charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Why Your First 2 Weeks of Dating are Exactly Like the First 2 Weeks Your Rental is Listed
- 01/15/11 07:33 AM
Early impressions can be very telling. In relationships, they can save you a lot of time and heartache.
For example, when you first start dating someone, the first 2 weeks really are pivotal. One really wrong move and it is over, right? So, it is important to pay attention and try to figure out how to stand out (in a good way...). It's also important to figure out what they really think of you, as they usually won't tell you outright. Do they think your nervous tic is endearing or pathetic? When you bring up your issues, are … (3 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: 2011 Should Be a Fun Year to Work in Real Estate! Really.
- 01/02/11 05:12 AM
"What?? Are you crazy? Is moonshine still a big draw in Charlotte?" you may say.
Sure, I've read the news and understand the dire straits the housing market is in. And, no, there is no gold rush (that I'm aware of...) coming to Charlotte; we're getting hammered like everyone else. My reaction is just based on the sheer need of buyers and sellers to transact real estate and what that means to real estate professionals.
Pat Riley, the legendary professional basketball coach, used to tell a story to his players before big games. He would talk … (1 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Charlotte Headlines Say Real Estate Market is on Rebound? Or Not?
- 12/01/10 10:36 AM
"There are no facts, just interpretations." Friedrich Nietzsche
On a whole, I like honesty. I like it when people tell me what they really think (within reason). And if they don't have anything interesting or worthwhile to say, omission works well for me too. I like things clear and easily understood.
So it came to my chagrin when I was reading a headline of an article this week that blared, "N.C. foreclosure sales drop 42%." Wow!! 42%? That's almost half! Is the job market trending up in our southern paradise? 2011 must be when the US economy … (2 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: When Will Rental Rates Rise?
- 06/24/10 04:59 AM
Every property owner I've ever met (including yours truly) wants to charge the highest rent possible. Every tenant wants to pay as little rent as possible.
Sorry, there is no huge revelation here. This is pretty much the way any market works. The girl who sells cans of peas wants you to buy them for $100/can, and you want to buy 3 cans for a dollar.
This is what a free market is all about. What are buyers and sellers willing to accept price-wise?
Then supply and demand are thrown into the mix. If the girl … (2 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Solving the High-End Home Sales Stagnation with Rentals and Rent-To-Own
- 06/12/10 04:28 AM
Realtors everywhere are breathing a sigh of relief with the upswing in home sales in April and May. Things seem to be picking up a little, they have some money in their pockets, and there appears to be a light at the end of (what has been) a very dark and long tunnel of diminished sales activity.
Though, with the end of the tax credit, it looks like the roadrunner might have just lathered some white paint on the wall ahead as pending home sales are dropping fast.
Owners of higher end homes in Charlotte, defined here as … (1 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: The Top 3 Reasons Why Good Property Managers Matter More Now (Reason #3)
- 05/31/10 04:49 AM
3. The skills needed for selling a home have (and will continue) to trend to more of a solution-based, "cash now, sell later" approach; outright sales are becoming scarcer as there are less qualified buyers available in the market
Consumers are having a more difficult time selling their homes. More people want to sell, but the weak market is not allowing them to at retail prices. 50% of all sales in 2010 have been either short sales or foreclosures. Now that the Obama tax-credit has gone away, first-time home buyers will become an even smaller percentage of buyers; the … (0 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: The Top 3 Reasons Why Good Property Managers Matter More Now (Reason #2)
- 05/22/10 09:51 AM
2. Tenant selection is getting harder
I remember when we first starting offering property management services, there was a large property management company in Charlotte that had very simple tenant screening criteria:
Their income must be 4X rent at minimum They must have good landlord history They have 600+ credit scores I thought, "Wow! They must have some pretty good tenants if they keep those standards. If they can deliver a tenant within a reasonable time frame, it would definitely be worth using them!"
Now, flash-forward to today. If they are using these criteria to find tenants, good luck! People … (3 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: The Top 3 Reasons Why Good Property Managers Matter More Now (Reason #1)
- 05/18/10 04:29 AM
If this economy has taught us anything, it is cash is always king and real estate is an investment. The ONLY decision criteria for hiring a prospective property manager should be their ability to maximize the cash flow of your investments. Period. A friend of mine works for a utility company. The were recently faced with a question on whether they should spend the money to increase their customer service grade from 74% to 77%; they had calculated almost exactly what it would cost to do so. His co-workers were fighting to spend the money. Isn't great customer service what … (1 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Top 6 Miscellaneous Tips for Rent-To-Own Deals
- 05/12/10 12:49 AM
The following is an excerpt (3 of 3) from A Real Estate Agent's Complete Guide to Representing Rent-To-Own (Lease Option) Tenants by Brett Furniss (2010)
1. Option money (written in the contract as such and paid to the owner) should be used as down payment funds (remember to both source and document!). Monthly rent credits can be used to pay closing costs or reduce the purchase price of the home.
2. What about a security deposit? Typically, there isn't one for several reasons. The first is that tenants only have so much money to put down (option fee, first month's … (2 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Signs of the Times: Layaway and Rent-To-Own Are Back!
- 05/01/10 04:03 AM
The following is an excerpt (2 of 3) from A Real Estate Agent's Complete Guide to Representing Rent-To-Own (Lease Option) Tenants by Brett Furniss (2010)
A market has been defined as "a place where willing buyers and sellers meet." You go to a department store. You want to buy (you want some new jeans!) and the store owner wants to sell you his goods (this is how he makes a living!). So you try on the designer jeans (they look good!) and go to the register to pay.
The clerk rings up what you have and asks for payment. You … (0 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: It’s All About the Narrative: The Key to Maximizing Your Rent-To-Own Client’s Value
- 04/09/10 10:33 AM
"I can't sell this couple on anyone. If their financial history was made into a movie, it would be in the "Horror" section. Well, the "Drama" section would fit, too. And with eight kids, it could probably be get into the "Adult Content" section as well... (Charlotte Realtor bemoaning the plight of their rent-to-own client with less than stellar credentials)
"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder." (Plato paraphrased)
In the world of corporate mergers & acquisitions (M&A), the name of the game is negotiation. If you are a big company, you want to acquire a competitor for as … (0 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Why Don’t Big Real Estate Firms Embrace Rent-To-Own?
- 04/03/10 11:27 AM
"My Broker-In-Charge highly recommends we stay away from rent-to-own transactions. They just aren't safe." (Traditional Realtor)
"You can fool some of the people, some of the time. But you can't fool all the people, all the time." (Bob Marley)
Big real estate firms used to make a lot of money. Big real estate firms still do make a lot of money. That is why I find it difficult to criticize, or offer any type of advice, to entities that have had so much success (especially those that have done so for a long time). The biggest firm in my market … (4 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Drive + Drink = Lease + Option?
- 03/27/10 08:30 AM
"Lease options might be the worst idea ever. Who would ever be a party to one? I tried one once and it was a complete disaster! I mean, I'm not a lawyer- there's just so much that can go wrong; I don't have firsthand knowledge of this mind you, but I've heard lots and lots of stories." (Traditional Realtor)
"Combine two innocuous substances and "Walla!" A homemade bomb." (Al Qaeda training manual quoting a MacGyver episode)
Americans love driving their cars; there are more than 1.5 cars for every adult in the United States! Driving is a major "driver" of … (2 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: “Abe’s” Commercial Lease Negotiation Strategy Unveiled…
- 03/21/10 09:16 AM
"I will get the lowest price per square foot for my new office lease." (Charlotte Business Owner)
"I will not drop my initial offer for price per square foot for the new lease. It's not worth it and I really don't like this guy anyway." (Charlotte Commercial Landlord)
"I will maximize this commission." (Charlotte Commercial Real Estate Agent)
One deal. Three different parties. Three different motivations. Sounds like a movie trailer doesn't it? Granted, not a great movie or anything, but maybe it's 3-D so you'll go and see it anyway.
This was the situation when I … (4 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: “Terms” of Endearment- The Key to Selling Real Estate Buyers
- 03/14/10 03:46 AM
"They wouldn't come down in price. I said, ‘Sir, excuse me, sir, do you want to know how many other houses my client can buy?' We couldn't bridge a gulf of $2K and the deal fell through. Their loss!" (Indignant Charlotte Realtor)
"Why ask why? Try Bud Dry." (Old Anheuser-Busch slogan)
If you were offered both of these jobs, which one would you take?
Job #1: $80K annually
Job #2: $30K annually
Duh, the $80K one.
Now let's look at the job descriptions:
Job #1: Work begins at 4 AM. Your job is to produce 100 widgets an … (3 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Former BOA CEO Ken Lewis Teaches Real Estate Investing
- 03/07/10 02:46 AM
"I'm going to tell my clients to start buying real estate once things stabilize. It's still too dangerous." (Charlotte Investment Realtor)
"When a true genius appears in the world, you may know him by this sign, that the dunces are all in confederacy against him." (Jonathan Swift from Thoughts on Various Subjects, Moral and Diverting)
Ken Lewis is the man. You might have read and heard things in the news during the past year saying he is not the man, but they were all wrong. He's got an unbelievable instinct for investing creatively. And he's got the guts … (1 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: “Cash for Clunkers” Predicts a Cloudy 2010 Housing Market
- 03/03/10 10:41 AM
"2010 home sales will pick up! It's the last chance for Obama money!" (Optimistic Charlotte Realtor)
"The world is ruled by facts. People are ruled by ideas." (Anonymous)
It might be too late to still be giving out 2009 "Best of" and "Worst of" awards, but please humor me.
"Can't Believe You Still Have a Job" Award of 2009: Obama's "Cash for Clunkers" sales forecasting team. As they projected a total 7-week program amount of $1B, they ran out of money before the first week was out and had to go begging Congress for $2B more.
If "prognosticatin'" … (2 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Is Rent-To-Own a Scam? Wait- Who’s Laughing?
- 02/24/10 02:40 AM
"I would never take advantage of a person like that, this whole rent-to-own thing. Taking a non-refundable, upfront option fee of thousands of dollars from them? Like my Broker-in-Charge said, it's almost criminal!" (Concerned Charlotte Realtor)
"Are you crazy?" (Keanu Reeves)
"No, poor people are crazy. I'm eccentric." (Dennis Hopper in Speed)
"If you can't spot the sucker in the first half hour at the table, then you ARE the sucker." (Matt Damon in Rounders)
Back in 2006 when life was good and real estate sales were plentiful, I got a call from a friend of … (0 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Innovate Quickly or Die! In Real Estate?
- 02/16/10 10:03 AM
"The economy will be back and things will be back to normal." (Calm Charlotte Realtor)
Only the Paranoid Survive (Best-selling book by former Intel CEO, Andrew Grove)
"Financial Crisis
Stalled too many customers
CEO no more"
(Haiku twitter message posted by just fired CEO of Sun Microsystems, Jonathan Schwartz, 2/4/10)
The economy is moving fast. And it's not just about competing with people in your town or region; now the competition is global. As Pulitzer-winning journalist, Thomas Friedman's latest book's title says, the world is Hot, Flat, and Crowded. Putting aside the global warming "Hot" part … (0 comments)
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charlotte: Charlotte Property Management Weekly: Santa Claus, Unicorns, & Risk Free Transactions (Or “How to Risk Manage Yourself Out of a Living”)
- 02/06/10 04:37 AM
"I can't do lease options. They are way too risky!" (Concerned Charlotte Realtor)
"That's why it's a short cut. If it was easy, it would just be the way." (Paulo Costanzo in Road Trip)
"It ought to be remembered that there is nothing more difficult to take in hand, more perilous to conduct, or more uncertain in its success, than to take the lead in introducing a new order of things, because the innovator has for enemies all those who have done well under the old conditions, and lukewarm defenders in those who may do well under the new. The … (3 comments)
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