James had some clients asking for some advice on a real estate topic.  After James was finished explaining what he would do, his client stated, “well, it’s not your first rodeo” – so he took his word for it.

James thought this was funny, but very true. 

James has been selling real estate on Hilton Head Island for over 29 years and has lots of experience in the market.  If you are at a rodeo, wouldn’t you want to bet on the cowboy who has been on the bull a long time?  The same applies when choosing a Realtor - you don’t want someone in their “first rodeo”.

I got a call to do an appraisal on a house.  The owners lived out of town so they asked me to go over and take a look and to touch base with them when I was finished.   

I went over to their beautiful home to do my analysis.  I gave them a call afterwards to give them the facts; there had been no homes sell in their area during the last three months and there were quite a few similar homes listed for sale.

They responded to me that this was the most negative response that they had ever received.

I was being honest – not negative.  

It is important for me to realize as a Realtor that people are emotional about their homes meaning that they can take some feedback as negative comments rather than as the truth.  But it is also important for sellers to remember that I as their Realtor do not create the market, I just report what is happening in the market because I want to get your home sold.

I recently had a property getting a lot of activity – got 4 offers on the home.  The seller took a cash offer, no contingencies, “as is”.  The others were similar but had contingencies. 

When I got the contract back I congratulated the agent on getting the deal put together.  He said he made it easy for the seller to say yes.  He knew that there were other offers on the property.  The other agents should have gone to their buyers to make it as clean as possible. 

Make it easy for the seller to say yes.

Jane bought some new spring flowers and we decided to work in the yard yesterday afternoon.  In order to plant our new flowers, we needed to trim back some branches. 

I have three chainsaws and several pair of clippers at the farm, but realized that I did not have the proper equipment at the house.  We finally found one small handsaw; I then spent several hours trimming the branches.  I kept thinking how much I wished I had my clippers or chainsaw – the proper equipment. 

The same is true in real estate.  When a buyer or sellers wants to buy or sell real estate, they need a Realtor with the proper equipment which can include knowledge and contacts.

A year ago I had a house listed in Sea Pines Plantation.  We ended up selling the house very soon after listing it because I had a contact that I knew would love the house.  The seller had listed their home with someone else first and it did not sell because they did not specialize in that market.  

It pays to have the right equipment and it pays to have the right real estate agent.

This weekend is the annual Wingfest at Shelter Cove Community Park.  The event is on Saturday from 11am to 6pm. 

The event will feature wings from area restaurants – admission is $5 per person.  There will be live music and much more.

Click here for additional information on this fun Hilton Head Island event or visit the Hilton Head Island Chamber of Commerce.

I was watching television at the gym this morning and a commercial came on advertising a caribbean resort that was offering rooms at 60% – “a once in a lifetime opportunity.”  Not as many people are traveling as in years past and they are trying to fill their rooms. 

Perhaps we should look at the real estate market in the same way.  There are not as many buyers as their have been in years past, creating lots of great buying opportunities – making this real estate market “a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

A few years down the road, maybe we will be looking back at this time and will be kicking ourselves for not taking advantage of the great deals available on Hilton Head Island. 

Click here to view my featured Hilton Head Island listings – for your opportunity of a lifetime.

I had a call from a client last week who said he wanted to see the three other villas listed for sale in his complex that were listed for sale. 

As his agent, I said I would be more than willing to show him these villas, but what he really needed to do was look at villas in other nearby complexes that were also competing with him.

He called back this morning to say that he did not want to see the others, but only the ones that were competing with him.

I tried to explain to him that in all my years of selling real estate, I have never had anyone walk in my office and say that they are ready to buy a villa in complex “y”.  People will often say that they are interested in buying a 2-bedroom oceanfront villa – show me what is for sale in area.  They end up looking in eight or nine different complexes. 

When you price of your property, you have to look at the entire real estate market rather than just your complex. 

In today’s market, I ask all my sellers to think like buyers.  They need to ask themselves what someone who is looking to buy property would look for and what is the best deal. 

In a slow real estate market, the buyer holds all the cards.

I recently had a family call me to sell their vacation villa.  When I went to visit with them they said that the reason they were selling was because their life had become so hectic that they were not able to travel to Hilton Head Island to use their villa. 

As we were were talking about their property, the seller felt bad because they felt that they were not taking advantage of their property.  They had owned their villa for many years and had lots of good memories.  She said, “you use it or lose it” and I find this to be very true in many things in life.

Several years ago I sold a villa to someone from Cincinnati, Ohio.  When he purchased the villa, he said he could not believe he was doing it because he was only planning on coming to Hilton Head twice per year.  It turns out that he has used it almost 10 times per year and has felt that it was a great family investment.  The villa has gone up in value, but that nothing to do with what he meant.  He was just referring to the time spent and memories formed in their villa.  That is what I call value.

I was with two of my children and another family and was listening to my children tell about all the great times we had at Melrose when they were growing up.  We used to go over there for several weeks during the summer - I would work during the day and catch the ferry every night. 

When people asked me what I thought about Melrose, I seemed to think about the $35,000 I lost in that investment.  My four kids don’t look at it that way at all.  When you look at the overall picture I think that they are right and I am wrong.  You “use it or lose it.”

This Sunday, March 14th  marks the 27th Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade. 

This event usually has more than 20,000 people in attendance to see marching bands, floats, clowns and much more at this fun filled event. 

The parade route goes along Pope Avenue starting close to the beach and ending at Park Plaza.

Click here for more information on the Hilton Head Island St. Patrick’s Day Parade.

The Hilton Head Island Food and Wine Festival is coming to a close after weeks of fantastic events. 

Don’t worry – if you have not had a chance to take advantage of this phenomenal weeks of events, there are still several opportunities to take advantage of the fun. 

There is a wine tasting tonight at Sea Pines Country Club offering a taste of premium wines and the opportunity to order these wines on site. 

Saturday is the Public Tasting and Auction – one of the East Coast’s largest outdoor tastings, at the Coastal Discovery Museum at Honey Horn.  From 12pm until 4pm for $40 per person you can enjoy a farmers market, wine and food tasting, wine auction and more. 

Click here for more information on these or any other events on Hilton Head Island this weekend.