Build Relationships, Not Just Databases I recently put my name and company information on a website called alignable.com.  The idea is to put businesses together, especially local businesses, so that, together, they can build their businesses. It is easy to put your name on the site and it is easy to perform some basic functions like welcoming new members and connecting, online, at least, but very few people or companies take the next step. The next step is to actually get to know these members.  They are local businesses so it should be relatively easy to schedule one on one face to face meetings where you get to know each other and your respective products. If I do not know you, then I am not likely to recommend you and likewise, you are not likely to recommend me. Networking is about... 09/24/2017

You Must Be on This Web Site and That Web Site and . . . . . I paid attention to the experts and so now I am on facebook, active rain, alignable, next door, realtor, century 21, linkedin, and . . . .  Does it ever end? Every day somebody wants to add me to their network or welcome me to the latest site that I joined. I find out about another site.  I check it out and I find that thousands of companies or individuals are already on it. If you are not on the internet, then you will not survive in business.  That is what we are told. But, how much time do you spend, or waste, like I am now, on these web sites?  Is it paying off for you?  Are you putting in lots of time on these sites, feeling like you are being productive, but in actuality getting very little out of it. If you work in a la... 09/20/2017

Maryland: August Housing Statistics The Housing Statistics for Maryland for August 2017 versus August 2016 are as follows: Maryland 2017  (percentage change from 2016 to 2017)Sold Units: 8,003  (1.5%)Average Sold Price: $333,352  (3.8%)Median Sold Price: $287,816  (3.4%)Under Contract: 8,824  (-0.6%)Active: 23,758  (-12.1%) Maryland 2016Sold Units: 7,882Average Sold Price: $321,008Median Sold Price: $278,347Under Contract: 8,337Active: 27,019  Baltimore County 2017  (percentage change from 2016 to 2017)Sold Units: 1,059  (6.0%)Average Sold Price: $289,218  (7.5%)Median Sold Price: $236,000  (4.9%)Under Contract:  1,009 (-7.2%)Active: 2,605  (-13.8%) Baltimore County 2016Sold Units: 999Average Sold Price: $269,111Median Sold Price: $225,000Under Contract: 1,087Active: 3,021  Harford Coun... 09/18/2017

Jack Popped Out of the Box, But Jack Was a Clown To get an edge on the competition or to distinguish oneself from the competition, people are told to think outside of the box. However, if you have not yet perfected what is already in the box, then you may come off as a clown when you start working outside of the box. So, what is inside of the box, that is so important? As an example, when you put a client's house on the market do you put a 20 foot blow up gorilla on the rooftop to get the attention of buyers or do you talk to your client about how to properly prepare the home for the market by doing basic maintenance, landscaping, cleaning, removing clutter, painting, staging and such so that the house will sell itself.  The gimmicks which we learn "outside the box" may get someone to t... 09/15/2017

FSBO: Most Buyers Use a Real Estate Agent Studies show that 88% or more buyers of real estate use a licensed real estate agent. If a FSBO seller receives a call from a real estate agent, it makes sense that the seller would take the call, since most buyers come with a real estate agent. Of the 12% of buyers who do not use a real estate agent, many of them are purchasing new homes. This leaves less than 12% of buyers who are looking to purchase in the resale real estate market without a real estate agent. Since the marketing plan of a FSBO seller is usually far less extensive than that of a property which is listed with a real estate agent, the likelihood of a FSBO seller attracting one of these unrepresented buyers is minimal. FSBO Seller: If you really want to sell your home, then take... 09/12/2017

To The FSBO Seller: A Real Estate Agent Has Buyers I contacted a FSBO Seller.  I started as, I always do when I contact a FSBO seller, by stating my name, my company, and that I am a real estate agent. "I don't want to work with a real estate agent" was the response. What if  I have a qualified buyer who is interested in your house? "I am not paying a real estate agent." Okay.  I have not asked you to pay anything.  Right now, I am just asking for information about the house and stating that  I may have a buyer who is interested in the house. "We are trying to sell it on our own."  (I know; I understood that when I saw the For Sale By Owner sign, I thought to myself). To get past this futile discussion, I jumped right to asking about the property itself? Looking at the public records, i... 09/01/2017

Low Inventory, But Not A Seller's Market When the inventory of houses is low, then one would expect the price of homes to increase and possibly sell faster. This is simply based on the rules of supply and demand. However, if the inventory is low and prices are not increasing and days on market are not decreasing, then something else in the supply and demand equation must have changed. If inventory, or supply, decreases, as it has, then, if all other factors remain the same, prices will increase. Since prices have not increased with the lower inventory the question is what other variable has changed. Affordability should be about the same, since interest rates are still near historic lows, wages have not decreased, and employment has increased. In spite of reasonable affordability, it se... 08/25/2017

We Will Have to Update the Bathroom. Why? The bathroom is original to the house as far as general appearance goes, but it is updated functionally. The home was built in the 1950s and has a style which was popular at the time.  It has small white and black ceramic tiles on the floor.  The walls have tiles which are about 4" x 4", and which are outlined along the top with longer black tiles.  These tiles go about 4 feet up the walls.  The bathtub has similar tiles to the wall tiles, but they go higher up the walls. The plumbing fixtures have been updated to more modern faucets and such. Grab bars have also been installed to make it more handicap accessible. The sink basin was replaced and a vanity was added. And, the tile work is in pristine condition.  It did not look any better back in ... 07/24/2017

FPBB: For Purchase By Buyer I may not have been creative enough with the the title of this post, but the topic is supposed to be the Buyer's equivalent of the FSBO. We all know how the FSBO Seller is short changed by insufficient marketing, poor pricing, and lack of guidance throughout the sale's process and transaction. However, perhaps overlooked, is the FPBB, or Buyer who works without an agent. The FPBB will frequently be one who: Only views Open Houses, thereby missing over 90% of the market. Takes brochures from the brochure boxes in front of houses, thinking that they would then know everything about the property, but never calls to see the inside of the houses. Searches on web sites such as zillow, which gives them a warped sense of the value of properties. Contacts a FSBO Selle... 07/16/2017

Potential Home Buyer Held Hostage The Buyer innocently went onto the internet to start a home search, but unwittingly stumbled upon a band of ransom demanding thieves. An email was sent out to real estate agents in the form of an enticement to gain a new client, but in actuality requesting a ransom to set the buyer free. They start off by stating that they have the hostage. "New Verified Real Estate Lead Stolen from Your Area" "Our system has recently kidnapped a new verified Real Estate lead in your area. This potential client has been verified by text, and has confirmed their interest to be contacted by a real estate agent for rescue. You can see proof of this potential client below:" Name: Joe . . . .  Email: joe . . . . . @sucker.com Phone:  555-***-**** Lead Type: Sucker,  uh, uh w... 06/26/2017

It's Summer, so . . . . Yes, it is summer.  On June 21st the Sun was directly over the Tropic of Cancer and we experienced the longest day of the year. Although, near me, a storm sneaked in to ruin the full length of the experience. So what does it mean? It's summer, so things will be heating up, even though, oddly, the days will be getting shorter. If you missed the traditional  spring time real estate rush, it's okay, because the real estate market is still heating up along with the weather. Interest rates are low making affordability high and inventory is low making prices rise. At the moment, it works well for buyers and sellers. With low interest rates buyers can afford today's prices. With inventory low, sellers can get their price. But, remember just like the days, which are gett... 06/23/2017

On The REO Offer, I Told The Bank They Must Pay My Business Costs To be in the real estate business, such that I can work as an agent for my clients, I must pay for numerous items. These items include:  Fees for my real estate license, Dues for the multiple list service, Cost to belong to a real estate association, Cost for errors and omissions insurance, Cost for a program with contract forms, and so on and so on.  To recover these costs, I make sure that the Seller on REO properties understands that they need to pay these fees. Okay, I am full of it.  I do not ask for these costs of mine to be paid by the bank, notwithstanding the expectation of a commission on contracts that go through closing. However, this is exactly what some banks do. A typical phrase that I will frequently see o... 05/28/2017

Agents: All We Need You To Do Is Show The Property This is a statement which appears in the remarks of some rental listings. Sorry, Listing Agent, but I am going to do more than just show the property. My client has signed a Buyer/Tenant Agency Agreement with me, which creates a fiduciary responsibility for me to my client, which goes well beyond just showing the property. I do appreciate that you have made the showing experience and the application process easy, but I will not stop at this point and just wait for my commission check. I will work with my client:  To determine if the amount being asked for the rent is a fair amount; To determine if the amount being asked for a security deposit meets state law; To see if there are any clauses in the lease about which they should be concer... 05/27/2017

Lock The Door When You Leave The Showing It sounds like a topic that is not worthy of discussion. However, all too frequently, I find one of my listings with the door unlocked or my client, the owner of the property, finds his or her home unlocked. The process is simple:  Lock the door. Check to make sure that the door is locked. If the door is not locked try again. If you can  not get the door locked, then call someone like the listing agent.  I realize that some doors are harder to lock than others, but there is no excuse to not call someone when you can not get it locked. This is in addition to other problems like leaving lights on, windows open, heat or A/C blasting, lock box not closed, oven turned on, and so on. It may be your client who caused some of the problem, but you should ... 05/27/2017

Be Specific When You Network Many of us go to networking events or to regularly scheduled networking meetings. Of course, when we meet someone, we tell them our name, our organization, and our profession. If you happen to be a real estate agent, then you are one of a million, or, at least, there are enough other real estate agents, that you can easily blend together with this huge crowd. Let's say that you are sitting in that regular networking meeting and your turn to speak comes around.  Once it is established that you are a real estate agent, then the other members in the group are thinking about whether or not they know anyone who is looking to buy or sell a house.  At the same time, they are, also, thinking that they already have a friend, family member, agent that they have used, ... 05/19/2017

NextDoor.com in Action  It was early Sunday evening when, tired from a long trail run earlier in the day, I was relaxing watching the news after having just eaten supper.  In the other room, there were two loads of laundry, one in the dryer and one in the washer, which dictated that I would be up for, at least, another couple of hours. Then my phone alerted me that there was a new email.  The email was from nextdoor.com and it was marked urgent. Nextdoor.com is a localized social web site, which is made up of your neighbors, or, at least, the neighbors who have chosen to sign up.  It is a good place to post local events, community concerns, such as overcrowded schools, crime, like recent break-ins, recommendations for contractors, yard sales, and so on. The urgent posting on nextdoor.co... 05/01/2017

My Home Is The Best in The Neighborhood; Show Them Others You list a house and the owners want top dollar or more.  Why?  Because their home is the best in the neighborhood. Sometimes this is actually true, but quite often this is just, an understood, but unrealistic pride in their own home. How do you get them to see the light? You can share information that shows for how much homes have been selling or basically you can do a comparative market analysis.  But seeing numbers on a few pieces of paper frequently does not convince them.  You can put it on the market at the higher price and watch how nothing happens and then hope to convince them to lower the price, but by that time, they have either decided to use another agent, or the property has become stigmatized such that it will not ... 04/29/2017

I Found Some Buyers At An Auction I was running low on buyers and so I needed to replenish my pool of buyers. Where could I find buyers? I could find buyers at an auction.  Usually they are not represented by an agent.  If 10 potential buyers show up at an auction, only 1 of those potential buyers will have the winning bid.  The rest of them could still be interested in buying something else. Not only are there buyers at auctions, but many of them are investors, which means that there is a good chance that they will purchase many more than one house. If there is an auction in an area where you have a house listed, then invite the potential buyers from the auction to see your listing.  They are already looking in the neighborhood, so why not buy your listing.  Even if they do not buy you... 04/29/2017

This Is Not A Solicitation . . . .  I answer the phone and the recording starts with "This is not a solicitation". Thank you for the warning. It is not a solicitation; it is a scam. The recording continues: "We have been monitoring your credit".  What the heck have you been doing?! In a stern voice, the recording continues: "This is your last notice".  You said that the last time that you called, and the time before that, and the time before that, . . . . Next: "Press 1 to be connected with (some scam artist)".  Are you out of your mind? If you do press 1 and talk with someone, they will hang up if you push them for the name of their company, or the location of their company. However, they will ask for information from you such as your account number.  You know, the account that they ha... 04/26/2017

What Is The Purpose of a Business? It sounds easy enough to answer this basic question, but do too many people simplify it to the point whereby they miss one of the major purposes of having a business. Most people would answer this question by stating that the purpose of a business is to make money. Certainly, if the business does not make money, then it would be difficult to sustain the business. However, if the only purpose of a business were to make money, then we could all find our filthiest clothes, not bathe for a week, make a sign on a corrugated piece of cardboard stating that you have no job so please give me money, and stand on a busy intersection waiting for people to give you money. But, a business does have a purpose beyond making money.  A  business provides a product or a... 04/20/2017