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Category: General (page 8 of 23)

July 29, 2008

A Decidedly Low-Tech Philosophy for Real Estate Success

by

Real Estate Renaissance Man

Author website

When it comes to Real Estate I am, I imagine, like many of you. I strive to stay ahead of the curve and learn everything I can.  In its purest form, I agree with Greg Swann’s philosophy: I want to be so much better than the competition that listings are mine for the choosing.  I want to steamroll over mediocre agents and drive to extinction those that dabble in my profession.  The art, the skill and the passion of a great agent – an agent that is advising clients on the biggest investment of their lives – those are the attributes I seek: for myself and my fellow agents.  If someone is not up to that standard they should be removed from the business; but not by fiat.  They should be driven out on their last breath, gasping and choking on great, heaping spoonfuls of my dust.

Toward that end I am an avid reader, especially of BloodhoundBlog.  Technology is the great equalizer and the great slayer within our industry.  On BHB we are exposed to the best of the best and I am trying to wrap my non-tech brain around the fire hydrant of information that flows here.  I think I am doing alright: I understand how to Twitter people in the Facebook, Share my Mind with Google and constantly talk on miPhone while admiring the Street View out my Zillow window.  Last night I even had a tall glass of milk with my Obeo.   The Soft Infusion of most of these high-tech ideas has occurred in just the past week alone at BHB.  A fire hydrant indeed.

Sometimes though, it relaxes my weary head to go a little Low-Tech.  Here’s why: most people – my clients included – think it their hobby if not their outright job to put off till tomorrow almost anything they can. That desire to delay holds true even when what they put off benefits them.  Life is busy and the demands are great.

You can see this in almost all walks of life, but it is especially acute in women.  My sister is a prime example. I ask Read more

July 23, 2008

The Top 7 Things Every Home Buyer Should Know…..

by

Mortgage Officer

Author website

Okay, yesterday, I dealt with the theoretical and philosphical in our discussion of moral hazard.   Almost more of a topic for a college class than a blog about the mortgage world, don’t you think?

Well, today we’re going to get more into the every day nitty gritty with the Top 7 things (in random order) that I think everyone who is looking to buy or sell in today’s market needs to know:

1. 6 months ago is ancient history. What your neighbor sold his house for 6 months ago doesn’t matter.   What the seller was asking for the house 6 months ago doesn’t matter.   What matters is what the market will support today.

2. Don’t worry so much about what you paid for your house. Instead, look at the difference between what you can expect to sell your house for and what it’s going to cost you to buy the new one that you want.   I expect you’ll find that those are much more important numbers (unless you end up without any equity in which case you don’t sell).

3. Now is not the time for do-it-yourselfers. When the inventory levels are, depending on property type and area, any where from twice as much as is healthy (single family homes near my hometown) to 750% as much inventory as there should be (condos in Florida from what I’ve heard), you need to find a professional to help you navigate the markets and get your house noticed.   I’m not, frankly, just talking about calling the Realtor who sold the house up the street.  I’m talking about calling a high caliber professional who knows what it takes and can really give your house the attention that it needs.   People like Greg and Teri and Jeff are examples of the types of Realtors who have the knowledge and talent to help you navigate through this market and make wise decisions.

4. Any interest rate that starts with a 6 is a good number. Check out the attached chart.   From 1971 to 1998, we did not see any mortgage rates that started with a 6.   Frankly, we’ve gotten spoiled in Read more

July 21, 2008

I Kissed Dating Goodbye

by

Real Estate Agent

Author website

I’m young. I am new to real estate, even newer to the RE.net. Inexperienced, blind, deaf, dumb, starving, full, big headed, blah blah blah. These are all adjectives that described me in my first months on the job. Heck, they probably still describe me.

As Greg recently talked about, I was one of those people lead vendors looked at as a buzzard looks at a dead possum on the interstate. (Do y’all have possums where you are? If not, substitute road kill of choice.) I bought some. I attended seminars. I admit, I learned and at least mad my money back from the seminars I went to, however, the services, advertisements, etc I bought, I didn’t make any money, just spent time with unqualified people wanting to rent a house I had for sale.

I was the most beautiful, graceful, largest uddered cow you’ve ever seen. I put out good milk as well. They called, I answered. Now I am afraid to answer a single out of area phone call. All day long, they call.

I am at a point where I am kissing dating goodbye. Forget flirting and foreplay with these companies. I want a commitment. I want a marriage. To death do us part. And if you are worth it, I will wear the ring.

However, I am monogamous. I don’t want to marry each and every ‘good’, ‘solid’, ‘worth it’, vendor that comes my way. Very few people will drink my milk, however those that do will be worth every pint.

I believe that there are vendors out there that are worth it. If you make my life easier, help me enjoy more of my valuable time, help me put more bread on the table, I invite you to have a sip.

However, if you are a worthless, trashy, mange infested buzzard remember this: I have kissed dating goodbye.

July 15, 2008

Brainstorming – an attempt to tap the collective wisdom of the readership….

by

Mortgage Officer

Author website

Okay, I want to try to do a little brainstorming here.   Let me lay out what I’m thinking….

I had a conversation (about an hour and a half long) with a local Realtor who has been in the business for over 20  years.   We were talking about the current state of the housing and financial markets.   She made a comment and raised a question that I’ve got my own thoughts on, but I’d like to hear from the collective wisdom of the group.

The comment that she made was this:   “I think that the majority of our clients and consumers as a whole don’t have a clue as to what’s going on in the economy, what’s going on in the housing market and what’s going on in the banking world.”

The question she had was:  “What can we, as Realtors and lenders, do to educate and inform people in our markets so that they can wisely navigate through the market that we’re in?”

That got me thinking, are we, as the professionals who really understand (more than most) what’s happening in the market, really doing what we should to help people who want or need to either buy, sell or refinance in today’s turbulent markets?

I’d love to hear what the group has to say.  What are  you doing?   How’s it working?   I’m hoping we can raise the bar for all of us and help us all be better advocates for our clients.

What do you think?

Thanks in advance,

Tom Vanderwell

July 9, 2008

An introduction from the banking “Pup”

by

Mortgage Officer

Author website

Hi,

First I want to thank all of you for making me feel so welcomed as one of the newest members of the Bloodhounds.   I’ve felt very welcomed and I appreciate that.   I’ve also learned a lot.

As Greg said when we kicked off Project Bloodhound, he’d let all of the pups take the opportunity to properly introduce themselves.  I’m going to attempt to do that.

First the basics: My name is Tom Vanderwell, I’ve been married to my high school sweetheart and best friend for 23 years (well it will be 23 years in 11 days).   We have 5 children.  The oldest (21) is living and working in Ohio as a call center rep.   My 18 year old will be attending Calvin College in the fall to pursue a nursing career.  She plans on going into third world nursing, specifically at this point in Haiti.  Our 16 year old will be a junior in high school.   Four years ago we adopted two more kids from Haiti (www.glahaiti.org).  They are currently 6 and 7 (the 7 year is the only boy besides for me in the whole family!)   Let’s just say life is never boring at our house!

One of the questions that I enjoy asking others in the real estate world is “How did you get into the real estate business?”   So here’s my story.  In 1988, I was running the showroom of a local furniture rental store (not a rent to own, but a temporary leasing store) and got let go because I refused to lie to the customers (go figure?).   One of my customers was a Realtor and she made a comment to me, “You should think about selling real estate.”   Well, after a couple of months looking for a job, I decided to pursue the idea.   I ended up selling real estate for 3 1/2 years.  I don’t know how many of you were around during the first Persian Gulf War, but I didn’t sell a house for 6 months during that.   Needless to say, it was time to look for something else.

In 1991, I made the switch to mortgage lending Read more

July 9, 2008

Gagging on the Kool Aid: Active Rains rolls out new Localism.com

by

Real Estate Broker

Author website

I owe a lot to Active Rain, 

  • I learned about blogging in general.
  • I found Bloodhound Blog through following Terri and Greg during Project Blogger.  (and many other great blogs)
  • I’ve generated business from converted leads.
  • And made really good friends. 

 But this morning I’m feeling a little nauseous after the much anticipated revamp of Localism, The redesign is neutral and simple, with a few twist in navigation still needed.   I would have rather paid for an “outside blog” than purchased “communities“.  Maybe buying the way to the top as a community sponsor will actually reduce some of the crud posting just for points, but right now I’m having very mixed feelings about continuing to drink the Kool Aid.  Maybe I just need sleep.

June 26, 2008

Elections Really DO Have Consequences

by

Associate Broker

Author website

When All Else Fails – Pay Attention To The High Court

In a 5-4 decision handed down by the U.S. Supreme Court today, the court has struck down the 32 year-old ban on handguns in Washington D. C. – and elsewhere, for that matter.

I find it less interesting that the court ruled against the gun ban. After all, the ban was an obvious encroachment on a citizen’s constitutional rights. What is interesting to me is that four of the Justices Supreme reasoned that the ban was constitutional.

How is it that these four dissenting Justices fail to understand the Founding Fathers? Were the Founders unclear about their belief that the citizens should not only have the right to bear arms – they should take up arms against a tyrannical government?

Bill of Rights – First Amendment – free speech – check.

Second Amendment – right to bear arms – check.

I’m no legal scholar, but it seems that gun rights were high on their list of priorities.

A 5-4 decision is no slam dunk. Yes, it’s a ruling… but without the kind of consensus I would like to see. Look at some of the recent rulings, like bestowing habeus corpus rights upon enemy combatants captured on the battlefield. Wow… so now the terrorists can make a mockery of our legal system.

A recent decision (Kelo vs City of New London) regarding eminent domain – another 5-4 decision – further eroded property rights by allowing governments to seize property to be conveyed to a developer for private redevelopment.

You might be coming to the conclusion that – once again – we have been given another election cycle of less-than-perfect choices. Seriously flawed candidates on all sides. Yep – suck it up. We’re hosed.

May I ask that you consider the high court in your decision this year?

Our rights and freedoms are constantly under attack, and since the Supreme Court is the ultimate ‘check and balance’ in our system of governance – it is increasingly important that you consider the kind of jurists that a President will nominate.

June 18, 2008

Missing The Opportunity To Achieve Excellence

by

Associate Broker

Author website

When Going The Extra Mile Simply Makes Good Economic Sense

When my best friend asked his mother what she wanted for her 70th birthday, she instantly said, “To be with my family.” He offered her a European cruise or other similar possibilities… but she stood firm. Family is what she wanted.

So he began the process of planning the event.

We talked about some different scenarios, as he requested that I photograph the event – and I wanted a venue with some decent locations to use as a background.

Since many family members would be coming in from out-of-town, a nice hotel needed to be selected… and when he told me he was considering the Hilton in Charlotte – I laughed and said, “I stayed there last week… nice place, for sure.”

After researching his options, my friend realized that the Hilton could be a one-stop shop, as they had all the facilities he needed right there at the hotel. The family could come to town, enjoy a nice dinner, enjoy the family, propose a few toasts and hear a speech or two… then do a little dancing – and never have to leave the hotel.

One of the items on the agenda was a multimedia powerpoint presentation featuring images taken throughout his mother’s life… complete with music that she loves. He had worked hard to put this presentation together – and looked forward to his entire family being able to enjoy it.

When we arrived at the hotel, we began to inspect the facility as well as the grounds. We were a little disappointed with the landscaping, as outdoor watering restrictions were literally killing the grass and plants – but it is what it is.

In the banquet hall, the Hilton staff was setting up the tables. The projection screen was up – but no projector could be found. We wanted to get the projector set up early to avoid any problems with the presentation… so we asked the staff to find our projector.

The manager came to our banquet room to inform us that if we wanted a projector – he would be happy to rent us Read more

June 14, 2008

Short Sale Trouble: How To Avoid It!

by

Realtor, Audio Engineer

Author website

So,

As the short sales go rumbling along in our various real estate markets, a question has arisen, and the answers are varied and contradictory. The question is: how do I, as the listing agent, handle a multiple offer situation on a short sale?

Make no mistake, however you decide to handle it, people are going to be upset. It’s just like any multiple offer situation. There are winners, and losers. There are essentially two views of how to handle this scenario with short sales. We’ll assume for the sake of clarity, that these multiple offers come in, not all at once, but successively, over a period of a few weeks. If they all come in at once, it’s a no-brainer. Your seller chooses the highest and best offer, with the most likelihood of passing lender scrutiny. However, even if a bunch of offers come in, and you pick the best one, another one is probably going to come in after this initial flurry, and what are you going to do with that one? Suppose it’s higher than the highest and best you have in hand?

 One group of agents will simply take the next offer that comes in, and submit it to the lender also. If any offers come in, each offer is simply passed along for the lender for consideration. Some agents will not even take the highest and best of the bunch of initial offers; they’ll just submit them all. As justification, they say that they are “serving the interests of their client”.

I personally believe that not only is this operating unethically, I also believe it is damaging to the interests of your selling client. Let me explain:

First, when your seller and a buyer sign a contract for purchase, it is LEGALLY BINDING. Just because there is a caviat that indicates the contract is subject to the ultimate purview of the lender does not make it any less valid as a contract. Remember in real estate school when your professors talked about “VOID vs VOIDABLE?” This contract, because it is subject to lender approval is voidable. And, it is not VOID Read more

June 13, 2008

Rainmakers Everywhere But Not A Drop Of Water In Sight

by

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

I’ve started and deleted this post three times now. It’s galling. I know what I wanna say, but can’t say it the way I wanna. It’s important though, at least in my thinking. So here’s hoping the fourth time is a charm.

Back in the ’60’s I was the janitor for Dad’s real estate offices — all seven. Once a week, there I was, a high schooler arriving in my ’59 Morris Minor, later a Datsun pickup, cleanin’ up, and printing the new listings for the week. I soaked up immeasurable amounts of data, completely unconsciously, while listening to agents BS, or just shootin’ the breeze with them while emptying their trash, or waxing their desks. (when I could actually see their desks, that is)

His first ever office, located in East San Diego, is now a Mobil station. For those in SD it’s at 39th & El Cajon Blvd. The agents in that office turned out to be his version of the ’27 Yankees. Eight of them opened up their own companies, and the office only held 10. They were hard workers, kept their noses clean, and with one glaring exception, really cool guys.

They were Rainmakers. What passes as a Rainmaker today isn’t what it was then.

Let’s all agree what a Rainmaker really is, and what they do.

In real estate, a Rainmaker is one who consistently produces leads resulting in closed escrows. These leads are often handed over to those working under said Rainmaker. There are also circumstances in which a Rainmaker will create ‘rain’ for other businesses, creating a storm of synergistic dollars raining on all those who have strategically situated themselves directly in the path of the anticipated storm.

To be fair, and this is a subjective personal definition, Rainmakers produce business. Whether it’s used to benefit the Rainmaker’s team or not, it’s business produced by their efforts. The fact they may only be raining on their own personal fields is a false issue. I also maintain producing less than a deal a week, give or take, doesn’t make the agent a Rainmaker. 30 deals is Read more

June 3, 2008

Who Should Use EIUL’s — 401(k)’s Aren’t Cutting It For Most

by

Real Estate Investments Broker

Author website

Equity Indexed Universal Life is, when simplified, investment grade insurance. It’s a tool, a vehicle used by folks to create retirement income. I’ve written of this before, much to the chagrin of Mr. Swann. I’ve since put many clients into them using industry experts. Why? ‘Cuz it’s the right thing to do. Every dollar a client spends on this vehicle is a buck they’re not spending with me. I make zip, nada, zilch. They understand this, and appreciate it. They’ve come to rely on our consistent congruency when it comes to keeping their agenda #1. And their agenda is a magnificently abundant retirement. We make use of what i’ve called a Purposeful Plan. Sometimes that Plan includes investment vehicles other than real estate. We do what works.

EIUL’s work.

As a favor to Greg, though he didn’t ask, I’ve moved this party over to my place. Last time I think his head almost exploded when this subject came up here. People tend to get upset when it’s their ox being gored. Heck, I’m goring my own ox with this one. But again, it’s the right thing to do much of the time.

David Shafer is the guy who will answer your technical questions for this post. He recently wrote a guest post on BawldGuy Talking explaining why and when taxpayers would opt for an EIUL over their qualified retirement plan.

Soon, I’ll be writing a piece referencing a recent 20 year study showing mutual fund returns inside 401(k)’s have been less than 5% annually. And this study is used as a marketing tool. Go figure. I’ll make the study available, probably in dual form with David’s site. This study sheds light on the dirty little truth about mutual funds and their performance inside taxpayers’ qualified retirement plans.

  • Folks aren’t starting with realistic numbers. Mutual fund returns in 401(k)’s not good.
  • Front loading EIUL is best — drives down the cost of the insurance.
  • Your combined income tax rate is over 15%? Then numbers skew toward EIUL.
  • The higher the combined retirement income tax bracket, the more the numbers favor EIUL
  • EIUL never tells you when you Read more
    • June 1, 2008

    Being a Trust-Player

    by

    Real Estate Broker

    Author website

    Trust is more than a word, it’s embodiment through action. I become a trustworthy person. It’s critical in the new 2.0 environment to establish trust and to live it. The whole of business 2.0 is dependent on trust — individual players and companies.

    You don’t become a trust-player by espousing transparency alone, you also have to determine motives, intent. What drives the transparency and what is the intent of transparency? What is your agenda? A natural, honest transparency built on unmuddied motives with the intent of being trustworthy is noble as long as you’ve searched your motives, and your behavior is in line with the stated intent.

    Using transparency as a weapon or a smokescreen for hidden agendas is not trustworthy, not the avatar of a trust-player – it’s 1.0 scam dressed up in the latest social garb. Those who USE transparency as a marketing technique are cynically misguided and naked before the sharp 2.0 eyes of trust-players. Trust-players are interested in the truth not social chicanery. Trust-players are intestested in reciprocity built on mutual benefit and mutual trust. Transparency is for the benefit of honest business practices laid out on the table. Transparency is not for the benefit of uncovering thy neighbor who prefers privacy; however, transparency can be used as a flood light to reveal the thieves who thrive in darkness.

    It’s best to be honest and reveal yourself as honest, rather than hide tricks only to have someone else reveal the tricks. Another way a business can get respect is to say THIS is what we do, and we realize some won’t like it, but, neverthless, it’s not hidden — you be the judge, here is the evidence.

    The political players this season are realizing more than ever that it’s useless to hide the negatives — they will be uncovered.

    Trulia has recently realized that nothing escapes notice. The one part I respected from Rudy in his defenses was when he said they would continue handling the “no-follow” set-up like they have been. That’s good, at least we know.

    The funny thing about transparency is that it’s double-edged and sharp — while you might preach the public’s right Read more

    May 28, 2008

    A Little Tough Love: We Don’t Get Paid For Tryin’ — We Get Paid For Doin’

    by

    Real Estate Investments Broker

    Author website

    Before beginning, and to head off the ‘you’re so mean’ crowd at the pass, I’m talking here of those things in our careers for which we, more or less, hold the reigns. We never totally control everything when it comes to our scorecard (read: results), but we can reasonably agree most (80/20?) of what we wish to accomplish is under our control to a greater or lesser extent.

    There was a short period when I was a trier. I empathize with those who say they tried hard in this business. I don’t feel sorry for them, but I empathize. I realize it sounds hard-hearted, but for Heaven’s sake, they don’t even believe themselves. They were the ones not doing what they knew what had to be done to produce results, right? My money says they were there at the precise moments they weren’t doing them.

    In other words, around here‘The dog ate my homework’ will fall on deaf ears.

    I made a comment on Russell Shaw’s most recent post. I’ve always loved the way Russell pokes good hearted fun at old sayings. In this case it was, ‘work hard, play hard’. I’m with him in saying, whatever that means. I prefer to work hard and play however it pleases me. Isn’t that at least part of the reason I’m working hard in the first place? Duh. Sorry, I digress.

    Anyway, he pointed out the difference between ‘having to’ and ‘wanting to’. As usual with Russell, he nailed it. Russell inspires me with his uncanny ability to do surgery painlessly, yet without anesthesia. His post is what brought to mind the whole Try vs Do thing with which we all have struggled at one time or another.

    Here’s my comment verbatim.

    I truly don’t mean to be harsh here, as there is some real suffering out there amongst the RE community. Still, there are two classes of agents.

    Those who DO, and those who Try.

    Do you ‘try’ to prospect daily, or do you ‘prospect daily?’

    Labeling this line of thinking as ‘positive thinking’ replaces doing with trying.

    Those for whom results are the only measuring stick, don’t ‘try’ Read more

    May 27, 2008

    All roads lead to Rome, but where three roads converge, the trivia that is yet another meme game is to be found

    by

    Suburban Phoenix Real Estate Broker

    Author website

    Eight questions, eight mostly inadequate answers:

    1. Who is your favorite musical artist? (post a youtube video)

    I like so much stuff that this becomes completely unfair. If you watch my choices of videos on BHB, those doesn’t even begin to scratch the surface of my tastes. The folks at Unchained got to hear songs from my iTunes library, which includes a lot of bootlegs and otherwise unobtainable stuff. All that notwithstanding, if I had to pick one first-among-equals favorite, it would be Bob Dylan. But just writing that feels like a betrayal, because everything I love in art comes from a kind of visceral honesty that Dylan almost never achieves — mostly studiously avoids. But take a look at this:

    The real Blind Willie McTell was a fairly ordinary early blues musician. He was nothing compared to Skip James, in my opinion. And why is Dylan celebrating the blues in a ballad? I think McTell is a cypher for Dylan in this song, and I think this is as close to an auto-encomium as we can ever expect from the man. In any case, this is great art from the first note to the last, an Apollonian frenzy made more violent because it is so tightly constrained.

    2. Who is your favorite artist (post a flicker photo)

    I don’t have a favorite visual artist. Of everything I’ve seen, Rodin is the most interesting to me, this because he is truly in love with humanity. I’ve worked in photography most of my life, at one time very seriously. I hate almost everything associated with the visual arts.

    3. Who is your favorite blogger?

    Again I must disappoint. Everything I love in art is a form of literature — even the music I love best. Almost no one in the history of literature was able to write both very quickly and very well. Shakespeare could, as could Mencken, but they don’t update their blogs that often. There’s no one in the world of weblogs who makes me crazy like the great writers of the world’s literature. How could there be? That’s an unfair standard to judge by. To have Read more

    May 26, 2008

    Memorial Day 2008 – Taking A Long View

    by

    Real Estate Broker, Investor

    Author website

    Today we remember and honor those who gave their lives in service of our country. Is it fitting and proper that we do so. 

    But ours is a young country, our conflicts are recent, and the memories fresh in our collective conscious.

    Proud and brave young lives have been sacrificed through out human history.

    Imagine the Greek King Pyrrhus of Epirus surveying the blood soaked battlefield of Asculum in 279 BC. Pyrrhus deployed 40,000 calvary and infantry and 20 war elephants. The Romans under Publius Decius Mus deployed 40,000 calvary and infantry and 300 anti-elephant devices.

    After a two day battle, the Greeks were victorious. The Romans lost 6,000 men; Pyrrhus, 3,500, including many of his officers. Pyrrhus looked on the devastation and stated “One more victory like this, and we shall be utterly undone.”

    This Memorial Day, while I pause to honor the sacrifice of our country’s great heroes, and express my deep gratitude, I will think, too, of sacrifices made throughout history, even back to antiquity, sacrifices that formed civilization as we know it today. And I will say a tiny prayer that somehow, someday, humans will indeed find a way to put an end to war.

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    Inventing Real Estate 2.0

    Welcome to BloodhoundBlog, the national real estate industry marketing and technology weblog written by, for and about real estate professionals. Better yet, welcome to the wired world of real estate. We are busily inventing Real Estate 2.0 – technology, marketing, service and salesmanship. Like all Bloodhounds, we are smart, frisky and fiercely independent. We've built a spot on the earth – beloved over all – where each one of us can be who we are, no matter who that might be. We are committed to an idea of excellence that will flush the bums, the con-men and the crybabies out of the real estate industry. If you yearn to have your failures excused, your moral lapses absolved or your boo-boos kissed, seek elsewhere. But if you are sick to death of mediocrity – welcome home. Read all about us, subscribe to our feed and steel yourself for the hunt. We work hard, we play hard, we learn everything we can – and we bow to no one.

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