I have had the opportunity to answer some "floor calls" in the last week and every one of them has their home on the market, and they are calling me about a property they are interested in.  We chat for about 5 minutes before they tell me that they have their home on the market and then I ask them the question.  "Is an agent representing you on selling your home?"  Answer is Yes.  Then I ask, "Do you want them to represent you when you purchase a new home?"  Answer is YES.  So I tell them, well you need to contact your agent as I may be in breach of a contract you have in place with your agent.  They say, "you mean, they can show me a house?"  Oh my goodness, I almost fall off of my chair when I hear this. 

So my advice is, if you want to represent your clients on both sides of their purchase and sale, Teach them about how we work as agents.  Instruct them to email you or call you with questions.  You could potentially lose the other side if you don't.  Other agents out there may not be so willing to just give up on the client and they may convert them over without you even knowing it.

Everyone always asks me why I work with Re/Max and why I don't just work for myself.  Well let me tell you why!  Last month I received a lead generated from remax.net and it was a buyer wanting to preview a $1.2 million house that weekend.  I called her and we made the appointment.  I wasn't so sure it was a qualified lead, but when I met them, they were so interested in that home, they wanted to set up a second showing at one of the homes they saw.  I set up the 2nd and then wrote the offer and had it accepted.  The only reason I procured those buyers is because they like the REMAX logo and trusted that a quality agent would respond to their request. 

Then the very next week, I was busy working in our office and we received a walk in!  I was the only one working in the "round" and the secretary asked if I could help this seller.  I met him in the conference room and to my surprise, he needed an agent to sell a 48 unit condo project asap.  He had a previous "no name" agent helping him and needed to have RE/Max help him advertise.  I know this may just sound like crazy luck, but in both instances, both clients needed the Re/Max name to help them in some way.  This is why I pay the desk fee, this is why I work in the office all the time, and this is why I believe that Re/Max is a great company to work for! 

I saw a listing that was just like this and I was compelled to go visit it!  It reminded me of a Norman-Rockwell picture and I was so enticed to check it out in person.  Once I did, I wasn't as impressed as the photo had me believing.  Do you think this picture is a good idea or bad?  This is a new listing I took and I truly believe it shows just as well inside as it does out.  My sellers are extremely motivated and I want to service them well.  I have it on Craigslist, Active Rain, all of the normal websites.  What other ideas do you have to get someone to purchase this beautiful home?  Feeling a little out of ideas!

CHECK THIS OUT!!!

 If you visit www.barefootstudio.biz  the owner, Kent Skewes will hook your clients up with whatever your hoping to inscribe on their plaque.  You can get it in marble, and slate and he can add images as well.  You can totally modify them to whatever you want.  He will also inscribe your contact information and logo if applicable.  If they break, he will redo them for you and he has such a fast turn around!  All of my clients get one and they are so impressed with them!  So cool!

For those of you in the Portland Metro area, I have found that this property search tool is fantastic.  It is a very basic tool to use, but puts you in the drivers seat and allows you take any turn you want at a moments notice.  If your interested in checking it out, go to http://www.chanelshavers.com/  and scroll down to the bottom where there is a map.  Sign up and "voila" your good to go!

For those real estate professionals that want to check it out, go to http://www.pdxhomequest.com/ and give it a try.  Just another thing to add to your tool belt and the fantastic thing about it is that you can see what your clients have been looking at.  If a client has been on there 24/7 searching, you will see it all and see their motivation.  A very cool part of this is that the client feels like they aren't bothering you all the time, and you can actually see what they are "really" looking for.

Cheers!

Alot of my friends ask me how I am succeeding in this career only being in it for 3 years and ending up in the top 10 in my office after 1 1/2 years.  I remember when I was searching for a house and I would drive up to the front, pull the flyer, and then call the agent that was on the flyer to see if I could get in.  No responce.  No call back, nothing.  I made a small mental note that I would never be that agent.  I have been primarily successful from floor calls, sign calls, open houses, and lead generating websites.  Although my biggest asset to this business is the phone, I find that if you can't answer it when they call, but call back within a 1/2 hour of them calling, you will still procure the lead.  This business is complex at times, but I am finding that it is as simple as answering the phone!

What makes you successful?

I am perplexed with the amount of work I do daily to keep the transactions together, keep them smooth, and all organized.  The only difficulty I experience is the incapability of the other brokers in the biz.  How do they keep the business when they are so weak at the business aspect of this job?  I am the listing agent and an offer came through $7k less than asking.  My clients wanted to settle a little higher, so we countered.  The buyer would not budge.  My clients through in the towel and accepted his lowball offer so they can move on with their life.  Since we sent over the sellers counter with the buyers terms on Monday, I still have not received the signed paperwork from the buyer and at this point very curious as to if this deal is actually a deal.  I have called the buyers broker several times along with a followup email and still not a single slice of paper my way.  It has been three full business days and now I feel like I need to tell my sellers to let this guy walk.  The only unfortunate part of this is that it is not the sellers fault, nor the buyers fault, it is the buyers broker fault.  She has come across extremely bossy, yet not procuring any of the documents that a typical agent would have turned in immediately.  What happened to "Time is of the essence?"

My only take on this is that I have to believe that the brokers that don't do the work will fall through the wayside one day and I will have more clients.  I want to believe that but in this business, you can stink at what you do without ever letting your clients see the side I see.  What a mess.  I guess it only makes me stick to my ethics of business and helps me become an even stronger asset in this business.  What do you think?

I have found it very interesting that originally when I started this career, I thought I would want nothing but listings.  I thought I could set a sign on the property, print some flyers, and add data to RMLS and collect a paycheck.  Not so much.  After having a couple listings my main frustration was that I had to rely on another agents selling expertise to sell my listing and not all agents are good salepeople.  I also had to rely on what they told their clients about the condition of the property and then somehow back peddle and change their minds that the property isn't in as bad of shape as their agent had first sold them with.  I thought I would be in the drivers seat with listings and actually your nowhere near the front of the car.  You are actually in the back with your sellers describing the emotional rollercoaster of a first time homebuyers frame of mind all the while trying to make them feel confident in my services which I am not even able to use since the buyers are using a different agent.  I also find myself working very hard sprucing up the house while its on the market, changing light bulbs, sweeping the leaves off the front porch, and making sure nothing has spoiled in the fridge.  During the repair process, I am calling contractors, sewer scope experts, oil tank sweepers, chimney cleaners, maids, junk haul away companies and much much more.  I have found that sellers don't really know what they are in for and its my job to buffer the chaos and make the process of selling a house very simple.  I do love working with sellers but the only frustration I voice is the amount of "unwritten work" I find myself doing.