Northern VA Real Estate News

My blog has moved!

2009-12-01T13:36:00.002-05:00

Same blog, new posts, different spot!

Check it out!

Another Great Real Estate Listing Exchange!

2009-10-08T12:22:00.001-05:00

It was a terrific turnout – we had 25 people attend. Thanks for all who came out to be educated! Here is a synopsis of what was discussed. Hope to see more of you next time!

Scott MacDonald:

Market Update…builders have said activity and contracts have been up. The summer lull is gone and activity is picking up. Great news for us! In talking to other agents, they are saying the same thing. It’s important to tell your sellers that the market is still price sensitive. There is still activity, but it’s important to get the house priced right to get it sold quickly. We are still seeing multiple contracts. BPO’s are picking up as well.

Leslie Wish – SunTrust:

Rates continue to be great. Phones are ringing off the hook with buyers wanting to close by the end of the November. It is better to close prior to Thanksgiving and not wait.
Lenders are skittish on condo loans because of litigation against the condo association – any litigation no matter who is suing whom, no conventional loans – FHA loans will allow “some” litigation. Lender questionnaire will bring to light lawsuits and delinquencies.

Scott Mayhew – NuStart Credit Restoration:

Pull credit report to see what issues are with the report. Typical problem takes 90-120 days. Process starts with letter writing – it is a must. The letter must state name, address, loan number, discrepancy, timeframe to correct and expectations of resolution. Only way to dispute discrepancy is to state the loan is not late or not mine – this is the only way to get it removed. The letter must be signed in blue ink. Lender has thirty days to respond with exact amount owed and details of delinquencies. Consumer must write letter – not company. Proof of accuracy letter must be returned by lender – if not, need to send another letter stating they have violated. Paying off credit cards end of month doesn’t give you a great credit score. Inaccurate data CAN be removed from credit report. If your mortgage is 30 days late, it will show up on your credit score is 100 point deduction, it used to be 40 points. Credit rating goes from M1 to M9. M5 is about a 40 point hit. Tell short sale clients to have bank say paid in full as agreed and not to rate short sale higher than an M3. Fee to correct is $395 one person $495 for two.

Keith Barrett – Champion Title

New HUD form is coming out January 1st – you have to be prepared if you want to keep clients happy. Get caught up on all the changes at 4900 StoneCroft Blvd., Chantilly, VA 20151 on October 28 from 2pm to 4pm.

What in the world is going on with Northern VA real estate?

2009-10-07T08:10:00.000-05:00

Well, we are starting to see more activity lately at our listings, more homes are selling than are going on the market reducing our inventory levels, builders are seeing increased activity and sales as well, rates continue to fall, prices are remaining stable, and now is a fantastic time to be in the Northern Virginia real estate market whether buying or selling. What else could contribute to our market? We continue to have low levels of unemployment locally compared to the rest of the country – which is a huge positive for us. As a matter of fact, Virginia was ranked number 1 for the 4th consecutive year as the best place to do business. Jobs drive the housing market – just look at Detroit as an example of how employment has affected their total real estate market.

What is on our forefront? There continues to be the threat of more foreclosures coming on the market but we haven’t seen it here in our area yet. We have the impending expiration of the First Time Buyer $8,000 Tax Credit or do we? In speaking with the Former Governor, now Senator, Mark Warner, he indicated he was voting to extend the credit. Many others in support of this initiative believe this will keep momentum moving in a positive direction with our recovery from the recession as the Housing Market has such a large impact on our national economy. Interest rates may creep up – but they are so low, they have to increase at some point. Basically, as stated above, we are fortunate we have the fundamentals to be one of the top real estate markets in the country.

Cast your Vote!

2009-10-06T07:20:00.004-05:00

Vote for Scott MacDonald for NVAR Board of Directors!
Friday's the deadline, so cast your at www.nvar.com today!

An enlightening weekend

2009-10-05T15:07:00.001-05:00

As a Realtor, you never know who you will run into to discuss our business. This weekend was no different for me. I was invited to attend a political function for an incumbent who is attempting to keep his seat as a delegate for our area. Of course, Chuck Caputo is the right candidate and the right person for the job and, for our area, we need him to be re-elected. His views on education, business and transportation for our area far exceed his competitor’s opinions on how to continue to run our region and for us to stay the number one state to do business in 4 years in a row.

But I digress, at this function I had the opportunity to meet Mark Warner and we discussed our local real estate market. Our conversation included inventory levels, supply and demand challenges, trends in housing prices, profiles of our purchasers, as well as HVCC and the First Time Buyer $8,000 Tax Credit. Over the last several years, we have discussed the need to know your numbers, and know the trends in our business and to have them ready to discuss at any time. As a result of staying abreast in these areas, I was able to accurately convey why we need to address the HVCC issue but more importantly, the need to extend the First Time Buyer Tax Credit. In our discussion, he told me he was going to vote to extend the credit! It is a wise decision to keep the housing sector of our economy moving forward and to help continue to bring our country out of the recession. When it comes to making the right decisions about our economy, we need to knock down political affiliations and work together for the common good. Get it? Got it? Good.

Now, go sell something!

Social Media Training

2009-10-01T14:11:00.003-05:00

Please attend the free event at NVAR – rebarcampdc.com October 27, 2009 – 8:30 – 5. Please RSVP soon to make sure you get in!

Blogging is an important part of your internet presence – 73% of internet users have read a blog.

Google loves blogs – to get higher in the searches on various search engines – you’ve got to blog.

Blogs enhance your image on the internet.

Use http://technorati.com/ to “ping” your blog and get higher in search engines.
Incorporate videos and hyperlinks into your blogs.
Blogging allows you to present your internet presence to sellers in listing presentations.

Provide information on market, neighborhoods, and industry news to show your expertise in real estate.

Tips for blogging: www.davidrisley/2008/11/50-rapid-fire-tips-for-power-blogging/
Ed says – change or die! Remember when people complained about the new electronic lockboxes…

Here is the presentation from today!

As usual – THANK YOU Kendall and all of our attendees!
Now, go sell something!

Yesturday's Economic Summit

2009-09-24T10:15:00.002-05:00

Michael Fratantoni

-The true unemployment number is up to 13.3% (people who can no longer claim and still don’t have a job) but is report as 9.7% - it will peak midyear next year to a reported 10.2 % similar to the early 80’s
-No pressure on inflation –some deflation happening right now to keep it in check –as an example energy prices are down - a barrel of oil is in the $70’s when a price of $90 to $100 is normal
-Stock market losses $6 trillion slight rebound in Q1 & Q2
- New home sales lowest on record in 50 yrs
-Housing prices nationally are not going to rise until 2011 and won’t stabilize until mid 2010
-The Federal Reserve is largest buyer of MBS 60% currently and they hold $850 billion loans currently they have gone from 0% to 60 % this year and want to go back to 0% by year end. Will going to 0% add volatility to market? This is something to watch over the next 6 months when Fed leaves market increase in rates by .25 basis points – Just saw the Fed will buy MBS until March of 2010
-Theme things are looking up slightly but we have huge hole to climb out of
-FHA represented only 2% of loans in previous years. This year they represent 45%!
-National delinquency survey show 14% of borrowers are 90 day or more late 2.5 million loans
-Prime fixed rate loans 28 million and many of those are reaching seriously delinquency rates – more than 90 days
-Delinquencies & foreclosures are delayed or lag behind employment trends
-Delinquencies – we are up because of jobs being lost
-25% of option arms have been modified or foreclosed on not the problem media has mentioned and continues to mentions as the problem in mortgage market
-Watch bill HR 1728 – Barney Frank
-Allen Jones BOA SS expert is available to us about Short Sales and BOA
Allen.h.jones@bankofamerica.com

Frank Nothaft

-Its going to get worse much worse slower recovery than previous recessions
-After end of 1991 recession unemployment peaked 15 months later
-After end of 2001 recession peaked 19 months later
-Bernanke says we may be out of recession – the question is how long before we peak with unemployment after this recession
-$15-17 billion is the cost to extend tax credit. The challenge is too many politicians say they didn’t approve of spending gov’t funding to stimulate economy so even though they understood the need to extend they have politically painted themselves into a corner
-Freddie Mac National rebound of prices bottoms out in 2010 and it is 2011 before rebounding
-Lowest interest rate in 50 years
-Prime loans are performing worst since the 30’s – the depression
-Subprime 8 to 10% of loans represent over 35% of foreclosures
-9% of all loans are subprime but they represent 35% of foreclosures
13% of all loans are FHA and they represent 10% of foreclosures
15% of all loans are Prime/Arms and they represent 28% of foreclosures
63% of loans are Prime and Alt-A Arms and represent 27% of foreclosures
-4.2 million seriously delinquent 90 days behind
-To determine if loan is owned by Freddie Mac check out – www.makinghomesaffordable.com or www.Freddiemac.com

Lawrence Yun

No housing bubble it was a credit market bubble
We are overshooting bottom & need stimulus to nudge further back to make our market “normal” again
-From typical NAR survey 3000 responses - HVCC appraisal survey resulted in 30,000 responses1/3 had properties not close due to appraisals
Prices are below fundamental values
All cash purchases are 20 % of market typically low single digits 8 %
Foreclosures will rise because of toxic issues of unemployment & underwater buyers
Full builder recovery not until 2011
Our prices locally are down 20 % were 33 %
Stock market is at 1 year highs
Support tax credit extension - Wall Street got $700 billion whole economic stimulus $800 billion extending the tax credit will only be $15 billion
NAR is on FB why aren’t you?
See his presentation below!

Stephen Fuller

View his updated slides in the link below!
Look for collaboration amongst our peers share data share ideas work together get along
We in DC better at looking at bad news

Dr. Frank Nothaft
Dr. Michael Fratantoni
Dr. Lawrence Yun
Dr. Stephen Fuller

We’ve caught the 500 pound elephant…

2009-09-21T16:01:00.002-05:00

The economy isn’t as bad as we think it is or as the media portrays it to be…especially in our Washington Metro Area. Dr. Stephen Fuller from GMU’s Center for Regional Analysis spoke to our office today regarding the current economy in our area including unemployment and the state of the housing market…and of course his forecasts for the future.

The future is uncertain. It always has been and as it should be. We can only predict so much. So Dr. Fuller believes that in 2010 and 2011 the housing market in the Washington Metro area is going to be out of control good or in his words it’ll go “gangbutsters”! That’s pretty optimistic considering the last batch of Alt-A loans (5/1 and 7/1 ARMS) are due to adjust in 2011, but he did say to that end that the majority of those loans have already gone into foreclosure.

Unemployment in our area is down. It’s up around the rest of the nation and according to Dr. Fuller will go up to 10.2 nationally by April of next year before we see it start to come down again. As of this last month, there is a 3.5 point gap between the national unemployment figure and the figure in our region. He noted that as a country we are losing 200,000 jobs per month and in order to keep employment where it is currently, we would have to accrue 100,000 jobs per month – again, we are losing 200,000 per month. Employment won’t return to pre-recession numbers until 2014. That’s a heck of a lot of jobs! And half of those job losses are in the retail sector. Thanks to amazon.com and all of the other internet retailers that offer goods for discounted prices. Store front retailers can’t keep up, end up in bankruptcy and leave buildings and strip malls vacant along with any customer service that might have been associated with it. Big box retail shopping centers may get rezoned to accommodate housing short fall – stay tuned.

Dr. Fuller did comment on inflation and whether or not it will happen in the near future due to all of the spending our government has been doing lately. Will we have to endure a hard inflation period to “pay it all back”? His answer is not likely. Unemployment is a major factor affecting our economy, but it’s not enough to put pressure on the economy to spark inflation. He noted that manufacturers are not struggling as hard as they would be during an inflationary period. This is in large part because of all the products you can purchase online. They costs of not having a physical store, employees, etc. allows for the lower cost product and thus more profit in the long run. Therefore, if they continue to produce the goods, they continue to sell, then inflation shouldn’t occur…but that doesn’t mean another recession won’t occur. Dr. Fuller said another recession is inevitable, but when is the question.

A recession is defined as a period of an economic contraction, sometimes limited in scope or duration or as Wikipedia says it’s when the GDP falls or when we have negative growth. We have experienced this negative growth for the past 18 months and things are finally looking upward. As is the housing market!

The real estate market in the Washington Metro area is hot and soon to get hotter! At Gateway our sales are up 4% over last year, but our volume is down by 5%, thus showing that prices have come down quite a bit from last year. Dr. Fuller predicted that builders will start building more spec homes about springtime of next year. He commented that we need to have 25,000 new homes (not resales) to accommodate just the new residents in the Northern Virginia area, compared to 1 million nationally. Currently in our Northern Virginia market, inventory is slowing decreasing. This week we see 5,984 active listings on the market…that’s down 56% from this time last year. Just goes to show it’s a great time to sell and with the $8,000 first time home buyer tax credit and low interest rates, it’s also a great time to buy.

Prince William County market update

2009-09-18T16:03:00.003-05:00

Jason Smith’s comments:

Inventory levels up slightly but everything else is staying steady so the market is going strong! We are just under a 2 month supply of houses in

Prince William County. The active inventory has 36% of the market as distressed sales. Nationally, inventory levels are up 7.6% in July – here we are down – houses continue to sell which is great news for us. There was a home with 20 contracts on it in Piedmont priced under $350,000. It is still a very competitive environment for us in the first time buyer price range. New construction activity is up as well and KB Homes is coming back to our area – stay tuned on where as we haven’t heard yet.

Loan modifications aren’t working with a majority of the lenders – anywhere. The push to modify from the government hasn’t yielded results from what we’ve heard.

There are very few FSBO’s on the market as well. Auction activity only showed 3 houses on the “block” in October – other auctions previously featured 100’s of houses…the tide is changing – inventory is getting absorbed prior to auction.

Scott’s comments:

Career Night, September 24th: Bring an agent and get into a drawing for a designation and your guest agent gets thrown into a separate drawing for a designation at the end of the night. We’d love for you to invite those agents that would be a great fit for our company.
Business planning retreat…Pat Cunningham is one of our wonderful sponsors. Friday starts with golf, spa, cocktail party, and business planning starts on Saturday. It’s going to be a different format this year with tons of interaction to help jump start your 2010! The location is easy to get to and it’s a beautiful resort – the Hyatt in Cambridge be sure to sign up today.

In today’s Market Watch, our monthly market update you will see that there is not much to talk about this month. For the first time in a long time, there is nothing earth shattering. It’s been relatively quiet. There is nothing new that we need to be concerned about - yet. There is a lot coming down the pike so stay tuned. So what’s next? Is the loan limit going to stay $729,750 or is going to be cut back to revert back to $629,650. Is the first time buyer tax credit going to be extended or will it go away? When are rates going to go up and how high? When is the government going to dismiss the FED’s advice to continue to purchase mortgage backed securities. If inventory levels go up by a thousand houses – BOA foreclosures in

Northern Virginia - it’s not going to affect the market too drastically.
Right now we are at May of 2005 inventory levels. We need more homes to sell!

Pat Cunningham agrees that there is not much has been going on the mortgage front. Rates are awesome – ARM’s are coming more into favor because of better education and lower start rates.
A year ago I remember the mid September of last year and we were literally in a financial firestorm and one of the things I was thinking then is about the fact that that Fannie & Freddie were going out of the business and lending institution having a hard time making loan and wondering if there will there be a credit freeze.

Let’s fast forward to today, its business as usual. We’ve gotten out of the toughest financial market of our time. Interest rates are at historic lows. PMI may require anti-flipping rules to be enforced and will be scrutinized heavily on 91-120 days be on the lookout for changes in this arena.

All is quiet on the Western Front

2009-09-18T09:33:00.002-05:00

All is quiet on the Western Front – all is the same over the last month or so – same issues with short sales, foreclosures, etc

Agents are being more demanding and asking for shorter timelines – short sales are bringing out the worst in other agents. Agent’s frustration over short sales are carrying over into other transactions. Agents have an all gloves off mentality. Buyers and sellers are also frustrated because of timing of getting deals done, HVCC, TIL, etc.

Nip unprofessionalism behavior in the bud. Track all conversations in writing with agents.

First time buyers are antsy – wanting deals to be done so they get the tax credit, get rates locked in, and get closed.
Notice of trustee sales is at an all time high

The highest month of foreclosures were September of ’08 – trustee sales today are 30% higher than that

Market is slowing – sales are down because inventory levels are down
Commercial market is about to tank – financing is gone – only sources are pension funds, insurance money and conduit lenders are the only avenues. No new construction can be financed either. Churches and schools are building but back log is diminishing. Commercial market is in directly opposite of residential market. Death, divorce and relocation are our salvation as well – people have to move!
Titanium is in control of 31,000 people in our area who are in one form of distress – not foreclosed on by the bank yet.

The attached article was also discussed.

Outlying areas are coming back strong – we are doing better than other counties – including Maryland.

That’s it – go sell something!

Interesting Market Update

2009-09-16T13:41:00.000-05:00

It is an interesting time in the market right now. For the first time in a long time, there are not a lot of changes in our market to report – it is the same ole story – which is kind of nice. Over the last several weeks, we have reported shifts which were affecting our industry and we were on top of for our clients and agents alike. Last month we talked about short sales, foreclosures and those trials and tribulations. Right now everything is flat in terms of news. The inventory levels are down, buyers are still out looking for homes, the hot price ranges remain hot and we are ready to help!

What makes me wonder is, is now the calm before the storm? As we’ve been speaking about over the last several weeks, many questions have been raised that we cannot answer - yet. Many of our questions include the short sale process, inventory levels, release of foreclosures by banks, and other concerns over distressed properties still have not been answered. Additionally, we have impending issues we are dealing with such as the first times tax buyer credit coming to an end on November 30, …will that be extended with all of the billions of dollars being spent by the government? When will interest rates rise…is looming on our horizon - how soon will that happen? Foreclosures are slowing being released…will they be released all at once and will that have an impact on our values? How much can the government spend to buy mortgage backed securities against the Federal Reserve’s advice and how will this impact us going forward. There are a lot of questions that need to be answered and only time will tell what the outcome will be for the housing market. So, for now, there is nothing turbulent to write or speak about today. All’s well that ends well I guess will be the theme of this month’s update. Mortgage rates are great, buyers are buying, houses are selling, and we are still working to make it all happen for our clients. Let’s hope we get more of the same going forward!

Thinking of Remodeling?

2009-09-14T10:20:00.001-05:00

Whether you are thinking about putting your home on the market or you are concerned about increasing your home’s equity in a time of depreciating house values, knowing which remodeling projects yields the best return on investment, is critical.

Not all home remodeling projects are equal in terms of ROI, however. Here are the National Association of Home Builder’s suggestions for the best ways to add value to your home:

• A Home Office Remodel
With more and more people telecommuting in today’s difficult business climate, home offices are becoming less of a luxury and more of a necessity. Creating a state-of-the-art space for potential teleworkers is a surefire way to increase your home’s value.

• Renovate or Add a Family Room
A family room is an excellent way to make existing homes more like new construction. Take into account what homes in your area are like. People like to purchase homes that blend with other homes around them.

• Replace the Roof
The roof is one of the first impressions people have of a home. Replace an old roof or change the character of your home by looking into architecturally styled roofing tiles.

• Landscape Your Yard
Landscaping is also an integral part of your home’s first impression. A professionally landscaped yard adds value to your home and increases your living space.

• Replace Old Windows
Thirty percent of a home’s energy is lost through its windows. Replacing old windows with energy-efficient ones ups the overall quality of the house and saves you money on monthly utility bills.

• Remodel Your Basement
Do you have space that serves as a black hole of unused items…like your basement? Remodeled basements make excellent game rooms or guest suites, adding value to your home without adding space.

• Paint, Paint, Paint
It’s been said over and over but can’t be emphasized enough. Hire a professional if you need help and keep the colors neutral if you’re looking to sell.

• Remodel Your Kitchen
Kitchens sell a home, and in this case, size does matter. But a kitchen remodel is a long-term investment; you’ll see payback 10 years down the road. Sometimes doing it yourself can save money, but always bring in a professional for the big jobs.

• Remodel or Add a Bathroom
A bathroom remodel can mean making the most of your current space by upgrading fixtures, flooring and lighting. Or add a bathroom and automatically increase the value of your home.

For more information on adding value to your home, visit www.nahb.org/remodel, or in Canada, www.chba.ca.

Do you know if you qualify to refinance your home?

2009-09-14T10:18:00.003-05:00

Do You Qualify for the Expanded Home Refinance Program?

The Home Affordable Refinance Program, or HARP, established by the Obama Administration, has been expanded, raising the maximum loan-to-value ratio from 105% to 125%. As a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, many clients are asking me if they qualify for the HARP program. If you can answer “yes” to following questions, you may be eligible:

- Are you the owner of a one- to four-unit home?
- Do you have a loan owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac?
- Are you current on your mortgage payments?
(“Current” means that you haven’t been more than 30-days late on your mortgage payment in the last 12 months.)
- Do you believe that the amount you owe on your first mortgage is about the same or less than the current value of your house?

Open to homeowners whose loans are owned or guaranteed by Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac, and covering first mortgages only, the HARP expansion means that an eligible homeowner with a $375,000 mortgage loan may now refinance if the house is worth at least $300,000.

The expansion is aimed at making refinancing available to more people whose homes are now worth less than the amount of their mortgages. As always, the borrower must meet income requirements and be able to afford the loan. Homeowners must also be current on their mortgage payments.

As a homeowner, you may be eligible if:
1. You obtained your mortgage before January 1, 2009
2. The home is owner occupied
3. The primary mortgage is less than $729,500

According to the Federal Housing Financing Agency, the higher loan-to-value refinancing will allow more homeowners to strengthen their finances by taking advantage of lower mortgage rates. HARP borrowers will be able to combine a lower mortgage rate with a faster amortization schedule, which will enable them to get “above water” on their mortgages more quickly.

The program also provides borrowers with an incentive to reduce the term of their loan from 30 years to a shorter-term, fixed-rate mortgage, enabling them to pay down the principal more quickly and reduce lifetime interest payments.

For more information on the HARP program, visit www.makinghomeaffordable.gov or e-mail me. If you know of others who can benefit from this information, please feel free to forward this email to them.

How to protect yourself from mortgage fraud?

2009-09-14T10:18:00.001-05:00

10 Ways to Protect Yourself from Mortgage Fraud

Many of the challenges homeowners and home buyers are confronting today are the result of unscrupulous mortgages extended over the past several years. Help protect yourself during the home buying process with these tips from the American Homeowners Foundation and the American Homeowners Grassroots Alliance, www.AmericanHomeowners.org, or in Canada, with tips found at www.genworth.ca:

1. Deal only with reputable mortgage bankers or mortgage brokers. Get recommendations from neighbors and friends who dealt with them as customers. Check on the mortgagor’s record with the local Better Business Bureau and state licensing authority. As a Member of the Top 5 in Real Estate Network®, I can also provide you with many credible mortgage resources.

2. Ask how long they have been in the business, and be wary of working with someone with less than five years experience, no matter how reputable their employer may be.

3. Unlike professional real estate agents like myself, mortgagors owe you no fiduciary duty. While it is in the long-term interest of mortgage lenders and brokers to treat consumers fairly, for many, that doesn’t stand in the way of charging higher fees or interest rates. Always get quotes from at least three mortgage lenders and/or brokers, and make sure each one knows you are doing so.

4. Since you’ll be providing them the most comprehensive personal financial information you’ll ever provide any company, ask the lender to describe their data security policies, both online and offline.

5. To reduce the likelihood of overpaying for a home, make sure that you review recent selling prices for similar homes in the same neighborhood before you make an offer. I can provide you with a detailed analysis of the homes in our communities.

6. Set aside some extra money for closing costs. One of the vexations of real estate financing are the differences in estimated settlement costs on the Good Faith Estimate (GFE) forms, and the actual settlement costs, which very often include several hundred additional dollars worth of previously undisclosed and creatively named fees.

7. Pick the right kind of mortgage. Interest rates are higher on 30 year fixed rate loans than on 15 year fixed rate loans. Adjustable rate mortgages are always a gamble. You may well save money over the first few years if interest rates are dropping, but predicting their direction further out is very speculative. Prepayment penalties can more than offset any savings if the rates go up after that and you want to refinance.

8. Get pre-approved for your loan. Even though there is a glut of homes for sale in most areas right now, a mortgage loan pre-approval is essential to many sellers, and gives a big negotiating advantage to buyers in almost all cases.

9. It is important to review loan documents in advance and understand all the terms. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Try to avoid loans with prepayment penalties if at all possible.

10. Save all the copies of all documents you receive and/or provide mortgage lenders or brokers.

For more advice on how to secure the best mortgage in today’s challenging economic times, please e-mail me directly. I can help you make sense of the current mortgage landscape and the ever-changing credit standards. Also, if this information can be of benefit to your friends and family members, please feel free to forward this email to them.

Conversations on Short Sales & HERA w/ Ed Dean from PMG

2009-08-29T12:46:00.000-05:00

The shorts sales continue to rear their ugly head. Our agents continue to have problems with the time spent working on them, the energy devoted to them and the lack of results they are getting out of them. It appears now that many of the banks have gone to call centers handling the shorts sale calls for the banks and these people have no training no experience, but more importantly no authority to make decisions on whether or not to approve or disapprove a short sale.
Enough of short sales, now onto the mortgage news…

This week the head of FHA, Dave Stevens, made the announcement that FHA will not be going the way of HVCC because he is a wise man and recognizes the inherent problem associated with the HVCC. Great news for all of us in this regard!

In a recent conversation with Ed Dean, we were further educated on the new TIL reforms and told us that 10 days is a reasonable amount of time to get a loan to close, you would have to move heaven and earth to get a loan done in 7 days (it can be done, but it’s not recommended), but his belief is that it is not going to have as much of an impact as many people are indicating. Check out his notes on the subject from our conversation. Ed did a review of 5,000 loans that his former mortgage company had done and noted that only 30 of those loans would have needed re-disclosure. A majority of those 30 needed re-disclosure as a result of people failing to lock in their interest rate or it was initially a pre-qualification and it went to contract several months later. You’ll note at the bottom of page 3 of his notes, how significantly the numbers need to change to get a re-disclosure.

Other mortgage news included guidelines continue to get tougher on condos with more restrictions imposed. In addition it has become virtually standard operating procedure for every lender to pull the Form 4506 from the IRS to request the borrower’s tax returns to make sure they match the ones they provided in the loan application process. Basically with the way the loans are going today, you have to fit inside the box. There is no thinking outside, underwriting or loans being approved outside the box. And lastly, second trusts continue to have no future or part of the mortgage or sales landscape.

As is always we strive to keep you educated in the real estate world. Get it? Got it? Good!

Joe Theismann...a highlight of the RE/MAX Broker Conference

2009-08-24T13:07:00.002-05:00

What a performance by Joe Theismann – again! Being a lifelong Washington Redskin fan, I experienced many of Joe’s outstanding performances on the field but at the RE/MAX Broker/Owner meetings in Chicago, he outdid himself with his speaking. He inspired many of us, surprised many more with his message and his delivery when he spoke about how he overcame a major challenge – a career ending injury – and how we can overcome our challenges in our lives by thinking about the following items.

• Be a part of something unique and special
• Think about what you will do to make a difference
• Who is it all about – the answer is – it isn’t you
• Embrace change
• Have a heart to heart with yourself – what do you believe in
• You can’t be a major success until you realize you can’t do it all by yourself
• Don’t accept failure
• Think, what can I do to help the team
• Who is your team
• Do you want to make a difference
• You have to want more for yourself – what will you give of yourself to get you there
• Reposition your attitude, thoughts, etc
• What do you do with a challenge when it is presented to you
• Have a passion
• Do it with enthusiasm
• Ask yourself, how high is your ladder – why does it have a last wrung
• Why do you believe in you
• Give and accept recognition
• Become an excited student – make it your mission to learn something today you didn’t know yesterday - everyday
• Fear is a motivator – what are you afraid of
• Attitude carries you to attain your goals
• To survive, you have to have written goals and post them. 98% of people don’t have written goals
• How will you know where you are going if it’s not written down and visualized
• Give yourself direction
• Life is filled with educational experiences not failures
• Be committed to having the feeling you can get it done
• Have pride in you, your company, your brand, what you do and why, and lastly be the best you – everyday
• Be reliable, accountable, available, be customer service oriented, have the right goals, the right attitude and be motivated
As I mentioned, he was right on with many of his statements and comments. So, the questions is, what are you going to do about it? Review the bullet points above, write you answers down on paper, review them and get started in a positive direction and live a more successful life. Get it? Got it? Good!

Platinum Club...another great meeting!

2009-08-13T15:59:00.001-05:00

Another Platinum Club meeting, another short sale discussion meeting, when will the madness end? My short answer is, when the government steps in and does something GOOD for our industry and gets banks to streamline and systemize the short sale process.

A few observations from today’s meeting include: the processor makes all the difference in short sales, not the bank; as the foreclosures diminish, REO managers are migrating to Loss Mitigation departments – too early to tell if this will work better or not but us being optimists in this group, believe it will; despite what others say, make calls on your cases everyday – the squeaky wheel gets the grease. The belief is that short sale departments are small – not big like everyone may think – in one case, one processor is handling 5 cases for one of the agents; everyone in the chain is overworked – negotiator, processor, and listing agent – much of the paperwork is lost in the process; the deals continue to get more difficult and take longer – one agent lost 6 deals in the last month; if the bank knows the property is vacant, it will speed up the foreclosure process; the short sale part of the business has made agents more suspicious of each other – no MLS updates or incorrect/unauthorized status changes, unprofessional and/or unethical processes are instituted by many agents - they have clients ratify multiple contracts, and releasing contracts & accepting others without bank rejection of first contract is becoming more commonplace are just a few examples of what is taking place in our market; only about 23% of short sales are making it to closing due to bank rejection, banks asking for notes from mortgagor, and the time it takes to get them to close today that buyers are releasing themselves from the contract. From the listing side, to get better success, have buyers remove all contingencies prior to submitting the offer – it is easy to do in multiple contract situations and gets buyer buy in – provide title work, your own BPO, and mock HUD 1 with the offer, don’t wait on these procedures.

Additional discussions covered foreclosures. There isn’t much happening on the foreclosure front. The promise of the flood of foreclosures coming on the market is continuing to be delayed – bring it on is what we say as our inventory level is down 56% from the same time last year and the most competitive market is in the first time buyer price range where many of the supposed foreclosures will be priced. We can sell’em if they list’em. Listing assignments are down 75% from last year. BPO’s are up – suspect they are for short sales – not for potential bank inventory. Last year 1 BPO for every 5 listings obtained, this year it is the opposite, 1 listing for every 5 BPO’s.

Many markets are still extremely price sensitive – even when they are priced just a little high. When priced right, in the right condition and show well – they sell. Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell something!

The numbers are looking good!

2009-08-07T12:41:00.000-05:00

Numbers review – we are up as a company! Our transactions are up 21% over last year – We have gone from 674 last year to 874 this year. With 80 agents that is a 10.6 average number of transactions per agent through July!

HERA update – no more closings within 7 days, lock early, get accurate numbers to your lender from your title company – more communication between all parties is paramount – HERA affects any applications taken after July 30th – any questions on HERA?

Advice for getting appraisals to come in at value: meet appraiser at property and provide all comps you believe are important – provide numbers we provide you – show anything else you believe was integral in the sale, i.e. number of contracts, number of showings, days on market, number of competing properties, month’s supply in hood, in the surrounding area and any insight you can gain from listing agents on houses under contract. Don’t forget to mention condition of recent sales through your previewing efforts-you do preview, don’t you? Any detail can make all the difference. Be sure to ask the appraisers familiarity with the neighborhood, trends, prices, etc as many appraisers are coming from great distances.

10 year treasuries are on the rise putting upward pressure on long term rates – primarily mortgage rates – encourage having your clients lock in their rates
New home sales are up dramatically – KHOV 90 sales last 60 days
Existing home sales are up nationally 5 consecutive months of growth, first time since July of 2003 – what happened then? Our inventory numbers are down and Case Shiller pricing index – 14 of 20 markets are up – first time in 3 years this has happened – if anyone asks – yes we hit the bottom - locally in November – nationally now. This is also good to share with appraisers gang!

No big wave of foreclosures hitting our market – BPO orders are down
Short sales are taking longer – second trusts are unresponsive for weeks at a time

More arms length transactions are occurring
Gov’t is pushing top 25 loan servicers to have 500,000 trial modifications in place by Nov 1st – only 200,000 have actually been done. Banks may be forced into doing modifications by enacting a Bankruptcy bill that got defeated earlier this year where banks will be forced by bankruptcy judges to slash balances of people who are delinquent on their mortgages in involuntarily.

Other key indicators to watch – Index of Leading Economic Indicators (interest rate spread, building permits, stock prices, weekly initial claims (inverted), average weekly manufacturing hours, index of supplier deliveries (vendor performance), and manufacturers' new orders for consumer goods and materials*. The negative contributors – beginning with the largest negative contributor – were real money supply*, manufacturers' new orders for nondefense capital goods*, and index of consumer expectations) – rose close to 1 point in June – 3rd straight month it has grown – 1st time index has grown 3 consecutive months since 2004. The Index of Leading Economic Indicators are closely tied to the housing industry and its recovery. Obviously we didn’t hear much about these numbers in the news – strange, huh.

New Unemployment claims filed are down 5 straight times indicating worst may be behind us. The number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits fell more than economists predicted, a sign some employers have stopped paring staff as the recession eases.

Applications dropped by 38,000 to 550,000 in the week ended Aug. 1, figures from the Labor Department showed today in Washington, the fifth straight time claims were under 600,000 after being above that level since January. The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance rose.

The bottom line is we are continuing to see great progress in our market – we just need more inventory, rates to remain low, and prices to increase slightly – not significantly and we will continue on our pace of record transactions. Get it? Got it? Good!

It's amazing....market update!

2009-08-07T12:39:00.001-05:00

It’s amazing! Our market continues to flourish despite the rest of the economy and other market segments in the real estate business. Year to date, our transactions are up 21% over last year numbers. Our belief is that we provide our agents with up-to-date, cutting edge, continuous training to keep them current which has helped us excel in today’s perceived “down” market. In addition to our success, nationally, June’s numbers of existing-home sales rose for the third consecutive month with inventory easing and home prices declining less sharply in June, according to the National Association of Realtors®. Our belief is that low rates, lower prices, and the $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers are fueling our business.

Some of the trends we are closely monitoring are the Home Valuation Code of Conduct, the Housing and Economic Recovery Act and the Mortgage Disclosure Improvement Act to educate our clients on how the appraisal and lending process will impact their sale from a valuation and timeframe standpoint. In addition, we are closely monitoring new loan programs, revisiting underutilized programs such as VHDA, buy downs, and FHA ARMS to find ways to finance our purchasers. And we are continuing to stay up-to-date on short sales and the short sale process. Our experience has been that the process is taking longer and we are having more difficulty in getting them through the banks. Nationally, only 23% of short sales are getting to settlement. Make sure to stay current on these changes and updates to give the right advice.

A few additional insights are that new home sales continue to flourish, there are more move up buyers entering our market and when we meet the appraiser we are having fewer value issues. By providing them with comparable sales and details on those sales (short sale, condition, foreclosure, etc.), information on activity, days on market comparisons, number of contracts received and current market conditions to provide the appraiser at the time of the inspection – we are experiencing fewer problems. We still are having appraisal issues but by meeting the appraiser at the house, we have experienced more appraisals coming in at value than we previously encountered.

By staying on top of industry trends, changes within our industry, and educating yourself and clients, you will gain more loyal clients and receive more referrals. Get it? Got it? Good!

It's Time!

2009-07-29T15:05:00.001-05:00

It is time, to take the time, to analyze, reassess and reenergize yourself and your team. What are you saying to clients? What are your team members saying to their contacts? Where is your attitude? What is your team’s attitude? Where are you spending your time? Where are your teammates spending their time? Is everyone effective? Are they utilizing their strengths? Are you maximizing yours? What needs to be altered to get the results you want or need? Take the time – today – to answer these questions and develop a plan to adapt to your recent activity and mindset to get to where you want to go.

Over the last few weeks, I have been part of CEO groups and involved in an executive networking groups and the atmosphere has been: Flat is where it’s at – we are doing good but not great – things are better for us than our competition so we are happy. Complacency is not a good attribute in my opinion. When I hear this, it makes me wonder what the culture is in the office. Is the negative news they are hearing creeping into their conversations around the water cooler, in interoffice emails, at staff meetings, etc. These areas of communication need to be evaluated and adjusted. If you are the best of the best, there is no excuse. You need to work harder – on your attitude, your efforts, your communication and the message conveyed. There are opportunities in every market – good, bad and flat. Again, what are your people saying, doing, and working on to improve themselves. We all know the saying. “When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

We don’t want to be flat and happy about it. We don’t just want to be better than the others in the business, and just flat lining because of the economy and media says the economy is bad. We want to improve ourselves and not compare ourselves to anyone but ourselves. We want to be better than we were the year before, and the year before that, and so on. We need to be better than we were previously. We need to look at our personal efforts and those around us and ask the tough questions I asked above.

As the market has been adjusting, we find ourselves doing more. We are making more phone calls, attending more networking sessions, speaking with more people about their business as well as ours, spending more money than our competitors to convey our message, participating in more educational events and attending more functions to learn more about others and their businesses.

Our message is positive, we speak about results and refer to numbers to convey our message and we ask how we can help others and their business. As a result, we are receiving more business. Focus on your activities, your message, your attitude, and your servant mentality and you will get business. Get it? Got it? Good!

We're moving on up!

2009-07-27T14:34:00.001-05:00

It is true! The housing market is making its comeback. Last week we reported sales of existing homes rose 3 consecutive months and that new home sales were up in June over 3%. Well, guess what? New home sales were up 11% in July! This is more great news for us to “build” upon moving into the dog days of summer.

What is the reason for this growth? There are several factors in my opinion: low rates, the right price point, multiple offers on existing homes, the tax credit and the market conditions. As we all know, rates have been low for an extended period of time and according to Ben Bernanke in his economic update, they are going to remain low as a strategy to aid in our economy’s recovery. Builders, banks and home owners alike have been reducing prices to encourage offers – well, it appears that the sale of the century for housing has worked and buyers are coming out of the woodwork. As these buyers are making offers on resale properties and losing out to other buyers, the frustration has lead them to new homes – no multiple offers on to be builts! As the tax credit has aided in getting first time buyers off the fence, it has also spurred activity in the move up market which is resulting in the increase in new home sales as well. And lastly, the market has been decreasing for over 4 years – June or July of 2005 is when we earmarked the down turn in housing. Additionally, as we all know, what goes up must come down and vice versa so it was about time for the market to change. You can’t keep a good thing down.

The housing recovery is critical in so many ways to the general economy’s recovery – let’s keep the momentum moving in a positive direction by spreading the word. Get it? Got it? Good!

What do Clients want?

2009-07-24T10:42:00.002-05:00

In today’s environment, clients are looking for information, communication, service, and results. It is our job to ask the right questions to determine their expectations so you can meet or exceed them. Let’s examine each area to help you improve in these areas.

In today’s day and age, the consumer has become more educated on just about every subject that is important to them. It is information overload if you let it become that way. If you go to a bookstore you will see virtually every subject covered from knitting to financing to buying or selling houses to how to raise kids and it starts with “insert subject here” for dummies to expert advice from “insert authors name here”. Additionally, the internet has given more access to more information on nearly every subject as well. It is your job to help disseminate this information for your clients and provide them with accurate, up-to-date information on our market, financing options, pricing trends, appraisals, and what differentiates our market and their neighborhood from what they are reading about which is typically more National or global in nature . This information must be factual, logical and understandable so you can have a positive impact on their decision to buy or sell. Stay current by keeping yourself educated! Think like a consumer – become an information junkie. Learn all you can about our business – starting with the contract and what each part means, reading blogs, attending seminars and trainings as well as reading trade publications, and by being active in your Realtor associations.

It is also imperative to know how your clients want to be communicated with on a regular basis. Technology that is available today allows us more options to communicate with others. Simple ways are the phone – but which one? The cell phone, home phone, or work phone. By email - work or home? Texting - again, which device? Face to face meetings are an all time favorite but very time consuming. Faxing messages, scanning and emailing may work with many clients as well. The point is, find out how and how often and do it.

Service – say what you are going to do and then do it. Call, email, text, get feedback, find out the answer, deliver brochures, put up signs, be on time, schedule inspections, whatever it is – just do it! Provide them service as if they are the only client you have and you will reap the rewards!

Results are the ultimate goal for your client. Get them their house, sell their house, rent them a house or lease it out. Quick, efficient, and professional service is what clients demand and should receive. One of the fastest ways to the top is to determine what your client wants and needs then deliver it. Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell something!

Broken Record

2009-07-24T10:34:00.001-05:00

At times I feel like a broken record – our market is different, we aren’t impacted like the rest of the country, we are seeing houses sell, etc. Well, it looks like other areas are beginning to experience what we are experiencing here in Northern Virginia. In a recent article on MSNBC it has been reported that existing home sales are up 3 months in a row – check it out here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32104105/ns/business-real_estate/from/ET - thanks for sharing Kendall Bennett. I am not sure if they are experience the number of multiple contract situations we are facing in the lower and upper price ranges like we are, but we will find out. However, I am sure they are having challenges with HVCC as it is a nationwide problem and they will experience the same problems we will have with H.E.R.A. as well – thanks Mindy Littleton. Please be sure to review the H.E.R.A. rules to give our clients the right advice with timing on closings with the new rules being implemented July 30.

In addition to the great news on existing home sales, new home starts were revised and reported to be up 3.6% in June over May 2009 numbers to an annualized rate of 562,000 – check it out even though it is a negative in regards to numbers “anticipated” last year: http://www.census.gov/const/newresconst.pdf. It is our hopes – even though hope isn’t a strategy – that with more good news like this, the media will start to report “our story” of success!

The advice for the day is to continue staying positive, find the good in each situation and keep the ball moving down field and you will get the results you are looking to achieve. Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell something!

New Legislation- H.E.R.A.

2009-07-23T15:48:00.003-05:00

Just when you thought you knew the business and what is happening in the business, a new regulation gets implemented that very few agents are aware of and that will impact our business. The Housing and Economic Recovery Act (H.E.R.A.) requires that lenders provide the borrower with a Truth-in-Lending statement (nothing new) and that the borrower has 3 days to review it and no fees (other than credit report) can be collected from the borrower until the review period is over. Assuming the lender sends this out immediately, 3 days are allowed for mail and 3 days are allowed for review, then the lender can receive payment for the appraisal. Under the HVCC – appraisals can’t be ordered until payment for the appraisal is received – hooray! This is up to a 7 day delay in ordering appraisals up front. So be sure to make a special note of this scenario.

The next potential delay that can occur is closer to settlement. If the Truth-in-Lending form changes by more than an 1/8 tolerance of accuracy (used to be a ¼) a new Truth-in-Lending form needs to be reissued and, once again, the buyer needs 3 days to review after receiving it by mail, 3 days later for a potential additional 7 day delay. It is necessary to get your purchasers locked in early to avoid any delays or penalties for delays in closing. Also, you must do your due diligence to ensure the buyers of your listings are locked in well in advance of settlement. This scenario is very likely to happen on short sales and when we have delays in foreclosure settlements as a result of title problems.

If you have any additional questions about this OVER legislation of our industry, contact your lender.

Another area of concern is the sales price changes – increase price to cover closing costs – decrease price as a result of home inspection items – changing settlement dates – and even more…stay on top of your transactions so you don’t get crushed by them! Get it? Got it? Good!

Social Media

2009-07-22T08:24:00.002-05:00

As many of you have read and are experiencing. Social Media is a growing part of our industry. As I mentioned to Bryan Felder yesterday, it is a spoke in your marketing wheel and it definitely needs to be there but should not overwhelm you. Many people spend an inordinate amount of time with Social Media so you need to be cautioned on how much time and resources you are spending on this part of your business. You need to have exposure on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter and post blogs at a minimum to get your real estate business to Web 2.0.

We are trying to keep you abreast of what to do in our efforts to keep you informed in this arena. Our wonderful Great Falls Office Coordinator, Kendall Bennett, is teaching Social Media classes on a monthly basis and is available to speak with you about what she has learned, what she is experiencing and what her thoughts are on this latest real estate tool. Here is a quiz she sent me yesterday – see how you do. http://www.realtor.org/RMOQuiz2.nsf/SocialNetworking?OpenForm.

Here is another article I came across that we need to pass to keep our business moving along in a positive direction. http://www.inman.com/news/2009/07/21/bill-would-extend-higher-loan-limits. Spread the word! Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell something!

The market is heating up and so are tempers!

2009-07-20T15:48:00.001-05:00

You are not going to believe the first part of this story but the second part you will. This weekend, one of our RE/MAX Gateway agents placed a townhouse on the market for sale in Centreville, VA for $250,000. If you have been reading my previous blogs at www.scottymacsblog.com you would know that this segment of the market is extremely competitive with upwards of 15 contracts on houses that are in good condition. Well, this property fits this description and we received 7 contracts which are what our sellers were prepared for but what happened on Saturday was completely unexpected. As you can imagine, to receive 7 contracts, you need to have a lot of activity to produce these results. An agent, who was showing the property, had removed the key from the lockbox, locked the door and proceeded to show the house. Another agent arrived to show the house shortly thereafter, knocked on the door, opened the lockbox, found it empty and proceeded to ring the doorbell. The first agent opened a second floor window and told the second agent they would have to wait until they finished showing the property to see it. When the first agent opened the door, the second agent attempted to walk into the house. As the second agent walked into the house, the first agent grabbed the second agent by the throat, lifted them up, slammed them twice against the wall, threw them to the floor and proceeded to kick them out of the door while slamming the door against their legs. Luckily, for the second agent, a third agent pulled up and proceeded to call 911 as well as the owner of the property to inform them of the situation. Shortly thereafter, the owner got home, saw an ambulance driving away and two police cars in front of their townhouse. We are awaiting the results of this assault and will keep you posted. By the way, agent number one is male, agent number two is female. Unbelievable but true.

The second story is also true but is more believable, our market is going strong. Inventory levels continue to decline, demand is on the rise, we have multiple offers in virtually every price range and we are experiencing appraisal issues. This is adding to frustration levels of agents in our area. However, it does not mean we need to resort to violence. We as agents need to respect other agents, and protect the public. We need to be courteous, professional, and keep our emotions in check. By controlling our emotions and giving the right advice and acting responsibly we will raise the standards of agents in our industry. Get it? Got it? Good.

Summertime fun!

2009-07-20T15:40:00.000-05:00

It has been typical to see this time of year slow down in real estate. Families take vacations, agents take breaks to spend time with their families as kids are out of school, and it is golf season and so many other reasons. Well, this year is different. We are busy! Houses are selling! The new home market is also on fire.

This week, I had the opportunity to speak with several different builders. It was refreshing to hear that their sales have been above expectations and they have met or exceeded business plans for the month and some, even the year. Some builders are even talking about hiring construction workers as new housing starts up 3.6% in June! Additionally, in speaking with our friends in the title business, they continue to post strong numbers. Mortgage rates remain low so as a result – lenders are staying busy. It is a great time for those who work hard and take the time to educate themselves and their clients to produce results. We continue to see first time buyers enter the market as the $8,000 tax credit, low rates and low prices help boost sales. Investors are seeing opportunities as well so they continue to enter the market and contribute to our sales numbers.

Are there challenges? Absolutely. We are experiencing issues with appraisals, short sales and lack of inventory. The question is, when will these issues get resolved? The HVCC – home value code of conduct – needs to be dissolved. Appraisers shouldn’t be placed in an Ivory Tower, not held accountable for their actions, and communication between the lender and appraisers should be restored – it is bad policy. Short sales need to have a streamlined, standard process to get them approved. If all qualifications for a short sale are met – especially true hardship – they should get approved quickly with no last minute hitches. As more short sales come on the market, we see longer approval times and/or last minute foreclosures as communication between loss mitigation and REO departments are minimal or nonexistent. And lastly, people who are considering selling, should do so now to bolster inventory levels. We are currently at May 2005 levels. We are seeing multiple contracts across all price points, rates are low, the tax credit is only in effect for limited time, and we don’t know if prices will continue to decline with the HVCC, continued foreclosures and short sales and if demand will continue to be so strong. Today is a great time to sell and move up!

Call us today to learn more! We are here to help!

Agent Market Updates

2009-07-17T17:00:00.002-05:00

Market Update

2009-07-17T16:37:00.002-05:00

Valuable information from today’s training

2009-07-17T15:03:00.001-05:00

Appraisal issues

• Coming in low in all price ranges
• Too long to complete
• Appraisers and lenders can’t communicate which is causing delays in settlement dates
• Appraisers are coming from outside market areas – in some case close to 100 miles away
• Maintenance issues are listed as safety issues – in one instance a carpet stain was listed as a potential mold hazard
• Low appraisals on FHA loans are not being submitted to HUD
• Why are FHA appraisals good for 6 months when appraisers and lenders are only going back 90 days?

Short sale issues today
• Banks are inundated with too many cases and not enough “trained” staff to handle processing
• Short sales are taking longer to complete
• Some banks are asking defaulting borrowers to repay a portion of their loans through signature loans – no interest – 5 to 8 year terms
• Some banks are countering ratified contracts with higher prices
• Be sure to not have home warranties or seller paid termite inspections as these are getting “kicked” out at the last minute
• Cases are being closed with no notice given to parties for “technical” issues of missing suffixes after a long period of negotiations
• Still no standard procedure in place to streamline the process – even within same bank
• Be sure to check listing agent’s success with getting short sales approved

Motivate sellers and build your inventory
• Lack of supply today is an opportunity for sellers today
• Increased demand
• Multiple contracts in all price points below $400,000 and above $1,000,000 in certain locations
• $8,000 tax credit for first time buyers is only in place through the end of November 2009
• Will HVCC continue to erode home equity - $1.7 Trillion already lost since its implementation
• Rates are great today but where will they be next year
• Will short sales turn into foreclosures and reduce prices further?
Now, go sell something!

Your Reputation

2009-07-16T14:10:00.003-05:00

The great leader and coach John Wooden once said, “Your reputation takes years to develop and only a minute to destroy”. Do the right thing every time and your reputation will lead you in a positive direction and it will also leave an indelible impression upon others which will carry you to success in all areas of you life. There are many factors that go into building a quality reputation – here are just a few - integrity, character, hard work, follow through, and results. It is imperative to not be known as unethical, unprofessional, unresponsive or that you walk the integrity line – if you do, you will only have temporary success if any at all.

In my opinion, it starts with integrity which includes your word. Do what you say you are going to do. If you tell someone that you or your client is going to do something – stay with it –make your clients perform to what they committed to verbally. Telling people one thing yet doing another is the fastest way to ruin your reputation. You lose trust in those you speak with and in the end get no respect and your actions are indefensible. Your word is your bond – don’t stray from this premise. If people take you at your word and you follow through you will be known as dependable, reliable and a person of honor – all quality characteristics. Having a reputation as being a storyteller, liar, undependable, untrustworthy are all problematic qualities and won’t get you far in any endeavor for any length of time.

Character is described as doing the right thing when no one is looking. Your character is developed over time and is a result of your actions and follow through on tasks you undertake. You want to be a person of character and not a character – again do what you say you are going to do and your reputation will grow as will your bottom line.

The reputation of being a hard worker who is effective will get you more responsibility, more business, and more referrals. Winston Churchill said, “If you want something done, give it to a busy man”. Getting in early and staying late – doing just a little more than the next person will reap big rewards. Water boils at 212 degrees at 211 degrees it is just very hot water – one degree makes all the difference. The horse who wins the race by a nose wins hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the horse that loses by a nose. Keep in mind; it is the little extra effort that pays off. Be known as an effective, efficient, and hard worker.
Follow up and follow through are cornerstones of a solid reputation. If you say you are going to email, call, send additional information, show up, and be on time – do it. If people need to follow up with you, success will be difficult for you to attain. If you are always late, don’t return calls, don’t answer your phone you will get the reputation as being unreliable – don’t fall into this category. It is a reputation killer!

All of this being said – you need to get results. You need to get people what they want through honesty, integrity and effectiveness. Tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear. Do what you say you are going to do. Know the process to help you get results and guide people through the process. If you don’t get results, you won’t build a solid reputation – you will only be known as a talker and not a doer.

Be known as reliable, dependable, results oriented, helper, leader, teacher, mentor and success will be yours. Get it? Got it? Good!
Now, go sell something!

Topic of the Day – Mold

2009-07-15T14:17:00.002-05:00

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

2009-07-15T14:08:00.000-05:00

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

2009-07-14T16:00:00.000-05:00

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

2009-07-09T17:06:00.002-05:00

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?

2009-07-07T15:08:00.000-05:00

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

2009-07-06T14:19:00.001-05:00

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

2009-07-06T11:53:00.002-05:00

Lorrie Hunter's view of the market...

Agent Market Updates

2009-07-06T10:50:00.003-05:00

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

Work on your Business

2009-07-05T19:11:00.001-05:00

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

2009-07-03T14:16:00.001-05:00

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

2009-07-02T15:10:00.004-05:00

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

2009-06-29T15:03:00.000-05:00

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?

2009-06-29T07:46:00.004-05:00

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

Breakfast with Janet Evans

2009-06-24T08:32:00.002-05:00

Janet Evans, 5 time Olympic champion for swimming, came to our Business Networking group to speak to us on how to be a champion. She mentioned that being a champion isn’t about winning. It’s about how you play the game and the vision you create for yourself to get you there. You set goals to get what you want, we all do. But once we reach the goals what do we do? Do we high five our friends and sit back on our laurels because we reached the goal we set out to reach? Or do we step back and reset that goal? Make it better, more challenging; make you reach higher than you thought you could? That’s what Janet did when she made the Olympic team, she realized that it wasn’t just about making the team, but about winning the gold and ultimately being proud of herself no matter how she performed. A champion, she said, is someone who loves what they do, inspires others, does their best, doesn’t listen to what other say, believes in themselves, doesn’t always have to win and at the end of the day is satisfied with the end result. Her speech defiantly gave you something to think about.

Economic Outlook

2009-06-24T08:28:00.000-05:00

I recently attended an Economic Summit at our local Realtor association. It was an informative session where we heard about the National economy and how it compares with our local economy. Dr. Fuller with George Mason University informed us that we would need to have nationally 100,000 new jobs per month for one year for the level of unemployment to stay where it is now. If not, the level is going to continue to rise until 2011 when job loss should stabilize because by then our economy will have been able to absorb all of its losses.

One point I found interesting is that in the end, once the economy has stabilized, it will be more streamlined. When there is a downturn, it makes us change our ways to find better, more economical ways to do things, thus legislation is formed that in the long run, helps our economy.

The Washington DC Metro Area is quite unique. The national outlook seems pretty bleak, but in our area, the GDP (Washington GDP) is higher than the National GDP, our unemployment level is substantially lower at 5.6 than the National unemployment rate which is 8.6. This is due in large part by the opportunities within the Federal Government and contractors/consults that move to the area and/or move their businesses to the area. We are very fortunate to live in the DC Metro area as opposed to other parts of the country that are suffering devastating blows to their local economies, high levels of unemployment which in turn produces high levels of foreclosures and short sale situations.
All we can do is wait and see how it all pans out in the long run.

Our Crazy Market

2009-06-20T13:04:00.000-05:00

It’s a crazy mixed up real estate world today and we are faced with an uphill battle for the next several months, if not for the next several years. We are looking at quick turnarounds on properties if they are priced right and staged properly. We are inundated with buyers and rates continue to be at historically low levels, but we are fighting the untouchable appraiser and underwriters in terms of attaining values. It has always been my opinion in an arm’s length transaction that market value is what a buyers is willing to pay for a property and what a seller is willing to sell for.

In today’s environment, we are faced with a challenge of not being able to communicate to our lender with the appraiser an as a result properties are not appraising for the sale price. As of May 1st appraisal management companies have been inserted into the real estate transaction. This has resulted in the consumer not being able to get values on properties on their purchase. Appraisal Management Companies are taking a piece of the pie for doing nothing more than assigning an appraiser to appraise a property.

What’s the problem you ask? The problem is top quality appraisers are not getting paid what they are worth and the appraisal opportunities are going for lower fees and to lower quality appraisers. Until this practice gets overturned, we will be faced with making the role of the realtor more critical in today’s real estate transaction. We are here to help.

Our Local Market....is it any good?

2009-05-27T08:14:00.000-05:00

Yes, we continue to be the anomaly in the world of real estate. At the National Association of Realtors meetings in Washington, DC last week we heard the wows of the rest of the country and how houses aren’t selling – prices are reducing daily – foreclosures paint their real estate landscape and they don’t see any end in sight. Nationally, there is a 9 month supply of houses for sale – as you see below, we have a 1.6 month supply of houses. Foreclosures are a part of our business but vacancies rates only represent 25% of our market, down from 33% last year showing we are selling our foreclosures. Our area does have a huge supply of short sale
properties on the market which may turn into foreclosures, but as the government and banks work together to systematize and shorten the process to approve short sales – this may not
occur. In many areas, our prices are stabilizing as a result of high demand and low supply, but we are encountering a significant issue with appraisals. There are new rules and regulations that are changing our appraisal landscape that places appraisers on a pedestal with no contact until after the appraisal has been completed. This lack of contact with appraisers has resulted in low appraisals causing significant issues in our market. It has always been my assertion that the
market price is what the buyer is willing to pay and the seller is willing to sell any product for in any market.

As we analyze our business, we see that first time buyers are representing 60% of our market; investors representing 30% which leaves just 10% for move up buyers and relocation buyers. Couple this with higher rates on jumbo loans results in making our upper price ranges more susceptible to longer marketing times and perhaps, further reductions in prices as there is a smaller pool of buyers. We continue to believe that, although there will be challenges, we are in the best real estate market in the country and will continue to be for many more years.

Pursue your Passion

2009-05-07T13:25:00.001-05:00

What is your passion? In order to find success, you must develop a passion and have the desire to obtain in any way possible. You have heard the clichés before: Pursuit of excellence, pursuit of perfection, pursuit of happiness, pursue your dreams, pursuit of complete customer satisfaction and many more. To find success, you must be relentless in this endeavor.

To pursue success in real estate you must want to be the best in the field. As we know, there are many agents in the business but there are a few that stand out in the crowd. To be the one that stands out in the crowd you must think outside the box, develop new skills, perfect the ones you have, develop a niche, learn how to deal with various types of personalities and continuously educate yourself on the business. By pursuing these areas of your business, success will follow. Let’s break down the word pursuit and follow the theme for your success

P – Persistence. You must have the desire to never give up. To be the best, you must be persistent. Be persistent in prospecting, marketing, personal development, and other areas to lead yourself to success.

U – Understanding. You be understanding of other people and what their objectives are in each situation. By understanding what they want and by helping them achieve it, you will achieve more as a result. Remember, killing them with kindness usually wins!

R – Resilience. You must be able to take no as an answer. It has been said over and over sales is a numbers game and if you can’t take no or have thin skin – get out of the business.

S – Schedule. You need to have a schedule in which to follow that will lead you to success. Your schedule should include prospecting, follow up, networking and education. When you know what you are going to and when you have to do it by – your deadline – you have a greater likelihood for success.

U – Unwavering. You must have the unwavering commitment to be the best to end up as one of the best. You must also understand it is a continuous process.

I – Involvement. You have to get involved in working with your past clients, networking groups, social events, your children or grand children’s events, coaching, community events, charities and so many others if you want to have success. Success doesn’t come to you, you have to go out and get it so get involved today!

T – Training. You gotta learn if you want to earn. The more you know, the more you grow.
It isn’t difficult if you know what you want. Determine what your passion is in life, develop it, and pursue it for your success. Get it? Got it? Good!

Mentor

2009-04-22T12:32:00.001-05:00

As we go through our daily routines, there are people who appear in our life that give us advice and we rely on them to help us answer questions, guide us through a particular process or get us through tough times we encounter. It may also be that you are one – you help others grow, help them become better in business or life and you derive satisfaction from the process known as mentoring. If we analyze the process of mentoring – it may help you find one or help you become a better one. In order to take it to the next level more effectively and efficiently, we need to rely on someone who can provide you with the right advice to get you there. Let’s put the pieces of the puzzle together…

M – Motivation and encouragement are two of the cornerstones of mentorship. By conveying a positive message about the mentee’s approach to their endeavor builds confidence in them which carries them through in all that they encounter. Helping others understand and see opportunities in every situation in an encouraging, optimistic and positive way can help others grow.

E – Education through sharing experiences, asking the right questions and helping others realize the importance of continuous learning helps to build the knowledge one needs to be successful. Also, provide the tools, ”tricks of the trade”, and the model in which to follow provide the guidance necessary to become a success.

N – Nurturing is another step in the mentoring process. Not every encounter is successful. By nurturing people through the tough times they face, and by providing constructive feedback enables them to grow and become better in the end. Everyone faces adversity, it is how it is handled determines if one becomes successful. A good mentor who provides a nurturing environment can go a long way to helping someone overcome adversity and move ahead.

T – Training is crucial to mentoring. Being supportive and helping with rehearsing presentations, dialogues, as well as accompanying the mentee on appointments are a big part of the mentoring process that sometimes gets overlooked. It is imperative to take the time to show, facilitate and educate as it will carry a lot of weight in determining how successful someone will become. Having a program in place to train will help people accomplish more, faster.

O – Organize and help your mentee develop systems, processes and most importantly, their schedule. In an effort to improve efficiencies in daily activities – these areas are extremely critical. Investigate what is in place, analyze and help to revamp or reorganize to improve and promote greatness.

R – Reward with public praise, encouragement, and with continuous support. It is essential to show appreciation for their efforts and to persuade them to pursue their goals and dreams.

By seeking advice, counsel and support from a trusted colleague, friend or business associate can help elevate you to levels of success you are looking for in life and business. When seeking a mentor, be selective, be proactive, and be communicative as well as be receptive to feedback. You will achieve many of the goals you set for yourself. Get it? Got it? Good!
Now, go sell something!

Impact

2009-04-17T08:23:00.001-05:00

Impact is a powerful word. One of the definitions includes: to have an immediate and strong effect on something or somebody. Think about the phrases: something impacts the way you feel or think, to impact someone’s life, or if you have an impact on the business – all of these phrases are powerful and are a critical element to success in life and business. As an interesting experiment, let’s examine each letter of the word and how it can influence your thought process and your practices moving forward.

I – innovation is the ability to think creatively or think outside the box. By creating new or different ways of accomplishing something or by coming up with interesting ideas or ways to accomplish tasks will have an impact on your life and business – I assure you.

M - motivation and inspiration are a key element to influencing others to do more than they ever thought possible – very impactful. Make this a daily habit!

P - positivity – in your attitude towards others, situations, and your outlook on life will help carry others and yourself above and beyond most expectations they or you may have. Being positive isn’t the only thing but it gets you further, faster. Now, that has an impact doesn’t it?

A - active – you must be out in front people. You must attend trainings to get educated. Be active by attending seminars, networking events just get busy…you gotta do something; you can’t wait for it to come to you and it won’t happen by isolating yourself behind your desk or by staying at home. Action and activity beget action and activity. Get active and participate and you will see the impact it will have on you and your life.

C - communication – express your opinions, set expectations, follow up and follow through. The ability to convey your thoughts in a clear, concise manner will impact the way others view you and how you conduct yourself in life and business. Communication also entails listening – remember to incorporate this skill into your communication component! It will have impact…

T - trusted – through your actions and beliefs and by putting other people’s interests ahead of yours will gain you trust and respect and will aid you in your success. A servant mentality will help grow trust in you from others and your business will grow as a result. Your education will help give the right advice which will assist in others building their trust in you. Be selfless and giving and you will impact others and all areas of your life will prosper.

If you think about having a positive impact on others in your encounters with them in any situation, you will enhance your life and theirs and will raise the bar in your relationships which will bear you outstanding results! Get it? Got it? Good!

Standards

2009-04-15T14:08:00.001-05:00

So many statements reflect what we should be doing as agents in working with today’s market – raising the bar, setting new standards, and rising to the occasion are just a few that come to mind. In order to differentiate yourself, you need to search out a niche, build and fortify your relationships within this niche and develop a business plan that support your plan of action to carry you on to a successful career in our business. Take the time to reflect on where you and your clients are today. Realize that there are opportunities to provide different services to others by looking where people need help so you can become a valuable resource to others that provides solution based advice and helps others achieve their housing wants and needs.

In this troubled, financial time in our industry, you must recognize that there are opportunities that arise that can help you achieve a solid business for years to come. These areas include builders, foreclosure business, short sale business, and providing advice on loan modifications, principal reductions, and deed in lieu of foreclosures to help others deal with the issues they face today. By having a well orchestrated plan, by gaining all of the knowledge you can in your niche area, by providing excellent advice through your education in your niche area, and then by delivering superior customer service – you will find yourself amongst the elite in our industry and will have built a solid business base and a strong referral base that will help you survive in any market. In order to achieve this level of success, you need to stop procrastinating, set priorities to help you achieve your objectives, get thoroughly educated to become the expert and cross train yourself within your business niche to know all aspects of your selected area of expertise to propel you in your career for years to come.

The key ingredients are locating the opportunities in our market and taking advantage of what is available to you to help others which will carry you to success in real estate. If you want to meander through these times and either just get by or barely survive – this may not be the business for you. Step aside to let others who take this business seriously and see that these times require more educated, ethical, and professional agents take care of potential clients. Our business deserves to have a reputation built upon agents who know what they are doing because they know what they are doing and not assume they know what they are doing. In this market, you need to be positive, proactive and responsive not negative, passive and reactive - now is the time to set new standards for our business and yours. Get it? Got it? Good.
Now, go sell something!

Market Update from our meeting with Doug Duncan

2009-04-02T14:21:00.001-05:00

In the real estate market there is a learning curve virtually every day. At RE/MAX Gateway, we do everything we can to keep our agents and our clients updated so they can give the best advice or help our valued clients make the right the decisions when leasing, buying, selling, or investing in real estate. To that end, we were honored to have Fannie Mae’s Chief Economist, Doug Duncan as our special guest at our quarterly meeting. We had an open dialogue which covered many topics from foreclosures and short sales to the recent stimulus packages approved through our government.

Doug spoke about the economy as a whole and noted that the Washington Metropolitan area is rare where a lot of the media statistics and commentary does not apply to this region as it does on the national level. He mentioned that the Case-Shiller Index is not accurate where their data is over weighted with “fringe properties”, not the normal properties we see today in real estate transactions.

In the case of “timing the market”, he said that if you have time to wait for interest rates to go down, then you are a speculator and are only speculating rather than getting in the game of real estate. The question is how many speculators are successful? If your finances are in place, the payment works, the house works…buy the house. There is no reason to wait. Rates are not going to get down past 4%, so this is the time to buy.

The stimulus package provides us with a huge deficit where the government is borrowing from public funds in order to promote consumption with the economy. If people spend more, the economy will be stimulated, but as Doug mentioned, how will these funds be repaid? The answer is threefold: raise taxes, curb government spending, or inflation. Raising taxes never works, the government won’t curb spending, so the only answer that Doug could predict would be inflation in order to reduce the real value of the debts we are accruing.

Homeownership is at 67.5% nationally, that is down from 69.3% (an estimated 1.1 million households) in 2008… a definite sign that home ownership had greatly reduced due to the rise in foreclosures. The government’s plan to reduce or wipe out the mortgage interest deduction option on our taxes returns, according to Doug’s personal opinion, will cause more people to choose lower priced, smaller homes and cause the upper bracket homes to sit on the market longer. It will not affect homeownership rates, but will more than likely cause higher priced homes to sit on the market a little longer while waiting for buyers who do not necessarily need to rely on the mortgage interest deduction.

Lastly, people are saving more. There is no doubt that consumer confidence levels are down at this point in time. Doug noted that in the last quarter of 2008, the savings rate for consumers was 3.6%. That is the highest level of savings since WWII. People are nervous, paying down their debts and saving for what is to come. Therefore, since people are saving their money, instead of spending it, how do we get money back into the economy to stimulate it and make it grow? That was a challenge he posed to us and reminded us that we needed find balance with the spending and saving aspects of the economy as well as take back our buying power from foreign investors, so that we have a more manageable economy.

Again, now remains one of the best times to buy in most of our lifetimes – prices are low, rates are at historic lows, and although inventory levels are down, there are still great homes available for sale. Contact us today to learn more!

Prospecting Success

2009-04-02T14:16:00.001-05:00

We recently covered your performance and the need to rehearse your presentations in all areas of your business – your elevator speech, buyer and sell interviews, etc. and what we need to discuss is how you get yourself in front of people to perform and how to perfect your prospecting.

Prospecting is an art – you must be able to communicate with people of all ages, nationalities and personality types in a friendly, open, positive, and informative way. Your delivery and first impression will get you further, faster with better results and you should receive more referrals in the end. It is imperative that you portray a professional image with a smile and that you make eye contact to show confidence and you are there to help them with their business, housing needs and more. By perfecting this first step in your prospecting efforts you will get results. Too many times we see and hear negative responses and body language that turns suspects away instead of into prospects that eventually move up your loyalty ladder – a phrase coined by my friend Don Hutson.

The question is where do you find the opportunities? The answer is simple and is twofold. First, virtually everywhere you go – from restaurants, to the coffee shop, to the grocery store, to the hardware store, to the gas station – there are people you encounter who are discussing real estate, picking up real estate magazines or see your name tag or RE/MAX pin and ask, “how’s the market?”. You must be prepared to act and answer to take advantage of the opportunity. The second answer is – get involved. Become active in networking through business groups – BNI and Chambers – yes, they are competitive but if worked right, through your performance, and worked consistently you can make it work for you. Become active in associations such as alumni associations, your real estate associations (not all members are Realtors), Parent Teacher Associations (if you have kids), your home owners association, condo board or any other similar associations and don’t just associate, participate. Join clubs – book clubs, car or motorcycle clubs, rugby clubs, chess clubs, or any other hobby club, just get a hobby and join the club. Join community organizations who are involved in helping others like the Rotary club, Kiwanis club, Optimist club, or one of the many other similar organizations to help others and you will be rewarded as well. Youth associations are always looking for coaches for all sports, umpires, and other volunteers – seek them out and help them out. It will pay dividends. Become active in a charity you believe in and dive in and help. Not everyone got right into real estate right after college so network with past coworkers – again, people love to talk real estate nearly every time they get an opportunity with an “expert” – be that expert. Become active in social networking and add valuable content to your profile to attract a loyal following. Blogging can be another tool to grow your database and attract a following by informing others about market conditions, changes in financing, commenting on property values, and so much more. In addition to all of these outlets, continue to market to your sphere of influence, past clients, with vendors, fellow church members, visit new home sites, etc and provide them with information that is valuable to them. As you see, there are so many options and opportunities you just need to keep your eyes open and go do it – get up and get out!

The next question is how do the doors open for you? The answer is give back, be active, be a resource, be a team player, provide valuable information to others by participating – not sitting on the sidelines – and by getting in front of others face to face through coffees, lunches, cocktails or client events or through voice to voice communications. You have to do more than email, blog, send direct mail, or personal notes, you have to get out there and get involved. Remember to stay positive, upbeat and be giving of your time, give good advice, and give it your all in any situation and you will receive what you are looking for both personally and professionally. The more active you are in these areas, the more activity you will see in your business and in your bottom line. Get it? Got it? Good!

Performance

2009-03-30T14:17:00.001-05:00

Your performance is critical to your success. If you can’t convey your message succinctly and clearly, you won’t get the results you need to be successful. Your performance relates to your presentation skills. Your presentations must be delivered with enthusiasm, conviction and confidence based upon your research and knowledge of the market. In addition to gaining knowledge, you must rehearse your presentations. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect. Areas to focus on are your “elevator” speech, handling common buyer and seller objections, asking the appropriate questions, listening to their answers and taking notes.

To create an “elevator” speech, think in terms of the type and level of service you provide your clients, how your clients benefit from your services, and what differentiates you from others in your field. You must be able to communicate this value proposition concisely and have it rehearsed so it becomes second nature and sincere when you say it to others. Additionally, in this type of brief encounter, you must be able to let them know who is an ideal client for you. A professional, crisp, well delivered message can help you get more opportunities for success. Keep in mind that you performance should be less than 1.5 minutes or the time it takes to go up or down in an elevator!

As you contemplate buyer and seller interviews, think about common objections they have and how you answer them. Providing your clients with the appropriate answers by being prepared and by having the knowledge to answer them confidently show your professionalism and puts them at ease. A presentation with well rehearsed questions asked at the right time keeps you in control, sets expectations, and results in smoother transactions in the end. It is important for you to listen to the answers given by your clients and keep accurate notes and restate their answers for clarity. These steps will get results that lead to a great career.

When you can excel in your presentations your closing percentage will increase, you will obtain more referrals and in the end, add to your bottom line. Stay positive, focused and look for ways to continually improve your presentations and success will follow. Get it? Got it? Good!

Explosive Growth

2009-03-23T13:40:00.001-05:00

Most agents today would love to experience explosive growth in their business and ask how this can be done. In order to achieve this type of advancement in their business they must be development oriented. The areas for development include education, lead generation, attitude, people, insight and must be competitive in nature.

Without a doubt, you must further you education on a consistent basis. In order to become well rounded in your education, you must read books on management, leadership, sales skills, attitude, real estate, biographies of successful people as well as books on change. Additional ways to further your education is by reading and reviewing trade publications distributed by your real estate association, your franchise and your company. We also feel strongly in having agents earn designations to further their business growth and most importantly attend and participate in the educational trainings we sponsor on your behalf to keep you abreast of changes in our market. Today, real estate, lending and handling clients, because of the media, is a moving target – you must be active to stay on top of the business and what is evolving to experience the explosive growth in your business. It has been noted in several other blogs, the more you learn – the more you earn.

You must have a client base in which to share all of your knowledge or you won’t experience growth of any kind. The avenues for lead generation come in many forms – family, friends, previous coworkers, past clients, social media outlets, new home sales agents, lenders, title companies, REO networks, business development groups, associations, charitable boards and endeavors, youth sports, volunteering, attending church, and so much more. You must be active and visible – through participation – to have an impact on those you encounter in order to generate leads. This requires you to get in front of people. Passive marketing efforts such as blogs, emails, direct mail, websites, the internet and personal notes will help but it won’t get it done – you need to get out from behind your desk and get face to face with people and make phone calls. You gotta speak with the people to have an impact and experience explosive growth. As Nike says – Just do it!

It is a fact; people like to be around positive people. They derive energy from the experience and become more upbeat and optimistic themselves. Each morning we wake up, we have 3 choices – be positive, be negative or be neutral. Why not wake up each day happy that we have the opportunity to have a positive influence on others? That we will face challenges and be able to overcome them in order to grow or help others flourish? That, no matter what happened yesterday in your business, today will be better and there will be more opportunities for you to take advantage of so you will experience explosive growth you desire? Have a fresh outlook on each day, be excited about what you will encounter, approach everyone you meet with a sincere smile and enthusiasm – you never know who your next client will be - this will enable you to spring out of bed ready to tackle what lies ahead and move you forward in your business. A positive outlook and attitude will move you ahead further and faster than the other alternatives. Think like the t-shirts say – life is good.

People are your most valuable asset and must be treated as such. In business, people fall into many different categories – past clients, current/future clients, coworkers, coop agents, vendors and team members. You must communicate with past clients on a regular basis with neighborhood market updates, refinancing opportunities, area information, and other items where they find value. This type of contact displays your professionalism. Keeping your current/future clients up to date with market values, interest rates, your knowledge of the area, information on market trends, etc shows your competence which will build your referral base. Your interaction with other agents will build your reputation as a professional who is on top of their game and an agent who people want to work with over and over again. Building a solid reputation for responding quickly with the right answers and politely will also encourage vendors to want to work with you as well as recommend you to those they know. It is also critical to understand that you must treat everyone with respect – whether they give it to you or not. This is not always easily done. You must practice patience, pause and then reply in a relaxed, calm demeanor. Escalation and retaliation won’t get you results you are looking to obtain. Speaking of results in regards to people, you need t o communicate expectations to your team regularly, ensure they are utilizing their strengths and show your appreciation for them to help you achieve explosive growth. People are essential to your success! Be kind, caring and sincere with them and your business will prosper.

We will touch on your insight into the business. In addition to training – the best ways to gain insight into the market is to preview properties. You are able to view inventory first hand, track the progress of each property’s sales cycle, recognize values as well as determine where property values are headed. You will have recall of these properties to share with clients or potential clients and show you are an expert in the market on pricing. You should also schedule meetings with industry professionals to hear what their thoughts on the market are and where they believe the market is heading to you help formulate your opinion so you can speak with confidence to others you meet. Visit new home sites, speak with the agents and ask about traffic, sales, buyer’s philosophies, and agent’s comments who they have stopping by their locations. It is a different perspective but very valuable. See properties, meet with others and explode your business.
Strive to be the best you can, be better every day, give it your all in each situation and you will get what you expect more often than not. You have to hate to lose and have the desire to win – improve and excel in every situation. Learn from your mistakes – we all make them – those who succeed in life and business learn from what they experience and don’t allow it to happen again. Set high standards for yourself and adjust the bar higher – regularly. Think win-win for everyone and watch your bottom line grow. In conjunction with this attitude, stay persistent. As Jim Valvano said, “Don’t give up, don’t ever, ever give up”. Be a competitor and be in the game – don’t sit on the sidelines and wait for it to happen.

These steps are similar to building a house – they are the foundation. A solid foundation = a solid house. Solid business practices = a consistent business, explosive growth and an expanding bottom line. Do you have it in you? Develop your vision of where you want your business to be and start to experience explosive growth. Get it? Got it? Good!

Amazed and Befuddled

2009-03-20T18:08:00.000-05:00

The market continues to amaze and befuddle us. How it amazes us is that we continue to see sales in multiple locations with multiple offers in multiple price ranges. The media says we are experiencing one of the worst markets we have ever had yet it is obviously not the case. We are not sure if it’s us or our market, but our results are different than what the media is stating. We experienced our record month in February alone! Therefore, we are befuddled.

Other things we’ve heard about the market is that we are going to be inundated with
foreclosures. Foreclosures have virtually ground to a halt in our service areas. In speaking with our foreclosure specialists, the request from banks for Broker Price Opinions (BPO’s) has decreased by nearly 75% over this time last year. BPO’s are an indicator of future foreclosures to come on the market. The media says we are going to see an increase, we haven’t seen this yet and from what we hear, we won’t. Foreclosures are going to fizzle out by year end. Again, we are befuddled.

Builder sales have all but disappeared in March. How they can stay in business is befuddling. The media says sales and housing starts are up, yet we are not seeing it in our area, again…we are befuddled. How they are able to keep their doors open at this time amazes us.

Interest rates are low, how low can they go, we don’t know…and we are befuddled. But people should not wait to find out or try to time the market. It’s best to act now because there is no guarantee that the rates are going to go down as the media predicts. As the media has been wrong about the three previous items, they are as well with this…we do not believe interest rates will go down to 3% as predicted. They predicted several months ago that rates would go to 4% - buyers waited, they never did. Why would they say such preposterous things? Again, we are befuddled.

For the amazing truth, call your trusted Gateway agent

Build a business for life...

2009-03-17T16:01:00.000-05:00

As the market shifted, some agents adapted to the change quickly, some were slow to change, and some never will change and will find themselves out of business soon unless their mindset shifts. As we all know, the market will change again and those who have built a business upon sound fundamentals will excel above and beyond others in the market place. Areas to build a solid foundation upon are communication, teamwork, a broad client base, continuous learning and your technical skills.
Communication on all levels is a key area to focus on for your business growth. It is important to speak the language of your buyers and sellers. Do they want to communicate through email, text messages, IM, phone calls or face to face? As technology advances and new communication tools develop, you need to adapt and embrace them to succeed. You need to learn to tweet, as well as utilize YouTube, Facebook, Linkedin, ping.fm and other new emerging communication websites. If you don’t – you may miss opportunities. You also need to find out how often they want to have communications with you. If some want daily contact and you can’t provide it – let them know up front. Setting this expectation up front will reduce stress on all parties. Keep an open dialogue and you will keep you clients and build a business for life.

When referring to teamwork, it is important to remember it is not just your “real estate” team members. You need to be cooperative with other agents, coworkers and vendors to help build your business for life. The negotiating game can become contentious at times, other party can be slow to grasp concepts or don’t listen to what you are saying or perhaps it may be their first transaction or they just may be a premadona. Whatever the situation may be, have patience with them, take the high road and temper your temper. Return phone calls, emails and other communications promptly – even if you don’t have an answer. The longer the timeframe between contacts builds frustration and escalates the situation. Respect the other party and take the time to contact them. When treating others with a condescending attitude, snappy answers or rude responses, people don’t forget and often times spread the word. Your listings will be overlooked and business – in the long run – will suffer. This carries over with coworkers and vendors as well. Build relationships with everyone you encounter don’t destroy them. You never know where your next deal may come from or if you are going to need the help of someone in the future. As discussed in the past – treat others how you want to be treated – not necessarily how they are treating you. Your attitude will take you far in this area. Build a network of team mates in all areas of your business to ensure your success.
A broad client base is a necessity when building a business for life. You must always be on your game as people love to talk about real estate. Business is done on the golf course, at the super market, on ball fields and at schools among many other venues – be ready and so you can build your business. You must also reach out and attend networking events, join associations, and develop a business to business referral base on top of your sphere of influence. Contact them consistently with a positive attitude, a sincere, genuine smile and great information and the business will follow.

Also, let’s not forget about learning. You need to keep up the changes in contracts, regulations set forth by the government, mortgage updates, adjustments in the market, the numbers and you need to develop your skill set for success. Read, attend trainings, speak with industry leaders, go to sales seminars, get a designation – it is that easy – but, you have to do it. The more you learn, the more you earn. As you all know, I am a firm believer in education – take the time to educate yourself so you can educate your clients and they will respond by giving you referrals.
Last but not least, you need to know the processes to show your competence. Know what each step everyone must accomplish in order for the transaction to occur seamlessly. Know what the lender does, the settlement company’s role is, what you must do and so on. The more knowledge you have, the more it shows and the more referrals you will receive. In addition, improve your presentation skills - be able to recite your sales contracts, addendums and listing agreements in layman’s terms with ease to exemplify your knowledge of them. Rehearse them, teach them and make it second nature to explain them and your business for life will prosper.

A business for life doesn’t happen overnight – it takes time, diligent effort and continuous improvement as well as adaptation to changes in the market. Get it? Got it? Good!

Consequences…are you ready to pay the price?

2009-03-10T10:15:00.000-05:00

Life is full of choices. These choices impact those around us and those we encounter. It is important to think and understand the consequences of our actions and how they ultimately impact you. Areas to consider are you interactions with others, your attitude, your daily activities, your planning, your education and your business.

When we look at our actions, we must understand Newton’s law of motion – for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. If you are rude and nasty to others, others will be rude and nasty back to you. If you treat people with respect and kindness, more often than not, they will respond in kind. We see this in all aspects of our lives from the checkout counters at airports to our everyday dealings with our children, clients as well as other agents. Too many times we see and hear others speak and respond without thinking first. Take the time to reflect upon how you will respond to others in every situation and how it will affect your relationship. How you will be perceived by the other person and will your actions help you or hurt you in obtaining your objective? Will you be the better person and take the high road or will you be antagonistic and delay the process and cause the situation to escalate beyond repair? Too often, people don’t consider the elementary law of the “golden rule” - treat others how you want to be treated. Think in terms of killing them with kindness and keep in mind, you attract more bees with honey than you do with vinegar. When approaching others keep these thoughts in mind and you will build bridges, not burn them.

This leads us down the all important road of attitude. It is critical to be on top of your game with a positive outlook, upbeat approach, and optimism in every situation you face. It gives you more energy and creates more encouragement from within yourself to accomplish what you set out to do. One simple way to begin acting this way is to smile. Be genuine and do it often. When you portray a positive, solution oriented, helpful attitude with a smile, you will progress faster down the road in obtaining your objectives whether it is dealing with others, doing daily tasks or achieving your goals. Remember, you create your environment – make it enjoyable, as much as possible. Remove negative, pessimistic thoughts and your stress levels will decrease. Keep in mind that your attitude inspires you to achieve all that is possible in your life…don’t let yourself down – start with the right attitude – daily!

Your attitude also motivates you to accomplish the daily tasks you need to complete to reach your goals in both your personal and professional life. In business, it is taking the time to schedule your prospecting time of attending networking events, making your calls, writing your notes and visiting with your clients. Take the time to do one more of each (some daily, some weekly) and the results will follow. Make a daily “to do” lists, check off the items as you complete them and see your results soar. The consequences are, tremendous success or a mediocre career at best – what will you realize? Pay the price of making the right choice and do just a little bit more to reap the rewards you and your family deserve.

In order to know what to do daily, you must have a plan. What is your “big picture”? What do you want to achieve and why? If you don’t know what, when, where or why how will you be able to achieve anything? Take the time necessary to plan out what you want to accomplish so you know where you need to begin and it will help you determine how to get there. The consequences of not having a plan will be frustration, lack of fulfillment and diminished results – avoid this negative trap. Set you plan, open your sails and cruise to success in every aspect of your life.

One significant area to focus your planning on is your education. Continuous learning helps you grow and will take you further, faster. By understanding the business, trends, mortgages, contracts, and the numbers you can become better equipped to give the right advice to your clients and help you build your referral base. You can accomplish this by attending conventions, seminars, trainings, speaking with industry experts, and reading books, newsletters, magazines and articles on our business. Taking this small step can result in substantial gains in all aspects of your business. Understand the consequences of being educated!

I challenge you to focus on these few areas of your life and you will see your business grow to new heights. Be intentional in your dealings with others, your attitude, your actions, your plans and your education and your business will prosper in any market. Avoid these steps and the consequences of your actions may cause you to experience unsatisfactory results. Get it? Got it? Good!

Our Unique Market

2009-03-04T15:37:00.000-05:00

Wow!! We discuss the level of appreciation we have for our market virtually daily. Our market is insulated from what most of the rest of the country is experiencing. The national unemployment rate is nearly 8%, we are less than half of that number. We are soon to become the financial center of the US with the actions the Federal government has taken recently - creating more jobs which builds upon the great employment base we already have in place. We are conveniently located to the culture of Washington DC, the great diversity this affords us, plus we have the ease of getting to the mountains and the wineries in that region as well as have the ability to get to the ocean in a few short hours. Add that to the 3 International Airports, the high level of education per capita, and some of the high wages in the US and it is easy to see why the real estate market is so robust in Northern Virginia. As we have mentioned before, RE/MAX Gateway is off to its best start in our 8 years of business - as a matter of fact, in February, we had our most sales ever in one month and as we all know, it is a short month! To find out the truth about Northern Virginia real estate, feel free to call the experts at RE/MAX Gateway today.

Why we are successful!

2009-02-27T07:15:00.000-05:00

Why we are successful.

It is my opinion that the reason we share success is that many of us share the law of attraction. It is extremely important in my opinion to have this quality. What constitutes the law of attraction? First, you must be likable. People want to be around you. They seek you out to “pick” them up mentally. You make them feel better about themselves and therefore want to spend more time with and around you. Mother Theresa once said, “Never let anyone leave you without making them feel better and happier because they were with you”. To keep in line with this you must be kind, and caring as well. Don’t just get to know people and what interests them but why. Dig a little deeper and it will pay dividends if you are sincere. By being sincere and listening, you will bond with others and take those relationships to deeper levels.

You must also have a positive attitude and outlook on life so that it carries into your business. There is so much to be said about this topic and how it relates to success but we will only briefly touch upon this subject. People want to hang around people who are optimistic. You wake up everyday and have a choice of whether to be happy, positive and eager to take on the day or negative, pissed off waiting for the day to end because of what is “probably” going to happen to you - what do you choose? A positive attitude and outlook are also better for you in many ways and they also help create opportunities in all areas of your life. You catch more flies with honey than you do vinegar. It is important what you say and how you say it, think about it.

Another characteristic in the law of attraction is to have a servant mentality. You must put others first. Walk a mile in their shoes to see what is important to them and try to solve their problems with empathy and compassion. By helping others achieve their goals and solve their problems, you will in turn achieve your goals. Being solution oriented for those you encounter will get you where you want to go faster and further than you would expect. By giving it your all in every situation, you can expect success to follow.

Being appreciative and thankful are also qualities of a person with law of attraction. People like to know that they are appreciated for what they do for you. If you always take and don’t say thank you or don’t give back, you won’t receive as much or as often as you could. Be the one to show your appreciation through words, notes and actions and others will want to be with and around you and will be willing help you more. It is easy to do – just try! Treat people in every situation with dignity and respect and you will get it in return!

Another key area of our topic is to be outgoing and approachable. People in this category make eye contact and smile a lot when encountering others. When looking away, down or wearing an I-pod, people won’t seek you out. When talking down to others, appearing too busy, rushing through conversations result in lost opportunities. Take an active interest in others and they will want to take an interest in you. When asking questions, be focused on them and their answers. Greet people with a genuine, sincere smile and open arms when you see them and you will get it back in spades! While we are on this subject, give praise publicly and often to show your appreciation for others have done for you – it will make their day! Being humble is also a strong attribute to mention. This quality characteristic can help take you places you want to go. Use the phrase, we and us not me and I when conveying your messages. Give credit where credit is due – shine the spotlight don’t bask in it!

In addition to these extremely important attributes, projecting a professional image help you get to the level of success you desire. Your appearance, the office appearance, the technology you use, obtaining the training you need so you can educate clients contributes the law of attraction as well. People want to be with successful people. You must build upon this foundation with being competent. Basically, you gotta know your stuff. Know the contracts (listing agreements, regional sales contract, addendums, leases, etc), know market trends and numbers. Read and research publications, trade magazines, reports, blogs, etc. to help you learn what you have to know! It has been said over and over and over but it is true. You don’t know your stuff and it shows – know your stuff and people will follow, refer and recommend!

Remember, to have the law of attraction work for you, good enough, is never enough. Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell something!

Success is not an accident, it happens on purpose.

2009-02-25T16:42:00.001-05:00

As some agents are experiencing, today’s market can be a little challenging. Some buyers want to continue making low ball offers on properties until they can steal one. In some areas, there isn’t enough inventory to choose from for our buyers which leaves them many times, in competitive situations with multiple offers and they still want make low offers. There are some sellers who are not realistic when it comes to price or condition thinking someone will buy it regardless of what you tell them – not every house will sell. Be careful not to get yourself into either of these situations as all they will be doing is stealing your time!

The question is what are you going to do about it? In today’s market it is critical for you to be the professional in the transaction. Yes, the consumer has great access to a lot of information through the internet, by asking questions of relatives, friends, coworkers, reading articles in papers, but you are in the “trenches”. Nothing speaks to experience in our current environment. Now more than ever it is critical to communicate your value to your clients. Otherwise, they will seek other places to get their information or worse yet, another agent. The solution is you’ve got to get out and just do it. Preview properties – it is the number one way to learn the market. Research, speak with more people who are experts in our industry, attend mastermind sessions – in a word – learn! Seek out others willing to share their knowledge with you and you with them. Know trends and which ones to follow and how they affect the market. Know days on the market, average list to sales prices In areas you are working in, number of competing properties in the areas you are working in – in a nutshell, work. How do you do this? Research the MLS, attend seminars, network with industry leaders, read publications, newsletters, highly rated internet sites, books, and see houses – lots of houses.

Here is the multi-million dollar question, are you passionate about what you do? Are you up early, ready to take on the day? Are you ready to get new information about the market? Are you keeping an open mind about our market and what others are saying about it? Do you have a “professional” opinion on the market that can be substantiated by facts, numbers, and statistics? Are you just here for the ride hoping someone will call or are you being proactive and making it happen? Have you determined your passion in the business and how to pursue it to make you successful? Do you love what you are doing? If not, why are you doing it? As Gatorade asks, “Is it in you? “ If not, why are you in this business? If you are not furthering your career by striving to know and learn more to give yourself a competitive advantage over others in the business, why are you keeping your license active? What is your purpose?

You have a choice – make it happen – have the passion – be on purpose - be a success – just DO IT! Get it? Got it? Good!

Success is not an accident, it happens on purpose.

2009-02-25T16:42:00.000-05:00

The 4 P's

2009-02-24T17:29:00.000-05:00

The four P’s of success in real estate - professionalism, preparation, prospecting and persistence.

Professionalism is simple – it’s a lot of little things with a few big ones as well and when you think of professionalism, you can apply the “Golden Rule” to you daily routine. To be professional in our business you need to portray the right image – start by dressing for success. You don’t need to wear custom made suits but dress appropriately for the business. Another simple task is to return other agent phone calls, emails and texts. A little communication is better than no communication and many times it will take you very little time to take the effort. Have an “elevator” speech of what you do and how you do it in the business to get more business. Attend trainings – once a week for one hour to learn more about the business. Be on time for appointments – it requires you to be organized and have a schedule but it is so important in portraying a professional image. When networking on social media outlets – only post items that you want your clients to see – not things your mother would be ashamed of seeing. More eyes than you know see what you post – make it professional. Be courteous, say please and thank you. This one is the easiest of all; leave a business card when you show a house – vacant or occupied. Now, for the bigger ones, professionalism also requires you know the contracts, the processes, trends and the market. These take time but are requirements for success. Every minute you put into these areas of the business, you will reap huge rewards. Your clients expect and demand that you know these integral details of our business. Many times they research and test you to see what you know or don’t know. Show you‘re the best by excelling in professionalism.

The next p – preparation is very important to success. Areas to prepare for in our business include buyer and seller presentations, handling objections, knowing your numbers, the market’s numbers and your competition’s numbers. Prepare yourself for your presentations by researching your clients on social networks, Google and by asking your referral source for more details. By learning more about who you are working with sets you apart from others in the business. As we mentioned, have an elevator speech of what you do for people and why. You need to be prepared to speak with people at your next cocktail party, the bus stop, and kids’ games or at the grocery store. People love to talk about real estate so be prepared to speak about your service, your neighborhood, the market or your niche. Lastly, it is important to know who you are competing with when you give a presentation – learn their numbers and use them to your advantage when you get in front of your customers.

Everything previously mentioned is a mute point if you don’t have clients. Therefore, it is critical to prospect. Prospecting includes business to business networking, joint advertising, expanding your database, marketing and meeting with your past clients, and by being involved in associations, schools, kid’s sports and so much more. It has been said in the past, sales is a contact sport. You need to make the time to get face to face, and belly to belly with people if you are going to be successful in real estate. You have to have a plan of action and follow it to generate leads and therefore, build your business. Develop a niche and pursue clients to fill that niche – first time buyers, foreclosures, short sales, referral based – whatever works for you – just do it – prospect.

You must be persistent in your efforts to get results. Don’t become a master of one and done – go and get it done with persistent efforts. Be persistent in your education, research, marketing, planning, business development, and networking. Persistence pays. Don’t give up, don’t ever give up!

The four P’s will take you far in our business. Keep your professionalism, preparation, prospecting and persistence top of mind to build your business success. Get it? Got it? Good!

Appreciation

2009-02-21T09:02:00.000-05:00

This is an area that agents often overlook in their daily schedule. Areas for appreciation in our business lives include, where we are located, the job market and unemployment rates, our client base, the opportunities for success, the office environment and in the end, the real estate market.
As we all know, this is one of the most sought after areas for businesses to relocate. As an example, Hilton Hotels is moving its headquarters to Mclean. We have a highly educated population base, we have the most counties in the top 20 counties in the country for average salaries, we have the allure of Washington DC and all of its culture and history, the mountains and ocean are close by and we have a diverse population. We should appreciate the area in which we live and help educate others on the benefits.

Northern Virginia created a net of 12,000 jobs last year. When listening to the news, you hear how unemployment is on the rise nationally – we are lucky to have created jobs locally. Additionally, our unemployment rate is half of what the rest of the country is experiencing. We have a base of over 300,000 government employees whom are never going to go on strike, won’t get laid off, get raises every year and need a place to live after work. The base of government employment has spurred so many other opportunities in the support and service industries to aid the government and military in their agendas as well. This is definitely something to appreciate and spread the word about when speaking with others.
The population of Northern Virginia is in excess of 1 million people. This affords us the opportunity to build a great database of clients. We have the ability to participate in Chambers, Rotary Clubs, Kiwanis clubs, Masons and similar community service organizations. There are churches of all denominations, car clubs, adult sport groups, alumni associations as well as countless volunteer opportunities. There is availability to help in youth coaching, participate in PTA’s and other school and children’s activities to build your database. It is time to participate and appreciate what is available to us.

There are so many businesses in our area – I can’t even venture a guess at how many. This opens us up to building relationships and to help build a referral base for our business. There are joint marketing opportunities, referral directories to create for your clients, the ability to educate their employees on home buying and selling, and so much more. Develop a game plan to take advantage of the business base in our area to build your sphere.

We believe we have created a unique office to help you succeed by providing you with a positive, upbeat office environment, extensive and relevant training schedule to educate you on today’s market, send you inspirational emails to keep you focused on success, and provide you with lead generation opportunities. Our agent advisory board allows you to voice your concerns to management confidentially through a fellow agent. And we offer quality support systems and staff to help you build a successful real estate business. Our leadership team is dedicated to your success – appreciate that we are here for you and take advantage of what we offer you.

We also need to appreciate the fact that we have one of the best real estate markets in the country. Houses are selling. There are opportunities for
first time buyers, move up buyers, and investors with locations to serve their lifestyles. There are different house styles to accommodate their taste. We also boast various price points to accommodate their budgets. Plus with the stimulus package and great rates we have even more opportunities for success.

Take the time to appreciate all that you have and take advantage of what is available to you! Get it? Got it? Good!

Myths about our Market

2009-02-18T09:17:00.000-05:00

It is amazing what you hear on the news, around the water cooler at work, at the school bus stop, at neighborhood parties, at cocktail parties or any place else you hear people discussing real estate. The myths about now being a bad time to sell a house, wait to buy because prices are going to drop further, rates are going to get lower, and the market is slow are over exaggerated and incorrect.

As long as you didn’t buy from late 2004 to 2007 and you didn’t obtain a “cash out” refinance and over leverage yourself, now is a great time to shift your equity and move up. Sure, prices are down in your neighborhood but so are prices in the neighborhoods you would most likely move. There has never been a better time than now to negotiate with builders, take advantage of foreclosures and short sales or make the move to the home of your dreams. Also, if you can “qualify” to carry the mortgage on your current home and new home – our advice is to keep your current house, rent it out (the rental market is hot!) and sell when the prices are higher again. The prices in our area will rebound, we just need to look at the fundamentals within our market and analyze the stats to know it will happen!

When people say that prices and rates are going to drop further – ask to see their crystal ball and all of their bank accounts with the commas in them to make sure they know what they are talking about. Let’s be honest, no one knows where prices are headed – for sure - but we can make very educated guesses based upon statistical data and the theory of supply and demand. We have the data to show that prices have stabilized in many areas and have increased in others over last year by analyzing our recent sold information through our MLS and availability to research tax records. Additionally, there are people looking to buy. In conversations with agents, they are seeing agents leaving houses with buyers when they are on their way in to show them to their clients, and agents coming in with their own clients when they are leaving. We also continue to see multiple contracts on homes that are priced right, show well and are in the right condition. Another critical stat to look at is inventory levels. Last year, inventory levels of resale homes in Northern Virginia were in excess of 16,000 and we had a 6.6 month supply of houses. This year, inventory levels are just above 9,450 and we have a 2.8 month supply of houses.

When analyzing interest rates – they dropped into the high 4’s then promptly increased into the mid 5’s. There are too many factors to consider when looking at rates dropping lower – unemployment rates, inflation, bond prices, the stock market, International economies, demand, etc. Again, ask to see the crystal ball and bank accounts of the people saying rates are coming down further. What we do know is that historically, mortgage rates are near all time lows. Don’t wait for what might not happen – buy now!

All in all, it looks like there is improvement in our market and things don’t appear to be slowing down – at all!

Analyze now and regularly to ensure success…

2009-02-18T09:10:00.001-05:00

Analysis is a key to growth both personally and professionally. For our purposes, let’s just look at your business. In your business, analysis of your team, your systems, your presentations, your market, and your results are areas to focus on to move you towards success. Begin by asking yourself, how do I want the team to be better? When analyzing this, take into consideration, what is working well and what isn’t. How can “it” be improved? Is “it” worth improving? Should “it” be replaced? How will you implement your change? How quickly should you implement the changes and most importantly, why?

As we have discussed previously, for your team to perform optimally, everyone needs to be in the right position to be able to utilize their strengths as well as compliment each other’s weaknesses to have success for your team. Proper execution with everyone in the right position will smooth the pathway to your team’s achievement. Questions to consider here are who is handling what tasks. What are their responsibilities? What do they expect to do for the team? Why are they on the team? Are they committed? Ask these questions of every team member.

You must review, revise and update your systems and processes to keep your leads and referrals coming in to the office. These pieces of the puzzle also need to be analyzed to ensure your clients are communicated with on a consistent basis and that settlements are proceeding to closing smoothly and with no “surprises”. Think about what is in place now. Who is handling the details? Where are the glitches? What areas need to be improved or updated? Do you have the right technology in place? What is working for others? How can you change your process or system with little to no interruption?

You need to analyze your total performance in regards to your presentations. Are you prepared? How have you prepared? What more can you do to prepare? Are you professionally dressed? Are your materials appropriate and in the right order? Have you Googled your subject? Reviewed Linkedin, Facebook or any other social networking site to learn more about the people you are going to be meeting?

Preparation is the key to having a solid foundation for your presentation – don’t overlook this critical step. Conversely, do you review after the presentation and critique your performance? What questions did you ask? Were they asked in the right order? Did you “dig” deep enough to get the answers to your audience so they could make the decision to move forward? How was your delivery? Who spoke more? Who controlled the conversation? Did you get the results you were expecting?

In the process of giving your clients the right information about buying and selling houses today, you need to analyze the market as well. Based upon recent sales, where are prices headed? What are the average days on market in your neighborhood? What are current inventory levels? How many months supply of houses are available? What is the makeup of your typical buyer who is buying today? What are the driving forces that are controlling the market – foreclosures, short sales and relocations or are there more arms length transactions? Are the fundamentals of low unemployment rates, job growth, salaries, etc. in place to sustain your market? How are interest rates – historically? How are inventory levels? Are there purchasers out looking to buy? Your analysis of these areas show your clients your true professionalism – know your market!

Your results are also important to analyze. Are you achieving the results you are looking for in real estate? Where is your business coming from? What are your percentages? How many calls, notes and client visits does it take to obtain a referral? How many referrals become appointments? How many appointments become clients? How many clients become transactions? What advertising venues are reaping results? Are you converting sign calls? Are you tracking internet leads? What is your average list to net sales price ratio for buyers and sellers? What are your average days on market for sellers? It is extremely important for you to know your conversion rate. Another area to look at is your efforts and efficiency. Ask for feedback from peers, clients and other industry professionals and ask “how am I doing?” Analyze your results and success will follow. Utilization of the question –“how much for how many?” will serve you well in during this step.

Analysis, on a consistent, basis is critical to your success – start today and you will be on your way. Get it? Got it? Good!

Divide and conquer!

2009-02-12T09:26:00.000-05:00

More and more I see teams that don’t effectively determine what the best place is for each team member to succeed and exceed! It is critical to recognize people’s strengths and allow them to work on tasks that highlight their strengths. When everyone is doing what they do best, exceptional results occur.

Let’s examine how you can get started. The first question to start with is, does everyone have a job description on the team? Do you have contracts that outline each person’s roles and responsibilities for helping the team achieve success? If not, you, as the team leader, need to tackle this task right away! What can be managed can be measured.

Next, do the team members know what the goals, objectives and desires the team leader has for the team? If people don’t know where the team is supposed to go, how will it get there? This statement is something Yogi Berra might say, but it’s true. The members of the team cannot operate at peak efficiency and effectiveness if they don’t know what the team’s focus is and why. This results in them not being able to use their strengths to everyone’s advantage. It is the team leader’s responsibility to write down their desire and share it with the team members – this area of communication is critical to the team’s success in utilizing its strengths and will help to get you on the road to success.

Here is one way to help the team “get on track”. Start with this exercise: Take a sheet of paper out and down the middle draw a vertical line. Have everyone write down what they believe their strong points are on one side and what their areas for improvement are on the other. To help them clarify, ask them, when thinking of what they do, list their likes on one side – their dislikes on the other side. Next, have them explain why they “like” what they do and why they “dislike” what they don’t. Also, have them list what the teams strengths are and where there needs to be improvement and why. Have each person on the team list what the other team member’s strengths and areas for improvement are as well. Keep this information confidential. Respecting others and not sharing this type of information with every else is crucial to your success as a leader. Do, however meet with each team member privately to discuss the results of the exercise to ensure everyone is on the same page and is prepared to make the team concept work.

Take time to review each person’s answers carefully. Is there too much overlapping in any particular area? Are there areas that are lacking that need to be addressed? Do everyone’s areas mesh or are they all the same? This can be a real eye opener and help you determine if you need to reorganize or restructure and maybe even restart your team. It’s your team – do what is right for you! Be encouraging in your analysis of your team. If people aren’t utilizing their strengths, they probably aren’t happy and by reworking your structure may help them flourish somewhere else - either on your team or someone else’s. Remember, its business, not personal. Help others grow and you will grow as a result. Get it? Got it? Good

Responsibilities and results

2009-02-08T14:45:00.001-05:00

Responsibility and Results

As we have experienced, heard and read – houses are selling. It is time for agents to stop making excuses and start taking responsibility for their thoughts, actions, activities, and in the end, their results. If anyone ever said the road to success was easy, they were wrong. It is a winding road, not a straight one and it is always under construction so be prepared to make turns, go over bumps and navigate your way around potholes to find your way to success.

As we have experienced – a positive, upbeat attitude gives you energy and enthusiasm to tackle challenges. When you have passion about what you do – it is reflective of your attitude. If you aren’t passionate about the real estate profession, perhaps it isn’t the right career for you. The key element here is you. You are responsible for how you think, act and what you are doing for a living. Ignite the fire inside of you – have a can do, problem solving attitude and generate a personality that attracts others and you will be on your way to success! If every phone call is an interruption, if your conversations are a hassle, if you have no time for training, if, if, if – it’s time to move on to something else. Get busy being excited – you are responsible for your attitude and how you respond to situations. Be optimistic, solution oriented and upbeat - just do it!

It is your responsibility to look at the housing market, see where there are challenges and develop solutions to help others and you will, in turn, become successful. Become the expert. Learn all you can about the market, your business, and your competition but most importantly, learn about your clients. The best way to learn about the market is to immerse yourself in it – read (books, magazines, publications, etc.), preview properties – new and existing, speak with industry experts (lenders, title companies, new home sales reps., & other Realtors), hold open houses and ask visitors what they are “seeing out there” – basically work. Know what is going to affect our industry – new loan programs, the stimulus package, proposed legislative changes, anything you can to give yourself an edge. Educate yourself on your competition to learn their strengths and weaknesses. What is their value proposition? How is it different from yours? What can you emulate in their practices that could be beneficial to you? Where are their deficiencies and how can you expose them – in a manner that reflects positively on you - when you go head to head with them? And perhaps, most importantly, know and understand your clients. Determine what, why, where, and when they have a need or want and how you can help them with their circumstances. It is your responsibility to take action – no one can help you in these areas but you.

Accomplishing the right activities = performance. Poor activities = poor performance = limited success. Diligent, focus, intentional activities = extreme success. You are responsible for the activities you do on a daily basis. Are you busy for the sake of being busy or are your activities driven to produce results. Determine what activities you need to do on a consistent basis to achieve your goals and get down the road of success. Rehearsing your presentations to improve upon them is one activity that many agents lack in our business. When you are prepared for presentations your performance is more polished, professional and produces better results – practice your presentations. Set a personal business standard of activities that includes writing personal notes, visiting with clients, calling your sphere, expanding your database, previewing houses, and setting appointments on a daily, weekly and monthly basis. Put these activities in your calendar and stick with them to achieve results. Be responsible for you activities and in turn, your success.

By taking responsibility for yourself, your attitude, your actions, and your activities, you will produce results that will result in your success. You control your destiny, start working it today! Get it? Got it? Good!

Now, go sell something!

Environment

2009-02-05T09:13:00.001-05:00

Have you defined your ideal environment? What is the right atmosphere to help you grow? Who are the right people you need to be around to help you develop personally and professionally? Who are the people you need to surround yourself with for success? What do you need to hear to motivate you to do what it takes to lead a fulfilled and accomplished life? Is your environment a nurturing, positive energetic environment that stimulates your creativity? Are you in the right environment for your success? Are you around people who encourage you to be the best you can be in all areas of your life? Do you feel energized by going to the office? Do you believe that the leadership of you company is committed to your success? Do you feel included in what the company is doing to help you with your success? You are responsible for helping create, build and support the environment in which you operate your business. If you don’t believe it is right, stop blaming others around you and do something about it today. Help change it or move on but keep in mind that because the grass appears greener doesn’t mean isn’t green because of crabgrass and weeds.

We believe we have an enriching environment to you to build you success upon. Your environment and people within that environment are the ones that can make all the difference in your life both positively and negatively. Why not be around the place that makes a difference and wants you to be all that you can be? It seems like common sense – just do it. Take the steps necessary to improve where you are…maybe someplace new…maybe giving feedback to the company you are with to make a few changes that they don’t see to help them make it right for you…Perhaps buy into what your company offers to help you grow…Attend trainings…Attend our real estate information exchanges…Engage in what we are doing to help you…help us help you! Start with defining your ideal environment – if it ain’t ideal – change it for the better for you and those around you. Remember, we can only provide you the environment, training, motivation, market updates, opportunities to succeed, etc. it is what you do with it that matters. Get it? Got it? Good!

The 4 C's

2009-02-02T20:51:00.000-05:00

These four C's will help you succeed in today's market. They are
commitment, care, communication and consistency.

Commitment is the price you pay to get the results you want. Commitment is
critical in all aspects of your life and business. Concentrate and focus on
your commitment to your business, your clients, your education and yourself.
Following up and following through on tasks you start show your commitment
and cause you accomplish so much. Decide what you need to be committed too
in order to attain the level of success you desire, and then do it!

As the saying goes, people don't care how much you know until you show them
how much you care. Do you take the time to actively listen? Are you fully
engaged with the people you serve? Do you show them your commitment to
them? When you are sincere, ask the right questions and dedicate the time
to do what it takes for those you encounter, you are displaying empathy and
they will believe you care. By reaching out to help, sharing your
experiences and by caring about others, your production and referrals will
follow.

People want to know what is going on with the market, with the sale of their
property, with the inventory of homes when they are buying. They want to
know the details of the sales process. They want to know what is happening
with the process of the sale as they progress through to settlement and it
is extremely important to let them know what is happening. In conjunction
with level communication you provide - you need to know how your client
wants receive your communication. Meeting their expectations in this area
shows you care - we discussed how important this is. Find out if they want
personal contact, phone calls, emails, text messages or some other form of
connecting with them and follow through with their desires.

The area of consistency is important as well. Be consistent in the messages
you convey to your sphere, your team, and those around you. Consistency in
your attitude is also imperative to success - be positive, upbeat and
optimistic. Your attitude about life and how you approach life determines
how far you will go in life. Consistency in your efforts will produce
results that lead to your success. As Jim Valvano said, "Don't give up,
don't ever give up". Our business isn't rocket science - do the things you
know you have to do, well, and you will reap your just rewards. Consistency
in your level of communication to your sphere, past clients and team members
on a continuous basis will get you the outcome you are looking for as well.
Monthly newsletters, delivering items of value, phone calls, personal notes,
and hosting client events are just a few ways of accomplishing this area of
your business.

So commit to your business today by committing to your clients by caring,
communication, consistency in your efforts to build the foundation for your
business. Get it? Got it? Good!

Loyalty or Latté

2009-01-31T14:17:00.000-05:00

As we move forward into 2009, the question comes to mind – are you loyal to the business, your clients, your training, your efforts, yourself and your company or are you just here for a cup of latté?

With the business, are you focused on your plan and goals? Are you working your Daily Accountability Sheets to accomplish your action plan to reach your goals? Are you holding your team and yourself accountable to do what it takes to be successful in the business or are you putting out fires and being reactive? Until you put your activities on paper and prioritize them – you will do what is put in front of you or react to the call you have received. We all have the same amount of time in the day – it is how we use it that differentiates the successful people from those who just hold a license. Be loyal to your business.

How do you treat your clients? Are you listening to what they are saying so you can give them the right advice when buying or selling real estate, to save them time and to be able to represent them to the best of your ability? In the past, agents were able to sit back and take orders for homes and didn’t take the time to listen or give the right advice – just do this to get the house. People’s production has dropped in proportion to their inability to take orders, listen and give the right advice. Where is your loyalty? Are you here for a latté or will you change your philosophy and become loyal to your clients? Be loyal to your clients.

In order to move up the ladder of success with your business you need to understand the market, the processes, trends, and hear what the buzz is in the business. In order to do this, get out of your home offices and hit the streets, the office, seminars, real estate exchanges, and come to trainings. Your commitment to your education is critical to your business and the referrals that follow. Be loyal to your education!

Are your efforts focused and efficient? Are you making the most of your time and efforts or are you waiting for things to happen? Develop systems to increase your efficiency and to accomplish more. Make to do lists and prioritize the items so you can achieve more as well as give yourself more direction to your business. Be loyal your efforts.

Are you playing the blame game? If you are, stop. You are responsible for your business – not the office, not the broker, not the market, not the economy, it’s you. There is business happening – you’ve got to put the thought and effort into making it happen for you. Develop your niche or find ones that are working and fold them into your business plan. Are you positive and upbeat? If not, choose to change your attitude. To paraphrase what Zig Ziglar says, “There is no place in our office for stinking thinking!” Are you intentional about your personal development? Read, listen to tapes, journal – do something to better yourself. Are you leading a balanced life? Schedule time for all areas of your life and stick to it to recharge your “battery”. Are you rewarding yourself for your efforts and achievements? You have to have a reward system for yourself to keep yourself motivated and to stay focused. Get planning for yourself development and start seeing results. Be loyal to yourself.

Are you giving back to your company? If not, why not? Do you believe in your company’s philosophy and direction? If not, why not? Do you participate in company functions? If not, why not? Do you attend trainings and suggest new ones? If not, why not? Do you help recruit top agents to the office? If not, why not? Are you loyal to your company or are you blaming your company for your level of production? My suggestion is to get engaged with your company. Don’t sit back and complain. Get involved and help make things happen. We are looking to you for your help. We are asking you to pass the name and number of one good agent you encounter a month to us to help us grow – the right way. We want to improve our systems – if you are encountering issues with the company, let us know so we can address them. If we don’t know something is wrong – we can’t resolve them for you. We are looking for your feedback to help us all grow. As you know, we are loyal to you and your business – be loyal to us and give back. It will pay dividends, I assure you.

It is time to wake up and smell the latté and realize the more loyal you become to what was written above, the more you will attain the result you are looking for in this business otherwise go pour yourself a latté at another company. Get it? Got it? Good!

Best Business Practices

2009-01-23T16:43:00.000-05:00

Due diligence and ordinary care are probably terms that you remember hearing in your pre-licensing classes when you first got your real estate license. I think now would be a good time to recap on what those terms actually mean. Providing excellent service to your clients is one key in this business. You work by referral right? And in doing so, you make sure that your service to your clients is superior, so that they refer all of their family and friends to you…correct? Well, in ensuring that level of service to your clients, you need to do your due diligence.

When listing a property, whether it is bank owned, seller owned or vacant, you need to make sure that the information you are supplying in the MLS is correct. In the process of working with other agents and the public, you want to be known as being a professional and going above and beyond what is standard for other agents. Please, do not simply copy a listing – most of the time what they enter is incorrect. Take the time to input the listing and ensure that the information is accurate and up to date. If you don’t know something about the property, don’t make it up….look it up.

Well-Septic questions? Contact the County’s Department of Environmental Health….

Prince William (703) 792-6310
Loudoun County (703) 777-0234
Fairfax (703) 246-2201
If those numbers don’t work….ask the person who answers for the correct one.

Search the Virginia DPOR site (http://www.dpor.virginia.gov/dporweb/dpormainwelcome.cfm) for the neighborhood HOA. If you don’t know if they have one and don’t see it on the list, call some other listing agents and double check. It will save you a headache and possible complaints in the future.

Also, know what type of utilities are at the property – natural gas, electric, propane, septic/sewer, well/public water, etc. don’t guess – if you don’t know ask the county, they gave permits to build the property and they have those details. It can be the difference between a long, referral filled career or a short career with the possibility of law suits and complaints. Do the right thing – give a ring-a-ding!

When working with buyers, you should do the same as above. If the listing agent says they “don’t know”, you need to find out. It’s called working for your clients, earning that commission and referral and being a good agent. Many agents rely on the bottom of the page which states “information is deemed reliable but not guaranteed”. Don’t be involved or trapped by this statement on either side of the transaction by relying on these words. Take the time to separate yourself from others in the business.

Practicing ordinary care is taking care of your clients as well as your reputation.

Always be a professional.
Always put your best foot forward.
Always do your homework.
Always return phone calls and emails promptly.
Always treat everyone in the transaction with respect even if you aren’t getting your fair share of it from them.
Always represent yourself and RE/MAX Gateway as professional and competent.

Lastly, do not put my reputation, Gateway’s reputation or your reputation in jeopardy. Take your time, put all your effort into it and be responsible. Life is easier this way. Do your job well and you will be rewarded.

Be Intentional

2009-01-23T16:36:00.000-05:00

Let’s get started with the quote that leads me to this email…”The secret to your success is determined by your daily agenda” – John Maxwell. Keep this thought at the forefront of you mind and you will become intentional in your actions daily which will reap you great rewards. Areas where you need to be intentional include relationships, your efforts, your education, your business and business plan as well as your thoughts.

In relationships, it is important to listen to what the other person is saying to learn about what is important to them, to understand them and to help them where they need assistance. Have the thought process of “help me help you” in mind at all times. The more you know about someone and their concerns and the more you help them, the more likely they are to help you in your time of need – no matter the cause. Be intentional in your effort to help people you encounter in any situation – have a servant heart mentality and you will grow, help others grow and become a success in any endeavor.

Your efforts in all aspects of life need to be focused, directed and intentional to get tasks accomplished and to stay on track for success. The easiest way is to create daily, weekly, monthly and quarterly to do lists. By having a written assignment and accomplish it gives a degree of satisfaction which creates momentum to complete the next item on the list resulting in a successful day. Building upon consecutive successful days will result in successful weeks, month, years and so on. As the saying goes, the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. Start stepping!

Every day we encounter situations which allow us to learn and grow from as a result of experiencing them. Gaining “street smarts” is critical to success but so is “book smart”, as well as “classroom smart” attending trainings, seminars and obtaining a designation. It is important, now more than ever as information is readily available to consumers that you become intentional about your education and learn by doing, hearing, and by participating in our market. The sooner you do, the sooner you will reap the benefits.

One important area in being intentional about your business is to have a business plan. If you don’t have a written plan, how will you know where you are going and when you will get there? It helps to clearly define your focus, gives you the direction of where you want to take your business, an action plan to get you there, a vision of your purpose in the business and a timeframe to accomplish the required tasks. It, in a nutshell makes you intentional about your business which will get you results!

Every morning when we wake up – no matter the circumstances, we have a choice. The choice is between being positive, upbeat and optimistic about the day ahead or to be grumpy, negative and pessimistic about what you will face in your day. Given the option – be intentional about being optimistic. It gives you more energy, gets you more motivated, and gets you excited about what lies ahead in your day. Why would you want to be any other way?

Just a little more food for thought! Get it? Got it? Good!

Leaders....are you one?

2009-01-19T16:28:00.001-05:00

Leading is about commitment. You must be committed to learning, communication, team building, accountability, adaptability, persistence and focus.

To be a leader in our field, you must know what you are talking about. Clients and customers today are more savvy than they were in the past. With 24 hour news channels, the internet, and “water cooler” talk people have access to more information and are better educated than ever before. It is your job as an industry leader to disseminate this information and relay if the information is accurate, up to date, or relevant to our market. Your education process can differentiate you from others in the field. Start learning and start earning!

Communication on all levels is critical to being a leader as well. You need to have the ability to communicate your value to the public, your differentiating factor to those you encounter with sincerity, and have consistency in your message. Additionally, communication with your team is paramount. The people on your team need to know where you are leading them and why. Meet with your team regularly to share your ideas, concepts and plans for the future. The best leaders encourage and solicit feedback to facilitate growth.

Team building enhances productivity, creates efficiencies in your business, and helps not only you, but those on your team grow by exploiting strengths everyone possesses. Take the time to analyze your team’s systems and process to eliminate duplication and streamline processes to make everyone more effective and productive. A well organized, top performing team that allows everyone to utilize their strengths will operate at their peak performance and attain success in any market.

Leading by example is critical in any organization – walk your talk and they will follow. The phrase, “do as I say, not as I do” is one reason many organizations fail – avoid this trap. One way to accomplish this is to hold yourself accountable to your team and your team with you with written goals, to do lists and task sheets and review them regularly. People will follow those who practice what they preach. The sense of accomplishment is a huge motivator.

As the market adjusts, it is critical for you to recognize how it has changed and revise your plan accordingly for success. Your ability to adapt to your market quickly and in the right direction will propel your business forward and others will follow.

Your efforts need to be consistent and persistent. You must recognize that race to success is a marathon and not a sprint and your efforts need to reflect this belief. In the regular analysis of your business, determine which efforts reap you the greatest results and put more energy, resources and time into taking advantage of these opportunities. Trying something once in a while or inconsistently won’t produce you results that you can build upon to grow your business. Additionally, the message you convey must be consistent and portray your core values, and mission statement. Consistency is a key to success and leadership.

Your focus is another area to concentrate your energy on as a successful leader. Focus on your commitment to your clients, your team, your business, your efforts, the message you deliver and you will develop into a leader. Focus on your daily activities and what matters most to produce results and success will follow. Focus on starting every day with a positive attitude, a high energy level, and the mindset of giving your best effort in every situation and people will follow. Focus will carry you through on completion of your goals and objectives and will aid in your development as a leader in any market.

Challenges for 2009!

2009-01-15T14:37:00.000-05:00

This year there will be a theme to the year and the messages we send out – challenge.

Let’s start with the market. We will be challenged to find move up buyers who can afford to actually move up. We will continue to be challenged in many areas and price points getting properties to appraise as many locations haven’t seen the bottom yet. As we have seen many times recently appraisers are being pressured to provide extensive market insights and forecast values as lenders are cautious. We will be challenged by the media and their continued negativity about the real estate market. We will be challenged to take people off the fence and help them make decisions about buying now – your education will help you better communicate with them.

We challenge you to think. Use your brain and question what you see, hear and know. Don’t expect someone to give you answers – find them for yourself. Come up with answers to your own questions and make a decision.

We challenge you to work. Work your sphere – have consistent continuous contact with them. Work to grow your database - develop a business to business referral network, hold open houses – the right way, join associations, coach youth sports, get out there! Work on your presentations and presentation skills – practice and rehearse answers to your most frequently heard objections.

We challenge you to have a business plan and work that business plan. If you don’t have one, what are working towards and why? Would you invest in a company that didn’t have a business plan? Where are you spending your money and are you getting results from the dollars spent? Take the time to write one and be a professional in this business. We are here to help with several formats for you to choose from. When you have a plan and work that plan, you give yourself more energy, focus and determination and get presented with more opportunities – don’t miss out!

We challenge you to get educated. Go to trainings, real estate information exchanges, seminars, conventions, and be a part of your appropriate mastermind group. Another area to focus on for your education is previewing properties – 5 a day. You’ve got to be educated on the market. At the present time, our inventory has a vacancy rate of 39%, print out a list of vacant homes to see on your way work, home, kid’s practice, the grocery store – wherever you go and pop in and see them! The last area we will challenge you on today for education is – we challenge you to get a designation. Separate yourself from others in our business and go the extra step to get a designation.

We challenge you to pick your company carefully. In order to stay positive, upbeat and energetic, you need to be around people who are as well. The attitude trap is contagious – both positive and negative – choose wisely. This also applies to the company you work for as an agent. We are looking to help you grow through programs we offer, trainings we provide and by the support we offer our agents.

We challenge you to get into social networking. It is one of the best ways to catch up with “old” friends to add others to your database and keep them up to date with your real estate activities. This is one of the fastest growing segments in society – ride the wave and get rewarded!

We challenge you to read one book a week on our business, selling, marketing, or anything to get you educated. The more you know, the more you can communicate your value, the more business you will do and the more likely you are to receive referrals to grow your business!

We challenge you to embrace change! Our market is changing, prices are changing, financing options and rates are changing, and let’s not forget the way we do business is changing. The days of order taking and waiting for the phone to ring are long gone – you gotta go get it.

We challenge you to be on your game at all times – the client’s expect it and you should be ready. Know your numbers, the numbers in the market, trends, etc. Become the expert. If you don’t know foreclosures, short sales or some other area of the business attend a seminar or set up a lunch with someone who is an expert to be able to communicate how that area affects our market. It will come up in conversation so even if you aren’t involved in some aspect of the business, people are curious and will want to discuss it with you – learn today.

We challenge you to have focus. Focus on your activities, your thoughts and beliefs, your plan, and your education as it will shape your business. Additionally, be persistent and consistent in these activities to produce results. One and done doesn’t get it done – you gotta repeat for success!

We have always challenged you to make the right choices about your career – that isn’t going to change this year. We challenge you to choose to do more of what you did last year as well as more of what we discussed above.

We challenge you to change your work habits, your thought process, activities and choices you make about your business to add to your success. Get it? Got it? Good!

Where are we today in 2009?

2009-01-10T14:29:00.000-05:00

In speaking with a cross section of Realtors and builders, there are buyers out there. Several builders are seeing increased activity, we are hearing agents are getting more sign calls, they are writing contracts, and our listings are selling. We continue to see that builders are making deals with buyers – now is a great time to look at a new home as an option.

Consumers want accurate, up-to-date information from the internet and insight from agents that they can’t get from the internet. Get educated, get involved, know the market and your competition. Rates are great. Need to get the word out. 4.25% with 3 points for a 30 year fixed ain’t too shabby.

Agents are still looking for an easy way to get business versus going out and finding it. They aren’t connecting enough or in the right manner with their sphere. They don’t have a written plan to get them through these perceived tough times. Therefore, they will have a difficult time surviving in the business. I say perceived because there are a lot of agents who did extremely well last year without doing foreclosures.

Foreclosures have slowed down considerably, but based upon the number of short sales in MRIS last year we should expect them to be a part of our marketplace this year. Additionally, short sales will continue to represent a large segment of our inventory this year. It is integral that you figure how to work them, know which agents that get them through and determine how best to advise clients on deciding whether to write on one or not. If you haven’t already, you may want to affiliate yourself with a short sale company if you don’t have the time to work them yourself.

Pricing, staging and prelisting inspections will continue to be critical when listing houses this year. If there is any “New” trend in real estate it is to get up to speed on blogging, twitter and other social networks. Get busy networking!

Top Ten List for 2009

2009-01-09T09:45:00.006-05:00

10 - Foreclosures will slow down as more short sales go through and loan modifications become more acceptable to banks

9 - As loan programs continue to change or become obsolete, more loan officers will leave the lending business

8 - Adjustable rates will go lower as the Fed continues to lower its rates and will help boost sales in some areas

7 – Locally, new home sales will be flat as developers stay firm on lot prices. However, if demand happens to decrease substantially, prices will come down as builders will “write down” lot costs on land they are currently holding.

6 - Builders will consolidate offices, sell multiple neighborhoods from fewer sales locations, and will close down design centers as a cost saving measure

5 - New home sales agents will leave the business

4 - More real estate offices will close and others will consolidate

3 - More agents will defect from the business

2 - Prices will remain stable in Northern Virginia Area

1 – RE/MAX Gateway will grow in knowledge, skills, trainings, agent count because we will be able to grab top talent from other companies with your help, volume, number of transactions and as a result have Premier Market Presence

Become Leaders in Real Estate

2009-01-09T09:29:00.001-05:00

My great friend, Kent Eley, gave me a book for Christmas by John Maxwell called the Maxwell Daily Reader. As many of you know, John Maxwell is one of my favorite authors. It is a great book that everyone should get if you don’t own it already. On January 7th, he writes about the Law of Influence in which he touched on 7 points leaders possess to get others to follow them. I believe these points are critical to a successful real estate career and felt compelled to share the segment with you and relate it to our business. He believes the factors are character (who they are), relationships (who they know), knowledge (what they know), intuition (what they feel), experience (where they’ve been), past success (what they’ve done) and ability (what they can do).

Let’s face it, if you aren’t an outgoing, friendly, personable person who likes to reach out to meet, help and be with people, you will have a difficult time in the business – you’ve got to have character. By possessing character, you will develop relationships and continue to grow your database which will in turn, help you succeed in real estate in any market – deepen your relationships with your sphere and grow your sphere (or relationships) and your career will expand as well.

You all know where I stand on knowledge. As I have always said, “You’ve got to learn if you want to earn”. John Wooden said, “It is what we learn after we know it all counts”. Come to trainings, real estate information exchanges, know the numbers in the market, know your numbers, read – basically get educated and communicate to your sphere and others you encounter and your bottom line will grow.

Intuition is very important – you gotta go with your gut. If someone isn’t realistic on pricing their house, making offers on properties or doesn’t respect you or your time – you can feel it and walk away. They will drain your time, energy and sour you on the business. Additionally, our business isn’t rocket science – you know what you gotta do so do it.

It is obvious that we have had experience in all aspects of our lives, not just in real estate. Be able to relate past sales success, advice you have given in certain circumstances to others that has helped them, coaching kids, or other experiences you have had to real estate to show how you can help your current clients – become a story teller of your experience.

It is critical to explain to others your past successes. We have all had them. Be able to communicate in a non egotistical way, your success story in real estate. Develop a success “elevator speech” of why people should work with you.

The last one John Maxwell mentions is ability. You have to be able to do the business. There are so many aspects of ability in real estate so only a few critical ones will be mentioned. You must master presentations for listings, buyers, and communicating your value. You need to know the entire process and who does what in the transaction so nothing slips through the cracks. Learn all of the forms/contracts and what they say and be able to communicate it to your clients in easy to understand language to show your competence. You must be able market yourself and your properties to get results. You need to become a master networker to grow your sphere. And as I mentioned, there is even more. Be a professional and know our business to break away from the pack of ordinary others in our business.

There are two additional pieces to this puzzle that help you become a leader in real estate. They are a positive attitude and open mind. People get enough negative news in the paper, from the television and in conversations with others – keep it out of the office and out of the dealings with our team members - we don’t need to hear it or want to hear it in any circumstance. Be a beacon of hope and encouragement but also be realistic in communication with those you encounter. Additionally, keep an open mind to learning new ideas as well as listening to what is occurring in all aspects of our business. We are experiencing an unprecedented number of foreclosures, short sales and inconsistent valuations throughout our area. By listening we can learn and in turn educate others. A closed, negative mind has no place in our company or in our environment. If you are through growing, you’re through! As the saying goes, “Change is good” – what are you going to change?

2008 in Reveiw

2009-01-07T10:47:00.000-05:00

As the year draws to a close, it is time to reflect on the year and what affected real estate in 2008. We had many challenges that faced us…the mortgage melt down, an increased number of short sales and foreclosures that hit the market, prices were sent in a downward spiral, we acquired RE/MAX Mountain View, gas prices escalated to all time highs midyear, the financial crisis on Wall Street, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were taken over by the Government, banks and stock brokerage firms merged, the stock market crashed, the Stimulus Package was released, the $7,500 tax credit for first time buyers was released, loan limits on FHA loans was increased, the auto makers bailout was financed, the Fed reduced their rates to all time lows – 0 to .25%, and interest rates dropped to record lows. There were other influences on the market but these were the major ones we recall.

How has this impacted us going forward? The consumer needs a more educated realtor to guide them through the process whether they are buying or selling a house. It is time to get busy getting educated. We should see more agents, real estate companies, lenders and mortgage companies exiting our business so be weary of who you work with in your transaction. Social Media will also continue to impact our business. In this ever growing internet age it is important to utilize the tools available to you to market yourself and your properties.

Next year will be a year of opportunity for those who seek it out. Become an expert in dealing with foreclosures and short sales. You need to know who is good to work with and is not to protect our clients. Also, you need to know the process involved with each scenario. Learn more about financing – especially for first time buyers. As prices and rates decline, more buyers have the ability to enter the market. Learn to network with businesses to grow their business and promote yours. Learn the loan modification process to educate your clients on their options. Social Media will also continue to impact our business. In this ever growing internet age and with the emergence of Web 2.0 it is important to utilize the tools available to you to market yourself and your properties. Learn to blog, Twitter, and utilize other outlets such as Linkedin and Facebook. There are going to be many more opportunities available to succeed in real estate. Keep your eyes and ears open to grow – things will be just fine in 09! Get it? Got it? Good!

Lessons learned

2008-12-30T10:21:00.001-05:00

This year for many has been a challenging year, but for many of us, a rewarding one. During this time of year, we are provided the opportunity to reflect, respond and rejuvenate to get us prepared for another year of opportunities in the real estate business.

Let’s look back at the year to see what we learned to make us so successful? First, we had learn how to keep up to date with all of the changes we were faced with in the market from financing to pricing properties properly whether working with buyers or sellers. Next, we had to learn how to work more effectively and efficiently with the right clients – educating them was the key. Additionally, we had to go to more networking events and find the right people at those events to network with to aid us in getting more business. Also, we had to work to expand our database to enable us to get more referrals. In addition, we had to improve our lines of communication with our sphere to show how we differentiate ourselves from other Realtors to gain their trust and their business.

In a nutshell, we had to go back to basics in all aspects of our business from educating ourselves and clients to improving customer satisfaction as well as revise our presentations. We had to ask for more referrals – but only after providing excellent service. We had to conduct more buyer interviews and go on more listing appointments in order to find the right clients. We had to learn how to work with short sales, banks and agents. One critical aspect of the business is to know that any market doesn’t last forever and we must treat people in the business with respect or you won’t have a respectable career. The “Golden Rule” is critical to remember when dealing with everyone involved in the transaction. Be an agent of integrity, professionalism, and responsiveness to forge relationships with everyone you encounter in the business and build a career that transcends markets and you will become a success!

There were many obstacles we had to navigate over and around in the areas of finance, pricing properties properly, determine trends and where the market was heading, and how to best handle consumer confidence. How has this helped? It has made us better sales people, more professional in the eyes of clients and has helped us develop better relationships and a stronger client base to propel us into the future. How will you respond to next year’s uncertainties?
Let’s look to the future, what challenges may affect our economy, our business and in the end, us? Here are a few areas that may affect the real estate business is 2009 that we need to consider: the continued bailout of our financial market, the auto industry and their potential bailout or not, consumer confidence as a result of the recession, and the proposed mortgage solutions to help stave off foreclosures. How will you handle these issues? Use these opportunities to develop niches?
Use the next few weeks to develop your plan of action to make the most of next year and what it will bring us in the real estate arena. Find ways to recharge your batteries such as spending time with your family or friends, donating time to charities, setting up accountability groups, networking groups, etc. Reinvent yourself for next year – it is going to be exciting! Get it? Got it? Good!

Resolutions…will you resolve to reach them this year?

2008-12-29T13:40:00.001-05:00

As we move towards the end of the year, thoughts of setting New Year’s resolutions come across many of our minds. There are some old standbys…lose weight, exercise, eat healthier, stop smoking, etc. – we’ve heard them all before. This year, let’s focus on your business. Let’s resolve to break old, bad habits that aren’t working for you in your business and resolve to make this your best year ever in real estate!

Start by making it happen and stop waiting for it to come to you. Be proactive not stagnant – set realistic goals, set a plan of action and attain them. Get on the phone and call your sphere – now is a great time to ask them about their holidays. Get involved in networking groups to build your business to business referrals – you scratch their back they will scratch yours! Get involved in associations and be an active participant in them to gain exposure. Host client appreciation parties or participate in the ones the office provides you.

Get educated. Read all you can about the market. Read books on real estate. Preview properties. Go to trainings. Get a designation. Go to seminars and conventions. Go to our Real Estate Information Exchanges. Research trends in our market. Become “the” expert to your sphere.

Set a schedule. Many people don’t know what they are going to do day to day. More people plan a vacation or holiday party than they do their life OR business. Realize what it takes to be a success in the business, put it in your calendar and do it. Put regularly scheduled office events, open houses, seminars and conventions in your calendar now. When you put it in writing it is more likely to happen!

Become accountable. This one is huge! When you have someone to work with to help you achieve your goals, you are more likely to attain them. This is one of the most important “blocking and tackling” drills in your business. Make sure you and your partner or team members keep the feedback on this piece of your plan positive so you can stay on track. When negativity creeps in, people drift and no longer will participate in accountability programs.

Practice, rehearse, and practice again your presentations. Think of common objections you hear and what the answers are or ask someone for help in getting the right answer. If you know what you are going to say and when in conversations or in meetings, you look more professional and will gain more respect from those you encounter which will lead to more referrals!

Give excellent service, give the right answers or go find them for clients, give referrals to other “experts”, give back to the community, give back to your company and then ASK FOR REFERRALS!

Treat others with respect. Return phone calls promptly, keep a cool head, communicate effectively and be responsive to others and their needs. Be punctual. Do what you say you are going to do – be reliable.

Lastly, be positive. Be an optimistic realist. Give the right advice in the right way. It will help propel your business.

These processes are not rocket science but they may seem daunting. Don’t let them be. Take on small, manageable tasks each of the next 7 days and you will be on your way to a successful year. As the saying goes, you eat an elephant one bite at a time. Don’t let setbacks set you back – keep plugging away and work your plan so your plan will work. Make adjustments when necessary and ask for help when needed. As they say in the Special Olympics, some dream of success, others wake up and work for it! I say, wake up and work for it! Get it? Got it? Good!

An enlightening evening!

2008-12-12T15:58:00.001-05:00

The other night I had the privilege of being invited to the 20th Annual Washington Business Hall of Fame induction ceremonies. My friend, Bud Morrissette of Interstate Van Lines was my host. The guest list was a virtual who’s who in Washington Business so it was a great networking event as well as an opportunity to hear what these great business leaders believe had made them so successful in their careers. The inductees included Richard Fairbank of Capital One, Linda Rabbit of Rand Construction, Donald Graham of the Washington Post – sorry Chris, Mandell Ourisman of Ourisman Chevrolet and my personal friend, Milt Peterson of the Peterson Companies. Having Milt get into the Hall of Fame was a nice surprise as I had no idea what the event was about or who was to receive awards prior to my arrival.

So, do you know what I found out? They are similar to many of the beliefs we hold true about our businesses I am sure. First, you need to have a vision, a passion to serve your clients and your community – always give back, continue to learn and grow, work harder than others in your field, be innovative, be focused, and finally, there is no better place to conduct business than the Washington area. Some other thoughts Bud and I had were that we need to get out and get in front of people to get opportunities, and then take advantage of those opportunities. You can’t wait for things to happen, especially in today’s environment. Those who wait won’t last. Be proactive, be involved, be optimistic, and your chances for success will be greatly improved. Again, it isn’t rocket science and as a matter of fact, one of the presenters said you don’t need to be a genius to make it in business you need to be a leader as well as have the qualities mentioned previously.

Another one of my conversations worth repeating from last night is the one I had with my buddy, Wes Foster. I have had the opportunity to visit the Taj Mahal off Lee Road a few times and each time I have been there Wes wasn’t there. After some small talk about the building and news about real estate, I asked him why he hadn’t been there on either of my visits. He said, “The market is bad, very, very bad and it’s going to get worse. I need to be on the road to find the answers but it is bad out there and who knows when it is going to get better?” Can you imagine? The vision, attitude, direction and leadership of any company starts at the top and filters down and resonates throughout the organization. Attitude isn’t everything but it is pretty damn close. Negative attitudes – the cancer of any business – are hard to flush out of organizations and if it is at the top, look out!

We are uniquely positioned in today’s market to take advantage of other’s beliefs about where things are and where they are going so let’s get busy and DO IT! Get it? Got it? Good!

When the going gets tough, the tough need to get good.

2008-11-28T12:31:00.000-05:00

The pessimism in the market can be overwhelming at times and for some, it is an easy theory to buy into. As we know, when something is easy it isn’t always the right choice or alternative. We must be selective in many areas of our life as result of all we hear and read.

Be selective in what you believe. People are buying and selling houses in our market – get creative, get in front of people, and get sales. Be selective in what you read, listen to on the radio, and watch on TV – it’s been said before and will be said again, negativity sells. Be selective with your acquaintances – hang around with positive, upbeat, results oriented, successful people. Avoid negative, pessimistic, followers. Find a leader who inspires and motivates you to get you through the tough times or become one yourself! Be selective in your activities – learn, train, teach, network, read (good stuff), and have a servant mentality to help others achieve their goals. Be selective in who is in your client base. People tend to know people similar to them – define your ideal client and go out and find as many as you can. Be selective in your actions – have a selfless service mentality, exercise courage in tough times and have the commitment necessary to get the job done well. Be selective in your thoughts – be positive in how you respond to situations that arise in your daily routine. You have a choice in every situation to optimistic or pessimistic – the right selection is to be positive.

Determine what sets you apart from your competition, add value to everyone you encounter, get engaged, become focused, be dynamic, be exceptional, and become an asset to all those you meet and you will continue to be a success or become one by default!

Everything's for Sale!

2008-11-24T09:56:00.001-05:00

Check this out – earlier this week a car dealership in Ohio was offering two cars for the price of one. If you bought a car, the second one was $1! Consumer prices dropped 1% in October – a new record! Gas prices are down nearly 50% from their highs this summer. Housing prices have dropped in some areas over 50% - what a deal. Stock prices are down and the Dow Industrial Average is as well making now a great time to get into the stock market. On top of all this, a local restaurant offered me 50% off the purchase of gift cards earlier this week. Go to a mall and you will see sale signs everywhere and it’s not even the holiday season yet!There are bargains and values out there – the time is now to capitalize on them!

So what does mean? In a nutshell, now is the time to invest – especially in houses! Prices in Northern Virginia are at 2001 levels. It has been said, you make money when you buy, not when you sell. What did Warren Buffet do to earn his billions? He bought when others weren’t and waited. Patient money will take you far in today’s real estate market. It is one of the safest ways to build your financial portfolio while enjoying the home at the same time.

If you are concerned about values declining more, I ask you to analyze the situation further and have a longer term perspective on your thought process. As we know, you can never time any market. So let’s consider the following questions to help you rationalize your decision. Are you looking to make the property a home? Are the schools highly rated? Does the yard offer what you or your family desires? Is the location convenient to work, commuter routes, shopping, and your daily activities? Are the amenities offered by the community the ones you desire? Is there value in the home relative to what else is available in the market? If so, pull the trigger and start packing! Opportunities like the ones today has to offer very rarely come around – don’t miss out! Take the advice of your trusted RE/MAX Gateway real estate professional and get moving!

Very Cool!

2008-11-24T09:51:00.001-05:00

RE/MAX Gateway Agents,

Congratulations on your success! We continue to shine in this perceived slow market! Kate recently ran numbers from the RE/MAX website and we came out with excellent marks in my opinion. Through the end of August, the Chantilly office ranked second out of all offices in the Central Atlantic Region in total transactions. We had 650 transactions through this time period. The top office had 928 transactions but they have 113 agents. We had 60 during this time frame. They have nearly twice as many agents with less than 50% more transactions - they average 8.2 transactions per agent. Our average was an outstanding 10.83. In offices with more than 17 agents, we were number 1 in transactions per agent! Way to go team!

In a nutshell, we are kicking butt! Keep up the good work – continue doing what you are doing to keep us on top. We are excited about your success!

Now, go sell something – again!!

From Bad News to Good....only you can change it!

2008-11-19T12:23:00.001-05:00

There is a saying that states “bad news travels fast”. As we know in nature, what goes up must come down. Combining these two scenarios, we can conclude that “good news travels slowly”.

We at RE/MAX Gateway are living in the real world of real estate. We see the market improving, prices stabilizing, inventory dropping, multiple contracts in many different price ranges, rates declining (but only temporarily), plenty of financing options, and seeing realistic sellers doing what it takes to get their homes sold. Why isn’t anyone out there listening? Sometimes I find myself asking, if a tree falls in the woods, does it make any sound?

In addition, we hear that all real estate is local. Well, we have some belief that people will have to start listening. The Federal government is slated to pump billions of dollars into the National Economy. Where is the government that is doing this located? Uh, just across the Potomac River. Where are companies located that will benefit from this cash infusion? Uh, Northern Virginia! What kind of companies will benefit from the stimulus package? A few that come to my mind are banks, government contractors, and locally, commercial real estate brokerages. When these markets improve, so will their service provider’s businesses. In theory this would be a pretty good scenario for us if it comes to fruition.

The media’s opinion is beginning to change – slowly. Imbedded in papers, newsletters, and conversations we are beginning to see what we have been saying for a while now. The Washington Business Journal, Kiplinger Letter and people we speak with regularly are saying it – The Washington real estate market is the place to be! We were one of the first markets to crash so we are one of the first to rebound.

You can get busy believing or you can keep waiting – waiting for the media to put the rebound on the front page – waiting for news channels to lead their telecast with the rebound - waiting for clients to tell you they should come off the fence – waiting for a paycheck to come in every two weeks because you won’t be in real estate when this happens. Successful people don’t wait, they go get it! Get it? Got it? Good!

Is it up or is it down?

2008-11-12T10:42:00.000-05:00

Sometimes you get lucky…just after last month’s market update, the sales of existing homes went up 5.5% for September, and the highest level in 11 months. It just goes to show that the media is typically 3 months behind in market stats when dealing with real estate. What caused this surge? Anxious sellers were willing to work more with buyers, low interest rates, the increase in loan amounts for Fannie, Freddie, FHA and VA loans up to $729,750 coupled with low down payments and no down payments in the FHA and VA loan categories. Plus the added bonus of the $7,500 tax credit for first time home buyers.

Right now, I am standing upright and not lying on my back which could have been one of the results of my market update last month. Inventory levels are staying relatively stable, contracts continue to come in at a steady pace and we continue to see rates decline making now an ideal time to buy or sell real estate.

As we head into the holiday season and with the winter months ahead of us, we should experience a slow down. It is typical to see this seasonal adjustment this time of year. However, that being said, it is possible to see a potential boost to sales as we close out the year. The new loan limits for FHA loans are being adjusted downward to $625,000 on January 1st of 2009. If people are looking to buy a home at the current higher limit of $729,750, they need to do so and settle prior to the end of the year which could result in a slight jump in sales. We shall see.

For up to date information about the real estate market, feel free contact one of our educated, experienced agents who serve the Washington Metropolitan Area at www.gateway2realestate.com.

Its not scary!

2008-11-06T13:02:00.000-05:00

Unlike the Halloween that just passed, the real estate market is not as scary as the media makes it out to be. We have had more closings this year in the Northern Virginia area than we did during the same period of time this time last year. What is true is the market is falling down which is a result of the election, the seasonality of real estate and to a lesser extent the rescue package, but the Northern Virginia real estate market is healthy.

Our team of professionals are always read y to give you the right advice when buying or selling. Always feel free to call.

My tour of the new Long and Foster building

2008-10-30T16:00:00.005-05:00

Here is the video from my tour of the new Long and Foster building earlier this week. A little over the top, if you ask me in today's market if you are pinching pennies. But, not my company!

Gateway Sponsorship of Stone Ridge 5K Race for Education

2008-10-30T15:54:00.002-05:00

We raised nearly $4,200 for the Stone Ridge 5K Race for Education. Here's a copy of the big check at the event!

Conference in Miami

2008-10-23T08:10:00.002-05:00

Wow!

2008-10-21T16:07:00.000-05:00

I ran into a friend of mine this morning who works for another broker in Centreville and he asked me how things were going for us. When I told him how well you were doing this year he said – wow. He said the advice his from his broker was to take time off because houses weren’t selling and for them to wait and see what happens with the market and how the “Relief Package” will affect our market. Hum.

I relayed this story to our buddy and eternal optimist, Kent Eley, and he told me of other agents who have communicated similar stories to one of his lenders. Not just in Centreville, but throughout Northern Virginia. What he told Kent was, agents are turning down business because they say houses aren’t selling, no one is buying, let’s wait and see what happens next year. Yes, that’s right, NEXT YEAR! Isn’t that over 2 months away? Let’s give them the advice someone gave me about my golf game - take 2 months off, then quit!

The questions I pose are: What kind of advice is this? What kind of leadership role is this? How will the agents now communicate with their clients after hearing this advice or believing this to be true? And most importantly, HOW WILL YOU RESPOND?

As we know, from our numbers, business is happening. When houses are in the right condition, staged right and are priced right, they are selling. That means - people are buying – Hello McFly. As we get closer to the end of the year, I challenge you to step it up a notch and take the business that these agents are leaving on the table. There is no time like the present. Help people make the right decision about buying or selling real estate by giving them the facts, and not by letting them believe what they read in the papers or hear on the news. Get it? Got it? Good!

It's true...believe or not!

2008-10-14T09:03:00.000-05:00

It’s been almost an overstatement, but it is true...all real estate is local. And it’s local down to neighborhoods.
If you take Northern Virginia as an aggregate, inventory levels are down from their high this year of 17,608 in March to 13,011 as of last week. The Northern Virginia real estate market is alive and well. Granted prices are down, but we have buyer’s buying homes throughout our area.
When you are selling in this market, if your house is priced right, shows well and has been properly maintained, your house will sell. If you are a buyer in today’s market, you may find few homes that meet this criteria and if you do, it may have multiple offers pending. That’s why its critical to have a RE/MAX Gateway agent representing your interests.
Our real estate professionals are educated, well-versed in market trends and have current data that will help you make the right decision when you or someone you know is considering buying or selling real estate. Give us a call for all of your real estate needs or visit us online at www.gateway2realesate.com to learn more.

RE/MAX Gateway Real Estate Information Exchange

2008-10-09T17:55:00.002-05:00

We recently changed locations. This is the first blog after we changed locations at Austin's Grill in Centreville. Look forward to posting more blogs with our new Flip Video. Great Information was shared about the real estate and financial markets.

The Eye of the Hurricane?

2008-09-17T13:16:00.000-05:00

It is hurricane season…are we in the eye of a hurricane or did we just come through the backlash of the latest storm? A financial storm that is!

Wow, what a month September has been in the financial world. First it was the government takeover of Freddie and Fannie, next it was Merrill Lynch and the buyout by Bank of America, and finally it was the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and Federal bailout of AIG. Where does this leave us in the real estate business? So far, the impact was positive on the rate front. We saw a decline in mortgage rates – woo hoo! We have broken through the label of “declining market” in Northern Virginia with conventional financing (loans less than $417,000). Price points below $300,000 continue to solicit more and more offers brining up the values in lower price homes signally a potential bottoming out of prices in our market. We are beginning to see banks willing to work with sellers in short sale situations. This makes these types of sales viable today as the sale is more likely to happen now than in previous months. So far, I call that positive.

We may be experiencing the “Perfect Storm” in Northern Virginia real estate…low prices, low rates, and perhaps the bottom of the market. We shall see. Hopefully, we are through it and not in the eye as I may end up on my ass looking at our market from the ground up. As I once heard when making predictions, don’t give a date if you give a number. Don’t give a number if you give a date. And finally, if you get it right, don’t look surprised. Let’s see where I end up and how I look next month!

Coming soon to the VAR Update Magazine!

2008-09-15T10:12:00.000-05:00

We have approached our business in a more business - like manner this year. Each contact we make with clients is less casual and more intentional. We encourage our agents to be more informed about the market through trainings, blogs and in mastermind groups so they can give their clients the right information to make informed decisions whether buying, selling or deciding to enter the market as an investor. We also have encouraged our agents to increase activity and touch points with clients to have more impact and hopefully this will result in more referrals and sales.

As far as gas prices go, we are more efficient with our daily efforts. When looking for one client, stop by and see a past one who is nearby. It encourages contacts as well as promotes better time management.

If approached with the your eyes and ears open, looking for opportunities, giving good solid advice and increasing your sphere on a daily basis, you will propel yourself into the next boom market. There are always opportunities in every market. Agents who find and help clients take advantage of the right opportunites will succeed, especially in the market we are experiencing. It is any easy market to say things aren't going well when, in fact, many agents are thriving in today's environment. We continually remind our agents to keep an open mind and listen to what the market is telling them. You can't keep doing business the way we did it in the past. If you do, you are more than likely setting yourself up for failure.

For a long time we avoided short sales in our market. Agents and banks alike didn't know how to approach them and as a result, they were extremely frustrating. Our agents and buyers were at their wits end when trying to deal with the situation they put themselves in by trying to work with homes in short sale situations. But, as I mentioned earlier, there are opportunities in every market. We are now educating our agents on how to work with sellers and banks to get better and quicker responses to get more sales through as listing agents. We have learned which companies are facilitators and which ones don't get results. When working as buyer agents, we look at the history of other listing agent and the success they have had in getting sort sales closed. No results, no contracts from our agents. Education is the key.

Three things are: Increase your education and knowledge of our market. Knowledge and use of knowledge is power. Become an expert.
Get out there - don't just sit there and wait for it to happen because it won't. Make yourself visible to those you know and more importantly, those you don't. Your sphere of influence is your best bet for referrals and business. Let them know what you know.
Get involved. Its not all about business. Give back to your community by being part of your hoa, coaching kids, becoming part of a charitable endeavor, or PTA. The more you give, the more you get!

Who knows? You can only make an educated guess. If we continue to "flush" out the foreclosures and short sales as we have recently in our market and jobs continue to come to northern Virginia. We will see prices begin to turn around. The pace of sales are good but prices in some areas continue to fall. Until the leverage situation turns around, prices will remain low and our move up market will be affected. Until we see more owner to owner sales, we will stay in the market we are in for some time. It could be another 18 months of what we see is what we get. Therefore you, as an agent, need to get busy.

Where'd the Summer go?

2008-09-09T16:34:00.000-05:00

Wow, how the summer has flown by. The real estate market has seen a lot of changes during the summer that has caught our attention. The government passed the housing stimulus bill which should help jump start our business going into the fall.

Foreclosures and short sales continue to “dominate” the real estate landscape affecting values in all price ranges. We have seen the number of active homes in Northern Virginia drop from 16,902 in June to 13,738 the first week of September. This has made it tougher for buyers to purchase homes as we have seen some areas and price points attracting multiple contracts. Those areas incorporate houses under $300,000 in NOVA and those over $1,000,000 in select locations throughout area. We have seen a strong rental market get stronger. With the value of properties declining, many opportunities have been made available to investors. Also, as a result of the drop in inventory, homes priced right, staged right and in the right condition are selling quickly as the demand for housing is making a comeback.

Other areas of interest are the loss of Down Payment Assistant Programs such as Neimiah, Ameridream, and other nonprofit seller funded programs as a result of their high default rates. We have seen loan programs such as 100% financing go by the wayside, loan amounts on FHA rise to $729,750 and stricter guidelines being implemented.

All this being said, it is a great time to be involved in residential real estate as a buyer, seller or investor. Don’t be swayed by the negative media and their comments.

Are you ready for some football?!

2008-09-08T09:14:00.002-05:00

I ran into a friend this morning at the bagel shop on the way to the office and he asked me about our beloved Redskins. He said his interest was waning in the Skins (a diehard?) and how could they be so bad? It seemed pretty evident as a Monday Morning Quarterback that it was play calling, personnel, the defense not able to convert, clock management, and coaching. Pretty simple when you look back or while you are watching from a distance and difficult to see while you are in the middle of it coaching or playing the game.

It is evident to all involved in the real estate game that the game has changed. Gone are the days of easy money. You are no longer able to make it as an order taker. The concept of just showing up and making it happen is no longer here. You have to work – block and tackle- to be successful in today’s market. To that end, a few things come to mind…

First, the question has to be asked, have you reviewed your game film lately? How is your play calling (your game plan or action plan)? How creative is it? Are you getting the results you want? If not, you may want to have a mid-game adjustment.

How are your personnel? Do you have the right team members in place doing the right things to help your team advance? Have you had reviews with your team members to see if they need to play a different role on your team? Do they need a little more encouragement? Do they need more playing time – open houses, networking opportunities or leads? Make the right adjustments to help them score a touchdown.

Are you converting on all of your opportunities? Sign calls? Open house opportunities? Training? Seminars? Networking? Touch points with your sphere? Get out in front of people or consider getting out of the game.

Are you making the most of your time? How much time are you spending prospecting? Learning the business? Meeting new people? Talking with the ones you know? Learning from those you don’t? There are a limited number of hours/minutes/opportunities in a day…are you taking advantage of them or not?

Are you leading the team in the right direction? Are you motivating and inspiring? Are you setting the right example by walking the walk? Are you creating opportunities for your team? Providing leadership? Keeping the team optimistic and headed for the end zone? Every play matters – don’t miss out.

The last thought about our conversation this morning is, are you a diehard? Are you a diehard real estate agent? If not, sit yourself on the bench and look for other endeavors! It is ok to drop back and punt and to look for other opportunities. If yes, make the adjustments to help you and your team win the game of real estate! There are options and choices to help everyone succeed. It is early in the season – too early to throw in the towel. Review, respond and get rewarded!

Riders on the Storm?

2008-09-05T08:40:00.001-05:00

In light of the two hurricanes this past week, it has made me think about our agents and our market and I wonder, are you riding the storm out?

The winds are blowing pretty strong, the waves are getting higher, the rain is coming down faster and the question is, what are you doing about it?

Are you inside watching? Are you outside dancing in the storm? Or are you wearing the appropriate attire and moving forward to your destination? We all have choices. Are you inside waiting for the storm to end? Are you having fun being reckless in the stormy weather? Or, are you braving the elements equipped with the right tools, attitude, persistence, perseverance, education, and language?
Our market is stormy right now. Some of you are inside, some outside, some are taking the storm head on, finding opportunities and forging ahead. In every market, whether up or down, there are opportunities.

If you are inside, get the hell out! The market we are in is going to be with us for another 18 to 24 months. You can’t survive waiting for the phone to ring, waiting for people to visit your website, waiting to get an email from a past client to buy or sell. You have to get up and get out!

If you are outside playing, get focused on your activities. Find a niche. Do what other successful people are doing in today’s market. Research what they are doing and see if it will work for you. Reach out to learn how you can weather this storm.

If you are moving ahead, having success in today’s market , make sure to take the time to reflect on what you’ve done, how you’ve done it, see if it can be improved on and move ahead.
We are all challenged by slack agents, more negotiations, more details, more obstacles – stay on top of your business and you will reap rewards.

Again, get out and speak with successful agents, brokers, lenders, title companies and learn. Attend seminars, and conferences out of town. Invest in your business if you want it to grow. Spend money when you don’t have it. Our top 10 agents this year have done just that. Look at where their business is this year – their commission is up 15% over last year’s top ten. It is more of a challenge and more rewarding when you find the opportunities in down markets than up markets. Virtually anybody can be successful in strong markets as we saw recently. Many experienced and new agents became order takers, rested upon their success and didn’t continue pursuing different avenues to success. Don’t be like everyone else – differentiate and reinvent yourself.