Jennifer A. Klein
By Jennifer Klein
I’m a two-year chair of the Placer County Association of REALTORS® Young Professionals Network and I was recently nominated to the 2013 Placer County Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors. In my video below, I share why and how I became involved with the board, as well as the benefits of getting involved in your local association.
Jennifer Klein is a REALTOR® in Northern California who is experienced in short sales, investments, and property management. Connect with Jen at RosevilleAndRocklin.com, JenKlein.com, and @JenKleinSac.
Brooke Wolford
By Brooke Wolford
I recently had a meeting for the Metro YPN committee of the St. Paul Association of REALTORS®. Ron Covert, chief executive officer, joined us to see what was going on with our newly-revamped YPN.
One of the questions he asked us was, “How do we get the younger generation involved with the association?” Seems like a relatively easy task from my eyes, however, I also remembered my perspective about committee involvement in the past.
Prior to ever getting involved with any committees, I always felt intimidated by the thought. I didn’t think that I could become involved or even how. Thankfully, after I became a blog contributor for the YPN Lounge, I was contacted by our fearless leader, Nobu Hata, asking me to come to a YPN event with the Minneapolis Association of REALTORS®. One thing led to another and I became one of the task force members for that YPN. It was from this involvement that my passion grew for being involved. I now serve on several local and state committees.
If you ever had any doubt about involvement, let me just tell you this: The association WANTS you to be involved. They need different perspectives. Whether you are a rookie or a veteran, getting involved is always within your reach. Your association wants and needs you!
Brooke Wolford is a real estate practitioner with Coldwell Banker Burnet in Woodbury, Minn. Follow her blog at adventuresinrookierealestate.com.
Brett Caviness
By Brett Caviness
From the first year I got my license as a college student, I knew I wanted to be involved in the real estate business as much as possible. I started by attending the Iowa REALTORS® Legislative Bus-in where I quickly realized the power we as individuals have to take part in the political landscape that is our real estate industry. Real estate took a bit of a back seat while I finished my degree. As I made my way back home to another market, I again jumped in full-force as an active member of the Iowa Great Lakes Board of REALTORS®. After less than a year in my current market, I was elected secretary/treasury of our board. Since taking office, I have been involved in many programs and organizations.
During my first trip to state meetings this past winter, I was immersed into the exciting culture of passionate real estate professionals from across the state who take an active role in their profession at the state and sometimes national level. I quickly realized that we do have the power to interact, develop ideas, and implement strategies that affect not only our business, but the real estate industry for buyers and sellers.
After the energizing sessions we attended at the state level, I found myself asking, “Why doesn’t everyone want to attend these meetings? If nothing else, why don’t more brokers attend to take back this valuable knowledge and experience to their agents?” The president of our board responded quickly, “There are givers and there are takers.” Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that we’re living and working in a tenuously linked society right now. Hyper-political-mumbo-jumbo is being thrown around to a jaded audience, and we are more polarized and fractured than ever before.
That same thing could be said for the real estate industry.
Data, IDX, syndication, broker-centric, agent-centric, consumer-centric, lead-generation, third parties, anti-property owner legislation, technological disruption, franchises versus indies versus MLSs versus associations… What does it all mean?
As an industry, we’re changing — we all know that. What’s not so obvious is that these little industry revolutions differ from market to market; and the pace in which these revolutions are happening, the pace in which they’re setting in, is getting faster and faster every day.
But what has been a mainstay in all of this during my time on the YPN Subcommittee, and now as your chairperson, is that regardless of market, MLS, broker and association, we operate for the REALTOR® brand. Y’all said it yourselves. There is not a selfish bone in any of you, and for that I am so proud!
The results of a poll answered by your networks’ chairpersons are telling: Professional development is one of the top priorities in many networks, along with their sponsoring associations. Continue reading »
Anand Patel
By Anand Patel
I have a wonderful agent in West Palm Beach, Fla., who decided he wanted to give back by getting involved with his local chapter of Habitat for Humanity. While on site at his first project, he struck up a conversation with a fellow volunteer working along side him. As they carried on their conversations throughout the day, it turned out his new-found friend was an investor residing predominantly in Europe but looking to buy, rehab, and sell residential real estate while in the West Palm Beach area. To make a long story short, my agent ended up finding a property for his new volunteer buddy, who in turn rehabbed the property and had my agent list it and eventually sell the property for him. His new client enjoyed the experience so much he wants to purchase a few more properties with my agent. Who would have thought giving back would have paid off so well!
The point of my story is that we all prefer working with people with similar interests, right? Isn’t it easier to work with a client who supports the same causes, charities, clubs, foundations, associations and organizations that you do? Volunteering is a great way to connect with these like-minded individuals. Keep in mind that one should only volunteer when they truly have a genuine interest in getting involved and giving back. We all know people who volunteer with the pure intention of getting new business — others read right through this. Sharing a common bond and genuine interest with someone makes the decision for them to do business with you so much easier. 
Here are some ideas:
- Volunteer with charities or causes you want to support. You will meet people from all different backgrounds and professions. You’ll learn new perspectives about yourself, the way you run your business, and how you view your community. Not only will you feel good in supporting your favorite cause, but you are also indirectly helping yourself grow as an individual.
- Volunteer to serve on committees at your association, various organizations you may belong to, at your place of worship, or your child’s school. Continue reading »
Chris Nichols
By Chris Nichols
Assumptions — we all make them. But have you ever stopped and thought about the dangers involved in making even just simple assumptions?
Wikipedia states, “In logic an assumption is a proposition that is taken for granted, as if it were true based upon presupposition without preponderance of the facts.”
Have you ever assumed what the needs of a client were without asking them specifically? This generally results in expectations missed, whether it be a buyer seeing houses he or she doesn’t really want, or a seller who is more concerned about selling quickly versus getting top dollar. These are all assumptions that can be costly to our pocketbooks as missed closed transactions and frustrated clients.
There’s also another type of assumption that can be costly: Oftentimes, in the middle of a transaction, we make assumptions about the REALTOR(R) on the other side of the transaction. Or perhaps about their client.
It is so easy to fall into this trap and allow our unfounded or preconceived notions dictate how we handle negotiations. I recently had this very thing happen to me as a seller allowed their assumptions cloud their judgement of my buyer due to an FHA appraisal coming in short of value. Unfortunately, the seller’s REALTOR(R) could not change their client’s presupposition that this was a ploy on the buyer’s part.
The last assumption I want to touch on is the assumption we sometimes make about leaders in our association. I can speak from firsthand experience as the president of a local association that I have learned much in the two plus years leading up to taking this office. I can remember the many misconceptions I had about all three levels of our association. But as I’ve taken the time to learn, to ask questions, and to get involved, it has been easy to replace incorrect assumptions with actual facts and understanding. Continue reading »
Recent Comments