Betsie Melter's Real Estate Blog: April 2010

An agent who was holding an open house on Easter Sunday in Scottsdale, AZ was robbed. A female came into the open house and asked for a tour while they were outside a Male came in and stole credit cards, cash and a few personal items out of the Realtor's purse (which was hidden in a cabinet in the kitchen). The Realtor was able to get a good look at the Male and the car and has given all of the information to the police. The 2 of them are thought to have done this before. Details of suspects are:

FEMALE: Light skinned Black, 5'7", 125 pounds, mid 30‘s, slender build, ‘Keratosis" marks on both cheeks, (like, red lipstick, mascara, coarse, dark hair with lighter colored tips, worn feathered back

Morgan Freeman, the actor)

from face, bangs, blue floral wrap dress, open toed, sling back shoes, very well dressed, no accent.

MALE: Very light skinned Black or possibly part Hispanic, 5'8", 150 pounds, mid 30‘s, no excess weight, but

well muscled, boxy build, small facial features, fit looking, wearing dress slacks, white shirt, dark tie, short, neat

hair, styled with product to give high gloss appearance.

VEHICLE: Mid 90's, dark colored, generic four door sedan. Dull paint. Male drove.

*Several of the stolen items were recovered one week later, tossed into an open field at Dobson Road off

101. WATCH YOUR VALUABLES, note additional details, license plate # and call your broker for further action.

This is a good reminder to all of us that this can happen in any location at anytime. Please be safe out there.

I have been looking through pictures of listings for the last 2 hours trying to find some homes to show my buyer. I have to laugh. I have never seen so many pictures of dogs in listings. Don't get me wrong, I love dogs, my client loves dogs and we both have dogs. But do you really want to see a dog in a listing photograph?

Honestly, I want to see the floorplan, what type of counters are in the kitchen, did the bathrooms get updated, how big is the yard, and what type of flooring is in the house. I don't need to see a picture of the family pet laying on a couch.

Please, listing agents, put pictures in the MLS that show what buyers want to see. What if someone is looking for a house that doesn't have a pet because they have allergies? You would have just turned off a buyer and they didn't even make it to the next picture.

The seller's probably aren't that happy that you have their pet in there either. They want you to market their house in the best way possible. The blurry pictures that I have seen with a dog upside down or licking himself, is probably not putting the house in the best light or working the best for your seller. Just a thought. I might be wrong though.

I did put my Lab puppy in a picture once when I was selling land up in the mountains. He sat next to my sign with a smile and I sold it in 1 day. So, what do I know. So if you insist in putting the pet in the picture at least have them looking at the camera and the lens focused. Thank You!

I received an email today from Marlo at the Lending Company and I wanted to pass on the info he sent.

We in AZ are used to having pools. What happens when your neighbor moves out of state or the house goes into foreclosure? Who takes care of the pool? Most likely nobody and it turns green. Especially in the summer when it is 110 degrees, it turns green Quickly. Then what? Mosquitos come!!!

Well, from what Marlo is saying you can call the Maricopa County Vector Control for Environmental Services and they will put Mosquito Fish into the pool. I guess these fish eat the larvae before the Mosquitos can hatch. I guess I'll try anything once. Plus it is a free service!

So, if you see a green pool call Vector control at 602.506.0700.

It is illegal to have a green pool, so don't hesitate to call. It is our responsibility to keep the spread of disease down. Anyway, who wants mosquitos in your yard?

Hope this helps at least one person out there. And if you try it, let me know if the fish really work!

I just went in for my first full body scan at the dermatologist. I had a basal cell removed last year from under my nose and the Dr. wants to keep an eye on me. Because I have very fair complexion I am at higher risk for skin cancer. This is not news to anyone. I think most of us now realize the importance of sunblock on everyone, not just fair skin people.

The sad part is that if I had worn sunblock more as a kid I wouldn't be as worried at this point in my life. I have a son who is 3 and I usually put sunblock on him, but I need to be better at putting it on him everyday. They play outside for 45 minutes to an hour at his daycare and that is direct sun on his virgin skin. I just need to remember to do it. I need to keep telling myself that I don't want him to have the problems I am having now because I didn't take the 2 minutes to put sunblock on him.

So, for everyone out there, this is just a friendly reminder to put your sunblock on everyday. As Realtors, we are out showing properties for many hours with the sun beating down on us, so we shouldn't neglect ourselves either while we are working.