Ray Carman – Auctioneer

Yes, its true! Not everything in the world of Real Estate is glamorous and pretty. Not always does everyone get on the same page or get along, and when these things come up, usually there is only one person who suffers the consequences, the Client/Customer.

I was told years ago by my Father and Grandfather to “ALWAYS do your business with the honesty and integrity.” So I have always given my efforts to do that. Along the way I have made mistakes and learned some hard earned lessons. But recently, the fact of doing business without integrity was put on display in front of me, and the end of it all seems to be the same, people get hurt.

In a recent situation someone I was involved in a deal with decided to take the path of lies and deception in order to try and further themselves along ( aka, more $$$$) in a transaction. Amazingly though, all the effort was put forth to earn a very small amount of money. Lies were told and plans were set in order to destroy reputations. Unfortunately for the person weaving this web, they forgot that ultimately truth will win out as the facts are brought to light. And they did!

However, the damage was done as people (customers and clients) were caught in the middle and relationships were ultimately damaged. And for what, a few extra bucks? People who give themselves to a path of dishonesty can never seem to find the door out, which is confession and apologies.

I do not know how the final chapter in this saga will play out, and I hope everyone involved will learn the lesson provided to them through it all. For me,  it was a good reminder that even if LOTS of money is involved, there is NO amount of $$$$ that will replace honesty, integrity, and friendships.

So you are asking yourself, “What Auction do I go to this weekend?” Well, here is my pick of the week for a sale sure to get you a great bargain for your money.

Gene Carman’s auction in Cottontown TN on West Biggs Road. This sale is Absolute! It offers a House on 3 acres with privacy. Shop buildings. Dozier, Tractor, Trucks, Dump Trucks, Motorcycle, equipment, tools and MORE.

Check out the video and come see for yourself why this place is the Auction pick of the Week!

At the end of every real estate transaction there is the closing company. Usually a title company or an attorney. They may be at the “end of the line,” however they play a vital role. Without them closings would not be as they are. They search the title, prepare the paperwork, and conduct the closing. And when doing your closing, it is VERY important to choose the right attorney/title company.

“Aren’t they all the same?” is a question I hear alot when it comes to closers. And the answer is “NO!, they are not!” They may perform the same work, however they can be different in several very important ways.

1. Efficiency. The work can be measured not just by how they conduct the closing at the closing table, but how efficient they were in getting the paperwork and people prepared prior to the closing.

2. Professionalism. A closing company has to deal with many different people along the way in the closing. Byers and Sellers. Loan Officers and Processors. Agents for the buyer/seller. In order to manage and balance all these people, you need a high level of professionalism as it is certain issues will arise during the process.

3. Flexibility. These problems that will arise will require that everyone be flexible. And the conductor of keeping people informed usually sits at the desk at the closing company. So a good amount of flexibility is required.

4. Effective. The closing company needs to be able to produce when the time is right. Being prepared to handle last minute changes and issues in order to bring the closing together.

5. Finishers. When the closing is completed, it is not over. Usually there are two closing companies involved (one for seller and one for the buyer), and Docs have to be exchanged. SO getting them to the proper place in the right time is key for money dispersal and finality of the closing.

So wen you choose your closer, be sure they are able to get the job done!

That is a question I hear a-lot when it comes to advertising an auction here in Middle TN. People are blown away many times by what it takes to run ads for an auction. And in many cases, I agree with them in my amazement at what some places charge for ads, especially local newspapers.

Auctions are a “rare” breed when it comes to the advertising dollar. As I mentioned in an interview with Bill Seaver earlier this year, we are looking at more effective means of advertising auctions, but one must understand the “nature of the beast.” Auctions span a WIDE range of potential customers, and they have been advertised through newspapers for YEARS. In fact, depending on the paper, there are people who get them simply to open them straight to the “auction section” So, to completely avoid the paper ads right now would be suicide for an auction, as you would miss a fairly large sector of potential clients for your sale. So for now, we must pony up the dough, and pay the piper……

BUT……

Things are changing. The key is education to the public where they can find a “one spot” to see all the auction ads. People are looking for convenience and we have to slowly lead them there where the cost for the sellers and auctioneers is more reasonable. Places like AuctionZip.com. Americas Auction Report, Facebook,  Auction Videos, IsurfSumner.com, and more. Once these online sites start catching on and people are comfortable going there to locate their auction choice for the week, then we will see a large scale back in local papers. Till then here are a few keys to consider in your advertising schemes…….

1. Make the paper ads more condensed and use them to point people to the website that they can find out the in depth info.

2.  Ask the Auctioneer to use Facebook and other free online sites to promote the auction.

3. Help the auctioneer out by using your resources (Facebook, blog, etc…) to promote the sale and have your online friends do the same.

4. Get a firm Advertising Quote from the auctioneer BEFORE signing an auction contract.

Paper ads for auctions will continue to diminish over time in my opinion as we slowly train the “Auction loving Public” to find the details elsewhere. Until then, be sure your auctioneer uses all the “free” sites available to them.

Ray Carman

After reading Bill Seaver’s recommittment to blogging, I decided I too have been neglecting to post as frequently as I should be. I too have been extremely busy and have found myself putting off posting here due to life being so hectic. For that I apologize and will too strive to be more efficient in the posting in the future.

From all the chatter, (talking amongst agents), business has been booming in the Sumner County area over the past two months. Those who were able to ride out the waves of uncertainty caused by the debacle in the financial systems last fall, have found themselves in the middle of a new storm. People who are now trying to make it in before the great interest rates disappear. Also, many folks are working to get this $8,000 offered by Uncle Sam that they are saying will disappear in Nov. (I have heard of an extension, but we will see.)

All this means, if you are in the market to buy or sell in Sumner County, now would be a great time.  So feel free to give us a call.

A quick auction update: Auctions are coming in really fast and some great ones are ahead of us. So keep an eye out for those at www.GeneCarmanAuction.com.

Ray Carman

Sometimes in Real Estate, life just happens and you just have to laugh. One of those moments happened to me this week and I thought it worth sharing with you.

I was out Tuesday showing a few houses to some friends of mine in the White House TN area. We had picked out three to look at and were able to get into two of them . The first one was a little dream home someone had done a great job rehabbing. It looked great. Unfortunately, someone else had already fallen in love with it and had an offer to purchase on the home.

So, we moved on to the second home. Here is where the fun starts.

The owners had left town for a few days and we were told we could enter by using the sophisticated Sentri-lock on the front porch. I approached the house and picked up the box to enter my card to obtain the key. NOTHING happened. No lights, no beeps, no nothing. I immediately knew something was wrong.

I tried “waking the box up” by pressing enter. It seemed to work, but all I could get was the error message for the code. Now, I knew I had updated my card the evening before, so it was not that issue. Yet here we stood on the front porch, in the blazing sun, and they had their two young one with them.

So, I did the responsible thing and called support at Sentrilock. I was put in touch with a tech and we tried walking through the process of getting this box to open. It was not easy. The box did not want to co-operate. After FOUR times, finally the box seemed to be functioning and wah-lah, the box opened!

AND TO MY SURPRISE, after all that work, there was NO KEY IN THE BOX!!!!!!

That is right, there was no key in the box that did not want to open. So, I did the next best thing, I called the listing agent. I told them what was going on as I was strolling back up to the front door. That’s when  this old country boy thought popped in my mind, “Check the mat.”

and WAH-LAH, there it was, bright and shiny under the mat, a key to the house. What was I thinking? Why would I waste so much time on this box when all I had to do was roll up the mat. So we were in…………

only to find a dog in the house who had…….yes……..had peed all over the kitchen floor.

Needless to say, we moved along!

You ever had one of these days?