Andy Elliott’s Real Estate Blog

What??? Are these 2010 Clark County Tax Assessments for Real?

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 03:31:26 -0800

If you have received your 2009-2010 tax assessment for the Clark County area you will see that your home value has been lowered. You may be excited to see your taxes come down this next year but don't be lulled to sleep, you may still be getting overtaxed. Our team sells a lot of property and as a result I do a lot of home price evaluations. The new taxes may have just come out but I can already tell you that there is a consistent occurrence of the tax assessments still being significantly high. So what can you do? The best thing to do is to get an honest evaluation from a realtor that sells a lot of homes and really knows the market. The key is one that SELLS a lot of homes and REALLY KNOWS the market. This will tell you if you are still being over valued and over taxed. If it turns out that you are, you don't have to take it lying down. You can go down to the County Assessors office and file an assessment dispute. Also if you're trying to sell or buy a home don't make the mistake of looking at the tax assessment to set your value. If you're a seller you will likely be disappointed and if you're a buyer you will likely end up overpaying for your new home. Posted by Team Leader: Andy Elliott

Waiting to sell? Here's 3 things you MUST know about the future of the Clark County Real Estate Market.

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 10:45:03 -0800

Everyone knows about the 2006 market crash that has resulted in devistated home values in our local Clark County area. In all of my dealings with sellers I am finding that the big question is "what is going to happen next?". Of course I am not a big time TV prognosticator but I do have a vast amount of real estate experience and I good head of common sense on my shoulders. So if you are up for a quick common sense guide to the next 5 years in Clark County real estate keep reading... My first common sense observation is that we haven't yet hit the bottom. Of course you may hear otherwise from all kinds of seemingly reputable sources but... common sense tells us a dfferent story. If you are looking to purchase a home in Clark County for under $250k then you are going to run into a very high percentage of homes that are being listed as distressed properties. With such a high percentage of homes still selling as distressed properties the prices keep on coming down. Another factor that many people may not be aware of is that there is a second wave of distressed properties that will be hitting the market starting in 2010. This wave is actually predicted to be larger than the 2006 wave? Where are all of the new distressed properties going to come from? There are literally millions of dollars in "Option Arm" loans that are scheduled to start resetting in 2010. Option Arm loans are the loans that gave people 3-5 year "teaser" rates that would balloon up to "real" payments when they matured. The thinking behind these loans was that a home owner could simply refinance them to a new "Option Arm" when the old ones matured... The big problem is that a majority of these owners will not be able to refinance because they don't have the equity, they no longer qualify, and many of the old types of loan programs no longer exist. With payments rising and the option to refinance out of reach, there will be many owners who simply can't make their mortgage. Now, if we're optimisic and say that this second wave will take only half as long to clear out as the first wave, then we are looking at a declining market until mid 2011. The second common sense observation that I see is that when the market finally levels off we'll still need to get enough buyers active to push the market back up. The problem that we will be facing here is that many of the buyers that drove up the first market will now be recovering from the credit damage of losing their homes. When someone goes through a short sale they are typically looking at 2-3 years before they will be able to buy again and those who have faced foreclosure will need 5-7 years to qualify for a new home. Again let's take the optimistic approach and use the lowest number of 2 years. Using this number we won't have enough credit worthy buyers to drive the market back up until the summer of 2014. My third common sense observation is one that you will be able to identify with very quickly if you live in our local Clark County area. You can drive just about anywhere and you'll see vacant lots with white stakes in the ground... these are ready to build lots that are sitting dormant until builders decide that there are enough buyers to warrant building them out. You guessed it, as soon as the builders see that the market is turning up they will almsot certainly flood the market with new homes and upset the "supply and demand' balance. This will keep prices in check until the supply of new homes starts to thin out, which will most likely take at least a couple of years to achieve. Now we're out to the summer of 2016 and we're ready for the market to have a real opportunity at recovery. The question that we have to ask now is how fast will prices rise? You can Google the historical appreciation rates in the United States and find that historically home prices rise about 3-5% per year. At that rate it would take a significant amount of time to build up any worthwhile amount of equity and it would be significantly offset by average monetary inflation. Of course the one common sense thing that I haven't addressed yet is that with the amount of money our government is borrowing and spending, inflation is going to have to happen at some point. With inflation comes higher interest rates and if the rates start moving up the chart that would put a major flat tire on the real estate markets drive to recovery. Again I am not a big TV prognosticator but these are the common sense steps that Clark County will need to go through in order to see significant gains in property value. Anyone that is waiting to sell their home needs to plan on waiting for several years. Otherwise they will just be riding the market down further, paying interest they won't get back, or wasting valuable years of their lives living in a location that doesn't match their dreams and goals. Houses are moving in this market. Our team has closed on nearly 300 homes since January of 2007. If your goals and dreams really matter to you than you should sit down with us and put together a plan to get you there. Posted by Andy Elliott, Team Leader for the Siebold & Combs Team. "Siebold & Combs Sells More Homes"

What if my realtor isn't doing a good job?

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 05:00:25 -0700

written by Team Leader Andy Elliott You wouldn't believe what I ran into last night on a listing appointment... or would you? One of the things I do is call the sellers of homes that were on the market but expired without selling. I talk with the sellers try to figure out why they didn't sell and then I help them successfully sell their home. So I went on an appointment last night and the seller asked me why their home came off the market (they didn't even realize that their listing agreement was over because their agent didn't communicate with them). As I began to talk with them they shared with me that they believe their realtor moved to Mexico and that they hadn't heard from him in quite awhile. That brings me to my very quick and short point for this blog post. If you want to get great service (which is what you deserve) then have your realtor put it in writing with a cancellation guarantee. Decide what you feel is good service and be specific; communication, marketing, etc... and then put it in writing and hold them to it. It's great to hire a realtor that you trust but trust me I've seen more people wind up with poor service then you can imagine because they never verified that the work was being done. If your realtor isn't doing a good job and following through with their committments you have the right to fire them. You are the boss and you have the right to be taken care of. I work by this model and give my clients the right to cancel their listing with me if they feel I'm not doing a good job as their agent and I can tell you that any good agent should never have a problem with making themselves accountable to their sellers.

Brush Prairie / Hockinson Areas - How is the real estate market in Hockinson

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 17:43:01 -0700

Written by Team Leader Andy Elliott Today I'm going to be taking a look at the Brush Prairie and Hockinson Area in Clark County. I'll be diving into different areas over the next 30 days and looking at how they are doing on an individual basis. The reason I'm doing this is because just like the weather real estate is really a local market. Think about this, what if you were to turn on the news and someone gave you a report that it was going to be 90 degrees today across the globe? That wouldn't really make much sense and it wouldn't make any more sense to say it would be 90 degrees across the United States. Looking even closer at the weather you may find yourself being rained on in Vancouver, Washington while someone else is enjoying a clear day 20 minutes away in Camas Washington. This is very similar to real estate in that there are different areas of the world, country, state, cities, and yes even neighborhoods that may be doing very well while others are not doing so well. This is why I'll be breaking down different areas of Clark County and giving you a picture of how that market is doing. So let's get started with the Brush Prairie and Hockinson area. The Hockinson area currently has 232 active detached (not a condo or townhome) homes for sale on the RMLS with an average list price of $477,914 and average days on market of 171. That's what is active and available for buyers to buy. So is that good or bad? Well let's take a look at the number of pending and sold homes and see how long that inventory would last if no new homes came on the market. While there are 232 active properties there were 18 that sold over the last month. That's about a 13 month inventory which is terrible for sellers and heaven for buyers. However there is one telling sign that things may be turning around in the area for sellers. While there are only 18 that sold there are 52 properties pending. That's a pretty large number and if even half of them close that would be about 30% increase in sales over a one month period. That may not hold up through the winter but it does show that there are a significant number of motivated buyers still shopping late into the summer selling season. Of the properties that went pending and sold the average was just under $400k which is about 20% less than the average price of the active homes. At first glance you'd get the impression that you will get 20% less for your home than what you list it for but that would be a bit of a misunderstanding of how to read the market. The reality is that on many of the pending and sold homes the final price was very close to what the sellers were asking and in reality it's the homes that are well over priced that tend to sit on the market. For example the average home sold at about $400,000 and was listed at approximately $420,000. This is only a 5% difference as opposed to the 20% difference in the average actively listed home and sold home. Also the average days on market for active homes are 171 and the average days on market for pending and sold homes were only about 90 days. What this tells us is that we don't want to make the mistake of "pricing the home with room to negotiate" because in the Hockinson area buyers will pay close to asking price on a reasonably priced home and simply ignore the overpriced homes. Don't be mistaken there were plenty of homes that sold in this area that would be affordable for first time buyers too. In fact the pending and sold homes ranged from a low of $136,000 to a high of 1.3 million. That's an incredible spread. What I notice as one of the most encouraging signs about the Brush Prairie and Hockinson areas in Clark County is that there are good numbers of homes that are selling above the $500,000 mark. There are currently 14 properties that are pending or that sold in the last month for $500,000 or more in the Brush Prairie and Hockinson areas compared to only one in the Battle Ground area of Clark County. If you know this area then that is probably a pretty shocking stat and you'll be able to really appreciate how encouraging it is to see the Brush Prairie and Hockinson areas holding the higher values. Because with higher top end value there is more room underneath for the lesser homes to keep there value. The farther down in price the nicer homes come the more damage is done to the value of all the homes underneath them, it's like smashing the top of a sandwich and watching the whole sandwich shrink down. As a local market Hockinson looks to be a great place to have bought a home and a decent place to ride out the market storm that we have been experiencing over the last 3 years. If you bought a home in this area you have likely done better at holding value than those that bought in other areas and this means you can likely still do pretty well selling your home and buyers would be fairly smart to look at buying there next home in an area like this that holds its value better than others. For more information on the Brush Prairie and Hockinson areas or to request a specific area for my next market review please email me at marketreview@sieboldandcombs.com

I'm not a first time buyer can I still get the $8,000 tax credit?

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Sun, 30 Aug 2009 17:25:18 -0700

by Team Leader - Andy Elliott Is it just the first time buyers that get to take advantage of the tax credit? Are they the only ones that the government was targeting when it was trying to stimulate the housing economy? In a word NO! The idea that the tax credit is only for first time buyers is one of the biggest misconceptions out there. The concept in giving this credit was to target new buyers or old buyers that have been sitting on the sideline for an extended period of time and drive them into the buying market. By getting more buyers in the market the housing market could begin to recover.So who else besides first time buyers can qualify? Basically anyone can qualify who is buying a home for their personal residence and who has not owned a home in the last three years. This means that if you are looking to buy a home and you haven't owned a home in three years this may be your perfect storm. Here are some other great questions about the tax credit: Do I have to pay it back? Can I use it towards my downpayment? Would if I don't need a tax credit, can I get it as cash back? These are some great questions to investigate and we'll gladly send you a complete rundown of the ins and outs of the credit. For an e-package with detailed information on the tax credit you can email taxcredithelp@sieboldandcombs.com

Foreclosure vs. Short Sale - help a friend by forwarding this vital information

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 16:09:11 -0700

I am writing this because of an email I just received from one of my great friends. After reading his email I feel like I need to get this out right now and I hope that you will take a few seconds of your busy schedule to read it and see if you can help one of your friends. My friend recently found out that his employer was cutting back hours. He emailed me that he will likely be heading into a foreclosure because he won't be able to pay his house payments. Thankfully he is my friend and I may be able to help him avoid foreclosure. If you have a friend that may be in a situation where they could face foreclosure, please get this info to them and give them the opportunity to get help. Before they ever wind up in a foreclosure they need to do both of the following: 1. Pursue a mortgage modification. We help them get the information about their bank to get them started and they may have a great shot at getting it done. They may just have to really pursue them and fight through the bureaucracy. (We don't get paid for this but it may be their best option and they get to keep their home.) 2. Meet with me about the process of doing a short sale. We do a lot of these and have been successful in getting banks to forgive the difference between the selling price and what is owed. We have a guy on our team Jim Fleming that used to work in the loss mitigation department for a bank. He negotiates our short sales and does a great job. Sometimes it is even possible to short sale your property without ever missing a payment. The links below will educate them about some of the differences between short sales verses foreclosures and they can Google lots of info themselves too. Have them give us a call directly and we can help them get clarity on what to do in their unique situation. http://www.debtkid.com/short-sale-vs-foreclosure-which-is-the-better-option http://homebuying.about.com/od/4closureshortsales/qt/060907SScredit.htm http://www.google.com/search?q=short+sale+vs.+foreclosure&rls=com.microsoft:en-us&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&startIndex=&startPage=1

How do I get health insurance as a Realtor that's affordable?

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 06:07:49 -0700

For years finding affordable health insurance has been a major obstacle for real estate agents. That is why am so excited to write in this Blog that Keller Williams just announced that they have negotiated a national health care plan for KW agents. What is so incredible is that it really is affordable and excellent coverage. We are talking family plans for under $90 a month and individual plans for under $40 a month. Even the platinum plan with no co-pays or deductibles for approx. $550 a month for a family or under $150 for an individual. If that isn't enough they will even cover pre-esixting (preexisting) conditions as well. If you are a non Keller Williams agent and would like to know how you can get this awesome coverage please give me a call or email me. Andy Elliott 360-433-8656 prudential, century 21, remax, re max, coldwell banker, windermere, realty execs, equity northwest, clark county, vancouver, wasington state,

How does the Stimulus Bill impact the FIRST TIME HOME BUYER CREDIT - awesome news!!!

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 07:55:36 -0800

The stimulus bill made a few incredible changes to the First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit, including the fact that it no longer has to be paid back on purchases from 01/01/2009-12/01/2009. The picture below shows an easy to understand breakdown of the new changes. If people never thought they could get a place of their own, they just have to sit down with a realtor and lender and give it a shot. With house prices dropping so low, historically low rates, and all the tax credits, they probably CAN afford to get into their own home. Even if someone you know is in a lease that shouldn't stop them. In today's market many sellers will pay the buyer's remaining lease months as a condition of the home purchase. Spread the word and excitement to all of your non home owning friends and family. Opportunity isn't just knocking on the door, it's knocking it down. If you're excited about moving ahead on a home purchase in today's awesome buyer's market and would like to view homes go to www.easyhomemapper.com now.

How do you find the best deals in the county, before they're sold?

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Mon, 19 Jan 2009 10:16:24 -0800

If you've been looking for a new home or investment property, you've probably already experienced the sour taste of getting to the best house... just after someone else did. With everything you've been hearing on the news and in your social circles this must have left you a little confused about the market. If the market is really so terrible, than why do the best deals seem to always be sold by the time you find them? Shouldn't you be able to roam through the market and pick the best deals up whenever you get to them? If everyone is using the same websites to hunt for property than why do others seem to get their first? What do you have to do if you want to beat the investors and experienced buyers to the best properties? In today's market investors are scouring the housing inventory for the best deals possible. This is like a buffet of investment opportunity and many of them are taking advantage of it. Sure there are lots of properties on the market but it's still common to have multiple offers on the best deals. If you want the best deals you have to get their first. With heavy competition from investors you need an advantage. That's where we can help. We've been working for approximately one year, programming software that will give our clients the edge in finding the best deals listed on the market and finding them fast. With our software we can literally sort through thousands of properties on the market, by price per square foot, and we can do it in seconds. Price per square foot tells you how much home you're getting for the money you're spending. This is a key value indicator and one of the most commonly used criteria for top investors. Rather than spending hours of time crunching numbers to determine which properties are the best values, you can do it in seconds with our software. This is a HUGE advantage because you can quickly pull up the day's top 10 hot values and get out previewing them long before other investors have even finished crunching their numbers. Here's some more great news, our software sorts REO, Short Sale, and Retail Property. This means that you are seeing the best of the best. Why limit yourself to an REO List when you can sort all of the listed property and find the best of the best? Want even better news? We import the new properties every weekday, so you get a fresh list with the best properties, and you get them fast! This software gives you the opportunity to buy the type of bargain that you only hear about on the news. If you would like to see a quick video on how this software works you can watch it at http://www.yourreteam.org/custompages_reports.php?key=b231383 This program is the real deal, no gimmicks, and no bait and switch. This is a serious tool for buyers and investors that are tired of settling for second place. The opportunity of this historical buyer's market won't last forever... don't take the risk of buying a second place property. Watch this video before you go any further in your property search, it will save you thousands of dollars and it's free. While there is no fee for the use of our software, access is exclusively limited to our clients. That's because we want to protect the integrity of the most incredible bargain finding tool in Clark County and because we want to make sure that our clients are the ones that get their first. Take a few minutes to watch this video, it may very well be the greatest investment decision you will ever make, then give us a call and be first in line at the best deals listed on the market.

Remember when buyers were camping out to buy homes... Wake up before you miss this!

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 08:09:01 -0800

By Team Leader Andy Elliott Now that the market has been flooded, housing prices have dropped, and banks have tightened their financing why should anyone want to buy a home? That's a great question and one that has some surprising answers that we can get to by first asking a surprising question. Why was everyone lined up to buy homes in a seller's market? Just before the market began to correct itself in 2006 we had about a 3 year window in which housing prices were skyrocketing at an alarming pace. With low interest rates helping to create additional buyers there was a very high demand on the limited number of homes that were on the market and sellers had all the leverage they could ever want. I remember attending two different lottery ball events at New Tradition subdivisions. The concept was that everyone who was visiting the subdivision would get assigned a lottery ball. The builder representative would then draw out lottery balls and the lucky winners had the opportunity to purchase a standard issue home with limited upgrades at a full retail price. You may have even heard about the builders who actually had buyers camping out to get first dibs on the lot they wanted to build their home on. This was a crazy environment and buyers were out in full force and excited to lay claim to their very own piece of the American Dream. It was a great time to buy.... or was it? If you actually look a little closer the answer to that question just may shock you. Supply was low, prices were up, sellers had all the leverage, buyers were outbidding each other and paying over full price, and many sellers were unwilling to make repairs or concessions. Does that really sound like a great time to buy? Contrast that with today's true buyer's market. Supply is up, prices are down, buyers have all the leverage, sellers are competing to slash their prices, and home owners are offering all types of concessions and repairs. Which environment sounds like a better place to shop if you're the buyer? Yes, it sounds silly to think that the public mass really operates in a "sheeple" herd mentality but history proves this to be true. The herd mentality is one of the biggest reasons why very few people ever reach a higher level of success. Making it to a higher level of success often means thinking and acting at a higher than average level. Warren Buffet says it best when he explains his philosophy for buying stocks "We simply attempt to be fearful when others are greedy and to be greedy only when others are fearful." This is a simple philosophy and it is very soundly based on the laws of supply and demand. When others are fearful they are frozen from taking action and capitalizing on opportunity. When a large number of people refuse to take action on a present opportunity the cost of that opportunity falls. The result is that an even greater opportunity is made available at a lower cost to the few who are willing to take action to capitalize on it. Over the next few years there will be many fearful conversations about real estate and the economy over a hot cup of coffee at the local McDonalds. There will be many people who are frozen in fear by legitimate setbacks that they have faced in these economic times and there will be those few future wealth builders who rise above it all and take action to lay hold of the opportunity of today's unprecedented investor's market. Who do you know that will break away from the masses and seize the day? Will you be one of them? If you have the desire but are forced to say that there is no way you could get the finances to invest, let me ask you this... If you could get the finances how would you do it? If you could think outside the box, how could you take advantage of the market to improve your future? Success is the reward of the few who have the courage to break away and do something great when everyone else is captive to fear. Now is the time to step out while the crowds are in hiding because when you see the buyers lining up for lottery balls and sleeping bags rolling out at the model home it's a sure sign that the opportunity has already passed by. Have questions give me a call at 360-256-5526.

What do you want from your Realtor? Comment and Share Here

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 00:31:16 -0800

Posted by Team Leader Andy Elliott You know what you want but has anybody ever asked you to share it with them? Here's your chance to be heard... What is the most important thing that you want from your Realtor? Why do you use a Realtor as opposed to just going it alone? What do you believe is a fair commission to pay to get your home sold in today's market? What is the number one area you believe that Realtors on average need to improve? How would you prefer to be helped by a Realtor who is helping you buy a home? ...who is helping you sell a home? This blog is all yours! Now is your chance to be heard. We are looking to meet our clients needs at a higher and higher level and the best way to do that is to hear directly from people like you. This is a win-win opportunity that will help improve the industry and may help improve the service you receive from your agent too. Thank you for your contribution! Andy

Share & Trade Tips Here: The Myth of Multi-Tasking & The Need for Focus

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 02:55:52 -0700

This blog is Posted by Team Leader Andy Elliott Multi-tasking is not focus. I saw this statement on the big board in Gary Keller's office when we went to Texas a couple years ago. Gary is the co-founder of Keller Williams so when someone who has achieved such high success puts something on their board it's worth some attention. In fact I've found that this one concept will completely change your business if you apply it. If you want to start an ant on fire with a magnifying glass could you do it if you chased all the ants or would you have to pick one? You're right you'd have to pick one and this is the power of focus. Multi-tasking is a phrase invented for computers because the miracle of computers is that they can multi-task. Here's an original dictionary definition of multi-tasking found in the merriam webster dictionary: Definition:Main Entry: mul·ti·task·ing Pronunciation: \-ˌtas-kiŋ\ Function: noun Usage: often attributive Date: 1966 1 : the concurrent performance of several jobs by a computer Mutli-tasking as a human endeavor means that we limit our effectiveness in both tasks. To truly be great at something you have to focus on it with everything you have. I would say that in a season of bailouts, bank foreclosures, short sales, economic instability, and some unfounded fears the need to focus has dramatically increased. Please click on the comment link below and share your comments on the following two questions: What steps have you taken to increase your focus? What are you focusing on? Thank you for sharing, we can make a difference and help other realtors learn how to make this a great market!

Trade Tips Here: How do you stay motivated and focused?

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 01:11:27 -0700

Posted By Team Leader - Andy Elliott I am in Colorado right taking a KW Course on coaching and they held a surprise event last night that taught us how to break boards. I just woke up this morning and I am a little choked up about the things that I learned in this class, so now I'm sharing it with you (so long as a few tears don't short out my keyboard). I learned that the big things in life take 100% Full On Commitment. This means deciding that "If I Can't, I Will.". Does 100% Full on Commitment, really make such a difference? I mean what if you give it 99% commitment, isn't that ok? Let me ask you a few questions... What if when you took your vows your spouse said that they would be 99% committed to you? Would that work for you? How about driving? What if you committed to driving on the correct side of the freeway 99% percent of the time? That may end a little messy, don't you agree? I'll be flying back on a plane today and I can tell you that I sure hope that the pilot keeps the engines on 100% of the time. If you've ever been guilty of looking at someone who has achieved great success and wondering why they get so far when you are "almost" as committed to the goal as they are this is your answer, 100% commitment is not 1% better it is far more. It is a break through point that puts you in another place altogether and that strikes me as vitally important in a lot more places than business. It's a world changer and when I say a world changer I mean the kind of change that gets the man right, so that the world will be right around him. I learned that if you want to break the board you have to look to the other side instead of actually looking at it. Going a step further you get even greater force by looking into the eyes of the board holder. The Bible story of Peter illustrates this point perfectly. Peter stayed on the water as long as he looked at Jesus but when he looked at the water he began to go under. This not only has spiritual implications but there are an amazing number of practical everyday implications as well. Are you looking at your challenges or are you focused beyond them at where you want to be? Do you have a board holder for your practical day to day goals? Would it help you to have someone standing at the other side of your goals that will stare back into your eyes with intense belief that you will break through and be victorious? What is your commitment level to your goals right now? Are you 100% Full On Committed? Have you decided that even "If you can't, will you"? What would your life look like one year from now if you took a few hours and went on long walk with yourself and came back totally committed to victory? Don't just think about it go out and do it today, take hike and make a decision, it will change your life completely. Who is holding your board? Do they have a 100% belief in you that you will succeed or would they be satisfied if you stayed right where you are? What do you have to lose by staying on the other side of your board? You certainly don't stand to lose everything but in way what you lose really is everything, breaking through can be that important. Make the commitment to find a board holder that believes in you and look into their eyes to help you focus your strength on breaking through. Most of all please remember that once you break through their will be no greater joy than looking back across and helping someone else believe that they can do it too. Whether it's in business, personal, or spiritual matters the truth is that every board you break may just give you the opportunity to become a holder for the one who's standing behind you. P.S. If you have further helpful insights or unanswered questions please jump in with a comment, wouldn't you agree that the whole community benefits when we take the time to share? We can rise above the bailout market and provide a ray of hope that may shine beyond someones business and make a difference in their life at home. Take a minute right now and make your contribution because you are the only that can provide your unique prospective.

Blog & Comment: Please Share - How do you stay motivated when you feel like a failure?

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 17:34:30 -0700

Thi8s Blog was Posted by Team Leader - Andy Elliott Regardless of the market we have all been through high and low points in our personal sales cycles and during those low times we are forced to develop strategies to get motivated and stay in the game. Despite what you may hear on the news many realtors are having career years this year! This "sharing session" is directed at helping anyone that is not having a career year, so please read it through and then jump in and make a difference in someone's life by sharing your experiences and strategies for staying in the game. Here are the agents we're trying to help: Have you ever pulled slowly into the driveway of your home after a long weekend worth of work, turned your car off, and then just sat their..... not wanting to get out because that means you'd have to go in. Out of the car..... and into the house. It's a horrible feeling to know that getting out of that car means you are only about ten steps from walking in the door with nothing to show for another late nights work. There's an ugly feeling that tries to settle in when your heart says you're a winner but your results say you're a loser. What do you do when you give everything you have and still fall short? When you walk in that door without a paycheck does anyone at least understand that you've worked hard? How do you get out of the car at night and manage the courage and positive faith to get back in it again in the morning? One of the great scripts in real estate is "I'm Busy". It's the script 99% of agents use to deal with the tough question "how is your business" that they get from their friends, family, and other Realtors. It's a script that often rescues an agent from the embarrassing truth that they feel "they are a failure" but it's also a script that does nothing to motivate, inspire, or help others in the field that need some real advice and direction in today's tough market. With the bailouts, bank closings, and economic instability it's vitally important that we share the tools we use to keep moving forward pushing to succeed despite all of the circumstances trying to bring us down. This blog is an invitation to you as a member of the Realtor community to share your real struggles and strategies you use to keep your head up and your heart in the game. You can do this by posting a comment. If you do not have any tips and are overburdened by all the pressures you are facing, please join us. Consider this your safe place of community. You are invited to leave the rubber smile at the door and lay your burden on the floor because another realtor may see your comment and have the answer that can help you get back on your feet. If you are reading this blog you ARE STILL IN THE GAME!! How awesome is that! Every adversity brings a seed of equal or greater opportunity and you are one of the realtors who will see the major opportunities unfold because you are sticking it out and overcoming! One of My Strategies: Find someone to mentor. If you ever want to get your eyes off of your challenges one quick way is to find someone else and give them a hand. You don't have to be a Mega Agent to have a Mega Impact. A simple kind word of encouragement, a few minutes helping someone with their business card, a random motivational phone call or email can go a long way and even change the course of a life!! Of course it won't take long to realize that in helping them you have really helped yourself. It's a Biblical principle about sowing and reaping and I can tell you from experience that you will always reap far more than you sow. Now click the "Comment" link that is below this article and let the sharing begin.... !

How does the Bailout and Bad Market Impact For Sale By Owners

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 22:14:50 -0700

Did you know that over 80% of buyers use a real estate agent to buy there home? That’s a pretty high number and it should be a real red flag to anyone who is thinking about trying for sale by owner. How can they possibly sell their home for the most amount of money when they are missing a huge portion of potential buyers? The basic law of supply and demand says that the more buyers that are looking for what they have the more they can sell it for. With all of today’s market challenges the presidential candidates even debated the merits of extending the bailout to individual home owners it’s vitally important that you don’t lose anymore equity. The statistics bear this out because FSBO homes average a significantly lower sales price, over 10% less then homes sold through realtors on the mass market. Beyond the supply and demand downside of selling by owner they should also consider the professional representation they are missing. I mean who takes care of the FSBO seller to make sure the sale closes properly? There are title reports, inspection addenda, finance contingencies, feasability addenda, disclosures, escrow accounts, easements, and many other items that a seller should have a professional to represent them on. On top of these things there are plenty of safety issues to consider. Are they comfortable opening their house to unscreened buyers? It is well documented that letting the wrong buyer in can result in theft, harassment, or worst of all assault. Is it a risk worth taking? Considering the fact that FSBO’S typically net less money, I can’t see the upside to exposing themselves and their families to the safety risks… I know I wouldn’t want my wife in that situation? Our job is a lot bigger than marketing. It’s about taking care of our clients and the reality is that there are a lot more ways we do that than first meets the eye. In today’s market we have a duty to help sellers get their home sold before any further market drops strip away their equity. To see a video on how we can help you get your home sold go to this link http://www.yourreteam.org/custompages_reports.php?key=g230367

Have Donald Trump and Warren Buffet lost their minds...??

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 15:59:11 -0700

With everything you've heard in the debates and everything that is going on in the market we thought this was worth passing on. With everyone scared about the financial and real estate markets what are two of the wealthiest and most successful investors saying?? The first two links will tell you what they plan to do. If you ever wonder how the rich get richer don't miss this information. The third link will tell you how it really impacts you: 1. Donald Trump was recently on Larry King Live this is a powerful and timely short clip.... http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=2961136074832015378 2. Warren Buffet is at it again... http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/17/opinion/17buffett.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&pagewanted=print&oref=slogin 3. Watch our video that explains how this really impacts you... http://www.yourreteam.org/custompages_reports.php?key=b230547 This Blog Posged By: Team Leader Andy Elliott

Turn the market on it's head... sell for LESS & make thousands more than in a hot market.

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 17:18:03 -0700

If you are moving up in price to your next home then waiting to make that move may cost you thousands of dollars! Here's How:Perhaps you want to sell your home and move up to a larger home and you are considering waiting until the market "improves" so that you can get more money for you home. Everyone wants to get the most for their home but the reality is that the home you will be buying will be priced higher too. So by waiting for a better selling season you may lose overall by paying more for your new home.Example 1: Wait until the market "improves"Your house value now is $300,000 and when the market "improves" you are able to sell your home for 10% more at $330,000 for a gain of $30,000.If the new home you will buy is $400,000 today and you wait until the market "improves" to buy it then the same market increase of 10% would apply to this house. Raising the house value to $440,000 for an increased cost to you of $40,000 A gain of $30,000 when you sell minus a loss of $40,000 when you buy Equals A net loss of -$10,000...Example 2: Sell nowYour house value now is $300,000 and the market is "not doing well" and is down 10%. That means that you can sell your home today for $270,000 for a loss of $30,000. If you then buy a house valued at $400,000. In the same "down market" you will save 10% to make the purchase $360,000 for a gain of $40,000. A loss of $30,000 when you sell plus a gain of $40,000 when you buy Equals A net gain of $10,000.So for the person moving up in the market who decides to wait until their home goes up in value that's a negative swing of $20,000 and even worse... amortized x 30 Years x 6% = a loss of a whopping $43,167.64.Need a double take? If you move now that's a positive swing of $20,000... amortized x 30 Years x 6% = a gain of the same whopping $43,167.64.Don't be fooled by the illusion of lost equity. When moving up to a larger home a soft market can net you thousands of dollars in savings and added equity. Plus, right now mortgage rates are below 6% which will save you thousands more and give you a lower payment for the life of your loan. Find out your projected savings by contacting me directly at andy@eteamcares.com or visit my website and read more out of the sheep pen strategies at www.eteamcares.com

Beat them or join them: The coming price wars between the banks and the people

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Sun, 30 Mar 2008 07:06:59 -0700

You've probably heard the old saying " if you can't beat them join them." Well if you are planning on selling your home than this timeless saying will be of special interest to you again. The days of competing against other home owners to sell your home are rapidly becoming the glory days of yesteryear. A new day is dawning in which your primary competition will be with the banks or with sellers who have lost the ultimate control in sellng their homes to the bank.In the past competing mainly with other home owners meant that there was delicate balance of importance between price, condition, location, and presentation. Being a little overpriced could be compensated for with a good eye for home staging, especially if the house had the aroma of fresh baked cookies or bread. Those rules are now officially out the window.Today the new rules apply. Bake the cookies, stage the home, AND PRICE YOUR HOME COMPETITIVELY FROM THE VERY BEGINNING. If you are not the best house at the best price than be prepared to stay right where you are and by competitively I mean priced to win. If the average price for comparable homes is $385k than you need to be priced at $375k. You need to stand out by price and than close the deal with your staging and presenation. If you ignore this advice than you are doing it at the risk of your own financial peril.Can't you just drop the price later? Of course you can but by than the other prices will be dropped too and once again you will be a needle lost in the haystack of homes that are currently on the market. The key is to realize that today your competing with banks and distressed sellers. Both of these types of sellers have a high motivation to drop their prices and sell their homes. Prices are dropping and with the current mortgage crisis expanding you need to price your home to beat the competition or you may find yourself joining them as the prices continue to fall. The next year will be marked by price wars between average Joe's like you and distressed properties that will leave a lot of home owners with wounded equity or devastated finances. Get ahead of the game, price your home to sell quickly and you will be counting your blessings when the last shot has finally been fired and the market begins to clear.

Buyer's Guide to Short Sales, Foreclosures, and Bank Owned Homes

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 09:37:13 -0700

So you've heard all of the news reports about bank owned homes, foreclosures, and maybe you've even heard of short sales. Great! Now the question is do you know what they mean and do you know how they affect you as the home buyer or seller? Let's start with a timeline. When a seller that does not have any equity in their home comes into a position where they "have to" sell they are in a situation they will progress through the following stages in order: attempt to short sale, court house auction if short sale fails, and finally their home will be owned by the bank if the first to stages fail to get the home sold. In this blog I will deal exclusively with the pros and cons of short sales.Short Sale - a short sale simply means that the seller is selling the home for "short" of what they owe the bank. This means that any offer that is made on the home will require the seller and the bank to approve it. The bank will have to agree to take the loss and often they will agree to do so if they determine the short sale loss will be less than the many costs of reposessing the home.Pros for the Buyer -You may be able to save thousands of dollars allowing you to lower your payment or to be able to buy a nicer home than you expected. You can continue to look at alternative homes and you are able to switch to another home if the bank has not yet accepted your offer. Cons for the Buyer -The process takes approximately two months to go through just to find out if the bank will take your offer. During this waiting period you may miss out on another home, the interest rates may go up, and you may find that you waited for nothing if the bank says no. Because the seller is in financial trouble it is very likely that they will not agree to make repairs on the home so you will need to view your inspection as an informational exercise and assume the house is being sold "as is". The seller can continue to take offers right up until the bank makes a decision so being the best offer at the beginning may not mean that you will be the best offer at the end. There are some nuances to the short sale market but these pros and cons are the basic issues that will affect you as a buyer. The opportunity is there to save money and find a great buy but I would recommend that you are in a position to wait for 2-3 months at a minimum to purchase a home this way. You will also need to be someone focused on finding a bargain and not so much on finding your perfect home because it would be a bad idea to get to emotionally attached when buying a home through a long and unpredictable approval process. For detailed information on this process please call me at 360-433-8656 .

Foreclosures here we come...!!!!!!!!!

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 15:36:42 -0700

Well it is time to saddle up on the repo horse and learn to ride. It is becoming increasingly clear that it will be difficult to call yourself a real estate professional without intimate knowledge of the foreclosure, bank repo, and short sale markets.I recently took a client out to look at home and an overwhelming majority of the homes we viewed were short sales. What's a short sale? A short sale is a property that is in a pre-foreclosure state. The bank is willing ot sell it to the public for less than the seller owes them and take a loss rather than going through the expensive foreclosure process. This means that my team and I will now be looking at training to get to an expert level this area. We need to get so immersed in the knowledge of this process that we can get our clients the best buys possible when purchasing a home. This will be our journey over the next several months. Fortunately we have contacts with those who deal directly with the banks to sell bank owned homes and with agents that have the knowledge we need. This brings up a good point for sellers too. We will need to find ways to delicately relate to sellers that they are in a time and place where there home will be competing with a very large number of discount properties. This means that their home will have to be in 10+ condition and priced at a competitive rate. This will be writing a blog soon about how sellers can compete with bank owned and foreclosed homes. There are definitley some things that can be done to help get a sale in this market and sellers need to know what those are. If you have questions about bank owned, foreclosed, or short sale properties, give us a call now, we are available to talk with directly 360-433-8656 or email your question to helpwithforeclosures@eteamcares.com

He's been there too..

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Mon, 03 Mar 2008 16:37:16 -0800

So real estate can be a very low recognition type of business. There can be a lot of rough moments in the process of buying a home including; negotiating the price, negotiating the inspection repairs, navigating the appraisal, and negotiating a closing extension. The idea is that you keep the boat running smoothly so the clients don't get sick from the ride.A lot of the tough negotiating and hard work is done behind the scenes and if you are doing it right your clients may never even know it is going on.So today I had a pretty funny experience. I have been working with a buyer on a sale that has had lots of challenges. First of all the buyer needed to find a renter for the home they were leaving and that ended up taking a little bit more time than was first hoped. Beyond that the appraisal has been a big hold up in this transaction because it is a very odd home they are buying. The problem is not that the home doesn't have the value but simply that it is hard to find homes like it to compare to. So without good comparables the underwriter won't fund the money for the new home.Our goal is to never let a home purchase become stressful so we deal with these challenges in a low key way with the intention of keeping the client confident and relaxed. We try to keep our heads on and work with the other agent to keep the deal going and overcome obstacles one at a time as they come. There's no need to shout down a lender for taking to long, threaten another agent because things aren't going right, or to taumatize the buyer with a bunch of worried talk about how this deal may go south. We are on a mission and what we have found is that cooler heads do prevail. Yes, they prevail but rarely do they get the glory and today a funny thing happened on the way to my ego getting stroked.We are waiting for final approval after submitting some new comparables to this lender for the home my buyer is trying to purchase and so I offered to pray with my client. After completing my prayer and saying amen, my buyer started talking about how he wanted to thank me for how I was handling the whole situation, how I had stretched their faith, but also kept them at perfect peace during the whole situation...Wow!! I was thinking "I can't believe he sees my greatness... he is really heaping the praise on me... how am I going to say thank you in a modest way when he is done...?" Than just about the time I was figuring out how to humbly accept his praise I realized that he wasn't talking to me, he was praying.That's right. Just when I started to be amazed at how someone finally was pouring out their praise and adoration for all the unseen work I did behind the scenes, I realized he wasn't even talking to me, he was talking to God. That's when I started laughing because I had the distinct feeling that God was laughing with me because when it comes to not getting the proper credit He's been there too.

How to sell your home in a buyers market

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:57:04 -0800

Ok, you opened this blog to read it because you want the truth right? Well then here are your most important 3 keys to selling your home in today's buyer's market. Get a pen ready and whatever you do please remember that ignoring this advice may cost you thousands of dollars.Step 1Wake UP and THROW AWAY THAT APPRAISAL!! That's exactly right. It's time to wake up and realize what the market is. If you have cut an artery you will lose a lot of blood if you treat it like a cat scratch. This market is NOT the market we had 2 years ago and if you try to treat it like it is you will lose a lot of money when you sell your home. The days of pricing your home for what a mystery appraiser claimed it was worth (so that you could tap into speculative equity) are long gone. Your old appraisal has about as much credibility to buyers as monopoly money has at your local grocery store. NONE!! No one cares what your home was speculated to be worth, no one cares at all. In fact you lose all credibility when you flash that old appraisal in front of a good buyer's agent. Why? Because the minute you do that they realize that you have no clue about the market and thus all of your opinions become invalid. Invalid opinions and loss of credibility will hurt you during the negotiations.Step 2Price your home slightly under the current sold. Why? Because prices are falling and if you don't get slightly out in front of them to beat them to a buyer then you will follow behind them and they will have already swept up the buyers by the time you get there. This means that dropping your price after the market drops is to late!! Like fish grabbing the food off the aquarium surface buyers are grabbing the "deals" the minute they are available. If you wait to long to drop your price the buyers will be full and disinterested meaning your fish food "house" will continue to fall in price until it lands slowly on the bottom of the aquarium. Being aggressive with your pricing up front is the key to reaching today's buyers who are eager for a great deal.Step 3Get a GREAT AGENT and HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE TO WORK!! A great agent will work hard to market your home; the following items are absolute musts!!!Online Virtual Tour and Many Photos - If your agent doesn't provide this then take your home off of the market. Buyers view homes online before they buy and if your home can't be viewed online then it might as well be off the market.Reverse Prospecting - If the listing agent for your home does not use "reverse prospecting" to attract buyers then don't use them... if they don't even know what that term means then run away, run away as fast as you can.Try to negotiate for a low 5% commission but don't hire any agent that will actually give it to you. In this market if your agent can't defend their own commission they will very likely get eaten alive when it is time for them to defend the asking price of your home. Hire someone who negotiates like a chump for themselves and you might as well add a picture of your wallet to your home flyer because the buyer will be taking your hard earned money out of it anyway.Accountability - sign a short contract for the listing. I'm talking 60-90 days long. If the agent won't be aggressive enough to get your house sold in this time frame then they won't be getting it sold over the course of an obnoxiously long 6 month listing contract. A short contract keeps the agents feet to the fire to back up their great "I can sell your home" talk with results.These are just a few of the tips to get your home sold in this market. If you want help getting it sold without losing your shorts then, call or email me right now. Have additional question?? Fire away... we are an honest and straight forward team that you can trust for straight answers that have your best interest at heart.

back to blogging - Incredible Buys are Back Again

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 04:56:06 -0800

Well I’ve been showing a lot of houses in the last 2 weeks and one thing I have learned first hand is that incredible buys are back again! I have been working almost exclusively with 3 first time buyers this week and the price ranges they could afford would have been hopeless just a year ago. The first buyer is looking for a home under $140k??? Are you kidding that’s a pipe dream… or at least it was in the past. Today we are finding nicely finished 750-800 sq.ft. homes with garages for this price. The second buyer is looking in the $160k range and we are finding some great homes around 1000sq.ft. in great areas and with some very nice yards. The third buyer is looking in the $175k range and we found a beautiful home with a truly park like yard on a quiet dead end road. This buyer was shocked to find a home this nice and she commented that she didn’t expect to find anything like this for her price range. In fact when we first started looking she was emphasizing that a card board box on land would be good enough for her to buy. Well card board boxes may have been the expectation but it sure feels good to know that these buyers and other first time buyers out there can once again get into a very nice home and have a great place to live their lives and raise their families. If you know a first time buyer please encourage them to get into this market!!! I don’t have a crystal ball to tell you exactly what the future holds but I can tell you from past experience that when prices move back up they won’t be looking at homes like I’ve had the pleasure of showing first time buyers this past week. If you want to learn more about buying your first home or have a friend or family number that does than, give us a call right now, or email us right now, there are deals to be had today that haven’t been around for quite some time.

First Time Target… eh, heh.. I mean First Time Buyer

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:14:51 -0800

I received a phone call off of one of my listings from a first time home buyer and went out today to meet her at the home that she called about. It was a stark reminder that first time home buyers and probably most home buyers are in a very vulnerable position out there.There is just enough text book style information available online and in magazines to make a buyer feel like they are either comfortable that they know what's going on or are so overwhelmed that they tend to ask less questions and don't verify the answers that they get. We were looking at the home and the girl was so excited about how cheap the home was and she commented on how the roof looked pretty new. The problem is that there are homes out there for a much better price and the roof is need of repair and even replacement in the near future. She presented herself as if she was pretty confident in her house hunting ability and she even brought her mother with her. I'm glad I was able to talk with her because I was able spen some time educating her on what to look for to tell that a roof is going bad. I also talked with her about some homes out there that may be a better value for her and tried to help her get an understanding of the dangers to watch out for with appraisals and overpaying for a home. I gave her a binder with information about the home buying process and I will follow up with her to see if she would like to have a complete consultation.Let me just say that there are so many things that go into buying a house for a first time home buyer that it is simply ludacris to make that purchase alone. Consider the following:How would you know if you are paying to much for a home? That's pretty important wouldn't you agree? Are you getting a fair deal on your loan? Is the lender really going to tell you if he's charging to much? Having a seasoned agent watch over you would be helpful wouldn't it? What if the inspection turns up problems with the home... do you still have to buy it? ...can you make the seller repair them? ...what if the problems don't show up until after you have bought the home? These are just a few of the questions that need to be answered if you go it alone. So if you can have an honest professional represent you for free then it should be a no brainer to have them working to protect your interest. This makes sense doesn't it? Did I say that you can have a pro working for you for Free? Yes, a buyer's agent is paid a portion of the seller's agents commission so it is free to you as the buyer. This means that you can have full professional representation at no cost and that means that if you find someone with integrity that is in the business FULL TIME and knows what they are doing then you are assured to be a First Time Home Buyer and not a First Time Target. Learn more at our buyer resources link at http://eteamcares.com/

Beyond Selling and Buying - How your move can change a life for the better…

Andy Elliott (Referral Network) — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 04:14:13 -0800

Absolutely incredible and life changing. I went to a speech today by Seth Godin. He is one of the greatest marketing minds in our lifetime. Amazing because I learned a new concept that will take me out of the real estate business and into the business of making lives better and it will give you the opportunity to join me in the process. What was so life changing was the concept of building your business on a story and not just a service. Having clients buy into your purpose rather than just your product. Hallelujah for me. What a joy and relief. What a freedom this is already bringing me. The lord gave me a slogan for our business almost a year ago "making lives better". This new concept finally brings it into practical perspective and now the ideas won't stop flowing through my heart. Our clients will be so excited to be a part the mission. We can commit a large portion of our fees to specific people in need. Imagine our clients and us putting a new leg on a child amputee, keeping an abandoned mother from eviction, funding the adoption of a lonely, child, supporting a missionary, the list is endless and the opportunities abundant. This won't be a cost to our clients because it will come out of our fees. It will be our business paying the tab but the client is a part of it because their move is what paid our fee and so now when our clients move it will directly change a life for the better. Even people who refer a client to us will have had a direct affect on a life because they started the ball rolling on that sale and the money that will be used to impact a life. We can make a difference. Yes, we, as in you and us. We can all be on the team. E.Team.... E is for everyone.I can picture a thank you banquet every year where we bring our clients and the lives they have helped to dramatically improve and having a great celebration. We would have everyone there that bought or sold a home with us that year and we could even invite people that are considering selling or buying any real estate so that they see what their move can do to change a life. Maybe a buyer or seller would even become a first time giver through completing their purchase with our team. Which would be fantastic since I believe a first time giver usualy becomes a lifetime giver because it is so rewarding.Beyond that, I can see us teaching small business start ups how to succeed and become givers. I can see us providing career opportunities to change the financial future of entire families and the successive generations. Praise the Lord! I can finally see a glimpse of how I and yes we, can make a difference and bring Him abundant glory for all He has done.