I am going to go over listing Expireds, FSBOs, and Pre-Foreclosures. Each of these listing leads has different hot buttons. They also have different objections as to why they won’t list with you. Or, list with you versus another agent. Expireds want to know for sure that you can actually get the home sold. FSBOs want to put the most money in their pocket possible. Why are they going FSBO? To Save the commission, or so they think. Pre-foreclosures finally decide to sell when they realize they can’t keep the home and they are going to lose it either way. They want to put as much of their equity in their pocket as possible. When you contact or present everything you do needs to hit the hot button of your prospect. Here are a few of the items I do to demonstrate to the expired that I can g... 02/10/2010

 Pre-Foreclosures can be very profitable to list. I like them. This is an area that if you put in a certain amount of time, then you will get out a certain amount of income in return. You can put in a lot of time trying to list REOs or do a bunch of BPOs, and might end without any new listings. That is why I like listing Pre-Foreclosures. They pay off fast, and are motivated sellers.  The biggest reason a Pre-Foreclosure won’t list with you is because they want to stay in the home. You will get the listing if you happen to be the person in front of them when they do decide to sell. There are so many Pre-Foreclosures out there, and enough of them are deciding to sell at different times that it makes sense to contact them. I have found that anywhere from 10-20% are open to listing at any ... 02/10/2010

 I was talking with an agent the other day about how he could make more money, despite the market conditions. This is a successful agent that sold about 45 homes in 2006, and brought in around $250,000 in income that year. In 2007, he did well, but his income declined somewhat. 2008 has been tough for him so far. It looks like he will close 34 sides by the end of the year. His income is off substantially to $130,000. This is a good, solid, qualified agent with good sales skills.  But, like so many people in the Real Estate Business, he never had a plan for where his business was going to come from. When he gets a lead (whether buyer or seller), he does a great job at closing it. But, for so many years he has made a good living from business that walked in the door on its own. As a resul... 02/10/2010

Advice for Gainesville, FL home sellers from home inspector Richard McGarry What should Gainesville, FL home sellers do to prepare for a home inspector's visit? And what about pre-inspections? Are they a good idea? ASHI-certified home inspector Richard McGarry of McGarry and Madsen Inspection gives Gainesville FL home sellers his advice.   02/10/2010

 Real estate is a crazy business. Where else do people entrust their life’s savings a complete novice? I’m talking about the sellers that list their house with an agent that only works part time, or is brand new. If you’re brand new, I’m not trying to slam you. I’ve just seen a lot of newbie agents list their friend’s homes, even though they didn’t know what they were doing.  I guess I had a different entry into the business. I worked as an assistant to a team for over two years, and had over 9 months of experience as a buyer’s agent before I ever took a listing. Maybe that is why I feel differently about this subject. How do you separate yourself from all the other agents out there?  In my presentation I show the sellers why they need me. This is the first thing you have to do. If you ... 02/10/2010

 Most agents’ business has suffered in the last year or two. If you were to listen to the media talk about the Housing Market and Economy, you’d think the world was coming to an end. But, like anything, there are opportunities in the current market. Let’s look at other businesses that are thriving right now. Collection Agencies are thriving. Credit Repair Companies are doing well. This is because the people that want to buy a home need good credit to get a loan.  Foreclosures Lawyers are doing well. I’m sure they are very busy. And, so is the Repo Man. That is something I’ve always wanted to try out for a week or two. Mainly to see what it’s really like and for the excitement. Unfortunately, my wife won’t allow me to do it. The point is, businesses that adapt to find the opportunities i... 02/10/2010

 Sometimes I get asked that question. To be honest, none of us knows for sure whether or not the market will get better or worse next year  But, it simply doesn’t matter for the agents that who find out how to take advantage of the down market. They will be the ones who go out and find a way to make any deal that can be made in prevailing market conditions. Make no mistake, there are always homes selling.  You can’t use methods that worked in a boom market, and expect them to work just as well in today’s market. If you learn how to prosper in today’s market, then you are assured to be successful when the market comes back.  Vince Lombardi said that luck is what happens when preparedness meets opportunity. We have a tougher go than his players did, because opportunity isn’t always coming... 02/10/2010

Fun at my home inspection   Yes, you read that right.   After all the drama that was our 18 month long wait for our house to sell  in Pittsburgh, PA, and after losing our financial shorts in a major way, I am thrilled to report that we've BOUGHT a HOUSE in the Haile Plantation neighborhood of Gainesville, Florida!  And best of all, since we live in Gainesville, Florida, we'll be able to live in the house that we've bought!   Much more gratifying than owning a house, and paying for a house, in a town where we don't live.   Being the vigilant REALTOR that I am, I immediately set up a home inspection with home inspectors McGarry and Madsen Inspection because they inspected the first home we bought in Gainesville (which ended up falling thru when our house didn't sell in Pittsburgh, which i... 02/10/2010

 If you’ve heard of the Energizer Bunny, then you have seen the effectiveness of good corporate advertising. Here is the problem the average small business or agent has with this type of advertising. It costs a huge amount of money, and takes a long time to pay off. A lot of small businesses run ads that are like the Bunny Ads. It’s a trap they fall into. Here’s why.  They run ads like that because that is what you are supposed to do. After all, those big companies are successful, right? Yes, maybe they are, but the average small business doesn’t have 6 months to a year, and $2 million dollars, to wait for customers to start coming in the door from their advertising. They need business from their advertising budget quick. The Bunny ads are somewhat effective, but this strategy works for... 02/08/2010

 I mentioned recently that I didn’t think the Energizer Battery Ad was very credible. I mentioned that I thought it was a clever gambit, but it didn’t convince me their batteries were better. The fact that a bunny on TV can keep on jumping around, does not mean they are great batteries. The ads fail to give you any evidence of why the bunny is jumping around.  Here is another story that illustrates how crazy some ads are. How many of us haven’t heard the Car Dealership Ads on the radio? I remember when I was a teenager; I went to a park with the family of a friend of mine. Some car guy is on the radio pitching how cheap they sell cars. All of a sudden, my friend’s Dad says, “Why don’t they just give the cars away? Do they really think I’m that stupid?”  This Dad is a computer techie and... 02/08/2010

 If you’ve been in business any amount of time, you know how these people can drive you nuts. I think all of us could sit around all day and just vent about it. But, why don’t we do something to fix it? Buyers are buying, and will jump on a property that is a deal. The other day an agent I know told me that recently, one of his listings had sold in two days. How?  Simple, it was priced right. Even though the house was in bad shape, the price was very competitive (compared to other listings), which caused it to sell. How do we find motivated sellers and get listings priced right to sell? I’m going to go over this question the next few days.  Here’s the first big mistake agents make trying to get listings: Fighting over the price up front. This one mistake alone will often cause the most ... 02/08/2010

 I got an e-mail back from a gal requesting that I send her the common objections again. So today, I am sending you a compilation of common objections and what you have to overcome to list Expired Listings, Pre-Foreclosures, and FSBOs.  Each of these listing leads has different hot buttons. They also have different objections as to why they won’t list with you. Or, list with you versus another agent. Expireds want to know for sure that you can actually get the home sold. FSBOs want to put the most money in their pocket possible. Why are they going FSBO? To Save the commission, or so they think. Pre-foreclosures finally decide to sell when they realize they can’t keep the home and they are going to lose it either way. They want to put as much of their equity in their pocket as possible. ... 02/08/2010

 I am a big fan of direct mail. I can leverage my time dramatically by using it. But, here’s where the real leverage comes from. I get a lot more listing appointments when I mail an expired listing (or FSBO or Pre-Foreclosure) and then call that same expired 3-4 days later. My sales letter does the heavy lifting for me. Most people will at least read thru it and see the high points.  Such as: who I am, why they should hire me, and what kind of results I have gotten for other sellers. The best description of my letter is that it is a “Presentation in a Sales Letter.” I have much better success calling a home seller after they have received my letter, versus just cold calling them. The completely cold call approach is what I used to do. And it worked. But, not as well as sending a letter ... 02/08/2010

  Mail rental property owners info on other potential rentals for sale. This is so simple, but nobody does it. If a  property comes on your MLS that would cash flow as a rental property, just simply pull a list of other rental property owners (or duplex or multi-family owners) from the property appraiser’s website. Then mail those people info on that property. It doesn’t even have to be your listing. (Beginning of Letter) Who Else Is Looking For a Rental Property That Cash Flows Every Month? Dear John,    A great rental property just came on the market here in Lake City. I wanted to send you the information on it. The home is currently rented for $600 per month and has an extra lot next door. The seller is currently asking $62,000. The following is a breakdown on the cash flow you could... 02/08/2010

 Money Losing Advertising Mistake #1: Using the Helicopter Approach. “What is the Helicopter Approach”, you may ask. It's like getting in a helicopter, flying over town and just dumping your sales message out of the helicopter and hoping that it gets to a person that is interested in your product or service. If you were to do this in real life, the cost would be over $5,000 and you might reach 10-15 people interested in buying or selling a home. Out of those 10-15 people, maybe one or two would call you.  Advertising that falls into the Helicopter Approach is big TV, Radio, Bus Benches, Billboards, or other campaigns that don’t target a specific seller or buyer. See, these methods are great for getting your name out there in the public’s mind. But, they are very expensive and most of th... 02/08/2010

Today I wanted to put together a few items you can all use to list more expireds. Tip #1: Credibility. Now, what is credibility? Credibility is whether or not someone takes what you are saying as valid. According to the dictionary, credibility is defined as, “capable of being believed, believable, worthy of belief or confidence.” Everyone has a built in lie detector. Especially when they are being sold to. I remember meeting a buyer one time that questioned every word I said. He was from “big city” America. People from big cities are more skeptical of people, and this guy was especially so. This was during the period when the market was red hot and a lot of sellers (probably 25-50%) were selling FSBO. With homes in so much demand and the agent raising up the price (at least that’s the w... 02/08/2010

I've got an idea today that I'm sure is going to be controversial. The Realtor Code of Ethics states that: "Realtors, in attempting to secure a listing, shall not deliberately mislead the owner as to market value. This is under Standard of Practice 1-3. We are all having a problem with high BPOs. In fact, I met one agent who told me she tries to turn in high BPOs. This is what her real estate trainer recommended. Kind of interesting that a trainer would recommend agents break the code of ethics. What is your opinion on this? Do you think we should start to file ethics complaints if a BPO agent turns in a unrealistic, high value? Or, what about the bank's position, if the house is foreclosed upon and the bank loses more money as a result? What if these banks start taking legal action aga... 02/07/2010

Radon: What is it, why should I care, and what can I do about it?   Q.  Is radon real? Yup. Radon is a naturally occurring radioactive gas that forms as the result of the breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water, and can be found anywhere in the world.  This radioactive gas comes up out of the ground and can seep into buildings. According to the United States Surgeon General, radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer deaths in the United States after smoking.  A 2003 report from the EPA estimated that radon causes about 21,000 lung cancer deaths a year.   Here is a clip of ASHI-certified inspector Richard McGarry, of McGarry and Madsen Home inspections, talking about radon and what homeowners and potential homebuyers can do about it:     McGarry, who conducts much of his bus... 02/07/2010

 If I was a miner that is what I would say about expired listings. If you have expireds in your market and you aren’t attempting to list them, then you are missing out on one of the richest veins of gold around. Expireds are great because they are the most realistic, reasonable sellers.  To get an expired to call, you have to think from their perspective. You must figure out how to make your proposal to them in such a way that it motivates them to call you. To be successful at “selling in print” you have to psych out the person on the other side. You have to visualize their experience and what they are feeling. Then you can take those experiences and sell based on that. For example, you call an expired and they throw you the objection, “where were you when our home was for sale. We are ... 02/04/2010

 If you’re working with buyers, then you’ve got to get them to commit to working exclusively with you. How many times have we put the time, effort, and mental energy into a buyer only to have them purchase with the listing agent? It’s frustrating. That’s why I get my buyers to sign a buyer agency.   The whole buyer agency is a process. When you first meet with a buyer at your office, you explain to them the benefits you bring. You tell them, “I will be on the lookout for a home that will meet your needs. I will represent you and fight to get you the best deal. I will be on your side, versus working for the seller.” After that, you show them how much time it will take you to help them. How much time does it take to help a buyer find a home, write the contract, negotiate the contract, han... 02/03/2010