I considered a name change–oh no, not my “real” name, but my on screen real estate name. Robin4Homes just doesn’t reveal who I really am. Okay, okay, so yes, my real name is Robin, and yes, I do sell homes (ala real estate); but nowadays, one’s on screen personality can really sizzle with a dynamic screen name; I mean would people have viewed Archie Leach in the same light as they did the suave, debonair, sophisticated Cary Grant? I think not. And what about Madonna? Would she have had the same fame had she remained Louise Veronica Ciccone? Questionable, at best.

So I tossed around a few names to see what transformation might occur with a new name. The first one was Rockin’ Red Robin; certainly, sizzly–but maybe a little too sizzly; I wanted to be noticed on screen, but maybe not in that sort of way. So out went Rockin’ Red Robin, and in came Robin’s Nest–too cutsy; later it was on to Robinzhoods; I thought this one was a winner; but my partner nixed it; he thought it sounded too gansta rappy; and Round Robin too portly.

Then to complicate matters, I started a blog and had to come up with an on screen persona for the new blog; I was told not to obsess about it–to give it ten minutes max and be done with it. So I wound up with Irvine Real Estate Blogger (boooring!). But I guess it defined a certain aspect of me (I live in Irvine; I am in Real Estate, and I am a would-be real estate blogger); Still it did not define the real me, definitively, and in a way with which I was satisfied.

Fast forward to the RE Barcamp in San Francisco, the day before the Inman Connect 2008 Conference, where the superstars of the blogosphere gather to discuss blogging about real estate and the newest technologies in a free-wheeling, brainstorming sort of way. Some brilliant, creative minds thought up a great way to meet and greet other bloggers; namely, calling cards with code names that defined a superpower within each of us. Too cool! Thus we were introduced to The Striped Crusader whose superpower “emits powerful rays of inspiration,” The Legal Eagle whose superpower is “making the industry better one degree at a time,” and The Mortgage Man whose superpower is “keeping consumers safe from high interest rates,” and so on. And then my name was called out: Robin Fenchel (Real Name), dubbed “The Diva of Orange,” whose superpower is raising a UC Berkeley and Harvard tandem.” Poof! I was transformed, aloft and afloat without warning, from Robin4Homes into the Diva of Orange for a single, cloud computing moment in time. And what a time it was.

“Sex and the City,” the movie, opened Friday to the tune of $26.9 Million based on the strength of sales by women and their friends (the buzz) resulting in sold out shows.

Your home for sale is the equivalent of an opening–it has to have the right “buzz” to be included on the buyer’s short list. Whether or not you have a successful opening can impact how many dollars you may gain or lose in terms of the sales price of your home. You usually do not get a second chance to make that all important first impression.

Your house for sale has to entice the buyer. If you were meeting a blind date, you would not don an ordinary “house dress,” but rather you might slip into that killer Little Black Dress, and accessorize it, perhaps, with a pair of strappy Manolo Blahnik heels, the latest “it” handbag, and an alluring “come hither” scent–in other words you would be “dressed to kill.” Your house needs to be “dressed to sell,” when a prospective buyer drives up to the front of your home for sale. Does your house have that all important “it” factor?

If not, you would be well advised to obtain a makeover (and it doesn’t necessarily require an extreme makeover) prior to putting your house on the market for sale.

In her article entitled Staging is House Marketing, Marion Duffy aptly points out that “You want your house displayed so as to give shoppers an idea of how your home may fit into their lifestyle. This is staging. Staging sets your house apart from the houses on the rack or the rows of houses.” Indeed, your house needs to appeal to the emotions of the buyer.

In a related article entitled Intuitive Home Finding, Lynne Pope paints a picture of how a buyer perceives their home: “When you think of a home, you look into your heart and you picture it, a picture so clear you feel it in your soul, the place you’ve dreamt about and longed for, ” namely, your Ideal Home. Indeed, your home may well be compared to one’s perception of an ideal soul mate. The image arises from our dreams…Your house is now the star of the Silver Screen: Ready, lights, camera, action!

Photo is Courtesy of StarPulse.com

Like everything else I pursue, I threw myself into this new blogging thing, and was having a great time honing my imperfect writing skills and overcoming my initial write fright, when the business of real estate hit me square in the center of my blogging life.

While all those would-be buyers and sellers were waiting for the market to plummet or soar (depending on their respective perspectives), I was blogging away, and having a great time doing so. Then all of a sudden, out of the sunny, southern California blue skies came a bolt of buyers, who actually wanted to buy the houses they had looked at, and sellers who actually wanted to price their homes and condos realistically to sell. Taken by surprise, I found myself awash in paperwork (albeit digital paperwork, but nevertheless,paperwork–the stuff of purchase contracts, disclosures, and inspections sort of paperwork) and no time to blog!

Now my days (and nights) are filled with doing the business of real estate, i.e., showing properties, arranging for photo shoots and virtual tours, inputing listings/homes for sale, writing contracts, scheduling property inspections–in short, I am engaged in the practice of buying and selling real estate which is what, after all, I am supposed to do. But now the guilt has set in. I feel like a binge-eater after abandoning a healthy diet and exercise program. Blogging is like exercise, you need a frequent dose of it to lead a healthier, happier, more productive interactive, social-networking life.

And so this blogger is back…and so is the business of buying and selling real estate in Irvine, CA. And I can attest to that.

Going green is the “trend du jour”. Many commercials, many TV shows and many magazine/newspaper articles are talking about going green to protect the environment. I applaud these efforts!

My frugal grandmother said “use it up, wear it out, make it do.” That’s part of going green. Another part is reusing current products in a new way… buying used furniture and repainting it or adapting it to a new use. Another part is using products that are renewable resources… for instance, if you want hardwood flooring, use bamboo rather than oak or maple. Even soft thirsty towels are now available made from bamboo. Rather than vertical or mini-blinds made from plastic, use natural wood renewable products. Green products are becoming increasingly available, and at competitive prices. Check your local home store for additional ideas.

What does this have to do with Realtors?

Realtors are the master recyclers, and have been for many years. Selling “used” homes to new owners is the ultimate in going green!

Want to help the environment? Buy a home!

Google, a sponsor of Earth Hour, actually reminded me by turning their screen to a black background from 12:01 a.m. on March 29th through the end of the day. So when I tried to “google” something I was brought to a black screen with the words ” We’ve turned the lights out. Now it’s your turn – Earth Hour.” Thanks to Google for reminding those of us who “google” all the time to do our small part to help spread the global word and help tilt the world toward the greening of our planet.

And that’s my word on the subject.

Venturing into real estate can be compared to jogging in that just as you would want to get a health check-up before embarking on any serious exercise program, so too would you also want to get pre-approved by a lender to see if your current financial “health” can support a housing payment.

Exercising, like real estate, can seem daunting: it takes research and commitment to do both right. But while you can exercise on your own, some choose to seek the assistance of a fitness trainer or coach to help follow an exercise program; similarly, some find that looking for real estate on their own suits their needs just fine, while others, though, recognize and seek the value that a real estate professional can provide to the process.

While jogging ultimately enhances your overall well-being, energizes both your body and your mind, and allows you to take charge of your life, real estate instills a sense of pride of ownership, enhances your self-esteem, and allows you to be the master/mistress of your own castle.

Furthermore, as jogging or any consistent aerobic exercise will stave off diseases and extend the quality of your life, owning your own home has historically been a source of tax relief, enhancing your net income, and allowing you to have more disposable income for even a little self-indulgence on occasion. (Like, for example, enjoying that aged-to-perfection glass of wine—which, coincidentally, could help break down plaque build-up in your arteries just as a morning or afternoon jog would!)

As jogging and exercising regularly could actually add quantitative and qualitative years to your life (if coupled with other healthful lifestyle changes and activities, of course), owning your own home is a major step towards enhancing your future, securing your retirement—and fulfilling the American Dream of home ownership.

The article features a couple of buyers who have been waiting to buy for years, and with median prices falling, the question for them is whether to buy now or to continue their wait. Some real estate agents suggest that prices will not go any lower and first-time buyers should act now. Some economists, on the other hand “laugh at the notion and advise patience.” One buyer’s view is voiced by an Oceanside teacher, Julie Beck, who is not as concerned with whether the real estate market has bottomed out or not, but rather she is “tired of dumping $2,000 a month in rent into a property where she cannot paint the walls.” “I’m not looking at a home for an investment. I’m looking at a home for a home,” said Beck, who said she plans to keep her 4-year-old twin daughters and 8-year-old son in Oceanside schools through graduation. “I won’t be ready to sell for the next 12 years, so it doesn’t matter if prices drop some more.”

Does her sentiment make sense? In our experience it makes perfect sense, if…and this is a big if

1. The buyer has a secure job, that is, no chance of being laid off or relocated in the next few years
2. The buyer plans to stay in the home for at least five to seven years (the normal course of a real estate cycle to come full circle)
3. The buyer has good credit (these days a FICO score above 700 is a must)
4. The buyer has the down payment, income requirements, credit history, job history, and can afford to make a housing payment (Principal, interest, taxes, insurance, and association) does not exceed approximately one-third of the gross monthly income
5. The buyer’s debt to income ratio does not exceed 38% of the gross monthly income (that is the total housing payment in #4 + revolving credit card debt (car payment, student loans, store credit card debt, etc.)
6. The buyer has access to a down payment (either from savings, gift, investments, etc.) of 20% of the purchase price (again, this is the “old school way”)

If you can say yes to the above, then, yes, it makes sense to move off of the fence/rental and into your very own home.

No, we are not talking about running for elective office during this hotly contested 2008 Presidential election year!

Nor are we talking about running from declining home values!

We are talking about running for the pure fun of it.

We do it to extend our quality of life, boost our mental attitude and lose weight to boot (without dieting). As a matter of fact, you can eat more, and still shed the pounds if you exercise regularly. Oh, we know all about the stuff of “We don’t have enough time to….” Well, our advice is to find the time! We started running (or jogging) in 1999, and have continued on track (with minimal back-sliding).

Some benefits are lower blood pressure, reduced propensity for diabetes, heart disease, breast and prostate cancer, bone loss, weight loss, resulting in an improvement in overall well-being, and upping your energy level so that you can deal with higher gas prices, the ups and downs of the economy, and declining home values!