Scott Cowan's Blog Classic Homes Northwest

A Subtle Slap to The Head With a Shovel

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Wed, 28 May 2008 17:59:40 -0500

Today I was reading a few outside blogs that I enjoy. There were two posts that I thought were so powerful that I would share them here with the members of Active Rain.

First off Russell Shaw posted An Amazing Formula To Accurately Forecast Your Income. I strongly urge everyone to read this post. Mr. Shaw is not for the faint of heart nor for those who are looking for anything remotely like a pat on the back. More like a size 12 to the backside.

Jeff Brown posted on Bloodhound Blog a comment and observations related to Russell's post. Even less of a pat and more of a slap to the brain pan...

What I took away from these posts is quite powerful to me. Simply put trying is not enough. Doing is what matters. I can make excuses that sound like I am doing but really I am trying....I am solely responsible for my performance in this and every activity that I undertake. It's a tough pill to swallow but one that I feel better for taking now that I have had a few hours to digest it.

Remember we are the only ones that can look in the mirror and know if we are really doing all that we can.

I am Are You?

Gladly accepting referrals.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile. Disclaimer: Information provided within this post and blog is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. All information is provided without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. Entries on this blog are the opinions and ideas of the author and are not necessary those of Rainier Real Estate, Inc.

One Year In The Rain and I'm Not Even Rusty!

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Mon, 26 May 2008 14:57:27 -0500

Today marks the one year anniversary of my profile being created here on Active Rain!

Like many I created my profile and then nothing with it for a few weeks. Slowly over the summer of 07 I began to post comments and an occasional blog post. It was not until the holidays when I really started to see for myself the power that Active Rain has for any of us.

Katerina Gasset was kind enough to befriend me and provide me with a bit of publicity when she created a very nice post about me regarding a post I made of things I am Grateful for.

Since that time I have been climbing the ranks in my area so that I am now a featured agent. This fact alone has caused my phone to ring a couple of times already this weekend with potential clients who have found me through localism!

There are many great people here and so many good ideas that you need to be careful or you will spend all of your time playing in the rain instead of getting out and making things happen.

I just want to thank everyone who has ever commented on one of my posts for taking the time to read and respond to something that I wrote.

To those of you whose posts I have responded to Thank YOU for being so generous with your knowledge of real estate and life in general!

Best wishes to everyone on Active Rain and Here's to another year playing in the rain!

Scott

Friday Night Videos Part VIII

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Fri, 23 May 2008 19:31:33 -0500

Alright it's Friday Night and it's time for another in the series of Friday Night Videos! For those of you who are writing me and requesting videos (thanks mom!) I don't take request but I will link to anything that catches my eye at the time. Today I was thinking if you really needed to have slick marketing with full gloss etc... and it reminded me of some great low budget videos. Now this one is recent and you might of seen it before. I don't care. What I want you to consider is just how simple the concept is and how cool the result is. We can remember that in our businesses and make something very cool out of very little! Without more rambling.... Best wishes, Scott

How About An Active Rain S. Puget Sound Area Meet & Greet?

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Thu, 22 May 2008 23:23:06 -0500

I was thinking it would be nice to actually meet you folks.

Would any of you be interested in discussing an Active Rain Meet & Greet for members in the S. Puget Sound/Pierce County Area?

I am sure if we get a few interested people we could plan something fun and entertaining.

Chime in here if you're interested and if you have any suggestions let us have em!

Best wishes,

Scott

2008 Washington State Most Endangered Historic Places

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:54:08 -0500

May 27th. 2008 The Washington Trust for Historic Places is holding a press event at 11am to announce the 2008 Washington State Most Endangered Historic Places List. The location of the event this year will be the Tacoma Murray Morgan Bridge which is on this years list.

For more information on the Washington State Most Endangered Historic Places List visit the Washington Historic Trust Website Here.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Disclaimer: Information provided within this post and blog is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. All information is provided without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. Entries on this blog are the opinions and ideas of the author and are not necessary those of Rainier Real Estate, Inc.

Pierce County Buyers 100% Financing Is Available From The USDA

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Thu, 22 May 2008 16:15:16 -0500

USDA Rural Home Loans are available in Pierce County and can help you get into a home with up to 102% financing.

Here are some of the features of using the USDA Rural Housing Loan Program to buy your next home.

Flexible Underwriting. Higher ratios will be considered with compensating factors. 660+ Credit Score, job stability, similar housing expense etc.
Income Limits 115% of area median (Pierce County $53,250 for 1 person up to $100,450 for 8 people)
Maximum Loan amount 102% when guarantee fee is financed into loan (2% guarantee fee on all loans)
Loan can include closing costs and or repairs as neeeded. If appraisal warrants.
NO Monthly Mortgage Insurance Required!
No cash reserves.
Do not have to be first time homebuyers.
One Day Compliance turn around from USDA will not slow up loan processing.
No LOAN LIMITS
No minimum credit score
No Federal recapture
Money available all year

This is a very powerful loan program for people who are interested in living in the outlying areas of Pierce County. For example all of Gig Harbor qualifies. All of Lake Tapps qualifies, Parts of Spanaway qualify, Parts of South Hill in Puyallup qualify.

This program is available all across the United States. If you are considering buying a home you need to check with your real estate agent and lender to see if you are looking in an area that will allow USDA financing and if you qualify.

If you are looking to buy a house in Pierce County and you want to work with an agent who is familar with the USDA program please contact me to setup an appointment. I will be happy to make sure you are qualified to use the USDA program and to introduce you to lenders who are experienced with working with the USDA.

Pierce County Buyers remember 100% financing is available. You just need to work with an agent who knows where to look for it.

Gladly accepting referrals.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Are Selling Agents Representing Their Clients or Are They Getting Greedy?

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:01:06 -0500

Are Selling Agents Representing Their Clients or Are They Getting Greedy?

I have been noticing a trend lately that really disturbs me.

In the agent comments there have been some comments made that seem like a "poison pill" The listing agent requires the selling office agent to be present at all showings including inspections, appraisals etc. otherwise a 25% referral fee will be paid. This makes me think the listing agent is either greedy or difficult to work with.

I understand that listing agents do not want to open up the house if someone calls and asks to show it and they say they have a real estate agent. I know that sometimes agents get lazy and will really put a lot of the responsibility on the other agent (this works both ways you know). I know that some of the discount companies that will refund part of the buyers commission to the buyer after the transaction is completed have been sending out buyers without an agent and this puts the listing agent on the spot to show the house but not to say anything to the prospective buyers.

Yet by doing this is that you are telling prospective buyers agents that you are difficult to work with. With the volume of listings on the market is it not in your clients best interest to make the home as appealing to both buyers AND agents? By making statements in the multiple listing service that discourage agents to show the house how does that benefit the seller?

I have noticed this with numerous listings in my market with a number of them being listed with a specific company. While by no means is this limited to one company there are many of these listings that are adding more and more restrictions on the commission paid to the buyers agent. Some of these listings are short sales as well. Given the financial challenges the sellers have already how is this policy helping them sell their home in a timely manner?

If you're a listing agent in any market and you require buyers agents to be present at all showings etc. I would really like to hear from you. Why do you make the requirement? Am I missing something?

I know on the homes I have listed I do everything I can to make the house as easy to show as possible. Including being there if needed for an inspection or an appraisal. After all my clients want the house sold. They don't care if I have to be there a few hours more than I might like to do the buyers agents job. They care that the house is sold.

Contact Scott Cowan, Rainier Real Estate. Licensed real estate salesperson in Washington at 253-219-1194 to list your property for sale or purchase a home in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and the rest of Pierce County Washington.

Gladly accepting referrals.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Local Farmers Markets Are Full of Great Produce and Flowers You Need to Visit

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Wed, 21 May 2008 16:00:04 -0500

Untitled 1

Local Farmers Markets Are Full of Great Produce and Flowers You Need to Visit

I have been posting about the Tacoma area farmers markets recently. I went to the Proctor District Farmers Market this past Saturday and was thrilled to see the amount of fresh produce, flowers and plants that were available. Another great thing about the Proctor Farmers Market is that it is very dog friendly. I was greeted enthusiastically by several of our four legged friends.

If you have not gotten out to you local farmers market yet this year you really need to visit one. With the price of gasoline climbing everyone is feeling the effects. Produce at the local supermarket has skyrocketed! For the same cost you can buy direct from the growers and really have farm fresh produce to enjoy. Nothing can compare to fresh picked fruits and vegetables. You will know your hard earned money is being spent on the absolutely most fresh items you can buy.

The Tacoma area has a number of Farmers Markets to choose from. You can read about the individual markets by following the links to articles I have posted before. We have markets during the week in downtown Tacoma and several communities have them every weekend.

Proctor District Farmers Market Information

Downtown Tacoma Farmers Market Information

Puyallup Farmers Market Information

Gig Harbor Farmers Market Information

Contact Scott Cowan, Rainier Real Estate. Licensed real estate salesperson in Washington at 253-219-1194 to list your property for sale or purchase a home in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and the rest of Pierce County Washington. Gladly accepting referrals.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Custom Built Home Your Buyers Will Love it in Grayhawk

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Mon, 19 May 2008 14:11:00 -0500

This home is just waiting for your buyers. So many features that you need to see in person. Take a look and bring your clients today.

Scott Cowan | Rainier Real Estate, Inc. | 253.219.1194

18307 92nd. Ave , Puyallup, WA

Designed for the view! Custom built home that will delight.

3BR/3.5BA Single Family House

offered at $554,900

Year Built	2001
Sq Footage	3,925
Bedrooms	3
Bathrooms	3 full, 1 partial
Floors	2
Parking	2 Car garage
Lot Size	7,380 sqft
HOA/Maint	$0 per month

DESCRIPTION

Custom built home with so many details it is impossible to describe here. Three bedrooms and three and half bath rooms. Formal Dining Room, gourmet kitchen with butlers pantry. Large downstairs living area with a 2nd. kitchen. This home needs to be seen to fully appreciate.

see additional photos below

PROPERTY FEATURES

Central heat	Fireplace	High/Vaulted ceiling
Walk-in closet	Hardwood floor	Tile floor
Family room	Living room	Bonus/Rec room
Dining room	Dishwasher	Stove/Oven
Microwave	Stainless steel appliances	Laundry area - inside
Balcony, Deck, or Patio	Yard

COMMUNITY FEATURES

Garage parking

Gated property

ADDITIONAL PHOTOS

Seller contact info:

Scott Cowan

Rainier Real Estate, Inc.

253.219.1194

For sale by agent/broker

Equal Opportunity Housing

Posted: May 19, 2008, 10:06am PDT

Home is listed with Coldwell Banker Bain. Advertising with permission from listing agent. Please contact me directly with any questions. Thank you, Scott Cowan Rainier Real Estate 253.219.1194

Marketing Your Listing Effectively What Do You Do To Drive Traffic?

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Mon, 19 May 2008 13:30:25 -0500

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Marketing Your Listing Effectively What Do You Do To Drive Traffic?

The market is full of homes for buyers to choose from. What do you do to market your listings effectively?

Recently my sellers are starting to get a tad nervous. The rush of visits to their homes has started to taper off. The feedback we are receiving indicates that our price is well within the market price for comparable homes. I have sat down with my sellers to discuss what we can do to bring in buyers to look at their homes. We have done some or all of the following to increase the exposure of their home.

Price reduction
Buyers Bonus for appliances or cosmetic upgrades
Virtual Tours Published online
Brokers Opens to increase agent awareness
Online advertising
Print advertising
Open Houses
Featured Listings On Real Estate Websites

Do you have any suggestions on additional steps I can take to increase the traffic to my listings? I know the first thing most people will say is price, price, price. I agree and in most cases my listings are priced below what other homes are selling for. Condition of my listings is great. My sellers all realize the need to keep the homes clean and not cluttered. I just feel like I am missing something needed to bring in more traffic. Suggestions appreciated! I know that there are some amazing marketing experts out there who must have some great suggestions.

Copyright © 2008 By Scott Cowan, All Rights Reserved. "Marketing Your Listing Effectively. What Do You Do To Drive Traffic?" Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Pierce County Foreclosure Rate 1 in Every 583 Homes

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:32:44 -0500

Numbers released earlier this week show that 1 out of every 583 homes in Pierce County are in some state of foreclosure. This is over a 100% increase from the previous years numbers

Pierce County ranks 2nd. in the state of Washington for the number of foreclosures.

Washingtion state ranks 26th. in the country in foreclosures. Nevada has the highest rate in the country with one out of every 146 households in foreclosure. Vermont is ranked last with zero foreclosures reported.

Copyright © 2008 By Scott Cowan, All Rights Reserved. "Pierce County Foreclosure Rate 1 in Every 583 Homes" Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Copper River Salmon Arrive!

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Sat, 17 May 2008 22:07:10 -0500

Copper River Salmon one of the most sought after seafood delights. We look forward to the delivery of it every year. This year it arrived on Friday and will be available at the starting price of $40.00 a pound! OUCH tough to get too excited about salmon at that price. It is expected to drop to around $20.00 a pound by the middle of the season. Copper River Salmon is considered the tastiest of all salmon. It is a wonderful tasting fish and one that needs to be experienced. I have a friend that owns a seafood company in the Pike Place Market in Seattle. If you want to try this fantastic fish I can recommend you visit www.cityfish.com and order some to be delivered. They will treat you right.

Friday Night Videos Part VII

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Fri, 16 May 2008 14:26:22 -0500

Today is beautiful in Tacoma! In celebration of our spring finally arriving!!! I am posting a video of Jimmy Buffett..... Nothing says good weather, fun, sun, and water like Mr. Buffett. With that being said and without further ado let me share with you Jimmy Buffett's Changes in Latitudes, Changes in Attitudes.

Lawsuit Accuses Escrow Firms of Falsely Billing Home Buyers Millions

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Thu, 15 May 2008 19:46:05 -0500

Today in the Seattle PI there is an article on a four local lawsuits that claims that escrow companies falsely billed millions of dollars in fees to buyers for services not provided or provided at a substantially lower cost than quoted.

The lawsuits center on reconveyance, the process of transferring a property title or removing a lien when a mortgage is paid off. It is part of any refinance or sale of a home with an existing loan. While this lawsuit is local to Washington State residents it could expand to a national lawsuit worth millions of dollars.

Four escrow companies were charged in the lawsuit, Chicago Title, Old Dominion, First American, and Fidelity National.

There is more information on the lawsuit by visiting the Seattle PI or the Hagens Berman websites.

It will be interesting to see if this lawsuit gains larger national interest or if it will remain a local issue.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Point2Agent Professional Site Hosting Is Worth Every Penny!

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:57:30 -0500

Just launched new my new real estate agent site www.classichomesnorthwest.com

In an effort to provide as much help as possible to other agents who are trying to create and maintain websites I going to start a series of posts that I hope will provide value to everyone that is working on their own websites.

Katerina Gasset is a huge fan of Point2Agent web hosting. Since I won the contest with Katerina for coaching she has been urging me to move my web sites to Point2Agent. Being a stubborn type of guy I resisted for about a month. Let me tell you Katerina can be very persuasive! I created a new domain and went ahead and created the standard Point2Agent account. This is free for six months so I thought I would be able to determine if wanted to pay $49.95 a month for hosting before actually committing to it. After a couple of weeks my standard template site was receiving more hits than my established site on a different hosting company and more hits than my brokerages site as well. Stubborn but not stupid I upgraded to the trial of the Professional account. After a couple of days of "tinkering" I am here to tell you that you need to move your real estate site to Point2Agent if you are not receiving the traffic that you expect.

The volume of behind the scenes assistance with a Professional account is impressive! When you accidentally delete your content on your home page you can call and they are so polite when they ask you "Do you see that blue trash can in the center of your monitor that says Restore Content?" Yes, I see that...."Click that and you can restore your page" No snickers not chuckles just friendly help!

With the Professional and the Premium they provide toll free tech support. With the standard you receive tech support via email. Just being able to call and ask how to get my content back was worth a months fees!

You can add up to 150 pages with a Professional account. 15 is the limit with the standard.

You can have your own POP3 email setup so you can have your emails sent directly to your email client. With the professional you can have up to 15 email accounts. With the standard you can just have your emails forwarded to another account you have elsewhere.

You can fully customize your website so that it does not look anything like any of the large number of templates that you can choose from.

I could go on but here is a link to show you the features for each of the three types of accounts. Take a look for yourself. I am getting nothing from this just the satisfaction of knowing that my website will be very visible shortly and when I finish putting the content in it will be a great looking site.

Your first step to a better website is a better hosting company. Take a look at Point2Agent for your hosting needs.

Next in the series will be how to customize your homepage to look how you want it to.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

My Theme Song: Touch of Grey

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Thu, 15 May 2008 13:04:05 -0500

For so many reasons this song is my theme song. The obvious is the title...at 46 I am turning grey! my 13 year old daughter wants to dye my goatee pink because she cannot handle the fact that her dad is getting old! =) The next reason is the chorus of the song. Simply put I will survive. No matter what happens I know I will survive and thrive. Third I spent many wonderful evenings listening to the Grateful Dead when I was much younger. There was never a dull moment. Finally the video is really cool! When it came out it was a really amazing video with special effects that were cutting edge. Now looking at the video is sort of cheesy but it was really cool back in the day. Just like me =) Well there you have it. Enjoy the video. I know I do!

Downtown Tacoma Farmers Market Starts May 15th.

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Wed, 14 May 2008 14:59:11 -0500

Downtown Tacoma Farmers Market Starts May 15th.

The Downtown Tacoma Farmers Market series begins May 15th. The Downtown Farmers Market will run every Thursday until October.

Located between 9th and 11th. on Broadway the farmers market will be open 9am until 2pm.

Featuring the freshest fruits and vegtables along with flowers, and artisan crafts all in our downtown business district.

For more information you can visit the Tacoma Farmers Market website by clicking here.

Best wishes,

Scott

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Tacoma 72 Hour Film Festival Was a Hit.

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Sun, 11 May 2008 00:05:03 -0500

The Grand Cinema hosted a 72 hour film festival which had 32 films showing at the Rialto Theater. The catch each film had to to be 5 minutes or less. Here is one that was linked on the Tacoma Blog Exit 133. It was another is the series of short movies that proclaims the benefits of Tacoma over Seattle. Trust me Tacoma does not have a little brother image problem when compared to Seattle... not at all!!! I hope you will enjoy the film. For those of you from around here. How many locations have you been to? Best wishes, Scott

Point 2 Agent Sites Really Have a Lot to Offer an Agent

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Sat, 10 May 2008 20:03:04 -0500

During my coaching sessions with Katerina Gasset I have been encouraged to move my web sites to Point2Agent as a hosting company. I looked around and signed up for a standard account and sort of left it alone.

The past few days however, I have been really lifting the hood and I am finding out that there is a serious SEO engine just waiting to be started. The data that is collected even for the standard account is simply awesome! I am upgrading to the professional version and I know that even more is available for me when I do that.

If you are looking for a hosting solution I can strongly encourage you to take a look at a Point2Agent package.

Best wishes,

Scott

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

Flip Video Woes

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:23:27 -0500

I have been using my flip video camera for a lot of fun little things trying to figure out how I am going to use video to promote my business. (See my Ryan the Realtor post) =)

Today I filmed a three minute walk through of a listing I was holding open. I uploaded the video and was playing it back and all of a sudden the video and audio were completely out of sync!

I was talking about the appliances while the video was showing the sliding door... it just kept going about 15 seconds behind where I was shooting. The audio sounded fine not going slow but it was so out of sync I thought I was watching an old Japanese movie. You know the lips move and then the words come out...

Has anyone else had this problem?

I was using Window Media Player 11 to play the video. I had downloaded from camera to computer. Computer has 4 gigs of ram and 64bit processors along with everything else so it cannot be the machine cannot keep up...or can it....I am running Vista. I had not edited the video at all. This also happens when I play it back straight from the camera.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.

Best wishes,

Scott

Contact Scott Cowan, Rainier Real Estate. Licensed real estate salesperson in Washington at 253-219-1194 to list your property for sale or purchase a home in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and the rest of Pierce County Washington. Gladly accepting referrals. Copyright © 2008 By Scott Cowan, All Rights Reserved. "Flip Video Woes" Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile. Disclaimer: Information provided within this post and blog is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. All information is provided without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. Entries on this blog are the opinions and ideas of the author and are not necessary those of Rainier Real Estate, Inc.

Do You Want to Buy a Home but You Don't Have the Down

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:15:39 -0500

Do You Want to Buy a Home but You Don't Have the Down payment?

Are you tired of renting? Do you want to own your own home but have not saved up the traditional down payment? There are programs available to buyers today that will help you buy a home!

Today we will spotlight the Nehemiah Program and how it can help you with your down payment.

The Nehemiah Program is the largest privately funded down payment assistance program. The program provides gift funds to qualified homebuyers who purchase homes using FHA financing or conventional loans that allow gift funds.

The funds provided to homebuyers are an actual gift with no repayment required. There is no 2nd. mortgage. There are no income limitations and no location restrictions. There is a processing fee that is charged and it can be paid by the buyer, the seller or the lender.

The funds are requested on behalf of the homebuyer by the mortgage originator. The request can even be completed online.

The homebuyer can receive a gift of between 1% and 6% of the purchase price of the home. The gift can also be a flat amount. The seller or homebuilder is the one that is providing the funds for the gift. The money is given to the Nehemiah Program and the homebuyer is gifted the money from the Nehemiah Program. The gift funds can be used to cover closing costs and or your down payment!

Buyers win because they can now afford to buy a home if they have the income to qualify but do not have the necessary funds for a down payment or closing costs. Sellers win because they can now sell their house.

To be successful with using the Nehemiah Loan Program buyers need a strong team working with them. Make sure your real estate agent and your lender are up to date and knowledgeable with the requirements and process of using a Nehemiah gift.

If you are tired of renting and want to buy your own home. Now could be the best time for you to take action. Call us today for more information.

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.

How referable are you? Do you need to be more referable?

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Sat, 10 May 2008 19:11:13 -0500

How referable are you? Do you need to be more referable?

I see a lot of salespeople say that they work by referral only. Not just in real estate but in many other industries. What exactly does "by referral only" mean?

I have a group of professionals that I work well with. We send a lot of business back and forth between us. I have encouraged them to join and become active here. We meet often to discuss what our needs are and to offer our support. This takes a bit of effort. I do receive many referrals from my efforts. Yet, I wonder if this is what by referral really means?

Does it mean that our past clients will fill our sales pipelines with referrals if we do a good job for them? Does it mean that we do not have to market ourselves? Does it mean we will only work with people who have been referred to us and who come with good recommendations? To my way of thinking this is not what by referral truly means. What it means is that you are referable! That's right you bring your A game to the table and you provide value for your clients each and every time. Then you will be working by referral. Because people will want others to experience the same high quality service that they just received from you.

What does it take for us to be more referable?

I have been giving this some thought. What does being referable really look like? Here are some of my traits and skills that I find valuable in those that I refer.

Integrity: Doing what you say you will do when you say you will do it. Doing what you said you will do because you said it and it is the right thing to do.
Punctuality: Doing things in the timely manner you said you would do them in. Returning correspondence within hours and not days or worse not at all.
Professionalism: You're a pro. You do your job and you do it well.
Humor: We have to be able to share a laugh
Salesmanship: You have to be able to close the deal that you have been referred to. Listen to the clients needs and solve their concerns.
Candor: You will say that the referral is not a good fit instead of taking the referral and not doing anything with it. Be straight with me and I will be straight with you.

I'm sure there are more. My list are the things that I find important. What do you find important when you are giving referrals? What are you doing to be more referable?

Contact Scott Cowan, Rainier Real Estate. Licensed real estate salesperson in Washington at 253-219-1194 to list your property for sale or purchase a home in Tacoma, Gig Harbor, Puyallup, and the rest of Pierce County Washington. Gladly accepting referrals. Copyright © 2008 By Scott Cowan, All Rights Reserved. "How referable are you? Do you need to be more referable?" Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile. Disclaimer: Information provided within this post and blog is supplied by several sources and is subject to change without notice. All information is provided without warranties of any kind, either expressed or implied. Entries on this blog are the opinions and ideas of the author and are not necessary those of Rainier Real Estate, Inc.

Friday Night Videos Part VI

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:52:39 -0500

Ok tonight is not music...It's George Carlin.... and this one is clean. I hope you enjoy. It is one of George's classic observations about Baseball and Football. Next week we will go back to music videos. This week in honor of well nothing... it's George!

Just for Fun Meet Ryan The Realtor

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Fri, 09 May 2008 17:48:30 -0500

Do You Help Other Agents?

Scott Cowan -Tacoma & Pierce County Area (Terry Wise & Associates) — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:35:02 -0500

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I work in a small independent office with twenty agents (give or take) I moved to this small office because I was with a large regional company and I felt that I was lost amongst the faces within our office. Every office is different I know that however, I felt like I was just a name on a roster. Produce or be ignored. Don't bother us just produce.....

In my current office is a tightly knit group of agents. While we are all independent minded we are all willing to answer questions that are asked of us.

Since I have been a real estate agent a couple of years I know that I have a lot that I need to learn still. Yet, when a newer agent has a question of me I am always happy to do my best to answer the question. If I don't know the answer then I make sure to find out the answer for the other agent. Afterall, I learned something too!

What do you do to help other agents in your office? Do you help agents from other offices if they have a question? I truly believe that we can all win if we work together. It does not matter what company you work for or the other agent works for. Cooperation will help us move mountains. (and sell a few houses too)

Call us today at 253-219-1194. Contact us by email if you prefer by using the email link on the right side of this page under my profile.