Author: Russell Shaw (page 7 of 10)

Mega-Producing Realtor

April 18, 2007

JOIN SAM WERCINSKI, THE NEW REAL ESTATE COMMISSIONER, ON THURS., JUNE 21, 2007

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Regarding the success seminar tonight (Tuesday), it was wonderful to meet Brian Brady in person, and to see Jay Thompson and the other familiar faces (Matthew Hardy & his lovely bride) but a special thanks to Allen Butler and Greg Swann. Also, I need to mention that Greg and his bride, Cathy bought me a wonderful surprise gift – a video ipod. Totally unexpected, and a delightful and much appreciated gesture. (now I can see and hear myself more!:-)

It looks like we now have a direction for the future. I would like to use what we have as a base and in addition get any questions anybody has and respond to them via a direct video recording. We can have the responses indexed via the questions and anyone who wants to hear / see the answer to that question can watch that video. Allan can direct me regarding any needed equipment and Greg now has the web space to host all of this. Feel free to fire away with questions – I won’t
be able to get to all of them at once, but we can get started with the video postings soon.

____

I received the following via email. The panel will most likely consist of me, Jo Ann Calloway, Walt Danley and Mike Mendoza. If you aren’t from the Phoenix area those names might not mean much. If you are – you will recognize each of their names as leaders in the industry. I am really looking forward to meeting the new commissioner, as I have heard only really good things about him. I am posting this now, as I suggest you make your reservation early – this will be standing room only.

___

Hi Russell,

It was a pleasure to speak with you last week about being on our expert panel at the event being hosted to provide Sam Wercinski with a professional forum to explain his future vision of ADRE. As we get closer to the event, the message below will be altered to include the names of Read more

April 16, 2007

Open Letter to Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors Regards RMLS Ruling 13

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

The following was sent to me by Steve Westmark. He was the very first agent interviewed by Howard Brinton for what is now known as Starpower. He is a very nice man, who spends a great deal of his time (and money) working for Habitat For Humanity. He and the other agents using the term “MLS” in their URL got a very raw deal from the shortsighted people who sit on the Board of Governors for the Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors.

___

Open Letter to Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors

Regards RMLS Ruling 13

My name is Steve Westmark, a long-time agent with Counselor Realty and prior to my resignation September 2006 a long-time member of the Board of Governors at the RMLS of MN (the “Board”). Because I am, and have always made my living as a practicing Realtor, I can say that my goal while serving on the board has been to protect the interests of “practicing Realtors” as my 1^st priority (not necessarily for brokerage “owners and operators”). In July of 2006 I made a very difficult decision to resign my position on the Board in a last resort protest of Rule 13 because I believe the Rule is not in the best interest of Realtors.

I have spoken with many of you (my fellow members), there seems to be a number of misconceptions for my resigning from the Regional Board of Governors of the RMLS, and the ensuing lawsuit protesting Rule 13. I am writing the open letter in hopes that you will better understand why I believe Rule 13 is a detriment for all Realtors.

My History

I served and was Chairman of the MAAR MLS Committee for nearly a decade. I was involved with the task force to bring the Regional MLS into existence. As a Governor for RMLS I have served on the Technology Sub Committee, Executive Board, been involved with vendor selections, task force for bringing on new executive, but most of all wanting to be a representative for the real estate practitioner whose day-to-day use of the term “MLS” is vital and the main source for information for Read more

April 8, 2007

I Want To Be a Lister – The Listing Presentation

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

A couple of important questions:

Chris writes;

Here is a question, I have never been on a listing presentation, I have not yet taken a listing, and I’m a brand new agent. But I want to be an excellent lister, and I don’t care what amount of effort that takes.Where is a good place to start with a listing presentation? I have Tom Hopkins book, but is there a good up to date one online somewhere? IE “this is an ideal listing presentation from start to finish, these are all the points you need to hit”. I think if I get the bones, I can probably expand on it, change it a bit for me and make it work.The top agent in my city sold 150 houses last year. Figure an average house is $400k around here. She is the top dog, so that’s who I am aiming for lol!

__
and Scott Cowan writes;

Thank you for the reply. I am looking forward to seeing the videos if you are able to post them online.

I do have a request for a bit more detail about a topic. Currently on BloodhoundBlog you have posted that it is vital to have a really good listing presentation. Currently my listing presentation is nothing more than the research I have completed on the house and the area. I have some local and national statistics that I share. Much to my disappointment (although now that I have been doing much more reading not to my surprise) my success rate is perfect. A perfect 0 for……… Would you be willing to point me in the direction of resources for putting together the really good listing presentation that you have been talking about? I have been reading online and everyone says that theirs is the best etc. I am overwhelmed with the amount of fluff and hype that I am seeing.

Your advice that I have listened to and read has been the most practical of the information available online. I am curious what your thoughts are on a rock solid listing presentation.

Thanks again for being such a valuable resource to the Read more

April 7, 2007

Are Glenn Kelman & Dave Barry Soulmates?

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Dave Barry sues Realtor associations. He has been suing Realtor associations for years. I don’t know that anyone could say that he sues Realtor associations for a living because he almost always loses. And it is hard to imagine that any lawyer who had a pot to piss in would keep doing the same stupid thing year after year after year – even though it was obvious to any rational person that it could not succeed. If Dave would like to send me a threatening letter or sue me for what I am writing here, this is my contact information. Dave Barry is behind Trust MLS. This is his “Open MLS” program that he tried (and failed) to get on the ballot in California in 2005. Now he is trying it in Maine. A much smaller state where it would require a LOT less money to try and shove this down everyone’s throat. I believe (Dave, please notice I said I BELIEVE, not “IS“‘) Dave to be a charter member of the “What’s Yours Is Mine Club”. This is also sometimes referred to as “something for nothing” or simply “criminal”. I don’t know if it would actually be libel to characterize him as a litigious lunatic, so we won’t do that here. Certainly, the NAR lawyers and the various state association lawyers aren’t going to come out and physically say that. Almost all lawyers (at least in the U.S.) have a “lawyer to lawyer respect” rule that they follow. It just isn’t right to say something unkind or inflammatory about someone who finished law school and was admitted to the bar – not if you finished law school and were admitted to the bar.

The following was reported yesterday on Inman News:

He is also a part of Trust MLS, a group that is supporting the Maine ballot initiative and encourages supporters in other states to pursue similar measures. This group, along with real estate companies Redfin, Catalist Homes and Voyager 360, among others, had offered financial support to the institute, and Trust MLS plans to submit a bid to operate the proposed Read more

April 2, 2007

I want a LOT of money – would you tell me how to get it?

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Late last night I received THIS from a form filled out on my website:

I read about Russell starting Realtor Training, I would like to know if he can set up an automated program for me to follow and use here in Victoria Bc. I sold 11 million dollars worth of real Estate in 2006, I would like to double that over the next 12 months or more. Cheers, hope to hear from you soon!

And tonight see this post from Greg, where the question is:

I would like to know if anyone has a great listing generation system that works, day in and day out. My goal is to gross $600,000 over the next 12 months. I know this is a big topic. I am keen to to see what you respond with.

Both questions are basically the same – how can I easily NET about 500k a year. Please send me the answer. Thanks!

Free Money There are a number of things you can do to generate leads. The effective things require either your time or your money. For example, I use radio and TV advertising to generate lots of “come list me” calls. It is very expensive. Last year I paid over 600k just for my media ads. You can start with less – when I started, the first year on radio I paid about 20k. The next year about 40k. Geographic farms are a common way to generate leads. Some agents buy them from companies. Working one’s sphere of influence is another common lead generation method – contacting a “known database”. One way or the other you will spend time, money or both to generate leads.

To go big one must do one of these two things: prospect effectively or market yourself effectively. Pick one.

Do I plan to ever attempt to put together some sort of package of “steps” – kind of a one-size-fits-all to provide to other agents? No. You can get one here if you are interested in such useless crap. Is there a way to become really successful in real estate with a small amount of effort? It can look that way Read more

March 28, 2007

Zoomquilt

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

This is the text of an email I received from a friend. I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It has nothing to do with real estate, a blog, getting more business, or any of the usual stuff we write about. It took many people a lot of time to create this and I was so impressed I just had to share it.

Subject: Zoom Quilt

WOW, this is fantastic! You can watch it all day long and keep seeing more new things. It DOES need a sound track though. Please allow time for it to load…it’s worth it.

Zoomquilt

March 27, 2007

What Do I Want In a Loan Officer?

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Todd Carpenter wrote:

Hey Greg,

Now that REMBEX is working the way I want it to, I’m resurrecting my other pet project. It’s an all free training web site for new loan officers. Details are here. http://blog.mariah.com/2007/03/open-source-mortgage-training-manual.html

I would really like to get a real estate agent’s perspective on what they think a new LO needs to know in reviewing the contract and purchase process. I know you are busy moving your web site and training your protege, but maybe you know of someone else who can write an article for the project if you don’t have time. Even a word about it on your blog would be appreciated. I’m accepting volunteers for the other sections as well.

BTW, I know you are a Mac guy. I just upgraded to a 24″ iMac and am self-learning to use Keynote & Garage Band to make training videos for some of the key topics. The finished product should be pretty cool (I hope)!

Thank You!

Todd Carpenter
mariah.com

First, a disclosure; I am not an expert in loans, lenders or what they “ought to know”. But I am very comfortable in answering the question I used for the title of this post: What Do I Want In a Loan Officer? I’m not looking for one just now, because I have one who perfectly fits the description I’m about to write. How did I get her? Almost by accident, one of my Buyer Agents, Therese – who was making the transition into being one of my Listing Agents – said she had several good experiences with Kathy Rhubottom with O’Dowd Mortgage. Several “good experiences” consisted of the loans closing when they were supposed to and here is the “big one”: she was only told things that happened to be true. In the almost three years we have done business with Kathy, every deal – with two exceptions – closed on time. Both of those exceptions were title company errors, not the lenders. When Kathy said a deal was a makable deal, guess what? It actually closed.

Do I think Kathy is remarkable in her knowledge? No. I didn’t even meet her Read more

March 23, 2007

Silly Stuff I Wanted to Share

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Just ran across this and saw at once it needed to be shared. It is called Scottsdale Sucks. Albert Einstein smaller This one is called World’s Worst Websites. I’ve spent hours having fun looking at all the various links from this site. To me, some of the sites were laugh out loud funny. This one is called, The Best Page In The Universe. He says, “This page is about me and why everything I like is great. If you disagree with anything you find on this page, you are wrong.”

So when you want to spend a little time on something that has the charm of deliberate nonsense, try one of these.

I am hoping to win both the Cheez- Whiz AND the Weenie award.

March 23, 2007

Are You Hungry?

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Lisa Nolan writes:

I have acquired a RE license, and am contemplating entering the industry as an agent, and wondering if there is published data
anywhere on what production levels/market shares each Real Estate company holds…. I know there are many, many other factors more
important than this to take into consideration, but am curious.Thanks for any help,Lisa

There are many local companies around the country (you don’t indicate what part of the country you live in) that enjoy a huge market share – but just in that area their office is located. There are also some regional companies that are quite dominant in their part of the United States. For example, Weichert and Crye-Leike are not well known across the country, but are very well known in the areas they
do business.

Hungry A relatively small company in Ft. Collins, Colorado, The Group, has the highest average sales per agent, year after year, of any company in the industry. Last I knew, their average number of sales PER AGENT was about 55 deals per year. They have a waiting list to get in and charge a $10,000 (non-refundable) deposit just to join. Their 55 sales per year, per agent, is very high. Coldwell Banker, for example has about 11.5 average sales per year, per agent.

Some companies, Help-U-Sell, for example, don’t promote their individual agent’s stats, working to create a uniform experience for the consumer, regardless of which agent or which office they select.

The number one national company for sales per agent is Re/Max. I remember when they were proud of that number being 23 transactions per year. It got as high as 32 sales per year per agent. I don’t know what it is just now – but would guess it is in the high 20’s. Re/Max has the very best agent to agent referral network in the industry. At one time agents were joining Re/Max by the tens of thousands thinking that being with that company would guarantee them success. When Keller-Williams really started to take off in the agent growth department – they managed to recruit thousands and thousands of agents away from Re/Max – Read more

March 22, 2007

Zip gets 20 Million LESS than “zip” and they are happy about it

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Happiness Is A Warm Gun

I swear I am not trying to pick on Zip Realty but I just couldn’t pass this one up. I saw this on Inman News. From a press release – and I quote: Money Gun

Real estate brokerage company ZipRealty Inc. today announced a net loss of $20.2 million in fourth-quarter 2006, or 96 cents per share, compared with net income of $17.9 million, or 73 cents per diluted share, in fourth-quarter 2005.

For the year ended Dec. 31, 2006, ZipRealty reported a net loss of $20.6 million, compared with net income of $20.5 million for the full year in 2005.

“We are pleased with our fourth-quarter results, which exceeded expectations in terms of revenue and profitability,” ZipRealty CEO Richard Sommer said in a statement.

They LOST 20 MILLION DOLLARS in last three months of the year and they are pleased with the results. Well, if they’re happy about it, then I’m happy for them.

March 20, 2007

Days On Market? It is a stupid question and a stupid answer

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

The obsession to keep the Days On Market (DOM) “accurate” is just one example of a misevaluation of relative importances. Our local MLS, Arizona Regional Multiple Listing Service (ARMLS) fixed up the system so it would show the “true days on market”. If a property had been listed before then the Cumulative Days On Market would show up on a one-line printing of listings and on a full print-out. The agent days on market is also shown, but each and every listing shows the “cumulative” DOM and one can even do a search of the MLS based on the DOM. Any days on market with another company or another agents in the past 90 days shows up in the cumulative number (CDOM). This fabulous benefit to “tranparancy” is now common in many Realtor multiple listing systems around the country. There are articles in the press about how agents have “tricked” the buying public by canceling and listing the same house again, giving it a new MLS number – and thus resetting the DOM number to zero.

Setting aside that I am a listing agent and the fact that the seller ultimately pays the commission that the buyer agent collects (in Arizona, the listing agent pays it, with money he or she has collected from the seller) – why do I think CDOM is retarded?

First, I have never seen an MLS data base that shows all the price reductions and when they occurred. If the price reduction was substantial isn’t it really a “different listing”? Before you answer that it is the same house but at a lower price (which is true), isn’t it then a different listing? If an agent with no backbone takes a listing at 500k that should have been listed at 400k (quite common in our current market) how is it “fair” to penalize the seller for having his house on the market for 90 days at 500k? When I later take that same house and list it for 400k the first day I have it on the market the CDOM would show 91 days. It would look to Read more

March 19, 2007

24 Qualities That Geniuses Have in Common

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

I first saw this in 1980. It was first printed in The National Enquirer. Ron Hubbard asked for – and received – permission to reprint it and distribute it. It was always one of my favorite pieces. I found it via a Google search here. I’ve been thinking of posting it on BloodhoundBlog for the last few months and seeing Greg’s post below, now seemed like the perfect time. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

The worlds greatest geniuses have all had 24 personality characteristics in common and you can develop the same traits yourself, says an expert.

“Most people have the mistaken idea that geniuses are born, not made”, declared clinical psychologist Dr. Alfred Barrious, founder and director of the Self-Programmed Control Center of Los Angeles and author of the book, Towards Greater Freedom and Happiness.

“But if you look at the lives of the worlds greatest geniuses like Edison, Socrates, DaVinci, Shakespeare, Einstein, you will discover they all had 24 personality characteristics in common.

“These are traits that anyone can develop. It makes no difference how old you are, how much education you have, or what you have accomplished to date. Adopting these personality characteristics enables you to operate on a genius level.”

Here are the Characteristics Dr. Barrios lists, which enable geniuses to come up with and develop new and fruitful ideas:

DRIVE. Geniuses have a strong desire to work hard and long. They’re willing to give all they’ve got to a project. Develop your drive by focusing on your future success, and keep going.
COURAGE. It takes courage to do things others consider impossible. Stop worrying about what people will think if you’re different.
DEVOTION TO GOALS. Geniuses know what they want and go after it. Get control of your life and schedule. Have something specific to accomplish each day.
KNOWLEDGE. Geniuses continually accumulate information. Never go to sleep at night without having learned at least one new thing each day. Read. And question people who know.
HONESTY. Geniuses are frank, forthright and honest. Take the responsibility for thins that go wrong. Be willing to admit, ‘I goofed’ and learned from my mistakes.
OPTIMISM. Read more

March 11, 2007

We’re not MENSA members – but real estate is a dream job

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

The following was on the front page, just under the masthead of Sunday’s Arizona Republic:

Home Values rise despite slowdown

Despite falling prices by year’s end, leftover momentum from the Valley’s housing boom pushed 2006 values above the previous year’s values in almost every city.

Median price increases in Maricopa County ranged from 2% in Higley to 47% in Tonopah. Only Waddell and Youngtown experienced declines, according to The Republic’s latest Valley Home Values survey.

So what now? Analysts agree the market is in transition. Some believe the market has not yet hit bottom; others predict a turnaround.

“This is a good market,” analyst Jay Butler says. “It’s good vanilla ice cream. It’s not gourmet ice cream.” – Glen Creno

I’ve met Glen Creno and honestly believe him to be a good person. Also, I have no reason to believe that Jay Butler is anything but a decent man, as well. Unlike someone like Keith Brand or Mike Ferry who will knowingly spread lies and mis-information in order to achieve their goals – a social personality may err, but they aren’t doing it on purpose.

Using the median sales prices of an area (which almost all economists and others doing sales data analysis seem to want to do) may be quite useful in Not MENSA determining which city has the best (or worst) affordability. Median sales prices have no meaningful value if used to determine short-term movement of home prices. NONE. The median price of a home can go down and that does not mean that the actual selling price of any home in that area went down even one dollar! The median price can go up and it does not even begin to suggest that “the prices went up”. Everyone who thinks otherwise is wrong.

How do I know? I’m a member of Not MENSA. I know and use the MENSA pick up lines. I don’t have a PHD so I don’t have to take loads of statistics and churn out predictions for the valley or the nation. Based on a survey that NAR wrote about, I’m happy; I have a dream job. A real big part of my dream Read more

March 1, 2007

How Much is My Agent Charging Me?

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

Lin Savage wrote:

I am evaluating a proposal from a realtor to sell my current home and
represent me in buying a new home (all in Texas). I would like some assistance in clearly understanding the commission structure as I consider her proposal.In the “right to sell” doc that she gave me, it says that I will pay her 6% of the sales price, and then says that she will offer 3% to the buyer’s broker.Later in the doc, it says she will charge a 4% commission if she represents me on the purchase of my new home (which I intend to do) assuming she is paid a 3% commission from the new home seller. She also says that if one of her subagents represents the buyer of my current home, that she will reduce the commission by .5%.

I read your comments about the buyer always paying … I’m trying to follow the money trail to see if this arrangement makes sense for me, and find myself going in circles. Can you explain this to me? Thank you!

Lin,

It looks to me like the total maximum amount you would be paying as a seller is 6% of the sales price of your current home. The 3% she would offer to the other agent is not in addition to the 6% but is money your agent would pay to someone else, who was representing the buyer. If I am correctly understanding what you have written, the 4% would become the maximum (instead of the 6%) if you also purchase your new home through that same agent. And if your agent (or one of her staff of agents) can successfully sell the house themselves (without having to pay a 3% co-broke fee to an outside agent) she will reduce the commission by a half a percent.

If I’m doing the math correctly – and if I were you, I would clarify each of these points directly with that agent prior to signing anything – if her team sells your home and you buy a house through them, the most you would pay is 3.5% and if Read more

March 1, 2007

An Email From Jim Gatos

by Russell Shaw

Mega-Producing Realtor

In response to this post Jim Gatos wrote:

Russell,I wholeheartedly agree.. I also found (by accident, actually, this

http://www.shaftingrealtors.com/roger_butcher_false_statements.htm

First, a little background info on me.. I have been in real estate since 1985 full time. In all those years, depending on the year, my energy level, and plans, I have closed a high or over 50 sales (with a full time assistant and a buyer agent) and a low of around 12 sales (I was verrrryyy slow and busy with personal issues). Presently I don’t have an assistant. I can say, I learned a lot from Mr. Butcher, in the 1990’s, however, I think his methods are now outmoded and very expensive. I also took Floyd Wickman, Mike Ferry, and Brian Buffini.
Of all those, I would say Floyd & Brian were probably the two I can attribute numerous sales to, and with Roger, I can too say I made money in using his systems.

The problem is they advocate working expireds and fsbo’s. And that’s fine, it was a lot easier before the do not call list. Except Buffini, who is completely into personal referrals. They all have something to say, and I think I find them all invaluable. Hoewever, I honestly think YOU have more to teach us.

The sad part is, a lot of people won’t take up your generous offering because it’s free. Some people have to pay for something to find value.

Having been in the business for over 20 years, I will listen to everything you say. You’re the king, and I think your style is also very straight shooting.

It did concern me a bit to see L. Ron Hubbard quotes when you recommend tipsforsuccess.org, however, honestly speaking, I found the website extremely useful and informative. I signed up for the weekly newsletter, and I even did the goal setting exercises. Honestly, they were the BEST goal setting exercises I have ever ever seen. Some folks are very very apprehensive about Scientology, and even afraid. It seems there are two very strong sides to that issue.

You keep ’em coming. I’ll keep listening!

Thanks

Jim

First, thank you for your response, Jim. I understand, appreciate Read more

Author: Russell Shaw (page 7 of 10)

JOIN SAM WERCINSKI, THE NEW REAL ESTATE COMMISSIONER, ON THURS., JUNE 21, 2007

by Russell Shaw

Open Letter to Minneapolis Area Association of Realtors Regards RMLS Ruling 13

by Russell Shaw

I Want To Be a Lister – The Listing Presentation

by Russell Shaw

Are Glenn Kelman & Dave Barry Soulmates?

by Russell Shaw

I want a LOT of money – would you tell me how to get it?

by Russell Shaw

Zoomquilt

by Russell Shaw

What Do I Want In a Loan Officer?

by Russell Shaw

Silly Stuff I Wanted to Share

by Russell Shaw

Are You Hungry?

by Russell Shaw

Zip gets 20 Million LESS than “zip” and they are happy about it

by Russell Shaw

Days On Market? It is a stupid question and a stupid answer

by Russell Shaw

24 Qualities That Geniuses Have in Common

by Russell Shaw

We’re not MENSA members – but real estate is a dream job

by Russell Shaw

How Much is My Agent Charging Me?

by Russell Shaw

An Email From Jim Gatos

by Russell Shaw

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