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FHA Refinance Program Streamlined

2012-03-09T13:54:00.000-08:00

FHA announces price cuts to FHA’s Streamline Refinance Program

The FHA is reducing fees on its Streamline Refinance Program to assist qualified homeowners with refinancing their existing FHA mortgage. Beginning June 11, 2012, FHA will lower its Upfront Mortgage Insurance Premium (UFMIP) to .01 percent and reduce its annual premium to .55 percent for certain FHA borrowers.
To qualify, borrowers must be current on their existing FHA-insured mortgages, which were endorsed on or before May 31, 2009.

Currently, 3.4 million households with loans endorsed on or before May 31, 2009, pay more than a five percent annual interest rate on their FHA-insured mortgages. By refinancing through this streamlined process, it’s estimated that the average qualified FHA-insured borrower will save approximately $3,000 a year or $250 per month. FHA’s new discounted prices assume no greater risk to its Mutual Mortgage Insurance (MMI) Fund and will allow many of these borrowers to refinance into a lower cost FHA-insured mortgage without requiring additional underwriting. FHA-insured homeowners should contact their existing lender to determine their eligibility.

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Consumers’ attitudes stabilize in February

2012-03-08T09:19:00.000-08:00

Share of Americans Who Think Economy is on the Right Track Increases

Americans' concerns about key economic and housing issues are beginning to subside, according to results from Fannie Mae's February 2012 National Housing Survey. Consumers' attitudes have stabilized across most indicators – including personal finances, housing, and employment – demonstrating their sense that downside risks have abated somewhat compared with late summer and fall of 2011.

Highlights of the survey include:

The rise in confidence in the economy’s direction continued in February, with 35 percent responding that they think the economy is on the right track, a 5 percentage point increase from January. The percentage of respondents who say the economy is on the wrong track dropped to 57 percent, a decline of 6 percentage points.

On average, Americans expect home prices to increase by 0.8 percent over the next 12 months (down slightly since last month).

Twenty-eight percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months (consistent with last month), while 15 percent say they expect home prices to decline (down 1 percentage point since last month). Fifty-three percent say prices will stay the same.

The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to sell rose by 3 percentage points to 13 percent, the highest level in more than a year, while the percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy dropped 1 percentage point to 70 percent this month.

Sixty-five percent of respondents say they would buy their next home if they were going to move, up 1 percentage point since last month, while 29 percent say they would rent, down 1 percentage point versus last month.

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4 Reasons Consumers Still Need an Agent

2012-03-07T10:09:00.001-08:00

In a world where the Internet makes marketing miracles possible and home data seems to flow free, every once in a while you’ll hear of someone attempting to buy or sell without an agent.

While some stories speak of success, they also reveal the time, expertise, and energy that go into a sale and the indisputable benefits of having an agent.

Here are four ways a recent story of an Australian owner taking charge of h is property marketing showed that marketing and managing a home is a time-consuming undertaking and why now, more than ever, smart consumers need to use a real estate agent. The story was that, thanks to social media, a homeowner sold his Californian bungalow for $A1.05 million, $135,000 above the asking price.

1) Online marketing takes time and expertise

According to various Down Under news sites, the owner set up a website, blog, Twitter feed, YouTube videos, and a Picasa photo page for the home.

This story illustrates two things – both that online marketing works, and that it takes hours of effort. This home sold above its asking price as a result of the interest generated by a professional’s online marketing efforts — Opray is a professional online marketer who spent many hours every day promoting his home through these multiple channels. Most sellers don’t have this level of expertise or the time to spend on the effort.

Agent tip: Show sellers a detailed marketing plan for their home and keep them up to date on what’s happening with their property.

2) A home’s information alone is not enough – every home lives in a market

Opray was quoted in the National Business Review, “I know my house better than any agent. Who better to sell the house than me?”

This comment is typical of someone who does not realize that knowing about a home is just the first step. The real key to moving a listing is knowing how that home fits into the market – and only a professional brings that kind of focus and real experience.

Agent tip: Show prospective clients a local market overview that demonstrates the deep expertise and knowledge you bring to the table.

3) Showings and connections sell homes

From TheMoveChannel.Com: “Opray aimed to bring as many buyers to the home’s blog as possible, giving them a personal insight into the house.””

To sell his property, Opray had to develop a following and create connections online. This is easy for agents, who are already tapped into a network of people buying and selling.

Agent tip: Your connections in your local and agent community matter to sellers. Your knowledge of local listings and current buyers will remind them that they will benefit by working with you.

4) Even the smartest use an agent for expertise

Even with all of Opray’s social media efforts to help sell his home on his own, in the end HE HIRED AN AGENT.

Agent tip: Despite all the online resources available to home sellers today, they still need agents. Use these points in your listing presentations to demonstrate that the selling process, and the results, are more effective with an agent.

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Whether you are a first-time homebuyer looking for your dream home or a seasoned real estate investor looking for that next great deal, Real Estate eBroker Inc. can satisfy all of your real estate needs. Our company is very diverse with over 1500 agents, who speak 26 different languages. This ensures that no matter what area or expertise in real estate you need, a REeBroker agent can meet your requirements.

Our company uses cutting edge technology to supply our agents with the best resources to assist their clients in finding the perfect home. They are always a step ahead of the real estate market trends so that you may find the best deal possible.

We know that every situation is different.

So, our agents take the time to treat you like an individual and not just another sale. We evaluate each of our client’s needs on a one on one basis. This gives our agents the ability to provide the highest level of satisfaction possible. Our agents guide you through the entire real estate buying process, educating you through every step to make sure your home buying experience is stress free.

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SHORT SALES: TOP 10 MYTHS DEBUNKED!

2012-03-06T13:40:00.001-08:00


	2012 is the year of the short sale. As an agent, one of your most valuable business tools is the understanding of how to help underwater homeowners avoid foreclosure. Don’t make the mistake of believing these myths: Myth #1: The homeowner must fall behind on mortgage payments in order to qualify for a short sale. Debunked: Years ago this may have been true, but not in 2012. A financial hardship must exist, such as the ARM (Adjustable Rate Mortgage) increasing in monthly payments. Loss of job or income. Health or medical issues. Extraordinary loss in home value (which may be considered a hardship). Note: Agents should not advise a homeowner to miss a mortgage payment. Myth #2: Banks would rather foreclose on a property than approve a short sale. Debunked: Many still believe this myth to be true, but more accurately, banks would prefer not to foreclose on a property due to the $50-70k it may cost the bank per transaction. Banks lose less money on a short sale than on a foreclosure. Note: In California, some lenders may pay owners as much as $25,000 to opt for a short sale. Myth #3: Homeowners must be pre-approved by their lender to be eligible for a short sale. Debunked: Absolutely not true. By and large, most lenders will consider short sale offers. However, each lender may have unique and specific processes to follow, from listing the home to the acceptance of a short sale. Bypassing any part of this process may result the sale not closing, so be sure to follow each lenders’ processes closely. Myth #4: Short sales never close. Debunked: Obviously not true. In some areas of the U.S., nearly 50% of all closings are considered to be “distressed” properties, meaning REOs and short sales. Myth #5: Short sales take months (and months) to close. Debunked: The short sale processes must be learned. Once mastered, it may not be uncommon to close a short sale in 30 days. However, certain idiosyncrasies may slow the process and each lender presents their own unique set of specific challenges. No two short sale transactions are identical. Myth #6: Damage to the homeowner’s credit standing is comparable in a short sale and a foreclosure. Debunked: In many cases, credit repercussions and deficiency protections are more damaging with a foreclosure. Short sale transactions can often lead to faster financial recovery for the homeowner and should be carefully considered. Note: If the homeowner missed no mortgage payments, they may be eligible to finance the purchase of a home immediately following a short sale transaction. Myth #7: Following a short sale, the homeowner will be ineligible to purchase another property for the next 5-7 years. Debunked: Not true. Using conventional lending guidelines, some consumers may obtain a Fannie Mae backed mortgage a short 24 months after the close of their short sale. Myth #8: After a short sale transaction, the homeowner will receive a 1099 and be forced to declare the loss as income. Debunked: The owner may indeed receive a 1099, but due to the 2007 Mortgage Forgiveness Debt Relief Act, among other considerations, the homeowner may not owe any taxes on their transaction.*Note: This Act is due to expire at the end of 2012. Myth #9: The lender will sue the homeowner after the close of a short sale (or foreclosure, or deed in lieu of foreclosure) for the deficiency. Debunked: California has certain anti-deficiency protections in place for short sales and foreclosures, depending on the circumstances.* Myth #10: As an agent, I don’t need additional training to learn all of the ins and outs of the short sale process. And if I wait long enough, the market will recover so I may not need to deal with short sales at all. Debunked: How long are you willing to wait? Based on the most recent housing reports, home values are still falling. Hopefully, 2012 will see the bottom of the housing market but price recovery may continue to take some time.

NAR: Pending Real Estate Sales Jump in January

2012-03-05T13:44:00.001-08:00

More homes went under contract in January compared to December and a year ago, according to an index released today from the National Association of Realtors that tracks pending sales of existing U.S. homes.

NAR's Pending Home Sales Index, which is based on purchase contracts signed but not yet closed, rose 8 percent from January 2011 and 2 percent from a downwardly revised 95.1 percent in December, to 97. According to revised figures, that's the highest index score since April 2010, just before the deadline for a federal homebuyer tax credit program, when the index was at 111.3.

Lawrence Yun, NAR's chief economist, said in a statement that "the trend in contract activity implies we are on track for a more meaningful sales gain this year."

"Movements in the index have been uneven, reflecting the headwinds of tight credit, but job gains, high affordability and rising rents are hopefully pushing the market into what appears to be a sustained housing recovery," Yun added.

The index typically represents about 20 percent of all existing-home transactions nationally. An index score of 100 is equal to the average level of sales contract activity in 2001, which was the first year examined by the trade group and a robust year for existing-home sales. The national index has not been above 100 since April 2010.

The index rose year over year in all four U.S. regions with the Midwest seeing the highest increase. That region saw a 10.8 percent jump, to 88.1, though the index fell 3.8 percent compared to December.

The South experienced a similar yearly increase in January, 10.5 percent, and the largest monthly increase, 7.7 percent, to 109.1 -- the highest index score among the regions.

The index rose 9.8 percent year over year and 7.6 percent month to month in the Northeast, to 78.2 -- the lowest index score among the four regions.

Pending sales in the West remained nearly flat in January, with the index rising a slight 0.7 percent on a yearly basis last month, to 101.9. The index fell 4.4 percent from December.

In its latest economic outlook, also out today, NAR projects existing-home sales will rise 6.8 percent to 4.55 million units in 2012, from 4.26 million units in 2011. In 2013, sales are expected to rise 3.3 percent to 4.7 million.

The trade group expects the median price for existing homes to rise a slight 1.1 percent this year, to $168,000, with a subsequent 2.4 percent rise in 2013 to $172,000.

NAR predicts rents will rise 3.3 percent this year, followed by a 3.8 percent increase in 2013.

The forecast also anticipates new-home sales will rise 21.3 percent in 2012 to 370,000, and jump 37.8 percent in 2013 to 510,000. New-home sales fell 5 percent in 2011 to 305,000.

NAR estimates this year's median price for new-home sales will be $228,000, a 2.1 percent rise from 2011. NAR expects the median will rise 3.5 percent to $236,000 in 2013.

The trade group expects this year's real gross domestic product growth rate to be 2.4 percent, followed by a rate of 3.1 percent in 2013, up from 1.7 percent in 2011.

NAR expects this year's unemployment rate to average 8.3 percent, down from 9 percent in 2011, and projects a drop to 7.7 percent in 2013.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate averaged 4.5 percent in 2011 and will fall to 4.2 percent in 2012 before rising to 4.9 percent in 2013, according to NAR's projections.

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5 Next Steps When the Appraisal Comes in Too Low

2012-03-02T09:25:00.000-08:00

When recently surveyed, over a third of real estate agents reported having had one or more home sale contracts fall out of escrow per month. Autopsies of these dead deals often surface a truly lethal culprit: appraisals that come in below the agreed-upon purchase price.

You see, mortgage lenders will only fund transactions up to a certain percentage of the appraised value of the home. If the home appraises low, either the buyer must come up with an increased down payment amount, the parties must agree to a price reduction, some combination of both of these must happen, or the deal is off.

While low appraisals can be particularly potent deal killers, their danger to your deal can be neutralized in some cases. If you find yourself facing an appraisal lower than the sale price in the contract, add these five steps to your immediate action plan.

1. Appeal errors or bad comps to the appraiser. Read the entire appraisal report, cover to cover. See if you spot any errors – it’s not at all unheard of for an appraisal report to miss a bedroom or underreport the home’s square footage. The trouble is that what starts out as a clerical error can often result in the application of the wrong “comparables” when it comes time for the appraiser to pick the properties to use as benchmarks of your home’s fair market value.

Whether or not you find actual errors in the details about the home you’re buying or selling, check in with your agent about whether the comparable properties used by the appraiser were reasonable, especially if they are from a different neighborhood, school district, town or construction era than the home you’re trying to buy or you are aware that much more similar or nearby homes have been sold in recent times than the comparable properties you see in the appraisal.

In my town, for example, within a half-mile radius you can find vast variations in property values based on neighborhood and schools and city limits that change almost imperceptibly. Changes in the mortgage industry over the last few years have created situations in which appraisers are sometimes assigned who have little or no familiarity with these hyperlocal types of nuances which you, as a party to the transaction, might be more readily able to detect and appreciate.

If you find errors or feel that there are much more comparable recent sales that justify a higher price for the property, work with your agent to send the correct information and the applicable comps you would propose to your mortgage professional, who can relay that information to the appraiser or Appraisal Management Company and request that the appraiser revise their report and estimate of value. The appraiser has no obligation to make the change, but the more glaring the error, the more likely it is that they will.

2. Ask for a second opinion. Particularly in cases of error or bad comps, if the appraiser ignores your request to revise the report, you might need to escalate your request to the lender itself. Here’s where it’s important to be working with an expert agent and mortgage pro with a great reputation; if they believe strongly in your case, they may be able to plead it to the underwriter and request that a second appraisal be done. The idea here is that if the second appraisal backs up your arguments, listing the correct property details or more accurate comparables, the lender is much more likely to exercise its discretion to deem the first one a dud and go with the second opinion.

3. Renegotiate. Low appraisals disappoint everyone around the negotiating table. If the sellers have the leeway (read: equity) or their bank agrees (in short sales), they might agree to bring the price down to the appraised value or near enough that the buyer feels comfortable putting some extra cash into the deal to close the purchase price-to-appraised price gap. Some buyers refuse to ever do this on general principal, as they feel like it’s overpaying for the property. Others realize that appraisals may come in low for reasons less indicative of the property’s value, like a dearth of comparable sales in the area, and figure that to get the home they want, they’re willing to kick in a little extra dough.

Of course, ‘little’ is relative, and neither position is right or wrong for everyone.

And the decision for sellers is just as personal. When the differential between the purchase price and the appraised value is small, it can seem like a no-brainer to bring the price down if mortgage considerations allow, but it can also seem sensible to request the buyer to make up such a small difference – especially in markets where properties are getting multiple offers. On the other end of the spectrum, when the differential is big, it is less likely that the buyer will want to come up with the cash to close the gap, and also less likely another buyer will come along and offer the appraised price.

You would think these things would make a seller more willing to slash the price where the gap is big, but it also may make their moving plans less feasible, and tempt them to stay put and wait on the market to be more active and bear better comps.

Work with your agent to figure out what re-bargaining position really works for you.

If you do find yourself renegotiating price due to a low appraisal, remember that this is real estate, so everything is back on the table. For example, when the appraisal gap is only $1,000, a buyer might be willing to close the gap if the seller agrees to leave the lawn mower and do some small repairs.

4. Pay the difference or split the difference. On the flip side of renegotiating is reconsidering your personal position. If you’ve been house hunting for two years, forgoing low rates and the tax and lifestyle advantages of owning your home, and you’ve finally found ‘the one’ – in great condition, not a short sale, perfect location – you might think long and hard about whether you are willing to pay the difference between a low appraisal and the purchase price. This is especially so when the gap is small and you have the cash, or when you know the seller is barely breaking even on the deal or has offered to split the difference with you, or the short sale bank refuses to go any lower.

And sellers, this goes for you, too: if you’re committed to trying to close the deal, it behooves you to consider whether you can reduce the price on the home. Consider that in some states and loan situations, a low appraisal report in a deal that dies may become a disclosure the seller must provide to future buyers (ask your agent whether this will apply to you). The fact is, if you don’t agree to a price reduction of some sort, the buyer could very well walk, limiting your options to selling at a lower price, doing a short sale or staying put anyway.

5. Change lenders. Mortgage banks have more control when it comes to choosing appraisers than mortgage brokers do. (Fortunately, many experienced local mortgage brokers work for companies that also have banking divisions, and may be able to process your loan through that division in an effort to get your transaction a fresh start and work around a low appraisal. Ask your mortgage broker if their office has a banking division, if you’re not sure.)

Mortgage brokers are no longer able to hand-pick appraisers for a given transaction like they once could, but unlike broker-only firms (who are forced to work through a middleman company that may pay a cut rate, attracting less experienced appraisers), mortgage banks and hybrid broker-bankers are allowed to pick the set of people included on their own short list of appraisers. I’ve found that lenders use this short list for good much more often than to try to exert any sort of inappropriate influence.

My experience has been that, when compared with the appraisers national lenders and the middleman companies put to work on brokered transactions, small mortgage banks and local, hybrid broker-bankers tend to fill their lists with appraisers who have more local experience and can appreciate the uber-important local nuances like those described in #1, above.

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New FHA Premium Structure Announced

2012-03-01T10:05:00.002-08:00

As part of ongoing efforts to encourage the return of private capital in the residential mortgage market and strengthen the Federal Housing Administration’s (FHA) Mutual Mortgage Insurance Fund, Acting FHA Commissioner Carol Galante recently announced a new premium structure for FHA-insured single family mortgage loans. FHA will increase its annual mortgage insurance premium (MIP) by 0.10 percent for loans under $625,500 and by 0.35 percent for loans above that amount. Upfront premiums (UFMIP) will also increase by 0.75 percent.

These premium changes will impact new loans insured by FHA beginning in April and June of 2012. Details will soon be published in a Mortgagee Letter to FHA-approved lenders.

The Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 requires FHA to increase the annual MIP it collects by 0.10 percent. This change is effective for case numbers assigned on or after April 1, 2012. FHA is also exercising its statutory authority to add an additional 0.25 percent to mortgages exceeding $625,500. This change is effective for case numbers assigned on or after June 1, 2012.

The UFMIP will be increased from 1 percent to 1.75 percent of the base loan amount. This increase applies regardless of the amortization term or LTV ratio. FHA will continue to permit financing of this charge into the mortgage. This change is effective for case numbers assigned on or after April 1, 2012.

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5 real estate tips to guard against losing your home

2012-02-28T08:51:00.000-08:00

Time and time again, I hear homebuyer wannabes state that the reason they are still fence-sitting is that they don't want to end up in the same trouble the last generation of homeowners did.

Well, I say, there's a very slim chance of that happening, given the changes in the market climate: Homes are at rock-bottom prices (not sky-high), and mortgage guidelines are so conservative it is nearly impossible to even find one of the zero-down, quick-to-adjust, stated-income mortgages of yesteryear.

With that said, though, there is a handful of rules today's homebuyers and homeowners can follow to dramatically minimize the chances they will ever face losing their homes:

1. Never a borrower or a lender be. OK, so maybe NEVER is strong, but you'd be surprised at how many foreclosed homeowners actually bought their homes with conservative loans and at low prices many years ago, but got into trouble taking new mortgages and pulling cash out at the top of the market (then not being able to refinance or make the adjusted payment at the bottom).

Today's homebuyers can avoid this fate by starting out their homeowning careers with some ground rules in place around borrowing against their homes.

A good (albeit conservative) place to start is this rule: Decide not to borrow against your home equity for anything but well-planned home improvements.

Here's another one: Whatever you do, don't borrow against your home to lend money to someone else. I've seen dozens of homeowners over the years borrow to make an "investment" in a friend's business or to lend money to a child or a parent. Borrowing against your home's equity to make an investment in a business you know nothing about is a complete gamble with your home. Don't do it.

2. Stop financial codependency. Related to the rule of thumb about borrowing to lend is this change of the bad habit of financial codependency.

I see this come up the most often when homeowners borrow money against their home or tap into their emergency cash cushion (leaving themselves unable to make their mortgage payments if they lose their job, etc.) to help an adult child make their own mortgage payments or bail them out of another crisis situation.

It also comes up where one spouse supports another spouse's habit of overspending, debting, underearning, gambling or even substance abuse, and ends up going into a financial hole as a result. Over time, these cases can create the temptation or even desperation to further leverage your home, and can run through a savings account, leaving the homeowner exposed and vulnerable in the face of a temporary disability, job loss or recession.

There are a number of powerful books on the market about how to cease being codependent including the Melody Beattie classic, "Codependent No More," but many people struggle to recognize they even have this issue until it's too late. Here's a hint: If you regularly use money to protect a loved one from the natural consequences of their behavior, you are engaging in codependent behavior.

3. Stay conscious. Going on money autopilot, without occasional check-ins, is the root of many financial woes. Many money experts recommend automating your monthly payments so that your recurring bills are paid on time, every time. And almost any homeowner will vouch that there are few bills that seem to come up as frequently as your mortgage!

The problem is that once you automate your payments, it's very easy to fall into the habit of simply ignoring your actual statements -- and they may contain information that flags issues before they snowball into serious problems.

A client of mine recently realized that through no fault of her own, and despite never having missed an auto-payment, her home was facing foreclosure -- all because the bank had somehow erroneously started crediting her payments to someone else's mortgage account!

Also, financial autopilot mode can support habits like overspending and overdebting; the minimum payments may always get made without much attention from you, but the overall balances will rear their ugly heads and possibly pose a threat to your ability to pay your mortgage, in the event you ever face a job loss, medical bills or other financial crisis.

4. Do your own math before you buy. Only you can know the full extent of your non-housing-related financial obligations and values. Things like catch-up retirement savings, tithing and charitable giving, private school tuition, medical costs and the like can take big chunks out of your monthly budget that your mortgage pro is not accounting for when he or she tells you how much of a mortgage you're qualified to borrow.

So, before you ever speak with a mortgage broker, it's up to you as a responsible buyer and adult to get a very clear understanding of your own personal income and expenses, assets and priorities, and to use that knowledge to decide how much you can afford to put down and to spend monthly for a home.

Fortunately, I see an increasing number of buyers doing this, and actually choosing to buy a home that costs much less than they are technically qualified for.

5. Don't buy a house to fix a family or psychological problem. In Alcoholics Anonymous, they admonish addicts to avoid what they call "pulling a geographic" -- moving to a new neighborhood or town to try to run from your problems and bad habits.

They caution against expecting the move to solve the problem on the grounds that, in the words of mindfulness guru Jon Kabat-Zinn, "wherever you go, there you are." If you have bad habits in Chicago, moving to L.A. doesn't purge the bad habits -- only working on the actual dysfunction itself will do that.

I submit that there's a real estate-specfic version of pulling a geographic, which we'll call "pulling a residential." This is where people buy a home or buy a new home in an effort to cure a deeper family or psychological issue; sort of like that old (and equally bad) idea of having a baby to try to save your marriage.

If your children are fighting because they lack personal space, that's one thing. But if there are deeper issues going on with your children, your family or your relationship (even your relationship with yourself), do not fantasize that owning a home or moving up is going to automatically solve them.

In fact, the opposite is often true: The larger the financial and maintenance obligations that come with a home, the more a mortgage and property taxes can add strain to already troubled relationships.

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2012 New Laws

2012-02-22T11:03:00.000-08:00

Brokers may be affected by the new 2012 employment laws. Some of the highlights for this year are set forth below. Additional new laws that may affect brokers, managers, and agents are available at http://www.car.org/legal/2012-new-laws-announcements/2012-new-laws/. To view the full text of a California legislative bill, go to www.leginfo.ca.gov.

• Misclassifying Independent Contractors (Senate Bill 459): Starting January 1, 2012, an employer is prohibited from willfully misclassifying an employee as an independent contractor. An employer is also prohibited from charging someone who has been willfully misclassified as an independent contractor a fee or make a deduction from compensation for materials, space rental, services, and other purposes, if such acts would have violated the law had the individual not been misclassified. A violation of this law is punishable by a civil penalty up to $25,000, plus other penalties as permitted by law. A violator shall also be ordered to prominently display a notice of the violation as specified on its website for one year.

• Displaying Employees’ Rights Poster: Scheduled to take effect on April 30, 2012 is a new federal requirement for most private section employers to display an Employees Rights Notice. The employer should post the 11” x 17” notice advising employees of their rights in a conspicuous place where other workplace rights and employer policies are posted. A copy of the notice and more information are available at www.nlrb.gov/poster/.

• Restricting Credit Checks (Assembly Bill 22): Starting January 1, 2012, an employer or prospective employer is generally prohibited from obtaining a consumer credit report for employment purposes. Exceptions include, without limitation, if the position of the person for whom the report is sought: (1) is managerial as defined; (2) involves regular access to confidential information as specified; (3) involves access to cash of $10,000 or more; or (4) involves a person authorized to transfer money on the employer’s behalf.

• Requiring Written Employment Notice (Assembly Bill 469): Starting January 1, 2012, an employer must, at the time of hiring, provide a non-exempt employee with a written notice containing, among other things, the pay rate, pay day, employer’s contact information, workers comp insurer’s contact information, and any other information the Labor Commissioner deemed appropriate. The Notice to Employee form is available from the Department of Industrial Relations website athttps://www.dir.ca.gov/dlse/LC_2810.5_Notice.pdf. This law also requires an employer to give written notice of any changes to the information in the Notice within 7 calendar days.

• Requiring Written Commission Agreements (Assembly Bill 1396): By January 1, 2013, an employer’s contract to pay commission to an employee for services rendered in California must be in writing and must set forth the method for computing and paying the commission. The employer must also give a signed copy of the contract to the employee, and get a signed acknowledgement of receipt from the employee. This law does not apply to bonuses and profit-sharing plans, unless the employer has offered to pay a fixed percentage of sales or profits as compensation for work to be performed.

• Redefining Discrimination Against Gender (Assembly Bill 887): The prohibition against employment discrimination based on gender under the Fair Employment and Housing Act has been expanded to also prohibit discrimination based on gender identity or gender expression (i.e., gender-related appearance and behavior), regardless of person’s assigned sex at birth. An employer may have a reasonable workplace dress code, but must allow an employee to appear or dress consistently with the employee’s gender identity or gender expression.

LEGAL Q&A UPDATE

C.A.R. Member Legal Services offers over 200 legal articles covering a wide range of topics for brokers, managers, and agents. Three new legal articles available at http://qa.car.org/ are as follows:

• Water-Conserving Plumbing Fixtures, available at http://www.car.org/legal/disclosure-folder/water-conserving-plumbing-fixtures/.

• Property Management Frequently Asked Questions, available at http://www.car.org/legal/landlord-tenant-folder/property-management-faq/.

• Foreign Investor Property Owner Withholding, available at http://www.car.org/legal/landlord-tenant-folder/foreign-investor-property-owner-withholding/.

Commonly Missed Tax Deductions for Real Estate Agents

2012-02-21T11:29:00.000-08:00

Now is the time of year when we all want to find ways to keep as much money in our pockets as possible come April 15^th. For Real Estate Agents, tax time comes with many of opportunities to save, but only if you know which deductions to take. With that in mind, here are some commonly missed tax deductions every agent should look for when they file this year:

1) Internet Advertising

Whether you’re advertising for a listing or to attract customers, any money that you spend on advertising is deductible, and many real estate agents forget to deduct online advertising.

When you’re placing online or paying an online service to help distribute your ads across the web, remember to get a receipt or invoice from the site. Most sites have some sort of “Order Confirmation” screen when you place an order or pay a bill, and if you print a copy of the page or save it as an image or PDF file, this counts as a receipt.

TIP: Create a folder called “Vendor Bills” on your computer or in your e-mail box create and use it to save all of your online purchase receipts. That way they will all be in one place and easily accessible when you need them.

2) Automotive Expenses – More than just Gas

Being a real estate agent is such a travel-heavy job, so most agents know to deduct their gas and mileage expenses. However, there are other expenses that are deductible. At the top of the list of commonly missed deductions are parking and tolls. If you have to park anywhere, be sure to get a receipt so you can write it off.

It is also a good idea to write down the related client’s name on the receipt so you know where the expense came from. The same goes for any tolls that need to be paid during business travel.

TIP: Keep a travel log so you can record mileage and expenses that you incur during work based travel time.

3) Write-offs for Treating Your Clients Well

Taking care of clients is more than just a gift at the end of a transaction. And while gifts are deductible, so are other expenses you incur to make your clients happy, including business meals and any forms of entertainment used to “treat” the client. If you take a client to dinner, a show or sporting event, the cost is deductible so long as the expense is not considered lavish or extravagant. You also have to talk business at the meeting, you can’t just take a client out to a meal and talk about the game last night.

Meals and entertainment can be either 50% or 100% deductible, depending on the type of event. For more information, you can read up on the IRS rules for deducting meals and other expenses.

TIP: Have backup documentation such as receipts or invoices to ensure that the IRS will allow the deduction. The best possible documentation includes:

Expense amount
Reason for the Expense
Date and time of the expense
Names of the people you were with and your business relationship to them
A receipt or invoice

4) Office Supplies

Business expenses are deductible, so just about anything in an office is fair game. Computers, electronics, and office supplies are the big ones, but there are more. For example, newspaper and magazine subscriptions are deductible if they are for your business.

Another deduction that most real estate agents miss is the postage deduction. Considering how many real estate agents still use mass and other mailings, this deduction can really add up, especially the occasional trips to the post office where you pay by cash. Be sure to document how much you spend so you can write it off at the end of the year!

TIP: Get in the habit of taking a picture of your receipts with your camera phone. You can then email them to yourself or use Expensify, a great free app for your smart phone that will turn your photos into expense reports in a few clicks.

5) Utilities

If you have a home office, then you’re paying utility bills, and they can add up. Don’t worry though, utilities are deductible! So few people remember to claim their utility bills on their taxes! Make sure to keep track of your utility bills including electricity, water, and sewer expenses. For more home office deductions, check out the IRS Publication 587.

Read Original Article...

5 Negotiation Need-to-Knows

2012-02-17T11:08:00.000-08:00

Reactions to the prospect of negotiating run the gamut, almost like a Rorschach of people’s comfort levels when it comes to thinking, talking and asserting themselves about money matters. Some people get so excited about haggling they adopt an entirely new persona when the time comes to talk their way into saving even a few bucks here or there. Others cringe at the mere thought of trying to suss out what’s going on in the minds of those on the other side of the bargaining table in order to strike a deal, even when hundreds of thousands of dollars (and their own best interests) are at stake.

And in light of the current market, it can seem like every real estate pundit you’ve ever seen on TV, the old guys from the Fed, Suze Orman, Jim Cramer - even the President! - have each pulled a chair up to the table and chimed into your transaction, too! Trying to factor market dynamics into your personal negotiation equation only ups the complexity factor (and the fear factor to boot).

When it comes to buying or selling your home, there is a handful of negotiation need-to-knows that can go a long way toward protecting your best interests - and your cash! Here are five essential negotiation need-to-knows for savvy home buyers and sellers:

1. Work from a foundation of sound information. It’s essential that you amass an arsenal of information, and use that as the basis for your negotiation. You are in no position to negotiate, aggressively or otherwise, unless and until you are well acquainted with the real estate market immediately surrounding your home, including:

what have similar homes recently sold for;
how much above or below asking do they normally sell for;
how long do homes stay on the market, on average, compared with the home you’re buying or selling?

Not only will your agent help you understand these numbers and how they should relate to your own offer or response, your agent is also in a good position to reach out to the other agent and collect any available information about what is important to the other party: do they care more about moving quickly, getting top dollar, or certainty that the other side can close the deal? The other agent isn’t obligated to divulge any information but often will, in the interest of facilitating a deal that addresses their client’s priorities.

Finally, it’s uber-critical to know what your own priorities are. Ultimately, the bar for whether your negotiation for your home is successful is based on what the home and the terms of the contract are worth to you. Know your own bottom and top line for price, and what your own priorities are, before the negotiation begins.

2. Approach the negotiation as a problem-solving challenge. Today’s negotiations are really more like problem solving scenarios, when you take into account all the parties whose needs must be met for the transaction to move forward. Traditionally, negotiations were a two-way power struggle between the buyer and seller, based primarily on their wants and their respective bargaining leverage. But on today’s market, the bank - or banks on both sides -- often have their own guidelines and needs that impact the terms of the deal, whether it be the seller’s lender insisting on a certain price in a short sale, or the buyer’s lender and appraiser refusing to lend anything above a certain price.

Many a buyer has thought they were scoring a great deal by scoring a bargain basement price on a short sale, only to have the seller’s bank condition approval of the deal on a massive increase in the sale price. And the opposite is also true: a significant number of the deals that fall apart on today’s market do so because the home fails to appraise for the purchase price the buyer has agreed to pay. Ultimately, this is even the case when it comes to the buyer’s and seller’s needs: if the buyer can’t qualify for a high enough mortgage, or the seller can’t pay their mortgage balance off, at the price in the other party’s mind, there will be no deal, and the negotiation is inherently unsuccessful.

In this context, it’s more important than ever to approach your negotiation as an exercise in problem solving, with the aim of meeting the needs of as many parties involved as possible. If you get some of your wants met, too, you’re golden!

3. Manage your own mindset. You probably shouldn’t even try to buy a home that you don’t strongly like, or even love. It often makes sense to hone in on a specific offer price (within the range what is reasonable for a home) based on how much you want it, or how much you’d hate to lose it - especially in a multiple offer situation, where you may only have one chance to make an offer.

With that said, be aware that when it comes to negotiating, she who is the least emotionally attached to a particular outcome usually has the greater bargaining power. The more attached you are to a particular home or a particular price point or set of terms for your home, the more likely you are to panic, freak out, throw money at the situation or cave in on important points unnecessarily when you get even the faintest sense that your desires may be at risk.

When it comes to managing your own mindset and stamina through the course of a negotiation (uncertainty is tiring!), knowing what is and what isn’t within each party’s - control is key. Your agent can help you stay clear on this, which will help you avoid the emotional exhaustion that results from trying to negotiate things that are not really negotiable (e.g., the bank’s bottom line, cosmetic repairs on most foreclosures, etc.). On the flip side, knowing the full range of items that can be negotiated - which extends beyond price into areas like deposit amount, length of escrow, seller repairs, and whether the property is to be taken in as-is condition - empowers you to maximize how compelling your offer is to the other side, given the resources at your disposal.

4. Minimize time pressures. Over the years, I have seen many a buyer and seller make brow-raisingly questionable offers and counteroffers based solely on the fact that they have to move by a certain deadline. Because shelter is a basic human need, the prospect of having to move out, relocating to a new job or moving to a new town without having housing in place can cause even the most nimble among us to feel ungrounded.

Problem is, in the context of buying a home, moving deadlines can cost you thousands and thousands of dollars - and can even cause you to make needless compromises in terms of the actual property itself: compromises you might later (deeply) regret. If you are approaching a deadline for moving out or relocating, you’d do better to find a rental housing situation that will work for awhile or will work as a Plan B than to try to hurry your home’s purchase or sale to meet the deadline.

5. Act and react quickly - not impulsively. When you find ‘your’ place, make an offer. When you get an offer or counteroffer), respond to it. In real estate, time is always of the essence, and prolonged hesitation often results in lost opportunities. There’s nothing wrong with sleeping on a decision overnight, especially if the ‘right’ move is unclear. But you never know when another buyer or another property might show up on the scene and change the whole bargaining dynamic, costing you more money or wooing away your home’s buyer.

This is why it’s so important to be clear on the market data, your own budget and your own top and bottom lines from the start, so that you are positioned to act quickly, strategically and intelligently when the circumstances require it.

Read Original Article...

The New Agency Laws of Real Estate

2012-02-15T09:44:00.000-08:00

Editor's note: This week, Inman News continues its series, "Beyond Dual Agency," highlighting confusion, legal problems and ongoing debates over real estate agency laws, including the widespread adoption of "non-agency" laws and the "double-ending" of real estate deals. View aninteractive map showing the varied approach states have taken to agent-client relationships.

Although real estate professionals continue to debate the ethics of brokers and agents "double ending" deals, their legal right to provide services to both the buyer and seller in the same transaction is firmly established.

Over the last 25 years, Realtor associations have lobbied lawmakers in all 50 states to rewrite the laws governing agency relationships in real estate, protecting their members' right to work both ends of a deal.

The cooperative brokerage system mandated by multiple listing services (MLSs) and Realtor associations in virtually every U.S. market allows listing brokers to either keep the entire commission paid by sellers, or split it with another broker who can bring a buyer to a sale.

If regulators insisted that brokers only represent clients in "single agency" relationships, brokers would be forced to refer buyers who wanted to make an offer on one of their listings to a competitor -- or provide services to the buyer as an unrepresented customer.

For many brokers and agents, the question is no longer whether they and their colleagues should be allowed to double-end deals, but whether it's worth the risk.

That's a decision that hinges on the laws governing agency relationships in each state, which some academics and consumer advocates worry are now stacked in favor of brokers.

Laws in half of U.S. states -- including Florida, Texas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey and Georgia -- now allow brokers and agents to limit their legal liability by providing services to consumers in limited- or non-agency roles including "transaction broker," "facilitator," and "intermediary."

Transaction brokers in these states owe their clients limited or no fiduciary duty to put their client's interests ahead of their own. That's often true even in situations when they are representing buyers or sellers individually. (View an interactive map of broker-client relationships in all 50 states.)

Although the National Association of Realtors has never endorsed non-agency representation, the practice seems to be gaining in popularity.

In its most recent survey of members, NAR reported that 18 percent of Realtors practiced transaction brokerage in 2010, up from 10 percent the year before. While NAR's 2011 Member Profile showed 32 percent of Realtors were still double-ending deals the old fashioned way -- as disclosed dual agents -- that was down from 41 percent in 2009.

But problems that arise from agency representation remain the top-ranked legal issue of concern among real estate brokers, agents, attorneys and educators surveyed by NAR.

NAR's 2011 Legal Scan showed a 36 percent increase in lawsuits involving agency issues from two years ago. Of the 159 agency lawsuits decided in 2009 and 2010, nearly half (73 cases) involved accusations that a broker or agent had breached their fiduciary duties.

That compares to nine proceedings related to transaction brokerage or non-agency representation (see related story, "Legal pitfalls of agency representation for real estate professionals").

"I have worked dual agency in the past, but it is doubtful that I will do so in the future," Portland, Ore.-based broker George Wiggins told Inman News. "Trying to be absolutely fair to both sides, when my stronger and longer relationship is with the seller, is very difficult and risky."

Statistics provided to Inman News by multiple listing services in several markets suggest that brokers and agents have been double-ending fewer deals in the aftermath of the housing boom (see previous story, "Dual agency and 'double-dipping' still risky business").

"I believe referring the buyer to another person in my firm, or if they wish, to another firm, is the fairest and most ethical approach," Wiggins said. "Yes, I will make a bit less money, but I will rest better knowing that both sides are fairly represented."

But for many who work in real estate sales, referring every would-be buyer who's interested in one of their listings would be too great a sacrifice.

"My local market is bombarded with part-time Realtors, and if I did not represent both buyers and sellers, we would not sell anything," said Debra Gambill, broker-owner of Century 21 Empire Realty in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Critics of dual agency say buyers and sellers are in the strongest negotiating position when they are represented by an experienced broker or agent who is an advocate for their interests.

Not only is it impossible for one agent to represent the interests of both the buyer and seller in the same transaction, critics say, but a "dual agent" may reveal information that undermines the negotiating position of one or both clients.

Defenders of dual agency say real estate negotiations aren't a purely adversarial process. Unlike a lawyer representing a client in court, the role of real estate agents is often to help buyers and sellers find common ground.

"We are the facilitator who removes the obstacles and brings the negotiating to a close," Gambill said. "Knowledgeable agents should be able to do this without the parties involved feeling a lack of representation."

Many who say it's possible to handle both ends of a transaction say the key is keeping everyone involved fully informed.

"The most common dilemma with dual agency I've experienced as a broker is, at some point in the transaction, a principal has said, 'Wait a minute, don't you represent me?' " said Steve Weiss, a San Luis Obispo, Calif.-based broker.

Consumers may also be confused if they first start working with a Realtor in a single agency relationship, only to have their broker "casually slip (them) into a dual agency practice" in order to complete an in-house transaction, said Dallas-based broker Erle Rawlins III.

Rawlins said he has little faith that brokers and agents will explain agency relationships to their clients -- either because they don't understand them themselves, or because they are afraid their clients will look for other representation if they truly understand the implications of dual agency.

It's unclear whether consumers who agree to dual agency or other forms of limited- or non-agency representation are actually at a disadvantage in the house hunting and negotiating process. Academic studies have been inconclusive.

But it is clear that consumers don't always get written disclosures of agency relationships. And states that allow transaction brokerage are more likely to take disciplinary action against agents and brokers (see related story, " 'Are you my Realtor?' Consumer confusion in agency laws").

The new agency laws

Agency relationships are formed when one person, such as an attorney or investment adviser, agrees to act on another's behalf or represent them in dealings with a third party.

In real estate, agency relationships determine whether a broker or agent is allowed to represent both the buyer and the seller in the same transaction, and if they owe "fiduciary duties" to act in their clients' best interests.

Agency relationships in real estate used to be simple. For most of the last century, listing brokers represented sellers, and agents who worked with buyers did so as "subagents" of the listing broker. All of the agents involved in a transaction owed their allegiance to the seller, and buyers were unrepresented.

Subagency was largely based on custom and rules adopted by multiple listing associations and Realtor associations. The only laws in place governing agency issues were general, state-level statutes and common law precedent.

In the 1980s, courts began finding that brokers could inadvertently create agency relationships with buyers simply by advising them during negotiations, or providing other services that might lead buyers to believe they were being represented.

If brokers or their agents owed buyers fiduciary duties, that meant brokers were liable to claims of undisclosed dual agency. Sellers might have "vicarious liability" for the actions of subagents working on their behalf. Buyers could file professional negligence claims.

"Most of the lawsuits were based on common law concepts of agency, so the real estate industry went to the legislatures and said, 'Let's rewrite what agency is in our state,' " said Katherine Pancak, a professor of finance and real estate at the University of Connecticut School of Business.

"I get very worried about changes in agency law that protect real estate professionals rather than real estate consumers."

Today, the ground rules for "double ending" deals vary widely from state to state. Although the real estate brokerage industry has considerable influence with lawmakers, it hasn't presented a unified front on agency representation issues.

When subagency came under fire, some brokers advocated dropping the concept of agency representation altogether, which would allow them to provide services to buyers and sellers alike as non-agency "transaction brokers" owing no fiduciary duties to clients.

But weakening the agency relationships between brokers and their clients might also undermine the cooperative multiple listing service and Realtor association system that handles the vast majority of transactions nationwide, NAR leaders warned (see related story, "From subagency to non-agency: a history").

In 1993, NAR took an official stance against transaction brokerage, recommending that Realtor associations instead lobby for state laws defining real estate brokers' agency relationships with clients, including provisions allowing disclosed dual agency and designated agency.

But the idea of providing services to consumers in limited- or non-agency relationships appealed to many brokers, and Realtor associations in a number of states pushed for the right for members to operate as transaction brokers.

Florida and Colorado were the first states to pass laws allowing this new broker-client relationship, now permitted in 25 states.

Today, there are five legal avenues for brokers to double-end transactions nationwide:

Designated agency. Some states allow brokers to designate two agents affiliated with the same firm to represent the buyer and seller separately, often with safeguards intended to protect clients' confidential information.

Disclosed dual agency. The most controversial method of double-ending a sale is for a single agent to represent both the buyer and the seller in an agency relationship. In states with no provisions for designated agency, when two agents affiliated with the same broker represent both sides of a transaction, the broker is viewed as a dual agent.

Transaction brokerage. One agent or two agents at the same brokerage may provide services to the buyer, the seller, or both, in a non-agency relationship, owing limited or no fiduciary duties such as loyalty and obedience.

Subagency. Although no longer widely employed because of legal liabilities now associated with the practice, agents working with buyers are considered subagents of the listing broker. Buyers are unrepresented.

Provision of "ministerial" services to unrepresented "customers." A listing broker may avoid splitting a commission with a cooperating broker by providing limited services to an unrepresented buyer.

The laws of every state in the union currently provide avenues for brokers and agents to "double dip." Of the eight states that ban dual agency outright, four allow designated agency (Alaska, Colorado, Maryland and Texas), three allow transaction brokerage (Florida, Kansas and Oklahoma), and three allow both (Alaska, Colorado and Texas).

Defining transaction broker

Although the introduction of transaction brokerage caused some controversy at the time, the new broker-client relationship was perhaps not as radical a departure from previous practices as sometimes portrayed.

"Some commentators have erroneously assumed that the transaction broker, if not a fiduciary, owes no duties to the parties involved in a real estate transaction," law professor Ann Morales Olazábal noted in a 2003 review of the sweeping changes in agency law to date.

"If this were true, the transaction broker might be dangerous indeed. Fortunately for consumers, however, most states that permit transaction brokers have vested them with at least a few statutory duties."

Florida law, for example, requires transaction brokers to provide services "honestly and fairly," exercising "skill, care, and diligence" and to disclose all known facts that materially affect the value of a residential real property that are not readily observable to the buyer.

But other states, such as Michigan, don't spell out the duties of transaction brokers.

In a 2006 study, Pancak and another academic researcher, C.F. Sirmans, used disciplinary actions taken by state real estate licensing boards as a "proxy" for the quality of real estate services.

They found that states that allowed transaction brokerage and other forms of non-agency representation had higher rates of disciplinary action (see: "The Effect of Agency Reform on Real Estate Service Quality," by Katherine Pancak and C.F. Sirmans, Journal of Housing Research, Volume 15 No. 1, 2006).

Margy Grant, corporate counsel and vice president of law and policy for Florida Realtors, said she had not read Pancak and Sirmans' study and so could not comment on it. But she said it would be "irresponsible" to make any judgment about how well consumers are served by transaction brokers today based on a study published in 2006.

"We work very closely with the real estate commission, and I'm not aware of any increase in complaints from consumers in Florida," Grant said. "I'd say the opposite -- that transaction brokerage is working well in Florida, and that if consumers want a different relationship, single agency is available, as well."

Florida law presumes that real estate brokers and their sales associates will provide services as transaction brokers. Since 2006, transaction brokers are no longer required to provide consumers with agency disclosures.

Disclosures are only required if brokers are representing clients in a "single agency" relationship, or if they are converting a client they had been serving in a single agency relationship to transaction brokerage.

When moving from a single agent relationship to transaction brokerage, licensees no longer owe their clients fiduciary duties of loyalty and obedience.

Regardless of whether or not consumers actually understand agency representation issues, Grant maintains that they are well-served by Florida's agency and non-agency rules.

"The majority of consumers don't even understand what 'fiduciary' means," Grant said. Florida's statute "is so well-written, it protects consumers and real estate licensees equally," she added. "If there was a consumer concern, we would have seen problems that haven't shown themselves."

In 1988, California became the first state in the nation adopt laws specifically defining agency relationships in real estate, along lines later advocated by NAR. California allows disclosed dual agency and is one of a number of states that's also left the door open to subagency.

But it's "highly unusual for a California buyer not to be represented by a buyer's agent in an agency capacity," said June Barlow, vice president and general counsel for the California Association of Realtors.

"We've watched with interest as the rest of the nation (has moved to allow) transaction brokers and designated brokers.

"We're not sure if there's a difference in civil liability. There could be some advantages, but we haven't seen enough to cause upheaval. Our member seem to like the way (agency representation in California is) working -- and consumers, too."

The strictest approach

As a practical matter, it would be problematic for regulators to insist that brokers always represent clients in "single agency" relationships.

Brokers would have to work with either buyers or sellers on an exclusive basis, or be prepared to refer clients to their competitors if a dual agency situation arose.

A broker who had already expended considerable effort in helping a buyer locate a suitable property, for example, would have to refer that client to another broker if, at the end of the search process, the buyer decided to make an offer on a home represented by that broker.

Although some brokers who specialize in representing buyers don't accept listings, they operate their businesses that way as a matter of principle, and to differentiate themselves from their competitors -- not because they are required to.

If all forms of double-ending were outlawed, buyers who might want to work with a broker or agent in a limited- or non-agency capacity would be prevented from making that choice.

Vermont -- a state with a tradition of strong consumer protection laws -- has the strictest policies in the nation against brokers and agents double-ending deals, prohibiting dual agency and designated agency.

In that state, a single broker can represent both buyer and seller in a "limited agency" role only when both are previously existing clients.

If a buyer with a signed representation agreement with a broker is interested in a home that is represented by that broker, both the buyer and seller must give their informed consent to limited agency representation.

Buyers are unrepresented "customers" until entering into a written agency agreement, which provides another avenue for double-ending deals.

Vermont is one of at least 22 states that allow brokers to represent sellers as clients, while providing only limited services to buyers as unrepresented customers.

The way agency law currently works in Vermont, "It's a pretty limited range of choices," said Thomas Heilmann, a real estate attorney and educator whose clients include the Virginia Association of Realtors.

"Once the dual agency specter comes up, the antidote our real estate commission likes is capital punishment for the buyer or the seller -- you have to go somewhere else."

While Vermont's rules may be the strictest on paper, brokers do seem to be testing the limits.

Vermont Real Estate Commission Chairwoman Maretta Hostetler expressed concerns during a commission meeting that large brokerage firms are designating new agents to work only with buyers, "a limited form of designated agency (that) can cause potential dual agency situations."

Contacted by Inman News, Hostetler confirmed that she believes that "it is a problem within the big agencies -- particularly if they have branch offices in a different area."

The way Vermont's regulations are written now, "everybody working for that agency is working for the seller. If a buyer walks into another office (operated by the same agency), technically they would need to do the limited-agency disclosure," Hostetler said.

"In theory, they're not practicing designated brokerage, but in actuality, I believe that's what's happening."

John Robert Sullivan, an exclusive buyer's agent, says MLS reports in Vermont's Chittenden County show that it's common for a single broker or agent to represent both sides of a transaction -- or for separate branch offices or teams working under the same broker to represent both the buyer and seller. Sullivan notified the Vermont Real Estate Commission of his concerns in a July 2010 letter.

"If I went into those offices, would I find all of those (limited agency) disclosures (had been signed) in a timely manner?" Sullivan said when contacted by Inman News.

"It's very clear that limited agency is supposed to be of last resort," Sullivan said. "Either person can refuse it. The problem is, most real estate firms in Vermont try to represent both buyers and sellers -- that's what their business model has been for years."

Hostetler said the Vermont Association of Realtors may have sown some confusion by sponsoring a "Designated agency discussion," presented by Heilmann at a March 2010 broker summit. The discussion was part of a day of instruction that was advertised as qualifying for two continuing education credits.

The Vermont Real Estate Commission reminded licensees in its spring newsletter that designated agency, "is not a lawful practice in Vermont," and that such courses were not approved for continuing education credits.

Heilmann called concerns about his presentation on designated agency "basically much ado about nothing."

The Vermont Realtor Association "asked me to put together a program for the leadership conference -- not a continuing education program -- for leaders of the association to understand, 'Here is what's happening in other states, and here's what Vermont does,' " Heilmann said. "We emphasized over and over that designated agency is not something that Vermont recognizes."

Heilmann said that in his view, the limited agency option offered by Vermont "is a very tricky type of relationship, and you need to be very cautious about that."

Designated agency "is not the worst thing in the world -- I'm not advocating it, but I'm saying it should be a choice," particularly if brokers and agents are properly trained to provide services that way, he said.

"Commissions around the country should give consumers the ability to select the type of brokerage services that are best for them and the transaction," Heilmann said. "But brokers shouldn't go out there and say 'I can do anything.' Some of these delivery services are more sophisticated than others."

In September, the Vermont Real Estate Commission announced that its "Green Book" of rules governing licensees was up for a "complete review."

"Please be advised that everything is on the table," the commission announced. "To this end we are researching how other states handle various other forms of agency that are not currently allowed in Vermont."

See related articles:

Common Email Mistakes To Avoid

2012-02-14T11:14:00.000-08:00

13 Common Email Mistakes to Avoid

13 Common Professional Email Mistakes from My Real Helper

1. Never automatically email your entire contact list with property/listing information without express permission. Use a professional list management tool like MailChimp to segment your lists.

2. When requesting people update your email address, always include your OLD email address so they can quickly find the old address in their system.

3. Never send email newsletters only using images. If your recipient doesn't have "images on by default" you'll end up sending them an annoying, blank email.

4. Avoid excessive font changes within a single email. (Script for "signatures," multiple font faces, giant & tiny font sizing). Fonts have a direct impact on how professional your message looks.

5. Never, ever send white text on a black or dark background. Many times background colors will not be displayed, thus making your message completely invisible.

6. Do you need massive signatures attached to every message? If you have a one word response, does it merit a 60k signature? Use short signatures for short messages-- just the essential contact info.

7. Don't set an email autoresponder to automatically reply to every message that comes in. It's no longer necessary to robotically confirm your message "was received." In fact, it's not really received until you read and understand it.

8. Beware of contextually inappropriate autoresponders, for example: "Thank you for searching for a home with us!" when in fact, someone has just emailed you a question.

9. Careful about over-sharing personal/private information in an autoresponder: i.e. "We will be out of the country for three weeks for experimental medical treatments." etc.

10. Avoid short, abstract responses when the original message has been deleted. I.e. "I will." as a response without previous email messages in the chain. Will what? People need context & reminders.

11. This is a big one: Don't CC:everyone in your contact list when you send out a message. It exposes others' in your list to spam and the dreaded "Reply to all:" when someone replies "LOL!" If you don't use a list management software, send the email to yourself and BCC: your contact list.

12. Hey, when was the last time you verified the accuracy of the contact information in your signature? It's very easy to overlook this, especially when it's automatically appended to your messages.

13. Forgetting to include social media contact methods. But only list the ones you actually use / respond to!

There are others, but these are the big offenders. Sometimes the decision to choose one agent over the other is made in the tiniest details. Don't let questionable communication habits knock you off the top of the list.

Home Price Expectations

2012-02-10T15:35:00.000-08:00

Consumer home price expectations continue upward trend

Fannie Mae’s latest National Housing Survey shows that the majority of Americans continue to expect no change in mortgage rates over the next 12 months. However, their expectations for home prices have improved for the fourth month in a row, with respondents expecting prices to go up by 1 percent, on average, during the year.

Of the consumers surveyed, 44 percent expect their personal financial situation to improve, up from 40 percent a month ago, and 30 percent of Americans believe the economy is on the right track, up from 22 percent last month and up for the third straight month since November 2011.

Highlights of the monthly survey include:

Twenty-eight percent of respondents expect home prices to increase over the next 12 months (up 2 percentage points since last month), while 16 percent say they expect home prices to decline (down 2 percentage points since last month). Fifty-one percent say prices will stay the same.

Only 8 percent of Americans say that mortgage rates will go down in the next 12 months, down 2 percentage points from December.

The percentage of respondents who say it is a good time to buy stayed at 71 percent in January, while the percentage who say it is a good time to sell dropped by 1 percentage point to 10 percent.

Short Sale Incentives

2012-02-09T12:45:00.000-08:00

Short Sale Soundoff: Freddie Mac to increase short sale incentives

Freddie Mac soon will increase incentives paid for completed short sales, according to a spokesman for the government-sponsored enterprise.

Through HAFA, the Treasury currently provides $1,500 for servicers and up to $2,000 for investors who allow up to $6,000 of the short sale proceeds be paid to subordinate-lien holders.

But servicers completed only 27,600 short sales and deeds-in-lieu of foreclosure through December. Of those, only 1,600 were for GSE-backed mortgages, according to Treasury Department data released Monday.

Private investors approved more than 18,300, and the rest were held on the servicer portfolio.

Nearly two-thirds of HAFA activity occurred in three states. Roughly 43 percent of these transactions occurred in California, followed by 15 percent in Florida and 6 percent in Arizona.

According to the Freddie spokesman, the upcoming incentive changes are being constructed with the hope of boosting short sale volumes. Whether these higher payments will go to servicers, investors, or the subordinate-lien holders is unknown.

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Top Ten Tips to Jump-Starting Your Career

2012-02-07T08:33:00.000-08:00

It’s no secret: You’re dealing with a challenging market. Your personal income is taking a hit and “trying harder” might not be getting you the results you need. How can you take control and start earning more money? This might be the time to consider hiring a coach.

1. Not just for football anymore. Many of today’s top producing real estate agents understand the benefits of having a personal coach to help them reach higher levels of productivity, so what are they learning that can benefit your career?

2. Try a new approach. Nothing beats the advice of an experienced mentor, whether you’re trying to make your first sale or you’re a seasoned veteran of the industry. Successful agents understand that the market is going to bring changes, and they'll need to adapt and try new approaches throughout their real estate careers.

3. Be your own corporate giant. Most if not all successful corporations utilize consultants on an ongoing basis and are willing to spend money to make money. They recognize the value of working with experts to become more successful and competitive in today’s marketplace.

4. Design a game plan. A coach can help you create a concrete plan for reaching higher goals. In many ways, a coach is like a personal trainer at the gym; you might know what you should be doing to get fit, but need a little help getting there.

5. Keep your eye on the prize. A coach can provide the extra incentive you need to reach your goals. They’ll guide you in strategizing growth and setting specific objectives, help track your progress, keep you focused, and encourage you throughout the process. And when someone is holding you accountable along the way, you might be surprised at how much more productive you become in accomplishing your goals.

6. See the big picture. It’s often difficult to step back and see our own shortcomings. A coach you trust should be able to offer an objective evaluation of your strengths and weaknesses and help identify specific suggestions to best improve your effectiveness.

7. Get the low-down. A good coach will let you in on the secrets of their own success, offering new sales and marketing techniques based on their own expertise. They’ll help break down any barriers that have impeded your growth, guiding you to become more efficient, produce tangible results, and convert more prospects into sales.

8. Choose wisely. Selecting the right coach for you is essential. It’s a good idea to find someone with plenty of experience as a REALTOR® and a successful track record in the field. Testimonials from other real estate agents can also go a long way in letting you know what to expect.

9. Try before you buy. If they offer a free coaching session, take advantage of it, there’s no better way to find out if they’ll inspire excellence and bring out the best in you.

10. Smell the roses. Wouldn’t it be nice to work LESS and make MORE money? A good coach can help assess how well you’re managing your time and offer solutions to help you become more efficient in your everyday work life. The techniques you learn should ease the stress of overwork, and open more time in your schedule for relaxation.

Equipped with a powerful combination of new sales and marketing techniques and timesaving systems, you’ll find new life in your real estate career with a sharper focus and increased confidence. The money you invest in a coaching system should come back to you many times over and help motivate you to become the top producer you can be.

Tips of the Trade provided by the California Association of Realtors

Real Estate Tax Breaks

2012-02-03T09:01:00.000-08:00

9 Documents That Help You Reap Real Estate Tax Breaks

Technically speaking, April 15th is tax day. But for Americans who expect a refund - including many homeowners who want to cash in on real estate-related tax perks - filing sooner holds the promise of getting that check in hand, stat.
If you count yourself in that number, here’s a handy guide for 9 pieces of paper you should be sure to round up as you prepare to file, in order to reap every penny of the tax rewards you’ve earned by virtue of owning a home.

Mortgage Interest Statement - IRS Form 1098. The meatiest real estate tax deduction on the books is the one that allows you to deduct 100 percent of the mortgage interest you paid in a year - including prepaid interest or points you might have paid at close of escrow, if you bought a home last year. By now, you should have received in the mail a Form 1098 from your mortgage lender that reports how much that interest totaled up to in 2011. If you itemize your taxes and claim a mortgage interest deduction, you must include this form with your tax form when you file.

(If you haven’t received yours yet, most lenders that have online account management services also post the form digitally in your secure account on the web. Just login like you would to make your monthly payment, and look for a notice that says you can now download your 2011 Form 1098.)

Property Tax Statements. In addition to deducting your mortgage interest, if you own a home you are eligible to deduct the property taxes you pay to your local city, county and/or state. You are not allowed to deduct some of the other miscellaneous expenses that some localities bundle up with the taxes they collect, like waste management and local assessments for things like street lighting, libraries and sidewalk construction. To get this deduction right, the best practice is to have your property tax statements at hand and make sure you’re only deducting what’s allowed.

If you bought your home this year, it’s highly possible that you might not even have received a property tax statement yet - if that’s the case, look to #3, below. Uniform Settlement Statement (HUD-1). If you bought or sold a home last year, right after closing you should have received a form called the HUD-1 Settlement Statement (hint: it’s usually on legal-sized paper and contains an accounting of credits and debits for you and your home’s buyer or seller). That form documents a number of line items which might help you out at tax time, including prepaid interest, the prorated property taxes you paid at closing, and closing costs like original fees and discount points. Some states offer tax credits for buying a foreclosure; check with your tax pro to find out if any such credits apply to you. If so, this statement might be your ticket to lower taxes.
And here’s another handy hint - if you can’t find your copy, you might have gotten it on a disk - and you can always email your real estate or escrow agent for a copy, as well.
Moving Expense Receipts. Moving expenses are tax deductible, if your move is closely related, both in time and in place, to the start of work at a new or changed job location and you meet the IRS’ time and distance tests. Long story short, your new home must be at least 50 miles farther from your new workplace than your old home was from your prior place of work, and you must work essentially full-time. So, if you bought or sold a home and moved in 2011, you’ll need to include receipts from expenses you incurred making the move (meals not included) in your tax prep paperwork.

Cancellation of Debt Statement - IRS Form 1099. Homeowners who lost a home to foreclosure, or divested of one by negotiating a short sale or deed in lieu of foreclosure with their lender might receive some version of Form 1099 from their lenders, charging them with income in the amount of the mortgage debt that has been cancelled. You see, if you borrow money from someone, then they cancel the debt, that money you originally borrowed becomes income in the eyes of the IRS - and income is, as you know, taxable.

Utility statements for home office. For the average everyday homeowner who works at their employer’s place of business, utilities are not deductible (sorry!). But if there is a part of your home that is “regularly and exclusively” used for business, you might be able to claim that portion of your home as a home office, and deduct some portion of your home utilities and costs of painting and repairs, as a result.Talk with your tax provider about what expenses are allowable to be claimed under your home office deduction, and whether or not you should take it.

Income and Expense statements from rental properties. Some of you have elevated the art of home ownership to a business! If you are a landlord, your tax situation is more complicated than that of the average bear; you’ll need to have complete income and expense statements when you put your tax returns together. It might actually behoove you to consult with a tax professional to make sure you are appropriately depreciating the property over time and not taking deductions that will expose you to the risk of audits, as well as to begin cultivating a long-term tax strategy for your real estate portfolio.

Contractor receipts from energy efficient home improvements. Under the Nonbusiness Energy Tax Credit, homeowners who have made improvements to their homes that fall within a list of energy efficient upgrades might be eligible to claim tax credits. If, during 2011, you installed energy efficient improvements such as insulation, new dual-paned windows and furnaces, you might be eligible for a tax credit of 10 percent of the cost of these upgrades, up to $500 - only $200 of which may be used to offset the cost of windows.

Mortgage Credit Certificate (MCC). If you own a home you bought in the last few years using a Mortgage Credit Certificate issued by a local housing authority, that Certificate may entitle you to a pretty hefty tax credit, based on a percentage of the mortgage interest you paid - on top of your mortgage interest deduction. MCCs apply as long as you live in the home and have a mortgage on it, but they only apply to defray taxes you actually owe - you can’t use them to get a refund. In any event, your mortgage credit certificate, if you have one, is a must-have document as you start putting your tax prep plan in play.

No matter what your tax situation is, if you own a home, it absolutely cannot hurt to get some professional help and advice to make sure you maximize your deductions, while minimizing your exposure to audit. And you should always consult with a tax attorney or certified public accountant regarding your tax liabilities and implications when you buy, sell, short sell or lose a home to foreclosure.

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Real Estate Market

2012-02-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

Perspectives on a 'better' real estate market

NEW YORK -- When the real estate market improves has a lot to do with your perspective on the market, said Alex Perriello, president and CEO for Realogy Franchise Group, during a panel presentation Thursday at the Real Estate Connect conference.

"Oftentimes I'm asked, 'When's the market going to get better?' It all depends on how you define the word 'better,' " Perriello said during a panel presentation titled "The State of Real Estate: The Year Ahead."

"If you define 'better' as 'When will I not have to deal with foreclosures, short sales, underwater homes, people with damaged credit, (problems with appraisals), tough lending standards?' the answer to that is 'No time soon' -- at least for the next two or three years, and in some places, depending on where you live, it could be much longer than that."

He added, "If you define 'better' as 'When am I going to make more money in this business?' he noted that even if real estate sales fall to 4 million this year -- less than the 4.2 million in 2011, $35 billion in sales commissions are going to be earned by someone in this industry over the next 12 months." Realogy operates company-owned offices and franchise networks under the Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Sotheby's International Realty, and Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate brands, among others.

Diana Olick, real estate correspondent for CNBC and author of the "Realty Check" blog at CNBC.com, who also participated in the panel session, said she doesn't expect a sharp rebound once the real estate recovery takes hold.

She said she expects that at some point in the middle of 2012 "we are going to see the price stabilization we need, then people are going to start to buy," adding, "I don't think we're going to see a great surge up ... we're going to see pockets of strength in certain markets."

The factors that she expects will keep the real estate market subdued: deflated consumer confidence, and the need to work through the stream of distressed properties.

Olick and Perriello agreed that reduction of principal for distressed homeowners has proven one of the most effective deterrents to foreclosure, and panelists generally agreed that the foreclosure process is taking far too long to run its course in many areas.

Olick said that the problem is that many homeowners appear to be "staying in their houses and gaming the system," living in their homes without paying the mortgage for several years, in some cases. "That's a big problem right now," Olick said.

She also said she believes that investors will be at the forefront of the real estate recovery.

While investors -- namely house-flipping speculators -- have been vilified for their role in driving up prices during the boom years, Olick said that "it is the private equity, the institutional markets, coming in and taking the distress out of the markets that we need right now. That's going to be the strength in the market this year, and that's a good thing."

Margaret Kelly, CEO for Re/Max LLC and a fellow panelist, said that real estate professionals "have to embrace investors," agreeing that investors have an important role to play in working through excess inventory. Many investor-bought properties are converted to rental housing, she noted.

Kelly said she believes the short-sale process must be improved and expedited, and appraisal reform is also needed. "Appraisals have been a nightmare," she said.

Perriello's primary hope for the housing market: "If I could fix one thing, it would be a clear, concise national housing policy from Washington, D.C.

"If you think about the last three or four years, it's been a mixed bag," he said. "On the good side we've had government agencies buying up mortgage-backed securities, which has provided capital to the market, which has been a good thing -- it's kept interest rates low."

The series of federal homebuyer tax credit programs have also provided some welcome relief, he said.

"On the negative side, you've got legislation that's been passed -- like Dodd-Frank would be a perfect example -- that's now in the hands of the regulators. And if the regulators have their way it's going to be, I believe, very damaging for housing and it's going to make mortgage lending even more difficult for the homebuyer to get a loan and it's going to be more expensive."

There have also been mixed messages over the mortgage interest tax deduction, and policy reversals over loan limits, he said.

"People are concerned, there's doubt in the market, and whenever there's uncertainty and doubt in the market people sit back and say, 'I think I'll wait,' " he said.

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Bad Habits to Break

2012-01-31T09:56:00.000-08:00

Bad Habit to Break #5: Stop Overcomplicating Your Ideas

This year you're going to have a lot of great ideas. Some you'll pick up from us, some you'll daydream your way into, and some you'll even steal from your competition. Having ideas is nice, but what really makes the difference is executing on those great ideas.

Now, the biggest barrier to the execution of what might be a great idea is simply getting started. In fact, our minds are almost like little kids in the summer, afraid to jump into a cold lake. Even though we know we'll get used to the water, we dither and delay and stick only a toe in, rather than take the plunge.

One way to sabotage ourselves is by complicating our good ideas. Suppose you'd like to start an informal business group where you exchange ideas with other agents, marketers, and small business owners. So you start to think, "Who would I invite?" and "Where would we meet?"

Gradually you may begin to let the idea creep into complicated territory: "How will we structure the meetings?" and "Who will set the agenda each week?" and "Maybe I should setup a conference call to plan each week's meeting before we actually meet..."

Before you know it, a simple idea has become an overcomplicated monster. The simplest thing to do? Make a list of ten people and email them: "Hey, I'm thinking about starting an informal business group where we can brainstorm and complain and have dinner once a month. Anyone interested?"

Beginning is magic, as it both cures you of your advanced worries and ultimately reveals the true and unanticipated complexities of an idea. So what's the point in over-thinking things from the outset? Drop the overcomplicating habit this year.

Just in case you missed the first four parts of the "Bad Habits" series, you can access them here:

Building Permits - Housing Starts To Rise

2012-01-27T10:20:00.000-08:00

Building permits for single-family homes rose 1.8 percent in December to a rate of 444,000 units compared with November, according to a joint release by the U.S. Census Bureau and the Dept. of Housing and Urban Development. Single-family housing starts rose 4.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 657,000.

An estimated 611,900 housing units were authorized by building permits in 2011. This is 1.2 percent above the 2010 figure of 604,600. Approximately 606,900 housing units were started in 2011. This is 3.4 percent above the 2010 figure of 586,900.

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Relationship Management: Bounce Back From 5 Technology Blunders

2012-01-25T15:51:00.000-08:00

Technology can be your best ally or worst enemy. How can you recover from an embarrassing or humiliating incident over e-mail, social networks, or the phone, or even avoid a tech mishap in the first place?

We all make mistakes sometimes, but a mistake delivered over technology can be a lasting one — even at times an “archived” one on the Internet that plays over and over again.

Maybe an embarrassing photo of you surfaced on Facebook for all of your clients to see, or you accidentally sent a document to the wrong client or hit the “reply all” button when making a snarky remark over e-mail. Such technology mishaps can certainly be damaging to your career, particularly if not resolved quickly.

In real estate, where technology is often more friend than foe, taking precaution to avoid tech blunders can be well worth the extra effort. According to a recent survey by Robert Half International, the top professional “technology etiquette sins” reported by human resource managers are being inconsiderate to others by taking calls anytime on a smartphone, venting on bad things about the workplace on social networking sites, using instant-messaging shorthand, and constantly pestering others using technology.

If you’ve committed a technology sin, the best thing to do is repent. Here are some tips from etiquette experts on how to handle the fallout from some unintentional errors that can occur over technology and, better yet, how to prevent landing yourself in a technology mishap to begin with.

Tech Mishap No. 1: Forwarding the wrong document to a client

The Oops Moment:You forwarded an important, personal document regarding a real estate transaction to the wrong client.

The Recovery:This can be a very damaging mistake, depending on the extent of the private information the document contained. Putting someone else’s private information in another’s hands, unintentional or not, can land you in professional or even legal trouble. “Your best bet is to try to appeal to the humanity of the person who received your e-mail mistakenly,” says etiquette expert Cynthia W. Lett, director of The Lett Group in Silver Spring, Md. “Explain to them that they received a personal document that was intended for another client you are working with, and that you would appreciate it if they would destroy the document immediately.” You should also notify the other client about your mistake and apologize.

Avoid This Mistake:The REALTOR® Code of Ethics says that REALTORS® have an obligation to preserve the confidential information of their clients (as defined by state law). Slow down to avoid such big blunders when sending personal documents.

Also, watch for the auto-fill feature on most e-mail programs when sending messages. Your e-mail may save your contacts; when you begin to type a name, it may automatically input the e-mail address of a client to whom it assumes you intend to send the message. Encrypt any sensitive records and files to keep them more secure when sending anything online, and make it a policy to never send highly confidential information over unsecure e-mail.

“Pay attention,” Lett says. “We do things too quickly without thinking clearly.” Before you send any e-mail, take your hands off the computer and put them in your lap for at least 20 seconds, carefully reviewing what you just wrote and who you are about to send it to, Lett advises.

Tech Mishap No. 2: An embarrassing photo of you surfaces on Facebook

The Oops Moment:That photo of you after you’d had a bit too much to drink at a holiday party or otherwise acting unprofessional may someday come back to haunt you, thanks to social media. Your friends can upload a photo and tag you, and voilà. There it is, for all your clients to see.

The Recovery:In Facebook, you can untag yourself in a photo by bringing up the offending picture on your screen and then looking for the “report/remove tag” link to get your name removed from it. This at least will remove the photo immediately from your page. However, the picture will still be on the poster’s page and possibly even surface elsewhere on the Internet. Contact the person who tagged you in the photo. Call her on the phone to make the conversation more human and urgent, Lett suggests. Ask her to remove the photo immediately. Many people who tag you in photos think you’ll appreciate it, and don’t realize you’d be hurt by it, Lett says.

Avoid This Mistake:Facebook has security features so that you can choose a setting where you must approve all tagged photos of yourself prior to them appearing on your page. You’ll get notified as soon as someone tags you and can approve or disapprove of it. From your Facebook account, visit “Privacy Settings,” click on “Edit Settings” for “How Tags Work,” and then review the settings you have in place. The security setting won’t prevent others from uploading embarrassing photos of you, but it can prevent the photo from appearing on your page for your contacts to see.

And this probably goes without saying, but try to take some caution so that embarrassing photos aren’t taken in the first place. Remember: “The photos posted of you and the comments you make on social networking sites can start to form your reputation,” Lett says. “Take steps to protect your reputation on social networking sites.”

Tech Mishap No. 3: Mistakenly hitting ‘Reply All’ to an e-mail message

The Oops Moment:You went to respond to a message with a sarcastic comment intended for only one other person’s eyes — a person with whom you may have a joking relationship. But you accidentally hit “reply all” to a company or group message. Now everyone sees your private message, and some may take offense.

The Recovery:Some people have lost their jobs over this very scenario. Get on the phone if there’s anything in your message that could potentially hurt anyone’s feelings, apologize, and try to explain yourself, Lett says. Your top priority is to concentrate on repairing the damage from the person most hurt by your message. By having a voice conversation, you share your emotion, tone of voice, and energy in apologizing much better than an impersonal e-mail apology could ever communicate.

Avoid This Mistake:Avoid using your work e-mail to send any humorous or overly personal e-mail chains. Use a private account so there’s no mix-up. Keep all of your company e-mail communications professional in tone. And before you ever press “send,” make sure your e-mail message is going to the right person.

Tech Mishap No. 4: Calling your client by the wrong name

The Oops Moment:When talking on the phone or sending an e-mail, you mistakenly call your client “Jim” when his name is really “Bob.”

The Recovery:Call your client back immediately — even if the mistake was made over e-mail. Voice-to-voice interaction on the phone makes the conversation human again, Lett says. She suggests starting the conversation jokingly as you laugh, like “Hello, Jim. I mean, Bob. You know what, you look so much like someone I know named Jim and I was just talking to him, and I had his name in my head. Please forgive me, Bob.”

Avoid This Mistake:This can be one of the worst etiquette mistakes you can make because it’s so personal, possibly more offensive than even misfiling a document, Lett says. Avoid multitasking so you can concentrate when speaking or crafting a message to your client, so that you can avoid making such mistakes while distracted.

Technology Mishap No. 5: Inconsiderate phone use

The Oops Moment:Your phone rings, and you answer it while you’re out with another client showing him homes.

The Recovery:Tell the person on the other line that you’re meeting with another client and that you will have to return her call once you’re finished. Apologize to your other client for the disruption.

Avoid This Mistake:Make it a point to not pick up the phone when you’re out with another client — if you do answer those calls, it makes the client you’re with feel like he’s unimportant to you and the client who called you feel like you’re rushing her off the phone. Let your phone go to voicemail when you’re out with another client, and set your phone to vibrate so it won’t be distracting by constantly going off. Also, try to avoid other inconsiderate phone uses: Don’t call a client back or take a call while waiting in line at Starbucks or while driving. The loud background noises may make it difficult for your clients to hear you and for you to hear them. (Tip: If you must use the phone when you’re out, use the “mute” feature on your phone whenever background noise gets too loud.) Your best bet is always to pay your clients respect by waiting until you can get to a quiet place to call them back so that you can focus on the conversation, experts suggest.

“Rudeness will tick people off faster than humiliation,” Lett says. “If you’re out with a potential client who’s looking for a house and you’re getting text messages from other clients and you stop to take care of those text messages in front of that client, you will probably not have that client by the end of the day. There’s nothing people hate more than being ignored because of technology. It sends the message that you care more about your phone than the person sitting in front of you.”

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IRS Email Fraud

2012-01-19T09:54:00.001-08:00

Tip of the Week: Unexpected IRS refund

If you receive an unsolicited email that appears to be from the IRS
requesting that you file a "tax refund request," do not fall victim to
this identity theft scheme.

Numerous people are receiving unsolicited email informing them that a
$9,390.55 IRS tax refund is due to them if they complete a tax refund
request form. The email code will be forged to appear as if it
originated from a trusted source, usually the IRS or an IRS tax
preparer, but viewing the "message header" or "message source" will
reveal its origin to be something else, and the link will not lead to
a trusted domain, but one controlled by identity theft criminals.

If you file a tax return and a refund is due, you will automatically
receive your refund. You will never be contacted by the IRS, and there
is no tax refund request form. Never disclose personal information to
any unsolicited inquiry, as compelling as the story may be.

If you have questions or concerns about any IRS tax refund you may
have due, you should access the official IRS "Where's My Refund"
online application at the following destination:

http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id=96596,00.html.

Bigger Fees than Mega-Agents

2012-01-17T14:03:00.000-08:00

There’s no such thing as a commodity. Only commoditized thinking done by commoditized thinkers. While reading Gene Simmons’ latest book: ***, MONEY, KISS this past week, I was reminded of this.

Surprisingly, Simmons’ book is a brilliant business book. This is a man who is all about the endless pursuit of money, and if you watch his hit reality show, Gene Simmons’ Family Jewels, you know this is true to a fault. Along this same topic - concerning the pursuit of money - one of the most popular topics I discuss with agents is ‘'How do I get bigger fees?" – as in “What’s the secret to getting 7%, 8% commissions, upfront fees, retainers, etc?” I’d like to shed some light on this subject, then, briefly, share some strategic examples with you.

So people say you can't get 8% commissions, upfront fees, retainers, etc., huh?

That you can't get bigger fees than Mega-agents?? (Prove'em Wrong!)

Most people don’t realize, but KISS is one of the most licensed brands in the world; a juggernaut, with over 2,500 licenses issued. Simmons, like Oprah, publishes his own magazine, Gene Simmons’ Tongue. Owns a record label, a production company, and is co-owner of Simmons Abramson Marketing. Like Trump, he is a consummate promoter. There is a lesson there, but not my point here, not yet. Back in the mid 1990s’, Simmons decided to publish the bands’ first official book; it was calledKisstory…He settled on a price tag of $158.95. Publishers disagreed, saying “The market would never bare such a price for a book.” He met with Penguin Putnam among others. He stuck to his guns. And since no publisher would touch it at that sticker price, Simmons decided to self-publish the book. He would keep everything and best of all, have total control over how it was marketed. The book was notsold in bookstores or through any distributor; instead, Simmons and band-mate Paul Stanley did interviews with a few fan writers who received a one-time fee of a few thousand dollars for their work. With more than 90,000 copies sold to date, Kisstory has made almost 12 million dollars – for a book, at a price ($158.95) popular wisdom and all the experts i.e. book publishers, said the marketplace would never bare. Fools!

Here’s the lesson: YOU MUST BREAK ALL THE RULES. THERE ARE NO RULES.

As I said, there’s no such thing as a commodity. Only commoditized thinking! Book publishers think in terms of “industry standards” or “norms” – this, by definition, look up “normal” in the dictionary, is commoditized thinking. Commoditized thinking only takes into account price; eggs, milk, cheese, steak, or even books…there is, within a small range, a pre-determined price for each. This is howcommoditized thinkers, think. They have a belief system that says a book is only worth $20 books and nothing more. Or that a steak can only range from $3.99 to $9.99/lb. depending on cut; rump vs. flank and store; Safeway vs. Whole Foods for example.

MY ADVICE: Let those sheep think that way. As Simmons’ proved it is flawed thinking. And everyday, somehow, someway – ...it’s a mystery, right? – Allen Brothers, a mail-order business like Omaha Steaks, sells a 3 lb. pot roast for $199.95. Well...do the math. If you don’t have a calculator, that’s $67 per pound. And I assure you, if a visit were paid to my local meat market, run by ‘mom and pop’ and I told ‘mom and pop’ they could get those kinds of fees for their steaks too – I might as well be speaking Martian. They’d think I was insane, right? But see, that’s the point….

Commoditized thinkers only think in terms of price, typically in accordance with “industry norms” – not value – and that is their flaw. You can buy a giant bag of coffee at Costco for about 10 bucks, but Kopi Luwak…that’s a fancy name for cat-poo coffee, runs $85 for a 4 oz. bag. The Asian Civit Cat, which is really more like a weasel than a cat, has a fondness for coffee beans. They're said to eat only the finest berries from the coffee plant. These beans then pass through the cat’s digestive tract mostly un-digested. Workers then scavenge the jungle collecting these beans to be made in the world’s most expensive coffee. So please, don’t tell me you can’t alter the perception of any commodity, and therefore, its value. I’ve just demonstrated it with a book, steaks and coffee.

Three of the most commoditized products on Earth.

What Simmons, Allen Brothers, Kopi Luwak understands, as well as other smart marketers– is that: To be paid premium fees, you must package yourself (and services) differently than competitors. For example, if you don’t want for your fees to be clubbed-down like a baby seal, don’t make yourself (or services) look like a baby seal. This falls under the category of self-sabotage. I’m going to give you some things to think about. Number #1: how the brain processes information. According to Dr. Robert Cialdini our brains have been hardwired in order to handle the massive volumes of information we’re exposed to daily – we classify and stereotype and make snap judgments. The entire premise of never judge a book by its cover is delusional. It happens subconsciously. You can’t control it. Studies show within 4 seconds of seeing something new, the human brain has already made a “judgment” and “stereotype” – it’s that gut feeling. We stereotype everything. If asked how much a book costs…you don’t have to think about it, you already know how much it costs. It costs between $10 and $20 bucks.

If I say this book costs $200…you say "bull***t, “I’m not paying $200 for a book” – why? Because we’ve already stereotyped the value of what a book should cost. It costs $20 bucks, not $200. However, take that same book, pull the information out of it, convert some its information to exercises, homework assignments, a few tools and resources, repackage it into a manual, read the information word for word and record it on ten CD’s – well, now, even though it’s the exact same information as the book, $200 doesn’t seem so expensive, does it?

What about $500 or $1,000?

Maybe. Why? Because we stereotype the value of different things, differently. A manual, a course, a system are all perceived to be more valuable than a book. Worth more. We expect to pay more. It’s just how the brain works. Same information. Different format = More expensive. If you’ve ever attended a Jay Abraham seminar...$5,000, $10,000, $25,000 bucks, you know the majority of the strategies he teaches come right out of his $12 book – you can get it at Amazon.

This very same principle of “re-packaging” applies to real estate: If you think of all your competitors as “books”, stereotyped by prospects to be worth $10 to $20 bucks – first things first, if you have ambition to give yourself a pay raise, to be the most expensive, highest paid, at least per transaction agent in your marketplace – Step one: You must not allow yourself and/or services to be stereotyped as a book. It is a death sentence. You must create a new perception of value, a new stereotype for what you do and are worth. This is how you keep your commissions from getting clubbed-down like a baby seal. Hint: You do not make yourself look like a baby seal.

Incidentally, Simmons book didn’t really look like a book at all. He super-sized it. It measured over a foot and a half in length, and over a foot wide, with more than 450 pages. And packaged in a hardcover case, like a collectible box set – after all – it was Memorabilia. Not a book.

The most valuable exercise you can do in business, since the majority is always wrong:Make a list of all the “industry norms.” Make a long list of everything the average agent is doing – how they “package” themselves – then vow to do NONE of those things. Re-package yourself, your services. Break all the rules. For example, since everybody does a listing presentation; a form of direct-competition that facilitates apples-to-apples comparison – precisely how people “price-shop” for commodities; eggs, milk, cheese on grocery store shelves – well, then...DON’T DO THAT.

You will not find Allen Brothers steaks on grocery store shelves. You will not find Kopi Luwak on grocery store shelves. You will not find Simmons' book on bookstore shelves. Why? Because if you give prospects the opportunity to "price-shop" you, they will. Most agents - if you look closely at how they package themselves i.e. zero differentiation - sadly, unfortunately, most actually strive to emulate other agents. They package themselves exactly the same.

It is CRITICAL - You Must Re-Package Yourself (and Services) Differently!

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Busted by the Cops for Using Craigslist to Sell Real Estate?

2012-01-16T09:19:00.001-08:00

Did you hear that a real estate agent was actually busted by the cops for using Craigslist to market his listings?

A coaching client of mine told me that this is the reason he couldn't use Craigslist in his real estate business -- because he heard that someone in his town was busted by the cops for using Craigslist

"Really?" I asked him. "Why did he get busted?"
(I mean, is it really ILLEGAL to use Craigslist?)

The truth is no, it's not illegal :-)

I dug a little further and got the real scoop...

Turns out that what kept this client of mine from using Craigslist all this time was the fact that someone got in trouble for selling a house on Craigslist he didn't have any right to sell (it wasn't his listing, he wasn't an agent, and he ran a fake ad just to collect deposits and steal people's money)

SHOCKING REVELATION: Stealing and fraud are always illegal and will tend to get you busted by the cops.

The lesson here?

If you have "heard" that you can't generate great leads and make lots of money from using Craigslist in your business, don't believe it!

I can tell you from my personal experience that not only is Craigslist legal, but it works AMAZINGLY and CONSISTENTLY to bring me 3-6 sales every single month.

There are some KEY REASONS why Craigslist will not work for you (or anyone for that matter). So, avoid these five "Craigslist cardinal mistakes," and you can use it as one of your go-to sources of consistent high quality leads and sales month after month like clockwork.

Craigslist Cardinal Mistake #1 - You Buy Into The "Everyone" Mistake: A big trap that so many real estate agents fall into is believing the "hype" about different types of marketing -- and Craigslist advertising is no exception. They will hear other agents tell them that they've tried it and it doesn't work, or hear from other agents that "everyone" is doing Craigslist ads a certain way, and they just believe it or follow it.

There are a lot of things that people do WRONG when it comes to advertising, and often it comes from following what "everyone" else is doing (or saying is the way to do it). Think about it though. If you are doing what "everyone" is doing, when so many are not getting any kind of good results from it, are you really surprised that you are getting similar results when you follow their lead?! So the first mistake you want to avoid is being too fast to get on the "everyone" train. NOT doing what "everyone" is doing should be a goal for you - it is the beginning to you becoming a leader in your market.

Craigslist Cardinal Mistake #2 - Using Craigslist To Hand Out Your Business Card: If this blog achieves nothing else, I hope it will be to get you to STOP sending people to your "business card website" in your Craigslist ads! So many real estate agents use what I call a "business card website," which is a website that usually contains your name, picture, contact information and your listings. You do not want to post ads on Craigslist that send people to a site like this. Why? Because your goal is not to sell from these ads, but to generate high quality leads from them! So you want to be sure you have something of high value that you provide on your website that entices your prospects to opt-in, I call this kind of website a “lead magnet” site.

Craigslist Cardinal Mistake #3 - Utilizing the "More Is Better" Approach: A lot of real estate agents believe that if one Craigslist ad is good, then two (or often twenty) is better. I agree with half of this thought process. I am a big proponent of creating multiple ads (in fact, I would strongly encourage you to do so), BUT you do not want to post all of those ads all at once! Break them up so that they are posted at different times throughout the day, when your prospects are actually searching Craigslist. This will be MUCH more effective.

Craigslist Cardinal Mistake #4 - Using Craigslist to Sell: I bet you are you thinking, "Wait! I thought the whole point of running ads was to generate sales!" It is . . . eventually. You do not, however, want to try and sell anything in your Craigslist ads. This is a critical mindset shift you need to make if you want your Craigslist ads to lead to consistent high quality leads and sales. The objective of your Craigslist ads is not to sell anything. It is to create value (by pointing people to your lead magnet website), and to gather their contact information so that you can personally convert them to a client.

Craigslist Cardinal Mistake #5 - Thinking Too Small: Using Craigslist (and Craigslist ads) as a regular part of your business should be thought of as a MAJOR and IMPORTANT component to your marketing plan, with the ability to generate a huge amount of consistent high quality leads and consistent sales for you month after month. Too many people don't really believe that this is possible, and thus don't give it the time or energy it deserves. The great thing is that once you DO this, it can become systematized and not take much time at all, but until you BELIEVE and act accordingly, you will not see the incredible results that are possible from using Craigslist ads.

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Freddie Mac extends forbearance to unemployed borrowers

2012-01-12T08:12:00.000-08:00

Freddie Mac Now Permits Up To 12 Months Forbearance To Unemployed Borrowers

Freddie Mac is giving mortgage servicers expanded authority to provide six months of forbearance to unemployed borrowers without Freddie Mac's prior approval and up to an additional six months with prior approval.

This means unemployed borrowers may be eligible for up to 12 months of forbearance. Freddie Mac's forbearance options are being expanded at the direction of the Federal Housing Finance Agency and will take effect on Feb. 1. Delinquent borrowers in an existing short term forbearance plan can be evaluated for an extended forbearance under the new policy.

Previously, Freddie Mac allowed servicers to grant up to three months of forbearance with no payment and without prior approval, or six months at a reduced payment with prior approval. Longer forbearance required prior approval and was generally restricted to events such as natural disasters, permanent disability or long-term medical emergencies.

More info

7 Rules That Turn Holding Opens Into a Dependable Flow of Business

2012-01-09T10:09:00.000-08:00

Rule Number One: Never Call People Back.

What? That’s right. Instead of calling people back, say whatever you have to say at the open house.

Discuss whether they are interested in the property… at the open. Discuss what else may interest them… at the open. Ask for an appointment … at the open house. Whatever you would say when you call back, say at the open instead. At the open, face to face you make a stronger impression. You save time. And, let’s be honest, most Agents aren’t very conscientious about calling back. Many of you will capture business that has been escaping you.

When you have so many people at the open that you can’t take time to engage each of them is the only time that it makes sense to call people back.

Use the open house script and method provided as a link in this article and you will to capture more than ten percent of open house Guests to work exclusively with you. You will capture over fifty percent of Guests who are not already committed to another Agent. This is a big promise and one that has proven itself in dozens of markets across the country using these rules, scripts and approaches.

Rule Number Two: Engage People At the Front Door.

Lock the door. Neither you nor the owners want people walking into the house unannounced.

Greet people at the door.

Welcome and thank them for coming.

Hand them information on the property.

As they look at the information tell them about a special feature or two that they may want to notice as they go through the property.

Ask for their name and phone number or ask them to fill out an open house register.

If they decline to give you their contact information and they appear safe; let them in. You will find that most Guests provide their contact information simply because you ask.

Finally, as they are entering the property explain that there is some information on the dining room or kitchen table that may be of interest to them. (See next rule.)

Rule Number Three: Stage the Dining Room or Kitchen Table

On the dining room or kitchen table put a variety of items that capture the Guests attention, make them pause to look at them, raise their respect for you, and encourage them to want to speak with you. You will put a bold label on each type of information, printed with twenty four to forty-eight point font, to capture Guest’s attention as they walk by. (Kitchen/Dining Room Items of Interest)

Rule Number Four: Make a Strong Appointment at the Open

As Guests pause or after they have wandered on their own for a bit, catch up to them and engage them in the most successful and effective lead conversion conversation possible. (Lead Conversion Conversation)

You may notice that the attached script and approach implies that you have a Buyer appointment where you sit down with the prospective Buyer and do the things described.

Rule Number Five: Develop a Buyer Presentation.

An effective Buyer presentation takes about an hour and saves you dozens of hours, reduces the number of properties you show, and more. It educates the Buyer, creates confidence and loyalty, makes the Buyer apprehensive about working with any other Agent, answers all the Buyer’s questions, even ones they didn’t know to ask, and leaves the Buyer with just one question. “Which house?” This type of Buyer presentation raises the level of motivation and urgency which is the definition of an “A” Buyer.

There are loads of benefits to you, the Agent, in conducting strong Buyer presentation. The top three are that you get more referrals more quickly, you distinguish yourself as a top Agent regardless of your production, and you create a relationship of trust that leads the Client to cooperate with you during all the negotiations and challenges that will occur.

Rule Number Six: Choose Your Opens Instead of Having Them Chosen for You.

Only hold good open houses. What is a good open? It is one where Guests will show up. How do you know? Good opens are normally, newer on the market, priced well and easy to access from main roads.

Do your best not to hold opens just because the Seller wants it or another Agent asks you.

Rule Number Seven: Do All the Normal Stuff. Really Do It.

Have the Seller prepare the house to look its best outside and in; trim, un-clutter, clean, shampoo rugs, fresh paint, etc. Get there early. Turn on all the lights. Open the curtains. Check for unpleasant odors.

You may choose to do more. Send invitations to the neighborhood and to your sphere of influence that live in the area. Make the house smell good. Play soft music. Clean up; make the beds; set the table, etc, if the owner hasn’t. Put out signs that indicate special features, “Look down, hardwood floors.” “Gas fireplace, push this button.” “Walk in closet, walk in.” These are fun. They distinguish you and make it easier to engage the Guests and get appointments with them.

You may have other things you know to do. The key is to actually do them. When you invest more of your time and energy in the open, you are more motivated to follow the first four rules above and turn holding open houses into a dependable flow of leads, adds to your confidence, and adds a dependable flow of income to your wallet.

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Additional Open House Resources

5 Tips For A Better Open House

How To Hold A Successful Open House

Field Guide To Open Houses

Realtor Tips For Open House

Success Open House In Slow Market

Foreclosure Free Rids: 3 Years, No Payments

2012-01-06T10:32:00.000-08:00

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Delinquent borrowers facing foreclosure are learning that they can stay in their homes for years, as long as they're willing to put up a fight.

Among the tactics: Challenging the bank's actions, waiting to file paperwork right up until the deadline, requesting the lender dig up original paperwork or, in some extreme cases, declaring bankruptcy.

Nationwide, the average time it takes to process a foreclosure -- from the first missed payment to the final foreclosure auction -- has climbed to 674 days from 253 days just four years ago, according to LPS Applied Analytics.

It takes much longer than that in Florida, where the process averages 1,027 days, nearly 3 years. In D.C., foreclosure averages 1,053 days and delinquent borrowers in New York often stay in their homes for an average of 906 days.

And while some borrowers are looking for ways to make good with lenders and get their homes back, many aren't paying a dime. Nearly 40% of homeowners in default have not made a payment in at least two years, according to LPS.

Many of these homeowners are staying in their homes based on a technicality. There is rarely any dispute over whether or not they have stopped paying their mortgage, said David Dunn, a partner at law firm Hogan Lovells in New York, who represents banks and other financial institutions in foreclosure cases.

"In my experience, they never say, 'I'm not delinquent' or 'I want to pay my bill but I'm confused over who to send it to,' or 'Oh my God, you mean I didn't pay my mortgage?' They're not in technical default. They're in default because they're not paying," he said.

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Millions eligible for foreclosure review

Ironically enough, the banks have given delinquent borrowers some of the ammunition they need to delay the foreclosure process. During the "robo-signing" scandal in 2010, it was revealed that bank employees signed paperwork attesting to facts they had no personal knowledge of. Now, borrowers are routinely challenging that paperwork.

A Staten Island, N.Y. man who owed $300,000 on his mortgage and hadn't made a payment in two years, said his attorney used the robo-signing issue to fight his foreclosure.

In his case, the lender's paperwork included many different papers signed by the same employee. The problem was that the signatures didn't match. The judge dismissed the lender's case against the borrower, although it can be re-filed.

"It looks like I'll be in my home for some time to come," said the homeowner, who asked to remain anonymous. He said he is currently not making any payments on his home.

Sometimes just asking the bank to produce the paperwork that shows it is the legal holder of the mortgage note can stall a repossession, said attorney Robert Brown. Since mortgages are often transferred electronically, the official paperwork often gets misplaced.

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10 cheap foreclosed homes for sale by Uncle Sam

"My lawyer asked my bank to produce an affidavit that entitled them to foreclose," said a client of Brown's, who lives in Harlem and also asked to remain anonymous. "They couldn't do it."

The case was dismissed, without prejudice, though the lender can try again -- if it finds the paperwork.

In some of the more extreme cases, borrowers will file for bankruptcy in order to block a foreclosure. In these instances, courts order creditors to cease their collection activities immediately. Home auctions can be postponed as the bankruptcy plays out, which can take months.

The ensuing delays are further harming the housing market. People who stay in homes undergoing foreclosure for years often don't maintain the properties, causing blight and lowering property values in the surrounding neighborhoods, said Dunn.

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Home prices: Your local forecast

Then there are the court costs that lenders bear, which will eventually be borne by home buyers as lenders increase their borrowing fees to cover the increased risk, Dunn said.

David Berenbaum of the National Community Reinvestment Coalition (NCRC), a community activism group, disputes the contention that owners are gaming the system for free rent and hurting the housing market.

"Most people do everything in their power to maintain these homes," he said. "They take in relatives, get second jobs and even rent out rooms."

What really needs to be done, he said, is for lenders to work harder to find solutions that allow delinquent borrowers who can afford to make reasonable mortgage payments to keep their homes.

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11 SIMPLE EMAIL TIPS

2012-01-04T08:42:00.000-08:00

Email has become an essential part of your real estate practice and can be a great tool if managed well. These guidelines can help you communicate more effectively with clients and other contacts in your daily life.

1. Organize and Prioritize. Create prioritized folders with a labeling system that makes sense to you. Customize folders for "Reply ASAP," “To Do,” "Friends," etc. Searching for buried email is a time waster, so shift messages to their respective folders as soon as you open your inbox.

2. Act Now. More often than not, your clients have come to expect a response within 24 hours, and preferably within the same working day. The first time you see an email, respond immediately, delete it, set it as a task to accomplish at a specific time, or move it into the appropriate folder.

3. Bridge the Gap. You can’t always get back to every sender with the information they want immediately, but make sure they know you’re not ignoring them. Send a short note explaining you’ve received and read their email, and you’ll need to get back to them about it later. The simple act of acknowledging their message will most often encourage patience, and can make all the difference between a positive and negative impression.

4. Keep it Short. Try to keep your responses as concise and to-the-point as possible. Summarize requests so they understand your response in context. For example: “You asked if we could meet Wednesday at 4, but I won’t be available until 5:30 that day. If that won’t work for you, please let me know how Thursday morning looks.”

5. Structure Your Message. Use short paragraphs and include blank lines between each one. This layout is easier to read, and will make your message more approachable.

6. Proof It. Using a spell checker is important, but it might not catch everything. Typos and errors can form other valid words (e.g. contact vs. contract) that may not be corrected, so be sure to reread your message before sending it. And keep in mind that some phrases or thoughts might get lost in translation. Sarcasm, irony, and humor are often misinterpreted via email, so make sure your meaning is clear.

7. Create a Personalized Signature. More than likely, you send out quite a few emails daily and many of those may be forwarded to other recipients. Use each message to market you and your listings by simply including a link to your website, blog, or social networks in your email signature.

8. Exercise Email Etiquette. Greet your recipient by name (Hello, Ryan) and close with your name on its own line (Regards, Joan). It only takes a few seconds, but can change the tone of your message and establish a certain level of respect. AVOID USING ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS, it may be interpreted as shouting. Don’t send unsolicited attachments, as many users have become wary of potential computer viruses. Get permission before sending large files, as they can tie up the recipient's mail while being downloaded. Use acronyms (BTW, LOL) and emoticons sparingly.

9. When in Doubt, Send Plain Text. Using special characters (bullets, ampersands), images, fonts, and colors, runs the risk that your recipient might not be able to view your message properly.

10. Stay in Touch. Having a client or prospect in your database isn’t worth much if you don’t communicate with them. Send your contacts periodic updates on the market in their area, tips on home buying and selling, and even personal notes on birthdays and anniversaries.

11. Keep Your Contacts Current. Some of your contacts may have moved or found a new job since you last spoke with them. If their information is out of date in your address book, your emails may be undeliverable. Keep your list fresh by using a system that automatically searches the web for any updates, then syncs them to all of your devices.

CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS® (C.A.R.)

Yearly Planning Pays Off – What’s Your Plan?

2012-01-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

By the time most of you will be reading this, we’ll all be stuffed from the holidays, rested and relaxed. It just happens to be the end of the year and the beginning of a new one.

Are you thinking about 2012?
What is your plan?
What does your business look like in 2012?

As a fellow business owner, I know that while making plans for the New Year should be exciting and energizing, it can also be quite daunting. I put together a few ideas for your 2012 planning and strategizing session. Hopefully these tips and online tools will help you plan and make 2012 an awesome year!

Get Back To Basics – Create a Business Plan

If I’m being honest, this year is the first year that I’ve done a business plan for my 11- year-old Real Estate Virtual Assistant business. It has always seemed so time consuming and frankly, I just never made time!

I recently found an online tool that takes you step-by-step to create your business plan and financial forecast. Unlike other templates that just give you the format to follow, this tool prompts you to answer several questions and then it pumps out the plan, all typed up and looking pretty. The best part is that it is free (although, there is also a paid service if you want to get their logo off of your plan). Get back to basics and create your plan now. Here is the site: www.enloop.com.

Think Proactively Rather Than Reactively – Create your Marketing Plan Now

One of the things I’ve noticed when assisting my real estate clients is that the marketing we do for them today pays off in no less than 3-6 months. This means that those people we hit with a postcard or connect with on Facebook today probably won’t actually become a client and buy a home for at least 3-6 months. What I see happen far too often is that the agent gets busy so the marketing stops. Then, after dealing with the 2-3 immediate closings, the agent is left scratching his or her head wondering where the next closing is going to come from. As a result, we are urgently called upon to get some marketing out the door. It doesn’t have to be this way if you plan ahead and think proactively rather than reactively.

Create your marketing plan now for the entire year.

You can always add or tweak as the year goes by, but having it on paper and planned out will help you stay focused. We’ve helped many agents come up with a yearly marketing plan. We’ve even been able to put some of our clients’ plans on “auto-pilot” by adding them to a marketing drip. If you happen to work with a real estate virtual assistant, ask them to be part of your planning session, too! They can handle the creation and implementation, making this task even easier and more enjoyable for you.

Here’s My Recommendations

I would start with a plan for your past clients and spending the most money and time here.
Next, figure out what you will be doing with your online leads. Do you have some type of drip system? If not, get one quick!
In addition to the obvious plans, think outside of the box with your marketing. How will you draw in the savvy buyer or seller? How about hosting a monthly seller seminar at the local library?
Send out a postcard for an “online webinar” for homeowners with expired listings, letting them know you’ll teach them why their home didn’t sell all from the comfort of their homes.

In business today, we need to think on our toes and be more innovative than the next guy or gal. This takes careful thought and planning. Make sure you’re allowing yourself – this is an important time to reflect upon what didn’t work in 2011, and what you’ll do differently in 2012.

What are you planning to do in 2012? Keep 100% of your commission with Real Estate eBroker Inc.

Happy New Year!!!

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