Hi everyone! It’s been some time since I have written. The good news is I have been busy developing new skills to teach my staff. Any of you who know me know I’m very into training and keeping my staff updated

on their training, etc. Of course, most of the time, I have been teaching others how to do what we do here at Tropical Realty in Melbourne, Florida. Recently, however, I have decided I needed to work a little more on my business than traveling around the country. 

Since the beginning of the year I have been working on how I can take my team of 20 Real Estate Agents to the next level.  One of my goals is to help all my Agents become successful. I’m so fortunate to have such a wonderful group of Agents working for me. Even though some might be struggling and not working as hard as I like, they are all great people. With that said, I also have a business to run and to grow.  I won’t be happy until my Agents are all doing at least 36 transactions per year each or more.  I know they can do it, and I’m learning day by day how to be a better teacher. Up until recently I had always blamed my Agents for not working our system strong enough. But, recently I realized that I have been training all wrong and have to change the way I teach. 

Here are 6 things about training that I’ve learned so far:

1. The only way you can become better is to commit at least 1 hour per week to training and becoming an expert in just a few skills.  Just 1 hour per week can have a profound benefit to your business.
    
2. It’s not about knowing 4,000 things a few times.  It’s about doing 3 or 4 things 4,000 times.  Once you do, you are an expert! Continue reading this post

Consider: Why do you think they call it “social” media?

In the words of Todd Carpenter who was recently appointed as social media manager at the National Association of Realtors :

“You won’t “get” Twitter until you stop trying to figure out how to get business from it. You have to do it for fun. You have to genuinely want to talk to people, not market to them. If you just try to market yourself there, nobody will want to connect with you.”

Remember social media whether facebook or twitter, is not business media. Mixing business with pleasure is often difficult and ill advised.

“No man is poor who has friends” – George Bailey- It’s a Wonderful Life

Did he mean you could make money off them on Facebook and Twitter?

Todd futher advises:

“Again, I’m on Twitter because I like to meet and talk to people. I don’t care if it ever earns me a dime. But on the other hand, the top referrer to my newest blog is… Twitter. Five of the first six people who confirmed they were coming to RE BlogWorld, I met on… Twitter. The local meetup of RE 2.0 talent I organized today was promoted and organized largely on… Twitter.

I didn’t “get” Twitter either because I was trying to figure out a business use for it. But I got hooked on it because it was fun, and now the business opportunities are bearing fruit.”

I am not sure that social media “works” for business, but many are having fun trying. 

Louis Cammarosano

We all know that the real estate industry is in turmoil. The credit market is tight and is inhibiting homebuyers. Home values have declined for several years and sellers cannot afford to sell. We are stagnating and consumer confidence is at an all time low.

So, what will kick start the industry and get it moving? Will the economic Obama stimulus package provide the benefits the Federal government has indicated? Will financial markets recover? Will homes start appreciating again? Will we all have jobs?

This is what we are all asking ourselves, but what do we do while we are waiting for everything to take effect? Well, take care of what you can and hope for the best for the rest.

We need to change our expectations. We will not be able to buy a new car every few years. Forget that 42″ flat panel TV. Do you really need to go out to dinner again this month? You are planning on retiring at 55, really?

We can change our habits. Save your money. We can save for the next rainy day because we are already in this one. We better learn this lesson now. Make your expectations realistic and do not live beyond your means. Continue reading this post

1. Big Discount – Home buyers want a big discount from list price. If the market value of a home is $400,000 and you price it at $375,000 to sell it quickly, buyers still want a large discount from list price.

2. Sellers Pain – If the home seller does not appear to be in pain many buyers won’t feel like they are getting a good enough deal. Even, if they are getting a heck of a price for the home.

3. Foreclosures – Buyers tend to think that all foreclosures are a sweet deal. That is not always the case. 

4. Short Sales – Many banks still stink at getting a short sale approved quickly. A friend of mine recently had a short sale close and said the bank had 17 different people touch the file. No wonder the banks are in trouble.

5. Bad News – Sellers are quick to ignore the bad real estate news but very quick to latch on to the good news.

6. Good News – Buyers are quick to ignore the good real estate news but very quick to latch on to the bad news.

7. Time to spare – Many home buyers feel like they have all of the time in the world. Continue reading this post

HomeGain emailed out the February Agent Success Newsletter today, which included a feature story, a helpful Q&A section for customers, HomeGain news, new HomeGain AgentEvaluator Platinum, Gold and Silver Club members, Agent Quote and Customer Advocate of the Month.

The Featured Real Estate Agent this month is HomeGain’s 2008 “Rookie Agent of the Year” award winner, Shannon Atkins with RE/MAX Highlander in Apex, NC.  Listen to our exclusive call with Shannon to hear her success tips.

The Question of the Month came from Mark Orem, El Paso, TX, who asked, “Ever since you introduced the new AgentEvaluator templates, I’ve been having a hard time getting my proposals to show properly. I used to copy and paste from Word but that doesn’t work anymore. Any ideas on what I should do?” Read what HomeGain suggests Mark and other agents in this situation should do. 

Under the News section, the newsletter mentioned several AgentView members who have discovered the secrets of blog success, garnering first page position in the search engines and generating real visits to their AgentView blog. Congratulations to: Continue reading this post

Michael Gwynn is a student of real estate. Although he holds a California Real Estate License and multiple investment properties, Michael is currently immersed in the world of online marketing solutions that connect real estate agents and brokers with home buyers and sellers as the Sales Director at www.HomeGain.com.

In today’s world there are many financial casualties associated with the failing real estate market. There are many homeowners who purchased properties and had little knowledge, experience, or insights into the real estate market. But, there were also a number of real estate investors that could have and should have known better. These good investors had experienced bad outcomes with their property purchases because of the lures, pitfalls, and hazards associated with the world of real estate. These lessons are important to learn because there are many new and experienced investors jumping back into real estate in 2009.

Those who do not learn history are destined to repeat it.

There were several factors and causes for these bad outcomes for these good investors. Some were lured by the gains reported in many publications. Others succumbed to the attractive sirens of the real estate Guru’s.

There were those who did not understand the order of purchasing investment property because they purchase equity growth properties before income properties.  Many purchased at the peak of the price points. Other wanted only to stay in their local markets. Miscalculations were made on the costs for holding properties.

The potential issues of holding property were never realistically expected or prepared for by the property purchasers. Methods to truly analyze a real estate market and economy were not effective.  Technology and available information was not used to its best potential. Real estate professionals were seen as the enemy and not used appropriately in the transactions. Many did not understand the cycles involved in real estate. Continue reading this post