Jared James
By Jared James
As many of you know, I make my living as a speaker/trainer and have had the opportunity to speak to tens of thousands of REALTORS® and entrepreneurs over the last 12 months. My job is not just to communicate effectively, but to entertain and make the audience feel something. As Maya Angelo put it, “People will not remember what you do or say, but they will remember how you made them feel.”
About six months ago, I had the opportunity to keynote a large event in Texas, and it was one of those times when you feel completely connected with the audience and everything was going well. At the end of the event I had a younger guy come up to me and tell me how he loved my speech so much that he was ready to run through a brick wall. (Not a practice I recommend or condone.) He said that he loved everything I had to say, but there was just no business in his area. He said it didn’t matter what he did, there just weren’t any transactions.
I don’t usually have the time to do this, but on this day I did, so asked him to grab his computer and pull up for me every transaction that had happened over the last 30 days in his area according to his MLS. He did this and it turned out that there were 337 transactions! So much for NO transactions…
I looked him dead in the eye and I said that it seems that the problem was not a lack of transactions, the problem was that his name is not on those transactions! *friendly smile*
I am not mentioning this agent by name because he is not the point of the story. I bring up this point because I think this mindset is running rampant among many REALTORS® today. Continue reading »
TG Gallaudet
By TG Gallaudet
Wait…I’m totally lying. Is there anything more painful? 
It’s no mystery that short sales can be really tough because of all the variables involved:
* Unclear timelines from the bank.
* Undisclosed liens.
* Back HOA expenses the bank won’t pay.
* Non-straightforward buyer.
* Inexperienced listing agent.
* Cash contributions (increasingly more and more).
* Etc., Etc., Etc…
But the hardest side to represent as an agent is the buyer’s side of a short sale because the buyer’s agent has no control of ANYTHING, and has to hope for a solid listing agent who knows what they’re doing. Right?
I just ended a painful short sale transaction where I represented the buyer that lasted 7 months and went nowhere. Granted, it wasn’t the easy one-loan in equator kinda deal, but we had absolutely no worthwhile answer from the bank after 7 months, which is totally inexcusable in 2011 as far as I’m concerned. The main problem, in my opinion, is that the listing agent saw this sale as a small income producer and pawned the negotiation responsibilities over to his part time TC. The TC had little-to-no experience with short sales, or negotiating any deals, and therefore little experience in working with banks. Because of her inexperience, I think she had little confidence in dealing with the bank and their personnel and couldn’t push back or demand results when she was entitled to do so. After being a listing agent on several short sales, I’ve come to understand that the burden of success lies heavily on the listing agent and specifically how s/he communicates to both the buyers’ agent and buyer, how she sets expectations and what answers she deems acceptable from the bank. Continue reading »
Jared James
By Jared James
Spring is the time when more people will be making a decision about who to use as their REALTOR® than at any other time of the year. So is there a magic bullet to create more transactions in the next couple of months?? Watch the video below and you decide. I look forward to your feedback and connecting with so many of you. Good luck!!
Jared James is the CEO and founder of Jared James Enterprises (JJE) and travels around North America speaking to and coaching REALTORS®. Connect with Jared at www.jaredjamestoday.com, on facebook.com/jaredjamestoday, or follow him on Twitter @jaredjamestoday.
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 »
Toby Boyce
By Toby Boyce
The couple slid through the front door, their faces painted with obvious pain and anguish over having to go through this all over again – and after talking to them, it became very obvious why.
This was the first time I’d met the couple, but I was far from their first real estate agent who they’d viewed houses with. A past client referred them my direction and as we stood in that house, it became obvious that the agents they’d met were not paying attention to the clients.
While I’m sure that no one that reads the YPN blogs is guilty of this at all, it seemed a good time to remind other professionals of a few items.
You Work for the Buyer (or Seller). This is an amazing concept, I know. While many clients will lean on your expertise the key is to remember that every – and I do mean EVERY – decision in this transaction is theirs. Stop putting your values, ideas, and personal biases on to your customers – they don’t care and more importantly it could be a lawsuit waiting to happen if it is deemed to be steering due to a protected class.
Lead the Horse To Water, Let It Drink. The neighborhood isn’t the best one in the market – but which is the best? Is that a subject or objective statement? Of course it is subjective which means it needs to be left up to your clients. Showing houses last weekend and the street felt very busy to me and the buyers have a young child – made me uncomfortable. Did I voice my concern to the buyer? Of course, but it was in a constructive way, suggesting they come by the house a few times to make sure they were comfortable with the traffic and speed on the street. Led them to the water hole, and to drink or not was their decision. Oh yeah, and they wrote on the house.
Show Some Personality. I’m unique; actually I believe when I was in school the word was “special.” And I’m proud of that. You should be to. Embrace who you are and utilize it to the best of your abilities. I’m a natural educator and I believe that my home buyers are some of the most educated about the process in the area. I work with people who share similar beliefs from an affiliate stand point and it has worked for me during my four-and-a-half years in real estate. Continue reading »
Heather Soldonia
By Heather Soldonia
It’s the secret that’s driving every client — social comparison.
The Social Comparison Theory explains how individuals evaluate their own opinions and desires by comparing themselves to others in either an upward or downward direction.
An upward comparison example: “Our friends, the Joneses, purchased a brand new 3,000-square-foot home. We don’t want to consider anything smaller than 3,000 square feet.”
A downward comparison example: “Our poor friends have beautiful homes, but can you believe their commute is over an hour?! We’ll be much better off finding something smaller, but closer to the Bay Area.”
We’ve all heard clients irrationally comparing themselves to the Joneses — ignoring ALL the other factors that play a role in determining what home would be best for them financially, geographically, etc. It can be so frustrating!
But here’s the interesting part… We do it to as agents, too!
An upward comparison example: “Last week at the conference REALTOR(R) Jones was telling me that he closed 46 transactions this year… I’m as good as he is, so I better close at least that many this year!”
A downward comparison example: “Well, the newbie didn’t close a single transaction last year, so I could be doing much worse.”
Here is a reminder… 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 »
Lincoln Crum
By Lincoln Crum
I recently closed a transaction that I had listed for 10 months. There were all kinds of difficulties with the transaction but we worked through them, one by one. My seller was out of state and was really good to work with, but towards the end was growing impatient. To say the least… as was I.
Once we got a month away from closing we ran into more challenges and I was afraid the deal would be dead more than once. Both my seller and I agreed to be relentless in our pursuit to get to the closing table. We spent quite a bit of time on the phone trying to make sure we were always on the same page. At the height of our frustration about three weeks before the closing, I was talking to the seller on the phone and we both hit our breaking point with the transaction. We took a brief pause, both realized that we were “over-analyzing” the situation and stopped thinking too much. Needless to say, the transaction became a lot more smooth after that realization.
I believe that we can “over-think” our real estate business sometimes. We’ve probably all been guilty of worrying about things that won’t happen. I’m a student from the school of thought that if you worry about something enough you may just make it come true. So, I practice the art every single day in my business of not driving myself crazy about things that are out of my control.
This specific transaction took longer than it should to get to the closing table because of market circumstance way beyond anyone’s control. My patience was tested more than once, but I didn’t let up. I made sure I was always positive in my approach with the seller and other agents involved. I take great pride in setting the tone from the beginning.
It all paid off for me last night when I opened an envelope from my seller. Inside the card was the sweetest note coupled with a $50 gift card to Outback. I don’t know how my seller knew that Outback is my favorite restaurant, let alone a bottle of Greg Norman Merlot and the Rockhampton Ribeye, but she did. Her note and the gift card meant as much to me as the commission, it’s nice to be appreciated.
Remember that we as agents have the opportunity along with the challenge of always setting the tone. If you approach every transaction with a good solid foundation of positivity, I’m convinced that you’ll lead the way and gain tons of respect from others in the real estate community, along with your own clients. You’ll be glad you did.
Lincoln Crum is REALTOR®, auctioneer, and entrepreneur based out of the Louisville, Ky. area. Lincoln can be found at www.ReachLincoln.com.
By Crystal Webster
Crystal Webster
I’m in the market for a new home. Wow, I’d almost forgotten what it’s like to be on the other side of the transaction! It’s actually been a great experience to help remind me what it’s like to be the client.
I’m normally a very rational, logical person. But house hunting does crazy things to people. I’ve lost all my common business sense while searching for a home; I just want the home that “feels right.”
My biggest concern, as the buyer, is finding the PERFECT house for my family. Normally, my biggest concern, as the REALTOR®, is to remove the emotion from the transaction, crunch the numbers, and complete the contracts.
The houses I look at can have every feature I want (and even some features I didn’t know I wanted) but if the property doesn’t feel right, then it doesn’t make the “short list.” I can look at house after house, but if I can’t imagine my family sitting around the dinner table sharing a meal or playing catch in the back yard, the property is out.
This process has reminded me to keep it all in perspective and has helped me put a little of the emotion back in the job. Not everything has to be about getting the best value, room size, conveniences, amenities, and proximity to the grocery store. Just because a house is “perfect” on paper doesn’t mean it’ll be “perfect” for the individual. Try to remember that the next time you take out those clients who “just don’t seem to get it.” It might be the REALTOR® who “doesn’t seem to get it.”
I know I will.
Crystal Webster is a REALTOR in the Kansas City area. Visit her networking site at www.kcyoungprofessionals.com and her Web site and blog at www.websterteam.com.
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