business of real estate: RETSO Recap... Business Model Reload... For and AT RETSO, Part II
- 04/30/13 10:52 PM
OK, so I wrote Part I over 2 weeks ago...
In that post, I wrote about the risk that Brad, Mike and crew took. As I said in that post, the change was perfectly timed for me, but not for everyone. And in fact, I have spent the last few weeks working more ON my business than IN it. I have been deciding exactly where my focus needs to be in order to rebuild.
In this post, I'm going to talk a little more about WHAT they did for RETSO Refocus...
What is 'Refocus'? I come from a background in … (5 comments)
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business of real estate: RETSO Recap... Business Model Reload... For and AT RETSO, Part I
- 04/10/13 07:21 AM
It's hard to believe that RETSO was last week... that recent and that long ago... all at once.
But, the time has allowed some of the info to be absorbed. And RETSO didn't disappoint me with the type of info and the volume. What WAS different, and disappointed some was the type of info at this years event. Instead of shiny new tech toys and tools, RETSO this year was focused on the business of Business. Specifically, Business Models. There was a nifty tool, though, the Business Model Canvas.
For this report, I'm going to focus on the changes AT RETSO, … (5 comments)
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business of real estate: RETSO... Business Reloaded
- 03/27/13 04:25 AM
Five years ago I spent a day at a local hotel in a new conference. A few weeks before that, I had recieved a call from Matt Fagioli, reaching out to me individually to come to the new event he was putting on with Brad Nix. It was called REtechSouth (that was before they thought of calling it RETSO). I spent my $99 and made plans to attend.
Since that day, five years ago, I have managed to go to four more RETSO events. In fact, it wasn't that long after that I ended up with Matt as my broker. Matt … (3 comments)
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business of real estate: So, A Real Estate Blog Should Be About Real Estate, Huh?
- 09/12/11 08:17 AM
But what about social networking? A few days ago I posted that (in my humble opinion) real estate blogs should be about real estate... not movie reviews, restaurant reviews, not recipes... Real estate. That is what the audience is tuning in for, give them what they want. I gave a few examples of what I see from my traffic patterns, and generally tried to support my opinion.
But, real estate agents that are marketing online (should) have a LOT more channels aside from their real estate blog. And I DO believe that there is a place in some of those other … (7 comments)
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business of real estate: Dear Builder... I've NEVER heard...
- 05/03/11 02:55 PM
Image via Wikipedia Dear Builder,
I've NEVER had a buyer client tell me that they thought the garage was too big. Granted, most of my buyers are "car people", so the deck is a bit stacked, but not all of them are. In fact, I've had clients with little interest in cars... and they still wanted a garage that was just a little bigger.
You see, lots of people use their garages for a lot of different things. Many of my clients like to build cars or weld something back together in their garage, but others just want to be able … (4 comments)
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business of real estate: Have You Seen the Commercial?
- 01/29/11 02:30 PM
I'm sure you've seen it... the commercial with the mom that is trying to find the sport her son is good at... She tries football then baseball. She gets him out on the golf course. She shoots tennis balls at him. Finally, he is singing in the choir, he is good at it and he is happy.
I certainly can understand the sentiment. As a parent, I want my children to 'find their place'... see what they like and what they are good at... see them fulfill themselves. To that end, I applaud this fictional mom. She didn't give up... and … (2 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Can You Fix This?
- 01/28/11 05:32 AM
(Yes, I am behind schedule... this should have been up here on Wednesday...)
Two years ago I wrote a post about fixing things for my son (now I have to fix things for two of them...). Last week I had a closing that fit the post...
As a Dad, part of my job is fixing things. As a Real Estate Agent, part of my job is fixing things. Luckily I don't have to glue/weld, nail or pop things back together in houses... although I have had to help a property or two pass an inspection, but that is another story.
… (1 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... The Price IS Right (or it should be)...
- 01/20/11 09:58 AM
Image via Wikipedia Do you want to actually SELL your house, or just put it up for sale? I talk with sellers pretty regularly that seem to just want to have their home up for sale...
"We want to test the market." "If we can got our price..." "We aren't going to give it away." You get the idea, right? And this isn't the market to play around in. With foreclosures and short sales and unemployment being what they are, this is a bargain hunter's market. This isn't a test market.
Along the same lines are some of the "strategies" I … (1 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Keeping the Mystery Alive...
- 01/12/11 02:58 AM
Image via Wikipedia Mystery attracts, right? That mysterious woman or man has an allure because of the unknown qualities they may possess. You don't know their background or their motivation. And so, the coolest possibilities are projected upon them.
But is that the case in real estate?
Two years ago I wrote a post with my take. There are a lot of agents that think that they can "build the mystery" and attract more buyers to a property by withholding information... things like price, address, amenities... even pictures. Their reasoning is that consumers (buyers) will be curious and call.
Is that … (1 comments)
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business of real estate: Lane's Prognostications for 2011...
- 01/10/11 12:57 PM
Image by thinkpanama via Flickr We'll see how well I peg this.
Lane's Predictions for 2011... Looking back over the last year or two in real estate market reports, there are a few things that have been jumping out at me.
For over two years I have been hearing about the millions of homes in "Shadow Inventory". These are properties in the foreclosure process, or already foreclosed, that the banks are basically sitting on, waiting until "the market improves" before releasing them into the market. I predict that next year there will STILL be people talking about the coming giant wave … (2 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Looking at the Mechanics of Listings
- 01/06/11 03:39 PM
This post was to appear yesterday, but was pre-empted. I am presenting it today. Sorry for the delay.
Image via Wikipedia Two years ago I got a bug in my bonnet because it didn't seem like I was seeing enough pictures for new listings. A couple of months prior, one of our local Multiple Listings Services, FMLS, had raised the number of pictures that could be attached to the listing from 8 to 12. Now it is 24...
It was shocking to look at the numbers... I went back and looked at all of the listings that had posted in … (6 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Looking Ahead to 2009...
- 12/29/10 02:43 AM
Image via Wikipedia Two years ago this week, I posted up my predictions for the next year. That year would be 2009. I got a few right, and got a few wrong. I was just looking back and I was surprised by them... some were pretty bold.
Here is the original post...
Here is a quick rundown of how I did...
Right Rightish Hit that one Kind of right... Not so good on that one That one was good Nailed that one Not so much Got that one pretty right Hit that one out of the park... Image via Wikipedia On … (4 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Fear/Greed and "the Deal"
- 12/22/10 02:31 PM
Image via Wikipedia Two years ago, we were in the midst of the financial system meltdown. real estate was looking bleak... and so was everything else. Unemployment hadn't really reared its ugly head. It was swirling up, but still seemed manageable.
So, I thought that a blog about market psychology was in order... And this isn't just real estate. The same holds true for any kind of market.
Fear and Greed Those are the emotions that drive ALL markets. Stop into the old post and take a look at the background.
In a nutshell, when fear overruns greed, markets expand. When … (3 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Optimist or Pessimist?
- 12/15/10 12:54 PM
Image via Wikipedia Two years ago I wrote this post... And it is almost embarrassing... I was SO wrong. So wrong.
Or maybe I was right, but just a couple of years too early (nope, I think that saying I was wrong is closer to the truth).
In effect, my opinion was the real estate was poised for a recovery. The prices were cheap, and mortgage rates were almost impossibly low.
Prices are lower... and so are interest rates. There are still deals out there (but at least there is a fight for some of them). But the fact remains that … (10 comments)
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business of real estate: Disruption... Tables Turned
- 12/13/10 03:27 PM
Image via Wikipedia I was at a real estate conference last week, and one of the things the presenter said REALLY struck a chord with me.
Ten years ago, WE used to tell our clients which houses we were going to look at that day. Now, THEY come in and tell us which houses we are going to see.
Obviously, this is a giant change in the way real estate agents do business. Since my entry into the real estate business, it has always been the way I've done business.
In the "Old School" world of real estate, agents were the … (11 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Is NOW the Time to Buy?
- 12/08/10 01:13 PM
Image by dannyfowler via Flickr Listening to the NAR (National Association of Realtors®, it is ALWAYS the right time to buy. If the market is going up, they pound the "buy the rising market" drum. If the market is going down, they beat on the "buy into value" drum. Frankly, I'm tired of it, and they have killed a massive amount of credibility by constantly trying to spin reality for "our" perceived benefit.
A couple of years ago this week, I was on Social Media Edge, on Blog Talk Radio, talking with Ken Cook about this very thing. I've had my … (0 comments)
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business of real estate: Flashback Friday... Absorption Rates, What Are They?
- 12/03/10 08:19 AM
Image via Wikipedia I talk about Absorption Rates all of the time... In fact, in at least 8 posts a month (all of my market report posts) Absorption Rates play a key role. Understanding what they are and why they matter is a key part of understanding my market reports.
Last year I wrote an in-depth post about exactly what Absorption Rates mean. I tried to make it a little more real by talking about how it relates to keeping a stock of frozen Pizza around the house.
The concept isn't terribly difficult to understand, but can sound complicated... It is … (0 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Homes ARE Selling!
- 12/01/10 01:22 PM
Image via Wikipedia A couple of years ago I wrote about a deal on a property I ran across. It was priced around $330,000. At the time I said that it would have around $75,000 equity. It sold for $300,000. The most recent comps in the neighborhood have sold around $400,000 in the last couple of months. Also of note, it was only on the market for about two weeks.
Since then, I have posted a couple of other times about properties that looked like good deals. None of them were on the market for more than a couple of weeks... … (7 comments)
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business of real estate: Flashback Friday... Angry Yanks...
- 11/19/10 04:12 PM
Image via Wikipedia Last year I was waist deep in dealing with buyers involved in REO properties (bank owned). Oddly, I have been waist deep in the same process lately.
As mentioned in the older post, some buyers have to go through 6, 8 or 10 (or more) offers in order to land some of these properties. And when the listing agent, or the seller, requires a pre-qualification from THEIR specific lender in order to offer on the property, that can add up to a lot of credit pulls for the potential buyer... possibly even enough to damage their credit.
The … (8 comments)
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business of real estate: Wayback Wednesday... Political Incorrectness
- 11/19/10 04:08 PM
Image via Wikipedia There is a video clip that has been EVERYWHERE on the internet. It has been re-subtitled more times than I can count. Almost any subject that is causing anyone frustration, from the collapse of the housing bubble to the Democrat meltdown to the way some people drive in traffic... They've all had a version of this video.
And while it isn't politically correct, it is funny. And I don't care about being politically correct. I prefer funny. And Bill Mahr is politically correct... and NOT generally funny.
Pop back a couple of years and see what the fuss … (7 comments)
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OK, so I wrote Part I over 2 weeks ago... 
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