Jeff's Blog

CDPE Here We Come!

Jeff Kester (RE/MAX House of Brokers) — Mon, 04 May 2009 16:08:25 -0700

This week our office is starting our Certified Distressed Property Expert training. We're going to have the program in the training room this week and next, and it will be on the RE/MAX Satellite Network (RSN) again next month.

Agents who just want the training can watch it, and those that want the certification can register with RE/MAX and get their own packet. You only have to complete the program and take a test at the end to send back to the CDPE folks to be certified.

We're looking forward to this program!

A Forest Fire is Raging in the Market!

Jeff Kester (RE/MAX House of Brokers) — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 13:40:36 -0800

I always thought I'd do better in business, including the stock market, if I had a degree in psychology instead of business. Today, I'm convinced I'm right.

The day we're having in the stock market looks more like a psychological depression than an economic one. Everyone's worried about a recession, inflation, oil prices, and of course, our own little sub-prime mess and busted real estate bubble.

Today, all that pent up negativity is being released. All the worry and all the angst is starting to work itself out of the market. It may be painful in the short term, either by one big correction (which is where we were heading until the "emergency" Fed rate cut) or in several smaller ones. But when its over, we'll have a more efficient and positive market.

Now is the time for all of us to get serious and get to work!

When this period of volatility and purging is over, the winners will be ready to go because they worked through it, starting now.

Anyone who has seen a forest after a big fire knows that it doesn't take very long for new life to take root. The fire is bad, but it actually helps things in the long term by burning away all that dead undergrowth.

Latent Whiny Liberal Syndrome (LWLS): Are You Suffering?

Jeff Kester (RE/MAX House of Brokers) — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 11:11:40 -0800

Real estate, as an industry, used to be full of people that would and could describe themselves as entrepreneurs. These do-it-all and do-it-right cowboys and cowgirls walked around ten feet tall and bulletproof. They were go-getters and self-employed renegades who got things done and made money regardless of what others said, and sometimes just to prove they could make money regardless of what others said.

Sadly, this seems to be less and less the case these days. And now, thanks to the help of research scientists, we've discovered why - the diagnosis of Latent Whiny Liberal Syndrome (LWLS).

Many people in the real estate business who thought of themselves as entrepreneurs have discovered they are indeed suffering from this nasty disorder. They look at the news, economic reports, Federal Reserve actions, home sales reports...and whine. Gone is the person at whom they used to see when they looked in the mirror who was going to leave the house and kick butt. Now they see only dark circles under their eyes, or red blotches from the tears they have cried over their suffering sales report and the red ink on their profit and loss statements.

The most damaging and easy to diagnose symptoms of this syndrome come in the order described in its name. First the whining hits. It will not be as dramatic as Chicken Little's "the sky is falling," plea - that comes later when the checkbook is finally at zero. No, the whining starts very gradually at first, usually when walking around his or her office, questioning other agents to make sure their business is as crappy as the sufferer. The whining then progresses to a more active stage, where gloomy comments are shared with other agents, brokers, and in its most destructive phase, with clients themselves.

Once the whining has progressed to full-onset, the sufferer then wonders what the President, Congress, or the Federal Reserve will do about things. This is the liberal stage, where the real material deterioration of one's entrepreneurial spirits begins. Before long, the once proud real estate cowboy or cowgirl is just an empty shell of despair, whining to anyone that will listen (usually other people with this disorder) and asking what the government will do about it.

There is usually a two-phase end to this disorder. First, the sufferer starts checking out the economic plan of presidential candidates Obama and Clinton. They will then usually progress to one of these candidates' websites to read more. They stop watching CNBC and Fox News and become regular watchers of Oprah, NBC Nightly News, and The View. And then suddenly, as a result of the influx of negativity and non-focus associated with these new habits, the disorder takes its final toll on its victim - the end of a once-hopeful and promising real estate career. Licenses are given back to the state real estate commission, hope is lost, and a salaried position is taken somewhere in a cubicle farm near their home.

We all know there are too many people in real estate right now, and some of them will be getting out of the business because the "easy money" of 2004-2006 is gone. The truly sad part is that when they exit, they will be taking with them a large number of former entrepreneurs that we enjoyed being in business with but caught LWLS in the process.

Fortunately, there is hope. In my next entry, I'll add the three step plan that our research scientists have prescribed to prevent you from being a victim to this career-ending disorder.

C'mon South Carolina!

Jeff Kester (RE/MAX House of Brokers) — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:23:57 -0800

The upcoming primary in South Carolina is the place where the new and true Conservatives in the Republican Party can make their first stand and sound the wake-up call to true red-staters all over the nation - and all they have to do is put FRED at the top of the results.

Fred Thompson is the hope of the Conservative movement, both within the party and outside. He is the holder of the Reagan legacy in the party. Without Fred, we cannot move forward the agenda of our party and our beliefs and are condemned to the lackluster and stagnant standing we currently hold.

Just like in real estate, whether you're an agent or a broker, leadership is key, and the only candidate that can bring true Conservative leadership is FRED THOMPSON.

If you're from South Carolina, this is your best chance to drive an entire political party. Not since Fort Sumter have you had such a chance to lead a revolution. Only this time, if you'll put Fred on top, you'll lead a victory!

Just the Facts!

Jeff Kester (RE/MAX House of Brokers) — Mon, 22 Jan 2007 20:00:15 -0800

A very important lesson I learned some time ago was reinforced in the past few days.

Springfield, Missouri has suffered from one of the all-time worst ice storms in history. The ice started falling from the sky on Friday, January 12. Today is Monday, January 22, and over 13,000 customers (more than just 13,000 people) of Springfield's City Utilities are still without power. Lots of cold weather here, just not nearly enough heat.

Those people still without power are understandably losing patience with our public utility. But it's not necessarily because they don't have power. It's more likely to be because they don't know when to expect to get the power back. The communications from City Utilities (CU) has been limited mostly to a daily tally report of how many customers have had their power restored, and how many remain without power. There has been no communication to those customers remaining without power as to the overall battle plan, schedules, and etc. It is this lack of communication, resulting in the perception of those customers that CU doesn't care, that is starting to percolate to the top of their emotional boilers.

This reinforces the notion that one of the very worst things that we humans can encounter is the lack of information and communication from a source we deem valid, and upon which we rely for making our decisions. Without the information on which we base our decisions, we immediately feel alone (very bad for social animals like humans) and perceive we are without any control in our lives (very very bad for humans living in the twenty-first century).

A lineman told me today that people are really getting frustrated because they don't understand the fact about what the utility company and the workers do, so they don't know how long it will take to fix things or when to expect the next round of repairs. BINGO.

As real estate professionals, we confront this truth all the time. Consumers who don't know what we do or how we do it don't know what to expect next, so naturally, when we don't communicate with them and educate them about the process enough that they know what to expect next, they feel those very bad feelings of loneliness and lack of control. What do they do then? They launch. Their frustration boils over and right through your cell phone. You just went to the happy person that helped them find their dream home to a slimy, snaky, real estate "*&^%$%*&%"!

The first time a buyer has that bad experience with a home inspection and you haven't educated them as to the contract process and what can be found during the inspection, I guarantee they'll wig out on you just like those ice storm victims. Except, unlike CU, you can't lock yourself away behind that busy switchboard and only come out when the TV cameras return to the studio.

BOTTOM LINE: COMMUNICATE. When you've told people more than they wanted to know, they'll tell you. Until then, keep giving them the facts. Let them make decisions, and at least feel like they're in control of their lives. Everyone will feel better.

P.S. Lest you sense hypocrisy with the past blog below, I did watch news coverage of the ice storm and outage. Rest assured, though, that I turned it off after they were finished with that coverage.

No News Is Good News

Jeff Kester (RE/MAX House of Brokers) — Wed, 10 Jan 2007 10:29:40 -0800

I recently made the decision that I would stop watching news coverage on TV and stop reading the newspaper (except the comics, of course). As a result, I've rarely felt better.

Don't get me wrong - I know that a republic functions best with informed citizens. But at this point in my life, I'm tired of being so informed. I've met a lot of people that don't know where Macedonia is, who don't know who the Secretary General of the United Nations is, and who don't know the current price of a barrel of west Texas crude oil, and they all seem surprisingly cheerful and happy. I'm learning from them.

I've learned that news coverage is, for the most part, like freebasing the negativity that exists in our world. If you're looking for negativity, TV news coverage is the fastest, most effective, and most efficient delivery system for that negativity. And since there isn't a patch or gum I can use to eliminate the human addiction to negativity, one needs to cut it off at the source.

I used to be a news junkie. I knew what was happening ALL the time, who the senior Senator from Delaware was (by the way, people are not NEARLY as impressed with this information at parties as I once thought) and all the other things going on. I used to have the TV on CNN, and then Fox News Channel all the time.

I'm tired of it. First of all, most news coverage on TV or in newspapers are written from a slant opposite of my own, and I'm tired of being one of those Conservatives that spend their time yelling at the anchorman. Secondly, as previously noted, I'm the father of three daughters, and every time I hear of some pervert that did something to a kid, it just kills me. And finally, I'm tired of commentary on business and economic matters by those that wouldn't understand a supply/demand curve if you put it in front of them.

So, I no longer watch the news. I watch the Weather Channel for the forecast. You ought to try it. You too may find that no news is good news.