I have only been in real estate to know what a down market is. The broker I started with lost my real estate application to send to the DRE for three months, so I ended up missing the end of the Great Central Valley Seller's Market. I can't wait for the market to turn, but am focusing on the here and now.  Many Realtors in my office can't figure out the success I have been having the last few months.  Well, it has been nothing short of lots of hard work.  I have found some tips that have doubled my production, without the stress that many of you may have encountered.

1.  Be active on Active Rain.  Although I only limit the amount of time on it to 30 minutes per day due to time constraints, the bots and spiders really like this site for Google and Yahoo.

2.  Listings are the Key. No matter what system you use, they all bring up this point. I have done Buffini and been introduced to numerous others and they all focus on acquiring listings. Your listings are a way to get your name out there, free of charge. Make sure you have a rider that clearly states your name. They can be acquired cheaply.

3.  Stage well.  My listings stand out from others in the area. Although I have been fortunate not to have had totally thrashed listings, staging it can allow you to demand a higher price than others in the neighborhood.  In addition to staging, use an excellent wide-angled lens. I use a wide-angled attachment on my Konica Minolta Digital Camera for my CMAs, but for listings I use a Kodak v570, which makes a difference between night and day.

4.  Utilize your Sphere of Influence.  Your sphere can generate leads and listings.

5.  Work smarter, not Harder.  I probably work less hours than most Realtors, yet I am second in my office in production.  The key is I focus on one or two areas, and target clients that way instead of wearing myself thin and focusing on all aspects. Focus on the buying, or the selling side of Real Estate.

By following these hints, it can help you survive in the down market that most of us are in right now.

I wanted to take the time today to introduce my broker, Bryan Sparks to Active Rain. He has been a big influence on my career in Real Estate, especially in acquiring and how to finish deals.

Bryan has been exposed to Real Estate his whole life and has been an agent for over 20 years and has spent the last 15 as head broker for ERA Village One Real Estate and First Valley Mortgage in Modesto, CA. . He has a lot of information to learn from and is a joy to be around.

Everyone take the time and welcome him here to the Rain.

I know its been a while since I last blogged. I have been swamped with bank owned properties (REOs) and bringing sales to fruition. Over the last few weeks I have found that there are certain fees that buyers may not be aware of when purchasing REO properties compared to short and fair market sales. 

The first is an overinflated escrow fee. The escrow fee for a home that is $200,000 is generally around 250-300 dollars, but if it is an REO than the fee increases to $850.00 minimum just for being with an REO.

The next is region specific. If it is in California, Title and Escrow companies are separate in Southern California and combined in Northern California. Since most of the REO companies deal with Southern California companies be on notice you are going to pay fees for each instead of one lumped fee.

Finally, realize that you are going to pay an inflated fire insurance fee of around $1500.00 and a pad fee of $500.00 for extra incurred expenses. Realize that the excess amount of these will be refunded back to the buyer at the close of escrow.  But the buyer needs to realize that they need to front this money.

Make sure when selecting an agent or before purchasing an REO to ask your agent about extra fees that could be incurred in the sale.

When dealing with customers all agents know that customer service is the key to success in any client-driven industries. However, many agents do not apply that when it comes to working with other agents. I know that we are in competition with each other for that elusive sale, but do Realtors have to treat other agents with disdain and disrespect?

The answer to that question is no!  I had a property that was listed and it was falling out of escrow, due to loan issues, and when I asked for cancellation instructions I got the run around with no calls back or response to e-mails. I finally had to call the broker to get the cancellation instructions signed from him.

This is a minor thing, but what if this was a customer and not an agent. Would they continue to come to you for business? I think not!  I try to live by the rule, treat the customers how you want to be treated. This can be applied to all aspects of life, but with buying and selling real estate this is essentially true. Why can't we all get along with each other and be courteous, while at the same time, trying to get an edge on our competition.

Many Realtors are having a hard time. In my area it is not uncommon for a Realtor not to have sold a house for the entire year. Many Realtors have not adapted to the change in environment and have abandoned the industry altogether. However it does not have to be that way. 

All you have to do is find your niche. By figuring out what to specialize in and perfecting it, you will provide your customers the best option available for that market, whether it be short sales, REO, etc.

The question is, how do you find your niche and refine it.  The answer to that is easy.  You need to look around and see what all the Realtors are doing and find a market that is being untapped. For example ,in Modesto, the commercial side is booming, while residential is very slow. But there are many fields in Real Estate that are oversaturated with agents. The key is to find those areas that have the fewest agents, or to make yourself stand apart from the other agents through your customer service skills, expertise, or blogs.

With how the current market is in most areas, this is an opportunity for agents to become mega-agents and perfect their specialties. Imagine what will happen when the housing market turns around, if you can get lots of leads now by finding your nice!!!

In the current buyer's market that many Realtors across the country are facing, homes prices are falling very fast. A home that sold for $350,000 two years ago is now selling for about half that in Modesto at roughly $200,000.  So what techniques can you use to make your property stand out to where you can maximize profit for the homeowner and yourself, without pricing it too high as where all the other agents in the area won't show your property.

The ways to do this is very simple, but it is not greedy.  For example, pricing a property $100K above the rest would not be an effective way to do this. However, there are things to do to spruce up the property and the price.

1. Improve that curb appeal.  The property needs to stand out above the rest upon first look. Most people that buy a home or don't buy a home know within 10 seconds if it is a home that they like. Making a good first impression by having a superb outside helps with that. This also applies to the back yard.  This can make or break a sale.

2. Have it staged appropriately. Homes that sell quick are ones that others can imagine themselves in.  Get rid of the clutter, personal photos, and minimize the amount of furniture.

3. It should smell and look clean. A quick sprucing up could be all that it takes. However a clean home is one that should sell quickly.

4. Put a fresh coat of paint on the walls, if necessary. Again that goes into the clean smell, but it will help. If the colors are not neutral, make sure they are. Bright outlandish colors will help the place sit.

If all this is done, then you have a good opportunity to make your listing stand out and the offer should reflect that.

Many people feel that this is the worst market in decades and that many Realtors are dropping like flies.  How can I say that this is a good time to be in Real Estate?  The answer to that is two-fold.

First, although sales are off, now is an excellent time to create business relationships with people, such as networking and touching base with your sphere of influence. With the bottom at the end of the tunnel and some light appearing just ahead, it would be good to have customers for when they feel the market has turned.

Next, now is the time to perfect you niche in the market that you are going after.  Many people are going after distressed properties, while others are focused on selling or buying.  Now is the time to develop yourself as a Realtor or agent, and laugh in the face of rejection. There are many agents that have sold 30 or more properties this year, because they have selected a niche in the market and perfected methods to obtain more and more clients with it. You can to, it just needs to be the one that fits you best.

Finally, don't be afraid of rejection. Many agents became lazy due to the success of 4-6 sales per week and in some cases, per day, where clients came to them. You have to go to the clients or do something different to get their attention. Without that you will get lost in the shuffle of agents.

From a buyer's perspective, now is a time to get Monster Homes for 200-300K  in Modesto that are actively listed and not a short sale or a foreclosure. At least that is what they are going for in my region. Imagine a 3000-3500 SF home for that price.  When the market turns, these people will make a nice profit when they sell for 100-200 K more than that. 

If you think now is not the time to be in Real Estate, then look at the opportunities that this market has provided agents, buyers, and sellers.

In my part of the country, many professionals are speculating that we are a year or so off on hitting the bottom. Every time it seems that things are starting to get better, another wave of foreclosures hit the market extending the inventory from 11 months to 15 or more. In Stockton, national figures assume that 1 in 30 homes are bank owned.  That is just under 4 times the national average. There were almost 1000 homes put up for auction last month in Modesto, alone.

With almost every home being listed in some state of foreclosure or being a short sale, it is very rare to see active listings that are not bank owned. However there are signs that we are nearing the bottom. Investors are starting to enter the market and are buying homes at low prices. There are bidding wars for REO properties, above asking price. In fact, the majority of homes that are listed are now selling above the asking price. These signs show that a bottom is going to be occurring in the California region in the near future. The big question is when will this happen? My guess is within the next year, but I also realize that many parts of the country it could be years down the road. 

Even with the wave of foreclosures, properties are selling quickly and there is renewed hope that a bottom will be here soon. 

Hi Everyone, Matthew Zgonc here and  I just wanted to take this moment to introduce Beverly Eagle-Rodriguez to the Active Rain Network. 

She is a Realtor at the ERA Village ONE Office in Modesto and is a rising star to real estate. She and I started at the office at around the same time period and she is one of the nicest people that I know.

I hope that all of you take the time to welcome Beverly here and make her feel at home.

When I first entered the Real Estate Industry I had no guidance or clues what to do to obtain or keep clients. I got a few through paying a monthly fee on RealtyTrac, but had only 1 sale within the first year. That is when my wife discovered Active Rain and I have been more busy than I could ever imagine. Most of it has been due to page ranking, which has steadily improved through the months.

I also have been doing traditional marketing, such as door hangers and leaving cards everywhere. Anytime I meet someone on the street I hand out my cards to them, or if I go to a garage sale. I make a minimum quota that I have to hand out daily. In addition, I have expanded into the REO and BPO market, which has helped a lot.

My question to Realtors out there is where do you find your clients, or what innovations are you learning about in the industry?