SuburbanDigs

Mondo Condo Crawl, Anyone?

We're going for unique next weekend in Montclair, NJ and the surrounding towns of Bloomfield, Glen Ridge and Verona, by holding the first ever Condo Crawl. In just a week, more than 30 agents signed on to represent their current condo listings at opens next Sunday, Nov. 1, from 1-4.

Okay, it was my idea. After so many months, it seemed, of just putting one foot in front of the other, I dared this idea out into the open. Seemed cute and manageable when I sent out that first email to colleagues around town. A few responded right away and I thought, great, we'll call it a success if a couple more sign on and, knowing others were out there too, it will make the lonely job of sitting watch on a Sunday afternoon in a highrise or tucked-away garden condo a bit more fun.

And then it was 20, then 30, then more. It's been a tough year for condos. I don't know who once said that at the end of a housing slump, condos slump even more, but it sure feels like that right now. The FHA's promise to scrutinize condo developments even more will likely slow that market further. So we know Mr. and Ms. Condo Owner are happy for the attention. Sarah Damaskos, my marketing guru, may not have gotten up Monday morning knowing she'd spend the week designing the logo and ads, sorting and sifting copy, and then, at the end, just keeping track of all the participants, but she jumped right in, thank heaven.

We've gotten the popular local editorial blog, Baristanet.com, to sponsor the event. They've put up a banner ad and a PDF listing addresses and descriptions of all the opens (check it out at baristanet.com/crawl) and local papers, including the Star Ledger are also featuring the event. Our cute crawl signs will be staked in front of every participating unit.

It's kind of like speed dating for condos -- efficient shopping and comparison with a blast of availability. Anyone who's been saying it's time to downsize or perhaps to make that first move into the market will be able to compare and contrast withough stretching out the activity.

Will the people come? That's the idea, but we Realtors have got to make it happen. Agents committed to participating I hope are blogging their brains out right now to each of their circles of influence. We're personally Twittering, schmoozing on Facebook, spreading the word. Who knows, maybe it will end up being a mondo condo crawl.

Managing Expectations

That's my favorite phrase these days ... managing expectations -- for my clients, buyers and sellers alike, as well as for myself.

As a Realtor who has been in the profession almost a decade and a half, it's hard not to remember the good old days, when the only expectations we had to manage were about how high a house would sell, or how many houses a buyer would have to lose before figuring out he or she had to bid way, way over asking.

Now, expectations are in miniature: How low a buyer can safely go in with an offer; how low a seller has to go to rid himself of the property. Lots of lows, lots of misery all around. And, when the parties have finally agreed on something, comes the hard part: getting a mortgage.

The other day, a very good mortgage professional we work with sent a "managing expectations" note to one of my clients who is due to close on a home any day. The process has been relentless -- documents required up the wazoo, signatures and double signatures, more proof here, much, much more proof there. Once, it was fine to for me to witness clients' signatures on a contract with my own on just one line. Now, for every signature, another line for me to sign.

I'll refrain from asking for what real purpose such diligence exists. The other day, just days from closing, one buyer was told to her loan-to-value ratio was suddenly off-balance. The bank demanded she pay off her car loan and she did. Days past, the closing date came and went. Underwriting just stood still, with only one further comment -- that there had been no point in paying down that car loan. We finally took the client to a private banker who funded the purchase in just days.

So, I was rather touched to see the following end-run email from our mortgage friend, which in a few words telegraphed that the next few days would no doubt be harrowing: "Thanks for sending the documentation and working with my associates," he wrote to my prosective buyer. "They will have the documents reviewed by the underwriter and our operations manager to have the loan cleared to closing but please be prepared to give additional documentation all the way to the closing.  That is the nature of the mortgage industry now with the large amount of documentation required by FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  I tell clients, and especially FHA borrowers, that we will be finished supplying the underwriter with documents when you walk out of the closing. I apologize but that is the state of our industry as we dig out of this foreclosure crisis. Please let me know if you have any questions as we are with you every step of the way."

Post-apocalyptic real estate at its best.