Hi Tricia, i'm back in CA, but missing Austin, even WITH that terrible heat!

Would you believe I haven't heard from my agent since LAST Wed.? I've been playing the waiting game just to see how long it would take to get a phone call, email, or something. I'll be calling him today, not to fire him, but to ask, 'so, what's up, doc?' 'Are you still my agent and what is it going to take to get you off your duff?' Well, maybe not exactly those words, but it will be close.

After that first offer with the client saying he didn't wish to to counter' at the moment', i'm hoping he's still interested. I'll ask my agent if he's contacted the buyer's agent to get the scoop. If he were a GOOD agent, he would have done that already, and filled me in, right?

Thanks for your interest, Tricia. Can you give me any suggestions? I have a friend who just got her license, and has suggested I make fliers and deliver them to all my neighbors, have an open house, and invite them to view. They may have friends/family interested in buying in this area. Bad/good idea? Worth the effort? I'm remaining optimistic inspite of the fact I could be getting a bit more action if not for the 'lame' REA!

Hi patty_cakes - just a thought. If you have a lame REA, get rid of him! We waited out our 6 month contract with completely lame agents and I really feel like they wasted our valuable time on the market (Feb. - Aug.). We have new representation and it has made a huge difference in how I'm feeling about the situation. House is still on the market but I do think our new REA is on top of the situation.

We had 4 open houses between February and August - they all pulled in looky loos and neighbors. The thought on the neighbors is a good one, in theory. I've found a majority of them just want to see the inside of your house.

i disagree about neighbors who may have friends or family whom might be interested in your home..I love my friends and family, but would NEVER want to live nearby them..I know of not one family that had a friend or family member buy a home that was close to them...

I have to disagree with qdonj on this one.

I am still friends with the excellent RE agent who found our current house for us. She called me recently and asked me to visit her at an open house she was holding. While I was there, an older couple came in to look at the house. The reason they came to look in the first place, and a large part of the reason they ended up buying it, was because it was across the street from the house friends of theirs had bought just a couple of weeks earlier.

I also have a riding buddy who is seriously considering a move out of state in five years that would involve buying a horse property in the same one street development that a mutual friend moved to.

Ten years ago, my own townhouse sold to relatives of the people who owned the house next door.

Plus, on House Hunters, I am always surprised by how many people want to move closer to relatives.

However, from a strictly personal point of view, I do have to agree with qdognj - my family are a continent and an ocean away, and my in-laws are on the opposite coast ;-)

I bought the house next door to my mother's primarily to keep undesirable people out of it. She had a nightmare with her previous next-doors. Then a family member who was her care giver, helped me to renovte it and moved in to it. It was a match made in heaven. I have shown the same house more times than my realtor to people on the street or who used to live on that street wanting to move back. I honestly think that's who is going to end up buying it down the road. Mostly, in this case it's the parents looking for a reasonably priced starter home for their kids. It used to be they put kids through college, now a lot of them are investing in their kids first homes and then letting them buy it when they're financially able and transferring titles. Also there is the issue of finding homes where an aging family member can be in, or near the adult child. It's gaining momentum as an alternative to keep oldsters out of rest homes.

Glad to hear you're home from your trip safely. Hopefully, you've heard from your REA by now? I'm not sure doing an Open House on your own will do much good. If you don't have a flyer box on your sign I would suggest doing that yourself though.

After all of the "to do" this week with the Fed...at the end of the week nothing much seems to have changed with rates. And since it takes Congressional legislation to change the conforming caps (Fannie/Freddie) that's not going to be a short-term fix if it happens at all.

One of the things I think REAs need to be stressing to clients is that jumbos are still available at historically good rates. It's true that many of the nationwide players like TMA & CFC are not writing them; but local banks & credit unions haven't changed their programs. I think we're at a time when local lenders have the competitive edge & buyers are still looking at just the once big nationwide players & making assumptions that they represent the entire marketplace.

Hope you get some showings over the weekend.

/tricia