agent advice: Can You Solve This 5th Grade Math Challenge?
- 04/24/08 03:00 PM
The Washington Post has a feature called PAGE THREE / Homework Headaches. Readers submit homework assignments they were unable to help their children complete. I'd like to share today's column with you - a "puzzling encounter with 5th grade math" - because there's a moral here for us in the real estate business.
The instructions were "Write operation signs in the following number sequences to make every equation true. The first problem is done for you." No peeking at the answer yet - give it a try.
Applying this lesson to real estate When we explain different financing options or other real estate matters to our clients, do our explanations … (30 comments)
agent advice: Knowing WHO and WHEN are just as important as knowing HOW
- 08/30/07 12:03 AM
Just a little food for thought: FOLLOW THE MONEY! In a Seller's Market, listing is the name of the game. In a Buyer's Market, selling is the name of the game. It's as simple as that. A Buyer's Market, like we're experiencing today, is a good time for agents to target renters, investors, relocation... for NON-CONTINGENT BUYERS! They are money in your pocket (assuming you have an exclusive buyer-broker contract), because they control the market right now. Send mailings to apartment complexes, to "residents" of homes owned by absentee owners you identify through public records, hold home-buyer seminars, and contact local real estate investors (check the … (25 comments)
agent advice: Agent Open House Tutorial
- 08/25/07 12:54 AM
DVICE FOR NEW AGENTS: In my market area, we have a formula that works very well for everyone involved in an Agent Open House Tours - listing agents, open house guests and our home seller clients, not to mention the eventual buyers who are the real target of our efforts. Jessica Pineda inspired this post when she wrote about her disappointing First Open House, and asked for feedback from ActiveRainers about holding listings open for brokers and agents. She got lots of it, with a gold star and about 40 comments so far. (Congratulations, Jessica!) When my comment on her post became way too long - … (33 comments)
agent advice: How do you organize YOUR ActiveRain?
- 08/20/07 02:11 AM
Okay, I've been doing this ActiveRain thing for several months, now, and I've developed some routines. Let's share, because I could probably learn from YOUR ideas, and somebody might like mine. What do you think? Wanna play? I'll start with Associates and My Home:
Associates - I organized my Associates into Realtors, Lenders, Stagers, Title Companies, Home Inspectors, Vendors, Appraisers and Web Design/SEO, instead of letting them just fall into the default Associates. Now, when I add a new Associate, I just click on the appropriate box and add a comment - often as simple as "Georgia referrals" or maybe something like "REO expert". If you … (49 comments)
If you are a real estate agent who does anything without thinking about the M-O-S-T, please stop now! I'm talking about online and print advertising, door knocking, open houses... Those are tactics, and implementing any "T" without the M, O, and S that should come first is a little like target-shooting without aiming. So let's back up for a minute... to the very beginning, when real estate was nothing more than a dream or a vision for you. You probably had a vague idea of what you wanted to do or be when you completed your first real estate course; but it didn't take long to … (42 comments)
agent advice: Legacy of an "old pro" - passing it on to today's real estate rookies
- 07/25/07 12:01 AM
Those "old pros" - I know they get to you sometimes! When I was a real estate rookie, a lifetime ago, I had a love-hate relationship with them. In my mind, most of them were old-fashioned, overweight, arrogant - and clients seemed to fall effortlessly into their laps from nowhere. Yet, over the years I have found myself mentally giving some of those "grande dames" credit for different things I learned from them that still impact my business after four decades as a REALTOR. Now that I'm an old pro myself, I stipulate to the weight and being somewhat old-fashioned; I just hope today's rookies don't find me too arrogant... that they realize … (65 comments)
agent advice: Curb Appeal Counts More Today Than Ever Before
- 07/24/07 02:48 AM
Crofton real estate is alive and well, if the activity I've experienced in recent weeks is any indication. But the inventory of available properties is much higher than we've seen in recent years, so buyers have several homes to consider. Showing so many homes in the same price range has reminded me again how important curb appeal is to a sale - especially in this "Buyer's Market". Each of my buyer-clients chose to make an offer on the home that had the best curb appeal over others in the same price range and with the same features. Having observed this, I sat down … (8 comments)
One of literature's most famous vampires must be turning over in his grave because his favorite haunt (pun intended) is on the market for sale. MarketWatch.com, RIS Media and the Associated Press, among others, are reporting that Bran Castle, the Romanian landmark owned by Archduke Dominic Habsburg and his family, is available for development. Baytree Capital, a New York investment firm, is offering the property at a mere $100 million. You can click through to these links to read all about it. Pretend for a minute, real estate agents, … (19 comments)
agent advice: Agent feedback... Candid or sugar-coated?
- 07/03/07 02:42 AM
Are home owners and their agents hungry for feedback from prospective buyers and their agents who visit your listings? I always caution my clients up front to be careful what they wish for, because they may not always like the feedback they receive. In fact, some buyers and agents may sound critical - but, I explain, it's important we accept all feedback as constructive suggestions, whether it's directed at me (the sign ccould be moved to ___ for greater visibility, or the lockbox moved to ___ for easier access) or the property (Buyers were turned off by the ___, or buyers were disappointed … (29 comments)
agent advice: The experts are saying...
- 06/25/07 06:02 AM
Are home sellers in denial? Now that is a very good question, and everyone has an opinion. I'll bet you've already framed an answer in your own mind, and now you're waiting to hear what I have to say. Yes, I think that's true. I've talked to a number of sellers, and even agents, who are convinced that their home is worth 10% higher than it's likely to get in today's market. In fact, even economists and other experts are making that observation. Just today, I was reading an article in MarketWatch by Rex Nutting, and he quoted the Chief Economist for … (7 comments)
agent advice: ActiveRain vs. Blogger
- 06/16/07 12:08 AM
Several months ago, I received an email from Carolyn Nelson, offering to help me get started with blogging. Her timing was perfect, following within days the warnings from my son, Steve, that I would be left in the real estate dust if I didn't start blogging. (Moment of motherly pride here: He is the founder of a very successful online business, buySAFE.com, and he knows a lot about consumer expectations.) So I accepted Carolyn's offer, and she immediately set up an account for me with Blogger. I will always be eternally grateful to Carolyn for giving me a headstart on this - I … (17 comments)
agent advice: One short blog
- 06/13/07 11:59 PM
Just my opinion: I'm not impressed, or even interested, when I see a one-sentence blog such as "I've been a real estate agent in (name of city) for over 10 years, so please call me if you'd like to buy a home here." Or even a one-paragraph blog with no information or opinion or question. Or... speaking of questions, how about the open-ended question blog? "Does anybody know anything about financing?" for example. lol. But short is fine, if there is "content" included. Some of the best blogs I've read have been short ones. Just remember, there's more to ActiveRain then racking up points, … (10 comments)
agent advice: Trying to find a "lost" blog...
- 06/12/07 06:48 AM
Hello, ActiveRainers - Apparently I failed to bookmark a blog that appeared about a week ago, posted by a lender, with info about a loan program with grants for downpayments. The link he provided, began with FHA... but again, I failed to bookmark the link on my computer. Now, of course, I'm trying to find it - to no avail. If you posted it or saw it, (or know of a similar loan program), please contact me. So this brings up a question for you veteran ActiveRainers: How do you keep track of all the wonderful information you find on here? If … (5 comments)
agent advice: Agents are supposed to provide solutions, not obstacles
- 06/12/07 12:37 AM
I've run into several agents lately who clearly do not have any idea how to function in a Buyer's Market and who are downright arrogant - they demonstrate no interest in learning; no willingness to adjust to today's marketplace; and, frankly, they are contributing to the high inventory because they provide obstacles, not solutions, to their clients... or on behalf of their clients. I believe that ActiveRain agents are probably the best in the profession, as evidenced by our eagerness to learn and share and participate. But who knows... maybe there's a thought or war story here that will help you think … (11 comments)
agent advice: Crofton MD - Market Report for May 2007
- 06/10/07 05:16 AM
CROFTON MD 21114 Each month, when new sales statistics are published by the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc. (MRIS) - the multiple listing service for Crofton (21114) - the first thing I look at is the Total New Listings (76) and the Total New Contracts (41). If these numbers are not close, then I can predict the future. How, you might ask? Well, it's a case of Supply and Demand. If 76 property owners in Crofton put their homes on the market in a month when only 41 homebuyers elect to purchase a home, the inventory of homes for sale continues to grow. … (0 comments)
agent advice: College Park MD - Market Report for April 2007
- 06/02/07 03:59 AM
COLLEGE PARK MD April sales statistics from Metropolitan Regional Information Systems (MRIS) are now available for College Park, MD. Following is a report comparing this year with the same month in 2006: As you can see, the volume of sale is down about the same amount as the number of sales - almost 50%. At the same time, the average days on market have nearly doubled. It's important to note that the 98.11% for avg. sale price as a percentage of avg. list price could be somewhat misleading because it is based on the list price at the time of contract - the original list … (0 comments)
agent advice: Bowie MD - Market Statistics for April 2007
- 06/01/07 03:47 PM
BOWIE MD 20715, 20716, 20720 As you consider whether to buy or sell a home in the Bowie area, you might want to take a look at recent sales statistics so that you will have realistic expectations. These figures were published by the Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc., the multiple listing service used in the Bowie area of Prince George's County. The imbalance of new listings and new contracts is even greater in this area of Bowie. During April, there were 74 new listings and only 20 new sales. Fortunately, the average sale price vs. list price has remained fairly good, at more than … (0 comments)
agent advice: Moving - Nuisance or Nightmare?
- 05/31/07 08:33 AM
Most real estate transactions usually involve a move for our clients, and it is easy for real estate agents to forget that fact as we check off all the details we track from contract to closing. It is fair to say that most agents think of closing as an ending, whereas it is just one of many many details related to our clients' moving experience. While our clients expect their move to be a nuisance, they also fear that it could be a nightmare. I'll never forget something that one of my mentors said to me about 30 years ago, in the early days of my real estate career: Real … (1 comments)
agent advice: Throw those canned follow-ups into the can!
- 05/22/07 01:28 AM
If you want to find out whether your canned follow-up programs are effective, register to receive them yourself. I recently registered on another agent's website to gain access to listings for my daughter, who is relocating to that area. Since then, I have been getting canned email follow-ups every few days. They are very impersonalThey are very "lecturing" in toneThey are ANNOYING! Say that again, ANNOYING! (as in, too frequent)Every time I receive one of these ANNOYING emails from the agent, I instinctively start to look for the unsubscribe link or the delete button on my email. And I've grown to truly … (16 comments)
agent advice: Davidsonville MD - Market Report for April 2007
- 05/22/07 12:08 AM
DAVIDSONVILLE MD 21035 Sales comparisons between April 2006 and 2007 don't mean much for Davidsonville, MD, when there was only one sale during April 2006. That seems crazy, but it's the information reported by Metropolitan Regional Information Systems, Inc., the regional multiple lsting service that includes Davidsonville. I think we need to focus on the 2007 information, specifically the fact that there were 14 new listings in April, 4 new contracts, and 6 new settlements (see Total Units Sold below). Those 6 units were on the market for an average of 217 days - almost 2/3 of a year. If you have a … (0 comments)
Real Estate and community information for home buyers and sellers, military transferees, and rookie agents in the greater Crofton area, including Annapolis, Bowie, Davidsonville, Fort Meade, Gambrills, Joint Base Andrews, Millersville, Odenton, and the U.S. Naval Academy.
The Washington Post has a feature called PAGE THREE / Homework Headaches. Readers submit homework assignments they were unable to help their children complete. 
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