Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
This summer, against my wife’s better judgment (sorry hon), I decided to take the plunge into the REALTORS® Political Action Committee’s President’s Circle. Basically, after giving at the local level, I’m contributing $2,000 of my hard-earned cash directly to industry-friendly politicians’ political campaigns.
Say what?
I had many reasons to do it, and if you told me just a few years ago I’d be piping money to anything, other than my bank account, much less a politician, I’d have smacked you in the mouth. But among them was the Flood Insurance issue that has, again, reared its ugly head. An issue that has hit home for my state, and frankly, ticked me off. I’m not politically savvy to fight for this on my own, nor do I have the stomach to sit in any politician’s presence right now, so I thought that money would be the best way for me to talk.
Once I told people in D.C. (I talked to Brooke Roth and Chris Nave, RPAC fundraising representatives at NAR) of my intention to give, I got a slick email with the name and party affiliation of politicians who have made the RPAC trustees’ cut-list, PLUS a low-down of what they did to get them there.
Lo and behold there were Republicans AND Democrats from across the country who have been fighting our fight on their local and national platforms. One was even a former REALTOR® – a huge bonus. It took me weeks to run through the list, to decide who would get some cash, and in the end, it was two Democrats and two Republicans who got it. Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
Working away in cramped cubes at the D.C. REALTOR® headquarters are the NAR Staff behind the REALTOR® Political Action Party. John, Chris, Bethany, Mica, Jay, Claire and crew, not gleamingwhitetoothed Politicians – or even REALTORS®, mind you; they’re regular, politically-charged folks working on our behalf on Capitol Hill, for our livelihood.
Brian Copeland, YPN/RPAC Liaison Mike Oppler and I had the opportunity to meet the people behind cause, and I can tell you that it was a humbling experience. There’s only a handful of these guys dealing what are direct affronts to the covenants of home ownership: Mortgage Interest Deduction, GSE reform, Flood Insurance issues, the list goes on and on.
Issues that aren’t red or blue.
Issues that our clients will grapple with, sooner or later.
Issues that – let’s face it – we neither have the time, nor wherewithal to deal with.
The easiest thing to do is to give. Give to this fine group so they can fight the good fight for us. Make your next YPN event this March an RPAC Awareness Event. New Jersey is having a Dareoke event, Tennessee is fund-raising, Minneapolis will be taking part in their state’s Legislative Impact Day, Colorado and Texas will be rallying at “the Hill!”. What will your network do this March? Talk to your association liaison about your state’s Fair Share contribution, which is most likely a ridiculously low number, and meet it. Minnesota’s is $15. Yes, really.
Start there. See for yourself the value proposition of our Political Action Committee, then budget $15 from every deal you close next year. It’s as easy as that!
Web: realtoractioncenter.com / Facebook: www.facebook.com/realtoractioncenter / Twitter: @realtoraction
Nobu Hata is a sales associate for Edina Realty in Minneapolis, and a founding member of the Minneapolis YPN group, the YoPros. Visit his Web site at www.nobuhata.com.
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
I loathe business planning. Recognizing one’s failings from the previous year, and moving forward, learning from mistakes is a hard thing to do. And since the economy hit the skids, it’s become increasingly difficult to “plan” for anything as of late.
But the one thing I’ve made a commitment to do this year, is to ask advice from those agents who are still thriving after 20-plus years in the industry, every chance I get. I’m going to put my money where my “industry hasn’t changed, but the tools have” mantra is. These folks have seen previous recessions, have experienced double-digit interest rates, and walked uphill to listing presentations – both ways! – to boot.
One of the best pieces of advice I’ve received so far this year is to door-knock – “Go out and find the inventory that’s lacking, for your clients…”. The very thought of getting a door slammed in my face, in real life, scares the bejeezus out of me; but I’ve got clients interested in a particular neighborhood where no blogging/social media/twitter campaign will work, so what the heck. As luck would have it, I happened upon the neighborhood while the homeowners were digging out of some monster snows we had, so I took the dog for a walk and chatted up the neighbors as I walked by. Six prospective sellers, and a hit for my client later, I was sold. And it only took an hour to do it!
Us REALTOR2.0’s like to strut our stuff with the Facebooks, blogs and Tweets, but every now and then it pays to get some fresh perspective from the professionals who are still alive and kicking in these tough times. After all, some of those “tools” haven’t changed a bit!
So go old-school! Which old tool will you use in a new way this year?
Nobu Hata is a sales associate for Edina Realty in Minneapolis, and a founding member of the Minneapolis YPN group, the YoPros. Visit his Web site at www.nobuhata.com.
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
An article recently came across my Twitterstream from Wired.com which, punditry (and ‘Granted, I live in Manhattan…’ caveat) aside, is a pretty good read.
Go ahead, it’s a short one, I’ll wait for you right here. (http://www.wired.com/magazine/2010/11/st_essay_ownership/)
Where my and the writer’s opinion splits is that to me, a home DOES have sentimental value. A house is something everyone connects with emotionally. A house becomes a home, a member of the family. The rentorship attitude is a copout – if I was a writer in New York City, I’d want everything on the cheap, without commitment too. But I digress.
Was it a horrible essay? No. But what it does is epitomize the current state of consumer confidence in home ownership, as does the 90 or so comments, many rebutting the article itself, and that’s the key to remember.
Our generation agent is working in a time of unprecedented backlash from both our buyers and sellers, and the media. We live amidst a “throwaway” and non-committal culture. Simply stated: Home ownership isn’t for everyone. But what I like saying is that everyone knows someone who wants to buy or sell. Naysayer aside, I’ll take a few of those folks sticking up for homeownership rebutting him any day.
Our job will be to find those 90 people; our client base, those buyers and sellers who see value in home ownership, and give them the service they want and need. So what do you say? How will y’all be reaching these people in 2011?
Nobu Hata is a sales associate for Edina Realty in Minneapolis, and a founding member of the Minneapolis YPN group, the YoPros. Visit his Web site at www.nobuhata.com.
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
Hi guys, I originally wrote this post for Conference Live last week, but it bears repeating on Veterans Day. It hits close to home for me with a brother who served two tours in Iraq, then bought a home via DVA loan last year. Thank a Vet. Help a Vet. It’s the least we can do.
There are, as of October 2010, over 39,000 disabled veterans of the Iraq War in the United States. Of those, 20 percent suffer from brain and spinal cord injuries, and 30percent from mental health disabilities. With those sobering statistics, the Equal Opportunity Forum at NARdiGras 2010, kicked off. Those veterans are not only part of the biggest Fair Housing protected segment in the country, but the fastest growing emerging market for REALTORS®. Every state is affected by the military and their veterans, guys, so it’s time we step it up!
Get acquainted with va.gov – and search “SAH” or “Specially Adapted Housing.” Grants are available for folks to build housing, plus retrofit and adapt current housing – even pay down mortgages. Get to know the DVA loan program while you’re there!
Part of NAR’s Game Changers Program is the Heroes Welcome Home program. As a member, this program is an incredible benefit; as an association, it’s a value-add. Free to use, it’s the hub for all things “Heroes” for us REALTORS®. Use it to your advantage!
These returning vets deserve the best that we can provide. Be mentors, not only in housing issues, but in credit, mortgage, and lifestyle issues as well. It’s the least we can do, for so many who gave so much.
Nobu Hata is a sales associate for Edina Realty in Minneapolis, and a founding member of the Minneapolis YPN group, the YoPros. Visit his Web site at www.nobuhata.com.
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
I’ve never had the stomach for the political end of things during my years in the real estate industry, and for those of you who know me well, my left-of-center views didn’t exactly mesh well with the political climate that has made up the bulk of my tenure. It was always my opinion that politics was best left for the folks who know how to play the game. My contributions consisted of pressing “Send” on the e-mail call to actions.
But the one realization I’ve made the last couple years has been with RPAC, our political action committee. These folks, based in the incredible NAR offices in D.C., have fought the good fight, not only for us, but our current and future buyers and sellers and the legislation that affects them; plus our industry initiatives locally and nationally regardless of politically party currently in power. Recently, our national PAC has kept the banks out of the buy/sell facet of our industry and kept the tax credit going, among other things I’m missing – shelving your personal opinions of both for a sec, you have to admit that those two issues alone was for the greater good of our industry.
Locally here in Minnesota, they’ve helped my clients by protecting the mortgage interest and property tax deductions, helped to ban private transfer fees, and defeated several attempts to increase recording fees and an attempt to increase the state deed tax, plus passed legislation to increase industry professionalism. That’s a ton of consumer protection in a very bipartisan town, all purely on REALTOR® contributions. Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
The skinny: The Department of Housing and Urban Development is seeking public commentary through Aug. 14 on three “measures” that “reduce financial risk and preserve affordable mortgage financing for responsible consumers.”
The measures:
1. Update the combination of credit and down payment requirements for new borrowers. New borrowers seeking FHA-insured financing will be required to have a minimum FICO score of 580 to qualify for FHA’s flagship 3.5 percent down payment program. New borrowers with credit scores of less than a 580 will be required to make a cash investment of at least 10 percent. Borrowers with credit scores of less than 500 will no longer qualify for an FHA-insured mortgage.
2. Reduce allowable seller concessions from 6 percent to 3 percent. Allowing sellers to contribute up to 6 percent of the home’s sales price to offset a buyer’s costs exposes the FHA to excess risk by potentially driving up the cost of the home beyond its appraised value. Reducing seller concessions to 3 percent will bring FHA into conformity with industry standards. Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
I’ve been lucky enough to be a Realtors Property Resource™ beta tester for the last couple months, and MLS controversy aside, it’s an elegant site that belies a very powerful information resource, packed with potential, underneath it all. I’ve devised its place in my marketing plan (as a monthly client touchpoint) once live, but I’d never had the opportunity to talk about it with a consumer… until today, with the last set of clients I’d ever think of chatting about it with.
I’m working with a couple – a retired teacher and a very non-retired medical researcher – who are an absolute dream client. They don’t care about my website/Facebook Like-Page/Twitter stream, they don’t want MLS auto-emails, and they trust my judgment that the homes I’m emailing them for showings match their needs. They’re old school, and I love it.
Their home search has narrowed to two upscale condo developments in two very different parts of the Minneapolis market; one in a very established and stable neighborhood, the other in an area smacked upside the head by the overdevelopment/distressed property crow bar. Naturally, they love the latter.
Today, we had a showing at what ended up being a dud property, but it gave us an opportunity to talk about the “research” hubby had been doing on the condo building he and his wife love. Out flies the (circa 1990) MacBook and a spreadsheet that featured complete owner, tax record, previous sold dollar amount, city assessment, and price per-square-foot numbers for the whole building, to go along with average utility costs for the city, linked to very snazzy bar charts.
No joke, it was RPR – if my OCD grandpa had developed it. An hour of conversation followed: Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
With the down market and the inevitable mass exodus of “those” loan officers, you’d think we could rest easy knowing that the loan officers left would be – for lack of a better word – decent.
Holy Hannah, would we be wrong.
In the last couple weeks, I’ve had various buyers shop their loan around, including those using FHA. What I thought were set guidelines and fees isn’t what it seems. One particular buyer of mine asked for Good Faith Estimates based on the same home, price and mock closing date, from each of the loan officers he’d met with who’d pulled his credit, on my recommendation. Lo and behold, one origination fee was $1,100 more than the other. The rest of the meeting was an eye-opening study of mortgage v. mortgage.
Now, I’m not going to get into specifics of big bank versus broker, nor the merits and drawbacks of each. But what I will say is that there’s no better time to brush up on the new GFEs and fees associated with them. Fees and guidelines for all types of loan products are changing at a lightning pace, and while it’s largely up to our clients to perform their due diligence, it’s up to us to impart some insight. Continue reading »
Nobu Hata
By Nobu Hata
Preconceived notions I had of an NAR committee aside, this would be my third Midyear and my first year serving on any committee, and I was bound and determined to make the best of it.
I was appointed to the Equal Opportunity/Diversity Committee, and my knee-jerk reaction was essentially a surprise-surprise-throw-the-asiandude-on-the-most-predictable-committee-possible one. Even better: There were a total of two conference calls before what was supposed to be pivotal rulings at Midyear. How anything can be both “pivotal” but get allocated such little time to discuss, was beyond me. We were to have an open REALTOR(R) forum — where outreach to under-represented REALTORS(R) was to be discussed — and a formal committee meeting where those solutions would be refined into a cute NAR package. Visions of REALTOR(R) whine-fests were filling my head; cynicism was setting in.
I’ll admit it: I was totally wrong. The need for outreach, education, cultivation and training of leadership of YPN, GLBT, Asian, Hispanic, African American, and handicapped practitioners was discussed in the forum. Actual solutions were determined. Past-President Charles McMillan let it be known that the road to national involvement doesn’t necessarily mean 20 years of million-dollar production and political back-scratching. The red tape is gone; and it’s up to those with the desire to see change, to facilitate it. It was pretty clear that the EOC was passed trying to diversify NAR, frankly there are plenty of under-represented agents making money in this business. What we need is to stop the brain-drain by keeping their talent and knowledgebase within the NAR fold, rather than starting their own segmented groups. They need to be elevated and recognized, become representations of NAR membership and becoming advocates of NAR. Continue reading »
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