thousand miles away attending a conference in Washington DC... clearly this wasn't the most important thing on her docket, but she treated it as if it was. Thank you Madame Mayor and City Manager Hall. I am glad to see responsive and common sense government in action.