We Are Looking for Homes to Sell

Our market is short on listings. Do you have a home to sell for between $150,000 and $250,000?

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  Spring has sprung for us here in the Tulsa market. We’re very busy this time of year, so I wanted to take a short minute to talk about our listing shortage. We need good, ready-to-move-in homes in the $150,000 to $250,000 price range. If you have a home that would match this criteria, please let us know so that we can help all of our buyers. We have more buyers than we have homes for sale that match their criteria.  

We need good, ready-to-move-in homes in the $150,000 to $250,000 price range.

Another tool that we use is called “My Buyer Listings,” a website just for buyer listings. That means we’ve met with our buyers, we’ve qualified them, and they’re ready to go buy a home. They’re just not finding homes that match what they’re looking for. Be sure to check out our listings that we already have with buyers and let us know if this is the perfect time to put your home on the market in this price range. That way, you get to take advantage of the market by moving up—and that’s always a win. If you have a home in this price range that you’d consider selling or if you have any other questions, please reach out to us and let us know how we can help you.

How John Carter Bathrooms Can Help You

John Carter from John Carter Bathrooms is here today to answer a few questions about his business and some of the latest trends in bathroom remodels.

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  Today, I’m here with John Carter from John Carter Bathrooms. John has graciously agreed to answer some questions about his business. How did you get into this business? It started way back. I’m from Namibia and my father did remodeling. He taught me everything I know. I learned everything from scratch and got to love remodeling, which made me decide to make it a business. I moved to the United States a couple of years ago and got a job like everybody else. Then I realized that I wouldn’t be able to work on my dreams, so I decided to start a remodeling business. I can do kitchens, bathrooms, and even build homes, but I wanted to focus on something special, so I learned how to specialize in bathrooms. I love your story and that you are doing something you are passionate about, which is important to me as well. What makes you stand out from the competition? There are a couple of things that make us different. First, we complete all projects on time and on budget. It is a top priority for us to work around your schedule and your finances. Second, all of our projects are designed to fit your size and your style. We don’t ask you to cut corners on the perfect remodel. Finally, we are the most available and we provide daily progress reports on what’s done, so you’re never left wondering what we did all day.  

You will get daily progress reports so you know exactly how much work has been done.

What’s a new style or trend that you have noticed lately? In kitchens, soapstone has been popular lately. We’ve been using it in bathrooms for a little bit. People do want to use quartz for their surfaces these days. There are a lot of new materials out there. People like wooden countertops as well. For bathrooms, people stick to light, neutral colors. Those will last a long time. Back in the 80s, people made pink, green, and purple bathrooms. That doesn’t work. My job is to come into somebody’s home and put something in there with tile that will last. Technology has improved with tile and cement, so we can build up bathrooms that are mold-free and 100% waterproof, which is great. How can someone get in touch with you about a remodel or to ask any questions? My phone number is 918-574-4610 or look at my website, JohnCarterBathrooms.com. You can enter your information and get a free 3-D model of what your bathroom could look like at no cost to you. Thank you to John for answering my questions. As always, if you have any real estate questions, just give me a call or send me an email. I would be happy to help you!

What Does Luxe Furniture and Design Have to Offer?

Today I’m here with Tamara Noel, owner of Luxe Furniture and Design, to discuss the products and services her company provides.

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  Today I’m here with Tamara Noel, owner of Luxe Furniture and Design, and I’m so excited for her to share with you all the great things they have here at Luxe. Along with beautiful furniture and decor, Luxe also offers a great design service that’s complimentary with purchase. When you shop there, you get to work with a qualified, educated, and talented interior designer to help you every step of the way. They’re not just salespeople who are knowledgeable about all the products Luxe offers; they are honestly legitimate design experts. The designers went to school to learn the skill and have spent their entire career honing the craft. They love what they do, and they’re very good at it. When somebody walks through the door with a need, what does the process of helping them look like? It could be anything from one of the designers helping the client navigate the store to identify their wants and needs to schedule a house call where someone isn’t quite sure what they’re looking for or they have a larger project they don’t know how to start.  

The help of a designer can make all the difference.

Our designers make complimentary house calls out to your home. They’ll do all the measuring, look at your paint colors, work with what pieces you already have, give guidance on space planning, give direction for new pieces, and more. It could be something as simple as window treatments, but whatever it is, the help of a designer can make all the difference. We do a lot in stages. It may just be planning for the big picture—doing a few changes now and a little bit more down the road to ultimately get the look that you want. What are you seeing in terms of design trends? Clean lines are still key here in Tulsa. It’s becoming a transitional market, but neutrals are still very popular, and a lot of the taupes of years past are coming back. Adding in a little bit of fun with texture or a pop of color is a good way to brighten up your space. How can people get in touch with you? You can find us in our showroom at 9922 Riverside Parkway in Tulsa, Oklahoma, in the King’s Landing Shopping Center. You can also visit our website www.luxetulsa.com, give us a call at (918) 459-8950, or like us on Facebook. As always, if you need anything in terms of real estate from the Wolek Group, please feel free to reach out to us. Have a great day!

Will I See You at the Toyland Ball in January?

The mission of The Parent Child Center of Tulsa is to prevent child abuse and neglect through education, treatment, and advocacy.

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Today I’m excited to be joined by special guest Carey Baker. I had the opportunity to ask Carey some questions about her involvement with The Parent Child Center of Tulsa. Her and her husband, Brett Baker, are Co-chairs for Toyland Ball 2018. The Toyland Ball, held every January, is The Parent Child Center of Tulsa’s annual signature fundraising event. This black tie gala featuring a whimsical theme offers an elegant evening of dinner and dancing, with a live auction. I caught up with Carey at the Toyland Ball Stock the Bar Party where attendees bring a bottle of wine valued at $50 or more to be auctioned off at the Toyland Ball 2018 in January. In past years, the wine auctioned off at the event in January has raised between $8,000 and $10,000 for The Parent Child Center of Tulsa. That is just the money raised from auctioning the wine. There are other items that are auctioned off that raise even more money for the cause. For those of you who may not know, the mission of The Parent Child Center of Tulsa is to prevent child abuse and neglect through education, treatment, and advocacy. People who have been victims of abuse or neglect are given education and counseling so that they are able to end the cycle. Many people only know what they’ve been taught, so The Parent Child Center of Tulsa aims to reverse this. If you’re interested in attending, the Toyland Ball auction will take place on January 20th, 2018 at the Cox Business Center. For tickets, visit www.ParentChildCenter.org. You can also become a patron sponsor by donating $1,000 for two people. At the event, there will be raffles, an auction, and a live band. Also, all of the proceeds go directly to the counseling funds for The Parent Child Center of Tulsa.
We hope you have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
If you have any other questions or would like more information, feel free to give me a call or send me an email. I look forward to hearing from you soon.

How Can DISC Help You Help Others?

We use the DISC personality profile to help us in our business and personal lives. Here’s what DISC stands for.

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Did you know that you can use behavioral assessments and analyses not only in your business, but in your personal life as well? When you can observe behaviors in your friends, family, coworkers, clients, etc., you know better how to adapt and relate to who they are and understand how to help them. We use the DISC personality profile to accomplish these things. What does DISC stand for, though? The D stands for “driver,” “dominant,” or “doer.” These people are the CEOs and trial attorneys of the world. These people come in, get stuff done, and don’t allow anyone to waste their time. The I stands for “influencer.” These people are motivated and typically work through other people. They’re sometimes referred to as “the life of the party” or “a social butterfly.” This isn’t always the case, but they’re definitely not shy in group settings. 

You can tell a lot about people by how they act in groups and how they work through challenges in their life.

The S stands for “steady,” “stable,” or “secure.” This personality represents the majority of the population. These people don’t like change. They’re the schoolteachers of the world. They’re all about love—when you walk into their home, you’ll see family pictures everywhere because that’s important to them. It should be important to all of us, but it’s especially evident in them. Finally, the C stands for “compliant.” These people are the accountants and engineers of society. They love following the rules and checking off tasks. Sometimes, they’re hesitant to move forward until they have all the answers. All of us have each of these different behaviors inside of us—they just show up differently for each person. Some people are more slanted toward one behavior, while others are a blend of each. D and C personalities are task-motivated, while I and S personalities are more relationship oriented. You tell a lot about people by how they act in groups and how they work through challenges in their life. If you have any questions about DISC or how you can use behavioral assessments to better your life and the lives of those around you, feel free to get in touch with me. I’d be happy to talk with you.

How Can You Take Advantage of Our Shifting Market?

Our market is shifting, but if you’re a home seller, it’s still an ideal time to put your home on the market as long as you price it correctly.

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Looking to buy a Tulsa area home? Click here to browse Tulsa homes for sale

Our market is starting to shift, so what does that mean for you? We’re at the end of the summer rush and the kids are back in school. Typically during this time of year, our market experiences a slight downturn before encountering another uptick in early fall. This is a seasonal trend that happens every year—the real estate market always works in cycles, after all. We don’t know what’s going to happen beyond this cycle, but I do know there are buyers and sellers in the market all the time looking to make a move. I also know from years of experience that it’s always about price. This means if you’re a seller, it’s still an ideal time to sell—you just have to price your home correctly. This will give you your best chance at attracting a buyer early on, getting the most money in your pocket, and moving onto where you want to go. Pricing right from the start is everything, and we call this “pricing ahead of the market.” When we get together and examine the numbers, we analyze what’s happened with sales in the recent past and what’s happening currently with your competition.

Real estate is a contest—are you going to win?

Real estate is a contest—are you going to win? Are you going to be the No. 1 or No. 2 house buyers have to choose from in your area? Buyers buy homes that offer the most value. Do you have all the nice amenities, updates, and features that the other homes you’re competing with have? If not, you need to offset that by offering a better price. You have only one opportunity, and that’s early on in the listing period. That’s where you’ll see the most amount of activity, and that’s when you need to capture a buyer. Whether you’re thinking about selling or buying a house in our market, we’d love to help you out. Just give me a call or send me an email and I’d be happy to speak with you.

Tulsa Needs You!

Hi! I’m Jennie Wolek, with the Wolek Group at Keller Williams Realty Advantage in Tulsa, OK

Today I’m at the Greater Tulsa Association of Realtors building with our team and our Keller Williams family to help the Backpacks for Kids committee stuff backpacks!  This committee has worked hard to gather donations, mostly from Realtors, to buy and stuff 350 backpacks for children in need.  These children are carefully selected by the Family & Children Services, for those children who have the greatest need.  We are stuffing the backpacks today and they will be given to the children at an upcoming pizza party.  The backpacks include basic essentials such as socks, shirt, underwear, jeans, shoes and toiletries.  We are so happy to help out today- actually our team leader, Susan Beach, cancelled our office meeting so that we could all come and help out. 

On another note, we wanted to update you on our Tornado Relief donations.  After the June tornadoes that hit our state so hard, we promised to give $100 of every closing to the relief efforts.  So far we have given $2000 and plan on continuing these donations through the end of this year.  We really want to THANK YOU for all of your referrals and business that help us give more to help those in need.  We have been dividing our contributions between the Red Cross, Food Bank, Salvation Army and the United Way

NOW Is the Time to Close Your Deal

Hi!

It’s Jennie Wolek with The Wolek Group at Keller Williams Realty Advantage in Tulsa, OK.

I just wanted to chat with you today about URGENCY for both Buyers and Sellers in our market right now.

Schools are going to be starting in about 40 days and that’s the amount of time needed to get a real estate transaction closed. So writing an offer ASAP is important if you want to be settled before school starts.

If you are a seller currently on the market- NOW is the time to be proactive in attracting buyers. We know that price, condition and location are what sells a home, so make sure all of those are in alignment. Let’s re-evaluate the market and make sure you are priced right. Even small price adjustments can help to get your home to pop up as “priced reduced” on the MLS and websites. This could attract buyers that may have overlooked you before.

If you are a buyer who has children, now is the time to get into contract so you can move before school starts. This way you won’t have the added stress of back to school and moving into your new home happening at the exact same time.

The other important factor for Buyers is an increase in interest rates. This week they have been over 4.5% and last week they were close to 5%.  We do not have a crystal ball, but the historic low interest rates we have seen may be over. So, in order to still lock-in at a great interest rate, now is the time to take advantage of our strong market.

Active listings have gone back up over the last month, and our median sales price is around $140,000, AND its taking an average of 40 days for listings to sell!- so it’s still a great time to buy and sell!

Contact us today and see how we can help you sell your home or buy a new one – before summer is over!

Do You Understand the Inspection Period in Tulsa, OK?

Please call us at (918) 706-9845 if you have any questions about the TRR or inspection period. 

At The Wolek Group, we want to make sure our clients are aware of all their options during the inspection period.

During this period, the buyer has 10 days (or more depending on the contract) to have the home inspected: electrical, mechanical, plumbing, etc. 

Once the inspections are complete, the buyer needs to fill out a form known as the TRR (Treatments, Repairs and Replacements) with anything that is not in working order. The TRR lists the items that were on the inspection reports that were not in "normal working order" and the buyer would like the seller to repair prior to closing. The seller has five days to collect bids on all items listed on the TRR. If the repair bids exceed what was negotiated in the contract, the buyer and seller may need to re-negotiate. 

Remember:  When the contract was negotiated, you and the seller agreed on a dollar amount they would pay for repairs. If the bids collected by the seller exceed this amount, the buyer and the seller have the option of renegotiating the contact. 

These new negotiations open the contract back up and the buyer and seller have to agree on new terms. The seller may offer to pay for all the repairs or split the difference or remove some of the items from the list. However, if you are not satisfied with any of the new negotiations, as a buyer, you have the option to cancel the contract and get your earnest money back. 

Getting Your Home on the Market

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A lot of people have been asking when the best time to sell is. It all depends on when you want to be where you are going. We don’t know what the market will be like in the future, but we do know the statistics now. In Tulsa, the average days on market is 35 days; then from there it is roughly 30-45 days to finalize closing. Combining those two numbers, on average, in today’s market, it takes about 2.5 months to list and sell your home.

If this is a good time frame for you, now is the time to call me. With lots of buyers in the market and low interest rates, we can help you sell your home at a great price!

Tulsa OK Experiencing Very Competitive Buyers’ Marketplace

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More and more buyers are eager to find their dream home and lock in today’s excellent interest rates. The caveat to that however, if you’re a buyer, is that you will have to get very competitive with other buyers. The reason for all this competition? Low inventory levels.

For the past several months now, our region – like much of the nation – has been experiencing unprecedented levels of activity coupled with fewer homes on the market. All this adds up to less supply and more demand. So how do we help our buyers manage to find and happily move in to their dream homes? We have several strategies. Among them are to share full-time, wholly dedicated buyers’ agents with you that are fully focused on finding you what you are looking for.

We will do what it takes, even if that means driving around looking for the right home, seeking out For Sale By Owners that may not be widely marketed. We will even reach out to colleagues in the real estate community from other firms, to see if they have anything coming up that suits our buyers’ needs.

In short – we get it done. But there are some things that you should do to make it an even more positive and fruitful experience.

Get Pre-Qualified By a Lender
This may sound like an afterthought but the truth is that with so few homes for sale, sellers know they have the upper hand. And these days many sellers will not even entertain an offer unless it is accompanied by a letter from a lender pre-qualifying you for the purchase.

Know What You Want and What You Can Afford
It is critical to be able to know exactly what your deal breakers are in your search for a home, and what items you are willing to compromise on. It is also important to know exactly what you love in a home so that the moment it becomes available, you are don’t have to go through the process of second-guessing yourself.

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Before you embark on your home buying journey, be sure to line up with a real estate team that will go to bat for you, help you navigate through today’s trends, work their way successfully through multiple offers and get you the keys to your new home!

Call us today!

Tulsa April 2013 Real Estate Update – the Market is On Fire!

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We watch our marketplace closely throughout the year with the understanding that any activity reflects upon what we can expect moving forward. As such, the numbers of sales, amount of inventory on hand and average price ranges are all experiencing some major changes. Here is a look at what’s happening today in our Tulsa marketplace and what it means to you as a buyer or seller.

Homes Sales Continue to Rise
Looking at year over year figures, the number of closed sales right now is a significant 13% higher than last year. The number of homes under contract this year has gone up dramatically at 22% higher than the previous year.

Inventory Levels Dwindling
As more and more buyers seek out their perfect homes, the number of available homes on the market is continuously going down. Right now, we are reporting 14% fewer homes on the market than the same time in 2012. With a median sales price of just $136,000 buyers are out there to maximize the affordability of these great prices. 

Buyers Experiencing Fierce Competition
Considering that our sales are up and inventory is down – buyers are pulling out all the stops to get the home of their liking. In fact, many are resorting to aggressive measures to get their homes. Multiple offers, price wars, removal of contingencies and larger earnest deposits are just a few of the things buyers are resorting to, making it a great time to sell your property.

Interest Rates At Historic Lows
Buyers are still able to lock in amazingly low interest rates – currently at about 3.5% in our area. This has almost created a buying frenzy of sorts especially given the pent up demand following last year’s Presidential election and the Fiscal Cliff crisis. With rates expected to rise by mid-year this year or at the latest, next year – many buyers are scrambling to buy now.

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Whether you are looking to sell your home or buy now is a great time to jump off the fence. Sellers are enjoying stacks of offers and buyers can relax with the peace of mind knowing they are locking in the industry’s lowest rates ever. Contact us today – we’d be glad to help you find your next dream home or help you with an honest opinion of what your home will sell for in today’s marketplace.