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I received a call a few weeks ago from an agent in Tampa (I'm in Jacksonville) requesting that I list an REO for him and he would pay the referral fee. He then asked me to do a BPO and send my vendor out to rekey the property which was done and he would pay once I sent all the docs and invoices.

I'm sure you know the rest of the story. He's never paid or listed the property in my MLS. Now he won't even answer phone calls. I have had to pay my vendor so of course I got the lockbox back and took the keys.

Beware of unscrupulous realtors. They give real estate a bad name.

The Power of a Comparative Market Analysis When Selling Your Home

Most of the general public has access to various price lists when trying to sell an object. Online automobile databases offer average prices for used cars, auction sites can list recent sale of various electronics and even boats have a value listing guide. However, when selling a home it is better to get a comparative market analysis (CMA) from a local real estate agent or Realtor®. Here are some of the ways a CMA can help you.

Price Trends

The most obvious benefit is the ability to see current price trends. The CMA report will list out homes that have sold in the past 12 months in your immediate area. By organizing the transactions by date it is possible to see if home prices are on the rise or falling.

Value Placed on Square Footage

Since the homes will be listed with the square footage of each home sold, potential sellers can find out how much their home is worth based on the usable square feet in the property. In addition, if any of the sold properties had a basement or attic that was finished then sellers can also determine how the market values additional square footage. While it is common for basements to have a slightly lower price per square foot some areas may place it higher than others due to demand.

Value of Accessory Items

Most people usually feel that particular features of their home will bring more value to their home than the market will warrant. For example, expensive hardwood floors, custom paint finishes and high end bathroom fixtures may be quite expensive when purchased but their overall impact on the price of a home is not as high. Instead, things that improve usable square footage, more lighting or outdoor items like pools and decks will do more to bring up the price of a home.

Expected Time of Sale

A comparative market analysis will also show when a home was listed for sale and when an offer was made on the property. This gives prospective sellers a realistic expectation for how long it will take before receiving an offer and how long it takes for the home to actually sell once the offer is accepted.

Avoiding Unrealistic Prices

Along with homes that have sold your real estate agent can also provide a list of homes that either withdrew from the market or the listing simply expired. If the home did not sell within a time period that multiple other properties sold then there are a couple of explanations. Obviously, the most common issue is the price was too high for that particular market. Another common problem is the presence of a major repair issue with the home that the seller is unwilling to fix prior to sale. Having this information should help you do a better job of picking a price for your home.

Getting a detailed CMA report from your real estate agent will provide you with the best source of realistic information to help you decide if your can sell your home for your anticipated price and if it might sell in the amount of time you had hoped for.

Original Blog Post: What's a CMA? Comparative Market Analysis

Preapproval Letters, A Security Measure for Realtors

It’s about 10:30 am and the phone rings, it’s a potential buyer for a property I just listed. He says he has been waiting for a property in this neighborhood to come up on the market and is ready to put down an offer today but, he needs to see the property first. As a faithful, good Realtor, I offer to meet him out at the house in 30 minutes or 11:00 am. He says fine, he will see me there.

I pull up, formally introduce myself, open up the house and start walking him through. He tells me his wife is on her way but, she is running late. We get towards the back of the house and, well….I don’t remember anything else after that.

Sad but, this type of story happens and all too often Realtors are victims of horrible crimes while showings homes to strangers. Unfortunately, too many of us are more concerned about doing the best for our clients that we sometimes put our own health and safety at risk. The story above is inspired by countless true stories of Realtors who have been abducted, raped, robbed or even murdered.

One of the simplest things you can do as a Realtor to mitigate your exposure and risk is to ask buyer that you don’t know for a preapproval letter. It may sound very simple, in fact, you were likely taught in real estate school to never show a home without a preapproval letter because, who do you know they can even afford the home you are showing them but, too many of us don’t do this, we don’t require a preapproval letter.

When a buyer calls into my office and wants to see a home, one of the very first questions I ask are, “Have you been preapproved?”. If they say no, then I inform them, before we schedule a showing through my office, we require a preapproval on file. I do this because when I get my copy of their preapproval letter, I call the lender and ask some simple questions…..

                A: Did the buyer come in, sign and submit his loan application?

                B: Did you verify identity and get a copy of an acceptable picture ID?

                C: Did you verify employment, income, debt, credit and tax records?

I hope that at this point, you understand what I am doing by asking these questions. Sure, I am verifying if the buyer can actually purchase but, I am ensuring that the buyer’s identity has been verified. If I know that the lender has done these things, I can be confident that not only is the buyer able to purchase but, we know who the buyer is in case something doesn’t go as planned.

Finally and maybe the most important piece to my personal security and that is a schedule. So many of us, almost all of us I assume, don’t keep thorough showing schedules. Again, it sounds so simple but, so few of us actually do it. Sure, we may plan out our showing route and sure, we call the appointment desk or the other agent if we are running late or early but, how many of you print a copy of your showing schedule out, with a copy of the buyer’s pre-approval letter and verified contact information, place it on your desk in a file titled, “Today’s Showings”. This additional little process gives investigators a place to look and who to look for in case something goes bad. My staff know that Jesse has his showing schedules and buyer list on his desk in his “Showing Schedule” file so, if they ever need to know where I am and when I am suppose to be there….they just go grab the file. Best of all, it has a copy of my planned route via map quest, the times I expect to be at each property and who I am meeting there. On the outside of my folder are my emergency contact numbers and other vital information about myself.

I know chances are, before the year is out, we are going to hear another story about another Realtor who has been victimized and that breaks my heart. I really hope that more and more of us would do more to take care of ourselves and remember, we can’t be a great Realtor …….. if we aren’t here to be one.

Be safe friends, be smart…..get that preapproval letter.

First off, let me start by saying this is going to be a long blog because, it’s a topic I am sure is going to cause many feathers to ruffle but, I think this question should be asked because, I strongly believe we are in the beginning of a technological revolution that will dramatically and catastrophically change the face of the real estate industry and more importantly, the human face of the industry….specifically Realtors.

Let’s start with what we all know about licensed agents and for that matter, Realtors. Getting into Realestate and becoming a licensed agent isn’t that hard. In fact, the requirements to be a licensed agent are different from State to State but, for the most part, our industry and lobbying group NAR (National Association of Realtors) has done a good job at ensuring licensing requirements aren’t as stringent as other professions. The reason behind this is because, like any “unionisque” type of organization…which NAR is, they only make money on dues paid by their members so, what is their number one goal….to grow membership of course. You can’t grow membership if you limit the number of potential members by strict or hard to obtain licensing requirements. That is why becoming a Realtor is much less difficult that say, becoming a barber or stylist.

Secondly, turnover is high, very high. I believe I saw a statistic back in 2008….maybe 2007 that said during the height of the real estate bubble, before the collapse, over 90% of licensed agents dropped out of the industry after 6 months because, they weren’t able to make a living. I also seem to remember a NAR statistic a couple years ago that said the average salary for a Realtor was $28,000.00 a year…..that just a little better than minimum wage which in my state makes you between $22,000 - $24,000.00 a year. Let’s not forget that NAR isn’t the only expense agents have. For most of us, we pay for our own website, we pay for our business cards, signs, riders, office fees, splits, car note, gas, and marketing…etc…. so, even though you may be making $28,000.00 a year, I seriously doubt that’s all net profit to the bottom line. When I look back at my real estate career, my first year…I was not profitable and I didn’t net anything near $22,000.00. So, just on the economics alone, being a licensed agent is expensive and the pay sucks!

Finally, competition is fierce and new agents suffer the worse in most market places. We all know buying or selling a home is the largest financial investment most people make and as such, no one in their “right” mind wants to use a agent that just got their license 6 months ago and has never listed a home and only worked with two buyers. If you are an honest agent and have this kind of conversation with a potential seller, I am sure you will be shown the door. Ok…sure, most seller’s don’t interview more than 1 agent anyways….we have all see the statistics from NAR that tells us something like 80% of homeowners simply pick an agent they already know or are recommended to them but, that doesn’t make competition any less fierce. You see, that means you as an agent have got to be spending a crap load of money on marketing yourself and networking….which most new agent don’t have that kind of money and aren’t seeing that kind of money come in the door. So, to survive the fierce competition you better be able to afford it.

I say all that to give you a bit of a back story because the meat of this article is coming up. You see, I read a very interesting article on Bill Gates where he was explaining that world governments and business are not prepared for what advancements in technology will do to the job market in the next 10 years. He warned that many jobs will become automated through employer cost reductions using technological advancements in software automation……or robots. Now…for some of you, this may sound all, techy mumbo jumbo but, just think how your home has changed just in the past 5 years. We are seeing home automation take off like nothing any of us have ever experienced before. For goodness sake, we have Google announcing that they expect their driverless cars to be on the roads in 5-7 years from now. We have homes that communicate with your phones and allow you to turn off lights, lock doors set security systems, turn of faucets….etc…. Take this same automation technology….and more importantly mentality and start applying this to real estate.

Yes, I said it, I said take software automation and start applying it to real estate, what do you see is the future of the Realtor? As a Realtor, it really sends a cold shiver up my spine. For many of us, we are already seeing automation in our markets and think of it as a easier way to do business. For example, many of us use appointment centers to schedule our appointments for us. Some appointment centers like the one I use allows my sellers and my buyers to be completely on self help. That’s right, my sellers can log on to their account, set the parameters of their availability and buyer’s agents can log on and schedule showings without ever having to pick up the phone, speak to me, or speak to anyone for that matter. In other words, the buyer’s agent and sellers completely handle their own showing schedule without any involvement from me…….other than simply setting up the account.

We also have wonderful automated lock boxes with phone widgets. Once a buyer’s agent has a showing scheduled, they don’t need me to open the box. They just show up, open their phone widget, type in their code and boom, the box opens and reveals the key. My point is, you don’t need me to schedule the showing or to give entry anymore and we all seem to be ok with this technology because, it makes our life easier.

Now, let’s all jump on board the imagination train and see a future where sellers can go online, find a cloud based real estate brokerage where all paperwork is signed digitally on-line, they upload their own photos, provide their own measurements and can place their own lock box on their door, set up their own schedule center and get all the marketing and advertising such as, MLS, MLS Syndication, National Syndication, Local Marketing, Craigs List Marketing, etc….. for the low 6 month price of only $499.99. No commissions to pay, no silly Realtor to deal with and all of the purchase and sale forms are online and explained so you negotiate your own home sale, directly with the buyer, through a web portal where an online licensed agent can answer any questions you may have via live chat.

Just curious, did you feel that shiver up your spine yet? If not….maybe you should go get checked, you might already be dead.

We would like to introduce you to our home buyer specialist, Eric Engels, Realtor® | Real Estate Agent serving the Janesville, Wisconsin area!

"Hello Rock County! I am very happy to have joined the Rock Realty team. I have been a resident of Janesville for over 13 years. I lived in the Quad Cites before that living in both Illinois and Iowa. In 2006 I had the chance to move back to the Quad Cites, I thought about it for about 2 seconds, but Wisconsin is the best place to live I couldn't leave. I am a big fan of the Midwest way of living! I am very excited to meet some of the great people in Rock County, and to help them in there home buying and selling needs."

"At Rock Realty we use the newest and most innovative technology to help us in our advertising and researching needs. Please feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions you may have. Again I look forward to meeting the great people of Rock County."

Thanks

Eric Engels

Visit my site to search for Janesville, WI Real Estate Listings:

www.JanesvilleListings.com
(Homes for sale in 53545, 53546 and 53548 and the rest of Dane & Rock County)

Are you a commission hungry, investment greedy, out for the kill, selfish, only interested in your own bottom line, completely lacking any real professionalism Realtor?

Well….sure you are, didn’t you know that?

Most of us, can all agree, the public’s idea of what a Realtor does and who we are isn’t all that great. In fact, I am sure most of us have likely heard things like, “Realtors are part time professionals”, “Realtors are just over paid house wives and,  my personal favorite is, “The requirement to get a license is so low, anyone can be an agent”. Granted, perception is often times reality so, regardless of how true these statements may be, we as an industry have a problem….a big problem.

Sad to say though, I myself kind of agree with some of these perceptions. I have myself run into Affiliate Brokers who absolutely had me banging my head up against a wall. In fact, one time, after talking with an Affiliate Broker with another company, I was so exhausted, so battered by stupidity; I thought I was trying to corral cats.

My biggest problem with perception of what we do is the perception that we do nothing. This absolutely bothers me to no end but, truth be told, a vast majority of us literally stick a sign in the yard and wait…..wait……and wait some more. A majority of us don’t do much of anything to pro-actively market, advertise and network our client’s homes. In fact, it’s a bit of an epidemic however, we really aren’t the only ones to blame. How many times have you been to a listing appointment where you haven’t given your clients at least a Comparative Market Analysis, with verifiable comparables sales, in the last 3 months, within the same subdivision, within 10% or less of the subject properties square footage, within + or – 1 bedroom, bath, half bath and finally, within 10% of the subject properties acreage? Chances are, you haven’t done all that work for the majority of your clients because, your clients don’t ask for it. They don’t even know to ask for it. They just assume you did your homework or better yet, they will dictate to you what they will list it at and you don’t have any say either way.

We have all heard, “buying a home is the biggest investment you will ever make” however, how many of us, when working with our client, actually do the same due diligence we would do for ourselves when looking to buy our own home? Oh…did I just touch a nerve? I think I did.

We have a public that is so in sensed on moving quickly, that they have completely given up on moving smart. We have an industry so full of “professionals” that we have completely given up on being professional and become so in sensed with cashing that commission check. So…who is to blame for this debacle? Better yet, maybe we should ask ourselves, do we really have a problem with this perception? Maybe this is just the way the real estate business works?

I am here to say NO, this isn’t the way it’s supposed to work and we owe the general public better. I have seen Affiliate Brokers working with clients and as I pass the door, I hear an offhand remark that makes my blood boil. I get so ticked off because the Affiliate makes such a huge mistake that I can imagine myself in the court room swearing to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth….if you know what I mean. For example, when you get a new listing, how many agents call you to ask you, “What kind of condition is the home in?”, “What kind of repairs are we looking at?” or “How much do you think it will cost to fix it up?”??? Now, the funny part of this article is, some of you just read those last couple of lines and thought to yourself…..”what is the problem with answering those questions?” and then some of you read those couple of lines and cringed. I got a questions for you, what category are you in? Did you cringe or did you stop and think back to this morning when you answer all three of those questions about that new listing you got at 666 Money Pitt Ln?

To see change in this industry, each individual will first have to become that change. A very famous man, Mahatma Ghandi said something very similar within a different paradigm however, the truth behind the statement rings true here and now.

The next time you take those mandatory CE courses, actually take something with you and implement it in your daily business life. Expand your skill set, you are much more than just a Realtor. I would go so far to say, if that is all you think you are…if that is all you know….then maybe this profession isn’t right for you in the first place.

Today NAWRB announces the appointment of Elizabeth Goodchild to the national trade group's board of directors. "We're excited to announce Elizabeth's new role with the organization. We went through a rigorous vetting process to fill this vacancy, and Elizabeth has all the skills and passion we were looking for in a new Director. Her business's specialized real estate services, relocation, distressed asset disposition, and short sales, plus her experience in publishing and education makes Elizabeth a natural fit for our board," said Patno. 

Goodchild will serve in her new role until bi-annual elections scheduled to be held in early 2013. NAWRB, a trade group representing women-owned businesses in the housing economy, is one of the most visible trade groups in mortgage default media and generates over $200,000 a year in media attention on behalf of its member businesses. 

To read the full press release click here: NAWRB Board member Elizabeth Goodchild.

Home Prices in Wisconsin are Stabilizing

Amidst the turmoil and problems of the year, there was some good news about Wisconsin home values in the year 2011; prices have stabilized. Based on a year-end report conducted by the Wisconsin Realtors® Association (WRA), the number of homes sold was slightly better than for the year 2010. And the price drop from 2010 to 2011 has been minor, signaling that we may have found the bottom of the price bubble.

Not Unexpected

However, this trend is not a surprise to seasoned real estate agents. The Federal Homebuyer credit that was so popular during the year 2010 was projected to have a negative impact on the first six months of 2011. This prediction came true. Even more importantly, the latter half of 2011 saw a strong increase in home sales that were higher than the same point from 2010.

Small Signs of Economic Improvement

The best news is the fact that the number of homes selling has increased. While different parts of Wisconsin have seen varying degrees of improvement, the entire state has benefitted from improvements made in the economy. While government has shown a loss in jobs, the private sector is increasing enough in new jobs to offset the government loss. This has led to a drop in the total state unemployment number, down from 7.6% to 7.1%

Lower Prices Main Reason for More Sales

Obviously, when the price of goods drops it usually signals more buying from consumers. The same is true for homes across Wisconsin. Historically low mortgage rates, paired with lower home prices, have enabled more families to buy that first elusive home. While the average home price is roughly 25% to 30% lower today than it was in 2006, the recent trends are promising. Prices will rise with increased demand. As long as unemployment continues to drop and people continue to purchase homes, the prices will eventually rise again.

Everything moves in Cycles

Keep in mind that the state economy is like a giant organism. When something affects one part, another part is affected as well. Case in point, apartments are beginning to see a good recovery. A large number of people have chosen to rent a place for the short term while they make their plans to buy a home. As this trend continues, the price to rent an apartment or single family home will rise. When the price to rent becomes higher than the monthly payment on a typical mortgage, more people will look to purchase a home.

The last few years have been tough on a lot of people. Loss of jobs, drop in home prices and a general feeling of despair have been quite common. However, times are improving, if only slightly. Now is the time to get our financial houses in order and push forward to take advantage of the great home ownership opportunities that lie before us.

Original Post - Home Prices in Wisconsin are Stabilizing

So, how many agents are leaving the industry due to lack of
work? Have you ever stoped and asked yourself that question? Most likely not
but, I did this week because a friend of mine who owns their own real estate
brokerage told me that he is expecting that by the end of this year, his office
is going to shrink......so much so, that he may actually close his doors.

You see, many, if not all brokerages are built around
reoccurring revenue streams brought in by the agents. Obviously, I am not going
to go through every single office business plan I know of but, ultimately they
all revolve around either one of two...or both of these ideas.

Idea # 1: High
monthly fee and little to no commission split. These offices charge agents a
high monthly fee....like $500.00 a month or so and, yes...that is high in my
area. Now, these offices don't really care if the agents on their roster do any
business at all because, the broker is paying bills and making money off the
monthly fee. Normally, in these offices, the broker isn't making any money on
commissions anyways so, he is working for just that monthly fee.

Idea # 2: Low to
no monthly fee and high or graduates commission splits. These offices make the
bulk of their money on the performance of the individual agent. These offices
will typically charge little to no commission splits however, they typically have
a skeleton staff and expect the agent to be able to handle most all issues with
little to no broker involvement.

Now, as you can
expect, plenty of pros and cons with either major model however, what happens
to these models when the number of agents in the industry or in local markets
begin to dry up?

Well, the
competition for agents becomes more fierce and these 100% or low monthly fee
offices begin attracting a lot of agents. Much like we have now in my market.
The problem is these office typically attract the type of agents that most
people should steer clear of. Now, granted, this isn't true in every market and
this is strictly my opinion however, my experience is that before a agent truly
gives up on their business they go into the Realtor Death Spiral. Yes, this is
a phrase I just thought up.

So, what is the
Realtor Death Spiral? Ok...so, here it is. It's when you have a Realtor who has
been struggling the past few quarters and is now having to make a decision. Do
I stay in the business or do I go back to do what I know how to do? You see,
most Realtors, 99% of us, didn't grow up thinking...oh, I want to be a Realtor.
We grew up thinking, I want to be a fireman, a police officer, a marine or in
my case, a secret service agent...yes, that is true. My point is, we all came
from another industry and we either fell into real estate because we had a
friend who was selling their home or it was a part time "job" for
vacation money or...whatever reason you can think of other than, I want real
estate to be my career.  With all that
said, it means that many of us....almost all of us thought to ourselves, well,
if I can't make it big and live like Donald Trump, then I will go back to
teaching, being a stay at home mom or steel worker.

Now, let's look
at the graph above...yes, I pasted that in here for a reason. The graph is the
latest information I could find from the National Association of Realtors on
the number of Realtors by year. Look closely at the nose dive in the past 4
years. You see, the graph clearly shows that when real estate was good.....or
easy, people were becoming Realtors left and right. In fact, if you look at the
graph just a little closer, see how we doubled the amount of Realtors from2000
to 2006. That's right people, in 6 years, we doubled the number of people in
our industry. Now, consider that when I tell you that back in 2007, NAR release
a statistic that said something to the effect that 93% of all Realtors, DID NOT
CLOSE MORE THAN 3 DEALS A YEAR! In fact, I read at one time that the average
income of a Realtor was like $26,000.00....that's not even a million dollar in
sales in my area.

Well, I will
leave it up to you to come to your own assumptions and conclusions however, I
am of the mindset that our industry does need to do some "house cleaning"
if you will. In fact, I venture to say that as the housing bubble was blowing
up so was the rank and file Realtors and now, as the bubble is busting....those
same agents are looking at themselves in the mirror and saying, "Damn,
this is much harder, much more expensive, much more involved than I thought or
ever experienced it really was". Yes, we are going to start seeing a mass
exodus of agents from our industry, in fact, many of us in the industry have
noticed this for the past 2-3 years. I must admit, I am glad to see it.
Personally, I am sick and tired of dealing with agents who have been in the
business for 3,4,5 years, sold 3-5 homes a year, has a full time or part time
job in another industry and then complains that they want to do REO and no one
will help them get into the business or that they attended some conference but,
they had no ROI.

Our industry
needs to purge the part time agent. These agents don't do much for our
industry. Yeah, maybe they have a place and time but, it's not now. Now, we
need to get back to professional standards, common sense and the Realtors who
are here, participate, contribute and improve our opus.

Now, don't get me
wrong, people got to pay bills, people got to do what they got to do in a
country with an unemployment rate of 9.1% but, let's make sure we are all
looking at this with an ounce of perspective. Let's make sure when we see
brokerage office closing, or agents retiring their license that we stop and
realize, fortunes are made in times of recession and those who can survive
deserve to be here and reap the rewards of their commitment.

So, how many agents are leaving the industry due to lack of
work? Have you ever stoped and asked yourself that question? Most likely not
but, I did this week because a friend of mine who owns their own real estate
brokerage told me that he is expecting that by the end of this year, his office
is going to shrink......so much so, that he may actually close his doors.

You see, many, if not all brokerages are built around reoccurring
revenue streams brought in by the agents. Obviously, I am not going to go
through every single office business plan I know of but, ultimately they all
revolve around either one of two...or both of these ideas.

Idea # 1: High
monthly fee and little to no commission split. These offices charge agents a
high monthly fee....like $500.00 a month or so and, yes...that is high in my
area. Now, these offices don't really care if the agents on their roster do any
business at all because, the broker is paying bills and making money off the
monthly fee. Normally, in these offices, the broker isn't making any money on
commissions anyways so, he is working for just that monthly fee.

Idea # 2: Low to
no monthly fee and high or graduates commission splits. These offices make the
bulk of their money on the performance of the individual agent. These offices
will typically charge little to no commission splits however, they typically
have a skeleton staff and expect the agent to be able to handle most all issues
with little to no broker involvement.

Now, as you can
expect, plenty of pros and cons with either major model however, what happens
to these models when the number of agents in the industry or in local markets
begin to dry up?

Well, the
competition for agents becomes more fierce and these 100% or low monthly fee
offices begin attracting a lot of agents. Much like we have now in my market.
The problem is these office typically attract the type of agents that most
people should steer clear of. Now, granted, this isn't true in every market and
this is strictly my opinion however, my experience is that before a agent truly
gives up on their business they go into the Realtor Death Spiral. Yes, this is
a phrase I just thought up.

So, what is the
Realtor Death Spiral? Ok...so, here it is. It's when you have a Realtor who has
been struggling the past few quarters and is now having to make a decision. Do
I stay in the business or do I go back to do what I know how to do? You see,
most Realtors, 99% of us, didn't grow up thinking...oh, I want to be a Realtor.
We grew up thinking, I want to be a fireman, a police officer, a marine or in
my case, a secret service agent...yes, that is true. My point is, we all came
from another industry and we either fell into real estate because we had a
friend who was selling their home or it was a part time "job" for
vacation money or...whatever reason you can think of other than, I want real
estate to be my career.  With all that
said, it means that many of us....almost all of us thought to ourselves, well,
if I can't make it big and live like Donald Trump, then I will go back to
teaching, being a stay at home mom or steel worker.

Now, let's look
at the graph above...yes, I pasted that in here for a reason. The graph is the
latest information I could find from the National Association of Realtors on
the number of Realtors by year. Look closely at the nose dive in the past 4
years. You see, the graph clearly shows that when real estate was good.....or
easy, people were becoming Realtors left and right. In fact, if you look at the
graph just a little closer, see how we doubled the amount of Realtors from2000
to 2006. That's right people, in 6 years, we doubled the number of people in
our industry. Now, consider that when I tell you that back in 2007, NAR release
a statistic that said something to the effect that 93% of all Realtors, DID NOT
CLOSE MORE THAN 3 DEALS A YEAR! In fact, I read at one time that the average
income of a Realtor was like $26,000.00....that's not even a million dollar in
sales in my area.

Well, I will
leave it up to you to come to your own assumptions and conclusions however, I
am of the mindset that our industry does need to do some "house
cleaning" if you will. In fact, I venture to say that as the housing
bubble was blowing up so was the rank and file Realtors and now, as the bubble
is busting....those same agents are looking at themselves in the mirror and
saying, "Damn, this is much harder, much more expensive, much more
involved than I thought or ever experienced it really was". Yes, we are
going to start seeing a mass exodus of agents from our industry, in fact, many
of us in the industry have noticed this for the past 2-3 years. I must admit, I
am glad to see it. Personally, I am sick and tired of dealing with agents who
have been in the business for 3,4,5 years, sold 3-5 homes a year, has a full time
or part time job in another industry and then complains that they want to do
REO and no one will help them get into the business or that they attended some
conference but, they had no ROI.

Our industry
needs to purge the part time agent. These agents don't do much for our
industry. Yeah, maybe they have a place and time but, it's not now. Now, we
need to get back to professional standards, common sense and the Realtors who
are here, participate, contribute and improve our opus.

Now, don't get me
wrong, people got to pay bills, people got to do what they got to do in a
country with an unemployment rate of 9.1% but, let's make sure we are all
looking at this with an ounce of perspective. Let's make sure when we see
brokerage office closing, or agents retiring their license that we stop and
realize, fortunes are made in times of recession and those who can survive
deserve to be here and reap the rewards of their commitment.

I love making the photos and slide shows and videos for listings.  Maybe THAT should be my whole career, hmmmmm...

So, I do not know how to make YouTube show my main info text screen shot, it always seems to show a thumbnail of some random shot in the middle of my video.  Anyone else dealt with this, any YouTube pros out there with advice?

here is a link to my video on YouTube, I could ALWAYS use more YouTube friends and subcribers too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ywpY3wSwLaM

One more thing, if you are a Realtor marketing today, do you have a YouTube account? ..... if not, go get one, it is FREE and such great exposure for listings and to push more traffic to your web sites.

Jessica

Thought I'd put this question out there because in the past 6 months, I have shown at least 3 houses that I believe were Meth Labs. None of these homes were my listings and in bringing the topic up to the listing agents, I got a reaction like "okay thanks for telling me" and I had the feeling that these agents did not have a clue as to: 1. The fact that a "meth lab" can be located in any neighborhood, within any class and income level; 2. What the signs and symptoms were 3. The possible serious effects of being exposed to a past or present Meth Lab;

5 Signs Your Listing May Have Once Been a Meth Lab

http://styledstagedsold.blogs.realtor.org/2009/07/16/5-signs-your-listing-may-have-once-been-a-meth-lab/

Are you living in a former meth lab?

http://methnews.blogspot.com/2009/07/are-you-living-in-former-meth-lab.html

This is a gray area as far as disclosure, because an agent may have no clue they are even showing a current or former Meth Lab and as you have heard recently, there are horror stories of buyers purchasing homes which have been used as Meth Labs that have caused them to become sick; Some have even had to "walk away" from their house because of the sometimes very expensive remedies for correcting a house with traces of meth throughout. Before you say, "how could an agent not know they are showing a Meth Lab", read the following fact:

Meth Labs can be setup in a small space such as a closet, a box, garage and any small area of a house; How many of us have showed our buyers a house that has that one locked room where the Sellers say they have valuables or "weapons" and will not allow access; As an agent, I have gotten into the habit of scanning a room before I enter it and also reading the body language of Sellers. That is why on a recent showing, when me and the buyers were about to enter a home where Sellers were present, the first thing I noticed was a "pantry" near the entrance to the kitchen that had 3 hinges on each side of the door with a pad lock on each hinge; VERY STRANGE; My antennae went up that they this was possibly a Meth Lab based on the fact that the husband made sure we did not get anywhere near this "pantry"; The husband had physical symptoms: rotted teeth, an emaciated appearance, and a sunken face, however, these could be symptoms of some other illnesses or problems, so I don't solely rely on a person's looks; The convincing point came when me and the buyer walked a few steps into the kitchen and the smell of rotten eggs and ammonia overwhelmed both of us; In addition, our eyes starting burning; I quickly asked my buyer to come outside with me and on the way out noticed the blue discoloration around the fire extinguishers; I explained to her that I believed the home had dangerous fumes that I did not want her or myself to be exposed to and kindly informed the Sellers we were leaving; As I am not a "Meth Expert" and only rely on information and previous experiences to determine whether a house was or currently is a Meth Lab, I did not pass this opinion onto the Buyer or Seller.

A question I pose to other agents on this forum is: Have you been in this situation and would you disclose to a potential buyer or seller that you believe a property is a "Meth Lab"? I'd love your feedback.