Archive for September, 2007
Cow Parade in West Hartford Center
The Cows have arrived in West Hartford Center. It’s going to be beautiful the next few days, so go check them out. The pictures you see here are just a tiny sample. Most of the cows are located in the Center along Main Street, Farmington Avenue, and La Salle Road. While you’re there, you can also see that the new Crate & Barrel sign has gone up, the store is opening October 18th.
Dueling with Dual Agency
I often hear agents talk about how they are representing both the buyer and the seller in a transaction. This concept is called single-agent Dual Agency and it is legal in the state of Connecticut. I do not agree with this practice and believe that it is not in the best interest of either the buyer or the seller to work with the same agent during a transaction.
When you have a Real Estate agent represent you in a transaction, they are compensated to represent you and look after your best interests. If that same agent is also representing your counterpart, then they also have the responsibilty to do what is in the best interest of that person. Since it’s impossible to serve two masters, the end result may be that the agent is just trying to get the deal done as quickly and easily as possible, for them.
Consider this example: The seller is working with Agent Pat and tells Pat that the least they will accept for their house is $250,000. The house is currently listed at $265,000. Buyers come to an open house and decide that they like the house and want to put in an offer. They are not working with an agent at the time. Agent Pat offers to represent them and the buyers and sellers agree that this would be fine. The buyers tell Pat that they are qualified to spend $260,000. The buyers also tell Pat that they feel the house is overpriced compared to other comparable houses they have seen. They would like to initially offer $240,000 and will not go over $245,000 through the negotiations.
Now, what is Pat to do? Pat has a buyer willing to bring an offer for the house, but Pat knows that the buyer and seller are $5,000 apart from the most that will be paid and the least that will be accepted. What Pat should do is have the buyer submit their offer and present it to the seller. They will most likely negotiate back and forth to their upper and lower limits and then realize that there is no overlap.
However, $5,000 isn’t really that big of a gap to bridge, so Pat may try to get the buyer to extend their maximum offer price, or get the seller to lower their minimum selling price. It’s really tempting for an agent to “get the deal done” particularly if they have influence over both of the parties and know the size of the gap. If the agent feels the gap is surmountable, it’s tempting to convince one of the parties that they should offer more or accept less.
If you have your own buyer’s agent, this is less likely to happen. You tell your agent your maximum offer price. They present your offers to the seller’s agent, who then presents to the seller. You negotiate back and forth until neither party wants to go higher or lower. Your agent says this is the highest you will go. The seller’s agent says this is the lowest the sellers will go. You will walk away because you don’t want to offer more and your agent will not put undue pressure on you to buy this house. It is their job to help you find another house that works.
If you want to protect your best interests in a real estate transaction, it is always prudent to have your own independent representation. Think about how attorneys work, they never represent both the plaintiff and defendent in a case. It’s impossible to be impartial.
Fun at the Canton Barn
I’m always looking for new adventures to share and this weekend I found a great one in Canton. Every Saturday evening, the Canton Barn holds antique auctions, starting at 7:30pm. Now, this isn’t some high-brow, snooty affair. It’s downright low key and a darn good time.
The item preview begins at 5:00pm. Grab a pillow at the back of the room to hold your seat. Then get a slice of homemade pie (they usually have 8-9 different flavor selections) and wait for the fun to begin.
Richard Wacht, owner and auctioneer, does a great job quickly moving through items, in language everyone can understand. None of the garbled, fast-tongued guess-speak that usually is associated with auctioneers. If you want to bid on something, you just raise your hand during the bidding and throw your hat in the ring. Runners on the stage will acknowledge your bids and it goes back and forth until the highest bidder wins. Your name is taken down and you pay with cash or check at the end of the auction (no credit cards accepted).
Here are a couple of observations…
1. The majority of the crowd (about 100 people) appeared to be “regulars” and known by the staff. As first time visitors, and about 20 years younger than most of the patrons, we felt welcomed and comfortable with participating in the bidding action.
2. Several items went for, what I would consider, super deals. There were several items that had a “Pottery Barn flair” that went for well less than what they would cost at an actual Pottery Barn store. It was easy to feel losers remorse when you didn’t participate in bidding on an item because you felt it would go for far more than it did. I missed out on a nice dresser that went for $35 and a beautiful settee that sold for $40 because I assumed the bids would go much higher. They didn’t, so I lost out on those pieces. Fortunately there are unique things available each week.
3. There were collectibles and large pieces of furniture. If you look to collect certain items, or just need to furnish certain rooms of your house, you can find it at the Barn.
4. Buying a piece of pie was a good investment. My tummy thanked me.
5. Showing up to preview items around 6:45-7:00pm should allow enough time. We got there a little too early and had too much time to kill.
The hubby and I had a fun evening and will probably now make this a regular event. It easily beats staying home and watching a movie on the couch. Over the next couple of weeks I’m going to check out the Hartford-area auctions to see how they compare. Stay tuned…
