Destin Florida Short Sales & Real Estate by Wendy Rulnick

I am sitting here on my Destin Florida balcony writing this. It is a gorgeous day on the Emerald Coast- truly. The sun is glowing setting-orange.  I can hear the waves crashing in the Gulf of Mexico.  The temperature is a moderate 63 degrees, and a gentle breeze is caressing my legs.  Wow.  I am actually relaxing!  Then why am I writing a blog post?  If you are a real estate agent like me, you work hard.  People will say you work harder, especially in this market, but is that true?  Full-time professionals agents always work hard and are busy even in an up market.  We might work 10 hour days, some six or seven days a week.  Goodness, I don't "work" weekends, except for my website updating and Activerain reading three hours each on Saturday and Sunday.  Not to mention fielding phone calls from agents about my listings.  "Can I show it?"  "Where are you in the short sale process?" "How many offers have you had?"  Do I love what I do?  Yes.  I love my business.  I enjoy "business".  I enjoy the practice of real estate.  I take pride in performing well, being efficient, knowledgeable, helpful and proper.  I, like you, want to improve, do it better, expand my business and have success.  But when is it "OK" to turn off the phone?  To not catch up on your trade reading?  To stop trying to use every online trick, every business-growing hint, every sales technique?  When is it "OK" to turn off the headlines?  When is it "OK" to turn off the cell phone and- horrors-  maybe miss a showing?

You know what happened to me on Friday?  A dog ran into my car.  I was driving home, the sunset over the Gulf was incredible.  I had just called my husband telling him I was on my way.  Seconds later everything changed.  The little black dog was under my car.  I slammed on my breaks.  I called 911.  I saw its contorted body in my rear view mirror.  I stopped and looked and walked and enlisted neighbors to help me.  We couldn't find the dog.  That dog is more important than any business deal, any cell phone call, and any blog post.   So is life.  So maybe it is "OK" to slow it down a notch.  To sit on your balcony.  To help a dog.  To turn off the cell phone.  Real estate won't come to a stop.  But life will carry on.

"It's Wendy"

Wendy Rulnick, Broker

Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Today:

1. An agent from another company has been calling me for three days asking short sale questions.  He is going to be selling his own Destin real estate as a short sale, and his lender tells him they do not want him as the listing agent.  He wants to refer the listing to me.  His tenant may want to buy the property, but put in a low offer.  I told him that we should only submit an offer if we think it will be accepted.  His belief was that the seller was REQUIRED to send any offer to the short sale lender.  "NO, that is what clogs up the system for legitimate offers", I explain. He calls back afterwards and says his broker will not allow him to list his property outside his own office, but thanks me for my time.
2. I receive a short sale counteroffer from Citi Mortgage for a Destin FL home.  There is a primary and back-up offer on the property.  The buyer's agent tells me his buyer refuses to respond and is backing out unless Citi provides counteroffer in writing.  Of course, Citi says no.  Buyer backs out.
3. Real Estate Agent #2 on aforementioned home has been calling me, emailing me and faxing me for a week, demanding his offer be presented to Citi on equal footing as primary offer.  He says he has been in discussions with his office manager, and they just don't do "business like that".  I explain that we don't conduct short sales like auctions. 
4. Short sale seller in Fort Walton Beach Florida, for whom I am about to get an approval, calls me to tell me she will not move out of her house until the lawsuit her attorney filed against her lender is concluded.  I explained that the short sale approval will only be good for 30 days, so she must move out.  She says "No", the buyer will have to understand and get re-approved later on.
5. I've spent hours discussing the short sale process and pricing for a potential new listing in Santa Rosa Beach Florida.  The seller emails me that he wants to list, but potentially withdraw the listing in 60 days if he decides to do a deed-in-lieu of foreclosure.   He asks that I waive my cancellation fee and any other fee, and work on his transaction for free.  "No" I tell him.

End of day.

It's Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR     Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Search Destin FL real estate

Short Sale Pre Foreclosure Help.

Call toll-free 1-877-ITS-WNDY (1-877-487-9639) or local 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Wendy Rulnick specializes in real estate sales, short sales, traditional sales on Emerald Coast of Florida: Destin Florida real estate, Santa Rosa Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Sandestin, Seaside, Dune Allen, Blue Mountain Beach, Freeport, Rosemary Beach, Mary Esther, Shalimar, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field.   All Rights Reserved. *Another Day in Wendy's Short Sale Neighborhood* Contact Wendy Rulnick regarding Destin Florida real estate and vicinity.

Today was my catch-up day to get ready to go out-of-town as many of us are for Thanksgiving. 

To do list:

• Make turnover list for office staff with offers in process
• Print out flight and hotel itinerary for office staff
• Finish in-box tasks and put back into assistant's in-box
• Clean off piles of duplicate, old or original offers on desk for shredding or filing
• Clean up seller leads on desk, for follow up or filing
• Re-file eight 2" thick short sale folders until I get back
• Pay bills that will be "due" the day I get back
• Print out all short sale notes from database in case lender calls while I am away
• Print out all pending listing contact information
• Finish Quadrennial Ethics, gosh they give you the "look up" on the website, and I passed
• Email instructions to other assistant to move a desk upstairs while I am away
• Prepare market narrative for Countrywide short sale due by Wednesday before Thanksgiving! 
• Order two preliminary settlement statements so my team can fax in two short sale packages next week
• Notify team that one of our sellers has never returned the key into the lockbox- so says an agent trying to show
• Finding "fine print" typed into short sale offer that seller pays 6% of closing costs- BEFORE seller signs (whew)

Did I finish all my tasks?  YES.  Did I make it to the gym?  NO.

Happy Thanksgiving Everyone!

It's Wendy!

Wendy Rulnick, Broker, CRP, CRS, GRI, ABR     Rulnick Realty, Inc.

Search Destin FL real estate

Short Sale Pre Foreclosure Help.

Call toll-free 1-877-ITS-WNDY (1-877-487-9639) or local 850-650-7883 ext 204

Email itswendy@rulnickrealty.com

Wendy Rulnick specializes in real estate sales, short sales, traditional sales on Emerald Coast of Florida: Destin Florida real estate, Santa Rosa Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Niceville, Bluewater Bay, Navarre, Seagrove Beach, Watercolor, Sandestin, Seaside, Dune Allen, Blue Mountain Beach, Freeport, Rosemary Beach, Mary Esther, Shalimar, Eglin AFB, Hurlburt Field.   Wendy Rulnick, Broker and Realtor, has been selling real estate for almost 20 years.  She has won numerous awards, including the coveted ADDY for advertising design. An expert marketer of real estate listings, she negotiates successfully to her dients' advantage. She is supported by a team of top buyer specialists. She lists and sells homes, condos and townhomes.

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