In Massachusetts and throughout New England, the Boston Red Sox are not just a baseball team. They are a regional obsession. And "Red Sox Nation" is present in just about every other baseball stadium, rooting for Youk, Big Papi, Pedroia and Jacoby. (Let's hope the boys can overcome their poor start and compete for the pennant!).
Come to think of it, there is a lot that the Red Sox and baseball can teach us about real estate. Here are a few analogies –
Listen to your Manager and your General Manager. Your Manager is your real estate agent. Your General Manager is your real estate attorney. Tito Francona and Theo Epstein (yeah!). Joe Girardi and Brian Cashman (boo!!! Hating the Yankees is also a national pastime). This is the foundation of your team. Listen to them. Trust them. They will lead you to the World Series–your closing.
Spring training is more than just practice. In real estate, spring is the busiest time of year. So apply your eye black and get your game face on. Make your best offer. Swing for the fences. Everything counts in the spring in real estate.
When you get up to the plate, make sure you have your batting helmet and battling gloves on, and you’ve studied the pitcher. In real estate, this means that if you are buying, you need to be well prepared. Get pre-qualified or even better, pre-approved for a mortgage so your offer will be seriously considered by the seller. Studying the pitcher means do your homework. Have your real estate agents pull comparable sales and obtain market research before settling on a offer price. Same for sellers. It’s not what you need or want for a price, but what the market will bear. Reality check time.
Baseball is a rewarding long-term investment. Watching a baseball game can be a long term investment. (Sometimes too long!). So is real estate. Think long-term. This is going to be your home for the next several years. Don’t lose sight of that.
Don’t get caught stealing. Sellers, be honest and upfront about your home and its problems. The home inspector will most likely find all the issues you’ve tried to hide, so disclose up front. Otherwise, you’ll lose all credibility, and the deal will be that much harder to close.
Expect an occasional curveball. With tight credit requirements and longer underwriting, closing in 30 days is very difficult. Delays are becoming more prevalent as well. So, hope for the best, but prepare for the worst.
Statistics & numbers are critical. ERA stands for Earned Run Average, not a well known local real estate office. CMA stands for Comparative Market Analysis. For real estate, you need to crunch a lot of different numbers: price per square foot, PITI, down payment, taxes, etc. You can’t properly analyze a baseball team or a real estate market without understanding the numbers. Sabermetrics for real estate anyone?
Waiting until next year is not always the best strategy. This is more true than ever. Most experts believe we have hit bottom in the Greater Boston area. Interest rates are still at historical lows. It’s time to pine tar the bat and get up to the plate. Get out of the on deck circle and up to batter's box.
Spitting should never be permitted in a dugout or a living room. ‘Nuff said.
Play Ball and go Red Sox!!!
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Richard “Lefty” Vetstein, Esq. is an experienced Massachusetts real estate attorney and life-long, diehard Red Sox fan. Rich was once a fire-balling southpaw pitcher in Little League, striking out 14 batters in one game. His baseball career is now relegated to second-guessing managerial decisions and throwing things at the TV. For more real estate law information, check out his award winning Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog.
The long awaited ruling from the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court in case of Real Estate Bar Association (REBA) v. National Estate Information Services (NREIS) has just come down. The ruling can be read below. The net effect of the Court’s ruling is to reaffirm Massachusetts attorneys’ long-standing role to oversee the closing process and conduct closings. For more background, please read my prior post, Battle Between Massachusetts Closing Attorneys vs. Settlement Service Providers Argued Before SJC.
This case pits Massachusetts real estate closing attorneys vs. out of state non-attorney settlement service providers which are attempting to perform “witness or notary” closings here in Massachusetts. At stake is the billion dollar Massachusetts real estate closing industry.
Quick Analysis
Massachusetts attorneys must be present for closings and take active role in transaction both before and after the closing. The substantive ruling from the court was a huge victory for Massachusetts real estate closing attorneys and their continued, long standing involvement in the residential real estate industry. The court requires “not only the presence but the substantive participation of an attorney on behalf of the mortgage lender.” This is what Massachusetts real estate attorneys have been fighting about for consumers in the face of out of state settlement companies who have tried to conduct closings with “robo-attorneys” and notaries who cannot explain complex legal documents to parties at the closing table. The court stated:
The closing is where all parties in a real property conveyancing transaction come together to transfer their interests, and where the legal documents prepared for the conveyance are executed, often including but not limited to the deed, the mortgage and the promissory note. The closing is thus a critical step in the transfer of title and the creation of significant legal and real property rights. Because this is so, we believe that a lawyer is a necessary participant at the closing to direct the proper transfer of title and consideration and to document the transaction, thereby protecting the private legal interests at stake as well as the public interest in the continued integrity and reliability of the real property recording and registration systems.
No “Robo-Attorneys” Allowed. NREIS’ business model is to hire part-time, contract attorneys on an as-needed basis to conduct closings. Basically, these are kids right out of law school who get a call to drive to a closing they know nothing about for $100 or less a pop. Although they are licensed attorneys, these lawyers are really no different than the “rob0-signers” in the foreclosure industry because they did not participate in the transaction from the start, they did not examine the title, or do anything to manage the transaction. Here’s what the court said about this practice:
Implicit in what we have just stated is our belief that the closing attorney must play a meaningful role in connection with the conveyancing transaction that the closing is intended to finalize. If the attorney’s only function is to be present at the closing, to hand legal documents that the attorney may never have seen before to the parties for signature, and to witness the signatures, there would be little need for the attorney to be at the closing at all. We do not consider this to be an appropriate course to follow. Rather, precisely because important, substantive legal rights and interests are at issue in a closing, we consider a closing attorney’s professional and ethical responsibilities to require actions not only at the closing but before and after it as well.
Analyzing title and rendering an opinion of clear and marketable title must be conducted by attorneys. Certifying good, clear and marketable title is the fundamental function of the real estate attorney in Massachusetts, and required by law for purchase transactions under Chapter 90, section 70. NREIS was attempting to out-source this function to out of state companies and non-lawyers, in avoidance of Mass. law.
Attorneys are required to draft deeds. The court held “because deeds pertaining to real property directly affect significant legal rights and obligations, the drafting for others of deeds to real property constitutes the practice of law in Massachusetts.”
Attorneys must effectuate the transaction. The court also ruled that only licensed attorneys have duty to effectuate a valid transfer of the interests being conveyed at the closing. This includes ensuring that the deed and mortgage are properly recorded; that the exchange of funds is properly made and that prior mortgages and liens are properly paid off and discharged.
Title abstracts, title insurance and other administrative functions are properly delegated to non-attorneys. The court also correctly recognized, consistent with modern practice, that many functions in the real estate transaction don’t have to be performed by an attorney. Included in this exempted list of functions are the preparation of title abstracts by title examiners at the registries of deeds, the issuance of title insurance policies, and the preparation of closing documents & the HUD Settlement Statement. Real estate attorneys typically use title examiners and paralegals at lower costs to perform these functions.
The case will move back to federal court where it started for more fact-finding unless it can be settled. There were several unanswered questions because the record was not adequately established. It remains to be seen whether NREIS and its ink can adopt their business model to the SJC’s holding. It’s possible it can be done, but they will have to hire a group of attorneys to manage the system.
More Coverage: Court Weighs In On Lawyers and Closings, Boston Business Journal (interestingly argues that this is a blow to attorneys–completely disagree).
Many home buyers today still need to sell their current homes and use the sale proceeds for their next purchase. Often, there is a closing in the morning on the “sell,” and a closing in the afternoon on the “buy.” This is called a “piggyback” or “back to back” sale.
Back in the boom days, we were doing piggyback transactions all the time, and lenders were able to offer special programs, like bridge loans, to facilitate these back to back transactions. The days of bridge loans, no-docs, and 100% financing may be over, but piggyback transactions are still going on, but in a changed market.
There are numerous factors and variables to consider when doing a piggyback transaction, from a legal, financial/lending and marketing perspective. There can be at least 11 different people involved – buyer, seller, 2 agents, up to 3 attorneys, loan officer, appraiser, home inspector and contractor. Coordinate and communication is critical, and the Realtor often takes on the role of the "Project Manager."
Sales/Marketing
There are a number of considerations on the sale/marketing side. When to put the lisitng on the market so as to ensure a quick sale? Many families want to get settled before the summer and back to school season ends. Getting a pre-sale home inspection and comparable market analysis before putting your home on the market are two good tips.
Lending
Lenders are no longer offering bridge loans or 100% financing, which helped cash strapped sellers to close on their new purchases. Also, home equity lines are tougher to qualify for. No income verification and stated income loans are just about long gone for the recently self-employed. The days of “washing the rent” on income properties is over. You need a 2 year history of rental income for qualification purposes. You also need to factor in the required real estate tax and insurance escrow reserve in your mortgage payment affordability analysis.
Bottom line, coordinate with your client's loan officer and financial planner as early as possible in the process before putting the listing on the market! Get those financial ducks lined up before the application process.
Coordination & Control
The piggyback transaction works best when one person takes on the role of “project manager.” Communication and coordination is the recipe for a successful piggyback transaction.
On the legal side, the overriding goal is to keep your buyer’s feet to the proverbial coals on the sale while protecting your deposit on the buy. It may seem like common sense, but it’s best to hire the same attorney to handle both transactions. An experienced attorney will line up the two mortgage contingency deadlines so that your buyer will obtain a firm loan commitment as soon as possible (with no contingencies, especially the sale of other property), and you have sufficient time on your purchase to get your own firm commitment while protecting yourself from any worst case scenarios like job loss, defective title, etc. The attorney should always be on top of these important deadlines so he or she can ask for extensions and otherwise exercise any opt out rights. Failure to do that can result in the loss of your deposit. Delays are common today in the tighter lending environment.
The Big Day
As the closing day approaches, everyone gets into high gear, with the agents coordinating smoke certs and pre-closing walk-throughs, the attorneys drafting preliminary HUDs, deeds, and coordinating wires, and loan officers sending closing packages. Speaking of wires, your attorney should be able to coordinate a wire of your sale proceeds into the IOLTA account of the purchase closing attorney, so you have good funds to close.
The closing day is about as hectic as you can get. I suggesting giving your attorney a power of attorney so he or an associate can attend the closing on the sale, get on record, coordinate the funds, and you can deal with moving and attending the purchase closing in the afternoon.
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s U.S. Bank v. Ibanez foreclosure decision is already a huge national story and has huge implications for the foreclosure and REO market. (The ruling is embedded below). The high court ruled that two foreclosures of sub-prime mortgages were null and void where the lenders could not establish the chain of ownership within the securitized mortgage backed securitized pools. CNN-Money calls it a “beat down” of the big banks. Reuters says it’s a “catastrophe risk” for banks. TheHuffington Post claims there’s some Obama Administration-Bank of America conspiracy in play. The ruling has spooked investors, as bank stocks were down in reaction to the ruling. In reaction to the ruling, a coalition of seven major public pension systems called on the boards of directors of Bank of America, Citigroup, JP Morgan Chase, and Wells Fargo to immediately undertake independent examinations of the banks’ mortgage and foreclosure practices.
National Implications
The case certainly has national implications as the Massachusetts SJC is the first state supreme court to weigh in on the legal ramifications of widespread irregularities in the residential securitized mortgage industry. Over half of U.S. states have foreclosure laws similar to Massachusetts’ regarding the assignment of mortgages, such as California and Georgia. Other courts across the country will likely be influenced by the ruling, especially since the SJC is widely regarded as one of the most respected state supreme courts in the country. If other state courts follow this ruling, it's going to have a huge impact on the foreclosure and REO markets, as billions of dollars of mortgages could be rendered "un-forecloseable" and without resource against mortgaged property.
What Happened Here?
For those new to the case, the problem the Court dealt with in this case is the validity of foreclosures when the mortgages are part of securitized mortgage lending pools. When mortgages were bundled and packaged to Wall Street investors, the ownership of mortgage loans were divided and freely transferred numerous times on the lenders’ books. But the mortgage loan documentation actually on file at the Registry of Deeds often lagged far behind. In the Ibanez case, the mortgage assignment, which was executed in blank, was not recorded until over a year after the foreclosure process had started. This was a fairly common practice in Massachusetts, and I suspect across the U.S. Mr. Ibanez, the distressed homeowner, challenged the validity of the foreclosure, arguing that U.S. Bank had no standing to foreclose because it lacked any evidence of ownership of the mortgage and the loan at the time it started the foreclosure.
He won, and now gets his home back, despite defaulting on the loan.
What This Means For Realtors
For Realtors in the foreclosure and REO markets there are 3 take-aways from this case:
If the ruling spreads to states other than Mass., foreclosures will get a lot harder to complete, and the REO market will be impacted with less inventory.
The ruling could have a positive impact on short sales and loan modifications. With foreclosures being more costly and riskier to undertake, lenders may be more willing to (finally!) negotiate loan mods and short sales. This is good news!
The ruling underscores why you should always insist that your buyers obtain their own owner's policy of title insurance. There are a lot of folks who purchased property at foreclosure auctions, and if the mortgage suffered from the same type of problem as the Ibanez case (which could be 100,000's of incidents), they no longer have good title. If they have title insurance, at least they have some protection. If they didn't, they are basically screwed, for lack of a better word.
This week I’ll talk about the court’s ruling that the listing broker violated its fiduciary duties when it messed around with the escrow deposit.
Quick Take-Away
The important take away from this case for all real estate agents is that if you are holding a deposit as an escrow agent, don’t even think about messing with it even if there’s a legitimate dispute about your commission or other monies owed to you. It’s not your money! The best advice is to let the dispute run its course and continue holding the funds in escrow.
Dispute Between Listing Broker and Buyer
The facts of this case are a bit unusual. Listing Broker represented the seller in a purchase of residential property in Wayland, MA. Under the standard purchase and sale agreement, the buyer posted a $92,500 escrow deposit which Listing Broker held as an escrow agent. The same buyer apparently used Listing Broker on another transaction and owed it nearly $35,000 in fees.
The buyer lost its financing and defaulted on the contract, thereby forfeiting the $92,500 deposit. (I covered that in my prior post). Listing Broker took an assignment of the buyer’s right to the escrow funds, but didn’t tell its client that right away. Then Listing Broker tried to strong-arm its client by threatening litigation if he didn’t accept $2,500 and release the escrow deposit to Listing Broker.
Breach of Fiduciary Duty and Chapter 93A Violation
The court was none too happy with Listing Broker’s course of action here. The court reaffirmed that Listing Broker had a fiduciary duty — one of the highest duties under law — to hold the funds for the benefit of the seller and not to engage in any self-dealing. The court found that Listing Broker’s collection of a debt against the escrow deposit while it was acting as escrow agent was a clear breach of fiduciary duty.
The kicker was that the court imposed triple damages and an award of attorneys’ fees under the Massachusetts Consumer Protection Act, Chapter 93A. So Listing Broker is now on the hook for $277,500 plus thousands in legal fees. Ouch!
“What?! I’ve been doing market reports for the last 20 years,” said one Realtor. “I spend hundreds of dollars a month on market report mailers,” said another. “That’s all I post on my blog,” said another.
Waste of time. Waste of stamps. Waste of money.
Here are some questions you need to ask yourself if you are relying on market reports. Are you tracking the response rate? How? What is the response rate, either by mail or online? If you are blogging, what are your statistics and traffic on the market report posts? Can you track any direct leads from them? Is your competition doing market reports? Is the consumer flooded with the same data?
Also, market data is readily available to consumer in a much better format on Zillow, Trulia, and other sites. Why compete with them?
That said, I’ll will guarantee that market reports are some of your most under-performing marketing materials, and if you’re spending a ton of money on them, well, you might as well just give me the money.
Ok, So What Works?
For real results, especially online, you need to focus on hyper-local posts, informative posts (how to guides, etc.) and content that lets your experience and personality shine through. Here are some suggestions:
A review of the new Italian restaurant that opened in town
Top 10 tips for buying a condo unit
Open house etiquette
A compilation post on the best places to shop in town
Getting your home ready to list–your tips from 20 years of experience
Take a peruse of my company HubConnected's portfolio to see how our real estate bloggers do it right. And contact me if you need more advice.
About: Rich Vetstein is a nationally recognized real estate attorney and blogger. He was recently named one of Inman News Most Influential In Real Estate. Rich created the award winning Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog and started his own real estate social media company, HubConnected.
Offerring Real Estate Professionals Custom Designed Wordpress Blog Sites With Content Generation, Multiple Listing Service/IDX Solutions, Facebook Pages And Social Media Integration
HubConnected LLC (http://www.hubconnected.com), a provider of social media solutions for the real estate industry, announced its official launch today. With 95% of real estate consumers using the Internet and the exponential growth of social networking sites such as Facebook, HubConnected provides innovative Web 2.0 solutions for Realtors® and real estate settlement agents who want to use social media to grow their business.
“Many real estate professionals are overwhelmed with the dizzying array of choices for social media interaction ,” states Jacob Clayton, Chief Technology Officer. “We wanted to create an innovative social media platform to solve this dilemma, so real estate professionals can continue to focus on selling real estate!”
HubConnected provides custom designed Wordpress Blog sites with built-in Multiple Listing Service/IDX search and featured listings, fully integrated with the major social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter – and provides loads of search engine friendly, content rich articles so professionals will not get bogged down with writing. HubConnected’s solutions enable Realtors to showcase their listings, harness the power of social media, and become an expert in their local real estate market, all while generating valuable new connections and leads. For settlement agents, HubConnected enables them to develop new avenues of business generation, get quoted in news sites and trade journals, and showcase their experience and expertise in real estate law to the consumer.
HubConnected will be exhibiting at the Inman News Agent Reboot Conference on October 13, 2010 at the Hynes Convention Center in Boston, MA; at the Massachusetts Association of Realtors Conference on October 18-20, 2010 at the DCU Center in Worcester, MA; and at the Massachusetts Real Estate Bar Association Annual Conference on November 8, 2010 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Westborough, MA.
HubConnected is founded by a trio of industry recognized real estate professionals who have had huge successes with social media and internet marketing to grow their businesses, and a desire to share that same success with fellow professionals. Jacob Clayton, Chief Technology Officer, is an award winning real estate programmer and designer and Broker/Owner of Clayton Realty Group, Inc. Mr. Clayton’s Massachusetts real estate blog won top honors in the Massachusetts Association of Realtors website contest, and he was a finalist in the “Pioneer” category of the National Association of Realtors Technology Spotlight awards. Richard D. Vetstein, Chief Social Media Officer, is a top real estate blogger and the creator of the Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog, the top real estate legal blog in New England. Rich is also the resident legal blogger for the Boston Globe’s Real Estate Now Blog, and a guest blogger for the Future of Real Estate Marketing. Marc E. Canner, Chief Operating Officer, is a successful real estate attorney and the founder of TitleHub Closing Services LLC and the Law Office of Marc E. Canner in Needham, MA.
About HubConnected LLC
HubConnected LLC (http://hubconnected.com) is a Needham, Massachusetts based provider of custom real estate social media solutions. HubConnected can be followed on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
HubConnected Leadership Team Marc E. Canner, CEO
Jacob Clayton, Chief Technology Officer Richard D. Vetstein, Chief Social Media Officer
I was fortunate to have attended the Inman Agent Reboot Conference in Boston yesterday. From the buzz surrounding the conference here at the Hynes Convention Center, it’s clear that Boston area agents are embracing the power of social media, and that Boston is well on its way to becoming the next “Hub” for social media savvy agents!
Mike Mahoney of Keller Williams-Boston and Richard D. Vetstein of TitleHub Closing Services & Vetstein Law Group
The conference kicked off with Daniel Rothamel, Founder of RealEstateZebra.com, awakening the early morning Dunkin’ Donuts coffee drinking crowd with his John Lennon-transcendental homage about why love matters in real estate. While we hardscrabble New Englanders may not be that into the touchy-feely stuff, Daniel’s message was sound: conduct yourself with the utmost professionalism and ethics to counteract the negative perception the public has for Realtors. Daniel then got into what he really knows best: technology! His takeaway: if you buy one major technology purchase this year, make it an iPad. He’s right. Your potential sellers will be blown away by the iPad during your listing presentations. And your buyers will appreciate your ability to pull up MLS information at doorsteps.
Next up was Lesley Lambert, who trekked down the Mass. Pike from Westfield in Western Mass. A true Dancin’ Queen (check out the video), Lesliewas one of the stars of the conference, speaking twice about converting clicks to closings and social media strategies. Lesley had some great tips:
Blogging
Start a self-hosted Wordpress Blog and use it as a hub for all your content
Stream your content to your Facebook Fan page and Twitter account
Connect with old classmates, friends, family, referral partners—you never know where a referral can originate
Be careful about what you post. Avoid pictures with alcohol, skimpy clothing, etc
Mike Mahoney of Keller Williams-Boston and Richard D. Vetstein of TitleHub Closing Services & Vetstein Law Group
I’d just add to Leslie’s tips and suggest using the RSS Graffiti application for Facebook, This killer app allows you to stream your blog’s RSS feed (and any RSS feed for that matter) onto your Fan page or personal page.
Rebecca Chandler, of BrokerSherpa, had some humorous yet sensible tips on Facebook that your mother taught you: Don’t whine. Don’t complain. Don’t overly sell. And if you don’t have anything nice to say, don’t say it at all! That’s a big pet peeve of mine as well, and a sure fire way to get “ignored” by potential clients and referral sources on Facebook.
During the conference the #agentrb Twitter stream was going full tilt. One of the most tweeted comments was from Darin Parsinger who was tweeting from Seattle! He said, "Twitter is a cocktail party. Facebook is a backyard BBQ." Great quote.
Diane Guercio of Towne & Country Realtors, Sherry Chris of Better Homes & Gardens Real Estate and Lesley Lambert, Co-Founder & Realtor, TwitterQueens
After some great discussion about mobile being the next big thing (agreed!), local agents David Millett, of The Masiello Group and Jon Ufland, Managing Broker, Prudential Unlimited Realty, concluded the conference with a discussion about the local Greater Boston real estate market. Jon said that we are now basically back to the year 2000 in terms of market value and sales activity. Ugg. Certainly, the last decade has been a roller coaster, and those agents who have survived deserve a round of applause. Jon also opined that there are too many unqualified, untrained, or part-time agents who do not keep up with the latest news, trends, guidelines, laws, and techniques. Taking off from Jon’s comment, those who attended the Agent Reboot conference are now one step ahead of their competitors, and are learning the tools to better serve the clients of the future.
As the crowd filtered out of the Hynes onto Boylston Street, many agents were already plotting their new Wordpress Blog Site, Facebook fan page design and Twitter strategies. A very educational and successful day was had by all!
About Me: Richard Vetstein (@richardvetstein) helps Massachusetts agents with their social media needs. An attorney by trade, he created the Massachusetts Real Estate Law Blog, the top real estate legal blog in New England. He also blogs weekly at Boston.com. Rich is the Chief Social Media Officer of HubConnected LLC, a leading provider of social media solutions for real estate. He is also the co-founder and an attorney at TitleHub Closing Services. Both companies are based in Needham, MA.
I love the movie, Jerry Maguire. One of my favorite parts is Cuba Gooding Jr. (Wide Receiver, Rod Tidwell) coining the word "Quan." (See clip above--sorry about the rear end shot!).
According to Rod Tidwell, "Quan" means "love, respect, community, and the dollars too. The entire package. The Quan." Tom Cruise (Jerry Maguire), responds simply, "Great word." Then Jerry and Rod get into a heated argument and Jerry tells Rod why he doesn't have a huge contract yet:
Jerry: Here's why you don't have your ten million dollars yet. You are a paycheck player. You play with your head. Not your heart. In your personal life? (points) Heart. But when you get on the field -- (finger rises to Tidwell's head), It's all about what you didn't get, who's to blame, who under-threw the pass, who's got the contract you don't, who's not giving you your love, and you know what, that is not what inspires people. That is not what inspires people! Just shut up and play the game. Play it from your heart. And you know what? I will show you the Quan. And that's the truth. That's the truth man! Can you handle it! Just a question between friends, you know!
Tidwell: I don't want to be friends no more.
Your blog posts can use some "Quan." What I mean by that is quit writing sales-y, generic stuff and write from the heart. From your experiences. With passion and feeling. With some emotion. That's what people want to read and connect to. Write about what and who inspire you both professionally and personally. When you write from the heart, readers connect with you on another level. Don't be a robot. Be a human being. We want to be inspired. We're waiting for greatness. Show us.
With my new Real Estate Social Media Company, HubConnected, I've been coaching and teaching Realtors on the ins and outs of Social Media.
There are certain real estate agents who get Facebook, and certain ones who don’t. You know who they are.
Facebook is all about engaging and the back and forth–an online conversation if you will. It’s the opposite of the “hard sell.” Folks on Facebook don’t want to be spammed and inundated with listings or information that has no relevance to them. It’s annoying and a turn off.
I want to talk about how you can use Facebook to really help your clients–like a concierge service. If you have a fairly robust Facebook network, you can tap into your Facebook network to help clients:
Bingo, Gabby just got a great recommendation for a nanny for her client! This is one less headache her client has to worry about upon moving into town.
Try using your Facebook network this way to help clients, not to sell them!
Disclaimer: ActiveRain Corp. does not necessarily endorse the real estate agents, loan officers and brokers listed on this site. These real estate profiles, blogs and blog entries are provided here as a courtesy to our visitors to help them make an informed decision when buying or selling a house. ActiveRain Corp. takes no responsibility for the content in these profiles, that are written by the members of this community.
Selling & Buying Simultaneously
The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court’s 
Posted by 
This post is a continuation of my discussion about the recent Massachusetts Appeals Court case of 
Last week I
Don’t Sell On Facebook. Instead, Help On Facebook
;)
;)
