Herb's Portland Oregon Real Estate Blog your RE/MAX Agent

Sellers of Short Sales what you should know.

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 23:54:49 -0500

So youve had a few agents out and there has been some talk about selling your home as a Short Sale. You think that you have this short sale stuff down cold? Really ? Here are a few things that might not have come up in the conversations that you have had about selling your home Short.

Short sales must go through an approval process. There will be a lot of people involved along the way to that Short Sale approval and eventual closing , that is if your fortunate enough to make it. One such person will be the BPO agent. BPO stands for Brokers Price Opinion. It is much more detailed than that of a CMA or Competitive Market Analysis and a lot less detailed than the Appraisal. As the name implies it is an Opinion.

If youre a Seller you should know that know matter how good you believe your agent is the lender will still reach out for that opinion of value from the BPO agent.

The BPO agent will base there opinion of value using Current properties on the market, and recent Sales from a fairly tight geographic area all tempered by a a long list of the lenders guidelines. Square footage is one of those guidelines on the list.

Now some time ago in Portland Oregon the MLS decided to include all Square footage into the size of the home. Yup that includes Basements finished or not. Garages are not included. But did you know that a finished basement or even a finished lower level in a Daylite basement is not seen as living area or fully used in a BPO.

BPO standards use what is known as GLA or Gross Living Area which only uses liveable square footage above grade. Any lower level square feet may or may not be used as contributing value but not as a direct comparable for sturctures.

What that means is that if you have a 2000 sq foot home with a daylite basement havng 4 bedrooms and 2 full baths where two of the bedrooms and one of the baths is on the lower level in the eyes of the lender you have a 2 bedroom 1 bath 1000 sq ft home and all of the comps should be within 20% of that.

In addition when the BPO agent is looking for comps for the most part we do not use Short Sale Listings and in many cases we are not allowed to use them even as Solds.

Want to learn more and make sure your pricing your Short Sale correctly? Choose a Certified Distressed property expert CDPE for short. As a CDPE and active BPO agent processing some 50 or so BPO's per month I can guide you through the pit Falls. Give me a call or email me for a private no obligation conultation on what steps to take in preperation to selling your home Short.

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What is a CDPE and how can they help?

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 23:47:37 -0400

Every body knows someone who has either SOLD their home or BOUGHT there home under a Short Sale circumstance. You may know or have heard the stories about people who have saved tens of thousands of dollars or in some cases even hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Well I am here to tell you those stories are absolutely TRUE!

But how did it happen and just what is this CDPE thing I have been hearing about? If you or someone you know are heading down that path to foreclosure the CDPE is someone you better get to know.

They may be your only hope! Find out Here!

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Failure of Short Sales To Close

Sat, 09 Jul 2011 21:25:53 -0400

Over the years I have worked my share of Short Sales. I always spent the time to qualify the Seller before moving forward. This just kind of seemed automatic to me.

Yet a couple of months ago a Buyer that I am working with called me about a property that she saw on my web site. Like most first time Buyer's Susie is real enthusiastic. And rightly so with this home.

It is surrounded by homes in the High $300's to upper $500's. Yet its sales price was only $209,000. I checked the listing and no indication of a Short Sale, photo's looked good as well.

Showing instructions are Call agent. I make the call on every number I can find leaving messages every where. Two days pass And I finally get a call back. I set the appointment and call the Buyer.

Just like the photo's this home is stunning at least for the price and area. It is hard to keep Susie from doing cartwheels in the Living Room. Later that evening we write the offer, theorizing that the reason this gem is still on the market was the incompetency of the agent who takes 2 plus days to call back.

To be on the safe side I put a few caveats in the sale to protect the Buyer. Things like Sale is subject to Seller providing documentation of liens and or amounts owed on the property. In the event that the Seller owes more than a negotiated sales price Seller is capable and willing to bring cash in to close.

Got the agents attention on that one. Three days later the agent requests a meeting between the Seller herself and I.

It took 45 minutes to drag it out of them but the reality was the Seller owed almost $300,000 on the home. The listing agent had never asked the question.

To this date that the listing is still on the market. The agent has never had any communication what so ever with the two lenders. She drops the price on a regular basis it is now down around $150,000 or so.

It is absolutely true that the single biggest failure of Short Sales to close is often the Agent.

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Change I hate to Believe

Mon, 09 May 2011 18:10:39 -0400

Who is to Blame for the economic chaos we find ourselves in today? We are, you, me, our friends and family members. We are all guilty without a doubt.

Here is why.

We choose to live in a sound bite society. Reacting to negativity with disdain. Our anger directed only towards each other. We talk about it daily with our friends, family and aquatiances. Do we take the time to voice those concerns to those who could make a difference (our elected representatives ) ? No we do not!

Instead we choose to fall back on our list of favorites " One person can't change anything" or " No one will listen to me " or my favorite " They are going to do what they want anyway ". These are all cop-out phrases.

We heard the words but we did not pay attention when President Obama said " Change will happen if you want it, but you need to Push me " or something to that effect!

The world has changed yet we continue to hide our head in the sand pretending that it has not. In the 1980's the number of Lobbyists were in the Hundreds. Since then it has exploded into the tens of thousands.

President Obama told us how to effect that change. Yet everyday Americans choose to go about their way and live life as they always had. Waiting for the change to happen.

Well my friends the Lobbyists listened. They took President Obama's message to heart. They have been speaking loud and clear while the rest of us sit around and wait for change to happen the Lobbyists are making it happen.

If this Change is not what you were waiting for then perhaps you need to do more than just wait! The Voice of one honest constituant carries more weight than you can imagine. The voices of many can be amazing.

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IE-7 Vs Firefox

Thu, 05 May 2011 21:49:13 -0400

My PC is about a year old now. When I had it built I had them install XP as I did not want to deal with Vista and Windows 7 had not yet come out.

However the last few months I have been having a lot of problems with IE-7 on a few of the web sites. Speciffically with my Local MLS ( RMLS ).

Now I have high speed internet and my PC works very fast on all of the web sites except for the RMLS web site. Searching and Printing began to remind me of the old days when you hit the print button and then went and made a sandwich.

So I upgraded to IE-8. That was a no go. Did not seem to help and I did not like the fact that the email Icon Button did not work on the upper menu task bar.

Then one morning after going back to IE-7 RMLS came out with a notice that they had just optimized the site for FireFox.

I gave it a shot and wow does it ever work quick. The Searches and the Printouts just flat out scream.

I can only conclude that given that Microsoft has moved on from XP and no longer want to provide help and given that windows updates are automatic, something must have happened that I can not solve.

I am pretty happy with the speed of Firefox but am surprised that it will not work with some web sites.

Guess that nothing is perfect.

Whats next for me? Who knows maybe a Mac is in the future?

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REO BPO Short Sales Do you know the difference?

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 16:02:26 -0400

While out previewing homes for some of my clients the other day I came across a couple who came straight to the point by asking " Just what are REO's, BPO's and Short Sales?

It was a fablous question and one that I think that not many people would truly be able answer. Oh I can imagine that there are quite a few people who could fake the answer but how many truly do know the answer?

To that end I wrote this post on my outside Blog. I followed up that post with a very nice assortment of Portland Oregon Homes offered as Short Sale Listings in a variety of different areas and neighborhoods.

I know what your going to say " SHort Sales , Arggh!" Well I am here to tell you that the Short Sale stigma is not as bad as one would think. In fact in our office I found that 65% of all of our transactions this last month or so have been Short Sales.

In the last few weeks I have also seen a significant increase in Foreclosed properties. That means that REO inventory in and around Portland Oregon will soon take up a major portion of our business as well.

Stop By take a look and let me know what you think. Do you know your REO's, BPO's and Short Sales?

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Hobby Time in Portland Oregon

Wed, 09 Mar 2011 12:56:38 -0500

After almost 3 years of sitting on the Table at 90% complete this winter finally produces a completed project.

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Your Ship has come in Don't let it Depart without YOU!

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 19:20:54 -0500

So you say you've been searching for a home for sale in Portland for some time with no Luck. You know the kind of home I am talking about, that cute home that fits your all your needs but without all the problems assoicated with older homes in Portland Oregon. Your out looking steady but time and time again you are disapointed by Condition.

Well thanks to this Seller you don't have to wonder about such things as Old half inch Water Lines, Sewer Lines put in when your Grandfather was young, Electrical Fuse box or Drafty Old windows or a furnace with a name you never heard of before.

Bedrooms ? We got em, 3 of em.

Baths ? Got them also, two of em.

Basement ? Yes indeedy.

How about a Garage? Well lgo you one better, has a 25' X 25' oversized Pole Building Shop/Garage with two role-away Doors.

What about a Yard. All fenced with a Garden Space, Flower beds, Blueberrie Bushes and Fruit Trees

But don't wait to long because not only do Ships Come in they also Depart!

All Aboard your North Portland (Home) Ship is about to Set Sail !

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Seo Your Way to the Top

Sun, 06 Feb 2011 23:52:17 -0500

Being in the Business of Real Estate is sometimes frustrating. Not for all the reasons that just may have popped into your head.

It is frustrating to me because I feel that I am to close to the issues. Take for example the issue of Search Engine Optimization or SEO for short. I work hard on a regular basis to push my web sites to the top of the Search Engines via natural organic results.

There is the Rub! I am Not a Buyer nor a Seller of Portland Oregon Property. So I can only take a stab at what might be the keywords that others are typing into their favorite Search Engine.

It might be something a simple as real estate for sale or homes for sale. Or it could be more elaborate and specific like Portland homes for sale, or even more specific such as downtown Portland Oregon Condo's for Sale. Yet how would I know? For all I know the majority of Buyers are Looking for Pickles and somehow stumbled across real estate by accident!

I hope so cause I might have that covered, see The_Pickle . But let's face it I don't have enough money to start buying, creating and maintaining a site for every vegetable.

So perhaps the better way might just be in collaboration? What say you? What search terms do you optimize your site or sites for? Don't have a site you say? Well then what search terms do your friends and relatives use when searching for homes online?

Can you help a brother out? If you share so will I for that is what Activerain was founded on and what causes most of us to continue to SHOW UP AND SHARE !

What are Your Top Terms and With what page Rank?

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Beaverton Oregon Condo's with 3 bedrooms

Sun, 23 Jan 2011 21:22:47 -0500

If you like living in a Bedroom Community such as Beaverton Oregon a scant few minutes away from Portland Oregon but you can't yet afford the prices of a home yet you need the space then perhaps a Condo is for you.

The biggest problem you will encounter is the real lack of 3 bedroom Condos. Typically most Condos were built with a floor plan of 2 bedrooms or less. I suspect the theory was that they would be most often purchased by retirees who wanted less space to keep up.

But in to days real world although many of us do want less up keep we also need extra space for our own needs. Like an office space for him and for her. Yep that's right 3 bedrooms. Here is a little search for that 3 Bedroom Condo in Beaverton that you have been looking for.

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View VS Yard

Sat, 22 Jan 2011 23:07:35 -0500

The View Vs Yard question? I have been working with a couple now for a few weeks that wants to by a Portland Oregon home with a View and a Yard in an area of similar priced homes.

I try very hard to preview at least from the outside all of the homes that I will be showing. Nothing more frustrating for a Buyer than to realize that the agent they chose to work with did not even do the basics. They simply pulled up a property that looked good and then set the appointment hoping for the best.

So when it comes to making sure these homes meet the standards of your pickiest of buyers what tools are available to you?

This is what is currently working for me. My Portland Oregon IDX web site captures the basics for all of my clients including a Walk Score and emails them daily along with me as well.

After Previewing all the online photo's and reading all of the remarks I then load the address into Google Maps and take a drive down the street.

If all else fails I can also use a local mapping application provided by the City of Portland called Portland Maps. This great tool gives me aerial views and plat map views along with tons of statistics about the home.

Combined these tools allow me to eliminate those properties that just wont cut it and helps me trim down my drive by time to preview all of the other truly potential candidates.

Happy Hunting!

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Show me the Money

Thu, 20 Jan 2011 22:12:39 -0500

Show me the Money not the Hype! As a busy real estate Broker in Portland Oregon I am constantly amazed at what agents seem to think is important.

" I am a Short Sale Specialist, or Foreclosure Specialist " etc. etc. etc. Yes it is important to work with someone who knows what they are doing. But truth be known what the consumer wants right out of the gate is to see that Foreclosure information and or listings.

Just show me the Foreclosure information they scream. Yet more often than not what they get is accolades about how good the agent could be if the consumer chooses to call them. I work it a little bit different.

When you go to my site www.portlandrealproperty.com you will see property right away. I have several slide shows in the right hand margin playing a series of homes that I have personally previewed. At the top of the page there are a series of drop down menus. The First one to the left is " Real Estate Deals " .

You will find various neighborhoods in and around Portland Oregon with a list of Short Sales and Foreclosures as well as Owner Carry Contract terms. Check back often as I am constantly adding new searches.

Now these properties are fresh. The List of properties is automatically updated throughout the day so when you click on of these Neighborhoods like " South East Portland Short Sales " you will be looking at over 100 plus listings from a fresh list updated from the local MLS throughout the day.

So the next time you are looking for Portland Oregon Real Estate be it a Short Sale, Foreclosure, Owner carry contract or any home be sure to visit my web site, the one that gives it to you straight and right away without all that hype. Once you find that special property you can be assured that I will be there to help with all the experience and knowledge you would expect to find in a Portland Oregon Real Estate Broker with over 20 years of licensed service to the community.

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Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon

Whats Close By to my Portland Oregon Home

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 11:51:52 -0500

The Most frustrating thing for any out of area potential Home Buyer be it in Portland Oregon or in your home town is to be able to get a sense of then neighborhood they hope to live in.

As a busy Broker in Portland Oregon this is a very common question " What's Close By?". That question has been answered.

My IDX web Sites with fully mapped neighborhoods updated throughout the day providing the user real time access to listings also employs Walk Score Technology.

See it in Action right here for yourself with this list of Condo's in Downtown Portland Oregon for Under $300,000.

Be it Uptown, Downtown or in the Pearl District and you are looking to buy a home in and around Portland Oregon you will be hard pressed to find a better web site than this!

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Price VS Square Foot

Wed, 29 Dec 2010 16:38:52 -0500

The Price per Square foot argument. It is not all that often but on occasion I do get a Buyer or two who are over enamored with the Price per Square Foot question.

Here is the Story.

After showing Bob and Sue this perfect little Condo in downtown Portland the other day they wanted me to send them some comps. I am always more than happy to do that as a well informed Buyer is a Happy Buyer. After viewing the comps Bob emails back and wants to make an offer based on his calculations using Square Feet.

So a little history about this property may be in order. First of all it is a Bank Owned ( REO ) property with a price tag at $54,500 is lower than any other Condo in the entire area. Secondly it is a Studio of about 388 SQ FT and had previously sold for $139,000. Third it is in a Building that Condo's do not often come up for sale. It is also the most popular floor plan in the building and has a Good Downtown Portland View on the third floor. Fourth foreclosures in this area are rare as the potential rents will often cover any mortgage payment.

Here is my email response to Bob and Sue.

In regards to price per square foot I may have a slightly different take on this than you.

During the appraisal process the value placed using Square Footage as measurement is rarely used in the Portland Residential market. It can come in to play if you were looking at, let's say 3 bedroom ranch homes and all of the comps were within a couple of hundred feet of each other say in the 1400 to 1600 square foot range. A house that would not be conforming would be the same 3 bedroom ranch but perhaps only had 1000 square feet or perhaps one that was 1900 square feet. Those two would not measure up given the square footage differed quite a bit from the subject property and the other relevant comps.

You mentioned that you purchased a home in the recent past so you have nothing more to do than to look at the apraisal done on your own home. Appraisers will often use 3 to 10 comps yet often there are more than 20 that could have been used. In Subdivisions built in the 70's as an example it is not uncommon to find hundreds of homes where square foot varies very little.

Once you start getting into the small one bedroom or studios properties like the property we are looking at from a value point of view the price per square foot is really not relevant as a measuring stick. Location matters, Style and Function matters, Condition matters and of course competition from other buyers matters a great deal.

From an Agents view and certainly from most Buyers competition from other Buyers is an important factor as it does indicate how others feel about the property. If the majority of buyers do not care for a property then activity will be drastically reduced or perhaps not any activity at all.

Most of todays Buyers who are actively looking are generally well informed. If a property comes on the market and the activity level is very high and generates multiple offers one can presume that it was not just a stroke of luck that everyone came to the same decision by pure luck of the draw.

Very active agents like my self will also pay attention to the market. As a regular routine I look at all the new properties daily to see if they will match any of the hundreds of people that I have in my Potential Buyer watch list. In General it is fair to say that most Agents are a very competitive bunch and do not want to get caught missing a good deal. It is not all about the money that we stand to make. It is more frequently about the competition and the sharing of that win with the lucky buyer who is able recognize and act on a good deal.

Have a wonderful day.

Herb

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Sellers are You Proactive Reactive or Passive

Fri, 24 Dec 2010 11:58:30 -0500

As an active Real Estate Broker licensed in Portland Oregon I get all kinds of questions about Real Estate in Portland and in general. One question that I have been getting quite a bit lately is " How's the Portland Market doing now?, I hear it's kind of slow! ".

I just love this one. I am always kind when I answer matter of factly that " you know of course all Real Estate is Local". I then go on to ask the key question. Are you currently trying to sell your home? If not, are you considering it in the near future.

No matter what the response, Yes, NO or Not Sure I answer back " The kind of market you encounter will be dependent upon rather you are a Proactive, Reactive or Passive Seller." Have you given any consideration to that?

The statment is a pretty big mouth full and not easy to swallow in one quick setting. Which gives me the perfect opportunity to explain just what I mean.

A Passive Seller is often a person who has come into the market with a attitude " I'll Sell if I can get my price!" From a Real Estate Broker's stand point this type of Seller is one of the most difficult people to help. Their motivation is often low and more often than not they are unhappy with the results that they are recieving. Heaven help you when the Listing contract comes to the end as the Seller will almost always unload on you. Truth of the matter they are mostly right. If the agent had been stronger and or more informative or even to step away they may have been able to secure a listing with a Proactive Seller the most desireable kind.

A Reactive Seller is often the kind of person who reacts to stimulii but not before. Let me give you an example : Bob puts his home on the market a little bit to high of a price. His agent is thinking that as time goes on he will work on the Seller to get that price down. Meanwhile Sam a neighbor of Bob's just down the steet decides to put his home on the market thinking that " If Bob can get that price, then I can certainly get that kind of price given that I have so much more to offer."

Sam's house comes on the market and Bob wanders through a few weeks later during an open house. Bob is astonished at what he sees. Sams house is fabulous. Sam must be delirious, why would he put his house on the market at such a low price when it is much better than mine. Bob calls his agent. Bob's agent reminds Bob of the conversation at the time they listed. Rember Bob how I told you that price was to high? Bob says he will think it over. Instead of being Proactive and making the imediate desicion to adjust his price, Bob waits for the following weekend to try and catch Sam at home. No luck Sam and familly have gone away for the weekend. Finally by the following weekend Bob is able to talk to Sam. He quickly asks Sam about the choice of his price and finally gets around to asking Sam if he would consider raising it up a little. Sam's response floors Bob, " can't do it old buddy, I've already sold her to that couple that came through the same day you were over." Are you kidding Bob exclaims! Don't you know that you sold it to cheap? Not according to all of the comps I have seen, fact is I was going to come down and talk to you Bob, don't you know that your price is to high? Bob the Reactive Seller calls his agent and requests a price reduction.

Now the Gold Standard when it comes to Real Estate Sellers is the Proactive Seller. This is the type of Seller I am always looking for. They are curious and realistic. They understand that selling your home is marketing. Truth is that if there are 3 bottles of Milk at the store and two of them are $3.05 that most Buyer's will pick up the one bottle for $2.75 every time. A proactive Seller will read over the Comps with their agent. Together they will look through the home and take suggestions and critisims to heart. Once the house is ready to put on the market, I will set my Seller's up on mys Portland Oregon Real Estate Neighborhood monitoring site where they can see all the homes on the market, Save them to their favorites list where they can keep track of their neighbors status for price reductions and or offers. At the same time my Seller is ready to adjust so am I. You see the Proactive Seller fully understands that hiring an Agent is two fold, Looking for the expierience and knowledge that will enable them to represent them and for an agent that is on the same page.

Yes there are Proactive, Reactive and Passive agents as well. Who do you want working for you!

Note : This is a reprint from my one of my outside blogs The Pickle

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University Investment Rental Opportunity

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 00:40:04 -0500

It seems that lately I have been bombarded by Investors looking for opportunities in the Portland Oregon real estate market.

Many of these investors are looking for Hot Rental Properties in and around the Colleges. So as any good Real Estate Broker would do, I have been previewing as many of these homes as I can. I always like it when I can find a Good Deal!

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Beaverton Oregon Condo on Busline

Wed, 15 Dec 2010 12:05:09 -0500

Type in your SEO text here...

13320 SW Allen # 102
Beaverton, Or 97005
Total Renovation Condo on Busline

Herb Hamilton

Real Estate Broker

Office:	(503) 659-1550
Mobile:	(503) 515-8889
Website:	Visit Website

Price	:	$103,500
Bedrooms	:	3
Bathrooms	:	1
Square Foot	:	975
County	:	Washington
Property Type	:	Condo or Townhouse
Year Built	:	1968
MLS Number	:	10091296

click for more information and pictures

Property Description

Fabulous Lower Level Condo Renovated in 2007 updated again in 2010. Lots of light nice spaces a real Charmer. Sale includes Asko Washer and Dryer Hi-Speed Internet ready.

To see more photo's and or Search for other homes in the same neighborhood go to www.househuntportland.com

Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Broker in Oregon For Fast Service Call Herb on Cell Phone at 503-515-8889

Equal Housing Opportunity.

Re/Max Preferred Inc., Realtors : 10121 SE Sunnyside Rd., #150 - Clackamas OR 97015 : (503) 659-1550

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Beaverton Oregon 3 Bedroom Condo

Mon, 06 Dec 2010 13:45:01 -0500

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Fabulous Investment Property On the Bus Line

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 11:47:43 -0400

Single Level Beaverton Condo

Overview
Maps
Photos
Description
Market Stats

$107,500

Single Family Home

Main Features

3 Bedrooms
1 Bathroom
Interior: 795 sqft

Location

13320 SW Allen
102
Beaverton, OR 97005
USA

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Herb Licensed Oregon Broker Hamilton

RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors
(503) 659-1550
h.hamilton@remax.net
http://www.portlandrealproperty.com

Listed by: RE/MAX Preferred Inc. Realtors

Our recent listings

Mixed Use Building Work from Home
Portland Four-Square in ALberta Arts Dist.
Single Level Beaverton Condo
1920's Bungalow with Hardwood Floors

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Homes For Sale Portland Oregon Search Now

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Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon

It Sank like a Rock

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 23:45:31 -0400

There have been a few good buys on the Portland Oregon Real Estate Market over the last year but nothing like what I have been seeing in the last couple of days!

August 1st hit and hold on to your hat. In some of the hottest market places in the greater Portland Metro area it looks like a return to the old days. I had been telling people for the last 3 or so years that the $200,000 and under price range in close in Portland had all but disapearred.

Today though as I took a quick peek in just a couple of areas I found seven nice homes from $149,900 to $189,000. Who would have thought? I suspect the fact that Oregon has reached number 3 in the nation for foreclosures has something to do with it.

I am telling you right now, If you have ever given it a little thought to buying a Rental for retirement this is your Market! Do not delay! Call Herb Today or check it out for your self on my Portland Metro area Web Site at www.househuntportland.com

Don't let this market and opportunity pass you by! I'm waiting for your call.

Homes For Sale Portland Oregon Search Now

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Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon

Need Domain Name Help

Sun, 04 Apr 2010 18:42:49 -0400

Just getting ready to fire up another IDX web site for Portland Oregon Home Searches.

The Site will be something similar to my www.portlandflips.com site.

It will also include some pages from my static site www.portlandrealproperty.com

Real Estate oriented with a Blog and as many pages as I want to add.

MY problem like most agent's problems are two-fold.

1) I am an agent and often try to over analyize rather than making a decision that will help with organinc SEO.

2) The best suggestions are already purchased.

Got your thinking caps on? Let me have it!

Homes For Sale Portland Oregon Search Now

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" A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from "

Where Happiness Begins

Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon

Reduce to the Ridiculous

Thu, 01 Apr 2010 09:42:21 -0400

There are many ways to handle objections. First and foremost in business it is imperative that the well armed sales person should have at their ready an arsenal of tried and true counter arguments.

One of my favorites is the " Reduce to the Ridiculous " close. In essence it works like this. The Buyer for your lising wants to make a less than full price offer. You know your Seller very well and you know that they will not stand for this. You also know that this is probably the perfect home for that Buyer. They have shown all the signs indicating that this is their dream home. Yet for some reason they can not resist offering less.

So let's look at some fictional easy numbers. Let's say that the Sales Price is $150,000 and the Buyer's want to offer $145,000. Not alot of money in today's market but good for this example.

The reduce to the ridiculous close would work like this.

" Folks I understand that you want to get a great deal. Out of all the homes that we have looked at, this home stands out and meets the majority or your wants and needs, would you not agree? We have seen several other Buyer's looking at this home as well and a pretty big pile of Agents cards left in the kitchen for this home that has only been on the market for two days. Lets look at your offer. Do you realize that $5,000 is only about $27 per month or only about $7.a week or a little less than a dollar a day."

" Folks, do you want to lose this home over 90 cents ? "

That is in essence the Reduce to the Ridiculous close. Polish it,update it, and keep it in your arsenal for just that special time when nothing else will work. This close like others should only be used to help the Buyer make a good buying decision when you know that it is the right thing to do. Keeping the objective in full focus, not forcing them to buy something that is not right.

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" A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from "

Where Happiness Begins

Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon

Oh Crap this is a Normal Market

Fri, 26 Mar 2010 10:30:29 -0400

Is there such a thing as a Buyer's Market of a Seller's Market? Or is it simply that we all let the perception dominate reality thereby allowing the Perception to eventually become the reality.

I personally believe that there is no such thing as a Buyer or Seller's Market. Instead I believe that there is just a Market. Here is what I mean.

In times of prosperity when most homes are selling above market value and often with multiple offers there are many homes that do not sell. The same rings true in a market such as we are experiencing today. The difference is that the perception of the market place has put a damper on those who would participate, { The Buyers }.

The negative perception of our economic well being although it may be quite well founded has given many would be Buyer's a cause to pause.

It is this great pause by many which has created the impression of it being a Buyer's Market. That of many more homes on the Market than eager Buyer's attempting to purchase. The reality is this is a Normal Market. It is abnormal for there to be multiple offers at higher than offered sales price. That is of course the type of market that most of us have experienced over the last several years. That abnormal market went on for so long, for some of you it went on longer than your careers, for others like myself who have experienced many peaks and valleys, I see it for what it is. A point in time!

In this Normal Market there is more work to do. For the true work of a real estate agent is one of Previewing, Prospecting, List and Sale. It is not one of Juggling the appointment book for the high number of Buyer and Seller calls that you have been used to receiving over the last few years of that former Abnormal Market.

It is time we all face the reality of today's Normal Market and attend to its needs. It is time to go back to work, Back to The Basics.

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Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon

What Gives you the Right

Tue, 23 Mar 2010 08:33:42 -0400

I met an agent ( Sandy, name changed to protect the innocent) at a real estate seminar last week who was bending any ear that would have a listen. Her story was about the trials and tribulations while working with a Buyer over the past 4 1/2 months ( far to long in my opinion ) and the Condo's they were unable to purchase.

Sandy starts out by telling me about this wonderful Condo located in The Pearl, Portland Oregon. According to Sandy after previewing this condo on line she is certain this home has everything her Buyer could possibly want.

Gaining access is quite another thing. The home is by appointment only and must be Listing agent accompanied.

This is where Sandy is having the problem. It seems as though from Sandy's point of view that the listing agent is trying to keep her from viewing the home. She has called several times to no avail. She emailed and even tried calling the other agents Broker seeking access.

This is an interesting question to me. What causes Sandy or others to feel just because the home is listed for sale that they have the right to see it?

Yet more often than not the feelings that an agent has often will manifest itself into a larger problem than exists. Truly these feelings of perceived ill will are often the single biggest contributing factor to complaints that arrive at the Real Estate Agency at least that is what I was told from one of the Agency's investigators during a casual conversation that I was having with them.

My mother always told me that there was always two sides to every story. Just because you get to tell your story first does not mean your right. Certainly there are times when your worst fears are true. More often than not though the other side as very valid reasons why they were not able to accommodate.

The truth be told, Seller's sign contracts with agents whom they have some connection with. That does not always mean that the connection is that the agent is the best at what they do. It could mean that the agent and the Seller are much alike. Hard to get along with and stubborn. I remember interviewing an expired listing once where I asked the Seller what he liked about his previous agent. The answer astounded me. They thought the other agent was arrogant and often belligerent. They went on to say " He reminds me of Me! " I did not get that listing but soon found out that they did re-list with an agent who was known to have those same qualities.

Most agents who represent Buyer's do want to work the hardest for their clients. But remember just because the Home is on the market does not give you the absolute right to participate.

Homes For Sale Portland Oregon Search Now

Search for Portland Real Estate Portland Oregon Resource Center

So let me get this right, I can get all the Portland Oregon Listings emailed to my home that match my Search Criteria ?

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" A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from "

Where Happiness Begins

Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon

The Fed is Killing Us

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 08:56:30 -0400

What's that you say " The Fed is Killing us? " Yes once again and for the eleventh time in a row the Fed has left interest rates alone and unchanged.

It is precisely this action that is killing real estate sales in my oppinion. Here is what I mean. Anytime there is long term consistancy it fosters complacency. The longer we go with no change the more complacent Buyers become preferring to sucumb to the worst foe or real estate agents ever Procrastination!

In times of uncertainty and fluctuation there seems to be more motivation. " I must do this now before ..." My best exmple of this was in the late 80's when interest rates had dropped below 10% the decline from the high rates of upwards of 14% to 16% expierienced just a few short years earlier were still fresh in many borrowers minds. Yet Procastination and greed kept people on the fence. Greed as in the desire to wait untill the last moment before rates go up.

Then it happened. One Monday morning rates shot up. By the begining of the following week it looked as if they would crest above 11% by the end of that week. Panic seemed to set in all at once. By the time rates hit 11.25% I was so swamped with Buyer's I could hardly breathe.

A short few weeks later as rates began to stabalize and eventually began to drop procrastination and that whole wait and see thing began happening again. In my career this scenario has played out over and over again. The longer the rates remain unchanged be it high or low the slower buyers are willing to act.

So my advice to the Fed is GET OFF THE STICK! Bounce those rates and let's get the procrastinators on the move.

Homes For Sale Portland Oregon Search Now

Search for Portland Real Estate Portland Oregon Resource Center

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" A Real Estate Transaction with Herb is one YOU will Profit from "

Where Happiness Begins

Herb Hamilton is a Licensed Real Estate Broker in Oregon