Jacksonville Florida Real Estate

Howard Sold My Condo In ONE Day :)

2008-02-27T15:10:00Z

My thanks to one of our own, Howard Arnoff, a REALTOR(tm) in Charleston, SC ( http://www.charlestononlinehomes.com/ ) for listing my condo and SELLING it in just ONE day!

We had barely returned to Jacksonville the day after listing with Howard and we got that phone call in the morning that every seller likes to hear, " I have an offer for you!" Wow. Already? SWEET! We accepted the offer and closed in about 26 days without a hitch. Great agent & highly recommended.

Thanks Howard Arnoff

Steve & Kathy Burnett

Interesting New MLS rule

2007-11-14T21:12:00Z

Our MLS has implemented some new rules when it comes to correctly filling out a MLS sheet:

1. Listing brokers may communicate to potential cooperating brokers that gross commissions established in listing contracts are subject to court approval or to lender approval.

2. PENALTIES and VIOLATIONS
An initial penalty of $ 500 when the listing broker does not disclose a short sale / preforeclosure
The second offense is $ 1,000
A third offense as already presented in the Policy Manual will be action by the board of
directors including suspension and/or termination of membership.

Wow. Anyone else have this?

Advertising And Target Marketing...

2007-09-07T12:56:00Z

I feel compelled to add my 2¢ here about advertising and target marketing when it comes to real estate and agents. A little about myself first: I've been building basic web sites since 1986 when hand coding HTML was the only way anyone could build a site. There were no Frontpage or Dreamweaver programs and certainly no "replicated" web sites back then like there are now. It's easy now! Over the years, I got pretty good at figuring out how to get a web site to rank on the first page for certiain "key word phrases" for several internet businesses I ventured into. My current real estate web site is on the first page on Yahoo.com and Google.com for several nice search terms (i.e. "homes for sale in jacksonville," "homes for sale in jacksonville fl", "jacksonville realtor") and I get about 60 to 80 UNIQUE visitors a day from my "organic" (doesn't cost me anything!) rankings. The benefit of studying Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the last few years :) Not blowing my horn - just laying the background. ( you see how I anchored my search term for "homes for sale in jacksonville" with the URL of my web site? THAT's one major way to get your site ranked for THAT search term. It's called "anchor text" and when you link to another website, THAT's the way you should be linking!).

Lonn Dugan has doen an excellent job in offering help and advice in web site SEO. Take the time to learn from him!

Showing your potential sellers that you have an internet presence is worth every penny you spend to get one. I print out the results for common searches and make it part of my presentation, "See! Here's my web site to THIS search term, and here's my web site for THAT search term."

I understand that 90% of us are trying to figure out HOW to drum up more business for ourselves in this stinky and slow market, and I have explored a lot of different avenues myself.

It's important to consider what your TARGET MARKET is when you start an advertising campaign, no matter what or where it may be.

In my opinion, the FIRST thing you should do is invest on getting your web site to show up on the 1st page of Yahoo (Google is a whole different story) by investing some time and money. If you're unable to do this yourself, hire a professional company to help you. In the long run, this will pay you back in spades since the internet is such a factor for people looking for homes to buy - and will only continue to grow. Another and immediate alternative is to use pay-per-click advertising.

MY web site will probably NEVER get on the 1st page of Google for "jacksonville real estate" because I'm competing with realtor.com, homegain.com and other web sites that have the SEARCH TERM as the DOMAIN NAME, i.e. jacksonvillefloridarealestate.net or they have 10,000 links pointing back to them. For high volume/common search terms, either pay a premium price for PPC ads, or ignore them and concentrate on the "long tail search."

Try and get your web site on the 1st page of Yahoo and MSN for YOUR marketing area search terms.

If you live in Carson City, then people will search for: "homes for sale in Carson City" or something like that. Use the Google Keyword selector tool to help you find some key words for your area.

OK, enough of the internet stuff. You ALL know how important it is to have an on-line presence.

Videos on the Internet

Some agents want to try MySpace, UTube, etc. and post videos of the homes they want to sell. Cute, but is it effective? I considered it too. But, after analyzing my TARGET MARKET, I decided against it and here's why:

My TARGET MARKET doesn't use UTube. I have two primary markets: 1st time home buyers that can afford a home around $150K - $170K ( mostly military) and established buyers/sellers over the age of about 35 that are looking for homes starting at around $250K and running to over $1 million (close to my neighborhood).
A poorly done video (taken by me) would cause more damage than good to my presentation. Since a professional video is expensive, I ruled THAT out quickly. I stick to photos using a wide angle lens and just take a LOT if pictures to add to a virtual tour... or hire it out to a pro.

Does YOUR target market use Utube or MySpace? No? Then why advertise there?

Then there's email advertising, direct mail advertising, magazines, posting on bulletin bords, etc.

Step back and ask yourself: "If I were looking for a home to buy, (and didn't have a relative that was an agent) where would I start to look and HOW would I look?"

Did you read the Just Listed cards that you got in your mail box (before you were an agent), did you read the newspaper, did you read Homes Magazine, etc.

Ask your friends, "What and where & HOW would you go to start looking for property to buy if you didn't know me?" And by the way - do you read those Just Listed/Just Sold cards that you get from other agents? The answers may surprise you.

Funny Fact: Notice that there are no "suggested search terms" for "sell my home in your city?" NO ONE searches the internet using those type of related terms. People DO search for "real estate agent in your city" or "real estate company in your city" though :)

Believe me - I've tried them all. I have come to realize that nothing can take the place of referrals and word-of-mouth advertising, and that takes years to build. So I need a way to speed that process up. But how? I decided that I'm going to start a direct mail campaign to the communities that are close to me. I need to establish my self as the "neighborhood expert."

After talking with a couple of advertising specialists, something was pointed out to me that made a lot of sense to me. For those of us with kids, remember when they asked for an ice cream cone, and you said "no!" Then they asked again... "PLEASE may I have an ice cream?" No! "PLEEEEEASE may I have an ice cream?" NOOO! "Ah come on.... PLEEEEEASE???? Please, please, please?"

Finally, we give in and say, OK, You can have an ice cream. (Hey it worked on my wife about putting a flat screen TV above the fireplace in our family room! I said PLEEEEASE for about 3 months and she finally gave in. <evil grin>. Just testing the theory!

The same philosophy applies with direct mailings (according to the experts) so I'm going to try it. If I send people post cards every month for 8 months asking them to call me if they want to sell or buy a home, maybe I can wear them down eventually and someone will call. If not, then at least when they see my sign on my car or a sign on someone home, they"ll think, "there's that PIA REALTOR that always sends me those post cards."

I've never done direct mailing, but MY TARGET MARKET are the local communities that are within a 2 mile radius from me, and direct mailing is what I have to do to ensure that I reach this market. And I have to provide my market with a REASON (read: BENEFIT/INCENTIVE TO CUSTOMER) to call me. It may be in the form of a buyer rebate or a lower selling commission cost. The only way to get business from people who don't know me is to save them $$$$$$. Shoot - even friends have done business with someone else because they were cheaper than me!

They guy who found me online who MAY be buying a home 6 months from now is a lead. Nothing more. I put him on an automatic home search through my MLS and hope for the best.

The point is: we all have target markets. Focus on that. Do what YOU would do.

Just food for thought and my 2¢.

Cool SEO tools...

2007-08-19T23:14:00Z

Here are some cool SEO tools I foun dtoday :)

http://www.bad-neighborhood.com/

http://www.webconfs.com/

Cheers!

Is this a new trend?

2007-08-09T19:41:00Z

First, I want to establish that I'm NOT complaining... just curious!

I just closed on a home that had a 2.5% co-op commission which was stated in the MLS. That's fine. When I get the HUD to review about an hour before we close, I notice that the listing agent took a 3.5% commission (plus a hefty Transaction Fee) on his side.

My wife & I have been around for 13 years and I've never seen that before. I always "assumed" that co-ops were split 50/50 unless the "variable commission" box was checked on the MLS sheet (for tierd commissions).

Is this the latest upcoming thing? Has anyone else seen this?

Find out if they opened your emails...

2007-07-03T11:15:00Z

Ever send an email (maybe with a contract attached?) to someone and you have to call them to find out if they received it? I have.

I found a neat little program that costs $36 a year that tracks your emails and has an option that digitally signs them (to use a legal tracking method) when someone opens it.

AND it translates languages from any langusge to any language. I just sent an email that I typed in English to a friend who speaks Spanished and it worked! Very cool!

The program is here: www.readnotify.com

If you download the OPTIONAL plug-ins, this program automatically tracks all or any emails - you can turn it off at any time. If you don't want to run the plugin, then you can do it manually. Works with any email program including hotmail and yahoo. Very cool program.

And no... this is not an ad. It's a tool that some of you may want to use!

What are you really? Full Service or Discount?

2007-07-02T11:54:00Z

Brother - the rants that go on about "full service" compared to "discount brokers" is mind numbing. Will it ever stop? Probably not. Sigh.

I've heard and listened to all the cliché's arguing the justification of charging 6% or more to sell a property:

I charge 6% or 7% because I'm worth it.
I NEED it to advertise your home!
OK... what do you want me to cut out of my "Marketing Plan" if I reduce my commission?
Would you go to a "discount" doctor to get a heart operation? (ooohhh "discount" = BAD word!)
I'm the #1 agent in the office/county/city/state/eastern US/the entire country! Yada, yada, yada.

EVERYONE knows that the "normal" selling commission that agents charge someone to sell their home is right around 6%. It's been that way for decades. Now let me point out that I KNOW - and every agent in the country knows, (it's on our licensing test!) that "selling commissions" are completely negotiable and there is NOTHING in place to make the 6% a standard or a mandatory requirement! It would be ILLEGAL to do so.

Charging 6% or 7% or even 5% may be your company "policy" or it may be that it's just YOUR business model (hey - it's YOUR business... you can charge what you want). Maybe you're so good that people are willing to pay you 9%! That's great! Good for you!

But come on.... we're all in the same business. I establish a selling commission based on the SITUATION that faces me at that particular moment.

Have you NEVER given anyone a break? A family member? A dear friend? A small rebate (where it's legal) to get a deal to close?

If you have, then you know what? You are a "discount" real estate agent! Uh oh. NOOOOOO!

Every sale or listing we get involved in is different. Every buyer and seller is different. Every MARKET is different. Don't we ALL adapt our business to meet the needs of the seller or buyer (sometimes BOTH if we're lucky!)?

Does it matter to anyone else besides myself that I can list a home with a 1.5% or even 1% selling commission on MY side as long as I co-op what I think will get agents in my area to bring buyers to see my listings?

I consider myself a "full service" REALTOR®. I take lot's of pictures for the MLS, I put a virtual tour on EVERY listing, I use toll free property hotlines, I spend $100's every month on advertising, I work hard on SEO for my web site and get better than average traffic. Like the rest of you, I work on "federal" holidays too. . I'll drive 50 miles one way for a listing, my phones on from 7am until 9pm- 7 days a week (always on if I'm in the middle of a deal).

BUT... if my friend of 15 years wants to sell a home, I'll cut him a deal on MY side. I do it because I can... it's that simple. And that's why he came to ME - to save a few bucks. It's not an attack against the "full service" 6% commission and it's not an attack against any other agent or brokerage. I don't care what your business model is - do what YOU have to do. I have charged MORE than 6% for some of my listings, but most MY business comes to me because I usually charge a little less - on MY side.

Hmmmm - I suppose that makes me a "Full Service Discount REALTOR®!"

THAT'S IT! A new definition for those of us who on occasion give up a portion of our commission to help friends, family, or make a deal work.

So, are you a "Full Service Discount Broker/REALTOR®" like me? Don't lie!

Are Seller's Starting To Take A Stand?

2007-06-13T22:35:00Z

"Enough is enough" was the reply from more than one seller I have run across, refusing to lower their asking price on their homes any further.

Home sellers in Jacksonville, FL are seemingly starting to take a stand on the dipping home prices over the past year. Whether their stand will result in stabilized home prices remains to be seen, but maybe it's a start to a market turn around.

Between 2000 and 2004, homes prices in Jacksonville appreciated in value about 25% per year. Some called it a "catch up" phase, others just shook their head in amazement, never having seen anything like it before in our area.

Veteran agents were doing millions of dollars worth of transactions each year and newbies jumped into this business with $$ signs in their eyes - looking forward to cashing in on our incredible market. Stick a sign in the yard... make 3% (or more if the got both sides) of the sale price in four weeks. The number of agents in North East Florida DOUBLED in less than 3 years. I was one of them.

I myself took advantage of this accelerated appreciation phase and sold my personal home for twice what I paid for it only 3 years earlier. Like HUNDREDS of other local's who were moving up, and investers who were cashing in, I built two brand new homes as an investor and sold both of them for about $25,000 more than I paid for them 10 months earlier... and never even made my 1st home payment. Flip, flip. I built and lived in another home for 18 months and sold it in 2 days.. making a $80,000 profit. I was on a roll! This is SWEET!

Builders couldn't build homes fast enough. My friends, who were side agents for local new home builders, couldn't sell more than 2 homes a week. There was a WAITING LIST to buy their homes! My wife got out of general real estate and went to work for a new home builder herself. She didn't have to drive people around anymore - didn't have to hustle for a listing anymore. People were standing in line to buy a new home from her. It was great!

Seller's could stick a "For Sale By Owner" in their front yard and their home would sell in 2 - 3 weeks. Who needs a real estate agent for THAT?

If a home was on the market for longer than 45 days, Broker's would recommend that the listing agent ask the seller to lower their price a little to get it sold. " That property has been for sale for forty five days??" What's the matter with you? Can't you sell faster than that?" It was crazy times!

Those days are gone.

Sometime around spring 2005, builders, agents and EVERYONE associated with construction, from dry wallers to painters, were blind sided by a slow down. The buyers stopped buying. There were TOO many homes on the market. Seemed like it happened overnight. No one saw it coming... I know I didn't.

New home builders were laying people off; painters, framers, roofers, etc. suddenly found themselves out of work. Real estate agents were scrambling for BUYERS, not listings. I switched my marketing focus from a "listing agent" to trying to find buyers for the 1000's of homes that were for sale. New agents relying on income to support themselves started to panic. No one was buying! What do we do?

Solution: Lower the prices on the homes for sale to get rid of existing inventory and stop building new homes ( I mean construction of spec homes was completely stopped by the new home builders!).

To make matters worse for home sellers, builders could afford, and were starting to offer "buyer incentives" to lure buyers to buy a new home instead of buying an existing home, further crippling the re-sale market. Free refrigerators, washer & dryers, free screened-in patios, two years of HOA fees (at $110 a month or so) were being paid by the builder. On top of all the incentives, builders slashed their profit margin from 20% to 5% or less. New home prices originally listed at $210,000 were cut to $175,000. Homes listed at $600,000 were reduced by $80,000 and were selling for $520,000. "Dump, dump, dump" said the new home builders. It was unbelievable. One major new home builder is at this moment offering a "free" $32,000 bonus room over the garage if you buy one of their homes by the end of the month. Wow!

How can re-sellers compete with that? They can't.

And above all: "If you don't have to sell your home now, then don't." Wait it out if you can.

Example 1: Mr. Seller paid $800,000 for his home 18 months ago. It's upgraded to the max from a remote controlled hot tub to a home office with cherry wood walls and custom built-in cabinets in their home office. Absolutely beautiful. Mr. Seller wants to down grade to a smaller home, but doesn't have much equity in the home. Similiar floor plans down the street are listed at $~~767,000~~ (oops! just dropped to $699,900) or so and have been on the market for 200+ days. Only FIVE homes in this price range have sold since Jan 1, 2007 within a 1.5 miles radius of his home. Uh oh. He wants to list at $860,000 to cover the cost of selling and give himself a little room to negotiate. In a perfect world, all the improvements Mr. Seller has done over the last 18 months, the home should be worth more than $860,000.

I inform Mr. Seller that after seeing what "has happened" and what "is happening" data that his asking price may be a "little" aggressive. He's aware of that, but is not willing to budge much... and I don't blame him. "If my home doesn't sell, then I'll just have to back to work!" he says. This seller is taking a stand.

Example 2: Ms. Seller want to sell her investment home because she has moved out of state and is tired of messing with renters. We look at what "has happend" and what "is happening" and she decides on a list price of $249,000. Priced more towards the high side compared to her competition. She's an agent herself (in another state), so Ms. Seller knows the what and how-to's about selling a home. She does everything a seller is supposed to do: repaints in entire interior of the home, adds flowers and new mulch for curb appeal, gets the home pressure washed so it's sparkling clean!

After 45 days on the market, there have only been two showings. No offers. "Do you want to lower the price" I ask her? "Not yet," says Ms. Seller, "I'm priced low enough and can afford to wait awhile." And she's right. "I'm NOT going to give my home away" is what I'm hearing a lot of lately. Another 45 days go by and we drop the price to $237,000. She gets a couple of offers in the high $220's and turns THEM down. (hmmmm, maybe the public people are trying to tell her something? Maybe, but they also wanted her to pay $9,000 in closing costs. I guess that's a little over the top!). This seller is also taking a stand.

Maybe sellers are drawing a line and taking a stand?

Maybe sellers are tired of being beat up (or rather being beat DOWN!) by buyers who know there are 10 more deals around the corner and all they have to do is find a desperate seller. Since builders have stopped building spec homes, it seems logical that re-sales should pick up sooner rather than later right?

Maybe, maybe, maybe...

Time will tell.

When Buyers Make a Lowball Offer

2007-06-10T13:45:00Z

We all know it's a buyers market, and the buyers know it too. Lately I've seen more & more sellers starting to take a stand with their asking price and refusing to lower their selling price any further - but's that's another subject.

When I have a buyer that wants makes a lowball offer (like $225,000 on a home that's listed at $249,000 AND wanting the seller pay $9,000 of their closing costs) this is what I tell them:

"When you make this offer and IF the seller accepts any part of it, the value of the home you're buying will probably be LESS, (because you paid less for it) when YOU go to re-sell down the road. You understand that right?"

One buyer said "Oh!, I hadn't thought of it like that!" They thought about selling 2 years from now... and raised their initial offer a little.

Cool Voicemail Technology

2007-04-23T12:39:00Z

I just got these from Inman News. Pretty cool!

http://www.pinger.com/ and www.jott.com

Both free :)

Value Range Marketing

2007-04-16T12:46:00Z

Have you ever used Value Range Marketing?
Comments welcome!

============================================

Written by: Scott Williams, Prudential California Realtors.

How does this new idea work? The common approach is so established that most people don’t give it a thought, because the seller simply sets an asking price, say $469,000, and that single price becomes their listing price. Value Range Marketing (VRM) suggests that the listing price should be: “Seller will entertain offers between $429,000 and $488,876.”

(VRM) is rethinking this basic idea of pricing. What does setting a range of value instead of a single price do for the seller. It shifts the responsibility to the buyer to set the first firm price. With the single price approach sellers are setting the listing prices and finding out immediately that they priced their property too low. Sellers needs to either raise their asking prices or they need to specify a range in which they will respond to offers with the high end of the range being high enough to protect them in case the value is bid up.

Once a seller sets a price they still want to find out if their home is valued at even a higher price by the buyers. Using a range has distinct advantages over simple setting a higher listing price. For the seller setting a range of value helps to protect them if the price is going to be bid up. What advantages does this have for the buyer? Buyers dislike having to raise their bids above the listing price especially if they must compete through several rounds of negotiations with other potential buyers. Buyers see the lower price in the range and welcome the opportunity to start the bidding well below what they think the home is worth. It holds out the possibility of a lower price, while giving more back and forth in the bargaining process. A few more rounds of going back and forth can give the buyer more time to feel good about the purchase.

From a negotiators point of view the current system of single price listings is to the buyer’s advantage and to the seller’s disadvantage, because the seller sets the first price. Since this is usually the highest the seller will expect to get, most negotiating techniques are devoted to how to get the seller down. VRM evens out the negotiating playing field.

Thinking in ranges isn’t really foreign to the buying and selling process. Every party in a negotiation thinks in ranges already. Buyers tell their agent, “We want a house between $450,000 and $500,000.” Agents tell sellers and buyers, “The comparable sales tell us that the house is worth between the $440,000’s and the $470,000’s.” Sellers think in ranges. They say “Based upon what our agent told us, our home is probably worth between $450,000 and $475,000.”

When VRM was first test marketed 3 years ago in San Diego many people didn’t understand what it was about. Buyers are attracted by the advertising, because they notice the figure at the low end of the range. Merrick said that, “the person who bought my home paid more than he actually wanted to pay because he liked it so much. The value range worked in this case. It brought somebody in who would not have come if the property would have been offered at a certain asking price. He came in because the lower price in the value range seemed affordable or fair to him, and he actually spent more that he wanted and we actually got, I think, a good price.”

With VRM a range is established with a low and high figure. Negotiations start from there. Australians are more accustomed to bargaining than Americans. Still in the United States and Canada it is a fact that real estate is purchased through offers and counter offers, arm’s length bargaining, usually aided by real estate agents. Bargaining is expected in housing purchases.

Publishing a range rather than a single price has an intimidating effect on some people. Buyers are used to the seller setting the price. With a value range a buyer doesn’t get to react to the seller’s position when they first hear the price. With a single price listing the buyers can determine in their own minds if they think that the price is too high, too low or just about right. Still a range can make a buyer feel slightly adrift, with no gut reaction for the kind of seller that they might be dealing with.

Arthur Johnson purchased his home in La Jolla through Value Range Marketing. Johnson said, “ You’re a little taken aback at first, but it’s always easier to work your way up than it is down. The home that we purchased happened to be a $110,000 spread between the opening price point and the top of the range that the seller said they would take. It’s no different than doing any other real estate deal because you are going to rely on your Realtor. You’re going to rely on the comps around you for like homes, for square footage, amenities and everything. And secondly, you’re going to rely on the bank. If the bank thinks that the value is there , too, you’re not going to overpay for the property. I think what it does, it gives you time to work your way into the deal and find out about the people, what their circumstances are, what they really will take and then, you know, also let your emotions come into being and see if this is what your really want.”

The people who are the least enthused by Range Marketing are real estate agents. Not every local company has a value range program. At the time of this writing only one company in CA is offering it locally. Change is rarely invited, “if it isn’t broke, why fix it,” think many Realtors. Several agents think VRM is a gimmick without much substance, but they were quick to admit that they didn’t know much about it. Local agents seem pretty secure about the role they play in real estate deals. They add value to each sale through the knowledge they have about comparable sales, the help and advice they give to their clients and through being specialists in the negotiation process. VRM just puts more emphasis on negotiations, something Realtors are already good at. Local Realtors seemed open minded enough to take a wait and see attitude to find out if local sellers and buyers are willing to adopt it.

As a new concept Value Range Marketing is being greeted with enthusiasm by some and skepticism by others. Value Range Marketing offers an alternative to sellers who don’t simply want to raise their prices. They want to take into account the buyers need to negotiate. VRM doesn’t take away the expectations that both buyers and seller have that there is going to be a bargaining session before the house is purchased. It seems to create anxiety in some real estate agents, because pricing homes with a value range is different than agents are used to. Home buyers see the potential to get bargains and home sellers see the potential for buyers to pay more. Value Range Marketing turns out after all to be a simple concept. It dictates that the buyer make the first move rather than the seller since the buyer is the first to set a firm price. Because buyers can see this they tend to offer a bit lower than they might of in order to get the seller to commit to a firm price. From there both sides negotiate to see what the other will finally take. That is not too much different from what goes on in the majority of home sales today.

Free Certified Pricing Program

2007-04-08T10:12:00Z

I wish this was my idea, but it's not :)

How many times have you done a CMA proposal only to have the seller look at you and tell you, "My home's worth more than that," or " I want to walk with XX amount of dollars?"

Take the guess work out of the asking sale price by offering a certified appraisal to the seller...with conditions!

1. The SELLER pays for the appraisal up front and you reimburse them at closing.
2. The seller selects the appraisor.
3. The seller must agree to list slightly below the appraised value. Why? So you can market the home with with the appraisal in hand or even advertise the fact that the home is listed "below the certified appraised value."

Benefits to YOU:
1. Third party validation. Sellers have a tendency NOT to believe your CMA sometimes.
2. They don't get mad at you, they get mad at the appraisor <grin>

Benefits to the seller:
1. They know that there won't be any surprises if they get an offer because they KNOW what an appraisal will come in at.
2. It's free to them. They just have to close with you.

Pitfalls:
1. The seller may think you're an idiot because you can't come up with a "market value" on your own.
2. The seller won't want to pay for the appraisal up front. In this case you have to decide if you want to pay for half each, or pay for the appraisal yourself and end up eating the cost if your listing doesn't sell and they move to another agency.

A year ago, I tried this with about 3 sellers, but they didn't want to fork out $350 or so for the appraisal and I felt that I didn't want to eat the cost myself (they wanted to list too high).

In todays market, I'm thinking about just offering to pay for this up front myself. If the home sells, great. If it doesn't, then I have another tax deduction! HA! The big issue would be that the seller just decides that they don't want to sell at all once they see an appraisal that's WAY below what they were expecting. Of course, if I have done my home work properly, then my CMA should be pretty close to the appraisal so the seller shouldn't go into denial right? Right??

Any comments?

Great Digital Camera for Agents

2007-04-06T23:39:00Z

After using several commercial virtual tour companies who charge $100 or more to take pictures of my listings (great pictures... just expensive) I went on a mission to find out how I could start taking pictures myself and post them on m MLS, Realtor.com, etc.

Extensive research revealed that Kodak has a camera that met my needs. The model number is is V570 and you can read about it here:
http://kodak.com/eknec/PageQuerier.jhtml?pq-path=7402&pq-locale=en_US&_requestid=5958

The camera has a wide angle lens that makes taking pictures of room a breeze. I bought mine off Ebay :))

Combine the camera with a virtual tour provider like http://homepix.tv/ and you can create your own VT's for free and upload them to Realtor.com for $25 if you want.

Advantages of Being a Corporation?

2007-03-22T11:38:00Z

Years ago I started a little corporation because of other ventures.

My accountant has told me that I should register my license under my corporate name ( my truck is registered in my corp name, but that's all) and get paid via the corp., but I have to be a broker. I don't want to be a broker... I don't need it. After researching, I found that I can be a "sales associate" (in FL) and still form a corporation.

For those of you who are incorporated, what are the advantages of being paid through a corporation compared to being "self employed"? Self employment taxes? Is that it??

What I've Learned as a REALTOR®

2007-03-18T21:15:00Z

Here's what I have learned after almost two years as a REALTOR®, especially after reading the posts on THIS blog!

1. There's no right way or wrong way to do real estate as long as you're honest and ethical. There are MANY different business models and you have to select the one YOU are best at. If you want to sell homes at 7%- that's fine. If you want to do flat fee listings for $399, that's OK too. Whatever works!

2. There's no distinct "best" way to advertise your business. It depends on your budget, where you live, your target market, etc. Do what works for you.

3. Don't under estimate "new" agents and their experience. Although I have only been licensed for about 2 years, I was flipping homes 30 years ago when HGTV wasn't even a thought. I have been married to an interior designer and a real estate broker. I have dated a home appraisor. I am a welder, a rough carpenter and a plumber ( I still call electricians for the big stuff!). I have been "behind the scene" for decades. I know a little something. That "new" agent may know a little something too!

4. What works for ME may not work for YOU. I kinda get in your face and tell it like it is... but that's my personality. You may be the shy quiet type... and kill me with a presentation and get that listing. Good for you! You win. Maybe I'll win the next one!

5. In 2001 there were 2000 REALTOR's® in my town. According to NAR, there are now 7000. THAT means I'll have to try and work harder. Or will it? How many are actually working at it?

6. This business is about money AND relationships. I've had friends list with someone else because I couldn't "cut them a deal" and I've had strangers list with me because I made a good impression. I've had people NOT list with me even though I COULD save them money and HAD a better marketing plan... but they liked their "friend" better! Goes both ways. It all depends. You never know. Whatever...

7. This is a WEIRD business. Seems that every deal is different. I've found out WAY more about gopher turtles than I ever wanted to know; buying a mobile home is tricky; in just being friendly to an elderly gentleman I am now his listing agent for his DOZENS of homes that he owns (my lucky day!). You just never know what's next.

8. NEVER spend your money until you're walking out the from the closing table with a check in your hand.

9. NEVER recommend this business to someone who has to make a full time living from it to support their family. It takes time, and yes I have to "pay my dues" too.

10. This can be a joyfull business. It's great to see the smiles on buyers faces when they sign that last piece of paper and the keys slide across the table. It great to tell a seller that they have a contract!

11. This can be a painful business. It's painfull when a deal falls apart and you have to tell the parties involved.

12. My time is percieved to be valueless to my customers. Is there such a thing as us REALLY taking a day off? Not for me. Well... maybe. I'll have to inform my customers that I won't be availabe. Sure hope they don't get mad! <smile>

13. The potential to earn a great living is limited by ME and only me. I no longer have to wait until the end of each year to see if my raise is 2.5% or 4%! This is a GOOD thing! if I choose not to work... I don't get paid. Simple as that.

14. I have to remember that this IS a business and to keep things in prespective. Thank goodness that my wife (the broker) completely understands why I'm up at 4am working on web sites, or why I'm wired from the adrenalen rush after a closing or getting the listing.

15. This is a business that I can do until I drop dead IF I want to. Or until my brain stops working! HA!

16. As a general statement: REALTOR's® are a crazy bunch of people who almost always have the "A" type personality. Lot's of fun at parties!

And last but NOT least: Treat people well & with respect. If I'm dealing with a buyer who doesn't have and extra $10, but wants a house to try and better their life - treat them the same as a person who has $500K to pay cash for a home.

What goes around comes around!
Work it YOUR way.

And that's my rant for the day!