Hello World III and Final

You now know that I am an Educator and a Consultant, but I am also a REALTOR®!

Now here is the funny part, I am NO Salesman, yet you would be tempted to ask, “Why would you choose to be in a Sales profession?” I chose Real Estate, because I wanted to help people achieve their dreams of Home Ownership and if I have to do that within a Sales-realted Industry, then so be it, but I don’t have to Sell anyone anything. If you look back to a previous post, you will see that I HATE being Sold, so I couldn’t do that to anyone else.

What I bring to the table as a REALTOR® is mostly who I am as a person. I have been married for 28 years to my most precious gift from God, Ray Jones III and we have been blessed with 5 beautiful children and 6 precious grandchildren. Ray IV-25 and his wife, Amber had our 1st 3 grandsons, Zechariah-6, Ray V-4, Colton-3 and our 1st granddaughter, Autumn Rose-1; Kimmy-23 and her husband, Paul have Isaiah-1; Michelle-20 and her husband, Matt have Calli who turned 1 yesterday; and our babies, Rebecca and Rachel turn 16 this month! {Please pray for us, having 2 girls with Learner’s Permits is somewhat challenging at this point in life 8 }  Our family is holding at 16 strong!

As a wife, mother, grandmother and friend, I stand firmly behind a Win/Win proposition for all parties at all times. When a conflict arises between my loved ones, I do not choose which one to sacrifice at the expense of the other, I look to how we can work things out with the best interest of all parties in mind. Everyone will be called upon to give a little in their position on the issue, but the ultimate health of the relationships is far more important than winning, just because one feels they are RIGHT. Being right can be a cold and lonely place to be, if you find that you have alienated people in order to get there.

OK, there are some differences when it comes to Real Estate, because I owe my fiduciary duty to the client who has employed me, but I can’t be dishonest to anyone to achieve that end either.

If I am representing the Buyer in a transaction, I encourage them to think like a Seller and consider how they would feel if they were in their shoes. Should the Seller gift the equity in their property to the Buyer just because they ask? I like to establish a good rapport with the Listing Agent and endear my clients to them during our discussions. Based upon what I can find out about the Sellers and their circumstances for Selling, we can determine what would be the best way to structure an offer that helps my Buyers to make an affordable purchase and possibly get Closing Cost help, while still giving a fair price to the Sellers.

Using the comparable sales of the area is usually the best, as it keeps things purely objective. No matter what a Seller may think their property is worth, it ultimately comes down to what an appraiser will say and that is based upon the comparable sales in the area.

Winning a hard-fought battle in the beginning does not assure an ultimate victorious win. Things  can come up along the way, where a little latitude may be needed, but if there are hard feelings from the battle, you may be going up against a brick wall that won’t move. Sellers also need to think like Buyers. Would they want to pay more for a house than comparable sales could support?

Educator, Consultant & REALTOR® added to Mother, Grandmother & Friend, make for a tenacious combination of qualities that work together for the GGRREATER good of all. I am a Big Woman with a Big Heart, who treats my clients like extended members of my family!

Hello World II

I established in my previous post that I am 1st and foremost an EDUCATOR. The next component of my professional persona is that of a CONSULTANT. I am not in Real Estate to Sell anyone anything [Remember I said how much I hate being Sold?], but to help people achieve their dreams of Home Ownership.

HOW LONG DO YOU PLAN TO OWN THIS HOUSE?      Even before you start looking for a house, you need to think about how long you plan to stay in it.  Not that plans can’t change, but it is the best indication you have as to what would be best for you in the long run. Is this to be a starter home that you will sell after 3-5 years to move up to a larger house? Will you keep it as an Investment Property to begin building financial wealth for you and your family? Is this your 1 and only time you plan to buy, so the property must have the potential for future growth?

All of these are factors in the strategy of where, what kind and how much of a house you should buy. Resale is always a consideration, but depending on your priorities, will determine where it goes on your list . The shorter term you plan to live in a place before selling, the GGRREATer weight Resale would potentially have in your consideration. Your ultimate comfort and quality of living would hopefully be of the GGRREATest importance, no matter the intended duration.

HOW MUCH $$$ to SPEND?      This is the very 1st fact to verify before doing anything in the Home Buying Process. It is invaluable to be able to sit face to face with a Loan Officer during your Buyer Consultation, so you can learn about the Financing leg of the journey on the Road to Home Ownership. This is the foundation for your future financial wealth. There are different Loan Programs and assorted Down Payment Assistance Programs [DAP], some are income based, on various levels and others are based upon where you are buying, that when worked together correctly can optimize your potential Buying Power.

CREDIT:      Whether your Credit is Excellent, Good, Fair or Challenged, will bear on when you will be able to buy. Depending on where your score falls on the scale will determine if you are good to go now, or indicate that by taking some restorative measures, you would get you more bang for your buck. There are so many myths and fallacies floating out in the air concerning Credit that you would do very well for yourself to become properly educated about the FACTS. You may waste a lot of time and money paying off debts that really only need to be paid down to 30-35% of your allowed limit. This is part of how the Loan Officer can help you establish accurate thinking.

I advise clients to start with the amount the Bank says they qualify for and go backwards to find their comfort level. The Bank does not take into consideration that you may like to have an ocassional snack in addition to your 3 meals a day or that shoes wear out and need to be bought from time to time. Only you know your own personal lifestyle needs that will influence how much money you can afford to spend on your monthly mortgage payment. If you are in a traditional rental situation, you can usually take the amount you currently pay and increase that by 25% for a mortgage payment without affecting your current budget, due to the financial tax benefits of Home Ownership. {PLEASE confirm this with your Tax Professional, as each person’s specific circumstances may be unique.]

Income [combined with Credit Score] + Assets + Loan Program +  Down Payment Assistance = Buying Power and resulting Mortgage Payment

WHERE: Rural, Suburban or Urban area?      Is proximity to work of importance to you? I always recommend making the drive at both ends of the day when you would  if you lived there, so you can get a sense of whether the commute would work for you or not. It is not just the # of miles and the # of minutes it takes to drive it, but the traffic and weather that come with it. Time is one of the most precious commodities that we have and it is irreplaceable. Having a bigger, nicer house with more land that is less expensive can be very seductive, but only if you are willing to sacrifice the time of the family member whose company you will be doing without, in order to have the house.

WHAT TYPE: Detached, Multi-Family, Townhouse, Semi-Detached, Condo???      Are you looking for maintenance-free? Are your knees going south and need the comfort of 1-level living? Do you or plan to have potty training age children that would make a main level powder room of GGRREAT value? Are you ecologically minded and want the latest energy-efficient building materials and systems? Do you make a lot of noise and want to be far away from your neighbors? There are so many considerations you need to be thinking of as you go along the process of house hunting. 1 thing is very likely to happen; what was very important to you at the beginning of your journey, after much time and exhaustive research, may become less important and you may find yourself choosing something that is very different from what you originally envisioned. That is ok and very usual, just par for the course when doing something you have never done before. Many things change with time in all aspects of life.

As you can see [and I have only scratched the surface here], you have many, many, many things to consider when buying a house and they are best thought about before starting the active process. I recommend attending a 1st Time Home Buyer’s Workshop offered by local Housing Counseling agencies [if you are eligible for any DAP $, you will be required to do so] to be part of your education to the Home Buying Process.

Hello World!

Welcome to The Blog of Kim Jones and Company! Your resource for ALL things Real Estate and beyond . . .

I firmly attest, that despite being in a sales field, I am NO sales person! As a matter of fact, I hate being SOLD!!! I don’t even have any sales resistance either. If what I am told makes sense and I have money in my account, it is almost inevitable that I will buy or sign up for whatever is being presented. My best way to avoid this, is to avoid eye contact when walking through trade shows or just shake my head and say no thank you when approached by people in the mall. Oh yeah, having no money in my account is also helpful to this end as well ; )

I am 1st and foremost an EDUCATOR. I spend a GGRREAT deal of time, energy and resources to learn all that I can about the Real Estate Industry, Technology and ways in which I can be a better asset to my clients. Life is changing at lightening speed and you really have to work hard to keep pace, so as to not get left behind. I am not even content with not being left behind, I want to be up towards the front of the pack and on the cutting edge of what is coming up.

To this end, I have devoted much time towards helping my fellow REALTORS® in their education as well. I have been instrumental in the formation of GRRS: The Greater Baltimore Board of REALTORS® [GBBR] Rookie REALTOR® Society, to give special help to folks who have been in the industry for less than 5 years. Despite the focus of the group being for Rookies, I believe that “Good Information is GGRREAT  4 Everyone!” and we are often joined by veteran/seasoned agents who also want to keep up with the changes in our business.

We have monthly informational sessions to bring the latest news, information and ways of doing business to REALTORS® in the metro Baltimore area. We encourage all, regardless of their time in the industry or board affiliation, to take advantage of what we are presenting. At our most recent session, we had the Department heads of the Taxation and Assessment Bureaus of Baltimore City and County to discuss the assessment and appeals process. This was an energized class that had all attendees clamoring for more information. As a result, Executive Director of GBBR, Jody Landers, suggested we look into making this a class for Continuing Education [CE] to benefit all of our members to help the consumers we serve.

One thing you will learn about me is that I can be somewhat ; ) verbose, so I will cut things off here and continue later. I feel that the best way for you to know if we would be a good match to work with each other, is to get to know me from a personal perspective. If you agree with my philosophies and principles, there is a good chance that we would do well together.

May God continue to bless you and keep you in His everlasting arms of love, Kim