Secrets to Real Estate Success for Newbies

Getting started in real estate can be tough is almost like trying to learn a brand, new game. It comes with its very own set of special rules, laws, systems, standards and guidelines that you must learn. While you are trying to become more competitive in an already over-saturated field where everyone knows someone who is a real estate agent or broker, you must be able to figure out a way to hustle and be different than your competition.

As you try to balance your new career and all the responsibilities that come with us, the real test of success is seeing if you can really juggle everything in the air at once, keep it moving smoothly so you don’t drop any balls and come out making enough money to maintain the lifestyle that you desire.

All of this is possible and I know because I’ve “been there, done that” myself. I’ve been a new real estate agent and quickly learned how to carve out a niche for myself so that I could not only stay in real estate and keep practicing it but also to see to it that I was thriving in my career. The same is possible for you, even though nothing is promised to you, you have the same opportunities to succeed as everyone else, IF you are willing to work for it, learn how to play the game and keep up with your duties on a daily basis.

For me, I found out about a way to make supplemental my income by doing CMA types of reports for banks called, broker price opinions. It saved me in more ways than one, in fact it helped pull me out of poverty as a single Mom to a young, bright-eyed and very loveable boy. And I’ve never looked back!

I’m very vocal about the BPO industry and I’m in love with it. I live to help real estate professionals around this great nation of ours that want to also carve out a niche for themselves in their real estate business by doing BPO’s. I also live for coaching and teaching, it’s what makes me happiest at my core on a professional level.

If you are curious to learn more about anything related to BPO’s, I’d love to be your guide, your coach and hopefully someone that you look up to.

Learn more about my newly updated “Broker Price Opinion Basics 101” video course here:

http://bpo-university.com/courses.html

If you already know the basics about BPO’s then I’d like to invite you to learn more about how to double and triple your BPO income by using BPO AutoFill software here:

http://bpo-automation.com

Your BPO Coach,

Nicole Ocean

BPO Automation Group

Phone: (360) 223-2482 E-mail: sales@bpo-automation.com 495 Grand Boulevard Suite #206 Miramar Beach, FL 32550 www.bpo-automation.com

I just wanted to past this one along to ALL of my fellow Professionals....Please give feed on this one.

P.S. I think this comapny can HELP with it: Halo America LLC-Housing Solutions 4 America!!!

Ratio: 3.5 Million Homeless and 18.5 Million Vacant Homes in the US

Diane Sweet
Crooks and Liars
December 31, 2011

The National Economic and Social Rights Initiative along with Amnesty International are asking the U.S. to step up its efforts to address the foreclosure crisis, including by giving serious consideration to the growing call for a foreclosure moratorium and other forms of relief for those at risk, and establishing a housing finance system that fulfills human rights obligations.

New government census reports have revealed disturbing information that details the cold, hard numbers of Americans who have been deeply affected by the state of our economy, and bank foreclosure practices:

In the last few days, the U.S. government census figures have revealed that 1 in 2 Americans have fallen into poverty or are struggling to live on low incomes. And we know that the financial hardships faced by our neighbors, colleagues, and others in our communities will be all the more acutely felt over the holiday season.

Along with poverty and low incomes, the foreclosure rate has created its own crisis situation as the number of families removed from their homes has skyrocketed.

Since 2007, banks have foreclosed around eight million homes. It is estimated that another eight to ten million homes will be foreclosed before the financial crisis is over. This approach to resolving one part of the financial crisis means many, many families are living without adequate and secure housing. In addition, approximately 3.5 million people in the U.S. are homeless, many of them veterans. It is worth noting that, at the same time, there are 18.5 million vacant homes in the country.

The stark realities that persist mean that millions of families will be facing the holidays in temporary homes, or homes under threat, and far too many children will be wishing for an end to the uncertainty and distress their family is facing rather than an Xbox or Barbie doll.

Housing is a basic human need and a fundamental human right. Yet every day in the United States, banks are foreclosing on more than 10,000 mortgages and ordering evictions of individuals and families residing in foreclosed homes. The U.S. government’s steps to address the foreclosure crisis to date have been partial at best.

The depth and severity of the foreclosure crisis is a clear illustration of the urgent need for the U.S. government to put in place a system that respects, protects and fulfills human rights, including the right to housing. This includes implementing real protections to ensure that other actors, such as financial institutions, do not undermine or abuse human rights.

There is a link available at the Amnesty International website for anyone who is interested and would like to join the call on the Obama administration and Congress to urgently step up efforts to address the foreclosure crisis, including by seriously considering the growing call for a foreclosure moratorium and other forms of relief, and establishing a housing finance system that fulfills human rights obligations.

Respectfully Given,

Dennis Ford Jr.

President

Halo America LLC

dfordjr@haloamerica.com

281-914-0502-Direct

www.haloamerica.com

Just an FYI.

The site PropertyTransactor.com has been updated to allow vendors and field reps to list their companies as available resources for REO Property Preservation.  The site also allows new agents and brokers to submit maintenance requests free for a year.  As an added value, vendors who register with PropertyTransactor.com will receive a listing in the Vendor List that is search engine friendly!

This is a new and emerging site, so its growth will be measured by the prefessionals who join the network as new members sign on.  I believe this will be a great resource for Real Estate Agents, Real Estate Brokers, Contractors, Sub-Contractors, Service Providers, Sourcers, Field Service Agents/Reps, Field Service Companies, Foreclosure Cleanup Companies and Real Estate Vendors.

I would love to know how this resource can work for you!

Don't Steal My Photos Man!

Those who have worked with me any amount of time know one of my biggest pet peeves....... DO NOT STEAL MY PHOTOS FOR YOUR LISTING!

As a easier way to keep up with my local market, I have myself set up in the MLS's to get daily updates of new listing as they come on the market, like all good agents should, right? This morning I get my usual 5 or 6 emails from the MLS on new listings and one of them has one of my old REO listings that expired in June that was just re-listed. No problems, I expected the bank to assign a new agent as I had that troublesome property for over a year and was ready to get rid of it.

As I was looking at the report I noticed that the photos looked familiar, so I pulled up my old listing and sure enough, they were my original photos..... ALL of them! There is NO description of the house, no private comments other then “See attached documents”..... which there were not any. And other important information was missing like “No Certificate of Occupancy Issued”, etc. (new construction)

Well, I'm still a pretty good friend with the bank's property manager, so I sent her an email. One to check on her to see how they weathered the current hurricane and to let her know that she needs to tell the agent that using photos from another brokerage is against MLS rules, not to mention it's just plain lazy!

Then I looked up the other listing we had of developed building lots. He did a little better there, but I guess he did not like my photos because it looks like he just rode through the subdivision taking pictures of any open space he THOUGHT was a building lot. The funny part is he had 3 or 4 pictures of properties we SOLD last year that the bank no longer owns! The listing has no information on lot numbers that are for sale. And had a nice picture of a STOP SIGN! Lol

New Construction REO's take more research then a normal listing. And I would have gladly given this agent my folder on this property.... before now. But don't steal my work because you are too dang lazy to take a few photos of your new listing!

I want to say to any asset manager who might read this, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE double check your agents! You have no idea how much liability or lost sales these “Lazy” agents are causing! If you do not have the time to do so yourself, hire an agent in that area to “shop” your listing agents. They will tell you real quick if there is a problem! A quality listing agent will not mind at all if they get “shopped”, it helps them stay on their toes! I welcome it any time!

While doing some BPO work today for some multi-family houses it still amazes me the number of agents who do not fill out many of the non-required fields in the MLS.

It also was interesting that many of these "slim" MLS listings are REO properties.

Do people not realize that if you fail to fill out fields such as, # of units, number of bedrooms, number of baths, total sq feet, than many people doing searches for properties will NEVER SEE YOU LISTING IN MLS.

I also love the MLS description when people write... "Bank owned"... and nothing else.

I try to fill out full data fields, give multiple pictues (good and bad), and write an accurate description in the remarks field. No wonder my last 4 sales averaged 45 DOM.

That's my rant for the day.

HELLO I RECEIVE THIS INFORMATION I HOPE IT CAN HELP BROKERS ON THOSE REGIONS.

July 20, 2010- Arlington, VA – Matt Martin Real Estate Management (MMREM) has been awarded three contracts by the U.S Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) under the Marketing and Management III procurement. The Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which is a part of HUD, provides federal mortgage insurance ensuring that mortgage lenders will be reimbursed in the event homebuyers default on their mortgage. When a lender is forced to foreclose on an FHA-insured single family home, townhome, or condominium because the owner can no longer make payments, it can file a claim with FHA for the balance due on the mortgage and convey title of the property to HUD. A HUD Home, therefore, is a one-to-four unit residence acquired as a result of a foreclosure on an FHA-insured mortgage. As the largest seller of real estate in the country, HUD has been outsourcing the disposition of its foreclosed FHA inventory under the M&M contracting process since 1999. After conducting extensive research into market-based best practices, HUD has developed its new M&M III disposition structure to streamline its operations, capitalize on the expertise of potential vendors and provide flexibility in a changing environment.

That Troublesome Contract! ….part two

For part one of this “mini-series” please see: http://reopro.ning.com/profiles/blogs/that-troublesome-contract

As you see from Part One, this all started the week after Christmas, yes...Christmas of 2009. But let me get you up to speed with the latest.

Finally, after weeks of back and forth between the buyer's agent and the bank's asset manager, we come to an agreement on terms. Which were pretty good on paper, key phrase here is “on paper”. The deal was $4000 over list price (no competing offers) so the buyer could get more closing cost paid. The bank normally would not pay more the 3%, but the buyer needed up to 6% to make the deal work according to her lender. Red flag #4 or 5, not sure as I had stopped keeping track by now as we were in the second month of this transaction and still do not have a binding agreement. Almost all the delays were cause by the buyer's agent, having him re-write the offer 7, yes 7 times, before he got it right!

I get the A/M to finally understand what was going on and their net did not change, this only took 3 or 4 emails. The A/M send me the contract back to have the buyers initial off all the changes to the contract before he signs it. WTH? Why didn't he go ahead and sign it? But anyway, I roll with it and send it to the buyer's agent with instructions on what to do. This bank's division does not use addendums, they just mark out what they don't like on the original contract and initial all the changes. I've gotten use to it but some agents get very confused about this. I tell the agent the buyer must initial each and every change or it will be sent back to him. Well, it took 3 attempts to all the initials in the proper places, still not sure if it was the agents fault or the buyer's but I'll blame the agent anyway, he should have known better!

So after 2 more weeks I send the contract back to the A/M for his final signature. Shouldn't take more then a day, two if he's busy...right? Wrong again! Three WEEKS later I get the signed contract back and guess what, now we have got to re-negotiate the closing date as by now we only have 8 days to close a FHA loan. Finally, a closing date is set for April 20.....cool! Or so I thought.

Well, by now the buyer has swapped lenders, another red flag! I called the lender to confirm the approval letter like normal, “no problems” says the lender “we can close by the 20th”. COOL! Or so I thought again. This was early mid-March so I thought they had plenty of time to get this done. Wrong again!

Two weeks before any closing I usually start calling the buyer's lender to see how things were going and if there were any snafu's popping up. Well, when I call the lender his office phone number has been disconnected (red flag # 30 something by now?) but he answers his cell phone. Kids and a TV in the background, he quickly tells me he is swamped and would call me back in 10 minutes. Three days later I call him back, same story...will call you back in 10 minutes. I then call the agent, he says he will talk to the lender and call me back in 10 minutes. LOL, this is starting to become a funny game. Two days later he calls me back and says “no problems, we will close on the 20th”. It was around the 15^th, (the closing was the 20th) so I say COOL! (I have got to stop saying this)

On the 20^th the agent calls me early in the morning to say there is a problem. No kidding? There has been a problem since the very start! I told him he gets one shot at extending the closing date, talk to the lender and see exactly what the problem was and how long he needs to get this done and closed. That afternoon he calls me to say that the lender told him that the buyer's credit score was 613, that they were working on some credit repairs and would need an additional 21 days. WTH? This “lender” issued a letter of approval knowing that the buyer is not qualified? And I believe the agent knew this all along!

After I calm down and come off the ceiling, I tell this agent that this was unacceptable and that he needed to find a way to get this closed by the end of the week, 7 days max. To send me a closing extension request form before 4pm. Well I get it at 10pm that night.....requesting the 21 days I told him earlier he would not get. Needless to say that the bank rejected the request and I prepared the Termination of Contract and Release of Earnest Money form, sent it to the A/M on April 21 for him to sign, the day after the scheduled closing. COOL, I think to myself, I can get this back on the market in time for the last week or so of the tax rebates. Which did prompt a lot of activity locally.

Well, not so fast there big boy! Even so the A/M said that the bank wanted the earnest money ASAP because the buyer failed to close, and I sent the form to the A/M last month for him to sign and send back, I'm still waiting. The contract is still active and I cannot put it back on the market because in Georgia, contracts do not automaticly expire if not closed. It MUST be terminated in writing, no if's, and's or but's. This was explained to the A/M when I sent him the form.

I inquired again this past week with the A/M, as now I'm getting nasty letters from our business office wanting the paperwork or threatening to fine me. Again the A/M says that the contract has expired because it did not close, to send him the E/M ASAP. Now I can understand that keeping up with contract laws in multiple states can be overwhelming and hard to do, no problems. He tells me that other agents in my state do not require this form, why am I?

Because it's Georgia contract law and these other agents are wrong, not to mention breaking the law. I was only trying to protect them from any future legal liability. He did not believe me and requested documentation on this, so I found an article written by the very attorney who writes the contract forms for the Ga. Assoc. of Realtors (GAR) that states exactly what I have been telling him. Still not good enough and they call one of the partners in the mega law firm that handles all of their closing services.

That was Thursday, I'm still waiting for a one page form needing one signature and fax/emailed back to me and I'll take care of the rest.

I'm starting to think this house is jinxed! This is the third contract that has failed to close, I've had to fire a team member over it (that's for a whole other blog there), and now I expect to be fired by the bank because I refused to break contract law. Not to mention that I'm about to get a $50 fine for not turning in paperwork that the A/M has refused to sign.

I'm hoping that Part Three is a much shorter story to write!

Steve Adkins – REALTOR®

Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Metro Brokers

404-843-2500

Hiram Office

www.The-Adkins-Group.com

As an REO broker how can I be more Realtor Friendly?

The REO broker does indeed experience a lot of pressure from the asset managers & companies. It seems that new REO assignments come at times in 'herds' with short-tough deadlines. Yup...been there, done that. So why would I consider taking the time to be 'Realtor Friendly'?

From my self-interest & perspective, being Realtor Friendly saves me time. The most important time I have is the DOM time. My REO listings seem to get shown & promoted first by selling brokers. They have experienced a cooperative list agent, full compensation regardless of list agent referral fees, and most importantly (to me anyway) a 'no war' transaction, which can be exhausting. I believe that being Realtor Friendly negotiates my seller client right-in-to a fast closing! Happy days are here again!

Yes, some selling brokers are hard to work with and need more time than others. Yes, this is a true experience of mine as I'm sure it has been with everyone out there. What I know to be true is that we are dealing with people. Realizing after 10 dedicated years of trying to teach my cat to bark, I no longer argue with the reality that cats don't bark, don't want to bark and cats are happy with a meow. I gave up arguing with the reality that all selling agents (people) should be equally competent, follow directions and have no need of my communication. It is simply NOT the way of it....and never will be.

Being Realtor Friendly is actually quite easy to do. It starts with the understanding that selling agents are a vital part of the transaction equation. They are the finishing 1/2 of the deal. They influence YOUR reputation with your asset manager. If a buyer's agent learns of issues regarding the transaction, they are more likely to keep you informed so you can pass the info on. In my experience, asset managers like and tend to favor a 'no surprise' REO broker. Realtor Friendly means having all of the needed docs and information uploaded on the MLS along with good pictures. Perhaps in the public remarks put "Check this one out with your favorite Realtor!" and in agent remarks might add, " Realtor" friendly listing agent. Questions? Call! Closings are more fun than listings! Do you agree? Let's close this one soon". The open receptiveness coupled with down-home people respect is ultimately your asset managers BEST FRIEND.

Selling agents don't seem to mind or be upset that my genuine motivation is powered by my own self-interest. Short & fast DOMs without struggle seems to earn me more money, which I tend to like.

Alarming News for Short Sale Negotiations