hawaii real estate professional: Common ‘Mistakes’ or Blatant Disregard for Our Real Estate Industry? - 12/10/11 07:31 PM
There are Laws we learn in Real Estate School and that we PRACTICE every day as licensees. I admit it…I AM ANAL about abiding by our Real Estate Laws and following our COE. There are no cutting corners in real estate for me and it irritates me when there are others that do….blatantly.
Common ‘Mistakes’ or Blatant Disregard?
Breaking the Law: When one gets arrested, charged and convicted for drunk driving, doing drugs, not paying taxes on commission (In Hawaii we have to pay not only State and Federal Taxes but General Excise Taxes too!) stealing etc. you are not only … (18 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: That First Impression That Sets Us Apart from Others - 11/26/11 11:05 AM
Sometimes, we just get ONE chance to ‘prove ourselves’ during that initial meeting on the phone or in person. It could be a call from a Military Family Relocating to Hawaii and inquiring about their VA Loan home loan benefits and buying a home in Hawaii. It could be a call from a Mililani Home Seller asking if we can schedule an appointment for an ‘interview’ in regards to selling their home
That first impression could be the difference between just a lead or securing a client.
How’s about when we’re searching for just that right real estate agent … (30 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Transparency: A First Impression of Who I Am - 05/28/11 05:56 PM
We market ourselves online through blogging, websites, real estate sites for listings and more. We give our expertise and knowledge to all who will "listen" and in turn our peers and the consumer contacts us; hungry for more.
But what is all this worth, if not for transparency in our writing? We learn to write as if the reader is walking beside us and as if we're talking WITH them and not AT them. We give a piece of ourselves so when they pick up the phone and hear our voice it's as if they ‘knew' a part of us already.
… (28 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: What the Consumer Needs - 05/16/11 07:17 PM
We market ourselves throughout the internet, in daily newspapers and brochures....even maps to hand out to potential Hawaii Home Buyers and Sellers. We spend money and lots of time to tell the consumer what kinds of services we offer and what we will do for them. They call.
We then have a face to face meeting with these contacts we've made.
Over the years I've asked each potential home seller or buyer what they expect from me. What do you think their top priorities are?
Ask Questions: This will allow them to speak and let us know what they need. If we're … (36 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: The Quality of Your Realtor® of Choice - 03/02/11 12:36 AM
You would need to put some thought into what criteria you would use in selecting your Realtor® of Choice. Would their dress code fit into the criteria? Age? A ‘seasoned' agent? Knowledge? Internet savvy? How's about production and quantity? Or...quality?
There really is so much to consider when looking for your Realtor® of Choice.
A few questions you might want to ask and qualities to look for in your Realtor® of Choice:
Do you have time for me? You will need to decide if you need a ‘hands on' agent who will be available by phone, text or email and be … (18 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Weathering the Storm of Challenges - 02/24/11 04:31 PM
The weather can be quite unpredictable in Hawaii. While watching our local news on Monday evening we were ‘informed' that there were storm conditions and there will be thunder, lightning and heavy rains. We waited and the next morning it was a beautiful day! That evening the weather man said that ‘just because the storm isn't happening in your neighborhood doesn't mean it isn't in other's. We all laughed.
By Wednesday I gave up looking for the storm. .....and then in a matter of a couple of hours it poured! There it was...right in front of me. There was lightening, … (19 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Ten Ways to Lose Your Lover - 02/21/11 05:00 PM
Hawaii passed a law to double our Continuing Education Requirements from 10-20 credits for renewing our real estate licenses come 2012. I rejoiced! It is critical that we continue to get educated on real estate updates, laws and information so that we may do better as real estate professionals.
In the meantime, most of us know why we don't do certain things because we value our licenses and choose to do real estate ....the right way.
Talk about how that particular neighborhood is in a high crime area....or used to be. (Fair Housing Laws) Move a client into a home that … (12 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Why Have I Been Neglecting ActiveRain? CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) - 02/09/11 01:52 PM
Over the course of the last year I have been focusing on one of the designations I felt would be the most beneficial and worthwhile to my career. My CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) designation. With dedication, committment and a lot of hard work and effort the past year I have earned my CRS designation.
Not only did I find out that the CRS classes were very educational but they were the very motivational too. I walked out of each class feeling I needed to immediately work on a listing or buyer packet or focus on updating my website.
I have not put … (25 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Why Should I Hire You As My Realtor®? - 01/23/11 08:56 PM
When a potential client asks us, "Why Should I Hire You As My Realtor®" how would I answer? A few months ago I wrote TOP Three Considerations For Choosing Your Realtor® and I believe no differently now than I did back then. So, if you ask me why you should hire me I need to put this back in your ball park so that you can let me know what YOU expect in your Realtor®.
While you're thinking about that let me ask you a few questions to give you some pondering points:
Do you expect me to just talk … (15 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Supporting our Peers in the World of Blogging - 01/20/11 11:25 AM
I attended the first day of CRS 202 Sales Course at the Hale Koa Hotel in Waikiki. We are fortunate to have have CRS Instructors come to Hawaii to teach these courses so that we may better educate ourselves and work towards our CRS (Certified Residential Specialist) Designation. Jackie Leavenworth is our instructor and a vibrant gal indeed! (stay tuned for a follow up post!)
Our first 'networking' task we started before the class commenced. It was a blue sheet and it was titled "Ideas, Referrals and Networking Opportunities". With many squares for others to fill in their info (one person per square) with their … (14 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Sentrilock Electronic Lockboxes – Safety for Sellers is Top Priority, Right? - 12/23/10 11:43 AM
After reading Scott Fogleman's post on When did it become ok to give buyers keys before closing? I started boiling inside thinking about the speaker in the Sentrilock class at our GMM (Honolulu Board of Realtors General Membership Meeting) meeting a couple weeks ago.
The panel gave their feedback on why the Sentrilock Electronic Lockbox was a plus for our listings. This speaker gave an example of how he had regular Masterlock lockbox on the door and one day he went to check on it and the combination had been changed!
Gasps! You could hear the majority of the class commence … (12 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Top 5 Reasons Why Your Fellow Agents Love to Work With YOU....or NOT - 12/01/10 09:47 PM
I'm sure we've all encountered our share of the agents (including, but not limited to- real estate agents, loan officers, home inspectors, escrow officers, termite inspectors , all involved in a transaction) whom we cringe at the very mention of their name- after that horrendous time we had to work on the other side of them. (Boy, that was a "mouthful" in one sentence wasn't it?)
Needless to say we know that in order for a transaction to run its course smoothly we all work together as a team. We are real estate professionals that think in the best interests of … (9 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: You Contacted Me But Don't Want a Real Estate Agent? - 11/05/10 07:52 PM
I received a call from a potential buyer wanting to view my Mililani listing. They're flexible on the days, but need to look at it in the evenings around 7pm OR the weekends are fine at any time.
First question: Are you preapproved for a loan? She says, ...well, we want to look around a bit and see if there's anything we like first. (How many times have we heard that?)
Second question: Are you working with another real estate agent? She says, "We aren't going to get a real estate agent". I'm still wondering if I heard that correctly :)
If you are a … (108 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Taking Out the Trash for Positive Business Solutions - 10/10/10 08:59 PM
Charles Buell, Seattle, WA, Home Inspector created a contest "Proof that I can blog about anything!" He said to look under your kitchen or bathroom sink and pick an item to blog about while finding some way to make this object relate to whatever your profession is.
I immediately thought of an item and topic and didn't even have to go look under my kitchen sink! It was the trash. I have always kept the trash can and its contents under the kitchen sink so it's not out in front of eyesight. The trash gets thrown out EVERY morning on our … (34 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Senior Seller Becomes the Greatest Example for Change - 10/08/10 03:43 PM
A potential seller was trying to decide on what to do with the home. Keep it ....or sell it and downgrade. The house has been paid off for years. The only decision was if it would be a better choice to sell and bank all that money or just live in the home without worrying what to do, where to go, boxes to pack and so on.
MANY years past and the seller still had no worries.
The potential seller was older now and had two grandchildren come back to live in the home. With the grandson doing the yard work … (33 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Top 10 Tips to Being a Team Player | Being Part of the Solution vs. Being Part of the Problem - 09/19/10 03:34 PM
How many of you believe you are a team player?
My definition of a team player is simple: Being a team player means to recognize the strengths of all involved within a particular group and meeting a common goal. I learned early on that working together to meet that common goal of getting to closing with our clients is THE most important part of the transaction.
We can rant and rave about the other agent, the loan officer, the buyer, the seller, the home inspector, the stager, the escrow officer, the attorney, the pest inspector, the surveyor (and the list goes … (22 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: TOP Three Considerations For Choosing Your Realtor® - 09/09/10 02:34 PM
We all tend to grasp a few things along the way to incorporate into our business model. There are some pointers we can use and some we keep on the back burner for another time. Who knows when we'll be able to utilize them with a potential client.
Preparing a listing presentation or a buyer packet is surely an art. I prepare each and every one with care, consideration and geared specifically for the client. I try to make it interesting and attach a cover letter, graphs, articles I've written and loads of information.
I recently added something to the presentation/packet that I really … (19 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Hey Lady! You're Rich Because You Sell Houses....Right? - 07/18/10 12:24 AM
Many people will tend to look at the success of others by their status, title, label or how financially stable they are. The career choice of an individual just starting out in the work force most likely is an employee who works for a monthly salary or paid by the hour.
During the course of our lives we settle in to a ‘job' (career) that we enjoy...or at the very least one that we make a good living so as to support ourselves and families. We may change paths frequently or we remain on the ladder of success or just a … (89 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: The Grass is Greener on MY Side - 05/31/10 10:49 PM
There are real estate agents who claim that it's the Real Estate brokerage that is responsible to give them leads handed out on a silver platter.
WE ARE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS!
During the last few years I took note of some Real Estate Agents who continuously change companies in hopes of finding ‘greener pastures'. Our Hawaiian Islands are small compared to many counties on the mainland (Continental U.S.) but let's take a look at Oahu (County of Honolulu) where we have about 4,500 active licensed real estate agents. Of all our Hawaiian Islands Oahu holds about 58.10% of all active licensees state wide.
… (33 comments)
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hawaii real estate professional: Retirement Dreams Unfolding - 04/13/10 01:11 PM
Over a year ago I had a Hawaii Home Seller who had to take the property off the market after serious contemplation. Life decisions were more important than selling a property and I surely understood completely. You can read more about it here>>> Reflections and Compassion in the Real Estate Industry.
Having compassion no matter what the situation is a gift every Realtor® should carry. It allows one to get outside ‘self' and step into another's shoes. In this case it was serious life decisions. Retiring, moving to another state in the Continental United States and basically uprooting ....and then the … (10 comments)
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