If you’re single and on the “dating scene”, there’s no better aphrodisiac than homeownership!
According to a recent survey by Trulia of 1,000 single people, more than a third of women and 18% of men stated that they’d rather date a homeowner than a renter. (more…)
Typically foreclosures – or real estate owned (REO) properties – are a very good buy. They’re priced to sell, and buyers are likely to get a great deal IF you and your real estate agent are knowledgeable about the procedures and pitfalls you’re likely to face.
It happens all too often. Buyers aren’t aware of how different REO’s are from typical homeowner re-sales. Here are some things to keep in mind: (more…)
Continued from “Buying a Small Business in 2012, Part One”.
You’ve now identified a business opportunity and completed a tour of the business facility. The seller’s answered your initial questions and provided you with business financial information. Once you review the income statements, balance sheets and tax returns, you can decide if you want to make an offer. There are two ways to communicate the offer to purchase the business. You could choose to utilize a contract or binding agreement or you could utilize a Letter of Intent or non-binding agreement. A contract must be written by an attorney and immediately binds you and the seller, and will require submission of earnest money. You’ll include certain contingencies in the contract that must be satisfied and the contract’s highly definitive. (more…)
My heart goes out to the good folks in the mortgage business these days. Business is TOUGH!
A significant percentage of buyers come equipped with enough bad credit baggage to fill a truck, what with having done a recent short sale or having a recent foreclosure or deed in lieu of foreclosure (same as a regular foreclosure, but it sounds nicer) or strategic foreclosure (a purposeful decision to walk away from a debt they CAN pay but don’t WANT to pay – don’t get me started on these).
Combine that with the over-reaction of underwriters making it nearly impossible to qualify for a loan if the buyer has to put gas in the SUV on the way to the closing (“Oops, sorry, that gas charge 15 minutes ago just bumped your debt ratio out of whack”) or if part of the buyer’s down payment is the gift money received from Grandma for graduation and Grandma made the money having a garage sale or the buyer’s publicly traded employer has recently filed a negative outlook report with Wall Street or any number of other scenarios.
Add in the burden of complex Good Faith Estimates which have to be redone every time anyone sneezes and you have a frustrating mix. (more…)
You may be wondering if 2012 will be a good year to purchase a small business. Can small businesses generate profit in a difficult economy? These are fair concerns and certainly require the small business buyer to move forward with adequate caution. If you’re determined to own a business, you can find what you’re looking for by establishing specific search parameters and purchase criteria.
1. Research Well Performing Businesses
First, complete the necessary research to identify a short list of business types that perform well in a weak economy. Determine if franchise opportunities provide a greater chance of success. Franchises historically have a higher start-up success rate and give you a proven business system, training and name recognition. You’ll have to decide if you want to start a business from the ground up or purchase an established business. The established business will cost more however, you get to avoid the painful start-up period and you can see current and past performance. (more…)
When entering the New Year, it’s common to set goals for yourself. In real estate, those goals are translated into more clients, more listings and, most importantly, more closings. Just remember to not go overboard.
Sometimes, I hear agents say that their goal is 50 or even 100 transactions. Even a team of agents would have trouble meeting these numbers, and I hear this from a single real estate agent. If that wasn’t bad enough, they only completed 10 transactions the prior year.
Setting lofty goals is a good practice, but it’s also important to set goals that can be reached. When your ambition is too high, it can begin to look daunting and unattainable, which could end up setting you back.
Here are some realistic goals that will help you get on the right track in 2012: (more…)
It’s 2012, and what’s a better way to start the New Year than saving money! Energy costs continue to rise, and there are many ways to whittle away at those utility bills.
Replacing an older furnace, swapping out single-pane windows for more efficient double- or triple-pane models, and considering a move toward solar energy are all ways to make a dramatic difference in your home’s energy consumption, but none comes cheap. While you wrestle with whether or not to make these larger investments – which certainly pay off in the long run – there are any number of inexpensive, subtle shifts you can also make that will have you working toward the same goal much more quickly and affordably. (more…)
When I became licensed as a real estate agent years ago, I am embarrassed to admit that I actually worried that I would need an elegant wardrobe and expensive shoes to fit the image of the “ladies who play tennis in the morning and play real estate in the afternoon”. I didn’t and still don’t play tennis. I entered the real estate business as a full-time professional. BUT… after having a Ferragamo sucked off in the mud at a new construction site, getting countless stiletto heels caught and skinned on hundreds of wooden decks, and watching my leather shoes crack from repeatedly getting wet, I learned that practical footwear rules!
The ideal female real estate shoe wardrobe, all of which should be kept in the trunk of an agent’s car at all times for instant access and use would include: (more…)
It’s that time of year when everyone is traveling to see family and shopping for the holidays.
All of this holiday shopping has reminded me that people have become so immune to poor customer service and are actually surprised when they receive exceptional service. On the flip side, companies usually only hear about the bad experiences. More often than not, you hear customers getting upset with an employee.
Sometimes complaints are justified, but that’s not always the case…just look at the latest Alec Baldwin rampage on American Airlines. Geez Alec, just admit you were wrong for having a meltdown or say you were just rehearsing a new role as an entitled actor.
Anyways, just remember, to acknowledge good customer service too. And while you’re at it, stop to think about the type of service you provide to your customers. Do you always go the extra mile?
Let me tell you one of my stories… (more…)
Let me tell you about the time I lost my data. Well, it wasn’t actually mine. Being a technology worker, most of my time is spent protecting other people’s data, but much like a teacher calls her students “my kids” I call my customers’ documents “my data.”
In this case, I had foolishly allowed a server disk to exist without redundancy. That means when the drive failed (as all disk drives do, eventually), the server crashed. When the server crashed, everyone’s computers started vomiting errors. When that happens, people start speaking in tongues and their heads spin around backwards. The technical term for this is “Business Continuity Interruption.”
“It’s all okay,” I reassured, “I have a backup!”
Well, several hours and several buckets worth of nervous sweat later, I realized the backups were corrupt. The tapes were completely unreadable. At this point, I’m thinking of polishing off my resume and skipping town.
My last resort was to bring the disk drive to a company that could break it apart and copy the data, bit-by-bit onto a new disk. Three days later, we received a new disk (with “most” of the data) and a $1,800 bill.
In return for my heroic data recovery efforts, I earned some new ulcers and a valuable lesson:
Don’t mess around with your data.
BHGRE Metro Brokers and CBC Metro Brokers enjoy a wonderful relationship with the Georgia Real Estate Commission (GREC), primarily due to our excellent training, readily available Broker Support and the integrity of our agents. That’s not to say we’re perfect, by any means! What are the most frequent complaints filed with the GREC by the public and other licensees which result in citations, sanctions, suspensions and revocations? The top ten complaints follow with some suggestions as to how to avoid mistakes which may lead to complaints. (more…)
Sometimes we all trip up and pull a Rick Perry. Regardless of the fact that it was just a slip up, we should never forget that perception is everything. That is true especially in our business where our primary contact is with the public. There are many ways that our customers and clients can become offended by what we say, wear, write, and display. Here are some examples of behaviors that you should avoid if you want your customers and clients to take you seriously.
I am going to start with something I did to offend. Several years ago I had a bumper sticker that said “God BlessAmerica”. Innocuous right? Wrong, I actually had another driver pull up beside me and Say “What do you mean? Why don’t you have a sticker that says God BlessFrance?” I swear that is exactly what he said and he shouted it at me. I no longer have any bumper stickers on my car AND neither should you. It’s not professional.
Have you heard the news that, beginning January 1, 2012, real estate licensees who are not Realtors® (not members of a Board or Association of Realtors®) will no longer have free access to GAR Forms? All agents affiliated with BHGRE Metro Brokers and CBC Metro Brokers are required to be Realtors and will have access to GAR Forms, but this will be a big change for some other companies that don’t require membership.
Once 2012 begins, non-Realtors® will have to pay a $199 annual licensing fee for access to GAR Forms. The GAR Forms will recognize the NRDS numbers of Realtors®. When non-Realtors® try to access the GAR Forms and cannot provide a NRDS number, they will be offered the opportunity to pay the annual licensing fee online. No fee payment, no GAR Forms access. (more…)
With apologies to the Addams family,
They’re creaky and they’re spooky,
Overgrown and sooty,
They’re altogether pukey,
My REO lis-tings.
They smell and reek of urine,
Seem moldy and all furry,
They really are unnerving,
My REO lis-tings.
So get your rubber gloves on,
Your tetanus injection,
We’re going to go and check on
My REO lis-tings!
Okay, so REO listings aren’t the only scary listings, are they? I used to carry a bath towel draped over my shoulders when showing one listing in Dunwoody. The owner’s cat liked to lurk in the drop ceiling of the basement and every time I went down the basement stairs when showing the place, the cat would leap out of the ceiling and claw my shoulder. A couple of bloody
blouses later and I learned – be the first one down the stairs to spare any prospective buyers from attack and protect myself with the “towel shawl”. (more…)
There’s a great old comic strip about real estate closings. It shows a long narrow boat, like the crew boats you see pictures of rowing up and down the Charles River in front of Harvard and MIT in Boston. In the comic strip, there are at least 8 rowers (sometimes 10 or 12), but they’re dressed in business suits and “business casual” attire. In addition to their oars, they have briefcases and computers with them, along with 6’ levels and several file folders. The “coxswain” (the guy facing backward at the front of the boat with the megaphone) announces, “PREPARE TO CLOSE!” The rowers count off with military precision, (more…)
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Ann Bone (bio) Offering advice, one question at a time. |
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Glen Curry (bio) Your go to guy for insurance. |
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Dana Eskridge (bio) Relocation and foreclosure specialist. |
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Tisha Gay (bio) Delivering the hottest marketing trends and ideas to help you. |
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Dan Hinson (bio) Your business and commercial brokerage specialist. |
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Judy Jones (bio) Metro Brokers' own mortgage guru. |
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Eddie Krebs (bio) Providing advice on the latest real estate tech. |
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Kevin Levent (bio) Providing insight into industry trends. |
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Fran Stiakakis (bio) Dedicated to agents getting the most from their broker. |
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Brenda Waters (bio) Guiding agents through their real estate careers. |
