2 Years Later - Buyer Broker Agreements...

...some buyers are not aware that they even exist

let alone that they are required for an agent to provide real estate services

for those that work in the industry

this can seem to be almost unbelievable

but lets face it

most people move every 7-10 years

and if you aren't looking to move

you really don't have much reason to learn about it

the short story is that an agent cannot work with a buyer

without having a signed agreement in place

which makes it crystal clear that the agent:

• will be earning a commission
• the amount of compensation
• who pays for it
• how long the agreement will last

keep in mind that no one is required to use an agent

and that commissions are negotiable

an agent can provide you with a copy of the agreement

for you to review and ask questions

today's show gives you the details

Is The Open House Dead...

...as a real estate strategy

In the current real estate market

an Open House may be actually be very ineffective

now stay with me

I am not saying that they will never work

but its become more of an impulse item

most people going to open houses these days

are actually on the way to do something else

and happen to become browsers after seeing a sign

with all of the information available on line

most buyers that are ready to purchase now

prefer to book private showings

for the homes that they want to see in person

listen in to todays show to get the scoop on whats changed

Is the Price Of A Home Really Out Of Reach...

...quite often its actually within reach when you do the real math

We live in a time where many people are very accustomed to

• the daily coffee purchase
• lunch and dinner deliveries
• subscriptions for all kinds of things
• amazon daily deliveries
• new expensive cars each year

I am not telling anyone to give up those things

but they do end up being a large and often unnecessary

variable expense in the majority of family budgets

which leaves less money each month to pay for a home

interestingly - many people are renting the place they live in

and nothing wrong with that either

but a $2,000 per month rental

is $24,000 per year that is not building your wealth

• its not earning any interest
• its not an appreciating asset
• it does not provide any tax benefits
• its not a way to save for the next home

today's show breaks down the math that might just make a difference for you

If Your Home Sale Isn't Going Too Well...

...You really only Have 2 Levers To Pull to change things

Price And Time - thats it

Many homes are lingering on the market unsold

and sellers are having a hard time facing the real reasons

that their homes aren't selling this year

its easy to blame

• the market
• the economy
• the war in Iran
• their agent

but the real reason is very likely to be something different

its the home seller is refusing to accept the current market conditions

so these sellers will use the time lever and wait it out

provided that they have enough time available for the market to increase

• they have to get "their price"
• they refuse to "lose money" on their home
• they have always made money selling a home
• they have "way too much money into it"

other sellers will have more urgent situations and take a pricing action step a bit downward

or invest a significant amount of $$$ to upgrade the home to meet the price they need it to be

the most effective strategy though is to simply price it where homes are actually selling

and get on to where you really need to be

today's podcast gives the inconvenient truth on how the market is playing out

The US Treasury Just Made A Move...

...That Might Help Home Buyers

They are back to buying bonds again

which typically lowers the yields that bond holders receive

and in turn may very well lead to downward pressure on interest rates

keep in mind that it was only last week

where it was widely predicted that the Fed would increase rates

at their meeting next month due to inflation

so we have a situation where things are changing rapidly

now this doesn't mean that rates will plummet to 5%

but it does mean that rates might have a better chance

of going down instead of up in the next 30 days

which is good news for home buyers and sellers alike

and we may just see a little increase in market sales

during the months of September and October

before the news headlines zero in on the mid term elections

listen in for my take on what happens next

FSBO Sellers Biggest Mistake...

is definitely allowing their ego to dominate their sales strategy

most people that choose to sell on thier own

want to avoid paying a real estate brokers commission

and feel confident that they can get their home sold on their own

they also tend to overprice their homes

and its the worst combination possible

buyers realize that when no agents are involved

that there should be a discount on the price

so when the list price is actually higher

there is a massive disconnect

and its a big reason why 85% + of FSBO sellers are not able to sell their home

making matters worse is a cavalier attitude towards a buyers showing experience

buyers frequently struggle to freely view the home

as the seller follows them all over like an unwanted tour guide

to the point of discomfort that the buyers just choose to leave

quite often sellers get defensive when a buyer makes comments on the property condition

and get upset when they ask tough questions

it makes for an awkward showing to say the least

today's show goes super deep into why a sellers ego can kill most deals

The Best Way To Increase Your Credit Score...

...and get the best possible interest rate on your home loan

is to understand how the credit bureaus actually determine your score

if you knew the answers to the test

would it be possible to do better on it?

I think that we can all agree that the answer would be yes

there are a number of places to check your credit online

without having a hard inquiry that lowers your score

several different credit models exist that lenders use to qualify borrowers

for things such as car loans, store credit cards, insurance

and yes for home loans to buy a house

the credit bureaus will take into account a large number of things

in order to determine how risky (or not risky) a borrower might be

• on time payments
• length of credit history
• types of credit in use
• overall percentage of credit balance vs the limit
• late payments
• collections
• charge offs
• foreclosures
• bankruptcy

are among the most common things reviewed

when applying for a mortgage

its very common for all credit inquiries in a 30 day time period

to count as 1 credit hit as buyers are allowed to "shop rates"

today's show gets down and dirty with the details

and offers a number of helpful tips to get a boost in your credit score

Buyers Agents Need To Attend Home Inspections...

...not doing so is a growing problem in the real estate industry

A number of agents that I respect are talking about this recently

and the consensus among them is very clear

they attend all of their buyers inspections as a standard

if they have a schedule conflict, they make arrangements

for a team member or a licensed agent that they know to attend

they are very vocal in saying that its NOT OK

for an inspector to be there with the buyers with no agent present

any number of things can go wrong

and I am not going to be convinced that its acceptable

a buyers agent signs up for the whole job, right???

not just the convenient parts of a sale

as far as the "reasons" they offer - they are garbage

• the home is too far away
• I am too busy
• I never attend inspections
• the buyers can handle it themselves
• its not part of what I offer

Its absolutely mind blowing to hear this from licensed professional agents

but now that we have this information out in the open

consumers can add to this to their list of questions to ask

as they interview agents when they are going to make a home purchase

todays show gets a little edgy...

you will want to listen to this one twice

Launching Your Rental Ads Too Soon...

...Is The BIGGEST Mistake that property owners are making

days on market is a crucial factor in rental profits

the longer a rental is on the market

the more likely it will be that tenants will try to negotiate the price of the rent

We are seeing way too many properties hit the market

that are nowhere near move in ready

• repairs in progress
• property not clean
• pest control service not done
• no window treatments in place
• appliances not working properly
• a visible punch list of things that need attention

While its understandable that property owners want ads running

as coming soon rentals to get prospects

the problem is that they miss the fact that

the 1st impression of the home is not very impressive

most will believe that the home is not well maintained

the majority of renters will pass on this type of property

and move forward with homes that are more visibly appealing

todays show gives you some real life scenarios that owners could have easily avoided

If I Was Starting My Real Estate Career Today...

...I would do a number of things differently

that doesn't mean that I would change the way that I started out

I made the right decisions back then

based on my skillset at that time

and also the type of market that we were in

it was right after the Financial Crisis in 2008

• I studied scripts and did a lot of role play sessions
• I did 2 open houses per day for 100 days
• I called expired listings and FSBO every day
• I did marketing videos and market reports every week
• I read books on team building
• I attended a ton of training sessions
• I got a mentor on Day 1

back then I did it as a solo agent

today I would join a team right away

and learn those things from the leadership

I would let them know that I would want to run my own team someday

and be very transparent about this

most teams do not have a succession plan in place

and for the ones that do - they aren't always viable

it may just turn out that I would be a candidate to take over the team I joined down the road

I would definitely do all the things that I listed above

and be a Student of the Real Estate Game

I would get into production super fast

by getting more at bats right away

real estate hasn't changed as much as people think

if you embrace the fundamentals

and do the hard work consistently over time

you will be able to have all the success that you envision