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?

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

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!

Agent Market Updates

Lorrie Hunter's view of the market...

Agent Market Updates

How are our agents seeing the market and what are they hearing? Watch this short clip to find out!

Work on your Business

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

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!

Real Estate Information Exchange Update

Our Monthly Real Estate Information Exchange at the Market Street Grill was once again filled with lively conversation, outstanding & relevant real estate information and great networking opportunities. We covered topics such as short sales and recent bank changes. We are hearing more about banks asking for mortgagees to hold a reduced note, interest free for up to 7 years to offset the mortgagors losses and the impact it is having on getting short sales through. The conversation also went on to discuss reporting MRIS violations on listing agents who do not properly change the status on listings with contracts in our multiple listing service. We also discussed which areas are “emerging” as hot markets and where we are seeing more multiple contract situations occur. More frustration was discussed about how we are having increasing difficulty with cooperating agents and getting responses from them in a timely fashion and how to handle them through Professional Standards to “police” our own. We also covered our recent involvement in Top 5 in Real Estate and how it will help us differentiate us from others in the industry as well as help us promote ourselves more professionally to the public. On the mortgage side we reviewed how ARMs are a great alternative to fixed rates as fixed rates continue to rise. FHA 5/1 ARMS are currently at 3.5% with caps of 1 and 5 – a very viable option for many buyers in our market today! Conventional 5/1 ARMs are at just 3.625% - very attractive as well! We also heard that NVR had acquired WCI’s land holdings in Northern Virginia out of bankruptcy court on Tuesday by outbidding several other National Builders.

How to win in multiple contract situations...short sales & reo's

Art Grace’s ways to win multiple contracts:

Write a perfect contract – it reflects your professionalism. Put in all details for listing agent on page 10 of contract, dot the i’s and cross the T’s.

Be aware of appraisal train wreck ahead

Don’t write in “As-is” contract – home inspection for informational purposes only.

Read the bank addendum and see if the addendum says you have the right to inspect, or does it allow you to have a home inspection opportunity?

Reasonable price is paramount to the bank – don’t make ridiculously high offers – especially with FHA loans or a price you know won’t appraise

Submit comparables that will help your offer and appraisal through when you come in high

Ask for a repair credit and any balance will be returned to the seller prior to closing – not all banks will approve

Fannie Mae will not allow any repairs prior to closing and you cannot obtainFHA financing unless it’s a 203K loan program

Have a licensed contractor or home inspector preview property prior to submitting offer – relieves obligation of home inspection contingency
Human element of buyers does not impact the sale as much as it does with arms length transactions

Don’t make multiple contacts to listing agent – don’t be threatening or confrontational or overbearing. Listing agent doesn’t hound their asset manager so don’t hassle them.

Email is typically the best way to communicate with listing agents

Scratch through paragraph 13 on contract removing the right to change financing.

Highest and best is still critical – Competence of agent, title, mortgage company in addition to big deposit, quick closing, waving inspections, etc.

Write on bank addendums or refer to your client’s addendum on their addendum unless it’s Fannie Mae – they don’t allow you to alter their addendum

Watch out for anti-flipping rules in Freddie/Fannie addendum

Short sales

Problem #1 – there are too many processes – virtually a process for every agent

Ask the listing agent how they are going to handle the process

Don’t avoid them – they are everywhere and you can make a lot of money doing them

Write into the contract that the seller will only ratify and send one offer to the bank for approval

Get written evidence of rejection if seller is truly denied

It is not possible for the seller to provide a release of recordable lien in recordable from at the time of settlement-lender always has 90 days – not a “real” clause so strike the sentence in the addendum

Seller Side:

Get seller in touch with attorney to discuss short sale versus foreclosure and ramifications of bankruptcy

Avoid tax consequences by utilizing tax relief act that is in effect until 2012 if it is your principal residence – insolvency exemption as well to relieve tax obligation due to debt relief. Always have seller consult with tax advisor and attorney first – insolvency exemption can allow investors to sell under a short sale situation

Most success in short sales comes when sellers deals with lender directly – agents second – short sale negotiator 3rd (fees can be too high)

All in all, maintain your professionalism and communication with all parties involved in order to ensure a fair shot for your clients.

What's going on with appraisals?

Here it is in a nutshell!
https://www.thinkbigworksmall.com/public/showArchiveVideo/1/4909