HAROLD'S OPINION

Working from home

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 14:10:44 -0500

Well I just spoke to lucie, she commented on my post and gave me some insight on working from home, well, I decided to experiment with this concept, now I miss my office, my cordless phone is dying on me, and I trying to figure a way out of this, now I am looking at the 300 odd minutes on my blackberry, well it is going to cost me, I think I will need a corded phone and a headset, well I am just not use to it, it feels strange sitting on my bed and now I am blogging, hey I think I will gradually phase this idea in rather than jumping cold turkey,I feel unemployed because it is too relaxing, too comforting........what the heck....it is just another day..

Habit

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Wed, 25 Oct 2006 08:14:03 -0500

Do you get up every morning and go to your office at 9.00a.m? What is your routine? Do you not go to the office and do most off your business mobile? Well, I will think that because of technology we don't need to go to the office unless you are going to either collect your mail, process a listing or meet a client. I am kinda curious to see what others do, because I feel guilty if I don't go to the office every morning to make my calls, I could do it on the road but it will cost me to much, what do you think?

Wisdom from an old man

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 22:51:24 -0500

This older gentleman said to me," Harold, if you listen to me and forget what others do in Real Estate, and just forcus on what the old man did, you will make it big as I once did".

The story starts:

In the older days there were no computers, just paper and pen, so what I did I choose 1000 homes, and every day, I will walk the neighbourhood, and say hi! to anyone I see, I will introduce myself as an agent, but just got to know everyone, I will write down their addresses, vehicle they drove, any description of the people I meet, but all done in private, the next time I will quickly look at my notes and call people by their names, people were amazed at my memory, they will ask me if I lived in the neighbourhood, they saw me everyday, I knew all the homes listed, homes sold all from my memory. I always kept my notebook and jogged my memory all the time. I often send birthdays cards,and other ocassion cards to the people in the neighbourhood, people thought that I cared so much that they will invite me to their homes, people called me U ncle,Mr ,Sir, Dad, I was know as the neighbourhood real estate man. After a couple months of doing this routine, I was the main lister in that area, my signs were everywhere, sometimes 10-12 listings.....did you get the theme of the story

Conclusion: Create real relationship, every day and everywhere, and the chips will fall as it may, listen to the wiseman.

Miracle of failure

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 18:32:26 -0500

Well, I have heard this phrase a few times and found out that there is something to this phrase that makes a lot of sense. Just image you are not taught to walk as a baby, but because of the constant falls, bruises, bloody noses,bruised knees and elbows that eventually you end up walking, how many times did you fall as a baby, does it matter when you are able to walk? You fogot about all the failures you had, and then you are walking and running...the miracle of failure... the same with real estate...

Negotiation! how do you handle the other side?

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Tue, 24 Oct 2006 08:36:34 -0500

When we represent our client at the table, our job is to get the fairest deal for our client, well when the other party sits at the table, you stair each other on the face, what comes to mind? well! there are many thoughts on this, some of the expert negotiators in the world always place weight on facts, when doing the negotiating, always know a your strength and weakness, the outcome should be a fair deal on both sides. With knowlege you are able to be in the best negotiating position, what do you think?, how do you handle a tough negotiator on the other side similarly prepared like your self?

What does it take?

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:31:15 -0500

I have had so many people give you ideas as to how to make it big in this business? do you think there is a secret formula that we don't know about, it it about working smart? what do you think, if you have to advise a bunch of new recruits? what will be your instructions?

win some lose some

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:25:53 -0500

I made the call, visited a FSBO, the home was purchased power of sale, at a price close to market value, my opinion for the investor, home was bought at a price that cannot be flipped within 3 months of purchase to make a decent return, keep property for a while, have it rented out, later sell. Commission was the issue, how much do I charge, I gave the answer, I gave ideas of improving the value of the home to justify the increased value, the improvements were done, another agent listed the property @ 2% lower than me, Believe it or not.

Franchise

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:13:08 -0500

you have got what it takes to change the course of history, what is it?, exercise it.

Whats with the US election?

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:10:20 -0500

The opinions of many pundits, predict a narrow majority of the democrats over the republicans, is this a good thing for our business, I don't know? will we see a new direction in the economy?

Spell checker on this blog

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 16:05:46 -0500

Could we use spellchecker on this blog? I cannot find a decent way of doing this, if you know of a spellchecker that could be placed on this network, I will be happy to hear..

Clutter and Smell

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 16:46:53 -0500

Home Stagers are a gift to this industry, I just came back from an open house with a client, the home was very cluttered, beds not made up and the place smell of smoke everywhere, this turned off my client, the home on the mls seemed quite attractive to warrant our visit, at least the agent should ensure the home is in a showing state, this turned off my client, however we visited another home, not far away, not very appealing on the mls, but home was impeccable, could not find a flaw, the question was asked, and the answer ,home was staged. We are discussing the option of an offer.

Creative Financing

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 16:32:26 -0500

Image Client John was turned down by the banks because he filed bankrupcy and he is 1 mth away from the 2 yrs limit, he has a good job, but his credit rating stinks, has no money for downpayments, but will like to get into a home, the only thing going for him is that he is fully employed, I have heard that there are lenders out there who do take chances, how do you as a mortgage broker approach a lender on this matter?

Rural Properties and Cottages

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 16:17:06 -0500

I am interested in knowing how other agents handle rural properties and cottages. From the government viewpoints there are so much committee meetings and redtape you have to go through, it takes years before a project could get the go ahead. I understand that there are companies out there who takes the process from inception of the purchase of land, they charge a percentage rate or fixed amount and they handle the complete process until the subdivisions are approved, I will like to hear weather you do everything your self or you subcontract to other companies?

Trainers and Coach

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Sun, 22 Oct 2006 09:01:02 -0500

I am contemplating taking some coaching for the 2007 calender year, but I have heard so much about about a lot of them as marketers, and not particularly concerned about you, any thoughts about some of them?

Toronto MLs

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 18:18:09 -0500

Toronto MLS is similar to the US style. Our Guiding Principles and laws are quite similar, We mirror NAR and so we are not very different. I know the housing market is taking a hit in all states across the US, we have not felt the full impact of the effect. However, with the recent stats there is a moderate decrease in trading activity, homes take longer to sell., multiple offers are quite rare these days, and home prices are stable, we have reached the peak a while back, but now the forcast for 2007 is not very positive, but my understanding is that the housing industry is monitored very closely, and there are plans to inject some activity should it slide. The Toronto Harbour front area is the area where there is a lot of condo activity, the gov't is spending billions to put a face lift to the lake front, it is airmarked to be the most beautiful in the world, only time and politicians will tell.

Canada and Government

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 18:02:18 -0500

Here in Canada, we have adopted a British style government. I admire the US style. We have two serious contenders for political office, the Conservetive and the Liberals. The liberals was just thrown out of office and the not so popular has taken the rein. The Prime Minister of Canada is The Rt. Hon Mr Stephen Harper, who leads the conservative, he is an Economist and holds a Masters Degree, a former university lecturer in Alberta.

The capital city of Ottawa is where the House of Commons and Government run the affairs of Canada. If you will like to visit the capital , you are welcome there are tours and you can meet the ministers from time to time. We are the largest trading partner of the US, with approx 1 billion dollars of trade crossing the borders, and a GDP of approx. 750,000,000,000. Population of approx. 34 million people, one of the most sparsely populated in the world, we are the second largest country in the world after Russia. Visit the Capital on your next visit.

Toronto ,the city up north

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Sat, 21 Oct 2006 17:28:01 -0500

Well to all my American friends, welcome to Toronto. Toronto is a bustling city and the largest in Canada and the 4th largest in North America, according to the latest stats. It is quite a metroplis, with subways , trains, planes and automobiles, approx 815 kilometres from New York. We are one of the safest cities in the world. You could walk the streets without fear. Lots and lots of restaurants, a skydome(rogers), the world's largest free standing structure.. welcome to Toronto...in the summertime , there is lots of things to do, just image, fairly clean city, for your next big conference, we have many conference rooms available to host your seminars and lectures.

Fork in the road

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 15:41:10 -0500

We help clients and find them great deals, and with time they made a lot of money. I spoke to a friend recently who have 35 yrs in the real estate business, he said if only he had taken his on advice, he will be a multi millionaire. In the earlier days he found properties for his friend at bargain prices, he never sold them inspite of the advent of time and the increase in value, just rented them out, both friends came from the same district in eastern europe, the equity was taken out and rolled back into other properties, today the friend is worth according to him approx. $75 million, the other friend never invested in real estate, just kept making the money and kept spending it, no business plan, the former a meat plant butcher with very little education, the other a politician and real estate agent.

Bar none real estate is the best investment, Robert kiyosake wrote "Rich dad, poor dad" and "Cashflow quadrant" these are great investing books, read them.

Here are some other great books for reading.

1. Raving Fans by Ken Blanchard and Sheldon Bowles

2. Zig Ziglar on selling by Zig Ziglar

3. 12 cliches of selling by Barry Farber

4. The Power of Focus by Jack Canfield

5. Just say Next by John Fuhman

6 Full Steam ahead by ken Blanchard and Jesse Stoner

Multiple Offers

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Fri, 20 Oct 2006 07:33:33 -0500

Well, let me see how you handle " MULTIPLE OFFERS "Comments ,Opinions any one?

Gifts and Compensation

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 14:25:40 -0500

I am interested to know what other agents do when they get a referral or lead from a source other than the principal and agent. In Toronto the Real Estate Council of Ontario which is regulated by Consumer and Commercial Relations have guiding principles which states that we cannot give any gifts to any third party, my question, if we get a referral from a past client or other source, how do you compensate for the lead or referral.

people work harder for you when they are given a gift or a token .

Business to Business Marketing

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Thu, 19 Oct 2006 13:34:18 -0500

Today I want to thank some of the bloggers for their post. I used some of the ideas as posted and I did ok, today being my first.

I decided to go business to business, introduced my self, these were my exact word. Hi my name is Harold Deonarine, Broker at Remax West, and I am on a business card exchange programme, here is my cards, could I have one of yours.?

Reply , absolutely.

Harold.. well I am developing a business referrals web directory, and I will place the info on my website, and will like all your referrals and in return free advertising and referrals from my site, what do you think?

Business owner.. Great.... collected 4 cards, One business owner took about 25 of my cards and place then in a businees card holder and placed them in her restaurant, and she said to me could you help me consolidate my loans, I made a call to Bank Of Monntreal Manager and she will be meeting with them shortly.

Another a Doctor's office receptionist , can you tell me if this building is for sale? sure if it is on MLS I will know, will get back to you. well this is the connection and networking solution...

Be prepared

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 13:47:28 -0500

Would some one let me know about, what is taking place with home prices in Florida? I heard in some places prices have dropped as much as 20% Is this true?

Predictions 2007

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 12:08:00 -0500

Just came back from a meeting about Predictions for 2007 in the Real Estate Marketplace, this is not to scare any one, what will happen?, Thousands of agents will disappear from the business all together, because it will be a tough market. We have entered into the end of the 10 yr cycle, prices of real estate will drop significantly, and will be a market for Investors. Just a word from the grape vine... but you could make it, you will have to be more proactive in the market place, work smarter . listings will take much longer to move because the confidence in the market place will not be there, this is going to affect consumers and their buying needs... again take this as a grain of salt......this is not cast in stone...the forcast is based on trends and the history of the marketplace.

Farming and Prospecting

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Wed, 18 Oct 2006 05:37:17 -0500

I read an interesting blog a while ago, this agent spent all his days not in the office but on the ground in his farm area for about 10 hrs per day, this seemed a lot, but his mission was to do 600 homes per day, he gave out updatas, market evaluation etc, but spend every breathing moment in his farm area, the end result, most people thought he lived there and most of the listing was his for the taking, the article said that he became the agent of choice and the top saleman in the Texas area for years, I am curious if anyone could comment or know about this or a similar blog.. Seemed loike a good prospecting tip.

More Info on the Secret of Power Marketing

HAROLD DEONARINE (REMAX WEST REALTY INC./ BROKER) — Tue, 17 Oct 2006 20:26:22 -0500

Get a Database of your Farm Area, do the reverse directory and find the correct info of your farm. Correct name , address etc Send direct mail rather than indirect mail, send cards for all ocassions if possible, they will not forget you, especially occassions like birthday always hand written, start with a small farm about 100 names and keep adding to it....the secret is the personal touches you make, because you have taken the time to get all this info together....

More ideas on getting names, try the phone cd directory or white pages.