I just got off the phone with Mr. Ive B. Screwed. Seems like a nice young man from South Florida, I could hear babies crying in the background. Mr. Ive B. Screwed bought a house in Poinciana, January of this year. He’s never been to Poinciana but based on advice, he received from one of his neighbors, he decided Poinciana would be a great place to purchase a new home, then turn around and sell it for a small profit. Well, unfortunately for Mr. Ive B. Screwed, he was connected with a builder, WeRipOff, Inc. who just happened to be building homes in Pionciana. Not only would they build you a house but they would finance it as well, with only $5,000 down and pay all the closing costs. What a deal!! And to sweeten the pot even more, they work hand in hand with a Real Estate Company named GetRichToday, LLC.

This Company, Realtors by the way, promise that when your $225,000 house is complete they will sell it at $265,000, before the first payment is due, and you get to keep the $40,000 profit minus selling expenses! Man what a deal! How come I didn’t buy me some of these gems. Let’s see, for $50,000, I could have bought 10 houses and made $400,000 before expenses. Wow! I could almost retire or pay cash for my dream home.

Ok, flash forward to my conversation with Mr. Ive B. Screwed today. According to him, WeRipOff, Inc is now out of business. GetRichToday, LLC, even though apologetic, have told him they can’t sell his house and have decided to withdraw the listing. Mr. Ive B. Screwed is now desperate. His mortgage payment is $1,800 per month and he has been borrowing money against the equity or his primary residence to make the payments. So he decided to call Broker Bryant to see what I can do for him. Being the good little Realtor that I am, I tell him to give me an hour and I will do a little research on his house to see what his options are and what I feel I can sell the house for in 60 days or less.

This is what I find out:

• His house is worth $219,000, maybe, if we get lucky.
• It was probably worth $199,000 when he bought it.
• There are 200 homes, just like his, for sale, in the same neighborhood.
• If I can sell it, he will have to bring at least $20,000 to closing. On top of the $20,000 he has already dished out. Remember, this money has been borrowed against the equity in his homestead.

Needless to say, Mr. Ive B. Screwed is not a happy camper. Then I asked him if he had a prepayment penalty. After checking, he does. Ok, another $8,000 to $9,000 out of his pocket. So maybe, if I get lucky, he can cut his losses for about $50,000. You do remember this is money coming from the equity of his homestead? Did I tell you about the crying babies in the background? Folks, I have to tell you, I feel like crying too. And I’m sure Mr. Ive B. Screwed feels the same way.

So the way I see it, here are his options:

• Rent the house for about $800.00 a month and hold it for a few years to see if things change.
• Sell it and take the loss.
• Let the bank foreclose on it.
• Pray.

Except for the name changes, this is an absolutely true story. And there are hundreds, just like it, in my market right now. This transaction reeks of loan fraud. This young man’s life and family have been damaged and it may take years to recoup his losses. And I’m sure, WeRipOff, Inc is now called OutToSrewU, Inc and is in another area doing the same thing again. And the Realtors? Well, shame on you. I hope you spend a lot of nights thinking about the lives you have ruined.

The sharks have had their fill and moved on to better feeding grounds! 

I read this post on another forum earlier today:

My name is Michael De Smidt. I just wanted to share the marketing position my team and I have been using. " We don't say "We sell the most homes" …how much education we have…"We're the REALTOR for you" blah, blah, blah things like that. We have been selling to there emotions such as… sand between your toes… my this yard would be great for you and your family to have a BBQ in… aligning ourselves with what‘s important to them…things to that effect and we have had phenomenal results. Just thought I would share. If you have any comments please let me know. Take care

While I agree with Michael, to an extent, I don't think there is a blanket technique that will work for all. For example, I am a very non-emotional, analytical type person. An emotional Advertisement would do nothing for me. I do not make financial decisions based on my emotions. However, I do agree that harping on how many homes you've sold and so forth is the wrong approach. It's not about us, it's about what we can provide to Sellers and Buyers.

I have a great Ad program, right now, that is designed around what I have been hearing from potential Sellers. My Ads and mailers all say the same thing: I take 45 day listings with no cancellation fees and I stress the fact that I will answer my phone or call them back in 30 minutes. This Ad program has been very successful, counting the 3 listings I took today, I have listed 19 properties in 30 days. Why has this Ad program been successful?

Well, there are a couple of reasons. First, in my market there are many properties that are not selling and are showing up on the expired and withdrawn listings MLS hot sheet. Secondly, while talking to potential Sellers this is what I hear. “I have been listed with such and such a Realtor for 6 months. During this time I have only had 2 showings and I never hear from my Realtor. I’ve been waiting for our contract to run out because if I cancel, they charge me $1,000.”

Wow! After hearing this several times, it took me about 30 seconds to come up with my new Ad program. So folks, pay attention to what your market is telling you. Design your Ad program for your market. And remember, it’s all about them, not us.

Now since I have had numerous request, from members on ActiveRain, wanting a copy of my expired letter, here it is. Now remember this letter works for me in my market but your market may be different. What is your market telling you? Be real quiet and listen and you may just come up with the perfect Ad program. Please feel free to use this letter if it will help.

Greetings!

IF YOU ARE READING THIS LETTER THEN YOUR REALTOR HAS NOT SOLD YOUR HOME.

My name is Bryant Tutas and I am the Broker and Owner of Tutas Towne Realty, Inc. I have noticed that your house was recently taken off the market, so I am writing to see if you still have an interest in selling. I welcome the opportunity to meet with you to go over your Real Estate needs and update you on current market conditions in Poinciana. Together we can devise a plan that will get your home sold. In this more difficult market you need a Realtor experienced in your area who will get your home sold for full market value in a reasonable amount of time. I will offer you my 12 years of experience selling homes in Poinciana and an unconditional 45 day listing agreement that you can cancel at anytime with no fees to you. I get paid when you get paid. At closing.

I promise to talk to you personally during the listing period at least twice a week with updates. I promise to answer my phone when you call or return your call within 30 minutes Mon-Sun 8am-8pm. Try it! 407-873-2747 or 407-870-9003 or 863-438-9003.

Also check out my web site at www.poincianaproperties.com.

Folks, if you are serious about selling your home then give me a call today and start packing! I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

Bryant Tutas, GRI

Broker/Owner

EM: tutastowne@aol.com

BTW, this is my 100^th post! So please read!

Ok, folks here we are, the 4^th quarter, crunch time. My favorite time of year. Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year’s Eve. The weather is changing. We even had a cold front in Florida today. The temperature dropped all the way down to 87. Burrrrrr! It was freezing! Ok, maybe not.

Anyway, I hear, from different sources, that this is a slow period for Real Estate. People are gearing up for the Holidays and let’s face it, who wants to move between Thanksgiving and Christmas? Well, if you have been reading my Blog, then you probably know by now, that I don’t subscribe to the status quo. I just don’t like it. To me the 4^th quarter is a very important part of my business  year. It’s time for me to get busy and finish the year with a big bang. I have a quota to make and I’m not there yet.

So here's a short list of some things that may help you in finishing strong for the year. Also, you may pick up some listings, so you can have a good beginning for next year. 

• Adjust your attitude. Expect to finish strong and you will.
• Reduce the price on your listings. Let the Sellers know they need to get under contract before the holidays.
• Increase you marketing.
• Be available. A lot of Realtors will be taking time off.
• Stay positive. Don’t read negative news.
• Get out of the office and into your market area.
• Remind Buyers and Sellers that there are tax advantages to closing this year.
• Concentrate on Buyers and Sellers that need to move, job transfers etc.
• Offer a year end discount.
• Stay out of the mall!

These things are very basic, but believe me they will work. December is normally my best month for closings.

So, I don’t know about you, but I think I will polish up my signs, load up on contracts and………….. go get me some of that business!

Since this sounds like the song of the week, I thought I would do a little research on my listings, using Zillow as a comparison. First, I don’t give a hoot about Zillow. It doesn’t affect my business at all. The one thing Zillow can never have is personality. So unless they figure out how to accomplish this, I am safe. So, just for fun’s sake, here is list of my listings with my “expert market opinion” and Zillow’s zestimate. Actually, as you will see, they did a pretty good job in my market. It probably helps that most of the homes, in my market, are very similar in style. So here goes:

My Price        Zestimate       Difference

$143,000       $143,854        $    854

$205,000       $213,790        $  8,790

$220,000       $222,492        $  2,492

$229,000       $233,513        $  4,513

$245,000       $248,484        $  3,484

$259,000       $246,234        $ 12,766-

$179,000       $161,558        $ 17,442-

$185,000       $181,525        $   3,475-

$195,000       $172,031        $ 22,969-

$249,000       $225,741        $ 23,259-

$259,000       $238,741        $ 20,259-

So maybe I do need to list at the Zillow estimate. According to Zillow 6 of my listings are overpriced! I think I will go back to my Sellers next week and use Zillow to get some price reductions. Yeah, that’s what I’ll do. And I’m going to sing all the way……….Zillow, zillow fee fillow fee fi fo fillow……… zillow!

I had a Realtor show one of my listings today. Later this afternoon I received this E-mail. Needless to say, I was impressed!! It is so difficult to get feedback from a showing. I didn't even ask!! So kudos "Tito" for a job well done. I've been in business 12 years and this is the first time this has happened. I have to invite this guy to join ActiveRain!

Hi Bryant,

I showed your listing located on 436 Cart CT.    I want to offer some feedback from the prospect buyers working on my side.  I also hope you will find their feedback useful.

·        They liked the tile work and the entire home done.

·         They liked the pool home on that price point.

·        The irregular lot and the lack of privacy in the pool area did not help me sell the property.

·        They felt not having enough cabinet space in the kitchen.

·        Liked the proximity to Downtown Poinciana.

They selected a new 2005 never lived in home with 1470 sq/ft living area, plus a number of incentive offer by the builder. The house is closer to their family members and friends. 

Jesus" Tito" Marrero
Serving Central Florida

407-569-1130
800-489-1560 Ext. 259
Cell – 321-689-8050
Email – Jtitomarrero@aol.com

I’ve read a couple of posts lately on verbal offers. Instead of rejecting them why not try this? Ok, a Realtor calls me up with a verbal offer from his Buyer on one of my listings. It goes something like this:

“Hi Broker Bryant I have an offer for your listing. My Buyer is only in town for a few hours so is making a verbal offer so we don’t waste our time.”

“Oh, I’m sorry my Seller will not negotiate verbally. It’s in my listing agreement, all offers to purchase must be in writing and presented with a prequalification letter prior to negotiating. So why don’t you swing by your office write up the offer and send it over to me. If your Buyer is serious, then maybe we can get a deal negotiated because my Sellers do want to sell.”

“My Buyer is serious but we really don’t have time to go through all that.”

This is where I jump out of my box.

Ok, now my goal, is to get offers on my listings, so my Sellers can have the opportunity to negotiate and hopefully be able to sell their house. After all, it is their house and it is not my place to blow a Buyer out of the water just because his Realtor is incompetent. So, telling this Realtor to forget it, is not an option. If the Buyer is truly interested, I could be harming my Sellers, by not at least hearing what the offer is. So this is what you can do. Pull out a blank purchase offer. Then ask the Realtor the following questions.

• Ok, what's the Buyers name?
• How much does he want to offer?
• How much deposit is he offering?
• How much is he putting down?
• When can he close?

Now that’s 5 simple questions (in a couple of minutes) and while I’m asking them I have written the answers in the appropriate blanks on the purchase contract. Next I say:

“Listen, I have already completed a purchase offer for your buyer and I am faxing it over to your office. Now if your Buyer is truly serious then swing by, have him sign the offer and fax it back over to me, with the pre-qualification letter and I will present it to my Seller. Is that easy enough for you?”

I know, I know, Broker Bryant why are you doing this Realtor’s job? Why are you wasting your time with this nonsense?

To answer the first question, my Sellers have hired me to sell their property and they are paying me handsomely for doing this. So this may not be my responsibility but it is definitely my job.

To answer the second question, why not? I never discount any offers with at least trying to negotiate. You just never know. I have had many “low ball” offers turn into pending contracts. My job is to present the offer to my Sellers and let them decide how to proceed. Also, I repeat my earlier statement, “I will not hold a Buyer responsible for his Realtor’s incompetence.” The Realtor is not the one buying the house. I am sure Realtors lose many deals by not understanding this.

So next time before you blow off the other Realtor and possibly lose a good Buyer, pull out that contract and fill in the blanks. Who knows?….Get out of the box…….your next commission may be out there!

Keeping Sellers happy in a slower market can be a difficult thing to do. If you want to be successful in this slower market you are going to have to improve on your communication skills. I mean let’s face it, it may take several months to get a home sold, even if it is priced right. Sellers are going to get antsy and we need to be able to keep them happy until the listing sells. My goal is to never remove my “For Sale” sign unless I am on my way to closing. If it takes 2 weeks or 12 months, I am keeping that listing.

Does this sound familiar?

“Hello, it’s a beautiful day at Tutas Towne, this is Broker Bryant how can I help you?”

"Broker Bryant, this is Mr. Whyaint U. Sold. What’s going on with my house? How come I haven’t had any showings? What are you doing to sell my house?"

“Uh, oh, hey there, yes, sorry I haven’t called. I’ve had you on my list to call but haven’t had anything good to tell you. Oh wait, yeah, I forgot, I got a call yesterday from some people in NY who may be interested.”

Now, you have probably had this happen before, a Seller who you haven’t spoken to for a while, calling you at an inopportune time to complain about nothing happening on his house. I don’t know about you, but I hate it when this happens. It puts me on the spot and makes me say things I shouldn’t say. So what do you do? How do you keep this from happening?

Well, the key is, communication. Make it a point to communicate with your Sellers constantly. Personally, I prefer daily contact, until they tell me differently. If a Seller calls me for an update, then I have not done my job properly.

So you’re thinking, Broker Bryant, what can I say to my Sellers? There has been no interest in their property and I did all my advertising the first week. What do I say to them now?

Well, try this.

“Hello.”

"Hi there Mr, Whyaint U. Sold, this is Broker Bryant. Can you believe I haven’t sold your house yet? This market sure has changed from last year. Last year I couldn’t keep a house on the market now I can’t give them away. Did you know when I checked the MLS hot sheet this morning there were 20 new listings in your area? I also saw the house down the street from you just reduced their price again. They must really need to sell. I think they have been on the market for 6 months already. Anyway, I just wanted to touch base with you to let you know I am on it. I am surprised we haven’t had any showings yet. I’m going to mail out some post cards later this week maybe that will help. If not we might have to get together to discuss pricing in a couple of weeks. I know your other closing is coming up and we want to make sure you are under contract by the end of next month. Well, listen, I’ve got to go. I’ll give you a call tomorrow so we can chat. Have a great day. Bye!"

In that brief conversation, controlled by me, I was able to get in several important bits of info. By the way, this info left on an answering machine achieves the same objective.

• Agreeing, right up front that I haven’t sold his house yet (stole his thunder).
• Brought to his attention how the market has changed.
• Informed him of increased inventory.
• Let him know the neighbor just reduced his price.
• Assured him I was on the job.
• Mentioned my surprise at not having any showings yet (stole his thunder again).
• Gave him my marketing plan for the week.
• Planted the seed for a price reduction.
• Reminded him of his urgency in selling.
• Told him I would call him again tomorrow.

By doing this constantly you will be able to keep your listings until they sell. And that my friends, is the whole point, in this more difficult market. So just like Geri Sonkin…………glue that phone to your ear!

“I’m not giving my house away!” Have you heard that lately? I bet you have. It seems to be the popular phrase in my market right now. “I’m not giving my house away!” Nope, you probably won’t have to either. Let’s analyze this Mr. Give A. Way. You bought your house 20 months ago for $128,000 with no money down. Today the “True Value” of your home is $250,000 and you have been on the market for 6 months at $275,000 with no showings. By the way Mr. Give A. Way, how’s that been working for you?

Let’s see now, there are 97 houses on the market, within 2 miles of your house, that are identical to yours, these are priced from $245,000 to $325,000. Yes, that’s $325,000! A little over priced to say the least. Now Mr. Give A. Way, in order to sell your home, in 45 days or less, I recommend we “Range Price” your home from $239,000 to $259,000 with $259,000 being a full price offer. By pricing this way, yours will be in first position on an MLS search, for similar homes, this will generate showings and we should be able to negotiate a price in the middle of the “Range”. That would be $249,000, right at true market value. “$249,000!!! I told you, I’m not giving my house away!!”

Now, now Mr. Give A. Way, let me try to put this in perspective for you. At a selling price of $249,000 minus my commission, your closing costs and mortgage payoff, you will still Net approximately $100,000 in your pocket. Now let’s see, that’s a $100,000 in 20 months on an investment of zero dollars. That really is awesome you know. That’s a life changing amount of money Mr. Give A. Way. So, does this sound good? All I need is a key and I will get you up and running right now. Just sign here and here and I will go out and put up a sign and get a lockbox, Ok?

“How about your commission? If I have to give my house away you should give me a discount on your commission. Look at all the money you are making just for putting a sign in the yard”

“Excuse me, Mr. Give A. Way………..I’m not giving  my commission away!” NEXT!!!!

Wow, here we are at the end of another week. I don’t know about you but I was very busy this past week. Five new listings, two new pending listings and unfortunately, one closing that got delayed. But all in all, a good week. And to top it off, I wrote five featured post for ActiveRain. Yep, that’s right, five. Five Gold Stars in a row. I am humbled, to say the least.

I have to say that I am just befuddled by this. Why is this happening to me? I read a lot of very good posts on AR and I am surprised that some of them are not featured. But what do you do? I would be lying if I said it didn’t please me to see those Stars. I mean, let’s face it, everyone likes to be noticed. And I sincerely hope, that my posts, are truly deserving. But more importantly, I hope they are informative and helpful, after all, that is the entire purpose of my Blog.

I’ve been struggling with this post all day. I don’t want to come off as arrogant, because anyone that knows me will tell you I am far from that. I just felt I needed to address it. Anyway, I guess all I can do is to continue to do my best and let the Stars fall where they may. It’s something I have no control over.

If I can take my 12 years of Real Estate experience and somehow formulate it into an interesting read that will help shorten the learning curve of a newer Realtor, then that is what I need to do. We are all in this business together and we should be willing to share our knowledge with as many people as we can. Informed Realtors make our jobs easier.

This to me, has been the greatest benefit of ActiveRain. To be honest, I never knew I had this in me. I found ActiveRain through another forum (Planet Realtor), where I spend time answering questions for Realtors. Most are new to the business and just need advice or an opinion. I still participate in this forum, daily. To me it is a great thing that Realtors are wanting to learn and are willing to seek out knowledge, even if it is on a forum and not from their Broker. Are their Brokers not willing to help? Now that’s definitely food for a another post!

So keep posting. Be yourself. Find a subject you are knowledgeable on and share that knowledge. Remember who your audience is. Inject your personality into your Blog. Make it eye appealing and easy to read. How often should you post? As often as you have something to say.

And those Stars? Beats me. I wish I knew the secret formula. I guess only Matt and crew know that. But if it helps, I’m just a simple country boy who didn’t even finish High School, so I know it’s not based on “book learnin”. Maybe, it’s because I’m soooooooooo good looking. Yeah, that’s it!

Today, I was very fortunate to have two great phone conversations with fellow Rainer Margaret Rome. We have spoken before but today was special as we had a chance to talk about how we do business and the things we have in common. And folks, I must say, it is uncanny the similarities in what we do. Margaret, by the way, is a great lady and an excellent Realtor.

If you ever have the opportunity to “pick her brain” I highly recommend you take advantage of it. She is very successful and extremely knowledgeable about Real Estate, and as most successful people, willing to share her knowledge. You can read about some of Margaret’s techniques at iSucceed.com and tune in tomorrow (Sunday), between 12-1 Eastern time, at http://www.wcbm.com/ to hear her on the radio in Baltimore. Great show. Great host. I phoned in to her show two weeks ago and we had a excellent conversation on the air. She made it very easy, for me, by asking all the right questions.

Anyway, to show you how uncanny our similarities are here is a short list of our commonalities.

1. Both solo Realtors. No teams or assistants.

2. Primarily listing agents.

3. Have the same amount of listings.

4. Close the same number of transactions yearly.

5. Both work from home.

6. Both are experts on pricing.

7. Our services are not cheap.

8. I’ve been in the business 12 years, Margaret 16 years.

9. We both love helping other Realtors succeed.

10. And we are both soooooooooo good looking.

So, Margaret, kudos to you for being such a fine person. I truly believe we were separated at birth. And Margaret, my friend, thanks for the…….Brain pick!