Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
No one would have guessed that REALTORS® would look back on 2009 as “the good ole days,” but as the real estate market continues to find bottom, that’s exactly what some are doing. The reality for 2011 may be that we are all fighting for a smaller piece of the sales pie and remaining in business means implementing low-cost solutions to save money.
That being said, here are a five technology tools that brokers and agents alike should implement to help survive an uncertain 2011.
1. Cloud-based Phone Service
The telephone is still the most important tool of our business but for most brokerages, this can result in a huge monthly expense towards the bottom line. Plus, every agent walks around with a phone attached to their hip so is the expense of a phone system and monthly service even necessary?
Services like RingCentral, Grasshopper, and Phonebooth offer users a plethora of options and features usually reserved for phone systems that cost as much as a BMW 550i for less than the cost of a cell phone bill. Local number – check, 800 number – check, fax-to-email – check. “Find Me” features – check. Best of all, whether you are a solo agent, small company working from home, or a mid-sized firm with 50 agents, you can still have the big-company presence which is could help in recruiting agents to work for you. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
Will the handwritten note ever be replaced? I think that a personalized video message can do the trick. Here are a few tips, tricks, and examples of what not to do when sending a personalized message to a client.
Software mentioned: Eyejot and Oovoo.
Jonathan Osman is a broker and team leader of the Charlotte House Hunter Group with Keller Williams Realty in Charlotte, N.C. Connect with Jonathan via Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or his Web site CharlotteHouseHunter.com.
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
When you think of a barcode, you are no doubt thinking of the UPC labels that exist on the back of EVERYTHING. The lines on a barcode correspond with a database that delivers information on the item scanned. The technology is so tried and true that it can now be adapted for an untold number of uses including real estate.
To start, you’ll need to create your own barcode. Somewhere George Orwell is spinning in his grave at the notion that we can create and distribute personal data with a simple barcode… but we can. I used a website called Scanlife.com to create my barcode for free. Now, whenever someone scans my personalized bar code, they can import my contact information into their smartphone with just one click.
This barcode can be printed on anything and displayed everywhere including as profile pic on Facebook, on your business cards, e-mail signature; the list goes on and on.
Think of how easy it would be to gather contacts at the next convention you attended if you could simply scan and import the persons contact info via a barcode? You wouldn’t need to bring business cards or other promotional paraphernalia. Simply display your barcode on your phone and let the person you meet scan it with theirs. Instantly, you are connected, a tree is spared, and you won’t be spending time later entering cards into your database. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
Step 1: Find a buyer. In my market, the unemployment rate is 11.1 percent and the under-employment rate is around 16-20 percent. While a few years ago, one could conceivably purchase a house without a job; today, employment is essential.
Step 2: Find the buyer a loan. As long as the buyer has a job, modest credit scores, and reasonable debt load, this can be accomplished with relative ease. However, only 75 percent of buyers ever make it past Step 2.
Step 3: Find the house. SO VERY EASY especially with only 24,000 homes in the market to choose from; 5 percent being REO, and the buyer wants “a deal.” The buyer then proceeds to view all 24,000 homes, making offers at fifty cents on the dollar, with only a $10 earnest money check.
Step 4: Under contract: Oh yeah baby. I can count the dollars now. Just sit back and wait for the closing day. If that were only so true…
Once the home is under contract, now there stands a nearly insurmountable set of obstacles that will kill any transaction such as (All of the following actually happened at some point in the last 3 years):
Inspection:
- Did the inspection reveal needed repairs? Yes. Will the seller repair? No! Deal dead.
- Does the inspector freak the buyer out over unnecessary repairs? Yes! Deal dead.
- Does the house have mold? Yes every house has mold? Buyer freaked? Yes! Muerto.
- Did the house burn down before closing? Yes! Does the buyer still want it? No! Done. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
If you ever want to start a heated discussion among agents in my area, ask them their opinion of short sales. What will pour forth is the most draw-dropping tales of sheer lunacy; always ending with “I’ll never show or sell another short sale again.”
This presents a problem for me on a number of levels. First, to my own self interests, I list and sell short sale listings. While most of the agents I have interacted have not done business with my group, they are hesitant to jump back into one of these transactions with anyone…and I totally get that. Out of the four short sale contracts written by my buyer agents on other listings, only one closed. Today in the Charlotte area, we have more than a 13 month supply of short sale listings and only a 3 month supply of REOs. That may not say much until you learn that the actual inventory numbers for the REOs are slightly higher than the short sales; the results of those bad experiences.
Beyond my own interests is the interest of a home owner facing foreclosure. Due to any number of hardships, they now face the difficult prospect of losing their home, a future deficiency judgment, and possible bankruptcy if things don’t work out this time. Along with that home owner is a neighborhood with values that drop with every foreclosure, pushing another home owner to a short sale, strategic default, or walk-away. The most profound statistic I compiled through data in our local MLS and through the state was that last year, more home owners lost their home to foreclosure in my county (the largest in North Carolina) than agents closed homes through the MLS. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
Eight months ago, I started investigating the idea of buying my own telephone system. With my mobile number on every sign that I owned and in every ad, I received calls at all hours of the day and night, which got old fast. The idea of simply turning off my ringer at night was not an option either since I no longer have a land-line at home.
After discovering how expensive it would be to purchase, install, and operate my own phone system, I discovered a number of virtual phone systems that are currently available; the most popular being Google Voice.
For the solo agent or for personal use, Google Voice is a must-have. Google Voice is free to register (although you must be invited) and you can order a “local” number to receive voicemail and text messages. You can even dial out using either the Google Voice website or the free mobile app. Both the app and the website will mask your real phone number with your Google Voice number. I love using voicemail through Google Voice because the voice-to-text transcription allows me to read an e-mail of a voicemail even though the translations are hit or miss.
For groups or agents demanding more robust features, I would highly recommend a paid virtual phone system through a service like RingCentral, Grasshopper (formerly Got Vmail), or Phonebooth. All have the capabilities to provide you with a local number, a toll free number, e-fax, company directory, VoIP, and more. When a client dials in, a recording directs them to the department or extensions which are available. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
You are a professional now. You dress in business attire during the work week. You have a website that has every home listed in the MLS. Your carefully written bio makes you appear as you are the greatest agent to receive a license. You may even have a killer buyer and seller presentation. However, I would bet that the story being told by your Facebook page does not match your corporate image.
A few months back, I needed to send a referral to an agent in another city for a listing. I found a few good candidates and decided to google their names in an effort to locate their websites. When I did, I ran across one agent’s personal Facebook profile, ranked No. 1 in Google and her website was No. 45. By cruising through what was available to the public, I discovered that she enjoyed drinking from red plastic cups, college sports, and looked stunning in a bikini during a recent trip to Miami. Needless to say, she didn’t get the referral.
She’s probably very good at selling real estate and could have done a very good job. However, the image that her public Facebook profile portrayed of her did not match the values that my clients held. It would be the same as if she went on the listing appointment and said nothing but I enjoy drinking from red plastic cups, college sports, and look at these pictures of me in a bikini… can I list your home?
So how can you avoid this? First, use the privacy controls. Screen your photo gallery and organize your photos intended for your real friends into a list. Next, organize your friends in various lists depending on who they really are to you. Every one of my friends is apart of a list, from those I went to high school with, to the people I work with today. Every list controls the image of that I want to reveal to each group of people. Continue reading »
Jonathan Osman
By Jonathan Osman
I’m awestruck at those who have totally disregarded blogging and other forms of social media as a medium for generating business for themselves. For me, it’s thanks to social media that I’m still in the real estate business today.
Rewind four years ago: I hatched a great plan to move from Annapolis Md. to Charlotte N.C. OK, it wasn’t much of a plan. During a long holiday road trip I decided to sell to sell our house, asked my wife to find a new job, and to move to Charlotte — all in eight hours (Yes I’m impulsive). Four months later, mission accomplished.
In Annapolis, I had built my real estate business around helping friends and family. In Charlotte, I only knew other real estate agents and they didn’t need my help. To say I fell complete flat on my face in my first eight months in the Queen City is an understatement. The market was shifting, sales were slowing, and I was going broke faster than Gary Coleman. Add to that, I had entered a market totally new to me and I was desperately trying to build business in a new city. It was at that point I started blogging about real estate. A couple months later, buyers and sellers were seeking me out to help them.
Fast-forward to today: I have a small real estate group built from the business I continue to generate through blogging. In 2009, my group closed 28 transactions with clients who found us through our social media efforts. Almost all of them admitted that they knew of other agents but that the blog authenticated us as the real estate experts.
So I guess you can say I’m an unabashed social media cheerleader, and rightly so. After all, if it can save my real estate career, imagine what it can do for you.
Jonathan Osman is a broker and team leader of the Charlotte House Hunter Group with Keller Williams Realty in Charlotte, N.C. Connect with Jonathan via Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter or his Web site CharlotteHouseHunter.com.
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