Real Estate Real World

Sink or Swim...

The market has changed... actually it changed 3 years ago but it seems many are just now figuring it out! Why does it seem the real estate industry is the last to know... last to the show...?

I started in real estate in 1993. Right at the beginning of the last crash. Homes prices today are at the same price they were then. Everyone said "it's a terrible time to get into real estate".

I guess I was either young, niave or stupid, but I didnt know what I didnt know, so I just went to work. I read a great book by Harvey Mackey called "Swim with the Sharks without being Eaten Alive" where he said to focus on building your network and the rest will follow.

So I built my network. Every person I met went into my database. Every day I would go to network meetings, classes, business groups, social functions. Any place that there were people! I would collect business cards, addresses, phone numbers and one by one would plug them into my database.

Then I started mailing to them every month and have done so for the last 15 years. Doesnt really matter what you mail. I have tried everything. Recipe cards, marketing cards, calendars, note pads. Mostly junk. But I did it... every month... every year... for 15 years.

I didnt complain, I didnt get sucked into the negative media blasts. You see the thing about real estate is that people always need a place to live. Great business people survive any market because while everyone else is complaining, they go to work!

I am reading a book right now called "Outliers" by Malcom Gladwell. He states that the masters in almost any field have one thing in common... they have put in a minimum of 10,000 hours practicing their craft. Whether it is sports, music, business. 10,000 hours!

I figure I have put in at least that! How about you?

Do you Brush your teeth?

Recently I received a panicked call from a listing agent on a transaction I was representing the buyer on, upset about the fact that a lein popped up at the last minute and now her escrow wasnt going to close... I asked her if she had reviewed the preliminary title report?  No she said, that is the title officer's job.  I asked her if she had prepared a net sheet for her seller and gone over any loan balances they may have had and she said "no the seller's know what they owe on the property!"

After I got over my shock I started to think about how many times I have had this same conversation with real estate agents. How many agents wait until their is a crisis instead of preparing themselves and their clients for all of the many possible things that can go wrong in a real estate transaction.  Having walked in these shoes many times, I have made it my personal mission to have as many stress free transactions as possible.

Every time I experience an issue such as the one above I ask myself a couple of questions:

1. How could I have prevented this from happening?

2. How can I keep this from happening in the future?

The answer to both of these is ADD IT TO MY CHECKLIST!

The simple act of reviewing a preliminary title report would have alerted everyone to this problem early in the transaction with plenty of time to rectify the situation and lower the stress level.

So just like the dentist.  A little preventive maintenance can keep a much more painful root canal at bay!

Do you get your teeth cleaned or wait for the root canal?

Here's to the Crazy Ones!

I’m sitting in my office this morning… and yes it is Sunday. I have not worked a Sunday in many moons, but I was out all week with a family emergency and needed to get caught up.  I was feeling a little frustrated by all the changes and negativity in the real estate market and frankly a little sorry for myself.

Sometimes things change so dramatically that you just want to get off the merry go round.  Sometimes changes are so big that you think that can’t possibly be real!  It will never work!  Ideas are thrown out as unreasonable, unrealistic, impossible.

I have two posters on the walls of my office the first one is a picture of Michael Jordon and it says:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed!”

This quote always reminds me that anything worth having takes work and is never easy.

The second one helps me realize that nothing is impossible. I don’t know who wrote this but in some places it is have been credited to Steve Jobs of Apple.

To the Crazy Ones

Here’s to the crazy ones.  The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They are not fond of rules and have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify them or vilify them.  About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.  They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people. Because while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

And it’s the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world who actually do!

So I am not feeling sorry for myself anymore I am feeling inspired and ready to take on the world! The great thing about Monday’s is you get a new one every week!

Have a great week!

Do you Survey?

In all the books I have read, the one thing they stress is the importance of surveying your clients. How do you know how you are doing if you don't ask?  I hear people say all the time "Well if they were really happy with my service they will tell me" The truth is most people don't unless you ask.  Even then it seems like it is pulling teeth to get tesitmonials. So we started trying to make the survey process fun to encourage our clients to return them.

Today we received my all time favorite. This was from a client that was referred to me by a past client.  During the process this particular client referred three more people, one of which closed before these clients did. With the return of this survey, they referred FOUR more people!

If you are not surveying your clients you should start!

Importance of Buyer Broker Agreements

I have heard many agents express concern over getting Buyer Broker Agreements signed.  They really struggle with it.  For some reason they have no problem with a listing agreement but won't get a Buyer Broker Agreement signed.

I have been requiring a Buyer Broker Agreement to be signed for many years and here is how I do it painlessly!

When talking to a potential client on the phone, My conversation will go something like this: "Ms Buyer I think the best thing to do would be to get together and let me explain the real estate process and how it works, it can be a complicated and overwhelming process and it is important for you to be educated about how things work. At this appointment we will discuss some important strategies to get you best deal on your next home. I have the following times available which one works best for you? Then I set the appointment.  Rarely do they turn me down.

At the initial client appointment, which is always in my office where I can set the stage, we sit down build the relationship and discuss the process.  I have a packet of information ready for them and I review the following form with them:

This is my presentation.  I go over each item with them and explain it at length.  They then sign this form and the buyer agency agreement.  When I am done explaining all of the above, I state "okay they only thing we have left to do before we print up your list of homes and set up your Home link is to sign our agreement.  This agreement strictly says that I am going to do lots of hard work for you and all that I ask is that you remain loyal to me.  If you change your mind or change your plans just let me know in writing and I will be happy to cancel this agreement."

Rarely do they NOT sign it! This also discusses upfront all the of the concerns they may have and many of the hurdles we will have along the way.

This single document has changed the way I do business and results in happier clients who feel like they understand the process better and are being well represented by someone who knows what they are talking about.

I hope this helps others out there who are struggling with this.

By they way, I am still trying to figure out how to link others blogs in here so I apologize for not linking more information.

Ego's of the Agents

The one thing I have seen consistently over the years is deals falling apart. Now of course they fall apart for a myriad of reasons:

*Home Inspection Discoveries

*Financing

*Neighborhood or Neighbors issues

*Disclosure issues

*Buyer’s changed their mind

But the number one reason I have discovered is the ego’s of the agents involved. For some reason agents believe that they know better than their clients do about what the client wants and the agent wants to feel like THEY are the expert and others should listen to them.

For example, a low ball offer to one person is a screaming deal to someone else. And what exactly is considered low ball?  Of course it depends on the market.  In the current market we are happy to get offers that would have been rejected sight unseen a year ago… I can’t tell you how many times I have heard an agent say “that offer is an insult” only to find out later that they took an offer at or below then one that was presented.

So how does a client determine what they should do? Well they listen to their agent of course who interjects their STRONG opinions about the offer, the other agent, the financing, etc… So if the other agent has an attitude with the agent or does not present their client’s scenario effectively… there goes the deal… who loses in that scenario…. EVERYONE! Are you representing your client in a way that presents them in the best possible light including how you talk with the other agent?

My opinion is that we are to remain neutral third parties. We are to present the information at hand and allow our clients to come to their own conclusion about what is best for them. This is easier said than done.

Timing and Circumstance changes everything!!!

Tell me what you think…

Why Bother?

I believe that the single most successful thing I have done in my career is mailings. What I mean by that is that every month I send out two pieces of mail to my database.  Now over the years it has varied considerably.

I have mailed newsletters that went from one page to (oh my gosh) 12 pages... what was I thinking!  I have sent recipe cards, home improvement cards, birthday cards... blah, blah, blah....

I now send out a letter about myself called Letter of the Heart The concept came from Joe Stumpf at By Referral Only. He states that people only care about real estate when they are wanting to buy or sell real estate other than that they really dont read information about the market, etc.

So I send out a little letter about me, my kids... whatever is going on in my life.  Kind of like a blog but direct mail to my database.  I get people who call me all the time and say "I love reading your letters" they range from funny to inspirational to day to day stuff. You can see a couple of examples on the right.

I also send out a small yellow postcard called an Evidence of Success that tells a story about how I have helped someone else through thier real estate journey.  These stories I get from my own clients.

The bottom line is I stay in touch consistently. It doesnt really matter what you send, just send something.

So why bother? Because virtually all of my business comes from previous clients and those they have referred and those are the best kinds of clients!

What if Money didn't exist?

I have often thought about what a different world it would be if there was no money.  I mean no one had money that everything was done for someone else because it was the right thing to do, not because they were going to be compensated in some way.

What if we were compensated by the kindness of others?

If people just took care of themselves, their surroundings and only what they needed not what they wanted, would money be required?

Would people litter? If they really thought about how it effects everyone around them?

Would gas prices go up during a tragic historic event such as Hurricane Katrina?

How would a real estate  transaction go if people were doing what is right for the client instead of what is right for their pocket book?

Would people really stop and listen to the needs of others if they knew they would get back tenfold what they put out? People say they do the right thing but do they really?

My hope is that most people intend to do the right thing but the money thing gets in the way and can be overpowering.

What if we took all the money away?

Why do I go to Our Weekly MLS Marketing Meetings?

Over the years, I have heard many realtors say "why bother going to those meeting it's just a bunch of other realtors and affiliates? I don't get any business out of them!"

Here is why I go... I go because being a real estate professional is about relationships! Relationships with our clients and relationships with the other professional's that we work with on a daily basis. Maybe I don't need them "right now"! But you never know when I might. 

I can truly say that the easiest transactions in my career have been with an agent that I knew personally for one reason or another.  Either I had met them at an MLS meeting or an affiliate event. But I knew them and they knew me and we were kinder and more respectful of each other because we knew we would come across them again.

It makes me smile when I see someone that I know, that I have spent time with and know who they really are not just their name on the other end of the contract come across my desk as part of a transaction. 

So why do I go to these weekly meetings? Because my job is to get to know people and build the best relationships possible so that when it comes time to represent my client, I know I am doing the best job I can!

Getting it Done!

Today I was talking with a local realtor who has been in the business a couple of years and is just starting to feel comfortable with all the language and processes involved, but he said "I feel so disorganized and chaotic, How do I change that?"

I sat there silently for a moment and thought to myself "what did it feel like when I hit that wall?" The truth is I hit it every day.  Every day, I look over a process or system that we have developed and wonder how can I make it better? Is this process still effective" Does this system still accomplish the goal it was intended for?

I always think that "One day it will be done! One day the whole system will run perfectly with no glitches and then and only then... I can breathe easier! Okay then I wake up from this fantasy world and realize that IT WILL NEVER BE DONE! The life of business is that it is ever evolving, constantly changing and if we settle for what we have now we may never get to the good stuff.

One of my favorite quotes is by Maya Angelou who says "When you know better, you do better". The greatest part of that quote to me is that I can let go of my failures and near misses and chalk it up to I didn't know any better, but now I do, so let's make it better.

The trick to getting it done for me is that I give myself the room to screw up, make a mistake, learn the hard way and realize that it is progress not perfection because it will never be DONE, it will only get BETTER!