Tackle Real Estate

2012-01-24T14:50:00.000-08:00

Event registration for Sewer Scope & Party Line Sewers

Facebook Shut Down?!? Business Page For FaceBook

2011-10-10T09:37:00.001-07:00

Avoid a Facebook Shut Down! Don't post your real estate listings on your personal page! Post it on your BUSINESS Page. See this article on HuBConnected for the downlow. Has this happend to you? Let us know about it.

QR Codes

2011-07-30T13:45:00.000-07:00

Are you using QR Codes in all of your marketing? First, a QR Code is a bar code that with a smart phone the public can scan the code and get to your website, YouTube video, Facebook, Twitter, phone number, whatever you want.

Try this one out with your smart phone (be sure you downloaded the app).

Your QR Code should be on your business card, your flyers, your perma-flyer, and in all other kinds of marketing. Look at QR Stuff (has a free QR Code converter). There are several free QR Code options and they even have a Custom Design QR Code options for around $35. Buy a book about QR Code Marketing or watch a free video about QR Codes.

Share your ideas and uses of QR Codes...

Social Media vs Being Social

2010-09-19T22:23:00.000-07:00

The craze for the past few years has been all about Web 2.0 - Social Media (FaceBook, Linked In, Active Rain, Blogging, Twitter...) and how an integral way to build (or have any) business is to get everyone on your fan page, tweet about everything, and don't have a boring blog, but blog a lot. Many agents have been reluctantly getting on these sites and doing what they think they should be doing.... BUT where the heck is the business???

Real estate has and always will be a relationship business. If you have no real life relationships who the heck is going to follow you and your tweets or read your blog... no less give you any business? Social media is not going to create relationships unless you build them first. Have you read "The Power of Who"? One of the key themes is that you already know everyone you need to know to help you make your business succeed. It doesn't mean that you don't need to keep building relationships but the that ones you have will help you create the ones you need.

To begin building new relationships you need to take inventory of everyone, yes EVERYONE, you already know. You need to be in contact with these people... re-connect. This is one of the very powerful benefits of Facebook. Get your Fan Page started on Facebook (this will mean that you've started your Facebook page) and start posting stuff. Beef up your Facebook page so people from your past can find you. Start with high school, if you went to college, college. Start looking up old classmates and friend them. Catch up & keep in touch. Where did you used to work? Who did you like (or at least know)... find them. Were you in sports, have kids in school, a bar you hang out at... find people. Find every single person you know (and they don't hate you) and friend them. If they're not on Facebook help them set up an account and tell them how great it is (even if you hate it as much as I do). Build it up.

Now, that's the past. What about today? Social media helps those that are... social. This means you need to get out of your home... away from your computer and boob tube. You need to go to parties. You need to have parties. You need to join clubs or get more involved in the ones you already belong to. What do you like doing? Hiking, biking, skiing, playing cards, Scrabble, cooking, eating, volunteering, whatever it is do more of it and put yourself out there. Not sure what you like? Type in some key words to meetup.com or just google stuff that's going on in Portland. Beat Facebook at it's own game... search Facebook fan pages. Become a fan and "like" things. Like food? Find a restaurant opening. Take a class at PCC. Find events that are going on at the water front. DO SOMETHING. In person.

When you meet people, don't just give them your business card (be sure you do), but also ask them for their email and see if they're on Facebook, then friend them. If it's too soon in the relationship for them to want you on their Facebook page, then ask them to become your fan. You've got to put yourself out there. These aren't the times to be shy. As sales are still tanking you've got to do something that you haven't already been doing. The only way people are going to give you any business is if they know you're in the business and that you want their business (or their friends, family, collegues, neighbors, etc). The only way people will know you're in the business is if you TELL THEM.

Figure out creative ways to foster new relationships. Have parties, attend parties, create events like a plant sale, block party, or a car wash for a good cause; speak at events, offer free classes... Build your sphere. You need to see people outside of your computer. Get out there and GET SOCIAL. Don't be afraid to tell people what you do and why it's such a great time to buy real estate (ie: buyer's market, low interest rates).

Taking a New Listing - Portland OR

2010-08-22T14:10:00.000-07:00

After months of marketing, preparing, schmoozing, wining and dining, and in some cases begging, you now have your FIRST LISTING APPOINTMENT. Oh, crap! Now what?!? What the hell was I thinking – I can’t do this – I’ve not had any training for this. Well I have, but what the hell and I doing? Where do I begin?

First Breathe. Then read this to calm your nerves http://www.edhat.com/site/tidbit.cfm?id=2581 or this one http://www.trulia.com/blog/paula_swayne/2010/01/a_day_in_the_life_of_a_realtor and have a little entertainment. Now that you’re done screwing around, let’s get to business.

Let’s get two file folders started for these clients. The first is for you and everything about them and their home and the other is for the client and everything you’re going to give them. First, let’s order a trio and a marketing packet from your favorite title company. If you don’t have someone in mind, talk to your marketing rep and others in your office about who is the not only the best escrow person (the person your clients are going to sign everything with at the end of the deal) but also who has the best services for when you need extra help (like on challenging short sales, title issues, marketing info on special type of properties, etc.). The trio will tell you if the people that you are talking to actually own the property they want you to sell. It will give you some basic information about the property that you can verify with the seller. The marketing packet (when available from your title company) will give you information about the neighborhood and other useful info to review – especially when you’re getting started. Some will even give you comps to help you get an idea of what’s out there.

You want to pull up the home on RMLS to verify if it’s currently on the market, if it has ever been on the market and how the marketing looked with prior agents, if any. You can pull up the listing history and the tax records. Of course it’s most helpful if it has previously been listed, but don’t worry if it hasn’t. It will give you the opportunity for a fresh prospective about the home. When you pull up the map, you can select demographics and area information (it will be better when the new demographics for 2010 come out, right now they’re quite old). You can also see where local area schools are.

Pull up COMPS. If you don’t know how to do this you better high tail it into RMLS for a class or two. They’re FREE, very helpful, offered often, and have I mentioned very helpful? You want to be sure you’re looking at SOLD homes in the last 3-6 months. Any older and they really won’t work as the market is currently on a downward trend. You also want to list ALL of the homes for sale in the area so your sellers can see how much inventory there is out there and what they can get in the price range of their home.

Then you want to see what’s out on the net about the neighborhood and the property. Check out www.zillow.com and www.cyberhomes.com just to see what they’re saying the property is worth. Don’t go by this because it’s often WRONG. But, this is likely what the sellers and/or future buyers are seeing. Be sure you google the property and neighborhood too. You can look at www.portlandmaps.com and www.maps.google.com go to “street views” so you can do a “drive-by” the property if you’ve not already been out that way. On PortlandMaps.com check out the permit history, zoning, and aerial maps. You may want to include some of this in your packet (especially if there are open permits that should be addressed before the listing, or if there are interesting things to see on the aerial).

There’s a pretty little CMA report you can pull through the RMLS, but I recommend you come up with your own packet to give your sellers. If you’re short on time you can get away with this, but you’re really missing out on an opportunity to market yourself and share with your prospective clients who you are and how you work.

Your SELLER BOOK – This can be as easy or as intense as you are. A simple format should include your bio / “Realtor” resume – something that talks about you and your career as a Realtor. Include your contact info, company info, etc (some like this on every page, others like it at the beginning and end). Your bio might be a challenge if this is your first listing appointment and you’ve sold nothing. But, you have some kind of history and you bring something to the table – even if it’s just your looks. If you can’t come up with something about yourself – something you know a whole lot about – how are you ever going to dream up something wonderful about the crappy little fixer you’re about to list? You need to sell yourself in this bio – how is it that you’re going to help your seller with what you already know? You’ll also want to have, not in any order, what a CMA is, how you help a seller determine the price, why it’s important to price it right from the start, something about how the listing process and sales process works (including what can go wrong and how you’ll help during those times), why use a Realtor (and specifically you), how you’re going to market their home (maybe even samples of a flyer, post card, website listing, what sites they’ll be on, etc), testimonials (this may come later), how you get paid, how the market works, what to do to get their home ready for sale, staging and “pre-packing” (aka decluttering) tips, what to do for an open house, and of course how to get ready for moving day – because when they list with you, they need to start packing soon. You can have a set “seller book” and then have the pricing info separate, or the pricing can be integrated with your book. You will have your own interests, style and flare to how this packet gets put together, but you should have something. You can add and subtract as you feel comfortable. If nothing else it will be something with your contact info on it so they know how to get a hold of you when they’re ready to list. It’s a good idea to put this entire document in a pdf so that if you’re working with an out of state seller, or if the seller is tech savvy you can email them the packet after you’ve met with them so they have it in their digital records. Some agents have this book on their website freely or accessed with a password. Even if you have it on your site, be sure you take it with you to the presentation – remember this is your marketing piece. If they want to save trees you can give them that options, but be sure you have something to leave behind with information about you, how to contact you and what value you’ve determined would be a good starting place for the sale of their home (remember it’s their decision what to sell for, you’re just telling them what’s out on the market right now that compares to their home).

To see the property first or not to see??? One question that comes up often is if there should be a “pre-appointment” viewing or not. How can you figure what the comps are if you’ve not seen the home yet? Well, this is where your experience comes in or not. Newer agents generally want to see the home first. I’m not saying this is a mistake, but you should be able to come up with something without seeing the home. You’ll know a lot just by the tax information, anything they’ve shared with you so far, and what you’ve found online. Go drive by their home and see homes in the area that are similar in size and era (the vacant ones are the easiest, but if you need to make appointments for the others). If there are photos from the last time it listed, even better. If you get to the home and it’s completely different than you expected, then you need to let them know that. On the other hand, some very experienced agents will not do a CMA unless they first see the home. If you can figure out a way to pull this off then, great. If they’re meeting with other agents and they don’t first need to see the home that can be good or bad for you depending on how you explained this to the seller.

Always assume they’re going to list with you right then and there. After seeing your pretty face and hearing what you have to say, why wouldn’t they? Have all of the paperwork ready to go. It’s made really simple with the RMLS and OREF forms (available with a link in RMLS). Again, if you don’t know what I’m talking about you better attend an RMLS class. In addition to the sales contract you need all kinds of other forms. What they are depends not only on the type of property, but also your office policies. Your office should be able to give you a sample package or at least tell you what forms you need. Often there is a checklist with all of the documents outlined. Most forms you’ll find on RMLS/OREF, but others you’ll need to get from your office site. You might want to set up some of your own – again depending on what your office has available. You should have a form that gathers all of the clients information, like names, their address (which may be different than the property address), kids & pets names, birth dates, and anything else you’re keeping track of in your database or want to know because it’s helpful to you. Also a form about what they owe and who they owe on the property – especially in these times you want to know if this will be a short sale (or is close to), and a form for the improvements they’ve done on the property since they purchased the home (with dates of when things were updated like the furnace, water heater, roof, etc), who the utility companies are, and what they love about their home – why did they buy it (special features, neighborhood, etc) as this will prove helpful when you’re marketing the home.

You may want to practice this presentation on a friend. If your best friend doesn’t own a house, go pick a vacant home that you can practice on. Or if there is a for sale by owner, practice on them (or at least with their home). Pull everything just as if you’re listing their home. If you can get mentoring from someone in your office before your own blessed event, all the better. Go on their presentation or have them come with you (depending on the client – best if it’s someone you already know or family). Do your first three listings with an experience agent. Give them 20-30% for their help. It will be worth it – especially if something hairy comes up (which something usually does).

When you’re in the actual meeting be calm and confident. This is the biggest asset they have and they’re going to entrust you with the sale of it. They have a lot riding on this. If they don’t know you they will likely interview other agents. How are you going to differentiate yourself from them? Better yet, how are you going to market their home that will get a buyer faster and at a higher price than your competition? One way new agents think give them the edge is to offer a cut-rate commission. If you can’t negotiate a standard or above standard commission, how are you going to negotiate the sale of their home? You’re going to work hard on this listing and sale, you should get paid well for the work you’re doing. And if you’re working with a mentor you’re really going to appreciate that you didn’t short change yourself. Other agents think that some listing is better than no listing, even if it’s not going to pay well, it will give you the experience you seek. This is a decision that you and your managing principal broker need to agree on (some brokerages have rules, so be sure you know what they are if any).

When you’re done, be sure you send a thank you card (not just and email, but a real thank you card). Be sure you let them know how much you loved their home (or at least what parts you liked about it if you didn’t like it) and how great it will be to work with them. Show your excitement for their home and the prospects of selling it. Remind them what is unique about you and why you’re the best choice. Put your best foot forward and if you don’t get the listing, don’t be shy about asking why they chose the other agent over you. You never know, they may end up not liking that agent at the end of the listing term and call you for the relist. If nothing else you’ll learn what to do differently the next time around.

Holding an Open House - an Intro

2010-02-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

Hold open houses in the neighborhood you'd like to work in (or property types you'd like to work with). It does not need to be your listing for you to hold an open house. It is better if the property is listed with the company you work for, but that's also not a requirement so long as you have the listing agent and owner's permission. Make sure all of your marketing has who actually has the listing (or what ever other requirements there may be). You'll find buyers and sellers that like the neighborhood or property type you like.

Now, to make open houses work for you, you canNOT just stick a sign in the yard and hope a bunch of buyers/sellers will show up. The more you work this, the better the results. Start 2 weeks (minimum) in advance (unless you're really quick at getting things done and know your way around a computer really well). Make sure there's not something special going on the weekend you decide to have the open house - like super bowl Sunday or some other big event that will keep people away from an open house on your Sunday.

ALERT THE INTERNET WORLD: Let's say you have NO money, zero, zilch. Then you get to work a little harder and smarter. When you get permission to market, be sure they know you will be marketing the heck out of this thing. You should run the marketing by the listing agent (and your PB) before it goes out just to be sure there are no errors. Post this listing to Postlets, RealBird, vFlyer, BearPrinting, and any other free sites you can (go to TackleRealEstate.com for more ideas). Some of these have open house features where you can post your open house and buyers can search for them. Be sure the listing agent posts the open house on RMLS and puts your contact info. To get going on these online listing sites you will need the following information/items:
-set up a good email account for yourself that you will use to create accounts and receive inquires. It’s best to set up a marketing account that can then forward to your main internet account. You may have myagentname@mywebsite.com but it will benefit you to have myagentwebsite@gmail.com (or other service provider). If you have control over your own email, then you might want to set up something like craigslist@mywebsite.com, postlets@mywebsite.com, etc. this way you know where the leads (and spam) are coming from.
-create the accounts (your photo, company logo, company info, brief bio, your web address, etc)
-listing info (MLS# and info, pictures, write-up info, it’s helpful if you’ve seen the home)
-create more accounts to post to (once you have posted a listing to the above you can then post to and these generally don’t need as much info)
If you have (and you should have) Facebook (best on your fan page), Twitter, linked in, active rain, a blog, your real estate website, etc be sure you post the opening there. Some of the listing sites offer widgets that can be utilized in lots of places. (Widgets are a bit more advanced and we’ll deal with that later.) From Postlets, RealBird, vFlyer, BearPrinting, and others you can post to craigslist, backpage, kijiji, ebay, google, etc. With Craigslist you should be able to post each version each day you post. You can generally post every 48-72 hours. These are all free and you should do ALL of them. Okay, you alerted the internet that you're holding an open house, now...

If you can print flyers (Bear Printing will print nice 1 sided color flyers for .19 each, or post cards for .12 each) then take the flyers to at least 20 or 30 neighbors (especially if you like their home). Yes, go to each house in the neighborhood, knock on their door, and tell them you'll be at the open house this weekend and if they know anyone who's been wanting to move to the neighborhood now's the time. It's a good idea to visit the house ahead of time and take your own photos to use for marketing - when possible (try and get them from the listing agent if not). If you do have $80-100 then you should also send post cards to the neighborhood with your picture on it. Send post cards to your sphere too or at least send them an email (more advanced… use mailchimp-free, constant contact, icontact, or other email system that you can see who's opened your email).

Make connections with others in the industry. Mortgage brokers, inspectors, contractors, title and escrow people, stagers, and more. Some will financially support your efforts if you additionally market them and/or their business. For example, you may be able to have the mortgage broker pay for the flyers that you prepare and give out if the back of the page or part of the front has their contact information and photo/logo. They may provide the food or other items of benefit.

The Monday before the open house, be sure there is an open house sign saying when the open house will be (ie: Sunday 2-4pm). On the day of, pull the flyers out of the box and bring them inside (or put them on your car seat so you remember to put them back when you're done). Have flyers prepared that have the home information on one part, your contact info on another (especially if you have a lead capture option on your website), and then include a list of what other properties in the area are available in a similar style and price range. Prepare a sign in sheet that asks for their name, if they're working with an agent, and their email and phone number. Have a stack of your cards available. After the open house be sure to thank the listing agent and be sure to give them the feedback you received about the house, including how many parties came through and if there is any interest in the property.

Be mentally prepared that you may not have anyone show up. It happens… even if you market the heck out of the property. It could be so over priced, in a bad location, on a day that your target market for this home is out doing something else. It could be that everyone that comes in is already working with an agent. If it happens to you, find a better home to hold open on the next weekend. Ask more questions, review the history of the home. Pick a different segment. Ask others why you may not have had a draw. Sometimes you can do everything right and no one shows up. This is the life of an agent, and it happens.

If you were able to capture leads email addresses or mailing addresses be sure you write to them and thank them for coming to the open house. If you have a drip system, be sure you add them to the appropriate one(s). A drip campaign is an automated system that emails, at an interval you set up, an email of your writing (or the systems writing if that’s what you purchased). So if you met a first time homebuyer, you might have the system send 4-6 emails over the next 3 to 4 months about tips for buying a home.

What else can you do to prepare for an open house or have available to visitors? Think about what you're already good at. If you're crafty, can you do create something to give to visitors to remember who you are and the home they've seen? If you can bake or make candy, then have little packages with your card attached and give them away. If you have value added information like the 10 biggest mistakes buyers make when buying a home or getting a loan that they can sign up for and you can email to them right after the open house. If you have a drip system option with your website or through mailchimp or other email system then be sure to add your visitors to your system.

Make sure you let everyone you know in town knows about your open house. Ask them to come and support you (especially if you’re a new agent). Having food there is always a plus (and I don’t mean just cookies and lemonade). Talk to some of the agents you’ve met in the office and ask them if they’ll stop by for the added support. If you’re working with a mortgage broker be sure you invite them too. Have your family and friends come (make sure they know the rules, like leave you to the real potential clients when they come in). Having lots of people to the open house creates more activity and gives you practice.

What other things can you do to make the marketing a success? How else can you get a draw to the open house? Brainstorm with others or ask experienced agents what they do. Google your options. Go to real estate websites like Realtor.net and other sites that might offer some helpful info. Check back at TackleRealEstate.com for more help.

2010-02-21T16:35:00.000-08:00

So what would I do if I were a new agent just getting started or if last year I didn't close at least $2m in sales?

First, there are so many ways that you can decide to work your business. You need to find your own grove and do what works well for you. Some may like cold calls and knocking on expired and FSBO doors, others may prefer to write blogs and work with a small group of people. BUT, you've got to do something. As a parent you may tell your kids that after they TRY a veggie and they don’t like it they get to pick two veggies that they don't have to eat, but all the other veggies the must eat. Same thing here. If you don't do something, you'll get the results that you put into it... NOTHING. So eat your veggies.

These ideas are not in any particular order. And just because you've done some of these things, it doesn't mean you'll be selling $2m from day one. You've got to work your business for your business to work for you.

KNOW WHERE YOU’RE GOING: Before you can get to where you're going you need to know where you want to get. Do you know what you want? One of the easiest ways to track how well you're doing is to pick a dollar amount in either sales commission or sales volume. So you want to gross about $50k in commissions a year, you'll need about $2m in sales ($2m times average commission less your split). That would be about 6 sales per year (depending on the average sales price of the properties you want to work with). What's important in figuring out what you want, you need to know what can get in your way of getting it and then figuring out how you're going to overcome these obstacles. Some obstacles you can prepare for, others jump at you when you least expect it. But as you get started, you know what's in your way. If you're experienced, you can look back and see some of what got in your way.

There are people thriving in this economic environment, so you don't get to use this economy as your excuse, but it is something to be aware of and figure out how you will be a value to others.

OK... Here we go

LEARN MORE: If you're new or not making $2m a year, you need to learn a thing or two. Attending classes at your office, with RMLS, PMAR, title companies, etc. are IMPORTANT. Just being around other agents that are doing things will help you as you are trying to find business or deal with the business you get. You can never know too much.

BROKER OPENS/TOURS: If you're new or haven't been out in a while, it's time to got to some broker opens. These generally happen on Tuesdays from about 10am until 2pm. Some have food :o) something good for new agents that are starving (or if you didn't sell $2m you're probably starving too). If there is a neighborhood you like that's the neighborhood to go to broker opens. If you're working during the week, then go to the open houses... just let the agent know you're an agent and don't bug them when they have real business there (even if you’re in the middle of a deep conversation). Some opens are so dead agents will eat up your time because they're bored to death. This is business... not social hour so check out the place ask about whatever it is you want to know about and then move on. Many open houses are only 2 hours... but run anywhere between 11am and 4 or 5pm on Sundays. When you go to open houses it's so you will get familiar with the current market and activity. How long have the homes been on the market, are they getting good or bad feedback, what's good and what's bad about the property/neighborhood? Everyone should be able to accomplish this task.

OPEN HOUSES: Hold open houses in the neighborhood you'd like to work in (or property types you'd like to work with). It does not need to be your listing for you to hold an open house. It is better if the property is listed with the company you work for, but that's also not a requirement so long as you have the listing agent and owner's permission. Make sure all of your marketing has who actually has the listing (or what ever other requirements there may be). You'll find buyers and sellers that like the neighborhood or property type you like. Now, to make open houses work for you, you can NOT just stick a sign in the yard and hope a bunch of buyers/sellers will show up. The more you work this, the better the results. For more about holding open houses read the blog about open houses.

WEBSITE: If you don't have a website, you need one. Even if you have no money, you need a website. If you go to Godaddy.com you can buy your domain name for $10. If you go to promotionalcodes.com or promotioncodes.com you can find $3 off most days. If you set up a free wordpress.com blog you can then direct your domain to wordpress or other blog account (like blogger that is also free). While this may not be the perfect solution, you can at least have a website, let people know you exist and that you're a pro. While most profession canned websites run about $50-80 a month (depending if you have IDX or not), you can have a presence without the $600-1,000 annual expense. If you already have a website, you should also have a blog. If you're not busy doing sales then you should be figuring out ways to make money and having people discover you. There are forums you can join and answer people's real estate questions. Many are free and you can get your name out. Be sure you always post a link to your website so you can increase your SEO visibility.

DATABASE: If you haven't listed everyone you know in a database, this makes for a great project. You can open a free batchblue account and hold up to 200 people in it for FREE. Start putting in their name, phone number, address, email address, facebook/twitter accounts in your system (you can add more stuff to it like the birthdays, kids names, etc. but don't get overwhelmed with all the stuff!). If you're afraid of a system, then put it in an Excel or other spreadsheet (a free spreadsheet system is available at openoffice.org). Think about what you want to send them 3-6 times a year. Since you have all this time on your hands right now, go ahead and start creating the pieces - email and hardcopy. When you look at them down the road when you're ready to send them, you'll see how much you've changed, grown, learned since you put the pieces together. This database is vital to your business. Keep adding to it and keep it up to date.

RECONNECT: If you're new or have been out of touch to your sphere, it's important you let them know what you're doing these days. Let people know you are interested in being introduced to people that are interested in buying a home or selling their current home... or for any of their real estate needs. How do you let them know? Send them a letter and include your business cards (it helps to have one in the envelope that has your card attached to a magnet). Send them an e-blast (make sure you use something like mailchimp or other email system that allows you to see who's opened your email). Invite them to your blog for information about the housing market or other useful information (if you are in fact offering a useful blog). Knock on their door and say hi. Invite them to coffee or to see your new office. Post on Facebook, linked in, active rain and let people know what you're doing.

HOBBY: What do you enjoy doing? Find a club or group that you can participate in that is not real estate related. You can find groups at meetup.com (free), craigslist, and other online communities. Just type in what you like and add the city or zip code and something will pop up. Make sure it's in person. If you like poker, don't do online poker, get out and play with friends or others. If you're a mom or cyclist or hiker/biker, there are tons of activities you can get involved in and have fun with and also expand your database. If you've not read the Power of Who or the Tipping Point, these are some good books to read so you can see how important it is keep in contact with people and meet new friends. Networking is important, both on a social level and a business level.

MILLION DOLLAR PRODUCERS: Every year they post who the million dollar producers are. If you’ve not already met someone who produces more than you (or produces what your goal is) then it’s time to meet one. Talk to your principal broker or some of the agents in the office until you find one that is willing to talk to you. Take him or her out for coffee or lunch and pick their brain. Ask them for three things they think you should be doing right now… and then do them!

This is a long blog and there is more that can be done… but you’ll just have to stay tuned for the next round… for now, do at least one of the above, and then another.

Then check back to TackleRealEstate.com for more stuff as it will open more doors.

Short Sale Listings - How are they different?

2010-02-20T18:42:00.000-08:00

This is a question that comes up often. There is really not much different than taking a regular listing except that it takes longer (and more of your time and energy), you've got an extra party to deal with (that isn't really helpful), and you've got to get personal about your client's financial situation that you cannot pass on to a lender. You do NOT need a short sale "expert" (or specialty short sale company) to handle your short sale. Really. You can do this on your own. If it's your first, just be honest with your client.

What to do first? Find out if you're clients want to stay in the house or if they're wanting to let the home go. This is important. There are lots of options for people that want to stay in their homes and you wan to make sure they've exausted all of them before you take the listing. If they're ready to move, are they really ready? Will they do the work it's going to take to get the place sold (fill out and obtain the lender required documents, show the property as needed, sign offers, etc.).

Short sale commissions are all over the place. I personally believe I give great service and especially with the time and energy involved with a short sale I charge 7% in most cases. The lenders will typically draw a line in the sand at 6% (it used to be lower). Few agents want to deal with the headache of a short sale (on either the buying or selling side) so if you're offering a low commission to the buyers agent are you really creating a draw to your short sale listing? Not so much. No reason to add to the market time by having a low commission.

If you're client is ready to let it go be sure they are aware this process will take some time (hopefully less time after 4/5/2010). Give them the additional disclosures offered by OREF (Short Sale Summary and a blank copy of the Short Sale Addendum) in addition to the traditional listing documents. Obtain a copy of the loan document - at least the current mortgage statement with the account number(s) and contact numbers. They are likely already delinquent so get copies of any letters they've received (it will have helpful contact information and maybe even information about how to do a short sale with this particular lender). Have the client(s) sign a third party authorization form (just a letter from the borrower/client stating that you've been given the authority to talk to the lender about their account). If it has not already been done request the "short sale packet" from the lender. Some lenders don't have a packet, just a laundry list of things they want (bank statements, pay stubs, tax returns, a budget, a hardship letter, etc).

So the fun part. You will need to dig into this packet of financial stuff with your client to be sure you have a completed packet to submit to the lender. You will need to know what a budget looks like if the lender didn't provide a form. You may need to explain to them what a hardship letter is and ensure it has all of the components that a lender will want to know (they lost their job, reduction in pay, medical issues, divorce, whatever and how it makes it that they cannot now or into the future pay their mortgage). Depending on the number of loans being affected and the lenders being affected you will need to figure out who to send a completed packet to. Some companies make it really easy, others not so much. We're hoping that after 4/5/10 that it will be more clear and the process more streamlined, but for now you might need to become an investigator. Get the 3rd party authorization form off right away so you can being figuring this out.

Once you send off the 3rd party authorization (at least 3-4 business days later) call the lender and be sure they got it. Then start asking questions. Ask them what their particular process is from start to finish. Get any contact numbers you can and record EVERY contact you make with the lender - date/time, the phone number, their name/id, fax number, email and what they've told you. The stories will change as you go along so you want to be sure your file is well documented with who said what when.

Often lenders want the home listed for 90 days before they will consider a short sale. If the borrower/seller has been making payments all along it's going to be hard for the lender to agree to a short sale - why would they as they're making the payments. It is not your place to consult them on that topic, but it's a reality you should be aware of when taking the listing. Don't start the listing low as the lenders will want to see that an effort was made to get market value, then show the progression to the price that brought in the offer. You may need to provide the documentation to show how you came up with the listing price (copy of the CMA).

Some lenders will not allow you to submit the packet before having an offer. Others encourage you to submit the packet before an offer comes in. Some lenders want all offers, others only want the "best" offer (which isn't always possible because you can have in the only offer and then you get a new offer that is $5k-$10k more in two weeks... after you've already submitted the initial offer that took months to get). Again, with the new processes going into affect 4/5/10 it will hopefully be easier for 85% of the short sales.

Some lenders are moving their processes for the short sales to the same systems they use for REO's. With Bank of America for example, you can use Equator.com and start the short sale process right on line. You claim the listing (report yourself as the listing agent), submit the 3rd party authorization, they contact the borrower/seller and things move forward from there. You can then upload all of your documents online instead of trying to figure out what fax number it needs to go to. We hope to see more of this kind of system with other lenders... especially after 4/5/10.

If you've not already started, you need to take on short sale listings. Do not run. Do not hide. Learn and make money. If you've done listings, you can do a short sale. It will take some extra time and patience, but just do it. If you do half a dozen of them and you still hate them, continue doing them anyway. It's about 1/3 the business that's out there and the process is getting easier.

Take as many classes as you can about short sales, read what you can, and ask lots of questions from people that know what their doing. Once you get going you'll see it's not this big ugly beast - it's just one more thing that you as an agent do for your clients.

You can do this.

Requesting Feedback After an Agent Showing

2008-07-21T23:03:00.000-07:00

After an agent shows a home do you contact him/her for feedback? On a recent pole it showed that agents are more apt to provide feedback when they receive an email.

Today I received one of those emails. It was a house I saw over the weekend, along with about 20 others. Since I like to get feedback when I request it, I went out of my way to log on to the MLS, look up the address and try an remind myself of this particular home. The email you send requesting feedback should be helpful. Don't just include the address. Consider adding the price, beds, baths, some great feature about the home and most importantly - photos! If there is something in particular you want to know - ask it.

There are services out there that can help you get feedback. I've mentioned on www.TackleRealEstate.com that I love www.epropertysites.com. One reason I like it is because it has a feedback feature. Just enter the contact information for the agent and it sends him/her an email requesting feedback. Your client can enter the information and see the results! What I don't like about it is that you can't customize the feedback questions and the receiver of the email has to link to something else to give feedback - something I really don't like doing.

If you do nothing else when you send a feedback request - include a pdf of the RMLS listing OR a link to your marketing (Postlets, vFlyer, RealBird, etc.). Note that if someone doesn't recognize your email it might just get deleted if there is an attachment vs. a link.

When you get a request for feedback - be kind - try to get back to the agent promptly. Also, give good feedback. If the cat smell is bad in the bathroom - say so. If it's staged to sell - say so. If the stairs are too steep for your client - say so. Give feedback to the agent that they can use to help the seller know what's going on and what obstacles they may have selling their home.

Let's sell houses!

Tackle Real Estate - Portland, Oregon

2008-07-07T23:26:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the Tackle Real Estate Blog!

The website http://www.tacklerealestate.com/ is being developed for Realtors in Portland, Oregon to have a one-stop shopping for all of their Real Estate needs!

This is a huge undertaking and I am looking for partners in my part-time endeavor. If you are a real estate enthusiast and happen to want to help Realtors - Please contact me!

I'm offering free ad space until July 2009 for those that cater to Realtors. I'm looking for wholesome, decent people looking to truly help agents achieve their goals.

Contact me for more information.