IBR Realty Blog

One ringy dingy......two ringy dingy........

Hi folks. Today is your lucky day. I'm going to make you some serious money. As you know, I love writing about real estate to try and help my peers in their business. I do this because I learned a long time ago that the fastest way to success is to bring others up with you. So....I share what I know.

I spent today riding around Poinciana. My normal kind of day, did a photo shoot on a new listing, checked on my vacant listings to make sure they were OK and had to stop at one of my listings to remove my sign and give the key back to the Seller. We decided, that the way the market is right now, it was best to take a breather over the Holidays and get back at it after the New year. They needed a break and I needed a break. No biggie. I'll re-list them when the time is right.

Anyway, I'm writing this post to give you a very important tip that will increase your business substantially....at very little cost to you. It's the simplest thing you can do and I can track about 50% of my business as a direct result of doing it.

So here goes......the best real estate advice you will EVER receive, bar none. Are you ready? Here are the steps involved.

• Forward ALL of your phone numbers to your cell phone.

• Go to the office supply store and purchase a Bluetooth for about $50.00.

• Wake up every morning and plug this Bluetooth into your ear.

• Cut your cell phone on and then...............

ANSWER YOUR DAMN PHONE!!!!!.

Sounds simple doesn't it? Then why do so many REALTORS® have a hard time with this?

I had three potential Sellers call me today while I was riding around Poinciana doing my stuff. All three were calling off my expired letter. And all three hired me over the phone. Why? Because I answered it!

All three went on and on about their previous REALTORS® and how they could never reach them and how they never heard from them. All three told me they knew how bad the market was and they knew they needed to reduce their prices. All three said the only issue they had was lack of communication from their REALTOR®.

Isn't that amazing? Three very good Sellers with three very good properties, that all expired and will soon be mine, just because their REALTORS® never answered their phones and never communicated with their Sellers.

What's worse is, I hear this from just about every Seller I talk with that was listed previously. Folks, if you want to be a listing agent, you MUST learn good communication habits. There is no excuse for you to take a listing and then abandon your Seller. It is the fastest and surest way to be a failure in real estate. Sellers are not stupid. They know this is a difficult time to sell a house. All they really want is for someone to keep them in the loop and talk to them. They want to know their REALTOR® is doing everything they can to get the property sold.

So go buy that Bluetooth today. Get in the habit of answering the phone when it rings. Also, while you are riding around between appointments use that time to call your Sellers and let then know what's going on. Let me give you another little trick. If you know your Sellers work schedule, you can almost always call when you know you will get a voicemail, that way it only takes about minute to leave a quick update. Heck....you could do it everyday!!! They'll call you back if they need more information and the good thing is, you'll answer!! At least I know I will. Will you?

Broker Bryant Real Estate Ramblings

Examining Myths: Crummy Markets Mean a Short Sale Extravaganza!

With the recent events in the mortgage industry & in most of the markets around the country, many homeowners are left upside down on their homes, and unable to sell.  This is one of the real dangers of homeownership.  While we (real estate professionals) all tout the many advantages of owning a home, and primarily that “real estate historically appreciates,” getting stuck upside down on a home is a scary proposition…because you’re stuck in your home.

In markets like these, real estate agents & brokers also get a little scared.  Fewer homes are selling, and fewer commissions are earned.  Many get out of the business, and many begin marketing “creative solutions,” & “creative opportunities,” which includes the short sale.  Short sales as a subject really started popping up a few months ago, and it’s really increased – it looks like we’re on the left hand side of the bell curve.

Everyone knows that some Realtors love to puff the advantages of anything that will help them earn – let’s analyze some of the myths that are now being touted, and that we’ll see more of in the future.

Myth #1

“Short Sales Are a Great Investment“

A short sale, by definition, is a situation where the bank is cutting their losses in order to avoid the costly foreclosure process.  The bank is getting screwed, and they will try to cut their losses as close as possible – which means they ask for multiple BPO’s before they’ll agree to a sales price.  Multiple agents/brokers, who are all vying for listings from the bank, have given their expert valuation of the property.  The chance that the listing price will come in 20% below market or lower (which is the minimum to make a decent profit) is pretty slim.

Myth #2

“The Bank Will Cooperate With My Short Sale”

When trying to work out a short sale, you’re dealing with the bank’s loss mitigation department.  Loss mitigation will typically not talk to you unless you’re 60 days past due or more.  After you’ve crossed this bridge, they will discuss a short sale, but you’ll sit on hold for hours before getting anywhere.  However, the real problems begin when you finally have an offer to present to the bank.  While many banks’ loss mitigations departments will respond to an offer in a timely fashion, many don’t.  Horror stories of 1 month plus responses from LM abound.

Myth #3

“A Short Sale Will Save My Credit“

Selling short to save your credit is the biggest myth of all.  While a short sale is slightly better than a foreclosure, it’s like the difference between getting hit by a train or getting hit by a bus (thanks Saodavi.)

Since you have to wait until you’re 60 days late to speak with loss mitigation, your score will have already dropped ~50-100 points.  When the property does sell, it still reflects as a short sale on your credit – your credit report will read “settled for less than amount due.”  This is a huge red flag for any future lender, and most lenders treat short sales exactly the same as a foreclosure, i.e. they won’t lend you money until a certain # of years has passed.  So…you’re chance of bouncing back from a short sale to buy a new house a year down the road is extremely slim.

With that said, there are agents who do specialize in short sales & are experts at dealing w/ LM, and there are instances where you can take advantage of a short sale to make a profit.  However, the chances for profit are few & far between (once they hit the MLS, forget about it,) & there are just as many (or more) agents claiming seller short sale assistance who don’t know their something-hole from their  elbow.

Eric Bramlett

Checklist Mentality

When a house goes up for sale, the troops line up.  There’s checklists to follow.  Everything is done in order.  As it’s done, it gets checked off.  Do it once, and you realize immediately you’ve got to have a list, otherwise something falls through, gets forgotten. 

I’ve got a list for the listing presentation.  A list for after the listing is taken.  A list of the disclosures needed.  A list of who to call for what service, inspection, test and repair.  A list of who shows the house, when they show it and what their remarks are.  A list of the advertising to be utilized, how much it costs, when it’s done, who it’s done with.   A contract comes in, there’s a list of what the client’s needs are.  Who the mortgage person is.  What the buyer’s qualifications are.  A list of contact information for every participant; email, cell phone, home phone, fax, home address, work address.  A list of all of the contingency removal dates.  A list of what the client is responsible for; obtaining insurance, transferring funds, signing documents.  A list of inspection dates.

Everybody knows their job.  That’s how they got on the list.  It’s got to be efficient.  Inefficiency wastes everybody’s time.

In every transaction, I can only hope that the agent on the other side has their list.  In this case, I learn right away she doesn’t.

I’m representing a buyer in an unusual transaction; a mobile home.  Unusual for my market.  The agents’ responsibilities are the same.  Contract.  Disclosures.  Inspections.

I write the contract.  It gets accepted.

That’s when I know that she doesn’t have a list. 

Disclosures.  We wait.

In order to locate inspectors, I call my list who refers me to someone on their list. 

We receive a couple of pages.  We wait.  We receive a couple of more pages.

I call the title/escrow company on my list.  They don’t handle mobile homes.  I call someone on their list.

The contingency deadline for the delivery of disclosures from the seller passes.  Representing the buyer, I provide the seller’s agent with 24 hours to perform their end of the contract, or the buyer walks.  Easier said than done.  The buyer has invested $900 in inspection costs.

24 hours pass.  We get all but one page of one disclosure.  I write another document reminding the agent that the buyer, who once had 12 days for inspections, now has an additional 5 because of their delay.

The title company calls:  I want to send closing documents to the buyer.  Sorry, no can do.  Just got the disclosures.  Inspections were stopped because unless the seller provides them, we have no deal.

I get a call from the buyer.  I got all this paperwork from the title company.  What is this?   I call the title company:  I told you not to send those documents.  How did you prepare the HUD if you don’t have matching closing instructions?  DUH!

The 21 days from start to finish has now turned into 30 plus.  I get an email today from the agent wondering why we’re not closing escrow today.  DUH!  Where has she been all this time?

The title company emails her: I don’t know when we’re closing.  We haven’t gotten the buyer’s closing documents or their final deposit.  DUH!  Where has she been all this time?

One more inspection tomorrow.  Then the buyer is going back to the seller for a price reduction.  The seller’s agent didn’t get pre-inspections.  $20,000 worth of work needs to be done before it starts raining.

Hey Lady!  Get a list!

There’s nothing that NAR can do now.  She’s been the owner of her own office since I was sucking my thumb.  Maybe if they had actual educational prerequisites to the test or real continuing educational requirements - not taking a test while riding the drunk bus to the wine country - she wouldn’t have gotten this far.  Maybe, maybe not.

This post is from Vicki Moore, one of my favorite bloggers. She has  passion about doing the job the right way and being professional. She takes her relationship with clients to a level that is respected as well as feared. I encourage everyone to read her blog as it is entertaining and full of great ideas.

Her point on having checklists is a great way to keep your business consistently under control. Use lists to direct your activities to become more efficient and productive. It's a no-brainer.

Kevin Sharkey