Short Sale Process: Script for the Homeowner

How to handle the short sale process of dealing with distressed sellers and setting up short sales in three (3) steps:

1.  Pop the Question
2.  Gather Information
3.  Set Up a Face-to-Face Meeting

Step #1:  Pop the Question

Your first questions in the short sale process are what determine what route you'll take with helping the homeowner solve the problem. The first questions should be:

"What would you like to see happen?"
"What if that plan doesn't work?"
"What are you willing to sacrifice to keep your home?"
"On a scale of 1-10 how bad do you want to keep your home?"

The short sale process begins here if they are interested in selling.  In most cases, homeowners who want to sell have either made up their minds that the property is no longer wanted and they simply wish to sell, or they have tried some of the more popular means if solving their problem by either attempting to refinance or selling through a real estate agent.  If, on the other hand, they want to keep the house, this is a good place to discuss whatever workout options they may have and help them explore those. Share with the homeowner that they have basically eight (8) options to handle the foreclosure.  They are:

·    Renegotiate the loan

·    Reinstate or redeem the loan

·    Give a deed in lieu of foreclosure to the lender

·    Seek a legal delay

·    File for bankruptcy

·    Sell the property

•    Do nothing

Other "workout programs" (designed to help the homeowner keep the property) are available but cost the homeowner money that they may not have.  For example they can renegotiate their loan but that costs money to get the loan current. If they want to hire an attorney and seek a legal delay, that also costs money.  If they have the time they can sell the property, but their debt swells with late charges and penalties.

At this point in the short sale process you can be assured you've demonstrated you know more about the foreclosure process than they can ever hope to know.  You've positioned yourself as a trusted adviser, and potentially a solution to the problem.  Now it's time to offer a creative solution.  Advantages to the short sale for the homeowner:

•·         Their credit is only damaged for 2 years instead of 7 years with a foreclosure.

•·         They are able to stay in their home "rent free" for an extended amount of time, waiting for the short sale process to take place.  This could take anywhere from 45 days to more than 12 months.  The homeowner is able to stash cash to get back on their feet once all of this is over.

•·         The stress of the situation is relieved.  With an experienced team backing them up, they no longer have to live everyday worrying about what they will be doing about their home. 

Step #2:  Information Gathering

After you determine that the homeowner wishes to dispose of the property, it's time to get the necessary information to begin the short sale process.  It begins with the simple question:  "Will you be willing to sell the property for what you owe?" If the answer is yes, you keep going. If the answer is no, ask these questions in this order:

·    How much above what you owe will you sell for? (Don't be worried about unrealistic numbers. Just accept their number and move on. You won't be able to tell if it's in the ballpark until you've gathered more information).

·    What will the house appraise for?

·    What repairs does the house need?

·    How many payments are you behind?

·    What's your interest rate?

·    How much are your monthly payments?

·    Who's your lender?

·    How old is it?

·    How long have you lived there?

·    Have you made any repairs or updates to the house since you moved into it? (If they've lived there a long time then the answer to repairs is going to be yes, even if they stated no).

·    Square footage?

·    Does it have a garage?

·    Does it have a basement?

·    Size of the lot?

·    Is the house currently vacant? If not, how soon will you be moving?

·    Is the insurance up to date or do you have force placed insurance? (Force placed insurance is placed on the property when the homeowner fails to keep it insured. The lender will then put insurance on it and that insurance is typically two to three times higher than if we got it ourselves).

·    Is it listed? Can the listing be canceled? How long have you had the listing?

·    When is your foreclosure date?

·    Why did you call me? What are your needs? What are you looking to do?

Once you get all of this information, then you set an appointment date and time to go see them.  Your purpose on that visit will be to convince them of the good sense of giving you their headache and just leaving the mess behind for you to clean up.  In other words you'll get them to complete some paperwork including deeding the house to you, giving you written permission to talk to the lender and commencing the short sale procedure.

Step #3:  Have a face-to-face meeting

As you know, nothing in real estate is done on a handshake.  If this short sale process is going to happen you'll need to get some paperwork signed.  That's the purpose of a face-to-face meeting.

It should be self-evident that putting together all this paper work and getting the proper signatures will require the cooperation of the homeowner.  So this first meeting is vital in assessing and establishing that cooperative relationship. Having a plan in mind for this meeting is important.

We are living proof that it does.  This is a service that we offer to our clients as part of the "list to close" package.  Our goal is to make Realtors more efficient and productive!

Features of text message marketing service- BENEFITS TO THE SELLER

•1)    They get more exposure to the home because realtor is getting the leads to at least walk through the house.  We all Know that the more people that see the house, the faster they will sell the house and the more they will get for it. 

•2)    They get a Realtor with a leg up on technology, the best.  Prospective buyers are actually tracked where they couldn't possibly be with flyers that are grabbed with no phone call to the listing agent.  The Realtor can use in conjunction with the flyer by putting text instructions on the flyer if the seller insists on paper fliers as well. 

•3)    The homeowner and the Realtor can even add the text instructions to their email signature all other personal info to get more hits.

   Instant property Information and pictures
sent to Your buyer's cell phone!
**Call capture technology**

The Powerful Little Lead-Boosting Tool I Bet Nobody Has Ever Told You About

What kind of tool am I talking about?

It's a tool that will allow you to never again wonder how to get all the leads you need (and get them in the least expensive way possible)...track every penny spent on advertising...warm up your prospects before you even talk to them...and even allow you to make an immediate profit in less than 30 days.

You might even work less. A lot less. Live a balanced life and have a successful real estate career.

The Secret to Positioning Yourself in the High Income Zone

After working with agents for nearly ten years, I've found that most agents do work hard. They work very hard-in fact, too hard.

But rarely do agents position themselves to be in the 'high-income zone.' Winners stay ahead of their competitors. Listings are competitive. Sellers want to know what you can do to sale their home faster than the other real estate agents. When a new listing tool is available for your seller's property the sellers want it. Staying ahead of your competition is the key to success!

How do you do that?

By using technology that reaches prospects FIRST-before your competition. Then, once you've reached them, use a little clever psychology to compel those prospects to respond.

In the process two things happen.

First, by reaching the prospect first, you gain a 3 out of 4 advantage over your competition automatically. See, according to a recent NAR survey, 74% of prospects do business with the first agent who contacts them. So it's a clear advantage for you to be the first agent a prospect talks to...agreed?

Then second, it completely eliminates any Do-Not-Call list issues. When a prospect calls you, you can call them back as many times as you like within the next 90 days, regardless of whether they're on the national Do-Not-Call list or not.

So you kill two birds with one stone. It's a powerful one-two punch.

What's the key to delivering that one-two punch?

ANSWER: By shifting all of your marketing to "Instant property information and property pictures" offer. (This is the psychological part.) Instant home information and pictures of property delivered to their cell phone. This is also stored on the cell phone, with your contact information.

Features of text messaging service for listings- BENEFITS TO THE REALTOR

Where else can you invest 10-15 hours and earn $4,000 to $6,000 or more?

A recent study showed the average listing took just over 10 hours of actual time spent with client from point of contact to closing-for buyers it was a little over 15 hours.

Work smarter not harder.

So many real estate agents market for sale by owners and spend THOUSANDS on print advertising. The industry is overwhelmed with competition duplicating efforts. Every minute you spend "prospecting" you could be making three to five times as much money with about 1/100th the stress! Prospecting is the biggest, most painful, least profitable, burn-yourself-out task each of you have done! That's why there are so many real estate casualties. The turn-over rate for new agents in real estate is over 50% per year! Work smarter not harder. No more getting phone calls from your seller asking where their flyers went, who called on their house, and when you're coming out to refill l the boxes! And the Realtor is "going green"! 

Stay ahead of your competitors. Chances are if you are reading this your competition is too. Get to the buyers first with instant text messaging. You will get a copy of the cell phone caller id and they will receive a description of the property, pictures and your contact information.

Sell More Homes Faster

Can you imagine how many buyers will want more property information and to see more pictures as they flip through a local real-estate magazine?

•1.  Sign up and register your property listings online.

•2.  Type in up to 160 characters description of your property.

•3.  Upload your pictures ( not all carriers will support pictures)

•4.  Add the Text code to your listing sign and on your print advertising too. Now you will receive email notifications of the caller id of each text sent to an interested homebuyer.

Now the buyer may access listings the same way they do on the broker's website or MLS, but now the home buyer is mobile. Buyers can drive neighborhoods and shop for homes from their car or while they stand in front of any home for sale.

Don't forget the value of using text messging service with your print advertisements too.

Buyers send a text message to text messaging service with a property code. Within seconds, the search results are sent to the consumer's cell phone along with the property details including address, price, beds and baths.

Now you can...Convert More Leads with legitimate phone numbers!

Keep a Personal Touch Online

Social Networking Tips for Authors

 

By L. Drew Gerber

 

Have you ever had someone tell you they were slammed with work, only to find their Facebook page full of frequent frivolous activity?

 

Or maybe you have been surprised by a rude, off-the-cuff remark on Twitter?

 

Social networking offers boundless potential for authors and writers to promote their works to a wide audience online. Just remember to avoid some common etiquette pitfalls.

 

Keeping a personalized touch makes all the difference. Let the Golden Rule govern your behavior online and treat people and situations as you would face to face:

 

Share - Provide valuable information that people can use. When I am networking online, I offer great content for free, whether it be seminars, newsletters or even articles that I find that would be interesting for the community.

 

Don't just promote yourself - Engage with people online just as you would if you were building a business relationship in person. If someone comes in and all they want to do is promote, promote, promote, that approach is likely to go nowhere.

 

Be polite - People have a tendency to say things online they would never say face to face. I have seen instances where people on Twitter have a personal beef or a problem with a person and tweet it out publicly. Don't say anything you would be embarrassed for your loved ones to read.

 

Don't lower yourself - With electronic communication, whether email or social networking, there is no way to read facial expressions or body language. If there is a question about a person's intentions, give them the benefit of the doubt rather than calling them out for being rude.

 

Be responsible - Not only for what you say, but for your time and your image. It will hurt your credibility if you tell people how busy you are and they see you taking those "Who am I?" and "5 Favorite" quizzes on Facebook everyday. When you are online you should assume everyone is watching and behave accordingly.

 

Don't butt in - If you are participating in an online discussion, let other people have a chance to share their ideas and perspectives. Wait your turn and you will get your chance.

 

Have fun and be creative - Think of ways you can share information about your article, book, writing service or yourself that are fun and make people want to follow you.

 

These tips work because social networking is all about building community. Just like in the community you live in offline, the people who have credibility online who are those who engage others and provide value for the community.

 

IRS Balm for Short Sales of Homes by Julian Block

Congress continues to make changes in the tax code in response to the housing crisis. A key change helps millions of homesellers who owe more on their mortgages than their dwellings are worth. These sellers have negative equity - a condition known colloquially as being upside down or underwater. Legislation that went on the books at the start of 2007 significantly benefits some upside downers and does absolutely nothing for others.

This is how the break works. Suppose Sela Sellers disposes of her residence in a lender-okayed short sale that erases the unpaid part of her mortgage. Or suppose the lending company forecloses on the dwelling, subsequently sells it and cancels a portion of her debt. Generally, the tax code calls for Sela to report partially or entirely forgiven amounts on her 1040 form. Not any more. The Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act of 2007 includes a provision that allows homesellers like Sela to exclude as much as $2,000,000 of canceled debt.

Sela excludes (sidesteps) taxes only if she satisfies two stipulations. First, the security for her mortgage is her principal residence, meaning the place she ordinarily lives most of the year. Second, she incurs the debt to buy, build or substantially improve her principal residence. There is no relief for Sela's home equity loans or cash-out refinancings, except to the extent that she uses the proceeds to make improvements. Other fine print prohibits relief if her lenders forgive debts on vacation homes and other second homes or rental properties.

Long-standing rules generally require debtors to report all forgiven debts on their 1040 forms, just the same as income from salaries or investments. The Internal Revenue Service taxes forgiven amounts at the rates for ordinary income from sources like salaries. Some forgiven debts sidestep taxes. The law specifies several carefully hedged exceptions. They include bankruptcies and insolvencies.

The exception introduced in 2007 benefits people whose debts are reduced or cancelled in arrangements that are known as loan modifications, foreclosures, deeds in lieu of foreclosure and short sales. This last category is the term for an owner who -- with lender approval -- sells for a net sales price (gross sales price minus legal fees, broker's commission and other costs) that is insufficient to cover all of the outstanding debt.

In tax lingo, the exclusion is for income from the discharge of QPRI, short for qualified principal residence indebtedness. This means mortgages taken out by owners to buy, build, or substantially improve their principal residences. And the residences are the securities for the debts.

There also is an exclusion for debt reduced through mortgage restructuring, as well as for debt used to refinance QPRI. Here, there is relief, but only up to the amount of the old mortgage principal, just before the refinancing.

Another constraint is that the exclusion does not help homeowners who took advantage of the run up in real estate prices to do "cash-out" refinancing, in which they did not use the funds for renovations of their primary residences. Instead, they used the funds to pay off credit card debts, tuition charges, medical expenses, or certain other expenditures.

Published: October 8, 2009

David Spark is the founder of Spark Media Solutions, specialists in building industry voice through storytelling and socical media. 

What follows is a compendium of nine proven money-making techniques for podcasters. All are successful to varying degrees and some podcasters use a combination of methods. This summary provides an explanation of all the techniques, and tips from the podcasters who have pulled them off. For more tips, advice, and to hear the full money making podcast story, make sure to read and listen to each the interviews linked throughout this article.

1. Got audience? We'll get you sponsors

Podcast networks such as Mevio, Podtrac, and Wizzard Media welcome any podcaster that has an audience, because that means they can sell advertising against it. The networks collect shows, categorize them, and sell advertising on a CPM (cost per thousand) or CPA (cost per action) basis. Adam Curry, former MTV VJ, podcasting pioneer, and President of Mevio (interview), is looking for podcast producers that know their audience and can motivate them. Using either their show programming or social media, podcast producers promote show-specific coupon codes for their sponsors. Every time one is used, the podcaster gets paid. Of their network of 15,000 podcasters, Curry said he has three podcasters that will make between $500,000 to $1,000,000 this year.

Kevin Kastner of Alaska HDTV used to be a Mevio customer but left because he was unsatisfied with what he was being offered (he wasn't willing to make a CPA deal) and the opaqueness of the deals. He had no idea how much Mevio was selling his show to advertisers. Curry said he splits all revenue 50/50 with podcasters.

2. Get your own sponsors

Kastner left Mevio (interview) because he believed he and his partner could land their own sponsors and make more money. They did, and in doing so increased revenue 200 to 300 percent, said Kastner. But he admits it has come at a serious cost: his workload has increased more than ten-fold.

Wizzard Media offers a hybrid advertising solution for podcasters that want to make more money by landing their own sponsors, yet still need the crutch of an ad network to fill out any unsold inventory. Royce Hildreth, co-producer of Pregtastic, the podcast by and for pregnant women, uses this Wizzard Media hybrid solution. For podcasters that get their own sponsors, Wizzard Media will insert the ads for a flat fee, explained Rob Walch, Wizzard's VP of Podcaster Relations (interview) and host of the Today in iPhone podcast.

3. Be like public TV, beg for donations

Pregtastic's Hildreth (interview) admits that the hybrid sponsorship alone isn't cutting it, so he's put up a begware button and instructed podcast hosts to say that the show costs a donation. He and his co-producing wife aren't making a lot of money from donations, however. It's usually enough to hire a babysitter for when they have to go to the studio to record another episode.

4. Give some away free, charge for the rest

This technique comes in multiple variations. One of the innovators of this technique is Don McAllister, host of ScreenCastsOnline (interview), a weekly video podcast of "how to" Mac software tutorials. McAllister gives away every other episode and makes viewers pay for the rest ($57 for the first six months) which includes additional bonus content and hi-res videos.

The formula has become his livelihood for the past three years, and it's been copied successfully (with McAllister's blessing) by Israel Hyman host of Izzy Video (interview) and producer of Rolling R's and Paperclipping.

When Hyman and McAllister first produced their podcasts they were completely free. It wasn't until after a few years and some success that they started charging for some of their shows. Ken Ray, host of Mac OS Ken (interview), a daily podcast about Apple news, didn't want to start charging for his free podcasts, so he created another show, "Day 6," which can only be accessed through a paid subscription. Ray said the "Day 6″ show is designed to pay for his daily show.

Apple doesn't allow podcasters to charge for podcasts within iTunes, so if you want to create a paid podcast, you need to use a service such as Premiumcast.com which allows you to create personalized RSS feeds, explained CEO Paul Colligan (interview). Personalized RSS feeds allow for complete control over the podcaster/subscriber relationship, allowing you to serve different content (e.g., PDFs, video, or audio) and time the distribution, plus turn off a feed if someone stops paying.

5. Partial show free, full show paid

One of my favorite podcasts, Never Not Funny, is hosted by a great comedian I knew in Chicago, Jimmy Pardo. The show is 90 minutes long, but only the first 20 minutes is available for free. If you want the rest of the show, you need to become a paid subscriber ($19.99 for a season of 26 episodes in audio, $24.99 for the season in video). Like McAllister, Hyman, and Ray, the Never Not Funny podcast didn't begin with a paid model. Pardo and his co-host and producer Matt Belknap (interview) created 100 shows for free first, and then switched to the partial show free, full show paid model. It's paid off. Belknap estimates that 35 percent of their total listeners are paid subscribers.

6. Build your own media network of programming and sell advertising against it

Launching a radio or television network has enormous overhead. A podcast network doesn't. Personal Life Media is an online network of blogs and podcasts that address personal life issues such as career, love, health, and finance, explained CEO Susan Bratton (interview). Unlike podcast networks such as Mevio and Wizzard Media which are just collecting a mishmash of programming, Personal Life Media behaves like a radio network that controls its programming and its overall brand. With her lineup of forty programs, Bratton can sell advertising packages by specific category that get from 100,000 to 250,000 downloads per month.

Unlike Bratton's Personal Life Media, ESPN didn't have to start from scratch when creating its podcast network, ESPN Podcenter; they already had a brand and a radio station. When they first began podcasting five years ago, they repurposed some radio content for the web, but soon learned that it was more effective to create original podcast programming. Now with a lineup of more than 100 podcasts, ESPN sells integrated sponsor packages across multiple media that can include advertiser images that appear on the show's icon within iTunes' podcast directory, said Marc Horine, VP of Digital Media at ESPN (interview).

7. Build your brand to sell your services

Marketing and digital technology coach John Jantsch is the host of the "Duct Tape Marketing" podcast (interview) which is also the name of his book and his consultancy. In his early days of podcasting, when he was a complete unknown, Jantsch would request interviews from well known social media types like Guy Kawasaki and Seth Godin. Having them on his podcast raised his profile. Since, his consulting business has increased 500 percent and is now landing him six-figure sponsorships repeatedly, said Jantsch.

Mike Auzenne, co-host of the Manager Tools podcast (interview), doesn't charge for his podcast or take any sponsorship money. He just focuses on delivering great advice and actionable tips to be a better manager. The four-year podcast trust building exercise is working. All of Manager Tools' clients come from hearing him on the podcast first, and as a result business has increased ten-fold, said Auzenne.

8. Sell an iPhone app along with your podcast

Elsie Escobar is the host of the podcast Elsie's Yoga Class Live and Unplugged (interview) which is simply an audio recording of her yoga classes. Though the podcast is distributed completely for free, she's just starting to make money with a $3.99 iPhone application. The application, developed by Wizzard Media and available to any podcaster on a revenue share basis, lets Escobar and anyone else offer value add content for their podcast. Escobar uses it to add PDFs of routine sequences and quick access to 70 of her past yoga classes. It's an ideal platform to be on since Wizzard Media's podcast metrics show that 85 percent of people download podcasts through iTunes. Combine that with the 50 million iPhones and iPod Touches sold and you've got yourself a strong podcasting platform, said Wizzard Media's Rob Walch.

9. Integrate sponsorship with the show's editorial

Digital audio book seller Audible is a regular sponsor of many different podcasts. It is natural for them to advertise on podcasts, since their product is usually consumed in the same place: iPods. It was even more appropriate for them to advertise via sponsored editorial placements on Slate's Culture Gabfest, a group discussion podcast of the week's arts and entertainment happenings, explained Andy Bowers (interview), Slate's podcast and video producer. The Culture Gabfest's hosts were already consumers of Audible's product and were eager to recommend books or take recommendations from listeners. Book recommendations fit in naturally with the show's editorial and it also has increased engagement as they continue to track their success through a show-specific promotion code.

This is just a brief summary of all the different ways one can make money from podcasting. For "how to" tips and expert advice on how to make these techniques actually work, make sure you read and listen to the interviews, linked all throughout this article.

I'm the first one to tell you that I consistently on a daily basis get sidetracked and lose focus of the 1-2 MAJOR things I need to get done in a day.

So, for me to actually accomplish major task items are HUGE!  According to Timothy Ferriss, author of "The 4 Hour Work Week", we should only have 1-2 items on our to do list each day.  I clearly know this, but I still struggle with implementation.  Yesterday, I spent the first 1/2 of the day filling out excessive paperwork to become a certified MCE instructor and provider.  Grueling... but done!  I also wrote an entire business plan for an idea that came to me during a time of struggle.  And, yes, it is going to change how real estate professionals do business!

Today's blog was not about points or content.  It was about being real and authentic.  And trust me, if I can do this, you can! 

Implement a MAXIMUM of 2 items on your to do list each day, and see what happens!  You actually get it done, and you don't feel guilty about all of the other things you HAVEN'T done! :)

Measuring Well-Being

In a study of how occupation affects happiness, business owners came out on top.

Source: Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index

Note: Scores are based on respondents' answers to six categories of questions about work and life quality.

Staying in Control

Other patterns among the self-employed help explain their psychological well-being. Entrepreneurs tend by nature to be optimistic, evidenced in their willingness to strike out on their own, psychologists say. Laura Street, of Pleasanton, Calif., isn't making a profit in the handmade-jewelry business, Ampersand Designs, which she co-founded last year. But to her, the glass is half full: She says sales are rising, she expects to turn a profit soon, and she loves her work.

"Yes, the economy is bad. But we aren't coming into a workplace wondering, 'Are we going to get fired today?' " she says. "If you control your destiny, the well-being is something that just comes naturally."

The freedom business owners have to control their schedules enables them to adhere more closely to their personal priorities, says Amy Neftzger, an organizational psychologist for Healthways. They have the flexibility to "make it to a child's play, or spend time with family," she says.

Golfing With the Mayor

Many also have community ties that feed a sense of well-being. James Barnard, chief financial officer of his family's business, Barnard Manufacturing in St. Johns, Mich., didn't have a great summer. He and his cousin Gary Barnard, president of the heavy-equipment parts maker, stopped drawing paychecks to help the company through a steep sales drop. They agonized over a decision to lay off dozens of workers, and Gary sat nearly alone in the plant for several weeks, answering phones.

But their company has a good image in the community, and "it's a big deal to us to keep that going," James says. He takes part in civic groups and enjoys golfing with the mayor and police chief. Pressed to describe the rewards of running a family business, he says, "It's pride. Definitely pride."

Wall Street Journal, Email sue.shellenbarger@wsj.com

Gayla Allen

Short Sale Negotiator

Gayla comes to Open to Close with the best training available with her experience as the Operations Manager for and certification through the Distressed Property Institute (CDPE Designation - Certified Distressed Property Expert) which is sponsored by Keller Williams, REMAX, and many others.  This designation is recognized my many REALTOR® state boards and is moving towards an international program.  She infuses an entrepreneurial spirit into our daily operations and creates an environment focused on forming lasting relationships, supporting uncompromised customer service, and providing unsurpassed support to agents who are diligently helping homeowners through the Short Sale process.  Outside of work, she is a "foodie" and wine enthusiast.  Gayla and her husband are now empty nesters, enjoying their life together after raising six children. She also has three grandchildren and two ornery cats.

www.myopentoclose.com

See if the loan your are working on is Fannie Mae.  If so, you are guaranteed that 6% commission!

http://loanlookup.fanniemae.com/loanlookup/

Coordinators with Open to Close and MOST Realtors are 1009 independent contractors.  I have been a long time confused individual when it came to this subject.  I have a lot of HR connections pretty high up at different companies across the U.S., and they all tell me something different. 

So, I completely changed my schedule this past Tuesday to attend a once a year class with the Small Business Administration here in Austin, TX to set the story straight!

To differentiate between the employee and the independent contractor, there is NO Employee Handbook to be given and NO New Hire Paperwork to be filled out.  There is NO staff, and there is NO payroll! So, what is there???

• Payroll for an independent contractor does NOT exist as they are "paid by the project. Employers can request that they track their hours but contractors should be paid for successful completion of a project; if the project is NOT satisfactory to the employer, employer could have a NON-PERFORMANCE issue with the contractor and refuse to pay them or not pay them fully based on their written agreement."
• Instead of employee handbook, there are "Policies and Procedures" manuals and compensation agreements to ensure everyone knows what actions must be taken to get paid and actually how much and how often they get paid along with a W9, no I9 or W4.
• In addition, contractors may work for more than one employer at a time, but employers are also legally able to enact a non-compete/non-disclosure for a specific industry or specific location.  At that point, the contractor could work for two employers, but they would have to be in two completely different industries and/or locations as specified by the non-compete/non-disclosure.
• You, as an employer, can require your independent contractors to come in to the office at certain times if it is part of the requirement to get the job done.  In the Open to Close scenario, one of our offices is located in the #1 producing Keller Williams office right here in Austin, TX!  As part of the agreement, the agents in that office that hire us must have at least one day a week where the coordinator is at the office, so the agent can have face-to-face contact with the OTC coordinator, should they so desire.  So, with that being said, we are able to legally enforce that our coordinators are present the same day each week at the same time because it is part of getting the job done.
• Benefits aren't typical with independent contractors, but employers can offer them to their contractors.  In fact, statistically companies with under 20 EMPLOYEES are NOT paying benefits at all! 

The more I thought about it, the more I thought about how I could relate it to Keller Williams when I explained this to my staff.  Keller Williams is KNOWN for their training and systems and stringent paperwork/guidelines.  It's branding, and it creates uniformity.  It's like McDonald's; you always know what you are going to get because of the systems. 

With Keller Williams, there is a minimal amount of training you HAVE to go through to be affiliated.  There is a very defined way that you are able to design your signs and business cards.  There are specific colors and specific verbiage that must be used.  Scripts and systems are huge!!!  And the paperwork needed to process your commission is the most stringent and detailed of pretty much any brokerage I know of!  And if an agent (who is a 1099 independent contractor) does not comply with the Keller Williams procedures, they will NOT get paid their commission and/or would be asked to dissolve their affiliation with Keller Williams.  And look where that has gotten them!  They are the fastest growing real estate company in the world!  Go KW!

So, hopefully, this dispels some of the confusion around this touchy subject.  I'd love any and all questions!  Knowledge is power, and clarity is key. 

-Amber Gunn, Open to Close