realtor: A Friend in Real Estate: The Video
- 08/24/10 08:29 AM
A few years ago, I wrote a post entitled My Friend is in Real Estate: Might Not be the Best Choice detailing why choosing a friend to represent you in a real estate transaction may not be the best bet.
Here's an excerpt:
"It's one thing to want to help out a friend. Perhaps you see a friend struggling in the slow real estate market and want to help them out with a sale. These altruistic feelings are part of your human nature.
Ask yourself how much experience your friend, family member, or neighbor has when it comes to selling real estate. … (5 comments)
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realtor: "We've Passed Your Name Along to Some Friends, Is That Okay?"
- 07/20/09 03:57 AM
Work hard. Do a good job. Close a deal. Get referred to another buyer or seller. Repeat.
That's the way it should, can, and does happen. You can pay hundreds of dollars to hundreds of coaches who will all tell you the same thing: Try to build your business by referrals.
Last Thursday after finishing up settlement on a townhouse in Northern Virginia, my clients were thrilled. As I handed them a stack of business cards and politely asked them to please spread the word about my services to their friends and colleagues, they said:
"Sure. Oh by the way, we've … (11 comments)
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realtor: Inquiring Minds Want to Know "How Much Did the Sellers Pay?"
- 07/08/09 10:46 AM
It's a matter of public record.
Once a house is sold, that purchase price is recorded in the land records of the city or county where it was sold. The whole world can see what Sally and Tom paid for their new house. When it comes time for them to sell, many potential buyers will be asking this question:
HOW MUCH DID THE SELLERS PAY?
9 times out of 10, buyers I work with ask this question. Whether the sellers have lived in the house for 3 months or 32 years, buyers want to know. As the tagline for a popular … (28 comments)
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realtor: The Real Estate Blues
- 04/14/09 08:46 AM
Today's economy and real estate market has some people singing the blues.
Some sing better than others.
This fella's not bad.
Our job as REALTORS is to educate our clients and help them make informed decisions about their real estate purchases and sales.
The better we do our job, the less people who will be singing The Real Estate Blues.
While some homeowners who may have overreached or suffered from the downturn in the market can relate to this song, now's an ideal time for buyers to get into the market -- low interest rates, more affordable prices, and … (13 comments)
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realtor: Rainy Day Real Estate Agent Traffic Jam
- 03/27/09 03:18 AM
This morning while out showing homes to some very motivated clients, we happened upon a scene that I haven't seen since around mid-2005. After viewing 3 or 4 rather lackluster homes on this rather rainy day in Northern Virginia, we drove down a hill and around the bend to a cul-de-sac. At the end of this street stood a home, that on paper looked very good. Indeed, my clients reviewed the MLS printout and decided to skip the rest of the homes on our tour and head directly to this one.
Since this home just came … (44 comments)
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realtor: How Long Have You Been Doing this Real Estate Thing?
- 11/21/08 09:59 PM
"How Long Have You Been Doing this Real Estate Thing?"
I noticed that this otherwise well-intentioned question comes up quite often from clients, potential clients, and other random people I meet. From day one in real estate almost 7 years ago, I've always confidently answered this question with the truth.
It's natural that people want to know. After all, you wouldn't want wouldn't necessarily want an accountant that's only prepared two tax returns advising you or a proctologist who's never seen an _ _ _ working on yours. Would you?
I think it's more the tone of the question that can … (31 comments)
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realtor: I am "Brian the REALTOR"
- 10/17/08 04:33 AM
Now that "Joe the Plumber" has become the central figure in this election season, it is time to introduce someone else, known in the Northern Virginia and D.C. area as
BRIAN the REALTOR
Yes, folks, that is me. As debates go back and forth about success, taxes, spreading the wealth, politics, health care, tax cuts, and "Joe the Plumber," please remember that in this tough economy, it is important to support your local community.
WALMART and Target may have the lowest prices and make it tough to compete, but let us not forget:
Jim the Store Owner...
Sally the Pharmacist...
Fred … (15 comments)
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realtor: How Apropos for Today!
- 09/17/08 09:53 AM
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times; it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness; it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity; it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness; it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair; we had everything before us, we had nothing before us; we were all going directly to Heaven, we were all going the other way."
-- Charles Dickens, A Tale of Two Cities
Re-reading this 149 year old quote today, I … (10 comments)
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realtor: Everyone and Their Cousin is a REALTOR -- Is That Really True? It Might Be in Some States!
- 09/07/08 05:03 PM
How's business in your town? In your city? In your state?
Do you feel like your area is saturated with REALTORS? During the height of the real estate frenzy about 3 years ago, I often heard people saying "Everyone and their cousin is a REALTOR!" Back then, I heard stories about full-time car mechanics getting a real estate license so they could sell a home on the side after changing filters and rotating tires all day. Lots of people entered the business. Many for a quick buck.
Nobody needs to tell you that the real estate market has changed.
Gone are … (76 comments)
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realtor: Home Sweet Home
- 06/17/08 10:23 AM
Nomads... Wanderers...
Travelers... Seekers...
As a species, it is in our nature to be inquisitive. We're interested about the big wide world around us.
To seek out new life and new civilizations -- to quote a certain Captain's log entry.
No matter how far you & I travel, no matter how long we are gone, no matter the new learning experiences we enjoy, at a certain time there is a yearning to return to a familiar place:
There's a comfort there. A sense of peace. Serenity.
It's my honor to help you find that. It's an honor to be a … (10 comments)
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realtor: It's a Bird, It's a Plane, It's a Super MEME!
- 06/01/08 12:02 PM
Okay, so there's people out there who want to know more about me. A fan club, if you will...
I thought through previous MEME posts and my comprehensive Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Your Next REALTOR But Were Afraid to Ask I'd pretty much told you everything.
However, the Super MEMEs are flying around (I was tagged by Sally Cheeseman), so here's a bit more about me. This time, the requirement is not just five things that you don't know about the blogger, but answers to 8 specific questions. Watch out below -- It's a Bird, It's … (26 comments)
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realtor: REALTORS Have Different Holidays!
- 05/26/08 12:27 AM
Holiday Weekend! Oh Really?
REALTORS are on a different schedule from the rest of the world.
I hope that everyone gets to take at least some time off this weekend to relax, enjoy a barbeque, and pause to remember and reflect upon the sacrifices and service of the young men and women who are serving and who have served our country. On Friday night, my wife and I watched a very moving DVD National Geographic Special about Arlington Cemetery honoring those who served and sacrificed.
If you took the whole weekend off, good for you! I … (41 comments)
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realtor: Does Your REALTOR Association Do This?
- 04/05/08 06:21 AM
What has your REALTOR Association done for you lately?
As REALTORS, we belong to the National Association of REALTORS, our State Associations, and our Local Associations. Some people even list these memberships on their websites and their business cards (as if there was room). Membership takes little more than paying yearly dues and subscribing to the REALTOR Code of Ethics. In most cases, REALTORS join the association for access to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) and because it is a requirement of their broker.
We receive the monthly magazine which may or may not have articles useful to … (34 comments)
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realtor: No Day Trading in the Real Estate Market
- 11/13/07 10:09 AM
Constantly looking at home prices in your area? Time to give it a rest.
There's no day trading in the real estate market.
Remember the day traders? During the height of the technology boom on Wall Street, these were the folks buying and selling hundreds or thousands of shares of tech companies only to sell them minutes or hours later the same day in the hopes of making profit off the fluctuations in the stock price.
You read about these guys just out of high school or college living in Mom's basement, wearing a t-shirt and jeans and making a … (46 comments)
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realtor: Tell Your Clients What Can Go Wrong & When So They Don't Blame You
- 10/15/07 02:56 PM
"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure."
This famous quote by Benjamin Franklin applies to many situations in life, but especially to real estate.
Unfortunately, few people heed this warning and end up having to clean up a big mess after the fact than avoiding the disasters from the onset. When I worked in a real estate litigation law firm, the clients who walked through the door had major real estate problems. You can spend $500 to do things right at the beginning and not enter the contract or modify the terms, or you can spend $10,000 litigating in court … (38 comments)
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realtor: Learn & Earn
- 10/08/07 05:06 AM
I'm a firm believer in education.
A bumper sticker that I saw said "If you think education is expensive, try ignorance." Upon further research, I found out that this quote was from Derek Bok, a former president of Harvard University.
Try this one on for size: The money that you earn is directly proportional to the amount that you learn. You can quote me on that.
Learning comes in many forms:
formal education -- K-12, college, university, graduate schoolcontinuing education -- Realtor designations, certifications, conferencesreading -- books, magazines, newspapers, internetother people -- informal learning from discussions with otherskeeping your eyes and ears open -- observations … (30 comments)
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realtor: New Survey Confirms I Made a Good Choice
- 10/02/07 03:03 AM
Realtors get a lot of flack.
When the market is hot, the public thinks we get paid too much money for doing next to nothing. When a home sells in a matter of minutes after placing the sign in the ground, can you blame the consumer for wondering why we get paid $10K, $15K, $25K? Of course, we know that we're getting paid for all the work that happens between contract and closing, but good luck getting the clients to understand that.
On the flip side, when homes languish on the market for months, people are quick to blame us … (99 comments)
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realtor: How I Proposed to My Wife: 4 Important Lessons Learned for Real Estate
- 09/26/07 04:44 PM
With my 6th wedding anniversary coming up right around the corner this Sunday, I’ve been thinking about all things marriage this week (For a detailed account of the tumultuous days surrounding this great event less than 3 weeks after 9/11/01, read Where Were You on September 11th? (or how September 11th launched my real estate career) -- Part 2 of 2).
Jason "The Loveseat" Crouch founded a wonderful new group here on Active Rain this week called Family Ties for family related stories (real estate related or not). We were chatting on the phone on Monday evening on my way to … (50 comments)
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realtor: Enough About Me, Let’s Talk About MeMe Some More: Meme Take 2
- 09/13/07 04:05 PM
James Downing MeMe’d me. This is now my second MeMe! I’ve already discussed how I ride elephants, jet off of aircraft carriers, dance the Argentine Tango, am trained to kill, and know the secret handshake. If you haven’t read about these exciting adventures, please read my first MeMe post: Who?? MeME!
Here’s 5 more things about me that you probably didn’t know:
JE VOUS AIME PARIS! I went to Paris for a month at the end of my junior year in high school as part of a student exchange program with my French class. We hosted a Parisian student in Boston … (30 comments)
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realtor: Where Were You on September 11th? (or how September 11th launched my real estate career) -- Part 2 of 2
- 09/10/07 11:55 PM
If you haven't already read it, please read Part 1 where I detail my personal experience on September 11th.
Part 2: How September 11th launched my real estate career
Yesterday, I posted my personal story about September 11th. Today, I tell the story of how I transitioned after September 11th from a career as an attorney to my current career in real estate and how September 11th was a catalyst.
We left off yesterday at my wedding on September 30, 2001. What a wonderful day! I was thrilled to be marrying the woman of my dreams, Deborah. A beautiful, intelligent, articulate, and … (34 comments)
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A few years ago, I wrote a post entitled My Friend is in Real Estate: Might Not be the Best Choice detailing why choosing a friend to represent you in a real estate transaction may not be the best bet.
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