When a deal falls apart, nobody wins....

We all know that agreeing to the sales price is only the first negotiation, and what happens in the  contract -to-close period can literally make or break your efforts to get to the closing table.  Tension created by seller's thinking they sold for too low, and buyer's thinking they paid too much has turned the contract period into a sensitive time that requires agents to be on the ball and use their best relationship building and negotiation skills.

I taught a bulletproofing class today in our Market Center.  We discussed 4 ways to minimize the risk of your transaction falling apart.

1.       Be aware of the most common problems.

2.       Have good solutions and scripts.

3.       Avoid problems by addressing common concerns before they arise.

4.       Maintain good and frequent communication with all parties so you become aware of problems as early as possible (when there is still time to address them).

In talking about the common problems that often come up in the contract-to-close period we were able to identify 5 main areas they can be categorized in.

1.       Buyer's Remorse

2.       Inspection and Repair

3.       Funding

4.       Appraisals

5.       Communication

While we discussed these obstacles more in depth, we were able to come up with and share ideas and strategies for combating them. 

Of the above categories, problems arising from appraisals seem to be plaguing my agents the most.  Underwriters checking declining market and forcing appraisals down and appraisers not being familiar with specific neighborhoods or areas of town seemed to have been a common theme making our agents contemplate the advancement opportunities at McDonald's!

After talking them down off the golden arches though we feel we have a better understanding of how to communicate with our clients, lenders, and appraisers to make the transaction as smooth as possible.  So what are your biggest obstacles in a transaction?  I'd love to hear and share ideas. 

If you are interested in attending this class or others like it please feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to get you the schedule of upcoming training in my Market Center.

See You At The Closing Table....

In the May 30th edition of the Columbus Business First newspaper, the top 25 real estate agencies are ranked by homes sold.

I'm so excited to see that Keller Williams Capital Partners is ranked 3rd closing 1551 transactions for $323.83 million in closed sales.  What I'm especially proud of though is that we are the number 1 independantly owned and operated real estate company in Central Ohio.  With 156 agents in 2007 and 1 office, I'm proud of the productivity our agents acheived. 

 I think this is a testament to the training and education provided at Keller Williams on an international level and in our office.  With the culture of sharing at the office it's great that experienced agents are willing to help other agents so we all succeed.  Congrats to my fellow partners at Keller Williams Capital Partners!!!  If we did this in our first 5 years, what will we do int he next 5?  I'm looking forward to it.

Number 1 on the list was HER Real Living with 39 offices and 566 agents with a sales volume of $2 billion.

Number 2 was Coldwell Banker King Thompson wiht 13 offices and 770 agents and a sales voume of $1.38 billion.

I couldn't believe the number of garage sales I saw when I was out and about today!  I love to see the people flock to in the masses to see the "stuff" laid out in garages and driveways all around the city.  For me it is a true sign that spring is here and summer is quickly approaching.

Did you know that community garage sales are not only fun but also a great way to network?  Not to mention the publicity an open house would get should you choose to hold it on Saturday or even advertise you Sunday open house with a sign?

Some of the things our agents at Keller Williams Capital Parnters are doing are...

• Door Knocking!  Get some sun, exercise and business...it's the summer time trifecta!
• City Wide Open Houses - Each month agents are taking advantage of the advertising and market share appearance by holding multiple open houses on "Paint the Town Red Day!"
• Networking - From the Memorial Tournament to hanging out with their neighbors holding open houses, people are out and about...shouldn't you be too?

The weather is nice and people are out and about...how will you be taking advantage of the season?

The Columbus Board of Realtors released an article to the press on May 23rd titled "Drop in new listings suggests market is turning around."

With the number of homes listed for sale over the past two months being lower than the previous years, the article hints that the market may be beginning to adjust itself. 

In our Keller Williams Capital Partners training room I taught a class to numerous agents about "Pricing Strategies".  During the class we talked about pricing your home "in" the market not just "on" the market, and the importance of condition and price in getting the home sold.  Many of our agents shared their ideas on getting price reductions up front as well as after certain time periods.

What we found was although there is no formula for timing your price reduction, that it is necessary to use the tools and market statistics available to find this out.  So how do you determine the need for a price reduction.

• Days on market with no or limited showings?
• Days on market with no offers?
• A lot of second showings but no offers?

If the Columbus Board of Realtors is correct and the market may be starting to adjust itself, the biggest piece of advice you give your client could be this.

While the news media continues to report that the real estate market has not hit "rock bottom" yet, the experts and current market trends are telling us differently, they are telling us that we are in fact "in the bottom" and the market is beginning to correct itself here in central Ohio.

As sellers they already have the bumps and bruises from trying to sell in a buyer's market, and in order for them to take advantage of that market in the purchase of their new home they should reduce their price today to get their property sold.

Do you have listings that need their price adjusted to be sold?  How will you do it?

For more information about the class I taught or Keller Williams Capital Partners, please feel free to contact me for a confidential conversation at 614-888-1000 or acummins@kw.com.

I can't belive it...on my way into the office this morning I was listening to the radio and they had their hourly piece on the daily news stories.  Since gas here last night was 3.99 a gallon and rising you can guess that was one of the featured news stories.

The reporter goes on to say how all Americans are feeling the crunch and that service industry professionals are starting to add fees on to their regular bills.  One example she used was that plumbers are adding a $5 surcharge to your bill if they have to go back to the shop to get a part to complete your job.

She then so kindly added at the end of the story in her "the real estate market is going to hell in a handbasket" voice.... "and Realtors will soon begin charging their clients for driving them around looking at homes for sale too."

Surely this woman has never bought a house in her life nor took the time to look into how we are actually paid and no Realtor with any sense of good business practice would ever attempt to charge their buyer a fuel surcharge for looking at houses...they are not even the clients who pay us (in most cases).

So I'm putting it out there...do any of you have plans on charging a fuel surcharge to your clients?

We are all busy today...I mean busy!  Yes I know that everyone says the market is tough, and we all know that it has shifted, but it hasn't seemed to slow our agents at Keller Williams Capital Partners.

Now we should quantify busy.  Are we busy being productive and generating business (20%) or are we busy over thinking the layout and design of your next just listed post card and babysitting escrows (80%)?   

We are always encouraging our agents to "stay in your 20%".  But what does that really mean and how can you make sure that what you are doing is in your 20%?

At Keller Williams Capital Partners, I often hear from our agents that we offer so much in the way of training and education that they often feel they could stay in class all day...but when would they sell real estate?  Although furthering your education and consistently growing your skill set is important, as your business and life evolve, but right now in a shifting market we need to focus on our 20%. 

Here are some things you can do to stay in your 20%

•·         Lead Generate (attend Power Hour and time block 3 hours for lead generation a day.)

•·         Continue attending Real Estate training and education classes

•·         Follow up on ALL client leads

•·         Leverage your 80%

•·         Attend monthly office meetings for up to date market statistics to add to your presentations.

•·          

Are you powering through the shift by staying in your 20%? How?

In the Sunday Columbus Dispatch, Sue Lusk-Gleich, one of the founding partners of Keller Williams Capital Partners was quoted in the article Prices That Add Up.  The article reviews what factors aside from the standard "location location location" affect the price of the home.  Some of those mentioned were:

•        Economic Stability of the Area

•        Crime Statistics

•        Government services

•        Schools

•        Community Services

•         Proximity to School & Work

•         Placement with in the neighborhood

But what happens when you've looked at all the factors to consider when helping your clients choose the list price of their home and it still sits on the market?  Well, it's time for a price reduction...an inventory blowout if you will.

You see at some point we all know that any objections serious buyers have about a home can all be fixed by price. 

The yard is too small...FOR THE PRICE,

The basement needs finished...FOR THE PRICE,

The house sits to close to the road...FOR THE PRICE,

And yes, the carpet is the wrong color...FOR THE PRICE.

We know that often that conversation is difficult to have with our sellers, and understandably can be uncomfortable depending on their situation.  But the fact remains that if the house is to sell we must reduce the price.  How long is too long for a house to be on the market before you need a price reduction?  I think we all have different formulas...what's yours?

One way we are helping our agents at Keller Williams Capital Partners address the issue of price reductions with their clients is by holding a "Price it Right" clinic in our training room on June 24^th. 

During this clinic we will be reviewing the listings our agents have that have been on the market for over 40 days and are not getting any showings or offers.  We will then put our heads together and try to get to the right price that will help those homes sell.  Once we have determined which properties need a price reduction, we will review "Words that Work" (also known as scripts and dialogues) to give our agents tools and information in helping their clients understand the need to reduce their list price.

After identifying the properties, and knowing how to effectively communicate the need for a reduction in the list price, we will begin calling our clients to discuss the common goal of getting their house sold, and what needs to be done to accomplish it.  So if your office isn't having its own "Price It Right Day" I encourage you to be the proactive agent in your market place and start having your own Inventory Blowout today!

Keller Williams launched the KWLS system with the belief that if an agent has a property listed,  any lead that is generated from that listing goes directly to the listing agent.  This belief for Keller Williams' agents is called "My Listing, My Leads".  This idea is carried throughout the company to the local market centers as well.  My market center, Keller Williams Capital Partners, in Worthington, Ohio also distributes all leads generated from sign calls and the internet the same way.  Many agents who come from other brokerages are often pleasantly surprised. 

On May 14^th, an article from Inman News announced that Keller Williams Realty International is the newest member of the Zillow Listings Feed Program.  It is said in the article that Keller Williams Realty International will automatically feed listings from over 73,000 agents directly to Zillow on a daily basis.  In keeping with the "My Listings, My Leads" belief all leads generated on the homes that are listed for sale will be directed to the listing agent free of charge. 

Keller Williams Realty International continues to increase the technology available to its agents so they are better able to market their listings and service their clients.  So, I encourage all of my agents to continue to add your listings to the KWLS system and add this value added service to your listing presentation today! 

Isn't it true that we will see the effects of what we do today 90 days from now?

I was watching a video today from Keller Williams University and one of the Master Faculty members likened our lead generation efforts to an infomercial.

When you're flipping through the channels and find yourself "captured" by one of those infomercials that promises by using their product for 90 days you will be "cut," "ripped," and "buff".   Now we all say to ourselves as we get ready to turn the channel that if that were true we would all be walking around looking like the 2 or 3 people on the infomercial in spandex with great tans.

The reality is though that we could...if we worked hard enough.  Those 2 or 3 people usually dedicate an hour to the regimen as well as other forms of exercise and of course a well balanced diet.  You see, if you are committed you can be successful at most anything you set  your mind to.

So how committed are you to getting your real estate career  "RIPPED" in 90 days?  What are you doing today that will show you the results you want in August?

Some of the things Keller Williams Capital Partners is offering our agents to get ripped are:

•·         Participating in Power Hour - one hour of focused lead generation every day!  This event is started daily by talking about the previous days success and challenges, practicing scripts and dialogues, and of course tons of encouragement.

•·         Lead Generation Classes - Every month Keller Williams Capital Partners holds lead generation classes geared at newly licensed agents as well as experienced agents to give them the tools to grow their real estate business.

•·         Productivity Coaching - 90 days with our on staff Productivity Coach, Gloria Cannon will get anyone's real estate career in shape.  In focused sessions with Gloria, new agents are given the tools to launch their career and start generating business, and more experienced agents are able  evaluate their current systems and given the tools to launch their career to the next level of success.

•·         A culture unmatched by any company!  Because of unique structure everyone in the market center shares an interest in others success.  This leads to an atmosphere of sharing, mentoring, and collaborating.  In a recent Mega Agent Mastermind top agents from our market center spent a day together talking about their systems and models and shared ideas with those who were struggling with other aspect of their business.  For newer agents, buyers agents, and even administrative professionals monthly masterminds are held for each of their unique positions and they are able to share new ideas and share the things that are successful in their careers as well.

Just like the infomercial - it only works if you work it!  So start getting RIPPED today!

One of the things we are so proud of at Keller Williams is our culture and the strong emphasis on giving back.  At Keller Williams Capital Partners, we make giving back an everyday event.  Edie James, an agent at Keller Williams Capital Partners, started our own community outreach program at the inception of our market center in 2002.

Since its inception, Capital Partners Cares has been fortunate enough to sponsor yearly food drives, community service projects, and charity events.  In addition, Capital Partners Cares is able to help out any of our agents, their families, clients, and other community members with financial support, as well as helping hands, whether that's painting a house or making dinner.  We are all so proud of the work done by Capital Partners Cares and strive to help with its continued success.

One of the ways we are able to raise funds for this wonderful charity organization is by holding fund raising events.  One of the largest fund raising events we do is coming in June, Soccer Rocks!  The proceeds of Soccer Rocks will help us continue our efforts to make an impact on the community and Central Ohio.

Soccer Rocks is a ½ day Soccer Camp lead by the Columbus Crew for area children.  Soccer Rocks is sponsored by Keller Williams Capital Partners Cares, The Columbus Crew, and many of our vendors and affiliates we do business with every day.  We are so fortunate to have the community come together to support Capital Partners Cares and have a wonderful fun-filled day for Central Ohio children.

The children who attend:

•·         Practice drills with the Columbus Crew

•·         Are given a tour of Crew Stadium

•·         Receive 2 tickets to the July 5^th Columbus Crew Game

•·         Receive Crew memorabilia and t-shirts

•·         Have autography and photo sessions with the Columbus Crew Players.

If you are interested in having your child attend this event or if you would like to become a sponsor of this event please feel free to contact me at 614-888-1000 or email me at acummins@kw.com for further details.

As always if you have any questions about joining Keller Williams Capital Partners, and becoming part of this great organization of Realtors you can contact me for a confidential conversation at 614-888-1000, or at acummins@kw.com.