Mary Pope-Handy's Silicon Valley Real Estate Commentary

Home buyers are surprised when they make an offer and it is rejected or countered high. After all, this is a buyer's market in Silicon Valley, isn't it? Shouldn't the sellers be thankful that there's an offer at all? Shouldn't they just take any offer they get?

That's how a lot of buyers view the "lay of the land". But even if only one in five homes is selling in Los Gatos, those homeowners do not want to feel like they are "giving away the home". And they'll tell you so.

Buyers want a bargain and sellers want top dollar. Somewhere in between, there's "fair market value". That's a reflection of no undue pressure on either buyer or seller, and also a reflection that both have a normal amount of motivation.

What can you, as a buyer in San Jose, Saratoga, or Los Gatos, do to make sure that you write an offer that can result in a sale (and not just an upset seller with a ridiculously high counter offer)?

There are several things to consider, such as current market conditions, recently sold comparable properties, and what the seller needs for this sale to make sense. With the right approach, you can make it a win-win situation. To view a complete list, please see my Los Gatos blog. The ideas will work anywhere in California (and for that matter, in any market).

Want to Buy a Home in Los Gatos?  Some Tips to Get Your Home Purchase Offer Accepted!

I have had way too much experience with hospitals, with emergency rooms and with intensive care units. Oftentimes I've found that medical professionals don't always "tell it like it is". Maybe they don't always know. But sometimes they do know and just don't want to say. 

This is true with the word "coma" for some reason, among other things.  "Deep sleep" is the description. "Is it a coma?" I'd ask - only to get a fuzzy answer. You figure it out later when the ill person simply doesn't wake up.

In real estate, sometimes we know or see things, as the professionals in the transaction, but have a hard time saying them. Perhaps we don't want to upset the client. Perhaps we're worried that we'll get fired. Or maybe, like the client, we're in denial as to the situation.

"It's not overpriced, it's just the market" is like describing a coma as only a deep sleep when we know better ourselves. When doctors know that the dying person isn't going to awaken, it's best to call it a coma (even if that's not a medically precise word - it does convey to the family the level of seriousness, which "sleep" alone doesn't do). When homes don't sell and everything that can be done has been done for staging, marketing and accessibility to the property, there's usually only one thing left: price.

Say it. The sellers need you to risk making them unhappy. You need to risk telling the truth, even if they do cancel the listing.

You and I are no more the cause of the current market than the doctors and nurses are the cause of a patient's sickness. And we have an equally important duty to tell it like it is. No one is really helped by tippy-toeing around the subject.

When my mom was dying, there was a wonderful ICU nurse who did what no one else in that department was doing. She told us the truth. She explained things kindly and compassionately so that we understood. I have often thought how wonderful she was but did not make note of her name. 

It is important for people to truly understand the situation, even if it's bad news, if they are going to make good decisions. As real estate professionals, it is our fiduciary duty to speak the truth. This is true whether the discussion is about price, about staging, or anything else that may be keeping a home from selling. It is possible to be frank, to be direct and clear, and still be compassionate and kind. In fact, often they are the same thing.

You never know what a day will bring. Or a week.

Last Sunday, my husband and I took Bella, our big black lab, out for a walk in our east Los Gatos neighborhood. I noticed some tagging - very unusual for our Silicon Valley community - so snapped a couple of pics and sent them off to the Los Gatos Police Department. I also copied my pal Alastair Dallas, who runs the online news journal, The Los Gatos Observer. (He has a great book, Los Gatos Observed.)  Anyway, the Observer carried a piece on this - graffitti in town and how fast it was cleaned up on Wednesday evening. Today, Thursday, I got a call from NBC 11's Daniel Garza asking if they could interview me on this subject. Of course I said yes (those of you who speak DISC, I'm a "high I".)

Daniel and his camera operator, Mark (Marc?) did a great job. I had explained my penchant for snapping pics and getting them online as being that of a blogger, but in retrospect wished I'd said "real estate blogger". There's the advantage of the written word: you can edit it!

If you'd like to see the graffitti piece on San Jose's NBC 11, here's the link:
http://video.nbc11.com/player/?id=226658   I'm not sure how long they will keep it up.

See what can happen when you have the habits of a blogger?