Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
We were all standing around complaining about our feet hurting in the shoes we chose, wondering if it was our third or fifth cup of Starbucks that day, when the idea hit me that maybe I should put together a quick list of dos and don’ts for anyone attending one of our marathon REALTOR® conferences throughout the year. I have been to a half dozen of these events, and I should know better. With the REALTORS® Midyear Meetings & Trade Expo quickly approaching, here are my survival tips:
1. Wear comfortable shoes (or go ahead and show off those cute pumps but bring a big purse with a pair of flats just in case). Guys, just make sure you have on socks. Invest $3 for a stick of Band-Aid’s blister block. Shoes you’ve not walked in for awhile will do you wrong at a conference.
2. Take it outside. Now, I know this should be rudimentary, like arriving on time or not interrupting the speaker, but make sure you switch your phone to silent mode. If a call comes in, and you must answer it, go out of the room. Business is definitely important, so don’t gab in the middle of a room full of people. I sat in more than one class during the mid-winter event thinking, “are you kidding me?“ Oh, and the “looking around acting like it’s not you” thing while your phone plays your entire ring tone really doesn’t work.
3. Bring an extra cell phone battery. Twelve hours of checking voicemails and texting between events will leave you powerless.
4. Dress in layers. Even in sunny Florida, dressing in layers is critical. A few minutes in the sun will have you sweating, but the event center might have cranked the AC in anticipation of all of us hot-heads. It’s good to be versatile on the fly.
5. No time for a workout this trip? Says who? Don’t offer to hang on to someones stuff unless you really want to work your arms, back, and patience for the day. Even 5 pounds feels like 50 after you have lugged it all over an event. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
Uncluttering: A great New Year’s resolution for all of us. Clutter comes in many forms. We advise our sellers to de-clutter their homes when preparing them for the real estate market. We shred old papers in an effort to clean out our offices of unnecessary transaction documents. We send clothes from our stuffed closets to local shelters. We gasp when watching Hoarders or Clean House on TV and plead with our friends to intervene, “If my house ever gets that messy…”
So what about our electronic clutter? Did you know that we humans have created more data in the past year than we have created in the past 5,000 years? Did you know that the number of text messages sent every day exceeds the total population of the planet, and that it has been estimated that only 61 percent of the global population even has a phone?
Just thinking about the 413 messages I have kept as part of my e-mail “necessities” makes me shudder. I have 36 folders that organize my email messages for just one of my e-mail addresses. And I have four e-mail addresses. I have 2 gigabytes of information stored on my computer, all in files for future reference. I have an external hard drive with 800 MB of space, and about half of that is occupied. I take a ton of photos, and some of those are pushing 24 MB each. Even with those, there is still a lot of data filing going on. What am I doing with all of this?! At the rate information is being created, I will NEVER read it all again. And if I do take the time to review it all again, I will be in a perpetual state of catch-up with all the new stuff coming in daily. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
OK, I’m ready. Elections are over. The holidays are around the corner. Bring on the buyers.
Here in Florida, our season is just about to start. What are people expecting, and what are you going to do about it?
My advice is to study your market, and practice how you will handle objections from buyers and sellers. In our market, it’s not new news that some sellers still aren’t pricing realistically and that some buyers expect to get a million dollar listing for $200,000. You have to be able to stop them with black and white facts and statistics. Numbers are harder to argue with than your opinion of the market.
Let’s say someone asks you, “So, how’s the market right now?” You could answer, “Well, it is better than it was!” OR, you could answer, “MLS data shows that Neighborhood X has sold four times more properties than last year, so you tell me.”
There is a major bonus in showing data and asking the questioner to interpret it. With their own mouths, they will have to admit that the numbers show signs of positive market movement. Once they say it themselves, they will believe it!
The goal is to stop telling people what to expect and start asking them. They will persuade themselves if you learn to ask the right questions. Try it!
Kelly Reark is a native Floridian and e-PRO® with Gasparilla Properties, Inc. in Boca Grande, Southwest Florida. Visit her online at www.WaterfrontKelly.com or www.BocaGrandeRealEstateNews.com.
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
What ways do you network with your fellow real estate agents? Do you walk away from a happy hour or business card exchange really knowing much about them or their business? Likely not. Do you ever wonder why?
Having a pocket full of business cards is one thing, but getting to know other real estate agents is another, and very beneficial. You want to broaden your referral network with more than just a name on a business card.
Recently, I made it my mission to take networking a step further. I had collected business cards from a real estate retreat that I had attended. I began with an agent I thought I could refer business to that is in a market about two hours from me. She brought in another agent, who brought in another agent… and on and on. The best part is that we all have specialty areas in which we work. We have spent a full day in many of our markets, learning about the areas from one another. The plan is to keep learning and growing. It is amazing how much we are able to teach each other. Frequently, our preconceived notions of an area were corrected.
I now know that I have a completely fabulous, intelligent, trustworthy, bright agent network to refer my customers to in a variety of market areas. I know that they will be taken care of, and so will I. I know that if they have sticker shock in one location, they can be referred out to another with similar lifestyle qualities. Or if their preferred lifestyle is not available in my market, I know which agent to send them looking with. Plus, I can call on them to tap into resources or fresh ideas for marketing, technology, and peer training. My network of international agents grows stronger by inclusion of each of their networks. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
I have been representing a buyer since June of this year when he made the decision to put in an offer on a short sale. We aren’t closed yet, and it has been a bumpy road. Our journey actually began in January of 2007, but who’s counting?
There are many ways that this deal could die along the way. Here are my top five buyer bail scenarios that could stop you in your tracks.
1. Before actually writing the offer, counsel your buyer on what a short sale will likely involve. Make sure they are prepared for the waiting game. It is up to you to keep them interested and excited about their purchase.
2. Buyer’s remorse. Are the buyers seeing other properties sell for the same amount or less than the one they have the offer in on? A longer waiting period between the offer and the acceptance can issue a set of military spec cold feet. Keep a working CMA for your buyer that you can update during the waiting period. Point out the benefits to the home they have chosen.
3. Work with the lender to get your buyer’s finances in order ahead of time. If they are serious about making a purchase, they should begin the paper trail for their loan package long before hearing back from the seller’s representative. State your contract in such a way that there will be ample time to complete a mortgage after the seller’s approval comes back. (And lock in that great rate!) In the case that their offer is denied, they will be ready for the next one. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
Recently, I had the opportunity to speak with some other real estate agents within our local association’s Board of REALTORS®. I noted something while I was talking to each of them that I want to pass along to all of you.
There’s no question that this real estate market is challenging and unique. There are agents out there who have learned to make the most of our current conditions. Like myself, these agents have a sunny outlook on the market in general. We have been proactive in identifying where the conditions are ripe for both buyers and sellers. We acknowledge the negative side of our market conditions, and find the benefit to it instead of dwelling on the downside. We are realistic and optimistic, and share that with our customers and friends.
On the other hand, some agents have a dismal outlook and approach to their business. They broadcast negativity and therefore attract negativity. Their sales are suffering and they are unhappy. Their customers have a similar, unhappy outlook for our real estate market. They have not realized that to every situation there is a possibility for good.
In real estate and in life, when you hear someone dwelling in negativity, take a step back. Be the one to take the time to find some good in the situation instead of getting sucked in to the whirlwind of bad. When you practice positive thinking and positive action, you will experience far greater success.
Kelly Reark is a native Floridian and e-PRO® with Gasparilla Properties, Inc. in Boca Grande, Southwest Florida. Visit her blog: www.BocaGrandeRealEstateNews.com.
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
Career, health, relationships, spirituality, and finance are just a few of the many aspects of your life. Are you living a balanced lifestyle? If New Year’s was the last time you stopped to evaluate where you are, how far have you come? As you put one foot in front of the other to reach your goals, make sure that none of your key aspects are lagging behind.
Success has different definitions for each person. Write out what success is to you, and make a plan to be successful. Take the time to exercise and nourish your body. Call at least one friend while you are making your cold calls to heat things up a bit. Step away from Facebook and remember the value of meeting socially offline. Check your business plan and get on track to meet your sales goals for the year if you aren’t yet there. If you are, reward yourself. Rest one day a week, away from gadgets and gizmos, breathe deep, and meditate on something peaceful.
Living a balanced life will bring success and happiness to you!
Kelly Reark is a native Floridian and e-PRO® with Gasparilla Properties, Inc. in Boca Grande, Southwest Florida. Visit her blog: www.BocaGrandeRealEstateNews.com.
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
I am here today to talk to you about the importance of using protection.
Seriously. Protect yourself from viruses and other digitally transmitted diseases. With all the forms of protection out there, it would be a shame for you to be exposed.
I use several [explicative deleted] words to describe computer viruses and hack jobs that are out to destroy my personal information, family photos, and databases of real estate contacts. Here are a few ways to protect yourself and your data:
1. Back up your files, and do it often. You can use a thumb drive, cloud data service, external hard drive, or even the “old-fashioned” way of burning your files to a CD. There are companies out there that will even do it for you. The main thing is to make sure you have a system in place so that you frequently store your data and can recover your files should the worse happen.
2. While you are at it, backup your anti-virus software each day. Your job is (likely) to sell real estate. While you are out there, someone else is sitting in front of a computer. Their job is to invent viruses.
3. Know who your friends are. Sure, you get friend requests every day from people you “kinda” know, and you want to grow your business… but is it safe to friend everyone that asks? No. Put a system in place to screen your friends and be picky about what information you share with them. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
With St. Patrick’s Day fast approaching, my Irish brain has been picking up on all the green in my environment. So I thought that we’d avoid a pinch by adding a little green practice to our life! Here are some ideas to get you going Green:
“Think Globally, Act Locally.” OK, this one is easy. Think about how the Earth could be a better place, and then actually DO something to contribute to that picture in your head. It could be as simple as using a stainless steel canteen instead of those delightful coffee-filled Whobucks cups. Did you know that in America, we use more than 25 billion disposable bottles every year?
Use your car as little as possible. Our community is small, so our office frequently uses golf carts to show off the convenience of the area. One agent even arranged a group to see property via bicycle. Wow, exercise while you work, and don’t forget to whistle.
Read labels. Sometimes I can be a little OCD about this one, but really it’s a good idea to know where the stuff you buy comes from. Take a moment to think about how it got to the very store you are standing in and how much petroleum and energy the freighter, tug boat, train, plane, or cargo truck used to get it there. When you have the choice, support locally sourced goods.
Use non-toxic cleaning supplies. Ditch the pantry full of smelly chemicals for hot water, vinegar, baking soda and a steam cleaner, and you can make every surface in your home squeaky clean and bacteria free. Yes, even mirrors. Just wipe them dry with the morning newspaper before recycling it. Continue reading »
Kelly Reark
By Kelly Reark
This week, I thought I would share some striking real estate statistics from my small local market area. Gasparilla Island is only a snapshot of what is happening locally, and hopefully what is or will be happening across our state and country.
In the first quarter of 2009, only two contracts closed on Gasparilla Island. The second quarter brought 14 closings, third quarter had nine, and the fourth quarter closed out with seven, for a total of 35 closed properties in 2009. This was down from the 2008 total of 41 properties closed.
Since the New Year, showing activity has picked up. Already this year, eight contracts have closed and 11 sales are pending on our island. Total dollar volume for the under contract and closed contract listings already tops 75 percent of what the total was for 2009. Many of what I considered to be our “best deals” have gone under contract. With a market area as small as mine, it only takes a few sales to drive up competition once again.
I encourage each of you to find statistics like these for your local market area. When I get a walk-in to our office with the familiar question, “So how’s real estate been lately?” I can answer with facts that will really grab their attention. It lets them know that the sky is not falling and quiets the Chicken Little response they were expecting. A response like this gives me credibility, puts the focus on my knowledge of my market, and puts them on track to look at property with the mindset that I want them to have.
Kelly Reark is a native Floridian and e-PRO REALTOR® with Gasparilla Properties, Inc. in Boca Grande, Southwest Florida. Visit her blog: www.BocaGrandeRealEstateNews.com.
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