Six years, and Shono’s Japanese Grill still pleases

Grilled chicken and shrimp is one of several combinations popular with diners at Shonos Japanese Grill in Riverchase.

Any restaurant that has us coming back regularly for six years has to be doing something right.

The simple fact is that Shonos Japanese Grill—on Hwy 31 just north of the Cahaba River in the same shopping center as Hobby Lobby—has never disappointed.

Run by Eddie and Flora Cui, Shonos has gained a loyal following over the years, and it’s little wonder why.

Whether it’s the grilled chicken, shrimp or “Eddie’s special” beef entree, Eddie and Flora pride themselves on making sure that any choice you make is fresh and flavorful.

Shonos does a strong business during lunch.  One reason is because time-sensitive visitors who work in the Hoover area know they can get in and out without having to worry about a slow kitchen; Eddie cooks everything himself.

Eddie and Flora Cui have simple goals for Shonos: Healthy, good tasting food that’s reasonably priced.

Entrees are made to order, but Shonos knows how to deliver with only a few minutes waiting.

The fancy theatrics so popular at many Japanese steakhouses don’t happen here, so if you’re looking for someone to flip a shrimp in your mouth, you’ll probably be disappointed.

What you can count on is consistently good food at prices that won’t make you feel as if you’ve made a big financial sacrifice.

Eddie and Flora take pride in food that’s healthy, too.  They recently started offering brown rice (in addition to steamed and fried), and their food contains no MSG.

Service is always friendly and efficient; Flora sees to that.

Shonos does a lot of to-go business.  Orders for pick-up can be placed by calling 205-988-3319.

You can check out the Shonos website here…

Shonos is open Monday through Saturday, for lunch and dinner.

Birmingham USDA Loans To Continue

Despite earlier reports to the contrary, USDA’s no-down-payment financing for people looking to buy a home in the Birmingham area will remain in effect after September 30th, 2013.

USDA no-down-payment financing for people looking to buy homes in the Birmingham area will continue to be available after September 30th, despite earlier reports from the Agency that the popular loan program would wind down permanently at the end of the month.

How long will USDA financing remain in effect?  Not even the government—which administers the program—is saying.

The loan program will “continue for some period,” according to Rich Davis, acting Administrator for USDA’s Rural Housing Service.

Many Buyers were concerned that loss of the program would reduce their chances of being able to buy a home in places in Shelby Co. including Chelsea and Calera, areas the government considers rural, and therefore eligible for USDA financing.

In the meantime, a new 100% conventional loan program has been introduced, and which would be a back-up for some Buyers who had wanted to purchase with USDA financing.

If you’re thinking of buying a home, figuring out what loan is best for your particular situation—whether it’s USDA or something else—can get confusing.

Your best bet is to contact a Lender knowledgeable in the many loan programs that are available in the Birmingham and Shelby Co. area before you buy.

Hoover Home Has Chef’s Dream Kitchen

This stunning 3BR home in Lake Cyrus—not far from downtown Birmingham—sparkles, and is move-in ready. The Seller is offering a GE high efficiency washer and dryer, along with 46″ Sony 3D smart TV, high end receiver and surround system.

The owner is an executive Chef. Care to guess what his home’s Kitchen is like?

If you’re thinking fabulous gourmet Kitchen with all the high end features, you’ve nailed it.

We can’t help but think this fabulous 3BR home in Hoover’s Lake Cyrus (a popular Birmingham, Alabama, neighborhood) is going to sell quickly.

Loaded with upgrades and featuring one level living (plus a large upstairs Bonus Room complete with high definition TV and surround system), this 4-sides-brick home enjoys a great cul-de-sac location in a popular swim and tennis community with sought after Hoover schools.

Check out the video we’ve just produced—and let us know if you’re interested, or if you know someone who might be:

The Buyers We Can’t Help

Was I nuts?

The 5BR home our Buyers own—measuring roughly 4,000 square feet—sits on a lake, complete with boat dock and 5 car garage outside of the Birmingham area.

After all, most Agents would welcome the chance we had: To work with the husband and wife who called a few days ago about a home we have listed for sale in Alabaster.

We really need to find a place, the wife tells me.

Moving here from out of area and pre-approved by their local bank to spend up to $300,000, they tell of their frustrating efforts to find a home in Birmingham.

And yet, I would wind up sitting down with them face to face and telling them what some might consider unthinkable: “Sorry, we can’t help you.”

After determining that the house they called about is not a good match, I ask a little more about their situation, and if they’d like help with finding a suitable property.

I get an earful.

They have put full price Offers on two homes, only to have the houses “sell right out from under us,” the husband says.

They had tried to get help from two other Realtors in the area.

“They’ve put us on the back burner,” the husband tells me during a half hour phone call. “I’ll ask to see a particular home a week ahead of time, and nothing happens,” he says.

There is nothing Colleen and I hate worse than hearing about Agents who are non-responsive to their Clients. This kind of behavior makes all of us in the profession look bad.

In our roughly 15 years combined of helping people buy and sell homes in the Birmingham and Shelby Co. area, one critical step we always follow is to learn as much as we can about our Buyer’s particular situation.

It pays to listen.

The Offers that failed, it turns out, were both made on the condition that the Buyers could first sell their existing home.

From the description of their home—five bedrooms, over 4,000 square feet on a beautiful lake setting, five car garage, in-ground pool and boat dock—you’d sure think it would go easily…especially in today’s market.

I look their home up on MLS and the Internet. Sales price: Just under $600,000.

My conclusion about their place: Very nice.

Sales data I uncover for the property suggests that these folks paid less than half their current asking price when they bought it. Maybe they’ve put some money into the place over the years.

I can certainly understand that one Agent they’d contact would be a dud.

But two Agents? That’s possible.

Still…

In my mind, questions are starting to rise.

Then comes the bombshell.

They’ve been trying to sell their home for two years.

Boom.

No home should be on the market that long.

During one of our phone calls, I ask the husband more questions.

How many Offers have you gotten? Answer: None

How many showings do you typically get each month? Answer: Maybe one.

Part of the process in getting your home sold means adjusting the price, if needed, and monitoring market response closely. If Buyers aren’t showing interest, that’s a clear message.

What kind of Feedback do you get from those showings? Answer: Everyone says it’s a very nice home.

Has anyone ever told you that your home may be overpriced? Answer: Absolutely not.

So, why, then, do you think your home hasn’t sold? Answer: There just aren’t that many people who can afford homes in our price range. Besides, he adds, none of the homes for sale in their area have sold in a long time.

Remember those roughly 15 years selling homes I mentioned? They’ve taught us other things, too.

Experienced Agents know that when homes fail to sell, it’s almost always for at least one of three reasons:

• Price
• Location
• Condition

With the setting on the lake and the home’s general appearance, I’m able to eliminate two of the three causes immediately.

Price, then, can be the only reason.

My exchanges with these people make it clear to me that there is a lot they may not understand, including the changes that are taking place in the Birmingham and Shelby Co. area housing market:

• Inventory has dropped;
• It’s not a Buyer’s market any longer;
• Sellers have more clout than they did a couple of years ago;
• Multiple Offers are occurring again;
• More homes are starting to sell in shorter amounts of time (sometimes, new Listings go Under Contract within one to two weeks of going on market);
• More Sellers who price appropriately and have their homes in top condition are getting full asking price or close to it

I realize, too, the probable effect of a recent local MLS rules change on our Buyers, which they may not be aware of.

The rules change requires homes that go Under Contingency Contract be removed from Active Listings and moved to a different category. This reduced exposure, while waiting on the Buyer’s home to sell, is not likely to be attractive to most Sellers.

As a result, many Sellers—at the advice of their Agents—are not accepting home sale Contingency Offers unless the Buyer’s home is already Under Contract to sell. This is understandable; Sellers want at least some assurance that they will be able to actually sell their home, as opposed to losing valuable time on market, only to have the Contingency Contract fall apart if the Buyer’s home fails to sell.

It’s time, I decide, to share some market and general buying knowledge with these people. I sit at the computer and start drafting an e-mail with information they should find useful.

In the meantime, I get a text message.

They’ve found a home for sale in the area they’d like to see today. It’s a Short Sale. They want to know if we can show it to them that afternoon.

I look the home up on MLS. It’s available, and it’s occupied.

There’s a hitch: Lenders in a Short Sale will not accept Contingent Offers based on the sale of the Buyer’s property.

I also look at personal considerations: We would be asking the occupant to let us show their home to people I now realize have very little chance of actually being able to carry through with a purchase at this point in time, even if they wanted to.

We’ve learned—and our Broker, Keller Williams Realty, preaches a lot—that successful sales need to be a win-win for everyone involved.

This means that we need to assess carefully the viability of our Clients to actually carry through and meet their goals.

While I might represent the Buyers and not the Sellers, is asking to show this home under these circumstances appropriate? Is this likely to be a win-win for everyone?

I respond that I can’t show them the home. Instead, I decide, it’s time to have a conversation.

I recommend that we meet in person at our office that afternoon. They agree.

“This is the situation I see you in,” I say, while seated at our conference table. I hold up a note pad.

“First, your main focus is trying to find a home here in the Birmingham/Shelby Co. area,” as I scribble point number one. “And you’re finding it difficult.”

Writing down my assessment of our Buyers’ current situation, as well as a path to follow to reach success, seemed to resonate with both the husband and wife.

Heads nod in agreement.

“Second,” as I write point number two, “You’re not getting help from the Realtors you’ve called, and you’re finding that extremely frustrating.”

“Absolutely,” I’m told. Heads are really nodding now, with facial expressions providing more confirmation.

“And third,” as I keep writing, “You’re still dealing with trying to get your own home sold, something you’ve been unable to do for two years.”

I almost hear an ‘amen, brother.’

There is total agreement; husband and wife relate 100% to everything I’ve said.

At this point, I describe what’s happening right now in the Birmingham area real estate market. I talk about how homes are selling. I explain why Sellers are unlikely to find their Offer—even at full price—attractive.

“One hundred percent of nothing is still nothing,” I tell them.

I share other valuations I’ve found for their property. And while I stress that none of those numbers should be considered reliable for pricing their home, there is such a wide disparity between them and the current asking price that I look straight at them and say, “I think this is a huge problem.”

I point out that inventory in the Shelby Co./Birmingham area can change substantially in less than a 60 day time frame. With no immediate prospect of selling their existing home, I tell them that, by the time they might actually be able to move ahead with a purchase, they would probably have to look at a different set of homes to choose from than is on market right now.

I then offer recommendations.

“First,” I say point blank to them, “Stop what you’re doing. It’s not working.”

I take my pen and abruptly strike through the bullet points I had just written down.

They seem a bit taken back.

No matter what home they find, and when they find it, I tell them that they can’t move ahead with buying until they sell their current home.

Getting your current place sold, I tell them, needs to be your absolute top priority over anything else.

I tell them that I feel very sure their home is overpriced, and that Buyers are, in fact, responding to this.

The silence Buyers have created for two years is deafening.

The husband reminds me that no other lake properties in the area have sold. I have a quick answer. That’s something we have seen before. “It may well be that they’re all overpriced,” I tell them.

“Every home will sell. There are Buyers out there.”

The husband mentions that they have to be able to walk away from the sale of their home with a certain amount of money.

“I completely understand,” I answer.

While I tell them I realize that how much money these folks clear from the sale of their home is very important to them, I point out that it’s of no concern at all to a Buyer.

The true value of your home, I tell them, is the figure at which a Buyer and a Seller agree to sit across from each other at a closing table.

Homes in Birmingham are selling faster and easier, compared to previous years. Sellers who price appropriately and have their homes in top condition typically don’t have to wait long to receive an Offer.

I write down a new set of bullet points on my pad.

Number one, I recommend, is to get an appraisal. It’s the best independent assessment of their home’s actual probable value.

The husband mentions that they can use an appraisal from two years ago. Nope, I respond, that won’t work. It needs to be no more than about six months old. After looking at a current appraisal of their home’s probable selling price, I tell the couple that they’ll have a decision to make.

Number two, as I continue scribbling, is to adjust the sales price. And, I tell them, they have to keep adjusting it until they get sufficient interest—and an Offer that turns into a Contract—on their home.

Number three, as I talk and scribble, is to get their home Under Contract.

I conclude by scribbling item four: Start looking for your next home.

When they make it to point number three, I tell them, is when it’s time to pick up the phone and call us for help with finding a home in the Birmingham area.

And that’s more promising to be a win-win for everyone.

I tear the sheet off the notepad and hand it to the husband.

“Colleen and I would love to be your Agents,” I tell them, “but now you understand why we can’t help you with looking at homes right now.”

While our meeting concludes on a friendly tone, I sense that these folks are not walking out very happy.

Will we ever hear from them again?

Did we manage to lose a potential Buyer Client and sale?

I have no idea.

But my conscience is clear.

It’s about being honest and giving people information they need to know.

Even when they may not want to hear it.

Just Listed: Chef’s Dream Home

Here’s quick info on a spectacular 3BR home Colleen and I have just placed on the market in Hoover’s Lake Cyrus.  The owners wanted a top-of-the-line Kitchen, and that’s exactly what they created:

You can click this link for more information about the home on the Greater Alabama MLS…

More details coming later.

Let us know if you’re interested.

Helena Market Days

If you’re looking for a home for sale in the Birmingham area and don’t know the territory well, Shelby Co.—just south of Birmingham—offers a great quality of life.

If you want a great community to live in with plenty of things to do, here’s one of many reasons why Shelby Co. is so popular.

Lots of folks love Helena Market Days, the annual summer farmer’s market that takes place along Buck Creek in Helena every Saturday from 8am until noon.

We thought we’d share some sights and sounds of Market Days from our visit on July 13th.  And nope, we couldn’t leave without some of those wonderful Chilton Co. peaches…they’re just plain hard to beat!

Here’s where you can find more information on Helena Market Days.

Enjoy the video!

David

 

Happy Home Owners in Birmingham

Rick and Deborah Halbrooks have just bought a waterfront home in Birmingham’s Highland Lakes. Rick can’t wait to get out and see if the fish are biting…

We always appreciate getting notes from our Clients, like this latest one from Rick and Deborah Halbrooks.  When we first spoke with Rick, he said something that really caught our attention:  Rick said he had been living in the same house for over 40 years!

“You and Colleen did a wonderful job of representing us and earned every cent of your commission.

As a sales manager, it irritates me to have a sales rep get a big commission check when they don’t do much work; this was certainly not the case with you two.

You were always available, quick to research anything you didn’t know and answered our questions promptly.

You were available to meet us at the house on numerous occasions, made the arrangements, coordinated schedules and generally made us feel like we were the only customer you were working with (I know this was not the case — you are constantly juggling lots of deals).

We appreciate your efforts and for helping us make the only move in 42 (me)/31 (Deborah) years a pleasant experience.”

If you’re looking for a home for sale in the greater Birmingham/Shelby Co. Alabama area, give us a call.

We’re ready to help!

USDA Financing To Stick Around

Good news if you’ve been thinking of buying a home in the Birmingham general area…

With two days left to spare, the government has decided not to allow a change to take effect that would have meant the removal of Calera as one of the communities eligible for no-down-payment home mortgage financing.

Congress has passed a resolution that preserves the areas where homes are eligible for USDA loans.  The bill must be signed by the President before becoming law, but that is expected to happen shortly.

USDA loans are popular with many Buyers because they can be an affordable way of purchasing a home.  The loans are available for properties in specific geographical areas designated by the government.

The decision by Congress means that the home we currently have listed in Calera will continue to be eligible for USDA’s no-down-payment financing:

Own For Less Than To Rent

When you can get into a nicely upgraded 3BR home (with new granite counters, new stainless appliances, new paint, new flooring and more) for less than $103,000 and, then, on top of everything else, get a no-down-payment loan…well, that’s a seriously good deal.

This is yet another case where you could own your own home for less money than it would cost to rent.

The home is located at 2148 15th St in Calera.

It’s less than a ten minute drive to I-65, making access north into Alabaster, Pelham and downtown Birmingham easy.

What makes this so outstanding is the price:  $102,900.

Check out our narrated video that shows the treats awaiting inside:

If you know of someone who might be interested (or if you are), we’d suggest acting sooner, rather than later.  Deals like this don’t last long…

David

Radio History Lives In Birmingham

Members of the Alabama Historical Radio Society gather at their workshop near Alabama Power’s main headquarters for holiday cheer.

My broadcasting and ham radio friends will drool over a place Colleen and I visited Thursday evening.

We were guests of the Alabama Historical Radio Society, whose members invited us to their Christmas party in downtown Birmingham.

This was my first visit to the Society’s workshop, which is a large facility housing a collection of radio equipment and memorabilia that is simply amazing.

The Society also runs a museum in the main headquarters of Alabama Power.

There are radios of every size and design you could imagine, but there are also radios here I’d say you can’t imagine, too—like a Coke bottle radio, and another radio made of cardboard.

Dave Cisco is one of the leaders of the Society and the effort to preserve radio history in Birmingham.

Dave Cisco, W4AXL, is one of the driving forces behind the Society.  He is very proud of the Society’s library, and I can’t blame him.

This place has an incredible collection of vintage amateur radio and broadcasting publications.  For starters:  Every single QST magazine since 1915, every single CQ magazine and every Ham Radio magazine.

There’s enough to keep you looking for a long time, including broadcasting year books, and even a Signal Corps handbook from World War I.

So, what are you likely to run across in this vast collection?  “Just about anything you can think of that’s related to radio,” Dave says.

The late Joe Dentici’s radio studio is preserved, complete with a Gates broadcast console, QRK turntables and a stack of cart machines. And it all works.

The Society has one of only two known surviving Superflex radios in the world.  Superflex is a broadcast radio receiver made in the 1920s by a company in Birmingham.

If you’re a broadcasting geek like me, the Society’s radio studio will impress.

Assembled by the late Joe Dentici, a legend of Birmingham radio and engineering, the equipment—mostly from the ’50s and ’60s—was saved from the dumpster.

“Joe had this studio in his home,” Cisco said.  “He made it up from stuff being thrown out by various stations he worked at.  He would salvage it from scrap and rebuilt it.”

The Society decided that Dentici’s studio should live on in a new setting, and, it does, thanks to the work of volunteer radio enthusiasts.  The studio is complete right down to the Gates 12 channel broadcast console, ITC Delta and BE cart machines and two QRK turntables with Gray tonearms.

And here’s the best part:  It all works.  The studio sure brought back memories for me—I worked in various radio stations during my teenage years, and used to have a Harris Executive console with two Gates CB-77 turntables.

They may look like microphones, but they’re not. These vintage pieces are actually radios, and some are locked to the frequency of the radio station they promoted.

I especially enjoyed the display of studio microphones that aren’t really studio microphones.  They’re actually radios, and many are permanently tuned to one station … how’s that for a captive audience?

The museum’s presence in Birmingham is a treasure that permits a fascinating look back across decades of radio history, and into a time when radio was—well, just plain big, or as I like to say, back when radio was real.

The Society has ongoing activities including meetings every Saturday and Tuesday.  They’re a bunch of people who are fun to be around.  As one of their members told me at the party, “we like to get together and swap lies.”

Radios of every size, type and kind fill the shelves of the Alabama Historical Radio Society’s workshop.

If you want to know more about the Society, visit them on line at their website.

I asked a few members at the party if there is a collection like this anywhere else around.

No one was really sure.

Regardless, we are lucky to have something like this in Birmingham…