Wife, husband honored as ABoR’s Most Worthy Citizens
The Austin Board of REALTORS® (ABoR) presented the 2008 Most Worthy Citizen Award to SARA and DICK RATHGEBER during the April 11 luncheon held in their honor. Since 1949, ABoR has bestowed this prestigious annual award on members of the Austin-area community who have demonstrated active and consistent concern for others’ welfare. An advocate for abused and neglected children, Sara Rathgeber has served as president of charities including The Settlement Club and Helping Hand Home for Children and has been an Austin’s Children Shelter board member for over 10 years. She and her husband donated $2.7 million in land and funds and helped raise nearly $12.9 million for the shelter’s new campus, which recently began construction in East
Austin’s Rathgeber Village. Dick Rathgeber established Southwest Constructors in 1958 and has since provided numerous demolition projects clearing the way for buildings such as the Austin Convention Center, Texas School for the Deaf and AustinBergstrom International Airport. He has consistently helped local charities and hospitals by acquiring land sites, facilitating construction, raising funds and donating land, money and demolition services. The Rathgebers were honored as Outstanding Philanthropist of the Year by the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Austin Chapter earlier this year and named Austin’s Best Citizen by the Austin Chronicle in 2007.
UPCOMING EVENTS: MAY 19 REALTOR GRAND OPENING Ash Creek Homes - Arboretum Park 9707 Anderson Mill Road, Unit #36 - Noon MAY 22/JUNE 26 WCR NETWORKING LUNCHEON ABoR Auditorium - 11:30 a.m
JUNE 4 AMBA MONTHLY LUNCHEON “Green Building Techniques and Standards” Austin Country Club - 11:30 a.m.
JUNE 18 NIGHT AT THE BALLPARK - ABoR Foundation Dell Diamond - 5:30 p.m. JUNE 18 CRS MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON Westwood Country Club - 11:30 a.m. JUNE 18 NAHREP MEMBERSHIP LUNCHEON Holiday Inn Town Lake - 11:30 a.m.
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Associates In Progress
MAY 2008 • VOL. 13 • ISSUE 1
Enjoyable. Entertaining. It’s all About You.
Gavurnik Builders
Agent Spotlight
David Durham of Keller Williams Realty
Pre-listing inspections aid in faster home sells and gives sellers more negotiating power.” One problem that often occurs after an CONTRIBUTING WRITER inspection is that buyers typically expect a One thing REALTORS and sellers have in com- $2 to $3 price discount for every $1 worth mon is a desire to move a house quickly and for top of defects that turn up. dollar. In order to achieve this goal, some are turn“You absolutely see that,” Poague ing to a new technique—having homes inspected says. “If a range is not working, I have seen buyers knock $1,500 before they are actually up for sale. Known as a prelisting inspection, it has many off the price when it would benefits over the traditional method of waiting until only cost about $300 to an offer is extended. Home sellers learn what needs replace it. So sometimes to be repaired and can fix it in a less hurried fashion, the markdown they possibly saving money. It also puts the house in the request is sometimes best condition possible, thus attracting buyers. four or five times the actual cost.” So if a seller learns that the roof needs Finally, it reduces time spent on the negotiation process, as all information on the home is given work, it may be an unpleasant surprise, upfront to the buyer. This limits the potential of any but paying $5,000 for the repair can be surprises and tells the buyer that any problems more enticing than reducing the asking price by $10,000 or more. Donna found were repaired. “It is definitely becoming a more popular market- Ciccarelli of Exit Realty has been coning tool,” says Justin Poague of Burgess Inspection vincing her clients that prelisting Group. “I have been encouraging people to do it for inspections are worth the typical cost of the past year or two when I speak to various real $300 to $450 for a checklist covering estate groups. It really does help houses sell faster more than 1,500 items in a home. She has even begun requiring sellPresorted Standard ers who want U.S. Postage PAID her to list Austin, Texas their home to Paid Permit #715 get one, and P.O. Box 81366 after her presAustin, Texas 78708-1366 entation to them, they tend to agree that a prelisting inspection is a wise choice. “They don’t have a Don’t forget: You can visit us online 24/7 at www.realtylineonline.com problem with it because
By Linda McNabb
they trust me as a professional,” she says. “And it’s usually not really big things that show up. It’s all the little small things that can add up to a long list. “It makes the buyer want to negotiate off the sales price. It wastes a lot of time and time is precious. Replacing pieces of trim and caulking a tub are not that expensive to get a home in show quality. With interest rates going up, we want to move these homes now.” Apparently the technique is working, as Ciccarelli said she recently had four offers on a home where the seller followed her advice. “It’s a win-win for both sides,” she says. “And after seeing a few offers fall apart after an inspection many REALTORS are starting to catch on that this is a good idea. It puts a home’s best face out there and it pays off.” But while REALTORS say buyers are impressed when they see a home has already been inspected, some say buyers still tend to get their own done anyway, just to be safe. “It makes a buyer more comfortable making an offer, but in the end they want their own inspection, because the typical homeowner thinks their home is a mansion,” says Chris Ott of Keller Williams Realty. “An inspector is paid to find things.”