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Whee!!! Real Estate is a Roller coaster!!!

Have you ever had one of those days that you wish you just didn't get out of bed? I'm sure you have. I had one yesterday. I woke up Friday morning feeling really good. It had been a very productive week and I had no appointments on the calendar. Just had to go down to the office and follow up on a few deals and put a couple of properties on the market. My kind of day. All positive. I'm on top of the hill and feeling good about life.

Well, it went downhill real fast. First, I get a call from Veronica, my new Buyer's agent, to let me know her Buyer, who we had just negotiated a deal with the day before, on one of my listings, got cold feet and backed out of the deal. Bummer!! One down.

About an hour later the phone rings and the REALTOR® on the line starts fumbling his words but finally manages to tell me our transaction, set to close next week, just fell through. The sub-prime lender pulled the plug. Darn it!! Two down.

Lo and behold, an hour later the phone rings again and it is another REALTOR® reluctantly explaining that his Buyer also just got denied. Sub-prime again. Pulling the plug, again. Three down.

Now folks, it's only 11:30 on Friday morning and I'm already down three deals and about $20,000 in commissions. An excellent time to have another cup of coffee and crank the stereo up a little louder. Ah........Pearl Jam, I'm starting to feel good again.

Riiiiiiiiiiiing, Riiiiiiiiiiing......This time I'm a little slower to answer the phone. I hadn't heard back from the REALTOR®, that had a home inspection two days ago, so I'm sure this is probably him. Yep, I'm right. AC issues, plumbing problems and major electrical problems. Damn man! What's happening here? "OK, so just put the Buyer's concerns in an addendum and send it over to me so I can run it by the Seller."

So, I take a few minutes and call these four Sellers and break the news to them. "No problem Broker Bryant. We know you are doing your best. Just let us know what we need to do." OK, it's noon and I have all of that off of my chest. Three down for sure and one soon to follow, maybe. I do what any good REALTOR® would do.....I cut the stereo back up and dance around the office for a few minutes trying to recapture my joy. Got it. Joy recaptured.

Phone rings again. Oh no!!! I quickly look over to my stack of pending files to see what I have left. Not much there. "Hello, it's a beautiful day at Tutas Towne, this is Broker Bryant, how may I help your dreams come true today?" "Hey Broker Bryant, I just e-mailed you an offer for your listing at 123 WeGotToSell Ave. just checking to make sure you received it."

"Sure did." Back in business!!! Some days are like that. You lose a few, you win a few. It's the nature of our business. You just have to keep moving forward. As Linda Davis would say "Get over it!"

So, Broker Bryant says:

Do your best. That's all anyone ever expects from you.
Don't count your commissions until they are in your pocket.
Relay negative news to your customer/clients immediately.
Put on a happy face no matter how difficult your day is.
Dance every chance you get.
And most importantly, "Get over it!"

Real Estate is a roller coaster. Enjoy the ride. I do. What say you?

Posted by Bryant Tutas Broker/REALTOR(R) Tutas Towne Realty, Inc on 03/10/2007 05:30 PM

Comments (54)

roller coaster, positive attitude, subprime, opinion

This post has been included in Florida Information Osceola County, FL Information Poinciana, FL Information

54 Comments on Whee!!! Real Estate is a Roller coaster!!!

MAR

2007

Reserved Parking For "The Lovely Wife"...TLW...ROAR!

Hubba! Bubba! Wink. Wink.

Darlin' ... Yes. Real Estate is a roller coaster ride. So is our life. And just so you know I wouldn't change a thing. I love the ups and downs. They make it entertaining. I've been enjoying the ride for 13 years now. If it bothered me we wouldn't be doing it :-)

I have more to say, but it's time to go shopping and put some more pressure on you. You're at your best under TLW pressure. LOL...

Love the post, you and your are wife are great bloggers, love to read your posts, make smile. Thanks

Tis truly a numbers game - the events of each day may be unpredictable - but in the long run the efforts translate into results!

Harold the Codger Bryant: Such and optimist, such an optimist. You can't dwell on the set-backs & be successful.

Harold Peterson

Bryant,

I put five in the first two weeks of last June and was feeling pretty darn good about myself as I was in my fourth month. Well, the real estate Gods didn't want another agent with a swollen head thinking she's all that, so... three fell out the following week, one maybe a week after that, I closed one of them. So much for thinking I'm all that.

This makes me wonder about the types of music we all use to recapture the joy of a bad day. That could be an interesting poll! Life is really too short to short to let things get you down, and I love your attitude - "Get over it!"

Next. ;-)

It has been a wild ride the last month with all these sub prime deals! Escrow 911 is a thrill ride, fer sure! The beginning of the day is happy: upupupupup and then mid morning you go down and feel your stomach creeping up to your throat mid afternoon you start hitting the valley and then WHEW it is over and it feels good when you can save a deal by the end of the day!

FYI: Remember the "range price" post that I put out about a month ago that you responded to? THat deal kicked and my buyers are set to close on the other house in a week! I told the agent that my deal was solid even though it may not have been the highest and best offer. How do you scrutinize your deals to make sure they don't kick? How would I prove to you, as a buyer's agent that my deal won't kick even though it wasn't highest and best? Can you post another topic on this to help us who act as buyer's agents to negotiate the best with list agents? The reason why I wanted to know is because my clients wanted the other house that was swarming with multiple offers for the amenities even though they got a comparable deal on the exact model match in the same neighborhood. I wasn't going to tell her but she caught me off guard when she asked how much it sold for and the honest john side came out and told her that it fell out of escrow! The whole karma side of this is that now the house will be harder to sell because of subprime problems and the home I sold is now a bad comp for it! The list agent was completely dishonest about the range pricing and the way she handled it.

Yeb Broker Bryant yesterday was not the best of day. Thank you for the words of wisdom. Not to worry, the roller coaster is going up hill and more deals to come.

Hi all,

Renee, I think I'll take you up on the post idea. Stay tuned.

Veronica, You did well, just keep moving forward.

Amber, my favorite word. NEXT!

Betsy, that would be interesting. I am actually a fan of ALL music as long as it is done well.

Fran, At least you learned some hard lessons right out of the starting gate. I'm so used to losing deals it doesn't even bother me anymore. I do feel for the sellers though.

Harold, Good to see you out and about today. Optimism is one of the few things no one can take away from me.

Tony, I know you've been around long enough to understand this biz. I love it!! The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat. Keeps my blood pumping.

Thanks Miriam. keep reading and smiling.

TLW, Pressure baby, pressure. Bring it on. I wonder if I even have a boiling point?

BB - oh how I hate days like that!!! But you're right, we just have to keep on keeping on and move on to the next thing, whatever that's going to be. Sellers depend on us, buyers depend on us - we keep on going....saying 'next' alot on some days, that's for sure.

Ann

That's the ONLY way to Live Bryant - I take them as they come and we always say......IT'S ALLLL GOOD!

LOL..This business is just too easy.... : )

Your second point about not counting your commission money until its in your pocket....very very valid point! Until it closes, don't make any 'plans' for that money!

Ann, I too hate days like that. I've been having way too many of them lately. Oh well, it just means greener pastures are in my near future. Hey at least I get to resell them and negotiate again. Those are my favorite two things to do so that's a very good thing.

Ines, It IS all good!!! But you knew that.

Kaye, Maybe some of the REALTOR(R) wantabes need to read this. They don't teach then the reality of our business is licensing class.

Kaushik, I always stress this point to my sellers as well. Don't make any financial decisions based on funds from the closing until after the closing. Of course, they rarely listen.

Oh, almost forgot to add. The 4th one, with the inspection issues, kicked today. Almost $30,000 off the books this week. Ouch!!! No shopping for TLW.

Well Bryant it sounds like you better get busy and get some deals closed FAST so that TLW can shop in style! lol You have a very valid point about not counting your commissions till all the papers are signed and check is in hand. Anything can happen between accepted contract and signed & closed docs.

Darlin'...

Way too late for that. I already bought those black silk pajama's that I had my eye on. Don't worry. I used my own money. Yup. I've been embezzling again. Embezzling is the mark of a lovely wife who owns a Real Estate Company. I've been stashing $$. How could I not? The Real Estate business is like a roller coaster ride. One minute your up next your down. I'm always prepared for that. LOL...

P.S. If you had a boiling point I would not have "LET" you marry me. SVW (smiling very wide)

TLW...ROAR!

You have a great attitude Bryant! Well, except for the part about no shopping for TLW. :-)

Linda...He can't stop me from shopping. I just allow him to think he can. Another mark of a lovely wife :-)

I embezzle the cash and then smuggle my lovely new things into the house. LOL...

TLW...ROAR!

Your bullet points are O so true. Thanks.

TLW: LMAO! My husband says the same about me. He "let's me think" I have control. Uh huh, yea right!

I like point #2 the best:

Don't count your commissions until they are in your pocket.

So very true. I have had deals fall apart where I KNOW the other agent had already SPENT that money....

I talked to one Loan Officer yesterday that had three deals all signed and ready for funding and the subprime lender pulled the plug. We all go through it. Get the subprime deals into an FHA loan if you can.

"Relay negative news to your customer/clients immediately."

I would have reprinted that in a larger font but I did not know the procedure. And let me add to this that negatives always have the likelihood of becoming positives when the recipients of the negative news are actually aware of the corrective measures required. Bryant, this is a fantastic posting and I hope a national repository picks up on it and relays it to their readership.

Truth In Lending

Bryant - You win some, you lose some (and you win more than you lose, right?). You have to be prepared for that in this business. Some days the sun shines, on other days all it does is rain. You have the right attitude but that's not a surprise.

Build a bridge, and get over it. Next!

Cheers, Jeff

sometimes it is hit or miss

keep up the optimisim

Like I always say " You can't lose things you never had " Truthfully they all hurt a little but filtering it through my favorite saying allows me to sway with the wind.

Bryant.... sorry for what took place. It's not fun in regards to bad news... and sometimes it's hard to stay positive. But it sounds like you have a great outlook in what you do, hence part of your reason for your great success.

In regards to the sub prime stuff.... it hit quickly.... I have been lucky, because we have been very aggressive with our FHA underwriting. Just the other day, I saved a purchase deal that another lender turned down because of the sub prime market. We took it FHA.

In any case.... I like your attitude.... hopefully more people will read this, as Ken Cook stated. Good post.

jeff

MAR

2007

BB - When you have a day like that, you either have to write a blog or a country song.

You get one too today, seems to be the day for it,

BIG HUG

BB,

Resilience with a touch of humor is the key...no doubt about it! No one wants a bad day to come along like you spoke of but without these occasional bad days you can never really learn to have a true appreciation for all the good days.

Quite a day - don't ya lovel it! There is a saying: "You don't get into real estate - real estate gets into you!" Crank up the Pearl Jam!

Humm, what say you? I am with Diane, get over it. LOL...that was easy, or just get more joy back, that means dancing a little more around your office, might even turn up the music a little more to get the job done quicker.

I have had those days as a lender, nothing would go right, I think that was on Thursday, then pop, found the right lender and product, sold it to the client, saved him 77,000.00 dollars over the next five years, he is a happy camper. Now if I can just get it to the closing table.

Take care, it will come back, if its meant to. Thank goodness for Diane.

Some days we do the "quick step" and other days we do the fox trot like Ginger Rodgers..."backwards and in heels!" Bad news they say always comes in 3's. We dance as well as we can..as fast as we can and hopefully look graceful in the process. Definitely you are graceful under pressure. Good Post!

What say I?

How about I buy your ticket (you sound a little strapped for cash right now) and we'll scream all the way down! There is nothing like some childish exuberance to get a bad day back on track!

On a side note - Pearl Jam and Tom Petty? It's no wonder you two stay married! I just pity the neighbors if you both decide to crank up the stereos at the same time. LOL

BB,

Ain't it the truth! This roller coaster ride called Real Estate can be daunting to the faint of heart. We have to all pick ourselves up by our bootstraps and move along. Just keep throwing it against the wall til it sticks! Love the photo! Thanks for another uplifting post.

BB,Do you realize that you have had more fall thrus in one day than a majority of agents have transactions in one entire year?

Early in my career, one of the former company owners made this comment: "If you don't have 20% fall thrus; you are NOT trying hard enough!" OK, you are trying hard enough. NEXT!

Yep....been there done this. Sometimes you are the bird and sometimes you are the statue...if you know what I mean.

"Don't count your commissions until they are in your pocket."

Let me just say AMEN BROTHER!

Ah, yes, our ups and down in R.E. can be absolutely yummy one sec' and leave a very ugly taste in our mouth the next. BUT, we love the business more than we hate it or we wouldn't be writing 'bout it.

Life in general is like this. Thank goodness you can always go back up. The ups and downs are what make life exciting. Like Forrest Gump said....Mama always said life is like a box of chocolates, you never know whatcha gonna get.....lol

Man you guys have been busy! Thanks for stopping by and for all of your support. Keep on moving forward. Our business is definitely not for the faint of heart. The only folks that think what we do is easy are the ones not in the business. Fortunately I quit getting stressed out about business a long time ago. I just keep doing what I do, to the best of my ability, it's the only thing I have control over.

I'm late to the party and all I can say is Life is a Roller Coaster. One minute on cloud nine the next you just want to scream.

Just keep on plugging. When dealing with other agents, lenders and title companies a lot is out of your control.

All we can do is just communicate what we know to our sellers. Best of Luck BB.

Jay

Bryant, You have a great attitude.

Sounds like the subprime lenders are implenting stricter guidelines. Hope it doesn't have a major effect on prices.

Isn't that the way some days. Most of us have experienced days similar to yours and yet we all march forward to the next experience.....hoping for the WIN!

Patricia Aulson/REALTOR/SEACOAST NH & ME

patricia4realestate.com

Not a realtor, just a spectator, so you won't get the sycophantic rah rahs from me like all your other toadies. Interesting to see there is no escape from the Late Great Housing Ponzi Scheme, even in small-town USA. Have to say you are one of the few Realtor(R)s (HA, I love that silly little trademark, what a hilarious joke), who deserves his hyper-inflated commission. (in case you didn't catch that, it's a compliment)

Still I enjoy your writings and respect your efforts. I also enjoy your emotion-filled virtual tours. (nice music) Overpriced POS, desperate home-debtors trying to unload....And you are right, all the homes in Poinciana are pretty much the same. (Hint, tell the homeowners to get a clue on color choices, BOTH interior and exterior)

All the other Realtors(R), take note, (I put that (R) in as pure mockery you know), prices will revert to the mean; you may be eating Ramen for a while. Sub-prime and Alt-A defaults will rise. Enjoy the rollercoaster ride, it may be 10 year long one, and you may be puking by then. Just look at Japan..........

Meantime, I patiently collect my 5% on the profit I got bailing out at the top, and wait for housing to revert to 3-4x median income as it has been since WWII.

Regards,

I just posted elsewhere that real estate can be like ice skating: it can go very, very smoothly but you have to be careful because you have no brakes and can hit thin ice at anytime. (However, you're in Florida so roller coasters are undoubtedly more common there:-)

MAR

2007

Area 51, take a hike. And I'm not a realtor either, BTW. BB is one of the good guys, so don't be such a Richard Cranium.

Good morning folks,

Area 51, don't know if I've seen you around before. The Real Estate industry just like any other profession, is made up of good REALTORS(R) and bad ones. I'm hoping this market change will weed out some of the unprofessional ones so the ones that love this business and are very good at it can flourish. Of course most of us goods ones are still doing very well. When you mention "Ponzi Scheme" are you of the school that says REALTORS(R) are the reason prices were so inflated back in 2005? Just curious. I have a guy on another post that seems to blame inflated prices on the greed of REALTORS(R) instead of on the greed of the consumer. Never quite figured that one out. There may be greedy REALTORS(R) but we certainly don't control property values.

Irene, RE is definitely a ride. I bought my first property back in the early 80s on a loan with 18% interest. When I first started selling RE in 1994 it was normal to take a year or more to sell a property in my area. The market is continually changing. As REALTORS(R) we really have to be able to adjust and accept the fact that some days are good and some days are bad. It's never going to change.

John, Thanks for coming to my defense but it really isn't necessary. I welcome ALL commenters on my blog. Everyone is entitled to their opinion. My only rules are no-profanity and debate the issue but respect the person. Area 51 did OK. Hey, I bash REALTORS(R) everyday. I appreciate you reading and commenting. I see you joined AR, I'll be looking forward to reading some posts from you.

BTW to John, I was COMPLIMENTING BB not disparaging him. First you need to learn to read. I could think of a disguised name-calling insult like the one you used, but you've already demonstrated your low intelligence, so it's not necessary.

And to Broker Bryant, no I do not think the Gigantic and Historic Housing Bubble was caused by realtors, but by loose lending practices, low interest rates and general public mania (fear and speculation). I do think many (not ALL) realtors want to sell sell sell, even when the circumstances are not in the best interest of the client. My own realtor fed me lots of garbage about how the prospective buyer was "balking" etc, and I needed to hop to it and accept the offer etc... Buyer's agent was sick and tired of showing homes to the buyer and wanted her to "buy already!" They seemed to work in collusion, and while not "against" my interests, primarily FOR their own interest.

My statement to "other" realtors stands, times are gonna be slow for ya. I take non-fat in my lattes BTW when you're serving me at Starbucks....

And again to "BB" I recommended your site to my brother who is aspiring to be a real estate agent, as you are someone I would use as a mentor, were I interested in pursuing such a career. John are you still miffed?

Regards,

Thanks Area 51, I agree there are too many folks in our industry that are out for the bucks and not looking out for their buyer or seller. Those are the ones that are going to be serving your coffee real soon. Our reputation is every thing in this business if you plan on making a career out of it. Hey, just check out all the lenders that are going belly up right now after raping the consumer for the last few years. Foreclosures are sky rocketing in my area and I truly hate to see it. Property values have already fallen 10-15% and will probably go down another 10-15% over the next 12 months. Luckily my market is still affordable housing(for Florida) so won't fall too far before it corrects.

Feel free to have your brother contact me if I can be of any help to him.

An example of how realtors have and still do, in fact, contribute to the fear, making people rush into RE purchases:

Last weekend, wife and I were trolling houses for sale:

1. That's right it's a house, not a home, don't manipulate the buyers with emotional descriptions.

RE Agent says something about how there will be no new construction in the area until a bridge is built to allow more traffic.

2. Right, right, they're not making any more land. OK heard that one....

Agent says and those new complexes will be priced HIGHER.

3. Even though historically, prices have essentially been flat when you take inflation into account for the last 80 YEARS. (excluding the bump after WWII) AND prices are flattening in this area too, just like the rest of the whole country. The prices have to revert to the mean. Could be fast and vicious, or take a painfully long time like it did in Japan or other sectors in the US.

I called the agent on this one, whereupon she describes how she built for $350k in 2000, now worth $800k.

4. That's right, the bubble started in 2000, you are quoting bubble prices.

One nice thing is the agent was forthcoming about the original sale price which would give me a true basis to calculate the REAL (not bubble inflated) value of the house. Kudos to her.

But after saying prices are gonna go up, better buy now! She turns around and says the sellers are motivated. They own 2 houses, husband is commuting two states away, and they need to dump this debt bomb quick. I said my offer would be substantially lower than their asking price. (2000 sale was $190k, I would add 5%/yr compounded to equal approx $255k. Asking was $329k) She said make the offer anyway, who knows?

Even though my offer is generous. (beats inflation by far) It is unrealistic to expect the owner to accept a $75k, 23% reduction, though that is the true value of the house. Their emotions will interfere with logic. Conclusion: I think we'll sit out the bubble.

BB - so it looks like you made it through Friday's roller coaster! We've found that the meltdown isn't going to affect our business, shallow pocket, low credit investors pretty much stopped buying in our area almost a year ago. Historically, in our area, average DOM is 6 months, we're just about back to historical average. It's hard for out of state owners (especially CA owners) to understand what's 'normal' for our area vs. what's normal for their area.

JUL

2007

Your views are the best way to keep sane in an up and down world. Your are being positive and realistic. You are counting your eggs that have hatched only, while you keep working on the next assignment. This is great.

http://developpositiveattitude.blogspot.com/

www.besthobbiesforliving.com

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