BrokerBryant.com: August 2009

Hi folks. Here’s a question for you…how many online networks do you belong to? I would bet that a lot of us on ActiveRain also have profiles on Twitter, Facebook, Trulia, LinkedIn and most of the more popular sites.

So what’s your number? 5? 10? 20? More?

Would your loved ones know how to access these sites if you died or became incapacitated? Would they be able to let your online friends know what happened?

The reason I ask is that I read an article today in the Orlando Sentinel that asked the question…. “What happens to our Virtual World when we die?”. Written by Etan Horowitz

Personally, I keep all of my user names and passwords in a Word Document. Currently, my document is 4 pages long!!! I have well over 100 accounts that require passwords or pin numbers.

After reading the article from the Sentinel I am placing this issue on my list of things I need to take care of a.s.a.p. How about you?

Here are some sites that may help you:

www.TheDigitalBeyond.com

www.LegacyLocker.com

www.AssetLock.net

www.DeathSwitch.com

Do you know of any more?

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

***The content of this blog is solely my opinion***

SHORT SALE AGENT TRAINING

THE NEGOTIATOR INTERVIEW

Do you want to know:

• What is the best question to ask when you follow up on your short sale?
  

• What are the short sale phone reps looking at on their computer screens?
  

• How are all those faxes separated and imaged in?
  

• What qualifications do short sale negotiators have?
  

• Why do they tell you "No" when it makes sense to you?
  

• Why do they deny your BPO and comps?
  

• Do they care if the buyer is going to "walk"?
  

• What is going on with your package after two months of waiting?
  

• What happens with Fannie Mae files?
  

• What agents get the best treatment and why?
  

• What would the negotiator tell you if they were allowed?
  

• What can you do to mess up your chance of approval?
  

• Why do they cut your commission when they are the junior lien?
  

• How can you get them to reduce the promissory note or cash contribution?

.........and much more.

$27

The Negotiator Interview is being recorded and will be available on MP3 just in case you can't make it "live".

Folks...... this may be the best $27 you have spent in a long time.

If you want to join us..........

Bryant Tutas
Wendy Rulnick

Founders

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

Available Short Sale Training:

• The Negotiator Interview $27.00
  
• www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com FREE
• Short Sale Agent Training Webinars 8 Hours of training and materials for $197.00

Hi folks. I’ve read a couple of posts this week that have left me scratching my head. Both were about listing agents and their “unethical” practice of not handling multiple offers according to the Buyer agent’s expectations.

In the comments on these posts the listing agents were called lazy, unethical, unprofessional, bad, rude, unfair and greedy. The consensus was that “The listing agent was not looking out for the Seller‘s best interest.”

Well my question is: “How do you know what’s in my Seller’s best interest”. The answer of course is “you don’t“. You have no clue what my Seller and I have discussed.

As a listing Broker it is my job to counsel my sellers. My Sellers need to know that they do not have to…….

…..disclose multiple offers.
…..counter offer.
…..ask for “highest and best”.
…..even acknowledge your Buyer’s offer.

There are many reason why NOT disclosing multiple offers or asking for “Highest and Best” may be the best way forward.

• The Buyer may NOT submit an offer if they know there are multiple offers.

• A Buyer may also NOT want to get caught up in a bidding war.

• By disclosing multiple offers I could very well keep my Seller from getting a better offer.

I can’t even count how many times a Buyer’s agent has called me to say they were sending over an offer. Frankly it goes in one ear and out the other. I NEVER believe them. I am not going to contact my Seller and get them all excited only to have to let them down when the offer does not materialize.

Send me the offer and I’ll present it to the Seller. And send me a COMPLETE offer. Telling me you will provide a pre-approval and/or proof of funds tomorrow does my Seller or your Buyer no good. Without these items the offer will not be presented. It’s a non offer.

As an example: I received an offer on one of my short sale listings on Friday. It was cash and very low. It was also sent over with out proof of funds (POF). I emailed the agent and asked them for the POF.

I didn’t receive POF until Monday and then......I couldn’t read it. I had to ask the agent to resend it. It took the agent took another 24 hours. Finally, 5 days later, I was able to discuss the offer with my Seller.

My Seller countered. Shortly after that we received a far better offer that my Seller will probably accept. After discussing it we decided to ask the cash offer for “Highest and Best” just to see if they would come up.

I received an email from the agent moaning that she thought her Buyers would get an answer today and that they were not happy with “Highest and best” and were in fact upset that there were now multiple offers because we “didn’t disclose this to them”.

Now if this agent were a Blogger she would probably write a post about how  lazy, unethical, unprofessional, bad, rude, unfair and greedy I am. And how “I’m not looking out for my Seller’s best interest.”

But that’s OK. My Seller just accepted the other offer that was $15,000 better than the cash offer. I really don’t give a crap what the Buyer’s agent and the Buyer think. I work for the Seller. They are the one’s paying me.

While I certainly agree with having “professional courtesy” it does not extend to giving you insider information to help you negotiate a real estate transaction. Always remember who you are working for.

If your expectations are different....then you are setting yourself and your Buyers up for failure. That’s all I have to say about that. What say you?

More articles on handling multiple offers.

Video is the property of ROAR!! Productions. Hands off!!

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

***The content of this blog is solely my opinion***

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

After much consideration Wendy and I have decided to make Short Sale Basics Agent Training Webinar available for $197.. This 5 part Webinar series walks you through a Short Sale Transaction from beginning to end. The course also includes a complete Short Sale Listing Package.

Listen to a sample of the webinar:

If you are working Short Sales now or want to work Short Sales in the future then this course is a must. This is what our Students are saying:

"I had the fortune to be part of your short sale basics webinar. I want to express my gratitude and appreciation to Wendy Rulnick and Broker Bryant sharing their expertise in a conversational setting walking us students through from start to finish of a typical Short Sale transaction. This webinar was filled with materials and information giving the most inexperienced the confidence taking on Short Sales.

Having participated in classroom environment, read, studied short sale blogs, information and guidelines in the past; this is by far the best step by step instruction that I have received in my over 10 years experience in real estate. You guys truly are the SuperStars! Thank you, Petra Norris Broker . Lakeland, FL

"I had the honor of participating in the first of a five-part series on Short Sales with Bryant Tutus & Wendy Rulnick and the class was absolutely wonderful!" Debe Maxwell, Realtor, Charlotte, NC

"I am very impressed with yours and Wendy's webinars! I learn much better with audio, where I can listen to it repetitively. I have downloaded these webinars, and that is just what i have been doing (listening to it over and over to learn the material). You are making the short sale exceedingly understandable. In my previous office, this stuff was secret like REO's, and only for the "experience seasoned agents" That is why I did not have access to this info, or get to learn this. It was not taught!!!

Thank you so very much for allowing us to participate, share, and learn. I find you both to be extremely knowledgable in this field, and make it tremendously enjoyable! You both are wonderful teachers! I do love all the real short sale experiences that you share with us also. This is an enormous learning experience for me. I also like the "conversation aspect" of this training. It is very informative to have you and Wendy converse, unrehearsed, so that we may learn. Thank you for sharing!" Ginger Moore.

"Thanks for sharing your joint experience in the minefields of Short Sales, the web forum, and all you have done. The webinars have been fantastic. I look forward to sharing with you and the charter members as well. This will be an awesome resource site for all of us as we work through the Short Sale maze. Short sales will be around a long time and there is great opportunity for all. The webinars have been fantastic."
Don Duft, Realtor, Virginia

"Today's webinar (Session 5) was the best of all, a great capper to the entire series. You and Wendy impart wisdom, not just process. I'm going to listen to this session again" Judy Chapman, Realtor, Oveido, Florida

There are more testimonials HERE.

SHORT SALE BASICS

Taught by Wendy Rulnick and Bryant Tutas

$197

5 part Webinar with over eight hours of intense training taught by practicing real estate brokers. Includes short sale package, forms, approval letters, more.

"This is by far the best step by step instruction that I have received in my over 10 years experience in real estate"

CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFO

Click here to read what our Students say.

AND....don't forget to join www.ShortSaleSuperStars.com .....it's FREE!!!

Visit Short Sale Superstars

Hi folks. Earlier this week Fernando Herboso wrote a post titled “The Future of Real Estate….I experienced yesterday”. If you haven’t already please take a few minutes to read his post. I’ll wait…………. OK....are you done?

Fernando's post is talking about having a real estate closing where the only time he met the Seller was at closing. The transaction was done mostly via email.

I was surprised in the comments of Fernando’s post how many agents thought this was risky or that it wouldn’t work. This has had me thinking for days now.

It’s made me realize how cutting edge my business model really is. My company Tutas Towne Realty is a virtual real estate business. What this means is I do not have an “office” and about 90% of my business is handled over the Internet. Selling and buying real estate with folks we have never met or spoken to.

In the last 30 days we had 10 closings. 9 Buyer sides and 1 listing side. Of the 9 Buyer sides we had actual "face to face" contact with ONE Buyer. I did meet the Seller although I hadn’t seen him in several months.

Out of the 8 Buyers, we didn’t meet face to face, we only spoke to ONE of them. All other communications were done by email only. Including the closings.

We showed ZERO properties before the offers were accepted.  All offers were presented on properties we had not seen. They were foreclosures, short sales and some were regular listings.

The customers ALL got the properties they wanted and are extremely happy. We didn’t waste their time and they didn’t waste ours.

So you’re probably wondering how we do this. It’s simple. We market for experienced and qualified Buyers that are mostly out of the country. They are familiar with the area and they trust us to guide them in their purchase. We are brutally honest with them and we have systems in place to protect them.

We do “see” all properties before contracts are finalized. It could be me. It could be one of my agents. It could be one of our inspectors. But whoever it is we make sure to do a complete photo and video shoot that we then send to the Buyer.

We utilize Scribd.com to “send out” Short Sale Listing Packages.

We utilize Google Docs to get leads for Short Sales, for Buyers, to get offers and to pre-qualify and arrange showings.

I have numerous web sites set up to capture business. All potential customer/clients know how we work and have the option of not working with us.

So quit fighting the future and embrace it. If you think all Buyers and Sellers must see you “face to face” to do business then get over yourself. They really just want to buy and sell real estate. AND….they want it to be easy.

Want to learn more? We also use Google Docs for recruiting……

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com

http://ShortSaleSuperStars.com

***The content of this blog is solely my opinion***

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

Visit Short Sale Superstars

Hi folks.  The topic of this post is comments. Not how to make them or when to respond to them but how much value they can add to a post if you give them time to germinate.

When I write a post one of my goals is to create a discussion. I do this by asking questions, writing about a topic but leaving out information or by writing about something controversial. The reason I do this is because I want to learn. The discussions that take place in the comments help me do this. The comments give me a different way of looking at things or maybe I get some additional information that I didn't know or hadn't thought of.

Sometimes, my entire way of looking at a topic may change. I may have just been dead wrong in my thinking and some one was able to correct me. Either way it stimulates my thought process. And that's my main objective for writing.

So folks, what I want to do today is share some links to a few of my older posts. The posts that I have chosen are posts that generated tremendous discussion or had people commenting that were very aggressive and I was able to turn them around. And a few where we just had to agree to disagree and move forward.

My point in sharing these past posts is to show you how a comment thread can evolve from being very negative or aggressive to ending in a very positive manner.

If you receive a comment you don't like or you feel is an attack don't be so quick to delete it. Think about it. Then try to change that person's way of thinking. Debate the topic. Try your best to turn them around. Who knows......you may be the one that's wrong or maybe you'll learn something.

If you have a strong opinion on something you should be able to defend it. If all you want is for people to agree with you then you are missing out on a great opportunity to grow. Remember opinions are NEVER right or wrong. They are just opinions.

So, if you want to see how commenting can expand your knowledge, then take some time and read through these posts. It won't be easy. Some of these have many, many comments and each comment could be a post of it's own. Also, the comments are much better than the posts. The posts were just a starting point.

You'll read heated battles, total disagreements, anonymous posters, consumers weighing in and several other surprises. Who knows maybe you'll learn something. OK so here goes. I hope you enjoy the read. Might take a week to get through it all but it will be worth it I promise. Then come back and let me know what you think.

• "The Proof is in the Puddin" Range Pricing part 1,279! The comments in this one get very good about 3/4 of the way down. It is basically me defending my technique against naysayers.

• Let the Games Begin! This was a very strong debate between several members with me basically moderating the battle.

• So, what do you do to justify your high commission? Folks, if you don't read any of the others, you need to read this one. This post is an AR classic on how to debate a topic. To get the full affect of how this came about you have to visit the first link in the post that will take you over to the bloodhound blog. I was very, very proud of the members of ActiveRain this day. To me this comment thread epitomizes what blogging is all about.

• Buyer rebates. Good business or potential fraud? We had it ALL going on in this comment thread. In fact it was so much information I carried it over to another post.

• Buyer rebates on the HUD? It's clear as mud now! Well, after two posts and over 200 comments we still never got to the bottom of the buyer rebate debate. Oh well, maybe next time.

• Compensation or Performance? Which one will it be? Another great comment thread. REALTORS®, the consumer and an Attorney debate this topic. You have to get about half way down to when Mark Nadel, the person who wrote a 75 page white paper study on this topic, chimed in.

• Sherman and Broker Bryant mount up for battle!! This post will show you how to stand up for what you believe in. If you have a strong opinion then back it up.

OK that's it. I hope that in some small way this post will help you. As always, I appreciate each and every one of you that take the time to read what I write. Don't ever feel you have to agree with me. I'm a big boy and I can take it. I want to know your opinions and thoughts. So let me have them!

***Graphic compliments of Jay Merton. I call it "Me and my big head" Others may call it "Broker Bryant is full of hot air". But hey, that's their opinion and they are entitled to it.

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

Bryant Tutas
Broker/Owner
Tutas Towne Realty, Inc
Licensed Florida Real Estate Broker
http://CentralFloridaShortSales.com/

***The content of this blog is solely my opinion***