Trisha Ocona Francis
By Trisha Ocona Francis
Being a real estate professional is more than just helping people sell, buy, or rent property, but rather assisting them in achieving their real estate goals. One of the best ways in doing so is by narrowing down your practice of real estate to an area you know extremely well, enjoy doing, and are committed to furthering your knowledge on the topic. It allows you to focus, and shows your clients your commitment and dedication as an expert towards their particular issue.
There are many areas to choose from, such as the luxury market, commercial sales, office leasing, residential, investing, foreclosures, apartment rentals, government program housing placement, senior housing, relocation specialist, or you can always develop your own area of expertise.
You may decide to gear your real estate practice towards commercial real estate because you like analyzing the potential profits of a building, the adventure of negotiating, and helping your clients produce their desired results. Or you may work with seniors because you enjoyed helping your previous senior clients transition from homeownership of forty years to senior housing, loved their history stories, and learned a lot about senior housing programs in the process.
The road to becoming this “Specialized Real Estate Expert” is similar to a college student deciding on a major and ultimate career choice. Medical doctors and attorneys concentrate on a specific field to practice for the same reasons.
To begin, here are a few questions to ask yourself: Continue reading »
Brian Copeland
By Brian Copeland
If you are a young professional and have entered the real estate profession any time from 2004-2007, I want to be the first to congratulate you.
When you can no longer consider yourself a whippersnapper and Lady GAGA music is now playing on the Golden Oldies station, you can then say one thing proudly as a REALTOR®, “I’ve seen the best market in our time. I’ve seen the worst market in our time.”
You’ve officially navigated both and come out on the other side stronger. Remember, our defining moments arise out of adversity. I thank goodness every day for that teacher who said I’d never make it past my first year of college. I’m grateful for that boss who knocked me off my employment platform in my first job. Soon, you will be thanking the passing economy for making you one of the strongest real estate advisers of your day.
While millennial generation agents will still be able to say the same statement, our generation will be able to say our training grounds were in these two markets. Who wouldn’t want an airline pilot who was trained during the worst storms of the century simply because that was the time he got his pilot’s license?
I hope you will begin today, preparing yourself for tomorrow’s market. It’s going to be amazing, and the consumers will know more than ever that a smart, savvy REALTOR® who has navigated these treacherous waters needs to be on their side.
Use the next few months to finish a designation like GRI or CRS. Use 2011 as a time to get more involved in your local association than you ever have been before. Use the coming weeks to school yourself on the legislative issues that continue to affect your and your clients’ future. You’ll want to do it now, because the business you’re going to see in 2012 and beyond requires you to be at the top of your game. I’ll see all my YPNers AT THE TOP!
Brian Copeland is a real estate practitioner in Nashville, Tenn. You can follow Brian on Twitter: @NashvilleBrian
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
I am loathed to do this, but I’m going to plug a class. If there’s one class or certification training you take this year, make it NAR’s Short Sales and Foreclosure Resource (SFR) training program.
I must admit, after hearing about it from the kind folks at REBAC, hearing about my own company’s training program, and learning about CDPE, there was a bit of short-sale overload on my part. Then after hearing that it “focuses on buyers” from a fellow agent, I had pretty much ruled out. Everyday, we struggle to find the CE classes with the most value and the first impressions I had of it turned me off. Boy was I ever wrong.
The six or so hours flew right by. The content was not only relevant, but looks to able to transcend the passage of time and legislation. Since it was such a timely subject, interaction was lively, and agents shared stories amongst each other; I left with names and numbers of folks at different banks should my need for them arise. In the end, you leave the class armed with the know-how to become a “resource” for your clients – past, present and future.
The big plus? You have bonafide NAR certification (that still means something guys), and you have access to webinars that will be constantly refreshed to fit the times.
The reality is this: short-sales, foreclosure, distressed properties; we’ll be dealing with these homes for the foreseeable future. Continue reading »
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