Over the last week I have probably had 20+ calls from Agents about one of my bank owned listings. 

The Questions/Statements are always the same:

1. What will the bank take for that house?

2. Does the Bank know the condition of that home?

3. Were any permits pulled?

4. Can you tell me the history of that home?

5. Is the bank crazy there is NO WAY they will get that kind of money for that house?

6. The bank just wants to get rid of right so they will take any offer?

7. I have a cash buyer! Will they give us a 50% discount?

8. Does the bank realize we are in a declining market?

Let me start by saying... BANKS DID NOT BECOME BANKS BECAUSE THEY ARE STUPID!!!!!

Here is what I would say if I could be honest but... of course I will be working with these agents so I don't want to piss them off but...

1. Oh the bank doesnt want to make any money... How about if we just give it to your clients for say... Half? Would that be good? You just tell us what you want to pay and they will approve it... Ok. Serious now! Look just like when you represent a "Normal Seller" my obligation as the bank's agent is to get the highest and best offer possible. It is against my fiduciary duty to disclose anything less than what the home is currently listed for. The bank wants what the home is on the market for! What they are willing to take? I don't know I am not the seller. My job is to put offers in front of the Seller and let the SELLER decide. If you are so smart then justify your price! Pull comparables, prepare your own Broker Price Opinion and submit it with your offer! Show the bank why they should take your $100,000 offer ona $200,000 house when everything around it has sold for $225,000.

2, 3 AND 4!  These homes are taken back by the bank in a foreclosure sale. They don't ususally have cooperatave seller's who hand them all the household manuals, give them a bottle of champagne and say "Congratulations You have a New home! Many times they are evicting occupants who damage the home on the way out. The bank does receive countless pictures as well as detailed Appraisals and Broker Price Opinions to help them determine a price and if repairs are warranted. They have no history on the home. The prior owner is not required to disclose to the bank any history on the home and because of this banks are exempt from Disclosures therefore are not required to disclose anything that happened or happens to the property. They have NEVER lived in the home.. They KNOW NOTHING! On the other hand, agents will say well didnt YOU research the home? This I will save for another Blog Post as this one fry's me too!~

5. Last I checked the banks were not crazy as they hold all the gold! However, let me tell you how the banks determine price for their assets. First they assign it to an agent like me who goes out inspects the property, reviews any damage or repairs required, takes pictures of everything and submits a Final Broker Price Opinion and Property Inspection Report along with my photos to the bank. They then order this same report for 2-3 other agents as well as a full blown appraisal from an appraiser. Once they receive all this data, they review it and determine a price based on the opinions of the local "Experts". Now I am sure you all know by now that even the best laid plans don't always work, especially in a declining market. And many times by the time the bank gets all the information it needs it could be 30, 60, 90 days and this could mean a lot in a declining market. Then they request monthly updates from the agent and most the time ACTUALLY listen to what we say and adjust the price accordingly. So to answer your question... No the banks are not Crazy they actually make better informed decisions than most conventional sellers as they get the opinions of several agents and listen to their monthly updates!

6. If they banks just wanted to get "Rid" of their assets they would not be in the banking business for very long. They do own these homes free and clear but keep in mind they have taken considerable losses on these homes. Remember when you "borrowed" $500,000 on that home and now it is selling for $300,000? Hmmm... where did that $200,000+ go...? Of course they are not in the real estate business but they are hoping to minimize their losses as much as possible just like any other seller would do.

7. Cash does not mean anything to the bank as they only look at the bottom line. Anything they get is cash, whether that cash comes from another bank, your account or your Aunt Susie. When they put it in their account it all spends the same.

8. As mentioned in response to question 5. The banks have many statistics at their fingertips and work very closely with the agents that handle their assets among others. They know very well the condition of the market as they feel it more than most.

So.. that is my rant for the day! Please agents if you are going to sell Bank Owned Homes do some research of your own. Advise your clients that they are considering purchasing a Bank Owned Home that will be sold AS-IS and THEY the buyer should check everything out and make sure THEY feel totally comforatable buying the home, just like you would tell any buyer... RIGHT!

It seems that the Real Estate Industry is stuck in the a quagmire.  Having been an active Real Estate Agent as well as an Owner I have watched first hand the way that the Real Estate Industry, most notably the Large Brokerage and Real Estate Corporations continue to try and keep change from happening.  You see the longer they are able to convince us that change is BAD the longer they can continue to line their pockets with the hard earned dollars of their associates. Real Estate was one of the last industries to embrace computer technology. 

It wasn't that long ago (12 Years) that listings were printed each week in a book that was distributed at our weekly marketing meetings. When they converted to computers, the real estate industry fought it tooth and nail. Real estate companies have notoriously tried to tell the consumer that they only way they will find houses is to use a Realtor! They are the last to admit that 80% (I think this number is considerably higher) of consumers are using the Internet to find homes and learn about the real estate process.

To continue reading this article follow this link.

I cannot believe it is already the 10th of January!  It seems like I just left on Vacation (at least that is the last time I posted anything) and here we are! My mom always said "the older you get the faster time flies"!  I used to think I would never get "that old"! Holy cow here I am!!!!

So the craziness of the holidays are over and I have no excuse for getting back to work!  This is always the time of year when everyone HITS IT HARD... so to speak.

My question to you is why don't we do it all year long?  Why do we feel that "now is the time" to work harder, take off the extra weight, clean out the closets, organize our files, call our clients, review our ads, blah blah blah.... Why aren't we doing it all year?

I know for myself, I wind down in the month of December and seem to want to spend more home time and less work time, knowing that January is right around the corner and I will hit it hard then.

I always feel like the new year is time for a fresh start, a clean slate a time to revisit new ideas and get back in the game. I am working on ways to keep up the momentum and not slide back into the old ways.

What do you do to keep the energy up and the ball rolling?

I many years I was the Queen of Thanksgiving.  I would spend days preparing for the big day!  Searching for a new recipe, digging through the old ones, shopping, preparing, cleaning... blah blah blah....!  We would have anywhere from 20-50 people in our home for the Thanksgiving Feast after which I was exhausted only to move on to CHRISTMAS!

Well about 5 years ago, I decided to go on strike!  I said "Either I get help or I quit!" My husband trying to escape my rath said "why don't we just go on vacation instead?" After I panicked for about 30 seconds thinking "what will everyone do on Thanksgiving without me here to cook for them?" I said..."Oh My I think they will survive!

We asked our kids what they thought and without a second of hesitation they said "LET'S GO!" That was all I needed!

I immediately went online and searched for a place that did not allow cell phones and would cook and clean for me. Much to my amazement there are thousands of destinations that will gladly take care of everything for you (for a price of course) but I was willing to pay just about any price and my husband was still running scared so he didnt argue.

We called a few of our friends and the jumped right on board!  Off to Cancun for 7 nights and 8 days of frolicking in the sun, having drinks delivered pool side and the best Thanksgiving Dinner I have ever had PREPARED BY SOMEONE ELSE!

We are hooked. This will be the 5th year of what we now call our Family Tradition! We are leaving tomorrow and won't be back until November 27th (which happens to be my birthday...another great reason to go on vacation) I hope all of you have a wonderful, joyous and stress free Thanksgiving! I am most thankful for the friendships I have developed here!

I was talking with a previous client of mine today at lunch. He is considering getting into the real estate industry and he wanted to pick my brain. After I told him there wasnt much left to pick from, amazingly enough he still had questions.

The first question he threw out there was "What is the difference between a good realtor and a Great one?

Wow! This is a good one.  I had to sit back and think for a few minutes.  Do I consider myself a good one or great one? What does a good one look like compared to a great one? Hmmmm..... 

Here is my short version of the answer:

A good realtor does their job. The sell some houses here and there, they may or may not attend continueing education classes, the know how to fill out the correct paperwork, maybe they are doing it part time or on the side. They show up when they have to work. In other words I believe they do a good job. They do enough to get by.

A Great Realtor SHOWS UP and shows up BIG! They are constantly striving to do better! The are consistantly educating themselves on ways to get better. They go above and beyond for their clients and for anyone they come in contact with. They are not worried about the competition because everything they have they are willing to give, knowing it will come back to them times 10!

I don't know that I am a GREAT Realtor but I know that I strive to be the very best I can be, not only for my clients but for everyone around me.  My personal motto is "When you work on YOU, everything comes together!"

What do you think the difference is?

I’m sitting in my office this morning… and yes it is Sunday. I have not worked a Sunday in many moons, but I was out all week with a family emergency and needed to get caught up.  I was feeling a little frustrated by all the changes and negativity in the real estate market and frankly a little sorry for myself.

Sometimes things change so dramatically that you just want to get off the merry go round.  Sometimes changes are so big that you think that can’t possibly be real!  It will never work!  Ideas are thrown out as unreasonable, unrealistic, impossible. There is a great post by Scott Adams the author of Dilbert where he says "If everyone exposed to a product or idea likes it, the productidea will not succeed."

I have two posters on the walls of my office the first one is a picture of Michael Jordon and it says:

“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in my career.  I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times I’ve been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over and over again in my life and that is why I succeed!”

This quote always reminds me that anything worth having takes work and is never easy.

The second one helps me realize that nothing is impossible. I don’t know who wrote this but in some places it is have been credited to Steve Jobs of Apple.

To the Crazy Ones

Here’s to the crazy ones.  The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They are not fond of rules and have no respect for the status quo. You can praise them, disagree with them, quote them, disbelieve them, glorify them or vilify them.  About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them.

Because they change things.  They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy. How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people. Because while some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius.

And it’s the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world who actually do!

In this market many ideas and concepts are floating around about how and when to do things. Some will work, many will not but if you stop trying you will definately fail.

So I am not feeling sorry for myself anymore I am feeling inspired and ready to take on the world! The great thing about Monday’s is you get a new one every week!

Have a great week!

I have seen a couple of posts of people wanting testimonials!  Here is the best way to get a testimonial SURVEY SURVEY SURVEY!

In all the books I have read, the one thing they stress is the importance of surveying your clients. How do you know how you are doing if you don't ask?  I hear people say all the time "Well if they were really happy with my service they will tell me" The truth is most people don't unless you ask.  Even then it seems like it is pulling teeth to get tesitmonials. So we started trying to make the survey process fun to encourage our clients to return them.

I have changed the style of our survey many times over the years and we have found this one to be the most successful.

Today we received my all time favorite. This was from a client that was referred to me by a past client.  During the process this particular client referred three more people, one of which closed before these clients did. With the return of this survey, they referred FOUR more people!

If you are not surveying your clients you should start!

To download a copy go to my blog at www.RealEstateRealWorld.com

A couple of nights ago my son's football coach asked all of the parents to come to a meeting before practice. We all arrived and anxiously waited for what the coach had to say.  I dont know about the others but I did not expect to hear what I heard.

The coach started by talking about the importance of the game and that the point was for our children to learn life skills and confidence and that while it is great when we win it is not the most imporant thing. We all nodded in agreement and he went on to say that the reason for the talk is that at the previous saturday's game some of the parents were screaming and yelling (sometimes obscenities) at the coach's, the other teams, and the kids.

Now there is alot of noise at a game so I didnt hear all of this, but I did hear some parents and I was so disappointed.  I wonder if they think they are doing the right thing? I wonder if they realize that kids grow up to be just like their parents and if they wonder why their kids are rude, mean and cruel to others maybe they need to look in the mirror.

I think that this applies to all areas of life! Do you lead by example? Do you show up the very best that you possibly can for your clients, your family and for yourself?

As I breeze through many of the posts, I love to see the leaders! The ones who live like they talk! Who show up big and dont back down to bully's and cruel comments.

My son asked me last night why a boy in his class was so mean and nasty and I told him that he must be very sad and not realize what he is doing.  That my son's responsibility is to kill him with kindness and show him how he is supposed to treat people. In other words... Lead by example! He said "Mom that is so hard when he is so mean to me!" I said "Jon the best things in life are worth the hard work!"

Up until a week ago (when I joined Active Rain) I really didnt have a place to go to get feedback on whatever I happened to be working on in the moment and then along came Active Rain. 

    I have been actively promoting it all week because I think it is a wonderful place to throw out there what you are thinking about and see if you are on the right track, wrong track or a different track. It seems many agents dont want to ask or feel uncomfortable asking  questions of agents in their own backyard.  Maybe it is the competition thing or maybe new agents just plain feel intimidated.

I know that when I first got started in real estate there were so many agents that I looked up to that I really thought were all that!  Then as I gained experience and knowledge I realized they were just normal people too trying to get answers to their questions and concerns and they were out there just like me pounding the pavement trying to figure out the best way for themselves.

So if you are feeling like a your on a deserted island and it is all so overwhelming to you, remember "this too shall pass" and before you know it you will be spouting off about your own "years in the business" and "back in the day"....

There was a post recently by Jim Lee that talked about why agents don't get Buyer Agency signed.  I have been requiring buyer agancy to be signed for many years and here is how I do it painlessly!

When talking to a potential client on the phone, I explain to them the importance of meeting with them to go over how the real estate process works and I will educate them on the best way to get the best deal on their future home and how important it is to have an agent representing them and their individual needs. Then I set the appointment.  Rarely do they turn me down.

At the initial client appointment, which is always in my office where I can set the stage, we sit down build the relationship and discuss the process.  I have a packet of information ready for them and I review the following form with them:

This is my presentation.  I go over each item with them and explain it at length.  They then sign this form and the buyer agency agreement.  When I am done explaining all of the above, I state "okay they only thing we have left to do before we print up your list of homes and set up your Home link is to sign our agreement.  This agreement strictly says that I am going to do lots of hard work for you and all that I ask is that you remain loyal to me.  If you change your mind or change your plans just let me know in writing and I will be happy to cancel this agreement."

Rarely do they NOT sign it! This also discusses upfront all the of the concerns they may have and many of the hurdles we will have along the way.

This single document has changed the way I do business and results in happier clients who feel like they understand the process better and are being well represented by someone who knows what they are talking about.

I hope this helps others out there who are struggling with this.

By they way, I am still trying to figure out how to link others blogs in here so I apologize for not linking more information.