The Little Realtor

The news right now around real estate is ripe with "The 6% Commission is Dead" or how buying and selling real estate is about to become a whole lot cheaper.  Sounds tantalizing, right? Because often news is sensationalism and this one is no different.  Did something actually change?  Yes, a little.  NAR (the National Association of Realtors - the trade organization that makes a real estate agent a 'Realtor' by a separate code of ethics and educational criteria) settled a case that brought about a few, minor changes.  1. It eliminated any requirement that listing brokers or sellers must make offers of compensation to buyers brokers.  2. It prohibits sellers and their agents from making offers of compensation on the MLS and disclosing any compensation and requires the elimination of all compensation fields on the MLS.  3. It requires MLS members working with buyers to enter into written agreements with those buyers.  So what changed?  Not much....

Fellow Moms, I know Mother’s Day is often just another day with whining kids and falling asleep at 9:30 on the couch after an earnest attempt to watch a movie. But I wanted to share a few ideas on how to actually enjoy the weekend, try to celebrate being a mom and yourself. They are all doable!        Celebrate Being a Mom -            Grab brunch or a late night drink with  another mom friend.  There’s nothing better than the solidarity of motherhood to feel good about the whole thing. If you can swing it, maybe throw in shopping or a pedicure (bet its been a while!) -            Take the  kids out for a meal  and your significant other, if applicable, is entirely in charge. You both have to agree that if any whining or spilled milk happens, you do nothing except order another drink. After two mimosas, you won’t notice the whining and you’ll  ...

 On Valentines Day I feel so overwhelmed with love when I read my client reviews! I so enjoy helping people reach their real estate goals, but how wonderful when I know it mattered to them and I could provide the best of service to them!  Head over to my Zillow page for the biggest collection of client reviews!  Did you recently work with me and want to write a review?! I'd love to hear from you!  You can write reviews on the following platforms:  Zillow  Yelp  Facebook 

 Its the #1 question I get. "Hey Meg! How are you? How's the market right now?!"  Its how most people engage with me.  And that makes sense!  If you heard about something major happening to teeth in the news, you'd probably bring it up to your dentist. If you knew there was a building boom, you'd probably bring it up in conversation with your contractor next time you saw them.  People hear about real estate OFTEN. Its a massive part of our economy and its often part of the news, especially when we are in a high or a low (which we are!). But one of the reasons people ask that question is they also have a stake in the game. Either they are looking for a house, or know someone who is and is struggling to find something, or they own a home and are excited/relieved about the sellers' market conditions.  So knowing WHY someone is asking this is key.  But what I recently realized is my usual response wasn't providing much value.  I would say something to...

I'll be the first to admit, I am surprised I am writing this post as part of my introduction to my new brokerage, Compass.  Previously, my business has been an island.  Yes, I had support from my brokerage.  Yes, I learned from my local board and ongoing training.  Yes, I connected with other agents, especially learning during transactions.  But ultimately, thats where things stopped. There was no workplace culture outside of my one-on-one relationships with my clients.  And that was completely fine. I was 100% happy with that.  But then I started at Compass and it became clear VERY quickly that there was a culture at Compass, both nationally and locally. One that valued integrity, high levels of professionalism, creativity and progress, and collaboration.  And a month in, I'm surprised that my island-loving-self is very into it.  --- Here are  Compass's Principals :  For a quick run down of what these mean, you can visit Robert Ref...

 I have been an agent in the greater Philadelphia area for almost 10 years now, the whole time with the same, wonderful brokerage.  But a few months ago I was approached by a new brokerage called Compass.  I knew about Compass. They were the hip new brokerage with beautiful marketing and a great technology platform. But I wasn't unhappy where I was and had a great brokerage behind me.  But as Compass approached me, I knew my business was going without certain tools that I wanted, not just for myself, but for my clients.  I will dive deeper in to what tools do what but here are the top reasons I have moved my business to Compass:  A Streamlined Platform  This doesn't outwardly affect my clients, but I am able do pretty much every aspect of my business from one platform now. Market listings from various beautiful designs, print brochures, do social posts for my business or client listings, create a CMA for a new seller, and keep all of my contacts in one...

 One of the reasons many buyer's "over pay" for a home is because the final product is evident. Its painted the "right" colors, its been staged, the floors have been refinished, the lighting changed to trendy picks, etc. Maybe its even something as simple as a built in window seat. Or maybe its more, like a renovated kitchen that's been opened to the dining area. Whatever it is, the finished product is there for the buyer to see and appreciate.  But for many buyers, especially in today's market, the "finished product" house is out of reach. But many homes have similar bones and, often, would take very little to get to the end-goal.  One of the things I often do with my buyer clients is help them see the final product in the not-quite-ready home. If a similar home was renovated or redecorated and I can send them those listing photos, I'll start there. If I find a similar Pinterest image of a living room or kitchen with paitned cabinets, I...

One of the hardest parts of my job as a real estate agent is helping people decide for themselves.  While there are some people who ask professionals to spell out everything so they can make their own, informed decisions, most people hire out professionals to make a call for them based on expertise. Your accountant might fill out your tax forms for you, your doctor recommends medicines, your mechanic suggests car maintenance, etc. We don't have to do what they say, but we often do, leaning on their expertise.  A real estate agent is asked to do much the same but ultimately we have a fiduciary duty to our clients to educate our clients and allow them to make their own, informed decisions. Often, this is frustrating to clients who just want us to tell them what to do.  Here are the most common scenarios where a client wants their agent to do something they legally can't, or at least shouldn't, do:  Alec Douglas on Unsplash 1) A client wants to know more about a neighb...

 Its been 5 months since my last post. Thats an awful feeling. While I haven't been away from real estate by any means, I've taken the last few months to scale back on non-client-focused matters as I had my daughter, Ellie, in November of 2020.  As of this week, I'm happy to be back full time to my business, both client-focused and working on increasing my outreach to those who may need my services.  Its already a crazy market this Spring. One of the most lop-sided and limiting I've seen (more on that soon!). But its a pleasure to work in this industry, helping people get to their financial and emotional dreams, and I'm happy to be back!  --- Know of someone looking to buy or sell this year?  Email me at meg.augustin@foxroach.com or call/text at 215-350-0464

I talk a lot on this blog about DIY updates, inexpensive upgrades, and not passing on homes that require a little TLC. I do all of that because I personally find a lot of value in saving the money, making your own equity in a home, and putting your own spin on things. I've had a chance to compare two bathroom projects in my own home. We are finishing up our master bathroom renovation 4 years after we renovated our hall bathroom. Our house is a mid-century split and it came with all of the wonderful mid-century bathroom tile that you surely know well. We had a blue bathroom... A fuchsia half bath with carpet (eww...) We had a light pink master bathroom with a corner shower.... We had/have a yellow guest bathroom.... The reason we were able to afford a house with 4 toilets was because they were dated, and for that I am very grateful! And these bathrooms were SO WELL MADE. I know there are some people out there who hate gutting these mid-century baths, even ...