Jersey Shore, Pennsylvania
I will share my views and experiences on key real estate industry topics - agency, appraisal, and ethics. I welcome your comments.
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Jan. 30, 2009
Ever wish there were ‘three strikes and you’re out’ in real estate? I have. This week, I heard, saw or observed three different strikes, with three different agents, and they all made me say: “Get Serious—or Get Out of the Way!”
Agent #1 is a selling agent. She had buyers who wanted to go back through a house for the third time before making a decision. The listing agent knew this, and anxiously called for a report. The reply: “I waited five minutes—they were late—they’ve seen that house; if they want to buy it, they will.” Anyone out there want a buyer badly enough to wait for more than five minutes? I thought so!
Agent #2 is a listing agent. His MLS sheet states: “Deed restrictions; on file in office.” Selling agent asked for them last week, then again early this week, then again mid-week. Selling agent explained to listing agent that his buyers are very interested but want to review these documents before signing a contract. The property has been on the market 180+ days. I’ll bet the sellers want to sell it. The last word the selling agent heard, from a secretary in the listing office was: “Oh, I have to stop by the courthouse and pick those up for him. We don’t have them yet.” So….the documents that were on file in office were apparently on file—in the recorder’s office. Sloppy real estate! Anyone out there want a saleable listing badly enough to do your homework and know what you are selling? I thought so!
Agent #3 is a listing agent. First of all, the selling agent called her and said the buyers are ready to go on a $300,000+ sale that has been pending since early December. She didn’t think they could close that quickly; she thought the seller needed ‘more time’ to get her stuff out (the seller moved last fall and took most of her stuff). Then, the listing agent asked about fuel oil proration. The selling agent said: “Read the contract, which my client’s attorney prepared and you reviewed with your client. It does not call for fuel oil proration.” The listing agent’s reply: “Oh, that’s my fault, I must not have gone over that with my seller. She’s going to be really mad.” Anyone out there who thinks that part of your job—a big part of your job, in fact, is reviewing contracts with your clients before they sign them? I thought so!
In all three situations, if and when a contract goes to closing, half the agents received compensation will have not really earned their keep. They will have done less than they should have, and in some cases, the sale will never happen, due to incompetence, laziness, or a combination of the two.
Here’s my point, folks: it’s an ugly market out there, but those of us determined to sell real estate have an uphill battle, not with sellers and buyers, or lenders and title companies—but with our colleagues. If you are in real estate, do your job, do it well, and treat every buyer or seller like they are the most important client you have. Because they are. And if you are not willing to do your job, get out of the business and let those of us who are willing to do the job have the business. Work hard, work competently, do your job—and you will prosper.
Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GRI, RAA, SRES, 32 year veteran of the real estate industry. Offering training, speaking and consulting throughout the industry, I teach everything from ABR to USPAP. Certified ePRO Instructor. To contact me, email me at: melanie@TheMelanieGroup.com or visit my website: www.TheMelanieGroup.com
Jan. 25, 2009
It's the New Year (actually January is coming to a close) and we see the usual changes in real estate this time of year. Across the country, if dues are assessed on an annual basis, many agents are hanging it up. It was fun while it lasted (2000 through 2005), but lately, it's been too much like work. My take: I'm the airline attendant to these folks: "Bye-Bye". I've always said our business is no place for sissies. Yes, we had some easy times in the early part of the century, but it's more like real estate as I've known it for 30 plus years now-it's a great business, but the only place success comes before work is in the dictionary.
Along with the agents leaving the industry, we have musical chairs within the industry. This one is opening his own office; this one has left to manage a branch office, that one is changing brokers (again!). Some of this movement is healthy. Some of it is overdue. I just observed an agent make a move that will, in my opinion, better her career-wise and reputation-wise, and all I could think was: "What took you so long?" The former broker this agent worked for did not enjoy a great reputation with everyone, and she had gone as far as she could go in that company.
Another agent I know struck out on his own. I admire that, even though my experience tells me a good agent can make more money when he doesn't have to be bogged down by the day to day obligations of running a company. On the other hand, this agent was at a family-owned business, and he wasn't family. They don't say blood is thicker than water just because it's a catchy expression.
Then, there's an agent I know who has now moved to the seventh office in ten years. No matter what, no matter where, it doesn't work out for her. Personality conflicts; the broker is unfair; the advertising policies aren't right; the other agents steal her customers, etc. etc. etc. Her belief that a new office will solve all her problems is as silly as the seventh broker hiring her….or the fourth, fifth or sixth. Maybe even the third. She's the Liz Taylor of real estate offices, and she's being enabled by brokers who don't stop to ask themselves: "What do I do here at my company that is that different from the last nine companies, and will keep her happy?" Anyone can see that a new agent can make a mistake, and pick the wrong company. But to pick the wrong company six times?
The merry-go-round just keeps spinning, though. By spring, we will have more
agents who have left the business, plus a fresh crop of newly licensed agents
certain that being in the million dollar club means you are a millionaire. The agents
that you don't always notice in this business are the consistent ones. They are the
ones who list and sell, and list and sell, and keep plugging away at it. They try new
things. Sometimes their brokers really annoy them, and most of the time, they roll
with it. They are the backbone of many real estate offices because they aren't
divas and they aren't flashes in the pan. If you are new to our business, here's my
advice: find one of these agents-and emulate them! And if you are a broker,
appreciate them. They don't throw tantrums, like the divas; they don't suck you dry
and then leave you for your competition, like some; and they don't take an
inordinate amount of time learning the business, only to decide it is way too much
like work and they are going back to a 'real job'. Cherish those agents-they are
your treasure!
Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GRI, RAA, SRES, 32 year veteran of the real estate industry. Offering training, speaking and consulting throughout the industry, I teach everything from ABR to USPAP. Certified ePRO Instructor. To contact me, email me at: melanie@TheMelanieGroup.com or visit my website: www.TheMelanieGroup.com
Aug. 21, 2008
It's the height of summer produce season, and my garden is bursting. I walk smugly past the signs in
the supermarket: "Green Beans-Special $1.29 a pound". The roadside stands have them for about
$1.00 a quart, if you are lucky. My garden has them for FREE! And, as I smugly remind my husband as
we enjoy beans and other goodies, all it cost me was $1.29 for a pack of seeds. That, and some work-
roto tilling, mulching with grass clippings from the mower, watering, some Miracle Groâ--some weeding,
but I'm up to my ears in green beans, yellow beans, cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and-my new favorite
regular tomato-"Mortgage Buster"-named, I sure, for how prolific this plant is-if you sell the
tomatoes, they'll help lift your mortgage. I don't sell my produce. I enjoy it (I graze on the cherry tomato
plant, and all I need is a salt shaker for the other tomatoes); I freeze it and I share it with friends and
neighbors. Please don't irritate me, by the way, by asking if my vegetables are 'organic'. All vegetables
are organic! If you don't believe me, see 'organic' and 'inorganic' in the dictionary. But, mine are grown
without pesticides, herbicides and other nasty things. Sandy, our yellow Lab is on constant rabbit patrol
(which is why I have beans, and my friend Barbara doesn't-the rabbits crop hers off at about 2").
So what does this have to do with real estate? Plenty! Trick question: "What's easier for a real estate agent-going out every day and reinventing the wheel by convincing total strangers that they should know you, like you, trust you and become your clients OR plucking your clients from the list of people who know you, like you, trust you, and need you again-or have a friend or relative who needs you?" Answer, if you have a pulse: "DUH!" That would be why the word 'farming' in real estate means the process of diligently tending to your past clients, and diligently working either geographical areas, social networks, a group of people who already know you, etc, etc, etc and marketing to them. Telling them you are there. Letting them know you can help with their real estate needs. Stopping by to see how great that house you sold them looks since they deep sixed the Pepto Bismalâ pink in the bathroom. Clipping out stories about their kids, and sending them with a personal note. Yes, farming is work, but the rewards are huge! But what is the state of real estate? Well, two scary things I found out during the past year. First of all, while speaking at the NAR convention, author Seth Godin stated that less than 10% of all REALTORS® contact a client after closing. At all. Ever. Not even sending the Lowe'sâ 10% off card. Some of them, who are surviving somehow, are probably wondering on occasion why those folks never came back to them. Then, while rewriting the REBACâ e-Buyer course with my friend Amy Chorew, we discovered that less than 10% of all REALTORS® have a good, clean, useable data base. We are defining, by the way, a good, clean, useable data base as one in which all the people are still alive; the phone numbers and addresses are current, and they would, if you contacted them, have a clue about who you are. So, this means, in this market, which is tough in many parts of the US, agents are choosing everyday to do things the hard way-not the easy way. I garden, because I love to. I farm, because this is my career. I've been gardening for over 30 years. Same thing for real estate. When you eat your next fresh vegetable or fresh fruit, think about me, and farming.
Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GRI, RAA, SRES, 32 year veteran of the real estate industry. Offering training, speaking and consulting throughout the industry, I teach everything from ABR to USPAP. Certified ePRO Instructor. To contact me, email me at: melanie@TheMelanieGroup.com or visit my website: www.TheMelanieGroup.com
May. 19, 2008
It's the end of the real estate agent CE cycle in Pennsylvania, and probably not a minute too soon.
Speaking for myself, I'm tired of hotel rooms, car trips, restaurant meals, and (sometimes) having to
point out that during CE, returning emails on your smart phone is not allowed. The providers are burned
out too--they all offered lots of courses back in January and February, which were sparsely attended, and
in some cases, cancelled due to low turnout. Now it is May; license renewal is by May 31st, and everyone
woke up about 5 weeks ago and said: "Gee, I need my CE!" Classes are pretty much full, and I've had
students show up with colds, flu, and broken bones, just to get the CE done in time. The variety of
courses offered is great; as usual, some students opted to get the least expensive 'butt time' for their
fourteen hours and paid little, expected less, and hoped they would get out early. So I hear--those are
not my classes. My providers (the schools and associations who hire me) charge reasonable rates, but
both the providers and I have high standards. And no, there is no getting out early.
Tomorrow I'll be teaching the REBAC eBuyer course, which I just re-wrote with Amy Chorew. It's a fast
and fun 7 hours, very informative and full of ways for agents to improve their business. And not a
moment too soon--according to Inman News, NAR just unveiled their annual report about agents and
income--the bad news is in--agent income is down. Experienced agents, NAR reports, make more money.
That's no surprise to me. I teach real estate in a state, where, if we license 100 people on January 1, by
December 31st of the same year, 50 are gone. By December 31st of the following year, another 25 are
gone, leaving one quarter of our original class. With those odds, you would think new agents would be
hungry to learn all they could---and some are. Sadly, some aren't. They were seduced into this business
by a fantasy--real estate agents drive around in immaculate, late-model cars, show beautiful, well-kept
homes owned by very reasonable sellers to equally reasonable buyers--and then get to keep every
penny of the commission. If you are in the business, you know how far off the mark that is--this is a
tough business. Some REALTORS drive trucks and Jeeps; some houses are more like hovels; some
sellers are downright unreasonable--and some buyers are worse. And finally, after splitting with the broker
and any co-op agents, and paying your own taxes, your own health insurance, your own gas, your own
signs, business cards, MLS dues, etc.--well you get to keep some of that money. So every CE cycle, I
ponder the same things over again--if agents have to take 14 hours of CE anyway--why aren't more
of them taking courses that could actually help them be better at their job? Why aren't they showing up
to learn to price, to learn to market, to learn negotiation, etc. Why are they stuck in the mold of
taking courses whose titles they can't even recall? In defense of my best students, they aren't all
on this page. I have some great students who will be in class this summer and fall--taking designation
courses like ABR, GRI, SRES, SRS--and getting a 'three-fer' here in PA--broker credit, CE, and part or all of
a designation. Those folks never worry about getting their 14 hours--they always have more than their 14
hours. That's because, even if they have their CE, if a good course comes around--they take it--on the
chance that they'll learn more....and earn more.
Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GRI, RAA, SRES, 32 year veteran of the real estate industry. Offering training, speaking and consulting throughout the industry, I teach everything from ABR to USPAP. Certified ePRO Instructor. To contact me, email me at: melanie@TheMelanieGroup.com or visit my website: www.TheMelanieGroup.com
Feb. 18, 2008
Pricing real estate has never been a more important skill than it is today. Yet, when I stand in front of a room full of students, I can tell by their faces that I'm the first person presenting basic fundamentals of pricing and valuation to them. In many states (including mine, PA), the day we give a real estate salesperson's license out, we empower that person to go out the very next day and price a home for sale! This is scary--one of the reports I read within the past week was the case of a disgruntled homeowner suing the agent for allowing them to pay too much for the home. In virtually every state, pre-licensing real estate courses are 'taught to the test'--in other words, instructors teach what students need to know to pass the test. Yet, virtually any new agent you talk to will agree that the courses did not tell them how to actually sell real estate. Never has education and training post licensing been so important for an agent's success. The course I taught last week was a CE course I wrote, entitled: "What's it Worth?" As I type this blog, I'm in a hotel room--tomorrow I'll do a GRI "Pricing and Evaluating Real Estate". Here's my point: if you are a new agent, a seasoned agent, or even a successful, seasoned agent--you can never learn too much about anything--including pricing and valuation. There is an old adage in real estate: "A property priced properly is half sold already." Pricing property properly for a seller leads to satisfied clients and listings that sell. Pricing property improperly for a seller usually leads to frustration on both parts--you can't sell it, they won't reduce it and everyone gets to be miserable. Pricing property properly for a buyer leads to satisfied clients that will return to you to sell the home, because you didn't let them overpay--or if they did overpay, you told them they were! Allowing a buyer client to overpay for a house is not only a violation of your fiduciary duties to your client, it's a stupid way to practice real estate. I've written several articles and courses on pricing property, and I've got a new course in the works right now. If I'm not in your neighborhood--find a qualified instructor and course near you and figure out how to do this right. And, if you are a consumer, it goes without saying that you ask the agent several direct questions: "How will you arrive at a price for our home?" "How long have you been in the business?" If not long, ask: "Is there someone at your office with more experience who will help you price my home?" "What factors do you consider when you price a home?" "What homes are competing against mine?" "What is the average list price/sales price ratio in my segment of the market?" "What are the average days on market?" By the way, if you are an agent, and you can't answer these questions--you better learn how!
Melanie J. McLane, ABR, CRB, CRS, ePRO, GRI, RAA, SRES, SRS 32 year veteran of the real estate industry. Offering training, speaking and consulting throughout the industry, I teach everything from ABR to USPAP. Certified ePRO Instructor. To contact me, email me at: melanie@TheMelanieGroup.com or visit my website: www.TheMelanieGroup.com
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