My last blog was written while Mary, a very persistant telemarketer, was talking. Out of fear of being rude, I didn't want to hang up on her.  Finally, one hour and 45 minutes after I answered the phone, I hung up.  She was in mid-sentence.

She was obviously selling something she believed in.  When was the last time you were so excited about something that you spent one hour and 45 minutes sharing it with someone else?  As sales people, we often hear of the "elevator" sales pitch.  This is the sales pitch you have rehearsed for the unexpected event that you have one minute to share your service with a potential customer. I'm starting to feel a little like Goldilocks.  One sales style is too long, the other sales style is too short. What style is just right?

Maybe the approach is all wrong to begin with.  Both styles above rely on how much information you are able to give to your potential customer.  Someone once told me that every sales pitch is successful.  Either you successfully argue that your customer needs your service or the customer successfully argues that they don't.  What about an approach which lets your customer sell you their needs?

How would one accomplish this? As a Realtor, I have a lot of techniques and tools to service all kinds of needs.  My presentation book is three inches thick.  If I sat there and went through every page, I would be Mary. During any presentation I ask a lot of questions, then I listen to the answers.  My "presentation" is a conversation.  I can't do my job until I fully understand the needs of my buyers and sellers.  When I fully understand their needs, I do not try to manipulate a predetermined solution to fit the need.  I come up with a solution, novel if needed, to actually meet that particular need.  I do not sell houses, I help people.

As a real estate agent, here are some questions that you should be asking yourself:

1. Did I truly listen to my customer, or was I computing commissions in my head while they spoke?
2. What can I learn from this unique individual and their situation?
3. Am I really the right person to help this person or do they need a referral (agent in another area, mortgage broker, accountant etc.)?

As a consumer, here are some questions that you should be asking your Realtor:

1. What makes your marketing plan unique?
2. What will you do if we are not getting any showings on our home?
3. How will  you implement my ideas?

As a consumer, here are some questions that you should be asking yourself ABOUT your Realtor:

1. How long does it take for them to respond when I call or write?
2. Do I feel like they are listening to me?
3. Do I really trust that their expertise will guide me to my goals?

When hiring a Realtor to help you sell your home or to help you find your dream home, you should be asking a lot of questions.  Once you have found a Realtor that has the experience and the expertise to guide you to your goals, trust them.  A great Realtor will not only listen to you, but teach you and guide you along the way. 

I received a phone call today from Mary, the nicest sales person.  Being the nice person that I am, I never hang up on sales people.  I know they are just doing their jobs.  And I do believe that they may be offering a product that I could use. 

Today's call may have changed my mind.  Gee whiz!  This nice woman was obviously reading from
a script.  And I think the only objection she was trained to overcome was, "How much does it cost?".  Every time I asked a question, she glossed right over it and continued.  In fact, she is still talking as I type!  I put her on speaker and she is going on and on.... it has been one hour and fifteen minutes!  Each time I interrupt her and ask her to get to the end, she just keeps talking.  I am so tempted to hang up on her, ask for her manager or let her finish just because of the time I have already invested.

I always try to learn something from someone who irritates me.  I know that I must do things that irritate other people so I try to make note and improve my own skills as a communicator. 

This is what I've learned from Mary:
1. Listen more, talk less.
2. People are busy.  If a cold call takes more than 15 minutes..... you've probably already lost the customer.
3. When a customer says, "You've been talking so long, you lost me and I was working on something else."  Its time to go.
4. When you ask a prospective customer a question, really ask it.  Don't read it. This means you listen to the answer and adjust accordingly.
5. Do NOT repeat the prospective customer's first name during every sentence. It is not increasing familiarity. Its annoying.

As I am finishing this blog.... she is still talking!  One hour and 25 minutes later.....
To be continued...

I write today with a heavy heart.  The recent news coming out of Newburg, NY about the mother driving into the river with her children in the car troubles me greatly.  My heart breaks for the children, for the 10 year old who survived, the extended family and for the mother who was in that much pain.

As a mother and business woman, I often feel overwhelmed.  I complain about lack of time, lack of sleep, my house is messy, my car is old etc.  Today, I am so thankful about the little time I do have, thankful that I have a warm bed to sleep in, thankful that my kids are here to mess up the house and thankful to have an old car that takes me where I want to go. 

Working and raising a family is a tough balancing act, and I know I am not alone.  Motherhood can be the toughest, most frustrating, endlessly tiring job there is.  It can also be the most treasured of all. I hope and pray that this family finds peace during this tragedy.  I also hope and pray that if another mother is out there and feeling overwhelmed that she asks for help. 

If you are reading this and are feeling alone and overwhelmed, talk to your family, a friend, a pastor or call the National Suicide Hotline at 1-800-SUICIDE.  You are not alone and people will listen.  Email me... I will pray for you and with you.

If you are reading this and are feeling sad about this tragedy, give your children and your family an extra hug today.  Be thankful. We are all just passing through in this life. The things that weigh us down are temporary.  The love that we show each other is eternal.  

Last week, our two year old golden retriever, Daisy, took a bowl of grapes off the counter and ate them. Little did I know how poisonous grapes are to dogs.  After two days of vomiting, I took her to the vet to see if she was dehydrated.  She was in acute kidney failure with a "grave prognosis".  Her blood test results were "very dangerous".  The recommendation was 72 hours of intravenous fluids at a potential cost of nearly $3000.  After 10 hours of fluids and she still had not urinated, the prognosis worsened.  We were told that if she didn't urinate it was "a very dangerous situation and very scary".  We agreed to leave her at the hospital overnight.  The following day her blood tests had only improved a tiny bit, but not a statistically significant amount.  The vet was still using words like "grave condition", "dangerous" and "serious".  Yet at the same time, she was describing Daisy as "perky" and she was "optimistic".  

How was I feeling?  Confused!  I just wanted to know if she was going to die.  I got the distinct feeling that the vet was afraid to tell me the truth.  Of course I didn't want her to die.  But I did want the truth, no matter how bad it was.  I wanted to prepare myself and my children.  I wanted to know what to tell them.  And I didn't want to spend $2000-$3000 and lose her.

As I was driving back and forth to the vet's office, I realized that the conversation I wanted the vet to have with me was similar to the conversation we have to have with some home sellers.  How many of us are nervous to tell a homeowner their home is not worth as much as they thought? How many of us are afraid to ask a homeowner to lower their price?  

Why are we afraid to tell the truth? How often to you try to soften the blow by agreeing to a price in the middle, or pricing the home the way the homeowner wants for a set time before lowering it.  Are we truly servicing the homeowner when we do that?  In a fallling market, a homeowner loses money every week that the home remains on the market. That does not include the money lost on mortgage payment and property taxes.  Even if the market is not falling, the listing grows stale and typically sells for less.

Homeowners are better informed than ever before.  They are using a real estate agent because you have information, experience and an understanding that they may not. They can understand market conditions when it is explained to them.  They just want the truth, no matter what it is.  Having the tough conversation is often the best service we can provide.  

So what happened to Daisy?  She is home now. She is slowing getting stronger and still cleaning the toxins out of her kidneys.  The whole family is thankful for the vets who cared for her and got her through the worst.  I did learn something from this experience.  After being on the receiving end of the difficult conversation, I think it will be easier for me to be on the delivery end. 



    Poisons for Dogs

Grapes, Alcohol, Avocado, Chocolate, Coffee, Tea, Raw Fish, Raisins, Hops, Iron Supplements, Macadamia Nuts, Large Amounts of Dairy,  Mushrooms, Onions and Garlic, Persimmons, Pits from Peaches and Plums, Raw Eggs, Raw Meat, Rhubarb Leaves, Tobacco, Yeast Dough, Xylitol

There are many factors you should consider when choosing a real estate agent to sell your home.  But the number one thing you should be asking a potential real estate agent is, "Do you truly believe that now is a good time to buy a home?" 

If your real estate agent is still in the mindset  that the market is bad, things are tough, blah, blah, blah... will buyer's be excited to buy your house?  Your listing agent should be excited about the buying opportunities out there and be able to transmit this excitement to a buyer.

Now the question you should ask yourself is WHY your agent thinks now is a good time to buy?  Are they just telling you what you want to hear or does the explanation make sense?

Besides value prices and low mortgage rates, does your agent agree with:
 
The following leading financial newspaper...


The USA's most famous real estate investor...



A multibillionaire investment guru...
 

The guru who took his own advice...


AND 67% of all Americans?




So the bottom line is that many experts agree that this is a great time to buy a home.  Ask your real estate agent if they truly believe it and why.  Have them show you why it would make financial sense for a buyer to buy YOUR home. 

I am a real estate agent, but I am also the owner of a fairly successful virtual tour company.  99% of my clients are real estate agents.  Many of my clients are wonderful people to work with, but a few are very difficult.  As a business person, I am willing and able to deal with difficult customers and often enjoy the challenge of turning a difficult customer into the most loyal spokesperson.

However, I feel there is a need for a reality check and lesson for some real estate agents: 

1. If you are going to negotiate the price of a service, do it BEFORE you order.  If I spend my day taking photos, carefully editing them and then you "whine" for a discount, you won't get one.  If you are on a budget and need to work something out in advance, I'd love to.

2. After I have provided a service to you, pay me on time. My company is one of the few that only request payment after you have seen the awesome photos.  We do not accept credit cards so that we can keep costs down and pass those savings onto you.  If too many customers fail to pay, we will have to raise the prices and demand payment in advance for all customers.

3. When a photographer is at the property you are listing, it is inappropriate to gossip about the homeowners.  Although the photographer is not there for a formal showing, we do not need to know the homeowners are going through a nasty divorce, that the house may go into foreclosure, the homeowner just lost their job, or how tired you are about the homeowners demands and complaints.

Even when I was a only a photograher and before I was an agent, I was a potential customer.  And if I was not directly interested in purchasing the house, I always knew someone who was looking to buy or sell.  And now that I am an agent myself, I expect even higher standards in the behavior of the agents around me.  I notice which agents are the most professional.  There are times when I need to make a referral and those are the agents I recommend. 

So I am reminding my fellow agents to behave in a way that deserves and generates referrals whenever you are on official business, not just when you have a pre-qualified buyer in front of you.

I would be interested to hear fellow agents opinions about this topic and what I may be able to do as a virtual tour company to encourage on-time payments.  Thank you in advance!

Of course, 10% commission would be unrealistic, but it doesn't mean its unreasonable. When you talk about the value of a service, instead of the cost, 10% is perfectly understandable.

Last week's New York Times article, You Don't Have to Pay It , was a dangerous article and a disservice to many home sellers. Many people do not realize the amount of knowlege and expertise that goes into selling a home properly. A home owner that is not thouroghly prepared will not only lose money, but open themselves to lawsuits if everything is not done right.

Sellers who read the New York Times article may also want to read the USA Today article, For Sale By Owner can be a hard sell. It presents the other side of selling your own home.

Why should you pay me 10% commission? You can't afford not to! Honestly answer the following questions:

1. Can you remain 100% objective when pricing your home and negotiating the sale?
2. Have you been studying the local real estate market for years or the weeks leading up to your decision to sell?
3. Do you completely understand buyer agency, seller agency, broker agency and your liability regarding all three?
4. Do you completely understand all legal disclosures needed to sell a home?
5. Do you have access and can you competently use the up to 70 websites used to market your home?
6. Do you have up to $5000 it will take to market your home? (Even if it doesn't sell?)
7. How will you pre-qualify potential buyers to make sure they are not wasting your time at best and not previewing your home to break into it later at worst?
8. Have you hired a pre-listing licensed inspector, professional photographer and virtual tour provider and professional stager?
9. Do you honestly have the time to spend EVERY day, refreshing your listing, responding to inquiries, and showing your home?

If you have answered yes to all of these questions, you should come work for me. If you have answered no, use this list as a starting point with your new Realtor. Your Realtor should be able to do these things for you, explain them to you and confidently market and sell your home.

Keep in mind that buyers know commission is built into the price. Buyers who actively pursue For Sale By Owner properties are looking for a deal. They will offer a lower price. Do you want to attract buyers who are looking to buy a beautiful quality sofa from Ethan Allen or do you want to attract buyers who are looking to pay rock bottom price for the used sofa on EBAY?

As for the commission question? Do you ask the gas station for a discount? Do you ask your hair dresser to take 50% off the price? Do you negotiate with your vet, your cardiologist, your baker, or your child's pre-school? Why would you try to get a "deal" when making one of the biggest financial moves of your life? You do get what you pay for...

Yesterday's blog spoke about the true value of home ownership and how we are getting back to those values.  Middle age parents who have owned a home understand its true value. A home has always been a good long term financial investment. However, homeownership also has many other benefits.

I was speaking to an experienced broker yesterday who is looking to help her college student daughter buy a home this year.  Other agents I have spoken to are experiencing the same thing.  They are meeting parents of young adult children who are strongly suggesting that their children take advantage of the low cost of homeownership available today. Some parents are helping financially and are even co-signing for the mortgage.

At first, I was a little surprised.  Many news headlines cry that the real estate market is horrible. However, after thinking about it, it made complete sense. Here's why:

Financially Sound

Let's look at the financial aspects of renting vs. buying. With house prices falling and interest rates still historically low, throwing money away on rent may not make sense anymore.

In an article from CNN Money earlier this week, they looked at this issue:

Perhaps not surprisingly, it makes more financial sense to rent than buy today in many U.S. cities...

But that may finally be about to change. Moody's chief economist Mark Zandi expects the trend to reverse this year in many major cities.

"By mid 2011 and certainly by end of 2011, buying will be superior to renting in most parts of the country," Zandi says.

As one person said to us recently: "Rents are like adjustable rate mortgages. They adjust often and most times they adjust upward!"

As a matter of fact, Fannie Mae just came out with their National Housing Survey which asked the question directly: Is this a major reason to buy a home?

The study broke up the answers into financial and non-financial reasons. The top four reasons and six of the top ten reasons were NON-FINANCIAL. The top four are below:

1. It means having a good place to raise children and provide a good education.
2. You have a physical structure where you and your family feel safe.
3. It allows you to have more space for your family.
4. It gives you control over what you do with your living space (renovations & updates).

You should not be surprised. Aren't these the same reasons our parents bought their home? Aren't these the same reasons we purchased our home?

These are the  same reasons parents have suggested their children buy a home. They want the same things for their grandchildren that they believed to be important for their children.

Bottom Line

Now that the craziness of this housing market is beginning to show signs of settling, people are getting back to the core values that families have always embraced. Homeownership is definitely high on the list. When real estate billionare John Paulson was asked about the market on Sept. 27, 2010, he said, "If you don't own a home, buy one.  If you own one home, buy another one.  If you own two homes, buy a thrid.  And, lend your relatives the money to buy a home."  I agree!

Statistic information used with permission from Keeping Current Matters.

For the last ten years, every time we talked about real estate we immediately discussed money. We didn't talk about the value of a home but instead about the price of the house. We didn't worry about a roof over our heads but instead the ceiling on our interest rate. We didn't care as much about where we raised our family as we cared about increasing our family's net worth. Many of us considered flipping a house or buying a rental property.

That will change in 2011. I believe very strongly that real estate will return to what it has been for the 200+ year history of this country: a place for us and our families to live comfortably. It will also prove to be a great long term investment as it always has been. Forbes.com said, "With all the teeth-gnashing over the real estate bubble, the bust and the mortgage mess, you can be forgiven for failing to notice this little tidbit: Housing had a superb decade." (Forbes.com 12/06/2010) In fact, if you purchased a house in the year 2000, you had an average value gain of 58% per square foot in 2010.

Our parents and our grandparents didn't buy their homes as a short term financial investment. They bought it so they had a place of their own to come home to at the end of the day; a place to raise their family; a place they could feel safe. A survey by Fannie Mae (Nov. 2010) found that 96% of people see homeownership as a positive experience.

Sure they dreamed of the day they paid off their mortgage. They realized it was a form of forced savings. They were taught that, if they paid their mortgage every month, they would wind up with a little retirement account decades later.

And, they realized that wouldn't happen if they rented.

However, in the last decade, we somehow forgot that the financial aspect was the icing on the cake not the major reason to buy. I believe that 2011 will be the year that people return to the historic reasons families purchased a home. This is the year when we again remember that homeownership is a major part of the American Dream.

What about the challenges to a housing recovery? Let's look at them.

The Economy

Some reports are showing that the economy is doing better. This shopping season provided additional proof of this point. As the economy recovers, so will consumer confidence. This will be great news for housing.

Unemployment

There is much talk about a ‘jobless recovery'. I agree that unemployment will continue to be a challenge. However, when you talk about housing, it is not the unemployment rate that is all telling. Instead, it is the change in the rate. As unemployment skyrocketed, people started to worry about their own job. Any change creates concern. Unchecked concern turns to fear. Fear causes paralysis. The spike in unemployment has plateaued. People no longer have the feeling that ‘they are next'. The fear will diminish and hopefully, people will start moving on with their lives. This too will be great news for housing.

Locally, in Suffolk County, the unemployment rate was lower than the national average at 7.4% in the December 2010 report and even lower in Kings Park at 6.3%.*  As the economy recovers, more and more people will feel secure in their jobs and willing to commit to buying a home.

Interest Rates

It seems the bottomless pit in which rates have been falling does have a floor after all. And it seems we have found it. Those purchasers who had been waiting for the best interest rate may have already missed it. I personally completed a refinance loan application in early December when the rates were 3.5%. By the time I was approved, the rates had increased to 4.5%. Buy a home NOW, before the rates rise even higher.

Prices

Economists are projecting that prices will not see any appreciation in 2011. Sellers who had been waiting for 2006 to return will come to the realization that waiting any longer makes little sense. They will instead decide to get on with their lives and sell this year.  When you figure in the amount of money spent on mortgage interest, property taxes and home maintenance, you may not sell at a high enough price to make up for the money you spent waiting.

Prices probably will soften further. However, the possible savings to potential buyers will be minimized by a rise in interest rates.

Bottom Line

This is the year that the real estate market returns to normal. People will buy and sell based on the desire for a better life for themselves and their families. They will realize the true value of homeownership and they will be willing to pay for that value.  With prices and interest rates low, it is the perfect time to buy that first home or move up to a larger home.

*Suffolk County Department of Labor, www.suffolkcountyny.gov/labor

Some information used with permission from Keeping Current Matters

My son has Asperger's Syndrome and the world can't keep up with him.  He is brilliant, beyond creative and has a bigger heart than most.  I know what people are thinking when they glare at me, because he is behaving in a way they don't understand.  I have heard the giggles as we walk away. So what has my son taught me about real estate?

1. Tolerance - Not every buyer will fit into the mold of the ideal buyer.  Some are easy to work with, some more difficult.  It takes patience and willingness to understand their unique situation.

2. Educate - Not every listing will fit your buyer's preconceived idea about what is ideal. Its my job to educate people about the unique and wonderful aspects of EVERY listing. 

3. And most importantly - POTENTIAL! Each and every listing has the potential to sell.  I work just as hard on the move-in ready houses as I do on the handyman specials.  I need to show every buyer the potential that each property has to fit their needs.  Each contact I make in my life is a potential client, if not now, then in the future. 

The people that judge my son without making an effort to know him are missing so much!  I know that someday he will invent something that will change the world.  He has unlimited potential and its my job to showcase it and educate the people around him. 

A successful real estate agent will take the time to listen to each client and understand their unique needs. They will also take the time to educate each client on what it takes to sell a listing and each buyer about the unique potential of every listing.  Tolerance, Educate, Potential.... that's what Asperger's taught me about real estate.

Imagine... you list a house for sale and start marketing it. While talking to your seller you learn that they purchased the home is 2003, have very little equity and will just break even on the sale.  You also learn that since purchasing the home, they have taken out loans on two cars, accumulated quite a bit of credit card debt and had a baby so the wife is now working part-time, off the books.  In addition, their credit took a big hit when the husband was out of work for nine months in 2007.

Since they are expecting baby number two, they would like to move to a less expensive neighborhood and get a larger home for around the same price.  They have even budgeted for the same monthly mortgage payment.  Sounds like a good plan right?  Wrong.

You have done a great job pricing and marketing their home and they are in full contract in less than a month.  They find a house they love and feel they can afford.  Except, based on their new debt to income ratio and lower credit score, they cannot get approved for the new mortgage they want.  They end up buying a smaller, less expensive home in their second choice neighborhood.  And of course, they blame you.  If they had gotten pre-qualified for a mortgage before listing their home for sale, they may have waited until their credit had improved or the wife went back to work full-time.  They may have even decided to not sell their home at all. 

Yes, you earned a commission on the sale.  However, will these clients refer you or will they bad-mouth you to everyone they know?  By getting pre-qualified for a mortgage before selling, they know exactly what they will be able to afford and exactly how much they need to walk away with after selling their home.  Suggest that your sellers consult a mortgage broker before selling and it could save them from a rude awakening later or solidify their decision to sell.  It also shows that you care about their end result and not just your paycheck. 

Homeowners often fret over having photos taken of their home.  An experienced photographer should be able to offer advice on which rooms and photos will look best.  Don't expect your photographer to clean the home, but they can advise you on simple solutions to make photos look better.

Here is a fairly comprehensive list to help you prepare for a virtual tour:

• Move cars out of the driveway and away from the front of the home.
• Put interior and exterior garbage cans in the garage or out of sight.
• Remove all clutter.
• Temporarily remove any "obstacle" furniture. This is furniture that blocks a line of sight or often feels in the way.
• If the home is vacant, bring in some furniture or hire a home stager.  Professionally staged homes sell faster and for 6-10% more money!
• Hire landscape maintenance professionals to clean the exterior and plant colorful flowers in the front of the house.
• Don't worry about dark rooms. The camera and editing can correct this.
• Clean off kitchen counters; store small appliances in the cabinets.
• Turn off ceiling fans.  Moving objects can blur a photo.
• Observe neighboring properties before doing a 360 degree virtual tour outside.  Your neighbors' properties will show.
• Light dust does NOT show up in photos.
• Consider setting the formal dining room table with a nice centerpiece.
• Fresh flowers or a nice bowl of fruit can add color and interest to a room.
• Add green plants to a plain room.  Green looks great in photos.
• Don't shy away from taking photos on an overcast day.  This can minimize the glare coming in windows and washing out the photos.
• Night is usually not the best time to take photos of the home.
• You do not have to photograph every room.  Highlight the best features of the home to peak buyers' interests.
• Consider doing a virtual tour of a nice bathroom. Virtual tours can make small spaces look larger.  If the bathroom is outdated, consider skipping this room.
• Keep pets out of the photos.
• Trust your photographer.  From their experience, they will know what will look best in a photo.
• Remember that rooms with many mirrors may show the camera equipment.  Good photographers will use a remote so that the photographer is not in the photo.
• Prepare the home and be ready before your photographer arrives.  They have scheduled a set amount of time for your photo session.

These are just a few of the ways you can showcase your home in the best way through professional photos and virtual tours.  Good luck with your next photo shoot!