There’s always something to howl about.

Category: Realty Reality (page 3 of 16)

So Simple Even a Realtor Can Do It? – Fishing In Wells

“So simple even a Realtor can do it.”

Our old friend Russell Shaw wrote a post recently in which he made use of that quote. It comes from the well known Gary Keller book, Millionaire Real Estate Agent. Though I’ve not read it, that quote alone got it on my to-do list, if only to see what other nuggets might be lurking within.

I understand the sentiment. Even if we assume the expertise and knowledge it takes to produce results for buyers and sellers, without the ability to get yourself in front of folks who have the option of tellin’ you to stick it, all your skills will go unused. The best fisherman in the world won’t catch fish #1 casting his line down a well. He tends to prefer plyin’ his talents where the fish are likely to congregate. Go figure.

We humans tend to pull the wool over our own eyes. Having a plausible, even credible sounding reason for consistent abject failure is key to maintaining our perfect record of failing for very solid reasons. You know, we may fail, but it’s never due to anything we’ve done or failed to do, right? Right.

Beginning last week I began knockin’ down dominoes launching my company’s new infrastructure/marketing/return to San Diego. I ‘left’ SD almost seven years ago, as income property there was for those who either didn’t know what they were doing, were unaware of outa town options, had simply given up — or all of the above. My assessment back then, and until recently, was that it was akin to fishing in a well — it might be relaxing, but you were still gonna be eatin’ beans for dinner.

One of the dominoes knocked down this Monday was reintroducing myself to the local Board of Realtors (gulp) and the MLS. I was pleasantly surprised to learn they’ve followed Phoenix’s lead and become Mac friendly. Also, don’t know when this started, but one must now click a fob to access the MLS now. I joined again cuz I needed other fishermen to know where my fish can be found. Read more

What does it take to be a successful real estate agent?

Being relatively new to the real estate industry (coming from a military background, followed by some time in the NYC finance sector), I came into it wide-eyed, green and full of expectations, realistic or not.  I believed that in real estate, like most facets of life, you could succeed through hard work, perseverance and a healthy dose of common sense.  Now I’m beginning to question if I had any of that right.

Intelligence.  An asset that will guarantee your success regardless of what you do.  But is that applicable in real estate?  I’m not saying I’m the smartest person in the room (even when I’m alone), but I have met some real estate ‘professionals’ who really push this issue to the brink.  And I’m talking about top-producing agents!  Just a few days ago, I overheard a conversation where an agent, who just got a listing for over $2.4M, asked another if he knew what ‘TMK’ meant. Really, I am not making it up.

Hard work.  Sure, most successful agents are hardworking.  But in it of itself, hard work does not guarantee even the slightest bit of measurable success in this industry.  Sure, having systems in place to ensure efficiency should make the work load a bit easier to handle, but I’m finding more and more than even when you do all the things that the experts say you should be doing, success is not necessarily within reach (at times it seems to be the opposite, actually).

Professional appearance.  Well, this one may be more touchy to me since I live in a tropical area where casual attire is the rule of the day. But really, how is it that people look like they just rolled out bed, slapped on whatever dirty clothes were on the floor, slipped some beach flip flops and land multi-million dollar deals?  Sure, I get it, ‘Aloha Friday’, but that could mean a number of things (i.e. nice shorts with a tommy bahama shirt) besides just being plain sloppy.

Knowledge of the market.  I can’t wrap my head around this one as I thought for sure this would be one area Read more

In Remembrance of a Stealthy Icon – The King

I remember one day back in early 1974. I was sittin’ at my desk, a 22 year old pondering the future, as it was the first full time day after being part time since a teenager. We were in a recession, but I had less than a clue what that was. It was about six weeks ’till I was to be married, and I needed to figure out what to do no later than 4:30 PM yesterday afternoon.

As the son of the boss I had no dearth of available mentors. Hell, he spawned more successful new brokerages from 1964-75 than almost any two companies. Back in the period 1964-70 his East San Diego office was akin to the freakin’ ’27 Yankees for Heaven’s sake. Problem was, most of ’em were busy runnin’ their own firms now. Dad had hung up the semi-permanent Gone Golfin’ sign on his office door. He’d downsized from six offices plus an escrow to one office and no escrow.

What was left? Me, and the 8-10 loyal agents for whom he’d kept that lone remaining office open. So I started calling the OldSchool guys who’d mentored me as a snot-nosed teen who knew everything (not a damned thing). A couple hours later I was faced with a dilemma. Though the flavor of their advice had differed slightly, the crux had been the same — work harder than you ever have at anything, and see more people who can tell ya to ‘go to hell’ than the other guy. Lord only knows what magic elixir I was expecting them to serve up, but that certainly wasn’t it.

Of course, of all the agents who knew the generic answer before asking the question, I’d been given that answer countless times. Why even ask then? Cuz it’s human nature to want the easy way, when, paradoxically, the easy way is only easy to understand — not necessarily to execute. Lookin’ back, I guess a 22 year old searchin’ for the EasyButton isn’t exactly unique.

I got tired of hangin’ with the leftovers from a bygone era, and moved my Read more

The Kumbaya School of Real Estate Brokerage Values Service Over Results

For all you real estate boys and girls out there, if you haven’t had the pleasure of going to an Apple Store to buy something, or have a problem solved, I heartily recommend a field trip. Find the biggest most trafficked Apple Store in your area and go there just to watch, listen, and learn. And learn you will. I’ve had what Dad taught me about the difference between service and results reenforced every time I walk through their doors.

These pages have, pretty much from Day 1, screamed about delivering service, a concept with which nobody, including this company owner would credibly disagree. But results are what BloodhoundBlog is all about. Some, however, have screwed up the order of importance of the two. (Has there ever been a better place for a that said?)

That said, and this is what I’ve been sayin’ since Dad’s fiercely burning eyes so congruently highlighted the dripping tone of sarcasm when he spit out the words to me — it’s about producing results, genius. I’ll take a gruff, mildly rude manner and give back a thank you if it comes at me hand in hand with timely, stellar results. Yeah, I know, you’re muttering ‘duh’ under your breath. You’d think that would be universal knowledge, right? We all know that’s ultra malodorous crap.

What many refuse to allow unfettered into their consciousness, is that world class service is as effective as a gelding trying to generate the next Secretariat when it’s not complimenting equally world class results. Think about it. “Yeah, Bob said your service was the best in town. You hardly ever produce results, but your service is without rival.” When was the last time you heard that?

Think of any service company or store selling product — would you use them again if the results were fabulous, but the service not so much? On the other hand, would you return if the results were uniformly disappointing, but the service on the way to the predictably inferior results was orgasmic? I know I’m risking the tag of heretic, but I’m gonna say it anyway.

Those who Read more

What if Twitter and Facebook go Away – Do you have an Exit Strategy?

Chris Pearson is a pretty smart dood.  He’s the developer of the Thesis theme that I use on all of my blogs.  It’s a pretty cool premium theme…but I’m not here to pitch WordPress themes.

Yesterday I received and email announcing some proposed changes in the next version of Thesis and in this email it included a link to a Video interview with Chris Pearson.

For the first 3 minutes, most of the talk is about changes to the Thesis theme….and then it gets interesting.

He starts to talk about the future of Twitter and Facebook and poses some very interesting hypotheses.

Here’s the video (can’t embed the vid for some reason, so check it out and come back) – go ahead and jump to about 3:08 to get to the good stuff.  Then, let’s talk about it.

Chris Pearson Interview - The future of Twitter and Facebook

Ok, so Chris brings up some pretty interesting points right?  I mean, think about how massive of a push there is for the RE.net to jump into the almighty Facebook Fan Page and Twitter stream life rafts to float safely to the shores through turbulent real estate seas.

Do you think that Facebook and Twitter care how or why you contribute content?  No, they could care less.  These are popularity contests to see who can get the most groupies.  Once these communities gain celebrity status, they are finally in a position to execute on their end game…..find an investor.

What is an investor going to do?  Use the traffic to the community as leverage to sell advertising or sell subscriptions to generate revenue.  Do you think either of these sites will ask you first if it’s ok if they use their platform for this reason?

Remember when Facebook tried to change their terms of service to say that all of the content on the site was 100% owned by them and could be used any way they see fit?  Do you really think that just by changing the verbiage in the terms of service that it changes the way they view your content?

I know there are hundreds of Twitter and Facebook snake oil salesmen out there crafting the next great real Read more

Regrettably, we have to rethink all of our ideas about staging homes

How are we ever going to top this?

Oh, yes. It’s real. Mrs. Buyer said, “I don’t even want to think about what happened in that room.” My risposte? “Nothing happened in that room!”

But: Even so: It’s an interesting real estate problem, isn’t it? It would be $500, at most, to repaint that room. And yet every buyer who has seen it will have been revolted. What’s the cash value of that revulsion? At least $15,000 off the comps — and it’s still not selling…

Lone Star Rising: Special Operators from Texas Target Suicidal West Coast States

THINK HARD

Brian Brady had a comment in the Oregon Suicide post and it got me thinking.   I had forwarded this news to some economic development clients of ours.  Nike would make a great Texas brand. I just pulled up some of the largest employers in Oregon and found a couple first rate candidates for Texas passports:

Advanced Navigation & Positioning Corporation (ANPC) We got a few folks from here to the moon and back.  We even knew where they were the whole time!  ANPC would surely find some kindred spirits here.

AFMS Transportation We have a bigger port, a couple of trains and a freeway or two, plus two major airports, and no small expertise in extraterrestrial travel if needed.  Houston was the first word uttered from the moon by man.

AVI BioPharma I have no idea what an antisense vaccine is, but I bet that there might be a place for these folks near the largest hospital complex in the world. and maybe they can get a breakthrough in recombinant RNA for some commonsense on the West Coast.

Avista Corp. Is an energy company.  My question for these folks is, “Why not come play in the bigs?”  Even if Avista is a green energy company, Texas leads in wind and everything else that keeps your shiny new max-iPad charged.

Fort Bend County near Houston has already gathered a couple $ million to market target to businesses in LA.  The hit teams are forming to swoop in to rescue the productive.  The numbers for relocating the whole business are compelling for an entrepreneur who is under assault by every government entity to whom he must pay tribute.

Why would a West Coast business owner consider moving to Texas? Bawld Guy likes bullet points so here we go:

  • Cost of housing: half.
  • Salaries let’s call it a push, unless you have union labor and then, as we say yipee ki yo!
  • Income tax- What’s that?
  • Welfare payroll levies reduced
  • Residential Property tax-It’s how we pay for stuff like non teacher union schools and non union road construction.
  • Business Property tax- We’re gonna give it back to you if Read more

OK to Good Enough to Great to Amazing to Oh My Freakin’ God!

Books on marketing and service — gotta love ’em. Most, at least in my view are best utilized after shredding — they’re so fulla crap they make stellar fertilizer. ‘Course I say that fully cognizant of the reality I’m pretty much BawldClueless when it comes to effective marketing, so I guess that review should be taken with a boatload of salt. I could spend a year studying it and still not know what real marketers have forgotten. Truth be told, most folks using the moniker, marketing specialist would be Von’s checkers if it wasn’t for the greater sucker theory working so well.

Do I sound bitter? 🙂 I was for a few days, but I’m over it.

I’ll confess to more than my share of marketing blunders, and openly acknowledge I’ve wasted more money on marketing over the last few years than even I can fathom. A few days ago I was lamenting this sorry fact with a friend, who made the oh so witty observation that if that cash had been kept under the mattress I’d now be able to buy several free and clear homes in the Phoenix area. A recent accounting shows just over $250K down the drain — and only in the last five years!

When first seeing that number, I began staring in the mirror while chanting “Learning curve…learning curve…learning curve…”

Do I still hire folks to, gulp, market for me? Yep. I’m not a DIY guy, nor do I kid myself that by reading books, posts, and watchin’ videos that somehow the marketing light will suddenly show me the way. Many can make that work, I’m not one of ’em.

I’m not blessed with the love of what I do for a living. Don’t get me wrong, I love much about it, just not the whole. I love the process of talkin’ with new prospects — diggin’ into their particular circumstances, mining for problems, then creating solutions. It’s like heroin to me. I need regular fixes or I tend to get cranky. I love seeing and hearing folks as they first begin to see the light at Read more

Why Being a Real Estate Agent Is Like Being a BaseBall Umpire

Ever umped a baseball game at any level? It’s a rush. You haven’t lived ’till some stud has winged a 95 mph fastball your way. It literally takes a couple of ’em before your brain adjusts to the velocity. First one I saw? Told the hitter and catcher it sounded good to me as my right arm went up signaling a strike. True story. Most umpires never get past youth ball, even fewer to high school, and only a trickle get the experience NCAA baseball offers.

There’s a cliché in baseball that says when the game’s over and you really didn’t notice much about the umpires, they did an excellent job. As is true with most clichés that’s a pretty accurate statement. In fact, the only reason folks should notice umps is if they’re able to do their job with a little flare, a little passion — but it’s not required or even necessary. Just deliver the goods.

Same goes for real estate agents. Just as the excitement is in the ball game itself, the excitement for your clients is moving into their new home — possibly after movin’ outa their old one. Our job is making sure the excitement happens the way it’s supposed to.

One of my favorite memories on the diamond was a day I was to ump the plate in a junior college game in a pretty highly talented league. JC’s don’t get four umps, just two. As you might imagine, with only two men, hustle and seamless, preordained teamwork is a must, not a luxury. There’s simply no room for anything short of that when you’re part of a two man team umpiring at the college level — even junior college. Anywho, in the second inning, my partner became ill, and had to leave.

Me ‘n You, Lord.

As luck would have it, things remain more or less quiet. I’m runnin’ around like crazy, but it’s doable. Before we resume the game, I call both head coaches to the plate for a quick powwow. I tell them in no uncertain terms I’ll be in no mood for Read more

From the Files of Captain Obvious: Five Fundamental Real Estate Business Truths

I. am. not. BawldGuy. And I don’t play one on this, or any other blog. Okay, now we’ve got that (not-so) deep dark secret out into the open… If you are approaching BawldGuy status, God Bless You, and keep on truckin’ and you go girl! You can move along, because this is for those of us who are working on real estate at the ground floor level.

I’ve been given the gift of time in 2009 and looking back and looking ahead, I see some obvious truths about the real estate business. Some of these are based on mistakes I’ve made, but as long as we learn from them, I’m okay with sharing.

Truth #5: I like twitter. I don’t like facebook. But who cares? Without a goaldriven plan to use either for a very specific reason, then I’m wasting time on both, and I’ve wasted time so you don’t have to. Use them to chat, or use them to market, or use them to sell, but understand the difference and if you are going to use them for business, have a plan and follow the plan. Don’t get sidetracked, and do stay focused. If you are a lender or a vendor then you might want to network with real estate agents, but if you are an agent, then stop talking water cooler and find people who can tell you to go to hell.

Truth #4: You don’t need social media to do a great job in real estate. You don’t need to  blog, or twitter. You don’t need to go to conferences. You can. You might learn a nugget or two, but it’s entirely unnecessary to your success, and it just as likely will be a huge waste of your time and energy.

Truth #3: To be successful in real estate, you need to meet as many people as possible. Lucky us, people are everywhere, and we can find them through any means- the method is really unimportant to getting to close. What’s Read more

Darth Vader With a Toothache – A Better 2010

Ever looked over at the agent down the hall and wondered how they get from home to the office without hands-on help? They usually didn’t get past the front door back in the 1960’s, at least in our offices. I remember vividly that you were tough or you found another place to work. Cream puffs generally didn’t get too far into Dad’s job interview before they knew they weren’t in Kansas anymore. There was no such thing as laser beams back then, unless he was starin’ right through ya.

Dad used to conduct what I’ll call no nonsense weekly meetings back in the mid-20th century. Attending my first one three days after my virgin day at the office was, um, eye opening. It was Tuesday, October 21, 1969. Dad was his usual toned down Zig Ziggler self, with undertones of Darth Vader nursin’ a toothache. It was the first time I’d ever seen how others perceived him as a boss.

They soaked in every word as if he was readin’ off the third tablet Moses lost while coming back down the mountain. Though I could believe it cuz he was hugely successful (1,000 sides/yr), and arguably charismatic, I wasn’t sure about ‘why’ he was viewed this way until much later. One thing for sure, you worked for him or you took up space elsewhere. Even though the firm did so many sides a year, he never had more than 28 full timers, complimented by a dozen or so part timers. To this day I’m convinced the profile of his typical agent was ‘assassin’.

This is all prelude to explaining how a one act pony like Dad (his words, but painfully accurate), went from zero to over a 1,000 sides yearly in just over a year. Ryan Hartman’s excellent post about dominating the market struck a deep chord with me. Not just because it reminded me of the ‘good ol’ days’, but because I think he may have found the key to the mint.

That aside, the plan, whatever it may be, is secondary to the combination of unflappable belief and consistent, Read more

Driveby Economics – $8,000 Price Cut?

I had coffee yesterday with a long time friend of mine who works for a local title company.   We were talking about a variety of things, including some of the new stuff I’m working on on the web.

The topic came around to the $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.   He said to me that he’s had 3 different Realtors tell him that on December 1, the value of all of their listings is going to drop by $8,000 each.

Let me say that again, on December 1, each of the houses that they have listed is going to drop in value by $8,000.   Why’s that?   Because the first time buyer credit is going away.

Now let’s look at a couple of things (according to this story):

  • It’s called a FIRST TIME HOME BUYER tax credit.
  • According to these Realtors, it has inflated (or kept up) the prices of homes by $8,000.  So does the buyer benefit or does the seller?
  • Somewhere less than 50% (according to the last stats I’ve heard) of the buyers qualify for the tax credit.
  • But 100% of the buyers are paying paying $8,000 more.
  • And the government is paying $43,000 for every additional sale we’re getting.

Now, do you really think that it’s such a good idea any more?

Oh, and in reality, the prices of the homes aren’t going to wait until December 1 to drop.   Realistically, if you haven’t signed a purchase agreement by Halloween, it’s going to be very difficult (but not impossible) to get the deal closed by the end of November.

All is not as simple as it seems.

Tom Vanderwell
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Am I being Paranoid about what the NAR is calling the “Recovery?”

Our helpful friends at the NAR have apparently sent out press releases about the increase in home sales in the second quarter being a sign of a “recovery.”

I saw this on MSN today (yes, I look at MSN):

WASHINGTON – U.S. home sales grew in the second quarter in 39 states, another sign that the ailing housing market is finally coming to life.

Total quarterly sales rose 3.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.76 million, from 4.58 million in the first quarter, but were still about 3 percent below a year ago, the National Association of Realtors said Wednesday. – MSN Home sales grew in second quarter in 39 states

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for a recovery.  I would love to see a recovery.  Did I mention that really strong sales would be great?  The issue for me is that sales that are still 3% below a year ago doesn”t look like a recovery to me.

Yes, sales are higher than the first quarter of 2009.  However, around here, second quarter sales are always higher than first quarter sales.  I would wager that third quarter sales will be above second quarter sales, as always, too.  But that doesn’t mean they will be above the third quarter of last year.

Help me here, what am I missing?  With help like this from the NAR, it’s no wonder folks don’t trust Realtors.

Makin’ Impressions — Being a Pro — Oh, and Lookin’ the Part

I’ve learned to expect a lackadaisical attitude about what makes a pro in the real estate business. What’s been surprising is the way something as basic as physical appearance has seemed to be unrelated to any particular generation. I’m talkin’ about how agents choose to dress while on the job.

So much is said, often with the stentorian tone and diction reminiscent of Charlton Heston’s role as Moses. “It’s all about being professional.” “The public is looking for the agent who ‘gets it’ — somebody who is a real pro from A to Z.”

Blah blah blah.

Look, I get it about untenable summer weather. I’ve been in Phoenix in August. It sucks like a turbo charged Dyson. But correct me if I’m wrong, agents in hot climes don’t have client conferences, sign contracts, or meet with prospects in the middle of the Costco parking lot at 1:30 in the afternoon. It’s my guess they’re meeting, if not in the office, somewhere the wonderful invention of air conditioning is in use.

You wanna make the impression on folks you’re a pro? Act like one. Have an office like one. Dress like one. Behave as if a bored housewife couldn’t do your job just as well with 13 hours training. Pretend you actually understand why the public sees real estate ‘pros’ in general as not professional at all. The level of denial I’ve observed both off and online is scary when it comes to this stuff. I’m sure there are jeans support groups.

Casual Friday? How ’bout Casual Decade?

A professional real estate broker/agent with a tie on, meeting a prospect in a well appointed office, demonstrating obvious knowledge, experience, and expertise, is perceived as a real estate professional.

I used to love it when I worked for several years in a huge national office. My office was designed by a pro. I was always professionally attired. When you arrived you were greeted by a very well dressed assistant, and led to either my personal office or a larger conference room if necessary. By the time a prospect had been in my office Read more