Closing Time Podcast: Recent Episodes
#CMGPodcasts
Joe Aguiar does a weekly podcast called Closing Time, a Clovercrest Media Group Presentation. This podcast is meant to keep his clients and fellow REALTORS® up to date on all the latest news and trends, and bring experts from all areas of real estate to come on and impart some knowledge. We'll share some laughs over real estate and other stories.
Chris Sawyer from Annie Mac Home Mortgage joins Joe Aguiar to discuss the mortgage process step by step. In today's market, it's important to get pre-qualified. Chris explains each step of the process on the mortgage end, while Joe details what is happening simultaneously on the real estate side.
Jason Garrapy the Business Development & Operations Manager for Endecom Business IT Solutions in Rocky Hill CT joins the show to talk about cyber attacks, which target small businesses 43% of the time. Plus, info on the The Cove Kids Classic taking place Friday May 6, 2022 at Lyman Orchards Golf Club to support The Cove Center for Grieving Children's FREE programs.
Closing time
Homebuyer Bidding War Rate Drops to 2021 Low in September
59% of home offers faced competition in September, the lowest level in nine months, amid a seasonal housing-market slowdown and an uptick in mortgage rates. That’s down from a revised rate of 60.8% in August and a peak of 74.3% in April. September marked the fifth-straight month of declines, putting the bidding-war rate on par with the level seen a year earlier (58.3%).
Home Prices Rose Twice as Fast in Car-Dependent Neighborhoods as Transit-Accessible Areas During the Pandemic
Home prices in car-dependent areas are up 33% since before the pandemic versus 16% for transit-accessible neighborhoods, reflecting the rise in remote work and the declining importance of proximity to public transportation.
It’s like a suburb tax..
Single Buyers Face Hurdles as Starter Homes Dwindle
The number of one-person households has doubled over the last four decades, but supply of entry-level housing is near a 50-year low.
Australian town is inundated with inquiries after offering free land to new residents
Quilpie, a town of 800 people, has received more than 250 inquiries for its housing program
The Quilpie Shire Council is offering a grant equivalent to $9,400 to anyone who buys land, builds a house there for less than $560,000 and lives in it for at least six months. Quarter-acre blocks of land sell for about $9,400, so the land is effectively free, although only Australias or permanent residents are eligible.
If mosquitos are ruining your summer, you'll want to meet this week's guest, Wade DeCesare from Mosquito Shield of Central CT. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure”. That’s true with Mosquito Shield’s approach to their products. With 20 years’ experience developing their blend of all-natural oils, they use these oils and select EPA-registered control products for 3-pronged mosquito control. We're talking mosquitos and how to take control of your yard back from those blood-suckers!!
Brian Flanagan from Shamrock Home Inspections joins Closing Time to talk about home inspections. We'll discuss "as is" properties, the benefit of home inspections for sellers, and some of the biggest #realestate horror stories.
Get the latest real estate news, including CT's House Removing a proposed conveyance tax from a new bill, we discuss the current market, including the 19% of homes that do not appraise for the contract price. Escalation clauses are the latest trend, we'll explain that and why dogs and Joe don't mix. Plus, Brittany McCann is our guest, one of the co-brokers of CT BB Realty and Joe's new broker!
Chris Sawyer from Annie-Mac Mortgage joins the podcast this week to talk about the mortgage process in 2021, and to explain why working with a team of local professionals in the real business is to your advantage. Should you buy a diamond while trying to secure your mortgage? We'll answer that question and explain some other things you should know about the current mortgage process, and find out more about Chris and Annie-Mac! Thanks to Rocky Hill Accountants for making it all possible!
On this weeks show, we discuss America's weird obsession with real estate listings, we will alert you to another scam you should be aware of, we tell you with the keys to negotiating a winning sale, and we will explain why storytelling is the future of real estate.
Realtors Joe Aguiar and Sanam Solati discuss the current real estate market, and why the current conditions might not last much longer. We discuss life after COVID, a scam sellers and buyers should be aware of, a great charity event happening next weekend, and we'll tell you why a pool is cool again.
The Closing Time Podcast is back, with Sanam Solati joining Joe Aguiar each week to talk about the latest real estate news and trends! Stay up to date, plus hear from great guests across the industry! The Closing Time Podcast is sponsored by Rock Hill Accountants.
Joe Aguiar talks to Allison Gamber, the Executive Director of the Cove Center For Grieving Children. If you or someone you know is dealing with the death of a loved one, the Cove Center for Grieving Children has excellent resources. Visit Covect.org for Covid 19 related resources and to participate in their charity online auction!
On the heels of a roller-coaster stock market and emergency rate cut from the U.S. Federal Reserve as fears about the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) impact the U.S., mortgage rates hit a historic low this week. The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage plummeted to 3.29 percent, an all-time low, according to Freddie Mac.
“The average 30-year fixed-rate mortgage hit a record 3.29 percent this week, the lowest level in its nearly 50-year history,” Freddie Mac Chief Economist Sam Khater said in a statement. “Meanwhile, mortgage applications increased 10 percent last week from one year ago and show no signs of slowing down.”
How to turn past clients into repeat business
According to the 2020 NAR Home Buyer and Seller Generational Trends report, 75 percent of buyers and 73 percent of sellers said they would definitely use their real estate agent again or recommend to others. This is why it’s the responsibility of agents to stay memorable to their clients, and why they should make that a priority.
1. Remember holidays
Holidays are an excellent way to keep in touch with your past clients and remind them that you’re still around. Sending out a cute, handmade holiday card, or even a box of chocolates, helps remind the client that you’re looking out for them, and that you’re keeping them in mind. Once the time rolls around for them to move out, they will feel familiar and more willing to work with you.
2. Make social media your best friend
We are so blessed to be living in an age where we can brand ourselves and curate a target audience that can keep up with what we’re doing every day. You should use this to your advantage in your business. Social media can become a way for your clients to see how your business is unraveling. Plus, they can keep in contact with you right from their pockets.
3. Take advantage of the CRM
Keeping track of all your clients can become tedious. It requires a lot of effort and dedication to keep all of your data in order. CRM (Customer Relationship Management) is a true blessing for real estate agents. Not only does this automated marketing tool help you stay organized, it also reminds you when to interact and stay up to date with your clients.
4. Have fun with your career
If you interact and close with clients in a transaction style and restart from scratch after every year, you will just end up losing morale and motivation in your career. A huge part of being a real estate agent is building interpersonal relationships; this is how you get your strongest form of clients (return and referral). If you treat being a real estate agent like a job, it will feel like — a job. If you treat it like a career, you will be able to grow and become very successful.
Barbara Corcoran loses almost $400K in phishing scam
“Shark Tank' star and founder of The Corcoran Group, Barbara Corcoran lost money after approving a fraudulent money transfer. She's just the latest victim in a growing trend..
Corcoran’s experience highlights the growing and high-stakes threats posed by scams, which typically involve an email that looks legitimate but in fact dupes the victim into wiring money to a thief. The incident also reveals how no one, even famous people, are immune.
In Corcoran’s case, she is likely to emerge from the scam fairly unscathed. After founding the Corcoran Group in 1973 with just $1,000, she went on to sell it to Realogy in 2001 for, according to The Wall Street Journal, $66 million.
Corcoran subsequently went on to appear as an investor in nine seasons of the TV show Shark Tank, and today her net worth is estimated to be $80 million.
But not everyone who falls victim to similar scams is so fortunate.
In one recent high-profile incident, a California couple lost more than $700,000 after following wiring instructions in a fraudulent email that appeared to come from their real estate agent.
Another incident in 2018 resulted in an Oregon man losing $122,850 — money he and his family had saved for a down payment — to a similar scam
Analysts have said that real estate makes an especially tempting target for scammers because it involves high-dollar transactions that often have online components. And last year, the Federal Consumer Protection Bureau (FCPB) warned that phishing scams rose a staggering 1,100 percent between 2015 and 2017.
Broker dresses up as Joker clown in marketing video
Broker AJ Powers put on face paint and a clown suit to show why so many agents fail not long after joining the industry.
Powers released a 10-minute video in which he dresses up as a clown before transitioning into a successful real estate agent in a marketing video. He owns real estate firm Powers Premiere and leads a series of agent mentorship programs, for which this video is a recruitment tool.
The idea, California-based Powers told Inman, was to show a number of mistakes new agents make when first joining the industry — not dedicating themselves to the job, squeezing in open houses between other projects and expecting to start bringing in money without doing any training or learning anything about the industry.
The point he wanted to make is that you have to be serious and stop clowning around with your real estate career..
Zillow beats back one lawsuit, but can't shake another
Real estate giant Zillow has beaten back an antitrust lawsuit regarding its Zestimates, but continues to fight another lawsuit stemming from its agent-lender co-marketing program.
The first was brought in 2018 by New Jersey-based company EJ MGT which owns 142 Hoover Drive, an 18,000 square-foot, seven-bedroom, 10-bathroom home in Cresskill, New Jersey. The company blamed the home’s failure to sell on buyers being turned off by the Zestimate on the property’s detail page on Zillow.com, which put the property’s value at less than half of the listing price: $3.7 million (Zestimate) vs. $7.8 million (list price).
In a separate case, the court rejected Zillow’s bid to toss a lawsuit from a group of shareholders that alleged Zillow senior staff and its board of directors failed to protect the company properly while allowing it to violate a federal anti-kickback law through its agent-lender co-marketing program and made misleading statements about the program’s compliance.
The case is related to class-action securities fraud suits brought by shareholders against Zillow in August and September 2017 after the company divulged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau had been investigating its co-marketing program for the previous two years for compliance with the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (RESPA).
Spencer Rascoff, a co-founder and the former CEO of Zillow Group listed his Brentwood Park, Los Angeles home for $24 million on Thursday, which is nearly $8 million more than the Zestimate, Zillow’s often-maligned automated valuation model says the home is worth
Closing time 2/23/20
How to avoid overpricing properties in a shifting market
According to the 2019 NAR profile of home buyers and sellers, 40 percent of sellers had to reduce their price at least once. If prices have already peaked in your market and have now started to decline, an even greater number of sellers will be reducing their listing prices in the very near future.
signs prices have peaked
In addition to an increase in inventory, what are the other tell-tale signs that your market has peaked?
- Multiple offers disappear
- Days on market increase
- Price reductions increase
- The number of expired listings increases
- Builders start offering incentives
A major challenge in declining markets? Comparable sales
If you’re seeing any of the early warning signs above, there’s another danger lurking ahead: If prices have begun to decline, the comparable sales you’re using to price the property may be too high.
Convincing sellers prices are decreasing
This may be one of the most difficult challenges in the business. One strategy that works extremely well with most sellers, including CPAs, attorneys and banks, is to select the appropriate comparable sales for the last six months and then calculate the average price per square foot for those properties that closed during that time period.
Overcoming ‘We can always wait!’
Even if you employ all of these approaches, some sellers will tell you, “We’ll wait until the market gets better.” To overcome this objection, show them the cost of waiting.
Prepare now
If your market has begun to slow down, mastering the declining market conversation is critical. Start preparing now so you’ll be ready if and when one of your high-end listings, or your whole market, slips into down market territory.
Keller Williams to end lifelong profit share program for defectors
A group of top Keller Williams earners, market center owners and regional leaders have gotten their way: As of April 1, 2020, KW associates that jump ship to a competitor will no longer be able to receive profit shares from the company’s lifelong revenue program.
The policy is not retroactive and will only apply to associates that join on or after April 1.
Keller Williams’ International Associate Leadership Council (IALC) made the change Feb. 15 at the franchiser's Family Reunion conference in Dallas, Texas. The council also increased the profit sharing vesting period, which is how long a KW associate has to be with the company before lifetime profit share benefits are unconditionally bestowed, to seven consecutive years, up from three consecutive years.
The policy changes are mandatory and must be implemented by April 1
The changes seem to be the result of efforts made by a group of top KW earners last year to change the profit share program to limit it to associates that remain with Keller Williams.
Keller Williams declined to comment on the rationale behind the changes and on whether they would affect agent recruiting. The company has 159,372 agents in the U.S. and Canada and a total of 169,317 agents worldwide, as of Dec. 31, 2019. The company has lost agents in four consecutive months.
7 facts about FHA loans you should know
1. Homeowners don’t have to pay FHA mortgage insurance forever.
FHA’s “life of the loan” policy on mortgage insurance is one of its most unpopular features. Many first-time buyers shy away from FHA when they learn that FHA requires them to keep their FHA mortgage insurance as long as they have an FHA mortgage.
2. You can qualify for an FHA mortgage only two years after a bankruptcy and three years after a foreclosure.
In line with its mandate to provide mortgage credit to under-served populations, FHA is more lenient than many conventional lenders on giving qualified borrowers a second chance after foreclosures and bankruptcies.
3. You can get an FHA mortgage with a much lower credit score than a conventional mortgage.
Borrowers with credit scores as low as 580 can qualify for FHA financing with 3.5 percent down. Scores between 500 and 580 can be eligible for mortgages with 10 percent down.
4. FHA loans usually have lower interest rates than conventional loans.
There’s no guarantee that FHA-approved lenders will give you a better rate on an FHA loan than a conventional one, but they usually do.
5. FHA is not for everyone. Investment properties, second homes and higher-end homes don’t qualify.
FHA will not finance second homes, vacation homes, investment properties, or flips (a property purchased within 90 days of a prior sale.) Properties must be primary residences where owners live for the majority of the year. The FHA requires that a buyer moves into the property within 60 days of closing.
6. FHA is kind to debt limits but tough on deferred student loan debt.
Lenders assess a borrower’s ability to handle a mortgage by the debt-to-income ratio. The “front-end” ratio looks at housing-related debts only (monthly mortgage payments, property taxes, etc.). The “back-end” number takes all recurring monthly debts into account. This can include the mortgage payment, credit cards, car loans, etc.
The current (2019) limits for FHA debt-to-income ratios are 31 percent for housing-related debt (mortgage, property taxes), and 43 percent for total debt or less. In December 2019 the actual average DTI for FHA purchase loans was 28 percent front-end and 44 percent back-end. For conventional purchase loans, the DTI average wasmuch lower, at 23 percent for housing expenses and 36 percent for all monthly debt payments .
7. If you have a good credit score, you will pay more for FHA mortgage insurance than private mortgage insurance.
A study last year by the Urban Institute found that borrowers with better credit scores are better off with a conventional mortgage than FHA.
Both FHA and conventional borrowers will pay less each month as their credit improves, but the difference in cost between FHA’s mortgage insurance and private mortgage insurance (PMI) makes a conventional loan a better deal.
Jon Bon Jovi's New Jersey mansion hits the market for $20M
All these years later, Jon Bon Jovi is still living on a prayer and hoping for a home sale.
The singer from the iconic 1980s rock band has put his New Jersey estate, modeled after European castles, on the market for $20 million.
Known as High Point Estate, the 18,000-square-foot property is designed by architect Robert A.M. Stern in the style of French chateaus. It sits on 18 acres of landscaped grounds designed by the Olmsted Brothers, the same architectural firm that worked on Central Park in New York.
The home is designed with regal grandiosity in mind — wide windows, wrought-iron accents, French balconies as well as chimneys and gutters. Inside, you will find 12-foot ceilings, a two-story foyer, a grand fireplace and staircase, painted flooring and parquet flooring.
Along with six bedrooms and seven bathrooms, the property also has a bar, a spa, recording studio and an elevator to take visitors between stories. The grounds also boast seven garages, a dock with a boat lift, an outdoor pool and two side cabanas. Gloria Nilson & Co. Real Estate is representing the property while Christie’s International Real Estate is marketing it around the world.
Bon Jovi, who as the lead singer of Bon Jovi since the 1980s, is considered rock royalty. He’s won a Grammy, been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and is best known for classics like “It’s My Life” and “Livin’ on a Prayer.”
How to help sellers (and keep your sanity) through a messy divorce
Transactions involving divorcing couples can take longer than “traditional” real estate deals due to the legal complexities of what is required in a marriage dissolution suit and the time it takes for the parties to decide on various matters concerning their real property.
You must be patient if you take on a divorcing party. You will also need to show compassion toward them as this is probably one of the most, if not the most, difficult times in their lives.
Divorce transactions take additional skills and know-how, as no two deals are alike. Each phase of the listing period and the time between contract and close can be time-consuming and exhausting, sometimes due to unexpected drama or one or both of the parties’ attorneys delaying the closing.
Here are six tips I would encourage every real estate professional to use when working with clients who are, or soon will be, in the process of a divorce:
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Communicate with the divorce attorneys
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Recognize that emotion is driving a lot of the decision-making
I have yet to be involved in -
Keep the process professional and on track
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Set the list price
In a divorce listing, it is critical everyone agrees on a list price. -
Communicate with all parties on a regular basis
During the listing and contract-to-close periods, it is critical you communicate with both parties on a regular basis -
Remain neutral
Finally, and perhaps, most importantly, when working with divorcing sellers, remain impartial at all times.
One of the parties may try to vent to you about the other one doing or not doing something, but you must never take sides. You should never state how you feel or offer any advice outside of your real estate expertise.
Coldwell Banker to waive franchise fees in bid to boost diversity
In a major new effort to increase diversity among its ranks, Coldwell Banker announced that it will waive franchise fees and give other financial support to would-be franchise owners who self-identify as minorities.
The new offering — dubbed the Coldwell Banker Diversity in Ownership Program — is available now to any real estate professionals who identify as racial or ethnic minorities, as well as women, military veterans and agents who identify as LGBT. Members of those groups can apply for the program and, once accepted, will be able to start a Coldwell Banker franchise without paying the normal $25,000 franchise fee.
Additionally, program participants will get up to $100,000 in funding support from Coldwell Banker, receive mentoring opportunities, two years of royalty fee rebates, and complimentary membership in various industry organizations such as the National Association of Real Estate Brokers (NAREB) and the National Association of Gay and Lesbian Real Estate Professionals (NAGLREP).
Ring captures open house burglary
A Ring camera captured a burglary at an open house now being investigated by police in Summerlin, Nevada.
An agent was showing the home on South Hualapai Way and West Sunset Road when six suspects entered the home briefly before walking out around 3 p.m., according to the Las Vegas Review Journal. Later, four of the suspects returned, with one distracting the agent as the others ran upstairs into a master bedroom.
The agent followed the suspects and reported seeing a man with a bag of designer items and, after seeing the agent, dropping some of the contents of the bag and running off with about $4,000 to $5,000 worth of property.
Open houses have been home to numerous burglaries and attacks over the years. Real estate safety experts recommend removing any cash or valuables and, especially for agents, never being in a home alone during an open house.
'How rude': Original 'Full House' home gets $500K price cut
Originally listed for $5.999M, the San Francisco Victorian home used to tape the iconic family sitcom is now up for sale for $5.499M.
The Tanner family home is not proving to be an easy sale.
After nearly a year on the market, the San Francisco Victorian home used to taped the iconic family sitcom has been cut down by $500,000. Originally listed for $5.999 million, it is now up for sale for $5.499 million.
The home, located at 1709 Broderick Street, was built in 1883 by Charles Hinkel Lewis. It exemplifies the type of Victoria Italianate home that has now come to be synonymous with San Francisco architecture — three stories, bay windows and a flat front of light walls.
Rachel Swann of The Agency is the listing agent representing the property. It is currently owned by “Full House” creator Jeff Franklin, who bought it for $4 million in 2016, and had originally planned to turn it into an homage to “Full House” fans — he even went so far as to paint the front door back to the red it was during the filming of the show.
Closing Time Episode 30
‘Right to Housing’ gains traction among top legislators heading into the session
There are about 3,000 homeless people who live in Connecticut. With that number in mind, legislators and advocates rallied around housing reforms – dubbed “Right to Housing” changes – to reduce homelessness, bring down housing costs and confront housing segregation.
It’s an effort to ensure that every resident has access to housing in one of the most expensive places in the country to live.
“Right to Housing” is not a new concept worldwide – France, Scotland and South Africa have such protections in place, But Connecticut, which has some of the most expensive housing stock in the country, is one of the first states to consider such a push.
Specifics of what that agenda will look like are a work in progress. But initiatives embraced by the Democratic legislators include making it easier for lower-income residents to purchase homes, putting tenant protections in place to reduce eviction rates, building more affordable housing and making some state aid contingent on well-off communities allowing more affordable housing construction.
The chairs of the Housing Committee on called the governor’s approach a decent one, but not enough by itself. It’s a good start.
A healthy and expanding economy ripe for explosion
According to Brad Inman, the real estate industry is ripe for explosive growth and drastic transformation as an expanding economy, robust housing market and a second wave of technology innovation pushes members and consumers of the industry to adopt new modes of home buying and selling.
Expanding economy
Despite past worries about an impending recession, Inman said the economy is healthy and expanding — 120 million Americans have jobs, unemployment has dropped to historical lows, Americans’ average net worth is growing, and 150,000 to 200,000 jobs are being created each month.
A robust housing market
Inman said 2020 will be more steady with sales expected to increase to 5.5 million by year’s end. In addition to bolstered home sales, the total value of the residential housing market will continue to rise.
A second wave of tech innovation
Inman says, “For 25 years, the technology boom in real estate centered around the marketplace of the MLS and broker compact and building productivity tools,” “That was phase one, and we’re moving into phase two, and creating a second marketplace, called the The iMarketplace.”
Agents' margins 'at risk' as real estate industry evolves: Ron Peltier
HomeServices of America executive chairman Ron Peltier urged real estate professionals to focus on the customer experience if they want to survive a changing industry.
Real estate’s evolution in recent years has placed agents’ profits “at risk,” one industry leader argued, explaining that they need to evolve into more comprehensive service providers who focus on customer experience.
Real estate professionals who want to defend their margins need to think of the transaction as “just the beginning of the homeownership experience.” If they want to succeed in the business, then, they should work to become a point of contact for their clients other needs.
I don’t think anyone who isn’t successful hasn’t figured that out yet..
Ever wonder exactly what to say? Here’s the scoop
Top producers know what to say, how to say it and when to say it. In the book, “Exactly what time say for real estate agents” they explain how certain “magic words talk straight to the subconscious brain.”
these words circumvent “maybes” by creating “yes” and “no” answers, they enable your clients to make decisions without over-analyzing them.
When you offer someone the chance to object, they almost never pass it up.
Questions are important because:
- They start conversations.
- Conversations build relationships.
- Relationships create opportunities.
- Opportunities lead to decisions.
Consequently, the secret of sales success, as well as communicating more effectively in any situation, is asking better questions.
Don't pretend to have all the answers: It could come back to bite you
If you have established a good rapport with your client and develop a strong relationship, they’ll probably ask for advice. Sometimes their request for information might be very specific and complex. Providing clients bad information could lead to a lawsuit or state regulatory agency complaint. Don’t do it!
We are not home inspectors, structural engineers, roofers, plumbers, electricians or appraisers. We are licensed real estate agents who have the education and training to assist buyers and sellers in purchasing or selling real estate.
The moral of the story is, if you’re not sure, don’t guess, and never provide your client anything that’s based on what really amounts to a rumor.
Family hit with $100K HOA suit due to playscape for terminally ill sonIt’s January 24th, and we might have already found the worst person of 2020.. Neighbors sued the family of a terminally ill boy... for allegedly violating homeowner's association restrictions on his playscape.
The Costa family of Georgetown Texas has a 3 year old son named Colton, who was born with Hurler’s syndrome, which is a terminal genetic disorder of the cells, tissue and organs.After getting the diagnosis, mom and dad let him pick out the biggest playscape with the most slides.
But the Costas are now being sued by the Gottleib family for violating the Homeowner’s Association restrictions, because the playscape is 14 feet tall, and cannot be screened from view. In the lawsuit, the Gottleibs are seeking $100,000 (an amount they clarified was required by the state in order to file suit), the cost of legal fees and for the playscape to be torn down or brought to codeColtons mom says “statistics say he shouldn’t live past his twenties,” but an active lifestyle may aid in slowing the progression of the disease.
The Building Committee said that the Costas did submit plans for the playscape in accordance with their protocols, but declined to comment on whether or not the plans had been approved before the Costas began constructing the playscape because of the impending lawsuit.
Despite friction from the Gottliebs, the Costas’ nice neighbors showed their support by placing pink foam hearts with supportive messages inscribed on them on the Costas’ lawn.
Italian town is selling dozens of $1 homes
Bisaccia, a picturesque destination in Italy's southern Campania region, is putting 90 dilapidated buildings on the market for just one euro, joining other towns across Italy trying to save dying communities by incentivizing people to move there.
Unlike other towns and villages offering deals for people committing to one-off renovations, Bisaccia's officials say its tightly clustered architecture lends itself to more communal projects.
As is usual with Italian bargain home offers, buyers are expected to commit to renovating their newly acquired properties, but unlike in other towns, there's no stated investment level or time frame to complete the work.
'Oh god let's leave': Serial killer's 'torture basement' horrifies agent
Stewart Weldon is awaiting trial for allegedly killing 3 women. His former Massachusetts home is for sale, and this week, it traumatized a couple who visited the home with an agent
The house is in Springfield, Mass and you can see it in Zillow, which describes the 1,026-square-foot property as “cozy,” “well cared for,” and a “great house for first time buyers.” It has two bedrooms, one bath and the asking price is $137,500.
What the listing doesn’t mention is that it is also the former home of accused killer Stewart Weldon, who was arrested by police in May 2018 after he fled from an officer who tried to pull him over for a busted tail light. When the cops caught up to him, they found a woman in his back seat who said she had been tortured and beaten in the home. Terrible story.
The would-be buyers wondered aloud to their agent why a basement would need soundproofing, and that’s when the agent reportedly replied “oh god let’s leave, I know why this house is still on the market,” and got the couple out of the home.
The agent then apparently explained the issue and apologized, but the experience of viewing Weldon’s former home appears to have left the would-be buyers traumatized.
It’s listed well below market value and is obviously still available.
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Agent extinction is not inevitable — if you're on top of your game
Troy Palmquist, who is licensed in 4 states and a broker in 3, wrote a great piece about agent extinction and how to avoid it. He says No robot, algorithm or flashy new platform can replace good, old-fashioned, human interaction. It’s that plain and simple. But it’s up to us to ensure we don’t get left behind.
Be the best you can be. It’s crucial to continually take the steps to become as highly skilled and highly trained as you can. Know your markets backward and forward.
Know your clients’ needs backwards and forwards. Be like a fighter pilot: You need to use your heightened situational awareness, knowledge, networking and multitasking skills at full throttle during every transaction. He does a whole Top Gun thing for us Gen Xers.. It's a great piece, the lesson to learn is that technology is transforming every industry including ours and we need to stay sharp to survive. Nurture your sphere of influence, and master your CRM.
New text and email 'gift card' scam targets agents directly
Real estate con artists are impersonating popular real estate agents online and then asking their colleagues to purchase gift cards on their behalf. We've seen these sent in our own broker's name since last summer, but Arkansas Attorney General released a report about a new wave of these scammers going after Realtors. The fraudsters will seek to gain your trust by impersonating popular agents or brokers online.
Through emails and texts, the conmen will reach out to that agents colleagues listed on the website with requests to purchase gift cards worth hundreds of dollars — some have even gone so far as to say that they were “closing gifts for clients” and that would be paid back by the brokerage. The Arkansas state report has also seen scammers target agents and homebuyers with emails telling them that their payment method has suddenly changed.
The original 'Texas Chainsaw Massacre' house is taking in visitors
The spooky, Victorian house that was used in the original “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” is inviting fans to an overnight screening of the film. The property is in Kingland Texas, and is the setting for the Sawyer family to carry out its cannibalistic attack on the lost hitchhikers. March 29th and 30th, you can join horror actor Kenny Caperton for the scariest sleepover of your life. Caperton, by the way, owns a life-sized replica of the Mike Myers house, so it will be worth the price of admission. Visitors will sleep on air mattresses, view the film, enjoy a barbecue and play trivia and board games with a horror theme. Tickets range from $350 to $400. https://www.myershousenc.com/onsetcinema
John Travolta sells Los Angeles estate to record exec Scooter Braun
Actor John Travolta and his wife Kelly Preston sold their longtime Los Angeles family home to record executive Scooter Braun for $18 million. The Los Angeles Times reported that it was an off-market deal. That is not uncommon when it comes to celebrities and millionaires.
The 2.35-acre Brentwood estate was built in 1949, has a 9,100-square-foot main house, a guardhouse, two garages, a tennis court and a swimming pool. It had been the couple’s family home since the 1990s, the two-story main residence has 10 bedrooms, 10 bathrooms and views of Laurel Canyon.
Braun also owns the compound next door.. and while he might not be a household name, his record company, RBMG Records, counts Justin Bieber and Ariana Grande among its clients...
January is Agent Appreciation Month, and with that in mind, it’s time to re-evaluate your safety protocol. A 28-year-old mother and real estate agent was found fatally shot in a Minneapolis alley, after being taken kidnapped by someone who was targeting her and her boyfriend. She was lured into showing a home and snatched.
It is so important to meet your client for the first time at the office.
Have a buyer consult in your office.. with other agents present.. Instead of just getting a random call and meeting in an empty house with no electricity.
Most of the time these things are random, but I’d someone were targeting you, this would be the easiest way to do it. So treat every appointment the same way. Cautiously.
A real estate portal's path to market power: a Zillow case study
https://www.inman.com/2020/01/07/a-real-estate-portals-path-to-market-power-a-zillow-case-study/
Zillow’s drive to dominance in the greater New York City real estate market thru rental listings and its hyperlocal Hamptons portal — reveals the path to market power of real estate portals around the world.
All real estate portals follow a simple formula for national domination: acquire listings, build consumer traffic and monetize.
Building a huge consumer audience and achieving traffic dominance, which takes a long time, is the critical step. After that step comes power: The power to monetize, the power to push out competition and the power to force adoption of your platform by recalcitrant customers.
Zillow’s new pay-per-listing subscription to a free model for agents is a step backward in its monetization journey. But its more of a tactical retreat designed to give the a a long-term, strategic advantage.. by allowing agents to post new listings directly — for free — Zillow will circumvent brokerages and handicap their portal.
What the 2020 presidential candidates are saying about housing
https://www.inman.com/2020/01/07/what-the-2020-presidential-candidates-are-saying-about-housing/?utm_source=property&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=property&utm_content=image1_20200107
Housing hasn't been a real focus for the Democratic contenders, but that hasn't stopped some candidates from releasing comprehensive housing plans.
President Donald Trump, who will be running for a second term in 2020, is in favor of fewer regulations, an easier permitting process for building and, at least verbally, lower property tax bills.
The Trump administration has also taken aim at reforming Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac and weakened tenant discrimination protections.
Bernie Sanders
Sanders unveiled a “housing for all plan,” to build 10 million permanently affordable housing units at a $2.5 trillion price tag. He also calls for national rent control, stricter tenant protections and a strengthening of the Fair Housing Act.
Sanders plans to impose a 25 percent tax – being called a ‘House Flipping Tax’ – on speculators who sell a non-owner-occupied property, if that property is sold for more than it was purchased within five years of purchase.
Elizabeth Warren
Warren introduced the American Housing and Mobility Act which aims to close the supply-demand imbalance by 2028, add 1.5 million new jobs to the market, and decrease rents for low-and-middle-income families by 10 percent — all without a long-term deficit impact.
Warren wants to institute a grant program to rebuild infrastructure, invest in bolstering affordable housing stock and help buyers still with negative equity from the housing crisis.
To cover the expected $500 billion cost of the bill, Warren would return the estate tax thresholds that were in place at the end of the George W. Bush administration and institute, “more progressive rates,” about those thresholds, which she says will only affect roughly 10,000 of the wealthiest families in the country.
Joe Biden
Biden’s website mostly stays away from focusing on housing issues, but in the criminal justice reform section, Biden unveiled a plan to, “set a national goal of ensuring 100 percent of formerly incarcerated individuals have housing upon reentry.”
Pete Buttigieg
As part of his “Economic Agenda for American Families,” Buttigieg plans to invest $430 billion, to “unlock access to affordable housing.” Buttigieg said his plan would increase the supply of affordable housing, and work to address zoning laws to make it easier to build housing.
He also plans to introduce a Community Homestead Act – which would, “launch a public trust that would purchase abandoned properties and provide them to eligible residents in pilot cities while simultaneously investing in the revitalization of surrounding communities.”
Buttigieg also wants to expand tenant protections against evictions and harassment.
Amy Klobuchar
Klobuchar introduced a comprehensive housing plan based after the Saving for the Future Act.
Klobuchar plans to undo the Trump administration’s changes to the Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing and also plans to reinstate the Office of Fair Lending and Opportunity’s enforcement and oversight powers.
Kloubacher’s comprehensive housing plans also include strategies to address the rural housing crisis, help seniors age in place, increase access to affordable housing and encourage investment in distressed communities
Klobuchar plans to raise the capital gains rate to the income tax rate for households with an annual income of over $400,000 and raise the corporate tax rate to 25 percent.
Cory Booker
Booker’s housing plan includes a renters credit to cap rental costs at 30 percent of income for certain Americans, the construction of new affordable units, a reform to zoning laws and the introduction of “baby bonds,” or a $1,000 savings bond for every child.
How Wealthy Towns Keep People With Housing Vouchers Out
https://www.propublica.org/article/how-wealthy-towns-keep-people-with-housing-vouchers-out
Section 8 vouchers are meant to give low-income people the opportunity to live outside poor communities. But discriminatory landlords, exclusionary zoning and the federal government’s hands-off approach have left section 8 recipients with few places to live.
Policymakers have lamented the program’s failure to achieve its key goal of giving families a chance at living in safer communities with better schools. Low-income people across the country struggle to use their vouchers outside of high-poverty neighborhoods.
In Connecticut, the problem is especially acute. An analysis of federal voucher data by The Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica found that 55% of the state’s nearly 35,000 voucher holders live in neighborhoods with concentrated poverty. That’s higher than the national average of 49% and the rates in 43 other states.
Dozens of voucher holders in Connecticut say this concentration has left them with few housing options. Local housing authorities often provide a booklet of properties that are section 8 friendly, but many listed are complexes that are rundown and in struggling communities or have long waitlists.
The government is very hands off on the topic.. as a matter of fact, federal law does not make it illegal for a landlord to turn down a prospective tenant if they plan to pay with a voucher, so HUD does not investigate complaints of landlords who won’t accept Section 8 vouchers.
Connecticut goes further. It is one of 14 states where it’s illegal to deny someone housing because they plan to use a Section 8 voucher.
What the heck is a 'Pittsburgh potty' and why is it in the basement?
https://www.today.com/home/what-heck-pittsburgh-potty-why-it-your-basement-t117879
Have you ever come across a toilet down in a basement? Not a bathroom, just a toilet out in the open.
These are called a Pittsburgh potty, a mysterious amenity found in the basements of some older houses. There are no walls for privacy, no sinks for hand-washing — just a toilet in the middle of the room.
To explain their purpose, many people point to Pittsburgh's history in the steel industry. Men would come home from work and use the potty in the basement so they didn’t track dirt in the house.. but, it turns out, the toilets, usually found in pre-World War II houses, were actually there to prevent sewage backups in the nice part of the home. If there was a sewage backup on your street, it would come into your home through the fixture that's lowest to the ground. You’d rather clean up a basement floor than your master bath.
That's our plan for 2020! Thank you for subscribing and for watching our live stream, November was our best month to date for downloads! We've got some great things planned starting in January, including more interviews with experts on the latest news and trends in real estate. Please feel free to share on your socials or with others in the business!
Bright MLS debuts new pocket listing rule
The policy requires agents to put any listing they're advertising into the MLS and comes at a time of growing concern over off-market listings
The new policy gives members of Bright MLS, which has about 95,000 members in the Mid-Atlantic region, a day to post their listings “following consumer marketing of any kind,” according to a statement from the trade group. Marketing is defined as everything from flyers to yard signs to digital marketing on public websites to emails and more.
The new policy goes into effect today, though Bright MLS won’t start fining agents for violations until Dec. 1. After that time, the penalty for breaking the rule is a steep $5,000.
The new policy comes amid growing concern in the real estate industry over listings that remain off-market for either part or all of their lifespan. Such properties are sometimes referred to as “pocket listings” and in many cases eventually go public after an initial period of exclusivity. But they have nevertheless sparked an ongoing debate about competition and transparency within the industry.
MLS Clear Cooperation Policy
Recommendation: To adopt the following policy as new MLS Statement 8.0, NAR Handbook on Multiple Listing Policy:
Within one (1) business day of marketing a property to the public, the listing broker must submit the listing to the MLS for cooperation with other MLS participants. Public marketing includes, but is not limited to, flyers displayed in windows, yard signs, digital marketing on public facing websites, brokerage website displays (including IDX and VOW), digital communications marketing (email blasts), multi-brokerage listing sharing networks, and applications available to the general public.
[updated 11/11/19]
Rationale: Distribution of listing information and cooperation among MLS participants is pro-competitive and pro-consumer. By joining an MLS, participants agree to cooperate with other MLS participants except when such cooperation is not in their client's interests. This policy is intended to bolster cooperation and advance the positive, procompetitive impacts that cooperation fosters for consumers. The public marketing of a listing indicates that the MLS Participant has concluded that cooperation with other MLS participants is in their client’s interests.
Tiny Houses, Tiny Crowd ... Big Solution?
Katherine McComic has a “tiny” solution for New Haven’s affordable housing crisis: 100-square-foot-plus abodes built atop city-owned vacant lots that the municipal zoning code currently deems too small for construction.
McComic, a Quinnipiac University law student, former intern with the city’s Economic Development Administration, and former pop-up cafe entrepreneur, is working with city Deputy Director of Zoning Jenna Montesano to figure out how best to amend the city’s zoning code to allow for the development of such “tiny houses” in New Haven.
The goal: To diversify the city’s housing stock and increase the supply of low-cost, low-rent lodgings citywide.
Connecticut Is Considering Adopting Appendix Q
The State Building Inspector, State Fire Marshal and the Codes and Standards Committee announce intent to adopt the 2020 State Building and Fire Safety Codes based on the 2018 editions of the International Code Council (ICC) documents. Technical review of these codes will be conducted by the Committee’s Codes Amendment Subcommittee (CAS) along with DAS staff. This review will begin April 2019 and is planned to be completed August 2019.
Appendix Q: Tiny Homes On A Foundation
Appendix Q-Adopted into the 2018 International Residential Code ( IRC ) building code to provide regulations and standards for tiny homes on a foundation that is 400 square feet or less
Appendix Q relaxes various requirements in the body of the code as they apply to tiny houses that are 400 square feet or less.
Attention is specifically paid to features such as compact stairs, including hand rails and headroom, ladders, reduced ceiling heights in lofts and guard and emergency escape and rescue opening requirements of lofts.
The International Residential Code is a comprehensive, stand alone residential code that creates minimum regulations for one-and two family dwellings of three stories or less.
Owners pull sex dungeon home off market, pivot to BDSM rental
The owners of a notorious Pennsylvania home that went viral earlier this year after pictures of its basement sex dungeon were posted on Redfin and Zillow have pulled the property off the market and turned it into a erotic retreat.
In February, Coldwell Banker agent Melissa Leonard listed the Colonial-style home in the Philadelphia suburb of Maple Glen for $750,000. She put up photos of the house as well as its most interesting feature — a basement decked out with whips, chains and all things worthy of a “50 Shades of Gray” film set. While gaining a lot of attention, the photos of the dungeon were soon flagged as “inappropriate content” and pulled from Zillow and Redfin.
The owner told realtor.com that weekends in the property are fully booked through the retreat rental company Maison XS for the next six months.
Kris Cedillo from Northpoint Mortgage joins Joe Aguiar and Abby Breau on the Closing Time Podcast to talk mortgages. What does the Fed lowering the rate mean to you? Plus, a look at FHA and government back loans.
NAR warns members about conference email scam
https://www.inman.com/2019/10/23/nar-warns-members-about-conference-email-scam/
The National Association of Realtors (NAR) issued a warning about an ongoing scam that fraudulently asks recipients to register for an upcoming conference.
The scam involves an email that includes a subject line inviting people to “Register for the 2019 REALTORS Conference.” However, the email is in fact a fake from a Comcast address, though it “displays as if it was from NAR,” according to a statement from NAR.
Any real estate professionals who have received the email should take a screenshot of it and report it the FBI. NAR has also already alerted the FBI about the message.
Following tech peers, Facebook pledges $1B to affordable housing
https://www.inman.com/2019/10/23/following-tech-peers-facebook-pledges-1b-to-affordable-housing/
Facebook has become the latest tech behemoth to pledge a boatload of cash to affordable housing, matching Google’s commitment of $1 billion — which itself had one-upped Microsoft’s trailblazing pledge of $500 million.
Facebook estimates its funding will generate up to 20,000 units, much of it catering to housing middle-class workers near the firm’s headquarters in Menlo Park, California.
$250 million of the funds are earmarked for a special partnership with the California governor’s administration, in which the state will essentially donate publicly-owned land to developers.
These donations have coincided with new promises from business leaders in other industries to give more consideration to communities, workers and suppliers — rather than principally to shareholders.
Growing number of homeowners feel 'house rich and cash poor'
https://www.inman.com/2019/10/23/growing-number-of-homeowners-feel-house-rich-and-cash-poor/
Home Ownership is the American Dream and the way to establish wealth, but a new study published by HomeTap on revealed that the majority of homeowners feel “house rich and cash poor,” which added stress about their ability to maintain a household and build generational wealth.
The study showed more than 70 percent of homeowners feel “house rich and cash poor” some of the time, due to stagnant wage growth that fails to keep up with the rising cost of living.
Despite the fact more than 60 percent of homeowners have low mortgage rates and $10,000 to $50,000 in home equity (28 percent), the majority feel they have no good options to turn equity into cash. American's aren't smart about money and investing.
Sixty-one percent of homeowners said they could apply for a loan or sell their home to access equity, but preferred not to.
26 percent of homeowners said they’d be willing to apply for a HELOC (home equity line of credit) or sell their current home. There are people who want to sell their home and are just waiting for someone to ask.
Johnson & Johnson issues recall for baby powder after asbestos detected
https://www.wfsb.com/news/johnson-johnson-issues-recall-for-baby-powder-after-asbestos-detected/article_733aa85c-f1b6-11e9-b632-6732d44b7dd9.html?fbclid=IwAR2Oi475kjc_V_OB_UBmujX-cM8umMZ4pwl6yUFpNjcm1MYot4zwQzGYhaU
Johnson & Johnson Consumer Inc. is issuing a voluntary recall for some of its baby powder after traces of asbestos were detected.
The company said the recall is for a single lot of its Johnson's Baby Powder in response to a U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) test indicating the presence of sub-trace levels of chryso-tile asbestos contamination (no greater than 0.00002%) in samples from a single bottle purchased from an online retailer.
Despite the low levels, the company is still issuing the voluntary recall for Lot #22318RB of Johnson's Baby Powder, from which the tested sample was taken.
If you come across a bottle of Johnson's Baby Powder Lot #22318RB, you are advised to discontinue use of the product, for obvious reasons. For refund information, contact the Johnson & Johnson Consumer Care Center at www.johnsonsbaby.com or by calling (866) 565-2229.
47 Skills You Need to Survive Homeownership
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/ideas/47-skills-you-need-to-survive-homeownership?fbclid=IwAR3tAgyp0vjkJ8KppUsxR0ujAqEeYQeu2SnhKmqv0bu0fkftx_HdTsq8WQo
Don't get caught with your toolbelt down—learn these techniques and tackle any household emergency with ease.. from this Old House.. Here are the ones I've needed.
1. Fix a Leaky Faucet
3. Dig a Hole
4. Locate a Stud
7. Unclog a Sink
11. Remove a Stripped Screw
12. Avoid Stripping a Screw
14. Drill Through Tile Without Cracking It
15. Hardwire a Light Fixture
16. Pick an Interior Lock
20. Know Which Breaker to Turn Off
24. Hang Heavy Objects on Drywall
34. Secure a Loose Screw
38. Stop an Overflowing Toilet
39. Pick Up a Big Paint Spill on Carpet
Pulse: 5 ways to respond to 'You haven't sold any houses in our area'
https://www.inman.com/2019/10/22/pulse-15-ways-to-respond-to-you-havent-sold-any-houses-in-our-area/
My system still works
I really, really know what I’m doing
I know this area from buyer clients
I have the data
I have expertise to draw on — from others
Realogy launches ambitious agent benefits program
Realogy announced that it has launched a new benefits program that will give agents access to things like health insurance at rates that the company manages to negotiate down due to its massive size.
The program is called Spark and, according to a company statement, will give agents access to “individual healthcare, disability insurance, life insurance, auto and home insurance, identity theft protection, human resources solutions, workers’ compensation insurance and commercial property or building insurance.”
iBuyers would suffer under Bernie Sanders' housing plan
The senator's proposed anti-home-flipping and vacant-home taxes could strain the likes of Opendoor, Offerpad and Zillow Offers.
Sanders’ “house flipping” tax would throw sand into the gears of the iBuyer business model. It imposes a 25 percent tax “on speculators who sell a non-owner occupied property if sold for more than it was purchased for within five years of the purchase.”
Since iBuyers resell most of their homes within weeks or months they would presumably have to pay this tax on their resales.
The plan’s 2 percent “empty homes” tax could also have a negative impact on iBuyers. But that would depend on how long a home would have to be vacant to be subject to it.
His plan would cap annual rent increases at 3 percent or 1.5 percent above the inflation rate.
NAR believes the plan “will harm — not help — our nation’s affordable housing crisis, primarily by deterring landlords from maintaining existing housing stock.”
Sanders’ plan does call for building affordable homes — close to 10 million — but presumably not through NAR’s preferred means.
Other features of Sanders’ plan include:
- $410 billion in rental assistance
- $50 billion for local governments to set up community land trusts to allow 1 million people to buy “shared equity” homes at below-market rates in perpetuity.
- $32 billion to eliminate homelessness
- Boosted enforcement of bans on predatory and discriminatory lending
- A stop to the sale of mortgages to “vulture funds”
- And stepped-up scrutiny and regulation of corporate landlords.
5 telltale signs a property is a tough sell
- Look for price drops and a high number of days on market: Unsellable properties usually hide among the listings that have been posted a while ago and the ones that have had a significant and dramatic price drop.
- Pay attention to homes with too many digitally staged photos: You don’t want to know what the owners are hiding. It could be anything from the lack of storage space to serious plumbing issues.
- Avoid listings with mentions of third parties: You don’t know if it’s a short sale or how long it will take to close the deal with many parties involved. And you don’t have the time to find out.
- Watch for too many trees around the property: This can turn out to be a buyer’s nightmare not only because getting rid of them can be pricy, but also if they can’t because of TPO (tree prevention order).
- Steer clear of prefab homes: Prefabricated or prefab homes, as well as steel-, timber- and concrete-framed houses, can turn into financial black holes.
6 things a technology ecosystem should do for real estate professionals
Ecosystems are comprised of countless different parts that exist independently of one another, and yet interact with each other symbiotically to keep the entire environment healthy, productive, alive.
Shouldn’t real estate be like that, as well?
- Simple transactions for agents and consumers
- Easy collaboration between agents and the office
- Actionable insight into revenue-generating activities
- Unheralded functionality and flexibility
- Seamless interaction with different technologies
- A complete real estate experience for home buyers and sellers
Searching for a mentor? Look for these 11 qualities
1. Shares skills, knowledge and expertise
Good mentors are not selfish. They will share what they’ve learned to be best practices with technology, time management, marketing and customer relations.
2. Excels in time management
Good mentors will set aside time to work one on one with their proteges. No one should expect a mentor to drop everything when asked, but scheduled “office hours” should be set to answer questions and go over processes if needed.
3. Thinks outside the box
Good mentors realize what worked yesterday might not work today. They continue to experiment with new ideas to improve their business processes.
If a mentor is relying too heavily on FSBOs (for-sale-by-owners), door-knocking and expired listings, it might be a sign they are not up with the times.
4. Welcomes collaboration
Mentors should never have an attitude of my way is the best (or only) way. Great mentors collaborate and allow their mentees and others to bounce ideas off one another. They encourage creativity and challenging the process with innovation.
5. Shows patience
Make sure he or she does not have a reputation for being hot-headed or difficult. A good mentor will remember what it was like to be new in the business and will take the time needed to teach. Even if that means teaching the same lesson more than once.
6. Provides feedback and sets goals, both personally and for others
A good mentor will set goals and lead by example. He or she is genuinely happy for others who achieve goals and celebrates their milestones.
7. Understands that mentees must take responsibility for their success
He or she will teach and encourage their protege to succeed but will not do the work for them. Your mentor should teach you to search for answers first and ask questions second.
8. Is involved in community
You have to be seen to be known. Mentors who are involved can introduce you to the inner circles that will help you most.
9. Has a proven track record
Choose an experienced mentor who works full-time in the industry and has excellent client ratings.
10. Is respected within the Realtor community
Do other Realtors enjoy working with the person you are considering as your mentor? That’s a good sign that you are choosing someone who can teach you the foundation your business will stand on.
11. Is team-minded
Although not a necessity, having a mentor who’s on a team has benefits. If your mentor is part of a team, chances are other teammates have also been mentored by him or her.
See you in court! 10 ways agents typically get slapped with lawsuits
1. Failing to disclose a property defect
Clients who discover defects after signing the papers will be quick to blame the real estate agent. Every bit of damage and every defect found on the property should be thoroughly documented.
2. Breach of duty
One of the most common lawsuits brought against real estate agents is for breach of duty. Real estate agents know they must always act in the best interest of the client, as clients place a special trust in real estate agents for their expertise.
3. Representing clients in unfamiliar territory
If you are showing and selling properties in an area that you are unfamiliar with, take extra precaution and do your research first.
4. Giving legal advice
Clients want their real estate agent to have an answer for every question they ask. Similarly, real estate agents want to help their clients.
5. Misleading clients
Every real estate agent strives to make their property stand out from the crowd. It might even be tempting to exaggerate here and there about the features or the condition of the house. However, this kind of deception can end disastrously for agents.
6. Breach of contract
When a client claims a real estate agent did not perform under the terms of a contract, he or she might seek legal action.
7. Failing to keep your clients’ data safe
Hackers are everywhere, and they want your clients’ information. Moreover, if they are successful in getting it — you will be the one who pays.
8. Failing to recommend inspections
Real estate agents frequently fail to recommend property inspections to prospective buyers. Your clients are trusting you for your expertise and guidance through the real estate process. But there are some areas that require a third-party opinion.
9. Negligence
Negligence is a cause of action alleging the failure to exercise due care toward others that a reasonable or prudent person would do in the circumstances.
10. Bodily injury
If a client is injured during a showing and you are found liable, you will be responsible for reimbursing any costs related to the accident.
To flip or not to flip? Is renovation the best Idea for your investment property
If you’re considering flipping a property, here are some tips to help you determine whether or not it’s the right option for you.
Why NOT to Flip a Property
It might seem like any older property that you remodel will automatically become more valuable, but that’s not always the case.
Landmark properties, properties on a historic register or even properties with historic architectural features could all see their value decrease due to a remodel.
When TO Flip
You have to weigh the cost of your renovation project against the profit you stand to make from the sale, but that is often easier said than done.
A loose formula for estimating the cost of a flip would look something like this:
Acquisition cost + taxes, insurance, closing costs + holding costs (mortgage) + carrying costs (holding the property before sale) + construction budget + 15% contingency = X
When you’re comparing the number X above to comparable sales in the area you need to 1) make sure that you’re erring on the side of caution when it comes to that estimate, and 2) make sure you’re getting an accurate read on those comps; use nothing more than .3 miles away and no sale more than about three months prior
Is Flipping Right For You?
Here are some things to ask yourself if you’re considering a flipping project:
- Where is the property located?
- Is it in an area with high sales velocity? How many other properties in the area have sold in the last few months?
- Are there good schools or other neighborhood features that could boost the sale price?
- What is my profit potential? After calculating the formula above, does my estimated profit seem worth taking on a project of this scale?
- Do I know anything about construction or design? Do I know anyone who can help me?
How to handle a business crisis
1. Know when you are in fight-or-flight mode
When your heart is pounding, you can’t quite catch your breath, you tense up and start sweating in the face of a stressful situation, you’re probably experiencing your body’s natural response to its protective hormones.
According to Harvard’s Medical School, this “fight-or-flight” response is a survival mechanism that allows us to react to threatening situations, passed down through evolution.
2. Handle an uncomfortable task each day
When you’re dealing with a crisis with your business, there are often tasks you have to do that make you cringe, including letting an employee go because you can’t afford to pay them and telling a client that you made a mistake.
During a major crisis, there are often several tasks that need to be done to get you through that phase of your business or even your life.
3. Have a support person or group
Keeping all this stuff to yourself is not healthy. You need to be able to have someone to listen to your issues and offer you the emotional support you need.
Hiring a psychologist is obvious answer, and most people benefit from having someone to talk to in a controlled environment. But you’re also going to want one or two close friends you can vent to as well. You’ll want people who know you and can remind you that you will persevere and that it’s going to be alright.
4. Realize that your worst-case scenario is not actually going to happen
In Tim Ferris’s book The 4-Hour Workweek, he said something to the effect of whatever your worst-case fear is (the worst thing that could happen), keep in mind that the reality (the final impact) will be much less than you actually think.
5. Remember who you are
In a business crisis we often get down on ourselves and depression sinks in. It’s easy to forget in a few short and stressful days or weeks that you got where you are because you are a fighter, and you have put in years of hard work to get there.
It’s often said that an entrepreneur’s first fortune is the hardest to make. Do you know why? It’s because most successful people get to the top, lose all (or most) of what they made and then make it back.
Here's why you should price your listings in multiples of $10K
Most agents continue to use the same pricing approaches that the industry did 50 years ago
If you go to realtor.com on your mobile device and look at the pricing parameters it gives you for a search. Here’s what comes up:
- $120,000
- $250,000
- $350,000
- $450,000
- $600,000
- $700,000
- $800,000
Zillow uses a slider, but the numbers that come up are still multiples of $10,000.
Granted, some MLS systems allow you to search by specific prices, but a huge proportion of the traffic is searching on realtor.com and Zillow.
Given how many searches take place on mobile devices, if you price your property at $499,999, that one dollar difference can cost you 50 percent of your potential buyers. The reason is that those people who are searching for homes priced at $500,000 to $550,000 will never see your listing that is priced at $499,999.
Keith Urban Concert - Tickets Almost Sold Out
CTR has officially launched its opioid awareness campaign. Tickets for A Concert for Recovery powered by CT REALTORS®, featuring Keith Urban are almost sold out. Purchase your tickets here.
The concert is November 17th at Mohegan Sun Arena. CT REALTORS® partnered with WTNH News 8 and iHeartMedia for the concert and corresponding multi-month campaign. Concert proceeds will be used to provide charitable grants to organizations in CT addressing the opioid crisis. Learn more here.
IBM sues Zillow over multiple charges of patent infringement
International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is suing real estate tech giant Zillow over seven charges of patent infringement related to a host of computer processes that Zillow uses to run its website.
The lawsuit alleges that Zillow essentially built its business on the back of IBM’s inventions. IBM, in the suit, says it first contacted Zillow to negotiate over the use of patent technology in 2016. Over the course of the next three years, it reached out to Zillow multiple times, each time informing the company of different patent technology it was using on its website and mobile app.
A spokesperson for Zillow told Inman the company believes the claims are without merit.
Manor deemed 'haunted' by a court of law returns to market
New York’s most notorious haunted house has hit the market for $1.9 million.
The home, a 15-room Victorian manor on the Hudson River, first made global headlines in the 1980s after Wall Street bond trader Jefrrey Stambovsky bought the Nyack, New York, house and sued its former owner, Helen Ackley, for not disclosing that it was full of ghosts and poltergeists.
Based in part on the fact that past owners played up the home’s haunted history for paranormal walking tours, the New York Supreme Court ruled that the house was indeed haunted in 1991.
5 things every agent must do to reach the next level
1. Learn to proactively generate leads
Build a sphere of influence around the people you already know and can ask for referrals and hosting open houses that draw attention and yield new clients.
2. Use social media to build and expand your footprint
Facebook. Twitter. Instagram. LinkedIn. Reddit? In a landscape where social media platforms are consistently being created, updated or shuttering (Vine), it can be hard for real estate agents to decide where to build their digital footprint. Try them all and use the ones that work best!
3. Defeat your fears about content creation
New agents must focus on social media and free blogging platforms as hubs for their content because they likely don’t have the budget for a customized website yet.
4. Understand your personality and use it to your benefit
Many agents study the top producer in their office and try to replicate their actions. But adopting a cookie-cutter approach to lead generation and business simply doesn’t work.
Instead, agents should take the time to study their personality and tailor their business tactics and interactions to what naturally fits.
5. Optimize your schedule by identifying what’s ‘truly important’
It’s not about getting everything done — it’s about focusing on the priorities that get you closer to your daily, weekly, monthly, yearly and lifetime goals.
6 Steps To Price New listing
How do you set a proper list price that will both satisfy your seller and attract qualified buyers? You find that magic number in the six steps to pricing a new listing:
1. Push the envelope, but have a plan ‘B’ in place
When it comes to listing a house, you must be aware of the fine line between “priced to sell” and “priced to keep.”
2. Think ‘multiple’
Every listing agent’s goal is to wake-up in the morning and find multiple offers in their inbox. They might all very well be below the list price, but with every offer, you are now able to send out multiple counteroffers that will certainly assist in bringing out every buyer’s bottom line.
3. Don’t use ‘fake’ or false data
Someone once said that there are three types of lies: lies, damned lies and statistics.
Many agents pull or rely on comps or data from sales that have no relevance.
4. Avoid monkey see, monkey do
When it comes to finding the best price listing for you client, don’t fall into the “monkey see, monkey do” syndrome. It’s very important that you price your listing based on what you believe is the best price, not what other active properties are listing.
5. Be proactive not reactive
Our market is in a constant flux. Interest rates rise, demand falls. Demand falls, prices become stagnant. When stagnation hits, creative and innovate marketing, as well as proactiveness, must happen before the other properties in the area make the same adjustments.
6. Be prepared to walk away from a listing
There will be times when you and the seller will be too far apart in agreeing on a list price to anticipate a positive outcome, and your best course of action will be to simply walk away.
In the end, there will be two disappointed and frustrated people. You, for spending all your time and resources on a listing that did not sell, and the seller, for wasting valuable market time with zero results.
Know when the best option might be to walk away.
Are open houses worth it? How to ensure they’re not time-wasters
- Successful open houses begin with thoughtful preparation
Knowing which day to hold the open house is important.
Don’t schedule it on a day when a local event such as a football game, golf tournament, or street festival is held. Don’t schedule it on a holiday, when people are likely to be away on vacation. - Plan your advertising and promotion for the open house
You need to know how to get actual prospective buyers and their agents to the open house.
The list should include the following:
• Online marketing — Advertise on all of your social media sites including your business Facebook page, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn, as well as your own web site.
• Broadcast emails — You should send an email to your client and prospect database as well as to your agent network including those in your firm, local Realtor association, and Multiple Listing Service.
• Postcards — Send postcards to the neighbors and other select contacts in your database informing them of the open house.
• MLS open house announcement — Most MLS systems provide an opportunity for you to announce your open house. This is probably the best way to reach agents who might have buyers looking for a home in the area where your listing is located.
• Signage — Place an “Open House” sign in your listing’s front yard next to your “For Sale” sign. Balloons or colorful pennant flags work great in bringing attention to the sign. Make sure you have pointer signs at various locations including at the front of the neighborhood and nearby road intersections. Remember to follow all local and homeowner association sign ordinances when installing your signage. - Managing your open house
Remind your client that their property needs to be clean and “ready to go” for this event.
House completely clean and no unpleasant smells in the house.
You might want to utilize an electronic open house registration program that you download to your smartphone or laptop.
Provide refreshments.
Don’t just “stand around” or sit on the family room couch during the open house. Walk around and ask questions about what the buyers are looking for in a home and what their time frame for purchasing a property is.
Listen for feedback — positive or negative. An open house can provide an opportunity to “hear” what people think of the home and share what they like and don’t like about it.
The attendees can also tell you their opinion of why the house has not sold. Is it priced too high? Is there something wrong with its appearance or features? Is the backyard not large enough? Ask, and they will tell. - Be prepared for the ‘looky-loos’!
Not everyone who comes to an open house is a potential buyer.
Don’t do an open house just to do an open house.
4 reasons your buyer clients need to purchase before 2020
- They can take advantage of year-end tax benefits
When your clients choose to buy this year instead of next, they’ll see the resulting tax perks sooner. If your clients purchase a home this year and make energy-efficient upgrades, they can get tax breaks that will be less next year. - Prices are down in some markets
Analysts also say some factors make the current housing market particularly favorable to people who are ready to buy. - Mortgage rates are declining
Mortgage rates are probably top-of-mind concerns for many of your buyer clients. The rates they receive depend on factors both within and outside of their control. - 2020 could bring even more uncertainty to the economy
Half of the real estate economists and experts surveyed by Zillow in late July believe that a recession will occur in 2020.
At the close of a sluggish home sale season, here are the 10 towns where real estate is hot in Connecticut
A third of buyers and sellers don't want to live in a political minority
An estimated 38 percent of American homebuyers and sellers reported reluctance to move to an area where their views would be in the political minority.
Americans between the ages of 25 and 34 make up the age group that is the least hesitant and most enthusiastic about the prospect of moving somewhere where they’d be in the political minority.
Just 16 percent of people aged 65 and older reported enthusiasm about being a political minority.
Police arrest couple found squatting in Opendoor home with kids
An Arizona couple accused of squatting in an Opendoor house with two children have been arrested by the police.
Gary Lynn, 29, and Adriana Gamboa, 26, were spotted in a Chandler, Arizona, Opendoor-listed house with Gamboa’s two children when a prospective buyer came in to view the house.. he was charging his phone and she was bathing one of their kids. The other kid was running around the house wet.
With Opendoors app, you get a code for access to the house for an hour.
Redfin to publicly display buyer's agent commissions on its listings
Redfin believes that real estate consumers don’t really understand the way commissions work, and so they are doing something about it:
From Now on, all Redfin-listed homes will publicly display the commission that sellers are offering to buyers’ agents.
The new commission information will be included on Redfin’s website, and according to a company statement, it should “help consumers better understand the costs and incentives in the real estate transaction.”
The company conducted a survey of nearly 1,000 people in June, for example, and found that “more than half of recent homebuyers don’t fully understand how their agent was paid.”
Redfin argues in its statement that adding transparency regarding commissions should “stimulate conversations between consumers and their agents about what is fair and ultimately lead to more competition and lower fees for consumers
Five Guys Whose Brooklyn Real Estate Scheme Was Featured On “Million Dollar Listing New York” Just Got Arrested
Five real estate investors whose business was the subject of a major BuzzFeed News investigation were arrested this week for allegedly defrauding lenders and taxpayers out of millions of dollars in a scheme that targeted New Yorkers at risk of foreclosure.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York charged the men with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
Two years ago, BuzzFeed News revealed how this group of investors turned properties on the brink of foreclosure into million-dollar listings sold on the reality TV show Million Dollar Listing New York.
Amazon dives into home sales with new $105K property
With 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms, the new home dwarfs the tiny homes Amazon began selling earlier this year.
Months after a $7,000, do-it-yourself tiny home sold out within hours, Amazon is now hawking a 774-square-foot home on its website with a $105,000 price tag.
The latest offering is a three-bedroom, two-bathroom home. Titled “The Cliff” and manufactured by Estonian wooden structure distributor Q-haus, the property, which boasts an open kitchen, dining room and sauna, dwarfs the guest houses and backyard pool cabanas that previously sold on Amazon.
The home weighs 44,000 pounds and arrives in two modules that can be assembled by “two skilled workers,” according to the listing.
Furniture and appliances are also included.
Beverly Hills real estate agent suspected of burglarizing the homes of Usher, Adam Lambert
Keller Williams Beverly Hills agent Jason Yaselli is accused of conspiring with the thief who posed as an agent.
Yaselli, and Benjamin Ackerman were charged with using open houses to burglarize the homes of stars, including musicians Usher, Jason Derulo and Adam Lambert, former football player Shaun Phillips, and Real Housewives of Beverly Hills‘ Dorit Kemsley. Although Ackerman was arrested on suspicion of theft in 2018, investigators now believe Yaselli, who is listed on realtor.com as an agent for Keller Williams Beverly Hills, served as Ackerman’s accomplice in the crime spree between 2016 to 2018. More than 2000 stolen items have been recovered.
Lead-gen game changer: How to get 10,000 new followers in 60 days
Increased posting frequency
Post at these times: 7 a.m., 11 a.m., 3 p.m., 7 p.m
author and sales expert Grant Cardone once said: “People give in to the person they see the most.”
Solicited shoutouts
Ask bigger pages to send you a shoutout.. but follow these rules:
Do some due diligence on the page before you pay them for a shoutout. You want to make sure it has real followers (not a bunch of bots), and that it has good engagement. I look for two things:
- I check its followers to make sure they don’t have a lot of fake accounts following them. Look through about 20 of its followers to get a good sample of what they have. I don’t want to find a lot of profiles with only a few posts, profiles with a lot of followers for no apparent reason and profiles that don’t have recent activity. If you’re seeing a lot of these things, don’t buy a shoutout from them.
- I want to make sure the page’s posts are getting good engagement. If the page has 100,000 followers but it’s only getting 150 likes per post, it’s probably a page with fake followers.
Focus more on stories
Instagram Stories are one of the most engaged segments of social media today
Paid attention to insights
No rocket science here. I simply started paying attention to my post insights to learn what people liked and didn’t like. Based off these insights, I’m trying to put out content I have seen work well before.
Who would have thought? Give them more of what they want, and they’ll do the promoting for you.
Used more hashtags
I’m not shy with my hashtags. Instagram allows 30 hashtags per post, and I use them all. I look at it as 30 different entry points onto my page that I get for free. On every post.
I started using an app called Hashtag Expert to help me discover new relevant hashtags with strong engagement. All you do is put in a single hashtag you like and consider to be relevant to your page, and the app will generate 29 more for you to copy and past into your post.
Too much noise on social media? 5 simple steps for cleaning it up
https://www.inman.com/2019/08/26/too-much-noise-on-social-media-5-simple-steps-for-cleaning-it-up/
- Ask yourself, does this post help someone trust me more?
If your post doesn’t help increase people’s trust in you, why are you posting it?
To ensure an increase in trust happens, here’s what we should avoid:
Complaining
Being argumentative
Talking politics or religion
Bragging about yourself
Asking for business
- Go on a deleting spree
Take a look back at your social media channels for the past six months or so and based on the above, delete anything you may no longer be proud of.
- Re-evaluate your ideal client
In all my years of working with Realtors and training them on social media, they almost all fall into the same trap.
We post what we like instead of what our ideal clients want.
When we know what our ideal client likes and wants on social media, it’s almost impossible to mess up.
- Delete ‘salesy’ posts after 24 hours
When new followers or friends show up to our pages, we don’t want them to be drawn away by the amount of sales-driven posts they see.
How do we fix this? Delete the post 24 hours later.
On Facebook and Instagram specifically, the post might have brought you business opportunities, but after that, it will only turn people off.
- Stop trying to attract everyone
I’ve met Realtors who say that they work with buyers and sellers all across the spectrum — from luxury buyers all the way down to first-time homebuyers.
When you look at their social media, it feels so random. It almost feels like they don’t know what they are doing or who they are.
Remember this: Lack of clarity doesn’t encourage someone to buy from you. They need to know they are your people.
THE ESSENTIAL GUIDE TO REAL ESTATE TEAMS
https://www.inman.com/2019/08/29/the-essential-guide-to-real-estate-teams/
According to NAR’s survey, which elicited responses from more than 3,400 agents last year, 26 percent of NAR members are part of a team. Those teams had a median establishment year of 2014, meaning many are relatively young.
Of those agents not on teams, a total of 39 percent had considered to some degree or another joining one, NAR also found.
SO WHAT EXACTLY IS A TEAM ANYWAY?
most teams are actually larger than two people. The majority of the agents who spoke with Inman for this story lead teams ranging from between half a dozen to a few dozen people. Additionally, a recent survey from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that the median size for a real estate team is four people.
Size aside, another vital trait of agent teams is that they operate within an existing brokerage. In other words, though teams are groups of agents and thus sometimes resemble a brokerage, they are fundamentally a type of smaller subcategory.
WHERE DID TEAMS COME FROM?
Tracing the origins of teams in the real estate industry is a little bit like trying to determine the origins of life on earth. Which is to say, they didn’t burst onto the scene so much as they gradually evolved into what we see today.
Teams have since continued to evolve. Cofano said the next key period for the concept came after the Great Recession and corresponding housing bubble. As the economy clawed its way out of the red and into the black, agents began taking more risks.
Why Realtors need a legit apprentice training program
https://www.inman.com/2019/08/30/why-realtors-need-a-legit-apprentice-training-program/
We are told that we have to get a brokerage to sponsor us, and that brokerage usually promises “the best training” in the industry. We sign up, excited to start our new career.
The problem
When we show up on Day 1, it feels like we’re been thrown to the wolves. Most of the time the training is O.K. to terrible. It never quite seems like it’s tailored enough. There is little sales training, little training on how to run a business.
The Solution
Realtor apprentice training program once new entrants have completed the classes and passed the state and federal tests.
In many professions there is an initial period where you train under a professional; someone that has had success in the industry and can show you the ropes. This apprenticeship should be 24 months in length.
All transactions would be supervised, and the trainee would work for the trainer. At this point the trainee has gone to school but has a “permit” to practice; it’s much like a driver’s permit, but that person is not a licensed “master Realtor.”
How to keep your commission off the negotiating table
https://www.inman.com/2019/08/28/how-to-keep-your-commission-off-the-negotiating-table/
Dispel reality TV myths
The real estate buying process is glorified in today’s world with all the HGTV and Million Dollar Listing shows making it seem very glamorous or overly simple.
How else can you explain a program that highlights taking buyers to three homes and then finding their dream home through a silky smooth buying process. All this in one episode with a few short commercial breaks
Make sure your social media is showing the right picture
The more that you can pull back the curtain and show what really happens behind the scene, the more value you will highlight. There is plenty of value there to be shown, but typically we only show the end result: the closing table photos and the touchdowns being scored. There is beauty in highlighting the work behind the scenes and all the effort to get the end result.
Communicate your value well beyond finding homes
When our main role in the buyer’s process is seen as “finding the house,” it actually devalues our position. There is a lot of outside money being pumped into the housing market to highlight that our main role as agents is to “find houses.”
Adjust your attitude about money
It’s always fascinating to me to watch agents who are so focused on paying the absolute lowest fees possible, cutting every possible expense and then acting surprised when their potential clients want them to do the same on their home deal. If an agent doesn’t value tools, experience, resources, support and time over money, why should their clients think any different?
Remember, it’s probably not about you, so just be the best version of you
Do you think you are overpaid? Now if you said “No” and are a little offended by this thought, ask yourself this: “In your market, are there some agents who are overpaid?” Most likely you will say that there are.
When buyers look at the overall market, they see that as well.
Perhaps consumers have had experiences with agents they felt were overpaid, so now they make a generalized statement reflecting everyone in the industry.
9 telltale signs it’s time to fire your client
https://www.inman.com/2019/08/06/9-telltale-signs-its-time-to-fire-your-client/
If you find yourself in a 'no-win' position with a prospect or client and there is little to no hope of getting a deal done, then it is time to fire them.
- Lying
Trust is broken when the client lies to you. So, why do they lie?
- Abusing mentally or physically
It is rare, but sometimes a client will become abusive. As a principal broker, I’ve walked several agents through situations where the client was verbally abusing them or others on their team.
- Making unreasonable demands
Some clients can be demanding. However, some clients can cross the line and become downright unreasonable with their demands.
- Financing issues
If a client or prospect is unwilling to meet with a lender to get pre-approved for a loan, don’t move forward with helping them find a home. This is a major red flag!
The client is more than likely hiding something that can impact their ability to obtain financing for a home.
- Constantly being in a state of indecision
Nothing is more frustrating than a client changing his or her mind either before the offer is submitted or after the seller has accepted the offer.
- Ignoring advice and laying blame
One of the reasons a buyer or seller utilizes the services of an agent is because we have the experience and expertise clients need to navigate through the complexities of a real estate transaction. Clients seek our advice so that they can make wise and informed decisions.
- Nickel-and-diming
What are you worth? If you counted all the hours per week you spend in and on your real estate business, would you know your hourly rate? I think you would be surprised at how low your rate is, based on the amount of time and effort you spend taking care of your clients.
- Backing you into a corner
Have you ever been at a listing presentation where the seller brings up your competition and how much less they charge to list?
- Asking for something illegal or unethical
Some clients will cross the line of illegality when they feel it will benefit them both personally and financially. These kinds of people might look respectable and charming on the outside, but their behavior and actions in a transaction can have a negative impact on you and your brokerage if they are not playing by the rules.
5 Killer Real Estate Lessons We Learned From 'Friday the 13th'
https://www.realtor.com/advice/buy/friday-the-13th-real-estate-lessons/
Lesson No. 1: Always talk to the neighbors
They can tell you a lot about a property, and the people you should avoid.
Lesson No. 2: Read the seller’s disclosure
It would have been good to know Jason died when he was younger and is out for revenge.
Lesson No. 3: Decide how much isolation you can handle
If something happens, do you really want to be out in the middle of nowhere without cell phone service, or anyone to hear your screams.
Lesson No. 4: Home inspections save lives
If the power goes out during every rain storm, there is probably a problem with the electrical. Maybe get an electrician do come look at it.
Lesson No. 5: Beef up your security before you settle in
Maybe change the locks... and if you do buy out by Crystal Lake, maybe get more secure/heavier doors so Jason doesn't smash right through.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..
These 5 cities are at risk for housing crashes this year
A new GoBankingRates study published on Tuesday looked at the number of underwater mortgages, home vacancies as well as delinquency and foreclosure rates to identify the cities most at risk of a housing crisis in the coming years. A crash is generally defined as a market in which large numbers of properties are in negative equity, or worth less than the owners’ mortgage.
Here are the top 5 markets that are most at risk of a pending crash:
Newark, New Jersey
The housing market in Newark, New Jersey showed the biggest signs of trouble. Nearly 30 percent of mortgages have negative equity while vacancy rates for houses and rental units sit at 5.2 percent and 9.5 percent compared to the nationwide average of 1.7 percent and 6.1 percent, respectively. Approximately 6.5 percent of mortgage payments are in some sort of delinquency, which is more than six times the national average.
Detroit, Michigan
Post-crash, Detroit’s real estate challenges and opportunities have long been a nationwide topic of conversation. But in this study, Detroit came in second place for crash risk due to its floundering home values — $161,300 compared to the national median of $226,300. At 34.4 percent, the number of homes with negative equity is also the highest in the country while vacancy and delinquency rates are also higher than average.
Bridgeport, Connecticut
The largest city in Connecticut, Bridgeport has seen real estate values drop due to a high crime rate and low economic prospects. The median house in the city is worth $176,200 while 26.9 percent of mortgages are underwater.
“The city’s high delinquency and foreclosure rates are not inviting to people looking for the best place to buy their first home,” reads the report.
Baltimore, Maryland
Baltimore has been taking a hit from all sides lately — President Trump recently called parts of the city a “rat and rodent-infested mess” in attacks on local House Representative Elijah Cummings. But while the city’s low median home values ($119,200) and high negative equity rates (26.5 percent) put it fourth on the at-risk list, Baltimore in fact does see constant development and provides plenty of opportunities for investors.
Hartford, Connecticut
While only 22.4 percent of Hartford homes have negative equity, the capital of Connecticut has a high homeowner vacancy rate. At 4.3 percent, the rate is more than 2.5 times the national average. The number is even worse for rental units, which has a vacancy rate of 9.2 percent. A median home in Hartford is worth $130,900.
Critics slam presidential hopeful's plan to 'tax the hell out of' the rich
New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio came out last Wednesday night for his second presidential debate with his gloves off.
“When I’m president, we will even up the score and we will tax the hell out of the wealthy to make this a fairer country and to make sure it’s a country that puts working people first,” de Blasio declared during his opening remarks.
De Blasio repeated the comment at the end of the debate, while also plugging his new fundraising website TaxTheHell.com, and dropped the line again at the conclusion of the night during an interview with MSNBC.
The line is a catchy one with a certain Trumpian ring — you can imagine people chanting “tax the hell” at a rally — but now, critics are arguing that the actual policies behind de Blasio’s comments would in fact lead to financial problems, particularly in the real estate industry.
de Blasio’s proposal could negatively impact people who have their wealth locked up in property, which is valuable but not very liquid, wants to “repeal the estate tax… and replace it with a more aggressive inheritance tax.
In any case, it’s highly unlikely at this point that de Blasio will get anywhere near the White House. Polling and news site FiveThirtyEight currently has the mayor in a multi-way tie for last place among nearly two dozen candidates.
Beauty queen accused of interior design fraud by hotel mogul
A couple who hired a former Miss Sweden to decorate their opulent property in The Bahamas is now accusing the one-time beauty queen of interior design fraud. Hotel magnate Henry Silverman and his wife Karen Silverman have filed a suit against interior designer Sofia Joelsson in Florida federal court. With a registered net worth of $300 million, Henry Silverman has at one point controlled hotel brands Howard Johnson’s Ramada, Super 8 and Travelodge.
According to the complaint, Joelsson defrauded them out of millions of dollars by overcharging clients through a network of shell companies and inside vendors.
The lawsuit calls Joelsson a “penthouse queen” of South Beach and claims that she misled them to believe that her company was a licensed interior design firm when it wasn’t.
The Silvermans are asking for at least $7 million in damages based on alleged violations of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act and Florida Deceptive and Unfair Practices Act. They further claim that Joelsson would arrange for contractors to give overinflated invoices and then launder the funds through various real estate purchases while keeping several sets of records for each transaction to defraud tax authorities.
NYC competitor sues Compass over allegedly poaching manager
The well-funded New York City-based brokerage Compass has been hit with yet another lawsuit.
This time, New York City-based competitor Elegran is suing Compass and one of its former managers over what it calls a “brazen scheme to unfairly compete with Elegran by stealing Elegran’s confidential information and trade secrets and using them to target Elegran’s other real estate brokers, clients, and potential clients.”
At the center of the complaint is Zino Angelides, a former manager who defected to Compass from Elegran. Compass allegedly recruited Angelides and three other brokers while they were still at Elegran. On June 24, 2019, Angelides and the three other brokers abruptly resigned from Elegran with no prior notice, according to the complaint, and immediately began working for Compass. They also took what could potentially be $10 million in leads, assuming they all close.
A Compass spokesperson, in a statement, told Inman that it is focused on providing the best experience for its employees, agents and their clients.
Compass has been the target of a number of lawsuits from Competitors, including, most recently, a lawsuit filed by Realogy, the nation’s largest real estate holding company. Realogy is suing Compass over, “unfair business practices and illegal schemes to gain market share at all costs.”
A Compass source said that all new agents are asked to sign a document stating that they are not allowed to bring any confidential or proprietary information with them from their old firm.
Automate your post-close contacts with W+R Studios’ Homebeat
Software company W+R Studios announced in a press release the launch of a new tool that might help alleviate the challenge of staying in touch with clients to earn future business called Homebeat.
Subscribers to the company’s Cloud Agent Suite will be eligible to use the feature, which sends recurring comparative market analyses (CMA) to members of an agent’s database.
Each recipient will have a branded Homebeat landing page that will update their home’s financial status each month, quarter or year.
While drip campaigns are a very common tactic to staying in touch post-close, they remain difficult for agents to consistently maintain, especially when self-publishing.
It’s not easy to keep up a steady stream of relevant content, and a large part of the industry’s technology stack is dedicated to helping them with that problem to different degrees of efficacy.
Homebeat can live on its own without ongoing intervention from the agent.
Zillow allows consumers to sign-up for regular home value updates, as well. Encouraging clients to check Homebeat instead of their Zestimate could help mitigate the influence of Premier Agents when the time comes for a new home.
Here's what a nearby Trader Joe's can do for home values
A new study by Attom Data Solutions confirmed what many may have already felt intuitively. Homes within a close range of popular food stores such as Trader Joe’s and Whole Foods have high home value rates and investment returns.
On average, a home within close range of a Trader Joe’s, a popular supermarket chain known for its budget-friendly fresh food and healthy frozen items, is worth $608,305. Homes near a Whole Foods, a high-end healthy food supermarket more common to urban areas, is worth $521,142.
Homes near ALDI, a discount supermarket known for its super-low grocery prices, have home values more in line with the national average ($222,809), but the presence of the supermarket can indicate potential for major neighborhood growth.
According to the study, homes near ALDI have an average gross flipping ROI of 62 percent, which means that properties in the neighborhood are likely to grow in value. By contrast, homes near Whole Foods which had an average gross flipping ROI of 35 percent while those near Trader Joe’s sit at 31 percent.
Just like with a short commute, close access to groceries can shave hours off your week and, as a result, make a neighborhood a more desirable place to live.
Fire sale? Zillow listing features Florida home engulfed in flames
There’s a hot real estate market and then there’s a house that’s literally up in flames.
In order to draw attention to a lot where a home recently caught on fire, Florida Realtor Dylan Jaeck published photos from the disaster on Zillow. The 1,280-square foot property in St. Petersburg was badly damaged in a fire approximately nine months ago and the existing lot is for sale for $99,000.
“Bring your smores to the campfire and build your dream home!” reads the listing.
While Jaeck’s listing was quickly picked up by local news, not everyone was happy with it. Some called it unprofessional while others said that, due to its realism, it could confuse buyers. But in Jaeck’s view, there is clearly no such thing as bad publicity.
Working with out-of-town buyers? 7 tips for making it less stressful
Working with clients from afar can be tough, but these helpful hints will get you on the right path for relocation success
1. Focus on photos, videos and virtual tours
Showcase through photos, videos, and if you have access to them, virtual tours of the types of homes that are common in each area your client is considering, and give them examples of what a “typical” home might look like. This is useful for starting the conversation and helping your client feel involved in the process.
2. Recommend moving services
Your client is likely stressed about the logistics of moving across the country, so do what you can to help them by recommending different services or strategies they can use during the move.
3. Set a timeline in advance
As proactively as possible, set a timeline for the move. This is going to be helpful in determining how to set your clients’ priorities and also how to approach each stage of the process. You can also use the timeline to help your client prepare for their move, which can save them stress and make them feel more confident in their decisions.
4. Make strong recommendations
Most of the time, when someone moves long distances, they won’t be familiar with their target neighborhood. They’re going to lean on you and your expertise to learn more about the surroundings, and they’ll strongly rely on your recommendations.
Accordingly, you’ll need to take on a more active role in making recommendations for your clients. If your client gives you a list of desires and a budget, you should be able to confidently assert yourself when a property seems perfect for their needs.
5. Take advantage of multiple forms of communication
These days, long distance realty work is possible thanks in part to the plethora of communication options available. You can call, text, video chat or email your clients and use these forms of communication on a regular basis.
6. Time an in-person visit appropriately
Most buyers will want to visit the area in person at least once before committing to a move. It’s partially on you to determine when an in-person visit would be most appropriate.
You might want to wait until you have a handful of potentially viable properties lined up, or you might think it’s more appropriate to wait until there’s a clear winner and plan a visit to finalize the details.
7. Empathize
One of the best things you can do for someone attempting a long-distance move is to empathize with them. This is a stressful and high-stakes decision, and it won’t be easy to make when you live across the country.
See this challenge through their eyes, and listen to them as they talk about their challenges and needs. If you can provide them with a comfortable and accepting atmosphere, they’re going to be more decisive and more confident in their final decisions.
Don't Do These Things To Your House
Here's a list of 5 things not to do when you're deciding on your renovations.
DON'T remove your only bathtub. The reason: many home buyers need a tub for small children. Trying to sell a house with no bathtub can be a challenge.
DON'T leave the kitchen cabinets on when you paint them. Painting your cabinets white can be a big "wow" and pay off at resale. It's a time-consuming and labor-intensive job, though, so homeowners will make the mistake of leaving the doors on while repainting.
DON'T plant a tree too close to the house. That small sapling that you planted to mark your move-in day won't stay small forever. Planting trees too close to the house puts your house at risk to falling limbs, leaves clogging the gutters, and mature roots weakening your home's foundation or putting your sewer or septic and plumbing pipes at risk.
DON'T try to cover wallpaper with water-based paint. Removing old wallpaper can be a real chore, so if you decide to paint over instead, be sure to use oil-based primer.
DON'T tear out original architectural features. Custom woodwork, tin ceiling tiles, stained-glass windows or mid-century modern brick give your home its character and set it apart from every other house, so keep them when remodeling (assuming the features are in good condition).
One Man's Trash Is Another Man's Treasure
Here are five types of treasures that could be sitting around your house and what you can do instead of hosting a garage sale, for each
Books: If you have books that you've already read, and don't plan to read again (or at all), selling online is an easy way to turn them into cash. First, look to see if you have any first editions or books with author's signatures in them, which, depending on the book or author, could translate into a great return.
Clothes: Selling gently used, in-style clothing on consignment, both children and adult, can be another way to earn cash from your closet. To earn top dollar, look for upscale consignment shops with lots of foot traffic, as they'll tend to offer more. Find out what brands, items, and condition the store accepts, and make sure that your clothes meet their standards.
Jewelry: A jewelry box of mismatched odd pieces, the piece that you inherited that isn't your style and have no one to pass it on to, or the engagement ring that you don't wear anymore because you're divorced could be another source of income.
Fine jewelry can certainly be worth a lot, and you'll want to have it appraised before selling it. You can find an appraiser online at sites like appraisers.org.
Unused Gift Cards: According to the professional services firm CEB Tower Group, each year roughly $1 billion in gift cards go unused. If you're not planning to use them you can resell them for cash, at a discount online at sites such as Cardcash. Some CoinStar kiosks in grocery stores will also allow a gift card exchange.
Sporting Goods: Craig's List is a great resource to sell unwanted items like outdoor sporting goods and sports gear in a DIY-kind of way. Bicycles, fishing gear, and canoes are popular finds. Equipment like cleats, helmets, gloves, golf clubs, and skis can also be taken to stores like Play it Again Sports, where consumers can sometimes receive 30 to 50 percent off the selling price.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..
How to Get a $5,000 Amazon Credit: Buy a House Through Realogy
Over the past year, the decidedly analog business of buying and selling real estate has been upended by a flurry of new money and start-ups trying to usher in a world where homes are bought and sold online. Now, Amazon is creating a partnership that goes in the opposite direction by using its gigantic retail platform to facilitate phone calls with human real estate agents.
On Tuesday, Amazon said that it was working with Realogy, the nation’s largest residential real estate brokerage company and owner of Century 21, Coldwell Banker and other brands, to create TurnKey, a service that will help prospective home buyers find real estate agents. To entice customers, Amazon will give buyers up to $5,000 in home services and smart-home gear when they close.
Amazon is now as much a search engine as it is a store, and the deal fits into the company’s effort to capitalize on its status as an online destination by making money on advertising and other services. It’s also a way to encourage people to adopt products like Alexa speakers and Ring doorbells and to promote its list of handymen, furniture assemblers and other home services.
For Realogy, who will pay for those benefits, the partnership is a way of using Amazon to find home buyers and help its brokers separate the closers from the lookie-loos by rebating a portion of its commission, in the form of free Amazon stuff, to anyone who actually buys a house.
Keller Williams and Compass leaders spar (politely) over tech
Keller Williams Realty President Josh Team said Thursday during an Inman Connect panel that his brokerage is investing $1 billion into technology before directing a jab at Compass CEO Robert Reffkin: “Not buying marketshare.”
During a discussion entitled “The Inman Interview: Can Your Technology Compete?” Reffkin touted purportedly unrivaled engineering talent and Compass’ vision of building a first-of-its-kind property search platform. Teamcountered that Keller Williams is already delivering top-shelf technology to its agents.
The two executives never directly disparaged each other’s firms. But they traded some thinly-veiled barbs.
“This isn’t hyperbole or vision,” Team said about Keller Williams’ tech platform, implying that Compass’ is just that. “This is real.”
Keller Williams’ suite of tools combined with its integration of an in-house lender is helping agents guide customers from the time their contact information arrives in a database to the moment they order an appraisal, he said.
NRT CEO compares Compass' agent recruitment to 'shoplifting'
NRT CEO Ryan Gorman compared Compass’ recruitment of agents and efforts to gain market share in competing marketplaces to “shoplifting,” at Inman Connect Las Vegas Thursday morning
NRT’s parent company Realogy is suing Compass over “unfair business practices and illegal schemes to gain market share at all costs.”
“We don’t sue for show,” Gorman told interviewer Clelia Peters, the president of Warburg Realty. “This is the real deal… the industry should take it seriously.”
Gorman encouraged everyone in the audience to read beyond the headlines and take a full look at the lawsuit. He said after reading it, people won’t wonder why Realogy is suing Compass, but rather why it took them so long to do so.
Next recession will come in 2020 — but it won't be due to housing
Half of the real estate economists and experts surveyed by Zillow this week believe that the next recession is coming in 2020, according to the second quarter Zillow Home Price Expectations Survey.
Of the 100 real estate experts surveyed, half said a recession was likely to come in 2020 with 19 percent specifically pinpointing the third quarter of 2020 — which lines up directly with the months leading up to the presidential election. Thirty-five percent of those surveyed said they believe a recession is likely in 2021, meaning 85 of 100 experts believe a recession is coming in the next two years.
Although experts say housing won’t cause of the recession, the potential slowdown will have an impact. More than half of those surveyed said they expect home buying demand in 2020 to be significantly lower than in 2019, while about a third of those surveyed said they expected it to be about the same.
The combination of slowing demand and an impending recession could be good news for potential buyers in the short-term and cause further slowdowns in overall U.S. home value appreciation going forward.
Home values are currently growing at a 6.1 percent annual pace, according to the survey, but growth has slowed in each of the past four months compared to the month prior. Panelists expect that trend to continue.
Panelists, on average, said they expect annual growth to be around 4.1 percent at the end of the year and slow further to 2.8 percent in 2020 and 2.5 percent in 2021.
The results of this year’s survey line up with a similar survey from May 2018, when more than half of the economists surveyed said they believed a recession was coming in 2020.
Here's how this 9-person team closed 600 transactions
Last year, about nine agents with the Laurie Finkelstein Reader Real Estate Team in Florida sold 608 homes, meaning, on average, each agent closed more than 60 transactions in 2018.
Eric Beane, an agent on the Laurie Finkelstein Reader Real Estate Team, said the success of the team is all about culture, training and accountability. The comments came as part of the Teams Track on Wednesday afternoon at the Inman Connect Las Vegas conference.
“We’re all about the culture, and we’re all about not only growing the agent, but narrowing their focus and using systems and leverage to really make sure you’re producing at a high level,” Beane said. “People come and go, especially when you have high standards.”
The entire team meets at 8:30 a.m. every single day, Monday through Friday. That meeting is mandatory. The team has high standards too, with members needing to close at least three transactions per month. The agents have 90 days to get up to speed. One of the systems the team has in place is the use of the showing assistant model. Those assistants are usually newer agents on the team and are paid a fee of $30 per showing and a $300 bonus if the transaction closes.
Because the entire business is a team, each member gets a lot of attention from the two-person in-house marketing team and photographer. The marketing comes at no cost to the agents on the team.
Beane also provided advice to agents looking for the right team for their business.
“The biggest thing is, whether you’re on a team or a team leader, you want enough opportunity to grow as big as you want,” Beane said. “If your team leader is not providing that, you’re going to find somewhere else to go.”
He also shared some advice to those looking to build their own team.
“Keep it small and focus on quality over quantity,” Beane said.
Consumers demand convenience and transparency in closings
A decade ago, real estate transactions were mostly local affairs. Despite the dot com bubble around the turn of the century, real estate was still hanging on to its analog procedures, and consumers were mostly okay with that, according to Spruce Holdings CEO Patrick Burns.
But in the years since, something changed.
“Consumers are demanding convenience,” Burns said Friday at Inman Connect Las Vegas. “They’re demanding transparency because the rest of their lives are like that.”
Burns explored how the real estate transaction is changing today during a panel talk titled “Closing process getting a major shake-up.” His company specializes in title and escrow services.
As frequently noted, consumers today have smooth, transparent experiences in every aspect of their lives — it’s easy to request a ride, order food, or buy a mattress with the tap of a button on an iPhone. So they’re expecting more from the real estate transaction process.
And increasingly, companies are trying to satisfy that desire. Redfin, for example, lets home shoppers request a home tour from their website. And a whole slew of iBuying companies will give sellers a quote almost instantly, then close on the property in a fraction of the time it takes for a conventional transaction.
These types of experiences have given consumers the expectation that every transaction in their lives should be similarly smooth and straightforward. As a result, Burns’ argument went, they want — or demand — that type of service when closing a real estate deal.
Far more agents could be taking advantage of the vacation rental market
Orlando is home to Disney World, Universal Studios Florida, SeaWorld Orlando and a host of other popular tourist sites. In other words, it’s a major vacation destination.
But despite the constant influx of travelers, only 17 percent of the real estate agents in the Orlando market have ever sold a vacation rental, according to Erica Muller, CEO of vacation rental marketplace company Vrolio. More surprisingly still, Muller said Thursday at Inman Connect Las Vegas that when it comes to agents doing more than $600,000 in vacation rental sales volume, the percent drops to 1.7 percent.
Muller, who was speaking during a Connect panel dubbed “Someday we”ll all be on vacation,” said that these numbers mean there is a tremendous opportunity for additional agents to get into the vacation rental market. She specifically estimated that there is “enough volume to go around for at least 50 percent of the market,” but also noted that agents who want to jump into the world of short-term rentals need to develop a very specific set of skills.
Among the things agents who focus on vacation rentals need to understand is property management. Muller pointed out that some owners have managers, and that those managers may own or control the property’s books. When a new owner comes in, they may want to switch managers or take over themselves, but if they can’t get the books — which include information on things like vacancy and profitability — the transition may not go smoothly.
Agents, then, need to anticipate this type of issue and help their clients work through it.
There “is $7 to $8 billion in commission revenue each year” from the short-term rental sales market, meaning that there is a ton of money pouring into the sector and agents stand to earn a piece of that pie. The potential, in other words, is huge.
But whether they get onboard or not, the vacation rental industry is heating up and the only question is who will make money from it.
'9 is the ideal number of hashtags’ and 7 other tips for growing your audience online
1. Create consumable, “thumb-stopping” content
that in the past, he used to produce videos that displayed his company’s brand logo. That approach might have made sense if people were watching an old school TV commercial, but it doesn’t work today.
2. Set up standalone pages where content revolves around specific themes
“People don’t want to like a real estate page, because people fear being bombarded with ads and professional content.
Instead, he recommended building social media pages for content about specific topics.
For instance, set up pages focused on things like local restaurants and historical societies
3. Be aware of how the video actually looks
You’ll sometimes sees selfie-style videos that are shot from below a person’s face, which is not flattering. Other times, videos are lit poorly, or the image is obscured because the camera lens is dirty.
The point is, real estate agents need to be conscientious about what exactly they are doing with their phones while shooting video, she said.
Hold the phone “about an inch above eye level,” and moving around in any given room to see which spot has the best lighting
4. Shoot vertical video
Whissel pointed out that most people are engaging with social media content on their phones, which are oriented vertically, not horizontally. And Lemons-Ryhal said that “vertical content is the fastest growing content in the history of the internet.”
Shooting and posting videos in a vertical, or portrait, orientation means that they can take up consumers’ entire phone screens. That will make the videos both more engaging, as well as simply easier to understand.
Lemons-Ryhal also pointed out that Facebook Stories and Instagram Stories — both ephemeral, Snapchat-like video platforms that many social media experts have extolled at Inman Connect — use vertical video. Shooting video in that orientation, then, makes it easier to use on those platforms.
5. Don’t go nuts with hashtags
Lemons-Ryhal described Instagram as the only place where it is “socially acceptable to use 30 hashtags.” Other social networks either don’t use hashtags at all, or incorporate them much more sparingly.
On Instagram, hashtags can actually be an important way to reach new audiences and boost engagement. But even there, Lemons-Ryhal urged moderation.
“Every study has shown that nine is the ideal number of hashtags,” she said.
6. Tease videos with short clips and still images
Whissel compared creating video for social media to Hollywood movies.
“When a Hollywood movie drops there’s a trailer,” he said. “You want to do that with Facebook.”
Whissel recommended breaking longer video content down into clips that can be posted on multiple platforms. He also said that he pulls quotes out of his videos, superimposes them on a still image or photograph and then posts the resulting “quote card” to Instagram.
“You want to take all this content and repurpose it,” he explained. “Get it into all these different channels.”
7. Find the people who liked your video content and invite them to like your page
Building an online following is tough, especially if you’re just asking friends and family to like your Facebook and Instagram pages. But Whissel offered a more targeted strategy: look and see who interacted with a particular video or post, and then invite them to like your page.
“These people become a part of your audience,” he explained. “This is one of the best ways to grow your page.”
8. Don’t forget about YouTube
Much of the discussion about social media focuses on Facebook and Instagram, but Whissel described what is essentially an ongoing YouTuberenaissance.
As a result, Whissel advised agents to put “every single video you create on YouTube.” Agents also need to be smart about using the platform, adding descriptions and tags that accurately represent their content.
If they do that, agents should be able to use YouTube as yet another channel through which to broadcast their brand and meet new clients.
“The more time you put into these things,” Whissel concluded, “the more people you’re going to get watching your videos.”
Cyberstalking and footprints: How to nail listing presentations
“List to last” is a common refrain in the real estate industry, but in order to get that far agents have to win over home sellers and get them to sign on the dotted line.
In a session titled “Nailing Your Listing Presentation” on Wednesday, expert panelists at Inman Connect Las Vegas offered attendees five tips for doing just that.
1. Cyberstalking
Yes, really. Do your research on the home sellers and on the house before the listing presentation, panelists said.
This means Googling the sellers and looking them up on social media, including LinkedIn. It also means looking up their tax records to see if they have multiple houses or what their financial situation might be
2. Cultivate an online footprint
On that note, do everything and anything to be found. It’s huge. While some agents may shun review sites like Yelp, consumers don’t. And it’s no longer acceptable not to have a Zillow profile.
Use a different computer than your own to see what your online footprint is and review it from the standpoint of a prospective seller.
3. Personalize the listing presentation
No cookie-cutter presentation. I want to hear their story. Where are they now and where do they want to end up,” Soto said.
Then she asks for a tour of the home and sits and talks strategy.
Sethavanish asks for a tour first because she wants to gauge the sellers’ personality type and see what they focus on when talking about the house
4. Overcome objections
Home sellers’ No. 1 objection during a listing presentation is commissions,
How do panelists respond to requests to reduce their commission? “‘No. Any other questions?'
Another common objection? Zestimates that say a house is worth more than what the agent thinks the list price should be.
5. Give the sellers a timeline
A timeline shows the work the agent will do to sell the home, according to Colucci.
If the agent gives the sellers the timeline before they sign a contract, in the back of their mind they’re already listing the house with that agent, Sethavanish said.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams, and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link.
Five outdated seller believes agents should debunk
The success of HGTV and the plethora of online information has shifted the ground rules of real estate sales
Three fundamental changes
These three changes have altered the home buying and selling landscape forever.
Change 1: The advent of HGTV
Buyers spend countless hours watching HGTV and have developed extremely refined tastes. They know what they want and when they look at homes for sale. They are looking for properties that look similar to what they have seen and liked on TV.
Change 2: The advent of mobile devices and HD internet connectivity
Buyers used to have to visit a home to add or remove it from their shortlist. No longer the case, today’s sellers have between seven and 10 seconds to sell their home, and those seconds are on a mobile device anywhere on the planet — not in any home for sale.
Change 3: The advent of internet real estate sites
Realtor.com, Zillow, Trulia and a host of broker-owned sites have populated the internet with user-friendly websites that provide property data, historical facts, HD pictures, automated valuations, neighborhood and school info, and more.
They have completely removed the need for buyers to visit in person to determine if they like a home. Once a buyer has shortlisted available inventory, they only visit the select few they like.
Five seller myths
With this in mind, here are the top five seller beliefs that are no longer true:
1. I do not need to have the listing agent visit until my home is ready.
Wrong. In reality, the sooner the agent can get in, the better. Sellers, assuming the old rules still apply, might spend money on things that could harm a home’s potential and, conversely, fail to spend money where it matters.
Agents can not only help sellers maximize their potential, but they can also connect them with the trades and other professionals required to do it right.
2. I do not need to upgrade the property for sale.
Since increasing numbers of buyers are looking for move-in ready homes, the more a seller does to get the house to that level, the higher the returns. In an upmarket, sellers can reap a $2-$3 dollar return for every dollar spent.
In a declining market, they may not get 100 percent back, but they will get a sale. I frequently hear sellers ask, “Why should I upgrade? Won’t the new buyers come in and rip out all the stuff I just put in?”
That is not the right question. A better question is, “What can I do to make my online pictures sizzle to get the highest number of buyers through the front door regardless of what a buyer does once they own the home?”
If a seller can invest $1,000 on carpets and in the process, make $3,000, does it matter what the new owner does once they move in?
3. I need to open houses to sell my home.
The myth here is that buyers need to visit your home in person to decide whether they like it or not. In the new reality, buyers are visiting because they have already seen the house online and decided it was worth seeing in person.
Open houses make it easier for buyers who are already going to visit actually to get in. They also make it easy for the neighbors to come through — which is good because they frequently know someone looking to move into the area.
4. I need many open house signs at multiple vital intersections.
Wrong again. Savvy listing agents put out tons of signs because they are free advertising. Buyers who have seen the home online do not need directional signs to find the apartment. With open houses dates and times syndicating to all the major web portals, buyers use the GPS feature in their phones.
As for the neighbors, they will not come because you posted signs at far away intersections. To get them, you want signs close to the open house.
5. If buyers want my house, they will pay more than market value.
Buyers are not running charities. Due to online AVMs (automated valuation models — think Zestimate), buyers know when a property is overpriced and generally stay away, assuming the seller is unrealistic.
While pricing strategies vary from region to region, most agents know to recommend that sellers price listings close to market realities. As more listings come onto the market, buyers have more choices and migrate toward those they believe represent ethical values.
Sellers who insist they must net a specific amount, which in turn pushes the price too high, are only kidding themselves.
For sellers who have not sold a home in recent years, the new rules can be a shock. Ironically, since most sellers are also looking to buy a replacement home, all I usually have to do to change their thinking is to ask them how they are personally searching for homes in their new location.
They walk me through their process, and suddenly, in most cases, they get it.
11 Bad listing description cliches we're over
Hiding flaws behind flowery copy does nothing but waste the buyer's and their agent’s time
1. ‘This one won’t last!’
I get it. The listing agent is trying to convey that they’ve got a hot property that some fortunate buyer will surely snap up in a matter of days, if not hours.
The problem with “This one won’t last!” is agents tend never to revisit their listing descriptions. When your market has an average days-on-market of 30 days, seeing “This one won’t last!” on a listing entering its eighth month on the market will either make a buyer laugh out loud or think, “Hmmm, it did last, so there must be something wrong with it.”
2 ‘Needs TLC’ or its partner in crime, ‘the handyman special.’
In other words, the home is disrepair, outdated, or has some other issue that needs to be fixed. By leaving those issues to the buyer’s imagination, you might very well be causing buyers to skip right over your listing and move on to the next one.
3. ‘Cozy’ or ‘quaint.’
This is fluffy marketing-speak. What you’re trying to do is cover up the fact that the home is small. Guess what? Any potential buyer who walks through the front door will swiftly figure out that the home is small. You can’t hide that fact behind cozy or quaint.
4. ‘Better than new’
No, it’s not better than new. Even if the home has been demolished and rebuilt from the foundation, it’s not better than new. It’s new. Well, it’s a new home on an old foundation. But you get the point.
“Better than new!” is one of those phrases that makes buyers ask, “What does that even mean?”
5. ‘Good bones’
Even more confusing to consumers. If a buyer isn’t an investor, a flipper or a builder, they won’t have a clue that’s supposed to mean the foundation and framing are solid and in good shape. Of course what the buyer also won’t know is that the home’s “bones” are about the only thing that’s good about the listing.
6. ‘Too much to list!’
Your listing is just so full of goodness and wonders that there’s too much to fit in the description?
What a load of hooey! Most MLSs these days allow hundreds and hundreds of characters in the description. And of course there’s all that other info, such as beds, baths, square footage, year built, type of roof — the list goes on and on. 7. ‘Show and sell’
Thanks for the suggestion! And here I was, hoping to spend my time showing a property that my buyer won’t buy. Show and sell makes a lot more sense than saying, “Show, but don’t worry about selling.”
8. ‘Priced to sell’
I kid you not, I once had a buyer ask, “Should we only consider homes that are priced to sell?”
With a confused tilt of my head, followed by “huh?” The client slid some listings across the table and said, “Four of these say, ‘priced to sell,’ but the other three do not. Should we even bother looking at the ones that are not priced to sell?”
9. ‘Updated’
Everyone wants shiny new things. No one is ever going to buy a home marketed with something like “built in 1965, never updated.” (Wait, that would be “needs TLC!” Or “good bones!”)
Define “updated.” Does a new fridge, the cheapest one the seller could find, constitute an “updated kitchen”? I once showed a home with an “updated roof.” When the buyers and I saw it, the first thing we did was look at the roof and its shingles that were beginning to curl.
10. Anything that is somewhere else in the property listing
As mentioned earlier, the listing displays of today show a tremendous amount of information. There is no need to repeat that information in the listing description. Use the descriptive space for info not included elsewhere.
11. ANYTHING — AND EVERYTHING — IN ALL CAPS
PLEASE, FOR THE LOVE OF ALL THE KITTENS ON THE INTERNET, STOP WRITING LISTING DESCRIPTIONS IN ALL CAPS!
It’s hard to read, and it LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE SCREAMING AT PEOPLE.
Denver agents take down promotional video called an 'ad for gentrification'
Kentwood Real Estate’s Team Denver Homes deleted a promotional video in which its agents rap about luxury homes they’ve sold in a parody of the “Fresh Prince of Bel Air” theme song — amid strong criticism about it being pro-gentrification.
The video, which the team posted on YouTube and its website, features several of its agents dancing and rapping the famous theme song. They wear neon 1980s-style clothes while rapping about selling high-end properties.
The video started garnering criticism almost immediately after it was posted on YouTube on Wednesday. One of the commenters called it “an ad for gentrification” while local podcaster and anti-gentrification activist Bree Davies called the agents “real estate colonialists in neon ski attire” on Twitter.
Denver Homes partner Mor Zucker told 9News.com that she didn’t see anything wrong with what they put up and that, even though their team has no staff members who are people of color, she has friends who are.
National Association of Realtors backs 6 commercial RE startups
- Twofold, a provider of ergonomic and adaptable furniture that can enhance the flexibility and utilization of space
- Biproxi, a transaction platform designed to serve commercial real estate brokers, buyers, sellers and tenants.
- Lulafit, an amenity-management firm that provides on-demand wellness and fitness services
- Trove, a short-term rental management service designed to help landlords maximize revenue
- Coeo, a listing service for office, industrial, meeting and flex spaces
- SRE Simple, a commercial real estate lending platform
REACH Commercial will provide class members with mentorship, education, networking opportunities and access to a panel of more than 50,000 industry professionals who can provide feedback.
The startups “have demonstrated solid business models, executable business plans and significant potential to influence our nation’s economy,” according to NAR.
Americans are flocking to HOA communities like never before
New US Census data shows that homes in homeowner's associations are taking up a larger share of new construction and new sales than ever before
According to new data from the U.S. Census Bureau, there were 840,000 single family homes completed in 2018. Of those homes, 64 percent, or about 535,000, were part of an HOA. That compares to only 306,000 new, single-family homes that weren’t part of HOAs.
Census data on the number of homes sold is even more lopsided: Americans bought 472,000 newly constructed HOA homes in 2018, but only 145,000 without HOAs.
Those numbers represent a remarkable trend in U.S. housing. In 2009, just a decade ago, developers finished 279,000 non-HOA homes but only 241,000 homes with HOAs. HOA and non-HOA construction remained roughly comparable for the next several years until, in 2011, it flipped in favor of the homeowner’s associations.
Ever since, new HOA homes have been taking up a larger and larger share of the overall new single-family housing stock.
The Census data doesn’t offer explanations for why builders and buyers have both increasingly favored HOA developments over the last decade.
10 real estate agent myths outsiders believe
If you’re thinking about becoming an agent, have a clear view of what it’s like, so you can start out on the right foot
1. Making a big income is very easy with little work and time involved
Although being a real estate professional is not hard if you love it, and you certainly can make a big income. But like all businesses, there is much to learn and do, and selling real estate is very time-intensive.
2. You need the looks and personality of a major movie star
These nice attributes certainly won’t hurt you and your bottom line, but the most successful real estate professionals are the ones who know the business inside and out, prepare and take great care of their customers.
3. You have to be a technology expert
Although you don’t have to be an IT expert as many top producers are not, the better you are with technology, the easier it will be to run your business.
Boost your brand, efficiency and productivity with one platform
With that said, know that you can always hire an assistant. Being a people expert is much more important.
4. It takes a long time to make some income
The agents who come in and take advantage of all the training they can and work hard doing the right things when it comes to prospecting really shorten the time it takes to make money. They do well sooner rather than later.
5. The hours you put in will be less than a regular job
The agents who believe this probably are not making a lot of money. Although you don’t have to work 24/7, you do have to put in hours that would probably exceed a regular job, especially in the beginning.
The freedom that being a real estate agent gives you makes it much easier to take than more traditional employment.
6. I can do real estate part-time
Although you can do real estate part-time, you won’t be very effective. To make any significant income and to assist your buyers and sellers correctly, it will be very difficult to do real estate on a part-time basis.
7. People will be flocking to me to sell their homes, and people will be giving me leads all day long
To make a steady income in real estate, like any sales job, you will have to spend a good part of your day doing various prospecting activities to bring customers to your business. Not much business will drop into your lap.
8. I don’t need any training or support — I got this
Regardless of your background or the personal skills that you bring to the table, to get your business up and running fast, to stay out of legal trouble and to stay in this business long term, someone will have to show you how.
The cost of not getting any training when you start usually results in a quick end to your real estate career, usually because you could not generate enough income.
9. You need to know a lot of people to be successful
Knowing many people who you can contact and try to assist with their real estate needs is nice and will make things easier for you, but your work ethic and the success of your prospecting activities will bring customers to your business.
10. All brokerages are the same, so I can hang my license anywhere
Brokerage models vary tremendously, and where you choose to hang your license may decide if you are successful long term or not in the business.
For example, training and support are very important to a successful real estate career, but some brokerage models may offer very little of it, if any, and some may build their entire model around it.
The great thing about real estate is that all types of people and personalities can be successful. The key is to have a clear view of what it’s really like to be a real estate agent and to start out the correct way with full training and support so that you can do all the right things and have continued success for years to come.
The agents who come in and take advantage of all the training they can and work hard doing the right things when it comes to prospecting really shorten the time it takes to make money. They do well sooner rather than later.
Charles Manson murder mansion hits the market for $1.98M
August marks the 50th anniversary of the shocking 1969 murders of Leno and Rosermary LaBianca inside the home
The villa where the followers of Charles Manson murdered Leno and Rosermary LaBianca in 1969 has hit the market for $1.98 million in Los Angeles.
Listed on Redfin, the home on 3311 Waverly Drive is described as a “classic 1920’s Los Feliz gated single story home” with “breathtaking views” and a “prime location.” But the description leaves out one key detail: On August 10, 1969, four Charlie Manson followers bound and stabbed the LaBiancas to death inside the property.
The murder, which took place just a day after members of the Manson cult killed pregnant actress Sharon Tate, would send the residents of Los Angeles into a spiral of terror that is still memorialized in film and studied by crime experts. Manson, who picked the Los Feliz house randomly to instruct his followers how future murders should be carried out, was eventually sentenced to life in prison and died in 2017.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes. Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..
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Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes.
Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, aerial shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link.
Why homeownership truly is the American dream
The three main reasons why owning a home is still a big component of the American dream.
1. There are proven psychological, physical and financial benefits to homeownership.
“You own your little corner of the world. You can customize your house, remodel, paint, and decorate without the need to get permission from a landlord.” That’s pride of ownership.
But aside from the positive psychological effects of owning a home, homeowners in strong markets build equity.
2. Homeownership positively impacts American families.
From having room for your kids to play to being able to entertain to having space to do the things you love, owning a home helps people realize their full potential.
It also provides a greater sense of stability and opportunity, while growing personal wealth. Homeownership by those who make down payments, and who stay in their houses over long periods of time can result in better academic and emotional outcomes for children.
3. People who invest in their home, invest in the community, and thus improve the local economy.
Nearly 60 percent of Americans own their homes, and for good reason. The National Association of Realtors points out the many social benefits, which include civic participation, financial education and poverty improvements.
Plus, a person who cares for their home is more likely to care for their community through donations and volunteer efforts that keep their neighborhood and schools safe, livable and thriving. In other words, you help yourself and others contribute to a fundamental sense of belonging and responsibility to the wider community.
Homeownership also plays a critical role in the economy.
According to the National Association of Home Builders, building 100 average single-family homes generates 305 jobs, $23.1 million in wage and business income, and $8.9 million in taxes and revenue for state, local and federal governments.
Rents are rising, but the US lacks sufficient middle-income housing
Rents are climbing and more higher-income Americans are choosing to lease rather than buy, but while those conditions are a boon to investors many middle-income earners are nevertheless facing a lack of housing supply.
New research from data firm CoStar paints a picture of an overall booming U.S. rental industry that has seen uneven growth across different parts of the market. For starters, much of the multifamily housing being built today tends to be high-end luxury units. The number of renter households in the U.S. has grown the most among those earning more than $100,000 per year. And those renters are being attracted to the locations and benefits of living in well-connected urban hot spots.
CoStar found that since 2015 rent has grown by about 4 percent each year, which is between 1 percent and 1.5 percent more than incomes. The current tendency of people to move out of pricey states as they face affordability woes and into more affordable ones is well-documented, and is typical of what happens as an economic cycle reaches its high point.
All of this represents something of a two-edged sword: On the one hand conditions are tough and getting tougher for renters, but on the other those people who can afford to step onto the investment ladder stand to make reliable returns as rents continue to rise.
Home price growth accelerates for first time in 14 months
For the first time in 14 months, home price growth is accelerating.
Nationwide, home prices grew by 3.6 percent in May year-over-year and 0.9 percent from April, according to the latest data from CoreLogic. At 10.7 percent, Idaho had the highest growth rate out of all the states. Utah and South Dakota followed at 7.8 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively.
The growth can be attributed to a strong job market and decreased mortgage rates, according to CoreLogic.
CoreLogic predicts that home prices will see even steeper growth in the coming year — 0.8 percent by next month but 5.6 percent by May 2020.
Due to years of consistent home price increases, many buyers are worried about their ability to afford a home. According to CoreLogic, 28 percent of homeowners are worried they won’t be able to afford buying a new home in the future. Only half are satisfied with the number of options available in their market while 40 percent believe they will have to relocate
Trump creates affordable housing council, taps Ben Carson as chair
Amid a growing sense of national crisis over the cost of housing, President Trump created a new government council Tuesday and tasked it with clearing “regulatory barriers,” such as zoning, that get in the way of building new homes.
Ben Carson — who leads the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development — will now also serve as the chair of the White House Council on Eliminating Barriers to Affordable Housing. In an executive order, Trump said the role of the council would be to increase the supply of homes in the U.S. in an effort to meet demand.
Trump also singled out an array of specific regulations that he argued are getting in the way of housing construction. The regulations include zoning, limits on population density, “undue parking requirements” and “cumbersome” construction permitting procedures.
However, the executive order also mentions environmental regulations, which have significant support in the liberal coastal cities that are most severely affected by current housing shortages. Trump has also made rolling back environmental regulations a keystone of his administration, proposing for example a massive expansion of offshore drilling and shrinking protections for rural land in the West.
In other words, Trump’s executive order suggests a willingness to rethink contemporary city planning, but still falls well within the president’s pattern of attacking regulation generally.
National Association of Realtors President John Smaby lauded the formation of the council, saying that, despite historic economic growth, misguided regulations have prevented many Americans from purchasing a home.
'Consumers are fed up:' KW sued over agent cold calls on expired listings
Thinking of cold-calling expired listings? Careful — doing so may land you in legal hot water. Keller Williams Realty is the latest real estate company to be hit with a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging its agents made unsolicited, prerecorded and autodialed calls to consumers without their consent — including calls to consumers registered on the national Do Not Call registry — in violation of the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA).
The National Association of Realtors has identified TCPA lawsuits as one of the major legal issues its members should keep in mind in the near term, noting that a lot of “trolling” law firms see violations of the TCPA as “low-hanging fruit.” The trade group advised its members to obtain written consent from consumers before texting them, to avoid using auto-dialers without consent and to scrub phone numbers in their contact database against the DNC registry.
Although calling expired listings is a time-honored way to drum up business in real estate, being on the receiving end of such calls is not always welcome. Exasperated homeowners sometimes even get local authorities involved to stop the seemingly endless stream of agent calls.
The complaint cites numerous Keller Williams training videos that encourage and teach agents to call expired listings and For Sale By Owner (FSBO) listings, including one that inaccurately tells agents that it’s ok to solicit a FSBO listing even if the number is on the DNC list. (Agents may only call such numbers to inquire about the property for their buyer client, not to solicit the listing.)
NAR now accepting applications for real estate 'pitch battle'
How does your technology product or service improve the real estate industry? You have four minutes. And you’re on a stage in front of hundreds of real estate pros and a few prominent judges who get to grill you on what you’re offering.
Sound attractive? You’re in luck. The application process is now open for the National Association of Realtors’ second annual iOi Pitch Battle, a contest in which aspiring real estate tech startups vie for $15,000 in cash and the attention of venture capitalists and others who could help them make a splash in the industry.
On-demand photo-editing service BoxBrownie beat out 15 other contestants when NAR held its first pitch battle at its inaugural Innovation, Opportunity and Investment (iOi) Summit in San Francisco last year.
This year, NAR is holding the tech conference at the Hyatt Regency Seattle beginning Tuesday, Aug. 20 and going through the late afternoon of Thursday, Aug. 22.
Pitch battle contestants will present live on Wednesday, Aug. 21, 2:30-4:30 p.m., and the winner will be announced Aug. 22 at 9 a.m.
How agents can better serve military service members
Whether you’re a new agent or a seasoned one, if you don’t often encounter military or veteran clients, then you might need a reminder on the unique priorities of this group.
And even if you’ve served in the military yourself or are a current mil-spouse-real estate agent who specializes in this demographic, keeping up on the changing policies surrounding military moves and benefits when you’re running a business can be difficult.
Some facts, 260,000 military personal relocate every year and 230,000 transition out of the service. They can move up to 20 times during a typical career and move 7 times more often that civilians. 7 in 10 hired the first agent they interviewed. They average 8 weeks searching for a home, civilians average 10. Active Military and veteran buyers make up about 20% of all home purchases yearly, despite making up less than 8 percent of the US population.
Know all of the options
Military families come to real estate with all kinds of questions about where to live during their tour. Some of these housing options — like temporary lodging, long-term rentals or on-base housing — may not be part of your business model, and that’s fine. But have resources for these topics and be able to point your clients in the right direction.
Also, when home shopping with military clients, begin with the end in mind. Know that military families will likely leave in the next three to five years and will be faced with a decision either to sell the home or rent it out, so look for situations likely to make sense when that time comes.
Know the VA loan
And don’t just know the basics of the VA Loan — become a stark raving fan of this valuable benefit that allows service members and veterans the opportunity to buy a home with no down payment. Be able to promote its use enthusiastically to other agents who may not understand or appreciate it.
Hit the ground running
Understand military families usually have a tight move timeline, so it’s up to the agent to take the lead and demonstrate how to find the right home in the right area. Most clients will have a limited amount of time in temporary lodging, so get as many of the milestones as you can out of the way before they arrive.
Understand military families usually have a tight move timeline, so it’s up to the agent to take the lead and demonstrate how to find the right home in the right area. Most clients will have a limited amount of time in temporary lodging, so get as many of the milestones as you can out of the way before they arrive.
Show by video
Live video is an important tool used to build rapport with clients who have not yet arrived at their new duty station. With video, you’re already making a personal connection, building trust and showing clients you’ll make time for them, even though they can’t buy from you that day.
Share your professional network
Real estate agents often share their resources for landscapers, carpenters, cleaners and other home services. That’s no different for military families, but you should recognize that they're more likely to be entirely new to your community and would appreciate an introduction upfront.
Endeavor to make other military-focused real estate agents part of your referral network so you can offer your clients a good match when they move out.
More than 8 million homeowners are leaving big money on the table by not refinancing
Mortgage rates have been on a roller coaster for the last year, but now they’re sitting at the bottom of the track, and that is boosting the number of borrowers who can benefit from a refinance by a lot.
With the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hitting a three-year low of 3.73% last week, according to Freddie Mac, 8.2 million borrowers could refinance and lower their interest rates by at least 75 basis points, according to Black Knight.
The average borrower could save about $266 per month, bringing the total amount of potential savings to about $2.2 trillion.
Refinancing can lower monthly payments, but it can also provide easy money for homeowners with high levels of home equity. Given the steep rise in home values over the past three years, homeowners currently hold an aggregate $5.98 trillion in tappable equity. Tappable equity is generally considered the value of the home beyond the 20% retained equity most lenders require.
During the last housing boom, in the early 2000′s, borrowers were using their homes like ATM’s. That resulted in negative equity positions when home values crashed, leading to the worst foreclosure crisis in history. Borrowers today appear to be much more reluctant to leave themselves without a cushion, remembering that home values can go down as easily as they can go up.
House Flipping And What You Should Know
Here are a few things you should know before you make your first flip.
Limit Your Financial Risk
In a reality show, flipping a house often has the drama of some unexpected doom. Things like a cracked foundation or an attic filled with termites that threaten to ruin the flip. While these are often hyped up for TV, the reality is that if you pay too much for a home without accounting for the cost of repairs and upgrades, your flip can turn into a flop.
Most seasoned investors use the 70% rule which basically states that you should not buy a home for more than 70% of the after repair value of a property. In other words, the after repair value is what the home is worth after your done making repairs and a few upgrades.
Make Sure You Have The Time And Expertise
Once you've settled on a home to flip, the next questions are, who will make the repairs? How fast can they be done? If you're planning on making most of the repairs yourself, then you need to be certain you have the time to do it.
Fake TV makes the process look fast and easy, but it's not. Scheduling professional contractors, repairmen, painters, and carpenters take time, as does the work. If you plan on making most of the upgrades and repairs yourself, be certain that you can handle the job.
First-time home flippers often feel that they can do most of the work themselves in order to save money, then find themselves overwhelmed or under skilled to handle the job.
Find The Right House To Flip
Patience is key to a successful house flipper. First, you must find a home that's priced below its market value.
Educate yourself on the trends, markets and home values in the areas where you intend to buy your first home. When it comes time to sell, you have to consider who your potential buyers are, what they can afford, and where they want to live.
Flipping houses for a living can be financially rewarding, but you have to know what you're getting into and educate yourself on the process. There are many investors who started off flipping houses in their spare time just to get a feel for the process.
That’s a great way to start for first-time flippers. Some of the best advice you can get is from someone who is already successful at flipping houses. Take some time to meet with other investors or attend a seminar on how to invest in real estate and flipping houses.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes.
Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram. We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link..
This week Abby & Joe talk about the top 10 places Millennials are moving in the US. Paul Simon is the most recent celebrity to be leaving Connecticut. Venmoing earnest money deposits, and ways for REALTORS to give back to their communities.
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Connect with Abby Breau & Joe Aguiar on Instagram
Bombshell lawsuit takes a new turn
The class-action lawsuit that could upend the real estate industry by effectively forcing changes in how buyer’s agents are traditionally compensated has been amended, adding more plaintiffs and defendants and emphasizing the role commissions play in steering buyers and raising costs for sellers.
Nine law firms filed an amended complaint consolidating two previous complaints with nearly identical claims: the first filed by home seller Christopher Moehrl on March 6 and another filed by homeseller Sawbill Strategic Inc. on April 15.
The June 14 amended complaint alleges NAR and the named real estate brokers and franchisors have violated the Sherman Antitrust Act by “agreeing, combining and conspiring to impose, implement and enforce anticompetitive restraints that cause home sellers to pay inflated commissions on the sale of their homes.”
The main restraint the complaint refers to is a NAR rule requiring listing brokers — and their agents who represent homesellers — to make a “blanket unilateral offer of compensation” to buyer brokers when listing a property in a Realtor-affiliated multiple listing service.
That offer of compensation must be made regardless of the fact that buyer brokers represent the buyer, not the seller, and because it is a blanket offer, it cannot vary according to the buyer broker’s experience, the services the buyer broker is offering or the buyer broker’s financial arrangement with the buyer, according to the complaint.
Unlike the original complaints, the amended complaint does not argue that the blanket offer of compensation is non-negotiable. But the amended lawsuit cites NAR’s Standard of Practice 3-2 and Standard of Practice 16-16 as evidence that NAR impedes effective negotiation of the offer of compensation.
Ikea rebuilds rooms from Friends, Simpsons and Stranger Things
A new Ikea campaign recreates the living rooms of three iconic TV shows with furniture that can be bought in its stores.
Titled ‘Real Life Series,’ the Ikea United Arab Emirates campaign features living rooms from “Friends,” “The Simpsons” and “Stranger Things.” Each room is created with furniture and accessories from the Ikea catalog. While the campaign was designed by Publicis Spain, the rooms will only be set up in select Middle East stores and through an online catalog checklist.
The “Friends” room recreates Monica and Rachel’s apartment with the purple walls and a beige armchair while “The Simpsons” room has an orange couch and bright round carpet. The “Stranger Things” room has the flowered wallpaper, Christmas tree lights and striped couch. Because the campaign has no financial ties to the iconic television shows, Ikea describes the “Simpsons” room simply as for “families,” the “Friends” room for “mates” and the “Stranger Things” room for “everyone” without calling out their titles by name.
Red Flags When Looking For Your Next Home
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While there may be other houses on the street for sale, especially during the "busy" seasons of spring and summer, an overwhelming number of houses on the market for an area can be a warning sign.
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Class size in a school system says a lot, schools should be adding enrollment, not losing it.
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If the neighborhood has lots of empty storefronts, be wary. Empty storefronts point to the area in decline.
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If limited parking at the house you're looking at is something that you noticed while you were visiting the house for the first time, it has the potential for forever being an Achilles heel of the property.
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If the solution to the parking situation at your house is off-street parking, what's the traffic like? Are there cars lined up and down the street? Will you potentially have to drive around a while in search of a spot to park? That inconvenience can quickly become a major hassle, especially with a car full of groceries or small children to bring into the house.
Yes, You Can Trust Your Real Estate Broker
A Manhattan Real luxury Real Estate broker wrote a great blog in Forbes Magazine entitled, Yes, You Can Trust Your Real Estate Broker.
According to a 2018 Gallup poll on the subject of most- and least-trusted professions, 19% of Americans consider the ethical standards of real estate agents as either low or very low, while 54% of the population consider our honesty to be just about average. You may conclude that we real estate brokers have nothing to complain about, especially compared to members of Congress, whom, according to the poll, 58% of Americans consider to be unethical.
But when almost one-fifth of the country's population thinks of the profession that I’ve been dedicated to for two decades as not worthy of their trust, it makes me upset. I find such public opinion unfair, especially because the very thing that gives true value to our work is the ethical foundation upon which it's built.
The job of a real estate broker is trust-based. There is serious capital involved in every transaction, especially for those of us who specialize in luxury transactions, and in order for us to succeed in helping our clients achieve their goals, we must be trusted. Brokers who don’t earn their clients’ trust can’t close deals and don’t stay in business.
President Trump’s Onetime Greenwich Estate Relists for 29% Less
A Greenwich, Connecticut estate where President Donald Trump and his ex-wife Ivana Trump lived is returning to the market for $38.5 million—almost 29% less than its onetime $54 million asking price.
The Trumps bought the property after they were married in the early 1980s for about $4 million. When they divorced in the early 1990s, Ms. Trump kept the house. She sold it to the current owners, financier Robert Steinberg and his wife Suzanne Steinberg, for $15 million in 1998.
The Best Food and Drink in Connecticut for 2019
Best Airport Restaurant: Black Bear Saloon (Bradley International Airport)
Best All-You-Can-Eat Deal: Evergreens at the Simsbury Inn (Simsbury)
Best Bar: The Griswold Inn Tap Room (Essex)
Best Beer: Fuzzy Baby Ducks by New England Brewing Co. (Woodbridge)
Best Brunch: Engine Room (Mystic)
Best Burger: The Original Burger at Louis’ Lunch (New Haven)
Best Chinese Restaurant: Peking Edo (New Haven)
Best Chocolate Shop: Bridgewater Chocolate (West Hartford)
Best Cupcake: Sugar Cupcakery & Bakery (East Haven)
Best Doughnut: Dottie’s Diner (Woodbury)
Best Food Truck: The Mercado Food Truck (Glastonbury) 5 Stars on Yelp
Best Fried Chicken: Greer’s Chicken (Bristol)
Best Grocery Store: Stew Leonard’s
Best Hot Dog: Super Duper Weenie (Fairfield)
Best Ice Cream Stand: Ferris Acres Creamery (Newtown)
Best Lasagna: Rossitto’s Ristorante (Branford)
Best Mexican Restaurant: El Charrito (Riverside) Greenwich
Best Pancakes: Somewhere in Time (Mystic)
Best Pasta Dish: Lasagna, Consiglio’s (New Haven)
Best Pizza: Frank Pepe Pizzeria Napoletana (New Haven)
Best Restaurant for Breakfast: Dottie’s Diner (Woodbury)
Best Restaurant: Oyster Club (Mystic)
Most Outrageous Restaurant Dish: 2-Foot Works Dog, Doogie's (Newington)
Best Sandwich: Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough (Noank)
Best Seafood Shack: Abbott’s Lobster in the Rough (Noank)
Best Soup: Clam Chowder, The Clam Castle (Madison)
Best Sports Bar: Bobby V's Restaurant & Sports Bar (Windsor Locks)
Best Steakhouse: David Burke Prime, Mashantucket
Senator Cory Booker announces 2020 presidential campaign
Cory Booker, once mayor of New Jersey’s largest city and now one of the most high-profile, media-savvy U.S. senators, declared his candidacy for president in February, joining an already crowded field of Democrats looking to be President Trump’s 2020 challenger. Booker announced his long-anticipated decision the same way many Americans have come to know him, on Twitter, presenting himself as a healer of the country’s deep divisions and stressing the importance of “collective action.” However, his campaign ad hit a little too close to home for some realtors.
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes.
Keep up with us on Facebook and Instagram.
We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link
Client Appreciation Party
We teamed up this year in Real Estate and have started our new podcast, Closing Time. We can't think of a better way to celebrate than spending a fantastic day with the awesome people who made this all possible. We would love to hear any tips and tricks to make our party the best!
Home flipping rate hits a 9-year high, indicating potential trouble in real estate
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2019/06/10/housing-market-trouble-flipping-rate-hits-9-year-high/1406883001/?fbclid=IwAR1SLhTrbd-TzCxacNMnOTvq9fGetE0fnYghsZPVnyEI40kk1-OoIRVODQE
The rate of buying, fixing up and reselling a house – also known as flipping – hit a nine-year high with over 49,000 single-family homes and condos selling in the category in the first quarter.
However, experts warn that's not necessarily an indicator of the housing market’s overall strength.
A report released June 6 by the property databaseAttom Data Solutions found that flipping activity represented 7.2% of all home sales nationwide during the start of 2019. That's up from 5.9% in the previous quarter and up from 6.7% this time last year, representing the highest home-flipping rate since the start of 2010.
Still, that's only part of the picture.
The total number of homes that were flipped was down 8% from the first quarter of 2018, and the number of investors engaging in the activity was also on the decline.
Experts say that an uptick in home flipping activity could actually indicate that conditions in the housing market are worsening.
In the first quarter, flipped houses sold for a median price of $215,000. The median purchase price stood at $155,000, making the gross flipping profit just $60,000, which is a three-year low. In the same quarter last year, the gross flipping profit was $68,000.
Late last year, researchers told MarketWatch that the real estate market may be cooling down, describing home-flipping as a “canary in the coal mine" as the high velocity of transactions give flippers real-time data on the direction of the market.
Foreclosure rates remain low, but homes hit by natural disasters continue to struggle
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/11/foreclosure-rates-remain-low-but-homes-hit-by-natural-disasters-continue-to-struggle-corelogic/
While the number of homeowners failing to make their mortgage payments continue to hit new lows, portions of the country hit by natural disasters are struggling.Across the United States, 4 percent of U.S. homeowners fell into some sort of delinquency on their mortgages in March, down from 4.3 percent a year earlier and the lowest level for the month of March in 13 years, according to the latest CoreLogic analysis, released Tuesday. Foreclosure rates, in which one’s home is seized by the government due to inability to pay, is at 0.4 percent, down from 0.6 percent in March 2018. Such a small number of homes have not been foreclosed since January 1999. Despite the good news, however, some parts of the country are continuing to struggle. Overall delinquency rates have risen somewhat in 42 percent of the country. Panama City, Florida and Albany, Georgia saw some of the highest rises in serious delinquency rates, or payments that are due by more than 90 days, across the country. According to CoreLogic, such numbers are the result of homeowners getting caught off guard with higher-than-expected payments in certain times of the year.
Houston, which was ravaged by Hurricane Harvey in September 2017, and southern Florida, which was hit by Hurricane Michael just a few weeks later, both have some of the highest delinquency rates in the country. In many cases, homeowners whose property suffered damage fall delinquent on their mortgage as they take time to figure out whether to make repairs or sell.
Tiny homes a solution to big problem?
https://www.ctpost.com/business/article/Tiny-house-and-Affordable-housing-13799102.php?fbclid=IwAR3aqiR5LQJTiTiMZ52ozaY0oCp6jYNrJsDRYdLXAnsqr9H0OkylVfdMJgs
The lack of affordable housing remains a problem in Connecticut — and Doug Werner of Tiny House Co. in Bridgeport sees tiny homes as a solution.
Werner and his team have been campaigning for years to secure a parcel of land in Park City where they can build a community of tiny houses which he hopes will kick start interest in city and state officials looking to deal with need-based housing demands.
Since 2011, the state and private sector have invested billions of dollars in developing and funding thousands of units of housing available to those whose income is at or below the area median, which as of April 5 was $89,773
Last year, there were 140,531 Connecticut households deemed “extremely low income,” but only 51,050 affordable rental units available in the state.
Werner said he thinks tiny homes could be a viable way to increase the affordable housing stock.
A 420-square-foot tiny home costs between $50,000 and $65,000 and takes 90 days to complete, according to Werner, whose team builds pre-fabricated units.
The median house in the state was listed by Zillow as $244,500. In Fairfield County, according to an April 5 USA Today article, the median home value was $435,477.
Lamont Explains What United Technologies Merger Means For CT
https://patch.com/connecticut/farmington/united-technologies-merger-leads-lots-questions-ct?fbclid=IwAR2F2TzqOLI9ceImwKXhurohaYB4ojRCbSX3VAb7QFxJWi9y8TPGJomv9aU
Last Sunday it was announced that the state's largest employer, United Technologies Corp., and Raytheon Company agreed to a massive merger that was formally announced on Monday.
UTC's headquarters are based in Farmington, CT, and the company employs nearly 20,000 people in the state at Collins Aerospace and Pratt & Whitney. In a press release announcing the merger, both companies said the new company, Raytheon Technologies, will be headquartered in the greater Boston metro area.
The merger still requires regulatory approvals, the approval of Raytheon and United Technologies shareholders, as well as completion by United Technologies of the separation of its Otis and Carrier businesses. The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2020.
Gov. Ned Lamont late Sunday released the following statement regarding United Technologies Corporation (UTC) and its future in Connecticut. Lamont confirms that about 100 people will be relocating from Connecticut to the new headquarters which is planned in Massachusetts.
"UTC and its subsidiaries, including Pratt & Whitney, Otis Elevator, and Collins Aerospace, continue to be an important part of Connecticut's fabric. It's important to note that nearly all of UTC's 19,000 employees will remain in Connecticut, with roughly 100 moving to the new headquarters.”
U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) released the following statement on Monday after it was announced that United Technology Corporation (UTC) would be merging with Raytheon:
"I have serious concerns about the impact this merger will have on our country and on Connecticut. UTC said they will keep manufacturing jobs in Connecticut, and I remain focused on the thousands of workers in our state who rely on these jobs to put food on the table.
Is Connecticut a fun state? Here's what one survey says
https://www.wfsb.com/news/is-connecticut-a-fun-state-here-s-what-one-survey/article_d64a772c-8b79-11e9-98e7-977ad699f3fe.html?fbclid=IwAR1QePmv-7d6rbliVnOyk60C6j7zJfOAi6YNYEIRzmiVaLQ9F53BH8UDPEg
The personal finance website WalletHub.com unveiled its list of 2019's Most Fun States in America.
Researchers said they compared all 50 states across 26 indicators, including movie costs, accessibility of national parks and casinos per capita.
Connecticut was toward the bottom at 43rd, also considered the 8th least fun state.
Its "entertainment and recreation rank" was 43 and its "nightlife rank" was 40.
Gov. Ned Lamont recently referred to Connecticut's state parks as being among the "premier tourism destinations in the region."
Connecticut residents have free access to all state parks and forests
On the other end of the spectrum, California, Florida and New York were the top three. The absolute bottom of the barrel in terms of the least fun states were Delaware, Mississippi and West Virginia
Site ranks CT among best states to live in
https://www.wfsb.com/news/site-ranks-ct-among-best-states-to-live-in/article_8ff31fe6-8c9f-11e9-8d8f-1fac835afb99.html
WalletHub has ranked Connecticut among the top states to live in based on it’s report on 2019’s Best States to Live in. The site ranks Massachusetts at the number one state to live in. WalletHub compared the 50 states across 51 key indicators of livability. Those indicators range from housing costs and income growth to education rate and quality of hospitals. Connecticut was ranked as the 20th best state to live in. Nebraska and South Dakota were just ahead of Connecticut on the list. Mississippi was ranked dead last.
Rent that epic 'Big Little Lies' home for a mere $5K a night
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/12/rent-that-epic-big-little-lies-home-for-a-mere-5k-a-night/
If you love HBO’s ‘Big Little Lies,’ now you have a chance to live like Reese Witherspoon’s character —one of the homes that regularly appears on the series is now available for rent.
The seven-bed, eight-bathroom home that stands in as the residence of Witherspoon’s Madeline Martha Mackenzie is available for rent through the Malibu Luxury Vacation homes rental company. A night spent in it will set you back from $3,000 to $5,000, depending on the day of the week and season. A month will cost up to $100,000.
Why such a steep price? The home is located in swanky Malibu and comes with a private beach, ocean views, a professional kitchen, and enough beds for 12 people to stay over. Stacie Clunies-Ross, the leasing agent for the home and the daughter of the owners, who are in their 80s, said that the connection to the show has not really affected the price.
Despite the homes SoCal location, the show is actually set in northern California. “Big Little Lies” centers on a gaggle of wealthy women who get wrapped up in a murder investigation and the secrets that they keep from one another. After premiering in 2017, ‘Big Little Lies’ quickly grew in popularity and won numerous Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Parents have more trouble finding the right home: Zillow
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/12/parents-have-more-trouble-finding-the-right-home-zillow-analysis/
According to Zillow, Parents who shop for a home are more likely to go over budget, put down a smaller down payment and end up with a longer commute than those who don’t have kids,
The study found that this group often makes numerous sacrifices for a home that fits the needs of the entire family. More than 25 percent of those with kids went over budget, compared to 21.2 percent of those without children at home. Those with kids were more likely to put down less than the traditional 20 percent on a down payment — 66.5 versus 51.6 percent, respectively.
Meanwhile, parents who compromised on their home were most likely to increase the time of their commute (34.1 percent), buy a home without their desired finishes (32.7% percent) and purchase a smaller home than they had initially planned (31.2 percent).
With kids, priorities and preferences also change. Parents are more likely to insist on homes with good school districts and commutes as well as politically and racially diverse neighborhoods.
But despite the challenges that come with finding a home fit for the whole family, both parents and non-parents end up finding what they’re looking for. The number of people who said they love the home they found clocks in at 94.6 percent and 91.8 percent, respectively.
Don't ghost your clients: 8 inexpensive ways to keep in touch
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/13/dont-ghost-your-clients-8-inexpensive-ways-to-keep-in-touch/
Staying top-of-mind with clients after the closing is essential for keeping your pipeline full of referrals. Here are eight inexpensive ways you can stay in front of your clients and prospects to prevent from becoming a ghost agent:
1. Develop a post-closing, 1-year follow-up program for your clients
2. Host a ‘client gratitude dinner’ in your home or local restaurant
3. Sponsor a local youth sports team
4. Invite a past client or someone in your sphere of influence to coffee
5. Write several handwritten notes each day to clients and prospects
6. Call 5-10 prospects or past clients every business day
7. Plan personal drop-bys to clients and top-tier prospects around special occasions, and bring something of value
Closingtimepodcast.com for the latest news from the real estate world, helpful tips for buyers, sellers and other agents, and all of our previous podcast episodes.
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We also offer home video tours, Realtor branding videos, ariel shots, live streams and more.. closingtimepodcast.com and click on the CMG Real Estate Link
Guest this week
Attorney Jose Palacio is quickly becoming a household name advocating on behalf of those who live in Connecticut. He is exceptionally experienced in Immigration, Real Estate, and Family Law.
He later earned his Juris Doctor from Quinnipiac University School of Law. Attorney Palacio has since partnered with Hartford-based attorneys, learning and practicing various forms of law culminating in the establishment of his firm.
Jose Palacio is a member of the Connecticut River Valley Chamber of Commerce and serves on their board of Directors. Palacio is an active and dedicated member of his community volunteering at town, city, and statewide events. Attorney Palacio is fluent in both English and Spanish and can speak workable Portuguese.
STATE OF THE STATE IN REAL ESTATE
https://www.hartfordbusiness.com/article/realtors-economist-cts-housing-scene-not-all-grim
Lawrence Yun, the chief economist for the National Association of Realtors, came to the Hartford Golf Club, with a reassuring assessment of the Greater Hartford, Connecticut and U.S. housing markets and economies. Yun told about 100 members of the Greater Hartford Association of Realtors (GHAR) that Hartford’s housing market held its own in 2018, while much of the nation’s housing markets struggled and he said prospects for a recession later this year or next year are dim, especially with a presidential election just around the corner, meaning interest rates should remain low enough to spur home sales and mortgage refinancing. Statewide, the median price of existing houses sold in 2018 rose for the third consecutive year, despite a 2 percent sales decline. Connecticut’s housing performance ranked among the top 10 U.S. housing-sales markets in 2018, but the state’s continued loss of residents, or outmigration, remains a concern. Fewer residents reduce demand for housing, fewer homes on the market that take longer to sell and at lower prices.
Steady appreciation in real estate prices and values means more Hartford area and Connecticut residents can afford a home, or at least qualify for a mortgage to acquire one.
Yun forecasted improvement in the inventory of new and used houses for sale, which GHAR recently noted has been problematic for Realtors and prospective buyers.
Outlook for US mortgage rates remains stable, housing crunch continues.
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/04/outlook-for-us-mortgage-rates-remains-stable-housing-crunch-continues/
Six months ago, when mortgage rates neared the 5 percent mark and were expected to continue climbing, the real estate business was concerned that home buying in 2019 would be a fraction of what it could be.
Now, though, rates have receded by 50 basis points (a basis point is 1/100th of a percentage point), and all is well. (If all is not well with housing more broadly, at least loan costs aren’t the reason buyers aren’t jumping in.)
Stability is critical, of course, not just for realty sales, but also for mortgage originations. Any jump in loan rates throws both markets into a tizzy. And once things settle down, another increase starts the process all over again.
The Chief Economist for the Mortgage Bankers Association is forecasting the rate on 30-year conventional mortgages to average 4.4 percent this year and 4.6 percent in each of the next two. Rates averaged 4.3 percent in 2017 but jumped up to an average of 4.8 percent last year.
The supply of new homes necessary to meet demand fell short by 337,000 units — more than a third of a million.
Numerous economists have cited labor, land, and lenders as the reasons builders are not building houses at the rates they should be. But, the “most acute” problem is with the lack of building sites. The cost of a lot is becoming more expensive than the house itself.
Compass sued over a single decimal point
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/05/compass-sued-over-decimal-point/
When it comes to contracts, attention to detail is essential. Sometimes a misplaced decimal point can mean the difference between thousands of dollars and nearly $1 million.
That’s the situation with a new lawsuit filed by Residential Realty Advisors (RRA), a real estate advisory firm for multifamily projects, against fast-expanding NY-headquartered brokerage Compass, over what RRA claims is underpayment — the company wants $871,000 instead of the $8,710 it received — due to what it says was a simple error in a contract for work it completed for a company later swallowed up in a chain of acquisitions that ended, most recently, with Compass.
Specifically, RRA claims there was a “scrivener’s error” in its contract with The Mark Company, a real estate sales and marketing firm acquired by Pacific Union International in 2015, which was subsequently acquired by Compass last year.
Amazon is selling entire houses for less than $20,000 — with free shipping.
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/amazon-is-selling-entire-houses-for-less-than-20000-with-free-shipping-2019-05-22?fbclid=IwAR2nkOKaz1pNgPLP8KTJxu9ceX_HWBRaoY_H_p6rVmQWimhD061tYrjeO14
Residential builders have found a new home: Amazon.
Prefabricated and modular housing — with homes prebuilt in factories — is having another moment. From 2013 to 2018, industry revenue grew an annualized 8.6% to nearly $10.5 billion, including the growth of 4.1% in 2018 alone, according to research firm IBISWorld.
The homes can be built in 2-3 days with two adults.. There are a number of charming cabins and homes for sale on the internet giant — their prices may be shockingly low, but there are often additional costs and significant downsides.
We are going to dive deeper into the tiny house movement in the next episode. This isn’t weird.. retailers have sold homes before. Sears House Kits of the 1920s.
Among the catalog giant’s astounding range of offerings were house kits, which the company began marking in 1908. The kits came in 447 different designs, from the grand “Magnolia” ($5,140 to $5,972) to the more humble, but popular “Winona” ($744 to $1,998). Sears advertised the kits with the promise that “We will furnish all the material to build this [house design]. All the parts arrived (usually by train) precut and ready to assemble. From 1908 to 1940, Sears sold between 70,000 to 75,000 homes.
Would you buy Ikea's new robotic furniture?
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/04/would-you-buy-ikeas-new-robotic-furniture/
Swedish furniture and home furnishings giant IKEA just unveiled an all-in-one, transforming piece of robotic furniture explicitly designed for small spaces. However, Ikea has yet to reveal the price of the system.
The Rognan, as its called, is controlled by a touchpad and can instantly, automatically convert into a bed, a room divider, a couch, a desk, and a closet and storage shelving.
The Rognan is slated to launch in 2020 in Japan and Hong Kong, two places known for the extreme density of their cities. According to Ikea, the storage unit could save one’s home an additional 86 square feet of space.
How Apple's new updates could shake up real estate
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/03/how-apples-new-updates-could-shake-up-real-estate/
As part of Apple’s refresh of its iOS operating system, the popular iMessage app will now let users choose how their display name and photo appears to anyone they message or call. This is similar to what other communication apps already do.
However, given the ubiquity of iMessage, the addition of names and faces could become a popular new feature, especially since Apple will now also let you create your animated avatar to use as your profile photo.
At the very least, this ought to make communication between agents and clients more transparent. But it’s also easy to imagine real estate professionals using this new feature to more easily recognize prospects and to unify their own branding and how it appears to anyone they message.
Apple also unveiled a handful of new photo and video tools that have some pretty obvious applications in an industry that’s as visually oriented as real estate.
For starters, the update to Apple’s iOS, will now include tools that make it easier to browse and edit elements such as lighting. Users will also be able to edit video inside the Photos app.
Apple that these tools should give photographers “more creative possibilities and control over their images.”
The company also unveiled some higher end solutions that will likely appeal to professional videographers. Most notably, Apple built a new Mac Pro computer and high-end monitor. Apple described these products as the “most powerful” tools the company “has ever put in the hands of pro customers.”
Also as part of the iOS 13 upgrade, Apple’s Files app will now enable iPhone users to access data stored on USB flash drives and SD cards, as well as the Apple’s iCloud drive.
Helping buyers find a home for the fam? Share these 7 tips
https://www.inman.com/2019/06/04/helping-buyers-find-a-home-for-the-fam-share-these-7-tips/
- Be realistic about your budget
Buyers should never spend beyond their budget. Although the might seem obvious, many buyers lose sight of that when house hunting because they’re often drawn in by the bells and whistles that can quickly drive up the price of a property.
Before they set foot into their first open house, encourage your buyer to figure out their housing expense ratio, which measures their housing expenses against their pre-tax income and indicates whether a lender would approve their loan.
- Start saving for a down payment as soon as possible
The more cash a buyer has up front, the more likely the offer they make on a home will be accepted. Not only that, but the more money they can pay toward closing, the lower their overall mortgage will be, including their monthly payments.
Saving for a home, even with the help of a partner, can be challenging. Many homebuyers are fortunate enough to have family members willing to contribute toward their down payment, but that isn’t the only expense they’ll need to consider.
Buyers will also need to set aside funds for moving costs and other house-related purchases — after all, they wouldn’t want to put all their money into a down payment and then be stuck with a broken washing machine for months because they can’t afford to have it repaired.
- Create a long-term plan
If starting a family is in the cards for your buyer, or if they already have a family but intend to have more children in the near future, one of the biggest mistakes they can make is to buy a home that they can’t grow into.
Have an honest conversation with your buyer about their goals and expectations.
Once they can tell you exactly what it is they want, they can start to look for both a home and a mortgage option that can comfortably accommodate their growing family and budget.
For example, a family that intends to stay in the same home for 10 years or more should consider a fixed-rate loan because they can budget their monthly income without having to worry about their interest rates going up unexpectedly.
- Grow your credit score, and buy at the right time
If you know your buyer intends to stay in the same home for a long time and a fixed-rate loan seems like a sensible option, offer recommendations to help them improve their credit score.
Although they provide predictable, affordable payments throughout the life of the loan, it’s harder to get approved for a fixed-rate loan when interest rates are high. That’s because the higher the interest rate when a buyer applies for a fixed-rate loan, the higher their monthly payment will be, which makes it harder to qualify.
Refer your buyer to resources like Bankrate to monitor loan interest rates, and suggest that they apply for a loan when mortgage rates are low enough to meet their budget.
As their broker or agent, you can also calculate their monthly payment and help them determine how much how they can afford.
- Lock in a rate as soon as you can
Mortgage rates are subject to change based on fluctuations in the economy — for example, rates climbed in 2014 due to a reduction in stimulus from the Federal Reserve — so it’s in a buyer’s best interest to lock in a rate as soon as possible.
Help your buyer understand the significance of a rate lock by explaining to them the difference between a rate lock and a rate quote, and work with them to research whether rates are predicted to rise or fall to get the best rate.
- Keep an eye on the market
The housing market is in a near-constant state of flux, shifting from a buyer’s market to a seller’s market and back again on a regular basis.
Encourage your buyer to set Google Alerts for new listings, and refer them to websites, such as Zillow, or local real estate magazines to get an idea of the list prices of family homes in their area so they can see what they can get for their money.
- Consider your surroundings
Before they find the perfect home, your buyer should do some preliminary research into the town or city they want to live in, starting with its school system:
What is the reputation of the school district?
Do the children who live there have to be bussed to another town for school?
Do the schools in town offer after school programs?
What types of curricula are available?
What do other parents think of the school board and the faculty of each respective school in the district?
They should also consider what type of environment they’d like to live in:
Would they prefer to live in an area that’s rural or metropolitan?
Would they rather live in an area that’s densely wooded or one with more wide open spaces?
Would they prefer to live in a neighborhood where the houses sit close together or are spread out?
How close would they like to be to public transportation?
Do they want to have a large backyard?
Is it important that they live near any parks or playgrounds?
Would they rather live on a quiet street one that’s closer to nearby conveniences?
Abby and Joe discuss ways agents can protect themselves and their sellers while hosting an open house. Ten things sellers will ask and how to answer their questions in preparation for the appraisal process. Digital notary, Notarize has made over $1B by making Real Estate transaction super easy for all parties. Learn about all that and more on this weeks episode of The Closing Time Podcast.
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Joe and Abby discuss all the latest clap backs, breakups, and lawsuits with RE/MAX, Redfin, Keller Williams, and Home Services how some of Connecticut's wealthiest towns fight Affordable Housing. What does it mean when you see a home with a red door and what does it tell you about the homeowner. All that and more on this Memorial Day edition of the Closing Time Podcast.
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Assistant Branch Manager of Norcom Mortgage in Glastonbury Connecticut, Kelly Turner joins Abby & Joe to discuss mortgages and being an awesome mom boss. Kelly is also the co-founder of Mom Bosses CT which is a women’s organization in central Connecticut developed for empowering and encouraging entrepreneurial moms to make a difference in their community. We also discuss pools, decks, and solar panels and how they can be both an asset and a liability especially when it comes to mortgages.
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In episode 8 Abby & Joe discuss Zillow iBuying & Redfin Mortgages. More ways to protect yourself and your clients against fraud and scams. How Connecticut buyers can benefit from Opportunity Zones in 27 towns including Hartford, New Haven, Waterbury, Meriden, Windham, and Putnam. Also, find out if you're the "typical REALTOR".
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This week Abby & Joe talk about residents leaving certain parts of Connecticut, Marriott Vs. Airbnb, The National Association of Realtors fighting back against the commission lawsuit. 6 tips for getting your listings sold. REALTOR discrimination at the gym and quitting your day job and making Real Estate your career.
Closing Time Podcast is on: Facebook Instagram Connect with: Abby Breau Joe Aguiar Website
This week Abby & Joe talk about the top 10 places Millennials are moving in the US. Paul Simon is the most recent celebrity to be leaving Connecticut. Venmoing earnest money deposits, and ways for REALTORS to give back to their communities.
Closing Time Podcast is on: Facebook Instagram Connect with: Abby Breau Joe Aguiar Website
This week Abby & Joe talk about the strong sales across the US, and mortgage rates dropping. Cold calling, and the effectiveness of the Do Not Call Registry. More AI, and a possible Waterworld future. Learn how not to get hustled by a fake agent and the raunchy marketing tactics in Australia. Closing Time Podcast is on: Facebook Instagram Connect with: Abby Breau Joe Aguiar Website
In our 4th episode, we discuss Airbnb taking over the travel industry, why For Sale By Owners are on the decline across the US. Bulk Pickup gems in Hamden Connecticut. Stop & Shop Strike for a better contract, All the single ladies dominating the housing market, and the tech startup, Ojo Labs working on exciting Artifical Intelligence to help in the Real Estate market. Closing Time Podcast is on: Facebook Instagram Connect with: Abby Breau Joe Aguiar Website
This week Abby & Joe talk about how the proposal for a new Connecticut buyers conveyance tax dies in committee. What's going on with all the UFOs in Newington, Connecticut? Joe gets a little political. And 50 Cent has a fire sale on his 51,657 sq foot home in Farmington, Connecticut.
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With 1 episode already under their belts, Abby & Joe settle in to discuss recreational marijuana in CT what that could mean for the housing market. Also, an interesting partnership between Re/MAX and Redfin. Have you seen more Redfin agents in the state? Closingtimepodcast.com Closing Time Podcast on FB & Instagram https://www.facebook.com/ClosingTimePod/ https://www.instagram.com/closing_time_podcast/ Connect with Abby Breau & Joe Aguiar on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/abby_b_realty/ https://www.instagram.com/joeaguiar629/
Its the first episode for Abby Breau & Joe Aquire and they chat about the antitrust lawsuit against the NAR Antitrust Lawsuits, Facebook ends targeting Ad for Housing, and are ghosts committing arson in Milford? What do you think? Closingtimepodcast.com Closing Time Podcast on FB & Instagram https://www.facebook.com/ClosingTimePod/ https://www.instagram.com/closing_time_podcast/ Connect with Abby Breau & Joe Aguiar on Instagram https://www.instagram.com/abby_b_realty/ https://www.instagram.com/joeaguiar629/