BrokerBryant.com: June 2009

Hi folks. This post is a follow up to my recent post My Buyer only wants one house. Why make 14 offers? If you haven’t read that one….I’ll give you a brief synopsis. It’s about making offers on multiple properties even though my Buyers intent is to only purchase one of them.

I’m writing this post for clarity. I want to clarify what I’m doing and I need clarity on a few of the comments that were left.

First, a few people mentioned that they MUST have an escrow deposit in hand prior to submitting a purchase offer. If this is a law……….show it to me. I don’t believe it.

Secondly, I had two agents from Georgia comment about what their purchase contracts state about disclosure.

One said:
 
"In GA we actually have something in our contracts specifically for this. A checkbox in which the buyer must disclose whether this is their only offer or if they have others in the hopper simultaneously."
 
The other wrote this:

"Actually, here in GA the Purchase Offer has a box to check for the buyer to either have or not have the right to enter into a contract on another property."

One’s talking about offers the other is talking about contracts. Which is it? I would be SHOCKED if there were a State law in any State that stated a Buyer had to disclose if they were making offers on more than one property. If there is……show it to me. I don’t believe it.

OK….I’m not trying to be a dick....I just want clarity. These things are important. Sometimes things we think are illegal or unethical are not. If I’m wrong..... I want to be corrected. It’s how I learn.

Now let me clarify a couple of things.

• I only use this tactic on REO properties.

• I only use this tactic when working with experienced Investors with cash.

• My Buyers do not back out of contracts. They do however withdraw offers.

• There is no chance in heck of a Bank signing off on an offer without coming back with a stack of addendums.

• Offers are presented with escrow deposit being deposited within 24 hours of acceptance.

• My Buyers are making very strong, over list price, cash offers with the intent of purchasing the property.

• If the offer is accepted in a timely fashion my Buyers will go under contract.

I think that’s it. Maybe when Wendy and I get finished with “Short Sale Basics” we’ll jump over to “Dealing With Buyers in a REO Market”. What do you think?

Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Making offers on Multiple properties. Do your Buyers do it? Mine do. And here’s why.

In the Central Florida market right now REOs (bank owned properties) make up a HUGE percentage of the saleable inventory of homes. Most sell very quickly, for higher than listing price and with multiple offers. 

This can be very frustrating for Buyers and their agents. It seems like every time you make an offer on a REO property it is either pending or a bidding war is going on. So what do you do?

What I do is have my Buyers make offers on numerous properties at the same time. We don’t even look at them. If a good property comes on the market I send an offer for my Buyer to sign and then we forward it right on to the REO agent. We want to get into the game.

Last week I presented 14 offers for one Buyer alone!!! My Buyer’s intent of course was to only purchase one property. Luckily we received acceptances on 2 of the 14. My Buyer was so excited he changed his mind and decided to buy both!! You just have to love it when that happens.

It happened to me this week too. So….submitting multiple offers turns out to be a very good thing. The Buyers are not only getting the property they want but they also getting a second one as a bonus!!

Now listing agents are probably not thrilled about this as we end up withdrawing a lot of offers. I had a conversation with one of the REO agents last week who asked me if the Buyer had seen the property. My answer was “no”. He seemed to be a little perturbed and actually said I couldn’t do that. Said I was “playing dirty”.

Now folks…..I don’t think I have ever seen a law that stated a Buyer needed to see a property in order to make an offer on it. Have you?

We look at the property between the time the offer is verbally accepted and the time the bank sends us over the final addendums. As you know, if you sell a lot of REOs, this could be a day or 2 weeks. Whatever it is it’s plenty of time to pop over and check out the property.

I’ve been primarily a Listing Broker my entire career. I think I’m getting pretty good at this Buyer stuff though.  Am I playing dirty or am I just doing the best I can for my Buyers? What say you?

Are you a Florida REALTOR(R) looking for a change? Check it out. http://TTRealtyNet.com

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES

 Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

Hi folks. On Saturday I participated in a Webinar hosted by Jennifer Alan. I thought it went very well. If you attended I hope you feel the same. Anyway, there was one more question that Jennifer wanted me to answer. Since I didn’t do it on the Webinar I’ll do it here.

"What's the best advice you can give to a brand new agent...?"
 
Hmmmmm……let me see……uhhhh……. Nope. I got nothin’ for ya. I’ve been stumped!!!

OK…..not really. I DO have something for ya. In fact, I have a bunch of somethings for ya.

Brokers are obligated by law to train and supervise their agents. This is not a choice, this is law. At a minimum, new and old agents should be able to properly complete a legible and binding purchase contract and listing agreement. They should be able to prepare an accurate Market Analysis and be able to justify market value to their Sellers and Buyers. They should know when to provide the proper Agency Disclosure.

New agents should be able to intelligently discuss financing, appraisals, inspections, repairs and the closing process. These things need to be taught and learned prior to conducting the services of Real Estate. It is the Broker’s responsibility to make sure all Realtors are receiving this very minimum amount of training prior to holding themselves out to the public as being a professional capable of handling their Real Estate transaction. To be any less qualified than this is probably illegal and definitely unethical.

To be an experienced agent comes later. This is learned by trial and error. Learning how to handle closing issues, negotiating techniques, people skills, preparing marketing plans, having a feel for a deal, being able to confidently counsel your customer/clients and many other skills that can only come from being involved in transactions. Hopefully, the more deals you do the more experienced you will become. One thing for sure about this business is you will never know it all.

My advice to new agents is to take as many training classes as you can. Learn the basic skills required to conduct your business. Read everything you can related to Real Estate. Find a Mentor. Hook up with a great mortgage Broker. Take the GRI classes. Take a seasoned REALTOR(R) with you on your first listing or buyer appointment. Have your Broker review all your contracts prior to presenting them. Read and understand the purchase contact including the standards. Practice preparing a Market Analysis before your first listing.

And most important find a Brokerage that offers training. You can always switch to a higher commission split office later once you know what you are doing. Treat this business as a profession and dedicate your time to learning and you will find this a very rewarding business to be in.

And because I'm a nice guy......I'll get you started.

MARKETING:

• Broker Bryant's marketing plan.

LISTING PRESENTATION:

• Make your listing presentation a listening presentation.

WORKING WITH BUYERS:

• Buyer's Broker Agreement

PRESENTING AN EFFECTIVE CONTRACT:

• Purchase Offer

PROPER PRICING:

• The right price

COMMUNICATION SKILLS:

• Keeping sellers happy

So how did I do? Did I answer the question?

Are you a Florida REALTOR(R) looking for a change? Check it out. http://TTRealtyNet.com

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES

 Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved

OK here's your opportunity to play "Stump the Broker". I hope to see you guys on Saturday.

Hi folks. I have on occasion been accused of being "cocky" or "arrogant" when it comes to my selling style. Of course the reality is....it's just confidence. I have an over abundance of it.

When meeting with a potential buyer/seller my technique is to educate them. I'm not selling at all. I'm teaching  them and giving them the information they need to make an informed decision. By doing this I'm building trust.

If you are having a difficult time "selling" folks it's because you are asking for the business prior to building trust. Building trust is the main ingredient to any sales job. And trust is built by really being knowledgeable about what you do and  having the ability to present that knowledge to your potential customer/client  in a confident manner. Confidence is contagious.Your confident manner will give them confidence in you.

And listen to them. I mean really listen. Get off the stage and place your client up there. Let them tell you what they are trying to achieve and then show them how you are going to help them achieve it.

Our job is NOT about selling it's about building relationships and solving problems. If you are trying to sell people you are missing the boat. I'm a trusted adviser, a negotiator, a friend, a calming force and a problem solver. Forget about the sale. Forget about the commission and concentrate on the people sitting in front of you.

Am I really arrogant?

Are you a Florida REALTOR(R) looking for a change? Check it out. http://TTRealtyNet.com

CENTRAL FLORIDA REALTOR(r) OPPORTUNITIES

 Copyright © 2009 http://www.brokerbryant.com/ | All Rights Reserved