I feel so fortunate that I get to teach this class again! Its a one day class with about 3 days worth of information! I taught it a few weeks ago in Joplin Missouri and I am still getting E-Mail Success storys.

We were able to get a few sponsors and lower the price from $119 to only $49.00 Including Lunch! We are holding it in a Hotel Conference Center just 2 miles north of I-80 so out of towners come on down!!

This class was developed by Keller Williams University though it is not a "Keller Williams" class. In other words, agents from all different offices will attend and for just one day...we will all be "agents" learning together, to do our jobs at a higher level! (No Recruiting at this class.)

Here is a registration: http://orlandbuyermastery.eventbrite.com/  HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE!

For many years we have wanted to give the power to evaluate a homes value to the consumers who need it. We have arranged a free amazing program that will create a once monthly report of all the active, pending and closed listings around any home in Northern Illinois. Just go to www.PriceMeFree.com put in your basic information and the reports will come to you monthly. You can discontinue the service at any time. The information comes from the Multiple Listing Service...meaning its not from the Tax Records or some other source...it will be very accurate. Hope you enjoy... Ron Wexler Keller Williams Preferred Realty

Real Estate Stress Report....Ron Wexler Keller Williams Realty...Chicago Illinois 

 I have been selling homes since 1984. While the average agent in that amount of time would have sold around 250 homes, I have sold well over 1500. I am not saying that to brag I am just letting you know my experience before I continue.

In the absolute best of times the widely accepted "Stress Scale" goes:

#1. Death of a loved one, 

#2. Divorce

and tied for

#3 Job loss and Moving to a new home.

I have trained agents all over the United States and always included that information when I teach. I want them to know that perfectly normal, wonderful people can transform into frustrated, angry, mean, unhappy, human beings when faced with the stress involved in making a move. And that's in the best of times!!!

So what is it like out there today?

Think about it this way...except for some investors...everyone who is involved in Real Estate right now is getting beat to a pulp. Buyers don't know if they are overpaying since we have not hit the bottom. Sellers (many of whom refinanced at the top of the market and spent the equity they need to move) are getting 30-50% less than they could have 4 years ago. Lenders don't know if they are lending against a home that will go down even further and are under extreme pressure by the government with regards to underwriting regulations. Appraisers are under siege for the appraisals of the past, home inspectors are doing 30-50% fewer inspections, and lawyers are dealing with people who are anxious, upset, and frustrated. Not to mention Real Estate agents themselves who are selling 30-50% less homes on average, at prices reduced by 30-50%...meaning they are getting paid less often and when they do it's a significantly smaller check than a few years ago. All of this while every step of the sale is harder for every person involved!

So now you see why I call this the Real Estate Stress Report...Everyone is stressed at every turn and the question is what can we do about it?

First we are advising our clients to make sure they are in it for the long haul. I am teaching agents to share with their clients that there is no "try". The stress level is much to high when selling even in the best of times...either get in and be committed to a move 100%, or stay out of the market for a few years. In the past you could "give it a try", pick a price; even one that the market indicates is wrong and see what happened. Maybe you would get lucky and a buyer would love your kitchen or your beautiful landscaping enough to "make an offer" even if you were a little over-priced. With 25 homes available to every 1 buyer...believe me price is 100% KING.

Next we are sitting down with our buyers up front and setting expectations. The buyers need to know that some homes are near impossible to even buy, and others may need too much work to be worth the effort. Imagine this, the buyers have to actually have income, and some actual down payment money to buy in this market (neither of which was always important 5 years ago!)

Finally we are letting everyone know that buying or selling a home today may not be a cakewalk. We share that our team will do all it can to de-stress the process. We have 2 dedicated administrative all stars, one for the listing side and one for the pending sales side. They are highly competent and trained to get the job done. Even with that we need to have open, honest communication and lots of patience from everyone. If we say we need some document or verification it's because it is highly necessary to continue the process. If we are pricing, or staging a home and ask our client to do something its vital to create the outcome our client desires.

Our pledge is that we will get you there. Together we will get you to your desired outcome. The process will require something a little different than in the past when we did it all behind the scenes and let everyone else know the outcome.

We know that most stress is self induced, there will most likely be a storm, it will rage all around us. The other agent, their client, the attorneys, the lenders, appraisers, underwriters, inspectors, surveyors, title people etc., may all be in an out of control whirlwind through the entire transaction. Extra stress can not positively affect the outcome.

Great Agents have always been the calm in the storm...in this market environment, along with our clients we need to work together in the eye of the tornado. We will act calm and reasonable no matter what goes on around us, together we navigate the process calmly and competently!

I just finished reading an advance copy of an amazing book courtesy of Blog Coach extraordinaire RobRoy (Rob MacDonald ) A quick word about Rob first ...he is a columnist for the Baltimore Business Journal and coaches business leaders on Social Media and how to Connect.

I highly recommend his free blog: http://robmacdonald.wordpress.com/about/

Now on to this fantastic book Tony Hsieh takes you on a fast and wonderful journey from his entrepreneurial "Earth Worm Business" at age 9 through the building of the Billion Dollar Zappos on line shoe company. I loved the way he shares his growth in mindset; from thinking it was all about the money to realizing its all about the customer, service and people. And ultimately the connection between business, family, life and more importantly than anything else Happiness!

With the shift in the Real Estate market and recent economic challenges, I have been focused on maintaining a positive attitude in challenging times. I have guarded my mindset from the negative press and make sure I am in a positive environment with positive people. This great  story reinforced the need for a powerful business environment of sharing, caring and connection. You will enjoy a great shift from moments on the brink where Zappos may cease to exist, to the building of a market dominant, company where people love to work and grow.

Here is a link to the book on Amazon... http://tinyurl.com/GreatHappinessBook

The book will be out soon and I highly recommend it.

I just finished reading an advance copy of an amazing book courtesy of Blog Coach extraordinaire RobRoy (Rob MacDonald http://robmacdonald.wordpress.com/about/) A quick word about Rob first ...he is a columnist for the Baltimore Business Journal and coaches business leaders on Social Media and how to Connect. I highly recommend his free blog.

Now on to this fantastic book Tony Hsieh takes you from his entrepreneurial "Earth Worm Business" at age 9 through the building of the Billion Dollar Zappos on line shoe company. I loved the way he shares his journey from thinking it was all about the money to realizing its all about the customer, service and people. And ultimately the connection between business, family, life and more importantly than anything else Happiness!

With the shift in the Real Estate market and recent economic challenges, I have been focused on maintaining a positive attitude in challenging times. I have guarded my mindset from the negative press and make sure I am in a positive environment with positive people. This great  story reinforced the need for a powerful business environment of sharing, caring and connection. You will enjoy a great journey from moments on the brink where Zappos may cease to exist, to the building of a market dominant, company where people love to work and grow.

Here is a link to the book on amazon... http://tinyurl.com/GreatHappinessBook

The book will be out soon and I highly recommend it.

I was recently interviewed for an article in the Chicago Sun Times. The writer was wondering how much of the boost in business this quarter was due to the Government Tax Incentives? They interviewed a couple of agents for our best guess! I shared my opinion and ended with my true belief that the good market we are in will continue. I do believe that buyers are smart enough to know that this is the greatest opportunity ever. Great agents who work daily to find buyers for their sellers will continue to get the job done, and agents who sit around waiting for the phone to ring will continue to be lonely!

Here is a link to the article if you would like to read it.

http://www.suntimes.com/business/2208204,CST-NWS-homes28.article

I believe that...Future thoughts of 2010 will include a lot of Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda, and I am working with every buyer and seller I meet to help them understand that belief.

 Have a fantastic May!

Are you a daily phone prospector looking to increase your skill? This coming Thursday we have 3 spots left for our all day Prospecting Fantasy Camp. Ron Wexler and Tony Frye have made over 50,000 prospecting calls and will be your instructors for the day. We expect each participant to set several qualified appointments! We will role play and prospect from 8-4:00 with several breaks including a Ginos East Deep Dish Pizza Lunch Break!! The details are below....If you would like to join us we would love to have you!

Prospecting Fantasy Camp
Title Sponsor: First Mortgage
To sign up email: KathyFoster@kw.com she will get back to you with registration information
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Join us Thursday April 22, 2010
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Prospecting Fantasy Camp

Upgrade your skills.

Enhance your ability to set appointments.

Generate new Qualified Leads

Network with like minded agents

Find new Accountability and Practice Partners

GROW your income!
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Prospecting Fantasy Camp is:
Advanced Learning for Superstar Agents
For Action oriented people ready to set lots of appointments.
Intensive Role Play and Lead Generation
Being Coached by instructors who have made over 50,000 contacts
A "Fantasy Camp" Environment...fun, challenging, exciting, profitable!
A place where you should set more appointments in one day than most agents do all year.
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Prospecting Fantasy Camp is NOT:
For people who are not committed to success
For People who do not prospect at all
Prospecting 101
For agents who are deciding what to do
For people who want to make excuses instead of MONEY.
*****************************
Who: Great Agents from all company's.
What: 1 Full Day of Intense Lead Generation
When: April 22, 2010 (Thursday)
Where: Lead Generation Station
18300 S. Dixie Highway Homewood Il
To sign up email: KathyFoster@kw.com she will get back to you with registration information. 

 

I have been here before. Being in the midwest I remember when the rest of the world was talking about Starbucks and we didn't have one...now our little town has 3! When I joined Re/Max many years ago people asked me why I would leave Century 21 to join a virtually unknown company. I felt the momentum building then and I really feel it now. After 20 great years with my former company I knew what it looked like when everyone was realizing a "new" company was getting the job done. Top Agents around the country are joining Keller Williams in droves. In fact I was visiting a friend in Beverly Hills back in November, he was the number 50 Coldwell Banker in the country and I introduced him to my friends at the Keller Williams Beverly Hills office. He joined shortly after that and loves it! In fact he just had his single biggest month in his long career!

I don't know what starts the momentum, I just know how it feels. For example while most companies were cancelling or trying to get 1000-2000 people to attend their company convention Keller Williams had to cut off registrations at 8300! When most companies are getting smaller, Keller Williams is actually growing. Agents know that the company is not why they are a success, what they do every day is where the success comes from. The company is there to support the agent and provide an amazing environment where its easy to succeed. My former 2 companies did that in thier day and Keller Williams is doing it today.

Top agents, even ones who are perfectly "happy" with the company they are with right now will always be open to the benefits of moving to a company that promotes and supports the growth they desire! I loved where I was, I just like where I am now even more!

 This short video is now available to sellers in Chicago, Los Angeles, Austin, Dallas, New York and nationwide.  Ron Wexler and Doris Carlin are two of the nations most recognized Real Estate Agents. With over 50 years of combined experience they know how to help sellers get homes sold! Having a hard time selling a home or just plain afraid to get into the market get this video. You don't have to wonder should I sell my home. Just order this video and let us walk you through what this market means to you and what it will take to get the job done!

Designed to use with our sellers who needed to get homes sold and just were not ready to deal with the pain of today's market. We speak directly to sellers about Price, Condition, Commission and Marketing.  www.movedquick.com. Ron Wexler and Doris Carlin with over 3000 home sales between us we know what it takes to get homes sold.

Learn more and place your order at www.movedquick.com .

How many times in your life already have you thought...I saw that opportunity and I wish I had taken it. I knew that stock was going to go way up, I knew prices in that area would skyrocket. I thought of that and someone else invented it. You get the idea. This will be the biggest coulda, woulda, shoulda of most of our lives. I should have bought a home, a second home, an investment property, a condo in Florida, the house next door. A lot of stock in a beat down company. Yes there are many opportunities in a terrible time like this one.

If you still have job stability, decent credit and a down payment now is the time to make the smartest move of your life. Its time to realize that life is viewed globally and lived locally. What I mean is when you turn on the news all kinds of awful things are happening, and yet you can look around your life and there are no famine, violence, weather or terrorist disasters near by. In your life right now is it possible to upgrade at a very low price?

Do the math if someone was going to make a simple move up transaction in 2005 it may have looked like this...a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home was worth $300,000 , in the same area a 4 bedroom, 2.5 bath home was worth $400,000 a $100,000 difference. Fast forward to 2010, the market shifted and prices have gone down drastically, lets say they are down 30%! Now the 3 bedroom has gone down to $210,000 and the 4 bedroom has dipped down to $280,000. The difference in price is now $70,000, add low interest rates and lots of homes to choose from and maybe even government incentives to the equation.

So what possible reason is there to wait? Wait for prices to go up...I don't think so. Wait for rates to go down...how much lower could they be? Wait for inventory to move...you will have less choices. Wait for the bottom...you won't know we hit it until its on the way up, and prices most likely will not dip down more than another 4-6% if at all. Wait for the Government to fix it all?

Go in with a friend on a property, use a self directed IRA, if you have a lot of equity in your home refinance or sell it and buy two more...you get the idea

This is the time to be the smart person who made the right move so ten years from now when everyone is saying I wish I had you can say I DID!