Month: July 2009

RE/MAX International Regional Quarterly conference call

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–          RE/MAX has formed a strategic alliance with Integrated Asset Management and will distribute leads to RE/MAX agents who are CDPE certified only.  IAM is affiliated with many big banks nationally.  If you are not yet certified, please get certified to enhance your business.  If you have taken the course, please update your profile on RE/MAX Maintenance.

–          Keller Williams and RE/MAX difference – we are your business partner and don’t force you to recruit.  KW market center needs about 40 agents to reach profitability and are required to increase agent count by 10 agents per month – have to do this through recruiting any type of agent.  It takes an average of 5 years for an office to reach profitability and then you have to vest for 3 years before you get profit sharing – an average of 8 years prior to receiving profit sharing.  Profit sharing went from an average of $692 per year to $412 per year – a decrease of 40%.  No national advertising budget versus RE/MAX is extensive TV, billboard, newspaper and magazine advertising.  Top agents are encouraged to be involved the office politics through their agent advisory council are required to teach and as previously mentioned, are required to recruit.  We encourage you to do more business and grow your business

 

Now, go sell something!

 

 

Topic of the Day: Mold

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DSCN0038 

This week we had Roland Jarrett in from Nexters Restoration in to speak about the process of testing and remediating mold from residential properties.

To have Nexters Restoration analyze and determine if something is potentially mold, there is no charge.  Estimates to remediate mold are also free.  However, if a swab test is required, there is a $150 lab fee.  If levels are rare – no treatment is required.  Low levels in basement require remediation but not always on upper levels.  Medium and higher levels always require remediation no matter where these levels are recorded.

If mold is present, the first objective is to remove the source of moisture as that is what attracts mold and encourages its’ growth.  If the source of the moisture isn’t removed – the mold will come back.

The typical process is to remove drywall, insulation, wipe down walls to sterilize them – in some cases blasting is required, apply kilz or drylock paint to walls and replace everything that was removed.  Using dehumidifiers to reduce relative humidity levels below 40% is also recommended.

Unconventional approaches include replacing sump pumps, water proofing walls from the exterior, and adding French drain systems.

Depending upon the type and quantity of mold, air duct cleaning, and complete cleaning of HVAC is required to mitigate mold levels.

The tyranny of the Status Quo

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What is the status quo?  As Webster’s dictionary defines it, it is – the existing state of affairs (at a particular time).  What is wrong with the status quo in real estate?  The market is in a constant state of flux.  Interest rates change, inventory levels change, the market shifts between a buyer’s market to seller’s market regularly, housing prices fluxuate between areas & neighborhoods, attitudes of buyers, sellers and agents  alter within the market,  and as we know now, the appraisal portion of our transaction has also adjusted.  The internet has brought more information to more people more quickly so it is imperative that we as agents adapt to change. 

Let’s analyze where we need to make adjustments in our business to maintain a competitive edge.  First, our conversations with clients, other agents, lenders and appraisers must change.  We have seen inventory levels steadily decline, demand steadily increase, we see multiple contracts throughout our area and across different price points and we are definitely in a seller’s market.  Let people know how the market really is and not what the media says it is.  As an example, The Washington Post wrote about Short Sales and strategic defaults on mortgages this past weekend.  We have been dealing with these issues for several months now.

Our marketing efforts must be a reflection of how to attract what is “working” in our marketplace.  Today we are seeing investor and first time buyer purchasers buying a majority of houses in Northern Virginia.  Prices are down, interest rates remain low, the rental market is hot, and the $8,000 tax credit are making it ideal for buyers in both categories to enter the market.  Hold home buying seminars geared towards first time buyers and investors.  Now is also a fantastic time for move up buyers to take advantage of the market and “switch” equity positions.  Call past clients and tell them how the market really is, build inventory and sales will follow. 

Our education – as previously mentioned in the internet comment in the first paragraph – CDPE, winning multiple contract situations, Green Designation are what we need to direct our attention to in today’s market.  Determine the next trend and pursue your education in that arena.  The more you know, the more you will grow and your bank account will follow.

Our networking efforts need to be increased.  You need to get in front of people to get your message out.  Now is not the time to sit on the sidelines.  Make the effort and see the results.  Networking opportunities are everywhere – informal places like the gas station, grocery store, schools, games, swim meets, swimming pools, etc to formal ones like chamber events, BNI’s, etc.  Also, network with lenders, builders, title companies and other Realtors to gather information on our market for you to share with others you meet to show your expertise.

Our prospecting efforts need to be more intentional.  Be direct in regards to past clients, sphere of influence, and adding new people to our databases.  Your prospecting efforts need to be continuous, consistent, as well as meaningful to the recipient.  Send the right message and get sent referrals.  Your prospecting must be done on a daily basis – not on occasion.

What should stay the status quo – diligence in which you pursue your personal and business growth – persistence in your prospecting efforts to expand your database and your business as well as consistency in your communication with your sphere in regards to the number, type and message delivered to the people in your database.  Your pursuit for success is reflected in all of your endeavors you undertake in your daily routine.

Get busy getting busy.  Get it?  Got it?  Good.  Now, go sell something.

Expert Opinions on Our Market

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Each month for over 4 years, we have gathered top real estate agents to discuss the market, trends and future of our business.  Here is what we discussed this week:

Unprofessional agents are controlling a lot of the business out their today.  Lack of returned phone calls, delays in presentations, incorrect information listed in MLS, and general lack of respect for fellow Realtors.

The short sale process is taking even longer as banks appear to be more disorganized than the previous several months.  Paperwork isn’t being logged, lost or is being asked to be resent for verification.  In some instances, short sales have been lost to foreclosure as there is no communication within the bank.  In one scenario, the seller’s suffix wasn’t at the end of their name on some paperwork so the lender closed the file without notifying any of the parties in the transaction – just reported no updates at this time for 3 weeks before realizing they had actually closed the case.  There is no end in sight as more short sales continue to come on the market.  A uniform process should be implemented by banks to streamline the process and allow more short sales to go through.

Appraisals are still a leading concern.  The HVCC process is extremely disorganized and has many flaws.  Here are some examples:  An appraiser was assigned to do an appraisal in Alexandria VA and the appraiser was from Aberdeen MD – nearly 100 miles away.  An appraiser was assigned an appraisal in Oakton VA and they were from Waldorf MD – over 75 miles away.  Two appraisals were done on a property in Piedmont – one was $550,000 the other $635,000 on a sales price of $600,000 – the underwriter said both were flawed and said the house was only worth $590,000 – they were in OKLAHOMA!  How can they say what a property is worth when they aren’t familiar with our market and more importantly – never saw the house and based their opinion on 2 flawed appraisals?  Many of the appraisers aren’t following through on their commitments and add to delays in approvals by taking 10 to 14 days to get their appraisals in to the lender.  Values are being surpressed by unprofessional, uneducated, and inexperienced appraisers who are the low bidders for appraisals through Appraisal Management Companies.

Average sales prices are down for everyone in the group – more first time buyers, fewer move up buyers, and investor purchasing low priced homes for investment opportunities.

We continue to have pent up demand for housing.  The market is on fire below $450,000 with multiple contracts on virtually every home that is in good condition, shows well and is priced right.  With many properties experiencing multiple contract situations, agents are starting to look at new homes as an option.  There are tons of calls coming in from buyers – many have a huge back log of buyers but no inventory to sell them.

We still are not seeing foreclosures flood the market as has been discussed for nearly 9 months.  Our inventory levels are down to May 2005 levels and if they were to come on the market, we could absorb the inventory with the pent up demand we have in our marketplace.

The agents were encouraged to remain optimistic, to be proactive in reaching out to move up buyers, educate the public on the opportunities available and to go sell something!

 

Care

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Care A question posed to me recently is, “Do you care more about
your people’s success than they care about their own success”?   After some deliberation, my answer was yes –
at times I believe that we need to provide more to our agents to help them get
over the hump or get them on their way to a successful career in real estate
and that they should seek more counsel from us to become more successful.  In understanding that everyone defines
success differently, it is still imperative to understand what success means to
each of our agents.

So, what was learned from this exercise?  I need to ease up – let the agents take
advantage of what we have to offer – stay current, but don’t add more to our
plate or theirs by offering more programs – and encourage them to apply what
they have been taught to their business to facilitate their success as well as
take advantage of what programs we currently have in place.  Will we still care?  Yes, of course, and here is how we plan on
accomplishing our goal – the acronym CARE:

C – Commitment-
we are committed to ensuring our agents are the most educated, professional,
top producing agents in our marketplace by providing them with training
opportunities, real estate exchanges, mastermind groups, blogs, and up to date
information for them to share with the clients, sphere of influence and those
they encounter on a daily basis.

A – Attitude – We
will be a positive, upbeat and energetic force in their environment that will
provide constructive feedback to enhance their business.

R – Responsibility
– We will encourage our agents to be responsible for their careers by providing
an encouraging environment, the right tools for success, a supportive staff
eager to assist our agents, and the time to assist them with their efforts.  We will also be responsible to them to by
providing constructive feedback and by helping them in their endeavors to be
successful in real estate.

E – Education –
We will continue to keep our agents educated through our current training
schedule, one on ones, quarterly meetings and our business specific summits so
they can help buyers and sellers make the right decisions when buying and
selling properties, grow their teams and build their business so they can
achieve the success they want out of their business.

We will always care and we will continue to inspire our
agents to greatness and will only seek to control what we can control and not
care more than they do about their success. 
You control your destiny, take advantage of what is available to you,
learn, earn, grow and succeed.  We are
here for you.  Get it?  Got it? 
Good!  Now, go sell something!

Should you sell FSBO?

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In a conversation I had today with one of my agents, I was asked why would someone list their home FSBO (For Sale By Owner)?

This was my response…

Nationally, the average FSBO gets 29% less for their comparable property than a home listed by a Realtor and make up for only 7% of all recorded sales nationally. In a report published by the National Association of Realtors in February of 2009, the median selling price of an open market FSBO home was $150,100, while the median price for agent-assisted sales was $211,000, as most home owners are unaware of how to properly price the property based upon current market conditions.

FSBO’s tend to have a longer time frame on the market due to…

·         less exposure due to no MLS publicity

·         limited website distribution

·         limited market research to advertise to potential buyers

·         no word of mouth advertising  between Realtors

·         owners miss out on the vast exposure through media outlets Realtors have access to through social media marketing, blogs, etc.

·         limited availability of showings and feedback due to no lockbox

·         limited or no access to forms

·         purchasers  want to negotiate more because of no Realtor involvement

·         owners are not aware of the showing, prequalification and settlement process

 

Pitfalls to avoid…

·         HOA guidelines, rules and regulations

·         Pre-qualifying or approving potential buyers

·         Reputation of other parties involved – other Realtor (if applicable), lender or loan broker, title company

·         Price or points – what’s better?

·         Appraisal (meeting, providing comps, discussing market trends, etc.)

·         Home inspection rules and regulations

·         Time frames and hurdles to jump over to get to closing and what happens if they are missed

·         Who orders what?  When?

 

In the long run, it pays to hire a professional, full-time Realtor to help guide you to a successful sale and settlement.  Call us today – Results Realty Group – (703) 652-5777.

Pieces of the Puzzle

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Puzzle Pieces of the puzzle that lead you to success – what are they?  In today’s market, one of the most important pieces is knowledge.  You need to know the numbers.  How many houses are available for sale?  How many months supply do we have today?  What are prices doing – going up, down or remaining stable?  What are the average days on market?  What are interest rates? With these numbers and others you need to know how they compare to where they were last week.  Last month?  Last year?  Additionally, you need to know what markets are “hot”.  What price ranges are selling and which are not and why.  You need to know what is happening in the industry – underwriting guidelines, appraisal rules and regulations, loan programs and guidelines, and what is going to change that will affect our industry.  You have to know the contract and all addendums and be able to communicate what they say and mean to your clients.

Prospecting is also a very large piece of the puzzle.  All of the knowledge in the world is useless without someone to share it with.  Your efforts need to be intentional, focused and proactive.  When speaking with people, tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them and then let them know what you told them.  If you are looking to help people in distress, let them know.  If you are looking for buyers, let them know.  If you want to work with clients not in distress, let them know.  Be specific, be direct and be positive in your approach and you will reap the rewards.

Another puzzle piece is time management.  Setting a schedule, following it and incorporating the following areas of into will help lead you to success.  Find time to work on your business, schedule working in your business – showings, listing appointments, writing contracts and closings, make time for your family commitments and friends.  Also make sure to include community involvement, to get involved in your association, and work time for charities into your schedule.  As you have heard, the more you help others, the more help you will receive.

You must also work on sharpening your skills regularly.  Rehearse your presentations, attend trainings, read sales books, take courses on selling.  Learn to network better by having your elevator speech prepared and be able to communicate it at any time.  In real estate, we are always “on” so practice to be prepared.

Your attitude also needs to fill in one of the holes in your puzzle.  A positive, upbeat and optimistic attitude will give you energy, focus and determination when times get challenging.  Remember, helping people and being solution oriented will produce huge rewards for you in life and in business.

Work on you delegation.  Only work what adds to your bottom line.  By only doing what creates revenue and delegating the rest makes you an asset to your team.  Give up control of paperwork, mailings, brochure creation, feedback calls, MLS input, etc – review it but don’t do it.  Get busy getting in front of people and your bank account will grow!

Tools are another piece of the puzzle.  You need to know what works and why and how it can help you and your business.  Know how to work on social media sites effectively and efficiently and don’t let them be a distraction.  Use them to enhance your marketing and to develop and grow your sphere.  Also, know which devices are most effective for your business and invest in your business.   In today’s market, you need at a minimum a lap top with wireless capabilities, portable printer & scanner, PDA/IPhone/Blackberry, video capabilities through a flip video or camera, and a digital camera.  Also, you need to know what software programs will help make you more productive, efficient and effective.

Put your puzzle together today and your success will follow.  Get it?  Got it?  Good!  Now, go sell something!

Work on your Business

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Vijay At the AT&T National golf tournament yesterday, we watched Vijay Singh hit balls at the driving range.  He had obviously been there prior to our arrival as he had already worked up a sweat.  We watched him hit balls with precision for close to a half an hour and he was still on the range when we went in to watch others play in the tournament.  He was doing all of this prior to his 18 hole round in the tournament.  Then, as we were leaving, he was back at the range hitting balls.  As many of you know, Vijay is at the top of his profession. 

So, you ask, what does this mean?  In my opinion, if you want to be at the top of your game like Vijay is at the top of the golf game, you need to be work on your business as much as if not more as you do in your business.  To stay on top of the real estate game – learn all you can about the business as often as you can.  Start a mastermind group and discuss trends in the market, read blogs and subscribe through RSS feeds of writers you like, speak with industry leaders – not just locally but nationally as well and ask what they are experiencing in the market, read books on real estate, attend conventions, seminars, and trainings.  The more you know, the more you can communicate your value to others, the more referrals you will get and the more your business will grow.

In addition, have a business plan with a course of action to help you attain your goals.  Start with short term goals, set mid range goals then lastly have strategic long term goals.  Everyone at the top of their game has goals – on paper.  Learn and mimic top professionals in other industries to grow your business.  Get a mentor, coach or entrust a successful person to share your ideas with, to hold you accountable and to provide you with the right feedback to help you succeed.

It is easy to get caught up in your business – showing houses, breaking your schedule to meet with a new client, putting out “fires” that pop up, not delegating enough lower revenue generating tasks, etc.  instead of working on your business.  Working on your business takes time, diligence and discipline but it is critical to your success.  Differentiate yourself from others in the industry and start working on your business today.

Get it?  Got it?  Good!  Now, go sell something!

Stress

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Recently the key word in real estate has been stress.  Stress because of the other agent’s lack of professionalism, stress of short sales and the process, stress because of appraisers, stress over underwriters, stress because of unrealistic buyers and stubborn sellers –it is mind boggling.  Experienced agents and managers who have been in the business over 15 years haven’t seen or been through anything like it in their careers.  It has brought some to the point of taking a hiatus, others are thinking about changing careers, and others are looking for ways to beat it.  The bigger question is when will it change and how.

No one has a crystal ball so we can’t answer when others will change but you can change yourself.  As we know, it is how you respond versus react to a situation that determines your outlook on the business.  If everything is construed as a problem, a hassle, or an inconvenience – it will be.  If you look at each situation as an opportunity to help others solve a problem, help them make the right decisions, or give them an opportunity to learn about the business, the contract or the process, your stress level will go down as you see yourself as a solution oriented –not as every situation is a problem.

Next, consider taking a vacation from the business.  In the movie What about Bob, Dr Leo Marvin (Richard Dreyfus) told Bob Wiley (Bill Murray) to take a vacation from his problems.  So, if your business is your problem, enjoy a mental health day or two or even more if you can with no phones, emails or ties to the business.  You should come back refreshed and ready to tackle your daily real estate challenges.

Also, try listening to motivational tapes or watch inspirational videos.  We have all seen them before but revisiting them can only help – not hurt!  As Zig Ziglar says, “Motivation speeches don’t last and either does a bath so take one every day”.  Again, have an open mind and just try it!

Reach out to your peers and ask their advice about how they handle their stress levels when they reach their tipping point.  What are their sources for relieving stress?  Sometimes just talking about it helps relieve it.

Many others exercise, garden or read to release their stress levels and some even write about it.  Start a journal to let it out on paper.  Blog about it and how you relieve your stress to help others – it can help – I assure you.  The thing to recognize is what works best for you and do it!

Get it?  Got it?  Good!  Now, go sell something!