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October 2017 North West Multiple Listing Service News Release
March NWMLS News Release is now available! Check it out below or visit my Facebook page here for more information.
March NWMLS New Release
Today I asked the question, what does it mean to get to the next level? It started some great conversation among the new and experienced agents!
. . .
“The threshold between just getting into the business and doing real estate because it comes your way to now saying wait a minute I want to do real estate on purpose.”
Getting to The Next Level
Still a strong sellers market in Kitsap County but at least the needle is out of the far peg.
Small actions done consistently over time lead to great success…..
Kitsap real estate and housing trends.
We are in a market in which the buyer who wants to wait…to save up a little more money…..cannot save enough, fast enough. Two scenarios that I’m covering at our weekly office meeting at John L. Scott in Poulsbo.
Just this month a buyers buying power has gone down by $31,000 just because of the jump in interest rates.
Kitsap County real estate is picking up. Poulsbo, Bainbridge Island and Silverdale are all markets that are seeing a reduction in inventory and multiple offer situations on newly listed homes. Buyers today need to be ready to make an offer when they find a home they like.
Reduced buying power
Market uptick means lost buying power and lost opportunity for buyers
Please excuse my current look. This is sort of what home buyers and sellers go through……when boxing everything up to move…… it looks really really bad before it starts looking better.
Please hang in there and check back as I learn how to use a new a new theme.
Updating my blog……..
This spring market is really showing signs of stabilizing our market in Kitsap County. Despite the fact that overall home values in Kitsap declined 5% last month all of the signs are there for price stabilization as well as price appreciation as we move into 2013. For the North West Multiple Listing Service (NWMLS) news release click here.
What are those signs you might ask? We are seeing more activity; at open houses, on our phones, more buyers looking at houses and more offers. We are also seeing inventory decreasing in many price ranges and homes that are on the market a shorter period of time as well as multiple offer situations. And I’ll be the first to say….this feels good.
This is also a good time to be going into the real estate business. Right now we are working within what you might call a good thick condensed broth. Much of the water has boiled off over the past couple of years, and what I mean by that is many of the part time brokers or brokers who were not serious about this as a profession have taken their leave.
This is truly a time to get back to the basics of running a real estate business. As a new broker who applies all of the principles that a good Branch Managing Broker should teach you, you should be able to start your business off and double your income each year for years 2 and 3 while hitting your overall goals between years 3 and 5.
If you are new to the business or just getting started in the process be sure to interview several brokers and focus on how you feel about the person you are interviewing (the branch managing broker) and the environment of the office. Is there energy and momentum in the office? Are they doing transactions?
Just like individual brokers there are still offices who have their heads in yesterdays market. You want to ensure your new office is excited about real estate and optimistic about the future. A company may claim to be #1 in the region…what is more important is how is that office doing by itself.
In case you hadn’t guessed, I think this is a great time to be getting into real estate!
A fresh start with this new spring market
I attended a class put on by Rick Deluca last week up in Port Ludlow WA. He is what I would consider a classic real estate pro. The basics never get old and I find his approach very refreshing in this age of glitz and gadgets.
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The 20 Biggest Mistakes
Brokers make as they build their business.
My Notes from Rick Deluca class June 1, 2011
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1) Accountability:
    Be accountable to someone
    Broker
    Coach
    Partner
    Group
2) Focusing on a 12 month plan:
Who can see that far into the future, instead focus on your activates for the next 12 weeks
    Block out personal time
    Block out educational time
    Write it down and review it each day
3) They don’t treat the profession of real estate as a “real jobâ€.
    Have a schedule
    Have systems
    Be consistent
4) Being a student of the industry:
    Know the market
    Know your own numbers
    Knowledge breads confidence
(Rick has a good list of numbers you should know)
5) If you don’t act like an expert you will not be perceived to be the expert:
    Do local market studies to know the area
    Be prepared to answer the questions
    (See number 4 above)
6) Have an unrealistic expectation that clients will call you:
    You need to stay in front of them consistently
    Use all types of marketing; in person, phone, mail, e-mail, hand written note
    Everything comes down to TRUST…how do you demonstrate TRUST…through
    your Character and your Competence.
    Character goes to personal activities
    Competence goes to professional activities
7) Be influenced by negativity:
    Be careful where you get your news
    You can’t control most of it anyway
    Just turn the news off
    Don’t listen to people who are negative…it rubs off
    Often others who are most willing to share….shouldn’t, they have nothing   Â
     better to do.
8) Spend too much time reinventing the wheel:
    Copy the most successful people around you
    Search for it before you design or build it
    Ask your broker..he/she probably has something you can use already
9) Treat everyone in your data base as equal…..they are NOT:
    Look at data base like a target
         Bulls eye = They enjoy you and your success
          1st ring = Would refer you to others
          2nd ring = Might refer you to others
          3rd ring = Probably should not be in your data base
    Know who your “Bulls eye†people are and spend most of your time and
    attention on them
10) Are not consistent with ongoing contact:
    Only 11% of customers later use the same agent again even though 88% said
     they would when asked after their transaction closed.
     Of the customers who did not use the same agent again 65% said it was
     because of a perception of …….indifference.
     Send out an annual thank you letter
     If you have not been in contact send a mea culpa letter.
     Always show evidence of success
11) Don’t regularly update their presentations:
    Market time vs. Selling price
    Remodel vs. Sell
    Keep it neat and professional
    The higher the quality of the physical package the higher the perceived value of
     the information and the information provider (that’s you)
12) Failure to fulfill promises:
    Provide a sellers activity report every 2 weeks
    Call day after closing
13) Be willing to be the boss:
    Hold yourself accountable, you are the boss of you
    7-10% of income goes back into your business
    3 times a week stay an extra 15 mins and ask yourself “How could I have
    increased my productivity today?â€
14) Have a business plan:
    Keep it simple
    Bulleted points on 1 page
    Daily habits/routine that will lead to your success
15) Not spending enough time constantly generating leads:
    30-45 mins. a day on lead generating activities
    Create new habits at http://www.habitforge.com
16) Not using systems:
    Everything you do more than once should have a checklist or system
    A system is a process that can be replicated, duplicated, anyone can do it and
    you can hand it off. A system is a written process.
17) Most agents don’t stretch themselves:
    Yes it can be uncomfortable, You can’t grow when you are trapped in your
    comfort zone
    Hold yourself to a daily action plan
    Must do
    Should do
    Would like to do
18) Pricing home correctly:
    Know the market
    You set the parameters you are comfortable with as a professional
    Use fhfa.gov for good information
    Housingpredictor.com
19) Social marketing:
    Some spend too much time on this one method of marketing
    Do it professionally
    Keep in mind you are doing this for their information…not your ego
20) Fail to embrace technology:
    Don’t hide behind it
    Use it to duplicate you…you in many places
    Youtube.com
    Eyejot.com
    We are in the wave of video….get with it too. Great for testimonials
Rick Deluca resources:
http://www.realtor.org
http://www.realestateideaclub.com
The 20 Biggest Mistakes Real Estate Agents Make…..
In the last of this year’s success club series, Jan Zufelt, a real estate broker from our Kingston office, shares with our group some of her systems, ideas and philosophies that go into making her the success that she is.
Jan’s systems and outlook on life allow her to deliver a superior customer experience when working with home buyers and sellers.
In this 3 part series Jan covers valuable tools and ideas that real estate professionals can employ in their business; Power To-do Lists, Filing, Listing and Open House systems as well as thoughts about using Act or Microsoft Outlook.
Success Club 2011, Jan Zufelt Part 3 of 3
In the last of this year’s success club series, Jan Zufelt, a real estate broker from our Kingston office, shares with our group some of her systems, ideas and philosophies that go into making her the success that she is.
Jan’s systems and outlook on life allow her to deliver a superior customer experience when working with home buyers and sellers.
In this 3 part series Jan covers valuable tools and ideas that real estate professionals can employ in their business; Power To-do Lists, Filing, Listing and Open House systems as well as thoughts about using Act or Microsoft Outlook.
Success Club 2011, Jan Zufelt Part 2 of 3
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In the last of this year’s success club series, Jan Zufelt, a real estate broker from our Kingston office, shares with our group some of her systems, ideas and philosophies that go into making her the success that she is.
Jan’s systems and outlook on life allow her to deliver a superior customer experience when working with home buyers and sellers.
In this 3 part series Jan covers valuable tools and ideas that real estate professionals can employ in their business; Power To-do Lists, Filing, Listing and Open House systems as well as thoughts about using Act or Microsoft Outlook.
Success Club 2011, Jan Zufelt Part 1 of 3
Brain Wilson, our 4th presenter in this years John L. Scott Success Club, shares with us some great tips about using different file formats, using Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Excel, Cloud Computing and other skills and habits he brings to bear in his successful real estate career. You can also find out more information about he and his partner Jana Salmans at http://www.janaandbrian.com. This is part 3 of 3.
Brian’s presentation was on St. Patrick’s Day…….You can’t have real estate without a little fun and Brian always leaves you with a smile on your face.
Success Club 2011, Brian Wilson Part 3 of 3 with St. Patrick’s Day toast
Brain Wilson, our 4th presenter in this years John L. Scott Success Club, shares with us some great tips about using different file formats, using Microsoft Outlook, Microsoft Excel, Cloud Computing and other skills and habits he brings to bear in his successful real estate career. You can also find out more information about he and his partner Jana Salmans at http://www.janaandbrian.com. This is part 2 of 3.
Success Club 2011, Brian Wilson Part 2 of 3
Teri Hewson is the third presenter in our John L. Scott 2011 Success Club series. Teri shares with our brokers the importance of preperation for a listing appointment, how to put together an effective CMA using market statistics as well as marketing that he has found effective when listing and selling homes.
Part 5 of 5
Success Club 2011, Teri Hewson Part 5 of 5
Teri Hewson is the third presenter in our John L. Scott 2011 Success Club series. Teri shares with our brokers the importance of preperation for a listing appointment, how to put together an effective CMA using market statistics as well as marketing that he has found effective when listing and selling homes.
Part 4 of 5
Success Club 2011, Teri Hewson Part 4 of 5
Teri Hewson is the third presenter in our John L. Scott 2011 Success Club series. Teri shares with our brokers the importance of preperation for a listing appointment, how to put together an effective CMA using market statistics as well as marketing that he has found effective when listing and selling homes.
Part 3 of 5
Success Club 2011, Teri Hewson Part 3 of 5
Teri Hewson is the third presenter in our John L. Scott 2011 Success Club series. Teri shares with our brokers the importance of preperation for a listing appointment, how to put together an effective CMA using market statistics as well as marketing that he has found effective when listing and selling homes.
Part 2 of 5
Success Club 2011, Teri Hewson Part 2 of 5
Teri Hewson is the third presenter in our John L. Scott 2011 Success Club series. Teri shares with our brokers the importance of preperation for a listing appointment, how to put together an effective CMA using market statistics as well as marketing that he has found effective when listing and selling homes.
Part 1 of 5
Success Club 2011, Teri Hewson Part 1 of 5
This is our offices second annual success club. This year it is subtitled “Masters Series†because we are going to have 5 of our brokers put on presentations sharing with our office and its brokers what they do to be a successful broker in todays market.
Over the coming weeks I’ll share with you the videos from each of our speakers. This presentation, our second in the series, is by a very seasoned broker by the name of Jana Salmans. Jana has built her success on a foundation of systems. Here she shares a few of her business and life philosophies as well as the way she uses Microsoft Outlook to stay in touch with her client data base.
Success Club 2011, Jana Salmans Part 4of4
This is our offices second annual success club. This year it is subtitled “Masters Series†because we are going to have 5 of our brokers put on presentations sharing with our office and its brokers what they do to be a successful broker in todays market.
Over the coming weeks I’ll share with you the videos from each of our speakers. This presentation, our second in the series, is by a very seasoned broker by the name of Jana Salmans. Jana has built her success on a foundation of systems. Here she shares a few of her business and life philosophies as well as the way she uses Microsoft Outlook to stay in touch with her client data base.
Success Club 2011, Jana Salmans Part 3 of 4
Below is a repost from Ask the Taxgirl. This discussion keeps rearing its ugly head and she does a good job of addressing it.
February 19, 2011 · 8 comments
Taxpayer asks:
Please tell me this isn’t so…..Under the new health care bill, all real estate transactions will be subject to a 3.8 % sales tax. This new tax is supposed to kick in 2013.
taxgirl says:
I’ve gotten a few questions about this so-called “real estate tax†lately. Concern about the “tax†has escalated due to a chain email making the rounds. The email, which has a few variations, looks more or less like this:
This should help stimulate the real estate market! Under the new health care bill, did you know that all real estate transactions are subject to a 3.8% “sales tax� If you sell your $400,000 home, this will be a $15,200 tax.
You can thank Nancy, Harry and Barack for this one.
The email is so wrong on so many levels. Here’s what you need to know… Under current law, qualifying individual taxpayers are entitled to a $250,000 exclusion on the gain from the sale of a main home; qualifying married taxpayers are entitled to a $500,000 exclusion. The exclusion is on the gain from the sale, not the net sale proceeds. Gain is figured by taking the sales price and subtracting the basis. Basis is generally the original cost of your home plus capital improvements and adjustments (if you need a refresher on basis, check out this prior post).
As an example, let’s say you’re an individual taxpayer. You bought your house in 2005 for $200,000 and sold it in 2010 for $300,000, your gain is $100,000. If you qualify – meaning that you owned the home and used it as your “main home†for at least two years out of the five years prior to the sale – you’re entitled to an exclusion of $250,000. Since your gain is $100,000, you owe no capital gains tax.
This capital gains exclusion rule is still on the books. It hasn’t been changed.
The provision under the new health care law that’s stirring up all of these emails is a Medicare tax of 3.8% imposed on investment/unearned income for high income taxpayers. High income taxpayers means those individual taxpayers reporting income over $200,000 and married taxpayers filing jointly reporting income over $250,000. Investment income includes exactly what you’d think but excludes distributions from qualified retirement plans, including pensions and IRAs (meaning your retirement income won’t be surcharged despite which variation of this email you read).
Here’s where things get a little technical. Remember how I referred to the $250,000 gain (or $500,000 for married taxpayers) as an exclusion? That means it’s excluded from income. It remains excluded from income for purposes of the Medicare tax. So, no matter what your income level, those exclusions would still apply.
If your income is above the threshold and if the gain from the sale of your home is more than the exclusion, then you would be subject to the Medicare tax – but only on the non-exempt portion.
Let me give you an example. Let’s say the basis in your home, as a married taxpayer, is $400,000 and you sell your main home for $1,000,000. Your gain is $600,000. Of that, $500,000 is exempt. The overage of $100,000 would be subject to the 3.8% tax if your income was more than $250,000. The tax on your $1,000,000 sale would be, then, $3,800.
That’s a lot of “ifs.â€
The tax would also apply on non-exempt sales (such as vacation homes) but again, only if your income is above the threshold.
To put this in perspective, in 2008 (the last year for which complete tax stats are available), about 3% of individual tax returns reported income of $200,000 or more. So, the potential pool of taxpayers affected by the law is, at most, 3% of taxpayers (or about 1% of the population).
For a bit of additional perspective, in 2008, the median sales price for home sales was well under the total capital gains exclusion, at a mere $181,300. Remember that the gain (not the sales price) on your home would have to exceed the exclusion before you would be subject to the new tax.
Of course, the folks who will be affected by the new tax probably aren’t happy. It probably feels unfair. But here’s the rationale behind it: taxpayers who earn their money from wages are subject to Medicare tax on those wages. There’s no exemption and, unlike Social Security tax, no cap on the wages subject to tax. But folks who earn their money from investment and other passive income (think, for example, about Steve Jobs who “earns†$1 from Apple in wages but receives stocks and other perks) don’t pay Medicare tax on that income. The idea of this new tax wasn’t to single out the real estate market or wealthy taxpayers; it’s actually an effort to ensure that all taxpayers pay tax on income.
So the bottom line is that there is no new national “real estate tax.†The Medicare tax is now being imposed on investment/unearned income for individual taxpayers making $200,000 or married taxpayers making $250,000.
If you want more information, you can check out section 9105 of the health care law. My original summary of the health care law can be found here. And if you want to read the law (which I encourage) you can download it as a pdf here. The reconciliation act – just 55 pages – can be downloaded as a pdf here.
Hopefully, that explanation makes sense. I’d love to hear what you think – chime in below with your thoughts on the tax and whether you think it’s fair.
Like any good lawyer, I need to add a disclaimer: unfortunately, it is impossible to offer comprehensive tax info over the internet, no matter how well researched or written. And remember, I love my readers but having me bookmarked on your computer doesn’t make you a client: before relying on any information given on this site, contact a tax professional to discuss your particular situation.
Have a question? Ask the taxgirl! – On twitter at http://www.twitter.com/taxgirl and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/taxgirl
Is There a New Real Estate Tax Buried in the New Health Care Law?
This is our offices second annual success club. This year it is subtitled “Masters Series†because we are going to have 5 of our brokers put on presentations sharing with our office and its brokers what they do to be a successful broker in todays market.
Over the coming weeks I’ll share with you the videos from each of our speakers. This presentation, our second in the series, is by a very seasoned broker by the name of Jana Salmans. Jana has built her success on a foundation of systems. Here she shares a few of her business and life philosophies as well as the way she uses Microsoft Outlook to stay in touch with her client data base.
Success Club 2011, Jana Salmans Part 2 of 4
This is our offices second annual success club. This year it is subtitled “Masters Series†because we are going to have 5 of our brokers put on presentations sharing with our office and its brokers what they do to be a successful broker in todays market.
Over the coming weeks I’ll share with you the videos from each of our speakers. This presentation, our second in the series, is by a very seasoned broker by the name of Jana Salmans. Jana has built her success on a foundation of systems. Here she shares a few of her business and life philosophies as well as the way she uses Microsoft Outlook to stay in touch with her client data base.
Success Club 2011, Jana Salmans Part 1 of 4
A lot of the brokers in my office found Droids in their Christmas stockings this past year. We are all working hard to integrate them into our real estate business without getting too sidetracked with our new toys.  We decided to put together a “Droid Users Group†and along with a little pizza and beer we are going to help each other turn these toys into tools. At this next meeting we are all tasked with bringing a list of the top applications that we use to make our life or business better, smoother or more organized. Here is my list in no particular order:
1)     Dropbox: A free service that allows you to set up a folder on each of your computers and your droid. Whenever you save a file in the folder, or update a file that is already in the folder it automatically updates it across all of your devices. This is also a great way to get started with saving/backing up your files “in the cloudâ€. Here is a link to set up Dropbox then simply download the Dropbox app from the Android Market on your phone.
2)     Evernote: This is similar to Dropbox, it too is free and allows you to store and easily retrieve information from any of your devices or from any computer that you can log onto the internet with. I do like its ability to allow you to search all of the documents easily. You can also easily send things into your Evernote account via e-mail. Click here for Evernote.
3)Â Â Â Â Â Advanced Task Killer: This program make it easy to shut down applications that might be running in the background on your Droid. The goal here is to make your droid run a little faster and allow your battery to work a little longer. This program is free just go to the Android Market on your phone.
4)Â Â Â Â Â gReader: With all of the information coming at us from so many directions this is a great tool to keep up with news and information in the real estate world (or any topic of your choice). It is easy to set up within your Google account, pick what blogs you want to follow then download this app into your Droid and you are ready to read.
5)     Astrid Task and/or Got To Do: I’m torn between these two. They are both good to do list programs. Got To Do has more features and links with your Toodledo account online. Got To Do is based on the GTD or Getting Things Done program that you may have heard David Allen speak about. Astrid Task seems very straight forward and is a little easier to use.
6)Â Â Â Â Â Gesture Search: This was my first app that I downloaded and makes finding your contacts easier and quicker. Using your finger, Â just start drawing out the letters of the name you are looking for and the list auto populates. Beats trying to key in the name on the keyboard.
7)     Wine+….ok, so this has little to do with real estate, and everything to do with quality of life. This is my most expensive application coming in at $2.99…..yes American. It allows me to take a picture of the wine label or scan the bar code, take notes on the wine and rate it for later reference. There is so much good wine and so little time, this is a wonderful hand held tool that will help me keep track of it all.
8)     Barcode Scanner: This is a handy little tool when you see one of these new fangled QR codes. Scan the code and it will either read for you what it says or direct you to a website. According to the website you can also use this to scan typical bar codes in the store though I’ve not tried it yet. It does work on some of the wines I’ve tried it on.
9)     Meebo IM: This is a neat cross platform IM tool. Regardless of what IM service provider you use or your friends use this will allow you to communicate. I use it when I’m out of the office to communicate with our Support Staff Team. Since Meebo is also a computer based application they can stay logged in all day and send me a question or comment and I can easily respond from my phone.
10)Â Â FaceBook Ap: Can we really go anywhere without it these days?
11)Â Â FX Camera: I find this to be better than the camera software that came with the phone. A few more tools, a little quicker and easier to e-mail.
Everyone has their favorites, I’d love to see yours.
Android Apps That Feed My Real Estate Droid
Some of you may ask what a Kindle has to do with real estate. I’m finding that this is becoming a valuable tool for me, and it does not always come down to “real estate”, this goes to quality of life. My Kindle has become part of my technology package. I always have it with me so as a result I’m finding that I’m reading more.
I’m amazed at all the of free books that are available. Just Google “free kindle books” and you too will be amazed at how many sources there are. Just take a few minutes and look around the Amazon Kindle store and you will find a lot of titles. Project Gutenberg is a great resource as well www.gutenberg.org.
In addition to books you can also have blogs and periodicals sent to your Kindle. I have also uploaded some referance documents that I freqently access.
So, what do I have on my Kindle so far?
-About 60 books (I only paid for about a third of them)
-2010 NAR Profile of Home Buyer and Sellers
-A Kindle World Blog
-The Apple Core (a blog that feeds my new found interest in all things Apple)
-Instapaper articles (http://www.instapaper.com/)
-My personal affirmations that I read daily
-MLS rules and regulations
Sure, there are other devices that allow you to read books on them, I’ve found however, that the Kindle is the best device for just reading books. I spent some time reading the other day with my wifes Ipad and found that it affected my eyes much the same way reading a computer screen does. I think it has to do with back lighting vs non back lighting. The Kindle does not back light so it is easier on my eyes.
In Short…I love my Kindle and I would highly recomend it if you like to read…please let me know your experiences, especially with other products.
Shameless plug for Kindle
10 Best Business Card Practices
1)  Always…..No, really, ALWAYS have business cards with you.
2)  Stash business cards with your spouse, in your car, in your brief case or purse. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been able to rescue myself from rule #1 by going to my stash of business cards I keep in the unused ashtray in my car.
3)Â Â When presented with a business card take a moment and read it. This shows respect in any culture.
4)  When you are handed a business card, and of course you take a moment to read it, don’t put it away, keep it in your hand while you talk with the person you just met. By keeping it in your hand, should the name of the person in front of you drift from your mind it is easy to sneak a quick peak at the card. Additionally if you look at the card from time to time during your discussion as well as use their name several times you stand a much better chance of remembering their name in the future.
5)Â Â Ensure your business card is easy to read and to the point. Consumers are inundated with contact information, phone numbers and other information. Keep yours simple, your name, business name, business address, business phone, cell phone, e-mail and web address.
6)Â Â Keep your real estate designations to a minimum. I know you are proud of the alphabet soup after your name but the public could care less. You are better off to show your professionalism by how you show yourself, how prepared you are and your actions.
The Beginning of a Great Relationship
7)  If you work for a large company don’t deviate from their color and layout scheme. There are plenty of other places to show your individuality like personal brochures and flyers. Large companies spend millions to build a brand identity and I’m sure you are paying good money to be part of that company. Ride their marketing coat tails to the benefit of your own business.
8)Â Â When you begin working with a buyer or seller give them a stack of your cards and ask them to give them to people they know. Having a pocketful of your cards is especially beneficial to buyers who visit open houses. When approached by the hosting agent they can simply present your card thus holding off advances from the other agent.
9)Â Â Use your cards in everyday life. If a waitress gives you good service leave a nice tip and offer to return the favor of good service if ever they are interested in real estate. The same would apply to any other services offered, barber, masseuse, personal trainer, shoe salesman, auto mechanic. Everyone appreciates a compliment; perhaps write a quick note on the back of your card.
10)                  Collect other professional’s cards and hand them out. Nothing will get business coming your way quicker than referring business to others. Ask for a stack of business cards from your home insurance agent. Write your name on the back and next time you are asked who a good insurance agent is hand them one of these cards as well as your own. This will get back to the insurance agent and what better person to network with. Again, this applies to everyone you work with that offers good service. By becoming a cheerleader for others they will become a cheerleader for you.
11)                  Bonus business card practice…….refer to rule #1
10 Best Business Card Practices
Ideas for Multi Faceted Marketing EventsÂ
In my last post we talked about the concept of adding a little extra effort to something we are already doing to create something bigger than the original event. We are leveraging our business and adding “facets†to every thing we do in real estate in an attempt to touch more people and create more impressions.Â
Adding additional facets usually has little or no added cost, yet you are leveraging the hard work you have already done by getting the listing, writing the blog post, taking the class or earning the designation. You are turning a single event into a Multi Faceted Marketing Event (MFME).Â
As promised here are some more examples: (F=Facet)Â
New Listing:
         F1- Sign goes up (lots of new impressions)
         F2- Just listed cards go to neighbors
         F3- Follow up phone call to neighbors
         F4- Place listing on company website
         F5- Syndicate the new listing to popular
                  real estate websites
         F6- Seller sees how pro-active you areÂ
Open House:
         F1- Invitations to neighbors
         F2- Add in local paper open house section
         F3- Open house placement on your website
         F4- Door knock neighborhoodÂ
Writing a Blog Post:
         F1- New entry on your blog
         F2- E-mail link to your new post to sphere
         F3- Print out new entry for hand outs at open houses
         F4- Print out for use in first meeting packs for buyers
                 and sellers
         F5- Post links back to your blog from your website and
                  places like Active Rain.
         F6- Drive people back to your blog through all of your
                  marketing, you receive increased credibility.        Â
Taking a class:
         F1- Learning new information
         F2- Change voice mail greeting, lets callers know you
                  are honing your skills at the class
         F3- Press release
         F4- Write a blog post about the class, what you learned
                  and how it will benefit your customers.Â
Earning a new designation like GRI, CRS, ABR, SRES etc……
         F1- You’ve learned some great stuff
         F2- Place designations on marketing material
         F3- Write a blog post about it and what the designation means
         F4- Write a press release
         F5- Add this information to your listing and buyer presentationsÂ
Price reduction:
         F1- Helps you to get your listing sold
         F2- Send post cards to 50 neighbors
         F3- Follow up post cards with a phone callÂ
Please, in your comments share your ideas for turning everyday real estate business into MFMEs.Â
You will find that by focusing your business efforts on Multi Faceted Marketing Events you will do more business, with less cost and have greater success and control over your business and personal life.Â
Good luck and please share your thoughts.
Ideas for Multi Faceted Marketing Events
Adding Google Analytics to your website or blog is critical. I just reviewed my results for this blog and currently the number 1 string of key words are:
“should i consider a career in real estate right now?”
So I thought I’d use this opportunity to, not only pump the importance of having analytics as part of your on-line marketing stratagey but to also answer….or attempt to answer this question.
Actually the answer may have always been the same…..it depends.
Starting out in real estate is just like starting any other business. You have to do the research, compare your tools and talants to what is called for, put together a plan and last but certainly not least set aside plenty of start up capital. Many, if not most businesses fail because they are under capitalized.
For a quick start to the steps of getting started go here…..
The real estate profession is still full of part time agents, speculative agents and agents who are waiting for the next big market. What this means to you is that if you come in, do the homework and apply yourself there is plenty of room. You must treat it like a business and apply yourself.
As you jump into the deep end you will find many trainers, books, CDs and manuals. In the big picture if you pick most any one off the shelf and apply yourself they will work. A couple of my favorite programs or trainers:
Walt Frey http://www.waltfrey.com/
Brian Buffini: http://www.buffiniandcompany.com/
Joe Stumpf: http://www.byreferralonly.com/
Cindy White: http://www.cindywhite.com/
Renee Chatalas: http://www.themakingofapro.com/
I like each of these…for different reasons. One of the challenges in getting started is if you ask ten agents their opinion you will get ten different opinions. Some advice for a new agent:
1) Listen to your Broker
2) Listen to your Mentor (if you don’t have one get one)
3) Listen to your trainer
4) Stop looking for the magic pill…everyone wants to find the one piece of advice that will make them rich, the one pill that will make them thin, the one procedure that will make them attractive, the one line that will get them lucky……..well stop it!
5) Don’t solicit advice from the resource room or common area of your office. Often the agents who have the time on their hands and are most likely to offer advice or “take you under their wing” are the ones you do not want to listen to.
So, despite the times, the economy, the bail out, the headlines….there are still buyers and sellers out there. If you have the gumption to get into this business and do it right, it is the perfect time.
Should I consider a career in real estate right now?
As an industry we are struggling with this new real estate environment. Several years ago we watched buyers, sellers and agents change their view on real estate as an investment. Somewhere along the way people began to look at real estate as a commodity. Like pork bellies or oil shares consumers felt real estate was something you invested in one week, watched the market and traded like a stock weeks or months later.
The problem with that is, for awhile at least, this worked. A whole new group of real estate entrepreneurs were born. Flippers, speculators and wanna be land barons began to flock to real estate as the next ladder to financial independence. Then….we woke up and now find ourselves with the light of reality shining in. Those new to the business are now wanting to know what to do. What is reality now that the laws of gravity have been re-established.
The good news is that there is nothing new here. The basic reasons for investing in real estate are still in tact. The reason why people buy and sell real estate in our area are the same as a few years ago……..again. Rather than listening to all of the hype and overly negative media it is time to focus on what we do have and not on what we don’t. Yes this is cheer leading at it’s most basic form….but isn’t that what we need right now? Reminding people why home ownership is so important, why it is such an honor and how lucky we are to be able to purchase a home when in much of the world ownership of real property is but a dream.
It is time to bring common sense back to the market, our agents and consumers. Though the below is based on Kitsap County WA I’m sure you can find some parallels for your area:
We live in a very desirable area:
Reasonable house prices (Now)
Great Schools
Great quality of Life
Not in the city but only a ferry ride away
Good health care availability
Close to recreation
Wonderful scenery
Interest rates are very reasonable
We have a relatively stable job market
We have a wonderful selection of homes to choose from
We still have sales going on
Homes are a good investment:
Home values are down fractionally compared to other investments.
Good tax benefits
Offers more control over your living environment
Good way to build wealth over a long period of time
Provides control over your living expenses provided you have a fixed mortgagem
Homes continue to be a good long term investment.