What is real estate “consulting”?

When I first got my real estate license, my oldest and dearest friend said —

Before it comes up, I want you to know that I’m not going to hire you to be my real estate agent. I know about thirty agents, including my own mother, and if I picked any one of them, it would make the other twenty-nine mad, so I’m not hiring any of you. I’ll hire someone nobody’s heard of and who isn’t one of the crowd. That way, I can push them as hard as I need to and get as mad at them as I feel and even fire them if I want, and I won’t be risking a relationship or ruining Thanksgiving.”

No kidding – he really did say that.

I’ll bet you know a bunch of realtors, too. You might even be related to one or two. And each of them expects you to hire them when you’re ready to buy or sell property, right? And you probably dread that conversation. Or maybe you just feel flat-out obligated to use that person, no questions asked. So with all that peer pressure, you probably never even get to the point where you consider which of them is actually best-suited for your particular situation. But, seriously, would you hire a patent attorney to defend you in a murder case? Or a dermatologist to perform your neurosurgery?

Nope, not even if you were related. But that’s what you’re doing when you hire a real estate agent just because you know them. You don’t get the best expert for your location or property type or financial situation or even for your left-brained or right-brained personality! But you might be getting a big headache and a boatload of regret. So I have an idea.

Today, I am living in Atlanta, but I was raised in New Orleans & Birmingham and lived the last twenty years in Houston & Galveston. I have been a top-producing agent, managing broker, and agent coach & trainer. I’ve got solid professional relationships across the South – agents of every shape and size with myriad specialties — and I want to leverage all that to benefit my friends, family, neighbors, and clients. (That’s you.)

So here’s what I’m going to do: When you are ready to buy or sell in Texas, Louisiana, Alabama or Georgia, call me. I will visit with you about your motivations and dreams and requirements, then I will recommend one or more agents who I believe will do the best job for your specific circumstance. It won’t cost you a thing, and will very likely save you a bundle on the other end, in cash and drama. (Don’t worry… When you successfully close on a property, your agent will thank me.)

Finally, apart from getting your ideal agent and a personal consultant to back you up (me), you’ll also have a built-in excuse to your realtor friends & relatives: “I’m not using any of you because I want to protect our relationship,” just like my friend told me. Because you know what? It worked.

I hope you’ll remember my idea when you’re thinking of buying or selling. Email me at amp@alicemelott.com or call me directly on my cell phone at 713-443-5432 (Houston) or 404-585-8559 (Atlanta). We’ll visit confidentially, talk about the market and your situation, then decide what or who is best for you.

SOLD! 17614 Glei, Galveston

17614 Glei, Galveston

This Galveston West Beach home is better than beachfront!

Located in the intimate enclave of Karankawa Beach, this fabulous renovated beauty is second row, but angled to face the ocean over a huge swath of permanently unobstructed beachfront dunes.

Tile floors, backsplash and fireplace surround; granite counters; Jenn-Aire downdraft; custom cabs with pull-outs and brushed nickel hardware; berber carpet; recent double-insulated windows; wrap-around decks; awesome Gulf views from living & dining rooms, kitchen, master bedroom, and a killer private master deck.

This is the best of beach living!

Offered now at $399,000, well below SOLD comps! Click here for details.

I was a Lasker Home Girl

As published in the August 2010 issue of The Islander Magazine.
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My name is Rebekah Boyle. I was born March 3, 1918, and my family moved to Galveston, Texas, when I was just five years old. My father left us soon after, and my mother found work as an upstairs maid for a prominent Galveston family. As it seemed she would be quite busy with her duties, it was arranged for me and my younger brother, Jamie, to stay at the Lasker Home for Homeless Children. My older half-brother, George, went to live with his father’s grandparents. I never saw him again and have always wondered what became of him.

The Lasker Home, 1019 16th St. (photo courtesy of Texas Historical Commission)

Jamie and I were picked up from our mother and brought to the Lasker Home by a stern but kindly lady named Mrs. Frenkel and a strange looking gentleman with a long beard, funny hat, dressed all in black called Rabbi Cohen. It was Thanksgiving Day in 1923, and before we could even unpack our small grips, the home became the scene of a wonderful dinner with turkey and all the trimmings, the likes of which Jamie and I had never seen. The meal was followed by a musical fairy playlet that betokened much thought and care and was played with great charm by the children, who seemed happy, and who we would come to know as our friends and siblings. The costumes, made of paper in the pastel and autumn shades, were unusually beautiful. They were designed by the matron, and made by the older girls. There were about a hundred people present that night, all having a festive spirit about them and treating us children like members of an especially large family, and I did think that maybe this place would not be at all an unpleasant place to be for a while.

West Galveston Island Property Owners’ Association (WGIPOA)

If you are or aspire to be a resident of the West End of Galveston, the West Galveston Island Property Owners’ Association, or WGIPOA, is the keeper (and sometimes the maker) of the news! At last Saturday’s meeting at the Galveston Country Club, newly-elected Mayor Joe Jaworski and Councilmember Dianna Puccetti each talked about their visions for the island, and I reported on the State of Real Estate (1st half 2010).

Read more about Galveston’s West End here.

Read more about WGIPOA here.

An interview with Ida Smith Austin

As published in the July 2010 issue of The Islander Magazine.

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The Austin House (Oak Lawn) c. 1936

Sitting stately for the past century and a half on the corner of Market and 15th streets, The Austin House, with its double galleries and dual entries, pays homage to the at-one-time-equally important thoroughfares it faces. It is one of those iconic structures where tourists and residents alike stop to point and shoot every day. The home was already over 30 years old when Ida Smith Austin came to live in it and became its loving steward through the turn of the century and the Great Depression.

The Islander: Good afternoon Mrs. Austin. Thank you so much for meeting with me today. I’d like to start by asking you about your background. How did you come to Galveston?

SOLD! 3723 Pirates Beach Circle, Galveston

3723 Pirates Beach Circle, Galveston

This property began life as a 2008 Royce Home, so it has a very good design, exceptional finishes, and an excellent Pirates Beach area location across from Galveston Country Club with pool, tennis, dining, golf.

The Las Palmas enclave includes new construction that was recently completed (never lived in), built to today’s stringent codes, and ready to move in! Only two remain.

With 4 bedrooms and 3½ baths, this 2,674 square foot home is plenty large enough to accommodate a family on holiday or making Galveston their permanent home, and is the only one available with a view of Lake Como. Fabulous location with water views all around.

Offered at $274,900. Click here for details.

What word describes your REALTOR?

Portrait of an Aggressive Woman

I teach a class in professional validity where I ask real estate agents to make a list of ten adjectives they use to describe themselves. Then I ask them to make a list of ten adjectives that other people use to describe them. Then I ask them what words appear on the second list that do not appear on the first. In other words, what do other people say about you that you don’t say about yourself?

The most interesting thing happens every time. With a shrug of their shoulders, men in the class cite words like “disorganized” and “messy.” But the women — every single time — bow their heads, giggle a little, and whisper, “aggressive,” “controlling,” “bossy.” And they shake their heads and blush, as if the whole topic is distasteful.

“Fiduciary” is a relative term

I’ve seen this happen twice now. Within 24 hours of the end of the option period, the listing agent tells the buyer’s agent that they have a deal, then changes the terms on the buyer’s repair amendment and emails it in the middle of the night so that it arrives in the listing agent’s email inbox before midnight of the option deadline, but after the listing agent, assured that they have agreement, is sure to be offline and probably sound asleep.

The next morning, the buyer’s agent receives the changed amendment, which is unacceptable to the buyer, and the listing agent tells them it’s too late. Options have expired. They have to buy the house as-is.

These are agents who think they’re clever. They claim they’ve done the best job for their client in the name of fiduciary. In fact, all they’ve done is be nasty little unethical germs that give the profession a bad name. They would be sad if they kept their misery to themselves. Alas, they do not.

SOLD! 3726 Marina Blvd., Galveston

3726 Marina Blvd. – cranberry on right

This property began life as a 2008 Royce Home, so it has a very good design, exceptional finishes, and an excellent Pirates Beach area location across from Galveston Country Club with pool, tennis, dining, golf.

The Las Palmas enclave includes new construction that was recently completed (never lived in), built to today’s stringent codes, and ready to move in! Only two remain.

With 4 bedrooms and 3½ baths, this 2,674 square foot home is plenty large enough to accommodate a family on holiday or making Galveston their permanent home, and is the only one available with a view of Lake Como. Fabulous location with water views all around.

Offered at $274,900. Click here for details.

H.R. 5569 will extend flood insurance through September 2010

You read that right!

Introduced by Rep. Maxine Waters on June 22, 2010, and passed by the House without amendment the next day, the National Flood Insurance Program Extension Act of 2010 (H.R. 5569) amends the National Flood Insurance Act of 1968 to extend the NFIP from September 30, 2008, through September 30, 2010.

That is not a typo! We have to do this all over again in September.

Meanwhile, since the act expired on May 31st, no new policies can be written, which means no real estate transactions can be closed (if they’re financed), and current property owners cannot renew their policies if they have expired in the interim.

The Senate needs to pass this thing today. There is a storm in the Gulf and every property owner along the coast is vulnerable.

Here is the U.S. Senate contact list. Please call and write your Senators this morning.