Technology Transactions
I used to put everyone else’s requests and needs first and if there was any time left over at the end of the day for what I needed and wanted to
View From The Top:Industry Leaders Speak Out
You never need to know anything about a prospective client"s finances. In fact, given the impact of technology you no longer have the leverage to require that they share this information with you. Not only is it none of your business, but you can earn their loyalty and personal referrals in a better way with an approach that is more comfortable for you and for them.
As a real estate agent, you may have a few questions about how to fill out your taxes. How much of a deduction should you take for your car? What deductions are allowable for a home office? These and other questions can be answered online at IRS.gov, where there is a special section for self-employed individuals. However, you have to be pretty tax savvy to understand the directions.
Prequalifying buyers is an important step for both the buyer and you. You get an idea of how to handle the buyer and the buyer gets an introduction to reality - how much, give or take a small margin of error, he or she can really spend on a home. Calculating loan ratios for the buyer requires first calculating the monthly housing costs, which are commonly known as PITI (principal, interest, taxes, and insurance).
There are many security concerns when it comes to open houses, but your personal safety should be first and foremost. Your seller"s security is also a priority, as an open house is an invitation to strangers to come inside. Not everyone you are going to meet intends to purchase the home, and a few may have criminal intentions.
A Realtor recently asked me if it was acceptable to write, “Two-story house for sale.” I referred him to an excellent book on answers to grammatical questions like this. In his best-selling book, The Grammar Bible, Michael Strumpf refers to the same phrase: “Since there are two stories to this house, the description should read, ‘Two stories house for sale.’ There are two, so the noun story must be plural. Of course, ‘two-story house’ is colloquial. Through common usage, it has become an accepted and agreeable construction, but it is not correct (p. 114).” Strumpf goes on to say that a man who wants to sell houses needs to please his customers. If the ungrammatical phrase is more pleasing to the ear, then it makes sense to use that one.
During my career as a Realtor and a Broker I have heard the theory of rating your clients “A” Clients, “B” Clients, “C” Clients and “D” Clients. This is how this idea works; go to your database of potential clients and decide if you feel they are going to buy or sell now, 0-3 months, 3-6 months, 6-9 months or a year and over.
Question: Our board, is dealing with a difficult situation. A former board member (Tom) has expressed an interest in being on the board again. During his former tenure, the board was totally dysfunctional. No small wonder. He is very aggressive, confrontational and difficult to deal with.
I"m a Baby Boomer, 46, wife, kids, house. When my real estate agent drives up in a brand new Lexus, I make note of it. Why? Because if she drives that kind of car, she must be successful. If she is successful, then she must be doing right by me. Right? Maybe for a Boomer.
Recently, I was asked what I thought about the following situation: a group of young 20-something men were sitting around a conference room table at the company where they worked. The mayor of the city entered the room and greeted the young professionals. The business owner was aghast when not one of the men bothered to stand when greeting the mayor.
What is the most important asset you own? Is it that wonderful home you own? Is it the beautiful car that you drive to and from those listing appointments? Is it your investment portfolio?
Are you sick of watching deals fall through? Listing broker Mark Boyland is. What he"s learned may not surprise you - that where most deals take a wrong turn is in getting the buyer preapproved for a loan. And that is where he plans to lobby agents and lenders to screen buyers more carefully.
Have You Taken The Mr. Internet/Realty Times Referral Survey? What are fee-based referrals worth to you? Express yourself about online referrals and fees, and find out what others think, too.
When I was actively selling in Southern California, multiple offers were a fact of life. While you may think receiving two or more offers on one of your listings is a great situation to be in, actually it"s not. For properties that sell with a single offer, the "fall out" rate is 10%. For properties where there are two or more offers, the "fall out" rate is 50%.
There are a few words in our real estate vocabulary that need some attention. When we act as an agent of buyer, seller, landlord or tenant, rarely have nor do we want the authority to bind the client to an obligation. Yet, agents will use words like "yes" and "no" with a passion.
There’s a rule known as the Pareto Principle. It teaches us that 20% of
It"s as if someone turned off the faucet and the business just dried up. There are FSBO signs everywhere and the buyers are having a field day playing, “Let"s Make a Deal With a FSBO... How low will they go?
We all encounter delays that keep us from doing what we planned to do. Life is often what happens to you along the way when you are planning otherwise.
If you need listings, the quickest and easiest way to ramp up your inventory is to solicit properties that have expired. Generally the property owner has heard lots of promises, and with little or no results. This is a great opportunity to demonstrate your unique selling advantages with cutting edge marketing and strong communication skills. Another standard presentation isn’t going to charm a disgruntled seller, who is ready for results.
It’s clear to many who are dealing in the frenetic world of real estate today, that the possibility of getting multiple offers on a new listing is fairly high. While there are pockets of the country where this rarely happens, there are other places where it occurs 8 out of 10 times a new listing pops up.
The Federal Reserve just lowered their short term borrowing rates to banks. Does that mean that mortgage interest rates will go lower? Not necessarily. The two aren"t as related as they seem, but that may bring little comfort to anxious homebuyers who want to beat the mortgage market.
These are some of my favorite commission-cutting, objection-handling techniques, and for many of these, I thank my mentor Floyd Wickman:
There is light at the end of the tunnel. You are wondering how you are going to get everything done today and still present an offer and then a counter offer as well as open two of your listings for potential buyers, and answer the myriad of questions that seem to be endless in your pending sale transactions. Not to worry, you will get through it and still be home at a fairly decent hour. How? A little planning goes a long way.
In previous issues of Realty Times, we"ve addressed how to create an effective and balanced business plan. Today we look at how to adjust your business plan when the market takes a serious down turn.
There seems to be a feeling of security in having a lead. It feels a lot
If you are thinking about becoming a REALTOR® or you have recently acquired
A new survey of Texas Association of REALTORS® members compiled by Texas A&M"s Real Estate Center shows a sharp rise in business generated from the Internet, compared to the National Association of REALTOR®"s report released late last year.
In order for us to win in life we must push through the adversity we face. Without it we are poorly prepared for winning. The truth is most of us don’t welcome adversity like a long lost friend, but maybe we should.
Editorials don"t come with guarantees, but if you and your agents will follow the advice outlined by Arizona attorney and risk management consultant Robert Bass, you can significantly reduce your liability exposure.
Still not coming to terms, getting your way, or resolving a conflict in a win-win manner? Here are some tips to help all sides get what they want.
For years we have been taught as Realtors we must be there for our clients. I hear that all the time from agents across North America. "I want to be there for my clients," we say. But what does "be there" mean? Does "be there" mean we are available 24 hours 7 days a week for our clients? Does it mean that we sacrifice? Does it mean missing soccer games, tee ball games, and piano recitals?
You hear this term all the time -- “You need to think outside of the box,” but few know what it really means. Maybe this will help.
According to a year long study conducted by McKinsey & Co. involving 77 companies and almost 6,000 managers and executives -- the most important corporate resource over the next 20 years will be talent: smart, sophisticated business people who are technologically literate, globally astute, and operationally agile.
Have you ever thought about how many steps are involved in the closing process? How many phone calls are made? How many people are involved? It"s really mind-boggling. There are over 90 tasks if you do closings the way they should be done. That"s a lot to keep up with unless you are a super-organized person, which very few people are. Our solution is to have a closing coordinator - another indispensable member of the Results Team.
Mortgage fraud has become a staple in today"s organized crime circles.
Your annual business planning is the design of a structure to fulfill your perfect year. You know, the kind of year you dream about, but haven"t quite attained: one that combines a great income with plenty of time to enjoy it. While effective use of your time and resources is important and can increase the bottomline, I find, as a business coach, the most frequent problem is a lack of clarity with values and priorities. It"s the WHY you are doing your business.
Imagine that you are one of the four out of five homebuyers fishing among listings online. An email alert arrives in your inbox that tells you that one of the homes you like has just had a price reduction.
Murphy"s Law states that anything that can go wrong will go wrong,
The world has changed dramatically in the last 50 years. There has been
Builders and developers take note: The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently awarded to communities in 43 states more than $74 million in brownfields grants to help revitalize former industrial and commercial sites and turn them from problem properties to productive community use.
Where are most of the qualified buyers today?
Wherever you are, there you are! You may not find that statement deep or
Business can make for some strange bedfellows, especially among those that sleep together. There are successful husband and wife teams who work together beautifully and others who appear to bring out the worst in each other. What are the benefits vs. the pitfalls of working together?
The shake-up of Canada"s home improvement retailing industry continued last week with the announcement that Montreal-based Rona Inc. will purchase Revy Home Centres, a network of 50 hardware and building materials stores. The purchase price will be about $220-million when the deal closes in early July.
Knowing how well home values will hold up in a given market is a key point of knowledge for both sellers and buyers.
The same software company that helps prevent kids from visiting "blue" Web sites has developed software that it says could help prevent
Deep in the heart of Arizona the state appraisal board believes that Zillow.com -- an online site which provides estimated home values -- is required to have an appraisal license under state law.
Now that the mid-term elections are done it"s time to get on with the realities of life and some of those realities concern real estate.
For as long as anyone can remember the only form of listing allowed in local MLS systems has been the "exclusive right to sell" agreement.
Foreclosures used to be a rarity and for the most part that"s still the case. Only about 1 percent of all loans are now in the process of being foreclosed, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.
The care and concern that erupted after Hurricane Katrina is beginning to give way to a harsh reality: A city of 460,000 people has been largely demolished and now comes the unromantic matter of figuring out who owes what to whom.
Victims of Hurricane Katrina willing to rehabilitate damaged homes will be able to get an advance equal to 12 months of principal, interest, taxes and insurance under the just-announced FHA Mortgage Assistance Initiative.
By any reasonable measure the states of Mississippi and Louisiana are bankrupt, their economies demolished by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The economies of Michigan, Indiana, Ohio and Pennsylvania may be next, and no hurricanes are involved. Let me explain.
It was in 179 B.C. when Emilio Lepidus and Fulvius Noblius decided the world needed a better place to meet and greet, so they built the basilica Emilia (Aemelia) in the center of Rome, a structure in use for more than six centuries.
"You cannot completely trust the advice your broker gives you," said Christopher J. Mayer, a professor of real estate at Columbia Business School. "You have to become more educated as a buyer." Why a Real Estate Agent May Skip the Extra Mile, The New York Times, February 20, 2005
The merger of Sears and Kmart at first sounds like the combination of two old-time retailers, but the real story concerns bricks, mortar and changing shopping patterns.
In the next few weeks the politician season will march toward its final moment, a time when good citizens should demand straight answers from those who wish to represent them.
Over the past few years homes in my community just outside the Nation"s capital have risen in value at an astonishing pace. I"d like to suggest that current owners knew this would happen and shrewdly bought ahead of the market, but that"s not the case. No one could anticipate that 82,000 jobs would be created in the local area for each of the past two years, the fundamental lever behind soaring home prices.
Home prices have been rising with great ferocity in recent years, a matter which suggests to some that a real estate bubble is surely ahead. Now from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York -- that citadel of capitalism -- we hear something which approaches common sense: Home prices may not rise everywhere and everyday, but real estate has done wonderfully well in recent years and relative to other investment options offers a surprising level of security and potential.
Those who have been in real estate many years understand that while general market activity may rise or fall, even in tough times some individuals and firms continue to grow and prosper.
You couldn"t beat the last week of April for happy real estate news. While 2004 was supposed to be a year of modest home sales and somewhat higher interest rates, what we"re seeing this year -- so far -- is stunningly upbeat in many areas of the country.
Since March the stock market has largely risen, which is good news for most folks and some relief from the $5 trillion in losses suffered during the crash of 2000. The market is up, interest rates are low, unemployment may be ebbing -- conditions which suggest to James J. Cramer, cofounder of TheStreet.com, that the Dow could actually rise another 1,000 points by New Year"s Eve.
For a very long time there has been a battle brewing in Washington, the question of whether the special federal status enjoyed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should or should not be continued.
The past week or so has been a study in financial contrasts -- and since those contrasts involve home prices and whether they will rise or fall it may be useful to sort out what is being said and what the discussion might mean to all of us.
"Bigger is better" is the usual expression, a
The exit of Steve Case as CEO with AOL Time Warner, the settlement between Homestore and AOL, and the lack of much recent innovation suggest that the Internet is no longer the new frontier of capitalism and electrons. Instead, what we are seeing is a calmer medium, a maturing one, and also a medium where a number of ideas concerning real estate and the Internet have had their run.
With the federal government and many states now running at a deficit, it"s little wonder that local bureaucrats are eying the Internet as a potent source of new revenue. The idea is to tax online retail sales, not a bad thought when you consider that one alternative might be still-higher property taxes.
Mortgage Rates Remain Flat
Mortgage Rates Remain Near Recent Lows
For a number of years Wall Street analysts, futurists, and astrologers have been extolling the wonders of the coming Internet era, and with good reason: The Internet surely has value.
For some time the debate has been raging: If the stock market can quickly go from zooming to zonked, what about housing? Do we have a housing bubble
If you were an investor in the 1990s would you have done better with stock or real estate?
When last we left off, the Internet was to be the "next great thing." Online firms would decimate terrestrial rivals, local malls would shutter in the face of Internet competitors, and newspapers circulation would decline as the population increasingly turned to electronic updates.
It"s common advice for those new to real estate sales: Pick up the phone. Call local homes 100 times a day, every day, to find listings and buyer clients.
The final numbers aren"t in, but it looks like 2001 will be a banner year for bankruptcies.
Reaching far beyond Manhattan, Washington, and Pennsylvania, the terrorist attacks of September 11th have also impacted California-based Homestore.com. On Wednesday, company shares (Nasdaq: HOMS) dropped as low as $5.66 following reduced third-quarter estimates. The stock closed at $6.20, down $.85 (12.06%) for the day.
July 4th parades, fireworks and cookouts are an American tradition. We have much to celebrate and much for which to be thankful.
It"s a question that came up recently, and the responses were immediate: The city penthouse, the country estate, the mountain chalet, and the beachfront retreat were instant winners. Cost was a factor, finishing touches and amenities were required, and bigger was always better.
Question: I bought a vacation town home in a Florida resort property from a reputed builder. The broker who sold to me gave a letter in his letterhead that said he would lease back the property for two years. He even signed a guaranteed leaseback for one year. But after three months he got himself out of the whole thing on the pretext that the market has collapsed and he can no longer give the guaranteed leaseback.
Here"s an interesting idea. To protect the Alameda whipsnake, folks at the Fish and Wildlife Service want to restrict development on more than 400,000 acres in California"s Alameda, Contra Costa, Santa Clara, and San Joaquin counties.
Wow! What a week in Washington. In the span of a few days the political landscape changed in ways which will influence public policy for the next decade, if not longer.
How the web works is important to consumers, brokers, lenders and everyone else involved in real estate. We know a lot of looking is done online and that many consumers initiate relationships based on what they see on the Internet. We also know that in very few cases are homes sold online or loans closed.
As the weather improves, homeowners start to tackle a major home improvement project: fixing or replacing their roof. Often this is a job that homeowners delay doing because it can be a pricey, tedious process.
The Italian government is threatening to end electrical service to Vatican Radio. Why? Because the station"s towers allegedly emit excessive volumes of electromagnetic emissions. Of course, without electricity to the Vatican towers, papal broadcasts worldwide will end.
In the not-too-distant future, you"ll be able to tap a few Internet keys and find out if someone really has a real estate license. You"ll also be able to increasingly hold shady online realty promoters accountable under state rules, according to Craig Cheatham, executive director of the Association of Real Estate License Law Officials (ARELLO).
Realtor.com, long the largest Internet real estate site in terms of visitors and listings, has now lost at least part of its crown to HomeStore.com.
If the Federal Reserve and the Treasury are designed to favor bank interests -- and they are -- then no one should be shocked when later this year it"s announced that bankers should be allowed to offer real estate brokerage and management services.
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Peter G. Miller
Question: My home has been on the market since June. Although, we have had three open houses one additional time. The contract is up December 7th, and I was thinking about taking the house off the market until maybe January or February, then signing with another broker
Question: How long after a real estate contract expires can a broker claim a commission when an agent has showed to a client?
Question: My fiance and I are looking for our first home. We have been approved for financing, we have good credit plus we have cash for closing. We see that there ways to avoid paying higher monthly payments and higher rates. One way we keep hearing about is "assumption of title." I have researched what it means and basically it sounds that when the owner is distressed, he/she can transfer the title to people like us and we take over the current payments without "assuming" a new mortgage which is more costly. Is this correct or are there other implications involved with this process?
Question: We"re considering refinancing our home in order to add a pool. The value of our property has increased to the amount needed to have the pool and necessary equipment installed.
Question: I found a house through the newspaper. Since no broker has shown me the home or done anything for me related to the property, can I go directly to the listing broker and ask for the half of the commission that a broker would have earned had he done his job?
The larger the mortgage, the riskier the loan.
Question: I made a cash purchase offer through my broker on a bank-owned property over a week ago. The bank has not replied except to ask if I would provide proof of funds, which I would. It has now been seven business days since the offer was submitted. This property has been on the market over a year. Is there a traditional, standard or usual timeframe to respond to purchase offers?
Question: I sold a rental property to my son this year, but my husband and I are listed on the deed with 66 percent ownership and my son 33 percent. The loan was taken out in my son"s name to buy the property. Because my husband and I still have ownership in this property, despite the real estate sales to my son, are we still liable for capital gains tax?
Question: We are currently looking into selling our vacation rental home and purchasing a fractional beach front home (1/13th share). Can we do a 1031 exchange for this property? As we are we are allowed to use the home for only four weeks per year, what would be the rental requirement?
Question: I relocated from the metro New York area to Northern Virginia eight months ago. I immediately placed my New York home on the market. After seven months, no offers and very little traffic so I"m getting nervous. Everyone says the house is beautiful, priced correctly and a wonderful home. I can view the home on a number of websites. It has been placed in numerous local real estate magazines, leaflets and two open houses. Is it worth changing brokers?
Question: I own three duplexes. I have three vacant units and three in need of repairs. The present income is $17,500, of which I net $10,000. There are no mortgages. I have been offered $300,000 -- which is $40,000 less than the tax value. Single renovated homes in area bring in $178,000. Based on the present income, and if I repair other units -- future income, what would be considered a fair price for these properties?
Question: We found out that our brand new vacation home was previously occupied. We are the first owners but the home was used for almost two years. The developer never disclosed this to us.
Question: I just signed the contract on a new house 10 days ago and gave $10,000 as an initial deposit. The builder has lowered the price of the property by $30,000. How can I get that new price for my signed contract house. Can I cancel the contract or ask builder to lower the base value on the existing contract or compensate me with $30,000 worth of upgrades?
Question: I"m planing on flipping a townhouse in Florida. Do you thing I will be able to make a profit on this property? I"m paying $340,000 for the townhouse.
Question: About five years ago I contacted a neighbor whose tree was obstructing our view. Though I offered to pay for its removal, she declined my offer, and I respectfully let it go. She was elderly, and when she died I respectfully contacted her daughter and again asked that the tree be cut down. The daughter said that she would sell the house and it would be up to the new owners. The house has been on the market for quite awhile now, and there are more trees of considerable size that really should be removed. Other neighbors who also have obstructed views have contacted me and asked me to please find a solution. We all know that our property values are being adversely affected by this problem. What can we do?
Question: While I"m aware that its not possible to predict when home prices will be at its lowest, I also believe that there are trends that can be followed to make an educated prediction. Have we hit rock bottom in California? If not, what time frame are you predicting?
Question: We made a bid on a short sale deal. Our bid was the only one on the table and suddenly another bid is submitted by the listing agent and accepted immediately. Now there"s an agreement and closing date. Weren"t we entitled to a response on our bid by the bank/seller? Did the seller/bank have a duty to accept, counter or reject our offer? Can they just ignore us and keep our good faith check (it was not cashed).
Question: My sister wants to sell our house. We bought together eight years ago. The price of the house is going up now, and she wants to sell the house but I don"t. If she really wants to sell it without my agreement and signature, can she sell by herself? I have paid everything -- fire insurance, property taxes, etc. Can I prevent the house sale?
Question: We currently have our home listed for sale. The most our broker has done is list it on our local MLS, we have had only two people interested in looking at it and both times other brokers entered with the lockbox and our broker was not there.
Question: I was told to apply for a hurricane relief fund since I live in one of the most-affected areas and since my daughter lost her home and belongings in the hurricane. Could you give me more information on this fund and how to apply?
After you"ve given your home"s major systems the once over for damage from flood or rain-driven storm don"t forget to inspect or have inspected your home"s smaller components.
Question: My neighbor has a fence that crosses about two feet onto my property and runs that way for about ten feet. I was told by the owner, before I bought, that the fence "might cross onto my property." The property line was not clearly staked. A year ago I had the property surveyed and the fence indeed crosses. I have lived here two years. The neighbors are private and we do not talk. What are my rights? Is there a time limit before the property becomes theirs?
Question: When a homeowner is "upside down" on the mortgage -- when the mortgage balance is greater than the market value of the home -- can the lender pursue the homeowner for the loss?
Question: We"re selling our primary residence. We"ll clear about $475,000 when all is done. We also own two rentals. We want to refinance and pay one house down, but we"re not sure which house to pay down. The house we want to live in has a $265,000 mortgage while the rental has a $165,000 mortgage. If we pay down the rental, then cashflow from that property will more than pay the mortgage for our replacement home. Which should we pay off?
Question: We have bought a house and discovered that the main living area is 100 sq. ft. less than what was shown in the description provided by the real estate company.
Question: I recently refinanced my house. After all was said and done the title company deposited the cash in my bank. Then they deposited a second check in my account. Yep, they deposited the amount into my checking account two times, the second three days after the first.
Question: Is private mortgage insurance based on the original purchase price of the home, the current value or the refinanced amount?
This overall increase for the South was marked, however, by "substantial" declines in areas of the region that experienced booms in the early 2000"s, that don"t reflect by looking at the region as a whole. One such area was Sarasota, Florida.
Question: I had a verbal agreement for the purchase of a home. Both parties had filled in the real estate contract including purchase price and earnest money amounts. All we had to do was to get together again to SIGN the contract and give the earnest money. The seller called me tonight and said the deal was off. Didn"t we have a deal?
Question: What is the best way to measure appreciation in local homes?
Question: We made an offer on a home in a hot real estate market. The sellers received more than 20 bids! How do owners select a winner in such circumstances?
Question: We have rented from our landlord for more than four years -- and rented another property from him for two previous years. Our rent is usually on time, but when it has been late there has not been a problem with the landlord.
Question: I"m having a new home built. Should I pay for an independent inspector to inspect my home before I agree that everything is satisfactory?
Question: I"m a first-time home buyer earning approximately $100,000 in the NYC region. Although the interest rates are low, prices have escalated so quickly that I"m concerned I don"t have quite enough to cover the cost of a home. I"m only seeking a two or three bedroom townhome in Staten Island, yet prices often exceed $350,000.
Question: Do interest-only loans make sense?
Question: Can I break a lease if I no longer make as much money as required when I moved in?
Question: I have a buyer and they offered a very good price, perhaps a bit higher than a house of this size and neighborhood has ever fetched. Maybe the low age and excellent condition and extras justify this. Just before the offer, mortgage rates were lower than ever in recent memory, but now they have jumped .75 - 1.5%, which I suppose may erode the value. If I get a lower number from an assessor than our agreed price, and the lender insists on 100% assessed valuation, what are my options as a seller?
Question: We have been contacted by a real estate agent to sell a lot we own out-of-state. A selling price has been accepted verbally, but when the papers were received, we noticed that the brokerage fee was more than twice what we expected. Are there factors that justify this cost?
At a $143,000 median it"s no wonder than many coastal dwellers have been making the move inland. The out-migration from certain high priced states, such as California and Florida, has boosted population in the Midwest.
It looks like the beginning of the end to one of the worst housing markets ever.
With real housing prices falling at a rate of approximately 1.5 percent, the Center for Economic and Policy Research predicts that most Baby Boomers will be financially devastated if the housing crunch continues to 2009.
The litany of bad news this week hits all sectors of the economy, with consumers hit hardest. Analysts have long cited a combination of pressures on consumers: falling home prices, rising food and energy prices, the credit crunch and a deteriorating labor market.
Some consumers using Craigslist classified ads to find bargain rentals are getting a nasty surprise. Phony landlords are collecting security deposits and first month"s rent. When the renter shows up ready to move in, they find their new keys don"t work or that the property is occupied.