No Money Down?

Here we go again, no money down mortgages. I know you are thinking…the market will crash again and it will be a mess!  Not necessarily. Think of a VA loan. No money down but they are very scrutinous as to the Buyer’s ability to pay. The foreclosure rate of VA loans is extraordinarily low and it is because the Buyers are thoroughly vetted. So no money down loans can be an avenue for a Buyer to realize homeownership, have the ability to pay but not necessarily have a huge down payment.

So my fellow REALTORS, be good to each other and Happy Fathers Day to all of you Fathers out there. You are our unsung heroes, the first man in your daughters lives and the mainstay of the family.

Until Next Monday…

 

Get Registered Now…It’s good for your business!

Usually I am ranting and raving about some one or something that makes it more difficult to do business.  Not today, today it’s plain and simple…I am asking, suggesting or any other verb that denotes action in order to implore you to register for the Florida Realtors convention. Why…you ask?  First of all, you will learn to make your business better and secondly you will meet Realtors to refer business and to obtain referrals.  Between my husband and I, we have made some of our biggest commissions from referrals from attending our state conventions.

Yes, that’s my GrandDaughter Siena modeling this summer’s must-have fashion: The Dream BIG T-Shirt!

http://www.Convention.FloridaRealtors.org

 

 

 

 

 

 

What better reason to attend….education and the ability to earn more money.

Until Next Monday…

This is not an easy business…

I just returned from the Florida REALTORS 4th District Conference in Key Largo.  There was an amazing array of speakers and topics.  I continue to attend these functions because our business is constantly changing.  There was a wealth of YPNs sharing information on how to make your business better, capture and keep your clientele, how to work smarter and be more productive.  And of course it is all about communication.  We need to keep up a constant communication with our Buyers and Sellers, so that they are aware of our diligent efforts to market their listings and/find properties for our Buyers.  This is not an easy business, most REALTORS don’t last 3 years.  Most real estate companies really do not teach their agents to excell.  They figure one or two deals a year and you are gone.  That is why you need to continually educate yourself on your ever changing marketplace.

So my fellow Realtors, continually educate yourselves, and be good to each other.

Until Next Monday…

Possibly my BIGGEST rant of the year

Here it comes…this is my biggest rant of the month, maybe the biggest of the year!  I will probably have permanent brain damage from the wall/desk/floor pounding after my altercation with this Broker.

Let me set the stage: I have 2 small condos for sale owned by an elderly woman.  They are located in an adult community and the condo association, over a period of time must have had some unbelieveable problems with tenants when they were rented and then with owners, so the rules and reulations are very stringent.  Now I have had 3 different buyers on one of the units and for one reason or another, the association has not approved the Buyers, (not withstanding that the Buyers didn’t quite follow the rules and thought they could game the system).  The 3rd Buyer would have been approved but suffered a heart attack and just could not do a physical interview so she backed out.  No problem….here is where I begin or should I say….lost it.  I emailed the Broker and asked for the condo docs back…no answer, and throughout 10 days, I emailed the Broker repeatedly with absolutely no answer.  The property is back on the market and now here comes an offer and I have no condo docs and no answer from last Broker.  I lost it, literally, figuratively and found the Brokers cell and called, and yes, I got crazy and the message I left I probably should not have, but said I was going to file a complaint from my local Association, professional standards, grievance,DBPR, FREC and anything else I could think of.  So of course, I get an email immediately saying my threat was offensive and unacceptable and that condo docs would be left at the condo next Monday.  Now you would think I would have let sleeping dogs lie……..heck no! I wrote back the amount of times I emailed with no answer and my parting shot was her lack of professionalism was offensive and totally unacceptable!  I know I should have shut my mouth, but I am so tired of the lack of knowledge, professionalism, and can totally understand why our average citizens think that many REALTORS are idiots, and it’s because there are more of them than us.

So now that I have permanently indented my head, desk, wall and floor, l will try to remember to tell you to be good to each other when I didn’t listen to my own advice.

Until Next Monday…Recuperating from my own Rants and Raves…

There’s no place like home…

What an amazing week of meetings in our Nation’s Capitol, but it sure does feel good to back home.  The last several days in Washington DC made me think of my profession as more than listing and selling houses.  As REALTORS®, we sell homes every day and sometimes we take what we do as a matter of everyday work.  We are providing a place of security, love, building a family, educating children, a peaceful haven and so much more.  It was amazing the feelings that I took away from these meetings. More education and much more pride in my fellow REALTORS® in what we do every day.

How many times do we say that in a day?  “I’m going home“.  “I’m so happy to be home“.   Home is where they love us:  husband, wife, children, father, mother and yes, our pets.  Home is our place of shelter, our cocoon, our security, our place of rest.  Home is where we all want to be.

I’m reminded of that famous line from the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy clicks her heels together and says, “There’s no place like home, there’s no place like home“.  Yes, it was an amazing week in DC but I agree with Dorothy…There is no place like home!

Let’s be extra kind to each other.  Let’s carry the REALTOR feeling with us every day!

Until next Monday…

Active or Pending?

This week’s Title tells all: If you have an executed contract, the listing should be in Pending with subject to inspections, third party approvals, etc.  It should NOT be Active! It could also be Pending Back-up – signaling to all that your seller is accepting back-up offers should the first falls through.  I called 4 active listings yesterday only to find out they all were Under Contract.  One listing I called, the agent said there were 3 offers on the table. Unless my Buyer wants to get into a bidding war, I suggest they decline to make an offer.  Many agents don’t know how to handle a multiple offer scenerio, and in some cases, I have seen Buyers file a lawsuit against a Seller and the listing agent for (as their lawyer claims) torturous interference of a contract.

So to all my Fellow REALTORS out there, I know in many areas the inventory is thin or non-existent, but to save us all time and effort, please be upfront and following MLS Rules…is your listing Active or Pending?

Until Next Monday….

 

Consistency and Follow-Up

Remember when we were little kids and played “Simon Says”?  You had to do anything Simon said or you were out of the game.  How about the game “Follow the Leader”, the same applied.  Fast forward to the present day: Are we consistent and do we follow-up with our customers: Buyers or      Sellers?  As my kids would say – Not!

Why are the words consistent and follow-up important in our business?  If we don’t have a pattern or check list of the aspects of buying or selling in relation to our customers…we are hopelessly lost.  Follow-up is even more important as we can be guilty of abandonment of our customers and lose business because of it.  While I served on FREC, a case came up involving a REALTOR who was accused of misconduct because of general the way they conducted business.   The Buyers said  that the REALTOR never returned calls, never presented their offer and in general caused the Buyers to lose the home and their deposit.  The outcome of the hearing was the Buyers’s complaint was dismissed. The proof:  The REALTOR brought in his files of past customers from over 5 years ago and this particular Buyer’s file and the REALTOR had documented every phone call, every email, every letter, every aspect of the transaction (as was shown in all his other past files – the way this REALTOR did business) His follow-up was amazing and there was consistency in every transaction that was documented.  It turns out that the REALTOR in question had sent a return receipt letter to the Buyer advising him of the contract deadline and the Buyer was in danger of losing his deposit.  Needless to say, this Buyer had no recourse in the FREC hearing.  There are many court cases where REALTORS have lost commissions because it was deemed abandonment of their clients: No consistency and no follow-up. Don’t lose a customer or a commission: Be consistent and always follow-up!

So my fellow REALTORS, let’s be good to our Buyers and Sellers and especially to each other.