I have been a broker for 16 years and in the business for 19 and I truly am floundering for the first time. I read a couple of recent articles from Realtors who have suggested that their clients rent their house while seeking employment elsewhere. Sounds like a great idea, in fact it is (was) such a good idea that this is precisely what I have been doing for the last year, that was until the banks are now telling my clients "NO!"  They won't allow them to buy another house because so many people have been "dumping" there supposed rental after they get into their new house, that they have ruined for those who really needed this as a way out of a bad geographic (economically speaking of course) area.

    So the question remains what to do now??? We have houses selling for 40 and 50 cents on the dollar because of the great many bank owned properties. Our sales volume for the county has fallen by 50% - YES 50% in the last 3 years, when people ask me how much there home is worth I have a hard time not starting to laugh, "I have no idea" is the thought that goes through my head but that isn't very professional, so I proceed to tell them about how tough the market is right now and explain that the home is only worth what someone is willing to pay for it and our current buyers are all deal shoppers and if they have to sell now they are going to have to be prepared to take less than what they paid for it. (this is just the start of the conversation.

  Where do we go from here? I really want to roll up my sleeves and turn my business and my attitude around for 2009, but I am just a wee bit lost. Can someone help give me some direction and answer the following questions for me.

     1.) What do you do with a seller who has to leave due to a job and they are 25% upside down in the value of their home and the banks won't let them rent it out? (OH, I take that back - they will let them rent it out but they won't allow them to buy another - kind of a difficult situation for someone who has been a homeowner for 20 plus years.)

   2.) How do you work with buyers in a marker where houses are selling for 50 cents on the dollar and the buyer wants to offer 50% less than the asking price??

  3.)  When do we get back to those warm fuzzy feelings when you helped that nice young first time home buying couple get their first home and they are so appreciative because you helped them save a couple thousand off the price and held their hand through the entire process?

4.)   How do you approach a home owner who is looking to you for answers to sell their home when it has been on the market for 2 - 3 - or even 4 years.? I moved into my current home just under 4 years ago and my neighbor directly across the street has been for sale that entire time.

5.) I always try to look for the silver lining, yes there are some great buys out there, but where do you find a real buyer - someone who wants to live-in and care for the home not someone looking to make a fast buck by buying and flipping in this crazy market?

6.) I don't have a killer instinct - I  never have - my joy in this job has always come from being kind to people and helping them. It appears that the sellers are hopeless and the buyers are ruthless - so where am I to go in a market such as this??

I truly would appreciate some insight into these questions as I ponder how to continue in this business for a 20th year. Thank You in advance - And I wish everyone a warm and memorable Christmas. My three boys are all home for the holidays - and my home is busy, noisy, and happy once again - God Bless and Merry Christmas!

  One of my young friends on Face book sent this Poem to me and I believe it deserves re-posting. It is my prayer that we could keep this spirit throughout the year and remember what is really important in life. I can promise you that after this last year one thing I have learned for certain, the size of your bank account doesn't determine the level of your happiness, nor does working yourself to death, or worrying to the point of not sleeping - done it all!!  I can most assuredly share with you - Don't Try It!!

  I know it is hard - especially for those of us who are "independent contractors" We have chosen our  path(s) for a reason and usually that has to do with our strong personality's and faith in our abilities, but many of us are in that very special place where the pavement meets the road and guess what - it is a tough spot - but we can learn a lot from being here. "Let go and let God". My ulcer has settled down, I sleep at night (not great but much better) and I'm smiling again. Does This mean I set on the couch and wait for God to make my life wonderful? Of course not but it does mean I don't worry about things I can't control, I leave that up to him, and I focus on using the gifts he did give me to do the best I can every day.

   I have lost a Mother, a brother, and teetering on losing a business all in 2008 - but I am happy and content because I have learned so much, and appreciate life so much more - my ego has shrunk - I truly for the first time understand I can't control it all- and OH what a great relief to lay that burden down!! 

 As I prepare my Business life plan for 2009 - I can assure you that it will be much different than the plans of the last 15 years, a little more about LIFE and a little less about Accomplishments, and money.

here is the Poem I promised you.

WHEN I SAY I AM CHRISTIAN.....

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not shouting "I'm clean livin'."
I'm whispering "I was lost,
Now I 'm found and forgiven."

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I don't speak of this with pride.
I'm confessing that I stumble
and need Christ to be my guide.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not trying to be strong.
I'm professing that I'm weak
And need His strength to carry on.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not bragging of success.
I'm admitting I have failed
And need God to clean my mess.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not claiming to be perfect,
My flaws are far too visible
But, God believes I am worth it.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I still feel the sting of pain.
I have my share of heartaches
So I call upon His name.

When I say... "I am a Christian"
I'm not holier than thou,
I'm just a simple sinner
Who received God's good grace, somehow!

By Carol Wimmer

 I have seen 13  straight downward quarters in my real estate market. Almost 1/3 of my fellow Realtors have fled the business, and the banks are getting a little "tight" with the money they have. It would be an big understatement to say it is time to get "CREATIVE" in earning a little extra coin.

  What I have done to help pay the bills is unbundled my services and advertise this "unbundeling" in my storefront (I'm located inside a large shopping mall) also in the local Realtor magazine and newspaper. What type of services am I being paid a fee for (not contingent upon the close of a Purchase Agreement).

here is a partial list. If you would like more detail on any of the specific services please email me and I will get back to you with whatever detail you need:

                         1.) Consulting fee (in office or at your home)

                         2.)  Contract writing (buyer/seller using me just for the paperwork)

                         3.) Escrow Adjustment (in home or office service).

                         4.) History of sales on your street

                         5.) Home Price (different than CMA more in-depth on home and market cond.)

                         6.) Marketing Plan

                         7.) Website creation for home

                        8.) Professional Picture Potfolio of home

                                9.) Staging

                               10.) Write rental/lease agreement

  Again this is just a partial list. I have not listed my pricing because this will vary depending upon the part of the country you live in. This unbundled of services has accounted for over 50% of my income the last two years. I can honestly say that without having stretched beyond the typical Purchase Contract commission I would have been one of those who left the business for lack of income.

  We have garnered a significant amount of knowledge as we work through all the problems associated with closing a real estate transaction. It is nice to get paid for some of this knowledge and not have it tied to the final outcome of the PA.

    Just a couple of days shy of 4 months since the last time I have posted. Lord it has been a long painful year. My business is having its worst year since my rookie year (1991) I lost my Mom In February and I just buried my younger brother (47 years old) who passed with pancreatic cancer.  Bend, bend, bend, but with Gods help do not break.

    I long for this year to be over. 3 years of a continuing spiral downward in business in Southwest Michigan has me looking at want ads, and on-line job opportunities for the first time since I decided to become a Realtor some 18 years ago.

    I do not write to ask for your sympathy I write to vent, I write to help ease the pain, I write out of frustration, and because I can and because I still believe that tomorrow is another day - That something good is just around the corner for those of us who refuse to stay down. We all have tough times, can't hardly get through life without them, but it is how we pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off that speaks to the character within us. I am tired, I am worn, but I am standing and as the world turns again tomorrow I willingly go with it.

   I have missed being active in the rain. Depending on what path(s) are open to me I longingly look forward to re-establishing friendships, colleagues, and mentors once again. May Gods grace and blessing smile upon all of you and I truely appreciate any prayers sent my way.

   Sounds awesome if you are an individual, pretty darn good if you work in a "team" environment, not bad for most offices. But the 19,000,000 I am referring to is the total amount of sales for OUR ENTIRE REALTOR ASSOCIATION in Battle Creek Michigan. We had approx 250 agents over that time frame If you do the math figuring an average sale price of approx 100k (was 121,000 2 years ago and continues to drop like a stone).

  Simple math tells you that 250 agents sold 190 homes, less than 1 home per agent for the first quarter. so take 3/4s of our average sale which would be $75,000 the commission on that is $4,500 on average now split that between two office so each office gets $2,250, now give the agent his take after the broker and fees and if sales were split equally all our agents lived on a whopping $1,125 for the first twelve weeks of this year!!

  Needless to say as a broker with office expenses that run in 5 figures monthly and a small office of only 3 people, you might say things are just a wee bit tight around here. This is actually our third year with declining sales and we have been bleeding money for the last two. Were it not for investments and rental property this boy would be out of the market.

  I can only hope we have gotten close to hitting bottom, 3/4ths of our sales last quarter were REO or foreclosed homes in one way or another, and it is nasty out there. I pride myself on helping people buy a home. The folks buying now are all ruthless sharks who care nothing but about making a buck - you can tell me to toughen up, change or get out, but I want to THROW - UP when these vultures even get close to me.

  My goal and desire is to still help those who want to buy a home not get rich off of other peoples misfortune, people who value, God, family, community and country. (Not just Me, Myself and I). They are still out there but hard to find and I can only hope that I and my office can hang on til things turn around. A major economic boost has been enticing my community for 3 years (a casino) but it has been one delay after another after another, home owners have been sitting on the market 2 and 3 years with promises of an economic boost and every month another front page article explaining another reason for a delay.

  The sun is shining, things are turning green, (while we had a frost last nigt - spring is definately in the air) this is when life should be at its fullest with the most hope and the greatest expectations - but the sellers barely notice. They use to take the sign out of the yard and mow around it to make ithe lawn pretty and neat - now they dont bother a few tufts of grass aren't going to make the difference and it is that kind of emotional let down that permeates the market in our area.  

  18 years in the business and I have never seen anything like this - all we can do is ride it out - keep abreast of the news (good and bad) hold our sellers hand and continue to try to give the honest helpful advice until we have moved through this economic slump. Hope others across the country are feeling less pain than those of us in the real estate profession in Southwest Michigan.

                                               God Bless All - and  pray for better times!

    Lets see in the last month  - Mom died, my book is getting published, I've sold exactly 1 home so far in 2008, I've closed one real estate business in the last two weeks and opened another, and I showed homes for the first time in ages this past weekend (I use to only list homes for the last 2 years) with my previous company. In all this turmoil one very real fact has presented itself to me. I LOVED SHOWING HOMES THIS WEEKEND!! It was so rewarding to talk intelligently with a client about the positives and negatives of the different homes we went through. After seeing six homes he was ready to make an offer.

   This is a man who has been shopping for two years off and on, working with different Realtors. He walked into my office we sat and talked I explained buyer agency to him, expecting to have to shop him for awhile, I was so pleased that he not only made an offer on the first time out but made an offer within 2% of the asking price in a fairly strong buyers market iin our area.

  Of course the home is worth the asking price and then some, but you just gotta get a little off the price in the market we are in. So many strong emotions I have felt from rage, to depression already in 2008 but what I felt this weekend was akin to love. I was confident, comfortable, and a little giddy as we traversed through the different homes. No pressure, no leading questions to get the buyer to make a decision. Just simple information so that the buyer was in a strong position to make a decision if he wanted to - and when we were done that is exactly what he wanted - to make a decision to buy a home, and he did! God, I love this job, and I look forward to the challenges that will come from a tough economic year, from the complexities of technology, and from having to have my little ole independent company compete against all those big franchises. bring it on - I can and will succeed in this crazy profession called Real Estate!

P.S. Yes that means goodbye Help-U-Sell - Hello Stauffer Realty. I have rolled out a program where I offer over thirty different services (and prices) to my clients who need any type of real estate services. One of my more fun services is critiquing for a seller an analysis done by a fellow realtor.  Sounds strange but I can think of at least three reasons why a selelr would ant me to do this and for the low low price of only 75 dollars in office (150) if I have to come to you per analysis it is quite a deal.

                             "A man without a goal is like a ship without a rudder."

                                                                       Thomas Carlyle 

   I hope the title of this blog got your attention because it is  the name of my new book ( I wrote it last summer because business was so slow, and I had to do something) - I just signed a contract with Publish America this week and if all goes well hopefully it will be out late this fall.

  I am a goal driven person. When I was 14 years old I compiled a list of 107 things I wanted to do (including dying at the age of 107). I have accomplished 80% of the items on this list at the early age of 50. Some of the highlights were to the first inmy family to earn a Masters Degree (did that in 1987). Run a Marathon when I turn 40 (actually ran 4 before my knees began complaining).  Be a landlord (never had a house growing up parents always rented) - but I now own 6 residential homes. So you get the idea. You can't get where you want to go in life if you haven't set a pathway to get there.

  I have three goals that pertain to writing. One was to get published and I have at least written the book (found out this was the easy part - getting published - much much tougher) signed the contract so this should happen this year and I am ecstatic about this chain of events. The second was to have 2 books on the New York Times best sellers list at the same time, one being fiction and the other non-fiction. (this I realize is a little more lofty goal) - but getting this first book published will open some of the doors that will help make that goal easier to attain.

  Anyway back to the book, please don't be offended by the title. Titles are suppose to be catchy to help sell books. While I do speak of several things that Realtors do to annoy their clients and the public in general, I don't say anything that isn't true (or that at least that I don't believe is true is probably more accurate).

Perception is reality so we will have to see how my colleagues feel once the book is out versus the consumer (buyers and sellers). Unlike many Real Estate books this is aimed to help the seller and buyer save money not necessarily a "how to" book for Realtors. My fellow Realtors could benefit from reading it because they could pick up a dozen or more tips on how to give exceptional services and learn how to treat clients with the respect and courtesy they expect.

 My contract does not allow for me to print excerpts from the book but once it comes out I will give a synopsis of it here in the rain. Many people told me to "self-publish" and maybe I would have made more money that way, but it is extremely satisfying when someone else reads your work and they decide it has enough merit for them to want to spend their money to put a nice cover on it, clean it up and promote it to the general public.  

Anyway as bad as our local market has been it is good to have discovered what "happy" feels like again.

My Mom died quietly in her sleep over the weekend. I have written her obituary (my father couldn't do it). I've arranged with out of town family that are coming in for the funeral. Made arrangements for the funeral service and reception afterwards, and yes found time in between for a few tears and a little grieving.

   My Mom was a strong, quiet woman, who was fiercely proud of her husband and children. She believed in God and America (ya'll wondered where I got that from didn't you - well the apple doesn't usually fall to far from the tree).  In addition to my Mother's death I have taken on a professional consulting job for 6 months to help pay the bills since real estate has been soooo slow in our area.

   The point I wanted to make in this post was not to have people feel sorry for me because my mother has passed (I know she is much happier where she is now) but to simply relay the fact that 2 months ago active rain was the single most important part of my future in real estate. Death, and the need for income NOW has given me quite a different perspective. I find I don't even think about the rain, unless I have a few moments in the wee hours before I close my eyes to sleep, and with my mind filled with loving memories of my mother not-at-all lately.

   People are kind, helpful, and considerate here in the rain, but life is screaming at me to take care of today - and after the train wreck of my current circumstances is uncluttered than I hope I can find my way back here to commiserate with my fellow Realtors and Friends and  continue my effort to ascertain that the rain is in fact a viable source for future real estate transactions.

  For those of you who are religious and want to say a prayer my Mom's name is Vivian, and her husband of 52 years (my Dad) is Jack. Take Care and I'll be back when the tracks have been cleared of the wreck.

Note: I have also looked to my grand-father as my guardian angel over the last 15 years or so. He will have to make room on my shoulder for an even more tender angel than himself. Ihope when time permits this even will allow me to show a softer side of myself as I extoll the virtues of a loving mother, rather than just droning on about how to conduct yourself properly in a real estate transaction.

     To my friends, associates, and fellow Realtors - I just wanted to apologize for being "off the Rain" for so long.  I had already adjusted my budget drastically for 2008 (tightening the belt) knowing 2008 was not going to be pretty in Michigan, but even so,  early into January,  it was clear it wasn't going to be enough so I explored my options and took a part time consulting job to help save a local community resource in town. 

      The good news is it gives me flexible hours so I can schedule meetings and such around my listing appointments, Real Estate obligations, and closings (yes, I do attend those still occasionally). Quite honestly I would recommend it to any of you out there who are just sitting in the office, frazzled from inactivity, and suffering from analysis paralysis.  Focusing about 1/2 my time on something completely different I find that when I do speak to somebody about Real Estate I have more energy, and deeper conviction in what I am sharing with my customers and clients.

    My ability to separate the tasks and keep my mind active all the time has been very therapeutic, and has restored my interest in making sure I am focused and properly positioned for 2009 (when I expect our local market to start to see dramatic improvements). So my question to those of you out there slowly going out of business - what are you doing to allow yourself to continue to do what you are passionate about?

  Because of this new task in my life I have very little "free time" Every free minute I feel obligated to be working on this additional consulting job (because they are paying me well for my time). Therefore I won't be able to get out here and share much in the next few months. I will take the time to check in on my favorite blogs.

  Wish you all great success in the first quarter of 2008 and I really am interested in what you are willing to do to help secure your future as 2008 unfolds. 

                    No catchy pictures or blinking lights in this one just making a point and saying "Hi"  

    I was talking with a fellow Realtor who has a "discount real estate firm" in another state over the holiday weekend and I suggested to him that we start a "set fee" or "Discount Brokerage Group" on Active Rain. Then I figured I better check (carefully) to see if one already existed and here I have been on active rain for almost three months now and I found it! Been there all along (at least since I've been active - just didn't get to it right away.)

  When I was grumbling a little because of the lack of comments on what I thought were some pretty informative, solid posts a couple of Rainer's suggested that I find the right group to belong to, and while I have joined several appropriate groups, most of the people on the "Discount brokerage Fee" group will know exactly where I am coming from.

   I am not a slick salesperson who saw a way to take advantage of all the huge dollars floating around in real estate  by coming in and undercutting everyone's commissions. I have worked earnestly in this business for almost 18 years. My families sole source of income has been real estate during that entire 17 plus years. I have served as the local president of my real estate association. served on the board for over 6 years and am currently a local association director again (after taking a five year break from the politics that go on in local associations.) I have been a state director for the association and also served on a couple of national committees. The point? It was because of my knowledge of the changes that have been taking place in our industry over the last 5 years, because I was on the forefront, staying in the know, attending NAR conventions, and picking up 7 designations along the way that it was CLEAR TO ME that the way we have done traditional real estate had to change.

    Technology and specifically the Internet has educated our buyers to the point that they are not in the dark as to the buying and selling process. They have access to the homes, they can get as much or more information than we can give them as Realtors - and they are starting to ask the questions, the questions that make most of us in this industry uncomfortable, like why am I paying you so much for these limited services you are providing me? What have you done during this 4 week process that makes you worthy of a 5 digit check?

  It is difficult in a market that is down to sell homes for a set fee, because you have to do volume to covers the cost of running the business, and when only a certain percentage of homes are selling and you can only get so much of that percentage yourself, well those doing what I am doing know the pain. But they also, probably like me - sleep very well at night know that we are giving a quality service to our clients at a fair price, and surviving through a difficult market will only make us that much stronger when we come out the other end of it. I believe for southwest Michigan that will not be until first quarter of 2009.

  I will keep you all updated on the progress but I look forward to sharing some happy success stories with my fellow "set fee" brokers who understand that the name of the game is change and right now we are in the right place at the right time. Soon set fee will no longer be practical (all too soon) but for now this is a good place to call home for the real state industry, our clients love us and we can live with ourselves.

Note: I look forward to sharing stories and ideas with those of you who get "the set fee" process.