Twas the Week Before Christmas

‘Twas the week before Christmas, when all through the Valley

REO portals were buzzing with the bank-owned rally;

Addendums were signed and listings were pended,

In hopes that the deal would not be rescinded;

The agents were counting their points and commission,

While buyers move in - and without permission!

When outside the house there arose such a clatter

As the listing agent is investigating the matter.

Now no one knows how the client got a key

Or why they've put up their own Christmas tree.

But the clients are stating as a matter of course

That it was their agent and they have no remorse.

Now the REO agent is red in the face,

Cause that other damn agent is such a disgrace.

But every attempt to contact this culprit

Renews his desire to serve up a writ!

Didn't they know that the 113 waiver

Was never meant to justify this behavior?

Where is his office; where is his broker?

"I just want my hands on the throat of this joker".

Away to his cell phone - a few friends to text,

Now the whole REO world knows what is next.

He assembles his team and draws up a plan

To right the wrong of the buyer agent man.

We're at Starbucks and what should appear,

But eight REO teams and a plan that is clear.

They must seek out the evil wrong-doer,

And purge our ranks of this shameless member!

Then as they approach we see agents of fame,

And everyone here knows them by name;

Now Carvers! Then Woolstons! Now Hastings and Humeston!

Now Rucci and Krein!  Then Pellican and Fenn! 

They scatter and search for the agent - the rogue,

So the rest of his peers will know he's a pogue.

When he is caught - will he confess

To the crime committed at this bank-owned address?

Text messages are sent - cell phones are ringing,

They know they will find him so everyone is singing.

The network is up - it's an email alarm,

The agent is spotted working his farm.

Now surrounded and cornered like a rat in a trap,

Tis time to admit what was done - not beat the rap.

But when he was asked; "Why the hell...

He said; "I don't know . . . I'm just here to sell"!

Then he proclaimed "What's the big deal?"

I'm now working on my next REO steal.

The house was vacant and very inviting,

I just let them in without anything in writing!

The team now assembled gave out with a sigh

They weren't quite sure this rogue wasn't high!

They wanted to know how his license was attained,

One thing's certain it shouldn't be retained.

His broker was called out of bed late at night,

To discuss what eventually would be his plight.

Where was this agent during CE training?

Maybe he needs an old fashioned braining!

Now the clients were moved - locksets were changed

And a few agent brain cells were then rearranged.

His new pitch is "Would you like that with cheese"?

Yes, Mam - may I supersize that please!

THE MARINES HAVE LANDED * November 10, 2008

It is that dreaded time of year again!  This is when any real estate broker or sales manager worth his or her salt intensifies their recruiting efforts while paying extra attention to retaining those agents who are contributing to the company dollar and profitability.  What about the rest of your company?  Does each and every employee in your brokerage truly regard each sales executive as a valued client or customer that is driving the bottom line?

Let's step back and take a long, hard look at the United States Marine Corps and their long tradition of "espirit de corps" that any Marine will tell you separates Marines from all other branches of the service.  Their philosophy is very simple and perhaps even understated, but it goes like this: "You are a Marine first!"  That means if your job is that of jet pilot, you are a hard-charging, ground-pounding, barking at the moon, lean, mean, green fighting Marine first . . . and a pilot second!  The same is true for every specialty in the Marine Corps.  No one in the Corps ever loses sight of the fact they are a Marine with a mission first; their occupational specialty must always take back seat to being a Marine.

So, the question I would pose is: "Does each and every staff member and employee in your organization see themselves as a REALTOR first"?  Or does your accounting staff (not to single out accounting) view their work efforts at a distance from the business of selling real estate transactions?  Do your employees view their position through the eyes of a dedicated, relentless sales executive that is working on a commission only basis to drive the revenue engine for your company?  If not - you may have already spotted a major gap in your long term retention efforts.  This same blind spot on the part of staff and employees will eventually erode recruiting efforts if left unchecked!

I am completely cognizant of just how difficult it is for staff and employees to embrace this notion - especially when they see the earnings potential of an agent or have to suffer though their poor paperwork habits and abilities.  If you are really brave, ask some of your key agents to tell you the truth about their own customer service experiences with you staff.  Then stand back and hope they don't scream - in a loud, command voice, "YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!."

Would you rather shop at K-Mart or at Nieman-Marcus?  Would you rather stay at the No-Tel Motel or the Four Seasons?  The answers are obvious!  Your customer service expectations at the Four Seasons or at Nieman-Marcus are at very high levels and are routinely exceeded by these companies.

This might be the perfect time of year to evaluate your managers, staff, and employees' level of customer service that is being delivered to your sales executives  - who we all know are the lifeblood of our business.  Let's learn from the Marines when the mission is put into perspective, that we will achieve that elusive state of espirit de corps.  This in turn will build a solid foundation for retention and future recruiting.

[This post is dedicated to Maria Mull, VP AlignMark . . . who inspired this effort!  Thank you Maria!  Please visit her website at: http://www.ihireyou.com/ or her new recruiting blog at: Maria Mull's Blog.]

Is it my imagination - OR - are we seeing fewer and fewer open houses being held open in the current market? Is this because there are more foreclosure properties that ever before with many of them not having utilities turned on? Is is because we have fewer new agents working in local markets while many of the experienced agents have turned their focus to prospecting referral leads from their existing and previous client base?

Whatever the reason . . . many agents are missing out of one of the easiest, cheapest, and more effective activities that can start or restart their real estate careers.  Everyone touts the current market as a strong buyer's market with many tremendous buying opportunities.  If so, agents should be seeking out open houses to sit and create the perfect setting for attracting those buyers that are really out there looking for existing bargains.  Perhaps two or more agents work out a plan to sit multiple properties open in the same neighborhood to create even more activity and maybe even a friendly contest to see who can draw the most prospects.  What a way to add buyers to your existing sphere of influence and build a good database of prospects for now and for the future.

Of course we always hear agents tell us that they have tried doing open houses and they don't work!  We need to challenge these agents to look hard at how they are preparing for the open house.  Are they canvassing the neighborhood prior to the Open House event?  Have they sent post cards to the neighbors to invite them to the open house? Have the previewed and studied the neighborhood to ensure that they are so knowledgeable as to be the "expert" in that area?  Do they follow-up with note cards or emails to those who attended?  If so, the open house will be much more than just coming into contact with prospective buyers; it will result in more buyer-controlled sales than would otherwise occur.

This is exactly what we mean when we talk about "getting back to basics"!  So have you agents spend a few dollars on open house signs - OR - dust off the ones they have not used in quite a while, and take on the day!  Please let me know what your office is doing with open houses in this market.  Also consider sharing with us some good results or unique situation that led to an unlikely sale.

Often we stress the need for agents to be grounded in the basic of the real estate business so that their prospecting and target marketing activities become ingrained habits tied to realistic goals.  Are we making the same commitment and effort in your own recruiting activities? Do we schedule our recruiting activities in our calendar each week as our first priority?  In Steven Covey's terminology, is recruiting in our weekly goal planning one of those "big rock" activities that enjoys the priority  it deserves?

Again we expect our agents to plan each week with prospecting activityies that lead to a targeted number of appointments each day in order to achieve their weekly, monthly, and annual production goals.  Are we doing likewise?  Are we setting the example in our recruiting efforts that inspire our agents to emulate our efforts in their real estate prospecting?  If not - why not?  Are we following the coop side of our closed sales and asking our agents for good referrals from coop agents they have worked with in those transactions?  Don't we encourage our own agents to always ask for referrals from their clients?  Of course we do!  Then why do so many of us fail to do exactly the same thing when we are trying to reach out to the best agents that may be working for our competition?

I realize that most real estate recruiters are placing an emphasis, if not a premium, on seasoned agent recruiting in the current market.  In fact, nearly 70% of agents recruited in this market are seasoned agents working for the competition.  Therefore it is even more critical to make contact and then follow-up, follow-up, follow-up until that agent is ready to make a change.  Doesn't that sound a whole lot like a farming campaign?  Of course it does!  So the answer to effective recruiting is as simple as getting back to the basics in exactly the same manner as we have suggested for our agents.

Then why don't we do that? What is getting in the way?  It's just a matter of time management and setting priorities so that we remain focused on long term, high priority results.  It's fighting the temptation to always get caught up in the day to day emergencies, soap operas, and fire drills that distract all of us from remaining focused on the mission.  We all take our eye off the ball and easily fall into this trap!  It is simply too easy to chase numerous B and C priorities that are in our face rather than carving out the time to accomplish those A priority or "Big Rock" items that will advance our commitment to recruiting, retention, and education.

This is a great time of year to take stock and re-evaluate our goals, priorities, and achievements.  It is the perfect time to tweak those goals and set the tone for the remainder of 2008.  There is plenty of time to take charge of our recruiting and production goals to make this year the most successful year it can possibly be.  So let's get focused and get back to the basics of recruiting for the remainder of this year.

All agents, both newer and experienced, really need to know their markets and return to real estate basics like never before.  This may require brokers to conduct sales meetings, seminars, or classes that discuss the current market realities with their agents. 

For example, what percentage of your local market sales are made up of bank owned foreclosure properties and/or short sales?  What are the current inventory levels and how long are they staying on the market?  What is your company's market share and how does it impact your agents on the listing sold side as well as the buyer controlled sale side in your market?  Do they truly understand and believe that each and every market provides fabulous opportunities for the agent willing to adapt his/her skills to that market?

We keep hearing the expression, "It's time to get back to the basics".  But what does that really mean?  Let's start with "knowing the inventory"!  How many of our agents really KNOW the inventory in the areas that they work?  I would suggest that if an agent is holding an open house in a neighborhood, that he/she should be able to field most questions without having to say, "That's a good question, I'll look that up and get back to you."  Hopefully the agent has previewed every possible house in the neighborhood, reviewed all the comparables, knows all the floor plans, and is thoroughly familiar with the history of sales, pendings, and available properties in that neighborhood.  Do they now . . . or are they considering the possibility of farming this neighborhood?

Getting back to the basics starts with an exceptional knowledge of the local market conditions and inventory.  However, are those agents prospecting the expired (or withdrawn) listings?  Do they have a plan for working with the For Sale By Owners in the area?  What canvassing and door knocking programs have they initiated and consistently work?  What other target marketing activities are a part of their regular routine? How do all of these activities tie back to an overall business plan?  How are the activities and results being tracked by the agent and by the responsible manager?

In my opinion much of this is lacking in the current market!  Too many agents are looking to their brokers for leads rather than learning how to generate their own leads! The past couple of years has tested the commitment and perserverance of many good agents.  That's why "getting back to the basics" is critical!  This is the only way to develop the skills necessary to be top producers in this market.  But those skills must be further developed into permanent habits that will sustain the agent in good and bad times.  Prospecting and target marketing offer agents those multiple streams of income, realizing that some activities generate better results than others at any given time.  However, agents with great habits continue those activities that produce long-term results as well as that are good for the short term triumphs. 

Success is derived from a balace of experience and training; the more experience one has - the more training that will be required.  For those that are struggling now - training is essential, now!  There are a number of very good training program available to supplement in-house training.  However, I place a premium on any program that develops lasting habits and not just skill sets.

Perhaps it's time to help our agents "learn how to fish" rather than depending on the broker to do the fishing for them.  Otherwise, they will be "Just Hangin' In There" and perhaps tomorrow's attrition statistic!

Attend the February Political Affairs Committee meeting to voice your opinion on legislative priorities

WHEN: February 14, 2008, at 8:30 am
WHERE: GLVAR's Classroom A

The NVAR Legislative Committee has asked us to identify issues important to our leadership and members for consideration by the Legislative Committee for the 2009 Legislative Session. All issues must be approved by the GLVAR Political Affairs Committee in order to be considered by the state Legislative Committee.

If ou have any questions, please contact Tiffany James with at tjames@glvar.org or (702) 784-5038. Alternative you can contact me (Forrest Barbee) directly at 702-796-7777.

On January 19, 2008, both the Democratic Party and the Republican Party will hold their presidential caucus in Nevada. A caucus is an opportunity for registered voters within the Democratic and Republican parties to select their respective Presidential nominees.

On January 10, 2008 Political Affairs Committee we will hold our first meeting of the year  . . . from 8:30 am - 10:00 am in classroom A. If you are a member of GLVAR and would like to become politically aware or active, then we would you to consider joining the Political Affairs Committee.

Our guest speaker will be Rocky Finseth, Managing Director of Carrara Nevada.  We will also be discussing additional ideas for 2008 topics and future guest speakers.  2008 is a major election year, but it is also the time to ferret out potential issues and concerns that can be be forwarded to the State Legislative Committee for the 2009 Legislative Session.

If ou have any questions, please contact Tiffany James with at tjames@glvar.org or (702) 784-5038. Alternative you can contact me (Forrest Barbee) directly at 702-796-7777.

I really enjoyed many aspects of the NAR Convention this past November.  For one, the Las Vegas venue was excellent for this event.  The exhibits and exhibitors were great; I was amazed at the fantastic vendor turnout given what a real estate year we have just had. 

My one disappointment was with the NAR MLS Committees!  In my humble opinion they remain out of touch with this millenium!  They spent the last year working on this agenda item to protect the MLS name . . . but that horse left the barn decades ago.

They also worked on  . . . and passed a measure that allows your local board to "pull the plug" on all of your brokerage listings in the event that even one licensee fails to make a timely status change to his/her listing.  Of course, adoption by locals boards is voluntary . . . for now!  That literally means that my local board could immediately de-list over 3000 of my company's listings over such a violation.  Isn't that consumer friendly!

Again, the NAR level MLS groups have worked two years on a national MLS Gateway.  Oh, but the term MLS was removed right in the middle of the discussion at the NAR Convention once everyone realized that this effort was no longer moving in that direction.  In fact, the so-called Gateway will be primarily a consumer driven database.  Meanwhile, there was no prototype database to show anyone and no real clarity on where this is headed or when!  That leave the door wide open for Point2NLS, Trulia, Zillow, etc. to build a national MLS database long before NAR can pull it together.

We seriously need the entire population of Realtors represented by their local boards, state associations, and certainly at NAR.  We need a cross-section of younger as well as newer Realtors as state and national representatives.  How else are we going to address their concerns or reach the younger generation of buyers and sellers with the technology, products, and service they demand?

The first step is easy!  If you have any time in your schedule at all . . . please consider joining one committee (any committee) at your own local board and simply get involved.  Why?  Well, because if these national committees are really out of touch . . . it's our fault for not getting more involved and making our opinions and ideas heard!

Let's begin with some good news! However, that will have to wait until we congratulate Lee Barrett on becoming a certified CRS instructor on his first attempt during the NAR Convention last month. Congrats Lee!!

 Now for the good news! First, the single family residential (SFR) resale closing numbers for November are pretty much on par with October . . . and that's good why? Well, we did not have the "normal" November dip from October numbers . . . and that might just be the first sign of life and hope in resale sales since it bucked the traditional end of year trend. So let's see what we can learn from the November SFR stats about the current underlying condition of the Las Vegas market.

First, download and take a look at: November 2007 Resale Market Snapshot

This table is a snapshot of the SFR listings that were available in the Greater Las Vegas market as of December 1, 2007. The listings are broken down by MLS areas; you may also want to download a map to the Greater Las Vegas MLS Area Codes.

More good news! The overall available inventory has dropped slightly since the last snapshot a month ago. More importantly, the average price of available SFR listings has also dropped approximately 1.6% for each of the last two months or a total of 3.2% for the two months combined. Also, the average sale price inched its way up as did the absorbtion rate. On the whole, the Greater Las Vegas resale market remains 14% over priced, but some areas adjusting well. For example, take a look at area codes 201, 202, 403, and 502. These areas are coming closer to striking a balance between average list price and average sale price.

There is one anomaly in the chart . . . and that is area 601! The small number of closings skewed that data slightly as there were three high end properties that closed out of the fourteen total closings. One of these was a closing with a sale price of exactly $1,000,000 that had an original list price of $1,399,000; that property sold with a 29% reduction to the original list price. Area 601 seemed to have good activity for the number of listings and a higher than average absorbtion rate, but the -12% does represent a small amount of skewing.

The one number in the report that could still use improvement is the average Cumulative Days on Market (CDOM). It has slowly increased to an overall market average of 169 days. One (actually several) events may change this next month! The December auctions!! Early indications are that the Hudson and Marshall auction held on Sunday, December 2, 2007 yielded great deals and excellent results for the properties that were included in the auction. There are several more auctions to be conducted this month, so I am really looking forward to see what impact they will have on next month's snapshot!

Until then . . . Keep Getting Price Reductions . . . and close more sales!!!

There is a new website in Nevada that is devoted to providing consumers a wealth of information on foreclosures as well as what scams to be aware of.  The site was put up by the Nevada Governor's office in conjunction with the Nevada Department of Business & Industry.  The website is located at:

 http://www.foreclosurehelp.nv.gov/

If you have clients or friends that are concerned about . . . or facing a possible forelosure, please direct them to the resources on this site.