Real estate blog entries tagged with educational by Bryant Tutas, Selling Florida one home at a time (Tutas Towne Realty, Inc and Garden Views Realty, LLC)

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educational: Now, did I tell you about the time I...................... - 08/29/06 10:29 AM

As Real Estate professionals, I think it is very important that we know the language of Real Estate. There are quite a few terms that we as Realtors misuse on a daily basis. And I cringe whenever I hear them. And not because I am a stickler on perfect grammar or semantics. In fact, I am far from that. I grew up in the south and didn't care much for "book learnin" when I was growing up. School and I didn't get along. To me it was one big social event. In fact when I was 16 the Principal of my … (8 comments)

educational: My listing has already been sold! - 08/28/06 09:58 AM

My mom, I love her to death, sells timeshare resales. She has been in the timeshare business for almost 30 years and can sell ice to an Eskimo. She has won many National sales awards and is excellent at what she does.
But she has a hard time understanding what I do. Whenever I call her, and mention I sold a house today, she always says the same thing "Did you sell it? Or did another Realtor sell it". "Mom" I say "No, I didn‘t sell it, it was my listing but another Realtor sold it."
But you know, that is so … (17 comments)

educational: Counting the chickens before they hatch! - 08/27/06 11:39 AM

Had a listing appointment today. Yes, I know it's Sunday and I don't normally work on Sundays, but hey, I'm the Broker, I make the rules and I can break the rules. It was either today after Church or during the week at night. Well figured I would already be dressed in my "Sunday go to meetin cloths", so what the heck, I'd drive on over there. I'd still be home in time to cook lunch for "The Lovely Wife".
Anyway, I had sent these folks a preliminary CMA via E-mail last week and was really looking forward to meeting with them. … (23 comments)

educational: Real Estate is about people, not money! - 08/24/06 08:49 AM

Yesterday, I did a Blog post that contained a comment about another Realtor, giving the code to my lock box to a buyer so the buyer could do his own final walkthrough. I received quite a few comments about reporting the Realtor to his Broker or filing an Ethics complaint. Let me explain, why I didn't take those steps, even though, I agree, what the Realtor did was wrong.
First, I list homes "For Sale". That's what I do. I rarely work with buyers. Therefore, my business depends on other Realtors showing and selling my listings. With that in mind, my business … (18 comments)

educational: Does that 50 cents have to be on the HUD? - 08/23/06 10:12 AM

I just love final walkthroughs! Why is it that Buyers and their Realtors sometimes try to spoil the elated feeling I get, knowing that we finally made it to day of closing?
I get the call this morning, telling me they did the walkthrough and everything is OK, except for the hole in the living room wall. What? A hole? How can that be? I was just in the house last week and it was fine. No holes! I don't want to hear about holes two hours before closing. I mean the house is vacant. No one has been in the … (17 comments)

educational: I hate open houses and I'm sticking to it! - 08/18/06 09:57 AM

I hate open houses! There I said it. It's out in the open and I'm not taking it back. I don't do them and I'm not starting. My Sellers know this. I tell them this at time of listing. "I will sell your house but I will not do an open house, ever."
Well, I had two of my Sellers call me today wanting to do open houses. So being the good little Realtor that I am, I said no. Now don't get me wrong, I like pleasing my Sellers and I like being agreeable when they ask me to do things. … (22 comments)

educational: It's scary out there! - 08/17/06 02:13 AM

I participate in another Real Estate forum and some of the questions that I see make me wonder if some Realtors are in way over their heads. Here are a few examples:
1. If I do a lease/option contract when do I get paid?
2. As a Sales Associate can I represent a Buyer in a business transaction? (if you have to ask the question, you shouldn't be doing the deal)
3. The transaction didn't close on time. Can I file an Ethics complaint against the other Realtor? (my personal favorite)
4. I'm going on my fist listing appointment. Besides the "purchase contract" what other … (12 comments)

educational: UPDATE: Sellers are ready to listen! - 08/15/06 11:03 AM

Wow! It's been real busy. Just when I was starting to worry about getting low on inventory, I got slammed. Five new actives and three more coming on after they clean and de-clutter. That's a pretty good weekend.
What I'm noticing too, in my market, Poinciana FL, is that Sellers are starting to get it. They are very receptive to pricing right and getting their home in condition to sell. Of course, these were all expired and withdrawn listings, that had been on the market for months. I guess after six months of very few showings and no offers, their "best house … (9 comments)

educational: If it ain't on the HUD, it ain't happening. - 08/09/06 12:18 PM

Let's talk about Mortgage Fraud. Now I'm not an expert on this but I do see it quite often in my market. Or at least, what would be fraud, if my Seller and I didn't just say no. These are a few of my favorite lines:
1. "Don't worry I have a good appraiser, he'll make it work".
2."If the Seller can give the Buyer a personal check for $5,000 at closing, we'll get this closed".
3."No, it can't be on the HUD".
4."Don't worry this Mortgage Broker does this all the time".
5."The Lender said the Seller can hold … (12 comments)

educational: It's not always about the price. - 08/08/06 11:13 AM

Helped my Seller negotiate a deal for his house yesterday. We had multiple offers. I love it when that happens. The Seller ended up accepting the LOWEST offer. After discussing the three offers, that were presented, we decided that the one with a 20% down payment and a pre-approval letter direct from a National lender, had the best chance of closing. The other two offers, even though about $5,000 higher, were both with 100% financing, and were first time home buyers.
This just shows that price is not always the deciding factor for a Seller. It can be the probability of the … (5 comments)

educational: I know what you are going through.......... - 08/03/06 04:44 AM

Working on refinancing a couple of my rental properties this week. Very frustrating. Very stressful. It seems like as soon as you have provided every document the Mortgage Broker has asked for, he calls and ask for more.
Got me thinking about how as Realtors it is easy to forget the amount of stress our Sellers and Buyers are under when trying to buy or sell Real Estate. As professionals we go through this every day and it is easy to make light of a difficult situation. When our customers and clients call us upset and overly concerned about what to us … (6 comments)

educational: Are your customers and clients being neglected? - 08/01/06 04:52 AM

Following up on one of my deals today scheduled to close this coming Friday. Finally reached the Buyer's Realtor after leaving several messages only to hear how hectic her week has been with the kids getting ready for school blah, blah, blah. Anyway she suggested that I follow up with the Mortgage Broker and Title Company to make sure we are still on track for Friday as she doesn't have the time to deal with this this week. OK, correct me if I'm wrong but sometimes I wonder why I am even paying the buyers' Realtors. This happens ALL the time. … (5 comments)

educational: Does your Realtor really represent you? - 07/30/06 12:11 PM

When hiring a Realtor in Florida it is important to decide how the Realtor will be working for you and what duties they do or do not owe you. I have provided a link at the bottom of this post that will take you directly to Chapter 475 of the Florida Statutes where you will be able to find all information related to having a Real Estate license in Florida. Following is the "nut shell" version of Brokerage and Non Brokerage relationships.
In Florida Dual Agency is illegal. The only exception is on a commercial deal where both Buyer and Seller have … (5 comments)

educational: Did you know a fiduciary relationship is forever? - 07/30/06 10:47 AM

Did you know a fiduciary relationship is forever? When working for a Seller or Buyer as a "Single Agent" you are creating a fiduciary relationship.
Brief definition from Wikipedia: for full definition click
A fiduciary duty is the highest standard of care imposed at either equity or law. A fiduciary is expected to be extremely loyal to the person they owe the duty (the "principal"): they must not put their personal interests before the duty, and must not profit from their position as a fiduciary, unless the principal consents. The fiduciary relationship is highlighted by good faith, loyalty and trust.
Once this relationship is established … (4 comments)

educational: Leads can't be bought........... - 07/30/06 09:47 AM

I am always reading and hearing about leads. How do you get them? And what do you do with them? Have you bought leads from this company? Well this got me thinking about what is a lead? A lead to me is someone that contacts me and tells me they want to sale or buy a house in the next 30 days and they were given my name by so and so whose house I sold last year. Leads are gold. Leads are money in the bank. They are ready to buy or sell and they are ready to work with … (35 comments)

educational: Lickin' and stickin' our way to success! - 07/28/06 03:26 AM

Nine years ago when my wife and I opened Tutas Towne Realty we (as in she) would spend hours a day putting together mailers, stuffing envelopes and lickin' and stickin' stamps. We mailed to every one we could think of. Expired listings, withdrawn listings, builders, Realtors, family, friends and our farm area. This took place daily with no exceptions. I always felt if I missed one expired listing that would be the one that I would have listed. I used to get stressed out if I didn't get those mailers out. I was obsessed with the MLS hot sheet. I had … (10 comments)

educational: Please leave a message after the beep - 07/24/06 12:18 AM

Don’t you hate it when you call a Real Estate professional on their cell phone and they don’t answer and they have no message. Just the standard “leave a message.” Personally I have a problem leaving information on a voice mail that doesn’t identify the person you are calling. The message on your voice mail should be very clear and precise. It should identify who you are and when you can expect a call back and give an alternative way to reach you be it your web address, E-mail, fax or even another phone number. You should record this message in … (4 comments)

educational: The pressure is on! - 07/23/06 03:40 AM

Ok, so I got an extra 1000 points for posting interesting content on my Blog. I must say that caught me off guard and was totally unexpected. I do accept it as a compliment but it is a little embarrassing for me. I have always been a “lone wolf” and avoid drawing attention to myself whenever possible. I suppose this is an unusual attitude to have since we are in the business of trying to be recognized so potential customers know we are there and have a reason to contact us.
It has been my experience that what most people are looking … (2 comments)

educational: Are you being short changed? Not by me. - 07/19/06 10:33 AM

On a local Realtor forum I participate in I have recently been hearing a lot of Buyer Realtors complaining that the sales commission is not being split 50/50.
Ok let me see if I can explain this commission split thing in simple language. I am a lister of properties. It's what I do. When I meet with potential Sellers I tell them the minimum amount of money it is going to cost them to use my services and get their home sold. This depends on how realistic they are on pricing, how much money I will spend on marketing, whether I have … (7 comments)

educational: Answer the phone! - 07/18/06 11:56 AM

Tried to find my Sellers an out of State Realtor this week to help them find a house in the town they were relocating to. Researched several Realtors’ web sites to find one experienced with what my Seller was looking for and that seemed to have a lot of experience working with relocation Buyers. Found a great one. Over 10 years in business. Husband wife team. Top Realtors in their area. Great Web site, web log and pod cast. All the new tools to get the job done. Sent them a detailed E-mail explaining my Sellers needs and time frame for … (7 comments)

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